Why doesn’t this happen more often, on more issues?

Vice President Biden takes to the pages of today’s NYT, defending the administration’s stimulus spending. In doing so, he writes: … the [Recovery Act] was intended to provide steady support for our economy over an extended period — not a jolt that would last only a few months. Ed Morrissey, with a little help from others, jumps on this dismissal of “jolt” as a descriptor of the Recovery Act’s intent — and cites multiple prior instances when Biden and his...

This shout-out goes to one of TMV’s very own, Dennis Sanders, in his post published earlier today on the Gates-Crowley kerfuffle: I have long believed that liberals tend to be too sensitive on racial issues, to the point that no one can talk about them or they become excuses for people of color to indulge in victimhood. But I also think that conservatives tend to be too dull to the experience of blacks in America and the scars that we still carry with us concerning the legacy of racism. White...

Consistent with memes given voice in David Brooks’ column yesterday — ref. here and here — the WaPo’s Michael Gerson writes: It is difficult to imagine that an overwhelmingly Democratic Congress will do nothing on health reform. But as deadlines slip, and moderate arguments gain in momentum, the legislation is likely to disappoint liberal Democrats in several ways. William Galston of the Brookings Institution — who kept an eye on moderate congressional opinion as part...

Playing Solomon, Rep. Tim Ryan (D-OH) suggests flexibility on insurance coverage of abortions as one possible compromise to a heated meme in the reform debate. Elsewhere, Conor Friedersdorf suggests that rather than taxing the rich to be pay for health care reform, why not simply “un-support” them? (Note to Conor: Intriguing idea, but just in case no one else nitpicks it: I think those “vouchers to subsidize the cost of transitioning to digital television” are no longer...

I’m guessing the good folks at CNBC are more than slightly concerned that the recent agreement between California’s governor and legislative leaders could kill interest in their special tonight, the production of which probably cost them dearly and has likely been in the works for weeks, if not months. I’m guessing this concern is prevelant at the network because we received an email from NBC Universal this afternoon (CNBC’s parent), “explaining” that the aforementioned...

I offered my take earlier today. Ann Althouse seems to agree — with Brooks, me, and others — that Obama is more of a pragmatist than Pelosi’s Congress,* but he needs to stand up and prove it. … I cling to the belief that Obama has the ability to save us from the destructive path Congress has chosen for itself. But will he use it? How much of an ideologue is he anyway? We’ve come this far, and still we don’t really know. Is he, at heart, the committed leftist...

I could not agree more with a David Brooks column than I agree with the one published in today’s NYT. The premise, in short: It was interesting to watch the Republican Party lose touch with America … It’s not that interesting to watch the Democrats lose touch with America. That’s because the plotline is exactly the same … They [each] have their own cherry-picking pollsters, their own media and activist cocoon, their own plans to lavishly spend borrowed money to buy votes. In...

Full disclosure: My other job gives me ample reason to interact with Blue Dog Congressman Mike Ross and his staff. Accordingly, I’m hardly an objective source. Still, I genuinely like this guy — which is something I can’t say about all elected officials and their staff, whether or not I have a reason (or obligation) to interact with them. So, why do I like Ross? Here’s one reason: He stands up for what he believes, and he doesn’t cater to leadership, if he thinks...

The problem with polls (or maybe it’s the reporting of poll results) is that they ask (focus on) too many closed-loop questions. For instance: “Do you approve of the way the President is handling health care reform?” The answers to such questions lend themselves to neat and tidy conclusions — perfect blog fodder — such as Chris Cillizza’s suggestion today that the President is losing the support of Independents on health care reform. However, what such data —...

The former New Jersey governor attempts to sweep ocean waves with a broom. Give him credit for trying: … the 74-year-old Kean spoke wistfully about growing up in a Washington where the two parties worked together in (almost) perfect harmony. He began with stories of his father, a congressman of 20 years who was a top Republican on the House Ways and Means Committee during the ’50s. “The committee chairman used to come to the house,” Kean recalled. “And they’d sit there, and over...

Read this: A democracy is essentially about determining the course of our nation together. To do that, it helps a lot to have a good citizenry. A good citizenry is informed, serious about things that are worth taking seriously, and not liable to be led off course by demagogues. (Everyone doesn’t have to be like this, but you need a critical mass of people who are.) But I’ve always thought that a good citizenry is also composed of people who assume, until proven wrong, that many of the...

