Chicago Daily Observer

Dear “Sun-Times.”

I should let you in on a little news. Your coverage of the Henry Hyde funeral by Dan Rozek missed a significant news story. Paragraph 2: “The longtime Republican legislator, who led a successful effort to ban federal funding of abortions and an unsuccessful attempt to impeach President Bill Clinton… ” Uh, the attempt to impeach Bill Clinton was successful. On December 19, 1998 the House voted to impeach him. The charges were one count of perjury and obstruction of justice. What you should have said was that Hyde “led a successful attempt to impeach President Bill Clinton” but the Senate with a two-thirds majority needed to convict did not do so. On perjury, the count being 45 votes for conviction and 55 against; on obstruction of justice, 50–50 with five Republicans voting against.

Breaking news in Lincoln Square:

Bowing to pressure following a community protest and the Sun-Times coverage of his redevelopment plans for the Lincoln Square business district, Alderman Gene Schulter (47th Ward) pulled an ordinance that would have allowed the city to use its eminent domain powers to gobble up the 4800 block of Western.

When Hollywood gets it right – they really get it right.

Does anybody in Hollywood “get” that?

After two weeks in theaters, the Disney feature “Enchanted” is still enchanting theater goers and crushing the competition.

Here’s why: it’s a delightful, thoroughly pro-family film. Throw in a little sexual innocence, mix with some pro-femininity and anti-divorce messages – and lots of great humor and acting – and you have great family fare.

Hollywood – pay attention to what people want. A film the whole family can enjoy.

Though, be aware that in one scene, the delightful Amy Adams (“Giselle”) in bath towel, innocently falls onto Patrick Dempsey whose girlfriend, Nancy, walks in at that moment. Giselle is concerned that Nancy thinks she and Dempsey have “kissed.” I loved it. Meanwhile, Nancy makes it clear that because of Dempsey’s daughter, she has never spent the night in his apartment. Way to go.

While in Paris in mid-November I spoke to Democrats Abroad-France, an officially recognized group of expat voters, about—what else? —the coming election. Naturally, the questions turned rapidly to the horserace.

Keep your eyes on Mike Huckabee as the GOP’s dark horse, I said, immediately drawing snickers and good-natured heckling from a dozen or so in an audience largely unfamiliar with his name.

“President Huckabee?” snorted one, as if the very sound of it was absurd.

Needless to say, the intervening weeks improved the name-recognition of the former governor of Arkansas (from a town called Hope, just like you-know-who).

By month’s end Huckabee surged ahead of Mitt Romney and was leading the Iowa polls (paralleling Obama’s scooting past Clinton).

Suddenly, everyone hears Huckabee. He is December’s flavor of the month, replete with major take-outs in the New Yorker, New ... Read More...