"Misery acquaints a man with strange bedfellows" - from "The Tempest" by William Shakespeare...
Take Mark Foley and I wish someone would. I mean what is it with politicians and interns ? Did I hear someone say Bill Clinton and "that woman, Miss Lewinsky" ? I know this latest incident with Foley is really pathetic but this was yesterday's front page headline in the New York Daily News: La Cage aux Foley which you have to admit is pretty funny. Speaking of funny, what happened today, October 5th, 1988 created a now, often used quote and a funny incident on the campaign trail...
With the national election barely one month away the 2 vice presidential candidates squared off in a nationally televised debate. Lloyd Bentsen, the democrat from Texas and Michael Dukakis running mate, took on the George (#41) Bush VP nominee Dan Quayle. Quayle, known to put his size 9 wingtips firmly in his mouth on more than one occasion did it again. He noted that he had as much political experience as John F. Kennedy when Kennedy ran for office. Now it was at this point that you just knew what was coming, kinda like seeing Billy Wagner come into the game anticipating that he will make it another adventure but win anyway, like he did last night. I just wish that they could have miked the audience at home because you knew this was on the way from Bentsen: "Senator, I served with Jack Kennedy. I knew Jack Kennedy. Jack Kennedy was a friend of mine. Senator, you're no Jack Kennedy". It was at this point I wrote down, "debate over" like I was scoring a game. The quote wouldn't help the Dukakis/Bentsen team and we were saddled with Dan Quayle as VP but what a quote...
Lloyd Bentsen passed away earlier this year at 85. Dan Quayle, at 59 plays lots of golf and is enjoying life with his family. It's interesting to note that Quayle is the only living former vice president never to have received his party's nomination for the presidency. The Bentsen quote didn't help...
Ten Timeline Memories...
- [1921] The World Series is broadcast on radio for the 1st time (the Giants beat the Yankees, 5 games to 3. It was an 8-game series back then)...
- [1967] Carl Yastrzemski hits 2 home runs leading the "Impossible Dream" Red Sox to a 5-0 shutout win for Jim Lonborg to even the World Series with St. Louis to one game a piece (I was at that game at Fenway and I'll say this again. The year that Yaz had in 1967, when he was the last player to win the Triple Crown, was the best individual performance I ever witnessed)...
- [1969] The Who appear on "The Ed Sullivan Show" (no doubt they followed Kate Smith)...
- [1970] Anwar Sadat takes office as President of Egypt replacing Gamal Abdel Nasser (Sadat will be assassinated while watching a parade in 1981)...
- [1982] The New Jersey Devils tie the Pittsburgh Penguins in their 1st game at the Meadowlands...
- [1983] Lech Walesa wins the Nobel Peace Prize for his effortless work in helping Polish workers...
- [1985] Grambling's Eddie Robinson becomes the winningest coach in college football history with his 324th win...
- [1989] Jim Bakker is convicted of using his television show to defraud his viewers (can't you just see that Jim Bakker smile and the mascara running down Tammy Faye's face ?)...
- [1999] MCI and Sprint announce plans to merge in a $115 billion deal ("Can you hear me now? Can you hear me now ?")...
- [2001] Barry Bonds sets a new mark for home runs by hitting #71 and #72 (he hits #73 on Oct. 7th) in a loss to the Dodgers (that wasn't water in the water cooler)...
Released on this date: 1968] "White Room" - Cream (they were beginning their farewell tour)...1968] "Magic Carpet Ride" - Steppenwolf...1975] "Cats in the Cradle" - Harry Chapin...
Premiered on this date: 1950] "You Bet Your Life" (hosted by the incomparable, "the one, the only"... Groucho Marx ("that's me", "say the secret woid and the duck will fly down with $200")...
[To ensure accuracy of dates and content, multiple reference sources are used in the timeline]...
Commentary...
As a follow up to my story on Sputnik being launched in 1957, Gordon Brown sends this e-mail: "Seems like yesterday. I went up on the roof of WNBH in New Bedford (MA) with some binoculars and watched Sputnik fly by. It was escorted across the sky by 3 very high flying jets. I just turned 18 at the time". And I can't even pick out the Sirius or XM satellites but I did spot the Big Dipper last night...
"Happy Birthday...happy birthday":
Nicky Hilton (23), Kate Winslet (31), Bernie Mac (49), Bob Geldof (52), Karen Allen (55), Steve Miller (63), Chantels' Arlene Smith (65) and Bill (Jose Jimenez) Dana (82)...
Timeline Countdown: 16 days until the World Series, 87 days until 2007 and 92 days until the NFL playoffs.
