Month: November 2002

Al Gore had a complete core meltdown today, lashing out at the media, left right, and center in the New York Observer.

Mr. Gore acknowledged his image problem among powerful Democrats, and that the onus will be upon him to recapture the loyalties of those who supported him in 2000. “Maybe I bear the blame for some of it,” he said. “I haven’t been very good about calling all of the insiders over the last two years, and maybe some of them have a beef with me because of that. I know they have been courted assiduously by some of the others who are considering a run for the White House, and it may be that some of them have already signed up with other people. If I do decide to run again, I think there’s a lot of support, but I’d also have to work really hard to get a bunch of them committed back to me.”

Mr. Gore also reckoned that he would have to prove himself all over again to key political and media players. “I’m well aware that the political insiders and political-journalism community have a considerable amount of influence, and even though I’m stronger at the grassroots level, I think that if I did run again, I would have to convince those two groups that I’ve learned enough in the last couple of years to run a better campaign than I did last time. I don’t think that there’s a thing that I could say and no words I could choose that could accomplish that — the way to convince them would be in actually doing it.”

For now, Mr. Gore can only attempt to explain what motivates the ceaseless lampooning he continues to face from America?s columnists and commentators. “That?s postmodernism,” he offered. “It?s the combination of narcissism and nihilism that really defines postmodernism, and that?s another interview for another time, if you’re interested in it.”

This is like watching a train wreck. The lesson, I suppose, is that trained, professional politicians shouldn’t open their mouths in public without handlers telling them what to say. Gore is probably free of handlers right now, so we’re seeing the real, unvarnished Gore for the first time, and it’s damn scary.

By way of following up on the Krugman smear about Republican nepotism, we offer the following from The Political Graveyard on the political geneology of the Bush family. As you see, all of this nepotism started in 1778, so nefarious are these people. Enjoy.

