House republicans are blaming the bailout failure on a speech Nancy Pelosi gave prior to the vote. According to Minority Leader John Boehner (R-OH): ""We could have gotten here today had it not been for a partisan speech on the floor of the House."
Are you FUCKING KIDDING ME? House republicans decided to kill the bill because Nancy Pelosi said some mean things about them? The economy is tanking and the reason the republicans give for failing to provide the votes they promised to (and McCain claimed credit for delivering earlier in the day) is that the Speaker of the House said some partisan things? What the fuck? That's one of the most reckless and appalling justifications I've ever heard. The bill may be crap (probably is), but have the balls to say it. Don't spout some baby bullshit that you voted against the most important bill of the year because your feelings were hurt. Just disgusting.
Monday, September 29, 2008
Friday, September 26, 2008
The Bailout
No, not that bailout. I'm talking about the coordinated bailout of John McCain's floundering presidential campaign. Here's how it has works:
(1) McCain's poll numbers tank. Wednesday, the Washington Post had McCain down 9. Fox news had McCain polling under 40%. Obama up in traditionally red states like Colorado, Virginia, and North Carolina.
(2) The economy, quite understandably, dominates the news and the election. Polls all show that the electorate strongly prefers Obama on the economy. McCain has been utterly incapable of gaining any kind of traction on the issue or of offering a coherent message ("The fundamentals of the economy are strong;" "Fire the SEC Chairman! What, you mean the president doesn't have that authority? Well, I'd make him resign then;" "We're facing a historic crisis!" Seriously, the dude's been all over the place.)
(3) Congress appears on its way to crafting a bipartisan financial bailout plan.
(4) McCain, unable to gain any traction, and floudering in the polls (largely because people prefer Obama on the economy), has to find a way to make himself appear stronger on the economy.
(5) McCain suspends his campaign and pledges to devote all his energy to getting bailout plan in place.
(6) But, Congress is doing that already without him and announces a negotiated plan on Thursday, before McCain ever gets to D.C. Again, he's on the outside looking in.
(7) McCain contacts conservative house members who then announce that a plan is, in fact, not near. McCain stays silent. Mind you, the conservative wing had been silent on the issue and the negotiations prior to yesterday.
(8) McCain says nothing at the White House meeting while conservative house leaders scuttle the negotiated plan. Everything is back in turmoil and uncertainty.
That's where things stand now. Here's the end game:
(9) Congress furiously negotiates with the conservative wing today and some minor changes are made to the framework that was already in place. The conservatives concede and the plan is approved. Conservatives and McCain then scream to the rafters that McCain saved the day and brokered the new bailout plan. There would have been no plan without him! McCain is your economic savior! This has the added bonus of McCain being able to argue that he stood up to Bush. McCain then triumphantly shows up at the debate in Mississippi and claims full credit.
Viola! The conservatives orchestrate a massive bailout of McCain's campaign.
Hopefully, people will see through this charade if it plays out like that.
(1) McCain's poll numbers tank. Wednesday, the Washington Post had McCain down 9. Fox news had McCain polling under 40%. Obama up in traditionally red states like Colorado, Virginia, and North Carolina.
(2) The economy, quite understandably, dominates the news and the election. Polls all show that the electorate strongly prefers Obama on the economy. McCain has been utterly incapable of gaining any kind of traction on the issue or of offering a coherent message ("The fundamentals of the economy are strong;" "Fire the SEC Chairman! What, you mean the president doesn't have that authority? Well, I'd make him resign then;" "We're facing a historic crisis!" Seriously, the dude's been all over the place.)
(3) Congress appears on its way to crafting a bipartisan financial bailout plan.
(4) McCain, unable to gain any traction, and floudering in the polls (largely because people prefer Obama on the economy), has to find a way to make himself appear stronger on the economy.
(5) McCain suspends his campaign and pledges to devote all his energy to getting bailout plan in place.
(6) But, Congress is doing that already without him and announces a negotiated plan on Thursday, before McCain ever gets to D.C. Again, he's on the outside looking in.
(7) McCain contacts conservative house members who then announce that a plan is, in fact, not near. McCain stays silent. Mind you, the conservative wing had been silent on the issue and the negotiations prior to yesterday.
(8) McCain says nothing at the White House meeting while conservative house leaders scuttle the negotiated plan. Everything is back in turmoil and uncertainty.