From yesterday, actually: Responding to a comment from David Walker, the former head of the Government Accountability Office, that “You can’t cut [costs] by expanding coverage” to the nearly 50 million uninsured, Mr. Summers said, “We’ve rejected that view.”

Here’s a candidate for understatement of the year: Many people are anxious for Congress to finalize a health care reform bill that both chambers can live with and send to the President for signature. Despite my past-month handwringing over the costs of such legislation, I entirely understand and empathize with the anxiety of those “many people.” Take the case of a family I know quite well: Their only child is now a legal adult, but he still qualifies as a dependent because he’s...

No, it’s not a trend. No, we should not try to paint every Republican with the same brush. Yes, every party (every movement) has its crackpots. Regardless, this made me giggle. Granted, it was an uncomfortable giggle, and maybe not a giggle at all. More like a snarky … snicker/smirk, or something like that.

In New York on business, I picked up a copy of today’s Financial Times and read (among other things) this commentary. Its rather chilling conclusion: [Former U.S. Defense Secretary Robert] McNamara described 11 errors in Vietnam: every one was also made in Iraq and Afghanistan. … in 1969, Forbes wrote that the time had returned when investors were going to talk about products, not earnings curves. Forbes spoke at least 40 years too soon. McNamara began his memoirs with a quotation from...

Confession time: I’m still all over the board on the health care reform debate. I share the cost concerns of the cost concerned. I share the coverage concerns of the coverage concerned. I like the “cooperatives” idea; but I’m not opposed to the “public plan” idea, especially if it can be honestly structured to “compete on a level playing field with private insurers,” as suggested by Sen. Schumer and seconded by Sen. Specter. Better yet, “the...

He probably doesn’t have many remaining friends on the left, as it is, and I’m guessing he’ll not win them back (or win over new, leftish friends) with gut-check statements like these. Regardless — for what it’s worth, Senator — at least one independent voter continues to appreciate and applaud your call-’em-like-you-see-’em approach. And I say that having voted for the presidential candidate who was not the one you supported during the campaign. *...

For political junkies, Chris Cillizza offers an excellent (and brief, making it all the more excellent) assessment of how Franken went from loser to winner in eight (short?) months. The fourth factor on Cillizza’s list strikes me as the most interesting because it is perhaps the most counterintuitive for a political campaign to orchestrate and a candidate (especially one accustomed to stage lights) to endure: Franken’s problem throughout the race was, well, himself. A comedian, satirist...

California is not the only state with a daunting budget crisis. There’s also our neighbor, Illinois. From a St. Louis P-D blog report on yesterday’s deadline-imminent negotiations, Kevin McDermott offered this slice of life: Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn will address a hastily assembled joint session of the Legislature at 3:30 p.m. today, Illinois House officials just announced minutes ago. Minutes later, officials announced that eight protestors — part of a mass of human-services supporters...

In the July issue of Harper’s, Kevin Baker compares Barack Obama to Herbert Hoover, a “very good man … moving prudently, carefully, reasonably toward disaster.” In other words, while top Republicans and their backers blast the President for being too radical, Baker blasts Obama for not being radical enough. Yesterday, Chris Bowers voiced a similar frustration. While he focused much of his rant on moderate Democrats in Congress, the “Obama administration” did...

The four-letter word in this case would be “coup.” Kathy argues that, in Honduras, that’s exactly what we’re witnessing. But at least one of the day’s commentators argues that not all coups are created equal, and distinguishing between them is perhaps more than an exercise in semantics: … what is happening in Honduras may be an example of a coup that is not only legal, but mandatory. I honestly don’t have an opinion, either way, on this subject; I’m...

Assuming Judge Sotomayor had not been involved in the lower-court decision and thus would not have had to recuse herself from today’s vote, the 5-4 split on the New Haven case would still have been a 5-4 split. Justice David Souter (whom Sotomayor would replace, if confirmed) voted with the other three dissenters: Ginsburg, Breyer, and Stevens. So remind me, why does the right wing have its shorts tied in a knot about Sotomayor? She’s not replacing conservative stalwarts Thomas, Roberts,...

Except for the weather, I’m glad this morning I live in Missouri rather than California.

Jazz already noted Ed Morrissey’s breathless declaration of a “Dukakis moment” for the President. Jazz suggests Ed might be going a bit overboard. I’d say: “More than a bit.” I like Ed. In fact, I respect Ed. He is, in my experience, one of the most reasonable and insightful of today’s rightwing bloggers. But this particular analogy to Dukakis belies Ed’s otherwise levelheaded, usually astute take on the world. In essence, all Obama said was that...