Run, Joe, Run

"Run Joe Run," is the cry Vice President Joe Biden is hearing more often as he attends public events.  Few politicians are as popular as Biden is today.  But, should he announce he is running for president, he will become a target for Republicans.

Biden, 72 years old, has had a long a storied career in Washington.  He was first elected to the U.S. Senate in 1972, at the age of 30, and he was subsequently overwhelmingly reelected six times by the voters of Delaware.  He served in a number of important positions while in the Senate, including Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee.   His more than forty year career in elected office qualifies him to be president. 

Biden's life has been filled with tragedy.  Shortly after first being elected to the Senate, Biden's wife and daughter were killed in a car accident.  His sons Beau and Hunter survived, although they were badly injured.  He considered resigning to care for his sons, but was persuaded not to by Senate Majority Leader Mike Mansfield.  In his memoir, Promises to Keep: On Life and Politics, he wrote that he owed it to his late wife, who had worked hard to get him elected, to continue.  So he commuted daily between Capitol Hill and Delaware, a 90-minute train ride, to care for his sons.  Yet, following the accident, Biden told NPR in 2007 he had difficulty at first focusing on work.

Biden married Jill Biden five years after the accident, and, in the Senate, found himself on the front lines of many historic events, including the Vietnam War, Watergate, the collapse of the Soviet Union, America's two wars with Iraq, and the election of President Barack Obama.  In 1988, he overcame another tragedy, life threatening cranial aneurysms.

Biden was among the least wealthiest members of the Senate, and he is proud to say he has never forgotten his modest upbringing.  Loquacious and talkative, Biden is likeable and authentic.  Yet he has been prone to gaffs over his career.  When President Obama was preparing to sign the Affordable Care Act an excited Biden told the president, "This is a big F...ing deal," loud enough for microphones to capture it.  

But Biden was struck by tragedy again when his son, Beau, died of brain cancer this past May.  Biden was devastated, and he talked about it in a heartfelt interview with Stephen Colbert on CBS last week.  The impact of his son's death has weighed heavily on his decision to run for president, as he explained to Colbert.  "I don't think any man or woman should run for president unless, number one, they know exactly why they would want to be president and, number two, they can look at folks out there and say, 'I promise you, you have my whole heart, my whole soul, my energy, and my passion to do this." He then paused, and said, "And I'd be lying if I said that I knew I was there."  

With the Democrat frontrunner, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, mired in controversies about her use of a private email server and her handling of Benghazi, more party voices are being raised in support of Biden entering the race.  Even some Republicans have said they would like him to run, including former Vice President Dick Cheney, who told CNN, "I would love to see Joe get in the race."  

Biden is struggling with the decision at a time when his popularity is growing, according to recent polls.  Beyond the burden of his son's death, he knows as an announced presidential candidate he will come under heavy attack from Republicans.   On the Senate Judiciary Committee Biden presided over two contentious Supreme Court nominations, Justice Clarence Thomas and the Robert Bork, who conservatives believe was treated unfairly in his failed attempt to get appointed.   Biden has failed twice to be elected president, in 1988 and 2007.  Biden's missteps include plagiarism, once in law school and another in 1988, which helped cost him his bid for the White House. When Donald Trump was asked by a conservative talk show host last week how he'd do against Biden, he responded, "I think I'd matchup great. I'm a job producer. I've had a great record, I haven't been involved in plagiarism. I think I would match up very well against him."   

Another concern for Biden would be how to campaign against Hillary Clinton.  In 2008, candidate Obama contrasted his opposition to the 2003 war in Iraq with Clinton's Senate vote to authorize the war.  Biden also voted to authorize the war, although he now says he made a mistake.  And Biden's candidacy will also be viewed as a continuation of the Obama presidency, which has continually come under furious attack from Republicans as divisive and overreaching.  Without question, Vice President Joe Biden's current popularity will take a hit should he decide to run for president. 

In August, New York Times columnist Maureen Dowd wrote of a conversation Beau Biden, who was near death, had with his father urging him to run.  He knew his father always wanted to be president.  Even with all of the challenges that come with such a decision, Vice President Biden has faced more daunting obstacles many times before in his life.  Stay tuned.  

