At Long Last, Some New Political Blood
This past Sunday, while Ralph Nader unveiled his deja-vu candidacy on Meet the Press, the folks at much-maligned Fox News pulled off something much more impressive: they unveiled what could well be the future of American presidential politics. Or, at least for now, vice-presidential politics.
On the panel on Fox News Sunday were three governors said to be on the short list of possible running mates: Tim Pawlenty of Minnesota, Tim Kaine of Virginia, and Mark Sanford of South Carolina. As easily as their names trip off the tongues of handicapping Washington pundits these days, most people in the real world, even those of us who follow politics reasonably closely, know little about them. In fact, I'd never ever actually seen any of them before. Even now, as I write about them, I have to double-check two of their names and the spelling of the third. It's a dangerous quirk of the American system: one of these guys could be president in less than a year, and yet we now know virtually nothing about them.
Me, I was reasonably impressed, particularly with the baby-faced Pawlenty and the thoughtful-seeming Kaine. (Sanford I'd relegate more to the traditional Haley Barbour good ol' reactionary crowd, but that's only a first impression.) Mostly, what I felt was more of the relief the presidential campaign had already been providing me. At last, some new faces! No matter who wins in November, it will be a distinct improvement over what we've got. No matter who wins, we will no longer have to cringe at the thought that the man in the White House is actually representing us. And unexpectedly, at least to me, my relief is bipartisan. It took the apparent restlessness of the Democratic Party to make me realize that I, too, had enough of the Clintons.
Maybe it's just sour grapes. Twice in the past few years, I've tried to interview Bill. Particularly in the second instance, I thought my chances were pretty good: I was with a well-known national magazine and was working on a topic dear to his heart, one he wastes few opportunities to recall: the desegregation of Little Rock Central High School. Specifically, I was examining the life of one of the heroes of that drama: Elizabeth Eckford, the young black student in the famous photograph from September 1957, walking through a jeering mob after being turned away from the school. Clinton, a young boy in Hot Springs at the time it was taken, has credited that picture, and the trials of the Little Rock Nine, to kindling in him a sense of racial justice. Surely he'd like to say something on the subject, especially since it would take only a minute.
I tried Clinton's office, but having been stonewalled there once before, I knew I had to do more than simply go through official channels. I recruited one of Clinton's oldest friends from Little Rock, who put in a good word for me. So did two of Clinton's main fundraisers -- repeatedly. A member of Clinton's staff promised to help, and even requested that I submit some written questions. None of it helped. And I guess I shouldn't have been surprised. After all, for Clinton, time is money, either for himself for his wife. When you can get $100,000 a pop for your opinions, why give them away for free? But such fees, it turns out, are not free. He, like Rudy Giuliani, got fat on public appearances, but he also got flabby. All that lucrative adulation dulled their political skills; out on the hustings, each of them bombed.
When I watched those governors the other day on Fox, I felt some new blood finally coursing through the sclerotic American body politic. Whomever these guys turn out to be, we're all the better for it.
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Obama'bots beware Mccain is looking pretty good about now .
Let me suggest a possible scenario. Everybody, republican and democrat, throws up their hands and votes for Ralph Nader out of frustration and voter angst. Ralph Nader gets elected and has a heart attack [he's older than McCain] at the shock of finally being successful at something. Wonder who his vice president would be?
Same shit. Different story.
I don't disagree with the responses to Margolick but I rather think they miss the point of his piece. Even McCain would likely be an improvement over Bush (not a big improvement mind you). As for Cheney, consider the possibilit
When I watched those governors, it was in person today at the winter meeting of the National Governors Association at the JW Marriott in Washington, DC. What I saw there sure didn't make me want to whistle Zippity Doo Dah while I was waiting for my car. Mr. Margolick must be easily impressed.
Fresh blood? Please...
1. We need 50% of the people in politics to be women. What are we waiting for? How can anyone say that a list of three white men who are potential VP candidates is something new? It's not new -- it's the same old thing. 16 women in the Senate isn't good enough. Women represent half the people in this country, and should be equally represented in politics.
