Toby Keith and Beer for the Voters

The day is grey down here and the surf rough as Faye sends some weather our way, so I thought to offer some random thoughts while my coffee brews…

Toby Keith, Democrat?  Anything to sell records, I guess.

I see that some college administrators want to stop binge drinking in part by lowering the beer age to 18.

I turned 18 while a senior in high school, and while 18 was the beer age when I was in college I attended a dry college.  I can tell you this-beer tastes a lot better when it is drunk illicitly…it is like a victory against The Man.

But I will tell you now what I said 25 years ago when states started rolling the beer age up to 21…

If you can vote at 18, and you can carry a weapon and defend our country at 18, then I think you should be able to buy beer at 18.

Obama may still pick Hillary, but I doubt it…unless he finds a way to keep Bill Clinton’s mouth shut.

BTW, all the stuff that happened this year on the Democratic side is much more understandable if you read Bob Shrum’s Concessions of a Serial Campaigner. The background and behavior of so many of the Democrats was in wide view to insiders four to eight years ago, including Bill Clinton’s unwillingness to allow someone else to hold the spotlight.

Next time you head to Myrtle Beach, remember: Georgio’s on NMB main street for pizza, Ella’s in Calabash for seafood. Oh, and they have opened a Five Guy’s down here. Yes, the controversy over the various Bike Weeks continues.

Be careful buying ground beef from the Food Lion’s down here…apparently “sell by” dates mean something else in SC than it does in VA.

For tapping your toes, nothing surpasses being here at the ancestral home of Beach Music, right here on Ocean Boulevard.

GO, USA!  Congrats Misty-May and Kerri!

No E Coli here!

In the wake of my visit to Camp Ross at the Gohen Scout Reservation, there have been reports of E Coli at Camp Olmstead, a Boy Scout camp at Camp Goshen.

Never fear, my blogging brethren who have asked if we contracted anything…

We did not.

The only diarhea either of us has experienced is WMD #1 tendency to run his mouth…all the time, except when eating or sleeping…and that condition pre-existed our trip.

Football Hall of Fame-Levels of Honor?

Washington Redskins Art Monk and Darrell Greene were inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame this weekend. I defer to the summary at the Art Monk Hall of Fame blog to describe how great it was!

Now I can sit back and wait and hope that Russ Grimm, Joe Jacoby, and Bobby Beathard might one day make it.

I originally planeed to sit back, ignore the silliness of Doctor Z and all the naysayers, and revel in the moment.

But after the inductions on Saturday and the game on Sunday I had a chance to catch a show on the NFL network about the “Top Ten Players not in the Hall of Fame“.   One-Steve Tasker-I was not familiar with.  Others-like Alex Karras-I thought was already in the HOF. I am mystified why Jerry Kramer has not been inducted.

But as I watched the show the ego of some of these guys rose up from the screen like steam off a hot road after as summer shower…and it caused me to ask what are they thinking, and also to wonder are there levels of honor at Canton and Cooperstown?

What are They Thinking?

The “what are they thinking” came to me via Ken Stabler…

First, two points:

a) If there is a flaw in the Football HOF process, it is the very limited number of sportswriters who vote, and who can thus stop a nominee. 
b) There is a constant discussion of whether the decision should be based solely on what happens on the field or if off the field concerns, actions, and activities should be considered.

Stabler is blocked apparently because (1) while he was brilliant over 5-6 years, he played for 14, and he wasn’t so brilliant then, and (2) certain off the field activities. Paul Zimmerman (Dr. Z) was briefly interviewed as part of the show saying “I will never vote for Kenny Stabler as long as I live”, and Stabler supporters go on about how his partying should not be held against him.

Zimmerman is a little different. His opposition is based in an act more than simple late night partying:

In his prime, while it lasted, he was very accurate. Then he became consistently inaccurate. His teammates wondered why. That’s as far as I’ll take this one. A few years ago, the person presenting him at the enshrinement meeting mentioned how he had “always been cooperative with the media.” My hand shot up as if it were on a spring, and I reminded this ninny about how the Snake invited Bob Padecky of the Sacramento Bee down to the Redneck Riviera to do some offseason interviewing. And when Padecky showed up, all of a sudden Kenny’s buddies on the Mobile PD found some drugs that had been planted in the writer’s car, and off he went to the joint. For a night. Then he was released with no charges filed. Yeah, Kenny will make it. After I’m morto.

This was a big deal at the time. Invites a writer-who had been critical-to do an interview, gives him the run around after said writer gets into town, writer gets set up for a drug bust. Oh, and the interviews?

Most of Padecky’s time in the bars [for interviews] was spent either waiting for Stabler or listening to Stabler harangue him for his journalistic shortcomings

You can call this one way or the other. Did Stabler set him up? I don’t know…but it doesn’t look good. More to the point, while this is off the field conduct, it is the direct result of on the field activities…Padecky wrote for the Sacramento Bee, and had been critical of Stabler’s performance.

