PunditGuy

Yesterday I mentioned Jeanine Pirro and her bid to challenge Hillary in New York. I noted that someone should be keeping an eye on Sid Blumenthal because I was sure that he was dumpster diving in Jeanine’s neighborhood. Well, it appears that his first trash finding expedition was a success.

Welcome to the big leagues Jeanine. Hillary’s nastiness has just begun.

More: This is worth a read.

Still More: View the photo slideshow on Hillary’s website. In my view, it’s a little over the top in the lovin, huggin and kissin department.

If only it was August 2008, and not 2005…

Gallup on Horse Race: Poll Puts Rudy Ahead of Hillary in 2008 Contest

Its most recent survey in late July found the former New York mayor with the highest favorable rating among several top possible choices, at 64%, with Hillary Clinton clocking in at 53%, John McCain at 51% and Sen. John Kerry at just 42%.

Face to face, both Republicans (right now) top Clinton by the same margin, 50% to 45%, and trounce Kerry 54% to 41%.

One problem with Clinton: Her unfavorable rating, at 43%, is nearly twice as high as McCain’s, and more than double that for Guiliani. Her favorable rating has remained pretty much at the same level, in the low 50s, for two years.

For the record, I’m not one of McCain’s hacks and I don’t particularly care for the moderate/liberal positions of Giuliani. I can’t stand John Kerry.

But that’s not important.

What is important is the real story in this little poll – Hillary’s unfavorable rating. That’s going to be her toughest job, the thorn in her side. If she’s going to have any chance at the presidency, she’s got to lower that percentage. Her handlers know this, and they’re stuck with the realization that she might not be able to do anything about it herself.

The solution? Democrats only know one. Reimaging. With some candidates, it’s as easy as a new hair style (didn’t work for Hillary), a new issue to promote (trumpeting healthcare didn’t work for Hillary), a common folksy personality (didn’t work and wasn’t believable for Hillary), or becoming a local (didn’t work for a Yankee ballcap wearin’ Hillary). If none of these work, then the only thing left is to run to the ideological center. On all issues, STAND IN THE MIDDLE OF THE ROAD! Be on the side of EVERYONE. Be tough on issue that demand toughness from the majority. Be sensitive, understanding and accommodating. Feel their pain. But most of all…

Be liked.

Well, this is where Hillary is today. She’s trying to recast herself as a moderate. Tough on defense! Realistic about (gulp) healthcare! Oh, and be sure to cite a few Bible verses every now and then. Do this long enough and those negatives will be erased, right?

Wrong.

Like most of her past attempts at fooling America, this won’t work for Hillary now. This time she doesn’t have the trappings of the White House to bring her a win. This time she can’t play the role of the scorned wife, the victim of Bill’s philandering. There is no Monica.

So, this is Hillary’s biggest challenge. Bring down those pesky negatives. She must be liked by her supporters and tolerated by the rest. She can’t afford to be hated, and today, she’s hated by too many.

And rightly so.

That’s what Space Shuttle flight director LeRoy Cain said after the successful shuttle landing this morning in California.

Will anyone remember what this shuttle flight was really supposed to be about? Just what did they accomplish up there? No one knows anymore.

All we do know is that the bird launched (loudly), a piece of foam broke off (again), ground control freaked out (understandably), the shuttle did some loop-de-loops in space so the space station could take pictures of its underside (cool), pieces of the shuttle were hanging (not cool), Houston orders a space walk (always cool – looking), the astronaut pulls the pieces off (hero), they prepare for a reentry which may or may not kill them (nervy), the landing is delayed (conspiracy theories run rampant), then the landing is a go and everyone holds their breath (and prays).

Wheels down…

Phew.

Is this really how shuttle flights are supposed to go? No.

I think we’ve just witnessed the last shuttle flight, ever.

Not quite the ending everyone imagined, but so what. The technology is outdated and remains dangerous. NASA needs to answer a few hard questions.

• Do we need to put humans in space? Robots do such a nice job, and if they are destroyed, it’s only money.
• What are our goals in space? From the outside, it looks like the shuttles primary job is to ferry supplies back and forth to a space station, which is doing…what? Perhaps NASA should put a PR team on that one?

Overall it’s time to go back to the drawing board and re-think space exploration.

Michele Catalano had a little run in with the paramedics tonight.

Whatever it is Michele, I hope it stops, and you get better.

I went to MSN’s ‘Filter’ today and wondered – when it comes to blog content, is ‘Filter’ a good thing or a bad thing? A good filter is google-like. I put in a term and it goes out and finds the most relevant results. I had high hopes that this is what MSN’s ‘Filter’ was going to be all about. You know, a focused alternative to Technorati. Then I figured it out. This isn’t like Technorati at all. MSN Filter is like Boing Boing. Bloggers submit their own posts and a team of people put up their favorites.

