Speed Gibson

I'm frankly surprised how poorly both major party candidates are performing so far in our U. S. Senate race.

Kennedy should be taking far more advantage of Klobuchar's inexperience and rather far left stance. But he's carping more than contrasting, and not simply saying "I'm the candidate who won't raise your taxes. I, in fact, will continue the fight to make the Bush tax reforms permanent." His prior style of "get to know me" ads isn't going to help him here.

Klobuchar, though, has hit the lowest below the belt, in her current TV ad, as if Kennedy has anything whatsover to do with the crimes documented. The entire ad is pointless; what has this to do with the duties of a Senator? And would not any other County Attorney have done as well? Maybe better, as in the Edwards case? Meanwhile, her website is pure platitudes.

I'd like to hope for better from both of them in the coming weeks, but it's likely going to get worse instead.

It's time to share another easy call for me, Jeff Johnson (R) for Minnesota Attorney General.

It's really pretty simple after having watched the last Almanac debate. Only Johnson would refocus the Attorney General's office on crime. There's a role for consumer protection, but it shouldn't come at the expense of criminal prosecution.

After a couple of rebukes by the Courts, clearly Mike Hatch has gone too far, another public official who seems to think he should be a CEO. Lori Swanson would clearly continue this over-reach, particularly should Hatch be elected Governor.

Even if he isn't, Swanson's ability to act independently is a concern. Some weeks ago, Swanson appeared on Almanac in her current AG department role and soon began taking political swipes at the "Administration" (Pawlenty). As a staffer, she was out of line here, campaigning early in effect, perhaps under orders.

Personally, I wish Attorney General was an appointed position. Until then, it's time for a fresh commitment to addressing the crime problem. Only Johnson will bring this needed reform.

It's bad enough that "At Issue with Tom Hauser" has been trimmed back to 30 minutes. Now I see that Ember Reichgott-Junge is back on the Face-Off segment.

Frankly, I think Hauser should drop this segment for a couple of reasons. Ember substitutes vitriol for insight, and Hauser focuses almost totally on national issues. Even David Strom's charm can't save this segment, and I wrote Tom Hauser to plead my case.

I chanced to hear the Poli-Chicks on AM 1500 this morning talking of third party candidates. On the one extreme, we had Jesse "The Mind" Ventura who won in 1998. On the other side Tim Penny saw his 2002 double digit polling evaporate in just the last week or so before the general election.

The ladies made a good point, that third parties aren't parties. They have no significant infrastructure, phone banks, donor lists, local organization, and so on. They might have elements of this, but really all they do is put up candidates that skew the results. That last part is a little self-serving by hosts Cathy Hartnett (DFL) and Annette Meeks (GOP), but it's reality.

Michael Medved has argued effectively that America's government became a two party system right from the start. We don't have Prime Ministers and coalitions and Votes of Confidence. Our system is mano a mano.

So as I wrote recently, I would like to see primaries simply pick the top two candidates, the only two that will appear on the general election ballot. I'd add one more option: None of the Above.

In Hennepin County District 1 we have two unacceptable candidates. Rather than sit it out, I'd sure like this option, which if it wins means a new election with new candidates is scheduled. In many cases, the office could simply go unfilled that term or be appointed by the Governor.

However it happens, if "None of the Above" wins, the two finalists are completely out of the running until the next regular cycle.

I was ready to "move on" regarding the Klobuchar campaign receiving advance copies of Kennedy ads. I still will be surprised if this story continues much longer.

But after listening to the NARN, hour 5, I am now bothered by a number of minor points. One is, did the Klobuchar campaign really let the Kennedy campaign know on Wednesday? Apparently the press knew about it first, and had called Kennedy's campaign manager for reaction before the notification came.

Second, the notification was done in a most curious way, calling for an e-Mail address, then sending the later that day. And again, if the press knew first, what's the point?

Third, why was this handled at the campaign manager level? Klobuchar should have called Kennedy personally, no later than Monday when she fired her Communications Director. This would have been the adult thing to do, but apparently plausible deniability was more important.