That's where things stand now. Here's the end game:
(9) Congress furiously negotiates with the conservative wing today and some minor changes are made to the framework that was already in place. The conservatives concede and the plan is approved. Conservatives and McCain then scream to the rafters that McCain saved the day and brokered the new bailout plan. There would have been no plan without him! McCain is your economic savior! This has the added bonus of McCain being able to argue that he stood up to Bush. McCain then triumphantly shows up at the debate in Mississippi and claims full credit.
Viola! The conservatives orchestrate a massive bailout of McCain's campaign.
Hopefully, people will see through this charade if it plays out like that.
John McCain's Farce
The following from the New York Times account of yesterday's White House meeting should put to rest any doubt that McCain's dramatic campaign "suspension"* and return to Washington to deal with the financial crisis was anything but a political ploy:
"Mr. McCain was at one end of the long conference table, Mr. Obama at the other, with the president and senior Congressional leaders between them. Participants said Mr. Obama peppered Mr. Paulson with questions, while Mr. McCain said little."
That's all you need to know. McCain pushed for this meeting and then sat there and said nothing while the conservative House delegation effectively scuttled the bailout framework** that Congressional leaders had been negotiating for days. By all accounts, McCain didn't even offer up a personal opinion as to whether he preferred the negotiated deal or the conservative alternative proposal. He just sat there and let the process unravel. Note that Obama, once again, comes across as the reasonable, responsible, adult in the process. He's engaged, wants information, but refuses to inject presidential politics into delicate negotiations he has not been at all involved in.
So, McCain announces Wednesday night that he's "suspending" his campaign and immediately returning to D.C. Except that he first must tape an interview with CBS (designed, I think, to limit fallout from Palin's disastrous train-wreck of an interview with Katie Couric). Then, yesterday morning, McCain finds the time to tape interviews with all the major networks and personally attend the Clinton Global Initiative. The financial crisis, evidently, can wait for his personal involvement. A bipartisan framework and set of principals is announced prior to his arrival in D.C. Then, he says nothing at the meeting he insisted upon having at the White House. The deal falls apart. McCain does interviews for all the major networks, blames Obama, and doesn't offer up any proposals or alternatives.
Yup. That's exactly the kind of leadership the situation demanded and required. Rather than provide any real leadership, McCain has injected himself and gummed up a process that was progressing along just fine without him. All the while without clearly expressing what he wants. Way to go, John!
*I use fun scare quotes because it's clear McCain never suspended his campaign. Advertisements were up an running (yes, it's a bitch to take down nationwide advertising), he was still conducting interview after interview after interview, Palin held a rally at the Philly airport, his surrogates were all over the news attacking Obama, etc, etc, etc.
**I'm not expressing an opinion on the merits of the negotiated framework. I think that any plan generated in response to the crisis will be flawed. The key is to limit the flaws as much as possible and implement as many provisions for transparency, accountability, and tax payer protection as possible (say strong oversight and an equity stake in the companies that participate in the bailout). I'm only commenting on the absurd and transparently political actions of McCain in response to the situation.
"Mr. McCain was at one end of the long conference table, Mr. Obama at the other, with the president and senior Congressional leaders between them. Participants said Mr. Obama peppered Mr. Paulson with questions, while Mr. McCain said little."
That's all you need to know. McCain pushed for this meeting and then sat there and said nothing while the conservative House delegation effectively scuttled the bailout framework** that Congressional leaders had been negotiating for days. By all accounts, McCain didn't even offer up a personal opinion as to whether he preferred the negotiated deal or the conservative alternative proposal. He just sat there and let the process unravel. Note that Obama, once again, comes across as the reasonable, responsible, adult in the process. He's engaged, wants information, but refuses to inject presidential politics into delicate negotiations he has not been at all involved in.
So, McCain announces Wednesday night that he's "suspending" his campaign and immediately returning to D.C. Except that he first must tape an interview with CBS (designed, I think, to limit fallout from Palin's disastrous train-wreck of an interview with Katie Couric). Then, yesterday morning, McCain finds the time to tape interviews with all the major networks and personally attend the Clinton Global Initiative. The financial crisis, evidently, can wait for his personal involvement. A bipartisan framework and set of principals is announced prior to his arrival in D.C. Then, he says nothing at the meeting he insisted upon having at the White House. The deal falls apart. McCain does interviews for all the major networks, blames Obama, and doesn't offer up any proposals or alternatives.
