Archive for September, 2008
Barack calling McCain out on Iraq was the most memorable moment of the night. It’s possible that will be what sticks with voters. More please! I thought he did ok in terms of composure and command of the facts and all that. But more saber-rattling in defense of Georgia? Georgia? I’m also excited that, like Reagan, he’s for missile defense, because Star Wars was one of my favorite movies as a kid. Jesus Christ. I know Samantha Power wouldn’t have told Obama to say this stuff.
It is curious to me that Obie feels the need to sprinkle in these cynical panders about issues that I don’t think are at the top of anyone’s Christmas list. It’s less important than McCain pretending he hasn’t been for deregulation since Moses parted the Red Sea (or at least Keating 5), but it might be just as far from the truth. I don’t really know.
Plus, when Jim Lehrer gives you multiple opportunities to explain the tough decisions you are willing to make, in light of the astronomically expensive bailout we’re lurching towards, that is the time to channel FDR or JFK even, and say something meaningful. Best chance of the night for either one to step up, and neither did. No, budget freezes don’t count. Also, they should really let Walter Cronkite Lehrer moderate all the debates. Or elect him president, as TPM suggested.
Let me just conclude by saying that I’m disappointed with Obama only because I expect a lot from him. He’s my favorite presidential candidate of my lifetime, and I liked Kerry and Gore. And I’m not part of the in crowd, so I don’t have anything but an abstract idea of the pressures of a national campaign and the realities of what is politically feasible and what is not. But after watching last night’s debate I’m more inclined to agree with Mr. Penn than I would like.
September 27th, 2008
I think I’ve reached the point of being too cynical to render effective judgment. I just always assume McCain’s sophomoric pranks are going to work for him, because they always work for Republicans. I thought Palin would work, I thought “suspending” his campaign would work, and I thought he won the debate.
His “what the upstart from Illinois doesn’t understand” routine worked for me, although next time he might want to cut down on the seething contempt. If voters see me as a qualified and honorable man, and I really believe my opponent isn’t a qualified and honorable man and indicate as much, that can be an authentic and effective argument. Unfortunately, the only thing undercutting that line of attack for John McCain, was Barack Obama standing right beside him, appearing rather presidential and honorable.
And McCain went on and on about earmarks. Earmarks beat up your kid. Earmarks stole your parking space. To be clear, these earmark responses were avoiding the real question. But it’s something he has a record on. At the very least, the man knows enough to talk up his strengths.
I was equally enamored with “Here is a story of me doing things when I was younger. Clearly I have a reputation for doing things. And I think the solution for the future just might be ‘doing things’, my friends.” He could have used better examples (even factually accurate ones), but saying this is what I did in past crises, and that’s the kind of leadership you can look for in future crises — that is a powerful argument.
September 27th, 2008
Since I admittedly don’t know what I’m talking about, here are some other folks on the issue. Any words in green are a link to another site.
Atrios shares my worry over what Obie will do. And he has a PhD! That’s at least three more letters of education than I have.
Sebastian Mallaby has a few thoughts.
Josh Marshall is no economist, but he is a wise man.
Brad DeLong is an economist.
Paul Krugman is also an economist. Imagine that. Apparently he is also a columnist at the NYT. Does anyone know definitively whether it’s pronounced “kroog” or “krug”? I really hope it’s “kroog”. You can also check him out on Maher.
Ezra Klein doesn’t think Obama’s stance matters all that much, and isn’t liking what he’s seeing from the people that do matter.
If you want Nouriel Roubini’s take on all this, I can email it to you, or you can sign up for free to his site.
Breaking Update: No word yet on a financial fix, but it is “kroogman“.
September 22nd, 2008
I know as much about the economy as Sam Cooke knows about history, but there seems to be a remarkable consensus among economists that that the bailout, as currently proposed by Paulson, is a bad idea. Congress needs to attach at least three things to any huge financial commitment such as this: significant safeguards to allow the government to recoup its investment, stricter regulations on how these institutions operate in the future, and additional stimulus and economic relief for the people about to lose their homes and/or jobs.
Obviously, the devil is in the details, and opinions vary on how to structure each provision, and whether there should be other goodies included, like a CEO salary cap. This bailout could very likely hamstring the domestic agenda of the next administration, so Dems need to make it worth the public’s while. The two keys are explaining to the public why just throwing money at the problem won’t solve it, and keeping skiddish Dems in Congress from letting the urgency of the situation scare them into signing some few-strings attached bailout that contains only token provisions of regulation and investment guarantees.
While there are factors that could screw things up for Obie, I think the election is his to lose at this point. Obviously, there is a real temptation to just go with the flow on this bailout (some people see his opposition to the Paulson plan as weak, some see it as “yay Obama!”). But this is a critical issue that will have repercussions for a long time to come. Now is the time to demonstrate real leadership.
There are some aspects of the Obama campaign that I really admire. I think their organizational muscle has been impressive. David Plouffe is a badass. A lot of Obama’s responses to the McCain attacks have been excellent. But sometimes I have doubts about the leadership issue.
But it seems entirely possible that Obama will win this election much in the way that McCain won the primary; by being the last man standing after everyone else proves themselves irredeemably flawed. If you give Steve Schmidt a more charismatic and effective candidate, I think Obama loses this election. Hell, if you give Schmidt the McCain of 2000, Obama probably loses this election.
And that is despite all of Obama’s charisma, character, and massive appeal to younger generations. You can blame some of the closeness of the race on fears about color and “otherness”, and ignorance, and all the rest. But I also question the decision to stop talking about foreign policy simply because McCain said, “I see your opposition to this disastrous war and raise you a measly surge.” Or being afraid to discuss climate change because “drill, baby, drill” was the biggest applause line at the RNC.
