The Larry Kane Report

I have a case of early fatigue in the 2008 Presidential race and it is ony March of 2007!

Here’s the problem. I don’t hear anything new. I hear a lot about fixing problems, but I don’t hear anything new. I hear alot of pandering, to the right and the left, and to the middle, but I don ‘t hear anything new.

Slick and smiley John Edwards wants Universal Health care, but where’s the beef John? How will you pay for it. Hillary Clinton, who seems the most presidential of the lot, needs to get more specific about health care and extraction from Iraq. Senator Obama is fabulous to watch, but speaks in generalities. He makes you feel good about America. So did Ronald Reagan. But Barack, give me some details about health care, entitlements and taxes. I will say this: Obama is the only candidate with the courage to take on the President and Vice President with fervor on the crisis in iraq.

Joe Biden is the only candidate with a plan for peace in Iraq. Bill Richardson is the only candidate who talks about energy.

On the Republican side, courageous and unflappable John McCain is spending most of his time soothing the religious right. It is a waste of time. They will never embrace him. I would like to hear some details from the Senator about his plan to gaurantee health care for everybody.

Mitt Romney is good looking and flipping on the issues. We need more specifics Governor.

Rudy Guliani is like a tiger waiting in the grass. But we are still waiting for him to announce, so real issues seem a long way off.

I don’t know about you. but I am tired and exhausted from candidates who want to look good, satisfy everyone, and don’t have a plan.

I am not looking for a feel-good President. I am looking for someone to offer a blueprint.

All we are getting so far is a pack of people cautiously wading into the waters. I’m ready for someone to take a dive into big waves and have the courage and the specifics to move the nation forward.

We deserve that.

Congressional critics who have been attacking the Bush administration for forgetting the real war on terrror in Afghanistan got some ammunition Tuesday, and so did Vice President Cheney (see story below) who had much too close of a call. What is troubling is how easy it was for a bomber to get that close, kill so many people, and frankly, get through all the security processes.

It poses, again, the dilemma that we face in Afghanistan and of course, Iraq. The Afghan government seems on a more stable footing than the splintered Iraqi government, but even there, chaos reigns, and somewhere in the rugged mountains near or in Pakistan, the people who plotted 9/11 are alive and well, thinking of other targets.

What is frustrating about this issue is our lack of short term memory. We forget that the reason we went into Afghanistan was ro find the perpetrators, destroy the Taliban and disable Al Qaeda. Unfortunately, the job is not done, as the Vice President admitted a few days ago. Cheney has had an obsession with Iraq. It is hopeful that he has reminded us of the first war against terror, which in the end, may be the most important.

Tragically, the Taliban , with its brazen attack, made its point.

Now, as we started to do in 2001 and 2002, it is time to finish the job in the place where victory may have a deeper meaning than in Iraq.

Comments(4)

More than any recent Washington executive in memory, Vice President Dick Cheney likes to talk big and tries to wield a big stick, especially when it comes to things like war. He speaks casually of war, and smears any politician who brands opposition to the war as unpatriotic and not supportive of our troops. The Vice President is steadfast and unbending in his support for the war. I presume that he considers himself a patriot.
Well, I propose a new role for Mr. Cheney. The President should appoint him to lead a federal task force to fix the current crisis for so many Iraqi and Afghanistan war veterans who have come back to the ordeal of dealing with the Defense Department and the Veteran’s administration. The situation got so bad at the Walter Reed Medical Center that Defense Secretary Gates ordered an investigation.
It is more than just conditions of squalor. It is the case of the thousands of victims of post traumatic stress disorder that are being turned away. It the suicide rate and a lack of sensitivity for those wounded so badly that need our government’s help.

Congressman Rob Andrews, a strong supporter of our forces and a man opposed to the”surge”, just returned from Iraq. He tells me, “The troops are steadfastly committed to the mission because that is their nature. They are following orders that they themselves would not give.” Andrews, a moderate Democrat, understands the nature of war and has this deep respect for the Americans who are fighting there every day.

In this reporter’s view, patriotism means supporting our troops on the ground in the war zone, and after they return to what could be a nightmarish life.

The President must act quickly to right the wrongs against our returning veterans. That would be a real act of patriotism. And he should appoint the Vice President, the point man against war opposition as the point man to safeguard returning troops. Dick Cheney never served in our armed forces. Currently he serves as a lightning rod for national division. We should allow him to use his final time in office to heal the wounds of those who served under his watch.

The President should take immediate steps to make sure that they get the appreciation and respect that they deserve from a grateful nation. Anything less would be a disgrace.

Comments(3)

What a shame. A teacher is attacked at Germantown High School. But for every incident that doesn’t make headlines, there are scores more of threats and attacks that make many area schools scary places to be.

The attack on veteran teacher Frank Burd at Germantown High was all to reminicsent of incidents over the years. including the shooting death of a teacher  at the Leeds school in the early seventies.

In this week’s case, the teacher suffered two broken bones in his neck because he dared to take away an electronic device from a student. That student and another, ages 15 and 17, waited until the class was over to viciously attack the teacher.

Are you surprised by this? You shouldn’t be. This episode happened in a school located in a city where the top leadership has still not prioritized the war against crime. Lawlessness has taken a dramatic turn in the last several years, not only in Philadelphia, but across the nation. Crime is now a fabric of everyday life in schools in the city, and the suburbs.

I have never been able to figure out how teachers put up with this problem, and why they do not demand the respect and protection they deserve they deserve.

It is such an irony. In Iraq we are trying to end so much strife that prevents children from even going to school. Here in America, some of our children who are free to come and go, view school as a playground for crime.

Our wishes and prayers are offered to the teacher and his family.

Our hope is that severe penalties, under the law, may deter other students from invalidating their education by engaging in the worst forms of human conduct.

Comments(11)

With friends like Hollywood honcho David Geffen who needs enemies?

Geffen opened his mouth at a celebrated fund raiser for Barack Obama Tuesday night. Instead of feeling good after raising over a million bucks for Obama, Geffen decided to attack the Clintons. He called President Bill Clinton “reckless” and charged that Hillary would not be able to unite the country.

The Clinton camp called the attacks “vicious” and demanded that Obama return the money. The Obama camp chided the Clintons for going on the attack. Geffen, for a few minutes anyway, kept quiet.

What surprised me about this battle is the way the Clintons responded, feeling hurt by Geffen who supported the President grandly during his eight years in office. I was also surprised by the sarcasm in the Obama campaign’s reply.

All of this, on both sides, looks so child-like and petty. It was a bad day for the leading Democrats and an eye opener for the voting publc.

The candidates tried to stay above the dirt, but nothing happens without their approval.

In politics, “vicious” is a word that conjures up images of dirty tricks and sleepless nights for spin doctors who enjoy cutting up decent people before they can get their campaigns off the ground. Just ask John McCain what the Bushies did to him in the South in 2000.

I’m not impressed by this episode and both camp’s silly reaction.

But it might be an indication, that as they say in the private rooms of power, “You ain’t seen nothin yet.”