Political Musings

Tim Russert Passes at 58 Years Old

Sat, 14 Jun 2008 08:56:00 MST

Tim Russert, Washington Bureau Chief of NBC and Moderator of Meet The Press, died suddenly of a heart attack on Friday, June 13, 2008. Tim had been Moderator of Meet The Press since December of 1991.

Tim was widely regarded as the "gold standard" when it came to journalism (TV and otherwise). Russert was from Buffalo, New York and never failed to let the world know how proud he was of his hometown and of his family.

Politicians, fellow television journalists and friends have been all over the air waves since Friday sharing stories about Tim Russert and how much he loved his work and his desire to see the story told correctly.

Politicans knew they would have to go through Meet The Press and Tim Russert if they wanted to be taken seriously. Many of those same politicans have expressed their condolences and their trepidation when sitting across the table from Tim.

NBC News will have to search long and hard to find someone as articulate, real world and savvy to fill his shoes.

John McCain is Too Old For the Rigors Of the Presidency

Wed, 16 Apr 2008 09:55:08 MST

Senator John McCain has been moving about the nation looking as if he were President. The reality is an almost 72 year old man should not be President period. The stress of the job is more than George W. Bush can deal with at 61 years old. Just look at the mess our nation is in based on his decisions.

Congressman John Murtha, Democrat from Pennsylvania and Hillary Clinton supporter, has said as much in a recent statement to a Union audience while presenting opening remarks before the introduction of Hillary Clinton.

John McCain recently offered a solution to the high cost of gas. His solution, have a "Federal Gas Tax Holiday" for the summer months. If this is the best a potential President can muster up as a remedy to our Nations energy crisis then we certainly do not want John McCain running the show. George W. Bush has been bad enough.

Comments, opinions..............

Hillary Clinton And the Pennsylvania Primary

Wed, 16 Apr 2008 07:22:17 MST

Hillary Clinton is at the crossroads of her political career in Pennsylvania. All the cheap shots taken at Barack Obama will not improve Hillary's dubious positives in the eyes of the voters of Pennsylvania or for that matter anywhere in the nation.

Hillary Clinton,by virtue of all the various polls, has negatives that outweigh anything voters believe that is positive about Hillary Clinton.

Hillary Clinton will most probably win in Pennsylvania not because of any intrinsic values that she possesses rather instead because of the support of Governor Ed Rendell. Rendell is without a doubt one of the most effective Democrats in the nation and of the same mold as Old Mayor Daley in Chicago ala 1968.

The Democrat's realize that any hopes they have of gaining back the Whitehouse in November are vaporizing before their eyes in Pennsylvania.

Comments, opinions................

American Politics at the Crossroads of Two Generations

Sun, 06 Apr 2008 03:22:57 MST

The "Politics" of America have been traditional "Jousting" of middle aged white men and their cohorts over the last two centuries. From Washington and the Federalists to Jackson (Jacksonian Democrats) and the re-birth of the Democrat Party initially begun by Jefferson to Lincoln and the salvation of the nation, we are about to embark on a new journey in Politics.

This time the election of our President will be either the first woman, Hillary Clinton, as President, the first african/white (well he is), Barack Obama, as President or the oldest white male, John McCain, ever elected to the highest office in the land.

The 20th Century was a series of "Political Dynasties", with the Roosevelts, Teddy and Franklin, and the Bushes and Clinton's holding sway over the land for about a third of the century from the very beginning to the end.

The rest of the story as it were had some non-descript Whitehouse residents such as Taft, Harding, Coolidge, Hoover, Ford and Carter. What is notable is that ,in my judgment, two of out ten greatest Presidents served immediately after World War ll. Truman and Eisenhower, they were the right people at the right time.

I left out a few names from the 20th Century, notably Wilson, Kennedy, Johnson, Nixon & Ronald Reagan.

The names of Wilson, Kennedy, Johnson & Nixon will always be connected to war and or some sort of corruption. Wilson, World War l, Kennedy for escalating the level of hostilities in Viet Nam prior to his death and Johnson for making a mess of Vietnam because of Sec. Of Defense Robert McNamara and Nixon having to extricate us from Viet Nam not so adroitly. Watergate will live in infamy when one thinks of Dick Nixon.............

Ronald Reagan is held up as the father of Conservatism, not so, that would be Barry Goldwater. He alas, was never in the Whitehouse, at least as President. Goldwater did have the unenviable task of making the house call to Richard Nixon telling him he had lost all Political Support and it was time for him to go. Back to Ronald Reagan. What he was was the ideal person at the ideal time. He was the master delegator, lucky for him he had a reasonably good staff. Ronald Reagan did walk us and the Soviet Union through their ultimate dissolution/incarnation. Reagan & Gorbachev will be remembered for changing the face of the world geo-politically.

