You grow up Irish in New England and it can't be avoided.
Now, I know every baby boomer or pre-boomer can tell you exactly where they were when John F Kennedy was shot. But it was different if they were an Irish and grew up in Massachusetts.
It's like the whole Challenger disaster ~ every kid who was old enough to be in school that day can tell you where they were when the space shuttle exploded, but it was a whole different story if you were in a New Hampshire school, like the one Christa McAulliffe came from.
But back to the Kennedys. I didn't really get it at first. On our first trip to Washington, DC, my mother and aunt both cried at JFK's tomb and my mother never cries.
As I grew older and read more about "the Kennedy Curse," they became more mythical. The eldest and best son killed in the war. The beautiful eldest daughter marries into British royalty, but dies in a plane crash. The daughter who was never quite right and despite pleas from her mother, the father decides then allow doctors to attempt a new procedure on her ~ a lobotomy ~ is she is locked away for life. The two middle brothers who seek political glory and gain it, but lose their lives in the process. It was like a cross between Emily Bronte and Danielle Steele.
And then there were all the Kennedy children. You'd see pictures of them looking like a J.Crew add playing touch football on the waterfront family compound in Hyannisport. The ferry from Hyannis to Martha's Vineyard gave you a spectacular view of the sprawling white house and porches and large grass lawn pierced with an enormous white flagpole bearing the US flag. It was impossible to keep track of all the kids ~ well, except for JFKjr. His every move was publicized. But the rest, you only heard about them when they were getting married, running for office or going on trial, each of which happened with equal frequency.
In New England, it wasn't uncommon to hear one of the children referred to as not even being the child of one of the "good" Kennedys. I believe Patrick (son of Ted) took the brunt of that joke when he first ran for congress in Rhode Island.
The Kennedys have since lost their mythical aura for me. I understand why they were so revered by the Irish Catholics as they proved that "no Irish need apply" was truly a thing of the past. They broke every glass ceiling that stood in the way of every member of my family and provided them with more hope for the future than anything else could. In the culture of Ireland, where emigration is such a strongly entrenched part of their history and their present, there's a reason that even still you find two pictures on the wall of every home: the pope and JFK.
I met Ted about 10 years ago, when my mothers' college presented him with an award for his work in improving the health and well being of the citizens of Massachusetts. He was all red and bloated back then. I saw Joe (one of RFK's sons) speak about 15 years ago and have never seen someone with as much charisma just pouring out of them since. I've also sat beside a unknown Kennedy at the Hyannis airport ~ no one else on earth has that many teeth and dresses casually out of Ralph Lauren's latest collection.
Caroline (JFK's daughter) wrote an OpEd in the NYT yesterday comparing Barack Obama to her father. (see link in title) She provides a rather persuasive argument, enough so that her uncle Ted Kennedy (Edward, not Theodore)has decided to endorse him as well and join him on the campaign trail.
The Clintons are rather miffed and have released that Kathleen Kennedy Townsend (daughter of RFK)is supporting them. She has made a statement that not only is she supporting Hillary, but so are her siblings, Bobby* and Kerry. The irony being that their mother, Ethel, has repeatedly introduced Senator Obama as "the next President of the United States" at events including Kennedy family events.
* Bobby is someone we would refer to as a "bad" Kennedy as he was arrested for heroine possession in 1983 and if that weren't enough, he's using his name to keep the whole vaccinations-cause-autism movement alive, despite the fact that no scientific study has found ANY proof of this, and despite the fact that the "toxin" in vaccines thiomersol has been removed from childhood vaccines since 2001, the incidence of autism has only increased.
Showing posts with label Presidential Primaries. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Presidential Primaries. Show all posts
Monday, January 28, 2008
Wednesday, January 02, 2008
WHAT have I been tellin' y'all???
What if Iowa Settles Nothing for Democrats?
That's the headline from the political memo in this morning's New York Times.
It would seem that they're finally figuring out that all these early primaries are going to mess with the usual culling of the field and we're going to wind up with entirely too many candidates for entirely too long.
