SARAH PALIN: READY FOR PRESIDENCY

I have a new blog about how people can live better lives on less money. It is about "politics" only in the sense that it discusses ways people can be less dependent on government. You can find it at: http://dailykostkutter.blogspot.com/. I hope you'll visit.

Sarah: A Lifetime of Integrity, Courage, and Achievement makes her ready on Day 1 to lead our nation. Sarah, you told your son Track when he joined the military that you "have his back." We have yours.

Above: Govenor Sarah Palin, called by Fred Barnes in The Weekly Standard "America's most popular governor." I'll be writing more about her later today, with emphasis on why she would be ready to assume the presidency if that became necessary. If you haven't seen the Barnes article, a remarkable one, you can find it here.

Following are the opening paragraphs of the article:

"The wipeout in the 2006 election left Republicans in such a state of dejection that they've overlooked the one shining victory in which a Republican star was born. The triumph came in Alaska where Sarah Palin, a politician of eye-popping integrity, was elected governor. She is now the most popular governor in America, with an approval rating in the 90s, and probably the most popular public official in any state."

"Her rise is a great (and rare) story of how adherence to principle--especially to transparency and accountability in government--can produce political success. And by the way, Palin is a conservative who only last month vetoed 13 percent of the state's proposed budget for capital projects. The cuts, the Anchorage Daily News said, "may be the biggest single-year line-item veto total in state history."

(More to come.)

Sarah Palin and Mark Warner and A NEW NATIONAL HOLIDAY

NATIONAL MIND YOUR OWN BUSINESS DAY?


Many years ago, Tom Hritz wrote a sometimes acerbic and often humorous column for the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Mr. Hritz and his (equally acerbic) wife loved to smoke cigarettes.

One year, a colleague at the P-G asked Tom if he was going to participate in The Great American Smokeout.

Hritz harumphed and said, "I'm going to spend the day lobbying for a new holiday called "National Mind Your Own Business Day."

Shortly before Tom made that comment, I discovered the value of minding my own business -- especially when it came to issues like gay marriage. What consenting do is their own business. And they have a right, as Senator McCain reminded us recently, to be free from discrimination. If gay and lesbian couple want to engage in civil unions or marriages, I invite them to "be my guest." Actually, it's none of my business. However, making sure that people get equal treatment under the law is very much my business -- and yours.


This week I'm doing one of my "business book summaries" for an Illinois-based company that I've worked for on-and-off (mostly on) since 1991. The book is David Meerman Scott's The New Rules of Marketing and PR: How to Use News Releases, Blogs, Podcasting, Viral Marketing & Online Media to Reach Buyers Directly. The book is outstanding, and it should be of value to anyone interested in selling anything from ideas and political causes to products and services. Over the next seven days or so, I mention points that Scott makes about creating grass-roots marketing.

I'll be combining information from the books and my own experience to talk about political coalition-building. Prior to Adam Brickley's Draft Sarah Palin effort -- one that shows signs of being fabulously successful -- the most important online "draft" effort was one focusing on former Virginia Govenor Mark Warner, who apparently is going to run for John Warner's (no relationship) Senate seat and is currently a heavy favorite to win.

The individual who ran the Warner effort was someone you've never heard of: Eddie Ratliff. In several years of blogging and building support for Warner, Ratliff met the Governor only briefly on a few occasions. As is true with the Palin effort, the Governor had no direct influence on the blog effort to get him drafted as the Democratic nominee for President. (Late in 2006, Warner announced he would not be running for President -- an announcement he never would never have had to make if it hadn't been for the efforts of Eddie Ratliff and a few friends)

The Draft Warner movement came to an end on October 12, 2006, and the main web site has been silent since then. However, anyone who wants to learn about how to leverage his or her political clout should go to that blog. If you look to the left on the site, you'll notice the various elements of the campaign as it unfolded, including the use of Yahoo! groups and Meetups. The link is at: http://draftmarkwarner.com/

Fom 2004 until 2006, as Ratliff conducted his effort, mentions of Warner occurred in 10,000 blogs. As has happened with Sarah Palin, support for Warner emerged in several nationally prominent media outlets.

Adam Brickley, the founder of the Draft Palin effort, is an extremely savvy Internet coalition-builder. Through his effort -- and the efforts of many people reading this post -- Gov. Palin has become a figure with a committed national following. Significant bloggers who support her come from AK, CA, CO, DE, FL, HI, PA, , MI, MN, MA, NM, HI, WA, TX, NY, WI, and many other states. The backers include liberals (and at least one Democrat), moderates, and conservatives.

Significant pro-Palin pieces have appeared in The Weekly Standard (Fred Barnes), Townhall (Patrick Ruffini), WorldNetDaily (Pulitzer Prize nominee Les Kinsolving), The Columbian (Tom Koenigger), Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (Dimitri Vassilaros), Blog Critics (S. J. Reidhead of The Pink Flamingo), as well as several other places. The number of Google mentions of Sarah Palin and higher offices (V-P and President) now exceeds 100,000.

There is a chance Sarah Palin will get the V-P nod in 2008. There's a very good chance she will be a viable candidate for the presidency in either 2012 or 2016. These scenarios would not exist without the initial effort of Adam Brickley, whose blog is accessible at: http://palinforvp.blogspot.com/


Is Mike Huckabee Really a Christian? One Wonders

Here's what Mike recently said in reaction to a (false) report that he believed in letting states set their own standards for what constitutes marriage: September 27, 2007 Little Rock, AR -- Former AR Governor and Presidential Candidate Mike Huckabee today issued the following statement in response to a news story stating that he is "open to state-sponsored civil unions that would bestow the legal rights of marriage on gay and lesbian couples": "He said, This report is simply inaccurate. I do not support legal recognition of alternative unions. I strongly, firmly and unequivocally believe that the traditional definition of marriage is for 'one man, one woman, for life.' That is why I worked hard in Arkansas to enact legislation at the state level to protect traditional marriage, and why I have vowed to work hard for federal language as President. "While I believe that people have a right to decide how they live their personal lives, they have to respect not changing the definition of marriage."

This is little more than Mike pandering to his evangelical base -- and perhaps to homophobes like Dr. Laurence White, Rev. James Dobson and other know-nothings. Why on earth would any sane person become agitated by the thoughts of gays and lesbians marry? How on earth would that diminish anyone's marriage? The Mike Huckabees of a generation ago used to condemn gays for practicing fornication because they could not get married. Now, the argument seems to have gone in reverse. (More tomorrow)

I'll also be talking about Ciel and Han. They're a lesbian couple living in Austin, not all that far from Homophobe Central in Houston (where Laurence White and Larry Perrault reside with their dog-eared copies of the Book of Leviticus, the Mosaic Law that St. Paul said in Galatians is null and void for Christians.) Oh, I forgot to mention: Ciel and Han also are evangelical Christians -- much better ones than the two guys in Houston.

