OK, so what happened last month?
Well, Sen Kerrey, who really wants it...really, REALLY wants it, gave a speech to the California Dems that got so little attention ( I mean, C-span didn't even rerun it) that the wannabe JFK#2 ( yep, he's officially requested that the media refer to him as Sen John F. Kerrey from now on) is desparately in search of a makeover for his nascent campaign. Maybe he'll use some of his wife's Heinz multimillions to hire those marketers of the 57 varities who gave us GREEN ketchup, to try and reshape his image. Kerrey needs to break out of the pack, like real soon, otherwise, he's toast.
Gray Davis is just that....gray...as in fading out...
Joe Lieberman's much vaunted Enron hearings have collapsed into boredom. So instead, he's advocating an invasion of Iraq. Noble calling Joe, but 95% of your Senate buds aren't with you on this one. Holy Joe has a better chance of being the next PM of Israel than getting the Dem nomination. And, BTW, Enron is over as an issue. Though oddly, perhaps NOT so for Global Crossing. Lots of nasty stuffy starting to dribble out, none of which is good for Terry McAuliffe. And BTW he's been really, really quiet the last two weeks. Kind of hard to have a party chair with severe political laryngitis.
Tom Daschle's had a very busy two weeks. After bombing big time last month with the speechc criticizing Bush's tax cuts, he's climbed back in the saddle, and inserted his other foot into his mouth, copmplaining that W. hasn't consulted him on the war, nor given him the secret handshake to get into the shadow government bunker. And do the dems really wanna nominate another candidate who won't carry his home state? And South Dakota's 3 electoral votes look really big, eh? Tommy's strategy, in a nutshell: become senate MINORITY leader, fail to get your runnin' bud, Tim Johnson, re-elected, THEN run for president. It's a plan......NOT!!
Memo to Tommy Daschle:
1. Fire the advisor who persuaded you to appear on FoxNewsSunday solo. Brit and Tony ate your lunch.
2. Lose the pink tie. It's so limp.
3. NEVER, never appear without Trent Lott. He soooooo makes you look good.
Al Gore tiptoed back into the waters again, this time up to his ankle. His appearance before local Tennessee dems was roundly dissed by all national Dem leadership, and the media pundits. They sooooo want him to be over. Another speech was somewhat supportive of W.'s war efforts ( gotta give ole Al a litle credit) but I'm not sure that Al wants to run again, or even knows if he wants to run again. So, from now on, until Al shaves the beard and starts eating Slimfast 3x a day, I'm gonna assume he's undecided.
LATE BREAKING FLASH: Today's NY Post reports that everyday this past week, Al has been spotted on an exercise bike in a NYC gym....!! Hmm?????......
Dickie Gephardt gave the Dem repsonse to the SOTU and has since been as visible as OBL. Possibly he was returning "home" to Missouri to register his candidacy, but he got lost, not being too familar with his "home" district? OK, anyone have a better answer. Maybe he's taking a correspondence course in gavel wielding? The poor guy actually thinks he's gonna be the next Speaker? Let's see...."my party will lose seats in the House, so then, since I can't be the Speaker, I'll run for President?" Yeah right, sounds like a plan......hehehehe
Possibly moving up several places this month, is the Rev Al Sharpton. He's back inthe news with the reemergence of the Diallo case in NYC, and THIS time the mayor's letting him in the door of Gracie mansion. Also, the Dems face an ugly primary for governor, between Cuomo and McCall, and Al's weighing in on the side of the "brother". He's gonna ride this pony for all it's worth. He's getting lots of media face-time, and with Jesse Jackson self-destructing, he's got the mantle of the "national black leader" in the dem party all sewn up. The Dems are gonna get the "full-Sharpton" treatment this campaign. They've earned it. He could easily be a strong second in several primaries.
Which reminds me, don't forget that the two states which have early contests, Iowa and NH, are 95% and 96% white, respectively. So much for the party of the gorgeous multi-cultural and multi-ethnic mosaic, eh? The Dems are gonna let a bunch of white folks pick the candidate early on. Is the fix in?
