The LuLac Edition #21, June 3rd, 2006

GORE SHOULD ADOPT NIXON MODEL………..As the 2008 Presidential race approaches, perhaps former Vice President Al Gore should adopt Richard M. Nixon’s model for Presidential success. Nixon was defeated by John Kennedy in 1960, then lost a disastrous race for Governor of California to Pat Brown in 1962. When 1964 rolled around, despite the loss and his harsh comments of “never having to kick Nixon around anymore” Nixon was lobbied hard to run in the 1964 race by GOP leaders who were not comfortable with Barry Goldwater. Nixon sat out the ’64 race, campaigned hard for the party in the 1966 off year elections and snared the nomination for President in 1968. By waiting, Nixon let developments come to him instead of getting in a race in 1964 that he would have surely lost to Lyndon Johnson.
Al Gore can take up the Nixon model by continuing what he’s been doing the past few years. He stepped out of the 2004 race early enough for contenders to mount serious campaigns. He has been making media and campaign appearances. If he steps up his appearances on behalf of Democratic candidates running in this year’s off elections, like Nixon he can pick up some IOUs. Gore has a step up on Nixon because his loss was much worse, Nixon lost by 70,000 votes, Gore won by 300,000 popular votes. There is competition in the Democratic field, but it is not out of the realm of possibility for Gore to adopt the Nixon “skip an election” plan and run in 2008. Even though he has said he is still “a recovering politician”, Gore may be persuaded to run and claim the office he won by the will of the people in 2000.

BIDEN IN TOWN…………Senator Joe Biden was in town for a Scranton Chamber of Commerce function on Friday and said in no uncertain terms that he was running for President in 2008. He told a reporter when asked about Hillary Clinton’s entry into the race (which is far from a done deal) that he thought she was a great Senator and would make a good President but added that he would make a better President. Biden has the opportunity to carve out a niche in a crowded Democratic field by being the Democrat who is most critical of President Bush’s handling of the Iraq war.
Biden was born in Scranton, his family moved to Delaware when he was a baby. He was elected to the U.S. Senate at the age of 30 in 1972. Shortly after election, his wife and child were killed in a car crash. Biden has remarried and has been in the Senate 34 years. His Senate term would end in 2008. Biden has been a visitor to the Electric City many times in his political career.

SPECIAL FEATURE: BOOK REVIEW…….”WE WERE ONCE HERE”, Successes, Mistakes and Calamities in Hazleton History, by L.A. Tarone. L.A. Tarone is never at a loss for words. As a longtime area broadcaster on both radio and TV, Tarone has been a mainstay in Hazleton media. His book covers a unique historical perspective in Hazleton history. Tarone takes us through the development of the city, its role in the industrial revolution, chapters on a series of arson fires, how Hazleton reacted to the events of WWII, as well as very innovative chapters on the media business and hospitality industry in Hazleton. Tarone’s story of how Hazleton missed a chance to be a player in the TV market is priceless as well as his painstaking history of Hazleton radio. His profile of Victor C. Diehm does great justice to the broadcast pioneer who dabbled in politics. (Diehm ran for the State Senate in the 1960s against Martin L. Murray). But perhaps his most descriptive chapter deals with Hazleton’s WTTC, the twin towers of Hazleton. Tarone takes us on an expedition of the past exploring every last piece of this historic radio outlet.
When people hear the term “history”, the visions of boredom and dullness comes to mind. Tarone is what I refer to as a “participatory historian.” He won’t only tell you about the past, he’ll go rolling up his sleeves and diving into the old and tattered pieces of his city wide ancestors, breathing new life into them and presenting his historical evidence as a moving journey into the past that transcends our present but our future. His dedication to his father was outstanding, and in the book’s forward, Tarone says this might be the first of many compilations. We can hope so.

QUIZ……………Do you lean right or left? Or, are you, like me, a centrist? Take this short political quiz and see where you stand. Here’s the link: http://www.theadvocates.org/quiz.html.