
 |
|
June 19, 2013
June 12, 2013
Stephanie Hanes: Little girls or little women? The Disney princess effect
Fred Weir: In tweak to US, Russia would 'consider' asylum for Snowden
June 10, 2013
The Kosher Gourmet by Anjali Prasertong: A tart filling so good it might not make it to the crust
June 5, 2013
John Rosemond: Mom, Dad: Talk More and listen less
Kristen Chick: Egypt court sentences 43 pro-democracy workers to prison
June 3, 2013
Molly Hennessy-Fiske: Military judge to consider letting Fort Hood shooting defendant represent himself
May 29, 2013
Andrew Connelly and Helene Bienvenu: The Little Synagogue that Refused to Die
May 24, 2013
Rabbi Tzvi Hersh Weinreb: When I didn't so 'humbly disagree'
May 22, 2013
John Thorne:
They launched the 'Arab Spring' but now yearn for the good old days of a strongman
May 20, 2013
Richard A. Serrano: Is Meir Kahane's assassin now a changed man?
Melissa Healy: Genetic copies of living people from embryos no longer science fiction
Jewz in the Newz by Nate Bloom : Jews Inducted into Rock Hall of Fame; Anton Yelchin co-stars in New "Trek" film; Kutcher (but not Kunis) visits Israel; Jewish TV Star Praises Jewish Rap Star
The Kosher Gourmet by Cathy Pollak: WARNING: This WALNUT CAKE WITH PRALINE FROSTING, perfect for afternoon coffee, is addicting
|
| |
Jewish World Review
August 29, 2008
28 Menachem-Av 5768
Convention(al) reflections
By
Suzanne Fields
| 
|
|
|
|
http://www.JewishWorldReview.com |
COROLLA, N.C. It's hard to be a hero in America. John Kerry learned that the hard way. He returned from the war in Vietnam, decorated by his grateful country, and turned on the men he had left behind, accusing them of crimes and atrocities. Years later, after he "reported for duty" as the nominee of his party, he was "Swift-boated" by men with whom he had served. Turnabout may or may not have been fair play, but it was enough to sink Kerry's boat.
John McCain seemed safe and comfortable in his accolades as the prisoner of war home from the Hanoi Hilton. The scion of a distinguished Naval family had not only endured unspeakable pain and horror, but had refused to leave his fellow prisoners when the North Vietnamese said he could leave.
Most Americans forgave his adulterous dalliances when he returned, figuring that anyone who suffered so much with such grace had something coming to him. But that was then. Now he hears occasional Democratic sneers of "so what?" Wesley Clark sniped that being a prisoner of war was no qualification for the presidency. Joe Biden damns with faint praise: "John McCain is my friend. But these times require more than a good soldier."
In modern America, heroism has the shelf life of a shrimp.
Politics is above all about "what works." Barack Obama, demonstrating how easily "change" can be manipulated as well as exploited, changed the tone of his campaign by changing his emphasis from "outside" to "inside." Joe Biden is the ultimate insider, suspicious of reformers and of anyone who would challenge the perks of insiders who know how Washington works and want to keep it that way.
Politics takes on strange shapes the farther you get from the center of the action. Perspectives change as quickly as Obama's definition of change. It's hard to hear the roar of the distant crowd at Pepsi Center over the roar of the ocean sending foamy whitecaps cascading toward the beach beneath a Carolina moon, making the balmy night of late summer a backdrop of something close to perfection. It's difficult to remember that the end of August marks the end of the beginning of a presidential campaign that is soon to turn ugly and violent.
Voters are trying to catch the last moments of summer freedom, some of us grooving on the sand between our toes as the kids try to put aside the fact that that's a school bell ringing in the distance. Joe Sixpack on the surfboard doesn't see himself as a generic voter (or a generic anything), and a mom keeping track of her brood on the beach, having to deal with the tragedy of a collapsed sand castle, has little time to consider the collapse of Hillary Clinton's presidential ambition. The little boy who drops the scoop of chocolate ice cream and sees it draining away on the hot sidewalk focuses his mom's mind on a tragedy of a more immediate kind.
Politics is the intruder here, as it is for so many Americans focused on the details of trying to live good and satisfying lives. Only television brings the political reality home. Now we know Michelle Obama doesn't wear a burqa. She's a mother with two adorable daughters, the poster children for "family values," the shorthand issue the Democrats are determined to steal from the Republicans. Chelsea Clinton, introducing her mom, reminds us that the hard-edged woman who lost her bid, barely, for the nomination succeeded in her most important mission of all, raising a bright and successful daughter.
A torrent of words, bluster and promises of pie in the sky will fall between Denver and Minneapolis and beyond. That's where the politicians live, and come September and October, what Barack Obama means by "change," what John McCain means by "experience," will crystallize on the stump and in the debates.
Will the poisonous residue of hate preached by Obama's erstwhile pastor and his inexplicable association with violent and unrepentant '60s radicals continue to cast doubt over his judgment and his readiness to lead all the people, all the time? Will McCain put aside nagging concerns about his age with his choice of running mate? Will his support of the surge in Iraq, now recognized as a qualified success, sustain his own surge of voter support? But late summer for us is springtime for the nominees. The real campaign is about to begin.
Every weekday JewishWorldReview.com publishes what many in the media and Washington consider "must-reading". Sign up for the daily JWR update. It's free. Just click here.
Comment on JWR contributor Suzanne Fields' column by clicking here.
Suzanne Fields Archives
© 2006, Creators Syndicate, Suzanne Fields
|
|

