Lessons Learned in 2012

A controversial Newsweek cover with Bachmann, entitled "the Queen of Rage" (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

A presidential campaign marked by flawed candidates, attention and tons of ads focused on certain states, and actors debating empty chairs shows what money and too much time on our hands can do.

Given the opportunity to vote for change, people chose to stick with the same President and most of the same Congress, leading to the same kind of gridlock that has ensnared this country.  The fiscal cliff is the latest example.

After Aurora, Newtown and countless other places where shootings have occurred, the time to talk about what to do about guns and the people who use them is long overdue.  That is, until the next big thing comes along.

The NRA wants to put armed guards in every school.  Great idea, except that it's easy to suggest something drastic if you're not the ones paying for it.

In countries where dictators are either dying or cling to power, some forms of democracy might be the cure that's worse than the disease.

September 11 is still a powerful date in world history.  What happened in Benghazi, Libya is one reason why.

The U.S. Supreme Court isn't always as conservative as you think it is.  For one thing, they let Obamacare live.

Whether anyone wants to admit it or not, climate change had a lot to do with all those storms, heatwaves and droughts, no?

The Minnesota state bird is the loon.  Michele Bachmann acted like one on the presidential campaign trail, but she got herself re-elected to Congress anyway.

Never take a job involving national security if you can't keep your own secrets beyond the bedroom.

Those states who talked about seceding from the union because their presidential candidate lost, even in jest, should be careful of what they wish for.

To videogamers, war must be a hell of a lot of fun.  Try fighting in a real one sometime.

To soldiers coming back from Afghanistan:  Is all this public adoration for real, or just a phony marketing gimmick?

Is the economy improving?  It depends on whether you have a job, live out on the street, or both.

Rush Limbaugh can lose dozens of sponsors over his demeaning comments about women, yet still remain on the air.

Reports of the death of this planet, as Mark Twain might say, were greatly exaggerated.

When Apple speaks, people listen--then buy their latest smartphone.

Reality TV is rigged.  Wow.  What a shock.

Other than "American Idol" and "Survivor", are the winners of reality TV competitions remembered years later?

Newsweek magazine was dying a slow death long before Tina Brown got her hands on it.

Morning TV can be fickle.  Just ask anyone who works for the "Today" show or "Good Morning America".

"Someone That I Used to Know" is Billboard's top single of the year.  "Call Me Maybe" is the best-remembered song of the year.

Mike Wallace, Dick Clark, Neil Armstrong, Sally Ride, Andy Griffith, Whitney Houston, Larry Hagman, Nora Ephron, Davy Jones, Robin Gibb, George McGovern, Harry Morgan, Andy Williams, Andy Rooney, Arlen Specter, Donna Summer, Gore Vidal, Ray Bradbury and Maurice Sendak all died this year.  Who will take their place?

The next twelve months will determine whether 2013 is a lucky year or not.

12/21/2012: Is This The End for Planet Earth?

The Earth seen from Apollo 17. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

According to the Mayan calendar, the world is supposed to end this Friday.  We don't know how it will end, or even if it will actually happen.  But it's best to be prepared just in case.

Fireballs from the sky.  Tsunamis.  Earthquakes.  Raging storms.  The Earth implodes.  Humans going the way of the dinosaurs.  It all sounds like a bad special effects-laden disaster movie, or a History channel documentary.  That's what could happen Friday.  Or not.

Some of you are treating this as one big joke, using it as an excuse to go out and party.  Comedians have been making fun of it.  That's called gallows humor, and it's about as funny as a crutch.

Some of you are more skeptical.  The federal government has been trotting out its researchers and scientists to try and convince us that the Mayan calendar is wrong.  But all that is for public consumption.  Maybe the government and the scientists know more than they're telling us.

Some of you are treating the possible apocalypse with deadly seriousness.  These are the signs of what some believe are the End Times:  Global climate change, with its heat waves and storms.  School shootings.  World economic collapse.  Some of you are going to be hiding in your bunkers, armed to the teeth.  Some of you will be praying to the deity of your choice and commit mass suicide.

Some of you will be mourning the passing of life on Earth which, despite its problems, had been well on its way in advances in technology and human development.  For others, the end of the world can't come soon enough.

Maybe December 21 will simply be a flip of the calendar, a chance for all of us to start fresh and look forward to a brighter future.  Or else it'll be just another day and nothing's changed.

If you are reading this on or before December 21, turn off the damn computer or smartphone and give yourself one last look at the world around you.   Give yourself one last chance to say goodbye to everything and everybody that's important to you.  If you have no regrets about the kind of life you've lived up until now, then don't worry about it.

If, however, you're reading this after December 21, then never mind.  We made it, at least until the next doomsday prophecy.  Happy holidays.

Another Day, Another Massacre

Once again, a lone gunman goes on a rampage, killing as many people as he (and it's usually a he) could before turning the gun on himself.  So it's left to other people to try as best they could to explain what really happened.

In the span of a few days, a shopping mall in Portland, Oregon and an elementary school in Connecticut became battlegrounds for the ones who bear a grudge against society.  Around thirty people have died in those incidents, including the gunmen who allegedly committed the act.

We're not here to talk about gun control.  That argument has been won long ago by the National Rifle Association, and the millions of gun owners who believe that the Second Amendment is the only law in the U.S. Constitution that counts.  Besides, there is no law on Earth that could have prevented what these men allegedly did.

Instead, let's talk about what mass shootings and other acts of violence have done to our society.  Schools have become minimum security prison facilities.  It is harder to get through an airport, a government building or a sports stadium without being wanded or body-scanned.  Well-meaning but ineffectual signs reading "Guns Are Banned On These Premises" are everywhere.  And thanks to the Patriot Act, freedom's not what it used to be.

Parents who took their kids to school in Newtown, Connecticut on the morning of December 14 believed they were in the safest place in the world, away from the noise and crime of New York City just 60 miles away.  Well, to paraphrase singer Mary-Chapin Carpenter, Newtown became the safest place they never found.  Because no matter where you go or what you do at whatever time of the day, violence will find you.  That's not a threat.  That's a fact of life in the 21st century we all have to deal with.

And we have been dealing with it for nearly a half century.  As much as we remember names of battles from wars past, the names of places where political or other acts of murder have taken place stand out as well:  Dallas.  Memphis.  Los Angeles.  Oklahoma City.  Columbine.  The World Trade Center in New York.    Virginia Tech.  Fort Hood, Texas.  Tucson, Arizona.  Aurora, Colorado. 

We'll keep adding to this list until the last man or woman standing on this Earth is holding a gun in their hand.  What happens next may or may not be their choice.

They Started a Joke

Mel Greig (Photo credit: Eva Rinaldi Celebrity and Live Music Photographer)

You might have heard that Kate Middleton, the Duchess of Cambridge, is going to be a mother soon.  The news has been treated with almost as much fanfare as, let's say, a birth that allegedly occured around 2000 years ago near Bethlehem.

