The Larry Kane Report

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.

I watched the Republican debate last night, and I’ve reached a conclusion: Rick Perry is the Teflon candidate for 2012. They battered him, and they battered him again. He seemed totally unaffected. The man is a cool customer, and his more extreme views are well covered, and almost vanish into the woodwork, because his personality is so strong. Perry seems to upset the usually unflappable Mitt Romney.

Also at the top of his game was Jon Huntsman, who received the news that he’s gone from almost zero to ten percent in the New Hampshire polls. Huntsman remains the candidate most feared by the Obama White House.

Untold political story of the week: In most national surveys, President Obama beats Romney or Perry. It’s still early but the brawl for the White House could make 2008 tame by comparison .

QUESTION?

Are they any police cars patrolling “95″ in Philadelphia? I have not seen a police car in months. A speeding car, out of control, is as dangerous as a bullet. The highway seems more frightening than ever.

SCHOOL DAZE

Philadelphia needs an elected school board. The School Reform Commission is a failure. Republicans in the Pa. Legislature should stop trying to change the electoral vote system for President and start really reforming Philadelphia’s school system. The children deserve a lot better.

I LEFT MY HEART IN…

Tony Bennett must have left his brain in San Francisco. His radio comments berating the U.S. over 9/11 and suggesting that “they” bombed us because we bombed them, were outrageously stupid.  And this from someone I’ve admired and enjoyed all my life. He apologized. But it was too late.

Yesterday, the family and friends of Karin Phillips said goodbye. Karin had an amazing 32 years at KYW Newsradio, before she died suddenly last week.

Today, many of the same members of the KYW family will attend the funeral for Jack O’Rourke, one of the finest sports personalities to ever work in Philadelphia. It’s been said before and I’ll say it again – Jack had a twinkle in his eye and an energy in his voice that made you want to look and listen. Jack’s career goes back to the early days of KYW, continued at NBC Sports, and resumed for the last 20 years at Newsradio. In these recent years he covered the Phillies from the press box, which is where he collapsed last Friday night hours before his death at the age of 80.

Let me tell you a little bit about Jack. Jack could light up a room just by walking in. He was joy personified. He told  a story on the radio with verve and flair and a special cadence that was all his own. In that regard, Jack was one of the most unique broadcasters of his time. The Phillies were his primary beat, and whether they were winning or losing, Jack’s mastery of the game was a wonder to listen to.

To the younger staffers at KYW Newsradio, Jack’s passing was devastating. He treated them with such respect and appreciation. He taught by his daily example of hard work, and a knowledge of the Phillies that was supernatural. So was his uncanny ability to remember everything about the Phillies, whether it was decades ago, or the current team.

The bottom line was that Jack brought smiles and happiness to everyone he met – even some of the baseball players, many of whom will tell you they are proud to have met and known Jack O’Rourke.

“This is not good enough. You have to do it better.”

It is a wonderful quote and it belongs to a woman who left her mark on a newsroom. Karin Phillips served KYW Newsradio for 32 years. She was a production assistant, writer, editor of the news, breaking news reporter and community affairs reporter. Many of you heard her voice on the radio. Few have seen her. To see her in person was to really “get” Karin Phillips.

I spent ten years at Channel 3, and from across the room, watched Karin in action.  For years, the TV operation shared a room with Newsradio.  For the past eight years, I’ve served as a contributor to the station. That’s how I got to know Karin. She didn’t care for the TV side so much. Karin didn’t have much room for those with ego problems. There was no way you were getting respect from Karin unless you proved yourself as a real news person. But we clicked, thanks to some great conversation about life in general , and the news biz.

She was an editor when I got there. The editor’s job is very important at Newsradio. The editor makes split second decisions on what goes on-the-air and how it goes on. Karin had such an intensity and propensity to pick news that they used her as the face of a station commercial. Karin was not tall, but her presence in the KYW Newsradio newsroom, was overwhelming. She was hilariously funny. Funny, in a newsroom where one tip toes through the bad news, and hopes for good news, is a really good thing. She had inquiring eyes, eyes that could brighten up the room, eyes that could let you know that Karin was not happy with any level of mediocrity. She was a pure news person. Unlike many newsrooms, the people who work at KYW are remarkably kind to each other. In the new age of broadcasting, the station remains and operates like a real family. People cover for each other. They really care. They are kind and helpful, and as in all places, there are always a few that, through their personal radiance keep that special atmosphere alive. Karin made people laugh. She was part of the glue that holds a place like that together. The management sets the tone in that room, and really cares. Karen, though intense, had a remarkable sense of humor.  The reporters, who sit in a row on the south side of the newsroom, will have more than a physical vacancy, but a missing presence.

Oh yes. That search for excellence.

It must have been 1993, or 1994. A reporter, or writer, submitted a story to Karin, who was the day editor. Karin looked up. The warm eyes suddenly got very intense. All I remember is hearing her say,  “This is not good enough. You have to do better.”

I loved it. Can you imagine the candor. “You have to do better.” It’s the kind of unbridled devotion that has made that station what it is. Karin, who died this week at the age of 53, is remembered for her intensity, passion, and that ticklish sense of humor that lit up the newsroom, even on the darkest of days.

Unified Americans – Dysfunctional Politicians

Most of the time, people will say, “Is it ten years already?”, but in the case of 9/11 it seems like yesterday. It is an event that stands still in time, at least for most of us.  In today’s Inquirer , in the Currents Section, I will offer a comment on the way the media has changed since 9/11. Tonight, on Voice of Reason on the Comcast Network, at a special time, 10 p.m. I will conclude a three-hour broadcast (Lynn Doyle at 8, Art Fennell at 9)  with an hour-long look at our situation ten years later, including an exclusive interview with Tom Ridge.

Politically, one thing stands out on this 9/11 plus ten. A decade ago, in the midst of the terrible attack on our nation, Americans stood united, in shared grief, in a shared resolve. Ten years later, we still feel that way. But something has changed. While we stand united as a people, the men and women we choose to do our business stand divided in a destructive divide that has disabled our nation. Fear and hate trump reason and respect. Who’s to blame? I’m not going to go there. But isn’t it interesting that, according to most polls, 75 percent of us are fed with everyone in the federal political apparatus. It is a good time, on this anniversary, to think about what a united resolve can bring to this country, and to hope  that at some point, the politicians will have the same good intentions as the people they serve.

DeMint As Disaster

Despite efforts by Republican party wrecker Jim DeMint, the House and Senate GOP seems to be seeking compromise with the White House on a jobs plan. DeMint has done more to damage the GOP in the last ten months than any politician I’ve followed in the last 50 years. The South Carolina, “Senator Tea Party”, as he likes to call himself, makes Rick Perry look like a moderate. Party wreckers do their thing, then move on. The Democrats have faced challenges from the extreme left, but DeMint’s damage to his party is devastating.

Obama Dare?

President Obama, not the most sure-footed politician of late, finally flexed his muscles on Thursday night. What he really was saying to a joint session if Congress was: “This is my plan. It is bipartisan. Take it or leave it. But kill it at your own risk.” Obama has now painted the GOP into a corner. If Republicans block his job bill, he will use it as a hammer against Republicans in 2012. President Obama, like Jimmy Carter so many years before, has looked weak and detached in the last several months. His challenge to Congress was a decent escape out of his political doldrums.