Marjorie Campbell, marjorie@marjoriecampbell.com
For those who like visual aids, this YouTube goes with Marc's Reason 5 Why McCain Will Win. It was sent to me by email with the caption "I guess I am sold" .... Hmmmm. If you cannot click through, try here, or here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cmbtbNw_R5Q. (BTW, the video has intermittent white, flickering lines.)
Marc Nadeau
Originally published on March 16 on www.majoritesilencieuse.net (my new french blog).
1- The Democratic Party is deeply divided. Whoever is chosen to lead the troops in combat during the battlewill have to deal with troops that harbour increasing animosity within their ranks. When in the trenches, the enemy must be brought down, not the neighbour. The exact opposite is now taking place in the Clinton, Gore and Kerry party. Every day that goes by without the Democrats uniting around a standard-bearer improves McCain’s chances.
2- If Barack Obama wins for the Democrats, he will have to contend with a glaring lack of substance, the ideological stagnation of his party’s extreme left (the two Democrats who won the presidency since Lyndon B. Johnson were centrists) and the faux pas of his entourage (the declarations of his spouse and his pastor and ex-advisor regarding their lack of national pride). Obama would hardly be able to drape himself in the stars and stripes. Then, there is the Clinton clan, who would have difficulty stomaching being piped at the post and who may prefer staying away rather than favouring the Illinois Senator. After all, 2012 is not that far away!
3- If Hillary Clinton is crowned, she will have to convince the party’s militant base that she can arouse passion and hope. This would be a tall order considering her chronic lack of charisma. Moreover, the past months have made it possible to measure the cracks in her armour. She is nothing like the Teflon politician who can withstand anything. And if you think that the Democratic race will have been hard for her, buckle your seat belts if she is in contention for November 4.
4- In a race against either candidate, John McCain will definitely be able to rely upon the fact that he is well positioned among the independents and the Democrats — a key electorate for the presidential joust. Furthermore, the disenchanted political supporters of the candidate who will have had to admit defeat may be tempted to give McCain a chance; he may (talking in the conditional) not last more than a mandate. This would fit well with the second scenario.
5- McCain is a positive, moderate conservative who does not raise fear among voters. In his last publication concerning the presence of Catholics in the American public arena and its influence on it, Deal W. Hudson remarks that Catholics do not appreciate the strident and noisy rhetoric used to convey messages. They prefer a more subtle approach. Considering the importance of this group on the political chessboard, one must recognize that McCain is favoured. Particularly given that hard-line conservatives will have the choice between the Arizona Senator and a Democratic victory that will push them aside for 4 years.
6- The Sarkozy Model. For many years, the current French President, Nicolas Sarkozy, was associated to the former President Jacques Chirac as member of his government. In 2007, he managed to convince Hexagon electors that he truly represented "change". One must admit that Sarkozy, as in the case of McCain with Bush, had a hard time while under Chirac. Similarly, everyone remembers the desperate tactics (I am being polite...) used by Bush’s strategists to derail McCain’s locomotive in 2000. There is also the fact that following the example of Sarkozy, the Arizona Senator is not indebted to the one he wishes to replace. The Democrats will thus find it difficult to affix the Bush III stamp on McCain. This will be a great advantage for the Republicans.
7- Regarding domestic policy, the ideas of the Vietnam War hero are much less out of step then those of Hillary Clinton or Barack Obama (see article on this site). Admittedly, the Democrats are positioned too far to the left in comparison with the electorate’s position in general. Some may argue that Bill Clinton was able to make the Grand Old Party bite the dust in 1992 precisely on an economic platform. However, he had three advantages: charisma, experience and centrism. Neither of the two aspiring Democrats combines the three ingredients. The mix is just not right.
8- Foreign policy. It is McCain’s strong point. On the strength of his military, parliamentary and political experience, the Arizona Senator holds a favourable position in this area: a) he has remained steadfast in his convictions regarding Iraq, b) the average voter will have more confidence in him than in a novice to take charge of a function that inevitably comes with the concerns of a world characterized by constant upheaval, c) McCain is already playing this card; he has recently travelled to Iraq, Israel, France and Great Britain. While McCain embarks on an international journey that enhances his credibility and positions him at the forefront, the Democrats are quarrelling in a tavern...
9- Still on the topic of foreign policy, le Republican candidate will also be able to take advantage of his adversaries’ hypocrisy. In the interest of pleasing the labour unions they have needed, still need and will always need to oil the Democrat’s engine, both Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama wear the garb of protectionism. Those who denigrated George W. Bush for deteriorating relations between the United States and several other countries around the world are in the process of using a similar course on an economic level. The United States must avoid at all cost commercial conflicts that would further jeopardize their economy and their relations on a global scale. And the Americans know it; those who wish to finally turn the page on a presidency that will have known its lot of missed or poorly orchestrated international opportunities.
10- The rabbit and the turtle. If there is a fable that resembles McCain’s political career, it is that one. Do you remember what was being said about him last fall? We were writing his political obituary column. Today, his Republican adversaries have been left in the dust and his presidential race is marked by opportunities and successes.
The moral of this story: wait for the evening of the first Tuesday in November before announcing the defeat of the Republican candidate. He has mastered the art of disproving our Quebec platform managers who are almost invariably inclined to believe in a Democrat victory.
