Bursting The Bubble From The Inside

We've known for a long time that President George W. Bush has presided over one of the worst administrations in American history. Now comes a book from a former official that seems to confirm those suspicions.

Former White House press secretary Scott McClellan's book, What Happened: Inside the Bush White House and Washington's Culture of Deception (out on store shelves next week), has sparked a lot of news coverage. That's because it isn't often we see a tell-all tome about a president from the inside before his term expires, written by someone who used to work for him.

Among the revelations in McClellan's book, if you want to call them that:

• Bush used propaganda to sell Congress and the public on going to war with Iraq, even though there was no real basis for doing so. McClellan wrote that it was all part of what he called a "permanent campaign". With sky-high approval ratings following the 9/11/01 attacks, any opposition was considered heresy.
• The President, according to McClellan, approving the use of Scooter Libby to leak the name of CIA employee Valerie Plame.
• The slow response to the disaster unfolding after Hurricane Katrina because administration officials didn't take it as seriously as they should have.

Keep in mind that McClellan, as press secretary, played the good soldier in parroting the White House line on these and many other issues before his resignation in April of 2006.

The reaction to the book, at least among those who are past and present employees of Bush, can be distilled to this: "How could you do this to us?!" The administration prides itself on its loyalty to the President. Which is fine, unless all that loyalty blinds you to the needs of the country you're supposed to be governing.

McClellan has taken off the blinders, all right. But at what cost to him personally and professionally? Those who are still inside the bubble are wondering: Why didn't he raise these objections while he was on the job? Does he really believe these things, or is he just trying to make a few bucks at the expense of the President?

The mainstream news media is as guilty as anyone for letting themselves be hoodwinked into supporting a misbegotten war. They took the bait on having reporters embedded with troops, used former generals as analysts who--it was later learned--were on the payrolls of defense contractors on the Pentagon's payroll, and generally held back on asking the tough questions for fear of being labeled unpatriotic.

Even today, five years after the war in Iraq started, we're still not getting the full story because it's considered too dangerous to do any decent reporting outside Baghdad's protected Green Zone, unless you're accompanied by an American soldier. If the military isn't spinning the story of the war in their direction, telling the folks back home that things in Iraq are better than they really are, then the White House probably is.

It's not Scott McClellan's fault that he worked for a man and an agenda he was loyal to, until he didn't believe in either of them anymore. It's ours for not seeing through it to begin with.

Political Foot-In-Mouth Disease Rampant

Now that the presidential candidates have completed their obligatory salute to the American military, whether the wars have been justified or not, it's time to get back to the business of waging war on each other. They also have some major fence-mending to do.

Senator Hillary Clinton of New York, still clinging to the hope that the Democratic nomination is within her reach, continues to dig a hole for herself the size of Long Island. In an interview with the editorial board of the Sioux Falls Argus-Leader newspaper in South Dakota (where she hopes to win another primary), she said the following:

"My husband did not wrap up the nomination in 1992 until he won the California primary somewhere in the middle of June, right? We all remember Bobby Kennedy was assassinated in June in California".

Clinton is referring, of course, to that night nearly 40 years ago when another New York senator who was running for President was gunned down in a Los Angeles hotel ballroom. She just happened to say it a few days after Senator Edward Kennedy of Massachusetts--the only Kennedy brother who got to live a normal life--was diagnosed with a malignant brain tumor. To say that the Kennedy family has seen enough tragedy in their lives is an understatement.

This isn't the first time Clinton has brought up RFK's assassination. Time magazine said on its website that Clinton said about the same thing a few months ago in an article they published.

The senator's unfortunate remark also implied that her main rival, Senator Barack Obama of Illinois, is an assassination target for the simple fact that he is an African-American running for president. Both have had Secret Service protection since the campaign began. In Clinton's case, she's had it ever since she became First Lady.

Clinton has apologized for what she said, and Obama has accepted. But it does put Robert Kennedy Jr. in a spot. You see, he is RFK's son and a Clinton supporter, which makes him an anomaly in the Kennedy family--most of whom are supporting Obama.

Senator John McCain of Arizona, the presumptive Republican nominee, has been having his own problems with pastors afflicted with bigotry. Or he did until he cut them loose: John Hagee, who once said something about how, in Biblical terms explaining the Holocaust, Hitler was the hunter and people of the Jewish faith were his prey, pushing them to move to Israel. And there's also Rod Parsley, who called Islam a violent religion.

