The Daily Whim
Now 50% Less Shrill!
Thu
Jun
26
2008
Don't Get Du-Cocky
Though I have to admit my current thoughts lean in the same direction, this edges into a dangerous zone:
Never will a campaign predict a landslide, but if only, say, half of the assumptions that guide Obama’s general election strategy are true, his campaign is, in essence, preparing for a landslide in the popular vote.
Fri
May
23
2008
Held Hostage by Hillary
I’ve stayed away from this topic as long as I can bear. Sort of like when some drunken fan runs onto the football field hoping to get on TV, the best thing you can do is put the cameras on the announcer’s booth and ignore the attempt to steal the spotlight.
But, I, and many others, see a political party being taken hostage. It bubbled up as a result of comments earlier this week:
Tue
May
13
2008
Noxious Norman and Curious George
No matter how far we may have come as a society, there’s always a local yokel to remind people, “we’ve still got a ways to go”:
Marietta tavern owner Mike Norman says the T-shirts he’s peddling, featuring cartoon chimp Curious George peeling a banana, with “Obama in ’08” scrolled underneath, are “cute.” But to a coalition of critics, the shirts are an insulting exploitation of racial stereotypes from generations past.
Tue
May
06
2008
Time For Another Solution
And so we awake to another Groundhog Day. Or as I said on twitter back in March, “It’s Weasel Day: the weasel came out of his hole this morning, saw his shadow, and predicted seven more weeks of Democratic primary inanity.” The weasel now says he’s not coming out of his damn hole ever again. Like Round 15 in a Rocky movie, it would appear this could go on forever.
Tue
Apr
22
2008
Angry White Men
Apparently, being a liberal female author and screenwriter, like Nora Ephron, gives one license to engage in what might be considered sexist racist talk about people who look different from you:
This is an election about whether the people of Pennsylvania hate blacks more than they hate women. And when I say people, I don’t mean people, I mean white men.
Wed
Apr
02
2008
Dear Hillary
I know you’re very busy, but I felt the need to respond since you said something about me the other day:
“My take on it is a lot of Senator Obama’s supporters want to end this race because they don’t want people to keep voting,” she told CBS affiliate KTVQ in Billings, Mont. “That’s just the opposite of what I believe. We want people to vote.”
Mon
Mar
24
2008
We Outnumber You, and We Have A Candidate
Though the Pew Research Center headlines the article, Fewer Voters Identify as Republicans, this said something different to me:
In 5,566 interviews with registered voters conducted by the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press during the first two months of 2008, 36% identify themselves as Democrats, and just 27% as Republicans.
Sun
Mar
16
2008
Who's Divisive?
In what probably should have been a predicted development, political weblogs are mirroring the campaigns they write about and advocate. In other words, it’s ugly and divisive blue on blue action, and portends what could be coming this fall: no matter who wins, a large portion of the Democratic party may decide to take their ball, go home, and stay there:
Mon
Mar
10
2008
Vetting Clinton
I started off this election cycle, what was it, nine years ago … nine months? Really? OK, back then I felt that, Number One, the Republican Party needed a resounding thumping so that they might go on a spirit walk in the wilderness and “Find Themselves” again. So I looked at the then vast Democratic field, and realized with Hillary at the top, it would likely eventually narrow down to her and one other. At that time, I could envision reconciling myself to voting for Hillary, if it turned out she was the Democrat with the best chance of winning. And, way back then, it was hard to argue otherwise.
While my vision of Republicans walking the wilderness seeking their True Conservative roots remains undiminished, an additional imperative has developed for me. It is no longer enough just to see the Bush Faux Conservative era end, I want to see the end of the Bush-Clinton era. I’ve come to see their politics as nearly one and the same. Divide and conquer. Or triangulate, as the case may be. And looking around at the populace, nearly every harsh partisan battle we’ve seen for two decades can be reduced to a Bush, or a Clinton.
I have not been driven to these opinions by any right wing conspiracy, it was the actions of the Clinton campaign itself that have placed the following burrs under my saddle.
