From a correspondent in Denver:
Your dire predictions about Hillary supporters did not materialize....did you hear how the role call vote went? I was in the hall - it was amazing. Arkansas led the way with a gracious statement calling Hillary an "adopted daughter" and then calling for unity and casting all its votes for Obama. New Hampshire, New Jersey graciously and admirably followed suit. Then New Mexico ceded to Illinois, who presumably would put Obama over the top. THEN Illinois ceded to New York, Hillary marched up the aisle to surprise and delight of all, and moved to stop the voting and nominate Obama by acclaimation...(some parliamentary thing) - she could not have shown more leadership to support Obama and the hall erupted! It was a big surprise and wonderful.
And, in the stadium last night with 80,000+ people crying and cheering for an African-American Presidential nominee on the anniversary of the "I have a dream" speech...well, I have never been so proud to be an American.
Friday, August 29, 2008
Thursday, August 28, 2008
Big Lie or Small Truths?
In this week's New Yorker, Hendrick Herzberg discusses what he calls the Big Lie, that Barack Obama " is a corrupt, enraged, anti-American, drug-dealing, anti-Israel, pseudo-Christian radical leftist, black militant, plagiarist, and liar, trained as a Muslim and mentored by a menagerie of Marxists, Communists, crypto-Communists, and terrorists. "
We deconstruct:
corrupt - he arranged for convicted Chicago fixer Tony Resko to purchase a plot of land next to his million dollar house.
enraged - have you been to his Fight the Smears web site? I'd say he's enraged.
anti-American - maybe a little bit, we've reported that here.
drug-dealing - Obama has fessed to doing drugs but not to dealing them but that's often a thin line (and a bad coke pun).
anti-Israel - he has said a couple of nice things about Palestine so he'll have to concede that.
pseudo-Christian - as are half to three-quarters of the people who sit in Church each Sunday.
radical leftist - that just goes with saying he is a community organizer.
black militant - perhaps that's only a half truth.
plagiarist - his speechwriters were plagiarists which is not quite the same thing.
liar - he's a politician, what do you expect?
trained as a Muslim - he did go to grade school in a muslim country, and read up on Malcolm X.
mentored by a menagerie of Marxists, Communists, crypto-Communists, and terrorists - he went to Harvard Law School in the late 1980s so he'll have to concede that one too.
Tuesday, August 26, 2008
Deconstructing Nancy Pelosi
Speaking at the Democratic National Convention in Denver last night, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi outlined how proud she is of her Congress. Apparently the Democratic Party is not so proud, because they put her on early when a lot of her consituents in California were probably not yet home from work. We did a little deconstruction of her list of accomplishments:
(1) Passed the 9/11 Commission recommendations to protect the American people. - I feel safer already.
(2) Helped rebuild the Gulf Coast for the survivors of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. - Rebuilt the Gulf Coast? That will be news to New Orleans. Oh, right, New Orleans is inland and not on the coast.
(3) Put recovery rebates into the hands of more than 130 million families. - The tax rebate George W. Bush asked you to give? Way to take credit.
(4) Passed legislation to keep hard-working American families in their homes and to keep toxic toys out of the hands of our children. - What about the many Americans who are finding it hard to find work?
(5) Increased the minimum wage for the first time in ten years. - And how much per hour is that minimum wage?
(6) Improved fuel efficiency for the first time in 32 years. - I'm still driving the same car as two years ago. It's not very efficient but I don't drive it very much. You pass a long calling for improved fuel effeciency and you think you've improved it.
(7) Passed the largest college aid expansion since the G.I. Bill 64 years ago. - And yet there is a student loan lending crisis this fall.
(8) Passed the largest veterans’ health care funding in the 77 year history of the Veterans Administration. - Largest? I'd like to see that on an inflation-adjusted basis.
(9) Enacted a new G.I. Bill to thank our veterans from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan by sending them to college. - I'll be watching for returning Iraq and Afghanistan veterans in Harvard Square.
No number 10? Better get back to work.
(1) Passed the 9/11 Commission recommendations to protect the American people. - I feel safer already.