Hillary Clinton is the old school Democrat who has changed her stripes more times than any tiger. Hillary Clinton was the darling of the "elite" when she and Bill Clinton first cast their shadow in Washington D. C.. She is now the progressive darling of the down-trodden blue collar Democrats. This is only due to the fact that Barack Obama has supplanted Hillary Clinton as the golden boy/girl of the college educated, well to do liberal democrats. Hillary Clinton needed to fall back to some group. The Blue Collar Democrats were as good as any...........

John McCain is a decent man, just not the right man to be President. At 72 years old this year it is not the right call to elect John McCain as President.

That brings us to Barack Obama. Senator Obama is not Pure, maybe that is a good thing. No Politician is Pure. What Senator Obama is is a breathe of fresh air in the grimy world of Politics.

Our Nation has mortgaged the future of those yet to be born. We have the George W. Bush administration to thank for this mess. Iraq, our economy, our military all have been squandered with no thought given to the aftermath.

Barack Obama will have a mountain to climb. He will need the support of every politician and every citizen if he is ever to be successful. The only choice to make in this election year is to elect Barack Obama as President of these United States.

So, as I stated at the beginning of this piece our nation has choices never available to our voters in the past two hundred plus years. Let's then make good use of this choice and change opportunity. We need to break the bonds of the past and not allow ourselves to further fall into the morass of inexorable futility and once again revive the American spirit of can do...............

Hillary Clinton Releases Tax Returns

Fri, 04 Apr 2008 05:40:29 MST

The Clinton's have finally released their tax returns for the period 2000-2006. Conveniently they released these returns on a Friday afternoon, the slowest news period, on the 40th anniversary of the assasination of Martin Luther King.

This release date was of course planned by the Clinton cabal. Just remember the Clintons never do anything without it being pre-planned and under the cloud of what is really going on here. The one year that has not as yet been released is 2007. Well, they are requesting an extension, quite legal.

To this point there has not been anything that has been reported by the media that would raise any eyebrows. Why then have they not released their returns at an earlier time? The Clinton's are of the notion that anything they decide to do is fine no matter who they trample or what law may be bent.

Hillary Clinton will be around until her donors stop providing donations or until more of those Super Delegates realize they can bail out and endorse Barack Obama. By staying in the race Hillary Clinton is doing more for the Republicans than anything John McCain has to this point said or done.

Hillary Clinton's Visit With Jay Leno

Fri, 04 Apr 2008 10:21:15 MST

Hillary Clinton made the time in her busy schedule (tongue in cheek) to visit Jay Leno last night. She was in Los Angeles trying to get some donations from her Hollywood pals. Hillary's creditors want to be paid! It is not a surprise that Hillary Clinton brought up the issue of her "big fib" regarding her trip to Bosnia in 1996. There is no other person quite like Hillary Clinton. She has no shame, even Jay Leno appeared to be startled and finally responded with a lame joke about "snipers in Los Angeles".

Hillary must not realize how obvious she is to the guy and gal on main street. I have seen some poor guests on Leno's show, but none of them can come close to Hillary Clinton when it comes to disingenuousness.

Hey Jay, if you want to improve your ratings you need to do better than Hillary Clinton. At least when David letterman had John McCain on his program it was funny............

Comments, opinions................

Barack Obama Guest On Hardball with Chris Matthews

Wed, 02 Apr 2008 02:56:58 MST

Senator Barack Obama spent an hour with host Chris Matthews on MSNBC Hardball today at Westchester College in Pennsylvania.

One constant was the way Chris Matthews conducted himself on HIS show. Make no mistake Chris Matthews always lets his guests (Obama) know that it is his show. Chris Matthews first and the guest afterwards. Lets face the facts, having Barack Obama as a guest was a coup for Chris Matthews. Ratings for his MSNBC Hardball are typically in the basement of the ratings pool.

That being said, Barack Obama was articulate, cogent, steady, unruffled and looked very Presidential. There was an aura of calm from Obama that was evident throughout the show. It is my sense that this is the type of person I want in the Whitehouse at 3 am or any other time making critical decisions that may involve my life or that of my loved ones.

Barack Obama handled questions from the Westchester College students and from Chris Matthews. The range of topics included, Gay Marriage, Education, Healthcare, Iraq, Rev. Wright and most important from my point of view, the realization that Barack Obama has an intellect and knows who is handing him a "snow job".

It was clear to this soul that Barack Obama was on to Chris Matthews knowing that Matthews was in fact using Barack Obama to his (Matthews) own ends.

Well, all & all Barack Obama proved once again that he is the right person to hold the highest office in the land.............

Coments, opinions..............

Bill Clinton Loses His Composure With California Super Delegates

Wed, 02 Apr 2008 09:35:55 MST

Bill Clinton was his alter ego last week when meeting with some California "super delegates". Comments from attendees said Bill Clinton showed up with "bags" under his eyes (can't keep up the pace forever) and nearly had a total breakdown excoriating Bill Richardson.

