New Maryland political Web site has deep pockets

Last week I was asked, "Are you a Maryland political insider?"

The query came from the Observer Media Group in the form of a promotional e-mail for PolitickerMD.com, a new online presence in a modest niche - Maryland government and politics.

The editor, "Wally Edge," promises "original reporting, analysis, commentary, rumors" and more - covered "from Maryland by Marylanders."

But here's where it gets even more interesting: one local blogger isn't so sure about the "local coverage."

Adam Pagnucco writes on Maryland Politics Watch that the Observer Media Group, which also operates PoliticsNJ.com, is owned by Jared Kushner, a wealthy 20-something from New Jersey whose family has made a bundle in real estate. Kushner made headlines when he bought the New York Observer in 2006.

And New Jersey and Maryland aren't the only Kushner-owned political blogs out there.

Pagnucco also notes the many campaign contributions that Kushner has made to politicians, mostly Democratic, especially New Jersey Gov. James McGreevey.

So what do you think? Are you a "Maryland political insider" and will you be checking out this Web site?

-JACKIE SAUTER, Multimedia Editor

Obama in Largo

Did anyone hear Barack Obama speak last night at Prince George’s Community College?

The Post quotes an attendee saying that Obama is as magnetic as JFK.

-JACKIE SAUTER,
Multimedia Editor

A "quiet" veto?

Ever since President Bush's controversial veto of the State Children’s Health Insurance Plan (SCHIP), an expansion for children's health insurance, critics and talk show hosts have delighted in forecasting what impact this will have on the 2008 presidential campaign.

The AP story on our Web site begins:

President Bush rejected a politically attractive expansion of children's health insurance, triggering a fierce struggle with the Democratic-controlled Congress certain to reverberate into the 2008 elections.

"Congress will fight hard to override President Bush's heartless veto," vowed Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada.

Both The Daily Show and The Colbert Report, Comedy Central's coveted "fake" news shows, took aim at the decision in their broadcasts this week. (Click here to watch a clip of Colbert's segment, which uses clever video editing and child actors to have children "question" politicians about SCHIP.)

Now WebMD has jumped into the fray, providing a new feature that compares head-to-head the candidates' campaign promises on health care. (To save you a trip, most Dems' positions read: "Supports universal coverage" while most Republicans' positions state: "Believes answers to health care problems should be found in the private sector.")

Mitt Romney, however, has stated he wants to place the burden to reduce health care costs on the individual states and their insurance markets.

Anyone out there agree with either the veto or the emphasis on individual states? We'd love to hear from you.

-JACKIE SAUTER, Multimedia Editor

Is this election really necessary?

In a city like Baltimore, with voter registration skewed overwhelmingly toward one political party, do we really have to go through the motions of a primary and a general election?

How about one non-partisan election with runoffs when needed?

-TOM LINTHICUM, Executive Editor

Bush vs. Osama—Child’s Play?

My daughter couldn’t resist. She was walking recently on the outskirts of the medina in Rabat, the capital of Morocco, when the product being hustled by a teenage street vendor caught her eye.

The package said “Path Crash 911—Super Funny Children’s Toy, Ages 3- and up.” Looking closer, she saw a miniature train set featuring small figures of President Bush and Osama bin Laden. The young small businessman had one in operation, and she watched as Bush—armed and in a military vehicle—raced around the track after bin Laden—riding a skateboard—pursuing but never catching him.

The vendor wanted 40 dirham, or about $5, for the toy. My daughter, experienced in the local ways, bargained him down to 15 dirham, or about $2. He was pleased with the transaction so she knew he was still clearing a substantial profit.

Ah, the power of commerce. We may be locked in a struggle involving geopolitics, ideology, culture and religion in the Middle East, but in the midst of all that, there are still enterprising entrepreneurs who know how to capitalize on the situation and make a buck.

Oh, and Tom Friedman would want you to know that the toy was made in China—more proof that the world is indeed flat. Now, inquiring minds want to know if Halliburton has a toy-making subsidiary in China.

-TOM LINTHICUM, Executive Editor

Help wanted: Legal

After two terms with an MBA at the helm, the nation is likely to tap a lawyer for its next president. So says USA Today, The Nation’s Newspaper.

Of course, 25 of the 43 U.S. presidents so far HAVE been lawyers, but the American Bar Association says the percentage fell from 76 percent through the 19th century to just 39 percent in the 20th.

And in the current millennium, lawyers are 0 for 1, assuming you count George W. Bush as the only 21st century president.

But that could change in November ’08, since the three top contenders in each party are all attorneys. And yes, that includes newly announced Republican candidate Fred Thompson, who not only was a lawyer but played one on TV.

If that means Thompson (Vanderbilt ’67) counts twice, it would balance out fellow Republican Mitt Romney (Harvard ’75), who tends to play down his law degree and play up the MBA he got the same year.

Rounding out USA Today’s top six are Republican Rudy Giuliani (NYU ’68) and Democrats Hillary Rodham Clinton (Yale ’73), John Edwards (UNC Chapel Hill ’77) and Barack Obama (Harvard ’91).

All three Dems have spouses who are also lawyers, but Obama may be the first candidate to feature a law professor in his TV ads.

If you’re a lawyer looking for a job, it can’t hurt to have Laurence H. Tribe on your list of references.

-BARBARA GRZINCIC, Managing Editor, Law