Debate Reaction

Here's my quick take on the debate Friday night. It's half of a "red and blue" discussion that I've posted on my company web site. I'll post the other "combatant's" comments when I get them.

Obama as Don Corleone

Another reason to love Barack. Asked his favorite movie, he says, "The Godfather." Then proceeds to do a quick imitation of Brando as Vito.


Watch CBS Videos Online

For the record, it wasn't a "caretaker" that came to see the Don, it was an undertaker.

I endorse his other movie picks, as well.

Quote of the Day

Regarding McCain's lies:

Despite having its claim exposed in nearly every media outlet, the McCain campaign continued to assert it anyway, day after day, dozens of times in all. It was as if Bill Clinton had persisted in his claim that he did not have sexual relations with that woman even after the appearance of the semen-stained dress.

Jonathan Chait, New Republic

Lisbon Treaty

This is a little outside the scope of this blog, but I would invite readers to look into events in Europe, specifically Ireland, regarding the Lisbon Treaty. Click here to learn more about it. It's a very consequential treaty that streamline the operations of the European Union. Regular readers of this blog will recall an earlier reference to the treaty from the visit we made to the home of one of the leaders of the "No" coalition.

Ireland's no vote shocked all of Europe and some feared it threatened the future of the EU. I have a good friend, a passionate Irishman, who strongly supports the treaty and was deeply disappointed, and to some degree embarrassed, by the vote.

I offer his pithy status report below:

re Lisbon - they will throw us a few crumbs. Declan and the IRA will declare victory and that they now feel they can support the treaty. We will vote Yes and then get back to being at the centre of Europe again. Just like the economy is now good for Obama, its good here too for Lisbon as we realise we cannot stand alone and that we are no longer as attractive to foreign investors because we are no longer the shining light of Europe - having shot ourselves in the foot ( as the Irish have been inclined to do for hundreds of years )

Kmiec's Account

Here is Douglas Kmiec powerful account of his experience of being denied communion for endorsing Obama. An impressive man. I do not understand how a priest devoted to a Church among whose primary teachings is the virtue of humility can be so arrogant.

Here are his "Catholic" reasons for supporting Obama:

Condemned for announcing to the world that I intended to vote for a man who I thought lived the Beatitudes. A black man; a caring man; a talented man. A man different from my conservative self and yet calling me to find the best of that self. A man who, in so many ways, asks to care for the least advantaged as he seeks the public responsibility to carry with him, as if it was his own burden the plight of the marginalized and unemployed worker, the uninsured, the widowed mother grieving over a son lost in Iraq. Their hurts, far worse than mine. It was wrong to be damned; to be excluded from the grace of the sacrament of the Lord Jesus Christ, and all I could think was the old Tolstoy folk wisdom "God knows the truth, but waits."

Character?

I usually like Dan Balz of the Washington Post. He seems like a straight ahead reporter without the ego of people like Dana Milbank. But he has a line in today's paper that is just shocking. In a piece mostly devoted to the problems that McCain confronts in the election he says:

As in the primaries, he has been reduced to basics, and they have served him well over the past two months. His best hope of winning is to make the campaign a test of character.

Has he not been paying attention? Can he still suggest that McCain possesses the superior "character" in this race? With all the deceit and hypocrisy pouring out of the McCain, how can he possibly run on "character?"

Come on!

Lies to Date

Here's a nice encapsulation of McCain's lies. Doesn't include the Palin lies, i.e. the Bridge to Nowhere, earmarks, etc. I expect there'll be an updated version. But it's worth watching all the way through.

The Way to Beat McCain

I just thought of a way to beat John McCain. Let's start a whispering campaign that he has an illegitimate black child. Can't miss. Would probably win us Mississippi. Kind of sleazy, but why not? I would be will be consistent with the kind of campaign he's running against Barack Obama and it just might work.

Oh wait....That's been done before.....by the people currently running McCain's campaign!

(note that the Globe article cited above was writing by campaign chair, Rick Davis. Wonder how he's getting along with Tucker Eskew?)

Douglas Kmiec - Catholic Obama Supporter

Douglas Kmiec was a familiar legal expert during the Clinton impeachment. He would argue the case in favor of impeachment and, as far as I was concerned, defend the indefensible. I considered him an unprincipled hack who would conjure up sophisticated legal rationales for anything and everything the Republicans chose to do on that and other issues. I frankly didn't know that he was also a prominent Catholic.

Now, I learn he has endorsed Obama and atributes his endorsement to his dedication to Catholic teaching. Of course, that forces me to totally re-evaluate my opinion of him. I now realize he is an honorable scholar.

It's times like these when I have to ask myself, am I the political hack?

Could it be????

Nah!

Here's his very persuasive answer on the question of abortion in a column by the Times Religion correspondent, Peter Steinfels:

Q. Given those views, why do you support Barack Obama?


A. There is a widespread misconception that overturning Roe is the only way to be pro-life. In fact, overturning Roe simply returns the matter to the states, which in their individual legislative determinations could then be entirely pro-abortion. I doubt that many of our non-legally-trained pro-life friends fully grasp the limited effect of overturning Roe.

Secondly, pundits like to toss about the notion that the future of Roe depends on one vote, the mythical fifth vote to overturn the decision. There are serious problems with this assumption: first, Republicans have failed to achieve reversal in the five previous times they asked the court for it; and second, it is far from certain that only one additional vote is needed to reverse the decision in light of the principles of stare decisis by which a decided case ought not to be disturbed. Only Justices Thomas and Scalia have written and joined dissenting opinions suggesting the appropriateness of overturning Roe.

So given those views, the better question is how could a Catholic not support Barack Obama?

Senator Obama’s articulated concerns with the payment of a living wage, access to health care, stabilizing the market for shelter, special attention to the needs of the disadvantaged and the importance of community are all part of the church’s social justice mission.

Applying this to the issue of abortion, the senator has repeatedly indicated that he is not pro-abortion, that he understands the serious moral question it presents, and, most significantly, that he wants to move us beyond the 35 years of acrimony that have done next to nothing to reduce the unwanted pregnancies that give rise to abortions.

Interestingly, Kmiec has been denied communion by at least one priest for his apostasy. He has become a hero of mine.

