In light of the fact that from the beginning of this Congressional term Senate Republicans have been threatening to filibuster everything they object to, no matter how routine or minor (the latest being a nomination to the National Labor Relations Board), why haven’t the Democrats called their bluff? What Democrats have been doing is this — if the Republicans threaten to filibuster and the Democrats don’t have 60 votes, they throw […]
Perhaps a good sign that the Democrats won’t make the same mistakes they made during the first two years of Clinton’s term: This article in the Wall Street Journal, reporting on an interview with Rahm Emanuel, the new White House Chief of Staff. [Obama wants] real solutions to real problems. And if we do an ideological test, we will fail. Our challenge is to work to solve the actual problems […]
This today from the Pew Research Center: Only 11% of Americans are satisfied with the way things are going in the U.S. today, which is the lowest figure ever recorded. Here’s a graph of the trend. By the way, who are these 11% of people who are satisfied with the way things are going nowadays? Also today from the Pew Center, especially for my friend Jill, additional confirmation that Republicans […]
I went to the office of La Poste on Rue d’Alésia and mailed my ballot on Monday. Even though I am solidly in the center of the political spectrum, this decision was not even a close one. Thinking about my decision, I realize that it was based on three separate but related fundamental notions. Trite and tired and cliched, maybe, but a big part of my decision was grounded in […]
From Paris, John McCain’s selection of Alaska Governor Sarah Palin seems bizarre. Step back from the moment-to-moment campaign jostling and ask this question: You are John McCain. You think you will be elected President. Who do you want as your V.P? You’d think that the independent, strong, leader McCain would step up to the plate and give us someone just as solid and substantial as he is, someone who he […]
Ten straight victories for Barack Obama, including a 58% to 41% shellacking in Wisconsin, have left me feeling, well, almost sorry for Hillary Clinton. Unlike Big Bloated Bill, who I always thought lucked into the 1992 Presidency with weak competition in the Democratic primary (quick, name two other candidates — extra credit for those of you who came up with our own current AG Jerry Brown; the others were equally […]