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Saturday, January 12, 2008
Moneygami
12 Jan 2008 08:43 pm
Or fun with Bills. The Lincoln latte is a classic.
Obama On Roberts II
12 Jan 2008 07:23 pm
An interesting link to Obama's full statement on his Roberts nay-vote. Money quote:
The bottom line is this: I will be voting against John Roberts' nomination. I do so with considerable reticence. I hope that I am wrong. I hope that this reticence on my part proves unjustified and that Judge Roberts will show himself to not only be an outstanding legal thinker but also someone who upholds the Court's historic role as a check on the majoritarian impulses of the executive branch and the legislative branch. I hope that he will recognize who the weak are and who the strong are in our society. I hope that his jurisprudence is one that stands up to the bullies of all ideological stripes.
Notice the positive tone. Tone matters. More context here.
Polarization And The Democrats
12 Jan 2008 07:07 pm
A reader writes:
Ann Rice, in her endorsement of Hillary, called her "prophetic" for her health care reform efforts in 1993. Well, if derailing the viability of health care reform for a generation is prophetic, sure. Now she promises to repeat the same mistake. No matter how hard she works, does anyone think she'll convince Mitch McConnell to create a new welfare state program? Doesn't she remember Bill Kristol's memo calling for all out opposition. Sorry, but six years of keeping her head down in the Senate to rebuild her reputation is hardly the experience that will be needed.
Polarization's a bitch for liberals. Even if it's a "roll of the dice", Obama is our only shot at building a movement than can defeat polarization. He's doing it the old-fashioned way, asking people to work for change. It's hardly a sure thing. But, as Oscar Wilde wrote,
"A practical scheme is either a scheme that is already in existence, or a scheme that could be carried out under existing conditions. But it is exactly the existing conditions that one objects to; and any scheme that could accept these conditions is wrong and foolish."
We don't need to to change the leadership of polarized Washington, for which Hillary is no doubt the best suited of the Democratic candidates. We need to end polarization, and that requires a Democratic landslide that only Obama might achieve. So let's roll the dice.
The Many Masks Of Clinton
12 Jan 2008 06:05 pm
Like the tears, her victory speech suggested that Clinton is resolved to inhabit a new persona, at least as long as she needs to. Instead of her usual power suit, she wore a flowery brocade jacket that oozed femininity. She gushed about her "full heart," and how she had "found my own voice."
Sixty years old, with all that massive experience in the work of transforming the nation, and she's just now finding her voice? More likely, she's just found a new way to disguise her essential self.
"I Hear All The Voices Of America."
12 Jan 2008 05:02 pm
Clinton pitches herself as the practical, working class, base Democrat candidate. Obama needs to do more of the same: more specifics, more policy, ore beer-track focus. He has the others. His poetry needs more campaign trail prose. And more door-to-door engagement with regular Democrats.
Clinton's Berlusconi-ism
12 Jan 2008 04:49 pm
A really original and insightful column by Chris Caldwell in the FT on the melodrama of Clinton's very public, and very scripted emotional "breakdown" before the NH primary:
The recent histrionics bring to mind the closing days of the Italian campaign of 2006, when Mr Berlusconi ruminated on his rapport with his nation’s telephone sex workers and stormed into a meeting of Confindustria to denounce the assembled businessmen for having “skeletons in their closet”. Mr Berlusconi’s 11th-hour antics brought him a political comeback as spectacular as Mrs Clinton’s on Tuesday. He narrowed a double-digit poll deficit to a few thousand votes and nearly won.
She'll try anything. A blogger dissents here.
Face Of The Day
12 Jan 2008 04:28 pm
US Senator Barack Obama's step-grandmother Sarah Obama stands in her house on January 12, 2008 in Kogelo, western Kenya. Barack Hussein Obama, father of US presidential candidate hopeful Obama, was born and raised in Kogelo. He died in a car accident in 1982. Senator Barack Obama's parents separated when he was young. By Peter Macdiarmid/Getty Images.
Red Staters For Obama
12 Jan 2008 04:20 pm
Nebraska's Ben Nelson is the latest to endorse. Kos compares Clinton's and Obama's endorsers here.
