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OPEC Helps Cure Our Oil Addiction
Tweet Share on Facebook December 17, 2008 Comment (5)By John Aloysius Farrell, Thomas Jefferson Street blog.
That is an interesting meeting going on in Algeria today.
Our good friends the Russians are joining our good friends the Saudis and our good friends the Iraqis and our good friends the Iranians and our other good friends in OPEC, seeking to raise the price of oil in the midst of a worldwide recession.
We're down, and they are going to put it to us.
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Polls Show Auto Bailout Supporters Need to Convince the Public
Tweet Share on Facebook December 16, 2008 Comment (9)Pollster.com's Mark Blumenthal provides the answers in a blog post that is a model of poll analysis. Blumenthal points out that for many respondents, faced with a choice of positions on an issue that they're not familiar with and haven't thought much about, question wording can make a great deal of difference. Bottom line: "The fact that six of the nine pollsters show net opposition to the bailout—especially among those with more concise questions—suggests that the onus is on bailout proponents to make the case to the American public for passage." Another way to look at it: There seem to be more firmly committed opponents than firmly committed proponents of the bailout.
This is something George W. Bush and Henry Paulson might want to keep in mind as they come up with terms and conditions for the TARP funds they are preparing to disburse to General Motors and Chrysler (Ford just wants a line of credit).
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Democrats Bring Good News for the Environment
Tweet Share on Facebook December 16, 2008 Comment (2)By Bonnie Erbe, Thomas Jefferson Street blog
While the Bush administration has been busy destroying the environment, Congress, on the other hand, has passed some wonderful legislation protecting animals this year and last. The Humane Society has a report summarizing bills passed during the 110th session of Congress, which just concluded.
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Caroline Kennedy Should Replace Hillary Clinton in the Senate
Tweet Share on Facebook December 16, 2008 Comment (24)By John Aloysius Farrell, Thomas Jefferson Street blog
Break my heart
I want to go and cry
It's so sad to watch a sweet thing die
Oh, Caroline why
—The Beach BoysLet's cut to the chase. I think it is a fine idea if New York Gov. David Paterson appoints Jack and Jackie Kennedy's daughter Caroline to the U.S. Senate.
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Bush Interior Hacks Endangered More Species
Tweet Share on Facebook December 16, 2008 Comment (7)By Bonnie Erbe, Thomas Jefferson Street blog.
The Bush administration's actions have been rife with outrageous misappropriation of government power for personal gain, environmental destruction, and the politicization of science. But as outrageous as they have been, few have been as baldly self-serving as this:
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Thinking about Robin Toner
Tweet Share on Facebook December 15, 2008 Comment (2)By John Aloysius Farrell, Thomas Jefferson Street blog.
Some years ago, Robin Toner and I found ourselves in New Orleans—or was it Houston?—covering the deliberations of the platform committee at a Republican national convention.
We shared an Irish-American's love of politics, and a Celtic sense of humor. And during a brief break in the proceedings we entertained each other with snatches of political gossip and some flippant commentary about what, and who, we were watching.
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Bush and the Iraqi Reporter's Shoe
Tweet Share on Facebook December 15, 2008 Comment (16)By Bonnie Erbe, Thomas Jefferson Street blog.
Of all the blog entries on President George W. Bush's near -encounter with a shoe, this is my favorite:
Sure we deplore violence as much as the next guy, but that doesn't mean we could entirely suppress a smile when an Iraqui reporter threw not one but two of his shoes at President Bush's press conference and shouted, "This is a gift from the Iraqis; this is the farewell kiss, you dog!" during his surprise visit to Baghdad yesterday. I mean, how many times have you wanted to hurl something other than invective at your TV when W. starts fulminating?
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Blagojevich and Chicago Politics Hurt Obama
Tweet Share on Facebook December 15, 2008 CommentBy Michael Barone, Thomas Jefferson Street blog.
Here is my Creators Syndicate column for this week. It's on the Rod Blagojevich scandal. And here is quite a good piece by Dan Rostenkowski in defense of Chicago politics.
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Rod Blagojevich, Barack Obama, and the Republican Attack Ad
Tweet Share on Facebook December 15, 2008 Comment (6)By Robert Schlesinger, Thomas Jefferson Street blog
I guess the folks over at the RNC have a lot of time on their hands. They have put together a nearly three-minute-long Web ad slamming Barack Obama for connections to disgraced Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich. Questions remain, the ad argues. John McCain whacked the RNC for the ad on Sunday, and Allahpundit over at Hot Air notes that while questions do remain, "I'm not sure any really important questions do." The blogger closes by asking: "Should the RNC have waited on this? No benefit of the doubt during the interregnum, at least?"
Partisan preferences aside, as a practical strategic matter, the answer is "Yes." Obama is an enormously popular politician at the moment and has said and done the right things in terms of appearing to want to move past the era of hyperpartisanship. Granted that the RNC's raison d'être is to remove Barack Obama from office, the RNC could at least be smart about it. With Obama enjoying a happy public-opinion honeymoon, the GOP would be wise to lie low and wait for something to happen (and it will) that will make the public more receptive to anti-Obama criticism.
Instead, the RNC leaps after a hint of pseudo scandal in much the same way my dog chases leaves blowing in the street—and with as little regard for oncoming traffic. Weighing in with a three-minute attack ad now might make the party's cranks happy, but it also risks marginalizing the GOP as a crank party.
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Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama Show Sexism Still Trumps Racism
Tweet Share on Facebook December 15, 2008 Comment (10)By Bonnie Erbe, Thomas Jefferson Street blog.
On Friday usnews.com posted a fascinating op-ed piece about women in international security. All I can say is, hear, hear and read, read!!
Recent headlines lead one to believe that we should award U.S. policies an "A" for inclusiveness, yet empirical evidence suggests we still have a way to go: Multiple studies on women in national security have illuminated concern about the progression of women into senior leadership positions. Many of the studies question whether women face either real or perceived barriers to reaching the highest ranks.
And the answer to the studies' question (whether women still face barriers to the top) is yes, yes, yes! As I've said before, last month's presidential election is proof positive it is more acceptable to be sexist than racist. The sexist insults hurled at Sen. Hillary Clinton (being called a she-goat, her laugh being called a cackle, etc.) if translated into racial slurs and used instead against President-elect Obama would never have been tolerated. And yet, to this day, no one has been forced to apologize to Clinton for all the highly-biased poppycock she had to endure.
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