• William P. Walker (1778-1858) Father-in-law of Julius Rockwell and David Davis. Born in Lenox, Berkshire County, Mass., October 8, 1778. Member of
  Massachusetts state house of representatives; member of Massachusetts
  state senate; member of Massachusetts
  Governor’s Council; probate judge, 1824-48. Died in Lenox,
  Berkshire
  County, Mass.,November
  11, 1858.  Burial location unknown.
• Julius Rockwell (1805-1888) Son-in-law of
  xhref=”http://politicalgraveyard.com/bio/walker9.html#0IS19082W” mce_href=”http://politicalgraveyard.com/bio/walker9.html#0IS19082W” >William
  P. Walker; father of
  xhref=”http://politicalgraveyard.com/bio/rockwell.html#R9M0JB61Y” mce_href=”http://politicalgraveyard.com/bio/rockwell.html#R9M0JB61Y” >Francis
  Williams Rockwell. Born in Colebrook,
  xhref=”http://politicalgraveyard.com/geo/CT/LI.html#BORN” mce_href=”http://politicalgraveyard.com/geo/CT/LI.html#BORN” >Litchfield
  County, Conn.,
  xhref=”http://politicalgraveyard.com/chrono/born-apr-26.html” mce_href=”http://politicalgraveyard.com/chrono/born-apr-26.html” >April
  26,
  xhref=”http://politicalgraveyard.com/chrono/born-1805.html” mce_href=”http://politicalgraveyard.com/chrono/born-1805.html” >1805.
  Member of
  xhref=”http://politicalgraveyard.com/geo/MA/ofc/sthse.html” mce_href=”http://politicalgraveyard.com/geo/MA/ofc/sthse.html” >Massachusetts
  state house of representatives, 1834;
  xhref=”http://politicalgraveyard.com/geo/MA/ofc/usrep.html” mce_href=”http://politicalgraveyard.com/geo/MA/ofc/usrep.html” >U.S.
  Representative from Massachusetts 7th District, 1843-51;
  xhref=”http://politicalgraveyard.com/geo/MA/ofc/ussen.html” mce_href=”http://politicalgraveyard.com/geo/MA/ofc/ussen.html” >U.S.
  Senator from Massachusetts, 1854-55; state court judge, 1859.
  Died
  xhref=”http://politicalgraveyard.com/chrono/died-may-19.html” mce_href=”http://politicalgraveyard.com/chrono/died-may-19.html” >May
  19,
  xhref=”http://politicalgraveyard.com/chrono/died-1888.html” mce_href=”http://politicalgraveyard.com/chrono/died-1888.html” >1888.
  Interment at
  xhref=”http://politicalgraveyard.com/geo/MA/BE.html#RAR1B7MQC” mce_href=”http://politicalgraveyard.com/geo/MA/BE.html#RAR1B7MQC” >Lenox
  Cemetery, Lenox, Mass. See also:
  xhref=”http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=R000368″ mce_href=”http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=R000368″ >congressional
  biography.
• David Davis (1815-1886) of Bloomington,
  xhref=”http://politicalgraveyard.com/geo/IL/ML.html#LIVED” mce_href=”http://politicalgraveyard.com/geo/IL/ML.html#LIVED” >McLean
  County, Ill. Son-in-law of
  xhref=”http://politicalgraveyard.com/bio/walker9.html#0IS19082W” mce_href=”http://politicalgraveyard.com/bio/walker9.html#0IS19082W” >William
  P. Walker; cousin of
  xhref=”http://politicalgraveyard.com/bio/davis4.html#R9M0IUG4J” mce_href=”http://politicalgraveyard.com/bio/davis4.html#R9M0IUG4J” >Henry
  Winter Davis; great-grandfather of
  xhref=”http://politicalgraveyard.com/bio/davis2.html#S571ACMTJ” mce_href=”http://politicalgraveyard.com/bio/davis2.html#S571ACMTJ” >David
  Davis IV; first cousin thrice removed of
  xhref=”http://politicalgraveyard.com/bio/bush.html#R9M0IRCAS” mce_href=”http://politicalgraveyard.com/bio/bush.html#R9M0IRCAS” >George
  Herbert Walker Bush. Born near Cecilton,
  xhref=”http://politicalgraveyard.com/geo/MD/CE.html#BORN” mce_href=”http://politicalgraveyard.com/geo/MD/CE.html#BORN” >Cecil
  County, Md.,
  xhref=”http://politicalgraveyard.com/chrono/born-mar-09.html” mce_href=”http://politicalgraveyard.com/chrono/born-mar-09.html” >March
  9,
  xhref=”http://politicalgraveyard.com/chrono/born-1815.html” mce_href=”http://politicalgraveyard.com/chrono/born-1815.html” >1815.
  Member of
  xhref=”http://politicalgraveyard.com/geo/IL/ofc/sthse.html” mce_href=”http://politicalgraveyard.com/geo/IL/ofc/sthse.html” >Illinois
  state house of representatives, 1845;
  xhref=”http://politicalgraveyard.com/geo/IL/ofc/cncn2.html” mce_href=”http://politicalgraveyard.com/geo/IL/ofc/cncn2.html” >delegate
  to Illinois state constitutional convention, 1847; state court
  judge, 1848;
  xhref=”http://politicalgraveyard.com/offices/judic1.html” mce_href=”http://politicalgraveyard.com/offices/judic1.html” >Justice of
  U.S. Supreme Court, 1862-77; received one electoral vote for
  President,
  xhref=”http://politicalgraveyard.com/offices/pres-vp-1872.html” mce_href=”http://politicalgraveyard.com/offices/pres-vp-1872.html” >1872;
  U.S.
  Senator from Illinois, 1877-83.
  xhref=”http://politicalgraveyard.com/group/presbyterian.html” mce_href=”http://politicalgraveyard.com/group/presbyterian.html” >Presbyterian.
  Died
  xhref=”http://politicalgraveyard.com/chrono/died-jun-26.html” mce_href=”http://politicalgraveyard.com/chrono/died-jun-26.html” >June
  26,
  xhref=”http://politicalgraveyard.com/chrono/died-1886.html” mce_href=”http://politicalgraveyard.com/chrono/died-1886.html” >1886.
  Interment at
  xhref=”http://politicalgraveyard.com/geo/IL/ML.html#RA50MJX7M” mce_href=”http://politicalgraveyard.com/geo/IL/ML.html#RA50MJX7M” >Evergreen
  Cemetery, Bloomington, Ill. See also:
  xhref=”http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=D000097″ mce_href=”http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=D000097″ >congressional
  biography.
• Henry Winter Davis (1817-1865) Cousin of
  xhref=”http://politicalgraveyard.com/bio/davis2.html#R9M0IUFFS” mce_href=”http://politicalgraveyard.com/bio/davis2.html#R9M0IUFFS” >David
