Fred Thompson Drops Out, Who Benefits?

After Fred Thompson pulled out of the GOP race for the White House today, some people are asking – was Fred Thompson really ever in this race to win in the first place? While news of Fred Thompson's departure from the GOP field will hurt many people that thought he was the right man for the job, it will help the other candidates still in this race, especially Mike Huckabee. In New Hampshire and also in South Carolina, Fred Thompson and Mike Huckabee split the Evangelical Christian vote and now with only one candidate really going after that segment of the Republican Party, Huckabee has to be the winner after today's Fred Thompson announcement.

In fact, after the Florida Primary there will most likely only be three candidates still left in the GOP field running for the nomination. Mitt Romney, Rudy Giuliani and John McCain will remain and Mike Huckabee could still be in the race if he places at least second in Florida. However, if Huckabee finishes in the back of the pack in Florida – he is pretty much toast going into Super Tuesday. Just like in last night's debate among Democrats where only the top three candidates debated, the same kind of picture will emerge inside the Republican Party over the next couple of weeks. In addition to Huckabee being finished without a strong showing in Florida, Rudy Giuliani could face the same fate if he does not win Florida.

Some people can make the transition from movies and television to politics like Ronald Reagan did many years ago, but most people cannot. Fred Thompson is the later as he tried and failed to take his popular name recognition and win the GOP nomination for President. I wish Fred Thompson well in his future acting jobs because that is where he truly shines in life. November's election is going to be a huge battle between totally different ideas and before a winner is announced next November, there will be plenty of back and forth jabs by both sides. Fred Thompson was not ready for prime-time this election season as more seasoned politicians proved to him that it takes more than a southern drawl and Hollywood acting experience to become the nominee of the modern day Republican Party.

Read more about Fred Thompson:

What Happened To Fred Thompson, Is He Still In The Race?
Gun Control Will Guide Fred Thompson Against Rudy Giuliani
Fred Thompson's First GOP Debate Tuesday Night
Fred Thompson Better As Potential Candidate
Fred Thompson Plays President For Real

January 22, 2008 Archives

Hollywood View Of Movie Quality Confuses Nation

This morning, nominations for the 2008 Oscar ceremony were announced and just like in years past – most of the top nominated offerings have never been seen by most American movie patrons. Since I was a little kid, I have wondered why members of the Motion Picture Academy of America have such a different view of movie quality than the average person? On most things from morals, to politics, to movies – the Hollywood elites seems to be almost total opposites from the people that shell out money to see their motion picture productions.

People are different in Hollywood than in other parts of the United States in almost every way. I don't know if it is real elitism that is at the root of this difference, but it does play a part. True snobs always consider their intellect superior to the average man or woman and more than likely that snobbish attitude is why little known or seen movies get nominated for Academy Awards. The funny thing about elitist snobs are that usually they are not that talented outside of their chosen field. I have always believed that actors or directors in Hollywood would be living off of welfare if there were not movies to act in or direct. Few have other talents outside of acting and directing and that lack of a fall back career could also lead to snobbishness which is really just another form of personal insecurity.

Back to the Oscars, this year will be filled with endless nominations for films that hardly anyone cares about except the people that made them. However, there may be some good news about this years Academy Awards. That being that unless there is a settlement of the current writers strike in Hollywood, there may be no Oscars show to watch. It seems like every year there are fewer movies released that have widespread public appeal. Last years top movies like 'National Treasure' and 'I Am Legend' will not be featured at this years Oscar ceremony, even though millions of Americans decided they were great movies by shelling out their hard earned dollars to go see them. I really could care less if the writers strike prevents the Oscars from being shown on television this year. While millions of people do watch this annual program, it does get quite old for me listening to snobs congratulate other snobs for over three hours on national television.

Read more about Hollywood Issues:

Kiefer Sutherland Released After Serving 48 Day Sentence
Jay Leno Defeats David Letterman In Late Night Ratings
Mountain Man David Letterman Returns To Late Show
No Ache Breaky In Miley Cyrus' Hannah Montana Heart
David Letterman Returns With Writers/Advantage

BOA Joins Citibank With Huge Quarterly Loss

It was no surprise to anyone today when Bank of America (BOA) reported huge losses last quarter. Just like Citibank before them, BOA finds itself having to write down millions of dollars worth of losses in the sub-prime lending market and probably under the surface the next big problem for both BOA and Citibank will be extremely high credit card charge offs. As the US economy continues it's slide toward recession, large banks like Citibank and BOA will continue to feel pain because these giant banks are involved in every aspect of American life both from a business and individual perspective. As BOA and Citibank recorded record profits during US and worldwide economic expansion, now they must take that terrible ride back down to reality.

Recently, Citibank on two different occasions made trips to the Middle East in search of much needed liquidity. Since I am not a financial expert, I do not know if such a trip is emanate for BOA, but I would not rule it out. In many ways it is embarrassing to me to see large American companies being force to travel overseas to the Middle East and ask for money like beggars in the street. However, in this brave new world of globalization that all politicians seem so fond of – that is exactly what has been happening in recent years as more of our American dollars are finding their way to the Middle East because we import so much oil from there.

