Meet the Next President

Rudy Giuliani was never going to get my vote for president, but he has affirmed that with his treatment of a Green Bay Packer fan. Click here to view a video take on Monday in Punta Gorda, Florida. At a meet and greet, Giuliani was signing tons of autographs, but when a Packer fan approached and asked him to sign a Packers cap, Giuliani said it was bad luck and turned him down. He then immediately signed a Giants cap. For those who aren't rabid Packer fans, the Pack plans against the Giants in the NFC championship game on Friday here in Green Bay. I can see being loyal to your team, but Rudy isn't a senator or mayor from New York anymore. He wants to represent the whole country. By turning down a Packer fan, I think he shows that he doesn't quite have his head in the national game yet, because he's still defending his home turf. There are Packer fans across the entire country, I don't think the Giants can say the same. The Packers have a certain nostalgia and affection from many who live outside of Wisconsin. There's something special about a team that's owned by a town, and not just any town, but the smallest town to host a national football team. So while I usually don't encourage people to vote one way or another, in this case, if you are a Packer fan, don't vote for Giuliani; show him that respect goes two ways. If he doesn't respect the Pack now, how is he going to respect Wisconsin when he's in office? :)

Meet the Next President by Bill Sammon is a brief guide to the candidates with biographies and stands on major issues. The book covers Mitt Romney, John McCain, Rudy Giuliani, Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama, Fred Thompson, Bill Richardson, and John Edwards in detail. I was a little disappointed in the coverage; this was not the book I expected. Maybe it's asking too much in this age where every reporter has a bias, but I was hoping for objective, thorough coverage of each candidate. I didn't really notice the bias until reading the bio of Hillary. Then I flipped to the back flap and noticed that Sammon works for FoxNews. Ok, that explains it. While I'm no fan of Hillary's, his bio seemed determined to focus on the most negative aspects of her life. Romney's flip-flopping is accentuated, as is Hillary's shrillness, Obama's unusual upbringing, and Edward's legal antics. That said, I did learn a great deal about each candidate profiled, but I feel that perhaps Sammon released his book too soon. Richardson is already out of the race, Thompson has yet to show, and "dark horse" Mike Huckabee only merits 3 pages. This book is a good start to the research needed to make the right choice in the voting booth, but it's too incomplete and biased to give the whole story.

Jake's appointment yesterday was a non-starter. He won't be getting the surgery. Mom and Jeff got a bad feeling from the doctor and his staff, and Jake was frightened by all of the possible side effects of surgery (paralyzation, death!). Instead, he'll be getting Botox injections in Green Bay, once they find a doctor who does them. It's a disappointment that such a great cure isn't on hand, but it was worrying with the ITP.

Grandma's surgery yesterday was successful, but she's going to have to go the nursing home for physical therapy for 6-8 weeks. That's going to be very hard on her; she's fiercely independent. Hopefully they'll let her watch the game in her room on Saturday so she can watch her "guy" A.J. Hawk. At home she'd be wearing his jersey and perking up every time he appeared on the screen.