Month: October 2007

Posted on '08 Election, Republicans

michigan debate wrap-up

Nobody won this debate. Giuliani and Romney were at their best when discussing specifics on economic issues. Romney scored with his Michigan-specific message, and the mention of Governor Jennifer Granholm’s flawed economic strategy for Michigan certainly wasn’t wasted on his audience. Giuliani did look relaxed and comfortable in the format, but he didn’t say anything that was anything new than the previous debates. Romney still looks like he’s trying to be someone he’s not. (Huckabee, maybe?) He is the CEO, the executive type who has a 10 point plan for everything, and when he tries to freelance too much and act like he’s the guy next door, he can’t pull it off.

The crowded stage hurt Fred Thompson because it was impossible to give him as much time as the rest of the top three. I don’t know about the rest of the undecided Republican voters, but the jury’s still out on Fred as far as I’m concerned. He stumbled a bit out of the gate, but he did pick up his game as the debate went on. Mitt Romney really doesn’t do himself much good trying to pull off those canned jokes, and his apparent jab at Fred didn’t draw any blood, because Fred deftly deflected it: “and I thought that I was going to be the best actor on this stage”.

If Fred Thompson continues to improve on the stump and in these debates, I believe that this will hurt Mitt Romney. For all Mitt’s strengths, he still doesn’t connect on a personal level with Republican voters. That’s something I’m not sure he can fix. The argument for him is that we don’t necessarily need someone running the country who we would want to have a beer with, we just need someone who can run the government well. I think Mitt would be that kind of President, but I am not convinced he can get past the Republican primaries or even if he does, that he can beat Hillary.

Rudy was ok, McCain was ok, Romney had a few good moments and a few minor gaffes, including his comments on consulting lawyers to determine when congressional authority was needed to go to war with Iran. Fred was disappointing. Sure this was his first debate, but he has no one to blame for that but himself. Folksy charm won’t be enough. Thompson needs to go toe-to-toe with the frontrunners by laying out specifics, and he didn’t do enough of that in this debate. He earned a second look, but those who say that he did enough to get into the top tier must have different standards for that than I do.

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Posted on Baseball, Random Musings

joe torre

TorreAlone.jpg

Regular readers of this blog are well aware of my dislike for the Yankees in general, and for their owner George Steinbrenner in particular. Don’t even get me started on the Yankee groupies, who pretend to be real fans only when the team is winning.  I know very well this doesn’t apply to all Yankee fans, but I must say that there are enough around to reflect poorly on everyone else.  As fans of other baseball teams can also admit, I am happy when the Yankees lose. Maybe it’s a little jealousy that my favorite teams haven’t won as many playoff games or World Series rings.  It’s a credit to their organization that the rest of baseball is trying to duplicate the incredible success they have had over the years.  It is also a credit to manager Joe Torre, even though –like Bill Belichick in his Cleveland days — he was never considered as a can’t miss manager until he got the talent level Steinbrenner’s money could buy for him.

Even though I am skeptical of the genius label when applied to any coach or manager, it would be a mistake to attribute Torre’s success in NY just as a result of simply being in the right place at the right time.  He took what he was given and he had an amazing run of success with those players.  He took all of Steinbrenner’s criticism and constant second-guessing in stride most of the time, and not many other managers could survive and thrive in that environment.

Has he made mistakes in previous postseasons? Yes.  Has he made a few questionable moves in the series against the Indians? Probably.  But some of the blame should also go to Steinbrenner and Cashman for trying to take shortcuts to postseason success.  I don’t think there’s a manager out there right now who can match Torre’s record in NY, but there may be no other option except firing Torre once Steinbrenner gave his ultimatum  — unless, like in previous years, he’s just blowing smoke again.

I don’t think Torre should be fired.  I think he should walk away from the Yanks and not look back.  He’s got nothing left to prove in NY, and I’m sure he won’t stay unemployed long if he wants to manage somewhere else.  That said, it may not be up to him to choose what happens next.

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Posted on '08 Election, Republicans

good idea

The New York Post sez that NBC should replace the not-so-objective Chris Matthews as a moderator for Tuesday’s GOP debate.  I see no problem with this. Chris Matthews is a clear partisan.  He cannot be objective and fair, and the candidates will be subjected to a bunch of really stupid pointless questions that they will feel obligated to answer.  I hope that the candidates will call him out when he steps over the line, because that would be good TV.  If Rudy’s smart, he will be the one to take advantage of the opportunity.

