I posted this on January 8th for the New Hampshire primary; it bears repeating: THINK, People! This is not supposed to be romantic. We are not electing a handsome President to take us on dates and haunt our dreams but rather a sober Chief Executive to make decisions affecting our personal and national future for decades to come. I want maturity and experience, not youth and … [Read more...] about You Can’t Divorce the President (Re-Emphasized)
The Most Important Election of My Lifetime
I am just back from voting as I write this, my beard and moustache still damp from the dense, clingy fog that I had to ride my trail bike through to and from the polling place at our local library. The fog was a fitting backdrop considering how surreal this presidential primary campaign has been, from the resurrection of an elderly Republican maverick repeatedly given up for … [Read more...] about The Most Important Election of My Lifetime
Change Is In the Air – and the Endorsement Game
Here is a thoughtful open-minded Arab perspective on the idiosyncrasies of the American Democratic process - from the Yemen Times. H/T Watching America.com … [Read more...] about Change Is In the Air – and the Endorsement Game
Like ‘Shoe Polish,’ Clintons Rub Obama’s ‘Blackness’ Into Electorate
It seems that just about everyone, both here and abroad, have concluded that the Clintons have been wrongfully manipulating the issue of race. But according to this op-ed article by columnist Rik Kuethe of The Netherlands' Elsevier, widespread realization of this is unlikely to stop this anti-Obama plot from working. Kuethe writes unapologetically, "the Clinton couple, one of … [Read more...] about Like ‘Shoe Polish,’ Clintons Rub Obama’s ‘Blackness’ Into Electorate
Guest Poet: The Saving Social Security Poem
Another poetic gem from TMV's favorite poet, Michael Silverstein, aka Wall Street Poet: One reason the problem of Social Security's solvency seems so untractable is that not all the alternatives to make the system solvent are ever mentioned -- especially those that would make one of the planet's most regressive tax structures more progressive. The Saving Social Security … [Read more...] about Guest Poet: The Saving Social Security Poem
Newspapers and the Internet
Mike Lane, Cagle Cartoons … [Read more...] about Newspapers and the Internet
On Obama: My Hopes and Doubts
Barack Obama seems to invoke two feelings in me: one of extreme pride and one of a growing doubt. Let me explain. Speaking not as a Republican, but as an African-American, I am extremely proud to see a black man running as a serious candidate for President. This isn't Jesse Jackson or Al Sharpton, who ran campaigns that were basically protest campaigns, but this is a real … [Read more...] about On Obama: My Hopes and Doubts
Global Issues and American Presidential Elections
The French-language press rarely disappoints. The Swiss daily, Le Temps, translated at Watching America, describes the American Presidential elections thus: However the chips may fall, this presidential election is a choice among exceptions: Hillary Clinton, the first woman president, Barack Obama, the first black president, and John McCain, the oldest president at the … [Read more...] about Global Issues and American Presidential Elections
Massive Biometric Database a Bad Idea
The FBI would like to spend about a billion dollars -- that's $1,000,000,000, one thousand million dollars -- "to create a massive computer database of people's physical characteristics, all part of an effort the bureau says to better identify criminals and terrorists." They admit that among other things, the efficacy and cost "will depend on how quickly technology is … [Read more...] about Massive Biometric Database a Bad Idea
Hillary and Obama a Sign That U.S. is ‘Far from Equality’
What does the emergence of a Hillary Clinton or a Barack Obama as serious candidates for the U.S. presidency say about progress toward equality in American society? While it is no doubt a positive sign, according to this analysis by Patrick Jarreau of France's Le Monde, both the tactics of the Clinton campaign and the continued relative lack of women and minorities in positions … [Read more...] about Hillary and Obama a Sign That U.S. is ‘Far from Equality’
Democrats: Don’t Do an ’04!
