The Larry Kane Report

The last GOP debate was enough to make you crawl into bed and snooze. It was more than a snoozer. It was unconscious. Really. I thought with all the rapid movement of Mike Huckabee , everybody would go on the attack. Only Romney made some moves, but even there, it was polite. The big surprise was Rudy Guiliani proposing a 15 percent cut in health care spending, and blasting away at what he calls “nanny government.” That may haunt him if he wins the nomination.

I thought the Democrats have had some boring debates, but this one could send you away very fast.

What shocks me about ALL the candidates for President, with the exception of Joe Biden, is the fact that no one takes risks. Everything is the same, muddled, neutral and careful answers, spiced a little bit with humor. The Presidency requires risk taking. At least Barack Obama has a new sense of cooperation and idealism. That label of American Dreamer is what makes him so attractive to millions of people.

More and more. most candidates sound like the establishment. Americans have long believed that both parties are really the same, that change is not going to happen. The Democrats in Congress are proving them right. They walk on egg shells and are so careful it makes you want to scream. Joe Biden is the exception, and so is Bill Richardson, at times.

I think Obama stands out because he has a sincerity about him that is missing from most politicians. Of course, Jimmy Carter did and you see where that got us.

So we ramble on and hope for the best, once again wondering whether we will select the best of the worst. or tragically, the worst of the worst.

By the way, if you haven’t tuned into this political show yet. do so at your own risk and at your children’s risk. This is serious business and it is more than just the economy - it is lives lost, lives saved, and how we face the danger ahead.

Tune in. Although the debates have been yawns, the race is too important to pass up.

I remember my high school buddies in the early sixties who had no interest in the news.

And then came Vietnam.

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Moderating a Mayoral Debate is my idea of a great morning. My time with Bob Brady, Dwight Evans , Chaka Fattah, Tom Knox and Michael Nutter was a close up view of the fab five with I4 days left. You can hear the entire thing on podcast at KYW1060.com. JUST CLICK LINK TO RIGH.  KYW’S MIKE DUNN AND STEVE TAWA WERE TENACIOUS. It was high drama and the first live debate. It was also the best.
Brady was on fire, He lashed out at KYW Newsradio City Hall guy Mike Dunn, when Dunn interrupted one of his answers. Brady was trying to answer a question about casinos when Dunn foilowed up. At one point, Brady charged, “Are you goin to let me talk?” For his part, Brady offered one of the best retorts of the debate, when, referring to Tom Knox’s business practices, he said, “You’ve been ripping off the public for 40 years.”

Apparent frontrunner Tom Knox seemed halting at first, but he regained his energy as he cautiously answered questions about his past business of offering payday loans. But Knox finished the debate intact, considering that everyone was on the attack against him.

Michael Nutter, who many believe is threatening Knox’s lead, defended his plan to have police to stop and frisk suspects, while Dwight Evans suggested it may be illegal. Evans and Nutter were both eloquent. What you couldn’t see was the body language between the fab five . Brady was waving at the others, and Nutter, Brady, Fattah and Evans all seemed happy with each other, and with each other’s shots at Knox. Knox, quiet and pensive, did not mind being alone in the group of friends.
The biggest surprise of the debate was Fattah, who was more forceful and deliberate in this debate that at anytime in the campaign.

So, what’s next? With 30 percent undecided, it is all up in the air.

Here’s what to look for:

Knox will not strike back against ferocious attacks by
Bob Brady, because there Is a fear that this might
push voters into the Nutter Camp.
A so called 527 independent group will introduce new
and scathing attacks on Knox.

Chaka Fattah will gear up what he calls the best
street machine in the city. Bob Brady would disagree
with that.

Dwight Evans plows straight ahead, undaunted and
determined..

And Nutter, fresh from an endorsement by the
Inquirer, says his fund raising is soaring.

Once again, you can listen to the entire BREAKFAST WITH THE CANDIDATES AT KYW1060.COM.

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Milton Street, under indictment and apparently a resident of New Jersey, is filing papers to run for Mayor of Philadelphia. The crafty and unpredictable brother of the Mayor doesn’t stand a chance.

So what is he up to?

First of all, this is the first time in American history, I think, that a person has announced for public office after being indicted.

If he can get on the ballot and stay there, Street becomes a potentially impactful member of the field. The few thousand votes he will get may just be enough to determines who wins in a five man field. The sixth man could lose big, but determine the winner.

A big question remains - is he announcing to delay his trial? That is doubtful. So what are the motives? Certainly he doesn’t gain from Mayor Street’s approval ratings, which are very low.

Maybe he just likes to stay in the spotlight, or perhaps in a moment of machismo and brilliance, he sees something in this contest that the rest of us are missing. Am I being too kind?

I’ve said from the beginning that the winner in the Democratic Primary will win by a few thousand votes. If Milton Street can prove that he’s a Philadelphis resident, he could play a role in determining the outcome.

It is all still unreal.

Am I really writing this story?

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Several months and two billion dollars in advertising dollars later, we are on the eve of an election that will prove that when Americans are angry and intolerant of incompetence, they generally vote to take back their government. Issues and ideology are important, but when the powerful act like monarchs instead of leaders, competence always trumps issues.

This backlash of people power has been felt by Republicans and Democrats over the years. But this election is different. It is not just that voters are cranky - they are unsure of government’s ability to manage events. They are less interested in someone who fights for a personal agenda with philosophical dialogue that divides people: rather they are disposed to vote for people who can get things done.

Therefore, with all due respect for Lynn Swann, Ed Rendell will win with perhaps the largest plurality in Pennsylvania history. Missing in all the coverage of the hotly contested races is the fact that Rendell, 30 years into his public life, has gotten even better at running things well. After all, can you imagine Rendell screwing up the Katrina reponse? No way. Can you imagine a politician like Rendell actually expanded a prescription drug program for seniors without giving it away to big drug companies? Why do Republican leaders quietly support Rendell’s campaign? Because they have faith in his ability to lead. Rendell is certainly not perfect. But he has an unusual knack to literally take on himself when he is wrong. Think of how many lives could have been spared overseas if the President could have looked himself in the mirror and reflected why things were so very bad because of mistakes he had made.
Campaign 2006 is all about people seeking people who will stop telling them how to live their lives. It is all about Americans of all parties sending a message that they want competence, not lies. That is why George W. Bush, with the best of intentions, has failed us.  It is also why, sadly, some fine Republicans members of the House will not be going back to Washington.

There is a lot that politicians can learn from this election: the people have the ultimate power;voters admire humility.;courage is more than just sticking by your position - it is the ability to fix things when they are wrong; and there is no disgrace in changing position in an effort to find the truth. And finally, who in this great country really believes that anyone owns the franchise for fighting the war on terror, a fight that we will wage for decades? The only thing to fear is smooth politicians telling us that we have to fear for our safety when we know very well how scary the world is.
That is why Rendell will win big. It is the undeniable truth that from the beginning he has figured out that people want government to give them results, and not philosophical rants designed to foster division and hatred.

This has been an incredible election cycle. My only regret is that only about 55 percent of the people will vote, one of the worst voting percentages in the free world.

Politics is the potent mix that affects every aspect of our lives. I only wish that more people paid attention.

A final note: If you need last minute voting information: check out Comcast’s amazing Candidates On Demand feature, or check in at KYW1060.com or philly.com.

The information is ripe for the taking.

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