Unconventional Wisdom

I’ve been wanting this race to boil down to Sen. Hilary Clinton vs. Sen. Barack Obama. It always seemed to me that Sen. Clinton wanted it more than Sen. Obama. I’m also willing to wager that Sen. Clinton’s designs on the presidency has been upset by the meteoric rise of her Senate colleague.

Either way I have my ideas about Sen. Obama’s chances in the presidential race. For me, there are things against him such as his lack of solid, concrete, specific details on such things as health care. However, I believe his popularity might help him and hopefully he will have specific details on what he would do as president and how he’d get there. Those are questions he will answer at some point for sure.

Still the question is, will he be ready to be the Democratic nominee for President or will he be ready to be President? Here’s a column from the Chicago Sun-Times from where this post steals its title…

He paused and ducked and weaved: “I don’t want to just differentiate myself from one candidate because there are a lot of good candidates. … We are all on the same team. We’re all just running for quarterback.”

But if Obama had been really honest, he would have admitted this: He rarely indulges in sweets, but Clinton sees dessert and pizza as a serious part of her campaign obligations, especially in Iowa, where meeting small crowds over coffee — so called retail politics — is de rigueur.

“We always serve pie at our events,” acknowledges Clinton’s good-humored Iowa press secretary, Mark Daley. Pie is, after all, an Iowan tradition. “The cherry pie has been a really big hit,” he says. Rhubarb and mixed berry are also popular.

But Daley says Clinton doesn’t often get to eat the pie since “she spends most of her time talking.”

Check out Sen. Clinton’s campaign schedule according to this column. She ate up or at least gave some of those sweets to others in her campaign…

• Friday, May 25, 4 p.m., Charles City, Iowa: Clinton Meets with Iowans over Pie and Coffee.

• 7:15 p.m., Algona, Iowa: Clinton Attends a “Meet and Greet” with Iowans at Premier Pizza.

• Saturday, May 26, 9:30 a.m., Emmetsburg, Iowa: Clinton Meets Iowans Over Coffee and Rolls at Pizza Ranch.

• 1 p.m., Sioux Center, Iowa: Clinton Meets with Iowans over Pie and Coffee at Sioux Center Library.

• 4 p.m., Sioux City, Iowa: Clinton Attends an Ice Cream Social and “Conversation with Iowans.”

Hmmm, I would really love to run for office in the state of Iowa or at least President. But the column suggests that Barack needs to get in the game and eat up. No more excuses…

The truth for Barack Obama is, as his wife, Michelle, tells it, he doesn’t like sweets much, having spent the formative years of his childhood in Indonesia, where dessert is not part of the menu. In fact, the only time I have seen Obama dig in to the traditional end to a meal was the ice cream he ate Sunday in Berlin, N.H. And he had it in a cup, not a cone! (What is he afraid of, 60 more calories?)

We know he is a rigorous exerciser, sneaking down often to the hotel work-out rooms early in the morning while he is on the campaign trail. It’s harder to go for a run outside now with these burly Secret Service guys around. But Obama’s extremely wiry frame suggests to me that he is not taking in enough calories on the campaign trail. In fact, I say this as a good Jewish mother: “What, you don’t like the food on your plate? You look too thin. Eat up.”

Listen Barack, if you’re a smart politician, you won’t let Hillary take the cake!

Former US Rep. Cynthia McKinney (Democrat-Georgia) is seeking the Green Party nomination for President. From Peach Pundit.

There has been a lot of talk about former Tennessee Senator Fred Dalton Thompson joining the race. The Washington Post says that he is going to form a presidential committee. Here’s a piece of this article…

“Law and Order” star Fred Thompson will make his flirtation with a White House bid official this week, forming a presidential committee and launching a fundraising effort that could culminate in a formal announcement over the July 4th weekend, advisers to the former senator said.

Thompson, who has been fueling speculation that he would seek the Republican presidential nomination with a spate of appearances and speeches around the country, urged a group of donors in a conference call yesterday to each attempt to raise a total of $46,000 from 10 couples starting on June 4, according to two participants in the call. Once the money begins flowing, Thompson will begin to hire a campaign staff and set up headquarters in Washington and Nashville, his advisers said.

In addition, the nascent campaign is planning to launch a Web site in the next 10 days, according to one person familiar with campaign planning. Thompson will give a speech in Virginia this weekend and is scheduled to appear on the “Tonight Show with Jay Leno” next month.

The papers Thompson intends to file on Friday with the Federal Elections Commission will allow the former Tennessee senator to test the waters by raising money that could be used once he declares officially, several sources said. The committee he will establish will be called “Friends of Fred Thompson.”

“It allows for testing the waters, to see if the financial resources are going to be there to mount a campaign, set up an operation and continue to get ready to announce his candidacy,” said one source with knowledge of Thompson’s immediate plans.

Thompson’s advisers have discussed making that announcement over the July 4th weekend, using the hoopla of the national holiday as a backdrop for the official launch of the campaign. But those plans are in flux and could change, two sources said today. One source said a formal announcement is likely to come “around that time.”

Hmmm, I recall he flirted with running for President before 2000. It looks like he’s actually serious now. I wonder where this pans out and where he fits with the front runners.

And I wanna know if Newt is going to get into the Presidential sweepstakes.

