Wednesday, May 24, 2006
war on redundancy
i don't know that i would call jean rohe a hero. heros are soldiers in iraq, or firemen and police at the world trade center, or teachers who teach and inspire learning. no, i wouldn't call her a hero but i would call her gutsy. why? because she stood up for what she believed in and continues to stand by her words. and the biggest reason she is gutsy- her words are true but fly in the face of the status quo. ms. rohe decided to call mccain on his using the commencement forum as a campaign platform(my words not hers). if he hadn't already used the same tired retread of a speech 3 times- perhaps he could have delivered the speech and left. mccain's camp got their panties in a bunch and his chief of staff attempted to insult and intimidate ms. rohe. the difference between new york city and lynchburg, virginia is probably light years and for mccain to think that he was going to be received in the same way is bordering on the assinine. now, i don't condone the heckling at all. that was in poor taste. but with the spate of waffling going on in the bubbled beltway- mccain's love fest with the falwells, et al, hillary's backpedal at the commencement podium- and any number of bushco lies about any number of issues- it was refreshing to see someone have the integrity to see what she perceived as hypocrisy and address it without waffling or changing her story to fit the issue, etc. there is hope for america's future.
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9 comments:
Its easy being a "Maverick" when deep down in your heart you know you have no shot at the presidency (like in 2000). So off he went on the "straight talk express" and blasted away at the religious right.
Enter the 2008 electoral cycle. Its almost laughable. Look I can't really pound the guy too hard. This man has seen misery, torture and things in the "Hanoi Hilton" than most of us can only see in a Clive Barker movie...but having said that he gives waffling a new meaning. When I first heard he was making up with Falwell and speaking at Jones University,.. it perked my ears a little. Not because of the act itself -everybody knows you just CANT get any traction on a Republican primary unless you kiss the ring of the bible belt-, but just because he lost all the credibility he had built-up over a lifetime with the national press and independent voters, the life-blood of any campaign needing to stay afloat.
Lastly, he looks tired. Even Reagan at 72 looked better than John does now,.. and image being a bastion of perception in media, I'm not sure if her has not re-tacked his focus to the elderly and the religious right knowing he blew it with the rest of us.
his political life to me is separate from what he went through as a pow. there is no doubt that he was a brave person who suffered immeasurably. he did seem to have integrity- but will the real john mccain please stand up? is this the real mccain- or the mccain who seemed to have principle? you tell me.
Something happens to people when they can smell the roses outside the White House windows... any semblance of stoic principles goes out the window and the compelling need for the "greater good of Governing" flattens the initial characteristics we found pleasing in the first place.
I was never a "McCain-iac" (though I thoroughly enjoyed him and Bush beating each other to a pulp in the primaries of 99' :)I think I like to stand back, look what the country needs in the next 2-6 years, narrow my "must-have" issues to 2 or 3 good ones, and make my choice based on that.... So far (besides whomever is running for the Libertarian Party) I'm looking at Rudy Guliani, Mitt Romney,... Maybe Richardson of New Mexico .... I think Mike Huckaby of Arkansas (R) is a real sleeper, he is a common-sense Republican who is not beholden to the usual suspects. Looks to be a great season of "must-see-TV".
no democrats on the list of must haves though, huh?
Betmo...Bill Richardson, the Governor of New Mexico is a Cemocrat. Served as Energy Secretary under Clinton. He gets hammered a lot but Ive done my homework on the guy. Very much a centrist....
As to my list of "must haves".. the issues I pick are party-blind.. meaning I choose the hot button issues as to how I feel the country is headed and focus on them, .. regardless of what party has the same ones in their radar.
oh yeah... I like Evan Bayh, Democrat Senator of Indiana as well , I dont think he is the leftie that Fox paints him to be :)
p.s.
The funny thing about the Hillary comments was that -to me at least-,I thought they were right on. Not in a general way of course,.. but I think there was great validity to what she said. I wonder what poll-driven directive made her hop on her back-peddlin' bike... I doubt it was Chelsea,... but who really knows...
i supervised these young twentysomethings out of college- and let me tell you- clinton was right on. that's why i am so mad with her at this point. up to now, she has conducted herself appropriately- she is a very intelligent lady and has done her best by new york state. between her and chuck- we have had a good team- until recently. she seems to have completely flaked out and is going to the typical dem motto of don't offend anyone. not that i think people should go out of their way to offend others- but sometimes it happens. apologize and move on. don't backpedal to look like you are trying to appeal to everyone. it stinks of politics and no one in this country is in the mood for politics as usual.
There is a running joke out here in California ...
what is the fastest way for a politician to get killed in Washington DC?"
Get between Chuck Shumer and a TV camera.... :)
The man does love the attention.
"Hero" does seem to have been a perhaps a little too freely applied of late and I'm inclined to agree more with your characterization of "gutsy" especially given the media presence ( otherwise the protestations would have been nothing more than a minor an typical student kerfuffle).
Rohe delivered a cogent counterpoint to McCain's politics, and was quite right to argue that his appearance served only him and not the graduates. She refused to kowtow to a self-proclaimed "authority". She refused to be compromised. She did the right thing, and taught a lesson to those who would assume to teach her. How does it go "children are our future, teach them well"? Rohe is a result of that. HAH!
btw bitmo, I've seen you around ( bluegal perhaps) and thanks for stopping by--consider yourself blogrolled ( give me a bit of time, I'm really bad at editing my template in a timely fashion) and I'll be sure to exercise my opinions on your blog too.
Blog on!
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