john maddente | midwestern clarity

I f the economy, the war, an opponent with more cash and an unpopular President in office, all were not enough to doom his campaign -- any chance of victory went irretrievably south after Senator McCain selected Governor Palin as his running mate.  Bold choice? You betcha, but look what it bought him. I was hopeful after Ms. Palin's rousing convention speech, but I still worried that Joe Biden would wipe the floor with her at the debates -- he did not and I kept hoping.  I chose not to write about my Palin doubts, but my heart sunk after those Katy Couric interviews.  I became an impostor by my silence. Katy Couric's interview revealed a vacuous performance from a candidate who is supposed to be a heartbeat away from the Oval Office.  Ms. Palin did the best she could and she will have a future in national politics, but she was not at all ready for this experience. Don't blame her, blame McCain's advisers. Having the "right views" and no skeletons, is not e...

AIG logo T he outing in question, was the same type of company outing that many other American companies fund each year. There were perhaps a dozen AIG people in attendance. Unfortunately, due to the timing, the issue has become a a silly media-driven frenzy. Even the White House couldn't resist criticism and CNN keeps blaring, "Spa treatments! Spa Treatments!" If an insurance company employs a business model of selling through independent reps, it likely does something similar to reward and motivate top performers (Note: they are not employees). These events are planned months, or years in advance. It has nothing to do with the loan program -- it wasn't even funded by the holding company. It is...a cost of doing business. Should AIG shut down incentives for independent sales agents?  If so, there's no incentive, ipso facto. Disclaimer: I own shares of AIG, but even if I did not, my reaction to this storm would be the same. I did not like the bailout...

Saturday, June 07, 2008--Hillary Clinton, Peggy Noonan and me I owe Wall Street Journal columnist, Ms. Peggy Noonan. My own infatuation with the tenacious campaign of Hillary Clinton almost made me lose my senses.  Peggy Noonan brings me back to earth. Before I explain, here's my basic take on Peggy Noonan - she's a better columnist than speechwriter, or television commentator. For me, one of the most memorable parts of the disastrous Dukakis campaign in 1988, was when Dukakis mocked the famous Noonan line written for George Bush, about "a thousand points of light" when he asked derisively, " What does that mean ?" Fairly asked, in my opinion.  Similarly, I was baffled by the amount of recognition Ms. Noonan received for the phrase crafted for President Reagan to describe Washington D.C. as, "that shining city on a hill."  So much for my petty problems with her speech writing.  On TV she's occasionally cheeky or demonstrative, leaving the i...

W hen I was first learning to write essays, our teacher stressed the importance of grabbing your readers' attention early on in your work, like a compelling "lead" to a news story. Consider columnist Jessie Eisinger's recent piece in the latest edition of Port f olio magazine in which his very first sentence will punish the reader harboring any sense of financial security... "The worst Wall Street turmoil in a generation is going to wipe every other issue off the table for the next president." You'll want to read on, but be warned, it gets worse. Eisinger describes potential for so many financial calamities that one might arrive at a conclusion some have long feared, but few vocalize.  He put it thus: "There will be blood." Common sense dictates that one can only cop a dangerously free ride for so long. At the end of that ride (and there always is an end) there is an inexorable crash, and that brings great pain to the free-rider. ...

Apparently, Senator Obama's passport file has been reviewed.  OK, logical questions are by whom and why?  Also, how did the story breakers learn about it?  But I'm also trying to understand -- where is the story? Keith Olbermann, Wikipedia Is there some profound secret associated with Mr. Obama's public travels? What is the conspiracy they are tripping over themselves to report upon?  Moreover, why is a presidential candidate's foreign travel history somehow more privileged than a review of his tax returns? The media is reacting as though someone has broken into the office of Daniel Ellsberg's psychiatrist again. Keith Olbermann at MSNBC has actually referred to this story as "jaw dropping."  Please. We need much more. For the moment, my jaw is motionless.