When the Duchess had to be hospitalized for a bad case of morning sickness, a couple of radio hosts from Sydney, Australia named Mel Greig and Michael Christian had the bright idea of calling that hospital to get some information on her condition.  Imitating the voices of Queen Elizabeth and Prince Charles, they got through to a nurse, who thought she really was talking to members of the royal family.

Most everyone who saw and heard this thought the hoax was pretty hilarious.  Everyone, that is, except Jacintha Saldanha, the nurse who got punked.  She was found dead a couple of days after the prank call.  At 46, she left behind a husband and two children.

Authorities in Britain are still investigating the cause of Saldanha's death, but the hospital where she was employed and the royal family have claimed that they had nothing to do with this.

Meanwhile, back Down Under, Greig and Christian are in big trouble.  They've been suspended by their radio station (2Day FM), their show has been canceled, and they're facing jail time.  The parent company of 2Day FM has banned prank calls, and is reportedly giving a half-million dollars to Saldanha's family as part of a memorial fund.

Prank calls and practical jokes have been a staple of broadcasting for decades, from "Truth or Consequences" and "Candid Camera" in the 1950s to "Crank Yankers" and "Punk'd" in more recent years.  So have those morning-drive "zoos" on local radio across the country, taking unsuspecting people and playing jokes on them, mostly without incident.  Now there's going to be a lot more scrutiny from station management, ownership groups and the FCC.

All this royal baby talk has been temporarily suspended due to this tragedy.  But it will start up again when the birth date gets near.  Lots of names have been bandied about, mostly on the traditional side.  Here's our little suggestion:  If it's a girl, we think the heir to Prince William and Duchess Catherine should be . . .  Jacintha.

One Saturday Morning In Kansas City

English: Jovan Belcher, a player on the Kansas City Chiefs American football team. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

On the morning of the first of December, according to police reports, 25-year old Jovan Belcher killed his 22-year old girlfriend Kassandra Perkins.  A little later, the Kansas City Chiefs linebacker drove to his team's practice facility, where he shot himself in front of his coach and general manager.

The following day the Chiefs played a football game at Arrowhead Stadium, defeating the Carolina Panthers for only their second victory of the 2012 NFL season.  It must have been hard for everyone involved to even think of playing the game under such circumstances.

Cancellation was never an option because the NFL doesn't do business that way.  Unless there's a natural disaster or a national catastrophe (think 9/11), life goes on as if nothing ever happened.  Heck, they once played an entire schedule of games two days after the assassination of President John F. Kennedy.

A few people have tried to turn this tragedy into yet another debate on the merits of gun control, including Bob Costas of NBC echoing the column Jason Whitlock of Fox Sports.com wrote when he delivered his sermon on "Sunday Night Football".  Sorry, but we're done talking about this.  Even after massacres involving an Arizona congresswoman and a Colorado movie audience, the National Rifle Association and its assorted gun nuts have hollered so much about their Second Amendment rights being taken away that they have intimidated Washington and most state legislatures into keeping things the way they are.  After all, guns don't kill people, do they?

We've also heard plenty about the physical effects of concussions and drug use among athletes.  What we haven't heard--and this is where we defer to the professionals in the psychological field--is how these also affect the athletes' personal relationships.

Most of all, this isn't about guns or head trauma or drug abuse.  It's about domestic violence.  It's about those who threaten their significant others if they don't do as they're told.  It's about women who simply can't leave a relationship no matter how dangerous it has become, especially if there's children involved.  Sometimes they end up dead, restraining order or not.

We don't know what really happened to Jovan Belcher and Kassandra Perkins to set off this chain of events on a Saturday morning in Kansas City.  But we do know that those who witnessed what happened are now scarred for life, and that a three-month old girl no longer has parents.

Some things we'll never understand.

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A Death In Southfork

English: Larry Hagman attending the "Night of 100 Stars" for the 82nd Academy Awards viewing party at the Beverly Hills Hotel, Beverly Hills, CA on March 7, 2010 - Photo by Glenn Francis of www.PacificProDigital.com (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

When the primetime soap "Dallas" premiered on CBS in 1978, Larry Hagman was best known for playing an astronaut who kept company with Barbara Eden as a genie in the 1960s NBC sitcom "I Dream of Jeannie".

But the character Hagman played on "Dallas", a conniving oil baron named J.R. Ewing who constantly battled for control of the family-owned petroleum business, was worlds away from that astronaut.  It made him and the show a worldwide phenomenon.

J.R. was an entertaining villain, a man viewers loved to hate.  He double-crossed his business partners, his family, wives and lovers to get to the top.  So it was natural that everyone wanted to take a shot at him.

In the spring of 1980 on the final episode of the season, somebody did.  All summer long, it seemed the whole world wanted to know "Who Shot J.R.?"  On November 21, 1980 before a then-record TV audience, it was revealed that Kristin Shepard (played by Mary Crosby)--another in the long line of J.R.'s spurned lovers--pulled the trigger.

Hagman and J.R. survived the shooting to create more mischief in the Ewing household for the next decade, until CBS canceled "Dallas" in 1991.  This past summer, Hagman returned to the role when TNT brought back the show.

Finally, Hagman was brought down by an old foe even J.R. Ewing could not beat--cancer.  He was 81.

Most actors are fortunate to have had one career-defining role in their lifetime.  But there are very few of them whose role defined an entire genre of television, and so iconic to millions around the world--even if it was for a bad guy.  Larry Hagman was that man, and he had J.R. Ewing to thank.

The Twinkie And Its Fate

Box of Twinkies (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The Israelis and Palestinians are at it again.  Two generals are caught in a sex scandal.  Washington is teetering on a "fiscal cliff".  And all America seems to care about is the fate of Twinkies.

Hostess Brands, the makers of Twinkies, Ho Hos, Ding Dongs, Wonder Bread and other such products is on its second bankruptcy and having trouble staying in business.  They have threatened to shut down the company, putting 18,000 people out of work.

This has led to the Twinkie and its cousins (okay, maybe not Wonder Bread) becoming an endangered species, flying off store shelves.  Some are hoarding the products, charging up to millions of bucks for them online.  If the original "Law and Order" were still on TV, this sounds like an episode waiting to happen.

Twinkies and the other brands will survive, even if Hostess does not.  In that event, they would likely be sold off to other companies, putting a dent into the profits of all those newfound entreprenuers.  But aficionados would soon complain that the taste of a Ho Ho isn't what it used to be.

We must not forget that 18,000 jobs are at stake.  Their union is locked in a struggle with Hostess over wages and benefits.  If the company goes under, so do the jobs.  Then who's to blame?  The economy is fragile enough as it is.

Both sides have just gone through a court-ordered mediation to settle the dispute, with no progress to report.  If this works, the company and all those jobs would be saved.  If not, well . . . where else could you make a living wage making snack food?

Of course, anything that Hostess makes probably isn't good for you.  Twinkies and Ho Hos and the others have high fat and calorie counts, making them Public Enemy Number One in America's war on obesity.  But we eat them anyway, doctors and do-gooders be damned.

