The Chimes at Midnight
Thursday, May 22, 2008
Oh and Joanie Vennochi
because I guess to her jaded sensibilities it has been a slow news week is trying to pump up John Kerry as a potential Secretary of State for a notional Obama administration.
Why the hell should John Kerry give up the US Senate now, potentially when Massachusetts needs him the most and when the political calculus in the Upper House favors the democrats going forward?
Moreover, if things break our way this fall it'll be very good indeed for John Kerry to have a friend in the White House, lists of appointments are drawn up, judges made, fundraising potential is spread around...why a Senator with a clear head, seniority and a good staff could accomplish all sorts of good things under those circumstances.
Anyway, Secretary of State ain't the sinecure it used to be there is a lot of oppressive prestige and responsibility, but in terms of power he or she rates no higher than the National Security Advisor to the President.
Nope my advise to Senator Kerry is simply stay put, "Power Is, Where Power Goes" said Lyndon Johnson.
Labels: John Kerry
Bear with me today...
Humble Elias has a lot of ground to cover:
Firstly John McCain is inviting over prospective Vice Presidential Candidates for some simple down home countrified eatin'.
The three men cited in the above link all have their quirks and deficiencies.
Florida Governor Charles Christ represents important electoral real estate to the GOP, but he has been dogged for years by rumors that allege he is gay.
I just don't see the GOP taking the chance...Romney's old supporter Jeb Bush might be a better bet if the name alone wasn't a synonym for a certain greedy ruthless ineptitude.
Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal is a fresh face with no enemies and some reformer props...but the GOP has Louisiana in it's back pocket and McCain need someone to fetch the slumbering GOP conservative base. Jindal was only elected in'06 he may also be a tad too fresh to the Powers that Be.
And then there is Willard Mitt Romney, duly puffed up by the Boston Globe by this howler:
Romney would bring management experience to a McCain presidency. Whereas McCain's specialty is foreign policy, Romney has domestic policy expertise
Mitt Romney wouldn't know domestic policy expertise if it blew up in his face! He did nothing for four years as Governor of Massachusetts except go strolling before the TV cameras during snow storm, sign a health care bill that was written by others and ineffectually attempted to veto various items personally offensive to him.
The man is no John Kenneth Galbraith, he is hardly on a par with Arthur Laffer!
A political dilettante is what Romney is, pure and simple...craven and more nakedly opportunistic than most. He can't deliver Massachusetts and if the GOP can't fetch Utah then the depths of the Earth have opened up and poured forth the righteousness of the Lord.
Oh and one other thing, Mitt Romney chickened out of the Viet Nam war by the usual bureaucratic mumbo jumbo common to boys of his class and station. While McCain rotted in a Hanoi prison, Mitt was doing Mormon missionary work in Paris France.
Given all that, I wouldn't put it past Romney to be conjuring with another run for the US Senate here in Massachusetts...all his wingnuttery forgotten by him and Scot LeHigh at the very least.
Oh and there are also rumors that Joe Lieberman wants it as well, however last time I checked Joe was pro-choice and I firmly believe someone so disposed cannot be nominated for national office by the GOP. But then he could change his mind, but the season is late so he'd have to be extra special craven about it.
Labels: John McCain - Charles Christ - Mitt Romney - Joe Lieberman - Bobby Jindal - Jeb Bush
Wednesday, May 21, 2008
Well folks, the news is bad
what more can Humble Elias tell you that you haven't already heard?
Our friend, our wise counselor Edward Maximus faces a uncertain future. It had to happen sooner or later though...one last challenge. However you don't last forty six years in state and national politics without serious guts in extremis, this Our Senior Senator has in abundance.
There are a lot of eulogies out there already, some sincere some from crude gloating scumbags.All I can say is, it isn't over yet, there is still a grand fight to be made and there is time enough to lose all hope at the wake.
Labels: Senator Edward Moore Kennedy
Tuesday, May 20, 2008
"Ryan's Take" now links to this,
The Little Blog that Cried....go here for the latest from his blog.
Oh No Ogo!
He hasn't yet collected enoguh signatures to get on the GOP senatorial primary ballot this fall.
This quote seems significant and may prove a harbinger of future events:
An attorney representing Beatty's campaign has already notified the state's election office that it will challenge Ogonowski's candidacy based on irregularities in the nomination papers. When contacted yesterday, a spokesman for Beatty's campaign said the staff would "cross that bridge when we come to it."
So we have that spectacle to look forward as well.
Y'know collecting signatures is just a basic political skill, you get a few volunteers to stake out the local Stop-n-Shop and in a few weeks yer on the ballot as a bona fide candidate, it is a no brainer. So if Ogonowski can't coerce or simply pay for the foot soldiery to get his signatures free and clear, it is a damning indictment of basic competence as an aspirant for public office.
Labels: Jeff Beatty Jim Ogonowski
Monday, May 19, 2008
Just a quick Shout Out to Edward Maximus over at
MGH, Humble Elias hopes he is feeling better and back on the job real soon.
Labels: Edward M. Kennedy
Jeff Jacoby
abruptly drops his "guilt by association" meme against Barack Obama in yesterday's column. No...Jeff immediatetely formed up ranks with the rest of the praetorians and brayed long and loud to the effect that "negotiation is appeasement", the very halfwitted notion their dingbatted President advanced before the Israeli Knesset last week.
Yup the whole of conservative civilization was in full cry last week, all except John McCain who has gone on record back in 2006 as advocating negotiations with Hamas.
It is all there on video kids, and by the way McCain looks terrible and that clip is two years old!
As for Jeff I wonder how he feels to be cut down by his own candidate like that? For that fact his Dear Leader can't find an audience that'll listen to him anywhere inside the continental USA, maybe it really is time for the Globe's Laughing Young Senescence to pack up and decamp for the caves.
Labels: Jeff Jacoby - John McCain - President Bush