Rachel Binah, a former Richardson Delegate and now a Clinton Delegate, commented to Bill Clinton about the horrible way James Carville made the infamous "Judas" comment referring to Bill Richardson endorsing Barack Obama.

Bill Clinton went "ballistic" shouting that Bill Richardson had several times told Bill Clinton he would stick with Hillary Clinton. Bill Clinton then went on to state that the media was treating Hillary Clinton unfairly. A comment from another delegate present stated that it was "very, very intense", not at all like Bill Clinton...........

When Bill Clinton cooled off, he told everyone to "chill out", I suppose he was talking to himself!

When Delegate Rachel Binah returned to her home there was a message waitng for her from the Democrat State Party Chairman Art Torres, expressing aplogies from Bill Clinton.

Word reached back to Bill Richardson in New Mexico who commented that he never made any such guarantee to Bill Clinton to support Hillary Clinton.

Bill Clinton is as bad an example of a former President as only Bill Clinton can do. Well, How many more Super Delegates are being coerced by the "Clinton Cabal"?

Comments, opinions...............

Hillary Clinton Campaign Not Paying the Bills

Sun, 30 Mar 2008 08:59:59 MST

The Hillary Clinton Campaign has over $8 million dollars in unpaid bills. Some of these debts go back to the Iowa Primary. In fact some of the Event Contractors the Clinton Campaign did business with are passing the word that Hillary Clinton's people are a bad risk and are deadbeats.

The more time that goes by the more apparent it is that "Clinton Donors" are putting their checkbooks away. If the Clinton campaign paid off all their current old debts they would be minus $4 million in debt as a campaign entity.

Barack Obama's campaign currently has approximately $650,000 in debts to be paid, leaving Obama $31 million in his campaign checking account that can be used in the primary campaign.

How Hillary Clinton continues to function without paying vendors is quite the miracle. Maybe Bill Clinton can make some deals to pay off Hillary Clintons's campaign debts.............

Comments, opinions......................

Barack Obama 10 point lead over Hillary Clinton in latest Gallup Poll

Sun, 30 Mar 2008 06:47:26 MST

Barack Obama has extended his lead over Hillary Clinton in the latest Gallup poll just posted on Sunday March 30. What is significant about this latest Gallup Poll is that the numbers show Barack Obama ahead of Hillary Clinton and outside the statistical margin of error.

It continues to "boggle the mind" to see that Hillary Clinton continues to defy logic and not withdraw from the Presidential race. Should Hillary Clinton not win in the Pennsylvania primary by at least a 15 point margin over Barack Obama it will be all but over for Hillary Clinton.

It is my sense that the momentum Barack Obama has nationally will be carried over to the Pennsylvania Primary with Obama doing much better than previously predicted. I have Clinton winning in Pennsylvania over Barack Obama by 52-48 % . This 4 point win for Hillary Clinton will be her final undoing.

With the Backing of Governor Ed Rendell, the most powerful Democrat in Pennsylvania, Hillary Clinton should win by at least 15 points. That will not be the case................

Comments, opinions...................

Democrats Will Not Have Party Torn Apart By Hillary Clinton

Sat, 29 Mar 2008 10:29:24 MST

The Democrats have an opportunity this year to regain the Whitehouse and add to their margins in The Senate and House. The fundamental difference this year is that the Democrats have before them a charismatic, unifying candidate, Barack Obama.

The more people see Barack Obama the more they see that he is likeable and reasonable. On the other end of the "room",180 degrees opposite of Obama, the Democrats have Hillary Clinton. To many people having Hillary Clinton as the 'Standard Bearer' for the Democrats is akin to the sound of a piece of broken chalk "screeching" along the blackboard. That is a sound that many of us shudder to think about!

Hillary Clinton is the most polarizing candidate in the last century. I can not think of anyone from any political party that comes close to her ability to alienate people. No, not Nixon or even George Wallace.

The Democrats have "pussy footed" with the "Clinton Cabal" for more months than any resonable person would have given to ANY other candidate. Even those high level supporters in the Clinton camp realize the game is over for Hillary Clinton.

The only reason those supporters are still with Hillary Clinton is first, out of some sense of loyalty and second, not wanting to be excoriated by the likes of George Carville. I ask you, is that the way one gains loyalty or is it fealty?

Offers have been "run up the flagpole" having Hillary Clinton run for Governor of New York State in November 2008. After the Eliot Spitzer episode and now the already weakened Governor Patterson, it may be an option for Hillary Clinton. Naturally Hillary Clinton would never acknowledge she has a desire for that to happen. The Party elite would offer the New York Governor's job to Hillary Clinton as a dignified option and a natural fit for New York State. I do not see this as reality.

