Obama doomed? DART defense; Same old Pauken

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Lessons for Obama from Bush

Wayne Slater on Trail Blazers has a curious take on an op-ed piece in the New York Times by Paul Burka of Texas Monthly. Burka and Slater claim that "can't deliver on his politics of hope any more than Bush could deliver on his promise of being a uniter, not a divider." The argument is that the American political system is inherently adversarial. Burka and Slater support their argument by identifying divisive tendencies in Bush even in Texas, before he ran for President on a reputation for being a uniter.

Well, Obama is no Bush. It's one thing to say being a uniter in Washington is a hard promise for Obama to keep. It's another to imply that Bush ever had any intention of keeping that same promise. Big difference.

A week ago, pundits were inaugurating Obama as president before he won even his first primary. After New Hampshire, where Obama lost by about the polls' margins of error, a hypothetical Obama presidency itself is being dismissed as "doomed". The press is fickle but never in doubt.

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The Politics of Construction (of Light Rail)

Rufus Shaw on Dallas Blog puts up a spirited defense of his wife, Lynn Flint-Shaw, chair of the DART board. Or maybe he doesn't, on the advice of her attorney who advised him not to comment. Defense is needed because of the embarrassing fact that DART's estimates for building lines to Irving and Rowlett were off by 100%, or a billion dollars.

In the end, it comes across as him saying he could defend her, if he was free to, but you'll just have to take his word for it. She's a victim of "race mongers" or something like that. She didn't know of a billion dollar shortfall until just a month or so ago. And it wasn't misappropriated. They just did a lousy job of forecasting. Besides, Denver miscalculated by three billion dollars. There, don't you feel better about the DART board and its chair, now? If this is the best defense Rufus Shaw can offer, he should have listened to his wife's lawyer and just kept his mouth shut.

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2008 Tom Pauken, Same As 2007

The new year finds no changes in Tom Pauken's tired old whines. He goes to a real estate CEO to report the shocking discovery that Dallas property taxes are too high. He again fails to find a link between the state's constitutional allergy to income taxes and the reliance on property taxes instead. Tom Pauken is more interested in shifting the tax burden from the rich to the working classes than in achieving a fair, broad-based, progressive tax system in Texas. So far in 2008, it doesn't look like he's found any more convincing arguments than he offered in his failed run at this issue in 2007.

Pauken then goes all the way to Vietnam to find his latest example of religious persecution against Catholics in the world. Or rather, a decades-old example, since the case in question involves confiscation of church property in the 1950s and 1960s. A lone priest has been overseeing a Hanoi church alone ever since. A weekend public protest against the treatment of the church gives Tom Pauken reason to believe that the Communist government may be headed towards collapse. See if Tom Pauken ever gets to buy his plane tickets for his triumphal return to Vietnam before he dies. See if Pauken ever shows any empathy towards victims of religious persecution other than Catholics. Just don't bet the farm.

Honor killings

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Domestic Violence Respects No Religion

I've listened to Rod Dreher of The Dallas Morning News go on and on about the killings of two high school girls by their abusive father, a Muslim immigrant from Egypt. Rod Dreher repeatedly told us the tragedy had all the earmarks of an "honor killing". You know, something demanded by the father's religion and culture. Which is Islam, in case you missed it. The man just had to do it, being Muslim and all. It's not that he was an abusive husband and father. It's that he was a good Muslim. After all, Americans don't have "honor killings." Muslims do. Got it?

There was something about Dreher's coverage that made me feel, ... well, icky. It was as if Dreher had no real interest in the victims. As if he welcomed the story as evidence of his theory that Muslims are the source of evil in the world and, if good Christians don't wake up, America will be overrun by Muslims and our Christian daughters will all be killed, too.

Today, Megan Feldman of Unfair Park reveals that she had similar feelings, but she expresses herself much better than I. Her story points out the evil that led to the killings, the sad fact that domestic violence knows no cultural or religious boundaries, and the reprehensible behavior of journalists who exploit the tragedy to advance their own anti-immigrant, anti-Muslim agenda. All of us should take Feldman's conclusion to heart:

"So why don't people stop shouting about the evils of Islam and start talking about how to protect women and children who have been so brutalized, and are utterly dominated by their abusers that they are powerless to protect themselves? It happens all the time, and not just in immigrant families."

