Well, well, the UAW now owns Chrysler. At least that's what the paperwork says. Ironic isn't it? The union that helped to kill the industry now owns part of it. According to media sources, when the dust settles from the Chrysler bankrupcy and Fiat deal, the UAW will own 55% of Chrysler, Fiat will own 20%, the US Government will own 8% and the Canadian Government will own 2%. Sounds just peachy, doesn't it? Everyone gets a piece of the Chrysler pie.
But something is rotten with this deal, somewhere. Even though the US Government only owns 8% of the company, it gets to name four of the nine members of the Board of Directors. Fiat names three, the UAW gets one, and Canada gets one.
Let's get this straight. The UAW owns the majority stake, but only gets one Board Member? The US Government owns 8%, but names four? I would have loved to see that worked out in the smoke-filled back room.
Perhaps it went a little something like this....(it's possible)
Administration: Hey guys. You know what we want.
UAW: Lemme guess.... Power! No--Control... No--Dictatorship!
(Laughs all around the table)
Admin: Seriously.... we don't care who gets the money. We just want to run things.
UAW: We'll take care of the money for you!
Fiat: Hey, weesa gonna getta our money, too!
Canada: (snore)
Admin: Hey UAW! How much did you contribute to the campaign last fall?
UAW: A lady never tells!
(Laughs all around again)
Admin: We remember. You guys, you get the company. How's 45% sound?
UAW: You know who you're talkin' to? We're the UAW. We own the Democrat Party. We'll do the percentages. Fifty-five or we'll break your kneecaps.
Fiat: Hey, whatta bouta our money?
Admin : (to Fiat) Shut up. (to UAW) OK, OK, 55%. But we get to call the shots in the office.
UAW: Hey, whadda we care how the company's run? We haven't yet, why start now?
Canada: (snore)
Fiat: HEY WHATTA--
Admin and UAW: SHUT UP!
UAW: Stinkin' weasels... let's give 'em... oh...say 30% and tell 'em to shove off!
Admin: We could... but somebody's got to actually run the company. Think they could do that?
UAW: Fiat? Do they even make cars?
Fiat: Our cars are da finest cars ina all of the entire--
Admin: Hey--for the last time, shut it. When we want you to talk, we'll tell you what to say.
UAW: Capiche?
Admin: (to Fiat) Fifteen percent and three seats. See if you can find someone in Tuscany or somewhere who can build cars, OK? Bring 'em on over, because they are going to actually run the place.
Fiat: Fiat no gonna be insulted like-a this!
UAW: Do it or we'll break your kneecaps.
Fiat: Fiat only take-a twenty percent, no less!
Admin: Fine, have it your way. Twenty percent and three seats. Done.
UAW: We get the money...
Admin: We get control...
Fiat: And we finally getta chance to build-a cars in America!
Canada: (snore)
I wonder who they'll get to run GM? I hear that Hyundai has a few extra chaps on its Board of Directors...
Thursday, April 30, 2009
Tuesday, April 7, 2009
New Predictions about Obama Administration
Well, I've not blogged for a while now, but it seems like it's time to start up again.
And my the times are a' changin'! Last time I blogged, I predicted that Mr. Obama would be our next President. And, I'm very sad to say... I was right. It was a prediction I would have just as soon been wrong about.
Well.... let me make some more predictions.
After having seen the Obama Administration in action, I have formulated two basic rules of thumb about how Mr. Obama and his underlings will act.
First: The right things will be said, but they will not be done.
Mr. Obama has been profuse in his use of the spoken word. He is clearly a master communicator. His ability to connect with an audience is rapidly approaching that of Ronald Reagan. But Mr. Obama uses his words for a cloak to conceal his actions.
When major action is required, a speech will be given. It will ring with sincerity and fluency and be easily chewed up into sound bites for the media. It will also be only two-thirds true.
Obama largely does what he says - except when he doesn't want to.
Hence we have a major speech sounding ethics reform for lobbyists. And exemptions from that for those Mr. Obama wants to hire. Then we have the President firing a CEO, and laying down the law to the car companies - and saying he doesn't want to run privately held companies.
In short, take nothing the man or his administration says at face value. Simply watch what they do.
Second: The Competence Factor.
There will be three levels of competence in this government. In areas where the government can do legitimate good, there will be gross incompetence. In areas where the government can be dangerous, there will be absolute competence. In areas where the government can be changed from doing legitimate good to being dangerous, there will be attempts at competence.
