FordAtkinson's Blog

Our American political history has been turned upside down with John McCain's selection of Alaska Governor Sarah Palin as his running mate.  On the heels of Barack Obama's historic nomination for president, McCain has now insured that either an African American or a woman will occupy one of the two top political offices in the United States. 

Like most of you, I know very little about Palin.  She's in her first term as governor and has five kids, one of whom was born just a  few months ago with Downs Syndrome.  Friends describe her as a "hockey mom."   Will she prove to be a solid vice presidential nominee who can hold her own against Obama's running mate Joe Biden?  I haven't a clue.

McCain jumped way, way outside the box when he chose Palin.  When the narrative of this campaign is written after election day, the decision may be seen as a master stroke or a major blunder.  Together McCain and Obama have turned the political process on its head. Our national politics may never the be same.  I like that.  What a country.

One of the most devisive political figures in recent American history was on a mission of unity Tuesday night in Denver.  When Hillary Clinton took the stage at the Democratic National Convention, her job was to encourage, actually demand, that her primary voters throw their support to Barack Obama in November.  Despite the gushings from some pundits who insist Clinton hit a home run with her speech, we really won't know how successful she was until November and beyond. 

Everyone knows Hillary simply can't afford to be blamed if Obama loses to John McCain.  Pundits who wondered whether she would play the good soldier or the bad loser Tuesday night need to be sent packing.  There was no way on earth Clinton was going to rain on Obama's parade.

Even so, as Hillary sought to rally the troops, she sent a clear signal that she should have been the one leading them.  The speech, a near masterpiece, was designed to fan the flames of regret among her supporters, particulary women.  Within her unity message was the caveat that somehow Hillary, and the Women's Movement, had been robbed of their moment by an undeserving upstart.

So, if Obama wins in November, Hillary will receive her share of the credit and, perhaps, a seat on the U.S. Supreme Court.  At the very least, her iconic place in American political history will be set in stone.  If Barack loses, the flames of ambition within her and her diehard supporters will burn even more intensely in 2012.  Does Hillary prefer the first or second scenario?  Let's put it this way.  I suspect Hillary, as a powerful player in the U.S. Senate, hopes to be engaged in battle over the next four years with a president named McCain.

My favorite storyline stemming from the Democratic Convention comes from.... Republicans.  Yeah, the Republican strategists who are attacking Barack Obama for dissing Hillary Clinton by not even considering her as his running mate.  John McCain is even airing an ad that tries to make voters feel sorry for Hillary!

Sure, I know, the GOP is hoping to lure Hillary's voters to their side.  It still cracks me up.  How about you?

Barack Obama's choice of Deleware Senator Joe Biden as his running mate was leaked very early Saturday morning.  The leak forced the much anticipated Obama text message naming his choice to be sent out just after 2:00 AM Houston time.  Phones chirpped to life, waking up people all over the country.  Let's face it, the announcement didn't exactly go like clockwork.

Obama surely hopes everything else over the next week goes off without a hitch.  Biden, 65, balances Obama in three areas:  age, foreign policy experience and ability to appeal to blue collar workers.  My guess is Biden will spend the majority of his time campaigning in Pennsylvania, Ohio and Michigan. 

What do you think of the ticket?  Will it turn off Hillary Clinton's loyal supporters, who still hoped she might be Obama's choice?

I talked to some Hillary Clinton delegates, all women, who say they're going to the Democratic Convention with heavy hearts.  Yes, they'll vote for Barack Obama in November.  But they're still reeling from Clinton's loss of the presidential nomination. 

I wouldn't suggest that some Clinton delegates will turn their backs on Obama and vote for John McCain.  Yet, it's clear a fair share of Hillary's diehards  haven't mustered much enthusiasm for Barack.  How much longer do you think it will take?  Will the Democratic Convention create the unity the party needs to win in November?

After weeks of negotiations with the Obama Campaign, Hillary Clinton has won a roll call vote for president at the Democrat's Denver convention.  That means Hillary will have her named placed into nomination, allowing her supporters one last chance to cheer.  Hillary and Bill Clinton will also get choice speaking times to share their views with the Democratic delegates.

