Month: January 2009

Senator Russ Feingold of Wisconsin has made an excellent suggestion for a constitutional amendment relating to vacant Senate seats.

He plans to introduce an amendment requiring that states hold special elections to fill a Senate seat when a vacancy occurs for any reason.  This is already the case for all House seats that fall vacant, such as Rahm Emanuel’s Chicago House seat.

Why should the people of a state be denied the right to choose their senators and to put it into the hands of a governor, a constituency of one person, who might often pick someone who benefits him politically rather than what is best for the people at large?  The recent examples of Governors Blagojevich and David Paterson choosing people far from representative of their states cries for such action to be taken by Congress and the state  legislatures, and as soon as possible!

New York Governor David Paterson has finally ended the six week game of who would be his appointment as US Senator to replace Hillary Clinton on Friday by naming second term Representative Kirsten Gillibrand from the Albany area to serve until 2010 when she will have to defend the seat, and then again in 2012 when the full term begins.

My thoughts on governors selecting replacements for Senate seats for up to two years, while at the same time all vacancies for US Representatives are filled by special elections, has been permanently affected by the ridiculous performance of both Governor Rod Blagojevich in Illinois and Governor Paterson in New York.  Both showed irresponsible behavior in the selection process, although of course, no one could ever match Blagojevich, who now faces his impeachment trial in the Illinois State Senate this week and is going on all the news shows to defend himself in a way that makes him ever more a spectacle and an embarrassment to his state, the fifth largest in population. 

But Paterson’s performance these past six weeks is also an embarrassment and makes one wonder why Lieutenant Governor nominees are not considered more seriously by Governor nominees.  If it had not been for former Governor Eliot Spitzer’s outrageous moral indiscretions early in 2008, Paterson would never have been seen as qualified for Governor, and yet now he picks by far the least qualified of potential Senate nominees, once you get past the tragic collapse of the Caroline Kennedy balloon.

As stated on an earlier date, it was clear that Andrew Cuomo, the son of the former Governor and present Attorney General of New York, should have been the choice of Governor Paterson.  Now it is more likely that Cuomo will either challenge Paterson for the Democratic nomination for Governor in 2010 or will try to take the Senate seat from Senator Gillibrand.

Gillibrand comes across as attractive and bright, and ironically worked for both Hillary Clinton and Andrew Cuomo during the Clinton Presidency while Cuomo was Housing Secretary in the late 1990s.  However, her stand for the National Rifle Association brings her into conflict with most New York Democrats and New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, an Independent,  who is vehement in his demand for strong gun control legislation.  There is no way that I can see that Gillibrand will NOT be challenged for nomination in 2010.

Instead of solidifying the political situation for the Democrats in New York, Governor Paterson’s actions and ultimate decision on the Senate seat make it very likely that both he and Gillebrand will have a battle for their positions and will therefore give the Republicans a good chance to take advantage of the situation and possibly win what could have been guaranteed Democratic victories.  Somehow, New York deserves much better than Paterson and Gillebrand!

Rush Limbaugh gets paid $38 million per year to make a total fool of himself, and one has to wonder why anyone of intelligence wastes time listening to him three hours a day, 15 hours a week.

However, as outrageous as he is always,  he has now topped himself by publicly expressing hope that Barack Obama is a failure as President.  At a moment when the country has new hope and inspiration, Rush cannot have the decency to WISH good fortune to our new President.  If Barack Obama is successful, then the nation will be more prosperous and have a better world image in four to eight years.  How can anyone wish bad luck, when it does not only affect the President himself, but ALL of us and the future of this country?

Rush Limbaugh has proved his lack of patriotism and should be boycotted by advertisers and listeners.  Unfortunately, that is not likely to happen, but one could wish the American people would use their common sense.  But then again, with the mood in this country now, there COULD be a backlash!

Chris Wallace of Fox News Channel was just about the only journalist on that excuse of a news cable channel to have dignity and respect in the wider journalistic community.  The son of venerable journalist Mike Wallace, who had sixty years of experience, including forty years with SIXTY MINUTES on CBS until his retirement in the past year,  he seemed to be trying to emulate his father in the sense of promoting quality journalism as the host of FOX NEWS SUNDAY.

