Tuesday, October 14, 2003

Turn off, tune out, drop in Propelled by anger, sound bites, macho movies I hope you wouldn't want your kid to watch, right-wing radio gurus, and the most communication-challenged governor the world has ever seen, uninformed voters turned out by the thousands to elect Arnold Schwartzenegger.  Here's a trivia question for  voters whose proverbial last straw was the tripling of the car tax:  The unspeakable new tax is 2% of a car purchase-price--and declines every year thereafter. What % of the car purchase-price was the California auto tax in 1998? In 1942? Answer: 2%. Surprised? So was I. http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-golden9oct09,1,1030157.story   6:43:50 AM

Clark is dispelling my worst fears He does retail politics well and even seems to enjoy it. USA Today is starting to like his chances. He's got a political style that makes some Democrats salivate over his chances against Bush. Addressing voters last week in Arkansas, Iowa and Oklahoma, Clark underscored his points with quips. He described his wife, Gert, as "the general's general," joked about the "unmentionable" thing doctors do to you after you turn 50 and had people laughing about his — and their — stock market losses to hammer home the point that relying on the stock market is no substitute for Social Security. At the most basic level of the profession, Clark is proving himself a natural. This was apparent from the moment he bounded into Drake's Diner and found a toddler at the first booth. "Do we do baby kisses?" he asked. He didn't wait for an answer, just picked up the little boy and kissed his cheek. Later, asked what has surprised him most about politics, Clark answered without hesitation. "The joy of just going out and meeting people," he said, and broke into a wide grin. "I just love it." 5:59:05 AM

Up-and-running again  The two-party system appears to be up and running again. Even if Bush does get reelected--and I now suspect he will be--the opposition coming from dissatisfied Republicans plus Democrats and independents--is forcing the present administration to retract or modify some of its most egregious policies. Don't get me wrong. . .I still want Dubya out of there--and view his ignorance, lack of curiosity and lack of management skills as a danger to the country. But at least for the moment, I feel that PNAC has been put on a back burner--if not yet discarded as scrap--and that even Cheney (if not yet Condi) might be jettisoned. So why do I think he will be reelected? Because the economy is finally recovering and jobs seem to be just around the corner. . .Because the government is ready to deal with the UN and with European countries demanding a deadline--and an early one at that--for returning Iraq to the Iraqis. Because Americans--read Californians who elected a fading action-hero as their governor--apparently believe in the tooth fairy, according to Garrison Keillor: Californians are like anybody else in that they want a great four-course dinner for $8.95. They want to live in the Greatest State (Fine Roads, Excellent Hospitals, Best Parks, Great Schools in which All Children are Above Average), and they also want low taxes. God bless them. People in hell want ice water. 5:32:12 AM