Kansans should steel themselves to watch Jon Stewart’s brutal bit on Gov. Kathleen Sebelius’ Democratic response to President Bush’s State of the Union address, part of Tuesday’s “Daily Show†on Comedy Central. “Wow — flat and boring. What state is she governor of again?†he said of Sebelius’ opening lines, adding, “but her lack of humanness meshed perfectly with her message.†He mocked her “join us†refrain and her suggestion that the heartland has a corner on honoring and respecting military service. And to her concluding “God bless and sleep well,†he responded, “We’re way ahead of ya.†The only consolation? Stewart was harder on Bush’s speech.
The Republican field is finally shaking out after months of uncertainty about a front-runner. Rudy Giuliani is dropping out of the race after finishing a disappointing third in the Florida primary. His strategy to sit back and put all of his eggs in Florida proved disastrous.
And John McCain, who won Florida Tuesday, has emerged the big winner and the clear front-runner.
McCain reportedly will get Giuliani’s endorsement today, which should help him in big winner-take-all states such as New York and California where the former New York City mayor has significant support.
McCain is in the driver’s seat for the nomination, although he’s still anathema to many conservatives. Mitt Romney is still in the hunt and has money to burn, while Mike Huckabee is fading.
All this could cast a new light on the Democratic race: Who would be most competitive against McCain?
John Edwards plans to announce today that he’s leaving the Democratic presidential race. He never quite caught fire with voters — his passionate populism and fighter image at times seemed more senatorial than presidential — but he had some of the most forceful and effective critiques of Bush administration policy and its impact on working-class people. And he played a significant role in recent debates, helping keep the other candidates honest and calling for more Democratic “backbone†in standing up to President Bush.
He hasn’t endorsed yet, which still gives him a lot of political leverage in this race.
He has seemed to side more with Barack Obama, but who knows how this might unfold?
Big shake-ups on both sides before the big Feb. 5 showdown.
Barack Obama won the endorsement of the two biggest Kennedys of all, Ted and Caroline, but he cannot claim to have the whole clan in his pocket. Kathleen Kennedy Townsend (in photo), Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Kerry Kennedy — children of the late Robert Kennedy — endorsed Hillary Clinton in a forceful Los Angeles Times commentary as the “strongest candidate for our party and our country†and someone “battle-tested, resilient and sure-footed.â€
They went on: “Her measured rhetoric, political savvy and pragmatism shield the heart of our nation’s most determined and most democratic warrior.â€
As annoying as automated phone calls are during a political season, they at least have a point. The latest anti-Paul Morrison “robocalls†tormenting Kansans are worse, because they are pointless: Morrison is out as attorney general as of Thursday, having self-destructed in a sex scandal just a year into the job. The person responsible for the calls and their outrageous claims, a Californian named Conrad Braun, has an old grudge against Morrison, who successfully prosecuted him for trespassing and making a criminal threat. Last year Braun vowed to “keep hitting Kansas†with calls until Morrison resigned. Mission accomplished (though for reasons unrelated to Braun’s claims). Meanwhile, Braun’s abuse reminds us it’s too bad the state’s Do Not Call list only applies to products and services.
Gov. Kathleen Sebelius did a fine job in delivering the Democratic response to the State of the Union address, in our view. But she got some bad reviews in the political blogosphere, especially peeving liberals looking to kick President Bush when he was down and on his way out the door.
The 23/6 blog, which is affiliated with the Huffington Post news hub, called her response lackluster and worse: “Bush’s parting speech was a perfect chance for the Democrats to hit back and provide a harsh but necessary criticism of the past seven years. Instead, they sent out Stepford Governor Kathleen Sebelius of Kansas, who in the spirit of bipartisanship urged the president to ‘join us’ and ‘get to work.’ Unfortunately, by then the president was already in his jammies and sound asleep.â€
