Chicago Daily Observer

It should now be a forgone conclusion that Governor David Patterson will appoint Caroline Kennedy to the U.S. Senate seat which will become available when Hillary Clinton resigns to take up the post of Secretary of State. The reason I say a foregone conclusion, is because Governor Patterson should never have indicated the possibility publicly if he weren’t going to make the appointment. Why humiliate a person needlessly, especially a Kennedy.

I am sure that there are literally hundreds if not thousands of New Yorkers who would make excellent U.S. Senators in addition to Caroline Kennedy. Mario Cuomo, Andrew Cuomo, Ted Sorensen, Gillian Sorensen, Bill Moyers, Judith Moyers, Michael Bloomberg, Barbara Paul Robinson, Gloria Steinem, Gail Levin, John van Sickle, Phillip Lasser, Pamela Lasser, David Mixner, Donald Trump, Ronnie Eldridge, Seymour Lipkin and Norman Pearlstine are just a small group who immediately come to my mind and none of these ... Read More...

I feel terribly for Rod Blagojevich, and even more for the people of Illinois. I contributed to his first campaign for Congress, and his first race for Governor. Since his election in 2002 he has never called me, and I only called him once concerning restoring cuts in the budget of the Illinois Historic Preservation Agency (for which I received no fee). On that issue he did the right thing.

It is obvious that his career is over, and while it would be truly un-American to render judgment prior to a trial regardless of what we have seen or heard, it would not be unfair to suggest that he can under no circumstances continue to govern. He has lost the confidence of the people. He should resign and fight his battles on his own time and his own dime.

The tragedy of Rod Blagojevich is that had he governed differently ... Read More...

I guess I’m playing the race card. But not from the bottom of the deck.

For purposes of argument I’m going to stipulate that both John McCain
and Barack Obama are good men and would make good Presidents. Also that
Joe Biden and Sarah Palin, opposites in many ways, could take over if
necessary. I hate demonizing the opposition unless its really called
for. Frankly, John McCain was my first choice for the Republican
nomination, not because I wanted him to win, but because if any
Republican won I’d want it to be him, as I did in 2000 (though I much
preferred Vintage 2000 to Vintage 2008).

In fact last August, accidentally bumping into him at the Aspen airport
when he was at the nadir of his campaign, I told him that even though he
was out of money and ... Read More...

It will be difficult for Sarah Palin to lose tonight’s vice-presidential debate. There are low expectations for her and she has several opportunities to score big.

First, she could show her humor by saying that she had thought of asking Tina Fey to stand in for her. Or, secondly, she could say that she understood that her candidacy was even making atheists pray—for John McCain to live through his term if he wins.

Joe Biden, who is more knowledgeable should be careful not to assault Palin on her qualifications. In fact he might think of saying, that no one should complain about Governor Palin’s credentials. If they have any complaints its McCain’s judgment that needs to be called into question.

McCain’s choice of Palin, even with her drop in the polls, is still beneficial for McCain. It solidifies the Christian and conservative right wing Republican base and still appeals to ... Read More...

Hindsight, they say, has 20/20 vision. On August 3 in emails sent to my own mailing list I suggested that Senator McCain would appoint a woman if the Democratic Party nominated two men. I listed several women, but Governor Palin was first. In an article that appeared on these pages on August 28 (the day before the surprise anouncement of Governor Palin was made) I said that if McCain chose a woman it would be window dressing and given the way she was vetted I think I’m right.

Twenty four years ago the Democratic Party nominated Geraldine Ferraro for Vice-President and it did not prevent Ronald Reagan from being elected. This year the selection of Governor Palin of Alaska will not be the reason why Barack Obama is either elected or not elected. Her strength is not that she’s a woman, but that she is an absolute pro lifer; though ... Read More...

I’m here in Denver at the Democratic Convention, and while enjoying it, frankly miss the presence of Mike Royko with whom I palled around with at 10 conventions from 1968 to 1996 (including two Republican ones). My first National Convention was 1952 and this is my 17th convention, and in spite of Royko’s absence one of my two favorites.

The selection of Joe Biden as the vice-presidential candidate is appropriate for many reasons, but I’m lucky because on August 16 I was asked in Paris at a meeting
of Democrats Abroad where I had spoken why I hadn’t supported Biden for President.

I said that if I could choose a President I would have chosen Biden, but in a democracy you have to win, and for a variety reasons I had felt as early as the summer of 2006 that only Barack Obama had a chance of wresting the ... Read More...