“Trapped in an archaic black-and-white newsreel, the GOP looks more like a nostalgic relic than a national political party in contemporary America,†wrote New York Times columnist Frank Rich, noting that supporters at John McCain rallies tend to be older, all white and mostly male. “A cultural sea change has passed it by.â€
That sea change is reflected in demographics that are benefiting Barack Obama. Rich noted: “The authors of the new book ‘Millennial Makeover,’ Morley Winograd and Michael D. Hais, point out that the so-called millennial generation (dating from 1982) is the largest in American history, boomers included, and that roughly 40 percent of it is African-American, Latino, Asian or racially mixed. One in five millennials has an immigrant parent. It’s this generation that is fueling the excitement and some of the record turnout of the Democratic primary campaign, and not just for Mr. Obama.â€
In a wacky primary season, this may be the wackiest (and unlikeliest) scenario yet: that Democratic convention delegates, deadlocked between Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton, would nominate Al Gore on the second ballot. “Surely he would happily take Obama as his running mate, ending the Clinton dynasty and positioning the Democrats for a potential 16-year reign at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave.,†wrote Eleanor Clift at Newsweek.com. “A Gore-Obama ticket would be unstoppable, the thinking goes, matching the presumptive Republican nominee, McCain, on national security and experience, while embodying a powerful message of change.†Plus, she notes, a two-month campaign by Gore would not be “long enough for voters to remember what they didn’t like about him eight years ago.â€
Also of interest: During the Web extra to Sunday’s “Meet the Press,†pundit Mark Shields suggested that Gore would be the best running mate for Obama.
The meddling federal measure about needle-exchange programs is undead — the one once pushed by Rep. Todd Tiahrt, R-Goddard, and declared dead last year. President Bush’s proposed 2009 budget revives the measure, which prohibits the District of Columbia from using its own money to fund such programs. It sticks the feds’ noses where it doesn’t belong and disregards the District’s alarming AIDS rate and the 210 proven needle-exchange programs in 36 states. “That Mr. Bush would do this in a budget that will take effect after he’s left Washington strikes us as gratuitous and shortsighted,†editorialized the Washington Post.
A poll released last week by Survey USA and sponsored by KWCH, Channel 12, quantified the challenge USD 259 boosters have leading to the May 6 vote on a $350 million bond issue to build new schools and improve fine arts and athletics facilities: 51 percent of those polled said they think $350 million is too much money; 34 percent said it’s just about right. Asked about the school board’s handling of tax dollars, 47 percent said the board has been “mostly irresponsibleâ€; 39 percent said it has been “mostly responsible.â€
It’s official. A date and time have been set for a presidential science debate: April 18 at the Franklin Institute in Philadelphia, four days before the Pennsylvania primary.
Now it’s up to the candidates to agree to address a range of science and technology issues that are vital to the nation’s economic future.
For example, as debate organizer Shawn Otto points out, “Science and technology have driven 50 percent of our growth in GDP over the last 50 years, and yet by 2010, 90 percent of all scientists and engineers will live in Asia. That’s a huge fundamental change the next president is going to have to be dealing with, and yet nobody’s talking about it.â€
