BVDH The Blog

A bold prediction

Greetings Everyone,

My apologies for not posting in a couple days, life seems to be crazy as usual and I have several posts in the queue that I just haven't had the time to write up yet.  But I wanted to make a quick post about the election since John Edwards dropped out of the Democratic primary today.   Here it goes:

John Edwards will endorse Barack Obama on or before Saturday.

He certainly won't endorse HRC, so the question is whether he endorses Obama.  In a bid to stay relevant and in the limelight, he will endorse Obama and start campaigning vigorously on his behalf.  Just a guess, stay tuned....

Will Obama's surging momentum be enough?

By all accounts Barack Obama is on a roll.   He slaughtered Hillary Clinton in South Carolina yesterday, beating her by more votes than she received (55% to 27%).  He won every income category and every county except two.  It was a rout. 

And now Caroline Kennedy (JFK's daughter) is endorsing him as seen in a New York Times Op-Ed titled "A President Like My Father" 

Over the years, I’ve been deeply moved by the people who’ve told me they wished they could feel inspired and hopeful about America the way people did when my father was president. This sense is even more profound today. That is why I am supporting a presidential candidate in the Democratic primaries, Barack Obama.

This powerful Op-Ed will certainly help Obama by allowing the Kennedy comparisons to have more merit. But even more important, Senator Ted Kennedy (D-MA) is expected to endorse Obama tomorrow, throwing the weight of the most powerful Democratic Senator behind Obama. 

Despite a personal plea from President Clinton (as described in this Politico article), Sen. Kennedy has  decided to jump behind the Junior Senator from Illinois.  This endorsement, coming from such a powerful anchor of the Democratic establishment will really help Obama not only through connecting him to a strong national network, but also improving his support among Hispanics (something he dearly needs).  Kennedy's support along with the walloping of HRC in SC yesterday shows Obama is for real and is a strong contender...but is it enough?       
 

New Orleans: Overrated

Recently, I went to New Orleans for the first time.  I was there for about 36 hours (rather long for me in one city) over two nights and I felt like that was more than enough time to explore and decide about the Big Easy.  To put it rather simply, I really dislike New Orleans. 

The French Quarter (where I stayed and is most famous for Bourbon Street and Mardi Gras) is one-half tourist trap and one-half drunken fraternity party.  Bourbon Street itself I found whole unimpressive with one block looking like the next.  Each block had about 28 frozen daiquiri bars featuring pizza by the slice (delicious I'm sure--I wonder how many frozen drinks you would have to have before the pizza actually tasted good), four tourists crap shops with lots of beads and t-shirts, three sketchy looking strip clubs, and a couple of cafes all featuring a nearly identical menu. 

New Orleans certainly has character, but it's not the type of character I enjoy.   I'm sure there are some nice restaurants and good things to do, but the French Quarter, especially at night it's little more than a giant frat party (not something I enjoy in the first place).   It was bad in January, I can only imagine how insane it is during Mardi Gras, which is coming up in a couple weeks. 

A Great Article about the Nevada Caucuses

From Time.com (Thanks to Brett for sending this to me)

Caucusing on the Vegas Strip, Baby

By Joel Stein

I will never attend a caucus in Iowa again. First of all, I couldn't valet my car at the Westridge Elementary School in West Des Moines. Second, there was not a Jean Philippe Patisserie inside the school selling fresh, soft, Nutella-stuffed brioches. Third, not one of the people I met at the school was a cocktail waitress — or even dressed like a cocktail waitress.

The Bellagio hotel had never hosted a caucus before, but they ran the swankest voting site ever in which tiaras were not handed out. The caucus was held in the marble-floored, crystal-wall-sconced Tower ballroom a few yards from the casino. And yet the hotel was still unsatisfied. "For us, that room has nothing in it," said Alan Feldman, Bellagio's senior vice president of public affairs. "Even the water is in pitchers. We would never do that. It would be bottles of Fiji in little cooled metal holders. Next year, we want to sit down with the party and find out how to make it better. And bigger." I so love Vegas.

BVDH The Endorsement (for the GOP): McCain

John McCain has many positives and negatives.  But when compared with the rest of the GOP field, he is the clear choice for the GOP nod and therefore endorsed by BVDH.   

First what I don't like about him.  He has pandered to the right wing of the Republican party visiting Liberty University after in 2000 calling Liberty founder "an agent of intolerance" something that he certainly was.   In fact, I like McCain circa 2000 much better than McCain now.  Much of this pandering was early in the campaign when he had a bloated campaign structure that he had to shed over the summer when he was out of money.  Once he fired most of his campaign staff and advisers in the summer, he went back to New Hampshire and started acting more the John McCain we know and love.  Even though I don't agree with him on many things, John McCain has integrity and stands by his convictions (see his support of the Iraq War and the surge, even when it looked like a failure--which at least in the case of the surge has not been the case) even when they are extremely unpopular (immigration is such an issue).   He has experience and is an American hero.  Even at 71 years old, he could be a powerful president and restore dignity to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.