» Read the Full Article (1670 words) »
Tue
Feb
19
2008
Don't Believe Every Email You Read, Especially Election Year
This feels a little like making a post to be certain that “you do know the sky is blue, don’t you?” But it has come to my attention that not everyone pays attention to the things that seem obvious to me.
For example, if you get a poorly formatted mass email sent to you and dozens of others, that claims things like “Obama takes great care to conceal the fact that he is a Muslim” ... “ALSO, keep in mind that when he was sworn into Office he DID NOT use the Holy Bible, but instead the Koran” and other seemingly scandalous claims, consider this: Hillary Clinton is seeking any half-assed angle she can scrounge to get back in the race, and if those things were true, don’t you think she’d be hammering on that daily? Yes, you know she would. The fact she isn’t ought to be one clue.
Thu
Feb
14
2008
Experience Isn't Just About Years, It's About Results
Take a candidate who is already a Senator, whose spouse is the most popular living figure within her party, who has a team of highly experienced operatives from her husband’s campaigns and her own, then raise $175 million over the past two years, and what do you get?
Eight losses in a row in states where the Clinton campaign did not have any resources, and made no effort to change that.
Wed
Feb
06
2008
The Day After In Georgia
I stayed up too late last night waiting for West Coast election returns, but even today, it’s clear you could have stayed up all night and not gotten any additional real resolution. Though nearly half the country voted yesterday, the Democrats are a virtual tie, and McCain was unable to fully grab a dominating lead, though he did end up positioned a lot better than the other Republicans.
Mon
Feb
04
2008
Not So Super Monday
You can wedge a day between Super Sunday and Super Tuesday, but that does not guarantee it will be anything but another Monday.
Just the same, that was quite a game last night. Especially if you skipped the first three quarters of it. In a way, it reminded me of the NBA ... there’s often no real reason to watch until the last few minutes. But I have to say, in the NFL’s “Memorable Moments,” Eli Manning’s scramble and throw followed by Tyree’s “helmet catch” for 32 yards ranks up there with Franco Harris’ Miracle Catch. One I’m glad I did not miss (YouTube Video, in case you did miss it).
Wed
Jan
30
2008
And Then There Were Two, or Three
Boy Howdy, if I was a Floridian, I’d be most peeved that my vote only counted for half if I was a Republican, and hardly counted at all if I was a Democrat, given the penaties the state received from the national parties for busting line in the primary schedule.
But as it turns out, Florida is where candidates go to die. A verb, a noun, 9/11, and “the Florida firewall” strategy turned what was once Conventional Wisdom’s presumptive Republican nominee into a political joke. And Rudy’s withdrawal brings a sigh of relief from many.
Mon
Jan
21
2008
Chill, Bill
Imagine someone born in 1967. They are 40 years old today, in the middle of the demographic bell curve, about one half of the electorate younger than them, about one half older.
They have never, in their entire life, had the opportunity to vote in a Presidential election where one of the names on the ballot was not Bush or Clinton. Where the winner was not a Bush or a Clinton.
Sat
Jan
05
2008
What Color Is Your Mud?
Once upon a time, the image, views, and positions of a political party were transmitted to the public in a limited number of ways, by a limited number of people. The candidates themselves were the primary means. The national party apparatus did their part to help sell the party vision. And a fairly limited number of openly partisan pundits in the media often sang along to the party tune, be it a in newspaper column in the NY Times, or on a talk radio show, or as a talking head on the political TV shows. All of them pretty much “household names” within the world of politics.
It was usually a fairly cohesive, coherent, and compatible set of policies and talking points, and was put forth fairly consistently by a literal handful of public voices.
My, how times have changed.
» Read the Full Article (1741 words) »
Sat
Dec
29
2007
Another Meaningless Candidate Roundup
This presidential campaign has been a bit like the Super Bowl. The pre-game show is interminable, but it is now nearly time for kickoff. In a few days, voters in Iowa will have their say, and about five weeks later, Georgia voters (including myself) get to have ours. So I thought I’d give a quick summary of my thoughts on the candidates (the ones worth having thoughts about, i.e., Tancredo, Hunter, and others haven’t made the cut), since I have thus far pretty well stayed out of the specifics. And I emphasize, these are my personal opinions and impressions. Meaning, I’m probably about to trash your favorite.