I really don't need to know more of the details. The Kennedy campaign's primary beef should be with the agency that had insufficient security. Amy Klobuchar's response was less than required, maybe just due to inexperience, but regardless, let's move on.

Kennedy is behind, maybe 6-10 points by reputable polls. He's not going to close that gap unless Klobuchar has orchestrated a sizable cover up, which I doubt. He should move on, too, and return to taking advantage of Klobuchar's obvious inexperience on national issues.

In fact, why not have a little fun with this, as with his current radio ads? "I'm Mark Kennedy. The Klobuchar campaign saw an advance copy already and didn't object so I approved this message."

Craig Westover has posted another interesting question, on the concept of Governor as CEO.

This is the role that Westover contends Governor Tim Pawlenty is now playing. Rather than be a manager, administrator and comptroller concerned with the bottom line, he really likes working the top line by investing in spending on new and fun things to do in Minnesota. He is selling convertibles on the showroom floor while Sue Jeffers takes inventory in the body shop, Becky Lourey raises prices to pay living wages, Mike Hatch sues the dealership next door and Peter Hutchinson audits the books.

Eric Escola noticed this last year, asking Pawlenty on Almanac if he really wasn't acting more like a Prime Minister than a Governor. I wrote at the time that Escola was right. I've always felt Pawlenty never really did give up his old job as a Legislative leader. With the added powers of being Governor, he is indeed the very model of a modern Prime Minister - and not a CEO.

For despite the popular wisdom born of some high profile exceptions, real CEO's live and die by trust. They cannot afford to frivolously disappoint their investors, customers, suppliers, or employees. CEO's that play word games like "tax vs fee" or arrogantly flip-flop on "fun stuff" like stadiums are soon dispatched by their boards.

Real CEO's are also hard-nosed, effective negotiators. Pawlenty's collapse in the face of the orchestrated DFL shutdown last year wasn't even good politics, and we, his customers, got stuck with the bill. Ditto his signing the billion dollar bonding bill.

I didn't really intend to simply pick on Pawlenty here but I won't apologize for how it came out. The larger point I think Craig Westover was exploring what the job of Governor should be. On this, I'm probably in the minority: keep the lights on and the checkbook balanced.

Did Alan Fine cross the line in calling his opponent and seemingly prohibitive favorite Keith Ellison unfit for office last week?

Normally, I would say yes. If it's true without exception as lawyers like to say, the voters already know. Many say it is, but I don't think so. Yes, Ellison has quite a troubling record, as compiled by our friends at Power Line, a record that troubles some of his fellow Democrats. But is it borne of core beliefs and attitudes? Or is Ellison merely a chameleon as David Strom suggested on Taxpayer's League Live last Saturday. Is running as Keith "X" Ellison really any different than running as Martin "Olav" Sabo?

There is an extenuating circumstance however: the past and continuing "press pass" that the Ellison has received. That part of the complaining is undeniably true. Voters should not have to rely on Power Line, as credible and well-read as they may be.

So like it or not, the Fine campaign has forced the issue with a rather clever political stroke. If the Ellison has any complaint, it's really with the MSM, or his own campaign's failure to detail (and yes, spin) Ellison's past early when it probably couldn't have hurt him.

It still may amount to nothing, but I think Alan Fine's bold tactics are indeed justified.

I'm going to make some endorsements this year, starting with the easiest vote in years: the proposed amendment to the Minnesota Constitution dedicating the Motor Vehicle Excise Tax (MVET) to transportation.

Even if that was as far as it went, I'd vote No. It's just bad government to enact ordinary spending policy as hard, inflexible constitutional law. The concept of a constitution is to provide a framework for government. Changes should be to correct and improve that framework, such as in the elimination of the obsolete (?) State Treasurer position. Even protecting the legislatively adopted definition of marriage doesn't rise to this level. Appeals, carefully considered appointments of new judges, and when necessary, impeachment of existing activist judges are adequate and proper remedies.

