RIP Teddy

Well I don’t think anyone is unaware that Edward M. Kennedy passed away last night. It’s all over the media – almost too much on NPR. Now I’m a long time supporter of NPR but they were getting a bit bogged down in sentiment during All Things Considered this afternoon. Heck, I think I even heard Robert Siegel’s voice crack a bit.

Now, I am a staunch Democrat and a Kennedy supporter but I wasn’t that big a fan of Ted as a person (I’ll get to that in a minute.) Even so, it’s kind of hard to believe that he’s is gone. Mel and I were talking about it and I think spending a large part of our lives on Cape Cod meant that Ted and the Kennedy family were just part of our lives. Ever since Mel and I became politically aware, Ted Kennedy has been part of our lives. Heck, he’s been in office longer than I’ve been alive. And living on Cape Cod meant that you might run into Ted at the airport or at the Melody Tent or, dare I say, a social gathering (though that only happened once.) He was a charismatic, influential person – even been called the most influential man in American politics who was never President. It was touching to here tributes from some of his closest friends and staunches opponents – men like Orrin Hatch who said, “Today America lost a great elder statesman, a committed public servant, and leader of the Senate. And today I lost a treasured friend.” This is perhaps his greatest legacy – his ability to find allies in the most unlikely places.

But most of this is rehashed drivel that you’ve heard (or are going to hear,) again and again.

But what about Ted Kennedy as a person – as a man? I’ve met Mr. Kennedy on several occasions and have even had the pleasure of shaking his hand and bending his ear for a minute or two. And I find that he shares a trait with several of his Democratic colleagues. In my past job I had the honor of also meeting and chatting with John Kerry (back before the run for President.) I also met and had an extended conversation with then Speaker of the House Tip O’Neill. All of them Massachusetts Democrats. All of them men I supported (or would have supported in the case of Mr. O’Neill who died just as I was beginning to exercise my right to vote.) And all of them men whom I didn’t care for as people. All of them arrogant and condescending and self-centered. All of them men who would look down their noses at you and make you feel like you were intruding on their time. And all of them men I would vote for again in a heartbeat.

Now, I’ve also had the opportunity to meet and chat (albeit very briefly,) with then Massachusetts Governor, Mitt Romney. A man who stands for everything I’m against (at least politically speaking,) and for whom I would never vote. I found him warm and genuine. A man who took time to thank me for the extra effort that went into setting up a meeting he chaired; something Ted never did – oh he thanked the influential important people (like the college president,) but he didn’t have time for the little people. So this is my dilemma – I like the Republicans but can’t abide their politics and I dislike the Democrats but whole heartedly embrace their policies. I’m at odds with myself.

And why is it that as Democrats we have the high ideals to fight for the little guy – to make the world even for all – and yet, all of our representatives seem to enjoy the privileges of membership so much? Why does a man like Ted Kennedy, who spent so much of his public career fighting for equal rights, and good jobs, and health care for all feel such a need to “act” his station? Why are these guys such SOBs?

I don’t have answers – just questions. And Ted will have to take these issues up with his maker. History or time or lore may brand Ted Kennedy as one of this countries greatest statesmen – and for the most part I agree – but I know Ted as a man who had more than his share of vices and faults. I wish him and his family peace at this difficult time and I may even shed a tear for him. But I hope upon hope that the next generation of great Democratic statesmen are more down to earth; more common – OK BO, time to pony up!

Some thoughts on Sanford

Now that the media frenzy has quieted down somewhat, I figured I’d weigh in on the Sanford issue.


First, let me state unequivocally that I’m a strong believer in a person’s right to do whatever they want in their bedroom without interference from state or local government – provided, of course, that their actions don’t amount to rape or child molestation. Beyond that, a person should have the right to privacy with regard to with whom and in what manner they choose to pleasure themselves. If, in doing so, a person is unfaithful to their spouse (or their God,) well then, that’s and issue they’ll have to resolve for themselves.