(2) Helped rebuild the Gulf Coast for the survivors of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. - Rebuilt the Gulf Coast? That will be news to New Orleans. Oh, right, New Orleans is inland and not on the coast.
(3) Put recovery rebates into the hands of more than 130 million families. - The tax rebate George W. Bush asked you to give? Way to take credit.
(4) Passed legislation to keep hard-working American families in their homes and to keep toxic toys out of the hands of our children. - What about the many Americans who are finding it hard to find work?
(5) Increased the minimum wage for the first time in ten years. - And how much per hour is that minimum wage?
(6) Improved fuel efficiency for the first time in 32 years. - I'm still driving the same car as two years ago. It's not very efficient but I don't drive it very much. You pass a long calling for improved fuel effeciency and you think you've improved it.
(7) Passed the largest college aid expansion since the G.I. Bill 64 years ago. - And yet there is a student loan lending crisis this fall.
(8) Passed the largest veterans’ health care funding in the 77 year history of the Veterans Administration. - Largest? I'd like to see that on an inflation-adjusted basis.
(9) Enacted a new G.I. Bill to thank our veterans from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan by sending them to college. - I'll be watching for returning Iraq and Afghanistan veterans in Harvard Square.
No number 10? Better get back to work.
Four Great Questions Defining the American Dream
Speaking last night at the Democratic National Convention in Denver, former Iowa Congressman Jim Leach outlined four great questions that define the American Dream:
(1) Whether a country could be established based on The Rights of Man - Thomas Jefferson
(2) Whether The Rights of Man applied to individuals who were neither pale nor male - Abraham Lincoln.
(3) Whether rights are fully meaningful if all citizens are not given a chance to succeed and provide for their families, the question of opportunity - Franklin Roosevelt and Ronald Reagan.
(4) Whether any rights are possible without peace and environmental security, which acquired grim relevance with the dawn of the nuclear age.
Leach suggests the fourth question is the question for our time, and put forth Barack Obama as the progressive leader who may answer it. But he also forcefully rejected his own Republican Party of today:
"The party that once emphasized individual rights has gravitated in recent years toward regulating values. The party of military responsibility has taken us to war with a country that did not attack us. The party that formerly led the world in arms control has moved to undercut treaties crucial to the defense of the earth. The party that prides itself on conservation has abdicated its responsibilities in the face of global warming. And the party historically anchored in fiscal restraint has nearly doubled the national debt, squandering our precious resources in an undisciplined and unprecedented effort to finance a war with tax cuts."
(1) Whether a country could be established based on The Rights of Man - Thomas Jefferson
(2) Whether The Rights of Man applied to individuals who were neither pale nor male - Abraham Lincoln.
(3) Whether rights are fully meaningful if all citizens are not given a chance to succeed and provide for their families, the question of opportunity - Franklin Roosevelt and Ronald Reagan.
(4) Whether any rights are possible without peace and environmental security, which acquired grim relevance with the dawn of the nuclear age.
Leach suggests the fourth question is the question for our time, and put forth Barack Obama as the progressive leader who may answer it. But he also forcefully rejected his own Republican Party of today:
"The party that once emphasized individual rights has gravitated in recent years toward regulating values. The party of military responsibility has taken us to war with a country that did not attack us. The party that formerly led the world in arms control has moved to undercut treaties crucial to the defense of the earth. The party that prides itself on conservation has abdicated its responsibilities in the face of global warming. And the party historically anchored in fiscal restraint has nearly doubled the national debt, squandering our precious resources in an undisciplined and unprecedented effort to finance a war with tax cuts."
Monday, August 25, 2008
16 Things to Ponder in Denver
Reasons Joe Biden is a bad choice for Vice President:
(1) Almost anyone else on the rumored VP short list would have been a better choice: Senator and former Governor from Indiana Evan Bayh, Virginia Governor Tim Kaine, and Texas Congressman Chet Edwards. We say that with confidence and don’t even know who that Edwards is.