Horse meat; Hillary's tears

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Horse Slaughter Moves to Mexico

Now that the horse lovers have gotten the slaughter houses in Texas shut down, they've discovered that the business has just relocated across the border to Mexico. American horses are still being slaughtered, only now it's after a much longer trailer ride and in perhaps more abusive conditions.

I can't figure the logic in opposing slaughtering and eating horses, but having no problem with slaughtering and eating cows and pigs.

One argument is that horses have other uses -- riding, racing, drawing and hauling. So? Why can't they be eaten, too?

Another argument is that the animals are abused. Well, pass animal protection laws to ensure the slaughter is done humanely. Just banning the slaughter doesn't ensure humane treatment for the old or injured horses and may result in more abuse, not less, for unwanted horses. At least PETA is consistent. They oppose all animal abuse. But I bet the horse lovers hate PETA. Go figure.

Yet another argument is that horses are so intimately tied to the romance of American history that it is unacceptable to eat them. OK, you love horses and don't feel anything for cows and pigs. There are others who don't feel anything special towards horses, but may think cows are holy or pigs are dirty. Logically, there's no way to differentiate. Majority rule would settle it, I suppose, but everyone agreeing not to impose their own animal preferences on everyone else would be another solution.

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Hillary's Tears

Tod Robberson of DallasMorningViews raises a volatile subject, wondering whether Hillary Clinton's tears were genuine when she choked up when an answering a question in New Hampshire. His blog headline, "Clinton's Planted Tears," implies she was faking. But his admission that her campaign officials reacted in horror, would lead to different conclusion.

Others have wondered whether the scene gave insight into Clinton's humanity (working to her advantage) or showed a feminine weakness (working to her disadvantage). Some of those rushing to Clinton's defense accuse the second-guessers of sexism for even discussing the incident. Robberson scrambled to say all he is questioning is Clinton's sincerity, not her toughness.

Yesterday, Rufus Shaw (Dallas Blog) accused the Clintons of racism for criticizing Barack Obama. Now, Robberson is accused of sexism for criticizing Hillary Clinton. Politics is a blood sport. Reporters sometimes will be caught in the crossfire. Reporters sometimes will take a pot shot or two themselves. Here's an example of one reporter shooting himself in the foot. Get used to it. The campaign of 2008 is just heating up.

Race and Democratic Politics

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Inserting Race into the Race

Up until now, the race card has been absent in the Democratic race for the Presidential nomination. Rufus Shaw, on Dallas Blog, changes that with his commentary on the New Hampshire primary. Obama wowed Shaw with his dramatic win in Iowa, hinting of a "world seriously considering the possibility of having our first Black president." Having hopes raised only to be dashed five days later, prompts Shaw now to fire a shot across the Clinton campaign's bow, warning them that any criticism of Barack Obama will alienate African-American voters. It doesn't matter that Clinton and her surrogates attacked Obama's experience in the closing days in New Hampshire, not his race.

Of course, Shaw is out of line. Shaw is playing the race card. But this is politics. It's a blood sport. Clinton must act very carefully not to give critics an opening. Obama must, too. If Obama himself even hints at what Shaw is saying, the Democrats could split, ruining their chances, no matter who wins the nomination. But it might be out of Clinton and Obama's hands. If the attitude expressed by Rufus Shaw is shared by any sizable percentage of African-Americans, a Clinton victory might inevitably trigger a split. And an Obama victory, if perceived by other Democrats as some kind of surrender to threats by African-Americans, would doom his own election chances.

New Hampshire picks

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New Hampshire Picks

The political reporters at Trail Blazers make their picks for today's New Hampshire primary. Everyone thinks the polls will prove accurate. They all pick Barack Obama to win the Democratic primary and all but two pick John McCain to win the Republican primary. The two exceptions expect Mitt Romney to eke out a narrow victory.

There is a lot of disagreement about what happens below that. They are all over the board as to guessing how Mike Huckabee, Rudy Giuliani and Ron Paul will fare. Fred Thompson is usually picked to finish last.

