tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31488202011-07-08T00:13:31.863-04:00The Self Made PunditI'm just the guy that can't stand cant.
___________<br>Garyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09870783520034205853noreply@blogger.comBlogger1011100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3148820.post-45103187396369104982010-10-06T08:37:00.002-04:002010-10-06T09:22:11.133-04:00MUDDLED MODERATES MIRED IN MORASS OF THEIR OWN MAKINGIt seems hard to believe that any Democratic partisan would take issue with President Obama's seeking to energize the Democratic base for the midterm elections.Yet that is exactly what some self-styled "moderate" Democrats are doing.Today's New York Times carries the mostly unremarkable story that President Obama is "is increasingly focused on Garyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09870783520034205853noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3148820.post-16383861106482504282010-10-04T08:59:00.006-04:002010-10-05T08:40:16.687-04:00CHRISTINE O'DONNELL REVEALED AS CURRENT MEMBER OF CULTIt turns out that Christine O'Donnell's past flings with witchcraft and Hare Krishnas were just the prelude to her joining a bizarre anti-rationalism cult.The Self Made Pundit has learned that there is documentary evidence that years ago O'Donnell joined -- and never left -- a mystical cult that is based on magical beliefs. This revelation Garyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09870783520034205853noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3148820.post-51435130300648066282010-10-02T11:50:00.003-04:002010-10-02T12:01:22.318-04:00WHAT TIME IS IT?Whoaaa ....That was some nap. Gotta stop having two bowls of pasta and half a six-pack for a snack.Well, it's back to blogging.Did I miss much? What's President Bush's latest outrage?Garyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09870783520034205853noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3148820.post-1163088036226747422006-11-09T07:50:00.000-05:002006-11-09T11:00:36.366-05:00RUMSFELD BLUNDERS INTO THE TRUTHIn his joint appearance with President Bush and his designated replacement, Bob Gates, Secretary of Defense Don Rumsfeld might have unintentionally identified one of the main obstacles America is facing in the Iraq war. He described the war as a "little-understood, unfamiliar war, the first war of the 21st century -- it is not well-known, it was not Garyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09870783520034205853noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3148820.post-1163001283019370852006-11-08T07:42:00.000-05:002006-11-08T10:59:14.000-05:00ADVICE FOR MY REPUBLICAN FRIENDSWell, that was a nice election for once.While I am pleased that the Democrats won a big victory in Tuesday's election, I am concerned about my Republican friends. Will they be at a loss this week, wondering how to react to such a devastating electoral loss?In a spirit of graciousness, I would like to offer some advice to the Republicans. As a Democrat, I think I Garyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09870783520034205853noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3148820.post-1162910306951208142006-11-07T08:36:00.000-05:002006-11-07T09:38:26.993-05:00MY PREDICTIONS FOR 2006The Self Made Pundit's election predictions have been famous ever since his collgege days, when he wrote his "A" paper, "Why McGovern Will Win the Election," in November 1972. (It probably helped that my teacher was a former aide to LBJ.)For 2006, the Self Made Pundit is predicting an even better night for Democrats than the McGovern presidential election. In fact, I Garyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09870783520034205853noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3148820.post-1162835548487631302006-11-06T12:51:00.000-05:002006-11-06T12:54:04.980-05:00A LIFE-LONG DEMOCRAT PONDERS VOTING REPUBLICAN IN 2006Although I am a life-long Democrat, I must admit there are reasons for voting Republican this year.Can it truly be said that Bush and his enablers in the Republican Congress have failed to deliver on all of their promises of the past six years? Let's review the successes of the Bush administration and see if they justify voting Republican in Garyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09870783520034205853noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3148820.post-1133803310177285252005-12-05T12:16:00.000-05:002005-12-05T12:23:18.120-05:00BUSH'S "NEW" IRAQ STRATEGY IS NOTHING MORE THAN CHEERLEADINGPresident Bush's recent Iraq war strategy speech may have been a disappointment to those who were hoping for something substantive, but it now appears that such expectations were unrealistic.I confess that I was one of those who was disappointed by Bush's speech on Wednesday and the accompanying 35-page strategy document entitled Garyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09870783520034205853noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3148820.post-1133451218607719662005-12-01T10:32:00.000-05:002005-12-01T15:04:01.966-05:00BUSH’S PLAN NINE FOR IRAQWhile I have previously counted myself among the skeptics of Bush's incompetent bungling of the war in Iraq, Bush's new strategic plan for victory has convinced me.As today's New York Times reports, Bush laid out his new plan for victory in a speech he gave yesterday and in a 35-page strategy document that was released a few hours earlier.To those who view Bush's new planGaryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09870783520034205853noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3148820.post-1125938470681770002005-09-05T12:05:00.000-04:002005-11-15T10:48:48.466-05:00WE INTERRUPT THIS SERIES ON BUSH TO ASK FOR KATRINA RELIEF DONATIONSAs my regular readers (yes, both of you) know, I've been working hard since November 4, 2004, on my series on the strengths of the Bush administration.As you can see from my posts of the past 10 months, every day I have written on each positive aspect of the Bush administration that I could think of. Unfortunately, this meant Garyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09870783520034205853noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3148820.post-1099605477474855402004-11-04T16:55:00.000-05:002004-11-04T16:59:48.453-05:00A TIME TO REFLECT ON THE STRENGTHS OF DEMOCRACY AND BUSH
Now that the one of the most contentious presidential elections of recent times is over, it is time for all pundits (even self made ones) to muse about the strengths of democracy and the potential for Bush to learn from his mistakes and have a successful second term.
Bush's victory in this presidential election should remind us just how Garyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09870783520034205853noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3148820.post-1099496929952136412004-11-03T09:30:00.000-05:002004-11-03T10:48:49.953-05:00FOUR MORE YEARS OF MISRULE AT THE DOORSTEP
What can I say the morning after President Bush appears to have won over the majority of American voters?
I don't know how so many people could have voted for the worst president ever.
