When Fiction Become Fact

When I was in college I discovered the books written by Allen Drury. Many may have heard of his Pulitzer Prize winning 1950’s novel Advise and Consent. However, most do not realize that this novel was just the start of a series of books regarding Washington politics*. I loved those books for they opened my eyes to so many issues and were one of the reasons I became a Republican.

Much of this Drury series were leading up to a major presidential election. The series then ended in a very unique way. There were two “final” books; one in which the very naïve and idealistic liberal candidate becomes President and in the alternate ending the staunch Conservative became president. Each book then reflected how the winning President dealt with the Communist threats facing America during the 60’s and 70’s.

The ending with the naive President was a warning to the liberals who believed that the Communist regime was really not as bad as Conservatives make them out to be. Even after enemy aggression, this liberal President still counseled talk and not war. In their naivety, the liberals also believed that the UN would step in and do the honorable thing of helping us. Instead the UN members gloated at what they perceived to be US weakness and condemned us. I also liked Drury’s treatment of the media. Drury portrayed the press as being the first to write glowing stories about the liberal President while ignoring his weaknesses. But after the Communists took over the first freedoms to be revoked were our Freedom of Speech and the Freedom of the Press. By the time the journalists realized they had been wrong it was far too late.

The parallel last book showed the Conservative candidate becoming President. In this book, the Conservative President was demonized by the media as he continued to take a strong stance against our enemies. I loved the part where the US had met with the Soviet Union to try to reach a détente. If my memory serves me correctly, earlier in the series, the Russian Premier started to rant and rave and blame America for all the ills in the world. Instead of listening to him or even try to reason with him, the Republican President simply walked out of the room and to Air Force One and flew home. Yes!

I hadn’t thought of these books in years until I read a number of recent headlines in the Drudge Report; “Iran sends six Warships To International Waters”, “Ahmadinejad rejects Western Nuclear Proposal”, and “N. Korea fires more Rockets, Says USA Hostile”. These actions and threats remind me of what faced the new President in Drury’s book. And I can’t help but wonder if fact is like fiction and that our enemies are now testing our new liberal President.

In the book, the naïve President who’s platform had been peace not war, did nothing when threatened because he was afraid that if he retaliated he might “offend” our enemy and that the confrontation could escalate into war. But by not retaliating, the enemy became bolder and more aggressive while the new President, who was encouraged by the press, continued to back down rather than go to war. In spite of the truth, that the enemy really did want to destroy us, this President continued to think that if he could just sit down and talk they could find an answer. Sound familiar?

Today we, too, have a new liberal President who is adored by the media and far left groups. Like the naive President in the book, Obama also urges peace at all costs and believes the propoganda spread by those who hate this country. For example, Obama didn’t even wait for the enemy to blame us for the problems of the world – he did it himself with all of his sickening apologies! He is also going forward with the naive idea that we can talk to those who truly want to destroy us - such as Hugo Chavez whom he recently shook hands with. And what message is sent by the President of the USA bowing to another leader? How much harm has he already caused by denigrating the position of the greatest leader of the free world?

So how will Obama react to the blatantly aggressive action by Iran and N. Korea? Will he ignore it and let them continue on this aggressive course because he and the media are afraid of war? Will he continue to say that the answer is to sit across the table from them and talk? Or will he stand firm against our enemies? I can only hope that Obama does no lasting harm to my country and that in four years we can have our own alternate ending with a Conservative President.



* These books are no longer in print. However, you should be able to find them in used book stores and they are also available through Amazon.com. The books, in order, are: Advice and Consent, A Shade of Difference, Capable of Honor, Preserve and Protect and then the two final books”: Come Ninevah, Come Tyre and The Promise of Joy.

Managing Change

Years ago I was part of a management “take over” of a casino. This casino has since been sold and I’m sorry to read that it is now going into foreclosure but back in the early nineties it was owned by Merv Griffin, the talk show host and producer of game shows. He had hired the president of the Harrah’s in Atlantic City to run his casino. Over the next few years this man also hired away from Harrah’s people to fill top positions at Merv’s casino including COO, legal councilor, CFO and VP of Marketing. It was the latter who had been my boss at Harrah’s and then he brought me over to Merv’s casino. I was hired to start a new Marketing Finance Division and given four or five employees from the Finance department.