  Davis. Born in Annapolis,
  xhref=”http://politicalgraveyard.com/geo/MD/AA.html#BORN” mce_href=”http://politicalgraveyard.com/geo/MD/AA.html#BORN” >Anne Arundel
  County, Md.,
  xhref=”http://politicalgraveyard.com/chrono/born-aug-16.html” mce_href=”http://politicalgraveyard.com/chrono/born-aug-16.html” >August
  16,
  xhref=”http://politicalgraveyard.com/chrono/born-1817.html” mce_href=”http://politicalgraveyard.com/chrono/born-1817.html” >1817.
  U.S.
  Representative from Maryland, 1855-61, 1863-65 (4th District
  1855-61, 3rd District 1863-65).
  xhref=”http://politicalgraveyard.com/group/episcopalian.html” mce_href=”http://politicalgraveyard.com/group/episcopalian.html” >Episcopalian.
  Died in
  xhref=”http://politicalgraveyard.com/geo/MD/ba4.html#DIED” mce_href=”http://politicalgraveyard.com/geo/MD/ba4.html#DIED” >Baltimore,
  Md.,
  xhref=”http://politicalgraveyard.com/chrono/died-dec-30.html” mce_href=”http://politicalgraveyard.com/chrono/died-dec-30.html” >December
  30,
  xhref=”http://politicalgraveyard.com/chrono/died-1865.html” mce_href=”http://politicalgraveyard.com/chrono/died-1865.html” >1865.
  Original interment at
  xhref=”http://politicalgraveyard.com/geo/MD/ba5.html#R9X0MNA0T” mce_href=”http://politicalgraveyard.com/geo/MD/ba5.html#R9X0MNA0T” >St.
  Paul’s Protestant Episcopal Cemetery, Baltimore, Md.; reinterment
  at
  xhref=”http://politicalgraveyard.com/geo/MD/ba5.html#R9T0XKBSH” mce_href=”http://politicalgraveyard.com/geo/MD/ba5.html#R9T0XKBSH” >Greenmount
  Cemetery, Baltimore, Md. See also:
  xhref=”http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=D000104″ mce_href=”http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=D000104″ >congressional
  biography.
• Francis Williams Rockwell (1844-1929) Son of
  xhref=”http://politicalgraveyard.com/bio/rockwell.html#R9M0JB6CL” mce_href=”http://politicalgraveyard.com/bio/rockwell.html#R9M0JB6CL” >Julius
  Rockwell. Born in Pittsfield,
  xhref=”http://politicalgraveyard.com/geo/MA/BE.html#BORN” mce_href=”http://politicalgraveyard.com/geo/MA/BE.html#BORN” >Berkshire
  County, Mass.,
  xhref=”http://politicalgraveyard.com/chrono/born-may-26.html” mce_href=”http://politicalgraveyard.com/chrono/born-may-26.html” >May
  26,
  xhref=”http://politicalgraveyard.com/chrono/born-1844.html” mce_href=”http://politicalgraveyard.com/chrono/born-1844.html” >1844.
  Republican. State court judge, 1873; member of
  xhref=”http://politicalgraveyard.com/geo/MA/ofc/sthse.html” mce_href=”http://politicalgraveyard.com/geo/MA/ofc/sthse.html” >Massachusetts
  state house of representatives, 1879; member of
  xhref=”http://politicalgraveyard.com/geo/MA/ofc/stsen.html” mce_href=”http://politicalgraveyard.com/geo/MA/ofc/stsen.html” >Massachusetts
  state senate, 1881;
  xhref=”http://politicalgraveyard.com/geo/MA/ofc/usrep.html” mce_href=”http://politicalgraveyard.com/geo/MA/ofc/usrep.html” >U.S.
  Representative from Massachusetts 12th District, 1884-91. Died
  xhref=”http://politicalgraveyard.com/chrono/died-jun-26.html” mce_href=”http://politicalgraveyard.com/chrono/died-jun-26.html” >June
  26,
  xhref=”http://politicalgraveyard.com/chrono/died-1929.html” mce_href=”http://politicalgraveyard.com/chrono/died-1929.html” >1929.
  Interment at
  xhref=”http://politicalgraveyard.com/geo/MA/BE.html#R9T0XKCDQ” mce_href=”http://politicalgraveyard.com/geo/MA/BE.html#R9T0XKCDQ” >Pittsfield
  Cemetery, Pittsfield, Mass. See also:
  xhref=”http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=R000365″ mce_href=”http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=R000365″ >congressional
  biography.
• Prescott Sheldon Bush (1895-1972) — also known as
  Prescott S. Bush — of Greenwich,
  xhref=”http://politicalgraveyard.com/geo/CT/FA3.html#LIVED” mce_href=”http://politicalgraveyard.com/geo/CT/FA3.html#LIVED” >Fairfield
  County, Conn. Father of
  xhref=”http://politicalgraveyard.com/bio/bush.html#R9M0IRCAS” mce_href=”http://politicalgraveyard.com/bio/bush.html#R9M0IRCAS” >George
  Herbert Walker Bush; grandfather of
  xhref=”http://politicalgraveyard.com/bio/bush.html#ROK074H8X” mce_href=”http://politicalgraveyard.com/bio/bush.html#ROK074H8X” >George
  Walker Bush and
  xhref=”http://politicalgraveyard.com/bio/bush.html#S5N0KM53O” mce_href=”http://politicalgraveyard.com/bio/bush.html#S5N0KM53O” >John
  Ellis Bush. Born in Columbus,
  xhref=”http://politicalgraveyard.com/geo/OH/FR.html#BORN” mce_href=”http://politicalgraveyard.com/geo/OH/FR.html#BORN” >Franklin
  County, Ohio,
  xhref=”http://politicalgraveyard.com/chrono/born-may-15.html” mce_href=”http://politicalgraveyard.com/chrono/born-may-15.html” >May
  15,
  xhref=”http://politicalgraveyard.com/chrono/born-1895.html” mce_href=”http://politicalgraveyard.com/chrono/born-1895.html” >1895.
  Republican. Served in the U.S. Army during World War I; delegate to
  Republican National Convention from Connecticut,
  xhref=”http://politicalgraveyard.com/parties/R/1948/CT.html” mce_href=”http://politicalgraveyard.com/parties/R/1948/CT.html” >1948,xhref=”http://politicalgraveyard.com/parties/R/1964/CT.html” mce_href=”http://politicalgraveyard.com/parties/R/1964/CT.html” >1964
  (alternate);
  xhref=”http://politicalgraveyard.com/geo/CT/ofc/ussen.html” mce_href=”http://politicalgraveyard.com/geo/CT/ofc/ussen.html” >U.S.
  Senator from Connecticut, 1952-63; defeated, 1950.
  xhref=”http://politicalgraveyard.com/group/episcopalian.html” mce_href=”http://politicalgraveyard.com/group/episcopalian.html” >Episcopalian.
  Member,
