Headless Horsemen

Only 19 hours until football people!

A Discovery Channel special debuted this week. One full hour of Rudy Giuliani explaining how frightened, yet poised and decisive he was during the events of 9/11. How is it that nine whole years after the incident this man is still allowed to exploit that tragedy for his own personal gain?

According to poll results released early this week, voters think Republicans would be better at handling the economy than the Democrats. No word on whether or not those are the same respondents who 18 months ago told pollsters they thought Democrats would be better at handling the economy than Republicans, but that’s neither here nor there in this conversation. The point is that voters seem to have the memories of goldfish. People really trust the Republican party - the party that doubled the national debt in eight years, oversaw the near complete collapse of the American financial system, and supervised zero net growth in both employment and net income - to better handle the economy? Really? Are all those people masochists, or just plain stupid? It’s perfectly reasonable to tell a pollster that you trust neither party to handle the economy. It is the height of absurdity to claim you trust the people who broke the system more than the people who have at least made some attempt to fix it.

Nevada Republican senatorial hopeful Sharon Angle announced this week that she will “be a mainstream senator.” Huh? Sharon Angle based her entire Tea Party-supported primary campaign on the idea that mainstream senators were ruining the country. If she intends to be a “mainstream” senator, why should any of her supporters vote for her? I suppose Sharon Angle’s idea of “mainstream” might be a little different from everyone else’s. It would have to be. In the universe most of us live in it certainly isn’t considered “mainstream” to pay your doctor for your kidney surgery in chickens and goats?

Speaking of crazy people, Arizona (I know, I know) Governor Jan Brewer found herself in the news again last week after a dismal debate performance against her Democratic challenger. Things went bad from the opening statement, as Brewer got lost in her notes, fumbled with her words and stared awkwardly through several long, unintended pauses. And that was before anyone asked any questions. During the debate, she attacked her opponents closeness with labor unions as the reason the state has experienced a decline in convention tourism this year. When her opponent responded with a much more plausible explanation, that it was actually the Governor’s signing of the now-famous anti-immigration legislation, and false stories of decapitations in the Arizona desert repeated by Brewer on multiple occasions, she found herself at a complete loss. After the debate, when reporters asked her multiple times why she refused to recant the false allegations of decapitations in the desert, Brewer pretended not to hear them, ended the Q&A session and walked away. The next day the Governor announced she would not participate in any more debates prior to the election, because she doesn’t “believe things come out in proper context in an adversarial atmosphere.” Nice. Just what is the proper context for a 20 second pause, and fairy tales about headless bodies in the desert?

Of course, the pathetic part about this is that none of it matters. As weak as her performance was, we’re talking about Arizona here. The only qualification you need to win as a Republican is a pulse. In fact, according to one poll taken after the debate, Brewer’s lead over her challenger actually increased by three points, 60% to 38%. Seriously. Can’t we just cut that state loose and call it a day?

Rumor is that following Chicago Mayor Richard Daley’s announcement this week that he will not run for another term, White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emmanuel will step down to run to replace him. When was the last time Chicago had a mayor not named Daley? Isn’t it written into the city by-laws or something, that the mayor must be named Daley? This is going to be weird.

Finally, following an investigation into improper receipt of gifts while at USC, it appears as though New Orleans Saints running back Reggie Bush will be stripped of his Heisman Trophy. This comes on the heels of an NCAA disciplinary ruling against USC in which the school lost scholarships, was forced to vacate wins and was banned from bowl and tournament appearances for the next several years. I am slightly conflicted about this. Universities make tens of millions of dollars off of these players, yet the players aren’t allowed to accept any form of compensation whatsoever. But, Bush knew the rules, and chose not to follow them. Due to that fact, he forfeits the trophy. It’s pretty simple. What I don’t understand is why the Heisman Trust has decided not to award the trophy to the runner up. They have instead decided that for the first time in over 70 years, the 2005 Heisman Trophy will remain unawarded. Why? Why bother having a first and second runner up if you aren’t going to award them the trophy if the winner is disqualified?