Mack Is Back Poem by gershon hepner

The Mack is back and Hillary
is more than of ancillary
importance in the voting process,
and for Barack Obama, sez
this writer, no politico,
whose words make up this ditty. Co-
conspirators who’re often known
as candidates, once they have blown
a lead, become a lot more fun
in races that they choose to run
than when they’re far ahead, but then
they catch up from behind, that’s when
this floating voter makes a wish:
let all who surface like live fish
rejoice and join the merry pack
whose mantra now is “Mack is Back! ”
Although police may taser us
let’s all root for this Lazarus,
back from near-death political–
d’you think that’s hypocritical,
and simply based on my aversion
to Hillary, a mirror version
of Bill, who when defining “is”
came back from Kingdom Cum as whiz.


Mark Leibovich “A Parade! A Circus! A Carnival! Or, the New Hampshire Primary, ” NYT, January 9,2008) , writes about the victory of John McCain the Republican primary in New Hampshire:
In the last few days, supporters of Mr. McCain, Republican of Arizona, have taken to chanting “Mack is back” at his rallies and appearances across the state. It’s a nice little chant, to be sure, except that no one who knows Mr. McCain has any knowledge of the man ever being called Mack. Mr. McCain confirmed as much Tuesday aboard his campaign bus, “The Straight Talk Express.” But he allowed that as a line for a resurgent campaign, “Mack is back” beats “The Comeback Kid, ” which Bill Clinton famously co-opted after finishing a surprising second in the 1992 primary here. Mr. McCain added that he never really had a nickname. Speaking of Mr. McCain, Democratic candidates love nothing more than to advertise their alliances with the senator, who tends to be popular with Democrats and independents and is thus coveted as a public friend. The phenomenon became particularly egregious in the 2004 presidential campaign, in which Senators John Edwards, Joseph I. Lieberman and, particularly, John Kerry (who courted Mr. McCain to be his running mate) fell all over themselves to boast of their “I Love McCain (And He Loves Me, Too!) ” bona fides. At one point, Mr. McCain even joked in a speech: “I now know why Joe Lieberman, John Edwards and John Kerry are always so anxious to co-sponsor legislation with me. It seems they not only want to work with me. They actually wanted to be me. I feel so violated.” The 2008 version of the “I Love McCain (And He Loves Me, Too!) ” primary has heated up in recent days as Mr. McCain has risen in polls here. Former President Bill Clinton and Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton have been especially conscientious about mentioning McCain collaborations. But Mrs. Clinton took the prize Monday at a rally in which she spoke about a trip she had taken to Iraq with Mr. McCain.“He and I have done some traveling together, ” Mrs. Clinton said. And she added, “What happens on the road stays on the road.” She grinned as members of the audience roared with laughter, none more so than Bill, who was standing behind her. The imagination reels, or doesn’t.



1/9/08