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Posted on '08 Election, Conservatives, Republicans

the problem with fred

I’m sure Fred Thompson is a good guy.  I’m also sure that there were many persuasive people telling him that he could be the one to save the GOP from Rudy McRomney, and no doubt Thompson is more conservative in some areas than the current top three.  But it’s fair to say that there was no way that Fred Thompson could be the savior of the GOP, or another Ronald Reagan, or the “one true conservative”.  His record in the Senate is mixed, and it resembles John McCain’s on illegal immigration and campaign finance reform, two areas where McCain runs into trouble with the base.

There are many objections I have to James Dobson critiquing possible GOP nominees, but I have to agree with him, and with what Quin Hillyer wrote in the American Spectator, when they suggest that Fred Thompson doesn’t act like he wants to be the nominee or to be President.  It’s an admirable quality in a candidate, I guess, not to look like they were planning their Presidential run for many years before taking the plunge. However, if Fred wants to continue to be taken seriously as a candidate, he has to start doing his homework on the issues of the day.  He can’t go to Florida and not know about the local issues (Terri Schiavo, drilling in the Everglades).  If he’s going to be an advocate for conservatism, he needs to know what he believes and why he believes it.  He can’t get by on Southern charm alone.  Ask Mike Huckabee how much money his campaign gets from his great personality and folksy speeches.

It’s not just the objection to Rudy, Mitt, and McCain that drives conservatives to look for someone else. All three men have flaws I can live with as the GOP nominee.  Conservatives are looking for someone with a vision, a new direction for our party, and a direction for our country.  We need someone who is bold enough to tell us the truth about where the Republican party has failed the people of this country.  We need someone who knows what is wrong and how we can fix the GOP. We want to be inspired with big ideas and someone with the kind of vision for change that Newt Gingrich has (only in a more electable package).   It’s no wonder that all of the candidates don’t quite measure up to those high standards.

Fred Thompson could be the guy who could unite most of the base,  but he can’t just coast through this process if he wants to be the nominee.

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Posted on '08 Election, Republicans

enough

I get the frustration with the Republican candidates currently running for President among the social conservative types.  Every single interest group has some bone to pick with the top three – Rudy, Mitt, or Fred — so nobody is happy with those choices.  If only Brownback, or Hunter, or Huckabee only had more money — the social conservatives would rally around one of those candidates and they would be happy. Maybe the situation will change with Huckabee, but I just don’t see it happening for any of the other so-con approved candidates.

As a social conservative myself, I have reservations about Rudy Giuliani as far as what kind of judges he would nominate to the Supreme Court.  I am also concerned that his stormy personal life may become an issue later on in the campaign, although I’m not sure why Hillary would want to start that kind of discussion if she’s the Dem nominee.  What is working in Rudy’s favor is his record in NY, as well as his leadership on 9/11. The latter is the main reason many social conservatives have given him their support.  I haven’t decided to support Rudy yet, although I might change my mind later on.

My concern with Rudy is partially based on the reasons I have already given, and also based on his limited executive experience.  It’s not that successfully managing New York City is a small achievement. He can rightfully boast about his record there.  But what else is there?  What other items on his resume can he point to to show that he has the right stuff to be President?  I hate to say this, but without his remarkable leadership on 9/11, Rudy Giuliani wouldn’t even be in the discussion for President of the United States.

That said…

I am disgusted by the spoiled, whiny, look-at-me-I’m-still-important, leaders in the Christian right community who would support a third party candidate if Rudy is the Republican party nominee. It’s a bad idea. Don’t they realize that if the social conservative vote is further split, Hillary wins?  As long as Rudy doesn’t win…right? They don’t speak for me, and they don’t speak for many social conservatives who share their moral values.  Power doesn’t just corrupt politicians. It corrupts religious leaders as well.  I am concerned that the church has forgotten its mission: to bring the message of Christ to a lost world. It’s not our job to pick presidential candidates.

Like I said, I’m not sold on any of the top three, including Fred, and it’s hard for me to imagine donating money or time to any of these campaigns right now.  But if Rudy is the nominee, he’s still better than Hillary. That will be enough for my vote.