Marathon Pundit

Monday, January 07, 2008

Whither Hillary?

Blogging from Playa del Carmen, Quinto Roo estado, Mexico.

I see that Hillary Rodham "teared up" today, drawing comparisions to then-top running Democrat Ed Muskie's alleged crying (it was snowing heavily at the time and Muskie was outdoors) as he responded to charges made against his wife in the Manchester Union-Leader in 1972.

She vows to fight on, which is her way. Besides, she's been running for president since the 1960s, possibly all the way back to August 4, 1961--the day Barack Obama was born.

Don't count her out just yet. The people of New Hampshire relish their "first primary in the nation" distinction, and some votes may come her way courtesy of some very self-conscious Granite Staters.

Things are much more interesting on the Republican side. There probably won't be any "settling out" until after Super Tuesday on February 5--when I get to vote in Morton Grove's 99th precinct.

Back to the USA tomorrow night.

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Obama

politics

Saturday, January 05, 2008

Saturday in Mexico

Blogging from Playa del Carmen, Quinto Roo estado, Mexico.

Have lots to blog about when I'm not at hotel internet cafe.

Yesteday we made it back from Chichen Itza Mayan ruins, one of the new Seven Wonders of the World. Worth the trip!

Of course I couldn't get off of "blog mode." The Marathon Pundit (Spanish is Maraton Pundito) family took a motorcoach trip to the site, one of our fellow passengers was reading Barack Obama's "The Audacity of Hope." When he was having lunch, I slipped a Marathon Pundit business card into the tome.

Man, I can be a rascal.

We took a ferry today to Cozumel--very rough waters both ways, which is what Hillary Cllinton is facing now that the aforementioned Obama has tied her in the latest New Hampshire primary opinion poll.

We snorkled out there, and the fish, the coral reef--all of it--was fabulous.

More snorkeling tomorrow, this time from off the mainland.

We are back Tuesday night. We'll be switching planes at Dulles International Airport about the time the New Hampshire polls close.

Thursday, January 03, 2008

UPDATED: Some key Obama posts from an Illinoisan

Blogging from Playa del Carmen, Quintana Roo estado, Mexico.

Well, for the next few days, it will be "Hillary Clinton Unplugged." She cannot lose the New Hampshire Primary now that my junior senator, Barack Obama, has bested her in Iowa.

On the Republican end, with Mike Huckabee's win, the only real loser is Mitt Romney, who spent a lot of time--and a lot of money--in the Hawkeye State. Romney needs a Granite State win too.

Of course the nation's gaze will fall on tonight's winners.

Here are some key Barack Obama posts from one of his constituents:

Union president spanks Obama
President Obama, January, 2009: Who will he appoint as US Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois?
"Rezko lot" next to Obama's home for sale
Ill. corruption watch: Obama donates Rezko associate's contribution to charity
Obama donates more Rezko tainted donations to charity
Obama gives up donation from man with Rezko ties
Obama ditching more Rezko linked cash, but what about Hillary and IPA?
Rezko cash three times what Obama claims
Michelle Obama quits board of big Wal-Mart supplier
Obama can't shake Tony Rezko
Obama vows to clean up Washington as president
"Consigliere" Rezko still shadowing Obama
Ex-Gov. Ryan in prison, but will his successor be indicted?
Feds hit Tony Rezko with six more charges
Obama and the Laborers' Union Ed Smith
Obama's state treasurer pal needs a memory upgrade

UPDATE January 9: Although the post is from last month, it is worth visiting. Dr. X adds his take on the not-so-clean Senator Obama.

He adds this nugget about Obama's wife, which I've only touched on briefly in earlier posts:

Besides the Rezko deal, there are Obama's ethically questionable investments and Michelle Obama's mind-blowing, overnight pay raise from $121,000/year to $316,000/year right after her husband was elected to the U.S. Senate. Her bosses (My note, at the University of Chicago Hospitals) said she deserved it. I guess they didn't notice that she deserved it until her husband became a U.S. Senator. It's not that anyone has suggested that accepting the raise violated the law, but it isn't exactly a sign of good ethical hygiene, either.

