Entries for October 2009

By Mary Kate Cary, Thomas Jefferson Street blog

It's pretty clear what's going to happen in next week's gubernatorial elections in Virginia and New Jersey and the Congressional special election in New York's 23rd district—both parties will start passing out blame for defeats by the time the polls close Tuesday.

The Virginia race in particular gives the GOP an opportunity to redefine itself. Bob McDonnell shunned the far-right angry rhetoric and stuck to kitchen-table issues—like jobs, taxes, and transportation—that conservatives, moderates, and independents wanted to hear about. The latest Gallup poll this week shows that many of those same independent voters nationally have started to move to the right, and between now and the midterm elections the Republican Party has an opportunity to keep that momentum from the Virginia race going if it sticks with McDonnell's winning strategy.

David Frum predicts a win in Virginia, and then takes a look at the other races:

By Mary Kate Cary, Thomas Jefferson Street blog

My colleague Bonnie Erbe went after President Obama earlier this week for his all-male basketball game, which led her to this conclusion about him:

Whether it was his treatment of Hillary Clinton on the campaign trail (as in his condescending remark that she was "likeable enough") or his clearly career-oriented mate who has been toned down and remorphed into a Stepford Wife, I just don't get the impression this man is comfortable with women. Nor do I believe he cares about them beyond needing women's votes. It's an act and a thoroughly see-through, amateur one at that.

By Mary Kate Cary, Thomas Jefferson Street blog

Obesity is a public health crisis in the United States. There's no debating that it is caused by Americans' sedentary lifestyles and poor food choices. And, before we go any further, I should disclose that I am an active supporter of both the Obesity Institute and the Diabetes Care Complex at Children's National Medical Center. So I care very much about bringing down the rate of obesity in this country.

Having said that, controlling what we put into our mouths is not a job for the government. Ads are running on local TV here in Washington, D.C., urging Congress not to impose a tax on soda and juice drinks. Last month, in an interview, President Obama suggested that a soda tax was worth exploring. Currently a group in New York City supporting Gov. David Patterson's proposed soda tax is sponsoring an ad campaign in New York subways which, according to the Boston Herald, shows soft drinks morphing into yellow globs of human fat. (Actually I don't have a problem with the ads, just the tax.) Over the weekend, a Princeton University professor suggested a tax on red meat in the New York Daily News, since "high taxes on cigarettes have saved many lives." The difference is that cigarettes have been proven to kill people—I'm not sure the tax is what made people quit—while no one has proven that soda kills people.

By Mary Kate Cary, Thomas Jefferson Street blog

The Virginia governor's race will be held a week from tomorrow—see my column this week on the lessons it holds for the national parties—and the independents are a key factor in that race, as they are in the New Jersey governor's race. According to RealClearPolitics, a website that aggregates the latest news and polls, Americans' attitudes are "changing rapidly," and independent voters have "flipped negative," according to executive editor Tom Bevan. Here's an excerpt from the site:

The first gubernatorial races since Democrats took control of Washington, in New Jersey and Virginia, show voter angst and ire. Those races appear to be heading in different directions but are two sides of the same coin.

In Virginia—which swung Democrat first in 2006 to Jim Webb in his Senate race, then further to Obama in 2008—Republican Bob McDonnell leads Democrat Creigh Deeds by widening margins.

In New Jersey—which last went for a GOP presidential candidate in 1988—Democrat Gov. Jon Corzine averages about 40 percent. GOP challenger Chris Christie has fallen more than six points in two weeks. The beneficiary is independent Chris Daggett, winning double-digit support.

By Mary Kate Cary, Thomas Jefferson Street blog

Earlier this week, the Pope announced that Anglicans who are dissatisfied with their church could join the Catholic Church, yet still have parishes that celebrate Anglican rites and use the Book of Common Prayer. What makes this interesting is that the Anglican Church allows married priests, unlike the Catholic Church.

It's good that the Pope is reaching out to people of other faiths—even if it is only to those who are as traditional as he is. According to CNN, "The number of Anglicans wishing to join the Catholic Church has increased in recent years as the Anglican Church has welcomed the ordination of women and openly gay clergy and blessed homosexual partnerships, said Cardinal William Joseph Levada, the head of the Vatican's Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith." It's mostly the conservative Anglicans who want to join the Catholic Church, because they're upset with their own church over the ordination of women and homosexuals. And it's one of the most conservative offices at the Vatican—the one that deals with the Doctrine of the Faith, that the Pope headed when he was a Cardinal—that negotiated the deal.

By Mary Kate Cary, Thomas Jefferson Street blog

Today's Washington Post contains the story of Georgetown University sophomore Charley Cooper, who is advertising for a personal assistant to help him with his busy life:

Cooper, 19, logged on to the university's student employment Web site last week and posted an ad for someone to tackle "some of my everyday tasks," such as organizing his closet, dropping him off and picking him up from work, scheduling haircuts, putting gas in the car and taking it in for service, managing his electronic accounts and doing laundry (although the assistant will be paid only for the time spent loading, unloading and folding clothes, not the entire laundry cycle).

The successful applicant can expect to work three to seven hours a week and make $10 to $12 an hour, although "on occasion it will be possible to work additional hours and/or receive bonuses at my discretion." Preference will be given to Georgetown undergraduates, Cooper says in the listing, and the assistant can spread his or her tasks throughout the day.

By Mary Kate Cary, Thomas Jefferson Street blog

There's been a lot of talk lately about bias in the media. We all have biases, based on our life's experience and the opinions we've formed along the way. The problem is when people don't admit they have one. So I'm going to do what the folks on cable news aren't willing to do: I'll admit I'm biased, especially when it comes to President George H.W. Bush. I worked for him years ago, and now I'm on the advisory board of his presidential library. He's like a dad to me, and I love him very much. If you're looking for disparaging remarks about him—or Mrs. Bush—you won't find them here.

So when President Obama traveled to College Station on Friday to honor President Bush on the anniversary of the Points of Light initiative, friends sent me all kinds of coverage: the White House transcript, the Washington Post coverage, the C-Span video (just watch the first few minutes and you'll see how funny he is these days). But there wasn't much commentary. None of the pundits in Washington seemed to say much about the visit.

That's a shame for two reasons.