AND THE OSCAR GOES TO...

    It's that time of the year again when there seems to be an Awards show every other week starting in late December and culminating this Sunday evening with the Academy Awards ceremony in Hollywood.
    For someone who grew up anticipating with glee and excitement the telecast of the Oscars
I am this year barely making note of the event, although I will watch the show and hope I don't fall asleep midway thru the awards. 
    Living in LA for 26 years (and working for one of the major studios (Paramount), I felt a sense of obligation to watch the awards each year.  I had the chance to actually attend the ceremony one year but the invite came so late in the day there was little time for me to get it together, rent a tux and find transportation to the Shrine auditorium where the Oscars were being held that year.  Instead I chose to watch the show with friends on tv and shout expletives at the tv when winners made extra lame or waaay too long acceptance speeches.
    My favorite Oscars story took place the year BRAVEHEART won for best picture.
I had become friendly with the film's producer, Alan Ladd, Jr. ('Laddie') who had offices on the Paramount lot and had brought the film script with him when he left 20th Century Fox.
Paramount - more specifically, Sherry Lansing, who decided what films would get green lights and go into production - kept saying NO until Laddie submitted a greatly reduced budget for the film and got a very unenthusiastic green light to make the film.  When accepting the Oscar
for best film, Laddie said "thank you" and walked off with his Oscar.  Normally best
film Oscar winners thank the heads of production and gush about the support they got from
their studio.  Not Laddie.
  Anyhow, early the next morning, I got a call from Laddie's secretary inviting me over
for coffee and danish, something that I did often while Laddie was at Paramount.  I walked over and congratulated him for winning the best pic Oscar and we started talking about the
telecast and other winners.  Then Laddie said he had something for me that he remembered
my saying once how much I would like to have one.  With that, he opened his desk drawer
and whipped out the Oscar he had just won the night before and handed it to me.  His
secretary came out with a Polaroid camera and proceeded to take about a dozen pics of me holding the Oscar in various positions.  I sent copies out to friends across the U.S. with no message.  I kept once copy for myself and I have posted it with this piece or separately.
    And now for this year's awards, here are my predictions and personal choices.  Please feel free to keep a tally of how many you get right come Oscar night and post it the day after and we will see who chose the most winners.  Here goes mine (only major awards here):

                                                                              Winner                     My Choice

BEST PICTURE                                Silver Lining Playbook       Beast of Southern Wild

(In my opinion, Playbook is the most overrated film of 2012 while Beast of the Southern
Wild is the most original film distributed last year and easily the best film of the year)
Also nominated for best film is DJANGO UNCHAINED, how I don't know since I grew intolerant of the violence and silliness of the story in the second half of the film.

BEST ACTOR                                 Daniel Day Lewis                     Daniel Day Lewis

(Overlooked in this category was Dwight Henry, the non-actor who portrayed Hushpuppy's
father in BEASTS OF THE SOUTHERN WILD)

BEST ACTRESS                           Jennifer Lawrence                 Quvenzhane Wallis

(I simply could not buy into Lawrence's character in PLAYBOOK although she gives
a good performance.  Little Quvenzhane Wallis, the 6 year old (at the time the film was made)
non actor who portrays Hushpuppy gives an astonishing performance worthy of an Oscar)

BEST
SUPPORTING ACTOR               Tommy Lee Jones                   Tommy Lee Jones

BEST
SUPPORTING ACTRESS            Anne Hathaway                        Sally Fields

(I like Hathaway but her performance pales in comparisonn to Sally Fields 3-dimensional
portrait of Mary Todd Lincoln in LINCOLN.  It is a brilliant performance and I would be
thrilled to see Fields upset Hathaway and take home the Oscar but it ain't gonna happen)

CINEMATOGRAPHY                    Life of Pi                                  Life of Pi

(Finally a film that makes great use of 3D and gives viewers something really beautiful and
extraordinary to behold)

COSTUME DESIGN                     Anna Karenina                             Anna Karenina

FILM EDITING                                  Argo                                            Lincoln

(The Academy has to give Argo something and I believe it will be the Oscar for film
editing although I think the work in LINCOLN is superior.  I have a bet with a friend at
Paramount for the best pic Oscar and she has chosen Argo.  My choice is coming up)

DOCUMENTARY                       How to Survive a Plague                    No choice

(I haven't seen any of the doc nominations yet although I hope to see both How to
Survive a Plague and 5 Broken Cameras when they become available on demand.  If
How to...doesn't take home the Oscar here 5 Broken Cameras will.

