Alas, he won't run. Earth provides enough to satisfy every man's need, but not every man's greed. Gandhi
It's a shame, because he'd be a phenomenal president. Conservatives want live babies so they can raise them to be dead soldiers. - George Carlin
I am not so sure about an Obama presidency.. Krugman is so.. so... un-serious people...even shrill.
A pleasure I therefore claim to show, not how men think in myths, but how myths operate in men's minds without their being aware of the fact. Levi-Strauss, Claude
And most Democrats, I think, mirror that happiness and readiness, despite what some on Daily Kos would seem to suggest with all the anger directed at this or that candidate. Reading undecided voters' statements in Iowa reveals that they find the field too good to narrow it down to one candidate in most cases.
The truth, in my view, is that we have a much better set of candidates than in 2004. Even though I'm not a fan of Hillary, there are, as I mentioned, things I admire about her. And there are things I admire about all of the candidates, honestly. All are stronger than Kerry. All are stronger than the Al Gore of 2000. All brought something important into the race -- Edwards pulling us to the left and making us remember who the party is supposed to stand for, Obama bringing us swing voters, Clinton getting us ready to brutalize the opposition, Richardson keeping Iraq on the table and proving that even obese old hippie stoners can run for the White House ;), Biden bringing humor and seriousness, and so on.
It's been a good run-up to the primary season. They've united around some basic proposals, haven't sniped at each other too much (while the GOP is in chaos with people hating on each other's preference), proven they can slaughter the Republicans with grassroots fundraising, and got the base so cranked up that we're likely to see record turnout tonight. And, most importantly, the public seems poised to elect a Democrat with increased majorities in Congress.
All things considered, it could be a lot worse. Conservatives want live babies so they can raise them to be dead soldiers. - George Carlin
Maybe I'm just old-fashioned, but I'm not sure that 'Vote for me, I'm not completely eye-poppingly splutteringly chicken-explodingly insane' should really count as an election winning platform.
Edwards comes closes to having a real message. The others seem like more walking examples of triangulated expediency - tough on populism, tough on the causes of populism.
I still haven't forgiven Gore for not stepping up to the plate. Not that he would have been perfect, but he might have been less likely to drive right off the cliff without trying to turn the engine off.
After all, cadence is everything. I've been accused of being a Marxist, yet while Harpo's my favourite, it's Groucho I'm always quoting. Odd, that.
H'mmmm. Well. Yeah. And if the average political reporter, average commentator, and average voter in the US had the average intelligence of the average turnip it wouldn't be that effective.
But with the GOPs field is running around proclaiming, "Vote for me! I am completely eye-poppingly splutteringly chicken-explodingly insane."
It works.
But in the other two fundamental issues: Pentagon budget and Fear/drug war, they stand ont he same side... with no end in sight for the way the US system works.
So, it is normal that a lot of Europeans do not expect great things for the rest of the world with an Obama or Clinton presidency.
And I am still not sure if Edwards wouold change the War on drugs/Fear dynamics as he seems to hint sometimes.
Indeed, I wouldn't venture to say whether he would be doing so if reality was close to peaking through one edge of the frame, but given the current limits on the political discourse, and where he is standing, its to his advantage to shift it toward reality.
And I haven't seen even that much from either Senator Clinton or Obama ... both of them, for example, are on board for the expansion of the size of the Army and Marines, which is only required if the US is to be engaged "hot" occupations of the size of pre-surge Iraq for the indefinite future, while Edwards made the straightforward point that we should get out of Iraq first, before we look at long term force structure. I've been accused of being a Marxist, yet while Harpo's my favourite, it's Groucho I'm always quoting. Odd, that.
And now the opportunity is coming for a change election ... which is a substantially rarer thing in a Madisonian system than in a parliamentary system ... and the key is to get some effective movement back in the direction of reality. We have moved so far out into a narcissistic political fantasy that there is no hope of getting reality in the frame within eight years ... but unless we start making progress in the next eight years, there won't be anywhere near the same prospect of getting reality in the frame in the next thirty. I've been accused of being a Marxist, yet while Harpo's my favourite, it's Groucho I'm always quoting. Odd, that.