A small, almost unnoticeable news brief on the page B4 of The Wall Street Journal today , contained a disturbing AP report. Apparently, the Pentagon had to intercede in order to thwart Google from proceeding with its plans to have "Google Earth teams" make detailed, panoramic maps of U.S. military bases. I suspect that authorized military personnel know how to get around on those bases very well without using Google Earth. To Google, I say: Your earth technology is magnificent, but don't you think that you might be compromising national security by plastering that content out on the Internet? (Sorry Google, I feel strongly about these things; but please don't shut down my blog).  

Y esterday morning at the age of 82, while working in his study, we lost William F. Buckley. Mr. Buckley captivated many of us for decades with his columns, speeches, debates, appearances on TV talk shows, authoring of 50+ books, harpsichord-playing, creation of National Review and a seminal television program for serious political discourse called, " Firing Line ." WFB, Wikipedia In my twenties, I'd watch television debates with awe and amusement as Mr. Buckley gracefully routed his opponents. He had no equal then.  I'm not sure he has one today.  Millions of Americans, I'm guessing under the age of 35, have little appreciation of this man's enormous gifts and contributions to contemporary conservative thought. He advocated for free markets and limited government before it was common to do so.  He warned about secularism before it reached the proportions with which we now contend. He was America's most charming intellectual. His command of lang...

Geraldo Rivera, Wikipedia Yesterday, my wife and I watched incredulously as we observed Geraldo Rivera interviewing Gennifer Flowers and Paula Jones on FOX. My first reaction was that I must have missed some bombshell discovery like a photograph of Senator McCain on a boat with an attractive woman in Bimini. No we didn't miss anything like that because there has been zero evidence to support such a "smoking gun".  Why would Geraldo Rivera be interviewing these women about the McCain story in the New York Times ? Unless Mr. Rivera knows something that the rest of us do not, linking the stories of these women and their affairs with Bill Clinton to the current McCain story, is poor journalism.  And if Mr. Rivera does know something more, he ought to report it.  

It's over for Sen. Hillary Clinton. It doesn't matter what happens in Texas, Ohio, or elsewhere. Her presidential bid is finished. Forget your delegate counts (pledged or not) and your polling data. Consider instead the NY Times blog today and posts under the story, "Clinton Sharpens Her Attack on Obama" Try to find authors supporting Mrs. Clinton. Instead, overwhelmingly, you'll find items from Democrats, that sound like this one... "I went to an ivy league college with a lot of people who remind me of Mrs. Clinton. Bright, articulate, driven, but with an off-putting sense of entitlement. A know-it-all attitude that brooks no dissent." It's as if scores of the party faithful are now emboldened to express heretofore repressed criticisms of Ms. Clinton, because they no longer fear retribution. Maybe this is cathartic for them.   In any event, it is over.

Ann Coulter, Wikipedia Ms. Coulter is less than enchanted with John McCain's candidacy.  Nonetheless, I suspect that Ms. Coulter and an overwhelming majority of Republicans would prefer Sen. McCain over Hillary Clinton. Nonetheless at a recent outing, after contemplating a question from an audience member as to whether there could be any positive aspect associated with both Clintons returning to the White House, Ms. Coulter replied calmly with a smile, "At least we'd get the silverware back." Hilarious!

Y esterday on a snowy, wet Saturday, the Wisconsin Chapter of Americans For Prosperity (AFP) held its "Defending the American Dream Summit" in Pewaukee and attendees listened to speeches from Dinesh D'Souza, Steve Moore and local county Sheriff David Clark. Attendees also witnessed a color guard, a stirring video of the late Ray Charles singing "America The Beautiful" and a film that celebrated the life and legacy of President Ronald Reagan. There was much more. If AFP hadn't delivered quality, I wouldn't have stuck around for 8 hours.   Other items from my notepad: Wisconsin Attorney General, J.B. Van Hollen made a notable observation about Thomas Jefferson's seminal phrase in the Declaration of Independence "life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness".  Mr. Van Hollen noted that unfortunately, many people in our nation have misconstrued Jefferson's intent to justify an expectation for government entitlements. Van Hollen notes, th...

