"War On String May Be Unwinnable, Says Cat General"Sunday, August 24, 2008
Saturday, August 23, 2008
...and that was quick
Here's the McCain response to Biden as VP made a few hours before Obama's campaign announced it around 3:00 am, US Eastern time (freebie GOP joke: because Obama's still on European time). From CNN:
Sen. John McCain's campaign quickly reacted to word that Biden would be Obama's running mate, calling attention to Biden's past comments about Obama's experience.
Sen. John McCain's campaign quickly reacted to word that Biden would be Obama's running mate, calling attention to Biden's past comments about Obama's experience.
"There has been no harsher critic of Barack Obama's lack of experience than Joe Biden," McCain campaign spokesman Ben Porritt said in a written statement.
"Biden has denounced Barack Obama's poor foreign policy judgment and has strongly argued in his own words what Americans are quickly realizing -- that Barack Obama is not ready to be president."
In a debate during the Democratic primary contest, Biden raised questions about Obama's foreign policy experience.
"Who among us is going to be able on day one to step in an end the war? Who among us understands what to do about Pakistan? Who among us is going to pick up the phone and immediately interface with Putin and tell him to lay off Georgia because Saakashvili is in real trouble. Who among us knows what they're doing? I have 35 years of experience," Biden said.
During another debate, moderator George Stephanopoulos referred to some of Biden's comments on Obama.
"You were asked, 'Is he ready?' You said, 'I think he can be ready, but right now, I don't believe he is. The presidency is not something that lends itself to on-the-job training,'" Stephanopoulos said.
"I think I stand by that statement," Biden replied.
Obama '08: well that was fun
All McCain needs now is a female running mate and things will get really easy for him--most likely anti-abortion rights Carly Fiorina or even pro-choice Meg Whitman. How will the McCain ticket match up against Obama-Biden? National Review Online has kindly assembled a sampler of Biden quotations that the McCain campaign will use against Obama daily. Here are a few:
"John McCain is a personal friend, a great friend, and I would be honored to run with or against John McCain, because I think the country would be better off..."
"I’ve been calling for more troops for over two years, along with John McCain and others subsequent to my saying that."
"'My impression is [Obama] thinks that if we leave, somehow the Iraqis are going to have an epiphany” of peaceful coexistence among warring sects. 'I’ve seen zero evidence of that.'"
"The more people learn about them (Obama and Hillary) and how they handle the pressure, the more their support will evaporate."
Ironically, now that he's running against two senators, McCain and a non-career politician running mate could argue that they are the candidates for change.* Again the National Review forecasts what we'll be hearing daily for the next nine weeks:
"Before winning election to the Senate three-and-a-half decades ago—Biden ranks fourth in seniority among Democrats, sixth overall; how's that for a fresh face?—Biden practiced law for three years. That's it. Three years of fresh-out-of-law school practice represents the sum and total of Biden's profession experience before joining the Senate. [SVS: compare this to Meg Whitman, for example, being a self-made billionaire.]
"Obama-Biden? A candidate with an astonishingly thin professional background—Community organizer? Desultory lecturer in law school?—has just named as his running mate a man whose principal professional achievement is to have perfected his skills as a gasbag."
The Democrats just don't seem to get it. Yes, Biden would probably be a much better VP than Hillary, but there will be no O'Biden administration because the Democrats are horrible at playing the identity politics that win national elections.
The Economist sums up Obama's challenges well; it's conclusion is spot on:
"Most of all, [Obama] needs to spend those 68 days showing that he understands, and can connect with, ordinary Americans. The economy ought to be the Democrats’ trump card, just as security tends to be the Republicans’. But some of the most surprising recent polls show that Mr Obama is rated lower by voters on how he would handle the economy than is Mr McCain, who has admitted that he doesn’t know much about the subject. That may be because Mr Obama often sounds curiously disconnected from the troubles of anyone except America’s very poorest. Mrs Clinton was much better at empathising with middle America, and Mr Obama needs to show he has learnt from her.
