Gray Matter
The Big Dog Proved to be an Albatross
It’s over. Sooner or later, Hillary Clinton will suspend her campaign and throw her support behind Barack Obama. And when she does, it will be fairly obvious that a major part of her campaign’s failure was due to our nation’s 42nd president. Certainly, Bill Clinton’s efforts on her behalf left room for improvement though few would have predicted it would be so. President Clinton is widely perceived as the Democratic Party’s most effective campaigner in recent history. But, his missteps and flubs in support of Hillary’s campaign suggest that he ain’t so hot at being second fiddle. It may infuriate Hillary supporters that Bill proved to be such a liability but the irony is indisputable. Some who knew her in college and law school saw a remarkable woman with the potential to rise to the highest level of leadership. She spent decades holding her personal ambitions in check while assisting with his exceptional rise to power and she redefined the role of a political spouse. His ultimate retirement from the White House gave her a unique platform to launch her own political career. Yet this path proved to have its downside. Bill Clinton left office extraordinarily popular at home and abroad. But his years as president are not remembered nostalgically by everyone. You have to go back to FDR to find a Democrat who angered Republicans to the extent that Bill Clinton did. And, of course, the personal failings that, rightly or wrongly, lead to his impeachment were an embarrassment and disappointment to many Americans regardless of party. Clinton loyalists will argue that it is unfair to hang his difficulties, real and perceived, on Hillary. But how could you not? One of George W. Bush’s first acts as president was to completely renovate the Oval Office. The implication was that the shenanigans of the previous occupant required a housecleaning of epic proportions. Unfortunately, his legacy left a metaphorical stain on his wife’s presidential aspirations that proved fatal. But this should not be viewed as Hillary Clinton’s obituary. She has twice won election as New York’s junior senator and she has proved to be an effective and accomplished legislator. With the Democrats in charge of Congress and, hopefully, occupying the White House, Hillary Clinton should play a critical role to enact the policies she believes in. Many of her supporters, craving a woman president, feel this may have been the last, best chance they are likely to see in their lifetimes. But there are many, many women in the leadership pipeline and the taboo of a president in a pantsuit has been broken. Nancy Pelosi and Condoleeza Rice are among the top officeholders to ascend to the presidency should something happen to Bush and Cheney and both presidential candidates are expected to consider women as running mates. Women who established their political careers, at least partly, in the wake of their husband’s success often have asterisks attached to their legacies. Hillary Clinton has already demonstrated her exceptional talents in government and […]
Jun 4th, 2008 by Ted Bobrow
Les Paul, Mike Cudahy and the Rise of the Uber Geezers
The Wizard of Waukesha is bringing his act to Milwaukee’s Pabst Theatre in June! If you don’t know the significance of that sentence then you don’t know the history of rock and roll. Les Paul, who turns 93 on June 9th, grew up in Waukesha and is probably more responsible for the popular music of our time than anyone. He is credited with inventing the design of the modern electric guitar and introducing recording techniques that revolutionized the music industry. So it shouldn’t come as a surprise that when a group of Paul devotees came to Michael Cudahy with a plan to create a Paul tribute at Discovery World, the planets seemed to align. I started this column as a tribute to some extraordinary graybeards among us and this breaking news about Paul’s upcoming concert just gave me a new lede. While so many of us in Milwaukee pout about the leadership vacuum on our local scene, a handful of wealthy and accomplished elders are stepping up to the plate. First and foremost, idiosyncratic and irascible Michael Cudahy has been coming to the rescue of various struggling institutions in the city for years. Take a look at his profile in the March, 2007 issue of Milwaukee Magazine by Kurt Chandler. The man was born into one of this town’s most prestigious families but he dropped out of school and seemed destined to become the black sheep of the Cudahy clan. His story gives a 20th Century Midwestern twist to a legendary Shakespearean tale. This Prince Hal ne’er-do-well eventually launched a medical electronics firm that earned him a fortune. Ever since selling Marquette Electronics to GE, Cudahy has been dedicated to giving away millions. The Medical College of Wisconsin, MSOE, the YMCA and the Boys and Girls Clubs of Greater Milwaukee all benefited from his largesse. But Cudahy isn’t the type to just write checks. He took over the Pabst Theater, brilliantly restored it and established it as the city’s most magnificent entertainment venue. Anyone who visits Discovery World, the city’s outstanding science museum, soon realizes what an impact Michael Cudahy has had. While the building’s glorious design resulted from a conflict between the philanthropist, the neighboring Milwaukee Art Museum and city planners, the spectacular facility is a living testament to Cudahy’s vision and commitment to this region. At 84, Cudahy isn’t the oldest benefactor on the local scene. That honor probably goes to Joseph Zilber a wealthy 90-year-old developer who is engaged on a spending spree to kickstart a Milwaukee Renaissance. He stepped up to the plate when the WE Energies-sponsored proposal to redevelop the Pabst City site was rejected by the Common Council. While that project is still very much a work-in-progress, Zilber has invited criticism by replacing the Pabst sign with one featuring his name and attaching a tacky video billboard to one of the buildings. But Zilber has also announced plans to bankroll a new initiative to address the poverty and other challenges facing Milwaukee to the […]
May 23rd, 2008 by Ted Bobrow
What is it good for?