Who woulda seen that one coming.
Yeah, I know, but I don't need to brag about it.
I think there may be some charm to having the national conventions without having selected a nominee first. It would at least give people a reason to watch. There would be an air of anticipation, viewers sitting on the edge of their seats awaiting the completion of the national roll call. Never would Vermont and Wyoming garner so much of the Nation's attention. Will there be back room deals? Delegates gone renegade? Who knows?
We could at least have Michael Kors there to critique their wardrobe and Heidi Klum to say Auf Wiedersehen to the losers. And you KNOW you want to see Tim Gunn back stage going over stump speeches saying things like: This really screams 1984 to me; You have an awful lot of work to do here and not a lot of time; Is this how you intended it to be?; and, of course, Make it work!
That's the headline from the political memo in this morning's New York Times.
It would seem that they're finally figuring out that all these early primaries are going to mess with the usual culling of the field and we're going to wind up with entirely too many candidates for entirely too long.
Who woulda seen that one coming.
Yeah, I know, but I don't need to brag about it.
I think there may be some charm to having the national conventions without having selected a nominee first. It would at least give people a reason to watch. There would be an air of anticipation, viewers sitting on the edge of their seats awaiting the completion of the national roll call. Never would Vermont and Wyoming garner so much of the Nation's attention. Will there be back room deals? Delegates gone renegade? Who knows?
We could at least have Michael Kors there to critique their wardrobe and Heidi Klum to say Auf Wiedersehen to the losers. And you KNOW you want to see Tim Gunn back stage going over stump speeches saying things like: This really screams 1984 to me; You have an awful lot of work to do here and not a lot of time; Is this how you intended it to be?; and, of course, Make it work!
Monday, December 31, 2007
There's Nothing Like the Smell of Self Destruction in the Morning
It smells like Primary Season!
What you have to keep in mind when running for president ~ something that no presidential candidate EVER keeps in mind ~ is that YOU are your own worst enemy.
It would appear Rudy Giuliani is learning that lesson the hard way.
Remember that company, Giuliani Partners, that Rudy never really talks about?
Everyone wanted to know what they did ~ consulting, who were their client ~ not saying. All very hush, hush.
Well, here's what the hush, hush was all about.
There's a company called Purdue Pharma. They manufacture a drug call OxyContin, or O.C. if you're looking to buy it without a prescription from someone who is in no way licensed to sell it.
According to the New York Times, the DEA described the promotional campaign for OxyContin as perhaps the most aggressive for high powered narcotics, ever. Further, they aimed their physician campaign not only at pain specialists, but also family doctors with little experience in treating serious pain and who are not as well trained to identify drug abuse or drug seeking behavior. This marketing strategy alone increased the amount of the OxyContin that would end up out on the streets.
And there were some other problems.
Security at the manufacturing facility wasn't particularly good. And the record keeping was a bit questionable.
O.C. became a very popular street drug and proved to be highly addictive. Even the time released version could provide an immediate high if ground up and snorted.
Then there were the overdoses and the deaths. The abuse, addiction and death occurred in place where the community wasn't used to deadly drugs, places like Appalachian Virginia.
Purdue has an image problem, a government oversight problem, and in Virginia, a legal problem. They needed an image makeover. A new face.
So they hired Rudy.
He became their face with the federal government: the Federal Court, Members of Congress, the DEA ~ He was their crisis control.
How does Giuliani defend his part this?
Nice try, there, Rudy. I might actually believe you if your had bone cancer or had survived some form of cancer that's known to be physically painful. But prostate cancer is almost always a slow growth tumor. According to the American Cancer Society, prostate cancer is rarely accompanied by symptoms, forget pain.
So what have we learned about Rudy? If it weren't for that pesky campaigning he might be doing crisis management for those Chinese manufacturers that keep forgetting that lead paint is not appropriate for toys?
Well, yes.
But more importantly, he can't be counted on to use his powers for good.
