To all those Bill O'Reilly haters out there, save your breathe. Whether you like him or not, the man has found a formula that works. He has the #1 rated show in cable news by far. He mentions that all the time on his show. I went and checked the numbers myself, and was astounded. He can give his competitors a million viewer headstart and he still crushes them. Say all the nasty things you want about him, he could care less. The man is a ratings machine.

If John McCain wins the presidential election he would, if anything, accomplish one thing.  He would be the first president born in the 1930s.  For some strange reason the decade has not been able to produce a U.S. president.  We jumped  from the 1920s to the 1940s when George H.W. Bush ( b. 1924) passed the baton to Bill Clinton (b. 1946).  The fact that 3 out of the last 4 presidents have been 2-term presidents has something to do with it.

But for all the folks (including my mom, b.1934) born in the '30s, their president has either been older or younger than them. Does it mean anything? Not really, just having fun with presidential trivia.  In a year where we will be bombarded with news about the presidential election on a daily basis, maybe we can make things more interesting by mentioning these presidential facts.

Since the GOP can't seem to settle on a true front-runner, with all factions holding ground, maybe this small fact about McCain, will get him some votes.  I'm sure it would if the folks born in the '30s knew this fact.  If McCain doesn't  win chances are the decade will never have a representative in the White House.  So I wish John McCain good luck, and if anything, win one for your fellow septuagenarians.

Congratulations to The New York Giants for their improbable trip to the Super Bowl.  They made it to the big game through the toughest road any team can take.  With the odds stacked against them they had to win 3 games on the road and they did just that.  There is no doubt that the Giants hard fought season ending game with the New England Patriots gave them the confidence and momentum going into the playoffs.  Even though they didn't win, their effort in that game set the tone for their playoff run.

With absolutely nothing at stake the Giants played their hearts out against the mighty Patriots.  With their playoff spot already clinched the Giants could have rested their star players to avoid injuries.  They could have just played out the game and start preparing for their first round playoff game at Tampa Bay.  Instead they played all their starters from beginning to end and gave the Patriots a battle they did not expect.  In the end they lost 38-35, in a "nail-biter", but they gained so much confidence from their effort.  Now they face New England in the Super Bowl.  Call it poetic justice because the Giants definitely deserve this rematch.

Rudy Giuliani could learn something from his hometown team.  By skipping the first primaries and caucuses, Rudy has no momentum going into Florida.  Before Iowa most polls had him as the front-runner.  By pretty much being a no-show in these early states his poll numbers have evaporated and all his major opponents are going into Florida with confidence and momentum.

There is no such thing as a meaningless game.  Just ask the Giants.  If Rudy loses Florida his strategy and campaign just might stay buried in the sands of Miami beach.  Maybe someone should tell him his hometown team is going to the Super Bowl and show him the path they took to get there.

"The Republican Party is in chaos.  The GOP has divided into three factions and none of these candidates seem able to pull together the differing factions.  The party is falling apart."  

 

We sure have heard a lot of that so far this election year.  And it’s understandable.  Up to this point there is no clear GOP front-runner and the prospect looms that there may be a 4-way tie after Super Tuesday.  Surely this is a bad way to elect a candidate to face off against a strong Democratic challenger who for all intensive purposes will be the odds on favorite in November.  But the GOP should have seen this coming.

 

If history is an indication, the reason why there is no clear front-runner, it’s because the front-runner didn’t run.  In an election year following a two-term president, the vice-president has clearly been the favorite to win his party’s nomination.  In fact, prior to this year the last three two-term vice presidents have gone on to win their party’s nomination in the following election.  George H.W. Bush won his party’s nomination and the presidency after serving two terms as vice president.  Al Gore and Richard Nixon represented their parties and went on to lose the two closest presidential elections in history.  But nonetheless they were two term vice presidents and they won their party’s nominations.

 

With the exception of John Garner, who served as VP in FDR’s first two terms, we have to go way back to the World War I era to find the last two term sitting VP who did not seek his party’s nomination.  Does the name Thomas R. Marshall ring a bell?  Chances are most people have never heard the name.  Thomas R. Marshall was vice president under Woodrow Wilson (Democrat).  He did not seek the presidency after serving two terms as VP and guess what?  His party lost that election. 

 

So to say the GOP is in chaos is not necessarily true.  Since the front-runner position was left vacant by the two- term VP, the party is in search of a new front man.  It’s not an easy process and every state should have a say on whom the front man should be.  In this “what have you done for me lately” world, the choices the voters have aren’t necessarily no-brainers.  With the exception of John McCain, who’s a sitting Senator, all the other major candidates are “former-something”.  You have two former governors, a former mayor and a former senator.  So basically you have five candidates who currently are not in public office fighting for a trophy that in this election cycle would normally say, “Republican Presidential Nominee and Two Term VP”.  History is scratching off the “Two Term VP” as we speak.  Hopefully the winner won’t notice the scratch marks.