(2) Hillary Clinton would have been a better choice. Barack does not need Hillary Clinton but he does need her voters. It is hard to see how Biden helps, particularly when in his first speech as presumptive VP nominee he describes his wife Jill as “drop dead gorgeous” and adds “she also has her doctorate degree, which is a problem.” Can you be any more patronizing to women voters? Word is that Hillary wasn’t even officially vetted for the VP slot. Yes, you can be more patronizing.
(3) It is going to take all of Hillary Clinton’s skill to prevent her delegates from revolting on the floor of the convention in Denver. They want to put her name in nomination for President. They may also want to put her name in nomination for Vice President. And Hillary isn’t going to get any credit for the hard work of tamping that down. Beware the puma, also known as a cougar, a large wild cat native to the mountains around Denver.
(4) Former Virginia Governor Mark Warner would have been a better choice and may have turned Barack down. Same for Virginia Senator Jim Webb, Ohio Governor Ted Strickland, and Kansas Governor Kathleen Sebelius. Warner will be giving the keynote address in Denver.
(5) Barack spent the summer going out on campaign dates with Hillary Clinton and flirting with his VP short list and others. The problem is he was also flirting with the voters in those states. Indiana has already gone back from the blue state to red state column in the polls. Ohio is also back in the red state column. Expect the “tie” in the Virginia polls to evaporate. Nobody likes a flirt.
(6) Name one state that Biden is going to help Obama win. His home state of Delaware? Obama was already going to win Delaware. Pennsylvania? Hillary Clinton would have helped him win Pennsylvania.
(7) They’ll call this the “never was really even a lawyer” ticket. Barack graduated from Law School in 1991, published his first book in 1995, and got elected to the Illinois legislature in 1996. He never really had a real job, which we admire very much except not in our candidates for President. Joe Biden graduated from law school in 1968, was admitted to the bar in 1969, and was elected to the United States Senate just shy of his 30th birthday in 1972 (barely 30 when sworn in accordance with the Constitution). He also never really had a real job.
(8) They’ll call this the “prep school ticket.” Joe Biden went to Archmere Academy where tuition for the 2008-2009 school year is $18,450. Barack Obama went to Punahou School where tuition is $16,675 for the 2008-2009 school year. Neither supports tuition vouchers to help middle and working class parents send their kids to private school too. Maybe they know their private schools would just raise their tuition to keep the riff-raff out.
(9) They’ll call this the “plagiarism ticket.” Barack Obama took some flak this past spring when passages in his speeches were discovered to be similar to speeches by Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick. Joe Biden was forced to drop his own first presidential bid in September 1987 when his speechwriters were caught feeding him material from British Labour Party Leader Neil Kinnock.
(10) They’ll call this the Obama bin Biden ticket, which isn’t any less fair than "General Petraeus or General Betray Us."
(11) We liked that Barack Obama had been consistently against the Iraq war, and had the guts to say so from the very beginning. We know why George W. Bush and the Republican Party supported the Iraq war. We don’t know why Democrats like Joe Biden and John Kerry supported the war, and then were nowhere to be seen after they had helped get us into it. You sold us that it was bipartisan, and then for us it was “where did everybody go?” Joe Lieberman stayed with us, and you punished him for that. Hillary Clinton stayed with us, and you punished her. We punished John Kerry. What makes you think we won’t punish Joe Biden too?
(12) Gallia est omnis divisa in partes tres and lebensraum. Biden’s one big contribution to resolving the threat of civil war in Iraq was a proposal splitting Iraq in three so that Kurds, Shiites, and Sunnis could have "breathing room in their own regions” (this page seems to have been yanked from Biden’s web site while this was being edited, but we found the cached page). His plan would have undoubtedly forced minorities from the other groups in each of those regions to move to their assigned region, ethnic cleansing in other words. Should we wonder if Biden is plagiarizing “breathing room” from Mein Kampf? This is not 1938.
(13) I took note watching the Saddlebrook debate last weekend when Barack Obama singled out as unqualified Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, only the second African American to serve on the Supreme Court. I don’t think the public has entirely forgotten that Joe Biden was the guy who ran the circus called hearings designed to smear Clarence Thomas and embarrass him into withdrawing his nomination. And I remember Joe Biden’s “clean” remark in the 2008 primary campaign which seemed to insult not only Barack Obama, but also Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson. What will Karl Rove do with that? Maybe he’ll take his cue from Tracy Morgan as Tracy Jordan on that spring episode of 30 Rock: “Black people, don't vote! Just don't do it!”
