Every election cycle campaign amounts to silly season of candidates caught in gaffes saying not only stupid things with the resultant backstepping and coverups or media end runs, but occasionally an utterance of unguarded honesty. It is those rare gems of truth that resonate in my mind. In the case of Sen. Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, it seems the left wing echo chamber led by MSNBC’s three apologists Keith Olbermann, Rachael Maddow and Lawrence O’Donnell whom I have documented in my mind...

Flushed with a resolve to write a pertinent, precise and profane column this morning, I ran into what we in the wordsmith profession call writers cramp. Brain lock. Thing is, I been there. Done that. It is one of those days you see crystal clear and when fingers trip the light fantastic across your computer keyboard, it comes out mush. Garbage. In the old days, it would drive me to drink. No kidding. It is amazing how a slight buzz of a hangover clears the cobwebs, lays waste the minutiae and goes...

Today, Oct. 25, the 72nd year and 331st day of my life, the hammer dropped. I have 3rd stage cancer of the lungs and surrounding lymph nodes, colon cancer, a cancerous skin lesion and an aggravated congestive heart disease compounded by the fickle ravages over the years by diabetes. Did I mention I recently had a cataract removed on the left eye? Laser surgery on the right eye is scheduled next month. I am dead man walking but at least I will see clearly and in focus. All this came as news I expected...

This won’t exactly strike fear in the heart of the Meg Whitman for Governor campaign in California but I think I will change my earlier announcement I would vote for her. I figured since her nomination she was worth a try compared to the Democrats’ old warhorse Jerry Brown. So much for preconceived notions. The tipping point in my mind has been a work in progress because of Whitman gaffes on the campaign trail and a total collapse in memory of what a great campaigner and skilled politician Jerry...

My colleague columnist Shaun Mullen at The Moderate Voice reflects that voters will be the losers in the Nov. 2 midterm elections because too many winning Republican candidates are not serious about governing. Wrong. That would be the fallacy of a political scientist or a pundit sitting in the center or left on the political pendulum. It is easy to take potshots and ridicule not-ready-for-prime-time Tea Party Republican candidates who want to privatize Social Security and Medicare but also argue...

Give credit to MSNBC.com for a timely article Monday on politics in the workplace: Be careful what you say; it could get you fired. Contributor Eve Tahmincioglu cites a variety of examples and suggestions how to conduct oneself in a politically correct yet politically polarized environment. Commenters who rant daily on political websites take note: “There is no First Amendment in corporate America.” So says Donna Ballman, an employment attorney in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. “You can’t say whatever...

One of my tasks seeking column material, when I’m not interrupted by pesky doctor appointments, PET scans and biopsies, is a path that routinely takes me to the Huffington Post. Now, the HuffPo is my source of amusement and entertainment and I admire its chutzpa as a model of economic success in a media world struggling for survival. If you want political balance, HuffPo is not the place to look. The ink in my journalistic juices is not dry and for whatever reason I felt today like Vince Lombardi...

Today’s lead story on NBC: Wall Street tells homeowners to pay their damn mortgages and stop whining about foreclosures even though the bank’s system of processing them is messed up. Me to Wall Street: Screw you. Deals can be struck. Meet Darrell. He is now working as a medical transportation driver before he lost his job. Three years ago, Darrell bought a new home in Riverside County, Calif., for $435,000. His mortgage payment was $3,000. A year and a half ago, Darrell lost his job and hooked...

After wading through the annoying (expletive deleted) CNN TV ads promoting the Kathleen Parker loves Eliot Spitzer show, the Daily Beast website article on Tea Party hypocrisy caught my attention. The thrust is the Tea Party in its broadest form supports less government, lower taxes and reduced spending. Yet, some of the states where Tea Party sentiment runs high, so does government spending per capita. I assume the authors believe the Tea Party which is driving the latest edition of the Republican...

Rick Sanchez apologizes to Jon Stewart. Lawrence O’Donnell apologies to Michael Steele. President Clinton apologizes to America. Jim Bunning tells everyone to go to hell. The art of the apology is becoming legendary in America. Mea culpa is indeed becoming a requisite art form in our country. It is a trend not only in politics but in the entertainment field and in business. Mel Gibson says he’s sorry. For what drunken rant, I am not certain. My favorite syntax is those that say “If I may have...

Before we jump to conclusions and say “Gotcha” that California gubernatorial Republican candidate Meg Whitman didn’t know she hired an illegal worker as housekeeper, there is an element to her story that rings true. That is she hired the woman through an employment agency which verified the domestic helper was indeed a legal resident. I can relate to that. As a landscape contractor, my responsibility ended by reviewing what purported to be valid Social Security cards and drivers’ licenses....

California, which shows no shame in offering quirky ballot measures to voters, has a beauty on the Nov. 2 ballot: No pay and no retroactive reimbursement to Assembly and Senate members who do not submit a budget to the governor by June 15. At first blush, that draws the reaction from many who would say it serves the bums right. After all, California legislators pay themselves the highest salary of any state legislature in these 50 United States — $113,098 per year, $162 per day based on a...

