brainrow

I don’t drink. Many years ago, when I was a little kid, I was once offered the sip of beer I had been clamoring for, and it wasn’t nearly as good as I had imagined it would be. Since then, I’ve never seen the appeal of alcohol, and I’ve counted myself lucky.

Today, someone suggested I ought to start drinking, anyway. That way, if I ever got caught doing something shameful — not that I would ever do anything shameful, heaven forfend — I could just blame it on the booze and check myself into rehab.

The demon rum has provided convenient absolution for countless public figures in recent years, but you can’t swear off the bottle unless you drink. It’s a quandary.

The current consensus seems to be that Republican Mark Foley’s misbehavior, and the Republican leadership’s apparent year-long cover-up might hurt the GOP. Heaven forfend, indeed. So some Republican apologists are going to work — for example, Matt Drudge blames the young pages, not former congressman Foley.

But look on the bright side. The Foley story is everywhere today — all over the news, all over the blogs. And people talking about Foley aren’t talking about Iraq, where at least 70 U.S. troops were killed in September, along with thousands of civilians.

The Foley story is getting another big boost today from things like a call by some conservatives for Dennis Hastert’s resignation.

It sounds like bad news for Republicans, but it sure has changed the subject, hasn’t it?

I’m thinking, “Karl Rove, Suuuper Genius.”

I first saw John Kerry many years ago, on Dick Cavett’s late night talk show on ABC TV.

I was impressed. Years went by and I followed his career — his unsuccessful campaign for Congress in 1972, his rise through prosecutor, lieutenant governor of Massachusetts, and then into the U.S. Senate — and I thought that he would someday make a good president. Voters really missed the boat in 2004.

From a recent Kerry speech:

Just recently, Donald Rumsfeld — the man who should have been fired as Secretary of Defense long ago — Donald Rumsfeld gave a low and ugly speech in which he smeared those who dissent from a catastrophic policy, and then spoke of “moral confusion.”

Well, there certainly is a lot of moral confusion around these days.

It is immoral for old men to send young Americans to fight and die in a conflict without a strategy that can work — on a mission that has not weakened terrorism but worsened it.

It is immoral to lie about progress in that war to get through a news cycle or an election.

It is immoral to treat 9/11 as a political pawn — and to continue to excuse the invasion of Iraq by exploiting the 3,000 mothers and fathers, sons and daughters who were lost that day. They were attacked and killed not by Saddam Hussein but by Osama bin Laden.

And it is deeply immoral to compare a majority of Americans who oppose a failing policy and seek a winning one to appeasers of Fascism and Nazism.

Kerry is coming here to Columbus, Ohio tomorrow, to raise money and drum up support for the Ohio Democratic Party and local candidates. He’s going to be busy.

From 8:45 to 10:00 tomorrow morning, we have the “Wake Up for Change Breakfast,” a fundraiser for the Ohio Democratic Party, at The Capital Club, 41 South High Street. I called to make a reservation, and was told there’s no need for reservations, I can just pay at the door. There are several price tiers. The lowest is $150, but it’s for a good cause.

At 11:30, Kerry will be at the Ohio Union East Ball Room at 1739 North High Street. Doors open at 11:00 am. Admission is free. There is a form on Kerry’s website if you would like to attend.

At 12:30 pm, Kerry moves a just a little bit down the street, to Eddie George’s Grille 27, at 1636 North High Street, for a fundraiser for Mary Jo Kilroy’s congressional campaign. Once again, there are several price tiers, and the lowest is $150. The email I got announcing this fundraiser said “Please RSVP to Ray Coatoam at (614) 437-9793 or CoatoamR@gmail.com,” but I haven’t had time to call. I’ll bet money is all you need to get in there, too.

Update: Just got another email message. Kerry will promote early voting at 10:00am at St. Dominic Parish Center, 455 North 20th Street. Open to the public, no RSVP or donation required.

You can’t say the man doesn’t have a full schedule.

Crooks and Liars has video and a transcript of Bob Woodward on 60 Minutes, talking about his new book, State of Denial.