They say that Twinkies, with its yellow breading and creamy middle, can survive just about anything.  Even a nuclear holocaust, when presumably cockroaches would be the only ones left to eat them once they figure out the plastic packaging.

Whatever happens to the Twinkie, we know one thing:  Never underestimate Americans' love for junk food.  Even if it kills them.

The Petraeus Affair: All Out

English: Official photo of David Petraeus, Director of the Central Intelligence Agency (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Until now, David Petraeus was a revered (by official Washington) four-star Army general who led America's most recent wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, then serving for the past year as director of the CIA.  Today, Petraeus is fighting to save his reputation.

Petraeus resigned from the CIA Friday after admitting to an extramarital affair with Paula Broadwell, who authored a biography of him titled "All In".  Both are married, but to other people.  Reportedly, the relationship had been going on for the past several months.

Then it was learned that a friend of the Petraeuses, Jill Kelley, had allegedly been getting anonymous e-mails warning her against flirting with the retired general.  The FBI later traced them to Broadwell.

Drawn into this is General John Allen, who succeeded Petraeus as commander of American and NATO forces in Afghanistan, and is in line to head NATO in Europe.  Allen is being investigated by the FBI for exchanging at least 20,000 e-mails with Kelley.  Again, both are married, but to other people.

The whole thing smacks of curious timing.  Petraeus' resignation came days after President Barack Obama's re-election, and days before a Congressional probe into the deaths of a U.S. ambassador and others in Benghazi, Libya.  Petraeus was supposed to testify, but now that will be handled by acting CIA director Michael Morell.

No national security was breached, so far as we are allowed to know (this being the CIA).  Still, Petraeus did the only thing he could do in resigning.  It's one thing to cheat on your wife of 38 years.  It's quite another to betray your country, especially when you're in charge of its secrets.

There will be more to come, we're sure.  There's nothing like a juicy sex scandal to take people's minds off what's really important.  Such as the so-called "fiscal cliff" that threatens to send the country into another recession, unless the President and Congress somehow comes up with a budget deal by the time the ball drops on Times Square New Year's Eve.

In Minnesota, A Deeper Shade of Blue

Amy Klobuchar, member of the United States Senate (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

All in all, Election Day was a good day to be a Democrat in Minnesota.

The DFL Party (as Democrats are known in Minnesota) wrested control of both houses of the Legislature from the Republicans for the first time since 1990.  President Barack Obama won the state and its 10 electoral votes.  Both constitutional amendments--voter ID and prohibiting gay marriage--were rejected by voters.

Most of Minnesota's congressional delegation--Senator Amy Klobuchar and Representatives John Kline, Keith Ellison, Erik Paulson, Michelle Bachmann, Betty McCollum and Tim Walz--won re-election.  Most, that is, except for Republican Chip Cravaack.  He lost to Democrat Rick Nolan in the Eighth District.

Bachmann just barely beat Democrat Jim Graves in the Sixth District.  We wonder if she now realizes that not everybody in her district loves her and her publicity-seeking views that sometimes border on the outrageous.  Whether this will be her cue to dial it down a notch remains to be seen.  Frankly, we doubt it.

Neither Obama nor Republican Mitt Romney campaigned much in Minnesota, as it was widely assumed that the state was in the President's back pocket.  But then the polls tightened up, and for awhile Minnesota was considered a swing state just like Iowa and Wisconsin.  The amount of TV ads from both campaigns and other groups increased.  While the Obama campaign sent former President Bill Clinton and Vice President Joe Biden to stump for them, Romney's people kept sending us his running mate Paul Ryan.   The GOP is kicking themselves for not bringing in Romney during the final stretch.

Though the new DFL-controlled Legislature will be under some pressure to get gay marriages legalized in the upcoming session, it'll be awhile before Adam and Steve or Amanda and Eve get to tie the knot in Minnesota.  Unlike what the Republicans did last session, the DFL isn't going to go overboard on pet social issues at the expense of more pressing ones such as balancing the state's fiscal problems.  Though with DFL Governor Mark Dayton halfway through his term, there's little chance of gridlock this time.

According to Secretary of State Mark Ritchie's office, 76% of Minnesotans voted in these elections--a new record.  There were some reported glitches, but voters seemed to find their polling places (some had been moved due to redistricting) just fine.  It's been reported that the amendments, more than the presidential race, were the catalyst for the record turnout.  But it's also possible that, if the Voter ID amendment passed, some of the folks who voted this time might not have had the chance to do this next time.

Politically, Minnesota is considered a blue state.  If the Democrats somehow manage to mess things up in the next two years, people will be seeing--and voting--red.

Four. More. Years.

Official photographic portrait of US President Barack Obama (born 4 August 1961; assumed office 20 January 2009) (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Despite lingering doubts over whether President Barack Obama could really improve the economy when he's had the past four years to do so, the voters gave him a second chance Tuesday, defeating Republican Mitt Romney.

The only surprise was that this supposedly close election ended as quickly as it did, with the networks declaring Obama the winner as soon as the results from Ohio were known, with some of the votes in the swing states still being counted.  To date, Florida has yet to finish its vote totals.  Not that it mattered.

The margin of victory for the President was smaller than it was in 2008, when he defeated John McCain.  It was not as historically significant as it was back then.  But a win's a win, right?

Romney lost because the Democrats successfully painted him as an out-of-touch business executive, fronting for what is now an extremist Republican party.  That, and the GOP's failure to make its message more palatable beyond an overwhelmingly white (and male) constituency.

Romney becomes the third Massachusetts-based politician in the last 25 years to lose a presidential election, joining Democrats Michael Dukakis in 1988 and John Kerry in 2004.  The latter two lost to members of the Bush family.  For Romney, it was different party, same result.

For all the talk about change in Washington, the cast of characters remains the same.  Besides Obama, Congress will once again be presided over by Democrats in the Senate and Republicans in the House.  Be prepared for more gridlock.

Before Obama's second inauguration, he and Congress must come up with a federal budget deal that would keep the government solvent and not lose any more points in its bond rating.  If they don't, they risk putting the economy into another recession by sending it over the "fiscal cliff", sparking automatic tax hikes and spending cuts.

Then there's the ongoing problems of immigration reform, Syria's civil war, Europe's debt crisis, Iran's nuclear program, China, Afghanistan, and any vacancies that might come up in the Supreme Court.  So no matter who was elected, that person would have his hands full over the next four years.

They say that a President's second term is never as good as the first, because something always comes along to ruin his reputation.  For Richard Nixon, it was Watergate.  For Ronald Reagan, it was Iran-Contra.  For Bill Clinton, it was Monica Lewinsky.  For George W. Bush, it was . . . everything.  President Obama has had a so-so four years, so one has to wonder if the next four will see any kind of improvement for him and for the country.  Or will he go the way of the above-mentioned Presidents?