Fighting McCain

John McCain loves a good fight. He even loves a bad fight. Is that what we need in the White House? More fighting using other people's blood?

Good column in the Times today by Rachel Kleinfeld. Key quote:

Senator McCain’s temper, renowned in Washington, may occasionally be principled when he is speaking as one of 100 senators, but it’s dangerous in higher office. A man who enjoys fighting as much as John McCain does, who is combative in his personal relations within his own country, that is not a temperament we need in the Oval Office. He wanted Thursday’s speech to be about character — and Americans should pay attention to his. A reckless man is a danger in a volatile world.

What McCain is Really Thinking

I "Heart" Campbell Brown

This is the best interrogation of a McCainiac I've seen on Palin. She's relentless. Josh Marshall called it a "live vivisection"....and it was.

Palin

The selection of Sarah Palin as McCain's VP is the most depressing development I've seen in politics in a long, long time. I'm depressed, not as an Obama supporter, but as an American. The fact that this decision by McCain is not seen by every thinking person as a cynical, dangerous and hypocritical move by McCain just makes me very sad. I fear that it is further evidence of our ultimate decline as a country. Democracy reveals both the best and worst in a society. In this time of global crisis, a time that McCain call one of transcendant threat, the fact that the thought of "President Sarah Palin" doesn't terrify every thinking American is deeply, deeply depressing.

I though Richard Cohen got it right:

Probably the most depressing thing about Palin is not her selection but the defense of it. It has produced a parade of GOP spokesmen intent on spiking the needle on a polygraph. Looking right into the camera, they offer statement after statement that they hope the voters will swallow but that history will forget. The sum effect on the diligent news consumer is a feeling of consummate contempt for the intelligence of the American people -- a contempt that will be justified should Palin be the factor that makes McCain a winner in November.

The best example of an outright lie offered by a Republican in defense of Palin is Governor Pawlenty saying on NRP that the fact that she is a woman had nothing to do with her selection.

It's Biden

Note the date and time. I have not received the text message. Reliable sources tell me that Obama will announce my guy, Joe Biden, as his VP pick.
Woo hoo!!!

Love this YouTube Ad

Barak at 34

This video almost makes me cry. It's an interview with Barak Obama in 1995 about his book, Dreams of My Father. He's the same then as he is now, sincere, articulate and thoughtful. To think that McCain and his gang of bullies and no-nothings are having success caricaturing him just makes me sad. God help us. We'll get the president we deserve. I'd like to think we deserve Obama, but I'm not sure.

Spiritual Interlude

I supposed, given the purported purpose of this blog, I should occasionally include some spiritual content. This morning, I was listening to a podcast of the NPR program, Speaking of Faith. The guest was theologian Martin Marty. He was asked to name the most influential theologians of the 20th century. His first answer was Reinhold Niebuhr. The program then offered a reading of a quote from Niebuhr with which Marty concluded a speech he gave at the White House in 1998. Here it is:

"Nothing that is worth doing can be achieved in our lifetime; therefore, we must be saved by hope. Nothing which is true, or beautiful, or good, makes complete sense in any immediate context of history; therefore, we must be saved by faith. Nothing we do, however virtuous, could be accomplished alone; therefore, we must be saved by love. No virtuous act is quite as virtuous from the standpoint of our friend or foe as it is from our standpoint; therefore, we must be saved by the final form of love, which is forgiveness."

My New Favorite Quote of the Campaign

In the Libertarian Reason Magazine by David Weigel:

McCain's goading Obama to make this trip stands tall and proud as one of the dumbest blunders of the campaign. He couldn't have helped the Democrat more if he'd challenged him to a slam dunk contest.

Biden

Here's the interview that brought me over to the Biden for VP camp. I love his tough-minded approach.

Joe Biden for Vice President

Get over it!

Michael Kinsley takes the Clinton "dead-enders" apart with his usual incisive wit in this week's Time Magazine. Here are the consequences of their pique if it means the Democrats are split and McCain wins:

But there is no easy way these folks can vent their anger at Chris Matthews. So they are taking their revenge on people without health care, women who need abortions, and others who they (if they supported Hillary) must think will be harmed by a Republican victory in the fall. That'll show 'em.

Please, God, don't let us do it again.

John Templeton

One of my fascinations is the relationship between science and religion. I reject the view that the two approaches to knowledge are incompatible - or even contradictory. Billionaire John Templeton established a foundation to explore these issues. He died last week at age 95. There's a great post on Templeton on a Washington Post blog I just discovered called On Faith. Here's a revealing quote from Templeton. Humility is a truly lost quality in our current culture.

"I grew up as a Presbyterian," he told Business Week in 2005. "Presbyterians thought the Methodists were wrong. Catholics thought all Protestants were wrong. The Jews thought the Christians were wrong. So what I am financing is humility. I want people to realize you shouldn't think you know it all.

I wonder where he is right now?

McCain's Economic Team

Think about the previous post on McCain's management style. Now, factor in this insight from David Corn regarding Phil Gramm's "foot in mouth" moment and imagine the internal turmoil that we could expect in a McCain Administration.

So the joke runs deeper than McCain claiming that a man who literally speaks for him doesn't speak for him. It shows there's policy chaos in McCainland. After all, here's a campaign--led by a candidate who once said he didn't know much about the economy--that has one top economic adviser essentially blaming another top economic adviser for economic woes that the second top economic adviser won't acknowledge. Really makes one yearn for a McCain administration, doesn't it?

McCain's Management Style

I love this quote in a post about turmoil in the McCain campaign:

As the former McCain advisor puts it, 'McCain's style is, call everyone into a room, say you guys work it out, and then turn off the lights. And then throw in a knife.' The question going forward for Murphy -- or anyone, for that matter, who wants to run the McCain campaign -- seems to be whether he can grab that knife before somebody else does.

Scalia's Hypocrisy

E. J. Dionne is peerless in finding hypocrisy in our current Supreme Court. Here he focuses on the gun rights decision and nails the contradictions in "originalist" Scalia's ruling. Shameless.

But I also hope this decision opens people's eyes to the fact that judicial activism is now a habit of the right, not the left, and that "originalism" is too often a sophisticated cover for ideological decision-making by conservative judges.

Riverdance

As often happens when I blog while traveling, the trip ended before my blogging ended. So, I'll try to catch up quickly.

