Jack Kelly on McCain, Palin

On my Pennsylvania blog Friday night I put up a column entitled "Democrats' Gas Prices Destroying America." Frankly, it's time to take off the gloves on the gasoline crisis. Please visit.

The following important column is by my friend and fellow Western Pennsylvanian Jack Kelly, national security writer for the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, the Toledo Blade, and other publications. He strongly endorses Gov. Sarah Palin for a place on the McCain ticket. He also strongly backs John McCain but believes the Senator lacks "shrewdness." (Jack Kelly is a former Marine, former Special Forces soldier, and a former candidate for Congress.)

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[Note: If your local newspaper doesn't print Jack Kelly's syndicated column, please call them up today and ask them (nicely but firmly) to start doing so. If they continue not to, keep calling.]

BY JACK KELLY

Barack Obama has the lead for the time being. But three sign posts point the way to a McCain landslide in November -- in the unlikely event the Arizona senator has the wit to heed them.
What figures to be by far the most important issue this fall is the skyrocketing price of energy and its deleterious effect on the broader economy and national security.

Now that Sen. McCain has flip flopped on drilling off of our coasts, there is a substantial difference between him and Sen. Obama on the issue. Sen. McCain also supports building more nuclear power plants, which Sen. Obama opposes.

Opinion polls indicate a large majority now supports drilling for oil off our coasts and in Alaska. That majority is likely to expand and harden as gas prices rise this summer. But Sen. McCain can't fully capitalize politically on this change in public attitude unless he completes his flip flop, and consents to drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.

Commentary editor John Podhoretz fears Sen. McCain's ego will prevent him from doing what is in his, and his country's interest:

"So McCain 2 makes a big speech about offshore drilling and the need for it. Fine. But the message is muted and confused. Why? Because McCain 1 voted against oil exploration and field development in (ANWR) and McCain 2 doesn't want to look like a flip flopper by changing his stand on the matter...In acting out of a combination of holer-than-thou piety and political pique, McCain 1 has made it all but impossible for McCain 2 to run with this issue and go on the offensive with Obama on a matter of central concern to the American people."

I fear Mr. Podhoretz is correct. But few Americans would hold flip flopping against Sen. McCain, because they've flip flopped, too. Soccer moms were happy to genuflect to environmental pieties when gasoline was $2 a gallon. But now that they have to sell their firstborn to fill up their SUVs, their attitude has changed dramatically.

If Sen. McCain were to fly to ANWR and announce his change of heart there, the attendant publicity would make it clear to Americans the sharp difference between himself and Sen. Obama on the issue most important to their pocketbooks. He supports letting Floridians and Californians decide whether there should be drilling off their coasts. Why shouldn't the same principle apply to Alaskans? A large majority favor drilling in ANWR.

The second sign post is Sen. Obama's clumsy embrace of a Sept. 10th attitude toward the war on terror. The law enforcement approach toward fighting it is precisely what led to Sept. 11, 2001.

Fortunately, national security is the one issue Sen. McCain knows something about. The danger for him here is that he'll overemphasize it. The fact that we're winning the war on terror makes most Americans less interested in it, and more focused on economic concerns. Voter anxiety about Sen. Obama's fitness to be commander in chief is a strong subsidiary issue. But this election will be won or lost at the gas pump.

The third sign post was illuminated by the flap over the receipt by the (now former) head of Barack Obama's vice presidential selection committee and two prominent U.S. senators of below market rate loans from Countrywide Finance, which Sen. Obama has charged is in large part responsible for the sub-prime mortgage crisis. One of those senators, Chris Dodd of Connecticut, is trying to push through Congress a bill that would, in effect, bail out Countrywide.

This glaring conflict of interest hasn't attracted much attention from the news media, because for most journalists, a scandal isn't really a scandal unless Republicans are involved. But it's an issue tailor made for Sen. McCain. He has often stupidly (see McCain-Feingold), but always ardently, fought pork barrel spending and corruption. Congress has its lowest approval rating in the history of polling. Replacing the Washington way with the Chicago way is not an improvement. Sen. McCain is the best person to make that case, and Americans are in a mood to hear it.

The sign posts also indicate who Sen. McCain should choose for his running mate. No Republican can better make the case for drilling than Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, and no governor has fought harder against corruption, especially in her own party.

So go to ANWR, Sen. McCain. Embrace Sarah Palin there. You'll have to eat some crow. But crow doesn't taste so bad when it's served on the White House china.

Email: jkelly@post-gazette.com

Who Exactly is Steve Sauerberg?

