Gustav Reaction So Predictable and Insulting

As I wrote a few days ago, if Hurricane Gustav went anywhere near New Orleans, the political pandering would be unbearable. Well it appears we're well on our way. The democrats are ecstatic because Gustav reminds people of Katrina and will almost certainly upstage the republican convention. But here's what's really beginning to offend me. In some perverse white guilt sort of way, doesn't it seem a bit patronizing and offensive to watch every jerk in America fretting over the poor residents of New Orleans. Every camera shot is of black people shuffling helplessly along as government employees assist them in evacuating. The underlying assumption is these people were too stupid to get out the first time so we've got to do it for them this time. Yikes!
Personally I hope this storm veers off course and does relatively little damage. Not only would that be a good thing, it would also crush the liberals and their enablers in the media. They want wailing black people and John McCain speaking to an empty arena. Also watch ALL the political candidates show up in New Orleans for the passing sand bags photo-op. It's going to be a long few days.

Experience overrated this time around

I've been hearing a lot about the s0-called experience factor as it applies to Gov. Palin. Well kids, experience is very overrated. You need it in a doctor or a pilot but not necessarily in a politician. Remember all the wise men and women George Bush brought with him to the White House? Same for JFK, Nixon and LBJ. It didn't prevent them from making some awful mistakes. Remember the rise of Barack Obama from obscurity to nominee was because he was new and hasn't been part of the D.C. scene. So if you think Palin's lack of "experience" is going to hurt her, it will hurt Obama too. This time around inexperience is a plus rather than a minus.

Sarah Palin Just Might Fly

At first blush the announcement by Sen. John McCain that he had chosen little known Alaskan Governor Sarah Palin to be his running mate should have people nervous on both sides of the aisle. If you’re a republican you have to wonder if her selection takes Obama’s lack of experience off the table as a campaign issue. After all this is a woman only recently (2006) elected governor of Alaska. Before that she was a hockey mom and mayor of the small Anchorage suburb of Wasilla. If you’re a democrat maybe Sarah Palin gives the Hillary crowd a place to go.
How much foreign policy knowledge, never mind experience, can this 44 year-old mother of five have? Her national security credentials make Barack Obama look like Winston Churchill, right? Maybe not Kemo Sabe. Sure the political and media elites will have a field day snickering at Sarah Palin’s life story. She’s a small town girl married to a commercial fisherman whose main claim to fame is winning the 2,000 mile Iron Dog snowmobile race three times. She’s also a NRA member who enjoys hunting and fishing with her family.
She’s also pro-life and in fact chose to give birth to a child she was told would have Down syndrome. They must be breaking out in hives at the Yale Club. And where did she go to college? Was it Harvard or Wellesley? No, it was the University of Idaho. What did she major in…potatoes? You get the picture. She’s the un-Hillary achiever.
Well not being Hillary may just be McCain’s point. There were a lot of women energized and inspired by Hillary Clinton’s campaign and many were frustrated by what they felt was her shabby treatment by Obama and the media. Many of these same women are on record saying they intend to vote for McCain as a way of punishing Obama.
The conventional wisdom though has been these disaffected women would return to the democratic fold in November. Maybe. But here’s where Sarah Palin’s candidacy gets interesting. Not all women supporting Hillary Clinton are elitist lefties obsessing on Roe v. Wade. A lot of Hillary’s people are regular women like Sarah Palin. They didn’t go to Wellesley and Yale Law School. Nobody put them on the Board at Wal-Mart because their husband was governor, they just shop there. Sarah Palin didn’t trade off a famous name to get elected governor. She did it old school, she earned it.
Shortly after the announcement I heard a female CNBC anchor (and Wellesley alum) say she thought Palin was a good choice because she’s more of a woman than Hillary. This anchor admitted being a Hillary fan but thought Palin would be much less off putting to men and women alike because she “acts and dresses like a woman.” That sounds a touch misogynistic but people do tend to relate to people like themselves. Sarah Palin could well attract huge numbers of women normally overlooked by the feminist elites in the Democratic Party. If she does, John McCain will look like a genius.
For those of you thinking ahead to the VP debate in October, don’t be so sure Sen. Biden’s 35 years bloviating in the Senate will overwhelm Gov. Palin. The contrast between a young non-beltway female governor and the 65 year-old Senator might make people wonder which ticket stands for real change.

Gustav could blow McCain away

While all eyes are on the democrats in Denver, republicans are worried about soon-to-be hurricane Gustav. Early indications are that Gustav will develop into a powerful hurricance threatening the Gulf coast. The democrat wet dream is Gustav makes landfall during the republican convention forcing the networks to cover it at the expense of the republican convention. Should Gustav go anywhere near New Orleans, the democrats and liberal media types will have a collective orgasm.

