Politics is not among the areas best known neither for honesty and truth, nor for expertise of its practitioners.

Although this could be a multi-page article on the subject, let’s keep it relatively short and sweet and quote just a few of the more glaring falsehoods, trip-ups and mistakes of our political “elite”.

Oft-quoted Rudy Giuliani was tripped up by an inexperienced staffer, who provided him with totally inaccurate data on prostate cancer survival rates in England. Rudy emphatically claimed that men suffering from prostate cancer have only a 44 percent survival rate under England’s system of “socialized medicine.” The true figure is actually 74.4 percent.

One of Giuliani’s claims to fame is the reduction of crime in New York City under his administration. In reality, the downward trend was well established before he was even sworn in.

He also claimed that adoptions went up 65 to 70 percent when he was mayor of New York City, when in fact adoptions at the end of his tenure were only 17 percent higher than at the start, and they were falling.

Rudy Giuliani also claimed, while in London, that:” I’m probably one of the four or five best known Americans in the world. ” I’m sure any one of you could list several more people, better known than Rudy. How about even Bush, or any of the big-name Hollywood stars, or pop singers?

Mitt Romney presented himself as tough on illegal immigration, saying, “I authorized the [Massachusetts] State Police to enforce immigration laws.” He doesn’t of course mention that his order never took effect. It came in the closing days of his administration and was rescinded by his successor.

Romney also claimed that his rival John McCain “voted to allow illegals to collect Social Security.” That’s not true, because nobody who is in the country illegally could be paid any Social Security benefits under McCain’s immigration bill.

Mitt Romney stated that President Clinton “began to dismantle the military,” but in fact it was President George H.W. Bush who started making deep cuts in defense budgets years before Clinton even took office.

This is a rather well known claim by Romney, who has stated that: “I saw my father march with Martin Luther King.” Romney later said that he was speaking “figuratively”.

Hillary Clinton, in turn falsely claimed in a TV ad that members of the U.S. National Guard and military Reserve didn’t have health insurance until she and a GOP colleague took action. “You would think that after all the sacrifices and service of the National Guard and Reserve protecting our country, they would have had health insurance. But they didn’t,” the ad stated.

In reality, most of them did. All active-duty Guard and Reserve troops were covered by federal insurance long before Hillary Clinton became a senator from the state of New York.

In addition, Hillary has stated that:” Hillary will begin immediate phased withdrawal [from Iraq] with a definite timetable to bring our troops home.” In fact, Senator Clinton has refused to commit herself to bring all of U.S. troops from Iraq, even by the end of her (possible) second term…

Mike Huckabee has claimed more than once that he cut taxes “almost 94 times,” not mentioning the fact that 21 other taxes were raised during his tenure as governor of Arkansas, resulting in a net tax increase.

John Edwards has said many times, that as president he’d tell Congress to act within six months to make sure all Americans have health insurance or “I’m going to use my power as president to take your health care away from you.” But he would have no such power. Lawmakers have health coverage granted by law, not by the executive.

John McCain promised that if elected to the White House he would set up a massive government program to develop alternate energy sources and “we will in five years become oil independent.” But, since the U.S. imports two-thirds of its oil, and our energy dependence is growing, the fact is that most experts say that McCain’s five-year goal, while seemingly attractive is quite impossible to achieve.

Joe Biden has claimed during a Democratic forum to have a labor record equal to or better than all the candidates present that evening: “Look at our records,” he said. “There’s no one on this stage, mainly because of my longevity, that has a better labor record than me.”

Actually, all the candidates on the stage on that day had a better lifetime labor record than Biden, as measured by the AFL-CIO’s ratings of Senate and House votes. Ooops!

Joe Biden also said that: In 1979 “I led a delegation of 29 senators negotiating the START agreement with Brezhnev.” The truth is that the delegation was composed of six senators, it was the SALT treaty, not the START one and Biden did not get to see Brezhnev.

President Bush, in turn said “36 nations … have troops on the ground in Iraq.” In fact, the State Department put the number at 25.

Bush’s statements probably merit a whole new article, or even another book, so for now we will leave at that.

The presidential elections are still a very long way off and we’re quite sure that there will still be a great many false and inaccurate claims, counterclaims, misstatements and screw-ups. Stay tuned!

Technorati Tags: claims, falsehoods, goofs, Political, screwups

Did you know that the average U.S. politician, be it a congressman, governor, or a first-term president spends about half his term soliciting campaign money?

And since under our present system it is the money – largely used for television commercials – that seems to matter the most, campaign and in general political funding reform could be the only way to cure this unhealthy situation.

The issues, the politicians’ character, past performance, and future plans don’t seem nearly as important in affecting the way people elect their officials, as cold, hard cash and expensive TV advertising.

