As I suspected but hoped would not be the case, it is quite evident that the Republicans in the House want absolutely no part of this stimulus package. That's a message, to me at least, that the Limbaugh-agreeing mob mentality in the party are herding as a block; i.e. they will bet on this package to fail and don't want any bit of its "stink" hanging on them, hoping to charge a comeback in power in 2010. And that in a word is bullshit, and in three words, bipartisan lip service. What more do the Reps want, tyranny by the minority? Already there's the compromise of about a third of it going to tax cuts, not to mention the $70 billion alternative minimum tax cut that will do virtually nothing to stimulate the economy.
I believe the bill as is does not do enough to help those who really need it, namely the unemployed, the uninsured and the foreclosed. Yes, I will agree with a Nobel Prize-winning economist over some Rep party leader from Ohio.
Get a load of these comments from the Reps:
Originally I was going to link the NYT article but WSJ had a more thoroughly assessed article so here it is: House Passes Stimulus Bill Without Republican Support
Friday, February 13, 2009
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
Petraeus Tests Obama
Joe Biden got a talking to when he said that world leaders will test the "young president" Obama. It appears that most of the tests in his first 3-4 weeks have been coming from leaders within our own country, first the Republicans in Congress and now General David Petraeus, who apparently has some political aspirations of his own. But doing an end-around the president is not too smart, is it? Yet another sideshow to distract him from the economic troubles at home? Thanks, but no thanks, General.
Petraeus Leaked Misleading Story on Pullout Plans
WASHINGTON, Feb 9 (IPS) - The political maneuvering between President Barack Obama and his top field commanders over withdrawal from Iraq has taken a sudden new turn with the leak by CENTCOM commander Gen. David Petraeus - and a firm denial by a White House official - of an account of the Jan. 21 White House meeting suggesting that Obama had requested three different combat troop withdrawal plans with their respective associated risks, including one of 23 months.
The Petraeus account, reported by McClatchy newspapers Feb. 5 and then by the Associated Press the following day, appears to indicate that Obama is moving away from the 16-month plan he had vowed during the campaign to implement if elected. But on closer examination, it doesn't necessarily refer to any action by Obama or to anything that happened at the Jan. 21 meeting.
The real story of the leak by Petraeus is that the most powerful figure in the U.S. military has tried to shape the media coverage of Obama and combat troop withdrawal from Iraq to advance his policy agenda - and, very likely, his personal political interests as well.
Petraeus Leaked Misleading Story on Pullout Plans
WASHINGTON, Feb 9 (IPS) - The political maneuvering between President Barack Obama and his top field commanders over withdrawal from Iraq has taken a sudden new turn with the leak by CENTCOM commander Gen. David Petraeus - and a firm denial by a White House official - of an account of the Jan. 21 White House meeting suggesting that Obama had requested three different combat troop withdrawal plans with their respective associated risks, including one of 23 months.
The Petraeus account, reported by McClatchy newspapers Feb. 5 and then by the Associated Press the following day, appears to indicate that Obama is moving away from the 16-month plan he had vowed during the campaign to implement if elected. But on closer examination, it doesn't necessarily refer to any action by Obama or to anything that happened at the Jan. 21 meeting.
The real story of the leak by Petraeus is that the most powerful figure in the U.S. military has tried to shape the media coverage of Obama and combat troop withdrawal from Iraq to advance his policy agenda - and, very likely, his personal political interests as well.
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
First Black RNC Chairman?
From The Root giving some perspective on the vote for the new RNC Chairman. An excerpt:
"It’s true that two black men--of very different political leanings--are among the six men fighting to represent the party of Abraham Lincoln. Blackwell is a rock-ribbed conservative who writes for the far-right Town Hall, belongs to the Family Research Council as well as the National Rifle Association. Steele is a moderate who helms the revived Republican Leadership Council, a centrist political action committee, alongside others like Christine Whitman, Jane Swift and Tom Ridge. But how can we forget that Chip Saltzman, another potential RNC head, recently sent supporters an e-mail making fun of “Barack the Magic Negro?” Just this week, a fake cover of USA Today began to circulate among RNC membership, with the unpleasant headline “RNC Members Choose ‘Whites Only’ Chairman”—a reference to Katon Dawson, a South Carolina operative said to be the front-runner, who joined a private club that does not admit blacks."
Grand White Party: Can Republicans get down with the brown?
"It’s true that two black men--of very different political leanings--are among the six men fighting to represent the party of Abraham Lincoln. Blackwell is a rock-ribbed conservative who writes for the far-right Town Hall, belongs to the Family Research Council as well as the National Rifle Association. Steele is a moderate who helms the revived Republican Leadership Council, a centrist political action committee, alongside others like Christine Whitman, Jane Swift and Tom Ridge. But how can we forget that Chip Saltzman, another potential RNC head, recently sent supporters an e-mail making fun of “Barack the Magic Negro?” Just this week, a fake cover of USA Today began to circulate among RNC membership, with the unpleasant headline “RNC Members Choose ‘Whites Only’ Chairman”—a reference to Katon Dawson, a South Carolina operative said to be the front-runner, who joined a private club that does not admit blacks."
Grand White Party: Can Republicans get down with the brown?
