Fast and Furious

HERE IT COMES
Wow, change, change, change, no not the incessant anti-pedantic russlings of every candidate, but the change in the lineup itself. Fred Thompson, the reluctant candidate looking for a leading role led ineptly by the former advisor to the 1996 Bob Dole campaign, a campaign likely the least vigorous campaign since McKinley drank lemonade on his front porch.

Kucinich, was summoned back to his home planet, destined to finally do some work for his district also left the race, leaving people to wonder if a vegan will ever be a viable candidate in a country full of meat eaters and milk drinkers.
The demise of these two candidates of course leaves IN TOUCH and US Magazine readers pondering when the next photogenic first lady will grace Pennsylania Avenue and Maxim readers devoid of a FLILF.

KISS HIM GOODBYE
Wow, seems like just yesterday the Lord of New York was the frontrunner. Rudy was the tough guy who didn't want to fight. The guy in the bar who starts something and walks away, leaving his friends with a fight and the check.

Rudy was used to being the boss and frankly in a campaign you aren't the boss. You need to listen and work, shake hands and grovel with common folks. The irony of a Giuliani campaign is that it seems like he forgot where he came from, middle class kid, who did well in school, always the smartest guy in the room.

He became the political bully, surrounding himself with sycophants and hangers-on. Rudy saw himself as untouchable, the primary elections an inconvenience on his way to controlling the most power war machine and national security appartus of all time, along with the largest chest of treasure.

In some ways, Giuliani's campaign aimed itself at the same type of voter that may have voted for McCain, the more socially moderate, but strong national security candidates, lacking in evangelical credentials. McCain however, McCain is a real hero, not a manufactured hero. Rudy's exploits and tough talk after the assault on America is rhetoric in the face of McCain's heroism and with everything else even, McCain's history of being able to work across the aisle make him a far more electable candidate in the general election for moderates and independents despite his age.

JOHNNY BE GONE?
So my endorsements don't mean much and absent a huge surge by Mike Gravel on Super Duper Tuesday, history will be made in Denver when the Democrats nominate either a person of color or woman for candidacy for the Presidency of the United States. (unless some weird Draft Gore campaign begins) John saw his weakness in his home state of South Carolina and later in the beauty contest in Florida. It will be interesting to see what role he will play in the rest of the campaign, what he brings to the convention and what his future is in American politics.

The polls for Feb. 5th must have gotten to him, the power of the Obama and Clinton campaigns, the real star power eclipsed this son of millworkers. More on Johnny later, but on to SUPER DUPER TUESDAY, my biggest blogging day of the year. I don't think my primary vote in Massachusetts has ever mattered, it's nice to have a little voice in this whole thing.

On to Super Duper Scooper Tuesday

Caucuses Suck
In the list of things I hate politically, caucuses are among them. Likely the most undemocratic of events, posed as a Norman Rockwellesque town meeting to select the right candidates. For those of us who are somewhat politically active, our own caucuses which are relatively low stakes (delegates to the state convention) can be incredibly painful, especially as Democrats, we are expected to listen to every crackpot speaker who has an ax to grind, whether it be related to the topic at hand or not.

Caucuses create an opportunity for the political bully, it may not be physical intimidation, it certainly can be mental torture, grinding down others until they "see it your way". The lack of a private vote behind a curtain sets the stage for all kinds of manipulation, by peers, by supervisors and bosses, etc and certainly a short span of time for party members to show up and vote. What happens to those party members that are hampered by caretaking issues? Those that may usually show up at 7 to vote or 8 in the evening on the way to or from work?

A prime example of the effect that a small number of voters can have in caucuses is in Nevada. Last Saturday, senator McCain got 6 times in SC as many votes as Romney in Nevada. However, Mittster gets 18 delegates, McCain 13 (many lost due to the penalized rescheduling of the primary) Along with the the effect of superdelegates, representative democracy in the primaries for both parties is being lost.

Menino's Marbles Massachusetts Municipal Message
Recently, Mayor Menino gave his state of the city address. I didn't listen because frankly he's difficult to listen to. It's not his speech pattern but generally his tendency not to take responsibility when any problem hits the city. It it's a snowstorm that paralyzes the city, it's the state's fault, schools underperforming, the state's fault for underfunding. There is a general feeling in municipalities is that proposition 2 1/2 and "unfunded mandates" have paralyzed cities and towns. Along with the cost of healthcare, certainly many cities and towns in Massachusetts are in a bad way, fixed costs such as healthcare and energy increase by huge percentages while revenues do not. However in Boston, with it's huge tax base this isn't the same type of problem as smaller cities and towns.

There's always a host of people for Tom to blame for the city's problems, this is a major fault of leadership among politicians, strong leaders take responsibility for what goes wrong. Take responsibility in public, go and chew out who's actually responsible and make sure it doesn't happen again. Menino has been called the urban mechanic, the guy who keeps the city running, certainly 4 terms is a bit much for someone to maintain a city. Where is the innovation? Is the biggest new idea picking up lawn chairs and cones after a snowstorm? Where is the innovation in negotiating with the powerful public employee unions, to give better services for residents and better use of the public dime?

Certainly the mayor runs the city with an iron fist, there is little patience for those who oppose him and occasionally he will make bizarre comments such as the one about the "Minute Clinics" at pharmacies, "allowing business to make money off sick people." I'm not sure if da Mayor has looked around but outside of higher education, that's Boston's biggest business. Certainly a parent who doesn't want to beg for an appointment with his physician for poison ivy or spend a day waiting in an emergency room for a minor malady will celebrate the opportunity for a quick visit to CVS instead of missing an entire day of work and school.

In November 2009, the Mayor and his machine will likely dominate the mayoral campaign, it is nearly political suicide for any candidate to take up the opportunity to run. It is unknown when a New Boston will rise from this current mucked up, non-innovative machine.


Hunter Gets Captured by the Game
Probably one of the most disappointing things for many people is realizing that the author of Fear and Loathing was actually deceased and not tossed his hat in the ring for the GOP nomination. Hunter S. Thompson would have been a fascinating candidate and a interesting libertarian alternative to Ron Paul. But it was Duncan Hunter, and outside of a few red meat conservatives, he had little chance. Being good friends with Duke Cunningham likely didn't help things as often we are judged by the company that we keep, certainly Duncan was never accused of being dirty, more by association. Who's this help? Well, some military conservatives may go to McCain, but let's be honest, this was going nowhere.

