George Bush was in Oklahoma today. The main public event was a meeting to promote health savings accounts, although this was merely the official cover story to stick the taxpayer with the cost of getting him to a closed-door fundraiser for maverick reformer John McCain. So his heart wasn't really in the public event. Here's part of his justification for health savings accounts --
These are products that enable somebody to, you know, move from one job to the next and keep their health care with them, which is important in the 21st century. They're ways for employees [sic] to take care of their employees.
This ability to, you know, move from one job to the next and keep your health care has been a feature of that Communist National Health Service from the start. And as Paul Krugman has long argued, Bush's verbal slips (see last sentence above) are often revealing of the real agenda, since under these accounts, everyone takes care of their own health budgets, linking quality of care directly to ability to pay.
Anyway, recognizing the need to attach some Hurricane Ike significance to his trip, Bush decided to promote volunteerism and so met with a few volunteers --
THE PRESIDENT: I'm privileged to be the President of a country that produces citizens such as these. The United States is a country of volunteers -- three such volunteers are with us, Oklahoma citizens who serve in a variety of ways ... The Major here, a golf pro, who is going to go on his third tour in Iraq, has used his position in the golfing industry to raise money to help Gold Star families. How cool is that? This guy is going to Iraq on Monday, and yes, he served that way, but he also serves in a very compassionate way.
But Bush himself has declared golf to be a frivolous pursuit at a time of war -- something that he felt compelled to tell people he was giving up. Presumably he didn't tell the Major.
Friday, September 12, 2008
Thursday, September 11, 2008
7 years on
The speeches at the Pentagon memorial dedication are strange. Of course it's a memorial to the people murdered when Flight 77 was crashed into the Pentagon. But in the speeches of Donald Rumsfeld and George Bush, so far, you'd never know about the 3 other planes or the World Trade Center.
UPDATE: Bush now gets around to the other victims. Then: 2557 days he says without a terrorist attack. This is really an atrocious speech. It's a cut and paste from all his other terror speeches.
UPDATE: Bush now gets around to the other victims. Then: 2557 days he says without a terrorist attack. This is really an atrocious speech. It's a cut and paste from all his other terror speeches.
Let's hope Osama isn't sexist
In the Wall Street Journal Asia, columnist for The Australian Janet Albrechtsen explains the brilliance of Sarah Palin to the benighted sophisticates --
She is a happy feminist who doesn't moan about female victimhood.
Script of John McCain ad which chops a Barack Obama quote about his policies and declares it a reference to Sarah Palin --
BARACK OBAMA: Well, you know, you can, you know you can...put...uh...lipstick on a pig...it's still a pig.
CHYRON: Katie Couric On: The Election
CBS' KATIE COURIC: One of the great lessons of that campaign is the continued and accepted role of sexism in American life.
CHYRON: Ready To Lead? No
Ready To Smear? Yes
The full context for McCain's pathetic attack is explained here. Come to think of it, he's never demanded that Osama apologize for 9/11. It must be that words are more harmful or something.
She is a happy feminist who doesn't moan about female victimhood.
Script of John McCain ad which chops a Barack Obama quote about his policies and declares it a reference to Sarah Palin --
BARACK OBAMA: Well, you know, you can, you know you can...put...uh...lipstick on a pig...it's still a pig.
CHYRON: Katie Couric On: The Election
CBS' KATIE COURIC: One of the great lessons of that campaign is the continued and accepted role of sexism in American life.
CHYRON: Ready To Lead? No
Ready To Smear? Yes
The full context for McCain's pathetic attack is explained here. Come to think of it, he's never demanded that Osama apologize for 9/11. It must be that words are more harmful or something.
Wednesday, September 10, 2008
Military-Industrial Complexity
The Pentagon has announced that it will delay its decision about the re-awarding of a huge air fuel tanker contract until the next President is in office -- much as every other decision is being dumped in this fashion. What's notable here is that the contract was originally awarded to an EADS (Airbus) consortium at the expense of Boeing, Boeing having been a major target of one-time Maverick John McCain's criticism of military contracts. The award of the contract to EADS had been a big headache for McCain in states where the Boeing consortium would have generated jobs. Apparently the need of the military for a new refuelling tanker can be postponed for the electoral benefit of McCain.
Tuesday, September 09, 2008
Nation building is hard
George Bush gave another of his war on terror speeches today. The best one can say is that these speeches have gotten more sober over the years, at least relative to the delusional Iraq speeches from the summer of 2003 onwards. A few observations --
The important task in the period ahead will be to work toward the conclusion of a strategic framework agreement and a status of forces agreement between the United States and Iraq. These agreements will serve as the foundation for America's continued security support to Iraq once the United Nations resolution authorizing the multinational forces there expires on December 31st of this year. They will allow us to establish a bilateral relationship between the United States and Iraq like those we have with dozens of other countries around the world.
