Shots in the Dark

Hillary Clinton showed again last night that she will do anything to win—mainly, by dragging Barack Obama and the rest of the country into the gutter, where she has cozily taken up residence.In the Pennsylvania debate last night, she questioned Obama’s patriotism (Lee Atwater would be so proud!), his friendships, and his connections to working people.

Does she really believe any of the accusations or implications with which she tried to smear Obama? Surely not. But whatever it takes to win! In a different age, Hillary would have stabbed a king while he slept.

Will this dysfunctional Clinton trio never go away? How long must the country suffer for the fulfillment of their unslakable ambition?

At a Richmond luncheon for Harvard alums last week, Drew Faust was introduced as not just the first woman to be Harvard president, but the first Southerner, which is actually kind of interesting. I’d like to hear or read someone’s thoughts about how that side of her persona might affect her leadership style.

Fredericksburg Free Lance-Star columnist Ed Jones, himself a Harvard alum, liked what he saw from Faust.

She has a way of mixing the funny with the weighty. And she’s a good listener, a description that didn’t fit her predecessor.

Asked if her gender helps shape her presidency, Fausted noted with a smile that some have said that her strengths match those often associated with female leaders. But then she suggested that her brother in the audience might want to comment on whether she really is “kinder and gentler.”

Isn’t it interesting how Faust can ascribe specific qualities to a gender without getting in trouble?

(As opposed, of course, to her predecessor.)

My, but isn’t she a terrible person? As this campaign has gone on, and she’s demagogued the “bitter” remark all over Pennsylvania, I’ve lost much of the respect for her that I previously had. Clearly this is a woman who was willing to sacrifice her best qualities in order to do what she thought it would take to win. Apparently I’m not the only one to think this way. A new Washington Post poll shows that Americans’ impressions of Clinton are increasingly negative.

While Clinton retains a big edge over Obama on experience, public impressions of her have taken a sharply negative turn. Today, more Americans have an unfavorable view of her than at any time since The Post and ABC began asking the question, in 1992. Impressions of her husband, former president Bill Clinton, also have grown negative by a small margin.In the new poll, 54 percent said they have an unfavorable view of Sen. Clinton, up from 40 percent a few days after she won the New Hampshire primary in early January.

Hillary has only herself and her desperate, all-consuming ambition to blame….

I did a fun interview with Fernando Alejandro, who runs a great blog called Respect Jeter’s Gangster.

Which, of course, I do.

We talked some serious baseball, but with some, well, unexpected questions thrown in.

For example….

I see your publisher is Simon & Schuster. How do you intend to compete with other Simon & Schuster sports authors, namely Jose Canseco?

I plan to take him out with a one-two combination to the head and stomach. Seriously: I challenge Jose to an ultimate fighting match any time, any place. And then I’m taking his wife to dinner.

You have a blog which you update regularly. How many times a day do you frequent the “Respect Jeter’s Gangster” blog, and why is it your favorite blog?

Too many times to count. I can’t get enough of its intelligence, wit, and expertise….

Lastly, what do you respect most about Jeter’s gangster?

Probably the fact that he dated Jessica Alba…..

For more such sterling wit, check out Respect Jeter’s Gangster.

“That boy’s finger does not need to be on the [nuclear] button.”

—Kentucky Republican Geoff Davis on Barack Obama, quoted in today’s New York Post.

As a Titanic obsessive—see? learn something new every day—I love this Times story about what really sank the Titanic: poor quality rivets.

Researchers have discovered that the builder of the Titanic struggled for years to obtain enough good rivets and riveters and ultimately settled on faulty materials that doomed the ship, which sank 96 years ago Tuesday.

It’s a fascinating piece of historical detective work.

“The first thought was, you know, it’s never a good thing to be buried in cement when you’re in New York.”

—Yankees president Randy Levine, speaking on the burial of a David Ortiz Red Sox jersey underneath the new Yankee Stadium, in the New York Sun. The Yankees ultimately dug up the jersey.

In this Massachusetts newspaper, reporter Jon Couture writes one of the more thorough reviews of TGG that I’ve seen. (Always gratifying for the author; it’s nice when you’ve written a book to have someone really engage with it.)