ONTO GOD'S WAITING ROOM
The race on both sides is pretty tight, for Republicans however it is wider and tighter. Looking at the scoreboard, Governor Romney is leading in delegates, but has yet to gain the Mittmentum to carry him into SuperDuper Tuesday. McCain and Huckleberry also continue to be in the fray for leadership but mostly it's virtually a game of Risk as the leaders try to knock out Thompson and Paul who are holding on to some lesser territories hoping for a helluva roll if they survive the next turn.

Rudy has been the non-factor so far, his strategy is to come in later in the race, missing some of the early rounds and score big in Florida and gain momentum on the way to February 5th. As the other candidates have been knocking the hacky sack around, Rudy's been fiddling around with the stereo, hoping to score with some drunk co-ed's who just finished the 2 liter of wine coolers, the new "attractive" candidate that's come late to the party.

Florida is an interesting place for a Republican campaign, lots of elderly folks who are from somewhere else, some coming with more "cosmopolitan" interests, folks who are more likely to be concerned with the solvency of social security in the near future rather than privatization or other schemes, Cuban Americans as well as "southern" Florida which is actually central and northern Florida which tends to be more, well how should I put it, more "culturally" and "socially" conservative. So watch for Rudy to be the tough guy of tough guys here, and play the Rudy drinking game, everytime he says, 9/11, kill, hunt or any other violent word, have a little drink with me.

SATURDAY SHOWDOWN IN THE PALMETTO STATE
This is a big day for Obama, in fact much bigger for him than for HRC. As the big two begin to stretch a space between themselves and John Edwards, Obama needs the momentum from South Carolina as the quasi-national primary takes place on Feb. 5th. It's a bigger day for Obama because many of the states on Feb. 5th are running strong for Clinton due to her strength among the "Democratic Establishment". Expectations are huge for Obama, who will need to run strong among African Americans to set the stage to leapfrog into later primaries. For John Edwards, it is a matter of survival, as the southern white male battles a Yankee woman and a black man for his own viability as a candidate in the cradle of the Confederacy, who woulda thought? There was a powerful effort to force the race issue into the debate, a debate like all the others, high on rhetoric and low on solutions and policy. Still waiting, still waiting.

Going South

BABY MAMA DRAMA

Here we go again, the Comeback Kid revisited. OK, so she was ahead in NH for months until the Iowa Caucuses swept Obama into newly minted favorite status. A couple of days later a fickle New Hampshire, likely led by a propensity of not liking to be to told what to think or do, went in a different direction point, bring Senator Turn a Tear to a resounding 2 percentage point vote.

So it's off to a state where people actually live and work as we start the slow climb to the super duper primary on February 5th. Lost over the next 4 weeks are the retail politics of New Hampshire and Iowa as the remaining front runners must battle for millions of votes, and not just who decided to do some test drives at Des Moines Toyota or dropping off some old paint cans at the Dover transfer station. Here is where the battle of star power, Hillary and Barack vs. the uphill battle of multi-millionaire populist southern senator John Edwards comes to a head.

For the GOP, New Hampshire voters came out and put McCain on top, further frustrating the deep pockets of Governor Romney who was hit from the right in Iowa as evangelicals and from the middle in New Hampshire. While the former Governor remains ahead in the delegate count at this early date, these "most days in second place", don't bode well as the race moves into South Carolina with it's large evangelical and veteran populations, Florida, where Giuliani may start to matter, and Michigan, a Romney home state with polls in a virtual three way tie. Romney, of course, has the benefit of a man with deep pockets and generally non-offensive, pliable personality and politics that could be attractive to those with no soul or conviction.

THE WOE OF THE STATUS QUO

I watch the ripples change their size But never leave the stream Of warm impermanence and So the days float through my eyes-David Bowie-Changes

I usually refuse to look anything up. I may glance at Wikipedia before I write something, to refresh my memory, but generally if I don't know something, I'll just make something up or guess. But I have to say I was challenged by a question about superdelegates, so like any good amateur pundit, I first went to a primary source, the DNC website and then to a blog which is my new favorite which is a countdown to the Democratic convention.

Superdelegates are generally congressman, senators, governors, some big city mayors and members of the DNC itself. The DNC also recognized former leaders and speakers in Congress as well as former Presidents and vice Presidents. All told there are approximately 800 so-called superdelegates or about 20% of the total. So that's the basic, quick, possibly inaccurate civics lesson.

And you know what, it's bullshit. I'm unsure how these 800 folks no matter how distinguished have the same pull in the party and making a new direction as all the Democratic voters in California, Massachusetts, New York, Ohio and North Carolina. Yes, in a tight primary race, we are likely to let these 800 barons of the party make the huge decision of the candidate that Democrats hope will lead this country back from 8 years of Bush. I like a lot of people on this list, but I'm unsure how this is "democratic" in any way. More of a virtual aristocracy. It's not why I'm a Democrat.

ADIOS MI AMIGO

In yet another example of, "damn, staying in this race to make a point, massage my massive ego and get a major cabinet appointment costs a lotta scratch", Governor Bill Richardson dropped out of the race last night.

Onetime Cape leaguer Richardson just didn't have the game for the major leagues. Hamstrung by his general lack of charisma, being born of a state with 137 registered voters and a well known propensity to strangle old white guys, Guillermo's experience in government was no balance for the star power of Senators Obama and Clinton. It will interesting to see where this New Mexican ends up, as part of the diverse landscape of 2008 electoral politics, fade into obscurity or play a major role in a possible Democratic administration.

PLEASE JOHNNY DON'T HURT 'EM

The 21st century incarnation of JFK has endorsed the 21st century incarnation of RFK. Which makes you wonder what his former running mate is thinking tonite or what former Democratic establishment denizen Hillary Rodham Clinton may be thinking. Adorned in a clean suit to avoid passing on his lack of presidential campaign backbone, John Forbes Kerry has rolled his dice.

And Then There Were Some

DROPPING OUT OF THE HUNT
Chris Dodd and Joseph Biden after a weak showing in the Iowa Caucuses have officially decided to go back to work on Capital Hill. Struggling with their dogs and the wrong type of birdshot, they were unable to bag the birds necessary to move on in the Rod and Gun Club finals.

I'll miss Biden in the debates. I'm sure Dodd was on OK guy, but Biden is smart and could have brought up issues beyond the very superficial in the debates and perhaps actual bring some substance to the foreign policy discussion.

