A Congresswoman's Covert Battle With Cancer

An amazing story from the AP about Florida Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz, the chief deputy whip in the House and a vice chair of the Democratic National Committee. Wasserman Schultz is a visible and powerful presence for House Democrats and rising star of the party. Few people, including the leadership of the House, have known of her struggle with breast cancer.

From the AP: "Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz hated relying too much on her staff, but she needed them to keep up appearances during her undercover battle against cancer. After several major surgeries, including a double mastectomy, she couldn't even carry her own papers in the Capitol. Staff even helped her look cheerful when she hosted a fundraiser for House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. 'I was hooked up to drains and I had a pain pack coming out of my chest, which I hid with clothing and ingenious staff work on a purse,' the Florida Democrat said, adding with a laugh, 'I hugged people gingerly.' She handled her cancer the way she handles her job: taking on tasks gracefully, winning respect from colleagues from both parties. But she said protecting her children - 9-year-old boy and girl twins, and another 5-year-old girl - came first. She would keep it a secret from her three children, too."

Added Wasserman Schultz: "'I just didn't want it to define me. When I'm quoted in the newspaper, I didn't want to be 'Debbie Wasserman Schultz, who's battling breast cancer.' I wanted to be viewed as a congresswoman, as a mom, as a fighter.'"

Congressman Wasserman Schultz has gone public because she has a new mission: "Educating young women about breast cancer. She filed a bill that would direct the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to start a national education program aimed at women under 40 and doctors who see them."

I Have a Confession to Make...

I'm an American Idol junkie. I can't help it. My wife and I have been watching since Season 1. My young children dig it too. So, every once in awhile, I'll be blogging about Idol.

I do have to say that I have enjoyed Season 8 more than most others the past few years. I like the changes they've made--particularly adding a 4th judge. Kara DioGuardi, an accomplished songwriter, producer, and singer in her own right, has added a new element to the show and provided some balance.

Besides penning a number of hit songs for a plethora of big name artists, DioGuardi can flat out sing. Check out her version of "Lost" which Faith Hill recorded.



Frankly, it's much better than Faith Hill's version:



DioGuardi is a shrewd move for AI. Whether it's Paula Abdul insurance or just an attempt to mix up a format that was getting stale, Idol's new addition was a smart one.

The Bridge from 44 to 10

John Tyler, one of our least well-known presidents, is one of our most consequential, if only for the precedent he set. Tyler, the 10th U.S. president, is the first vice president to ascend to the presidency because of the death of the president. As most American school children are taught, President William Henry Harrison lasted only one month in office before expiring from pneumonia and pleurisy. At the time it was unclear whether or not the vice president would then become president with the full palette of presidential powers, or simply an "acting" president who would be a placeholder until a special election were held. The Constitution was vague on this question and no similar situation had arisen previously.

Some advocated he still be called "Vice President" while others suggested he be referred to as the "Acting President." Others derisively called him "His Accidency." Tyler put these questions to bed when he took the oath of office two days after Harrison's death and insisted on being the President, not anything less. His independence led him to sharply break with his new party, the Whigs, leaving him without a party but also that universal understanding the he was the president.

Now for the really interesting part: the folks over at The American Presidents Blog have posted about a living link to President John Tyler--a grandson. The fact that Tyler would have a number of descendants roaming the earth is unsurprising--he fathered 15 children after all. However, the fact that Harrison Tyler, an 81 year old grandson who still lives in the Tyler ancestral home in Virginia, Sherwood Forest, is still alive, is truly amazing. Think about it this way: according to Who2 Editorial Blog, "John Tyler was the 10th president, and Barack Obama is the 44th, so 34 presidencies have passed between John Tyler and his grandson. For that matter, President Tyler was born in 1790, when George Washington was president... so the three Tyler generations span every single president of the United States."

CQ's Interactive 2008 Election Results Grid

CQ has produced a fascinating 2008 Election interactive grid which allows you to compare vote percentages for the presidential race with results of all U.S. House Districts.

Particularly interesting are the 34 House districts which elected or reelected Republicans while at the same time voting for Senator Barack Obama. The Ohio 12th is a perfect example of this. Republican Pat Tiberi was reelected easily to fifth term (56% to 41%) despite a 10 point margin of victory for Obama (54%-44%).

There were also a number of House districts that went to Senator John McCain which Democrats easily carried, most of them being in the South and West. The Utah 2nd is a good example of this phenomenon. Democrat Jim Matheson, first elected in 2000, easily won reelection by an almost 30 point margin (63%-35%) while McCain rolled 58% to 40%.

As Taegan Goddard at Political Wire warned, "be prepared to spend a lot of time clicking around."

