Election 2004 Archives
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This week's eWeek column is about all the good things that President George W. Bush's re-election means for tech folks. It's a good-sized list that focuses on personal income. Basically if you're rich – and that's most of Silicon Valley with you money in stocks and real estate – you're going to do better. If you invest in companies, if you run one, if you own one, you're going to do very well.
But if you've got a job that pays less than $150,00 a year, well, things are a little different. The various programs the Bush administration is proposing to let wealthier folks defer taxable income aren't going to be as easy to access.
Fri 10:35 AM | permalink | printer-friendly version | email this article
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Can we stop with the bullshit, please?
Can we stop with the emails and the queries and the 'whatdoyou' think notes circulating the paranoid fantasy that the exit polls released Tuesday at 3 p.m. were accurate and the final voting tallies were not? This isn't true. And even if it is, there's nothing to be done about it. Kerry conceded. Please read what MysteryPollster has to say about polls and polling and remember that since you didn't take a statistics class because you "aren't good at math" you really don't know what you're talking about. To quote tough guy Barry Diller: "They won, we lost. Next."
Continue reading "Reality Bites"Thu 06:46 PM | permalink | printer-friendly version | email this article
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Over at the Washington Monthly, Amy Sullivan has a very good post about religion and morality, Republicans and Democrats and how you can't assume one is necessarily the other.
She is urging – and I want to join her – that those of us over here on the Left to stop lumping religious folks together in one big politically conservative stereotype that's out to set the clock back. It's condescending. Not to mention inaccurate and wrong.
To be religious is not necessarily to embrace the belief that you must foist it off on others. The teaching and support of religion – proselytizing, using the state to enact laws to hold one set of beliefs as superior to the other, the instruction of those belief in public institutions – is not, by the laws of this country, acceptable. But religion has a place in public life in this country and it always has. The anti-war and civil rights movements started in churches and were led by religious men: William Sloan Coffin and Martin Luther King. The 18th Century Abolition movement was run by northern preachers. Clearly, President George Bush has a conservative Christian's view of the world and his role in it and I am one of those who believe that his faith reinforces his personal and familial arrogance. That makes him a bad president not necessarily a bad man. The idea that religion can provide solace and refuge for people in times of trouble – which is how Bush uses it when he campaigns -- is not one we should unanimously condemn because it's not the way we see the world.
Continue reading "Having Faith"Thu 09:49 AM | permalink | printer-friendly version | email this article
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I believe we can call the past few days around here the triumph of hope over experience. That's how Dr. Johnson described his second marriage so it's doubly appropriate.
Make no mistake: John Kerry had to concede. If he had won after all the legal wrangling it would have been a hollow victory. If he had lost it would have been a disaster for the Democrats, one they'd never get over. His horribly inappropriate campaign - this is not a well-liked man -- hurt the party, a long, draw-out defeat would have demolished it.
Continue reading "Finishing in Style"Wed 09:21 AM | permalink | printer-friendly version | email this article
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The New York Times didn't ask me – hard to believe, no? – but if it had, I would have told them that the most important story of this election isn't the 60 Minutes memo or the way John Kerry belittled Iraqi Prime Minister Ayad Allawi. It's not the pronunciation of Lambeau Field or the Republican's failure to dump Vice President Dick Cheney.
No, the biggest story of this election is the increased attention and interest that Americans are showing in politics. That attention has done wonders for stand-alone journalists like me. Without you – and your interest in this stuff – I wouldn't be here. Nor would any of the folks whose opinions appear in today's Times.
Continue reading "Baby, It's You"Tue 09:47 AM | permalink | printer-friendly version | email this article
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There is no excuse.
None whatsoever.
Go now. Go vote.
Tue 08:41 AM | permalink | printer-friendly version | email this article
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Think politics is easy? Think again.
And, as food for thought, read what the nice young gentlemen at Unfogged.com are writing as they canvas votes. Precinct walking ain't for the faint of heart or the fashionably shod, that's for sure.
This is very good, forgive the pun, shoeleather reporting from political neophytes (I mean that in terms of on-the-ground experience, nothing more). Reward their posts over the next few days with your full attention.
Oh, and Fontana, you don't like precint walking because, well, because you're a decent guy who doesn't think strangers should tell other poeple what to do. And you and Ogg probably watched too much TV as children. It's a passive activity.
Sun 06:21 PM | permalink | printer-friendly version | email this article
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Quietly, oh sooooo quietly, the Democrats are acknowledging that they may be winning.
"Kerry's gonna win," one poll-happy San Francisco pol remarked in passing Friday.