So that's it for the 2012 presidential campaign.  Hope you've enjoyed it, because the 2016 campaign should begin shortly.

Is It Election Day Yet?

PHOTO) In this composite image a comparison has been made between US Presidential Candidates Barack Obama (L) and Mitt Romney. The November 6, 2012 elections will decide between Obama and Romney who will win to become the next President of the United States. ***LEFT IMAGE*** SPRINGFIELD, OH - NOVEMBER 02: U.S. President Barack Obama addresses a campaign rally at Springfield High School November 2, 2012 in Springfield, Ohio. With four days left until the general election, Obama and the Republican presidential nominee, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, are racing from swing-state to swing-state in an attempt to change voters' minds at the last minute. (Image credit: Getty Images via @daylife)

It has all come down to this.  Two men vying for the most prestigious, yet harrowing job in the world:  President of the United States.  One man already holds that position and is seeking another term.  The other is a former governor from Massachusetts looking for higher office.

President Barack Obama and Mitt Romney have been crisscrossing the states that matter in this election--Ohio, Florida, Colorado, Virginia--making final pleas to the voters as Election Day nears.  The polls show that both candidates have slight leads in those states, but Obama seems to have enough of a lead in the Electoral College.

Lately Romney, whom the ever-so-conservative Republicans reluctantly named to be their nominee, has been sounding a more moderate tone in order to appeal to women and independent voters.  So have other GOP candidates across the country, even the most conservative ones, who now claim how 'independent' they are and are capable of 'reaching across the aisle' to Democrats to get things done in Washington.

 That's all well and good, but there's two problems with that:  (1) If most of those legislators are still bound to Grover Norquist's anti-tax promise, how independent can they really be?  (2) Relations between Republicans and Democrats have been so chilly that the few remaining moderates in Congress have been heading for the exits.

Truth be told, the smartest thing the GOP could have done was to keep former President George W. Bush out of the loop during the campaign.  The last thing they wanted was to remind folks why they voted for Obama in the first place.

The President has been getting a boost for his handling of the aftermath of Superstorm Sandy, with the unlikely occurrence of New Jersey Governor Chris Christie (Republican) and New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg (independent) rallying to his side.  He's recovered nicely from the disastrous first debate with Romney, but there's still the perception that--in spite of the recent semi-upbeat economic reports--while the recession may be over, hard times haven't.

Having said all this, we think President Obama will be re-elected.  However, if the election is as close as everyone says it might be, don't be surprised if Romney comes out on top.  If the totals are in dispute, Romney has a conservative-majority Supreme Court and a Republican House of Representatives in his corner.  Just like in 2000, when Bush was the recipient of all this help.

So, in answer to your question, this is far from over. 

Despite Sandy, The Show Goes On

WEEHAWKEN, NJ - OCTOBER 30: Much of the New York City skyline sits in darkness after Hurricane Sandy, on October 30, 2012 in Weehawkin, New Jersey. The storm has claimed at least 40 lives in the United States, and has caused massive flooding accross much of the Atlantic seaboard. US President Barack Obama has declared the situation a 'major disaster' for large areas of the US East Coast including New York City. (Image credit: Getty Images via @daylife)

Superstorm Sandy left the East Coast battered and bruised with hurricane-force winds, blizzards, and heavy rains that flooded low-lying areas.  The hardest-hit areas include New York City, Long Island, and the shores of New Jersey.  Nearly 90 are dead (as of November 1), millions are without power, and Sandy is on track to be the most expensive storm in U.S. history next to Katrina.

In spite of all this, what's true for Broadway is also true about politics:  The show must go on.  By that we mean the presidential campaign, which has a few more days to go before Election Day.

You could say that, besides President Barack Obama and Mitt Romney taking a break out of respect for the victims, the campaign never really stopped even when the TV networks went wall-to-wall with Sandy.  Both candidates sent surrogates to argue their cause in front of adoring supporters in the battleground states, although they did have to skip Virginia.

But here's an important distinction.  While Obama got to act presidential during a crisis, promising federal aid and visiting the stricken areas, Romney was forced to soften his message and turned his campaign stops into fundraisers for storm victims.

Romney would have gotten a lot more votes if he and his rich pals had gotten together to spend part of their fortunes on relief efforts, instead of having his less-well-heeled supporters give up their spare change and their unwanted canned goods.

Perhaps Sandy was payback for the candidates' lack of attention to climate change during the campaign.  But why alienate the energy companies and the manufacturers, some of whom are your biggest campaign contributors?

How will Sandy affect an already tight election?  People in the affected areas will have to make a special effort to get to their makeshift polling places.  Since some of those areas seem to be in Obama country, the President's chances could be hurt if not enough of those people can make it to the polls.  Results could take days.

Once there, voters will have to decide whether Obama was enough of a leader during the crisis to warrant another four years in the White House, or if they had already made up their minds long before Sandy came to town.

The opening basketball game at the new Barclays Center in Brooklyn between the Nets and the New York Knicks has been postponed to November 26.  New Jersey has postponed Halloween until Monday, November 5.  The New York City marathon is still a go.  And the power should be back on in lower Manhattan by Saturday.  Life is slowly returning to normal in the Northeast.  We'll soon see if that's enough for Barack Obama to remain President, or if Mitt Romney rolls in with the tide.

Round Three Debate Settles Nothing

BOCA RATON, FL - OCTOBER 22: U.S. President Barack Obama (C) greets Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney (L) as moderator Bob Schieffer of CBS looks on prior to their debate at the Keith C. and Elaine Johnson Wold Performing Arts Center at Lynn University on October 22, 2012 in Boca Raton, Florida. The final presidential debate before election day on November 6th focuses on foreign policy. (Image credit: Getty Images via @daylife)

With two weeks to go before voters make their choice as to whether President Barack Obama deserves another term, or if Mitt Romney can run things for the next four years, one thing is certain.  Absolutely nothing.

Depending on which poll you believe, both Obama and Romney are dead even nationally, and in the swing states with the most electoral votes.  The third and final debate Monday night in Boca Raton, Florida did nothing to help voters, with all the sidestepping going on about the issues.

The debate, moderated by Bob Schieffer of CBS News, was mostly about American foreign policy.  But both candidates snuck in domestic issues such as education and the economy.  Here the President did what was expected, highlighting his experience and accomplishments in international affairs while Romney could only heckle from the sidelines.  Which is why he kept coming back to the economy, because he knows that's how this election is going to turn.

Both men agreed that (A) Iran should dismantle its nuclear program, (B) support for Israel is unwavering, (C) Hafez Assad should step down in Syria and let them form a new government, and (D) American soldiers should be out of Afghanistan by 2014.

If anything, Romney has toned down his belligerent attitude towards the Middle East and China, but that doesn't mean he isn't the least bit hawkish.  He proposed spending trillions of dollars more on defense spending, while the President's been advocating cutting back.  That led to Romney claiming the military is at its weakest point since before World War I, with Obama replying that horses and bayonets are not as numerous as they used to be.  Has the President been watching "Revolution"?

