Saturday Night's All Right For . . . Debating?

Image by Getty Images via @daylifeWith a few weeks to go before Iowans go to their caucuses and New Hampshirites go to the polls, six of the remaining Republican presidential candidates went after each other in yet another debate, this time at Drake University in Des Moines.

This debate was televised by ABC, which was only the second one of these to be seen on broadcast TV.  The other one was on CBS a few weeks ago, and also on a Saturday night.  Since Saturday prime time has become a dumping ground of reruns and college football where Jackie Gleason and "All In The Family" once aired, many of you may not have noticed there was a debate on.

But there was, with ABC News' Diane Sawyer (who once worked for President Richard Nixon) and George Stephanopolous (who was part of President Bill Clinton's administration) asking the questions to a group of Ralph Kramdens and Archie Bunkers.

Minnesota congresswoman Michele Bachmann, who's certainly no Edith Bunker (or is she?), had the line of the night in characterizing Newt Gingrich and Mitt Romney as "Newt Romney", as if they were a celebrity couple combining names.  Bachmann wasn't far off the mark, either, with both of them about to suck the life out of the GOP nomination.

Former House Speaker Gingrich, the new front-runner in the polls, took heat for his stands on replacing janitors with school children, and for referring to Palestinians as an "invented people".  He also inferred that Romney's career as a politician might have been longer if he had defeated incumbent Edward Kennedy in the 1994 Massachusetts U.S. Senate race.

Romney, the former Massachusetts governor, inadvertently reminded everyone that he might as well be Thurston Howell III.  He tried to make a $10,000 bet with Rick Perry concerning his (ever-changing) positions on health care, but the Texas governor declined.  After all, who but Romney has $10,000 to burn?

Perry's still trying to live down his gaffes.  He made a campaign ad bashing gays and President Obama while boasting about being a proud Christian, which got a record number of "Dislike" votes on You Tube (previously set by Rebecca Black for her "Friday" video).  And he got the number of Supreme Court justices wrong, as well as flubbing Sonia Sotomayor's name.  Well, that's not as misleading as asking 21-year olds to vote for him on November 12, 2012.

The most applause lines of the night went to Texas congressman Ron Paul.  Considering he's a libertarian whose biggest support has come from college students (this was Drake, after all), it wasn't all that surprising.  What's scary is that he's making more sense than the other GOP candidates combined.

The next real debate will be Thursday night, and will be seen on Republican-friendly Fox News Channel.  The one after that, starring Donald Trump as moderator, might not take place as scheduled two days after Christmas.  Most of the GOP candidates, with the exception of Gingrich and Rick Santorum, have decided to take a pass.  Gee, I wonder why?

Once the votes have been cast in Iowa and New Hampshire, we should have a better idea as to which one gets to face President Obama next fall, and which ones get a one-way ticket off of "Fantasy Island".  Or is that "Gilligan's Island"?

Herman Cain: No Longer Able to Run

Image by TalkMediaNews via FlickrThere's still a logjam of candidates running for the Republican presidential nomination.  But Herman Cain has decided to join Tim Pawlenty and Donald Trump on the sidelines.  Cain says he's suspending his campaign in part because of all those sexual harassment allegations that keep popping up in the media, claiming they have hurt his family and his fund raising efforts.

Cain has become the latest politician to have his past come back to haunt him, interfering with his present aspirations.  The last straw was a woman named Ginger White, who told WAGA--Atlanta's Fox affiliate--that she had a 13-year affair with Cain which recently ended.  It was different from all the other women who claimed that unflattering comments and certain body parts were involved, but it was still proof that Cain might have some explaining to do with his wife.

Other than that, the former pizza chain executive didn't have much experience at campaigning, and it showed.  He didn't seem to have much grasp of the issues that any other candidate needs to have, and it showed.  But he's great at catchphrases such as "9-9-9", and for his amazing ability to promote himself.

For a brief period, as polls showed Cain running neck and neck with Mitt Romney for the lead, people actually began taking him seriously.  Now Cain can go back to selling his book, which must be what this whole campaign thing was about in the first place.

With Cain out, this is the remaining GOP field going into Iowa and New Hampshire:  Romney the flip-flopper that conservatives are running away from, Newt Gingrich the front-runner that Cain has reportedly endorsed, Rick Perry and his memory lapses, and Michele Bachmann's tendency to speak before she thinks.  We haven't even mentioned Rick Santorum, Ron Paul or Jon Huntsmann.  Should we?

You know that song about sending in the clowns?  Don't bother.  They're already here.

Pepper Haze and Shopping Daze

Image via WikipediaIn the months since the Occupy movement on Wall Street started, with people waving banners and repeating each others' words to a financial hierarchy too busy making money and influencing politicians to care much about what the "little people" think, the protests have spread to every city in America and overseas with varying degrees of success.

But the movement still hasn't been successful at getting its message out to the rest of the country, mainly because its list of grievances are all over the map and there's no figurehead.  Republican politicians and conservative commentators tell them to take a bath and get a job.  If you believe the poll numbers, most Americans are plain confused about what Occupy is and what they stand for.