Obama and Roberts
12 Jan 2008 04:19 pm
Some dissents from this dissent:
Perhaps Obama simply recoiled at the quid pro quo implied by Roberts' meeting with Bush on July 15 2005 - the same day he overturned the Hamdan verdict - not to mention all that had gone before. Most people would regard it as unethical for a judge to have a private meeting with a plaintiff during a hearing, but Roberts thought nothing of meeting with Cheney, Miers, Rove and Gonzales during the arguments and deliberations of Hamdan.
And another:
I'm a lawyer, an economic & foreign policy conservative/social liberal (is that a "pragmatic liberal" or "libertarian conservative"?), who would have voted against Roberts in the Senate. Unlike your dissenter, I have probably voted for Republicans and Democrats equally. Roberts' credentials are stellar, but his equivocal, perhaps ambiguous, answers at the hearings combined with features of his career in private practice sent up red flags.
Continue reading "Obama and Roberts" »
"A Statist, Not A Racist"
12 Jan 2008 03:28 pm
Reihan explores Senator Clinton's views of Martin Luther King Jr and Lyndon Johnson.
"This Could Go On For A While"
12 Jan 2008 03:23 pm
A very helpful summary of the challenges all the leading candidates face on both sides from Ron Brownstein.
Dissent Of The Day
12 Jan 2008 02:19 pm
A reader writes:
You write that Obama is "a pragmatic liberal," that "his judgments in the past have been largely practical and reasonable," and that he is neither "an ideologue" nor "an excessive partisan." And I, too, really want to believe this. But then I always come back to the John Roberts vote. Roberts was clearly an outstanding candidate, perhaps one of the best ever nominated. He had nearly universal support from the legal academy, including from two of Obama's most liberal colleagues from the UC Law faculty, Cass Sunsetin and Geoffrey Stone. And he received "Yea" votes from both "pragmatic" Democrats like Lieberman, Jeffords, and Dodd, as well as principled liberals like Leahy, Feingold, Levin, and Kohl. Only the rank partisans cast "no" votes, and Obama was in that camp.
Continue reading "Dissent Of The Day" »
Obama and the Right
12 Jan 2008 01:16 pm
A fascinating quote from Republican South Carolina governor, Mark Sanford:
"What is happening in the initial success of his candidacy should not escape us. Within many of our own lifetimes, a man who looked like Barack Obama had a difficult time even using the public restrooms in our state. What is happening may well say a lot about America, and I do think as an early primary state we should earnestly shoulder our responsibility in determining how this part of history is ultimately written."
Suppressing The Obama Vote In Las Vegas?
12 Jan 2008 12:45 pm
A Clinton-allied teachers' union files a law-suit against voting in the coming Democratic caucus in nine Vegas Strip hotels. It would hamper the Culinary workers in supporting Obama. The usual campaign hardball, but a little strange for a candidate recently bemoaning "disenfranchisement."
The Black-Latino Split
12 Jan 2008 12:34 pm
You want to know why Clinton is suddenly talking guacamole and chips? One of her pollsters, Sergio Bendixen, tells Ryan Lizza:
"Hillary’s fire wall would be Hispanic voters in the largest states, such as California and New York. It's one group where going back to the past really works. All you need to say in focus groups is 'Let's go back to the nineties.'... The Hispanic voter—and I want to say this very carefully—has not shown a lot of willingness or affinity to support black candidates."
So Clinton may now find herself pivoting her campaign on Latino racism. Lovely.
"Top Down" Clinton
12 Jan 2008 12:34 pm
Do the Clintons know any other model for politics? It may explain Senator Clinton's misreading of the civil rights movement. There's there this kind of condescension:
"We treat these problems as if one is guacamole and one is chips, when … they both go together."
If you're not signed up with the Clintons and you want to defend minority rights, you are in a "fairy tale."
Red State Dems For Obama
12 Jan 2008 11:21 am
Tim Johnson isn't the only one:
"I'm supporting Senator Barack Obama in his race for the presidency because he is in a unique position to reach across party lines and unite our country. As a red state Senator fighting for common ground, I look forward to working with a President who is more concerned with good ideas than partisan bickering, and I believe Senator Obama is that person."
Fox vs Obama
12 Jan 2008 11:18 am
He won't take the bait. And he's right to freeze them out. Here's why.
"The View" Gets Even Dumber
12 Jan 2008 10:45 am
Hard to believe, but then Joy Behar says something like this:
"I think that the old days the saints were hearing voices and they didn't have any thorazine to calm them down. Now that we have all of this medication available to us, you can't find a saint any more."
