Catnip To Masses

The word itself is magic.
It sort of rolls off the tongue like "abracadabra" or "Allakhazam."
It's "charisma." And it seems to be the word of the moment.
The Greek origins of the word charisma conjure up various meanings, including favor, divine gift, yearning and even grace, beauty and rejoicing.
What is it that makes a person charismatic? We say we know it when we see it - or when we've seen it, since charisma can be fleeting. So much of it is "of the moment." . . .
To read the rest of my column from today's Philadelphia Daily News click here.

Big Name Lineup

Over at Politico Jonathan Martin reports that John McCain is taking over the Republican National Committee and bringing in some Big Names to lead the way. McCain's appointments are impressive and I particularly like the sound of the names of the big guns he's bringing in. In fact, anyone who thinks the GOP is just a bunch of waspy old men better pay attention to McCain's lineup. Here's part of Martin's report:
The Republican National Committee tomorrow will announce the appointment of three top John McCain loyalists to help coordinate the party's effort with McCain's campaign and to lead the joint voter contact program, according to GOP sources. Also involved in the effort will be Rudy Giuliani's former campaign manager. Frank Donatelli will serve as the new deputy chairman of the RNC and will serve as the chief liaison between the committee and the campaign. A veteran Republican strategist, Donatelli has worked on numerous GOP presidential campaigns and in the Reagan White House. He's currently a lobbyist at McGuire Woods but will take a leave to join the committee. His wife, Becki, works for McCain, handling his online presence. Leading the so-called Victory organization will be Carly Fiorina. The former CEO of Hewlett-Packard got behind McCain early on and has been a frequent surrogate. She also traveled with him in Michigan and helped carry his economic message there. The Victory effort serves as the party's primary voter contact organization and is aimed at helping Republicans from McCain on down the ballot. Fiorina will serve as chairwoman in a spokeswoman and public advocate capacity. Leading the fundraising effort for the Victory operation will be Lew Eisenberg, a former partner at Goldman Sachs and longtime Republican donor. Like Fiorina, Eisenberg got behind McCain early on. He was named one of McCain's first national finance co-chairmen in 2006. He'll serve as finance chairman for Victory. And helping the RNC and Victory effort will be former Giuliani campaign manager Mike DuHaime. He may not be rolled out tomorrow, but DuHaime will play a key role in working on the political side, advising on voter contact and GOTV strategy. Before running Giuliani's bid, DuHaime served as political director at the RNC.

When Ironic IS Ironic

I hate the word "ironic".
I almost never use it because I think it's dreadfully misused and overused.
But I do think it's ironic that the Democrat Party is now clearly split along lines of race, class, gender and age. Think about it: Liberal Dems enacted (and still enact) government policies, programs, mandates and incentives that attempt to apportion rights and privileges according to race, class, gender and age. And Democrat-backed activist judges are the first ones to legislate similar moves from the bench or uphold such divisive policies under the guise of fairness.
So now Democrats should not be surprised that their own party is split along these same lines. For generations they've been so busy labelling people and groups that this was the inevitable outcome. In the name of "equality" they Balkanized their own party and have nearly Balkanized the whole country. Among Democrats, women are voting for Clinton, men like Obama; younger people prefer Obama, older people like Clinton; lower income people lean to Clinton, upper income people like Obama and African-Americans are voting in huge numbers for Obama while whites seem to lean toward Clinton.
Now, all this leads me to ask: Is this the true fulfillment of the Democrat dream of equality? If so, it's one helluva mess.

Not The Girl Next Door

She was never the girl next door.

And she never wanted to be the girl next door.

"If they want to see the girl next door," she said "let them go next door."

She created herself through hard work and sheer force of will. She was incredibly focused, determined and committed to the proposition that she would never again have to face the hardships that she faced in her formative years. And she never did.

She never forgot the people who helped her along the way - especially "all the people out there in the dark" who watched her flickering image on the big screen or those who bought the fan magazines that kept her face and her intense, probing eyes front and center. Ever loyal to her adoring fans, she branded herself before anyone knew the meaning of branding and her career stretched from the silent era to Hollywood's post-studio age and the rise of independent films.

She was Hollywood legend Joan Crawford and March 23 will mark the centennial of her birth. Now, one of my favorite authors, Charlotte Chandler has produced a "personal biography" of Joan Crawford titled Not The Girl Next Door. Don't miss it!