At this point the only recourse allowing ordinary Americans to influence the outcome of political races are individual contributions. The rest of the financial contributions, maybe even the bulk of them in the case of some candidates comes from special interest groups, industry and so forth. Contributing $50 to someone’s campaign doesn’t give you nearly as much influence, after the politician gets elected to office as tens, or even hundreds of thousands, or even millions of dollars contributed either openly, or in all kinds of devious ways by special interests. In short: if some special interest group lobbies the politician later on, he is of course considerably more receptive to their needs that to the needs of his true constituents, who might have contributed relatively small amounts. So, as usual, it is still really all about money.

How about dinners, banquets, travel in private jets, fancy, catered lunches and the like? These are contributions as well. Meant to curry favor and influence political decisions, such as legislation, votes, etc. Did you know that there are two, or three K Street lobbyists for every member of the U.S. Congress? Most of these people do not represent the congressman’s, or congresswoman’s electorate, but some sort of a special interest, not always, but often not particularly interested in the best interests and needs of the people that particular congressional member is supposed to represent.

I would propose, to amend all the political funding laws and for once limit campaign funding to money paid for by the public. I am quite confident that we can afford to fund campaigns with our taxes. Any other campaign, or political contributions, whether they are actual money, jumbo shrimp cocktails, whatever, would be deemed totally and completely illegal and severely punishable by law. This would finally level the playing field, as every candidate for a particular elective office would have exactly the same amount of cash to play with. Just like in Monopoly, except that in this case there would be no dice to toss and the element of luck would be eliminated.

Let the best man, or woman win. I believe that this would go a very long way towards curing our sick political system and at the same time, would attract much better, more honest and honorable kind of people to the U.S. political arena.

Let’s only hope that our well-entrenched political system finds the decency and guts to actually accomplish these reforms in our lifetime.

Technorati Tags: campaign, candidates, elections, funding, money, reform, voting

Hillary Clinton’s once commanding lead in the polls has faded, and with Oprah Winfrey campaigning for Barack Obama, she’s been relying more and more often on the “star power” of husband Bill. But his frequent presence on the campaign trail brings up a question: What will Hillary do with Bill if she is elected?

Good question. She has responded to it a number of times, when asked by reporters. One of the ideas was to name Bill as “ambassador to the world.” But the federal government’s anti-nepotism law would likely preclude her naming her husband to her cabinet.

New York’s Governor Eliot Spitzer might name him to serve the remainder of Hillary Clinton’s U.S. Senate term. That idea, according to some who know him, probably wouldn’t satisfy his endless power craving.

Let’s not forget that fairly soon there will be at least one vacancy on the U.S. Supreme Court. How about having Justice William Jefferson Clinton then? Former president William Howard Taft did land a Supreme Court job and apparently loved it. Of course, Taft never had his law license suspended and although Bill Clinton’s suspension officially ended in 2006, it is still a bit of a stain on his record. Wouldn’t you say?

But a Supreme Court appointment would help to solve Hillary’s dilemma of what to do with her husband if she becomes president. It would keep Bill formally out of the White House and structurally out of the executive branch.

Even though a judicial – even of the highest caliber – appointment probably would not truly satisfy Bill’s ego, he is on record as saying that:” I will serve in whatever capacity she deems most appropriate”?

Considering the vagaries of the campaigns and of the entire electoral process it is of course far from certain that Hillary Clinton will ever face that dilemma. I am sure that she is perfectly willing to confront it, but there are a few little obstacles along the way and they even have names: Barack, Rudy, Ron, Mitt, John, Mike…

Technorati Tags: bill, clinton, hillary, what, will bill do

A couple of nights ago, while driving home, I was listening to another democratic debate on NPR. Not that exciting, but the exchanges were in parts interesting to a degree.

Some of the main themes related to Iran and to fiscal responsibility. Some good points were made here and there.

Anyway, although I do not do it often, decided to stop at a nearby sports bar to gobble a large hamburger and wash it down with a beer.

Pulled out my MP3 player – which, by the way, is not an iPod, as my 20 GB Apple wonder has given up the ghost a few months ago, requiring banging it on the side of the desk, in order to make the hard drive work – turned on the FM radio in the player (the iPod didn’t have that neat feature), plugged in the earplugs, tuned it the local NPR station and walked into the eating/drinking establishment. Not surprisingly, nobody was watching the debate, as it was broadcast only on the radio. The twenty-plus flat panel television sets were tuned it to some NBA game and everyone seemed to be totally entranced by a bunch of guys, wearing oversized shorts trying ever so hard to dunk the ball.

The hostess seemed like she was about 16, or so. What the heck was she doing in a watering hole? Maybe she was related to the owner? Who knows? She seated me alone in a nice, secluded booth, with green vinyl-upholstered seats and an impressive collection of condiments, including the seemingly required Ball Park Mustard and one of those little peg games, that diners seem to be so fond of. All of this, while listening to the debate through my MP3 player radio’s earplugs.