What you have to keep in mind when running for president ~ something that no presidential candidate EVER keeps in mind ~ is that YOU are your own worst enemy.
It would appear Rudy Giuliani is learning that lesson the hard way.
Remember that company, Giuliani Partners, that Rudy never really talks about?
Everyone wanted to know what they did ~ consulting, who were their client ~ not saying. All very hush, hush.
Well, here's what the hush, hush was all about.
There's a company called Purdue Pharma. They manufacture a drug call OxyContin, or O.C. if you're looking to buy it without a prescription from someone who is in no way licensed to sell it.
According to the New York Times, the DEA described the promotional campaign for OxyContin as perhaps the most aggressive for high powered narcotics, ever. Further, they aimed their physician campaign not only at pain specialists, but also family doctors with little experience in treating serious pain and who are not as well trained to identify drug abuse or drug seeking behavior. This marketing strategy alone increased the amount of the OxyContin that would end up out on the streets.
And there were some other problems.
Security at the manufacturing facility wasn't particularly good. And the record keeping was a bit questionable.
O.C. became a very popular street drug and proved to be highly addictive. Even the time released version could provide an immediate high if ground up and snorted.
Then there were the overdoses and the deaths. The abuse, addiction and death occurred in place where the community wasn't used to deadly drugs, places like Appalachian Virginia.
Purdue has an image problem, a government oversight problem, and in Virginia, a legal problem. They needed an image makeover. A new face.
So they hired Rudy.
He became their face with the federal government: the Federal Court, Members of Congress, the DEA ~ He was their crisis control.
How does Giuliani defend his part this?
In the OxyContin case, Mr. Giuliani’s supporters suggest that as a cancer survivor himself, he was driven by a noble goal: to keep the company’s proven pain reliever available to the widest circle of sufferers.
“I understand the pain and distress that accompanies illness,” Mr. Giuliani said at the time. “I know that proper medications are necessary for people to treat their sickness and improve their quality of life.”
Nice try, there, Rudy. I might actually believe you if your had bone cancer or had survived some form of cancer that's known to be physically painful. But prostate cancer is almost always a slow growth tumor. According to the American Cancer Society, prostate cancer is rarely accompanied by symptoms, forget pain.
So what have we learned about Rudy? If it weren't for that pesky campaigning he might be doing crisis management for those Chinese manufacturers that keep forgetting that lead paint is not appropriate for toys?
Well, yes.
But more importantly, he can't be counted on to use his powers for good.
Wednesday, August 29, 2007
Clearly, Everyone is NOT New Hampshire
Oh those crazy Presidential Primaries! And let's not forget the even crazier political parties!!
It's become a pissing contest of the highest proportion.
The states are jockeying for earlier primaries and the national committees are threatening to only allow half of their delegates to the national convention if they move their primaries ahead of the February 5th golden starting line. So the state's are flexing their electoral college muscles and swing state value, calling the threats empty.
Florida is even using double negatives!!!
Oh, WHATEVER. Your Governor's brother can't run again. Everyone KNOWS Gore won the 2000 election and that your citizens are incapable of using the simplest of balloting systems.
Meanwhile, New Hampshire has maturely accepted the fact that they may be penalized for following their constitutional amendment that requires them to have the first presidential primary in the nation. The Democratic party has made an exception for NH and SC recognizing that they historically have early primaries while the Republican party appears to be incapable of making exceptions for special circumstances. How very Neoconservative AND Christian of them!
STILL...
No one seems to have figured out that all this jockeying for early primaries is going to give the later primaries more power.
Why?
With so many early primaries, there won't be a clear winner until the later primaries hit.
Think about it.
With so many primaries to focus on candidates are cherry picking the states they'll concentrate on. Many candidates are choosing not to even participate in all the state primaries.
In a normal primary season, the candidates run all out in the early primaries and several have dropped out by the time Super Tuesday comes around. With the field culled, candidates running low on funds, the leader(s) have effectively been chosen by the late primaries.
