Post election thoughts
Though I suppose it's not really post, since some elections still are being decided.

So John Kasich is in (the He Worked On Wall Street and He Worked for Lehman Brothers campaigns being mildly successful in that they made the race close)and Ted Strickland is out.

Really, I think things turned for the governor when he backed Hillary Clinton before the 2008 presidential primaries. He backed the loser in that race, and thus, had no shot to be then-candidate Obama's running mate (why he chose Joe Biden will be a question bothering historians for centuries).

Strickland then was left in Ohio, where jobs were being lost and the economy was suffering. I don't think he can be blamed for all of it, but when you are the top man in state government, that is where the blame usually falls.

I really believe he wanted to be Sen. Clinton's running mate, and honestly, with a favorable rating from gun owners, he'd have been a strong choice for her had she made it that far.

But he was left behind. He didn't have much of a record to run on. I know this because if he did, he would have. Instead, I saw one positive Stickland ad for every 20 negative Kasich ads. Hey, Kasich was just as negative. But it's easier to play that role as the challenger.

I will say one positive thing about Strickland: He looks great for 69. I don't know where he goes from here.

But I can't say I'm upset about him not going back to the state capital.

-Harry Reid won. Ugh. That guy has nine lives.

10 things about the election
1. I support John Kasich for governor of Ohio.

2. My feeling on the Ted Strickland tenure has been much the same as my feelig about the Democrats right now: Too much spending, not enough restraint, not enough say from the people. In at least one case, Strickland tried to override the vote of the people. He lost my vote there.

3. I think the Republicans will win the House and close the gap in the Senate.

4. This is not a year for Republicans. It's a year of the independent voter saying they want less spending. There are not enough Republicans or right wingers (like me) to make this type of difference.

5. If I had to guess, I'd say Strickland pulls out the election. Kasich hasn't connected enough with voters, and I imagine the barrage of negative ads on Kasich's ties to Lehman Brothers will have an effect.

6. I though John Kerry would win in '04. I tend to be as negative in my political outcomes as I am in Cleveland sports. The only difference is that when it comes to Cleveland sports, I am always right.

7. I have heard Sharron Angle is a tad crazy. Which would make it all the more humorous if she STILL beats Harry Reid.

8. Linda McMahon will lose in her Connecticut Senate bid. That's obvious.

9. I am a conservative guy. I believe in small government and personal liberty. But no matter what the results of Tuesday are, it's important not to misread the mandate. The message is that Democrats have overspent. Republicans who get elected must push to cut spending,not overspend on projects THEY like.

10. I don't believe this election will mean much for 2012. Nor should it.

Health care bill
Anyone who has read this blog for any amount of time can guess what I think of this.

But for all the anger, the threats and the marches, I keep coming back to one thing.

This is what happens when Democrats control the House, Senate and the Oval Office. If you don't like it, vote Republican next time. That's how the country works.

President Obama has his health care bill. So do Democrats in the House and Senate. They own it.

For better, or worse.

Sen. Max Baucus' argument
Some are suggesting the senator is drunk in this video. I don't know. But he was certainly ranting and making the argument about the need for bipartisanship. That Republicans got scared and saw a chance to gain by opposing health care.

This is a rather ridiculous argument, because it makes the mistake of thinking that "reform" is about something more than itself. President Obama and his friends in congress wanted a public option. Republicans would not support a public option.

As a libertarian on spending, not only was I against the various healthcare proposals, but I wouldn't have voted for any congressman who supported any of them.

But Democrats have the edge in congress right now, so they could pass something liberal. Those on the left of the party wouldn't have tolerated less.

So it's the Republicans fault? Believe me, I have not been happy with Republicans for a while, and see myself as more of a libertarian now than anything else. But anyone who ran as a Republican couldn't support the health care plan and still be a Republican.

The Republican party is supposed to be one of small government. The members of congress who voted against the bill did the right thing, in my view.

Was Baucus drunk? I don't know.

http://www.inquisitr.com/54123/max-baucus-drunk-video/

Obama wins Nobel Peace Prize
Look at who has won it. Yes, there are great people on there, like Martin Luther King. But in recent years, Al Gore has won it, as has Jimmy Carter and Kofi Annan.

Henry Kissinger even has a "peace" prize.

The point is, this award means less in practice than in theory. President Obama winning it doesn't bother me at all.

