In the meantime

A Golden Opportunity

Last week, on the eve of his historic inauguration as this nation's 44th President, an opinion poll showed that Barack Obama enjoyed an 80% approval rating from the American public as he takes office. At the beginning of his Presidency, Barack Obama faces an opportunity unknown since at least the beginning of Franklin Delano Roosevelt's first term. He takes office with incredible popularity at home and abroad.

The Inauguration was truly a global community event. An estimated two million people filled the National Mall to witness the event in person. One million more stood on the periphery or along the parade route in Washington. In excess of two billion people watched the event on television or online. All over the globe, people gathered together to watch the event with their friends, neighbors and family. Millions live blogged or micro-blogged about the event.

The last time the global community shared in an event was in the aftermath of September 11, 2001. In fact, over the last several generations, most of the events that have brought us together were shared tragedies. This week, the world community shared together in an event that held - at least on the surface - the promise of hope, optimism, change, and even a degree of national unity.

Now comes the hard part: actually governing. Obama must now lead the nation through the financial, international, and social problems that beset us. A candidate - and even a President-Elect - can make promises and pronouncements, or engage in critiques of the failed policies of the past. A President doesn't have that luxury. He has to make the policies, make good on the promises, and seek to build up rather than tear down.

Can you imagine how it must have felt for President Obama the first time he was in the Oval Office alone? Former President Bush was quoted last week as saying the first time he found himself in that position, he felt as if the weight of the world had descended upon his shoulders. When the "weight of the world" fell on Bush's shoulders in January 2001, it was before 911, before Afghanistan, before Iraq, before the financial crisis that looms over us now.

It remains to be seen how - or even if - President Obama will be able leverage his considerable charm, political savvy, personal convictions, oratorical skills, and innate leadership abilities to lead America and the Free World. I can only say that I want him to succeed with all of my heart. I don't agree with many of his positions on the issues, but I want him to be a great President nonetheless.

I want to see him bring our nation together to overcome our present challenges. I want to see him work side by side with Republicans, Democrats and Independents to make our government more responsive to the people, and reign in spending. I want to see the war in Iraq end in such a way that leaves that country as a democracy and a force for peace in the Middle East. I want to see victory in the war on terror in Afghanistan. I want to see an end to the Red State - Blue State impasse.

Can he do it? Again, it remains to be seen. To paraphrase Mark Twain: "I hope he can. I hope it... I doubt it." The odds are stacked against him. He certainly possesses the intellect and communication skills, but remember James Buchanan and Jimmy Carter were perhaps the most qualified people to assume the office, yet history remembers them as less than successful Chief Executives. Not to mention that the business of partisan politics - making your colleagues across the aisle out to be the boogeyman - is how politicians hold on to power at all costs. When was the last time you saw a politician - Republican or Democrat - exercise true political courage putting the interests of the country ahead of advancing the interest of his party? I'll give you some time to think. Like, oh, say, a week or so.

But I am an eternal optimist. I am still holding on to hope that President Obama can be a transformational leader. I hope he becomes a historic president. I hope he can take full advantage of the golden opportunity before him and us.

I hope you will join me in sincerely lifting our President up in prayer.

Chutzpah, defined

At the very least, it was a public relations nightmare.  It was most certainly a clear sign that they don't get it.  At worst, it was a vivid display of the kind of management insight - or lack thereof - that has caused the Big Three automakers to teeter on the verge of bankruptcy. I'm referring to yesterday's Congressional appearance by the CEO's of General Motors, Ford and Chrysler, and more specifically to their method of conveyance to said appearance.

The three CEOs flew from Detroit to Washington on their respective corporate jets. Separately.  They didn't even bother to carpool or "jetpool," if you will, in one G4.  No, they each flew on their own jet at a cost of approximately $20,000 per jet.

Get the picture: The CEOs fly in pampered corporate luxury to a meeting where they arrived essentially with hat in hand begging our representatives to give them our tax dollars to rescue the companies that they placed at the edge of collapse with highly questionable leadership and vision.

Any way you look at it, the circumstances surrounding the CEO's congressional appearance showed an enormous amount of chutzpah. It is outrageous effrontery.  And what's worse, the CEOs are totally clueless.  As enraged congressmen called them to task about how they traveled to the meeting, you could see it in the CEO's eyes and read it in their body language: How dare you bring up our corporate jet travel, this has nothing to do with anything.  We are entitled these perks.  We deserve this because of our position and our stature.

Sure, in the grand scheme of things, $60,000 for yesterday's CEO airfare is a tiny drop in the bucket.  Sure it is symbolic.  But symbols mean something.  That's why they are called symbols.  And the symbolism - not to mention the irony - of these arrogant corporate bigwigs arriving in luxurious fashion to beg for taxpayer money was damning. One of the day's most astute observations belonged to Rep. Gary Ackerman (D, NY): “It’s almost like seeing a guy show up at the soup kitchen in a high hat and tuxedo.” 