Edwards is lacking celebrity firepower. Barack's got Oprahpalooza lighting up South Carolina, (watch out Hillary) and of course HRC has got Mr. Clinton and a host of other Democratic party stalwarts behind here. A quick look at Edwards on the web has Tim Robbins, a fine actor and Bonnie Raitt and Jackson Browne, fine entertainers in their own right but certainly aren't going to set the world on fire. I think Pretty Johnny should try to get the US Magazine endorsement by wooing Lindsay Lohan and Tara Reid. By the way, Paul Simon was a Dodd supporter so get him on the phone. Sean Penn is for Kucinich, keep him as far away as you can.

I'm unsure why a celebrity endorsement would matter to anyone. Oprah is different I guess because a lot of people actually listen to her, a bunch of folks actually started reading because of her. A book in Oprah's book club is an instant best seller. The Huckster has enrolled action hero and fists of rage Chuck Norris which has actually gave him some traction. (he picked up wrestler Ric Flair along the way, so the toughness factor is Minister Mike's) Not sure if Bo Derek's endorsement of Rudy will have the same effect. Ah, American politics, a mile long and an inch deep, who's Doris Kearns Goodwin like? Christianne Amanpour?

OFF TO NEW HAMPSTER
Every 4 years, the Granite State gets the world's attention. Until recently, New Hampshire meant to me, Hampton Beach, a place my buddy Chris lived, no sales tax and liquor stores open on Sunday. Now that Massachusetts lets liquor stores open on Sunday it means even less. It's where people go because they don't like taxes, but make sure it's a quick drive to Massachusetts in case they need emergency medical care or other services.

It is a pretty state though, every time I drive through it to get somewhere else. Seriously though Cow Hampshire is actually kind of a cool place. It's retail politics like Iowa, but actually more people participate because they don't have to lock up with each other in a sweaty gym with crazed activists for hours having some onion eating, clove smoking, Kucinich supporter talk to you for hours.

Politically it has always had a libertarian streak, people there don't like taxes, and recently passed a civil union law and generally don't like people telling them what to do, evangelical, or PC liberal equally. They also generally don't like people from Massachusetts, using the clever Masshole moniker to describe us, certainly Romney will be able to flip himself out of that one, using Utah, Michigan, Paris or even his own 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th home that he owns in New Hampshire to proclaim himself as a native son. (part of his 50 state strategy)

With the recent birth of the Manchester airport, candidates most likely can skip the obligatory Boston trip, usually a 4 hour stop for Democrats to pick up some of that fresh Democratic activist money from us crazed liberals, lawyers and slave and molasses heirs and heiresses and move their way on to the pancake house.


NEW HAMPSHIRE? A BELLWETHER?
In the past, for both parties, New Hampshire was the first or second round of the tournament, the small conferences get knocked out, the Florida A and M's and Oral Roberts' get tossed aside while the North Carolina and UCLA's roll on to the "real games".

This year is somewhat different. Super Duper Tuesday as it is being called is on February 5th. Hey, Massachusetts is relevant again! Over 20 states vote on that day with roughly half the delegates up for grabs. If you can stay relevant for a month, you can roll the dice on the big day.

For candidates, like Edwards, McCain and particularly folks like Romney who can write his own checks, New Hampshire may not be that important. Make a decent showing in South Carolina, a few people in Las Vegas walk out of the casinos and brothels to show up at the caucuses for you and you are in the game. I'd put Fred Thompson in this group but it looks like he just wanted to get up on the top of the roller coaster and ride down, he's not taking this very seriously. Unsure what's going to eventually happen with those very important states of Michigan and Florida in regards to their legal wrangling around their primaries but that stuff is just confusing even for a political dork like me. In fact, it seems like Giuliani's entire strategy is built around Super Duper Tuesday. Well that and Rudy's itchy button pushing finger.

So here we go enough until Tuesday night and the next report. We're off and running!

Dem Dummies

MUSTERING THE CIRCULAR FIRING SQUAD
There are really bad parts about getting older. Hamstrings tighten up, get hurt doing the most mundane tasks, less time for fun and games, you become more jaded, your optimistic leftist plans for utopia vanish and other depressing facts. On the other hand there are benefits as well, homeownership, powertools, and the acquiring of a taste for good scotch and bourbon.

One of my observations over the last few years, maybe even couple of decades is watching how my Democratic party is able to never create a coherent message except that "we aren't the Republicans" and "poor and minority folks should vote for us."

Bill Clinton for the most part attempted to stem the bleeding of the McGovern-Carter-Mondale-Dukakis cycle of failure by moving the party to the middle. For his sins, he was attacked from the left as a "corporatist" (hell at that point, I was one of them, damn this hindsight is awesome), and from the right, well it was just a straight up attack on him personally, unable to get the "penetration" necessary on many of his policies, they attacked him and his family personally or took what would be normally minor issues and make them impeachable offenses. Compare the "lying before congress about oral sex" to the knuckleheadedness and nincompoppism that happens today.

There is a certain blindness and arrogance around progressivism in this country. We just can't seem to understand why poor people would vote against their own personal, economic interests. Likely there are many different reasons, cultural reasons, conservative mores and "values" that don't seem to jibe with those of Democratic candidates, particularly in the primaries where candidates seem to pander to the lefty activists that raise the money and hold the signs. Also there are many who are taxaphobic that they feel the liberals will raise taxes beyond levels that they feel are already to high or ration health care. Certainly there is also a feeling that Democrats want to a. take their guns and b. surrender to the terrorists. Also, for many poor and working people, there is little intention particularly for new immigrants to stay poor forever, and the feeling maybe be that the Republican party better represents the interests of entrepreneurs and those willing to work hard to bring themselves up from poverty.

These beliefs are fanned by talk radio politics and right wing commentators and parroted by tabloid media recipients, and unfortunately there is a fear or inability to adequate explain progressive ideas on the part of Democratic candidates. I've become very frustrated with my own party, the zeitgeist of my party is that it is a big tent and everyone in the tent gets to yell and scream at the same time, becoming a cacophony of bizarre notions and insipidity. Certainly, we have a hardcore center of the party, build by the followers of FDR, JFK and beyond, based in the factories of urban America and fields of rural America of days gone by. But there is no real message to the party today, other than we're not George Bush and we believe in change. Unsure what that change is but it's change.


The Democratic Party certainly lacks the strong message to guarantee a White House bid despite weak Republican candidates, even as a political junkie, I have no idea. Certainly a lack of this message will guarantee defeat in November.


IOWANNA WIN
So today is some type of weird quadrennial holiday in Iowa. The last day that most people across the country will give Iowa a second thought.