Obama-McCain Dance Off

You find the craziest stuff on the Internet. This video is just plain odd, but fascinating. The election might have been a lot closer had it been decided this way...

Quinny Poll: GOP Closing Gap in Race for Voino's Senate Seat, But It's Way Too Early to Predict Anything

According to The Hill: "There’s good news and bad news for Ohio Republicans in a new Quinnipiac University poll on the state’s Senate race. The good: They’ve made up ground since last month. The bad: They still trail by a significant margin. Republicans Rob Portman and Mary Taylor both closed their deficits in the race by several points, with Portman drawing seven points closer to Lt. Gov. Lee Fisher (D) and five points closer to Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner (D), compared to early February. Still, both Portman and Taylor, the state auditor, trail in every head-to-head scenario by at least five points. Fisher leads Portman 41-33 and Taylor 41-31, while Brunner leads the former congressman 39-34 and Taylor 38-31."

Caution is needed here folks. At this point, it is far too early to tell who is going to win the race, let alone their party's primary. The undecideds are huge in this poll and there are 19+ months to go--an eternity in politics.

Clearly, Ohio Auditor of State Mary Taylor is the wild card on the GOP side. Taylor could give former Congressman, U.S. Trade Representative, and OMB Director Rob Portman a real run for the nomination. Portman is a solid candidate with serious credentials; however, his connection with the Bush administration could cause him some trouble. The big question is: does Taylor run for reelection in 2010 and perhaps run for governor in 2014 or give up a job she loves for a chance at an open senate seat? If she passes, it looks like Portman will sail to the nomination.

And on the Democratic side, as much as Lt. Governor Lee Fisher's camp would like Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner to reconsider her decision to jump into the race, Brunner's not going anywhere. Though others have trown their hat in, Brunner will be the toughest foe for Fisher. For those of you who follow Buckeye politics: buckle up, this should be a fun ride.

Obama Afflcited With March Madness

How cool is this? The Commander-in-Chief fills out an NCAA Tournament Bracket for all the world to see. Does it publicly. What would Lincoln have done? More importantly, would Lincoln have taken UNC as well, or gone for the home state Fighting Illini? Is the bracket covered under the Presidential Records Act of 1978? Does it go into the archives?

Seriously though, filling out an NCAA basketball tourney bracket is something millions of Americans do each year. For some, there is no better time in sports than that known as March Madness. I, for one, am not afflicted with the disease--basketball has never been my game (being short and shaped like a pear doesn't help). However, this President clearly enjoys sports and is determined to continue being a fan even from the cloistered Oval Office.

Most of our recent presidents have been sports fans: Nixon, Ford, the Bushes, and Clinton to name a few. Obama fits firmly in that group. What I find intriguing is that he is unapologetic about his preferences (he's an avid White Sox fan and hates the Cubbies) and enjoys the game from a lay person's perspective--he plays pick-up basketball whenever he can, and sat with the fans at a recent NBA game and enjoyed a cold one. Regardless of what your party ID is, if you like sports, you have to admit, that's pretty cool.

UPDATE: Coach Mike Krzyzewski was apparently miffed that 44 didn't pick Duke to go all the way: "Somebody said that we're not in President Obama's Final Four, and as much as I respect what he's doing, really, the economy is something that he should focus on, probably more than the brackets." President Obama didn't miss a beat in his response: "I didn't pick him to go to the finals. Look, he's a competitive guy, I just don't think they've got the inside game to go all the way." My take: Coach needs to grow a thicker skin and 44 deserves some down time and can take a few minutes out to fill out a bracket...

The Morphing of the Presidents

This is really cool. Below are a couple of videos of morphing presidents. Ain't technology grand?

UPDATE: I have added a number of presidential morphing video to this post. Enjoy.










Morphing Presidents - Watch the best video clips here

George Washington, Giggling Little Homunculus

A fascinating post over at Millard Fillmore's Bathtub illuminates a boyhood letter from George Washington to fellow Virginian Richard Henry Lee (whom he called "Dickey"), as well as a Grant Wood 1939 painting of a young George with an adult head (a homunculus).

As Ed Darrell points out, Lee and Washington were lifetime friends, and Lee went on to become a signer of the Declaration of Independence, Articles of Confederation, and President of the Continental Congress.

Darrell notes that Washington's childhood was not what you would call Norman Rockwellesque:

"Adult influences in Washington’s early life were not so good as some might imagine. His father died when he was 11. At some point he became estranged from his mother, with her repeated accusations that all her children ignored her (to Washington’s great embarrassment). Washington’s other great adult male influence was his half-brother Lawrence. George was sent to live with his Lawrence, but Lawrence died in 1752, when George was turning 20. Also, Washington got little direction from him after he went to sea with the British. By the time he was 20, Washington was a military commander in the Virginia militia, making adult decisions and living in an adult world. Where did his childhood go? What was it that enabled him to pick himself up and aspire to greatness so often, in so many different ways? What was it bent the twig of the childhood Washington, who grew into the great man the adult Washington became?"

