STFU Award: Political strategists and experts

Somewhere someone said it first. ‘Pres. Barack Obama was losing the PR war to the Republicans in debating his stimulus his bill.’ Then someone else picked up the all-purpose observation and repeated it. Noticing the allure of drama to an otherwise wonky story, other “experts,” “strategists,” and pundits continued the refrain until it filled the echo chamber and was accepted as a universal truth.

There was just one thing missing from this analysis: a source. What was the factual basis for the claim? What knowledgeable, objective person were they quoting? What empirical evidence led to this conclusion?

There’s an old joke… What do you get when you give a reporter two pieces of information and a deadline? The answer? A trend. And so the trendy analysis continued until it was interrupted by real data.

A Monday Gallup poll found that 80 percent of voters felt that passing an economic stimulus proposal was important or very important (51 percent very important, 29 percent important). RealClearPolitics.com reported in their poll of polls that Pres. Obama enjoyed a 64 percent job approval while congressional Republicans earned a mere 31 percent approval. This happened while Republicans were winning the PR war.

What could have possibly led all these experts to conclude that Republicans were besting the president? A bunch of grumpy old men saturated the airwaves peddling 30-year old sound bites and the same baseless predictions that created the current mess. Because of the overall volume of their wall-to-wall pronouncements, the chattering class concluded the opposition must be winning.

I have a little reminder from any Communications 101 course: In order for communications to occur, you need a sender, a message, a receiver, and feedback to suggest the receiver got the message. Short of that complete cycle, you can’t assume that any real communication occurred.

In the Republicans blitz, you had a sender and a message but no feedback that any intended receiver heard or bought into their claims. The only people who seemed to receive the messages were the drama-hungry media. Despite the Republican offensive, Americans didn’t seem to be persuaded. The experts didn’t get the memo.

It’s the same old drill. News stations keep a stable of experts who tell us what we should think about every situation. They pronounce their opinions with absolute certainty, things of which they have no clue. Then they tell two friends. And they tell two friends. And so on. And so on. Until you have a trend story: Republicans are winning the PR war against the stimulus.

By the way, congress agreed on a stimulus plan this week, with the support of a majority of Americans.

To the news pundits who repeat the same tired cliché’s without any facts or sources…I hereby bestow the Peoples Pundit STFU Award. Shut The Fuck Up!

Bailout bull

Now I have to admit that most of the banking bailout conversation goes right over my head. I'm a liberal arts guy, so talk of liquidity and such loses me.

A week ago, I heard that we, the government, were spending $750 billion to bail out banks and Wall Street. Then today another $250 billion.

Next I hear that there is no shortage of cash, just a shortage of confidence.

Now what do you think would happen if we owed one of those same banks $50 and couldn't pay? I'm confident we all know the answer.

Sent from my iPhone.

Inside the mind of McCain

It was the middle of the week, and news media the world over were gushing over Sen. Obama. A sullen Sen. McCain summoned his staff to discuss what must be done.

McCain: This is unsatisfactory. He is on TV acting like he understands foreign policy. This is MY issue. He is over there stealing MY issue. I am NOT happy. Obama was supposed to go with us, so we could have images of me tutoring the youngster. How did we lose control?! Now he's speaking in Berlin for God sakes. Berlin!!! I need my Berlin. Get me my Berlin!

Sycophant staff member: Senator, you know there is a Berlin in Ohio. If you recall from the primary election, they don't like his kind in Ohio. We could go there and be "with the people."

They all chuckled at their wit.

McCain: Great idea, my friend. Where will we go in Berlin?

Sycophant staff: A German restaurant of course. You get Berlin AND Germany And you look like you understand ordinary people. It's brilliant.

McCain: You might be on to something. Then we could go to Paris, Wisconsin. We could trail his European cities with their American counterparts. That'll show him. We'll belittle Obama for speaking to 200,000 people. After all, this isn't a popularity contest.

The staff shuffled nervously. After all, this was not good TV. But the boss was happy, so they all went along.

Sycophant staff: Great idea, senator. This will make a tremendous impact. Your best idea yet! High five!

Oops!

