Archive for 2008

I will not be Sharptoned

Friday, May 23rd, 2008

Sometimes it is positive to have a noun become a verb. When somebody at work is told to Fedex, Xerox, or Google something, it is a validation of the success of these firms. Becoming a verb puts them into the lexicon of American culture forever.

Sometimes turning someone into a verb is meant as an insult. In our political culture, the trendy way of claiming one is being attacked is to say that they are “Swift-boated.”

Yes, liberals love to get self righteous and indignant over the Swift Boat Veterans. One reason for this is because liberals get self righteous and indignant over everything. Nevertheless, the Swift Boats Veterans get considerable scorn.

Before going any further, it is important to dispel some myths about the SBVs.

The SBVs were not republicans. The most notable SBV, John O’Neill, was a lifelong democrat. Their gripe with John Kerry was not political. It was personal. They hated his guts. I personally find it troubling when anybody bases their campaign on hatred of another, whether it be the SBVs or Ross Perot. Nevertheless, this was not a right wing conspiracy.

Another thing to keep in mind is that the democrats are now officially the Sorosites. The entire party has been bought lock, stock, and barrel by one meglomaniacal financial criminal, George Soros. He spent millions. The SBVs spent thousands. More people believed them.

Lastly. it was John Kerry that made Vietnam an issue in the 2004 campaign, not his opponents. It was John Kerry that attacked the patriotism of George W. Bush, not the other way around. It was John Kerry that dismissed George W. Bush’s service in the National Guard. It was John Kerry, through his campaign staff, in careful coordination with Dan Rather, Mary Mapes, and the Jayson Blair Times, that tried to use “fake but accurate” memos to steal an election.

Nevertheless, to Swiftboat somebody now refers to any situation where a conservative criticizes or disagrees with a liberal. Question why Barack Obama would associate with a hatemonger like Jeremiah Wright or a terrorist like William Ayers, and the response is that he will not be Swiftboated.

Barack Obama’s people keep insisting that this election must be about health care and the economy. These are areas where the democrats are strong. I can only imagine the outcry if republicans were told that the only allowable issues were crime and welfare.

Mr. Obama’s wife makes ill conceived and venomous statements, and those that criticize her are attacking a poor innocent man’s wife. The reason why nobody criticized Laura Bush is because she behaved herself. A woman can be strong and independent without being off putting and obnoxious.

It is not that republicans try to Swiftboat democrats. It is that liberals and left leaning democrats feel the need to Sharpton anybody that disagrees with them.

Al Sharpton was once a large man, and nothing more. He is now a larger than life verb. If he was caucasian, he would simply be called a racist. Since he is black, even his critics use softer words, like agitator. Others still call him a Civil Rights leader, as if being a racist and a thug qualifies one for a Nobel Peace Prize. Actually, Yassir Arafat won, so I guess it does.

https://tygrrrrexpress.com/2007/08/al-sharpton-colon-cancer-and-other-pains-in-the-rumpus/

Al Sharpton makes Al Gore and Hillary Clinton look like people of integrity (barely). From Tawana Brawley and Steven Pagones to antisemitic remarks that led to Jewish stores being burned, Al Sharpton has trafficked in hate speech.

It was bad enough when this boil on the rumpus of decency was outside of the mainstream. It is now appalling that the democratic party has become a full time group of splicers. By Sharptoning people, liberals attempt to silence all debate. This is what the 2008 election is now about.

Hillary Clinton has made it clear that sexism doomed her campaign. The fact that she is a lying, scheming, soulless, nasty, vicious, spiteful woman could not have possibly had anything to do with her loss. The fact that many people stood up and said that they would support a woman, but not her in particular, was deemed irrelevant.

Hillary’s constituency is basically hags and harpies. For those wanting to know the difference between a hag and a harpie, it is subtle. The bottom line is a dirty little secret that many women privately admit but publicly disavow…that they are the far more disliked sex for good reason. Men have issues with women, and women have issues with women. Everybody has issues with women.

Some women go out of their way to say things like, “I am a woman, but I am not a feminist. I am not one of those women. I do not nag. Watch your ball game. Treat me with respect, and I will do likewise.”

My grandmothers were not hags. My mother did not nag. My girlfriend is not a basket case crying victimhood. Plenty of normal women exist. Hillary prefers the low road of blame. Nothing is ever her fault. She wants to lob verbal grenades indicting anybody who dares to disagree with her, and then play the sexism victim card when those being attacked dare to defend themselves.

She Sharptons people, and thankfully, people are finally seeing through that.

Barack Obama’s people are starting to Sharpton people, despite the fact that Obama himself claims to want to move past that. He made a powerful statement the other day. He said, “If I lose this election, it will not because of racism. It will be because I did not articulate my ideas effectively enough.”

I give Mr. Obama all the credit in the world for that statement. My only concern is that he is simply going to let his surrogates to the racial dirty work of Sharptoning John McCain. Obama will say that he cannot be held responsible for what his supporters say and do, but if there is tacit encouragement, it must be exposed.

Liberals will claim that racism will prevent Obama from winning the election. This is a preemptive strike that creates a disgusting narrative about America. Obama must win, because otherwise, America is racist.

If John McCain wins, does that make America racist? Does that make McCain’s supporters racists?

Yes, if one is a liberal looking for excuses.

I will not be Sharptoned. I will repeatedly state my views and beliefs, and let the chips fall where they may.

I think Barack Obama is a good, decent man. I simply disagree with him on issues that matter most to me.

Obama is wrong on taxes. He wants to raise them, and I want to lower them.

Obama is wrong on trade. I want as many new free trade deals as possible, especially with Latin American Nations such as Peru and Colombia. Protectionism is simply bad policy in a global world.

Obama is wrong on guns and the Second Amendment. More gun control is bad policy. One can argue the constitutional aspects of it, but what is not arguable is that areas with tougher gun control laws have more crime.

Obama is wrong on Israel. He says the right platitudes, but he genuinely does not understand the issue of Israel, or the depth of the hatred the Arabs feel for Israel. This does not make him a bad guy. It just makes him unsophisticated on the issue.

All of these issues are policy. They are not personal.

Some liberals will point to the fact that West Virginia and Kentucky went overwhelmingly against Obama. Some statistics say that one in five of them will not vote for him.

Democrats then claim racism. The problem is even if these people are racists, they are democrats!

So democrats hold racist views, and yet republicans are supposedly racists. Robert Byrd is a former Klansman, yet the late Lee Atwater is blamed for every republican ill gotten victory in the last 20 years.

When asked if they would vote for a black person, republicans cite people such as Clarence Thomas, Walter Williams, Armstrong Williams, Condoleeza Rice (who Obama’s Pastor called “Condoskeeza”), Michael Steele, and many others. The liberals respond by saying that those people are not authentically black. This is racism at its most poisonous.

As much as it pains me to admit, Hillary Clinton is not a man, and John Edwards is not a woman. Therefore, by that same token, Michael Steele is black, and guilty white liberals are by definition white.

To vote against Barack Obama specifically because he is partially black is disgusting. I have repeatedly condemned those that refer to him as “B. Hussein Obama.” It is wrong.

However, it is equally wrong for the man that many Clintonites dubbed “Obambi” to have the audacity of trying to stifle debate.

He does not get to decide what the issues are. He does not have the right to excoriate John McCain on a daily basis, and then claim that we have to move past such behavior when McCain’s supporters defend him. This is what supporters do.

I will not be labeled a bigot because I am voting for a man that happens to be a white male. I will not be Sharptoned because I am voting for a true American hero.

I will not be Sharptoned by people who practice the politics of division because their very political survival and relevance depends on it. I will not be intimidated by people who say that we must come together, and choose liberalism over bigotry.

There is no place for bigotry in American society, and that means choosing the best person for the job of our next President.

I believe in John McCain.

If those that want to disagree on policy want to discuss that, a healthy and vital debate can occur.

For those on the left that want to hurl slurs in an attempt to force people into voting for Barack Obama, lest they be attacked with the stigma of racism, I say “bring it on.”

I respect Barack Obama. I support John McCain.

I will not back down.

I will not use kid gloves when the other side uses a wrecking ball.

I will not be bullied by the worshipers of the tactics of Sharpton the Charlatan.

I will not be Sharptoned.

eric

RJC in DC–Meeting Bill Kristol

Thursday, May 22nd, 2008

At the Republican Jewish Coalition Leadership meeting in Washington, DC, I had the pleasure of listening to and then meeting Bill Kristol. He was the Chief of Staff to former Vice President Dan Quayle. He was also one of the first strategists to issue public “private” strategy memos. His daily faxes helped defeat Hillarycare in 1993 and 1994. He is currently part of a political panel on Fox News. Below are his comments regarding the 2008 Presidential election.

“First the bad news. The democratic party will be united. Don’t kid ourselves otherwise.”