Jim Martin comments.
Leave Ron Paul ALONE!
12 Jan 2008 09:53 am
Say it, girl:
Clinton, Back-Loaded
12 Jan 2008 09:45 am
A reader writes:
We have all been witnessing some Clinton campaign carping about the Democratic nominating process since this became a political horserace rather than a coronation. According to the campaign principals and surrogates, the Iowa caucuses were disenfranchising (notwithstanding record participation fueled by the Obama campaign message), the New Hampshire primary (when it didn't look good for team Clinton) followed Iowa too closely and allowed, gasp, independents to participate (notwithstanding desperate party-building needs for Democrats), and now the Nevada caucuses (now that the Culinary Workers have had their say) are disenfranchising.
If I recall correctly, over the past four years, Clinton allies -- including Terry McAuliffe and Alexis Herman -- were largely responsible for the front-loaded primary calendar. To be fair, Terry McAuliffe started the stampede under pressure from anti-NH and IA supremacy constituencies (i.e., populous states) and legitimate concerns about minority participation. Harry Reid and the House of Labor pushed for NV's slot. Also, Clinton ally Harold Ickes fought against SC's continued enhanced status -- on John Edwards, not Barack Obama grounds -- but lost to Jim Clyburn's forces.
But the overriding conventional wisdom in Clinton circles was that a front-loaded primary and super-duper Tuesday would make it cost- and time-prohibitive for anyone to challenge the Clinton political machine. I guess that's a new spin on the old political chestnut, "you've gotta dance with the one that brung ya."
Mental Health Break
12 Jan 2008 09:42 am
A charming short film that includes 100 people, banging a drum. From age one to 100:
The View From Your Window
12 Jan 2008 09:42 am
DeWitt, Michigan, 5.15 pm.
A Degree In Creationism?
12 Jan 2008 08:37 am
Only in Texas, I guess.
Friday, January 11, 2008
Email Of The Day
11 Jan 2008 09:37 pm
A reader writes:
Is it wrong for me to want to smack the shit out of the Clinton advisor who provided that quote? You would think by the way Hillary barely won in New Hampshire, she'd go the extra mile to make sure that no one in her staff says some asinine comment that can only serve to alienate the very same voters that cost her Iowa. Oh, I forgot, she's become inevitable again.
I'm a 29 year old third generation veteran with plenty of real hip black friends. I pay out the ass in medical insurance. My father died from exposure to Agent Orange. There are plenty of causes for which HRC could latch her boat onto with people like me. Instead, the vile hubris that flows like a river in her camp from the top down has sickened me beyond belief. Hey campaign adviser, I support Obama for his real, tangible principles, you pompous dick.
The Onion For Evangelicals
11 Jan 2008 08:33 pm
Hey: Huckabee isn't the only holy roller with a sense of humor.
Vive La Resistance
11 Jan 2008 07:29 pm
"Americans are a religious people and, Christopher Hitchens notwithstanding, that is a good thing. Religion has fostered empathy and instilled social responsibility among many believers. But while we are a religious people, we are a secular nation. To equate American leadership with a commitment to any single religion is a dangerous departure from the constitutional principles which underlie not only American law but American conservatism," - Mickey Edwards, national chairman of the American Conservative Union.
The Rudy Implosion
11 Jan 2008 07:04 pm
Giuliani's national finance chair, Roy Bailey, no longer has that position with the campaign. Bailey was not only Giuliani's finance chair, he was one of the founding partners of Giuliani's consulting firm.
A Huckabee Fallacy
11 Jan 2008 07:02 pm
Deep thoughts from Matt Yglesias.
It's Been That Kind Of Week
11 Jan 2008 06:51 pm
A baby plays with a cobra. All resemblances to the Obama-Clinton fight are accidental:
Quote For The Day
11 Jan 2008 05:58 pm
"If you have a social need, you're with Hillary. If you want Obama to be your imaginary hip black friend and you're young and you have no social needs, then he's cool," - a "Clinton adviser" to Guardian columnist Jonathan Freedland.
The View From Your Window
11 Jan 2008 05:57 pm
Cairo, Egypt, 10.56 am.