Now with all the early primaries and candidates selecting where they are (in effect) running, there could be several "leaders" coming out of Not-so-Super Tuesday and it will be up to the final primaries and those states will have the honor of hosting the BIG primaries that decide the elections. If we don't have too many media relayed self destructions, we could actually go into conventions without the candidates chosen.
In that case, Michigan and Florida could be very right. The importance of their delegates will depend on who the party leadership wants to get the nomination and who holds their delegates.
But let's hope not. I really hate it when Florida is right.
It's become a pissing contest of the highest proportion.
The states are jockeying for earlier primaries and the national committees are threatening to only allow half of their delegates to the national convention if they move their primaries ahead of the February 5th golden starting line. So the state's are flexing their electoral college muscles and swing state value, calling the threats empty.
Florida is even using double negatives!!!
“I am confident that the Republican National Committee or any eventual nominee will not allow the voices of Florida voters not to be heard,” he said. “Florida is too important a state as it relates electing to the next president.”
Oh, WHATEVER. Your Governor's brother can't run again. Everyone KNOWS Gore won the 2000 election and that your citizens are incapable of using the simplest of balloting systems.
Meanwhile, New Hampshire has maturely accepted the fact that they may be penalized for following their constitutional amendment that requires them to have the first presidential primary in the nation. The Democratic party has made an exception for NH and SC recognizing that they historically have early primaries while the Republican party appears to be incapable of making exceptions for special circumstances. How very Neoconservative AND Christian of them!
STILL...
No one seems to have figured out that all this jockeying for early primaries is going to give the later primaries more power.
Why?
With so many early primaries, there won't be a clear winner until the later primaries hit.
Think about it.
With so many primaries to focus on candidates are cherry picking the states they'll concentrate on. Many candidates are choosing not to even participate in all the state primaries.
In a normal primary season, the candidates run all out in the early primaries and several have dropped out by the time Super Tuesday comes around. With the field culled, candidates running low on funds, the leader(s) have effectively been chosen by the late primaries.
Now with all the early primaries and candidates selecting where they are (in effect) running, there could be several "leaders" coming out of Not-so-Super Tuesday and it will be up to the final primaries and those states will have the honor of hosting the BIG primaries that decide the elections. If we don't have too many media relayed self destructions, we could actually go into conventions without the candidates chosen.
In that case, Michigan and Florida could be very right. The importance of their delegates will depend on who the party leadership wants to get the nomination and who holds their delegates.
But let's hope not. I really hate it when Florida is right.
Monday, March 12, 2007
Everybody Wants to Rule the World
Y'all can't be New Hampshire.
I'm sorry. You just can't.
Would you believe 23 states are now trying to move up their presidential primaries to February 5th? In the process of creating their so called "Super-Duper Tuesday," they diluted their own importance to the electoral process. Oops!
Instead of having an early say and a quick winner (and then what on earth would we do until the conventions in August and September????) they're just setting up the field to have delegates tossed in all different directions, candidates ignore states outright, and no clear front runner until the other half of the country has their say over the next few months. What? The OTHER HALF of the country will get a say? Yeah, that's what it's looking like, you power hungry putzes!!
But there is an upside. Just because you'll most likely be ignored by the actual candidates doesn't mean you won't be relentlessly nagged and harassed by negative media and irritating pollsters. That part will be JUST like New Hampshire.
I'm sorry. You just can't.
Would you believe 23 states are now trying to move up their presidential primaries to February 5th? In the process of creating their so called "Super-Duper Tuesday," they diluted their own importance to the electoral process. Oops!
Instead of having an early say and a quick winner (and then what on earth would we do until the conventions in August and September????) they're just setting up the field to have delegates tossed in all different directions, candidates ignore states outright, and no clear front runner until the other half of the country has their say over the next few months. What? The OTHER HALF of the country will get a say? Yeah, that's what it's looking like, you power hungry putzes!!
But there is an upside. Just because you'll most likely be ignored by the actual candidates doesn't mean you won't be relentlessly nagged and harassed by negative media and irritating pollsters. That part will be JUST like New Hampshire.