After traveling back from Galway, we re-entered the warm bosom of the Saunders household in Dublin on Saturday. John had arranged for us to see Riverdance that evening. He warned us that the best he could get were some "obstructed view" seats. Right. Turns out we were in the Presidential Box, right next to the stage. There was about 15% of the stage that we couldn't see, but the proximity was extraordinary, as you'll see from the following clip. It's a bit long and I had some "buffering issues" when I played it. But gives a good sense of the show.

As it happens, John and Jean Saunders are very close friends with the creators of Riverdance. The producer, Moya Doherty, worked with Jean many years ago and they've remained close. John's contribution to Riverdance was apparently his comment when the idea was presented to him, "Nobody's going to want to set for two hours watching Irish dancing." The rest, as they say, is history.

Here's the clip. The occasion clapping shadows are my wife, Rita, and daughter, Bridget.

Galway

This was our destination after crossing the Shannon, the home of Declan Ganley. I didn't mention his name in a previous post out of concerns for his privacy and security. Then Danny got into a discussion with a local florist in which he mentioned that he was staying with the Ganleys and the florist said, "Oh, they have a marvelous home." So, clearly, where they live is no big secret.

Declan made his fortune in the telecommunications business. He bought this home when he was 26 years old. As mentioned below, it was once owned by the singer, Donovan. Declan has gained recent fame through his leadership of the campaign in Ireland that succeeded in persuading the Irish voters to vote no in the recent referendum on the Lisbon Treaty.

He's a tremendous host, a brilliant reconteur and an all around great guy. The video below shows the house from the front and back. It also shows our bedroom (which also had Al Gore as a guest), as well as the "snooker room," where the men retired after dinner to discuss politics. Also shown is the indoor pool and both families (except for me) sitting at brunch.

It was a delightful and memorable visit.

Crossing the Shannon River on the Way to Galway

Rita's Relations

Rita's father's people are from County Kerry. We were told that she had relatives in a place called Kilgobnet. No one we spoke to had ever heard of the place. Fortunately, Google had, so we were able to place it generally, near Killorglan, the place where Puck Fair takes place. Rita's father's boat was named Puck Fair in honor of his ancestors.

Unfortunately, most of the people in Killorglin had never heard of Kilgobnet either. We ended up stopping at a private home and got directions that brought us close. We asked about three more people before we found the Kilgobnet Post Office. Here's Rita with the pictures that she'd been sharing with postal employees. They got us close. The last person we talked to turned out to be the next door neighbor of our target. The place she sent us to was a working dairy farm.

We went to the designated house and Rita knocked on the door. The woman who answered was Nora O'Shea and, after a moment of hesitation, greeted us warmly and invited us in.

It was a delightful visit. We had tea and, just as we were about to leave, her son, Cormac, showed up. He runs the farm and was equally gracious.

Here's a video of the great meeting.

In the Rain

In a previous, out of sequence post, I showed our visit to Torc Falls. Here's a bit of an "out-take" that really gives a sense of the rain as Danny and Bridget exit the frame dejectedly to get under an umbrella.

Ladies View in the Kerry Mountains

The Kerry Mountains

We stayed in a very nice B&B in Ballylicky, County Cork on Wednesday night. Good food, good accomodations. No Internet connection, depite promises on the web site. So, we enjoyed our stay and moved on a day earlier than we had planned. Our next stop was Killarney, which would take is through the mountains of County Kerry. We also made short stops in Kenmare and Skibbereen.

The weather alternated between light and torrential rains. While the weather limited the distance we could see, it did not limit the beauty. In fact, I kind of liked the ethereal mode of the mountains as we drive through Moll's Gap and stopped at Ladies View.



















Here we are braving the elements somewhere up in the mountains. That's Danny beneath the hood.

Tomoleague Friary

As we drove along the south coast of Ireland, we came across an old ruin of a 13th Century monastery, Timoleague Friary. It is now reduced to its exterior and interior walls. But it was clearly quite the structure in its day, overlooking the sea and countryside.

Bridget explored a number of "nooks and crannies," even climbing through some very narrow passage ways. She found what appeared to be a dungeon, but was probably just one of the monks' cells. You can see her through the bars.

The grounds are now covered with grave stones, both inside the structure and out. Some are as recent as the 1990's. The propery is now, in effect, a cemetary.

The Kidnapping

In an earlier post about John Saunders' house in Dublin where we are staying, I mentioned that the house was formerly owned by a businessman who was kidnapped by the IRA right outside his home. It was a dramatic event that got enormous news coverage at the time, twenty-five years ago.

As it happens, it was back in the news this week when the Provisional IRA man who was charged with the crime 10 years ago was acquitted of all charges. The Irish Times devoted an entire inside page to multiple stories on the incident. The Times requires a subscription to view the whole story, but here are excerpts:

Former IRA leader freed on Tidey kidnapping charges.
817 words
27 June 2008
Irish Times
4
English
(c) 2008, The Irish Times.

COURT REPORT:FORMER IRA leader Brendan McFarlane was yesterday cleared of the kidnap of former supermarket executive Don Tidey almost 25 years ago.

The Special Criminal Court discharged the former IRA leader after an application by his counsel, Hugh Hartnett SC, for a direction of acquittal. This followed a statement by prosecuting counsel Fergal Foley that the State was "offering no further evidence".

Earlier the court had ruled inadmissible an alleged admission by McFarlane to gardaí that he had been at the wood in Co Leitrim where Mr Tidey was held captive for 23 days in 1983.

Mr Justice Paul Butler, presiding at the non-jury court with Judge Alison Lindsay and Judge Cormac Dunne, said McFarlane retains the presumption of innocence.

The judge said that the court had heard evidence of "the horrendous kidnapping and physical abuse of Mr Tidey and his son and daughter", which resulted in the killing of a young soldier and an unarmed Garda recruit.

"Although almost a quarter of a century has passed, it is clear . . . from the evidence of Mr Tidey and the attendance in court of the families of the garda and solider that all have suffered greatly," he said.

Here's a description of the actual crime:

Don Tidey would have seen nothing unusual in a uniformed “garda” flagging him to stop at a “Garda roadblock” at the junction of Stocking Lane and Woodtown Way. However, the “gardaí” were in reality members of the Provisional IRA. Tidey tried a frantic reversal when he realised what was happening but to no avail.