Hewitt's "Ancient Mariner"
11 Jan 2008 05:55 pm
A reader writes:
How inept of Hewitt to depict McCain as the Ancient Mariner. The Mariner, however ancient, was devastatingly effective. He transfixed the attention of the Wedding Guest, made him listen to all of the story: "The Mariner hath his will."
McCain's National Surge
11 Jan 2008 05:48 pm
Pretty stunning in a race already crammed with surprises. Giuliani appears to be imploding. And that is a good thing. After Paul, who obviously faces impossible odds, McCain is easily the best Republican. And he would remove the stain of torture from this country's reputation. And that is an indispensable thing.
The Ten Best Bookshops In The World
11 Jan 2008 05:45 pm
An enthusiast's guide to stores that cannot be replicated online.
Embryonic Stem-Cells
11 Jan 2008 05:33 pm
The scientists plucked them from two-day old embryos - and kept the embryos alive.
On The Road
11 Jan 2008 05:10 pm
Across America ... on a Segway. Well, if Clinton wins, I guess I know what to do:
McCain On Iraq
11 Jan 2008 04:47 pm
Even Bush is less bullish.
Boomer Women For Clinton
11 Jan 2008 04:42 pm
An on-target political cartoon.
"Jew Hating Bigot"
11 Jan 2008 04:25 pm
Yet another mass email trying to smear Obama - this time directed at Jewish voters.
Rove and Clinton
11 Jan 2008 04:10 pm
They have similar talking points on Obama. Both need to see him defeated.
Face of The Day
11 Jan 2008 03:56 pm
A supporter of US Republican presidential hopeful John McCain smiles after shaking his hand while he boarded his campaign tour bus (background) after he met with residents and supporters at Applewood House of Pancakes in Pawleys Island, 11 January 2008. By Emmanuel Dunand/AFP/Getty.
Huckabee In Georgia
11 Jan 2008 03:49 pm
A 13 point lead over McCain. Uh-oh.
Ad Hominem On McCain
11 Jan 2008 03:38 pm
Hugh Hewitt is as subtle as a sledge-hammer:
McCain's debate performance last night was wobbly, with meandering answers and an occasional grimace or misplaced wink. He fell back on his tired answers and many were exact repeats of Sunday night's programming. When he wandered through answer after answer it gradually dawned that he is indeed way past his prime, a Bob Dole without the energy... Even the McCain enthusiasts watch this aging warrior and know that he could no more win in the fall than Dole could in '96. Politics is not exclusively a young man's game, but it is most definitely not an old man's game either.
"Wobbly". "Meandering". "Tired". "Wandered." In a column that references "the ancient mariner." What a douche.
Clinton's Goodie Bag
11 Jan 2008 03:29 pm
Lots of money for everyone! Over $800 billion. Hey, it worked for Bush for a while.
The Latest Clinton Attack
11 Jan 2008 03:11 pm
Now, Obama doesn't even get to be a state senator:
"He was a part-time state senator for a few years, and then he came to the Senate and immediately started running for president. And that's his prerogative. That's his right. But I think it is important to compare and contrast our records."
Uppity, uppity.
The Vital Questions
11 Jan 2008 02:56 pm
Dave Barry raises the pundits one:
When her eyes appeared to well up with tears during a campaign appearance at a New Hampshire diner, was that real welling? Or did she fake the welling? If she did, in fact, well, do we know for certain that those were her own personal tears? Why was no sample made available to the media for testing?
Pimp My Coffin
11 Jan 2008 02:45 pm
Ghanaians choose to get buried in a giant sneaker?
Bear-Wear Update
11 Jan 2008 02:33 pm
A beard-warmer.
Clinton's Nevada Pre-Spin
11 Jan 2008 02:32 pm
It sounds like she expects to lose:
That is troubling to me. You know, in a situation of a caucus, people who work during that time — they're disenfranchised. People who can't be in the state or who are in the military, like the son of the woman who was here who is serving in the Air Force, they cannot be present.
You're always disenfranchised when you cannot vote for a Clinton.
The View From Your Window
11 Jan 2008 02:30 pm
Marfa, Texas, 10:30 am.
John McCain's Unheralded Allies
11 Jan 2008 02:20 pm
His unpaid national staff is more impressive on closer inspection:
Team McCain already has a good chunk of "the right people" in Michigan, South Carolina, Florida, California, Ohio, Maine etc.
