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February 10, 2012
Lisa M. Krieger: Man with defibrillator demands access to his own heart's information
David G. Savage: Why activists may not be in a hurry to have High Court rule on alternative marriage
February 9, 2012
Laura McMullen: 10 Least Expensive Public Schools for Out-of-State Students
Kimberly Palmer: How to actually enjoy -- relaxing, financially -- your vacation
February 8, 2012
Warren Richey: Why momentous Prop. 8 ruling might not satisfy gay-rights groups
Menachem Wecker: Though Controversial, LL.M.'s Can Lead to Specialized Legal Jobs
The Kosher Gourmet byDana Velden: Going to the bother of making soup? You know it better be good. This CREAM OF TOMATO SOUP certainly is! And it's a cinch to make, too (Includes techinques and serving secrets)
February 7, 2012
Frank J. Gaffney, Jr.: Caught off-guard? President's Super Bowl interview with Matt Lauer gives those who need a reason not to vote for him, a darn good one
Suzanne Bohan: Leaping lizards! Tiny reptiles advancing robot design
February 6, 2012
Jonathan Tobin: Iran Threatens Israel With Destruction, But the New York Times Doesn't Hear It
Jeffrey Fleishman: In newly democratic Egypt, tens of democracy activists jailed, to stand trial; their groups are 'threatening the stability of the homeland'
Julie Deardorff : Researchers say antioxidants may not be that effective and could do more harm than good
Mark Clayton: How did Anonymous hackers eavesdrop on FBI and Scotland Yard?
February 3, 2012
Edmund Sanders : Israeli official says Iran is creating missile that could reach East Coast of US
Victoria Kim: Immigrant-smuggling ring used black drivers to avoid racial profiling
February 2, 2012
Jim Carney: Wrong number call may have saved her life
Reza Kahlili : Ex-CIA spy in Iran's Revolutionary Guard: What Obama doesn't grasp about striking deals with Tehran
Tina Susman: For woodchuck rescuer, every day is Groundhog Day
February 1, 2012
Brian Bennett: US officials see increasing threat of domestic attack from Iran
Emily Brandon: How to Take Advantage of New 401(k) Fee Disclosures
January 31, 2012
January 30, 2012
Paul Richter and Ramin Mostaghim: Misreading Teheran's limits -- deadly and economically devastating as they may be -- is a risk administration, Europe seem willing to take
Suzanne Bohan: Warning: Nap-deprived tots missing more than sleep, study finds
Meg Handley: Banks Revamping Rewards Programs to Woo Customers
January 27, 2012
Caroline B. Glick: Obama: Of course I intend to prevent a nuclear holocaust . . . in a few months
Yochonon Donn: In liberal New York City, fervently-Orthodox Jews may soon be getting a district to call their own
Jeannine Stein: An inflated ego and thinking you're 'all that' doesn't just make others sick of you, it can make you ill
Katy Hopkins: New budget rules may affect how much money you get for college
January 26, 2012
Ed Koch: To the New York Times, calling for the murder of Jews by those capable of having their incitement taken seriously isn't news
Jeannine Stein: Mental illness struck one in five U.S. adults in 2010: Report
January 25, 2012
Richard Simon: House passes two bills endorsing the use of religious symbols at military memorials
Fred Weir: Putin: Multiethnic Russia cannot survive as a US-style 'melting pot'; must find its own way
Susan Johnston: 5 Sneaky Coupon Strategies Consumers Should Watch Out For
January 24, 2012
Carol Clark: The price of your soul: How your brain decides whether to 'sell out'
Caroline B. Glick: America lost most in 'Arab Spring'. Sadly, many voters still don't grasp the extent
Warren Richey: Drug criminal scores win in GPS ruling from conservative-leaning high court
Erika Bolstad: Black conservatives gather to talk about gaining strength
January 23, 2012
Melissa Dribben: Jewish voters to play a key role in Florida's Republican primary
Jordan Rau: In quest to grow, Catholic hospital system will announce this morning its break from church
Ali Safi: U.S. envoy gives Taliban terms for peace talks
January 19, 2012
January 18, 2012
January 17, 2012
Frank J. Gaffney Jr.: No-kidding red lines: U.S. response to an Iranian nuke may be bluster, but Israel's won't be
David G. Savage: They sued their principals after slandering them online --- now the cases are headed to the Supreme Court
David Francis: Where to Invest in 2012: With stocks expected to rebound, opportunity abounds for investors
January 13, 2012
Ben Lynfield: Israeli lawmakers move to annex Jewish Judea, one museum at a time
Alexia Elejalde-Ruiz: Thriving through touch: Gentle massage helps older people with low mobility improve in mind and body
January 12, 2012
Warren Richey: Landmark Supreme Court ruling a 'resounding win' for religious groups
Warren Richey: Supreme Court says no to new rule on eyewitness testimony
John Fauber : Statins found to raise diabetes risk in postmenopausal women
Katy Hopkins : Consider This Before You Pay for an Online Degree
The Kosher Gourmet by Joseph Erdos: This mushroom and barley soup has an intense -- almost nutty -- flavor that mixes robust with Middle East. It has creaminess without cream
January 11, 2012
Shari Roan: Millions of atrial fibrillation sufferers at risk for devastating, but preventable, stroke