Biden Makes Sense

After what seemed like a marathon version of American Idol, Barack Obama finally picked his vice-presidential running mate, Sen. Joe Biden of Delaware. The faux suspense and theatrics of the announcement put the few people who actually cared to sleep by Saturday afternoon. The only thing on TV more boring than the endless VP speculation was the Olympics. Come on, who watches synchronized diving?
The nonsense about text messaging the announcement to his breathless supporters before notifying the media was a cheesy publicity stunt which failed when the media figured it out before the Obama campaign could text. I know it was all designed to appeal to the cell phone/text crowd but some of us actually enjoy human interaction and verbal communication.
Cheap tricks aside, the selection of Joe Biden makes sense on many levels. If there’s one legitimate criticism of Sen. Obama, it’s his real lack of foreign policy experience. Sure, Obama is an intelligent man but if the presidency were a Broadway play, he would be reviewed as a talented newcomer not a star. Joe Biden fills that gap in Obama’s thin resume.
From his years on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee to his knowledge and understanding of world leaders, Biden gives Obama the proverbial wise counsel he needs. Like Jack Kennedy in 1960, Obama knows it takes more than soaring rhetoric to navigate the choppy waters of international diplomacy. Picking a seasoned hand like Biden is likely an indication of the team he will assemble if elected.
Choosing the charismatic son of a car salesman also checks off the blue collar white guy box for Obama. Hillary Clinton was none too subtle during the primaries pointing out Obama was getting very little support from her “White people like me” constituency. Joe Six Pack will relate to Joe Biden and unlike Hillary, Biden can sell a beer and a bump in a working class saloon without looking ridiculous.
It’s also clear Biden and Obama like and admire each other. Remember, Biden came of political age in the 60’s and the golden age of the civil rights movement and here he stands on threshold of helping elect America’s first African-American President.
Biden’s personal story is compelling and humanizes him. Shortly after being elected to the Senate at 29, his wife and three children were in a terrible auto accident which killed his wife and infant daughter and critically injured his two boys. To this day, he still commutes home to Delaware daily to be with his family. He has weathered that unspeakable tragedy with grace and dignity and has never played the sympathy card. John Edwards he isn’t.
Already the McCain people are out with ads questioning Biden’s loyalty and opinion of Sen. Obama. They cite comments Biden made during the primaries where he said he wasn’t sure Obama was ready for the big job. Hello, they were running against each other. If that’s all John McCain can come up with, he may as well spend the next few months finding out how many houses he owns.
As impressive as Biden is, the election will not be about the vice-presidential running mates, Iraq or the economy although they will be a factor. It will be a very real referendum on whether America is ready and willing to elect a black President. The rest is window dressing.

Don't Doze Off Yet

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Well it’s the middle of August and for most people that means county fairs and long lazy days. But that doesn’t mean the things have ground to a complete halt, certainly not politically. We have the interminable presidential race with both Obama and McCain droning on about this or that. Wake me up September 26th when they have their first debate. What should be an Obama cakewalk has evolved into a tight race thanks to the real or perceived arrogance of the Obama campaign. The “Meet President Obama” world tour fell flat on its face and actually boosted the uninspiring McCain in some key states. People don’t like a show-off particularly a young one.
Speaking of presidential wannabees, it was heartwarming to see that former Sen. John Edwards finally fessed up to ABC News that he’s been having an affair with a 42 year-old woman he met in a New York bar in 2006. He pathetically says the affair began while his wife’s cancer was in remission. How thoughtful of you Senator. He’s also refusing to take a paternity test.
And former Minnesota Governor Jesse Ventura has mercifully declined to run for the Senate after hitting every chat show on TV. It might have been his new, striking resemblance to Bozo the Clown that did him in.
Speaking of clowns, how about my man Kwame Kilpatrick, the embattled Mayor of Detroit? Kwame is currently awaiting trial for perjury and violated his bail conditions by taking a little trip to Windsor, Ontario. He said it was important city business but if you’ve ever been to Windsor, you know the only business being conducted there involves sashaying from one strip joint to another. The judge was not amused or persuaded and tossed the Mayor in jail.
Closer to home you get the feeling Sandy Treadwell, who is running for the 20th congressional district seat currently occupied by democratic newcomer Kirsten Gillibrand is getting it done. He’s running a strong, well financed campaign and comes into the race with a 90,000 republican registration edge. Gillibrand has been an active but somewhat ineffective campaigner. She didn’t make any friends in Hyde Park when her oafish glad handing held up the Fourth of July parade by 40 minutes. (That I saw with my own two eyes). Treadwell could send Gillibrand back to New York City.
September 9th brings us to the primary where one of the better contests is the race for the 102nd Assembly seat currently held by republican Joel Miller. Two democrats are vying for the right to take on Miller. Hyde Park’s Jonathan Smith is running an excellent campaign against Poughkeepsie lawyer Gary Levine. It’s tough to tell but it feels like Smith will prevail and give Miller all he can handle.
In semi-political news, was it just me or were you embarrassed by our Olympic bicycle team wearing breathing masks on the plane and in the Beijing airport? Maybe Chinese athletes landing in the U.S. should deplane brandishing guns and tossing crack vials to the crowd. Get over yourselves.
In non-political news, what’s the deal with that creepy Clark Rockefeller? More to the point, what’s with his wife of twelve years? She’s a Harvard MBA and has a big consulting job and she married a ghost.
Then we had Elvis’s sequined peacock jumpsuit fetching $300,000 at auction. If Elvis knew what his duds would bring, he might have pulled back the throttle on those peanut butter and bacon sandwiches. Ah well, Lisa Marie’s on hubby number four and expecting twins. She can probably use the cash.

