11 posts tagged “elections”

Iranlandslide

Allegedly, reports from Iran indicate the situation today is similar to what happened just before the 1979 revolution.  I say allegedly because all foreign journalists have been kicked out and the government has been cracking down on its citizens’ access to the internet.  Who’d have thought Twitter could be such a political force?

So the election was held last Friday.  The government announced the results about an hour after the polls closed and declared current President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad the winner.  One of the funny things about this was before the government released that, Reuters and other news organizations published reports that challenger, Mir Hossein Mousavi , had won.  I even Tweeted about it Friday night.  So much for trusting Reuters.  To make things stranger, it appeared Mousavi lost his home province and town.  That’s gotta hurt.

 Ahmadinejad left for Russia the next day and that’s good for him.  Monday saw the real protests begin and his government killed eight people and wounded many others.  I have been really impressed by how the Iranians have responded.  I applaud them for working so hard to keep getting images and stories out to the world.  They have a very young and engaged population, which is good seeing as all foreign media has been kicked out and has to rely on Tweets.  It’s also good that we have this technology.  The more the government tries to crack down the more the people seem determined to defy them.  Good for them.

How does all this compare to 1979?  The leader then was the Shah.  His secret police did a lot of things the Ahmadinejad government is doing now, though the economy is tanking now and it wasn’t then.  It seems to me that a bad economy + a young populace + political unrest = bad news for the current administration.  I don’t know if there will be a revolution or coup but the real power in Iran, the supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei ‘s Guardian Council is reviewing the election while Mousavi has called for the peaceful protests to continue.

The problem for President Obama is complicated.  US-Iranian relations have been non-existent since the 1980 hostage crisis but the problems don’t end there.  The Ahmadinejad government has already taken to blaming western governments and Israel for civil unrest.  Given the US history of working its will in Iranian politics, we did support the Shah, any statements made against Ahmadinejad may just give credence to their paranoia and make matters worse.  Moreover, if they keep Ahmadinejad in power, it’s going to be hard to deal with his government after condemning him.   Plus there is the fact that the US cannot condone it when another country kills its own citizens for political reasons.

This situation doesn’t do the supreme leader any favors either.  As the spiritual leader, he is supposed to be ‘all knowing’ so if he should have known on Friday if there were problems with the election.  His options were go with the will of the people and risk looking like he isn’t as perfect or anger them by insisting he is.  The path he took, to have the council review contested ballots was as close to a balancing act and I guess we’ll see how well it plays out.

Then there is the will of the people and their rights, which have been trampled upon.  They have showed a spectacular amount of determination and resilience.  My fingers are crossed and all we can do here is sit, wait and try to watch.

From the news the past few weeks, 2009 looks a lot like 2008.  That will suck if it continues.

·         Polls = “lies, damned lies and statistics.”  One added benefit to Barack Obama’s election would be the cessation of the endless polling the news networks did during the campaign cycle.  Wow, was I wrong about that.  The polls have shifted from which candidate people support for the 2008 campaign to which GOP candidate is most favored (it’s Sarah Palin right now) to beat Obama and/or how much confidence the public – including the same Republicans who are already lining up to support Palin – has in Obama.  WTF?  Can’t the guy take office before the snarkiness starts?  Apparently not.

·         Petty, partisan politics are over.   Uh, not in the US.  Just as Minnesota says Al Franken won, Norm Coleman and his pals in the Senate vow to fight on.  Granted, with an election so close, it’s hard to blame them.  It’s how they got the White House in 2000.  The other split seems to be in how the GOP machine will respond to President Obama.  So far they have released obnoxious and racist videos.  When called on the blatant racism of “Barak the magic negro” their response was “it was a joke.”  Yeah, so were your response to Katrina, our participation in the ICC or adherence to the Geneva Conventions the economy and your general ability to govern.  See, none of us are laughing at those either.

·         No, really – everything I do it totally legal.   One might think that if one governor is in the newspaper every day over a ‘pay for play’ scandal that if you maybe did the same thing, you might not want to subject yourself to anything that requires Senate confirmation.  Poor, silly Bill Richardson.  Of course, the adage that ‘those in glass houses should not throw stones’ never did mean much to politicians.  Nice.

