Friday Night

I'm sitting at home on Friday night, listening to the soft tick of a slow rain on the leaves in my back yard. It's a little cold and damp, but I'm on the patio so at least it's not raining on me. I think this rain will last all weekend, if not the chilly temperatures.

It sure is an interesting time for a Texas political junkie like me. I took the evening off from trying to keep up with news shows, websites and blogs, which is what I normally do. It is like trying to drink water out of a firehose -- too much information, too much Us Versus Them, too much noise. I think we political junkies have to remember that for most Americans, life goes on without the latest crosstabs from Texas or polling from Peoria.

Out in Real America, people are seeing movies tonight, or having dinner at home as a family, or going to the movies with their friends, or lining up to get into a club to hear some live music. Their eyes don't tear up with inspiration when they watch the "Yes We Can" video or with laughter when they watch the "John McCain: Three Words" video. They don't spend an hour -- as I did today -- parsing the crosstabs from the Texas Credit Union League poll to glean insights into the possible trajectories of March 4.

Are they missing something? Am I?

Bill Clinton Stumps East Texas With ... Henry Cuellar?

I read in the Rio Grande Guardian where Henry Cuellar accompanied, and introduced, former President Bill Clinton on his swing through east Texas yesterday. This in spite of the fact that Cuellar's Laredo-based district is hundreds of miles from the Piney Woods.

"I don't know why they asked me to go, but I'll be happy to support the Hillary campaign whether it's in South Texas or whether it's in East Texas,” said Cuellar. “It's an honor that they've asked me to do this."

Maybe they wanted to use Cuellar there because nobody in east Texas would know or remember that ... well, to put it kindly, Henry Cuellar is not exactly from the Democratic wing of the Denmocratic Party. He's like Joe Lieberman, with less charisma.



I mean, seriously, are the Clinton people aware of this? Paying attention? I'm a little mystified.

John McCain: Three Words

Since I posted the wonderful "Yes We Can" video -- with CEO of Inspiration Barack Obama -- it's only fair that I also post John McCain's three-word mantra video.

Fair. Yeah, right.

(Thanks to Evan Smith, Texas Monthly editor and everyone's favorite Poll Dancer, for the link.)

Tecaboca

Sunset, Tecaboca, Friday, February 8, 2008.

I am out in the Hill Country for the weekend. I am at the Tecaboca Christian Renewal Center, on whose board I intermittently serve. Tecaboca is located in the Hill Country northwest of Kerrville, and is one of my favorite places on earth. I have been coming here, and involved with the place and its going-ons for over 35 years.

It's beautiful tonight -- not a cloud in the sky. The sunset was sublime and gorgeous, my picture capturing only a sliver of its tranquil beauty. This evening, my friend John and I went into Kerrville and had dinner at the Cowboy Steakhouse, our favorite restaurant in town. By the time we got back out here, night had fully fallen.

The moon's glow but a sliver in the western sky, its whole orb visible in the crystalline night. Stars taking on familiar patterns as they slowly wheel across the sky. The air cold and clear and so dry that breath does not fog.

Tomorrow more people come, but for tonight the only sound is the water of Johnson Creek washing over the dam.

Matthew Dowd on McCain's Chances

(cross-posted at Burnt Orange Report)

In an NPR interview this morning, "independent political consultant" Matthew Dowd -- more famous as Bush's number-cruncher -- talks about John McCain and his efforts to restore his relationships with Republican conservatives. In doing so, he all but endorses Barack Obama for the Democratic nomination -- from a Democrat's perspective.

Calling in from Phoenix (what's he doing in Phoenix? hmmm), he says that McCain needs to speak the language of conservatism, to help reassure conservatives that he "gets" them. He also notes that McCain's "brand" is as a maverick, and his campaign struggled when people felt he was not being authentic. But he says McCain's biggest hope of energizing conservatives is for Hillary Clinton to get the Democratic nomination -- "she is the most unifying force for John McCain out there right now, not himself."

On a general election campaign: "If you gave the strategists and the people around John McCain some truth serum and asked them to say who they want to run against, in a minute they'd say Senator Hillary Clinton. They think that she's polarizing, she'd motivate and unite the base of the Republican Party, she's not a generational difference and a change of a figure, she's a bit of a throwback to the past, like to a degree he is."

On Obama: "Against Senator Obama, it's a much more difficult task. It would be a generational campaign, the new versus the older, somebody that had a distinct stand on Iraq versus his stand on Iraq. I think Senator Obama is a much more difficult race, and there is not a vitriol from the conservative and the Republican base against Senator Obama, they don't sort of dislike him to their core like they do Hillary Clinton. I think they would much prefer, the McCain folks, a race against Hillary Clinton than Barack Obama, because it's hard to compose a strategy against a new guy like Barack."

Of course, this could also be disinformation and misdirection, something that Dowd has certainly learned from colleagues like Karl Rove and Mark McKinnon. And the interview does not explain why he's in Phoenix -- consulting for the McCain campaign? But his take on the dynamics of the general election is similar to mine.

What do you think?

Obama: Yes We Can

Watch this. Then watch it again. And again.




UPDATE: Go here to read comments by will.i.am (the Blackeyed Peas' leader) on how he was inspired to create the song and video, and a listing of all the contributors, including "CEO of Inspiration" Barack Obama.

Save the Christmas Mountains!

If you love the Big Bend region of Texas as much as I do, you've been by turns astonished, dismayed, and pissed off by the comical attempts of Land Commissioner Jerry Patterson to sell the Christmas M0untains in West Texas to the highest (or whatever) bidder. If you've not been keeping up with the story, here's a little background from the Observer.)

Karen Brooks at the Dallas Morning News, who has been covering the story for months, reports that the National Park Service has submitted a proposal for managing the Christmas Mountains as part of the Big Bend National Park.

Forrest Wilder at the Texas Observer blog summarizes the NPS proposal:

The NPS would manage the property as a backcountry area for hiking, primitive camping, and horseback riding. The advantages of NPS management vs. privatization, according to the proposal, are:

1. The area would be permanently protected and preserved as part of the national park.

2. Public use of the area would be assured and the public would be able to participate in the planning process.

3. The park has extensive experience in managing public use in backcountry environments including law enforcement, search and rescue and emergency medical expertise.

4. The park can provide a full range of professional educational and interpretive services which are essential to a safe and enjoyable experience in a rugged and remote area.

5. The park has an excellent resource management staff including wildlife biologist, physical scientist, geologist, botanist and archeologist. In addition, we have access to numerous NPS resource specialists and academic institutions.

It sounds like a better deal to me. If you want to help save the Christmas Mountains, go to the Environment Texas website and access their user-friendly tools to send an email to members of the School Land Board and their bosses, Rick Perry and Greg Abbott.

To inspire you, I've included a smattering of pictures of the Christmas Mountains.