“It is tough to win three straight elections. Four out of the five Presidents since World War II failed to extend their party to a third victory. Dwight Eisenhower did not deliver Richard Nixon. Bill Clinton did not deliver Al Gore. Kennedy and Johnson only had 8 years. Nixon and Ford only had 8 years. The only President to deliver a third term was Ronald Reagan, whose popularity helped deliver President George Herbert Walker Bush.”

“75% of the country thinks that America is on the wrong track. The republican party in general is not as strong.”

“Recent special elections in Illinois and Louisiana ended 30 years of republican rule. Dennis Hastert retired, and a safe republican seat went democratic.”

“Now for some good news. Liberals lose elections. Obama is a liberal.”

“Mark Warner, Evan Bayh, and Dick Gephardt would have all been tougher candidates.”

“During war, Americans prefer hawkishness. They want someone tougher on National Security.”

“In losing an off year election, like we did in 2006, voters feel that the party in power has already been punished.”

Although Mr. Kristol did not explicitly state this, a good parallel would be the Gingrich revolution of 1994. Despite one of the biggest electoral landslides in American history, Bob Dole did not win the White House in 1996.

“Even many who disagree with the war feel that John McCain balances Nancy Pelosi.”

“1928 was the last election with no incumbent President or Vice President running. The Vice Presidential picks will be important, and the debates will be vital.”

When asked about the Jewish vote, Mr. Kristol pulled no punches and offered no olive branches.

“The Israel-America relationship matters. I have given up hope on getting liberal Jews to vote intelligently. I am tired of the political stupidity of the Jews.”

“Having Obama, Pelosi and Reid running the country for two years is much more serious than the last two years of Pelosi, who was stopped by President Bush.”

“Democrats want change merely for the sake of change. Keep in mind, for many democrats, Obama was not their first choice.”

In discussing the mortgage crisis,  I will now from now on call it the mortgage inconvenience. With liberals, everything is a crisis. It was Bill Kristol in 1993 who ordered republicans to grow spines, boldly declaring that, “There is no health care crisis.” Phil Gramm was the one who picked up on this theme, and declared that the Clinton health care plan “would become law over his cold, dead political body.” After he successfully killed it, he announced that the bill “was deader than Elvis, and it isn’t coming back.” He did come back himself for several more years.

The irony of this is that Former Senator Gramm himself agrees with me that irresponsible borrowers need to grow a pair. Yet Bill Kristol will not hop on board this line of thought publicly. Mr. Kristol is a political strategist, and for strategists, it is about winning. I am more interested in principles. In 1993, defeating Hillarycare was good policy and good politics. This is not the case in 2008 with the mortgage crisis.

“The Phill Gramm ‘suck it up’ economic message is a loser message.”

He meant from a political standpoint. It was not a personal attack against Mr. Gramm.

“We did well in 2004 before because 2004 was a ‘mobilization election.’ 2008 will be tougher for us because it will be an ‘imagination election.'”

The discussion then turned to potential Vice Presidential picks.

“If Hillary becomes the Vice President, Obama will need a food taster at the White House.”

“George Mitchell or Bob Kerrey would be good, safe, conventional choices as Vice President.”

“The democrats should go safe and conventional. The republicans should not. Mitt Romney is too conventional a choice to be Vice President.”

Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal would be a bold choice for Vice President. He is a conservative, and a fresh face. His lack of experience will not hurt him, since he can simply remind everyone about Obama’s lack of experience.”

I did have a chance to meet Bill Kristol afterwards. His manner is easy going, and his analysis is solid.

The GOP has tough challenges ahead in 2008, but 1988 makes for a great parallel. Yes, Barack Obama is significantly more inspiring than Michael Dukakis. However, John McCain is more inspiring than  President George HW Bush. Ideology defeats competence in terms of arguments every time. George HW Bush was not particularly ideological, but he ran on the Reagan ideology. Michael Dukakis was ideological, but ran away from his liberal label.

Barack Obama is a clear ideological liberal. Yet he might choose to run away from that ideology, and hope that his platitudes do not grow stale. John McCain is not seen as an ideologue, but his voting record on conservative issues is down the line ideological. He should embrace this, rather than run in fear from it.

According to the Bill Kristol strategy, republican can win this election. I believe he is right.

eric

Hillary–Insincere to the last drop

Wednesday, May 21st, 2008

A few years ago, the Oakland Raiders played the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the Superbowl. It was the battle of Bays, and the battle of pirates.

Late in the game, the Raiders scored three straight touchdowns. Although they did not make any extra point conversions, those 18 points were impressive. The Buccaneers did score a pair of touchdowns at the end, but the Raiders 18 points outdid the 14 points of the Buccaneers.

Yet for some reason, the Buccaneers won the Superbowl instead of the Raiders. Despite outscoring the Buccaneers 18-14, apparently that was not enough to override the first three quarters of the game, in which the Buccaneers squeaked past the Raiders 34-3. The Raiders closed to within 34-21, and then lost 48-21.

As painful as this Superbowl was, it is almost as painful listening to Hillary Clinton explain to us why facts do not matter and numbers are mere inconveniences.

Below is her “victory” speech from her win in Kentucky. Despite her being thrashed in Oregon, and in many states across the country that she does not count for various reasons, in her world, the last few minutes can make up for the first three quarters.

At least this woman is consistent. She is ready to lie on day one. Why6 would she not be? She has had experience lying for 35 years.

http://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2008/05/clintons_kentucky_victory_spee.html

“I am thinking about why we are all here. It is not just to win a primary, or even just to win an election; what propels us is the struggle to realize America’s promise.”

While this is harmless blather to some, somebody ought to tell Hillary that most people do not struggle with this issue. They already appreciate America for what it has been for more than a couple of centuries.

Nevertheless, if this was the worst one could say about Hillary, it would not be that bad. It is not even close, which is why she is that bad.

She spent much time making the obligatory comments praising Ted Kennedy, which is fine. However, he was supporting Barack Obama, not her. She does not have to mention this, but it is worth noting.

“It is not just Kentucky bluegrass that is music to my ears.”

Hillary has loved Kentucky bluegrass all her life. She has also been a lifelong New York Yankees fan.

Does Hillary know the name of one bluegrass artist or song?

It is not about music. It is about insincerity and a patronizing nature.

It is one thing to thank people. It is another to claim to be one of them. Hillary is a wealthy woman from a privileged background that somehow managed to position herself to the right of Barack Obama.

“Some have said your votes didn’t matter, that this campaign was over, that allowing everyone to vote and every vote to count would somehow be a mistake.”

Nobody of any credibility said that. Hillary loves to play the “us against them” card.

“This is one of the closest races for a party’s nomination in modern history.”

Horshoes and hand grenades Hillary. Close means zilch.

“We’re winning the popular vote…”

No you are not Hillary. You are turning into Al Gore’s evil twin. The real fun will be those that still think Gore won in 2000 trying to explain why the rules are different now. Sometimes I think liberals would even cheat at Monopoly, but then remember that they would refuse to play that game because some people get wealthy, making the game unfair.

“Though we have been outspent massively…”

As much as I hate using pop culture references, Justin Timberlake was right to tell Britney Spears to “Cry me a river.” The reason why she was outspent was because more people liked Barack Obama. Hillary loves the little people defeating the behemoths except when she is the behemoth. His supporters and their $25 donations beat out her fat cats and their $100,000 donations.

Hillary does not understand that rich people have a right to be rich. Obama played by the same rules of raising money, and he won fair and square. Yes, he will be a complete hypocrite when he inevitably starts bashing the rich, but that is for later. Life is not fair, no matter how desperately Hillary tries to spread the misery of equality. Obama should spend into the stratosphere, as is his right.

“We have to select a nominee who is best positioned to win in November, and someone who is best prepared to address the enormous challenges facing our country in these difficult times.”

The “electability” argument is pure fraud. The rules cannot be undone. John Edwards, Bill Richardson and Joe Biden are all more electable. The road is littered with candidates that would have been strong in a general election if only they did not have to go through the pesky nuisance of a primary. Rudy Giuliani in 2008, John Edwards and Joe Lieberman in 2004, and John McCain in 2000 all tried to play to the center. This is admirable, but passionate bases have every right to make their voices heard. If moderates are troubled by this, then they should speak up more forcefully. I detest activists, but respect the fact that they get things done because they are motivated. Hillary was rejected by a majority of voters in her own party. Barely being rejected is no different from a landslide rejection. A close loss is a loss.

“Now, I’m told that more people have voted for me than for anyone who has ever run for the Democratic nomination.”

That is also a lie Hillary. Stop manipulating the numbers. You may have turned $1000 into $100,000 playnig commodities, but in this game, 2 + 2 still does not equal 5.

Also, and this must be repeatedly reinforced, even if she did win the popular vote, that would be a symbolic victory that is meaningless from an electoral standpoint.

