As if race and gender were not complications enough in this critical Presidential contest, we now have Bill Clinton stepping up to remind us of how devious and disruptive he can be.
For a year, he stayed dutifully in the background, but the man who can't help being Bill Clinton is now roiling his wife's campaign with the kind of hatchet work on her opponent that is normally done by an incumbent or aspiring Vice-President. In the process of Cheneying Barack Obama, he is outdoing Jimmy Carter in trashing the dignity expected of a former President.
It's dispiriting to see a former occupant of the Oval Office seeking absolution from Al Sharpton for parsing Obama's positions on the war in Iraq as a "fairy tale," the kind of attack usually assigned to a campaign chairman or anonymous aide like the one quoted as saying, "If you have a social need, you're with Hillary. If you want Obama to be your imaginary hip black friend and you're young and you have no social needs, then he's cool."
It's saddening to see the re-emergence of the man who used to be called Slick Willie in sliming Hillary's opponent while complaining about the "sanitizing" of Obama by the media.
Dignity has never been Bill Clinton's long suit and, under the pressure of Obama's surge, his panic is understandable. But it's a sad reminder to those who supported him of what comes with all that undeniable idealism and political savvy--a reckless need to get what he wants by seducing the world.
He dodged his own impeachment but, if he doesn't step back from the spotlight now, our problematic former President is going to wreck Hillary Clinton's chances for the nomination, let alone in a general campaign against someone with the unimpeachable character of John McCain.
Saturday, January 12, 2008
Friday, January 11, 2008
Hell Freezes Over
Snow fell today in Baghdad for the first time in a hundred years.
According to the head of the local meteorology department, it was the "result of two air flows meeting. The first one was cold and dry and the second one was warm and humid." He attributed the phenomenon to climate change and, by the topsy turvy logic of Iraq, global warming might just be responsible for snow in desert heat.
While he is in the region, President Bush will no doubt explain it as one of the benefits of democracy. It didn't snow in Iran.
According to the head of the local meteorology department, it was the "result of two air flows meeting. The first one was cold and dry and the second one was warm and humid." He attributed the phenomenon to climate change and, by the topsy turvy logic of Iraq, global warming might just be responsible for snow in desert heat.
While he is in the region, President Bush will no doubt explain it as one of the benefits of democracy. It didn't snow in Iran.
News From the Alternate Universe
At the gates of the Republican debate last night, there is a heavenly choir to greet the messengers at the podium, who proceed to bring down the wrath of Reagan on the congregation.
Fred Thompson calls out Mike Huckabee as an apostate Democrat who would mislead true believers into charity for undocumented immigrants, closing Guantanamo and making smoking illegal.
Mitt Romney chides John McCain for saying some jobs would not be coming back to Michigan, the equivalent of swearing in Republican church.
Rudy Giuliani seems to be undergoing yet another sinner's conversion, intoning Reagan more often than 9/11 and disputing McCain's claim to be the only one on the stage who foresaw the glory of the Surge.
They all roll their eyes at Ron Paul, the village zealot who preaches economic doom if we keep giving alms to Israel and the Arabs instead of cultivating our own gardens.
It's a Reagan revival meeting and, although there are no miraculous cures for the politically lame and blind, the tent is filled with holy fervor from the converted, who are soliciting love offerings at the ballot box to keep Democrats from doing the Devil's work in South Carolina.
Fred Thompson calls out Mike Huckabee as an apostate Democrat who would mislead true believers into charity for undocumented immigrants, closing Guantanamo and making smoking illegal.
Mitt Romney chides John McCain for saying some jobs would not be coming back to Michigan, the equivalent of swearing in Republican church.
Rudy Giuliani seems to be undergoing yet another sinner's conversion, intoning Reagan more often than 9/11 and disputing McCain's claim to be the only one on the stage who foresaw the glory of the Surge.
They all roll their eyes at Ron Paul, the village zealot who preaches economic doom if we keep giving alms to Israel and the Arabs instead of cultivating our own gardens.
It's a Reagan revival meeting and, although there are no miraculous cures for the politically lame and blind, the tent is filled with holy fervor from the converted, who are soliciting love offerings at the ballot box to keep Democrats from doing the Devil's work in South Carolina.
Thursday, January 10, 2008
McCain's Hundred Year War
He is not talking about Iraq on the campaign trail, but John McCain has a good deal to say in today's Wall Street Journal on the first anniversary of the Surge.
So much, in fact, that he needs his Senate colleague, Joe Lieberman, to help him do the heavy lifting in proclaiming, "The Surge Worked," that "conditions in that country have been utterly transformed...al Qaeda has been beaten back, violence across the country has dropped dramatically. The number of car bombings, sectarian murders and suicide attacks has been slashed."