FOREIGN LANGUAGE                     Amour                                             Amour

(No contest here.  I saw Amour and it is the kind of film one feels obligated to see but
knows that it will be emotionally draining to sit thru.  2 spectacular performances here by the leads, both icons in French cinema)

ORIGINAL SCORE                         Life of Pi                                          Life of Pi

(The score for Anna Karenina was beautiful but Life of Pi was nominated for 11 Oscars and the Academy will fee beholden to give the film at least a couple awards.  This is one of them)

PRODUCTION DESIGN              Les Miserables                                Les Miserables

(Another instance where the Academy will feel beholden to give something to Les Miz
and this is a category in which the film excells -- as do all the other nominees)

SOUND EDITING                        Dark Zero Thirty                              Dark Zero Thirty

(Again, the Academy will want to bestow at least one award to Dark Zero Thirty)

SOUND MIXING                           Les Miserables                                 Les Miserables

(There was a lot I didn't like about the film but God knows the sound was tacka terrific and
the mixing of the vocals and music was excellent)

VISUAL EFFECTS                         Life of Pi                                           Life of Pi

(Easily hands down the winner in this category.  Director Ang Lee and his visual
effects people have created some amazing visuals not to mention the tiger who plays such a large part in the story.  I wanted to embrace this film when I saw it but for some reason
(possibly waiting in line in the lobby for over an hour for a pre-opening screening) it didn't grab me emotionally.  Maybe I'll see it again and see how I react during a second viewing.

DIRECTION                                        David Russell                           Steven Spielberg

(I was underwhelmed by Silver Linings Playbook and didn't buy any of the
characters for a minute, especially Bradley Cooper, who annoyed the hell out of me.
But Russell is an Academy favorite and I think will take home the Oscar despite
Spielberg's best effort in years with LINCOLN)

ADAPTED SCREENPLAY               Kushner/Lincoln                      Kushner/Lincoln

(No contest here.  Kushner wrote a brilliant screenplay and even though he took some
\liberties with the facts, his words here are mesmerizing)

ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY              Boal/Dark Zero Thirty            Boal/Dark Zero Thirty

BEST SONG                                                 Skyfall                                     Skyfall

BEST PICTURE                                 Silver Linings Playbook         Beasts of the Southern Wild

(I stand to win 5 cents if my pick is the winner here.  My friend in LA insists that ARGO is
going to win but I'm going with the most overrated film of the year, SILVER LININGS PLAYBOOK.  I liked the first half of the film but by the end I was ready to throw something at the screen I was so annoyed with the characters and the way the film ended.   I found nothing special about the big dance sequence at the end and for the life of me couldn't understand what the Lawrence character saw in Cooper's (a jerk of the first order).  On the other hand,
BEASTS OF THE SOUTHERN WILD is original, emotionally rewarding and worthy of all the honors thrown its way (Sundance Film Festival and Cannes) early in its release.  First time
director Benh Zeitlin has written a beautiful script and managed to produce some astonishing performances for a group of mostly non-actors.

    So there you have it - my selections for Oscar night.  I will brace myself for those acceptance speeches in which the winner look upward and claim that their mother and/or father is watching from Heaven.  Mercifully, few will thank God for their awards.  That gesture is usually relegated to the Tony Awards when winners always thank Jesus and God, not necessarily in that order.