For example: I look for the decline of these departments of government: Defense, Border Patrol, Drug Czar, Postal Service, Veteran's Affairs, Dep't. of Interior, FEMA, Attorney General and Transportation. These are areas where the government, through providing necessary services to our country, can have a positive impact on our nation. I look for them to decline in priority, efficiency, and power, due in no small part to the simple incompetence of Obama Appointees.
I look for an increase in the efficiency of the government in these areas: Dep't of State, Health and Human Services, and any Department that will increase the power of the Federal Government.
I look for a shift in the focus from good to dangerous in the following departments, and there will be varying levels of competency there. Homeland Security and Intelligence Agencies will no longer be efficient intelligence gatherers for real threats, but for political ones. Dep't of Energy will no longer be concerned about finding good sources of energy, but about being environmentally correct, and will fall into gross incompetency. Dept' of Education will be ruthlessly efficient in promoting extremism in schools, and funding it. The EPA will become a powerhouse of regulation.
However... there is one exception. Treasury. I look for Gietner et al. to be dangerous AND incompetent.
And my the times are a' changin'! Last time I blogged, I predicted that Mr. Obama would be our next President. And, I'm very sad to say... I was right. It was a prediction I would have just as soon been wrong about.
Well.... let me make some more predictions.
After having seen the Obama Administration in action, I have formulated two basic rules of thumb about how Mr. Obama and his underlings will act.
First: The right things will be said, but they will not be done.
Mr. Obama has been profuse in his use of the spoken word. He is clearly a master communicator. His ability to connect with an audience is rapidly approaching that of Ronald Reagan. But Mr. Obama uses his words for a cloak to conceal his actions.
When major action is required, a speech will be given. It will ring with sincerity and fluency and be easily chewed up into sound bites for the media. It will also be only two-thirds true.
Obama largely does what he says - except when he doesn't want to.
Hence we have a major speech sounding ethics reform for lobbyists. And exemptions from that for those Mr. Obama wants to hire. Then we have the President firing a CEO, and laying down the law to the car companies - and saying he doesn't want to run privately held companies.
In short, take nothing the man or his administration says at face value. Simply watch what they do.
Second: The Competence Factor.
There will be three levels of competence in this government. In areas where the government can do legitimate good, there will be gross incompetence. In areas where the government can be dangerous, there will be absolute competence. In areas where the government can be changed from doing legitimate good to being dangerous, there will be attempts at competence.
For example: I look for the decline of these departments of government: Defense, Border Patrol, Drug Czar, Postal Service, Veteran's Affairs, Dep't. of Interior, FEMA, Attorney General and Transportation. These are areas where the government, through providing necessary services to our country, can have a positive impact on our nation. I look for them to decline in priority, efficiency, and power, due in no small part to the simple incompetence of Obama Appointees.
I look for an increase in the efficiency of the government in these areas: Dep't of State, Health and Human Services, and any Department that will increase the power of the Federal Government.
I look for a shift in the focus from good to dangerous in the following departments, and there will be varying levels of competency there. Homeland Security and Intelligence Agencies will no longer be efficient intelligence gatherers for real threats, but for political ones. Dep't of Energy will no longer be concerned about finding good sources of energy, but about being environmentally correct, and will fall into gross incompetency. Dept' of Education will be ruthlessly efficient in promoting extremism in schools, and funding it. The EPA will become a powerhouse of regulation.
However... there is one exception. Treasury. I look for Gietner et al. to be dangerous AND incompetent.
Thursday, May 8, 2008
Calling It Like I See It
It's something I dread to see.
It's something I hardly dare to say.
But from here, the view looks fairly certain that next January, we will be calling Barack Obama "Mr. President."
The fact that neither Reverend Wright, nor Hillary Clinton's new-found populism have been able to sink Barack Obama is a pretty good indicator that nothing else will, either. The baggage of having a "liberation-theology" preacher was handled by Barak's suddenly emergent disgust that pastor's message. Hillary Clinton's blue-collarism was beaten with more bromides about hope and change. If Obama is producing wins despite the dogpile of Bill Clinton, Hillary Clinton and John McCain, just wait until after the nomination. The Clintons will switch sides, sing Obama's praises and John McCain will be the man under the dogpile.