You know, there's not much that Congress does well, but they are good at sticking their political finger in the air and discerning which way the wind is blowing. Over the last 24 hours they did that and realized that if they just handed these guys a blank check the public would be furious at them. So today, Pelosi, Reid and company were posturing for the cameras, declaring these guys won't get a thin dime until they present Congress with a plan on how they were going to use the 25 billion that Congress has already decided to give them (and that they would already have given to them if it weren't for the outrage over the jets.)

There's another delicious irony here: Congress is taking the Big Three to task for failing to have a plan for how they were going to use taxpayer's money.  Wow. What a concept. Maybe Congress should try that strategy themselves from time to time!

I'm certainly no economist or business consultant, but one wonders where it will end.  A couple months ago, the epicenter of our financial woes appeared to be in the credit markets and specifically in the mortgage market. Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and AIG were being bailed out and and $700 billion was targeted to buy out so-called toxic loans in institution's portfolios. The underlying problem, however was clearly stupidity - subprime mortgage loans were made and offered to people who could not possibly make the payments on it.  

Now, just weeks later ground zero of the crisis has moved to the Big Three Automakers, we are told we must bail out Ford, GM and Chrysler.  The aforementioned $700 billion has now been redirected from financial institutions to other areas that would benefit taxpayers (read: voters) more directly. And the underlying problem is still stupidity.  The automakers have been on the rope for decades because of quality issues, plus their inability to make cars that people actually want to buy.  

The people at the center of that stupidity were they ones appearing on Capitol Hill yesterday, staring blankly at the lawmaker who just asked them if to raise their hands if they were willing to sell their corporate jet.  They are the ones who have failed to make their companies profitable, and they are now asking you and me to provide the funds to protect those companies from the consequences of their bad business decisions and lack of effective leadership.

Something is just not right about that.  I understand it is a complex issue, and that there are literally millions of jobs hanging in the balance. But the idea of bailing out GM, Ford and Chrysler really, really rubs me the wrong way.  I am a dyed in the wool capitalist who abhors any type of class warfare or wealth envy.  I am grateful for those entrepreneurs and business leaders who create jobs and grow companies.  But looking at the CEOs before congress yesterday, these men who have clearly failed miserably in leading their companies into anything resembling profitability basically asking Congress to use our money to bail them out leads me, along with tens of millions of my countrymen to answer with a resounding "No way."

President Obama and the Church

In less than two weeks, if the polls are to be believed, a record turnout of the American electorate will elect Senator Barack Obama the 44th President of the United States. To be sure, his election will be a significant and historic milestone for our country.  No matter what your politics, all Americans recognize that the election of an African-American President signals that the last significant vestiges of institutionalized racism in this country are gone forever.  We all rejoice in that.  But at the same time, no one really knows what kind of President the Illinois Senator will be.

The optimistic and pessimistic sides of me have differing takes on this. The optimist part in me thinks that Obama has the opportunity to be, as Colin Powell noted in his endorsement, a "transformational leader."  He could bring us together and seek common ground with both Red State and Blue State America. The pessimistic side of me fears he might move sharply to the left and govern from there causing us to move farther away from the Jeffersonian ideal that the government that rules best rules least. (I must point out that if that happens it will, unfortunately, be just a continuation of the Bush Administration's disappointing trend toward enlarging government and moving away from a free market economy.)

For now, I will choose to hold on to the optimistic hope that a President Obama will unite rather than further divide us.  More importantly, as a follower of Jesus Christ, I will support him as my President and be faithful to pray for him.  Let's be clear: If I choose to follow God's Word, I have no other choice.  Sadly, I fear many in the church - most notably many church leaders - will choose to be political rather than biblical in responding to President Obama.

That is the critical question facing the church in the United States today: Will we in the church choose to be biblical or political in our response to a President Obama? I am convinced that our response will in large measure determine our effectiveness and credibility for the next four years. 

It is no secret that since at least the late 1970s, the portion of the Christian community known as the "Religious Right" has been solidly entrenched in the Republican party. In the interest of full disclosure, I should state for the record that I have voted for the Republican Presidential candidate since I cast my ballot for Ronald Reagan's first term in 1980, so I would certainly qualify as a card-carrying member of the Religious Right. 

For a generation now, those of us on the Right have presumed to have a lock on so-called "values voters."  We have assumed that God was on our side and that we were on His. We have almost deified our preferred candidates, while denigrating and demonizing opposing candidates almost to the point of character assassination.  We assumed that if you were a Christian, you would vote the same way we were voting.  That was a safe assumption for us to make because everyone we knew and socialized with agreed with us 100% politically.