The fact that both of these men of the cloth got less attention for their remarks than the Reverend Jeremiah Wright did implies that the words of two white preachers are more socially acceptable to mainstream voters than those of an African-American preacher. We certainly hope not.

We're not letting Obama off the hook. In an interview seen on ABC's Good Morning America, he told critics of his wife Michelle to "lay off". Excuse me? She became a public figure the moment her husband announced her candidacy, especially since she made those comments at a campaign stop in Milwaukee about finally being proud of America. It's nice to defend your spouse's honor. Based on what we've been able to see, though, Michelle Obama doesn't appear to be a fragile creature that needs to be defended. Just ask Hillary Clinton.

The road to the White House for any candidate is littered with mines of stupid statements, unsavory characters and bad timing. The person who gets through this unscathed is rare, but the value of letting the voters see how you really operate is incalculable.

Stanley Cup Finals: Youth vs. Experience

For only a moment, allow us a bit of back-patting. Before the National Hockey League playoffs started, we said that the Pittsburgh Penguins would face the Detroit Red Wings for the Stanley Cup, Well, here we are.

The Red Wings are one of the oldest and most dominant franchises in the history of the NHL, but they haven't won the Cup since 2002. The Penguins, who almost made Hamilton, Ontario and Kansas City their new home before they got a new arena, last won theirs in 1992. That was back when Mario Lemiuex played for the team instead of owning it.

In the last few years (save for the lockout in 2005), the Cup matchup was between a team from the American Sunbelt (Carolina, Tampa Bay, Anaheim), and a team from a small Canadian city (Edmonton, Ottawa, Calgary). No offense to those fine communities, but those series didn't do much for the NHL's image and American TV ratings. Detroit and Pittsburgh, however, are bona-fide hockey towns. And they're much closer to the Canadian border than, say, Tampa, Florida.

It'll be youth vs. experience in this Cup Final. The Penguins have all the young talent, starting with Sidney Crosby (the next Lemieux), Evgeni Malkin, and goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury. The Red Wings are led by veterans Niklas Lidstrom, Tomas Holmstrom and goaltender Chris Osgood.

The Penguins blew through the playoffs, losing only two games so far. The Red Wings had trouble putting away Nashville and Dallas before finally doing so.

This will be one of the best series in years. But experience will win out in the end, and Detroit skates off with the Stanley Cup in six games.

American Idol Finale: The Next Taylor Hicks?

Yes, somebody named David has been chosen as the seventh American Idol. No, it wasn't who we all thought it would be. David Cook, a bartender from Kansas City, defeated David Archuleta by 12 million votes for the right to follow such luminaries as Fantasia Barrino, Jordin Sparks and Rubin Studdard into pop oblivion.

The judges--Randy Jackson, Paula Abdul and Simon Cowell--didn't like Cook as much as they loved Archuleta. Cook took chances in singing unfamiliar material, while Archuleta stayed in his comfort zone with Barry Manilow-type ballads--the kind most record people usually associate with pop chart success.

What might have hurt Archuleta among voters who are old enough to drive, besides being 17 years old (Cook is 25), were his Daddy Issues. According to media reports, Idol producers banished Archuleta's father to the audience for allegedly interfering with the teenager's song choices, and for being a general pain in the butt.

Only two AI winners--Kelly Clarkson and Carrie Underwood--have had any kind of success since their respective confetti showers. For Clarkson, she had initial pop success before her last album tanked. Now she's touring with Reba McEntire. Underwood established herself in country music, taking home award after award, and was recently inducted into the Grand Ole Opry.

Is David Cook on the road to superstardom? Let's see . . . the song he performed at his coronation, "Time of My Life", is going to be his first single--which will hit Number One on the charts despite the lack of radio airplay. His first album, produced by seasoned music professionals with no creative input from Cook, will sell well but get no love from critics. What happens after that will determine whether Cook will be playing the Staples Center in Los Angeles, or working at the Staples store back in Kansas City. It's your choice, America.

American Idol: The Main Event. On Broadcast TV.

It has all come down to this. The Two Davids: Cook vs. Archuleta. The Rocker vs. The Kid. Mac Guy vs. Alfred E. Neuman. Who will be the next American Idol?

OK, that was a little bit much. But after watching ring announcer Michael Buffer introduce the final two with his trademark line to a screaming audience of 7,000 at the Nokia Theater in Los Angeles, and with HBO 's Jim Lampley providing commentary on the Fox telecast, we couldn't resist. But because boxing has become a pay-per-view sport with anonymous champions, Idol's target audience might not have understood the significance.