This is why Obama is so frustrating. We've a once in a lifetime chance to really change the US political system and what do we get?
Kumbaya, My Lord. Kumbaya.
"Can't we all get along in the most wonderful country with the most wonderful people, in the wonderfulmostest wonderification-ness of it all?"
Pardon me whilst I wonderfully goeth & barf.
Unfortunately in a crisis people are more likely to retreat to simple-minded narratives than move towards nuance and sophistication. So without good leadership, a crisis will just edge the Overton window further in the direction of insanity.
Obama is not the leader to deal with a crisis. He's too cosseted, too secretively smug, too intellectual and too unimaginative to cope with reality. He likes the old narrative just fine and he doesn't have any plans to change it.
Imagine a Depression without a New Deal.
That's what's going to happen now. And it's going to breed monsters.
We have met the enemy, and he is us — Pogo
Imagine a Depression without a New Deal. That's what's going to happen now. And it's going to breed monsters.
Business Plot - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Business Plot, the Plot Against FDR, or the White House Putsch, was a conspiracy involving several wealthy businessmen to overthrow the presidency of Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1933. Details of the matter came to light when retired Marine Corps Major General Smedley Butler testified before a Congressional committee that a group of men had attempted to recruit him to serve as the leader of a plot and to assume and wield power once the coup was successful. Butler testified before the McCormack-Dickstein Committee in 1934 [1]. In his testimony, Butler claimed that a group of several men had approached him as part of a plot to overthrow Roosevelt in a military coup. One of the alleged plotters, Gerald MacGuire, vehemently denied any such plot. In their final report, the Congressional committee supported Butler's allegations on the existence of the plot,[2] but no prosecutions or further investigations followed, and the matter was mostly forgotten. General Butler claimed that the American Liberty League was the primary means of funding the plot. The main backers were the Du Pont family, as well as leaders of U.S. Steel, General Motors, Standard Oil, Chase National Bank, and Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company. A BBC documentary claims Prescott Bush, father and grandfather to the 41st and 43rd US Presidents respectively, was also connected.[3]
The Business Plot, the Plot Against FDR, or the White House Putsch, was a conspiracy involving several wealthy businessmen to overthrow the presidency of Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1933.
Details of the matter came to light when retired Marine Corps Major General Smedley Butler testified before a Congressional committee that a group of men had attempted to recruit him to serve as the leader of a plot and to assume and wield power once the coup was successful. Butler testified before the McCormack-Dickstein Committee in 1934 [1]. In his testimony, Butler claimed that a group of several men had approached him as part of a plot to overthrow Roosevelt in a military coup. One of the alleged plotters, Gerald MacGuire, vehemently denied any such plot. In their final report, the Congressional committee supported Butler's allegations on the existence of the plot,[2] but no prosecutions or further investigations followed, and the matter was mostly forgotten.
General Butler claimed that the American Liberty League was the primary means of funding the plot. The main backers were the Du Pont family, as well as leaders of U.S. Steel, General Motors, Standard Oil, Chase National Bank, and Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company. A BBC documentary claims Prescott Bush, father and grandfather to the 41st and 43rd US Presidents respectively, was also connected.[3]
End result: Fascism, american style. A vote for PES is a vote for EPP! A vote for EPP is a vote for PES! Support the coalition, vote EPP-PES in 2009!
I guess what I am saying is that, yeah, sure, change dramatic enough to bring American within squinting distance of having any resemblance to our national mythos would require a massive shock.
But that's only necessary ... its not sufficient.
And there's no question in my mind that we already have the massive shocks lined up in the thirty years ahead, so what is really urgent is getting that groundwork done and getting the foundation laid. Otherwise we are heading even further into V is Vendetta terrain when a shock comes along that is even more traumatic in its impact than our month/year version of 9/11. I've been accused of being a Marxist, yet while Harpo's my favourite, it's Groucho I'm always quoting. Odd, that.