  xhref=”http://politicalgraveyard.com/group/am-legion.html” mce_href=”http://politicalgraveyard.com/group/am-legion.html” >American
  Legion;
  xhref=”http://politicalgraveyard.com/group/40-8.html” mce_href=”http://politicalgraveyard.com/group/40-8.html” >Forty and
  Eight. Died in New York City (
  xhref=”http://politicalgraveyard.com/geo/NY/ZZ.html#DIED” mce_href=”http://politicalgraveyard.com/geo/NY/ZZ.html#DIED” >unknown
  county), N.Y.,
  xhref=”http://politicalgraveyard.com/chrono/died-oct-08.html” mce_href=”http://politicalgraveyard.com/chrono/died-oct-08.html” >October
  8,
  xhref=”http://politicalgraveyard.com/chrono/died-1972.html” mce_href=”http://politicalgraveyard.com/chrono/died-1972.html” >1972.
  Interment at
  xhref=”http://politicalgraveyard.com/geo/CT/FA5.html#RAM0TMIA8″ mce_href=”http://politicalgraveyard.com/geo/CT/FA5.html#RAM0TMIA8″ >Putnam
  Cemetery, Greenwich, Conn. See also:
  xhref=”http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=B001167″ mce_href=”http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=B001167″ >congressional
  biography.
• David Davis IV (1906-1978) of Bloomington,
  xhref=”http://politicalgraveyard.com/geo/IL/ML.html#LIVED” mce_href=”http://politicalgraveyard.com/geo/IL/ML.html#LIVED” >McLean
  County, Ill. Great-grandson of
  xhref=”http://politicalgraveyard.com/bio/davis2.html#R9M0IUFFS” mce_href=”http://politicalgraveyard.com/bio/davis2.html#R9M0IUFFS” >David
  Davis. Born in Bloomington,
  xhref=”http://politicalgraveyard.com/geo/IL/ML.html#BORN” mce_href=”http://politicalgraveyard.com/geo/IL/ML.html#BORN” >McLean
  County, Ill.,
  xhref=”http://politicalgraveyard.com/chrono/born-jul-29.html” mce_href=”http://politicalgraveyard.com/chrono/born-jul-29.html” >July
  29,
  xhref=”http://politicalgraveyard.com/chrono/born-1906.html” mce_href=”http://politicalgraveyard.com/chrono/born-1906.html” >1906.
  Lawyer; member of
  xhref=”http://politicalgraveyard.com/geo/IL/ofc/stsen.html” mce_href=”http://politicalgraveyard.com/geo/IL/ofc/stsen.html” >Illinois
  state senate, 1953-67;
  xhref=”http://politicalgraveyard.com/geo/IL/ofc/cncn6.html” mce_href=”http://politicalgraveyard.com/geo/IL/ofc/cncn6.html” >delegate
  to Illinois state constitutional convention 37th District,
  1969-70.
  xhref=”http://politicalgraveyard.com/group/presbyterian.html” mce_href=”http://politicalgraveyard.com/group/presbyterian.html” >Presbyterian.
  Member,
  xhref=”http://politicalgraveyard.com/group/aba.html” mce_href=”http://politicalgraveyard.com/group/aba.html” >American Bar
  Association;
  xhref=”http://politicalgraveyard.com/group/am-jud-soc.html” mce_href=”http://politicalgraveyard.com/group/am-jud-soc.html” >American
  Judicature Society. Died in Bloomington,
  xhref=”http://politicalgraveyard.com/geo/IL/ML.html#DIED” mce_href=”http://politicalgraveyard.com/geo/IL/ML.html#DIED” >McLean
  County, Ill.,
  xhref=”http://politicalgraveyard.com/chrono/died-apr-14.html” mce_href=”http://politicalgraveyard.com/chrono/died-apr-14.html” >April
  14,
  xhref=”http://politicalgraveyard.com/chrono/died-1978.html” mce_href=”http://politicalgraveyard.com/chrono/died-1978.html” >1978.
  Interment at
  xhref=”http://politicalgraveyard.com/geo/IL/ML.html#RA50MJX7M” mce_href=”http://politicalgraveyard.com/geo/IL/ML.html#RA50MJX7M” >Evergreen
  Cemetery, Bloomington, Ill.
• George Herbert Walker Bush (b. 1924) — also known as
  George Bush; “Poppy” — of Houston,
  xhref=”http://politicalgraveyard.com/geo/TX/HR.html#LIVED” mce_href=”http://politicalgraveyard.com/geo/TX/HR.html#LIVED” >Harris
  County, Tex. First cousin, thrice removed of
  xhref=”http://politicalgraveyard.com/bio/davis2.html#R9M0IUFFS” mce_href=”http://politicalgraveyard.com/bio/davis2.html#R9M0IUFFS” >David
  Davis; son of
  xhref=”http://politicalgraveyard.com/bio/bush.html#R9M0IRCEC” mce_href=”http://politicalgraveyard.com/bio/bush.html#R9M0IRCEC” >Prescott
  Sheldon Bush; father of
  xhref=”http://politicalgraveyard.com/bio/bush.html#ROK074H8X” mce_href=”http://politicalgraveyard.com/bio/bush.html#ROK074H8X” >George
  Walker Bush and
  xhref=”http://politicalgraveyard.com/bio/bush.html#S5N0KM53O” mce_href=”http://politicalgraveyard.com/bio/bush.html#S5N0KM53O” >John
  Ellis Bush. Born in Milton,
  xhref=”http://politicalgraveyard.com/geo/MA/NO.html#BORN” mce_href=”http://politicalgraveyard.com/geo/MA/NO.html#BORN” >Norfolk
  County, Mass.,
  xhref=”http://politicalgraveyard.com/chrono/born-jun-12.html” mce_href=”http://politicalgraveyard.com/chrono/born-jun-12.html” >June
  12,
  xhref=”http://politicalgraveyard.com/chrono/born-1924.html” mce_href=”http://politicalgraveyard.com/chrono/born-1924.html” >1924.
  Republican. Served in the U.S. Navy during World War II; delegate to
  Republican National Convention from Texas,
  xhref=”http://politicalgraveyard.com/parties/R/1964/TX.html” mce_href=”http://politicalgraveyard.com/parties/R/1964/TX.html” >1964;
  candidate for
  xhref=”http://politicalgraveyard.com/geo/TX/ofc/ussen.html” mce_href=”http://politicalgraveyard.com/geo/TX/ofc/ussen.html” >U.S.
  Senator from Texas, 1964, 1970;
  xhref=”http://politicalgraveyard.com/geo/TX/ofc/usrep.html” mce_href=”http://politicalgraveyard.com/geo/TX/ofc/usrep.html” >U.S.
  Representative from Texas 7th District, 1967-71;
  xhref=”http://politicalgraveyard.com/offices/diplo7.html#UNITEDNATIONS” mce_href=”http://politicalgraveyard.com/offices/diplo7.html#UNITEDNATIONS” >U.S.
  Representative to the United Nations, 1971-73;