The real pont here is that the Dem's are sending a message to Hillary Clinton to get out of the race. If Hillary had any real chance to be President, the New York Governors job would never have been promulgated.

In addition, the Democrats at the National level realize that the local and State Democrat candidates feel they have a better chance to win in local races with Barack Obama and his "coat-tails" at the top of the Democrat ticket, not Hillary Clinton.

It is only a matter of time for Hillary Clinton. The problem long term for the Democrats is that the longer it takes to rid themselves of the Hillary Clinton candidacy, the less likely the Dem's will make it all happen in November 2008.

Comments, opinions............

Barack Obama Ahead in Latest Gallup Tracking Poll

Fri, 28 Mar 2008 01:39:14 MST

Barack Obama received Sen. Bob Casey's endorsement today and also had Sen. Patrick Leahy tell Hillary Clinton she should drop out of the race for President.

Just as important and maybe more important is the data from the latest Gallup Poll that has Barack Obama 8 points ahead of Hillary Clinton.

If the names were reversed and Hillary Clinton had these endorsements and poll numbers , everyone in the Democrat Party would be banging on Barack Obama's door ordering him to get out. Well, why do not the Democrats not do this with Hillary Clinton. Awfully good question......

Barack Obama will continue to incrementally strip Super Delegates from Hillary Clinton and will within the next two to three weeks have Hillary Clinton as irrevelant. So, why have Hillary Clinton continue with no victory possible? Maybe Bill Clinton has the answer, he owes Hillary.......

Hillary Clinton About to Ride off Into the Sunset of Politics

Fri, 28 Mar 2008 10:15:06 MST

There may be an unintended consequence for Hillary and Bill Clinton to not seeing the handwriting on the wall and withdraw from the race for the Democrat nomination for President.

Hillary Clinton has since Bill Clinton was President been planning her ascent to the "throne", I mean the Presidency. The path was nearly like a super highway until Hillary Clinton ran into a road block, Barack Obama. Hillary Clinton needs to call for a "tow truck" and "hook" herself up and get her "rig" off the Highway. Well, that will probably not happen..............

What this nominating process may result in, is the Clinton's riding off into the sunset of Politics. I realize this is a longshot! However, look at what Hillary Clinton could wind up doing. Hillary Clinton could realistically become Senate Majority Leader. Hillary Clinton never wanted that job. Hillary Clinton could certainly remain a United States Senator from New York State. Hillary only wanted that job as a path to the oval office. So................

Hillary Clinton will be bitter, mad as hell and not giving a dam about campaigning for Barack Obama. This attitude will be the undoing of the Clintons. There are many high level Democrats that cannot wait until Hillary Clinton gets out of this race one way or another. The point here is many of her current supporters cannot wait to "jump ship"!

By the time of the next election cycle 2012, Hillary Clinton will be an afterthought. There will be many new up and coming women in the Democrat party that will be better suited to be the first Woman President!

Comments, opinions......................

Senator Bob Casey Of Pennsylvania Endorses Barack Obama

Fri, 28 Mar 2008 09:48:59 MST

Democrat Senator Bob Casey of Pennsylvania has, today, endorsed Barack Obama for President. This endorsement is significant for a couple of reasons.

First Senator Bob Casey is a "Super Delegate". This means one more Super Delegate in the Obama column and one LESS Super Delegate in the Hillary Clinton Column. Incrementally Barack Obama is edging ever closer to being EVEN with Hillary Clinton in total Super Delegate count. Hillary Clinton has not gained in the Super Delegate count since "Super Tuesday".

Second, Hillary Clinton is expected to win in Pennsylvania. Hillary Clinton has Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell and his Political Machine in her corner. It appears that anything less than a twenty point win for Hillary Clinton will be equated to a hollow victory. If Barack Obama can keep Hillary Clinton in a single digit victory margin, it will be thought of as a win for Barack Obama.

Comments, opinions.................

Senator Patrick Leahy Tells Hillary Clinton to Withdraw as Candidate

Fri, 28 Mar 2008 09:30:34 MST

Senator Patrick Leahy, Democrat from Vermont has gone on record as telling Senator Hillary Clinton to stop campaigning and withdraw as a candidate. Senator Leahy made these comments on Vermont Public Radio on Thursday.

It is important that Senator Leahy made this statement as it will return the focus to the fact that Hillary Clinton cannot win the nomination by the process set forth by the Democrat National Committee. Hillary Clinton will only win the Democrat nomination for president if she goes around the "rules" and ultimately destroys the Democrat party.

Hillary Clinton will not withdraw voluntarily. When and only when some of the Democrat Party Leaders gain a "backbone" and go to her and tell her "it is over" will she then get it.

Barack Obama will be the Democrat Party Nominee. Hillary Clinton knows this, she will however never acknowledge it!

Comments, opinions.................