Oh it was heady times! I remember that we laughed a lot back then. There was this great feeling of comradery as we exHarrah’s employees banded together with an us vs. them attitude. This was also the first time I was part of the executive team and it was exhilarating. In meeting after meeting we outlined what we were going to do, how we would implement all the things that worked at our old casino and try out new ideas that we were never free to try before. We were going to take this small underperforming casino and make it into something wonderful. We worked long hours but we didn’t mind. And every now and then we took time off to go to a cocktail party and hobnob with Merv where he came to know us by name. Could it be any more fun?

Sure there were some obstacles. Like the fact that the head of Finance, my actual boss, had no say about hiring me and then wasn’t thrilled by the fact that the COO and VP of Marketing continued to bypass her and go straight to me for information and assistance. And yes, my new employees were a bit resentful of me, too. In fact they didn’t like any of these outsiders coming in and taking over. In retrospect none of us were very “gentle” with the existing employees. We were also way too impatient in bringing about change and in doing so we stepped on a lot of toes. And God help anyone who would tell us “that is how we’ve always done it”.

By the time I was brought over, the top man from Harrah’s had already been at this casino for 2-3 years. In the casino environment that is a long time since the average duration of a casino executive is only about 2 years. I started in August and it was my bad luck that this man left the casino in early October. Then right before Thanksgiving Merv conducted a black Friday by firing a dozen or more of the top executives which included almost everyone originally from Harrah’s. Merv then brought in his own friends. The new President assured me I was safe, as did the guys leaving but sure enough, that January in another massive layoff I was fired.

Luckily my old boss quickly landed on his feet at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas and shortly thereafter I was packing my bags to work for him there. This time I did a lot of things differently. Once again I found myself working for someone other than my old boss but unlike last time I no longer went around my new boss. In fact this time when the man who brought me there left, I stayed. And a few years later I followed my new boss to another casino, Rio, where the President was the same guy that had previously run Harrah’s and then Merv’s. Like so many businesses, the casino world is very small and you never know when you might run into someone from your past. (Ironically, today Harrah’s owns both Caesars Palace and the Rio!)

I am relating this story because I can’t help but see the similarities with Obama’s team. If my colleagues and I were exhilarated by our newfound power to control people and ideas and to bring about the changes we envisioned then I can only imagine the feelings of the new guys in power in Washington. I learned and became a better manager the second and then third time around. But for Obama and most of the people he brought with him this is their first time out and they don’t have the luxury to make rookie mistakes at our country’s detriment.

This biggest rookie mistake is to take on too much change. Yes you were “hired” because you had great ideas but neither employees nor the country can tolerate a lot of changes all at once. It is too much culture shock. Plus those hired need to spend time understanding their new jobs, environments and the people they work with and work for before they begin to implement any changes. And when they do make changes, they need to make sure that they have won over the old crowd who will then help and not hinder them in implementing the new directions. Instead of hitting us with so many changes in their very first budget, Obama’s team should have prioritized what the country needed most and focused on that in their first year.

When asked about overseeing so many changes, Obama laughed and said something about being able to think about more than one thing at the same time. Of course he can multitask. That was an egomaniacal answer and his accompanying laughter was very rude and condescending. This shows just how much of a rookie he is. For the real question is not if he can handle all his proposed changes but can the country?

Disco, Manilow and Obama

I wrote over half of an article before I realized that my conclusion wasn’t what I thought it would be. In fact, it was the exact opposite. Yet in light of these unexpected findings I am now feeling optimistic about John McCain’s chances in the upcoming election. So how did I come to this conclusion?

My initial premise was that going back to Peter lying about knowing Jesus over 2,000 years ago right up to today, people lie about liking someone if it might be dangerous or unpopular or simply uncool to admit they liked or knew that person. For example, how was it that disco was so popular back in the 70’s if everybody now say they despised it back then? Same with Barry Manilow, who everyone hated yet he still managed to sell millions of albums. Or more recently, if everyone says that Amy Winehouse is, at best, sad and, at worst, mentally deranged, how is it that her Back To Back CD is the biggest selling album of all time on Amazon.com?