  xhref=”http://politicalgraveyard.com/parties/R/index.html” mce_href=”http://politicalgraveyard.com/parties/R/index.html” >Chairman of
  Republican National Committee, 1973-74; candidate for Republican
  nomination for President,
  xhref=”http://politicalgraveyard.com/parties/R/1980/index.html” mce_href=”http://politicalgraveyard.com/parties/R/1980/index.html” >1980;
  Vice
  President of the United States, 1981-89;
  xhref=”http://politicalgraveyard.com/offices/pres-vp.html” mce_href=”http://politicalgraveyard.com/offices/pres-vp.html” >President
  of the United States, 1989-93; defeated, 1992.
  xhref=”http://politicalgraveyard.com/group/episcopalian.html” mce_href=”http://politicalgraveyard.com/group/episcopalian.html” >Episcopalian.
  Member,
  xhref=”http://politicalgraveyard.com/group/cfr.html” mce_href=”http://politicalgraveyard.com/group/cfr.html” >Council on
  Foreign Relations;
  xhref=”http://politicalgraveyard.com/group/am-legion.html” mce_href=”http://politicalgraveyard.com/group/am-legion.html” >American
  Legion;
  xhref=”http://politicalgraveyard.com/group/delta-kappa-epsilon.html” mce_href=”http://politicalgraveyard.com/group/delta-kappa-epsilon.html” >Delta
  Kappa Epsilon. Still living as of 2001. See also:
  xhref=”http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=B001166″ mce_href=”http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=B001166″ >congressional
  biography. Books by George H. W. Bush:
  xhref=”http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/068483958X/thepoliticalg-20″ mce_href=”http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/068483958X/thepoliticalg-20″ >All
  The Best, George Bush: My Life and Other Writings (1999),
  xhref=”http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0385141815/thepoliticalg-20″ mce_href=”http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0385141815/thepoliticalg-20″ >Looking
  Forward (1987, out of print),
  xhref=”http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0679432485/thepoliticalg-20″ mce_href=”http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0679432485/thepoliticalg-20″ >A
  World Transformed (1998); Books about George H. W. Bush: John
  Robert Greene,
  xhref=”http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0700609938/thepoliticalg-20″ mce_href=”http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0700609938/thepoliticalg-20″ >The
  Presidency of George Bush.
• George Walker Bush (b. 1946) — also known as George W.
  Bush; “Dubya” — Grandson of
  xhref=”http://politicalgraveyard.com/bio/bush.html#R9M0IRCEC” mce_href=”http://politicalgraveyard.com/bio/bush.html#R9M0IRCEC” >Prescott
  Sheldon Bush; son of
  xhref=”http://politicalgraveyard.com/bio/bush.html#R9M0IRCAS” mce_href=”http://politicalgraveyard.com/bio/bush.html#R9M0IRCAS” >George
  Herbert Walker Bush; brother of
  xhref=”http://politicalgraveyard.com/bio/bush.html#S5N0KM53O” mce_href=”http://politicalgraveyard.com/bio/bush.html#S5N0KM53O” >John
  Ellis Bush. Born
  xhref=”http://politicalgraveyard.com/chrono/born-jul-06.html” mce_href=”http://politicalgraveyard.com/chrono/born-jul-06.html” >July
  6,
  xhref=”http://politicalgraveyard.com/chrono/born-1946.html” mce_href=”http://politicalgraveyard.com/chrono/born-1946.html” >1946.
  Republican. Delegate to Republican National Convention from Texas,
  xhref=”http://politicalgraveyard.com/parties/R/1988/TX.html” mce_href=”http://politicalgraveyard.com/parties/R/1988/TX.html” >1988;
  Governor
  of Texas, 1995-2000;
  xhref=”http://politicalgraveyard.com/offices/pres-vp.html” mce_href=”http://politicalgraveyard.com/offices/pres-vp.html” >President
  of the United States, 2001-.
  xhref=”http://politicalgraveyard.com/group/methodist.html” mce_href=”http://politicalgraveyard.com/group/methodist.html” >Methodist.
  Member,
  xhref=”http://politicalgraveyard.com/group/delta-kappa-epsilon.html” mce_href=”http://politicalgraveyard.com/group/delta-kappa-epsilon.html” >Delta
  Kappa Epsilon. Still living as of 2001. Books by George W. Bush:xhref=”http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0060957921/thepoliticalg-20″ mce_href=”http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0060957921/thepoliticalg-20″ >A
  Charge to Keep (1999).
• John Ellis Bush (b. 1953) — also known as Jeb Bush
  — Grandson of
  xhref=”http://politicalgraveyard.com/bio/bush.html#R9M0IRCEC” mce_href=”http://politicalgraveyard.com/bio/bush.html#R9M0IRCEC” >Prescott
  Sheldon Bush; son of
  xhref=”http://politicalgraveyard.com/bio/bush.html#R9M0IRCAS” mce_href=”http://politicalgraveyard.com/bio/bush.html#R9M0IRCAS” >George
  Herbert Walker Bush; brother of
  xhref=”http://politicalgraveyard.com/bio/bush.html#ROK074H8X” mce_href=”http://politicalgraveyard.com/bio/bush.html#ROK074H8X” >George
  Walker Bush. Born in Midland,
  xhref=”http://politicalgraveyard.com/geo/TX/MD.html#BORN” mce_href=”http://politicalgraveyard.com/geo/TX/MD.html#BORN” >Midland
  County, Tex.,
  xhref=”http://politicalgraveyard.com/chrono/born-feb-11.html” mce_href=”http://politicalgraveyard.com/chrono/born-feb-11.html” >February
  11,
  xhref=”http://politicalgraveyard.com/chrono/born-1953.html” mce_href=”http://politicalgraveyard.com/chrono/born-1953.html” >1953.
  Republican.
  xhref=”http://politicalgraveyard.com/geo/FL/ofc/gov.html” mce_href=”http://politicalgraveyard.com/geo/FL/ofc/gov.html” >Governor of
  Florida, 1999-; defeated, 1994.
  xhref=”http://politicalgraveyard.com/group/catholic.html” mce_href=”http://politicalgraveyard.com/group/catholic.html” >Catholic.
  Still living as of 2001.