Party insiders reading deep into internal polls – these are not the surveys done and released to the public, by the way – say Democratic nominee John Kerry will take Pennsylvania and Ohio but probably not Florida. Wisconsin maybe. Another swears there's an internal poll that show Kerry with a healthy – one went as high as 55 percent – lead over Bush. That, coincidentally is what pundit and critic James Wolcott says, citing Nickelodean's polls of its (child) viewers, too. And kids generally do what their parents are doing, no?
Continue reading "On Little Cat Feet"Sun 11:12 AM | permalink | printer-friendly version | email this article
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My buddies, Andrew Rasiej and Micah Sifry, have finally baked and iced their Personal Democracy Forum cake and it's up and ready for reading. There's a nice tech-savvy piece on Markos Moulitsas Zúnig, that's DailyKos to you and me that went up today. If you've been wondering where we're all headed, Brian Reich provides a clear-eyed look and Kos's strengths and short-comings from a tech-savvy pol's point of view.
Continue reading "Pre-Election PSAs"Thu 04:39 PM | permalink | printer-friendly version | email this article
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This week's eWeek column is about a little bit of buzz that was making the rounds on the George W. Bush official campaign site.
Seems the bright lights in Arlington, Va. (campaign HQ) shut down the site to viewers at domains outside the U.S. Which is kinda clueless. Makes them look like they don't get the web. Which, well, which they don't.
I've already gotten hate mail so I know it's a good column. But my first irate reader has a good point: I over-reached with the use of the word "nefarious." I should have instead, asked if the campaign was being "deliberate" or some other less charged word in describing the shut-down.
Forgive me. It's hard being a Liberal.
Thu 10:29 AM | permalink | printer-friendly version | email this article
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I'm not the only person who thinks Kerry's going to win.
Bill Clinton does. Ain't nothing like a winner -- a newly sympathetic winner -- to predict a victory, no? Over at The New York Times, they're calling calling new voters unpredictable. Duh. We knew that.
Two One Brit – who know a thing or two about losing empire and the pain of having to rejigger the social and economic life of a once madly prosperous nation – have moved from the right to the left. Why? Iraq, that's why.
Andrew Sullivan has endorsed Kerry.
So has Christopher Hitchens.
UPDATE:The folks at Slate screwed up in what can only be described as a desire for water to come to their level. Hitchens is voting for Bush. You can read his correction and some other comments about Osama Bin Laden here.
The Republicans are worried. On top of that, Jeff Jarvis sees signs.
So do I. Swing Lowe, Sweet Chariot. Get those BoSox Home.
Since this site comes to you from Northern California where, well, let's just say omens are kind of a fluid thing, I would be remiss in not pointing out that the Curse of the Bambino ended on a night that also brings us a total -- and if you were out here a beautiful Cosmo's moon -- lunar eclipse. Why is this important? I'll let the web astrologers explain.
Wed 05:15 PM | permalink | printer-friendly version | email this article
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This site doesn't comment about poll-driven stories for three reasons. One, you can get them almost anywhere, two, the analysis they're rooted in is often wrong-headed and silly which is why, reason three, I don't believe 'em.
Polls survey people who can be found by phone. That's people with listed phone numbers who answer their phones. Fewer and fewer people do that every day. So the data is skewed. It's also skewed because polls don't do a good job of reaching households where English isn't the first language.
Continue reading "Poll No Mo'"Mon 10:16 AM | permalink | printer-friendly version | email this article
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A lot was made over the weekend about Ron Suskind's cover story in The New York Times magazine. It's a good story. Although I think the argument that's surely being made on the "other side" – something along the lines of "What can you expect from a bunch of atheists in New York?" – picked up a few more rounds of ammo.
Don’t get me wrong, Suskind is right to (again) point out how Bush's religious devotion colors his world view. But that's not all that's going on with this White House and with this president. And the easy anti-religious tone that many on this side of the argument – "What can you expect from a bunch of Bible thumpers in Hellhole, Texas?" – has newfound fuel, too.
Continue reading "You Should Never Read Just One"Mon 11:13 AM | permalink | printer-friendly version | email this article
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Well, we now know one thing about Presidential Debate #2: Looking into the camera and speaking directly to the TV audience polled very, very well for Democrat John Kerry. He did it several times last night.
That's not why he won – by a hair – the debate but it does represent a change form the way Senator Kerry addresses his audience and thinks about his answers. He's not going for points, he's going for votes. And he finally – finally – dusted off that old John Kennedy line about being a president who "happens to be Catholic." Jeez, Senator, aren't there any other Massachusetts altar boys on your staff?