At 260 pages, Bradley’s work explores every pitch, every shadow and every quirk of the Oct. 2, 1978, one-game playoff between the Yankees and Red Sox. Through interviews with the majority of the participants, and access to memories and materials from both sides, “The Greatest Game” immediately becomes the go-to work for what is arguably the sport’s pinnacle.

In the Crimson, Jamison Hill follows up a prior story with another
disturbing article that raises questions about the Harvard police and the university’s surveillance of students.

The Harvard University Police Department (HUPD) denied allegations that the University maintains an undercover political intelligence unit in the wake of two arrests that attracted the scrutiny of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU).

Maybe. I wonder if the key word there is “unit.” For police, that’s probably a technical term, and one or two cops spying on students may not constitute a unit.

Because the article goes on to describe a Harvard university police officer photographing a student and arresting her, on the dubious charge of disturbing the peace, after she took his photograph.
Harvard spokesman Joe Wrinn admitted that the university does sometimes film students. “We film when there is potential for violence, property damage, vandalism, HUPD arrest, or other circumstances require it,” he said.

Crimson folks: That’s an astonishing admission. The next question is, “On what occasions specifically have you filmed Harvard students?” Get a list. Because I’ll bet you lunch it won’t match the criteria above.After all, on how many occasions at Harvard has there been the potential for violence? The Yale-Harvard football game?

In the Globe, meanwhile, David Abel also has the story.

Asked what the university does with the photographs, Wrinn said the campus police department “has a policy of not discussing security details publicly.”

A wonderful example of Harwellian language. After all, Joe, you’ve just discussed security details publicly, in admitting that the university does sometimes (frequently?) spy on its students. So what’s the difference here, other than the answer to the question is probably embarrassing?

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P.S. Apologies for the bizarre formatting; I’m working on it.

I leave Boston today after a three-day visit up north. It’s been, on the whole, a great trip. Some high points…and a couple low ones:

1) Sorry, Providence, but you are way worse of a dump than New Haven.

2) Note to self: Don’t trust Mapquest when it comes to getting directions for downtown Boston. Note to Boston: Ever heard of street signs?

3) What’s with that new eyeglass store on Mass Ave near the Harvard Bookstore? Is it really necessary for them to advertise on a sign on the street that they are the “coolest f’ing eyewear store in the country”?

4) Maggie, I’m truly sorry that I didn’t tell you I was going to be in Boston. Sheer disorganization. But what were the odds that I’d run into you on the street as you were taking your son to Sunday school?

5) Thanks to the two very nice managers of the two Borders, one in Providence and one in downtown Boston, where I spoke. Well, sort of spoke. Details to follow.

6) I enjoyed talking with a young student who worked at the Borders in Providence Place. He went to Rhode Island State (I think) but thought that the students there weren’t very motivated, so he wanted to transfer to Northeastern and major in international studies. He was also interested in peace studies. I encouraged him to stick with international studies. The latter could include the former, I thought, and you know, some potential employers might one day raise an eyebrow at peace studies.

7) A note to the Asian kid who came to the Boston reading with a book that not only wasn’t mine, but had nothing to do with baseball at all: If you’re going to leave in the middle of an event, probably best not to sit in the middle of the first row. Good luck

8) Despite many inquiries on the subject, I was not actually interviewed by one of the “hotties” at NESN. (Sometimes, things don’t go your way.) My interviewer was a very nice guy named John Chandler. The interview is scheduled to air Sunday evening.

9) This is embarrassing, but true: You really need makeup when you appear on TV. Even when it’s on a sports network. If you watch the interview on HD, you’ll see!

10) I have a love-hate relationship with the Harvard Bookstore; I like the store a lot, but they treat me like crap. I think I’m just not artsy/alternative for them. They gave my first book, “American Son,” virtually no visibility at all, even though it was a bestseller. (Too popular, I guess.) They refused to hold a reading for Harvard Rules because they were afraid to offend the powers-that-be at Harvard. And I could find just one copy of The Greatest Game there. Argh.

