Monday morning quarterbacking

If 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.

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.  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 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 enough. 

Yes, Ms. Palin has a fine record as Governor, yes she appeals to my Midwestern values and yes I was invigorated by selection of a conservative woman on the ticket, but she simply doesn't know enough and she is not yet equipped to think fast enough on the national stage.  

As Peggy Noonan aptly put it in her October 17 Wall Street Journal column (Palin's Failin') -- "She just. . . says things."  

One thought for future GOP campaign strategists:  even if the research does suggest that your candidate's running mate should be a female-outside the Beltway-gun toting-strident Pro-Lifer; you must look harder than your predecessors did in 2008.

The infamous AIG party

AIG logo

The 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!"

Any other insurance company that employs a business model of selling through independent reps holds a similar conference 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 to sell their products, ipso facto.

I own shares of AIG, but even if I did not, my reaction to this storm would be the same and I did not like the bailout. However, I reject some of this populist furor because it paints the AIG event with the same brush used for the Dennis Kozlowski Toga bash. Different deal.

Hillary Clinton, Peggy Noonan (and me)

I owe Wall Street Journal columnist, Ms. Peggy Noonan. My infatuation with the tenacious campaign of Hillary Clinton almost made me lose my senses.  Sometimes Peggy Noonan's work brings me back to earth, other times not so much, but always....she intrigues me. First, a few minor quibbles...

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." Mr. Dukakis asked derisively, "What does that mean?" A question fairly asked, in my opinion. 

Similarly, I was baffled by the recognition Ms. Noonan received for a phrase she crafted for President Reagan to describe Washington D.C. as, "that shining city on a hill."  

On TV she's occasionally a little cheeky, leaving the impression that she is trying to hide some nervousness. Stage fright (if that is indeed the culprit here) breeds gaffes. Case in point, I spotted Ms. Noonan on a TV program years ago expressing doubts that Lyndon Johnson was a humorous man. Presidential historians and anyone who's read enough about our 36th President will warrant that Johnson was often hilarious.  (A brilliant mimic and comic story teller for starters).  It wasn't a difference she needed to have with her TV co-panelists that day. 

However, as an Op-ed reader, I look forward to Peggy Noonan's Saturday column in the Wall Street Journal.  She incisively expressed her views about the actions and character of Hillary Clinton in several columns and today's piece, "Recoil Election" -- is another fine example. 

Ms. Noonan understands how both Clintons are brilliant, cunning and hopelessly deceptive. Although I remain awed by Ms. Clinton's durability, the playing of the gender card as a reason for her downfall overshadows some of the virtue behind her campaign effort. 

In her piece this morning, Ms. Noonan makes comparisons to the character of an equally tenacious Golda Meir. (I might add Margaret Thatcher to that list).  The point is this: other high profile women in politics face equally daunting gender challenges without falling prey to so much excuse-making.  Noonan nailed it.


Monday, May 19, 2008--- True grit

I've been hard on the Clintons for a long time. A sample of my dissatisfaction with Mrs. Clinton's persona can be found in this post and an equally frank assessment of Mr. Clinton can be found here.

Even if I set aside their policy positions, it's their pathological dishonesty and smugness that leaves me cold again and again. I see Bill and Hillary Clinton as one person who has never stopped disappointing me. With all that as the backdrop for this post, I am about to go positive on one of them...

Yes, I began to feel something inspiring while contemplating Hillary Clinton recently.  I find it redemptive to have had so much disdain for a person and then find something to admire. Strange feeling. My positive revelation is this: she's stronger than I ever realized.

It's not Mrs. Clinton's usual pluck that I am referring to -- the in-your-face type of retort she is both admired and reviled for.  I'm talking about her tenacity. The type of thing that reveals itself after one is knocked down again and again. Some people get hit harder each time and still manage to rise. Think of Richard Nixon in his teens as the tackling dummy on the football team. Yes Mr. Nixon had tenacity too. 

One must respect another person who has taken so many punches and keeps coming back.  It would be intellectually dishonest to ignore it, no matter how much contempt one has for her attitudes, ethical deficits and woke policies. I called the Democratic race over almost exactly 3 months ago - Mrs. Clinton will not be her party's nominee for president, but the lady has courage.

What I didn't predict and never expected, was that she'd stay in the race this long, after so much bombardment, and still credibly come back for more. It's fascinating to watch. Iran has cause to be afraid...very afraid.

Vinegar in your morning cup of coffee

When 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 Portfolio 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."

Be warned, it gets scarier. Mr. Eisinger predicts calamity and he put it simply:

"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 there is an inexorable crash that brings great pain to the free-riderers. Unfortunately, there will also be pain felt by those who paid for others' free rides because paid passengers are tethered to the free-riders. 

We will pay for the free-riders' avarice, their lack of discipline, their recklessness.

Obama travel files is breaking news?

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.

Hello Earth to Google! Anyone there?

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).  

R.I.P. WFB

Yesterday at the age of 82, while working in his study, we lost William F. Buckley. Mr. Buckley captivated millions of us 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 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 and I'm not sure he has one today.  

Many Americans, I'm guessing under the age of 35, have little awareness of this man's enormous gifts and contributions to contemporary conservative thought. He was simply America's most charming intellectual with a legendary command of language, politics, economics, history and music.

He advocated for free markets and limited government before it was widely embraced.  He warned about secularism before it reached current proportions. 

Sometimes subtle characteristics endure. I'll not forget that sparkle in his eyes flashing as his expansive smile emerged. Mr. Buckley's radiant face revealed something more than the intellectual gifts for which he is often parodied. 

WFB with Ronald Reagan, Wikipedia

Those signature facial expressions revealed an abundant joyfulness and love of life beaming straight through the camera lens and into American homes.