Bryce Zabel's FOR WHAT IT'S WORTH

Obama's Main Competition

In less than a month now, President Barack Obama will stand before a crowd in Washington, D.C. and take the oath of office. We already know that this will be historic simply from the point-of-view of Obama's background and race. The other competition, however, is performance. We know he's a great orator and people will expect a barn-burner of an inspirational speech. He won't have any problem eclipsing others that went before him like George W. Bush, Jimmy Carter, Richard Nixon or even Bill Clinton. No, the man Obama has to stand up to by way of historical comparison is President John Kennedy.

48 years ago, the inaugural was similarly a piece of history. Not only was it jeopardized by bad weather, but it brought generational change to the White House. It was at that tiime that newly elected President John Kennedy spoke those words we still remember.

"Ask not what your country can do for you..." We've heard this so many times, we can finish JFK's words in our sleep. That speech, delivered on a brutally cold January day in 1961 where a blizzard threatened to shut down the entire affair, still goes down as the best inauguration speech, probably ever, certainly of the 20th century.

This is actually my favorite newsmagazine cover -- the day that John F. Kennedy assumed the presidency. It's a color photograph that Time's editors had decided two weeks earlier should be taken at the precise moment when he raised his right hand and took the oath as the nation's 35th President. Just possibly this was the last inauguration where Americans were absolutely filled to the brim with the possibilities that life would be getting much, much better.

Time -- with coverage coming from 17 correspondents -- led with the speech itself -- definitely getting right that it would become the classic speech, the one by which all others have been measured.

A blizzard threatened to turn the whole momentous occasion into a farce -- but President John Kennedy, delivering his inaugural address, more than saved the day. Kennedy's inauguration speech went beyond mere rhetoric derived from the U.S. past; it has profound meaning for the U.S. future. In lean, lucid phrases the nation's new President pledged to the U.S. to remain faithful to its friends, firm against its enemies but always willing to bring an end to the cold war impasse.

Sometimes, like the JFK coverage, they got the story just right. That's the fun of the Instant History blog. There will be other times where the writing of the moment was swayed by being too inside the story to see clearly. And there will be other times still where you will see that issues of political correctness and other bias have twisted the honest reporting of the moment into something that the original journalists would never agree with.

Reaction to the speech was immediate. From all shades of political outlook, from people who had voted for Kennedy in November and people who had voted against him, came a surge of praise and congratulation. Even so partisan a Republican as Senate Minority Leader Everett McKinley Dirksen described it as "inspiring" and as "a very compact message of hope."

The Time reporters here got the speech just right. Who knew when President Kennedy delivered that address that he and his presidency would end in such a tragic manner that it would affect Americans' sense of trust in their own government and that, as the years passed, he would be revealed to have had such huge personal flaws in terms of his risk-taking behavior?

One thing that impressed me in re-reading this article was how close we came to never hearing that speech delivered in the stirring way it was given. Snow had started to fall the night before and kept falling.

By nightfall on inaugural eve, confusion was complete. At least 10,000 cars were stalled and abandoned. Airplanes stacked up over the airport, then flew away; Herbert Hoover, winging up from Miami, had to turn back, never got to the inaugural. It took Pat Nixon 2 1/2 hours to get from her Wesley Heights home to the Senate Office Building, where her husband was holding a farewell party for his staff. . . At the White House, 30 members of President Eisenhower's staff were snowbound for the night. Determined partygoers struggled through the storm, some of the men in white ties and parkas, some of the women wearing leotards under their gowns.

Eventually, though, on that terribly cold day, the story was all about hope... a time when a leader could challenge us to "...ask what you can do for your country" without getting in a big political debate.

Who knows what Obama will ask of his listeners this time around? We'll know soon enough.

Mr. Obama Goes to Washington

EDITOR'S NOTE, ELECTION DAY-AFTER 2008.

It feels like a movie, this rise of Barack Obama. 

Besides its compelling lead actor, this blockbuster has had plot twists, villains, conflict, a heroic journey, incredible stakes and a great ending.  These are all, as it is, also elements expected to be in any film or TV pitch I might make out here in Hollywood.  Dramatically speaking, this one has it all.