11) Conversely, the Coop had a big stack of the book. And at the information desk, I met a very nice guy who recognized me, read my blog, read 02138, and offered me condolences on the death of my father. It was all much appreciated.

12) Points to the hotel in which I stayed, 15 Beacon, for most things. I particularly like the overnight shoeshine service and the light on the door, turned on from inside the room, which indicates whether you want privacy or maid service. On the other hand, there’s no excuse for a good hotel not to have flat screen TVs on which to watch the Yankees beat the Sox, it’d be great if you could get some women at the front desk who don’t sound irritated/bored/comatose when you call, and will hotels please stop sticking two antiquated Stairmasters in a dark and airless room and calling it a “fitness center”?

13) Thanks to the folks at the Crimson who came out for a little chat on a Saturday afternoon. Apologies for my own incoherence; it’s difficult sometimes to switch from talking about Bucky Dent and Carl Yastrzemski to discussing Drew Faust, Bob Rubin, and Evelynn Hammonds.

To sum up our conversation:

a) Drew Faust: How’s she doing?

b) The question of presidential voice: What is hers? Has it evolved? Does it need to?

c) How does one’s definition of the Harvard presidency affect one’s evaluation of Faust?

d) Hmmmm. What about those decanal appointments, anyway?

e) Money! Harvard needs it (Allston, dorms). Wall Street is losing it! Can Faust raise it? Can Mendillo make it? After all, everyone wants to spend it.

f) Yes, I sleep pretty well at night, even though I work for a magazine that promotes private jets, $25,000 watches, and rich people hooking up.

g) And just for the record, if you ever want to do some freelancing, look me up.

h) Follow the power. The gym story is a great example of a screw-up happening because of a vacuum of power. (A case study in bad decision-making.)

There are great pools of power waiting for someone at Harvard to suck them up (think: “There Will Be Power”). Who’s going to fill that vacuum? Faust? The Corporation? Mike Smith? Or some dark horse?

14) I met a young woman who was with her mom at the Providence Borders. She was debating whether to buy The Greatest Game for her boyfriend—a lovely idea, by the way—and our conversation spoke, heh, volumes about today’s economy and American culture.

RB: (Spots a pleasant-looking young woman picking up the book, introduces himself.) Are you a baseball fan, Angella?

(Yes, it was spelled with two “L”s.)

A: No, but my boyfriend is. I got him Yankee tickets for his birthday.

RB: Well, I think he’d really like this book.

A: Yeah, but he doesn’t read. I’m the reader in the relationship.

(Blogger: It’s so true. Guys just don’t read. The book economy depends on women. I’m screwed. Massive depression. I wish I were Jhumpa Lahiri. Then I could get on NPR.)

RB: (Optimistically) He’d read this one! It’s awesome!

Angella whips out a cell phone, starts dialing.

A: (Into phone) Hey babe. Not much. Hey, if I bought you a book, would you read it?

Pause. Voice on the other end.

A: (Holds hand in front of phone, whispers to the author) What’s it called again?

A: (To boyfriend again) The Greatest Game. Yeah. It’s about the Yankees. (Pause.) No, you don’t have it already. You have The Greatest Something-Else.

Voice on the other end.

A: (To boyfriend.) Hold on.

(Flips through book.)

A: (To boyfriend.) Do you count the epilogue? Because no one reads the epilogue.

(Pause)

Okay, then, 257.

Various back and forth. Heated debate. Much about Venus and Mars.

It is eventually agreed that she will buy him the book if he gives her gas money.

A: All right. I love you, too.

(That was not to the author. Angella’s mother seems cool with her teenager daughter’s expression of affection. Turns out they live “near Foxwoods,” which is not actually a town, but a casino in northern Connecticut.)

A: (Turning to RB, opens book to last page of epilogue) Will you write, “Angella wants to know if you read this far?”

Author obliges. Book sold! Author considers walking in front of a bus. Decides against it, because the truth is, the whole phone call between Angella and her boyfriend was kinda sweet—that is one good girlfriend!—and author believes in romance.

And back to the Big Apple it is…..