This Is Why People Lose Their Minds (and become Cowboy fans)

A recession is looming. The bank foreclosed on the house next door, while foreign rich dudes are buying that same bank with billions of dollars in your gas money. And by the way, we're trying to elect a President here. And the story Washington really cares about--Who is gonna coach the Redskins?

For the last several days much of my email has been about the craziness going on out at Redskins Park following the resignation of Joe Gibbs. While the ardor seems to be cooling a bit now, don't worry--it will fire up again once there's some actual news to report.

As I pointed out in a recent blog, I grew up in this town, but even I still don't really understand what it is about that team that inspires us so powerfully, or more accurately makes us into completely annoying weirdos to anyone who doesn't share our obsession. Wizards? Ha! Caps? Double Ha!

Think about it. The DC United soccer team has won a bunch of championships in its relatively short span of existence...and I've never gotten even one email about them in 4 years of doing McGinty's Mailbag. Not one. Ever.

Wait a second. Let me check the mailbag right now.

I'm back.

Yup, we got another one on the Redskins. Its from Bonnie in DC. Don't believe me? Here it is:

Hope you can stand one more remark/remarks on the this subject. I saw your show last night and always enjoy the "mailbag" comments. I couldn't Agree more w/the other viewers comments on this man - Snyder - what in the world is he thinking? The "Skins" made the playoffs w/Gibbs, Williams, Saunders & the players. Why the h....would he fire Williams/Saunders and fill those positions without having a head coach? The Skins had something To build on next season. Now, we will have to rebuild the team, etc. - Snyder do us a favor and sell the Team!!!!!!!
All I can say - to me Snyder is a little wealthy boy who doesn't know anything about football.

See? Its all about the same. "We hate Dan Snyder. We really hate Snyder. And did I mention our hatred of anything Snyder-esque?"

But you know what, Dan? All ya gotta do is win a Superbowl. Heck, just go 11 and 5 one year and I guarantee--All will be forgiven.

Mourning in America

I was listening to public radio in the early morning hours today and heard something that woke me all the way up.

They were interviewing South Carolina voters and they asked one Hillary Clinton supporter why he wouldn't support Barack Obama.

"I'm not ready for him yet," he drawled. Why? "Well, I don't know. I don't want to say something to make you believe its a racial issue. I just don't believe we're ready for him yet."

At least he was honest. He is not ready for a Black President, and he apparently doesn't think others are either. Now for the record, the guy was a 74-year-old retired truck driver from South Carolina. He's practically a walking talking stereotype--ironically, the opposite side of the same coin he tossed in Obama's direction.

But that statement smacked me up side the head with the remains of my own idealism. I was really starting to buy in to the idea that Barack Obama could win or lose this thing on his own merit. Content of the character and all that.

Now, though I'm wondering what Black Americans often ponder--how many people feel just like that retired trucker, but are just too nice or should I say too polite or maybe even too scared to say? I could be wrong, but his use of the pronoun "we" suggests that he at least believes he's got significant company.

Now, I know racism is far from dead (I believe its part of the human condition but that's a whole 'nother blog) but I'm honest enough to acknowledge that I was starting to think that in 2008 the majority of us are at least trying to get past all that, and a really good candidate might transcend. Idealistic? Absolutely. But now I'm wondering if it was just plain old naive.

Nobody Marched With King...

People just oughta stop saying it. You most likely did not march with King back in the '60s. And Mitt Romney's dad almost certainly didn't.

Why would GOP White House hopeful Mitt Romney suggest such a thing if it weren't true? Easy. Because he wanted to seem progressive on civil rights, especially in light of the Mormon church's troubled past on race issues.

However, none of this is new or unique to Romney. I noticed it years ago, and its just become more and more common. Anyone who needs to shore up their credentials on racial sensitivity begins by saying something to the effect of, "I marched with Dr. King in the 60s."

Sure sounds impressive. What they're really saying is--I can't be racially insensitive or bigoted because I was on the front lines back in the day. Right.

I don't mean to be so cynical. I'm sure most everyone means well. Its just that it has gotten out of hand. Way too many people are claiming it way too often.

I just don't buy it. So I talked to someone I know was there. My father. And Pops was honest about the fact that he almost didn't go. He wasn't really worked up about the idea until that day in August 1963 when he saw bus after bus rolling down New York Avenue.

"I had to go after seeing all those people coming from out of town."

He also said something I didn't expect but instinctively understood: "The feeling of brotherhood and the lack of prejudice was overwhelming."

