EDWARDS DROPS OUT

John Edwards went back to New Orleans yesterday to announce that he was dropping out of the race for the Democratic nomination. We think he was a worthy contender, and he would have been an outstanding president. More than any of the other front-rank candidates, he represented the average American. He has not announced his support for any other candidate.

Some people might think we’re sucking up to the former North Carolina senator so he will throw his support to Democratic candidate Carl Perrin. That is not the case. Even though Perrin works for the same constituency as Edwards, the working men and women, the former English professor does not expect any quid pro quo from Edwards.

Nevertheless, if Edwards and Perrin worked together, you have to admit—they would have made a great team.

PERRIN LOSES IN FLORIDA

Democratic candidate Carl Perrin was shocked when he didn’t pick up any votes in Florida, not even in Palm Beach County, where he lived just a couple of years ago. The Clinton machine beat him into the dust. Perrin takes some satisfaction from knowing Clinton’s Florida victory is merely symbolic, since Florida delegates are not going to be seated at the Democratic convention next summer.

Perrin may be down, but he is not out. He is looking forward to the big sweep of primaries next Tuesday. Because of the vast left/right wing conspiracy, Perrin will not appear on the ballot in any of these primaries. So if you want to vote for Perrin, you will have to write his name on the ballot. Our candidate doesn’t see any problem with that. He knows a lot of people in a lot of these upcoming primary states, and he is sure that tons of them are going to write his name in.

Perrin is confident because he knows he has an appeal that none of the other Democrats have. He appeals to seniors. There is a good chance that the Republican candidate will be a septuagenarian. Of the front-running Democrats, the oldest is Hillary Clinton, and she’s just sixty. Someone that young is not old enough or experienced enough to lead the country. The Democratic party needs another septuagenarian to run against John McCain. Who could be better than 77-year-old Dr Carl Perrin?

KENNEDYS ENDORSE OBAMA

Senator Ted Kennedy, along with his son, Congressman Patrick J. Kennedy, and niece Caroline Kennedy have endorsed the candidacy of Barack Obama. Both Senator Kennedy and Caroline Kennedy compared the Illinois senator to the late Jack Kennedy, who had to overcome prejudice against his relative youth and his Catholicism.

The Massachusetts senator said of Obama, “He will be a president who refuses to be trapped in the patterns of the past. He is a leader who sees the world clearly without being cynical. He is a fighter who cares passionately about the causes he believes in without demonizing those who hold a different view.”

Kennedy went on to say, “With Barack Obama, there is a new national leader who has given America a different kind of campaign, not just about himself, but about all of us. A campaign about the country we will become, if we can rise above the old politics that parses us into separate groups and puts us at odds with one another.”

We have to agree with Senator Kennedy, but we must add that you don’t have to be young to bring a new face to politics. Democrat Dr. Carl Perrin is older than any other candidate, yet he brings a new style to campaigning. Who else is running for the highest office without spending a dime on advertising or any of that stuff? Who else is staying above mud slinging? You don’t hear Perrin quoting Bill Clinton: “I did not have sex with that woman, Miss Lewinsky”? You don’t hear Perrin bringing up that kind of stuff. You don’t hear Perrin making promises that he won’t be able to fulfill: “I will spend $20 billion [of your money] to revive the American auto industry.”

Perrin makes just one promise: that he will make sure that cheap beer remains available to American working men and women. Cheap beer is dear to Perrin’s heart and stomach, and you can be sure that he will follow through on that promise.

PERRIN CONGRATULATES OBAMA

Democratic candidate Dr. Carl Perrin sent his congratulations to Barack Obama on his victory in the South Carolina primary. It was a tough fight for the Illinois senator because he was catching flack from both Clintons. Unfortunately for Mrs. Clinton, her husband’s campaigning may have helped Barack more than it helped Hillary.

The former president compared Obama to Jesse Jackson, who is not popular among many whites. Many people saw the comparison as invalid and a gratuitous introduction of race into the campaign. Many people in South Carolina and elsewhere saw Clinton’s comments as unfair. A lot of people voted for Obama because they thought Bill Clinton was misrepresenting Obama. Even people in the Clinton campaign feel that Bill did more harm than good. They want to rein him in and make him take a more positive approach to his future campaigning.