A submachine gun was put to his head and he was bundled from his car. Susan and Alistair [his 13 year old daughter and 24 year old son] were pulled from the car by an armed man, also in a garda uniform and thrown by the roadside as the terrorists left with the father. The snatch was over in five minutes and involved five or six men.

In the immediate aftermath of the kidnapping, gardaí concentrated their efforts on the immediate

vicinity but quickly enlarged their search to parts of Kildare, Kerry, Roscommon and Mayo.

For almost all of his abduction, however, it appears that Tidey was held in woods near Ballinamore in Co Leitrim.

On November 27th, a ransom demand for £5 million sterling was telephoned to Associated British Foods offices in London. ABF and the government were totally opposed to paying.

However, the net was closing. From about December 13th in the Ballinamore area, about 1,000 soldiers and some 100 gardaí were manning roadblocks, scouring the countryside and doing house-to-house searches.

At about 2pm on December 16th, Garda recruits were crawling through dense undergrowth in a forest of young pine trees at Deradda Woods. They saw some plastic sheeting in a hollow. It stirred.

They moved back and called for assistance. Gunmen leapt up and began firing.

A hand grenade was thrown. Gardaí and soldiers swarmed forward. The gunmen fled. Don Tidey, his head covered by a balaclava, was freed, physically unharmed. But a young garda and a soldier had given their lives to save him.

Pte Patrick Kelly, a 35-year-old from Moate in Co Westmeath, was shot dead. He left a widow, Cathrina (31) and four young sons.

Gary Sheehan, aged 23, died with him. He was due to graduate from Templemore in 1984. He was the son of Det Garda Jim Sheehan, stationed not far away in Carrickmacross in Co Monaghan.

Gary Sheehan is remembered by each batch of recruits to pass through Training College in Templemore.

The best all-rounder receives the Gary Sheehan Memorial Medal.

In the coverage of he acquittal, there were also many accounts of the way things were in Ireland in 1983 when violence was common and there seemed no light at the end of the tunnel. We, in America, tend to forget the enormity of the change in Ireland. Throughout our trip, when people tell stories of more than ten years ago, there is always a reference to "the troubles," which permeated all of life in Ireland. While Ireland is heading into some rough waters now economically after a long boom, it is a blessing that the country will never go back to the way it was.

Torc Falls

OK, back to our chronological posts. This is our visit to Torc Falls on Wednesday just outside Killarney. The falls are spectacular. As you can see, we visited in a driving rainstorm, so we didn't have to deal with tourist crowds. And, fortunately, the B&B we checked into allowed us to use their clothes dryer. We were soaked to the bone.

Moy Hill

This is a little out of sequence, since I'm still posting from three days ago, but here's where we stayed last night. It's the home of an young Irish telecommunications entrepreneur, whose name I have to leave out for security reasons. He has enemies....seriously. We became friendly through our daughters, who were classmates in grammar school. Their house in Washington off Foxhall Road is the former home of Bishop Fulton Sheen. This is their house in Ireland. They invited us to come visit. A truly spectacular estate, once owned by the 60's rock star, Donovan.

This the main house. Many other building on the 90 acre property. A 2 mile driveway, a lake in front and sheep grazing on the lawn.

Family Connection

Here's Virginia Minihan's confirmation of the family connection between me and Jerry O'Donovan. The supercedes all other speculations on this blog:

We and Jerry O'Donovan have the same great, great grandparents...John O'Regan and ?? (female) (Driscoll) O'Regan . They had 3 girls 1. Mary Regan...our greatgrandmother...who had Margaret (maggie) O'Regan..later Singleton, our grandmother 2, Margaret O'Regan later McCarthy with no family and lived in Rossmore, Ballineen 3. Catherine O'Regan later O'Leary...Brother Richard's grandmother and Jerry O'Donovan's great grandmother. jerry O'Donovan's father, Jon O'Donovan were brothers. Catherine (O'Regan ) married Jeremiah O'Leary. One of their daughters, Catherine, married John O'Donovan who had 5 children, one being broher Richard, and one being John O'Donovan (Jerry's dad).

Glad we cleared that up.

Jerry and Peggy

Here's a video of Jerry and Peggy in their kitchen. It is confirmed that Jerry's great grandmother and my great grandmother were sisters. See next post.

Billy and Dan

Also from central casting, these two American tourists with their mobile devices, visiting Kinsale from Washington, DC.

Willie and John

Here are Willie Corrigan and John Cod, right out of central casting. They are a couple of laddies in Kinsale on holidy from County Whitlow.

Jerry and His Ponies

Here's the corral next to Jerry and Peggy's house with Jerry's ponies. Typically, Bridget was enchanted.

"They're so cute!"

I didn't get their names.

The O'Donovans

Our destination in Cork was the O'Donovans house, Jerry and Peggy. Many members of my family have visited Peggy and Jerry, as they are rumored to be distant relatives. I haven't been able to establish for certain whether the relationship exists, but it has become irrelevant. They are so welcoming and so many have dropped by, that we've stopped obsessing over the relationship. That said, if a relationship exists, it would be that my great grandmother is sister to Jerry's great grandmother. The evidence is that they had the same last name, Regan.

Here's their house. It is surrounded by beautiful gardens, with a fenced in yard on the left for Jerry's three ponies. "Just a hobby," he says. They also have two little terrier dogs. One played Toto in the local production of The Wizard of Oz and would have to be picked up every evening by cab to be ferried to his performance.

The house was full when we arrived with friends and family. And Peggy put out a massive spread of food.

Lots of laughter and catching up on the "family."

We also talked politics. They abhor Bush, so we obviously got on well politically. Ever time it was suggested that they visit us in the states, Jerry would say, in his thick Irish brogue, "After Bush is gone."

The also all voted no on the Lisbon treaty. It was fascinating listening to their reasoning, particularly after hearing the "pro" from most of my colleagues with Fleishman Hillard.

It was a warm vist and we've clearly made friends for life, whether or not they are family.

Driving in Ireland

We departed from Dublin on Tuesday morning in a car so generously offered by John and set off for Cork. One of our true lifesavers on this trip has been the GPS system in John's car. We'd have been literally lost without it. Sometime we were lost with it, but that's a longer story.