Enron’s boy at the New York Times, Paul Krugman, is upset at conservatives again (so, what else is new?) The issue: some of the children of prominent conservatives have jobs in government or media. For shame.

Just ask the Bush brothers. Talk to Elizabeth Cheney, who holds a specially created State Department job, or her husband, chief counsel of the Office of Management and Budget. Interview Eugene Scalia, the top lawyer at the Labor Department, and Janet Rehnquist, inspector general at the Department of Health and Human Services. And don’t forget to check in with William Kristol, editor of The Weekly Standard, and the conservative commentator John Podhoretz.

Krugman has a real good point, but he’s only uncovered the tip of the iceberg. What about Barry Bonds? His father Bobby was a major leaguer, and incoming Giants manager Felipe Alou once played in the bigs with two brothers, Matty and Jesus. J. T. Snow’s daddy Jack played pro football with the Rams, and that reprobate David Bell is a third generation big leaguer, scion of Buddy and Gus. Some dude in the last Winter Olympics is a third generation Olympian, and the US Curling team is lousy with nepotism.

Even Hollywood, where everyone is virtuous, holy, and shrill is riddled with nepotism: look at Kate Hudson, Liv Tyler, Melanie Griffin, the Bridges boys, Laura Dern, Gwyneth Paltrow, Michael Douglas and all of those Baldwins, not to mention the sons of President Bartlett.

