Back to square one

Just when we got through what seemed like a presidential campaign with no end, they're starting all over. At least on the Republican side. Mitt Romney has restarted his political action committee. Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal is heading to Iowa on Nov. 22 to give the keynote address to a conservative group. Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin is being watched for clues as to her plans for 2012. That's four years on the calendar but an eternity in politics. It would be good if they could give us a little rest.

Over here, Mr. Obama, choose me

Corzine seems to want to be Treasury secretary so much he keeps adding those out of state media interviews so he can keep his name out there. All the time he says he's really interested in completing the job here. I've been searching the net for and talking to people with connections to Obama to see who really is on the short list of candidates for Treasury. Corzine's name didn't come up. Here are the ones who did: Larry Summers of Harvard who served as Treasury Secretary under Clinton, Timothy Geithner, New York Federal Reserve President, former Fed chief Paul Volcker and Robert Rubin, another former Clinton cabinet member. Perhaps the Obama people are only talking about more qualified people to distract us. Maybe none of those guys want the job and Corzine can move up on the list. Otherwise, Corzine could be ambassador to one of those banana republic countries.

Jerk principal headed for the slammer

While we were busy with the election the former principal of the H.B. Wilson Elementary School in Camden pleaded guilty to using his position as principal to steal $14,000 from students and teachers. Michael Hailey, 67, used his position to have teachers and students pay for field trips already paid for by the school district. Teachers conducted fund-raisers and sometimes paid out of their own pockets for the trips for children who couldn't. The Attorney General's Division of Criminal Justice gets the credit. Under a plea agreement, the state will recommend three to five years in the slammer for Hailey. He retired from being principal in July 2006 when investigators were hot on his heels.

Now, that one is baaaaad

A new audit shows NJ tax officials don't property monitor or enforce rules that give property tax breaks to farmers. At least they were meant to help farmers. Fact is all you need is five acres acres and $500 of "farm income" which could be a few Christmas trees for former Sen. Karcher. The audit found a $15.05 tax bill for 7.26 acres that had 1 -- that's not a typo, one -- sheep. The bar is so low all manner of folks can claim to be farmers. One town was said to need 12 years just to catch up. Richard Nieuwenhuis, president of the New Jersey Farm Bureau, said the audit shows that government isn't catching abusers who threaten the program for legitimate farmers. "The audit shows it's not how well you farm the land, it's how well you farm the government,'' said the Sierra Club's Jeff Tittel. Treasury spokesman Tom Vincz says the overall program hasn't been review in 20 years because of overburdened tax assessors. OK, go ahead and laugh out loud.

It's in your hands now

Thank goodness, this seemingly endless political season is coming to an end. If you haven't already, get out there and vote as if your future depends on it. It is history in the making. Polls are open 6 AM- 8 PM. Gannett newspapers will have the big picture in tomorrow's papers.

Starting at 8 PM tonight, we will be broadcasting live on the web from app.com with local reports, local races and tidbits you won't get anywhere else from our Gannett Election Team as well keeping you posted on what's going on across the nation. You can take part in blogs and forums.

They promise I won't have to spend any time in the shark tank like I did with the Convention Quickies from Minnesota. For a rerun click here.

For the special Election Night web site launching at 8 PM, click here.

New group aims at high taxes

Maybe this is the new citizens group the people have been asking for. A new alliance of business and civic leaders have formed the New Jersey Taxpayers Alliance. Jerry Cantrell, president of New Jersey Taxpayers Association, a part of the alliance, explained "We are going to turn up the heat on elected officials." The alliance will be a "nonpartisan, grass-roots organization dedicated to achieving real and sustainable tax reform." Dan Gaby is executive director of a group called Excellent Education for Everyone. He noted that while per-pupil spending, adjusted for inflation, has doubled over 30 years, "Academic results have not risen in response to that massive spending. ... Scores are about where they were in 1978." While bureaucrats think that means they haven't thrown enough money at it, this group knows it means a new approach is due. Good luck to them.

Question 1 raises questions

Question 1 on Tuesday's ballot is a compromise because when it was debated in the Legislature in June some Democrats said it went too far, arguing it could cut off school construction, always a favorite since they can argue it is "for the children" while making sure the usual suspects get their piece of the pie. Republicans say it didn't go far enough because independent agencies like the Turnpike Authority can still bond at will.

One of the original sponsors is Sen. Leonard Lance, a Republican who has complained for years the state's constitution is ignored routinely because voters are supposed to have a say in big ticket borrowing. On this question he teamed with Sen. Ray Lesniak, a Democrat.

The state Constitution bans the Legislature from issuing debts greater than 1 percent of the annual state budget without voter approval. The state Supreme Court has exempted municipalities, counties and independent bodies like state authorities. Authorities only need legislative approval to borrow. Of the $29.6 billion in debt about $2.8 billion was approved by voters.