I went on to say that this same phenomenon happened during this election where people are lying both for and against the candidates. Obama’s message of change is what everybody says they want. And yes, his race is also a major issue but a positive one, for to say you are voting for Obama proves you are not a racist, right? On the other hand, everybody hates Bush and the Republicans and therefore they dislike John McCain, too. Plus everyone is saying he is too old to be president, and more importantly, voting for him might indicate that you are a closet racist. Therefore if you want everyone to know that you, too, want change and are popular, cool and definitely not a racist then you tell them you are for Obama and against McCain and those awful Republicans.

I continued by saying that we saw this during the primaries. Obama easily won in the caucuses where people had to publicly indicate who they wanted and may have feared being considered a racist or even uncool if they literally didn’t stand in Obama’s corner. On the other hand when people voted in the secrecy of a voting booth where no one would know who they chose then Obama lost.

Where I got in trouble with this article is that based on all of the above I would assume that people are continuing to lie and say they are for Obama in order to look good to the pollsters. So a review of the polls should therefore show that Obama is decisively beating McCain, right? But he’s not. A few polls show he is ahead but only by single digits and one recent poll showed that they were tied!

What does this mean? How can McCain be doing so well when everyone knows that Obama is the man of the hour. He’s even on the cover of Rolling Stone and you can’t get much cooler than that! What about the historically known premise that people tend to lie to pollsters to make themselves look good? This would mean lying that they are for Obama because lets face it, nobody would lie about voting for McCain thinking that would make them look popular. So if you factor in that some people are lying about planning to vote for Obama and if he currently only leads by a few points, at most, then, oh my, it might mean that McCain is actually in the lead.

If the election were held today I wouldn’t be surprised if, to the shock of everybody, McCain is the winner. But the election isn’t for another 4 months and a lot can happen. Nonetheless, Obama shouldn’t be quite so certain that everybody will be voting for him, even including those who are standing in his corner. As for McCain? He needs to let people know that a vote for McCain is definitely not racist nor a third term for Bush. Most of all McCain needs to let us know that it is ok to support him and maybe even popular and cool to vote for him. Although just like disco and Manilow, if you want to deny you liked McCain after the fact, well, once McCain is elected and in the White House he probably wouldn’t even mind if you denied him three times.

Game, Set and Match

My neck hurts more than usual. It is a good thing I am scheduled for some treatment later this week because it sure had a work-out over the weekend. On one hand I was swiveling my head back and forth watching the French Open tennis tournament. At the same time I was flipping channels Saturday to watch the verbal battle in the DNC meeting as they debated what to do with Michigan and Florida.

As the men and women of the tennis matches returned volley after volley with speed, determination and skill so did the two sides at the DNC Committee meeting. Although there was no “scoreboard” in the jam packed board room, everyone was keeping track of the ebb and flow of the delegate count.

Ironically, neither the tennis match nor the committee’s finding were beneficial to American women. The most famous current women tennis players were defeated early on in the French Open. As both Serena and Venus Williams were beaten in the third round so was Hillary in Saturday’s rulings. The biggest blow was in the Michigan ruling where Clinton hoped to walk away with more delegates than what was given to her.

What next? Hilary’s supporters hinted that they might take it to the convention as the small crowd of middle aged white women cheered in the background. But no matter what they do, the odds are slim and none that she will eventually win.

Perhaps the greatest result of the meeting is it marked the beginning of the end for the Clinton dominance and control of the DNC. By nearly a 2-1 vote the committee members showed that it is now an Obama party. You could say that Obama and his supporters kept serving ace after ace which Hillary could never return.

How will an Obama controlled DNC act during the upcoming national election? That is the biggest unknown out there. Barack is an untested, inexperienced politician who so far is playing this game brilliantly. He continuously has beaten anyone who goes up against him in spite of being an “unranked” newcomer. How has he done this against some of the biggest names in the Democratic party? Maybe he is just that good at the game and yet….

