Presidential Pyrotechnics

Ways to spend July Fourth: Go to the Esplanade in Boston to watch the Pops concert and subsequent fireworks. Or debate the actions of our presidential candidates, Democratic Sen. Barack Obama and Republican Sen. John McCain. Why not do both? That’s what Bob and Susannah, plus a neutral cat, do on their Independence Day in the latest episode of “Running Gags”!

$3.59 a gallon?

Gas prices are going up, folks, and two presidential candidates, Democrat Hillary Clinton and Republican John McCain, have proposed a solution: a gas-tax holiday. But, Susannah wants to know, what about more environmentally-friendly alternatives? Read more — including Bob’s response and an homage to my own greater Boston MBTA — in the latest episode of “Running Gags”!

McCain: Springtime of GOP’s discontent

Arizona Sen. John McCain has won the Republican presidential nomination for 2008. Does he have what it takes to mobilize the GOP base? Bob and Susannah discuss in the latest “Running Gags”!

Hagee endorses McCain

Surprise: Pastor John Hagee of San Antonio, founder of Christians United for Israel, endorsed Arizona Sen. John McCain for president — not ordained Baptist minister and former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee.

The New York Times detailed Hagee’s, er, intriguing beliefs on Eretz Yisrael and end-times prophecies. While these beliefs may unsettle and/or confuse the secular Times, they’re in step with many other Americans. “(In) one poll last year, 42 per cent of Americans said they believed that ‘Israel was given to the Jewish people by God’, and 32 per cent that Israel is ‘part of the fulfilment of biblical prophecy and the Second Coming of Jesus,’” the Times Literary Supplement reported.Wonder if Hagee’s support shows a conservative shift towards McCain?

A Buckeye bombardment

Thoughts about one of the sought-after presidential primary states, Ohio, from a visitor and lover of the Buckeye State (Adriatico’s and Larry’s, long life to you both!):

Hard to believe Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton even has a lead there to defend when she’s associated with an administration that passed NAFTA.

Economic platforms could decide the Buckeye battles on the Democratic side. Ohio’s economy is hurting.

Faith might be less of a factor than never-seen-Columbus East Coasters could expect. Ohio voters rejected fundamentalist favorite Ken Blackwell in the governor’s race in 2006. On the Republican side, Arkansas ex-Gov. Mike Huckabee might not want to stress his faith as much as his populism against Arizona Sen. John McCain.

Will racial prejudice affect Ohioans’ decision to vote for Sen. Barack Obama? I don’t think it will be to a greater or lesser degree than most other states. Yes, there were race riots in Cincinnati in 2001. But Ohio Republicans also ran an African-American candidate, Blackwell, for governor two years ago. I think most state voters will consider Obama fairly.

Midwest, Southern setbacks for McCain?

Sen. John McCain has lost the Republican primary in Kansas. Jayhawkers went for former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee over McCain, 60 percent to 24 percent, with Texas Rep. Ron Paul picking up 11 percent.

What might help Huckabee’s improbable run is that the New York Times is not-so-subtly advocating McCain’s candidacy. Reporter Kate Zernike referred to “the daunting number of delegates Mr. McCain has amassed” and added that ”Mr. McCain is far enough ahead in the delegate race that his advisers have said it would be all but impossible for anyone else to win the nomination.” Of course his advisers would say that. How about finding a less partial source?

The numbers are as follows: To win the nomination, a candidate needs 1,191 delegates. The total before the voting on Saturday put McCain at 703, Huckabee at 190 and Paul 42.

My sense is that Huckabee will also do well in the upcoming March 4 primaries in Texas (a winner-take-all 140 delegates) and Ohio (88). These states are friendly to fundamentalists (think Rod Parsley and John Hagee) and populists alike.

Conservative civil war?

“On Point” host Tom Ashbrook discussed conservative pundits’ animosity toward Sen. John McCain on Monday as McCain seems poised to win the Republican presidential nomination. Ashbrook focused on Rush Limbaugh, broadcasting Limbaugh’s mimicry of McCain and angry response to 1996 GOP presidential nominee Bob Dole, who has criticized Rush for denouncing McCain.

