Post-Election Thoughts

Everyone else has already shared their thoughts on the 2016 Presidential election, so I thought I would write my own blog post. First, I hate the fact that I was right way back in March. Being correct so often is both a blessing and a curse.

As for Donald Trump becoming America's 45th President, I've already gone through the five stages of grief fairly quickly. I'm not happy with the results, and I have some serious concerns about the direction of our country, but I've accepted that Trump was elected based on our political process (meaning via the electoral college and not the popular vote).

- Arguably the worst outcome from Tuesday night/Wednesday morning is that Kellyanne Conway, Newt Gingrich, and Rudy Giuliani are not only not going away, but they will probably all have major roles in the Trump administration.

- I was extremely surprised that Donna Brazile went with the Nana from Candy Land look on Tuesday.

- Congratulations to the Republican Senators for "letting the American people pick" the next Supreme Court justice. The gamble of only having 8 justices over the past 9 months paid off as a conservative justice will now likely fill Antonin Scalia's seat. However, this sets a bad precedent. If Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Anthony Kennedy, or any other justice retires in 2020 or even mid to late-2019, the Democrats in Senate (assuming they earn a majority during the 2018 mid-term elections) could and probably should wait to approve a justice on the same grounds the Republican Senators used in 2016.

- Trump has campaigned for abolishing Obamacare. Now that he's President, can he just let 20+ million go without health insurance?

- Similarly, can he really just get rid of the entire Department of Education?

- I guess the biggest point is that Trump is used to getting his way as a CEO. While he may try to take some executive actions, it will be interesting to see how/if he can govern. He's going to have to work with Congress (though it will likely be an extremely friendly Congress at the start). He doesn't strike most people as an "in the weeds" policy guy.

- I'm an ABC guy. We watched that station growing up (I think my parents liked the local WTAE newscast and just kept the station on for Peter Jennings and company), and it's helped that fellow Ithaca College grad David Muir is now the #1 nightly news anchor. However, there were too many commercials on Tuesday night, so I ended up watching a lot of CNN. I couldn't stop watching John King and his map.

- I predict multiple occasions over the next 4 years of Congress over-riding vetoes. I believe that this happened only once during the Obama administration and that was over the right to sue foreign governments. (I could be wrong on this though.)

- Random question: When was the last time two candidates represented the same state? Both Clinton and Trump are registered New York voters, and I honestly don't know the last time both major candidates were from the same state.

- It appears that Chris Christie is leading Donald Trump's transition team. Is he even pretending to be governor of New Jersey anymore?

That's really all that I want to write today. I guess we'll see if Trump really wants to be the people's President (meaning all people). I'm trying to be optimistic.

What's The Point?

At Wednesday’s Congressional hearing, Larry Breuer, one of Roger Clemens’ attorneys, seemed pretty upset at how things were going and showed his displeasure by pointing at someone as pictured here.



So who was he pointing at? It couldn’t have been Giuliani since Rudy is a Yankees fan (I think).



Maybe they are both pointing at John Kerry was who is a Red Sox fan (I believe). Is that why John Kerry is ready to fight only to be held back by Barack Obama?



There is only one who can stop this senseless pointing!




I admit this was a pretty stupid post. I just saw the picture of Breuer pointing (courtesy of Jonathan Newton, The Washington Post) and wanted to share other pictures of people pointing. Have a nice weekend!

Really Random Thoughts

This is going to be all over the place so bear with me and enjoy:

* The starting line-up for Animal Planet’s Puppy Bowl IV has been announced. I hope Harry Kalas does not get Jack, Jack and Jackson confused. The always entertaining Puppy Bowl airs at 3 on Super Bowl Sunday and then replays at 6, 9 and midnight.

* I am getting very excited about the season debut of Lost tonight. Unfortunately, there’s a decent chance I may miss the episode since I’m flying to Dallas.

