Scott (Not?) Free?

San Jose, CA – The eighteenth of September, today, is Scotland’s chance to decide if they want to be a free nation.

According to The Guardian, the British Newspaper of British Newspapers, Americans up until the last few days have not shown much interest in the Scottish Referendum on Independence, because, as one described it, we "thought it already was free ever since we saw Braveheart."

Well, it’s not. They fly the Union Jack, their representatives are in the British House of Commons, and the Queen of England is the Queen of Scotland. But besides that, although Americans may not know much about it, for the most part it seems they are in support of Scotland leaving. “Freedom? Good! Freedom from Britain? Join the club! We are original members!”

The campaign was long and hard. It started with NO way ahead, and freedom looking like it didn’t have a pipe dream, but then changed to YES gaining ground, until everyone who was anyone in the United Kingdom joining in the debate, even yesterday, a famous sport player switching from neutrality to supporting YES for freedom. The queen even got involved. (Sort of. She said something about it in an informal setting, which with her and her popularity is the same thing.)

However, there are some possible reasons why Americans may be concerned if Scotland were to leave. One of America’s greatest allies would lose a third of its land mass, have a new and foreign country on the island, no longer would they be alone there. The oil import/exports would be disrupted, and even worse for England, and Scotland as well, the military pool would become much smaller. There would be two different currencies on the island, etc.

At ten o’clock tonight in Edinburgh, the capitol of Scotland, home of the Royal Mile, the place of so much history, the polls will close in the homeland of William Wallace. No one has bothered to pay the money necessary to hold exit polls, so there will be none. The results will not come out until sometime around eight o’clock Friday morning in Scotland, when the expected over 4,000,000 votes are counted.

And so we wait, to find if the Scotts will finally be free.

Andrew C. Abbott

Loser's Luck

San Jose, CA – It may not be as bad for Mitt Romney as we thought that he lost the election.

Alexis de Tocqueville, the famous Frenchman who wrote his book Democracy in America in the seventeenth-century liked many things about America, but there were some things about us that made him uncomfortable. One of them was what he saw as the odd obsessive compulsive need of Americans to constantly to be shaking each other’s hands up and down. “They couldn’t seem to stop!”

Another thing he thought was different was their constant need to win. Every little game, he observed, both the boys and girls were desperate to win. He saw Americans as needing to be constantly graded. If you won, you were alright, and other things could be forgiven a winner, while losing might reveal some deeper form of weakness or character flaw in yourself. But then of course, there was the ultimate form of contesting. Politics. When the child grew into the man or woman, election was and is the ultimate form of grading. Everyone tells you what they think of you with their vote.

Of course, in some ways de Tocqueville was right. Losing hurts. Sometimes it hurts a lot. Some people have trouble coping. Losing an election is a massive form of rejection. But there is another side of this fitful and fickle coin. For in politics, and perhaps in politics alone, there can occasionally benefits to losing.

In 1960 the Vice President of the United States, Richard Nixon lost the election to JFK, (how could he not?) and then, two years later lost a bid for governor.

But it was a blessing in disguise. Over the next eight years America had many difficulties, loads of them. But Richard Nixon was not in power. His name was untouched. Instead, he road above all of the fighting, and came to power eight years later.

Now America may be having a similar Nixon Moment. In 2012 America said no to Mitt Romney, and he has since said he is not running again. But then, what a politician says is not necessarily what he does. Former Senator Scott Brown earlier this year said he moved to New Hampshire for personal reasons, it had “nothing to do” with politics. Well, he’s in the race now, and doing quite nicely, I might add.

The very fact that Mitt Romney is claiming not to be running may make him more desirable. The thing just out of reach is, after all, usually what a child wants. According to preliminary results to a Newsmax Poll on GOP 2016 candidates that I saw recently, second place was Benjamin Carson, with 8%, but first place was Mitt Romney, at over 50%. The president's approval, according to the FOX News poll they regale you with at the end of every political article on their sight, is only 38%.

American's are very unhappy about the way the government is going, and Mitt knows that But he is not the man in White House, all the better for him.
Mitt, that internet documentary that told everyone he was not a robot has helped to polish his image a great deal. Meanwhile everything the president says is analyzed, and all his problems noticed. While Mitt can simply sit back and watch it all, and decide later if he wants to run for president. However, we must certainly hope that if he does run and win in 2016, he does not follow the Nixon story too closely.

