BloggeRhythms

The things people do, when caught by surprise or unprepared is sometimes truly amazing. And that seems to be the case regarding Secretary of State, John Kerry, who’s being forced to defend the president’s questionable deal with Iran against an unwilling Congress. In fact, his lengthy description of the agreement itself sounds like all the hubbub is about meaningless words not worth the paper they’re written on. 

 

Bradley Klapper of the Associated Press writes in abcnews.go.com via Drudge that, “Secretary of State John Kerry said Wednesday that U.S. lawmakers won't be able to change the terms of any nuclear agreement with Iran because it won't be legally binding, a statement likely to inspire greater congressional opposition.

 

"We've been clear from the beginning: We're not negotiating a, quote, legally binding plan," Kerry told the panel. "We're negotiating a plan that will have in it the capacity for enforcement. We don't even have diplomatic relations with Iran right now."

 

What’s even more ridiculous is that, according to Kerry, the senators' letter "erroneously asserts that this is a legally binding plan. It's not, that's number one. Number two, it's incorrect when it says that Congress could actually modify the terms of an agreement at any time. That's flat wrong. They don't have the right to modify an agreement reached executive to executive between leaders."

 

In summary of the arrangement, Mr. Klapper writes, “No side has emphasized the need for a legally binding deal because each has stronger forms of leverage. If Iran cheats, the Obama administration has spoken of re-imposing suspended sanctions. The U.S. has also held out the prospect of military action if Iran makes progress toward a nuclear weapon.

 

“Similarly, if the U.S. doesn't live up to its side of the bargain, the Iranians can ramp up enrichment levels of uranium, taking them closer to nuclear weapons capacity.”

 

So, what this obviously all boils down to is months of wasted time, countless taxpayer dollars spent and millions of words of discussion for the U.S. and Iran to remain exactly where they were to begin with at the start. Meaning the net effect of the “deal” is zero.

 

Which brings us to today’s update on Bill Clinton’s wife’s shaky campaign status.

 

It appears that the White House may have been behind, or strongly in support of, Bill’s wife’s email problems whereas they don’t want her campaigning against any of the positions they’ve taken regarding the management or direction of the nation. Therefore, the email server leak was a warning.

 

Additional evidence of dislike for Mrs. Clinton came from the president himself when he said, “the American people will want that new-car smell.” The line is already a classic; perfectly capturing the political zeitgeist.

 

Similarly, National Journal columnist Ron Fournier wrote that, “The 1990s tactics don’t work in an age where you can’t possibly spin and intimidate 300 million people,” in an interview with the Daily Beast.

 

Both comments are thought-provoking because they touch on one of the major problems Bill’s wife is going to have to deal with. And, unfortunately for her, she’s far, far beyond the age where technological aptitude, adeptness and adaptability come easily. As proven by failure at something so basic as maintaining separate personal and occupational email accounts.  

 

At present it seems that her main political thrust in getting her point across will remain addressing the public via press conferences, speeches and appearances. However, that tactic won’t likely produce the same positive results as in the past, because adding to what Mr. Fournier noted, the audience doesn’t even exist anymore.

 

According to Nielsen today, “Traditional television watching is declining faster than ever as streaming services become a mainstream feature in American homes.

 

“At the same time, more homes turned to online video, with 40 percent of U.S. homes subscribing to a streaming service such as Netflix, Amazon Instant Video or Hulu compared with 36 percent in the fourth quarter of 2013. 

 

“Adults watched an average of four hours and 51 minutes of live TV each day in the fourth quarter of 2014, down 13 minutes from the same quarter of 2013. Viewing was down six minutes between the fourth quarter of 2013 and 2012. 

 

“Between 2012 and 2014, viewers ages 50 through 64  watched one hour and 12 minutes less of traditional TV each week; they increased viewing of videos over the Internet by 22 minutes. Viewers ages 35 through 49 watched two hours and five minutes less of traditional TV each week and increased viewing of online videos by 35 minutes.”

 

So, at the rate it’s going, to reach the audience she needs, Bill’s wife might be better off forgetting about delivering speeches no one listens to anyway and making a movie instead. Perhaps a remake of “The Thing.”  And even better for her, Hollywood’s make-up artists are the best in the world, something she most assuredly can benefit from.  

 

That’s it for today folks.

 

Adios