Continue reading "Rock'em Sock'em Robots: Round Three to Kerry."Thu 09:36 AM | permalink | printer-friendly version | email this article
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Well, Kerry won. At last.
By my estimation, Kerry landed the first solid hit by 6:15(PST -- 9:15 in the East) after he told the audience that "sanctions worked" and that "smart diplomacy" was better way to proceed. It was pretty much his show after that.
Bush got a few laugh later in their session; always a sign he's connected with his audience. And Kerry's answers on stem cell research and abortion were just lame. The guy can't talk about squishy stuff – you know, like how you feel, Senator –- to save his life and in this case, that's exactly what was going on. But at least adopted the Clinton technique of using a data and statistics, many of them specific to the place -- in this case Missouri where he's speaking – to make his points. It's an effective way of faking empathy with an audience he's had trouble connecting with.
Continue reading "He Knocked His Block Off! Finally!"Sat 11:18 AM | permalink | printer-friendly version | email this article
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Well, John-boy Walton went up against Darth Vadar and both landed punches, both scored points but, again, nobody got their block knocked off. Vice President Dick Cheney didn't start cursing, although he was flatly rude to Edwards. Democratic nominee John Edwards didn't blush or stammer although it was pretty funny when he realized moderator Gwen Ifill had given him more time than he was allowed and he, hesitatingly, took advantage of it. You got a clear look at how sharp a thinker he is.
Continue reading "Rock'em, Sock'em Robots: Round Two"Wed 10:44 AM | permalink | printer-friendly version | email this article
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If you haven't done so already – and it seems everyone has -- register to vote. The deadlines are fast approaching. In California, it's October 18, a week from Monday.
The California Voter Foundation has its guide up so you can go over there and learn more.
Here in San Francisco, you can vote at City Hall. The polls are open. If you are voting absentee, your ballot should have already come in the mail. If it hasn't, call the registrar of voters and have 'em send you one. You have until the 26th to ask for an absentee ballot and an application is also on the voters' guide that's coming your way from the city.
For those of you who have registered, the VoteorNot.com contest – win $100,000 no foolin' – is still open. For the record, I've asked the Hotornots what they're doing with the email addresses. They think they may need to keep them in case the contest is audited but that's it. No spam, no selling addresses. Promise.
Wed 10:41 AM | permalink | printer-friendly version | email this article
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Remember Rock'em Sock'em robots? No, not the Playstation version, the little blue and red plastic toys
Well, Democratic presidential nominee John Kerry and President Bush slugged away Thursday night just like those robots. Only no one's block got knocked off. It was just a slog. That makes it a real debate, of course, and Kerry did much better than Bush showing that he's a thoughtful guy not some over-sized jock with a taste for expensive outdoor hobbies.
Continue reading "Plastic Men"Sat 12:07 PM | permalink | printer-friendly version | email this article
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The thought of Nancy Pelosi wielding the speaker’s gavel in the U.S. House (see post below) along with the spate of stories on Kerry and women voters and Bush and “security Moms” has me thinking.
Thinking generally cranky thoughts about the Democratic Party. What’s the matter with these guys?
Continue reading "Babes in Boyland"Thu 12:40 PM | permalink | printer-friendly version | email this article
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This week’s eWeek column is a round up of stuff in Congress that tech folks care about: Stock options and copyright.
Nothing too fancy; the action’s going to come during a lame duck Congressional session after the election. Lame ducks used to be unusual. There was one in 1994 for Nafta. That was the first in more than 10 years (or five Congressinal sessions). But things have gotten so bad, now they have lame ducks every session. I’m telling you, we’re due for a change if for no other reason that the nation’s business interests cant’ get anything done in Congress. A paralyzed government is bad for all of us.
In doing the eWeek piece I found some interesting numbers on Congressional races. It’s been overshadowed by the presidential race and, of course, we here in California are pretty much written off on a number of levels. But there really is a shot that the Democrats could take the Senate. Same on the House side. They’re slim odd but the presidential race has very tight margins. And yes, as you might expect, many of the presidential swing states are the one with tight Congressional or Senate races. So maybe, just maybe Democratic Leader Rep. Nancy Pelosi could become Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives. Now, there’s a party I’d like to attend.
About.com has a couple of nice charts on House and Senate races so you have a look. The Republican majority in the Senate is 8 seats. In the House it’s 12 and there’s some reason for a little teeny bit of optimism.
Thu 11:01 AM | permalink | printer-friendly version | email this article
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Last week, when I wrote a piece saying that President Bush is going to have to thank conservative bloggers when he gets elected, I got a fair amount of cranky mail from Democrats who either didn’t believe the CBS memos were fake or didn’t want to think about the consequences if they were.