Yup – a hip Microsoft group blog for beautiful RSS deficient people.  I wonder who will play the part of Xeni?

For now, I’ll pass on ‘Filter’.

Oh joy.

Television talk show host and actress Rosie O’Donnell will return to Broadway in September in a production of “Fiddler on the Roof,” the show’s producers said on Monday. O’Donnell will star opposite actor and playwright Harvey Fierstein in the musical running at the Minskoff Theater in Manhattan. Fierstein who is playing Tevye, a milkman, will be joined by O’Donnell as his wife Golde, according to a statement.

Can’t wait for the audience reaction during the ‘Matchmaker’ song.

Westchester County District Attorney Jeanine Pirro today said she will seek the Republican nomination to challenge Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton’s bid for re-election next year.

Pirro will need all the help she can get.

The Hillary machine will try to stop her two seconds after she throws her hat into the ring. Keep an eye on Sid Blumenthal. I bet he’s already been dumpster diving today (update – the trash diggin has hit the press)

The best advice I could give to Pirro would be to use a combination of issues and Hillary’s past to bring her out of her so called ‘Moderate’ position candidacy (more on that here). The minute you get Hillary to defend leftist issues, her guard is down and she comes off looking like a complete wacko.

Americans don’t want a leftist wacko in the White House, and Hillary knows that.

Pirro should also emphasize that if Hillary is elected, she won’t finish her term in office. During their first debate, she should get Hillary to promise that if reelected, she’ll stay in her Senate seat. Hillary’s answer to that should be a good one. I’m sure it will depend on what the meaning of ‘is’ is.

Pirro must be the bulldog. If she appears defensive or weak on ANYTHING, she’ll be a lamb on the way to slaughter.

Go read up on Jeanine Pirro –  http://www.jeaninepirro.com/

Somehow I knew this would happen. Now that Canada had approved same-sex marriage, those who don’t count themselves amongst the gay and lesbian crowd are getting married – for the tax benefits!

Bill Dalrymple, 56, and best friend Bryan Pinn, 65, have decided to take the plunge and try out the new same-sex marriage legislation with a twist — they’re straight men. They want to shed light on the widespread financial implications of the new legislation and are willing to take it all the way.

“I think it’s a hoot,” Pinn said.

The proposal came last Monday at a Toronto bar amid shock and laughter from their friends. But the two — both of whom were previously married and both of whom are looking for a good woman to love — insist that after the humour subsided, a real issue lies at the heart of it all.

“There are significant tax implications that we don’t think the government has thought through,” Pinn said.

Is the Canadian government prepared to institute measures to ensure ‘proof of gayness’? How long before the employed Widow Jones marries her unemployed son so that he can be covered under her health insurance?

Pandora’s Box has officially been opened.

He died at his New York home this evening. I knew it was going to be fast for him. Lung cancer is tough to beat. And when he took himself off air a few months ago, it had to be bad. Television is like the blood in the veins of these people. They HAVE to be on camera. It is their life. When they voluntarily take themselves out of the anchor chair, they are either crazy or they are dying. Dying from cancer is not a pretty thing. You can’t control the effects it has on your body. It was good that Jennings took himself off the TV when he did. Otherwise, we would have noticed the changes. It’s kind of like seeing someone dead in a casket. They never really look like they did when they were alive. You never get that last image out of your head. At least now, we’ll all get to remember Peter Jennings as he was on the set of ABC News.

TV Newser: A Life in Photos

How ABC Announced Jennings Death On-Air:

Charlie Gibson broke the news on ABC at 11:41pm ET. He spoke with Ted Koppel over the phone. “He was a warm and loving and surprisingly sentimental man,” said Koppel. And then Barbara Walters. “We all knew how sick Peter was, but tonight when we heard the news, I think it’s heartbreaking for all of us. We, we just prayed he would make it,” said an emotional Walters. “He just died much too young.” Gibson then turned to Dianne Sawyer, live in studio. “I just hope that Kayce and Elizabeth and Christopher really know that we’re family too, and that he really did make us raise our sights,” Sawyer said. “It’s customary to say, he will not come again. Peter Jennings will not come again.” Sawyer looked away with tears in her eyes. Then Gibson signed off, “He was a graceful, he was an elegant man. He was a man of manners. He was also a terrific reporter and a great anchor for ABC News, as we say, our leader. And he is gone. I’m Charles Gibson in New York.” (h/t newsmonger)

Now the question remains – who will be the next anchor for ABC? I’m sure they’re not too far from an announcement. It’s likely that when Jennings announced that he was going to leave the air, he already knew he was going to die. I bet they’ve been working behind the scenes for weeks now finding his replacement. Who’s it going to be?

I was thinking exactly the same thing myself.