Conyers Subpoenas Rove for US Attorney Firings
See, we'll never run out of stuff to blog about. Oh, that John Conyers! Conservatives hate him as much as liberals hate Rush Limbaugh, I bet. Give 'em hell, John, but we shall see if Rove ends up at your hearing first. So much for post-partisan D.C.? Hey, the law is the law, and you must pay if you broke it in the most egregious way possible.
Ball in Obama's Court on Rove's US Attorney Testimony
Here's an interesting bit from the above article:
"And just now, Rove's lawyer, Robert Luskin, told TPMmuckraker that he had already forwarded Conyers' subpoena to the Obama White House, asking them to give an opinion as to whether President Bush retains his ability to assert executive privilege.
Ball in Obama's Court on Rove's US Attorney Testimony
Here's an interesting bit from the above article:
"And just now, Rove's lawyer, Robert Luskin, told TPMmuckraker that he had already forwarded Conyers' subpoena to the Obama White House, asking them to give an opinion as to whether President Bush retains his ability to assert executive privilege.
In other words, the Obama White House will decide, essentially, whether to back Rove's claim of privilege, or to deny it. (And given that Rove is supposed to appear February 2, that decision from the White House should come soon.) In the latter case, said Luskin, a negotiation would ensue between the Obama White House, President Bush, and Rove. That would likely result in the matter going to court."
Well, the Sierra Club is pleased...
Yes, I am on their email list. Here's what I received today entitled, "Now That's What I Call a President!":
President Obama Wastes No Time
If anyone was still wondering whether President Barack Obama would make a significant difference in the White House, it took less than a week to settle the question. The announcement that President Obama had requested that EPA Director Lisa Jackson to look into granting California a waiver for its clean car law is, by itself, a stunning break with the policies of the past. Significantly, it's also one of four "Clean Slate" energy initiatives that more than 50,000 Sierra Club supporters asked President Obama to enact immediately upon assuming office. (You can still encourage him to act on the remaining three.)
I promise our blog won't be just a long list of gushers for "President Obama." Still can't get over how good that sounds...
President Obama Wastes No Time
If anyone was still wondering whether President Barack Obama would make a significant difference in the White House, it took less than a week to settle the question. The announcement that President Obama had requested that EPA Director Lisa Jackson to look into granting California a waiver for its clean car law is, by itself, a stunning break with the policies of the past. Significantly, it's also one of four "Clean Slate" energy initiatives that more than 50,000 Sierra Club supporters asked President Obama to enact immediately upon assuming office. (You can still encourage him to act on the remaining three.)
But that was only some of the good news last week. President Obama also indicated that his administration will issue new fuel-economy standards in the coming months that will go beyond what the Bush administration had started. Equally exciting was an announcement that the EPA, for the first time ever, would oppose a coal-fired power plant permit (the Big Stone II project in South Dakota).
In addition, President Obama lifted the "global gag rule" that has prohibited U.S. funding for international organizations that speak about abortion to women and girls seeking reproductive and family-planning services. And Abraham Lincoln's Bible probably hadn't even made it back to the Library of Congress before the Interior Department announced that it was withdrawing a rule change that would have prematurely dropped gray wolves in the Great Lakes and Northern Rocky Mountains from the endangered species list.
Of course much work remains before eight years of environmental neglect can be reversed, but what a start!
---------------I promise our blog won't be just a long list of gushers for "President Obama." Still can't get over how good that sounds...
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
Obama Inauguration Thoughts
I will confess that I played hooky and called in sick so I could stay home to watch and to tape the inaugural proceedings. It starts from the various dignitaries entering the platform to the actual inauguration (botched oath and all) to the luncheon (NBC screwing up the report that Byrd had a seizure instead of Kennedy) to the parade to the D.C. Neighborhood Ball to the first half of that night's edition of Charlie Rose. All in all, eight hours of VHS recorded. Is that so wrong? I'm only sorry that I couldn't capture it digitally on a DVD and even that the tape was recorded in EP mode instead of SP for better picture quality.
So let's have some thoughts on this historic day and beginning of a presidency.
So let's have some thoughts on this historic day and beginning of a presidency.
Tuesday, January 13, 2009
Prelude to the Inauguration - BRM/YHK
From: Brian Menard
Sent: Tuesday, January 13, 2009 7:03:37 AM
Young:
Been thinking about you much as we get closer to Inauguration Day. Johanna, who lives just outside DC, will have no floor space in her apartment as every inch will be filled with out-of-towners joining the throng on the Mall for the big event. I'm very jealous - just 'cuz I didn't vote for him doesn't mean I can't appreciate the incredibly historic moment this is in our nation's history. You know, of the two inaugurations I've attended, one was GOP (1973) and one was Dem (1993).
So far I am about as pleased as I could HOPE to be with the way Obama has set things up. There are things I really don't like, people he's bringing in that worry me greatly or that just make me nervous regarding what I expect they will do, etc. But that's part of reaching across the aisle, and so far I believe he IS following through on his rhetoric to do so. He's pre-governing quite differently than his campaign policy pronouncements implied, probably as much to your chagrin as to my relief. Not that I'm pleased with the policy overall; were it up to me, I'd move things much further my direction; but, I'm pleased that he's making the early movements to bring folks together in a way that both you and I can be equally displeased with the ultimate output! That's what deliberative democracy is all about, right?
