Bad weather interfered with my satellite signal, so I didn't watch Clinton's speech, but it seems Clinton gave an extremely ungracious non-concession speech. Can she do more to sabotage Obama's chance in 2008) so she could run in 2012)? The next week will show a lot, but Obama has a real chess match on his hands.
If she forces Obama to ask her to be the VP, she could decline it and make him look like a fool. McCain will then say, "if you can't handle Hillary Clinton, how are you going to handle Ahmadinejad in these direct negotiations of yours?"
If she does accept the offer, the McCain line is just as valid, and then he's got dis-loyalists in his campaign and, hopefully, Administration. She wouldn't be accepting of a ceremonial role--she's be like Cheney with her minions spread throughout the Executive Branch. Yuck!
Finally, if he doesn't offer her the VP position, she could knee-cap him throughout the campaign.
Did you hear that it was reported by Fineman of MSNBC that the Clinton campaign is demanding that if she isn't offered the VP slot, then no woman should?
I am no longer on the Webb for VP bandwagon. I think he's got a lot of baggage, especially on women's rights. Not the sort of signal to send right now. I am thinking that Clark may be a good choice. Since he's allied with the Clintons, he may be acceptable to her.
First move goes to white.
Tuesday, June 3, 2008
Monday, June 2, 2008
Democracy in the Democratic Party
I'm glad the Michigan and Florida delegate issue seems to be resolved. Just as umpires and referees shouldn't make game-changing decisions with bad or ticky-tack calls, the DNC shouldn't make similar decisions this far into the primary season.
From within Hillaryland and from without, there is a lot of hand-wringing about the dis/enfranchisement, democracy, one-person-one-vote (of a fraction thereof), etc. etc. etc. The fact of the matter is that the primary and caucus system is inherently undemocratic.
First all of, no voting process that takes over 5 months can be said to be democratic. Iowa voted over 5 months before Montana and South Dakota. If states like New Jersey and California were to vote on Tuesday, the results would be very different than their earlier returns.
Second, the delegate system is weighted in favor of certain voters based on local democratic voting strength. It's unclear whether this apportionment system has had the effect of helping Obama or Clinton. Nevertheless, some votes are designed to be worth more than others.
Then there's the superdelegates. 'nuff said. They may be elected officials in many case, but they were not elected to select the presidential nominee. Since all Senators and representatives are superdelegates, they artificially inflate the importance of small states.
The U.S. electoral system only approximates democracy, so perhaps that's the best we can hope from the national party nomination process. By any measure, there is no palpable "will of the voters" favoring Obama over Clinton. The difference between pledged delegates is negligible. Even when you view the popular vote in any fair manner, it is basically a tie. Obama will be the nominee because he played the game better. The name of the game is delegates, and Obama has nearly enough already. The system may be flawed, but that's life.
I hope the Obama campaign's strategic mastery shows who is more ready to be President. We will not experience an Obama Administration unless the Clinton supporters come home. They need to recognize the flaws inherent in the system, get over their frustrations, and come home. She may have moderate white women; Obama may have African-Americans and urban liberals--the Democratic Party in a nutshell.
From within Hillaryland and from without, there is a lot of hand-wringing about the dis/enfranchisement, democracy, one-person-one-vote (of a fraction thereof), etc. etc. etc. The fact of the matter is that the primary and caucus system is inherently undemocratic.
First all of, no voting process that takes over 5 months can be said to be democratic. Iowa voted over 5 months before Montana and South Dakota. If states like New Jersey and California were to vote on Tuesday, the results would be very different than their earlier returns.
Second, the delegate system is weighted in favor of certain voters based on local democratic voting strength. It's unclear whether this apportionment system has had the effect of helping Obama or Clinton. Nevertheless, some votes are designed to be worth more than others.
Then there's the superdelegates. 'nuff said. They may be elected officials in many case, but they were not elected to select the presidential nominee. Since all Senators and representatives are superdelegates, they artificially inflate the importance of small states.
The U.S. electoral system only approximates democracy, so perhaps that's the best we can hope from the national party nomination process. By any measure, there is no palpable "will of the voters" favoring Obama over Clinton. The difference between pledged delegates is negligible. Even when you view the popular vote in any fair manner, it is basically a tie. Obama will be the nominee because he played the game better. The name of the game is delegates, and Obama has nearly enough already. The system may be flawed, but that's life.
I hope the Obama campaign's strategic mastery shows who is more ready to be President. We will not experience an Obama Administration unless the Clinton supporters come home. They need to recognize the flaws inherent in the system, get over their frustrations, and come home. She may have moderate white women; Obama may have African-Americans and urban liberals--the Democratic Party in a nutshell.