But this amendment goes further, by requiring at 40 percent of the money go to fund transit. This is well over 100 million dollars a year out of the 300 million dollars total. Clearly much of it is already ear-marked for light rail, as if the Hiawatha line isn't hemorrhaging enough money in operating losses already, not to mention three fatalities. And 40 percent is just the minimum!

Another problem I have is even defining this revenue as somehow transportation related. MVET is simply the sales tax paid when buying motor vehicles, and the latter are products just like other taxed goods and services in Minnesota. Is sales tax paid at restaurants dedicated to the Health Department? No, sales tax is sales tax, and it should all go in the General Fund. Dedicated taxes are really fees, like the annual vehicle registration, and should be handled as such.

Finally, this will leave a hole in the General Fund budget. Maybe not today if revenues continue their sharp rise in this expanding economy. But the minute they level off, watch out! Gone will be the flexibility to prioritize that 300 million dollars with education and public safety. Unless the Republicans retake the Governorship, House and/or Senate, the budget won't get smaller. No, taxes will go up by that 300 million, and probably more.

We do have a backlog of transportation projects, no question. But I don't see a crisis, and frankly, I don't see how much more summer road construction we could stand. I, for one, think congestion has eased in the Twin Cities in general. Our roads and bridges are being addressed even now, and if more money is needed, we could certainly spend a little less on "mass" transit with minimal impact.

The answer on all fronts: vote NO on the proposed transportation amendment. It's bad law, will increase wasteful spending on transit, and increase your taxes.

The Minneapolis Star Tribune is out with another absurd Minnesota Poll, not even worth linking. They claim Klobuchar has a 52-36 percent lead, and it must be true since it matches the July poll. That these two polls might share a flawed methodology has not occured to them. That no Democrat has even exceeded 50.5 percent since Hubert Humphrey's last re-election in 1976 should be another clue. All of the blowouts since then have been won by Republicans during this time.

But let's suppose the Minnesota Poll is correct, than Amy Klobuchar indeed has a huge lead. The inescapable implication is that Amy Klobuchar is already substantially more popular than the late Senator Paul Wellstone ever was.

First, is Mark Kennedy only going to get 32 percent? Only if the Republicans stay home. A typical turnout, however, should provide Mark Kennedy with at least 40 percent of the vote. Unlike Klobuchar, he has no third party competition. Both the Independence and Green parties are clearly Democrat and Liberal respectively who will if anything bleed votes away from Klobuchar. This 8 point difference - from 32 to 40 percentage points - is the usual margin of Republican error in the Minnesota Poll.

But that's only 8 points. If the error is any higher, we can throw out this poll result right now. But let's continue, meaning Klobuchar has to make up the difference. Mathematically, she can only do this if she is truly more popular than Wellstone. Significantly more. This, too, strains credibility, but it could happen.

So, Democrats, before you celebrate this poll, think what you're really saying, that the Amy Klobuchar will not only trounce Mark Kennedy, she will pass Paul Wellstone on the list of all time great DFL Senators.

Be careful what you wish for.

An F2 tornado, perhaps all but invisible in the darkness, ripped through Rogers, Minnesota last night around 10 pm. The storm built quickly and moved quickly, close to 50 miles per hour per the National Weather Service (NWS).

Sadly, there was a fatality, and two more hospitalized with non-life threatening injuries. There simply was no warning, no real reason to believe it more than a thunderstorm. By the time the NWS saw it, it was already over, too late to sound the sirens or raise the alert levels. We saw virtually nothing at our house, no wind, hardly any rain perhaps 15 miles away.

WCCO-AM went into its live coverage mode that night as it always does, and does so well. I remember them a year ago when our area got hit, downing thousands of trees. With the power out, it was all we had, and this was a reminder of how much we appreciated it then.

KSTP-TV did an hour this morning, commercial free, with I thought was also done really well, with three reporters live in the area, a helicopter overhead, and solid anchor and weather performances. KSTP has been my local news channel of choice for several years now, and they did not disappoint today, doing a story they needn't have done and made no money doing. It was too late to make the Sunday papers, so it was timely and needed.

With all the criticism we bloggers like to dish out to media outlets like these two, I think it's doubly important to thank them for when they go out of their way to help us all get through the night, see what happened and where help is needed.