I think you have to live in a fantasy world not to realize that among the 43 U.S. presidents, George W. Bush is without a doubt one of the most dishonest (probably the Garyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09870783520034205853noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3148820.post-1099421117144095572004-11-02T13:34:00.000-05:002004-11-02T13:47:37.293-05:00KERRY'S THE ONE
While the Self Made Pundit has unfortunately been too busy (with work and his own campaign at the local level) to do much blogging of late, there's always time for wild speculation!
Using the most advanced techniques of psephology (in other words, hunches based on decades of obsessing about elections), the Self Made Pundit is ready to call the election for Kerry.
The polls out Garyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09870783520034205853noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3148820.post-1091196875917605502004-07-30T10:14:00.000-04:002004-07-30T10:15:50.466-04:00KERRY'S SPEECH WAS MERELY GREAT
As a dispassionate and nonpartisan observer of politics, I want to calmly evaluate John Kerry's speech accepting the Democratic nomination for president last night.
So, the question is just how great was Kerry's speech?
Was it (a) the greatest achievement of mankind; (b) the greatest political speech ever given by a presidential candidate; or (c) only great Garyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09870783520034205853noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3148820.post-1083251662573850212004-04-29T11:14:00.000-04:002004-12-14T10:47:32.490-05:00THE PECULIAR RULES OF THE BUSH AND CHENEY INTERVIEW
As President Bush and Vice President Cheney make their unusual joint appearance before the commission investigating the September 11, 2001, attacks today, the commission’s efforts to get at the truth will be complicated by the peculiar rules that Bush has placed on the interview.
These rules have more to do with saving Bush from embarrassment Garyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09870783520034205853noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3148820.post-1082129189571143552004-04-16T11:26:00.000-04:002010-10-05T17:28:32.066-04:00BUSH’S SECRET WAR PLANS SABOTAGED THE WAR ON TERROR
Bob Woodward’s new blockbuster on President Bush’s secret decision soon after the 9/11 attacks to plan for war with Iraq reveals that one of America’s biggest obstacles to winning the war on terror is Bush himself.
Woodward’s new book – “Plan of Attack” – reveals that Bush ordered aides to develop a secret war plan for Iraq in November 2001, Garyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09870783520034205853noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3148820.post-1078257656172800792004-03-02T15:00:00.000-05:002010-10-05T17:28:32.087-04:00SCIENTIFIC SUPER TUESDAY PREDICTIONS: A mathematical analysis of my gut feelings leads me to predict a Kerry blowout today with Kerry winning 10 out of 10 states.
Even if -- a big if -- Edwards finishes a close second in one or two states (perhaps GA and/or Minn.), that won't be enough to keep him alive given the likely magnitude of Kerry's victory tonight. The only question is whether EdwardsGaryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09870783520034205853noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3148820.post-1077261820142408542004-02-20T02:23:00.000-05:002010-10-05T17:28:32.105-04:00THE KERRY-EDWARDS SHOWDOWN: As the Democratic contest for president effectively becomes a two-person race between Senator John Kerry and Senator John Edwards, many voters are likely to base their decision on which one is the most likely to beat Bush.
For the pragmatic voter in a Democratic primary or caucus, one of the most important attributes in a candidate is the ability to beat Bush. For Garyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09870783520034205853noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3148820.post-1076697423026245292004-02-13T13:37:00.000-05:002010-10-05T17:28:32.113-04:00DID BUSH COME CLEAN ON HIS NATIONAL GUARD APPLICATION?: A comparison of Bush’s previous statements about his arrest record and today’s reports about his National Guard application reveal that Bush may have failed to disclose his full arrest record to the Guard.
According to today’s reports, in his 1968 application, Bush revealed to the National Guard that he had been arrested once, for a Garyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09870783520034205853noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3148820.post-1076688390028322552004-02-13T11:06:00.000-05:002010-10-05T17:28:32.123-04:00THE SHADOW PRESIDENT: I think I have solved the riddle of President Bush’s mysterious tenure in the National Guard 30 years ago.
Bush was not just a dissolute wealthy playboy who blew off his National Guard duty and went AWOL for large chucks of time in 1972 and 1973. The truth is far more disturbing.
I believe the man we have known as George W. Bush for the past three decades is really none Garyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09870783520034205853noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3148820.post-1076598822057245142004-02-12T10:13:00.000-05:002010-10-05T17:28:32.143-04:00THE TRUTH BEHIND BUSH'S NATIONAL GUARD SERVICE: The Self Made Pundit is typing these words from an undisclosed location after having been undercover for the past three months investigating the shocking truth behind President Bush's mysterious National Guard service.
Was Bush really a dissolute wealthy playboy who blew off his National Guard duty and went AWOL, or is the truth something far moreGaryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09870783520034205853noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3148820.post-1069860196044314782003-11-26T10:23:00.000-05:002010-10-05T17:28:32.151-04:00ASK NOT WHAT BUSH CAN DO FOR YOUR COUNTRY: Many Americans of a certain age have long felt that a dream of idealistic government died 40 years ago with the assassination of President Kennedy.
Thanks to President Bush, however, there is a new dream of idealism in government. But in the hands of this president with the reverse Midas touch, the new dream is a nightmare.
President Kennedy inspiredGaryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09870783520034205853noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3148820.post-1068246430987085722003-11-07T18:07:00.000-05:002010-10-05T17:28:32.165-04:00BUSH’S WISHFUL THINKING DEBATES CLARK’S STRATEGIC VISION: We may have had a preview of the 2004 presidential candidates’ debate on foreign policy yesterday with President Bush’s and retired General Wesley Clark’s dueling speeches on the Middle East and Iraq.
The two speeches showed each candidate at his best. Bush, the master of wishful thinking, expressed noble intentions of desiring the Garyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09870783520034205853noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3148820.post-1066922779082659712003-10-23T11:26:00.000-04:002010-10-05T17:28:32.186-04:00THROUGH THE BUSH LOOKING GLASS: In the 2000 presidential election, George Bush claimed that his favorite political philosopher was Jesus Christ. While I always try to give President Bush the benefit of the doubt (especially when he is trying to express a thought), I have reluctantly come to the conclusion that the truth may lie elsewhere.