Note the distinction between the status of forces agreement and the strategic framework; the previous spin had been these were the same agreement, hence the Senate shouldn't be complaining about Bush negotiating treaties that he doesn't intend to have ratified because he already has the power to negotiate a status of forces agreement. But now apparently there really is a difference. Which will again raise the question of whether this is a back-door treaty -- although since Bush is already dumping the war itself into the lap of his successor, perhaps an additional piece of paper won't make that much difference.
Anyway, on Afghanistan, Bush endorsed Barack Obama's long held position that this is where the real problem is. The good news is that
Afghan fighters are good fighters.
Someone might want to hand him some Kipling.
Also
Local Afghan forces were key to our successes in 2001 and 2002, when we combined the 21st century capabilities of the American military with the courage of Afghan fighters on horseback.
That period would include the botched siege of Tora Bora, when the delegation of part of the battle to local fighters (since General Tommy Franks was already conserving US troops for Iraq) allowed Osama bin Laden to escape.
In a phrase he may come to regret, he referred to the NATO troop build-up in Afghanistan as a "quiet surge", which will be complemented by what is in effect a switch of forces from Iraq --
The mission of these forces will be to work with the Afghan forces to provide security for the Afghan people, protect Afghanistan's infrastructure and democratic institutions, and help ensure access to services like education and health care.
Don't tell Condi that battle troops might again be escorting kids to kindergarten!
Finally, Bush was more explicit than before in including Pakistan as a front in the war on terror --
Each of these three places I've discussed today -- Iraq, Afghanistan, and parts of Pakistan -- pose unique challenges for our country. Yet they're all theaters in the same overall struggle.
While this again follows Barack Obama's lead, it raises the question of how the territorial aspects of the war in Pakistan will be reconciled with Pakistan having an elected government that does not want foreign intervention on its soil.
The important task in the period ahead will be to work toward the conclusion of a strategic framework agreement and a status of forces agreement between the United States and Iraq. These agreements will serve as the foundation for America's continued security support to Iraq once the United Nations resolution authorizing the multinational forces there expires on December 31st of this year. They will allow us to establish a bilateral relationship between the United States and Iraq like those we have with dozens of other countries around the world.
Note the distinction between the status of forces agreement and the strategic framework; the previous spin had been these were the same agreement, hence the Senate shouldn't be complaining about Bush negotiating treaties that he doesn't intend to have ratified because he already has the power to negotiate a status of forces agreement. But now apparently there really is a difference. Which will again raise the question of whether this is a back-door treaty -- although since Bush is already dumping the war itself into the lap of his successor, perhaps an additional piece of paper won't make that much difference.
Anyway, on Afghanistan, Bush endorsed Barack Obama's long held position that this is where the real problem is. The good news is that
Afghan fighters are good fighters.
Someone might want to hand him some Kipling.
Also
Local Afghan forces were key to our successes in 2001 and 2002, when we combined the 21st century capabilities of the American military with the courage of Afghan fighters on horseback.
That period would include the botched siege of Tora Bora, when the delegation of part of the battle to local fighters (since General Tommy Franks was already conserving US troops for Iraq) allowed Osama bin Laden to escape.
In a phrase he may come to regret, he referred to the NATO troop build-up in Afghanistan as a "quiet surge", which will be complemented by what is in effect a switch of forces from Iraq --
The mission of these forces will be to work with the Afghan forces to provide security for the Afghan people, protect Afghanistan's infrastructure and democratic institutions, and help ensure access to services like education and health care.
Don't tell Condi that battle troops might again be escorting kids to kindergarten!
Finally, Bush was more explicit than before in including Pakistan as a front in the war on terror --
Each of these three places I've discussed today -- Iraq, Afghanistan, and parts of Pakistan -- pose unique challenges for our country. Yet they're all theaters in the same overall struggle.
While this again follows Barack Obama's lead, it raises the question of how the territorial aspects of the war in Pakistan will be reconciled with Pakistan having an elected government that does not want foreign intervention on its soil.
Special friends
We'll get an idea of who George Bush considers to be his closest foreign political friends from the visiting schedule over the next few months as his presidency winds down -- and especially who he doesn't mind being seen with before the election. So here is Silvio Berlusconi explaining to Dick Cheney his next visit to the USA:
[as translated] And the Vice President Cheney also renewed the invitation by President Bush to attend a dinner in my honor in the United States. I told them that considering the present situation, they could do without it, but he renewed the invitation, so this time I have to say, yes, I will accept. And I accept the invitation with deep gratitude. I'll be attending this dinner on Columbus Day in the United States, and on that occasion, I will renew my friendship and my gratitude toward the friendship that they have for me.
Columbus Day is Monday 13 October. No doubt Silvio approves of the choice of Sarah Palin. After all, Silvio likes to shake things up with appointments of women to top positions.