Ciel and Han have a web site you can link to at: http://fearoftheabomination.blogspot.com/ Here's what the heading on their blog says about the documentary they created. A provocative, independent documentary film created in Austin, TX about the experiences of a lesbian couple who went undercover as a heterosexual couple inside an Evangelical Organization. The film is currently in post production.

Sound Politics.Com Pro-Palin Comments

In case you missed it, here's a fine post from SoundPolitics.com on Gov. Sarah Heath Palin.
September 21, 2007
Crystal Ball Time

Allow me to amplify and expand on David Postman's discussion of Alaska Governor Sarah Palin. Postman makes a number of prudent points in his coverage about Palin's rise and its significance. What also bears mentioning is that she may well land on the short list of possible Republican VP nominees next year.

This post first stoked my consideration of that issue. This profile by Fred Barnes cemented the idea that it could be serious. Doing some quick research for this blog entry drew a number of related hits, including a Draft Sarah Palin for VP blog and some related Alaska media coverage.

Palin has some obvious appeal for all the reasons Barnes and Postman enunciate. Granted, Alaska isn't the first state people look to for a quality VP choice. Yet, consider that if Rudy Giuliani or Mitt Romney becomes the nominee they're likely to want fill out the ticket with someone from the South or the West who has unimpeachable conservative credentials. Palin fits that bill. Plus, it wouldn't hurt for a Republican VP nominee to be somebody other than a white male given the leading contenders for the Democratic nomination. Yes, identity politics are no fun, but they do matter sometimes.

The main point is keep an eye on Palin. She's been soaring while seemingly the entire rest of the GOP in her state has been imploding. That alone make her worth watching.

Footnote: Postman uses the term/adjective "Outside" in his post. For the uninitiated, that's how Alaskans refer to all things non-Alaska. It's almost never considered a compliment and indicative of the exceptionally wary eye Alaskans cast beyond the borders of their unique state.Posted by Eric Earling at September 21, 2007 06:23 PM Email This
Comments
1. I hear she's pro-life and conservative too! And she took on the Republican Establishment. Of course she'd be popular. What's not to like?
Posted by: Michelle on September 21, 2007 07:23 PM
2. I agree, and that would be an individual that I could vote for.
She sounds like a Barn Burnin Reagan Like Conservative.
Posted by: GS on September 21, 2007 10:34 PM
3. I have loved Palin since she ran for Governor!
She would make a perfect VP selection.
Now if only Romney could get the nomination, Romney/Palin has a nice ring to it!Posted by: Kyle on September 22, 2007 11:44 PM
4. Thanks very much for the link. Gov. Palin is a very inspiring leader, and there are a growing number of us who think she is the future of the GOP. If you agree, you can join our blogroll as either an "Endorsement" or a "Palin Fan" (someone who likes the Gov. but isn't ready to endorse her for VP just yet). Hope to be seeing more of you.
Adam BrickleyFounder, Draft Sarah Palin for Vice Presidentpalinforvp.blogspot.compalinforvp@gmail.comPosted by: Palin for VP! on September 23, 2007 10:01 AM
5. I very much encourage people to join Adam Brickley's effort to Draft Sarah Palin for Vice President. Compared to many past V-P choices (Spiro Agnew??!! Dan Quayle??!!) she would be a superb selection. Her son joined the military on Sept. 11 and is now in basic training at Ft. Benning. This is a remarkable family.
Steve MaloneyPosted by: Stephen R. Maloney on September 23, 2007 05:44 PM

MY RETRACTION AND APOLOGY TO SEN. LARRY CRAIG

"It does not require a majority to prevail, but rather an irate, tireless minority keen to set brush fires in people’s minds." --Samuel Adams

This column, originally one about "President Hillary Rodham Clinton" (yikes) will change on Saturday and Sunday. I was one of the first bloggers to call for the resignation of Senator Larry Craig. He has resigned effective September 30 of this year, but now I believe my initial comments were hasty -- and, frankly, uninformed. I had assumed was some evidence of verbal solicitation or groping of the undercover policeman. In fact, there was NO SUCH EVIDENCE. The policeman was totally out-of-bounds in making pop-psychology assumptions about Craig's character. I rushed to judgment, and my readers have a right to expect more. (Note: The policeman said he didn't care about Craig's supposed "sexual preference," itself a loaded and arguably homophobic term). What what exactly were the police doing in the men's room? It now looks like entrapment to me. ) If you'd like to read the ENTIRE transcript of the exchange between Sen. Craig and the policeman, you won't hear it on the MSM. You can, however, find it by going to the following site (managed by a gay conservaive activist in Ottawa, Canda: http://gayandright.blogspot.com/ I urge you to read the transcript. You may well end up agreeing with "Fred" from Ottawa, who says, "No crime occurred here." As for straight Steve in Ambridge, PA (i.e., me), I agree that no crime occurred, but I also agree with Senator Craig's decision to resign -- mainly because of his misguided guilty plea. The story of Larry Craig may die, but it shouldn't, because it appears to be a major miscarriage of justice.








Welcome to all supporters of the Republican Party -- and supporters of any the five candidates discussed below. At the present time, I'm not endorsing any specific individual for the presidency (hoping only that HE will be a Republican). Like many others, I'm strongly encouraging consideration of Alaska Gov. Sarah Heath Palin for the second-spot on the Republican ticket.

As a favor to Gov. Romney, I'm not charging him $10,000 for my "Romneyites Unite" slogan. (Romney supporters, note the bottom of this column.)

In another piece, I recently mentioned my commitment to vote for the candidate nominated in 2008 by the Republican Party -- something that will happen "de facto" about February 5 (Super Tuesday of next year. Some people with a penchant for fantasy believe that all Republicans have to do is to nominate Mitt Romney, or Mike Huckabee, or Rudy Giuliani, or Fred Thompson, or John McCain (whose ship is listing badly these days), and we will cruise to an easy victory over Hillary Rodham Clinton.