So far this year, I've voted for him twice, supported his campaign financially, gone to a rally, and even worked on "Ready to Believe," a professionally-produced song that's been well-received everywhere from YouTube to iTunes.  Mostly, though, I've followed the campaign like a member of an audience glued to an on-screen spectacle. 

President-elect Barack Obama's journey has felt like an epic film, but the way it's sucked us into caring about a character in a show where anything can happen, it's really played more like a TV series.  But there hasn't been a reality show created that could match this one.

No matter who you voted for yesterday, a President Barack Obama promises to continue as a compelling chapter in American history. 

I was born on the exact day the Supreme Court issued Brown -vs- the Board of Education.  My father taught American history and was shamed by having to explain our country's shortcomings in civil rights.  As a kid, I actually remember seeing news coverage of people having dogs and water hoses set on them because they wanted basic dignity.  To see this change in my lifetime -- from the awful images from the south to this man of progress chosen to lead us -- is a profound thing. 

There's so much hard work ahead, but right now a black man just proved that anybody CAN grow up to be president.  That's good for our country and it's good for our citizens, especially our kids.  And, coming back from Europe just two days ago, I believe the support Obama receives from world leaders will help with leading on the global financial mess and getting them to kick in more troops in Afghanistan.

You see: the Barack Obama movie not only has done incredible domestic box office, but it's about to play just as successfully in global markets.

The United States of America, for a few years anyway, has a brand to equal Coke and McDonald's on the world stage.  The President of the United States of America, Barack Obama.

In the fall of 2007, before the first primaries, I first wrote about Barack Obama on the FOR WHAT IT'S WORTH blog.  I just re-read it today and thought it was worth the re-post.  Here it is then, as it was:

The world has probably not been holding its collective breath waiting to find out who the FWIW blog will throw its weight behind in the presidential campaign. We have yet to serve our billionth daily reader, Tim Russert stubbornly refuses to quote us on "Meet the Press," and the campaigns have apparently missed the opportunity to bookmark us on their browsers. Even so, I've been watching the presidential campaign from the sidelines long-enough, and it seems like the right time to get in the game.

I just logged on to the official campaign website and gave a donation to Barack Obama. There are some good candidates I can support if Obama does not get the Democratic nomination but he's my first choice by a mile.

I just can't get behind a George H.W. Bush - Bill Clinton - George W. Bush - Hillary Clinton narrative for America. We try to raise kids to believe that anyone can grow up to be president, and that sends the message that the truth is something else. I just don't buy the "experience" argument anyway. I'm looking for good judgment, character and the ability to make effective decisions by listening to people with different viewpoints and then doing what you think is best, often before all the facts can be known. I'm looking for someone who can then explain those decisions to us in a way that increases our solidarity as a country and not put more distance between us.

President Barack Obama will send a message to the world that America is a new, more hopeful place. It will send a message to Americans that the racial divisions which have plagued our country can begin to truly heal. Hopefully, by being on the ticket, even the election can be about something besides red state-blue state distrust and acrimony. We need a clean break from the past.

The election of Obama, however, won't simply be a message. He's a bright thinker and he brings people together. We've been looking for someone to embody the spirit of John Kennedy for as long as I've been an adult. That's Barack Obama. There is no other candidate in this race for whom that comparison is even possible.

Like John Kennedy having to deal with issues like missiles in Cuba, history won't let Obama simply be the man who opposed the use of force in Iraq but will throw other challenges at him. He will have his own thorny issues to deal with, notably Islamic extremism directed at the U.S., but there will probably be a few we don't even see coming now. From what I can see, he'll be a cool head in the White House and I trust him to make the call for me.

I hope his journey across America during this campaign will allow him to transcend the boxes people want to put him in, and allow him to grow into a leader who will represent all of us.

Anyway, we all know this campaign can't be about who's got the best collection of issue statements and legislative agendas and plans. For me, it's about - "Who do you trust?"

I trust Barack Obama and, for what it's worth, I'd ask you to consider doing the same. Thanks.

