Pundits All Line Up On One Side: Election 08 Unique
WASHINGTON-It's a rare moment when Republican strategist Mary Matalin, her husband, Democratic strategist James Carville and FOX News Anchor Brit Hume all agree on something, but all three concurred that the nation is currently involved in what is likely to be the longest presidential election cycle of all time.
The principal hallmark they pointed to: the fact that the field of candidates is wide open with no heir apparent in either party. And though some have suggested the American public at large soon will grow weary of the political onslaught that has begun with more than a year until the first primary, much less the actual election itself, so far, there has been no sign of that happening.
"The political atmosphere will depend almost entirely on whether President Bush's strategies in Iraq work or not," Hume said. "The Democrats are betting it will go badly. If it succeeds, the entire atmosphere will change and change dramatically."
Dem Sweep May Bring Immigration To Forefront
WASHINGTON-Ironically enough, the Democratic sweep into power in Congress may help President Bush get one of his pet issues off the ground: immigration policy reform.
"That might very well happen this year," said FOX News Anchor Brit Hume. "The president's views are more closely aligned with the Democrats than with his own party. This has a real chance to get done."
Hume said an immigration plan supported by the administration and Democrats likely would include citizenship for many immigrants already here as well as a "guest worker" program, both of which would be good news for credit unions interested in reaching out to immigrant communities.
Bishop Offers Lesson: Those Who Show Up Rule
WASHINGTON-A former history teacher who became a member of Congress with the help of credit union support urged credit unions to keep a high level of political involvement. It's a message that comes easy to Utah Republican Rep. Rob Bishop, who had preached the ideals of political involvement in his teaching days, when he would require his students to attend at least two city council meetings back-to-back so they could see the political process at work. "I wanted them to see that it's boring. In government, there are no car chases, no sex scan...well, no car chases," he quipped, before going on to say. "What I wanted them to see is that government is run by those who show up." And since it is, indeed, the squeaky wheel that gets the grease, Bishop suggested the importance of credit unions showing up, both on Capitol Hill and back home in their members' district offices.
Hyland Outlines Goals For Task Force On Underserved
WASHINGTON-Carrying a special gift from her father, NCUA Board Member Gigi Hyland outlined her goals for the agency task force on service to the underserved that she will be leading.
The gift: a giant blue megaphone emblazoned with the words "Go Credit Unions, Go!" and Gigi Hyland's name on it. It was a reference to Congressional criticism that Hyland was too much of a CU cheerleader to be an impartial regulator.
Hyland said her father's message to her was that it was not wrong to care about the credit unions she is charged with regulating. And part of that caring, she said, is ensuring credit unions are armed with the resources they need to serve low- and moderate-income individuals in their fields of membership.
To that end, Hyland is heading up the task force charged with evaluating the effectiveness of the agency's programs designed to assist credit unions in serving the underserved.
Among the issues the task force will look at: the Community Development Financial Institution grant program, potential changes to the low-income credit union designation, whether to include executive compensation on the 5300 call reports and others.
Anticipating criticism that the task force is entirely made up of internal NCUA staff, Hyland assured credit unions that there will be ample opportunity for input from credit unions and other people not on staff at the agency.
During her comments at CUNA's GAC, Hyland expressed support for NCUA's reexamination of its role in the enforcement of credit union bylaws, as well as reform of Prompt Corrective Action and a potential makeover for the CAMEL matrix.
Blunt Points Up Banker Hypocrisy In GAC Remarks
WASHINGTON-Minority Whip Roy Blunt (R-MO) let credit unions know that lawmakers see through banker hypocrisy.
"As I drove in to come to this conference today, I passed a number of banks on my way in, and they weren't open yet, but I'm pretty sure they're going to open today, in spite of what all my banker friends were telling me in 1997 and 1998," he said, to resounding applause.
As a member of the Republican leadership in the House, Blunt said the GOP's loss of the majority actually may be the best thing that happened to the party if it forces Republicans to refocus.
Blunt brought up an issue that would recur a number of times throughout the GAC: immigration.
He marveled at how Wal-Mart can track its inventory down to a single roll of paper towels and say what store in which it was sold, noting, "Wal-Mart can keep better track of its paper towels than government can keep track of immigrants."