In fact, the most reliable opinion surveys (Pew Research, Gallup, Stan Greenburg) show just the opposite, not only in their "snapshot" (day-by-day) forms but -- most ominously -- in their trend lines. I don't find many (read: ANY) expert analysts, conservatives or liberals, who disagree with me. We are also poised to take a major skunking in Congress, losing several Senate seats.

Granted, some folks (my GWB word for the day) may look at me as the boy crying "Wolf." However, the last time I "cried wolf" was in the election of 2006 when, you may recall, a wolf came and ate the Republican Party. A bigger, hungrier, meaner wolf could very well be licking his chops in November, 2008.

Why so much emphasis on Sarah Heath Palin, the wildly popular Republican Governor of Alaska, as a choice for the vice-presidential nomination on the Republican ticket? (Her approval rating of 90% is one GWB or any other elected official would pronounce "to-die-for.")

To explain the critical question "why," Let's look at the five distinguished Republican gentlemen I noted above: Huckabee, Romney, Giuliani, Thompson, and McCain. There's zero evidence any of them running on their own they can defeat Mrs. Clinton. Outside their immediate families, not many people believe victory is in the cards. Let's face it: Just because an individual -- say, you -- likes a candidate or even adores him doesn't guarantee more than one vote, yours.

Politically, Mrs. Palin -- the choice of all those intrepid souls on my blogroll -- resembles what in football terminology is called a "wedge-buster." That's the individual on the kickoff or punt team that races downfield to break up group of blockers (the "wedge") that's safeguarding the kick-returner.

There is a wedge -- one based on bad decisions and missed opportunities in the past -- walling off the Republican Party from a host of critically important voting groups: women professionals (teachers, journalists, nurses, doctors, lawyers, businesswomen), Blacks, Hispanics, young people (34 and under), non-white evangelicals, union members, and moderate-to-liberal Roman Catholics.

People in those groups probably make up 200-million plus of the 300-million Americans. (The Census Bureau has said there are now 100 million legal minorities in the U.S., the largest group being Hispanics --45 million -- with Blacks fairly close behind).

Gov. Sarah Palin can help us break through the political wedge and get to these groups. She would have appeal to all of the above segments, especially women professionals and younger people. Naming her to the vice-presidential ticket would be indicating something that would surprise a lot of voters: that we aren't just a bunch of aging white Caucasians offering the same programs as the Democrats but with slightly less funding.

If we become the Party of the "angry, old white guys," Heaven help us. We're headed in that direction, and we need to change course in a hurry. (As an occasionally cantankerous older white guy, I believe I can say that.)

As a communications major in college, Sarah Palin knows talk is cheap. Best of all, she doesn't blather on with abstractions about family values.

In fact, as a committed wife and the mother of four children, she LIVES those values. As a person who revealed ethics violations by noted Alaska Republican politicans, she's going way beyond pious platitudes about honesty being "the best policy." In terms of her character and fidelity to God and family this woman is bullet-proof.

If you're interested in learning more about Sarah, please read any of the following, including the several essays by nationally recognized columnists, including Fred Barnes of FOX News and The Weekly Standard.

You can indicate your support for Sarah for V-P by leaving a comment either on my blog, or on Adam's at http://palinforvp.blogspot.com/. You can also send an e-mail to me at: TalkTop65@aol.com. Thanks for your interest.


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sarah_Palin (Short and accurate biographical information)

http://weeklystandard.com/Content/Public/Articles/000/000/013/851orcjq.asp (outstanding piece on Sarah by Fred Barnes, executive editor of The Weekly Standard and FOX News analyst)

http://blogcritics.org/archives/2007/08/17/235529.php (SJ Reidhead (Cindy), Article by the "Queen of the Blogosphere" on the Character and Potential of Sarah Palin)

http://columbian.com/opinion/news/07252007news173060.cfm (Essay by editor emeritus Tom Koenigger on Alaska and its remarkable Governor)

http://pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/opinion/columnists/vassilaros/s_517252.html (Essay by conservative columnist Dimitri Vassilaros in praise of the GOP's "Beacon of Hope")

http://kazoolist.blogspot.com/2007/08/palin-for-veep.html (A piece by the newest blogger for Palin -- signed up yesterday -- with a discussion of why he's doing so)

It might take 30-35 minutes to read and digest all the above pieces. It will be time well spent, because Sarah is at least a step ahead of nearly ever elected official in our nation.


In the next 4-5 days, I'm going to be asking Mitt Romney supporters to back Sarah. I don't know how many of them will -- somewhere between none and a few, perhaps -- but I'll make the best case I can. Do I believe Mitt Romney is a Christian? Well, he says he is, and that's good enough for me, since the ultimate issues of faith are between an individual and his or her God. Heck, my brother (not a Mormon) went to BYU, and that should count for something.
ROMNEYITES UNITE (behind Sarah).

Draft Palin Effort Intensifying: "New Faces, New Places"

Tomorrow's (Tuesday's) column? I'm on a roll with Sarah, so I'll stick with her and why presidential candidates, including Mike, should look at her as a political goldmine. I always wondered who the "wee hours" visitors were. Leave me your blog address (or your e-mail) and you'll hear from me soon. Note the following: Juneau, Alaska story Aug. 27: "New stores and the expansion of others are consuming the capital city’s available labor, shrinking the city’s unemployment rate and making it rough for smaller businesses to find workers."

I read the above, and I thought, "Gee, Sarah even solved the universal problem of unemployment!"

"God so loved the world," but I'm only at the point where I like it.

Note to supporters of MIKE HUCKABEE and other candidates, the best way to learn about Sarah Palin is to read some of the national articles praising her, all of them listed on my blogroll (Fred Barnes in The Weekly Standard, Whie House Correspondent Les Kinsolving in WorldNetDaily, Dimitri Vassilaros in the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review), SJ Reidhead on BlogCritics, and Tom Koenniger in The Columbian). The Wikipedia article on Sarah (type in her name) is short but accurate. If you're interested in blog sites backing Sarah, look at: http://palinforvp.blogspot.com/, http://palintology.com/ (an Alaska site), http://outsideofthebox.townhall.com/, as well as pro-Huckabee sites such as http://onemom.wordpress.com/, http://opinionatedcatholic.blogspot.com/ and http://themaritimesentry.blogspot.com/. Please join us in our efforts to get the most electable woman on the GOP ticket.