Cheers in the new year!
Brian
----------------
From: Young H. Kim
Sent: Tuesday, January 13, 2009 3:48 PM
Well, I know one thing; our blog is awfully lonely these days. ;-) I know I sound like a broken record, but let's get more of our thoughts there.
I may have given many people here and elsewhere the impression that I am some sort of a fan or a diehard supporter of Obama, but I realized over the course of our emailing/blogging that I'm more of an ideologue/pragmatist but probably an extremist when seen from conservative views. However, I would never partake in anything even remotely resembling a "cult of personality," let alone over a politician. When I saw/read the contents of the Time Person of the Year issue, it made me cringe. For one thing, I don't get the hubbub over Rick Warren being chosen for the invocation. Not that I totally agree with the man, but is this where the liberals must draw the line? And always over the gay rights issue? Are we to dismiss people who have strongly held religious beliefs whether they are right or wrong depending on the argument?
It is obvious that many are/will be disappointed with the Obama transition's and future admin's decisions and policies. The pre-election PBS Frontline program illustrated and foreshadowed this by telling the fallout from Obama becoming the Harvard Law Review president. He ended up removing the doubts of the conservative wing and disappointing the liberals. So I have no illusions of Obama being the savior of the liberal agenda. I believe he has and will always follow the prudent and compromising path, not to mention that the current economic and national security concerns will dictate his limited options and no-drama decisions. As you said, in the end, he will disappoint and displease both parties, and I have been ready for a while to accept that as the reality. Obama will set his mark as a politician and a statesman in this fashion, much like Lincoln and FDR, as I can only hope. One thing I do still wonder about him is where will he draw the line and take a stand (e.g. economic stimulus, universal healthcare and the Iraq war) or will his "achievements" be a string of lukewarm compromises and could-have-beens?
My best to you as always,
Young
------------------
From: Brian Menard
Sent: Tuesday, January 13, 2009 1:29:01 PM
Agreed on the issue of "the line". He could be a statesman like Lincoln or FDR, or he could merely be a policy production factory like LBJ. As always, time will tell.
Let's hope for the good, and keep doing our part to come together. I think it was Mike Huckabee who said recently that it is good Obama won decisively, so he can clearly be the president for all of us. I think that is one deficit from which Bush could never break free. His Texas record was very much crossing party lines and working in bipartisan fashion, but because there was so much bad blood over 2000 (and even 2004), folks were not inclined to move that way in DC. As I've maintained previously, Obama has a great opportunity that allows him to be a statesman instead of just another politician. There is much he can do to screw that up, and little he can do to keep that opportunity alive. So far, I've got to give him credit for sticking to the harder, higher, better path.
Onward...e pluribus unum, meus amicus.
Brian
---------------------------
From: Young H. Kim
Sent: Wednesday, January 14, 2009 1:41 PM
And you know I have to respond as to the following:
1) LBJ the "policy production factory"? I suppose you refer to the War on Poverty/Great Society (and the Vietnam War to a certain extent), as many conservatives pinpoint that as the great downward spiral into a welfare society. Would you include the Civil Rights Act as a product of that factory as well? That seriously demeans the accomplishment, which was a landmark legislation in US history, wouldn't you say?
2) Dubya had many, many chances to "cross party lines", especially after 9/11 when the political support was overwhelmingly behind him and our nation. But what were his bipartisan iniatives to reach out to Dems? I don't agree that he wasn't given a chance (let alone how he ascended to the presidency); he squandered it, mainly with the ill-conceived Iraq War. I'm sure there will be many a Dubya apologist in the next few years (e.g. no terrorist attacks since 9/11, etc.), but really there's not much there in terms of what he accomplished over two terms, and certainly not in a bipartisan mode. The country is worse off by his administration in all aspects.
I must say that there are plenty of GOPers and conservatives who definitely are breathing a collective sigh of relief that they are not running show and not (necessarily) directly responsible for cleaning up and fixing all of the current problems.
"What is past is prologue"...let's look to the future but not forget how we got here.
-------------------------
From: Brian Menard
Sent: Wednesday, January 14, 2009 6:16:14 PM
No intent to demean any of the legislation itself (I'll spare the debate over the failure of the Great Society, and will remind you that the civil rights legislation passed in the 1960s was passed only with the help of congressional Republicans over the opposition of many leaders among congressional Democrats who had stopped it up in committee for years), nor to take away from LBJ's acumen as an accomplished legislator. Remember that he was the Senate Majority Leader before he went to the executive branch. My intent was to distinguish LBJ's legislative style (figure out what we can pass and get it passed) from statemanlike leadership. Much of LBJ's agenda he inherited from the Kennedy administration, rather than initiating it himself. LBJ, bigoted Texan that he was, never would have pushed for the Civil Rights Act - or the Voting Rights Act, which you left off your list - from his own moral volition. What he cared about more than the details of policy was legislative accomplishment, whatever the details needed to make things work out. Speaking as a political scientist, not as a partisan, prioritizing legislative accomplishment is often antithetical to statemanship, and vice versa.
