The Larry Kane Report

Is Cain able? That’s the big question around the Republican political huddles this week as Herman Cain surges in the polls. The answer is clear: Cain is a phenomenon. While he has some interesting financial ideas, his electability potential is, in this perspective, at least, near zero. What you are seeing now is a Republican electorate that is edgy, hardly comfortable with Mitt Romney, and seeking something new. In fact, most surveys show that 50 percent of Republicans are unhappy with their choices. My forecast? You will see more weeks of fast changes. Perry might make a comeback, and Jon Huntsman might surge in New Hampshire. What does this all mean? It means that Republicans smell possible victory, but they have not wrapped their arms completely around Romney. Right now, it’s just a flattering embrace.

Where is Tom Corbett? The first-year Governor of Pa. needs to spend more time in the eastern half of the state, not just quick visits. He needs to do more interviews and make himself more accessible to media. It is not a major political problem for now, but the Governor needs to find out more about the east. It could be problematic later on.

Spent a half hour on TV with four of the Occupy Philadelphia activists. All I can say: This is not the ordinary protest movement. The protestors are pleased that because of the economy, there is a grassroots feel out there. At lunchtime, workers from all walks of life , and a multitude of businesses, are pouring into the protest site to show solidarity. Of course, if the local protests turn violent, the occupiers will wear out their welcome. But Dr.Ralph Young of Temple says the protests fit the pattern of earlier protests in our history that spread quickly. Dr. Young is the author of “Dissent in America”, a history of protests, big and small, going back to our beginnings.

I love baseball, and for the last 46 years, I’ve been mesmerized by Phillies baseball. For many of those years, too many, there was disappointment, sometimes crushing. The exceptions would be 1980. On October 21st of that year, my 38th birthday, the Phillies beat Kansas City to win the World Series. The Phillies won 91 games that year, but went all the way.

In 1983, the Phillies played in the World Series again, this time losing to the Baltimore Orioles. In 1993, the Phillies made the World Series again, losing to the Toronto Blue Jays. The next appearance was in 2008, when they beat the Tampa Bay Rays. They returned in 2009, and lost to the Yankees.

There is a point I’m making here. If you add it up, it reads like this: Five World Series appearances in 30 years: 1980, 1983, 1993, 2008, 2009. Two championships.

Yet, it seems like the sky has fallen, baseball life as we know it has vanished, and the past season was a big waste. I vigorously disagree. Friday’s heart-stopper was a stunning downer, but how can you forget the 2011 season, the drama, the comebacks, the pitchers, the fielding, the thrills and spills. The season was filled with electricity. The ending fizzled. The hitters didn’t hit. But it may have been one of the greatest pitching duels that I’ve ever witnessed. We all waited with bated breath on every pitch.

One of my favorite broadcasters on WIP Radio said he was not looking forward to a long harsh winter after the Phillies loss. I think it will be a great winter. We’ll survive December and January,  then Phillies report for Spring training, and all that grieving over the final game will be replaced by anticipation. Isn’t that what it is really all about. Anticipation. Suspense. Hopes.

In the meantime, we are all in a “how low can they go” mood about the Eagles, so the stage is set for a turnaround. I hope. The Flyers are skating fast and looking great. The NBA is on the door of death, because, right now, no one seems to care, and that is bad news for the negotiators.

But as far as the Phillies, I have fond memories of a special season, and I’m not going to let a 5-game playoff series ruin it. You probably think I’m dreaming, but I’m an optimist and I refuse to join the “herd”. The “herd” decides the season was a disaster. It was not.

You may never meet her, but you should. She is one of Philadelphia’s greatest contributors to business and community. Her name is Joanne Calabria, and starting in 2002 she began to turn Philadelphia pink. And that is for real.

Joanne, Vice President for Communications for the CBS Television Stations, based at CBS 3, had an idea. Faced with several family members challenged by breast cancer, and working with the Susan G. Komen Foundation, Joanne, piece by piece, company by company, convinced some of the office buildings to go pink for Breast Cancer Awareness Month, October. The unstoppable Joanne, a broadcast executive admired by her peers at all the other stations, started making inroads. By 2005, the skyline of Philadelphia was pink, and each year since, the program got bigger and bigger. Sports teams joined in the think pink campaign, and there was so many enhancements by businesses and civic organizations that the campaign is now part of the fabric 0f Philadelphia.

