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May 25, 2012
Mark Clayton: Is Hillary's State Dept. hacking Al Qaeda? Not quite
Erika Bolstad: Temple cancels Wasserman Schultz speech
The Kosher Gourmet by Ethel G. Hofman: The former president of the International Association of Culinary Professionals, whose members included the likes of Julia Child, is back with contemporary Shavous cuisine: Ruby Fruit Soup, Sweet Noodle Kugel with Cheese, Key Lime Curd, Calsone Casserole Frittata with Wild Mushrooms, Sun-dried tomatoes and Olives, Baked Tilapia with Pepper Cheese Cream and Brown Sugar Shortbread
May 24, 2012
Jeff Jacoby: The peace process battered Israel's reputation
Michael Muskal: 'Pro-choice' position hits record low, according to poll
Chris Farrell: Are We in a Tech Bubble?
The Kosher Gourmet by Penelope Wall: PHILLY CHEESE STEAKS --- hold the steak!
May 23, 2012
Tony Pugh: More private colleges offering tuition discounts
Mary Beth Franklin: How to Choose the Right Annuity for You
Tina Susman: The wig wasn't enough: Man gets 13 years for posing as his dead mom
The Kosher Gourmet by Emma Christensen:A simple way to do fish right
May 22, 2012
Warren Richey: Can US group challenge overseas surveillance act? Supreme Court to decide
Thomas M. Anderson: Walking Away From a Mortgage
The Kosher Gourmet by Megan Gordon: Enjoy a celebration of the most rich and layered flavors: Black bean, sweet potato and quinoa chili
May 21, 2012
Mark Clayton: Cybersecurity: How US utilities passed up chance to protect their networks
Howard LaFranchi: NATO summit: Who will foot the bill for long-term Afghanistan security?
Chris Farrell : Earn Dividends in Emerging Markets with This WisdomTree ETF
Stephen Whiteside, Ph.D. : Mayo Clinic Medical Edge: Social anxiety disorder --- or just shy?
Guy Jackson : Victim's father regrets death of Lockerbie bomber
The Kosher Gourmet by Mario Batali: Famed chef's veal shoulder farsumagru: A festive meat course for late spring
May 18, 2012
Rabbi Berel Wein: Striving: The People of the Book's Book for (All of) the People
Steven Goldberg: 5 Great Stock Picks and the Exchange-Traded Fund that Owns Them
Mary Pickett, M.D.: Ask the Harvard Experts: Don't be forced into gluten-free lifestyle based merely on a doctor's false-positive test
The Kosher Gourmet by Carolyn Malcoun: DIY healthy lunchbox treats: HOMEMADE FRUIT BARS for kids and brown-bagging adults alike
May 17, 2012
Warren Richey: Teacher fired for being unwed and pregnant can sue religious school, court rules
Josh Mitnick: Netanyahu's 'centrist' coalition is already proving it's anything but
Steven Goldberg: Earn Dividends in Emerging Markets with This WisdomTree ETF
Amina Khan: Research links coffee to lower death rates
The Kosher Gourmet by Faith Duran : Cheesy Potato Breakfast Casserole with Cheddar and Sun-Dried Tomatoes
May 16, 2012
Carmen Terzic, M.D., Ph.D. : Mayo Clinic Medical Edge: A variety of exercises can help improve balance
Melissa Healy: National strategy on Alzheimer's disease aims to halt it by 2025
The Kosher Gourmet by Joyce White : GOODNESS GRACIOUS: GREENS! 4 winning recipes that are no longer just for down-home folks (Includes expert tips & techniques)
May 15, 2012
Kristen Chick: Obama administration resumes arms sales to Bahrain despite serious unresolved human rights issues. Activists feel abandoned
Pat Mertz Esswein: Homes are now affordable again and mortgage rates are low. What you need to know before you buy
Kathy Kristof: Our Practical Investor Fights Inflation with These 6 Investments
Sue Hubbard, M.D.: The Kid's Doctor: Lactose intolerant young child? Check again
The Kosher Gourmet by Kathy Hunt: Spread a Little Excitement with EXOTIC CONDIMENTS (4 RECIPES)
May 14, 2012
Lisa Gerstner: How to Protect Your Identity, Finances If You Lose Your Phone
Harvard Health Letters: Heart disease and dementia
The Kosher Gourmet by Megan Gordon: MANGO COCONUT OAT MORNING MUFFINS are a bright but hearty delight
May 11, 2012
Jessica L. Anderson: Get the Best Deal on a Used Car
Jett Stone: Forget face-lifts and fake knees. Scientists have seen the fountain of youth --- and it's broccoli
The Kosher Gourmet by Chef Mario Batali: The famed chef's vegetable dish that tastes true to the season: FAVAS AND SUGAR SNAP PEAS WITH POTATOES AND TARRAGON
May 10, 2012
Sergei L. Loiko: Putin sends warning to U.S., NATO in Victory Day speech at Red Square
Mary Rourke: How being a 'mentch' got Vidal Sasoon his start and fighting in Israel's War of Independence provided him with confidence and a strong sense of his own identity
Jeff Bertolucci: Get Home Phone Service for Less Than $10 a Month
The Kosher Gourmet by Betty Rosbottom: Gleaming with its golden, crimson, and snowy white hues, this silken smooth and creamy STRAWBERRY ORANGE TRIFLE looks impressive, but is easy to prepare
May 9, 2012
Sharon Palmer, R.D. How you can reduce your risk -- or delay -- chronic diseases associated with aging
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Jewish World Review
Oct 18, 2011
/ 20 Tishrei, 5772
Anybody but Obama takes the lead
By
Wesley Pruden
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http://www.JewishWorldReview.com |
The conventional wisdom, which is usually but not always wrong, holds that Rick Perry is ahead of the field: He looks asleep, and that's where everybody else yearns to be. The prospect of President Romney is bor-iiiing.