Among those who oppose Question 1 are the New Jersey Education Association, the teachers union, and the Education law Center, which keeps suing the state to dump more money into the Abbott schools.

The Asbury Park Press and other publications have recommended a yes vote on Question 1.

Lawyer Seth Grossman, a colleague of Steve Lonegan, an enemy of state debt, however, did an op ed piece for the APP recommending a no vote. The heart of Grossman's argument follows:


"First, voter approval will not be needed if a proposed project has "an independent nonstate source of revenue" or "a source of revenue otherwise required to be appropriated pursuant to another provision of this Constitution." Any Enron accountant or Abbott lawyer can drive a truck through those loopholes.

"But here is the real kicker: "No voter approval shall be required . . . authorizing the creation of . . . debts . . . for the refinancing of all or a portion of any outstanding debts or liabilities of . . . an autonomous public corporate entity."

"The state Supreme Court ruled that New Jersey voters don't have to pay a dime on any of the $29 billion previously borrowed by shell entities unless they vote to do it. But with a "Yes" vote on Question No. 1, Corzine and the Legislature could pass a simple law to refinance every dollar of the $37 billion borrowed by state authorities without voter approval. Then, every unenforceable contract to pay $3 billion a year will become enforceable for the first time for the next 30 years.

"Once the full faith and credit of New Jersey is pledged, all state sales tax money is earmarked to pay that debt before it is spent on anything else. And if that money is not enough, the state is legally obligated to adopt a new statewide property tax to pay the difference.

"Don't be fooled. Vote "No" on Question No. 1."

Tom Yarn of The Cherry Hill Reform Committee sent this to his group's membership:

"Question one is a question to allow the legislature to pass statutes related to authorizing debt. The question should have set forth the exact wording change to the Constitution. It does not. It refers to a "law enacted thereafter" rather than the exact change of wording as you normally do when you amend a Constitutional provision.

"Question one also has a "provisional" statement in it about the approval of the voters with the "unless" word being used to allow debt to be authorized by the legislators with appropriations that are "pledged" by annual appropriations that are a matter of the legislators merely raising taxes to make such a pledge. It also applies the "unless" word for appropriations that are described in a vague manner regarding 3rd person and non-state funds involvement. This is a loophole and a way to fund state projects and services without voter approval."




The state could refuse to pay not one dime on any of the $29 billion borrowed by entities. But should that happen, the state would never be able to borrow again, at least not at a rate anyone could afford. That probably won't happen.

An interesting argument growing out of this is whether the state could continue to build schools without asking the public's permission by borrowing with the income tax as a dedicated source of revenue to back up the bonds. Property taxes are mostly used to support schools. The income tax is supposed to be about reducing property taxes. An administration could make the argument that by borrowing money backed by the income tax it actually is offsetting property taxes.

Could Question 1 be stronger? Definitely. Are there loopholes? Sure, it's New Jersey. They like to play games with taxpayers. Do we need it? Grossman maintains the state Constitution already bans borrowing without voter approval and Question 1 is a Wall Street bailout for bonds sold previously without voter approval. Does Question 1 improve things? Its supporters say vote yes. Lonegan, Yarn, Grossman, the NJEA and the Education Law Center say vote no, but for different reasons.

For a news story on Question 1, click here.

For a news story on Question 2, click here.

Felons and campaign contributions

After Sharpe James -- former senator, former mayor, current felon -- gave $5,000 to a Newark city council candidate, two Republican senators want to make the practice illegal. Sens. Tom Kean and Bill Baroni will introduce legislation to ban elected officials convicted of felonies from using their campaign accounts to make political donations. Money in the accounts would go instead to the New Jersey Election Law Enforcement Commission, which monitors elections and campaign donations. Reportedly, James -- now cooling his heels in a federal pokey -- has $1.1 million in his campaign finance account. Watch and see how opponents justify allowing felons who corrupted the system to continue being a part of it.

Debate note: Tonight at 8 PM on NJN TV and radio, Frank Lautenberg and Dick Zimmer face off in their last debate before Tuesday's election.

Maybe Corzine just forgot to remind himself

Corzine has spent more than $107 million of his own money running for office since he entered politics. But in the 3rd quarter of '08 he donated nothing to himself, although according to the Election Law Enforcement Commission he has given himself $1.1 million for an '09 re-election run prior to that. Suppose he's feeling the pinch of the stock market? Or maybe he knows that he won't be on the ballot in '09.

Guess who made this top 5

The national Better Government Association sent its BGA-Alper Integrity Index which rates states on the strengths of laws relating to transparency, ethics and accountability. Here it is:

1. New Jersey
2. Rhode Island
3. Hawaii
4. Washington
5. Louisiana

When three of the top 5 are states known for their corruption you have to ask (a) how effective these laws are and (2) isn't the fact they have the laws a response to the corruption in the first place? Or, when corruption is outlawed only crooks will be corrupt or something like that.