One note in particular criticized me for giving the Swift Boat Veterans for “Truth” an easy ride as I outlined how the CBS memos would affect Kerry’s campaign. The vets lied, said my correspondents, and that’s no different from what happened to CBS. When I quoted Howard Dean – “When you say you’ll do anything to win, you’ve already lost” – I was told I was naïve since plenty of politicians will do anything to win.
Continue reading "Bush: 2. Kerry: 0. CBS: TKO."Tue 11:26 AM | permalink | printer-friendly version | email this article
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Hey kiddies.
We’re young! Buried deep, deep, deep in a New York Times story about efforts to get young people to register to vote comes a glancing mention of Jim and James’ VoteorNot.org campaign. Of course, this being the New York Times they had to be coy about what – exactly – hotornot.com does settling for calling it “a popular youth Web site at which people post photographs of themselves that are rated on a ‘hotness' scale.”
The New York Times: Possibly the only paper in the country where editors makes you define “hot.”
Continue reading "Dreams May Come True/It Could Happen to You"Thu 03:12 PM | permalink | printer-friendly version | email this article
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Andrew Sullivan has a long post up at TNR – you can access it through his site here, talking about the power of the “blogosphere” and its ability to drive Dan Rather crazy and maybe, well, probably, push the election to George Bush.
Sullivan doesn’t have the first word, that goes to Glenn Reynolds who is using his site to play the role of project editor for this breaking story, compiling every detail from every source. So Sullivan won’t have the last word either. This story has legs – it’s not going anywhere – so let’s take a closer look at what we’ve got. And what we don’t.
Continue reading "The Blogosphere's First President: George W. Bush"Tue 10:37 AM | permalink | printer-friendly version | email this article
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The Chron’s Al Saracevic was nice enough on Sunday to remind all you guys about the Hotornot.com contest to encourage voter turn-out.
If you’re a registered voter you can click here to enter the VoteorNot sweepstakes. The prize is $100,000 for the winner and $100,000 to the person (that’d be me, if you win) who refers the winner to the contest.
So vote. Early. Often. But please, please, vote.
Mon 11:42 AM | permalink | printer-friendly version | email this article
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This week’s eWeek column is an interview with Silicon Valley venture capitalist Tim Draper who talks about why tech should re-elect President George Bush. You can compare it to last week’s chat with another venture capitalist, Mark Gorenberg if you’re still undecided.
Draper’s a life-long Republican and, like the president, holds a Harvard MBA, so his talk of that of a businessman. And he does a nice job of emphasizing some of the thoughts I had listening to Bush's acceptance speech before the Republican National Committee about how the Bush folks are making progress on changing tax and benefits structures for independent business people. It’s important, these changes in medical insurance, health care benefits and tax law; it will help entrepreneurs and small business people because today's tax and benefit structure is assumes most of us work for large corporations.
And yes, some of these proposals that Bush now endorses started out as Democrats’ ideas. But you know what the say about the difference between good writers and great one? The great ones steal.
UPDATE: Both Mark Gorenberg and the San Francisco Chronicle provided more campaign data over the weekend.
Fri 11:32 AM | permalink | printer-friendly version | email this article
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A bunch of Harvard folks – usually a crowd you can tell but to whom you can’t tell much – are turning to you web readers and other supposedly normal human beings for some help.
And being charitably minded, I’m gonna lend a hand.
The Nieman Foundation For Journalism at Harvard University has put up a post asking for questions readers would like to see asked of President George Bush and Democratic nominee Sen. John Kerry during the debates, currently scheduled to be held at the end of this month.
Continue reading "Questions Wanted"Tue 05:13 PM | permalink | printer-friendly version | email this article
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Joe Klein has your basic must-read column in this week’s Time magazine on Kerry and Bush. Here’s a highlight. But go read the whole thing. Every damn word. When I grow up, I wanna be Joe Klein.
I have never seen a campaign to which the strategies of the two parties are so different and so dreadful. The Republican strategy is to demolish Kerry, posit the President as a man of simple strength and do everything possible to avoid a discussion of Iraq or the effects of globalization on the American economy. The Kerry strategy is to present and “optimistic" candidate with a “positive plan for the future.” The Kerry consultants who actually believe this claptrap and have zero sense of political theater, sound like a bunch of low-budget Ginzo-knife salesmen when they represent their candidate on television…”
Continue reading "And a Few – Not Many -- Answers"Tue 05:09 PM | permalink | printer-friendly version | email this article
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It’s a new – legal – twist on an old idea: Encouraging people to vote by offering them money.