STFU Award: Jesse Jackson

Just when we thought we had recovered from Jesse Jackson's tasteless and crass comment about Barack Obama, he raises his outrageous behavior to an even more unacceptable level.

Last week we learned that Jesse Jackson was picked up on an open mic on the Fox News set whispering to another guest. Jackson was complaining that Barack Obama was talking down to Black people and Jesse wanted to cut Barack's nuts off. Jesse incredibly thought the microphone was off when he made the comments, violating what must be the must widely known rule in TV -- always assume the mic is on.

Once Jesse got word that Fox had recorded his comment, he immediately came out with a pre-apology. Before the piece even aired, there was Jesse Jackson groveling for any camera that would record him. He still loved Obama. It was the microphone's fault. Children are starving in Africa. OJ was framed. Geronomo Pratt was shafted. Anything to keep the conversation from going deeper than his apology and delving into why he felt the need to make the comment.

Today, Fox News confirmed that in that gaffe, Jesse called Barack Obama THE N WORD (gasp)!

Yep, the good Reverend wants to cut that nigger Barack Obama's nuts off. Damn microphone.

Now this is beyond outrageous. This is the same Jesse Jackson who crusaded against use of the word. He railed against Michael Richards (appropriately) and threatened to boycott Jerry, Elaine and George's DVD set.

Jesse still hasn't explained why he made the first comment about castrating Barack and now he denigrates him further. At this point Jesse, we don't need an explanation. It's pretty obvious; it is part of your character.

You try to appear pious in public but call Jews a racial slur, father a child out of wedlock, and make crude references about the first Black nominee of any major party. What excuse could you possibly have for a pattern of such unexcusable behavior?

It's time for you to stop parading yourself around as some spokesperson for the Black community. We reject and denounce you. We can do better. We are doing better. With the same Brother you are hating on.

Jesse Jackson for being a classless, insincere, destructive force in the Black community, the People's Pundit bestows upon you the STFU award. SHUT THE FUCK UP!

The dance Obama is doing

There's an old saying. When you get to the dance, you stick with the one who brung you there. For Barack Obama, it seems he was devoted to Democrats on his way to the dance, and once there, has begun flirting with everyone else.

The line of recent reversals of positions has been well chronicled. Faith based organizations, FISA, gun control, campaign finance, all casualties of the deliberate pivot right. While some recasting as a centrist was expected, Obama is doing it on all the issues that are near and dear to his base.

In addition, he has rejected comments from Gen. Wes Clark, that from all accounts were accurate...and being used in Obama's defense. He slammed MoveOn.org's Petraeus ad, even though the group has mobilized three million people to work for Obama's election.

So now his supporters are miffed and his enemies are gleeful. I'm not sure what Obama is thinking, but someone should tell him that people who flirt with others at the dance usually go home alone.

We, too, sing America

I love America, and I agree with Reverend Wright. Whether or not the main stream understands or realizes it, I don't think I am different from many African Americans.

In fact, I'd argue that many African Americans experience a different kind of patriotism than our white counterparts because our history and experiences are so vastly different. This is what many people who scratch their heads at Rev. Wright fail to understand.

Generally speaking, African Americans don't wear flags on our lapels or post bumper stickers on our cars to display our patriotism. In barber shops and basements, we often speak harshly of this country. But we pledge allegiance, pay taxes, vote reliably and serve in our military. And when we see injustice, we forcefully speak out against it.

Jeremiah Wright was not the first to damn American. In 1852, Frederick Douglass was asked to give a speech at an event commemorating the signing of the Declaration of Independence. At Rochester's Corinthian Hall, Douglass delivered a biting oratory, in which he told his audience:

What, to the American slave, is your 4th of July? I answer; a day that reveals to him, more than all other days in the year, the gross injustice and cruelty to which he is the constant victim. To him, your celebration is a sham; your boasted liberty, an unholy license; your national greatness, swelling vanity; your sound of rejoicing are empty and heartless; your denunciation of tyrants brass fronted impudence; your shout of liberty and equality, hollow mockery; your prayers and hymns, your sermons and thanks-givings, with all your religious parade and solemnity, are to him, mere bombast, fraud, deception, impiety, and hypocrisy -- a thin veil to cover up crimes which would disgrace a nation of savages. There is not a nation on the earth guilty of practices more shocking and bloody than are the people of the United States, at this very hour.