A big welcome to the newest Palin Fan (and a strong supporter of Mike Huckabee), a guy named "Nuke" who does Nuke's News & Views at: http://conservablogs.com/nuke/

NOTE: WE'RE ASKING EVERYONE WHO VISITS THIS SITE OR THE MANY OTHER PRO-PALIN BLOGS TO JOIN IN THE EFFORT TO GET SARAH PALIN ON THE REPUBLICAN NATIONAL TICKET. YOU CAN DO SO THROUGH THE COMMENTS SECTIONS OR BY E-MAILING ME AT TALKTOP65@AOL.COM. ANY CONTACTS FROM THE REPUBLICAN PRESIDENTIAL CONTENDERS OR THEIR REPRESENTATIVES WILL BE HELD IN STRICTEST CONFIDENCE.

I'm asking Adam Brickley (http:palinforvp.blogspot.com), founder of the Draft Palin Movement, to put on the mailing list two individuals: Larry Perrault and Douglas Gibbs. In the case of the latter, Doug hosts the popular Political Pistachio radio program (http://politicalpistachio.com, and he and his wife ("Mrs. Pistachio") were kind enough to have me on with them a few weeks ago. Doug can't endorse specific candidates right now, as he is seeking to have various individuals (including Mike Huckabee and Sarah Palin) on his show. So, at this point he clearly should remain neutral.

Sarah Palin and Mike Huckabee, when this column is brought to your attention, please seriously consider appearing on Doug's outstanding radio show.

As for Larry Perrault, he and I have exchanged many blog comments and e-mails. At times, we exasperate one another, but Larry clearly is a splendid guy (a Houstonian) who thinks the world of Mike Huckabee.

As regards Sarah Palin, he sent me the following comment: "If Huckabee were nominated and saw fit to select Sarah Palin to fill out the ticket, I'd be delighted." That's good enough for me. I urge you to visit Larry's site at: http://larryperrault.blogspot.com.

By the way, Larry has MS. His body may have failed him, but his heart, soul, and love for his family and his country remain very much intact.

As many of you know, I have a high regard for Mike Huckabee (as I do for some other candidates), and would be proud to support him if he wins the nomination. I believe strongly that Mike should meet soon with Sarah Palin, privately at first if that approach suits both of them.

Sarah has said she doesn't know a great deal about Mike, and his campaign should rectify that situation quickly. At this point, Sarah probably can do more for ANY of the candidates than they can do for her. As the most popular state official in our country, she can be very helpful in advising how candidates can generate wide public support.

At the least, Mike's building a strong personal and political relationship with Sarah and her supporters would help his campaign greatly if he named her as "exactly the kind of person" he would seriously consider for the nation's second-highest office. Our goal is for the Republican nominee to name his prospective running mate no later than Febuary 6, 2008, the day after the "Super Tuesday" primaries.

Late last week, Bill McAllister of KTUU-TV asked me if the Draft Palin Movement had established initial contacts with Republican presidential candidates (plural), and I said honestly that we had initiated such outreach. We want to know exactly where the candidates, including Mike Huckabee, stand on having a qualified woman on the ticket. The candidates increasingly are aware of the strong support Sarah has from people of the stature of Fred Barnes, Les Kinsolving, Tom Koennniger, and SJ Reidhead, among others, as well as from many of the most dedicated and influential members of the blogosphere.

National figures associated with the presidential campaigns have expressed an interest in meeting with Sarah Palin. The next moves are up to the candidates.

Frankly, the election of 2008 is so important to our nation that presidential candidates should avoid the usual coyness when it comes to a vice-presidential selection. We urge them not to fall back into considering mainly aging male Caucasians. It's time to select someone whose political future is unlimited and whose appeal to voters is obvious.

Whatever candidate selects Sarah as a running mate should be aware that she would refuse to be some sort of gender token or "attack dog." She's an individual of nont only of high intelligence but also of basic decency. She's a healer, not a divider.

The presidential nominee will make the final decisions on policy issues, but Sarah should be a respected advisor, especially on issues related to the family, energy, education, the environment, Second Amendment rights, and the overall value of life. She has translated her stands on such issues into approval ratings that show almost universal support, not just from Republicans, but also from Democrats and Independents.

It's clearly time for new faces from new places. In our view, the best new face is that of Sarah Palin, and the new place should be the geographically distant -- but critically important -- state of Alaska.

Stephen R. Maloney, Ambridge, PA
National Coordinating Team Palin 4 VP
TalkTop65@aol.com
724-266-2953

WHO IS ADAM BRICKLEY? AND WHY SHOULD SARAH PALIN CARE?

NOTE: In the next month, we in the Sarah Palin Crusade will be working hard to add to our growing list of people supporting Sarah for V-P. To sign up, either leave a comment or send an e-mail to TalkTop65@aol.com. She is fresh, and everyone else is tired. When we get 20 new Palin backers, we will hold a lottery and the winner gets to buy Adam dinner!


When Alexander the Great lay dying while still in his 20s, he had conquered all the known world. As his key lieutenants gathered around him, they asked whom he wanted his kingdom to go to. In his last words, Alexander said, "To the . . . strongest."


Adam Brickley is a 20-year-old college student who lives in Colorado Springs and goes to the University of Colorado campus there ity. Of great significance, he started the Draft Sarah Palin movement. He's a living exemplar of another famous statement by Alexander about the main rule of life: "The weak give what they must, the strong take what they wish." Generally mild in manner, Adam is one of the strong.

Some people, even a journalist as good as Bill McAllister of KTUU-TV in Anchorage, look askance at a 20-year-old. How can anyone at such a “tender” age launch a Movement that’s taking on national implications? Surely, they think, he must be a minor figure in the effort. Not so.

I’ve run into some extremely smart political operatives who were very young, such as Dale Perry of the University of Georgia, as well as Lynette Steine, Earle Johnson, and Knott Rice, all young Georgians who played critical roles in the early Gingrich campaign. Adam is the best of the best. (See his blog at: http://palinforvp.blogspot.com

I’ve called him “the young Karl Rove,” which frankly is a compliment to Karl Rove. In a sense, however, it may be better to look at Adam as a political version of Tony Conigliaro. Those with long memories will remember “Tony C” as an outfielder on the Boston Red Sox baseball team.

Because of a terrible eye injury, Tony didn’t break Babe Ruth’s record. But he accomplished something neither Barry Bonds, nor Hank Aaron ever did. Before he reached his 21st birthday, Conigliaro hit 100 home runs. No other baseball player has ever come close to that achievement.

As an 18-year-old, Conigliaro was already a home-run-hitting-machine. He was what we now call a super-star at an age when most young men are wondering what kind of corsage to buy their date for the prom.