City and government officials, initially tolerant of Occupy protesters camping out in local parks and college campuses as long as nobody got hurt, had finally decided enough was enough and started ordering crackdowns in the name of public safety and local commerce.  In New York, Mayor Michael Bloomberg had bulldozers clear the park next to Wall Street.  In Los Angeles and Philadelphia, there have been orders of evictions to Occupiers that have so far not been enforced.

Then there are the incidents that make martyrs out of protesters and law enforcement resembling armed thugs.  In addition to the melee in Oakland, California that resulted in the direct hit of a tear-gas canister at one man, there were widely-publicized pepper spray attacks in Seattle and the University of California at Davis.

Pepper spray is normally used to foil attackers, and when sprayed it stings the eyes and burns the throat.  Women use it to ward off purse snatchers and potential sexual predators.  The police, who have access to the industrial-strength formula in bulk, spray it on people who exercise their First Amendment rights whether it's a sitting human chain or an 84-year old grandmother, as if they used to exterminate termites for a living.

For all the screaming about being the 99 percent, the Occupiers actually represent about one percent of the population (or maybe not that much).  Truth is, there are lots of other people who would love to take up arms against The Man.  But they have families to take care of, bills to pay and reputations to protect.  Besides, having a police record doesn't look good on a job application.

And there's this:  According to all accounts, Black Friday was one of the most successful in recent memory.  People were ready at the stroke of midnight to spend paper or plastic on cheap flat-panel TVs and the latest discounted video game.  That must have made Wall Street happy, because stocks soared the following Monday and economic pundits speculated that this may have been the long-awaited turning of the corner.

Oh, there was the woman who allegedly pepper-sprayed other customers at a Walmart in California so she could be the first to get a particular item.  And there was also the man who dropped dead at a Target store, and hardly anyone noticed.

So the moral of our story is:  When the going gets tough, the tough go shopping.  If the Occupy movement is to succeed with average Americans, this is the mentality they have to get past first.

The "Superdud Committee"

Months after arguments over raising the federal deficit ceiling caused the United States' bond rating to be lowered by one agency, the Congressional "supercommittee" of six Democrats and six Republicans failed to pass a plan to cut $1.2 trillion off the budget for the next decade.

Unless Congress acts in the next month, those spending cuts automatically go into effect starting in 2013.  They will take a big bite out of the military and domestic programs such as Medicare--$600 billion each, which is not what either party wants for its own reasons.

There are two basic reasons why the "supercommittee" became a super dud.  The first is that there were only 12 members, which meant that there was no deciding vote should there have been a deadlock.  Or was it because they were superstitious in avoiding a 13th?

The other was the same old partisanship that's been paralyzing Washington for who knows how long.  Democrats wanted to raise taxes to pay for the cuts, and the Republicans are too beholden to Grover Norquist to change their anti-tax stance.  Compromise?  Are you kidding?  It's like six Clark Kents going up against six Lex Luthors, with no caped avenger on hand to stand for Truth, Justice and the American Way.

It's not like the public has been holding out for a hero.  In a recent poll, those who replied thought politicians had a lower reputation than Wall Street bankers.  So it doesn't come as much of a surprise that the "super-committee" failed to do its job.  Now Congress needs a miracle to pass a bill that will avert potential economic disaster.  Don't hold your breath.

WCCO-TV: Lost In Translation

Image via WikipediaWCCO (Channel 4) is the Number One TV station in Minnesota.  Just ask them if you don't believe us.  They like to brag about WCCO being watched by more people than anyone else, and that this is not a coincidence.  Of course, having CBS' prime time schedule helps a bit.

Married co-anchors Frank Vascellaro and Ameila Santaniello (who we like to call Mr. and Mrs. News) have picked up where Dave Moore, Don Shelby and Pat Miles (among others) left off, anchoring a news-free 10 p.m. broadcast that looks more like a late-night video lifestyle magazine.  For sweeps month (do they still call it that?), Mrs. News went to Washington and scored interviews with President Barack Obama and members of the White House staff.  Not to be outdone, Mr. News was seen driving a tank and profiling bodyguards who protect celebrities.

Beat reporters such as Jason DeRusha and Esme Murphy get the star treatment, having their faces plastered on every needless graphic per newscast.  And recent hires Aristea Brady, Holly Wagner and meteorologist Lauren Casey might as well be called the 'CCO Blonde Patrol, for obvious reasons.

But there's one thing WCCO isn't bragging about, coincidence or not.  It's about a story they did on Halloween night concerning a Minnesota dog breeder.  The station claimed that this woman sold dogs to a market in New York's Chinatown, which were to be used as meat for human consumption.  That's frightening stuff for animal lovers if it were true.

Except that it's not.  Ducks, not dogs, are part of the menu at this particular market.  WCCO's reporter had apparently misunderstood the employee of the market he had contacted in New York, hearing the word "dog" instead of "duck".

