Politics 2000

The House speedily approved shifting $2 billion more from the stimulus bill to the “Cash for Clunkers” program which enables people to receive up to $4,500 in trade-in value for an old car toward the purchase of a new vehicle. The program had been given $1 billion in stimulus money at the start of the week.

Proponents think the program is going very well. They maintain many Americans want to buy new vehicles that are more fuel-efficient. Getting old gas guzzlers off the streets is good. Furthermore, the auto industry benefits through increased demand.

Opponents aren’t as sure. They first wonder why $3 billion from the $787 billion in stimulus money was suddenly available for the project. They question how much other money is sitting in a pre-approved slush fund.

There’s still doubt whether the first billion is actually gone. Opponents say surveys were taken at select dealerships to determine early demand, then extrapolated to the entire country. It is telling that the program was announced only after the federal government–and by extension, U.S. taxpayers–took controlling interests in Chrysler and General Motors.

Shortly after Kentucky Republican Sen. Jim Bunning announced he won’t run for re-election in 2010, reports of a deal involving health care surfaced between the White House and Blue Dog Democrats. The Blue Dogs comprise the more conservative wing of Congressional Democrats.

The newest potential health care bill still incorporates the public option President Obama and liberals want but also reduces the prospective tax burden on some small business owners. Congress starts a month-long recess within a week. If the House is going to pass anything before the break, it needs to happen now.

Even if the lower chamber approves a bill, the Senate has already announced it won’t take action until at least September. Pundits are already discussing the effects on representatives and senators after five weeks of hearing angry constituents rail for and against sweeping changes in the way health care is handled in the U.S.

While most people agree the status quo isn’t sufficient, plenty of Americans disagree on how exactly to better the system. Partisans can’t even agree on the number of people who are uninsured. Either 47 million or as few as 10 million, depending on who is counted.

Michael Vick was conditionally reinstated to the National Football League today. NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell will monitor Vick’s activity during the next few months and could reinstate Vick fully in early October.

Vick will be allowed to participate with a team during the last two weeks of the August exhibition season but he wouldn’t be allowed to play until Week 6 at the earliest. Teams will have played four or five games by then.

There are two big questions now. The first is whether Vick can remain on the straight and narrow when millions of people are watching him. Some people hope he succeeds. Others are rooting for him to fail. Can he keep negative influences out of his life? The same kind of influences who led him to finance a dog fighting ring and spend 23 months in federal custody.

The second question is even if Vick becomes the most upstanding citizen in America starting tomorrow, will a team want to take a chance on him? There’s sure to be a lot of attention on the team that signs Vick. There will be some protests. Players, coaches and front-office personnel will have to answer a lot of questions. Even if VIck does nothing wrong from this point, he’ll be the classic “distraction” that football teams famously despise.

Furthermore, can he still play? He’s been a quarterback his entire career but he’s missed the last two seasons. Training camps have started from some teams. Every squad will be practicing by this time next week. Federal confinement and house arrest couldn’t have prepared Vick for a comeback. He’ll need to adjust to a new team quickly.

I liked Michael Vick when he led Virginia Tech to the national championship game as a freshman in 1999. He was a Heisman Trophy finalist and I really thought he should have won the award for carrying a less-talented team to an undefeated regular season.

He revived football in Atlanta and revolutionized the quarterback position. The “Wildcat” formation now in vogue is an offshoot from Vick’s talents.

That said, I’m also a dog lover. I can’t overlook the callousness of his actions. He killed a few dogs; his friends did most of the slaughtering. However, without his money, the whole thing never happens. It’s impossible to believe he can have some hatred to some creatures yet love humans like an off-on switch.

Vick is also black. For a league that wants to reach as many demographics as possible, that matters. A lot of football fans who aren’t African-American enjoyed watching him. The black home jersey of Atlanta mattered, not Vick’s black skin.

Race relations took a backward step last week due to events in Cambridge. People who see the world differently all think they were right in how they handled the situation.

So to say what happens to Vick’s ethnicity doesn’t matter at all isn’t true. An NFL team will give him a chance because it sees green and thinks Vick can help it earn more wins and, therefore, more money. However, it’s unlikely he’ll be shunned permanently. There’ll be protests if that happens. If there have to be angry people no matter what, might as well go for the money.