He has now lost all credibility and should be ashamed of himself by bringing up the stupid, asinine idea that Barack Obama might not be President because Chief Justice John Roberts botched up the inaugural oath.  How preposterous can one get?  It is a fact that the President becomes the person of power with or without the oath of office at 12 Noon on January 20 every fourth year.  The oath is a formality, not a requirement.  In any case, later today, the President retook the oath at the White House with Chief Justice Roberts, just to nip in the bud any suggestion that he was not the President legally.

I think Chris Wallace owes the President a public apology and needs to avoid commentary if it is going to be totally inane as this ridiculous assertion on his part!

I have just returned from the Presidential Inauguration ceremonies on the National Mall in Washington, DC.

This was a once in a lifetime experience!  The excitement in the crowd, estimated at more than 2 million, was very obvious.  Everyone was friendly, optimistic, patient with the horrible weather conditions (temperature in the mid 20s), and one could sense that there was renewed hope that the country’s multiple problems could be solved with a new sense of commitment and nationalism. 

I was never so cold in my life, as I have lived in south Florida for the past 20 years and had never in my earlier life in New York ever been outside in cold weather for eight hours, as I was with my son from 6 am to 2 pm, including walking long distances and standing for a long time. I wore thermal underwear, hat, earmuffs, face cover, scarf, sweater, topcoat, double socks, and toe warmers in an attempt to stay warm, and my feet ached horribly, and I was totally wiped out after the event and took a midday three hour nap!   It turned out that the tickets we had for standing, while quite close, were overcome by the fact that trees on the Capitol lawn blocked the Jumbotron image of what was going on, with only a small bottom portion of the images able to be seen, but we heard all the audio of the historic moments, including the music and poetry.  Despite the fact that of course we could see the details of the historic event better on cable (and all of it was in fact recorded at home), this was still a worthwhile sacrifice and a moment that was one of the most dramatic events in the history of the United States. I am glad I was witness to this moment of history and will treasure the memory and pictures we took for the rest of my life! 

Tomorrow, Saturday, January 17, 2009, I am off to the Presidential Inauguration of Barack Obama.  This is a very exciting time with great promise, and I am thrilled to be part of it, even if the weather will be brutal! 

The whole nation needs to pray for the success of this young President who is coming into office in the worst possible conditions since Franklin D.  Roosevelt took the oath 76 years ago in similar circumstances.  FDR promoted the NEW DEAL, and many observers have said that Obama needs to promote a NEW NEW DEAL if we are to get out of the economic mess we are now in.  It is encouraging that he has had good will expressed to him by many conflicting groups, and he has extended the hand out to conservative journalists as well as liberals, to the Republican caucus in Congress along with the Democrats, to the Supreme Court Justices as well as religious, business and other leaders.

Barack Obama wants to be the President of all of the people, whether they voted for him or not.  We owe it to him to give him slack and enough time and to expect failures in policies as well as successes, and to unite around him as he becomes a crisis leader through no wish on his part.  This is the hand that he and all of us have been dealt, and we can hope for elements of greatness to appear in him as he takes on this tremendous responsibility as President, with the knowledge that he has a supporting staff surrounding him which is among the best ever to be put together, and led by Joe Biden and Hillary Clinton.

Commentary on the inauguration experience and the constantly evolving political events will resume shortly after I return on January 21 in the evening. 

Here we are in a New Year, and suddenly we have the return of Sarah Palin and "Joe the Plumber" to news headlines.

Sarah Palin is complaining that she was mistreated during the Presidential campaign by the news media.  She seems to be preparing for a Presidential campaign in 2012 by attacking the media for her own faults–that is, her lack of substance and knowledge about just about anything in national and international affairs during the campaign.  She was a tremendous embarrassment to the McCain campaign and lost public opinion support after a brief flirtation because of her being a new personality of attractive appearance.  She seems to think that it was a class issue, because her family comes from a "folksy" background in Alaska, and wonders if Caroline Kennedy will be treated any differently because of her upper class connections.