As much as I don't like the idea of Iowa having so much power in a campaign, It's a nerdy, voyeuristic, political junkie's dream especially as it's brought to you by C-SPAN. Luckily the wonderful people of Comcast have also brought us C-SPAN 3.

I'm sure the candidate have had just about enough of porkchops, county fairs and overalls at this point. It's big fish in a little pond time at caucuses, like the dream of every blogger being in the New York Times, every little leaguer in the Boston area, knocking one off the Green Monster. I mean they are literally counting hands and trying to convince one another to come to another side that is more viable. At least on the Democratic side, on the Republican side they sit down in bowties and fill out ballots, less chance on the GOP side to act like a complete jackass on national TV.

In Iowa, it appears at this point that Huckabee will win the Iowa caucuses (at least that's what the teevee tells me) so Romney's deep pockets couldn't carry the corn farmers and evangelicals who supported Skinny Mike to victory here.

Just a short post here. Post caucus and pre-New Hampster primary talk to follow.

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.

My Christmas Endorsements

FELIZ NAVIDAD

And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn. Luke 2:7

I love Christmas. I remember the Christmas of my youth, further blessed by Three Kings Day, where we would leave food for the Magi; Melchior, Gaspar and Balthazar, always saying, "which one was the Black one?" and dog food for the camels, which I guess was the urban equivalent of grass or hay.

As a kid and maybe even a teen and young adult, I always waited, hoping for what I was going to get, only to become an adult and actually enjoy the giving more. I don't really appreciate the blatant consumerism of it, of people spending more then they can afford, to compete; although it is likely the only time of the year that I really splurge and even waste money myself, although I must say the best part is enjoying food and cocktails with my friends and family.

I love days where no one has to work, for us we are always rushing around and finally we stop, to enjoy each other's company, to remember why we rush around, so we can make this time special.

This year I look at Xmas, mixed, blessed with the first birthday of my daughter Elena, two days before Xmas, remembering how they barely let us leave on Christmas Eve last year, at which point I probably would have blown a gasket, with the answer to the statement, "she looks a little yellow", being, "well, just put her near a window." So that's why we would have spent another grand in the hospital, well that explains it. The health care crisis I mean. We are blessed by the safe return of my sister's family as well. At the same time, I am perplexed, befuddled, even questioning my faith on the death of my young stepmother in this holiday season.

The alpha, the omega, the questions. The trials and tribulations of that refugee family on one Christmas thousands of years ago.

Merry Christmas! Enjoy every moment.

ON TO THE ENDORSEMENTS!!!

First, my general caveat or disclaimer, I don't want anyone who is running to be President. Regular readers may also note that the guys that I've selected, yup guys, are also the guys that I think will eventually get the nomination when all is said and done, current noise, polls and nonsense aside.

I would love to see Bloomberg ride in with his deep pockets and buy himself right into the race, selecting a team of folks, a vice president with authentic foreign policy/national defense/military credentials or a reasonable facsimile of a dedicated patriot with the best interest of the country at hand and not just some weird ego trip.

SERIOUSLY, WHY IS THIS EVEN A RACE?
OK, now I kissed the President's ass even after he disgraced me and my family, I piloted the Straight Talk Express, I have authentic conservative credentials, I can work across the aisle, oh yeah and I'm a real, fricking war hero and POW. I was strapped up in the Hanoi Hilton, while the dodgy New Yorker was chasing NYU skirt and motionless Mitt was trying to gain converts along the Seine.

McCain is an American classic. Class clown, athlete, born with epaulets in his mouth, became a hero in a war many in his generation with his connections could have avoided, came back, built himself back up not without some sliding back. Outspoken maverick, occasionally overspeaking and to complete the American male story, married into a huge beer bottling company.

So, I don't get it. I'm not a republican so I don't really understand. He's well liked by many moderates in this country, possibly able to reach out to independents in a country where independents control who go to the White House. It may be because he's too old? Is it his occasional rebuking of Republican orthodoxy? His occasional strange carnards, like "it was the hippies who lost Vietnam?" It's unclear to me.

I do have some fear with McCain, his service to his country, his age, and his cancer bouts would make his choice of a vice president very important and there are times, well, where he seems a little unstable. I think that many in the throes of the Bush presidency are looking for someone thoughtful, more pensive, more stable. A valid move, but also one that can lead to mediocrity. For often it is the bold, but well thought out idea that makes history.

I am endorsing McCain because he appears to me to be the most authentic of the candidates. The one that understand public service as more than public management, saving 3 cents over a length of pipe, but as leadership, a stewardship over America. That understanding that public service and leadership is more important than ego fulfillment. The Presidency is not just another line on a resume, it is an entire stamp on human history.

GO GREASED LIGHTNING

The Democratic field is ugly. Not physically ugly, I mean it's not like Nixon has come back from the dead. Just so damn unelectable. Hillary Clinton? Barack Hussein Obama? What five day crack binge did I just wake up from? It's hard to believe that with this opening available for the Democratic party that this is the best we can do. After nearly 8 years of the mad captain with all his rats jumping ship, we come up with this.

Let's be clear about the current front runners. My politics are probably close to Senator Clinton's, Bill Clinton is a political hero of mine who revolutionized politics only to have the DLC demonized so we could go back to the party of McGovern/Mondale/Dukakis, that is the lovable losing of identity politics. Did you see the numbers I got from the lesbian vote in Alabama? Barack Obama, one of the amazing rhetoricians of our generation with stories that can bring you to tears. A great opportunity for a senator that "looks like America"

So when all else fails, run to the good looking, southern white male populist. I think it's great that this millionaire trial lawyer likes poor and working class people. You know as much as everybody likes a tax cut, when you don't make any money in the first place you ain't paying much in taxes. My sister, who is unemployed is tax phobic, I just don't get that.

Anyway, there is something likable about this young man's story, as he will often remind you he is the son of mill workers. Regardless of how you feel about trial lawyers, he made his own money. He has some tragedy in his life, his son passed away in an auto accident and his wife is fighting terminal cancer. He also has young children which can be quite helpful on the campaign trail.

I think that Edwards main selling points well be a. he's not a republican tainted by eight years of a bad presidency b. he's a white guy in a country that is still tainted by racism and sexism c. he's good looking with a nice family that eats at Wendy's and Shoney's just like me and you d. he actually shows concern for working people beyond flag burning and gay marriage and a $300 deficit increasing tax rebate just for being you.

I'm not sold on Edwards, but he's the guy we got. That would be a hell of a campaign sign.