Tom Hussain: Pakistan -- recipient of more than $21 billion in civilian and military aid -- speeds pursuit of Iranian pipeline, defying US
David G. Savage: High court signals it won't be loosening TV's 'indecency' rules
Stephen Ceasar: Oklahoma's Islamic law amendment can't go into effect, court rules
January 10, 2012
Reza Kahlili: From an ex-CIA spy: US must exploit new split in Iran's Revolutionary Guard
Karen Kaplan: Study: Nicotine replacement products ineffective when used in real-life situations
January 9, 2012
Michael Doyle: Put through legal hell over dream home, couple fought back hard --- all the way to Supreme Court
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Jewish World Review
March 28, 2008
/ 21 Adar II 5768
Slam dunks are only in basketball
By
Wesley Pruden
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http://www.JewishWorldReview.com |
Presidential candidates are a lot like new shoes. They fit better after a few strolls around the block. A candidate's flaws that look fatal in April look more like footnotes in October.
The row between the women and the blacks in the Democratic primaries is more entertainment than meltdown, but some Democrats are about to reach for the panic button. When the going gets tough the not-so-tough surrender to hysteria. The new polling numbers by Rasmussen, the most reliable pollster of the moment, would in fact be terrifying for the Democrats if this were October. But this is only almost April, not October.
What's happening among the Democrats illustrates once more that slam dunks are for March Madness, not presidential elections. Barring candidates like George McGovern and Barry Goldwater, there are no slam dunks in November. Only a few weeks ago, the Democrats could hardly wait for November, plotting to leave Iraq in confusion and chaos, to raise taxes, to make nice with the nation's enemies, to pump up the welfare state, to do for health care what we've done for public education. Republicans, ever eager to show the white feather when a Democrat says boo, were looking for the best and fastest routes out of town. Who could blame them? The media, ever eager to demonstrate even-handedness and a lack of bias, were in thrall to Obama and not quite ready to abandon the Clinton myth, but keen to encourage Republican despair.
But now look: Barack Obama, once the beige knight on a dappled horse, got caught hanging out with hatemongers and America-lasters in Chicago, and Hillary, ever the coquette, got caught flirting with the race issue, making up war stories about her heroics in Bosnia, and otherwise being a Clinton. Now both Hillary and Obama are villains among the party faithful, depending on which faithful you talk to, and Rasmussen finds that substantial numbers of Democrats don't want either one of them, with 1 in 5 saying both should quit and let someone else try. But 4 of 5 Democrats don't want the struggle to end, which is a measure of the depth of the mutual rage.
John McCain has opened 10-point leads over both Obama and Hillary in the latest measurement of national sentiment. Some of the most frightened Democrats even want to bring Al Gore in from the cold, as it were, and crown the king of the melting solar system as the man who can "bring us together." (Try not to laugh.) Nobody talks about slam dunks any longer, though a 10-point McCain lead on Election Day would translate to "landslide."
Restoring the Democratic National Convention, like its counterpart moribund for decades as nothing more than a pep rally, to a real nominating convention was dismissed as a pipe dream of bored reporters and conniving pundits as recently as Christmas. Now nobody rules out anything. A floor fight over whether to seat the delegates elected in the disputed primaries in Florida and Michigan could set everything afire, and a runaway convention might nominate anyone. Barack Obama could, in this event, practice unifying the country by first unifying the Democratic Party, acceding to Al Gore or someone else as the third way to the White House. This would give him a long leg up four years hence, when John McCain would likely be completing his first and only term. Who knows what the Clintons would do.
Nevertheless and this is the big nevertheless there's scant evidence that the gap between left and right, between red states and blue, has closed. Bill Clinton, the most popular Democrat of his generation, never won a majority of the popular vote. George W. Bush won two national elections, but only barely. The margins of the past two decades are not likely to tighten this year. We're as divided as we ever were, and as salutary as the right landslide might be in calming tempers and soothing anger we won't see one this year. Slam dunks are for pituitary giants running up and down the floor in colorful underwear. The rest of us, like it or not, will have to break in new shoes.
Every weekday JewishWorldReview.com publishes what many in in the media and Washington consider "must-reading". Sign up for the daily JWR update. It's free. Just click here.
JWR contributor Wesley Pruden is editor in chief of The Washington Times. Comment by clicking here.
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