The outfit's executive director, Jay Stewart, did note that NJ got a combined score of only 65 with the minimum for passing being 70. Perhaps if he had actually read the laws he would have seen the giant loopholes inserted therein.

Wonder who's on the top 5 international list, Afghanistan and Sudan?

Orphan turns out to be Senate's

A parent for the hitherto orphaned document connecting the $128 million so-called MAC account to other legislative grant programs has been located. The Senate first denied responsibility as did the Treasury. Yesterday, the Senate admitted paternity. The document detailed how lawmakers directed spending and cited grant programs in three other state departments besides the Treasury account discussed in former Sen. Wayne Bryant's corruption trial. Those grants add another $50 million to the $128 million allocated for the main grant program in the Treasury Department. Lawmakers, party bosses and others had a hand in saying where the money went. In all, the accounts tracked in the Senate Democrats' document spent $151 million over three years. A spokesman said Senate Democrats used the document "to keep track of which districts got money. ... It's just an internal document of every funding thing we offered for local communities." Then, he called back to say the document was really used to keep track of communities' monetary needs and what programs were available to meet them. Any wagers on what the next explanation will be? The MAC account was justified as a property tax assistance fund although a lot of it went to non-profit groups and pet projects of the politically connected.

No place to cut, huh?

Corzine, the financial guru according to TV talking heads out of state, said NJ toll hikes were necessary because there were no other places to get money and nothing can be cut. Assemblywoman Caroline Casagrande, a Republican, asked for job listings from the Turnpike Authority and shared with readers of The Asbury Park Press what she found:

-- The authority pays a new business development coordinator $98,449. New business? What, does he encourage us to take the toll roads for $98,449 a year? Most times we have no good alternative.

-- There are 221 toll collectors on the Parkway for 11 barrier tolls and 20 exit and entrance ramp tolls, and 52 toll supervisors at $76,766 each. That's one supervisor for every four collectors.

-- There are 326 toll collectors on the Turnpike, a road with 187 E-ZPass lanes. The 100 toll supervisors on the Turnpike means there is one supervisor for every three collectors. All told, the authority employs 2,325 people to operate the Turnpike and Parkway.

New Jerseyans were led to believe that when the Turnpike was paid for, the tolls would come off. It was paid for in the '50s. But when pols discovered what a patronage pit a concrete bureaucracy is, there was no way they would give it up.

The 40 percent expert

My colleague Greg Volpe took a look at Corzine's schedule and found it filled with out-of-state media appearances. Places like NBC's "Meet the Press," CNBC's "Squawk Box," and "The Daily Show with Jon Stewart." He was there supporting Barack Obama (a second choice after Hillary Clinton) but is presented to the nation as some kind of economic guru. That raises questions among the informed. "It's funny how he's become an expert on CNBC and we heard references made during the Democratic convention to good things that are happening in New Jersey, which certainly comes as a surprise to many New Jerseyans," Monmouth University pollster Patrick Murray said. In Jersey, Corzine's job approval hovers around 40 percent. Guess it's true that an expert is someone giving a speech away from home. To read all of Greg's article, click here.

Soprano State update: Tonight at 7:30 at the Princeton Public Library, 65 Witherspoon St., Sandy McClure and I discuss the state of our state, its politicians and corruption and sign books.

And then came the orphan document

The practice of letting everyone and his brother hand out your tax money in grants to pet projects is greater than anyone knew. Or will admit. We know that lawmakers, the unelected like Camden County political boss George Norcross and then-Treasurer John McCormac directed funds. But there's a mystery document in the wood pile. My colleague Greg Volpe says no one will take responsibility for one document but it has a portion of current Treasurer David Rousseau's name on it. He was a deputy treasurer at the time. Corzine elevated him to the top job when he named his pal Brad Abelow to chief of staff. So where did the mystery document come from? Everyone so far denies ownership. No wonder the state is in such bad shape financially. To read Greg's story click here.

Doctors, heal thyselves

The Higher Education Commission has told six more "educators" to stop calling themselves doctor. That brings to nine the number officials say obtained degrees from unaccredited institutions. That includes a psychiatry instructor at UMDNJ. What surprises me most about this is that some commission had to tell them to stop. It would seem to bring into question their judgment in other areas as well.

Could be harder to be a star

An Assembly committee passed legislation making it tougher to be a NJ STAR. That's the scholarship program for our community colleges. As many as one third of those currently enrolled would be ineligible although it won't affect students already accepted. The bill changes the eligibility requirements by including students in the top 15 percent of their class; currently, students are eligible if they rank in the top 20 percent. But who makes that can vary from high school to high school. Assemblyman Michael Patrick Carroll, R-Morris, said he would prefer students take a competitive test to get into the program. Committee Chairman Assemblyman Patrick Diegnan Jr., D-Middlesex, estimated the proposed changes will result in savings of $3 million to $5 million annually. Times are tough and there should be belt-tightening all around -- it won't be, pet projects will be protected. But if the state had bothered to recover some of the billions lost to waste and corruption in the Schools Construction Corp. the kids could get their scholarships.