Absolutely nothing, Good god, y’all. Wouldn’t it be great if every president was required to listen to Edwin Starr’s nearly perfect anthem against War before committing troops to harms way? Especially before a needless and senseless military action like the one going on in Iraq. But you won’t hear me call it a war. The war ended in a matter of weeks when the so-called coalition forces steamrolled over Saddam Hussein’s undisciplined and overmatched defenses. What followed is nothing other than an open-ended occupation that just about perfectly fits the definition of a quagmire. The PBS American Experience series ran a two-part profile of George H. W. Bush last week and the contrast between his skillful orchestration of the first gulf war with the mess perpetuated on our nation and the world by his first born was overwhelming. Key players Colin Powell and James Baker were positively gloating with pride at how well managed and executed was the campaign to kick Saddam Hussein out of Kuwait. The justification was undeniable, the international support was unquestionable, the force was overwhelming, and the victory was quick. Bush 41 chose to end hostilities once Kuwait was liberated. The objective was achieved and additional loss of life was spared. Some taunted the president, who served his country during World War II, for failing to continue the march to Baghdad but, as Powell and Baker pointed out, nobody is doing that anymore. I’ll leave it to historians and psychologists to explain what motivated Bush fils to handle things so differently from his pop. Thankfully, his days as president are numbered. Our nation has an important decision to make this November. John McCain has begun distancing himself from the current occupant of the White House on many things but not on Iraq. He insists that our military must remain in Iraq as long as necessary to support the new and fragile democracy. His claim that withdrawing our troops would amount to surrender is nonsense. We won the war and it is up to the Iraqis, with international support, to establish a self-sustaining government. The Iraqi people will only support a government of its own choosing and our unlimited presence prevents that from happening. Parents know that we fail our children if we don’t let them walk on their own two feet. By continuing our role as occupiers we are enabling corrupt sycophants who don’t have the moral suasion to appeal to their own people. Doesn’t the Iraqi army’s pathetic recent performance in Basra make that obvious? We have a role to play but not as occupying force. The next American president must restore our commitment to international law and the right of all nations to self-determination. The 9/11 attacks were not an excuse to turn our backs on these basic principles. Yes, the renegades who engage in terrorism need to be hunted down and punished and nations that harbor them should be held to account but within the framework of diplomacy and collaboration between allies. 41 […]
May 13th, 2008 by Ted Bobrow
One Tough Filly
One thing you gotta say about Hillary Clinton; there’s nothing brittle about this filly. Sen. Clinton made a visit to the car racing capital of the world in the days leading up the Indiana primary but the Kentucky Derby was the most prestigious sports event of the week. The derby is called the most exciting two minutes in sports and this year it lived up to its reputation. The competitive race stayed close for most of the mile and a quarter though Big Brown closed strong and finished well ahead of Eight Belles, the filly who ran second. Unfortunately, tragedy struck soon after the race was over when the runner up’s two front legs buckled under her leaving the beautiful animal incapacitated. She was quickly euthanized and the resulting sadness contrasted sharply with the festive pageantry (not to mention excessive inebriation) associated with the derby. I’ll leave it to others who know more about the sport to wonder if horseracing is cruel and inhumane. The only time I ever actually visited a horse track, I witnessed the legendary battle between Affirmed and Alydar at Belmont when the two ran the entire distance nose-to-nose culminating in Affirmed’s narrow victory and the sport’s last Triple Crown. That was 30 years ago. Elections are often referred to as races but when they drag on and on it’s difficult to see any parallel with anything associated with speed. Even a marathon concludes in a few hours while this election seems interminable. But it’s clear that this nominating process is rounding the clubhouse turn and the finish line is in sight. Way back in March, following Hillary Clinton’s tepid performance on Super Tuesday, I wondered how long she would continue fighting for the Democratic Party’s nomination