As for our illustrious Governor, there is more than a small group of citizens down this way who feel he’s being unjustly crucified for his actions and that he should be left to deal with the consequences of his actions in private and not have them played out in the farcical arena that is our so-called “news media.” And, I have to admit, I agree with them to the extent that he and his family ought to be afforded some measure of privacy in working out the ramifications to their personal lives.


But here is where I draw the line – Mark Sanford is not a private citizen anymore. He is the duly elected Governor of the State of South Carolina. And as such, has sworn to lead this state in a very public manner. But his actions last week were more akin to a wanted criminal on the run rather than those of a public official. Is a Governor to be afforded the opportunity to take a few days off once in a while? To even shirk his security detail and “disappear?” Of course, why not? We all need to do that once in a while. And while I whole heartedly disagree with almost all of his political positions, I can understand and appreciate that the past couple of months have been very difficult ones for the Governor – what with all the budget cuts that had to be made the fight over federal stimulus money. I can imagine that his job has had a tremendous amount of added stress of late. All of which might make someone want to take a few days off. But to do so unexpectedly and without explanation is inexcusable for someone in his position. There is no reason why he could not have passed the reins over to our Lieutenant Governor and made arrangements for business as usual to continue in his absence. Instead, he chose to ditch his security, leave his office staff without a plausible explanation for his absence, and hop a plane to Argentina to….well….you know.


The fact that he chose to be unfaithful to his wife is unfortunate and undoubtedly very painful and difficult for his family – but it doesn’t make him a bad Governor. Skipping town without explanation and leaving the entire South Carolina state house in a tizzy does. Oh, that, and the fact that he drinks the GOP Kool-Aid.


Oh, and for those who keep touting Sanford as a righteous man because he “came clean” about the whole story – I don’t believe for a minute that he would have been quite so forthcoming had he not been cornered in the airport coming off the flight from Argentina by a local reporter with a fist full of love notes (emails) sent between the two lovers. This was a forced confession if there ever was one.


As for Ms. Maria Belen, she’s come out recently and asked for privacy of her own – sorry, but you don’t get to sleep with a high profile American politician (especially one who is married,) and not expect to have every detail of your life examined with a microscope. That’s just the way it goes.

Baby, It's Cold Outside

OK, maybe not that cold but it did dip below 32 degrees last night which, when you're camping in a tent, is very cold! Noah and I did just that last night with the Cub Scouts in order to earn our Polar Bear badges and we will remember our evening huddled together for warmth when we wear them proudly. All right, maybe that's a bit melodramatic - we were actually fairly comfortable for the night. We put our individual sleeping bags inside a double bag and put the whole thing on an air mattress. We camped with about twenty other scouts and their families out at BSA Camp Moultrie out on Lake Moultrie. It was an adventure, but we're glad to be home now and are looking forward to hot showers and warm beds.


Today being the Democratic primary in South Carolina, I stopped and voted on the way home. I was one of only a dozen or so voters at our polling place (which is Zoe's school gym.) And I was one of only three white voters there. Needless to say there is not a large population of Democrats in our area and those that are, are almost exclusively black. The woman who checked me in to vote asked me twice if I realized I was voting in the Democratic primary. I assured her that I was in complete control of my senses. As I had predicted, I really didn't know who I was going to vote for until I arrived at the polls. Well, truth be told, I decided while I was driving to the school. Noah and I had left the campground around four and during the thirty minute ride back home, Noah fell asleep. This gave me some quite time to contemplate my decision. Shamefully, I haven't put as much research into this election as I did four years ago. I haven't even used one of those on-line questionnaires that identifies the candidate that best matches your political priorities. But while I was driving I came to the realisation that more than finding a candidate that perfectly matches my sensibility, my role in this election is to make my vote count and help my party elect the best person to lead this county and effect change. To that end I decided to vote for Obama. I think I really made that decision four years ago when I watched him on television speaking at the Democratic convention in Boston.


