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Huckabee
Of all the storylines in the Presidential primaries thus far, the surge - and resultant smackdown by his party's elite - of Mike Huckabee fascinates me most. Though Huckabee appears to lead in several early, important states, to read the columns and blogs of the GOP elite, most notably the National Review Online, you'd think Mike Huckabee is the biggest country bumpkin ever to be elected to public office.
I think this is the most concrete example of how the GOP is in the midst of a civil war. For some time now, the party's candidates have pandered to Southern and Midwestern evangelicals on social issues every four years, collected their votes in droves, and then neglected their desires as they continued to cut taxes on the highest income brackets and awarded no-bid contracts to cronies in Halliburton and Blackwater. Once upon a time, the GOP was the party of Main Street conservatives (think Bob Dole), but in recent years it's become clear that the GOP is the party of Wall Street. I don't think there's anything necessarily evil about this, mind you, but I know it has been frustrating to many in the South and Midwest who haven't gotten what they've been promised after all these years. After a while, many people have concluded that the way to solve every social and political issue isn't to cut the capital gains tax again, no matter what Robert Novak may think.
But now Huckabee has come along, an incredibly likable guy who largely walks the walk and talks the talk on populist issues for the GOP faithful. But he has suggested that "a person's worth is not measured by their checking account" - and the GOP elite is not standing for it. Huckabee is the most articulate and consistent social conservative running, but many in the GOP elite are tearing him apart and supporting an individual to the left of any leading Democrat on social issues (Giuliani) or a flip-flopping Massachusetts robotic candidate who will say or do anything to be elected (Romney). But Romney and Giuliani are Wall Street's picks, and that influence is manifesting itself in fairly overt ways as the Huckabee thrashing amongst the GOP elite continues. I'll concede that Huckabee isn't up to snuff on international affairs, but that didn't stop the GOP from nominating GWB in 2000, and his fair tax proposal that has drawn so much ire among many in the GOP isn't that different from tax plans suggested by former GOP presidential candidates (ie, Steve Forbes in 1996) that have traditionally drawn support from the party's libertarian wing.
Many people correctly believe that there's a bi-coastal elitism in our country, a prejudice that sneers at most folks from the middle of the country. And in the red state/blue state conversations of the past 7 years, many have felt that this elitism runs along party lines. I would suggest, however, that bi-coastal elitism is a bipartisan proposition, and most members of the RNC elite are just as guilty of this prejudice as are those in the Democratic parties of New England and California. And if you don't believe me, just watch what is about to happen to Mike Huckabee, as the Republican Party once more turns its back on its southern, evangelical, populist base.
4 Out of 5
Happy holidays from St. Louis. We've now made it to four of our five overnight stops on this year's whirlwind tour (Murfreesboro, TN; Athens, AL; Olathe, KS; Maryland Heights, MO). So far the only weather-related issues we've faced in our travels was a 2-3 inch snowfall in Kansas City, so we've been pretty lucky on that front. A few notes about the trip thus far:
1. Seeing the Grand Ole Opry at the Ryman was a lot of fun. The demographics of the crowd were Prairie Home Companionish, though unlike PHC, whose crowd more resembled an ALA conference, the Opry's crowd seemed more like a gathering of the Southern Baptist Convention. Not that I know a lick about the SBC.
2. My folks gave me (among other things) this - and I cannot remember enjoying a book as much. I especially loved the part about Bama Bangs. I've often intuited that men from Alabama tend to look the same, and Clay Travis has given me the words with which to articulate this opinion.
3. There is no more chaotic scene in the United States than a Build-A-Bear Workshop in a suburban Midwestern mall after Christmas. Even my mother-in-law got in on the action, giving birth to a bear turtle named Dorothy Anne (in honor of Dorothy Day and Anne Lamott).
4. In my last post I incorrectly stated that we are headed to Iowa City on Monday to see (merely) C's good friend who teaches at the U of Iowa. We are also looking forward to seeing Hermit Greg, who seems to get his feelings hurt rather easily when he's not mentioned online. There, Hermit Greg. I thought you enjoyed being more anonymous and hermit-ly.
5. Speaking of the Iowa Caucuses, I'd most like to see/hear/meet Obama or McCain. C wants Ron Paul. Her libertarian streak scares me.
6. On to Iowa on Monday! Indiana basketball on Wednesday night and the caucuses (and a party with the U of Iowa political scientists) on Thursday - vacations don't get better than this, giggle-giggle-snort-giggle.