What Sarah Palin fails to realize, and she would have known if she was informed, is that Dan Quayle, Vice President under the first President Bush, came across as a fool and ill informed  as much as Palin did during the campaign, and he came from an upper class background, which did not help him in public perceptions, anymore than the fact that he was a good looking man.  In both cases, good looks do not make up for intellectual laziness or lack of knowledge and ability.  Also, Caroline Kennedy has been rightfully criticized for her poor public displays since she evidenced interest in a Senate seat, despite her connections to a Presidential heritage, so again Palin is wrong and lacks knowledge of what is going on.  Sarah Palin shows further evidence of why she should NOT run for President or even challenge fellow Senator Lisa Murkowski of Alaska for her Senate seat in 2010, as she is ill informed and an embarrassment to the political scene and has no reasonable chance to get anywhere in her quest for higher office.  Again, the best advice I could give to Sarah Palin is GO AWAY! 

Meanwhile, we are also plagued by "Joe the Plumber" who is milking his fifteen minutes of fame during the Presidential campaign and trying to extend it!  He is in the Middle East as a so called correspondent trying to investigate and understand the Gaza conflict between Hamas and Israel.  What makes him think he is qualified to investigate this topic, as he has no special education or background in the field and has had no experience as a journalist?  Why is it that he, like Sarah Palin, cannot understand that we have seen enough of them and want them to disappear from the public scene?  Again, "Joe the Plumber", PLEASE go away! 

Michael Newdow, the atheist who failed to get the Pledge of Allegiance words "under God" eliminated a few years back, is now involved in a federal lawsuit to force the removal of the words "So help me God" from the traditional Presidential Oath that Barack Obama will take from Chief Justice John Roberts at 12 Noon on January 20.

One does not have to be a "religious zealot" to believe that this is much controversy over something unimportant.  There is nothing wrong with expressing the hope for God’s backing, as long as it is not specifically denoting Jesus Christ, Moses, Mohammed, the Buddha, etc.

Atheists have a right to their beliefs, but as a small percentage of the American people, they do not have the right to impose their views on the majority.  The only debate would be over promoting a specific religious denomination, and neither the Presidential Oath of Office nor the Pledge of Allegiance does that.

We have too many significant issues to deal with in 2009, and this lawsuit should be dismissed as frivolous and having no merit!

The report that Barack Obama has asked Dr. Sanjay Gupta of CNN to consider the position of Surgeon General in the new administration is a very exciting development.

Dr Gupta worked as a White House Fellow in 1997 under Hillary Clinton and has gained great credibility as a neurosurgeon and in his medical reporting for CNN over the past number of years.  He is a great communicator who would be an asset in promoting President Obama’s health care initiatives in tandem with Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Daschle. 

Gupta would raise the stature and dignity of the Surgeon General’s office, which has often been undistinguished in its leadership in recent years.  The promotion of stem cell research and the continued fight against AIDS would be priorities, as well as Gupta’s fight on CNN against obesity.

Again, Obama has done a fantastic job in picking his cabinet and top advisers and experts.  The US government will gain by Gupta’s appointment at the same time that CNN will lose a great advocate of health care education!

Former Florida Governor Jeb Bush has made a wise, but surprising decision to pass by the opportunity for the Senate seat of Mel Martinez, who has announced his retirement.

While it is acknowledged that he was a popular and often effective governor, the possibility of another Bush in high office and possibly running for the Presidency was a horrible thought to many. 

It is likely that Jeb felt that the country was drowning in Bush exhaustion and has decided it is better at this time to pursue financial advantage which would be lost if he ran for and served in the US Senate.  It is certainly a disappointment to his father, former President George H W Bush, who just expressed this past Sunday the hope that his younger son would seek to get back into politics.

I don’t think we can assume that Jeb will never seek the Presidency, as he is still young (55) and theoretically could run for that position as a former governor out of office seeking the opportunity.  After all, many of the presidential candidates in primaries and even in the fall campaigns for President in the past 40 years have sought the job while out of office–including Richard Nixon, Jimmy Carter and Ronald Reagan.  So I doubt we have heard the last of Jeb Bush in public life.