In auto racing, all it takes to be a winner is a name like Petty, Earnhardt, or Andretti, and you’re in. Business leader Bill Gates comes from the most prominent business lawyer on the West Coast, and Esther Dyson’s dad was a great physics guy.

And don’t even get me started on horse racing.

Yes, Krugman is onto something, and it’s big – talent may very well not be a social construct, and the revelation of that fact could be the downfall of the whole postmodern enterprise. We better nip this in the bud, or no telling what might happen. We might even elect leaders who exercise America’s global power responsibly instead of chasing interns, or even worse, refuse to bomb aspirin factories in third world countries.

This alert via Mr. Sullivan, who also links a great piece about Eminem and Al Gore.

Not to be outdone on the irresponsible Libertarian voting scandal, Radley Balko’s Cato colleague Randy Barnett blames it on Republicans:

What conservative Republicans often fail to realize is that libertarians are an important constituency that should not be ignored or taken for granted lest their votes be driven to the Libertarian party or even to the Democrats. Telling libertarians they should vote Republican despite their serious reservations about Republican policies is futile. These concerns need to be addressed rather than ignored.

Professor Barnett offers a laundry list of policies to make the Republican Party more Libber-friendly, such as getting jiggy about privacy, pushing Federalism, appointing more Clarence Thomases, legalizing crack, caring about the free market, and refraining from rude comments about the apparently very sensitive Libbers.