After my disastrous picks in Iowa, where I went against the polls, I'd be a fool to make that mistake again. Polls weren't destiny in Iowa, or so I thought, because the caucus system there is so arcane. New Hampshire holds a straight, popular vote primary election. If polls proved accurate in Iowa, they should be even more so today. So, it'll be Obama by 10 points over Clinton with Edwards far back. And it'll be McCain by 3 points over Romney, with Huckabee, Giuliani, Paul and Thompson finishing far back, in that order. My only doubt with those picks is over the influence of a tidal wave of independent voters going to Obama. If that happens, McCain might slip below Romney in the Republican primary.

Trail Blazersdoesn't speculate on who might drop out, but I suspect Bill Richardson might be gone tomorrow. Clinton definitely will stick around until at least Super Tuesday, February 5. On the Republican side, the picture will be so muddled that no one will drop out, not even Mitt Romney, whose script for the nomination has gone terribly awry. Look for Fred Thompson to drop out after South Carolina. The others will hang on until Super Tuesday.

Global cooling; Texan of the Year

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Global Warming Denier Learns About Global Cooling

Scott Bennett of Dallas Blog sarcastically reports news that cyclical sunspot activity might trigger global cooling. He calls global warming a "plot by discredited Commies and gullible liberals like [Al] Gore." He says he is not kidding, that "we will be in deep snow" by 2041. This according to a press release from something called the Space and Science Research Center (SSRC), which appears to have little history, few peer-reviewed scientific papers, a director who isn't even a scientist, and a mission of selling "research and study products tailored to meet the requirements of SSRC customers." In other words, pay us and we'll write it.

In fact, cyclical sunspot activity and cyclical ice ages have been known and studied for decades. In the 1970s, the popular press was full of stories about the possibility of the onset of another ice age. Left to itself, the Sun and Earth just might be about to enter another ice age. But the Earth is no longer left to itself. Human activity is influencing climate change. And the preponderance of evidence is that, despite sunspot activity, the Earth is warming, not cooling.

None of this is news. None of this is a surprise to anyone who has been reading the science for the last 20 or 30 years. But Scott Bennett is a journalist, not a scientist. Worse, he's a journalist who's prone to conspiracy theories. He'll accept any press release from anywhere as long as it supports his denial of global warming, but he dismisses mountains of contrary evidence by reputable scientists. Scott Bennett should be investigated for journalistic malpractice.

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DMN's Texan of the Year

The Dallas Morning News chose the "Illegal Immigrant" as its Texan of the Year for 2007. Keven Ann Willey explained the controversial choice:

I fear that many of the people upset over our choice for Texan of the Year have read only the headline of the essay and not its content. The essay makes it clear that we're not glorifying the illegal immigrant. We are noting that nobody else has so roiled Texas (and all of America) in the past year as the illegal immigrant.

The avalanche of critical reader reaction to the News' choice confirms the decision as a good one. Nothing has stirred the political pot, from city council apartment regulations to presidential electoral politics, as the issue of illegal immigration.

Tom Pauken of Dallas Blog piles on by calling the selection "silly" and approvingly quotes one irate reader who asks, "What part of stupid are you guys that support illegal aliens?" Pauken's coverage shows no evidence that he himself actually read the essay. The choice was not "asinine" as another reader quoted by Pauken asserts. What's assinine is leaving unchallenged the accusation that the News' choice indicates that the News supports illegal immigration.

Tom Pauken spends more time criticizing the News and its current staff than he does reviewing its choice for Texan of the Year. Pauken is bitter with the News for dismissing the old guard, journalists whose time was long past. The Dallas Morning News suffers from declining circulation, almost all newspapers do, but one thing's for sure. It's not because of the dismissal of the likes of Scott Bennett, Carolyn Barta, Bill DeOre and William Murchison, who now can be found at Dallas Blog. Maybe Dallas Blog should try to hire Ed Bark, Tom Siegfried, or other former News' writers known for good writing, not just for conservative propaganda. But don't count on it. I don't think good writing is at the top of Tom Pauken's list of goals for Dallas Blog.