That’s right, my self-promoting buddies over at hotornot.com have come up with an unsually old-fashioned way to get out the vote. Amazingly, they’re keeping their clothes on.
Continue reading "Profit Motive"Mon 09:31 AM | permalink | printer-friendly version | email this article
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President George Bush isn’t stupid. And he’s not physically lazy. But he is a go-along guy. An intellectual couch potato. Someone who really doesn’t question the assumptions made by those around him and who is perfectly happy to let others do the hard thinking to make decisions. Lots of people go through life this way. It’s served him well, much better than anyone who knew as a younger man ever expected.
Which is probably why my reaction to his acceptance speech last nigh can be summed up in one little word: So?
Continue reading "That's It?"Fri 10:55 AM | permalink | printer-friendly version | email this article
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It’s been a little too easy to make the “white guy” argument when it comes to 9/11 and the “war” on terror. Yes, it does seem as though white guys of a certain age and class were a bit more taken aback by the bombings than others: How could they – really? – to this to us? Don't we run the world?
Well, no, we don't. We can put ourselves in charge but that job comes with its own set of risks and resonsibilities. I’ve written about this; a lot of people who aren't used to the feeling -- they run the world, remember? -- got very scared on Sept. 11, 2001. Some of them are still frightened. And they are covering up their fear of being afraid – truly afraid with bluster, not reasoning, with emotional name calling, not discussion.
Continue reading "Scared Yet? Why Not?"Thu 11:00 AM | permalink | printer-friendly version | email this article
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By contrast, Gov. Terminator’s speech was positively cheery, no? Well, that’s our governor: A fun loving money-making moderate.
His invitation for immigrants like to join the Republican Party was broad and inclusive and as moving – in its freemarket way – as soon-to-be-Sen. Barack Obama’s speech at the Democratic Convention. Oh, and this is no accident, this is a powerful fight for new new Americans, make no mistake, and we’ll be seeing a lot more of it in the years to come.
Continue reading "Immigration Muscle"Thu 10:52 AM | permalink | printer-friendly version | email this article
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For much of the summer, Micah Sifry and I have been going back and forth on the future of the Democratic Party with me warning that the new, tech-savvy young and wealthy folks currently getting into politics might be a lot more conservative than what East Coast Liberals like Sifry are used to.
Tue 10:48 AM | permalink | printer-friendly version | email this article
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Here’s exactly how far I read in the New York Times story detailing the links between the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth and the Bush Administration:
Both Mr. Hoffman and Mr. Lonsdale had publicly lauded Mr. Kerry in the past. But the book, Mr. Brinkley’s “Tour of Duty,” while it burnished Mr. Kerry’s reputation, portrayed the two men as reckless leaders whose military approach had led to the deaths of countless sailors and innocent civilians. Several Swift boat veterans compared Mr. Hoffman to the bloodthirsty colonel in the film “Apocalypse Now,’’ – the one who loves the small of Napalm in the morning.
The two men were determined to set the record, as they saw it, straight.
Continue reading "Dirty Pool"Thu 10:47 AM | permalink | printer-friendly version | email this article
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I don’t admire their policies but ya gotta admire how the Republican Party plays their politics. They know their supporters. Cold. And they know how to find votes when they need them.
Vice President Dick Cheney’s “coming out” and telling the world about his gay daughter on the front page of the New York Times yesterday is a classic example. The states, says Cheney, should define marriage. That cracking noise you hear? It’s the gay vote splitting. The gay community is a whole lot more conservative that many realize; the only folks I know who want to get married, join the Army or have kids are gay and Cheney’s aiming for them.
Continue reading "Shock and Awe"Thu 10:25 AM | permalink | printer-friendly version | email this article
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The coming clash between New York’s finest and San Francisco-style smart-mobbing SMS-driven protesters is shaping up and, well, it’s no prettier than it was last week.
Today, the San Francisco Chronicle does a good job of demonstrating that West Coast protestors, unfamiliar and clearly not too concerned about New York’s semi-permanent siege mentality, don’t know what they’re up against – really.
The difference in styles between New York-style marching around and San Francisco are pretty big.
Suffice it to say that New Yorkers aren’t in very good moods lately and that particularly includes the city’s cops, many of whom had friends and colleagues die when the World Trade Center collapsed and who participated in the city’s frantic and futile efforts to rescue those trapped. It's really hard to describe these sentiments -- or to appreciate the powerful emotion behind them - unless you've spent time in the city.