Things Get Interestinger

OH MY DARLING
Hope's Second Son has made a serious run in the polls lately as Romney and Giuliani battle it out for the "sole" of the Republican party, not so heavy Huckabee is aiming for the soul.

Certainly, among Mitt the Mormon and Rudy Cafeteria Catholic, there is room for the Evangelicals to make a little noise with Mike. A honest to goodness Southern Baptist evangelical sporting family values and some compassion for the poor and working class, folks who seem to be ignored by the Massachusetts Millionaire and the Wizard of 9/11. So there's a surge, particularly in Iowa and perhaps more importantly a real state, South Carolina.

On the surface, there is certainly somethings to like about Huckabee and as long as his candidacy was a joke, no one wanted to touch the rock and roll playing weight loss champ with a heart of gold. Now certainly Rudy is looking in his rear view mirror ready to unleash his attack dogs and rush Huckabee off into the Pat Robertson bin of Presidential campaign history. As the pendulum begins to swing towards the middle of the Republican party, his support of creationism and his other fundamentalist views may darken his chances. In addition, the requisite "willie hortoning" of any Governor that has had to make a difficult decision looms towards his ultimate and early defeat.

It's an interesting play for the other front runners in this campaign, hard to run to the right on family values issues, need to knock out the uprising without making the supporters of the uprising stay home in November, willing to sit out when a northeastern candidate "beats up on the bumpkin". Both of the Yankee candidates will be a tough sale in the southern primaries against a military veteran like McCain, an upstart celebrity from Tennessee and a Southern Baptist preacher in the race together splintering the vote.

The Republican establishment is in an uproar. With some pundits comparing him to Howard Dean in his ill-fated surge in 2004 and others saying a Huckabee nomination is political suicide. The National Review, the standard bearer of the somewhat reasonable right has gone as far as to endorse Mitt Romney, in hopes of gathering another CEO/MBA presidential candidate, outside of the more populist campaign of Huckabee, wacky tornado money machine Ron Paul or urban yahoo Rudy Giuliani. Mitt then attacks Huckabee for breaking Ronald Reagan's eleventh commandment, criticizing another Republican. C'mon he was attacking President Bush's Iraq policy, haven't we come to grips with that yet?

The die is cast. This is one strange rodeo.
SANCTUARY MANSION
I have just become morbidly interested in politics. It's like watching a car wreck or bar fight, you just can help it even if it's embarrassing to be that voyeuristic. As a student of history, I venerate the great American leaders such as Washington, Jefferson, Jackson, and Lincoln. Great users of language like Paine, FDR, King, and Sorenson have helped to fuel the energy of leadership in our land and create the country we have to day. This list is certainly not comprehensive but we certainly have an embarrassing poverty of leadership and language today, restricted to the bumper sticker, slogan, and soundbite of the 24 hour news cycle.

Occasionally, a very witty phrase will come out, the "great right wing conspiracy' is certainly an example and recently what I feel is a powerful attack, Mayor Giuliani asserted that the work done on Governor Romney's home by undocumented workers made it a "sanctuary mansion." In two words, Rudy managed to play the class card and the race card simultaneously, creating an image of dozens of brown skinned employees scaling the fence of a multi-millionaire's mansion with the owner of the manse showing little concern for his own security. Certainly how could the security of the nation be entrusted to a man who hires a company that hires Guatemalan immigrants to rake and leaf blow his property?

The mansion piece is a bit more interesting, especially coming from someone who lives in a multimillion dollar apartment in Manhattan himself, certainly the hard working voters who rake their own lawns and paint their own homes wince at the well groomed CEO who can afford to pay low wages at the expense of jobs for legal residents. The class card deftly played by Ridiculous Rudy.

It a brilliant piece of political theater, these mediocre leaders biting at each other over trivial issues, creating personal attacks that seem to manifest themselves as metaphor for future greater evil. The mental picture of the White House becoming the final scene of Scarface, with a slobbering, freaked out Mitt Romney firing automatic weapons, OK that's just silly.

GRUMPIER OLD MEN
Wow, so the lefty netroots really had to go and piss Lieberman off. Today, in a Joementum building extravaganza, Lieberman endorsed John McCain for President of the United States. Wait, 2000 Democratic VP candidate endorses a Republican, OK not so weird. Let me say this, I don't agree with Joe alot but I respect him. He is not beholden to anyone and will drive right off the reservation to prove it.

McCain quickly picked up the endorsement, stating, "wow, compared to this guy I look like Bruce Jenner!" (okay he didn't but that would have been awesome). McCain also picked up the Des Moines Register and Boston Globe endorsements, so those reading Republicans supporting the maverick senator suddenly got a blast of good news.

Now, I like McCain and Lieberman, both a little conservative for my blood, but at least they have conviction unlike many of the stay and sway members of both parties. Lieberman for all his saber rattling around the Global War on Terror and Operation Iraqi Freedom, is generally fairly liberal around guns and gays, two issues that would make him a liberal freak in many of the Red States.

Endorsements like this make the Angry Middle a little giddy, for a lifelong Democrat who wishes that both parties would crumble into ash, allowing real leadership to rise from the ashes.

NEXT WEEK: In No Real Surprise, the Angry Middle endorses a Republican and Democratic Candidate!

December Mourning

DECEMBER MOURNING

More Erica’s Less Dick Cheney’s

I usually don’t write about the personal but this is different. Erica never got to see the end of the error.

Today, my stepmother died, she died very young, fifty years old from the combination of a brain tumor and a stroke, complicated by Multiple Sclerosis. It’s difficult to lose anyone especially someone so young, so full of life, and with so much to live for.

I saw her alive for the last time last night, unconscious, aided by oxygen, prayed with her and said my goodbyes. She had been generally non-communicative for a couple of weeks as she moved to her eternal rest. She did have a chance to tell her sister her words of advice for all of her kids and grandkids. Three things that all of us should think about.

“Graduate from High School”
Erica and one of my sisters both dropped out of high school for a while and ended up going back for a diploma. This initial step is an amount part of any life journey.

“Feed the Birds”
Erica was notorious for her birdfeeders, it was part of her daily routine, and birds would return the favor with their visual beauty and song.

“Have a Garden”
Flowers, vegetables, herbs, the dirty work, the patience, the maintenance and the reward, all parts of life. Whenever I see a tulip, I’ll think of Erica.

More Erica’s, less Cheney’s. America would be a better place.

