Yea Yea...

So it's been a while. That seems to be the story of this blog...I take a couple of weeks off, then I come back and vow to post more often, but I just don't seem to find the time.

The past few weeks have been busy. Now, however, I am finished with my second year of college (YES!) and I took a few weeks after finals to rest up and do a little work around the house.

Before I get on with today's little news story, I have a couple of short blurbs to share:

1. For anybody who does not know (but is a regular reader of this blog), The Vent Pipe endorsed (for what it was worth) John Raese in the WV Senatorial race this spring. He successfully defeated Hiram Lewis (by a margin of nearly 3-1) in the May 10 Primary. He moves on to face Senator Byrd in November. Let's Go Raese.
2. Again for what it's worth, I'd like to extend a "better late than never" congratulations to Tony Snow for his selection by the White House. While (naturally) he was criticized by the lefty professors at Shepherd (they also used his appointment as proof that "FOX News is so far right..."), I think he was an excellent choice. So far he's been good for the President--defending policy, correcting misinformation by the press and so forth.
3. And finally, a group of my friends and I loaded up in my Expedition and headed to Washington DC last weekend to do a little site seeing. I had been there once (in fifth grade!), but several of my friends had never been. I had seen nearly everything on the Mall before, but I had not seen the new WWII Memorial as it had not yet been built when I was last in DC. If you have never seen it but live close enough to make a trip out then you NEED to go see this. It is easily one of the most beautiful (if not the most beautiful) monuments/memorials on the Mall.

And now, on to the news...

The Senate has decided to tackle the difficult Gay-Marriage Amendment question yet again. I'd like to give a sincere thank you to Senator Spector for putting Russ Feingold in his place in the hearings. We have all heard enough of the man's lecturing. But that's not what I'm here to talk about.

Instead, I'd like to know what is going through John McCain's head. Does he just NOT want to have the Republican Nomination for 2008? He is still considered by most to be one of the front runners for the RNC Nom. in '08, but I don't see how he honestly believes he could win.

It is not rocket science to understand that any candidate hoping to win the nod must pull close to the base on all issues. That is how the two party system works. The Democrats will never nominate a seemingly "moderate" candidate who is pro-life, pro-death penalty, anti-immigration, pro-tax cuts etc. etc. in the same manner that the Republicans will never nominate a candidate who is at the opposite end of the spectrum on the issues outlined above.

What, then, explains the thinking behind McCain's recent decisions. He is working with Ted Kennedy on a "moderate" immigration package (for the record, I am fairly certain that I will not discuss immigration as is just aggravates me). Now he is vowing that he will not support any call for a constitutional Amendment which would define marriage as the union of a man and a woman.

The Washington Times is reporting that McCain is doing what he "feels is right" and says that he will always vote with his heart because when he does, things turn out "ok." While I'm glad a politician is "voting with his heart" (isn't that what Bush does? Lead with his heart, not by the polls?), I must insist that this is political suicide for McCain. His Arizonians will surely re-elect him, but I cannot think that--even with his speech at Liberty University's graduation--he could win the Republican nod in '08 with the positions he has taken on big issues in the past few weeks.

It will be quite interesting to see how this pans out. With luck, he won't even run in '08.