Obama's Gun Reform

President Barack Obama moved quickly to respond to the "epidemic of gun violence" in America, which results in 30 thousand deaths each year, by signing 23 executive orders and calling on Congress to pass specific proposals, including universal background checks and a ban on military style assault weapons.  But he also acknowledged that getting Congress to act "will be difficult."

The president's heartfelt announcement came barely a month following the horrific mass murders by a lone gunmen in Newtown, Connecticut, at the Sandy Hook Elementary School.  "In the month since 20 precious children and six brave adults were violently taken from us at Sandy Hook Elementary," the president said, "more than 900 of our fellow Americans have reportedly died at the end of a gun -- 900 in the past month."

Vice President Joe Biden and four young children, who had written the president following the shooting, joined President Obama.  The president read excerpts from their letters, including one from a boy named Grant, “I think there should be some changes. We should learn from what happened at Sandy Hook. I feel really bad.”  

The president had asked Vice President Biden to lead a task force and make recommendations to curtail gun violence.  Those recommendations were submitted to the president earlier this week, and the president used them as the basis for his announcement.   

President Obama called on Congress, "to require a universal background check for anyone trying to buy a gun."  Currently, there is a law that requires licensed gun dealers to do background checks.  But gun buyers can avoid a check by purchasing a weapon at a gun show or from a private seller. 

The president asked Congress to "restore" a ban on military-style assault weapons, and a 10 round limit for magazines.  Mr. Obama pointed out that a gunman using an assault weapon was able to shoot 70 people in "a matter of minutes" at an Aurora, Colorado, movie theater last July, and killing 12.  "Weapons designed for the theater of war have no place in a movie theater" he said.  He also called on Congress to, "get tougher on people who buy guns with the expressed purpose of turning around and selling them to criminals."

The executive orders he signed are all focused on giving local officials and organizations the tools they need to reduce gun violence.  "We will help schools hire more resource officers if they want them, and develop emergency preparedness plans," the president said.  "We will make sure mental health professionals know their options for reporting threats of violence."  He also said he will direct the Center for Disease Control to study the cause of gun violence, and asked Congress to, "fund research into the effects that violent video games have on young minds."

In his remarks, Mr. Obama said, "I believe the Second Amendment guarantees an individual right to bear arms. I respect our strong tradition of gun ownership and the rights of hunters and sportsmen. There are millions of responsible, law-abiding gun owners in America who cherish their right to bear arms for hunting or sport or protection or collection."  

Saying that with rights come responsibilities, the president shifted his argument from the rights of gun owners. "That most fundamental set of rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, fundamental rights that were denied to college students at Virginia Tech and high school students at Columbine and elementary school students in Newtown; and kids on street corners in Chicago on too frequent basis to tolerate; and all the families who never imagined they’d lose a loved one to -- to a bullet, those rights are at stake." Mr. Obama said,  "We’re responsible."

In advance of President Obama's announcement, the National Rifle Association posted a video on its web site that criticized the president as an "elitist hypocrite" for opposing its proposal to put armed guards in every school.  It said that the president's daughters have Secret Service protection.    This is an indication just how far the NRA will go to stop any gun control efforts.  The NRA and gun manufacturers make large political donations to members of Congress, and they will use this as leverage against reform.  

But Mr. Obama anticipated his critics: "There will be pundits and politicians and special interest lobbyists publicly warning of a tyrannical all- out assault on liberty, not because that’s true, but because they want to gin up fear or higher ratings or revenue for themselves."  He even cited President Ronald Reagan's support of a 1994 ban on military assault weapons.  But Rep. Tim Huelskamp, of Kansas, later responded by criticizing the Obama administration, "Apparently public safety matters only when there’s political gain to be had. How can we expect them to act on new laws if they cannot even enforce the ones that currently exist?”

President Obama should be applauded for taking quick action to reduce the plague of gun violence in America.  It will take strong and persistent leadership from the White House to get Congress to act on any of his proposals.  While polls indicate a majority of Americans supports action, many congressmen represent districts that strongly oppose any gun legislation.  The president recognized this in his remarks, "We’re going to need voices in those areas and those congressional districts where the tradition of gun ownership is strong to speak up and to say this is important."  

