January 20, 2003
CAN ATARI BE FAR BEHIND?:
Sen. Joseph Biden (D-Delaware) Plans to Dive into U.S. Presidential Pool (Mike Sneed, January 20, 2003, Chicago Sun Times)Word is that Sen. Biden, a top Democrat leader who was once President of the powerful Senate Foriegn Relations Committee, met privately with former President Bill Clinton in New York recently to discuss entering the Presidential sweepstakes.
We've had some terrific plagiarism scandals in recent years, but they've perhaps dulled our appreciation for just how despicable Joe Biden's own was. Not only did he "borrow" a speech of Neil Kinnock's, he actually "borrowed" the autobiographical details of Mr. Kinnock's life:
Why were the Coal Mines all my ancestors had? These people who could write poetry? My people who could make wonderful things with their hands? Why didn't they get the chance? Were they too weak? The people who would work underground for 8 hours and come out to play football for the evening? Do you think that they didn't get what we had because they didn't have the drive? Never. It was because they never had a platform on which to stand. Why am I the first man in my family to go to University? Was it because our ancestors were too thick? Why were my ancestors shut out of life? My people who could dream dreams and recite poetry and dance and make wonderful things with their hands and dream dreams ? My parents who could make wonderful things with their hands and sing and write epic poems and make beautiful things and see visions?
Why didn't they get the chance? Were they too weak? Those people who worked underground for 8 hours and come up to play football? Does anybody really think that they didn't get what we had because they didn't have the stamina? No. There was no platform on which they could stand.
With Mr. Biden and Gary Hart apparently joining Dick Gephardt in the presidential campaign, it's an especially good time to go read what might be the best book ever written about politics, Richard Ben Cramer's What it Takes: The Way to the White House. Reading between the lines of the book, one concludes that Mr. Cramer had great respect for Mr. Hart's mind, but was appalled by his self-destructive streak;that he truly loathed Mr. Gephardt, who comes across as a man devoid of principles; and that he found Mr. Biden to be a lovable rogue, but a rogue nonetheless, an operator and a con man, all too willing to cut corners.
MORE:
Biden has etched a political legend (J.L. MILLER, 10/27/2002, The News Journal)
Blabbermouth Biden (Timothy Rollins, 10/31/01, OpinioNet)
Delaware already gets plenty of grief for being minuscule, provincial and rent-seeking (everything from tollbooths on I-95 to incorporating half of American big business). Can we please, PLEASE not have to suffer the humiliation of Jackass Joe running for President AGAIN??!!? Somebody stop him before it's too late!
Posted by: at January 20, 2003 1:26 PMNo fear--he has an almost infinite capacity for stopping himself.
Posted by: oj at January 20, 2003 1:48 PMAt this rate there will be more Dem candidates for president than football players on a field (usually 22).
Obviously not all of these candidates will make it to the convention. But the more that do then the more splintered the Dem party will be going against Bush.
No, not the worst case of plagiarism in recent history...sadly, that prize belongs to MLK, whose birthday we celebrate today. Boston University agonized for many years--this length no doubt due to a certain moral fiber Presidency of maverick John Silber--before concluding...er, nothing! Yes, they admitted that well over a hundred pages were directly lifted from a previous School of Religion thesis, without attribution (though citing a quote of approximately 140 consecutive pages would have hardly helped matters.) This is the most difficult impeachments of MLK's legacy. I don't think future generations of scholars will be as kind as those now forced to function within the strictures of political correctness, the still lingering pain of his asssasination and the lack of credible minority leaders to hold up as shining moral examples (the internal debate on the committee obviously revolved around these issues.) I was disappointed in Silber's conclusions, i.e. admission of the plagiarism but upholding the doctorate award. It was an important story and it was fascinating to see how the mass media ran from this particular news. I think Silber did a great injury to the nation by not trusting us enough to apply King's famous dictum to apply the same standards to all Americans--I think we could have handled the truth. Unfortunately, Silber was embroiled in a legal battle with the King family at the time--MLK's papers are the legal property of BU, but Coretta was waging a high-profile, but ultimately futile (legally) attempt to posthumously
overturn his bequest. The latter event added some additional leverage for the King family to keep the doctorate. Unfortunately, in the wake of this denial of historical truth and evidence has emboldened other black leaders to embroider the truth and get away with it (Sharpton's Tawana and proof of the extortion of Jesse, e.g. 'Wall Street Project,' beer distributorships for family, etc. Lying or cheating is overlooked and forgiven if perpetrated by people of the right skin hue.
I have one particular memory of Gary Hart, from the 1984 primaries. There was a Democratic debate, and the candidates were asked, "You are
President. The National Security Advisor comes up to you one day and says, 'Mr. President, there's a Soviet airliner flying towards NORAD
headquarters in Colorado. It's off course, and we can't reach it on the radio.' Would you shoot it down?'"
Hart answered, in all seriousness, with one of the dumbest peacenik responses I've ever heard: "That would depend on whether or not the
people inside were wearing military uniforms."
John Glenn almost fell out of his chair laughing.
This is what I'm talking about. Irritation with their opinions to the side, can you imagine a more delightful Democratic field? Short of Cynthia McKinney running (a short prayer for that, please), I'm not sure this can get much funnier. Maybe they can run Walter Mondale again? And Dukakis is free from Amtrak these days, isn't he? McGovern's still alive. And Carter isn't term-limited, for one term, anyway. Jerry Brown? Paul Tsongas? TED KENNEDY?
I'm sorry. This promises to be fun.
This is the result of '92 when a little known mediocre governor (Clinton -who went on to be a mediocre president) was able to beat Bush Sr who was at 90% a year earlier. All of these Dems think they can do the same (except Gore and Daschle who got out).
Having 10 or so mediocre candidates can't be good for the Dems going into '04