given how dramatically she was being outperformed by Barack Obama. I felt then, as I do now, that she was entitled to stay in the race as long as Obama was still short of the delegate count needed to secure the nomination. But it is becoming increasingly clear that her chances of winning are exceedingly small and that the longer the competition continues, the more likely it is that irreparable damage will be done to the Democrats chances of winning in the fall. None of this can be lost on Sen. Clinton who is unquestionably as smart as anyone on today’s political stage. She has made mistakes before, including the horrendously managed attempt to pass comprehensive health care reform in her husband’s first term and the overly cautious frontrunner campaign she ran leading up to her third place finish in Iowa way back in January. To her credit, however, she usually learns from her mistakes. Following the health care debacle, Clinton (and her husband) learned the importance of reaching out to build coalitions. And since Iowa, Clinton has appeared energized and combative, shedding her wonky nature for a more populist and confrontational style. Her support across the nation is wide and deep and it is important that this contest […]
May 8th, 2008 by Ted Bobrow
Eye of the Beholder
When it comes to art, we’re all experts. To paraphrase a wise Supreme Court justice, good art is difficult to define but we know it when we see it. Here in Milwaukee, where we have an inferiority complex about so many things, nothing seems to incite a contentious debate more than the subject of public art. The most recent example of the incendiary nature of this topic is, of course, the Bronze Fonz. For those of you who don’t remember or weren’t paying attention, Visit Milwaukee, the quasi-public entity formally known as the Greater Milwaukee Convention and Visitors Bureau, has raised private funds to commission a life-sized sculpture of the Arthur Fonzarelli character from the Happy Days television show to be placed along the city’s Riverwalk. This ignited a firestorm of controversy throughout the Milwaukee art community. Some arts advocates were outraged that the project circumvented the formal approval process for public art in support of something politely described as schlock. Dave Fantle, the Visit Milwaukee impresario behind this undertaking, brushed aside these concerns and insisted that the intent of the sculpture was not to create art but to add an attraction that would draw tourists and other visitors who fondly remember the iconic Fonzie and might want to have their picture taken next to it. My unremarkable reaction to this debate, apparently consistent with my Libran nature, was to sympathize with both sides. What struck me as odd about the proposed sculpture was that it seemed to conflict with Visit Milwaukee’s oft-stated commitment to convince the world that our city had evolved beyond its “Laverne and Shirley” image. Both Fantle and Dean Amhaus, his colleague at Spirit of Milwaukee, another organization dedicated to promoting the city’s image, stressed upon me this goal when I first met them two or three years ago. I like Dave and Dean but I never felt that the image associated with the television show was entirely negative. If, however, you want to disassociate the city from its past, then it is best not to refer to it at all. I was amazed that at nearly every ribbon cutting or news conference announcing some forward looking endeavor, some official would proudly declare that the event proved that Milwaukee “had moved beyond its Laverne and Shirley image.” So that quote would invariably show up in the media coverage serving to keep the connection alive. I love nostalgia and it’s only a television comedy which, you gotta remember, almost always have goofball characters who don’t necessarily represent the essence of the city the show is set in. Do Joey of Friends or George, Elaine or Kramer of Seinfeld make you think that all New Yorkers are shallow and stupid? Or Horshack of Welcome Back, Kotter? Or Ralph and Norton of The Honeymooners? Come on! Fantle’s reaction is that the Fonz represents cool while Laverne and Shirley and their buddies Lennie and Squiggy are square and lame. Whatever. Milwaukee, of course, has been through debates about public art […]
Apr 23rd, 2008 by Ted Bobrow
In Praise of Mike Gousha
