That is too funny Pizza.

I, for one, am glad that Guiliani is not going away. What Guiliani did for the country on 9/11 and its immediate aftermath is something that all Americans should commend. His presence at hundreds of 9/11 funerals was uplifting. But he bastardized the worst tragedy in American history to suit his own political agenda, which I found disgusting. So did Bush in 2004. I just do not think Rudy is qualified to be president. I would like to see him run for a senate seat or for governor. He would be tough to beat.

Good post, Goombah.

But we all know, if not for Kramer's nametag idea, Rudy's probably working for a third rate law firm right now.

Goombah, I'm actually glad that Rudy never ran against Hillary for Senate. First of all, it kept him in NYC where he was desperately needed in 2001. Second, I don't think he would have made a very good Senator. The man's an executive. Governor, Mayor, but I can't picture him in the House or Senate.

You can support Rudy or not, but he and Pataki were a united front in the aftermath of September 11th, and it was a front of leadership, calm, and a little bit of "up yours", which was the exact blend that was needed. Remember, they not only dealt with the attacks and the aftermath, but also the anthrax cases.

You can see what good leadership produces during a tragedy, and what bad leadership produces. Just look at New Orleans in the aftermath of Katrina, where both the governor and the mayor couldn't find their own asses with two hands and a flashlight.

The President wasn't much help either. Although, as Commander-In-Chief, he probably has someone help him in the potty.

What do ya mean? Brownie did a good job.


TIS

That's where he gave him the nickname, in the potty!

Yeah and if the McCain (is stupid enough to) pick is Romney, just watch those DNC ads where Romney said in a debate that McCain wasn't a conservative because he was endorsed by the New York Times....

You know, that bullshit coming from the guy who was pro-choice while he was Governor?

Come on Apple, you're old enough I'm sure to understand the concept of political opportunism.

I mean remember Bush Sr. shitting on Reagan's supply-side economic plan in the 1980 GOP Primary as "Voodoo Economics"? He ended up as the Gipper's VP.

Remember Kerry saying that Edwards was "in his diapers" when Kerry was off in Nam? He ended up as his running mate.

And if Hillary had been picked as Obama's VP, we would have the same story there.

Better I assume than our current socialized medicine.

You know, its amazing and will blow your mind, but America is strangely socialistic, and been roughly that way for the last 70 years or so.

I know HOLY SHIT indeed.

But give Bubba credit, at least he wasn't stupid enough to marry more than once.

But our wireless service kicks ass!

Want to buy a phone card? I have little red ones with McCain on them, and blue ones with Obama!

Sure, I am.

I'm also old enough to know that it's going to be utilized by BOTH sides.

Just hope MY side utilizes it more effectively

Apple

You bloodthirsty Republican warmonger!

I think I like you.

This is exactly what I first thought of. I didn't think you were old enough to get this.

I remember a turning point in that primary when Reagan funded a debate that was supposed to be between him and Bush, but unknown to Bush, Reagan had arranged to have the other candidates to crash the debate. Bush threatened to walk off the stage, and while Reagan was explaining himself, the moderator curtly said,to turn off Reagan's microphone whereupon the Gipper yelled, I'm paying for this microphone, Mr. Green (the guy's name was Breen, btw). That was

...yes?

You sure are a tease, K.

Well, there you go.

If they approve overseas, then Obama MUST'VE made the right choice...

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080823/ap_on_re_af/biden_world_reaction_4

We sure wouldn't want to disappoint Mr. Putin!!

Apple

The DeNiro side?

Yeah mean the same guy that the President once said that he saw his "soul" when he showed the dude his ranch?

Damn that Lloyd Braun!




My eternal image of Guiliani is walking in the streets of NY on 9/11 with his advisors after the first tower collapsed.

I agree Rudy was much more of an asset than what happended during Katrina. But that was not the fault of NO mayor Ray Nagin. It was Bush sitting on his ass in Texas and the inaction of the federal government that compounded the Katrina disaster. The country had no choice but to protect its financial assets, which were considerably more in NYC than NO. That's why the government acted so swiftly. I think the Bush administration showed what little regard they had for its citizens since there was no big time money in NO compared to the not only physical devasation of the WTC attacks, but also the monetary ramifications.

Quite true, but the LA governor and NO mayor didn't offer their citizens the same sense of "I've got it under control," that Giuliani and Pataki did. And for Ray Nagin to start bad-mouting NY's "hole in the ground" was just stupid, IMO.

As for the federal response, or lack thereof, I don't care what anyone says, the victims of Katrina were, by and large, poor and black. I wonder what FEMA's response would have been if the hurricane had hit Newport or Nantucket.

You hit the nail on the head, SB.