FINAL NOTE:  "Ready to Believe" is the title of the rock-anthem I co-wrote the lyrics to that was recorded by LA alt.rocker Cherish Alexander and released a few days before the California primary (while I was on strike for the WGA, no less).  This song has been well-received everywhere from YouTube where it's had over 100,000 plays to iTunes where you can get a quality MP3 of it.  But, because you read to the end of this, you can also get a free copy by clicking here.

They May Just Start Liking Us Again...

I've just returned from a visit to Europe.  We visited London, Venice, Brussels and Bruges.  Everywhere I went, my daughter and I wore our Barack Obama buttons (see photo) and it helped us make a lot of new friends.  Honestly, if Europeans voted in this election, well, they wouldn't have to bother with ballots.  They could just do it by acclamation!

While there, I also picked up a copy of the Newsweek international edition with an article by Stryker McGuire, "The Global Election."  He makes the point that "the world has never watched any vote, in any nation, so closely. In country after country, polls show record-high fascination with the outcome of the U.S. elections this Tuesday."  McGuire makes it clear why they're interested.

"...the election played large and transformational: a 21st-century man with whom the whole world can identify versus an old cold-warrior out of synch with the complex political and economic crises of our age. The election, it seemed, had morphed into a meta-election. If at home, especially as the election neared its end, Obama seemed to be playing down his blackness, his intellect, his eliteness and his progressive ideas, these were the qualities that more and more drew the rest of the world to him. The world loved the idea that a man named Barack Hussein Obama could become America's 44th president after a 200-year string of white guys named Washington and Jefferson, Clinton and Bush."

That was definitely my conclusion.  We were stopped by restaurant owners, taxi drivers, hotel clerks and even fellow tourists; every single one wanting to make sure we knew that they, too, wanted him to win.

I realize that Europeans liking Obama would be red meat for a Sarah Palin speech, using it as evidence of how weak he is: to be supported by the French!

It's no reason, by itself, to support Barack Obama, I suppose.  Even the Europeans think he's going to drive some hard bargains if he wins.  But they seem ready to like America again.  If we give them the chance...

READY TO BELIEVE: Free MP3 of Obama Fight Song!

Last January, while we were still on strike as members of the Writers Guild of America, my wife Jackie and I sat down in a Los Angeles coffee shop with our good friend, musician Cherish Alexander.

Before the coffee was cold, we decided, improbably given the time frame -- as a couple of striking screenwriters and a singer-composer -- to write, produce and distribute the song you'll soon hear.  It happened over a five day period and we released it immediately before the California primary.

So far, "Ready to Believe" has cumulatively had its video versions viewed close to 100,000 times on YouTube.  Plus, it's available on iTunes.  You, however, don't have to buy it in the closing days of the 2008 campaign.  We want you to download it for free and to send it to your friends.

It was written to stand-up for Barack to the Clinton campaign's charges claiming he wasn't ready for the presidency.  We find that the need for this song is as solidly right-on today as it was last February (only Clinton is on the team now and the argument's being made by John McCain).  It needed rebuttal then, and it needs rebuttal now. 

Please give it a listen.  Click the link below to just hear it.  Otherwise,right-click to actually... we'll say it again... download "Ready to Believe" for free.  Again, you have our express permission to download it and to give it away. 

Download_Ready_to_Believe_Song.mp3

Some have asked for a PDF of the actual lyrics.  Here you are:

Download_Ready_to_Believe_Lyrics.pdf

Here's the You Tube version:

Please also visit the web-page of singer-composer Cherish Alexander (http://www.cherishalexander.com/ready_to_believe/) where all the goodies are also available.  She and fellow producer Damian Valentine did an awesome job with this project as you can hear for yourself.

We know the hour is late but if you support Barack Obama, we'd urge you to join us and expose as many people as you can to this song.  Especially Obama volunteers.  We've received a good deal of email from campaign workers who thought it was like an anthemic "fight song" for the cause.  That's certainly what we intended it to be.

Remember to vote.  Even if the polls say he's ahead, you have to vote.  Take nothing for granted. 

Still fired up and ready-to-go for Obama!