News flash: Americans will spend $5.8 billion to celebrate Halloween this year. Geez, to hear the politicians talk, I thought we were broke. Never mind those 20% increases in health insurance premiums we are receiving in the mail. We more willingly pay $20.29 on candy for the trick or treat crowd. We need those Bush tax cut extensions to pay for the $23.37 on costumes. And, by all means, extend unemployment benefits so the poor can join the club spending $18.66 on Halloween decorations. It just proves...

If I was a serious voter in Delaware and wanted to know the issues where the candidates stand, I would be disgusted at listening to this continual harangue about Christine O’Donnell’s flirt with witchcraft and this. For gosh sakes you in the media, give the woman a break. Let her sink or swim on the boring stuff Senators do. Budgets come to mind which she seems personally challenged. Help for 9/11 first responders. Extending unemployment benefits. Health care. And other things. Zzzzzz. Cross...

Fox News: Attn. Glenn Beck. Eat your heart out. Comedy Central is upstaging you guys. Fox News may have a front row seat at the White House press room, but none of you on-air guys have testified before Congress. That “honor” goes to the funny channel’s Stephen Colbert (pronounced col-BEAR for you un-elites). He testified as an “expert” before the House Judiciary subcommittee on immigration because of a show he did in July where he worked for one day as a farm laborer. “At this point,...

Friends and family say I have a wonderful sense of humor. Alas, I found none in watching the opening episode of NBC’s new comedy “Outsourced” Thursday night. Normally I find amusement in cultural divides and the plight of the human condition. This 30-minute disaster is insensitive to the millions of Americans who lost their jobs because of large corporations outsourcing their labor forces. The cultural differences between America and India were stereotype drivel. Maybe I’m getting grumpy...

I can see the headlines and hear the commentary: White House Staff Leaves Sinking Obama Ship Like Rats The latest announced departure will be President Obama’s political guru David Axelrod. He will follow or join names as in Romer, Summers, Jones, Emmanuel, and a host of lesser characters. In Axelrod’s case, it is not because he is a deserter. He will run Obama’s reelection campaign out of Chicago. Rahn Emmanuel, the chief of staff, likely will run for mayor of the city with broad shoulders...

Question: How many people will take the time to read through the House Republicans “Pledge to America”? My answer: Not enough. If you remove the political claptrap from the document, what you get is deja vu: We heard this before: Lower taxes, less spending, a return to “core values” and an unlimited national missile defense fund. There is both good and bad in the pledge and a lot of omission, among which includes no panacea for Social Security and Medicare. Nice try, guys. The general theme...

Sarah Palin delivered a pep talk laced in red, white and blue to Iowa Republicans Friday night, calling nominated Tea Party candidates true patriots set on restoring America. Exactly what point in time she wants America restored was not clearly established in what for Palin was a relatively bland speech. But, what do I know. She poked jabs at the “lame street media” who she said distorts and citizen bloggers who fabricate the truth. She accused the media elite as being “movers and shakers”...

There is a report out late Wednesday by Jake Tapper of ABC that President Obama will announce Elizabeth Warren as special adviser to the new consumer protection agency. Warren will launch the agency and spearhead the writing of rules without Senate confirmation. My guess is her role is far from formality and will be a detriment, obstacle or major boost for the poor soul who ends up with the nomination that might slip by the Senate for confirmation. Warren is more than qualified for the job. That’s...

The Obama administration announced Wednesday all Gulf of Mexico oil wells and platforms not in use in the past five years must be inspected, re-capped and dismantled. I think the Interior Department has the oil and gas industries in the cross-hairs on this one. The good news it means more jobs and is a precaution to prevent more oil leaks and blowouts. The bad news the cost will likely be passed onto consumers even though not one drop of oil or ounce of gas has gone to market from these abandoned...

I am scheduled for a colonoscopy Thursday morning which means I am fasting and purging today what Democrats are doing in their pants. The nomination of Tea Party Republicans has sent shock waves through Democrats and many centralists. The apologists are protesting not to worry. Come November the public cannot be that stupid. (See Joe Gandelman’s roundup here.) I’m not that sure. Politics are local, certainly in closed primaries of small states where the Tea Party success is strongest. If...

This past week we saw a bewildered, confused Pastor Terry Jones of an obscure Gainesville, Fla., church back down after gaining international hysteria he would lead his flock in burning the Qur’an. Today, Sept. 12, nine years and one day after the 9/11 terrorist attack on the twin towers and Pentagon, Pastor Jones’ 15 minutes of fame mercifully is over. Time will tell whether the blowback will continue in Muslim countries. It sure sparked a lively and thoughtful debate of divergent opinions...

One might suspect that presidential nominations of judges to lifetime appointments to the federal courts were a bunch of incompetent, rabble-rousing, political hatchet people unversed in the rule of law. What other reason can one assess to the backlog of nominees sitting on their hands and dangling in limbo before the Senate performs its constitutional duty of advise and consent. How about political qualifications to suit an agenda at the expense of legal acumen and integrity. That’s how I see...

National Football League fans who pay top dollar to follow their favorite sport had better plan on attending drug withdrawal addiction clinics because there may be no season next year. The 2011 season may be shut down by owners or a players union strike as the current collective bargaining agreement expires sometime after the Super Bowl in February. I say sometime because union and owners cannot agree on a deadline. The 32-team NFL is the most popular sports enterprise in the world, drawing an average...