(The talk before the 2000 election was Al Gore losing the popular vote but winning the Electoral College. His supporters were fine with this, and the campaign’s last minute hit job about a drunk driving scandal almost made their concerns moot)

“Whether or not we will have a president who will rebuild the economy, end the war in Iraq, restore our leadership in the world and stand up for you every single day.”

The economy is actually doing well, and there is a chance that we might not have a recession at all. As for restoring our leadership in the world, Europeans are supporting conservative leaders in droves. Even if this was not the case, John Kerry’s “global test” is as useless now as it was in 2004. As for ending the war in Iraq, if support for the war upticks again, she will be for the war since the beginning anyway.

“For too long, too many Americans have felt invisible in their own country. Well, you’ve never been invisible to me. I’ve been fighting for you my entire life.”

Most people want to be left alone to make the most of their own lives. They are only invisible to the elites like Hillary who consider them “flyover country.” Just because Obama was even more condescending than she was does not make her the champions of ordinary Americans. The people who make this country great, who shop at Walmart, like NASCAR, go target shooting…Hillary has utter contempt for these people.

We are in this race because we believe everyone deserves a shot at the American Dream, the opportunity to work hard at a good job to get ahead, to save for college, for a home, for retirement.”

This would be true except for the fact that Hillary wants to raise capital gains taxes, which would decimate retirement accounts. Only people making less than a certain amount can open up IRAs, so hurting retirement accounts hurts the rich the least. She also wants to tax the profits of legal businesses, which would cripple the shareholders of these companies. Yes, the female version of Robin Hood will wreck a family owning a few shares of stock to teach rich powerful producers a lesson.

“a president with experience representing the people of the United States in more than 80 countries to restore our leadership and moral authority in the world.”

I have drank Coca Cola in many places in this world. Therefore, I am a world renowned food and beverage expert that should be the CEO of the Coca Cola company. I also own stock in Coca Cola, which makes me a part owner. Using Hillary’s math, I should be  the Chairman of the Board as well, since the fact that  my shares were bought more recently invalidates the millions of shares that the current CEO owns.

“This country needs our combination of strength and compassion to help people struggling with their bills.”

Strength? Democrats love using words like “toughness” and “strength” everywhere except where it matters. Even Barack Obama has a new meaningless phrase known as “tough diplomacy.”

John Kerry wanted a “stronger America.”

Republicans don’t have to announce how tough they are. It is taken at face value (Now if only republicans would promise to never again try to run on compassion. It makes me ill).

As for my bills, I have student loans, and I do not need nor want Hillary’s help. I want my taxes low, so I can pay the loans myself.  Period. Exclamation point. Let me keep my money, and mind your own business.

“I’m going to keep standing up for the voters of Florida and Michigan. Democrats in those two states cast 2.3 million votes and they deserve to have those votes counted.”

No they do not. The rules were crystal clear.

“Who is ready on Day One to lead?”

John McCain. He actually has a record of accomplishment, despite his not attending tea parties and ribbon cutting ceremonies across 80 nations.

“Just this week, I met 89-year-old Emma Hollis, an African-American woman, she has seen so many barriers crumble and fall in her lifetime, but she is not finished yet.”

Yes, the obligatory sop to a random black woman. While this is harmless, Obama is winning over 90% of the black vote, including black women. Hillary is cherry picking. There might be a white male gun owner that watches football that likes Hillary, but in statistics this would be called an aberration.

“I’m thinking about Andrea Steagall, a strong and composed young woman, 20 years old, who drove across Kentucky to meet me. Her husband, Justin, is deployed in Afghanistan.”

This is another aberration. John Kerry lost 75% of the military vote. Al Gore tried to have their ballots invalidated, since “counting all the votes” was only meant for his supporters. Hillary can claim every left of center military person aching for a photo op and a cushy pentagon job, but the rank and file are behind the war hero John McCain.

“I’m thinking again about Dalton Hatfield, the 11-year-old from Kentucky, who sold his bike and his video games to raise money to support my campaign.”

This is one time that I hope Hillary is lying. If this story is truthful, then I am appalled. I will not blame Hillary, but I will say that the boy’s parents are most likely disgusting human beings. 11 year old children are apolitical unless their parents indoctrinate them. Good parents who truly care about their children would prefer their child keep his bicycle and video games. Yes, the left cares about the children.

“The state motto of Kentucky is, ‘United we stand, divided we fall.'”

Hillary is all about division. She pits groups against each other.

“We won’t just unite our party; we will unite our country.”

All the while bashing republicans. You are a fighter who prides herself on defeating enemies. You are also a healer who will bring us together.

Hillary, with all respect to the people of Maxwell House Coffee, you truly are consistent in your insincerity. You are good to the last drop.

The percolator has been turned off. Now all we see is a drip.

I would not even let her iron my shirts. I know more about domestic life than she does. Perhaps her servants can show her how to do it.

Enough Hillary. Even democrats, who will believe anything, do not believe you. The most gullible have seen through you.

It is easy to see through when there is nothing actually there but a blank space.

More democrats found substance in Barack Obama than in Hillary.

While that makes me laugh, they have every right to nominate whoever they wish.

Hillary, the last drip has dropped.  The last drop has dripped.  The faucet has been turned off, and the lights have been turned out.

It is time for you to do the same.

eric

Hillary Clinton, the Kentucky Derby, and Old Yeller

Tuesday, May 20th, 2008

Blue Moon of Kentucky, Keep on Shining…Shine on the one, that’s gone and proved untrue…

Blue Moon of Kentucky, Keep on Shining…Shine on the one, that’s gone and left me blue…

That wonderful song by Bill Monroe has nothing to do with this column. I just like it, although I prefer the Vince Gill version that was lip synched by Boomhauer on “King of the Hill.”

Anyway, Kentucky and Oregon are voting today, and I am going to pretend to care.

Oregon does their elections by mail, which makes for very efficient elections. This makes polls irrelevant, because with early voting, one cannot know exactly what percentage of people filled out their ballots when. They could have filled them out when either candidate was at the height of their popularity, or cratering at the bottom. Speaking of craters and bottoms, Hillary…never mind. This is not a sex column.

Anyway, the focus is on Kentucky. Obama is expected to Coast in Oregon, while Hillary is expecting a blowout in Kentucky similar to her romp in West Virginia.

The problem is that Kentucky has already predetermined this race, based on a race that occurred in Kentucky recently.

People often talk about the political horse race of a Presidential election season, but it was a literal horse race that doomed Hillary’s campaign.

The Kentucky Derby will be the day that Hillary’s quest for the White House ended in death.

For those who do not know, there are two significant occurrences regarding the Kentucky Derby, which is always held on a Saturday in early May. The Friday before the Derby, David Letterman has the voice of the racing announcer on his show by telephone. The man enthusiastically bellows out, “and down the stretch they come!” Letterman does this himself for several minutes before and after the announcer does it. In fact, the entire episode is Dave for no reason in particular randomly yelling out “and down the stretch they come!”

The other important aspect of the Kentucky Derby comes in the form of wagers. Yes, gambling is illegal in many areas, but some gambles are less harmful to society than others. If two mayors want to bet on the Superbowl in the form of wearing the t-shirt of the city, I do not lose sleep over it.

Nevertheless, Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton picked out their horses. For those who wondered if Hillary bet on the bobtail nag, I would say it was Bill Clinton that bet on the nag 30 years ago. Some would say she is a hag, but that is more a physical critique, while being a nag is more an attitude. To say she is a hag would be perhaps unfair. Perhaps. She is a nag.

Anyway, Obama bet on a horse known as “Big Brown.” Hillary bet on a filly known as “Eight Belles.” Either Obama deliberately picked a horse that sounded like the nickname of a macho black man, or he is an expert on horse racing. Either Hillary deliberately selected a horse that was female, or she is a horse racing expert. Given her character, she has been a horse racing fan her entire life.

In what became a perfect replica of the most recent primary season, Big Brown was far out in the lead. Eight Belles came hard charing down the stretch, and was a very close second as the race was winding down. As they were headed towards the finish line, Eight Belles pulled back. Big Brown won the race. Yet this was not the story of the 2008 Kentucky Derby.

Eight Belles was too injured to even survive. She had to be euthanized. Right after the race ended, she was killed. It was a mercy killing.

While I want to make it crystal clear that there is nothing funny about the death of an innocent animal (as opposed to all the guilty animals that absolutely had it coming and deserved it), there are two things that must cease now.

First of all, the terrorists at People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) should sit down and shut up. Yes, people who encourage bombing buildings, even to save furry lil critters, are terrorists. The only time anybody ever listened to PETA was when the hotter members of the group got naked. I saw Lisa Lange on television the other day. When she is fully dressed, she is no less useless than any other activist, or as I call them, lactivist. I wish it were legal for guys to ride members of PETA down the track and use the riding crops on their bare hides. Ok, maybe this is a sex column. I digress.

