Homerun!!

Yes of course we are fast approaching the Major League Baseball playoffs followed by the World Series which for me is the ideal metaphor for the US president elections but that is a commentary for another time -- then again I have to guess George Will has already written it so that saves me some time!!

No, for this posting the "homerun" I am talking about is Alaska Governor Sarah Palin's speech at the Republican Party national convention here in St. Paul, Minnesota tonight. Electrifying, inspiring, and on target like the hunter she is -- that speech represents exactly what this country needs. A mother in the White House he is not a "nanny" like Hillary Clinton.

No Hillary it does not "take a village to raise a child" - rather it takes a solid team of parents who love and guide their children within a family unit not via some government program.

For all of those voters out there who were "hoping for change" in Washington here are your major party choices:

US Senator John McCain and Governor Sarah Palin

versus

US Senators Barack Obama and Joe Biden

75% of these top 4 candidates are currently serving in the US Senate which is not a hot bed of executive experience. Elect Governor Palin, a proven reformer of political machines, if you truly want to shake up the DC Beltway.

Let the revolution begin,

Todd

Spas and Election Campaigns

Years ago when I worked on political campaigns full time I would have loved to been able to take some time off to visit a day spa just to relax a little but two major reasons I did not -- we worked nearly 7 days a week and I was poor!! Not food stamp level poor but poor enough to avoid such luxuries.

So today's Wall Street Journal article caught my eye - "Spas go all out to give kids the treatment" -- here we go again, marketing to children!! When will it stop!!?? Now I think we can all agree that a sea salt scrub is probably less harmful than a bubble gum cigar but I am certain a "child welfare" activist will seek a lawsuit against the spa industry for preying on America's youth.

The major reason for this marketing to children? Building consumer loyalty early to gain revenues since spa industry revenues have dropped in recent years as noted in this article:

2005 -- $9.7 billion

2006 -- $9.4 billion

Now that seems like a lot of money spent on pampering ourselves but I don't hear the activist community crying out about this vast sum of money that could be better "invested" in public schools or health insurance ponzi schemes like we hear people say about political campaign spending.

So how much will be spent on the presidential election in 2008? Perhaps just over $1 billion for all candidates based on this website's research --

http://www.opensecrets.org/pres08/totals.php?cycle=2008

So the next time you or your friends complain about "all these TV and radio ads by politicians.............." just laugh a little while you walk to your massage appointment. I know I will be doing so myself.

Breathe deeply,

Todd

Obama Wins!

Indeed this was a very historic week in the USA with US Senator Barack Hope Obama securing enough delegates for the Democratic Party nomination for President of the USA. Not only was this an historic event because he is the first black/African-American to secure the nomination of a major political party but it is also historic because he is probably the most inexperienced candidate for the highest office in the land in at least the last 100 years. This includes one term "wonder" President Jimmy Carter who at least had executive experience since he was Governor of Georgia at the time but Senator Obama's experience includes time as a state senator in Illinois and only three years as a US Senator (http://obama.senate.gov/about/).

Personally I am not surprised that the "glass ceiling" that historically has produced only old white men (I am qualified!!) as major party candidates for President was broken by a black man (Obama) before it was broken by a woman - in this case US Senator Hillary RFK Clinton. Why? History my dead friends, history. Following the US Civil War we amended the US Constitution to ensure the right to vote for BLACK MEN (not women) in 1870. It took our nation until 1920 to amend the Constitution again to give WOMEN the right to vote. This was a full 50 years AFTER black men. So we should not be surprised that Senator Obama not Senator Clinton stands at the brink of becoming President in 2008.

Now if this historical math holds true - 50 years - then Senator Hillary Clinton would be in a great position to become President in 2058 when she will be only 111 years old!!

Keep hope alive,

Todd

Klansmen for Obama

Throughout my nearly 20 years working in politics I have built and have witnessed some creative coalition building but yesterday's news out of West Virginia is perhaps the best one yet.

US Senator Robert "Name Another Building After Me Paid With Your Tax Dollars" Byrd of West Virginia endorsed US Senator Barack Obama for President of the USA yesterday. Now this biographical note does not appear on Senator Byrd's official website (http://byrd.senate.gov/bio.htm) but he was (can you quit this organization?) a member of the Ku Klux Klan which he comes to grips with via his book noted in this Washington Post (if you don't believe me perhaps you will believe the Post) article:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/06/18/AR2005061801105.html

A Senator's Shame
Byrd, in His New Book, Again Confronts Early Ties to KKK
By Eric PianinWashington Post Staff WriterSunday, June 19, 2005; Page A01
In the early 1940s, a politically ambitious butcher from West Virginia named Bob Byrd recruited 150 of his friends and associates to form a chapter of the Ku Klux Klan. After Byrd had collected the $10 joining fee and $3 charge for a robe and hood from every applicant, the "Grand Dragon" for the mid-Atlantic states came down to tiny Crab Orchard, W.Va., to officially organize the chapter.