Intolerance in politics cuts both ways
Mark Salter's column today is so strong I wish I had written it. But the biggest issue I have with President Obama's allies making claims about racism from his opponents is simple:

It's not race. It's politics at worst. Policy at best.

You had to wonder how long it would be before people like Maureen Dowd would cry racist when someone questioned President Obama.

I was only 12 when President Clinton was trying to do something similar on health care, and I remember the venom he faced in doing it. It was, mainly, because many in this country don't want socialized medicine as a main coverage. They also aren't wild about spending without restraint. I didn't like it when President Bush did it.

I didn't like what Joe Wilson did during President Obama's address. But let's not pretend the last eight years were civility-filled. President Bush was himself charged with racism, and was himself made to look like Hitler by his fringe opponents.

But in this case, I can't help but wonder if every time Obama faces resistance, his allies will say it's about race. Trust me, if Joe Biden, Bill Richardson, Hillary Clinton or any other potential president pushed these types of policies, they would hear about it too.

There are fringe people who will go too far. There are people out there who probably hate Obama because of his race, just as there were people who thought Bush was responsible in the planning of 9-11.

But to pretend that's a motivating factor behind protests, in either case, is ridiculous.

Race
Being against a public option does not make you a racist. Period.

Kennedy column II
Punk rocker Henry Rollins asks the question I find myself asking over and over again the in wake of the Kennedy coverage by most.

Ted Kennedy
Anyone who knows me knows how I felt about Ted Kennedy. It would be stupid to even attempt to write too much nice about him now that he's gone. I'm sorry he had to go through so much pain at the end of his life, and sorry for his family.

My friend Vince Guirrieri wrote a strong column which I think is worth reading no matter what you thought of the senator. It's easy to forget sometimes how complicated human beings are; that there is always more to people than we prefer to believe.

Rest in peace.

Obama and Hawaii
While not being particularly thrilled with the direction in which President Barack Obama is taking this country, I fail to see the point of questioning whether he was born in this country.

Today, Hawaii's health director said he'd seen the birth certificate, and that should close the matter.

Good enough for me. What's the alternative, force out the country's first black president because of some technicality that really should have been off the books years ago?

That'd make the country look outstanding.

Like most right-leaning people in this country, I'm against much of what the president is doing, from his health care bill to cap and trade to the stimulus.

But I don't hate Obama. I don't wish for the man to fail. I don't have to hope for his policies to fail, because I'm pretty sure they will, and me feeling one way or the other won't change anything.

The point is, the president was elected legally, and he is fit to run this country for the rest of his term. Then there's an election.

Those yelling about where Obama was born are falling into a trap of making conservatives seem crazy and paranoid to the centrists in this country.

Some conservatives are crazy. But not most of us.

Focus on policy.

Palin
Alaska Governor Sarah Palin announced she is resigning from office at the end of the month.

Not too long after her announcement, I received a pair of messages from somewhat liberal friends, asking me if I was in "mourning" over the decision.

OK, here's the truth: I'm not now, and have never really been crazy about Sarah Palin. I liked that she drove my liberal friends crazy. I liked that she wasn't afraid to fight back against unfair attacks (of which, there were plenty).

But as a politician, I found myself underwhelmed. She seemed to be an interesting and entertaining candidate, but once you stripped away all the soundbytes and the show, there didn't seem to be a whole lot there. I don't mean that as an attack on her character or her intelligence. She just seemed to be a governor thrust into the national spotlight who didn't seem completely ready for it.

I feel the same way about President Obama. He's an interesting and intelligent guy, but I think he's in over his head and it's starting to show.

All that said, I'm disappointed by Palin's decision to resign. If one believes her reasoning for resigning, it doesn't make sense.

When a person runs for governor, they are running for the complete term. It not a college class where if you finish the exam early, you get to go home.

She made a promise to the people of Alaska, and by leaving office early, she hasn't fullfilled that promise. It would have been understandable if she was about to become Vice President, but to leave under these circumstances may haunt her.

If Palin wants to run again for national office, it would be difficult for me to support her, remembering how she left her constituents somewhat high and dry. You can't do that as president (unless you are about to be impeached) and you shouldn't do it as governor.

Of course, there is always the chance that there is more to the story. But on the surface, Palin seems to have made a bad choice.

Wanda Sykes
She does a commercial complaining about someone saying "that's so gay."

