After the last two Presidential Elections, this was relatively painless. As soon as the polls closed on the West Coast Obama was declared the victor. It wasn't even close. Obama's lead was too large to even consider challenging. McCain gave a great speech and sounded like his old self again. Palin took her family back home to Alaska and is undoubtedly reading books about the rest of the country in preparation for her pending candidacy for President in 2012.
Surely, the Apocalypse will then be upon us. In the meantime President-elect Obama has been preparing for his transition into the White House. No vacation with family just yet.
The battle for Congress the Democrats won out, but they also fell short of their iron-clad majority, including a filibuster-proof Senate. Minnesota is still undecided between Norm Coleman and Al Franken, but that would still leave the Senate Democrats short of 60 by 4 votes.
Washington State's election was also less protracted than four years ago. Gregoire made some big advances in King County (which was a surprise) and pulled off a victory. Had he won, Rossi probably would have been a rising star for the GOP. Especially since he was a challenger in a Democratic year. Lucky for us he's no Sarah Palin. Democrats are no doubt breathing easier now that Gregoire will be returned, it is still amazing that she was in this much trouble in the first place. Also surprising is the amount of incumbents returned to the legislature. They were mostly democrats to begin with, but few incumbents lost and one longtime democratic Senator, Marilyn Rasmussen, appears to have lost to her GOP challenger.
Other issues around the country were controversial. The ballot measures banning gay marriage all passed. Colorado wasn't really a surprise, but California banning gay marriage is a little surprising. California is home to the two largest gay population cities (San Francisco and Oakland) and is a supposedly "liberal" state. MSNBC found that minority communities are not accepting of gay marriage, especially the African-American community.
Rounding out the results of the ballot initiatives in Washington, Sound Transit passed, Eyman's transportation initiative failed, and physician assisted suicide passed.
Showing posts with label obama. Show all posts
Showing posts with label obama. Show all posts
Friday, November 7, 2008
Wednesday, August 6, 2008
Sir, You Are No Paris Hilton
Just when you think that things aren't going to get any weirder. McCain pulls another attack that bears the acme of the GOP.
Celebrities are highly sought after commodities in politics. Politicians and actors have what the other one wants. Actors want power and influence and politicians want to be cool. Politicians are the ugly cousins of actors and DC is their Hollywood. Another difference is that people will actually listen to celebrities. So they have a marriage of convenience.
The stereotype is that celebrity actors in California are liberal, there are several conservative stars. Celebrities aren't usually from Hollywood are they? Charlton Heston set the bar for celebrity conservatives, before him there was Ronald Reagan and most recently there has been Arnold Schwarzenegger as the Governator of Callyforneeya.
Celebrities become politicians, but rarely has a politician crossed over to become a celebrity. Kennedy did, to a lesser extent Clinton did, Reagan was already on the B-list when he was governor of California, and now we have Barack Obama.
The GOP has been trying to cast Obama as elitist and out-of-touch-with-regular-Americans tag throughout this entire campaign. So John McCain tried to compare him to Paris Hilton.
It kind if makes sense, Paris is part of the elite and so fabulously out of touch, it is a decent political analogy. A better analogy would be a wiley coyote with the same tired bag of tricks that cannot catch up with a the roadrunner on a lonley Arizona highway.
But did you ever look to see who John McCain married? Cindy McCain is more like Hilton than Obama is. Cindy is more a Patty Hearst-style heiress category than Paris Hilton is (translated, Cindy is more accomplished, possibly more talented). She has a few internet rumors of her own if you care to do a little research. And believe me Cindy's rumors are way hotter than "One Night In Paris." Is it slightly hypocritical of McCain to make this comparison given his own penchant for rich blondes? At least Cindy is moderately accomplished. She ran a couple of non-profits (embezzled prescription pills from one of them) has her pilot's license (big deal) anything else? Oh yeah she's rich. Made even more money when Anheuser-Busch sold to the Belgian brewer InBev earlier this summer, but she isn't going to disclose her income tax return. Taking care of John McCain is quite charitable of her she has to comb his hair, he can't lift his arms above his head thanks to years of torture. Kudos to you Cindy.
McCain wouldn't have made this attack if he thought that he was winning this campaign. Barack is incredibly popular for a reason, it's got nothing to do with fake celebrity like Hilton.