2. As long as politicians sell their votes, the only people in politics will be whores, regardless of race, gender, region, or party. They're just whores. The honest ones admit it, hate it, and leave politics. We need public campaign financing. We need to make our ethics laws apply to politicians. It should be illegal for anyone to give or offer to give anything of value to a politician or candidate or their family members for any purpose. Until we stop our politicians from selling their votes, we will continue to have one of the most corrupt governments in the world.
3. Most of our tax money is wasted on war and corruption. We need to have a public committee with oversight of every penny spent. Before anyone decides to start a war, we will require that they explain exactly how they plan to pay for it. Not by taking away our kids' schools. Not by taking away our environmental protections. Not by taking away our healthcare. We need our money dedicated to the citizens of this country, and to our own well-being. Which means we need an end to the corruption which permeates our government. No more bridges to nowhere.
btw, I haven't this sense of "deja vu" since the Republican attacks of 15 years ago?
New? Oh please!
This has been a trip down memory lane.
Meanwhile, Obamamaniacs go nuts that Nader might be on the ticket and post daily about how to make sure no Independent has a slot in "your" state.
Yeah, I can see that bi-partisanship is dead.
There is also the possibility that the new faces may shed their blood if the GOP is rejected in Nov '08. They could be forgotten or become a bitter memory to the party of how things went badly wrong like the late Spiro Agnew or the hapless Dan Q-whatever. Being a VP on a failed ticket or in a failed Presidency has its risks.
I'm working for a GOP loss so significant that Republicans will be forced to do some serious soul searching.
They haven't come to terms with the fact that their party has been hijacked. The neocons have achieved power waaaaay beyond their numbers. True conservatives have been sidelined and many are utterly disgusted at what the party has become. There's nothing conservative about wars of choice and fiscal recklessness.
Many in the GOP for their military/national security support are disgusted by the misplaced and clearly detrimental priorities. The fraud and waste in contracting that bungled the hearts and minds offensive crucial to complimenting military success has meant unnecessary casualties, unachieved objectives, and endless and extended deployments.
The religious right has been force fed policies of ends justifying the means, greed, war and destruction, not to mention a singleminded emphasis on only one of God's creatures.
The libertarians have been force fed policies of government control and intrusion in the name of security. Huge government, manipulated contracting, and subsidies for monopolies and cartels are hardly libertarian watchwords.
The DLC had corralled inordinant power in the Democratic party... beyond their numbers... and it seems we are slowly addressing that. Nominating Obama would go a long way... though we'd do well to replace a few dozen more in Congress.
The GOP's mess is much worse.
None of my Republican and former Republican friends supports what the party is doing. None of the divisions within the party are being addressed. None of the policies are being questioned. They are hoping McCain can wrangle the herd by sweeping everything under the rug to mix metaphors.
Only a really big loss will lead to a true change in leadership and direction. A couple of new faces with the same old policies won't cut it.
I respect my Republican friends, and it would indeed be a good thing for this country for the GOP to once again actually represent their views again.
Actually, the GOP IS conservative, or what has become of what that label means.
Are you for a sensible foreign policy, one that doesn't believe in wars of choice, and can tell the difference between, say, Hamas and Al Queda?
Are you for fiscal responsibility? Do you still believe in our beloved Constitution? How's about seperation of powers?
Do you believe in science? Evolution? Global Warming? Reproductive rights? Gay rights? In not leaving our kids and our planet worse off than when we were kids?
If so, you are a liberal/pr
The nutcase Born Agains don't represent the majority of Republicans. They never have. They've just been the squeaky wheel. The powers that be in the GOP have kowtowed to them shamelessly for way too long. Now, Republicans whose views are similar to those you have put forth are ready to take the party back. And if they don't boot the loonies, then the loss they'll get in November will be on their own heads and well deserved. McCain is not in the pocket of the Born Agains. They hate him. And that alone makes him attractive to many old school Republicans.
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