Perhaps they can start by reflecting on the words of young Julia, “I’m not scared for my safety, I’m scared for others. I have four brothers and sisters, and I know I would not be able to bear the thought of losing any of them.”

 

NRA Nonsense

"The only thing that stops a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun."  Using this rationale, Wayne LaPierre, the National Rifle Association's CEO and executive vice president, announced that the NRA's solution for stopping school shootings is to station armed guards in every one of the nation's schools by January.

Simply put, the NRA's answer to gun violence, one of the greatest plagues facing America today, is more guns. 

"How many more copycats are waiting in the wings for their moment of fame from a national media machine that rewards them?" he asked.  "I call on Congress, today, to act immediately to appropriate whatever is necessary to put armed police officers in every single school in this nation," LaPierre urged.  He then announced that the NRA is launching a "National School Shield" training program to help -- for free -- schools train security personnel and develop security plans.

Mr. LaPierre's remarks came at a Washington news conference that was disrupted twice by anti-gun protestors.  One protestor held up a sign that read "NRA Killing Our Kids," before being escorted out by security.  David Keene, the NRA's president, introduced LaPierre, saying they would take no questions until next week.

The NRA news conference followed by one week the tragic school shootings in Newtown, Conn., which left 27 persons dead, including 20 young children.  The horrific mass muder created a huge outcry across the country against semiautomatic assault weapons and high capacity ammunition clips.  On Wednesday, President Barack Obama appointed a commission, headed by Vice President Joe Biden, to come up with meaningful recommendations to stem gun violence.  He also announced an aggressive timetable to enact such legislation. 

The NRA has more than 4 million members, and it is one of the most powerful lobbying groups in Washington.  LaPierre explained the timing of the NRA news conference: "Out of respect for those grieving families, and until the facts are known, the NRA has refrained from comment. While some have tried to exploit tragedy for political gain, we have remained respectfully silent."

In the wake of the Newtown massacre, one of several that has occurred over the past few years, some commentators had felt that the NRA might support some form of gun control.  They were wrong.  Instead, LaPierre blamed computer games, violent movies and music.  "In a race to the bottom, media conglomerates compete with one another to shock, violate and offend every standard of civilized society by bringing an ever-more-toxic mix of reckless behavior and criminal cruelty into our homes -- every minute of every day of every month of every year," he said.

LaPierre blasted the national media, their corporate owners, and their stockholders, "as silent enablers, if not complicit co-conspirators."  He continued, "Rather than face their own moral failings, the media demonize lawful gun owners, amplify their cries for more laws and fill the national debate with misinformation and dishonest thinking that only delay meaningful action and all but guarantee that the next atrocity is only a news cycle away."

LaPierre concluded his remarks with a plea: "For the sake of the safety of every child in America, I call on every parent, every teacher, every school administrator and every law enforcement officer in this country to join us in the National School Shield Program and protect our children with the only line of positive defense that's tested and proven to work." 

As a parent of a high school girl, I am personally opposed to guns in my daughter's school.   I find the LaPierre proposal to be ridiculous and highly flawed.  The National School Shield Program calls for retired military and police to be armed, trained and assigned to schools in a few weeks.  Who will screen these "volunteers"?  What will they be instructed to do?  What sort of weapons will they have?  Exactly what kind of training will they receive from the NRA, target practice?  And the questions go on and on.

Gun violence is a complex problem.  There are many complicated factors that may contribute to each incident, including easy access to weapons, mental health issues, computer games, violent movies and television programs. New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg bluntly reacted to the NRA press conference in a statement, "The NRA's Washington leadership has long been out of step with its members, and never has that been so apparent as this morning. Their press conference was a shameful evasion of the crisis facing our country."

A few days after the horrendous mass murder in Newtown, the NRA put out a statement that said they were "shocked, saddened and heartbroken," and would help make sure it would never happen again.  Instead, the NRA embarrassed themselves to the shock and sadness of most Americans.  If the NRA truly respects the grieving families, it should do something meaningful and worthy of respect.

The Veep Debate

Vice President Joe Biden's debate performance on Thursday was feisty, energetic and aggressive.  Representative Paul Ryan, his opponent, was largely composed, well rehearsed and often on the defensive.  Biden gave the performance his party was looking for while Ryan comported himself well.  

