On the subject of Senate seats…

Now comes word that Caroline Kennedy, only surviving child of JFK, wants to be appointed to Hillary Clinton’s Senate seat.

Isn’t that the ultimate in dynastic entitlement? Kennedy doesn’t just believe that she’s entitled to be *elected* to the Senate in New York because of her family – she doesn’t even want to have to go through an election, she wants to be *appointed* into the seat so she can run as an incumbent!

The delicious irony here is that if Caroline hadn’t piped up, the top candidate for this seat would have been New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo – ironic because Cuomo is married to Caroline’s first cousin, Kerry Kennedy. Cuomo is also a scion of a famous Democrat family, but unlike Caroline, Cuomo has a long record of government experience in city, state, and federal positions – he was Clinton’s HUD Secretary during his second term.

About all that can be said for Caroline is that at least she is a long-term resident of New York state, unlike her predecessor Hillary. Perhaps the best argument that she should be disqualified is that, in reaching out to Democratic leaders for support, she included race-baiting demagogue Al Sharpton among her courtesy calls.  Sharpton’s comment on Caroline’s qualifications for the job was amusing:

“What [Republican Congressman] Peter King said about Caroline Kennedy is what they said about Hillary Clinton. That’s the one she’d be replacing, right?”

In other words, New York already made a joke of the seat when they gave it to Hillary, so how is this any worse? (Let’s not even talk about the disgrace sitting in New York’s other Senate seat, Mr. My-Ego-Is-More-Important-Than-The Economy.)

I was always taught that the Democratic party stood for the little guy against the rich and powerful. So why does the Democratic party today keep catering to the rich and powerful Clintons and Kennedys? Bill Clinton even had the nerve to joke that his daughter Chelsea should be considered for the Senate seat, proving that far from being disturbed by the allegations of nepotism regarding his family, he wears them as a badge of honor. While I would gladly grovel at her feet for the opportunity to get into her pants, Chelsea is less qualified for public office than I am, except that she knows more Secret Service guys by name than I do.

Ach, I canna’ rant nae more.

Defending the Messiah

No, not *that* Messiah…I’m talking about President-Elect Barack Obama, of course. Isn’t it funny how fast the media is turning on him? Just like they did with John McCain before him.

Everyone is frantically trying to find some way to connect Obama with corrupt Illinois Governor Blagojevich’s attempt to sell off Obama’s Senate seat. They won’t succeed. Whether you love or hate Obama, common sense tells you this is not plausible.

First of all, Obama and Blagojevich have never been close. Second, Obama doesn’t really care that much who his successor is. I mean, he might like to see one of his supporters in the seat, but he doesn’t need it that badly to have to pay a bribe for it. It’s not like Blago was going to appoint a Republican – whoever got the seat would be a reliable vote for Obama in the Senate.

The media is trying to make a big deal out of the fact that Rahm Emanuel had conversations with Blago’s people about who Obama would like to see in that seat. There is absolutely nothing illegal or improper about that – on the contrary, Blago would have been seen as snubbing the President-elect if he hadn’t asked.

Of course, it does take two to tango. Blago can’t be the only corrupt pol in Illinois. So suspicion naturally turns on the people who would have the most motivation to buy a Senate seat – not the President-elect, but the prospective Senators themselves. So it does make sense that Rep. Jesse Jackson is being investigated – I don’t know whether he’s guilty of anything, but he’s a much more logical target than Obama.

On another front, Obama is also getting flak because his Cabinet isn’t diverse enough. Apparently, it doesn’t include enough minorities, Southerners, or Republicans. To which I say: Who cares? What happened to the idea of picking the best people on their qualifications, regardless of their skin color, place of origin or having three heads? The purpose of the Cabinet is not to symbolize America’s diversity – it is to lead the administrative agencies that conduct most of the government’s business.

I have no doubt that President-elect Obama will provide plenty of opportunities for well-deserved criticism during his term of office. This stuff is just foolishness from people who should know better. My only criticism of Obama so far? Please burn that ridiculous “Office of the President-Elect” sign, it makes you look presumptuous and silly. Might as well wear a laurel wreath while you’re at it.

If the shoe fits…

World reaction to the shoe assault on President Bush by a disgruntled Iraqi journalist has run the gamut from amusement to hero worship of the assailant. However, the New York Daily News has the right perspective on the incident:

Here is mushheadedness in the extreme. Shoe-hurler Muntathar al-Zaidi works for an independent Iraqi television station. Think about that. During Saddam Hussein’s 35-year nightmare, there were no journalists, only mouthpieces like Baghdad Bob. And Iraqi viewing choices extended to the offerings of the Saddam Propaganda Channel.

Consider also the fate of Zaidi. He’ll likely be charged with assault. Had he pulled such a stunt under Saddam, his whole village might have been put to death in gruesome fashion. Following a show trial.

And consider that an elected prime minister, Nouri al-Maliki, stood beside Bush as head of a democratic government that is Shiite-led. Saddam’s Sunni clan had ground the Shiites, who compose about two-thirds of Iraq’s population, into powerlessness.

Yes, indeed, Iraqis andAmericans alike have grounds for anger that Bush badly botched the war for far too long. But now the U.S. is looking toward a successful withdrawal that leaves Iraq as a stable representative democracy, where citizens are free to be rude enough to throw a shoe in protest without fear of execution.

Zaidi should count himself lucky.

Where’s the outrage?

You may not have heard about it, because the media doesn’t seem to care, but the church attended by Governor Sarah Palin, the Wasilla Bible Church, was set on fire and badly damaged Friday evening.

I didn’t want to jump to conclusions, so I waited until now to post about it to make sure that the evidence was clear: ATF investigators have found that an accelerant was poured around the outside of the church. This fire was a deliberate arson.

It should be immediately obvious that the church was targeted because of Governor Palin. (How many church burnings are there in Alaska?) That makes this a political hate crime. You would think that would be big news for the mainstream media – imagine if someone who didn’t like Obama had torched Rev. Wright’s church, for example. But apparently church burnings only matter if they are black churches. Nobody cares if a white people’s church is set on fire.

Add to that the fact that the media still are not convinced that Alaska is one of the 50 states or that people who live there have discovered fire. Sadly, this event is proof of the latter.

I maintain that any attack on a peaceful religious institution is a moral outrage and should be forcefully condemned. But apparently I am just old-fashioned, it’s not hip and cool anymore to believe that the lives of WASPs are just as precious as anyone else’s.