Newt Gingrich is active in crafting Republican politics. Sarah Palin is very public. The one potential candidate we see very little of is Mit Romney. Romney has not however, gone away. He is very active behind the scenes. I believe Romney may be the best hope to retake the presidency in 2012. Can he win? What will be his strategy? This is what I think his strategy might be.
Romney was born and raised in Michigan. His father served as governor there. In 2008, Romney won the Michigan primary. His platform was on improving the economy there. Republican voters were fired up. It was one of the few times in the 2000 election that Republicans were enthusiastic. Unfortunately, after this primary his campaign ran out of steam.
Michigan is a state in trouble. It has experienced a bad economy. Detroit, once the capital of industry, is not a ghost town. Many referred to Michigan as part of the rust belt. Michigan is America. Many states are experiencing what Michigan is going through. Pennsylvania and Ohio are going through this. These are states that Republicans have not been able to win in quite a while. But these states could be the key to a Republican victory. Instead of a fifty state plan, Romney needs to come up with a one state plan. There is one state he needs to win: Michigan.
Is it wise to focus on just one state? Yes, if it is Michigan because Michigan is America. As the old song says, if you can make it here, you can make it anywhere. If Romney combines winning Michigan with Bush's strategy of winning the South and the Midwest, the Bible belt, this could be a winning strategy. Some would ask, can he win the Bible belt, since he is a Mormon. That is why he might pick someone like Sarah Pail as his VP. If Romney focuses on improving the economy, he could have a shot at winning.
The Tale of Two MacDuffs
In Star Trek The Next Generation episode "Conundrum" the Enterprise crew's memories are erased. Suddenly out of no where we see Commander Macduff. It turns out that he was an alien pretending to be human. His species was at War with a nearby world. Neither species had the technology to defeat the other. He hoped to convince the Enterprise crew that they were at war with his enemy. The Enterprise weaponry would allow him to win that war.
In William Shakespeare's Macbeth, Macbeth was told that he could only be killed bu a man who was not born of a woman. In the story, that man was Macduff. He was born by Cesarean. He eventually did kill Macbeth.
When I first saw "Conundrum" I was not that familiar with Macbeth and had never heard of the character Macduff. When I read Macbeth, the minute I saw the character of Macduff, it made me think of the Star Trek character. I wonder if the writers of Start Trek had the Shakespearean Macduff in mind when they created this man.
There are similarities and differences between the two characters. Macduff of Star Trek was an alien pretending to be a human where Macduff of Shakespeare was a man not born of a woman. Macduff of Macbeth was the hero of the story. He was the only one who could end the dictatorship of Macbeth. On Star Trek, Macduff was the villain. He was trying to manipulate the crew into ending his war. Star Trek tries to incorporate other literature into his stories. It routinely makes references to other works. This may be one of those examples.
In William Shakespeare's Macbeth, Macbeth was told that he could only be killed bu a man who was not born of a woman. In the story, that man was Macduff. He was born by Cesarean. He eventually did kill Macbeth.
When I first saw "Conundrum" I was not that familiar with Macbeth and had never heard of the character Macduff. When I read Macbeth, the minute I saw the character of Macduff, it made me think of the Star Trek character. I wonder if the writers of Start Trek had the Shakespearean Macduff in mind when they created this man.
There are similarities and differences between the two characters. Macduff of Star Trek was an alien pretending to be a human where Macduff of Shakespeare was a man not born of a woman. Macduff of Macbeth was the hero of the story. He was the only one who could end the dictatorship of Macbeth. On Star Trek, Macduff was the villain. He was trying to manipulate the crew into ending his war. Star Trek tries to incorporate other literature into his stories. It routinely makes references to other works. This may be one of those examples.
Stupid Stories of 2009
Here are, in my opinion, the oddest, weirdest, overblown, bizarre stories of the year. Some are funny, some are sad, some are mysterious, but all are worthy of note.