Tuesday, May 20, 2008
Obama's in better shape than Bill Clinton was
About 16 years ago, Bill Clinton had trouble closing the deal with Democrats. People kept on voting for the weird Jerry Brown. Brown even won the March Connecticut primary and then came close in Wisconsin. Clinton's victory in New York pretty much sealed the nomination, but two months later, my home state of New Jersey, one of the last states to vote in the primaries, showed no enthusiasm for the presumptive nominee. I remember one family friend, a strong Democrat, describing her vote this way, "Well, I guess I should vote for Clinton (sigh)."
Things looked bleak. Clinton was not well-liked by Democrats. He was seen by independents as an elitist, draft-dodging, cheating, Slick Willie. Ross Perot was energizing people, but Clinton was flailing, hoping for coverage as he pandered, pandered, pandered and felt pain all across America.
In June 1992, the Clinton campaign finally showed signs of life, and the convention re-introduced America to the Clinton family. So I'm not worried about Obama's problems with Eastern whites right now. He's got time to make up the ground. He's still relative newcomer to politics, and I think the convention will successfully introduce him to the American public. Unless, of course, Hillary Clinton ruins it.
I am still shocked that Bill Clinton's wife, the candidate's wife who didn't want to stay home and bake cookies, has become a working-class hero. That's got to be a media creation. To some extent, especially in Appalachia, it's because she's the white candidate. Yes, folks, there's racism in Appalachia. A shocker, I know. If 21% of the voters of Kentucky say race was important to their vote, there's another 21% of voters who didn't admit it.
Things looked bleak. Clinton was not well-liked by Democrats. He was seen by independents as an elitist, draft-dodging, cheating, Slick Willie. Ross Perot was energizing people, but Clinton was flailing, hoping for coverage as he pandered, pandered, pandered and felt pain all across America.
In June 1992, the Clinton campaign finally showed signs of life, and the convention re-introduced America to the Clinton family. So I'm not worried about Obama's problems with Eastern whites right now. He's got time to make up the ground. He's still relative newcomer to politics, and I think the convention will successfully introduce him to the American public. Unless, of course, Hillary Clinton ruins it.
I am still shocked that Bill Clinton's wife, the candidate's wife who didn't want to stay home and bake cookies, has become a working-class hero. That's got to be a media creation. To some extent, especially in Appalachia, it's because she's the white candidate. Yes, folks, there's racism in Appalachia. A shocker, I know. If 21% of the voters of Kentucky say race was important to their vote, there's another 21% of voters who didn't admit it.
Sunday, May 11, 2008
Pentagon Propaganda
A number of media commentators have noticed the deafening silence of the major broadcasters in response to the New York Times article concerning their use of military experts or correspondents who were tied to Rumsfeld's Pentagon. In some cases, these former military officers were literally repeating the Pentagon talking points. CNN, you should be ashamed of yourself!
I had a suspicion that many of them could not be totally candid for fear of alienating their peers, but it appears that there was a monetary incentive as well. Many of them had business with the Pentagon. There's little doubt that, given its track record, this Administration would have retaliated against them and their business interests if they didn't toe the party line about Iraq.
Glenn Greenwald here and here runs through the facts in great detail and links to a very strong legal analysis. This legal analysis, by prwatch.org, hints, but does not explicitly state, that there are really no consequences for an illegal propaganda program. There is no criminal or civil penalty. The restriction is an appropriation restriction, meaning the agency didn't have money for this purpose. At best, a report to the President identifying the Federal employees responsible will be sent. It's hard to see Bush doing anything against the employees.
In order to strengthen the law, I suggest that individuals who knowingly participate in illegal covert propaganda be "debarred" by the Federal government, meaning making them ineligible to receive government contracts, grants, and other Federal money. Since the generals in this case, and the PR flacks in previous cases under the Bush Administration were actively seeking government contracts, debarment may be an adequate deterrent.
I had a suspicion that many of them could not be totally candid for fear of alienating their peers, but it appears that there was a monetary incentive as well. Many of them had business with the Pentagon. There's little doubt that, given its track record, this Administration would have retaliated against them and their business interests if they didn't toe the party line about Iraq.
Glenn Greenwald here and here runs through the facts in great detail and links to a very strong legal analysis. This legal analysis, by prwatch.org, hints, but does not explicitly state, that there are really no consequences for an illegal propaganda program. There is no criminal or civil penalty. The restriction is an appropriation restriction, meaning the agency didn't have money for this purpose. At best, a report to the President identifying the Federal employees responsible will be sent. It's hard to see Bush doing anything against the employees.
