EVENING UPDATE,  JANUARY 28,  2008

•   Oh, look, it's 1960 all over.  Except, the sun 'n surf hasn't been kind to these people.  I speak, of course, of the Kennedy family reunion, a warm and gregarious affair, that took place around noon today in Washington.  It was covered live (and in color) by some of the cable news stations.  A lot of young people were there.  And Ted Kennedy was there.  I used to do a lot of pitching (selling) in the TV business, and this would have been pitched as , "Hey, this is 'Leave it to Beaver' meets 'South Park.'"  And some executive in designer glasses would have replied, "It's a beautiful concept.  Let me mull."

Now, the purpose of today's conclave of the better people was the endorsement, by a chunk of the Kennedy clan, of Barack Obama.  Drudge quotes Ted Kennedy:

Through Barack, I believe we will move beyond the politics of fear and personal destruction and unite our country with the politics of common purpose.

Look, I don't want to be touchy about things, but when the guy says, "Through Barack," there may be some fine, church-going ladies who might find that a bit off-putting.  It's pretty symbolic of the whole weird, over-the-top, religious atmosphere of the Obama campaign. 

The weirdness continued today.  Inspirational talk.  No details.  The great crusade.  No details.  Marching forward with a new generation of youth, but never saying where we're marching to.  The last seven years of American history?  Don't want to know about it. 

And I could not help but think, again, of other young Americans, in Iraq and Afghanistan, who are also marching forward, but they do know where they're marching to.  Problem is, the worshippers at today's service don't want to go there. 

•   Speaking of the Kennedys, we noted last week that Karl Rove had been slated to deliver this year's commencement address at Choate Rosemary Hall, the prep school that was President Kennedy's alma mater.  Some students protested, though, and Rove has now withdrawn.  He will speak at another time.  Rove graciously said:

I would not want 12 minutes of remarks to be used as an excuse by a small group to mar what should be a wonderful day of celebration for the members of the 2008 graduating class and their families, so I am delighted to instead accept Choate's invitation to speak on campus Feb. 11.  

Please note that no one has protested the fact that a small group of students essentially silenced a graduation speaker.  No talk of academic feedom.  No talk of the First Amendment.  No talk of "our commitment to a variety of ideas."  Karl Rove is a conservative.  Can you imagine the uproar if the president of Iran was asked not to come.

•   I have to say that USA Today has published one of the most thoughtful editorials I've seen on Barack Obama.  Neither for him nor against him, it begins to ask the right questions, and urges voters to get beyond the admittedly grand rhetoric.  A key quote:

But the presidency is obviously about more than inspiration. A week from tomorrow, voters in 22 more states have a major say in deciding whether Obama will be the Democratic nominee. USA TODAY doesn't endorse candidates, but this page often points out where we agree or disagree with them and raises questions we think voters should ask. In Obama's case, these include: As the candidate of "change," what changes does he want? Could he deliver them? Would he be the capable leader the nation needs to preside over wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, a turbulent economy at home and a looming budgetary tsunami?

Start asking, journalists.  Latter-day think pieces about "buyer's remorse" won't do.

•   I had to report this.  The state of Israel, in the midst of all its troubles, has taken a momentous, historic step.  It has decided to apologize to the surviving Beatles for banning the group in 1965.  Quote from the apology:

Unfortunately the state of Israel cancelled your performance in the country due to lack of budget and because several politicians in the Knesset had believed at the time that your performance might corrupt the minds of the Israeli youth.

The two remaining Beatles will be invited to perform at Israel's 60th birthday gala in May.

There was no confirmation of a report that the apology was carved on stone tablets, and had ten bulleted points.

•   Rudy Guiliani is sinking in the Florida polls, just before tomorrow's primary, and there are some hints that he may drop out of the race if the numbers are in the don't-tell-your-wife range.  This is the man who was the front runner for months, earlier this year.

His strategy was crazy.  It's the TV age, and he - or some guru - decided to skip the opening primaries and launch the real campaign in Florida.  The problem is, when you aren't there, no one on TV talks about you.  When no one talks about you, you tend to be forgotten.  If you're a five-star general, or a giant of a statesman, you can pretend to be above the fray, and possibly get away with  it.  But Rudy was a mayor, and he certainly knows that no mayor of New York has ever gone on to higher office.  He had to be out there from the start, proving himself, and he was not.  If the polls are correct, he'll lose tomorrow's rumble by quite a bit.

And there's something else.  Rudy Guiliani was one of New York's great mayors, but I never saw him as much of a presidential candidate.  The classic definition of a successful politician is someone who "can walk with kings and yet retain the common touch."  Well, Rudy always maintained the common touch.  But if he walked with kings, and some king disagreed with him, he might punch him.  That kind of an image is great for five minutes.  It's in the next five minutes that people start to worry.

Be back tomorrow.

Posted on January 28, 2008.