In a CBS News snap poll of 500 uncommitted voters, 50% of those asked said Biden won the debate, while 31% gave the nod to Ryan.  The poll also showed that the perception of each man improved because of their performance.  

The debate, which took place at Centre College in Danville, Ky., covered both foreign and domestic issues.   ABC News senior foreign affairs correspondent Martha Raddatz moderated it.  Unlike the last week's debate, she drove the 90-minute intense exchange with sharp questioning.  Biden smiled and shook his head at many of his opponent's answers, while Ryan smirked at several of Biden's answers. 

Raddatz began by asking the vice president about the attack on the U.S. outpost in Benghazi, Libya, in which four Americans were killed.  Republicans have criticized the White House for not immediately admitting it was a terrorist attack.  In the debate, Ryan called it a "massive intelligence failure" promising that a Mitt Romney administration would provide marines to protect U.S. outposts.  Biden, who said the administration was investigating the attack, pointed out that Republicans in Congress voted to cut embassy security by $300 million.  

The candidates sparred over Iraq, Syria and Afghanistan.  On Iran, Ryan charged, “This administration has no credibility on this issue,” as Biden smiled and shook his head.  Then Ryan criticized the president for not meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu when he was in New York for a United Nations meeting, and instead appearing on ABC's talk show, The View. 

“This is a bunch of stuff,” Biden said.  “What does that mean, a bunch of stuff?” Raddatz asked. “It’s Irish,” Ryan chimed in. “We Irish call it malarkey.”  Then Biden said the president had a one-hour call with Netanyahu just before the UN meeting and criticized Romney and Ryan for not having a plan for Iran.

On Afghanistan the debaters argued over the president's commitment to pull U.S. troops in 2014.  Ryan said the White should not have announced the timetable, which already was well known. But Biden was emphatic, "We are leaving. We are leaving in 2014. Period."

Taxes, Medicare and Social Security were heated debate topics.  Biden pinned Ryan on defending tax cuts for top income earners.  He repeatedly, speaking directly into the camera, called for a level playing field for the middle class.  He also highlighted Romney's remarks, to a closed fundraiser, that 47% of Americans aren't personally responsible.  Ryan, turning to Biden, said, “I think the vice president very well knows that sometimes the words don’t come out of your mouth the right way.”  Biden responded, "But I mean what I say." 

Biden called the Ryan proposal on Medicare a voucher plan that would result in future seniors having to pay money for care.  And Biden attacked a Republican plan to privatize Social Security, which would leave Americans vulnerable to swings in the stock market.  

Near the end of the debate, Raddatz asked the candidates if their Catholic faith "informs" their decision on abortion.  Ryan said yes, but said the Romney policy  "will be to oppose abortion with the exceptions for rape, incest and life of the mother." It was clear that Ryan would rule out all abortions.  Biden said he is personally against abortion, but that, "It's a decision between (women) and their doctor, in my view, and the Supreme Court. I'm not going to interfere with that."  He then pointed out that the next president would appoint one or two Supreme Court justices, which could swing the balance on Roe V. Wade.  

Representative Paul Ryan has bragged about his ability to catch fish barehanded.  However, in the debate he could not catch the vice president, whose lengthy experience with foreign policy and domestic issues worked in his favor.  While Biden consistently spoke from his heart, Ryan often seemed to be reciting talking points, especially on foreign policy issues.  

Now the stage is set for the next week's presidential debate at Hofstra University.  President Obama's supporters know that he must build off of Biden's strong performance, because the alternative could be devastating for his reelection hopes.

  

Romney Stumbles

“Politics is the art of looking for trouble, finding it everywhere, diagnosing it incorrectly and applying the wrong remedies.”  By his definition, were he alive today, Groucho Marx could point to Mitt Romney as a perfect example!   But, no doubt many Republicans wish they could Etch A Sketch away the past six weeks of the Romney campaign.

Today many political observers characterize Romney's campaign as desperate, disoriented, erratic and lacking a budget plan.  Yet, it was suppose to be so easy.  Having won a bitterly contested Republican primary, Romney would be able to position himself as a successful "Mr. Fixit" businessman who could save the U.S. economy.  His approach was to make the 2012 presidential race a referendum on President Barack Obama's handling of the economy.  But before Romney could get out of the starting gate, the Obama campaign went after Mr. Fixit.  