This present election cycle has been vastly different.  The "Religious Right" as we knew it for a generation foundered, unable to agree on a candidate to support. (Why they failed to wholeheartedly endorse Mike Huckabee is still a huge mystery to me.)  When John McCain, arguably their least favorite candidate - one who openly called Christian leaders "agents of intolerance" in 2000 - was tapped as the Republican nominee, the damage to their credibility and influence was done.

Absent someone to be for, many of my brethren on the Right have opted instead for simply being against someone, in this case Barack Obama. In my role as Managing Editor of two Christian media portals, I receive dozens of press releases and news wire dispatches from Christian organizations in my inbox and on my Blackberry every day.  Here is a sampling of recent headlines from Christian groups and organizations:

"Newscast from the Future Exposes Obama Nightmare"
"Reasons Why Obama Looks Like a Wolf"
"Barrie Hussein: Congenital Liar"
"Fake Christian Chooses Fake Catholic as Running Mate"

It is interesting to note that these same Christian news wires ran numerous press releases attacking John McCain before he became the Republican nominee for his stance on a range of issues including abortion. But there have been nothing but positive stories sent out since he became the presumptive nominee.  This is a problem, folks.  When we fail to be consistent and biblical in speaking truth to power, we forfeit the right to do so.  When our staunch criticism of John McCain ceased when he became the Republican nominee, we are being political rather than biblical.

I can understand opposing - even strongly opposing - a candidate on the issues, but to call a man who gives a sincere testimony of his faith in Jesus Christ and who is by all accounts a devoted father and husband a "Fake Christian" is beyond the pale.

A couple of years ago, a prominent Christian leader (on the Right, I might add) stated that the church needed to repent of failing to give Bill Clinton the respect that he was due as one God had placed in authority over us.  He was right. Maybe if the church had earnestly prayed for President Clinton and shown him respect even while opposing his policies there would not have been the scandals in his personal life and his presidency.  If you scoff at that idea, I would suggest you underestimate the power of prayer. 

The Bible could not possibly be clearer: We are to give the leaders that God places in authority over us respect. And we are to sincerely lift them up in prayer. 

Tony Evans is fond of saying the white church depends on an elephant, the black church depends on a donkey, but Jesus is not riding on either.  He stands before us saying, "I'm not here to take sides, I am here to take over!"  The bottom line is this: My personal relationship with Jesus Christ defines who I am, not my political convictions.  My relationship with Christ transcends politics.

Let's purpose in our hearts that we are not going to repeat our mistakes from the Clinton years.  Let us determine at the start that We will be faithful to pray for and support our President - whether it is Obama or McCain - and ask God to give him wisdom, discernment, and favor as he leads us in the years ahead. 

McCain's Palin Problem

As a general rule, I try - admittedly with varying degrees of success - to be politically neutral in my postings in this space. That is actually fairly easy for me to do, because these days I find myself to be pretty ambivalent politically. 

It wasn't always that way. I have voted Republican in every Presidential election since 1980.  For that matter, I have voted for Republicans for everything down to local dog catcher except for the occasional ballot cast for conservative Democrats like Zell Miller.  I am a political, fiscal, and theological conservative, and the Republican party has, over the years, for the most part espoused those values.

"Espoused" being the operative word there, in contrast to "embodied." Over the years, Republican administrations that I voted for have been responsible for government growing larger and larger and the free market economy being ignored in policy considerations. 

I have not pulled the lever, punched the chad, or checked the box with great pride for a Republican presidential candidate since the last time I did so for Reagan in 1984. The presidential candidates I have voted for since that time have earned my vote by the dubious distinction of being the lesser of two evils.  George H.W. Bush.  Bob Dole.  George W. Bush.  I was far from enthused about the prospect of any of these men leading our nation, but given the alternative - Michael Dukakis, Bill Clinton, Ross Perot, Al Gore, or John Kerry - I held my nose and cast my vote.

In the years since The Great Communicator left office, the United States of America has been anything but United. We have become for all practical purposes two nations - the Red States and the Blue States. It has gotten to the place now where to be elected President, you have to pander to the extreme left or right of your base and thereby alienate roughly 50% of the country. Our last two elections have been bitter, divisive, ugly, and destructive.  In between those two elections, the events of September 11, 2001 united Americans in a way we haven't been since World War II.  But somehow, we squandered that unity and good will and by 2004 we were right back where we were in 2000.

Now comes John McCain.  When he ran in 2000, a friend of mine gave me a copy of "Faith of Our Fathers." I read it and came away with admiration for his integrity and his service and sacrifice for his country. But as a candidate, I found him lacking.  Lacking in excitement, lacking in leadership skills, and lacking in the ability to make us feel good about ourselves as Reagan did so well.  In 2000, I didn't appreciate McCain's characterization of Christian leaders as "agents of intolerance."

By most if not all accounts, it is a very different John McCain that ran for president this year and went on to become the surprise nominee.  Like many of my friends, I have not been able to support McCain for a myriad of reasons relating to policies, leadership, and his past.

