xtcian

Think of it as another example of the "long tail" in action. 99.9% of people could care less, but the truly rabid fans are out there somewhere. They want to know how many cups of coffee you've drank, what you are wearing right now, and your mood.

Claverack did not, technically speaking, deliver a topic with that first post. So, I've got a little questionnaire for the readers, assuming my post shows up second.

1. What are the most important qualities you want in the next POTUS?

2. What do you think of the passing of Jesse Helms?

3. What song was playing that "first" time?

4. Favorite Tar Heel basketball player of all time and why?

5. Most famous person you've shaken hands with or met?

Question 1:
A. Ability to protect our country from destruction, nukes, and terrorism, in the best way we can without unnecessary warfare beyond what is really crucial (tall order, I know, but that's why we need a prez who is honest and firm)
B. Know-how to fund the programs that really protect those who need our most protection (homeless, low-income kids) without gov't waste or paying cheaters
C. Included in B is a WORKING health care policy that makes sure people can get adequate care, including preventative care.

Less important questions: Question 2. He died? Question 3. I hate music during romance; makes me feel like I'm in a porn movie 4. Tyler H. because he's the only one I can name 5. Hillary

Thanks GFWD.

1. Integrity, intelligence, charisma (yes, I think this is really important), diligence, fairness... and a brilliant cabinet.

2. (yawn)

3. "I'm Yours and I'm Hers," Johnny Winter.

4. Ummmm.

5. Quite a few. Ted Turner, Diana Ross, Jane Fonda, BB King, Queen Noor (had a nice chat while waiting for the ladies room to free up!), various Star Wars actors. All but the latter are courtesy of my jobs over the years.

1. Competence, lack of affairs with interns
2. He lived a full life. I worked for Terry Sanford for several years, so I obviously didn't agree with Jesse politically. But I think Jesse did a lot of good for the state of North Carolina, so I will choose to focus on that positive rather than the negatives (such as his whistling "Dixie" when in an elevator with African-American Senator Carol Mosely Braun).
3. I'm with CM on this one
4. Mike Pepper. He started his career as the last guy on the bench (the one the fans screamed for at the end of a blowout so Dean would let him in the game to possibly score), but by the time he was a senior, he was the starting shooting guard on a team that made the national championship game. Not a naturally gifted player, but a true example of dogged determination.
5. George H.W. Bush, Roger Ebert, Joe Namath

I'll just speak about Jesse Helms since some people don't have the decency to respect the man and his lifetime of service to this country.

There is nothing symbolic about his death- no passing of the torch, no nostalgia for the days of old. We have come so far since Jesse Helms, Terry Sanford et all. Our next governor is likely to be Beverly Perdue. Our next US Senator will either be Kay Hagan or Elizabeth Dole, part deaux.

If we are to be forever branded as the state that Jesse Helms represented- then so be it. He committed his life to the people of North Carolina. He wasn't always right but he never waivered in his commitment to this state.

He did more for this state in one year than John Edwards did in his miserable one term, self-absorbed, non-voting stint as senator.

Rest in peace Jesse. We are a better state because of your efforts.

And for the record, I will be voting for Perdue (D) and Hagan (D).

Good one, GFWD. Here goes:

1. Someone who has experience and the wisdom to know what they don't know (thus Anne's cabinet comment). Also, who has actually completed a Senate term and who wasn't passing "official state apple pie" recipe resolutions in the statehouse in Springfield just four years ago.

BTW, did anyone notice that Anne's qualifications described Ronald Reagan pretty well? Though I must disagree on the charisma thing - I don't think Lincoln or Wilson were really known for their charisma.

2. Few people worked harder than I did for Harvey Gantt at UNC in 1990, but I have to say there are a couple of things I respect about Jesse Helms: he had the courage of his convictions (though his convictions can be argued) and he took his responsibility to the citizens of North Carolina seriously. He never considered the Senate to be a springboard to something bigger. He was a true public servant, and many people knew if they had a problem with the VA or Social Security or something in government, that calling Jesse's office would get it fixed. Much of his bluster was because he was saying what he thought his constituency believed, which sadly may have been true in the 70s and 80s. I think his death symbolizes the end of that era of thinking and that way of politics in NC.

3. (Rock Me Tonight) For Old Times' Sake by Freddie Jackson.

4. Just one? How about two, at opposite ends of the scale - Pete Brennan, because I always loved tough, scrappy point guards (not flashy, showy ones) and I would have thought it awesome if I could have seen him go out to jump center against Wilt in the '57 title game; my other favorite is Eric Montross, because to me he symbolizes the Carolina Way - toughness, devotion, dedication, endurance. Both of these guys were excellent players, but often left off the discussion of all-time greats.

5. Phil Jackson. What a cool guy.

One more thing, and I don't want to disrupt Greg's excellent thread, but Eric's comment started me thinking about something and this blog is the biggest collection of people on the left that I know:

Now that Hillary's campaign is dead, is it officially OK to regard Bill Clinton with disgust? And can we recognize that most people, including Democrats, never really liked Hillary anyway?