Finally, Lautenberg and Zimmer on the same stage

Sen. Frank Lautenberg has widened his lead over Republican challenger Dick Zimmer, according to the latest Monmouth University/Gannett New Jersey Poll. Lautenberg leads Zimmer 52-36 among likely voters. Turns out just 12 percent of voters have been paying close attention to the race. That may be because the two of them haven't been face to face in the campaign.

That changes today at 2 PM when they face each other and Gannett New Jersey editors in a 90-minute event that you can watch live on Gannett newspaper web sites. I will moderate and pollster Patrick Murray will join me at half time for a recap. Highlights of the 90 minutes will be packaged for later viewing on our web sites in case you can't see it live. Viewers can also send in their questions, take part in polls and comment about the candidates' answers during the webcast. Our six daily newspapers will cover it in articles for Friday editions.

To get to one of the web sites to take part, click here.

Vote early and often

New Jersey election officials want you to vote by absentee ballot, if possible. The reason given is that they expect a large turnout. Interesting, last night I caught a TV interview in which it was suggested to avoid voting fraud to vote in person. If you want to vote by absentee ballot it must be received in the county clerk's office seven days prior to the election, Nov. 4. And it must be postmarked by Oct. 28. An application can be found at www.njelections.org. Registered voters can also go to their county clerk's office until 3 p.m. the day before the election for an absentee ballot application. As for voting in person, a Princeton study says some 10,000 N.J. voting machines are subject to hacking. The state has missed two deadlines for retrofitting the machines to provide paper records of voting tallies. The latest deadline is Jan. 1, 2009. Start an office pool about whether the state will miss that one too.

NJ in trouble before the meltdown

The Wall Street meltdown has given the big thinkers under the gold dome a convenient excuse for the state's economic problems. New Jersey is in a lot of trouble economically and it will get worse, the experts say. But the state was in trouble before the national economy went south. And one of the ways it got that way was a Legislature that couldn't stop spending to suck up to special interests. Assemblyman Lou "The Empty Suit" Greenwald is still in charge of that body's budget committee. First he told fellow lawmakers they had to have the courage to spend. Then he said the Wall Street meltdown was just a temporary bump that wouldn't necessitate budget changes. Somebody buy this guy a clue.

Must have been a big 'MAC' attack

When arguing that no one should have more than one public job, often critics say it makes for an uneven playing field. Here's a case in point: Assemblyman John Wisnieski, D-Middlesex, secured a grant for Keyport, a town outside his district where he also happens to be employed as borough attorney. Wisnieski says credit for the grant should go to the town's mayor at the time. That was John Merla, who has since pleaded guilty to accepting a $2,500 bribe in exchange for lucrative municipal contracts. It turns out lawmakers secretly controlled millions in state grants without oversight or transparency. It was long rumored but came to light in the ongoing federal corruption trial of former Sen. Wayne Bryant, D-Camden, a former Senate budget committee chairman. State officials testified that key lawmakers ? Bryant, Senate President Dick Codey and former Senate Majority Leader Bernard Kenny Jr. ? controlled sizable portions of the fund, known as the "MAC account." Codey was governor at the time. "It's time to stop rehashing the past and just move forward," Codey said. "We have a great system in place. Any sins of the past, which are venial, not mortal, are gone."

Why your taxes are so high No. 398

Senate Majority Leader Stephen Sweeney's bill to bar local school boards from hiring contract lobbyists has cleared the Senate Education Committee. As Sweeney points out, school boards -- representing 615 school districts -- pay dues to the school boards association which does lobbying. Sweeney said he authored the bill after news some school boards spend considerable sums on lobbyists to represent them in Trenton and Washington. That's right, Washington, where we send members to the Senate and House to look out for us. Lobbyists. One more reason your property taxes are way too high.

Voter fraud? Heck no, state certifies 'em

They once kept the report secret and now we know why. It says some 10,000 voting machines in New Jersey can be hacked in less than 10 minutes to manipulate vote tallies. The report by Andrew Appel of Princeton, a computer security expert, says vote-stealing software can be installed into hacked voting machines quickly. The state and Sequoia Voting Systems, which makes the gadgets, says not to worry. The lawyer for Sequoia reminded us, "They are certified by the State of New Jersey." This guy must be from out of town. Or have a killer sense of humor.