The Obama folks hope by showing Hillary respect, they'll win over diehard Clinton supporters who still haven't warmed up  to Barack.  Will the Obama strategy work?   Is Obama showing too much deference to his vanquished rival?        

This must drive the mainstream media crazy.  Just a week after Barack Obama's hugely publicized foreign tour, two respected tracking polls show he's in a dead heat with John McCain.  Despite what Republicans considered over-the-top favorable coverage of the tour, the Rasmussen and Gallup tracking polls show the race is essentially tied.  Whatever bump Obama initially received from the coverage has flattened out, according to both polls.

It's another sign the mainstream media continues to lose influence with the American public.  Make no mistake about it.  The network anchors and the hundreds of other journalists who breathlessly reportedly Obama's every move assumed their coverage would help his campaign.  That doesn't mean every reporter is on the Barack bandwgon.  It does mean most figured it was inevitable that Obama would benefit from their unrelenting presence.

As recently as a decade ago, Obama would have received a much larger and longer lasting increase in his poll numbers.  But the power of the mainstream media has been diluted by cable tv, radio talk shows and the internet.  That, of course, is old news by now.  It just seems like it's taking the mainstreamers an awfully long time to catch on. 

When it comes to political coverage, whom do you believe?  Even if you detect a bias for Obama or McCain, do you believe the media is giving both a fair shake?

Love him or hate him, Ralph Nader has had a huge impact on this country.  He took on U.S. automakers back in the 1960's with a book that exposed Detroit's resistance to  safety features in American cars.  "Unsafe At Any Speed" was a landmark.  Nader practically invented modern-day consumerism.

It's kind of sad, however, that to anyone born after 1980, Nader may be perceived primarily as an oddball who thinks he should occupy the White House.  Nader brought the 2008 version of his presidential quest to Texas this weekend.  He was here, even though his name is not on the state's  November ballot.  During a Houston appearance, he complained bitterly that Texas makes it tougher than any other state for an independent candidate to get on the ballot.

It makes me wonder why Nader insists on campaigning every four years for a job he'll never win.  Is it ego?  Is anybody listening to him any more?

For months the GOP has been trying to figure out a way to effectively run against Barack Obama.  Now, at least one Republican thinks he's found a way... by campaigning against Hillary Clinton.

Say what?  Republican senator Orrin Hatch of Utah is sending out emails claiming Clinton would likely be Obama's first choice to fill a Supreme Court vacancy.  From the Republican's point of view, "Justice" Hillary is almost as unthinkable as "President" Hillary.  Hatch surely hopes the very thought that the former First Lady will wind up on the Supreme Court will drive Republicans to the polls in droves to vote against Obama.

Is Hatch on to something?  Can Republicans retain the White House by making Hillary's possible Supreme Court appointment a decisive issue?

If Bob Barr's name rings a bell, it's probably because he helped lead the impeachment of President Clinton a decade ago.  Back then, Barr was a Republican congressman from Georgia.  Now, he's running for president as the Libertarian Party's 2008 nominee. 

Like a growing number of former Republicans, Barr says he felt the GOP left him.  He told me Sunday afternoon the Republican Party has abandoned its conservative principles.  Of course, that's a common complaint among many current members of the party.  Barr insists those disaffected Republicans and blue collar Democrats are looking for an alternative to Barack Obama and John McCain. 

Barr held a fundraiser in Houston Sunday evening.  I can tell you by the turnout, he's going to be running his campaign on a shoestring.  Barr said he believes he can communicate his message without big money if he's included in the presidential debates this fall.  Are you ready for three-way presidential debates before the November election?  Should Barr be allowed to join Obama and McCain on the debate stage?

