The Huckster's At It Again

It will be a crying shame when the time comes for Mike Huckabee to hang it up and drop out of the race for the presidency. We'll miss his pious, folksy stand-up act while, at the same time, we, in Arkansas learn even more about his dark, smarmy, greedy side.

Now, we discover, thanks to the Freedom of Information Act, and the diligence of some people at the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, that he had a secret slush fund, er, Special Events fund sustained by private donations to a private bank account set up by the governor's office and administered by his Chief of Staff while he was in office.

Apparently, the Arkansas Department of Finance and Administration also got in on the act by helping to manage it.

Who knows how much money flowed through this "special events" fund or where it wound up, but I think we can guess. Huckabee only disclosed one gift "on behalf of the state". That was his official portrait, which he valued at between $40,000 to $50,000.

It's the tip of the iceberg, folks.

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It's almost time for the South Carolina primary. What a good idea, having it on Saturday, when most people are off work and have the whole day in which to vote.

Alas, I'm moving away from Hillary, even though I'd love to see a woman in the presidency. And, it's all that big ol' bull-in-a-china-shop Bill's fault! If he doesn't tone it down a bit, he's liable to alienate a lot of people. I know it's all political strategy, and heaven knows he's better at it than just about anybody, but I wonder if he realizes what a tightrope he's walking. And I wonder if they have actually written off South Carolina and he's just hanging around, sniping at Obama just for the fun of it.

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What a mess this campaign season has been! First the states battle it out to see which one will be the first to hold a primary, ending with the races starting 'way too early. Who ever heard of candidates running out of funds and having to drop out of the race before Super Tuesday? Good grief!

Dennis Kucinic called it a day, this morning. This leaves only three candidates.

Now, there's a rumor out there that John Edwards is just about ready to drop out, and that just makes me mad. Not because he is my candidate of choice; that would have been Bill Richardson. But, because that leaves us only two choices out of an original field of excellent choices, which is very disappointing. They should all have had more time.

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And, how will you spend your $600? Pay bills? Stash it in your savings account? Give a portion to charity? Of course not! I predict that there will be a steep spike in the sales of HD television sets.

Of course, being a "senior", I don't have to make a decision about that. People on Social Security don't merit a little bonus. In fact, this year, we received the lowest increase that we have had since I joined the ranks of the retired. Lucky me.

Live Free Or Die

So, how about it? Did a bunch of women change their minds and vote for Hillary out of sympathy? It hasn't been my experience that women are particularly sympathetic toward other women.

I think we can call the New Hampshire primary a tie, actually. Someone said that all those students that Obama expected to flock to the polls were still on break, and hadn't come back to school, yet.

Edwards didn't get as many votes this time as he did last time in New Hampshire. I don't know how much longer he'll hang on, but anything could happen at this point.

I don't want to see Richardson get out of the race just yet. They should all stay in until after Super Tuesday, at least. Getting out after only a couple or three primaries is premature, it seems to me.

On the other hand, after Super Tuesday, there could still be a six or eight way tie among Republicans. For once, they are going to be kind of fun to watch. Of course, if Bloomberg jumps into the fray as an Independent, the Republicans will probably implode. Won't that be fun?

Oh, I just love politics!

Does Iowa Really Matter?

Why do we place so much importance on the Iowa Caucuses? I've been reading up on it, and it seems overly complicated to me. I couldn't find any hard and fast rules, except for the date. Everything else can change in mid-caucus, and frequently does.

Nevertheless, I watched all the media types bloviate all evening about what a win in Iowa would mean. The only real surprise, to me, was that Hillary! ended up in third place. I thought that slot would belong to John Edwards. I was pretty well satisfied with that outcome, strangely enough.

I was not surprised that Mike Huckabee came out ahead of the rest of the field. Over time, the more pious Mike Huckabee seemed, the most insincere Mitt Romney looked. And, perception is everything. Just remember, there's a reason why most of the people in Arkansas called Mike Huckabee "the Huckster". And, it's the same reason they called Bill Clinton "slick Willie". And, it had nothing to do with bimbo eruptions, and everything to do with the dictionary description of "Flim-Flam man".

But, I digress.

Just what does the Iowa outcome mean for the coming primary in New Hampshire? Not a whole lot, I'd bet. Even the talking heads can't seem to agree. The main thing it means is that it is going to be a long, long campaign. But, New Hampshire is very different from Iowa. The state motto, "Live Free or Die" says a lot about it. It will be interesting to watch Huckabee morph into "more of a governor than a pastor", which he is already saying in interviews. He'll be whatever you want him to be, as will most politicians.

I fully expect John McCain to come into his own in New Hampshire. And, strangely enough, I expect Obama to stay on top. If Hillary ends up in second place, I hope Bill doesn't put on that goofy grin of his and crow about her being "another comeback kid". Shiver.

But, by the time the New Hampshire primary is over, Iowa will be forgotten. So, to answer my own question, Iowa doesn't matter a whole lot, except for being first. Which is about all you can expect from a loosey-goosey musical chairs kind of meeting.