The waitress was a bit older. Probably around 25, or so and had that look of experience about her. Blond hair, tied in the back with something, pretty, but tired face, nice body. I removed one of the earplugs, so I could hear her. “What would you like”, she asked. “A draft Sam Adams…let me see,” I said, while scanning the menu placed in front of me by the hostess. The Angus beef and mushroom burger looked good and I asked for it.

Popped the earplug back in my ear, just in time, to hear Obama saying and I paraphrase:” There is a building in the Cayman Islands, housing the headquarters of 14,000 American companies.” Wow! That was a catchy sound bite. I’m glad I brought the radio along.

“Are you listening to music?” I looked up and the waitress was standing to my left. How long was she there? I removed one the earplugs again. “No, actually, I’m listening to the democratic debate on NPR”. “Really?” she smiled. “Most people just come here to watch games, to talk and to pinch my butt”. I looked down, towards the above-mentioned part of her anatomy. “I can’t say I blame them”. She smiled again. “Do you need another beer to do that?” she asked. “Sure, but I am perfectly ready to do that even now.” I admitted. Some of the debate was coming through my other earplug. Heard Hillary Clinton talking about family, exercise, and campaigning that Democrats can be proud of. I agree that exercise is good, but wonder if she practices what she preaches…

The waitress was back with another stein of Sam Adams. “I’m Jenny, by the way. Haven’t seen you here lately”. “That’s because I haven’t been here in a couple of years”, I responded. “Like to see you come around more often. I’m getting a little fed up with all those jerks sitting around for hours, getting drunk and watching those dumb games”. Sounded like a nice invitation. “I’ll make a point of coming back soon” I confirmed. “By the way, who do you think is going to win the election?”I inquired. ” Hard to say” she said. “Hillary seemed pretty strong, until recently.” “So you do follow the news. “I asked. “Sure, it seems kinda important. I can’t stand that Rudy guy. Seems like a nasty person.” “But Clinton, Obama and Giuliani seem to have some pretty heavy duty political machines at their disposal and Mike Huckabee, the pastor is coming on strong lately.”I said. “I generally don’t vote republican. Hate what Bush has done to our country. Was thinking of Romney, but now he seems to come across like a pretty shifty person. Really like some the things that Ron Paul has been saying too,” she responded.

“It’s a loooong way until the election. A lot could happen ‘till then,” I said. ” I don’t get off until after midnight. You probably don’t want to hang around that long…” I smiled. “There’s always next time”. “Hope that’s before the election,” she said. “You bet! Nice to have met you.” I plopped a twenty and two fives on the table. “Hope this takes care of the bill”. “It sure does. Your next one’s on the house, hon”.

The drive home took less time than usual. I was also hoping that I wouldn’t become addicted to sports bar hamburgers in the near future.

Technorati Tags: democratic debate, npr, radio, sports bar

Our entire political spectrum, including of course the media is tripping over themselves about the Iowa and New Hampshire campaigns, figures, candidates, speeches, and polls – you name it.

What’s this obsession with Iowa? What has it really given us, besides corn, anyway?

It appears that the first step, before attempting to occupy the White House begins in some rural firehouse, or school. A get-together, an opportunity to register, voice your opinion, maybe even to meet some hopeful candidates. That’s all fine and dandy. It gives the people an illusion of participation in the democratic process, but what real purpose does this charade serve? No idea.

It keeps the media occupied. Reporters, technicians and television crews certainly keep Iowa’s and New Hampshire’s diners and motels humming. Car rental companies probably also are doing a brisk business. So, is it again mostly about money, or a ploy to give us an illusion that we still have a democratic process?

“The idea that you can merchandise candidates for high office like breakfast cereal is the ultimate indignity to the democratic process.”
-Democratic candidate Adlai Stevenson, 1956

“Television is no gimmick, and nobody will ever be elected to major office again without presenting themselves well on it.”
-Television producer and Nixon campaign consultant Roger Ailes, 1968

In short, candidates will spend hundreds of millions of dollars, buying television advertising and since TV seems to have such a huge impact on the elections, once again the whole issue comes down to the amount of money – personal donations, donations from corporation and political interests and so forth. This, in fact seems to be the biggest issue here. Not the candidates’ character, track record and position on the issues, but money, money which not always comes from sweet-smelling sources, such as little old ladies from Iowa, but often from much less savory sources, such as some shady and dark special interest groups.

And when all the dust settles, and the last expensive political commercial airs, the election gets hijacked either by specially prepared voting machine software, the Electoral College, or maybe even by the Supreme Court…

Technorati Tags: caucuses, elections, iowa, money, new hampshire, primaries, tv ads