I absolutely can't stand the overuse of the words "genious" and "icon."  But neither seems adequate to describe Dr. Michael DeBakey.  It is absolutely impossible to overstate Dr. DeBakey's contributions to modern day medicine.  He revolutionized heart surgery, helped create "MASH" battlefield units, was instrumental in establishing the Harris County Medical District and the Texas Medical Center. The list of Debakey's accomplishments goes on and on.

I covered the great physician's memorial service in Houston Wednesday.  Mourners from every walk of life came by in droves to honor him.  Sure, they talked about his countless contributions.  Most, however, emphasized his compassion for patients, rich and poor.  One old friend of DeBakey's said he never charged a minister or teacher for the use of his life-saving talents.  He earned the reputation for being the best surgeon in his lifetime of 99 years.  Despite his enormous fame, however, he never forgot that his heart was in healing.

Archbishop Emeritus Joseph Fiorenza cut to the chase when he said if DeBakey hadn't lived, thousands of people walking around today would be dead.  Dr. Michael DeBakey's death is a loss to all mankind.  I really can't come up with superlatives to completely describe him.  So, I guess I'll just have to settle for "genious" and "icon," at least until I can think of something better.

I went to bed Tuesday night with the National League leading the American League 3-2 late in the MLB All-Star game.  As a National fan, I just didn't feel like staying up to watch what I KNEW would happen... the American League would come back to win.  I thought it was a sure thing.

Okay, I didn't think it would take 15 innings.  Even so, the AL's comeback 4-3 victory seemed pre-destined.  I don't believe it had anything to do with Yankee Stadium.  The game could have been played in any NL park and the result would have been the same.  Let's face it, the NL hasn't won a mid-summer classic in more than a decade.  Maybe it's in the stars... or in the heads of the National League players.

The bright side of another dark NL night, at least for Astros fans, was that Lance Berkman drove in a run and Miguel Tejada scored another.  That's two-thirds of the Nationals runs accounted for by our Houston guys.  Could it be a sign of good things to come in the second half?  Well, I wouldn't go that far, but maybe, just maybe.......

I'm astounded at the red meat Barack Obama threw his opponents when he told a town hall meeting "... you need to make sure your child can speak Spanish."  Wow, I'll wager that comment  will haunt him for the entire campaign.   The mainstream media may try to move on, but bloggers and the alternative media will have a field day for months to come.   Those working class, rural voters Obama needs in Pennsylvania and Ohio won't forget it either.

Sure, learning Spanish has obvious benefits.  It can enhance careers.  One of my daughters is determined to become fluent in the language, something I've encouraged.  Bilingualism is a gift that few Americans enjoy and that's unfortunate.  Even so, Obama's opponents say his comments sound a bit like he wants to be "Parent in Chief," to say nothing of the obvious implications related to the illegal immigration issue.  

Plus, Obama was absolutely wrong when he said of Spanish-speaking immigrants "... they'll learn English."  That's true for some, false for others.  Every reporter in Houston knows there are many immigrants from countries all over the world who have been here for many years  and have never learned English.  That sad fact is not good for them or  American society.

No question Obama's comment will outrage those who can't stomach any cultural diversity, whether it originates in Mexico, Asia, India or anywhere else.  But I suspect many reasonable people on both sides of the political spectrum will be troubled by the remark and the philosophy behind it.  Where do you stand?

When the Houston Police Department's Gary Gryder was runover by a motorist June 30th, he became the 70th Texas law enforcement officer to die in the line of duty since 2003.  I had no idea that many cops had been killed on the job until I attended a state senate committee hearing in Austin this week.  The Criminal Justice Committee is looking into ways of reducing the number of line of duty deaths.

The witnesses, mostly current or former cops, didn't provide any easy answers.  Police work, they testified, is just plain dangerous and there's no way to get around it.  One witness said better training might help, but that's not easy to legislate.

There is something that those of us who drive cars can do.  We can slow down and drive cautiously around construction sites.  Officers often provide security at those sites, 24 hours a day.  That's what Gary Gryder was doing when he was killed.  The driver who hit Gryder faces criminal charges.  However, I doubt that's much comfort to the late officer's wife and kids.