There is Courage In Politics - A Little Here Or There
This hard-fought battle between Barack and Hillary has not exactly seen a lot of profiles in courage. Let’s face it. Ed Rendell was a lock to endorse Hillary. The Rendell-Clinton alliance has gone on for years and there is tremendous mutual respect.
Michael Nutter is a different story. The new Mayor, glowing in the bask of victory and extolling the virtues of some fresh air in City Hall, chose the hard path in this election. Nutter has always been a man of great independence. So it was really no surprise that he passed on the first African-American to really have a chance to be President, and instead, chose Hillary Clinton. Nutter, along with many politicians, is proof positive that independence is a healthy thing.
And so it is for the public officials far and wide in this epic race who have taken the road to supporting a candidate, not based on color, but on their view of the characteristics that would make a great President.
Bill Richardson is also a man of courage. Verbally attacked publicly and privately by the Clintons, the Governor of New Mexico sought out the person he thought was the best choice. His endorsement of Barack Obama was a major moment. So was Bob Casey’s endorsement. The Senator’s blessing of Obama resonated throughout the state.
Courage in politics is a rare commodity. But, there is a little of it, here and there.
Whatever your choice for President, you have to respect the choices of others, some of whom stuck by their guns under tremendous duress.
Some other notes. James Carville says the center of Pa. is like Alabama. Carville is wrong. He quite often is. His attack on Bill Richardson was classless and clueless. I go back a long way with Carville whose profane attack on me on the morning after Governor Bob Casey’s win in 1986 led Mrs. Casey to ask him to leave the room. Carville is smart. But he is a bully. He went on the four-letter word attack because he was unhappy that I got the first interview with the new Governor. So, over pancakes and coffee, he let his petulant self go. I’m sure he has mellowed over the years, but his attack dog politics is ugly,
A surprise this week. I was surprised that John McCain tried to make hay over Obama’s serving on a board with a former Weather Underground conspirator. Since Obama was 8 years old when the attacks were committed, the usually classy McCain wasn’t during his interview by curious George on ABC. That is the same George obsessed with whether Obama wears flag lapel pins.
Question: when was the last good Larr kane blog?
Answer: who the fuck cares.
Obama has the courage to run a positive campaign. In contrast, the last fear mongering TV ad from Hillary looks like it was recycled from an old Bush-Cheney campaign. I don’t know how Obama manages to keep his cool under fire, but I’m glad he does.
I don’t see any difference between The Weathermen or the IRA or the Red Brigade, or the French Resistance in WWII… these resistance groups are using terrorism to fight against state terrorism. It doesn’t work, never has, never will, it takes a lot less courage to resist with a gun or bomb than with no arms at all against police or soldiers with guns tanks and now tazers. Peaceful protesters are far more courageous than groups like the Weathermen or the IRA, yet I can see the point that when peaceful protest is no longer possible…what else can you do? The Weathermen were in a sense being patriotic, it’s in our Constitution, when Goverment becomes extremely corrupt or oppressive its the duty of the people to overthrow it!
It’s too bad that Hillary dishonored Nutter’s endorsement by trying to use race and fear of blacks to rally her uneducated and old white base, gratuitously and inaccurately mentioning during the last debate that Obama has a relationship with Farrakhan. Meanwhile, Ed Rendell has surfaced in a video lavishing praise on Farrakhan. If Obama had said the same things that Rendell did about Farrakhan and his “great accomplishments,” Hillary would have launched a bevy of attack ads and said he was unelectable. It’s shameless how the Clinton campaign has used race as a wedge issue. She should hang it up: she’s not a Democrat; she’s a demagogue.
Yo, Bob, if you’re going to bust Larry’s balls, do a better job than that. For example, I haven’t forgotten Larry’s profoundly idiotic fantasy of an Obama Bloomberg ticket, when the Democrats’ single seat majority is in the hands of an Independent who will probably give the keynote address at the Republican National Convention. Neither have I forgotten Larry’s monstrous blow-off of any sense of accountability when I contradicted his glowing account of the time Senator McCain denounced obnoxious comments by a warm up loudmouth (I think his name was Carmichael), when in fact, McCain made no such rejection, and I even directed Larry to news accounts of the incident. Finally, I have not forgotten how Larry (and his sycophant)went Jim Fregosi on me. If you’re going to be a ball buster, make the effort to do it right.
