BE COOL, MY BEBBES
Those of you who actually ARE cool will know, of course, who made this saying famous. Conan O'Brien says it frequently when his audience gets a little crazy, and I thought it an appropriate comment right about now.
I've been keeping a low profile since the election; partly from exhaustion, partly from just the miraculous marvel of it all, and partly from simply observing all the hoopla going on from politicians to pundits as Obama, taking the road less traveled, has found it necessary to pull out the machete to hack his way through the tangled underbrush of the What Is He Thinking weeds, the He's Selling Out shrubs, the This Has Never Been Done Before So It Probably Won't Work plants, the So Many Strong Personalities in the West Wing Will Produce Chaos perinneals, the He's Letting Congress Push Him Around brush, and so on.
Even al Qaeda weighed in, blaming Obama for the mess in the Gaza, even though he has not yet even taken the oath of office. Yeeeah, democracy's tough to understand for some people, I guess.
And so I just have to say to everyone: Be cool my bebbes. Listen to Mama.
For the past two years I've read not just Obama's books, but every major policy paper he ever wrote, as well as every speech he gave in the primaries and general election that I could find online. I've also read the columnists and op-edders and bloggers from both sides of the aisle, from way back when they merely sneered at him to the time they realized they'd underestimated him to the time they realized his time was here, like, NOW, to their obsessive wrestling with just what and who he is and what the hell he's going to do.
It's really not that hard to figure out. He has laid it all out, in great detail, for months now. It's just that nobody was paying attention because we had so many more important things to concern ourselves with.
Like Jeremiah Wright. And Bill Ayers. And Sarah Palin.
Plus, everybody's busy. I get that. I have the time to read all this stuff that most people just don't have, and I'm grateful for that, but I wish that the people WHO ACTUALLY MAKE A LIVING AT THIS would have been paying just a wee bit more attention themselves.
I've also been around long enough to remember how Lyndon Johnson and Sam Rayburn twisted arms to get landmark legislation through, like Civil Rights and Medicare, when his own party was, at the time, the party of Southern Bigots. I've been around long enough to have seen Ronald Reagan wheedle, cajole, charm, and trick a recalcitrant Democratic congress to give him what he wanted.
I've also seen leaders such as Bill Clinton, who could have been great, but their approach was sloppy and undisciplined and their mistakes sometimes just too serious to overcome.
(For instance, letting the right-wing steal his honeymoon by cranking up the whole gays-in-the-military controversy right after he got elected, which set the tone for how he would be bullied by them when they took over in '94.)
And George W. Bush, who has not the slightest clue what it means to lead.
I mean, he plays a leader on TV. That, he can do. He can play the part of Andover cheerleader in the rubble with a megaphone, but he can't lead. He has delegated his entire presidency to those stronger and more determined, from Dick Cheney to Donald Rumsfeld to Gen. Petraeus to HeckuvajobBrownie to Hank Paulsen. Then he went off for a bike ride.
So what I'm saying is that there is an entire generation who simply does not comprehend what true national leadership looks like, and who, for that matter, has no real understanding of what GOVERNING is.
In the age of Karl Rove, we've been brainwashed to believe that anyone on the opposing side is an enemy we should hate, not an opponent we need to work with. The word "compromise" has come to mean "selling out" or "caving in."
Obama likes to use the word "pragmatic" a lot, but I'm not sure many political watchers these days really understand what that means.
Once in every other generation or so, a true visionary will come along, one who doesn't just "see things as they should be," but sees the way things WILL be in the future and the way they CAN be with enough foresight and energy and willpower.
And the thing about a visionary is...well...nobody else sees the vision. Not for a long time, anyway.
A few do, those who catch on early, who realize they're near that phenomenon, and who are smart enough and savvy enough to see it as well, and to help that visionary bring that vision to pass.
But the thing is...It's a messy process.
At first, most everybody will complain because their golden calf didn't get the proper worship.
Also, most people are afraid of change. They are afraid of it in their private lives and very very afraid of it when it comes to a behemoth like the government.
So they fight.
This past campaign was as vicious as it was because Obama was running a 21st century campaign to redesign a government that would be ready for the 21st century and not the 20th. Most people could not see it, or if they did, they did not believe it could be possible.
Some outright feared it.
So he had to really fight just to get the opportunity to make it happen.
Now everybody's running around all anxious and worried because he's talking about, and doing things, that represent a vision he can see but they can't, even if they want to, really really badly. Or, they see it but they don't think he's going to be able to pull it off, or maybe they see it, but they think that every time he reaches some sort of agreement with his opponents, that he has sold out, caved in, lost The Dream.
His supporters just trust him to do it, but the skeptics think that kind of trust is foolish if not downright dangerous.