Yup. That's exactly the kind of leadership the situation demanded and required. Rather than provide any real leadership, McCain has injected himself and gummed up a process that was progressing along just fine without him. All the while without clearly expressing what he wants. Way to go, John!
*I use fun scare quotes because it's clear McCain never suspended his campaign. Advertisements were up an running (yes, it's a bitch to take down nationwide advertising), he was still conducting interview after interview after interview, Palin held a rally at the Philly airport, his surrogates were all over the news attacking Obama, etc, etc, etc.
**I'm not expressing an opinion on the merits of the negotiated framework. I think that any plan generated in response to the crisis will be flawed. The key is to limit the flaws as much as possible and implement as many provisions for transparency, accountability, and tax payer protection as possible (say strong oversight and an equity stake in the companies that participate in the bailout). I'm only commenting on the absurd and transparently political actions of McCain in response to the situation.
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
Blog Chain Mail
Paul has been exploring weighty issues. Now I'll introduce some frivolous ones.
Jess, this is for you. Answers to the Blog Chain mail you tagged me with...
1. Where were you 10 years ago? I guess I was starting my sophomore year of college, as mind-boggling as that passage of time is. I remember I had a very moody start to my sophomore year (sophomore slump, mayhap), but on the plus side of sophomore fall, I met one of my dearest friends, Kate, that fall when she became my other dear friend Jake's girlfriend. (Now they are married.)
2. What's on your to-do list today? I am through my to-do list for today! I taught today.
4. Name 5 places that you have lived?
5. What are 3 bad habits that you have?
Oh, I am hungry...Salty snacks!
Jess, this is for you. Answers to the Blog Chain mail you tagged me with...
1. Where were you 10 years ago? I guess I was starting my sophomore year of college, as mind-boggling as that passage of time is. I remember I had a very moody start to my sophomore year (sophomore slump, mayhap), but on the plus side of sophomore fall, I met one of my dearest friends, Kate, that fall when she became my other dear friend Jake's girlfriend. (Now they are married.)
2. What's on your to-do list today? I am through my to-do list for today! I taught today.
3. What if you were a billionaire? This is kind of a dopey question. Or at least phrased in a dopey way. It seems like a section of it is left out. What would I do if I were a billionaire? What would the effect on the world order be if I were a millionaire? (Of course, I would aspire to world domination.) "If I were a rich girl . . . "
4. Name 5 places that you have lived?
-Princeton, NJ (blue)
-Sea Girt, NJ (blue)
-Brooklyn, NY (blue)
-Cambridge, MA (blue)
-Columbia, SC (red)-Sea Girt, NJ (blue)
-Brooklyn, NY (blue)
-Cambridge, MA (blue)
5. What are 3 bad habits that you have?
Not sure I should answer this one in a public forum...
Nail-biting.
Foot-tapping.
Jewelry-fidgeting
6. What kind of snack do you like?Nail-biting.
Foot-tapping.
Jewelry-fidgeting
Oh, I am hungry...Salty snacks!
Tuesday, September 9, 2008
Rhetorical Questions
One of the first things Sarah Palin did as mayor of her hometown was to seek out the public librarian and ask how she could go about banning books. The librarian refused to ban any books. Palin threatened to fire the librarian for failing to show her "full support," but, ultimately, did not fire her and no books were banned. Yesterday, the McCain camp issued a memo stating that the question "was a rhetorical question -- nothing more."
First, who the hell asks a rhetorical question about banning books?
Second, was the threat to fire the librarian rhetorical, too?
First, who the hell asks a rhetorical question about banning books?
Second, was the threat to fire the librarian rhetorical, too?
Deference???
