BernieHund: The Political Watchdog

It’s safe to say that this week, as a nation we stayed grounded… at least if you planned to fly American Airlines.  But, before we get to the FAA and the airlines, let’s start at the beginning. 

Mark Penn, Hillary Clinton’s campaign manager, stepped down from his position as top dog following the Colombian “whose side is he really on” fiasco.  But, Penn didn’t really step down.  He moved over and slithered into the shadows, still operating the failing campaign with a remote control.

By the end of the week, Bill was telling stories about Hillary’s Bosnia story causing more eyebrows to be raised.  Someone should tell him to let sleeping dogs lie.  It’s hard to tell these days if Bill is working for Hillary or just trying to sabotage her bid for the Oval Office.  By the third grade most of us have learned that telling a lie to back up or cover another lie isn’t the answer.  But, Bill believes he can survive anything.  Perhaps, he can, but we are beginning to wonder if Hillary can survive Bill.

Scandals seemed to pop up from one Capitol Office to the next.  Senator David Vitter, one of Deborah Palfry’s johns, found his name being placed on a witness list, possibly forcing testimony in the Lady of the Evening’s perjury trial.  Vitter, as many of us recall, apologized for his “sin” with wifey by his side, kept his Senate seat, and has refused to elaborate on his involvement with the house of prostitution.  Looks like those graphic details could come into the open if Vitter is called to testify at the trial. 

The meat of the week came by way of testimonies before Congress.  Let’s keep it short and sweet. 

• General Petraeus said the War in Iraq is ongoing, success is fragile and reversible.
• Ambassador Ryan Crocker said “ah…. um…. ah… ahm…”
• Whistleblowers from the FAA testified of threats and job displacement.
• Sabitini of the FAA said he was sorry.
• The Senate passed a bill that will help construction companies, but does little to help the consumer.
• And, looking to the future, this week “The Farm Bill”comes up on Friday and Senator Mitch McConnell has added a subsidy for those who raise horses in Kentucky.  The taxpayers may be owners of the next Derby winner.

So, what does that mean for us?

The War has no end in sight according to Petraeus.  Bush announced his exit strategy… leaving the White House and going back to his village.  Crocker… “ah… um… ahm…” caused a rush of diplomacy to be released on the Middle East.  Secretary of State Rice is being sent to the area to get the diplomacy rolling.  Okay.  Better late than never, except when it applies to the present administration.

The airlines are running scared, fearing fines for not being in compliance with the FAA AD’s (Air Worthiness Directives).  Dallas had a rise in tourism this week as Amercian Airlines grounded part of its fleet, canceling thousands of flights and leaving passengers stranded.  Other airlines began to see the handwriting on the AD’s and also began inspections.  Others, just closed the doors and shut down.  At last count, two airlines are now out of business and a third is filing bankruptcy, but still in the air.

The two men who were the targets of the blowing whistles, Thomas Stuckey and Douglas Gawadzinski, didn’t lose their jobs for endangering thousands of flights and even more passengers.  They were moved to other positions without “oversight” responsibility.  Damn!  Those two must have something good on someone.  Sturgell, the acting head of the FAA, doesn’t seem to have a clue, but we still have time to prevent further harm.  He has not been confirmed as the FAA Administrator as yet.

The Senate and the House worked hard to come up with some sort of stimulus package in the midst of the foreclosure crisis.  I certainly don’t have an answer, but they don’t either.  The Congress keeps dancing around the real issue of keeping families in their homes.  So, this week, there is a new tax cut for anyone who buys a foreclosed home and benefits for those who build houses.  Ah… what about those people who are being foreclosed on… those who are being forced to move out… As always, with best effort, Congress almost got it right, but remains one step out of sync with the people. 

On the campaign trail… Hillary has proved beyond a shadow of a doubt that she can’t manage anything.  Her campaign has been in turmoil since day one and if elected there is little evidence that she could suddenly get organized. 

Barack Obama, remember him?  He’s been campaigning quietly in states where he needs to close the gap.  At least, he raised no eyebrows this week with an gaffes.  However, I must say I was impressed with his questions of Petraeus and Crocker during the Senate hearing.

And, John McCain… well, old John finally offered a bit of a housing/economic plan much to the surprise of everyone.  But, of more interest to me this week was his analysis of the Office of the Vice President.  Visiting with the ladies of The View, McCain said the VP’s only real duties are to break tie votes in the Senate and check daily on the health of the President. 

Maybe someone should have told Cheney… And, by the way, what is that reflection in Cheney’s sunglasses?