So What?  # 1:  But, a good President doesn't govern by consuming, and regurgitating, details like a starved individual.  He governs by making solid and consistent policy.  I believe it was another Democrat, Jimmy Carter, who made the world safe for scheduling tennis play at the White House.  Of course, Carter's only real legacy is that he "whipped" Ted Kennedy during his re-nomination effort. 

Concession  # 2:  I actually learned a term that I hadn't heard of when President Obama used it in his inaugural press conference.  When he was speaking about Afghanistan and Pakistan, he said something about what sounded to me like "Fatah and those border regions."  Hey, I thought I knew a little something about that neck of the woods but I hadn't heard of the Fatah region. 

Investigation  # 1:  So, off to Google and Wikipedia I go.  After just a little research (I am good, ain't I?), I found that it wasn't Fatah but the acronym F.A.T.A., which stands for the Federally Administered Tribal Areas of Pakistan.  Obviously, this is an official term used by the Government and people of Pakistan to describe that region of their country. 

So What?  # 2:  Let me state my problem with that term even if it's officially used by the Pakistani's.  Since when does one use the term "tribe" to refer to a group of people unless it is with derision?  Having roots myself in the Indian subcontinent, it seems to me another sign of the problems we face in that area when whole lots of people are referred to as "tribes."  But, since when does a President of the U.S. use that term -- not to describe just our enemy but to describe the people who are inhabitants of the area where our enemy is hiding and operating from? 

So What?  # 3:  When President Bush used the term axis-of-evil in his 2002 State of the Union address to describe the evil regimes of Iraq, Iran and North Korea, he was pilloried and ridiculed by a press, a party and what-goes-for a civilized world.  They didn't let up on that for the next 7 years.  Now, we have a supposedly worldly man in his place, who doesn't hesitate to use terms like "tribal regions" loosely. 

So What?  # 4:  And, the press (which -- to my awareness -- never used that term before) happily goes along.  It's a small point -- I know that -- but it just points out the hypocrisy of the man and his supporters.  And, it gave me something to write about at the end of a totally-unimpressive first 30 days (Specter, Snowe and Collins notwithstanding).  I fear that this may be the first of many posts on Pakistan.  As I suspected during the campaign, our President thinks, based on the three weeks he spent visiting his mother in Pakistan back in the early 1980's, that he can straighten out the Pakistani's.  A bit of advice, Mr. President: proceed with caution. 

I am on Record 

Did Christopher Buckley Invent Dennis Kucinich?

This column from the Washington Post is hilarious!

By Dana Milbank
Wednesday, April 25, 2007; 8:18 AM

"I do not stand alone," Dennis Kucinich said as he stood, alone, in front of a cluster of microphones yesterday evening.

The Ohio congressman, a Democratic presidential candidate, was holding a news conference outside the Capitol to announce that he had just filed articles of impeachment against Vice President Cheney. But subsequent questioning quickly revealed that Kucinich had not yet persuaded any of his 434 colleagues to be a cosponsor, that he had not even discussed the matter with House Democratic leaders, and that he had not raised the subject with the Judiciary Committee.

Kucinich did have one thing: a copy of the Declaration of Independence. And he was not afraid to read it. "We hold these truths to be self-evident," the aspiring impeachment manager read at the start of his news conference. He continued all the way through the bit about the right of the people to abolish the government.

"These words from the Declaration of Independence are instructive at this moment," he said.

A reporter from the Cleveland Plain Dealer encouraged USS Kucinich to contact planet Earth. "But Nancy Pelosi says this is not going anywhere," she pointed out.

"Have you talked to her today?" Kucinich shot back.

"Yes, I did," she replied.

Kucinich had not expected that answer. "Then I would say I have not talked to her," he acknowledged.

It was not an auspicious beginning for the impeachment of Richard B. Cheney.

Kucinich had called his news conference for noon on the terrace of the Cannon building. But minutes before the event, his office sent out a statement: "News reports this morning indicate the Vice President was experiencing a medical crisis. Until the vice president's condition is clarified, I am placing any action on hold."

This was odd, because the vice president's spokeswoman had already announced that Cheney had merely gone to a doctor's office to check on a blood clot in his leg, which is improving. Cheney himself, far from suffering a medical crisis, joined Senate Republicans for lunch at the Capitol. "The leg's doing good," Cheney announced after lunch, his lips in his trademark snarl. Indeed, he was feeling so well that he chose to start a new fight with congressional Democrats. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid was not only "uninformed and misleading," but also practicing "defeatism," Cheney said. Democrats are guilty of "political calculation" and "blind opposition."

Reid visited the same microphones minutes later to return the playground taunts: "I'm not going to get into a name-calling match with somebody who has a 9 percent approval rating." And: "I'm not going to get into a name-calling match with the administration's chief attack dog."

Kucinich evidently realized there was no reason for him to get cold feet just because of Cheney's leg. A few minutes after the Cheney-Reid showdown, the congressman arrived in the Speaker's Lobby off the House floor, handing out news releases to any reporter he could find: "Kucinich to Move Forward with Impeachment News Conference."

Washingtonpost.com's Paul Kane showed the news release to House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.), who declined to endorse the Kucinich crusade. "He was busily engaged in handing that out," Hoyer observed. "Beyond that, I don't have any thought about it."

Rep. Rahm Emanuel (Ill.), chairman of the House Democratic caucus, was equally dismissive -- "Dennis can do what he wants; I'm not going to support it" -- but used the occasion to try out some Cheney material: "This is the biggest setback for the vice president since oil went under 65 bucks a barrel."

Kucinich, however, did not find humor in the matter. Standing perhaps 5 feet 6 inches tall in shoes, he wore a solemn face as he approached the microphones, which nearly reached his eye level. He beckoned to aides, who handed out thick binders detailing the case.