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From the resort's internet cafe

Blogging from Playa del Carmen, Quinto Roo estado, Mexico.

Contrary to what I thought, the resort I am staying at does not have any Wi-Fi connection. Oh well, it is a vacation after all.

The Marathon Pundit family is staying about 25 miles south of Cancun. The weather has been a bit cool--mid '60s and overcast. Perfect running weather: I ran eight miles on the beach this morning.

The rest of the day was spend on some business dealings Mrs. Marathon Pundit and I had to finalize. Tomorrow we're journeying to the Chichen Itza Mayan ruins, Saturday to Cozumel, and Sunday we head off to a snorkeling excursion.

The flight here was bizarre, it was United Airlines #1683 out of Chicago O'Hare. When we were about 30 minutes from our destination, it was announced that the plane left without the necessary immigration and customs documents. Once we arrived in Cancun, we were forbidden from getting out of our seats until the forms were delivered. And we still had to stay seated until they were completed, or so we we were told by the flight attendant with a scolding attitude.

If anyone among the crew made an apology, I missed it.

All the passengers made it off of the plane and into Mexico.

Tonight the Iowa Caucuses take place. Other than predicting the obvious, the person with the most votes will win, I have no idea who will take the prizes in the Republican or Democratic contests.

But I am looking forward to watching Chris Dodd's concession speech tomorrow.

My 50 pesos of time is almost up. So long for now.

Wednesday, January 02, 2008

Off to Cancún

The last five months at my daytime job were very busy--so I'm taking my final week of 2007 vacation now. The Marathon Pundit family is headed to Cancún, Mexico.

I've never been to Mexico, so I'm looking forward to the trip--as well as a week of relaxing and sightseeing. The Mayan ruins in the area are of particular interest to me.

Santa was very generous with me this year--I have a laptop, and our hotel has a wi-fi connection, so I'll be able to keep an eye on the Iowa caucuses and the run-up to the New Hampshire Primary.

We'll be taking pictures, but I'm not going to turn this into an extended series as I did with my Kansas trip.

Tuesday, January 01, 2008

New Year's Day, Morton Grove, Illinois

All is quiet on New Year's Day
A world in white gets underway
U2, "New Year's Day," 1983

This was my world in white on New Year's Day, 2008. Powdery snow starting fallling New Year's Eve afternoon, and didnt' end until shortly before sunrise (or so I am told) this morning.

That's the North Branch Trail in Morton Grove, Illinois, about a mile from home.

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Rose Bowl!

I'm watching my University of Illinois Fighting Illini playing the University of Southern California Trojans.

Let's hope my alma mater wins.

Epic Carnival and Awful Announcing are live blogging the game.

UPDATE 8:30PM: The USC Trojans trounced the Illini, 49-17. Four key turnovers by Illinois, including one inside the Southern Cal 5 yard line with the Illini down 21-10 in the third quarter, turned the game into a blow out. Keep in mind that Illinois was only 2-9 last year--and winning just one Big 10 game. They've come a long way.

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Illini

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university of illinois

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Hypocrite Obama won't tolerate election theft

Oh dear. Senator Barack Obama won't tolerate election theft.

From the Chicago Sun-Times:

At a town hall meeting in rural Jefferson (Iowa) on Monday, undecided voter Bruce Banister, 56, asked Obama, "The last two presidential elections have been very dirty, and for me there have been very serious questions about whether George Bush was even legally elected. I want to know if we have another dirty election and you are the candidate, if you think it is dirty, will you back off like Gore and Kerry did or will you fight?"

Obama replied, "I intend to whoop 'em so good that it won't even be close and they can't steal the election."

After sustained cheers, laughter and applause, Obama added that he would hope to win over enough independents and Republicans in the general election that, "We aren't going to have 47 percent on one side, 47 percent on the other side, 5 percent in the middle and they all live in Ohio and Florida so you only campaign in two states."

Then Obama gave the hard-charging answer Banister was looking for: "If for any reason this thing is close, we will fight it tooth and nail till the end. The nice thing is, I'm a voting-rights attorney as well as a civil rights attorney."