In brief, Barnett says that the Republican Party has to adopt the entire Libertarian Party platform lock, stock, and barrel, and then maybe Libbers will vote Reep.

While a deal like that is hard to refuse, I think most Reeps will take a pass on it. The Thomas nomination politicized judicial confirmation to an extent never seen before, and single-handedly created a logjam in the federal courts. We don’t need any more of that, as a party or as a nation. Similarly, rewriting the Patriot Act to accommodate privacy concerns would likely make it completely ineffective, because these concerns are endless and can never be satisfied, and as attractive as crack, smack, and speed may be, legalization (at either the state or the federal level) isn’t the next step. Decriminalizing personal use of pot even looks far out now that states are voting down medical use.

The party platform is decided by the party convention, and the candidates are chosen in the primary. If the Libbers want a voice on these things, they are going to have to participate in the party process instead of playing toy soldiers on their own little island. But they won’t, of course: compromise isn’t in their nature, as Barnett’s laundry list amply demonstrates.

The one issue that I would take from his list and try to advance is Federalism, simply because it’s the right thing to do, but I doubt most Libbers actually understand it, or that they’d be satisfied with it.

I’ve learned from arguing with Libbers the last few days that their voting patterns aren’t a reasoned political choice as much as they’re an assertion of individual identity – a way of saying they’re too pure for the process, too individualistic for the conformist major parties, and too special to care who wins. Given that mindset, appeasing them is about as likely to be successful as appeasing, well, Saddam Hussein. So it’s wise to forget them and fight for the swing voters who can actually be convinced on a rational self-interest basis to do the right thing.

Christopher Hitchens will be in Berkeley tonight.

Ben Domenech points out that Libertarian Party faithful are white with rage over an Op-Ed in the New York Times demonstrating their counter-productive effects:

The folks in Oklahoma will have a Democrat governor for the next four years, however — and I’d personally like to know if Radley would’ve voted for Largent, or the Independent. Those national softwood lumber policy arguments don’t work in the OK election, and it’s clear the Indie vote made the difference there (he got 14% of the total after running ad after ad against Largent). Would Radley have broken off from the anti-tax pro-gun arch-conservative Largent because he’s a pro-life social conservative, as well?

The money graf from the Op-Ed (by John Miller):

Yet Libertarians are now serving, in effect, as Democratic Party operatives. The next time they wonder why the Bush tax cuts aren’t permanent, why Social Security isn’t personalized and why there aren’t more school-choice pilot programs for low-income kids, all they have to do is look in the mirror.

Radley joins Professor Reynolds, Robert Prather, and Clayton Cramer in attempting to dodge Miller’s empirical evidence by throwing up emotionally-charged anecdotes. I thought Cramer was smarter than that.

The arithmetic of third parties is inescapable as long as we don’t have a runoff system. Smart enough people who have views outside the two-party mainstream have recognized this, and formed a Liberty Caucus in the Republican Party to advocate for Libertarian ideas, and a Progressive Caucus in the Democratic Party to lobby for Green ideas. It’s especially odd, with not-too-bright Greens like Ronnie Dugger telling his buds to forget about Nader and vote Dem in ’04 (“Ralph, Don’t Run“) that the supposedly intelligent Libertarians are still throwing temper tantrums (as more than one of the comments on Radley’s site says) over the laws of arithmetic.

See this post for my take on the Libertarian Party’s electoral effects this year.

Nancy Pelosi’s victory over Harold Ford for Minority Leader (it’s official now) is interesting from the standpoint of identity politics, the chief motivator of the Democratic Party in recent years. Pelosi represents a demographic that Democrats desperately need to take back if they’re to be successful as a national party: white women. Clinton won with overwhelming white woman support (48-41 over Dole), but this evaporated in 2000, when they went for Bush, 49-48. But there’s a real question as to whether Pelosi has what it takes to appeal to white women outside the liberal enclave. If her main issues are going to be abortion, welfare, affirmative action, opposition to the war with Iraq, and high taxes, she loses, because white women are aligned with white men on these issues. If she stresses the economy (and has a real plan to improve it), the environment, education, and child care, she has a chance to win.

Meanwhile, African-Americans are going to be more and more disenchanted with a Democratic Party that takes them for granted, which depresses their turnout, and Latinos will be up in the air, probably representing the most important voting bloc in the near future. Bush has demonstrated an ability to reach out to Latinos, with friendly attitudes toward bi-lingual education, immigration, and religion, while all the Democrats have to offer is welfare and affirmative action, issues that alienate white people, including women.

Identity politics is a tightrope, and I doubt Pelosi has the acumen to walk it successfully.