At a recent fundraiser for a Texas Congressional candidate, President Bush joked about Wall Street being “drunk.” When asked about the struggling economy, President Bush said, “There’s no question about it. Wall Street got drunk. It got drunk and now it’s got a hangover.” He then went on to pose the question, “How long will it take to sober up and not try to do all those fancy financial instruments?” With that question President Bush was referring to documents representing a legal agreement involving monetary value which some blame for the current mortgage meltdown.

Now some would consider his comments reckless. However, I for one find his comments refreshing. The President of the United States talking candidly, and realistically, about what’s going on with the economy. Some are trying to make this a big political stumble because he made the comments “off camera.” Obviously those tactics are not working. No one is picking up on his comments. Could it be the President is on to something here? Wall Street and other financial institutions spend their days shuffling paper, and in many cases, non-existent funds. Somewhere along the line the bubble had to burst, and I believe that’s partly what we’re seeing here.

Read on …

Bernie Mac received some angry heckling and harsh criticism in response to a 10 minute stand-up routine he performed over the weekend for none other than presidential candidate, Senator Barack Obama. Just how did Senator Obama respond? With his usual slippery slope comments wanting to please everyone. Mac made a surprise appearance at a fundraising event for Obama in downtown Chicago. Audience members paid $2,300 a plate to attend. Just what did Mac do? He joked about menopause, sexual infidelity, promiscuity, and he did not curb his language at all. But than again, that’s pretty much to be expected out of someone like Bernie Mac. He is simply another example of a comedian who doesn’t know how to work for his comedy. Instead, he goes for the rude and crude, hoping for a quick laugh, instead of a good laugh. Reality is, most people laugh at the rude and crude because they’re uncomfortable. Mac is simply not a funny guy.

Many attending the Obama fundraiser said Mac’s commentary was offensive to women. After Mac finished, Senator Obama took to the microphone and said, “We can’t afford to be divided by race. We can’t afford to be divided by region or by class and we can’t afford to be divided by gender, which by the way, that means, Bernie, you’ve got to clean up your act next time. This is a family affair.” But then, the slippery-slope-presidential-candidate-Obama quickly added, “By the way, I’m just messing with you, man.”

So which is is Senator Obama? Were you offended and are you standing up for those in the audience who paid $2,300 dollars a plate to support you? Or, are you more concerned about saving face with a rude and crude comedian? You can’t have it both ways Mr. Obama. You either believe Bernie Mac is not representing a family-friendly audience, or you don’t. You can’t have it both ways. Making matters even worse, after Senator Obama plays both sides of the fence live, campaign officials later criticized Mac’s material. A spokeswoman said, “Senator Obama told Bernie Mac that he doesn’t condone these statements and believes what was said was inappropriate.”

Once again Senator Obama I ask you this simple question - Which is it? Do you not condone his material? Or are you just “messing with” Bernie Mac? What did you really say to the rude and crude comedian? Did you take him aside and say something like - “I love your material man! It’s great! But, I’m trying to get elected president so I have to tell everyone I didn’t like what you did. But, just between you and me, I love ya man!”

When will people see Senator Barak Obama for the snake-oil-selling-chameleon he really is. Senator Obama is taking political pandering to an all time high. He changes his tune to suit his audience. But then, he can even change his tune in mid-sentence if he fears someone in the audience might not like what he’s saying. Come on people, lets be smart here. It’s time to start thinking and stop with the fascination of a man President Bush originally said - “He looks real good. He’s clean cut.” Good looks and a clean cut does not mean he will make a good President. It’s time to realize Senator Obama is living a pipe-dream which means much of what he says will truly go up in smoke when push comes to shove.

Just my two cents,
Dr. Rus

Senator Barack Obama may have just received a death blow to his presidential run for the White House. It’s no secret that the Clinton regime is very upset with the fact that this up-start Senator, who came out of nowhere, stopped Senator Hillary Clinton in her tracks. Former President Bill was looking forward to sleeping in the White House once again, and former first Lady Senator Hillary, really wanted to sit behind the big desk in the Oval Office. Many thought it was a slam-dunk for Senator Hillary. After all, she’s a Clinton and in what’s turned into a Bush-Clinton White House dynasty, she was the apparent heir to the big chair. But, then out of nowhere, a young Senator by the name of Barack Obama shows up on the scene. Not only does he out charisma her, but he out fund raises her too! Then he out spends her and ends up with enough money left over to offer to help pay off her debts!