Despite all the warnings given to us about narrow Irish country roads, the road from Dublin to Cork is a standard divided highway where you can get up to a good speed. The limit is 100 kilometers per hour, which is 62 miles per hour. Of course, there's also the problem if driving on the left, which takes some getting used to, but not so much on a divided highway.

In any event, at one point, while passing another car and admittedly exceeding the speed limit...a bit, I heard a police siren. Oh God! At that same moment, the car behind me started flashing its lights. While it didn't look like a police car, I assumed it was an unmarked car. So, I began to slow down and look for a place to pull over. As I did so, I was rehearsing my speech to the police officer in my head. "I'm just visiting from the states. My first time driving in Ireland. I'm Boston Irish Catholic. I really hate the British. Etc., etc. etc."

My first inclination was to pull over to the right, but there was no shoulder, of course, since that's the passing lane. The shoulder is on the left. All the while I'm going slower and the car in back is flashing its lights more frantically. Once I got my bearings, I moved into the left lane heading for the correct shoulder. The car in back just zoomed past me, honking his horn as he passed and, I imagine, gesturing toward me.

As it turned out, the siren came from the GPS, which helpfully monitors your speed. The car behind me was flashing his lights to get me to either speed up or get out of the way. So, when I, in fact, slowed down, it apparently enraged him.

So, even among the even-tempered Irish, there is road rage.

Danny's First [legal] Beer

If Danny's follows the path of far too many Irish men, we'll know where it all began. Here he is with our host, John Saunders.

We visited Johnnie Fox's after our first day tour of the countryside outside of Dublin. It's a dusky old pub, established in 1798, full of old framed newspaper pages commemorating great events in Irish history. Sitting at the top of a hill outside of Dublin and fed by a narrow, curvy road, you wonder how its patrons, after many pints, were able to navigate their way home without incident. No doubt many didn't.

And, yes, the Guinness tastes much better in Ireland. Danny said, "Tastes like a milkshake."

Not a good sign.

We interrupt this program.....

Sadly, I have not been able to find an internet connection that allows me to upload pictures onto the site. I'll keep trying. So, check back if you want to see:

Danny's first legal beer
Bridget imprisoned in Timoleague Friary
The family looking at Torc waterfall in a driving rainstorm
Peggy O'Donovan's massive spread to great the distant cousins

And more...

The Merry Ploughboy

We wound up the evening at an Irish pub close to John's house called the Merry Ploughboy. The place was packed, even on a Monday night. The music was fun, with lots of audience participation. Then they brought on the Irish dancers, that were clearly influenced by the Riverdance phenomenon. Very athletic dancing and occasional ethereal mood music.

They also involved the audience in the dancing, even pulling our Bridget on stage for a performance.

Good Germans

Ireland was neutral during World War II. There is no way the people of Ireland could officially join their oppressors, the British, in their squabble with the Germans. Nevertheless, the government was supportive of the Allies. The people of Ireland, however, did show some sympathy for German soldiers, particularly pilots who crashed in the countryside. John took us to a very picturesque little cemetery for German soldiers from both World War I & II.

A Tour of the Countryside

John took is for an auto tour of the countryside. While his home is but 7 miles from Dublin center, we were in rural Ireland within minutes. Wide expanses of bog land and rolling hills. After many miles of climbing ever higher into the Hills, John pulled over to show us the most spectacular private residence I have ever seen or heard of. Looking over a cliff deep into a valley, there stood a magnificent country mansion, fronted by a vast expanse of green lawn leading to a mountain lake. The little specks on the lawn were wild deer grazing. And the sound was of an unseen rushing waterfall. The house is owned by an heir to the Guinness fortune. Unfortunately, it was impossible to capture this view in one picture, so here's three. You make out the mansion just over the grass with the roads leading to it in the first photo. The next picture shows the lawn leading to the lake. And, finally, the view of the whole lake. Nice crib, huh?

The View from Farnham Hill

Pictured is John Saunders, my wife Rita and my daughter Bridget. They are standing on a porch just off John's second floor bedroom. You can see the wrought iron fence opening to the property and just to the left of that, the little patch of white is the empty guardhouse. While the day is overcast and it doesn't show in the photo, you can see the city of Dublin over the top of the tree line. Just beyond the city, you can even see Dublin harbor.

Farnam Hill Revealed

Here's a view of John's home that doesn't nearly do it justice. The inside is spectacular, full of large windows that bathe the interior in light and, of course, green.

At Farnham Hill

Arrived at Farnham Hill, the home of John Saunders, Regional President for Continental Europe for Fleishman Hill. He has a beautiful home, very modern on an expanse of green, as befits its Irish location. I will post a picture once I get past some technical difficulties.

The house was previously owned by a British businessman who was kidnapped by the IRA only steps from the front gate. It turned into an international incident. And, while the businessman was eventually freed, two Irish police officers were killed in the rescue.

As a consequence of this history, there is a guardhouse at the gate and a very large security camera. These now lay dormant, relics of a previously violent time.

John, his wife Jean and his daughter Caroline are the warmest of hosts. They gave us some sustenance and sent us off to bed for a nap to recover from the trip across the ocean.

Off to Dublin in the green in the green...

Heading off to Ireland for our family "graduation celebration." My wife, Rita, Danny (just graduated from high school) and Bridget (just graduated from grammar school) are setting out for our second international family trip.

While I'm 100% Irish descent, I've never been to the Old Sod. I'm struggling with conflicting feelings. On the one I've listened my whole life to stories of Ireland. All the counties and even the towns have names that are very familiar. Ireland is built into both my DNA and my psyche.

On the other hand, I have no idea what to expect. We've had one foreign family trip to Florence, which was magical. On this trip, we will have the benefit of some friends and family who will help guide us along. So, while it does not seem quite the adventure of previous foreign trips, I still feel like we are entering the unknown. I hope to be able to post comments, pictures and even videos throughout the week. So, feel free to check back.

Barack on Fatherhood

The man is amazing. He continues to impress and move me. His sermon on father's yesterday was remarkable.

Here's a passage I really liked:

I say this knowing that I have been an imperfect father – knowing that I have made mistakes and will continue to make more; wishing that I could be home for my girls and my wife more than I am right now. I say this knowing all of these things because even as we are imperfect, even as we face difficult circumstances, there are still certain lessons we must strive to live and learn as fathers – whether we are black or white; rich or poor; from the South Side or the wealthiest suburb.

