Conservative Donnybrook

Chad Johnson is demanding to be dealt before the NFL draft, and the Jets could really use a star receiver not named Laveranues Coles, who caught a paltry 55 passes last year and stands 5′8″ if he’s an inch.

Not in my lifetime.

Does anyone else find the timing of the two “visits” taking place this week ironic?

First, there is Pope Benedict’s visit to the U.S., whose agenda it is to, first and foremost, “remind people about the gospel’s message of salvation in Christ.”  While liberal spindoctors will misappropriate the Pope’s visit as a call to end the war in Iraq and put an end to human rights abuses,  Benedict places primacy on his duty to shepherd his flock of American Roman Catholics.  This much is clear from his White House speech earlier this morning:

…I am happy to be here as a guest of all Americans. I come as a friend, a preacher of the Gospel and one with great respect for this vast pluralistic society. America’s Catholics have made, and continue to make, an excellent contribution to the life of their country. As I begin my visit, I trust that my presence will be a source of renewal and hope for the Church in the United States, and strengthen the resolve of Catholics to contribute ever more responsibly to the life of this nation, of which they are proud to be citizens.

While the Holy Father looks after his American flock, Jimmy Carter will be shepherding Hamas in the West Bank and Cairo, despite protests from Israel and the Bush administration.  Carter, who brokered the Israeli-Egyptian peace treaty in 1979, hopes to broker an agreement between Hamas, a designated terrorist group, and Fatah, the PLO’s political arm.  Fatah, remember, lost its majority in the Palestinian parliament in 2006 and resigned all cabinet positions thereafter.  Carter, besides legitimizing Hamas, “sends the message that Hamas need not fret over the designation-he is willing to accept the group as it is, terrorism notwithstanding, and others may well follow.”

So while Benedict blesses the American people with his message of salvation, Carter, quite antithetically, defies American-Israeli interests by empowering a terrorist group committed to violence.  The road to hell is paved with good intentions, Jimmy.

Remember the 2004 Republican convention?  It wasn’t too long ago.  Zell Miller, the Georgia Democrat, gave a fiery speech supporting Bush’s reelection and criticizing Democrats’ inability to connect with the American people.  He railed against Kerry, his voting record, and his seeming desire to weaken U.S. military strength.

Now, in 2008, Joe Lieberman looks to take up Miller’s legacy.  The Hill reports that the 2000 Democratic Veep nominee is “leaving open the possibility” of delivering McCain’s keynote address at September’s convention:

If Sen. McCain, who I support so strongly, asked me to do it, if he thinks it will help him, I will.

As long as Lieberman stays away from social issues and focuses his attention on security, the Democrat-turned-Independant may prove crucial in securing those curried-for swing votes that have had the tendency to elect presidents, as of late.