In order to strengthen the law, I suggest that individuals who knowingly participate in illegal covert propaganda be "debarred" by the Federal government, meaning making them ineligible to receive government contracts, grants, and other Federal money. Since the generals in this case, and the PR flacks in previous cases under the Bush Administration were actively seeking government contracts, debarment may be an adequate deterrent.
Saturday, May 10, 2008
McCain stumbles
A bad few days for McCain:
1) Sugar Momma Cindy won't release her tax returns, ever! Let's see how long that lasts. His campaign receives free, unlimited use of her company's plane because of a loophole in a law that McCain had written, so her wealth is an issue.
2) Arianna says McCain said he didn't vote for George Bush in 2000. I finally gained a little respect for the man, but then he denied it. Let him brag about voting for Bush for the next several months. If I were Obama, I'd use this in a debate.
3) A former lobbyist for the Myanmar junta was tapped by McCain to run the GOP convention. McCain sure does like lobbyists. If lobbyists are the sort of people he chooses to run his campaign, think of the people he's pick for the government.
His campaign hasn't proven itself. McCain didn't really "win" the nomination so much as the other bozo candidates lost. McCain was the last man standing. If these are examples of the deftness of the McCain campaign, I can't wait for the fall season!
1) Sugar Momma Cindy won't release her tax returns, ever! Let's see how long that lasts. His campaign receives free, unlimited use of her company's plane because of a loophole in a law that McCain had written, so her wealth is an issue.
2) Arianna says McCain said he didn't vote for George Bush in 2000. I finally gained a little respect for the man, but then he denied it. Let him brag about voting for Bush for the next several months. If I were Obama, I'd use this in a debate.
3) A former lobbyist for the Myanmar junta was tapped by McCain to run the GOP convention. McCain sure does like lobbyists. If lobbyists are the sort of people he chooses to run his campaign, think of the people he's pick for the government.
His campaign hasn't proven itself. McCain didn't really "win" the nomination so much as the other bozo candidates lost. McCain was the last man standing. If these are examples of the deftness of the McCain campaign, I can't wait for the fall season!
Monday, May 5, 2008
Just deplorable
I didn't want to start an anti-Hillary Clinton blog, but you blog about the candidates you have, not the candidate you want. Speaking of horrendous paraphrases, this is just the worst:
Hillary Clinton is now comparing the plight of industrial workers in the US to Holocaust victims. This society hypes up every small gaffe into a major frickin' deal, but this is the most deplorable thing I have ever heard a candidate say in the last 20 years. There is no comparison between the Holocaust and the economic struggles of Indiana. Not a literal connection. There is not even a touch of truth. Even Jeremiah Wright knows better.
Hillary apparently made this comment on April 28th. You know it would have been all over the place if the other candidate had made this remark.
“They came for the steel companies and nobody said anything. They came for the auto companies and nobody said anything. They came for the office companies, people who did white-collar service jobs, and no one said anything. And they came for the professional jobs that could be outsourced, and nobody said anything.”
Hillary Clinton is now comparing the plight of industrial workers in the US to Holocaust victims. This society hypes up every small gaffe into a major frickin' deal, but this is the most deplorable thing I have ever heard a candidate say in the last 20 years. There is no comparison between the Holocaust and the economic struggles of Indiana. Not a literal connection. There is not even a touch of truth. Even Jeremiah Wright knows better.
Hillary apparently made this comment on April 28th. You know it would have been all over the place if the other candidate had made this remark.
Wednesday, April 30, 2008
Keep on truckin'
I haven't had much time for blogging lately. In order to clear my basement of stuff so that a contractor can finish it, I've been reviewing the evidence of the excess consumerism in my life. Shoot, I haven't played my XBox since I met my wife, so it's got to go. Goodbye DVD and CD cases, but I'm keeping the liner notes for Jethro Tull's "Crest of a Knave"--it's classic. Bye-bye wife's 4S green skis. The Fort Totten Waste Transfer Station--sometimes called the DC dump--will give you a good home.
Speaking of the DC dump, I tried to dispose of certain items in an environmentally responsible way, but failed. Twice a year, the DC government has a household hazardous waste disposal and recycling day. After dropping off non-hazwaste at the dump, we drove out to the special area for the hazwaste disposal, but the street was like a parking lot for about a mile.
I am glad that the Mayor is taking remedial action and is making plans for hazwaste drop-offs on the weekends. That's what I like about the Mayor. A problem is identified, potential solutions are identified, and action is taken. When Marion Barry was mayor, problems were identified, no one in government would take responsibility, and nothing would change. Mayor Williams was definitely better, but I don't think he would really care about an issue with such small monetary implications. Mayor Fenty, you are doing a great job. Now improve those schools and fix up Eastern Market and you will become the new Mayor-for-Life.
