One thing about the senior Senator from South Carolina: He’s tenacious. As the prospective running mate of John McCain, he is resolutely optimistic about two apparently lost causes--his Arizona colleague’s candidacy and the war in Iraq.
But here is Graham, back from another trip to Baghdad with McCain and, as other fearful Republican Senators break ranks, practically breaking into song: “The military part of the surge is working beyond my expectations. We literally have the enemy on the run.”
On this trip, McCain and Graham bypassed the chance to go shopping in Baghdad again, but they did have lunch in Ramadi and attend an Independence Day ceremony at which 161 U.S. troops became naturalized citizens. McCain made a speech, and Graham led the new citizens in reciting the Pledge of Allegiance.
"Morale was very high," Graham said. "It was something to see."
Back home, his support of the McCain-Kennedy immigration bill has infuriated some constituents as well as Rush Limbaugh who has dubbed him Senator "Grahamnesty," which could lead to a challenge in next year’s Republican primary.
If McCain should turn into Rocky Balboa and win, that would be academic. If not, Graham won’t go down. Ever since he rode Bill Clinton’s impeachment to national recognition as a member of the House Judiciary Committee to replace Strom Thurmond in the Senate in 2000, he has always managed to survive.
Showing posts with label Vice President. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Vice President. Show all posts
Saturday, July 07, 2007
Saturday, June 30, 2007
Hillary's Next Mate
It’s been like waiting in line to get tickets for a rock concert. Yesterday the “Hillary Is 44” site promised: “Tomorrow we will address potential Vice President choices. Don’t miss it!”
So here we are with knapsacks, water bottles and eager faces, and the winner is...
James Webb, the junior senator from Virginia, who makes Barack Obama look like Robert Byrd when it comes to experience in elected office--less than six months—although he did serve as Secretary of the Navy during the Reagan years.
After considering Obama (“many questions he must answer, soon and thoroughly”), Bill Richardson (“solidifies the Latino vote for an already popular with Latinos Hillary”) Evan Bayh (“made some dumb personnel decisions for his campaign but quickly corrected them, which we found impressive”) and Tom Vilsack (“might bring in Iowa’s 7 electoral votes”), the Pink Brain Trust decided on Webb, citing “Republican David Ignatius,” a Washington Post columnist, commenting on Webb’s Wall Street Journal OpEd titled “Class Struggle”:
“’The Democrats need to embrace the fact that the greatest issue in America today is economic fairness,’ he says. He argues that if the Democrats construct a ‘fairness agenda’ that tilts toward workers and away from corporations and the rich, ‘they will win big.’ John Edwards hasn’t had much luck so far with the issue, which he has made the centerpiece of his presidential campaign. But some influential Democrats, including former Treasury secretary Lawrence Summers, share the focus on fairness.”
Senator Webb, decorated Vietnam war veteran, author of eight books and philosophically an admirer of the late Sen. Pat Moynihan, is an impressive man who, on his first Senatorial trip to the White House had a publicized run-in with the President about Iraq, where his son is serving.
Vice President? Sen. Clinton may want to wait until she wins the nomination before thinking too much about it.
So here we are with knapsacks, water bottles and eager faces, and the winner is...
James Webb, the junior senator from Virginia, who makes Barack Obama look like Robert Byrd when it comes to experience in elected office--less than six months—although he did serve as Secretary of the Navy during the Reagan years.
After considering Obama (“many questions he must answer, soon and thoroughly”), Bill Richardson (“solidifies the Latino vote for an already popular with Latinos Hillary”) Evan Bayh (“made some dumb personnel decisions for his campaign but quickly corrected them, which we found impressive”) and Tom Vilsack (“might bring in Iowa’s 7 electoral votes”), the Pink Brain Trust decided on Webb, citing “Republican David Ignatius,” a Washington Post columnist, commenting on Webb’s Wall Street Journal OpEd titled “Class Struggle”:
“’The Democrats need to embrace the fact that the greatest issue in America today is economic fairness,’ he says. He argues that if the Democrats construct a ‘fairness agenda’ that tilts toward workers and away from corporations and the rich, ‘they will win big.’ John Edwards hasn’t had much luck so far with the issue, which he has made the centerpiece of his presidential campaign. But some influential Democrats, including former Treasury secretary Lawrence Summers, share the focus on fairness.”
Senator Webb, decorated Vietnam war veteran, author of eight books and philosophically an admirer of the late Sen. Pat Moynihan, is an impressive man who, on his first Senatorial trip to the White House had a publicized run-in with the President about Iraq, where his son is serving.
Vice President? Sen. Clinton may want to wait until she wins the nomination before thinking too much about it.
Tuesday, June 26, 2007
Exit Cheney, Enter Fred Thompson?
Sally Quinn, who knows a thing or two about movie scenarios, is pitching a neat idea for a political thriller in today’s Washington Post: Change the White House casting by replacing Dick Cheney with Fred Thompson.