I never thought I'd find myself on the same side of anything as Ted Kennedy -- until NOW.  A press release from The New York Chapter of the National Organization for Women (NOW) has attacked Senator Ted Kennedy for endorsing Barack Obama.  The chapter has called the Senator's action, the "ultimate betrayal" since apparently, a vote for anyone but Hillary is beyond their sensibilities. National Organization For Women, public logo In fairness, the NOW national organization has officially disavowed this insipid press release, but even that might not blunt the near-term reputation damage -- compliments of its New York chapter.

but I do not understand why Senator Obama highlights relatively innocuous aspects of Hillary Clinton's history like service on Walm art 's board (is that a crime?) when there is so much else to choose from. Ms. Clinton burst on to the national scene in 1992 when she insulted American women who choose to stay home and raise their children (remember her "bake cookies" comment?).  Then we learned about her involvement in FileGate and TravelGate . Ms. Clinton later made preposterous statements to the press about a "vast right wing conspiracy" when asked about her husband's peccadilloes which were already well chronicled.  One could go on and on. Now she criticizes Senator Obama for the quality of clients he represented while in private practice.  I bet Ms. Clinton would much prefer to discuss her board memberships than many other issues that stained her political dossier.  Why does Senator Obama choose Walmart?

I 'm intrigued by all the disapproval  of former President Bill Clinton's recent speech-making. When Senator Ted Kennedy is unhappy with the Clintons , you know it's an unusual time.  Some have criticized Mr. Clinton's bare-knuckled comments to promote his wife's candidacy as " un-presidential " which seems like a fair charge to me.  What happened to ex-Presidents and a long tradition of publicly-muted retirement? I've long been enamored with Mr. Clinton's intelligence, his command of complex issues and I do believe he cares about the average citizen.  He's also a magnificent speaker and a gifted politician and a Dem with some fiscal moorings.  There's much to admire in this man. On the other hand, he used the Oval Office like a sex parlor, deceived the American people about it, lied under oath, rented the Lincoln bedroom, pardoned billionaire tax cheat Mark Rich and one could go on.  How consistently did he behave in a "president...

T he Palmetto state makes me proud tonight.  I love  its motto: Dum Spiro Spero ( while I breathe, I hope ). South Carolina state flag Consider the beginning to tonight's Republican debate in Myrtle Beach -- a chorus of men in suits and women in lovely white dresses all singing the Star Spangled Banner.   My, how radical.  For me, it was a perfect start to the debate.

Haven't we seen this movie before? The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported today that a state mailing may have compromised the identities of thousands of Wisconsinites because of Social Security numbers that were inadvertently printed on mailing labels. I published a column last year in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel after approximately 171,000 taxpayer social security numbers adorned the front of tax booklets. I also mentioned in that column, another breach (not cited in today's Journal Sentinel story) by a human resources aide who mishandled social security numbers of state assembly members. In the midst of all of this carelessness, is a blame game. It appears that the State Department of Health and Family Services and Governor Doyle's spokesman, Matt Canter, are feigning indignation in order to place the blame squarely on the vendor, EDS. I remember the Mea Culpa letter last year from the printer that accompanied a similar letter from the Department of Revenue e...

Some public education voices extol a right to choice that includes free-from-faith learning environments.  Public Teachers Unions have also historically chosen to fight performance standards intended to hold their members accountable.   Office.com clip art Yesterday’s blog post from Patrick McIlheran is spot on.  Mr. McIlheran makes the point that when parents choose alternatives to public education for their children, the principle of free choice often vanishes from teacher unions' consciousness and they behave as though they are the victims.   I'll always choose to support a strong public education system, but I also choose to  reject the views  of those who are antagonistic, if not hostile toward alternative education.  We also need adoption of reasonable and enforceable performance standards for public school teachers.  

Hillary Clinton, official public photo Repudiation.  It's an appropriate word to describe Hillary Clinton's third place finish in Iowa tonight. The leading spender finishes third.