The other thing that must immediately cease is the Clinton campaign, or at least the media’s insistence on pretending it has viability.

Some may be wondering how I can engage in such specious and circular logic. Simple. The racetrack for the Kentucky Derby is a circle. Some may call it an oval, but upon getting elected, a President sits in the Oval Office. An oval is often an overglorified circle anyway.

“May the circle…be unbroken…by and by lord, by and by…”

That song also has nothing to do with anything. I just like it.

Anyway, those who liked the way that Old Yeller ended up would have loved the conclusion to the existence of Eight Belles. Hillary Clinton does not exit the stage gracefully. Like many other actresses that are past their prime, she needs to be taken out in the backyard and put out of her misery. The old female yeller at everybody who disagrees with her needs to go the way of Old Yeller. No, I am not advocating euthanizing the woman herself…just her campaign.

As for Hoss Hillary’s horse, there was a time when I felt that her campaign for President would never see this day. I still hold out fear and dread that she will find a way at the last second to steal the nomination. Yet that fear and dread is slowly lessening. Hillary might actually be dragged kicking and screaming from the stage. She might actually be close to being done.

When the stake is driven through her black heart (ok, even by my standards that was republican blogger hyperbole), I will believe it.

Hillary Clinton will win Kentucky by a large margin.

Unfortunately for her, the newest predictor of election results, that has a statistical sample of one and a current fallibility ratio of zero, showed her losing badly. The Kentucky Derby has as of now never failed to predict the Presidential race.

She could limp towards the Preakness, but Obama already won Maryland. As for the Belmont Stakes in New York, that race is irrelevant since John Kerry himself won that race by a long face.

One of the greatest horses of all time, even better than John “Smarty Jones” Kerry, was Seattle Slew. Seattle Slew was an elite horse. The city of Seattle is mainly elitist people. They support Obama.

Hillary may have thick hindquarters, but she cannot match the elegance of the younger steed that kicked dust in her face while kicking her rumpus.

Big Brown has won the first leg. Eight Belles has lost everything.

Her fate was a tragedy, but the fate of Hillary’s campaign is a cause for celebration.

The democratic donkeys can act like horse’s @sses, or they can get rid of her already. There is a glue factory for losing candidates waiting for her.

Like horses everywhere that will not stop braying, the time has come to do what should have been done a long time ago.

Hillary, you have brayed enough. It is time for your muzzle.

Blue Moon of Kentucky Keep on Shining.

Keep on shining indeed.

eric

Republican Polling Data

Monday, May 19th, 2008

I had the pleasure of meeting a top republican pollster recently. I was asked to keep his name confidential.

While I often criticize the Jayson Blair Times and others for using anonymous sources, I hope my credibility will allow me to do so in this instance. I have not verified the statistics I will be citing. I find them believable.

Unlike politicians and television personalities, who prefer the spotlight,  pollsters are like mad scientists. They like being deep down below the surface. Karl Rove is all over the television now, but during his White House years he was the Prince of Darkness.

Therefore, it was requested of me not to mention the name of this pollster on my blog. I can only say that he is reputable and respected.

With that, below are some statistical bones to chew on regarding the 2008 Presidential election.

“In 1992, only 19% of the country thinks we are on the right track. We lost that election. In 2008, the number is even lower. Only 15% of the country thinks America is on the right track. That is the lowest number ever in this type of polling.”

“85% of republican men support Israel, as do 85% of Fox News watchers.”

“The lowest support for Israel came from ‘weak democrats,” college educated democrats, and CNN watchers.”

The pollster was not referring to all democrats as weak. The pollster was referring to democrats with a weak party affiliation. Also, the pollster did not state why the percentage of republican men supporting Israel was equal to the percentage of Fox News watchers. Not every republican man watches Fox News, although there is significant overlap.  One theory is that Fox News simply has more Pro-Israel news anchors and programming, while CNN offers Christian Amanpour and offensive series such as “God’s Jewish Warriors.”

I can offer analysis up the ying yang, but this pollster offered descriptive statistics, allowing the audience to come to their own analytical conclusions.

“John McCain only needs 30% of the anti-Bush vote to win the election.”

“Americans are against the Iraq War by a two to one margin, but 25% of people against the war want us to stay and finish the job. The democrats keep mistaking sentiment against the war with wanting to lose the war. Americans want to win.”

“McCain is ahead of Obama by 12 points among independents, but down by 3 points overall.”

To me, this suggest an unhappy base. The base will fall in line.  In 1992, some republicans acted like spoiled brats and stayed home. They claimed they were standing on principle. No, they were standing on ceremony, and electing the Clintons. Republicans can fight McCain after the election, but there are clear differences between Obama and McCain. Falling in line is vital.

Democrats are crowing about winning special elections in Louisiana and Illinois, including the district of former Speaker Dennis Hastert. These districts were held by republicans for 30 years. The pollster offered some positive news on this front.

“Most newcomers start with low negatives. Both republican candidates started with high negatives that were unusual in nature and unrelated to the national GOP.”

Translation…they were bad candidates. In tough years, good candidates are less inclined to run. Nevertheless, in tough times is when they are needed most.

“Obama is too risky. He is too liberal. He is out of step with Americans on the issue of values.”

“39% of the electorate thought Jimmy Carter was a liberal. He won. 56% of voters saw John Kerry as a liberal, and 49% saw Al Gore as a liberal. They lost. 49% see Obama as a liberal.”

Before people claim that Gore won, he should have coasted to victory the way George HW Bush did. Bill Clinton ran away from liberalism, and Gore ran back to it. This is why he lost during peacetime with a healthy, albeit slowing, economy. He lost because liberals lose.

“With Obama, the key will be how liberal he is perceived as.”

“Resources are precious. At the risk of upsetting the national party, this is a good year to donate to specific seats, not the overall party. We should give to John McCain and republican Senator Norm Coleman, not the National Republican Campaign Committee.”

“We should donate to incumbents and republican open seats. There are very few ‘challenge seats.'”

Sincere comments were then offered about Barack Obama regarding Pastor Jeremiah Wright.

“I don’t believe that Obama believes what Wright believes. I don’t believe Obama  believes the anti-American rhetoric or  the conspiracy theories regarding the GOP deliberately giving people Aids. Obama did not stay for 20 years at that church because he was anti-American. He stayed with that Church because in Chicago, that was one of the few churches that would give him street cred.

Pastor Wright’s most recent comments are devastating. Pastor Wright said that he was a Pastor, and would do what he had to do, and that Obama was a politician, doing what he had to do.”

It is one thing for republicans to call Obama a hypocrite and a cynic. It is another when one of his own former supporters, even acting out of vengeance, levels those same charges.

“Reverend Wright changed the game. Obama is no longer transcendent. He is just another politician.”

Good pollsters do not spin. They offer cold hard data. The numbers in a vacuum are not good. The democrats have the upper hand in generic matchups.

Yet the news is far from dire. In specific matchups, we have John McCain, and the democrats have another liberal. Yes, he speaks much better than past liberals did. However, even a brilliant messenger cannot obfuscate a flawed message forever.

Obama is a liberal, and if trends continue, Obama will lose because liberals lose.

eric

Lesbos, Lesbians, Linguistics and Litigation

Sunday, May 18th, 2008

For those who did not know, Lesbos are not lesbians.

In a world where people are dying from war, hunger, natural disasters, and pestilence, there are actually people with enough free time and money to file lawsuits involving disputes that trace their origins back to the 7th Century before the common era. Yes, after 2700 years, the lawyers have finally gone too far.

It is one thing when a lady spills hot coffee on herself that she placed between her legs while driving, and then sues McDonalds. It is one thing when a man sues a dry cleaners place for 50 million dollars over one pair of pants. It is one thing when a student gets drunk, breaks into a university gymnasium, jumps on a trampoline, lands awkwardly, becomes a paraplegic, and sues the university.

Although it was completely fictional, it was one thing when a comic strip portrayed a paparazzi taking pictures of Sean Penn. Sean Penn punches the paparazzi, who sues the Minolta Camera Company for 10 million dollars.

It is one thing when the World Wildlife Fund sues the Worldwide Wrestling Federation over the initials WWF. Environmental conservationists have nothing to do with awkwardly dressed pugilists. Unless Jesse “The Body” Ventura killed the bird that was used to put the feather boa in his hair, there should be no conflict of interest between these groups. The wrestlers went from WWF to WWE. There is no news yet on how the World Wide Florists feel about this matter.

Nevertheless, the line of litigaton lunacy has finally been crossed. For the sake of alliteration, legal sanity has been leapfrogged.

http://edition.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/europe/04/30/greece.lesbos.ap/

For those too lazy to click on the link, much less read it, a brief synopsis is in order.

“ATHENS, Greece (AP) — A Greek court has been asked to draw the line between gay women and the natives of the Aegean Sea island of Lesbos.

