1) Politics 103: When defining your opponent, remember to pick a metaphor, symbol or image and just stick with it: Now McC has settled on calling Ob "the redistributor." Hey, is that something under the hood? I think mine is loose. Hey! The wheels came off my narrative! Quick, change the McC campaign theme to "I got a foggy notion." Lou Reed will never know.
2) He can be whatever you want him to be this time around: In response to Chris Matthews asking if he thought Obama was a "Marxist," former Texas Rep. Tom DeLay gave the kind of weak affirmative response that suggested he would have said "yes" had Matthews asked if he thought Obama was really a "Martian." In fact, maybe that's what he heard.
3) When do they "go to ground?" First a McC staffer complains that Gov. Sarah is "going rogue." Then former Bushite, Peter Wehner [WP 10-22-08] suggests that on the run GOP politicians have "gone native." Is this an election or a failed intelligence operation? Who's in charge of "walking back the cat" come Nov. 5th?
4) They can't both be right, can they????!!!! First the GOP House and Senate candidates begin to push the argument that you've got to send them back to Washington to prevent "one party rule." Then McC argues that he must win to prevent "one party rule." It's getting crowded under that bus. Note to McC: Stop calling Obama, [Nancy] Pelosi and [Harry] Reid "a dangerous threesome." When people hear that term they think Amy Winehouse, Pete Doherty and Gary Busey. Meet them on your MySpace page.
5) Folks who really are on the "pay-no-mind list": Ralph Nader announced this week that he has set a new record for the most campaign speches delivered in a single day. According to Ralphie Boy, he has delivered 255 minutes of speeches in 21 Massachusetts towns all on the same day. Geez, that's great Ralphie, great. Now, how many Coney Island dogs can you eat in one sitting? And hey, what have you been up to lately?
6) Why Washington gets a bad name: From a WP "Style" section piece [10-26-08] on "How Washinton Plays the Shame Game," suggesting that "It really is hard to know everything you're supposed to know here in a town that incessantly name-drops and bill-drops and amendment-drops, where even the wonkiest among us can be outwonked." Among its anecdotes, a young woman embarassed by meeting a congresswoman who informs her: "I am a congresswoman from your home state. You should know who I am." Oh really??? In the old days, that faux pas would have been your fault congresswoman. You know, not doing a very good job of getting yourself well known and all.
7) The 2008 "Don't play with me or you're playin' with fire" Award for Political Advertising: Goes to North Carolina State Sen. Kay Hagan for her quick retort to U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Dole's TV spot suggesting that Hagan takes money from atheists and believes 'There is no god." In her response, Hagan counters that "I believe in God," has taught Sunday School and that her campaign is about 'creating jobs...not bearing false witness against fellow Christians." Ouch! Hey Liddy, maybe you should have run that one by Bob first.
8) Worst Closing Presidential Television Spot of 2008: To McC for his parade of "normal" folk all proclaiming, face to the camera, "I'm Joe the Plumber." "I'm Spartacus!" this ain't. Not in resonance nor in (gulp) nobility of purpose. Just juvenile yapping. Hey, where's our book and record deals??!!! Hey, why not just go the Reinhold Niebuhr route, you know, "First they came for Joe the Plumber......."
9) MAAAA!!!! We're workin' down here!!!!!!!!: Moments after Ob delivers his 30-minute "closer" spectacular, Bill O'Reilly and Dennis Miller spend the next 15 minutes arguing over the Sarah Palin doll hanging in effigy on the front porch of a West Hollywood home's Halloween display. Says Miller, "West LA is a tricky place." Yeah, well, there's no need to get graphic here.
10) Roger Clinton, call your office: According to the Washington Post [10-26-08], McC's younger brother Joe, 66, apologized for cursing at a 911 dispatcher after being caught up in a traffic jam on a local bridge. Earlier in October, while out on the campaign trail for his brother, he referred to Virginia's Northern, Alexandria and Arlington Counties as "Communist country."
Thursday, October 30, 2008
Thursday, October 23, 2008
What's an election for, if it isn't to divide people? - Vice President Spiro T. Agnew
1) "See you in Napa!" is no way to rev up the troops: Speaking at a joint appearance at the National Press Club this week, DSCC Chair Chuck Schumer predicted that it was "possible" for Dems to hit the 60-seat mark in the Senate. His counterpart, John Ensign, chair of the GOP's Senate campaign committee, conceded that "it's also possible that, you know, [Republicans] end up with 44, 45, 46 votes left in the U.S. Senate." As for his post-election plans, Ensign said, "I'm taking my wife to Napa Valley. And so we'll either be able to celebrate or drown our sorrows." [Politico.com 10-21-08]
2) Remember when candidates quoted Lincoln and Jefferson? Gov. Sarah Palin, on CNN [10-21-08], "I'm not going to call [Obama] a socialist, but as Joe the Plumber suggested...."
3) Speaking of which: New philosopher king Joe "the plumber" Wurzelbacher, speaking to CBS Evening News anchor Katie Couric, described Obama's original answer to his question as a "tap dance" which was "almost as good as Sammy Davis Jr." Hey Joe, where you goin' with that wrench in your hand?
4) Things you haven't seen in the NYT in a long while: Interviewing voters down in Mobile, Alabama, NYT reporter Adam Nossiter [NYT 10-15-08] quotes one James Halsey, described as a part of an environmental cleanup crew standing in a Wal-Mart parking lot, as saying of Obama, "He's going to tear up the rose bushes and plant a watermelon patch" at the White House. Another voter interviewed, Ricky Thompson of Mobile, said of the Democrat, "He's neither-nor. He's other. It's in the Bible. Come as one. Don't create other breeds." Uhhhh....I don't feel so good......