As mentioned in a previous post, many of these friends have found their rationale to support John McCain because of his selection of Gov. Sarah Palin as his running mate, but that VP pick has made it even more difficult for me to support the Arizona Senator.

My first impression of the Palin pick was the fact that that her razor thin resume would instantly rob McCain of one of his strongest arguments - experience.  But just days later when we all saw how carefully Palin was being handled, many of us started to suspect there was a bigger problem. Why would the McCain campaign go to such pains to keep their new VP pick far away from the press? I began to suspect it was because they knew something we didn't about Gov. Palin, and that they wanted the Palin phenomenon to blossom as much as possible before reality hit.

When Palin began sitting down for carefully handpicked interviews, we saw for ourselves why they have been keeping her on a very short leash.  Take her answer to a Katie Couric question about the $700 Billion Wall Street bailout:

Ultimately, what the bailout does is help those who are concerned about the health care reform that is needed to help shore up the economy– Oh, it’s got to be about job creation too. So health care reform and reducing taxes and reining in spending has got to accompany tax reductions.

Good grief. That reply, and for that matter her entire encounter with Couric was worthy of Miss South Carolina's bumbling answer about maps. (In case you didn't see that classic bit of video, watch it here.)

I'm not alone in being a conservative who is appalled by the prospect of Sarah Palin being a 72 year old cancer survivor's heartbeat away from being leader of the free world. Writing in this week's National Review (the NATIONAL REVIEW, for crying out loud!) columnist Kathleen Parker actually calls for Palin to step aside for the good of the country:

When Palin first emerged as John McCain’s running mate, I confess I was delighted... It was fun while it lasted. Palin’s recent interviews with Charles Gibson, Sean Hannity, and now Katie Couric have all revealed an attractive, earnest, confident candidate. Who Is Clearly Out Of Her League. No one hates saying that more than I do.

Palin filibusters. She repeats words, filling space with deadwood. Cut the verbiage and there’s not much content there. Here’s but one example of many from her interview with Hannity: “Well, there is a danger in allowing some obsessive partisanship to get into the issue that we’re talking about today. And that’s something that John McCain, too, his track record, proving that he can work both sides of the aisle, he can surpass the partisanship that must be surpassed to deal with an issue like this.”

If Palin were a man, we’d all be guffawing, just as we do every time Joe Biden tickles the back of his throat with his toes. But because she’s a woman — and the first ever on a Republican presidential ticket — we are reluctant to say what is painfully true.

Only Palin can save McCain, her party, and the country she loves. She can bow out for personal reasons, perhaps because she wants to spend more time with her newborn. No one would criticize a mother who puts her family first. Do it for your country.

Even conservative icon George Will has expressed serious doubts about McCain's selection of Palin, saying, "Many cultural conservatives, who are much of the GOP's base, consider McCain's adherence to their persuasion perfunctory. By his selection of Palin, he got the enthusiasm of the base. But what has he got in Palin? In coming days, he and we will learn from a stern teacher, experience."

There's a little more than six weeks left until the election.  The initial burst of celebrity has faded quickly thanks to the economic crisis.  They can't keep her under wraps any longer, and the VP debates are coming up soon. (That should be interesting. Joe Biden, for all his experience is also famous for his gaffes.)

I fear John McCain will soon sorely regret his choice of the Alaska Governor as his running mate.

Another Heartbreak for Bell Shoals

For the second time in just over three months, the congregation of Bell Shoals Baptist Church in Tampa is dealing with the loss of a beloved pastoral staff member. Simeon Nix, Bell Shoal's worship pastor for the last thirteen years, suffered a heart attack late Saturday night and passed away early Sunday morning at Brandon Regional Hospital. 

Simeon Nix was a big man physically and spiritually.  Over the last three months, he guided the heartbroken church through the grieving process following the death of Senior Pastor Forrest Pollock and his son in a plane crash.  Both in his public ministry from the platform and in countless formal and informal counseling sessions, Nix helped the hurting church realize that God was still in control and that He still had a plan.

It was a familiar role for Simeon.  Earlier in his ministry at Bell Shoals he had to comfort and guide the church through the loss of Pollock's predecessor, Ken Alford, who resigned in 2002 because of a moral failure.

Gary Payne, a friend and staff colleague of Simeon's was quoted as saying, "He was never afraid to give you a big hug and tell you that he loved you."

Last Tuesday, Nix was hospitalized after experiencing significant chest pain.  Doctors cleared the blockage by inserting a stent.  His prognosis was good for a full recovery.  He was released from the hospital Friday and told friends and fellow staff members how good he felt. He even took a short walk around the neighborhood Saturday night with his wife and some friends.

Late Saturday night, Nix suffered another heart attack and passed away a few hours later.  He was 47 years old.