Apparently fearing legal action, WCCO's parent company CBS ordered all traces of the story (video included) off its website.  The only explanation they've given is an internal memo from management (David Brauer of MinnPost has a much more detailed description of all this, along with the memo in question, on his blog.  See it at www.minnpost.com/braublog.).  No disclipinary action that we know of has been made on the reporter, his producer, and anyone else associated with the story.

This is the kind of story that gives news departments migraines, and could cost WCCO and CBS millions of dollars in legal fees and damages.  It's one thing to deliver a hard-hitting news report with the facts clearly on your side.  It's quite another to manipulate the facts for the sake of ratings.

WCCO used to have a strong reputation for journalistic excellence, as the number of awards on its mantle will attest.  That may not be as important these days, with many a newsroom having faced the corporate budget axe.  When you get a story wrong, all the married-couple news anchors and eye candy reporters can't make up for the hit the station's reputation just took.  Coincidence?  You decide.

The Runners Stumble

Image via WikipediaOK, folks.  Time for your once-in-awhile update on how some of the Republican presidential candidates are doing in this, the silly season before the Iowa caucuses and New Hampshire primary. 

Herman Cain  Still fighting back charges of sexual harassment made over a decade ago by four women, Cain's stock depressed further when--in a video made by the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel newspaper--he was seen having to think real hard about a question concerning President Obama's handling of Muammar Gadhafi's ouster in Libya, then gave a rambling answer.  Voters might have to think real hard themselves about where Cain stands on foreign policy.

Rick Perry  The Governor of Texas tried to atone for his notorious gaffe at a CNBC debate.--You've all seen it.  It's the one where Perry forgets to name the three federal departments he'd like to eliminate.--by going on nearly every TV show the next day (including being the subject of a David Letterman Top 10 list) to explain himself.  Maybe Perry was right when he said that there's too many debates, and that he'd like to skip some of them.  Next time, Governor, take some notes so you (and we) know what you're talking about.

Michele Bachmann   The Minnesota congresswoman's poll numbers have been barely showing a pulse since Perry emerged as the Tea Party's favorite.  She's also been wondering why she's not getting asked as many questions as the other candidates at the debates.  That is, until somebody leaked an e-mail from a CBS producer directing that those with the best poll numbers get the most questions, which prompted Bachmann to charge liberal bias against the network.  At the CBS debate, which was held on Saturday in South Carolina, the congresswoman voiced her approval of waterboarding, and thought the United States should be "less socialist" and more like China (Huh?).  But just in case this presidential thing doesn't pan out, she can always promote her new book.

Newt Gingrich   Your new #1 poll sitter, now that Cain's imploding and Republicans aren't real thrilled with Mitt Romney.  The former House Speaker doesn't offer much beyond the usual anti-Obama conservative rhetoric and his own baggage (his wife shops at Tiffanys, his self-destructive political career, and his authoring several alternative-history books), but what he is saying seems to be striking a chord among those who are weary of the other guys.  This week, anyway.

See what you're missing, Sarah Palin and Donald Trump?

Unhappy Valley, PA

Image via WikipediaBubbling under the surface of a successful athletic program at Penn State University lies a sordid tale of a longtime assistant football coach who allegedly had his way with a number of boys in a youth program he ran.  Those who were in a position to do something about the alleged abuse were either too slow, or looked the other way.

Now come the consequences.  The former assistant coach, Jerry Sandusky, was arrested Monday and charged with many counts of sexually assaulting eight boys in a 15-year period.  Two school officials were charged with perjury for allegedly covering up for Sandusky.  Wednesday, the university fired its president Graham Spanier and longtime head football coach Joe Paterno for improperly handling the situation. (For more on Paterno, please see Owljock Gazette at http://theowljockgazette.blogspot.com/.)

Penn State, a state-run academic institution based in State College, has now set itself up for lawsuits from the alleged victims and their families because of the school's negligence.  They are also at odds with their own students, some of whom rioted in the streets when Paterno's departure was announced.

While the charges against Sandusky may have been shocking and painful, and Paterno's exit becomes fodder for media saturation coverage, we are reminded that this isn't really about them.  It's about the boys.  But it's pretty hard to care about the alleged victims because, being juveniles by law, they're required to remain in the shadows.

When it comes to child sexual abuse, those in a position of authority (teachers, administrators, coaches, etc.) must report what they see to local law enforcement.  However, the protocol is so vague that there are some instances where doing the right thing isn't enough, ensnaring otherwise well-meaning people in a legal mess.

As the case unfolds and more victims may or may not turn up, it becomes a question of trust.  Are parents willing to trust their child to school programs and non-profit youth organizations, run by who they believe to be responsible adults?  If, God forbid, something terrible happens, can that child ever trust another adult?

UPDATE:  Paterno died January 22 at the age of 85 from lung cancer complications, which had kept him in and out of the hospital since the scandal broke.  Now it just made things a whole lot murkier.