Wow! Talk about a coo! The unseating of the Clinton regime. But, now Obama’s run could find itself derailed as the Clinton’s throw their support behind him.

Senator Clinton was back on Capital Hill this week calling this a “make or break” election. She then told reports that even her husband, former President Bill Clinton, is prepared to campaign for Senator Obama as well. The Senator told reporters that “he has said he will do whatever he can and whatever he’s asked.” Hmmmm….we know how well that worked for her on her bid for the Democratic nomination. It seemed every time her husband opened his mouth, she spent more time doing damage control than anything else. At times it looked like the former President was out to sabotage her run for president rather than help her run. Later in the press conference Senator Hillary Clinton went on to say, “I am, uh…100 percent committed to doing everything I can to help Senator Obama.” It sounds like she’s not too sure about that statement.

What does this mean in the long run? It might mean Clinton revenge could be heading toward the Obama camp. Senator Hillary knows if Obama gets in, she won’t have another opportunity to run for president for 8 years. Does she really want to support him? Then, on the other hand, former President Bill stirs up more scandal whenever he opens his mouth. Knowing that he derailed his wife’s bid for office, how much more will his stupid comments do to derail Obama’s run.

Senator Obama, you might want to walk very very carefully around the land-mines possibly heading toward your campaign for president.

Just my two cents,
Dr. Rus

So you want to be President of the United States do you? Well, before you even get to the office, or in some cases even before you get the official party nod, be prepared to spend millions, and I mean millions, of dollars. The University of Wisconsin’s Advertising Project has been adding up television ad expenditures and so far, they estimate approximately $195 million dollars has been spent on TV ads. They do expect the number to rise as the conventions are still three months away.

There’s something terribly wrong with the way politics is run these days. The founding fathers never intended politics to turn into a profession. I think it’s time to seriously take a look at term limits. Many politicians have no clue what it’s like to be a common person anymore. Instead, they’ve turned the whole election and political process into one huge money making machine. This is obvious when you look at the amount of money spent on political campaigns, especially for the office of President which pays approximately $400 thousand a year.

According to the U or W’s research, Democrats have spent the most advertising money so far, ringing up approximately $136 million dollars in spending. Senator Obama’s TV ads have cost, up to now, $75 million dollars! That figure not only dwarfs Senator Hillary Clinton’s total of $41 million dollars, but far exceeds what all the Republican candidates have spent combined — $58 million dollars.

Making matters even worse, especially in the cases of Senators Clinton and Obama, both candidates are crying that they’re out of money, and now have outstanding bills. Why is it that political candidates are allowed to rack up millions of dollars in debt in their “business” with no fallout? If any other business piled up such debts the government would swoop in and close them down. But this is not the case with these candidates. It’s obvious they have no clue how to balance their own budget, and we of course know they can’t balance a governmental budget.

This is simply another example of out of control government spending. While the spending is not straight out of the government budget, it is government spending out of control because the people spending the money want to be in office. When will this madness stop. If candidates can’t pay their advertising bills they either need to, A) Get out of the race; or B) Adjust their spending appropriately.

If they can’t do that, then maybe it’s time for some of these businesses that are owed the money, to take the candidate to court and sue them for payment. After all, that is what happens in the real world. But then again, when was the last time any politician knew what it was like to live in the real world.

Just my two cents,
Dr. Rus

Presidential hopeful Senator Obama is at it again. This time around the Senator is taking heat for some remarks he made during a Memorial Day tribute. During the speech he claimed his uncle was among the first wave of American troops that helped liberate the Auschwitz concentration camp in 1945. Well, it turns out there are a couple things wrong with what he said.

First off, it was the Soviet army which freed concentration camp prisoners at Auschwitz. Secondly, Obama’s mother is an only child. So, Senator Obama, you have no American uncles. Of course his campaign handlers were quick to stick up for the Senator, once again finding themselves in the middle of speech mistake. In order to clarify his remarks, campaign officials now say it was his great uncle, or his grandmother’s brother, Charlie Payne, who was with the 89th Infantry Division that liberated the camp. They also pointed out that it was the Buchenwald camp, not Auschwitz.

While they’re hoping their comments will clear the air, Alex Conant, a spokesperson for the Republican National Committee, says it’s time to stop giving Obama a pass on comments like this. Conant went on to say, “Obama’s frequent exxagerations and outright distortions raise questions about his judgment and his readiness to lead as commander in chief.” Conant also pointed out that “Obama is always quick to bring up Senator John McCain’s stumbles on the campaign trail.” As a quick recap, here are some of Senator Obama’s past gaffes — “I’ve been to 57 states and still have three more to go.” Ummm, excuse me Senator? How many states are there? — “I was in the church for 20 some years, but I never listened to what the preacher said.” What!? I guess you needed to catch up on a lot of sleep during those sermons. Of course there’s more, but those are just a few.

