I sometimes wonder if, somewhere in the White House, on one of the President's personal computers, there might be a file on the desktop called new 1.txt. 

And if one were to open it and read, it says something like:

Y1 2009
Y2 2010
Y3 2011
Y4 2012
Y5 2013
Y6 2014
Y7 2015
Y8 2016

Y1 Stimulus; Pass health care reform; Leave Iraq
Y2 Midterm election
Y3 Implement healthcare reform; Reneweable energy; Reform Wall St; Immigration reform; Leave Afghanistan
Y4 Election
Y5 Education reform
Y6 Midterm election
Y7 Health care reform part 2
Y8 ???

Admittedly my imagination tends to idealize things.

What do you think Mr Obama's long term plan is?

John McCain says that what is needed to address the ever-growing financial and economic meltdown our country is facing is the convening of a "high level committee" to study the problem.

Get serious.  This is just politics as usual.

If John McCain were really serious about addressing our economic problems, he would be calling for a "high level Blue Ribbon committee" to study the problem.  Because anything else, as you know, is just a cynical attempt to kick the can down the road until after November.

In order to study the problem properly, and to achieve results that the American people can believe, I recommend this Blue Ribbon Committee adhere to the following guidelines:

1.  It must meet after 10 am but before noon, or between 1 and 3 pm.  Anytime after 3pm, as you know, committee members start to get sleepy.

2.  Donuts must be provided.  Real donuts, mind you, not those crappy munchkins that you have to shove four or five into your mouth just to get a bite.

3.  Power Points must use at least four different fonts, and it is recommended that they include several jazzy animations and possibly a funny-looking clip art or two.

4.  Making springs out of paperclips and flinging them across the table, or wadding up a ball of paper to play "field goal" with the person sitting across the table are strictly forbidden.

5.  Likewise, bringing in a laptop and pretending to take notes while actually checking your World of Warcraft auction house bids is strongly discouraged.  Black Berries are of course ok, since President McCain invented them.

If the Blue Ribbon Commission adheres strictly to these guidelines, I'm sure there is nothing they can't do to address the economic woes of our country, and to prevent future taxpayer-funded bailouts of Wall Street robber barons from ever happening, or at least ever making their way to the front page of the New York Times.

Sometimes you see something that leaves you at a loss for words.

That's when video helps.  Roll the clip.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=76KBDrNXrNs

The headline sounds bad, but the article only reports that

<blockquote>

Individuals who list their employers as one of the two entities, plus political action committees formed by the government-sponsored firms that own or guarantee half the nation's mortgages, have donated $4.3 million to federal elected officials and their various campaign committees since 2005.

The money has gone to both Republicans and Democrats.

But Obama is the recipient of the largest individual money, at $111,849, according to federal campaign finance reports compiled by Times researcher Maloy Moore.</blockquote>

How is this a scandal?  Correct me if I'm wrong, but how is this "Fannie, Freddie money" at all?  Don't individuals have the right to contribute up to $2000 or so of their own money to any candidate, regardless of who their employer is?

Maybe there's something going on here I don't understand.  Or is it just the "appearance of a conflict of interest"?

As "veepmas" fast approaches, and speculation as to whom Obama will tap for the Vice Presidency runs rampant, I would like to throw out one more possibility: me.

Now I know you're asking why a pseudonymous blogger, with no political experience whatsoever, would make a good choice for Obama's running mate.  So let me lay out the reasons:

First, because Obama is such a gifted and charismatic personality, the last thing he wants sharing his ticket is someone equally dynamic and telegenic.  As a middle-aged, slightly overweight librarian, I can promise that when I stand next to him on the podium, I will not steal a single photon of the spotlight from the main event.  And when I speak into the mic at rallies, I can guarantee it will make people think fondly of our candidate, saying to themselves, "I wish Obama were speaking instead."

Second, if Obama picks me I can guarantee that my home state, Massachusetts, will go blue this year.

Third, it is clear that real estate, how much our candidates have and how it was acquired, will be a hot button issue this year.  As someone who doesn't own a single piece of property, whose most valuable possession is a 1978 Fender Precision Bass (without its original bridge), I can withstand any amount of press scrutiny on the real estate front.

Finally, I would unite the party.  Whether they supported Obama or Clinton (or Gravel) in the primary, upon the announcement of my selection, all Democrats will be united in saying, "WTF was he smoking?"

