Face your deficiencies and acknowledge them;
but do not let them master you.
Let them teach you patience, sweetness, insight.
Helen Keller
Earlier Endorsement Post
I wrote what I think is an interesting sweeping critical perspective on Bush, McCain, and Romney over the past decade and the basic reason I decided to turn to Mitt Romney. Note that even though I'm endorsing Romney, I am not connected in any way to the Romney campaign, and that includes any financial contributions. (The same was true of the Ron Paul campaign.)
The Fox News SC GOP Debate
I get a number of politically conservative-oriented emails; I didn't bother to listen to the FNC debate. I don't like gimmicky sound bites, especially politicians like Gingrich waiting to spring a prepared red meat line in the debate session. Supposedly one of Gingrich's lines resulted in a standing ovation and he slammed down a line of questioning from liberal Fox News analyst Juan Williams. He apparently got Rush Limbaugh jumping out of his chair...
If one-liners qualify someone to be President, well, I should like to submit my blog's Political Humor section. Supposedly Sarah Palin has said that if she was voting in South Carolina Saturday, she would be voting Gingrich--just days after Gingrich voiced his anti-capitalist rhetoric against Romney. What's more important--Gingrich's indictment of the free market system or a clearly rehearsed talking point on Andrew Jackson?
[Oh, yes: why wouldn't fellow pro-life Catholic Newt Gingrich implicitly compare American Indians with Islamic terrorists and get an ovation for suggesting that the enemy be executed? Do some reading of your own on Andrew Jackson, the Trail of Tears, etc. Here's just a sample: "In 1817 it was claimed that the Seminoles were harbouring runaway slaves. In January 1818, Andrew Jackson and 3,000 troops began attacking the Seminoles. This included killing the Seminoles and the burning of their villages." Just as an aside, my Mom once claimed that I had inherited my cheekbones from a Cherokee great-grandmother, and I've always thought that was pretty cool. I have NEVER been proud of what happened with American Indians, African slaves or Japanese-Americans during WWII. Who was Jackson to talk about how American Indians should "cast off their savage habits and become an interesting, civilized, and christian community"? My Christian faith never taught me to kill and destroy someone else's home....]
I mean, Gingrich claims that he is the "best" debater (no, he's not: he's thin-skinned, erratic, vain, and specializes in obnoxiously lecturing debate moderators). If you think for a second Obama can't use those qualities against him, you're sadly mistaken. Look at what bullying behavior at debates gets you: remember when Gore approached Bush aggressively during the debates in 2000? Remember when Rick Lazio did the same against Hillary Clinton, also in 2000?
Obama is EXPERT at controlling his emotions; it's manipulative behavior, but his interpersonal skills win for him what his trite rhetoric and mediocre performance can't. If viewers think Gingrich or anyone else is treating Obama disrespectfully, Gingrich could be right on 99 out of 100 points, and it won't matter. That's why in posts, I've cautioned Romney that he can't let Rick Perry or Gingrich's petty rhetoric get under his skin. He's got to treat Obama with respect but just clinically take him apart. He exactly got it right: Obama is a nice guy, but he's just in over his head (although I would avoid using those words against Obama during the general debates this fall).
What exactly is it about one-liners and put-downs do these so-called "conservatives" like Limbaugh and others find "Presidential"? I mean, we're coming up to the third anniversary of a motivational speaker with no business experience whom got elected President, and where has it gotten us? TALK IS CHEAP. Are we conservatives willing to sell our votes for some line cooked up by some professional comedian? If all it takes is a clever line or sound bite for Romney to win the Presidency, I'll write them free of charge...
One More Time, Gov. Perry:
Communitarianism, NOT Socialism
The following excerpt was principally authored by Amitai Etzioni of Britannica:
Communitarianism arose in the 1980s as a critique of two prominent philosophical schools: contemporary liberalism, which seeks to protect and enhance personal autonomy and individual rights in part through the activity of government, and libertarianism, a form of liberalism (sometimes called “classical liberalism”) that aims to protect individual rights—especially the rights to liberty and property—through strict limits on governmental power....Communitarian ideas have also played a significant role in public life through their incorporation into the electoral platforms and policies of ... U.S. Presidents Bill Clinton and Barack Obama....Liberals and libertarians responded by characterizing the communitarian position as akin to East Asian authoritarian communitarianism. They also argued that social formulations of the good—and the obligations they generate, which individuals must then discharge—can sometimes be oppressive. Some libertarians cited taxes and mandatory vaccinations as examples of such obligations.Oops, Gov. Perry... That little bit about "mandatory vaccinations"... I wonder where I heard that before (can you say 'Gardasil'?)
I am a classical liberal/libertarian which is different from George W. Bush's fusion of communitarian conservatism he called "compassionate conservatism". (Perry is quite right in pointing out that Bush was a big spender, and this is exactly why...) A contemporary liberal supplements the negative liberties espoused by libertarians (things that government or some group can't constrain, like your right to speak or worship as you please, take away your property without due process) versus positive liberties, which are not just the opportunity to do something but the ability to do something (e.g., government not only allows you to start your own business, but it helps you, e.g., with the right education and training, loans, etc., to actually do it).
I don't want to have a long discussion here other than to say that the whole concept of what resources ought to be made available with regard positive rights and the common good can be open-ended. And isn't that precisely the kind of problem we're seeing today?
Political Humor
"During a campaign event on Saturday, Mitt Romney reached into his pocket and gave cash to a woman who said she was broke. Which got awkward, when she was like, 'I'm also lonely!'" - Jimmy Fallon
[It turns out the lady was from the US government; the IRS reminds us that donations to the US government are tax-deductible; they want to know if there were $15.2T more dollars from where that came from...]
"From 1934 to 1963, the
[shortest...in Littleton, CO]
Musical Interlude: My Favorite Groups
The Doors, "Riders on the Storm". A personal anecdote about this song in particular: I never talked that much to Mom about music, and I never heard her listen to music on the radio. But I remember one of the first albums I bought was a Diana Ross' greatest hits album, and Mom told me she really liked her, which really surprised me. I think I must have brought my Doors' hits compilation over my folks and played the album in the living room while Mom and others were doing something in the kitchen and she looked over to me and said that she liked the song. On a sidenote, my Dad is more of a country music fan--I started getting bored with country except for crossover acts around the mid-70's. So imagine my surprise when I found out he had bought an ELO boxed set. (I covered ELO in a past series.) But then the sibling closest to me in age, a younger sister, thought my favorite act was Barbra Streisand. OH, PLEASE! Not even before she started publishing her boorish political opinions. Come on now: "Love, soft as an easy chair"? Let me donate the starting lyric for the next Streisand-penned song: "Love, made on a feather bed"... (Because if you're going to choose furniture for a love song...)