But at least it gave Paris an excuse to put herself back out there again. Check out her campaign ad. Hopefully this is the red light at the crossroads of popular culture and politics. Thanks to the internet this video will forever live as part of the indictment of our culture, the true death of the American dream
BTW, I know Paris Hilton, Paris Hilton is a friend of mine.....we used to make movies together. Paris, call me.
Celebrities are highly sought after commodities in politics. Politicians and actors have what the other one wants. Actors want power and influence and politicians want to be cool. Politicians are the ugly cousins of actors and DC is their Hollywood. Another difference is that people will actually listen to celebrities. So they have a marriage of convenience.
The stereotype is that celebrity actors in California are liberal, there are several conservative stars. Celebrities aren't usually from Hollywood are they? Charlton Heston set the bar for celebrity conservatives, before him there was Ronald Reagan and most recently there has been Arnold Schwarzenegger as the Governator of Callyforneeya.
Celebrities become politicians, but rarely has a politician crossed over to become a celebrity. Kennedy did, to a lesser extent Clinton did, Reagan was already on the B-list when he was governor of California, and now we have Barack Obama.
The GOP has been trying to cast Obama as elitist and out-of-touch-with-regular-Americans tag throughout this entire campaign. So John McCain tried to compare him to Paris Hilton.
It kind if makes sense, Paris is part of the elite and so fabulously out of touch, it is a decent political analogy. A better analogy would be a wiley coyote with the same tired bag of tricks that cannot catch up with a the roadrunner on a lonley Arizona highway.
But did you ever look to see who John McCain married? Cindy McCain is more like Hilton than Obama is. Cindy is more a Patty Hearst-style heiress category than Paris Hilton is (translated, Cindy is more accomplished, possibly more talented). She has a few internet rumors of her own if you care to do a little research. And believe me Cindy's rumors are way hotter than "One Night In Paris." Is it slightly hypocritical of McCain to make this comparison given his own penchant for rich blondes? At least Cindy is moderately accomplished. She ran a couple of non-profits (embezzled prescription pills from one of them) has her pilot's license (big deal) anything else? Oh yeah she's rich. Made even more money when Anheuser-Busch sold to the Belgian brewer InBev earlier this summer, but she isn't going to disclose her income tax return. Taking care of John McCain is quite charitable of her she has to comb his hair, he can't lift his arms above his head thanks to years of torture. Kudos to you Cindy.
McCain wouldn't have made this attack if he thought that he was winning this campaign. Barack is incredibly popular for a reason, it's got nothing to do with fake celebrity like Hilton.
But at least it gave Paris an excuse to put herself back out there again. Check out her campaign ad. Hopefully this is the red light at the crossroads of popular culture and politics. Thanks to the internet this video will forever live as part of the indictment of our culture, the true death of the American dream
See more Paris Hilton videos at Funny or Die
BTW, I know Paris Hilton, Paris Hilton is a friend of mine.....we used to make movies together. Paris, call me.
Tuesday, July 15, 2008
Iran
Umm...what the f__k is this? Its sheer amazement, folks, at the unconscionable melee we have right now. First time in almost 30 years that we send a diplomat to Geneva for direct, unilateral diplomacy with Iran and it happens to be under the lamest duck presidential situation in our nation's history.
By launching their missiles in triplicate last week, Iran effectively broke smoke in this grand chess game. They're going to leverage every ounce of the precarious situation they've created to set the stage for the deal of the century with either Senators Barack Obama or John McCain after the General Election.
We shouldn't get ahead of ourselves; or more accurately, I shouldn't get ahead of myself here. Israel is the X factor in all of this. With hair trigger sensibilities, their foreign policy framework is quite different from most nations: they are willing to go in preemptively. There are specific reasons for this, of which I won't state here, as I would imagine there is character limit to this blog. They are growing more impatient over failed multilateral diplomacy and will closely monitor this recent exchange between the U.S. and Iran. I mean, let's face it, Israeli intelligence knew about the open channel dog & pony show opportunity before, perhaps, anyone.
So, the decision to send an envoy Wednesday will be the exact opposite policy the Bush Administration and the U.S. has held the last 29 years and thats kinda wierd. Hope for the best.
By launching their missiles in triplicate last week, Iran effectively broke smoke in this grand chess game. They're going to leverage every ounce of the precarious situation they've created to set the stage for the deal of the century with either Senators Barack Obama or John McCain after the General Election.
