Chris Bowers has posted here and at his site, Open Left, an interesting and provacative contrast for politics.  And given that Bob Herbert, a columnist for one of America's biggest newspapers with his take on the history of Republican behavior  in which he tosses both Ronald Reagan and Lee Atwater into the dust bin of history, merits an affirming response on my part..  I too think I should make it known that 'non-issues' is an equally important tool for measuring our political participation, as well.

So, follow me over the 'jump', and learn a tad more on
an innovative approach to conceptual history or for Sonoran Desert 'creationism' of 30 years ago.  :-)

Note:  I posted this earlier today, and the link can be found at the end of this diary.

When you can't see yourself for all the chatter?  Or is it?

It is my contention that I cannot see myself for all the chatter that surrounds me in our daily world, and it is for this reason that should Governor Bill Richardson run for the Democratic Party's nomination for the Presidency, he will have to become a "star".  Of course, getting the mainstream media to cooperate will be a difficult accomplishment despite his heavy-duty laden resume in both foreign policy and domestic agenda accomplishments.

First off, let me expose my bias, if there is one?  I first met Bill Richardson back in 1982 when he was running for Congress. On a prior occasion, he ran and lost.  On his second attempt he won and ably representated the Grants, New Mexico area, and his constituents loved him then and still do today.  At the time, I was considered a Governor Bruce Babbitt "clone" for sitting on Arizona's Solar Energy Commission.  However, not lost in all this din of politics, when Bruce Babbitt ran for the Party's nomination for the presidency, Babbitt suffered the same indignity for not being a "star" and  thusly magnified by the news media. As an aside, he--Babbit went on to serve quietly as Bill Clinton's Secretary of the Interior, and his spouse, Hattie, a super-star of politics if there ever was one, was appointed as our national Ambassador to the Organization of American States.

Consequently, becoming the media 'darling' by supplanting Senator Hillary Clinton from the Great State of New York, will be Governor Richardson's biggest challenge.  Among Chicanos, Richardson is the favorite son, but one must also understand, that Richardson has been "deemed" and "designated" the Hispanic Candidate by both the Conventional Wisdom and the mainstream media.  And to wit, the difficulty for becoming a "star" and being the designated "Hispanic" accrues to having to strikes against him--to use a sports metaphor.

And to why the two paragraphs above?  

I am leading up to my most notable point about Conventional Wisdom.

Arizona is comprised in pure demographic terms, 24% of the population, and by adding in Native Americans and African Americans, "racial and ethnics" do indeed have an impact with regard to "opinion", although we forthrightly know that we are not "opinion-makers" or so I believe.  That is a sad fact.

Last week, I participated as a Repondent to a public opininion poll conducted by Arizona State University's Walter Conkrite School of Journalism and the PBS affiliate, Channel Eight.  The results of this poll was announced yesterday evening on the Channel 8's public affairs program titled, Horizon.  This poll had 600 respondents, and historically-speaking, tends to skew Republican.  And despite all this, here are their results:

For Democrats:

29% for Barack Obama
23% for Hillary Clinton
15% for John Edwards
12% for Al Gore
21% were Undecided

When I was polled, I threw my lot in with the Chicanos' Favorite Son, Governor Bill Richardson.  Thus, my vote does not show anywhere in this poll, and which is a concern to me.  In any event, I have a telephone call into ASU, asking for access to the "internals" in order to satisfy my curiosity regarding my non-relevance and as such, my intemperate behavior.

For Republicans:

54% to John McCain
14% to Newt Gingrich
 9% to Mitt Romney
 2% to Duncan Hunter
21% were Undecided

As to President Bush's sending more troops to Iraq, 52% are opposed, 39% are supportive, and 9% had no opinion.

And despite my predilictions about this poll, I offer out my kudos to the proprietors of this poll, and here's why:

"Attitudes were evenly divided over whether children who are born in the United States to parents who are illegal immigrants should pay in-state or out of state tuition when attending the state's community colleges and universities.  Forty-three percent said they should be allowed to pay in-state tuition while 45% felt they should pay the more costly out-of-state tuition."

In summary, should I get access to the "internals" of this poll, I will update, and I find that the "attitudes" for furthering one's education, has a long way to go to achieving the American Dream.  Wall, barriers and obstacles, are tough to overcome, but that is still a Challenge to us all.

And lest I forget, the Poll had an MOE of 4%.

Non-Update Note:  

It is my obvious contention that this poll was hurriedly conducted to counteract the conclusions that were arrived at and published widely in which the GOP's annual gathering of Precinct Committeemen conducted their own "straw poll" and thusly, rendering Senator John McCain to the dustbin of history while elevating Congress Member Duncan Hunter of California as their front-runner among the party activists.  Duncan Hunter is now the former Chairman of the House Armed Services Committee.

Link:  http://www.chicanoveterans.org/id19.htm

Jaango

The Chicano Military Veterans Organization is opening its "Cactus Juice Commentaries" to those Congressional Candidates who are military veterans, in order to create and to post the crafted Profiles of these Candidates.  Thus, if you are a political operative for one of these Candidates, and would like to see your Candidate included, take a gander and learn all about our latest effort, at the link listed below:

http://www.chicanoveterans.org/id19.htm

And, contact the Chicano Veterans Organization at your convenience for further information where necessary.

To be somewhat charitable to the Bush administration, the symbolism and mythology of their behavior is to recognize that "spin" or "lies" have played an important role in the marketing for the Invasion of Iraq and the attendant discourse that has and continues to follow this overall marketing effort.  But there have been some glitches.

"I have no doubt that the free and well-informed people can and sift through the increasing volume of information and over time develop a balanced view of our government, our Armed Forces, and our values and principles."

                              Donald Rumsfeld
                                June 18, 2005

In a de=-classe contrast, one should consider the following:

John Hawkins:   "How about dashing off a quick sentence or just
                a word or two about the following......John
                Murtha."

Ann Coulter:  "The reason soldiers invented 'fragging'".

Need more be said?  Of course and when it comes to Donald Rumsfeld, argumentation and refutation and where the "unassailable" facts are available, Rumsfeld will always lose the argument.

And in this contrast with Ann Coulter, she deserves to be challenged regardless of when, what, and how, she says it.  Otherwise, her constant attempts to convince others that she should be taken serious, will gain traction, and thereby coarsening our public discourse.  Moreover, her opportunistic and lame attempts at addressing the "deficit needs" of Maslow's Theory for a Hiearchy of Needs, should be recognized for what "it" is.  As for me, a simple-minded fellow that I am, I too recognize 'gutter politics' when it is on full display by Coulter and the like-minded.  Thus, she deserves to be ridiculed, but never ignored.

Now, if I am wrong, then it will be likely be that Donald Rumsfeld too will challenge Ann Coulter, and this challenge will take place in a public forum for all to see.