A Tale of Two Endorsements

"I know that it is unusual for someone who is not a Republican to endorse a Republican candidate for President. And if this were an ordinary time and an ordinary election, I probably would not be here today. But this is no ordinary time. When others were silent, and it was thought politically unpopular, John had the courage and common sense to sound the alarm about the mistakes we were making in Iraq and to call for more troops and a new strategy there. And when others wavered, when others wanted to retreat from the field of battle, John had the courage and common sense to stand against the tide of public opinion and support the surge in Iraq, where we are at last winning."

The speaker was Senator Joe Lieberman, I-CT, and he was endorsing Senator John McCain for the Presidential nomination. They appeared together at a VFW hall in Hillsborough, N.H. yesterday. McCain said Lieberman "understands why we must succeed in Iraq and in the broader war against radical Islamic extremism." That according to the AP write up.

So, the usual downplaying of Liberman's remarks began within the mainstream media. Support the war efforts? You must be a conservative. ABC's Kate Snow referred to Lieberman as a 'conservative democrat'.

This is truly an odd characterization of Senator Lieberman. Don't get me wrong - his stance on the war on terror and the war in Iraq is one I wholeheartedly support. However, Senator Lieberman is far from a conservative. Except for foreign policy, he is one who voted with the Americans for Democratic Action's agenda 75 percent of the time, according to their 2006 records. Other than the issue of choice for women, I probably disagree with Senator Lieberman on all the other big issues domestically. But, for national security he has it right.

See, Senator Liberman puts country before party. This is something sorely needed in this day of Islamofascism. Those ready to behead infidels and blow up school buses and shopping malls don't care if you are a Republican or a Democrat. They think you are an infidel and that's all they need to think about you.

With this endorsement, Lieberman doesn't insult or poke any other candidate, of either party. He simply did an honest endorsement.

Contrast that with the endorsement yesterday of Hillary from former Senator Bob Kerrey. Kerrey, you'll remember, is a former governor of the state of Nebraska and then the state's Senator in D.C. for several terms before leaving in 2001 to be the President of The New School in NYC. He's also a member of the 9/11 Commission. Yesterday, Kerrey used the same type of tactics that Hillary's pollster/campaign minion Mark Penn used against Barack Obama. Penn kept Obama's previous youthful drug use in the public dialogue for several days, even while supposedly apologizing for the bone headed remarks.

Kerrey went on after the actual endorsement part of the news conference to say "The fact that he's African American is a big deal. I do expect and hope that Hillary is the nominee of the party. But I hope he's used in some way. If he happens to be the nominee of the party and ends up being president, I think his capacity to influence in a positive way without spending a penny the behavior of a lot of underperforming black youth today is very important, and he's the only one who can reach them." "It's probably not something that appeals to him, but I like the fact that his name is Barack Hussein Obama, and that his father was a Muslim and that his paternal grandmother is a Muslim. There's a billion people on the planet that are Muslims and I think that experience is a big deal." "He's got a whale of a lot more intellectual talent than I've got as well." True enough, that part.

So, he soothes his liberal white guilt by recognizing Obama is a black man. Then he points out with repeated words that Obama's middle name is Hussein, that his father and grandmother were Muslims and that there are 'a billion' Muslims on the planet. Wow. Can he be any more condescending and abrasive at the same time? No surprise that this backhanded jab is meant to deepen a wedge that potential voters may feel towards Obama as far as any association with the Muslim faith goes. Obama is now a member of a Christian church in Illinois and Kerrey is fully aware of that. Kerrey is not a stupid man or a political neophyte. He knew exactly what image he was creating. Shame on him.

Kerrey is also the man who said of former President Clinton during a 9/11 Commission meeting that Clinton is an "unusually good liar". "Unusually good." So, let's get him right back in the White House, ok?

And, today, Hillary and Bill are posing on the campaign trail with Magic Johnson. Keeping the black cred going for Hill.

And, finally, if Hillary is so experienced and strong on her own, why is Bill campaigning so hard and so stupidly? He's making mistakes he never made before. Today he said he'd go around the world with George H.W. Bush when Hill is President to repair all the alleged damage the current Bush has done to America's reputation in the world. Problem is, it was all a lie. Shocking, I know. And, I guess he didn't count on the former President Bush immediately issuing a statement saying no such plan had ever been discussed with him and he had no desire to do that. He said he was pleased with America's position in the world and with how his son's administration was doing. What did Clinton think he would say?

Wonder if he pointed that bony finger at the audience as he told that whopper.

I think it's clear that Lieberman's was the endorsement style of dignity. That's something the political world could use a lot of, too.