Your Mother Should Know

When your own mother doesn’t want you to run for president you should heed her advice. Jeb Bush is as likely to be elected president as Harry Reid is to go through a day without lying.

I cringe every time the idea of another Bush  running for president is uttered. Nothing against the man personally.  I happen to like soft, pudgy men who remind me of the Pillsbury Doughboy. But in 2016 we’re going to need  more than someone who reminds us of flaky pastry to right the ship of state and I don’t think Jeb Bush is the candidate to do it. Can you see him facing off against Iron Man Vladimir Putin. Granted he couldn’t do any worse than our present-day, straw man president – Mr. Red Line. But the international community will need a dynamic, American leader who will go toe-to-toe with the likes of:  Kim Jong-un, Xi Jinping and Bashar Assad and the aforementioned Mr. Putin.

 Moreover, a Bush candidacy  reeks of the dynasty issue that seems to be of little consequence to American voters in this day and age. Couple another  Bush run with another  likely Clinton run and the underlying   message is that the great unwashed  need not apply.

We’ve been seeing with more and more frequency  the sons and daughters, nephews and nieces of former office holders and hacks  running for any office that avails itself. Members of the Carter, Kennedy, Cheney, Graham and Nunn families  have announced their intentions to  follow the family  tradition and seek office. Add to that the names Begich, Graham,  Pryor, Cuomo, Landrieu, Brown, political scions all --   who have  already been elected and you get a general idea that our democracy is taking on an  oligarchic flavor.

We know name recognition is important in a political campaign. That’s the reason a lot of “name”  candidates get the nod to run in the first place. And it’s distressing  that  this paradigm  trumps dedication and a burning desire to solve problems and help people.

The political class is an emerging entity in the United States. And why not? It seems politics is the easiest way to riches these days. Dirt poor candidates like Bill Clinton and Barack Obama who had never held any job other than a political or public one come in with nothing but leave with much. In  local political offices this is even more palpable. Politics like the old neighborhood butcher shop has become a hand me down career. But when thinking about a political run your mother’s advice is worth listening to.

If the Shoe Fits or Flies

It’s comedic all the controversy surrounding the  shoe throwing incident involving former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. Pundits have come out of the woodwork speculating that the whole incident was staged. For exactly what purpose – who knows. What difference at this point does it make. To borrow  a phrase.

When it comes to the Clintons everything they do seems calculated for ulterior motives. In this latest episode in Las Vegas a woman, identified as Alison Ernst, threw a shoe at Madam Hillary who was speaking to a group about solid waste management. Initially  she thought the projectile was a bat. A thrown shoe actually behaves differently in flight than a bat. Former Senator Clinton seems to know a lot more about solid waste  than airborne rodents.

But was the whole incident staged? The Clintons have a history of being accused of staging events. There was the time when President Clinton was seen on Omaha Beach in Normandy during the 50th anniversary of D-Day when he, extemporaneously bent down and formed a cross near a pile of stones in commemorating  all those who lost their lives in that bloody invasion. We found out later  those stones were put there by the president’ staff.

Then there was the time, post-Lewinsky, when the Clintons, in an effort to save their marriage were seen dancing affectionately close on a beach in the Virgin Islands, signaling to the world that indeed they had weathered the marital maelstrom. Was there any doubt that this most political of marriages wouldn’t survive?

Then, there was the Congressional  hearing about the attack on Benghazi where our ambassador and three others were murdered.  Secretary Clinton stalled her appearance because of a blood clot many thought was contrived to fashion a plausible account of events that wouldn’t damage any future political aspirations.

 The  fact that  her tenure as Secretary of State yielded meager results was inconsequential. Yet it was applauded by most media outlets for the sheer amount of miles she logged globe hopping. Abraham Lincoln might have said of her accomplishments, “they were about as thin as the broth made from the shadow of a starving crow.”

So, whether the incident in Vegas was staged or real – it makes no difference. The media will always spin it positively . Of course when the Iraqi journalist tossed a shoe at George W. Bush it was deemed a great disrespect. For Madam Hillary it was just another day on a lucrative promotional speech tour.

The Czarina Michelle and Mom

When reports surfaced about the shabby treatment of hotel workers at the Beijing Westin Hotel by members of Barack Obama’s family  and their omnipresent hangers-on entourage I wasn’t surprised.

Those of the left-leaning persuasion always seem to be above the rhetoric they spew for the benefit  of the rest of us. The $8350 a night suite the first lady and her mother luxuriated in was paid by the Obamas we are told. The concomitant security -- probably ten times the cost of the opulent digs -- was borne by U.S. taxpayers. Of course this is a hallmark of the profligate Obamas. They love a free ride.