This is the same Frederick Douglass who later wrote that "Truth is of no color. God is the father of us all, and we are all brethren." The same Douglass who conferred with presidents and became the first African American to be nominated as vice president.

Slavery and Jim Crow have long since been banished, but many of Douglass' sentiments remain with America's sons and daughters of color. The feelings often simmer beneath the surface. We know better than to voice them around the water cooler at work, but when we are among "family," we let our guard down and speak more honestly.

And when that frank talk bubbles up to the surface and out in the open, a confused majority wonders, "why?"

Our history and allegiances are complex. Shortly after Douglass' speech, African Americans in the 10th Cavalry of the U.S. Army earned the name Buffalo Soldiers, serving with distinction for a country that frequently treated them with indignity. In fact, there is no war in American history in which African Americans did not participate.

I think I am fairly safe in assuming that many of them often damned America in the same hearts that pumped the blood they willingly spilled for it. The two emotions can co-exist and have a long history of doing so in the black community.

But this is 2008. This is the America where black men could rise to lead institutions such as Beatrice Foods, American Express and Aetna. It is the America where Robert Johnson and Oprah Winfrey could lift themselves from poverty to billionaire status. It is the America where a second generation African immigrant could be a serious contender for president.

It is also the same America shamefully exposed during Hurricane Katrina.

So when Barack Obama said that he could no more distance himself from Rev. Wright than he could from the black community, we understood.

Can you rise to the level of presidential contender in the United States yet still feel at home in a community that would curse it?

Absolutely. Sometimes when a wound heals, a scar remains. Sometimes pain outlasts forgiveness. And sometimes, when we still see symptoms of the old sickness, we rise up with righteous indignation and curse the sinner as well as the sin. It doesn't mean we don't hope or that we don't love.

Patriotism is not the absence of criticism. The mouth that damns America can still speak for the heart that loves it. For Frederick Douglass, for Rev. Jeremiah Wright and for generations of African Americans in between, love is not blind. That's the complexity of African American patriotism.

I, Too, Sing America
by Langston Hughes

I, too, sing America.

I am the darker brother.
They send me to eat in the kitchen
When company comes,
But I laugh,
And eat well,
And grow strong.

Tomorrow,
I'll be at the table
When company comes.
Nobody'll dare
Say to me,
"Eat in the kitchen,"
Then.

Besides,
They'll see how beautiful I am
And be ashamed--

I, too, am America.

Clinton and the credibility gap

It's probably not fair to call the latest Hillary Clinton dust up a lie, but it fits so neatly into the narrative, it's not surprising why so many people do.

A New York times article, Ohio Hospital Contests a Story Clinton Tells, details yet another Clinton story debunked by the people who were there. Naturally, when it follows the Bosnia bungle so closely, observers start connecting the dots.

I've never had a problem with a Hillary pile-on, but I don't think she deserves it here. Unlike her Bosnia 'misstatement', we can clearly establish where she got this story:

The sheriff’s deputy, Bryan Holman, had played host to Mrs. Clinton in his home before the Ohio primary. Deputy Holman said in a telephone interview that a conversation about health care led him to relate the story of Ms. Bachtel. He never mentioned the name of the hospital that supposedly turned her away because he did not know it, he said.

Deputy Holman knew Ms. Bachtel’s story only secondhand, having learned it from close relatives of the woman. Ms. Bachtel’s relatives did not return phone calls Friday.

As Deputy Holman understood it, Ms. Bachtel had died of complications from a stillbirth after being turned away by a local hospital for her failure to pay $100 upfront.

“I mentioned this story to Senator Clinton, and she apparently took to it and liked it,” Deputy Holman said, “and one of her aides said she’d be using it at some rallies.”

At worst, she's guilty of not checking the story out before using it, which is a stunning oversight. Negligence but not necessarily dishonesty.

But that's the problem that results when you are caught deliberately saying things that aren't true. Clinton's well deserved credibility gap has made an issue out of what looks like an honest mistatement.

We should give her a break on this one. I'm sure she'll earn our scorn soon enough.