·         Just because I am about to be impeached does mean I lose my rights to govern.  Speaking of Governor Blogojevich, he hasn’t actually been indicted on anything.  I understand that the ‘appearance of impropriety is worse than the impropriety itself.’  I do but legally he has the right to appoint anyone, who meets the requirements to be a Senator, to the Senate.  He could make things easier on Harry Reid, but why should he?  He should because anyone he appoints will be tainted and that may make it harder to them to keep the seat in 2010 when they have to run again.  A veto proof Senate would be, well, I can’t say how strongly I feel about it because then I would have to list this post as ‘offensive’ but it would be awesome.

·         Winter is cold and there is still plenty of war to go around.  After 10 days in Florida and too many hours of CNN/the Weather Channel, I can tell you that in the winter most of the US is cold and people still try to kill each other all over the world.  Israel is pounding Gaza (and I do blame Hamas for this), conflicts continue in the DR Congo & Darfur and pirates are taking ships off the horn of Africa.  Good times.

I know I sound glib here and promise that is not my goal.  It’s hard for me not to not be cynical about the state of the world.  The US made great progress by electing Barack Obama but we have a long way to go in terms of the rest of the planet, our role in it and what we do within our borders.  Democracy does not equal stability and peace.  The US is not the only country on earth and political corruption runs rampant.  We get the government that we settle for.  

http://pol.moveon.org/palinclock/

My Sunday morning ritual, and I may have posted this before is simple -- I watch the Chris Matthews show (Religiously, if I miss an episode not only does my day get off to a bad start but my week seems to suck, too. And as I have said before, I need my Chris Matthews fix so when he was ill last winter/fall/whenever it was or when they give him a vacation, he does deserve them, his shows are different and I cannot watch and suffer a minor depression until he returns.), then Meet the Press then Late Edition with Wolf Blitzer.  I do a lot of channel surfing throughout the morning and afternoon and inevitably I get all worked up and frequently yell at the TV.  This morning was no exception.

C-Span showed the Senate Judiciary Committee hearings with Atty General Alberto Gonzales and I got to see some of that and recorded what I missed -- I do leave the house from time to time and did so this afternoon.  What I saw was appalling.  Whether he was lying to the committee about what he knew, which is against the law, or if he really did not remember everything he claims to have forgotten, neither make this situation better.  In fact, the more he spoke the clearer it became that the line between where the White House ends and the DoJ begins seems to have disappeared completely during this administration.  While all Executive Branch agencies are going to change somewhat with each administration, they need to maintain some separate identity to be able to carry out their work.  No where is this more true than at the Justice Department.  That partisan politics may have altered which cases were pursued and how is appalling.  Some may call me naïve and insist this is just 'politics as usual.' That should not change our outrage at this lack of respect for our system of government.

Vive la France!

Across the ocean, in the country everyone loves to hate, except me -- I LOVE  FRANCE, history may be made there.  Believe it or not, OTHER COUNTRIES HAVE ELECTIONS and more THEY ARE NOT ALWAYS DUE TO US INTERVENTION, though I have read our campaign style has crept into their campaigns, we'll have to wait and see how that works out for them.  Better, I hope. For those who have not been watching, French candidates Nicolas Sarkozy (conservative) and Segolene Royal (liberal) got the top votes on 22 April and will face each other in a runoff election on 6 May (LA Times):

            "On a warm sunny day, voters in shorts, sunglasses and other casual attire stood in long lines caused by a turnout of about 86%, the highest since 1981. Some first-time voters needed help with the process.

            The high turnout reflected intense interest in a particularly suspenseful and significant election...

            Nationwide voter registration rose by more than 4 million since 2002. The Socialist Party carried out a vigorous get-out-the vote drive to avoid being blindsided again by an upstart candidate as in 2002."

Personally, as a liberal and a woman I am pulling for Ms. Royal -- she would be the first female president of and that would be fantastic on many levels.  It is also amazing to see such a high voter turn out, one not marred with the polling problems we have at each election.  Lines, it seems to me they are always worse in poorer areas, were so long at polling places that many people went home because they could not afford to stay and wait.  Election day should be a holiday but back to France, where we might see we have a lot more in common with them than we think. This description of the French electorate looks eerily familiar:

           

"The country suffers from the fastest-growing public debt in , high unemployment, entrenched protectionism, a bloated public sector and concerns about both immigration and the failure to integrate ethnic Arab and African populations...