If the Democrats lose the Presidential election in ’08, they should dissolve their party and spend the next eight years collectively flagellating themselves in shame. Their task, after all, is to take the White House after eight years of a President whose own party won’t even talk about him, and whose approval indices are historically low. They couldn’t possibly mess this … [Read more...] about Democrats: Don’t Do an ’04!
Iraq, Iraq, Iraq
Exit polls tomorrow night will undoubtedly show voters went into the booths worried about health care, home foreclosures, job security and other fallout from an impending recession. Their concerns are understandable, but they may want to recall that a little over a year ago, in November 2006, their ballots gave control of Congress to Democrats with a mandate to stop the war … [Read more...] about Iraq, Iraq, Iraq
Super Tuesday: transformational, cliff hanger or confusion?
Will Super Tuesday be transformational and “get America going again” (in the words of John F. Kennedy)? The conventional wisdom of the moment among political pundits is that Americans are crying for change. Voters are fed up and disappointed and want to be able to look at themselves in the mirror and feel that the President they choose to rule the world is honest, ethical … [Read more...] about Super Tuesday: transformational, cliff hanger or confusion?
Look Who’s Talking
Clinton and Obama have dramatically different visions for American foreign policy. One of the key policy distinctions between the two candidates is their differing views on the issue of negotiating with unsavory foreign leaders. Clinton has argued for a policy of continuity with the current administration -- that it is a mistake to sit down, without preconditions, with the … [Read more...] about Look Who’s Talking
A Centrist’s Election Criteria
I think of myself as a Centrist who is more interested in perfecting participatory government than I am in the specific issues: The process versus the policy. To me the path to optimizing the common good is with elected representatives who are open minded, pragmatic and collaborative; an aim that is the essential purpose of the Constitution. Policy that is for sale to the … [Read more...] about A Centrist’s Election Criteria
Hillary Clinton Reportedly Cries Again
Tomorrow is Super Tuesday, a crucial primary. Polls show Hillary Clinton neck-and-neck with Senator Barack Obama in many states and nationally. And now this story will make some wonder: "Hey, is it re-run season already?" NEW HAVEN, Conn. – Sen. Hillary Clinton teared up this morning at an event at the Yale Child Study Center, where she worked while in law school in the … [Read more...] about Hillary Clinton Reportedly Cries Again
What’s in an Endorsement?
Perhaps not much. As Steve Benen put it the other day, as he has before, "there's little evidence that endorsements actually translate to votes," let alone to electoral success generally. Still, they don't hurt -- the good ones, anyway. The media report on them with disproportionate gravitas and, in general, they contribute to what all candidates, and especially candidates … [Read more...] about What’s in an Endorsement?
Britain’s Secret Deal With Taliban? Karzai Angry…
I shudder at the thought when (maybe in the not too distant future) the inside story of the bloody mess created by the key players in Afghanistan and Iraq appears in public domain. For starters a recent news report: "The Afghan government claims they (can) prove (that) British agents were talking to the Taliban without permission from the Afghan President, Hamid Karzai, despite … [Read more...] about Britain’s Secret Deal With Taliban? Karzai Angry…
Polls: Obama And McCain Gaining And Obama Pulls Ahead In California
Two new polls show Democratic Senator Barack Obama's support is growing on the eve of the Super Tuesday Presidential nomination primaries -- one shows him slightly ahead of Senator Hillary Clinton -- and that Republican Senator John McCain continues to make solid gains. CNN reports: Democratic Sen. Hillary Clinton is losing ground to Sen. Barack Obama in a national … [Read more...] about Polls: Obama And McCain Gaining And Obama Pulls Ahead In California
The Kennedying of Obama: Cautionary Note
In the desperation to be rid of Bush, this has become a year of imagery shorthand. While any Republican with a pulse claims to be another Reagan, Barack Obama is seen as a new JFK. There are parallels. As Nixon did in 1960, Hillary Clinton is invoking her experience during the eight-year tenure of a popular president. But in both cases, the actual occupant of the Oval Office … [Read more...] about The Kennedying of Obama: Cautionary Note