John McCain made it official this afternoon... he's announced his candidacy for the presidential nomination. Nobody seems surprised, but can he win? Democrats are busy getting ready for their first big debate tomorrow in South Carolina. And, here in Washington, both parties are squabbling over a funding bill for the Iraq war. President Bush says he'll veto any measure that includes a timetable for withdrawal. And the vice president and the democratic leader in the senate are bickering back and forth in the media. If it's Wednesday, it must be Political Junkie day... Ken Rudin stops by to talk all things politics, and a little Rich Little, too.
Blog of the Nation
Movie tears? Cinama Paradiso made this 60+ year old man cry.
On the topic of movies that make men cry, might I suggest the scene when Kevin Costner finally gets to play catch with his dad in "Field of Dreams".
Everyone keeps stating that Hillary is polarizing. This is a mantra word the Republicans have used to brand her since the mid 90s and the electorate has picked up on it. It was like the wishy washy label placed on Kerry.
I don't think Hillary is polarizing. President Bush is polarizing. Do we just have to wait for more people to hear her? Is her gender more of an issue?
I enjoy your program, especially when you have such a distinguished guest as George McGovern. But as a political scientist and a Howard Dean supporter I respectfully ask that you change your recorded intro. It is ironic that you chose Reagan's best moment and Dean's worst, the so-called scream. I'm sure you know that Dean's voice was stripped out to make that devastating recording, and playing it over and over is continuing that unfortunate experience. I would expect this out of a right wing program, but we expect better out of NPR. If you decide to make a change you might consider, too, that the Reagan quote and the Kennedy quotes are not "political," per se. For Reagan you could use, for instance, "There you go again." For Dean, consider, "I'm Howard Dean and I represent the Democratic wing of the Democratic Party." He still represents millions, and we'd appreciate a little respect. Thanks so much.
One flew over the cookoos nest!
Glory! Knowing that this terrible tragedy was based on *reality* had me weeping. Real men volunteered for a suicide mission. What was worse, they never received backup, and the battle was lost. Their voluntary deaths were completely for naught.
Band of Brothers - When the Vets begin to cry, you can't keep it in.
just because guy's don't cry, doesn't mean they don't feel deeply. Mom of 2 grown sons.
Rebecca - The movie that makes me tear-up is "From Here To Eternity", (the final Taps) but long ago I learned at my mothers knee that I am Scoth-Irish. Just recently, I either read somewhere or hear an Irishman being interviewed on the radio and he made the statement ( I thought he was quoting some famous author or something like that) that Irish men can cry!
Films that make men cry? I vote for the original version of Mighty Joe Young, where he climbs a tree to save a kid on the roof of a burning orphanage.
I don't know about the press, but I liked McCain better when he didn't appear to be so much of a "party guy". It's not just his war position either, he seems much more careful, scripted, and measured when speaking.
I think in some instances the accusation that, "the media liked it because they don't like the Republicans," may have some validity.
There are also those of us, and some in the media I'm sure, who simply liked him because he wasn't all GOP all the time. That and he seemed to be running against a coronation, which has an appeal of its own.
The Bushies frequently say "Clinton fired 90 some US Attorneys; Bush fired eight; what's the big deal?" Didn't Bush fire all US Attorneys (or at least accept their resignations) when he took office in 2001?
Answer to Sam Zug's question, "Didn't Bush fire all US Attorneys (or at least accept their resignations) when he took office in 2001?":
No, he didn't.
Last night there was a Democrat debate. Unfortunately, I was unable to hear or see it live. MSNBC seems to keep a tight leash on the broadcast making it unable to podcast or listen to audio streams even from their own website and certainly not on NPR. If a debat such as this is in the public interest and the candidates give their time for free why does MSNBC have exclusive rights to strangle the public's right to know? Why do the candidates agree to such a debate if only one network can control the debate and the methods of transmission?
Thanks
The NPR chat forum was much better than this odd configuration of snipets on issues. At one time, we were able to debate issues. Now that aspect of NPR is not only censored, but removed entirely.
Why? It became too unmanageable for the hosts, who didn't want to take sides in ongoing debates. So we're reduced to this nothingness that follows the New York Times' model. Okay, but it frankly sucks.
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