            Voters “clearly marked their wish to go to the end of the debate between two ideas of the nation, two projects for society, two value systems, two concepts of politics,” Mr. Sarkozy said.

            More than an hour later, Ms. Royal appeared before a rally in the Poitou-Charentes region, where she is regional president, promising to change , but softly.

            Many French people, she said, “do not want a ruled by the law of the strongest or the most brutal, sewn-up by financial interests, where all powers are concentrated in the same few hands.” She added, “I am a free woman, as you are a free people.”"(The New York Times)

One thing that struck me was the desire to change the way the government is viewed and how similar the issues are. More on 6 May!

The Supreme Court

One of the main reasons it is always important to be careful who you pick to live at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue is that they choose who gets to sit on the Supreme Court.  Justices get to stay there for the rest of their lives.  Many Democrats, liberals and libertarians were concerned about the court’s composition and what would happen if a social conservative took the White House.  This was the one issue that even Ralph Nader said should make people vote for Al Gore over in 2000 (and no, I am not over Nader’s irresponsible actions that year).  So now Dubya’s court has decided that the law banning late term abortions is constitutional.  While social conservatives all over the country are celebrating tonight, this fight is not over (Washington Post).  The abortion fight will never really be over.

“For today, we have a significant victory for life and it is to be celebrated," said Tony Perkins, president of the Washington-based Family Research Council, an influential conservative lobby group with strong evangelical ties. But he told Reuters by telephone that it was too early to speculate when the Holy Grail for social conservatives -- a Supreme Court decision reversing the 1973 Roe v. Wade ruling that women have a basic constitutional right to abortion -- would be achieved.”

As a very pro-choice woman, I am no longer sure how relevant Roe v. Wade is.  A number of states (15) have banned abortions completely and others have just made is as difficult as possible.  Look here for more info.  For women in a large part of the country access to reproductive health services is limited and abortions are not available.  This is due to different laws and regulations but also the lack of doctors who perform abortions.  Many women have to drive long distances to get abortions.  Worse, in many of these same places laws designed to inspire family unity, do the opposite.  Is it really right to make a girl raped by a family member ask that person to sign off on her aborion?  Do aborion opponents really think it is better to make 11 year old rape victims mothers than to handle that some other way.  Ironically, while most health insurance companies cover Viagra and Cialis, they will not cover birth control.  At the same time, Scientific American reported on a Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) study that showed abstinence only programs do not work.

"The vast majority of the public does not see abstinence and contraception as an either/or proposition -- they want teens to be informed of both," Sarah Brown, Executive Director of the National Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy, said in a statement.  "We have been promoting ignorance in the era of AIDS, and that's not just bad public health policy, its bad ethics," added James Wagoner, president of Advocates for Youth.

 

HHS did not release its findings, as they contradict the current administration’s position on this issue but it was leaked by activists in who were backed by Congressman Henry Waxman (D-Ca).  One interesting point is that a few years ago a government official from Senagal was asked about his country’s response to the HIV/AIDS crisis in Africa and how different the results were in Senegal where t hey had been able to halt the spread of the disease through the wide distribution of condoms.  The Clintons' position, which they both have always supported is that abortion should be 'safe, legal and rare" should appeal to both sides of this issue and I have never understood why social conservatives refuse to acknowledge this.  No one ‘promotes’ abortion or wants to see someone they care about go through that – whether it be a young woman who got pregnant by mistake or someone who has found their baby has some medical problem that could hurt them or the mother – in most instances this is an intensely personal and difficult decision to make.  Preventing the former should be a top priority for anyone who cares about these young women and should trump their need to push their religion on other people.  Stay tuned, Tony Perkins got one thing right – this battle will continue for a long time.  I have to wonder if all the people who picket Planned Parenthood offices, bomb clinics and engage in similar behavior spent that time and energy on prevention maybe we’d have less pregnancies to worry about.  If only…

And in our ‘pro-life’ oriented world…

More information has surfaced regarding Cho Seung-Hui, the student who killed 33 people at Virginia Tech.  He sent a package to NBC News, which included video images taken ‘during the rampage':

“April 18 (Bloomberg) -- The Virginia Tech University student who shot 32 people to death on campus this week mailed a package of images and video messages to NBC News during his rampage.   After killing two students in a dorm on the , campus on April 16, Cho Seung Hui, 23, sent the package, NBC News said in a statement today. He went on to kill 30 more in a classroom building before taking his own life. One image released by NBC shows Cho wearing a backward black baseball cap and glaring at the camera while extending two pistols in gloved hands. NBC News broadcast a video tonight showing Cho delivering a profanity-laced tirade.  “When the time came I did it. I had to,'' Cho says in the video. He also says, “You forced me into a corner and gave me only one option. The decision was yours.''