Whither independents?; Wingers' dilemma; Godtalk in Iowa

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Does Obama Help McCain in New Hampshire?

New Hampshire has an open primary. Independents are allowed to vote in either the Republican or Democratic primaries. Barack Obama benefited from independents in Iowa and he's expected to benefit again in New Hampshire. John McCain's victory in 2000 is attributed to his ability to attract independents then. McCain's opposition to Bush tax cuts, his support for campaign finance reform and his support for immigration reform all are more likely to appeal to independents than the Republican base. So, you'd think John McCain needs to compete with Barack Obama to get independents to vote in the Republican primary, not the Democratic primary, right?

Not if you listen to William McKenzie of The Dallas Morning News. If you can follow his logic, Obama helps McCain by drawing away independent voters, freeing McCain from the "burden" of having to attract independent voters. Does this make sense to anyone else? Does Romney really do better than McCain with independents? I don't see it myself.

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Wingers' Dilemma

Tara Ross, regular winger contributor to Dallas Blog, reveals just how pitiful a fix Republicans find themselves in this year with their choice of Presidential candidates. She reviews each, finding fatal flaw after fatal flaw. Huckabee is an "unmitigated disaster." Romney can't be trusted as to who he really is. Thompson would have been the man if everyone else didn't find him to be "lazy." McCain is not a "true" conservative. Paul can't be taken seriously. That leaves a cross-dressing, gun controlling, sanctuary city mayor who doesn't share Texas' values but just might leave Texas alone. If only "his personal life were less of a mess."

Vote Rudy 2008. Because There's No Good, Viable Alternative.

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Godtalk in Iowa

Jeffrey Weiss of The Dallas Morning News' religion blog noticed something missing from all the speeches after the Iowa caucuses -- namely, any God talk.

The explanation lies in the election calendar. The speeches were given AFTER the Iowa caucuses. They were directed at New Hampshire, not Iowa. Religion will be much less a factor in New Hampshire. And it was never a factor in the Democratic race anyway. In fact, only Mike Huckabee ever made religion a central focus of his campaign. And it's in Huckabee's interest to downplay religion for four or five days, until after the New Hampshire primary. He can go back to airing commercials with crosses in the background once he gets to South Carolina.

Iowa picks; Dirty tricks in Iowa

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Iowa Picks

The polls in Iowa offer something for everyone. The political reporters on Trail Blazers announce their picks for winners of tonight's Iowa caucuses. Unsurprisingly, the picks are all over the board. As for me, I'll pick Romney and Clinton.

On the Republican side, it's Romney because he's got the money to buy an army of precinct workers to make sure every last Romney supporter in Iowa goes to the caucuses. Huckabee might do well in the opinion polls, but he simply doesn't have the money or organization to make sure that translates into flesh and blood supporters showing up at the caucuses.

On the Democratic side, it's harder to call. Clinton and Obama both have the money to fund a huge get-out-the-vote drive on caucus night. Edwards may trail in fundraising, but he makes up for it by having lived in Iowa the last four years, plenty of time to establish his own organization. I don't pick Edwards because he's been overshadowed by the Bill & Hillary and the Oprah & Obama road shows. There's not enough oxygen for Edwards, too. And I don't pick Obama because he's relying too much on new voters and independents. They may poll well, but they just don't show up at the caucuses. That leaves Clinton the winner. We'll know soon enough.

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Tom Pauken, Dirty Trickster?

Tom Pauken takes one last potshot at Mitt Romney before the Iowa caucuses. Pauken reports that an anonymous letter was sent to pastors in Iowa warning them that their church's tax exempt status was at risk if the pastors campaign for Mike Huckabee. Pauken offers no evidence of any connection to the Mitt Romney campaign but insinuates as much with his headline, "Is Karl Rove Advising the Mitt Romney Campaign?" Not only does Pauken smear Romney, without evidence, by accusing him of dirty tricks, but he smears him again by association with the unpopular Karl Rove, again without evidence. A two-fer. Tom Pauken knows a thing or two about dirty tricks himself.