Three islanders from Lesbos — home of the ancient poet Sappho, who praised love between women — have taken a gay rights group to court for using the word lesbian in its name.”

Yes folks, I am fighting the urge to wipe away hysterical tears of laughter over this one.

I have to side with the lesbians on this one. Not the Lesbians, aka the people of Lesbos, but the lesbians, aka homosexual women.

We could start calling them dykes, but that might be an insult to those that build dams. Also, when water starts to burst, an expression often used is “putting your finger in the dyke” to stop the flow. Therefore, that is a non-starter. Also, dams is short for damsels in distress. No, not really. However, one type of dam is the beaver dam. We could call women beaver dams, but that would be opening up a world of linguistic pain. Then these women might sue the “Beaver Mustard” company for reasons I do not want to even think about. Too late.

The plaintiffs had this to say.

“One of the plaintiffs said Wednesday that the name of the association, Homosexual and Lesbian Community of Greece, ‘insults the identity’ of the people of Lesbos, who are also known as Lesbians.”

Anyway, the lesbians responded to the Lesbians.

“‘My sister can’t say she is a Lesbian,’ said Dimitris Lambrou. ‘Our geographical designation has been usurped by certain ladies who have no connection whatsoever with Lesbos,’ he said.”

The bottom line is that the Lesbians are concerned that because lesbians are gay, everybody will think that Lesbians are also gay.

As for the lesbians, sometimes referred to as lesbian spear chuckers, while I happen to agree that this lawsuit is ridiculous, they cannot understand why anybody would object to being associated with them.

“‘I don’t see how the word can be an insult,’ Evangelia Vlami said.”

Let me explain this to the gay community, as somebody who supports them on some issues. Not everybody is gay. Despite the fact that gay is the new black, and that everybody and anybody on television is gay, there are people in society who are not gay. Despite the fact that every third episode of “Law and Order” involves some character being gay, straight people still exist in this world. Gay people are 10% (they can argue 30%, it does not change my point). That is why they are an “alternative” lifestyle. Straight people are the other 90%. They are “mainstream.”

This is not an insult or a pejorative of any kind. Alternative music by definition is music that is alternative to what is considered “popular” music or “mainstream” music. It has a smaller following, but that does not mean it is of a lower quality (For the sake of ethics, I detest alternative music, and think it is for teenage girls with nose rings and blue hair).

People that are “different” like to use words such as “special,” to make themselves feel better. When everybody is special, nobody is special. Handicapped people are not “handicapable.” They are handicapped. They have some limitations. The shame is not the handicap. The shame is the euphemism in covering it up.

So yes, if somebody were to imply that I was homosexual, I would think they were an idiot, and be offended. When a man whines, he is often told to “stop acting like a woman.” This is not to denigrate an entire gender. Women are more emotional. This is biologically factual.

So while the lawsuit is ridiculous, for gay people to deliberately fail to understand why straight people would not want to be labeled as gay is also ridiculous. Ask any gay person if they would choose to be gay if given the choice at birth (I personally believe people are born gay. They cannot be ‘made’ straight.), and they would say that they would opt for being straight.

The bottom line is that being gay should not be condemned nor should it be celebrated. The point is to get to a point in society where it is simply irrelevant. Some people prefer strawberry pancakes, others prefer blueberry. Neither of those choices mandate angst or balloons.

The Lesbians offered more concerns about female homosexuals, but not the lifestyle itself.

“‘This is not an aggressive act against gay women,’ Lambrou said. ‘Let them visit Lesbos and get married and whatever they like. We just want (the group) to remove the word lesbian from their title.'”

The lesbians pointed out that the people from the island of Lesbos do not have to call themselves Lesbians. They can call themselves “people from the island of Lesbos.”

In all fairness, that does take longer to say. More importantly, others can argue who came first, Lesbians or lesbians.

What makes things even more complex is that another name for lesbians that is not considered a pejorative is to refer to them as “daughters of Sappho.” A daughter of Sappho is a legitimiate term for a female homosexual. Sappho was a poet whose poetry express love for other women. However, Sappho lived on this island of Lesbos! She is from there!

Folks, stupidity is as old as the hills. It will be with us forever. It is how people from the nation of Turkey could organize a boycott against the Dole Pineapple Company in 1996 over anger at comments made by then Presidential candidate Bob Dole. A panicked executive for the company issued an immediate press release stating that their company was apolitical. They did not prefer republicans or democrats. They just wanted people of all stripes worldwide to enjoy delicious tasting pineapples and other fruit.

Speaking of the people of Turkey, labels do matter. It is one reason why they calls themselves Turks, as opposed to Turkeys. The turkey is not considered an intelligent creature.

When all is said and done, short of following Shakespeare’s advice and killing all the lawyers, people need to lighten up. No, that is not a reference to everybody becoming caucasian. Black people can retain their dark pigmentation and still chill out.

There are 250,000 people living on the island of Lesbos. Most of them, in keeping with statistics worldwide, are heterosexual. If they were to come to America and say they were Lesbians, we might giggle at first, but all they would have to say is “from the Island of Lesbos.”

With the exception of the many 14 year old boys that cannot handle such terminology without bursting into laughter, most people would be find with it.

After all, there is a town in Florida called Jupiter. Nobody thinks these people are from a different planet. They are citizens of Earth, and America.

I wonder if there is life on other planets. If so, I hope those other planets do not have lawyers. We might get somebody from Jupiter suing the town in Florida. People from Saturn will be suing the car company of the same name. People from Venus and Mars will be suing the author of the book, “Women are from Venus, men are from Mars.”

Normally I would say that the lesbians need to shut up and be quiet, but in this case, it is the Lesbians that need to take the equivalent of a time out.

As for the island of Lesbos, unless somebody can bring me back evidence that the island is filled with women making out all day while wearing mermaid type outfits, this issue should be put to bed, heterosexual Lesbian style.

If these female romps are occuring, then the Lesbians are liars, and are self hating. Then the only issue would be if they were attractive enough to be worth videotaping for a Girls Gone Wild video.

Ugly people can speak romance languages, and straight people can be Lesbians.

It all does work out in the long run, as long as one accepts that God (nature for atheists) exists, and has one fabulous sense of humor.

If only Lesbians and lesbians appreciated the joke.

Now it is time for dinner. Linguistics with clam sauce…my favorite.

eric

A well dressed vagabond in Washington, DC

Saturday, May 17th, 2008

For those who know, I recently descended upon the nation’s capital, Washington, DC. I am as thrilled to be back in Los Angeles as DC was to get rid of me.

I had a plan in place. A 4pm flight would have gotten me to DC just before midnight. The rental car company is usually the least complicated aspect of my trips, allowing me to arrive around 1am at the DC apartment of the DC Vixen. The DC Vixen is a republican Jewish brunette, but I am happily involved with the Chicago Cannonball. At 1am, the DC Vixen had what any man in that situation would desire…a couch to sleep on and a warm shower in the morning. My meetings at the White House were supposedly to begin at 9am, giving me a good 7 hours of sleep. I prefer 14, but 7 would have to suffice.

Unfortunately, not everything in this world that is American is set up to allow plans to function properly. While I try to consider myself patriotic, I do not blindly follow my nation. I believe in America, but nothing bothers me more than something that claims to be American, and yet acts unamerican. I was the victim of the worst kind of American.

Yes, I am referring to that bastion of worthlessness, American Airlines. I detest flying them. If I ever had a positive experience flying them, I was too young to remember it. Although United is a close second, American stands alone at the bottom. In an industry as contemptible as the airline industry, that says a lot.

I have said on many occasions that I worship at the altar of big business. Therefore, if you are a big business, and I dislike you, then nobody in America likes you. If you are the worst in an industry I dislike, then you should quit. Nevertheless, American Airlines did not quit entirely. They just acted like they did, which led to a four hour delay of my flight. I did manage to get a whole row to myself, and thankfully I sleep very well on planes. Even American could not bother me while I was asleep.

Before taking off, I called the DC Vixen and let her know that I was arriving at 4am instead of 1am. She let me know, sweet angel that she is, that I was not going to be arriving at her place at that hour. I am still shocked to this day knowing how many women sleep comfortably without me showing up. I asked her if I could just drop by her place and use her shower. Unfortunately, she wakes up at 5:45am and leave at 6:30am. I asked if I could use her shower at 5am. She reminded me that she is not a morning person, and this was not going to work.

She did offer me a suggestion that actually seemed feasible at the time. I should just go straight to the hotel that was having the conference, and use the shower in their gym. I have to admit I did not think of that. I arrived at the hotelat 4:30am.

Just before reaching the hotel, I noticed that one area had a ton of security and do not enter signs. I needed to turn my car around, and on more than one occasion even high security areas would allow me to enter, make a u-turn, loop around, and promptly exit, so I would be headed in the right direction. Yet this place seemed like a fortress. I was curious as to what could be so special that I could not make a simple u-turn without enduring a conflict that I would not survive.