MARVIN HAMLISCH DEAD AT 68, COMPOSED MUSIC FOR A CHORUS LINE

    I was saddened to hear the news that composer Marvin Hamlisch had died after a brief illness at the age of 68.  Among the many scores that he wrote, his most successful one was for the Tony award winning musical, A CHORUS LINE, which opened on Broadway in 1975.
    I saw it less than 3 weeks after it opened on the big White Way.  An
actor friend in NYC called and said he had a comp tix for the upcoming weekend matinee performance.
    Having just been in the Big Apple the week before and not knowing very much about this musical, I declined his offer.  Soon after on the phone with a friend, I mentioned the offer and he went ballistic on me and said to call my buddy in NY and beg for the tix if it was still available.
    I called.  He still had it.  I came.  I saw.  I was conquered.
    As I was leaving my friend's apt. to walk over to the theatre district to see the show, he handed me a sliver of paper and said to swallow it
as I was entering the theatre.  Little did I know that I would be having
my first time ever experience on acid.
   I sat in the front row of the mezzanine and several times an usher came over to insist that I sit down and remain seated for the remainder of the performance.
   What I wanted to do was to jump from the mezzanine onto the stage (thinking I was Superman and could fly) and join the cast that day and forever. 
   Mercifully, I was just enough in control of my body that I did remain in my seat until the very end of the performance.  Believe me it wasn't easy.
    I left the theatre, my head buzzing and my body moving in what felt like several different directions, but I managed to get back to my friend's apartment in one piece.  I was still tripping when I got there.
   Needless to say, A CHORUS LIFE, which I have seen several times in subsequent revivals of the Pulitizer winning musical, remains a singularly memorable experience for me. 
   Thank you, Marvin Hamlisch, for all your wonderful music and may you rest in peace.
   Kiss today goodbye and point me towards tomorrow. 
   I did it all for love.

PARAMOUNT PICTURES CELEBRATES 100 YEAR ANNIVERSARY

    Just finished watching on Utube coverage of Paramount Pictures 100 year anniversary celebration held on the studio lot on Stage 18 where scenes from such famous films as Sunset Boulevard were shot and where the party commemorating the studio's 75th anniversary was held,
an event I attended since I worked there from 1980-2005. 
    116 stars were invited to participate in the recent celebration and a photograph of those in attendance appears in July's Vanity Fair.  Viewing it brought back a wave of memories of my years there and in particular being among the guests at the anniversary celebration in
1987.  I remember kibutzing with Robert Evans, with whom I had gotten friendly while supervising the renovation of his office suite on the studio lot.  I remember seeing Elizabeth Taylor and approaching her to remind her of when we had met before (during her brief marriage to US Senator John Warner when she lived in Virginia).
Being the gracious lady she was, she pretended to remember me but I know she hadn't.  I'm sure she put those miserable years well behind her and remembered little from that unhappy period in her life.
    I remember walking around the stage during that event and quietly
taking it all in and taking pictures (in my mind...we weren't allowed to
bring cameras inside) that I would retain in my memory bank for many years to come.  I remember being hugged by Sherry Lansing, who was
head of the studio at that time, who always called me 'Honey,' which is what she called everyone who worked in the backlot because she couldn't remember our names.  I hobnobbed with many of the celebrities there who remembered me as the guy who got their offices painted and carpeted and managed to cut thru the bureaucratic red tape and get things done quickly, purchasing new furniture for their offices and in many instances, role playing as an interior designer (for which I had no previous professional experience).
    A lot has changed in the 25 years that have passed since the studio
celebrated its 75th anniversary.  Alas, mostly for the worse.
    I retired in 2005.  During the 26 years I worked there, there was a real sense of community, a feeling that we were family.  There were hundreds of staffers who had worked at Paramount for many years and took great pride at their work and being part of the Paramount
family.  Most of them are gone now.
    Less than a year after I retired from the studio (2005), old-timers like myself began to get laid off.  In one swoop, more than 400 people were let go.  What once was a studio where films were often shot on stages on the lot and where many Paramount produced tv shows (Morky and Mindy, Happy Days, Laverne & Shirley, Family Ties, Cheers) were done has become mostly a rental lot with stages and production offices rented to
non Paramount entities.
    Very few films are shot there anymore and most of the people I worked with are long gone. 
    I consider myself fortunate for being there at the right time,
privileged to have observed filmmaking up close, thrilled at interacting with so many talented people on both sides of the camera - actors,
producers, directors, writers and all the wonderful backlot people
responsible for the day to day operation of the studio.
    I have so many memories - like the time I had to sit in Meg Ryan's
offices on the lot because one of her assistants was convinced ghosts
occupied them.  Yup.  I was asked by a production executive to go there and sit for 2 hours and see if I saw any ashtrays floating midair or heard any ghost like sounds (I didn't).  
    And poignant moments like when I walked a very pregnant Dawn Steele, president of production, to her car on the lot carrying loads of gifts she had just gotten at a baby shower in her honor, knowing that she wouldn't be returning to her job after she gave birth (My boss had told me earlier in the day to have the keys to her office suite changed while she was on maternity leave).
   And Sylvester Stallone and the damn desk he couldn't get his legs under (as it turns out, because of the lifts he wore in his cowboy boots)
or when former president of production, Don Simpson, threw a massive glass asstray at me while I was standing inside the entrance to his office suite.  "What the fuck do you want," he screamed at me.  "Ah,
nothing that can't wait until tomorrow, Mr. Simpson," I stuttered and ran like hell back to the safety of my little office in a nearby building.
    I could go on.  There are stories.  There is diss.  But for the moment
I'm keeping quiet.  For what little it may be worth, I want to acknowledge the 100 year anniversary of Paramount Pictures and express my gratitude for the mostly wonderful 26 years I spent there.
    Truly there is no business like show business!
   

