01.31.08
Posted in Politics at 3:13 pm by Sulla
After last night’s debate, I have to wonder. Mitt did go after McCain a few times, but his fighting style is more Marquis of Queensbury Rules, where Senator “straight talk express” was fighting like a Clinton, with excruciating word parsing and – let’s call it what it is – lying about Romney’s record, and denigrating Mitt’s business successes as unpatriotic.
I would rather vote for Mitt than for McCain, and plan to when my primary hits on Tuesday. I hope he gets the nomination. But Mitt’s fighting style isn’t nearly as bloodthirsty as he seems to need to fight against McCain and his mini-me craphound, Huckabee…let alone the embodiment of American political evil, the Clintons. Mitt’s first race, against Ted Kennedy, ended predictably because Kennedy was willing to spelunk into his favorite sewers, and Mitt didn’t hit back with the treasure trove of sleaze Teddy has accrued to himself over the decades.
I’ve said it before: Mitt would make a good president. But his campaigning skills are lacking. If he can’t pull it together, he may end up cooling his heels – or preparing himself more thoroughly – until 2012.
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01.29.08
Posted in Politics, Rants at 9:50 pm by Sulla
So, we’ve had a bunch of preliminary primaries. The momentum is clearly in John McCain’s camp after his victories in South Carolina and Florida.
Tancredo is gone. Hunter/Thompson are gone. Rudy is all but gone. Gilmore, the other Thompson, Ron Paul: gone, gone, gone.
Huckabee won’t quit because he hates Romney. McCain, who hates Romney, isn’t complaining.
Can Mitt still get the nomination? Yes, but it’s looking less likely.
I don’t hate McCain, but he’s not my first, second, or third choice….and now only one of my choices remains.
It’s hard not to be discouraged tonight.
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01.24.08
Posted in Politics, Rants at 10:41 am by Sulla
The benefits of a classical education: the opportunity to learn at the feet of a man like Victor Davis Hanson.
In The Corner today, Hanson’s “Clinton and his God Nemesis” post discusses – with greater dispassion than I can muster – the rise, fall, rehabilitation, and almost inevitable annihilation of Bill Clinton’s reputation, sacrificed on the altar of hubris and appetite for power.
Everyone remembers the Greek concept of Nemesis (“the giver of what’s due”), and the chain of events that invites her to intervene: a fatal character flaw that leads to hubris that in turn incurs divine retribution, culminating in personal ruin.
Bill Clinton this campaign season seems a character right out of Sophocles, an Oedipus that just can’t stop himself. He knows the end, but simply cannot desist, no more than he could lecture Monica about the inappropriateness of a subordinate young female employee satisfying the lusts of her male senior superior boss.
To quote the master, “read the whole thing.” It’s worth it.
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Posted in Politics, Silliness at 9:51 am by Sulla
Ace of Spades compares the candidates to the cast of an iconic 1980s High School movie that’s good for a giggle.
I’ve also seen Star Wars comparisons to the candidates (link when I can find it). Any other comparisons come to mind? For some reason, The Usual Suspects keeps rattling through my head….
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01.23.08
Posted in Distractions, Reviews, Tech at 6:21 pm by Sulla
I don’t think I’m the cell phone industry’s favorite client. I tend to hold onto my phones for years, until they’re so old the tech guys ask to have them carbon dated.
I’d bought my last new phone a couple years ago, on my first (and only) Black Friday shopping experience. I was long past my two year contract, and my phone – a workhorse Sanyo – was finally too abused to trust as a traveling phone. I gave into the hype, braved the round-the-block crowds, and picked up a Samsung “home entertainment center” phone that did all sorts of things the Sanyo had not, including an accelerometer-enabled “beat box” (shake it and you’d get the wooga-wooga scratch-scratch that is all the rage with the kids these days). First time I broke out the beat box, my brother said, “you remember that time, just before you started doing that? Good times…”
It was my first foray into the concept of phone-as-fun. It had faster Internet, streaming video, better graphics, a camera/camcorder with optical zoom, a downloadable music store and stereo playback, an alarm scheduler that worked better for me than any Franklin Planner…it actually had some coolness to it. And no extensible antenna.
It held up pretty darn well. Not even the iPhone tempted me away. But time passes, and eventually the contract expired and I was free to consider other phones. My wife’s phone, a bottom-feeder LG-225, had been replaced no fewer than four times; my phone had been through the wringer with little more than a slightly cracked screen.
We’ve been discussing our options for months. Smart phone? Media phone? Sprint? Helio? Verizon? iPhone? We trolled the phone stores at every opportunity, giving the phones a test drive. I tried an LG Musiq for a few weeks; well regarded by Consumer Reports, it had some nice features, including real-time traffic and navigation in a package thinner and blacker and cooler than any phone I’d ever tried. When you touched the outside controls, they buzzed. Ooh.
But in the end, I went with a sort of convergence device. I own a Palm T|X PDA, and my best chance to lighten my pockets was to pick something that could run those Palm apps I’d come to rely on.