In response to my suggestions (below) for Illinois U.S. Senate candidate Steve Sauerberg, Mary on his campaign notified me that she's established a new site: http://moveondickdurbin.org. Here's my response to her:

Mary, God bless. I don't really mean to be the world's biggest Know-It-All but there some practical things that never seem to happen. Your MoveOn Dick Durbin is a wonderful idea. Hammer away at him every day. He's a wimp. I hope Steve keeps asking him why gas prices went through the roof. They want to blame George Bush for everything, but what exactly is Durbin doing in Congress? What are any of them doing? If we send him back, what's our reward: $8 a gallon gas? Falling home prices? Rising food prices? Raising our taxes? It may not be possible for Steve to confront Durbin face-to-face on these issues -- he will remain in hiding. But MoveOnDickDurbin.org is a good place to beat him up. I believe it's important to hit these people hard. They have been AWFUL, the worst legislators in the history of the country, a bunch of people committed to preserving their jobs rather than protecting the country. Their response to all this is to raise millions of dollars from special interests that are themselves the cause of most of our nation's problems. If you want you can, reprint this -- or anything you see from me.

I'm urging everyone who visits any of my sites to join Clintons4McCain, a site of Hillary Clinton supporters who are now committed to the election of John McCain. That large -- and rapidly growing -- group needs the support of everyone opposed to the election of Barack Obama.

Above is Republican senatorial candidate (Illinois) Steve Sauerberg with his wife and daughter.

Today, I contributed $25 to the campaign of Steve Sauerberg, a medical doctor and humanitarian who's running against incumbent Dick Durbin. I hope you'll do the same today.

However, what does Sauerberg have in common with the Pennsylvania congressional candidates I usually discuss?

For one things, the Pennsylvania challengers and Sauerberg share some committed Illinois supporters, including Beverly Perlson, founder of The Band of Mothers web site. I know Bev has contributed to Tom Manion, Republican candidate in PA's 8th district (Bucks County). I'm also hoping Pennsylvanians will donate to Dr. Sauerberg's campaign. The goal is to "nationalize" campaigns -- make them 50-state efforts, with contributors from across the nation.

To that end, Sauerberg can learn some things from the PA candidates:

First, his web site -- one he probably paid top-dollar for -- has problems. It's much too hard to donate there. He needs to simplify the process. In doing so, he should take a look at Toni Gilhooley's (17th district Republican candidate) web site. At first, it struck me as somewhat home-made, but in fact it's easy to contribute there. If you look at both sites (and, hopefully, make at least a small donation to each candidate), you'll see what I mean.

(The sites for Melissa Hart and Tom Manion are also easier to use than Sauerberg's.)

Second, the Sauerberg web site currently focuses on political corruption, something that seems endemic to Illinois politics. (The previous governor -- Republican -- is in jail and the current governor seems headed in that direction.) In fact, the web site should be focusing on other things, particularly gasoline prices, which will be the most important issue in this campaign.

I wish there were a web-site picture of Sauerberg standing next to a gas pump showing the current prices. Then, I wish he would say that Sen. Dick Durbin and his colleagues are directly responsible for those prices. "If you're happy with the current gasoline situation, then send Dick Durbin back to the Senate. If not, send me."

Saurerberg needs to highlight the fact that, since the Democrats took over Congress at the beginning of 2007, gasoline prices have gone up 75%. Also under the Democrats, food prices have skyrocketed and the housing market collapsed. Other than that, the Democrats have I guess been just "fine."

Third, Sauerberg should have a short video on his web site. It should contain perhaps 125 words of comments, focusing on the candidate's need for support -- and, especially, for contributions. (I have a model of such an appeal, and it's available free-of-charge to GOP candidates.) Visitors to Sauerberg's web site -- and they should total a million-plus -- will respond to videos.

Fourth, Sauerberg's site should also have a direct outreach to supporters of Hillary Clinton. Dick Durbin is joined at the hip to the Obama candidacy. As I've been pointing out, many Hillary supporters are angry at Obama and his campaign, and they're open to appeals from honesty-in-government candidate's like Sauerberg.

Frankly, a candidate like Dr. Sauerberg can't even come close without attracting a huge number of Hillary Clinton supporters. Visit web site like Clintons4McCain and JustSayNoDeal to get a sense of the political opportunities.

Will these recommendations help not only the Sauerberg campaign but just about every Republican effort? Yes. Candidates need to use methods that will touch voters's hearts, heads, and pocketbooks.

Can Steve Sauerberg actually beat an entrenched Democrat like Dick Durbin -- especially with Illinois resident Barack Obama heading the ticket?

Let's put it this way: If Steve runs a terrific campaign and accumulates an army of supporters, he probably can be -- sooner or later -- a U.S. Senator from Illinois. If he pulls out all the stops, including the ones I've suggested, he should do well in the November election.