Speaker of the House John Boehner meets with Pope Francis during the Pontiff’s historic visit last week to the U.S. Congress.  Uncon- firmed Capitol Hill rumor has it that Boehner’s stunning resignation is somehow connected to his part in inviting Francis to address Con- gress, where the Pope expressed criticism of politicians’ inability to get along and work together to help people for the good of all.

BOEHNER JOINS RAWLINGS-BLAKE IN WALKING
AWAY FROM THE NEGATIVE STACK-MODE FRAY
AS GOP FIELD GROWS MORE UNPRESIDENTIAL

DOES ANYONE LOOK ‘PRESIDENTIAL’?
 
By David Maril
 
While wondering what the decibel level will be from the howling of GOP Tea Party zealots when outgoing Speaker of the House John Boehner strikes a funding deal, with support from Democrats, to temporarily avoid a government shutdown and continue to fund Planned Parenthood, it’s interesting to note the following:

 Boehner’s resignation, less than a month after Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake announced she would not seek reelection, makes you wonder if the mean-spirited and ruthless nature of politics is driving decent people out of elected public service. Is there still room for elected officials with etiquette and class?

Whether you agree or disagree with the political positions of people like Boehner, a conservative — or Rawlings-Blake, a liberal — you have to respect them as elected officials who demonstrate respect for the offices they hold.

In my opinion, the fear of losing is not driving either of the two out of their offices.

Even though she hadn’t begun focusing on fundraising for reelection, Rawlings-Blake had an organized support group. Most importantly, the growing number of opposition candidates trying to defeat her would have divided up the anti-incumbent vote, making it nearly impossible to defeat her.

Boehner did face plenty of opposition from the irrational right-wing Tea Party
zealots who don’t understand, or care, that getting things done requires diplomacy and negotiating with people who have different points of view.

Still, he had enough backing from traditional, mainstream Republicans to survive. And if needed, he could have gotten support from Democrats crossing over to pass rational legislation.

But both Boehner and Rawlings-Blake obviously grew disheartened with the bitterness, character assassination and personal nature of the attacks from their critics and opponents.

After a while, any well-intentioned and conscientious person has to grow
weary of all this, no matter how thick-skinned they may try to be.

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A VOICE of BALTIMORE POLITICAL COMMENTARY

 

JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon told “Meet the Press” on Sunday that simply having been a CEO is “not sufficient” to make a candidate an effective
President.  Dimon also declined to say whether he would support Hillary Clinton again as he did in
2008 when she ran against Barack Obama, or even if he thought she would make a good President.

THE ELECTORATE APPEARS POISED
TO ACCEPT A WOMAN PRESIDENT—
BUT WHICH WOMAN MIGHT IT BE?

Bill Clinton without the charm

THE DONALD AND THE DOCTOR:
RIGHT MESSAGE, WRONG MESSENGER
 
By Alan Z. Forman
 
An American woman President is an idea whose time has come.

But only two are actually “running”:  a front-runner and an also-ran.

There is also an unmistakable national appetite for a political “outsider”:  Is Donald Trump the man?

Or possibly Ben Carson?  Can a pediatric neuro- surgeon new to politics become the leader of the Free World?

Voice of Baltimore believes that none of the current front-runners (or also-rans) is suited or well-
qualified for the job.

Though their message may be right, the messengers are wrong.

Hillary Rodham Clinton proves it every day:  She can’t be trusted, can’t seem to tell the truth, can’t even come clean with her own supporters, those who love her most.

What’s the point of denying, obfuscating and stonewalling with regard to a bunch of stupid personal emails? She should have reserved the negativity for all those classified messages she illegally sent using her private server when she was Secretary of State.

“The truth” to Hillary is whatever she tells the country to believe it is.

Not only that, she seems remarkably incapable of getting her campaign act together. Her political machine, more than a decade in the making, repeatedly falters and stumbles as if being run by amateurs.

Do we want a woman President who acts and thinks like that? (Or a man either?)

Or Carly Fiorina?  Despite her celebrated performance in the first two GOP debates the former Cara Carleton Sneed is still at bottom-line a failed corporate executive and senatorial loser.

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When Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake’s five- year term ends late next year it will be the first time in more than 20 years (since Dec. 1995) that she will not hold public office.  She will however retain her position
as President of the United States Conference of Mayors and Secretary for the Democratic National Convention. [Photo/Essence magazine (Mark Makela/Getty Images)]

DESERVES PRAISE FOR RESTORING
TRUST AND ETHICS TO OFFICE
OF BALTIMORE’S MAYOR

By walking away, can now deal
with difficult and dangerous
challenges city faces

WOULD HAVE BEEN REELECTED
 
By David Maril
 
The rather startling announcement by Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake that she will not seek reelection is drawing heavy analysis and intense speculation as to why she has withdrawn from next year’s election campaign.