Newsmakers are just now beginning to come out of their trance over this young man to dig into his history. On Saturedy he left his controversial church but who knows what else may be out there about him? Hillary’s complaint that Obama is unvetted may prove to be prophetic. All we can do now is watch the game unfold between Obama and McCain and see what happens over the next six months.

As for my aching neck, it got one more workout on Saturday. Late in the afternoon I finally got up off my couch and walked outside. And in the beautiful sun drenched Florida afternoon I lifted my head up to the blue sky. Looking to the east I saw the familiar sign of a large white puffy spiral climbing towards the heavens. Another successful space shuttle launched. No matter how many times I have seen this, it is still an awesome sight. And maybe in the political games we all could use an occasional time-out not only to rest but to remind us of what they are fighting for and the high stakes that will go to the winner.

Hillary’s Slip

Poor Hillary. Talk about open mouth and insert foot! Maybe I am naïve but I honestly don’t think she meant that she was staying in the race hoping that Obama might be assassinated in June as was Bobby Kennedy. I know it sounded that way and the media and pundits jumped on her but I really think it was more of a case of not being more careful of how she was saying something.

She was trying to defend why she should stay in the primaries and was simply giving examples of other primaries that were still being contested in the summer months. She said that her husband didn’t wrap up his first primaries until June and that Bobby Kennedy was assassinated in June. Again, she was only trying to point out that Bobby was still campaigning in the month of June, not that she was waiting for someone to assassinate Obama.

What is interesting is how everyone immediately thought the worst of her. It says a lot about her character or at least how others perceive her character that they would even think she might be hoping her opponent was shot. And more than anything else that is why she should never be president. How could you possibly trust Hillary when you believe she is capable of doing almost anything to obtain her goals? And some would say that she has done the unthinkable before to protect herself (think Vince Foster).

Even though Hillary might not have meant she was waiting for Obama to be assassinated I am nervous that there are some who might take her up on that. God forbid, if Obama were to be shot, Hillary could not be the candidate for too many people would remember this statement and say she was the cause. One bright spot is that the majority of Hillary’s most ardent supporters are middle aged white woman. That is the least likely group to pick up a gun and go after somebody. But as they say, it only takes one crazy person and no matter what the demographics every group has at least one nut case.

On the other side, John McCain should be on his hands and knees thanking Hillary for her controversial statement. Late Friday he published his medical records and his wife’s tax returns from last year. It is a typical politician’s tactic to provide potentially damaging information on the eve of a three day weekend when most people have the TV’s turned off and aren’t paying attention to the news. Clinton’s faux pas combined with all the continuing weather related disasters and stories on the high gas prices dropped McCain’s news to the bottom of the stories being reported.

Most people, though. aren’t paying much attention to politics right now. And I must admit that I love this weekend. As a child it meant a big parade in my small town where if I wasn’t marching in my Girl Scout uniform then I could be found with my family under the big tree waving my little flag. And then regardless of how cold it still might be you just had to take a dip in the pool even if it was just a quick in and out. As an adult this was always the first big national holiday since February and I really looked forward to the much needed three day weekend.

As you enjoy your holiday here is a final fun political thought. In addition to parades, pools, beaches and cook outs, this weekend also marks the start of the summer movie season. For me, as for many others, I can’t wait to go see the new Indiana Jones movie. But keep this in mind as you watch Harrison Ford in this action packed movie – this vibrant, energetic, man is just 7 years younger than John McCain!

SNL Impacting Tuesday Night Results

You are now hearing all kinds of reasons as to why Hillary won Ohio and Texas last night. Personally I give a lot of the credit (or blame) to something a little bit different than what the pundits are saying. I think the attacks on Obama, the hits on the media and the support for Hillary by Saturday Night Live played a major part in slowing down Obama and helping out Hillary.

I happened to have watched the first parody of the Obama-Clinton debates on SNL. It was the first time I had seen anyone poke fun at Obama and at the media, too. The fact that it was dead on in it’s portrayal of the media’s fawning over Barack to the detriment of Clinton made it that much funnier.

