Sometimes silence is golden

Hillary Clinton put her foot in it yesterday when she referred to the assassination of Robert Kennedy in June of 1968 as one reason to keep her campaign going. I do not care for Hillary, yet don't think she meant to imply that it could happen again and leave the door open for her to secure the Democratic nomination. On the other hand, she is a calculating person so anything is possible.
Only a week earlier Mike Huckabee, who would like to be included on the GOP ticket as vice president, cracked a truly despicable joke while speaking to, of all people, the National Rifle Association. When a chair or something else toppled he laughed and said it was Barack Obama hitting the floor when somebody showed a gun. Under the best of conditions that was unbelievably tasteless. On MSNBC, Chris Matthews refused to run the clip of him trying to be funny because of the number of nuts who might be watching.
Assassination isn't exactly a subject to speak of in a light manner. It wasn't that long ago that John and Robert Kennedy and Martin Luther King, Jr. were the victims of assassins. Alabama Governor George Wallace, although hardly a model of citizenship and tolerance, was crippled for life by a gunman. Only poor aim prevented Ronald Reagan from being killed.
There were two presidents from my area, William McKinley and James Garfield, who died from assassin's bullets. And, of course, Abraham Lincoln.
No, it isn't a suitable subject for small talk or cracking jokes. It never is, but at a time when more kooks than ever seem to be wandering the streets and a black man is running for president the remarks of Huckabee and Clinton set a new standard for tastelessness.
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Indy car driver Danica Patrick is another who would be well advised to keep her mouth shut on occasion. She always has an excuse when things don't go her way, always has some other driver to blame for her mishaps. Lately she has been blaming Bobby Rahal and his crew because she didn't win the 2005 Indianapolis 500.
Most drivers don't criticize other drivers because they know that the next time they may be at fault. A few immature NASCAR drivers follow Danica's example but the majority just shrug and say, "That's racing," when something goes wrong, as it frequently does.
Danica Patrick has seen many fans turn against her because of her spoiled little girl actions. Like Hillary Clinton and Mike Huckabee, she should learn to keep her mouth shut at times. In her favor, unlike the others her remarks are mere whining.

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