School board member objects to state oversight

Can you believe this? The state Senate Education Committee advanced a bill to limit retirement compensation for school administrators and a school board member objected, saying such things should be left to boards. That's what got us to the land of abuses in the first place. Ramsey school board member Richard Snyder told
the committee market forces should drive compensation packages. Snyder is concerned fewer folks are living up for administrator jobs. There should be fewer of them. That's a good thing. Then Snyder fell back on the old tried and true, "It's for the children." He said, "This does more damage to our children and our taxpayers than the few who take unfair advantage." Give me a break. School boards are resisting the move to have oversight of the taxpayer financed perks and goodies the 615 local boards hand out. It's the public be damned. The committee senses the public sentiment better than Snyder and fellow travelers. It passed the bill unanimously.

Jersey Guys Tour For A Cure: Today, Casey and Ray are at Freehold Raceway Mall with their live on air roadshow to raise money for breast cancer research. As usual, I will join the fun at 5 pm. Come by and say hi.

Poll: NJ government needs redo

When Corzine addresses the Legislature about the financial crisis today he might want to keep in mind how little confidence the people have in state government. A Monmouth University/Gannett Poll shows 90 percent of adults think New Jersey government at all levels need some type of fix. Two-thirds say that should be a major overhaul. But one in 10 think things are okay. They must be the special interests Corzine and the Legislature cater to. Poll results show the property tax is the No. 1 concern. That is followed by cost of living and wasteful government spending. Those have been the top issues for a long time. It's unlikely Corzine can or will do anything more than talk about them.

Soprano State update:

Tonight in Lambertville, Discussion of True Tales from The Soprano State, at the Down & Dirty with Democracy Film Festival

ACME Screening Room
25 S. Union St
Lambertville, NJ 08530

6:30 p.m. Books for sale by Farley's Bookshop of New Hope
7 p.m. Film presentation, Vote for Me: Politics in America ($6)
8 p.m. Discussion, True Tales from The Soprano State (Free), and signing
Sponsored By: The Lambertville Free Public Library

Poll shows optmism about public service

In this state known nationally for its corruption, almost two-thirds of the residents think it is still important to be involved in the community although a smaller percentage say their participation will make a big difference. A Monmouth University/Gannett New Jersey Poll shows 57 percent think being a good citizen means having special obligations is honorable while 36 percent think being a good person is enough. Thirty two percent think politics is dirty business. Some fear the constant bad news about political crooks causes a drop in voter turnout. Replacing the bums with honest people is the only way to make things better.

Soprano State update: Book signing and discussion tonight at 7 PM at the Rutgers University Student Center, 126 College Avenue, New Brunswick. Parking in lots 26 & 30 behind the Student Center.

Quoted in Election Day issue of as-Safir

Thanks to my dear friend and fellow MBA2003 graduate from London Business School, Biland Sadek, I was interviewed during my recent trip to the Middle East by Diala Chehade of the Beirut-based daily newspaper ?????? (as-Safir), which tranlates to "The Ambassador" and fancies itself "the newspaper of the Arab world in Lebanon, and the newspaper of Lebanon in the Arab world."

Below are the relevant paragraphs in Arabic - I have highlighted my name ???? ???? in red, fittingly:
Here is a rough translation:

"Even for a Republican of Syrian origin, such as George Ajjan, who had been nominated for membership of the House of Representatives, Arab voters favorable to Obama have become taken for granted, because of 'disappointment in Bush's policy' in Iraq and Palestine.

Ajjan criticized, speaking with as-Safir, Obama's tax plans, fearing the Senate controlled by Democrats, but he did not deny their hopes of winning the White House.

Ajjan opined, as an 'independent Republican', that it is a mistake of the Arab community that they 'did not dedicate themselves in [domestic] political life as American citizens', and focused on foreign policy issues; they have been unable to create a meaningful impact in the theater of American policy.

In all cases, Ajjan expected improvement in U.S. policy on the Middle East, 'whoever wins the presidency."

Too bad I never had any coaching from Karen Hughes.

Emerging powers in the Middle East

A few weeks ago, I had the pleasure of attending a brief session of a conference entitled ?Emerging Powers in the Middle East?, (thanks to Damian Quinn for the recommendation), sponsored by the Carnegie Middle East Center based in Beirut. The CMEC is the regional arm of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, set up by the American industrialist Andrew Carnegie nearly a century ago, with counterparts in Washington, Moscow, Beijing, and Brussels.

The conference had about 100 attendees, I would guess, so it was cozy ? contained in one conference room at the Rotana Gefinor hotel in the Hamra. The panel I attended featured three speakers, offering perspective on the objectives of China, India, and Russia with respect to the Middle East.

First came Chu Shulong, a professor at Tsinghua University in Beijing. His talk reminded me of the Simpsons episode based on an imaginary future, in which Lisa is President and Bart is a loser wanna-be rock star who loafs around the White House, mucking up her policies. ?What happened to you China? You used to be cool?? The Chinese diplomat, who could easily be Chu Shulong, pleaded in response, ?China still cool!?

