Letters to the Editor
thorin01
Published Letters: 260 Editor's Choice: 32
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Hiring Couric was NEVER About the Evening News
[Read the article: Was Katie Couric railroaded?]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Couric was hired by CBS to hurt the Today show. The big salary and Anchor job were just the price CBS paid to get Couric away from NBC. The hope was that ratings for the Today Show would decline in favor of CBS This Morning. Unfortunately for CBS that didn’t work out.
The thing to remember is that the morning shows are huge profit centers whereas the evening news broadcasts are loss leaders. CBS was willing to take the gamble on messing with the evening broadcast in the hopes that CBS This Morning would cover the bet they made on Couric. The possibility that Couric might succeed was most likely secondary to their calculations. So far it looks like they lost the bet on all fronts.
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Bush Hasn’t Aged …
[Read the article: Murtha tackles McCain's age]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Clinton looked like he aged 20 years between 92-2001. Bush Sr looked like death warmed over by 92. Even Reagan required ever thicker amounts of makeup and stronger hair dye to keep up his looks. And take a look at pictures of Carter in 1976 and compare them to 1980. Yikes.
But Bush Jr hardly looks like the Presidency has touched him. He is arguably the fittest President we’ve ever had. He has time to get regular exercise, probably gets to bed early every night and takes more vacation time than any President before him. Compare pictures of Bush in 2000 with today. There’s a little more grey hair, maybe a few extra age lines but that’s it. You don’t see the same crushing affect the Presidency had on his predecessors.
I personally view that as the clearest proof available that Bush is completely disconnected from the job and doesn’t care a whit about how his decisions affect the world around him, let alone the average citizen.
So if McCain brings that same attitude to the Presidency than he’ll be fine.
Of course, the rest of us will be screwed ...
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Which Should Tell Congressional Democrats ….
[Read the article: Tuesday's other important contest]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]That its time to take the gloves off with Bush. It is clear that if Reid and Pelosi take stand against Bush and fight him straight up, even the face of veto or Republican filibuster, the public will back them. Hell the odds are the Republicans in congress will abandon Bush is the face of a resolute Democratic majority, as opposed to the weak willed “leadership” of Harry Reid. After all they are basically bullies and bullies back down when confronted with a strong determined opponent.
Remember at their core all bullies are cowards.
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Clinton Knows it’s Bad Policy …
[Read the article: The gas tax battle continues]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Clinton is a smart woman. She knows this is bad policy. She just doesn’t care. She’s done the political calculus and figures this proposal will get her X number of votes and that’s what matters in the end.
It’s just like her vote on Iraq. She’s not stupid; she wasn’t fooled by the rhetoric. She knew Bush had nothing, but she calculated that she needed to look ‘tough’ and to hell with principle.
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“Taking a Break” What a Laugh
[Read the article: Is the American consumer finally giving up?]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]The Fed is ‘taking a break’ because there is no where left to go with rate cuts. They’re at two percent now. Any more and they might as well give the money away.
This will do NOTHING to help. The problem is NOT tight money supply. Banks are not lending because their balance sheets suck. Twenty years of lose money policy rang up a huge amount of bad debt and banks can no longer afford to carry it around. Why do you think they are selling off shares to sovereign wealth funds and anyone else who comes calling at pennies on the dollar? Rates cuts won’t change that fact.
If anything the Fed should be INCREASING rates and encouraging savings to build up the banks balance sheets the proper way.
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If Experts Are Irrelevant That Negates Clinton’s Main Selling Point
[Read the article: Gas tax proposals likely DOA]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]For the last few months we’ve been hearing all about her ’35 years of experience’ and her vast expertise and how that trumps everything else.
Now her campaign is saying experts are irrelevant.
That contradicts her main campaign. Expertise and experience are now trumped by ‘judgment’ and ‘leadership’.
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Djmagaro – Partial Precedent – Military Contracts
[Read the article: Clinton responds to gas tax attacks]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]In theory, military contracts do regulate the level of profit a company is supposed to make off each item sold. The ‘costs’ of production are calculated and a ‘fair’ profit is added to that total (say 5-10%).
In practice of course this never actually happens. The ‘costs’ are defined so broadly that virtually any operating or administrative expense can be charged to any particular contract (executive jets etc) inflating there value and thus the ‘profit’ from each contract even if it looks small on paper. You think Hollywood’s books are weird, the defense industry has them beat by light years.
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The Undeclared Supers Are Waiting ….
[Read the article: McAuliffe: "I don't see it going to the convention"]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]For the voting to be over and are enjoying the pandering from both candidates. After all the talk about how ‘energized’ the electorate is and ‘huge voter turnouts’ jumping in this late in the game with only six contests left doesn’t get them anything. Especially after all the talk about how ‘undemocratic’ the superdelagate process is. They will hang out on the sidelines for another month.
My guess is within a week of the last vote being cast enough Supers will call it for Obama to give him the win (assuming he retains his lead in popular and delegates counts – a near certainty at this point). The only real question is how many Clinton Supers will switch over during that week. Several have hinted (a even out right said) they will vote for the candidate with the lead in popular and pledged delegates.
It will give the MSM something to talk about.