Round One was songs chosen by record executive Clive Davis, for whom the winner will be entrusting his career to. Davis seems to have a knack for picking long song titles, as you will see.

• David Cook performed U2's "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For". It's not Bono, but it wasn't bad.
• David Archuleta did Elton John's "Don't Let The Sun Go Down On Me". He performed it like George Michael, who also had a hit record with it (in a duet with Elton, no less), would have done it.

Round Two were songwriters' choices. For a change, neither David sang the same tune.

• Cook performed some rocker I never did catch the name of. With guitar in hand, he looked to be in his comfort zone here.
• Archuleta, wearing a cheesy anchor jacket, sang "In This Moment". Shouldn't it have been "Beyond The Sea"?

The final round was a song chosen by the contestant.

• Cook's version of Collective Soul's "The World I Know" was less bombastic than the original. He does win points for trying something different than what judge Simon Cowell wanted, which was a reprise of "Billie Jean".
• Archuleta's "Imagine" was more Vegas-worthy than John Lennon-worthy, but it wasn't bad.

By this time, the comments of judges Randy Jackson and Paula Abdul were in full gush mode, to the point where they should have asked the Two Davids for their autographs. Only Cowell was willing to go out on a limb and declare Archuleta the winner, in his humble opinion.

We've heard the complaints that, in spite of all the voting being done on your (or your teenager's) AT&T cellphone, Archuleta's victory is all but assured and Cook is merely the fall guy. But then again, we've heard the same complaints about boxing, too. It's not something you can really prove. All we can do is sit through two hours of a bloated finale tomorrow night before Ryan Seacrest announces the decision.

One Week In Politics

The following post contains crystal balls, partisan bickering and a history lesson. Consider yourself warned.

Bits and pieces from the campaign trail:

• The blowout victory Senator Hillary Clinton had in the West Virginia Democratic presidential primary was overshadowed (at least in the media) by the news that one of her former rivals, former North Carolina senator John Edwards, endorsed Senator Barack Obama a day later. The news was so big that ABC broke into its evening news broadcast to carry the announcement live--even though it had been leaked an hour before. The endorsement makes sense because Edwards' views are much closer to Obama's than Clinton's. This seems to indicate that Obama's on track to get the nomination, However . . .
• The Washington Post reports that some Obama campaign workers in Indiana encountered people who uttered sentiments along the lines of "I ain't gonna vote for no black president" and other unenlightened comments we won't print here. Maybe this is why Clinton still thinks she has a shot at the nomination.
• The Star Tribune Minnesota Poll found that Republican John McCain would have a hard time beating both Democrats in the state, in one of those "if the election were held today" polls. Obama would trounce McCain by 51 to 38 percent, with Clinton also besting the Arizona senator 49 to 40 percent. What the poll didn't ask is if McCain's numbers would improve with Governor Tim Pawlenty as his running mate.
• In a Columbus, Ohio speech, McCain peered into his crystal ball and predicted that by 2013--which, in a strange coincidence, happens to be at the end of his first presidential term, if he's elected--the Iraq war will have been won with a smaller military presence left over, and Osama bin Laden will be either dead or captured. Welcome to the prediction business, Senator. We've been known to be wrong sometimes.
• Senator Edward Kennedy of Massachusetts, the longtime leading liberal Democrat who recently endorsed Barack Obama, is in a Boston hospital for what doctors are calling a seizure. (Since this is the Kennedy family we're talking about, this might not necessarily be true) All the presidential candidates expressed their best wishes for the senator. But where is the White House on this? It can't just be that Kennedy is from the wrong party, is it?
• On the occasion of Israel's 60th anniversary as a nation, President George W. Bush told the Knesset (that's their version of Congress) that he considers those who would negotiate with terrorists and others the United States officially doesn't like as "appeasers". Though the White House denies it, Democrats believe the President just compared Barack Obama to Neville Chamberlain, the pre-World War II British prime minister who gave away Czechoslovakia to Adolf Hitler, then declared "peace in our time". John McCain nods his head in agreement. To which Obama responded that he welcomes the debate about national security, and that the Republicans are engaging in "fearmongering". So Bush prefers the macho position of not speaking to the enemy? Well, look where it has gotten us.
• Finally, the President said in an interview with Politico,com that the one thing he sacrificed during the war with Iraq was his golf game. There are thousands of soldiers and their families who sacrificed a lot more than Bush did, and they aren't getting much in return. Come to think of it, neither is the rest of the country

For Those of You Just Joining Us . . .