Despite the fact that Hillary hasn't acknowledged it yet, the general election race has already begun. And, despite some polls showing otherwise, it doesn't look good for John McCain. Two special elections for solidly Republican Congressional Districts, (one of them former Speaker Denny Hastert's) have gone Democrat. In many primary states, more people have actually cast votes for Barack Obama than voted for all the Republican candidates combined. In some of those states, Democrat primary voters outnumbered Republicans by margins as large as two to one!
In spite of this, the Senator from Arizona seems to be running a campaign that is largely incoherent and lacking any defining passion (excepting the Iraq War). He is campaigning, but not innovating. He is speaking, but says things no one cares about. He is going places, but moving nowhere. Add to this, the strange way that McCain is reduced to using public campaign financing. McCain is one of the richest Senators in Congress. No one is talking about the fact that although McCain has hundreds of millions at his disposal, he is not spending any of it on his last chance at the White House.
Republicans are not united. McCain is not uniting them. He continues to run to the left of the base in the party, hoping desparately to be able to capture the middle. The only problem is that the uncommitted middle tends to vote for the candidate that they like the best. McCain is not winning that front.
The weight of history is against Republicans. That weight could be countered. Unfortunately, the weight of current events and current campaigns seems to be against us, as well. It doesn't look like those weights will be countered by anything but an Obama implosion.
Since the Jeremiah Wright flap and Hillary Clinton combined haven't caused that implosion, I'm not sure anything will at this point. Having confidence in an Almighty God is looking better and better.....because from where I'm seeing it, nothing else is even looking good. I'm just calling it like I see it.
It's something I hardly dare to say.
But from here, the view looks fairly certain that next January, we will be calling Barack Obama "Mr. President."
The fact that neither Reverend Wright, nor Hillary Clinton's new-found populism have been able to sink Barack Obama is a pretty good indicator that nothing else will, either. The baggage of having a "liberation-theology" preacher was handled by Barak's suddenly emergent disgust that pastor's message. Hillary Clinton's blue-collarism was beaten with more bromides about hope and change. If Obama is producing wins despite the dogpile of Bill Clinton, Hillary Clinton and John McCain, just wait until after the nomination. The Clintons will switch sides, sing Obama's praises and John McCain will be the man under the dogpile.
Despite the fact that Hillary hasn't acknowledged it yet, the general election race has already begun. And, despite some polls showing otherwise, it doesn't look good for John McCain. Two special elections for solidly Republican Congressional Districts, (one of them former Speaker Denny Hastert's) have gone Democrat. In many primary states, more people have actually cast votes for Barack Obama than voted for all the Republican candidates combined. In some of those states, Democrat primary voters outnumbered Republicans by margins as large as two to one!
In spite of this, the Senator from Arizona seems to be running a campaign that is largely incoherent and lacking any defining passion (excepting the Iraq War). He is campaigning, but not innovating. He is speaking, but says things no one cares about. He is going places, but moving nowhere. Add to this, the strange way that McCain is reduced to using public campaign financing. McCain is one of the richest Senators in Congress. No one is talking about the fact that although McCain has hundreds of millions at his disposal, he is not spending any of it on his last chance at the White House.
Republicans are not united. McCain is not uniting them. He continues to run to the left of the base in the party, hoping desparately to be able to capture the middle. The only problem is that the uncommitted middle tends to vote for the candidate that they like the best. McCain is not winning that front.
The weight of history is against Republicans. That weight could be countered. Unfortunately, the weight of current events and current campaigns seems to be against us, as well. It doesn't look like those weights will be countered by anything but an Obama implosion.
Since the Jeremiah Wright flap and Hillary Clinton combined haven't caused that implosion, I'm not sure anything will at this point. Having confidence in an Almighty God is looking better and better.....because from where I'm seeing it, nothing else is even looking good. I'm just calling it like I see it.
Thursday, March 27, 2008
Who Wants to Lose Worse?
Earlier in the election cycle, it seemed as if the Republican Party was insistent upon losing this election. Conservative pundits, the Party establishment and even the candidates themselves seemed to trying to throw the race to the Democrats.
The talkers trashed a great up and coming conservative candidate in Mike Huckabee, who came in second despite them. The establishment backed candidates that no one really wanted, like Giuliani and Romney. The stalwart, old-party candidates, Thompson and McCain, ran campaigns that drifted and spun wildly.