They talk incessantly about everyone doing their fair share and  leveling the playing field. Then they vacation, it seems ad infinitum, at the tonier places in the world. Where they expect to be treated like royalty.

It was no surprise to hear that the staff at their hotel  in China complained of being mistreated by the czarina’s mother as was reported in the foreign press, which has become the go-to  source for any objective reporting (dare I say Fox News)  about the reign of the Obamas. I have often thought the adage that a person’s character is revealed by the way they treat people who cannot  offer them anything in return  is a true barometer of integrity. And integrity is a gift a person gives to his/her self.

The Obamas mirror the same “white trash” veneer, with the obvious difference, that marked the early Clinton era. While they are polar opposites to the Bush,Reagan and Carter eras where class and probity were palpable to the unbiased eye.

They're Always Fighting for the Middle Class

 

The next time you hear a politician say he or she needs to be elected so they can help the middle class, I’d recommend voting for their opponent. But most likely the opponent will be spewing the same schpiel. Because the only thing a politician can do, especially liberal Democrat politicians, is to deliver the middle class to the lower classes. In 2008 , presidential candidate Barack Obama chose Sen. Joe Biden for his running mate. Sen. Biden would be entrusted, we were told, with helping and sustaining the middle class. Six years later I have yet to hear of one initiative as the middle class continues to contract. I tend to agree with Clint Eastwood, who, when addressing the Republican Convention in 2012 described Vice President Biden as a “grin with a body behind it.”

Pithy platitudes aside, we have not seen any real economic progress. There is no recovery. Remember shovel-ready jobs? There are just talking head politicians and wannabe politicians skulking around promising a piece of the American Dream. Unfortunately, the American Dream is on life support.

It was predicated on the premise that if you worked hard you could succeed. All you had to do was take advantage of the cornucopia of opportunities available. A lot of those opportunities have packed up and left and they ain’t coming back.

One of the most often used lines by candidates is that they want to give everyone an opportunity to succeed – just as their immigrant families have.  They wheel out their time-honored family history. The patriarch or matriarch entered the country; penniless, of course. And worked their way out of the old neighborhood; saved some money, bought a house; sent their kids to college. Garnered for themselves a piece of the American Dream. And that’s what they want for everyone. And this time they’re going to fast track you to the American Dream. With short cuts so it won’t be so hard this time.

It won’t be a generational wait. It begins to happen as soon as you cast your vote. They’re promising away the very essence, the core value of the  middle class. That working hard is your ticket to the next rung on the ladder.

Every time I hear  about all these new, non-existent opportunities to help every one get to the  middle class, it has a strange similarity to the housing give-a-way disaster a few years back. We know where that left us. Unless people work for what they get they never appreciate it. And if you give them something for nothing, they’ll always abuse it.

The Doctor Was Always In

 

We’ve all heard the story of the selfless, peripatetic, country doctor trudging through the chilly night to tend to one of his patients in need. Well, during a now bygone era, there were also many urban doctors who were equally dedicated  to their profession  who  put their patients and Hippocratic oath before all monetary emoluments.

One such doctor was Dr. Herbert E. Poch, a local legend, who passed last week at the age of 86. Dr. Poch was a caring, loving,  pediatrician. He was also a great teacher of young parents of which I was one when I made his acquaintance shortly after  the birth of our first child. He came highly recommended from everyone we asked. And my wife and  I will forever be in his debt.

 When my oldest daughter collapsed into a seizure one early spring morning, we panicked. I grabbed the  five-year-old, strapped her  into her car seat and rushed her  to the emergency room at our local hospital.

My anxiety level continued to spike upon my arrival. The emergency room doctors were unknown to me. And facing a serious situation of which I knew nothing, I began raising my voice for assistance. After a seemingly inordinate amount of time  had passed, they took my daughter into an examining room and suggested a spinal tap. At that point I really knew it was serious. As I paced the waiting room with my wife who met me there, both of us had no idea of the extent of the danger. As we stared at the door waiting for someone to come out and  tell us what was going on, we both were imagining worst case scenarios. Until the door opened and out came Dr. Poch. No one had summoned him. He was just making his normal rounds when he heard about the little girl who was brought in by a frantic father. The girl just happened to be his patient.

He was wearing a surgical gown and had been present for the procedure. The first thing out of his mouth, “she’s out of danger; she’s going to be alright.” A quarter century has gone by but I still vividly remember his reassuring image. And indeed, everything was alright – thanks to him.

We were sad when he retired. No other pediatrician could follow that act. But he went on to do so much more after he retired from practice. He began teaching full-time, disseminating his wisdom to post-graduate medical residents. He remained active in charitable work, being honored with several awards. He was even honored  with a proclamation on the floor of the U.S. Congress for his extraordinary service to children and his community.