Cherish Alexander, Jackie Zabel, Bryce Zabel

Movie Smackdown Comix presents... THE 9/11 FILMS

Two films about 9/11 were released in 2006 on the eve of the fifth anniversary of the terrorist attack.

To read the full review, go to United 93 -vs- World Trade Center.  A reader's poll has just gone up, too, so please do express your own opinion.

MOVIE SMACKDOWN! - Two Reviews... One Film... No Holds Barred!

Review and Comix by Bryce Zabel.

Independence Day: Happy 231st America!

With the country starting up another bitter election cycle, our citizens mostly opposed to an overseas war, immigration forcing us to decide what an American is and isn't, and the current president about as unpopular as they come, we're about to celebrate another 4th of July. Because we're so divided, it seems, most of us are vaguely uncomfortable talking about issues like patriotism and it's easier to drink a Bud at the fireworks than to consider what any of it means. Which, if you think about it, is probably all the more reason to try. So, in that spirit, here goes...

The birth of the United States of America was set in motion 231 years ago and I'm glad it was. When the Founding Fathers commited us to this grand experiment by breaking with Great Britain, they did a bold thing for their time and for all times. If you'd like to read the Declaration of Independence (which is something everybody probably thinks they've done but haven't done in years and years), then CLICK HERE and read away.

Just fragments in the reflecting pool, or something special?

I was going to write a little blurb here about how Hollywood views patriotism and the things that go with it like the flag, the Pledge of Allegiance, the Star-Spangled Banner and the like, but then I realized that was probably career suicide in a red-blue polarized country where patriotism itself can be a hot-button issue. That essay will have to wait for another time, I suppose.

Take the red pill or the blue pill? Or maybe the red-blue pill?

Everybody's patriotism is different anyway, and there are many ways to look at your country. On this 231st birthday, then, here's my state-of-mind:

We are deeply divided, but we've been deeply divided many times before.

We have many problems, but there have always been problems and we continue to work on them from one generation to another. Things aren't perfect, I know that, but I'm still proud to be a citizen of the United States of America. I've traveled the world a bit, and I love the diversity of this endangered planet we live on, but this is my home and I like it enough to stay involved with it.

We remain a country of great promise. We have done great things and more great things are in our future. We're not done. No matter which side you're on of a particular issue, if you think the country is going down the wrong path, we have shown the capability of re-generation and growth. Staying involved is the key.

Oh, say, can you see?

We've made mistakes (some big ones) and we will make more mistakes. But our long arc is still to the positive, most especially when compared to some of the truly horrific things that can happen and have happened around the world, both now and in the past. We aren't done but we are still going about the work of building a more perfect union and that's a very good thing.

To the men and women representing America overseas who aren't home with their families, thank you for your service. We hope to see you back home with us soon. I remain in awe of your courage and your spirit.

Don't mess with Uncle Sam!

As we said, the polls now say that most Americans aren't fans of President Bush. That's okay, too, our country is unique in the fearlessness with which our citizens can express such condemnations of their leaders. Disapproval of the current White House occupant, however, doesn't have to diminish love of country.

On this day, I would simply point out that there is still so very much to love about the United States. I'd ask us all to think a little less about demonizing the people who disagree with us on various issues and spend a little more effort treating them with respect. This applies to Democrats and Republicans. Like a lot of Americans, I'm sick of the hate-vibe that comes from the Michael Moores on the left and the Ann Coulters on the right. Listen up, people, let's knock this off and get to work solving problems. It's a dangerous world out there and we have enough to do without fighting so bitterly with each other.

This holiday my family will be doing some grilling, catching some tunes and watching some fireworks. Embarrassing as it is, that would be me below with enough tri-tip on the BBQ to feed the neighborhood at our big early get-together last 4th of July. Hope you and your family are together.

This land is my land, this land is your land.

So, Happy 231st birthday America... keep it comin'... we'll be there to help out...

At least that's my opinion -- For What It's Worth...

You Haven't Seen This One Before!

I guess most people who read this blog regularly know that I like history, and I like John Kennedy, and I like science fiction. I combined those into an alt.history for the NBC "Dark Skies" series and now it looks like I've done it again.