Romney was co-founder and once head of Bain Capital, one of the world's leading private asset management firms.  It turns out that they succeeded in saving some businesses.  But Bain also closed several companies down, took out millions of dollars and left thousands of people without jobs, all facts that the Obama campaign relentlessly pointed out. Of course, Bain Capital's main goal is to make big profits for its investors, not to create jobs.  At the Democratic Convention, Vice President Joe Biden put it this way, “Folks, the Bain way may bring your firm the highest profits. But it’s not the way to lead your country from its highest office.”

Romney said he was a successful governor of Massachusetts.   But his single biggest achievement was "Romneycare", the state's near universal health care law that was the blueprint for "Obamacare," which Romney has vowed to repeal on his first day if he is elected president.  But last week Romney said, on NBC's Meet the Press, ”Of course, there are a number of things that I like in health care reform that I’m going to put in place.  One is to make sure that those with pre-existing conditions can get coverage."  This set off a firestorm among conservative Republicans.  Later that day, Romney's campaign again reconfirmed he was against covering people with pre-existing conditions who have not had continuous health coverage. 

At the Republican Convention, Romney was upstaged by an embarrassing endorsement from actor Clint Eastwood, who crudely spoke to an empty chair that represented President Obama.  In his tepid acceptance speech, Romney focused on biography and talking points, but offered no specifics on how he would save the economy.  And, in an inexplicable omission, Romney failed to mention the American soldiers serving in Afghanistan and around the world.

The Republican candidate, looking to further mobilize his conservative base and add some spice to the ticket, brought Representative Paul Ryan on as his running mate.  Ryan is a favorite of the right, and author of the Ryan Budget Plan.  But that plan, which was has widespread support among Congressional Republicans, calls for deep cuts in entitlements.  Under Ryan's plan, Medicare would be voucherized and Medicaid would be converted to block grants to states.  As a result, recipients would be left to personally pay for some of the quickly increasing medical costs they will face in the future.

If he embraced Ryan's plan, Romney would risk alienating many seniors, a critical demographic in many swing states.  So Romney has been distancing himself from the Ryan plan.  In an interview with CBS News, he was asked, "Are you running on [Ryan's] budget or on your budget?" Romney responded, "My budget, of course, I'm the one running for president."  Yet, Romney has failed to offer specifics for about his budget.

Romney has also failed to explain why he has parked so many of his investments in off shore accounts.  He found himself on the defensive on his personal taxes.  He has adamantly said he will release only two years of federal returns.  In his 2010 return he paid an effective rate of 13.8 percent in taxes on an income of $21.7 million.  He has not yet released his final 2011 returns, but he has estimated he will pay an effective rate of 15.4 percent on income of $20.9 million.  His taxes are certain to remain an issue heading into the election.

Romney and Ryan have little foreign policy experience, and it shows.  Candidate Romney has blustered about the Russians and the Chinese as if, to use the president's description, he is "stuck in some cold-war tie warp."  So it is no wonder he was poised to seize an opportunity to criticize the president on foreign policy.  While terrorists were attacking the US consulate in Benghazi, Libya, which left four Americans dead, Romney was attacking the White House for a statement released by a middle level consulate official. 

Romney's statement read, in part, "It's disgraceful that the Obama administration's first response was not to condemn attacks on our diplomatic missions, but to sympathize with those who waged the attacks."  Very few facts were known at this point.  In response to Romney's attack, the White House put out a statement, "We are shocked that, at a time when the United States of America is confronting the tragic death of one of our diplomatic officers in Libya, Governor Romney would choose to launch a political attack." 

While many Republicans were questioning Romney's judgment, the candidate was doubling down at a news conference the next day.  Republican columnist Peggy Noonan said, ""Romney looked weak today I feel, I'm still kind of absorbing it myself, at one point, he had a certain slight grimace on his face when he was taking tough questions from the reporters, and I thought, 'He looks like Richard Nixon.'"

President Obama, in an interview with 60 Minutes, said that Romney tends to "shoot first and aim later."  He continued, “And as president, one of the things I’ve learned is you can’t do that, that, you know, it’s important for you to make sure that the statements that you make are backed up by the facts. And that you’ve thought through the ramifications before you make ‘em.”

