Jon nails it in his commentary today.

When I see that someone has been married three times and has a chilly relationship with the kids, I have to ask if too much time caught up in a self-indulgent, ego-gratifying political life — and not enough time at home — caused any of the rifts with the family.

If one doesn’t care about ever patching up those rifts with the kids, it follows that one would spend two years of a life pursuing something that would make them too busy to do so anyway.

On the other hand, if there are too many guilty regrets and personal demons from a life soured by the choices which led to a poor relationship with one’s children, it can certainly be made up in other ways. Perhaps by pursuing something such as an even larger crown to place on top of the self-indulgent, ego-gratifying political life.

Folks like that I’m sure will likely be very dedicated, marriedto their political job. The best representatives, however, may be those dedicated to the job, while also finding the time to know… Read More

John Pesching, a principal with the consulting firm Meridian Pacific, will be officially announced tomorrow as a senior advisor to the John McCain for President campaign, assisting with their efforts in the important Golden State. In this capacity, John has told me he will be volunteering his time. I’ve known John for a long, long time and I he will be strong go-to person in California for McCain’s campaign. John has a long, storied career in Republican politics, going all of the way back to beginnings when he worked in the Reagan White House (his photo helping then President Reagan with a weekly radio address is among the thousands on the walls at the Reagan Library). John spent several years as Executive Director of the California Republican Party before going on to serve seven years as the Western Regional Political Director of the Republican National Committee, giving him a lot of experience to lend to McCain’s effort not only here, but in a host of other states on this end of the country. I worked closely with John during the 2000 election cycle when he worked for the RNC, and I was… Read More

According to a column by the Fresno Bee’s Lew Griswald, Assemblyman (and FR friend) Bill Maze was supposedly surprised in reading on the FlashReport that one of his aides, Bob Smith, is running to succeed Maze in the legislature (term limits will cause Maze to retire.

I don’t buy that for a minute — given the depth of support that Smith has already put together, it is not plausible that his boss would not have heard about it.

That said, while Maze has been a solid conservative legislator, it is disappointing to see him drink the Anthony Adams kool-aid on term-limits. Guess what, Bill, were it not for term-limits, you probably never would have had a chance to serve. Now it’s time for others to have their opportunity.

Here’s the… Read More

As the Republican race for the Presidential nomination starts to unfold, there will be a lot of individual times that you scratch your head, and wonder about why a candidate says something about a particular issue. I can certainly tell you that I have heard from a lot of grassroots GOP donors and activists who feel that how a candidate conducts themselves in their personal life is an important indicator of how they will perform in an office of public trust – and I agree. I will admit that it makes it more challenging for me to place my faith in a candidate and what they are telling me when they have been unfaithful to their spouse. I’m a realist — and the sobering and unfortunate fact is that over half of the marriages in the United States end up in divorce — and amazing and startlingly depressing figure. It is also the case that infidelity occurs in many of these instances.

But there is also truth to the statement that the two best times to judge someone’s character is when everyone is watching them, and when no one is watching them. I don’t pretend to know or care to know the… Read More

As the Republican race for the Presidential nomination starts to unfold, there will be a lot of individual times that you scratch your head, and wonder about why a candidate says something about a particular issue. I can certainly tell you that I have heard from a lot of grassroots GOP donors and activists who feel that how a candidate conducts themselves in their personal life is an important indicator of how they will perform in an office of public trust – and I agree. I will admit that it makes it more challenging for me to place my faith in a candidate and what they are telling me when they have been unfaithful to their spouse. I’m a realist — and the sobering and unfortunate fact is that over half of the marriages in the United States end up in divorce — and amazing and startlingly depressing figure. It is also the case that infidelity occurs in many of these instances.

But there is also truth to the statement that the two best times to judge someone’s character is when everyone is watching them, and when no one is watching them. I don’t pretend to know or care to know the… Read More

El Cajon Mayor Lewis Taking on Jacob?… Consultants, pollsters and pundits will tell you that San Diego County Supervisor Dianne Jacob is not only popular, but that her positive ID has been consistently high for several years. Vulnerable in ’08? Perhaps El Cajon Mayor Mark Lewis believes so. From my own Red County/San Diego post last week…

The word…is that El Cajon Mayor Mark Lewis is actively considering the prospects. I will ask Mark, via this post, to comment. I will ask the readers:

… Read More

It is all in the wrist. Temple City Councilman Dan Arrighi lost his seat on the council after losing a coin flip. Over a decade ago, there was a tie for a seat on the West Covina School Board. I tossed the coin that decided a winner until a recount changed the victor by 4 votes. I always said that close elections are the worst to lose. A lot of would have and should haves enter a candidate’s thought. To lose big, no problem. You couldn’t do anything about it! See the story here. … Read More