In the end, backed by reluctant conservatives, and a kinda-enthusiastic establishment, McCain became the candidate by default. It seemed that the GOP was purposely choosing the least electable candidate to be our Party's nominee. I thought the Republicans were trying to lose, and doing a fine job of handing the Democrats an easy win.
Until now....
Not to be outdone by the GOP's dismal and frantic nomination process, the Democrats are determined to give the Republicans a run for their money. At losing, that is. Now that the field has been winnowed down to just two, Obama and Hillary are trying their best to destroy any chances of a Democrat victory. To this conservative, it's almost laughable. Almost.
Obama, once the "race-transcendent" candidate, has become a stammering apologist for the hate-America wing of the black political movement. He's not defending what they believe, because he can't believe it and win. But he's not denouncing them, because he can't denounce himself and his own constitutency and win. So, Obama expects us to believe that he listened to his preacher just enough to be a Chrisian, just like us...but that he ignored his preacher so much that he didn't know (gasp) that his preacher was a raving lunatic who hated America! It's all the sound bite's fault anyway.
In all fairness, nearly anyone can have a sound bite lifted out of context. But this is more than the press playing sound-bitus with an unpopular man. What kind of preacher wants God to damn America? What kind of preacher uses racial slurs, even to make a point? What kind of people listen to this stuff? What kind of people believe it?
Turning to Hillary, evidently she was not able to stand the thought that Obama might help the Democrats lose more than she would. She just had to join the fray. For reasons completely unknown to any sane person, she began to concoct war stories. Claiming to have come under sniper fire may sound brave, but it stretches the imagination. Especially to think that Hillary told us this knowing that nearly every moment of her public life is on video tape. What's next, is she going to claim to have invented the Internet? Perhaps, it wasn't Neil Armstrong taking one giant leap for mankind, after all.
So, the Democrats continue to kill the win while pursuing it. My prediction is that the Democrat establishment will let the two fight it out, even up until the convention. That same establishment will then order them onto the ticket together, to try and unify the party. Watch out, because Obama will win, and Hillary will be forced to the VP spot. She'll be madder than a wet hen because of it. Yet, her hunger for power will force her to smile and campaign madly.
In fact, the "Dream Ticket" will not be Barack and Hillary. It will be Barack, Hillary and the side show formerly known as Bill Clinton. They will gang up on McCain with all the pent up fury of a plugged volcano, finally spewing. It will be worse than scorched-earth against McCain. It will be nuclear.
To beat this, McCain desperately needs to be likable. That's about as likely as Bill Clinton being invisible. A likable Vice Presidential candidate would help McCain, but it would almost take Ronald Reagan himself to bring charm and warm fuzzies into the McCain camp. In the twenty or so names that have been mentioned, only two or three even remotely have what McCain needs. The Veepstakes are the only unknown on the GOP side of the equation, and they need to be more than just substantive. For McCain to compete, they need to be brilliant, and brilliance is in short supply this season in both parties.
In the end, this election will not be about who won. It will be about who insisted upon loosing. I don't see anyone winning right now.
The talkers trashed a great up and coming conservative candidate in Mike Huckabee, who came in second despite them. The establishment backed candidates that no one really wanted, like Giuliani and Romney. The stalwart, old-party candidates, Thompson and McCain, ran campaigns that drifted and spun wildly.
In the end, backed by reluctant conservatives, and a kinda-enthusiastic establishment, McCain became the candidate by default. It seemed that the GOP was purposely choosing the least electable candidate to be our Party's nominee. I thought the Republicans were trying to lose, and doing a fine job of handing the Democrats an easy win.
Until now....
Not to be outdone by the GOP's dismal and frantic nomination process, the Democrats are determined to give the Republicans a run for their money. At losing, that is. Now that the field has been winnowed down to just two, Obama and Hillary are trying their best to destroy any chances of a Democrat victory. To this conservative, it's almost laughable. Almost.
Obama, once the "race-transcendent" candidate, has become a stammering apologist for the hate-America wing of the black political movement. He's not defending what they believe, because he can't believe it and win. But he's not denouncing them, because he can't denounce himself and his own constitutency and win. So, Obama expects us to believe that he listened to his preacher just enough to be a Chrisian, just like us...but that he ignored his preacher so much that he didn't know (gasp) that his preacher was a raving lunatic who hated America! It's all the sound bite's fault anyway.