So all you Stabler guys out there…you want him in, you have to address this. Otherwise…

Levels of Honor

Then there is Chris Carter, who everyone is up in arms because he did not go in his first shot. Big Deal…Vince Lombardi didn’t go in on his first shot, and his name is on the trophy awarded to the Super Bowl winners! But to hear the Carter folks talk, this is some terrible insult.

I am reminded of my time in the Jefferson Literary and Debating Society at UVa. A probationary member has to give a speech, and have his/her effort approved by the membership present. A majority present voting for you meant you passed the speech. If the speech was good, it was nominated for best of semester. A member could even move “unanimous consent” for approval and dispense with voting. Many felt such a motion was an administrative tool to streamline the process for clearly deserving speeches. Others felt that “Unanimous approval” was an honor in itself that should be reserved for only the best presentations. It was not unusual to see Old Guard members vote no on a “UA” motion, then vote to approve the speech in a general vote.

The reaction of the Carterites strikes me in the same way. They act as if there are levels of honor in the Hall of Fame, that the guys approved in their first year of eligibility get a special medal attached to their bust. I imagine some of the voters think the same. It seems to me that Hall of Fame membership is like pregnancy-you either are or you are not, and there are no degrees of the condition. But that observation is tempered by other conditions.

Take a look at the Carter clip, and you notice that no one deals with the mathematics of the situation or the politics. No one notes that by consensus each class will be 4-7 members. So if this year’s class had only six members, that means one more could have come in…so maybe Carter was not the first round lock you thought. So they could have taken him in…even though it meant two wide receivers in the same class.

There will alwasy be obstacles. As long as voters are limited by statutue or agreement on how many can go in per class, deserving folks will be left out. As long as the voters focus on statistics, then offensive linemen will be underrepresented. As long as voters focus on the recent past, then older players will be ignored (i.e., what about Tommy Nobis?).

I can understand the Carter clique being disappointed, but their comments are way to whiny for my taste. One is either in the Hall or not, no matter whether you go in on the first ballot or not.

Perhaps Chris Carter should take a page from a man who waited many years for his induction. As Art Monk said:

“Getting here did not come without controversy, as I’m sure it did with some of the guys sitting behind me. But through it all, I’m here with a greater appreciation for something that not every player is able to achieve and for the people who stood up for me and spoke out on my behalf.”

It took a deserving career, years of manfully shouldering disappointment, and a concerted, non-stop effort to get Art Monk the recognition he deserves…years of waiting he should not have had to endure, but no complaints were heard from Art Monk.

Maybe The Snake Squad and the Chris Clique should take notes.

Randy Pausch has Died

Randy Pausch, the Carnigie Mellon professor whom I wrote about in the wake of his “Last Lecture” in the face of terminal pancreatic cancer, has died.

Here is a clip of his lecture, which was part of a series of lectures given by Carnigie Mellon professors to discuss the lessons they have learned in their life journey.

Just prior to his speech, the series title was changed from “Last Lecture” to “Journies”.

The Pausch response: “”I thought, damn, I finally nailed the venue and they renamed it,”

Vaya con Dios

Back from Goshen…

I have returned from the Goshen Scout reservation with WMD #1.  And, although we caught far more rain early in the week than I though possible, a good grimy, dirty time was had by all.

The food was good, fun was had at all the learning centers, and WMD#1 now knows what can happen if you get to close to the water while fishing.  By the same token, he also knows how to make apple cobbler and how to fashion a sword from wood and rope.

So, on balance, a good week…of course, I now have to catch up with political developments of the last week or so…

The highlight?  Well, there is nothing quite like having the center of a thunder storm pass right over top your campsite while sleeping in a old style army tent.

Is Tim Craig Flacking for Dick Saslaw?

In today’s Virginia notebook WaPo writer Tim Craig looks at the special legislative session in Richmond, and lets us all know who he is supporting.

After looking at all the various options, Craig writes:

With gas prices already more than $4 a gallon, House Minority Leader Ward L. Armstrong (D-Bath) has come out against Saslaw’s plan to raise the gas tax by 6 cents over six years, which would cost the average family less than $50 a year.

Now what caught my eye is the casual way Mr. Craig slips advocacy into his article…and in doing so shows why Mr. Saslaw’s bill is doomed and perhaps deserves to fail…and why one would be justified in thinking Mr. Craig has a night job as a PR expert for Senator Saslaw.

The WaPo has long been accused of allowing reporters to slip opinion and advocacy into their articles. Clearly that is what is going on here. Mr. Craig does not offer any independent information to validate his claim, only statement parroting Mr. Saslaw…it’s the parroting part that alerts you that this is advocacy.

