Three Up; Three Down

THREE UP

While Americans scraped for change for fill-ups over the summer, Barack Obama’s mighty fundraising machine kicked into overdrive. The final numbers are in and they are staggering: The Illinois senator and next president raised $770 million. That surpassed with ease the combined total raised by President George W. Bush and Democratic nominee John Kerry in 2004. Maybe Obama should spend the next four years raising money to bail out the taxpayers who are bailing out everybody else.
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Don’t look now, but we might not have heard the last of the Bushes. Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush is mulling a U.S. Senate run for the seat being vacated in two years by Mel Martinez. Too bad for Jeb that his brother has done such an effective job of tarnishing the Bush brand. By most accounts, Jeb was an effective governor and remains the real political brains of the family.
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The Wall Street Journal this week tells the South what so many here already know. That Southern football is a thing to behold. The WSJ explains that it’s not all great coaching. Some of the South’s dominance on the gridiron is attributable to the economic and demographic shifts that have left the North looking like it went through Reconstruction. Of course, none of this has helped the boys at the University of Virginia, where football wars are still lost.

THREE DOWN

Running to daylight just got more difficult for O.J. Simpson. The Juice juked past prosecutors in his famous double-murder trial but was thrown for a loss on a conviction of robbing sports memorabilia. The Hall of Fame NFL running back was sentenced Friday to up to 33 years in prison. Wearing blue prison overalls with his hands cuffed in front of him, Simpson apologized several times to no avail. Saying “I’m sorry” cures most of what ails a man, but not for a fellow who many people believe got away with murder.
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A funny thing is happening on President-elect Barack Obama’s way to the White House. He’s shedding campaign promises like winter clothes in summer. Hit those dastardly rich with taxes? Well, maybe not. Yank the troops out of Iraq. Well, hold on. How about slamming Big Oil with a windfall profits tax? Well, let’s not be hasty. All right, at least we can be rid of those egomaniacal Clintons for a while. Oh, wait ...
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His limbs still tingling, Chris Matthews is lining up for a Senate run against Pennsylvania’s Arlen Specter. This would, among other things, ensure that the Philadelphia side of the Keystone State would continue to be represented by a Democrat. Specter is a moderate who seldom moderates his leftist leanings. This might explain how he escaped the Republican carnage in November, cruising to an easy victory over an unknown in Pat Toomey.