I am not sure if anyone else could have done what SNL did. The media that weren’t falling over themselves to praise Obama were held back from criticizing him for fear of looking racist. It might also make the media look “old” for it was considered young and hip to be a part of Obama’s team.

Then came this show that is known for being young and hip and cool. And they had the guts to yell out that the Emperor didn’t have any clothes on. Wow. From that point on things began to change.

The media, to its credit, actually started to look at it’s past actions and realized that they had been unfair to Hillary and way too easy on Barack. So the honeymoon was finally over and Obama started to get hit with questions that were not only uncomfortable but even lethal.

Meanwhile, Hillary took advantage of this change. She referenced the skit in the next debate. She even showed that she could make fun of herself by being in another skit the next week on SNL. And it gave her heart and energy to throw off the pessimism of being a loser and started to act like a winner again.

And then there were the voters. The SNL skit showed them that Obama was infallible. Even that it was ok to make fun of him. That maybe the media had been unfair to Hillary. And it made the women start to rethink their options and take another look at Hillary.

I am not saying that the SNL skit was the only reason Hillary did so well last night. But it sure played a part in what happened. And I can only wonder what the candidate’s images and standing would be today if the writers of SNL hadn’t been on strike for the last few months…

Hillary's Trade-Offs

As the primary continues to unfold I can’t help but think about Hillary's life. People forget that it was Hillary, not Bill, who was the “rock star” when they first met. But she gave it all up to move to Arkansas and help an unknown lawyer run for governor in one of the most backwards states in the nation. Her friends were appalled by her decision. I can’t help but think of the song from Chorus Line “What We Do for Love”.

It wasn’t all terrible. Arkansas is in the boonies but being a governor’s wife isn’t a bad deal. Then there were the ensuing connections and how that helped her career (and checkbook). Bill might have strayed but Hillary knew he loved her and Chelsea, and he always came back. So she stayed and ended up in the White House. Again, not a bad trade off. Then he cheated there and this time publicly humiliated her and her child.

And still she stayed. Did she trade in her pride to keep her marriage? Did she make a bargain to use it as a stepping stone to the senate? Maybe. And I’m not sure I blame her. So over the last few years she quietly paid her dues in the senate, while her husband transformed himself from national joke to national statesman on par with George Bush the elder.

They were ready again as a team again to run for president – this time it was Hillary’s turn. And what happens? Another man blocks her way. Now all those years that Hillary stood by her man, its Bill’s turn to aid her in removing that one obstacle by using all the weight only an ex-President has. Except in just a few speeches Bill once again becomes an embarrassment and a hindrance and a national joke instead of a serious statesman who could have helped make her president.

I can’t help but wonder how angry Hillary must be at both of them, Barack and Bill. I can’t say I blame her. And if she is defeated by Barack I also wonder how long it will be before she divorces Bill and trades him in for a better deal. I can’t say I would blame her for that either.

Obama Phenomenon

It seems as if Obama is being carried by a tidal wave of adoration and gaining a momentum that Hillary might not be able to stop. There are reports of growing crowds wherever he goes as he mesmerizes all demographic groups: old, young, black, white, rural, suburb. I have even read of women fainting during his speeches as if he is the new Elvis or Beatle or Sinatra (pick your idol based on your generation). And yet….

Anyone who follows Obama and listens to him will agree that as wonderful as his speeches are they still don’t contain any substance. To learn more about him, I checked his website; http://www.barrackobama.com/. To my surprise there was a link called Issues with discussions on his views starting with Civil Rights, Disabilities, Economy and ending with Rural, Service and Senior Citizens with many more in between.

So what are his views on the issues? Not surprisingly they are liberal and similar to Hillary’s programs. He wants a big government which will create jobs, take care of everyone and spend lots and lots of money. Where will the money come from? Us, of course and big business which once again is shown as being an “enemy” of not only “the people” but also an enemy of the environment. And yet……

His health care doesn’t mandate that everyone sign up for it. Unlike Clinton, he won’t force you to join his universal coverage. On immigration, he wants to secure the border and he supports a system that allows undocumented immigrants who are in good standing to pay a fine, learn English, and go to the back of the line for the opportunity to become citizens. On the economy he wants to Provide a Tax Cut for Working Families, Simplify Tax Filings for Middle Class Americans, Fight for Fair Trade and Amend NAFTA.