More important is Mr. Craig acting as if this increase happens in a vacuum. Families are already having to cut away activities, and now Mr. Saslaw potentially wants them to cut away more so his gas tax can take wing and fly. He sees it as a way to solve one problem, and apparently has no concern what other problem(s) he may be creating.

I don’t know which is a more sorry sight…that of the Majority Leader of the Virginia Senate slashing without concern at the wallets of Virginian’s already stretched tight, or that of a member of the Fourth Estate deciding it was not important to maintain their objectivity.

Either way, it’s a pity.

Flack On, Mr. Craig, Flack On!

Illegal Immigration Problems in Loudoun

This report on illegal immigration problems in Loudon County is a must read.

I have been pretty much on the periphery of the illegal alien issue, but have been taken time and again by folks like WaPo columnist Marc Fisher who try to compare today’s situation with that faced by their grandparents.

Time and again folks like Mr. Fisher fail to draw a distinction between their forbears who came to this country, tried to learn the language, follow the rules and laws, paid their taxes, and embraced the melting pot…and those in Loudoun who don’t learn the language, evade and break the rules and laws, skirt paying taxes, and reject both the melting pot and the mosaic concept.

Be sure to read the link above about Loudoun County…borderline shocking.

Obama, Financing, and Walking the Talk

How good it feels to be ahead of the power curve!

Many months ago I speculated that Barack Obama would bail on his promise to use public funding of his campaign. Now the other shoe has fallen. Obama has officially rejected down public financing despite his previous promise to use it if his opponent accepted…which John McCain did long ago.

This and other Obama actions continue to indicate his willingness to talk it up, but not to walk it out.

Some suggest that Obama has always viewed the financing question as a way to get press. I speculated back when as to the motivation for making the promise in the first place-a cheap way to get good publicity.

Now it would be one thing if he simply reneged on a promise and moved on-politicians do that all the time. He is doing this because he has created a fundraising juggernaut and sees an advantage in using private financing. No problem there…happens all the time.

However, Obama wants us to believe this is not a practical political decision, but instead an attempt to fix a broken system. He wants us to believe his decicion is one of principle, and not practicality.

Among others, the WaPO ain’t buying it:

But given Mr. Obama’s earlier pledge to “aggressively pursue” an agreement with the Republican nominee to accept public financing, his effort to cloak his broken promise in the smug mantle of selfless dedication to the public good is a little hard to take.

Things clearly have changed since Obama filed this with the FEC to keep the public option open:

“Congress concluded some thirty years ago that the public funding alternative . . . would serve core purposes in the public interest: limiting the escalation of campaign spending and the associated pressures on candidates to raise, at the expense of time devoted to public dialogue, ever vaster sums of money.”

Apparently his devotion to this ideal is present-when it benefits him.

As the WaPo concluded:

Fine. Politicians do what politicians need to do. But they ought to spare us the self-congratulatory back-patting while they’re doing it.

This whole process is indicative of the Obama modus operandi.

An example-Obama has made much of his desire for open communication and a new bi partisan approach to government. But as recently recounted when asked “Have you ever worked across the aisle in such a way that entailed a political risk for yourself?”, Obama replied-at great length:

“Well, look, when I was doing ethics reform legislation, for example, that wasn’t popular with Democrats or Republicans. So any time that you actually try to get something done in Washington, it entails some political risks. But I think the basic principle which you pointed out is that I have consistently said, when it comes to solving problems, like nuclear proliferation or reducing the influence of lobbyists in Washington, that I don’t approach this from a partisan or ideological perspective.”

Short Answer: “No, I haven’t”

I understand why Obama ran for president this year…a chance came his way, and he didn’t have a record in office that could be used against him.  Wait another cycle or two and his record gets used against him-just ask John Kerry.

However, it becomes clearer and clearer that while Obama uses his marvelous oratorical talents to talk of a new day in American politics, the reality is too often there is little beef behind the image. For all his talk of the ideal of public financing, he runs from it when it is to his advantage to do so. Obama talks of the ideal of post-partisanship his presidency will lead to, but can show almost no real belief in the idea in his Senate activities.

In 1984 Walter Mondale asked Gary Hart “Where’s the Beef?” If Obama keeps this up, I think folks will range far beyond this simple observation. Instead, they are going to look at his comments and his record, and note the variations. I doubt they are going to view these changes as sincere changes found on the road to Damascus. Instead, they may well think they are listening to a man who is willing to talk the talk, but not to walk the walk, and will do or say anything to get elected.

So much for the new politics…

McCain/Obama-Who has “It”?

Members of the chattering class, bloggers, and prognosticators of all types put a lot of weight on fundraising, campaign organization, endorsements, and such in trying to figure out who will win an election.