Recent reports about Bush’s dogged efforts to drag Garyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09870783520034205853noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3148820.post-1064337234386174182003-09-23T13:13:00.000-04:002010-10-05T17:28:32.202-04:00THE INCREDIBLE SHRINKING BUSH: The evidence is unmistakable. I know it may sound incredible, but President Bush is shrinking.
Scientists at The Gallup Organization have been measuring Bush since the start of his presidency and have now concluded that Bush has been rapidly shrinking for the past few months. As CNN reports:
President Bush has the lowest approval rating of his presidency and is Garyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09870783520034205853noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3148820.post-1063892071282263592003-09-18T09:34:00.000-04:002010-10-05T17:28:32.208-04:00WILL THE DEMOCRATS WIN WITH WESLEY CLARK?: Will the Democrats nominate the presidential candidate that is most electable or the one that is best on the issues? The Democrats might end up doing both if Wesley Clark lives up to his potential.
Clark’s announcement that he will seek the Democratic nomination for president could be the answer to the Democrats’ prayers for deliverance from the reignGaryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09870783520034205853noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3148820.post-1063651454307302472003-09-15T14:44:00.000-04:002010-10-05T17:29:44.081-04:00BUSH’S VIETNAM SYNDROME: President Bush’s bullheaded refusal to rethink his approach in Iraq reveals that he is suffering from his very own strain of Vietnam Syndrome.
Bush’s Vietnam Syndrome is decidedly his own variant of the ailment. In its most common usage, Vietnam Syndrome refers to a reluctance to use American forces out of fear of repeating America’s mistakes in the Vietnam War. Bush,Garyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09870783520034205853noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3148820.post-1063331716988773662003-09-11T21:55:00.000-04:002010-10-05T17:29:44.096-04:00A TIME FOR WORDS, A TIME FOR REMEMBRANCE: What to write about today?
Last night I thought that I would write about Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld’s foolish dismissal of the need for more troops in Iraq. No, not today.
Before starting work this morning, I considered writing about how President Bush’s mismanagement of the economy and Iraq are causing his poll numbers to plunge. No, I’ll Garyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09870783520034205853noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3148820.post-1063181706586996332003-09-10T04:15:00.000-04:002010-10-05T17:29:44.108-04:00SOLVING THE ENIGMA OF BUSH’S CHARACTER: While President Bush may have many flaws, lack of character is not one of them. Unfortunately, the character that Bush has in such abundance is that of the double-talking charlatan who fleeces the rubes with a never-ending series of scams.
The New York Times evaluates Bush’s character somewhat more gently – though still critically – in Tuesday’s lead Garyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09870783520034205853noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3148820.post-1062529867999195222003-09-02T15:11:00.000-04:002010-10-05T17:29:44.125-04:00BUSH’S TRIFECTA OF DECEPTION: In his Labor Day speech to highway construction workers in Ohio, President Bush was true to form in defending his disastrous economic policies.
Bush lied, evaded responsibility and distorted the scope of the problem. Lucky Bush, he hit the trifecta.
Bush sought to evade responsibility for having the worst presidential record on job creation since Hoover by Garyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09870783520034205853noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3148820.post-1061042473783924082003-08-16T10:01:00.000-04:002010-10-05T17:29:44.136-04:00GONE FISHIN': The Self Made Pundit, Mrs. Pundit and the two younger Pundits will be on vacation in a cabin in the woods at an undisclosed location for the last two weeks of August.
Check back after Labor Day for the usual trenchant political analysis and well-deserved sarcasm directed at the most inept Presidential administration since Hoover's. Since I'm on vacation, my wife won't let me Garyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09870783520034205853noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3148820.post-1060975077350302312003-08-15T15:17:00.000-04:002010-10-05T17:29:44.143-04:00IN THE HEART OF DARKNESS: And I don’t mean the compassionate conservative heart of President Bush.
I’m not writing about the mean-spirited and disastrous policies of Bush today because I want to discuss what it was like to be one of the 50 million Americans and Canadians thrown into darkness, just as America was thrown into darkness when the Supreme Court selected Bush as our president.
At 4:Garyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09870783520034205853noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3148820.post-1060734561553029102003-08-12T20:29:00.000-04:002010-10-05T17:29:44.163-04:00VACATIONING IN BUSHWORLD: Orlando had better look out because it is facing fierce competition from a new contender for the title of the most fantasy-filled vacation spot in America – Crawford, Texas.
Forget about Disneyworld and Universal Studios, the leading theme parks of yesterday. Soon, they will join the aging Weeki Wachee Springs water park and its sad mermaids as vacation spots that Garyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09870783520034205853noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3148820.post-1060358649013148812003-08-08T12:04:00.000-04:002010-10-05T17:29:44.170-04:00A BUCK NAKED BUSH GETS GORED: If this country has ever had an emperor with no clothes, it’s President Bush.
With much of the news media and too many timid Democrats barely whispering whether Bush’s pronouncements are dressed in any facts, it was an absolute delight to read Gore’s speech to MoveOn.org, the "online grassroots democracy group," yesterday in which he shouted that Bush is buck nakedGaryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09870783520034205853noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3148820.post-1060210586442732012003-08-06T18:56:00.000-04:002010-10-05T17:29:44.225-04:00BUSH’S DEADLY WISHFUL THINKING: President Bush has demonstrated time and again that his preferred method of policy analysis is to avoid any honest discussion of issues and to engage in wishful thinking. Unfortunately, this combination of dishonesty and wishful thinking can have deadly consequences when applied to war and its aftermath.
From Afghanistan to Iraq, the Bush administration has beenGaryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09870783520034205853noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3148820.post-1060023920012518842003-08-04T15:05:00.000-04:002010-10-05T17:29:44.236-04:00THE MADNESS OF PRESIDENT GEORGE: It must be nice to be President Bush and live in your own protective fantasy world.
No matter how badly things go in the real world, Bush remains protected in a fantasy world of his own making, where every action of his is fully justified and he is never to blame.