5) Our slacker brothers and sisters to the north: Voter turnout for Canada's general election last week was the lowest ever recorded. Just 59.1 percent of eligible voters made it to the polls, breaking the previous low turnout record of just under 61 percent set back in 2004. Come on, if you try you can get below 50 in 2012! Choad!! [Yahoo! Canada News 10-15-08]
6) Uh oh, somebody woke up Tom Hagen: Speaking at a GOP fundraiser last week, actor Robert Duvall lambasted "the super-nerd George - what's his name? George Wills..[sic]..and Tommy Thompson. The original block of wood," for their criticism of the McC/Palin ticket. [WP 10-15-08]
7) From the "Ten things I hate about you" desk: Peggy Noonan, on Sarah Palin [WSJ 10-18-08]: "But we have seen Mrs. Palin on the national stage for seven weeks now, and there is little sign that she has the tools, the equipment, the knowledge or the philosophical grounding one hopes for, and expects, in a holder of high office. She is a person of great ambition, but the question remains: What is the purpose of the ambition?" Peggy, let's face it, we all can't be expected to have philosophical groundings, now, can we?
8) God only knows: Lori Lipman Brown, director of the aetheist lobbying group, Secular Coalition of America, bemoans the lack of aetheist participation in American politics. "We should have a base of at least 30 million Americans to work with. And yet those who are active are a much smaller percentage. We're probably looking at just a few hundred thousand active participants. It's hard to even quantify." [NYT 10-18-08] Maybe you can call for a meeting after church in the basem....oh, sorry, that won't work....let's see, where do they congregate?
9) How to lose your seat without even trying: First Minnesota Rep. Michele Bachmann tells Chris Matthews that Ob "may have anti-American views" and calls for the news media to investigate her fellow members of Congress to find out, "Are they pro-America or anti-America?" [MSNBC "Hardball" 10-17-08] Then North Carolina Rep. Robin Hayes tells a crowd that "liberals hate real Americans that work and accomplish and achieve and believe in God." [Politico.com 10-21-08] Then the money pours in and both are on the run. I guess HUAC ain't comin' 'round anytime soon.
10) So they're like most folks, huh? Veteran political reporter Jeff Greenfield, explaining why the press is talking the way they are about the presidential race: "One piece of press bias is they don't like losers. When the whiff of defeat surrounds a campaign, the press picks up on it the way sharks smell blood in the water, and then it becomes a feedback loop." [WP 10-20-08]
2) Remember when candidates quoted Lincoln and Jefferson? Gov. Sarah Palin, on CNN [10-21-08], "I'm not going to call [Obama] a socialist, but as Joe the Plumber suggested...."
3) Speaking of which: New philosopher king Joe "the plumber" Wurzelbacher, speaking to CBS Evening News anchor Katie Couric, described Obama's original answer to his question as a "tap dance" which was "almost as good as Sammy Davis Jr." Hey Joe, where you goin' with that wrench in your hand?
4) Things you haven't seen in the NYT in a long while: Interviewing voters down in Mobile, Alabama, NYT reporter Adam Nossiter [NYT 10-15-08] quotes one James Halsey, described as a part of an environmental cleanup crew standing in a Wal-Mart parking lot, as saying of Obama, "He's going to tear up the rose bushes and plant a watermelon patch" at the White House. Another voter interviewed, Ricky Thompson of Mobile, said of the Democrat, "He's neither-nor. He's other. It's in the Bible. Come as one. Don't create other breeds." Uhhhh....I don't feel so good......
5) Our slacker brothers and sisters to the north: Voter turnout for Canada's general election last week was the lowest ever recorded. Just 59.1 percent of eligible voters made it to the polls, breaking the previous low turnout record of just under 61 percent set back in 2004. Come on, if you try you can get below 50 in 2012! Choad!! [Yahoo! Canada News 10-15-08]
6) Uh oh, somebody woke up Tom Hagen: Speaking at a GOP fundraiser last week, actor Robert Duvall lambasted "the super-nerd George - what's his name? George Wills..[sic]..and Tommy Thompson. The original block of wood," for their criticism of the McC/Palin ticket. [WP 10-15-08]
7) From the "Ten things I hate about you" desk: Peggy Noonan, on Sarah Palin [WSJ 10-18-08]: "But we have seen Mrs. Palin on the national stage for seven weeks now, and there is little sign that she has the tools, the equipment, the knowledge or the philosophical grounding one hopes for, and expects, in a holder of high office. She is a person of great ambition, but the question remains: What is the purpose of the ambition?" Peggy, let's face it, we all can't be expected to have philosophical groundings, now, can we?
8) God only knows: Lori Lipman Brown, director of the aetheist lobbying group, Secular Coalition of America, bemoans the lack of aetheist participation in American politics. "We should have a base of at least 30 million Americans to work with. And yet those who are active are a much smaller percentage. We're probably looking at just a few hundred thousand active participants. It's hard to even quantify." [NYT 10-18-08] Maybe you can call for a meeting after church in the basem....oh, sorry, that won't work....let's see, where do they congregate?