This is the first anniversary of The Bludog Chronicle, a current-events blog that comes out at least a couple of times a week, provided I have something interesting to say. If there is anything this blog has proved in the year since this started, it's that any idiot can write one. In the words of a certain president: Mission accomplished.

You won't find pictures of cute puppies. In fact, you won't see pictures or video of any kind. We're still working on that.

What you will see is my views on what I find interesting. It can be about politics one day, sports the next, and pop culture the next.

I am a writer, not a journalist. For topics, I'll watch TV, read the paper and the news sites like everyone else. This means I don't have to worry about scooping other bloggers and media on big stories, though it would be kind of cool if I did. In other words, I'm not Matt Drudge or Arianna Huffington.

I live in the suburbs of Minneapolis and St. Paul, so I'm more likely to tell you what's going on in my own backyard than comment on the latest political scandal in, let's say, Tumbleweed, Kansas.

In case you're wondering, The Bludog Chronicle is named in honor of a dog I once had named Blu (1984-97), a combination Black Lab and American Water Spaniel. She made a great watchdog and walking companion, but a lousy hunter with a fragile psyche. She was afraid of noises you and I take for granted: a crackling fire, thunderstorms, the hum of a clothes dryer, etc. She ate garbage, ran around the neighborhood choosing not to hear us call (maybe dumped on somebody's lawn), and nipped at those who tried to pet her.

We could have gotten rid of Blu, but we didn't. Why? I've seen and heard too many horror stories of unwanted pets wasting away in a shelter before being put to sleep. I thought Blu deserved a chance, and she got one.

She and this blog have at least one thing in common: Barking and whining in an obnoxious manner to get the point across.

You may not always like what I have to say, and I'm fine with that. I don't have to be right, left or vertical. I just try to say what I think, and be done with it. If you have something to add, please make use of the comment section.

We return you now to our regularly scheduled blog.

American Idol: The Other Primary

Instead of reporting on the latest twists and turns in the Democratic presidential primary (won this week by Hillary Clinton in West Virginia), we thought we'd turn our attention to another race--this one people actually care about. It's to see who is our next American Idol.

Because of the media coverage Idol gets, it's possible to not watch the show and still be able to know what's going on. That means I've spared myself the humiliating auditions, "theme weeks" featuring artists whose biggest hits came long before the contestants were born, "Idol Gives Back", and judge Paula Abdul's occasional bouts with sanity. Did we forget to mention Simon Cowell?

But tonight, I took a break from Countdown with Keith Olbermann and the Stanley Cup Playoffs to watch the three remaining contestants--David Archuleta, Syesha Mercado and David Cook--go at it. They performed three songs each--one chosen by the judges, another by the producers, and another chosen by the finalists.

David Archuleta, the 17-year old front-runner (think Barack Obama) who looks like he could pass for Jerry Mathers as Beaver Cleaver, performed the following:

• Paula Abdul's pick "And So It Goes", originally done by Billy Joel. Nothing special.
• "With You" by Chris Brown. This contestants' pick was best described by Cowell as a "chihuahua trying to be a tiger".
• Producers' pick "Longer" by Dan Fogelberg. Sounded just like him, too.

Syesha Mercado, the Hillary Clinton of the group, did these:

• Alicia Keys' "If I Ain't Got You". This Randy Jackson choice was no "dawg".
• Channeling Beyonce in the Peggy Lee hit "Fever", with the help of a chair as a prop. Simon called it a "lame cabaret performance".
• Producers' choice "Hit Me Up", with Syesha doing a very good impression of Rihanna.

David Cook, the lone rocker (and designated John McCain) of the bunch, contributed these:

• The Roberta Flack classic "First Time Ever I Saw Your Face" (chosen by Cowell) was needlessly bombastic.
• Some number by the band Switchfoot, which was enhanced by Cook's guitar playing.
• The one Aerosmith tune you'll never hear on classic rock radio: "I Don't Want To Miss a Thing". What possessed the producers to think Cook could sing like Steven Tyler?

So what did we learn? Cook is on track to become the next Daughtry. Syesha will soon be performing at a dinner theater or cruise ship near you. And David Archuleta will be your next American Idol. Besides, who are we kidding? As long as preteen girls jam the AT&T phone lines with text messages supporting their heartthrob (at their parents' expense, of course), it's just a matter of time.

Clinton: Damn The Torpedos, Full Speed Ahead

After a split decision in Tuesday's Democratic presidential primaries--Senator Hillary Clinton narrowly defeating Senator Barack Obama in Indiana, but losing big to Obama in North Carolina--the situation remains the same. Obama still leads in the popular vote and in the delegate count.