[as translated] And the Vice President Cheney also renewed the invitation by President Bush to attend a dinner in my honor in the United States. I told them that considering the present situation, they could do without it, but he renewed the invitation, so this time I have to say, yes, I will accept. And I accept the invitation with deep gratitude. I'll be attending this dinner on Columbus Day in the United States, and on that occasion, I will renew my friendship and my gratitude toward the friendship that they have for me.
Columbus Day is Monday 13 October. No doubt Silvio approves of the choice of Sarah Palin. After all, Silvio likes to shake things up with appointments of women to top positions.
The jury is still out
Dan Senor, former spokesman for the Coalition Provisional Authority in Iraq and now a security consultant/political operative takes to the editorial pages of the Wall Street Journal to bash Joe Biden on the grounds that Iraqis were opposed to his partition plan --
The uproar was unsurprising, as partition would have involved expelling Iraqis from their homes. How would a partition work, for example, in major cities like Kirkuk, which is majority Kurdish but also has a large Sunni population, and substantial Christian and Turkomen populations? The likely outcome would have been forced relocation. This could have sparked a wave of renewed sectarian violence, if not civil war.
So no partition plan, no problem? Not exactly. Here's one recent report from the New York Times --
This month [August], legislation in the national Parliament to set the groundwork for crucial provincial elections collapsed in a bitter dispute over Kirkuk, as Arabs and Turkmens demanded that the Kurds be forced to cede some of their power here. But with the Kurds having already consolidated their authority in Kirkuk, there seemed little chance — short of a military intervention — of that happening.
Kurdish authority is visible everywhere in the city. In addition to the provincial government and command of the police, the Kurds control the Asaish, the feared undercover security service that works with the American military and, according to Asaish commanders, United States intelligence agencies.
The fact is that Biden looked at Iraq and not unreasonably saw another Bosnia-Herzegovina. Perhaps his plan was the wrong reaction, but it's not like the issues that it was trying to address have been solved. Instead, like so many other issues, they've been left to the next Administration.
The uproar was unsurprising, as partition would have involved expelling Iraqis from their homes. How would a partition work, for example, in major cities like Kirkuk, which is majority Kurdish but also has a large Sunni population, and substantial Christian and Turkomen populations? The likely outcome would have been forced relocation. This could have sparked a wave of renewed sectarian violence, if not civil war.
So no partition plan, no problem? Not exactly. Here's one recent report from the New York Times --
This month [August], legislation in the national Parliament to set the groundwork for crucial provincial elections collapsed in a bitter dispute over Kirkuk, as Arabs and Turkmens demanded that the Kurds be forced to cede some of their power here. But with the Kurds having already consolidated their authority in Kirkuk, there seemed little chance — short of a military intervention — of that happening.
Kurdish authority is visible everywhere in the city. In addition to the provincial government and command of the police, the Kurds control the Asaish, the feared undercover security service that works with the American military and, according to Asaish commanders, United States intelligence agencies.
The fact is that Biden looked at Iraq and not unreasonably saw another Bosnia-Herzegovina. Perhaps his plan was the wrong reaction, but it's not like the issues that it was trying to address have been solved. Instead, like so many other issues, they've been left to the next Administration.
Monday, September 08, 2008
It's still a sin
If the Iraq war has a spectre, it was surely hovering at this meeting between Dick Cheney and Jose Maria Aznar in Lake Como over the weekend. Remember that Aznar is one of 4 people in the world --- the others being George Bush, Tony Blair, and Jose Manuel Barroso -- who know exactly how the final offer to Saddam Hussein was structured to be an offer that he couldn't accept, guaranteeing a war. Incidentally, the caption for this photo describes Aznar as former President of Spain. Don't tell Juan Carlos about that or he'll say ¿Por qué no te callas?
A passport too far
National Review's Mark Steyn in the course of defending fellow National Reviewer Jay Nordinger takes aim at the meanies on Irish radio call-in shows:
I wonder if there's a Bog Trotters 4 Bog Trotters* lobby group over there.
*Don't bother with the "Racist!" emails. I'm Irish.
I wonder if there's a Bog Trotters 4 Bog Trotters* lobby group over there.
*Don't bother with the "Racist!" emails. I'm Irish.
Sunday, September 07, 2008
And such small portions
Andrew Sullivan, in his regular Sunday Times (UK) slot --
What we have learned about John McCain from his selection of Sarah Palin is that he is as impulsive and reckless a decision-maker as George W. Bush. We know this not because of what we have learned about this Pentecostalist populist since she exploded on the scene last Friday morning (and God knows we have learned more than we ever wanted).
Andrew Sullivan, when the Palin-ain't-the-Mom "controversy" was at its height --
Now they've cleared the air on this - and good for them - what harm would it do to release the medical records showing that Sarah Palin delivered Trig on April 18 in Wasilla? This is not hard: there must be an obstetrician, medical records, and data that can easily refute this rumor.
What we have learned about John McCain from his selection of Sarah Palin is that he is as impulsive and reckless a decision-maker as George W. Bush. We know this not because of what we have learned about this Pentecostalist populist since she exploded on the scene last Friday morning (and God knows we have learned more than we ever wanted).