We ended up going with a pair of the Palm Centro – black for me, pink (champagne blush) for her. It’s a smaller cousin to the Palm Treo 755p, with really tiny keys – but it’s surprisingly easy to type on. Its Internet is fast enough; Google Maps looks terrific on it; I can finally maintain my calendar on my phone through Outlook; it’s got SuDoku; and because my wife and I have matching phones, we can synchronize our calendars with little effort. I can run my favorite apps, including Documents to Go for creating Excel spreadsheets and Word documents.
The phone isn’t perfect. The screen, while larger than my other phones, is much smaller than the Palm T|X. The keyboard takes some getting used to. For some reason, incoming calls still read “Unknown caller” even after I’ve added it to my contacts list with a name. I’m not a big fan of the Palm Hotsync method, which takes longer than Windows Mobile’s activesync. I can crash the thing at will, but cannot will it to NOT crash, which happens far too often. And uninstalling apps can be a nightmare.
But all things considered it’s been a good choice, and I think I can live with it for at least two years.
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Posted in Politics at 5:53 pm by Sulla
Mike Huckabee.
I said nice things about Hunter, and I don’t take them back. I do note that the reaction to the announcement varies from “WTF?” to “no, seriously, WTF?!?” Yes, Huck is still in the race, but after South Carolina his chances of winning the nomination are slim.
My understanding is that Hunter is concerned with Mitt’s former company’s current business ties to China, and that Mitt hasn’t sufficiently lobbied the company to change its direction. Others have suggested there’s a religious component, but I’ve heard no comments from Hunter that would lead me to believe that.
Hunter is respected in conservative circles, but he never got traction. His lone delegate came from the all-but-forgotten (because Romney won) Wyoming county conventions. His endorsement of Huckabee at this stage in the race might cheer some Huck fans, but likely won’t sway any minds, and certainly won’t shift the balance of the nomination process.
Now, when/if Fred Thompson throws his weight behind a candidate, it might make a difference. But he might prefer to wait until the nominee is chosen, and join that ticket. He would enhance the conservative credentials of any remaining candidate, and he’ll fill the Dick Cheney Chair quite nicely.
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01.22.08
Posted in Politics, Rants, schadenfreude at 4:36 pm by Sulla
Running for president is expensive. Winning primaries, especially so.
Mike Huckabee’s surprise win in Iowa has kept him afloat through several states, but his second-place finish in South Carolina and his consistent low-teens support among non-evangelicals means he’s running low on funds, according to the Prowler.
When you have limited resources, you see what you can cut, and what better than the salaries of those trying to get you elected?
Suddenly “the guy you work with” looks a whole lot more like “the guy who laid you off.”
Irony so sweet it pisses off your dentist.
h/t Hot Air.
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Posted in Politics at 3:13 pm by Sulla
FredMentum! didn’t gain sufficient traction to propel him to the top. He campaigned hardest in Iowa and South Carolina, but managed no higher than third place. Where he didn’t campaign, he didn’t do even that well.
Thompson’s conservatism is the real deal, and enthusiasm for him was high, but money and organization matter in the marathon that is the presidential primaries, and each takes time to build.
Fred’s statement was short and to the point. He didn’t endorse anyone, which is wise. He would be an asset to any ticket, but it’s too soon to tell who that will be.
I understand that Thompson’s mother is ill. His family is in my prayers, with gratitude for the time he spent adding ideas, specifics, and substance to the GOP race. We are the better for his participation.
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01.21.08
Posted in Politics, Rants at 6:01 pm by Sulla
Last week was the ten year anniversary of Drudge reporting what became “Zippergate,” America’s national wet dream involving our priapic manchild-in-chief and a certain intern whose last name became a verb long before Urban Dictionary was there to immortalize it. Back before there was Bush Derangement Syndrome, the year of Sosa and McGwire chasing the home run record was also host to the Year the Blogosphere was Born. Many of the sites I still frequent – nationalreview.com, lucianne.com, drudgereport.com, freerepublic.com – either went live in 1998 to give people a place to vent. And vent I did. I confess, even 10 years later, it still raises my blood pressure to remember that the Bottomless Appetite was not only our president, but at the height of his popularity precisely because he insisted that we not only forgive him for his “sins”, but that defending him was tantamount to defending the Constitution itself. there was no year in the Clinton presidency in which he lied as frequently, consistently, or shamelessly as 1998…and his approval ratings were through the roof. Those who paid attention could not fathom why he didn’t resign or wasn’t removed from office for (among other things) perjury, obstruction of justice, and abusing the power of his office. When he was acquitted I understood why, but I despaired that we as a country had essentially sold our souls for a happy stock market and bloated 401(k)s. Within 2 years of course, the IT bubble burst and Clinton handed his successor a recession, not that he will ever admit it.
Anyway. We all know who and what Bill Clinton is. When he was bringing his formidable appetites to bear against the GOP, he had plenty of defenders. But now that he’s going after Barack Obama, he’s causing some consternation among Democrats. My thought: tough. You created the monster; now you’re stuck with him. A significant chunk of Democrats DO want to move on from the Clintons, but the way he and Hillary bleat about their entitlement and “treason” against them – even Oprah isn’t immune from that charge, for supporting Obama – they still stand a better than average chance of winning the nomination, and the Presidency.