We shouldn't get ahead of ourselves; or more accurately, I shouldn't get ahead of myself here. Israel is the X factor in all of this. With hair trigger sensibilities, their foreign policy framework is quite different from most nations: they are willing to go in preemptively. There are specific reasons for this, of which I won't state here, as I would imagine there is character limit to this blog. They are growing more impatient over failed multilateral diplomacy and will closely monitor this recent exchange between the U.S. and Iran. I mean, let's face it, Israeli intelligence knew about the open channel dog & pony show opportunity before, perhaps, anyone.
So, the decision to send an envoy Wednesday will be the exact opposite policy the Bush Administration and the U.S. has held the last 29 years and thats kinda wierd. Hope for the best.
Tuesday, June 3, 2008
Hillary conisidering VP position
As Barack Obama increasingly adds to Hillary Clinton's long odds for winning the nomination, Hillary is coming back down to earth. Not too long ago Hillary was chastising Obama (immediately after a debate where she said it was her deep honor to be on the same stage) for a negative mailing. Even more recently, the very possibility that she would lose was ridiculous, and therefore wouldn't even consider a the possibility of being Obama's Vice-President.
Hillary told a group of Empire State legislators today that she would consider a position as Vice-President.
It is still a terrible idea, especially for Obama. But at least the Clinton's are trying to make nice, in their own way. The two Clinton's would take up too much of the spotlight. Bill especially. Bill has lost his touch, his game is gone. It's sad really, it's like he doesn't realize that the microphone is on. He really needs to have less of a personal stake in it, or it needs to be more about him. It was always about his personality and empathy anyway, the fact he could actually govern was an added bonus.
I think that Richardson really makes the ticket work. He is possibly more qualified than Obama, especially in the international arena, and instead of trying to balance a ticket it plays to both of their strengths and several hot button issues. Race, immigration, energy policy, the war in Iraq, these two are uniquely qualified to talk about these issues. They are descendants of recent immigrants and have accomplished far more in that short time than generations of Americans have. Richardson conducted negotiations with Saddam Hussein and was Secretary of Energy.
If Hillary doesn't concede to Obama today, she will do it soon. She needs to make nice before the convention, and let the healing begin.
Hillary told a group of Empire State legislators today that she would consider a position as Vice-President.
It is still a terrible idea, especially for Obama. But at least the Clinton's are trying to make nice, in their own way. The two Clinton's would take up too much of the spotlight. Bill especially. Bill has lost his touch, his game is gone. It's sad really, it's like he doesn't realize that the microphone is on. He really needs to have less of a personal stake in it, or it needs to be more about him. It was always about his personality and empathy anyway, the fact he could actually govern was an added bonus.
I think that Richardson really makes the ticket work. He is possibly more qualified than Obama, especially in the international arena, and instead of trying to balance a ticket it plays to both of their strengths and several hot button issues. Race, immigration, energy policy, the war in Iraq, these two are uniquely qualified to talk about these issues. They are descendants of recent immigrants and have accomplished far more in that short time than generations of Americans have. Richardson conducted negotiations with Saddam Hussein and was Secretary of Energy.
If Hillary doesn't concede to Obama today, she will do it soon. She needs to make nice before the convention, and let the healing begin.
Sunday, May 11, 2008
End of an era
The Clintons have long been transformational figures in American politics. William Jefferson Clinton was born of tremendous talent and intelligence and overcame tremendous obstacles in his life and eventual rise to power. Bill Clinton's story sounds like Huey Long with a twist. Run for statewide office, run for governor, then run for President. Don't get assassinated.
What Bill will be known for is winning. Beating George Bush Sr. in 1992 was the last time a challenger defeated a sitting president. He is also known for, and villified in certain circles in the base of the democratic party. Clinton made the Democrats the party of free trade, much to the chagrin of union backers who favor protection of homegrown industry. Gave most favored nation status to China when there were serious questions about product safety and most importantly human rights violations.
A few years after this landmark policy, Wal-Mart is the world's largest corporate organization and largest private employer in the United States. The vast majority of Wal-Mart's products are made in China and sold in the US. Hillary formerly sat on the board of the corporate giant.
The Clinton years will be remembered for balancing the budget and the unprecedented run of growth for the American economy.
Hillary was the presumptive nominee in 2004 and in 2008. By not making an announcement and by raising money in 2004, Hillary took the wind out of the sails of everyone else who was ready to run against George W. She would have been a much better candidate than John Kerry or Howard Dean. She would have shored up a key demographic that abandoned the democratic party in favor of the republican incumbent. That demographic is women.