So congratulations Senator Obama -- you have to be the first black man/African-American (covering my bases here!!) in American history with a 50/50 chance of becoming president to be endorsed by a recovering Klansman. This is even a great accomplishment than when the Reverand Jesse Jackson ran for President.

Personally I think race relations in the USA would be helped by Senator Byrd taking his endorsement one step further by doing a national town hall meeting with Senator Obama to talk about his experiences in the KKK.

Now this is diversity,

Todd

Obama and Clinton Cutting a Deal

As the Democratic Party presidential nomination winds down to what appears will be a victory for US Senator Barack Obama all the pundits are speculating what will become of his challenger - US Senator Hillary Cattle Futures Clinton.

From what I have seen all the speculation has focused on whether or not Clinton will become Obama's Vice Presidential running mate or that Senator Clinton would drop out gracefully to help unite the party as she looks towards the 2012 presidential election - which of course is based on the scenario that US Senator John McCain, the Republican nominee, would defeat Senator Obama in November 2008.

Let me offer another scenario I have heard or read anywhere. Here is a hint -- Hillary is a "lawyer". Any guesses?

If you haven't guessed yet here we go -- Senator Clinton drops out gracefully by cutting a deal with Senator Obama and does all she can to help Senator Obama elected in November 2008 with no plans to run in 2012. The deal? President Obama appoints Senator Clinton to the US Supreme Court which of course is a lifetime appointment versus the potential 8 years (assuming she get re-elected in 2012 or 2016 depending on when she would potentially run - this year or in 2012. Yes - I know that is complicated!) that Senator could serve as President due to the current constitutional limitations.

Today Hillary is 61 years old so assuming President Obama appoints her to the Supreme Court in 2009 (assuming there is a vacancy - although the Clintons could probably arrange that!!) she could serve in that capacity for potentially 25 years based on current life expectancy rates.

Wow! I don't know which scenario gives me worse nightmares -- President Clinton for 8 years or Justice Clinton for 25 years.

Sleep well,

Todd

Run Hillary Run!!

Via my blackberry news service I just heard that former US Congressman Bob Barr of Georgia has announced he will run for President of the USA under the Libertarian Party (LP) banner. While this news will no doubt excite many of my conservative friends especially the Ron Paul supporters I doubt the LP will win more than 5% (perhaps 3% maximum in fact) this year even with a former Republican US Congressman (Barr) at the top of the ticket. I have met with Mr. Barr and like his worldview but unfortunately he is just not high profile enough to capture the national headlines needed to advance his campaign.

However, what REALLY does excite me is the opportunity that US Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton has at her fingertips. Since Senator Clinton highlighted for American voters that her opponent for the Democratic Party nomination, US Senator Barack Obama, is NOT qualified to "take that call at 3 am" that tests what every president is made of during a crisis.

If Senator Obama is really not prepared for the extreme challenges that are likely during his presidential term then Senator Clinton must, in fact is required, to launch a third party campaign assuming Senator Obama wins the Democratic Party nomination for President and does not choose Senator Clinton to be his vice presidential candidate.

So which party for Hillary to save the American public from an unqualified President Obama? Green Party? Not a great option since she would somehow have to overcome/replace Ralph Nader who is seeking this party's nomination -- http://www.votenader.org/

I won't even begin to find a new party for Senator Clinton to join but here is an extensive list of her choices --

http://www.politics1.com/parties.htm

Given her current opposition to free trade agreements and "concern for working families" perhaps she should pursue a "Hillary Clinton-Lou Dobbs" ticket with one of these various third parties.

Imagine how much fun November would be for voters -- beyond college football of course -- if the presidential candidates included -- McCain, Obama, Clinton, and Barr -- running as candidates from four different political parties. Now that would be an exciting range of choices.

Run Hillary Run until November,

Todd

Nightmare Ticket

Last week I watched most of the Democratic presidential candidate debate between Billary Clinton and Barack Obama -- yes clearly I need to get out of the house more often!! Toward the end of the debate the candidates were asked -- "would you be willing to form an Obama-Clinton or Clinton-Obama ticket which would clearly be a DREAM TICKET?"