9) How to lose your seat without even trying: First Minnesota Rep. Michele Bachmann tells Chris Matthews that Ob "may have anti-American views" and calls for the news media to investigate her fellow members of Congress to find out, "Are they pro-America or anti-America?" [MSNBC "Hardball" 10-17-08] Then North Carolina Rep. Robin Hayes tells a crowd that "liberals hate real Americans that work and accomplish and achieve and believe in God." [Politico.com 10-21-08] Then the money pours in and both are on the run. I guess HUAC ain't comin' 'round anytime soon.
10) So they're like most folks, huh? Veteran political reporter Jeff Greenfield, explaining why the press is talking the way they are about the presidential race: "One piece of press bias is they don't like losers. When the whiff of defeat surrounds a campaign, the press picks up on it the way sharks smell blood in the water, and then it becomes a feedback loop." [WP 10-20-08]
Tuesday, October 14, 2008
As all students of politics know, whether they read Sun Tzu or listen to Stevie Wonder, it's essential to take "higher ground" and hold it.
1) Why the founders had the foresight to seperate Church and State: Former pastor Arnold Conrad of the Grace Evangelical Free Church of Davenport, Iowa, prayed to God this week for a McCain win: "There are millions of people around this world praying to their god - whether it's Hindu, Buddha, Allah - that [McCain's] opponent wins, for a variety of reasons. And Lord, I pray that you will guard your own reputation, because they're going to think that their God is bigger than you, if that happens." Lookin' out for God's street rep, huh? Dude, do you think Buddha really cares who wins the U.S. presidency? Although we understand that he is trying to get Shiva to take the over/under on total Electoral votes.
2) Custer notes that it's a sunny day: McC, on the eve of the third and final presidential debate: "My friends, we've got them just where we want them." Time to "unleash Chang," my friend. [Check with 41 about this.]
3) The passing of a pro: John R. Reilly, 80, Democratic party operative from the time of the Kennedys right up until today, of cancer at the Washington Home Hospice. He was the guy who went upstairs to tell Geraldine Ferraro that she was Mondale's choice. As he once observed to Newsweek, he had hit the "third stage" of political notoriety: "First, 'Who is John Reilly?' Then, 'Get me John Reilly.' Next, 'Get me a John Reilly.' And then: 'John Reilly - who's he?'" [WP 10-14-08]
4) From the "Folks who don't take politics seriously," Department: New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson, on his rift with Bill Clinton: "Have I heard from President Clinton? No. It could be pretty much a permanent fissure. But that's politics: that's O.K. I did what I thought was best for the country. I'm still very fond of the Clintons. I've reconciled with her, but with him, he wants to keep a grudge, that's fine with me. I move on. I'm governor of New Mexico. I'm happy where I am." Cool. When's your term up? [NYT 10-10-08]
5) Uh, Uh, I've got to do my hair that night: Florida Gov. Charlie Crist tells the McC crew that he'll help out when his schedule permits. Geez, Charlie, and after going and getting engaged and all that. Hey, do you think that when Skynyrd sang "Ooh, ohh that smell, can't you smell that smell?" they were talking about the losing end?
6) Wasilla Sleigh Ride: Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin braves the ice to start a Philly Flyers game last week, weathers the boos and the catcalls, despite dressing her little one in a Flyers jersey. Can 20,000 Philadelphia hockey fans be wrong? The next day she enters her own private Twilight Zone, explaining that she was cleared of any ethical wronging in the Troopergate story although the state report found her guilty of ethical wrongdoing. Kafka, call your office. [Hey Sarah, when you keep saying, "America, we cannot just afford another big spender in the White House," you are comparing Ob to the current President, right?]
7) You know, that "Give us Barrabus" thing had a bad end: McC Campaign Manager Rick Davis on the angry crowds at McC and Palin events: "I don't think it's that big a deal. I think political rallies have always attracted people who have an emotional connection to the outcome of an election."[NYT 10-11-08]
8) No, no, how about we hook them up to batteries for electroshock to be administered by the viewing audience?: Indiana 9th District GOP Party Chair Larry Shickles called for Democratic Rep. Baron Hill, his GOP challenger Mike Sodrel, and Libertarian candidate Eric Schansberg all to be hooked up to polygraph machines for their upcoming debate on October 21st. Sodrel and Schansberg agreed. Hill is apparently still sane.
9) Where you been? Headline on the front page of the Washington Post 10-12-08: "Issue of Race Creeps Into Campaign."
10) What money makes you say: On Karl Rove being paid gobs of money to speak to audiences, his new Fox News colleague Howard Wolfson, former honcho of the Hillary for President Campaign, said, "There is an incredible amount of interest in what Karl Rove has to say." [NYT 10-11-08]
2) Custer notes that it's a sunny day: McC, on the eve of the third and final presidential debate: "My friends, we've got them just where we want them." Time to "unleash Chang," my friend. [Check with 41 about this.]
3) The passing of a pro: John R. Reilly, 80, Democratic party operative from the time of the Kennedys right up until today, of cancer at the Washington Home Hospice. He was the guy who went upstairs to tell Geraldine Ferraro that she was Mondale's choice. As he once observed to Newsweek, he had hit the "third stage" of political notoriety: "First, 'Who is John Reilly?' Then, 'Get me John Reilly.' Next, 'Get me a John Reilly.' And then: 'John Reilly - who's he?'" [WP 10-14-08]
4) From the "Folks who don't take politics seriously," Department: New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson, on his rift with Bill Clinton: "Have I heard from President Clinton? No. It could be pretty much a permanent fissure. But that's politics: that's O.K. I did what I thought was best for the country. I'm still very fond of the Clintons. I've reconciled with her, but with him, he wants to keep a grudge, that's fine with me. I move on. I'm governor of New Mexico. I'm happy where I am." Cool. When's your term up? [NYT 10-10-08]
5) Uh, Uh, I've got to do my hair that night: Florida Gov. Charlie Crist tells the McC crew that he'll help out when his schedule permits. Geez, Charlie, and after going and getting engaged and all that. Hey, do you think that when Skynyrd sang "Ooh, ohh that smell, can't you smell that smell?" they were talking about the losing end?