» Read the Full Article (1250 words) »
Sun
Dec
02
2007
Questioning The Questions, Not The Answers
There’s been much hub-bub in the wake of last week’s Republican debate. Even some “blue-on-blue” action as the LA Times called CNN the Corrupt News Network. And then there’s this pointed rebuke:
Thu
Oct
18
2007
What Country Is This?
I woke up this morning, and within ten minutes of looking over the news, I wondered just what country I had woken up in.
First I read that “Senate Democrats and Republicans reached agreement with the Bush administration yesterday on the terms of new legislation to control the federal government’s domestic surveillance program, which includes a highly controversial grant of legal immunity to telecommunications companies that have assisted the program.”
Mon
Oct
15
2007
The Long Dark Tunnel of American Politics
Regular readers of this site may recognize this as the beginning of another of my Jeremiads, a screed against partisan jackassery of all colors. Though I must say I’m collecting additional evidence and refining my view quite a bit. Others may bow up at the very term “partisan jackassery,” as it is something they … enjoy. Feel free to move on. But for the two or three of you who fit neither description, as well as to rid this voice from my head, I shall proceed.
» Read the Full Article (1965 words) »
reidstott: Feeling burned out today. Too much Independence, I guess.
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Quotes & Links
“You don’t necessarily have to use a computer to understand, you know, how it shapes the country … John McCain is aware of the Internet.” Mark SooHoo, McCain’s “deputy e-campaign manager”
One Election Outcome Certain: A Lefty Will Win White House — A very interesting article, said the left-handed blogger: “Though left-handers comprise just 10% of the population, they are dominating presidential politics. Their recent success transcends ideology. Since 1974, presidents Ford, Reagan, George H.W. Bush, and Clinton have all favored their left hands, while President Carter and the current President Bush are righties [...] Studies have shown that whereas righties favor the left hemisphere of their brain, which controls language, left-handers are more likely to have bilateral brain function, which could allow them to visualize problems more broadly and with more complexity. A higher percentage of mathematicians and scientists are left-handed, and the same is true for artists.”
“I was not as well prepared as I should have been when speaking with reporters, and I should have taken more time to research Senator Obama’s positions. My comments did reflect questions I had after what I had seen reported on Fox News, but I should have taken some time to check the accuracy of what I saw on television before speaking publicly. My statement that Senator Obama ‘may be terrorist-connected’ was incorrect, and I apologize for making it.” Fred Hobbs
Obama vs. McCain: Taxing and Spending — “The nonpartisan Tax Policy Center [...] took a look at the various tax proposals put forth by the two candidates and estimated that Obama’s plan would lead to a boost in aftertax income for all but the highest earners, while taking a smaller bite out of government tax revenues than would McCain’s plans.”
“Mr. Bush has squandered the hard-built paternity of 40 years. But so has the party, and so have its leaders. If they had pushed away for serious reasons, they could have separated the party’s fortunes from the president’s. This would have left a painfully broken party, but they wouldn’t be left with a ruined “brand,” as they all say, speaking the language of marketing. And they speak that language because they are marketers, not thinkers. Not serious about policy. Not serious about ideas. And not serious about leadership, only followership.” Peggy Noonan
Trashing the Greatest Generation — Veteran of WWII gets trashed on a right wing blog simply because he didn’t want to play their reindeer games and give them the partisan answer they insisted they had the right to get. Very nice, guys, I’m sure your mother would be proud of the way you treated a veteran who did far more for his country in a real war than you ever will in some silly blog war.
A Campaign In Need of A Perot — “Bush inherited a $236 billion surplus, while the next president will inherit a deficit likely to top $400 billion. Federal debt, which fell to 57 percent of gross domestic product during the Clinton administration, is back up to about 68 percent, the highest percentage since the 1950s. Interest on the federal debt tops $200 billion a year…” Yes, our “minimum annual payment” on our National Debt Credit Card is $200 Billion per year. That’s half the defense budget. Your grandchildren will still be paying for the things we’re “buying on credit” today.