Shulong?s English was okay, but his accent was very strong. A young Lebanese student sitting next to me asked me to translate for her. I laughed as I tried to do so, because Shulong seemed to repeat the same sentence over and over again for the duration of his talk, which probably made me appear a very lazy and incompent interpreter!

Anyway, Shulong?s basic thesis was that China?s goal was to ?break out of the isolation imposed since 1949 by Europe and the US?. China, he said, was wiling to compete with the US in the Middle East through the friends it supports. But Shulong could not seem to repeat enough times that China had no security interest in the Middle East, that its objective were economic only, and that a American/European political leadership role was acceptable to China.

Generally speaking, the audience was not buying. I stopped Shulong after the panel and shared with him the maxim of Thomas Jefferson: ?commerce with all, alliance with none.? China, according to his portrayal of its objectives, seemed to be following the advice of America?s Founding Fathers much better than any leaders of the US in the past decades, from either party.

Offering a Russian perspective was Alexej Maleshenko, a Scholar-in-Residence at Carnegie?s Moscow branch, who is also a Professor at the Moscow State Institute of International Relations. He railed at length against the US policies of pursuing NATO expansion to Russia?s doorstep (thanks to Clinton?s reckless policy, continued by George W. Bush, in contrast to his father who had better sense both in Eastern Europe as well as the Middle East).

Maleshenko identified 2005/2006 as the first time since the dissolution of the USSR that Russia played a major role and advanced its own interests in the region. He pointed to the Russian efforts to broker a truce between Hamas and Fatah (though it failed). Also, he noted Putin?s travels to the Middle East, and numerous meetings with Arab and Muslim heads of state. I would cite Russia Today?s Arabic satellite channel as further evidence of its desire to be a player in the region.

Russia was a winner in the Georgian conflict, according to Maleshenko, and it became a permanent actor on the world state once again. Russia wants to come back, he said, and has big ambitions. He cited the American hypocrisy of supporting Kosovo?s independence, which Russia opposed, while condemning that of Abkhazia or South Ossetia. But he recognized Russia?s limitations, lamenting that no Arab or Muslim nation dare recognize the independence of the Georgia provinces for fear of the US. I would suggest that many a nation in the region views separatism as a powder keg that it wants nothing to do with ? appeasing the US is a much smaller consideration.

An appropriate tidbit raised by a Russian participant: USA Today, in the Weather section, lists Georgia in the ?Africa/Middle East? region.

Finally came remarks by M.K. Bhadrakumar, a career Indian diplomat, which I found very interested and multi-faceted. First, he said that India sees not the Middle East, but rather West Asia. He conceded that India chose to invest in it?s Israeli relationship in order to help with its American one. With Gulf nations, ties remain strong (they ought to, considering who populates the joint!). India has long-standing ties to Iran, and sees no conflict of interest with Iran or its objectives.

?We hope Obama wins,? he concluded. Careful what you wish for, Mr. Bhadrakumar.

Beware the L-word

• 1980: 9 points
• 1984: 18 points
• 1988: 8 points
• 1992: 5 points
• 1996: 9 points

Sorry, but 3 points does not constitute a landslide.

UPDATE (19:28 GMT): ok, so it looks more like 6 points. It's a convincing win and a mandate. Though still not on par with the elections noted above (save '92).

I voted Republican, but not at the top

Covering the Presidential on BBC Arabic

Here I am on BBC Arabic, discussing the homestretch of the Presidential race, filmed in the BBC's central London studios on October 31.

Public Diplomacy in Syria

I have just returned from 2 great weeks in Syria. I will be posting some detailed observations shortly, but first is this footage from the Q&A discussion of a lecture that I gave to a Think Tank called the Syrian International Academy (SIA). This group invites a group of intellectuals, foreign diplomats, journalists, and people close to the Syrian government (including former officials) each month to discuss political topics.

I was honored to receive the invitation, and to engage in dialogue with this group. It's more than I can say for the likes of Karen Hughes and Dina Habib Powell!

This 10-minute excerpt covers:

1. US-Syria relations
2. negotiations with Israel
3. democracy promotion in the Middle East
   
4. defense of American Democracy
5. anti-Arab comments at McCain rallies
   

Sky News - VP debate predictions

Apologies for not getting this online yesterday, but there were technical difficulties.

I was invited into the Fox News studios in Manhattan yesterday to film a clip for Sky News, along with Washington Times reporter Stephen Dinan, who joined from DC.

Clinton's self-serving remarks on Africa

Even though I dislike him, and the many failures of his foreign policy, I gave Bill Clinton credit for giving a very lucid speech at the Democrats' convention in Denver. Now a few words concerning his remarks about Africa on Meet the Press yesterday.