I don't know what the hell I was going to say. Maybe I was going to say that was one of the turning points in the primaries? But I can't be sure.

What happens in US municipalities is the responsibility of local and state authorities unless the state requests federal assistance (Ttile 42, US Code Emergency Assistance Act). Also, I don't think the two incidents were comparable. There were strategic differences between the two. A large part of NO (360 square miles) was under water while the Twin Towers and their environs were geographically, relatively, local.

Hell, if it was Newport/Nantucker, I doubt we would have people in Congresss publicly suggesting that we abandon the city, as some did with New Orleans.

Oh and ole Nagin, that guy who locked himself away in a hotel during the critical early hours of Katrina....what an asshole.

EDIT - Anyone notice that Appleonya never responded to my Putin "soul" comment made by President Bush some years back?

Huh? Putin is Bush's buddy.

Actually, they're lovers. When W's term is over, Pat Robertson is going to marry them at Ellen and Portia's place.

Brownie and Cheney are the flower girls.

So who gets Condi? Laura or Hillary?

From the warped mind of the incomparable Dave Barry----My favorite journalist of all-time. Bar none.

Dave Barry: The DNC's on, let the drama begin
By DAVE BARRY of THE MIAMI HERALD

The Democratic party has gathered in Denver for what will be without question one of the most exciting political conventions in decades.

Granted, this is like saying that Moe was without question one of the smartest Stooges. The political conventions have been pointless and boring for years, culminating in 2004, when MSNBC, during its prime-time coverage of the Republican convention, broadcast 38 straight minutes of Chris Matthews snoring and drooling into his lap. (This got by far the highest ratings.)

But this year will be different. This year there is high drama in the Mile High City as the Democrats gather under their official 2008 convention slogan: ``A Unified Party, United in Unity Together As One, Undivided.''

Already there has been sporadic gunfire between the Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton delegates. Political observers see this as indication that there is still some underlying tension between the two sides. Yes, Clinton has been making speeches urging her supporters to work for Obama; but at the same time she has also been using what one Obama adviser described as ``a lot of air quotes.''

It's hard to blame Sen. Clinton for being bitter. Here she is, the smartest human ever, PLUS she spent all those years standing loyally behind Bill Clinton wearing uncomfortable pantyhose (I mean Hillary was, not Bill) (although there are rumors), PLUS she went to the trouble and expense of acquiring a legal residence in New York State so she could be a senator from there, PLUS she assembled a team of nuclear-physicist-grade genius political advisors, PLUS she spent years going around to every dirtbag community in America explaining in detail her 23-point policy solutions for every single problem facing the nation including soybean blight. And after all that, she loses the nomination to a guy who has roughly the same amount of executive governmental experience as Hannah Montana. Hillary is like: ``Are you KIDDING me?''

Sen. Clinton is scheduled to address the convention Tuesday night, when she will either call on her supporters to unite behind Obama, or attempt to snatch the nomination and escape with it by helicopter to a secret mountain fortress. ''We are fully confident that Sen. Clinton will do the right thing,'' stated a Democratic party official, adding, ``but we have a net.''

The Obama-Clinton tension is only one of the dramatic storylines developing in Denver. Another one is Obama's choice of running mate. Following days of feverish media speculation over a list of names that at one point included the late Hubert Humphrey and a probably fictional congressperson named ''Chet Edwards,'' Obama, in a bold move, went with the one name guaranteed to send an electric shock of electricity through the spinal cord of American politics: Joe Biden.

This choice not only virtually locks up Delaware's electoral vote (which it shares with Wyoming) but it also buttresses the Obama team with one of the Senate's most vocal voices. Sen. Biden is scheduled to address the convention Wednesday night from 8:48 p.m. until dawn.

But in the end, the focus of this convention will be on Barack Obama, who on Thursday night will receive the nomination in long-overdue recognition of a distinguished career of seeking the nomination. His goal, in his acceptance speech, will be to win over the undecided voters -- the people who are unsure of what he really stands for, or who have received emailed rumors that he is a Muslim, or a socialist, or a vampire, or a lesbian. His goal will be to show, with no disrespect to the Muslim socialist vampire lesbian community, that he is a regular person just like you, except he has Vision and Leadership. After that, he will lay out his specific policies for building a brighter future. Then he will turn into a bat.

No, he won't, although that would make this the most fun convention EVER. But it still promises to be interesting. I'll be on hand to report all the convention-news developments to you from Denver as I think them up. Then next week I'll head to Minnesota or possibly Wisconsin and do the same from the Republican convention. Back-to-back party conventions! It's an exciting time to be a political ``junkie.''

Please, shoot me.

I don't understand how Delaware and Wyoming share an electoral vote. How does that work and why? Are they the only two states that share such a 'connection.'

You ARE kidding right?