Merry Christmas
Tomorrow we'll leave for our slightly-over-two-week trip back east for the holidays. We'll fly into Nashville, rent a car, and drive to Alabama, where we'll be until December 25. On Christmas day we'll fly to Kansas City to stay with C's sister's family for a few days, and then drive over to St. Louis. On December 31 we'll drive to Iowa City, IA to stay with one of C's friends for a little Iowa Caucus Vacation. We'll return to California on January 5. Over the break we'll go to the Grand Ole Opry (this Saturday night) and see an Indiana basketball game (IU @ Iowa, Jan. 2).
Before I leave, however, here are my premature predictions for the order of finish in the Iowa Caucuses. Keep in mind, however, that it is still two weeks out, and these predictions are just for Iowa:
Democrats
1. Edwards
2. Obama
3. Clinton
Republicans
1. Romney
2. Huckabee
3. McCain
Tonight at the Movies
Juno: A much less vulgar, much more clever and heartwarming version of Knocked Up (Knocked Up does have a wonderful soundtrack however, and a number of side-splitting moments - it made for a good waste of time on Swiss Air two months back.) Anyway, back to Juno. I don't know if it will or should get an Oscar nomination for Best Picture (it did receive a Golden Globe nomination), but I'm betting Ellen Page will at a minimum receive a nomination for Best Actress. Her work in Juno is Helen Mirren/The Queen slam-dunk-like, I tell ya. So go see this one - I think we're all going to hear a lot more about it between now and February.
The Case For John McCain
I've recently joked that in order to know what I'm thinking today, just read this week's Economist. (I'm only half-joking. Maybe.) Anyway, imagine my surprise over the weekend when I opened this week's edition and read this article, which makes me wonder if by prematurely channeling their editors I'm slowly morphing into a stuffy, money-loving Brit.
Three-Oh Self-Absorption
This Sunday (December 9) I'll turn 30. Thirty. I can't really say that this is bothering me; since it seems most of my friends, including my spouse, have already crossed this threshold, in some ways I've felt like I've been in my thirties for 2-3 years now. In that way, perhaps on Sunday I may feel like the clock has been reset by 2-3 years. Maybe birthdays are always anti-climactic like that. Like most people, I've had a number of fun and less-than-fun birthdays. My twentieth birthday was unusually fun - I spent most of that day on a beautiful train ride between Lucerne, Switzerland and Salzberg, Austria. A lot of the birthdays between ages 18 and 24 were spent taking final exams. 23 I was pretty sick, I remember. 27 was a bit of a downer - C and I were flying to the new faculty retreat in Florence, Italy, and I spent most of that (very shortened) day on a transatlantic flight. Free trip to Italy, fun, but lots of physical discomfort. I think I vowed then never to spend another birthday in the cramped quarters of Delta Airlines' hospitality. 25 was right after we got married, and C made a homemade pistachio-chocolate cheesecake that began the post-wedding pounds gains...gains that I've only recently finally shed (in fact, both of us are now back to our wedding weights, which is of course a Southern California stereotype to embrace).
This has been a crazy year. While nothing catastrophic or euphoric necessarily took place, I think I'll look back on 29 as a more evolutionarily influential time. I took perhaps the most fun vacation I've ever taken (to Chile/Argentina), a trip that literally reoriented my perceptions of the world. This October's trip to Berlin, fun while it was, re-convinced me that I prefer Chile and Argentina to most places in Europe. I got a Prius, perhaps further relegating (condemning?) me to a stereotype. We dodged not one, but two wildfires, and now anytime I go to sleep with the Santa Anas blowing I'll sleep a little more on edge knowing that Public Safety could evacuate us at any time of the night or morning. I've not written much about the wildfires, but I do think they've affected me psychologically in ways I wouldn't have expected. C and I lost a good friend to cancer. And in January I'll become a student again, returning to graduate school part-time.
So this weekend we'll do what has become my favorite holiday tradition in L.A.: go see the fake snow at The Grove. (It really is magical, in its' very stereotypically L.A. way.) Saturday night C and I will have dinner at a nearby place where I can eat elk tenderloin. Sunday night we'll have dinner with friends at a dramatically more downscale favorite. And then the thirties will set in. The thirties.
And that's enough self-absorption. For now.
Two Cents
If the Republicans really cared about winning, they'd nominate McCain. If the Democrats really cared about winning, they'd nominate Obama. Each of these candidates can make the strong argument (I mean, at least I'm convinced) that our country faces problems that cannot be solved by a President who wins with a 50%+1 margin, and no matter what you or I think about Giuliani, Romney, or Clinton, a win by any of those three would be so polarizing and/or slim that we'd simply relive the bitterness of national politics we've had since 1992. So if you're undecided and care to listen to my suggestions, if you're a Democrat, go vote for Obama, and if you're a Republican, go vote for McCain. If you're a registered independent (like I am), wait and see which way you should swing in your own context.
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