“The Republican brand has been so badly damaged that if Republicans try to run an anti-Obama, anti-Rev. Wright or, if Sen. Clinton wins, anti-Clinton campaign, they are simply going to fail. This model has already been tested with disastrous results.” Newt Gingrich
“I bet the Clinton folks did a mirror flip on the stock image to make it look more ‘aesthetic.’ What a latte-sipping, Gucci-wearing thing to do.” David Phillips
“Our president’s latest energy initiative was to go to Saudi Arabia and beg King Abdullah to give us a little relief on gasoline prices. I guess there was some justice in that. When you, the president, after 9/11, tell the country to go shopping instead of buckling down to break our addiction to oil, it ends with you, the president, shopping the world for discount gasoline.” Thomas Friedman
“The pandering and ignorance-across-party-lines represented by the John McCain-Hillary Clinton united front for a temporary reduction in the gasoline tax should make Americans hold their heads in their hands and moan [...] Please. This is embarrassing. It makes me long for the good old days of debating about flag pins on the lapel.” James Fallows
“Hillary Clinton has decided to line up with John McCain in pushing to suspend the federal excise tax on gasoline, 18.4 cents a gallon, for this summer’s travel season. This is not an energy policy. This is money laundering: we borrow money from China and ship it to Saudi Arabia and take a little cut for ourselves as it goes through our gas tanks. What a way to build our country.” Thomas Friedman
“Given Wright’s long silence, I thought he had taken to heart Jesus’s admonition to turn the other cheek. Obviously, I was wrong. I’m through with Wright not because he responded — in similar circumstances, I certainly couldn’t have kept silent — but because his response was so egocentric. We get it, Rev. Wright: You’re ready for your close-up.” Eugene Robinson
“If Hillary can’t win the nomination — and it’s clearly very, very hard for her — she’s basically a stalking horse for McCain. She’s preparing the demographic ground for McCain, by getting white working-class Democrats used to (if you will) not voting for Obama.” Rich Lowry
Cash Struggle Continues for Clinton, Filings Show — These presidential campaigns are the largest organizations with the biggest budgets with the most important goal either of these people have ever led. It’s fair to judge them on the results: “Mr. Obama is spending 75 cents for every dollar he is taking in; Mrs. Clinton is spending $1.10,” and has about $10 million in debt compared to Obama’s $660,000.
Economist.com: That’s it! — “I’m not exactly sure when it happened, but my will has been broken. I’ve realised that covering Mrs Clinton’s campaign without explicitly stating that it has turned into a win-at-all-costs operation fueled by phony outrage, hypocritical proclamations and absurd notions of who is electable and who is not is an exercise in deliberate deception, and I can’t do that. Perhaps I am weaker than my colleagues, but a certain fatigue sets in when trying to sort through it all [...] This is no longer a campaign based on ideas. It is a campaign focused on tearing down Mr Obama. We all know that’s her only shot at the nomination. I’m tired of pretending otherwise.”
Sam Nunn endorses Barack Obama — “Demonizing the opposition, oversimplifying the issues, and dumbing down the political debate prevent our country from coming together to make tough decisions and tackle our biggest challenges.”
In Her Own Words — Ouch. When some guy said, “In the age of blogs, YouTube videos, and other instant Internet creations, borderline content a campaign could never issue itself will appear and spread virally. It will be seen by millions, and the campaign(s) will have complete deniability (and at the same time, a complete inability to stop anything damaging once it has gone viral)” ... this is the kind of thing he meant.
An Election Can’t be Won By Someone Disliked By More Than Half The People — “54 percent said they have an unfavorable view of Sen. Clinton, up from 40 percent a few days after she won the New Hampshire primary in early January [...] Nearly six in 10 independents now view her unfavorably [...] In hypothetical general-election matchups, Obama holds a slim, five-point lead over McCain, while McCain is three points ahead of Clinton.”
“This has been one of the more comedic aspects of this 72 hours — watching a cavalcade of extremely wealthy pundits, editorialists and political operatives from New York and Washington tell me how rural Americans won’t stand for this.” Josh Marshall
