The Political Circus

Time magazine publishes 4 editions, USA, Europe, Asia, and South Pacific.  For the April 2 edition, the US cover is "Should we teach the bible in public schools?"   ALL the international editions had the cover; "Talibanistan: The Taliban comes roaring back." http://www.time.com/time/magazine/0,9263,7601070402,00.html  This is one reason the American public seems so clueless on foreign affairs.  Our media is willing to play the political game as called.

The current administration desperately wants to get Afghanistan and Iraq off the front pages.  The news is bad and getting worse.  An Air Force Forward Air Controller (FAC) acquaintance just got pulled out of Okinawa and sent to Afghanistan to help with the expansion of the air war there.  The GOP candidates are also carefully avoiding the topic, even though one of them may end up with it in his lap in November 2008.  We won't know his position on the most important topic before the country.

 So we can all look forward to a campaign where Mom, apple pie, and kissing babies will move to the fore.

At his news conference, Thompson said he:

A few days ago while at the SxSW Interactive conference in Austin, I spotted a news item that brought a sense of deja vu.  Fred D(alton) Thompson, an accomplished and experienced actor, attorney, and former Senator from Tennessee, was considering entering the race for the presidential nomination.  Most people will know him as District Attorney Arthur Branch on the TV shows Law & Order, Law & Order SVU, Law & Order Criminal Intent and other series Trial by Jury and Conviction.  He's been in a pile of movies and TV shows

His acting skills are even recognized by George W. Bush, who appointed him as an advisor to (now Supreme Court Chief Justice) John Roberts, to teach him how to "act" before Congress and the press during his confirmation process.

Back to the deja vu.  Shades of Ronald Reagan, we now have a candidate that REALLY knows how to read a teleprompter.  He can deliver a canned script, but make it sound spontaneous. With his experience level, he'll sound absolutely convincing even when saying something absolutely preposterous.  GW can't quite pull that off.  Since he has run for office before and won, he certainly has the campaign trail experience to pull it off.  Other than one of the organizers of the "Pardon Scooter Libby" groups and a fund raiser for Libby's legal defense, Fred doesn't appear to be carrying too much negative baggage.  He would probably make mincemeat of the Hillarys and Baracks on a televised debate.  He knows how to project presence and charm a crowd. He would be tough to beat if he can raise the money.

Newsweek's examination of Mitt Romney and his positions then, and now that he is a candidate for the Republican nomination is in the link below.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/17202400/site/newsweek/?rf=snwnewsletter

Similar to John McCain, a miraculous transformation of ideology is occurring as he tries to appeal (pander?) to the religious right.

Evangelicals regard his religion, Mormonism, as heresy (according to the National Journal, more than a quarter of self-identified evangelicals tell pollsters that they won't vote for a Mormon) .  The Southern Baptist Convention lists the LDS church under Cults and Sects, along with Scientology.

"Romney's turnaround on the burning social issues of gay rights, stem-cell research and abortion has raised questions about the candidate's sincerity—a dangerous doubt at a time when voters seem to crave authenticity. In Massachusetts, as an unsuccessful Senate candidate in 1994 and in his winning race to become governor in 2002, Romney cast himself as liberal-to-moderate on social issues. But as Romney aims for the conservative Republican votes he will need to secure the presidential nomination, he has emerged as staunchly pro-life and anti-gay marriage. Was he, his critics ask, pretending then? Or is he pretending now?"

John McCain now is trumpeting the bane of "Activist" judges.

The following link is to an interesting article trying to actually define the term beyond its use as an epithet.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/07/06/opinion/06gewirtz.html?ex=1278302...

Basically, it tries to find how to tell an activist judge based on his decisions. Interesting result.

I am truly disappointed.

John McCain has been branded a 'maverick'. He was one of the few politicians that I felt was willing to stay true to himself rather than constantly adopting the current 'line' of political expediency. As a Vietnam vet of my own era, I felt he had the same 'no BS' attitude many of us developed there. I disagreed with many of his positions on specific issues, but felt he was someone you could trust to be honest, truthful, and have the strength of character to 'tell it like it is.' I have told many people that he is the only one of the current crop of Republican candidates that I could actually vote for.

Suddenly, we have an almost schizophrenic rejection of most of his previous positions. He now says Roe v Wade should be overturned, and that, if elected, he would appoint federal judges to that end.

For the love of God John, stop it! The ultra-conservative block will find another, more wacko, candidate to back. As a moderate, they'll never trust you, especially since they will recognize that this is a new position. They'll never consider you a 'true believer.'

Don't sell yourself out!

During his first press conference as a presidential candidate at Iowa State University, Obama, discussing his opposition to the Iraq war, said the war "should have never been authorized, and should have never been waged, and on which we've now spent $400 billion, and have seen over 3,000 lives of the bravest young Americans wasted.''

Barack later apologized.

''Their sacrifices are never wasted. . . . What I meant to say was those sacrifices have not been honored by the same attention to strategy, diplomacy and honesty on the part of civilian leadership that would give them a clear mission." "...I would absolutely apologize if any of them felt that in some ways it had diminished the enormous courage and sacrifice that they'd shown."

In my view, the criticism he has received is only because his remarks may seem premature. As a multiple tour Vietnam veteran, I expect sometime in the next year for all Americans to experience the same sickening feeling I had while watching the helicopters making the last minute evacuations at the fall of Saigon. We will all be asking ourselves, "What an incredible waste of lives, money, prestige and goodwill! How could we have let this happen?"

Many are mourning the passing of Molly Ivins, a talented, engaging, and fearless political writer and humorist who passed away this week. She had the knack for expressing the common-sense viewpoint; often with an engaging dose of Texas vernacular. Her many books contain both careful investigative reporting and a spin-shredding, straight to the point, "wipe that lipstick off and see what kind of pig we have here" directness.

Even the titles let you know you're in for a good time:

Who Let the Dogs In?: Incredible Political Animals I Have Known

Molly Ivins Can't Say That, Can She?

Shrub : The Short but Happy Political Life of George W. Bush

Bushwhacked: Life in George W. Bush's America

You Got to Dance with Them What Brung You

Nothin' But Good Times Ahead

Fifty Years of the Texas Observer