Speaking of the ill-fated hazwaste drop off, some people waited on line for so long that they almost ran out of gas. Unfortunately, that didn't happen to any of the truckers who protested high gas prices by driving around downtown Washington and Capitol Hill. Of all the protests in DC that I have seen, this was by far the lamest. Okay, gas prices are high, supply is low, demand is high, the dollar is low. So you protest to waste gallons and gallons of it and pollute myneighborhood? I'll remember this, truckers!
This is the trucker platform:
The truckers said they want Congress to issue an immediate cap on gasoline, diesel and heating oil prices. They are demanding a $2 a gallon cap on all of the fuels.
That's workable. While Congress unilaterally caps prices of a global commodity, it might was well move the West Coast closer to the East Coast to make it cheaper to drive cross-country.
Then there's the McCain-Clinton plan to eliminate the gas tax for the summer. Gas taxes pay for roads and transit. Without those taxes, either construction or maintenance stops or we borrow more money from the Chinese to pay for it. Good for Obama for calling out his opponents on this. As an Obama supporter, I would be embarrassed if he took the McCain-Clinton position. Are the Clinton supporters capable of embarrassment at this point? She went on O'Reilly. O'Reilly!
Updated:
That's our only choice? Ye Gods! This has Bill Clinton's fingerprints all over it. It is reminiscent of Bill Clinton's demagogery over Paul Tsongas's proposal for 50 cent gas tax increase over 10 years in 1992. I was embarrassed, but still drank the aid. My standards have apparently gotten higher, but the Clintons' have not.
Speaking of the DC dump, I tried to dispose of certain items in an environmentally responsible way, but failed. Twice a year, the DC government has a household hazardous waste disposal and recycling day. After dropping off non-hazwaste at the dump, we drove out to the special area for the hazwaste disposal, but the street was like a parking lot for about a mile.
"The worst thing would be that, out of frustration, people put this stuff in the regular waste stream."We did the worst thing. We made a quick u-turn and headed for the dump. Yes, I threw away my copper speaker wires in the normal waste chain. Thankfully, a salvager took it and hauled it away. That is true recycling! We didn't leave anything truly hazardous--like paint--at the dump, so don't be too hard on us.
I am glad that the Mayor is taking remedial action and is making plans for hazwaste drop-offs on the weekends. That's what I like about the Mayor. A problem is identified, potential solutions are identified, and action is taken. When Marion Barry was mayor, problems were identified, no one in government would take responsibility, and nothing would change. Mayor Williams was definitely better, but I don't think he would really care about an issue with such small monetary implications. Mayor Fenty, you are doing a great job. Now improve those schools and fix up Eastern Market and you will become the new Mayor-for-Life.
Speaking of the ill-fated hazwaste drop off, some people waited on line for so long that they almost ran out of gas. Unfortunately, that didn't happen to any of the truckers who protested high gas prices by driving around downtown Washington and Capitol Hill. Of all the protests in DC that I have seen, this was by far the lamest. Okay, gas prices are high, supply is low, demand is high, the dollar is low. So you protest to waste gallons and gallons of it and pollute myneighborhood? I'll remember this, truckers!
This is the trucker platform:
The truckers said they want Congress to issue an immediate cap on gasoline, diesel and heating oil prices. They are demanding a $2 a gallon cap on all of the fuels.
That's workable. While Congress unilaterally caps prices of a global commodity, it might was well move the West Coast closer to the East Coast to make it cheaper to drive cross-country.
Then there's the McCain-Clinton plan to eliminate the gas tax for the summer. Gas taxes pay for roads and transit. Without those taxes, either construction or maintenance stops or we borrow more money from the Chinese to pay for it. Good for Obama for calling out his opponents on this. As an Obama supporter, I would be embarrassed if he took the McCain-Clinton position. Are the Clinton supporters capable of embarrassment at this point? She went on O'Reilly. O'Reilly!
Updated:
"I find it frankly a little offensive that people who don't have to worry about filling up their gas tank or what they buy when they go to the supermarket, think that it's somehow illegitimate to provide relief for the millions and millions of Americans who are on the brink of losing their jobs, unable to keep up with their daily expenses," she said.
Later, in Jeffersonville, Indiana, Clinton said she wanted to put her tax proposal before Congress.
"I believe it would be important to get every member of Congress on record. Do they stand with the hard-pressed Americans who are trying to pay their gas bills at the gas station or do they once again stand with the oil companies?," Clinton asked.
That's our only choice? Ye Gods! This has Bill Clinton's fingerprints all over it. It is reminiscent of Bill Clinton's demagogery over Paul Tsongas's proposal for 50 cent gas tax increase over 10 years in 1992. I was embarrassed, but still drank the aid. My standards have apparently gotten higher, but the Clintons' have not.
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