What impresses me most about him is his humility. But I've struggled to identify that humility, because he's clearly got an ego and he knows how smart he is. But I think I've finally figured out the kind of humility that so impresses me, it's his moral humility. He's always acknowledging his own "imperfections." I believe that's genuine. He knows he's smarter than most people and he knows he is one of the great communicators of our time. But he doesn't believe that makes him a better human being.

Here's the whole speech:

Campaign Panel - Live blog (part 13)

Bloomberg running as an independent?

Kantor - What a noxious concept!! Only in New York would anybody consider Bloomberg a viable candidate. He agrees with Obama on 90% He has no running room.

Margolis - people are fed up with party labels. It drives a lot of what Obama is doing. We've brought a million new people into the process and we couldn't have won without them. These are people who want to change the game.

Campaign Panel - Live blog (part 12)

question from audience:

Where do I get a refund for a contribution for the Guiliani campaign?

Sandlin - That's called a "stupidity tax."

Well, there's a lot of stupid people in this room.

Campaign Panel - Live blog (part 11)

Question from the audience:

Who will be McCain's VP?

Kondracke - won't be Lieberman. He's pro-choice, the right wing would go bananas. I think he should offer it to Colin Powell. If he takes it, he wins. But he even gets credit for asking. Could be former Rep. Rob Portman (R-OH).

Campaign Panel - Live blog (part 10)

Mahoney - I believe that Obama governs from the center he will establish a Democratic governing majority for a generation. But nothing in his past suggests he'll do it. I've talked to Republicans who say you can deal with Obama, but he's been constrained by his party. But he has a great opportunity.

Campaign Panel - Live blog (part 9)

What about our business? PR used to be the "canary in the mineshaft?" We feel the recession before it comes because PR budgets get cut early. Doesn't seem to be happening this time. Are we in a recession?

Talent - I think so. But the public dissatisfaction is based, not on personal situations, but rather a fear of the future, the direction we're going in and the unresponsiveness in Washington.

Back to the new media, I think it's great, a new vibrant marketplace of ideas.

Country's problems transcend politics, energy, entitlement programs, baby boom retirement, post cold war foreign policy. Lot's of big things. They have to be solved on a bipartisan basis. Would a President Obama enlist Republicans, even if he didn't have to?

Sandlin - This new bi-partisan from Republicans comes now after they've lost the House, lost the Senate and are about to lose the Presidency. That's not how they governed when they were in charge. They didn't want Democratic votes.

This is going to be a personal election. People want someone like Obama who says "I'm going listen to you and try to solve your problems."

Campaign Panel - Live blog (part 8)

What is the impact of new media?

Kondracke - I grew up in the fifties and I don't recognize campaigns today. As a journalist, I would file twice a day. Now, reporters have to file all the time, for the paper, for the web site. It is constant. When do they have time to do reporting? As a consumer, you can't keep up with it.

My favorite site is Real Clear Politics. Can't even keep up with that!

Readership of newpapers is collapsing. Kids don't even watch TV, they get everything on the Internet.

Media creates a new consciousness and I don't know what effect this is having. People are only going to places to find info they agree with. What impact is that going to have?

Obama claims he's going to bring people together. He's never done that in the U.S. Congress...ever. My guess is that he won't have to. The Democratic wave is so great, he will work with the new enlarged Democratic majority to pass a liberal agenda and will lose his mandate.

Campaign Panel - Live blog

McCain VP?

Mahoney - Don't be surprised if it's a Democrat. Lieberman.

Kondracke - Rush Limbaugh will commit hari kari.

Campaign Panel - Live blog

Who would be McCain's VP? To Kieran Mahoney:

I'd love Mel Martinez, could offset Obama demographically. But probably ineligible.

But Mahoney wants to talk broader. Amazing energy in the Democratic Party. Will pick up seats that would otherwise not be able to win.

It will come down to "who represents the center in the electorate?" The fact that Democrats have all these advantages and its a one point race at the presidential level says a lot.

If you nominate a liberal, it's hard to run to the center and win. The last one who did was Harry Truman.

Sixty percent of the public wants small government and for everyone to get along. Change in government generally reflect the will of the American public.

The middle of the electorate is the dominant factor.

Campaign Panel - Live blog

Paul asks Jim what Obama is really like?

Jim says he is singularly the most impressive candidate I've ever worked with. I'm more passionate about him today that I was a year ago when I joined his campaign. He is brilliant. Prof. Larry Tribe said, "In my thirty years teaching at Harvard Law, this is the smartest guy I've ever taught."

What do you want in a president? Someone who listens, someone who is brilliant and a steadiness. Obama has that and you get all this bonus stuff, he inspires.

Campaign Panel - Live blog

The split in the Democratic party is wildly exaggerated. It's the Reagan Democrats that Obama has to concentrate on winning. Still the Democrats have huge advantates. But the presidential vote is the most personal any ever casts. Obama has to work to make voters comfortable with him. I believe he can do that.

Campaign Panel - Live blog

Kondracke gives the two schools of thought within the Clinton campaign. 1) fight to the end; 2) go out gracefully.

Points to polls showing she's stronger against McCain. Cites Karl Rove's analysis of all polls that suggest she's ahead in states representing 251 electoral votes. With Obama, McCain gets 240.

Paul asks Mickey what he thinks. "It's up to Hillary Clinton." He says it takes 96 hours to really absorb a situation like Clinton is in. Watch the weekend.

Campaign Panel - Live blog

Paul asks for a show of hands voting for the most effective of the three ads. No votes for McCain, four or five for Clinton, overwhelming majority for Obama.

Campaign Panel - Live blog

Talent agrees generally with Sandlin. "Let's talk about what we know."

American people are dissatisfied. Identify Republicans with the problems, but don't necessarily like Democrats. Double digit gap of people who say they would rather have Democrats win. Republicans are not doing the "blocking and tackling" necessary to diminish their disadvantages.

Republicans will be on defense, protecting incumbents.

Campaign Panel - Live blog

The panel begins. Introductions all around. Sandlin and Talent set the stage on the campaign, focusing on congressional races.