In all fairness, nearly anyone can have a sound bite lifted out of context. But this is more than the press playing sound-bitus with an unpopular man. What kind of preacher wants God to damn America? What kind of preacher uses racial slurs, even to make a point? What kind of people listen to this stuff? What kind of people believe it?
Turning to Hillary, evidently she was not able to stand the thought that Obama might help the Democrats lose more than she would. She just had to join the fray. For reasons completely unknown to any sane person, she began to concoct war stories. Claiming to have come under sniper fire may sound brave, but it stretches the imagination. Especially to think that Hillary told us this knowing that nearly every moment of her public life is on video tape. What's next, is she going to claim to have invented the Internet? Perhaps, it wasn't Neil Armstrong taking one giant leap for mankind, after all.
So, the Democrats continue to kill the win while pursuing it. My prediction is that the Democrat establishment will let the two fight it out, even up until the convention. That same establishment will then order them onto the ticket together, to try and unify the party. Watch out, because Obama will win, and Hillary will be forced to the VP spot. She'll be madder than a wet hen because of it. Yet, her hunger for power will force her to smile and campaign madly.
In fact, the "Dream Ticket" will not be Barack and Hillary. It will be Barack, Hillary and the side show formerly known as Bill Clinton. They will gang up on McCain with all the pent up fury of a plugged volcano, finally spewing. It will be worse than scorched-earth against McCain. It will be nuclear.
To beat this, McCain desperately needs to be likable. That's about as likely as Bill Clinton being invisible. A likable Vice Presidential candidate would help McCain, but it would almost take Ronald Reagan himself to bring charm and warm fuzzies into the McCain camp. In the twenty or so names that have been mentioned, only two or three even remotely have what McCain needs. The Veepstakes are the only unknown on the GOP side of the equation, and they need to be more than just substantive. For McCain to compete, they need to be brilliant, and brilliance is in short supply this season in both parties.
In the end, this election will not be about who won. It will be about who insisted upon loosing. I don't see anyone winning right now.
Friday, March 21, 2008
Obama's Achilles Heel
Obama has a typical politician's problem, one especially prevalent in those who come from the legislature and try to go to the executive. That problem is the fact that he has to be sufficiently appealing to his base constituency to be elected to the legislature while he's running for the legislature. This leads him to do the traditional "things" that a legislator from his district or section of the country does. Then, when he tries to appeal to a national base, he finds that the local positions and rhetoric which once got him elected have now come back to haunt him.
In Obama's case, his was a Harvard-Princeton black family, and he ran for legislature among people who didn't relate to such a privileged upbringing. To combat that potential vote-killer, he chose to adopt the angry rhetoric of some people in the black community. Hence, he takes a pilgrimage to a known black terrorist in his district. He attends Jeremiah Wright's church. He chooses to be around the angry blacks; people more in the line of Malcom X than Martin Luther King, Jr. For many years, Obamba has been exceedingly comfortable in the more militant half of the black political scene.
Now, he's running on a broader stage, where not only does most of his audience not share his angry black views; they don't understand them. They feel threatened by them. They are aghast when Obama's preacher spews what is basically nonsense about whites and the government. They don't relate to the anger coming from the pulpit, and are tempted to respond in kind. There does not seem to be much room on the national stage for this militant black political view, simply because it is so foreign to most Americans.
So Obama finds himself in a most unenviable place. He must appeal to the national base, yet he must not disavow his home-town crowd. Unfortunately for Obama, that home-town crowd simply is not representative of most Americans. Unless he is more successful at distancing himself from them, he will not succeed. His past success at being comfortable among militant blacks may undo his very real chance of success on the national stage. Obama may be his own Achilles heel.
In Obama's case, his was a Harvard-Princeton black family, and he ran for legislature among people who didn't relate to such a privileged upbringing. To combat that potential vote-killer, he chose to adopt the angry rhetoric of some people in the black community. Hence, he takes a pilgrimage to a known black terrorist in his district. He attends Jeremiah Wright's church. He chooses to be around the angry blacks; people more in the line of Malcom X than Martin Luther King, Jr. For many years, Obamba has been exceedingly comfortable in the more militant half of the black political scene.
Now, he's running on a broader stage, where not only does most of his audience not share his angry black views; they don't understand them. They feel threatened by them. They are aghast when Obama's preacher spews what is basically nonsense about whites and the government. They don't relate to the anger coming from the pulpit, and are tempted to respond in kind. There does not seem to be much room on the national stage for this militant black political view, simply because it is so foreign to most Americans.