But this much is still true: It doesn’t take much on a hot summer day to get people bent out of shape. Not much at all, just a little heat, some harsh words and a little broken glass. That's why, of course, the Republicans shouldn't be going to New York. It's a bad, clumsy attempt to play politics with a subject that's too raw with too many people for too many different reasons.
UPDATE:No fooling. Salon has a piece on New York in lock-down and The NYPost says Mike Wallace got arrested for arguing with a cop. Yes, that Mike Wallace, the one who’s older than dirt and was last in handcuff in er, 1968.
Mon 12:22 PM | permalink | printer-friendly version | email this article
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Maybe it’s an attempt to keep things on an even keel, but Salon also has a piece on a real live honest-to-god protesting pain-in-the-ass Cheri Honkala and her plans to march in New York during the Republican National Convention.
The story contains this one chilling sentence, summing up the attitude that seems to be settling in in New York with the Republican convention just about three week away:
It's easy to see how people marching defiantly into a line of cops could get hurt.
Uh. Yeah. Between the terror alerts, the city dragging its heels on giving out permits, the beefed up spending for crowd control ($18 million says Salon) the talk within Lefty protest circles about “saving energy” for New York, free-floating anger and worry, the heat, the humidity and -- oh, yeah, let’s not forget a police force that’s probably better able to remember Rudolph Guiliani’s law and order mayoralty and not the harsh images from the Lindsey Administration. New York could get ugly, very ugly.
Thu 02:08 PM | permalink | printer-friendly version | email this article
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It’s hard to say which is worse: Evidence that the “intelligence” that’s increased security at the World Bank, the IMF and Citicorp is just a little teeny bit dated. Or the “me-too” headlines the West Coast press is waving around saying, perhaps, maybe, the Bank of America building in San Francisco was also a target.
What? Cailfornians don’t have enough to worry about. Or Al Qaeda is only targeting spectacularly ugly building that should never have been built in the first place? Please. This is another case of West Cost media wanting in on the story and doing anything to get there.
Continue reading "Do Something. Do Anything. Do It Now."Tue 10:15 AM | permalink | printer-friendly version | email this article
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The East Coast papers had the same photo on Saturday’s front page: a picture of Jesse Jackson looking over, smiling even at President George Bush, who had just given a provocative speech to the Urban League. The photo’s not as good – or as subtly snide -- as the famous NYTimes cover shot of Bill Clinton riding in a golf cart with Vernon Jordan up on Martha’s Vineyard – but it’s close. The old, the new, in black and white.
Mon 06:32 AM | permalink | printer-friendly version | email this article
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The New York Times carries the official word this morning and ABC’s TheNote gets the spin lines laid out. But a little piece of email that came over the transom yesterday was enough notice that the Bush campaign was started to gear up against the Democrats.
Wed 10:52 AM | permalink | printer-friendly version | email this article
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Back in May when I outlined the scenario under which Vice President Dick Cheney would be replaced, people said I was crazy.
Well. Who’s nutty now? Moderate Republicans are on the war path – they want their party back – that’s what all this ‘dump Cheney’ stuff is about. I still think it could happen, particularly since the New York Times played its Cheney-replacement story on the front page, just barely above the fold. That’s a subtle sign they, too, think it’s possible something about the ticket could change.
Other stuff worth reading and thinking about this weekend:
Continue reading "Odds 'N Ends"Sat 11:55 AM | permalink | printer-friendly version | email this article
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Talk of Republicans changing vice presidents in mid-stream is making the rounds. The boys at Unfogged put their version up yesterday. Everybody agrees that Cheney’s health is a good excuse. The FogHeads like Condi, not Colin. But even Deb Saunders – who holds down the moderate to conservative corner at the Chron – thinks Cheney oughta go. It’s more of a problem now that John Edwards really is John Kerry’s running mate. What’s Cheney going to do? Refuse to debate? Stand there and say “Go Fuck Yourself”? every time Edwards says something about Haliburton? Or the CIA? Or those elusive weapons of mass destruction? Or Neocons? Or out-sourcing? If Edwards has to debate Colin Powell, however, he’d have a much tougher fight on his hands. Among other things, Powell and Kerry supported the Iraqi War.
UPDATE: Former Senator Al D'Amato agrees with my logic -- spelled out in late May -- on replacing Cheney with Powell. If it happens, well, ummmm, that subscription I keep hounding you about is going to look like a bargain, no?
Continue reading "Odds 'N Ends"Wed 11:59 AM | permalink | printer-friendly version | email this article
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Slate's Mickey Kaus did a fine job of taking apart the Kerry-Bush horse race poll that ran in yesterday’s New York Times but he’s not sharing the worst-case scenario victory that Republicans are quietly talking about.
