Politics Index

When Nixon Was President…

August 31st, 2008 admin

Now that it's almost over, I figure it's time to admit that today is the 36th anniversary of the day I was dragged kicking and screaming into the world. And I mean "dragged" quite literally - they had to use forceps to get me out and I have the bald spots on my head to show for it.

Other than giving me something to caution barbers against revealing, the doctors in Victoria, Texas did a fine job. I spent today largely offline and even though I am not a big fan of birthdays, this celebration included chicken fried steak and white gravy.

Life is good, even if mine is now just under half over.

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August statistics

August 31st, 2008 admin

August was another month of records for Cranmer. Following July’s record of 27,791 unique visitors, August saw the most page-views in a month (36,977); the most unique visitors in a day (2382 on Fri 29 August); and also the most unique visitors in a week (8449 in the same week).

The cause was His Grace’s prophetic foresight in having prepared an article for the appointment of Sarah Palin as John McCain’s VP before the announcement was actually made. That blog post has already become Cranmer’s most-viewed page (2406 in just three days), with the vast majority coming from across the pond enquiring into Governor Palin’s faith.

Bizarrely, for all Cranmer’s wisdom expressed upon sundry and diverse important religio-political concerns over recent years, his second most-viewed page is that questioning why Team GB excludes Northern Ireland.

It is heartening to know that people have their priorities right and are avidly seeking the truth.

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Oh Yeah, There?s World Out There

August 31st, 2008 admin

While we’re discussing our Presidential candidate, the Rest Of the World continues to exist.  And it’s not looking good.  Georgia has cut off diplomatic ties with the Russians, who are threatening to annex South Ossetia.  Putin is claiming that we deliberately caused the problem to help John McCain.  And the EU is passing resolutions, including one that could punt Russia from the G-8.

I wish I knew how this was going to play out, but I don’t.  Putin is very hard to read, President Bush’s peering into his soul not withstanding.  I oppose withdrawing from NATO or kicking Russia out of the G-8; the latter because I’m a big believer in alliances—especially in the nuclear age—and the former because I think Russia needs to be contained, not isolated.  We need them on our side when it comes to Iran and Afghanistan.

We’re entering a very dangerous phase of world affairs in which we have to balance China, Russia and the MIddle East and probably India before it’s all done.  It’s like a chess game with an unknown number of players.  I’m not sure, looking at either Presidential candidate, that we have someone capable of handling this (where’s Bush 41 when you need him?).  But right now I feel like we’re waiting for the next shoe to drop, waiting to see where Putin moves his tanks next.

by Hal_10000

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11 Alive

August 31st, 2008 admin

Is it just me or does the new GOP banner make you think, “I’m John McCain.  And I’m Sarah Palin.  Welcome to the 10:00 news.  With Sports Guy Tom Tancredo.” Seriously, if I saw this on a billboard, I would assume it was for the local newscast, not the future leaders of the nation.

by Hal_10000

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Query from Ambers

August 31st, 2008 admin

You should really read Mark Ambinder’s Q&A about the Palin Pick.  But what stuck me was this:

Is the pick good for the Republican Party?

Absolutely. Even if McCain loses in November, the GOP’s new standard bearer will be a younger working mother from outside Washington and not a rich businessman with perfect hair from Massachusetts.  McCain may have saved the GOP at the expense of the campaign.

I think this is the reason conservatives are jazzed about the pick.  Even if McCain loses, this seriously shakes up the GOP and clearly passes the torch to the Gen-X leaders like Palin and Jindal.  I worry about that somewhat since both are very in with the Religious Right.  But the desiccated corpse of the GOP is getting ripe.

I’ve said that Barack Obama’s campaign has already done a favor to the nation by weakening the Clintons.  If he wins, not only will the Clintons be finished once and for all, but so will the Old Guard GOP.  That alone might make up for four years of President Happypants.

Update: Contra Sullivan, it looks like McCain made this pick after reasonable deliberation.  I think we now know why.

by Hal_10000

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