The results of the Iowa caucuses, coming on January 3, will likely tell different stories in the presidential nominating races of the Republican and Democratic parties. That shouldn't be surprising. For months now, the campaigns for the two parties' nominations have unfolded like tales from parallel universes. The datelines and the timelines are the same, but the plotlines … [Read more...] about Approaching Iowa: A Tale of Parallel Universes
Election ’08: Throwing out Bush and the Bathwater; Keeping the Baby
Watching America has a superb article from the Le Monde Diplomatique, “Scheherazade in the White House”, inspired from a quote from a Presidential Adviser in 2002, ‘We’re an empire and when we act, we create our own reality’. (Gulp.) The piece covers the Bush Administration’s attempts to manage the appearance of things in a way that presents a “reality” that is not … [Read more...] about Election ’08: Throwing out Bush and the Bathwater; Keeping the Baby
Election-Winning GOP Coalition Could Splinter Amid Wide-Open Presidential Race
Is the winning coalition that not just held the Republican Party together in recent years, but impressively sprung into action during Presidential campaigns about to splinter? If it isn't getting ready to splinter, it's surely being tested more than ever amid a highly dramatic Presidential race and segments of the coalition that seemingly want to dig in their no-compromise … [Read more...] about Election-Winning GOP Coalition Could Splinter Amid Wide-Open Presidential Race
A Holiday Parable: Bob Layton’s Mother & The Ghost of Iraq Future
(Much seems to have changed since I wrote this in December 2006. But has it really?) Despite the magnitude of the deaths -- 28 here, 57 there and 210 somewhere else, 550 one week and 700 the next -- the carnage in Iraq is so predictable that it has begun to numb my senses. Single-malt Scotch is too expensive, so the only way that I have been able to deal with this … [Read more...] about A Holiday Parable: Bob Layton’s Mother & The Ghost of Iraq Future
Tom Cruise: A Man of Courage and Hero to the German People
Does Tom Cruise deserve to be referred to as 'courageous' for portraying Colonel Claus von Stauffenberg - a high-ranking Nazi who tried to assassinate Adolph Hitler? According to this tribute by the publisher of one of Germany's leading newspapers, the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, 'With his decision to lend Graf von Stauffenberg a face, Tom Cruise will change the image that … [Read more...] about Tom Cruise: A Man of Courage and Hero to the German People
And Now Some Sunday Classic Comedy
The late Henny Youngman, known as "King of the One Liners" (a 1986 appearance): … [Read more...] about And Now Some Sunday Classic Comedy
Twas The Sunday Before Christmas
Bob Englehart, The Hartford Courant … [Read more...] about Twas The Sunday Before Christmas
Australia Mounts Pressure on Japan to Ban Whaling
Close on the heels of signing the Kyoto Protocol, the newly-formed Labour Government in Australia is sending out a clear message about its priorities with regard to environment conservation worldwide. Australia and some 30 other countries lodged a diplomatic protest to send 'very powerful signal' of international displeasure over Japan's whaling program, despite Tokyo's … [Read more...] about Australia Mounts Pressure on Japan to Ban Whaling
A Backward Presidency
George W. Bush started out to be Ronald Reagan, morphed into Richard Nixon and, toward the end, is starting to resemble Herbert Hoover. The shanties, shacks and cardboard shelters in communities spawned by the Great Depression and known as Hoovervilles are showing up in 21st century America as a result of the sub-prime mortgage crisis that has doubled foreclosures of homes … [Read more...] about A Backward Presidency
Peace On Earth
Tab, The Calgary Sun … [Read more...] about Peace On Earth
Bill Clinton: Hillary’s Political Boon Or Political Albatross?
To many, the 2000 Presidential election was really about "the Bush restoration" --- bringing back the Bushes after the unseemly interruption of Democrat Bill Clinton's Presidency. And now there are growing signs that the 2008 primary and possibly Presidential campaign will be about "the Clinton restoration" -- pitched as a way to get the Clintons back into power. A … [Read more...] about Bill Clinton: Hillary’s Political Boon Or Political Albatross?
Guest Voice: Huckabee’s Smart Strategy Is No Accident
This is a Guest Voice column by Michael Reagan, Ronald Reagan's oldest son, who is also a popular radio talk show host. Guest Voice columns do not necessarily reflect the opinion of The Moderate Voice or its writers. Smart Strategy is No Accident Making Sense, by Michael Reagan In addition to seeing Mike Huckabee suddenly surge in the polls, the nation is also … [Read more...] about Guest Voice: Huckabee’s Smart Strategy Is No Accident
Poetic Political Commentary: “If” For 2008 Presidential Candidates
Here's a special original 2008 presidential campaign poetic commentary by TMV's favorite poet, Michael Silverstein, aka Wall Street Poet. If Kipling's poem, "If," were addressed to 2008 presidential candidates, it might go something like this... IF If you can practice a loving faith while others spout a cloying pietism, And come to be known as the poor man's … [Read more...] about Poetic Political Commentary: “If” For 2008 Presidential Candidates
Season’s Greetings From Iowa
Patrick Chappatte, The International Herald Tribune … [Read more...] about Season’s Greetings From Iowa
A List for TMVers Everywhere
From McSweeney's, "The Lesser-Known Slogans of Political Moderates". … [Read more...] about A List for TMVers Everywhere
An Ode to the Winter Solstice
SNOWFLAKES By Henry Wadsworth Longfellow Out of the bosom of the Air. Out of the cloud-folds of her garments shaken, Over the woodlands brown and bare, Over the harvest-fields forsaken, Silent and soft and slow Descends the snow. Even as our cloudy fancies take Suddenly shape in some divine expression, Even as the troubled … [Read more...] about An Ode to the Winter Solstice
Understanding US Election Issues & Presidential Candidates
People living outside America find it difficult to get a clear picture of the issues and candidates in the US presidential election 2008 as a majority of the US media and the blogs seem to have become rather emotive (and partisan?), and the verbiage in the news reports and commentary is not of much help to non-Americans. Perhaps this is understandable owing to the unenviable … [Read more...] about Understanding US Election Issues & Presidential Candidates
The Trivialization Of TV Political Discussion
One again this guy exceeds even our lowered expectations.. … [Read more...] about The Trivialization Of TV Political Discussion
American Report on Iran Nukes ‘a Fake’ Designed to ‘Save Face’
Does the most recent U.S. intelligence report on Iran's nuclear program demonstrate once again the politicization of American espionage? According to this op-ed article from Le Figaro by the director and research director of the French Research Center on Intelligence, 'The new NIE is a fake. Iran continues to pursue its nuclear weapons program, but the Americans have decided to … [Read more...] about American Report on Iran Nukes ‘a Fake’ Designed to ‘Save Face’
Two Polls: Obama Tied In New Hampshire And Would Outpoll Clinton Nationally
Is it a sign that direct and apparent "surrogate" attacks from New York Senator Hillary Clinton's camp have backfired? Perhaps... Two new polls bring continued good news for Illinois Senator Barack Obama in his campaign to get the 2008 Democratic Presidential nomination -- and no-so-good news for Clinton. And the CONTEXT of these polls is important. As Clinton continues … [Read more...] about Two Polls: Obama Tied In New Hampshire And Would Outpoll Clinton Nationally