So there are three good reasons for Agio to be Obama's running mate.  However, looking beyond the election itself, I believe I could serve ably as Vice President to the 44th President of these United States.

Here's why: The problem with most Vice Presidents is that they are ambitious people in their own right.  They cannot accept the wisdom of our Founding Fathers that the Vice-Presidency is, in the words of John Adams, "the most insignificant office that ever the invention of man contrived or his imagination conceived."  Either we have an Al Gore-type VP, constantly burnishing his accolades in preparation for an eventual Presidential run, or we have someone like our current VP, constantly shooting his friends in the face in preparation for an eventual ascension to Necromonger Ubercommandant of the Underverse. 

For my part, I promise that I would not only accept my uselessness but in fact relish it.  Only having to show up to work when the Senate is deadlocked and needs a tie-breaking vote, sounds like the perfect job for me. 

And moreover, I already excel at the one talent that Vice Presidents need: the ability to provide one's opinion in a decisive-sounding manner while knowing that it will be completely ignored.  I'm great at this: just ask my wife.

However, even though they are officially powerless, Vice Presidents do fulfill a traditional role of picking pet causes and speaking out on their behalf, a sort of "mini-bully pulpit" if you will, from which to encourage Americans to think about issues in the national interest.  Often, these are things that the President himself is too busy to advocate for.  For Al Gore it was climate change; for Dan Quayle, spelling reform; for our current V.P. it is the medicinal benefits of twice-daily bathing in the freshly-harvested blood of virgins.

So as V.P. I would use my vice-megaphone to advocate for the following issues:

1. I would call on Americans to bring an end to the nationwide scourge of overdue library books, and advocate for the need for tougher fines (even up to ten cents a day) to bring this epidemic under control.

2.  I would advocate for legalizing "it."  Because, you know, everyone wants "it" legalized, don't they.  I sure do.

3.  I would initiate a nationwide movement to get the burrito named the Official Food of the United States of America.  Now, I know some of you are thinking, "Wait, isn't the burrito Mexican?"  But the truth is, the burrito was invented right here in the USA, and with its unpretentious combination of zesty spices, yummy fillings, and cool cool sour cream, all wrapped inside a giant flour tortilla, it is a perfect metaphor for the deliciously multicultural society we now inhabit.  Americans already eat millions of burritos per annum, and the number can only be expected to rise (see #2, above.)

So there you have it.  Obama / Agio '08.  Because this year the election is all about "change."  And I change my underwear, almost every day.

A story on Politico highlights a Zogby/Reuters tracking poll that shows McCain ahead of Obama by about 3 points outside of the MoE among "likely voters." (<a href="http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0808/12656.html">link</a>)

It then goes on to explain that we are witnessing a Republican "resurgence ... at the doorstep of the Democratic Convention."

Now, I think it is probably true that the polls have tightened a bit.  Still I'm not (yet) worried about Obama losing, because:

1.  "likely voter" is an unreliable metric, particularly in an election year where we can expect to see a lot of "unlikely voters" (minorities and young people) actually coming out to vote.

2.  Zogby is an unreliable pollster.

3.  Polls taken before the conventions, and before the debates, are simply meaningless.

Still, there does seem to be enough evidence from aggregate polling to suggest a tightening of the race.

I'm not ready to believe much that Politico says, these days.  But this is for certain: Obama and the Democrats need to make sure the convention goes off without a hitch.  I do hope that Clinton's role in the whole thing will end up being positive, and not a PUMA-esque floor fight.

Seeking to follow up on its successful "Celebrity" ad campaign, which portrayed Obama as shallow, overhyped celebrity who is out-of-touch with American values, McCain campaign manager Steve Schmidt today unveiled a new attack ad.

"We were getting excellent penetration with the Celebrity spot," Schmidt said, "so we thought we'd insert questions of Obama's character and leadership deeper into the voters' minds. After all, who is Barack Obama? I think the American people want to know."

A transcript of the hard-hitting 20-second spot, which is due to play in several mid-sized markets in the midwest, follows:

Fade in on shot of the globe.

"He promises to bring a new kind of politics to America," a deep voice intones, "but what do we really know about Barack Obama?"

Cut to a suburban patio cafe. An attractive young woman in a white T-shirt, holding an Obama sign says, "I don't know exactly what he plans to do about Iraq, but he seems like thoughtful leader."