In his fantasy world, Bush is not to blame for hyping the reasons to go to war with Iraq. The warGaryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09870783520034205853noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3148820.post-1059749931862942392003-08-01T10:58:00.000-04:002010-10-05T17:29:44.246-04:00THE BUSH SHOW DROPS UNCLE POINDEXTER: A few days ago, in my post “Bush Jumps the Shark,” I took a break from opining on political matters to review the third season of that increasingly inane sitcom “The Bush Administration.” I think another look at the series is warranted with the news that The Bush Administration is dropping one of its minor characters, wacky Uncle Poindexter.
The Garyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09870783520034205853noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3148820.post-1059670732881299672003-07-31T12:58:00.000-04:002010-10-05T17:29:44.254-04:00SEARCHING THE RUINS OF A BUSH PRESS CONFERENCE: Reading transcripts of statements by Bush can be a fascinating experience in the same way that staring at a highway accident can be morbidly fascinating.
You drive by slowly, staring at the ugly verbal wreckage littering the road. Amidst the tangled debris of memorized buzzwords, you see burning and twisted metaphors and aphorisms. Occasionally,Garyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09870783520034205853noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3148820.post-1059575802230106122003-07-30T10:36:00.000-04:002010-10-05T17:29:44.284-04:00THE FAITH BASED PRESIDENCY: President Bush is on a faith-based roll.
Having successfully used his faith-based approach to lead America into war, Bush is now directing his awesome power of wishful thinking toward the economy.
Bush undoubtedly realizes (or at least has been told by Karl Rove) that he cannot ignore America’s lackluster economy without jeopardizing his hopes to actually be electedGaryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09870783520034205853noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3148820.post-1059499768861233362003-07-29T13:29:00.000-04:002010-10-05T17:29:44.290-04:00THE DEATH OF THE PENTAGON’S DEAD POOL : You may be aware of macabre web sites with “Dead Pools,” in which people bet on which celebrities will die in the coming year. Apparently, the Bush administration is also aware of these Dead Pools, and until today thought a Dead Pool would have been a cool tool to use in formulating national security policies.
Warning: While the Bush Garyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09870783520034205853noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3148820.post-1059398583422481922003-07-28T09:23:00.000-04:002004-04-14T18:52:38.623-04:00BUSH JUMPS THE SHARK: In recent days it has become increasingly obvious that the Bush administration has mutated into a poorly written television sitcom.
With its main characters giving improbable and shifting explanations for misunderstandings that lead to conflicts with foreign characters, the Bush Administration has descended to the level of implausible sitcom. Since the Bush administrationGaryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09870783520034205853noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3148820.post-1058569488139270252003-07-18T19:04:00.000-04:002010-10-05T17:29:44.309-04:00HOW LOW CAN BUSH GO?: The Zogby poll released today on likely voters’ views of Bush and his policies indicate that Bush better hurry up and distract voters from his actual job performance if he wants pundits to keep writing vapid articles about how unbeatable he will be in 2004.
In his poll of 1,004 likely U.S. voters conducted from July 16 to 17, Zogby found that likely voters are not Garyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09870783520034205853noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3148820.post-1057935500181909712003-07-11T10:58:00.000-04:002010-10-05T17:29:44.331-04:00THE MISLEADERSHIP OF BUSH: The Bush administration deserves high marks for consistency in defending against charges that Bush misled Americans in his 2003 State of the Union address with now-discredited statements about Iraqi attempts to purchase uranium in Africa.
While a lesser administration might be tempted to come clean after being caught with making misleading arguments in support of Garyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09870783520034205853noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3148820.post-1057856443118766992003-07-10T13:00:00.000-04:002010-10-05T17:29:44.336-04:00A CONTENTLESS, YET POTENT, POST: While virtually devoid of content, this post is nonetheless bad news for the administration of Bush the Lesser. After a long hiatus, the Self Made Pundit can no longer keep bottled up his outrage at the most dishonest administration since Nixon's and the most inept administration since Hoover's.
In other words, it's back to blogging for me.
Check back later Garyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09870783520034205853noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3148820.post-899173852003-02-28T14:48:00.000-05:002010-10-05T17:29:44.342-04:00A BUSH LIKE HIS FATHER: While I think ABC's The Note is often excellent, it's political analysis tends to ricochet wildy from astute to a simplistic reworking of conventional wisdom. Look for some trenchant analysis on Monday, because its discussion today on why Bush II is in better shape for reelection now than Bush I was in February 1991 is laughably bad.
The Note engages in this exercise inGaryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09870783520034205853noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3148820.post-899060592003-02-28T10:55:00.000-05:002010-10-05T17:29:44.354-04:00DOG BITES MAN; BUSH LIES: While I admit that it is debatable whether it is really newsworthy that Bush is again lying about his policies, Bush’s latest prevarication about the budget is noteworthy for its victim. Perhaps getting bored with lying about Democrats, Bush is expanding his horizons to include lying about his fellow Republicans.
As today’s Washington Post reports, Bush is now Garyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09870783520034205853noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3148820.post-897824292003-02-26T12:21:00.000-05:002010-10-05T17:29:44.368-04:00OEDIPUS W. BUSH: I know Bush and his handlers have dedicated themselves to not repeating the mistakes of his father, but they seem to be working towards this goal with all the determination of Oedipus.
In the Tragedy of Oedipus, everything he did to escape his predicted fate led him to fulfill his doomed destiny. So it seems to be happening with Bush the Younger.
Bush is determined not to Garyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09870783520034205853noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3148820.post-896727042003-02-24T18:18:00.000-05:002010-10-05T17:29:44.380-04:00OXYMORONS IN THE OVAL OFFICE: If there were a contest for the Biggest Oxymoron of the Bush Administration, the two top contenders would undoubtedly be “President Bush” and “compassionate conservatism.”
