National

Mr. Taff is a late afternoon news anchor for Action News on Ch. 6. He often writes very eloquently written blogs that he posts to his Facebook page. On this occasion, he has written about Vice President Biden, and I want to share it with you:

I'll never forget the moment. It was a steamy summer night in Denver, Colorado, moments before Joe Biden took the stage during the Democratic National Convention in 2008. I was hustling to get back to my broadcast perch, but got stuck in one of the occasional lockdowns that accompany the movement of high profile people in the building -- like the soon-to-be-Vice-President-of-the-United-States. Somehow, I ended up standing in a doorway about 15 feet from Joe, with an unobstructed view as he collected his thoughts leading up to what was then the biggest speech he'd ever given. He struck me as, and I'm not sure how else to put it: human. That now-famous Biden smile never left his face -- but it was more than apparent that his ear-to-ear grin was only a mask, an attempt to underplay the huge amount of nervous energy coursing through him. Seconds later, he brushed off any last minute doubts, and delivered a speech that served as an exclamation point to a childhood spent overcoming a stutter and an adulthood spent trying to overcome unimaginable loss. When he was done, the thunderous applause shook the arena and sent the faithful voters that filled it to their feet. And that, I think, is why Joe Biden holds a particularly unique place on the American stage -- and in its heart. He is not the straight-from-central-casting-politican. He is, well, human.

Rick Klein: “The scrum to become the anti-Hillary candidate is now joined, with flaws and foibles evident in both men who seem best positioned to give the Democratic frontrunner a run for her money. While this is Martin O’Malley’s announcement moment, it’s an early Bernie Sanders momentum moment, with polls and press coverage casting the Vermont senator as on the move. It’s important to remember that Sanders has more of a built-in base, particularly without Elizabeth Warren running. He’s the candidate for the far left, and the even farther left beyond.” “O’Malley’s advantages would be more likely to stand out in a more traditional competitive primary. He has governing experience, a generational argument to make, and generally looks the part more than Sanders. The race’s dynamics could wind up driving its competitive nature. If Hillary Clinton cruises wire-to-wire, Sanders could easily be the default runner-up. But the moment Clinton looks vulnerable enough to actually be beaten, it might be time for O’Mentum.”

These constituent questions are good ones and there is no reason for Carney to dodge them. With regard to the environment, Carney wants to appear to be a rational guy.…

Tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow creeps on at it's petty pace, and still only one real announcement since my last update back in 1873. Rick Santorum found the most homophobic county in PA to make his announcement yesterday. He appears to be running on a platform of "Its my turn because I came in second last time"

Let's face it, the DE GOP doesn't attract the top tier. Republican presidential candidate Carly Fiorina's attempt to attack former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton (D) didn't quite go as…

First Read: “By itself, making money shouldn’t be an issue for Bill and Hillary Clinton; after all, so many of our past presidents have been wealthy. By itself, Bill Clinton having a shell LLC wouldn’t be an issue either. But when you add the two together, you see that the Clintons have a Mitt Romney problem on their hands — wealth and ‘otherness’ that voters might not be able to relate to, especially when the likes of Bernie Sanders are campaigning against wealth.” “Of course, there’s one BIG difference between Hillary Clinton and Mitt Romney: Romney wanted to cut taxes for the wealthy, while Hillary likely wants to raise them and eliminate tax loopholes benefitting the well-off. As the Clintons have said before, people like them should be paying more in taxes. And you probably won’t hear that rhetoric from the eventual GOP nominee." The voters won't care. They only care when someone who is wealthy wants to cut taxes for him so as to further enrich himself at the expense of the voters. If a candidate who is wealthy wants to raise taxes on himself or herself while at the same providing benefits and services to the voter as a result, the voters will lap that right up. Remember the Kennedy's. They were fabulously wealthy. But also liberal. To get elected as a rich person in this country, you better be a liberal Democrat.