Here’s my short take on what caught my attention this last week:

To the Rescue: The Great Falls Tribune came to U.S. Senator Max Baucus’ rescue this week, saying, “He’s not for sale, and he’s not a fool. It costs a lot of money to achieve and maintain seniority in that most exclusive of clubs, and he’s managed to do it — with integrity if not boldness — for more than three decades.”

Everyone who follows Montanan politics will probably agree that Max Baucus is a master politician. If there’s a chance for him to get a little publicity, he will snatch it., along with the money he can stuff in his pockets. But as the saying goes, the chickens are coming home to roost and the senator is finally being seen by the rest of the country for what he really is – a very weak leader. He may end up losing his chairmanship over his failure to come up with a healthcare plan. The word “powerful” that is inserted in all his press releases and is mindlessly re-printed by the media across the state has lost its meaning these days.

The Beer Summit: The great beer summit happened this week and the media ate it up. There were countdown clocks on some cable news networks. They reported about the table being used, the type of beer each of them drank, who owned the beer company and so on. It was crazy, and even VP Biden could not pass it up, so he crashed the party. The funny thing is that it is a great idea for people to sit down over a beer, or coffee, or some other cold drink and talk. Talking always helps. Yelling and screaming at each other does not.

That’s Leadership – NOT: With people like Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell leading the way, look for the GOP to be in the back seat for some years. McConnell did not think that his fellow GOP Kentucky Senator, Jim Bunning, could win re-election so he basically shut down the fundraising for him until Bunning decided not to run.
McConnell has been in leadership positions with the GOP since 1998, so he’s been the leader during the demise of the GOP. Nice work, Mitch, you jerk.

Cash for Clunkers: If you drive by many car lots, you’ll see a sign about the program. Supposedly it was so good that it was running out of money. Also, I heard that the rules given to the auto dealers to run this program was over a 100 pages. The best quote of the week goes to a dealer talking about the program: “If they can’t administer a program like this, I’d be a little concerned about my health insurance.” True, so true.

Camping: No, this is not about trekking into the wilds of Montana, setting up a tent and living under the stars for a few nights. Sorry. This entry is about NFL FOOTBALL CAMPS which are starting this weekend! Hundreds of players will be competing to make the 53 man roster and every team has a chance to make it to the big show. Thank God for football! Oh yes, Go CHIEFS!

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