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What’s the problem?
I have been thinking a lot about why so many liberals are disappointed in Barack Obama. A lot has been written and all of it right. My thing is perhaps no great revelation, but I thought I’d throw it out there.
I read this quote and something clicked in my mind. Scott Turow wrote, “Michael Jordan played basketball better than anyone else in the world does anything else.” We wanted Barack Obama to play politics as well as Jordan played basketball, Tiger Woods once played golf, and Muhammed Ali, well, was Ali.
Obama has let the Republicans lead and that frustrates us. Obama is perhaps playing the game very, very well because of the limitations he faces–a united GOP and the screwed up rules in the Senate which the vast majority of Americans don’t even understand. But by letting them set the agenda and hold the floor, he appears weak, ineffectual, and a disappointment.
A list of the things he’s accomplished blows the mind. Who knew? Bingo. Nobody knows.
Often the best musician in the orchestra is one no one hears. We wanted Obama to be Leonard Bernstein, and we got a great piano player in a whorehouse. We wanted Michael Jordan. We got Mark Jackson–third on the list in NBA assists, the same as Jordan is third in points. Who knew?
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Motorsports
Thanks Vegas, see you next year
I can’t believe the NASCAR Champion’s Banquet is finally here. It’s been such a fun week here in Las Vegas with so many highlights that it’s hard to focus on just a few, but I think my favorite event of the week was NASCAR After The Lap Thursday at The Joint in Hard Rock.
I hosted NASCAR After the Lap with ESPN’s Jamie Little (Do you know Jamie grew up and lives in Las Vegas? and I have to tell you, things got a little crazy! I felt bad for Jeff Gordon as he was on the receiving end of a TON of “old man” jokes. I guess he has a few gray hairs but I don’t think he’s that old 
I’ve never seen the drivers open up like they did. It really seemed like they had a blast. The jokes were definitely flying back and forth! We even had a surprise guest show up right at the end … CARROT TOP! That guy is hilarious.
The Victory Lap on Thursday on the Strip was also really fun to watch. Paige said that the crowd was awesome and really into seeing the top-12 drivers. They all did burnouts on the Strip … I wonder if the local authorities got upset! HAHA! But really, who doesn’t love a good burnout. I know I do.
Right now, Amanda, Paige and I are about to head down the red carpet and take some photos. It’s going to be a special night here at the Wynn. I can’t wait to see everyone dressed to the nines! And the show is going to be spectacular. Rascal Flatts, Frank Caliendo, VIVA Elvis, Martina McBride and Colbie Caillat are all performing. It’s going to be awesome!
I hope you tune in to SPEED to see the show and give one last ovation to Jimmie. I still can’t believe he’s won the last five NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Championships. The guy is a living legend.
One last thing … if you can’t tune-in to SPEED tonight, you can watch the awards ceremony on NASCAR Sprint Cup Mobile!
It’s off to the red carpet! Thanks for reading all week!
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One big day down, two more to come during Champion’s Week in Las Vegas
Wow … what a day today was and NASCAR Champion’s Week is really just getting started!
I woke up super early this morning and headed out to Las Vegas Motor Speedway to hang out with Lauren Murphy from FOX 5 Vegas. We had a blast. We talked all about the Chasers for Charity event and she even was driven around the track in a show car by NASCAR Rookie of the Year Kevin Conway. I’m pretty sure he got up to 160 mph! Whew! I would have loooooved to have done that. Maybe next year I can get out there and show NASCAR that this firesuit isn’t just for show!
I didn’t stay at LVMS for long as I had some other meet and greets scheduled with some Sprint customers, but I heard from Amanda that the Speedway Feud (based on the Family Feud game show) was hysterical. When Kyle Busch was asked, “If you could pick one driver that you wouldn’t want to race against with one lap left, he replied “ME!” I have to admit, I’d probably give the same answer.
Amanda also told me that Kevin Conway took home his first checkered flag of the year … in the Celebrity Go-Kart Race. Granted, his competition was Carrot Top, comedian Kevin Burke and San Francisco Giants outfield Aaron Rowland, so our money was always on Kevin.
Thursday is going to be an awesome day for all you NASCAR fans. It all begins with the NASCAR Myers Brothers Awards Luncheon. That’s where Kevin will officially receive his Rookie of the Year award and also where the Most Popular Driver is awarded … I’m gonna guess that Dale Earnhardt Jr. takes it home again this year. Everyone loves him.
Then it’s off to the Victory Lap down the Strip. Last year Jimmie Johnson was so excited while performing his burnout that he broke the car. I wonder if he’ll do the same this year? All of the Chase drivers will participate in the Victory Lap, which will end at The Joint at the Hard Rock Hotel. They will all stop outside of the Bellagio or Bally’s for a pit stop performed by NASCAR’s Driver for Diversity pit crew, and then it’s off to the Joint for NASCAR After the Lap.
I’m so pumped for NASCAR After the Lap because I’m hosting it with ESPN’s Jamie Little. We’re going to ask the driver’s all of those tough questions … NO HOLDS BARRED, I promise.
