Politalk

Aug. 3

It's still early...too early for my taste to be talking much about the 2008 elections. But maybe we don't have a choice. With so much money already raised, (and being spent) the races for presidential nominations may be over before we know it.
So...Newsweek's new poll is interesting. It shows Hillary Clinton widening her lead over Barack Obama and Rudy Giuliani continuing to hold a solid lead on the Republican side. Hillary's up by 44%-23%, while Rudy is up 30-22 over Fred Thompson (who isn't officially a candidate yet). What do you think, and why?

So Karl Rove has left or is about to leave the Bush administration, and many think it's long overdue. Why? Because being a political operative is totally different from helping to govern and make policy. He may have been a comfort to his long time friend the President, but in joining the White House staff he did Mr. Bush no favors. Instead of helping to find common ground and build a consensus, the White House (with Rove at least partially calling the shots) treated issues like Iraq and immigration largely by trying to discredit contrary opinions. Attack your opponents! If they don't agree with the war, then they don't support our soldiers and they're SOFT ON TERROR! Those kind of hardball tactics work during a campaign,(just ask the two Johns--McCain and Kerry) but it's a divisive and ultimately ineffective way, it seems to me, to run a country. Rove has been an ardent practitioner of "wedge" politics...divide the public in order to win an election. And he's been successful at it. But it's the last thing this country needs. Both parties play gotcha politics these days instead of legitimately trying to find solutions to problems. So a man like Karl Rove will be in heavy demand in an election year...he may operate behind the scenes, but I don't expect him to be retired for very long.

August 23

My comment isn't about politics...but I guess it may have something to do with political correctness. Today I was taken to task by a couple of e-mailers for a remark I made on the air last night. A New York Knicks basketball player, Stephon Marbury, defended Michael Vick by saying dog fighting is a sport and that "they're just dogs."
Our sports anchor, Rich Gould, called it a sign the world is ending, and I chimed in by calling Marbury a moron.
Of the two e-mailers, one was polite but said I shouldn't be venturing my opinion during a newscast. The other said the same thing, but also said I should be more concerned about pedophiles and that I and others in the media were making a big deal of the case because Vick is black.
Ah...where to begin? First, dog fighting is a felony. It is cruel and sadistic, not to mention often deadly. Sport? Getting pleasure out of the suffering of other living things is not sporting, it's barbaric. Years ago, I did a story that helped convict a dog fighter and get him thrown in jail. It also helped toughen Missouri laws in that area. I've seen what happens to dogs that don't win, or according to their owners, don't fight hard enough.
So, Stephon Marbury IS a moron. Was the newscast the place to say it? I'm sure my college journalism professors would say no, but it's hard not to react at times.
The remark about pedophiles was as moronic as Marbury's. Pedophilia and it's related crimes are, to my way of thinking, infinitely more heinous...but that doesn't make dog fighting (and executing them) any less odious.
Finally, the comment about race, which unfortunately, seems to often make it's way into conversations about superstar athletes in trouble. As the head of the NAACP so correctly noted today, Vick is not a victim in this case...and the color of his skin doesn't have anything to do with this being a big news story.

August 28
The A.G. here stands for After Gonzales. Now that he has resigned, who will replace him and try to reverse the mess at the Justice Department? One name that has been mentioned for Attorney General has been former Missouri Senator John Danforth. A Republican...so that should pass muster with the Administration, but also a man respected on both sides of the aisle.
Mr. Danforth's name reminds me of a story the late Senator Tom Eagleton told me. When Danforth was elected Senator, Eagleton, a Democrat, called him and said, "We can do this the easy way or the hard way" ...meaning they could dispute everything along partisan lines, or try to find common ground wherever possible and strive to do what was best for Missouri. To Danforth's (and Eagleton's) credit, they pursued the latter, and their state and country were better for it.
If John Danforth is not the choice or does not want to replace Alberto Gonzales, someone like him should be...a man of integrity who will not be a prisoner of party politics.