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Michael Deaver: 1938 - 2007

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Michael Deaver, Vice Chairman of my firm, Edelman, and longtime advisor and friend to Reagan and his family, passed away on Saturday morning after a fight with pancreatic cancer.

I was truly blessed to have spent time with and benefited from the wisdom of this man. I credit him with helping me begin my career at Edelman - and have saved every kind and encouraging note I ever received from him. Edelman has set up a tribute page on which I wrote:

I had the honor of knowing Mr. Deaver since I started at Edelman over a year and a half ago. One could not help but be motivated by the softspoken strength with which he conveyed his wisdom and unwavering conviction. I am not old enough to fully understand the effect that Mr. Deaver had on our country and on communications, but I know, from the many generous and encouraging notes and exchanges I shared with him, that I, Edelman, our industry, and our country, have lost a great friend and ambassador. He will be sorely missed by all.

One of the most powerful statements of remembrance has come from Henry Pierce, Executive Director of Clean and Sober Streets, a District-based long-term residential substance abuse treatment and rehabilitation program for homeless and economically disadvantaged men and women:

“Mike Deaver came to us as a volunteer at the end of the Reagan Administration, and has been our Chairman of the Board for the last 16 years. He fell in love with the program and became our guardian angel, responsible for keeping the doors open to the thousands of people we’ve treated to this day.

“Every Christmas Eve without fail, Mike would show up, serve dinner to the residents and their families, play the piano and lead the Christmas carol singing. He would be on hand for every graduation ceremony, and helped place many of them in their first real jobs. He saw the potential in each one of us, and gave his heart to the individual as well as the program.”

Below is a conversation between Mr. Deaver and Charlie Rose after the passing of President Reagan.

HT: Krempasky

Mike, we will miss you. Thank you, and Godspeed.

A gentle rain

The human capacity to forgive is like a gentle rain from heaven. It is a kiss of mercy upon a dusty aching heart. Forgiveness is grace giving the recipient a stairway to redemption. It is hard to know what our life will bring us, even from day to day. We make choices, many wise, some errantly fallible. And we learn - and suffer - from those choices. We can only hope that in a moment of true recognition, grace stares at us through our human imperfection and allows us the chance for redemption - the chance to show what we once were and could still be. I believe in that grace. I believe in that chance.

The quality of mercy is not strain’d;
It droppeth as the gentle rain from heaven
Upon the place beneath.

From the “Merchant of Venice” by William Shakespeare

It just makes sense

“I want to be President not because I want to run your lives. I don’t want to be President to run your economy. I don’t want to be President to run the world.”

“I want to be president to restore liberty.”

From Candidates@Google: Ron Paul

Related: Liberty
Related: Ron Paul 2008
HT: Mike

Next Year

Next Year by Jamie Cullum

Next year, things are gonna change
Gonna drink less beer, and start all over again
Gonna read more books, gonna keep up with the news
Gonna learn how to cook, spend less money on shoes
I’ll pay my bills on time,and file my mail away, everyday
Only drink the finest wine,and call my Gran every Sunday

Resolutions, baby they come and go
Will I do any of these things? The answers probably no
If there’s one thing I must do, despite my greatest fears
I’m gonna say to you, how I felt all of these years
Next Year
Next Year

I’m gonna tell you how I feel
I‘m gonna tell you how I feel

Resolutions, baby they come and go
Will I do any of these things? The answers probably no
If there’s one thing I must do, despite my greatest fears
I’m gonna say to you, how I felt all of these years
Next Year
Next Year

Let’s move it along

The Ron Paul Moment

The current issue of The American Conservative looks at the man who won’t be forgiven for being right.

Ron Paul is easy to overlook. He takes the stairs; he does not have an entourage. You can’t hear him coming because he’s wearing plain black tennis shoes. In a bag he carries a can of soup that he will heat for himself in the microwave in his office. Beneath pictures of Austrian economists Frederick Von Hayek and Ludwig Von Mises, he will eat his lunch alone and in peace.

I plan on spending a number of future posts discussing why I think Ron Paul might be the right man for the conservative nomination, and the country.

Read the full article here.

HT: Mike

Life is like junior high

I’ve been feeling pretty cynical lately. Cynical in the kind of close the blinds, lock the doors, turn off the TV and don’t answer your phone type way. Trusted friends are becoming harder and harder to come by, and the need for them in my life seems to be inversely related to their accessibility. My good friend Marshall, who is always available, sent me this quote, which, rather than inspire resignation, made me breathe a bit of a sigh. It’s from a commencement speech at Skidmore College, just a few days ago, by Tom Brokaw

You’ve been told during your high school years and your college years that you are now about to enter the real world, and you’ve been wondering what it’s like. Let me tell you that the real world is not college. The real world is not high school. The real world, it turns out, is much more like junior high. You are going to encounter, for the rest of your life, the same petty jealousies, the same irrational juvenile behavior, the same uncertainty that you encountered during your adolescent years. That is your burden. We all share it with you. We wish you well.

Killing it!!

The America’s Cup of Polo and Journey

The America's Cup of Polo

I went to the America’s Cup of Polo with my boss, Mike, and a few other friends. From start to finish it was a memorable day - and I had quite a few observations/learnings:

  • First, and foremost, Journey is most excellent. MOST excellent.
  • I have a very good boss(es).
  • The Mazda RX-8 is a sweet car - especially with leather and GPS.
  • Three bottles of wine and numerous bottles of beer in the sun WILL give you a hangover the next day
  • Situational white before Memorial Day is quite alright. I’m still not a fan of seersucker
  • There are some outfits that should never see daylight.
  • Grown women should not wear white linen dresses with absolutely nothing underneath at crowded social events.
  • Polo is split into periods called “Chukkers”
  • Only the guy from Journey can wear only a white vest for a top and still look really cool
  • When two pretty girls that you’ve just met are counting on you for a beer (and all the places to buy it have shut down) - you do whatever it takes
  • Journey + Fireworks finale = freaking awesome.

Here’s a clip from the concert:

Tonight…