Ron Kaye on Mayor Villaraigosa:
Merely winning the election already is a foregone conclusion but it means nothing if you have lost the confidence of the people in your leadership, in the future of the city.
Quote for the day
Caruso out, Villaraigosa missing
Rick Caruso will not run for mayor this time around:
…while I am genuinely grateful for all the encouragement I have received from people all over this city to run for mayor and the confidence they put in me, I have decided that the obligation of serving as mayor would put a burden on my family that is too much at this point in their lives and, as a result, I will not be a candidate in the upcoming campaign for mayor. Having worked closely with Mayors in the past, I understand the commitment necessary to properly fill that role, and it is not the right time for me to commit myself wholly to the City at the expense of my family, particularly my young children…
Yesterday, Mayor Villaraigosa made formal his bid for re-election. Today, he’s in Chicago, meeting with President-elect Barack Obama as a member of Obama’s Transition Economic Advisory Board — a group described as “experts on the economy” and whose members include Warren Buffett and several former Treasury Secretaries.
Slime of the Times
Right or wrong, the LA Times is again at the center of a storm in the final days of a big election; this time, for what the paper won’t publish. Politico blogger Ben Smith is right: the Times’ explanation for not releasing the Obama/Khalidi video is a hard one to argue with, but that doesn’t make the explanation any more plausible.
Post-partisan?
Three Drudge headlines suggest a return to the dirty, divisive politics of the Clinton ’90s.
Work harder, Ace
Funny how Ace Smith thinks he can nuke Rick Caruso by saying, “George Bush” in a scary voice. As if to suggest what—Caruso has a secret plot to invade Bell Gardens, oust the city manager and build a mall?
“Must Read”
A new book is out detailing the “inner workings, secret meetings, and elaborate murder plots” that make up the Mexican Mafia’s daily routine, written in cooperation with Rene Enriquez, an Eme boss-turned-informant.
The Black Hand, by Chris Blatchford
Wally Fay—editor of In The Hat, and author of his own book on the subject—says this one is required reading for policymakers:
The people who should be forced to read this book, or have it read to them while jetting around the country or riding in the back of chaufered limos are the politicians and policy makers. Policy decisions and laws cannot and should not be made based on information filtered through staff panels, social scientists, mis-informed or biased “advocates, ” or groups who have a financial interest in the outcome of policies.
Enriquez holds “prisoner rights” advocates directly responsible for the organization’s growing muscle and warns that while the feds have made steady progress in the streets, local pols and law enforcers are out to lunch. For a major eye-opener, listen to the interview below in its entirety.
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Another one who won’t vote
Anne Applebaum’s reasoning is like mine: the “rapidly deteriorating, increasingly anti-intellectual, no longer even recognizably conservative Republican Party.”
…if [McCain's independent] traits appealed to me, I’m guessing they would have appealed to other independents, too. Why, then, has McCain spent the last four months running away from them? The appointment of Sarah Palin—inspired by his closest colleagues—turned out not to be a “maverick” move but, rather, a concession to those Republicans who think foreign policy can be conducted using a series of clichés and those in his party who shout down the federal government while quietly raking in federal subsidies.
Tuesday morning drive
This two-year election cycle is ending predictably, with each side seeking (and drawing out) the worst in the other—common sense and reason were buried weeks ago. With any luck, it’ll all be over in seven days, but until then, the election will continue inducing fantastic cognitive aberrations.
I was station-surfing on the drive in this morning and flipped to KPWR just in time to catch Marconi-winning host, Big Boy repeat as truth (on his nationally syndicated radio show) the discredited claim that someone shouted “he’s a nigger” at a Sarah Palin rally in Iowa.
Big Boy used the word on air for maximum impact and then spent several minutes along with a co-host bemoaning the ignorant stink of our rotten society, before ending the segment asserting that opposition to Senator Obama’s candidacy “isn’t about taxes,” but rather, “skin color.”
Quote for the day
Joseph Mailander on Ron Kaye’s piece this morning:
Free-range liberals should exhibit similar concerns for people, and ditch affordable housing/density bonus schemes that sixpack humans into units barely fit for livestock and poultry.
The problem, of course, is that Antonio is only free-range when it comes to Antonio, not when it comes out on a plate.
