Barkleyesque Politics??
One of my favorite quips is Charles Barkley's amazement at the changing times, citing the fact that, at the time, the best rapper was white (Eminem) and the best golfer was black (Tiger Woods). I can't present an exact corollary but there is a whiff of this kind of oddity in the world of politics.
As the MSM is quick to point out, the Republican party is facing the potential of electoral losses in 2006 and beyond due to a variety of factors, not least of which is a record of governance that is completely at odds with their principles and constituents' desires. Nowhere are the GOP's problems more pronounced than in Ohio, but they have a glimmer of hope and it comes in the form of a black man, Ohio Secretary of State Ken Blackwell.
On the opposite side of the aisle, arguably the poster child for the worst brand of corrupt, statist Democratic machine governance is Newark, NJ (incidentally just 10 miles as the crow flies from the boyhood home of Donny Baseball), but that town has just elected itself a mayor whose vision and energy offer hope for the future. Cory Booker is a 180 degree turn from what Newark has known for decades (and no, he is not white, although outgoing mayor Sharpe James accused him of being white in their last election contest). The Barkleyesque irony is that Booker's vision and plan for Newark's future involves...gasp...capitalism and free enterprise!
Here is a great article that is not so much about Booker as about the backstory of dysfunction and bad governance, and the the promise, that Booker has injected himself into. I wish him the best and sincerely hope he succeeds, Newark is a tragedy that didn't need to happen. Democrats seem to be pining and searching for a new type of superstar politician that can connect broadly with the nation and not just in its traditional liberal enclaves. In cruder terms they are looking for someone who can win in the red states. Obviously it is too early to tell, but could that red-state winning politician be a pro-economic growth, black mayor from New Jersey? Whaddaya say Charles Barkley?
As the MSM is quick to point out, the Republican party is facing the potential of electoral losses in 2006 and beyond due to a variety of factors, not least of which is a record of governance that is completely at odds with their principles and constituents' desires. Nowhere are the GOP's problems more pronounced than in Ohio, but they have a glimmer of hope and it comes in the form of a black man, Ohio Secretary of State Ken Blackwell.
On the opposite side of the aisle, arguably the poster child for the worst brand of corrupt, statist Democratic machine governance is Newark, NJ (incidentally just 10 miles as the crow flies from the boyhood home of Donny Baseball), but that town has just elected itself a mayor whose vision and energy offer hope for the future. Cory Booker is a 180 degree turn from what Newark has known for decades (and no, he is not white, although outgoing mayor Sharpe James accused him of being white in their last election contest). The Barkleyesque irony is that Booker's vision and plan for Newark's future involves...gasp...capitalism and free enterprise!
Here is a great article that is not so much about Booker as about the backstory of dysfunction and bad governance, and the the promise, that Booker has injected himself into. I wish him the best and sincerely hope he succeeds, Newark is a tragedy that didn't need to happen. Democrats seem to be pining and searching for a new type of superstar politician that can connect broadly with the nation and not just in its traditional liberal enclaves. In cruder terms they are looking for someone who can win in the red states. Obviously it is too early to tell, but could that red-state winning politician be a pro-economic growth, black mayor from New Jersey? Whaddaya say Charles Barkley?
posted by Donny Baseball at 1:25 PM
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