Category Archives: Politics & Government

Come quick, ma. Kay’s on TV. Again.

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ABC News Green RoomRadio Iowa News Director O. Kay Henderson (friend and co-worker) took part in the autopsy following Sunday morning’s debate by GOP candidates in Des Moines. The debate was hosted by ABC News’ This Week. Following the live broadcast, Kay and three other reporters (I think they were all reporters) appeared in The Green Room segment

Update: Others featured in the video are Rick Klein, ABC News senior political reporter; David Chalian, ABC News political director; Holly Bailey, Newsweek; Rick Pearson, Chicago Tribune.

Mom! Come quick! Kay’s on TV!

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Every four years, the national media spotlight burns hot and heavy on Iowa. Never more so than this year. And savvy network reporters frequently call on Radio Iowa News Director Kay Henderson for on-the-ground perspective and insight.

She was part of an 8 minute segment on MSNBC’s Hardball Wednesday night. The rest of the show pretty much sucked. Lance Armstrong’s non-answers to Chris Matthews questions made Lance sound like the politician he will someday be. But someone at Hardball had the good sense to bring Kay on, so we’ll forgive them the rest.

Radio Iowa is a Learfield network and I’ve worked with her for the past 20 years.

NYT: The Road Home

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“It is frighteningly clear that Mr. Bush’s plan is to stay the course as long as he is president and dump the mess on his successor. Whatever his cause was, it is lost.

President Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney have used demagoguery and fear to quell Americans’ demands for an end to this war. They say withdrawing will create bloodshed and chaos and encourage terrorists. Actually, all of that has already happened — the result of this unnecessary invasion and the incompetent management of this war.

This country faces a choice. We can go on allowing Mr. Bush to drag out this war without end or purpose. Or we can insist that American troops are withdrawn as quickly and safely as we can manage — with as much effort as possible to stop the chaos from spreading.” — New York Times editorial

Republicans and Democrats

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I do love a Lucas Davenport novel. Nothing heavy, fun read. The latest —Invisible Prey— includes a brief exchange between Lucas and his boss, Rose Marie, on the difference between Republicans and Democrats:

“Wonder why with Republicans, it’s usually fucking somebody that get them in trouble. And with the Democrats, it’s usually stealing?”

“Republicans have money. Most of them don’t need more. But they come from uptight, sexually repressed backgrounds, and sometimes, they just go off. Democrats are looser about sex, but half the time, they used to be teachers or government workers, and they’re desperate for cash. They see all that money up close, around the government, the lobbyists and the corporate guys, they can smell it, they can taste it, they see the rich guys flying to Paris for the weekend, and eating all the good restaurants, and buying three thousand-dollar suits. They just want to reach out and take some.”

— Invisible Prey, John Sandford (page 141)

Presidential debates go online

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“The 2008 election is already shaping up to be the most cyber-savvy presidential contest in the brief history of the Web. Now three major Web sites — Yahoo Elections 2008, The Huffington Post, and Slate — have announced that they will collectively host two online-only debates, one for the announced Democratic candidates and one for Republicans.

The debates will allow the candidates to participate wherever they are located around the country. Each will appear on live video, and will be able to speak to and question the other candidates through the online connection.

The debate will also be uniquely interactive for the audience. Viewers will be able to submit both written and video questions in real-time, and can blog their responses to the candidates’ answers.

The idea of hosting a virtual presidential debate was the brainchild of conservative-turned-liberal-pundit Arianna Huffington, who saw the potential for an online forum while at the World Economic Forum in Davos. That event was covered by both traditional journalists and bloggers.” — Yahoo! News

So, I can be sitting in the Coffee Zone in beautiful downtown Jefferson City (slurping Rocket Fuel)… record a 30 second question and zap the the video clip to the debate site…and see my question (and candidate responses) 5 minutes later. Or, watch what hundreds (thousands?) of bloggers are saying, about what the candidates are saying, in real time. Okay, that’s only cool to bloggers.

I find most TV debates to be a waste of everyone’s time. But I might watch/take part in something like this.

Rove to Sheryl Crow: “Don’t touch me.”

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Sheryl Crow goes one-on-one (well, two-on-one) with Carl Rove. It happened last night at the White House Correspondents Dinner:

Rover, Crow and David“In his attempt to dismiss us, Mr. Rove turned to head toward his table, but as soon as he did so, Sheryl reached out to touch his arm. Karl swung around and spat, “Don’t touch me.” How hardened and removed from reality must a person be to refuse to be touched by Sheryl Crow? Unfazed, Sheryl abruptly responded, “You can’t speak to us like that, you work for us.” Karl then quipped, “I don’t work for you, I work for the American people.” To which Sheryl promptly reminded him, “We are the American people.”

Sheryl Crow and environmental activist Laurie David are wrapping up an 11-date “Stop Global Warming College Tour” aimed at inspiring students to become part of the movement.

Photo via Ann.

Can your country do anything big and important?

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Scott Adams is jealous of countries with governments and wishes he had one:

“…the Democrats are poised for a big win during the next election based on their excellent track record of doing nothing for years. Doing nothing might not sound like a good strategy to you, but if you compare it to what happens when the government actually does something, you can make an argument.

A good test of whether you have a government is this: Can your country do anything big and important? For example, could the United States start a new war, or end an existing one, or change its dependence on foreign oil, or provide health care to all citizens? Apparently not.“

I hate it when the cartoonists are the only ones with a clue.

Do campaign yard signs work?

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Campaign Yard SignsPerhaps what I really want to know is how they work. Front yards bristle with these things leading up to any election (local or national). So they must work at some level but I can’t get my mind around how.

The obvious explanation would be: The candidate with the most signs has the most support and therefore deserves mine. Only in America could that sort of mindless herd logic make sense.

Or, perhaps: Lester down the street has a sign for Congressman Boil…I know and trust Lester…so, Congressman Boil must be the guy to vote for.

I’m old enough to remember a time when yard signs had to be assembled by hand, one at a time. You had posters printed and spent hours tacking (don’t ask, it’s obsolete technology) or stapling them to wooden stakes. The first good rain would turn the sign into a soggy mess. Today these eyesores are stamped out by the thousands, impervious to the elements.

In rural areas like where I grew up, the “big brother” to the yard sign was a 4 x 8 sheet of plywood, displayed along rural highways and intersections.

The popularity of these little “billboards” might have more to do with economics. Buying TV and radio time is probably beyond most local budgets.

I guess the thing that bothers me about all of this is the absence of ideas. These things don’t tell us what the candidate thinks about the issues. Or the quality of their thinking, for that matter.

As long as our leaders can get elected by placing the most brightly colored signs in front lawns (or airing the most 30 second TV and radio “spots”), we’re gonna get empty-headed, venal men and women running our lives.

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