Yesterday, the US military announced, six American soldiers were killed when a house rigged with explosives blew up north of Baghdad during a new offensive targeting al Qaeda guerrillas, adding to the more than 835 who have died since last February.
The gains in Iraq, McCain tells us, "are thrilling but not yet permanent. Political progress has been slow. And although al Qaeda and the other extremists in Iraq have been dealt a critical blow, they will strike back at the Iraqi people and us if we give them the chance, as our generals on the ground continue to warn us."
If we wait until President McCain takes office next January, perhaps he will tell us then how many troops we will have to keep there for how long (perhaps less than the 100 years he recently mentioned). Maybe he will reveal his plans to speed up the "slow" political progress in a small country that keeps draining the lives of our most patriotic young people and billions of dollars that could be saving and improving lives back here.
In his Wall Street Journal victory lap, McCain concedes that "mismanagement of the Iraq war from 2003 to 2006 exposed our government's capacity for incompetence." Voters are going to want to know how, sharing Bush's blindness about our interests in the Middle East, McCain is going to do better.
Certainly not by making Joe Lieberman his Secretary of State.
So much, in fact, that he needs his Senate colleague, Joe Lieberman, to help him do the heavy lifting in proclaiming, "The Surge Worked," that "conditions in that country have been utterly transformed...al Qaeda has been beaten back, violence across the country has dropped dramatically. The number of car bombings, sectarian murders and suicide attacks has been slashed."
Yesterday, the US military announced, six American soldiers were killed when a house rigged with explosives blew up north of Baghdad during a new offensive targeting al Qaeda guerrillas, adding to the more than 835 who have died since last February.
The gains in Iraq, McCain tells us, "are thrilling but not yet permanent. Political progress has been slow. And although al Qaeda and the other extremists in Iraq have been dealt a critical blow, they will strike back at the Iraqi people and us if we give them the chance, as our generals on the ground continue to warn us."
If we wait until President McCain takes office next January, perhaps he will tell us then how many troops we will have to keep there for how long (perhaps less than the 100 years he recently mentioned). Maybe he will reveal his plans to speed up the "slow" political progress in a small country that keeps draining the lives of our most patriotic young people and billions of dollars that could be saving and improving lives back here.
In his Wall Street Journal victory lap, McCain concedes that "mismanagement of the Iraq war from 2003 to 2006 exposed our government's capacity for incompetence." Voters are going to want to know how, sharing Bush's blindness about our interests in the Middle East, McCain is going to do better.
Certainly not by making Joe Lieberman his Secretary of State.
Big Brother Bloomberg
After the uproar over Bush Administration surveillance of American citizens, the news from Bloomberg country today is unnerving.
During his Hamlet-like deliberations about whether or not to run for President as an Independent, New York's Mayor has been collecting and collating a lot of information about all of us.
According to the Huffington Post, "Using the microtargeting model, research firms working for Bloomberg are gathering comprehensive information on voters throughout the country, such has who owns a home, has children in college, where they vacation, type of car or computer and past political support. All the puzzle pieces will then be arranged to create a picture of each individual."
After the Bush years, Americans may not be thrilled to have their picture taken this way by Bloomberg or anyone else, especially for the purpose of manipulating their political choices.
In the light of voters' recent attraction to Barack Obama and Mike Huckabee for their individuality, Mayor Mike would be well-advised not to start his run as Big Brother.
During his Hamlet-like deliberations about whether or not to run for President as an Independent, New York's Mayor has been collecting and collating a lot of information about all of us.
According to the Huffington Post, "Using the microtargeting model, research firms working for Bloomberg are gathering comprehensive information on voters throughout the country, such has who owns a home, has children in college, where they vacation, type of car or computer and past political support. All the puzzle pieces will then be arranged to create a picture of each individual."
After the Bush years, Americans may not be thrilled to have their picture taken this way by Bloomberg or anyone else, especially for the purpose of manipulating their political choices.
In the light of voters' recent attraction to Barack Obama and Mike Huckabee for their individuality, Mayor Mike would be well-advised not to start his run as Big Brother.
Breaking News...
Vice-President Dick Cheney is under sedation after what sources describe as "a medical incident" earlier this week following reports that Iranian speedboats had menaced US warships in the Persian Gulf.
Informed sources report that Cheney, wearing President Bush's "Mission Accomplished" flight jacket, had convened an emergency meeting of the National Security Council and ordered preparations for a nuclear strike against Tehran.