Andrew C. Abbott

The Comeback Couple

San Jose, CA – In 1992 George Bush Sr. had not yet looked at his watch and found that it was time for the Republican Party to die. He was riding high on a wave built up by the Reagan Revolution, aided by Reagan Democrats, liberals voting for relatively conservative candidates. In 1992 the incumbent Republican President should have won the election. At one point his approval ratings were 80%.

Also in 1992 during the Democratic Primary, Democratic Nominee Hopeful Bill Clinton was having issues. Big issues. Not only had he lost the first primary badly, (Iowa Caucus), but the scandals were already beginning. There had been rumors before, but now word came out that he had dodged the draft. At the same time the famous Jennifer Flowers incident occurred, with Flowers claiming she and Clinton had an extra-marital affair.

The Clinton’s went on CBS 60 Minutes to refute the charges, and went to work doggedly writing and airing ads, pressing palms and assuring everyone it was a “draft he never dodged.” It worked. In the next Primary (New Hampshire), Clinton won second place, a huge surge from nearly calling quits only weeks before. He began labeling himself the Comeback Kid.

Of course, from that Comeback Bill Clinton never looked back. He went on to win the presidency that year, and again four years later. But during his second term in the White House, the scandals came again. And again. From Hair-gate, Travel-gate, and Whitewater, the Clintons, it seemed, were not able to stay out of trouble. Then there was the famous Monica Lewinsky Scandal which nearly made Bill Clinton the first president in American History to be removed from office by the congress. Yet, somehow, he survived.

But the scandals were there. It is now common knowledge that Clinton lied to the people. He lied to the investigators; he stonewalled, stalled and prevaricated. His own, perhaps closest aid, Dick Morris has since written a book Because He Could, wildly attacking his former boss, claiming, in so many words, he was a serial liar.

On the evening of September 11, 2012, the American embassy in Benghazi, Libya, was attacked by unknown militants of Islamic Faith. Four Americans died that night. Since then it seems to have emerged that the state department, possibly to the highest levels, failed that night. Of course, at that time the highest level was Hillary Clinton, the woman who had survived, with her husband, the Whitewater Scandal twenty years ago. She weathered that storm, and though she has since resigned from the Obama Administration she and her followers are attempting to weather this one too, which has now been two years and two days in the offing.

Bill and Hillary could have given up all those years ago in 1992 when the original bout of scandals was exposed. In fact, any person with less drive probably would have. They could have called it quits many times since then. When their good friend Vince Foster committed suicide, giving the conspiracy theorists a field day, or when rumors began that Governor Clinton had used the Arkansas State Police to fine consorts for him. But neither ever did. They always came back. And it looks like they are coming back again.

Polls suggest that Hillary is a leading candidate for the Democratic Nominee in 2016. The Clinton drive to win, and their winning machine may be ramping up again. Money is already gathering, and they certainly have answers for every possible scandal that the public will be reminded of.

But of course, Hillary has not yet said she will run. So it is still all speculation. But if she does, (an there are many, many who think she will) the Comeback Couple will be out again, campaign smiles on, arms out for hugging, wallets out for donations happily excepted. We will see them on television again, maybe even CBS 60 Minutes, heralding all things Hillary will do for America, just as, twenty-two years ago, they heralded all the things Bill would do.

Oh, the speeches will be well delivered, the makeup put on well, and Hillary’s hair dyed perfectly to hide the effects that long public service has had on her. But beneath it all we are left wondering, who are they really?

Andrew C. Abbott

9/11

San Jose, CA - Thirteen years ago today the incident that more than any other from my young life was branded into my mind occurred. The horrific acts of nineteen hijackers and militant terrorists cost the lives of many, and the shook the world. We wept and prayed for the families that lost their loved ones, but we could not feel their pain as they felt it, and there is no one who can. We thank the First Responders, both those that made it out alive before the towers fell, and those that did not.

 

And as Americans we all say to the friends and comrades of the terrorists that aided them and have not been brought to justice: such needless destruction of human life is not a statement, it is a waste.

 

Andrew C. Abbott