Bruce the Blog

U.S. Representative John Hall, of New York’s 19th Congressional District, may not have been visible on TV Monday night at the Denvercratic Convention, but his residual handiwork was very much on display. As soon as Senator Edward M. Kennedy finished what felt like his swan song, Hall’s Top 40 song from his old Orleans days, “Still the One,” filled up the Pepsi Center with pop.
Notably, when Republican Senator John McCain’s campaign earlier this year co-opted “Still the One,” Hall heard a sour note. “The only one John McCain is ‘Still the One’ for is George Bush,” he told an NBC interviewer. That’s show biz – and politics.
In a phone interview with Congressman Hall on August 28, as he was riding a shuttle back to his hotel from the Pepsi Center in anticipation of the climactic evening at Invesco Stadium, where 80,000 will cheer Barack Obama’s acceptance speech, he said, “I was halfway down the stairs where the New York delegation sits when the song started playing and went, ‘yeah!’ It was an honor and a thrill.”
Conventions for the most part play like a failed invention of P.T. Barnum’s boring brother, the one without a wry sense of humor and theatrical panache. At times, the Dems’ lineup of yawn-inducing speakers pontificating at the podium seemed like a reality show parody, “American Idle.”
Still, I’ve been entranced by these leaden spectacles, along with show business and professional sports, since my prepubescent days. Makes sense: politics combines the artifice of entertainment and the irrational behavior of sports fans.
We lustily boo the best player on the other team because he used to be on your team but jumped ship for a better pay package. Imagine that. No boofan (that’s an archaic form of buffoon) would ever do such a disloyal thing as pine to make more money. How gauche.
It reminds me of an email I received the other day from a pen pal on the left coast who called Democratic Senator Joseph Lieberman “a traitor” because the Connecticut legislator is supporting John McCain in the Presidential Stakes, which is analogous to a horse race, except for the dignity and grace of the thoroughbreds.
In the irrational realm of politics, the man’s deemed a traitor because he’s sticking to his beliefs in spite of broad, virtually meaningless party labels. Therein lies the dilemma, to put it kindly, of our outmoded two-party system. There are those across the political spectrum who think it’s more important and responsible to vote your mascot than your conscience. Elephants and donkeys, yea. Beliefs and individualism, nay.
Somebody with a bird’s eye view of next week’s Republican National Convention is David Grill, who chairs the TheaterDesign/Technology Department at Purchase College and is lighting designer for the massive McCain pep rally descending next Monday on the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, Minnesota.
Grill told me in a phone interview from the convention floor this week that the live audience in the hall – a few thousand – is incidental to the millions of TV viewers. “You have to be more concerned about television than the live audience,” he said, adding, “You want everyone on the lectern to look as good as possible,” and how that’s accomplished varies according to the subject’s hair color and complexion.
If there is a theme for both of the conventions, it might be frugality. Grill said “they are worrying a lot more about budgets than in the past.”
So are you and me. We’re worrying big about the economy and property taxes.
I finally got to spend some time last week with Congressman Hall’s Republican challenger this fall, Kieran Michael Lalor, who hosted a fundraiser in Somers. Politics aside, I’ve been impressed with Rep. Hall’s command of policy matters and his presence in the community as a freshman congressman.
Spending some quality time with Mr. Lalor for the first time, he proved to be as advertised: a regular guy with a lot of passion, a tour of duty in Iraq with the Marines, a teaching career, and a law school education.
In a minor twist of irony, the Lalors and Obamas seemed to be kindred spirits in a familial way. In a uniquely spontaneous and un-conventional moment Monday night in Denver, with shades of an early scene in “2001: A Space Odyssey,” Senator Obama’s visage is seen on a live satellite feed making small talk with his 7-year-old daughter, on the podium, as millions watched. In that same time frame, Mr. Lalor issued a disarming press release announcing his wife Mary Jo as his “running mate for the election and for life,” featuring a photo of the couple and their infant daughters.
If this is the new politics of real people acting naturally, and even employing casual humor in reaching out to people, that’s good news.

