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July 30, 2007
Is Fred A Flop?
Oh how the mighty can fall, but before he's even launched? After being touted for weeks as the GOP presidential savior in waiting, Law & Order actor and former Tennessee Senator Fred Thompson, who has strongly hinted he'll enter the race this fall, is already being written off by some party insiders according to Politico's Mike Allen.
The principal reason? Money. Thompson's presidential exploratory committee will announce tomorrow that it raised around $3 million in June, a less than confidence-inspiring sum by GOP standards. The recent departure of several campaign advisors, amid rumors of micro-managing by Thompson's wife, and a couple of delays to his official entry into the race, have not helped to build enthusiasm for Fred's nascent candidacy.
Apparently, some thought Thompson could raise double what he did, and while no one in this piece speculated as to why his fundraising total was low (hmm... that oft-repeated "Fred's lazy" meme comes to mind), the fact that it is has clearly dealt a blow to his campaign's momentum. One GOP insider who had been an enthusiastic Thompson backer, goes so far in the piece to say he just doesn't "see it anymore." Wow.
It's certainly premature to write off Thompson's chances to win the Republican nomination, and his campaign, for the record, remains sunny and upbeat about his prospects (what else would they say?). But the signs don't look particularly good, and we can't help but hear a possible bit of whistling past the graveyard coming from Team Thompson.
There's a long way to go, but Fred may not want to give up that TV gig just yet.
Posted by houtopia at 06:09 PM | Comments (3)
July 27, 2007
Who Tube?
Our last posting detailed the first ever You Tube presidential debate, held on Tueday night in South Carolina, where various Americans quizzed the Democratic contenders about a host of issues, and which spawned the first real skirmish of the campaign between frontrunners Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama.
The Republican You Tube debate is scheduled for September 17th in St. Petersburg, FL, and apparently hundreds of questions for the candidates have already been submitted. There's one small problem -- so far only John McCain and Ron Paul have agreed to participate. In fact, Rudy Giuliani's campaign is signaling he won't make it -- what's the matter Rudy, afraid some firefighter might get ya' with a zinger? -- and Mitt Romney's camp sounds non-committal at best.
Is it that the GOP candidates just don't believe the Web matters much as a focus of the campaign (hard to believe at this point), or does the less predictable nature of taking questions from actual citizens (who are a little more difficult for Republican hopefuls to reflexively brand as establishment liberals out to get them) conflict too much with the GOP establishment's control-freak nature?
Either way, blowing the You Tube debate off strikes us as unwise. But then, we thought it was a mistake for the Democratic candidates to torpedo the Fox News Debate (why wouldn't a candidate want a chance to reach every voter possible?), so what do we know?
On a related note, check out former Dean guru and current Edwards strategist Joe Trippi's analysis of Republicans' overall Web disadvantage vis-a-vis the Democrats. Interesting food for thought. (Hat tip to Professors R-Squared for the link.)
Posted by houtopia at 03:47 PM | Comments (3)
July 23, 2007
You Tubular
Well, tonight was the much-awaited Democratic presidential You Tube debate, broadcast on CNN. Questions came via video, mostly from young people all over the country, and each candidate presented a 30-second You Tube style ad.
Questions ran the gamut, from Iraq, to health care, minimum wage, gay rights, the environment and Social Security. CNN's Anderson Cooper ran the show, and made a good show of trying to keep candidates on point responding to questions, rather than indulging their tendencies to meander to something they'd rather speechify about.
Despite the unusual format, however, the results didn't seem to differ much from previous debates. Though we remain firmly uncommitted to any candidate in the field, for our money Hillary Clinton continues to distinguish herself as the most polished and seasoned debater. Simply put, she knows her stuff and always hits her marks. None of the other contenders on the stage matched her consistency, though a few had their strong moments.
Barack Obama has improved his debate performance, but needs to get better still. His frequent return to a theme of bipartisanship and bringing the country together suggested to us he was aiming at those New Hampshire independents who may well be persuaded to vote in the Democratic primary there early next year. He clearly was the audience favorite in the Citadel College auditorium. Obama also took a few pointed shots at Hillary on supporting the Iraq War and failing to pass health care reform, and was sure to mention his "Christian faith", no doubt in response to those Muslim rumors that continue to fly around.