According to an unnamed Defense Department official, the Vice-President cited intelligence from his own sources that the Revolutionary Guard planned to kidnap President Bush in Israel and force him to appear for questioning on Iranian TV in a college auditorium as revenge for President Ahmadinejad's humiliation at Columbia University last year.
During this "rather disjointed presentation," a Security Council member indicated off the record, the Vice-President became so agitated that medical attention was sought and Cheney is now "resting comfortably" at an undisclosed location.
US forces have been ordered to stand down and, for the remainder of President Bush's Middle East trip, Secret Service protection has been stepped up for House Speaker Nancy Pelosi in the event that she may have to serve temporarily as Acting President.
Informed sources report that Cheney, wearing President Bush's "Mission Accomplished" flight jacket, had convened an emergency meeting of the National Security Council and ordered preparations for a nuclear strike against Tehran.
According to an unnamed Defense Department official, the Vice-President cited intelligence from his own sources that the Revolutionary Guard planned to kidnap President Bush in Israel and force him to appear for questioning on Iranian TV in a college auditorium as revenge for President Ahmadinejad's humiliation at Columbia University last year.
During this "rather disjointed presentation," a Security Council member indicated off the record, the Vice-President became so agitated that medical attention was sought and Cheney is now "resting comfortably" at an undisclosed location.
US forces have been ordered to stand down and, for the remainder of President Bush's Middle East trip, Secret Service protection has been stepped up for House Speaker Nancy Pelosi in the event that she may have to serve temporarily as Acting President.
Wednesday, January 09, 2008
Obama: Buyer's Remorse
Yet another theory to explain the inexplicable results of the Democratic New Hampshire primary:
Caught up in post-Iowa euphoria, normally prudent New Englanders suffered an attack of buyer's remorse on Election Day--anxiety over their decision to make a big investment based on emotion rather than history and horse sense.
Purchasing a sleek new Obama would make them feel good about themselves, but did they know enough about performance and durability to justify what might turn out to be an extravagance? Wouldn't a familiar Clinton model be a safer investment?
In our new Age of Anxiety, much as voters now want change from Bush fatigue, a heartfelt political commitment would bring with it doubts and worries. In the coming months, such ambivalence may be reflected in more mood swings at the ballot box.
In South Carolina, for example, buyer's remorse could follow the Republicans' sudden infatuation with Mike Huckabee and persuade them to pick up a reliable old John McCain, even if they are not entranced by all the familiar features.
Then again, maybe not.
Caught up in post-Iowa euphoria, normally prudent New Englanders suffered an attack of buyer's remorse on Election Day--anxiety over their decision to make a big investment based on emotion rather than history and horse sense.
Purchasing a sleek new Obama would make them feel good about themselves, but did they know enough about performance and durability to justify what might turn out to be an extravagance? Wouldn't a familiar Clinton model be a safer investment?
In our new Age of Anxiety, much as voters now want change from Bush fatigue, a heartfelt political commitment would bring with it doubts and worries. In the coming months, such ambivalence may be reflected in more mood swings at the ballot box.
In South Carolina, for example, buyer's remorse could follow the Republicans' sudden infatuation with Mike Huckabee and persuade them to pick up a reliable old John McCain, even if they are not entranced by all the familiar features.
Then again, maybe not.
Did Romney Help Hillary Clinton?
After all the complaints about Iowa's caucus system, was New Hampshire's odd crossover voting responsible for the most significant primary result so far--Hillary Clinton's surprise victory over Barack Obama?
The explanation starts with Mitt Romney's unpopularity there. New Hampshire newspapers anti-endorsed him, the Union-Leader asserting "his words are memorized, not heartfelt" and the Concord Monitor calling him a candidate built from a kit, "a disquieting figure who sure looks like the next president and most surely must be stopped."
With all that animosity in the air along with a barrage of Romney commercials in a close contest with McCain and the polls showing Obama ahead by double digits, how many Independents decided it was more important to vote against Romney rather than for Obama?
As the only Massachusetts governor ever to lose a primary in his neighboring state, Mitt may have in passing done Hillary Clinton a huge favor. Politics makes strange...
The explanation starts with Mitt Romney's unpopularity there. New Hampshire newspapers anti-endorsed him, the Union-Leader asserting "his words are memorized, not heartfelt" and the Concord Monitor calling him a candidate built from a kit, "a disquieting figure who sure looks like the next president and most surely must be stopped."
With all that animosity in the air along with a barrage of Romney commercials in a close contest with McCain and the polls showing Obama ahead by double digits, how many Independents decided it was more important to vote against Romney rather than for Obama?
As the only Massachusetts governor ever to lose a primary in his neighboring state, Mitt may have in passing done Hillary Clinton a huge favor. Politics makes strange...