So again, thank you WCCO and KSTP for always being there when we need you most.

It's back! Dancing with the Stars has started its third season.

As I wrote during the second season, this show is a masterpiece of production, and it's almost totally live. Very talented, professional dancers are paired with some unlikely celebrity amateurs, including Jerry Springer and Tucker Carlson this time. The set is grand, the costumes elegant and sexy.

Tucker was awful, and sent packing as the first one eliminated. But the staging, the lighting, and the music even make that watchable.

I particularly love the incredibly rich sound that musical director Harold Wheeler gets out of his 15 piece orchestra. The arrangements are top notch, too, showing great creativity, too, like morphing a Dick Dale surfing number to a Latin cha-cha number.

Now this is must-see TV!

The Primary has pared the list of Brooklyn Center mayoral candidates to two, the two favorites in fact. Flash is waiting for me to cross over to the dark side and endorse the DFL candidate, Tim Willson. Hey, it could happen: I might even endorse a Democrat for Governor, but it's hard not to, with at least four on the November ballot.

I've spoken with both, need a little more time. Willson is a believer in the "invisible foot" of big government. His opponent, Kathleen Carmody, prefers the "invisible hand" of the free market but is also realistic about the need for both.

One key point for me is who best to restore decorum and civility on the City Council, particularly in the case of Mary O'Connor. Should she succeed in defeating Mike Opat this November, that will solve most of the problem.

Yes, apparently "Mary O'Connor" is one of those magical ballot names like "Sharon Anderson". Newcomer O'Connor ran virtually no campaign at all yet won a Council seat two years ago. She repeated the feat in this year's Primary, to face Mike Opat in November.

This is another toughie for me. To vote for Mike Opat is unthinkable, given the damage he has done to my city, closing restaurants and raising taxes to put money in Carl Pohlad's pocket. Sorry for that rhetorical cliche, but that's exactly what is happening.

Mary O'Connor is no saint, either. In Council meetings she has been the biggest embarrassment I can recall in my 17 years here, at times almost misanthropic in her statements. Unlike most Libertarians, she's poorly informed and often makes little sense. And nothing excuses her lapses in civility.

But would I inflict Mary O'Connor on my worst enemy? My worst enemy, sure. But even though the Hennepin County Board as a whole deserves as much, I don't think I can do it. Poor Penny Steele has enough trouble. It looks like I'm going to have to skip this one - none of the above.

I finished walking the City of Champlin last weekend, a total of 184 miles. This was city #11 in my four year plus quest.

It's now time to head across the river into Fridley, which should be about the same effort. I've scouted a pair of base "park and walk" locations, and weather permitting, I'll begin this weekend.

I'll have to be a little careful, though. Second-hand smoke remains a grave, uncontrolled danger in Anoka County. I could drop dead immediately if I carelessly walk too close to a bar entrance on my travels. And what if the only restroom close at hand is in a restaurant? But I'm going to risk it since to date, tainted spinach and Light Rail have killed more people.

I'm not surprised that Keith Ellison won the Fifth District DFL Primary, but I thought it would be closer. Ember Reichgott-Junge's poor showing did surprise me, finishing a distant third despite her successful fund-raising.

I'm not surprised that Erlandson did well. He's the machine candidate, after all, educated, experienced, and well-spoken on most issues. But in a district that went heavily for Ventura in 1998, the DFL insiders don't seem to be in charge any longer. It wasn't supposed to happen this way.

The DFL, your father's DFL especially, is or was big on "grooming" candidates for higher office. The introduction of party primaries changed that, starting with the demise of Warren Spannaus.

For what it's worth, I think Martin Sabo's retirement was well-timed to circumvent what happened Tuesday, forcing a quick campaign before the DFL convention. Erlandson, with his many years of service to the party and national party connections should have had little trouble securing the endorsement.

Keith Ellison didn't get the memo, though, and pounced on the opportunity. I suspect even Sabo was surprised by this outcome, especially given Ellison's baggage, much of it certainly known inside the party before Powerline chronicled it so well.