Hello Larry,we are still waiting for your interview with Hillary,5 reasons people will vote for Hillary:
1)over 3 decades experience
2)strong leadership
3)she wins all the big states (except obama’s home state)
4)she is a uniter not a divider
5)she will be tough on terrorism
leo,leo,leo,there you go again wining and going negative,the only people using the race card is the obama campaign,the american people are tired of the wining by obama and people like you.
good luck to the obamanites and the Hillary haters.
JR
Three months and counting - waiting for the explanation of 30+ years of relavant experience.
JR, Hillary hasn’t won a single big state against McCain. It’s meaningless, aside from the fact that ignoring smaller states has left her with an insurmountable number of pledged delegates to overcome. And Barack is polling far ahead among Democrats nationally. Hillary has no true experience. She wasn’t in, and didn’t know what was going on in, the Oval Office, or there wouldn’t have been disgraceful hummers for Bill.
Bill and Hillary aren’t the king and queen of America. They’re tired and played out. They’re polarizing. It’s time for someone new.
JR, I’m not “wining” [sic]. Reality has an anti-Hillary bias.
Nutter is a pragmatist. His people are telling him Obama can’t win. Next January he wants big bucks to flow into Philly from DC. He thinks HRC has a better chance to end up as President, so he supports her. Plus he gets the “objective” tag for not jumping on the black band wagon. If he was advised that Obama was a slamdunk, however, he’d be supporting him. Courage, no not really, just pragmatism.
Who better than to reject the Clintons than someone who worked with them and saw them operate first hand. Bill Richardson may have axes to bury but he is being courageous.
The Cajun Clown Carville’s schtick grew old 15 years ago. As long as CNN will use him as a talkinghead his 15 minutes of fame are allowed to continue. This guy is a no talent hack trying to milk a living out of being a former Clinton hack… urrrr insider. Why anyone would listen to this cartoon character is beside me. John McCain is a cheeky SOB in the fight of his life regardless of who he runs against. He (and his record) are his own worst enemies. Given enough time and rope, Johnny Mac will hang himself.
BTW, will Fast Eddie Rendell become the next CNN Carville as result of his face time during the primary? Short answer, no!
WWE Raw Shootout at the PA Corral: Annie Oakley vs Black Bart (Blazing Saddles). Did these 2 and McCain embarrass themselves last night or what? How lame and contrived can you get? What’s next? NASCAR?
Birdflew-Forget the Weatherman,the IRA & the SLA & tell me if you see the 10,000 men at the polling stations.
larry,Happy Passover,Now to the truth,there are no friends in politics,there is no courage in politics.
Everything depends on the next election.
Bill Richardson is for Bill Richardson,
He isn’t courageous,he’s looking out for a possible job,VP,or Sec.of state.
Bob Casey it’s pay back time,he’s getting even because his dad couldn’t address the convention,we all know this
Another good thing,people should try to clean up their language.I know there is a lot of anger out there but lets try to be civil.
yankee..who needs 10000 men when you can just sabotage the voting machines, I can’t believe Obama voters are getting the shaft again, apparently machines in pro Obama areas are breaking down! This will be a true test of Obama’s political courage, unlike Gore and Kerry both who gave up too easily (they both should have called for nation wide protest to dispute the obvious vote fraud) I hope Obama doesn’t give up until he verifies that every vote was counted and every American who wanted to vote could vote! Obama has the American people behind him I hope he knows how to use this power …that’s true leadership (unlike Gore and Kerry who also had support of the people but chose not to use that power)
birdbrain,birdbrain,birdbrain,
you and leo are making excuses already the election is only half over,barry obama is another john kerry and that is why Hillary is the man or person for the job,please get real man,get back in reality,wake up and smell the coffee and stop watching msnbc.