Be sure to check out the Coca-Cola Fan Zone at The Joint. It’s going to be just like a typical race with the Sprint Experience and other display areas, live music, etc. Stop by the Sprint Experience and test out our racing simulators. Those things are so much fun. The other Miss Sprint Cups and I always race each other … but I won’t tell you who wins all the time (me!).
It’s going to be another great day here in Sin City and we’ll give you a recap on tomorrow afternoon. And of course, Amanda, Paige and I are so excited for the Awards Banquet on Friday night. If you can’t make it, be sure to watch it on NASCAR Sprint Cup Mobile on your Sprint device. SPEED will be streaming it live so you won’t miss anything!
Talk to you tomorrow!
-Monica
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Getting ready for Vegas trip, Champion’s Week
During my three-year adventure as Miss Sprint Cup, I have been fortunate enough to witness Jimmie Johnson and Hendrick Motorsports grow a modern-day sports dynasty with each NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Championship. To be a part of such historic moments in Victory Lane and see the excitement on Jimmie’s face as he embraced his wife and newborn baby girl one week ago, I can’t help but reflect on my own blessings this Thanksgiving holiday weekend. So as I head over the river and through the woods to Grandmother’s house, my excitement causes me to look back at a whirlwind of the 2010 season.
It all began back in February with my two partners in crime: Amanda Wright and Paige Duke, both new members of the 2010 Miss Sprint Cup lineup. We gave a big “Wheels Up for Daytona” and haven’t stopped since. From unveiling ceremony in Daytona to their first Champion’s Week in Las Vegas, I hope they feel just as blessed to be a part of such a great sport as I do.
We’ve watched this season as Kevin Harvick took the points standings in Daytona and didn’t let go until Jimmie took over the lead at Martinsville Speedway in March. It didn’t stay in his grasp for long though, as Kevin took it back just four races later in Richmond, holding the lead until the guys returned to Richmond in the fall.
After the checkered flag in Richmond, the Chase was set and the NASCAR playoffs began. Denny Hamlin and Kevin proved to challenge the then four-time champion Johnson with the tightest battle in points standing’s history and it all came down to the final race of the season in beautiful Homestead. And what a race it was! I was on the edge of my seat from the moment Denny spun out early in the race until Carl Edwards took the flag, and Jimmie took home his unprecedented fifth consecutive championship!
I may be jumping the gun but my bags are packed and I’m itching to give one final “Wheels Up” for the 2010 season. Oh, and don’t worry: what happens in Vegas won’t stay there because I’ll be keeping everyone up to date on all the week’s festivities right here in this blog. So rest up over the next few days because we’re going to party like Champions!
Keep checking back throughout the week to see what we’re doing here in Las Vegas!
- Monica
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Mental Health Break
Funny. Very funny. Do not read while drinking a beverage.
Dogs don’t understand the basic concept of moving
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Nothing New
Ruth Marcus writes in the Washington Post–
Bush’s averages are misleading. For one thing, he cherry-picks his fiscal years. He gives himself credit for the 2001 surplus, 1.3 percent of gross domestic product, even though that course was largely set when he took office. At the other end, Bush takes no responsibility for his piece of the ghastly 2009 deficit, 9.9 percent. Subtracting bailouts and stimulus spending, on the theory that much of the former will be repaid and the latter happened on President Obama’s watch, the 2009 deficit would have totaled 6.8 percent of GDP, the largest since World War II.
More important, the trajectory tells a story that is less kind to Bush. He took office after three years in which Clinton had overseen surpluses. After 2001, Bush presided over seven straight years of deficits.
In short, Bush inherited a budget in healthy shape. He left it in tatters. The faltering economy played a supporting role, but the chief factors were of Bush’s making: his tax cuts, his wars, his prescription drug bill. Without these, the country would have been running surpluses during his tenure. The wars will wind down, but the price of the tax cuts and prescription drug bill will climb even higher over the next decade.
The problem continues. The elections of 2011 accomplished nothing at all. The past two years have done nothing to dispel the notion that the conservative ideology–the entire basis of the Bush administration’s fulfillment of the Reagan legacy–was not a bust. Republican leadership backed by the Tea Party hammers the mantra continously, while we fall further and further into disarray.
Get ready for Part II.
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What Now?
In all the reporting done after the elections of 2010, the answer to a simple question was nowhere to be found. What now?
Trying to find what the incoming Republicans swept into office by a wave of disaffected voters have objections, but few solutions. We think. We don’t know because they haven’t said much. What they have said can’t be done. If done, it would make problems worse. Not good. At all.
So.
What now?
Anyone else feel like January 2, 2011 is like a ticking bomb on 24?
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How Wrong Some Can Be
The legacy of Ronald Reagan is government is the enemy. His famous saying of “I’m from the government and I’m here to help” has misinformed millions of citizens who needed the help. IN 2008, then entire nation was on it’s knees and who was there to help?
Warren Buffet, the famous and fabulously successful businessman, reminds us in an op-ed piece in the New York Times of the debt of gratitude that is owed to our government and people on both sides of the political divide. When the chips were down, they were there to help.