So Obama finds himself in a most unenviable place. He must appeal to the national base, yet he must not disavow his home-town crowd. Unfortunately for Obama, that home-town crowd simply is not representative of most Americans. Unless he is more successful at distancing himself from them, he will not succeed. His past success at being comfortable among militant blacks may undo his very real chance of success on the national stage. Obama may be his own Achilles heel.
Tuesday, February 26, 2008
The McCain-Times Surge
So.... the prestigious NY Times releases a "scandal" piece on John McCain. And I'm thinking that John McCain is loving every minute of it.
No, really, stop and think about it. The whole thing is nonsense. The universal reaction in the press is to (gasp) be astonished and (gasp) wonder how the Times could resort to such gossip rag techniques.
But what better way to advance the liberal agenda by advancing the nearly un-electable McCain? Yes, I said advancing. You see, this "unfair attack" is almost guaranteed to garner conservative sympathy and support for McCain. So, here comes a "big" attack from the "big, bad liberal newspaper."
And, to some degree, it seems to be working. McCain's fundraising and poll numbers have both enjoyed a bump after the Times fiasco. But, I think it will only be a matter of time before the Time's real strategy comes to light. Now that McCain is on the outs with them, it will be a perfect time for them to embrace the fight with McCain and push Obama or Hillary.
You watch, the Times will continue their fight with McCain, conservatives will sort-of gather around him, and the Times will have a perfect excuse to be both against McCain and for him. They'll keep up a phony attack until the Republican convention; then they will attack for real. They will prop up McCain until he's in the way...then all bets are off. The surge will be against McCain then. For real.
No, really, stop and think about it. The whole thing is nonsense. The universal reaction in the press is to (gasp) be astonished and (gasp) wonder how the Times could resort to such gossip rag techniques.
But what better way to advance the liberal agenda by advancing the nearly un-electable McCain? Yes, I said advancing. You see, this "unfair attack" is almost guaranteed to garner conservative sympathy and support for McCain. So, here comes a "big" attack from the "big, bad liberal newspaper."
And, to some degree, it seems to be working. McCain's fundraising and poll numbers have both enjoyed a bump after the Times fiasco. But, I think it will only be a matter of time before the Time's real strategy comes to light. Now that McCain is on the outs with them, it will be a perfect time for them to embrace the fight with McCain and push Obama or Hillary.
You watch, the Times will continue their fight with McCain, conservatives will sort-of gather around him, and the Times will have a perfect excuse to be both against McCain and for him. They'll keep up a phony attack until the Republican convention; then they will attack for real. They will prop up McCain until he's in the way...then all bets are off. The surge will be against McCain then. For real.
Thursday, February 7, 2008
What Now?!
In my profession of teaching, I'm often struck by the phrases kids use. Some are odd. (Brotha from anotha motha) Some are lame. (Oh yeah? Well, yo mama!) And some have an odd little twist to them. (What NOW?!)
That last little phrase is usually delivered after a particularly strong athletic performance in the face of direct opposition. Like today when a 17 year old student of mine rared back and threw a basketball like a baseball...very hard and very straight -- and made a three point shot. Even though it was quite on accident....
"What NOW?!"
It's also the phrase that seems to fit the political season right about now.
To all those who said this was a two man race between McCain and Romney...
"What NOW?!"
To all those who said Huckabee should "have the dignity" to not attend the Reagan Library debate...
"What NOW?!"
To all those who have belittled (Bill O'Reilly), attacked (Rush Limbaugh), slandered (Ann Coulter), condescended to (Sean Hannity), revealed bias against (Laura Ingraham), or made up bogus reasons to dislike (Glenn Beck) Mike Huckabee...
"What NOW!?!"
Not only did we win states and delegates on Super Tuesday, we've outlasted Fred, Rudy, and now Mitt.
"What NOW?!"
But frankly, we need to ask ourselves the same question.
"What now?"
An honest observer will note that Mitt's suspension of campaign was a very classy move, designed to unite the party. At least that's what he says. Even if it isn't, he left the race in a very gracious and dignified manner. Not only do we need to respect that, we need to consider if it is time for us to do the same.
Don't get me wrong. I'm usually a "never say die" person. But is it truly in the nation's best interest for us to stay in? Is it in the party's best interest? Is it in Mike's best interest?
