Off to the races

I normally hate this time of year, but my two favorite sports are in full swing - college basketball and politics. I didn't develop an appreciation of college hoops until my early twenties, but I've been fascinated by politics since an early age, at least seven. My earliest political memories are of the 1968 presidential election which brought Richard Nixon to residence at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. My late uncle Max actually knew Tricky Dick as a classmate at Duke University Law School, which may explain why he was a lifelong Democrat.

As my profile explains, I'm a former Republican who is waiting for my home state to again recognize the Libertarian Party. I'm currently registered as an unaffiliated voter, so I have no loyalties to any party, although I have conservative leanings on most issues. (One of the most, shall we say, interesting experiences I've had is being the sole Republican at a radio station populated by Democrats, including a general manager who actually held a local elected office. I think the only reason my views were tolerated was that we all held the same opinion of Jesse Helms.)

So the New Hampshire primary is in the bag, with John McCain and Hillary Rodham Clinton Cougar Mellencamp, or whatever the hell she's calling herself this week, the winners. The McCain victory isn't so much of an upset, as he won New Hampshire last go-round (although some pundits were predicting Mitt Romney to win) but the Hillary win took everyone by surprise. If the news coming out of the granite state now is accurate, it appears the thing that turned the tide in Hillary's favor was her crying during a Monday interview, and that it was female voters who put their support behind her after this shameless display (if you hear a spinning sound, that would be Susan B. Anthony turning over in her grave). Fortunately, she won't be able to get away with this little stunt again (I don't believe that even her most ardent supporter, male or female, would tolerate another display of waterworks) and she sure couldn't get away with it in the South. I can just hear the average Southern belle now, in a voice reminiscent of Scarlet O'Hara, or perhaps Paula Deen - "Dahlin', will you please get a damned grip?"