Bookie line on New Yorkers’ chances in ’08
Bookie line on New Yorkers’ chances in ’08

By Alan Chartock
Fri, Jun 3, 2005 4:19 pm

Maybe I should become a bookie. That way I could offer odds on New Yorkers who I suspect might be running for President. It’s been a long drought since a New Yorker became President. Let’s face it, New York is getting bluer and it’s a state where, for the most part, relative political rationality prevails. Let’s think about the joy of having a New Yorker run for President. We’ve been here before. I remember when John V. Lindsay and Nelson Rockefeller both thought they could be President. Rocky got to be Vice President but never made it to the top spot. Now they are really lining up. So here goes Alan the Bookie’s morning line.
George Pataki: 1000-1. This is just pathetic. The problem is that you can’t convince a guy who has risen from political obscurity to serve as New York’s governor three times that he can’t be President. He lacks charisma, he’s got tarnished conservative credentials, he’s a mildly warm pro- choicer and he whines when he speaks. The pro-choice thing got him elected in New York but it won’t help him with those red meat eaters in the red states. He can’t be President unless he gets to be Vice President and advances from that spot. He’s left a trail of political dead bodies behind him, all those people who got in his way and underestimated his lethal potential. Okay, I’ve convinced myself. I’ll make it 500-1.
Rudy “America’s Mayor” Giuliani: 2-1. Every poll has this guy doing very well. Even with the passage of time, even with the embarrassment of his business and political association with former Police Commissioner Bernard Kerik, his numbers have held up. Some say his pro-choice stance will stop him in the key primary states but in this country, law and order trump everything and if there is one thing that this Mafia fighting, prosecutorial zealot has going for him it is the mantle of law and order. His biggest problems: big fat foot and big fat mouth and he tends to put one in the other at bad moments. Also, his relationship with key minority groups has often been tempestuous. Nonetheless, right now, Giuliani looks hot.
Mayor Michael Bloomberg: 5-1. His problem is that he really is a Democrat. His assets are his assets. This is a country in which elections are for sale and the one thing that nice man Bloomberg seems to understand is that you can’t take it with you so why not spend it now? I really like the guy. He is sensible (within tolerable limits like the West Side Stadium) and he really wants to do the right thing. America loves its billionaires and the man is term limited as mayor. Of course, I think he’d have to step aside for Giuliani but don’t underestimate him.
Hillary Rodham Clinton: 2-1. On the Democratic side Hillary leads the way. Recent polls have her at number one, beating out everyone else . She is taking a page right out of husband Bill’s book and running to the center, triangulating, robbing the Republicans of their issues like a thief in the night. Don’t kid yourself, when this lady wants to make you like her she can do it. I know. I’ve interviewed her, with reservations, and she had her way with me. She is smart and the American people love their political royalty. Of course this has always been a sexist country but there’s got to be a first and my bet is that she will be the one. She stood up for Bill and the Republicans are scared to death of her. They’ll do anything they can to destroy her, just as they did with her husband. This will get dirty.
Senator Charles Schumer: 50-1. Never underestimate Chuck Schumer, He’s a player on the national stage, he’s got guts that are atypical of Democratic politicians, and he has been conservative enough. Like Hillary, he voted for the Iraq mistake. He’s been a mainstay against the Republican judicial push. If Hillary could be the first woman President, Chuck might be the first Jewish President and may well be supported by all those fundamentalist types who have been forging links and bragging about their place in the Judeo-Christian pantheon. The guy is tough.
Finally, there is this guy who is running for Governor, Eliot Spitzer. I suspect that some day, he will be President. If Hillary runs he’ll have to wait but the Sheriff of Wall Street, the man who fights the drug companies and the insurance companies and the corrupt big businesses and their accounting firm hand maidens, is an unbelievable force in this country. Like Giuliani, he’s taken on the Mafia and lived to tell about it. He has caught the public admiration. He is Robin Hood personified and I truly believe that some day, he will be President. Frankly, he will scare the hell out of every traditional politician in this country. His sooner or later odds are even.



