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Sept 16, 2003 Back home again in Indiana. I wonder sometimes what the rest of the country thinks of Indiana. The Indianapolis 500? Larry Bird? Notre Dame? I do not think there is a man or woman on this green earth who can prove to me that they know what “Hoosier” really means. For much of the country Indiana is just a patch of land somewhere between Chicago and the East Coast where they figure there must be cornfields stretching as far as the eye can see. There are some remarkable aspects of Indiana, though, and one of them is our political climate. Other than an old-fashioned Democratic machine culling votes from the dead and the imaginary in the East Chicago area, the typical Indiana pol is a conservative liberal or a moderate conservative. One remarkable politician is our current governor, Frank O’Bannon. He is a Democrat that Republicans and Dems alike often call “Grandfatherly” or “Impossible not to like” or “Someone who does not put on airs.” A description of him from The Times newspaper out of Hammond: “He is smart without being brilliant, clever without being cunning, pragmatic without being ruthless.” Frank O’Bannon, 73, is in critical condition following a stroke he suffered Monday morning while attending a conference in Chicago. There are signs he may recover to some extent, but it is unlikely that he will be able to resume his post. When politicians throughout the state learned of his illness, they uniformly praised the man and mourned his plight. Can you imagine that happening in California? We Hoosiers, whatever that means, are going to miss having such a man in public office. Frank O’Bannon was a statesman and they don’t make many of them any longer. BEAR DOWN AND DOWN The Chicago Bears looked pitifully bad against the 49’ers. The “Run and Shoop” offense is just not going to consistently work with Kordell Stewart at quarterback. Sometimes I think he couldn’t make a hot read if his newspaper was on fire! Kordell would be better off with a team that likes to go vertical more often and schemes to take advantage of his running skills. The Bear’s offensive line is in shambles and they do not have one running back that scares opponents. Look for Dick Jauron to be in danger of losing his job by mid season, with perhaps someone like Greg Blache, the Defensive Coordinator, taking over as interim coach while the team mulls over trying to nab a “name” coach like Bob Stoops of Oklahoma. WHAT A KICK! Oddly, the kicker who scored the winning points for Notre Dame in their dramatic win over Washington State last week, Nick Setta, is the first kicker to both placekick and punt for the Irish since Craig Hentrich (1989-1993) pulled double duty. So then comes Sunday and Hentrich, now relegated to punting duties only as a pro, has to fill in as the kicker when his Tennessee Titans teammate Joe Nedney went down with a knee injury. With a wide receiver as holder, Craig kicked three field goals in three attempts, including a 49 yarder, to provide the winning margin in the Titans 25-20 win over the Raiders. MIRACLE? With the coming of the second anniversary of the Twin Tower’s 9/11 tragedy, isn’t anyone amazed that there has been no recurrence? The Democrats harp on the growth of the Federal Government under George Bush, but then again we did not need a Department of Homeland Security in the past. Listen up, Donkey Boys! If Bill and Hilary hadn’t systematically disabled the FBI and CIA and related agency over the years of their administration there is a chance 9/11 would not have happened. Now President Bush has worked hard and his administration has worked hard to prevent another such terrorist attack. If you don’t think the terrorists have tried several times to bring another such horror to our land, I have some .com stock I want to sell you! Some of us pray to keep our country safe. Many Americans have given their lives for our sakes, both here and abroad. My oldest son is one of many serving in the Armed Forces today and I am proud of him. Many liberals cry about the Iraq situation and the Afghanistan situation and our relationship with Israel, apparently unable to see that our efforts and alliances in that region have thwarted terrorist actions here in the USA. By the way, Yasser Arafat is a friend to terror and much of the Palestinian leadership is simply a terrorist organization. 9/11 gave our country a taste of what Israel has dealt with for decades. We must not abandon our friend and ally in the Middle East! I’LL DRIVE Arnold Schwarzenegger’s candidacy began as fun for some of us, imagining him telling Gray Davis, “You’re Fired” and other hilarious uses of some of his signature movie lines. But I have to admit that, after his interview on Bill O’Reilly’s Factor show, he has a chance to actually win. I hate to admit it, but he has me believing he really is in it for more that fame and power. Hey, the guy has all the fame he needs already and he sure isn’t going broke anytime soon. He sounds a bit naïve, but then again if he really does what he says then politics as usual are dead in California. No wonder all these special interests are pouring money into the campaign troughs of Bustamante and Davis. DEPP-PRIVATION Johnny Depp can say what he wants about the USA and frankly it doesn’t mean a big lot to you or me. He lives in France now and it seems like a fitting habitat for him. My take on his latest stupid remarks is simply disgust that he later tried the old “misquoted and/or out of context” scam. Hey, Johnny, be a man and have the courage of your convictions! Or has courage been outlawed in France? NO-FLY ZONE Andy Reid is a well-respected coach around the NFL with good reason. He is a fine coach who is loved by his players and who wins lots of games. Too bad John Gruden of Tampa Bay thoroughly out-coached him on Monday night. Going for a touchdown on a fake field goal attempt early in the game was an opportunity to lose momentum. The attempt featured a second- string QB throwing to a third-string tight end. Eagles fail, the Bucs are pumped up and Philly winds up being shut out. You think maybe Donovan McNabb should have been looking to run a little bit before the last half of the fourth quarter, just maybe? Meanwhile, Gruden’s game plan was to carefully try to work downfield on the Eagles and never try to do too much. Brad Johnson found the hot receiver almost any time he was blitzed or tossed the ball away. Tampa Bay mixed run and pass well and 6’5” receiver Joe Jurevicius made two of the best touchdown catches we will see all year to keep the Eagles grounded. 17-0! OLD SOLDIERS NEVER DIE But they often love to run for President of the United States. Oh, the jubilation amongst Clintonites as Retired Army Gen. Wesley Clark stuck his toe in the waters of candidacy. Isn’t this the same guy who was complaining that the White House cost him his TV gig? Man, that Vast Right-Wing Conspiracy sure is busy! Howard Dean is worried, because while he has the votes of much of the Democratic lunatic fringe, he also wanted the Clinton gang on his side and Clark would foil those plans. John “F” Kerry is worried because Clark can trump his war hero card. Dick Gephardt has played both sides of his album and there is nothing left. Joe Liebermann doesn’t excite anybody and the rest are apparently along for the ride. 2 MINUTE WARNING Tampa Bay’s Keyshawn Johnson is a loud mouth and a hot dog, but I admire him when he makes the tough catches over the middle, gets hammered and then goes out and does it again. The man really IS about winning first! Bob Graham is a living example of alligator mouth and butterfly, uhm, butt. I still say that little Georgie Bush would have punched little Bobby in the nose if politics was a playground. But then, little Bobby would have kept his yap shut if he had to cover for it. Once you have been around the block a few times, you find out that relationships really do have a lot more value than money. Don’t burn too many bridges or you will find yourself on a desert island! The clock says 00:00 ------------ About the author: Kimbal Ross Binder is a husband of one wife and parent of six child units of various sizes. He is a tennis bum, karaoke singer, punster and a reformed liberal who now admires Rush Limbaugh and hates to miss Fox News in the evening. You can pass along plaudits and invectives to: radar@eternalisp.com Comment on this column in the forum. ------------ |
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