Hillary channels Rocky

Maybe someone forgot to tell her how the movie ends.

Yesterday Hillary compared herself to Rocky Balboa, the fictional gritty boxer from Philadelphia.

Speaking on April 1 at an AFL-CIO event at a downtown Sheraton, Mrs. Clinton suggested that Mr. Obama lacked the stomach for a prolonged primary fight.

“Senator Obama says he’s getting tired of it—his supporters say they want it to end,” said Mrs. Clinton. “Well, could you imagine if Rocky Balboa had gotten halfway up those Art Museum stairs and said, ‘Well, I guess that’s about far enough?’ That’s not the way it works. Let me tell you something, when it comes to finishing the fight, Rocky and I have a lot in common. I never quit. I never give up.”

Rocky? Really Hillary? Will someone tell her the movie didn't end when he ran up the stairs? The movie ended when he got pummeled to death and lost to Apollo Creed, a Black man. Let's not make too much of analogies to that movie, shall we?

Clinton propses bowl off, Insert groan here

You knew it was coming, folks. After Obama's abysmal attempt at bowling (37 points in seven frames), Hillary Clinton today challenged Obama to a bowl off. It was utterly predictable, not very clever, full of cliche's and plays on words, and a pretty sad April Fool's joke. You even hear the polite applause and laughter.

Just in case you were wondering if Hillary was capable of exercising any kind of restraint, the pandering continues...

The mute Chelsea...

Love this line from Maureen Dowd...

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/23/opinion/23dowd.html?ex=1358830800&en=39ab771d166ef64c&ei=5124&partner=permalink&exprod=permalink

Bill's transition from elder statesman, leader of his party and bipartisan ambassador to ward heeler and hatchet man has been seamless — and seamy.

After Bill's success trolling the casinos on the Las Vegas Strip, Hillary handed off South Carolina and flew to California and other Super Tuesday states. The Big Dog relished playing the candidate again, wearing a Technicolor orange tie and sweeping across the state with the mute Chelsea

That's too funny. I've been wondering why I see Chelsea everywhere and have never heard her voice once.

Crybaby Clinton

The buzz today was a boohoo from former front runner Hillary Clinton.

In a Boston Globe article Clinton is quoted as saying:

"It's not easy. It's not easy," she said. "This is very personal for me. It is not just political. It is not just public. I see what's happening. We have to reverse it. And some people think elections are a game; think like who is up who is down. It's about our country.

"Some of us are right and some of us are wrong. Some of us are ready and some of us are not. Some us know what we will do on day one and some of us haven't thought it through enough," she said.

Even through her tears, she is on message.

So what do we make of it? The staff was quick to put the spin on the sob. 'It’s because she’s so passionate. This is the Hillary we know. She cares so deeply, she’s emotional.'

Right. She’s human behind closed doors. It reminds me of when President GW Bush's staff tries to convince us that he is really intelligent and articulate behind closed doors. It’s the cameras that make him sound like a doofus.

I don’t buy either one of them. They are who we see they are. They have all been too calculating and consistent through too many different situations to convince me otherwise.

For Clinton’s good fortune, she seems to be getting sympathy for her outburst of emotion. It’s a time honored tradition from every playground in the world: If the girl cries, she can usually get the boys to stop picking on her.

F stands for Hillary

It happened today. Wolf Blitzer used the F word when discussing Hillary Clinton.

For weeks, we have been watching the second half of the media’s favorite Comfort the afflicted then afflict the comforted. Since the race began, Hillary has been comfortable. She was the clear frontrunner -- annointed by the Republican brain trust as the defacto nominee.

Barack Obama was the neophyte who didn’t stand a chance. A funny thing happens when voters get involved, however.

Barack gave an electrifying speech at the Iowa Jefferson Jackson Dinner, and he as been on the rise ever since. The latest polls either have him ahead or dead even with Hillary Clinton, not just in Iowa, but New Hampshire. Next stop, South Caroline.

And so Wolf, CNN’s Captain Obvious suggested used the F word to describe her candidacy.

Freefall.

Don’t get to comfortable, Barack. The media will come after you. :-)

Oprah-bama for Black people?