Marjorie Campbell, marjorie@marjoriecampbell.com
Radical feminism promised "equality" to women, right? Instead, it continues to ignore new forms and flavors of exploitation that compromise the health and well-being of our young women. Consider this headline "Egg-donor business booms on campuses: Five years after a trade group tried reining them in, fertility clinics and brokers are bidding up prices for eggs sold by cash-strapped college women with top test scores and picture-perfect looks."
But some women are speaking up. Michele Clark and Jennifer Lahl have published an important article today in First Things, exposing the oppressive and growing practice of "harvesting" eggs from young women: "Egg Donors and Human Trafficking". We will be hearing more about this subject, which, like abortion, contraception and other lucrative products peddled to women, pursues commercial exploitation, not the well-being, of women.
Whenever most people hear the term “egg donor,” they usually consider this a good thing, as most of us assume that anyone who donates is altruistically motivated and thus engaged in something intrinsically good. And besides, it’s for a great cause, so everything is all right, yes?
Nothing could be further from the truth. Sadly, egg donation has less to do with altruism and more to do with the exploitation of women–particularly young women and often poor women who are usually facing large debts or just trying to make ends meet. (Read more here.)
Marjorie Campbell, marjorie@marjoriecampbell.com
Marjorie Campbell, marjorie@marjoriecampbell.com
I heard the precocious, witty Wendy Shalit speak some years ago at Commentary's annual dinner. Impressed, I dashed out, bought and read what ranks now as one of my most favorite books to share, the very funny, poignant A Return to Modesty: Discovering the Lost Virtue.
So I was extremely pleased to see this year's Independent Women's Forum "Women Who Make the World Better" award go to Ms. Shalit. Ms. Shalit's new book, Girls Gone Mild: Young Women Reclaim Self-Respect and Find It's Not Bad to Be Good has unleashed another round of vitriol so often directed at these brave young women reasserting their dignity against the "equality is sameness" legacy still pathetically peddled by the kinky-graying radical feminists of my generation. "Shalit . . . quotes a feminist lawyer barking: 'I am very suspicious of telling girls they need to be morally good—that’s sexism right there!'” (Read full review)
What a perverse generational reversal these young women have suffered - losing perhaps for the first time in human history, the protective maternal care of older women in favor of further social experimentation the seniors crave for validation. As Ms. Shalit points out in her interview with IWF:
So there's a very interesting tension now, where the older generation, they're the ones organizing the co-ed sleepovers; they're the ones renting the hotel rooms for the prom; they're the ones buying the skanky clothing for their "prostitots."
And increasingly it's the younger generation that's saying: You know what? No, we don't want this; this is too much, and we want something more than this. I think that's encouraging; it's really encouraging.
I think it's encouraging too. Increasingly, I find the women I admire in my daughter's generation. You go, girls - don't let the old biddies fool you!
Marjorie Campbell, marjorie@marjoriecampbell.com
Over the big pond, there's been a tongue-wagging, sometimes brutal, deluge of opinion gathered from Natasha Bedingfield's 2007 "I Wanna Have Your Babies" - yet to be released into the US market despite having its very own Wikipedia entry. First, watch the video here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IOAbvaIVp2c. Then, note the success of Natasha's catchy, hip-hop capture of the age-old tug of interest between young men and women, reaching 7th and 8th on the singles' charts in the UK and Ireland. Next, glimpse some of the more venomous dissing of the song, video and entire person of Natasha Bedingfield: "this is an abhorrence you cannot return from unscathed; you will wear a veil of pestilence ‘til your days grow dark."
Now, what do you think of "I Wanna Have Your Babies"?
Deal Hudson
The Window for March 14, 2007
A new Catholic political organization called Catholics United is not satisfied with McCain's repudiation of Rev. Hagee's anti-Catholicism. This group wants McCain to "reject" his endorsement.
Read their argument, and why I think they are dead wrong.
Marjorie Campbell, marjorie@marjoriecampbell.com
Here's an article to send to your loved ones, all of them. A summary can be read at Lifenews.com. The suppression of information connecting abortion and the use of oral contraceptives with breast cancer is an on-going crime against women - especially our young women who foolishly rely on their Baby Boomer elders. Last October, I decried the distribution of birth control pills to Middle School girls as a ploy for letting children choose their predators. As the lethal health implications of oral contraceptives and abortion continue to be withheld, denied and repressed, our sex-is-profitable industry professionals stand idly watching these girls put their health and lives at risk, just as pro-tobacco forces let millions die of lung cancer before aggressive, crusading lawyers and legislators brought them to task. When will the women who claim to care about women cut their cord to failed social experiments and the lucrative pandering of young girls to the abortion and birth control providers?
Informed patient consent for medical treatment is required by
both law and medical ethics. Yet, both federal agencies and
academicians are participating in the suppression of information
about the heightened risk of breast cancer posed by oral
contraceptives and induced abortion. There is historical
precedent in the long-delayed acknowledgment of the
smoking/lung cancer link. Read the whole article here.
Deal Hudson
The Window for February 24, 2008
Georgia Bishops Oppose State Human Life Amendment
My story about the division in the pro-life community in Georgia between Georgia Right to Life, on the one hand, and the Catholic bishops and National Right to Life, on the other.
To read the story click here.
Deal Hudson
A "John Paul II" Catholic Runs for Congress
The Window for February 14, 2008
Tom Rooney is Catholic and pro-life, he is running for Congress in Florida. He is the part of the Rooney clan that has owned the Pittsburgh Steelers since its founding in 1933. The entire family is helping Tom in his first run for public office.
To read more click here.