Additionally, multiple news sources say he had been committed in 2005 for being suicidal and students who knew him said he never spoke to anyone, most people who knew him thought he had mental problems but no one did anything.  One of his suitemates told Chris Matthews on tonight’s Hardball that his own suitemates did not even know his name until the RA posted it on his door.  The same person knew him for almost four years and thought he was a business major – he learned of the gunman’s true major when he read it in the paper and was surprised.  He assumed one reason Cho kept to himself was that his English was not very good and that he was shy about it.  My only question remains:  why did no one step in and try to help him before this?  Colleges all over the country will take another look at students who may struggle with their own inner demons but it should not stop there.

Depression is a major problem for adolescents.  ABC News reported tonight that the benefits of antidepressants outweigh any risks.  It does not seem hard to see why people at this age are so prone to be depressed.  It is a hard time.

“Depression, when it occurs, is potentially lethal. Suicide is the third-leading cause of death in adolescents and is most often preceded by a major depressive episode.  Adolescents are particularly vulnerable to developing suicidal thinking in the context of depression, in part because adolescence is a time of identity formation during the human lifespan.”  (ABC News)

 

The story above gives warning signs people can look for.  Of course, we still have to move beyond the idea I mentioned yesterday that people are to blame for any mental illness they have.  We need to give them the same support we would give someone with cancer.  It would be nice to think something will change because of this horrible act but once the news story dries up the country’s attention will move on to something else.  The people directly affected will never be the same but the nation will go on.

Iraq

Much to the dismay of the White House, the new (barely) Democratic Congress is not going to back down on Iraq.  Karl Rove predicted last week that the Democrats would bow to what Dubya wants but it looks like that is not going to happen.  According to the Post:

President Bush sparred across the table with Democratic congressional leaders opposed to the war on Wednesday in a prelude to a veto showdown over a conflict that has claimed the lives of more than 3,200 troops. During an hourlong meeting at the White House, the president told lawmakers directly he will not sign any bill that includes a timetable for a troop withdrawal, and they made it clear Congress will send him one anyway. "We believe he must search his soul, his conscience and find out what is the right thing for the American people," Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of , told reporters after the session. "I believe signing this bill will do that."

 It is hard to envision this president signing any bill that would make it look like he is changing his position on this war, a war that he said when it started would ‘make or break’ his presidency.  He was right.  Back then thousands of people marched against invading Iraq and they continue to do so but this White House does not see or hear any views that differ from theirs.  Part of me has to respect someone who believes in something so much that public opinion will not sway their view.  This does not seem to be the case here.  Here it seems we have a president who sees any change of opinion as a show of weakness.  He believes he is right and we should all fall in line.  That is not what our country is supposed to be about.

“To announce that there must be no criticism of the president, or that we are to stand by the president right or wrong, is not only unpatriotic and servile, but is morally treasonable to the American public.”

– Theodore Roosevelt

So when the White House announced it had ‘lost’ four years of e-mails, well, how stupid do you think we are?  Apparently some of Dubya’s aides – including higher-ups like Karl Rove used their email inappropriately.  The ‘decider-in-chief’ said he does not use e-mail specifically so it cannot be subpoenaed later.  Nice, he could just avoid engaging in activities that would make such communication subject to subpoenas but that could just be naïve of me.  Federal employees are barred from engaging in political work while on the job.  This is due to the Hatch Act. To help White House staffers comply with the Act, the RNC created email addresses, computers, phones, etc. to allow them to keep their political and official duties separate as there are White House jobs that require both.  The issues at hand are that some may have ‘confused’ official and political emails and used the wrong one for either and that the WH claims it lost years of official.  The problem is compounded by the fact that the White House is bound by the Presidential Records Act to document its communications so that their actions can be analyzed later.  So with scandals popping up like moles in a ‘whack a mole’ game what could have been an innocuous mistake – using the RNC communications systems for official business may have been done intentionally to hide illegal actions.  And after six years of working in the White House, plus years and years of political experience before that, the people important enough to have been given these RNC email addresses should know their way around the Hatch Act by now, especially people like Karl Rove. (There is some good info at: US News and World Report)

Given this information, the lost and misused emails look a lot worse than before.  The big worry has been that these emails contain information on the recent US Attorney firings but as it is not possible to get those on the RNC system, or look at the lost official ones, it is impossible to know.  For an administration that has made almost everything it does political, the implications are astounding.