But didn’t some baseball types of the age ask what an 18-year-old was doing in the major leagues? Wouldn’t he have benefited from spending several years in the minors, as baseball players – even very good ones – usually do? Wouldn’t he gain some valuable experience with the minor-league Red Sox in Pawtucket rather than the major-league team in Boston? Might he not inspire jealousy among some of his teammates who had paid their dues in the minor leagues? What about sitting him firmly on the bench, where he would be less of job threat to aging veterans?

Of course, the questions are ridiculous. Tony Conigliaro earned his spot with the “Big Boys” of baseball by hitting an incredible number of home runs. He might have been very young, but he was already a great athlete. He didn't need any seasoning. He learned on the job, and he obviously was a very quick learner.

The same is true of Adam Brickley. His remarkable accomplishments with the Draft Palin effort make him a budding mega-star in politics. He knows how to organize coalitions, which is the political analogue to a baseball player who knows how to hit home runs and win games.

When Bill Gates was Adam’s age, he was dropping out of Harvard (and NOBODY drops out of Harvard) and beginning to develop what soon became Microsoft. When Tiger Woods was Adam’s age, he was preparing to become the youngest player ever to win a major tournament.
When Alexander the Great was Adam's age, well, you know about "The Great."

What I’m asking individuals is to evaluate Adam on merit, not on age and on any supposed lack of experience. In fact, that’s also what we’re asking people to do with Sarah Palin, who is more than twice Adam’s age.

A person Adam and I both respect almost to the point of idolatry is Fred Barnes of FOX News and The Weekly Standard. Fred says that, for a variety of reasons, Sarah is not ready – YET – for the vice presidency. He notes that she needs to spend more time meeting the movers and shakers in the Washington Beltway.

Frankly,Adam and I believe that some of the experience Sarah would get in the Beltway is precisely the kind she doesn’t need. She can avoid meeting all the big-time lobbyists in the $2,000 suits who reside on K Street and hand out cash to their political servants. She can pass on kissing up to the blowhards who rule the roosts in the House and Senate. Yes, there are a few good men (and women) in DC, but one key reason for sending Sarah there is to clear out the riff-raff, which is just what she's doing in her home state.

Sarah became governor of Alaska with roughly zero support from the state's Republican establishment, including the state chairman, whom she accused (rightly) of ethics violations. In what probably was a first for politicians in her state, she went into office beholden to none of the Kingmakers or influence-buyers.

Gee, could she do the same kind of thing in Washington, DC – go in as a reformist-outsider free of the Beltway tentacles? Could she and the President go directly to the American people with sound, common sense proposals to resolve issues like Iraq and immigration? That's exactly what she's doing as governor.

If she follows Fred Barnes’s advice and cuddles up with the political potentates and media egomaniacs in DC, then she would be just as tarnished as everybody else. Playing the Washington game is a case of the fly seeking to dominate the fly paper.

Adam and I and others have tried hard, but it’s so difficult to get this across to people like Fred Barnes this point: The reason our elected officials can’t “clean up the mess in DC” is that they ARE the mess. They accept the unacceptable – such as taking long vacations in times of national crisis and building Bridges to Nowhere. Washington is the place that’s earned its reputation for turning idealists into cynics. Trust us: Washington needs her more than she needs it.

Sarah has said that her life in Alaska is “reality” – with her making the beds, preparing peanut butter sandwiches for her daughter Piper, and then rushing off to be governor. "In Alaska, it's easy to keep it real," as she says.

Yes, Alaska is different. It lacks the pomposity and rigid ideologies that have a paralyzing effect at times in the "lower-48." It's a place where residents don't stand on ceremony -- and where most people genuinely like one another. The rest of the nation could benefit from some "northern exposure."

Six months ago, Adam Brickley saw Sarah Palin as a woman embedded in reality. He viewed her as a special kind of elected official. He observed that she had become the most popular elected official in the country FOR SEVERAL GOOD REASONS.

For one thing, she was honest while many others were at least mildly corrupt. Another was that she wasn’t under the thumb of the traditional movers and shakers in Alaska politics – particularly the oil companies and their suppliers. What’s more, she was a conservative with a heart, one who had a real respect for the people she governed. She also talked constantly about her need to abide by Alaska's state constitution.

Adam also saw that Alaska’s relatively small population was a non-issue. Look at it this way: Dick Cheney, a relatively unpopular politician is from a state, Wyoming, with three electoral votes. Sarah Palin, a wildly popular elected official, is also from a state with three electoral votes.

As a 20-year-old, Adam Brickley has a long time to live in America. I have no doubt he will have a tremendous political career. He’s proving that people of any age, if they have intelligence and drive, can change the world. He’s demonstrating that the kind of country we live in depends on getting people with the seeds of greatness into high office.

Adam, take a bow! You and I expect a lot from Sarah Palin, but we both know she expects even more of herself. For both of you I'd say this: when the going gets tough, think of Tony Conigliaro -- and keep in mind Alexander's axioms.

Stephen R. Maloney

Letter to Fairbanks News-Miner Re: Draft Palin Movement

R. A. Dillion, who authored the piece I'm responding to below, was kind enough to put my response on his blog and forward it to the editor of the Fairbanks News-Miner for possible inclusion in that newspaper. I informed him that if our Draft Palin group is a cult, that it is very nice one indeed. You can find Mr. Dillon's blog (a good one) on my blogroll. He's recently written a column on AlaskanAbroad about Sarah's husband, Todd, going back to work for BP, with the suggestion that it might have the appearance of a "conflict of interest." I responded vigorously with a comment on his blog. See this space tomorrow for my comment. Mr. Dillon has a beautiful Siberian husky dog, and I have one living next door, Sasha.

Hello Mr. Dillon:

I read with interest your Fairbanks News-Miner piece titled "Cheers to The Cult of Palin." I have been for many months a strong supporter of Sarah Palin for Vice-President on the Republican ticket. I've spent perhaps a thousand hours on this project, and will spend a lot more time, but I don't regard myself as a member of a cult.

Instead, I'm committed to getting the very best individuals -- people who are honest, decisive, and forthright -- out front as Republican candidates. I've written many columns on "Why Sarah" on my blog: http://camp2008victorya.blogspot.com/ explaining why I believe Sarah is the best choice for the second spot on the Republican ticket.

At a time when the Democrats will have a woman at the head of their ticket, there are some obvious practical reasons for the Republicans, my Party, doing likewise.