Edwards Third In His Home State
11 Jan 2008 01:48 pm
At some point, he will have to decide if he wants to help Clinton win or not.
McCain In South Carolina
11 Jan 2008 01:36 pm
The polar opposite of 2000? Dick Polman sees him winning the three-dimensional chess game.
The Privilege Of A Clinton
11 Jan 2008 01:22 pm
Chris Crain notes:
Gloria Steinem's asks whether a woman born in exactly Barack Obama's circumstances would ever have made it to the U.S. Senate, much less have a shot at the presidency, but she never stops to ask whether a black woman with Hillary Clinton's bio would ever have enjoyed the advantage of her husband's success at the highest level of politics to slingshot her on her way.
The point is that Hillary's path is the privileged one here, in a way that only a female candidate could be. She emerged into regional and national prominence because of her husband, not because of herself. His career opened her door, however admirably she has taken advantage of that fact.
The Tears Of A Clinton
11 Jan 2008 01:08 pm
And, yes, a double-standard:
When George Bush senior cries in public, it's considered moving. Ditto his moist-eyed son. But in fairness, they have tended to appear moved about things apart from themselves, apart from their own predicaments. Mrs. Clinton was weeping about Mrs. Clinton. If a man had uttered Mrs. Clinton's aria--if Mr. Obama had said, "And you know, this is very personal for me . . . as tired as I am . . . against the odds," and gotten choked - they would have laughed him out of town.
Maybe they shouldn't have.
Scared By Mormons?
11 Jan 2008 12:44 pm
Michael Brendan Dougherty lets it all hang out. Substitute the word "Jew" for 'Mormon" in his post.
The Thompson Come-Back?
11 Jan 2008 12:31 pm
Fred Thompson can't be back. He hasn't been anywhere.
Quote For The Day
11 Jan 2008 12:14 pm
"It is a bit of a problem, the title "Atheist"--No one really wants to be defined by what they do not believe in. We haven't yet settled on a name, but you wouldn't expect a Baptist minister to go around calling himself an a-Darwinist. But it is crucial that people who do not have a sky god and don't have a set of supernatural beliefs assert their belief in moral values and in love and in the transcendence that they might experience in landscape or art or music or sculpture or whatever. Since they do not believe in an afterlife, it makes them give more valence to life itself. The little spark that we do have becomes all the more valuable when you can't be trading off any moments for eternity," - Ian McEwen, in TNR.
Male Post-Abortion Syndrome
11 Jan 2008 11:58 am
Real? Or political?
Let There Be Light
11 Jan 2008 11:45 am
The joys of camera shuttering and light sabers. More cool art from Eric Staller here. And here.
The Pope Approves
11 Jan 2008 11:20 am
Yes - my ashes will be able to be scattered off the tip of the Cape and I can still have a Catholic funeral. Thanks, Benedict.
One More Reason To Be A Dog Person
11 Jan 2008 11:17 am
Altogether now - awww:
A pet dog missed the family’s dead cat so much that he dug up his grave and brought the body back into the house... "Then he pulled him into the basket and went to sleep next to him. Arthur’s coat was gleaming white. Oscar had obviously licked him clean. It must have taken him nearly all night."
150,000 Deaths Since "Shock and Awe"
11 Jan 2008 10:53 am
Megan - who's spent some time crunching casualty numbers and debunking the Lancet study - thinks this number should be taken seriously. It's a horrifying number.
About Last Night
11 Jan 2008 10:37 am
My take on the South Carolina debate is here.
Will Gore Endorse?
11 Jan 2008 10:18 am
Grist's David Roberts thinks not:
It seems pretty obvious to me that he'd endorse Obama. But he has reached something of a detente with Hillary, and will need to be able to work with her should she win.
Then there's the trauma of Dean.
When Romney Discovered Reagan
11 Jan 2008 10:15 am
At Reagan's funeral?
The Rockwell Files
11 Jan 2008 10:08 am
The Economist digs into the question of Ron Paul's allies.
Steinem Women, Paglia Women
11 Jan 2008 09:51 am
Maybe that's the real divide over Clinton:
It strikes me that the split between women moved by Hillary's NH plight and those unconvinced by it mirrors the split in their basic political viewpoints. The women who were drawn to Hillary seem to be the same ones who support the old, big government, liberal ethos. The women who rejected HRC's vulnerability moment seem to have a much more libertarian streak.