Dream? For whom, people who want an even greater amount of their wealth taken from them along with greater restrictions on their freedom? Such a presidential ticket would be a nightmare ticket for people like myself since it could potentially mean 16 years of these two people in the White House assuming re-election and promotion/re-election to President for whichever one becomes Vice President. Sixteen years would make me 58 years old but more importantly it would delay more retirement plans via the theft known as progressive taxation.

Since this debate question about a possible "dream ticket" played both the race card and gender card it is fair game to speculate what would be a dream ticket would be for the Republican Party -- namely a black woman as the Vice Presidential nominee to counter the Democratic Party's race/gender ticket.

Assuming Senator John "National Security" McCain is the nominee he doesn't really need another national security running mate such as US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice but if not her who fits the bill? I hope my friends at the Clare Boothe Luce Policy Institute have some candidates to suggest to the eventual presidential nominee -- http://www.cblpi.org/index.cfm

Todd

Dynasty

When you hear the word "dynasty" you might think of the Ming Dynasty or if you are like me -- Krystal Carrington of "Dynasty" television show fame. (PHOTO - Source: ShoulderPads.net)

However today I want to focus on political dynasties in the USA namely the Bush, Clinton, and Kennedy dynasties since today is the hugely important - for Mayor Rudy Giuliani especially - Florida primary election. The huge political news this week is that current godfather of the Kennedy clan -- US Senator Ted Kennedy of Massachusetts has endorsed his Senate colleague -- Barack Obama of Illinois for President of the USA instead of Kennedy's other Senate colleague from New York - Hillary (Billary) Clinton.

Yes this is huge news as one political dynasty - Kennedy - uses its star power to stop another dynasty from beginning -- the Clinton family.

No I am not an Obama supporter (though I have great respect for his big name supporter - Oprah Winfrey - to the point that instead of endorsing Obama for President I think she should run for the office herself) but I am very glad that Senator Kennedy simply endorsed Obama and did not offer to give him a ride home after the election night celebration party :-)

Don't drink and drive,

Todd

Don't Shoot the Messenger

The Ron Paul Message in three points. First - "I don't want to run your life." Second - "I don't want to run the economy. People run the economy in a free society." And third - "I don't want to run the world."

Brian Doherty, Reason Magazine (www.reason.org) , February 2008

Just in case readers don't know who he is "Ron Paul" is a US Congressman from Texas who is running for the Republican Party nomination for President of the USA in this year's election. However at one time Dr. Paul (he is an medical doctor) was the Libertarian Party's presidential candidate.

At this point in the election I do not officially support any of the presidential candidates but after reviewing policy statements on campaign websites I must say I most closely identify with Dr. Paul's agenda to expand freedom by reducing government in the USA. Today he is my best option philosophically especially since my beloved "Free Soil Party" (check your history books!!) is not fielding a candidate this year :-)

Unfortunately as was evident in the Republican Party candidate debate in South Carolina this week Dr. Paul is perhaps not the best messenger for the libertarian/"leave us alone" coalition views that I personally hold. Regardless of public perception, media coverage, etc. Dr. Paul needs to keep running for president to serve as the necessary pressure to force the leading Republican candidates to address the issues he raises in the campaign which have as a common denominator -- GOVERNMENT TAKES TOO MUCH OF OUR MONEY!

A simple message with a simple messenger who was not shaped by focus groups and polling results.

Run Ron Run,

Todd

Caucus Time!

Amazing that it has been seven days since I last posted. I had a lot to say but when it came time for posting I waited and waited since I got caught up in two things this past week -- 1.) the US presidential campaigns and 2.) college football championship.

So now I offer a review of what happened during the last week:

• Iowa Caucus -- my home state of Iowa has historically kicked off the presidential campaign process for over thirty years now. Iowa is unique in that it has a "caucus" versus a "primary election" thus requiring candidates to focus on retail politics where they actually have to talk with voters on a personal level. Personally I am a huge advocate of the caucus system so I was pleased when I heard the national journalists who were reporting from Iowa say that the "caucus system is a very interesting process that is really good for the election system........." (my paraphrasing several sources). Yes this is a great alternative to a system where the best-funded candidates would simply focus on the "Big Four" states of -- California, New York, Texas, and Florida to raise money to blanket the nation with television ads.
• College Football -- I love college football but hate the NCAA's "Bowl Championship Series" which is essentially a mythical championship versus having a legitimate playoff system. However my lack of faith in the BCS format did not keep me from watching Ohio State University get defeated by Louisiana State University. I was cheering for the Buckeyes so I was sad to see them lose.
• New Hampshire Primary -- Yes an amazing turnaround victory for Senator Hillary Clinton (New York) in the Democratic Party primary after her loss to Senator Barack Obama (Illinois) in the Iowa caucus. Based on state proximity - New York close to New Hampshire and Illinois close to Iowa -- we really should have expected these candidates to do very well/win the states in their geographic region. If anything I would say since she grew up in Chicago, Illinois Senator Clinton should have performed better than third place in Iowa especially since she considered moving to Illinois to launch her political career (opting for New York State instead) when her and Bill completed their removal of furniture from the White House!!!