“Cheney,” she writes, “is scheduled this summer for surgery to replace his pacemaker, which needs new batteries. So if the president is willing, and Republicans are able, they have a convenient reason to replace him: doctor's orders.”
As an actor, Thompson is accustomed to stepping in, as he did in “Law and Order,” and making himself a regular fixture on the show. When he auditions for the starring role next year, Thompson would have a head start.
Best of all, following Cheney’s chew-the-scenery performance, anything Thompson does would be considered under-acting. He couldn’t miss.
“Cheney,” she writes, “is scheduled this summer for surgery to replace his pacemaker, which needs new batteries. So if the president is willing, and Republicans are able, they have a convenient reason to replace him: doctor's orders.”
As an actor, Thompson is accustomed to stepping in, as he did in “Law and Order,” and making himself a regular fixture on the show. When he auditions for the starring role next year, Thompson would have a head start.
Best of all, following Cheney’s chew-the-scenery performance, anything Thompson does would be considered under-acting. He couldn’t miss.
Sunday, June 24, 2007
Cheney's Bucket of Warm Spit
When I was a kid, John Nance Garner, FDR’s first Vice President, was famously quoted as saying the job “wasn’t worth a bucket of warm spit.” Reporters later revealed he had actually said “piss.”
A former Speaker of the House, Garner had run against Roosevelt for the Presidential nomination in 1932 and, when FDR decided to go for a third term, his own Vice President ran against him and lost.
During that era, Will Rogers said, “The Vice President has the easiest job in the world. All he has to do is get up every morning and ask, ‘How’s the President?’”
Things have changed. Today’s Washington Post begins a five-part series on Dick Cheney, describing him as “the most influential and powerful man ever to hold the office of vice president,” which history may judge as an understatement in the light of ongoing revelations about his secrecy, control and lawlessness.
Somewhere between the stereotype of a Maytag repair man with nothing to do and the picture of Cheney as Darth Vader, there is a reasonable role for the President’s backup as a junior partner in running the executive branch. Working under Bill Clinton, Al Gore came close.
Cheney’s history will complicate the choice of running mate by the ’08 nominees. Voters will be very much aware that they may be picking more than a spare part.
A former Speaker of the House, Garner had run against Roosevelt for the Presidential nomination in 1932 and, when FDR decided to go for a third term, his own Vice President ran against him and lost.
During that era, Will Rogers said, “The Vice President has the easiest job in the world. All he has to do is get up every morning and ask, ‘How’s the President?’”
Things have changed. Today’s Washington Post begins a five-part series on Dick Cheney, describing him as “the most influential and powerful man ever to hold the office of vice president,” which history may judge as an understatement in the light of ongoing revelations about his secrecy, control and lawlessness.
Somewhere between the stereotype of a Maytag repair man with nothing to do and the picture of Cheney as Darth Vader, there is a reasonable role for the President’s backup as a junior partner in running the executive branch. Working under Bill Clinton, Al Gore came close.
Cheney’s history will complicate the choice of running mate by the ’08 nominees. Voters will be very much aware that they may be picking more than a spare part.
Friday, June 22, 2007
Vice-President Punchline
Dick Cheney has become a cliché. Public mention of his name evokes a groan of frustration and disgust as surely as old comics could get an automatic laugh by saying “mother-in-law” or “Brooklyn.”
But the Vice-President is no laughing, or even groaning, matter. The latest revelation--of his refusal to comply with government rules about handling classified information--evokes either a “What else is new?” shrug about his penchant for control and secrecy or apoplectic rage in unjaded bloggers.
The theory that the VP’s snarling is an act to make Bush look lovable has past its expiration date. There is too much evidence that Cheney is a heartfelt son-of-a-bitch, absolutely sincere in his efforts to run the country like a police state and have us invade Iran or any other country that looks at us crosswise.
The irony in all this, among others, is that he is the first self-selected, unelected, totally disconnected person to serve a heartbeat away from the Presidency.
When the ’08 candidates get around to picking their running mates, voters would do well to keep the Cheney nightmare in mind. It’s no laughing matter.
But the Vice-President is no laughing, or even groaning, matter. The latest revelation--of his refusal to comply with government rules about handling classified information--evokes either a “What else is new?” shrug about his penchant for control and secrecy or apoplectic rage in unjaded bloggers.
The theory that the VP’s snarling is an act to make Bush look lovable has past its expiration date. There is too much evidence that Cheney is a heartfelt son-of-a-bitch, absolutely sincere in his efforts to run the country like a police state and have us invade Iran or any other country that looks at us crosswise.
The irony in all this, among others, is that he is the first self-selected, unelected, totally disconnected person to serve a heartbeat away from the Presidency.
When the ’08 candidates get around to picking their running mates, voters would do well to keep the Cheney nightmare in mind. It’s no laughing matter.
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