The Paglias of the country want to take responsibility for their own actions and face their own consequences on their own terms, while the Steinems want Big Brother to make everyone play nice. It's the old big vs. limited government argument, writ in terms of gender. The Obama side stands for the development of a grassroots movement in which Americans take an active part in their governance and are complicit in its actions, while the Clinton aesthetic demands a government that does everything for everyone and thereby enforces some kind of equality.
That's a helpful distinction. Of course, I've long sided with Camille Paglia on this question. I belong to a minority, but I've always insisted on playing by the same rules as straights. I want no special privilege and no government discrimination either. My libertarian-conservative approach to gay politics was laid out in Virtually Normal. It's one reason I don't fit in with the Human Rights Campaign people either. I'm happy to live my life, and let others live theirs'. I don't want or need the government to love me, make me feel better or tell me how to live. My deep difference with Hillary Clinton is precisely this. In my view, it takes an individual. And that's not a function of misogyny. It's a function of believing in liberty.
The Struggles Of A Conservative Evangelical
11 Jan 2008 09:04 am
Rod Dreher links to a very honest, almost painfully honest, account of his friend, Doug LeBlanc's, attempts to figure out whom to support in this election. LeBlanc is a conservative evangelical. But the thought of a Romney or a Giuliani appals him. He cannot get past his feelings about Clinton. He longs for an Obama-McCain race, which right now is my dream as well. Read the whole thing. He asks:
Can anyone else relate to my struggles?
Relate? I'm living them. And so are many Dish readers, judging from my in-tray.
Gary Johnson For Prez
11 Jan 2008 08:44 am
The mighty Reihan weighs in:
But, frankly, the pothead vote alone gets you pretty far.
If only they'd get out to vote.
Hewitt vs Medved
11 Jan 2008 08:14 am
Wolcott weighs in. If you like this kind of thing:
Hewitt has his head so far up Mitt Romney's ass he can see the world through Mitt's clicking eyes, achieving complete parasitic identification with his host.
The "clicking eyes" is lovely.
The Electoral Compass
11 Jan 2008 07:58 am
Bainbridge had fun with it. I did too. I come out close to the center in the upper right quadrant - high on the economic center-right and socially "progressive". Yes: Ron Paul's the candidate closest to my positions. Giuliani is next. Then McCain. And then the others - Democrat and Republican. Fred Thompson is the furthest from my spot. Obama is about as far away from me as Huckabee is. Which proves Dan Drezner right, I guess. Character counts. Dan and me came out pretty much the same. I'm not a lefty. I just can't stand most of these Republicans. And my favorite had some vile racists and bigots as his allies.
The Sliming Of Obama
11 Jan 2008 07:33 am
Factcheck.org does due diligence on the smear emails now going around. Some very unpleasant stuff.
Thursday, January 10, 2008
Moore Award Nominee
10 Jan 2008 11:29 pm
"Oprah, you play the race card and the gender card too. You are a closeted Republican and chose Barak [sic] Obama because you do not like other women who actually stand for something to working American Women besides glamour, angels, hollywood and dieting! When Americans find out that Obama backs right wing corporate racist anti worker bullshit, they will not vote for him, and the victory will go to the most racist right wing republican ever.... Mccain, who is a fascist!" - Roseanne Barr.
The South Carolina Debate
10 Jan 2008 10:58 pm
For me, the big news was that Fred Thompson is alive. He came out swinging against Huckabee in ways that frankly surprised me. Funny at times, acerbic at others, he seemed much more comfortable as a campaigner. I also have to say that on national security, McCain was simply far and away the most reassuring as a potential president. When he ran through his national security experience, you could almost see Giuliani shrinking visibly into his suit. His weak points were his somewhat desperate plea to "round up" illegal immigrants and his demagoguic resort to calling any critique of the Iraq occupation as somehow an attack on the troops. Please.
Romney had one good riff on change - reminding me of what he could have presented himself as in this election, i.e. an able executive rather than a pandering pseudo-Christianist theo-bot. Huckabee is, however, very good under fire - affable, not very flappable, and humane. His response to the Ephesians question was disingenuous, however. The Scripture does not tell husbands to submit to wives. It tells them to love their wives in return for their wives' obedience. And, of course, when he explains that marriage teaches human beings "how to love," any gay person listening can only hear exclusion. He doesn't care, but there it is. But I do feel obliged to tell Republicans: love is not exclusive to heterosexuals. And gay couples are not antithetical to family life.
