The Larry Kane Report

Blame this entry on Howard Dean.

The inept leadership of Dean banished the delegates from Michigan and Florida. Therefore, Republicans got all the headlines this week. The Democratic National Committee’s action was so wrong that even Hillary Clinton called for a reversal at the end. So, now, in the week before Super Duper Tuesday, the GOP gets most of the ink.

Biggest ink was McCain’s victory in Florida. After that, Governor Arnold’s endorsement of McCain may have been the most important nod of the campaign, even more important than the Kennedy’s anointment of Obama. Schwarzenegger is perhaps viewed as the most progressive Republican in the nation. He has strong appeal to moderates, and especially independents, but the impact may go much further than this Tuesday. The Governor’s appeal to Democrats is rock-solid. His blessing of John McCain may help McCain in a big way, if McCain captures the nomination.

It is ironic that McCain may be the most electable of all Republicans. And that is driving Rush Limbaugh a bit crazy. The darling and pioneer of “hard right” radio says there is a fracture in the Republican party. With that, the baiting, aggressive Limbaugh, took off on John McCain.

McCain, who is hardly a liberal, is just not conservative enough for Limbaugh. To be in the ultra-conservative camp, you have to be labeled all-things right wing - pro-war, anti-abortion , anti-gay, and of course, most true conservatives would be railing against drug-abuse, right Rush?

But here’s the truth. Rush Limbaugh secretly wants a Democrat to be elected. The George W. Bush era has minimized his influence. Bring in Hillary or Obama and Limbaugh is back on track. After all, his career rocketed during the Bill Clinton years.

True conservatives, like Hannity and Smerconish, would welcome McCain’s rise. But Limbaugh wants a loser . The only thing important to him is that he plays a role in a White House victory.

A little space for the Democrats here. As is always the case when people concede, John Edwards looked strong in defeat. Clinton and Obama were gracious, and they should be. I don’t think Edwards was a spectacular candidate, but in the area of seeking solutions for the impoverished, he was a magnificent advocate.

Unfortunately, those who “have” in America need to pay more attention to those who do not. We are philanthropic as individuals, but politically, we have dropped the ball.

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First, John Edwards. Great campaign for populism, but a bit out of touch with real middle class dreams. His words were inspiring and addressed an issue that hardly gets much attention, hungry Americans. Some of our great philanthropists prefer overseas venues, rather than taking care of the homefront. One thing that Edwards did not address was the kind of greed we’ve seen by supposedly respectful companies in the mortgage meltdown. Of course, he was supported by a huge hedge fund. But all in all, he conducted himself well. He will not vanish. The guy is a future draft pick in Presidential politics.

Rudy Giuliani. Was it bad management, or a bad candidate? It is hard to say, but the Florida Primary decision didn’t fool me. A candidate who wants it goes for it. Something seemed to be missing from the usually energetic and dynamic former New York mayor. Perhaps, he didn’t want it that bad, or he feared more scrutiny. He’s a pretty candid man so we’ll find out soon. And certainly, he can be a big help to the eventual Republican nominee. He will not help Romney, under any circumstances, in the event Romney prevails.

Looking at the Final Four: Obama and Clinton will probably have a 60 to 40 split on Delegates on Super Tuesday, 60 for Clinton, 40 to Obama. That still will leave the race undecided and suddenly the tides of February and March will come into play.

McCain will move into a position to capture it all next Tuesday, barring some dramatic development. California, New Jersey and other big states will have millions of independents who can vote in either primary. This is good news for McCain, Clinton and Obama. Romney needs hard core conservatives. The former moderate is now viewed as “all-in” conservative.

Final note. Memo to Mike Huckabee:

Tell Chuck Norris to stay out of politics. He has rights, but his branding of John McCain as “too old” to be President actually was disrespectful and backfired on YOUR campaign. I mean, Reverend Huckabee, doesn’t God treat us all, young and old, as equals?

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Four times, Mitt Romney has outspent his rivals by amounts so big that we could guarantee a college education for a lot of kids. Four times, in Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina and Florida, he lost to candidates short on cash.

Usually, as we say in Philadelphia, “money talks and __________walks!”

But things are changing. Romney is a fine candidate with alot of virtues but Americans are getting testy about negative campaigning and all that emotional trash that comes with the campaigns these days. Just look at what happened to Bill Clinton in South Carolina this past week.

You can’t run a national campaign without money, but you can try and rise above it. It is not easy to run any campaign without resources, but I’ll bet you tha Mitt Romney could have done just as well without having to tap into the family fortune.

Second post-Florida item: Early support in politics is considered solid gold. One of the first supporters of John McCain was the multi-talented Tom Ridge, the former Pa. Governor who should have sued the Bush administration for non support when he ran Homeland Security. The guy worked so hard and was cutoff from the White House by the Bush cronies.

