John Edwards Joins The Club Of Self Destruction

John Edwards admitted yesterday what he previously had always denied. He admitted an affair in 2006 with an novice female film maker employed with his campaign. The National Enquirer can fill you in on all the specific details.

However, all you really have to know is that the allegations include a script right out of the plot line of the movie Mamma Mia because Edwards joined the brotherhood of traveling pants.

Edwards tells us that his affair occurred while his wife was in remission from cancer in 2006 and that he did not really love his mistress. He denies fostering a love child but has not yet taken a paternity test. Are we really suppose to believe this or to care?

The reality of all of this is that John Edwards political career is over and the incredible hypocrisy of his 2008 election campaign is now in full view for everyone to see.

Edwards ran his campaign as a caring husband and family man. The multi-millionaire with the $100 haircuts also campaigned as the champion of the poor.

The truth is that Edwards is now just another dubious politician that has joined the club of self destruction.

However, there may yet be fallout from all of this in the Democratic convention. There are minefields for Barack Obama to navigate. He has to decide if Edwards has a place at the convention. Also, Edwards delegates are not bound to vote for him on the first ballot. Will they swing to Hillary Clinton?

For the mainstream media, questions of its objectivity abound. Is the National Enquirer now the national standard of investigative excellence? Was this Edwards sordid affair story intentionally suppressed because he was a Democrat?

The public already believes that the media is favoring Barack Obama in this 2008 Election campaign. The handling of Edwards story will do nothing to change that opinion.

For more on political self destruction read: Eliot Spitzer Joins The Club Of Self-Destruction

For more on John Edwards read: John Edwards Campaign Of Contradictions on eWorldvu.com.

A Loss Of Three Media Pro's: Novak, Russert, and Snow

The national media has lost three familiar faces in the last few months. All were established political media pro's. Here is a brief overview of the distinguished career of each man.

Tony Snow: White House Press Secretary and Speech Writer under the last two Republican Presidents. Newspaper columnist, and frequent contributor to Fox news channel, Snow had his own nationally syndicated talk radio program. He could also often be seen on National Public Radio providing news commentary. In July 2008, Snow passed away after an extended bout with cancer.

Tim Russert: The NBC news Senior Vice President and Washington Bureau Chief had his own weekend program. Russert covered many Presidential elections and was known for his penetrating questions to candidates of both political parties. He was an author and the host of the popular television program, Meet The Press. Time Magazine incuded Tim Russert in its 100 most influential people in the world in 2008. Russert died of a sudden heart attack in June 2008.

Robert Novak: Novak announced his sudden retirement in August 2008 after a dire prognosis concerning a recently discovered brain tumor. He was responsible for writing the longest running syndicated column in America today. Novak's column has appeared in the national media for more than forty five consecutive years. In addition to being a columnist, Novak was a jounalist and a well known television personality. Once a Democrat, Novak was known for reporting from a Republican perspective in recent years.

America has lost three distinquished political media professionals this summer. Their insightful political commentary will be missed in this election year and well beyond.

Paris Hilton And Media Objectivity In Election 2008

John McCain releases campaign ads that depict Barack Obama as a celebrity like Paris Hilton after Obama's international tour before an adoring national media. Then, Paris Hilton releases a video spoof (I hope its a spoof) to announce she has entered the presidential race. Meanwhile the National Enquirer continues to run stories about John Edwards and his alleged sordid affair complete with pictures of his love child.

These Edwards stories have not yet been covered by the mainstream media even though Edwards was a major candidate in the Democratic Primaries and was on the short list for Vice President.

However, with Election Day still three months away, 48 percent of the American public said they're hearing too much about Democratic candidate, Barack Obama according to a poll released Wednesday by the nonpartisan Pew Research Center. Just 26 percent said the same about his Republican rival, John McCain.

So far this election campaign is certainly issue light and tabloid personality heavy. The coverage and objectivity of the national media is in question and if they could ever see the sight of Paris Hilton connected to a Presidential election, our founding fathers would be in a profound state of shock.

For More see:

Paris Hilton Campaign Video

John Mccain Campaign Video

A Question of Media Objectivity in Election 2008 on eWorldvu

Bush, Congress and The 2009 Federal Budget Deficit

The Federal budget deficit for 2009 is now projected at a record 482 billion dollars. That will eclipse the old record of 413 billion set at the end of George Bush's first term in 2004.

The next President will certainly have a sobering first few days in office when he realizes that there is no money left to spend to cover all the promises that he made to get into the Oval Office to begin with.

In fact, he has to find at least 482 billion dollars just to make ends meet. Of course, the next President can just add to the ten trillion dollars of cumlative national debt that the country already has a tab for.

In truth, the record budget deficit of 482 billion for 2009 is actually going to be to low. It assumes higher economic growth than is forecast and doesn't account for the total cost of the country's ongoing military obligations in Iran and Afghanistan. Sooner or later the Congress of the United States has got to stop spending money that it doesn't have and the President needs to veto legislation that is fiscally irresponsible.

A stewardship of foreign Wars with dubious management and irresponsible fiscal spending has dramatically lowered the public's opinion of the performance in office of President Bush. Huge annual deficit spending is also contributing to the damage to the Republican brand in this election year.

During the last decade, pork barrel domestic spending to insure re-election has become an addiction for the career professional politician in both major political parties. The stealth cover of Congressional earmarks have been the used to hide their domestic spending trail.