I had to chuckle when I heard a white pundit say that Oprah's endorsement will help Obama appeal to Black people.

Really? Black people?

It seems like the same kind of simplistic thinking that assumed that Barack Obama would automatically get the Black vote. The kind of simplistic thinking that was so wrong that Oprah is now necessary.

I'm not sure what kind of pull Oprah will eventually have, but in many African American circles, it's long been long understood that Oprah has moved on from being reliably Black.

By reliably Black, I mean the kind that most people of color will identify as being in synch with their daily struggles. If you think back to Oprah's comments when she launched her school in South Africa, she defended not opening it in the United States by saying at risk kids here would rather get iPods than books.

Many Black people took that as a direct insult. That is something a reliably Black person would never say (out loud). That's just one example, of course, but it betrays a mindset.

All that said...reliable or not, Oprah is Black. Proudly so, it seems. Black enough to be comfortable endorsing a Black man. And that might translate to some support. More importantly her endorsement might carry cred, not just with African Americans, but with women. Wouldn't it be interesting if Hillary got the Black vote and Barack got the women vote?

It's been hard to predict many things in this race, and the Oprah-bama move isn't making the crystal ball any clearer.

What the Huck! Could it really be all in a name?

I mentioned to a friend of mine that Mike Huckabee seemed to be surging in Iowa, and she laughed and replied dryly that America would never elect someone with the last name Huckabee.

It just doesn’t flow well. “Can you imagine having to say Huckabeeonomics?” she continued, referring to how easily President Reagan’s name could be transformed into Reaganomics.

Well for that matter, we’d have to write off Obama, I continued. You can’t have Obamanomics. These are serious issues to grapple with when choosing a president. We can easily say Reaganomics or Clintonian but what do we do with a Huckabee or an Obama?

It’s not enough to aim to write a new chapter in history. You have to sign that chapter with a name we can pronounce. :-)

Huckabee — finally a Republican heating up the Iowa race

Let's face it, the top tier of Republican presidential candidates were boring. No matter how long I watched them, I couldn't seem to get excited. I've blogged about the top tier Democrats and knew I should give their counterparts some attention but just couldn't bear it.

Then from out of nowhere comes a candidate with a big R on his chest (The R stands for Reagan, not Republican, of course.) who swoops down and tackles issues with a single bound. He doesn't sound scripted, focus group tested, or calculated. To me, he seems to have what the others have been trying desperately to manufacture. Authenticity.

Mike Huckabee is now surging in the Iowa polls because, I'm guessing, more than a few Republicans are taking him in like a breath of fresh air. Even with his silly Chuck Norris endorsement commercial, he created so much buzz and free media from pundits playing it, that it seems to be a shrewd strategic move. Each time one of the punditry elite played it to guffaw and then pick it apart, the good Governor Huckabee must have been chuckling to himself.

I had been hearing his name here and there and not really following him until I stumbled on this clip on YouTube.

Crisp and authentic. Even Wolf didn't know what to do with that kind of straightforward answer.

Can you imagine getting that kind of straightforward answer from any of the other top tier candidates? Mitt Romney is so manufactured. Him and his wife look like they have come straight out of a Ken and Barbie box. They smile pretty and on cue, and then cheerfully recite responses that have been carefully constructed so as not to offend or unnerve.

Rudy Guiliani. Well Joe Biden called his number in a recent debate. The only thing that guy has to offer in any sentence is a noun, a verb, and 9-11. And what some like me are scratching our heads and wondering is what did he actually DO on 9-11? Sure he was everywhere on TV filling a void left when the president finally managed the energy to scamper out of the elementary school classroom and promptly buried his head in the ground for the rest of the day (but that's another post).

But what did Rudy do? What lasting policy changes did he offer to make New York safe from another attack. What visionary new era did he usher in with his bold striking response. What is different in New York today than Sept. 10, 2001 because of his leadership? I can't think of a single thing.

If that wasn't bad enough, he is running for the nomination while he disagrees with the majority of his voting base on the issues they care most about. That's a winning strategy? I'm just counting down to the implosion that will end this ridiculous ride.