But what really amuses me is all the speculation about HOW he's going about it; the people he's picked and the changes he's making--mostly behind the scenes. You have to be paying attention, really paying attention, to see how he intends to get things done.
What I have read, over and over again, is quotes from people who used to work for Clinton, or used to work for Bush, or used to work for Carter.
And time and again, they comment about how this is getting away from him, how he's going to be railroaded by his own people, how the strong personalities he has entrusted with these responsibilities will have their own turf and their own agendas and his plans will get stonewalled.
These comments are based on these people's experiences.
And none of them worked for a true, strong leader.
A strong leader, like say, Franklin Roosevelt, surrounded himself with his Brain Trust, and he worked in an extremely hostile environment where everything he tried to do was called socialism or fascism by his enemies and opposed by his friends because they'd never seen it done before.
In Lincoln's Cabinet, there were stong personalities who vigorously tried to undermine him for their own political ambitions, and it appeared to those who were not paying that much attention that they were getting away with it.
During the Cuban Missile Crises, Kennedy's own military advisors--to a man--urged him to go to war with Russia over the missiles. One admiral even tried to go behind his back, without authorization. They all thought he was crazy-weak.
In all these cases, these men were furiously criticized both within and without their administrations, but because they understood the true nature of leadership, they were able to accomplish extraordinary, historic things after all.
They had clear visions; they did not fear opposing points of view from advisors; they reached out to the best minds available to them; and no matter what anybody said, they remained true to what they had set out to do.
Yes, current events can mold and shape an administration. Lincoln wasn't sure about emancipating the slaves at the beginning of the war and did it, at the end, against every advisor he had.
And yes, of course, they all made mistakes. FDR overstepped his bounds when he tried to overhaul the Supreme Court to keep it from ruling against the New Deal programs. Kennedy fell into the Bay of Pigs. Lincoln put up with obstructionist generals for far too long.
But overall, their accomplishments far outweighed their mis-steps.
What Obama's detractors need to understand is that he and his people have been studying the workings of past administrations, past Congresses, and history itself to see what has worked and has not worked, and they have put together some extraordinary ideas for how to make this administration a successful one. They were working on this long before he received the nomination.
Detractors would call that hubris. But a visionary ACTS on that vision long before it starts to come true. For Obama, it was simple pragmatism. On the one hand, he would do everything in his power to win the nomination and election, and on the other hand, he would begin to prepare for the eventuality that he WOULD win, so that he would be ready, as Hillary famously said, from Day One.
I have many many links to many articles that would lay out these steps that the Obama team is making. They are very exciting and quite thorough.
I'm not going to do that with this post because my kids only just got in this week for our Christmas celebrations, and I don't want to spend their rare time at home hunched over the computer.
But I have been accumulating a file of material, and after this weekend, I'll start putting together for you links that will show you the breadth, depth, and reach of the plans of this new administration to work dramatic--and lasting--changes to streamline and modernize our government and to accomplish what will come to look, in time, miraculous.
It won't be, though.
It will just be true leadership.
So be cool, my bebbes. Enjoy the Inauguration. Then buckle your seatbelts, because it will be a wild, but very satisfying, ride.
Thank you,Deanie. I'm short of time at the moment but I agree that we give our PE some time. Which of us could step in and do better in all the areas he has to cover?
Wish I had time to give your post the response it deserves. But family concerns are more pressing at the moment.
Peace. :)
January 8, 2009 6:54 PM | Reply | Permalink
I'm one of the really cool ones... :) You are absolutely right.
January 8, 2009 7:39 PM | Reply | Permalink
WOW, you are going to be a fun read in the future, assuming you give us a chance and write more.
This is really good. Good points. Good perspective.
Wont waste your time with long comment. But I truly believe that you are right on with regard to history. This new Brain Trust does have a healthy respect for history, recent and otherwise. Witness the careful and deliberate yet timely appointments.
January 8, 2009 7:43 PM | Reply | Permalink
Arthur, do yourself a huge favor and take the time to go back on Deannie's blog, start at the beginning and read everything she has posted. She is an amazing writer and an amazing woman. You will be glad you did it...I guarantee it!
January 8, 2009 9:10 PM | Reply | Permalink
I shall mount my mighty steed to the appointed place.
January 8, 2009 9:12 PM | Reply | Permalink
Deanie: Today I took my sons (college-age) downtown in DC to the Corcoran Gallery to see the Richard Avedon exhibit. It nearly knocked me over, these rooms of portraits of the architects of the Viet Nam War and the Civil Rights movement and Watergate. In one room the Chicago 7 stand sky high across the room from the "Mission Group," the guys who ran the Viet Nam war. My sons didn't know who half these people were, but I did, and I marveled at the fact that that kind of blind utter power might be gone for good now. At the end of the exhibit was a photograph of Obama, taken when he first ran for the Illinois Senate seat. It was the only color photograph in the entire show. It stood out for that and other reasons. Obama really is not doing this the old way. I work in DC and I cannot tell you how many people my age (in their 50s) are flummoxed by what Obama is doing. I am just loving every minute of it. I don't care about the whines from the liberals about his cabinet picks, etc....I can see with my own eyes that he is making those rooms full of arrogant white men look like the rigid fools they were. Thank God. Thank God.