There is therefore some satisfaction in seeing someone, even if it is Ellison, interrupt the assumed right of succession as designed and designated by the party insiders.

For that, congratulations to Keith Ellison, the likely new Representative from the Fifth District.

First, I intend to vote Sept. 12. I hope you do, too. But I really think we should reconsider the whole concept.

Within a primary there are actually several sub-formats used. One is to resolve the established party candidates: Pawlenty vs. Jeffers, Hatch vs. Lourey, and the 5th District DFL Battle Royale. Another is to simply pare the field. We have five candidates for Mayor in my city, only two of which will go on to the general election in November, regardless of affiliations or incumbency. And sometimes, the School Districts or other taxing authorities try to slip an addiitional levy or bond issue referendum through.

I think we should only use the second format: pick the top two candidates in each race. Party endorsements stop at the convention. Referendums and other non-candidate selection votes can wait until November.

So, in the embattled 5th District, the winners might be Ellison and Reichgott-Junge. Yes, they are both DFL. Yes, Republican Alan Fine and all the other candiates would be gone. But the public is better served by this, I think. Ember and Keith can now go head to head in the general election. So would Pawlenty and Hatch most likely.

In Connecticut, this would mean a Lieberman - Lamont duel at the finish, not this "independent" Joe. I'm unable to think up a bad scenario, unless you're a third party supporter. Yes, it might have meant Jesse Ventura wouldn't have become governor, but maybe he would have, too.

The Green Party has long sought "instant runoff" ballots to give voters mulligans in case their endorsed candidates don't win. This is exactly the wrong solution, a pointless complication. Everyone can't serve. That's what elections resolve, selecting who will serve. Keeping minor party candidates needlessly alive isn't helpful. If anything, they have adverse spoiler effects as in the cases of Ross Perot and Ralph Nader.

Let's just pick the top two people in September, giving them two solid months to campaign mano a mano.

I had heard the acronym BDS before, referring to Bush Derangement Syndrome. This supposedly explains some of the nonsense put forth by the Michael Moore left, an uncomfortably large and growing percentage of the Democratic Party.

But when an acquaintance, otherwise successful in business and life proudly told me of his "ITMFA" button, I now must take BDS seriously. A Google of "ITMFA" will quickly explain the concept and the various merchandise items available.

The idea is that

1. They wear the button or shirt with just those five letters.
2. You politely ask what it means
3. They tell you.
4. You walk away, conceding their point.

ITMFA means "Impeach the @#$* already!", the explitive obviously referring to President Bush. If I felt that strongly, I would if anything just wear an "Impeach Bush" button. Only I wouldn't because it would ultimately cheapen my cause. To add the street language only marks you as lacking civility as well as intellect.

So point 4 is pure fantasy, derangement you might say. Yes, I'll walk away, but only because there's no basis for intelligent conversation.

So as I said, here's a guy otherwise doing well and he's proud to wear such an item, though not to the office so far.

BDS is real.

It looks like Marty Andrade was first to report that Mark O'Connell and Ron Rosenbaum are now history at the ever-shrinking AM 1500.

This was a very poor show, primarily because Ron Rosenbaum is clinically self-absorbed. The show was all but unlistenable especially when you realize that Limbaugh, Prager, and O'Reilly were just a click away.

So while I wish Mark O'Connell the best, this ultimately is a good step for KSTP. I think I'd swing Bob Davis into this slot. Do headlines, weather and sports from 11:30 am to 11:50, go to Paul Harvey, then cut loose at 12:06 for two solid hours of Davis.

Krok is gone. Rosenbaum is gone. One left, now - Willie Clark. Oh, and get Tommy back where he belongs at 10 pm.

I went to the State Fair yesterday, despite the gathering clouds.

In the early afternoon I chanced to see Amy Klobuchar speaking live to a small group from her campaign booth. Her vocal style reminded me of Hillary Clinton, umbrage delivered in a half-shouting monotone. She was going to fix three things squeezing the middle class - gas prices, college tuition, and health care costs. That these are all things the government meddles with most, and can truly take most of the blame on a bipartisan basis didn't occur to her. That she is a complete newcomer to these issues, let alone national politics didn't occur to the cheering supporters.