While I don’t underestimate all that, I wonder how much folks fail to recognize that often the candidate who wins has “it”.  I think there are two kinds of its folks respond to, and by happy coincidence we have both on stage this year.

The first type is that of trust, tried, and tested.  Think about that delegate or mayor or city councilman who keeps getting reelected simply because everyone trusts him-and they trust him because they have proven themselves by walking through the fires of life and of politics and coming out on the other side tempered and ready, like steel. They are people you instinctively like and trust.

My example of a man like that-and like so many of the Greatest Generation-is the late Harry Parrish.  He was a solid and competent man who had been to war, served with distinction, and came home with a desire to make his corner of the world a little better.  He served in the world of Virginia municipal and state politics, and in that time you can find nary a person who did not like Harry or respect him.

John McCain comes into the race with that.  He has made mistakes, and fought back from them.  He served his country, and weathered an extended season in hell in the Hanoi Hilton.  This is a man who turned down a chance to be released because he knew it was extended only because his father was a ranking US Navy officer.

I will call this type 1 It…

But there is another “it” quality, or Type 2 It.  I saw it best described in Garrett Epp’s The Shad Treatment. In the book a character talks about political philosophy and talks about a South American jefe he met who constantly rewarded those who he liked and fined those he did not like. He was armed with only a Colt six-shooter to back up these pronouncements. His territory was rocky and treacherous and full of bushwhack spots. He perpetrated his near thievery with only marginal color of law. When asked how he could get away with all his acts, he said it was because the people considered him a force of nature who could not be opposed.

I think to some degree that is where Obama falls. He has come from no where to be his party’s nominee. He is the nominee despite having less experience in high office (which I will define as statewide or above, or commensurate work) than anyone in my lifetime (with the exception of Gerry Ford or Jimmy Carter, depending on how you calculate these things).

Where does it come from? It is more than charisma, it is just a thing that cannot be identified…adn if you have it, it is a blessing. Some folks are scared of forces of nature, and hold them to higher standards of conduct…or adopt really violent tactics to stop them.

Examples?

Ronald Reagan was Type 1. So was Eisenhower. For some people, Truman was a Type 1.
FDR, Bobby Kennedy and Dr. King were Type 2’s.
Winston Churchill was a little of both.
Nixon, Carter, Ford, Bush, Clinton, Dole…neither.

So, what will it take to win in November? Type I or Type II? What is America looking for?

Only time will tell!

Life’s Rich Pageantry, Part 2-Kaine snubs Byrne

Today’s WaPo announced that TheGov endorsed ChairGer in the race for he Democratic nomination for the Va 11 House seat. In doing so, he snubbed his 2005 running mate LB3, also a candidate for said nomination.

When I read that, I thought, “OH, the gang at RK ain’t going to be happy about this.”

Well…when I am right, I am right. A piece of the RK reaction to the even the possibility of Kaine endorsing Connolly:

…if this is true, it’s very disturbing news. Whether it’s bad judgment on Kaine’s part or merely a political payback, it’s doing the people of the 11th a disservice by endorsing the wrong candidate.

This is the mild conclusion to the piece, which goes into great detail why Kaine is wrong to back Connolly.

Meanwhile, over at NLS Ben takes the high road, simply referring to the endorsement as “Governor Kaine’s Blood Drenched Hands.”

I do find it interesting that Kaine has decided to endorse in this race, while he has not in the Va-10 contest nor did he in last year’s senate primary in Richmond between Donald McEachin and Benjamin Lambert. In fact, given Kaine’s constant droning about his time as a missionary, his commitment to liberal ideas, opposition to the death penalty, etc., it would seem to me that Leslie Byrne is a more reasonable choice for him to endorse, except…

…Nothing drives Kaine more than politics. He has always kept himself camouflaged, beginning with his 2005 campaign pledge to not raise taxes and then recanting on that idea before he was even sworn into office. The only reason I can think of for TheGov’s endorsement is that he thinks ChairGer has the best chance to win the general, and I have to wonder if he thinks he needs to endorse to help push ChairGer over the finish line.

But it is the RK reaction and the irony of the situation that strikes me. While I generally disagree with Lowell and the RK gang (and even was called a mouth breather over there in a comment), I recognize and admire the driving energy and devotion to their causes and candidates. They were in the front row pushing Tim Kaine and political blogging in Virginia in 2005, led the charge for Jim Webb in 2006, and served as a central information point for the statehouse races in 2007.

They laid it out heart and soul for Tim Kaine in 2005-their blog is even named for him. To have him come back around and to get into the Va-11 race for a candidate they so clearly despise must be heartbreaking…although I do not anticipate them changing the name of their blog to “RaisingByrne”.

On that count I do feel sorry for them today, but I guess that is part of Politics…yesterday’s allies are today’s misguided idiots.

Life’s Rich Pageantry strikes again!