Basically, Clinton is saying that the American image is very popular in Africa, with which I agree - and my readers know that I travel to Senegal frequently:

We're not going to have the America we want unless prosperity is broadly shared, and to do that, we have to have economic opportunity in the poorest parts of America. And in the world, the places where America is popular today in the world, really popular, 10 countries in central and eastern Africa. Look at the Pew poll. Wildly popular. Why? Because they see us through the prism of President Bush's AIDS and malaria programs and the work the Gates Foundation does, the work that I do, the work that others do. So we can--this should be presented to the American people that as a part of our participation in the interdependent world, we actually make more partners and fewer enemies.

From plenty of first hand experience, I can vouch for the fact that American businesspeople are perceived as forthright and honest in business dealing, while American products enjoy an outstanding reputation for quality and reliability. Couple this with leftover resentment of French/British colonizers, and Americans have a great opportunity to establish fruitful relationships in Africa.

This does not, however, require a Bush-style outlay of capital to fund AIDS/Malaria projects. If Clinton, Gates, or other non-taxpayer funded organization wish to act, brilliant. I salute them. In the meantime, entrepreneurs like me will continue to do our thing. I'm proud to represent my country in Africa, and do my small part to reverse the US's trade deficit. I note regularly, however, that the Chinese seem to have absorbed the advice of America's founders better than we have: commerce with all, alliance with none.

Clinton also makes a worthwhile point about media attitudes toward Africa:

"I wish we could have a cessation in the use of the word Africa for just 18 months while America learns that Africa is a continent that just in sub-Saharan Africa has 48 separate countries, and that it's not just the geography, it's the politics, the culture, the language, everything is different..."

True, each country has its own challenges and characteristics. We Americans tend to look at the whole continent as one village! Identities in Africa are complex - tribal/ethnic linkages remain important, as do national allegiances - but a pan-African consciousness does remain as well.

Slick Willy manages to whitewash his selective interventionism, however:

"Yes, there's been bad news in Darfur, yes, there's been bad news out of Zimbabwe, but you have country after country after country with very high growth rates and remarkable progress. I mean, Rwanda, genocide in '94, 10 percent of the country dies in 90 days. Four years later, their per capita income still well under $300 a year, 10 years later, $1,000 a year. Nearly quadrupled their per capita income. That's the real Africa. That is far more representative of what the African people are doing and can do tomorrow than the other..."

And perhaps the least effective way of encouraging this positive trend is by dumping more foreign aid directly into the laps of corrupt governments.

Sky News - mock debate

Exile on Baker Street - the 1st 3 Sky News clips

Apologies for the delay, but without access to TIVO in London, I had to rely upon Sky to provide me with a DVD of my appearances during the 2 convention weeks. Below are the first 3 clips, which are also included in my complete YouTube page that archives all my tv appearances.

"I thought we could muddle through..."

Sarah Palin came out last night and got as much applause as President Clinton got at the Democrat convention, more than 2 mintues worth. Impressive hero worship for a woman to whom the audience was mostly introduced just last Friday.

Her delivery was outstanding. She was snappy with the one liners, and super confident. She came out wearing a skirt, and spent a good 30% of her speech laying out her own biography and introducing her family, solidifying her image as the all-American girl and devoted working mom.

She doted on her husband who was "still my guy" and touted her PTA and "hockey mom" credentials, explaining with impeccable delivery that "the difference between a hockey mom and a pit bull: lipstick".

In fact, for the better part of the introduction, it was more like a speech you'd expect to hear from a ass-kicker of a 1st lady, not a candidate for VP. But, these are unchartered waters for the GOP, alas.

Much like Obama's bit on the 1st night in Denver, Palin's family spotlight will have great appeal across America, and runs the risk of overshadowing McCain himself. Because of Hurricane Gustav, Cindy McCain played a very minor role at the GOP convention, which is strategically unfortunate.

Palin used the example of Democrat Harry Truman, to extol the virutes of small-town roots, and with an obvious swipe at Michelle Obama, proclaimed the inhabitants of those places as being "always proud of America".

The rest of Palin's speech fit into 3 themes - reformer, McCain surrogate, and attack dog.

If Sarah Palin is the evangelical Christian's dream candidate, you'd never guess it from this speech - she used the word God twice, exactly as many time as Barack Obama did in his keynote remarks last week. This suggests that either 1) the McCain team is afraid of Palin being chastised by the ultra-religious right and the liberal left as a hypocrite, considering her daughter's misfortune, or 2) they are once again taking conservative Christians for granted: the evangelicals have skipped the light fandango and turned cartwheels across the floor for McCain's shade of Palin, and they're in the bag.

Her speech was peppered with snappy digs at Obama in particular, but she didn't refer to her counterpart much at all:

• "I guess a small-town mayor is sort of like a 'community organizer', except that you have actual responsibilities - the video showed someone dragged away for protesting
• "In small towns, we don't quite know what to make of a candidate who lavishes praise on working people when they are listening, and then talks about how bitterly they cling to their religion and guns when those people aren't listening"
• "We tend to prefer candidates who don't talk about us one way in Scranton and another way in San Francisco"
• on the media - "I'm not going to Washington to seek their good opinion, I'm going to Washington to serve this great country"
• "When the stadium lights go out, and those styrofoam Greek columns are hauled back to some studio lot - what exactly is our opponent's plan?"
• "Our opponents say, again and again, that drilling will not solve all of America's energy problems - as if we all didn't know that already"
• "...the ones whose names appear on laws and landmark reforms, not just on buttons and banners, or on self-designed presidential seals" (ouch!)
  