Al Qaeda Also Fed Up With Ground Zero Construction Delays

I just had to post this from The Onion. Very hilarious or maddenning.

You national Republican should get to know Bob Kjellander (the KJ is pronounced SH). He’s a national GOP committeman in Illinois and a friend of Karl Rove. Kjellander was dogged in Illinois for doing business for Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich (Democrat) during his first term. He got a good pay day of about $300K.

From the Sun-Times’ Lynn Sweet’s blog…

During the 2007 State Chairmen’s Meeting this month in Columbia, S.C., the Committee on Arrangements for the 2008 Republican National Convention elected the following officers by resolution: Bob Kjellander, National Committeeman for Illinois as Vice Chairman; Sara Gear Boyd, National Committeewoman for Vermont as Secretary; and Tim Morgan, National Committeeman for California as Treasurer. Blake Hall, National Committeeman for Idaho, will serve as General Counsel to the committee.

The Committee on Arrangements is the RNC body charged with the planning and management of the Convention. The 2008 Republican National Convention will be held in Minneapolis-Saint Paul, Minnesota September 1-4, 2008.

Illinois Republicans have tried in the last few years without success to remove Kjellander from his GOP post. There were even calls by grassroots Republican groups to call for the direct election of Republican national committeeman in Illinois.

The Illinois General Assembly has already passed a law that moves up the presidential primary to February 5th instead of March. It was designed to help Illinois US Senator Barack Obama. Now this could be seen as a good thing for the struggling IL GOP. From the Chicago Sun-Times…

“It really is wide open on the Republican side,” said Illinois Republican Party chairman Andy McKenna.

“It’s ironic,” he said. “A move to help Obama helps the Republican Party.”

When Gov. Blagojevich signs the legislation setting Feb. 5 as the primary date, switching from March, Illinois joins more than 20 other states holding elections that day, creating a new national primary. While Obama has a near lock on Illinois, the three top Republican contenders — former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney and Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) — see Illinois as fertile territory and are establishing statewide campaigns.

In order to draw attention to Illinois, McKenna said the party is considering organizing a straw poll on Aug. 16, five days after the influential Aug. 11 Iowa Republican party straw poll.

Each of the three frontrunners on the GOP side have tapped leading Illinois Republicans as chairmen — all with statewide political networks.

It appears that the three “frontrunners” are really serious about playing a role in Illinois and has even gotten prominent GOP state legislators to chair their campaigns. Others like Gov. Tommy Thompson seem OK with not mounting a serious campaign for Illinois’ 70 delegates.

Here’s more…

The primary could provide a shot in the arm for the Illinois GOP that is much needed — what with the Democrats in every statewide office and in control of the House and Senate.

McKenna sees the primary as a “basis for re-engaging volunteers who may have been dispirited the past couple of years.”

The GOP rivals, said McKenna, will be “viewing Illinois not just as a place to raise money but a place where they want to win.”

A pretty good post. I would be grateful to be 106 and sharp as this post described him…

Frank Buckles, frail but sharp, surrounds himself with totems from another time and distant lands.

A china cabinet is filled with military patches, an old wireless telegraph and other knickknacks he collected while deployed to England, France and Germany. One wall holds a sepia-toned photograph of Buckles as a fresh-faced soldier at age 16 posing with the rest of his Army unit.

Another showcases commendations from Congress and the West Virginia governor, as well as a photograph of French President Jacques Chirac pinning the French Legion of Honor medal on Buckles’ jacket.

And there are his war stories.

From World War I. “The Great War.”

The life of Frank Buckles in some ways tracks a timeline for the rise of America as a superpower. He has been witness to it all, and he is one of very few living to tell about it.

At age 106, Buckles is one of only three known living American veterans of World War I, according to the Department of Veterans Affairs.

“For many years, I would read the figures in The Torch [a veterans magazine] in two columns — one was the number of 4.7 million-something veterans who served, and the other, which kept going down, was the number of us that were still alive,” Buckles said. “I knew one day it would come to this. But I didn’t think I would be one of the few still around to talk about it.”

Buckles is the youngest of the three known living U.S. World War I veterans. His voice is raspy, he has difficulty walking, and he needs help getting dressed each morning. But his mind is keen, and the memories of his two years in Europe during the war remain clear.

On Monday, Frank Buckles will serve as a marshal for the National Memorial Day Parade in Washington, D.C., sharing the starring role with actor Gary Sinise. White House officials also offered to give Buckles a tour on Memorial Day, but his doctor advised that the parade was more than enough excitement for one day.

Buckles said he doesn’t mind all the attention. It’s a salute to his generation, and he happens to be the only one of his contemporaries available to take a bow. But he said he is concerned about whether he is the right guy for the parade.

“What are you supposed to do when you lead a parade?” Buckles asked.

Besides Buckles, the VA has identified the only other living World War I veterans as Harry Landis, a 107-year-old living in Sun City Center, Fla., and Russell Coffey, a 108-year-old in North Baltimore, Ohio.

After the last Navy veteran and the last American woman to serve in World War I died days apart in March, the VA made a public appeal to identify any other veterans of the war, but found no others, said VA spokesman Matt Burns.

While World War I marked the decline of the British Empire and led to the remapping of the Mideast, “The Great War” has largely become the forgotten war of American history, said Eli Paul, director of the newly opened National World War I Museum in Kansas City, Mo.

God bless him!!!