There's little doubt that the race would not even be close were the Dem candidate white. There are still those who perceive Obama as Jackie Robinson in his first rough years in the majors rather than cheering him on in later years for his greatness. After these sixty years it will depend on the electorate  gradually coming around to Obama as a Jackie of later years to make the race not even close. I don't think that perception will happen unless Obama edges out this clos...

  It's not the $700 billion that raises my hackles, but the distrust that it will only prop-up a house of cards. If it were up to me I would let the thieves of Wall Street fall. They don’t deserve a bailout of any kind. Frankly it would be a great catharsis for the country in witnessing the dynamic of comeuppance when the pharaohs of the great temple turned to dust. For too long the artificial systemic of money making money under the cloak of subprimes, derivatives, and other arcan...

    Remember the old-fashioned collateral--you know, what made you the guarantor of your own loan? Your assets or at least very secure employment and minimal debits used to be pre-requisites for the financial institution to approve a loan. Not anymore: the Ponzi principle is now the mantra for the financial sector by keeping the flow of funny money until the "capital" is exhausted with minimal assets to back them up. It's not pretty if you ever drove by a huge lot where thousa...

  Now we know why Obama didn't choose Hillary as a running mate. It had nothing to do with her baggage or husband, but rather a premonition of  the development of the Sarah syndrome stealing the spotlight from McCain. It reminds me of JFK beginning joint appearances  with his wife something like: "Pardon my intrusion; I know you're here to see Jackie." Of course, subliminally JFK knew she was a tremendous asset--certainly more so than having Johnson at his elbow. I rather doubt...

    Why in the world would the Republicans choose ABC’s Chuck Gibson to interview Palin? It was tough enough to make a solo debut without this pompous broadcaster shooting questions at her. Obviously she was nervous and programmed but she would have come off better had she been more relaxed with the likes of Judy Woodruff or Katie Couric. Nor will Sean Hannity coming up next week going to help her out because he’ll be putting words in her mouth and fawning all over...

    The best economic plan for the candidates is not the simplistic either/or top down/bottom up offerings. The hard fact remains that economic decision making rests at the top whether it be Wall Street or the Government, and as a rule by the former which can be driven either by the bottom line or by a sense of civic duty, or by a combination of both. For example, it was Henry Ford who decided to sacrifice or at least moderate the bottom line in the short-run by instituting the f...

 Although I’ve supported since Truman pushed for it in the late ’40s, universal healthcare can be put aside until we settle the horrendous issue of so many thousands going in hock or declaring bankruptcy owing to major medical bills in arrears. There should be for the uninsured and underinsured alike an accumulated floor one should have to pay for serious medical conditions. A youngster in his twenties barely above the minimum wage hit with appendicitis or a weekend sports injur...

  I see no reason for the media and political wings to go ballistic over the selection of Sahra Palin. I think it’s cool to put a capable young woman—not to mention she’s beautiful—on the ticket. A 230 year history of a stable democracy is comfortably in a position to place the nation in good hands in the event of a dreaded situation. Under such circumstance even Dan Quayle would have carried us through—think Ford, Johnson, Truman. Besides, it’s tim...

 In this era of Super Bowls, Wild Cards and American Idol, it strikes me as petulant to begrudge Obama his night under the stars. Give him credit for staging such a spectacular. No one took issue with Wendell Willke delivering a speech to hundreds of thousands, the Pope or Billy Graham at Yankee Stadium and Martin Luther King at the Mall. And who could forget the dramatic landing and Mission Accomplished speech atop an aircraft carrier. Copyright © 2008 Richard R. Kennedy All right...

  Eric Alterman, the liberal media watchdog, has every right to continue to bludgeon the media for outrageous reporting notorious for omissions and outright myth-making disinformation. However, to single out Dana Milbank, the Washington Post’s White House columnist, Alterman is childishly shutting down opposing views of the other. Milbank is in a position to say what he thinks and has no obligation to temper it with the other side—few columnists do. If he thinks Obama has dev...

Though the Russian overreaction with tanks reminiscent of old Soviet tactics should be condemned we must keep in mind that overreaction by the US serves no purpose, especially in light of Georgia initiating the attack on Tskhinvali. Bush’s condemnation that invasion of territorial rights is not acceptable in the 21 st Century is laughable. McCain’s bluster shows he’s still a cold front warrior in a time when our resources are spread too thin. Secretary of State Rice has no...

 Between a $6million going rate for offshore oil prospectus and almost a billion for oil rigs it appears that there's really no incentive to get moving on drilling offshore. It's a bit much to think that oil companies are that inspired to search for more oil where it will take them at least a decade to bring to fruition and the return on investment would be virtually nil unless the going rate for a barrel of oil at the time would be in the neighborhood of $500. Try to imagine the costs i...

    With the freshness of Obama wearing down like a new car smell, it’s back to politics as usual, given the clarity that the grumpy old man surprisingly is keeping the race close. Normally a failing administration in an election year would cause the opposing candidate to be at least double digits in the lead. Despite the crystal grazing even when backed by polls and analyses that favor Obama, there is no certainty he will be the clear winner. Albeit the youth vote in th...

    The JU "controversy" should clear the air over offshore drilling. First off as Pelosi says let's start up the inactive licensed areas; then Congress for one dollar should permit all other areas to be explored for plausible oil reserves. When more or less proven, license at $1mil the oil companies to drill as long as it beyond horizons, and if not states in question must approve. As for the use of the Arctic Ocean already under exploration and in competition with other nations...

    Comprehensive energy policy from oil drilling, CAFE and hybrid cars to taxing bottled water carbon emissions; and materially producing alternative fuels. Reduce the annual deficit to zero in four years. Reduce the national debt to four trillion in eight years. Eliminate earmarks by having each governor submit a list of state priorities subject to fair revenue sharing. Scrap NCLB and allocate funds to schools in disrepair and develop relevant teacher education. Start a Mar...