#10 Mark Sanford
Governor Sanford of South Carolina had refused to take the stimulus money. One weekend, he goes missing. Every one wonders where he went. His staff releases a statement that he was hiking the Appalachian Trail. A few days later he winds up in an airport saying he was in Argentina. He had been visiting his mistress. This basically ruined his political career. I was very disappointed in Sanford, since I had considered supporting him for president.
#9 Indianapolis Colts Throw the Game
It was the Colts versus the New York Jets, Colts had 15, Jets had 3. Head coach Brad Childers benched quarterback Paton Manning and all of the best players. The Jets ended up winning that game. Childers felt that his players needed to get rested up. The Colts had a perfect season but the coach felt it was better to lose some game than to not win the Super Bowl. As a Jest fan, I was happy they won, but not this way. It was a hollow victory.
#8 Jon and Kate Goslin
Those two had a reality show simply because they had eight kids. They last decade could be defined by it's reality shows. People were fascinated by how a big family lives. Several scandals developed about this family, including infidelity by Jon and the over controlling personality of Kate. You could blame the network, since this was pure exploitation to begin with. It is reminiscent of the old circus with the bearded lady. Jon and Cate were not victims because they agreed to it. The only victims are the kids.
#7 Janet Napolitano's Comment
She wanted to be Attorney General but was offered Secretary of Homeland Security instead. This cabinet department was created after the 911 attacks. It's primary purpose was to protect the country from Islamic terrorism. Napalitano said we need to also focus on returning veterans, pro-life, pro-enforcement of immigration laws, those concerned with China, and those concerned over the US' declining roll in the world as potential terrorists. After this statement we feared that she was turning this agency into a group that hunts down political enemies. While she backtracked her comments, this revealed her worldview.
#6 Tiger Woods
On Thanksgiving night Tiger was injured in a car accident. This incident revealed that Tiger was not the clean-cut guy we thought he was. For the time being, his career seems to be over. It was over-covered by the media. It almost appeared that the media wanted to cover up other stories. During this time President Obama was dragging his feet on the issue of sending more troops to Afghanistan. At the same time, a story broke revealing that scientists may have manipulated data on global warming. It seemed that coverage was to distract the American people.
#5 Michael Jackson
When Michale Jackson died, it was like a humanitarian had passed away. In recent years, Jackson had fallen from grace. Now, suddenly, he was considered a great man. The funeral was advertised to be this big event. At the funeral, there were more reporters than there were attendees. His death was a media driven event.
#4 Climate gate
Just before the climate conference in Copenhagen, there were reports that the Climate Research Institute at East Anglia University had cooked up numbers to make it look like the earth was hotter than it really was. This story was ignored by mainstream media. Right wingers like Rush Limbaugh claimed it proved global warming was a hoax. Does that mean that we should drill in ANWR? Does that mean that we should stop recycling and abandon new technologies? Because the media did not cover it, we did not get to debate those issue and we don't know what this really means.
#3 Miss California
At the Miss USA Pageant, Miss California was asked her thoughts on gay marriage by Perez Hilton, a gay activist. Her answer was that she felt that marriage was between a man and a woman. It was a politically correct answer. Perez wouldn't accept it and black-balled her. Christians everywhere were outraged. Even Sarah Palin got into it. As it turns out, Miss California was not quite as moral as believed. But why are Christians supporting other so-called Christians participating in a beauty pageant anyways? This was a non-story.
#2 Sarah Palin
Sarah Palin had been seen as an up-and-comer in the Republican party. She appealed to social conservatives. She made several blunders this year. She took a statement by David Letterman way out of context. She made a mountain out of a molehill. In July she resigned for no apparent reason. She has written a book which is riddled with historical inaccuracies. Even with all of this, she could still end up being the GOP nominee in 2012.
#1 Captain Sullenburger
A plain is hit by a bird and almost crashes into the Hudson. The Captain was able to land the plane safely into the Hudson River. It was called the miracle on the Hudson. He was on the cover of every magazine and was often mentioned. Every time there was an incident involving a plane, Sullenburger came up. There was moment by moment coverage of his return to the air. The media tried to milk this for all it was worth.