* Speaking of Dallas, I’m going to be there for five days and neither the Mavericks nor Stars have a home game. Since they share an arena, how is this possible?

* I hate admitting this but I have started watching Rock of Love 2 on VH1 (see the note below before clicking on the link). My favorite two “contestants” are Ambre and Kristy Jo. They seem the most real and the least “slutty” if either of these is possible on this ridiculous show. By the way, if you click on the show’s link above, which is PG-13 and may not be suitable for work, Bret Michaels looks almost as feminine as some of the cast members at least in the hair and face.

* Is it just me or does it seem that all of the current and former Republican presidential candidates have a strong dislike of Mitt Romney.

* After the New Hampshire primary, I wrote, “I am really intrigued by Rudy Giuliani’s strategy. He punted Iowa and New Hampshire and is hoping to win in the bigger states like Florida. It doesn’t seem like a very good strategy, but what do I know?” Apparently, I did know something! You can’t essentially sit out six states (well five if you don’t include Wyoming) and then show up part-way through. I’m guessing that no candidate will attempt Giuliani’s strategy in the near future. There may be candidates that enter the race late, but not those who enter but do minimal campaigning in the first few states.

* Interesting post and comments in The Washington Post about Bill Richardson and whether he’ll endorse Hillary Clinton or Barack Obama. I really like Richardson and if a Democrat wins the White House, he should be the Vice President or a member of the Cabinet.

Post New Hampshire Notes

I have some thoughts following Tuesday night’s New Hampshire primary.

I was really hoping that John McCain or Hillary Clinton started their victory speech by saying "Don't call it a comeback. I've been here for years."

When Mike Huckabee won in Iowa, Chuck Norris was on stage supporting his candidate. When John Edwards gave his concession speech after the polls closed in New Hampshire, James Denton of Desperate Housewives shared the stage supporting his candidate. Norris vs. Denton? Advantage Huckabee.

After Edwards’ speech, Keith Olbermann made awkward conversation by asking everyone at the MSNBC studio if they watch Desperate Housewives. Chris Matthews responded no, but that he likes Teri Hatcher. Thanks for that insight Chris.

Boo to John Edwards on several counts. First, he entered the room to “This is Our Country” by John Mellencamp. Find me a sports fan who likes this song after hearing it about 1,000 times in Chevy commercials over the past two years. In addition, Edwards gave a fairly depressing speech about people who have suffered since they do not have health care. Way to fire up your supporters!

Hillary Clinton also discussed serious issues during her speech, but somehow it came off better than Edwards’ speech. Of course, it helped by the excitement in the room. At one point she discussed children who "can't afford to go to college and pursue their dreams." This was followed by loud applause and cheering. Were these people even listening to the speech?

I continue to wait for one of the primary/caucus winners to end their speech by naming numerous states and finishing with "and then we're going to Washington, D.C., to take back the White House! Yeaararh!!!"

Fred Thompson seemed like a popular candidate when he was just an actor considering running for President. Four months later, he’s in New Hampshire receiving 1% of Republican primary votes. Is he waiting for the writers’ strike to end before returning to Law & Order?

I am really intrigued by Rudy Giuliani’s strategy. He punted Iowa and New Hampshire and is hoping to win in the bigger states like Florida. It doesn’t seem like a very good strategy, but what do I know?

Although we are a long way from the conventions, I would love to a convention where we don’t know who will win. When was the last time this happened? That would make excellent television, especially on the Republican side if there’s still a chance that Rudy Giuliani, John McCain, Mike Huckabee and Mitt Romney are all still vying for the nomination.

By the way, who came up with the ridiculous name Tsunami Tuesday? There was a traumatic tsunami that hit Indonesia only a few years ago? Is the name supposed to represent the tragedy of several candidates realizing that their dreams of becoming President are over? Let’s stick with Super Tuesday or even the Tuesday after Groundhog Day Tuesday.

How did I go through an entire presidential political entry without mentioned Barack Obama?