Campaign coverage; Huckabee and Leno; Edwards and FDR

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24 Hour News Gripe

DallasMorningViews's Michael Landauer asks a very good question. With so many 24 hour cable news channels, how come we get so much analysis about the presidential campaign and so little coverage of the campaigns themselves? I'm afraid the explanation is that covering politicians' stump speeches would be stupefyingly boring. Just watch CSPAN for a day or two to understand.

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Heeeere's Huck

DallasMorningViews's William McKenzie reports that Republican presidential candidate Mike Huckabee is flying to California to appear on the Tonight Show Wednesday, the day before the Iowa caucuses. McKenzie concludes that Huckabee "feels pretty darn secure about Iowa" to risk leaving the state for so long.

I suspect Huckabee feels no such thing. Huckabee has never had the money to buy the exposure that rival Mitt Romney had at his disposal. Huckabee is probably making a calculated business decision that he can reach more Iowans with a last-minute appeal via a free Tonight Show appearance than he can hope to achieve by traipsing around Iowa or hope to afford with standard television commercial buys. A smart move, in my estimation.

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John Edwards channels FDR

DallasMorningViews's William McKenzie confesses that John Edwards bugs him by making class warfare a focus of his campaign. McKenzie asks how you can bring two sides together in politics if you demonize one of them.

This naively assumes that Edwards wants to make nice with the business and financial powers that consider the government of the United States as a mere appendage of their own affairs. More likely, Edwards wants to battle big business, not make nice. He hearkens back to an earlier day when liberalism was more radical than today, and, by the way, more successful.

Paul Krugman, in The Conscience of a Liberal, quotes a 1936 election campaign speech by Franklin Roosevelt. Krugman reminds us that "FDR let the malefactors of great wealth have it with both barrels."

"We now know that Government by organized money is just as dangerous as Government by organized mobs. Never before in all our history have these forces been so united against one candidate as they stand today. They are unanimous in their hate for me -- and I welcome their hatred."

In Edwards, one hears a distant echo of FDR. The echo may not be loud enough for Edwards to achieve FDR's stature. But we do know this. FDR did not win by making nice with his political enemies. The Republican victories of the last generation were not won by making nice with Democrats. And the 2008 Democratic candidate won't win by making nice with the Republicans who themselves will pull no punches in their effort to stretch their hold on the White House for another four years.

Hagel/Bloomberg; Judge Jerry Buchmeyer

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Hagel/Bloomberg?

Dallas Blog's Scott Bennett drums up interest in third parties by reporting on a gathering planned for Oklahoma City on January 7. Attending will be Chuck Hagel, Michael Bloomberg and a host of former GOP and Democratic office holders.

Bennett likens Hillary Clinton to Richard Nixon in drag. And Rudi Giuliani to Richard Nixon occasionally in drag. He calls Barack Obama and John Edwards lightweights. He dismisses anyone except McCain on the GOP side as a loser, and Huckabee comical. That leaves an independent as Scott Bennett's only hope and Hagel/Bloomberg the most promising saviors. He scripts a scenario that has Ron Paul splitting from the GOP, Mike Huckabee, too, and even Gov Arnold Schwarzenegger of California throwing his weight behind the independent ticket. Bennett doesn't say how likely this scenario is, but he does say it it serious business.

I hate to rain on Scott Bennett's parade, but even if this whole string of unlikely events happened, an independent ticket winning the White House would still be near impossible. As Benett himself says, a split vote would most likely throw the election into the House of Representives. Last time I looked, Democrats and Republicans had a near lock on seats there. Independents need not apply.

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Buchmeyer Did a Lot of Good for Dallas

U.S. District Judge Jerry Buchmeyer announced plans to retire. Buchmeyer was instrumental in ending unconstitutional discrimination against African-Americans in public housing in Dallas. He also ended the unconstitutional electoral system that discriminated against African-American voters in Dallas City Council representation. Buchmeyer did a lot of good for Dallas. He will be missed.

But not for Tom Pauken. Pauken repeats the usual right-wing whine against judicial activism. Pauken was happy as long as the unconstitutionally gerrymandered city council continued to vote in favor of Pauken's interests and in favor of continued discrimination against African-Americans. Beware of wingers decrying judicial activism. It usually means some judge is finally applying the Constitution.