Here’s the background: The Times says Bush has the lowest approval rating – 42 percent or his presidency. But says that 40 percent of those who have formed an impression of Democratic nominee John Kerry don’t like him.
In other words, this election is a dead heat, The Times explains in some detail:
In the 18 states viewed by both parties as the most competitive — and thus the subject of the most advertising expenditures and visits by the candidates — the race was equally tight. Forty-five percent of voters in those states said they would support Mr. Kerry, and 43 percent said they would back Mr. Bush. Indeed, on a host of measures, the poll found little difference in public opinion between the nation as a whole and that of voters in the competitive states.
What are Republicans thinking: That Bush will lose – once again – the popular vote. You get there by taking out New York and California, both clearly going for Kerry, and adding in a handful of the 18 states were the race is competitive and, oh, yeah Florida – again – giving Bush enough electoral votes to win.
Not pretty, is it?
Wed 10:22 AM | permalink | printer-friendly version | email this article
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The New York Times’ magazine interview with Ronald Reagan Jr., in which he declares himself an atheist and sharply criticize the Bush Administration – on personal deportment and political philosophy -- is well worth you time and attention. Clearly, he’s trying to move the Republican Party in a more moderate direction and, if he’s not speaking for his mother, he is almost certainly speaking with her approval and consent.
Continue reading "Moderation in Some New Things"Sun 02:12 PM | permalink | printer-friendly version | email this article
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For once, I have very little to add to what it seems is, finally, very obvious. The Bush Administration lied about Iraq and Al Qaeda and Iraqi and its weapons cache. They did it deliberately. And they did it coldly. And they’re not going to stop. Not with $64 million in the bank for a party.
Here are today’s New York Times above-the-fold headlines from, naturally, Left to Right:
GOP Nearing Money Record for Convention
New York Panel Aims to Collect $64 Million
PANEL FINDS NO QAEDA-IRAQ TIE; DESCRIBES A WIDER PLOT FOR 9/11
This is all news, as classically defined by Big Media. But it’s not unexpected. Read all these stories. Read them to the end.
Thu 10:51 AM | permalink | printer-friendly version | email this article
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This recently hatched White House strategy tying President Ronald Reagan’s “conviction” about the Soviet Union to George Bush’s conviction about Saddam Hussien may not have the long-term pay out gleefully cynical Republicans are expecting.
For fans of political theater, it’s a wonderful spectacle, of course, the Republican Party coming together to celebrate the man who undid Richard Nixon’s disastrously untelegenic presidency – the stooped shoulders, the heavy beard – with a smile, a wave and the California casual ability to wear a brown suit without looking silly. From former Missouri Senator (and soon-to-be U.N. Ambassador) John Danforth’s intonation opening this funeral to the chimes of the National Cathedral ringing out the Battle Hymn of the Republic, it was a stirring and beautiful ceremony laden with symbolism, patriotic and political.
Continue reading "Chicken Little"Fri 11:53 AM | permalink | printer-friendly version | email this article
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Sitting at “D—All Things Digital” listening to former Dean campaign consultant Joe Trippi talk – whine, really – about how no one in the party was listening to him, to his message, to his tech guys, you could glimpse a look of quiet satisfaction pass across Republican organizer Ralph Reed’s face.
Continue reading "Fat Cats and Slim Canaries"Wed 01:54 PM | permalink | printer-friendly version | email this article
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There’s been a lot of mail – more than usual -- about the post last week on Secretary of State Colin Powell becoming President George Bush’s running mate. I think it’ll mean a sure-fire victory for the Republicans. And I think it’s about time a black person got on the national ticket. But most of you reader types think I’m crazy.
Continue reading "Colin Redux"Wed 10:07 AM | permalink | printer-friendly version | email this article
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There is one sure-fire way President George Bush – despite everything—can get himself re-elected.
He can make Secretary of State Colin Powell his vice president.
Continue reading "Turning Tables"Tue 07:25 AM | permalink | printer-friendly version | email this article
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Osama Bin Laden is having a pretty good month. He’s a good ways toward showing his supporters that the best-armed, wealthiest, the most politically and economically powerful nation in the world can be reduced to his level.
The stories of the past few weeks – the stories that won’t end – demonstration for all to see that the United States is operating on fear. Fear of fear. Fear of being seen as powerless. Fear of being attacked again. Fear.
Continue reading "Make You Wanna Holler"Mon 12:10 PM | permalink | printer-friendly version | email this article
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I’m a terrorist.
This little bit of information came to me just the other night courtesy of my favorite newsman, comedian – yeah, right – Jon Stewart. And it’s as deft an illustration of why his “Daily Show,” on Comedy Central is so popular.