As President Bush said in a 'State of the Union' speech many years ago, 'America is hooked on oil' and he is so right about that fact. With mountains of regulations and lawsuit threats every time someone whats to explore for new oil supplies in the US, most oil companies have just moved overseas to friendlier nations. That outsourcing of US oil production is not only effecting American jobs, but also it could cause our great nation to fall into recession this year. While I have no personal ill will toward nations in the Middle East that are willing to step up and bail out large banks like Citibank, it does hurt my pride as an American that this once powerful economic nation has allowed itself to become a beggar nation because of over regulation and a clear case of short sightedness.

Many years ago I watched a movie called, 'Rollover' which dramatized the world in which we are living today. Let's just hope that the real United States of America does not end up like that fictitious one in the movie or we are all in for a bunch of pain in the future.

Read more about the Economy:

Fed Acting Like Enron In Some Ways
It's The Economy, Stupid All Over Again
Stock Markets Crash As US Recession Fears Increase
Tuesday Could Bring Big Trouble For US Stock Prices
Grim Economy In 2008, Fed Chairman Bernanke

Monday's Dem Debate, Candidates Acting Like Children

Last night CNN had another debate among the democratic candidates and unlike previous CNN debates this one only had three participants. John Edwards, Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton were invited to last night's debate and things did get a bit heated between Clinton and Obama. However, in the end it appeared to me like Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama were acting more like children playing in a sandbox than serious contenders for the democratic nomination for President. Almost everyone in America believes that our country is on the wrong track, but rather than facing up to this nations problems, Clinton and Obama went after each other with pointless personal attacks. In the end it was John Edwards that came across to me as looking the most presidential.

Real Americans are concerned about our economy more than anything else, but rather than talk about real cures for what ails us, both Obama and Clinton continued to go after each others voting record and trying to one up each other over the Iraq War. Outside of last nights debate, I can't remember the last time I heard bad news coming out of Iraq. Instead, since last years troop surge things on the ground in Iraq are getting better – but apparently no one told Hillary Clinton or Barack Obama about that little bit of good news. The American people have move on past the War in Iraq and are now concerned with domestic issues like the suffering US economy. However, even when these candidates talked about domestic issues last night – that once again turned into a battle of whose Universal Health Care plan was the best.

For months almost everyone, both Democrat or Republican has predicted a democratic win in this years presidential contest. However, it is possible for the Democrats to snatch defeat from the arms of victory if they are not careful. Nothing angers the American people more than for a person seeking national office to not understand what is happening in their own backyard. Too many times, campaigns are gear around months old talking points and no one gets around to changing them. Right now, the top two democratic candidates of Obama and Clinton are using talking points that are months old. If the Democrats want to really win in 2008, they must get on the same page with the American people and quit fighting with each other like children on a playground.

Read more about 2008 Elections:

Clinton/Obama Face Off Saturday In Nevada
GOP Facing 2008 Brokered Party Convention
Election 2008 Making Pollsters Look Foolish
Obama/Clinton, Let's Play Nice For Now
GOP Candidates Compare Themselves To Ronald Reagan

Fed Acting Like Enron In Some Ways

This morning, the US federal reserve stepped into the financial markets by lowing the discount rate it charges banks for overnight loans by ¾ of a percent. This big move by the federal reserve was made in an attempt to stop the financial bleeding of the past few days in worldwide stock markets that made it's way to Wall Street this morning. Most expert believe that the US economy is heading for recession in 2008 and the powers that be at the federal reserve are trying to stop or delay that process. In a crazy way, what the U.S. government is doing by way of the US Federal Reserve is trying to convince people not to sell their shares of stock by artificially inflating the price of those shares through fed rate cuts.

This technique of trying to manage a free market system reminds me in some ways of how top management at Enron tried to hype their own stock to employees when everyone at the top knew that the bottom was about to drop out. This morning's fed rate cut was done for no other reason than to try and prevent a stock market sell off. Didn't Ken Lay try some very similar things with Enron stock to get people to hold onto their shares while he and others were in the market dumping everything they had? Now I'm not trying to accuse the federal government or the federal reserve of illegal activity like what happened at Enron. The only reason I am pointing out this comparison is to say that free markets must be allowed to fall, just like they are allow to increase. When any government agency tries to manage a free market, all they are really doing is putting off the pain to a future date when that pain will be much worse because of their interference.

Right now everyone in Washington D.C. seems to be on the same page when it comes to offering some kind of financial incentive to get consumers back to spending money at the retail level. Most ideas revolve around the federal government sending out rebate checks to Americans that range anywhere from $500-$800 with the hope they will spend that money and give a short term boost to the American economy. While this approach will help, in the short term, the US economy – the government that will be sending out that money will have to borrow it because they are already spending more money than they take in through taxes each day. In a way, this proposal is like a parent constantly getting cash advances on their Visa card to bail out one of their children. That money will need to be paid back someday and the longer the parent/government wait to replay it, the larger that amount grows.

Read more about the Economy:

It's The Economy, Stupid All Over Again
Stock Markets Crash As US Recession Fears Increase
Tuesday Could Bring Big Trouble For US Stock Prices
Grim Economy In 2008, Fed Chairman Bernanke
Is Citibank In Financial Trouble, China/Kuwait Rush Cash?