The incongruity of calling Bush “President” began with his appointment rather than election to the office and continues as Bush engages in derelictions of duty on a daily basis. Bush’s Garyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09870783520034205853noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3148820.post-894599362003-02-20T17:53:00.000-05:002010-10-05T17:29:44.386-04:00THE DEPARTMENT OF DUCK AND COVER: As a Baby Boomer who is not immune to pangs of nostalgia for the 1950s, I want to thank the Bush administration for recycling the wisdom of the “Duck and Cover” campaign of civil defense. The spirit of Bert the Turtle (who advised 1950s schoolchildren to duck and cover) permeates the Homeland Security website, which actually recommends ducking under your desk Garyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09870783520034205853noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3148820.post-884053682003-02-01T22:47:00.000-05:002010-10-05T17:29:44.391-04:00IN MEMORIAM: There are not many of us who dedicate our lives to expanding the bounds of human knowledge and experience. When such people literally give their lives for that dedication, we have all suffered a loss. Let us remember the seven astronauts who did not return.Garyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09870783520034205853noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3148820.post-871724182003-01-09T12:09:00.000-05:002010-10-05T17:29:44.396-04:00SOUTHERN STRATEGY REDUX: To the surprise of no one with a cynical view of the Bush administration (in other words, a view based on reality), President Bush is not letting his politically expedient denunciation of Senator Lott’s pro-segregationist sentiments stand in the way of his goal to pack the federal bench with right-wing judges.
On Tuesday, Bush renominated Judge Charles Pickering for an Garyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09870783520034205853noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3148820.post-868961232003-01-03T18:03:00.000-05:002010-10-05T17:29:44.404-04:00HAPPY NEW YEAR: The Self Made Pundit is back from vacation and wishes you all a happy new year (even my few masochistic Republican readers).
I hope to get back to regular posting next week. I had not planned to post today, but I could not resist commenting on President Bush's latest assault on rational discourse. According to The New York Times, Bush is attacking the Democrats for having the Garyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09870783520034205853noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3148820.post-863363922002-12-20T17:09:00.000-05:002010-10-05T17:29:44.412-04:00LOTT’S LEGACY: Whatever else Trent Lott has proved himself to be, he has demonstrated prowess as a vote counter in his three decades in Congress. Lott put that skill to use this morning and resigned as Senate majority leader after counting the horses’ heads in his bed.
While Lott’s resignation as majority leader may spare Bush and fellow Republicans some embarrassment, it may have come too Garyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09870783520034205853noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3148820.post-862305982002-12-18T14:02:00.000-05:002010-10-05T17:29:44.418-04:00BUSH’S SOUTHERN STRATEGY OF SILENCE: While the Bush administration is renown for speaking with one mind on all things political (and for this administration all things are political), when it comes to the fate of Trent Lott, the White House is certainly having trouble expressing that mind.
The reason for the Bush administration’s recent muddled statements on Lott appears to be that the White Garyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09870783520034205853noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3148820.post-861692832002-12-17T10:36:00.000-05:002010-10-05T17:29:44.424-04:00LOTTS O’ LIES: Trent Lott’s chances of surviving his retroactive endorsement of Storm Thurmond’s 1948 Dixiecrat race for president would be better if Lott were only a bigot and a liar. Unfortunately for Lott, he is also a clumsy liar.
As Lott engages in serial apologizing in an effort to keep his post as Senate Majority Leader, he is tripping over his own lies.
On Larry King’s show last Garyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09870783520034205853noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3148820.post-861128642002-12-16T10:30:00.000-05:002010-10-05T17:29:44.430-04:00NO GORE IN ‘04: The republic is a little poorer today with Al Gore’s announcement that he will not run for president in 2004.
Gore is one of the most thoughtful politicians around today. If he had not been savaged by numerous misleading treatments in the news media in 2000 – fueled largely by Republican and right-wing spinmeisters – he would undoubtedly be president today. For that matter, ifGaryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09870783520034205853noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3148820.post-859500862002-12-13T11:14:00.000-05:002010-10-05T17:29:44.441-04:00WHEN A BUSH FLIES: Reading President Bush’s slap-on-the wrist criticism of Trent Lott’s retroactive endorsement of Strom Thurmond and the 1948 Dixiecrats brought to mind that age-old ethical question that has divided philosophers for centuries: When an elephant flies, do you criticize him for not getting very far off the ground?
While it is all well and good that Bush has finally criticized Garyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09870783520034205853noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3148820.post-858988312002-12-12T11:17:00.000-05:002010-10-05T17:29:44.448-04:00LIES, DAMNED LIES AND TRENT LOTT: Trent Lott’s pathetic attempts at apologizing are revealing him to be a liar as well as a bigot.
In his first feeble apology, Lott claimed that his retroactive endorsement of Strom Thurmond’s segregationist campaign for president in 1948 was reflective of nothing more than a poor choice of words. At the time I thought that it was marginally conceivable that Garyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09870783520034205853noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3148820.post-857871932002-12-10T11:08:00.000-05:002010-10-05T17:29:44.455-04:00WHAT (IF ANYTHING) WAS ON LOTT'S MIND?: Now that Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott has issued a half-hearted apology for his love note to Senator Thurmond’s racist campaign for president in 1948, America’s media can return to more pressing issues such as pinning down Senator Kerry on the price of his haircuts.
Before we leave Senator Lott on his own magnolia lined memory lane, however, a few Garyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09870783520034205853noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3148820.post-854302022002-12-03T10:25:00.000-05:002010-10-05T17:29:44.460-04:00THE STUDENT PRESIDENT: President Bush was a bit off the mark when he said he would be the education president.
It turns out that Bush is really the student president, given his tactic of “studying” problems – such as stem cell research – as a way of pretending to be concerned about problems without doing anything to upset his right wing backers.
The Self Made Pundit has already mocked Bush inGaryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09870783520034205853noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3148820.post-853797582002-12-02T10:32:00.000-05:002010-10-05T17:29:44.471-04:00THE KURTZ AWARD FOR UNINTENTIONAL IRONY GOES TO ...: The Washington Post’s media critic Howard Kurtz deserves some kind of an award for his journalistic achievements. It cannot be easy to write media criticism that manages to be both wishy-washy and conservative leaning while never venturing into actual criticism of the media. Yet Kurtz has managed this trifecta of bad political journalism.
AsGaryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09870783520034205853noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3148820.post-851639742002-11-27T10:18:00.000-05:002010-10-05T17:29:44.478-04:00BAD NEWS FOR THE DEMS, BUT JUST HOW BAD?: The current political opinion polls have correctly been depicted in the news media as bad news for the Democrats. However, the news is not as bad as some of these polls indicate on a superficial level.
Take a look at the New York Times/CBS News poll released yesterday. At first glance, it certainly seems like terrible new for the Democrats. One main Garyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09870783520034205853noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3148820.post-848756102002-11-21T11:31:00.000-05:002010-10-05T17:29:44.487-04:00MORE GORE: Democratic critics of Al Gore who do not want the winner of the popular vote in 2000 to make another run for the presidency in 2004 should pause and just listen to what Gore has been saying lately. In his recent media forays plugging his new pair of books (as well as reintroducing himself to the voters) Gore has been uttering plain-spoken common sense like a latter day Harry Truman.
Garyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09870783520034205853noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3148820.post-848154542002-11-20T09:35:00.000-05:002010-10-05T17:29:44.495-04:00DEPARTMENT OF THE TITANIC: It would be unfair to compare the rush to establish the Department of Homeland Security with rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic.
A better analogy would be rearranging the lifeboats after the Titanic hit that iceberg. It might have been a good idea at one point, but that was probably not the best time to engage in reorganizations.
The creation of the HomelandGaryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09870783520034205853noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3148820.post-847096452002-11-18T10:45:00.000-05:002010-10-05T17:29:44.500-04:00GORE’S SUPPORT IS FALLING ... UP: Gore is in a far stronger position for the Democratic presidential nomination than some media reports indicate. A case in point is MSNBC’s misleading treatment of a newly released poll.
MSNBC’s headline for the AP report of this new poll is:
Little Support for Gore in 2004
No clear Democratic front-runner, poll shows
If you read only the headline, you wouldGaryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09870783520034205853noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3148820.post-846048502002-11-15T22:02:00.000-05:002010-10-05T17:29:44.505-04:00MOVIE REVIEW OF THE YEAR: While the Self Made Pundit is generally content to limit these posts to matters political, occasionally contributions to the arts deserve recognition.
The movie review tends to generate little respect as a literary form. The great Pauline Kael, late of the New Yorker, has too few progeny among today's movie reviewers.
Yet, every now and then a movie reviewer will Garyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09870783520034205853noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3148820.post-845840372002-11-15T12:22:00.000-05:002010-10-05T17:29:44.510-04:00GORE, THE REPUBLICAN PROPHET: While Al Gore may be an unlikely candidate for Republican Party prophet, the Bush administration has wandered into the very multilateral approach on Iraq proposed by Gore weeks ago. If the rest of the Democratic Party had followed Gore’s approach as much as Bush has, the Democrats would have done far better in the recent midterm elections.
As the Self Made Pundit Garyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09870783520034205853noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3148820.post-844738142002-11-13T10:06:00.000-05:002010-10-05T17:29:44.516-04:00THE RECYCLING PRESIDENT: The Bush administration has announced a new environmental agenda that shows that President Bush is dedicated to recycling.
Unfortunately, what Bush is recycling are old strategies for studying global warming from the administration of Bush the Elder. To be fair to Bush the Younger, however, his environmental plan is substantively different from his father’s since thisGaryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09870783520034205853noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3148820.post-843642612002-11-11T10:13:00.000-05:002010-10-05T17:29:44.524-04:00CRAFT ME A MESSAGE, VOTERS SAY: Post-election polling is confirming the view (expressed in last Wednesday’s Self Made Pundit, among other places) that the Democrats’ dismal showing in the midterm elections was more a result of their failure to craft a message than a rejection of any Democratic message.
A Newsweek poll of Americans finds that the Democrats’ failure to offer “clear alternatives” Garyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09870783520034205853noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3148820.post-842320412002-11-08T10:16:00.000-05:002010-10-05T17:29:44.536-04:00MEET THE NEW TONE, SAME AS THE OLD TONE: While the Democrats have ample reason to hold themselves responsible for their dismal showing in Tuesday’s elections (as discussed in Wednesday’s post-mortem post), it’s nice of President Bush to remind us that he and the Republicans played a little role too.
Bush gives us this reminder in his own inimitable style of lying about how he and his followers Garyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09870783520034205853noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3148820.post-841181002002-11-06T10:02:00.000-05:002010-10-05T17:29:44.544-04:00THE MORNING AFTER: You have to give people a reason to vote for you. The Democrats didn’t and they lost Congress last night. It’s that simple.
Fearing to confront a popular war-time leader, Democrats have too often shied away from confronting Bush and his disastrous economic policies in the past year. The Democrats have also failed to articulate their own alternative economic plan. By Garyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09870783520034205853noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3148820.post-840643642002-11-05T11:00:00.000-05:002010-10-05T17:29:44.564-04:00ELECTION FORECASTS: The Self Made Pundit has a long and proud history of making insightful written election forecasts since he received an A on his paper in college analyzing and predicting the outcome of the 1972 presidential race. (While I hesitate to get bogged down in such minutia, for those of you curious, the title of the paper was “Why McGovern Will Win The Election.”)
I predict that theGaryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09870783520034205853noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3148820.post-840633992002-11-05T10:41:00.000-05:002010-10-05T17:29:44.577-04:00THE POLLS’ DIRTY LITTLE SECRET: The polls have a dirty little secret. Put aside for a moment all those precise numbers listed as the polls’ margins of sampling error and confidence levels. The secret is that the polls’ election day forecasts are based on a large amount of guesswork.
While polls trumpet that they have 95 percent confidence that their margin of sampling error is 4 percent or Garyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09870783520034205853noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3148820.post-840575152002-11-05T08:21:00.000-05:002010-10-05T17:29:44.583-04:00ELECTION DAY ADVICE: It's finally election day. I had considered recommending that all of you vote, but then I realized that advice would probably be futile.