Some of his ideas on security include Protecting Our Chemical Plants, Keeping Track of Spent Nuclear Fuel, Reuniting Families After Emergencies, and Keeping Our Drinking Water Safe. And yes, Obama plans to stop the war in Iraq and bring home the troops. Yet he also wants to increase the army by 65,000 and the marines by 27,000 soldiers and he wants the Chief of the National Guard to be a member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

That is just a brief example of Barack Obama’s ideas. I disagree with most of his environmental “global warming” plans but the ideas I just mentioned above don’t sound bad at all. In fact he sounds more conservative than McCain on immigration. It makes me wonder what people who have drunk his Kool-Aid and are blindly following him would think if they knew he is proposing these ideas. Then again that is probably why he never talks issues only hope and promises and glory for all in the future. Amen.

Short Retort

Clinton won two-thirds of the states in the primaries before January 30. Since January 30 Obama has won almost two-thirds of the states. Why the complete turnaround? Did people get angry at Bill for making his earlier comments? Maybe. Did voters get disgusted by Clintons tears? Perhaps. Could it be that Obama is gaining momentum? Quite likely. Or could it possibly be that liberals were turned off by Clinton when on January 31 Ann Coulter said she would vote for Hillary if John McCain was the Republican candidate? :-)

The Obama Affect

I read an interesting article highlighted in the Drudge Report. It was from an article in The Australian about Obama. The journalist, Geoff Elliott compared the reaction Obama is getting to how people reacted to Mandela. In other words, people are looking up to Obama as more than just a new leader, but as a cult figure even something “akin to a messiah”. Wow.

I even have to admit that I was transfixed listening to him give a speech. It was hard to resist not yelling out an “amen” and that was from my living room. I can only imagine the impact of listening to him in person. And yet… there was a great quote in the article I read:

Well known political journalist Joe Klein of Time magazine, who was travelling on the campaign plane this week with Obama, too, wrote of a nagging concern about this kind of rhetoric of inspiration over substance, noting "there was something just a wee bit creepy about the mass messiahnism".

Creepy or not, how do you compete against this? I almost feel sorry for Hillary who is pitting her substance against someone who speaks in promises and hopes yet has still to give specifics on what he is trying to accomplish. Hell, he hasn’t even said what his concrete goals are, other than being President, much less how he plans to attain them.

And therein lies the catch. For the minute he gives specifics he is sure to disappoint people. In fact, how can he not end up angering his followers when they find out that underneath the glamour of a cult figure, he is a cold analytical politician? And we all know what happens when the crowds turn against their messiah…..

No End Game In Sight

Howard Dean has stated that he wants Obama and Hillary to do whatever it takes to avoid a long drawn out Democratic primary. The Republican Party is going behind the scenes trying to get McCain to be nicer to the conservatives and to have the other candidates drop out so as to wrap up their primaries. But I just don’t see this happening on the Democratic side.

For the first time in the country’s history, we have the first black man and the first woman candidates. Hillary and Barack’s motivation to be president must then be more personal since it isn’t based on just what they believe but also on who they are. The Republicans also have the first Mormon and the first Baptist preacher but Romney and Huckabee could justify that a rejection of them is not personal but rather a rejection of their religious beliefs. So they probably will drop out sooner rather than later.

But for Hillary and Barack, every win is a stamp of approval while each loss is a rejection of who they are and not what they stand for. How could they not take this personally? Yet they also know that a loss is also a rejection of their race or gender. They have to feel responsible to their respective minority and so not only is their goal to be president of the United States but more importantly, to be the very first woman or black man to be president. Talk about pressure….

These internal and external motivations make it nearly impossible for either of them to drop out for it would mean publicly stating that they (and their race or gender) are not good enough for the job. Clinton and Obama have simply invested too much, too much money, too much ego, too much personal identity and sense of worth to now admit defeat. Nor are their respective groups going to let them drop out and potentially disgrace or set back the image and future success of women and blacks. So it is going to be a long primary.

