Pucks and Politics

Well, it’s been a little longer then I had anticipated for my second post. Unfortunately the day job has really cramped my blogging style the past few weeks with no let up in site…although one bonus is that a lot of my work has resulted in a lot of travel so that has been good, both for my interesting flying and my desire (Mrs. East Coast Wing would say obsession) with keeping my elite status with my airline of choice, United!

A lot is happening now in the world of pucks and politics that deserves attention. In the puck “arena” my Detroit Red Wings are experiencing a really rough patch with a 1-6-1 record going into tonight’s game against the Vancouver Cannucks. Injuries have contributed to the losing streak and the cumulative effect is that the Wings have tremendously reduced their chances of winning the most games ever in a season, ironically set by the 1995-96 Detroit Red Wings with 62 wins in the regular season. The Wings still hold 89 points, the best in the league, and firmly command the Western Conference’s Central Division so they certainly are still in good shape. However, it does shake my confidence a bit although if they are going to have a slump then I want it to happen now, and not in the playoffs as has been their practice the last few years!

Politics and especially the race for the Democratic and Republican nominations have really taken off. Since my first post we have seen the impact of the Super Tuesday primaries that made Senator John McCain the essential nominee for the Republicans and wiped out the campaign of former Senator John Edwards of North Carolina. The more surprising result of Super Tuesday is the intense battle currently going on between Senators Hillary Clinton (D-NY) and Barrack Obama (D-IL) for the Democratic nomination. As late as last November I was giving remarks at a trade association meeting and told the audience to “get ready for President Clinton II.” Needless to say, I and many others did not see Obama’s surge. I’m pretty happy about the current status of the Democrats…I feel that Senator Clinton approached the primaries as if she was automatically going to be named prom queen for the Democrats. The fact that she now is in a very difficult fight for the nomination, and one she may very well lose, appeals to the political junkie in me. Add in a very intense dislike of the Clintons and I find myself very happy at what is going on with the Democrats. I definitely do not find myself very excited about Arizona Senator John McCain for the Republicans and did not vote for him in my state’s primary. We’ll see what kind of progress he makes with patching up his differences with conservatives as we get into the general election but I, for one, am not excited about McCain as a president. While many will pontificate on the various issues impacting the presidential race, one thing we do know is that a member of the United States Senate will become President in less than a year!