As you suggest, many national writers, including Fred Barnes, Les Kinsolving (a Pultizer Prize Nominee), and SJ Reidhead, along with important regional writers like Tom Koenniger (The Columbian) and Dimitri Vassilaros (Pittsburgh Tribune-Review), agree with us. Dozens of bloggers, some of them with huge readerships, have also signed on. The Republican Governors Association has featured her on its website, and important advocates for Mike Huckabee and Rudy Giuliani are strongly advocating that Sarah be on the ticket.

Recently, a gossip columnist in Anchorage suggested that at least one of our number must be getting "paid" by someone. Trish in Alaska (http://palintology.com/ replied that she certainly is not getting paid. No one, none of the columnists, and certainly none of the bloggers, is getting paid a nickel to advocate Sarah Palin.

Also, no one in the Palin Administration has any say in our activities. We are an independent group committed to doing what is best for our country. As for Gov. Palin's supposed lack of experience: right now, she has more executive experience than several national candidates widely regarded as viable, including Hillary Clinton.

Being a good vice-president or President is mainly a matter of character and willingness to confront tough issues, both of which Sarah has in abundance. There's no reason to believe she wouldn't do as good a job in Washington, DC as she obviously has in Juneau.

The people in Alaska generally strike us as wonderful souls. The state is playing a crucial role in the nation's struggle for energy security and environmental protection, as well as for nutritious, healthful food. Don't sell the state, or its wonderful governor, short.

If you or any of your staff would like to talk directly about this, I'm available.

Stephen R. Maloney
Ambridge, PA
National Coordination Team, Palin 4 VP


Stephen R. Maloney is a national coordinator in the Palin 4 VP effort. He has been a political activist and operative for 40 years and has written for Fortune, National Review, The American Spectator, and many other publications. Formerly a college teacher in Virginia and Georgia, as well as a speechwriter for many of America's largest corporations, he has a Ph.D. in English and American Literature from the University of Rochester.

SJ REIDHEAD'S MAJOR SALUTE TO SARAH PALIN

Today, Sunday, my blog recorded its first visitor from Wasilla, Alaska, home of Gov. Sarah Heath Palin.

Note to print, radio, and TV journalists: Several national coordinators in the Draft Sarah Palin effort are available for interviews. If you're interested, either leave a comment or e-mail me at: TalkTop65@aol.com. Thanks.

Could Alaska's "Hottie" Governor Be the GOP's VP Nominee in 2008?

Written by SJ Reidhead
Published August 17, 2007

Alaska’s “hottie” Republican governor, Sarah Palin is a character straight out of the now defunct television classic Northern Exposure. This former beauty queen is ethical to the point where it almost cost her a political career, filing accusations of ethics violations against some of the most important Alaskan Republican officials. She has become an antidote to tales of woe and Republican corruption that seem to find their way out of Alaska in an almost weekly basis. Refreshingly honest, Palin even admits that when marijuana was legal in Alaska, she tried it, inhaled, but did not like it!

Maverick Reputation

Currently, after a year in office, Palin has an 84% approval rating. This is in keeping with her ‘humiliating’ defeat of seated governor Frank Murkowski in a bitter 2006 primary where the almost ‘unknown’ Palin received 51% of the vote while Governor Murkowski received only 19%. Political commentator Larry Sabato, Director of the University of Virginia’s Center of Politics remarked that Murkowski’s defeat was “literally almost unprecedented for someone is not indicted.” While Murkowski was not indicted, his administration and his personal life were plagued with allegations of corruption, gifts, and dirty tricks.

Palin’s first months in office have not been easy. Presiding over a Republican Party rife with accusations of corruption, many of them focusing on the state’s senior US Senator, Ted Stevens, Palin has served with grace and poise. In May, three former state legislators were indicted on corruption charges that stem from the repealing of the state’s oil tax and the creation of one which was more favorable to the oil industry. Palin has now called for a special session of the state legislature to meet in October. During that time she will ask for a new tax to compensate for the $150 million shortfall the ‘new’ tax has created.

Sarah Palin’s new tax hike is in keeping with her ‘maverick’ reputation. She is now being promoted as a possible GOP candidate for Vice President in 2008. Will this proposed tax hike hurt her within conservative circles? She is a life-time member of the National Rifle Association, and strongly pro-life. A devout Christian, she completes the “maverick” image by maintaining openly gay friendships and implementing same-sex benefits for the state. According to Fred Barnes, there are those in Alaska who are not comfortable with her strong faith.

In a recent Fred Barnes profile in The Weekly Standard, Barnes quotes Dan Fagan, an Anchorage radio talk show host, “"She's as Alaskan as you can get. She's a hockey mom, she lives on a lake, she ice fishes, she snowmobiles, she hunts, she's an NRA member, she has a float plane, and her husband works for BP on the North Slope," Fagan says. Todd Palin, her high school sweetheart, is a three-time winner of the 2,000-mile Iron Dog snowmobile race from Wasilla to Nome to Fairbanks. It's the world's longest snowmobile race.

Too Good to be True?

Family is very important to Sarah Palin. The mother of four children, Bristol, Piper, Track, and Willow is also a former high school basketball champ. A journalist by training, and graduate of the University of Idaho, Palin worked in the media before entering politics. Her bio reads like the typical “mom” with service organizations that include PTA, sports coach, and youth hockey team manager. She has worked with husband Todd, an Alaska native, as a commercial fisherman. When not single-handedly trying to end corruption in Alaska, raise her family, and govern the largest state in the US, Palin runs marathons!

Her favorite meal includes either mooseburgers or moose stew because, according to one interview, "they taste better than beef with no chemicals, steroids or hormones.” She is a Pittsburgh Steelers' fan and was the second runner up in the Miss Alaska pageant.

Just What the Doctor Ordered?

There is no argument that the GOP, nationally, has many problems. Aside from the ongoing claims of corruption, greatly exaggerated by Democrat opponents for political gain and headlines, there is almost a malaise within the conservative ranks. Factions of the party have begun to think only inside the box, closing their minds to new ideas and new ways of seeing things.

According to Dimitri Vassilaros' recent Tribune-Review profile of Palin, she could be the answer tom any of the problems facing the Republican Party, nationally.

1. She vetoed nearly a third of the earmarks GOP legislators put in the stage budget.
2. While against same-sex unions, she vetoed a bill prohibiting such unions because the state Supreme Court said it was unconstitutional.
3. Palin feels the private sector can do better than government.
4. She is a crusading ‘corruption’ buster.
5. She has signed a bill on ethics and disclosures
6. Unlike many conservatives, she is interested in preserving the environment
7. She is interested in the Native peoples of Alaska.

