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Washington Halloween Parade: What Palin, Obama, Hillary, and the Rest Should Wear
Tweet Share on Facebook October 30, 2009 Comment (6)By Jamie Stiehm, Thomas Jefferson Street blog
Halloween's all the rage—and I don't mean the sweet young set of trick-or-treaters. I mean with grown men and women everywhere. Somehow you're never too old and dignified to get into a Halloween costume for a party.
So here's my designer dream Halloween party, set for midnight tomorrow at home in Washington. Quite a cast of characters, mostly political because, well, politics is what we do here. It's all we know.
Let's start with the obvious: the three Bushmen—George 41, George 43, and Jeb—are naturals as the three Macbeth witches with the boiling cauldron. Theatrically, they ask when the three of them shall meet again—in Florida, Texas, or in Maine?
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The Bush Legacy: The Business is Personal
Tweet Share on Facebook October 23, 2009 Comment (93)By Jamie Stiehm, Thomas Jefferson Street blog
Colleague Mary Kate Cary sent a black and white bouquet of words George Herbert Walker Bush's way this week, praising President Obama for speaking at the former president's library to honor his charitable initiative, A Thousand Points of Light, and salute his public service. She said she had worked for the elder Bush and loved him very much.
The personal element is what caught my eye, as that lies at the heart of the Bush way of doing business. Everything is personal if your name is George Bush, father or son. The loyalty gene runs deep in this American dynasty, which has cost our country dearly.
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Kennedy, Beck, Malkin: Mixed News on a Cultural Signpost
Tweet Share on Facebook October 21, 2009 Comment (17)By Jamie Stiehm, Thomas Jefferson Street blog
True Compass, the late Sen. Edward Kennedy's riveting memoir, recently topped the New York Times Best Sellers list, I reminded myself on the ferry from his hometown, Hyannis Port, to Nantucket in the midst of an October nor'easter.
So something seemed right with the world in Massachusetts, though the coast wasn't clear enough to see the horizon. John F. Kennedy liked to say you could see Ireland across the ocean, but not that day.
Yes, I scan the Best Sellers seriously as cultural signposts—but the news ain't all good. "The List" is just as divided in a crazy-quilt pattern, just as vicious and heartwarming (in patches and squares) as we the American people.
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Obama’s Jobless Solution? He Needs a New New Deal
Tweet Share on Facebook October 14, 2009 Comment (7)By Jamie Stiehm, Thomas Jefferson Street blog
President Barack Obama saved Wall Street from the brink and won the Nobel Peace Prize, but hold the champagne. How he addresses Main Street's glum joblessness will swing how an anxious America judges his performance. Not even winning at war or peace matters as much; work is where people live.
Interesting times call for bold measures—and I for one am ready to re-invent the Works Progress Administration for our era. The WPA, established as a government agency under the watchful eye of President Franklin D. Roosevelt, was just the thing then in 1935—providing a tremendous lift to 8.5 million who sought work, along with a lasting legacy in the arts and civic infrastructure.
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McChrystal’s Afghanistan Chattiness Does Obama and the Nation a Disservice
Tweet Share on Facebook October 7, 2009 Comment (20)By Jamie Stiehm, Thomas Jefferson Street blog
Chatty generals who share innermost thoughts with reporters and in speeches didn't learn their civil-military lessons well at West Point. In general, it's best to have the strong, silent type at the army's helm, especially in wartime. That means those who save their confidences and counsel for their boss, the commander in chief, along with Congress.
Gen. Stanley McChrystal, our new man in Afghanistan, roundly deserved the rebuke he just received from Secretary of Defense Robert Gates for speaking out of school about his wish for an infusion of 40,000 troops. By going public, the general made a grave military situation all the more politically delicate—doing a disservice to President Barack Obama and the nation in tough times.
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Time for Democrats to Cut Snowe Loose on Healthcare Reform
Tweet Share on Facebook October 1, 2009 Comment (24)By Jamie Stiehm, Thomas Jefferson Street blog
Don't let the nation wait on the Lady from Maine anymore—to borrow a phrase for the late great Senator Margaret Chase Smith.
Delightful as Maine Senator Olympia Snowe is, as moderate a Republican as she may be, Democratic senators—and the president—have tarried too long trying to please and persuade her to be on their team when it comes to universal healthcare reform. They should stop courting her now and act like confident team players who don't need one senator to cross party lines. On Capitol Hill, it's clear the lady from Maine has frozen out the Democrats.
Democrats now have nothing to show for their efforts with Snowe except goose eggs. Neither Snowe nor any other Senate Republican has moved forward to break the impasse over a public option. Democratic Sen. Max Baucus, chairman of the Finance Committee, frittered away weeks of precious time with Snowe this summer and she never melted. Similarly, Baucus reached out to Iowa Republican Sen. Charles Grassley, who dashed Democratic suitors once let loose in the cornfields of his home state. "Pull the plug on Grandma" turned out to be the thanks they got from Grassley.