"That's insulting," she says.

Of course, in front of the President of the United States, Sykes says she hopes Rush Limbaugh's kidneys fail.

Be sensitive. Selectively.

Letterman's insult
David Letterman's tasteless jokes about Sarah Palin actually have been going on since she became this country's most prominent conservative woman.

The insults to her were so mean that the place I work at agreed to stop watching him and shift to Jay Leno at 11:30 p.m.

"Why did we wait so long?" my co-worker asked.

This time, though, Letterman went so far that even responsible liberals are taking him to task. He made a joke that involved Palin's daughter getting "knocked up" by Alex Rodriguez.

Of course, Palin's daughter, the one that was traveling with her to New York, is 14. Letterman later said he meant to insult Palin's 18-year old daughter. Wow. That makes it so much better.

Conservative women have always frightened members of the left. Margaret Thatcher was ridiculed for years because some thought she wasn't feminine enough. Palin is attractive, so she must be a bimbo.

Playboy took the issues past all barriers of taste, creating a "hate-f***" list of women who were conservative.

In a different way, Hillary Clinton has dealt with the same kind of sexism. There are plenty of reasons not to like her, and I don't. But some of the criticism she has dealt with in the past (many times from the right) is simply because she's a strong, independent woman.

Clinton took heat from the left, too, especially when she went up against President Obama in the Democratic primaries.

But people like Letterman seem to think that everything's a joke. He even had the nerve to invite Palin on his show.

There's no real sense of remorse here. Palin means ratings to him, and that's it.

Letterman is facing a backlash. Thank goodness.

Rush to judgement
I don't like Rush Limbaugh. Never have. Even as I've drifted more and more to the right in this country's political spectrum, I always avoided his show.

This had little to do with anything more than the fact that I hate loud talkers. I found Limbaugh's voice to be annoying -- it often obscured whatever point he was trying to make.

When Limbaugh was put on ESPN in 2003, I didn't think it would work. Like most people put on TV to be controversial, Limbaugh said something perceived as racist and was gone from the show.

Since then, I have probably heard less than 10 minutes of his show.

But I make no bones about my conservatism, and because of that, Limbaugh always comes up, and I'm expected to defend him.

I agreed with Republican chairman Michael Steele: Limbaugh is an entertainer. His primary interest is his ratings. He's great at what he's trying to do. But Rush is smart enough not to run for office.

I make this point because twice in the last two days, when I've been critical of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (who, for the record, I believe is a clown who should never have advanced past county government), I've gotten the "well, look at Rush Limbaugh" response.

Limbaugh has become more important to liberals than he has to conservatives. For the past eight years, liberals had the most powerful person in the world to unite around in distaste.

But George W. Bush's term ended. Someone had to fill the void.

Sarah Palin has to govern in Alaska, which few people on the mainland care about. Senator John McCain is nearing the end of a remarkable career, but his ability to rile up opponents ended in November.

So they go to what works.

Limbaugh is popular with his base. He's loud. He's controversial. And unlike most politicians, he will not back down from an argument, no matter how unpopular it is.

He's perfect for liberals who need someone to be mad at.

If Limbaugh didn't exist, liberals would have to create him.

But here's my point: Limbaugh, like John Stewart, entertains first. He doesn't hold an office.

Pelosi holds one of the most important positions in this country. It's not a fair comparison.

People say Limbaugh's crucial because people take positions based on his opinions. Well, what about Stewart? Lord knows how many college students get news from The Daily Show,with its comedy umbrella ready to pop up against any storm.

Most people who tell me how much they hate Limbaugh have never listened to him. Hey, I think Keith Olbermann is annoying (I see him on NBC football broadcasts), but I can't say too much -- I never watch his show.

I don't want to do the "I'm not a crazy conservative -- look, I hate Limbaugh!" bit that I've seen so many do. I'm just saying that the man does not represent anything but himself.

Those who try to make him more may very well be pushing agendas that are anything but conservative.

Janet Napolitano
I don't blame her. I blame the person who hired her.

Obama
At this point, I'm actually mad at myself for thinking he was preferable to Hillary Clinton.

Had Clinton been president, she would not have been so brazen in the packages Obama has produced. Our country is moving further and further to the left. How far will we go? who knows.

Maybe we'll get an idea tonight when the President goes on TV for the 82nd time.