Joe Cluster, the Executive Director of the Maryland Republican Party, was quoted in the Baltimore Sun September 11th as saying, “I guess she realized her mismanagement of the city in the past several months made her un-electable.”

I would disagree strongly with that classless, cheap shot, partisan remark:  Even with a drop in popularity, if the Mayor decided to run, she would have remained unbeatable.

In Baltimore, and most other major cities, it is extremely difficult to defeat an incumbent mayor who has a well-financed organization in place.

Making it even harder in Baltimore is the fact the city’s primary-election system doesn’t require a candidate to achieve at least a total of over 50 percent of the votes to win.

The victor, in an election with several or more candidates, is simply determined by who gets the most votes.

There are no runoffs.

So if five or six people run, someone could conceivably win with just 30 percent of the votes.

The field for the upcoming mayoral election figures to have a large number of well-known local political figures running.

Sheila Dixon, Rawling-Blake’s predecessor, who had to resign in disgrace five years ago because of scandal, has already announced she is running.

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Why has Ravens Coach John Harbaugh been so uptight and con- frontational, even rude, all through the 2015 football preseason?

‘DEFLATEGATE’ PROVIDES NFL
WITH WALL OF DISTRACTION
TO PUT OFF DEALING WITH
MORE SERIOUS PROBLEMS

Ravens’ Harbaugh under pressure

O’Malley passes on Mandel’s funeral,
seems even more detached from Md.
as he continues virtually unnoticed
campaign for the presidency

BEN CARDIN PLAYS IT SAFE
 
By David Maril
 
While wondering why Ravens coach John Harbaugh has been so uptight and confrontational during the preseason, it’s interesting to note the following:

 You have to wonder whether Harbaugh, despite directing a team that has only missed postseason action once since the 2007 season, is feeling pressure that his job may be on the line if the Ravens don’t have a banner season and go deep into the playoffs.

His rude, on-air treatment of a Raven’s TV sideline reporter is a mystery.

No doubt the team was less than thrilled with the ruling by a federal judge that tosses out the four-game suspension of star Patriots quarterback Tom Brady.

New England, which knocked the Ravens out of the playoffs last year, is not a favorite rival of the Ravens or the team’s fans.

 It’s important to recognize that Brady was not cleared of charges that he participated in or was aware of tampering with game footballs, reducing air pressure, to gain a better grip for passing purposes.

What the judge did was sack NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell’s clumsy, over-the-top and unfair hearing process of determining a punishment for Brady.

In comparison to the inconsistent and sometimes overly lenient way the NFL deals with punishments related to domestic violence and other serious offenses with players, Brady deserved, at the most, a fine, not a four-game suspension.

Goodell’s inept and out of touch judgment in dealing with these types of matters is a reminder that modern-day commissioners in all the major professional sports are nothing more than portfolio managers for the owners they serve.

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  Dirt bikes as they’re meant to be ridden — on dirt, on a track.

TRUMP WILL LOSE GOP LEAD
ONCE THE CANDIDATES WHO
HAVE NO CHANCE DROP OUT

If he runs as an Independent
he should pick Curt Schilling
to be his VP running mate

DUQUETTE’S ‘LEADERSHIP’ SINKS O’S

Dirt bikes on the loose
 
By David Maril
 
While wondering if we can expect a rash of camel riding or bumper-car racing to join the already established dirt-bike acrobatics and horseback excursions for Baltimore’s illegal Sunday night entertainment package, it’s interesting to note the following:

 The proposal being pitched for the city to build a dirt-bike track is an interesting idea, but first, some research should be done to see if the movie “Field of Dreams” theory “If you build it they will come” holds up in this case.

And if the bikers agree to use the track, it would be wise to make it a versatile enough facility to also be used for other activities that benefit youth in the city.

 One certainty, while the weekly dirt-bike spectacle is not unique to Baltimore, it doesn’t help the perception that the Mayor’s Office and Police Department hierarchy have diminished influence in the leadership department, or erase doubts over their effectiveness and ability to get things done.

 Boston, which withdrew from bidding on the 2024 Olympics, should be congratulated for fighting off the pressure coming from political hacks on the take, and so called “civic leaders” who had vested interests in construction at stake.

Common sense prevailed and the disruptive project, riddled with huge hidden-cost overruns, was rejected by the Governor.

The late baseball visionary, Branch Rickey, who helped integrate the National Pastime, would have called this decision “addition by subtraction.”

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