Andrew Sullivan, when the Palin-ain't-the-Mom "controversy" was at its height --
Now they've cleared the air on this - and good for them - what harm would it do to release the medical records showing that Sarah Palin delivered Trig on April 18 in Wasilla? This is not hard: there must be an obstetrician, medical records, and data that can easily refute this rumor.
Saturday, September 06, 2008
Down to real business
Dick Cheney 3 days ago --
All peoples are best served when market principles are allowed to work; when there is transparency of information; when energy export routes are diverse and reliable.
Dick Cheney's recent meetings --
On energy, the U.S. has stressed pipeline construction that bypasses Russia. In Azerbaijan, Cheney met privately with William Schrader, president of London-based BP Plc's Azerbaijan venture, and Robert Dastmalchi, San Ramon, California-based Chevron Corp.'s Azerbaijan country manager, according to the vice president's office. A spokeswoman for BP in Baku declined to comment on the talks. Chevron couldn't be reached for comment late yesterday.
Cheney met today in Cernobbio with Peter Sutherland, British Petroleum Plc and Goldman Sachs International board chairman. No aides were present at the meeting and Cheney spokeswoman Megan Mitchell declined to comment on the talks.
All peoples are best served when market principles are allowed to work; when there is transparency of information; when energy export routes are diverse and reliable.
Dick Cheney's recent meetings --
On energy, the U.S. has stressed pipeline construction that bypasses Russia. In Azerbaijan, Cheney met privately with William Schrader, president of London-based BP Plc's Azerbaijan venture, and Robert Dastmalchi, San Ramon, California-based Chevron Corp.'s Azerbaijan country manager, according to the vice president's office. A spokeswoman for BP in Baku declined to comment on the talks. Chevron couldn't be reached for comment late yesterday.
Cheney met today in Cernobbio with Peter Sutherland, British Petroleum Plc and Goldman Sachs International board chairman. No aides were present at the meeting and Cheney spokeswoman Megan Mitchell declined to comment on the talks.
Battle of the photo captions
While it's not clear what military assistance Georgia and Ukraine will get from the USA in current or future conflicts with Russia, the White House is using Dick Cheney's visit to the region to send a strong message -- with the official photographs. Here's a sample:
A member of the clergy walks past the gold-domed St. Michael's Monastery in the early morning light of Friday, Sept. 5, 2008 in Kiev, where Vice President Dick Cheney is currently visiting during a multi-day tour of ex-Soviet republics. The monastery, originally constructed in the 12th century, is named after the Archangel Michael, patron saint of Kiev, and was destroyed by Soviet communists between 1934-36 and reconstructed in 2000.
Seen through the Holodomor Memorial, Vice President Dick Cheney observes a moment of silence Friday, Sept. 5, 2008 in Kiev, to remember the millions of Ukrainians murdered between 1932-33 during a Soviet enforced artificial famine.
Vice President Dick Cheney is joined by Mrs. Lynne Cheney, President of Ukraine Viktor Yushchenko and Mrs. Kateryna Yushchenko, in presenting memorial baskets Friday, Sept. 5, 2008, at the Holodomar Memorial at St. Michael's Square in Kiev. The Holodomar, Ukraine's famine of 1932-33, was imposed by Soviet communists and killed an estimated three to seven million.
While serving the purpose of pushing an implicit equation of Russia with the USSR, and thus no doubt generating applause lines for speeches back home, there's not much here for the near-abroad countries to rely on.
A member of the clergy walks past the gold-domed St. Michael's Monastery in the early morning light of Friday, Sept. 5, 2008 in Kiev, where Vice President Dick Cheney is currently visiting during a multi-day tour of ex-Soviet republics. The monastery, originally constructed in the 12th century, is named after the Archangel Michael, patron saint of Kiev, and was destroyed by Soviet communists between 1934-36 and reconstructed in 2000.
Seen through the Holodomor Memorial, Vice President Dick Cheney observes a moment of silence Friday, Sept. 5, 2008 in Kiev, to remember the millions of Ukrainians murdered between 1932-33 during a Soviet enforced artificial famine.
Vice President Dick Cheney is joined by Mrs. Lynne Cheney, President of Ukraine Viktor Yushchenko and Mrs. Kateryna Yushchenko, in presenting memorial baskets Friday, Sept. 5, 2008, at the Holodomar Memorial at St. Michael's Square in Kiev. The Holodomar, Ukraine's famine of 1932-33, was imposed by Soviet communists and killed an estimated three to seven million.
While serving the purpose of pushing an implicit equation of Russia with the USSR, and thus no doubt generating applause lines for speeches back home, there's not much here for the near-abroad countries to rely on.