Where's Bill Bradley?
And now, for my neighbor, Hillary! She's been anywhere but Chappaqua this last month..good for me, but very bad for the rest of the planet. Actually, while the Monica spectacle has resurfaced this past week, via HBO and several CNN interviews, Hillary chose to drop in on Israel, do a photo-op at the Wailing Wall, and take a few swipes at Yasser. BTW, her consort, Bubba, is on an extende trip to Australia , which, in case you're geographically challenged, is AS FAR AWAY as you can get from America without meeting yourself in the mirror.
Every poll of dem voters lists Hillary! as a strong second choice, behind Gore. So, will she, or won't she? IMHO, she's caught between a rock and a hard place, neither named Bubba. Hillary wants the nomination; 2004 is her one and only chance for the big prize. Before 9/11, she was laying the groundwork. The Clintons control the dem party, via McAuliffe and all the fundraising apparatus. But Hillary! doesn't want to go the primary route, slogging through a dozen states. She wants to be anointed, to have the nomination hande to her. She could do it, but because of the accelerated primary schedule, she has to move now, before knowing if Bush is indeed, truly unbeatable. Because, as seems likely, he's invincible, the prize may not be worth winning. But Hillary's! electoral clock is ticking.....and it stops in 2004.
So, if it seems that Bush is a lock for reelection, then maybe no one will "want" the nomination. So could the ole war horse, Teddy Kennedy, be persuaded to take one for the party, one last tilt at the windmill, so to speak? Go out in style, eh Ted? And for your running mate,well, who's been high profile lately? How about the soon-to-be senior senator from South Carolina, Fritz Hollings? There's a ticket for the ages.....Kennedy/Hollings!! Since neither one is intelligible after the third word, they could truly be all things to all people. Who'd know different? Fritz would have a ball, and it's and ideologically and geographically balanced ticket, right?.....
OK, I'm done...it's your turn to sound off....
Well, that's what we thought about his father ten years ago. I'm betting Hillary!, and I think she'll win if she runs. She's much more adept at cheating than Algore.
Everyone else will wait to see what happens in November, but I think the Republicans will gain big ground because the economy is perking up, Bush is doing well on the war, and polls indicated at the start of the war that people were glad that it was Bush and not Gore in the White House.
In 2004, after two years of a Republican in the White House with control of both houses of Congress, the Democrats will be dying to run an also-ran, because nobody else will want to be labeled as a "failed candidate" for the 2008 election.
-PJ
RUN, GRAY DAVIS, RUUUUNNNNN!!!!
U.S. Senators are generally the most dopey presidential candidates you'll ever see. Mondale, Dole, Gore . . . I rest my case.
If Gephardt runs, you have to think he's got a good shot because he's a buddy of organized labor, and that counts for alot in Dem primaries.
The Republicans in this country let the RNC dictate to them who their candidate would be, completely oblivious as to why Ronald Reagan won two landslide elections.
And then they have the audacity to whine about Ross Perot stealing votes from George H.W. Bush!
(They conveniently forgot about a man named John Anderson who didn't do so well in taking votes from the Gipper.)
Why don't we reflect on why we voted for Ronald Reagan, and then demand that the RNC fully back a candidate up to his measure?
The RNC works for us, not the other way around!
So I wouldn't go getting too confident about ridiculing any potential democrat candidates. You just might find yourself calling him, or her, Mr./Mrs./Ms. President before very long.
The great majority of people in this country advocate ideals that Conservatives espouse if you talk only issues with them and not political parties.
The GOP, and it sadly seems, the White House, now back any Republican candidate they think has a chance of winning, despite the fact that the candidate may be just another 'Lowell Weicker'.
The RNC is in need of wake up call...a very loud and stern one.
The media will portray Edwards in such a way, that he'll capture the 15-20% of undecided voters that always seems to be there.