CENTRAL VIEW for Monday, March 10, 2008

Denver: The Goons of August

As predicted here, Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign did not die on Super Tuesday II. Until recently, Team Clinton adhered to the liberal, white-guilt dictum: Thou shalt not speak ill of a black person, even O.J. But when Team Clinton raised questions about Senator Obama’s business dealings and his associations with anti-Semite, religious figures who advocate the destruction of Israel, Senator Clinton’s fortunes began to rise. Winning three out of four primary races on March 4th, suggests her “gloves-off” strategy worked…for then.

Now, some Democrats are wondering if the votes cast in their Florida and Michigan primaries should be counted, even wondering if those primaries should be done over. Combined, Florida and Michigan total 419 delegates. If almost 21-percent of the delegates needed to win the nomination are refused their seats, the Democratic National Convention (DNC) could get ugly.

Already, “Re-create ’68,” a radical group born amidst the violence of the 1968 Chicago DNC, plans to surround Denver’s Pepsi Center. Meanwhile, some Republicans are adhering to the dictum: Don’t interrupt while your opponents are shooting themselves in the foot.

If you run for political office, you get your family tree researched – for free. Between now and November, Teams Obama, Clinton and McCain will favor each other with reams of free research.

For example, Article II, Section 1, Clause 5, of the U.S. Constitution says, “No person except a natural born citizen…shall be eligible to the Office of President….” Because John McCain was born outside the continental United States, he will join the ranks of other presidential candidates who got their presidential eligibility researched for free.

Republican Senator Barry Goldwater was born in Arizona Territory before it became the State of Arizona. Democrats questioned Barry Goldwater’s presidential eligibility. In 1964, Lyndon Johnson defeated Goldwater, and the issue was never resolved. Governor George Romney’s 1968 presidential bid was challenged because he was born of American parents living in Mexico. Romney withdrew before his eligibility status was fully settled.

John McCain, however, was born on a U.S. military installation inside the U.S. Panama Canal Zone which, until President Jimmy Carter gave the Panama Canal to Panama, was considered to be a possession of the United States. Most legal scholars contend that being born in the U.S. Panama Canal Zone should not be an eligibility problem for Senator McCain; however, that will not prevent lawyers for Team Clinton and/or Team Obama from engaging John McCain with costly eligibility law suits.

Actually, an ineligible person can run for president and even be elected to office; however, all eligibility requirements must be met “at the time of taking office.” So, someone could be elected on November 4, 2008, but not allowed to “take office” on January 20, 2009.

The recent passing of William F. Buckley, Jr. deserves comment. Born a wealthy member of the elite Eastern Establishment, Bill Buckley’s exquisite taste, gracious manners and his amazing command of the English language put the lie to the Left’s depiction of conservatives as illiterate, gun-toting, beer-swilling, redneck, Harley-riding, NASCAR-race groupies.

In his spare time, Bill Buckley wrote espionage novels. My co-author of espionage novels and I pay homage to Bill Buckley with the character: James Buckley “Buck” Madison. James Madison, the 4th President of the United States, believed, along with Thomas Jefferson, that “federal” meant most decisions should be made at the state and locals levels, not in Washington, D.C. So did Bill Buckley.

Bill Buckley defined conservatism as follows: “…it is a very American approach to life, and it has to do with knowing that the government is not your master, that America is good, that freedom is good and must be defended, and communism is very, very bad.”

Bill Buckley disliked fascism in any form, to include the liberal-fascist protesters who will not allow conservative speakers to appear on certain college campuses. They reminded him of Hitler’s goons, the Brown Shirts.

Syndicated columnist and featured commentator for USA Today is a former assistant professor of history and political science at Nebraska Wesleyan University (NWU). Prior to NWU, Dr. Hamilton taught for Columbia College and for the University of Maryland-European Division. He and his wife are co-authors of The Grand Conspiracy and The Panama Conspiracy, two novels about terrorism directed against the United States.

©2008. William Hamilton.

Dr. Hamilton can be contacted at:

Email: william@central-view.com