THE PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGN? A BUST SO FAR

    My favorite op-ed page columnist, Richard Cohen, in his piece in today's Washington Post ("Running on Empty") is critical of both Mitt Romney and Barack Obama and says, "If the presidential campaign were a TV program, it
would have been canceled by now.  Viewers have clicked off, stupefied by a campaign that has one overriding issue, the economy."
    Cohen asks, "Why is this happening?" and answers his own question.  "Some of it no doubt is due to the traditional American antipathy towards politicians, government and anything that lacks a goal post.  We consider it
a triumph of Jeffersonian democracy when 60 percent of us vote, but usually the figure is lower -- 57.1 percent for president in 2008 and 37.8 percent in the last Congressional elections."
    Cohen adds that there are other factors in the mix this year.  "First and
foremost is the paucity of really gripping issues.  There is only one, the economy, and it will do what it wants.  If it improves, Barack Obama will win; if it worsens, Mitt Romney will win."
    Cohen calls it the "nowhere economy -- neither boom nor bust nor much good to anyone."
    "Romney," he says, "is content not to make waves.  He steers clear of the arch-conservative positions he was forced to make in the primaries, revealing as little of himself as possible...he emphasizes his bogus credentials as a jobs creator when what he was, of course, was a profit creator.  He has vast expertise in the private sector, bo so did Herbert Hoover and so didn't among many others, Eisenhower, Johnson, Kennedy,
Clinton, both Roosevelts and -- icon or not -- Reagan.  Giving speeches does not create jobs."
    Cohen is just as critical of Obama suggesting that he is a paradox:  an exciting story, an unexciting man.  His charisma, so evident on the stump,
has a brief half-life.  He somehow covers it, like the snuffer over a candle,
and it casts no glow."
    And so it goes.  Romney drones on about creating jobs, but doesn't say how he's going to accomplish this major goal and Obama remains prisoner to the Republican controlled Congress.  As Cohen writes, "it (the White House) can nudge and it can tug, but the economy goes its own way.  A jobs program would help, but Congress won't pass it.  More deficit spending would help, but Congress won't allow it.  The government is tied up in knots.  It, too, waits for November."
    "It's as if it (the campaign) is being conducted by men who will not --
or cannot -- control events but are waiting for events to control them.  They campaign dutifully but dully, going through the motions until Election Day.
Maybe then they'll get the audience back.  In the meantime, America has gone for a beer."
    Another brilliant column by Cohen and I urge you to read the entire
piece in today's (6/26) Washington Post.

REMEMBERING ALAN TURING DURING GAY PRIDE MONTH

    June is the month that most cities hold Gay Pride Weekend celebrations, so it is fitting that while we do so, we also take the time to acknowledge the contributions of our gay brothers and sisters thru the ages.
    This past weekend the New York Times in a brief editorial acknowledged the 100th birthday
anniversary of Alan Turing (June 23). 
    Turing was a mathematician/scientist who studied machines, their intelligence and limitations.
During WWII, he helped to develop the machines and algorithms that cracked the Enigma code used by the Germans.  That work, according to the Times editorial, changed the outcome of the war because it gave the Allies an ear into German planning.
    Turing's name appears in many science fiction novels set in the future.  Determining the nature of machine intelligence and how it differs from human intelligence has been a common theme in many books and films and was the object of Turing's research and work during his lifetime.
    Turing was gay and lived in an age when homosexual acts were considered a crime both in
England, his homeland, and in America.  In 1952 he was convicted and given a choice between prison or treatment with female hormones, a form of chemical castration.  He chose the latter.
He also lost his security clearance, in effect, ending his professional career.  So much for his genius and scientific contributions.
    Tragically, Turing committed suicide at the age of 41.
    We have made significant strides in the struggle to gain acceptance in mainstream society and achieve deserved civil rights.  It is fitting that we celebrate those achievements during Gay Pride
Weekends across the country.  Be joyous and have a fabulous time doing so.  But also pause to remember those who lived in darkness and and endured intolerance and were often treated as lepers.
Accordingly, let us salute Alan Turing and his contributions to mankind