More elections to come but college football is done until August 2008 which is probably the saddest news in this posting,

Todd

Presidential Campaigns

"Big decisions are taken at small meetings, small decisions at taken at big meetings"

Chinese proverb

How appropriate this proverb is for China since a small governing elite send their decisions, made in small meetings to the People's Congress which is a large meeting but only meets every five years.

I was reminded of this proverb while watching some of the American presidential candidates interviewed on the Sunday "talking head" TV shows today. Gone are the smoke-filled rooms populated by political party bosses who determined who the presidential candidate was going to be during the party's convention. That old system is clearly obsolete today when you look at the Iowa Caucus process and the mega-star power of Oprah Winfrey. As a native Iowan I am a huge advocate of the Iowa Caucus process because it forces/demands that candidates focus on retail politics whereby they must meet voters on a very decentralized level since the caucuses are held in people's living rooms, VFW halls, etc. These small events coupled with the mass rallies that Oprah Winfrey is hosting in football stadiums for Senator Barack Obama has placed a few more nails in the smoke-filled room culture's coffin -- those days are clearly gone and today's party nominating conventions are merely four days of earned media not decisions.

Speaking of decisions the next stage of decision making will take place in the March 2008 time frame when the Democratic and Republican parties will likely know who their nominees are so these people will then start selecting their vice-presidential running mates. Since this process is coming quickly I had a few observations on possible and impossible presidential tickets so here we go:

McCain-Lieberman: When Senator Joe Lieberman was up for re-election to the US Senate in 2006 his Democratic Party endorsed a challenger in the primary election so Lieberman ran as an independent and he won. At the time I wrote on this blog that he should not re-join the Democratic Caucus in the Senate but he did. If Senator Lieberman and Senator McCain (Republican) want to really be the mavericks they claim to be they would run as a team assuming Senator McCain wins the Republican nomination. I don't believe that will happen but of course these two men could run as an independent (note: there is no official "Independent Party" in the USA) team thus creating a "third party" candidacy that could clearly affect the 2008 November elections.

Obama-Winfrey: Yes, a historic ticket -- with two African-Americans -- of US Senator Barack Obama (Democrat) and TV mega-star Oprah Winfrey but alas it is impossible since both of these people are residents of Illinois which the Constitution does not allow but with her money Oprah could buy a home in any state she wants of course!! This shouldn't be a problem since Senator Hillary Clinton chose to become a New York State resident to launch her political career once her and Bill stripped the White House of most of its furniture as they left in 2001.

Ah, the combinations are endless so perhaps worthy of a future posting here. Readers comments are most welcome in case I overlooked any interesting possible tickets.

Enjoy the race,

Todd

Happy Earth Day!!

Today marks another "Earth Day" (April 22) celebration -- despite all the "harm" that humans cause to Mother Earth we have all made it one more year to celebrate this event designed to raise environmental awareness. My family enjoyed the weekend's wonderful weather in Minnesota by having a picnic on Holland Lake.

Now this is an odd thought but today's Earth Day events reminded me of Imelda Marcos, former First Lady of the Philippines, because I read a reminder in the sports page of my newspaper of presidential candidate John Edwards' recent US$400.00 haircuts. Which made me wonder about his Earth Day plans which are evident on his campaign website since it allows visitors to send a "Happy Earth Day" e-card:

http://blog.johnedwards.com/story/2007/4/20/13339/8273

Yes the same John "Two Americas" Edwards who is using class warfare to win the White House in 2008. So what is the Marcos and Edwards connection? Remember the quote Mrs. Marcos made to justify her shoe collection which included thousands of pairs of shoes? She said -- "it gives them (the poor) something to look up to........to be inspired by.........."

Perhaps Edwards' haircut serves the same purpose as Mrs Marcos' shoes. Elitism knows no boundaries especially when it comes to raiding taxpayers' wallets.

Todd