Limbaugh headlines a long list of commentators — Ann Coulter, Laura Ingraham, Sean Hannity, Pat Buchanan — whose audience includes many with an equally strong dislike of McCain. (I analyzed the pundits’ outrage here.)

To what degree will Limbaugh, Coulter et al. influence voters’ decision in November? Do people listen to them primarily for entertainment value, or does their audience take their opinions more seriously?

Many conservatives pride themselves on their independence — independence from Big Government in Washington, DC, independence from New York-centered media, independence from movie barons in Hollywood. They might also resent what is becoming their own version of the mainstream media telling them what to do, and who to vote for.

Who made Rush, Coulter emperors?

The Republican punditocracy — including Rush Limbaugh, Ann Coulter, Michael Savage, Pat Buchanan and Laura Ingraham — boasts lots of listeners and New York Times best-seller status. But it seems to be mistaking its clout at store counters and on radio dials for the authority of Moses on the mountaintop.

On “Super Tuesday” the clarion calls came out against Arizona Sen. John McCain. Ingraham welcomed Focus on the Family boss Dr. James Dobson, who delivered some unkind words against the Straight Talk Express. Limbaugh got a dressing-down from former GOP presidential nominee Bob Dole for his attacks on McCain. Savage, when not calling the entire primary process a ploy of Goldman Sachs, also castigated the senator, as did Buchanan and Coulter.

Yet party voters seem to like the guy right now. The punditocracy can gin up one excuse after another — too many independents in New Hampshire, too many in Florida — but after McCain won delegate-heavy states like New York and California in the voting yesterday, the conservative hydra seems to be spewing more smoke than fire.

The GOP has valid complaints against McCain: he’s shown he’s a maverick, but he hasn’t yet proven he’s a unifying leader. Or, rather, when he’s led, he’s done so by working with Democrats (as in the Gang of 14) and not enough with his own party. Nevertheless, the Republican rank and file seem to prefer him over more authentic-sounding efforts like former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney.

During last year’s insurgency against President Bush and McCain over amnesty for illegal immigrants, the Republican punditocracy gleefully noted that the leaders had lost touch with their base. They may not be so gleeful to acknowledge that now it is their turn to lose alignment with their base.

Obama, McCain picking up good vibrations

Think positive, the self-help gurus say, and good things will happen. Who has the most positive vibes out there in the Democrat and Republican races on Super Tuesday? Here are my thoughts on the four front-runners …

 The ones with good vibrations are Democratic Sen. Barack Obama and Republican Sen. John McCain. Obama wowed voters at the Meadowlands and at Boston’s World Trade Center the last few days, and will.i.am of the Black Eyed Peas and Jesse “Son of Bob” Dylan crafted a video of the Illinois senator that’s drawn thousands of YouTube views. McCain, meanwhile, comes across as a happy warrior in contrast to his grating, angry rival, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney. As for Democratic Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, her new anti-Iraq War position after her 2002 vote for the Bush Iraq resolution — and her use of RFK Jr. in a campaign ad to counterbalance Caroline Kennedy’s support for Obama — give  her an image of opportunism that taints her campaign.

It would be different if the negative-minded Mitt and Hillary would embrace who they really are. Mitt could simply tell conservatives he was wrong on his 1994 opinions on abortion (in the style of John Edwards, who, to his credit, recanted his 2002 vote for the Iraq War) and be the heir to the social policies of George W. Bush. Hillary could shrug off MoveOn.org and Daily Kos and defend her 2002 Iraq War vote, giving confused Democrats a clearer option between a pro-war candidate (Hillary) and an anti-war one (Obama). The negativity of Mitt and Hillary seems to be a way for them to hide their own unclear stances.

Obama and McCain have had their own unclear moments. Ann Coulter highlighted McCain’s haziness on the Iraq surge in a recent column, while the American Spectator showed that Obama needs work in formulating his health-care policy. But in trying to get things done, a positive attitude is better than a negative one, and at least Obama and McCain have that.