I have said publicly on several occasions that George Bush is a buffoon and an idiot (usually after a glass of wine or several beers.) I've accused him of being a puppet and unintelligent. But the fact is that you don't get to be President of this country by being an idiot. It takes a lot of hard work and perseverance and you have to know what you're doing. Americans may be slowly being overrun by apathy but we aren't yet at a point where we'll elect a buffoon to the oval office - at least I sincerely hope we're not. But the one thing you do have to do, and the one thing that I feel ol' Georgie hasn't been very effective at, is leading. I believe him to be a man of strong convictions and beliefs but that doesn't make him a good leader. Leadership requires charisma and articulation. It requires someone who can unify and motivate and persuade. In my opinion, George W has failed on all counts. For this round of voting at least, my vote went with the person I felt was best equipped to both win the nomination as well lead the country.

Sunday Morning

Well, it’s Sunday morning and the smoke has cleared. Yesterday, South Carolina held its Republican primary and John McCain won (but you already knew that, didn't you.) Fred Thompson didn't do so well which might have had something to do with his campaign staff - one of which was quoted in this morning's paper as saying, "The campaign is still a campaign until it's not the campaign." What? Is that the kind of logic a degree in rhetoric will yield?

Down this way, a registered voter can vote in either primary regardless of declared party affiliation. Which means I could have voted yesterday despite my allegiance to that bastion of northern sensibility – the jackass….I mean donkey….I mean the Democratic Party. Alas, I’ll be waiting until next Saturday’s Primary to cast my vote - but most of you knew too that already, didn't you? And I frankly don't know who I'll vote for. I may be like the many Americans I hear on the news saying that they won't know know who they'll vote for until they walk into the voting booth. I can tell you that I often vote based on gut reactions to people. In my last job I had an opportunity to meet several people who were, or went on to be, political leaders in State or Federal government. And although I'd be very hard pressed to ever vote for him, Mitt Romney is one of the few politicians I met that came off as both genuine and generally likable. Most of them are pretty superficial - especially when dealing with very low placed constituents like me. I have the same sort of feeling about John Edwards although I've never met him. He seems like a very genuine kind of guy - but that opinion isn't based on any type of empirical data. I remember back in '04 (geez, this sounds like some old war story in the making. "Back in '04 when your uncle and me fought the rising tide of Chinese imports......" But I digress.) Anyway, in '04, Barack Obama gave a keynote address at the Democratic National Convention in Boston. I can remember being riveted to my television during his speech and then commenting to several people in days after that I thought Obama would make an excellent representative of the Democrats in '08 (which seemed like so far off at the time.) And then there is Hillary. I've never been a big fan of Ms. Clinton, but I also think she's been unjustly villianized. Most people seem to forget that she's not a First Lady turned politician but rather a politician who happened to serve as First Lady. In any case, I think people are quick to sell her short, but I'm not sure that I'm ready to vote for her.

But what really got me to musing on this issue was a conversation I had yesterday with Tommy at work. It's no secret that having been born and raised in the South, Tommy tends to have a conservative view of the world. Mind you, he's a pretty laid back, live-and-let-live kind of guy; he is, by no means, a radical right-winger. But unlike me, he chose to vote yesterday and, sufficed to say, he'll be at peace with the outcome. In any case we got to chatting about politics (which surprisingly isn't often the subject of conversation at work.) In any case, Tommy indicated that there were two "hot button" issues that helped him decide who to vote for - gay marriage and abortion. And it doesn't take a great stretch of the imagination to guess which side of these issues he comes down on. He feels so strongly about these issues that he declared that he would never be able to vote for a candidate that disagreed with his stance. Although Tommy and I are 180 degrees opposed on these two issues in terms of how we'd vote, I have to say that I very much respect (and envy) his integrity, clarity and decisiveness. For him there's no question involved - if a candidate doesn't share his convictions, he's not going to vote for them. It doesn't make his vote a given, but it does help weed out some of the clutter. While I have my own strong personal convictions regarding these issues, I don't share his adamancy - I would be hard pressed to completely discount a candidate based solely on their stance regarding these two issues. In fact, I don't think I can ever recall a candidate or platform plank that defined for me the way to vote. I do envy anyone who has that advantage. Well, I've got six days to try and make up my mind - hopefully some of Tommy's clarity of thought will rub off on me.

Hey, how 'bout them Patriots! Go New England!