I looked up, and realized I was at the White House. Ok, fine. The extra security was merited. I turned my car around in the middle of the street, although there was no traffic at 4:30am. I pulled up to the hotel, and looked for the gym.

The Hotel was the St. Regis. For those who ever want to brag that they stayed in the hotel right next to the White House, it only costs $800 per night. For $700 a night less than that, a Courtyard Marriott has a comfortable bed and a tv set with enough channels to make life peaceful.

Looking at this hotel, I kept thinking that it looked like the type of place where people like Eliot Spitzer and Ted Kennedy kept their girlfriends. It is located on K Street, which is where all the lobbyists hang out. As much as I love politics, being that close to everything made me want to give myself a good scrubbing. Then again, it could have been the grime of being on a plane all night that gave me that feeling.

The gym was locked. Only guests were allowed to use the facilities. This hotel was not about to make an exception. I explained that while I was not staying at the hotel, I was attending the conference. They stated that if I wanted to rent a room, I could. When they quoted the $800 price, I had the concierge help me find my eyeballs on the floor. I popped them back in, and explained to them that I only really needed a bed for 4 hours, and that I knew they did not do discounts in such a ritzy area. To my surprise, they were willing to do a partial stay for only $565. Given these prices, I can see why Spitzer’s call girl charged so much. She lived in one expensive town.

Although I was not permitted to use the gym for a shower, I was allowed to use the bathroom. I completely missed the normal bathroom and wandered into a private bathroom that was bigger than my first dorm room in college. The napkins to wipe hands with were big, and they were thick. They were thick as…well…towels.

Yes, Skid Row had met the White House. I locked the door, stripped down, and used the sink to take a shower. Thankfully it was 4:30am, and nobody was awake. The lather from the hand soap was rich enough, and the sink faucets had water that was just lukewarm enough. I managed to lather, rinse, and dry off, and even have time to brush my teeth, hoping that the hotel management would not find out. A housecleaning lady did come by, but thankfully did not knock on the door. Before changing into my suit, I had to dry the floor. Whatever material is used to make those hotel napkins is a most impressive substance.

There is nothing like the feel of a nice suit over a body that has had an inadequate shower and most likely an even less adequate soap removal. Nevertheless, given how badly Washington reeks, the worst I could do was fit in.

It was now 5am, and the concierge told me I was welcome to read the paper, but sleeping in the lobby was not permitted. The guy seemed to empathize with my situation, but I know he would have gotten in trouble had other hotel guests seen a vagrant in the lobby. Granted I was quite the well dressed vagabond in my suit and patriotic American flag necktie, but putting lipstick on a pig doesn’t make it a gazelle. I definitely did not look my Wednesday best.

I went to the breakfast room, accepted a couple of complimentary newspapers, and found a chair on the other side of a divider that was obstructed from view. The chair was facing the outdoors, so that my back was to the public. It looked like I was reading the paper. I fell asleep in the chair, all the while aware that more than one episode of “Murder, She Wrote” had an episode where somebody spun aound a chair to find a dead guy sitting in it. In at least one case, the wrong guy was killed. Why can’t killers look and make sure that the right person is being targeted? Besides, at that moment the chair would have been a bigger loss to the hotel than me if anything had happened. It was an expensive chair.

After some more intermittent sleep, the meetings actually started at 10am instead of 9am. As someone who does not drink alcohol, I was surprised to see Bloody Mary’s being served. I truly was in a town filled with Kennedys. It turns out they were virgin drinks, which allowed me to try the Bloody Mary for the first time. They were miniatures, and I had 3 or 4 of them. Man, I hope they were non-alcoholic. Given that I was staggering due to exhaustion, I assume the drinks were virgin drinks because I was not any less coherent or dextrous after consuming them.

Despite burning eyes and searing exhaustion, I made it through the meetings. I departed for Dulles Airport, which might be one of the worst ones in the nation. American Airlines actually almost left on time, and again I had a whole row to myself.

Yes Dorothy, there truly is no place like home. My shower is mine, and nobody can ban me from using it. Sure, the building could have turned off the water for maintenance, but I would have just at that point killed an innocent bystander and taken their restroom. Or I would have sulked and accepted it, or something inbetween.

I still love politics, but DC is not for me. In the spirit of Randy Newman, all I can say is that I love LA.

eric

RJC in DC–Wisdom from the White House

Friday, May 16th, 2008

I had the pleasure recently of attending the most recent leadership meeting of the Republican Jewish Coalition. This meeting was held in Washington, DC. It was held at the St. Regis Hotel on K Street, across the street from the White House. The initial plan was to meet people at the White House, but due to logistics, the members of the President’s staff came to the hotel instead.

There were fine minds as always, and it was an absolute thrill meeting Sir Charles of Krauthammer. Given the substance of these meetings, more than one day is required to give the events justice. Also, for reasons of confidentiality, some information is redacted. Nevertheless, below are some remarks from some of the speakers, all of whom contributed to a quality conference.

Senator John McCain was represented by his campaign manager, Rick Davis. While he acknowledged that 2008 could be a tough year, the Presidential race is up for grabs.

In speaking about our fine republican nominee, Mr. Davis stated that “John McCain’s life is about serving the Commander in Chief, not being one.”

“Some lament the length of Presidential races. The length of these campaigns is actually a good thing. Some people want it to be over, but in America our races get you into the soul of the person who would lead the free world over a two year period. We learn much about them, and this is positive.”

“Even with two years of studying, we cannot predict the future. We could not have predicted 9/11, or that President Bush would have become the most important foreign policy President of this century.”

“While he has raised less money, John McCain actually has more cash on hand than Hillary Clinton.”

“The key is to targe states that seem out of reach but are within reach. In 2000, George W. Bush had 11 target states. John McCain has doubled that. He has 22 target states. Also, California absolutely will be targeted. California usually is a place where republicans come, raise money, and leave. We will compete for California, forcing the other side to spend resources here.”

“John McCain has been underestimated throughout his life.”

The next speaker was President Bush’s Deputy Chief of Staff, Joel Kaplan. He is likable and funny. His remarks were mostly policy, but my question for him was about politics. The question was a softball regarding the President himself, but was meant to be a hardball question towards those that are supposed to be his defenders. 

“Mr. Kaplan, I am deeply concerned about the President’s poll numbers. Every day this guy is taking a battering from critics that I believe are not fit to lick his boots. What is being done to hit back hard so that 20 years from now people will know what a good, decent man he is?”

Again, this may appear to be a softball, but I am genuinely ticked off that the people that are his toughest critics are wrong, unfair, and often unkind.

Mr. Kaplan offered an acceptable answer.

“First of all, I am going to punt on this question, and let (White House Press Secretary) Dana Perino answer it. What I can tell you is that this President is guided by principles, not polls. Would he like to be popular? Of course, we all would. That does not change the fact that he is going to do what he believes is right. When he says he does not care about shaping his legacy, he means it. History will sort that out. He is going to do what he thinks is best for America in the long run. Others can obsess about polls. He is about principles.”

Mr. Kaplan then went on to tell an amusing story regarding a mistake in a transcript.

“A few weeks ago Dana Perino finished her daily briefing, and I read the transcript. A question was asked about the President being sapped of energy down the stretch. Ms. Perino responded that ‘The President will be absolutely fine, there’s a lot of Jews left in the White House.’ I beamed with pride, but felt this was a bit much. I went up to her and thanked her for her support, but wondered if she had overstated the role I and others had played. She told me that the transcript was a mistake, and that what she actually said was that ‘There’s a lot of juice left in the White House.'”

I found Mr. Kaplan after his speech. I told him point blank that, “I don’t care if the man’s polls drop to 10%. I know he’s right, and I know history will vindicate him.”

He thanked me, and let me know that he does relay messages of support to the President, and that the support absolutely helps. I finshed with one thought.

“I know he has an impossible job. Let him know I am praying for him.”

Mr. Kaplan told me to keep doing so.

White House Press Secretary Dana Perino was next.

“President Bush is gender blind. He is comfortable around strong women because he is surrounded by them. From his mother to his wife to his daughters to his Press Secretary, we are everywhere.”

“One problem with the internet is the coarseness of the public debate. I hope women can change that.”

“In the Middle East, women play a prominent role. Israel has women in power, and Mahmoud Abbas has a female Press Secretary.”

When asked about how she stands the daily grilling from the media, her answer was simple, yet sensible.

“The way to do well is to be more prepared than the reporters. Be prepared, consult more experts, and have more facts. Tough opinions can be countered with hard facts.”

“There has been a tidal wave of competition since 2000. Everybody wants to get the best dig in. Yet we are still here.”

“This may surprise some of you, but David Gregory is actually pretty fair. He is tough, but he asks fair questions.”

