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Highlands Today

Hillary Won't Go Quietly

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By Norm Cukras | Highlands Today

Published: September 12, 2008

By having Barack Obama elected the Democratic presidential candidate by acclamation, Hillary, in a well-orchestrated maneuver, arguably elevated herself to the position of the most powerful woman in the United States. More so than Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi. More so even than Oprah. Although the jury is still out on Sarah.

I look for Hillary to be one of the next Senate floor leaders: either Majority or Minority, depending on the outcome of November's election.

The Clintons are capable of making the best of any less than satisfactory situation. They are not people who follow paths to obscurity like Al Gore or John Kerry. They do not fade away like old soldiers.

Should Obama win the election I can hear feminists in coffee shops and beauty parlors across the country asking each other, following any major presidential action, "What would Hillary have done?" In fact if the president's, whichever is elected, popularity wanes enough you might even see bumper stickers asking that very question. The fact that a member of the sisterhood might be presiding over the Senate will have little to do with it. Hillary was their choice. Sarah was McCain's. But McCain, following his brilliant vice presidential choice, will be able to shrug off the challenges of the Hillary supporters. Obama will not.

And Now The Fun Begins

With the McCain/Palin ticket now officially established we have two months of intense political posturing to endure. Two months of he said/she said and he or she did or didn't do. The sad thing is: a large percentage of voters already have their minds made up. So all of the folderol that we have to put up with is aimed at a small group of voters who can't make up their minds.

And it always appears that voters are waiting to see which candidate pulls the biggest boner before deciding to vote for the other one. And the media guys are the worst. They keep trying to sensationalize their stories by digging up any dirt on the political hopefuls that they can.

There has got to be a better way.

Maybe someday mathematicians will be able to develop a formula to assess a candidate's worthiness for office. Included in the calculations will be a subset that divides what is promised by at least a factor of three.

The Blinders Are On

I cannot believe college officials across the country want to lower the drinking age to18 because they are unable to deal with underage drinking at their institutions. Supposedly college students are a little more responsible for their actions than the rest of their age group; although watching reruns of the movie "Animal House" would leave one to suspect the wisdom of that conclusion.

Anyway, drinking laws cannot be written to favor any specific group. Laws are usually all encompassing. A lower drinking age would also apply to 18-year-olds who are still in high school. Students who could buy alcoholic beverages for their classmates – or would they be mature enough not do something so irresponsible? Would that teenager coming out of a bar know enough not to try and drive home?

"We can vote, why can't we drink alcohol?" is a teenager's catchphrase. But how many of those eligible actually vote? And when was the last time a vote led to injury of an individual or another person?

"We can fight in a war, why can't we drink?" is another catchphrase. A tough question to answer, except to say that laws apply to everyone: fair or unfair. The question to consider is, in general is teenage drinking more likely to cause harm to others? Our lawmakers think it will even though teenagers themselves and a group of college administrators do not agree.

Overheard

Overheard at the checkout counter: When was the last time a presidential hopeful hugged his running mate?

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