The recent US Attorney scandal was not the first time a US Attorney was fired for not toeing the party line.  Fred Black was the US Attorney for but soon after he began investigating Jack Abramoff, he was fired. (NPR)  The Nation has been critical of this administration from day one – anyone familiar with the publication would expect nothing less (if there is a ‘liberal media,’ The Nation is it.)  They wrote about this as well:

Back in the spring of 2002, when Guam's then-Governor, Carl Gutierrez, found himself in the cross-hairs of a federal corruption probe, he hired disgraced über-lobbyist Jack Abramoff to force out the US territory's longtime acting US Attorney, Frederick Black. "I don't care if they appoint bozo the clown, we need to get rid of Fred Black," Abramoff wrote to colleagues in March 2002.

The article also indicates that the decision to fire Black, and the other lawyers, was discussed by people at the highest levels in the White House and included people like Karl Rove, Alberto Gonzalez and Harriet Miers.  All these people should be fired.

This attorney scandal really is just the tip of the proverbial iceberg.  George W. Bush et al have seen the federal government, and probably Congress given its unwillingness to do anything the WH did not like, exists not just to further their policy goals, which it is, but their political agenda as well.  This attitude went far beyond the DOJ.  According the Post the head of the General Services Administration and one of Rove’s deputies held a video conference how Republicans can do better in the next election cycle.

In 2000, Dubya campaigned, and if I keep coming back to this – and I will – under the banner of “We will restore honor to the White House” and since taking over everything they have done has proven they had no intention of doing that, or at least they did not expect to be caught.  Their arrogance is unprecedented and sickening.

Senator and Mrs. Edwards held a press conference this afternoon where they announced her cancer had returned but that his campaign would go forward.  While I have not make up my mind on which candidate will get my support (they will be a Democrat) you have to lack any human emotions if you do not appreciate their honesty and courage.  It takes a lot to run for president. It takes a lot to deal with cancer, as a patient or loved one of someone with it.  It takes a lot more to do both.

To Mrs. Edwards, your actions speak volumes to your commitment to your husband and the country.  Not to mention all the people who have been affected by this disease.  You are truly an inspiration.  And to Senator Edwards, your dedication to your wife and the causes that made you run for president reminds me why I care about politics.

Bravo to both of you.  More later...

What the f?

The Washington Post reported today the “The actions raised the likelihood of another clash between the White House and the congressional Democratic leadership, which has already been pressuring the administration to bring U.S. troops home from Iraq and to improve the care of wounded service members.”  ( Post, March 21, 2007, page one)  Congress needs to fight with the White House to get them to care for wounded soldiers?  And here I thought they wanted us all to do things like support our troops.  Maybe there are different definitions of support.  This seems so ridiculous I have no response except to say that I hope everyone who called the people who have marched against the war unpatriotic are sending checks to the various charities that help veterans.  I doubt it though.

Again what the f?

As evidence mounts that the White House played a very active role in the recent firing of federal prosecutors, Dubya has agreed to let some of his key advisors talk to Congress.  The catch: it has to be in secret, the testimony will neither be under oath or transcribed and the Administration gets to vet the questions.  Clearly they think most Americans are brain dead.  It’s a good thing Congress said, “No.”  This will bring us to subpoenas and a ‘showdown’ between the two branches of government.

It shouldn’t have to be this way.  On the bright side, the White House actually handed over some information (buried in the 3,000 pages they sent over to the Hill) that may shed light on what happened. Washington’s eternal questions – who knew what and when?, may be answered.  For starters, the White House and AG Gonzalez knew and participated more in the decisions not only to fire the prosecutors but how to handle the PR than they admitted.  For shame, for shame.  Politicians never learn that the minute they try to cover something up they begin to produce evidence that someone will find.  On the bright spot is that the Senate voted overwhelmingly – somewhere to the tune of 92-4 – to prevent the AG from being allowed to appoint new federal prosecutors without Senate approval.  The clock is ticking on  his time in that position.