I remember David Gregory as the judgmental guy who got drunk and went on the air babbling nonsense. It is not fair to judge him by that one episode, but a man who asks tough questions sure did not want questions asked of him about that incident.

“Helen Thomas is exasperating. She wears her agenda on her sleeve. I now answer all her questions by starting out by mentioning her name. That way when the transcript comes out, everybody can point to one of her questions and know that she asked it. I will say, ‘Helen, now you know…’ She finally realized I was doing it and called me on it, but I still keep doing it.”

She was not interested in helping Barack Obama.

“I won’t give Obama advice because he might take it. Stop it Karl Rove. Don’t help them. They might listen.”

She then showed some self depracating humor.

“Obama has a glass jaw. I actually am not exactly sure what that means. I know it is a sports metaphor, and I just wanted to sound like I knew sports.”

She then turned to my earlier question of Mr. Kaplan.

“As for the person who asked about the President’s poll numbers, he is not dwelling on them. He is perfectly comfortable going on to the next chapter of his life after the next President takes over. He will go back to his ranch, and be perfectly content to live his life outside of Washington.”

Unlike democrats, who have a tendency to never let go, and think that they still are President, republican Presidents leave with dignity, and do what an ex-President should do…shut up and be quiet, and let their successor form their own path.

Her last comment was with regard to a rumor that the President has lost support in Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice.

“President Bush absolutely backs Condi Rice 100%.”

After her speech, when I met her, she stated that she would have somebody from her office contact me regarding an interview of her. I stated that I understood how busy she was. We shall see.    

The last speaker of the day was Richard Baehr from American Thinker. I have gotten to know him over the past year, and he is a friend. He is very solid on offering political analysis, and he does not sugar coat potential results.

“The democrats are having an internal debate right now on whether or not to give up on Florida. As close as Florida was in 2000, it is now fairly safe for the republicans. If the democrats give up on Florida, they would have to do a lot to win the White House. They would have to win Ohio. No republican has ever won the White House without Ohio. Another strategy that they would try to do is run the table of the four states of Iowa, New Mexico, Colorado, and Nevada. This is going to be tough because John McCain is a Westerner from Arizona.”

“One of the key hidden constituency group in this election is Asians. Republicans can do very well among this group. When Michelle Obama makes her remarks about America being unfair, and Asians are sitting at home with 1600 SAT scores and rejection letters, it bothers them.”

“California is not a lost cause. 35% of California voters belong to three groups that John McCain could do well with…Jews, Asians, and Hispanics.”

“Some would argue that republicans cannot do well with Jews, especially since George W. Bush was the best friend Israel ever had, and he still only received 25% of the Jewish vote. There are other reasons Jews did not support him. First of all, Jews did not like his father, and thought he would be like his father. Secondly, he wears his religion on his sleeve, and Jews are scared to death of religious Christians. They think that all Christians want to convert us. Most Jews that convert end up converting to nothing, not Christianity. Lastly, President Bush is a Texan, and Jews often sneer at Southerners. John McCain is a Westerner, and while he is a Christian, he does not go to Church that often or talk about his religious faith. Between that and his strong support for Israel, he could pick up more of the Jewish vote.”

In the coming days, the wisdom of Bill Kristol, and of course, Sir Charles of Krauthammer, will be offered.

Once again, the RJC made me proud to be a member of the leadership by putting on such a quality conference.

eric    

 

RJC in DC–Meeting Sir Charles of Krauthammer

Thursday, May 15th, 2008

At the most recent leadership meeting of the Republican Jewish Coalition, I insisted months earlier that I would not attend. I did not want to fly from Los Angeles to Washington, DC, for one day. To spend money on a plane ticket, and use up one vacation day from work, was not going to happen. I thoroughly enjoy RJC events, but I was absolutely not attending this meeting.  My time is valuable, and short of getting Charles Krauthammer as a speaker,  I was skipping this one.

Several days later, an email arrived in my inbox. The featured guest at the next RJC Leadership meeting would be none other than Sir Charles of Krauthammer himself. I shook my fist to the sky, said, “D@mn you Larry Greenfield!” (my dear friend at the RJC in Los Angeles, who keeps letting me know about such spectacular events), and immediately made plans to go to Washington. The event was directly next door to the White House, and with the exception of President Bush and Vice President Cheney, there is nobody that I wanted to meet more than Charles Krauthammer.

The word gets overused, but he is a genius. God has restricted him physically. He is confined to a wheelchair, and therefore rarely leaves Washington, DC. The rare times he has, the events were sold out to capacity. This was another reason I made the trip. As for limitations on his physical mobility, God compensated by simply giving him one of the finest minds on Earth.

The man is one of my intellectual heroes, and I do not have that many. I count the list on one hand.

Rather than offer any more well deserved effusive praise for this intellectual giant, I will let his words speak for themselves. With that, below is the wit, warmth, and wisdom of Solomon, or as he is known on Earth, Charles Krauthammer.

“I have gone in a quarter of a century from covering Walter Mondale to appearing on Fox News. My defense for my past is that I was young once.”

“I am a licensed psychiatrist. I have been a psychiatrist in remission for 25 years.”

“The world of psychiatry  and the world of Washington both involve dealing with people that have delusions of grandeur.  Washington is more dangerous because the people with delusions of grandeur have access to nuclear weapons.”

“Either God is a republican, or God has a good sense of humor. The democrats have nominated their weakest candidate. The republicans, by complete accident, have nominated their strongest candidate.”

“The republicans got lucky. First, Mike Huckabee had to defeat Mitt Romney in Iowa. Then John McCain  won New Hampshire.  Then Fred Thompson siphoned off just enough support in South Carolina to allow McCain to defeat Huckabee. In addition, heavy snowstorms affected the part of the state that was strongest for Huckabee.  In addition, the Giuliani strategy benefited McCain. Rudy Giuliani was his main competition. With John McCain, the republicans nominated the one guy who can win. None of the others could have won. Only McCain can.”

“Winning three straight elections is difficult. Only Ronald Reagan in the modern era won a third term,  in the form of George  Herbert Walker Bush.”

Mr. Krauthammer’s analysis of Barack Obama was equally brilliant.

“Obama may not believe the words of Pastor Jeremiah Wright, but Wright is correct when he says that Obama is just a politician.”

“It is interesting regarding the timing of Obama’s denunciation of Wright. He had 20 years to be offended, but only objected when he himself was attacked as a pandering politician by his former pastor. Insulting the United States of America is one thing. Insulting Obama himself really offends him.”

“Obama is not unpatriotic. He is a leftist academic, not a radical. He loves America, but he is an academic.”

“Obama has never expressed a gut position on Israel.”

“Pastor Wright said that ‘Zionism, not Judaism, is a gutter religion.’ This is quite the bizarre statement.”

“At the ABC debate, George Stephanopolis asked a clear question. ‘Is an attack on Israel an attack on the USA, requiring retaliation in line with the NATO Alliance?’ (Stephanopolis was not stating that Israel was a member of NATO. The question remains valid.) Hillary Clinton remarked that obliterating Iran would be the response.”

“‘Obliterating’ Iran was a ‘moderate’ way to put it (the crowd laughed hysterically), and an effective way to put it.”

“If we can make Persian History a memory, Iran might think twice.”

“Obama calls an attack on Israel ‘unacceptable.’ Now that is tough talk.”

“Obama is a rookie. He gave a non-answer to a new question. His answer was ignorance and prudence. Dilpomacy with Iran on the nuclear issue is nonsense and totally useless. We had three useless UN resolutions, then the EU 3 of Britain, France and Germany offered nothing. Obama is prepared to fly to Tehran, and tell them what? Is he naive or cynical? Unacceptable? That will scare the hell out of the Mullahs. Negotiation is an excuse to do nothing. He does not accept the premise that Iran is trying to go nuclear. Aggressive diplomacy?  That has meant nothing, and been tried for the last six years”

“Candidates spend time preparing for every possible questions in debates, and Obama was simply confronted  with an unexpected and new question. He chose what he thought was a safe, inoffensive answer, which is his general strategy.”

“President Bush has the legal authority to attack Iran. However, having the moral authority is tough with a 28% approval rating.”

“If we attack the Strait of Hormuz, oil will skyrocket to $200 to $300 per barrel, and Hezbollah will attack from Lebanon. In October of 2006 (When the NIE report came out and was manipulated to hurt the case for an attack), President Bush was resigned to no attack.”

“Some say Israel should attack Iran. Israel might not have the physical capacity to do it. This is not like attacking the Osirak reactor in 1981 or Damascus in 2007. Iran is further away from Israel. Refueling might be an issue. In September of 2007, Israel hit Syria through Turkey. Turkey allowed Israel to hit Syria. They might not be willing to do so again.  Iran is not a one day operation. It might take a couple of weeks.”

“The Mullahs will be overthrown. Half the population is under 25. They hate the Mullahs. The USA must simply have a ‘nuclear umbrella’ over Israel.”