Simeon leaves his wife, Beth, and the two children they adopted as toddlers from Russia: Bre'Ana, 7, and Sterling, 7. His extended family was the Bell Shoals congregation, which numbers about 7,000.

Funeral arrangements are pending as of this writing.

Related:
Dr. Forrest Pollock Dies In A Plane Crash 
Heaven Only Knows

Muscular Christians

Just moments ago, we finished watching Steven Curtis Chapman and his family on CNN's Larry King Live.  It was an incredible interview where God was honored, the Gospel was shared and the eternal question of why bad things happen to good people - what C.S. Lewis called "The Problem of Pain" - was addressed as well as I've seen it addressed in a long time.

For those of you who do not know, Steven Curtis Chapman's adopted daughter Maria Sue was killed this past May in a tragic accident in the driveway of their home.  She was run over by an SUV driven by her brother Will.  Such a tragic circumstance could rip even a solid family apart.  Guilt, anger, blame, remorse, and grief could so easily have caused the Chapmans to doubt their faith, to blame each other, or to blame God.

Instead, tonight on Larry King Live America and the world saw a family whose faith is the real deal.  A family who has been tested in the worst kind of way and emerged to say that God is good and that His grace is sufficient.  We got a glimpse into the heart and soul of a high-profile Christian personality and saw clearly that he truly believes - and lives - every word that he has written, sung about and proclaimed for the last 21 years.

It was especially touching to hear how immediately after the accident their focus was not on their dead daughter but on their devastated son, Will.  They told of Steven physically wrapping his arms around his son and assuring him of his love, and assuring him that they did not blame him for what happened.

One story in particular broke my heart, yet warmed it at the same time.  At the hospital after they learned that their daughter had indeed passed away, the family prayed together and asked God to show them something to assure them that Maria was OK, that she was safe in His arms.  When they got back home, they found a picture that Maria had colored the morning of the accident.  It was a flower with six petals.  One of the petals was shaded in blue.  Beside the flower, Maria had written in huge letters S-E-E.  They said Maria had never written that word before.  As far as they knew, the five year-old Maria only knew how to spell her first name.  The message of the picture was clear to the Chapmans.  They had six children.  One of them was now in heaven.  "See," she was telling them, "I'm OK."

There is a great scene in the movie Chariots of Fire. Eric Liddel, the "Flying Scotsman," the great 1924 Olympic Champion and the Pride of Scotland felt that he needed to retire from running and spend his life in more serious and important pursuits like preaching and sharing his faith.  Eric's pastor and another clergyman come to see him, seeking to persuade him to keep running for the glory of God.  They wanted Eric to see that his notoriety, his fame, and the legions of young people who idolized him were opportunities to influence lives for the gospel that a simple preacher would not have. 

The pastor looked at Eric earnestly and said, "What the world needs to see today, Eric, is muscular Christians."

What all of America saw tonight on CNN was muscular Christians.  Champions. 

Overcomers.

A Death in the Family

Skip Caray died in his sleep in his Atlanta home Sunday afternoon.  The bulletin on the news wire a couple hours ago was not unexpected, but it still stung.  It was like hearing a member of the family had passed, because in a sense, that is exactly what happened. For more than 30 years, we've been listening to Skip call Braves games, telling us the hometown of fans who come up with foul balls and announcing that once again the wave has broken out in the ballpark "for no apparent reason." 

We loved his nasally voice, his blunt assessments of people and events, and his Yoda-like syntax ("Safely reached in each of the last five games, has Yunel Escobar...")  We loved his feigned indignation with fans who would call up during his pregame show with yet another question about the Infield Fly Rule.

Skip has been in poor health for the last several years.  He almost died this past Spring.  His doctors called the family in and told them to say their goodbyes.  But Skip rallied and even returned to the broadcast booth.  He sounded weak but he still had his trademark sense of humor and sarcasm.

There were some baseball fans who didn't care for Skip, but he was always one of my favorites.  He and Pete Van Wieren, "The Professor" made an incredible team.  They helped us get through the dark days of the 1970s and 80s, when it was mighty tough to be a Braves fan.  Skip even famously participated (along with Ted Turner) in pre-game shenanigans like Ostrich races to try to bring fans to the ballpark, since they weren't coming for the baseball.  Then, Skip and Pete were the voice of the seemingly invincible Braves as they brought post season play to Atlanta for fourteen autumns in a row. 

None of us will ever forget Skip's call of Game 7 of the '92 NLCS.  The Braves trailed by one in the bottom of the ninth. Third-string catcher Francisco Cabrera was at the plate, David Justice was on third and the notoriously slow Sid Bream was on second.  Skip calmly noted the huge gap in the outfield.  "If he hits one out there, we'll be dancing in the streets," Skip said prophetically.