Nice timing
An apparent lesson of the collapse of Silver State bank: if you're the son of a presidential candidate, and suspect that everything is about to go pear-shaped at your day job at a bank, but you want to get out without attracting attention -- tell everyone you're quitting to work on your Dad's campaign! --
[Wall Street Journal (subs. req;d)] Founded in 1996, Silver State specialized in construction and land-development loans to finance real-estate projects in Nevada and Arizona. In July 2007, Silver State raised about $30 million through an initial public stock offering. Its shares debuted at $20.
The business unraveled this year. By June 30, borrowers had fallen behind on about $252 million worth of loans, compared to about $11.5 million six months earlier, according to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. The bank's capital ratios, which represent the bank's cushion to absorb losses, have dropped sharply.
Andy McCain's ties to Silver State date to 2006, when he became a director of Choice Bank, a small Scottsdale, Ariz., lender that Silver State acquired that year. Mr. McCain's family was an early investor in Choice, according to people familiar with the matter ... If Mr. McCain had remained on Silver State's board another four days, his position on the audit committee would have required him to sign off on the company's second-quarter financial statements.
Three weeks after Mr. McCain quit, Silver State had to revise those second-quarter numbers to reflect a loss of $72.3 million, which was larger than previously reported. It warned in the Aug. 15 regulatory filing of "uncertainty about the company's ability to continue as a going concern," a sign the bank's survival was in doubt.
Silver State said at the time its insurance carrier planned to cancel policies protecting Silver State's directors and executives from liability due to the bank's elevated risk profile, effective Oct. 7.
Mr. McCain's public role in his father's presidential campaign has been mostly limited to appearances at several events last month. A person close to Mr. McCain says he left Silver State's board because his busy schedule meant he wouldn't be able to devote enough time to the struggling bank.
[Wall Street Journal (subs. req;d)] Founded in 1996, Silver State specialized in construction and land-development loans to finance real-estate projects in Nevada and Arizona. In July 2007, Silver State raised about $30 million through an initial public stock offering. Its shares debuted at $20.
The business unraveled this year. By June 30, borrowers had fallen behind on about $252 million worth of loans, compared to about $11.5 million six months earlier, according to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. The bank's capital ratios, which represent the bank's cushion to absorb losses, have dropped sharply.
Andy McCain's ties to Silver State date to 2006, when he became a director of Choice Bank, a small Scottsdale, Ariz., lender that Silver State acquired that year. Mr. McCain's family was an early investor in Choice, according to people familiar with the matter ... If Mr. McCain had remained on Silver State's board another four days, his position on the audit committee would have required him to sign off on the company's second-quarter financial statements.
Three weeks after Mr. McCain quit, Silver State had to revise those second-quarter numbers to reflect a loss of $72.3 million, which was larger than previously reported. It warned in the Aug. 15 regulatory filing of "uncertainty about the company's ability to continue as a going concern," a sign the bank's survival was in doubt.
Silver State said at the time its insurance carrier planned to cancel policies protecting Silver State's directors and executives from liability due to the bank's elevated risk profile, effective Oct. 7.
Mr. McCain's public role in his father's presidential campaign has been mostly limited to appearances at several events last month. A person close to Mr. McCain says he left Silver State's board because his busy schedule meant he wouldn't be able to devote enough time to the struggling bank.
Argentina of the North
Wall Street Journal story (subs. req'd) on the imminent government takeover of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac --
In recent weeks, Treasury officials have been reaching out to foreign central banks and other overseas buyers of securities or debt sold by the two companies, to reassure them of the creditworthiness of these instruments.
In one such conversation, at the end of August, the Treasury sought to reassure the Bank of Mexico, according to a person familiar with the matter, of the soundness of agency securities held by the bank. Treasury officials have also had similar conversations with Japanese investors who are buyers and holders of agency debt.
Got that? The US Treasury Department, on the phone to Mexico, assuring them that US debt is sound.
In recent weeks, Treasury officials have been reaching out to foreign central banks and other overseas buyers of securities or debt sold by the two companies, to reassure them of the creditworthiness of these instruments.
In one such conversation, at the end of August, the Treasury sought to reassure the Bank of Mexico, according to a person familiar with the matter, of the soundness of agency securities held by the bank. Treasury officials have also had similar conversations with Japanese investors who are buyers and holders of agency debt.
Got that? The US Treasury Department, on the phone to Mexico, assuring them that US debt is sound.
Friday, September 05, 2008
After January, a healthier VP no matter what happens
Bad camera angle, weird light? What is the story with the huge red areas around Dick Cheney's eyes and nose (seen here with Mikheil Saakashvili)? UPDATE: Atrios comment thread determines that Cheney likely has rosacea.
FINAL UPDATE: One irony now is that Cheney has bigger facial skin problems that the infamously poisoned President of Ukraine Viktor Yushchenko.
