Pot Shots

For someone who has spent the equivalent of a mortgage (with his own funds) on 1600 Pennsylvania, it's somewhat ironic (coupled with a whiff of desperation) for John Edwards to say that the Lincoln Bedroom won't be for sale.

I thought Mike Huckabee would get a bigger bounce from his very impressive second place showing in the Iowa beauty pageant. If not that, at least a hatchet job or two from the MSM.

Now if Michael Vick had taken that roll of bills and gave it to charity rather than to bankroll the dogfighting enterprise...he'd be on a whole slew of United Way ads.

While on the topic of Michael (Con) Vick, if he does ever play professional football, I can't see it being below the 49th parallel. (For those geographically challenged -- that's the U.S.-Canadian border.) Further, being forced to watch the CFL may be a Geneva Convention violation.

If you weren't sure that Stephon Marbury is a jerk, here's your proof.

Can someone forward me the memo that says that Dane Cook is funny. I can't seem to find my copy.

Perhaps it's my eyesight, but Gabrielle Anwar, looks better than most women a decade younger. If you don't believe me, check her out on Burn Notice.

Karl Rove -- A few thoughts

The New York Times seldom, if ever, highlights an article in a rival publication, but you could sense the glee when they headlined Karl Rove's resignation in an interview with the Wall Street Journal this morning.

So Mr. Rove moves on what does this portend? Well, not much actually.

• Karl Rove was not an evil genius. However, he was smart enough politically to engineer the defeat of an incumbent Vice-President who thought he should be elected for no other reason than an overdeveloped sense of primogeniture. Then four years later, with one of the weakest incumbents in office, he was able to beat the Democratic candidate who had a sense of invincibility about him.
  
• The primary focus of the remainder of the Bush Administration will be on the global war on terror. There won't be much discussion on domestic issues such as Social Security or immigration reform. The Democrats are too focused on payback and the Republicans are playing defense. This won't be a return of the Clintonian era of small -bore initiatives such as V-chips and school uniforms, but there really isn't much for a political strategist to do -- so you might as well move on.
  
• As noted previously, the Democrats are playing payback and Rove has become a liability for the Administration. As a private citizen, the Democrats could care less what advice he offered the president on a whole raft of issues. They just wanted him gone. Rove, however, had the opportunity to pick the time and place of his departure.
  
• Rove now has the opportunity to host a Sunday morning talk show. Stephanopoulos, Russert, Matthews were all partisan hacks who worked for Clinton, Cuomo, and O'Neil respectively before they all became objective news hosts -- who's to say that Rove can't do the same? (Bob Schieffer is getting on in years...)
  
• Anyway, an award to the first lazy journalist who notes, when Bush will commit his next error, "Well this wouldn't have happened if Rove were still around." He made errors with Rove, he'll make them without him.

Bonds -- Next Stop Cooperstown?

When Thurman Munson died tragically in an airplane accident in 1979, there was a move to get him inducted in the Hall of Fame immediately by waiving the five year rule.

Munson did have impressive stats -- Rookie of the Year in '70 and the MVP in '76. Surprisingly for a for a catcher was the fact that he finished in the top ten in batting for five years and was an All-Star for seven years. Munson, who by all accounts, had a few years left to play as he was only 32 when he died.

However, cooler heads prevailed and five years elapsed. And guess what --Munson, despite his credentials at the time of his death, simply didn't have the numbers to earn him a spot in Cooperstown. It's the Hall of Fame, not the Hall of the Pretty Good, after all.

So what? Well, a lot can happen in five years -- especially the five years from the time Barry Bonds retires to the time he's eligible for the Hall. News reports suggest that he's looking at a post season indictment for possible perjury in the whole BALCO mess. Moreover, the glow of actually breaking the mark will fade over time, especially as players, such as Alex Rodriguez, who have not been tainted with a steroids charge, make their assault on the record. Lastly, Bonds was never a friend of the media, and it's the media who decides who goes into the Hall and who stays outside.

It's not unprecedented. Pete Rose, who had more base hits than anyone who ever played the game -- and a whole slew of other records (but don't trust me -- his website will tell you) is still on the outside. Mr. Rose was a stone cold lock for the Hall but when his business of betting on baseball came to light -- it was lights out for Pete.

A lot can happen between now and 2012 (like a second Hillary Clinton term -- yikes!) but there certainly is no free pass for Barry Bonds when it comes to the Hall of Fame.

Mr. Bonds should enjoy the view for now, because it's all downhill from here on out.

Springsteen -- A Golden Oldie?

So I'm driving on the Turnpike playing radio roulette last Friday night-- and along comes Elvis Presley crooning "Burning Love." That's cool -- that will keep me occupied on an otherwise nondescript drive through New Jersey.

But then after that came a Bruce Springsteen tune. What kind of station plays Presley and then Springsteen? An oldies station. Go figure. And I remember when Bruce was on the cover of Time and Newsweek -- the same week back in 1975 as the next best thing.

Fast forward to Saturday and I'm flipping through my local TV listing and I see something called the "Springsteen Sessions" on a public TV channel at nine o'clock on a Saturday night in the summer -- who's going to be sticking around for that?

Then it dawned on me -- Springsteen is a nostalgia act.

I remember living out in California in the early 1990's and Springsteen released two albums separately -- a trick performed by Guns 'n' Roses for the Lose Your Illusion I and II recordings. GNR sold a boatload of albums. (But who knew it would be their last effort?)

Springsteen, alas, with Lucky Town and Human Touch, didn't fare nearly as well. I don't recall if he released any other new material for the rest of the decade. I bought his single disk Greatest Hits package in '95.

Sure, The Rising sold like proverbial hotcakes and the tour was a big time success. But how much of that could be associated with re-uniting the E Street Band, the need for some "healing" from 9/11, and the monumental hype machine that went into overdrive to hype this record?

But let me ask you this, when was the last time you heard a track from The Rising on the radio? 2003 perhaps? I know I haven't heard any of it since the tour ended.

This post isn't intended to be a hit on Springsteen. I like his music somewhat (his politics somewhat less) but it's all part of the career arc of any commercially successful artist.

If Springsteen ever needs money for the mortgage, he can dust off some old recordings for a remastered box set or just play a few concerts in the Garden State and he'll be set for a few few more years. He's got a legion of faithful fans between New York and Philadelphia.

And if I'm in the mood for a tune from the Boss, I'll make sure to stop by the oldies station.

Greenhouse Gas

Linda Greenhouse, the New York Times correspondent who lacks the adaptability to cover anything other than Supreme Court, wrote what can only be considered as a hatchet job on Justice Roberts. Under the guise of a "Supreme Court memo," she sounds the horn and rings the bell about the mortality of the Chief Justice, who seizures aside, is the picture of health at 52 years of age.

A more balanced report can be found elsewhere in the Times, where Denise Grady and Lawrence Altman talk to various experts who argue that he should (or should not) begin a drug therapy. As with any drug, there are side effects.

By any account it's a fair assessment of the situation.

Alas, Ms. Greenhouse has her memo and her agenda.

Greenhouse ramps the hyperbole at the end when she notes, " It is John Roberts for whom the country now holds its breath."

Now that's a dramatic ending. However, it loses some of its impact, when one considers the fact only a quarter of those polled can name two of the nine Supreme Court Justices. Maybe it's Ms. Greenhouse who's is holding her breath.

If that's the case, keep holding sister.