While people during the 90s were famous for their love and lust of Bill (e.g. the "I'd give him a BJ for keeping abortion legal"), isn't it becoming more and more clear that his real legacy is nailing interns and pimping out the White House for fundraising? I notice no one on the Dem side is touting Obama as a return to the Clinton years - it's more convenient to reference JFK and Camelot.

(And on a related note, as a parent and someone who works in public education, I would personally like to thank Bill Clinton for redefining sex so that it does not include oral sex. The proliferation of 14 and 15 year-olds giving out hummers like no one's business because it's not technically sex may be the longest-lasting legacy of the Clinton presidency. Can't wait for that one on the History Channel!)

But didn't we see the true Bill on the campaign trail for Hillary - playing the race card and being linked to Gina Gershon (a definite step up, BTW)?

So truly, is the country's long love affair with Bill over? This is not an attempt to flame or stir up something - I am genuinely curious because the issue came up during the primary that Bill may have been a liability for Hillary.

For the record, oral sex is illegal in North Carolina. :-)

1. The best qualities embodied by Ronald Reagan.

2. Helms was the best thing to come out of NC since... well, I don't know.

3. No idea.

4. Jordan, for no particular reason.

5. I once drank a bottle of Belvedere with Roscoe Brown. Great guy. My only other encounter with reflected glory was shaking hands with Bobby Orr.

Matt, By saying Helms was "the best thing to come out of NC since..." I'm guessing you mean by his death? I agree, it was a bit like an exorcism, although he's been fading for a while.

Or did he actually "come out", as in, of the closet, and I missed it?

3. theme from "What's Happening"

1. Someone who has a strong international policy like Reagan and a strong economic policy like Kennedy or Reagan. In other words, someone that knows from history that no society in the history of the world has created economic improvements by taxing its providers.

2. Jesse was a mixed bag. Like Zel said, he may have had views contrary to some folks, but his heart was always devoted to the welfare of the folks of NC.

3. For me, it was all about the romance and setting the right mood. So, I put the following on Repeat and let the night play out. By the way, I think they had to repeat approximately 417 times before I was done (if you know what I'm sayin'!): "Bad Mamma Jamma", "Do Me" by Bel Biv Devoe, "Pour Some Sugar on Me", "Whoomp! There It Is", "Cherry Pie" by Warrant, and "Knockin' Boots" by Candyman.

4. Tyler and Sheed. If you don't know them by one name, please return to Iamanidiot.com.

5. Hubert Davis at a Durham Bulls game . . . (self-deprecation in honor of GFWD and Zel M.). Once saw Katie Holmes making out with the dude from American Pie (the lacrosse player) at the Wilmington airport. Saw Michael Jordan on Franklin Street in 1982. Ate breakfast at Crook's on the River in Wilmington beside Michael Warren. If you don't know who Michael Warren is, you're not a zealous fan of college basketball or Hill Street Blues. (Zel M., I am sure, knows exactly who he is)

I hate to argue but I have to when it comes to Jesse Helms. His heart was absolutely devoted to the straight white gentiles of NC. If you were anyone else in NC, even born and bred, you did not get anything but animosity from Helms. If you were a black North Carolinian, a gay North Carolinian or anything else that didn't fit into his Aryan utipia, you could go fuck yourselves, often with his help.

4) tyler and lynch

curious to know lurker chuck p.'s answer on that one...

1. Integrity, integrity, integrity. Everything else will follow.

2. Don't really care. I respect the fact that he admitted he was wrong about some things, though the cynic in me believes that this may just have been because it wasn't politically inconvenient for him by the time he did. But who knows?

3. I don't think anything was playing, but it wouldn't matter because no answer will beat caveman's. (Unless perhaps someone had Sanford and Son)?

4. Jordan - I'm from Chicago.

5. Barack Obama. Though it was very early in the primaries of his senate run, so he certainly wasn't famous at the time.

"2. Helms was the best thing to come out of NC since... well, I don't know."

http://youtube.com/watch?v=3ZnzYZmIinM

Matt, you just lost all credibility.

"HUBERT!" One of my favorite all-time DFB&T stories. Who knew Hubert would punk Jay Bilas as "Dook Boy" all those years later...

And thanks for correctly assuming I would know who Michael Warren is. Again, considering my appreciation for gritty point guards, his UCLA career during the glory years would be enough, but his turn as Bobby Hill, paired with Renko on "Hill Street Blues" was one of the top cop-buddy pairings on the TV of my youth. Besides, being Jessica Alba's father-in-law is not a bad gig either...

1- an actual moral compass that points toward peace and human rights and respect for all people instead of inward at his navel

2- ding dong the witch is dead. fucking finally.

3- nothing, which is one of many reasons why it was ridiculously mediocre

4- Rick Fox. most fun to watch.

5- probably Jesse Jackson, he once gave me a hug. he so fucking rocks.

Zel,

I loved Bobby Hill, too, and as a boy growing up near Roanoke, VA, I was thrilled when it was revealed that Bobby was from Roanoke (when his mother passes, he takes the bus from NYC to Roanoke).

there's a great piece in the charlotte observer this morning about jesse helms and what he meant to people on both sides of the political and racial divide.

http://www.charlotte.com/171/story/703749.html

still looking for one of those bumper stickers that says...."jesse...helms that is!"