Let the battle of the “queen bees” begin or has it been so doing ever since Hillary hit the Senate floor and Nancy was made top dog on the House floor? Whatever the case, both women are out to assert themselves, and may the best wo-MAN win! Nancy’s power comes from within and Hillary’s from without, but both control powerful political segments of the landscape.

A group of prominent Hillary Clinton donors sent a letter to House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Wednesday asking her to retract her comments on superdelegates and stay out of the Democratic fight over their role in the presidential race. Telling Nancy to “stay out” is like telling the Pope to become Protestant in his beliefs.

Since when did the Democratic process become the sole domain of Hilary and Bill. His presidency ended seven years ago. Who will run the Democratic convention this year anyway?

The 20 prominent Clinton supporters told Pelosi she should “clarify” recent statements to make it clear super delegates — nearly 800 party insiders and elected officials who are free to back any candidate — could support the candidate they think would be the best nominee.

So far, Ms. Pelosi has not endorsed any candidate; however, with such talk I am sure she won’t throw her support to Hillary now.

Super delegates have emerged as likely kingmakers in the fight between Clinton and Obama. The letter was another sign of growing Democratic tension over their nominating battle. Neither candidate is expected to have enough pledged delegates won in state-by-state contests to clinch the nomination when voting ends in June, leaving the choice in the hands of the superdelegates.

I don’t think a dream ticket is possible.

Both candidates have wooed them heavily, with Obama contending they should follow the will of Democratic voters and Clinton arguing they should vote for the candidate with the best chance of winning the presidential election in November — which she says is her. Surprise, surprise. And Hillary is now saying that even the pledged delegates can switch and vote for her. Amazing!

Are we having fun yet? John McCain sure is.

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ernie@lrchouston.com

Kennedy’s legacy

In the four decades since his death, John Kennedy’s life and presidency has been the subject of wild fluctuations of fortune. In the sixties, a series of laudatory books, mainly written by his trusted inner circle was published celebrating their hero. Inevitably for a man who reached such heights the fall was heavy as a number of revisionist’s books in the seventies and eighties chronicled Kennedy’s addictions to junk sex, involvement with the mafia and even the death of Marilyn Monroe.

His legacy degenerated from the man of peace and the civil rights knight of Camelot to that of a dangerous cold war warrior with a luke warm commitment to the black movement and the man who started America’s disastrous involvement in Vietnam. Recent assessments may be more balanced, finding both achievement and failure, but the days of Kennedy as the paragon of the modern American president have vanished.

However, a continued focus on his personal life and on the political decisions of his administration inevitably misses his real legacy – the social revolutions of the sixties.

Kennedy’s election was a landmark social and political event in both American history and through American dominance of politics and culture, world history. His victory was a death knoll to sincerely held beliefs about age and religion (he was improbably young and Catholic) and institutional authority. The message was clear, if you wanted something badly enough it was yours for the taking, whatever the obstacles. As Kennedy himself said in answer to a question in 1960 about why he thought he should be President: “I look around me at the others in the race, and I say to myself, well, if they think they can do it, why not me? Why not me? That’s the answer. And I think it’s enough”. If our current world is marked by a breakdown in what is seen as traditional authority, look no further than Kennedy’s election for a precursor.

His youth and religion worried Kennedy more than any other issue during the campaign. The answer was to tackle the religious issue head on (“no one asked me if I was Catholic when I went to war”) and to turn his youth to an advantage. This was achieved by running a campaign that stressed the stagnation of the fifties and promised to get the country moving again. Vitality was his central message and his central image. Norman Mailer wrote of Kennedy at the Democratic convention at Los Angeles in 1960 as an existential hero and that with him “we as a nation would finally be loose again in the historic seas of a national psych which was willy-nilly and at last, again, adventurous”.

The vision of an optimistic future lay at the very heart of Kennedy’s campaign and he carried it through to his inauguration. He preached a new frontier of economic prosperity, social justice and peace. Active citizenship (ask not what your country can do…) was demanded and a joy of life promised.

However, Kennedy always tempered his message of optimism and call to arms with warnings of the perils of nuclear war. His campaign speeches, acceptance speech at the convention and his inauguration speech were peppered with warnings of a nuclear holocaust and the need to actively pursue an alternative cause.

His presidency was a reflection of these competing messages. There could be no better example of the boundless possibilities for humanity than sending man to the moon, a task undertaken because it would be “impressive to mankind” and because of its unparalleled difficulty. There could be no better example of the fragility of nuclear peace than the Cuban missile crises, which took everyone to the brink of oblivion.