(14) The political pros say the VP choice is the first Presidential decision. I’m afraid with this choice that Barack has decided to abandon his progressive message of hope and change.
(15) The political pros also say people don’t vote for a VP choice. Barack has to hope they don’t vote against one either.
(16) Remember John Kerry, Al Gore, Mike Dukakis, Walter Mondale, George McGovern, Hubert Humphrey, and Adlai Stevenson? They made poor choices for VP too.
(1) Almost anyone else on the rumored VP short list would have been a better choice: Senator and former Governor from Indiana Evan Bayh, Virginia Governor Tim Kaine, and Texas Congressman Chet Edwards. We say that with confidence and don’t even know who that Edwards is.
(2) Hillary Clinton would have been a better choice. Barack does not need Hillary Clinton but he does need her voters. It is hard to see how Biden helps, particularly when in his first speech as presumptive VP nominee he describes his wife Jill as “drop dead gorgeous” and adds “she also has her doctorate degree, which is a problem.” Can you be any more patronizing to women voters? Word is that Hillary wasn’t even officially vetted for the VP slot. Yes, you can be more patronizing.
(3) It is going to take all of Hillary Clinton’s skill to prevent her delegates from revolting on the floor of the convention in Denver. They want to put her name in nomination for President. They may also want to put her name in nomination for Vice President. And Hillary isn’t going to get any credit for the hard work of tamping that down. Beware the puma, also known as a cougar, a large wild cat native to the mountains around Denver.
(4) Former Virginia Governor Mark Warner would have been a better choice and may have turned Barack down. Same for Virginia Senator Jim Webb, Ohio Governor Ted Strickland, and Kansas Governor Kathleen Sebelius. Warner will be giving the keynote address in Denver.
(5) Barack spent the summer going out on campaign dates with Hillary Clinton and flirting with his VP short list and others. The problem is he was also flirting with the voters in those states. Indiana has already gone back from the blue state to red state column in the polls. Ohio is also back in the red state column. Expect the “tie” in the Virginia polls to evaporate. Nobody likes a flirt.
(6) Name one state that Biden is going to help Obama win. His home state of Delaware? Obama was already going to win Delaware. Pennsylvania? Hillary Clinton would have helped him win Pennsylvania.
(7) They’ll call this the “never was really even a lawyer” ticket. Barack graduated from Law School in 1991, published his first book in 1995, and got elected to the Illinois legislature in 1996. He never really had a real job, which we admire very much except not in our candidates for President. Joe Biden graduated from law school in 1968, was admitted to the bar in 1969, and was elected to the United States Senate just shy of his 30th birthday in 1972 (barely 30 when sworn in accordance with the Constitution). He also never really had a real job.
(8) They’ll call this the “prep school ticket.” Joe Biden went to Archmere Academy where tuition for the 2008-2009 school year is $18,450. Barack Obama went to Punahou School where tuition is $16,675 for the 2008-2009 school year. Neither supports tuition vouchers to help middle and working class parents send their kids to private school too. Maybe they know their private schools would just raise their tuition to keep the riff-raff out.
(9) They’ll call this the “plagiarism ticket.” Barack Obama took some flak this past spring when passages in his speeches were discovered to be similar to speeches by Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick. Joe Biden was forced to drop his own first presidential bid in September 1987 when his speechwriters were caught feeding him material from British Labour Party Leader Neil Kinnock.
(10) They’ll call this the Obama bin Biden ticket, which isn’t any less fair than "General Petraeus or General Betray Us."
(11) We liked that Barack Obama had been consistently against the Iraq war, and had the guts to say so from the very beginning. We know why George W. Bush and the Republican Party supported the Iraq war. We don’t know why Democrats like Joe Biden and John Kerry supported the war, and then were nowhere to be seen after they had helped get us into it. You sold us that it was bipartisan, and then for us it was “where did everybody go?” Joe Lieberman stayed with us, and you punished him for that. Hillary Clinton stayed with us, and you punished her. We punished John Kerry. What makes you think we won’t punish Joe Biden too?