• "Harry Reid, the Majority Leader of the current do-nothing Senate..."
• "He said, quote, 'I can't stand John McCain'...clearly what the Majority Leader was driving at is that he can't stand up to John McCain"
• "The American presidency is not supposed to be a journey of 'personal discovery'"
• "This world of threats and dangers is not just a community, and it doesn't just need an organizer"
  

Today during the live blog chat on the Sky News website, I sparred with their US correspondent Jon-Christopher Bau, for saying that I was surprised that Palin played the attack dog. Bau countered that the running mate always plays that role. Generally, this is true. However, in a speech that sounded for 12 minutes at least like Palin was auditioning for the role of 1st lady, showing off her "girl next door" credentials, it took some good talent to pull off the sassy lines later in the speech.

This was her debut performance, and she exceled. What remains to be seen is how well Palin can walk the tightrope of likability and readiness to attack.

As for her Reform credentials, she listed them in a straightforward fashion, but didn't tie the theme as strongly to McCain as she probably should have.

Key reform-oriented quotes:

• "I stood up to the special interests, the lobbyists, big oil companies, and the good-ol' boys network"
• "I got rid of a few things in the governor's office that I didn't believe our citizens should have to pay for (brilliantly timed pause)...that luxury jet was over the top - I put it on eBay"
• "I thought we could muddle through without the governor's personal chef - although I've got to admit that sometimes my kids sure miss her" (how could you not like that line?)
  
• "thanks, but no thanks, on that bridge to nowhere...if our state wanted to build a bridge, we were gonna build it ourselves"

She also boated of being aggressive on the Veto, a lovely gesture to those fiscal hawks among us hopelessly upset with Bush. Palin threw out the figure of $.5 billion worth of vetoed spending. Alaska's total annual budget is $11.2 billion. So in 2 years, Palin vetoed nearly 2.2% of all spending. Without the exact figures, I'm going to guess that Bush's combined 8 years have a total vetoed spending percentage that is an order of magnitude below Palin's as Alaska Governor.

Palin closed with a good deal of admiration for McCain, focusing on energy issues, although I must say her tone was not totally hawkish. For example, she didn't say, "those who hate us", she said, "dangerous foreign powers that do not have our interests at heart". Same message, classier delivery. Interesting choice.

Again, an outstanding performance. Can Palin maintain this level of energy, and balance the likability with the attacks? I look forward to watching.

Meanwhile, the website still sucks and the audio was beyond horrible. The closing 5 minutes to Palin's speech, when McCain came out and joined her, were ridiculously unprofessional.

Meanwhile, in Minneapolis...

I have heard from numerous sources that some footage that the Ron Paul campaign recorded of me speaking about his candidacy at the Arab American Institute conference from last October was broadcast at the Rally for the Republic held this week as a "shadow convention" in Minneapolis-St. Paul. Here is a pic, thanks to my young friend Abraham Hamadeh.


If anyone has video of this segment, which I was told was played around the time of the great Tom Woods' speech, please send it to me.

UPDATE - here is the C-SPAN footage - I come on at 1:19:00.

"I know many of you are angry and frustrated..."

Last night, the Republican Party sold out its dignity and allowed the turncoat Senator Joseph Lieberman to address the delegates. This is nothing short of sickening and disgusting, and shame on any Republican who approved of or applauded this action. A special disdain is reserved for the architects of McCain's appearance. If anyone knows of any delegates who spoke out against it publicly, please let me know, I'd like to congratulate them and thank them.

Yes, as Lieberman said:

"I know many of you are angry and frustrated by our government and our politics, and for good reason."

Joe, what dignified political activists are frustrated by is the acceptance of turncoats like you. If you wanted to speak at the Republican convention, you should have switched your registration and announced that you would henceforth caucus with the GOP. I don't know who to pity more - the spineless Republican delegates who clapped like trained seals for you last night, or the Democrat leaders who continue to accept you as one of their own.

So, what did Turncoat Joe have to say? Well, my personal favorite was his quoting from George Washington's farewell address. Well, here is a clip from that speech that Lieberman seems to have missed:

"Observe good faith and justice towards all nations; cultivate peace and harmony with all...In the execution of such a plan, nothing is more essential than that permanent, inveterate antipathies against particular nations, and passionate attachments for others, should be excluded; and that, in place of them, just and amicable feelings towards all should be cultivated...Harmony, liberal intercourse with all nations, are recommended by