BROADWAY MUSICALS AND THE TONYS

I watched the Tonys last night on TV and I found the telecast mostly lame, not very entertaining and even depressing. Sure, Neil Patrick Harris was terrific hosting the ceremonies held in the Beacon Theatre in New York City. Harris is both talented and funny and his opening number was fun but not half as much fun as the number he performed to open last year's telecast of the Tonys. I won't devote any of my time here to the non-musical shows that were up for awards last night. First off, I've only seen one of the plays nominated - Other Desert Cities by Jon Robin Baitz which was excellent - and everything I've read about this past season's efforts suggest that it was a very strong year for drama, comedy and (non-musical) revivals. In the latter category is Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman, directed by Mike Nichols, which opened a few months ago to rave reviews. I have no issue with these plays. War Horse, last year's winner for best play, is still on Broadway and still strong at the box office. I do take issue with what Broadway has to offer these days in musical theatre, especially musical revivals. Granted, 2 of this past season's revivals warranted another look. Stephen Sondheim's FOLLIES, staged last year at the Kennedy Center and then brought to New York, is a good musical if not a great one (not one of my Sondheim favorites) and everything I read about this production tells me it was done quite well and worthy of a large audience. Then there is The Gershwin's PORGY AND BESS. By the time this adaptation reached Broadway this past season, most if not all of the controversial elements of it had been eliminated. Again, not one of my favorite musicals, but it is one, all the same, that warrants a revival. Then there are the rest. Did we really need a revival of Andrew Lloyd Webber's EVITA and JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR? Especially lame ones? This EVITA features Ricky Marvin in the role originated by Mandy Patinkin. I know Mandy Patinkin (his stage work that is) and Ricky Martin is no Mandy Patinkin. He proved that in the number that he and other cast members performed last night at the Tonys. God awful. We've had several revivals of EVITA. The movie with Madonna. Did we really need another EVITA production so soon? Nope. And as for JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR, this is a musical best left to the efforts of community theatres and hip churches and maybe even a regional theatre or two; but otherwise please spare us from this wretched show. Last,but certainly least of all, is the revival of GODSPELL. Why? When I open the Sunday NY Times Arts&Leisure section to see what musical theatre is playing or will soon be opening, I am always disappointed at what's offered. Musical adaptations of lame films like GHOST, LEAP OF FAITH (that closed mercifully after a brief run) and (sorry) ONCE have been mounted. ONCE took the Tony last night for best musical (winning over NEWSIES, Broadway's other big hit, which was adapted from a piece of dreck movie) but I dozed thru the film version and you couldn't give me a free tix to sit thru it, not after hearing the overrated song that is the centerpiece of the story and was performed last night). A look at some of the long running shows still playing on Broadway suggests that musical tastes of theatre goers (mostly tourists) has reached an all-time low. ANYTHING GOES is yet another revival of a musical from way back when (hello, Ethel Merman) that has been done to death. Last season we had HOW TO SUCCEED IN BUSINESS WITHOUT REALLY TRYING (a so-so musical to begin with), a revival that opened to mixed reviews but was a box office hit thanks to the presence of Daniel Radcliff. Another new musical this season is NICE WORK IF YOU CAN GET IT, more Gershwin songs and big production numbers (I am a sucker for big tap dance numbers), but I have the feeling it's another 'been there, done that' theatre experience. Still playing after all these years are PHANTOM OF THE OPERA, JERSEY BOYS (I and the friend who saw it with me are the only 2 people on the planet who didn't love it), MEMPHIS (hated the production I saw on PBS recently), CHICAGO (overrated) and MOMMA MIA (ok, I'm an ABBA groupie and saw it 4 times). Also MARY POPPINS (I took my 12 year old niece and 10 year old nephew to see it and they were bored shitless)and THE LION KING which will run forever I guess. In the works and opening in August is CHAPLIN THE MUSICAL (I can hardly wait!). I was relieved when the Tonys telecast ended last night. If I had heard one more winner exclaim that "I am a member of the most incredible community," I was prepared to throw my cell phone at my tv. I'm sure that most people associated with theatre in New York are certainly talented and pleasant (and mostly gay, bless their hearts), but all of them INCREDIBLE. The only thing incredible about Broadway is the cost of a ticket to see a musical there. On average about $125 for a decent seat way back in the orchestra or in the first balcony. How many of us can afford the luxury of seeing a musical in NYC these days what with the economy and unemployment?