6) Wasilla Sleigh Ride: Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin braves the ice to start a Philly Flyers game last week, weathers the boos and the catcalls, despite dressing her little one in a Flyers jersey. Can 20,000 Philadelphia hockey fans be wrong? The next day she enters her own private Twilight Zone, explaining that she was cleared of any ethical wronging in the Troopergate story although the state report found her guilty of ethical wrongdoing. Kafka, call your office. [Hey Sarah, when you keep saying, "America, we cannot just afford another big spender in the White House," you are comparing Ob to the current President, right?]
7) You know, that "Give us Barrabus" thing had a bad end: McC Campaign Manager Rick Davis on the angry crowds at McC and Palin events: "I don't think it's that big a deal. I think political rallies have always attracted people who have an emotional connection to the outcome of an election."[NYT 10-11-08]
8) No, no, how about we hook them up to batteries for electroshock to be administered by the viewing audience?: Indiana 9th District GOP Party Chair Larry Shickles called for Democratic Rep. Baron Hill, his GOP challenger Mike Sodrel, and Libertarian candidate Eric Schansberg all to be hooked up to polygraph machines for their upcoming debate on October 21st. Sodrel and Schansberg agreed. Hill is apparently still sane.
9) Where you been? Headline on the front page of the Washington Post 10-12-08: "Issue of Race Creeps Into Campaign."
10) What money makes you say: On Karl Rove being paid gobs of money to speak to audiences, his new Fox News colleague Howard Wolfson, former honcho of the Hillary for President Campaign, said, "There is an incredible amount of interest in what Karl Rove has to say." [NYT 10-11-08]
Monday, October 6, 2008
When you believe in things that you don't understand: The return of the Know Nothings!
1) Remember, a wink is as good as a nod to a blind horse: So many thanks to Gov. Palin for correcting Joe Biden in last week's debate. Joe, the mobs don't shout "Drill! Drill! Drill!" "The chant is drill, baby, drill." Where would we be without her?
2) What politics can learn from sports: When the Baltimore Colts left town it was under cover of darkness and moving as quietly as possible. When McC left Michigan he issued his own press release. Or as the GOP's former Yoda, Karl Rove, explained, "Some of the best strategies are the strategies that you don't draw attention to." [NYP 10-05-08] Or, "Leave Michigan so soon you should not." [Special aside to the Governor, "Yes, Sarah, we have to."]
3) Things (and people) that don't exist any more: Testy ol' McC to The Des Moines Register's ed board: "Realllyyy????? I haven't detected that in the polls; I haven't detected that among the base. If there's a Georgetown cocktail party person who, quote, calls himself a conservative who doesn't like her, good luck."
4) Learned Hand #1: The Bard of Michigan politics, Bill Ballenger, editor of his Inside Michigan Politics newsletter, on the McC withdrawal: "I have never seen this in a presidential election at any time, in the last 50 years." [USA Today 10-03-08]
5) Learned Hand #2: A tie between two veteran GOP veteran gurus, Jan van Lohuizen ["The crisis has affected the entire ticket. The worse the state's economy, the greater the impact."] and Neil Newhouse ["The bailout crisis has had a corrosive effect on the national political environment, and that impacts not just John McCain, but GOP candidates up and down the ticket."] [WP 10-04-08]
6) I KNEW IT!!!! Political scientist Gary C. Jacobson, UC San Diego, proclaims: "Party identification is part of your social identity, in the same way you relate to your religion or ethnic group or baseball team." [WP 9-29-08] Someone please cue "Us and Them."
7) Another reason mail-in ballots are catching on: According to an article in the latest Journal of the American Medical Association, on average, 24 more people died in automobile crashes during voting hours on presidential Election Days than on other Tuesdays in October or November. An 18% increase in risk of death. The study looked at traffic fatalities going back to 1976. [NYP 10-01-08]
8) And this week's award for best political writing goes to: The late Marjorie Williams, whose latest collection of writings was assembled by husband Timothy Noah. From Reputation: Portraits in Power: "Washington is not the only city that lauds and rewards a gifted manager. But only Washington, gazing on that package of skill, energy, calculation, and discipline that constitutes the successful 'player,' insists on calling it virtue." Reviewed by David M. Shribman in last Friday's WSJ [WSJ 10-03-08]
9) Mudcat Saunders explains the world (again): On Mark Warner's success in Virginia, first as Democratic Governor, and now as forthcoming Democratic U.S. Senator: "Mark Warner has become part of the culture. We accept him as part of who we are, if for no other reason - God damn, he got V.P.I. into the A.C.C.! I mean, it's a big damned deal." [The New Yorker 10-06-08]
10) The latest Maytag Repairwoman of GOP politics: Christine O'Donnell, the Republican candidate challenging Joe Biden in his Senate reelection bid in Delaware this year. [He's running simultaneously for veep and for reelection to his seat.] Says Christine, who can't manage to engage her opponent, "He doesn't have any signs up, billboards up or stickers." [Politico.com 10-04-08] She has been endorsed by Buzz Aldrin.