Not only did the Clinton campaign lose votes in South Carolina because of the former president, but the effect of his negative campaigning has been felt elsewhere. Over the weekend Caroline Kennedy endorsed Obama, saying that he had the same kind of appeal that her father had. Caroline was not the only Kennedy to endorse Obama. Ted Kennedy, a friend of the Clintons, is expected to endorse the Illinois senator today.

While Perrin didn’t pick up any votes in South Carolina, he is hoping at least to make a showing in Florida tomorrow, thanks to his friends in West Palm Beach. Of course even a victory in Florida would be only symbolic. The Democratic National Committee is not going to seat Florida delegates at the national convention because they violated the rules by moving their primary up ahead without the sanction of the national committee.

SOUTH CAROLINA PRIMARY

Today Democrats go to the primaries to vote for their choice for the presidency. Most of the battle has been between Obama and the Clintons, and that battle has been getting nasty. John Edwards, who was born in the state, has been a distant third in the polls. Some people are wondering if he will be able to remain in the race if he gets badly beaten in the state where he was born. Dennis Kucinich has dropped out of the race, so that puts Carl Perrin in fourth place. Perrin had hopes of doing well in the Palmetto State because he was stationed in the “Dixie” Division at Fort Jackson, SC, during the Korean War. Unfortunately, politics in that state is really dirty. A whispering campaign about Perrin says that his service in the “Dixie” Division at Fort Jackson is nothing. Perrin’s enemies in the state say he is and always was a liberal Yankee. Perrin realizes that without financial resources, he is not going to be able to fight that whispering campaign. He is depending on doing well in the Florida next Tuesday. He knows lot of people in West Palm. That should help.

Meanwhile, on the Republican side, The New York Times endorsed John McCain yesterday. They weren’t enthusiastic about the Arizona senator, but he seemed so much better than his rivals. The paper called former New York City mayor Rudy Giuliani, “a narrow, obsessively secretive, vindictive man.” Of Mitt Romney, they said, “It is hard to find an issue on which he has not repositioned himself to the right…” The paper said that when Huckabee put religion into the campaign, he “disqualified himself for the Oval Office.”

The problem that the Republicans have in this campaign is that the party is made up of three groups: Business, conservative social values, and national defense. These groups have different interests. Romney appeals to the business group, but a lot of Republicans don't trust him. Huckabee appeals to the conservative social values people, but Wall Street can't stand him. Giuliani is the national defense guy, but conservative social values people don't like him. None of these men has much appeal for Independents. McCain is the only hope the Republicans have, and McCain wants to continue George Bush’s ruinous policies in taxation and national defense.

HILLARY GETS NY TIMES ENDORSEMENT

Today’s New York Times endorsed Hillary Clinton for the Democratic nomination. The Times was enticed by Obama’s potential but felt that his promise was still amorphous while Mrs. Clinton has proven her leadership qualities in national security as well as in the domestic area.

The editorial stated that they have enjoyed John Edwards’ fiery oratory, but he has repudiated so many of his former positions that they don’t know where he stands.

Dennis Kucinich, in the meantime, finally showed some good sense by dropping out of the race, which he could not hope to win.

The Times didn’t even mention Democratic candidate Dr. Carl Perrin, who is still in the race. Though the New York Times ignored Perrin, Leisure Times endorsed him:

LEISURE TIMES ENDORSES PERRIN
Because of his service to humanity, his outstanding accomplishments, and his good looks, this newspaper endorses the candidacy of Dr. Carl Perrin. Perrin is the only candidate, Democrat or Republican, who promises to keep beer affordable for the average American.

Perrin is also the only candidate who placed a paid political advertisement in this paper. In the upcoming primaries and caucuses in your state, we urge to vote for Dr. Carl Perrin.

DON’T WRESTLE WITH A PIG

Why doesn’t anyone like Mitt Romney? Is it his attack ads? His pandering? His empty promises? His flip flopping? Who knows? No one is perfect.

Huckabee’s campaign manager, Ed Rollins, confessed that he would like to knock Romney’s teeth out. Huckabee’s staff didn’t think it was sporting that Romney didn’t bother to congratulate the former Arkansas governor when he won in Iowa. Something like that should not be enough to make one knock Romney’s teeth. It is rather the facts that he has enough money to buy ads that distort his opponents’ positions, he is willing to make empty promises to buy votes, he changes his positions to suit his audience. Some people see him as an empty suit, a man with no real convictions, a man who is willing to win at all costs.

John McCain said it best. When asked about Romney, he answered, “Never get into a wrestling match with a pig. You both get dirty, and the pig likes it.”