Short Retort

Obama now has elder “statesman” Ted Kennedy on his side while Hillary has ex-President Bill “helping” her. On the surface each now has an older, white haired, long-time politician supporting them on their quest for presidency.

But wait a minute. Clinton is a disgraced, impeached president who couldn’t keep his pants zipped, even in the White House, and then lied about it. And even though a number of people around him died mysteriously at least he wasn’t as bad as Ted Kennedy who abandoned a young girl to die.

Are Hillary and Obama truly proud that these two old reprobates* are endorsing them?

* Reprobate – 1. a depraved, unprincipled or wicked person. 2. a person rejected by God and beyond hope of salvation. 3. morally depraved, unprincipled, bad.

Stupefyingly Dull Debate

Was it me or was the debate last night mind-numbingly boring? When I first gave up and changed channels to American Idol I thought perhaps my lack of interest in the debate was due to the fact that my state had already voted. I told myself that if I was part of Super Tuesday then I would be more interested in what McCain and Romney were saying.

I lied. No matter how I looked at it that debate was boring. Actually it was worse than that. It bordered on being stupid. I finalized realized what it reminded me of when I saw the so called “highlights” this morning.

While watching McCain and Romney I kept seeing two little boys quarrelling over whose is bigger. It was just that petty. At times I wouldn’t have been surprised if they got into a pushing and shoving match all to prove who is the most “Republican” while knocking down the other guy’s claim to being the next Reagan. But instead of throwing punches they were hurling statistics at each other. Boorinngggg…

I can only hope the debate tonight with Hillary and Barack will be better. Then again, it couldn’t be much worse.

Florida Primary - After the Count

‘- For weeks the MSM have been touting McCain, saying he’s been resurrected, his campaign is now booming, polls show him ahead etc., while at the same time denigrating the competition (Rudy is out of it, nobody likes Romney etc.). Human nature, being what it is, wants to be associated with a winner. Now that McCain has won Florida and is the likely Republican candidate, that same MSM are starting to question if he is too old and will it be another Bob Dole fiasco in November? Were the Republicans played by the MSM into a possibly losing proposition this fall?

‘- Hillary is such a bitch. There is a candid picture from Bush's speech of Obama with his back turned on Hillary as she is reaching out to his shake hand. I think Obama is too smart of a politician to snub her like that so I believe him when he said someone behind him had called out and he turned to talk to her and didn’t see Hillary. But last night someone asked Hillary about it. She gave this smug little smile, shook her head sadly and replied “My hand is still out there waiting to be shaken.”

‘- Florida’s decision to hold their primary against the parties wishes turned out to be a brilliant move. It not only separated itself from Super Tuesday but just might have been a “king maker” by forcing two major candidates to drop out.

- Bye Bye Rudy and Edwards, we hardly knew thee….

Florida Primary – Before the Count

I suppose I should say something about the vote going on in my home state. Florida is a microcosm of all Americans; seniors, Hispanics, young, blue collar, white collar, black, white, military therefore who wins is not quite as important as why they won and who voted for whom. For instance:

• Did the senior citizens vote for McCain? Or did they vote for a younger man since they know the mental and physical strains on someone in their 70’s?
• Did Huckabee get the ultra conservative vote even though he had few TV ads?
• Exactly who is voting for Romney – older, younger, conservative etc?
• Since Florida has a heavy military presence that frequently need to vote absentee ballot, did they help out Rudy or did they go for McCain?
• Although the votes don’t count, was there a heavy turnout by Democrats or did they stay home?
• Of the Democrats who did vote, did Barack still get all the black votes?
• Did the large Hispanic population continue to vote en mass for Hillary?

I guess we will find out in the next 10 hours. The smart candidate will take advantage of this knowledge to give him an edge next week on Super Tuesday.

Short Retort

I love politics. I can happily spend the day reading and watching the news about the campaign and current issues. Yet tonight’s State of the Union Address leaves me cold. I honestly don’t care what President Bush has to say. Not only is he a lame duck but he’s been plucked, quartered and thrown into the frying pan. He is done and most likely so is his party for the next four years, or more. And if a political junkie like me doesn’t care I wonder if anyone will tune in tonight?