"John McCain is a personal friend, a great friend, and I would be honored to run with or against John McCain, because I think the country would be better off..."
"I’ve been calling for more troops for over two years, along with John McCain and others subsequent to my saying that."
"'My impression is [Obama] thinks that if we leave, somehow the Iraqis are going to have an epiphany” of peaceful coexistence among warring sects. 'I’ve seen zero evidence of that.'"
"The more people learn about them (Obama and Hillary) and how they handle the pressure, the more their support will evaporate."
Ironically, now that he's running against two senators, McCain and a non-career politician running mate could argue that they are the candidates for change.* Again the National Review forecasts what we'll be hearing daily for the next nine weeks:
"Before winning election to the Senate three-and-a-half decades ago—Biden ranks fourth in seniority among Democrats, sixth overall; how's that for a fresh face?—Biden practiced law for three years. That's it. Three years of fresh-out-of-law school practice represents the sum and total of Biden's profession experience before joining the Senate. [SVS: compare this to Meg Whitman, for example, being a self-made billionaire.]
"Obama-Biden? A candidate with an astonishingly thin professional background—Community organizer? Desultory lecturer in law school?—has just named as his running mate a man whose principal professional achievement is to have perfected his skills as a gasbag."
The Democrats just don't seem to get it. Yes, Biden would probably be a much better VP than Hillary, but there will be no O'Biden administration because the Democrats are horrible at playing the identity politics that win national elections.
The Economist sums up Obama's challenges well; it's conclusion is spot on:
"Most of all, [Obama] needs to spend those 68 days showing that he understands, and can connect with, ordinary Americans. The economy ought to be the Democrats’ trump card, just as security tends to be the Republicans’. But some of the most surprising recent polls show that Mr Obama is rated lower by voters on how he would handle the economy than is Mr McCain, who has admitted that he doesn’t know much about the subject. That may be because Mr Obama often sounds curiously disconnected from the troubles of anyone except America’s very poorest. Mrs Clinton was much better at empathising with middle America, and Mr Obama needs to show he has learnt from her.
"That could also help heal the wounds of the Democratic Party, which, after the bitter contest and Mr Obama’s narrow victory, are still raw. If the Democrats remain divided they will lose the presidency. Were that to happen, after Iraq, Katrina and an economic crisis, they might well want to consider an alternative line of work."
*I'm pretty sure JFK-LBJ is the only two-senator ticket to win. An interesting comparison--JFK selected LBJ to gain his Southern supporters; Obama chose not to go with Hillary to gain her supporters.Thursday, August 21, 2008
Losing Jesusland, 2008
On RealClearPolitics.com's Electoral Map with no toss-up states McCain just took the lead 274 to 264. That would give Obama all the Kerry/Edwards states plus Iowa and New Mexico. Sadly, that scenario seems likely to me (minus IA and NM, maybe). I just can't imagine the country that re-elected W voting for "a Black man whose whose middle name is Hussein and whose father was a Muslim." Based on lessons learned in 2004, policy differences and debates don't matter--image does. In the case of Bush, people voted for him because he reminded them of themselves or the people they wished they were: tough patriots of WWII or an industrial golden age, or cowboys even. The undecideds that Obama and McCain are fighting over right now? They're idiots. Policies don't matter, qualifications don't matter, Georgia sure as hell doesn't matter--they're going to vote for the guy who reminds them of themselves while the God formed in their own image smiles down on them from his harem in the sky.
And the media coverage is classic. Hagel or Luger as Obama's VP? How hard is it to check a Senator's voting record? They could hardly be more opposite.
