Republican Ghosts for Health Care

In time for Halloween, GOP specters are rising up to scare some sense into their Congressional heirs as they move zombielike toward a possible pyrrhic victory in the hope that poll numbers "may get worse for Democrats if they pass a health-care bill."

That prediction is the wisdom according to Karl Rove, who engineered the party's 2006 loss, but older, wiser Republican heads are emerging to warn against the short-term politics of being intractable on what all sides agree is a critical issue.

Former presidential candidate and Senate Leader Bob Dole tells an audience, "This is one of the most important measures members of Congress will vote on in their lifetimes. If we don't do it this year I don't know when we're going to do it" as he and another GOP Senate Leader Howard Baker prepare to join Tom Daschle in a statement urging passage of a bill.

This comes after still another Republican Senate Leader and physician, Bill Frist, tells CNN that he supports Sen. Olympia Snowe's trigger proposal for a public option in the legislation.

Arnold Schwarzenegger is among the still-active Republicans who have come out in recent days for some bipartisan sanity as his Washington confreres keep digging in their heels against any cooperation with the White House.

The underlying message is that this callow crop may be injuring their own party in the long run as well as the national welfare by continuing to play trick-or-treat with voters' hopes and fears.

A Mel Brooks Presidential Debate

Like the finale of "Blazing Saddles," last night's Republican brawl broke through the fourth wall and spilled over onto the sets of other movies.

John McCain and Mitt Romney played their Western shootout against a backdrop of "Air Force One," while being watched by "The Terminator" sitting next to the 100-year-old lady from "Titanic," smiling sweetly as all the candidates pledged their fealty to the ghost of The Gipper.

Anderson Cooper seemed awestruck by having an actual Reagan relic on the table in front of him, a leather-bound diary from which he solemnly quoted to the Republican hopefuls.

The scene could have used some Mel Brooks pizzazz, but it made up with non-sequiturs what was lacking in wit.

Ron Paul had the best line of the night. Watching McCain and Romney grapple over who was most patriotically devoted to prolonging the killing in Iraq, Paul looked at them deadpan and said, "Silly."

Hilarious, if you like zany comedy that makes you want to cry.

Send Out the Clowns

Mike Gravel didn't make the cut for last night's Democratic debate for failure to meet NBC's "fundraising and polling requirements" but Ron Paul apparently was viable enough ratings-wise to appear with Jay Leno last night.

"There's probably a risk I could win," Dr. Paul told him, but not against Stephen Colbert, according to a new poll that shows the Comedy Central star outpolling him among Republicans and drawing more votes from Democrats than Denis Kucinich.

In his uphill battle with Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama has been complaining that the polls up to now have been more about name recognition than political substance.

He may have a point. In the 2003 California recall election, when there were 135 candidates, a well-dressed young man with an attaché case was interviewed on network TV. "I'm going to vote for the coolest name on the ballot," he said with a straight face.

Arnold Schwarzenegger won. He had announced his candidacy to Jay Leno.