Optimism makes people push beyond their limits as they lose the fear of consequences and the heady optimism of the Kennedy years together with the shadow of peril served only to intensify and speed up the process. Kennedy had himself shown the path with his breaking of authority and the relentless image of his continued youth and glamour kept him centre stage throughout his presidency. America responded with unprecedented social revolution. Civil rights, the woman’s movement, the beat authors, music and drugs all flowered in the early sixties as society underwent fundamental change.

The final act of the Kennedy presidency, his assassination only served to deepen the process. Life had to be fulfilled without hesitation; no one was safe from arbitrary acts of violence, even the presidency. If it taught nothing else, his death taught everyone the fragility of life. No wonder there has been a yearning for conspiracy, for darker forces to explain why he died, without such a reason his death becomes nothing more than random.

Richard Reeves, the American presidential historian said, “Kennedy was a surpassing cultural figure – an artist, like Picasso, who changed the way people looked at things” This was his legacy. The debates may rage about his policy over Vietnam, his personal life and his legislative record, but all such argument misses the larger sweep of his effect on America. John Kennedy changed the way people looked at their world and in doing so they changed their own lives.

About Author

Alan Goodwin is a New Zealand writer. Read his novel Gravity’s Chain http://www.gravityschain.com/ which explores the theme of flawed greatness in the context of a modern drama.

Gentlemen, ladies, and not so genteel members of humanity (fopr whom Denver has a newly made jail awaiting you) it’s time for two weeks of man-made hype, division, anger, character assassination, and the worst that American politics can produce. The Democratic Convention is followed by the Republican convention wherein the worst of human consciousness will be on display.

Am I happy with either choice? No way!

I don’t have a horse in this race and only time will tell what I do come November. I see my choices as between a candidate who will kill babies (abortion) and one who kill older teenagers and adults (war). I see my choices as between on candidate that will raise taxes to support social programs and one that will keep taxes high to support a $12 billion dollar war habit. I see my chocies as between one candidate who seems to not like America as much as I and one who seems to love it far more (can you say idolizes) than I do.

By the way, both men do have good qualities. But both men are politicians!

The Democratic convention is now ready for prime time, but prime time what? Hillary is going to get her day in the sun and so will Bubba, but after the Clinton’s get the few moments of TV fame, it’s on to what wrong with the Bush-McCain ticket followed by a week of what’s wrong with the Obama-Biden ticket.

Is O’Reilly the only one looking out for the “folks”?  

Seriously, we afre facing a serious meltdown in being a civil society. Politics has always been a rough and tumble indoor sport, but of recent, it’s become a no-holds-barred, kill your opponent’s character and take no hostages. Where’s the people with a transformed consciousness that see that we’re all in this together?

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8.25.08 Sen. Ted Kennedy, recently undergoing surgery for a brain tumor, made a surprise speech to the Democratic Convention in Denver

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As a spiritual-futurist my commentaries and articles deal primarily with an interpretation of current events in light of macro-universal forces at play.

The Democrats say Gustav is God sent. The Republicans are trying to take advantage of the situation by appearing more compassionate. George Bush learned from Katrina so he’s skipping his Monday night appearance at the Convention. McCain had talked about postponing the Convention but everyone knew THAT was not going to happen. Both parties are trying to make political gain from this presumed catastrophe. So much for ploitics. 

 The convention schedule has the president set to speak late Monday night in St. Paul, Minn. But those plans appear to be on hold because of the monster storm that could make landfall along the Gulf Coast as early as Monday. White House spokeswoman Dana Perino says it is unlikely right now that Bush will go to Minnesota on Monday. She says alternate plans are being prepared.

Translation of tongues. He’s learned his Katrina lesson.

The White House was likely to confirm Bush’s plans later Sunday. That could mean possible travel to the Gulf Coast and perhaps speaking to the convention by video. But, the show must go on especially in light of the fact that the Conservative have found their WOMAN!  

Sarah Palin!

When Sarah Palin stepped into the spotlight as John McCain’s running mate in Dayton, Ohio, and promised that women could “shatter that glass ceiling once and for all”, it was an electrifying moment in a presidential election that had already produced its share of upsets and surprises. History was on the march again the morning after Barack Obama became the first African-American to accept his party’s White House nomination. After the fireworks, the 80,000-strong crowd who had cheered Obama to the skies at the Mile High stadium in Denver woke up with a hangover.

History for the Republicans; however, the Democrats have already had a female VP nominee- long ago!

Some also wonder if the hurricane could give Bush a ready excuse to skip, since McCain has been under fire from Democrats for being too cozy with the president, whose approval ratings are low. Temple University professor Marc Lamont Hill said Republicans must be “praying for tornadoes.” He predicted Bush would skip the event. Louisiana Reps. Rodney Alexander and Steve Scalise also plan to skip the convention. The cancellations could leave somewhat of a void on the convention floor if the doors open at the Xcel Energy Center as scheduled.