Remember, it was 1963. Back then, legal segregation wasn't part of history; it was a part of his daily experience. So imagine showing up on the Mall and seeing thousands upon thousands of people all united by the idea that racism is just another word for injustice.

"The only reason to come was because you had a deep feeling about equality in this country. You knew that if the person was there and they were White that they were not prejudiced. In contrast ...when you see strangers you don't what they're feelings are. It was a truly moving event, " he told me.

"I'm glad I went because it was one of the most emotional and heart warming events I ever attended."

The interesting thing for me is that Pops isn't claiming to have done anything special by just showing up on the National Mall that day.

In fact, all he talks about is what being there did for him. In other words, he didn't go there to 'march with Dr. King.' He's grateful that Dr. King and everyone else showed up to march for all of us.

I'm From DC; You're Not

Why are people always so surprised when I tell them I'm actually from Washington, DC?

You know, babies are born here occasionally, or so I've been told. But folks seem think that because there are so many transients around, everyone must have been shipped in. Or if you are a native, maybe you're like, this unusual rare creature with a bizarre upbringing--possibly living under the Lincoln Memorial bumming quarters from government workers.

Uh, no, McFooligan. Believe it or not, growing up my playmates and I were all from D.C. (Now, don't ask me how many of them are still here but you get the point.)

I went to Keene elementary, which no longer exists. I went to Rabaut Junior High, which no longer exists. Thankfully Woodrow Wilson High School is still around. Go Tigers!!

And speaking of high school, what's this with people who claim they grew up in the District, but when I ask where they graduated they tell me its Suitland or Kennedy or Fair Oaks or Outer Boondockia or whatever? Puh-lease!! If you weren't a Rough Rider, or a Tiger or even a (sigh) Clerk or a Colt, you are not one of us.

This 'Tiger' did not go to Wilson!!

Back in my day we ran from The Bunny Man, chatted up the National Guard Troops on our street corners during the riots, and some of us even remember when that McDonald's on South Dakota Avenue didn't have seats and you couldn't even eat a dollar's worth of food.

If none of that stuff rings a bell, next time you're on the West Coast and someone says, "where are ya from?", Remember: You are from Bowie.

Gone Commercial

"Like "Hef" in your mansion wicha silk pajamas!"

That happens to be Lesli Foster's favorite line from that jammin' DC Lottery commercial with the Godfather of Go-Go Chuck Brown. I never play the lottery but I love that ad!! I know it by heart. and you would too, if you saw it 8 times a day every day for months.

See, that's the thing about this gig that no one really thinks about. We see the commercials-every one of them-every day. We can't really run to the kitchen for a snack and if you have to use the bathroom you gotta really run. (and PLEASE don't forget to turn off your microphone!)

So as of now I know for a fact that Chuck wants you to:

Quit yo job

Tell the boss that you just bought the company.

Anything can happen with the DC Lottery.

Uh. Hah, hah, hah.

Yeeeaahh.

Tel-Addiction

When I was a kid I loved books. But I loved TV more.

Not only did I memorize pretty much the whole TV schedule, I even knew all the theme songs. (Don't believe me? Ask me what the lyrics were to "Cade's County." Ha!Its a trick question. "Cade's County" was an instrumental.)

I thought I'd outgrown my childhood obsession, but the writers strike has made me realize just how badly I've relapsed. That, and the power of TIVO. Back in the good old days,(about 6 weeks ago) when there were actually brand new first-run shows on television, there was nothing better than coming home, grabbing the remote, and finding out what Mr. DVR has picked up for us overnight.

Now, Mr. TIVO gives me the sad news daily: Nothing new to watch except 9 News Now at 5, and while that male anchor is devilishly handsome, lets face it--I've already seen that.

I'm not blaming the Writers' Guild. They're doing what they gotta do.

But I sure do miss Nip/Tuck.

Sick!!

One of the first things they tell you in the broadcast news business is don't bother telling the audience you're sick. Nobody cares.

So I didn't mention it last Thursday and Friday when I almost went into convulsions trying not to cough in the middle of reading stories.

Co-anchor Lesli Foster was practically hosing me down with Lysol, and who could blame her? She was trapped for a full hour 18 inches from a guy who was going through Kleenex like Mitt Romney sucks down styling gel. Gave a whole new meaning to that old Earth, Wind & Fire song "Boogie Wonderland."

I thought I'd heal up over the weekend. But then I watched the Redskins on Saturday, and that made me ill all over again. Oh, I know. The boys played as hard as they could. It was a great year..what a comeback..they made the playoffs blah Blah BLAH!!!

