Oh, if only I knew

So far, I'm 0-1 with my picks this weekend: Miami blew Bowling Green out 49-27.

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College Football: Miami beat Bowling Green badly, so I'm 0-1 with my college football picks for the weekend. To be completely honest, I haven't been keeping track of how I've done this season. I could, of course, go back and look, but I'm too lazy, and that would be too much work for me. In any case Miami just won themselves the MAC title. And Bowling Green couldn't get it done at home like I thought they might. Good for the Redhawks. Now they get Louisville. And the Motor City Bowl is free to pick whoever it wants, whether it is a very good BG team, or a very good Northern Illinois, or a good Toledo team. Or even a mediocre Marshall team, if they really want. Up to them.

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Politics: So here's my question: if goofy pop-quiz type things are out of bounds for the president, then why are ordinary people subjected to goofy political pop-quiz type things?

I am, as we speak, listening to a rebroadcast of today's Sean Hannity show. He just asked a spokesman for "Babes Against Bush" to name the Vice President which the spokesman (a woman, actually) refused and hung up, right on the air, right before a c-break. Now, I think that everyone should know who their constitutional officers are, and that includes any local officials whose position is defined by a state constitution (here in Virginia, the posts of sheriff, commonwealth's attorney, and commissioner of revenue are three offices that localities are required by constitution to have). Hannity seems big on this, as he does the goofball "Man on the Street" pop-quiz interview (generally) weekly. Now, I know that the Vice President (and President of the Senate) is one Richard B. "Dick" Cheney. Evidently this spokesman didn't. Eh. But my point is this: I believe that the identities of those who govern me are relevant knowledge; relevant enough to know (I forget who won the recent sheriff's election here in Montgomery County, and I couldn't tell you to save my life who the Commissioner of Revenue is here), but oftentimes, as in Mr Bush's case, the names of your peers, those with whom you have to work (i.e. heads of state, however large or small the state is) are also relevant knowledge. However, the only motive that I see for giving such pop-quizzes in such cases - especially to those with whom one disagrees politically - is simply to embarrass the person who's being asked. This is the case with that silly reporter up in Boston who asked Mr Bush to name the leaders of four countries. And it surely seemed to be the case when Mr Hannity asked the spokesman of "Babes Against Bush". I just heard, as I am now listening to the third hour, that he will do (has done) a "Man on the Street" segment.

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On the sidebar I recently posted a "Blogs for Bush" link in my Blogroll, and I posted a G.W. Bush news ticker (and advertisement) in the Links section of the sidebar. I have done this for the simple fact that I believe that Dubya, despite his myriad policy flaws, is the best candidate in the field. His tax cuts have led to an economic explosion (8.2% annual rate of economic growth in the 3rd Q 2003). He believes (for the most part) in free trade, thus opening economic opportunities both here and abroad. Of the candidates, he is the only one who will prosecute the war on terror, unlike those who would have us retreat prematurely before the battle is won by giving control to international organisations who would run at the first sign of trouble.

Certainly, he has his problems. I have spoken at length about the hideous abomination that Medicare is. Of the five largest increases in the history of the federal budget, two came when this country fought for its life in the Second World War. The other three have come during this administration, thus giving truck to the charge that, while Democrats may be "tax-and-spend", Republicans (at least the moderate ones, as well as the spineless ones in the Congress) could be best described as "borrow-and-spend". The implication here is that, of the two parties, the Democrats are the better party, simply because they are forthright about what their unrestrained spending costs!!!.

Vote Dubya in '04.

More later - R.