The Pennsylvania voters will show the Obama camp their smartness and vote for Hillary by a great majority. They are realists and know that she is the only candidate with chances to beat the Republicans. Unlike a great majority of supporters who follow Obama blindly, the people here will not be bamboozled by this candidate with almost no experience and shady connections at best. Also, people are patriotic and Obama presents too many questions with his connections and extreme left liberal mind. Where is he going to take this country? Think about this when you vote.
Best regards and good luck to you in selecting the best candidate: Hillary!!!
You are soooo correct Hispania..I blindly supported the Democratic party along with the Clintons for 8 years. Don’t get mad because people have now done their homework and the true Clintons’ are coming thru. Go Obama and send Billary back to New York!!
Back to Arkansas would be even better…
Bird, the country was in much better hands the last 8 years with W than it would have been with Gore or Kerry. And that is REALLY saying something. Both are complete losers, Jimmy Carter-esque. Interesting how Gore is recreating himself in a positive light with this Global Warming thing.
JR, Kerry carried PA against Bush. So, by your math, no problem for Obama, right?
Besides, Bill is a liar who disgraced the party. Hillary has proven herself to be a liar and a cheap shot artist, too. You can bet that, were she elected president, which I think is impossible, she wouldn’t be able to get boo done because she’d be plagued with scandal after scandal. So much for her fine policy points: they’d all go down in flames just like her healthcare reforms did in the early 1990s.
And, as someone said, who wants Bill roaming the West Wing with nothing to do? Scary.
Jack Russell,are you worked into an election night frenzey yet? Look’s like Hill’s going to do it, but will it be enough? I think tonight is her last stand, but she made a great effort. I bet she will secretly root for McCain, as she will now be a major force in the Senate with a raised profile and a more humanized personality. And let’s admit it Jack, you find Hillary attrative in many different ways.
It funny that the candidate in second place in the popular vote second place in delegates, and a distant second in money has fooled people into thinking Obama is the worst candidate.
George you’re right Hillary’s hot and so is Chelsea.
JR, congratulations on HRC’s win in PA. I’m sure you are thrilled. Hopefully that will be the last harrah for Hill and Bill.
SteveMG, stuff it all up your ass as you wonder why nobody gives a shit about you.
other …jim, people like you really scare me, how could anyone still think that the country is better off under Bush than it would have been under Gore or Kerry? Bush has totally destroyed the economic and moral infrastructure of our country, he and his Republican friends have sacked our treasury and put this country in so much debt, that to tell you the truth I don’t see how it can be saved even if a Dem is elected. Obvioulsy you have never traveled outside the US recently, you have no idea how bad our reputation is in the World today thanks to Bush. We are now the most hated country on the planet even though we’re still not as bad as China, Russia, Burma, Saudi Arabia, Colombia…etc, domestically but we are far worse diplomatically, only Israel and perhaps Russia comes close to being as hated today as the US…because of Iraq, Lebanon, Afghanistan and Palestine plus 40 years of South America the US in now the most feared and hated nation in the world, exactly like Germany was under Hitler at the height of his power…you probably think that is a good thing…you know what the World does to Empires like Nazi Germany…they form alliances to stop them and thank God they do! If we elect one more Republican President, just one, I guarantee you our country implodes! Maybe that’s what people like you want???
rick-are you read to say a good word about Hillary and $3bill,lolol.
rick-that should be ready to say a good word,those jack daniels shots cause finger problems.lolol
Never a good word about the Clintons. None to be had. I just congratulated you. You are their most outspoken supporter. I know you are happy. Maybe you should change your pseudonym to Jack Daniels.
Bird, you start off with the wrong premise. You think that Bush and the ‘Zionists’ conspired to perpetrate an elaborate 9/11 ruse. Naturally everything W would do after that leap would be heinous. Only problem is you are crazy if you really believe that.
rick-just kidding i don’t drink,didn’t mean to upset you.
Good comeback Bob.