Brooklyn Ron

Hey, Number Two Guy is Also a First -- First Catholic Veep

Joe Biden, as it turns out, will have the distinction of being the first Catholic vice president.

This comes by way of Brooklyn College Professor Paul Moses, who also wrote on Commonweal magazine's blog that Biden has had run-ins with the Bishop of Biden's hometown, Scranton, Pennsylvania.

That would be Bishop Joseph Martino.

The issue of Catholics and abortion, as reflected in this episode featuring Biden and the Bishop, has lately been low on the national radar, it seems.

Of course, by the way, there was one Catholic president, John F. Kennedy.

And before JFK here was the beloved New Yorker Al Smith, former New York governmor, who ran for president on the Democratic line in 1928 and lost to Herbert Hoover.

Hmm. Republican Hoover handed us the Depression, and it took a Democratic ex New York governor to begin undoing the mess. That was, not Smith, but Franklin Delano Roosevelt. 

For Palin, 'Diversity' Means Whites of All Creeds and Gender Preferences

The untold story, perhaps, of Sarah Palin is the way her election could change the nature and social meaning of the word "diversity," which for the past generation has largely denoted racial or ethnic balance in various environments.

Palin used the word diversity in Thursday's debate with Joe Biden, and she fairly remarkably applied it to her own family.

Let's just say that months, or even weeks, ago that would have suggested Palin might have a Latino or two, or a black or some Asians, among her blood or marriage relations.

But such an assumption with respect to Sarah Palin would be way off base. In fact, since she made her debut at the Republican Convention several weeks ago, it's almost as if the Republicans are trying to make that era of racial diversity, as a thing to achieve, a thing of the past.

The numbers of blacks in particular have been notably reduced, and there's been a relative scarcity also of Latinos, leading many bloggers to refer to the Convention scene in the Twin Cities as a "sea of white faces."

Given Palin's continual reference to Israel as American's die-hard friend in the Middle East, it might be a strain to say she's one of those exclusionary Christian fundamentalists who view Jews as damned.

And she's made a point of saying also that while she opposed gay marriage, she does have gay friends.

In fact, it was in this latter context that she used the word diversity in the debate.

Here it is. Think on it and decide whether these thoughts are true.

"I . . . want to clarify, if there's any kind of suggestion at all from my answer that I would be anything but tolerant of adults in America choosing their partners, choosing relationships that they deem best for themselves, you know, I am tolerant and I have a very diverse family and group of friends and even within that group you would see some who may not agree with me on this issue, some very dear friends who don't agree with me on this issue."

[Photos: far left, Palin; right, clockwise from top, George Bush, Joe Lieberman, Dick Cheney, Rudy Giuliani.]

An Abiding (Biden) Rule of Life: The 'Haves' Must Help The 'Have Nots'

It's a pillar of Islam, a prime virtue of Judaism and a path to ultimate success for Christians:

Helping sisters and brothers in need.

Then why is the so-called candidate of traditional values, all-too-canny McCain, belittling Joe Biden for saying the rich should be "patriotic" and pay more taxes to help the poor, especially in these difficult times.

Here's what Biden, Barack Obama's strongest link to working-class white America, said:

"It's time to be patriotic . . . time to jump in, time to be part of the deal, time to help get America out of the rut."

Seems to us that this is precisely what right-minded (okay, left- or middle-minded) Americans ought to be thinking, as we sink into months and (who knows?) perhaps years of loss of income and expectation, and as (following Bush and Cheney's world view) the rich get richer and the poor get poorer.

Here in Brooklyn, where we are steps away from joining the ranks of other distressed localities across the country, more and more residents will be debating this question of the moral obligations of the rich in times of economic distress.

Those in-the-know in Brooklyn are bracing for more fallout from the mortgage and Wall Street crises that, yes -- we understand -- are effectively one and the same crisis.

And yet cold and calculating Republicans, whose values and conduct are a far cry from those of Abraham Lincoln and Teddy Roosevelt, are saying that charitable instincts are un-American and even stupid.

McCain said in response to Biden's call for patriotic charity from better-off Americans:

"Raising taxes in a tough economy isn't patriotic," McCain said. "It's not a badge of honor. It's just plain dumb. . . . I'm not going to let that happen."

Well, we see that the lines of division in this race are clearly drawn.

[Photo is by Mark Duncan of AP.]

Is Biden Blowing It?

Joe Biden's comment saying Hillary Clinton might have been a better pick for Vice Presidential candidate is pretty bizarre.

But then again his performance from the very beginning has made some wonder whether his heart has really been in this partnership with Barack Obama.

After all, what about the possibility -- assuming Biden's bond with Hillary Clinton is as strong as he says -- that he's intentionally blowing as many baskets as he can in this game?

All the better to assure that Obama loses and that Clinton will be able to run for the Democratic nod again in 2010.

Hmmm. The stuff of novels and tele dramas?

Or not?

(Anyway. See the story about Biden's comment.)

Palin Pales on Paper: She and McCain Weren't Exactly Studious

[The following comes via the list serv of a cousin:]

Let's look at the educational backgrounds of our two options:

Sarah Palin [photo]:
--Hawaii Pacific University - 1 semester
--North Idaho College - 2 semesters - general study
--University of Idaho - 2 semesters - journalism
--Matanuska-Susitna College - 1 semester
--University of Idaho - 3 semesters - B.A. in journalism

and partner John McCain:
--United States Naval Academy - Class rank, 894 of 899

Versus

Joe Biden:
--University of Delaware - B.A. in history and B.A. in political science.
--Syracuse University College of Law - Juris Doctor (J.D.)

and partner Barack Obama:

--Occidental College - Two years.
--Columbia University - B.A. political science with a specialization in international relations.
--Harvard - Juris Doctor (J.D.) Magna Cum Laude

Brooklynites Happy About Biden, But Wonder if Clintons Will Try to Sabotage

It is indeed a very joyful time for a true narcissist, even one who's officially listed as a loser, such as New York's junior Senator Hillary Clinton.

For, as Democrats rejoice over Barack Obama's selection of Joe Biden as a running mate, they express concern over Hillary and Bill Clintons' signals that they may indeed toss monkey wrenches into Obama's machine, next week and beyond.

It has already been noted how Hillary Clinton, in a slip or otherwise, has referred to her supposed candidate Barack as "my opponent," and it has been remarked upon that her facial expressions do not reveal the enthusiasm that any seasoned politician should be able to show, even when there is a certain effort in the doing.

And Bill, of course, has gone on record saying he thinks both Obama and John McCain would both do fine jobs on the environment.

One almost imagines McCain and Bill Clinton meeting in hush-hush places and telling off- or on-color jokes about Barack, and boldly agreeing that any objection by said Barack would be met with an accusation of playing the race card.

The question that lingers for many Brooklynites for Barack (and their number is legion) is: whether the local officials, especially the black ones, who backed Hillary Clinton so faithfully are expressing concerns about these things, to each other or in their evening prayers.