Stephanopulous asks “What will you restore to the office of the President of the United States?” None of the candidates, except for Ron Paul, really addresses the question: Tancredo: Islamic. Terrorism. Jihadism. No more political correctness. (Hey, that’s pretty bold!) Thompson: Islamic. Terrorism. Jihadism. No more political correctness. America is great. (Even bolder!) Brownback: All those children born out of wedlock—oh, … [Read More]

On the “fair tax”: Huckabee: Yes, it will end the underground economy. No more dope dealers, prostitutes, and Bad People in general. You’ve heard about the Great Society: this is the Vanilla Society…. Romney: No. Blither. Blather. Don’t I have a great hairdo? Giuliani: Intriguing, but he’s against it. We couldn’t make the transition. No IRS? Who will administer it? McCain: … [Read More]

Video question on the role of the Vice President. Should there be a constitutional amendment on the role of the VP? McCain: Jokes about the role of the VP being to ask, daily, about the health of the Prez. “There is only one President.” Tommy Thompson: Defends Cheney. Giuliani: Bush can use Cheney however he likes. Truman didn’t know about the … [Read More]

More on the Iowa follies: On Barack Obama’s plan to bomb and/or invade Pakistan: Giuliani is in favor, of course. Is there any crazed foreign policy “option” he wouldn’t take? Romney doesn’t want to talk to “our enemies”—but he would “keep our options quiet” in Pakistan. So, he agrees with Obama, but wouldn’t say so. George Stephanopoulos—debate host—puts up the “export … [Read More]

“I am going to be judged by History,” proclaims Mad John McCain at the Iowa debate, “not public opinion polls.” Translation: L’Etat, c’est moi. [Read More]

“I overslept,” writes Kathyrn Jean Lopez in National Review‘s “The Corner. “Almost forgot about the Republican debate. Woke up to Iowans cheering Ron Paul. Hit snooze.” Yes, Kathryn, go back to bed: you’ve been sleeping since the war began. Why wake up now?  [Read More]

When it comes from FOX News, of course. On Tuesday, July 31, FOX News published a transcript of Neil Cavuto’s “Common Sense.”  According to the transcript, Cavuto—supposedly a financial journalist—tried to claim that Apple had overpromised and underdelivered on its opening weekend of iPhone sales: “Lo and behold, we’re told 146,000 iPhones were activated in the day and a half between … [Read More]

For several years I’ve been arguing over the same point with my son and my colleague Wes McDonald. Both think that I’m too hard on Ann Coulter and Rush Limbaugh. They describe them as clever entertainers of the Right, whom I too would appreciate if I weren’t so damned “anti-Republican.” Because I’m soured on the GOP, I can’t perceive the wit … [Read More]

I hate to spoil the romance of the grape, but most wine estates once run by monks or noble families are now in the hands of corporate vintners with publicly traded shares, human resource departments, and 401k plans. The closest connection to aristocracy or the Church most wines now keep is a coat of arms on the label. However, a few … [Read More]

This is for us oldies. Remember when the summers lasted longer back then, when all men seemed to wear hats, and all women acted like ladies?  My best summer ever was 1952, when I came to New York from Blair Academy and my father informed me we were leaving for the south of France via ocean liner. I was 15 and … [Read More]