Picking McCain is made much easier by looking at his competition:   

• Fred Thompson is a joke.  Most days it looks like he wants to be in bed rather than the campaign  trail.  Go back to Law and Order.
• Rudy Giuliani was my early favorite on the Republican side.  I agree with him on social issues.  But I'm sick of EVERYTHING being about 9/11.  Yes, you were the mayor of New York on September 11, 2001.  You did one hell of a job.  But it's not the answer to every question.
• Mitt Romney will do anything that is politically expedient.  He'll change his position on almost any issue if it will help him win votes.  He is disingenuous and just overall rather sleazy. 
• Ron Paul is an interesting man.  His supporters are mainly young and they are fervent in their support for the Congressman from Texas.  He brings up issues (monetary policy for example) that are important and usually overlooked.  But I trust the American people's judgment.  There is a reason that his support in polls is low even though he is raising lots of money.  Plus, some of his ideas (like pardoning everyone who has ever been convicted of a drug crime) are crazy.  Lastly, he is not a true libertarian.  He is pro-life, which clearly conflicts with a pure libertarian mindset.
• And last, but not least, Mike "the moron" Huckabee.   Simply put, Mike Huckabee does not have the brainpower or experience to be our next president.   I like that he has risen with little money, I like his populist message, and I like his sense of humor (as seen on the Colbert Report).  But he is simply unqualified to be the most powerful man in the world.  He has no clue what's going on in the world, which is seen often (like after Bhutto's assassination in Pakistan he insisted the bigger problem was Pakistani illegal immigration to the United States) or his lack of any knowledge of the National Intelligence Estimate on Iran days after it came out.   Come on, pick up The New York Times.  Oh yea, one more problem with Huckabee, he's a religious fanatic who doesn't respect the Constitution.
  • "I have opponents in this race who do not want to change the Constitution," Huckabee told a Michigan audience on Monday. "But I believe it's a lot easier to change the Constitution than it would be to change the word of the living god. And that's what we need to do — to amend the Constitution so it's in God's standards rather than try to change God's standards so it lines up with some contemporary view." (Thanks Wendy for this)

• Yea, he really said this.  We need to amend the Constitution so it's in God's standards?  Wow, congrats Mike, the founding fathers are rolling in their graves.  This is the most ridiculous statement I have ever heard from a presidential candidate.  Go back to Arkansas!  Seriously, I would be scared with Huckabee as President.

So in light of his strengths, weaknesses, and the other candidates, I am pleased to endorse John McCain for the GOP nomination.

Obama quote about HRC

Mr. Obama did not mention Mrs. Clinton by name, but appeared to refer to her several times. “I’m not running to fulfill some long-held plans,” he said. “I’m not running because I feel it’s owed to me.”

Exactly.  Hillary thinks she is owed the presidency.  She keeps saying so.  Just because you were first lady and your husband messed around with an ugly intern doesn't mean you deserve to be president.  Your resume is unimpressive and without your husband's name you would be no one.   Just one reason why HRC should not win the democratic nod. 

The Donald and Celebrity Apprentice

Many of you know that I am a huge fan of The Apprentice, mainly because of The Donald himself.  Donald Trump is incredibly amusing and I have enjoyed the many seasons (six if you are counting) of the show.  Well, as usual, the more I enjoy a show the less the rest of the country enjoys it and the ratings go into free fall.   Everyone thought last season would be the last season of The Apprentice since the ratings on Sunday evenings were abysmal.   After the last episode, The Donald quit before NBC could cancel him.  Unfortunately for The Donald, he was still under contract for one more year and a month later NBC announced there would be another season of The Apprentice, but with a twist: celebrities would be the contestants and they would play not for a job, but for charity.

And so The Celebrity Apprentice was born.  Featuring more than a dozen D-List (with Gene Simmons and Lennox Lewis being the two notable exceptions) celebrities with giant egos and few skills other than who they know, the show has turned out to be more amusing than I thought.   Some of the celebrities (see Simmons, Gene) are amusing and watching everyone's egos clash make the show rather funny.  During the first week, The Donald surprisingly (at least for him) fired the most attractive contestant, former Playboy Playmate Tiffany Fallon, because she did not call up Hugh Heffner for a donation even though Omarosa (yea, that cantankerous idiot from season one is back--I'm not sure how she qualifies as a celebrity) was the project manager and should have been fired because she did a terrible job.   And last night the women lost again and Trump fired some incompetent person I had never heard of.

Stay tuned for more.  If you want a good laugh, they are replaying the first two episodes this Saturday night.  Otherwise, it's on at 9pm on Thursdays on NBC.