"Soccer moms" were now "security moms" who didn't trust Kerry over Bush. I think that women would have been more likely to trust one of their own gender over Bush, but it is mere speculation at this point. Hillary chose not to get her hands dirty in 2004 and thought that she would walk to the White House when it opened up in 2008.
But it didn't happen. Her miscalculation 4 years ago cost us all dearly.
Have the Clinton's forgotten the reasons why they built their political machinery?
Is it just about winning? Or is it about standing up for a world view? The speculation now focuses on whether Hillary will accept that she is going to lose the nomination or try to win with superdelegates, and the delegates from the states of Florida and Michigan. The rules were agreed upon at the outset of the contest, Hillary seems poised to move the goal post. Or perhaps more appropriately she is playing Lucy to Barack Obama's Charlie Brown, convincing him to kick the ball through the uprights only to have the ball yanked away at the last possible second.
I hope that the Clinton's remember that they have a legacy to defend. A very popular and effective presidency that offers stark contrast to our current economic and geopolitical situation.
Hillary's real problem is that she doesn't have the talent that Bill had, and definitely doesn't have the talent (or consistency) that Obama has. She has risen further than any other first lady, she also appears to be the only first lady that ever had that kind of ambition for elected office. She has been tacitly accepting help from Rush Limbaugh's "Operation Chaos," encouraging GOP faithful to vote Hillary in the primaries in order to prolong the contest. I wouldn't normally give Limbaugh this kind of credit, but given how well Hillary is doing with white voters with less than a college education (which is not a typical democratic constituency) it is worth noting that Limbaugh's key demographic are uneducated white people who are hyperactive and impressionable politically.
I would have never thought that there would be this kind of opportunity for the GOP. The democrats have let McCain into the race by not having this contest decided already.
What Bill will be known for is winning. Beating George Bush Sr. in 1992 was the last time a challenger defeated a sitting president. He is also known for, and villified in certain circles in the base of the democratic party. Clinton made the Democrats the party of free trade, much to the chagrin of union backers who favor protection of homegrown industry. Gave most favored nation status to China when there were serious questions about product safety and most importantly human rights violations.
A few years after this landmark policy, Wal-Mart is the world's largest corporate organization and largest private employer in the United States. The vast majority of Wal-Mart's products are made in China and sold in the US. Hillary formerly sat on the board of the corporate giant.
The Clinton years will be remembered for balancing the budget and the unprecedented run of growth for the American economy.
Hillary was the presumptive nominee in 2004 and in 2008. By not making an announcement and by raising money in 2004, Hillary took the wind out of the sails of everyone else who was ready to run against George W. She would have been a much better candidate than John Kerry or Howard Dean. She would have shored up a key demographic that abandoned the democratic party in favor of the republican incumbent. That demographic is women.
"Soccer moms" were now "security moms" who didn't trust Kerry over Bush. I think that women would have been more likely to trust one of their own gender over Bush, but it is mere speculation at this point. Hillary chose not to get her hands dirty in 2004 and thought that she would walk to the White House when it opened up in 2008.
But it didn't happen. Her miscalculation 4 years ago cost us all dearly.
Have the Clinton's forgotten the reasons why they built their political machinery?
Is it just about winning? Or is it about standing up for a world view? The speculation now focuses on whether Hillary will accept that she is going to lose the nomination or try to win with superdelegates, and the delegates from the states of Florida and Michigan. The rules were agreed upon at the outset of the contest, Hillary seems poised to move the goal post. Or perhaps more appropriately she is playing Lucy to Barack Obama's Charlie Brown, convincing him to kick the ball through the uprights only to have the ball yanked away at the last possible second.
I hope that the Clinton's remember that they have a legacy to defend. A very popular and effective presidency that offers stark contrast to our current economic and geopolitical situation.
Hillary's real problem is that she doesn't have the talent that Bill had, and definitely doesn't have the talent (or consistency) that Obama has. She has risen further than any other first lady, she also appears to be the only first lady that ever had that kind of ambition for elected office. She has been tacitly accepting help from Rush Limbaugh's "Operation Chaos," encouraging GOP faithful to vote Hillary in the primaries in order to prolong the contest. I wouldn't normally give Limbaugh this kind of credit, but given how well Hillary is doing with white voters with less than a college education (which is not a typical democratic constituency) it is worth noting that Limbaugh's key demographic are uneducated white people who are hyperactive and impressionable politically.
I would have never thought that there would be this kind of opportunity for the GOP. The democrats have let McCain into the race by not having this contest decided already.
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