Kantor corrects Paul's introduction of him as "vice chair" of the Clinton campaign. "At my age, they don't give you a title. They're worried that, if you die, they'll have to come to the funeral."

Sandlin starts off. Predicts higher margins in both the House and Senate for Democrats. Points to the Democrats winning special elections for Republican Speaker Hastert's seat in Illinois and Rep. Baker's seat in Louisiana. Forcasts a pickup for Democrats of about 18 seats in the House. Also, predicts more Dems in the Senate, but not enough to get to the magic number of 60 seats that would allow Dems to block fillibusters.

Also says there will be great uncertainty and "more government."

Campaign Panel

I'm sitting right now next to Mickey Kantor. He's a bundle of energy. Talk about a multi-tasker. He's got someone on hold on his cell phone, while he's emailing off his blackberry, while he's carrying on a conversation with Jim Talent. A whirling dervish.

The panel begins with campaign commercials from each of the campaigns. All positive stuff. Hillary starts off "I will stand for you every day in the White House."

McCain, emotional ad with background video of the POW scenes. "John McCain, the American president Americans are waiting for."

Obama, clips from his speech to the Democratic convention. "America, our moment is now!"

Campaign Panel - In the Green Room

Fascinating discussion in the green room. Mickey Kantor and Jim Margolis deep in mumbled conversation, presumably negotiating the terms of the end of the Democratic primary.

Lots of war stories about past campaigns. It's interesting to listen to the conversation with hardcore politicos get together. It's very convivial, despite profound philosophical difference, there is enormous mutual respect and even affection. It's real community.

Live Blogging a Panel on Campaign 2008

Today, I will be live blogging a panel on Campaign 2008 being held at the Council on Foriegn Relations in New York. Paul Johnson, Vice Chairman of Fleishman Hillard will be moderating the event whose participants will include, Mickey Kantor, Vice Chair of the Clinton Campaign, Jim Margolis of GMMB, a chief strategist for the Obama campaign and Kieran Mahoney, principle of Mercury Public Affairs which consults for the McCain Campaign. Also on the panel will be former Senator Jim Talent (R-MO) and former Representative Max Sandlin (D-TX).

The panel will commence sometime afternoon, so be sure to check back then to get real-time posts.

It promises to be a lively event.

Basketball Jones

What Really Happened in Tuzla

My Son's Basketball Game

A little video clip of my son's tournament basketball game last night. Danny's number is 24. He get's his temper from his old man.

View from my Hotel

In the video post below, I refer to the view from my hotel room in Hong Kong. For the curious, here it is:

On Japanese Politics

My impressions of Japanese politics after a series of meetings in Tokyo with Japanese legislators from both the ruling Liberal Democratic Party and the Democratic Party of Japan.

From Tokyo

I had a nice dinner with colleagues from the FH Tokyo office. Delightful evening. Went to an "out of the way" little restaurant that is the favorite of our general manager, Shin Tanaka (seated next to me). Stick to your ribs, homemade Japanese food, many courses.

The work ethic here is astounding. The two men pictured below at the ends (Hiro on left and Ko on the right), left the dinner at 10 pm, went back to the office and worked all night, rejoining us for meetings the next morning. Explains why I didn't get much sympathy over my whining about my jet lag and restless sleep.

View from my window - Tokyo

Here's the view from my hotel room in Tokyo. The wooded area is the Imperial Gardens.

Reasonably pleasant flight, but my body clock is all screwed up. Landed at 3:30 pm, got to the hotel and 5 and dinnner at 7.

Tomorrow, Beijing.

She's done and she knows it

All the Hillary haters that I know are convinced that she will refuse to concede defeat in the primary until, to coin a phrase used by her husband, "the last dog dies." I am convinced otherwise. She simply cannnot win enough delegates to beat Obama in pledged delegates won in the primaries and caucuses. And, if she tries to steal the nomination with superdelegates and/or the "ghost delegates" from Michigan and Florida, she will wreck the party, ensure our defeat in November and permanently alienate the new voters that Barack as attracted. She may be ambitious, but she's not that stupid or destructive.

Today's Washington Post has a story that, I believe, conclusive demonstrates that both she and her campaign are fully aware that they are about to lose. It only remains to find a respectable way out. If you weren't convinced by her gracious gesture at the end of the Texas debate, read this Post story, will multiple leaks from inside the campaign.

It's over.

Obama and "Substance"

Rick Pearstein had an excellent piece in yesterday's Washington Post debunking the accusation that Obama is all style and no substance.

Check it out.

No We Can't

Obama at UMD

I went to the Obama rally at the University of Maryland today. It's become so commonplace to expect thousands and thousands of people at his rallies that we sometimes forget how remarkable it is. The Comcast Arena was packed, 20,000 people, after waiting for hours on the coldest day of the year, so far.

He rocked the house.

Here are some scenes.

Colin Powell for Obama?

Could be.

Delegate Count

Here's where we're at. I'm sensing panic in the Clinton campaign.

We're Doomed

The New York Times has a devastating front page expose' that is going to destroy Obama. It seems he exaggerated the extent of his cocaine use as a youth. In his book, Dreams From My Father," he claimed that he used drugs, including cocaine in his early 20's. The headline says it all:

Friends Say Drugs Played Only Bit Part for Obama

Highlighting a serious contradiction from what Obama says in his book, the article reveals,

"Mr. Obama’s account of his younger self and drugs, though, significantly differs from the recollections of others who do not recall his drug use."

Oh crap! It's over. Wait until Rush (someone who knows about lying about drug use) and Drudge get a hold of this.

On a more serious note, I have not read Obama's book, but I have to say this passage describing Obama's account of his involvement in a campaign to promote divestiture from South Africa takes my breath away:

In his book, Mr. Obama said that his role in the divestment push started as kind of a lark, “part of the radical pose my friends and I sought to maintain.”

The self-awareness required to admit this motive, and to reveal it to the world, is extraordinary in any human being. Most of us who get involved in "good causes" congratulate ourselves on how morally superior we are. We don't spend a lot of time examining our own motives, particularly when such examination might find our motives something less than pure. Now, consider that idea of a politician admitting as much. Yes, I know the book was written a long time ago. Still, this quote reflects an honesty and depth that is truly remarkable.