We are a polarized society on so many things but there is at least one thing that people of all political stripes can agree on; local television news is a vast wasteland. Chicago attorney Newton Minow used that term in reference to all of television way back during the Kennedy administration when he served as the chairman of the Federal Communications Commission. Much has changed in the nearly half century since Minow chastised the broadcasters who were responsible for the thin gruel then beamed into America’s living rooms. We’ve seen highs and lows in most everything including network news, children’s programming, prime time comedy, drama, game shows, so-called reality shows, etc., etc. But when it comes to local news, broadcast television has been a remarkable disappointment, failing to live up to its potential to contribute to an informed, involved population so overwhelmingly and completely that there is really no argument. Let’s look at the evidence… Almost every day the average local news broadcast proves worthy of the phrase that critics use to demean and dismiss the field; “If it bleeds, it leads.” Correspondents and camera crews stand ready to respond anytime a local resident falls victim to violence leading to the obligatory live standup with the breathless reporter on the scene in front of the obligatory yellow police tape. That is, unless a weather event threatens to affect rush hour traffic, in which case the usually attractive “talent” (at least that’s how industry professionals refer to the folks who go in front of the camera) get to stand bundled up against the elements, often with affected traffic visible behind them. But let’s face it, coverage of crime and potentially serious weather events are dwarfed by the true raison d’etre of local television news here in Milwaukee and that’s keeping track of the Green Bay Packers. It’s probably unfair to refer to the extensive coverage of Brett Favre to describe this phenomenon since there is something truly extraordinary about his relationship with Wisconsin. The former Packer quarterback, and it pains even me to refer to him in the past tense, is like royalty and arguably many, probably most, of the viewing population in the Milwaukee media market feel a deep, personal connection with Favre that is something like family. “All Brett, All the Time” came to an apocalyptic crescendo recently when Favre announced that he would indeed retire. It happened to come on the day that cycling superstar and cancer advocate Lance Armstrong was traveling across Wisconsin with Gov. Doyle to support the proposed legislation to ban smoking in all workplaces including bars. Before Favre’s statement was released, inviting Armstrong seemed to be a stroke of brilliance. The biking icon’s popularity is quite high and his commitment to fighting cancer and promoting health issues is sincere and, well, strong. Not only were his personal appearances guaranteed to attract press attention but his appeal to male sports fans would draw the attention of a demographic not always sympathetic to health promotion issues. […]
Apr 16th, 2008 by Ted Bobrow
Journal Sentinel Capable of Good Journalism
When the Pulitzer Prizes were announced on Monday and it was revealed that Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reporter Dave Umhoefer had won the Big Enchilada for local reporting, I was happy for Umhoefer and the rest of the Journal Sentinel staff who worked on this investigation of yet another excessive manipulation of the county pension system to grossly benefit county retirees. I have tremendous respect for the Pulitzer Prize and I know that this award should not be taken lightly. If you don’t remember this story from last July, it’s worth a read. It’s well-researched and well-written. The bottom line is that county leaders rigged the system to allow certain workers to pay for the privilege of extending their length of service in order to qualify for substantially greater annual benefits. More than 350 workers paid nearly $3 million in order to convert past summer jobs, internships and other seasonal work, normally ineligible to count towards pension benefits, in order to qualify for additional benefits totalling more than $50 million, in violation of federal tax code and county ordinances. As a result of the story, the county turned itself into the IRS in order to avoid a potential audit. This was a new wrinkle on the pension scandal that had first been broken by Bruce Murphy and posted on the milwaukeeworld.com web site back in 2001. When Murphy called attention to how the county had implemented new and extraordinarily generous benefits for thousands of county workers, it was seen as a black eye for the Journal Sentinel which not only had missed the story but apparently hadn’t even been sending reporters to cover the meetings where the “pension sweeteners” were discussed. Some critics, including Michael Horne who now writes for milwaukeeworld.com, fault the Journal Sentinel for not crediting Murphy and his original story with leading to this Pulitzer. Horne scoffs that JS editor Marty Kaiser claims this is the type of reporting that only a newspaper can do. Kaiser’s gratuitous boast appears