While eating my cornflakes last Friday morning before leaving for work, the folks on the news and business channels told me what I had to look forward to that day, which, since we were off on Labor Day, was our layout day for this paper.
The Federal Reserve chairman was to give a speech.
If he said the right things, when I came home that evening my vast portfolio might be a bit larger. If he said the wrong things, I might come home a poorer man.
Senior Virginia senator John Warner was scheduled to speak at 2 p.m. to let the nation know if he would run for reelection.
Again, I might come home richer or poorer, figuratively speaking, depending on what Warner decided.
If he stayed on, Republicans might have a chance to gain back the Senate in 2008. Maybe.
If he decided to hang it up, Democrats would have a greater chance of gaining his seat in a race without an incumbent.
Of course, in the big scheme of things, Warner has done his damage already.
His most recent blow being the suggestion that President Bush should make a small reduction in U.S. troops in Iraq to send a message to the Iraqi government to get on the stick, we’re not staying forever.
Like anyone thinks we will, after the last few months. With his many trips to Iraq, one might think that Warner could have delivered that message to Prime Minister Maliki personally, rather through the news media..
But no, John had to have a camera on him while he once again helped undermine his president’s policy.
A Republican in Name Only never fit a politician better than when applied to Warner.
Lest we forget, had it not been for Warner’s backing of Marshall Coleman, Oliver North would have beaten Democrat Chuck Robb, and Virginia would have had two GOP senators for the last decade.
That is, if you can count as a Republican a senator who voted for the McCain-Feingold bill, was always less than stalwart in his support of the Second Amendment and second guessed his president and his party’s war policy at the most crucial time.
Now that he has retired aspiring politicos on both sides of the aisle are scrambling for the nomination for his still warm Senate seat.
Oh, yeah, the Fed chairman said the right stuff. The market went up.
I went home a tad richer, at least for the weekend.