As if we need to remind you of what that means, consider today. Martin Luther King’s birthday commemmoration. Bill Clinton is allowed to speak, since he’s not running for anything (yeah, right – he’s not running). And what do we hear from the man who is there to remember the great civil rights leader?
How much Bill Clinton has done for civil rights.
Whatever the subject, it’s still – always – about Bill.
Remember that in November. You elect Hillary, and we’ll have at least four more years of this bloated pantload begging / demanding daily our renewed approbation. He’ll take a victory for Hillary as a vindication of himself – vindication he didn’t get in 2000 when Al Gore failed to gain the White House.
I repeat: Democrats created this monster. They are now discovering that Jason Vorhees, Michael Myers, Freddy Krueger – they’re pikers compared to the POTUS That Wouldn’t Leave. He already knows you can be bought, browbeat, snookered, soiled, and sold.
He’s all yours. Deal with it. (some are trying – see the comments to the article. But even here, he has his defenders. Un…believable.)
[Update] Rich Lowry offers similar but more coherent thoughts here.
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01.20.08
Posted in Politics, Rants at 1:04 am by Sulla
Mitt walked away with it in Saturday’s Nevada caucuses, capturing over 50% of the vote. Of course, he also picked up 94% of the LDS GOP vote, which had some folks screaming “identity politics!” with giddy abandon.
Nevada was largely uncontested – heck, Ron Paul came in second, beating even John McCain. Sure, there were a lot of delegates at stake, but only Romney seemed eager to court them. On the Democrat side, Hillary got about the same percentage as Mitt, beating Obama by a few percentage points, and leaving John Edwards in the dust.
The big news, of course, was in South Carolina. John McCain got his revenge for 2000, finally winning the state that derailed his presidential ambitions. He finished with roughly a third of the vote, and far fewer total votes than he got in 2000. But the GOP was far more energized that year. This year, it’s the BDS crowd that’s chomping at the bit to get back in the big chair.
The two GOP candidates with the best chance of winning South Carolina were McCain and Huckabee. Huckabee came within a few percentage points, and his partisans are furious that Fred didn’t do the “honorable” thing and (1) drop out and (2) endorse Huckabee. Meanwhile, fans of very candidate EXCEPT McCain and Huckabee are thrilled that Fred did as well as he did. Romney and Thompson combined for 31% – nowhere near enough to win, but good enough to point out the weaknesses that both McCain and Huckabee have: McCain has benefitted most from independent voters, and Huckabee has not been able to expand his support beyond evangelicals, or even get a majority of evangelicals to his side. If Huckabee can’t win South Carolina, a state tailor-made for his message, it would take (pardon the expression) a miracle for him to win the nomination. And McCain’s victory highlights his vulnerability in upcoming GOP-only contests, where conservatives angry with some of his more liberal positions are likely to have more clout.
A word on Huckabee: he’s been a rat bastard disingenuous in his attacks on Mitt Romney, which he continued tonight in his concession speech. While congratulating Sen. McCain (and himself) on running an honorable campaign, he suggested that he’d much rather come in second with honor, than win without it. Well, speaking as one who’s been watching Team Huckabee’s direct and indirect attacks on Romney, may I say: you, Mr. “Jesus and Satan” sir, are without honor, and you will never – EVER – get my vote. If I had to choose between you and Ron Paul, I’d pull the lever for Paul. If it was between you and Hillary, I’d apply for work overseas. I would not trust the Constitution I revere in your hands.
Needless to say, I’m not fond of the man, and I feel the country will be safer when his quest for the nomination ends. I disagree with all of the candidates on one or more points of policy, but none disturbs me the way Huckabee does. And I say this as someone who started out liking the guy. There is an ugliness in his relentless dislike of Gov. Romney. I know McCain’s not a big fan of Mitt either, but we’re used to seeing Maverick’s thin skin. No, Huckabee’s identity-politics, class-envy, “guy who laid you off,” shotgun-wielding, kick-in-the-teeth religion-baiting act is simply too sustained, too personal. It’s downright Clintonesque.
Must be something in the water in Hope.
Enough of that. Rudy, McCain, Fred, Mitt – I could pull the lever for any of them. But not Huck.
Mitt came in fourth, which means South Carolina is the first state in which he hasn’t come in first or second. He left SC for more Nevada politicking late in the week; whether he helped himself (by giving Fred a bit of a bump, keeping him in the race a while longer; Fred was a direct competitor for Huck’s votes) or not (by not trying for the Bronze himself) remains to be seen.
Those eager to see Mitt fail are spinning this as a Bad Day for Romney, but he still has the most popular votes in the country, and more delegates. His strategy is unconventional, but there are so many unconventional strategies this year, someone’s has to work. I don’t count “Mr. Turnaround” out just yet.
Rudy is pinning his hopes on Florida, the last big state before Super Tuesday. It’s a gamble few expect to work, but if it does he’ll look like a genius. Fred has been stumping in Louisiana; he badly needs a win, somewhere, and it could happen here.
Duncan Hunter officially dropped out today. He’s a good man whose candidacy never took off; the field and the debate would have been stronger had it been he and not Huckabee who reached the first tier.
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