Mark Curtis Media

(Providence, Rhode Island) – I celebrated another birthday this past week, and as always I reflected on the past, present and future of what I do – covering and analyzing politics. I have been doing it most of my life; so, at 54, I still have a lot to talk about.

“To Join or Not to Join” – Four years ago, on my 50th birthday, I wrote what is still one of my most widely-read columns. That week I received my first AARP card offer in the mail and asked my readers whether or not I should join. The response was very negative, with most saying I was too young. Well, now - at 54 - I received another AARP offer in the mail. For $16 a year I can join AARP and enjoy lots of discounts. For example, each time I order a cup of coffee at Dunkin Donuts, I will get a free donut (an 89 cent value). That means if I make 17.9 trips to Dunkin for coffee, I’ve made my membership fee back in free donuts. (Yes, I got out a calculator and did the math.) Tempting. What should I do? I am seriously considering joining.

“Lame Duck Dinner” – Speaking of food, they are now serving Lame Duck for dinner at the White House. I made this joke on a few radio shows I was on this week; but, in truth, I was trying to be more analytical than humorous. I have no idea whether President Obama has his fingerprints on all the scandals now brewing at the White House, but I do know this: Second-term scandals tend to paralyze a President. After Watergate broke in 1973, Nixon was pretty much done; after Iran-Contra was uncovered in 1986, Reagan accomplished little the rest of his term; following the Clinton Impeachment in 1998, his accomplishments were pretty much nil; and Bush II never got any traction after WMD and Katrina. I often said President Obama’s biggest accomplishment in his second term could be a bipartisan Immigration Reform bill, but that is now in jeopardy.

“It’s Not the Other Party” – Now White House Press Secretary Jay Carney blamed Republicans for all the President’s problems this week, but that’s not really why his “lame duck” status may have arrived. As with the other scandals mentioned above, the problem often lies in the President’s own party, and here’s why. The President is termed out; he can’t run again. On the other hand all Democrats in the House and over 40 percent of Democratic Senators are up for reelection next year. You are going to see many in Congress distance themselves from the White House. Their political survival may depend on it. Why would a Democrat in Congress fall on his or her sword on a controversial vote to support the White House on, say, gun control? In 1994 many moderate-to-conservative Democrats did just that and were promptly voted out of office.

“It’s Not the Other Party, Part II” – All of this could affect the next Presidential campaign, too. Hillary Clinton will not get a free pass to the nomination. A handful of other Democratic contenders will emerge, and they are likely to attack any areas of perceived weakness, such as her handling of Benghazi. Again, a lot of the Democrats' problems are going to be intraparty over the next four years, as candidates – both for Congress and the White House – jockey for position.

“On the Other Hand” – This is not to say Republicans are out of the picture. Obviously, many are already being critical of the White House. A few are calling for impeachment, which I doubt is going to happen. Internally, many in the GOP believe they overplayed their hand in Bill Clinton’s 1998-99 impeachment and that the party suffered a backlash. As a practical matter, if Republicans hold control of the House and Democrats hold the Senate, there will be no impeachment. Do the math.

“Travelin’ Man” – So what will President Obama do? Well, when many second-term Presidents get in hot water, they board Air Force One and get out of Dodge. You can expect the President to take lots of foreign trips, where he is far away both geographically and politically. And if he negotiates some treaties, he only has to get them through the Senate, as the House has no vote according to the Constitution.

“ALS” – We have a great military medical mystery in this country, and it needs to be solved. Saturday night I was with Senator Jack Reed (D-RI) and Congressman Jim Langevin (D-RI) at the annual “Evening of Hope” fundraiser and awards dinner for the ALS Association of Rhode Island. I was stunned to learn that ALS (also known as “Lou Gehrig’s Disease”) affects military members at twice the rate that it strikes people in the general population. No one is certain why. Both lawmakers are members of the Armed Services Committee in their respective sides of Congress, so it’s an area of big concern for them. In any case, it was a wonderful event; and, if you wish to help end ALS, you can get more information at www.ALSa.org. And, for a very special story on an ALS patient we profiled on ABC6 News, go to: http://www.abc6.com/story/22286038/the-silent-speak-high-tech-gives-new-....