So far as we actually know, this reflects only the conventional wisdom of pundits, television's talking heads and the other gasbags who always dominate the Pundit Primary. The various polls, earnest though they may be, are little more than straw polls. In the long scheme of events, straw polls taken now are not worth much. The road through the caucuses and primaries is a long one, paved mostly with killer potholes big enough to swallow in one gulp a candidate the size of Chris Christie.
Mitt Romney, like Hillary Clinton before him, seems to be the inevitable nominee, but the campaign has been a search for an alternative to the inevitable, a quest for a tastier flavor of the day/week/month. Anything but a boring grape soda called Mitt.
Rick Perry was supposed to be Dr Pepper, good for you at 10, 2 and 4, a Texas tonic to light up tastebuds from coast to coast. This lasted until the first sip, and then the conventional wisdom found it as exciting as lemon-lime without the fizz. The next flavor up was a big, bold razzberry from Jersey, prescribed by the remnants of an unreasonable facsimile of what's left of the northeastern liberals who presided over the decline and fall of the "old" Republicans. The latest favorite flavor is a punch that tastes strangely of pepperoni, interesting in its way but scorned by conventional wisdom as bellywash worth about 9 cents a swig. So we're on the way back to the grape soda. Still boring, and going flat.
But boring has its fans. There's a little buzz among the boys at the back of the bus about Warren G. Harding as the model -- without the scandal, of course -- of the modern boring president. The Weekly Standard even has a cover story celebrating "how a much-derided Republican president actually succeeded in cutting the budget and fixing the economy." We're supposed to see a parallel here (I think) to one of the current candidates. For decades, Harding, a senator and a newspaper publisher nominated in 1920 as a boring compromise, was generally regarded by historians as the worst president ever -- until Jimmy Carter happened. His brief administration was incompetence followed by scandal wrapped in corruption, remembered mostly for a row over oil leases in the Tea Pot Dome reserves in Wyoming. Harding was a gift of hot copy for his fellow newspapermen, with a domineering wife, two mistresses and gossip that he was descended from a black great-great grandfather from theCaribbean. He dismissed the possibility of African blood with a flippant remark that kept the controversy going: "How do I know? One of my ancestors may have jumped the fence."
He cut taxes and restored a failing economy, won great popularity, died unexpectedly at 56 after serving just over half his term, and left a small-government legacy that could be a conservative mantra today.
"There has grown up the idea that by some impossible magic a government can give out a bounty by the mere fact of having liberty and equality written over its door," he said in a campaign speech from his front porch in Ohio, "and that citizenship need make no deposit in the bank of the common weal in order to write checks upon the bank. Here at home we have had too much encouragement given to the idea that a government is a something-for-nothing institution. . . . It is only in a country where the merit, capacity and worth of men and women are recognized and rewarded that merit, capacity and worth are developed. You and I, and good Americans of whatever color, blood or creed, know that the aspiration of all men is equal opportunity, and that no injustice known to man can be greater than that of the tyranny and autocracy that enslaves all men, all their ambitions and all their freedom."
None of the aspiring Republicans, all professing to be card-carrying conservatives, has said it better. Some, not necessarily including Mitt Romney, have lived it better. Some, definitely including Mitt Romney, have sometimes professed the creed and acted otherwise. They might have "jumped the fence," as Warren Harding would put it. Hence the prospect that the Republicans will crown their candidate with rousing reluctance, in the fragile belief that "Anybody but Obama" will be enough for this season.
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 emeritus of The Washington Times. Comment by clicking here.
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