Joe Biden, particularly on the issue of Iraq, distinguished himself with tough-talking realism, but failed to connect with the audience in other ways. Chris Dodd was decent, if unexciting.
Both John Edwards and Bill Richardson again turned in mediocre performances. Neither of them seems to be able to hit on the issues really on folks' minds.
Dennis Kucinich and Mike Gravel reprised their roles of the unrealistic ideologue and the buffoon. They add a little color to these debates, but not much else.
So by our score, Hillary Clinton won the debate and held serve. We doubt, however, it will have much if any influence on how folks actually vote. The likeability problem persists for her.
Posted by houtopia at 09:15 PM | Comments (0)
July 15, 2007
Unconscionable
Once upon a time, George W. Bush rose to political prominence on the mantle of "compassionate conservatism" -- lean government, but with a heart. My, how things have changed. Six and-a-half years into his presidency, the federal government is bigger than ever, and the country is saddled with the biggest defiicits and debt in its history.
So much for conservatism, but who's been feeding at the bursting federal government trough? Not that favorite right-wing bogeyman of old, the liberal entitlement program. Oh no, endless tax cuts for the fabulously wealthy have been the order of the day, while the calamitous war in Iraq swallows enormous government dollars with little accountability (our brave service personnel go under-equipped while billions of tax dollars simply disappear there) -- ah, GOP government efficiency at work.
Meanwhile, compassion has also been a Bush administration casualty. Some 45 million Americans lack even basic health insurance -- many of them children -- in the richest country in the world, a statistic that speaks volumes about priorities in our society. On the bright side, the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) has been an important policy vehicle in recent years, whereby states have invested to insure low-income children and received a large federal match for that investment. Even the State of Texas, which had substantially cut CHIP in a previous legislative session, moved in the recently completed session to reinstate some of the kids who had been dropped from the program. The generous federal match, however, has always been key to CHIP's success. States simply cannot afford to insure low-income kids without federal assistance.
Word came yesterday, however, that our "compassionate conservative" president, doesn't think CHIP should be fully funded and is threatening a veto of the bill expanding the program that is currently before Congress. A compromise Congressional deal would increase funding for the program by $35 biilion over the next five years -- or $7 billion per year -- Bush wants $5 billion over 5 years. For some perspective, the Iraq War costs American taxpayers about $2 billion per week.
That the president would even consider vetoing such a vital, basic program to ensure the health of America's children is outrageous on its face and begs the question, just what are we fighting for overseas if not a bright, healthy future for Americans? Children have no control over how much money their parents make or their family's financial circumstances. They should not be made pawns in an ideological, political battle -- they should get the care they need.
All American kids deserve access to needed healthcare - period. Any presidential veto denying that access is simply wrong. Don't let President Bush get away with it.
Posted by houtopia at 10:16 PM | Comments (0)
July 12, 2007
Look Out For Larry
Uh-oh. Larry Flynt is at it again, and if you happen to be a right-wing, moralizing member of Congress with a less than pure actual lifestyle, look out.
On the heels of Louisiana's junior United States Senator David Vitter's admission that, after his name was linked to the infamous "DC Madam", he had committed a "serious sin", pornography mogul Larry Flynt says he's not finished. (Incidentally, it appears Vitter's troubles may be just beginning.)
Flynt is claiming he's hot on the trail of 20 or more additional members of Congress, and that he interesting only in "exposing hypocrisy." WaPo's Sleuth tracks how Senator Vitter was got. For the record, anyone dumb enough to call a hooker from his home phone deserves what he gets.
Readers may recall that this isn't Larry Flynt's first go-round exposing moralizing elected officials who don't live up to their own rhetoric. During the Clinton-Lewinsky impeachment mess nearly a decade ago, Flynt sunk the career of almost-Speaker of the House, Republican Bob Livingston (also of Louisiana) over his own sexual picadillos.
It's a real travesty, isn't it, seeing a moral, upstanding Christian man like Vitter be subjected to a witch-hunt by a liberal pornographer and the wiiling media? After all, what about those two California Democrat mayors who were unfaithful to their wives? This is the pathetic "everybody does it" defense being trotted out by apologists on the right.