Schieffer was the best of the four moderators used during these debates, "Obama bin Laden" notwithstanding.  He asked the right questions and kept things moving without too much intrusion from either of the candidates.  Compared to the previous two, this was less a debate than a commercial-free, extended edition of Schieffer's Sunday morning broadcast, "Face the Nation".

So this is what we have, folks.  President Obama is still the odds-on favorite to win re-election, but he acts as if he's running from behind.  Mitt Romney sounds like a man who will say and do anything to get elected, and it looks like he's succeeding.  Not an appealing choice as November 6 approaches, but there it is.

Round Two: Obama In a TKO

HEMPSTEAD, NY - OCTOBER 16: U.S. President Barack Obama (L) speaks as Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney (R) and moderator Candy Crowley (C) listen during a town hall style debate at Hofstra University October 16, 2012 in Hempstead, New York. During the second of three presidential debates, the candidates fielded questions from audience members on a wide variety of issues. (Image credit: Getty Images via @daylife)

Round Two of a scheduled debate series between President Barack Obama and former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney Tuesday night saw the champ come off the ropes after a lackluster Round One, in which he allowed the challenger to claim the lead.

Obama and Romney sparred over the economy, energy policy, immigration and the terrorist attack in Libya, among other things.  Romney made his points by ripping Obama's first-term record.  The President accused the Governor of playing politics with the death of a U.S. ambassador in Benghazi, while Romney asked why it took two weeks to declare the whole thing a terrorist attack.  On energy policy, the President was touting new alternative sources along with the increase in oil exploration.  Romney was all about "drill baby drill".  But both candidates seemed to agree on most things than to disagree on them.

Recent polls have shown that Romney has been making gains with women in the swing states since the first debate.  But he may have jeopardized that when he mentioned that, as Governor, he was having trouble finding enough qualified women for certain positions.  So, he says, he kept a portfolio of women to use just in case.

The event was held at Hofstra University on Long Island in New York, with a group of handpicked 'undecided' voters asking handpicked questions of the candidates, with moderator Candy Crowley of CNN contributing some of her own.  At least nobody asked whether they liked sausage or pepperoni on their pizza.

The Town Hall format allowed the President and former Governor Romney to interact with one another as they moved across the stage, but sometimes it seemed as if they were about to exchange physical as well as verbal blows.  Crowley did a fine job playing traffic cop, but there were times when she looked like a befuddled pro wrestling referee, having her back turned while one wrestler smashes his opponent with a folding chair.

Obama may have won this round, but he won't get much of a bounce from it.  Round Three is Monday night in Boca Raton, Florida, and it's supposed to deal with international issues.  Maybe the President can sneak in a line about Romney's being the unwitting star of a secretly-made tape that originated there.

"Let Biden Be Biden" Works for Vice President Biden

DANVILLE, KY - OCTOBER 11: U.S. Vice President Joe Biden (L) shakes hands with Republican vice presidential candidate U.S. Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI) (R) during the vice presidential debate at Centre College October 11, 2012 in Danville, Kentucky. This is the second of four debates during the presidential election season and the only debate between the vice presidential candidates before the closely-contested election November 6. (Image credit: Getty Images via @daylife)

The vice-presidential debate (or joint appearance, if you prefer) Thursday night in Danville, Kentucky was like watching Goofus and Gallant.  There was Vice President Joe Biden, grinning and interrupting as he showed the world how much more polished and in command of the facts he had than his Republican opponent, Wisconsin congressman Paul Ryan.  And he was.  Ryan, the comparative chiorboy, seemed to have only one expression besides quaffing a lot of water and defending his running mate, Mitt Romney.  At least they weren't discussing Big Bird.

In spite of acting like a little boy goofing off in class, Biden covered all the bases that President Barack Obama did not during his first debate (the 47%, keeping GM in business, etc.), thereby calming the Democrats' panic now that the presidential race is dead-even.  Biden seemed to take great pride in knocking down Ryan's arguments as Republican "malarkey".

Ryan did his best to present a calm, collected demeanor as he answered questions from moderator Martha Raddatz of ABC (for whom any comparison to Jim Lehrer at this point is just piling on).  Try as he might, Ryan just couldn't compete with Biden's antics.  But when it came to a question on what a Romney administration would propose on taxes, he couldn't do it without more Obama-bashing.

There are two more presidential debates to go, with the next one on Tuesday night.  We can expect both Romney and Obama to carry on in a professional manner and debate the issues.  But it won't be as entertaining as what we just witnessed Thursday.

Voter ID: License to Discriminate

Señalización de lugar de votación en California. 2008. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Minnesotans will be going to the polls November 6 to vote on an amendment to the state's constitution that would require folks to show a legal form of ID the next time they vote.  If it passes, then you just might have voted yourself and others out of that right.

Nearly every adult in this state has a drivers' license with a photo ID on it.  If you have one, you're good to go.  Unless your ID is stolen (identity theft is a big deal these days) or suspended depending on your criminal record.  Then you'll have a heck of a time getting it back.

Or you could be one of those who, for whatever reason, don't have a valid ID.  Perhaps you're a recent immigrant, a student who attends college, a senior who had to quit driving for medical reasons, someone who uses a bike or public transportation, or someone whose circumstances of birth are complicated.

The reason this is even up for a vote in the first place has to do with the Republican-dominated Legislature, which put just as much of their energy into this as they did with the marriage amendment.  Instead of coming up with their own solution, they found a way to bring these volatile issues to the public that didn't require them to vote on it, thus avoiding a veto by Democratic Governor Mark Dayton.

The last two major state elections--Dayton versus Tom Emmer for Governor, and Al Franken versus Norm Coleman for the U.S. Senate--were so close that they required recounts.  Recounts that didn't go Emmer's and Coleman's way.  Later, a pro-amendment organization called Minnesota Majority alleged that voter fraud may have had something to do with the results.  Its executive director Dan McGrath told MPR News that over a thousand votes in the Franken-Coleman election came from convicted felons.  But McGrath also said he couldn't prove it affected the outcome one way or another.

So, in the name of eliminating voter fraud that's in itself a dubious proposition, the Republicans want to fix the election laws so that their candidates can control everything from the state house to the White House.  If the amendment passes, the electoral clock in Minnesota will be pushed back 100 years.  Back then, only men could vote.  African-Americans could also vote, but some states had ways to dissuade them from doing so.

The problem isn't forcing people to get ID's with a bad picture of themselves so they could vote.  The problem is a political party with too much time on its hands dreaming of more power for themselves.  A change in the state constitution could make that legal if voters don't educate themselves about voter ID.