When Katrina hit the gulf coast, government wasn’t there to help. What kind of a person cannot see the difference? How can anyone be so ideological to ignore such obvious evidence? The person who bought into the idea that government is the enemy. If you ever wonder how we got into the shape we are in, look no further than one of the two people on either side of you. One of them is terribly wrong and is not going to change their mind before they are dead.
Famously ideological George W. Bush said he had to put aside his ideology to deal with the crisis. No one has seemed to think of the next logical question. “Mr. Bush, could it be that the ideology was wrong all along?”
Government has a role, a big role to play in a modern, complex nation. We all should know that is true. When we finally understand that the Reagan ideology was an exaggeration and a really bad joke, then perhaps we can move on to having a grownup conversation on exactly what role government can play. To be efficient, pragmatic and helpful to the most citizens. While we are a few steps down the road to recovery, we are still a long from having that conversation. And we need it. Desperately.
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The Empty Shell
What happens when the house of cards falls?
One of my favorite movies is Blazing Saddles. There is a scene late in the movie where the bad guys ride into the fake Rock Ridge and you see it from high on a hilltop, the town is only a front. Not to be picking sides or saying one is better than the other, but this is exactly where Republicans are finding themselves. They have erected a fake Rock Ridge to draw in voters, but what will happen when the voters find out there is nothing behind the front?
That facade is “cut taxes and small government.” What the leadership knows is there really are no taxes that can be cut and government can’t get much smaller. That so many believe both are possible is the beginning of the problems for Republican leadership. Believe it. They know this. And it has got to be killing them. They are trying with all their might to extend the tax cuts–not make further cuts. They know that any cuts in spending is going to hurt the very fragile recovery and cause pain for enormous numbers of people. There is hardly any fat to cut. Really.
There is no right or wrong here. This is not about whether the conservative ideology is a policy the country should be following anymore. That ship has sailed. The Great Recession should have been proof enough, even if everyone has not gotten the message. This is about how one party has painted itself into a corner and has no way out but keeping painting. Eventually, you run out of room to stand.
Perhaps Republican leaders realize their days are numbered. Yes, they regained the House, but for how long? Voters bought their story that Obama and the Dems were screwing things up. It is easy to frighten people. Hitchcock and Bella Lagosi made careers out of it. Freddie Krueger is a household name in some households. But eventually, people get tired of being scared. The next step on the emotional roller coaster is anger. If Republican leadership doesn’t find a way out the tightening noose they have created for themselves, the consequences to their party are going to be terrible, catastrophic even. At some point, even the most misinformed voter is going to see the fake Rock Ridge and wake up. And when they do, it’s going to be as bad for the McConnells and Boehners and McCains as it was for President Bush in 2008.
Republican leadership is not of the Tea Party. In fact, much of the complaints the Tea Party has with government can be on the Republican leadership more than the Democrats, as hard as that is to believe. Republican leadership has been leading for the past thirty years, with Democrats tugging against them. (Neat trick, running against Washington while running it.) Republican leadership has encouraged the inequality between the haves and have-nots. This is as much a cause of the anxiety felt in the country as the housing collapse or the depression in Nevada and many other places in the US. Somehow, at some point, Republican leadership is going to have to find a way out of the mess they helped create. The question is can they do it without revealing their hand in deceiving their voters?
If anything is going to be interesting to watch over the next two years, this is it. Perhaps the economic cycle turns naturally and they can manage to take credit for it. There are indications this is already happening, that things are getting better, which is a terrific coincidence for them. But there are also some very ominous clouds on the horizon that could make things even worse. Possibly far worse, and the solution this time will not be available as it was in 2008 and 2009 when the economy teetered on the precipice. That is when their supporters will find out once and for all on which side the Republican leadership really stands.
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Makes Me Crazy!
Lots of things drive me nuts. The list is very long. High up on that list is the continuing misunderstanding of what President Obama said about Las Vegas. Even those with the best of intentions get it wrong.
Yesterday, an article in the Sun on Steve Wynn again repeated it, again.
Wynn’s latest criticism of Washington is a variation on a theme that began nearly two years ago when Wynn reacted to President Barack Obama’s comment that companies receiving federal bailouts shouldn’t travel to Las Vegas. Casino and tourism officials roundly criticized the remark, saying it hurt corporate meetings and incentive trips that make up a crucial business segment for Las Vegas.
Cause and effect. Obama’s remark did not cause our local economy to crash. We had a recession. It was in the papers. Even coupled with his other remark which sent Oscar off the deep end, about how you wouldn’t take your savings and go gamble it in Las Vegas, Obama never said don’t come. One assumes a rational person would not think it did, but rational people don’t seem to understand what he was saying. Rational people seem in very short supply these days.
Taking quotes out of context for political purposes might do your party some good–and boy, did it for Republicans, as their supporters have taken these misstatements as support for Obama being born in Kenya (good luck connecting the dots)–but such tactics do great harm to advancing the nation.
That’s the point, right?
And, Steve Wynn, shut up. You look like an idiot, as well as a nut, even to those who agree with you.
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