2) What politics can learn from sports: When the Baltimore Colts left town it was under cover of darkness and moving as quietly as possible. When McC left Michigan he issued his own press release. Or as the GOP's former Yoda, Karl Rove, explained, "Some of the best strategies are the strategies that you don't draw attention to." [NYP 10-05-08] Or, "Leave Michigan so soon you should not." [Special aside to the Governor, "Yes, Sarah, we have to."]
3) Things (and people) that don't exist any more: Testy ol' McC to The Des Moines Register's ed board: "Realllyyy????? I haven't detected that in the polls; I haven't detected that among the base. If there's a Georgetown cocktail party person who, quote, calls himself a conservative who doesn't like her, good luck."
4) Learned Hand #1: The Bard of Michigan politics, Bill Ballenger, editor of his Inside Michigan Politics newsletter, on the McC withdrawal: "I have never seen this in a presidential election at any time, in the last 50 years." [USA Today 10-03-08]
5) Learned Hand #2: A tie between two veteran GOP veteran gurus, Jan van Lohuizen ["The crisis has affected the entire ticket. The worse the state's economy, the greater the impact."] and Neil Newhouse ["The bailout crisis has had a corrosive effect on the national political environment, and that impacts not just John McCain, but GOP candidates up and down the ticket."] [WP 10-04-08]
6) I KNEW IT!!!! Political scientist Gary C. Jacobson, UC San Diego, proclaims: "Party identification is part of your social identity, in the same way you relate to your religion or ethnic group or baseball team." [WP 9-29-08] Someone please cue "Us and Them."
7) Another reason mail-in ballots are catching on: According to an article in the latest Journal of the American Medical Association, on average, 24 more people died in automobile crashes during voting hours on presidential Election Days than on other Tuesdays in October or November. An 18% increase in risk of death. The study looked at traffic fatalities going back to 1976. [NYP 10-01-08]
8) And this week's award for best political writing goes to: The late Marjorie Williams, whose latest collection of writings was assembled by husband Timothy Noah. From Reputation: Portraits in Power: "Washington is not the only city that lauds and rewards a gifted manager. But only Washington, gazing on that package of skill, energy, calculation, and discipline that constitutes the successful 'player,' insists on calling it virtue." Reviewed by David M. Shribman in last Friday's WSJ [WSJ 10-03-08]
9) Mudcat Saunders explains the world (again): On Mark Warner's success in Virginia, first as Democratic Governor, and now as forthcoming Democratic U.S. Senator: "Mark Warner has become part of the culture. We accept him as part of who we are, if for no other reason - God damn, he got V.P.I. into the A.C.C.! I mean, it's a big damned deal." [The New Yorker 10-06-08]
10) The latest Maytag Repairwoman of GOP politics: Christine O'Donnell, the Republican candidate challenging Joe Biden in his Senate reelection bid in Delaware this year. [He's running simultaneously for veep and for reelection to his seat.] Says Christine, who can't manage to engage her opponent, "He doesn't have any signs up, billboards up or stickers." [Politico.com 10-04-08] She has been endorsed by Buzz Aldrin.
Tuesday, September 30, 2008
American politics, in essence, remains a math problem. Do you have the votes?
1) Hey McC! What's in your wallet? "If there is a deal with the House involved, it's because of John McCain." Sen. Lindsey Graham (R., S.C.) in the WP [9-27-08]. So now that the deal fails, what's that say? Huh? Speak up.
2) Politics 302: Humility goes a long way in politics. Sarah Palin to Katie Couric (CBS Evening News 9-30-08), contrasting herself with Joe Biden's three decades of experience: "I'm the new energy. The new face. The new ideas." Never believe your own hype.
3) Last week's financial crisis debacle in a nutshell: Dana Milbank [WP 9-26-08], describing the scene among House Republicans after McC's announcement that he was suspending the campaign and heading to D.C. :"'Daddy's coming home!" joked one.'"
4) What those debates are really like: Jim Lehrer, who has moderated more presidential debates than any other living being, on the tension at the scene: "You can smell it. It's under your arms and in your toes. It is extraordinary what these guys go through." Jim, they have stuff for that now. See your pharmacist.
5) AAAAHHHHH!!! It's him!!!! Commenting on the first '08 presidential debate for The Huffington Post, Bob Shrum said, "Tonight I think we know who the next president will be." Can't somebody get him work in France or something?
6) Bill Agonistes: Appearing on CNN's "Larry King Live" last week, President Bill Clinton explained that he would campaign for Obama after his Clinton Global Initiative ended and after "the Jewish holidays."He added that when he campaigned in Florida he may be assigned to "sort of hustle up what Lawton Chiles used to call the 'cracker vote' there." Following Clinton's appearance on NBC's "The Late Show" the previous night, Chris Rock said to David Letterman, "Is it me, or he didn't want to say the name Barack Obama?"
7) Dumbest column on the McCain decision to suspend his campaign: And the Award goes to Dick Morris and Eileen McGann [NYP 9-25-08], calling it a "bold move" that "helps the country, too." It gets better. "McCain's power in the current situation comes from a simple fact - he, not Obama, can cut the deal by getting President Bush and Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson to back a 'bailout plus' bill." Dude, have any American candidates since Clinton actually paid for your advice?