Election '07 ehrrh '08

RUDY'S THE ONE!
Yup, the ole wacky, corrupt, 2000 pound leg pressing, proSTEALizer has endorsed Rudy Giuliani. So I guess that Pat's become a little pragmatic in his later years as he hustles a way to get a Republican in the White House. Odd,though to see this televangelist endorse the gay rights, pro-choice republican from New York City.

Wow, what's next, Grover Norquist coming out for Dennis Kucinich?

It's seems like the ridiculous wing of the religious right, facing some competition from reality based Christians like Rick Warren and some pushback from Enviro-friendly Christian (stewards of the Earth), Christians with an interest in social justice issues and wait for it, progressive Christians, have decided to become more practical. With Huckabee, authentically Baptist and even a minister still in the running, the founder of the distorted Moral Majority has put his stamp on the cross dressing Manhattenite.

His fear, is that his own organization become irrelevant for endorsing a somewhat viable Huckabee (at least early) or a really kooky Alan Keyes. So he hitches himself to the candidate that is most opposite to the views of the general religious right, to regain some relevance, to slowly move Rudy to the right on some social issues, providing cover through Iowa and South Carolina.

MISSING IN ACTION
It's been a while since I posted, Thanksgiving, my sister coming back from Germany, etc. Busy times. But today I was somewhat inspired by learning that Trent Lott would resign by the end of the year. Now I'm not one to throw epithets around, but thank God the cracker is finally done.

Representing a state that is 37% African American, somehow Trent was re-elected after suggesting old friend, segragationist, and America's favorite miscegenist Strom Thurmond would have been able to solve America's problems if he had been elected President. I'm sorry it's nice to tell an old man nice things, but you represent all the people of your state. It's been time for lotsa of Republicans to start jumping ship, seeing the corruption of the private/public sector to be much more lucrative than the troublesome ethics rules and red tape that gets in the way of some real old school public corruption.

THE NOT SO ANGRY MIDDLE
If I had my druthers and was independently wealthy I'd probably do mostly the same things, the scotch would be better and I wouldn't work, I could pay for my baby daughter to get into an Ivy League school instead of her actually having to do work and I could truly chase my dream of being the Ed Anger of moderate political blogging.

Like most self-proclaimed moderates, I lean a particular way politically, mostly left in my case and libertarian and fiscally conservative in others. Mike Bloomberg is somewhat the same way. He ran as a Republican for mayor of New York in only the way a nice Jewish boy Red Sox fan from Medford could do so, tongue in cheek, I'm a billionaire so I have to be a Republican. No one can be elected the mayor of the capital of the world without some cosmopolitan sensibilities that many around the country would define as "liberal".

Mike Bloomberg continues to be an interesting third party candidate. He says he doesn't desire the job, but is this the year, a year without any breakaway candidates, no Eisenhower, Reagan, Kennedy or even William Jefferson Clinton coming out of the woodwork that an independent may be able to make a move? By truly independent in Bloomberg's case, I of course mean that this is a man that would not be beholden to anyone. No special interest, bundler, Hillraiser or ranger would be able to match even a fraction of Mike's tremendous wealth. Hell, as a patriot, shouldn't he get in the race, with his own coin to drive the discussion towards things that really matter, health care, real immigration reform, real homeland security that the fractious nature of political finance in a two party system don't allow us to address outside of soundbites or well manicured press releases produced by the very special interests that should be under the microscope.

The potential for Bloomberg's run is supported by a recent puff piece in Newsweek. http://www.newsweek.com/id/68113 The media would applaud anything that breaks the monotony of the banality of this race towards mediocrity. Imagine an independent Bloomberg, even if he was frozen out of the debate process being able to buy all the media he wanted. Imagine a Bloomberg as part of the Unity '08 ticket partnered with a running mate such as Colin Powell or another leader with national security/defense/foreign affairs credibility and a willingness to declare a potential cabinet long before he hits the polls.

Fall Classic

REMEMBER THOU ART MORTAL
"Congress is not getting it's work done," President Bush said, flanked by members of the Republican House leadership. "Bush blasted the Democratic-controlled Congress on Tuesday for having "the worst record in 20 years."The House of Representatives has wasted valuable time on a constant stream of investigations, and the Senate has wasted valuable time on an endless series of failed votes to pull our troops out of Iraq."

I'm starting to look at the President in a whole different way, he has gone from being simply goofy to a hysterical cartoon version of a bad leader. I mean you can't make this stuff up. Is he so shameless that he can actually say things like this? Chastising Congress for choosing to question the President? To exercise some of it's Constitutional authority in a balance of powers.

Hey, I'm the first one to say that this entire government is a mess. Unable to show any fiscal responsibility or leadership in any venue, whether it be foreign or domestic. There is a lack of any statemanship and every effort to get the nation's work done is politicized to the point of paralysis.

Perhaps if the Republican controlled Congress and the Democratic minority had showed any backbone in the first six years of the Bush administration we would not have as "much to investigate" and wouldn't be concerned with pulling our troops out of Iraq. Surveys generally show that the American people are frustrated with Congress yet we continue to send back over 90% of the incumbents. Rarely is there a "throw the bums" out movement afoot. Usually voters feel their congressman is OK and it's the others that are filled with pork barrel politicking and mucking up the process.

The lack of effort by Congress in looking at real change and the lack of effort in reining in the President as he led us on the road to war and the road to ruin in fiscal responsibility is nearly criminal. To act as inactive observers bloviating in the press to raise money to ensure their re-election, rubber stamping or simply complaining about the President's inanity and/or insanity.

Certainly there will be some small change in Congress in the next election, some shifting of the deck chairs, some back benchers trying to make some noise, but soon begin carrying the water of the leadership in Congress or from Pennsylvania Avenue, forgetting the power, the Demos, the power that comes from the people and from the Constitution.

Certainly, the Imperial Presidency, retooled after the shame of Watergate and in a time of incessant and perhaps non-ending war has become the center of power in the world, with the City on the Hill and our soft power of the greatest nation on earth has become tarnished.

Where does the next great leader, or in fact group of leaders come from once the Bush nightmare is over?

Sammy, We Hardly Knew Ye

Sam has narrowed the field on the GOP side. Dropping out in the face of his lack of funds and a sensibility amongst most Republicans that the country may not be prepared to make a rapid run further to the right wing. So Huckabee may pick up some of those who see abortion as their one issue, but outside of that small percentage this is just a historical footnote. Opus Dei doesn't get their guy in the White House and the lead warrior against Janet Jackson's nipple gets ready to fight other battles. It remains to be seen who makes an effort to pick up these votes, will it Huckabee, or is he not loony enough? Apparently, Alan Keyes now picks up the mantle of the religious right. Another story for another day.