Better Without Him

If there's one thing that last night proved it's that she's better without him.
Yes, Hillary is better without Bubba.
She looks better without him - more in command, more responsible, more independent.
She acts better without him. She seems more herself, more at ease, more poised, less edgy.
She sounds better without him - especially since she's not talking about him anymore and she no longer has to try to explain what he did or said.
When you finally come through the fire on your own, what you've learned and what you've achieved is all yours. Nobody can take it away from you.
The only question now is: Does Bubba really understand that Hillary is in a different place now? Does he realize what's happened? And will he finally shut up and get the hell out of the way?
Don't bet on it.

Eloquent

Both of the big winners in Tuesday's primary elections spoke with ease and eloquence at their victory celebrations. They spoke with the knowledge and confidence of tested veterans who know what it is to stumble, to fail and then to come back and triumph again. They spoke with the savvy and grit of real, three-dimensional people.

Yes, they represent different parties and are on opposite sides of the political spectrum.

But both are smart. Both have their wits about them. Both know what it is to experience adversity. And both have seen the presidency close up. You get the feeling that they're ready. They know the ways of Washington. They have a sense of what it is - what it takes - to lead.

Now, John McCain has become his party's nominee. And Hillary Clinton has been given another chance (maybe just a wisp of a chance, but a chance nonetheless) to become her party's nominee.

Let the Democrat Party contest continue. Let the voters have their say. Let the issues be debated. Let democracy take its course. And let the chips fall where they may.

5,000 Here We Come!

In the past two weeks alone this young blog has witnessed a 30% jump in visits. This represents our busiest period yet and we have now passed the 4,000 mark and are well on our way to 5,000 hits.
We thank you again for contributing to our rapid growth and encourage you to return and bring your family, friends, neighbors and co-workers along with you.
You don't have to agree with us to enjoy the site. Simply stop by and cogitate on our musings.
Whether you agree or disagree, please feel free to comment. You can always comment anonymously and all comments are invited.
Now -- 5,000 here we come!

Clock Capers

Congress has been playing around with daylight savings time (DST) recently. So, once again we will be "springing ahead" earlier this year. This means you have to push your clock ahead one hour before you turn in on Saturday night.
It also means you have to reset all of those pesky digital clocks on various devices all over your house. And, you lose an hour of sleep. Hey, I love DST and wish we could have it all year round - which makes this ritual even more of a nuisance.
I have a solution for this twice-a-year time madness: On Saturday we should set the clocks ahead one-half-hour and leave them there. It's a permanent compromise. In the fall, leave the clocks where they are. Next spring, no change. That oughta do it, right?

OH!bama Exclusive

So there I am in the checkout line at my local supermarket and I see that Us Weekly is featuring an exclusive interview with Barack OH!bama. And there's OH!bama right up at the top right on the cover. He's right up there with the latest on Jennifer Aniston and all the hot fashions from the Oscars. And Us declares: "Barack Obama - He's just like us!"

Why is this happening? Why is OH!bama giving exclusive interviews to the likes of Us Weekly while pretty much ignoring the national news media? Surely, you've figured this out by now.

We're witnessing the Oprahfication of national politics. When it comes to rock stars like OH!bama we don't want to know about things like homeland security, the environment, the economy or health care. We want to know whether he wears briefs or boxers. Well, actually Barack won't answer that question but he does say: "I look great in whatever I wear."

Now, that's what we want from a Real Star: funny, human and modest, too!

Power Tables

In its weekly feature "Power Tables" The Wall Street Journal details where the business elite are eating.
This week the Journal looks at the chic Cafe Boulud in Manhattan where Barbara Walters, Mike Nichols, Dan Aykroyd and Bill Cosby are frequent guests. The most coveted tables at this pricey cafe owned by chef Daniel Boulud are along the windows: tables 10, 20, 30 and 40.
And guess who prefers (and is usally seated at) table 10, 20 or 30? Why it's Joisey Governor Jon Corzine, the same guy who professes to care so deeply about those who are just getting by economically. When he stops by Cafe Boulud this jovial man of the people enjoys Italian wines such as Brunello.
No domestic wines for this guy. And forget those de classe Joisey restaurants as well. For him, it's strictly the upper east side of Manhattan all the way.