Photo: David Bohrer /White House
Maggie Maggie Maggie
Barbara Amiel (Lady Black of Crossharbour) writes at length in the Wall Street Journal about the similarities between Sarah Palin and Margaret Thatcher. Several times Amiel makes a claim that Maggie was eventually deposed because she never had the faith of the Tory old guard --
Mrs. Thatcher would have recognized the guns aimed at Sarah Palin as the weapons of the left with feminist trigger-pullers. She also would have known that Mrs. Palin has less to fear from East-Coast intellectual snobs in egalitarian America than she had to fear from her own Tory base in class-prejudiced Britain. She would have told her to stand her ground and do her homework. Read your briefs, choose advisers with care, and, as she once said to me, my arm in her grip and her eyes fixed firmly on mine, "Just be yourself, don't ever give in and they can't harm you."
No doubt that there was a faction in the Tories with a class bias against Maggie. But were they decisive in her ouster? You'd read Amiel's entire piece and never know the role that the poll tax and European Union played in splitting her party over her leadership -- the latter split being one that David Cameron still has trouble keeping a lid on today, nearly 20 years later.
Thatcher-Palin is a very strained analogy, not least given the very different routes to power in parliamentary and presidential politics. But if Palin is brought down at some point, it won't because of her policies. At the moment, she doesn't have any.
Mrs. Thatcher would have recognized the guns aimed at Sarah Palin as the weapons of the left with feminist trigger-pullers. She also would have known that Mrs. Palin has less to fear from East-Coast intellectual snobs in egalitarian America than she had to fear from her own Tory base in class-prejudiced Britain. She would have told her to stand her ground and do her homework. Read your briefs, choose advisers with care, and, as she once said to me, my arm in her grip and her eyes fixed firmly on mine, "Just be yourself, don't ever give in and they can't harm you."
No doubt that there was a faction in the Tories with a class bias against Maggie. But were they decisive in her ouster? You'd read Amiel's entire piece and never know the role that the poll tax and European Union played in splitting her party over her leadership -- the latter split being one that David Cameron still has trouble keeping a lid on today, nearly 20 years later.
Thatcher-Palin is a very strained analogy, not least given the very different routes to power in parliamentary and presidential politics. But if Palin is brought down at some point, it won't because of her policies. At the moment, she doesn't have any.
Timing the market
Gordon Brown, speaking to CBI Scotland --
But at its peak in 1999 the North Sea produced 2.9 million barrels a day. This year 1.5 million barrels a day - the largest reduction of any oil producing nation - making Britain a net importer of oil.
And five years ago oil was less than 40 dollars a barrel - in July it was 147 dollars a barrel and today 107.
He goes 5 years back when oil was $40/barrel -- but it was closer to $10/barrel at peak production. Hindsight is of course 20-20, but the oil should have been left under the sea in 1999.
Chart from US Energy Information Administration
The only military parent
Apparently one of Sarah Palin's campaign events next week will be to say goodbye to her son Track when he leaves for military duty in Iraq on September 11, 2008 (geddit?) having signed up on September 11, 2007 (geddit?) -- so said a Washington Post reporter on the Diane Rehm show this morning. The event would be at Fort Wainwright.
Surely there are rules about military facilities and events being used for campaign purposes? There were when Barack Obama was in Germany.
Surely there are rules about military facilities and events being used for campaign purposes? There were when Barack Obama was in Germany.
McCain speech thoughts
These idiots disrupting his speech are handing the Republicans a talking point.
The warm up video for his speech is a good case study in the problems with presidential systems. Can any one person be the giant that this crowd seems to believe he is?
Note the first states he mentions. Michigan, Pennsylvania. It's the same message as from Palin's speech.
A telling lack of applause for his criticism of corporate welfare for oil companies. Similarly for his (correct) statement that the hypothetical daughter of migrant workers is American. And there's the Vatican's phrase, culture of life.
A load of tax cut and spending promises. And a bigger federal role in education. No explanation of how he'll be getting involved in what are now local government decisions.
Georgia gets solidarity and prayers -- anything else?
"I hate war" -- but it sounds like it's going to involve some more war to get to peace.
Did he know that his stirring lines at the end were being drowned out by applause? [K-Lo agrees]
Conclusion: we might have forgotten how vigorous an intellectually deranged party can be.
Trig, the Down's baby is on stage again. No baby sitters in Minnesota?
No wonder they didn't want this thing too close to a hurricane. The post-speech song selection is all party music -- on a day when the Dow fell 350.
The warm up video for his speech is a good case study in the problems with presidential systems. Can any one person be the giant that this crowd seems to believe he is?
Note the first states he mentions. Michigan, Pennsylvania. It's the same message as from Palin's speech.
A telling lack of applause for his criticism of corporate welfare for oil companies. Similarly for his (correct) statement that the hypothetical daughter of migrant workers is American. And there's the Vatican's phrase, culture of life.
A load of tax cut and spending promises. And a bigger federal role in education. No explanation of how he'll be getting involved in what are now local government decisions.
Georgia gets solidarity and prayers -- anything else?
"I hate war" -- but it sounds like it's going to involve some more war to get to peace.