Sent: Tuesday, January 13, 2009 7:03:37 AM
Young:
Been thinking about you much as we get closer to Inauguration Day. Johanna, who lives just outside DC, will have no floor space in her apartment as every inch will be filled with out-of-towners joining the throng on the Mall for the big event. I'm very jealous - just 'cuz I didn't vote for him doesn't mean I can't appreciate the incredibly historic moment this is in our nation's history. You know, of the two inaugurations I've attended, one was GOP (1973) and one was Dem (1993).
So far I am about as pleased as I could HOPE to be with the way Obama has set things up. There are things I really don't like, people he's bringing in that worry me greatly or that just make me nervous regarding what I expect they will do, etc. But that's part of reaching across the aisle, and so far I believe he IS following through on his rhetoric to do so. He's pre-governing quite differently than his campaign policy pronouncements implied, probably as much to your chagrin as to my relief. Not that I'm pleased with the policy overall; were it up to me, I'd move things much further my direction; but, I'm pleased that he's making the early movements to bring folks together in a way that both you and I can be equally displeased with the ultimate output! That's what deliberative democracy is all about, right?
Cheers in the new year!
Brian
----------------
From: Young H. Kim
Sent: Tuesday, January 13, 2009 3:48 PM
Well, I know one thing; our blog is awfully lonely these days. ;-) I know I sound like a broken record, but let's get more of our thoughts there.
I may have given many people here and elsewhere the impression that I am some sort of a fan or a diehard supporter of Obama, but I realized over the course of our emailing/blogging that I'm more of an ideologue/pragmatist but probably an extremist when seen from conservative views. However, I would never partake in anything even remotely resembling a "cult of personality," let alone over a politician. When I saw/read the contents of the Time Person of the Year issue, it made me cringe. For one thing, I don't get the hubbub over Rick Warren being chosen for the invocation. Not that I totally agree with the man, but is this where the liberals must draw the line? And always over the gay rights issue? Are we to dismiss people who have strongly held religious beliefs whether they are right or wrong depending on the argument?
It is obvious that many are/will be disappointed with the Obama transition's and future admin's decisions and policies. The pre-election PBS Frontline program illustrated and foreshadowed this by telling the fallout from Obama becoming the Harvard Law Review president. He ended up removing the doubts of the conservative wing and disappointing the liberals. So I have no illusions of Obama being the savior of the liberal agenda. I believe he has and will always follow the prudent and compromising path, not to mention that the current economic and national security concerns will dictate his limited options and no-drama decisions. As you said, in the end, he will disappoint and displease both parties, and I have been ready for a while to accept that as the reality. Obama will set his mark as a politician and a statesman in this fashion, much like Lincoln and FDR, as I can only hope. One thing I do still wonder about him is where will he draw the line and take a stand (e.g. economic stimulus, universal healthcare and the Iraq war) or will his "achievements" be a string of lukewarm compromises and could-have-beens?
My best to you as always,
Young
------------------
From: Brian Menard
Sent: Tuesday, January 13, 2009 1:29:01 PM
Agreed on the issue of "the line". He could be a statesman like Lincoln or FDR, or he could merely be a policy production factory like LBJ. As always, time will tell.
Let's hope for the good, and keep doing our part to come together. I think it was Mike Huckabee who said recently that it is good Obama won decisively, so he can clearly be the president for all of us. I think that is one deficit from which Bush could never break free. His Texas record was very much crossing party lines and working in bipartisan fashion, but because there was so much bad blood over 2000 (and even 2004), folks were not inclined to move that way in DC. As I've maintained previously, Obama has a great opportunity that allows him to be a statesman instead of just another politician. There is much he can do to screw that up, and little he can do to keep that opportunity alive. So far, I've got to give him credit for sticking to the harder, higher, better path.
Onward...e pluribus unum, meus amicus.
Brian
---------------------------
From: Young H. Kim
Sent: Wednesday, January 14, 2009 1:41 PM
And you know I have to respond as to the following:
1) LBJ the "policy production factory"? I suppose you refer to the War on Poverty/Great Society (and the Vietnam War to a certain extent), as many conservatives pinpoint that as the great downward spiral into a welfare society. Would you include the Civil Rights Act as a product of that factory as well? That seriously demeans the accomplishment, which was a landmark legislation in US history, wouldn't you say?
2) Dubya had many, many chances to "cross party lines", especially after 9/11 when the political support was overwhelmingly behind him and our nation. But what were his bipartisan iniatives to reach out to Dems? I don't agree that he wasn't given a chance (let alone how he ascended to the presidency); he squandered it, mainly with the ill-conceived Iraq War. I'm sure there will be many a Dubya apologist in the next few years (e.g. no terrorist attacks since 9/11, etc.), but really there's not much there in terms of what he accomplished over two terms, and certainly not in a bipartisan mode. The country is worse off by his administration in all aspects.
I must say that there are plenty of GOPers and conservatives who definitely are breathing a collective sigh of relief that they are not running show and not (necessarily) directly responsible for cleaning up and fixing all of the current problems.
"What is past is prologue"...let's look to the future but not forget how we got here.