disingenuous, if not totally dishonest, given how Murphy broke his story in 2001 writing for a web site. The competition between old-fashioned newspapers, printed on paper and distributed to front doors and driveways, and their online brethren, capable of being updated 24/7 is becoming increasingly moot. All providers of news need to realize that the internet represents the future. Newspapers, magazines, cable and broadcast television, etc. are simply content producers and consumers want to receive that product in the most convenient version possible. As traditional circulation drops, newspapers are struggling to figure out how to generate revenue online, not such an easy proposition, given that most people expect access to web sites to be free. Plus, Craigslist and other online classified sites have gutted one of the greatest sources of revenue for newspapers. This is not unique to the news industry, of course. The music business has been radically transformed by downloading and the iPod and that’s only one example. All news organizations are facing this challenge and resorting […]
Apr 11th, 2008 by Ted Bobrow
We Must Cultivate Our Gardens
“Tawdry and Despicable” — Milwaukee Journal Sentinel A “Tragedy” — Gov. Doyle “Unfit to be a judge or hold any public office — Bill Lueders Others have reflected on the awful campaign leading to the defeat of Justice Louis Butler by Burnett County Circuit Court Judge Michael Gableman in Tuesday’s election. My reaction was disappointment and anger. Justice Butler, a highly-respected, ethical and accomplished jurist was taken out by a truly mean-spirited, vicious and cynical campaign. But let’s stop putting the blame on how shady, anonymous third party groups manipulated the process. For one thing, the Gableman campaign itself was responsible for the most reprehensible ad. It was the one that flashed Butler’s picture on the screen next to the face of a child molester who Butler represented in his role as a public defender more than twenty years ago. Leaving aside the racist implications that led to comparisons with the Willie Horton ad of the 1988 Lee Atwater-George H.W. Bush campaign, Gableman’s ad crossed a clear line by suggesting that Butler was tainted for serving as a public defender offering competent defense to an indigent client. Gableman refused to withdraw the ad or apologize for it, insisting that he was simply drawing a distinction between his experience as a prosecutor and Butler’s experience as a defense attorney. A number of legal experts believe that this ad violated the prohibition of judges engaging in behavior detrimental to public confidence in the judicial system. Even many of his supporters, including the estimable Charlie Sykes, criticized the ad. So Gableman will join the court with an ethical cloud surrounding him much as Annette Ziegler did last year. But let no one be confused about those third party groups. They are neither anonymous nor obscure. Wisconsin Manufacturers and Commerce, the state’s largest business group, bellied up to the bar and opened its wallet to make sure that the balance of power on the Supreme Court swung in its favor. These greedy, Gordon Gecko-wannabes shouldn’t be given the cloak of invisibility or unaccountability. Take a look at the WMC board. These are the folks responsible for replacing Louis Butler with Michael Gableman. Each one probably considers him or herself a civic leader, with ties to the community and charitable causes they support. I’ll bet they love their mothers, are good parents and maybe even have really, really cute pets. Maybe you know one of them or more. I suggest you do what I did. Contact them and ask them if they were involved in the decision to conduct this campaign and, if so, why. I exchanged emails with John B. Torinus, Jr., Chairman of Serigraph, Inc. of West Bend. Mr. Torinus, who also pens a business column in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, responded that he personally favors public financing of Supreme Court elections though he acknowledged that would be useless unless third party spending was reined in. We have no choice but to operate under the rules as they exist. So it seems somewhat […]
Apr 3rd, 2008 by Ted Bobrow
Vote As If Your Life Depended On It