Continue reading "Run For Your Lives"Wed 09:40 AM | permalink | printer-friendly version | email this article
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I’m a terrorist.
This little bit of information came to me just the other night courtesy of my favorite newsman, comedian – yeah, right – Jon Stewart. And it’s as deft an illustration of why his “Daily Show,” on Comedy Central is so popular.
Continue reading "Run For Your Lives"Wed 09:40 AM | permalink | printer-friendly version | email this article
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The boys over at the Daily Kos are finally catching on to the real power behind the 9/11 Commission: The widows.
This story, first chronicled by Gail Sheehy, writing in the New York Observer, updated over the weekend by the New York Times, is a political classic. Enjoy it. We get only a few of these unorchestrated moments anymore. I’ve been reading Sheehy’s coverage for the past year – it really has been a saga – and this is no fairy tale. These women worked hard and yeah, sure, they used emotional blackmail and pretty much every other tactic they had. Considering they were up against Bush’s ace political advisor Karl Rove, I’d say they did pretty well. Sincerity. Works every time. Particularly when you’re sincere.
You want to stop being cynical for a few seconds? Think about what these women have accomplished. They got rid of Henry Kissinger as chairman, they got the group’s deadline and funding extended, they’ve driven the commission with hard, relentless questioning. As Sheehy pointed out months ago, it’s an easy question to ask – Why? How? – but not so easy to answer, huh, Condi?
Thu 11:08 AM | permalink | printer-friendly version | email this article
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Take a few minute, all you folks who have nothing but contempt for politicians to consider the work being done by the 9/11 commission, more formally known as the National Commission On Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States.
Think for a minute about what they have managed to accomplish. And yes, some of it was obvious and many of us knew what was going to be said. But with steady pressure, applied privately and publicly, low-key but insistent demands and almost complete lack of name-calling, the group led by former New Jersey Gov. Tom Kean has managed to demonstrate two things. One, the Bush Administration was looking in the wrong direction when it came to state-sponsored terrorism (they were looking for a state – states are easy). And two, when it comes to being questioned or challenged, these people are babies. They have to be right. They can never be wrong. It’s hard to say which is more troubling.
Continue reading "Politics Unusual"Fri 11:35 AM | permalink | printer-friendly version | email this article
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Take a few minute, all you folks who have nothing but contempt for politicians to consider the work being done by the 9/11 commission, more formally known as the National Commission On Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States.
Think for a minute about what they have managed to accomplish. And yes, some of it was obvious and many of us knew what was going to be said. But with steady pressure, applied privately and publicly, low-key but insistent demands and almost complete lack of name-calling, the group led by former New Jersey Gov. Tom Kean has managed to demonstrate two things. One, the Bush Administration was looking in the wrong direction when it came to state-sponsored terrorism (they were looking for a state – states are easy). And two, when it comes to being questioned or challenged, these people are babies. They have to be right. They can never be wrong. It’s hard to say which is more troubling.
Continue reading "Politics Unusual"Fri 11:35 AM | permalink | printer-friendly version | email this article
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For much of the past few months, whenever I have to think about the divisions created and maintained by this country’s invasion of Iraq, I’ve returned, again and again, to the emotions generated by 9/11. It resonates across the country. But the further you get from Manhattan, the lower the echo.
Today, the blogosphere provides even more grist for that mill.
Scott Rosenberg, from right here in San Francisco wrote last week about former national security advisor Richard Clarke’s public apology for 9/11. The apology, says Rosenberg, is long overdue and most welcome.
Continue reading "Continental Divide"Tue 01:13 PM | permalink | printer-friendly version | email this article
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I don’t know who edits the New York Times Saturday op-ed page but there should be some sort of special prize to whomever puts out such a consistently engaging end-of-week wrap up – particularly since Saturday’s papers are the least read.
Today’s pieces on leadership and intelligence – and how one confuses and manipulates the other – are definitely worth reading. (You can, however, skip David Brooks’ shrilly partisan denunciation of former Bush administration security advisor Richard Clarke). Peter Neuman’s piece on how 9/11 was filtered through the Cold War expectations of the Bush Administration is a nicely nonpartisan (Neuman teaches in England, home of John Keegan, the best, and most readable military historian out there). Neuman talks persuasively about the Bush administration’s belief that terrorism must be state-sponsored and how that attitude led to what was clearly a dismissal of growing concerns voiced by folks like Clarke.
Continue reading "Where’s the Big Idea?"Sat 08:29 PM | permalink | printer-friendly version | email this article