So in sum, I’m doubtful that Obama and Congress are up to the bailout challenge. I think the most likely outcome is a quick “carte blanche for Hank” type bill, and I actually expect Pelosi to mount tougher opposition to such a bill than Obama. But if he proves me wrong, what a wonderful presidency this would be.
September 22nd, 2008
Deepak Chopra does Windows commercials? Classy, Chop. Reeeeeal classy.
Rachel Maddow is getting giant ratings on MSNBC. Well, giant ratings for MSNBC. I’m sure they would be giant on a network people watched. Her show is exposing the cable-viewing public to a variety of great guests. A few more shows like this, and I won’t be able to bitch about the media anymore. Still think she shouldn’t be quite as sarcastic or Olbermannesque, though.
The experts have weighed in (here and here), and they say it all comes down to Colorado. Except for Jerome, who is always a God Damn contrarian. Anyway, because of Colorado’s demographics — the mixture of Californian ex-pats, lots of Hispanics, eco-friendly westerners for the Dems, and die-hard social conservatives for the Right — it will probably be the deciding state. Which is to say, if Obama barely wins, Colorado will be the state that put him over the top. If he wins by a lot, it won’t be without winning Colorado. And if he loses, you might want to cancel any vacation plans to Iran. Or Russia. Or Spain.
Also, we own 80 percent of AIG now.
September 19th, 2008
Most cable news programming is less informative than your average episode of the Daily Show, so it is refreshing to see MSNBC premiering a much more promising vehicle for news, tonight at 9. Rachel Maddow. Tell your friends. We will also be hosting a guest blogger here at FTP. I don’t want to give it away, but his first name rhymes with “snark”.
Update: Steve Benen, formerly of Obsidian Wings and now blogging for Washington Monthly (both links here at FTP) was one of her first guests. Good sign. Can’t say the show is wowing me so far, though. I like her way better than Olbermann, but stylistically she is still aping him too much.
September 8th, 2008
Watching the tribute video now. Clearly, someone goofed, because this is a video for John Wayne. Or Jesus, I can’t tell.
The Green Screen is back!
Haha, they cut away to some kid yawning in the crowd. This is ridiculous.
As folks are already starting to say — and some have been saying for months — this isn’t really an Obama vs. McCain election. Sarah Palin helped us think that for a short while, but even she mentioned Obama more than McCain in her speech. This is Obama vs. Not The Bama. Democrats are united behind a platform with several ambitious goals, whereas Republicans are most adamant about the things they don’t want. It’s a reverse of 2004, and it’s likely to lead to the same result.
September 4th, 2008
Well, Palin absolutely killed. I think she’s unprepared to be VP — just like Rudy is, for that matter — and I also thinks she’s full of shit. But people just judging her on her speech tonight will like her. She’s certainly way more disrespectful of Obama than he or anyone in his campaign have been of her or McCain, but I guess that is a dumb thing to complain about. Another thing I didn’t realize: “community organizer” is apparently not a title to be proud of.
To be clear, I don’t think this is an appropriate speech, or a substantive speech, but somehow she still killed.
David Brooks just called her speech “wonky”. I think I might throw up. Good night, folks.
September 3rd, 2008
Someone tell Mitt Romney that you need to wait more than an introductory paragraph before you can launch into call and response. Just not enough time to rile up the troops. Can’t say using him as an attack dog was a complete surprise. Punch line! One liner! Zinger! Librul! Two liner! Awkward delivery! What a speech. It’s a sad day for the Republican Party when Fred Thompson is their most engaging speaker. I wonder how the Sox are doing.
“Just like you, there’s never been a day when I wasn’t proud to be an American.” Nice, subtle jab at Michelle. You stay classy, Mitt.
The Huckster is probably the most likable GOPer. He should hold a public speaking clinic for his RNC buddies. Anti-abortion lines sure get big ovations. I’m also glad they keep chanting “USA”, because some of the speeches have been achieving Canadian levels of banality. A brother gets confused.
Giuliani just said Obama has never led anything. Technically, he was president of the Harvard Law Review, but I doubt Obie will be rushing to point that out. Rudy is a lot livelier than I’d thought he’d be.
Now they’re chanting “drill baby, drill.” I would suggest the slightly longer and less catchy, “Negligible price reduction at the pump in 15 years after we drill baby, drill!” What do y’all think?
September 3rd, 2008
Clearly, I was completely wrong about the Palin pick. I guess that means my political savvy and 35 bucks will get you parking at a Red Sox game.
It seems that when the McCain campaign said they “vetted†her, they meant they googled her name. Evidently, Google didn’t turn up her initial support for the Bridge To Nowhere, her chumminess with Ted Stevens, the inappropriate and illegal sacking of her ex brother-in-law and the person who refused to sack him, and her lack of experience or interest in all things not Alaskan.
There are more women in this country than men, and yet women have made it on to the ticket of each major party just once, both times in the supporting role. I still think picking a woman was a great idea, he just should have picked Condi Rice, Olympia Snowe, Christine Todd Whitman or Kay Bailey Hutchison. You know, someone qualified. Or Liddy Dole, if he needed a pro-lifer.
I love the new Republican talking point that because Palin was the mayor of a small town, and America is made up of a lot of small towns, she is more than qualified for VP. I was vice president of my grade school, so maybe I could be VP in real life, too.
September 3rd, 2008
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