By Arun Kumar, IANS
Washington : He may be the commander-in-chief of the world's sole superpower, but George W. Bush is no godman. Yet what the president did looked nothing short of a miracle. And for once the media sheepishly laid the credit at his door.
When what was touted as a "grand bargain" of an immigration bill, promising the nation's 12 million gatecrashers a convoluted path to citizenship, fell apart in the Senate, analysts were quick to not only write its obituary but brand Bush a lame duck all over again.
One TV channel said when Bush "went to the Capitol to throw the power of his office behind" the bill, "he might have learned something in the process about the power remaining in his presidency".
Another suggesting that the bill "may just be dead" mocked the president for telling reporters: "I'll see you at the bill signing." Yet another said that reviving the bill "may be a task that is insurmountable for a president whose clout is shrinking".
But when the bill that many a conservative in his own Republican party have dismissed as an "amnesty" for law breakers, got a second life even before their ink had run dry, the very media gave the credit where it was due.
The Washington Post, no great fan of the C-in-C, described the breakthrough a "clear victory for Bush" with CBS Evening News declaring that "The immigration bill is back from the dead".
No doubt Bush's promise of $4.4 billion for border security and enforcement of employment laws sweetened the new deal for Republican sceptics, but it also demonstrated once again the power of what Theodore Roosevelt called the "bully pulpit" – a terrific platform that the White House provides to its occupant.
There is still no guarantee that the Bush push will bring the "grand bargain" to his desk anytime soon, but at least for now his grand design to keep his presidency relevant seems to be working better than his "surge" plan in Iraq.
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Obama's "Pun'Jab" may turn his 'Macaca Moment'
If a "Macaca Moment" put paid to Republican senator George Allen's presidential ambitions and Democratic aspirant Joe Biden's brush with Indian Americans left him a bit dunked, there is no saying how hard the "'Pun'Jab" would hit rising black star Barack Obama.
Obama, chasing Hillary Clinton in the race for Democratic nomination, apparently had no idea what it means to take a 'panga' with the Indians when his campaign suggested that the former first lady was more of a senator from Punjab.
The Indian Americans were clearly not amused by Obama turning a recent joke by Clinton, that given her support among the Indians she could easily be elected from Punjab, into a political projectile.
US India Political Action committee, a body of Indian Americans, took umbrage at Obama campaign's analysis of "Hillary Clinton (D-Punjab)'s Personal Financial And Political Ties To India" suggesting that the Clintons have reaped significant financial rewards from their relationship with the Indian community.
What miffed them all the more was that Obama, who himself is trying to woo the Indian community, had chosen to take a leaf from 2004 Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry's book to play the outsourcing card.
The Obama memo, initially sought to be passed to the media on a "don't tell" basis, accused former president Bill Clinton of investing tens of thousands of dollars in an Indian bill payment company, and Hillary herself of taking tens of thousands from companies that outsource jobs to India.
As the Indian community waited for Obama to respond to allegations that his campaign has been "promoting hurtful stereotypes against the Indian American community", one wondered whether he would pay as heavy a price as Allen did for calling a Democratic Indian American campaign worker a 'macaca' or a monkey.
Or would he escape with a little rap on the knuckles as Joe Biden did after suggesting that one cannot visit a 'Dunkin Donut' shop in America without having a slightly Indian accent?
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"YouTube" says yes to 'Dr. No'
Political pundits may have written off "Dr. No" as an obscure Republican presidential hopeful is known in the House of Representatives, but he is creating quite a buzz on the Internet ruled by the likes of "Sopranos", "Paris Hilton" and "iPhone".
Ron Paul, the obstetrician and gynaecologist from Texas, is more popular on 'Facebook' than Bush's 2000 challenger John McCain, has more friends on 'Myspace' than former Massachussets governor Mitt Romney. At 11,924 in 239 cities, he has the biggest 'MeetUp' groups in the Republican field.
And his official videos on the 'YouTube', the popular video sharing website have been viewed close to 1.1 million times – more than those of any other presidential hopeful, Republican or Democratic except Barack Obama.
So what secret weapon does this self-confessed "pen and paper guy" of the "old school" have? It's his no nonsense no's, suggest netizens. No to big government; no to the Internal Revenue Service; no to the federal ban on same-sex marriage; and a big no to the Iraq war – the lone Republican candidate to say so loud and clear.
"I am for the individual," says Paul. "I'm not for the government". That apparently is the secret of his success.
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The case of the lost pants
As a Washington judge pressed a $54 million suit against a dry cleaning shop over a pair of lost pants, punsters had a field day spinning side-splitting headlines.
"Wearing down the judicial system with a pair of pants," said one as Roy L. Pearson first demanded $65 million for failing to get the advertised "Satisfaction Guaranteed" before paring it down to $54 million.
"Taking the cleaners to the cleaners," suggested another as the trial judge promised to give her verdict next week. She better keep her word lest she may find herself facing the music for failing to deliver!
(Arun Kumar can be contacted at [email protected])