This leads to another question. Have we ever had anyone else in the White House who gave us gems like this before? Hmmmm….wait a minute. His name was Dan Quayle and he was former President George Bush Sr.’s V.P. What did he say? Here are some of the better Quayle droppings collected during his time in office.

“I was recently on a tour of Latin America, and the only regret I have was that I didn’t study Latin harder in school so I could converse with those people.”

“I’m not part of the problem. I am a Republican.”

“A low voter turnout is an indication of fewer people going to the polls.”

“Republicans understand the importance of bondage between a mother and a child.”

While it’s true Senator Obama is making some big mistakes when it comes to speech-making truth. I also put out there a caution for all the conservative screamers who like to call for his resignation because of his exaggeration talents. Don’t forget, one of your very own Republican V.P.’s gave us some memorable moment speech phrases too. To emphasize this fact, let me close out this post with one of my favorite Quayle droppings;

“Verbosity leads to unclear, inarticulate things.”

Maybe some of the conservative talk show hosts need to be not quite as verbose as they tend to be.

Just my two cents,
Dr. Rus

I’ve addressed this issue before, but now I believe we’re starting to see what I’ve been referring to as an evangelical backlash. First it was Reverend Wright and Senator Obama’s connection with him and the church. Now in the latest backlash Senator McCain is rejecting endorsements from longtime preachers like the Reverend’s John Hagee and Rod Parsley. Like Senator Obama, the reason Senator McCain is rejecting these men revolves around some things they’ve said in the past.

Now, I’m not going to address the what of what they said. Instead, I’d like to point out that what we see happening here is something I’ve addressed before on this blog. This is an evangelical backlash as both politicians and the voters, are becoming more and more aware of the fact that the evangelicalism of past White House Presidents is starting to be more of a detriment, than a benefit. Also, before anyone starts ranting at me that the likes of Wright, Hagee and Parsley do not truly represent the evangelical movement, let me clarify something here. I am well aware of this fact. But reality is most people don’t know the difference between an evangelical, a charismatic or a pentecostal. As a matter of fact, those in the charismatic and pentecostal movements often don’t even know what makes them different. As a result, when many hear the word Christian, they usually associate that with the evangelical movement.

That being said, I believe we’re seeing an evangelical backlash for a number of reasons. They range from poor leadership, a misunderstanding of what it means to be a Christian, and what we could call the fringe elements of some belief systems. Combine those elements with the fact that we also have the flip-flopping endorsements of people like James Dobson, and suddenly many are timid of the whole evangelical movement and the leaders connected with them. This could get worse, before it gets better. Of course many inside the church will start calling me a heretic. However, the real issue here has nothing to do with separation of church and state, and nothing to do with endorsements from religious leaders. Instead, this has more to do with the fact that many in the church have become so disconnected with the world we live in, that they are no longer relevant. We are called to be “in” the world but not “of” the world. But we find ourselves on a slippery slope of sometimes trying to straddle the “in” and the “of” aspects of the world at the same time.

The bottom line is this, it’s less about what some of these religious leaders are saying, and more about an understanding of what it means to transform the environment we live in. I will agree that the recent statements from men like Rev. John Hagee and Rev. Wright are outlandish. However, when you know their background and their belief system, to them, their statements are no more outlandish than me saying the sky is purple! From my perspective, the sky is purple. Why? Because I’m color blind and I don’t see blue. That color is always purple.

Just my two cents,
Dr. Rus

A little poem for yet another primary day…

It’s Primary Day in Western VA,
But many might say, what the hey!
It’s seems like four years of political hot air,
And at this point in time, just how many really care?

Candidates line up trying to persuade,
Their plan and their thoughts are the only way.
After months and months on the political trail,
Many are wondering if we should just all bail.

The words have been many and sometimes quite fancy,
But in the end, they’re nothing more than just dancy.
Will it be Clinton, will it be Obama,
Maybe it’s time to call for my Momma!

What to do what to do on this Primary Day,
Many just wonder if gas will be covered by their pay.
Now there’s a real issue that’s pressing the nation,
But instead the candidates seem concerned about their latest facial creation.

Obama is young and Clinton likes pant suits,
McCain seems sidelined counting his loot.
Will he have enough money for White House run,
Or will he look for dollars from his retirement fund.