Did he know that his stirring lines at the end were being drowned out by applause? [K-Lo agrees]
Conclusion: we might have forgotten how vigorous an intellectually deranged party can be.
Trig, the Down's baby is on stage again. No baby sitters in Minnesota?
No wonder they didn't want this thing too close to a hurricane. The post-speech song selection is all party music -- on a day when the Dow fell 350.
Thursday, September 04, 2008
The market is efficient
According to the Larry Kudlow school of financial economics, the stock market should be through the roof today following the Greatest Speech Ever at the Republican convention. The Dow is down nearly 300 points.
Too much exaggeration even for Cheney
Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili and Dick Cheney didn't have one aspect of their talking points straight in Tblisi today --
Mr. President, you've been fearless in response to the occupation of your territory, and steadfast in your principles. America respects you, and we respect the noble people of this country -- more than 100,000 of whom came out this week to demonstrate their support for Georgia's independence and sovereignty.
PRESIDENT SAAKASHVILI: Actually, 1.5 million.
VICE PRESIDENT CHENEY: 1.5 million. Well, it was more than 100,000.
(Laughter.) Good, 1.5 million.
One wonders where Cheney's team got their estimate from.
Mr. President, you've been fearless in response to the occupation of your territory, and steadfast in your principles. America respects you, and we respect the noble people of this country -- more than 100,000 of whom came out this week to demonstrate their support for Georgia's independence and sovereignty.
PRESIDENT SAAKASHVILI: Actually, 1.5 million.
VICE PRESIDENT CHENEY: 1.5 million. Well, it was more than 100,000.
(Laughter.) Good, 1.5 million.
One wonders where Cheney's team got their estimate from.
The battleground
View Larger Map
Sarah Palin's speech -- reflecting the heavy overwatch of Karl Rove -- made mention of very few specific US states. But it did mention most of the states that feature in the map. Clearly this is where the strategists expect the election to be won and lost. Forget all that stuff about one side chasing the other's sure things on the east coast or the plains. The action will be on a belt from the Appalachians and along the Great Lakes. Unfortunately for Rove, just as Obama impressed a crowd in Germany most of whom don't have the vote, Palin's hockey mom schtick was likely big in Ontario.
The Sarah Palin speech
An interesting exhibit. The Party of Lincoln reduced to 20,000 people chanting "Drill baby drill" and "Zero". She never once made a positive case for her own credentials as a vice presidential candidate, at least no case that wouldn't apply to any other mayor of a town of 10,000 people. She became noticeably detached from the speech -- segments of which were written for a generic candidate -- on the foreign policy and tax sections. She and Dick Cheney now have a weird bond since his sneering at energy conservation was matched by hers at community work, although she merely took the baton from Rudy Giuliani in that regard. The speech even had a good jab at George Bush, tracing the opposition of special interests to McCain back to his primary campaign in 2000 -- the one won by Bush.
Finally, the full family on stage at the end, teen fiancé included, and Trig (the Down's baby) shown to everyone. In that sense, the content of the speech was irrelevant. The 20,000 true believers wanted signs.
UPDATE: One other thing -- guess who must share George Bush's pronunciation nucular?
Finally, the full family on stage at the end, teen fiancé included, and Trig (the Down's baby) shown to everyone. In that sense, the content of the speech was irrelevant. The 20,000 true believers wanted signs.
UPDATE: One other thing -- guess who must share George Bush's pronunciation nucular?
Wednesday, September 03, 2008
One way transparency
Dick Cheney in Azerbaijan --
America also appreciates Azerbaijan's commitment to working with Western countries on energy issues. All peoples are best served when market principles are allowed to work; when there is transparency of information; when energy export routes are diverse and reliable.
Dick Cheney has never voluntarily revealed which energy industry special interests wrote the report of his 2001 Energy Task Force.
America also appreciates Azerbaijan's commitment to working with Western countries on energy issues. All peoples are best served when market principles are allowed to work; when there is transparency of information; when energy export routes are diverse and reliable.
Dick Cheney has never voluntarily revealed which energy industry special interests wrote the report of his 2001 Energy Task Force.
Tuesday, September 02, 2008
A post that could disappear
National Review's Byron York spoke to Steve Schmidt "a senior strategist in the McCain campaign". The conversation included some Rove-style pushback from the strategist on why Governor Sarah Palin was trying to get her ex brother in law fired as a state trooper --
"The reason that members of the Palin family were having discussions with the head of the state police about this state trooper, who was her ex-brother-in-law, was because he had made threats against the family. He threatened to kill the governor's daughter, her father, and her sister. He tasered her 11-year-old stepson. And that is why the Palin family was concerned about this trooper."
Presumably they've had a lawyer look over those statements before going public with them.
"The reason that members of the Palin family were having discussions with the head of the state police about this state trooper, who was her ex-brother-in-law, was because he had made threats against the family. He threatened to kill the governor's daughter, her father, and her sister. He tasered her 11-year-old stepson. And that is why the Palin family was concerned about this trooper."