-------------------------
From: Brian Menard
Sent: Wednesday, January 14, 2009 6:16:14 PM
No intent to demean any of the legislation itself (I'll spare the debate over the failure of the Great Society, and will remind you that the civil rights legislation passed in the 1960s was passed only with the help of congressional Republicans over the opposition of many leaders among congressional Democrats who had stopped it up in committee for years), nor to take away from LBJ's acumen as an accomplished legislator. Remember that he was the Senate Majority Leader before he went to the executive branch. My intent was to distinguish LBJ's legislative style (figure out what we can pass and get it passed) from statemanlike leadership. Much of LBJ's agenda he inherited from the Kennedy administration, rather than initiating it himself. LBJ, bigoted Texan that he was, never would have pushed for the Civil Rights Act - or the Voting Rights Act, which you left off your list - from his own moral volition. What he cared about more than the details of policy was legislative accomplishment, whatever the details needed to make things work out. Speaking as a political scientist, not as a partisan, prioritizing legislative accomplishment is often antithetical to statemanship, and vice versa.
Wednesday, December 3, 2008
Deepak Chopra from Huffington Post
Mike sent me this link. Well said, Mr. Chopra. I don't see anything wrong with what he said here, not one iota. I like to think that Obama shares this view for the most part, in terms of being against the Iraq war, which is the main reason why I decided to support him. I wish more people would get the picture of what is really happening in our world.
My Uncensored Interview with Deepak Chopra
My Uncensored Interview with Deepak Chopra
Friday, November 21, 2008
De Facto Clinton Restoration?
Is that what is happening here? What do you guys think? It's practically official; Hillary accepts the State position.
Clinton Decides to Accept Post at State Dept., Confidants Say
I can appreciate Obama's penchant for Lincoln's "Team of Rivals", but now the latest is that Bill Richardson is being considered for the Commerce job? Really?
AP source: Richardson serious Commerce contender
And after picking off all the top Dem players at the federal and state levels for cabinet positions, doesn't this leave openings for the Reps to move in? Not that I'm a big party politics backer, but it does look like the same ol' same ol'. Kinda disappointed but reserving full judgment. I'm sure the conservatives are gagging while having a field day at the thought of being able to drudge up the tired, old Clinton lines again. And Letterman, Leno, Stewart and all the other comedians are screaming, "Thank you, God!"
Why Obama Wants Hillary for His 'Team of Rivals' and all the baggage that comes with it...I have a bad feeling about this.
Clinton Decides to Accept Post at State Dept., Confidants Say
I can appreciate Obama's penchant for Lincoln's "Team of Rivals", but now the latest is that Bill Richardson is being considered for the Commerce job? Really?
AP source: Richardson serious Commerce contender
And after picking off all the top Dem players at the federal and state levels for cabinet positions, doesn't this leave openings for the Reps to move in? Not that I'm a big party politics backer, but it does look like the same ol' same ol'. Kinda disappointed but reserving full judgment. I'm sure the conservatives are gagging while having a field day at the thought of being able to drudge up the tired, old Clinton lines again. And Letterman, Leno, Stewart and all the other comedians are screaming, "Thank you, God!"
Why Obama Wants Hillary for His 'Team of Rivals' and all the baggage that comes with it...I have a bad feeling about this.
Monday, November 17, 2008
Wild Wordsmith of Wasilla
Another selection from Mike (who steadfastly avoids posting anything to our blog directly ;) where Dick Cavett weighs in on the Palin "mystique".
The Wild Wordsmith of Wasilla
The Wild Wordsmith of Wasilla
Thursday, November 13, 2008
It's Morning in America (Again)!
Hey, just wanted to share the good news. The stock market is up; Obama is President; And my wife and I received a key to our new house, today. What a day. What a month. What a year!
Sitting on Top of the World
Wednesday 12 November 2008
by: Garrison Keillor, The Chicago Tribune
The city of Chicago is celebrating the rise of one of their own to the office of president of the United States. (Photo: Getty Images / AFP)
Be happy, dear hearts, and allow yourselves a few more weeks of quiet exultation. It isn't gloating, it's satisfaction at a job well done. He was a superb candidate, serious, professorial but with a flashing grin and a buoyancy that comes from working out in the gym every morning. He spoke in a genuine voice, not senatorial at all. He relished campaigning. He accepted adulation gracefully. He brandished his sword against his opponents without mocking or belittling them. He was elegant, unaffected, utterly American, and now (Wow) suddenly America is cool. Chicago is cool. Chicago!!!
We threw the dice and we won the jackpot and elected a black guy with a Harvard degree, the middle name Hussein and a sense of humor - he said, "I've got relatives who look like Bernie Mac, and I've got relatives who look like Margaret Thatcher." The French junior minister for human rights said, "On this morning, we all want to be American so we can take a bite of this dream unfolding before our eyes." When was the last time you heard someone from France say they wanted to be American and take a bite of something of ours? Ponder that for a moment.
The world expects us to elect pompous yahoos, and instead we have us a 47-year-old prince from the prairie who cheerfully ran the race, and when his opponents threw sand at him, he just smiled back. He'll be the first president in history to look really good making a jump shot. He loves his classy wife and his sweet little daughters. At the same time, he knows pop music, American lit and constitutional law. I just can't imagine anybody cooler.
It feels good to be cool, and all of us can share in that, even sour old right-wingers and embittered blottoheads. Next time you fly to Heathrow and hand your passport to the man with the badge, he's going to see "United States of America" and look up and grin. Even if you worship in the church of Fox, everyone you meet overseas is going to ask you about Obama, and you may as well say you voted for him because, my friends, he is your line of credit over there. No need anymore to try to look Canadian.