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- posted by Raymond @ 6/06/2005 08:51:00 AM

 
The Mahaiwe sets the stage
I, Publius
The Mahaiwe sets the stage
By Alan Chartock



Life is good in Great Barrington. At 100 years of age, our dear old lady, the Mahaiwe Theatre, is coming back to life thanks to the grand dame, Lola Jaffe. She's tough as a bulldog, single-minded, and a lady who knows how to get things done. In the words of the song we all know, "Whatever Lola wants, Lola gets."
Yes, there is more to be done — a marquee, improved restrooms and a green room for the talent — but the good news is Lola is still hard at work, searching for money to finish the job.

In the meantime, the theater is functioning and beautiful. Good for Hugh Hardy, the prince of restoration architecture, who is giving unstintingly of himself. Good for a committed board of directors who have kept up the search for scarce money to make this happen.

Great Barrington will be forever grateful to Lola and her husband, Ed. Leading an organization
is not always easy. You have to learn how to say no and sometimes you hurt your natural allies and friends.

But Lola has done it. She has befriended and supported the politicians and followed the lead of labor organizer Samuel Gompers, who advised us to "reward our friends and punish our enemies." This lady does it all. I'm not saying she isn't capable of making mistakes — I think she is, but then again, who isn't?



The opening evening was a superb affair. It was captivating and amusing, hokey, never dull and left you wanting more. Gene Shalit was a riot, presenting an adaptation of "Casey at the Bat." This time, Casey struck out when propositioning a female reporter.

The single highlight of the evening among the vaudeville-type acts offered to the audience was a contortionist/comedian, Thomas Kubinek, who was hysterical. He did a bit with a wine glass that defies description, but that was so wonderful, the audience whistled, screamed and pounded the floor. They should have let the guy take another bow but someone wasn't listening.

Two locals, talented lawyer Alex Bloomstein, who was once a promising dancer, and Paula Kurman, who wore a nice dress, demonstrated that the theater would be open to all, including aspiring amateurs. They did what appeared to be a comedic ballroom dance. The audience loved it.

There was that famous "Who's on First?" routine, courtesy of Abbott and Costello, and a passable Groucho and Chico Marx appearance and lots of good acting and singing by a foursome hired by director/writer Dennis Garnhum. Their voices were terrific and the moment of great warmth and some pathos came when actor Michael Grueber forgot the very complicated words to a Danny Kaye-type routine in which he was mentioning the names of all the area's cultural institutions. Toward the end, he just lost it. One of his compatriots came out on stage and urged him to do it again, and he got most of it. To his credit, at an after-theater event, he did get it right. There was no one in that hall who didn't feel for him.

I was reminded of a time when, as a 12-year-old Boy Scout, I was asked to play taps at Town Hall for a gathering of the money people who gave big-time to the Scouts. I got up on the stage, took one look at the audience and almost fainted. I couldn't find the note. Finally, in a quivering vibrato with legs buckling, I got it. The audience rose and gave me a standing ovation. Sometimes, these things happen and remind everyone of how human we all are.



One of the nicest notes of the evening was hauling Al Schwartz, the longtime and long-suffering manager of the Mahaiwe, onto the stage to great and prolonged applause for all he has done to keep the old lady alive. It was a nice touch and well-deserved.

From one end of Berkshire County to the other, old theaters are being brought back by committed folks who are determined to keep their cultural jewels alive. Soon it will be Pittsfield's turn and then North County's. Our legislators are there to help everyone and are to be commended for doing their part. In the end, though, it is up to each of us to do what we can.

The two professionals hired by the Mahaiwe are doing the impossible. Jonathan Secor has done a wonderful job of putting the first season together and Beryl Jolly is running the place under Lola's watchful eye. Congratulations to all for a job well done. It all goes to show that just a few determined people can really make something wonderful happen.
- posted by Raymond @ 6/06/2005 08:50:00 AM