And finally that brings us to John McCain. I must admit that I liked Sen. McCain's maverick candidacy during the 2000 election. Then he was authentic. And then, for some unexplainable reason, the senator went and sold his soul to George Bush. He might have gotten a better deal from the devil.

McCain aligned himself with the administration on the most unpopular issue at the most inopportune time, and it didn't even resonate as a principled move (as I'm sure his advisers must have convinced him). It came across as a pathetic man selling out too much too late. He sold his soul and got nothing of value in return. He should be glad there is even a Wikipedia entry under his name because the rest of history will forget him.

Wait, I almost forgot Fred Thompson. That in itself is a commentary. So the Reagan heir apparent is like Reagan without the charm or governing philosophy or leadership acumen. He's like ordering coffee without the caffeine. Why bother.

Boring one and all. So thank God for Rev Gov Huckabee. Give 'em hell, Mike.

No debate about it, Wolf must go

If CNN wants more substantive debates, they ought to get Wolf Blitzer off the stage.

I should admit that I’ve never been a fan of Wolf’s. I find his penchant for the binary style interview — do you or don’t you, yes or no, will you or won’t you — is a bit pedantic. It doesn’t allow for the kind of discussion that serious and complex issues deserve. It doesn’t illicit any real new or revealing information. It doesn’t force interviewees to think or grow beyond their talking points. It doesn’t really do anything — except create sound bites. Which is why I say “IF” CNN wants more substantive debates...

It seems clear that CNN is more than happy with Wolf peddling his true or false, multiple choice quizes. If you recall, Wolf was criticized in the first couple of debates for asking “show of hands” questions. That’s right, during a debate for the leader of the United States of America, candidates are asked to identify their positions by a show of hands. I had a hand salute for him after that one.

To further exacerbate the problem, Wolf and company then rate debate performance against those ridiculous standards. The glaring example is when Wolf insists each candidate answer ‘yes or no’ to supporting drivers licenses for illegal aliens. Now here is a complex issue, worthy of some thought and discussion, limited to yes or no.

The candidates who tried to demonstrate that they had given some thought to the complexity of the issue then were criticized for being verbose. Hillary Clinton, clearly learning that lesson in the last debate, came ready to play the game. She answers with the one word, “no”. She was then praised for concisely answering the question. But who is better off if an issue like immigration is relegated to a yes or no format?

That’s why I say, IF CNN wants more substantive debates...

Hillary Clinton, girl of convenience

She’s sugar and spice and everything nice, especially when she needs to differentiate herself from all the other boys in the race.

She, of course, is Hillary Rodham Clinton, lone female presidential candidate and leading contender for the Democratic nomination.

Much has been written about Sen. Clinton’s convenient playing of the gender card but none struck me as more outrageous than a comment she made during her speech at the Jefferson Jackson Dinner in Iowa last weekend.

Here’s the line:

Now, we are getting closer to the Iowa caucuses. They are going to be earlier than ever before. I know as the campaign goes on, that it's going to get a little hotter out there. But that is fine with me. Because, you know, as Harry Truman said, if you can't stand the heat, get out of the kitchen. I'll tell you what, I feel really comfortable in the kitchen.

Huh? Did she really say that she felt comfortable in the kitchen? That kind of blatant pandering might have palatable if it weren’t for her famous line in 1992.

When she was defending her husband during his presidential run, the good senator said this:

I suppose I could have stayed at home and baked cookies and had teas, but what I decided to do was to fulfill my profession which I entered before my husband was in public life.

Doesn’t sound like a kitchen dweller to me. In fact, I’d be willing to argue that, spending most of her adult life as first lady of Arkansas and the US, the only time she was in a kitchen was when the secret service was whisking her in and out of speaking engagements with her husband.

The kitchen is now convenient, as now her website portrays her as Mother & Advocate, First Lady and US Senator — in that order.

Speaking of her site, remember when she was asking for a theme song for her campaign? I know it’s late, but I’d like to formally offer one. Maybe she could come out of the kitchen long enough to hear it.

Obama: Our moment is now

I must admit that I had been becoming a bit disappointed at Barak Obama's performances lately. I remember how he started with so much energy and optimism. But lately his interviews and debate performances are showing the effects of senatorial speak -- lofty rhetorical and cumbersome explanations rather than the pointed and pithy that you need to grab headlines and generate interest. The interview and debate venues aren't his best formats.