Therefore, a President who wants real change in Washington D.C. in 2009 will have to reign in, "out of control" federal spending first. The longer the delay, the more we all will have to eventually pay. (For more on Congress and spending see: The Surreal World Of The United States Congress on eWorldvu.com.)

Energy Bill: Democrats Vacation, Republicans In The Dark

The approval of the United States Congress from the American public is so low (around 10%), that it may be difficult for it to go any lower. Of course with House speaker, Democrat Nancy Pelosi calling for a summer vacation without a vote on the energy bill
and Republicans holding meetings in a dark House chamber in protest, a further decline in Congressional popularity could yet still be achieved. Republicans may even shut down the U.S. government in September to force a vote on offshore drilling. This dubious action would then delay senior citizens from receiving their monthly social security checks in the fall.

Yes, a Congressional approval rate of well below 10% could still happen. Of course, the sad reality is that this prediciment of today is exactly the problem. Democrats on vacation and Republicans in the dark is exactly the way American politics have looked on the issue of a national energy plan for several decades. Democrats don't want to look for new energy anywhere. They don't want to drill, don't want to go nuclear, don't want coal. They want a world of wind and solar power and hybrid cars. Its a world that someday may exist but doesn't today. Therefore, the Democrats live in the world of tomorrow while everyone is living through the energy pain of today. When the reality of the energy problems of today becomes too great, the Democrats blame big oil, oil speculators or Saudi Arabia. Then they proceed to go on vacation, which makes their lobby, the big business of environmentalism happy.

In contrast, the Republicans are just totally in the dark. They are energy clueless. They would like to drill everywhere. Backed by the money of big oil, they have never put forward an agenda to make America energy independent or promote real energy efficiency. Its a sad record for a party that has been in power for eight of the last ten years.

So, McCain wants to drill for more oil when he did not want to drill before. Obama did not want to drill but he may in a limited fashion now. Mccain wants more nuclear power plants while Obama only wants to release the petroleum reserve. Both are careful not to anger their Party's powerful special interests.

So, its Republican big oil against Democrat environmentalism, paid for at the pump by the average American. There is still no coherent national energy policy and despite the recent news headlines nothing much has really changed today.

The Democrats have gone on vacation and the Republicans are looking for energy answers in the dark, as public approval of their performance continues to go lower. Its the same old story just on a different day.

China's 2008 Olympic Games

The 2008 Olympic Games begin with the opening ceremony in Beijing, China this Friday August 8, 2008. However, China's real Olympic games began several years ago with its promises to the world to improve its dismal record on human rights, and to grant free and unrestrained access to the international press covering the games. China also pledged to clean up Beijing's air quality for these 2008 Olympic Games.

These promises were made by China in order to win the honor of having Beijing host the 2008 summer Olympics Games. Unfortunately, all these promises were nothing more than a cynical game. For weeks, international headlines have told the same sad stories concerning Beijing 2008: Internet censorship, a crackdown on internal dissent, restricted freedom for international reporters, no human rights improvement in Tibet and Myanmar. Also, Beijing's air quality is still the worst in the world. Olympians in the outside events will be physically challenged in the world's worst air.

The broken promises by China speak louder than empty words and slogans as we approach these so called environmentally friendly 2008 Olympic Games. Its clear that for China, the issues of basic human rights and the environment are just tools to be used in its Olympic propaganda games.

In retrospect, it is very difficult to understand how the International Olympic Committee (IOC) could be so easily manipulated into awarding Beijing the venue of the 2008 Olympic Games in the first place.

So, later this week, when the world hears "Let these 2008 Olympic Games begin", everyone should realize that China has already been playing its own Olympic Games on the issues of human rights, and the environment with the International community and the I.O.C. now for each of these past seven years.

For more on the 2008 Olympic Games, Read: Beijing 2008 Was A Bad Bet By The I.O.C. on eworldvu.com

Illegal Immigration Report Shows Why Laws Should Be Enforced

The latest report just released on illegal immigration from the Center of Immigration Studies shows a dramatic drop in New York and other States. The report called Homeward Bound indicates that illegal immigration plunged nationwide by eleven percent in the last year.

Of course about a year ago, after the immigration reform law co-sponsored by John McCain and backed by the White House was abandoned due to overwheming public pressure, the federal government actually began enforcing the illegal immigration laws already on the books.

The fact that immigration laws were not enforced for many years can be seen just by looking at the enforcement results of the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986. This law provided for penalties against companies that hire undocumented workers. In 1999, under the Clinton Administration, the U.S. government collected a meager $3.69 million from 890 companies in fines. By 2004, under George Bush, the amount collected in fines from companies hiring undocumented workers was zero.

In addition, the border with Mexico has never been properly secured, with only 9500 border agents trying to police an eight thousand mile border until 2005. As a result, it is estimated that in the year 2004 alone, three million illegal immigrants entered the United States.

So, a lack of border security and a lack of illegal immigration law enforcement has resulted in the fact that eleven million illegal immigrants still remain in the United States even after the 11% drop of the last year (according to the Center of Immigration Studies Report).

George Bush's low approval rating (now below 30%) began its steep descent in the spring of 2006 when illegal immigrants were marching in the streets demanding their rights. Its hard to understand in an age of terrorism, how the American public can feel secure with more than eleven million people running around the country that are not here legally.

If people want to change the current immigration laws, there is a way to do that since we have representative government. In the meantime, the country's existing laws should be properly enforced. The data from the recent Center of Immigration Studies Report shows why.