Cabrera did just that.  Justice scored easily from third, tying the game. Bream lumbered around the bases as Bonds - not known for his great arm - loaded up and threw to the plate.  Bond's throw was up the first base line, pulling Pirates catcher Mike LaValliere off the plate.  LaValliere lunged back attempting to apply the tag to the sliding Bream.  Skip's call was a classic:

Swung, line drive left field! One run is in! Here comes Bream! Here's the throw to the plate! He is...SAFE! Braves win! Braves win! Braves win! Braves win!...Braves win!

Skip Caray was a part of an iconic baseball broadcasting dynasty that included his late father Harry Caray, his son Chip, also a Braves announcer, and son Josh, an announcer for the Rome Braves. 

The Caray family was known for their colorful announcing, not for their family values.  Harry was, by all accounts, a pretty sorry excuse for a father.  Skip learned about his parent's divorce from a Chicago newspaper as he walked to school.  Sadly, Skip followed in his father's footsteps not just behind the mic but in his parenting skills as well.  Later in life, it broke Skip's heart to realize that he had inflicted on his children the same pain that Harry had inflicted on him.  He cleaned up his act and did his best to make peace with his kids and with his father.

As far as Skip was concerned, the highlight of his career wasn't the exciting calls he made during the Braves amazing 14-year run.  The biggest thrill for him was the 1991 game that he got to call with Harry and Chip not long before Harry passed away.  It was the only time in baseball history that three generations of baseball announcers shared a booth together.

After Chip joined the Braves announcing team, there was something very special about hearing the banter in the booth between him and Skip, especially when they would dispense with the broadcast formalities and refer to each other as "Dad" or "Son."  This past Father's Day, Skip urged the audience to call their Dads that day if they were still blessed to be able to do so.  "Once they're gone, you would give anything in the world to be able to talk to them, but you can't," he said.

Skip suffered from the same medical dilemma that my took my father's life - the deadly combination of kidney and heart failure. Treating the heart failure is bad for the kidneys, treating the kidneys is bad for the heart.  About all you can do is try to maintain a balance of treatments while the patient gets weaker and weaker.  Just a few weeks ago, Skip said he had no regrets. "I've had a great life... it's been a great run."

That great run ended today, and for us it is the end of an era.  It is so hard to imagine Braves baseball without Skip Caray.  It is so sad to realize we will never hear him call a game again, never hear the banter between Skip and Pete.  We'll never again hear him explain the Infield Fly Rule... again.  We'll never hear him declare that a fan from Monroe, Georgia came up with the baseball hit into the stands.  We'll never again hear him declare that it's "free baseball in Atlanta" as a game goes to extra innings.

Farewell, old friend.  You will be greatly missed.

The Fall of the House that Ruth Built

As a general rule, we Americans are among the most historically astute people on earth.  If you don't believe me, just see how many historical markers you pass on the way home tonight.  I live near the site of several significant Civil War battles, so those things are everywhere around here.  (My favorite is one right around the corner from my house that says "TARLETON'S MOVEMENTS." I have never stopped to read it, but the title brings out my inner 5th Grader and makes me giggle.)

So can someone explain to me why it is in this land that so highly values the preservation of historic locations we are tearing down Yankee Stadium?  Oh, I know the new one will be 63% larger and it will carry over some of the look and feel of the original.  And I also understand that the Steinbrenner Family (don't get me started on this subject...) all but blackmailed New York into building them a new stadium.  And I know that the old ballpark was built in 1923 and so it is really, really old.

All of which begs the question in my mind... "So???"

We are talking about the House That Ruth Built here, folks.  This place has witnessed more history than most places that are on (and protected by) the National Register of Historic Places.  More iconic - almost mythic - figures have graced these grounds than most places that we deem as National Landmarks.  If it is true - and it is in this writer's never to be humble opinion - that Baseball is America's Pastime, and that baseball history is inextricably intertwined with American history, then the tearing down of Yankee Stadium is as unthinkable as tearing down Mt. Vernon or Monticello and replacing it with a more modern version that retained some of the original's architectural features.  You just don't tear down history.

For those of you who might say this is just a ballpark, consider, if you will, the following:

When Yankee Stadium was under construction in 1922, the immortal Babe Ruth said, "I'd give a year of my life if I can hit a home run in the first game in this new park."  In the third inning of the first game ever played there on April 18, 1923, The Bambino went deep and became the first person to hit a home run in the new park.

As the legendary 1927 Yankees were barreling toward 110 wins and a sweep of the Pirates in the '27 World Series, Babe Ruth did the unthinkable by hitting 60 home runs.  To put this in perspective, that was more home runs than any team hit that year.