No, the Self Made Pundit has not received one of those Republican flyers designed to depress the vote and become apathetic. The reason I think such advice would be futile is that the possibility that anyone interested enough in politics Garyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09870783520034205853noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3148820.post-838811072002-11-01T12:14:00.000-05:002010-10-05T17:29:44.590-04:00ARROGANCE PITTSONIFIED: Harvey Pitt’s job as chairman of the SEC may now be in jeopardy, though not for Pitt’s failure to do his job. As Paul Krugman notes in his New York Times column today, by not doing his job, Pitt is doing the job expected of him by the Bush administration.
Instead, the reason Pitt’s job may now be in jeopardy is his recent display of arrogance. Since Bush’s colossal Garyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09870783520034205853noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3148820.post-837713972002-10-30T09:45:00.000-05:002010-10-05T17:29:44.594-04:00DESPERATE IN MINNESOTA: A new poll in the Minnesota Senate race validates the Self Made Pundit’s view that the Republicans’ unseemly and mendacious attacks on Walter Mondale within 48 hours of Senator Paul Wellstone’s death in a plane crash were a sign of desperation.
While the Republicans had high hopes of capturing Wellstone’s Senate seat earlier in the campaign – and had run a harshly Garyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09870783520034205853noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3148820.post-837202712002-10-29T10:39:00.000-05:002010-10-05T17:28:41.171-04:00HAS RETIREMENT MADE NEWT GINGRICH LAZY?: It turns out that the Republican strategy of going negative on Walter Mondale (the Democrats’ likely replacement on the ballot for the late Senator Paul Wellstone) in the midst of memorial services for Wellstone is even stupider than I discussed in yesterday’s post.
You might think that Newt Gingrich has enough experience dealing in half-truths and Garyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09870783520034205853noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3148820.post-836645192002-10-28T10:19:00.000-05:002010-10-05T17:28:41.181-04:00STUPID COP, BAD COP: While more fainthearted politicians might have hesitated to resume negative campaigning within 48 hours of Senator Paul Wellstone’s death in a plane crash, the Washington Post reports that Republicans are already attacking former Vice President Mondale, the Democrats’ likely replacement in the Minnesota Senate race.
Showing that he has lost none of his touch for Garyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09870783520034205853noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3148820.post-835404932002-10-26T00:18:00.000-04:002010-10-05T17:28:41.188-04:00CITIZEN WELLSTONE: I was very sad to hear that Senator Wellstone his wife, their daughter and five others died in a plane crash on Friday. I think Wellstone was probably the most principled person in the Senate.
While Wellstone was often described as an ideologue, I think that description missed the mark. Although he was certainly a strong liberal and partisan, Wellstone’s most distinguishing Garyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09870783520034205853noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3148820.post-834589142002-10-24T09:42:00.000-04:002010-10-05T17:28:41.200-04:00THE NEW TONE IN WASHINGTON: Today’s Washington Post has good news and bad news about President Bush’s keeping of his campaign promises.
The good news is that Bush is keeping his promise to bring a “new tone” to Washington. The bad news is that Bush is breaking his promise to make that “new tone” a tone of “bipartisanship.”
As the Post reports, Bush is pressuring federal government employees Garyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09870783520034205853noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3148820.post-834080702002-10-23T11:20:00.000-04:002010-10-05T17:28:41.206-04:00ROPE-A-DOPE: President Bush could be making a classic blunder by spending the last two weeks before the midterm elections on the campaign trail rather than staying above the fray and focusing on his duties as Commander in Chief.
The party controlling the White House has won House seats in a midterm election only twice in the past century. In 1934, the Democrats gained seats while FDR stayed inGaryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09870783520034205853noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3148820.post-833484372002-10-22T08:45:00.000-04:002010-10-05T17:28:41.212-04:00THOSE GIDDY REPUBLICANS: Paul Krugman takes a whack at Republicans giddy over the prospect of victory in the midterm elections – the subject of yesterday’s Self Made Pundit – in today’s New York Times. The admirable Krugman, who does not suffer fools, hypocrites, and crony capitalists gladly, notes that the giddiness stops at the Oval Office (though only after making Bush lightheaded with Garyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09870783520034205853noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3148820.post-832977692002-10-21T10:23:00.000-04:002010-10-05T17:28:41.219-04:00HUBRIS ALERT: Republicans apparently have begun to believe their own propaganda and are rubbing their hands at the prospect of winning both houses of Congress in the midterm elections in 15 days.
It appears that Republicans are overjoyed at the prospect that they can stop pretending (at least until the next election) that they care about corporate responsibility and go back to doing their jobs Garyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09870783520034205853noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3148820.post-830618052002-10-16T10:18:00.000-04:002010-10-05T17:28:41.228-04:00BALLISTIC PROFILE IN COURAGE: The Bush Administration is displaying its usual courage to take principled -- yet unpopular -- stands on domestic issues. Unfortunately, the principle is that Bush should be free to pander to right-wing interests while pretending to be undecided.
This particular profile in courage played out yesterday when presidential press secretary Ari Fleischer indicated that Garyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09870783520034205853noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3148820.post-827405562002-10-09T10:30:00.000-04:002010-10-05T17:28:41.234-04:00THE BUSH OVERSIMPLIFICATION DOCTRINE: President Bush made some good points about the need to defang Saddam Hussein in his speech on Iraq Monday night. Unfortunately, Bush also repeatedly relied on oversimplification -- his administration's default approach to complex problems -- to discuss the life and death issues at hand.
Bush grossly oversimplified the options for dealing with Iraq by Garyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09870783520034205853noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3148820.post-826862942002-10-08T09:14:00.000-04:002010-10-05T17:28:41.271-04:00WHAT'S THAT SMELL?: As predicted by the Self Made Pundit last week, the United States Supreme Court refused to accept New Jersey Republicans' appeal seeking to block former Senator Frank Lautenberg from replacing Senator Robert Torricelli on the ballot. The Supreme Court disposed of the appeal -- which proudly espoused the "principles" of the shameful Bush v. Gore decision -- as one would Garyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09870783520034205853noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3148820.post-826370492002-10-07T10:18:00.000-04:002010-10-05T17:28:41.276-04:00DOG BITES REPUBLICAN CANDIDATE: Perhaps there is little news value in finding Republican hypocrisy in electoral battles in the courts, but I think the New York Times buried the lead in its report on New Jersey Democrats' argument opposing the Republican appeal that asks the United States Supreme Court to block Frank Lautenberg from replacing Senator Robert Torricelli on the ballot.