Kucinich read at length from his articles of impeachment, undeterred by rush-hour traffic noise on Independence Avenue ("I'll wait till the truck goes by here," he said at one point) and wind that ruffled his text and the few strands of his hair that were insufficiently weighted by Brylcreem.

Tom Ferraro of Reuters asked Kucinich if any other lawmakers supported impeachment.

"Because this resolution is so weighty in its import, it's going to be important for members of Congress to have sufficient time to study the articles," Kucinich answered.

We'll take that as a no. "So at this point you stand alone?" Ferraro pressed.

"I believe I stand with millions of Americans," Kucinich parried.

Someone else asked why Kucinich targeted Cheney but not Cheney's boss. "There's a practical reason," the congressman explained. "If we were to start with the president and pursue articles of impeachment, Mr. Cheney would then become president. . . . You would then have to go through the constitutional agony of impeaching two presidents consecutively."

It was a valid point. If Kucinich is having this much trouble impeaching one vice president, imagine the difficulty impeaching two presidents.

My good friend and founder of www.kuhse.com has a self-imposed burden to bear.  He's from Iowa and feels that all that emanates from Iowa is good.  (You can see that come through loud and clear on his, alas, too-long dormant site.)  You see, there are always some Iowans who regularly let him down.  For example, Senator Harkin will continue to disappoint him forever.  Another Iowan who has done so recently is former Governor Vilsack.

Well, Tom Vilsack just gave my friend a reprieve by quitting the race for President and leaving it to those more capable of winning.  Winning the Democratic nomination for President, that is .... because to a man or woman, they are for losing in Iraq and the hell with the larger war as well.

I've decided to make these last couple of days even better for my friend by finding a fitting use for Vilsack's bye-bye speech.  It is now a generic speech that can be used by all the other Democratic contenders as they give up.  Ohio native son, Dennis Kucinich, will probably need this speech in July 2008 after he is dragged from the Democratic Presidential nomination scene, kicking and screaming, having garnered all of 3 delegates for the convention.  Actually, I went one step further and made this a farewell speech that can also be used by future generations of Democratic losers.  And, need I say, there is no risk of plagiarism here -- special note for Senator Biden.


"I am very fortunate -- blessed in love, family, friends, job, and by this campaign.

That is why this morning after discussing with my <pick one wife/husband>, <fill in blank>, and our child(ren), <f.i.b.>, we have decided to end our campaign for the presidency.

The truth is we have everything to win the nomination and general election -- everything except <p.o. money/a chance/voters/charisma>.  

I want to thank everyone for all of their support, hard work, and kinds words over the past few months. <f.i.b.> and I appreciate everything everyone has done for us.

My heart tells me to stay and continue fighting for the values we share and believe -- but I cannot continue campaigning with the expectation of <p.o. raising hundreds of millions of dollars/mere handful of voters/beating Hillary or Obama>.

I am leaving one campaign but I am not saying goodbye. I will continue to fight for the outsiders and the <p.o. underdogs/wimps/defeatists/Hollywood stars/he's-not-MY-President crowd> who are the backbone of the Democratic Party and our country. And I will continue to fight for an end to the war, achieve energy security and get our country back on track. So stay tuned, the best is yet to come.

I am proud of the ideas that we have presented, and I am proud of the work that we have already done. And I urge you to continue fighting for the issues that we care so deeply about.

Our ideas will not be forgotten, and I will continue advocating for immediately bringing our troops home from <p.o. Iraq/Iran/Germany/Britain/Canada>. It’s the only action we can take that will truly help our country.

Again, thank you for everything and stay tuned. Our fight for a better America is far from over."

1.   Representative James T. Walsh  (New York)
2.   Representative Walter Jones  (North Carolina)
3.   Representative Wayne Gilchrest  (Maryland)
4.   Representative Michael Castle  (Delaware)
5.   Representative Richard (Ric) Keller  (Florida)
6.   Representative Philip Sheridan English  (Pennsylvania)
7.   Representative Ronald Ernest Paul  (Texas)
8.   Representative Frederick Stephen Upton  (Michigan)
9.   Representative Thomas M. Davis  (Virginia)
10. Representative Mark Kirk  (Illinois)
11. Representative Howard Coble  (North Carolina)
12. Representative John J. Duncan Jr.  (Tennessee)
13. Representative James Ramstad  (Minnesota)
14. Representative Steven C. LaTourette  (Ohio)
15. Representative Robert Inglis  (South Carolina)
16. Representative Timothy V. Johnson  (Illinois)
17. Representative Thomas Petri  (Wisconsin)

Unlike Cooperstown, the House of Representatives doesn't have high standards.  I'd rather see Pete Rose in the Baseball Hall of Fame than vote for any of these guys again.  Interestingly, there are no shameless women in this lot of inductees though a couple of them are lurking in the Senate.

It is necessary to also mention the names of two Congressmen who were refused entry to the Hall of Shame.  Their names are posted at the entrance to the hall for all to see and admire.  Not allowed entry were two Democrats who stood four-square for the United States and against the resolution for defeat:

1.   Representative Jim Marshall (Georgia)
2.   Representative Gene Taylor (Mississippi)

I can't wait for the 2008 primary elections.  I won't be able to cast my "joke" vote for Kucinich because I'll be voting in the Republican primary for any true conservative who runs against LaTourette.

In a recent post, Hugh Hewitt quoted erstwhile British Member of Parliament, Leopold Amery, speaking to Neville Chamberlain snd other members of his Conservative Party.  Leo Amery was, in turn, quoting Oliver Cromwell:

"You have sat too long here for any good you have been doing.  Depart, I say, and let us have done with you. In the name of God, go."