Politics should never mess with mother nature! 

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8.25.08. Video produced by Democratic National Convention

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As a spiritual-futurist my commentaries and articles deal primarily with an interpretation of current events in light of macro-universal forces at play.

This should be a year that the Democratic Party sweeps to victory. The Democrats have an unpopular Republican war in Iraq to talk about. President George W. Bush is very unpopular in all the national public opinion polls. The Republican brand of less government, lower taxes, and less spending has been badly damaged during the last few years of dubious congressional stewardship. In addition, the next several months are likely to bring the prospect of an economic recession to the country.

Indeed, the reasons that should cheer any Democratic voter’s heart seems to go on and on. The choice of John McCain for the Presidential nomination means that the Republican Party will feature the oldest Presidential candidate in history. In addition, McCain has alienated Republican conservatives and, therefore, the Republican party is not united and less than enthusiastic for the general election in the fall. Also, it is a year that the voters are unimpressed with old time politicians and established political institutions and are interested in change. Both Democratic candidates should appeal to the public’s desire for change in that they are the first black man and the first female running as major candidates for the highest office in the land.

However, the Democrats are engaged in a tedious and increasingly contentious primary election gridlock. Compromised by dubious convention rules, it is an election that never seems to end even though in reality it is already over. Hillary Clinton cannot catch Barack Obama in the number of pledged delegates or popular vote. The Democratic Party will not overturn the will of the primary voter and alienate black voters. So, it is an election campaign that Hillary Clinton has already lost but will not concede. The print and television media use the relative closeness of the race and ambiguous Democratic convention rules to continue the false illusion of a tight down to the wire battle between the two candidates. The end result of all this appears to be stalemate for several more months.

So, every day, the Democratic primary election becomes more personal and contentious without apparent reason. We hear references to Monica Lewinsky’s black dress from the Obama campaign to bring back our memories of the personal failings in office of President Bill Clinton. The dubious speeches of Obama’s retired pastor Rev. Jeremiah Wright seen in print, television news, and You tube underscore the divisive issue of race that has recently entered into the campaign.

Indeed, each candidate’s campaign issues political statements of personal destruction: Barack Obama is only where he is because he is a black man according to Geraldine Ferraro. Hillary Clinton is a monster according to an aide to Barack Obama. Bill Richardson is Judas for endorsing Obama according to James Carville. All of these headlines have appeared in just the last couple of weeks and there is no end to it yet in sight.

This contentious, personal, primary election is also dividing the Democratic Party voter base. Recent exit polling data from the Pennsylvania primary mirror national polling that indicates about 20% of each candidate’s base of support would not vote for the other Democratic candidate in the fall election. A Gallup poll indicates that nearly 30% of Hillary Clinton supporters nationally will not support another Democratic nominee in the fall.

Meanwhile, Republican John McCain looks very Presidential as he takes a foreign tour and raises money for the 2008 general election this fall. Next, he plans to do a national tour highlighting his background and visiting areas in the country where recent public opinion polls have begun to show weakness for Barack Obama. (Blue collar white voters and Latino voters). Of course, McCain will continue to raise money to prepare for the fall election campaign while the Democrats continue to spend millions on their remaining state primaries.

The contrast between the two political parties has begun to show up in the public opinion polling data for the general election campaign in the fall as well. It should be no surprise that the Republicans are the beneficiary. John McCain now leads Barack Obama by ten percentage points in a national match up. This is a reversal of the polling statistics of just one month ago. In addition, McCain has hit his highest voter favor ability rating (56%-Rasmussen) while Obama has just attained his highest voter unfavorabilty rating of (52%-Rasmussen). Polling in many electoral states crucial to a November Republican Presidential election victory also show a movement of voter support to John McCain. If this Democratic stalemate continues for another three months, public opinion concerning each of the Democratic candidates could get even worse.

An unpopular Iraq war and the failing economy are opportunities for a Democratic sweep in the 2008 Presidential election. However, a contentious primary election stalemate between Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama for another three months would continue to hurt the Democratic Party in the fall general election campaign. It certainly does appear that this bitter Democratic primary election stalemate bodes well for Republican, John McCain.

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Senator Edward “Teddy” Kennedy – “The Dream shall never Die” Speech. Delivered at the 1980 democratic convention

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About Author

James William Smith has worked in Senior management positions for some of the largest Financial Services firms in the United States for the last twenty five years. He has also provided business consulting support for insurance organizations and start up businesses. Visit his website at http://www.eWorldvu.com