On July 4, 1939, an ailing Lou Gehrig bid farewell before a packed house of adoring fans - most of whom openly wept at the thought of never seeing him play again - and told them that he considered himself to be "the luckiest man on the face of the earth."  As ALS took it's toll on him physically, Gehrig had first benched himself, then retired for the good of the team.  That day was proclaimed "Lou Gehrig Appreciation Day" and it marked the first time in history that a player's number was retired.  Two years later, Gehrig was dead at the age of 38.  (Click here to watch Gehrig's famous address)

After the tragic 1979 death of Yankee catcher and captain Thurman Munson in a plane crash, Bobby Murcer delivered a moving eulogy at the funeral in Canton, Ohio.  The stunned team flew back to the Bronx that evening for a game against Baltimore. The Yankees trailed the Orioles by four runs until Murcer hit a three run homer in the seventh and then the game winning hit in the ninth, delivering a win in honor of their fallen teammate.  After the game, Murcer wept in the arms of teammate Lou Piniella. He gave his bat to Munson's widow, Diana. To this day, Munson's locker in the clubhouse sits vacant.

It was here in July, 1983 that Billy Martin instigated the famous "pine tar bat" controversy.  After a home run by Kansas City's George Brett, Martin complained that the pine tar was too far up Martin's bat. Technically, he was right according to the rules, so the umpire called Brett out and the home run didn't count.  Brett went ballistic on a scale that was off the charts. He had to be restrained from hitting the ump. Eventually, league president Lee MacPhail overturned the ruling, the ninth inning was replayed and the Royals won 5-4.

Those who played or managed in Yankee Stadium are the best of the best of the best in the game: Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Joe DiMaggio, Roger Maris, Mickey Mantle, Yogi Berra, Whitey Ford, Casey Stengel, Billy Martin, Reggie Jackson, Bobby Murcer, Thurman Munson and many others.

And it's not just baseball history that has been made in this place: Did you know that it was in Yankee Stadium on November 10, 1928 that Notre Dame played Army and the Irish and Knute Rockne "won one for the Gipper"?  Or that here in 1938 Joe Louis knocked out Max Schmeling and in so doing effectively punched Adolph Hitler and his "Aryan Superiority" theory in the teeth?  Did you know that the Baltimore Colts defeated the New York Giants for the NFL Championship in Yankee Stadium on December 23, 1958? A one-yard touchdown run in sudden-death overtime culminated the game that many consider the greatest in football history.

I must confess that I am far from a neutral commentator on this subject.  It was in Yankee Stadium that my father first passed on to me his passion for baseball.  I lived in New York the first eight years of my life. Some of my earliest childhood memories are of being at Yankee Stadium and seeing Berra, Mantle and Maris play in person.  I had a glove signed by my hero, Whitey Ford.

Later this summer I will make a pilgrimage to Yankee Stadium to attend one more game there, and this grown man will probably shed a tear or two over the flood of memories... but also for the loss of a place that is hallowed ground to those of us who love the game of baseball.

Guilty Until Proven Innocent

About four miles from here in a cemetery in Marietta, Georgia, JonBenet Ramsey lies buried.  On her tombstone are inscribed the words "Love and purity, a gift to her family and the world, Home in the Peace of God."

The beautiful six year old girl is known to you and me only because of the circumstances of her tragic death.  When she died on Christmas Day, 1996, her story constituted the media equivalent of winning the lottery.  She was beautiful, she had won beauty pageants, her parents were rich, and she was murdered on Christmas Day. It was a whodunit that even Hollywood couldn't have concocted. For most of 2007, news about the JonBenet Ramsey case would dominate the news.

Behind the media circus, there was a very real, very heartbreaking personal tragedy for John and Patsy Ramsey. First of all, they had to deal with their daughter being sexually assaulted and murdered in their home while they slept. John had the additional heartbreak of finding his daughter's body in the wine cellar of their home.  If you are a parent, you know that it couldn't get much worse than that set of circumstances.

But for John and Patsy, it did get worse.  Much, much worse.

Early in the investigation, the Boulder, Colorado Police and District Attorney - who, as it turns out could mess up the proverbial two car parade - decided that one or both of the parents were responsible for JonBenet's death.  They let it be known in the media that the parents were the prime suspects in the case. The DA stated publicly that the Ramseys were under "an umbrella of suspicion."

The Ramseys always maintained their innocence and insisted that an unknown intruder killed JonBenet. But, thanks to the Boulder Police and the media, most people around the world believed that John or Patsy killed JonBenet, and then tried to make it look like an intruder did it.  Another popular theory held that their son Burke molested and killed JonBenet and then John and Patsy staged the crime scene to cover up Burke's involvement.

Patsy Ramsey lost her 13-year battle with ovarian cancer in 2006. She went to her grave with a cloud of suspicion still hanging over her family. She died knowing that most people around the world thought she killed her own daughter.

Finally last week, DNA testing once again conclusively proved that John, Patsy and Burke were not involved in JonBenet's death.  By the way, you will notice the use of the word "again" in the preceding sentence.  That is because several previous DNA tests also exonerated the Ramseys.  In those cases, the DA said the tests were flawed.  This time there was no wiggle room with the results. After last week's test results were released, the Boulder Police stated that the scientific evidence indicates that JonBenet's attacker was - are you ready for this? - an unknown intruder. 