Arnold Ahlert
Mitch Albom
Jay Ambrose
Michael Barone
Barrywood
Lori Borgman
Stratfor Briefing
Mona Charen
Linda Chavez
Richard Z. Chesnoff
Ann Coulter
Greg Crosby
Larry Elder
Suzanne Fields
Christine Flowers
Peter Funt
Frank J. Gaffney
Bernie Goldberg
Jonah Goldberg
Julia Gorin
Jonathan Gurwitz
Paul Greenberg
Argus Hamilton
Victor Davis Hanson
Betsy Hart
Ron Hart
Nat Hentoff
A. Barton Hinkle
Jeff Jacoby
Paul Johnson
John Kass
Jack Kelly
Ch. Krauthammer
David Limbaugh
Kathryn Lopez
Rich Lowry
Michelle Malkin
Jackie Mason
Ann McFeatters
Dale McFeatters
Dana Milbank
Jeanne Moos
Dick Morris
Jim Mullen
Deroy Murdock
Judge A. Napolitano
Bill O'Reilly
Clarence Page
Kathleen Parker
Star Parker
Dennis Prager
Wesley Pruden
Tom Purcell
Sharon Randall
Michael Reagan
Robert Robb
Cokie & Steve Roberts
Heather Robinson
Debra J. Saunders
Martin Schram
Greg Schwem
Culture Shlock
David Shribman
Roger Simon
Lenore Skenazy
Michael Smerconish
Thomas Sowell
Mark Steyn
John Stossel
Cal Thomas
Dan Thomasson
Bob Tyrrell
Diana West
Dave Weinbaum
George Will
Walter Williams
Byron York
Cathy Young
Mort Zuckerman

Eric Allie
Robert Arial
Chuck Asay
Baloo
Nate Beeler
Lisa Benson
Chip Bok
Dry Bones
John Branch
Daryl Cagle
Patrick Chappatte
John Cole
Paul Combs
J. D. Crowe
John Darkow
Bill Day
John Deering
Sean Delonas
Brian Duffy
Everything's Relative
Randall Enos
Mallard Fillmore
David Fitzsimmons
Glenn Foden
Jake Fuller
Bob Gorrel
Walt Handelsman
Joe Heller
David Hitch
Jerry Holbert
David Horsey
Lee Judge
Steve Kelley
Mike Keefe
Jeff Koterba
Dick Locher
Chan Lowe
Jimmy Margulies
Gary McCoy
Rick McKee
Jack Ohman
Jeff Parker
Milt Priggee
Michael Ramirez
Rob Rogers
Steve Sack
Bill Schorr
Drew Sheneman
Kevin Siers
David Ray Skinner
Jeff Stahler
Scott Stantis
Danna Summers
Gary Varvel
Kirk Walters
Christopher Weyant
Larry Wright
Dan Wasserman
Adam Zyglis

Tech Q&A
Mr. Know-It-All
Ask Doctor K
Richard Lederer
Frugal Living
On Nutrition
Bookmark These
Bruce Williams
|