But when he delivers a speech, you remember why he became so popular so quickly. I just finished listening to his speech at the Iowa Jefferson Jackson Dinner a few days ago. It's Barak Obama at his best and worth a listen.

Kucinich impeachment resolution killed but who’s the real kook?

Republicans know that Kucinich comes off as a kook, that's why, when he introduced a resolution to impeach Vice President Dick Cheney, they wanted Kucinich to be heard.

Democrats also know that Kucinich tilts on the kook factor. They'd just heard him admit in a televised debate that he believed in UFOs. And with that performance still relatively fresh on many mind's, Reps. Steny Hoyer and Nancy Pelosi wanted no parts of it.

And while we all snickered at the messenger, a message or two slipped past us. One, it was an issue worthy of debate. If anyone remembers the Washington Post's exhaustive series on the vice president, you would remember that there is fertile ground to plow on whether he stretched the boundaries of his power to circumvent the law. The series seemed to make it fairly obvious that the vice president is thumbing his nose at the constitution and doing whatever he pleases.

Second, Democrats, knowing all these facts, did nothing. That's right, in an effort to avoid the label of a do nothing congress, they sent the resolution to the House Judiciary Committee where everyone agrees it will do — nothing.

For those of you who missed the resolution, here is a Cliff Notes version:

Vice President Cheney should be impeached for high crimes and misdemeanors:

Article 1: He purposely manipulated the intelligence process to fabricate a threat of Iraqi weapons of mass destruction. He did this to deceive the US citizens and Congress and justify using our military in a war against Iraq that has damaged our national security interests.

Article 2: He purposely manipulated intelligence to deceive America about an alleged relationship between Iraq and al Qaeda in order to justify his war.

Article 3: He openly threatened aggression against Iran without any real threat to the United States. He has done so while proving he has the capability to act on those threats.

Anything really kooky there? The resolution documents each of the articles of impeachment with a bibliography of references, not that we need it. A simple Google search can confirm most of the facts. But Kucinich is a kook. How can anyone take him seriously?

Meanwhile, I think Dick Cheney is having the best laugh. Who are the real kooks here?

Payoff to be an ally in the war on terror, $10 billion. Thumbing your nose at your benefactor, so you can stay in power. Priceless.

You'd think that for $10 billion you could get a guy to listen to you. Apparently not if it is the United States' $10 billion and not if that guy is Pakistan President Musharraf.

In the midst of the chaos that resulted from Pres. Musharraf declaring martial law and suspending the constitution, the media is reporting that the United States has paid the country more than $10 billion to help fight the war on terror.

As the situation developed, Pres. Bush refused to speculate about whether he would send more money to Pakistan. That's right, he's not sure if he will send more money to the dictator who he can't influence.

It gets better. The Washington Post reported today that "Even as Bush said Musharraf's actions 'would undermine democracy," he also emphasized that the Pakistani president "has been a strong fighter against extremists and radicals."

Let me get this right. He has suspended the constitution, instituted martial law, jailed the politicians and lawyers who disagrees with him, and declared himself the defacto dictator and we think his actions might undermine democracy. And of course, we are depending on him to help us fight extremists and radicals.

Why such careful treatment you might ask yourself? The Bush administration believes that Musharraf is a key ally in helping the United States combat terrorism:

I now interrupt this blog post to present to you the dictionary.com definitions of Terrorism.
1. The use of violence and threats to intimidate or coerce, especially for political purposes.

2. The state of fear and submission produced by terrorism or terrorization.

3. A terroristic method of governing.

Ok, back to the post about the ally in the war against terrorism who suspended the rule of law, jailed dissenters and used violence to enforce his authority.

Of course Pres. Musharraf was happy to stick his hands into our pockets and promised to play along in the terrorism game. Now comes time for him to give up power as he promised us he would, and he changes his mind.

Wait, a dictator who doesn't willingly want to give up power??!! Who could have seen that coming? And of course with the $10 billion military buildup and a benefactor who can't get his attention, he doesn't have to….