No Clear Winner, But Romney Gets "E" for Effort

DENVER, CO - OCTOBER 03: U.S. President Barack Obama (C) and Republican presidential candidate and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney shake hands at the end of the Presidential Debate at the University of Denver as moderator Jim Lehrer looks on on October 3, 2012 in Denver, Colorado. The first of four debates for the 2012 Election, three Presidential and one Vice Presidential, is moderated by PBS's Jim Lehrer and focuses on domestic issues: the economy, health care, and the role of government. (Image credit: Getty Images via @daylife)

In the first of three presidential debates in Denver Wednesday, Mitt Romney improved his standing with a good performance against President Barack Obama,  Neither man slipped, really,  It might have made for good debating, but not for great TV.

Romney has had plenty of experience in the last few months debating other Republican candidates, and it showed.  The President seemed a little rusty, an indication that being an incumbent does have its disadvantages.  Though he did win points for talking directly to the camera on occasion.

In the ninety minutes (or so) that were allotted, moderator Jim Lehrer of PBS tried to keep things on track and on schedule.  But both men kept talking and talking on the same topics for so long that Lehrer seemed to lose control for a time.

Both Romney and the President revisited familiar arguments when it came to their policies on taxes and health care, for which sharp divisions were noted.  Romney reverted to form when he could not come up with how he would replace tax reform and "Obamacare", or telling Lehrer to his face about how he would cut funding for PBS (beyond Big Bird, of course).  Obama was also short on details in some areas, but even he was starting to call his health care plan "Obamacare".

Romney needed to do well in this debate because he's trailing Obama in some of the national polls by slim margins, even in the "battleground" states.  He delivered, sort of, on what could be his last, best chance to overtake the President before the voters decide November 6.  But he still has a lot of work to do.

The Politics of Pairing Up

Same-Sex Marriage Rally (Photo credit: City of West Hollywood)

On the ballot in Minnesota (and a few other states) is an amendment taking what used to be an accepted fact of life in Western culture--the institution of marriage is between a man and a woman--and turning it into part of the state constitution.  No gays and lesbians need apply.

This has come about for two reasons:  (1) The Republican-dominated state legislature spent most of the last session--when they weren't debating football stadiums and voter ID--on this issue before deciding not to risk voting on it themselves, fearing a veto by Democratic Governor Mark Dayton.  So they're leaving it to the voters.  What could possibly go wrong?  (2) The GOP's desire to block a lawsuit challenging the statute that already makes gay marriage illegal in Minnesota, thus taking the matter out of the judicial system.

As it stands, the newspaper polls show folks split over the issue.  The Minneapolis Star Tribune's Minnesota Poll says that 48% favor the marriage amendment, while 43% oppose it.

This is where the television ads come into play, with both the "pros" and "antis" spending tons of money on their message.  Unless you happen to be Catholic, in which case they're asking you to contribute so they can put out their own ads supporting the amendment.

The ads for the "anti" side, sponsored by Minnesotans United for All Families, feature either an elderly couple who come around to gay marriage only after one of their offspring is in a committed relationship, or a straight, young Republican couple talking about how nice their lesbian neighbors are.

You'll notice that there are no actual gay people in these ads.  Why hurt your cause?  That's like discussing what's best for your children, as long as they're out of the room.

The ads from Minnesotans for Marriage have also been on the benign side. Currently, their message seems to be that the amendment should be a choice issue for voters, instead of having gay marriage rammed down their throats by liberal politicians and judges.  Isn't that why we elect representatives to do that for us?

The man behind Minnesotans for Marriage's ads, Frank Schubert, was recently profiled in the Star Tribune as a man who has never worked on a campaign he has lost yet.  He may be right.  So far, anti-same sex marriage amendments have won in every state where it's been on the ballot.

Like we said, the ads from both sides tend to focus on the soft sell.  But wait until the gloves come off.  Then it'll be all about Protecting The Children from all the horrors gays and lesbians might bring.  Thing is, kids have already been exposed to positive images of them through TV, the movies, and the person they sit next to at school.

No matter how you vote on the marriage amendment November 6, same sex unions will remain illegal in Minnesota.  And as long as the state legislature is in GOP hands, it will likely stay that way.

So what's the point?  The definition of marriage has been changing over time, whether we like it or not.  If this were about gay and straight couples getting the same kind of benefits that married couples do without actually tying the knot, this wouldn't be an issue.  But same sex couples, in their attempt to be just like everybody else, want access to the altar.  The question before Minnesota voters is whether, symbolically speaking, people with a different sexual orientation can put a ring on it.

Andy Williams (1927-2012): On His Own Personal "Moon River"

Cover of Andy Williams

Andy Williams, who died of bladder cancer at age 84, was an entertainer whose singing voice sold millions of records in the 1950s and 60s.  He was also part of many Baby Boomers' lives when they watched his TV show with their parents.

There was "Butterfly" and "Can't Get Used to Losing You" as Williams' first hits on the record charts,  But he was best known for popularizing movie theme songs that became associated with him long after the films were forgotten:  "Moon River" from "Breakfast at Tiffany's", "The Days of Wine and Roses", "Where Do I Begin" from "Love Story", and so on.

Williams' success led to his own weekly TV variety series, which had two separate runs on NBC (1962-67 and 1969-71).  You don't see this type of show today, unless they involve awards or celebrity judges.  But Williams' show was typical of the genre that began with Perry Como and Dinah Shore in the 1950s, and ended in the 1970s with Sonny and Cher and Donny and Marie Osmond.

It went something like this:  Host sings a few songs, duets with musical guest (usually Ethel Merman or Ella Fitzgerald), participates in a skit with guest comedian (usually Jonathan Winters), introduces rock-and-roll band or pop singer for the kids watching (this is the 1960s, folks), then closes the show with an inspirational tune.

Williams also helped popularize the TV Holiday Show with his annual specials.  You know the ones:  Host enlists members of his family, along with a special guest or two, in an hour of Yuletide songs and cheer taped inside a TV studio months in advance.  Even today, Williams' influence on the Christmas season still holds sway.  His song "It's The Most Wonderful Time of the Year" has become a holiday standard.

We mentioned the Osmonds.  It was Williams who discovered Donny and his brothers during a Disneyland performance, then brought them on his TV show and became stars singing barbershop.

Andy Williams' life was not without controversy.  He stood by former wife Claudine Longet during her trial in the mid-70s, accused of murdering skier Spider Sabich.  Her claim that it was accidental got her a lesser sentence, and thirty days in jail (though she ended up spending a week there).

In a time of national grief, there was Williams at the funeral of his friend Robert Kennedy, singing "The Battle Hymn of the Republic".  He later said he was a lifelong Republican.

For the last few years of his life, Williams opened up his own theater in Branson, Missouri, where he continued to perform until recently.

Andy Williams was a part of the 1960s that didn't involve war and protest, nor was he part of the rock generation.  Instead, he was a pop singer who soothed a nation with lush ballads, and was seen as someone they could trust who was on TV every week.  Right now, he's on his own private Moon River.

The Duchess and The Candidate

Family of Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Mitt Romney, former governor of Massachusetts, 2008 US presidential candidate. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Though they're separated by an ocean, Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney and the Duchess of Cambridge--also known as Kate Middleton--both have something in common:  getting caught in compromising situations in supposedly private environments.