8) Across the great divide: Rep. Alcee Hastings (D., Florida), in comments to a gathering sponsored by the National Jewish Democratic Council, "If Sarah Palin isn't enough of a reason for you to get over whatever your problem is with Barak Obama, then you damn well had better pay attention. Anybody toting guns and stripping moose don't care too much about what they do with Jews and blacks. So, you just think this through." [ABC News 9-24-08]
9) What was it, parent-teacher night at CBS? Something strange about McC's joint apearance with Sarah Palin before Katie Couric this week to clear up a few things. Kind of like your dad coming down to set that troublesome grade school teacher straight. "And while were at it, you're giving her too much homework, too."
10) Letting his inner Ed Rollins play out: Ed Rollins, to the NYT [9-28-08], "This isn't a lame-duck administration. This is a dead-duck administration."
2) Politics 302: Humility goes a long way in politics. Sarah Palin to Katie Couric (CBS Evening News 9-30-08), contrasting herself with Joe Biden's three decades of experience: "I'm the new energy. The new face. The new ideas." Never believe your own hype.
3) Last week's financial crisis debacle in a nutshell: Dana Milbank [WP 9-26-08], describing the scene among House Republicans after McC's announcement that he was suspending the campaign and heading to D.C. :"'Daddy's coming home!" joked one.'"
4) What those debates are really like: Jim Lehrer, who has moderated more presidential debates than any other living being, on the tension at the scene: "You can smell it. It's under your arms and in your toes. It is extraordinary what these guys go through." Jim, they have stuff for that now. See your pharmacist.
5) AAAAHHHHH!!! It's him!!!! Commenting on the first '08 presidential debate for The Huffington Post, Bob Shrum said, "Tonight I think we know who the next president will be." Can't somebody get him work in France or something?
6) Bill Agonistes: Appearing on CNN's "Larry King Live" last week, President Bill Clinton explained that he would campaign for Obama after his Clinton Global Initiative ended and after "the Jewish holidays."He added that when he campaigned in Florida he may be assigned to "sort of hustle up what Lawton Chiles used to call the 'cracker vote' there." Following Clinton's appearance on NBC's "The Late Show" the previous night, Chris Rock said to David Letterman, "Is it me, or he didn't want to say the name Barack Obama?"
7) Dumbest column on the McCain decision to suspend his campaign: And the Award goes to Dick Morris and Eileen McGann [NYP 9-25-08], calling it a "bold move" that "helps the country, too." It gets better. "McCain's power in the current situation comes from a simple fact - he, not Obama, can cut the deal by getting President Bush and Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson to back a 'bailout plus' bill." Dude, have any American candidates since Clinton actually paid for your advice?
8) Across the great divide: Rep. Alcee Hastings (D., Florida), in comments to a gathering sponsored by the National Jewish Democratic Council, "If Sarah Palin isn't enough of a reason for you to get over whatever your problem is with Barak Obama, then you damn well had better pay attention. Anybody toting guns and stripping moose don't care too much about what they do with Jews and blacks. So, you just think this through." [ABC News 9-24-08]
9) What was it, parent-teacher night at CBS? Something strange about McC's joint apearance with Sarah Palin before Katie Couric this week to clear up a few things. Kind of like your dad coming down to set that troublesome grade school teacher straight. "And while were at it, you're giving her too much homework, too."
10) Letting his inner Ed Rollins play out: Ed Rollins, to the NYT [9-28-08], "This isn't a lame-duck administration. This is a dead-duck administration."
Tuesday, September 23, 2008
"Finance is a gun. Politics is knowing when to pull the trigger." - Don Lucchesi, Godfather III
1) Yale Economics: "I decided to act and act boldly. Turns out there's a lot of inter, inter links between the financial system." President George Bush, in the Rose Garden last week. For a similar take, consider the words of "Floyd the Barber" on "The Andy Griffith Show" - "Hey Andy! Did you see that new laundromat up in Mount Pilot? She's a real beauty Andy, a real beauty."
2) How To Do Politics: Chapter 24: Former Secretary of State James A. Baker, on CNN's roundtable of former Secretaries of State [9-20-08], on the Iranian problem: "I think a well-placed, quite private phone call" would be the right approach. Is there any other kind?
3) Ya think? The New York Post's Charles Hurt, suggesting last week that Speaker Nancy Pelosi would depose Charlie Rangel and describing Charlie: "He's perhaps Pelosi's highest-profile committee chairman."
4) Lady de Rothschild feels your pain: Endorsing McC on CNN last week, Lady Lynn Forester de Rothschild, she of the Rothschilds, explained away her sudden split from the party of Hillary by proclaiming that the Dems had developed a bad reputation "with the likes of Adlai Stevenson" and others as their presidential candidates. So Lynn, did Barack do too much organizing down at your local community center, or what?
5) There's politics and there's business. Do we really need any more proof? Former Hewlett-Packard CEO Carly Fiorina, touting McC by explaining that neither he nor alas, poor Sarah, were CEO material. Yikes! So Carly, what exactly were those political plans of yours?
6) Or as Charlie Peters put it - "How Washington really works" WSJ reporter Elizabeth Williamson, writing about what the top Washington lobbyists for the financial services industry are up to: "It is the 'dirty little secret in town,' said one financial-services lobbyist - that after lambasting lobbyists on the stump, the candidates need their counsel on how to respond to a crisis with origins too complicated for most industry outsiders to understand."[9-19-08]
7) This better turn out to be a really good scene in Woodward's next book: On the crisis meeting with Secty. Paulson, Chuck Schumer says, "When you listened to them describe it, you gulped." And Chris Dodd says, "We have never heard language like this." Please, somebody, give us the full quote already.