Clyburn Praises CUs For Opening Important Doors
WASHINGTON-House Majority Whip James Clyburn (D-SC) praised credit unions for opening doors for their members, particularly, "car doors, front doors and school doors," he said, referring to the types of loans CUs offer to help their members better their lives.
"Credit unions have excelled at meeting the needs of their communities and their members," he said. "When there was a desperate call for service, you answered the call."
Clyburn praised CUs for leading the charge against predatory lending and urged CUs to get behind other issues that also effect their members, such as health care reform, immigration issues, and energy independence.
As director of one credit union and a member of two credit unions, Clyburn promised to keep credit union strong, noting, "I want to keep my credit union membership viable and valuable."
Matalin, Carville Face Off, Offer Election Predictions
No duo has honed their schtick quite like Mary Matalin and James Carville, she the political consultant and advisor to the Republican party and administration, and he the political consultant and advisor to the Democrats. The two are also married and separately and individually are frequent speakers to credit unions.
Among their observations, quips, one-liners and jabs, often at each other's expense, were:
Matalin, who referred to her bald-headed husband as the "cue-ball," said she was flabbergasted to see all the coverage the shooting by VP Dick Cheney of his hunting partner received, and upset with Sen. Hillary Clinton's call for an investigation. Matalin finally told her husband, "If Hillary doesn't stop calling for an investigation, I'm going to go on the air and say she just wants to learn how to shoot someone in the face and get away with it."
Like Brit Hume before her, Matalin expressed some amazment that the 2008 Presidential campaign is essentially already under way. "It's a historical election cycle, I've never seen one like it," said Matalin. "I'm also excited by this. The democratic process works in this country. People are demanding a big election. There are unique candidates on both sides. We are completely out of the industrial age and into the communications age and that affects everything we do. It is possible this will be the election where a real debate occurs."
Matalin told credit unions that when it comes to energy, "Forget about ethanol. It's all going to be about waste and weeds" as sources of energy.
In previewing the 2008 election one really needs to review the 2004 election, and the "myths" surrounding that election, said Matalin. Among those "myths," she said, was that 2004 showed losses for the conservative cause. "It was not a defeat for conservatism. Twenty Blue Dog (conservative) Democrats gained seats. It was a repudiation of the way Republicans have presented conservatives," said Matalin, who noted she had grown up a liberal "until I started reading and learning. "There is a difference between being a conservative and a Republican and the Republicans have to learn that."
Before closing, Matalin said of her husband that he had often told her he had a 4.0 GPA while attending Louisiana State University. When she finally visited his alma mater she discovered two things: he attended college on the 11-year plan, and the 4.0 was a reference to his blood-alcohol level.
When Carville took the podium he immediately launched into a series of observations, predictions and one-liners that were all exaggerated by his pronounced Louisiana accent, for which he not only makes no apologies but plays for full effect. Observing that "President Bush's troubles are with his generals; President Clinton's were with his privates." Carville went on to say:
Every four years we get all out of breath in this city that this is going to be the biggest election in history and that we are on a precipice. I think this year we may just be right."
Carville noted that for the first time since 1920 no sitting president or vice president is running for the presidency (in 1952 a heroic four-star general filled the bill), and there is no front-running heir apparent. It's historic in other respects, as well, he said. "We have an African-American, a woman, a Hispanic, an Italian-American and a Mormon all with a legitimate chance to win," he said.
"If (John) McCain, (Rudy) Guiliani, and (Newt) Gingrich run, the only one with one wife is the Mormon (Mitt) Romney."
Carville offered these predictions for 2008's presidential race:
"Not only will there be a credible third-party candidate who could get at least 10% of the vote, there could even be a fourth-party candidate who gets 5% of the vote."
In the end, said Carville, he doesn't believe McCain will run and Al Gore and Gingrich will. "Running for president has a high level of recidivism," he observed, adding;
* "The Republican nominee will ultimately be (former Florida governor) Jeb Bush."
* "The Republicans are not organized. In the past they always just gave (the nomination) to the oldest white guy around."
* "The Democrats will have to talk their way out of winning this election."
