WaxWorks
|
Thursday, February 01, 2007
Gore
I agree with Kos on this one: if Gore decides to get in, he's my man in 2008.
And maybe there is some hope, if former Gore campaign manager Donna Brazile is right:
But could former Vice President Al Gore be waiting to make a dramatic
entrance into the 2008 presidential race, especially if he wins an Oscar next
month?
His former campaign manager, Donna Brazile, strongly implied that
possibility while speaking at Moravian College in Bethlehem Tuesday night.
''Wait till Oscar night,'' Brazile told an audience of about 100 people at
Haupert Student Union. ''I tell people: 'I'm dating. I haven't fallen in love
yet.' On Oscar night, if Al Gore has slimmed down 25 or 30 pounds, Lord
knows.''...
Before making her Oscar night comment, she said she was ''so proud'' of
Gore's work to bring attention to global warming.
''I believe [Gore] is ready for this moment,'' Brazile said in an interview
after her speech. ''He is a good leader. I think he can be one of the few
leaders who can bring this country together.''
She acknowledged it will be a tough decision for Gore, noting Kerry's
announcement last week to bow out of the race. Gore believes he is now doing his
life's work, Brazile said. However, she conceded that Gore might be able to do
more about global climate change from inside the Oval Office. He has already
made an impact by forcing President Bush to talk about the issue, she
said.
Brazile's not the only one who's made a comment about Gore slimming down being an indicator of his future intentions. A lot of people have said: see if Gore is svelte by the fall. If so, then he's probably running.
Monday, January 29, 2007
Straight Talk?
I always thought that one of the things that hurt Bob Dole in 1996 was his comment in the beginning of the primaries to a group of conservative Republicans that "if you want another Ronald Reagan, that's who I'll be." It was an incredibly damaging pander that hurt his credibility from that point forward.
I think a similar thing, on a much broader scale, is happening to John McCain. McCain's approval rating is down to 52%, from 59% in December. McCain's pandering to the right, along with his support for an incredibly unpopular war policy, has derailed the "Straight Talk Express" upon which he built his political strength.
Just take a look here.
Oh, That'll Help Things
It's fairly well-settled that one of the motivating factors behind Islamic terrorism against the United States is anger over the stationing of U.S. troops in Saudi Arabia after the Gulf War. Indeed, Bin Laden has explictly cited this as one of the things that has motivated his anti-American sentiment.
So I was fairly stunned when I read about Dick Cheney's interview in Newsweek, and the fact that the Veep had this to say:
Vice President Cheney said the deployment this month of a second
aircraft-carrier task force to the Persian Gulf delivered a "strong signal" of
the United States' commitment to confront Iran's growing influence in the
region.
Countries in the Middle East "want us to have a major presence
there," Cheney said in a Newsweek interview published online yesterday.
Referring to the deployment of the carrier USS John C. Stennis, Cheney said,
"That sends a very strong signal to everybody in the region that the
United States is here to stay, that we clearly have significant
capabilities, and that we are working with friends and allies as well as the
international organizations to deal with the Iranian threat."
If I was on the right, I might ask: why does Dick Cheney hate America? Instead, I'll just note this with interest and derision.