And, yes, thank God for Ron Paul.
Continue reading "The South Carolina Debate" »
Truman vs Clinton
10 Jan 2008 09:25 pm
A reader writes:
Truman could definitely have done things better, and asking for Kennedy to step down was ridiculous, but there is a huge difference: Truman was right. The Democratic Convention in 1960 was terribly, and unduly, influenced by the Kennedy campaign. Kennedy supporters were passing out bribes to precinct captains and county sheriffs all throughout the country--particularly in the South - and it's not exactly like Joe Kennedy didn't have any influence and wasn't mega-rich from criminal business. This is all well documented. Why shouldn't he have been concerned? What if Obama's father was a former narco-trafficker with connections to the mafia?
Compare it to Bill Clinton, who called Obama's campaign a fairy tale, misrepresented his remarks and his platform, and blames the media for not asking questions it actually asked months ago. And note how Truman didn't gush about all the wonderful things he did and then say, to the effect, "oh yeah, by the way, Symington is running too" the way Bill does with his wife. Truman was out of line, but he was honestly concerned about his party, not trying to run for a third term.
Barney Loved The Nineties
10 Jan 2008 09:19 pm
My friend Congressman Frank doesn't want to say "goodbye to all that." Presumably, that's why he's backing Clinton.
Ron Paul On CNN
10 Jan 2008 08:42 pm
He defends his own character and views from the newsletters. YouTubes here and here. I'm sorry, but he just doesn't seem like a bigot to me. That doesn't excuse his at best negligent association with them. I'm shocked by the newsletters. Jamie Kirchick deserves kudos for unearthing them. But one point Paul does make that resonates: why is there no other evidence of his bigoted statements? I think Brookhiser's judgment remains the soundest. But I'm not going to deny I feel embarrassed for not knowing more about this.
India and Pakistan
10 Jan 2008 07:39 pm
A reader makes a good point:
Both India and Pakistan are "front page" news today, all over the world. India, because TATA unveiled the world's cheapest car. Pakistan, because, yet another suicide bomber killed 25 people in Lahore.
The contrast is breathtaking, but the reason is simple: one chose the path of secularism, the other, Islamism.
And one is a democracy and the other isn't.
Another Obama Endorsement
10 Jan 2008 07:34 pm
But don't take it out on Obama: it's Ned Lamont.
The Clintons, Race and Obama
10 Jan 2008 07:34 pm
[Obama's] clearly as good a speaker as they come, as bright or brighter than Hillary, and understands American politics in a way reflective of someone 50-60 with decades more experience. So what will the Clintons do about that? We will soon learn — but already from bits and pieces that leak out, and Bill's harangues, we are beginning to sense some of the same patronizing and resentment that heretofore was reserved only for conservative blacks. I would expect the Clintons will bite their lip and then adopt the "we have to destroy the black candidate to save the black vote" mentality.
Sting's Carbon Emissions
10 Jan 2008 06:41 pm
The rock-star gets a little criticism from environmentalists.
Truman vs Kennedy
10 Jan 2008 06:18 pm
Makes Clinton on Obama look mild. Keep watching for Kennedy's classy response. Thanks for keeping me on my toes. Just for the record:
McCain And Climate Change
10 Jan 2008 05:52 pm
A vulnerability in Michigan?
An Invisibility Cloak?
10 Jan 2008 05:43 pm
My preferred super-power gets closer and closer to reality.
Headline Of The Day
10 Jan 2008 05:41 pm
Bush calls for end of 'occupation' of Arab lands
Ahem. Take it away, Ron!
Face Of The Day
10 Jan 2008 05:21 pm
A vendor's dead horse lies on the scene as Pakistani security officials gather at the site of a suicide attack in Lahore, 10 January 2008. At least 22 police officers were killed when a suicide bomber exploded a device outside the high court in the eastern Pakistani city of Lahore. The bomber set off his device when police asked him to stop his motorcycle outside the court, in the latest in a wave of suicide attacks which have claimed hundreds of lives across Pakistan over the past year. B