E-mailing the Chef and Bartender
The mechanization of American society is going too far. Now some soulless restaurateurs are removing the last trace of human interaction in the dining experience with tableside touch screens to send your orders directly to the kitchen and bar.
Can an emoticon replace the eager smile of the person with pad and pencil who tells you, "I'm Debbie and I'll be your server?" Will a computer menu tell you how the duck l'orange is tonight? Can a machine understand how really rare you want your steak or how dry your martini?
There will still be actual people to bring your food and drink (until robots replace them), but they won't give you the feeling of being cosseted and cared for that comes from someone who recites the specials, worries with you as you make your choices and lets you relax by slow-walking your order to the kitchen.
And who will keep you sober as you wave frantically to order a second drink or help you digest your food properly by ignoring your air-scribbling for the check?
Digital dining out just won't be the same.
Can an emoticon replace the eager smile of the person with pad and pencil who tells you, "I'm Debbie and I'll be your server?" Will a computer menu tell you how the duck l'orange is tonight? Can a machine understand how really rare you want your steak or how dry your martini?
There will still be actual people to bring your food and drink (until robots replace them), but they won't give you the feeling of being cosseted and cared for that comes from someone who recites the specials, worries with you as you make your choices and lets you relax by slow-walking your order to the kitchen.
And who will keep you sober as you wave frantically to order a second drink or help you digest your food properly by ignoring your air-scribbling for the check?
Digital dining out just won't be the same.
Ambulance Chaser-in-Chief
After each loss, John Edwards keeps demagoguing from the heart, rehashing his closing arguments against the corporations he milked for millions as a negligence lawyer and is now trying to pummel all the way to the White House.
In his past life, Edwards settled for one-third of the take, but now he wants it all, to been seen as an idealistic fighter for the dispossessed and be rewarded with the most powerful job in the world.
It's disheartening to react so vehemently to someone who sounds so dedicated to defending the victims of corporate greed, but Edwards' passion is just too pumped up to be believable, too obviously about himself rather than those he seems to be championing and too inconsistent with the little he has achieved in a second career of chasing high office rather than actually serving the public interest.
Democrats have two formidable contenders who will now go head to head for the rest of the primary season. From here on, Edwards will only be an annoying distraction.
In his past life, Edwards settled for one-third of the take, but now he wants it all, to been seen as an idealistic fighter for the dispossessed and be rewarded with the most powerful job in the world.
It's disheartening to react so vehemently to someone who sounds so dedicated to defending the victims of corporate greed, but Edwards' passion is just too pumped up to be believable, too obviously about himself rather than those he seems to be championing and too inconsistent with the little he has achieved in a second career of chasing high office rather than actually serving the public interest.
Democrats have two formidable contenders who will now go head to head for the rest of the primary season. From here on, Edwards will only be an annoying distraction.
Pitchmen of Inside Politics
If pollsters and pundits had any sense of shame, they would slink off to do penance for their performance in the past week. But they won't.
The New Hampshire resurrection of Hillary Clinton surprised them as much as did the Iowa christening of Barack Obama and Mike Huckabee as front runners, but the talking heads and numbers crunchers will be back today to sell new versions of their faulty products with as much assurance as ever.
There will be reversible explanations: Hillary's tears that were a meltdown two days ago will morph into a moment of humanity that touched the hearts of voters. Obama's surging crowds will become hordes of undecideds trying to make up their minds at the last minute.
Nothing wipes the knowing smiles off the faces of the "insiders" who, in the words of Daniel Boorstin, are well-known for their well-knowness and spew Delphic certainties that are never later subjected to proof of accuracy.
Maybe the Consumer Product Safety Commission should set up a division to recall defective opinions and polls that are a danger to our mental health.
The New Hampshire resurrection of Hillary Clinton surprised them as much as did the Iowa christening of Barack Obama and Mike Huckabee as front runners, but the talking heads and numbers crunchers will be back today to sell new versions of their faulty products with as much assurance as ever.
There will be reversible explanations: Hillary's tears that were a meltdown two days ago will morph into a moment of humanity that touched the hearts of voters. Obama's surging crowds will become hordes of undecideds trying to make up their minds at the last minute.
Nothing wipes the knowing smiles off the faces of the "insiders" who, in the words of Daniel Boorstin, are well-known for their well-knowness and spew Delphic certainties that are never later subjected to proof of accuracy.
Maybe the Consumer Product Safety Commission should set up a division to recall defective opinions and polls that are a danger to our mental health.
Tuesday, January 08, 2008
The Experience a President Needs
Democrats will surely nominate a senator, and if John McCain can't go all the way, Republicans will name a former governor or super-Mayor Rudy Giuliani, who insists that a president needs executive experience to run the Executive branch.