It is hard to engage an entire community. People have to be called. Buildings are surveyed. Lights have to be installed. People have to be called again. Through it all,  Joanne marched on, undaunted, determined to convince Philadelphia to light up pink.

“Lights For The Cure” are on display for their tenth year, and again, the Inquirer and Daily News are involved, along with the City parks and recreation department.

It all began with one person’s idea and determination. And now, a hundred buildings are glowing in pink. Congratulations to Joanne Calabria for ten years of service to the people of the Philadelphia area.

PALIN – HARDLY A WHIMPER

After a year of hype and bluster, Sarah Palin announced the only choice she could make. She will not run for President. Bottom line to this story: Ego and erratic statements, coupled with a lack of credibility, can destroy even the most charismatic candidates. Nothing further to say, except that the news about Palin arrived and vanished as fast as she has in Iowa and New Hampshire this past year.

It is distressing to see the media herd galloping around the possible Chris Christie run for President and the “issue” of the Governor’s weight. This is not an issue appropriate at this stage of the Republican race for President. This country is full of age prejudice, sexism, ethnic prejudice, and now poundage, which is pure bigotry. The columns, comedy, and satire in the last few days has been disgraceful.

If  Christie decides to run, he will be judged on his candor, confidence, consistency, and yes, humility under fire. I have never see a person elected President without a certain amount of humility. Christie’s hero, Ronald Reagan, delighted the American public with a commanding but self-deprecating style. In that respect, the usually swaggering and uncompromising Christie seemed to soften up in recent weeks, and his New Jersey approval ratings went up!

His issues are his issues. His policies are public record. His contempt for the media is pretty clear but unreasonable considering that he’s gotten a fair shake. His view on foreign affairs is still emerging. Whether he runs or not, Chris Christie must be judged on what he stands for, not how he looks. Now, if health threats are uncovered, that’s a different story, but attacks on his weight at this point are out-of-bounds.

PERRY “HUNTING” FOR TROUBLE

The Rick Perry camp is in a daze about a controversy that could shake his foundations. In question, is the name of a family hunting camp , a derivative of the “N” word . People like fellow candidate Herman Cain want to know why it took the Perry family so long to take it down from a rock at the entrance to the hunting lodge. . Herman Cain, seizing on the issue Sunday, saying there “isn’t a more vile, negative word than the N-word.”

“For him to leave it there as long as he did, until before, I hear, they finally painted over it, is just plain insensitive to a lot of black people in this country,” Mr. Cain, who is black, said yesterday. It is interesting that other candidates in the race have not touched the issue. Are they afraid that rejecting racism will hurt them? What’s going on here?

One of the nation’s experienced drug czars, former Army Gen. Barry McCaffrey warns that the greatest security threat to America right now is the gathering storm on the border with Mexico. The general says that drug cartels are affecting the life of American border communities, and many beyond them, with violence, threats of terrors, armed robbery, and murder. In fact, he charges that 200 American cities have been infiltrated by the drug cartels. His warning, he says, is a wake up call to national leaders to start viewing this crisis as a genuine security threat. No response from Washington, yet.

CHRISTIE GETTING TRAVEL POINTS

The New Jersey Guv is headed for Missouri,  Louisiana and California. All this travel in the middle of a hard push by Wall Street Republicans, the moderate Eastern branch, to get him into the race. National Polls show that over 50 percent of Republicans are unhappy with their Presidential choices. Will he run? Probably not, but a three-stop tour to GOP fund-raisers in the aftermath of some weak GOP debates is VERY interesting.

One day after I said that “Rick Perry is For Real,” he got clobbered by Herman Cain in the Florida Straw Poll. “Straw” is the key word here. The poll, as in Iowa dominated by super conservatives, is not scientific, but it does send a message to Perry that he may have taken his blunt style to extremes. And what about Mitt Romney. He didn’t compete for the  Florida Straw Poll, but front-runners should still do well, and he did not do well in Florida. Bottom line to this story – the Fla. results were a message to Perry that the party stalwarts want someone who can not only win the nomination, but carry the country in November 2012.