Letters to the Editor
Air Force Vet in Amsterdam
Published Letters: 79 Editor's Choice: 7
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A normal political year?
[Read the article: The 2008 presidential mash-up]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Can I take exception to the assertion that "In a normal political year -- with Iowa and New Hampshire in the rear-view mirror -- voters in at least one party would have settled on their nominee by now."
Granted, where a (reasonably) popular incumbent is seeking re-election, one party will settle on the incumbent as a nominee early on. But when, as in this year, that is not the case, there is nothing unusual about both nominations being unresolved after New Hampshire. In both '76 and '80 the incumbents (Ford/Carter) had difficulty fighting off challenges (Reagan/Kennedy) while the party opposite needed several primaries to whittle down large fields of candidates. In '88 neither Bush the elder nor Dukakis had things anywhere near wrapped after New Hampshire; and even in '92, while few would seriously have believed Bush the elder could be upset, it was right after Buchanan's win in New Hampshire that he had his most nervous moments, while at the same time it was only after New York that it was clear Clinton would not be denied.
To say this is not a "normal" political year because Iowa and New Hampshire have not effectively settled both nominations, is to assume that the last few elections (in with two of the last three has had an unchallenged incumbent) are the "norm." I would say that the historical jury is still out on whether there are the norm or an aberration, with the indications leaning towards the latter. As one who does not like to see those two small and unrepresentative states (with an assist from the process-obsessed mainstream media) preempting the choice of the rest of the nation, I would prefer to see this year's process prove to be the norm.
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@ Deadhead
[Read the article: Mike Huckabee's mission from God]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]I'm with The Deadhead that it's easier to change the word of the living God (or at any rate the interpretation thereof) that the Constitution. Exhibit A is Romney's favorate prophet, Joseph Smith, who gave his followers a whole new book of God's word, with all sorts of amazing stories. And he didn't need no stinking two-thirds majority from anyone.
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Fur & Agin
[Read the article: Mike Huckabee's selective federalism]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]For Right Wing republicans, states' rights are the mirror image of activist judges:
They are always FOR states' rights and always AGAINST activist judges -- except when overriding states' rights or an "activist" judicial decision gives them a result they would prefer, and they take the reverse stand (but do not admit to doing so).
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Vice-Mitt?
[Read the article: "Because I love America ... I have to now stand aside"]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]If Romney really has won the affection of the ur-conservative wing of his party, might he, rather than Huckabee, be the McCains' best choice as a running mate who could placate some of those who bizarrely contend that McCain is too liberal?
After Cheney, Romney would actually have the virtue of being just the kind of person who could restore much of the political impotence traditionally associated with the Vice Presidency. An empty vessel is just the thing for an office not worth a bucket of warm "spit". Which, I hasten to add, is not to say that I would want either Romney or McCain anywhere near the levers of power.
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English stay home
[Read the article: King Kaufman's Sports Daily]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Ah yes, that dreary New York Giants win over the Miami Dolphins in London last season, which according to the nimrods known as the NFL owners cited as the justification for abruptly pulling the plug on the NFL-Europe days after a great World Bowl championship game; the new foreign strategy in place of building on the substantial local fan loyalty.
Of course NFL-Europe did not make money like the U.S. product (which with TV revenue is as close to a failure-proof business as exists anywhere), but it was hardly a money pit either, and as a developmental league it helped launch quite a few notable NFL careers. But there always seemed to be many, and last year just enough, owners who apparently did not want to sully their hands with anything foreign.
I realize this is way off topic (save for the broader point of big league sports owners being indifferent to fans), but the reference to the Giants-Dolphins game triggered some real resentment. Good luck to those fans who want to stop this daft Premier League idea.
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What Lynx said ...
[Read the article: The most left-wing president since Nixon?]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Lynx's assessment of the Economist's decline is spot on. I refused to renew my subscription right after they endorsed Bush over Gore. On the dwindling numbers of occasions I have since read an odd copy, I found that their standards - and particulalry their overt anti-Democratic Party bias - has only grown worse, including such petty slights as refering to the "Democrat", rather than the "Democratic" party. Regrettable, as it once was an outstanding publication.