History suggests otherwise. In 1960, Richard Nixon used that argument against John F. Kennedy and, in the early months of JFK's Administration, it looked like Nixon might have had a point as the new President mishandled the Bay of Pigs disaster.
But Kennedy trumped his inexperience with two crucial qualities: He took responsibility for his mistakes and learned from them, in contrast to George W. Bush, whose resume as an executive did not help him do either, and Nixon who... But you know the rest of that story.
Instinctively Kennedy surrounded himself with the best people ("You can't beat brains," he would say) and insisted on hearing all sides of an argument before he made a decision, as he did during the Cuban Missile Crisis.
Those qualities would satisfy even Giuliani, who wrote a book about leadership but has had trouble practicing his own principles, as his Bernard Kerik albatross and the bitter 9/11 complaints of New York fire fighters suggest.
For a President Obama or McCain, the first days in the Oval would not be a test of management skills. What will count is their vision for America and determination to translate it into political reality. Voters are instinctively doing the right thing by focusing on that.
History suggests otherwise. In 1960, Richard Nixon used that argument against John F. Kennedy and, in the early months of JFK's Administration, it looked like Nixon might have had a point as the new President mishandled the Bay of Pigs disaster.
But Kennedy trumped his inexperience with two crucial qualities: He took responsibility for his mistakes and learned from them, in contrast to George W. Bush, whose resume as an executive did not help him do either, and Nixon who... But you know the rest of that story.
Instinctively Kennedy surrounded himself with the best people ("You can't beat brains," he would say) and insisted on hearing all sides of an argument before he made a decision, as he did during the Cuban Missile Crisis.
Those qualities would satisfy even Giuliani, who wrote a book about leadership but has had trouble practicing his own principles, as his Bernard Kerik albatross and the bitter 9/11 complaints of New York fire fighters suggest.
For a President Obama or McCain, the first days in the Oval would not be a test of management skills. What will count is their vision for America and determination to translate it into political reality. Voters are instinctively doing the right thing by focusing on that.
Bush's Belated Change About "Change"
The man who set the theme for this year's election is off to the Middle East today on a quest to salvage something there, after conceding the US faces “economic challenges” at home, a euphemism for the threat of recession reflected in rising oil prices, the home mortgage crisis and a weakening job market.
After jawboning the Israelis and Palestinians to make nice, President Bush will be reunited with Tony Blair, who is there on a similar mission for the "Quartet"-- the US, UN, European Union and Russia--to reminisce about the glory days when they were going to topple Saddam Hussein and bring democracy to the region.
National Security Adviser Stephen Hadley still insists that the promotion of freedom as a "counterpoint" to terrorism remains "the essence" of the Bush strategy. "I don't think he's pulled back," Hadley says.
But most observers disagree. According to the Christian Science Monitor, "The trip will showcase a president shifting his focus from the big idea of a free and democratic Middle East to more traditional US foreign-policy goals: an Israeli-Palestinian peace settlement, the containment of a threatening state--in this case Iran--and the assurance of US energy security at a time of $100-a-barrel oil."
The belated dialing down of Neo-Con ambitions, if not the rhetoric, to remake an intractable part of the world is welcome and should inspire the next President to define change in more traditional American terms.
After jawboning the Israelis and Palestinians to make nice, President Bush will be reunited with Tony Blair, who is there on a similar mission for the "Quartet"-- the US, UN, European Union and Russia--to reminisce about the glory days when they were going to topple Saddam Hussein and bring democracy to the region.
National Security Adviser Stephen Hadley still insists that the promotion of freedom as a "counterpoint" to terrorism remains "the essence" of the Bush strategy. "I don't think he's pulled back," Hadley says.
But most observers disagree. According to the Christian Science Monitor, "The trip will showcase a president shifting his focus from the big idea of a free and democratic Middle East to more traditional US foreign-policy goals: an Israeli-Palestinian peace settlement, the containment of a threatening state--in this case Iran--and the assurance of US energy security at a time of $100-a-barrel oil."
The belated dialing down of Neo-Con ambitions, if not the rhetoric, to remake an intractable part of the world is welcome and should inspire the next President to define change in more traditional American terms.
Two Kinds of Hillary Hubris
As New Hampshire prepares to vote, pundits are filing Clinton campaign death notices as confidently as they trumpeted her inevitability only weeks ago.
The coronation was premature, and the obituaries may be, too. The last time anyone looked, Matt Drudge was not empowered to pick convention delegates.
Observers detect a few tears and deride the woman who sheds them, forgetting that John Boehner, the House Republican leader, weeps buckets all the time.
