The Larry Kane Report

In my business, you are held accountable. So mark these forecasts down, or save the URL. A year from now, you can either let me have it, or congratulate me as the greatest forecaster of all time. (Doubtful)

In 2008, the following will happen.

Michael Bloomberg will declare himself an Independent candidate for President by early March and throw his own money into the campaign. With enough voters hungering for a change, Bloomberg will either:

a. Help elect a Republican by splitting the moderate vote.

b. Deny either major candidate enough electoral votes.

3. Win the election.

One more note on the NY Mayor. Nebraska’s outgoing Senator and war hero Chuck Hagel will be his running mate.

In 2008, American forces will finally move into the mountainous areas of Pakistan to take care of unfinished business - the demise of Bin Laden. This move will be made after the collapse of the government of Pakistan. President Bush is hoping the Bin Laden demise will happen before his troubled term ends.

The new year will mark the arrival of Michael Nutter as Mayor of Philadelphia. Expect some surprises including a Police Department that will be tougher than any since the Rizzo years. Nutter understands that criminal forces must begin to accept fear as a weapon against them. Look for Nutter to clean up the airport, modernize the city’s health department, and to have the finest relationship in years with the business community.

2008 will be a tough year for Republicans in the tri-state area. Battered by division, the Republican forces in Harrisburg will be dealt major election setbacks in legislative races. Opposition to customized gun laws for Philadelphia and other crime trouble-spots will hurt these lawmakers.

In Washington, there will be NO PROGRESS on health care reform. Both parties are too chicken to try anything in the election year, and will wait for the next President.

In sports, the Phillies will be hot again, but the surging fan base will be more demanding about getting into a World Series.

In the news business: The local news ratings war could see some real surprises, especially in the tight race between Channel 3 and 6. More change will be coming soon, and content-wise, maybe not for the better.

Two big issues that will make big news in America in 2008:

Water. Water is the new oil. States in the West and South are dry.  Congress must come up with some national solutions to the water crisis.

Booze. Alcohol is the biggest drug problem among teenagers. Look for a new drug war aimed at teenage alcohol abuse.

Those are the fearless forecasts. What’s your’s.

In the meantime, I hope the good news is yours.

Comments(9)

When you meet John Street in person it has always been such a contrast from his public persona - one of intransigence and sometimes, defiance. He can be very personable and at times, charming. But in public life,he is his own man - always has been, but his “I do it alone” kind of leadership has never taken him to the greatness that was forecast for his time as Mayor. Instead, he infuriated even his friends by simply, in the end and most of the time, not listening to advice.

So much promise. He had so much of it when he became the Mayor of Philadelphia. John Street had more knowledge of how government worked in Philadelphia that I was sure he was a good bet to get things done. But leadership is more about taking command and leading than all the spreadsheets on city finance, or projections of things to come.

Mayor Street entered office with a promise to change Philadelphia for the better. In his first year, he accomplished the impossible - cleaning up neighborhoods that were bring rotted by abandoned cars. It was a good move. He was sincere about making Philadelphia a world-class city by changing the face of its neighborhoods, doing for the neighborhoods what Ed Rendell had done for the core of the city and its image worldwide, restoring their vitality. His government presided over a successful Republican National Convention with a huge assist from the business community.

Come October 2003 , the Mayor’s world was shaken by the discovery of a bug, a listening device and with that, the revelation that an exhaustive investigation of municipal corruption was underway. The Mayor was never charged with anything but he consistently, and with fervor, attacked the investigation. That was not a good thing to do. As the leader of the city, sending messages from top down is very important. His top-down message was that the investigation was politics, which we have learned, it wasn’t. Bad form? Yes.

And now in the final days, Mayor Street has decided to take, in lump sum, the pay raise he so proudly refused to take four years ago. This is his choice and his right, but again he has stirred controversy over his idealism as he is about to leave office.

The lesson of John Street’s tenure is that no person is an island. Everyone is answerable to others. When good and decent people offer input, they should at least be listened to. I know so many people who served in the administration who could have helped the Mayor along the way. He decided to ignore them. The result was a bad public image for a man who really, at the core, wanted to do great things. He still can as a former Mayor, if only if he is willing to explore the past and find out why things went right and wrong.

Now he moves on. I hope when he teaches his students that he will stress the importance of properly communicating your goals to the people.