If we truly cannot win, we ought to bow out gracefully in a few days, and stay away from a VP position. Why? Because if we truly cannot win, we are a nuisance to the party winning. We're a laughable distraction.
If we accept a VP position, it will reek of a backroom deal, and look very bad for Huckabee. Not to mention the fact that if McCain loses with a Huckabee VP, Romney becomes the heir apparent for 2012, rather than Huckabee.
But...
If we can really win, we ought to give it one last go. This thing is not sewn up yet, and we have always defied the pundits, pollsters and predictors. They've never really given Huckabee a chance, anyway. The only time they took the Huckster seriously was during the time between Iowa and South Carolina. The media follows the polls; we set the polls on their ears. Time after time, Mike has defied tremendous odds and outperformed expectations. If anyone can pull an upset win, Mike Huckabee can. If anyone can beat the Democrats with less money, Mike Huckabee can. After all, what does he have to lose?
If we stay in, they're going to come after us. We need to be ready to defend Mike against charges of being arrogant and selfish for continuing to seek the nomination. They're going to accuse him of making it easier for the Democrats to win, by battling McCain, the presumptive nominee. They're going to call him a spoiler. Expect some of the talk jocks who hated McCain to suddenly love him and continue a savage attack on Huckabee.
But, we've been through all that before. We can handle it.
What now? After examining the case for getting out, and finding it lacking...
After looking at the case for staying in and deciding we have nothing to lose....
I say, "What NOW!?!"
We're still in the race.
That last little phrase is usually delivered after a particularly strong athletic performance in the face of direct opposition. Like today when a 17 year old student of mine rared back and threw a basketball like a baseball...very hard and very straight -- and made a three point shot. Even though it was quite on accident....
"What NOW?!"
It's also the phrase that seems to fit the political season right about now.
To all those who said this was a two man race between McCain and Romney...
"What NOW?!"
To all those who said Huckabee should "have the dignity" to not attend the Reagan Library debate...
"What NOW?!"
To all those who have belittled (Bill O'Reilly), attacked (Rush Limbaugh), slandered (Ann Coulter), condescended to (Sean Hannity), revealed bias against (Laura Ingraham), or made up bogus reasons to dislike (Glenn Beck) Mike Huckabee...
"What NOW!?!"
Not only did we win states and delegates on Super Tuesday, we've outlasted Fred, Rudy, and now Mitt.
"What NOW?!"
But frankly, we need to ask ourselves the same question.
"What now?"
An honest observer will note that Mitt's suspension of campaign was a very classy move, designed to unite the party. At least that's what he says. Even if it isn't, he left the race in a very gracious and dignified manner. Not only do we need to respect that, we need to consider if it is time for us to do the same.
Don't get me wrong. I'm usually a "never say die" person. But is it truly in the nation's best interest for us to stay in? Is it in the party's best interest? Is it in Mike's best interest?
If we truly cannot win, we ought to bow out gracefully in a few days, and stay away from a VP position. Why? Because if we truly cannot win, we are a nuisance to the party winning. We're a laughable distraction.
If we accept a VP position, it will reek of a backroom deal, and look very bad for Huckabee. Not to mention the fact that if McCain loses with a Huckabee VP, Romney becomes the heir apparent for 2012, rather than Huckabee.
But...
If we can really win, we ought to give it one last go. This thing is not sewn up yet, and we have always defied the pundits, pollsters and predictors. They've never really given Huckabee a chance, anyway. The only time they took the Huckster seriously was during the time between Iowa and South Carolina. The media follows the polls; we set the polls on their ears. Time after time, Mike has defied tremendous odds and outperformed expectations. If anyone can pull an upset win, Mike Huckabee can. If anyone can beat the Democrats with less money, Mike Huckabee can. After all, what does he have to lose?
If we stay in, they're going to come after us. We need to be ready to defend Mike against charges of being arrogant and selfish for continuing to seek the nomination. They're going to accuse him of making it easier for the Democrats to win, by battling McCain, the presumptive nominee. They're going to call him a spoiler. Expect some of the talk jocks who hated McCain to suddenly love him and continue a savage attack on Huckabee.
But, we've been through all that before. We can handle it.
What now? After examining the case for getting out, and finding it lacking...
After looking at the case for staying in and deciding we have nothing to lose....
I say, "What NOW!?!"
We're still in the race.
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