Before I go anywhere with the politics of the night, I wish to simply acknowledge the passing of a true gentleman and scholar who will be missed by colleagues, fans and the whole of the political and reporting world. Tim Russert, dead of an apparent heart attack at the age of 58. May 7, 1950 – June 13, 2008. Let us speak of the Important things here. He is survived by his wife Maureen Orth and their son Luke. In 1995 The National Father’s day committee named him Father of the Year, and in 2001 the National Fatherhood Initiative named him Father of the Year.
He Worked with some of the Giants of New York Politics before going into reporting. He Worked with both Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan on his 1976 Senatorial campaign and with Mario Cuomo on his 1982 Gubernatorial Campaign.
There is more. Much more, but I am not certain that I could do him or his legacy Justice.
Good-Bye Tim. I would have liked to have met ya.
Politics and Television:
Mike Huckabee has been hired as a political commentator on fox news: quoting a blog from the L.A. Times:
The Washington Post’s Howard Kurtz reported today that Huckabee has inked a one-year deal to provide political commentary on Fox News. That network, of course, is the logical venue for the former Arkansas governor, who rode his strongly conservative convictions on social issues — and his ability to glibly communicate those views — to a first-place finish in the Iowa caucuses.
The story also goes onto say that this was in fact part of the plan for Mike Huckabee from the beginning of his Presidential run, to get his own show either on fox or MSNBC. The man who said that, a political journalist from Arkansas named John Brummett, must be feeling good right now. Hard to not feel good when you get something this right. Go John! But…..
It seems that it may not yet be over for Mister Huckabee’s political aspirations. He is speaking tomorrow in Iowa at the state’s Annual GOP Convention as a McCain Surrogate. Hmmmm, he has also been out and about talking the Anti-Democrat talk in a variety of places as well. Sounds like he’s stumping for a potential McCain-Huckabee ticket. What a ticket.
McCain-Huckabee 08: The Loon and the Goober. Good lord, that sounds like some horrible spoof of the movie Hooper from the 70′s with Burt Reynolds and that guy who played Roscoe P. Coltrane from The Dukes of Hazzard.
Enough about The Huckster.
Town Hall meetings: The deal for the ten Town hall meetings between now and the Democratic National Convention is off. Apparently Sen. Barack Obama says that it isn’t realistic for him to attend 10 town hall meetings while doing other campaign activities. He did send a counter offer to meet McCain 5 times between now and then, but with three of the meetings as actual debates and the other two as town hall meetings, one on The economy and the other on Foreign Policy. The McCain campaign declined.
I can see why he would not want to do the debates. Mister McCain is less then the best debater. I think I may have made a mis-statement once saying he was good. I should have said he was a good Informal speaker or some such, but I just goofed. It Happens. But that’s about the only place you see the words McCain and Good debater in the same sentence without the words “Is not” between them. And that last sentence. But that’s it. 
Found a fun toy to play with for all you Political Junkies out there. And no it’s not a live grenade with the pin missing. It’s a little interactive map of the United States with the number of electoral votes and a tally of how many electoral votes you have so far for each party. They also show how each state has voted in each election since 1968 and whether that state voted for the Winner or not. This is actually a descent way to guess at how your candidate will do, Just take the current poll numbers make the leader in each state polled the winner of that state and see how it goes. Used it yesterday using current poll numbers plus followed the historical trends and came up with a Victory for Barack Obama. A TIGHT victory, but a Victory nonetheless. Just did one with the Democrats losing Florida and Ohio and still winning. I did this after seeing that Tim Russert said that the Dems can win if they take three of the four following states: New Mexico, Arizona, Colorado and Nevada.
I had fun with it, I think you might as well, for at least a minute. Click here to check it out
In International news from Zimbabwe, Robert Mugabe is still an asshole. Here’s the latest war rhetoric from The embattled soon to be ex-leader, from the Reuters report:
Zimbabwe’s President Robert Mugabe said on Friday liberation war veterans would take up arms if he loses a June 27 presidential run-off vote.
Mugabe told youth members of his ruling ZANU-PF party in Harare that the veterans had told him they would launch a new bush war if the election was won by opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai, whom he accuses of being a puppet of the West.
“They said if this country goes back into white hands just because we have used a pen (to vote), ‘we will return to the bush to fight,’” Mugabe said, ratcheting up the pressure to extend his 28-year-presidency.
What the man is saying is that a vote for Morgan Tsvangirai is a vote for his men going into the countryside and killing his enemies and anyone they dislike indiscriminately. Hmm… and that a vote for Morgan Tsvangisai is a vote for Whitey. Wow. I had no Idea. Morgan doesn’t offhand seem the puppet. On the other hand The Liberation war veterans seem like puppets here to me. Puppets being used to prop up an old man who is trying his best to steal the last bread crumb from a starving nation. 80% unemployment, Inflation over 1,000,000% and he thinks people will care about intimidation. I think the people of Zimbabwe have figured out that they are going to die if Mugabe stays in power, doing things the way he has over the last few years. All i hear frm the BBC Broadcasts I hear about this is of Unwavering support for the MDC, and a wish to get rid of Robert Mugabe. This is gonna end up a massive bloody civil war.
The Liberation war veterans and Mugabe will be the death of this formerly strong and proud nation if they go that route. It’ll make the millions dead in the Congo a few years ago look like a love fest. OK, Maybe not, but hundreds of thousands of dead, more massacres and stories of atrocities in Africa is not what that beleaguered continent needs.
A personal note before I finish here. I may not be writing about running or Music for a while. That does not mean I’ve given up either. But I have been busy writing about news and politics and really doesn’t feel right putting my personal stuff here in what has essentially become a News/Politics Blog. Maybe I’ll start up another one with the an exclusive run/exercise theme and another with a strictly musical theme. I may jump back on the music here later, after the election cycle. I may have a change of heart and go back to doing it again on Monday. we’ll see, when i decide, I’ll let you know here.
2 videos for you before I go. First up, Tom Brokaw reporting the death of Tim Russert, Thanks to Veracifier for the youtube clip of the NBC Special report:
Next Up, a short news story from Asia news about Zimbabwe:
That’s It for me.
Today’s Nuggets from Benjamin Franklin, Via foundingfathers.info: History affords us many instances of the ruin of states, by the prosecution of measures ill suited to the temper and genius of their people. The ordaining of laws in favor of one part of the nation, to the prejudice and oppression of another, is certainly the most erroneous and mistaken policy. An equal dispensation of protection, rights, privileges, and advantages, is what every part is entitled to, and ought to enjoy… These measures never fail to create great and violent jealousies and animosities between the people favored and the people oppressed; whence a total separation of affections, interests, political obligations, and all manner of connections, by which the whole state is weakened.
Strive to be the greatest man in your country, and you may be disappointed. Strive to be the best and you may succeed: he may well win the race that runs by himself.