10 things I think
1. The Indians ought to release David Dellucci. He never plays, and when he does, it's a trainwreck.

2. The Cavaliers are just ridiculous. LeBron James scores 42 points, Mo Williams scores 30, and the team goes 3-1 on the road trip.

3. I agree with Michael Steele. Rush Limbaugh IS an entertainer. He should not have apologized.

4. The Reds probably won't compete in the NL Central They've had the gear stuck on "mediocre" for more than a decade.

5. I'm still not sure how Jimmy Fallon got Van Morrison to do his show, but I'm glad he did.

6. My early feelings on the new Browns regime are not positive.

7. I'm starting to think Randy Lerner only changes coaches to cover for his own incompetence as a football executive.

8. I think the Indians will go about .500.

9. I also picked the Indians to win the World Series in '05. Just saying.

10. More people should DVR Chuck. It's an actual funny show on NBC not named the Office.

10 more things
- I hope to one day try to spend so much money so irresponsibly that I can refer to it as a "stimulus."

- I'm taking the Steelers by about 10 points in the Super Bowl.

- Al Gore sure has some odd timing.

- I guarantee you my friend Vince will comment on this post.

- If Bob Dylan had the ability to sing the way he did during his Nashville years, why didn't he sing that way all the time?

- LeBron James in the MVP of the NBA, but Mo Williams is the MVP of the Cavaliers.

- Tony Kornheiser asking Warren Sapp about fans that are grandmothers is an effective way to waste time on PTI.

- World Wrestling Entertainment will not be around in 10 years. At least not as an American-based company.

- The Indians have the best public relations people in baseball. If you wonder why, you haven't read the blog much.

-Pizza Hut ESPN commercials? Dear God.

Ten things
1. LeBron James' first buzzer-beating shot tonight at Golden State? He's just ridiculous. This is the year.

2. Why haven't the Browns hired a GM yet?

3. Jon Gruden. Herm Edwards. Both were not unemployed when owner Randy Lerner pulled the trigger on Eric Mangini. Both would have been better choices, in my estimation.

4. Barack Obama is president. I won't get on him too much for a while. He needs time to formulate his ideas. Jumping on every one less than a week in strikes me as counterproductive.

5. I hope the Indians at least call Manny Ramirez.

6. Haven't seen The Wrestler yet, but I want to.

7. I never got Joni Mitchell music.

8. John Anderson's Semonole Wind is still one of my favorite songs.

9. Why do people always forget the first 150 years of this nation when discussing the worst president ever?

10. Favorite TV show right now? Chuck.

The end of the Bush years
There is no way to say now whether George W. Bush was a good president, bad president.

I am confident that some historians will conclude that his presidency was neither disaster nor complete triumph. And, as I have in the previous eight years, I'm sure I will defend Bush against the most ridiculous of criticisms.

Bush neither destroyed our civil rights (as the revered FDR and Abraham Lincoln came the closest to) or brought our country great shame (I'm sure a lot of you will disagree; I don't care). He wasn't impeached, like the last guy in office. He didn't neglect humanity (I'd love one of these bashing columns to use the word "Africa" just once).

Some are sure he lied about the Iraq War. Some think he loves torture. Some think he is racist.

Most of all, people think he's dumb.

He's not. Two-term presidents generally know something. Conan O'Brien and Dave Letterman can crack all the jokes they want. Bush isn't the one who seems to think it'll be 80 degrees in January next year in the north (step outside, Letterman). He also isn't so desperate for material that the only other people he makes jokes about are B-list celebrities (wow Conan, making fun of Paris Hilton again. EDGY.).

Of all the criticisms about Bush, there is one in particular that is true -- he's not popular.

One of the things I have liked about Bush since his first day in office is how little stock he has put in popularity.

I hope President Obama shares that trait. I think a president must be concerned with the job, not renting out the Lincoln bedroom to donors.

In these times, I can say Bush was not a great president. He was too slow to act when Iraq was deteriorating, and too passive during Hurricane Katrina. Those are the two black marks on his legacy, and they will remain.

But I'm not sorry I voted for him twice. Christopher Hitchens writes on that topic.

As for President Obama, I will hope and pray he does a good job. Now's not the time to be petty. He's in office, and he needs support.

MSNBC and CNN and the AP will sure do their parts. I'll do my best to do mine.