Wednesday, February 28, 2007
Who's on first?
With the Presidential primaries barely 11 months away, no incumbent, no obvious successor and one pissed off electorate, it seems like the fair question to ask ~ who's on first?
Do we even know who is running for President???
Maybe it would be easier to start with who isn't!
This is my list so far:
George W. Bush
Dick Cheney (although I could be wrong about this one)
Karl Rove
Scooter Libby
Al Gore
That guy from Ohio who just announced that he was dropping out of the race (who knew he was in it????)
Colin Powell
Bill Clinton (in his own name, anyway)
Any of the Kennedys (all of the good ones are dead anyway)
Just about anyone who has any business running this country
Conventional wisdom tells us that anyone who has been spending extra time in New Hampshire is suspect. That would include my Uncle Billy. He, like many other candidates testing the water, has a good cover story. He's visiting his sister and brother-in-law and helping to replace all the plumbing fixtures in their house after they became clogged with sediment when work was done on their hot water heater. Now we don't need Stephen Colbert to tell us how this tale of built up sediment from well water is completely bogus. It comes directly from the ground and there's no sediment there, it's all dirt!! My uncle will, I'm sure, also be making multiple public appearances at Home Depot, Sam's Club, WalMart, the Outback Steakhouse, the only Cracker Barrel in the state of New Hampshire and MaryAnn's Diner (a very popular hot spot for Presidential hopefuls). He'll claim the shopping is related to NH's lack of sales tax, but we'll know the truth. And did I mention his recent trip to Iowa??
But seriously, as a born political junkie, a veteran of SEVEN first in the nation primaries (not being able to visit for 2000 & 2004 made me so homesick), I am disturbed by the lack of information! Gone are the days when no one got elected President without first winning New Hampshire. I believe Clinton ended that streak. (And how proud was NH to be held blameless for that fiasco? Paul Tsongas was a much better man.) And good ol' W. didn't win NH the first time around either. Tell me the world wouldn't be a better place with President McCain!!
And people question the wisdom of New Hampshire having all the political power of the first primary....
In New Hampshire, we take the responsibility VERY seriously. Some people don't vote until they have met every candidate. There's actually a woman who has to dance with every candidate, she a little strange, but you're getting my point. In NH and now on C-SPAN, you see the candidates up close and personal interacting with real people. You see them try to court the truly jaded individuals who received the very first promises and were the first to see their promises broken. You don't get to lie in NH and you don't get to charm the local or schmooze or any of that crap. Folks in NH have been doing this for WAY too long to fall for that crap. They don't vote for the hair. They vote for the mind, the ideas, the plans, the individual. Are you getting why W. and Clinton lost NH now? For every four toothed moron wearing hunting gear in a diner that they seem to pull out for national news broadcasts, there are four well educated (or at least well schooled) individuals, most of whom work in the high tech industries surrounding Boston or the medical systems expanded from Dartmouth or Harvard led programs or for defense contractors or one of the many colleges in NH or MA or one of the green corporations like Stonyfield Farms Yogurt or Life is Good apparel or some other system set up to support everything else.
The truth is, in New Hampshire, they take the political system very seriously. They expect to see their national representatives back in town discussing issues with them. They vote. I worked on my first US senate campaign when I was 13. When I wasn't allowed to help count votes because I was too young, I stayed at the precinct just to watch the process. I registered to vote before I was even 18. (The deadline for the November election was before my birthday, but I would be 18 by election day.) Nobody needed to "Rock" my vote. I had been going to see Presidential candidates since before I could walk and talk. I had well formed opinions on national issues and candidates while I was still in elementary school. And unlike many children, lots of them were contrary to at least one of my parents opinions. (My parents have spent the better part of my life cancelling out each other's votes. The big exception was the senate campaign I worked on. He was MY candidate, so they both had to vote for him.)
So this is why I feel lost 2000 miles away from the Granite State. My favorite season has always been primary season. It's the ultimate circus.
But down here, beyond the spotlights ~ Barrack! Hillary! Mitt! Richardson! Rudy! McCain?