(12) Gallia est omnis divisa in partes tres and lebensraum. Biden’s one big contribution to resolving the threat of civil war in Iraq was a proposal splitting Iraq in three so that Kurds, Shiites, and Sunnis could have "breathing room in their own regions” (this page seems to have been yanked from Biden’s web site while this was being edited, but we found the cached page). His plan would have undoubtedly forced minorities from the other groups in each of those regions to move to their assigned region, ethnic cleansing in other words. Should we wonder if Biden is plagiarizing “breathing room” from Mein Kampf? This is not 1938.
(13) I took note watching the Saddlebrook debate last weekend when Barack Obama singled out as unqualified Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, only the second African American to serve on the Supreme Court. I don’t think the public has entirely forgotten that Joe Biden was the guy who ran the circus called hearings designed to smear Clarence Thomas and embarrass him into withdrawing his nomination. And I remember Joe Biden’s “clean” remark in the 2008 primary campaign which seemed to insult not only Barack Obama, but also Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson. What will Karl Rove do with that? Maybe he’ll take his cue from Tracy Morgan as Tracy Jordan on that spring episode of 30 Rock: “Black people, don't vote! Just don't do it!”
(14) The political pros say the VP choice is the first Presidential decision. I’m afraid with this choice that Barack has decided to abandon his progressive message of hope and change.
(15) The political pros also say people don’t vote for a VP choice. Barack has to hope they don’t vote against one either.
(16) Remember John Kerry, Al Gore, Mike Dukakis, Walter Mondale, George McGovern, Hubert Humphrey, and Adlai Stevenson? They made poor choices for VP too.
Sunday, August 24, 2008
Joe Biden, You Can't Make This Stuff Up
Your boys look awfully muddy like they fell down in it. But I dont see any mud in their uncombed hair. We got this picture off your own web site, so don't accuse us of doctoring it.
Denver Convention Schedule
Highlights for the Democratic National Convention in Denver:
Monday 8/25:
Michelle Obama
Maya Soetero-Ng (Barack Obama’s sister)
Craig Robinson (Michelle Obama’s older brother)
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi
Tribute to Senator Ted Kennedy
Tuesday 8/26:
New York Senator Hillary Clinton
Former Virginia Governor Mark Warner (keynote address)
Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick
Kansas Governor Kathleen Sebelius
Ohio Governor Ted Strickland
Iowa Governor Chet Culver
DC Representative Eleanor Holmes Norton
Wednesday 8/27:
Delaware Senator Joe Biden (VP nominee)
Former President Bill Clinton
Governor Bill Richardson
Indiana Senator Evan Bayh
Massachusetts Senator John Kerry
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid
Chicago Mayor Richard Daley
Tribute to veterans, active duty military and their families.
Thursday 8/28:
Colorado Governor Bill Ritter
Former Vice President Al Gore
Senator Barack Obama (acceptance speech)
Monday 8/25:
Michelle Obama
Maya Soetero-Ng (Barack Obama’s sister)
Craig Robinson (Michelle Obama’s older brother)
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi
Tribute to Senator Ted Kennedy
Tuesday 8/26:
New York Senator Hillary Clinton
Former Virginia Governor Mark Warner (keynote address)
Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick
Kansas Governor Kathleen Sebelius
Ohio Governor Ted Strickland
Iowa Governor Chet Culver
DC Representative Eleanor Holmes Norton
Wednesday 8/27:
Delaware Senator Joe Biden (VP nominee)
Former President Bill Clinton
Governor Bill Richardson
Indiana Senator Evan Bayh
Massachusetts Senator John Kerry
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid
Chicago Mayor Richard Daley
Tribute to veterans, active duty military and their families.
Thursday 8/28:
Colorado Governor Bill Ritter
Former Vice President Al Gore
Senator Barack Obama (acceptance speech)
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