The Obama campaign seems to go for the sensational stuff, so Ralph Nader might be right about Obama tipping Hillary for VP. All the scandals the news media would cook up about friction between Obama and the Clintons could be a good way to keep attention from McCain. That might give Obama a shot. The other person who might give Obama a chance is Al Gore. Gore has said he's staying out of politics to spend more time promoting public awareness and policy changes to address climate change. From a supposedly logical guy that's a pretty illogical stance. It's hard to imagine a more powerful base for a campaign against climate change than the White House. Also, Gore is a career politician from a political family. Surely he feels cheated by the disorganization and scandals of the Clinton administration and all the wasted potential. Perhaps he'd like a second chance? I hope so, but Gore is probably tired of playing for the losing team.
After giving it some more thought, I'd say Obama doesn't have a choice and has to go with Hillary--his only realistic option for a woman VP. If Obama goes with a man, McCain has a couple excellent choices for a female VP--former eBay CEO Meg Whitman or former HP CEO Carly Fiorina--game over for Obama without Hillary.
And the media coverage is classic. Hagel or Luger as Obama's VP? How hard is it to check a Senator's voting record? They could hardly be more opposite.
The Obama campaign seems to go for the sensational stuff, so Ralph Nader might be right about Obama tipping Hillary for VP. All the scandals the news media would cook up about friction between Obama and the Clintons could be a good way to keep attention from McCain. That might give Obama a shot. The other person who might give Obama a chance is Al Gore. Gore has said he's staying out of politics to spend more time promoting public awareness and policy changes to address climate change. From a supposedly logical guy that's a pretty illogical stance. It's hard to imagine a more powerful base for a campaign against climate change than the White House. Also, Gore is a career politician from a political family. Surely he feels cheated by the disorganization and scandals of the Clinton administration and all the wasted potential. Perhaps he'd like a second chance? I hope so, but Gore is probably tired of playing for the losing team.
After giving it some more thought, I'd say Obama doesn't have a choice and has to go with Hillary--his only realistic option for a woman VP. If Obama goes with a man, McCain has a couple excellent choices for a female VP--former eBay CEO Meg Whitman or former HP CEO Carly Fiorina--game over for Obama without Hillary.
Monkey news
What a joke. Top Stories from CNN today:
Not most emailed or most read--they must have been selected as Top Stories by an editor/producer. I haven't read any of them.
Not most emailed or most read--they must have been selected as Top Stories by an editor/producer. I haven't read any of them.
Saturday, August 9, 2008
Credit crisis sages and stooges
Fortune has an entertaining (god I'm lame) feature on people who predicted the credit crisis and those who didn't. I'm sure those who 'didn't' really did, but their jobs depend upon keeping investor/consumer confidence up. It's too bad Fortune didn't include individual wealth in the profiles. I'll bet the aggregate worth of the didn'ts is much higher than the dids.
Anti-inflation
Leslie's in the US and tells me I should be glad I'm not there to witness the endless coverage of Obama's tire gauge remark. Here's a good Paul Krugman editorial on the subject.
"...know-nothingism — the insistence that there are simple, brute-force, instant-gratification answers to every problem, and that there’s something effeminate and weak about anyone who suggests otherwise — has become the core of Republican policy and political strategy. The party’s de facto slogan has become: 'Real men don’t think things through.'"
The McCain campaign has definitely gained momentum with new oil wells versus tire gauges and I'm not surprised--I just hope it doesn't end up being a turning point this election year. What's a better political strategy, creating the perception that lower fuel prices are ahead or appealing to American resourcefulness and social conscientiousness?
It would be great to see Obama both stick to his guns and strike back with something unexpected, even if unrealistic, such as tax credits for using public transportation or vehicle maintenance and upgrades.
Friday, August 8, 2008
The Hollow Men
The Big Picture blog at boston.com has a spectacular photo series of the Large Hadron Collider. There are many other series in this blog worth checking out.
"The Large Hadron Collider (LHC), a 27 kilometer (17 mile) long particle accelerator straddling the border of Switzerland and France, is nearly set to begin its first particle beam tests. The European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) is preparing for its first small tests in early August, leading to a planned full-track test in September - and the first planned particle collisions before the end of the year. The final step before starting is the chilling of the entire collider to -271.25 C (-456.25 F)."
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