Ben Goddard

Out on the western slope of the Rocky Mountains is a small business that has managed to survive robust and rough economic times for nearly 30 years. 

Last evening a movie about life, death and the survival of our planet premiered at Universal Studios in Hollywood.

I must first state the obvious: Almost any other Democrat with any other campaign team running with any other strategy would have held off Scott Brown’s Massachusetts momentum and saved that Senate seat for the Democrats.

Much of the political chatter about healthcare reform in the past week has been of the glass-half-empty variety. Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) had to make too many deals.

Nothing beats word of mouth. Advertisers lust after the buzz that creates a “tipping point” of desire for their products. Political strategists crave the “chatter” that builds momentum for their candidates. All of this still holds true in the digital age. If anything, “going viral” has become the next Holy Grail for products and political campaigns.

Maybe it comes from nearly three decades of political involvement in the Golden State, but I’ve always considered California something of a bellwether — the canary in the coalmine when it comes to early warning signs of political trends. The most recent Field Poll, a widely reported and quoted and generally accurate reading of California tea leaves, suggests rough seas ahead for state governments. The clear message from voters is that they are mad as hell at the governor and the State Legislature and want some serious changes, but they are not sure their leaders are up to the job.

As the White House debates how to respond to Gen. Stanley McChrystal’s call for additional troops in Afghanistan, two powerful allies are said to be pushing for an escalation of U.S. forces. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates and Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton seem to have done a mind meld on Afghanistan policy.

Like a lot of others who opine on politics, I was concerned about President Barack Obama’s hasty trip to Copenhagen, Denmark, to try to close the deal on the Chicago Olympics, even before the International Olympic Committee unceremoniously swatted aside the Second City’s bid. “Why risk political capital and international prestige on such a capricious group?” I wondered. It seemed then, and still does, to be something the president didn’t need on his plate alongside healthcare reform, Afghanistan and a nuclear Iran. Especially when we all know energy policy and financial reform are about to be dished up as well. The brusque rejection of Chicago made for several days of cable TV and talk radio chatter, a couple thousand column inches of newspaper angst and who knows how many blogs. But an early reading of the tea leaves suggests that the people who really count, American voters, pretty much ignored the whole misadventure.

Two of America’s best pollsters delivered a strong message to President Barack Obama and Democrats in Congress this week: Find a way to quickly declare victory in the battle over health insurance reform.

The ’70s Scottish folk/rock group Stealers Wheel had a huge hit that has since been covered by half a dozen rock, folk and country artists. “Stuck in the Middle with You” could be the White House theme song as the battle over healthcare reform devolves into rigid partisan posturing on both ends of the political spectrum. “Clowns to the left of me, jokers to the right/ Here I am, stuck in the middle with you,” songwriter Joe Egan sang in the band’s only big hit.