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iowa caucuses tonight, hence my timing for this post...
more than 15 years ago i sat in front of my tv rapt at a senate subcommittee chairman grilling witnesses on what would eventually become known as "iran-contra."
it was a life-changer for me, because i was a bit too young to appreciate sam ervin and the watergate hearings. kerry was to the 80s what ervin was in the 70s. each was my political hero of their respective decades, because they brought sunlight onto a process that a lot of other people in power were trying to keep in the darkness.
i knew then i was seeing the real thing, and felt that if kerry ever chose to run for president i'd support him. my only regret is that a younger generation saw him riding a motorcycle onto a late-nite tv stage instead of watching him at his zenith. i suspect whatever he might do as president, if elected, would never eclipse what he did in those hearings.
Dan Empfield
aka Slowman
I thought Brandon Sullivan (Norths Attorney) was the star of those hearings with his" Your honor I am not a potted plant," Statement.......Although at the time I had more attention focused on one Fawn Hall:-) More to tonight's events.....It(the nomination) is Kerrys to loose because...the war hero thing, (the guy he saved from Oregon telling his story is huge) Money,(opting out of public financing and spending limits) experience and a lack of a credible opponent ie...............Edwards...a lightweight....Dean....makes public statements that undermine his credibility....Clark....see Dean comments....Leibermans inability to gain traction is puzzling and for some reason I think he's holding aces....but I doubt it, should be fun to watch while spinning......
I'm going for Dean myself. He's the only one who actually opposed the war, and he's got a great grassroots thing going on. Doesn't look like he won Iowa, but it's early days.
Just my $0.02 which is worthless since I'm a Johnny Foreigner and can't vote.
The thing about politics that makes it unlike most careers is that 7 very bad seconds and your done......Saying that America was no better off with Saddam captured the day after.....fits my definition of 7 very bad seconds....Wonder if Dean had planned that before going on Stage or if his mouth got the best of him? I don't know how he recovers from that one..........
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Gopre: Jan 19, 04 21:06
"I thought Brandon Sullivan (Norths Attorney) was the star"
you're writing about the trial, right? not the hearings? as i recall it, at the point of the hearings i don't know whether north was as of yet a "star."
i still remember when the name "eugene hasenfus" was first written in my daily newspaper. the hearings came, of course, sometime a bit later. north, poindexter, bill casey, robert mcfarland, and the private pilots that (as i recall) testified that they flew arms to honduras and for their trouble had help with loading the drugs back in the plane for the trip back. what a story. as for north, well, if i was the one dispensing justice he'd be just about ready to come up for his first parole hearing right about now.
Dan Empfield
aka Slowman
Yeah, probably not the smartest thing to ever come out of his mouth, regardless of accuracy. However, the latest NYT /CBS poll is out, and in answer to the question:
"Do you feel things in this country are generally going in the right direction or do you feel things have pretty seriously gotten off on the wrong track?"
those saying that the country is on the wrong track has jumped 10% to 53% in the last month. That indicates to me that the euphoria over Saddam's capture is wearing off, and I'll be interested to see if people start realising that Dean was right as the casualties continue rolling in from Iraq.
I think it was during the hearings, they were questioning North and he wouldn't answer a single question without he and Sullivan whispering to each other...either high drama or very cheesy....after about the 4th question the chair had seen enough....and instructed North to answer the questions directly without side conversation.....Hence the Sullivan response "I am not a potted plant".......His client was on the verge of deep........I think North then tried to refer to his notes or talking points when asked a question.....pretty ugly stuff.....I think in hindsight, with what has happened to all the parties involved since those events, it is not difficult to see how such events happened.......Mainly, the Presidents mind had started to go and he had a bunch of true believers who were unaccountable running things...
Dean's problem now is that any smart opponent will play that sound bite over and over and turn the race into a referendum on Saddam.....The problem for other Democrats right now is spending money to cream someone else instead of delivering your own message does not get you any votes, it just moves them to another opponent.....but when it gets to two, or three left in the race....and the ironic part of the whole thing is that, other than getting in his own way, Dean has had it all going for him. In the end, you heard it here...those seven seconds will be the death of Dean......