It is now about a week and a half since McCain picked Palin as his VP nominee and she has yet to take questions from reporters. Actually, I'm not giving her enough credit. She did field one question from an Alaskan reporter who wanted to know if Palin was still there for Alaska. That's it. We still know nothing about any of her policy positions. She has not answered a single question about her abuse of power while in Alaska. She has not answered a single question about her repeated exaggerations and outright lies on the campaign trail about her "opposition" to the Bridge to Nowhere (she favored it and only tepidly opposed it when Congress would no longer fund it. She kept the $223 millions the Feds earmarked for the project, though, and used it as she saw fit) and earmarks (see previous parenthetical along with Palin's extraordinary success at securing federal money as mayor and then governor). Now comes word that Palin will sit down several times over the course of two days (who is she, some kind of celebrity???) with ABC's Charlie Gibson. The announcement, of course, came one day after Gibson stated that questions about Palin's personal life and associations (think nutty churches and the secessionist Alaska Independence Party) should be off-limits. So, Gibson got the interview after he announced that he'd treat Palin with kid gloves. Excellent. In a rare example of honesty, McCain's campaign manager, Rick Davis, stated on one of the Sunday news shows that Palin wouldn't deal with the press until they showed "her some level of respect and deference." So there you have it. McCain made a reckless and dangerous selection in tapping a complete unknown (after performing virtually no vetting) and now he refuses to allow the public to find out just who she is (and, ultimately, what a tremendous mistake he made) unless the press agrees to grovel and only ask nice questions. Un-fucking-believable. McCain's complete disdain for the American people is appalling. And the sad thing is that it might actually work.
These are the sort of thoughts that can ruin a week in Charleston. Bah.
These are the sort of thoughts that can ruin a week in Charleston. Bah.
Tuesday, September 2, 2008
Country First
John McCain has made "Country First" the rallying slogan of his campaign. He has explicitly attacked Barack Obama for preferring to "lose a war than lose a campaign" and for placing his personal ambition above the nation's safety. According to McCain, this is a perilous time for the nation, one rife with grave national security threats. The next president will have to deal with (likely) troop withdrawal from Iraq, continued prosecution of the global war on terror in Afghanistan (and, likely, elsewhere), an unstable Pakistan, the growing threat of Iran, an increasingly frisky and testy Russia, and, of course, the continued rise of China. Scary stuff requirng a strong national security and foreign policy president. How, then, do we square that with McCain's selection of Alaska governor Sarah Palin to be his vice president, one 72-year old heartbeat from being the most powerful person in the world?
The answer is we don't.
McCain's selection of Palin is completely indefensible, reckless, impulsive, and, ultimately, dangerous. Fundamentally, this is all about McCain's judgment. Palin has been governor of Alaska, one of the smallest (by population) states in the country for a little over a year and a half. Prior to that she served as mayor of a town of approximately 6,500 residents. She has no expressed foreign policy position. Worse, she has previously exhibited zero interest in foreign policy issues. Likewise, she has shown scant interest in national domestic policy. This is the person that McCain thinks is best suited to tackle the thicket of national security issues we face? Really? The proposition is patently laughable, made all the more so by lame attempts to argue that Alaska's proximity to Russia and her titular command of the Alaska National Guard somehow qualify as relevant and powerful foreign policy qualifications.
This laughable proposition is made terrifying by the very legitimate concerns about McCain's age. He's a 72-year old cancer survivor who lost five and a half years as a POW (had you heard he was a POW? He never speaks of it). If elected, he would be the oldest first term president in history. It is not unreasonable to worry that he might not make it through his first term. Therefore, McCain's VP is especially important. That he saw fit to select someone so bereft of suitable experience, or even interest in issues of importance, speaks volumes about McCain's arrogance and poor judgment.
Frankly, there is so much to this pick that offends and I'm in danger of turning this into a rambling, rant-y, mess. So, time for fun with bullets!
- Pro creationism in public schools
- Thinks the most important thing about the Iraq war and the Surge is that our leaders are following "God's plan."
- Abuse of power: Troopergate, fired a slew of public officials when she became mayor of her hometown because she could tell that they weren't sufficiently "loyal."
- Tried to fire the public librarian because she wouldn't censor books Palin found offensive.
- Lied about her courageous fight against the pork-bellied "Bridge to Nowhere"
There are many more of these kinds of fun tidbits. To reiterate, lest the point be lost, this is not to rail against Palin. This is to rail against McCain and his complete lack of judgment. It's abundantly clear that he didn't properly vet her and that he had no clue who this person was prior to picking her. He closed his eyes, blew on the dice, and hoped he rolled a seven. Clearly, however, he crapped out.
Monday, September 1, 2008
A New Beginning
With the wedding, honeymoon, and summer behind us, we thought it would be a good idea to take the virtual eraser to our interweby blackboard and start anew. We hope to post updates on our lives, travels, and tastes, as well as random thoughts on entertainment, politics, culture, and whatever else strikes our fancy. We hope you enjoy!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)