Then the rain started to fall. By now I was over by the Hippodrome checking on the livestock. I happened to see Brian Ward exiting the Swine Barn around 3 pm with a big smile on his face. Maybe he was getting some dinner ideas, I thought. No, he's either doing show prep for next year or some opposition research. Anyway, it was time to wander back to the Patriot booth for the final hour of the NARN, which I was listening to live on my Walkman.

Amy Klobuchar gets dry weather. Mitch Berg and Captain Ed get chased inside the booth by a downpour just as I arrive. The gods must be crazy. The rain backed off to a drizzle the last few minutes, so I at least was able to reassemble a live audience of one, clapping my appreciation of their 20 hour effort, the Blue Ribbon broadcasts of the 2006 Minnesota State Fair.

Anti-Strib got there first, fisking Saturday's lead editorial in the Minneapolis Star Tribune. Read the comments, too.

In "Connecting the dots: obesity & poverty" the Strib lays out the facts quite well, even if it does sound a bit demeaning to the those it wants to help. That there is a correlation between poverty and obesity is undeniable. The explanations they give that support the next level - causation - are plausible. But before considering their recommendations, a clarification is needed.

Lower-income areas have fewer stores with healthy, affordable food choices, so families tend to fill up on cheap, high-calorie items.

As Anti-Strib commenters noted, big stores like Cub carry pretty much the same assortment of goods regardless of location. And in my travels, convenience stores don't vary by all that much, either. They all carry a considerable number of healthy items.

Just because it's healthy doesn't mean you can't gain weight eating it. Take breakfast cereals like Cheerios, a very healthy choice. Even the sugared versions aren't that bad. But if you eat a box at a time in front of the TV, you're eating the equivalent of several Big Mac's. Conversely, a Snickers bar for an after school snack can be a great choice even if it is high-fat candy.

The word "affordable" stands out, a common adjective found in many liberal complaints. Money is a factor, but without other restraint, the doughnuts and ice cream will always win out over the fresh fish and vegetable soup. There are healthy and unhealthy choices at every price point. All other things being equal, you could send everyone to Whole Foods with unlimited funds and still see similar patterns of buying and eating.

Besides taste, there is also the matter of convenience. Many of the unhealthy items are ready to eat, like cookies, snack chips, and dips. Deli burritos need only a microwave zap, and frozen pizza a few minutes in the oven at home. You have to work a little harder to eat healthy. Vegetables usually need to be cleaned, peeled, chopped, then steamed, boiled, or sauteed, for example.

Several actions are proposed by the Strib:

1. Create "culture-based, well-supported education campaigns"
2. Make "environmental changes to support healthy living" [I have no idea what this means. --SG]
3. Saturate low-income areas with "healthier foods at better prices"
4. Require, at least initially, public subsidies and "close government collaboration with the private sector"

That's quite a list, starting with education, but ending with government force just in case we don't get the message. "Close government collaboration" is a euphemism for coercion, of course.

Let me speak as one who has been overweight from childhood, and gone on many diets as an adult of 57 years. As you may have read in earlier posts, I am dieting once again, this time using Weight Watchers, with unprecented success. I have lost 60 pounds in less than 20 weeks. As Nick Coleman would say, I know stuff in this area, more than the Strib Editorial board I dare say.

And I dare say that such actions are largely borne of sophistry. Being overweight is a general problem, in America and around the world. Yes, it is overrepresented in certain groups, but even if that went away, the overall problem remains. Ice cream is beloved by all.

At its core, however, the questions of being fit or fat (not necessarily the same thing) are personal. Each of us has our own life story, of likes and dislikes, challenges and opportunities. Where weight figures in is a matter of personal choice. You can preach all you want, but if the preachee (maybe yourself) isn't ready to lose weight, isn't ready to make it a higher priority than the other factors working against it, nothing much will happen.

I know. And I also know that the level of government force required to impose such change is unthinkable.