Palin’s interest in Alaska’s Native Heritage may be the perfect antidote for a Republican Party wracked by perceived conservative bigotry against Hispanics via their failure to approve workable immigration reform. The GOP is in serious danger of losing a large amount of the Hispanic vote. Palin’s almost fanatical interest in Alaska’s Native Heritage may help to heal the gaping wound within the Hispanic community.

If Hillary Clinton is the Democratic Nominee in 2008, and every indication points to that fact, the GOP is going to need to counter her nomination with creativity and realize that the era of the ever-present “white male” has come to a merciful end. The Republican Party must, in order to make up for the immigration debacle and perceived racism and bigotry do something to raise the profile of women and minorities on the national ticket.

Hillary Clinton’s greatest challenge is the fact that, while her husband was a four term governor of Arkansas, she has not been the chief executive of a state. She has served within her husband’s Administration as one of his primary advisors and has served in the United States Senate. No United States Senator has been elected President since John F. Kennedy was elected in 1960.

Having a seated governor on the ticket would be a major plus for the GOP which will be fighting an admittedly up-hill battle. Having someone like Sarah Palin on the ticket might be “just the ticket”. Not only is she a seated governor, but she is very pretty, has the ‘perfect’ family, a very handsome husband, and is a walking photo-op.

FYI – if Sarah Palin is not on the ticket in 2008, watch for her to be running for POTUS in one of the next few elections. She is relatively young, has national ambitions and is, in all likelihood, the new face of the GOP.



SJ Reidhead is a writer and political junkie who lives in Lincoln County, New Mexico and is the author of two western novels, and has several non- fiction books about Tombstone and Wyatt Earp. She is currently counting hits on her Pink Flamingo blog and is working on an expose of the anti-immigration movement as well as forming her own publishing company.

Steve says: A devoted Christian activist, SJ Reidhead blogs at the “PinkFlamingo” on Blogharbor.com. She’s one of a handful of extremely powerful figures on the blogosphere. Her superb piece on Sarah appeared on BlogCritics. You can find the link to PinkFlamingo, as well as to this piece on my blogroll. I urge you to make her blog and BlogCritics parts of your regular reading. This piece is a major boost to Sarah's campaign. SJ Reidhead's outstanding Internet track record may just make her "the most important political figure in the US that you've never heard of."

Anchorage Daily News Cites Draft Sarah Movement!

NOTE: Special thanks today (August 16) to the Alaska visitors from: Eagle River, Juneau (2), Anchorage (3), Ketchikan, Fairbanks, and Nome. Yes, we're trying to "steal" your fine governor, but America really needs her! If you'd like to know anything about the DraftSarah Movement, please leave a comment or send me an e-mail at: TalkTop65@aol.com. Thanks.

The Anchorage Daily News (http://adn.com) regularly cites the "Draft Sarah Palin" Movement. Today, Trish at http://palintology.com/, one of the best blogs in America's Last Frontier, brought my attention to a front-page ADN story about Sarah . . . and us in the "We Love Ya, Sarah" circle, one that's getting a lot bigger. It notes the Fred Barnes piece, as well as Les Kinsolving's fine endorsement of Sarah for V-P. It also mentions Elepantman's blog: http://palinforvp.blogspot.com/ and the indefatigible Sanity102, who wrote the piece about Sarah's "gorgeous" family and her "trust me" voice. Sanity blogs at: http://outsideofthebox.townhall.com/. Our fondest dreams about the Draft Sarah effort are coming true, and it's an exhilarating feeling. Go for it, Sarah. Thanks to everyone who "took a flier" on Sarah, and now is looking forward to a happy landing on November 4, 2008, Election Day. Here's the ADN piece (authored by Terry Carr):


"Palin as No. 2 on the Republican ticket? 'With a smile that could melt all the tundra of the Arctic Circle – as well as absolutely astounding political success and integrity – Gov. Palin ought really to be seriously considered by whomever wins the Republican presidential nomination as an absolutely glorious running mate.'"

"So runs Les Kinsolving’s column at WorldNetDaily.com, another in the widening pool of Palin-praising on the Internet, a good bit of it in blogs. More and more, her name gets mentioned as a potential Republican vice president nominee."

"Another example of Palin-praise: Fred Barnes’ Weekly Standard column -- which spins through a lengthy, glowing review of Palin’s public career and says she 'is now the most popular governor in America, with an approval rating in the 90s, and probably the most popular public official in any state.'”

There’s a Draft Sarah Palin for Vice President web site, and The Spoof (warning: some rough language and other material at this one) spoofs a Mitt Romney-Sarah Palin ticket. “Have you SEEN this lady’s family?” a poster on a Townhall.com blog says. 'I’ve just watched a bunch of her campaign for Gov. ads; her family is GORGEOUS and her voice practically oozes ‘trust me.’”

Note: There are several other bloggers -- some of whom chalk up a thousand-plus visitors per day -- who are on the edge of diving into the pool of Sarah supporters. C'mon in everyone. The water's fine.

Imaginary Reagans & Political Realities: My Quarrel with Larry

NOTE: WHAT A DAY! THIS IS ONE OF TWO COLUMNS FOR TUESDAY, JULY 31. A HEARTY WELCOME TO VISITORS TODAY, THE LAST 10 OF WHOM (AT 1 P.M. EDT) HAVE BEEN FROM: Istanbul, Turkey; Cagnes-sur-Mer, France; Dallas, TX; Manchester, NH; Eagle River, AK; Pittsburgh, PA; Sough, UK; Torino, Italy; Rome, Italy; and Waianae, Hawaii. Talk about an international flavor! (I'm located in Ambridge, PA, 15 miles northwest of Pittsburgh.)

Thanks very much to Gop44 (D. R.) from Green Bay for joining the "4 Palin" movement. Along with Kerry and OpionatedCatholic, he joins the Team Huckabee advocates who are also supporting Sarah. His blog is at: http://themaritimesentry.blogspot.com/

I sent the following to several dozen people today and, happily, some of them are responding, curious about a truly remarkable woman, Gov. Sarah Palin:


I'd like to invite you to support Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin's candidacy for Vice-President on the Republican Ticket. Sarah is an absolutely remarkable elected official, the nation's most popular state official.

I urge you to read Fred's laudatory piece about Sarah in The Weekly Standard, available by clicking on the link in the blogroll. He says the following:

"The wipeout in the 2006 election left Republicans in such a state of dejection that they've overlooked the one shining victory in which a Republican star was born. The triumph came in Alaska where Sarah Palin, a politician of eye-popping integrity, was elected governor. She is now the most popular governor in America, with an approval rating in the 90s, and probably the most popular public official in any state.