According to CNN.com, Obama has 1.836 delegates, 155 more than clinton. By the time the primaries end in June, neither candidate will have enough to reach the 2,025 mark to win the nomination without the help of so-called "superdelegates"--the party officials and others who vote during the national convention in August. Clinton leads in that department, with 280 remaining uncommitted. But some pundits claim she's losing that battle to Obama, too.

So why does the Senator from New York insist on continuing? Having failed to cut into Obama's lead, Clinton is campaigning in the remaining six contests (West Virginia, Kentucky, Oregon, Puerto Rico, Montana and South Dakota), which have a grand total of 217 pledged delegates.

Is Clinton waiting for another skeleton in Obama's closet to rival the Reverend Jeremiah Wright? Another statement from the Illinois senator proving he's out of touch with those who don't drink lattes or live in McMansions? Can Clinton convince the Democratic Party to allow her victories in Florida and Michigan to stand, even though their delegates were ruled ineligible because their states' primaries were held too early? Can she raise enough money to continue? Something? Anything?

Of course, there's always the possibility that Clinton could continue to lose votes because of her stand on gas tax holidays (which everyone agrees is a stupid idea and doesn't save all that much money), and on what she would do to Iran if they so much as muss a hair on Israel's shoulders. They make her sound like--a Republican?!

We were going to title this post "It's Over, Hillary". But Senator Clinton has proved so many times how unsinkable she is that, in the words of Yogi Berra, it's not over 'till it's over.

Triumph and Tragedy On The First Saturday in May

This year's running of the Kentucky Derby, the first leg of horse racing's Triple Crown, will be remembered less for who won the race--for the record, it was Big Brown--than for what happened to the runner-up.

Eight Belles, who attempted to be the first filly since Winning Colors in 1988 (and only the fourth overall) to win the Derby, was euthanized after suffering injuries to her front ankles. This was rather sudden compared to the long, highly publicized vigil of 2006 winner Barbaro, who was injured at the Preakness Stakes, before succumbing to the needle.

While the celebration for Big Brown was taking place at one end of the Churchill Downs track, horse vans at the other end concealed Eight Belles' final moments.

Questions will be raised about the safety of the track--it was on dirt, in an era when most tracks are using artificial surfaces, and how it takes a toll on horses' legs.

This is exactly what horse racing doesn't need, to have a tragedy happen on the day of its biggest race. But other factors have been chipping away at what was once one of the most popular sports in America:

• Declining attendance and TV ratings.
• Gambling in nearly every state (it isn't just Vegas, baby)
• The race horse best known to most people in recent years is a Depression-era champion named Seabiscuit, immortalized by a Hollywood movie.

Big Brown will likely move on to the Preakness in Baltimore. If he wins there, enormous pressure will be put on the horse's handlers to have him race in the Belmont Stakes in New York in June. No horse since Affirmed in 1978 has won the Triple Crown.

But Big Brown will have that shadow hanging over him as he gallops to potential immortality. Not just for his fallen competitor, but for an entire sport.

Can Al Franken Save His Senate Campaign The Way Stuart Smalley Saved His Family?

It's a good thing Al Franken, the former Saturday Night Live cast member and radio talk show host, is running for the U.S. Senate representing Minnesota instead of for state treasurer. He would have been told to stick to his day job.

Despite raising more money (mostly from his Hollywood pals) than any other candidate in his bid to unseat Republican incumbent Norm Coleman, Franken has been in the news for not tending to his own business. For that, he's in danger of losing his campaign.

Franken had to pay $70,000 in back taxes in the period between 2003-06 to 17 states and the federal government, a miscue he blames on his accountant. One factor is the multitude of tax forms athletes and entertainers (or their accountants) have to fill out, depending on where they happen to be plying their trade. In Franken's case during that period, it was usually personal appearances involving book signings and remote broadcasts of his radio program.

The Democratic-Farmer-Labor (DFL) party is standing by its front-runner--for now. But if Franken is denied the party's endorsement at the state convention in June, they might have no choice but to turn to someone else. College professor Jack Nelson-Pallmeyer is still in the running. Or they might persuade attorney Mike Ciresi to re-enter the race.

The DFL may have thought they caught lightning in a bottle with a Senate candidate who has name recognition, but is otherwise new to the political scene. But how can they claim to be the party of fiscal responsibility when that candidate is negligent of his own bookkeeping?

In Franken's case, it's better to have all this out of the way now before Coleman and the Republicans make it a campaign issue come November.