8) "Political Turmoil in Thailand Boosts Business for Astrologers" That's a headline from last week's WSJ [9-15-08], explaining that after "two years of political unrest," everyone in Bangkok is running to astrologers for a look into their fortunes, including former "billionaire prime minister" Thaksin Shinawatra, who says that he "frequently refers to the alignment of the stars." Of course he was deposed in a 2006 coup so, you know,............
9) A sacred practice lives on: According to a report in The Guardian [9-15-08], at least six Brazilian political candidates, on the ballot in October's municipal elections, have chosen to run under the now-popular name, "Barack Obama." Brazilian election law allows candidates to run under assumed names. Cool! What a system! [Of course, we cannot in good conscience speak of this subject [changing your ballot name] without bowing our heads in homage to an American master of the technique - Johnston, Rhode Island, Town Administrator Mario R. Russillo, who passed away on March 10, 2001. Running for office in 1964 and recognizing the importance of ballot position, Mario changed his name to "aRussillo." Challenged for reelection four years later by a wiseguy named "aRusso," Mario one-upped with "aaRussillo" and won another term.]
10) Who's more bitter: “I believe that the president is exhausted and the vice president has been marginalized, and what you now have is the Washington interests…dominating the administration. We have now launched big-government Republicanism.”
Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich on the federal bail-out of Wall Street
Or...
"For McCain, politics is always operatic, pitting people who agree with him against those who are 'corrupt' or 'betray the public's trust,' two categories that seem to be exhaustive - there are no other people." George F. Will [WP 9-23-08]
2) How To Do Politics: Chapter 24: Former Secretary of State James A. Baker, on CNN's roundtable of former Secretaries of State [9-20-08], on the Iranian problem: "I think a well-placed, quite private phone call" would be the right approach. Is there any other kind?
3) Ya think? The New York Post's Charles Hurt, suggesting last week that Speaker Nancy Pelosi would depose Charlie Rangel and describing Charlie: "He's perhaps Pelosi's highest-profile committee chairman."
4) Lady de Rothschild feels your pain: Endorsing McC on CNN last week, Lady Lynn Forester de Rothschild, she of the Rothschilds, explained away her sudden split from the party of Hillary by proclaiming that the Dems had developed a bad reputation "with the likes of Adlai Stevenson" and others as their presidential candidates. So Lynn, did Barack do too much organizing down at your local community center, or what?
5) There's politics and there's business. Do we really need any more proof? Former Hewlett-Packard CEO Carly Fiorina, touting McC by explaining that neither he nor alas, poor Sarah, were CEO material. Yikes! So Carly, what exactly were those political plans of yours?
6) Or as Charlie Peters put it - "How Washington really works" WSJ reporter Elizabeth Williamson, writing about what the top Washington lobbyists for the financial services industry are up to: "It is the 'dirty little secret in town,' said one financial-services lobbyist - that after lambasting lobbyists on the stump, the candidates need their counsel on how to respond to a crisis with origins too complicated for most industry outsiders to understand."[9-19-08]
7) This better turn out to be a really good scene in Woodward's next book: On the crisis meeting with Secty. Paulson, Chuck Schumer says, "When you listened to them describe it, you gulped." And Chris Dodd says, "We have never heard language like this." Please, somebody, give us the full quote already.
8) "Political Turmoil in Thailand Boosts Business for Astrologers" That's a headline from last week's WSJ [9-15-08], explaining that after "two years of political unrest," everyone in Bangkok is running to astrologers for a look into their fortunes, including former "billionaire prime minister" Thaksin Shinawatra, who says that he "frequently refers to the alignment of the stars." Of course he was deposed in a 2006 coup so, you know,............
9) A sacred practice lives on: According to a report in The Guardian [9-15-08], at least six Brazilian political candidates, on the ballot in October's municipal elections, have chosen to run under the now-popular name, "Barack Obama." Brazilian election law allows candidates to run under assumed names. Cool! What a system! [Of course, we cannot in good conscience speak of this subject [changing your ballot name] without bowing our heads in homage to an American master of the technique - Johnston, Rhode Island, Town Administrator Mario R. Russillo, who passed away on March 10, 2001. Running for office in 1964 and recognizing the importance of ballot position, Mario changed his name to "aRussillo." Challenged for reelection four years later by a wiseguy named "aRusso," Mario one-upped with "aaRussillo" and won another term.]
10) Who's more bitter: “I believe that the president is exhausted and the vice president has been marginalized, and what you now have is the Washington interests…dominating the administration. We have now launched big-government Republicanism.”
Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich on the federal bail-out of Wall Street
Or...
"For McCain, politics is always operatic, pitting people who agree with him against those who are 'corrupt' or 'betray the public's trust,' two categories that seem to be exhaustive - there are no other people." George F. Will [WP 9-23-08]
Monday, September 15, 2008
The Secret of American Politics: No matter how they toss the dice, it has to be, The only one for me is you, and you for me, So happy together
1) See Scott and Sarah run a state: Since when did the 2008 presidential race become Roman Hruska's revenge? "Quit it, Todd!!" The First Dude, indeed.