What if they missed in Dallas?

Yeah, I know, I know. This is the classic "what if" and it's been done a few times. Historians love to speculate on this scenario, wondering if magically the nation would have been spared the pain of Vietnam and even Watergate. Knowing what we know now, it seems like they've missed the point. There's a new twist to the answer that wouldn't have been possible to even dream of until about a decade ago.

If he’d gotten out of Dallas alive, John Kennedy might easily have suffered the same fate as his arch-nemesis Richard Nixon -- humiliation and removal from office.

That's the premise of a novel I've been working on for over a year with Harry Turtledove who is pretty much the dean of alternative history novels. Our project is called:

And before you freak out and start calling me names, both Harry and I are life-long Democrats. We don't hate JFK. We have been as compelled by his story as anyone. We just think that this is one of the best alt.history ideas either of us has ever worked on. Our premise is pretty simple:

With the eyes of the world on the United States and the media in a frenzy, with JFK himself alive and not a martyr, an immediate investigation would have been launched into who might have been interested in killing our popular American President. Starting with the Secret Service, the blame-game would have taken on a life of its own, forcing explosive revelations in mere months that have instead dribbled out over decades. Kennedy’s reckless conduct would have become public: the lies about his medical condition, contacts with mobsters, election money-laundering, numerous attempts to assassinate foreign leaders, and even the hundreds of high-risk sexual encounters that endangered Kennedy’s safety and, by extension, our country’s security.

This alternative history novel covers the period from the November 22, 1963 near-miss assassination attempt of President Kennedy in Dallas, Texas through the events of early 1966 when the fate of John F. Kennedy was in the hands of 100 United States Senators worried about their own careers in the next election.

If you'd like to see the whole bit, just CLICK HERE or on the BANNER ABOVE to visit the site.

Bordering on Insanity

Let's try to divorce this discussion from the pros and cons of the Iraq "surge", National Intelligence Estimates, and presidential politics, etc. Okay? Just for a minute...

I've just watched two of the Sunday morning talk shows where I was treated to a potpourri of politicos, poohbahs and pundits.

Several times I heard people (mostly Democrats today, but also a Republican and some commentators) who want to "re-deploy" the U.S. troops in Iraq to different missions. The most popular place to re-deploy them -- according to these armchair generals -- is to the Iraqi borders to protect those borders from insurgents and others who want to come in and cause trouble.

What?!

Let me get this straight. It's okay to use the U.S. military to protect the borders of a foreign country but it is not okay to protect the borders of the United States? I mean, some of the same people I heard advocate this re-deployment today, I have heard expressing severe skepticism about our own border security, several of them even intimating that enforcing our own border was somehow almost racist.

It's probably a legitimate mission to protect the Iraq borders and, given all the bad alternatives, I'd support it. But I'm not in favor of treating our own border as any less important. Does anybody seriously think we should?

A border is a border. If it exists, and it's considered legitimate, then people should only come across it with permission whether it's somebody else's border or your own. At least that's my position, for what it's worth...

Presidential Memories: Ford

President Ford believed in the power of forgiveness. He pardoned Richard Nixon when so many people just wanted to prolong Nixon's suffering because they hated him so much, and Ford took a lot of political heat for it. The act probably cost him the election of 1976 but it guaranteed him a place in history as one of the good guys. Even Ted Kennedy who criticized him for it loudly at the time has said that, in retrospect, it was the right decision.

I met Gerald Ford a full 30 years ago for the first time when he was campaigning in Oregon where I was going to school. Then, about 25 years ago, I literally got to see him up close and personal in his office at his Rancho Mirage home. I was covering presidential politics for CNN (I had to have been the youngest national correspondent working at the time), and Ronald Reagan had gone to visit the former President after his own nomination as the Republican standard-bearer. A few months later, Reagan would go on to do the thing that Ford could not do -- defeat Jimmy Carter and send him packing from Washington.