Camelot Crowns a New Prince

Carolyn and Teddy Kennedy have not only endorsed Barack Obama but have invoked the magic and hope of the Kennedy heritage. While listening to Carolyn Kennedy’s speech you felt that she truly believed in Barack and what he stood for. Although her endorsement is important to Barack it is her uncle’s approval that means the most. Teddy is one of the canniest politicians and he can feel which way the wind is blowing. He would not jump on Obama’s campaign if he didn’t think that Barack is the key to the future and the election.

Barack Obama now has the mantle of the Kennedy legacy draped over his broad shoulders. If he was hard to beat before, now it is even harder. For how can Bill and Hillary fight a dream?

Democratic Debacle

In the South Carolina primary, I read that not only did Obama get twice the votes as Clinton, but he got more votes than the total number of Democrats who voted in the primary four years ago. Wow.

I almost feel sorry for Hillary. Basically every four years some brave (and extremely egotistical) people go through extreme job interviews. I suppose you could say that our elections are the biggest and best Reality TV show.

We have all had jobs where we did everything right in order to get promoted. And when the job you wanted opened up you knew you were the best person for that job. But instead of promoting you, they hired some young hot shot because the company thought they needed “change” to help turn the company around. To make it worse, the new guy was African American so if you criticized him too much it just made you look like a racist.

Anyone who has been passed over for a promotion, especially if it went to a minority who is less experienced, can understand why Hillary is angry and frustrated. But whatever empathy she might have gotten was hurt by the Clinton’s vindictiveness and not so subtle racist overtones in South Carolina. Yes, Bill was the one making the accusations but you know he wouldn't do anything without Hillary's approval. And if she and Bill got that nasty in order to try to win one state I can’t imagine what the next ten days will be like until Super Tuesday where they will try to win in more than 20 states.

Candidate of the Hour

The big news for the past few days has been the economy. Politicians and pundits alike are reverting back to the old Clinton campaign theme of “It’s the economy, stupid”. So everybody is scrambling to get out his or hers solutions to the plunging stock market. But will that still be the big news tomorrow or even an hour from now?

The lifespan of news stories, even the most important ones, seems to get shorter and shorter. Just a few weeks ago everyone on the campaign trail were talking about the war; who would get us out, who would build it up etc. Iraq and to a lesser extent Iran were the main issues discussed.

Then came the mortgage collapse and the next thing you know everybody is bringing out their plan to handle the subprime mortgages, foreclosures and banking crisis. A few weeks later, the world market starts to crash and then ours begins to wobble even more. So once again the big issue is the economy.

But wait a minute. What about terrorists? When did that topic disappear entirely? Even Rudi’s campaign ads now discuss his economic plans and ignore both the war and the issue of terrorists. Oh gees. Even I forgot the other big issue – immigration – it, too, has been left out of the news lately. Or even global warming and the green agendas.

In the next 3 weeks the majority of the states will be electing the Democratic and Republican candidates for the presidency. But the actual election is not for another 11 months. A lot can happen between now and then.

What if we get it wrong? What happens to this country if we elect someone because of their economic platform and suddenly in October we have another terrorist attack? Will we have the right candidates to choose from to handle something like this? I can only hope so…..

Attack Makes Barack Black

Sorry but I couldn't resist that headline. But it is true. Barack had been accused of not being "black enough". He didn't talk "Black", dress "Black" or act "Black". He did not look or act like the prior African American polititians such as Al Sharpton or Jesse Jackson. But once the Clinton's started attacking Barack and even Martin Luther King they. made race an issue. Many of the African American leaders stepped forward to defend Barack even though just a few days ago those same leaders were staying on the sidelines.

It is ironic that President Clinton had once been called the first "Black President" and was strongly supported by the African American community. Perhaps that is part of the problem, not only is Obama challenging Hillary but he is also threatening to take away Bill's image as the first Black President.

I am sure the Republicans are secretely gloating over the liberals fighting over racial issues. And I am also sure that they hope it continues right into the Democratic Convention because the more it tears apart that party the better the chance the Republicans have next November.