We lost the dang game! Agggh!! I can't even say we should have won cause the Skins pretty much got outplayed. But for some reason, it just got to me this time. Couldn't bring myself to blog about it that day, or even read the papers about it on Sunday.

I really didn't even watch any more football. I was, in a word, sick about it.



But I'm getting over it. Shake it off--its just a game, right? And the Redskins are just a football team. And next season isn't so very far away, is it? But C'mon guys. Can we get it right next year? Win 10-12 games. Roll strong into the playoffs. Smack around some real contenders? Lord knows--I can't go through this again.

We're Dumb, But We're Not That Dumb!

Back in the summer I blogged about Why Barack Obama Isn't Winning, so now I guess I owe him one. Here it is:

Barack Obama won Iowa last night because he doesn't think we're stupid. Same for Mike Huckebee. Analysts will talk about voters who want 'change' or 'values voters', but none of that would have mattered if not for two candidates who did not talk down to their supporters.

Hillary Clinton seemed to think if she said the word "change" enough times, people might believe it. But her real problem is that people don't perceive that she's really comfortable with who she is. 'Changing' into someone else is just going to make that worse.

Similar thing for Mitt Romney. He throws around buzzwords like "Hillarycare" and "socialized medicine." I guess he's trying to scare up conservative voters from 20 years ago. But Mitt, we hardly know ye. And today's conservative Iowans showed little desire to vote for the robot clone of Ronald Reagan.

Message Matters More than Money. We saw it in 2000 with John McCain and we're seeing it again now. But its even more than that.

Huckabee and Obama are very different men on opposite sides of the political divide, but last night their speeches were so similar I thought the two could almost have exchanged scripts.

They both talked about uniting the country, about standing up for whats important to us without tearing ourselves to shreds, and about the real needs of real people who aren't that worried about 'Hillarycare' if they could just get somebody to care at all. No buzzwords. No scare tactics. No nonsense. Just keepin' it real.

They tell us over and over again that Iowa and New Hampshire are very different places and the voters there will ask different questions. Maybe. But isn't that the state that's reviving the hopes of John McCain? Oh, yeah. You see where I'm going.

I don't know who our next President will be, but "Keepin' it real" is already looking like the big winner in 2008.

A New Day?

The Old Man called me about 11:15pm. I answered, "I bet you never thought you'd see this day."


I was watching CNN and the coverage of Barack Obama's big win in Iowa. So was my Dad. He tried to make a joke about Jesse Jackson, but he couldn't fool me. This meant a whole lot to him.


You see, Pops came up in the bad old days. He's told me stories of all the humilations and slights a Black man had to smile and accept back in the days of legal segregation. He never imagined a serious Black candidate for President. Never imagined a state like Iowa would throw a plurality of its votes to a man of color.


Tonight, no matter what happens, we saw Barack Obama somehow transcend all of that. I don't know if he'll win the presidency. I don't know if he'd even be a good president.


But what I do know is there is one 80-year-old African American man whose heart is a little less cynical tonight; whose voice had a little more hope and excitement than I've heard in a while.

What the Heck Was That?????

Yesterday, the 7pm 9 News Now basically got started without its anchors. Good thing it was a holiday.

I've never experienced anything like it. It all began innocently enough. Jennifer Ryan and I were on set waiting for the newscast to start, when about 10 second before air she noticed something.
"Hey, we're in the wrong seats," she said. She was right..and if we'd moved right then, perhaps, just perhaps everything would have been okay. But we hesitated--maybe it was too late, maybe it didn't matter, and by the time we figured out we had to move--it really was too late. Click here to see the result.
The newscast opens and you see us slide into our seats like we were rushing back from lunch or the bathroom... or something. Maybe it added a sense of urgency? Nah, I didn't think so either.
You've got questions and so do I. Like, how come no one in the control room noticed our juxtaposition? I don't know. How the heck do you sit in the wrong seats anyway? Not sure about that either except that for various reasons, Jennifer and I sit with me to her left at 5 and then with me to her right at 7pm. New Year's Eve there was no 5p and I think we got confused.
So then, why not just stay in the chairs we're in? After all, most people might never notice. Well, the problem is the show is set up for certain anchors to read certain stories on a certain camera. There might be something special in the monitor behind you, etc. Its just much more complicated than you might think.

So when Jennifer pointed out the mistake the floor director said something like "switch now!!" It may have been the holiday season, but live television is excruciatingly unforgiving when it comes to time. And we needed 3 more seconds.

Oh well, as Jen reminded me, this is our chance to make it big on Youtube.