It was a pretty surreal photo op. I was with the "Boys on the Bus" (even though there were plenty of women, even then), the pack of political reporters following Reagan around Southern California. They crowded about twenty-five of us, including photographers, into Ford's modest sized office and he and Reagan exchanged pleasantries as we shouted questions at them. A political footnote to this meeting is that only a few days before Reagan had been nominated by the Republicans and there had been a very strong movement to nominate Ford to run as his vice-president.

This photo you see above was taken during that 1980 convention. It still amazes me that I met each of those men during that period. Besides the photo-op with Ford, I literally followed Reagan around for weeks, covering his news conference the day after his election at the Century City Plaza Hotel, and going up to his "Rancho Cielo" above Santa Barbara. I remember him getting on a horse, telling us that "The best thing for the inside of a man is the outside of a horse" and riding away with Nancy into the sunset like it was one of his movies.

Bush Sr. I met when I was given five minutes to interview him as a vice-presidential candidate that year. I remember him being out-of-sorts and kind of rude to me. I think he was wondering who this kid was who was wasting his time, and thinking that this CNN thing was a flash-in-the-pan that would never go anywhere.

Back to Ford, though. He was a decent man always, someone who was liked on both sides of the aisle, even by his political opponents. He could be partisan when he needed to be, but he was also a patriot in the true sense of the word. He knew he'd stepped into history big-time. Remember his words when he took over the day that Nixon resigned: "Our long national nightmare is over."

Gerald Ford died at 93, the oldest of any of our presidents. That's how long long Reagan lasted, actually longer by a month. It's a good, long life and he lived it well. He was a good guy, and he'll be missed.

11/22: Another Generation's 9/11

After 9/11 we said that "everything changed." I'm not sure that's completely true anymore but I do know that 43 years ago, on the eve of another Thanksgiving, they really did. That, of course, was the day that President John F. Kennedy was murdered in Dallas, Texas. Where were you? It's no longer a universal question like it once was. Now, in 2006, probably more Americans weren't even born by November 22, 1963 than were.

I was in grade school, attending Peter Boscow Elementary in Hillsboro, Oregon. When we came into the lunchroom the TV was on and we'd heard that he was shot. Our entire class had to eat at the same table every day and our teacher, Mrs. Braden, was one of the toughest old birds in the educational system, so tough that she always forced us to eat our entire lunch, especially the vegetable, even if they included broccoli. On this day, however, she let us eat whatever we wanted and throw out what we didn't. She sat at the head of the table and cried. By the time lunch was over Kennedy was dead and Mrs. Braden looked like a really old broken woman. I had lived nearly three months in fear of her in the classroom and seeing her so weak and shaken shook me almost as much as Kennedy's death. Almost...

We went home early from school. My mother and father came home early, too. We turned on the TV, like everyone else in America, and cried some more. We cried all weekend, watched Lee Harvey Oswald get caught, saw Jack Ruby shoot Oswald on live TV, and watched the funeral on Monday and cried some more. My father's name was Harvey and it really bothered me that the man who killed the President shared his name. What bothered me even more was that my middle name was Harvey. Bryce Harvey Zabel. Like that killer. Lee Harvey Oswald. I hated that name. I hated that if I ever did anything bad they'd use my middle name in the papers. So that, I expect, is why I've stayed on the right side of the law all these years.

I remember feeling about President Kennedy the way you'd feel if you had a really cool dad. When he was killed, it left me with just my own real father, who wasn't in the same universe of cool. My dad, the aforementioned Harvey Zabel, was incredibly reliable, honest, and a family man -- traits we assumed President Kennedy also had, although the facts as they've come out over the years have shown that not to be true. But cool, yeah, JFK had that down pat.

Six days after the assassination of President Kennedy, President Lyndon Johnson addressed the nation on Thanksgiving Day, 1963. He announced that Florida's NASA Launch Operation Center would be renamed the John F. Kennedy Space Center and he asked the public to remain "determined that from this midnight of tragedy we shall move toward a new American greatness."

I'm not sure, but I think our family drove up to my grandparent's home in Bingen, Washington. I do remember that the food was good but none of us were that hungry.

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• Click here to read all the Kennedy posts on the Instant History blog.