The past few weeks have been very difficult for candidate Romney.  A just released Fox News national presidential poll shows President Obama with a 48% to 43% lead over Mitt Romney.  Perhaps Romney's actions have had an adverse impact on his campaign.  After all, you learn a lot about a person in a time of crisis.

   

Obama's Path

President Barack Obama accepted the nomination of the Democratic Party with a humble, values-oriented appeal to the voters who elected him in 2008.  At one point he quoted President Abraham Lincoln, "While I’m proud of what we’ve achieved together, I’m far more mindful of my own failings, knowing exactly what Lincoln meant when he said, 'I have been driven to my knees many times by the overwhelming conviction that I had no place else to go.'

Expectations soared when the president was elected four years ago on a campaign filled with the promise of "hope and change."   To those who may be disappointed in his first term, the president said, "Hope has been tested – by the cost of war; by one of the worst economic crises in history; and by political gridlock that’s left us wondering whether it’s still possible to tackle the challenges of our time."

Saying it wouldn't be easy, the president said this election was a choice between two visions,  "Our problems can be solved. Our challenges can be met. The path we offer may be harder, but it leads to a better place. And I’m asking you to choose that future."  President Obama said his opponents wouldn’t tell you their plan, except cut taxes and roll back regulations.  “Have a surplus? Try a tax cut. Deficit too high? Try another.”  The president joked, “Feel a cold coming on? Take two tax cuts, roll back some regulations, and call us in the morning!”  He concluded, "We’ve been there, we’ve tried that, and we’re not going back. We’re moving forward."

The president highlighted his record of adding jobs, bailing out the auto industry, investing in education, energy, dealing with the environment, national security, and taking on the deficit.  He pointed out that his opponents have no foreign policy experience.  "After all, you don’t call Russia our number one enemy – and not al Qaeda – unless you’re still stuck in a Cold War time warp." the president said. " You might not be ready for diplomacy with Beijing if you can’t visit the Olympics without insulting our closest ally."

The president offered an alternative, "In a world of new threats and new challenges, you can choose leadership that has been tested and proven. Four years ago, I promised to end the war in Iraq. We did. I promised to refocus on the terrorists who actually attacked us on 9/11. We have. We’ve blunted the Taliban’s momentum in Afghanistan, and in 2014, our longest war will be over. A new tower rises above the New York skyline, al Qaeda is on the path to defeat, and Osama bin Laden is dead."   The president then thanked the U.S. military for their service in his address, a glaring oversight by Romney last week.

President Obama said he will never turn Medicare into a voucher, referring to Rep. Paul Ryan's plan.  He said he will not turn Social Security over to Wall Street.  He also said, "I refuse to ask middle class families to give up their deductions for owning a home or raising their kids just to pay for another millionaire’s tax cut."  The president reaffirmed his position on raising taxes on the wealthy.  And, answering a Republican theme, he said, "We don’t think government can solve all our problems. But we don’t think that government is the source of all our problems – any more than are welfare recipients, or corporations, or unions, or immigrants, or gays, or any other group we’re told to blame for our troubles."

President Obama's speech set out a sharp contrast with his opponents.  He humbly asked for American's support,  "If you believe in a country where everyone gets a fair shot, and everyone does their fair share, and everyone plays by the same rules, then I need you to vote this November."

President Obama followed powerful speeches by Vice President Joe Biden and Senator John Kerry, who was defeated in his 2004 run for President by President George W. Bush. 

The vice president spoke to the middle class and to those families who are struggling.  He identified and connected with them by relating his and President Obama's family history.  He then attacked Mitt Romney for opposing President Obama's rescue of the automobile industry.  Romney said they should be allowed to go bankrupt.  

Biden then rallied the house with his oft repeated line, "Osama bin-Laden is dead and General Motors is alive!"  He excoriated the Republican ticket on Medicare.  Saying the opposition didn't tell their audience that;  "The plan that they have already put on paper would cut for benefits for more than 30 million seniors."  He continued, "it would cause it to go bankrupt by 2016."  