At the end of the day, this White House DESPERATELY needs to be reminded that our government’s three main branches are there for a reason and the checks and balances system our Constitution set up is very important.  Most presidents try to increase the role of the Executive branch but in the past the Legislative branch has fought back.  For six years, Dubya et al have been allowed to make decisions and run the country without outside interference.  If nothing else, at least the new Democratic leadership will take back some of the power the Republican Congressional leadership abdicated.

I still hate Ashley Wilkes

Gone with the Wind featured two male protagonists; Rhett Butler and Ashley Wilkes.  Rhett was a scoundrel but despite was also honest and honorable.  His ‘saintly’ counterpart was neither.  He was whiny and indecisive and took the easy path every chance he got.  He was a hypocrite, he claimed to hate slavery but loved the life it gave him.  He loved two women but never chose one over the other and forced Scarlett O’Hara to miss out on her one true love.  I hate him because by trying to be everything to everyone he did nothing for anyone but himself and he was an idiot.  Note to Democrats:  Do not behave like Ashley.  Pick a plan stick with it.

What does this have to do with anything?  Probably nothing, unless you look Speaker Pelosi’s plan for .   At first glance it seems ok.   It looks like it provides a reasonable outline for how to fix the situation in Iraq, at least as much as possible at this point.  Added bonus, many Democrats support it.  We all know getting them to agree on anything is harder than herding cats.  Problems remain.

The first is the idea of benchmarks for when and how to withdraw our troops.  Who decides when and if they have been met?   The Speaker admitted this is a touchy subject because the question of what targets have been met can be subjective.   She also said that we can trust the president to be honest about the situation in Iraq.  Does anyone believe that?  Anyone?  Can they even tell when things are going well or not?  Even if we forget, for now anyway, the faulty intelligence that lead to this war (you know, Saddam had weapons of mass destruction and was a threat to civilization as we know it because of that and his ties to Al Qaeda and 9/11, our troops would be greeted as liberators, Iraqi oil money would pay for the war, the insurgency would be small and easy to contain) but Vice President Cheney still has not changed his playbook.  To hear him tell it, and First Lady Laura Bush feels the same way (if it weren’t for that one annoying bombing a day), we are the only thing keeping Iraq from falling into a horrible civil war, you may know it as the horrible civil war they have been fighting for at least a year.  We’re supposed to take their word for anything?

Another may be more pressing.  A cynic would say that this plan was written to embarrass Republicans than end the war.  It seemed obvious before Dubya said he would veto any plan the Democrats passed but he has said that and he will.  He said early on that his presidency will live or die on and it will so the man who does not think he is ever wrong, he does have God on his side and all, will never concede anything on this issue.  This puts us on the road to a Constitutional crisis.  Lest you think I am wrong, we are almost to the last exit before crisis.  It seems equally obvious that this is part of the Democrats’ plan.  Play hardball, make vulnerable GOP Congress people vote for an unpopular war and hold the administration’s feet to the fire on this.  If nothing else, the 2006 election was a referendum on the war on Dubya’s ability to run it.  Congressional Democrats have to remember this and that we wear the white hats.  When we make promises we keep them.

Speaking of people who are always right... 

Amid questions about the VP's clout, how much did he have and when did he lose it?  Was it when he shot his friend in the face?  His repeated statements that anyone who speaks out against him is a terrorist, or close.  What did that do to his clout?  How about Scooter Libby's conviction.  What has that done, anything?  And some think he may leave the White House, I doubt that.  It is interesting because he was considered to be the 'most important and influential VP ever.'  Now we have Dubya making foreign policy decisions without the Veep, what's next?  A curfew? 

Was there every a time when elected officials had press conferences to announce news?

Not this week.  Not most weeks.  The difference was that usually when politicians announce press conferences to say nothing, or almost nothing, the press refuses to show.  That’s what really makes Senator Hagel’s press circus  so unique.  With all the speculation of his future a planeload of national press and all the locals showed up to hear what the good Senator had to say.  The joke was on all of them as his big declaration was that he plans to talk to his family and think some more about what to do and sometime, in the near or distant future, will let us all know what he has decided.  Most networks, which had broken into whatever programming they were showing, broke back to that and all looked pretty stupid.  With a presidential announcement, on either side, coming out every other day, it seems fitting that the media was duped on this one.  My hat is off to Senator Hagel. The bad news for him is if he does this again if he wants the same media coverage he is going to have to also announce he is the father of Anna Nicole Smith’s child or maybe just sleep with Brittany Spears.  He can claim to have saved her sanity by coverting her to whatever religion he practices.  Maybe he'll convert to Mormonism and support polygamy and make Mitt Romney look less scary.  Only time will tell...