It’ s Primary Day in Western VA,
But what kind of spin will we have at the end of the day.
Clinton says she has the nomination,
While Obama is looking for his inauguration.

Tomorrow will bring the start of new day,
And the pundits will begin to have their say.
The right and the left will all attitudinize,
Maybe they should just be institutionalized.

It’s Primary Day, it’s Primary Day, but what does that mean,
In the end it’s simply another day to let off some steam.
If you live in Western Virginia, go out and vote,
But be sure you choose the appropriate dope.

Just my two cents,
Dr. Rus

Just yesterday I asked a guest on my Live Line talk show where Senator McCain is. It seems all we’ve been hearing about are the Democrats and the in-fighting taking place in that party as Senators Hillary and Obama duke it out for the presidential nomination in their party. But, in the midst of the Dems looking for their presidential candidate, Senator John McCain is hanging off in the wings with the Republican nomination sown up just waiting to see who his opponent will be.

So, what’s he doing with all the extra time on his hands? Apparently he’s decided to do the late night talk show circuit too. Just like his Democratic friends, Senator McCain is now showing up on the comedy shows. But not just any comedy show. No, instead he headed to Comedy Central for an appearance on The Jon Stewart show.

Give me a break! I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, in the long run I do not believe this is going to help politicians. It’s like they’re painting a huge bullseye on their chest where they allow the talk show host to take shot after shot after shot at them with the main goal of embarrassing them. They do not talk about issues, they do not have an opportunity to express their platform. All the politician does is spout off pre-scripted jokes made up by the joke writers of the show.

So, what did Senator McCain talk about with Jon Stewart? Well, a real issue is whom he will pick for his VP candidate. Some are saying the Senator needs to name his VP now so at least he could start building a platform before the voters of the nation. With that in mind, Senator McCain, reading from the teleprompter I’m sure, made this announcement on the Comedy Central channel — “I know you’ve been wondering who my Vice Presidential candidate will be. I’ve got it written down here — Are you ready? — You’ve heard it here first — Dwight Schrute.”

So who is Dwight Schrute? He’s a headstrong character from the comedy show The Office.

Senator McCain is really not a funny man. So, in the end, this joke falls flat. Once again the Senator has fallen into the trap of pandering to a comedy audience, that in the end, probably won’t even vote anyway.

Just my two cents,
Dr. Rus

Once again, in a last minute scramble for primary votes, Senator Hillary Clinton is the latest Democratic candidate to wander onto the stage of late night talk shows with David Letterman. I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again, I just don’t get it. Hot on the heels of a great interview with Bill O’Reilly where she actually talked about real issues facing the nation, Senator Clinton goes on David Letterman and makes a fool out of herself.

I will be so glad when the political-silly-season is over. But then again, these days politics almost always seems silly.

Just my two cents,
Dr. Rus

Once again as a News Director I find myself asking the question - Why do political candidates feel more comfortable on the late night talk show circuit instead of the news show talk circuit?

Senator Obama made yet another appearance on the David Letterman show where he even did the Top Ten List. Of course the writers of the list put funny lines into his mouth and he relished the laughs from the audience. But, once again , while the audience laughed these politicians have no clue that people aren’t laughing with them. No, it’s quite the opposite. Instead people are laughing at them as they make a fool out of themselves.

But, again, why do these politicians feel safer on the late night comedy talk show circuit? Could it be they know there will be no hard questions? That probably has a lot to do with it. After all, one of the reasons Senator Obama is probably refusing to do another debate with Senator Hillary Clinton has to do with the fact that he felt picked on by the news commentators whom he said “Asked too many hard questions.” Give me a break. Yes, you were asked “hard questions” but they were asked with a sense of respect.

But maybe that’s it. Could it be politicians don’t like sitting down with news people because it seems journalism has lost any sense of respect when it comes to talking with politicians. Instead it seems many journalists, that means news reporters, are more concerned about blind-siding the politician with the “gotcha” question, instead of asking intelligent questions in order to gather information. I believe that has a lot to do with it. The National Inquirer sensationalist tabloid type reporting has not only crept into respectable journalism, it’s rushed in unchecked. As a result, few journalists really know how to be respectful anymore. Instead, they’re looking for ways to embarrass politicians, no matter what, just so they can grab a quick headline.

I for one long for the days of respectability to come back to the world of journalism. Leave the tabloid junk to the tabloids and then maybe politicians will stop feeling the need to do the late night comedy talk show circuit.

Just my two cents,
Dr. Rus