Yes, we all have the right to stay home and not vote. That doesn’t mean it’s the right thing to do. Yes, elections are messy, aggravating, distasteful affairs. But the brains in our head (the gray matter, if you will) give us the capacity to evaluate the candidates and make an informed decision. Yes, there is an incredibly important presidential election this year that seems to be sucking the oxygen out of the multitude of local contests here in Wisconsin and elsewhere. But the truth is that your vote for Wisconsin Supreme Court justice may be the most important one you cast this year. Look, I know that the deluge of manipulative, offensive ads run by so-called independent third party groups make it difficult not to turn your back on the whole unseemly process and wish a pox on both of their houses. But there is a reason these organizations with deep pockets are spending so lavishly on this race. It really matters. Just imagine if we held a national vote to elect a justice to the Supreme Court of the United States. The airwaves would be bursting with provocative ads trying to convince us of the relative merit (or, more likely, the scandalous past) of one candidate or the other. Could you possibly decide to ignore the process and stay home on Election Day? So I urge you to approach Tuesday’s election as if your life depended on it. By that I mean you should do what you would do if you learned you have a serious illness and had an important decision to make about your care. You would go online and research your options. You would seek out experts with the knowledge and experience that could provide you with valuable information to help with the decision. And you would talk to your friends whose opinions you respect. Time is short. Do your due diligence and vote tomorrow. I think the choice is clear. Justice Louis Butler is an intelligent, accomplished, respected, ethical jurist who has the support of an overwhelming majority of his fellow judges. His opponent, Mike Gableman, has been a judge for a fraction of the time Justice Butler has and has engaged in the kind of sleazy campaign that is so antithetical to our notion of a respected and thoughtful judiciary. But don’t take my word for it. Visit the candidates’ own websites, see how the campaign has been covered by the state (and the nation’s) media, and talk to people. Can’t we all please agree that elections are important and that all of our votes matter? Do I need to remind you of that drawn out debacle 8 years ago in Florida when the term “hanging chad” entered our nation’s vernacular? So vote. I don’t want to hear any excuses.
Mar 31st, 2008 by Ted Bobrow
Hey Milwaukee Bad Guys, There’s A New Maestro in Town!
When Edward Flynn was appointed Milwaukee’s new police chief, the community engaged in a group swoon. Flynn hit all the right notes as he met with the various key constituencies in town. Politicians, law enforcement officials, community activists and the business community all applauded the choice and Mayor Tom Barrett was praised for using the heft of his office to twist arms and influence this critical appointment (which, of course, was made by the Fire and Police Commission and not by the Mayor). Chief Flynn is closely associated with the philosophy of community policing and everyone seems to agree that this is a wonderful thing. But community policing is one of those generic terms, like democracy, good schools and market economies, which appeal to most everyone but are not always so easy to put into action. While it’s way too early to issue a judgment on the chief’s performance, you have to say that so far, so good. First of all, he has authorized (ordered?) his district captains to develop proposals for addressing the critical issues in their communities. He has held public meetings to announce and promote these initiatives. People have noticed and, by and large, have responded well. Second of all, he has expanded the presence of beat cops in busy neighborhoods. I’ve seen more police walking around in the last few weeks than I have in years. This is a key component of community policing. Beat cops walking around neighborhoods obviously isn’t a new idea; but it happens be incredibly effective. Who’d have thought? Yesterday, Chief Flynn held a news conference at the District 5 headquarters to call attention to an early, if modest, success. Police conducted a crackdown in the neighborhood around N. 19th Street and W. Nash where a gang known as the Nash Street Boys was believed to be dealing drugs and intimidating people. A group of law enforcement officers including Milwaukee police and FBI agents conducted arrests of 39 individuals suspected of gang involvement on Feb. 14th. In the month following the Valentine’s Day arrests, total criminal activity decreased by one third (24 incidents in the month before contrasted with 16 incidents since). Chief Flynn was joined at the news conference by Mayor Barrett, District Attorney John Chisholm, as well as a cross section of uniformed officers and appreciative residents. Chief Flynn pointed out that this was only the beginning but part of community policing is to focus on results and these positive results were worth noticing. But I found the most noteworthy aspect of the announcement were the broad smiles on the faces of the young police officers. Flynn remarked that they were smiling because successful police work is fun. But after the news conference, the officers made it clear that they enthusiastically support the chief’s program. “It’s taken away a lot of the red tape and lets us do our jobs,” said Officer Teresa Heidemann. “We get to be cops.” It hasn’t been all smooth sailing for Chief Flynn. Somehow, his […]
