Ex-Girlfriend Test

Bill, and the woman widely reported to be his current g/f: Canadian MP Belinda Stronach.

Ms. Stronach's reported sex life has been mercurial. She has been accused of breaking up marriages, of sleeping her way to the top (with both politicians and businesspersons), and has had affairs with multiple (married) Toronto Maple Leaf hockey players.

Ms. Stronach reportedly had a mastectomy just a few days ago - on June 19. So, even as I gossip about her, I genuinely wish her the best.

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When candidates run for President, media love to run to their ex-girlfriends/ex-wives for dirt. Actually, though it maybe doesn't seem so, media largely avoided Bill Clinton's pantheon of ex-girlfriends. So maybe I should've written: When Repubs run for President, media love to run to their ex-g/fs.

Fortunately, Pres. Reagan's ex-wife: Jane Wyman, refused to say anything negative about him. George W. Bush's ex-girlfriend followed Jane Wyman's example.

Soon to be official candidate Fred Thompson famously trails a string of ex-wives and ex-gfs behind him. SO FAR, however, Fred's exes appear to be assets for him. SO FAR, they gush about what a wonderful guy he was/is. I've rarely seen such gushing as in this article from the Sunday Times Online. Note that one of Fred's exes is Texan Georgette Mosbacher. Georgette Mosbacher is beautiful, smart, shrewd, rich, and a heavy political hitter. When Georgette Mosbacher praises Fred, I hang on every word, searching for nuance.

Fred's exes seem genuinely fond of him. That speaks to character - both theirs and his.

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Let's Have a Beer

They say every Presidential election comes down to: who would you most like to sit and have a beer with. It does seem so:

• Bush over Kerry


• Bush over Gore


• Clinton over Dole


• Clinton over Bush I


• Bush I over Dukakis


• Reagan over Mondale


• Reagan over Carter (Reagan wins the beer test over anybody, really)


• Carter over Ford Here the comparison breaks down. Many say the Carter victory was electoral retribution over Nixon and Watergate. Maybe so, b/c having a beer with Jimmah would be hell.


• Nixon over McGovern (McGovern was considered strident b/c of his antiwar rhetoric)


• Nixon over Humphrey I believe this is the exception to the rule. Humphrey was "the happy warrior". Surely he was more fun to drink with than Nixon. Maybe the 1968 voters were different from todays.


• Johnson over Goldwater.


• JFK over Nixon.


• Eisenhower over Stevenson (twice)


• Truman over Dewey


• FDR over Dewey (poor Dewey suffered from being perceived as "not down to earth" by virtue of being from New York)

Okay, we won't go back further. Nixon over Humphrey is the exception. Otherwise - if we consider Carter a protest vote aberration - the rule holds.

If the rule actually has validity, that is good news for Giuliani, Romney, and Fred Thompson - each of whom would clearly be engaging and good company. It is especially good news for Fred Thompson. Apparently, both sexes would enjoy hanging out and having beers with Fred.

Presidential Candidates

I couldn't be happier with the Repub candidates for President, btw. Excepting Ronald Reagan: the trio of Giuliani, Romney, and Fred are the finest candidates our country has seen in a generation. Excepting Ronald Reagan, I believe you'd have to go back to JFK to find as excellent a candidate as any of the three. I would vote for any of the three over JFK. I am ecstatic over their quality. (Note: I am amending this statement about going back to JFK. Nixon was a capable, patriotic, and well-prepared Presidential candidate in '68 and '72. Fred and Mitt and Rudy are not better candidates than Nixon was.)

Romney is an unknown sleeper - and yet: he may actually be the finest candidate of the three. Mitt Romney is a fine, fine, smart, smart man. He is personable, he is tough, he is likable, he carries a tremendous record of business and political accomplishment. He is - from his beautiful wife, to his 5 sons, to his record of accomplishment: the perfect candidate. Mitt is an old-school heroic figure in the tradition of Christy Matthewson, Sargeant York, Gary Cooper, NASA Astronauts, and Roger Staubach. Mitt even has the strong-jawed visage of an old school hero. Mitt Romney will be President some day - and maybe the sooner the better.

I cannot decide amongst the three candidates. I love all of them. I hope their competition will sharpen the winner for the general election run. I hope their competition will reveal the winner's true self to the general voting public. I hope.