Politics and other nightmares

Gov. Daniels does not get a very good grade on the Cato Institute's "fiscal policy report card" measuring performance in cutting and spending taxes. From the news release:

Have you seen WANE-TV's "political analysts" Marla Irving and Brian Stiers at work? (Go to the WANE site and find it under "featured videos").This is the same kind of "fair and balanced" commentary we've been seeing on network news and cable outlets. The moderator poses a question, and the Repbulican gives the Republican line, and the Democrat gives the Democrat line. There isn't an independent thought or truly objective observation to be heard. This isnt "political analysis." It's worthless crap.

This is priceless. 14-year-old Julia Wilson has a Web page expressing her anger at the president, which includes the words "Kill Bush" along with a photo-collage showing a cartoon dagger stabbing the president's hand. This, naturally, leads to a visit from the Secret Service. How does her father react? Not, as you might expect, with embarrassment at his daughter's over-the-top behavior. He finds the reaction to it over the top:

Anytime Americans are asked to self-identify themselves politically, far more are willing to call themselves conservative (usually in a 40-something percent range, in most of the accounts I've seen) than liberal (from 19 to 22 percent). As a result, far more conservative politicians are willing to call themselves conservative than liberal ones are willing to call themselves liberal. They keep trying new names.

A not-very-flattering take on Evan Bayh, who "has yet to prove himself a real contender -- and he may not be a real centrist, either."

This is how government grows. The secret to why there is so much regulation, of everybody from real-estate agents to hairdressers and hypnotists, is that many of these groups want state regulation. It's a way to keep out the riff-raff, be able to charge dues and fees, feel professional, keep the price up. Latest example: Massage therapists are begging for state control:

With the election so close, I just know you're all waiting for the newspaper endorsements to help you make up your minds. (That was sarcasm, for the humor-challenged.). Here comes the Indianapolis Star's call on the Indiana congressional races.

At this post, you can find a list about what it means to be a conservative and, by clicking on the appropriate link, the list on liberalism that inspired the conservative list. Reading the list that relates to your particular phiosophy will make you feel warm and fuzzy. But beware:

The Washington Post says the "most obvious winner" in Mark Warner dropping out of the presidential race is Indiana's Evan Bayh, since the two share "much of the same ideological territory." But:

Bayh still has a number of challenges to overcome if he hopes to ascend to the top tier of the presidential field -- most notably his perceived charisma problem . . .

Who knew? Has anyone told Richard Lugar that Bayh is the one with the charisma problem?

Just an observation after having spent a few weeks interviewing political candidates. There are two types of people who run for office -- those who are on a mission, and those who run for a variety of other reasons (an interesting challenge, a good career move, they think they can do a better job than whoever is already serving, etc.). The race that is the most likely to draw those on a mission is the one for school board. People don't seem to just wake up one day and decide they'll run for school board because it seems like a good idea (which some DO in many other races).