And the coolest thing about him is the fact that back in the early '90s, given a book contract after the hoo-ha about his becoming the First Black Editor of The Harvard Law Review, instead of writing the basic exploitation book he could've written, he put his head down and worked hard for a few years and wrote a good book, an honest one, which, since his rise in politics, has earned the Obamas enough to buy a nice house and put money in the bank. A successful American entrepreneur.
Our hero who galloped to victory has inherited a gigantic mess. The country is sunk in debt. The Treasury announced it must borrow $550 billion to get the government through the fourth quarter, more than the entire deficit for 2008, so he will have to raise taxes and not only on bankers and lumber barons. His promise never to raise the retirement age is not a good idea. Whatever he promised the Iowa farmers about subsidizing ethanol is best forgotten at this point. We may not be getting our National Health Service cards anytime soon. And so on and so on.
So enjoy the afterglow of the election awhile longer. We all walk taller this fall. People in Copenhagen and Stockholm are sending congratulatory e-mails - imagine! We are being admired by Danes and Swedes! And Chicago becomes The First City. Step aside, San Francisco. Shut up, New York. The Midwest is cool now. The mind reels. Have a good day.
---------
Garrison Keillor is radio host and author.
Sitting on Top of the World
Wednesday 12 November 2008
by: Garrison Keillor, The Chicago Tribune
The city of Chicago is celebrating the rise of one of their own to the office of president of the United States. (Photo: Getty Images / AFP)
Be happy, dear hearts, and allow yourselves a few more weeks of quiet exultation. It isn't gloating, it's satisfaction at a job well done. He was a superb candidate, serious, professorial but with a flashing grin and a buoyancy that comes from working out in the gym every morning. He spoke in a genuine voice, not senatorial at all. He relished campaigning. He accepted adulation gracefully. He brandished his sword against his opponents without mocking or belittling them. He was elegant, unaffected, utterly American, and now (Wow) suddenly America is cool. Chicago is cool. Chicago!!!
We threw the dice and we won the jackpot and elected a black guy with a Harvard degree, the middle name Hussein and a sense of humor - he said, "I've got relatives who look like Bernie Mac, and I've got relatives who look like Margaret Thatcher." The French junior minister for human rights said, "On this morning, we all want to be American so we can take a bite of this dream unfolding before our eyes." When was the last time you heard someone from France say they wanted to be American and take a bite of something of ours? Ponder that for a moment.
The world expects us to elect pompous yahoos, and instead we have us a 47-year-old prince from the prairie who cheerfully ran the race, and when his opponents threw sand at him, he just smiled back. He'll be the first president in history to look really good making a jump shot. He loves his classy wife and his sweet little daughters. At the same time, he knows pop music, American lit and constitutional law. I just can't imagine anybody cooler.
It feels good to be cool, and all of us can share in that, even sour old right-wingers and embittered blottoheads. Next time you fly to Heathrow and hand your passport to the man with the badge, he's going to see "United States of America" and look up and grin. Even if you worship in the church of Fox, everyone you meet overseas is going to ask you about Obama, and you may as well say you voted for him because, my friends, he is your line of credit over there. No need anymore to try to look Canadian.
And the coolest thing about him is the fact that back in the early '90s, given a book contract after the hoo-ha about his becoming the First Black Editor of The Harvard Law Review, instead of writing the basic exploitation book he could've written, he put his head down and worked hard for a few years and wrote a good book, an honest one, which, since his rise in politics, has earned the Obamas enough to buy a nice house and put money in the bank. A successful American entrepreneur.
Our hero who galloped to victory has inherited a gigantic mess. The country is sunk in debt. The Treasury announced it must borrow $550 billion to get the government through the fourth quarter, more than the entire deficit for 2008, so he will have to raise taxes and not only on bankers and lumber barons. His promise never to raise the retirement age is not a good idea. Whatever he promised the Iowa farmers about subsidizing ethanol is best forgotten at this point. We may not be getting our National Health Service cards anytime soon. And so on and so on.
So enjoy the afterglow of the election awhile longer. We all walk taller this fall. People in Copenhagen and Stockholm are sending congratulatory e-mails - imagine! We are being admired by Danes and Swedes! And Chicago becomes The First City. Step aside, San Francisco. Shut up, New York. The Midwest is cool now. The mind reels. Have a good day.
---------
Garrison Keillor is radio host and author.
Wednesday, November 12, 2008
Same Ol' Dems: A View from the Left
Here's a decidedly opposite take on what Obama and the Dems might do, compared to what BRM wrote previously. I mostly agree with the author; however, given that the right and the left view Obama/Dems with suspicion, doesn't that kinda show that Obama will rule from the center? All the hubbub prior to him even being inaugurated certainly speaks to the excitement and opportunity that everyone feels and to what an intense microscope will be on the Obama administration. From Salon.com:
The Democrats of 2002 and 2007 haven't gone anywhere
The Democrats of 2002 and 2007 haven't gone anywhere
Federalism as Solution to Abortion and Gay Marriage?
Is it really the solution to just let each state decide? I'm not sure about that, but perhaps that will help the Reps to straddle the fence, as it were, and get more centrist. I'll have to think about this some more, but I did start a short story several years back about abortion in an alternate future. Perhaps I should finish that...like some other writings I never finished. From Commentary:
"The solution is federalism."