Bill Clinton seems to lose his mojo with New Hampshire crowds for a day, and the New York Times finds a headline in it.
There is at least as much hubris in the herd journalism that is trampling the Clintons now as there was in their presumption that the Presidency was theirs by right of succession--and considerably more nastiness.
These observations come from a non-admirer of the Clinton campaign who suggested last summer that playing it safe could lead to a 21st century version of what Harry Truman did in 1948 to the poll-anointed sure bet, Gov. Thomas Dewey of New York, who squandered a big lead in the polls by taking voters for granted.
Hillary Clinton's hopes for the Presidency may indeed be thwarted, but it's not over until it's over, no matter what the often-wrong-but-never-in-doubt political pundits say.
The coronation was premature, and the obituaries may be, too. The last time anyone looked, Matt Drudge was not empowered to pick convention delegates.
Observers detect a few tears and deride the woman who sheds them, forgetting that John Boehner, the House Republican leader, weeps buckets all the time.
Bill Clinton seems to lose his mojo with New Hampshire crowds for a day, and the New York Times finds a headline in it.
There is at least as much hubris in the herd journalism that is trampling the Clintons now as there was in their presumption that the Presidency was theirs by right of succession--and considerably more nastiness.
These observations come from a non-admirer of the Clinton campaign who suggested last summer that playing it safe could lead to a 21st century version of what Harry Truman did in 1948 to the poll-anointed sure bet, Gov. Thomas Dewey of New York, who squandered a big lead in the polls by taking voters for granted.
Hillary Clinton's hopes for the Presidency may indeed be thwarted, but it's not over until it's over, no matter what the often-wrong-but-never-in-doubt political pundits say.
Monday, January 07, 2008
Romney Downsizing
For someone who made a fortune bailing out failing enterprises, Mitt Romney must be having déjà vu these days as campaign flunkies for the free-spending one-time front runner in New Hampshire desperately try to lower expectations in face of an expected McCain victory.
In a weekend of Republican candidates on ABC and Fox News, Romney came off as the rich kid in the playground, having his lunch money stolen by toughies like McCain, Giuliani, Fred Thompson and even soft-spoken Mike Huckabee, who rapped his knuckles for getting between him and moderator Chris Wallace.
It got so bad that, when Wallace asked about Huckabee manager Ed Rollins' threat to "kick his teeth," Romney even tried to make a joke about not attacking his hair. Corporate takeovers must have been easier than this.
In a weekend of Republican candidates on ABC and Fox News, Romney came off as the rich kid in the playground, having his lunch money stolen by toughies like McCain, Giuliani, Fred Thompson and even soft-spoken Mike Huckabee, who rapped his knuckles for getting between him and moderator Chris Wallace.
It got so bad that, when Wallace asked about Huckabee manager Ed Rollins' threat to "kick his teeth," Romney even tried to make a joke about not attacking his hair. Corporate takeovers must have been easier than this.
Kristol's Wet Kiss
Mike Huckabee will no doubt recover, but being drooled on by William Kristol in the New York Times must be an unnerving experience. I know it is for me.
After half a century of Tom Wicker, James Reston, Tom Friedman et al, Kristol's maiden column is a cliché-ridden, condescending noblesse oblige nod from the "well-born" conservative aristocracy to the hick from Arkansas, "a likable regular guy" for "the work-hard-to-get-ahead strivers who represent the heart and soul of the G.O.P." You can take Michelle Malkin's word for that.
But with Democrats "licking their chops" at a possible Huckabee nomination while "a nation turns its gateful eyes" to Barack Obama for defeating Hillary Clinton, what, "inquiring minds want to know," will Kristol have to tell us next week?
Stay tuned, and bring a towel.
After half a century of Tom Wicker, James Reston, Tom Friedman et al, Kristol's maiden column is a cliché-ridden, condescending noblesse oblige nod from the "well-born" conservative aristocracy to the hick from Arkansas, "a likable regular guy" for "the work-hard-to-get-ahead strivers who represent the heart and soul of the G.O.P." You can take Michelle Malkin's word for that.
But with Democrats "licking their chops" at a possible Huckabee nomination while "a nation turns its gateful eyes" to Barack Obama for defeating Hillary Clinton, what, "inquiring minds want to know," will Kristol have to tell us next week?
Stay tuned, and bring a towel.
Sunday, January 06, 2008
Obama's Kennedy Connection
There were echoes in his Iowa victory speech Thursday night that may come from the influence on Barack Obama of the man who worked with JFK on "Profiles in Courage" and his Inaugural Address in 1960.
At 79, Ted Sorensen has been out on the campaign trail, introducing Obama and comparing him to the President he served almost half a century ago.