The more I learn about this man, the more fervantly I believe his - and our - time has come. He is the perfect antidote to Bush.

Funniest YouTube I've Seen in a While

The Civil War in 4 Minutes

We interrupt this campaign hand-wringing to present the coolest video on the Civil War I've seen.

Ouch

This really hurts. Takes me back to 2004, lulled by faulty polls. I remain a passionate Obama supporter. I sent him another contribution as soon as I got out of bed this morning at 5 am in Manchester. There's nothing like three days trudging through the snow trying to persuade strangers to vote for your candidate as a means of increasing your commitment.

I rationalize that a primary struggle will make him a better candidate in the Fall. But I still would much rather have put it away in NH. I had a foreboding listening to the media burying Clinton over the last couple of days. I suppose it's also a good thing that the people of New Hampshire would not let the media talking heads railroad them into a pre-ordained result.

Still....

Sigh.

Dragging Out the Vote

I just came in from my second round of canvassing. My teammate is a young woman from St. Olaf College in Minnesota. She is, as my mother might say, "a little slip of a thing." But a very hard worker. We've got about 64 confirmed Obama households that we have to go back to, again and again, until we can confirm that they have voted. We put doorhangers on their doors between 5 and 7 am this morning. Then we went around again to actually knock on their doors. A good visit is one where the person on our list has voted because it means we don't have to go back. My most disheartening visit went like this:

"Hello, I'm Bill Black from the Obama campaign and we're visiting supporters to make sure they have voted. Have you voted today?"

"Oh yes, I voted this morning and I voted for Obama."

"Great, good job. Thank you!"

As I turned to go, thrilled to be crossing this house off my list, the woman said, "But I don't live here."

"D'OH!!!"

Obama Speaks

When I first arrived in New Hampshire, I called a reporter friend who tipped me off to an Obama rally not too far from the airport at Nashua North High School. So, I thought I'd get a dose of "Hope" before going to work.

Approaching the event was like arriving at Woodstock. As I got close there were more and more people walking toward the school as if on a pilgrimmage. Cars were parked everwhere, on snowbanks, sidewalks, etc. I got pretty close, but then encountered a huge line leading into the school. I despaired of getting in, but, while the main gym was full a half an hour before the event, they opened a overflow gym and piped in the sound. Then, the line moved quickly.

While I didn't see his main speech, he clearly had the house rockin'. Reports indicate that he had 2,000 people in the main gym. The overflow was about 1,000. At the end of his speech, he came into the overflow area for a brief greeting. As it happened, I got closer to him in the overflow than I ever would have at the main event.

Here are some video clips I took:

As goes Litchfield...

My team is working the town of Litchfield, about 10 miles outside of Manchester. In many ways, it is quintessential New Hampshire. A large number of "Undeclared, i.e. Independdent" voters who have voted Republican in the past, but more Democratic in recent years. It's a testament to the number of volunteers that Obama has that he can even send people to a town like this. Very little activity by the other candidate. We are a group of about 10 fanning out every day. None of our group had seen evidence of the other campaigns(some have been here for a week). Yesterday, there was some Clinton literature spotted and we did finally see one lonely Romney canvasser. He told us he envied the fact that we were canvassing with cars. He was apparently dropped in the morning and left to fend for himself.

The reception I got from my doorknocking varied. A good number of "not homes." Most people are polite, to varying degrees. "Thank you, but I haven't made up my mind yet." The smallest number are either terribly rude or thrilled to see me.

My two favorite rude comments were as follows:

"I would vote for my dog, before I'd vote for a Democrat!" Seems in the North, we have yellow dog Republicans.

To my question, any chance you'll vote for Obama? "Not a f(*&(^en chance in Hell!"

Fortunately, those comments were few. An most of the canvassers detected a shift toward Obama over the last few days. Many undecideds coming our way. This is totally unscientific, but, we'll be watching the returns from Litchfield closely.

Ron Paul, Save Us All!

The Ron Paul volunteers are the comedy relief of this campaign. They are a bunch of happy warriors who do nothing but demonstrate in support of their candidate. They all seem to be having a blast. Last night they assembled outside a storefront where Fox News was holding a focus group for the debate they hosted, a debate where Paul was disinvited. The chanted the entire night, "Ron Paul, save us all!" shouting this into the storefront. I can't imagine the focus group was able to function.

They also commandeered the intersection near the Renassaince hotel, which is the media center for the campaign. Here's some video of these wild and crazy guys and gals.

Gotta love'm.

In New Hampshire for Obama

I am in New Hampshire campaigning for Barack Obama. Not a whole lot of time to blog, but I will try to provide some dispatches when I can. My job is door to door canvasing, talking to voters, recording their preferences and make the case for Obama if they invite a converstion. You really get a sense of how people think. If all politics is local, this politics at its more pure. The way it's been done for time immemorial, face to face persuasion, probably like the Greeks did it at the dawn of small "d" democracy around 300 BC.

I hate it. Deeply.

I do it because every election I regret not having gone to New Hampshire. This time I decided to do it. And I really do beleive that Obama is a once in a generation candidate.

So, I was sent out to a somewhat rural suburb of Manchester. Didn't get started until about 5 pm. It was pitch dark, there was about 2 feet of snow on the ground and these houses are all on acre lots. So, you feel like you're the only person in the universe as you walk these deserted roads.

At the first house I visited, after steeling myself for 20 minutes, the woman came to the door visibly upset. I started my schpiel, "I'm Bill Black, a volunteer for Barack Obama, are you going to vote on Tuesday?" Recognizing her distress, I asked if she was OK? She blurted out that, "I just learned that my husband is in the Intensive Care Unit!" I immediately recoiled and assured her that that was way more important than the election and started to make my exit. But she insisted on talking about Obama, saying she thought he was a nice man, but thought maybe he'd be more appropriate as vice president.

I said, "No, no, he's ready to go, very impressive guy. I just saw him this morning. He's amazing. I think he's thte best man running, by far!"

She said, "Really? Do you really think so?"

I said, "Do you think I'd be out here in the middle of nowhere on this cold, dark, snowy night if I didn't think so?"

She said, "Good, good. I'll consider him."

I resisted the temptation to offer an absentee ballot for her husband in case he doesn't make it to Tuesday.

My Mother's 85th Birthday

The old girl's still got it!