New Year Inanity

PERSON OF THE YEAR
In some ways Ronald Reagan is the man of the year for the GOP, each candidate is trying to gain the mantle of the Great Communicator and re-attach themselves to the Reagan Democrats and lunch pail conservatives that led Ronnie to landslides in the early eighties.

The end of the year is always the time for reflection on the year and time annually chooses a person, thing, or group that they feel reflects what the past year had to offer. There have been positive and negative "awardees" including Hitler and Stalin. The intent of course is not the person who did the most for the world, not the guy who pays his taxes, tithes, and gives blood six times a year, or team that won the Little League World Series. Mitt, of course didn't understand this either, calling the choice of Vladimir Putin as "disgusting". Mitt makes a habit of being the most inane candidate on his side of the ledger, some might call him a master of the obvious, captain of the ship Non-Sensical.

No one thought it was the selection was for a babysitter for the twins and certainly it gave Americans an opportunity to learn more about the world's second greatest nuclear power and international energy powerhouse. But, of course, Mitt same guy who for no apparent reason wanted to double the size of Gitmo, unsure about the data on this, but if they need more room, they just need to let someone know.

Not to be left behind, the Angry Middle has made a selection of his men of the year. And actually selected who Williard likely would have preferred, General David Petraeus and Secretary of Defense Robert Gates. I'm not sure I selected them for the same reasons that the GOP candidates would have. I selected them mainly as a "way too late" effort by the Bush administration to look at skills, knowledge, effort and quality of leadership over misguided loyalty, arrogance and monolithic thinking. Over the last several years, the administration surrounded itself with sycophants, fueled by post 9/11 anger and fear of the public, to paraphrase Sinclair Lewis bringing their leadership "wrapped in a flag and carrying a cross."

Certainly there have been a multitude of mistakes in the Global War on Terror. A reaction to the attacks was necessary but the policy implementation, particularly the failure of the civilian leadership, has been terrible, with the failure of the administration nearly matched by the failure of Congress to meet it's Constitutional and patriotic duty to provide oversight of the executive branch, on both sides of the aisle.

I can't pretend to be a supporter or cheerleader for the surge, the necessary evil of not being able to withdraw, not being able to leave Pottery Barn without paying for what we broke certainly rips most Americans who never supported the idea of the war in half. So rather than select "Collective Arrogance" as the person of the year, I have chosen those who may be able to make a difference today for both the future of America and Iraq. This choice is made in defiance to those who either refused or rejected counsel in those days leading up to the war in Iraq.

Hunting for Varmints

OK, one more little attack at the former boss, Mitt, a lifelong hunter who likely doesn't know a 12 gauge from a TOW missile. Huckabee in a sign that he means business, took to a well orchestrated and covered pheasant hunt as a sign of his support of the 2nd amendment, hanging out with other dudes in the woods and a general hatred of our feathered enemies.

As someone who lives in the northeast, now in an urban area, I have little understanding of the hunting phenomenon. I've been hunting, I have family members who hunt but I'd rather have a hobby I can have a couple cocktails with, hey I may get a hook in my hand, but I ain't ducking every time I think of buckshot. I like hunters, generally they understand conservation and have a real view of environmentalism that urban liberals could never comprehend.

I have nothing either way about the hunting and a candidacy. If it relaxes you so you make better decisions, or if the Governor needs to feed his family, I got no quarrel. I guess the hunting is a way to show yourself as a regular guy. A regular republican guy, I don't know if Rudy's going to be out there with a .410 trying to get himself some quail for example, so maybe he fails the test.

For Democrats, it doesn't seem like there are many in the field that would be out on a hunt. Hillary, well that would just be the Dukakis in a tank nail in the coffin, I don't see Obama or the Breck Girl out there either, and Kucinich as a vegan, would probably be out there with a Nikon.

Again, I'm not sure how these hobbies, photo-ops and pastimes make you a better President. Is it time that would be better spent learning more about Vlad Putin, education reform, energy policy, the IMF or the foreclosure crisis? Should Hillary, Obama and Edwards participate in a game of scrabble? a spelling or geography bee? pie eating contest? What is the Democratic equivalent of the pheasant hunt.

Ah, things get stupider and stupider. When Huckabee hunting leads the news broadcast, insipidity rules.