I’m not saying this is a definite, but you heard it here first –If John McCain wins the GOP nomination, Tom Ridge will be on a very short list of Vice Presidential hopefuls. You can count on that.

Think of it: Clinton-Rendell, Obama-Rendell, McCain-Ridge.

We would have a lot of fun with those choices.

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Don’t believe what you read. The headline above is more satirical than real. But I’ve noticed that a lot of you are press bashing these days, which I find funny, and frankly, helpful.  After all, we are people too, and we do enjoy input from time to time - not too often mind you!

Are you suggesting that the mainstream press is biased?  By mainstream press, I am talking about people who write in newspapers, magazines and the web, and broadcast news on Television. I do not include  right-wing radio hosts as press, period.  I view most of right wing radio as race-baiting, fear mongering, uninspiring and dividing media.  I view left wing extremists the same way, race-baiting, fear-mongering and dividing.The only one who comes close to being real press on the radio is Michael Smerconish, who thankfully, is not like a broken record very day. Actually, on a given day, you can write this site off as “opinion.” No kidding. But it is, as they say, the “Voice of Reason.” As you know I am rarely wrong, most always right, and certainly humble.

I wanted to make that clear.

The main street press is full of hard working reporters who cover the candidates. Sometimes, because of the difficulty of their jobs, these news people become part of a “herd” with common themes.  Examples: Let’s attack Bill Clinton for being such a scrooge in South Carolina. Please note that I made that point days before the press herds even found it. Another popular theme: Obama is not for real. That theme is now officially old and antiquated.

Here are some others: Rudy is done. (That could be correct.) Billary For President. I am tired of that one already. And here’s another one: endorsements are useless. Just ask Hillary if she wanted Teddy’s endorsement. There are a few more of my favorites: Huckabee is A Serious Contender.  And my favorite of all time: Romney Changes Positions.  Now that one was really hard to figure out. Finally, Bush is Lame Duck. This theme, started by the divisive and nasty Moveon.org, has been around since 2004 when the Moveon people sabotaged John Kerry’s campaign by being so way out they made Kerry look like a right wing zealot.  Sometimes in this political business, your friends are enemies.

What’s my point here? I really don’t know. I’m just trying to figure out why President Bush laughed and smiled through even the serious parts of the State of the Union. Some people suggested he looked arrogant. That is possible, but perhaps he was just relieved that it was his final speech with his back to Nancy Pelosi.

Anyway, on to Florida, where Rudy is hoping for a miracle, in his face off with John and Mitt. As the established press would say, this could be a  “barn burner” , a “pier 13 brawl”, “Sunshine Showdown”, or “The Battle For Kissimmee.”

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Can you believe it?

About three months ago, my local Republican hot tippers were tipping me off that Rudy was a cinch, a crafty, in-touch New Yorker who would make a daring dash to the Presidency. When I told me friends that John McCain would emerge and maybe get his nomination, they thought I was smoking that stuff that Bill Clinton didn’t inhale.

Then, the wise guys said Obama would fade quickly. But who would know that President Bill would overshadow his talented wife on the campaign trail, throwing a wrench into a campaign that was going pretty well.

Of course, three weeks ago, Huckabee was the flavor of the day.  What happened? Could he still make it? Doubtful.

So what is going on?  The people, long considered clueless by many of the intellectuals of the left and right, are teaching us a lesson. As Michael Nutter would say, New Day, New Way. In this case all the established “norms” have been thrown out with the waste water.

Here they are.

Hillary Clinton was inevitable. She may still get the nomination, but the general election could be a struggle, especially if Bill tags along. Just the appearance of an imaginary Hillary-Bill team in the White House could be devastating, unless Mitt Romney is the nominee. Then, its a landslide, for the Democrats.

Barack Obama wasn’t ready. Did some people miss that one! He’s even got the Kennedy’s on board. There is something about the guy that makes people feel good. He’s in it to stay.

John McCain is too old. Chuck Norris said that. Chuck Norris is too boring to be in movies. John McCain is the real thing, win or lose. Chuck Norris is just an action figure.

Rudy would run a 50-state campaign. Right now, he’s hoping for one.

Joe Biden would still be in the mix. I confess. I’m the one who said that. But don’t count him out for number two.

Dennis Kucinich would never drop out. Even lost visionaries get a taste of reality once in a while.

John Edwards. He’s finished. Not to fast everyone. He will continue to pile up delegates, and if things get really close, which I expect they will, his delegates could be the clincher.

This is such a wild year that the only certainty is uncertainty. You think the first three weeks have been sensational. Wait till we hit the end of March without a Democratic nominee.

The only primary in April is in Pennsylvania. It is the 22nd. Mark it down.

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