Politics and Drinking; Unrelated?
We're about two years from the next presidential primary and I don't know how many of these are trial balloons, how much could be called groundwork, or if the political writers are simply getting bored. We're already seeing asides that Mr Bush could benefit from a Democratic House, they are still in the whisper phase, but in this one instance, it leads right into the sentence; "I don't know whether any hope remains to save the House GOP."
There isn't a lot the President can do, as E.J. Dionne detailed in a recent column; Conservative activists are suggesting that Mr Bush take a hard right turn to solidify his base and in an effort to boost his poll numbers, but though he's down a little with the right, his numbers are still decent and his real problem is with moderate independents. A recent Pew survey shows that his support has dropped from 48% to 22% among members of this group, since January of last year.
Obviously, the more moderate members of his party, many of whom are in highly contested races are praying and braying that the President doesn't do anything to alienate these swing voters. For, while Tip O'Neill used to say that "all politics are local", we must also keep in mind those incessant bumper-stickers the boomers plastered onto their Volvos, as many of them abandoned their beliefs to become yuppies; "Think globally, act locally". If the political strategists keep this mantra in the back of their minds, they should be able to reshape the current congressional election into a referendum on Mr Bush. I'm sure moderate Republicans have also been coming to this conclusion and they really wouldn't want the President to muck them up.
So, I'm going to say that political writers are probably bored and they're really looking forward to the next election, so that's why we're getting analysis of Hillary Clinton's marriage, with articles which contains gems like the following;
Since the start of 2005, the Clintons have been together about 14 days a month on average, according to aides who reviewed the couple's schedules. Sometimes it is a full day of relaxing at home in Chappaqua; sometimes it is meeting up late at night. At their busiest, they saw each other on a single day, Valentine's Day, in February 2005 - a month when each was traveling a great deal. Last August, they saw each other at some point on 24 out of 31 days. Out of the last 73 weekends, they spent 51 together. The aides declined to provide the Clintons' private schedule.
And, we're learning that Al Gore owns a "ton of Google" stock, so he could seed his own bid for the nomination and we get what I'm sure was supposed to be a hype piece for his movie, but is mostly a lot of words about the potential of his candidacy and how moderate Democrats think he may be able to stop Hillary.
Of course like the political writers, I'm also sort of bored with this cycle and things won't really heat up until closer to the election and then, they may not get hot until the Presidential fields form. So after reading about Mr Gore, I followed a link to an unrelated story.
It seems that since 2002, the average price of an alcoholic drink in a New York bar has gone from $6.92 to $8.83, but people are still only tipping a dollar and the bartenders aren't happy. If you apply the same rate of inflation to tips that has occurred with drinks, the average tip should be up to $1.28. I haven't been to many bars since moving to New Mexico, but when I've lived in places with a wider variety and a more active scene; I'd say that I'd usually pay $3.50 for a call brand and I'd always leave the 50¢ as the tip, plus I'd make a show of adding an occasional dollar to the jar.
Back in college, there was one place where I'd always start my nights and they'd do highballs with house liquor for $1.25. When another place matched them on price and because they really didn't have any ambiance, it was mostly a place to get a cheap start on drinking, they tried dropping the price to an even dollar. But, according to a barmaid that I'd sometimes take home, tips dropped off considerably because people were reluctant to leave a 100% tip and no one carried change. So, the help forced management to up the price to where it had been for years. To make up for the drop in business, they boosted the cover to their disco upstairs.
There isn't a lot the President can do, as E.J. Dionne detailed in a recent column; Conservative activists are suggesting that Mr Bush take a hard right turn to solidify his base and in an effort to boost his poll numbers, but though he's down a little with the right, his numbers are still decent and his real problem is with moderate independents. A recent Pew survey shows that his support has dropped from 48% to 22% among members of this group, since January of last year.
Obviously, the more moderate members of his party, many of whom are in highly contested races are praying and braying that the President doesn't do anything to alienate these swing voters. For, while Tip O'Neill used to say that "all politics are local", we must also keep in mind those incessant bumper-stickers the boomers plastered onto their Volvos, as many of them abandoned their beliefs to become yuppies; "Think globally, act locally". If the political strategists keep this mantra in the back of their minds, they should be able to reshape the current congressional election into a referendum on Mr Bush. I'm sure moderate Republicans have also been coming to this conclusion and they really wouldn't want the President to muck them up.
So, I'm going to say that political writers are probably bored and they're really looking forward to the next election, so that's why we're getting analysis of Hillary Clinton's marriage, with articles which contains gems like the following;
Since the start of 2005, the Clintons have been together about 14 days a month on average, according to aides who reviewed the couple's schedules. Sometimes it is a full day of relaxing at home in Chappaqua; sometimes it is meeting up late at night. At their busiest, they saw each other on a single day, Valentine's Day, in February 2005 - a month when each was traveling a great deal. Last August, they saw each other at some point on 24 out of 31 days. Out of the last 73 weekends, they spent 51 together. The aides declined to provide the Clintons' private schedule.
And, we're learning that Al Gore owns a "ton of Google" stock, so he could seed his own bid for the nomination and we get what I'm sure was supposed to be a hype piece for his movie, but is mostly a lot of words about the potential of his candidacy and how moderate Democrats think he may be able to stop Hillary.
Of course like the political writers, I'm also sort of bored with this cycle and things won't really heat up until closer to the election and then, they may not get hot until the Presidential fields form. So after reading about Mr Gore, I followed a link to an unrelated story.
It seems that since 2002, the average price of an alcoholic drink in a New York bar has gone from $6.92 to $8.83, but people are still only tipping a dollar and the bartenders aren't happy. If you apply the same rate of inflation to tips that has occurred with drinks, the average tip should be up to $1.28. I haven't been to many bars since moving to New Mexico, but when I've lived in places with a wider variety and a more active scene; I'd say that I'd usually pay $3.50 for a call brand and I'd always leave the 50¢ as the tip, plus I'd make a show of adding an occasional dollar to the jar.
Back in college, there was one place where I'd always start my nights and they'd do highballs with house liquor for $1.25. When another place matched them on price and because they really didn't have any ambiance, it was mostly a place to get a cheap start on drinking, they tried dropping the price to an even dollar. But, according to a barmaid that I'd sometimes take home, tips dropped off considerably because people were reluctant to leave a 100% tip and no one carried change. So, the help forced management to up the price to where it had been for years. To make up for the drop in business, they boosted the cover to their disco upstairs.