Presumably they've had a lawyer look over those statements before going public with them.
Are they even trying any more?
The following Deep Thought from John McCain appears on his website as the context-setting quote for tonight's festivities at the Republican convention --
"Love of country, my friends, is another way of saying love of your fellow countrymen."
"Love of country, my friends, is another way of saying love of your fellow countrymen."
When is it not about oil?
George Bush sees one clear lesson of Gustav --
One thing is for certain: When Congress comes back, they've got to understand that we need more domestic energy, not less; that -- and one place to find it is offshore America, lands that have been taken off the books, so to speak, by congressional law. And now they need to give us a chance to find more oil and gas here at home. I'd much rather American consumers be buying gasoline produced from American oil than from foreign oil. I'd rather our dollar stay at home than go overseas.
And I know the Congress has been on recess for a while, but this issue hasn't gone away. And this storm should not cause the members of Congress to say, well, we don't need to address our energy independence; it ought to cause the Congress to step up their need to address our dependence on foreign oil.
Somehow, that's his number 1 priority after the storm. Incidentally, John McCain's non-pick for vice-presidential running mate, Lousiana governor Bobby Jindal, has asked for a release from the US Strategic Petroleum Reserve to relief refinery shortages in the Gulf. Bush's administration is still thinking about it.
One thing is for certain: When Congress comes back, they've got to understand that we need more domestic energy, not less; that -- and one place to find it is offshore America, lands that have been taken off the books, so to speak, by congressional law. And now they need to give us a chance to find more oil and gas here at home. I'd much rather American consumers be buying gasoline produced from American oil than from foreign oil. I'd rather our dollar stay at home than go overseas.
And I know the Congress has been on recess for a while, but this issue hasn't gone away. And this storm should not cause the members of Congress to say, well, we don't need to address our energy independence; it ought to cause the Congress to step up their need to address our dependence on foreign oil.
Somehow, that's his number 1 priority after the storm. Incidentally, John McCain's non-pick for vice-presidential running mate, Lousiana governor Bobby Jindal, has asked for a release from the US Strategic Petroleum Reserve to relief refinery shortages in the Gulf. Bush's administration is still thinking about it.
Monday, September 01, 2008
Be careful about what becomes an issue
Laura Bush this morning on ABC's Good Morning America --
Q You've had a chance to meet Governor Palin in the past.
MRS. BUSH: That's right.
Q Tell us what you know about her, and what you think she brings to the ticket.
MRS. BUSH: Well, I'm thrilled that she's on the ticket. I'm getting my wish -- I'm going to get to vote for a Republican woman for vice president this time, and I'm so excited about it.
...
And then, of course, she has the experience of raising five kids while she has had these jobs, and I think for a lot of people, a lot of women especially, we look at her and we admire her, the way she's lived her life. She comes from a state where people are strong, and a Western state, that state of Alaska, that produces really strong women, particularly. And I like her good, sound judgment and her good, common sense. I think that's what she brings to this ticket.
And on CNN --
Q So is that a suggestion that at some level she has more experience than Senator McCain?
MRS. BUSH: Well, I think she has a different experience. She's the mother of five kids. She's doing that while she's worked. She was pregnant when I was last with her at the National Governors Association and since had that baby. I just have a lot of admiration for her, and I think she brings a judgment and a common sense to this that is just terrific.
[context for the Bristol Palin situation here and here]
Q You've had a chance to meet Governor Palin in the past.
MRS. BUSH: That's right.
Q Tell us what you know about her, and what you think she brings to the ticket.
MRS. BUSH: Well, I'm thrilled that she's on the ticket. I'm getting my wish -- I'm going to get to vote for a Republican woman for vice president this time, and I'm so excited about it.
...
And then, of course, she has the experience of raising five kids while she has had these jobs, and I think for a lot of people, a lot of women especially, we look at her and we admire her, the way she's lived her life. She comes from a state where people are strong, and a Western state, that state of Alaska, that produces really strong women, particularly. And I like her good, sound judgment and her good, common sense. I think that's what she brings to this ticket.
And on CNN --
Q So is that a suggestion that at some level she has more experience than Senator McCain?
MRS. BUSH: Well, I think she has a different experience. She's the mother of five kids. She's doing that while she's worked. She was pregnant when I was last with her at the National Governors Association and since had that baby. I just have a lot of admiration for her, and I think she brings a judgment and a common sense to this that is just terrific.
[context for the Bristol Palin situation here and here]
Elitist Hawaii and that other place
Above is the graphic header that appears on John McCain's website which has been modified to emphasize Hurricane Gustav relief. Note the thousand points of light, if you will, coming from the outline of the USA.
Which states are missing?
UPDATE: Here's the Alaska-less original should the campaign take notice and make it a 50 state depiction on the website.
FINAL UPDATE: Spelling seems to be a problem for McCain's website too --
Our Marines have done a superb job fighting alongside Iraqis to defeat Al Queda,
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