Day: March 5, 2009

Former Senator Norm Coleman of Minnesota has dragged out the election battle for more than two months now, denying his state one of its two senators.  He has failed in court to overcome the 225 vote lead of Democrat Al Franken.

Originally, when Coleman led by a small margin after Election Day, he said that Franken should accept the result and avoid a long drawn out court case and the possibility of another Senate election race, which would be costly for the state, particularly in a time of economic difficulty for all states.

Nothing has changed except Coleman has wasted everyone’s time and state money in a fruitless search to gain 226 votes.  To make things worse, now Coleman demands a NEW election, which is totally uncalled for.  Al Franken has been very patient and decent in his struggle with Coleman, while Coleman has shown absolutely no class and  comes across as a sore loser, who is willing to do anything to prevent the seating of the rightful winner, Al Franken.

It is time for the Minnesota courts to put an end to this disaster, and declare Franken the winner and reject the idea of an expensive redo of the Senate race.  Enough is enough, Norm Coleman!  Go into retirement without further ruining your reputation!

At at time when the Republican party is at a low point and seemingly has Rush Limbaugh as its unofficial leader, a guarantee for continuous GOP failures in elections in the future, suddenly a bright star has emerged who just might be able some day soon to lead the Republicans out of the wilderness if only people in that party use their heads.

I am talking about Utah Governor Jon Huntsman who has spoken up on the need for the GOP to change its tune and message.  In an interview with POLITICO, Huntsman declared that the Republicans must understand the need to appeal to the young, minorities, and intellectuals if it is to revive as a serious opposition party with the possibility of winning back power. 

To do so, Huntsman makes clear that the GOP must move toward the moderate center on the environment, gay rights and immigration.  Appealing only to the South and Appalachia and the Great Plains will not bring about any return of the Republicans to national influence, so Huntsman emphasizes the need for the party to be " "intellectually rigorous".

It would be a smart idea for the GOP to separate itself from the likes of the talk radio set, Sarah Palin, and Mike Huckabee as they represent a guaranteed minority status for the party for the long term.  Huntsman is a bright light in a gloomy time for the minority party.

Over last weekend, Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, one of two Republican members of President Obama’s cabinet and a carryover from the Bush Administration, was asked on Meet the Press to compare Presidents Obama and Bush.

Gates paused and then said that President Obama is more analytical, that he wants to know what everyone at the cabinet and other meetings feels about the issues at hand, and will ask someone who has not volunteered his or her views.  Bush, on the other hand, while not discouraging feedback, did not have the curiosity to ask those who did not speak up on their own.

This tells us something very obvious:  Obama is a lot brighter, more curious, more intellectual, and is interested in the free flow of ideas.  Bush was just the opposite, but then is that really surprising to anyone who has observed Bush for the past eight years and Obama for the past two years since his Presidential campaign began?  The answer is NO of course, and it proves what many people fail to realize:  It DOES matter who is President.  It changes the course of history in a positive or negative way.  The concept that ignorant people have that no matter who is elected, things remain the same, is totally wrong and shows such people to be totally uninformed.

The nation is fortunate to have a President now who is outstanding in his intelligence, commitment, and desire to bring necessary change!