2) You might want to check with the late John Tower about that: Fred Thompson on the stump last week for Sarah Palin: "This woman has undergone the most vicious assault we've ever seen in public life." [MSNBC 9-10-08]
3) Check out the big brain on Bob: Bob Barr backs out of the third-party-unity movement before it starts, saying, "This is not a time, as Dante Alighieri said many years ago, to remain neutral....To paraphrase him, woe be unto those who remain neutral." You know, the "epic poem fan" vote has pretty much gone to hell in recent cycles.
4) Drop everything: And read today's Norman J. Ornstein op-ed in the Wash Post (9-15-08). Commenting on the skills that the next president will need to bring "change" to Washington, Ornstein says, "That kind of consensus is forged through the political process. It's done by finding allies and building coalitions via intense bargaining and politicking. The skills needed are far more likely to be possessed by Washington insiders than iconoclastic outside reformers." Go insiders!
5) Livin' in the future: Why do we foresee a Palin presidency as ominous? Some weird mix of "Wild in the Streets" and "Advise and Consent." But then again, there was that whole Agnew thing.
6) How we lived before MySpace: Commenting on the fact that Sen. McC often hugs Gov. Palin on the trail, Democrat Geraldine Ferraro explained that she and Vice President Walter Mondale never touched while campaigning together because they didn't want people to think they "were dating."Never crossed our mind. Honest.
7) Why American politics ain't what it used to be: Chuck Norris is the guest on CNN's "Larry King Live" last week to comment on the presidential race. Chuck was also hawking his new tome, "Black Belt Politics." He says he's studied our problems and has come up with the answers. Uh oh.
8) Get me Jack Germond! Stat! We knew this would be the ultimate consequence of Gov. Bill Clinton appearing in People magazine way back when. Now "The View's" Joy Behar trips up McC on his ads - "We know that those two ads are untrue." And "TMZ" shows Biden gaffes! We can hardly wait to see Mary Hart explain the electoral college. That comes on Nov. 5th.
9) Politics 101: "The correct way to eat crow": Alaskan Sen. Lisa Murkowski's comments on Sarah Palin went largely unmentioned during the GOP convention except by one short note in the NYT [9-4-08]. Frank's daughter said, "It is an absolute historic moment for the state of Alaska. People need to know how excited people here, in this convention hall, are about Sarah, our Sarah." Well done.
10) Why don't these people ever run for County Commissioner first? In one of the more surreal moments on CNN's "Lou Dobbs" in recent memory, Lou banged the gong again about the need to overturn the convictions of two U.S. Border Patrol agents, turning to guest Chuck Baldwin, Constitution Party presidential candidate, and asking what viewers can do to help. Baldwin replies that they can "vote for me" and the first thing he'll do as President is to commute their sentences. Okay Chuck, so what else can they do?
2) You might want to check with the late John Tower about that: Fred Thompson on the stump last week for Sarah Palin: "This woman has undergone the most vicious assault we've ever seen in public life." [MSNBC 9-10-08]
3) Check out the big brain on Bob: Bob Barr backs out of the third-party-unity movement before it starts, saying, "This is not a time, as Dante Alighieri said many years ago, to remain neutral....To paraphrase him, woe be unto those who remain neutral." You know, the "epic poem fan" vote has pretty much gone to hell in recent cycles.
4) Drop everything: And read today's Norman J. Ornstein op-ed in the Wash Post (9-15-08). Commenting on the skills that the next president will need to bring "change" to Washington, Ornstein says, "That kind of consensus is forged through the political process. It's done by finding allies and building coalitions via intense bargaining and politicking. The skills needed are far more likely to be possessed by Washington insiders than iconoclastic outside reformers." Go insiders!
5) Livin' in the future: Why do we foresee a Palin presidency as ominous? Some weird mix of "Wild in the Streets" and "Advise and Consent." But then again, there was that whole Agnew thing.
6) How we lived before MySpace: Commenting on the fact that Sen. McC often hugs Gov. Palin on the trail, Democrat Geraldine Ferraro explained that she and Vice President Walter Mondale never touched while campaigning together because they didn't want people to think they "were dating."Never crossed our mind. Honest.
7) Why American politics ain't what it used to be: Chuck Norris is the guest on CNN's "Larry King Live" last week to comment on the presidential race. Chuck was also hawking his new tome, "Black Belt Politics." He says he's studied our problems and has come up with the answers. Uh oh.
8) Get me Jack Germond! Stat! We knew this would be the ultimate consequence of Gov. Bill Clinton appearing in People magazine way back when. Now "The View's" Joy Behar trips up McC on his ads - "We know that those two ads are untrue." And "TMZ" shows Biden gaffes! We can hardly wait to see Mary Hart explain the electoral college. That comes on Nov. 5th.
9) Politics 101: "The correct way to eat crow": Alaskan Sen. Lisa Murkowski's comments on Sarah Palin went largely unmentioned during the GOP convention except by one short note in the NYT [9-4-08]. Frank's daughter said, "It is an absolute historic moment for the state of Alaska. People need to know how excited people here, in this convention hall, are about Sarah, our Sarah." Well done.
10) Why don't these people ever run for County Commissioner first? In one of the more surreal moments on CNN's "Lou Dobbs" in recent memory, Lou banged the gong again about the need to overturn the convictions of two U.S. Border Patrol agents, turning to guest Chuck Baldwin, Constitution Party presidential candidate, and asking what viewers can do to help. Baldwin replies that they can "vote for me" and the first thing he'll do as President is to commute their sentences. Okay Chuck, so what else can they do?
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