"The solution is federalism."
Tuesday, November 11, 2008
Newsweek Behind the Scenes of 2008 Campaigns
Been meaning to send this link of Newsweek's "expose" on Obama and McCain campaigns. Haven't read it all, Michelle told me about some of it, and some of it reads like petty gossip for which Newsweek is well known. Would like to get your opinions on it.
Secrets of the 2008 Campaign
Secrets of the 2008 Campaign
Wednesday, November 5, 2008
Recriminations Fester
I would like for us to use this post to collect any and all explanations on why McCain lost, whether it be from the right or the left. Here's an NRO Byron York piece on why McCain lost. No mention of Palin, but actually saying that the conditions were not "fair". Really? Seriously? The last thing I'd hear from a conservative is being the victim. Where is the sense of self-reliance, liberty and entrepreneurship?
What Sank McCain
What Sank McCain
Sorry to Dampen the Mood...
...but right wingnuts are alive and well and will be in full force against change in America. Check out this brown nugget of hate. America has GOT to be the freest nation on earth for this kind of dirt to be shared on the Internet. I bet you it will be diffcult to get past the first two paragraphs: Blue Man
Congratulations
Greetings from Cleveland. Sorry I've been so quiet on the blog. Life has been quite busy, and I haven't had much opportunity to follow what has been posted, let alone post things myself.
Just wanted to offer my congratulations to you guys on last night. It was a hard-fought race with much nastiness and negativity coming from two candidates who promised at the outset not to do such things. McCain could not have been more gracious, positive, healing, and on-target in his concession; since he lost, all he has are words without responsibility. One might argue that made it easy to say them, but I believe he was sincere and did the nation much good in speaking them. His speech should give pause to anyone who villified him during the campaign. He wasn't my first choice of candidates, but he is a good and honorable man who loves his country and the people in it. Obama spoke beautifully also, which we've come to expect. Unlike McCain, he now has the responsibility to follow through on his words and fulfill his promises of post-partisanship and healing. That has to be something more than, "All you Republicans, come on over here to the far left wing side of politics so we can march together toward posterity in harmony," for that is NOT harmony at all; that is hegemony. Granted, he has a mandate, and all the responsibility that goes with it. How he handles that mandate, though, will determine whether he seeks to be a great president for all the people or not, whether his talk of bringing people together is based in anything more than rhetoric. Publius, in Federalist #10, points out rightly that the suggested solution to the problem of faction in politics of having everyone follow the same line fails because it is unrealistic and impossible to achieve. Rather, we need a multiplicity of interests to cut across our divisions and give us opportunties to come together instead of focusing on what pulls us apart. The job for shepherding that effort inclusively instead of exclusively now falls to President-Elect Obama. As John McCain said, he's now my President. That's the right perspective and how things should be done here in this great democratic republic of ours (though it would take me no time at all on YouTube and Google to come up with countless examples of folks - prominent and not - who failed miserably at this eight and four years ago). I begin this transition to the Obama Administration with nonpartisan appreciation for the great moment in history that took place last night. Thomas Jefferson - philosopher, politician, statesman, President, slaveowner - wrote of the race issue in the United States as like having a wolf by the ears: you can't let go for fear of what it will do to you, yet you know you also can't hold on forever. As much as my vote for John McCain had nothing to do with race, my appreciation for President-Elect Obama's victory celebrates the great step forward on race that we took as a nation in electing him. I pray we will someday see the day when the every voter will cast a ballot for a man or woman of any race based purely on the ideas and policies they profess. While the ideas and policies candidate Obama professed cause me great concern, I hope that his election moves us closer to that ideal. More broadly, though, I hold out hope that President Obama will, indeed, forge a legacy as a unifier and not as a divider. That is up to him, not simply to be skilled enough at manipulation to craft support for his far-left agenda, but to recognize, value, and include what those who hold ideas different from him believe as we move forward together. I believed John McCain would do that as President, and doubted that Barack Obama would. I now wipe clean the messy slate of the campaign and maintain the audacity of hope of that President Obama will include me and others like me in shaping his plan for America, rather than merely offering me the ultimatum of jumping on his bandwagon or getting left behind.
Thanks for all your civic participation through the campaign. This is what it's all about, friends.