"Obama is older than Kennedy was when Kennedy ran for president," Sorensen has been pointing out. "He's had the same experience in the Senate as Kennedy had when he ran for president, and he's had the same opportunity to view the country from abroad as Kennedy did when he ran for president."
Sorensen, who doesn't see well now and needs help getting up to speak, tells crowds, "Don't worry about my eyesight. I have more vision than the President of the United States."
Taking the oath of office, John F. Kennedy said "the torch has been passed to a new generation of Americans--born in this century, tempered by war, disciplined by a hard and bitter peace, proud of our ancient heritage--and unwilling to witness or permit the slow undoing of those human rights to which this Nation has always been committed, and to which we are committed today at home and around the world.'
In Des Moines, Obama said, "The time has come for a president who will be honest about the choices and the challenges we face, who will listen to you and learn from you, even when we disagree, who won't just tell you what you want to hear, but what you need to know...who restores our moral standing, who understands that 9/11 is not a way to scare up votes but a challenge that should unite America and the world against the common threats of the 21st century."
Sorensen was at Robert Kennedy's side when he campaigned for President in 1968 and would say, "Some men see things as they are and say why. I dream things that never were and say why not." Now Obama is telling Americans "our destiny will not be written for us, but by us, by all those men and women who are not content to settle for the world as it is, who have the courage to remake the world as it should be."
In last night's debate, Hillary Clinton observed that "words are not actions, as beautifully presented and passionately felt as they are." But Obama insisted that "words do inspire. Words do help people get involved...Don't discount that power."
With Ted Sorensen at his side, Barack Obama is not likely to forget that.
At 79, Ted Sorensen has been out on the campaign trail, introducing Obama and comparing him to the President he served almost half a century ago.
"Obama is older than Kennedy was when Kennedy ran for president," Sorensen has been pointing out. "He's had the same experience in the Senate as Kennedy had when he ran for president, and he's had the same opportunity to view the country from abroad as Kennedy did when he ran for president."
Sorensen, who doesn't see well now and needs help getting up to speak, tells crowds, "Don't worry about my eyesight. I have more vision than the President of the United States."
Taking the oath of office, John F. Kennedy said "the torch has been passed to a new generation of Americans--born in this century, tempered by war, disciplined by a hard and bitter peace, proud of our ancient heritage--and unwilling to witness or permit the slow undoing of those human rights to which this Nation has always been committed, and to which we are committed today at home and around the world.'
In Des Moines, Obama said, "The time has come for a president who will be honest about the choices and the challenges we face, who will listen to you and learn from you, even when we disagree, who won't just tell you what you want to hear, but what you need to know...who restores our moral standing, who understands that 9/11 is not a way to scare up votes but a challenge that should unite America and the world against the common threats of the 21st century."
Sorensen was at Robert Kennedy's side when he campaigned for President in 1968 and would say, "Some men see things as they are and say why. I dream things that never were and say why not." Now Obama is telling Americans "our destiny will not be written for us, but by us, by all those men and women who are not content to settle for the world as it is, who have the courage to remake the world as it should be."
In last night's debate, Hillary Clinton observed that "words are not actions, as beautifully presented and passionately felt as they are." But Obama insisted that "words do inspire. Words do help people get involved...Don't discount that power."
With Ted Sorensen at his side, Barack Obama is not likely to forget that.
Saturday, January 05, 2008
Congressional Circus Back in Town
They still don't know who destroyed the CIA interrogation tapes or ordered the firing of US attorneys, but Capitol Hill bloodhounds will stop at nothing to find out if Roger Clemens used steroids.
On January 15th, the House Oversight Committee starts two days of hearings to pursue this pressing national issue, a month after the well-publicized Mitchell Report was issued and ten days after Clemens appears on 60 Minutes.
"It could be a circus with players, true," the Committee's minority staff director, David Marin, admits. "But if you tailor it right and invite people who clearly have pertinent information about the substance of the report, then it's anything but a circus. It's substantive."
The lawmakers will be following in the footsteps of Mike Wallace, whose grilling of Clemens to be shown tomorrow night elicits testimony that he only took legal injections of Lidocaine and B-12, not steroids.
"Swear?" Wallace asks Clemens. "Swear," Clemens answers. Would the Rocket lie to CBS' 89-year-old icon? Congress will put him under oath to find out.
In 2005, the same panel questioned other baseball stars and got blanket denials, but this time with 400 pages of documents and rumors compiled by a former Senate Majority Leader and paid for by anxious team owners, the results may very well be different.