The few times I’ve spent in Carmel have been chasing a little white ball at Centennial Golf Course, a great, if pricey, place to play.

As part of my ongoing efforts to become educated about all the communities in North County, including those not currently part of our coverage area of more than seven towns, I was eager to get to Carmel’s VFW headquarters on Route 52, opposite Lake Gleneida, on Tuesday night (August 13).

The attraction for me, and more than 100 others present, was a debate between incumbent 99th District Assemblyman Greg Ball and his challenger, John Degnan, former Mayor of Brewster. They are both running in the September 9 Republican Primary for the privilege of holding that line in the November election.

The two combatants — and those present would attest that is not as much hyperbole as it looks on paper — traded accusations, barbs, insults and denials of the other’s allegations of inaction or, worse, acting against the public’s interest. The agenda bullet points are familiar enough by now: unregistered immigrants, property taxes and the state of state government as practiced in Albany.

Here’s a sampling: Ball — “This is a horrible, nasty campaign.” Degnan (not responding to that Ball remark but to a question from audience): “He’s a liar.”

The crowd was passionate, with at least three-quarters of them cheering on Assemblyman Ball vociferously; that was to be expected, as one resident put it, because “this is his home base.”

The moderator, Karl Rhode, of VFW, a Vietnam veteran, was not shy about holding both the candidates and outspoken audience members to account for stepping outside the lines of debate decorum.

He cautioned both candidates about what he deemed improper remarks or disruptions.

Rhode admonished Ball more than once about interrupting Degnan while the latter had the podium, one time even threatening to end the debate altogether, but then relented. One Ball supporter blurted out, “You’re denying democracy,” to which Rhode replied, “You’re our guest here.”

Rhode also chastised Degnan to not address remarks to anybody in the audience by name after the candidate made caustic remarks about Southeast Supervisor Michael Rights, who was present.

Nevertheless, Ball did make references to New York State Senator Vincent Leibell, also on hand, who has created quite a buzz in this race by funneling substantial financial support to the Degnan campaign. The Ball remarks were not about that fact, but painted the popular Senator as part of the “good ol’ boys’ club in Albany” that Ball has made a virtual political career, in a very short time, of tweaking and challenging to change its profligate ways.

The debate did not so much end as disintegrate into a crossfire of salvos among candidates and their respective supporters. It started with a question posed by the moderator to Assemblyman Ball that the candidate for re-election took exception to, because it besmirched his military service. There followed a heated exchange between Ball and Rhode alluding to whether the moderator was a Leibell partisan and therefore trying to embarrass Ball with such questions. One Ball campaign worker whispered in my ear that Rhode used to be on the payroll of Senator Leibell. The one-word response from the Senator’s office: “Never.”

Ball began persistently demanding to know of Degnan, “What are you, John — Democrat or Republican?” [A registered Republican, Degnan was endorsed for Assembly by the Putnam County Democrats and Republicans. Ball was endorsed by Westchester County Republicans. Pawling Republicans in Dutchess County issued no endorsement.]

The inquiry to his opponent by Ball seemed to be the final straw for Moderator Rhode, who stepped to the mike to signal the end of the session, which was in effect at its end anyhow because, as Rhode himself allowed, the only audience questions left to ask were obviously partisan statements with question marks attached at the end.

Then the supporters joined in, with a Degnan loyalist decrying a Ball remark while Degnan was speaking with, “This is an outburst!” A Ball person behind him replied, “Oh, be quiet.” Then the Degnan person said to Ball, “That’s inappropriate.” Ball: “You’re inappropriate.” Degnan person: “So’s your conduct, sir.” Ball: “So is yours.” And so it went.

The climax to the noisy dispersal of the audience came when Degnan supporter Robert Buckley left the hall repeating the refrain, “Greg Ball’s a fraud,” and throwing in a remark that “He’s anti-union.” That Buckley is an imposing figure did not deter a middle-aged woman on Ball’s side from confronting him as he exited.

Someone in the Degnan camp I spoke with was not pleased with Buckley’s over-the-top behavior. Even less pleased was a Ball supporter who, watching Buckley wend his way through the crowd to exit the building, expressed concern for the safety of others.