“Israel at 60 is one of the great historical acts of all time. Israel is now in a stable situation from terror.  In 2002, there were 59 homicide bombings. In 2007, there was one.”

“President George W. Bush is the best on Israel since President Truman.”

“The Gaza withdrawal was a good thing, but Israel should have declared an immediate policy of deterrence. One rocket attack should have yielded 100 in response.”

“Why does Israel supply the Palestinians with electricity and food? Prime Minister Ehud Ohlmert botched the war in 2006, and Bibi (former and hopefully the next Prime Minister of Israel) would not tolerate such nonsense.”

“We must stay and succeed in Iraq. We have our General. The war is the most important issue for the United States and Israel.”

“Antisemites are pathological.  We’ve gone from  having no Holocaust at all to saying it was induced by the Zionists. Try understanding that one.”

“There is a certain psychosis in liberal Jews backing Obama, yet saying that they love Israel.”

“In April of 2002, President Bush gave Ariel Sharon free reign, not 48 hours. Yet liberal Jews see President Bush as the antichrist.”

Mr. Krauthammer was at his very best when he discussed the meetings at Annapolis, Maryland. Many stauch backers of President Bush wondered if the man who supported Israel fiercely for 6 1/2 years was beginning to waver. Was he so desperate for a peace agreement the way his predecessor was that he was willing to pressure Israel?

No, he was not. Annapolis meant nothing, and I personally was never worried. I kept telling my friends to calm down, that Annapolis was just feel good symbolism. President Bush every once in awhile needs to offer the mildest of criticism towards Israel to make it look like he is neutral. He has been a friend of Israel, and will remain so. One only needs to see Palestinians burning him in effigy with the passion of modern  liberals to realize that he had not changed his views.

I was thrilled when Mr. Krauthammer offered the same assessment I have offered since Annapolis. For a brief moment I felt like I was on his intellectual level. That disappeared when he expressed those sentiments in a much more eloquent manner.

“Do not worry about Annapolis. Annapolis is meaningless. It is a great photo opportunity, not a sellout. It looks great, and accomplishes nothing. It was completely useless. By diplomatic standards it was a total and complete success.”

The crowd howled with laughter.

“Jews support Obama over McCain by about 80%-20%. Liberal Jews see voting in their own self interest to be a violation of a moral principle. This is insane.”

As thrilling as his remarks were, meeting him was more of a thrill.

I asked him before his speech if I could give him a gift. He said, “not right now, afterwards is fine.”

It quickly occurred to me that if everybody placed gifts in his lap, it would make steering his wheelchair more difficult! He was appreciative, but wanted anyone offering gifts to wait until after his speech,  when it would be easier for him to navigate from the lobby to his car. He did so after his speech with several gifts sitting in his lap, including mine.

After his speech, I had my picture taken with him, and patiently waited my turn to speak to him. I allowed others to cut in front of me because I wanted more time, which comes to those who wait for the crowd to disperse. He was not pressed for time, allowing me to be gracious about it. He was being treated like a rock star, which I more than understood. Then I finally spoke to him.

I asked him if he had been knighted yet, and if he was now known as “Sir Charles of Krauthammer.”

He warmly responded, “I haven’t yet. I haven’t found a nation that has been willing to do it. That would be nice though.”

I then asked him a more serious question.

“Mr. Krauthammer, on a more serious note, given all the recent European leaders that are very friendly to Israel, such as Sarkozy (Nicolas, President of France), Berlusconi (Silvio, Prime Minister of Italy), and Harper (Stephen, Prime Minister of Canada), isn’t now the best time for Israel to attack Iran? Isn’t this a brief window of time with world leaders that would be ok with such a strike?”

Mr. Krauthammer empathized but reiterated an earlier point of his.

“It would be great, but I just don’t know if Israel has the physical capacity to do it.”

Lastly, I gave him my gift.

“Mr. Krauthammer, I am a republican blogger. Every day I take verbal brickbats to the Daily Kossacks and others (He thanked me for that). You are the model of how I want my column to be. I like that you raise the level of discourse while keeping your convictions. Forgive me, but my gift to you is more an attempt at shameless self promotion than a gift (he laughed). I hope you like some of my better columns (I gave him an envelope with some of those columns and a very nice note), and I hope they are up to your standards. If they are, I would be honored to interview you one day.”

He genuinely thanked me, and did not commit to a timetable for an interview. I certainly was not going to press the issue. In fact, I was concerned that even giving him the columns might be too aggressive. Nevertheless, I was not too concerned to refrain. I hope he found me polite about it.

When I went to shake his hand, he offered me a closed fist, which is what he did with everybody. I gently clasped his hand, and made sure not to accidentally hurt him. When he wheeled away with his gifts sitting in his lap, he seemed genuinely happy about receiving such a warm reception from the people at the conference.

Of course, this was to be expected. The Republican Jewish Coalition would offer extreme warmth to one of the greatest Jewish republicans in this country. In addition, he is a proud Neocon. Of course we love the guy.

To get to meet an intellectual titan was a thrill that even his words might describe. Well, maybe his could, but mine cannot.

He is a hero of mine, and I wish him well always.

I just hope that the Queen of England or some other dignitary finally takes my advice through osmosis and knights this man already.

I am absolutely not going to the next DC meeting. I don’t want to go. Short of getting Nicholas Sarkozy or Silvio Berlusconi, I am definitively and positively not going. Given what high caliber people go to these meetings, the RJC will most likely make me eat my words again.

After all, I was absolutely not attending this past meeting.

Then again, as a proud member of the (Republican) Zionist Crusader Alliance (For World Domination), it was a privilege to meet our unofficial leader, the honorable Sir Charles of Krauthammer.

eric

Israel at 60

Wednesday, May 14th, 2008

On May 14th, 2008, Israel declared itself an independent nation.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Provisional_government_of_Israel

On May 14th, 2008, I am beaming with pride.

I am proud to be a Jew. I am proud to be a supporter of Israel, the land of Milk and Honey.

I am proud that a nation could take uninhabitable land that nobody initially wanted, build some orange groves, and eventually become the Silicon Valley of the Middle East.

Israel is a fragile experiment in democracy. Surrounded by enemies that are technically human beings, but often fail to act like it, Israel is able to survive and thrive with dignity and toughness.

Below are some links of organizations that actually care about the survival of Israel as a Jewish state.

http://www.americanthinker.com/

http://www.israelsoldiers.org/

http://www.chabad.org

http://www.zoa.org

http://www.rjchq.org

http://www.thelikud.org/

For those who wonder which world leaders have been best towards Israel over the last 60 years, below is a sample.

George W. Bush, Ronald Reagan, Winston Churchill, Nicolas Sarkozy, Silvio Berlusconi, Ariel Sharon, Bibi Netanyahu, Yitzchak Shamir, Menachem Begin, and John Howard, and Richard Nixon, among others.

The United States House has Eric Cantor, Mark Kirk, Michelle Bachmann, the late Tom Lantos, and former Speaker Newt Gingrich, among others.

The Senate has Norm Coleman, John McCain, Joseph Lieberman, the late Henry “Scoop” Jackson, and former Senator Alphonse D’Amato, among others.

Pundits and media people include Sir Charles of Krauthammer, Victor Davis Hanson, Sean Hannity, Ralph Peters, Dennis Prager, and John Podhoretz, among others.

Below are some blogs that care deeply about Israel.

http://www.commentarymagazine.com/

http://cultureforall.blogspot.com/

http://www.masada1234.blogspot.com/

http://gunnutsrus.blogtownhall.com/

http://hiram7.wordpress.com/

http://www.hughhewitt.blogtownhall.com/default.aspx

http://www.israelmatzav.blogspot.com/

http://www.jackiemason.com/

http://www.jewishrefugees.blogspot.com/

http://j-gop.blogtownhall.com/default.aspx

http://www.neoconexpress.blogspot.com/

http://www.neoconnews.com/

http://tonguesoffire.wordpress.com/

http://sultanknish.blogspot.com/

http://theroguejew.blogwonks.com/

http://www.tsofah.blogspot.com/

http://wwwwakeupamericans-spree.blogspot.com/

http://www.rootforamerica.com/blog/

http://yourjewishmaster.blogspot.com/

There are a million things I want to say, but I am truly overcome with emotion.

Israel now and Israel forever.

Jews are here to stay. We are good people, and we will never leave this Earth.

May God bless the State of Israel and Jews everywhere.

60 years from now, I may still be among the living. I might have my sight and my hearing.

I will have my dignity.

I will also finally be putting my money where my mouth is 3 months from now. In August of 2008 I will be taking my very first trip to the Holy Land. From Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, I will be there.

Hineni. Here I am. I am proud to be a Jew, and proud to stand with Israel.

Happy 60th Israel. May the next 60 years bring joy, love, and security that allows for a true peace.

Shalom.

eric