#10 Mark Sanford
Governor Sanford of South Carolina had refused to take the stimulus money. One weekend, he goes missing. Every one wonders where he went. His staff releases a statement that he was hiking the Appalachian Trail. A few days later he winds up in an airport saying he was in Argentina. He had been visiting his mistress. This basically ruined his political career. I was very disappointed in Sanford, since I had considered supporting him for president.
#9 Indianapolis Colts Throw the Game
It was the Colts versus the New York Jets, Colts had 15, Jets had 3. Head coach Brad Childers benched quarterback Paton Manning and all of the best players. The Jets ended up winning that game. Childers felt that his players needed to get rested up. The Colts had a perfect season but the coach felt it was better to lose some game than to not win the Super Bowl. As a Jest fan, I was happy they won, but not this way. It was a hollow victory.
#8 Jon and Kate Goslin
Those two had a reality show simply because they had eight kids. They last decade could be defined by it's reality shows. People were fascinated by how a big family lives. Several scandals developed about this family, including infidelity by Jon and the over controlling personality of Kate. You could blame the network, since this was pure exploitation to begin with. It is reminiscent of the old circus with the bearded lady. Jon and Cate were not victims because they agreed to it. The only victims are the kids.
#7 Janet Napolitano's Comment
She wanted to be Attorney General but was offered Secretary of Homeland Security instead. This cabinet department was created after the 911 attacks. It's primary purpose was to protect the country from Islamic terrorism. Napalitano said we need to also focus on returning veterans, pro-life, pro-enforcement of immigration laws, those concerned with China, and those concerned over the US' declining roll in the world as potential terrorists. After this statement we feared that she was turning this agency into a group that hunts down political enemies. While she backtracked her comments, this revealed her worldview.
#6 Tiger Woods
On Thanksgiving night Tiger was injured in a car accident. This incident revealed that Tiger was not the clean-cut guy we thought he was. For the time being, his career seems to be over. It was over-covered by the media. It almost appeared that the media wanted to cover up other stories. During this time President Obama was dragging his feet on the issue of sending more troops to Afghanistan. At the same time, a story broke revealing that scientists may have manipulated data on global warming. It seemed that coverage was to distract the American people.
#5 Michael Jackson
When Michale Jackson died, it was like a humanitarian had passed away. In recent years, Jackson had fallen from grace. Now, suddenly, he was considered a great man. The funeral was advertised to be this big event. At the funeral, there were more reporters than there were attendees. His death was a media driven event.
#4 Climate gate
Just before the climate conference in Copenhagen, there were reports that the Climate Research Institute at East Anglia University had cooked up numbers to make it look like the earth was hotter than it really was. This story was ignored by mainstream media. Right wingers like Rush Limbaugh claimed it proved global warming was a hoax. Does that mean that we should drill in ANWR? Does that mean that we should stop recycling and abandon new technologies? Because the media did not cover it, we did not get to debate those issue and we don't know what this really means.
#3 Miss California
At the Miss USA Pageant, Miss California was asked her thoughts on gay marriage by Perez Hilton, a gay activist. Her answer was that she felt that marriage was between a man and a woman. It was a politically correct answer. Perez wouldn't accept it and black-balled her. Christians everywhere were outraged. Even Sarah Palin got into it. As it turns out, Miss California was not quite as moral as believed. But why are Christians supporting other so-called Christians participating in a beauty pageant anyways? This was a non-story.
#2 Sarah Palin
Sarah Palin had been seen as an up-and-comer in the Republican party. She appealed to social conservatives. She made several blunders this year. She took a statement by David Letterman way out of context. She made a mountain out of a molehill. In July she resigned for no apparent reason. She has written a book which is riddled with historical inaccuracies. Even with all of this, she could still end up being the GOP nominee in 2012.
#1 Captain Sullenburger
A plain is hit by a bird and almost crashes into the Hudson. The Captain was able to land the plane safely into the Hudson River. It was called the miracle on the Hudson. He was on the cover of every magazine and was often mentioned. Every time there was an incident involving a plane, Sullenburger came up. There was moment by moment coverage of his return to the air. The media tried to milk this for all it was worth.
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