From Throwing a Javelin to Throwing a Baseball: Two Guys From India Living the American Dream

I love this time of year. Spring is right around the corner. The weather is starting to warm. In the Midwest, we can actually venture outdoors again, take a walk in the sun, maybe even go without a coat. It's also the time for baseball to begin. Major league teams are huddling in Arizona and California and all across this great land, tens of thousands of mostly adult males are preparing for their fantasy baseball drafts.

Being one of those thousands, I came across this great article from CNNSI about two young javelin throwers from India trying to make it in professional baseball as pitchers--a first if it happens. Up until a year ago, Rinku Singh and Dinesh Patel had never played baseball or picked one up. According to the story:

"They were both training to be javelin throwers at a state-run institute in Uttar Pradesh for promising young athletes. Their game plan was simple enough: to win enough medals at national meets to draw the interest of recruiters from the Indian army. That would lead to a career in uniform, starting at the same relative economic level as a U.S. Army GI. That would bring job security -- or at least as much security as can be expected from a job that includes tours in insurgency-wracked Kashmir, where India and Pakistan have fought three wars since 1947. 'If we were in India now,' says Singh, holding his hands up as if wielding a machine gun, curling his left forefinger around an imaginary trigger, 'we'd be fighting terrorists.' (Two of his three older brothers are in the armed services.) Last winter, however, a javelin coach told them about a reality TV show in which the winner could earn big bucks by throwing a ball, hard. With their powerful shoulders, the coach reasoned, Singh and Patel might have a chance. 'We didn't know it had anything to do with baseball or America or anything like that,' says Patel. 'We agreed to compete because of the money.' The Million Dollar Arm was the brainchild of J.B. Bernstein, a sports agent based in Northern California who figured that, by the law of averages, a nation of 1.1 billion people -- most of them nuts about cricket -- must have plenty of young men capable of throwing 90 mph. More than 30,000 Indians signed up to compete across 30 cities. After three rounds of competition, Singh was declared the winner last March, with a top speed of 89 mph. That earned him $100,000 (a king's ransom in his hometown of Bhadohi), a Gatorade shower ('I thought, Why are they pouring juice over me?') and a shot at another $1 million if he could throw three consecutive strikes at 90 mph. (He could not.) Patel, who came in second with an 87-mph pitch, received $2,500, and both entrants earned a trip to L.A., where they would live and train on the USC campus for the next six months before auditioning for major league scouts."

The story gets better. The two moved to the United States where for months they trained with USC Pitching Coach Tom House, who was skeptical anything would come of this. In November of 2008, the unthinkable happened--Singh and Patel impressed a scout for the Pittsburgh Pirates enough that the team signed them to minor league deals.

Anyone who has played the game of baseball knows how truly difficult the game is. The fact that these two guys have accomplished what they have in just a few months is truly amazing. Baseball needs these kinds of inspirational stories with news seemingly breaking everyday about steroids infesting the game over the last two decades and the biggest stars being among the biggest culprits. I know that I will be rooting to see these guys on a major league mound sometime in the future.

The Secret Message in Abe's Watch

A secret message inscribed in President Abraham Lincoln's pocket watch was only recently discovered by officials at the Smithsonian Institution. By happenstance, the pocket watch was being serviced by watchmaker Jonathan Dillon when the shop owner burst in with news that the Union Army's Fort Sumter had been attacked, thus beginning the Civil War. Dillon then inscribed the following message inside the guts of the watch: "Jonathan Dillon April 13-1861. Fort Sumpter [sic] was attacked by the rebels on the above date thank God we have a government." Of course, Fort Sumter was actually attacked on April 12, but no matter--you get the point.

Rumors of the hidden message have existed for 150+ years but it was treated as more legend than fact. This artifact of history might have gone undiscovered had Doug Stiles, great-great-grandson to Dillon, not alerted Smithsonian officials to the existence of a letter from Dillon purporting the existence of the hidden message.

Presidential Paramour Portraits

Annie Kevans, a British artist, has created a portrait gallery of presidential mistresses (and in one case mister). I'm sure it's one of the most unique collections assembled regarding the U.S. presidency.

Hat Tip: Political Wire

1600 Quiz: without clicking on the photo, can you identify the woman to the left, which president she was involved with, and the name of her tell-all book.