Her rise is a great (and rare) story of how adherence to principle-especially to transparency and accountability in government-can produce political success. And by the way, Palin is a conservative who only last month vetoed 13 percent of the state's proposed budget for capital projects. The cuts, the Anchorage Daily News said, "may be the biggest single-year line-item veto total in state history."

Here's what I recently wrote about Sarah on my blog: Campaign2008VictoryA (reachable at http://camp2008victorya.blogspot.com/

"If the Democrats had a Sarah Palin -- which they don't -- she'd be up on stage battling it out with Hillary, Barack, and John. When the Democrats have someone who's highly electable, they put him or her out there in front of the nation -- as they did at the convention with Obama. We Republicans have a lot to learn when it comes to highlighting candidates like Sarah (and Michael Steele and J. C. Watts)."

The mother of four, Sarah is ardently pro-life.

Frankly, if we Republicans are to win in 2008, we have to present candidates -- plural -- who are appealing, dynamic, and diverse. Right now, we're way behind in fundraising and marginally behind in national polls. We won't overcome these deficits by pursuing "business as usual." We need to put our very best people forward.

If you want to learn more about Sarah -- or, to join the number of bloggers and others who support her candidacy for V-P-- please let me know either by e-mail (TalkTop65@aol.com) or by leaving a comment on my site.

Today at that site I've had many visitors from the U.S., but also people from the UK, Denmark, the French Alps, Italy, and Turkey. I guess our movement is becoming worldwide.

Thanks for your interest!

Stephen R. Maloney
Ambridge, PA
National Coordinator, Palin for V-P

P.S. In addition to the Barnes piece, other recent articles about Sarah by important conservatives include Dimitri Vassilaros' Palin is GOP's beacon - Pittsburgh Tribune-Review and Tom Koenniger's piece at: http://palintology.com/. (You can find the links on the blogroll.)

Imaginary Reagans and Political Realities: My Quarrel with Larry

In my conversations with Mike Huckabee supporters yesterday, I ended up blasting one of them: Larry, who’s present in the comments on yesterday’s piece (and with whom I exchanged several e-mails). Larry believes the nation is being manipulated by the media and the big-money boys into choosing a Republican candidate who’s “not a real conservative,” etc., etc.

I told him his views are paranoid and ultimately destructive of the Party and the nation. In other words, I deviated from my usual (and ultimately unsustainable) role as Mr. Nice Guy.

Larry looks back nostalgically to Ronald Reagan and essentially demands the system produce a candidate like him. I reminded him that Reagan (twice-married) was a proponent of amnesty (the real kind, not the rhetorical type used as a weapon by the anti-Hispanic crew); was pro-choice as governor of California; was an advocate of women’s rights (Sandra Day O’Connor); was friendly with a bunch of gay people in Hollywood; and was the generator of huge financial deficits.

Not exactly a doctrinaire right-winger. In today’s climate, Reagn would be denounced by the “base” as a repulsive RINO. Presumably, he’d get the same treatment as John McCain.

For obvious reasons, an imaginary Reagan is much more palatable to the famed “base” than the real one.

The Republican nominee in 2008 will be the one who wins the primaries. No candidate of any viability (and some with no viability) in either Party is being blocked from participation in the debates. Each candidate is free to raise money and solicit votes, which they’re all doing.

Most American voters are moderates – not strong conservatives or strong liberals. Polls show that Democrats – up to 90% of them – are happy with the candidates they’re offered, all of whom are staunch liberals. Those candidates, from Senators Clinton and Obama to Kucinich and Gravel, offer the usual bagful of goodies (“free health care!”). They offer no plan for conducting a successful WOT.

The polls show that roughly 25% of Republicans currently aren’t happy with the announced candidates. In part, that may reflect the “revenge” of the legendary base. To me, it’s somewhat mystifying – and perhaps a sign of the immaturity of some Republican voters.

My correspondent Larry favors Mike Huckabee and suggests that if he doesn’t get the nomination it will be the result of manipulation by some dark force (the media?). Huckabee seems to be an exemplary man, but he has a hard time raising money. (He raised less than three-quarters-of-a-million dollars in the second fiscal quarter, compared to Giuliani’s $17-million-plus and Obama’s $32-million-plus.)

Without a lot of money, a candidate can’t run TV ads in big states (New York, California, Florida, and Illinois) necessary to win the mega-primaries to be held on January 29 (FL) and Feb. 5 (just about everywhere else).

States like Iowa, New Hampshire, and (to a degree) South Carolina aren’t going to count as much in 2008 as they did previously. (The MSM hasn’t discovered this yet.)

Florida has many more electoral votes than all the other early states combined. Candidates like Clinton, Obama, Giuliani, and Romney are filling up their piggybanks with tens of millions of dollars to advertise in the big states.

The irony with someone like Larry is that he’s a major critic of McCain-Feingold, admittedly a very imperfect piece of legislation. However, one of its purposes was to make it possible for someone like Mike Huckabee to compete. McCain-Feingold didn’t achieve that, but its goal certainly wasn’t ignoble.

With the current primary set-up, no candidate from a small state – such as Arkansas – can compete. People like Larry assert – wrongly – that there’s no constitutionally permissible way to change this situation. Thus, we could end up with a presidential race with three nominees (if Bloomberg gets in) from New York State. Presumably, next time around, it will be California’s turn (Schwarzenegger, Pelosi, and Bill Gates?).

As I said in a previous column, my questions to the Republican candidates, especially Giuliani, McCain, and Huckabee are these: what are you going to do to rebuild the Republican Party? Especially, what are you going to do to repair relations with Blacks, Hispanics, women professionals (teachers, doctors, lawyers, etc.), and younger people? If the candidates don’t have good answers to those critical questions, voters should ignore them.

Candidates who appeal only to the conservative “base” risk losing everything – with the exceptions perhaps of Utah, Idaho, Alabama, and Mississippi. That would result in a Senate with perhaps 60-plus Democrats and a House with perhaps 290-plus Democrats. We might end up looking back at 2006 as a relatively good year for Republicans.

So, that’s why I became so impatient with Larry. Holding your breath until you turn blue – or until you detect the Second Coming of the Gipper – is not a responsible approach. In fact, it’s the height of irresponsibility, a political philosophy that’s worthy of a two-year-old.