The Larry Kane Report

People are dying at a faster rate in Iraq, both military and civilian, in these early days of 2007. While the war continues, the candidates seem to be dancing and juggling on what to do next. Once again, this past weekend, few of the candidates dared to take a chance, carefully measuring their words on the war. Only Joe Biden and Chuck Hagel seemed to really speak their mind, in this case against the war. John McCain, who is for a continued military surge, at least tells us what he feels. To the rest of the candidates, with half-cocked views on the war, I say “Where’s The Beef” in your messages, as I repeat this commentary first posted yesterday. 

The news swirls around us offering so many contradictions in a society that is filled with conflict. During my trip to the State of The Union Address, I watched as the Congress filed in, upbeat and jovial as members of the Senate and House joined in conversation on the House floor. If you just looked at the faces, chances are you thought you were at a cocktail reception, without the cocktails, because the choice selection of the night was power. When a few war veterans filed into the gallery, my thoughts turned to the war in Iraq, as it does right now on as we discover that seven more Americans died this weekend along with scores of Iraqis on both sides of the bloody civil war.

And as war rages, so does ambition. Hillary Clinton is off to Iowa where John Edwards has spent almost every weekend the last two years. Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee wants to show the nation that a man who lost a hundred pounds has the will to run a nation. The nation’s best and brightest Senator Jos Biden is running hard. Many more wait in the wings, like the underrated and potent Bill Richardson of New Mexico.

Back in Philadelphia, Bob Brady, arguably the city’s greatest healer, announced for Mayor, now pitted against four other successful men. Unlike the Presidential sweepstakes, only five people are running for Mayor, so far at least. Philadelphia’s problems are serious and numerous and at least we know that the five who are running really care about the city. They have offered specifics, which is hardly the case on the national front.
Which brings me back to the huge cast of candidates seeking the Presidency. In their maze of contradictions and conflicting statements over the years, do they really care about the destiny of the nation or just about winning? Some times it is how you run that determines how you will govern. And frankly, with rare exception, I don’t see the emotions I want to see from these Presidential hopefuls. They seem more concerned about political positioning than about the victims of our current policies. I hear demands for a troop pullout, but very few demands that returning war veterans get the respect they deserve and the proper medical care from the government. In the midst of the concern of Iraq, I don’t hear too many of these candidates with any road map for IRAN, which poses a bigger threat to our security than Iraq.

As the President falters in his battlen to stay relevant, our great hopes for the future have not yet given us straight answers, preferring instead to deal in generalities that are politically safe. These include Clinton, Obama, and John Edwards who preaches populism but doesn’t say how he’s going to pay for it,
They say, in pro football, “Show me the money.”

I say to the candidates, as we enter the great national debate, “Show us your passion, deliver the truth about how you feel, and give us the real deal. The time for coyness, cheap shots and distortions is over. Americans are fed up with government that doesn’t listen and that deals in generalities.”

This is no time to be safe. Where the heck is the beef in this campaign? After all, people are dying.