Romney was caught on video making statements that could be lethal to his campaign.  Duchess Kate was sunbathing topless, and the results were seen all over the world.

Romney, for his part, was secretly taped at a gathering in Boca Raton, Florida last spring while speaking to a group of like-minded wealthy individuals who paid maybe thousands of bucks to see him.  There he told his audience some things he normally doesn't share on the campaign trail.  Such as:  dismissing 47% of the potential voters because he thinks President Barack Obama has them in his back pocket already, and because they're not exactly ambitious enough to get off government assistance.  He also said on the tape that the Palestinians aren't really interested in peace with Israel.

Duchess Kate thought it was OK to expose her royal breasts to sunlight while she and her husband, Prince William, were on holiday in the south of France.  Some photographer with a high-powered lens must have been watching this and smelled opportunity.

Romney struck back by owning up to the comments he made on the tape, which was released by Mother Jones magazine.  Then his campaign unearthed a 1998 videotape of then-Illinois state senator Obama calling for a redistribution of the nation's wealth.  Nice way to change the conversation, isn't it?

Kate is now one of the most photographed women in the world.  But this time, not so much.  She and William took the French magazine Closer to court, and got the judge to order them to turn over any digital copies of the Duchess' suntanned nudity.  French officials are also undergoing an investigation to see if there's any criminal wrongdoing.  But it may be too late for the royals.  The photos have already turned up in publications all over Europe, and on the Internet.

What lasting damage the secret videotape will do to Romney's chances of defeating President Obama remains to be seen.  With a few weeks to go, and with the debates still to come, Romney has nowhere to go but up.  Recent polls show the President widening his lead, even on the one issue that Romney was hoping to gain ground on, which would be the economy.

Duchess Kate is a beautiful woman.  Prince William must think so, too.  Otherwise he would not have married her, and we never would have heard of her.  But so was his mother, Princess Diana, and look what happened to her.  That's what William is trying to avoid with Kate in dealing with the paparazzi, as they prepare to take over the British throne one of these days.

Thanks to our digital age, it's no longer possible for celebrities and public figures to go behind closed doors and be themselves.  Now they have to cover up even outdoors, and watch what they say at private functions.  Otherwise, it's on the Internet for all to see.

Sometimes, it's to society's benefit for someone to be exposed for who he really is.  Sometimes, they're just overexposed.

Hate Kills a Diplomat

WASHINGTON, DC - SEPTEMBER 12: A U.S. flies at half staff outside the State Department September 12, 2012 in Washington, DC. U.S. Ambassador J. Christopher Stevens and three other Americans were killed in an attack on the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi, Libya. (Image credit: Getty Images via @daylife)

There are times when an international crisis comes to a boil, and there's not much the United States can do to prevent it.  What happened in Benghazi, Libya on the anniversary of 9/11/01 was one of those times.

Muslim protesters overran the U.S. consulate there and killed the four Americans who worked there.  One of those was L. Christopher Stevens, who was the ambassador to Libya.  He was the first American diplomat to lose his life while on the job in more than 30 years.

You will recall that, some months back, the dictatorship of Muammar Qadafi was toppled in a civil war with help from Europe and the United States.  And this is the thanks they get.

It turns out that all this violence is over an American-made video that made the rounds of You Tube (before it got pulled), ridiculing the Prophet Mohammed and doling out anti-Muslim rhetoric.  Media reports say that the man who produced the video allegedly duped actors into appearing in it, then overdubbed their lines in post-production.

The United States government had nothing to do with the video, any more than they had anything to do with a Florida preacher who threatened to burn Korans, or with anything else radical Muslims have done in the past to make people conclude that Islam is a violent religion and must be stopped.  But that doesn't matter to those who have been protesting at American embassies all over the Middle East.  To them, perception is reality.

It's still too early to say if President Barack Obama's handling of the situation has made things worse or better, but Mitt Romney couldn't wait.  The Republican presidential candidate, whose own visit to Europe over the summer wasn't exactly a success, reacted like any other candidate whose party has been out of the White House for at least four years:  Heckle from the sidelines, whether you have all the facts or not.

However this incident plays out, a couple of things need to be done going forward.  First, the United States must now tread carefully in Middle Eastern politics, given that the results of Arab Spring hasn't always been working in their favor.  Second, security must be beefed up at the American embassies and consulates, but not at the expense of diplomacy.  Third, without trampling on civil liberties, something needs to be done about hate speech online and in the streets.

Doomsday Is Not Entertainment

September 11, 2001 (Photo credit: wallyg)

In the decade since planes hijacked by terrorists crashed into buildings and fields on the East Coast on September 11, 2001, killing around 3000 people, wars have been declared and civil liberties have been trampled on, all in the name of keeping us safe.  And we wondered what other disaster might befall us.

Hollywood has been more than happy to help with that one.  Since 9/11/01, there have been movies, TV shows and video games depicting various forms of the apocalypse:  alien invasions, the year 2012, the aftermath of nuclear war, zombies, asteroids the size of Australia, killer epidemics, environmental calamities, and so on.  There's even a new TV show imagining what would happen if the lights would go out on the world for good.

Disaster movies and TV shows--both serious and cheesy--have been with us since the Cold War 1950s.  It's one thing to take your gamma ray monster and cheaply-made flying saucer with your popcorn.  It's quite another to witness the end of Life As We Know It in 3-D and high definition.  Times have changed.  Life has gotten more serious and depressing to take this genre as simply entertainment.

For instance, as you watch aliens obliterate Los Angeles or New York, do you wonder how the loss of those two cities would affect the national economy and its culture?  What would happen to the country if Washington is taken over by a dictatorship, if it isn't destroyed first?  When flesh-eating zombies attack your neighborhood, how would you protect yourself and your family?

If you're a devotee of "Batman", "Superman", or any of those other movies featuring costumed action figures and villians, do you ever wonder what life must be like for the average citizens of Metropolis or Gotham City?

The point is that the hero--usually some ordinary shlub forced into a dangerous situation by sheer circumstance--ends up saving the world from further calamity.  But only after thousands of people have already died, including the hero's supermodel wife/love interest and cute 12-year old child.

It's hard to be cheerful after seeing something like that.  It's also that way if you have no intention of seeing the movie or program in question, but you see countless ads for it on TV and become depressed because you're the type who tends to believe the disaster they're promoting is breaking news.

And there are some people who really do think that way.  In a recent poll, respondents said they would trust President Barack Obama instead of Mitt Romney to lead the country in case of an alien attack.  The Centers for Disease Control even offers information on what to do in case of a zombie invasion.

What we should be worried about, even a year after the death of Osama bin Laden, are terrorists who smuggle dirty bombs or nuclear weapons into the country, the threat of cyber war that would take out our ability to use computers, and lone gunmen who shoot up movie theaters and shopping malls.  We can't depend on guys in costumed underwear, or even the military to save us from these threats.