On the deficit, the vice president said of the Republicans, "They didn’t tell you they rejected every plan put forward by us, or the Simpson-Bowles commission to reduce the debt."  He then jabbed Romney's talk of a "jobs tour", saying, "With his support for outsourcing it’s going to have to be a foreign trip."

He emphatically insisted "America is not in decline," and that it has never been a good bet to bet against the American people!"  In a very emotional moment, he recognized the "incredible debt we owe" the American military dead and wounded.  "We must never forget their sacrifice!"

Earlier, Senator Kerry was brutal in his criticism of Mitt Romney.  On foreign policy, he said, "He has all these neo-con advisors who know all the wrong things about foreign policy. He would rely on them--after all, he's the great outsourcer." Then he added, "This is not the time to outsource the job of commander in chief."

Playing off the "Are you better off?" riff that is used by Republicans, Kerry said, "Ask Osama bin Laden if he is better off now than he was four years ago," to a rousing ovation.  In response to Republican criticism that President Obama has let Israel down, the senator noted that Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu has said of the U.S. under Mr. Obama's leadership, "our security cooperation is unprecedented."

Finally, in a stinging shot at Mitt Romney's failure to mention American troops in his acceptance speech, Kerry said, "No nominee for president should ever fail in the midst of a war to pay tribute to our troops overseas.'

The Democratic Convention was authentic, warm and stirring, thanks to memorable speeches by First Lady Michelle Obama, Mayor Julian Castro and President Bill Clinton.   It overshadowed last week's Republican Convention, which was short on specifics and solutions.  But will it be enough to help President Obama overcome a sluggish economy and high unemployment?   Will voters take the president at his word, "America, I never said this journey would be easy, and I won’t promise that now. Yes, our path is harder – but it leads to a better place."

The Golf Summit

Ask any gentleman who has spent considerable time on the links, there's rarely problem too big that can't be hashed out over a round of golf. But Saturday's "Golf Summit" is very unlikely to result in any breakthroughs on matters of debt and taxes.

President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden are going to tee off with House Speaker John Boehner and Ohio Republican Governor John Kasich at an undisclosed Washington golf course Saturday. Details are still pretty hush hush. For instance, will the foursome be paired? Say President Obama and Speaker Boehner play against the vice president and the governor--a truly bipartisan contest. Or will it be partisan--Democrats against Republicans?

President Obama is a relative novice at golf, but he has managed to work in more than seventy rounds since he took office. Speaker Boehner is an avid golfer, but his supporters have warned he hasn't been able to play a lot lately because "he is trying to solve the nation's unemployment problem." Interestingly, he swings right-handed, but putts left-handed. The vice president is rated twenty-ninth among Washington's top golfers according to Golf Digest, fourteen places ahead of the speaker. The governor is also a very good golfer.

If the Republicans are paired together it appears they will have a clear advantage over the Democrats. There is certain to be some wagering, a friendly bet or two. Since the typical round of golf can take four hours, there will be plenty of time for discussion.

Perhaps the vice president will discuss some of the ideas being considered by his deficit commission, which hopes to reach an agreement by July 4. That could make it possible to link a deficit reduction package with Congressional passage of the debt ceiling. The vice president's commission is made up of prominent Democrats and Republicans, including House Majority Leader Eric Cantor and Senate Minority Whip John Kyle. Senator Kyle has said that Republicans are seeking at least $2.4 trillion in cuts over 10 years in order to vote for increasing the debt ceiling by that amount.

The debate over budget cuts and revenue increases (i.e. taxes) has been heated with many Republicans threatening to vote against increasing the debt ceiling unless there are structural changes to government spending. Economists and financial experts have warned that failure to pass the debt ceiling would have devastating effects on the American economy, including higher interest rates and more unemployment, and it would cripple the fragile global recovery.

So America faces perilous deficits (both parties are complicit), a debt ceiling crisis, stubborn high unemployment, two and a half costly wars (in lives and dollars), that our government has authorized, and dozens of other important issues our elected officials have been debating forever. Given the severity of Americas problems, it seems a little silly that our leaders feel a round of golf will somehow pave the way for more harmony and less partisan rancor.

But, make no mistake about it, these men are certain to have a good time on their round Saturday. This is the way Washington works. This is par for the course.