Every once in a while you meet a real life saint. Dr. Poch was such a man. Early mornings on my way to work, passing his office, I’d see him enjoying a walk with his dog. Such a soothing sight. After his walk, he would sit at his desk for an hour or so to field questions over the phone  from parents, dispensing  advice and setting worried minds at ease. If I hadn’t known him in the flesh, Norman Rockwell would surely have created him.

Melo and the Messiah

 

Phil Jackson was recently hired by the New York Knicks to head up a floundering franchise which last won a championship in 1973. Everyone has trumpeted his arrival as some cataclysmic event -- indeed there were  standing ovations at the Garden when he was first introduced as the new president of the Knicks. I don’t think the desired results -- another championship --  will be attained in the new Jacksonian era despite blanket approval for the hire.

Unless I’m missing something this guy looks way too laid back to navigate the alleyways  of Manhattan. He’d be much more comfortable in sandals and cutoffs in Santa Monica or Venice Beach.

Yeah, he’s been part of 11 championships. And yes he did play for the  Knicks under Red Holzman  his esteemed mentor. And has dealt with mercurial characters: Kobe Bryant, Michael Jordan, Shaq and Dennis Rodman. And he has produced results, monumental results. But that was as a coach, not an executive who will have to make personnel  and financial decisions. Of course, he and GM Steve Mills will be able to hire other executives to handle the  mundane chores of running a franchise. While  he pockets a cool $12 plus million a year.

To Phil Jackson, this is a win-win. He gets the money, snubs his nose at the Lakers for passing him over for a similar role, most notably by the brother of his fiancée, Jeanie Buss. (By the way how long has she been his fiancée, anyway?) 

This whole affair looks like one big ego stroking for a guy who hasn’t been in the spotlight for a while but loves it. And going against the grain here, I don’t see any championships down the road in the term of Jackson’s contract. The Knicks were much better off with Donnie Walsh running the franchise. He was astute enough to know that trading for Carmelo Anthony was a stupid move, when he could have been gotten him as a free agent in the off season without sacrificing young talent. But Knicks’ owner James Dolan insisted on getting Carmelo which hastened the departure of Walsh, whose Pacers, by the way, are vying for a championship THIS year. And to his credit Walsh had the sense to know that Anthony  is toxic to a championship team.

Can Carmelo sacrifice his game for the good of a team concept? The Knicks are not missing role players they’re missing weight-supporting columns. Players like those don’t like prima donnas who think the game revolves around them. Who, as soon as they get their hands on the ball crossing half court monopolize it. How many last second shots has Carmelo missed this season with the game on the line? When the chips are down in the fourth quarter, great players find a way to win.

Well here’s hoping good luck to the long suffering Knick fans. Hope it works out but I doubt it will.

We Need A Re-Re-Set Button

Guess we need a re-re-set button now that apparently our president has exhausted all his promised flexibility with his good friend Vladimir Putin. From the very beginning this administration had all the trappings of the high school kids who take over the city council for a day and go through the motions of running the town until the grown ups  re-assume their rightful places. Unfortunately there aren’t any grown-ups  in the Obama administration who can step in and make things right.

Indeed they’ve been taken to school by Vlad and his merry regime. In the 2012 presidential debates President Obama ridiculed Mr. Romney for pointing out the grave dangers Russia and her expansionist oligarchs posed in the world. He was oblivious to  Romney's superior insight and said the former Massachusetts governor was  locked in a 1980’s time warp. The president’s naiveté  knows no bounds.

Obviously the administration wasn't prepared for the conflagration going on in the Ukraine. Just as they never seemed to be prepared for any unforeseen situation. They give new meaning to “ad hoc.” The administration’s cigar store Indian, dressed up as secretary of state seems equally inept  when he invokes phrases that the Russians are using anachronistic methods in the 21^st century. Doesn’t seem to bother the Russians. They have  long coveted a warm weather port and now are on the verge of getting one in the Crimea and the Russian-speaking population there is siding with the aggressors.

The Oblivicrats: Reid, Pelosi, Wasserman Schulz will continue to see wisdom when the majority of Americans see ineptitude. Even many media outlets are distancing themselves from the president  because there’s still too much time left in his term and there is nothing positive in sight: the continued displeasure with Obamacare, the lethargic economy;  high unemployment, gas and food prices; no immigration reform. Indeed the administration seems more concerned about the sovereignty of the Ukraine than ours.

Let’s keep our fingers crossed as we eliminate one day at a time when the mid-term elections arrive next November and hope we can re-set our own course.