What happened eleven years ago on September 11, 2001 went far beyond anything Hollywood script writers could have dreamed of.  Real people were killed--men, women, children--as the World Trade Center towers came down on live television.  Those who tried to recover what was lost also died.  Now we are all trying to move on with our lives.  And what Hollywood puts on the big screen, on your TVs, and in your computers isn't helping us heal.  It's only a movie.  Isn't it?

Redefining Hope In Charlotte

CHARLOTTE, NC - SEPTEMBER 05: (EDITORS NOTE: ALTERNATE CROP) Former U.S. President Bill Clinton stands with Democratic presidential candidate, U.S. President Barack Obama (L) on stage during day two of the Democratic National Convention at Time Warner Cable Arena on September 5, 2012 in Charlotte, North Carolina. The DNC that will run through September 7, will nominate U.S. President Barack Obama as the Democratic presidential candidate. (Image credit: Getty Images via @daylife)

President Barack Obama accepted the nomination of the Democratic National Convention Thursday night in Charlotte, North Carolina.  Sounding like an insurance commercial, the President promised that the country will get to a "better place" once they get through the long and hard process of economic recovery.  But he also said that he is more hopeful of the resiliency of people who have been facing hard times.

It wasn't the speech of sunshine and lollipops Obama gave in 2008, but he did differentiate himself in important ways over his Republican opponent Mitt Romney.  He's had four years' experience as President.  Romney has not.  Obama has detailed what he would do in the next four years.  Romney's been pretty vague about it. 

The President made his nomination speech inside Time Warner Cable Arena instead of Bank of America Stadium because of inclement weather.  That meant stiffing thousands of folks who weren't delegates and other VIP's out of the chance to hear Obama in person, instead of on TV.  Republicans claim the change in venue was less about the weather than it being a cover for Democrats' not being able to fill the stadium.  Next time, repeat after me:  Retractable.  Roof.  Stadium.

In the first two days of the convention, as speaker after speaker sang the praises of Obama and belittled the efforts of Republicans, the Democrats made a slight change in their platform.  Along with acceptance of gay rights, they also put God and their support for Jerusalem in there after the GOP apparently shamed them into doing so.  American politicians of both parties always support Israel, no matter how obnoxious that country sometimes is, because they need the Jewish vote.

Michelle Obama, like her Republican counterpart Ann Romney, did a pretty convincing job of standing by her man.  Former President Bill Clinton took less than an hour, veering from his prepared remarks from time to time, making his case for Obama's re-election.  Even if they're not exactly BFFs four years after wife Hillary lost to Obama in the primaries.

It is now two months until Election Day.  Through debates, campaign appearances and television ads we will be asked to make a choice:  Do you want a man who's had a so-so record over four years to turn the country around, and now wants four more years to improve on that?  Or do you want a man who takes a business-like approach to government, undoing every program the current occupant's been in favor of because his party's vowed to get rid of him from the moment he was elected?

The choice is yours, America.

Democrats Have Carolina On Its Mind

Barack Obama (Photo credit: jamesomalley)

After the Republicans had to share its convention with a hurricane, unfocused speeches and Clint Eastwood's empty chair, it's time for the Democrats.

You remember the Democratic Party.  They're the ones President Barack Obama belongs to.  The reason you haven't heard much from them lately is because the GOP and their sycophants in talk radio and Fox News have Americans believing that the Party of Donkeys are responsible for the ills of the world, when in fact the Elephant Party bears some responsibility, too.  It's just that the Democrats haven't effectively answered them until now, including the one about "are you better off now than you were four years ago?".

The Democrats are convening in Charlotte, North Carolina for the same reason the GOP had its shindig in Tampa, Florida:  Both are swing states.  In a close election, the electoral votes of certain states matter.  And in Tarheel Country, Mitt Romney has a slight lead over the President in some polls.

So it's up to the Democrats to change the narrative, and to provide voters with a compelling reason to keep Obama in the White House.  The economy is improving, but a lot of people are still out of work.  Needed legislation has been stonewalled by Republicans in Congress, with very little to replace it.  Osama bin Laden is dead, so the troops will be coming home eventually.

Ultimately, it all comes down to what President Obama will say Thursday night.  He's being outspent by Romney and his corporate pals 2-1.  Some people still don't think he was born in the United States, and no birth certificate is going to convince them otherwise.  Some also think his executive orders borders on the dictatorial, when in fact Republican naysaying forced his hand.  Oh, and he needs to avoid gaffes like "you didn't build that".  He's not Romney.

For a party that caters less to big business than the GOP does, the Democrats are holding their convention in venues with corporate ties.  The first two days are being held at the Time Warner Cable Arena, home of the NBA Charlotte Bobcats.  President Obama will be making his acceptance speech at Bank of America Stadium, home of the NFL Carolina Panthers.  Draw your own conclusions.

Like an old James Taylor song, the Democrats have Carolina on their minds this week.  After that, they'd better have re-election for the President and regaining control of Congress on their minds from now through November.  The longer the Republicans bluster their way into the majority, the more difficult it will be for Democrats to fight back.

Ward Cleaver for President

Mitt Romney, former governor of Massachusetts, 2008 US presidential candidate. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Mitt Romney accepted the nomination of the Republican party as its Great White House Hope in Tampa, Florida Thursday night.  Fortunately for him, Hurricane Isaac no longer dominates the headlines now that it's a tropical depression, dumping tons of water on New Orleans and points north.  So the way was clear for Romney to make the speech of his career.

As it turned out, Romney seemed to be running for National Dad than President of the United States.  His speech was warm, fuzzy, and totally "Leave It To Beaver"-ish, lacking any substance whatsoever.  When it came to criticizing President Barack Obama's record over the last four years, it was like Ward Cleaver gently expressing his disappointment when his sons Wally and Beaver did something wrong.  Romney also talked about his background, describing his childhood in an America where anything's possible.  Wally and the Beav grew up in that world, too.

Romney said he wanted to restore America's confidence from four years of a depressed economy by putting them back to work.  He also wanted to bring back the swagger that helped to gain the respect of the rest of the world, even though his recent European tour was a disaster.  Then he all but declared war on Iran over its alleged nuclear weapons program.  And, of course, he wants to repeal "Obamacare".  Even though most of the provisions in the Affordable Health Care Act came from when he was governor of Massachusetts.

Romney was just like the other speakers at the convention, conveniently skipping over two things:  The George W. Bush presidency, and GOP obstructionism in Congress that contributed to Obama's failures to get anything done.  There was hardly a mention of American soldiers currently serving in the two wars Bush started.

If the purpose of Romney's acceptance speech was for the Great American Public to see him as something other than a clueless rich guy who happened to be a Mormon, they succeeded.  He's now a sitcom dad reciting words of wisdom from a script or a Teleprompter, backed by a family that could have stepped out of a life insurance ad, espousing an America that once was and could be yet again.  Whether that's enough to persuade voters to ditch President Obama in November remains to be seen.