I have no idea who is in the running.
Who IS on first?
Do we even know who is running for President???
Maybe it would be easier to start with who isn't!
This is my list so far:
George W. Bush
Dick Cheney (although I could be wrong about this one)
Karl Rove
Scooter Libby
Al Gore
That guy from Ohio who just announced that he was dropping out of the race (who knew he was in it????)
Colin Powell
Bill Clinton (in his own name, anyway)
Any of the Kennedys (all of the good ones are dead anyway)
Just about anyone who has any business running this country
Conventional wisdom tells us that anyone who has been spending extra time in New Hampshire is suspect. That would include my Uncle Billy. He, like many other candidates testing the water, has a good cover story. He's visiting his sister and brother-in-law and helping to replace all the plumbing fixtures in their house after they became clogged with sediment when work was done on their hot water heater. Now we don't need Stephen Colbert to tell us how this tale of built up sediment from well water is completely bogus. It comes directly from the ground and there's no sediment there, it's all dirt!! My uncle will, I'm sure, also be making multiple public appearances at Home Depot, Sam's Club, WalMart, the Outback Steakhouse, the only Cracker Barrel in the state of New Hampshire and MaryAnn's Diner (a very popular hot spot for Presidential hopefuls). He'll claim the shopping is related to NH's lack of sales tax, but we'll know the truth. And did I mention his recent trip to Iowa??
But seriously, as a born political junkie, a veteran of SEVEN first in the nation primaries (not being able to visit for 2000 & 2004 made me so homesick), I am disturbed by the lack of information! Gone are the days when no one got elected President without first winning New Hampshire. I believe Clinton ended that streak. (And how proud was NH to be held blameless for that fiasco? Paul Tsongas was a much better man.) And good ol' W. didn't win NH the first time around either. Tell me the world wouldn't be a better place with President McCain!!
And people question the wisdom of New Hampshire having all the political power of the first primary....
In New Hampshire, we take the responsibility VERY seriously. Some people don't vote until they have met every candidate. There's actually a woman who has to dance with every candidate, she a little strange, but you're getting my point. In NH and now on C-SPAN, you see the candidates up close and personal interacting with real people. You see them try to court the truly jaded individuals who received the very first promises and were the first to see their promises broken. You don't get to lie in NH and you don't get to charm the local or schmooze or any of that crap. Folks in NH have been doing this for WAY too long to fall for that crap. They don't vote for the hair. They vote for the mind, the ideas, the plans, the individual. Are you getting why W. and Clinton lost NH now? For every four toothed moron wearing hunting gear in a diner that they seem to pull out for national news broadcasts, there are four well educated (or at least well schooled) individuals, most of whom work in the high tech industries surrounding Boston or the medical systems expanded from Dartmouth or Harvard led programs or for defense contractors or one of the many colleges in NH or MA or one of the green corporations like Stonyfield Farms Yogurt or Life is Good apparel or some other system set up to support everything else.
The truth is, in New Hampshire, they take the political system very seriously. They expect to see their national representatives back in town discussing issues with them. They vote. I worked on my first US senate campaign when I was 13. When I wasn't allowed to help count votes because I was too young, I stayed at the precinct just to watch the process. I registered to vote before I was even 18. (The deadline for the November election was before my birthday, but I would be 18 by election day.) Nobody needed to "Rock" my vote. I had been going to see Presidential candidates since before I could walk and talk. I had well formed opinions on national issues and candidates while I was still in elementary school. And unlike many children, lots of them were contrary to at least one of my parents opinions. (My parents have spent the better part of my life cancelling out each other's votes. The big exception was the senate campaign I worked on. He was MY candidate, so they both had to vote for him.)
So this is why I feel lost 2000 miles away from the Granite State. My favorite season has always been primary season. It's the ultimate circus.
But down here, beyond the spotlights ~ Barrack! Hillary! Mitt! Richardson! Rudy! McCain?
I have no idea who is in the running.
Who IS on first?
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