WOW!
How sweet it is, Red Sox world champions. Now, nothing will ever be as incredible as that run in 2004. But we know that this victory will not be tarnished a week later by the re-election of George W. Bush. Baseball to me is a passion, certainly populated by over priced, sometimes obnoxious athletes, and over commercialized but the beauty of a baseball season is the metronome of my life. For years the Red Sox were the laughing stock, often competitive but predictably always faltering at the end usually at the hands of our fantastically evil older brother, New York. While many will accuse our team of outspending our rival AL and NL teams alike and simply emulating the Yankee success, the stories of our squad will warm my heart through the winter months. Game 4 winner Jon Lester a cancer survivor, the rookies who set the table, the veterans who had seen it all, and our Latino and Asian players who brought the "World" in World Series. Red Sox nation, it wasn't a fluke.

October Surprise

Living La Vida Loca

As I was taking some notes in a meeting I looked down at my pen which is from the W.J. Clinton Presidential library, I started to think, where would President Hillary Clinton build her library? Certainly it would have more interesting stuff than the mechanical bull at the George W. Bush Presidential Magazine rack, but would it be in Illinois?, Arkansas? or her carpetbagger's destination of New York? Who knows. First of all, I don't think it's going to happen.

Here's the rub, I like Hillary. She's a great intellect, has been a great senator and actually tried to figure out health care. You put that early 90's health care bill in front of the US Chamber of Commerce and the automakers today and they'd be on it like me on a pork chop.

Yup, I'm the guy who still thinks it's going to be Edwards/McCain in the general election. Now I like my data, and all the polls shows Hillary beating any of the Republicans in the general election and some national polls have her up over 30 points over her closest challenger. It's just hard for me to imagine Hillary Clinton as President, first just the image of these two royal families controlling the Presidency for at least 24 years is just bizarre. It's not like this is like Lichtenstein or something, we're a country of over 300 million people with the best universities in the world, the largest number of Nobel laureates, and shall we not forget, Hollywood! You would think that some other cream would rise to the top that had not been a Clinton or Bush.

Oh yeah, and this is Hillary, "that woman" is probably the most divisive politician in recent American history. She's the ogre that the right uses to raise money now that Ted Kennedy has become more of an elder statesman in American politics. It's hard to make hay at the foot of a grandfather. She has been branded as a socialist, a communist, a feminist, an abortionist and is a leftist demon to the dittoheads.

I often will ask people why they hate Hillary so much, and often folks will mention the arrogance, like she is the sole owner of arrogance in politics. The other reason is that she is tied to the "corruption" both real and perceived of the first 8 years of a Clinton presidency. Those that see her with a smoking gun in the Vince Foster case or having half of Communist China spend the night in the Lincoln Bedroom. The "vast right wing conspiracy" has haunted Hillary from the beginning years of her husband's presidency, while she has huge leads in the democratic polls, she will unintentionally energize a Republican party reeling from war and scandal against the Democratic nominee in a way that Emily's List could not compete with. It makes the possibility of a more moderate Republican candidate to feast on the center enough to get towards the White House. OK, suffice to say all of the leading Republican candidates are more moderate than the current administration.

Oh yeah, and she's a Yankee's fan. And to make it even worse, a carpet bagging Yankee's fan.

The Queen of Yankee Nation

Gotta hand it to Rudy, the guy plays dressup more than any seven year old girl I've ever met. Rudy is the ultimate opportunist going for the ultimate political prize and the keys to the US treasury. The other day, my friend Bob accused me of "having a Giuliani blindspot". He's probably right, it's the same blindspot I have for my own mortality, the thing that keeps me struggling and striving and not living in a drunken stupor.

I think a Giuliani presidency is just a dangerous thought but frankly I think we have some of the same politics, the urban law and order issues may play well in urban areas if anyone in the Republican party ever owns up to the fact that there are American cities outside of Washington, DC, Davenport, Iowa or Manchester, NH. I think as a big city mayor he does understand the issues facing our cities, even if he was blessed with a Clinton presidency and huge Wall St. tax surpluses during his reign over NYC.

Rudy was a Democrat before he got better in the seventies, likely because that's what urban Catholics did, he seemed to be an early adopter of the Reagan Revolution and benefited his way into a fine job as a US attorney, getting himself and mafiosi in front of the television cameras, beginning his life long love affair with the media, culminating in 9/11 and his brief reign as America's Mayor and a shot of confidence in wary times that he is trying to ride all the way to Pennsylvania Avenue. This opportunism led to the birth of his lobbying firm Giuliani Partners which grew Rudy into a very wealthy man and grown an increasing web of potential ethical entanglements if he is elected President.

I find it hard to believe that he is the best that the Republicans have to offer, certainly there is a certain amount of fame involved and the non-cuckoo GOP'ers that is the more socially moderate but still law and order and fiscal conservatives have someone they can attach too as one of their own, rather than a candidate that is just trying to carry the religious right's water.

Despite that I think that Rudy, if President, well have scandals that make the Teapot Dome Scandal look like a penny flinch from a church collection plate, and what's worse, another Yankees fan.

WHAT, ME WORRY?

THE RABBIT

I'll give Fred this, he was the only one in the debate whose answer to the future of social security wasn't "yeah, we gotta do something about that", which is the equivalent of saying the back 40's on fire and I better get some buckets. (sorry that's about as folksy as it gets around here). Fast Freddie argued that future Social Security recipients may not get the level of benefits that they are expecting. I'm not sure many of the other candidates want to go there, because being very vague and enigmatic is a very important part of retirement planning, along with sound investing and having kids that are going to make a whole ton of money.

So even though Fred is not ahead in the polls, he may see himself as the rabbit in the race, that one or two guys who gets way ahead in the Boston Marathon running 4 and half minute miles only to burn himself out after a few miles, tiring of setting the pace, in some ways having the rabbit is great, it gives you something to talk about for an hour or so. If this helps him to save what he feels is the heart and soul of the Republican party, true conservatism, whatever that is, all power to him. Hell, I think it's kind of humorous in a dark way that the Republican Party has become the party of drunken sailorism, from the free spending ways to the brothels to the toilet stall rendezvous's. Get me a picture of Ted Kennedy riding an elephant and we're off to Minneapolis in 2008, I can't imagine that Larry Craig will make an appearance in his old stomping grounds.