THOUGHTFUL appears in grainy distressed font appear over the freeze-framed, inverse image of the Obama girl.

Jump-cut to another street scene. An Obama supporter, a dreadlocked man in his mid-20s, pushing a baby carriage with Barack Obama bumper stickers on it, speaks to camera.

"I like him," the young man says to the camera, "even though we've never met I think he would be cool to hang out with.... he's interesting."

A cut, we are now seeing the same image but through the green-filter of a sniper scope. The camera zooms toward the young man like a missile with a camera on it. The baby screams.

Cut to a shot of a city block exploding. Quick fade to black.

Voiceover intones, "Do we really want to bet our children's lives on thoughtful, interesting elitist celebrities like Barack Obama?"

Patriotic music swells. A montage of terrorists, windmills, motorcycles, and smiling grandmothers. A wide open prairie, amber waves of grain, a shot of Ronald Reagan, an oil rig, an American flag.

Over this montage the voice continues, "John McCain understands you. He served his country, and knows that life for real Americans is a slow motion tragedy of soul-sucking compromise and unspoken desperation. He knows what it's like to bust your hump for twenty years at a job you hate because it's the only way to claw your way up through the ratpile till you get your chance at the big brass ring, just to get punked by some smartass overgrown teenager because his daddy still controls the board of directors.

"And then to have to kiss his bony ass for eight years, and to endure public huggings and birthday cakes that you'd rather cram down his fucking throat."

"So maybe John McCain is an asshole, and a stubborn one at that, but he's proud of it, because being an asshole is the American way.  And being a stubborn, cantankerous, fickle mercenary is the only way to get to where John McCain is, with a net-worth more than a hundred of you bitches put together and a wife half his age.

Not by being interesting, and for fuck's sake not by being thoughtful."

Fade in to a backlit, haloed John McCain, with a lush green-screen behind him.

"I'm John McCain, and I approve this message."

Over at Salon, Glenn Greenwald has a rather critical piece discussing Barack Obama's relationship to the upcoming FISA "compromise" bill being floated by Steny Hoyer (D-Quisling).

I am a great fan of the Senator's, but this piece, and other sundry murmurings in the blogosphere are raising the question of what, if anything, Sen. Obama should do to stop this from passing the House.

There is little that he can do officially.  But as the presumptive nominee of the Democratic party, is this his moment to sieze the bully pulpit (and smash it over Hoyer's head)?

Or should he be keeping his powder dry and concentrating on defeating McCain.

What is going on through Obama's head, I wonder.

Hillary Clinton and her supporters are relying on the argument that the primary process isn't fair and that, if it were a fairer or more rational process, she would in fact be the nominee.

And maybe they're right.  Maybe.  At the very least, it is apparent that the "system" by which the Democratic Party selects its nominee -- a patchwork of primaries and caucuses and primary/caucuses that has grown up state by state over the years -- is hardly an example of straightforward and systematic logic.  Compared to the simple and appealing rubric of "one person, one vote", the Democratic nomination seems positively byzantine.

So maybe the nomination race isn't fair or simple.  But here's the thing: neither is life.

Moreover, neither are the massive problems the Bush administration is bequeathing to our country's next president: a disasterous occupation in the Middle East, a looming financial crisis, and the threat of global environmental meltdown.  All of these are incredibly complex, inherently "unfair", and they require a response that begins with accepting the facts on the ground first and coming up with an intelligent response plan.

If the nomination process means anything, it is an opportunity for us to get some insight into how our candidates will act when and if they are elected president.  As a candidate, Barack Obama didn't complain that the Democratic primary process was designed to favor the candidate with the highest name-recognition and the biggest starting war chest.  Moreover, he didn't pretend to his supporters that his nomination would be inevitable.  He didn't try to write off his defeats as "irrelevant", instead he took them as opportunities to remind his supporters that we all need to work harder to bring about our desired outcome.

That's the kind of president we need, now more than ever.  We need a president who recognizes complexity and comes up with a plan for dealing with it.  Not one who cries foul, spends precious time and resources managing perceptions and lobbying for last-minute rules changes, plays the  victim, or badgers the refs.  Because in the real world, facing the real challenges that we face, the "refs" don't care.  And all the lawyer-ball in the world won't change the final score.

(Cross posted at Daily Kos.)