USING THE WRONG WORDS TO SAY THE RIGHT THING

  Poor Hilary Rosen!  A Democratic activist and CNN commentator said that Ann Romney - whose husband Mitt, the fav to win the Republican presidential nomination , and who has 'appointed' his wife as his spokesperson on women's rights - "has actually never worked a day in her life."
  What she really meant to say is that Romney, who stayed home to raise 5 sons, has never worked OUTSIDE the home.  And this is true.  To call Ann Romney a typical stay at home housewife is to suggest that she spent most of her days dusting and vacuuming the floors in her several mansions and cooking macaroni and cheese in the kitchen for her 5 sons and dutiful husband. 
  If you believe this to be true, then I have some beach front property in Las Vegas that I would like to show you this weekend, available at a cut rate price.
  I have sympathy for Ann Romney.  She has survived Cancer and has been diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis,
but unlike thousands of other women who have suffered the same setbacks, Ms. Romney undoubtedly had the care of the best specialists in their fields and could well afford to pay their high fees for services rendered.
She didn't have to worry about how she would get to the doctor's offices or to the hospital for treatment as so many other victims have had to do, because she could drive one of her 2 cadillacs to get there or have one of her husband's staff drive her there.  And she didn't have to worry about how much gas was costing  either.
  The point is Ms. Romney's life experience could never be called 'normal'.  It has been privileged in every sense of the word.
  Imagine, if you will, the average every day work at home mother, trying to raise 5 sons in your average 3-bedroom 2,000 sq. ft. home, putting enough food on the kitchen table and making sure her boys stayed out of trouble attending the public schools in their community (Question:  Did the Romney boys attend public or private schools?  Just curious.)
  There has been nothing 'average' about Ms. Romney's lifestyle.  Privileged?  Absolutely.  Average? Not by a long shot. 
  Republicans and even our President have come running to defend the honor of Ms. Romney.  Rosen's
comments were wrong, Obama has said.  And he added that family should be "off limits".
  Wrong!.  When presidential hopeful (God forbid) Mitt Romney put a microphone in his wife's hands and made her a spokesperson for women's rights (or rights as far as Republicans see them), she becomes 'on limits' and fodder for the media covering the presidential race. 
  You woulda thought Hilary Rosen had called Romney a 'bitch' and worse, a lesbian, what with all the criticism leveled against her by Republican party spokesmen.  Rosen is, in fact, a lesbian and a single parent to an adopted child.
  And if you can believe it, the Catholic League has issued a statement critical of this lesbian who had the unmitigated nerve to adopt and raise someone else's unwanted child.  Give me a fucking break!
  Meanwhile, Rep. Allen West (R-Fla) was quoted just this week as saying "I believe there is (sic) about 78 to 81 members of the Democratic Party that are members of the Communist Party."  "It's called the Congressional Progressive Caucus."
  Jesus!  I had no idea!
  One would think that responsible Republican leaders, including presidential candidates Mitt Romney and that fat fuck Newt Gingrich would issue statements criticizing West's ludicrous comments.  To date, no one has, but they have jumped all over Ms. Rosen for her poorly chosen words that when examined closely, were more closer to the truth than not.
  How does someone like Allen West - obviously a moron and solidly supported by Tea Party members in his district - get a pass for saying what he did about Democratic Congressmen, while Hilary Rosen is raked to the coals and will probably be pushed under the bus by the powers behind the Democratic Party?
  Why hasn't President Obama issued a forceful statement criticizing West for his ridiculous comments on the one hand and tried to explain in better terms what Ms. Rosen was trying to say about Ann Romney  on the other?
   Answer?  Easy.   He doesn't want to offend any potential voters in a state he clearly needs to win in November. 
   Obama has once again disappointed me.  I'll vote for him this November even though I'm pissed at him for not attending the opening game at Nationals' Park yesterday to throw out the ceremonial first ball to open the baseball season here and angry at him for not coming to the aid of Ms. Rosen.  I will do so without any degree of enthusiasm, only because the thought of a Republican president with a Republican majority in Congress scares the shit out of me!
  Have a nice day people.