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Politics : PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: calgal who wrote (507023)	12/10/2003 1:00:50 AM
From: calgal	Respond to of 769670

The endorsement Linda Chavez (archive) December 10, 2003 \| Print \| Send URL:http://www.townhall.com/columnists/lindachavez/lc20031210.shtml If ever there was any doubt that Al Gore has lost his mooring since his unsuccessful presidential bid in 2000, he gave proof this week by endorsing Howard Dean for the Democratic presidential nomination. Traveling to Harlem, where he joined Dean at a fundraising event, Gore said he had come to the conclusion that "in a field of great candidates, one candidate clearly now stands out. So I am asking all of you to join in this great movement to elect Howard Dean president of the United States." Never mind that one of the other "great candidates" is his former running mate, Senator Joe Lieberman. Always a gentleman, Lieberman must be particularly stung by the rebuke, since he waited to announce his own run for president until Gore made it clear that he was not a candidate. To Joe Lieberman, anyway, loyalty counts, but apparently not to the new Al Gore. And it wasn't just Lieberman that Gore dissed by endorsing Dean. Dick Gephardt -- a sometimes rival who ran against Gore in the presidential primaries in 1988 -- endorsed Gore over Bill Bradley in the early 2000 primaries. At the time, Gore was by no means the sure winner, and he desperately needed Gephardt's support. But Gore wouldn't even maintain neutrality in the crowded 2004 field, much less return Gephardt's favor. Most puzzling in Gore's endorsement is the wide gulf that exists between Gore's political record and Howard Dean's. Al Gore was one of the founding members of the centrist Democratic Leadership Council, a group formed to try to reverse the leftward drift of the Democratic Party. As a member of the House of Representatives from Tennessee, Al Gore supported restrictions on abortion and gun owner rights, and made a name for himself as one of the Party's few hawks on national defense. Although Gore later abandoned his pro-life, pro-gun stance, he maintained his centrist position on foreign policy and defense issues. Dean, on the other hand, has fashioned his entire presidential campaign as the darling of the Left. Dean says he doesn't want to talk about "guns, God and gays," no doubt because those issues have proved losers for Democrats in national elections. But with the exception of gun control -- which he thinks is fine for New York City and Detroit, but not for Vermont -- Dean embraces every plank in the left-wing's agenda. It's possible that Al Gore has simply reinvented himself so many times that he doesn't know what he believes anymore, so why not jump on the Dean bandwagon, even if it's headed left? But I think there's a more Machiavellian explanation. Gore wants Dean to win the Democratic nomination in 2004 because he knows Dean will lose to George W. Bush, and that leaves open the possibility that Gore would have a shot at becoming president in 2008. Of course, Gore would have to beat out Hillary Clinton to win the 2008 nomination, and there's little doubt she will run. In fact, Hillary's performance on the Sunday talk shows this past weekend may be what drove Gore into the Dean camp. In every recent public opinion poll in which her name has been included among potential Democratic presidential candidates, Hillary runs away with the nomination. She says she's not running in 2004 -- although she refused Sunday to declare she would not accept the nomination if drafted. But 2008 is an entirely different matter. Both her performance on the Sunday shows -- displaying a command of foreign policy issues, an area that could be problematic for a female candidate -- and her overwhelming popularity among the Democratic faithful jeopardizes Gore's own ambitions. Maybe Gore's calculation is that the sooner Dean emerges as the party's nominee, the quicker Hillary will disappear from center stage. Whatever his reasons, principle clearly played no role in Gore's endorsement. Gore's willingness to abandon principle when it interferes with his own ambition, however, will come back to haunt him in 2008. Gore's latest reinvention of his persona is the least attractive yet. Linda Chavez is President of the Center for Equal Opportunity, a Townhall.com member organization. ©2003 Creators Syndicate, Inc.

To: calgal who wrote (507023)	12/10/2003 1:01:06 AM
From: calgal	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 769670

Howard at the Bat Ben Shapiro (archive) December 10, 2003 \| Print \| Send It's a bleak time of year for this sports fan. The Bowl Championship Series has rendered college football meaningless, with the best team in the country, University of Southern California, barred from the national championship game (although since I'm a UCLA student, this does bring me some twisted pleasure). In basketball, my beloved Boston Celtics are struggling to break .500, and the hated Lakers are dominating the league, with their combination of muscle, skill and adulterous experience. Hockey is boring -- I live in California, where half the population does not know what ice is. So I dream of baseball season, when my Chicago White Sox can once again disappoint me, the Chicago Cubs can once again amuse me, and the Boston Red Sox can finally end the Curse of the Bambino. With thoughts of baseball running through my mind, the political news takes on an entirely different color. So, with respect to Ernest L. Thayer, I offer this poetic commentary: Howard at the Bat The outlook wasn't brilliant for the leftist nine that day; The score stood Bush at 54 with but one year to play. Then when Edwards got 6 percent, and Kerry did the same, A sickly silence fell upon the patrons of the game. A centrist few got up to go in deep despair. The rest Clung to hope which springs eternal in each Democratic breast; They thought if only Howard could but get a whack at that -- They'd ditch all the matching funds now with Howard at the bat. But Gephardt preceded Howard, as did also Ol' Wes Clark, The former was mind-numbing and the latter question-marked; So upon that far-left multitude grim melancholy sat, For there seemed but little chance of Howard's getting to the bat. But Gephardt dropped in Iowa, to the wonderment of all, And Clark, indecisive, could not heed the Clintons' call; And when the dust had lifted, and the left saw what had occurred, There was Wesley beyond repair and Dickie in deep merde. Then from Al Gore and his cronies there rose a lusty cry; It rumbled throughout Harlem, it rattled in N.Y.; It frightened Mrs. Clinton, and it knocked McAuliffe flat; For Howard, mighty Howard, was advancing to the bat. There was ease in Howard's manner as he stepped into his place; There was pride in Howard's bearing, a stiff smile on Howard's face. And when, responding to the cheers, he said Bush was a rat, No leftist in the crowd could doubt 'twas Howard at the bat. Ten thousand eyes were on him in the Democrat debate; Five thousand tongues applauded when about Iraq he'd prate. Then while President Bush ground the ball into his hip, Defiance gleamed in Howard's eye, a sneer curled Howard's lip. And now the pro-defense public came hurtling through the air, And Howard stood a-watching it in haughty grandeur there. Close by the sturdy batsman the crowd unheeded sped -- "That ain't my style," said Howard. "Strike one," the umpire said. From the benches stuffed with Franken fans, there rose a muffled roar, Like cries of "No more war for oil" from Washington press corps. "Kill him! Kill the umpire!" shouted peaceniks on the stand; And it's likely they'd have killed him had not Howard raised his hand. With a smile of metrosexuality Howard's visage shone; He redid his Revlon makeup and then bade the game go on; He signaled to the pitcher, and the pro-marriage crowd flew; But Howard still ignored it, and the umpire said, "Strike two." "Fraud!" cried the maddened thousands, and echo answered fraud; But one scornful look from Howard and the audience was awed. They saw his face grow stern and cold, they saw his forehead strain, And they knew that Howard couldn't let that crowd go by again. The sneer is gone from Howard's lip, his teeth are clenched in hate; He pounds with cruel violence his bat upon the plate. And now that cowboy holds the crowd, and now Bush lets it go, And now the air is shattered by the force of Howard's blow. Oh, somewhere in this leftist land the sun is shining bright; The band is playing somewhere, and in Europe hearts are light, And somewhere gays are laughing, and somewhere appeasers shout; But there is no joy in Leftville -- mighty Howard has struck out. ©2003 Creators Syndicate, Inc. townhall.com