One of the eagerly anticipated witnesses will be former New York Yankees All-Star second baseman Chuck Knoblauch, who intrigued observers of the national pastime some years back by suddenly losing the ability to make an accurate throw to first base without the aid of a Seeing Eye dog. Could steroids have had anything to do with that?
On January 15th, the House Oversight Committee starts two days of hearings to pursue this pressing national issue, a month after the well-publicized Mitchell Report was issued and ten days after Clemens appears on 60 Minutes.
"It could be a circus with players, true," the Committee's minority staff director, David Marin, admits. "But if you tailor it right and invite people who clearly have pertinent information about the substance of the report, then it's anything but a circus. It's substantive."
The lawmakers will be following in the footsteps of Mike Wallace, whose grilling of Clemens to be shown tomorrow night elicits testimony that he only took legal injections of Lidocaine and B-12, not steroids.
"Swear?" Wallace asks Clemens. "Swear," Clemens answers. Would the Rocket lie to CBS' 89-year-old icon? Congress will put him under oath to find out.
In 2005, the same panel questioned other baseball stars and got blanket denials, but this time with 400 pages of documents and rumors compiled by a former Senate Majority Leader and paid for by anxious team owners, the results may very well be different.
One of the eagerly anticipated witnesses will be former New York Yankees All-Star second baseman Chuck Knoblauch, who intrigued observers of the national pastime some years back by suddenly losing the ability to make an accurate throw to first base without the aid of a Seeing Eye dog. Could steroids have had anything to do with that?
Obama, Biden: Clean Break with the Past
Joe Biden's campaign got off to a rocky start last February when he was pummeled for a "gaffe" in describing Barack Obama as "the first mainstream African-American who is articulate and bright and clean and a nice-looking guy. I mean, that's a storybook, man."
This week, Biden gave up his Presidential hopes as Obama achieved a storybook milestone in American racial history, a black man of blue politics winning a red state with almost all white voters.
In his apology for the remark, Biden had explained, "Barack Obama is probably the most exciting candidate that the Democratic or Republican Party has produced at least since I've been around. And he's fresh. He's new. He's smart. He's insightful. And I really regret that some have taken totally out of context my use of the world 'clean.'"
Obama has proven to be all that and more, and his Iowa victory this week has dispelled any sense of unreality about the possibility that he could be elected the first African-American President this fall.
If he is, it would be smart and insightful of him to ask Joe Biden to be his Secretary of State.
This week, Biden gave up his Presidential hopes as Obama achieved a storybook milestone in American racial history, a black man of blue politics winning a red state with almost all white voters.
In his apology for the remark, Biden had explained, "Barack Obama is probably the most exciting candidate that the Democratic or Republican Party has produced at least since I've been around. And he's fresh. He's new. He's smart. He's insightful. And I really regret that some have taken totally out of context my use of the world 'clean.'"
Obama has proven to be all that and more, and his Iowa victory this week has dispelled any sense of unreality about the possibility that he could be elected the first African-American President this fall.
If he is, it would be smart and insightful of him to ask Joe Biden to be his Secretary of State.
Friday, January 04, 2008
And the Horse You Rode In On
Pornographer Larry Flynt, who has always been unhappy about having a 21-foot six-ton bronze statue of John Wayne on horseback in front of his office building, may finally see the fabled cowboy star ride off into the sunset.
Plans are afoot to move the American icon from Los Angeles down to Newport Beach in Orange County, where Wayne lived until his death in 1979 and a nearby airport is named for him.
Talk about odd couples. Wayne turned down a part in Mel Brooks' Western spoof "Blazing Saddles" because it was "too dirty" and refused to play "Dirty Harry" as unsuitable to his image. Flynt, the publisher of Hustler and exposer of the D.C. Madam's client list, inherited the statue in 1994 when he bought the building previously owned by a bank for whom Wayne had done TV commercials.
Now Flynt is musing over replacing Wayne with a work of art more suitable to his "adult entertainment" empire, perhaps a 50-foot phallus, but the Beverly Hills Fine Arts Commission might have something to say about that.
Plans are afoot to move the American icon from Los Angeles down to Newport Beach in Orange County, where Wayne lived until his death in 1979 and a nearby airport is named for him.
Talk about odd couples. Wayne turned down a part in Mel Brooks' Western spoof "Blazing Saddles" because it was "too dirty" and refused to play "Dirty Harry" as unsuitable to his image. Flynt, the publisher of Hustler and exposer of the D.C. Madam's client list, inherited the statue in 1994 when he bought the building previously owned by a bank for whom Wayne had done TV commercials.
Now Flynt is musing over replacing Wayne with a work of art more suitable to his "adult entertainment" empire, perhaps a 50-foot phallus, but the Beverly Hills Fine Arts Commission might have something to say about that.
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