“KGO Radio” – Sunday, May 19, at 1 p.m. PDT or 4 p.m. EDT, I will be on KGO-Radio 810 AM in San Francisco talking politics with host Brian Copeland. If you are local, listen in live. Otherwise you can tune in from anywhere at www.KGOradio.com.

As always, I welcome your comments at www.MarkCurtisMedia.com.

“The Sunday Political Brunch” -- May 12, 2013

(Providence, Rhode Island) – Happy Mother’s Day to all! Being a mom is hard work, and we are indebted to all moms. I would imagine being a mom in the world of politics is doubly tough, because you and your children live in the public eye and with a lot of scrutiny. So, today’s column is about the highs and lows of being a political mom, especially in the White House. Five of the six living First Ladies recently posed for a photo at the dedication of the George W. Bush Presidential Library.

“White House Wedding Bells” – In a way, it’s kind of surprising that only nine Presidential children have been married in the White House. But weddings are a very personal matter, and I am sure - for some - the public eye is just too much. After all, it’s not the kids or the moms who ran for the office. The nine who married in the White House are Maria Monroe, John Adams II, Elizabeth Tyler, Alice Roosevelt, Nellie Grant, Jessie Wilson, Nellie Wilson, Linda Bird Johnson and Tricia Nixon.

“White House Babies” – Only one Presidential child was actually born in the White House. First Lady Frances Cleveland gave birth to daughter Esther on September 9, 1893. The best I can determine, the U.S. Presidents and First Ladies have had a total of 153 children. President John Tyler was married twice, and his two First Ladies produced a total of 15 children, not all while he was in the White House, thank goodness.

“Death in the White House” – There is an old saying that no parent should ever have to bury a child. Sad to say, six U.S. Presidents and First Ladies lost children while in the White House or after being elected, but before Inauguration. Those Presidents were John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, Franklin Pierce, Abraham Lincoln, Calvin Coolidge, and John F. Kennedy. In the movie “Lincoln,” the death of Willie Lincoln figures prominently, and the devastation of Mary Todd Lincoln is palpable. President Kennedy and First Lady Jackie lost their two-day old son Patrick just three months before the President was assassinated.

“The Adams-Bush Connection” – Abigail Adams and Barbara Bush share a unique distinction among First Ladies – being both wife and mother to Presidents. Barbara Bush often said it was harder to watch the criticism of her son, compared to the criticism of her husband. Surprisingly, she is not thrilled about her son Jeb running for President in 2016. “We’ve had enough Bushes,” said the always candid former First Lady recently.

“The Great Escape” – Susan Ford was a rebellious teenager, once giving the Secret Service the slip and escaping the White House in her Mustang. Many Presidential children have been very young, but having a teenager with boyfriends must have been a real challenge for the 38th President and his First Lady. I wish the Obamas well. One of their girls became a teenager in the White House, and the other will be a teen next year.

“The New Deal Marriages” – All five of President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s adult children married while he was in the White House (one of them twice). None of the weddings took place at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, but Eleanor Roosevelt must have been quite the busy mother of the bride or groom. This is what happens when your husband wins four terms.

“What’s For Dinner?” – President Ford’s son Steve tells a great story about how the family did not move into the White House right away after the Nixon resignation. He said that one night his mom Betty said to his dad (now the President), "Jerry, something's wrong here. You just became President of the United States, and I'm still cooking."

“Kennedy Matriarch” – I am always amazed that Rose Kennedy lived to the age of 104, given the tragedies that beset her family. She raised nine children, four of whom preceded her in death. In her biography, she said: "I looked on child rearing not only as a work of love and a duty, but as a profession that was fully as interesting and challenging as any honorable profession in the world and one that demanded the best I could bring to it..... What greater aspiration and challenge are there for a mother than the hope of raising a great son or daughter?" Some of the old-timers at WLNE-TV ABC6, where I now work, say that Rose Kennedy would often call our newsroom on weekends from her home on Cape Cod and thank us for broadcasting the Catholic Mass on TV. In her later years, it was her only way to attend services. God bless her!

Have a great Mother’s Day! As always, leave your comments at www.MarkCurtisMedia.com.

© 2013, Mark Curtis Media, LLC.