No one, inside the US, has benefited more from 9/11 than Rudy Giuliani.  Before that terrible day, he was not well liked in the city he oversaw but everything changed for him that day.  Personally, I was desperate for someone to step up to the plate and offer some comforting words.  Dubya was busy flying all other country; he later claimed that Air Force One was thought to be a target, avoiding Washington, DC .  Later when he did surface, in his first appearance after the tragedy, he looked like a deer in the headlights.  It’s ironic because despite my personal feelings about him, he stole the 2000 election and best case scenario he is just a puppet for people smarter than he is and worst case is that he may be evil, I desperately wanted him to say something to make me feel better.  I was ready to give him a boatload of room and all he had to do was say something coherent and I would have accepted him as my president – at least for a short time.  He couldn’t even give me that so the role of ‘comforter in chief’ fell to an unlikely person: Rudy Giuliani.  After spending the day at ground zero, he came out and showed presidential level leadership.  He reassured the country that someone, an actual adult, was in control of the situation.

Again, unlike our president, Rudy did not waste the goodwill granted to him that day.  Rather the persona he created that day has grown.  People who disliked his mayoral style still think of him as the hero of 9/11.  And now polls indicate this has catapulted him to the top of the heap of GOP presidential candidates. 

It’s an interesting thing.  I lived in when Rudy was the mayor and I hated him.  I was not alone.  His approval rating on 9/10/2001 hovered somewhere around 20 percent.  He took credit for cleaning up the city.  To be fair, the city did change a lot during this time.  The I knew as a kid was changed to look a lot more like a Disney theme park than the seedy underbelly it once was.  People, including me, have argued this is because Disney came in and cleaned up that part of town. 

Crime declined, yes.  Many experts in this area will tell you that better economic conditions play a larger role in crime prevention than more traditional methods.  No politician wants to appear ‘soft on crime’ and Rudy is no different.  Under his reign, the police were given a lot of leeway in how they did their job and police brutality skyrocketed.  In the late 1990’s several people were shot by police.  They were suspects in various crimes but they were unarmed and shot – multiple times (like 50) – and were reaching for their wallet to get their ID.  The problems didn’t stop there.  The police, emboldened by the Giuliani administration, raided many homes where they suspected criminal activity.  One issue with this policy was that they often got the address wrong.  On one occasion, police stormed an older woman’s home.  She was watching her grandchildren and bathing her mentally disabled grandson when the police burst through her door with guns blazing.  Several children were watching television and screamed when the police entered. Everyone was terrified.  The police had made a very simple mistake, they had inverted the numbers on the street address.  When asked about this incident, the mayor did not apologize to this woman or offer to repair her now destroyed front door but his comment was that if you want a safer city sometimes things like this are going to happen.  The mayor did not care much for civil rights.

Rudy was bully in more ways than this.  His management style fit the ‘my way or the highway’ approach and this was evident in most city business.  My understanding was that companies that did not play along with his agenda were not awarded contracts.  He ruled the city like he was king, not a democratically elected mayor.  Once the major problems seemed to be addressed (and I would be a liar if I did not admit that I liked having my garbage collected frequently) he turned his attention to ‘quality of life’ issues like stopping jay-walking.  Do not take my word for any of this, it is all well documented.  I wondered why he picked this issue to tackle seeing as buildings were falling apart all over Manhattan.  If a tile falls from the top of a 50 story building, it is going to do some damage.

Rudy was a dictator.  As the Washington Post reported this week, most media does not like him and has boxes of material against him.  Honestly, it would seem they should like him because as one reporter said in Howard Kurtz’s piece, they have to research  the other GOP candidates but they can just start writing stories about Rudy by memory.

In short, Rudy was a terrible mayor who benefited from an economic upturn and Disney’s investment in the city.  There is no reason to believe he has the experience or temperament to be a good president.