John Edwards...Dirt Bag

I've written and said for years John Edwards was a smarmy, disingenuous hustler who had no business running for anything. He played the populist "two Americas" baloney and enough liberal morons bought it. Now that he has finally admitted cheating on his cancer stricken wife with a bimbo he met in a bar, the whole world knows he's a phony. But remember, if John Kerry had won Ohio, this lying jerk would be our vice-president. There are two more layers to this. One is the mainstream media's culpability in enabling Edwards. They all heard the whispers and rumors but chose to ignore them. Why? Because of his wife or fear of offending his constituency. Neither was sufficient justification given this guy could have been president. Maybe the thinking is Clinton did it and he WAS president.
The second layer is Elizabeth Edwards. I've always thought she enjoyed the drama surrounding her illness just a little too much and so did he. How sick is she and were they exploiting it for sympathy and votes? I fully expected Edwards to announce Elizabeth had taken a turn for the worse before Super Tuesday. And why do the Elizabeth Edwards, Hillary Clintons and Silda Spitzers put up with this crap. Are they so pathetic or dependent on their husband's money and connections they refuse to kick these dogs to the curb?
I remember talking to a friend of mine in Chicago who had just left Michael Jordan and a blond in a hotel room. He was in the media and I asked him why he wouldn't expose the cheating basketball star. He said because it would be the last story he ever did. I then mused why didn't Jordan's wife file for divorce as everyone knew he cheated on her. His answer was "Then she wouldn't be Mrs. Michael Jordan anymore."

Not On Our Watch

I suspect most of us have seen the yard signs saying “Not on our watch.” They’re sprinkled all over the Hudson Valley but I seem to see more of them in Rhinebeck than anywhere else. They’re usually next to the ‘Impeach Bush” lawn signs. The reference, of course, is to the horrible conflict taking place in Darfur in Western Sudan. To date more than 400,000 souls have perished in this civil war exacerbated by famine and drought. The world community has long been outraged but to date has done virtually nothing to relieve or resolve the horrors.
The bloated bureaucracy calling itself The United Nations has once again proven to be a toothless tiger incapable of breaking up a food fight never mind a genocidal conflict. The U.N. is an obscenity which should be abolished with the member nations giving their annual budgets to people who really need it.
But let’s get back to the signs and the folks who put them up. Do they really think the signs make a difference or are they just trying to generate public awareness of whatever situation or cause they espouse or oppose? Or are these signs the political equivalent of wearing a candidate’s button on your shirt?
The few times I’ve made the mistake of chatting up someone with a button, the conversation often ends with my saying “I’ll be back in a minute. I need a refill.” What I’m really thinking is “Why in the world did you think you’d enjoy talking to the woman with the Hillary button?”
In the case of the “I hate Bush” signs, many of them sprouted before the Supreme Court ruled in his favor in December 2000. I’m sure the angry liberals who planted them in their front yard felt better for it but they accomplished nothing. It’s the individual equivalent of Ohio’s Congressman Dennis Kucinich taking the House floor the other day to introduce a resolution to impeach the President.
The House voted 251-166 to send the resolution to committee where it will suffer the same fate as the wacky Congressman’s presidential campaign. The irony is all 251 votes in favor of tabling the measure came from democrats and the 166 in favor of putting it to a vote were republicans. That’s because democrats were scared to death an impeach Bush vote would hurt them in November and the republicans wanted the anti-war vote on record.
Given how awful things are in Darfur, I’m wondering if our relative lack of outrage is a by-product of our incursion into Iraq. Because here’s the rub, if you’re a liberal opposed to the Iraq War, you’ve painted yourself into a corner. You can’t say we were wrong to invade Iraq in an effort to ease the suffering under Saddam Hussein while advocating interjecting ourselves and the world community in The Sudan. Iraq was basically a civil conflict as is Darfur. At some point we end up making foreign policy based on definitions of righteousness and self interest. I think it’s fair to say we’d be in Darfur if they had anything we want like oil reserves. Color me cynical.
But I’m also cynical about lawn chair liberals feeling morally superior because they have a sign on their lawn proclaiming “Not on our watch.” Because it has and continues on our watch and it’s going to take more than a few smug slogans to change things.