THE JENA DISTRACTION

What do we need, y'all?l think we need a new leader. We ain't had a black leader in a while. In a long time. Somebody that moves you. You know, we had Martin Luther King,Malcolm X... and ever since then, a bunch of substitute teachers. We ain't had the real thing.l want a mf'er to move me. CHRIS ROCK

First things first, one of the hardest things to talk about honestly in this country is race. Frequently you hear stuff like, "I don't care if he's brown, black, white, blue or polka dotted." And we all know that's dumb and if you see someone blue or polka dotted get him a damn doctor or something. There is a myth of colorblindness, like a few years of affirmative action, a diversity training, dancing with a black guy at the club and a Black friend at work can clear everything up. In fact, most Americans appear to self-segregate, I'm not sure if it's intentional, just the nature of years of economic, religious and racial segregation that has manifested itself in the culture of today, I actually think things are getting better, but it's going to take a lot of time. But I digress.

Recently thousand of activists, largely African American descended on the small town of Jena, Louisiana, where three idiot kids had hung nooses from a tree. These kids were given the "boys will be boys" slap on the wrist in a severe lack of judgment of idiotic school officials who somehow missed the symbolism and fear of one of these country's greatest collective crimes of lynching. In the "if I close my eyes this will go away strategy" that seems to be so big a part of how we address race in this country, the town didn't appear to address the problem which grew into greater racial strife, that ended up with a white boy being beaten by 6 black boys in a schoolyard fight which gave us the illustrious heroes of the Jena Six.

The Jena Six in normal times would be seen as common thugs beating on a single boy, but these common thugs were charged with crimes likely far beyond what would have happened if it was a intraracial crime or if it were in normal circumstances say like fighting over a girl or a football game. Once again the authorities overreached and added fuel to the fire.

But let's get real here for a second. I'm am outraged at the outrage. Where is the outrage at underperforming schools? Where is the outrage at overwhelming unemployment rates, particularly for young, Black males? Institutional racism is just not a sexy enough issue for folks. Where are the thousands that could be marching on their local city halls demanding a quality education for all children?

Where is the outrage on the part of poverty pimps such as the Rev.'s Sharpton and Jackson when it comes to the near genocidal levels of Black on Black crime. Over 50% of murder victims in the United States are African American, it seem like on a weekly basis in our own City of Boston, another child is killed by senseless violence? Where is the outrage? When a Haitian woman is gang raped and assaulted by up to 12 youth in Palm Beach, where is the outrage at this heinous assault?

This, is not part of the conversation, certainly because the Jena Six case will become one of many of the left's cause's celebre's, something you did during college that becomes a great story at the reunion, but no real change or anything.

FAITH AND FREEDOM

One of the most annoying words used by politicians that I hear is "freedom". Most of us have no real concept of freedom as to most of us as Americans, it is like the air that we breathe or the water that comes out of our faucets, expected, clear and most clean of contamination. As an administration official will claim that we are fighting a war for freedom while ignoring other cries for freedom, you have to become a bit jaded. When you see thousands of monks lining the street, you hope this Saffron Revolution can turn the tide towards democracy and end the military dictatorship in Burma but alas this is not the movies and a vicious crackdown of guns and batons and a closing off of information appears to have nipped this move towards freedom in the bud. I got nothing really to say about this other than a deep admiration for those who have risked their lives unarmed in the hopes of lighting a fire of freedom across their country, hopefully their faith can help us to have that same faith and support freedom at home and abroad.

Beautiful Day

Patriotism is not short, frenzied outbursts of emotion, but the tranquil and steady dedication of a lifetime. Adlai E. Stevenson

Patriotism is a strange animal, balanced between extreme, scary, jingoistic, ethnocentric nationalism and America hating, pinko wacko insanity. The wife and I gave blood at Fenway and 9/11 and you were stirred by the number of fireman, policeman and other civil servants who chose that day to give along with the "normal folks" like us that calculated this day into our giving as part of our remembrance of the day.

Everyone of us was greatly effected by 9/11, my mother was at the Javits center in Manhattan when it happen, my brother in law in a sequence of events ended up doing 4 combat tours in Afghanistan and Iraq. The feelings we all had that day and the months of followed were mixed with anger, sorrow, fear and wanting of retribution. But for many of us, and especially for me, it was the first day that I really felt like I was an American.

There was little most of could do as Americans, American flags became popular everywhere as a virtual competition of outward symbolism of patriotism. This patriotism was not very well thought out. It was that combination of pride and fear, a reaction to an attack. Not necessarily, a dedication to the Constitution or the frameworks that make this nation great, those of infrastructure, resources, both human and natural and the ability of our government despite it's weaknesses, to continue a democratic tradition for over 200 years; but rather a childlike dedication to symbols and slogans.

It was a beautiful day out, that 9/11/01 and all of us have different memories. The following Global War on Terror has taken us to a bizarre place as Americans. WWII as a conflict was a much more terrible, and horrific war, there were days were hundreds and even thousands of Americans lost their lives, not to mention the millions of combatants and non-combatants that lost their lives, this was total war. The entire investment of all the nation's resources towards defeating the Axis. As I and many others so frequently muse, there is no sense of this sacrifice today, only by our soldiers and their families and perhaps our grandchildren who will have to pay for this war.

That beautiful, sunny day has brought us to a new America. I'm unsure if the fear and anguish of 9/11 has played itself out yet. Even in the darkest days of WWII, I think most Americans could visualize what victory was. The methodical turning back of the Axis tide, the proverbial jumping on Berlin would exhibit victory and peace. What does victory look like today? Is it the evangelical spread of participatory democracy?, of a full franchise for entire populations?, freemarkets of the Friedman variety in every nation across the Globe? I've never heard anyone try to articulate it in any reasonable matter? What does victory in the Global War on Terror looks like.

The smarter Generals, leaders and academics have defined it as a multi-generational process. A multiple generational winning of hearts and minds. The question is, if the United States is to show the leadership across the world, it seems we need to be a much better role model. Our own rule of law, which is likely unparallelled in world history is being riddled by corruption, lies, and even more insidious an eroding of civil liberties in the name of national security.

Somewhere between the fearmongering that benefits some politicians in the United States as being "more patriotic than thou" and the home grown America haters, many of whom have greatly benefited from its largess, there is a need to be a new generation of American patriots, willing to have the introspection necessary for a democratic resurgence so our leadership is moral as well as military and economic.

I see few current politicians who can provide this leadership. Where is this generation's Lincoln, Roosevelt, Wilson who rises above the pedestrian nonsense of a national campaign to provide true leadership?