In the meantime, I wish him well. I hope he can use his almost 30 years in government to help the city that he governed.

Comments(21)

There is nothing more standard and American at this time of year than to talk about traffic safety, especially with the heavy use of booze around the holidays. So, I want to say right from the start that this is not a lecture about being careful. This is a reality check on a major wave of disgusting behavior by drivers in this area. And this is a year-round event.

Drivers in our tri-state area are becoming so aggressive on the highways  and local streets that it defies the imagination.

You know what I’m talking about . First and foremost is the speeding. I mean how fast can you go on I-95 or the Surekill X-Way? Another great speeding hot spot is 295 in South Jersey and the 422 bypass in Montco. But Philadelphia is the worst. The great Philadelphia Police Department, hammered by the investigations of violent crime, does little enforcement of traffic, which by the way, can cause violent crimes! A speeding car can kill as fast as a speeding bullet.

After speeding, there is the dilemma of  TRUCKS.  The big haulers can bear down on you in such a menacing way that watching in the rear view mirror can seem like watching a horror movie. Trucks transport the products of America, but they need to be enforced. The NJ Turnpike corrals trucks, but forget about it in Pennsylvania. It is a nightmare.

The final problem, in addition to inexperienced drivers, is the men and women who tail gate. Or maybe you call it “gate-tail”. These drivers think it is possible to climb up on the rear of your car at 70 MPH without the potential for killing someone.

Again, you know what I’m talking about, whether you are a victim or a gate-tailing predator with medal on the pedal.

And of course some of the people speeding and swerving and trucking and inching up to your rear bumper are holding phones in their hands as they threaten the lives of you and your family or friends.

Philadelphia has a serious crime problem. I expect the new Mayor to declare war on crime and make a difference.

But in the region we live in, and its biggest city, guns are not the only weapons that can kill you.

Comments(4)

This is no time for us to be looking the other way as Pakistan begins to crumble.

The murder of Benazir Bhutto , orchestrated in the most dangerous country in the world, is a wake up call to Americans who go about their way and remain oblivious to the globalization of terror.

On my Comcast show Voice of Reason earlier this year, the Ambassador from Afghanistan talked frankly about the percolating disaster-in-the making that is modern day Pakistan. He warned that most of the mountainous border with his nation was occupied by Al Qaeda and Taliban forces, adding that the Pakistani government of President Musharraf was unable or unwilling to deal with the menace.

It is fairly obvious that Musharraf has a tenous control of his own government. There are some who will say he is behind the murders. Others will point to the Army in Pakistan and to Al Qaeda.

There will be many prime suspects, but the bigger story is that Pakistan is falling apart. THIS IS A NATION THAT HAS AT LEAST SEVENTY DELIVERABLE NUCLEAR WEAPONS. Add to that scary scenario the fact that terrorists seem free to act at will.

It is now obvious that, in the near term, Pakistan may be more of a danger to world and American security than Iran or Iraq.

This is a difficult thing to talk about, but American leadership will have to rise to the occasion by asserting hard-line diplomatic pressure for real change and fast change or face the horrid possibility of military action in a nation that could unleash the unthinkable if the wrong people get their hands on that nuclear arsenal.

This is shocking news that will force the administration to come to grips with the fact that our Pakistan alliance with Musharraf may be failing. Our government had hoped that Bhutto would be a soothing force. Now she is gone, bullets once again determining the future of her nation.

Comments(7)

My aggressive defense of Will Smith (see previous post) in the wake of smear efforts on the Internet drew a reaction that was surprising, even to me. There were many angry letters online and to my contact email. I guess I hit a nerve but I was still astounded by the lack of trust that many readers have toward the media in general.

So let me make it clear. There is a vast difference between people who play games with words, and the majority of people in the news business who try their best to be objective and factual. The problem is that the journalists who exaggerate and become writer-assassins force some people to paint all of us with a broad brush. This is not good.

There is also room for entertainment and gossip columns, but there is no room for distortion and character attack by misusing the facts, twisting the story, and quoting out of context.

In the case of Will Smith, some web sites purposely manipulated his quotes to make him look like what he was not. When these things happen, those of us in the business must be determined to speak out.

I was incensed when I heard about the rigging of Smith’s words.

To those of you who have problems trusting the media, I want to make it clear. This kind of distortion speaks to a callous few who believe that attacking a human being by misquoting and misinformation is just another story and another day on the job.

Comments(21)