There is one very important difference. Gavin Newsome and Antonio Villaraigosa haven't been out thumping their chests as defenders of "traditional marriage" and "family values." Vitter got caught casting stones from a glass house, and nobody likes a hypocrite. Tough luck, David. When you play the political game at the highest levels, you'd better be prepared.
Oh, and just as a reminder, since it got basically no mainstream news coverage, turns out that ultimate paragon of virtue, Tom DeLay, has had his own extramarital escapades. Whoops. No big deal, right? Just like, what's a little money laundering among friends?
Ah yes, the Republican Party -- standing up for what is moral and right in America. The joke is getting pretty old, isn't it?
Posted by houtopia at 09:11 AM | Comments (0)
July 07, 2007
Trouble For Fred
Count us among those who have never believed there was much to a Fred Thompson candidacy for president. The folksy man from Tennessee undoubtedly possesses a certain charm as a candidate, and his years of film and television acting have clearly imbued him with media savvy.
But we have always thought Thompson's dream candidacy was based more on a longing for something missing in the GOP field than on his merits as a presidential aspirant. Thompson has been mythologized as the next Reagan -- the plain-spoken Washington outsider who could take the conservative mantle from the other wanabees in the race. The truth, it turns out, is a bit more complicated than that.
In fact, the former U.S. Senator is also a 30-year D.C. lobbyist -- hardly an outsider. And now that he's preparing to actually join the race, after teasing folks for the last few months, his conservative bona fides are beginning to be called into question. A Friday evening LA Times story pokes holes in Thompson's claim of being the real anti-abortion GOP hopeful.
Turns out the rock-ribbed conservative Fred lobbied for an abortion-rights organization about 15 years ago, despite his spokesman's denial that he did so. According to the story "...minutes of a 1991 board meeting of the National Family Planning and Reproductive Health Assn. say that the group hired Thompson that year." Well, which is it, Fred?
Being pro-choice, we have no problem with this particular lobbying effort, but then, we don't vote in the GOP primary either. A number of Republican primary voters may have a problem with this news, if it indeed is true.
In addition to the issue-based heartburn this latest Thompson revelation may cause, it attacks at the core his plain-spoken, true conservative rationale for his candidacy. Rather, he seems more like fellow aspirants Romney and Guiliani, who appear to have changed their positions on this (and other) issues out of political convenience. Turns out Fred Thompson is just another politician.
Again, we've always been skeptical of Thompson's prospects for success in the 2008 presidential race, and stories like this one only further strengthen that skepticism. Not a good start for Fred.
Posted by houtopia at 01:53 AM | Comments (0)
July 04, 2007
A President Alone
In Monday's Washington Post, Peter Baker offered a remarkable glimpse inside the White House, as the Bush administration steadily moves toward its twighlight. The George W. Bush we see in Baker's piece is increasingly isolated, and searching for answers, both on meaning and legacy of his presidency and to explain the enormous erosion of his popularity and political standing.
Unsurprisingly, Baker says, Mr. Bush is consumed with the Iraq War. The president (correctly in our judgment) understands that the war, more than anything else, will define his administration's legacy, for good or ill. And while he at least outwardly remains resolute about the wisdom of having invaded Iraq and subsequent U.S. actions, he clearly recognizes his presidency, at least in terms of public opinion, has veered off course. He genuinely appears to want to know why he is suffering the greatest presidential political collapse in a generation.
Ever thin skinned, Bush now scrupulously avoids public appearances before potentially unfriendly crowds. He rarely socializes, and is characterized as lonely by some of those he has invited to share their opinions. And yet his searching of late intimates a willingness to confront, on some level at least, the political realities that have befallen him. Baker's piece is fascinating.
For us, all other colorful adjectives and harsh judgments aside, the Bush presidency is an enigma. Why did a man who had pretty successfully navigated Texas government from the center abandon his political instincts to further a narrow, ideological agenda? And most of all, how could a president who had such an opportunity to unite the country behind him in the wake of 9/11, instead so divide and polarize Americans? Such a waste, certainly for his poltical fortunes, but more importantly, for the well-being of this nation. We wonder if those are some of the answers George W. Bush is seeking.
Posted by houtopia at 04:21 PM | Comments (0)