-BRM
Just wanted to offer my congratulations to you guys on last night. It was a hard-fought race with much nastiness and negativity coming from two candidates who promised at the outset not to do such things. McCain could not have been more gracious, positive, healing, and on-target in his concession; since he lost, all he has are words without responsibility. One might argue that made it easy to say them, but I believe he was sincere and did the nation much good in speaking them. His speech should give pause to anyone who villified him during the campaign. He wasn't my first choice of candidates, but he is a good and honorable man who loves his country and the people in it. Obama spoke beautifully also, which we've come to expect. Unlike McCain, he now has the responsibility to follow through on his words and fulfill his promises of post-partisanship and healing. That has to be something more than, "All you Republicans, come on over here to the far left wing side of politics so we can march together toward posterity in harmony," for that is NOT harmony at all; that is hegemony. Granted, he has a mandate, and all the responsibility that goes with it. How he handles that mandate, though, will determine whether he seeks to be a great president for all the people or not, whether his talk of bringing people together is based in anything more than rhetoric. Publius, in Federalist #10, points out rightly that the suggested solution to the problem of faction in politics of having everyone follow the same line fails because it is unrealistic and impossible to achieve. Rather, we need a multiplicity of interests to cut across our divisions and give us opportunties to come together instead of focusing on what pulls us apart. The job for shepherding that effort inclusively instead of exclusively now falls to President-Elect Obama. As John McCain said, he's now my President. That's the right perspective and how things should be done here in this great democratic republic of ours (though it would take me no time at all on YouTube and Google to come up with countless examples of folks - prominent and not - who failed miserably at this eight and four years ago). I begin this transition to the Obama Administration with nonpartisan appreciation for the great moment in history that took place last night. Thomas Jefferson - philosopher, politician, statesman, President, slaveowner - wrote of the race issue in the United States as like having a wolf by the ears: you can't let go for fear of what it will do to you, yet you know you also can't hold on forever. As much as my vote for John McCain had nothing to do with race, my appreciation for President-Elect Obama's victory celebrates the great step forward on race that we took as a nation in electing him. I pray we will someday see the day when the every voter will cast a ballot for a man or woman of any race based purely on the ideas and policies they profess. While the ideas and policies candidate Obama professed cause me great concern, I hope that his election moves us closer to that ideal. More broadly, though, I hold out hope that President Obama will, indeed, forge a legacy as a unifier and not as a divider. That is up to him, not simply to be skilled enough at manipulation to craft support for his far-left agenda, but to recognize, value, and include what those who hold ideas different from him believe as we move forward together. I believed John McCain would do that as President, and doubted that Barack Obama would. I now wipe clean the messy slate of the campaign and maintain the audacity of hope of that President Obama will include me and others like me in shaping his plan for America, rather than merely offering me the ultimatum of jumping on his bandwagon or getting left behind.
Thanks for all your civic participation through the campaign. This is what it's all about, friends.
-BRM
Tuesday, November 4, 2008
Final Campaign Speeches
As testaments to the two great presidential candidates with whom the country was blessed this year, here are links to their speeches for posterity. Obama gave a great speech, and McCain in some ways gave a better speech in conceding, especially this section:
Senator Obama and I have had and argued our differences, and he has prevailed. No doubt many of those differences remain.
These are difficult times for our country. And I pledge to him tonight to do all in my power to help him lead us through the many challenges we face.
I urge all Americans ... I urge all Americans who supported me to join me in not just congratulating him, but offering our next president our good will and earnest effort to find ways to come together to find the necessary compromises to bridge our differences and help restore our prosperity, defend our security in a dangerous world, and leave our children and grandchildren a stronger, better country than we inherited.
Whatever our differences, we are fellow Americans. And please believe me when I say no association has ever meant more to me than that.
The keyword there being "association" which was a very gracious and subtle reference to move forward and away from the negative campaigning that had been waged. From NYTimes.com:
Obama Victory Speech (video and text)
McCain Concession Speech (video and text)
Senator Obama and I have had and argued our differences, and he has prevailed. No doubt many of those differences remain.
These are difficult times for our country. And I pledge to him tonight to do all in my power to help him lead us through the many challenges we face.
I urge all Americans ... I urge all Americans who supported me to join me in not just congratulating him, but offering our next president our good will and earnest effort to find ways to come together to find the necessary compromises to bridge our differences and help restore our prosperity, defend our security in a dangerous world, and leave our children and grandchildren a stronger, better country than we inherited.
Whatever our differences, we are fellow Americans. And please believe me when I say no association has ever meant more to me than that.
The keyword there being "association" which was a very gracious and subtle reference to move forward and away from the negative campaigning that had been waged. From NYTimes.com:
Obama Victory Speech (video and text)
McCain Concession Speech (video and text)
The Revolution Has Been Televised!
Barack Hussein Obama is the 44th President of the United States of America! All networks have called it. The revolution has been televised.
Sojourner Truth, Frederick Douglass, Harriet Tubman, Booker T. Washington, W.E.B. DuBois, Jackie Robinson, Thurgood Marshall, Rosa Parks, Martin Luther King, Jr., Medgar Evers, Malcolm X, Shirley Chisholm, Barbara Jordan, Jesse Jackson, Colin Powell, Douglas Wilder, Condoleeza Rice and any other key figures in African-American history who I have missed, on their shoulders Obama stands as the next president of America! Hallelujah! This is a great day in American history!
Yes, We Can! And Yes We DID!
Hey, Osama bin Laden! America will come after you with Obama-Biden!
Sojourner Truth, Frederick Douglass, Harriet Tubman, Booker T. Washington, W.E.B. DuBois, Jackie Robinson, Thurgood Marshall, Rosa Parks, Martin Luther King, Jr., Medgar Evers, Malcolm X, Shirley Chisholm, Barbara Jordan, Jesse Jackson, Colin Powell, Douglas Wilder, Condoleeza Rice and any other key figures in African-American history who I have missed, on their shoulders Obama stands as the next president of America! Hallelujah! This is a great day in American history!
Yes, We Can! And Yes We DID!
Hey, Osama bin Laden! America will come after you with Obama-Biden!
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