Mar 26th, 2008 by Ted Bobrow
Race, Politics and Easter
It’s Easter Sunday and the topic du jour is race. The old ad used to say “You don’t have to be Jewish to like Levy’s Rye Bread” (maybe it was a New York thing), so perhaps you don’t have to be Christian to appreciate the irony of the moment. Barack Obama was forced to deliver a speech on the subject of race because he has been buffeted by charges of poor judgment for maintaining a relationship with his preacher, the Reverend Jeremiah Wright. Radio, television and YouTube listeners and viewers have been barraged by clips of Wright railing against the inequities of our white-dominated society and even asserting that our nation brought 9/11 on ourselves through our actions around the world. I thought Obama was faced with a “Sister Souljah” moment, similar to when Bill Clinton needed to repudiate one of his core constituencies in order to prove his independence and character. But once again Obama proved that he is possessed of a remarkable intelligence and sophisticated appreciation of the powerful tensions tearing at our divided nation. He delivered a speech in Philadelphia last Tuesday that rejected Wright’s words but placed them in the context of our nation’s great but imperfect history. We should not forget or ignore that history, he said, but neither should we be poisoned by it. It is a history that has left scars on many people of many colors, faiths and bckgrounds but it has also taught us that we have the means, through our system of government and the power it bestows on “We, the People,” to right wrongs and continue the process of constructing a “more perfect union.” Obama delivered a great and timely speech that brings to mind Lincoln’s Second Inaugural when the 16th president called on the nation to look beyond the Civil War and begin the process of healing and reconciliation. Of course, Lincoln did not live long enough to preside over a nation at peace, Reconstruction was marked by unfortunate abuses and racism persisted through the Jim Crow years of the 20th century and even in today’s post-Civil Rights era. It remains to be seen how this election year will play out. But once again former President Bill Clinton revealed himself to be more interested in exploiting race for political advantage than in serving as one of the nation’s and his party’s senior statesmen. His comment that he hoped the nation would have two candidates in the general election able to focus on important things and not be distracted by the ugly and divisive issue of race was a transparent and shameful attack on Obama. Obama went on to deliver speeches on the economy and foreign affairs but the Wright controversy continues to dog him. Conservative talk show hosts are gleeful that they have been provided with ammo to challenge Obama’s patriotism by associating him with Wright. It’s ridiculous and offensive but it’s a free country. Race has also made an unfortunate appearance in the campaign for Wisconsin Supreme […]
Mar 23rd, 2008 by Ted Bobrow
OMG Check Out This Bracket!
It’s March madness, baby! The competition leading up to the Final Four and the NCAA basketball championship has evolved into one of the most entertaining sports events of the year. And with Wisconsin and Marquette playing well and still alive as of this writing (Wisconsin has already advanced to the Sweet Sixteen while Marquette is battling tough with favored Stanford in the second half). But this being Wisconsin, ya gotta check out the bracket competition developed by the Washington Post. They started with 64 of the finest beers in the nation and are letting their discriminating readers decide which brews advance. I’ll drink to that. And while I’m raising a glass in tribute to the MSM’s WP, one of the twin titans of newsprint, let me also suggest that you have a look at the Post’s fact checker feature which examines the dubious claims of the various campaigns and grades them on a scale of Pinocchios for untruthfulness. Hillary Clinton’s assertion that she made a trip to Bosnia because it was too dangerous for Bill and that she dodged bullets at the airport earns the highest rating of four Pinocchios. Apparently, the comedian Sinbad was on the trip with her, as were print and broadcast reporters and they’ve called her on her whopper. Who knew Sen. Clinton had a Rambo complex?
Mar 23rd, 2008 by Ted Bobrow