BVDH The Endorsement (for the Dems): Obama

BVDH The Blog will endorse a Democrat and a Republican for their respective nominations since BVDH is an avowed independent.  The GOP endorsement will come shortly, but now it's time for the one on the democratic side.

After eight divisive years under President Bush, the United States needs change and hope for the future.  In light of these needs, BVDH The Blog endorses Barack Obama for the democratic nomination for President.  Barack Obama talks about a new majority--one of democrats, independents, and republicans--to heal America and make the country work again.  He in incredibly uplifting and inspiring and these things are important despite HRC's arguments to the contrary.  Obama excites people, especially young people who have not participated in the democratic process in the past and this is extremely important. 

There are problems with Obama.  Mainly, his lack of experience and  lack of concrete plans for being President other than hope and change.  But experience is not everything and past experience does not always translate into presidential success (see Bush, George W. and his successful years as Governor of Texas).  He talks about fixing America's problems, but is short on the details.  Despite these issues, his ability to energize, uplift, and bring new people into the process make him the strongest candidate on the democratic side.

Obama's two major opponents, John Edwards and Hillary Clinton (HRC) both have more experience, but both would be worse candidates in a general election and worse presidents.  Why?  HRC is extremely unpleasant, too calculating, and most importantly, unelectable.  Too many Americans dislike HRC for her to be elected President.  She would lose to any republican.  John Edwards is a decent candidate, but he's old news.  He has done nothing to make the American people support him since 2004 and at this point he's not a serious contender. 

Obama could change American politics.  He's not perfect and he still needs to flesh out his platform in detail, but he is the best on the Democratic side. 

New Hampshire Voters: You're Fired!

Congrats Democrats and Independents of New Hampshire.  Y'all (I go to school in Atlanta and therefore I am allowed to use this) screwed up big time.  How the hell did you pick Hillary "the phony" Clinton as your nominee.  She was getting slaughtered in the polls (10 points is a ton).  Then she wins?   Either all the polls were really off, or people changed their minds in the last 24 hours.   

Let's assume that people changed their minds.  Was it because she cried yesterday?  Her "tears" were incredibly fake.  Hillary is incredibly fake.  She's a power-hungry phony who wants to be President.  I thought the New Hampshire voters were supposed to be discerning.  An eight year old could have seen through her little stunt, but apparently the female voters of New Hampshire could not (they swung over to her side in the largest numbers). 

The ramifications of this are huge.  If Obama won big tonight, it was game over for HRC and her sidekick (Pres. Clinton).  That would have been lovely.   But now she's revitalized and we should have a close race, which is a good thing in principle (though not in this case because HRC is involved).  However, I hope that she doesn't just steamroll to the nomination now because that would be bad for America and bad for the democratic party since she cannot win in a general election.  Too many people (myself included)  will never vote for her, even though we would vote for Obama or another democrat.

So in the words of the great Donald Trump (my celebrity apprentice post is coming soon), New Hampshire Voters--You're Fired!  Just another reason why New Hampshire and Iowa should lose their special status and we should move to a national primary. 

The Iowa Caucuses: Hillary goes down hard

Well the three-ring antidemocratic circus known as the Iowa Caucuses went down last night and I have to say, at least on the democratic side I am quite pleased with the results.   

I despise the Iowa Caucuses as a concept.  Not only are they undemocratic (if you can't show up for any reason--such as medical problems, work, etc--you are disenfranchised), but also they have way too much importance.  Iowa is not even close to representative of the United States and that Iowa has so much influence in picking our next president is simply wrong.  Same with New Hampshire.   I am an advocate of a national primary day that would prevent candidates from spending months in sleepy Iowa and instead talk to the American people as a whole.  For more on my opinion on why Iowa and New Hampshire should not play as big of a role, you can visit my Emory Wheel column on the subject.

Nonetheless, Iowa is very important in the primary process and last night was a rather dramatic result on both sides of the aisle.   Starting with the GOP, Mike "the moron" Huckabee won handily, beating Mitt Romney and others.  I like Huckabee's populist message and the fact that he has gained popularity without money.  Normally, I would praise Huckabee for winning when he was outspent by Romney 20 to 1.  But Mike Huckabee is not intelligent enough to be President.  He has no clue about anything going on outside of Iowa in this country or the world and I expect him to flame out soon.   

The Democratic side was even more exciting.  Hillary Clinton was crushed and finished third behind both Obama and Edwards.   I do not like Hillary.  She is unpleasant, uninspiring, and unelectable in a general election.  Boy, was I ever happy to see her not only lose, but lose to two people.  I like Obama and I'm glad he won.  And boy did he win, beating Edwards by 8 points and Clinton by 9 points.  I think his win will translate into a win in New Hampshire and that will probably spell the beginning of the end for the Junior Senator from New York.  Edwards is now irrelevant (surprise).  A lot can happen, but right now things look good for Obama.  If you did not hear his victory speech last night, look it up because it was simply inspiring.