The New YorkGaryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09870783520034205853noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3148820.post-825130312002-10-04T08:46:00.000-04:002010-10-05T17:28:41.283-04:00I MET A MAN WHO WASN'T THERE: There is a simple explanation why the New Jersey Republicans are desperate enough to risk alienating voters by depriving them of a choice with a long-shot appeal that asks the U.S. Supreme Court to disgrace itself again with a second Bush v. Gore decision. That simple explanation is named Douglas Forrester, the hapless Republican candidate for Senator.
Forrester Garyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09870783520034205853noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3148820.post-824954342002-10-03T22:05:00.000-04:002010-10-05T17:28:41.292-04:00CHUTZPAH OR CLUELESS?: While I expected the Republicans to run whining to the U.S. Supreme Court at the prospect of having to face competition in the New Jersey Senate race, I was surprised to see them citing Bush v. Gore as authority. As political weblogger MyDD reports, Bill Baroni, the attorney for the Republican Senatorial candidate Douglas Forrester, actually thinks that rancid decision Garyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09870783520034205853noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3148820.post-824435622002-10-02T21:12:00.000-04:002010-10-05T17:28:41.307-04:00DON'T EXPECT BUSH v. GORE II: As anticipated by the Self Made Pundit in yesterday's post, the New Jersey Supreme Court -- four Democrats, two Republicans and one Independent -- embraced small "d" democracy and unanimously ruled that the Democratic Party can replace Senator Torricelli on the ballot. The New York Times reports that the Court held that:
"It is in the public interest and the Garyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09870783520034205853noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3148820.post-823864632002-10-01T18:45:00.000-04:002010-10-05T17:28:41.313-04:00THE HAIL MARY PASSING OF THE TORCH: Pundits seem unable to make up their minds whether Senator Torricelli's quitting the N.J. Senate race helps or hurts the Democrats' chances of retaining the Senate. The answer is it helps. While the legal issue of whether the Torch can be replaced on the ballot clouds this issue, the Democrats are now in a far better position.
The main reason that the Garyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09870783520034205853noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3148820.post-823178872002-09-30T12:08:00.000-04:002010-10-05T17:28:41.320-04:00I have never thought much of most reporting on election campaigns. Such pieces tend to be shallow in their analysis and do little more than repeat conventional wisdom, cite a few scattered polls and throw in a jumbled historical reference. Exhibit A is today's Washington Post piece on the midterm Congressional elections. Claiming that "September has seen Republican prospects brighten," the Garyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09870783520034205853noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3148820.post-821919162002-09-27T09:57:00.000-04:002010-10-05T17:28:41.327-04:00While I have not seen any polls on the subject, I would wager that the majority of Americans have never thought of Congressman Tom Tancredo (R-Colo.) as a latter-day FDR. In fact, I confess that I had never thought of FDR and Congressman Tom Tancredo as having much in common. Until today that is.
Just as FDR broke the two-term tradition for presidents as America faced entry into World War II, Garyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09870783520034205853noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3148820.post-821462862002-09-26T10:38:00.000-04:002010-10-05T17:28:41.337-04:00Republicans are shocked, shocked (channeling Claude Raines in Casablanca) that Senator Daschle has interpreted President Bush's remarks that the Democratic controlled Senate is "not interested in the security of the American people" as a slur on the Democrats' patriotism. Expressing surprise that anyone would interpret Bush's statements as being negative:
The White House and Republicans Garyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09870783520034205853noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3148820.post-820927812002-09-25T09:29:00.000-04:002010-10-05T17:28:41.348-04:00While the Bush administration has probably been praying for economic news that would divert attention away from the plunging stock market, I don't think yesterday's Census Bureau report on poverty is quite what they were wishing for. Not only did the Bureau find that the poverty rate increased significantly last year, but it also found that middle-class incomes fell for the first time since the Garyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09870783520034205853noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3148820.post-820418732002-09-24T09:03:00.000-04:002010-10-05T17:28:41.355-04:00I think the New York Times did a fairly good job of summarizing (though a bit too summarily) Gore's speech on Iraq yesterday. The New York Times piece went overboard in its analysis, however. The Times wrote:
His appearance here suggested a shift in positioning by Mr. Gore, who has for 10 years portrayed himself as a moderate, particularly when it comes to issues of foreign policy, and Garyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09870783520034205853noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3148820.post-820135292002-09-23T18:13:00.000-04:002010-10-05T17:28:41.375-04:00I just read Gore's speech on Iraq. What a welcome change it is to read an adult, intelligent -- and intellectually honest -- discussion of a complex and dire problem. Gore's speech is the most reasonable and clear-headed analysis I've seen to date on Iraq and its relationship to the war on terror. Gore's speech makes the excellent point that giving Bush a blank check would not be the most Garyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09870783520034205853noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3148820.post-814590792002-09-11T11:15:00.000-04:002010-10-05T17:28:41.388-04:00In MemoriamGaryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09870783520034205853noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3148820.post-58238302001-09-21T09:19:00.000-04:002010-10-05T17:28:41.396-04:00President Bush's speech to Congress, the nation and the world last night hit all the right notes. It was forceful, eloquent and uncompromising in the face of evil.
We also thought the Democratic Party's response given by Sen. Tom Daschle was just right. Although news reports had stated that there would be no Democractic response to the President's call to arms, Sen. Daschle delivered it by Garyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09870783520034205853noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3148820.post-58084242001-09-20T15:36:00.000-04:002010-10-05T17:28:41.404-04:00The New York Times deserves credit today for promptly following up on The Self Made Pundit's comment on the need to follow the money trial of the World Trade Center terrorists that appeared in our premiere posting yesterday. (Our 9/19/01 posting.) The Times's response is all the more impressive since as of this morning only Mrs. Pundit and the little Pundits were aware of the existence of The Garyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09870783520034205853noreply@blogger.com