One of the cornerstones of our criminal justice system is the presumption of innocence; We are presumed innocent until we are proven guilty.  There is no doubt that the system failed John and Patricia Ramsey.  It turned the worst moment in their lives into the event that for all practical purposes ruined their lives.

Back in 1987, former labor secretary Raymond Donovan was acquitted of charges of fraud and larceny arising out of a very suspicious prosecution.  After he was adjudicated innocent, Donovan famously said, "Now where do I go to get my reputation back?" The sad truth is there is no way to undo the damage.  You can't unring a bell.

Oh, sure the Boulder DA officially apologized to the Ramseys last week. "To the extent that this office has added to the distress suffered by the Ramsey family at any time or to any degree, I offer my deepest apology," he wrote. But what about all of the pundits and "experts" that appeared on TV with Geraldo Rivera, Nancy Grace, CourtTV or any of the other bottom-feeding entertainment journalists out there and declared that John or Patsy or both were guilty?  Are they going to apologize to the Ramseys also?  Not a chance - they are on to a new ratings-grabbing story.

In this day of 24 hour news cycles and what seems to be the media circus du jour, the principle of the presumption of innocence is in serious jeopardy.  Anyone who is publicly identified as a "person of interest" in any high profile case is immediately presumed guilty by a large percentage of the viewing public.  And there is no where you can go to get your good name back.

Just ask John Ramsey.

Tim Russert, 1950 - 2008

Last Father's Day, my family gave me a copy of Tim Russert's book "Wisdom of our Fathers."  The book, a sequel to his 2001 bestseller "Big Russ and Me," is an incredibly touching book, and it has a great story behind it.  Russert's first book told about growing up in South Buffalo under the guiding hand of his father.  One reviewer wrote, "Most adult men have a difficult time embracing their fathers.  Russert spends 22 chapters hugging his in this book."

Almost as soon as "Big Russ and Me" hit the shelves, Russert began getting wonderful letters from people about the relationship they had with their fathers.  Some were funny, some were heartbreaking.  Some told of wonderfully close relationships, others told of waiting too late to make things right, and having to live with the regrets for the rest of their lives. Russert read them all, and realized this was a story that needed to be told.  Out of those letters came "Wisdom of Our Fathers."

Tim Russert passed away suddenly yesterday while recording voice-overs for tomorrow's edition of Meet the Press, the iconic Sunday news show that he hosted for 17 years, longer than any other host in the history of the program.  It is ironic, in an incredibly sad way that Tim Russert died two days before Father's Day, since he is known by millions for writing two bestselling books celebrating fathers and fatherhood.

Fatherhood wasn't something Russert wrote about in the abstract.  He was a dedicated son to Big Russ who now survives him, but he was also a doting father to his son Luke, Tim and Maureen's only child.  They say that off camera he was constantly talking about his family.  Tim, Maureen and Luke just took a trip to Italy to celebrate Luke's graduation from Boston College.  Maureen and Luke were still there when the news came that Tim had died.

On Meet the Press recently, Terry McAuliff - Hillary Clinton's resident lunatic - made a moronic remark about how Big Russ must be smiling down from heaven.  Russert patiently informed McAuliff that Big Russ is still very much alive. Just last weekend, Russert was back in Buffalo to move big Russ into a home.

I had a chance to meet Russert once in the late 1980s, not long after he became NBC's Washington Bureau Chief.  He and ABC's Jeff Greenfield were on a panel discussion.  Both of them seemed to be regular guys who didn't take themselves too seriously, and they certainly weren't prima donnas like many in the news business were.

Tim Russert was, by all accounts, one of the genuinely good guys.  He was secure in his own skin and comfortable with his abilities, so he was never threatened by someone else's advancement in the news business.  His closest friends were his competitors, so when he passed yesterday, there were people on every network - cable and broadcast - who were choking back tears as they reported the news of Russert's passing. The list of people who got their start or their first job in broadcast journalism from Russert reads like a who's who of today's news reporters.  As host of Meet the Press, he reached out beyond the circle of Beltway elites to bring in talented journalists to the weekly panel. 

In a move that must have made blue bloods at the Washington Post gag, Russert added David Brody, senior correspondent for CBN news to the panel.  Brody handled himself well and proved Russert's instincts right yet again.  It's hard to imagine who will succeed Russert in the host's chair for Meet the Press.

Tim Russert was a giant in the field of broadcast journalism, yet he never allowed his success or his love of politics and the news business to overshadow his family or his faith.  He never forgot who he was and where he came from.  He was and always would be was the kid from South Buffalo, a diehard Bills fan, Maureen's devoted husband and Luke's doting dad.  And Big Russ' loving and appreciative son.