Another debate between the two candidates is scheduled for Wednesday, August 13, at 8:00 p.m. at the Somers Library in Reis Park on Route 139 (between Routes 202 and 100). It is sponsored by the Somers Republican Town Committee and the Somers Republican Club. Early Wednesday afternoon, Rey Solano, head of the Somers Republican Club, told me his group had not heard back from John Degnan or his camp confirming his attendance.

Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert, the kings of news parody, must be crestfallen. All the real politicians are stealing their acts by performing their own self-parody.

Can the level of election campaign discourse sink any lower on a national scale, or local? That’s a rhetorical question. Apparently there is no bottom to the cesspool of ethical snubbery, another way of saying ethics don’t matter any more in public life. The only rule for how far to go is whether you can get away with it.

Let’s face the music and wince: The sanitized term “spin” has replaced that not very nice word “lies,” but who is kidding whom? Voters who want to be duped will be. Others will just shake their heads in a mix of disbelief and disgust, and mutter that now, heaven knows, to quote Cole Porter, anything goes.

The same goes for some media outlets, including certain local papers.

On Fox News, jingoism has replaced journalism. On MSNBC, Keith Olbermann fancies himself Edward R. Murrow. How humble of him. His screeds against the President, no matter what you think of the latter, are like listening to chalk screeching across a blackboard. They are pedantic, self-important and plain badly written. As for CNN, I haven’t tuned in since “AC” (Anderson Cooper) came after “AB” (Aaron Brown). The CNN brass reportedly though AB was too low-key and lacking in sex appeal, yet I find AC flat-out boring, so off with this talking head, at least in my media room!

How do you really know that the cable news nets, of which I am admittedly a junkie, are not practicing any form of journalism known to earthlings? That’s not a rhetorical question. It’s because when was the last time you saw a newspaper that quoted the same so-called expert every day in articles covering the same story. Or continue covering a story every day when there is nothing new to report? Or having the reporters (read: Bill O’Reilly or Olbermann or Geraldo Rivera or AC) insert themselves into the story, or proclaim, as O’Reilly is wont to do, “I’m going to git you, sucka!” (he does not say it in so many words, but I did recently see Mr. T on one of those shows as a guest, if that counts).

The same political “analysts” are hauled out every evening on the cable newscasts, but they really are not analysts. They are paid flacks. Gee, I can’t imagine what position the campaign manager for John McCain or Barack Obama is going to take when asked about something their man said earlier in the day. It’s a joke.

Peekskill plays jazz & blues
Something I didn’t have room to include in my Talking Points column this week in the print edition of North County News, as I sang the praises of Peekskill’s many charms, is the Jazz & Blues 2nd Annual Celebration this Saturday night at Division and Park streets (site of the gazebo). It’s quite a lineup of diverse talents and genres on stage from 5:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m., including a quartet fronted by Peekskill’s “finest” policeman-musician, Andy Polay, a familiar figure about town on his bicycle. I’m a big band buff, so Greg Westhoff’s Westchester Swing Band also catches my eye (and ear). And you never can go wrong with Tommy Dabbs & A Little Bit of This & That, a very Peekskillful group. Plus there’s lots more. Guest of honor is Carmen Leggio “for his contribution to music and the arts over the past 60 years.” Check it all out, because Saturday night’s alright for groovin’.

Who’s the yank-ee?
Watching the 2008 edition of the professional baseball club formerly known as the New York Highlanders (if you don’t believe me, just ask your grandfather, if you can, and if you’re past 60) can give a fan whiplash. (And the prices of seats in the new Yankee Stadium can give a fan bankruptcy.)

They get within 1 game of 2nd place Boston and three behind front-runner TB Rays, then fall back to their current slot of 6 games behind the leader and a trey behind Fenway’s faves. And the season sure ain’t getting any longer.

Feels like your pinstriped heart is being yanked this way and that, raising the question: Just who here is the y anker and who is the yankee?

Whatever and whomever, it sure feels more and more like this will be the first October in a dozen falls where we won’t be watching the Yankees on the field.