January 8, 2009 8:54 PM | Reply | Permalink
See, comments like yours make me hopeful. I get the idea that nobody can see the transformation. One day at a time. Deliberate. Thoughtful. Strategic.
Then I read this blog and your comment.
I think the standard press feels that they owe some duty to attack.
January 8, 2009 9:07 PM | Reply | Permalink
Dick, I think Obama asks us to be patient--he knows that there are no quick fixes. Have you read his books? He is an incredibly methodical and thoughtful person. That attitude is so foreign to the American psyche that he is bound to take flack for it. I know he will make mistakes, that's a given, but I am so confident in his intent and integrity, that I can deal with that. But, we need to help him. That's the key. We need to help him. The media will not know what to do with him, and to hell with them. I have never slept better. And, even though I am currently a public servant and have been for nearly 30 years, I am searching for more ways to help him and this government through the hardest decade we have ever faced. This is the greatest time to be an American, and I say that as an Irish immigrant, but a U.S. citizen for 40 years. I have never been prouder to be a part of this great country.
January 8, 2009 9:16 PM | Reply | Permalink
Thank you for this. Believe me when I tell you it was the blog I needed to read at the time I needed to read it.
January 8, 2009 8:54 PM | Reply | Permalink
I agree completely, thank you Deanie, so glad to read you again. As always after reading your posts, it's calm again. I can't wait for your next post. There are others that haven't been here for some time, miss them, they were "cool ones", but missed you most of all, you are the coolest one of all.
January 9, 2009 4:53 PM | Reply | Permalink
Deanie, I am one of those who has so much confidence in the man's genius that I don't need a lot of background information in order to feel good about his choices, but it will be a fun read anyway. Just like he had a brilliant plan for making a successful run for the presidency, I am very confident that he has a master plan in place for the running of the country, and is now carefully laying the groundwork for it, as we speak...It's going to be a beautiful thing.
January 8, 2009 9:08 PM | Reply | Permalink
Damn, girl. Is there some way I can rec'd this post twice? Three times?
January 8, 2009 9:12 PM | Reply | Permalink
Thank you Deanie - I read this just in time. I was winding up to panic over the SS & Medicare remark Obama made today. Most of the time I am able to remind myself why I voted for Obama and not get into the outrage mode but today I am overly stressed about the economy and my having to move back home to help my parents in the next few months so it wouldn't have taken much to send me off.
Hope you post more frequently.
January 8, 2009 10:01 PM | Reply | Permalink
My Kingdom for a specific.
Obama just came on the TV today, and - in essence - said, "We are so screwed I can't begin to tell you." The CBO announced we're in the red to the tune of $1.2 Trillion this year, BEFORE the stimulus package is added on. The Chinese cash-pile is shrinking, whole industries there crashing, and they're the #1 buyer of US Treasuries. Krugman says, "Smells like Depression, AND I have no idea how we'll handle the dollar or the trade deficit." Obama looked GRIM, ok? Grim.
Which gives us some choices.
1. We can join the Underbrush. Which I have no interest in, and whine about the picks, extending our powerlessness as we allow politics to be eaten by our celebrity/personality culture...
2. We can shout, "He's a magician, a hero, have faith, he must have a vision - So Be COOL My Bebbes." Which strikes me as heaping further pressure on Obama, raising expectations, and failing to create the kind of positive ideas of social pressures HE needs to have new options open up...
3. Or, we can take a cool-eyed look at where we are, see the crisis rising around us, bigger than anything we've known, face it, determine how far from sufficient existing proposals are from what we need, then go to work on helping to create better ones...
Sorry Deanie. I know some of you will read this as an attack on Obama. It truly isn't. I love the guy, think he's a visionary, and have no interest in the Underbrush, but like I said to Hrebendorf a while back, I find the Great Leader stuff is utterly counterproductive. Great Leaders have to MANAGE expectations. They have to have constituencies who create the ideas & the political ROOM for him to move into (often by "pressuring" him to do so.) And they have to have FRIENDS who don't just turn to them and repeat True Leader, Great Leader, True Visionary etc.
I'm just not sure it helps. Maybe I just need those posts & files with the details....
January 8, 2009 10:01 PM | Reply | Permalink
Quinn, with all due respect, and I know you automatically discount anything I have to say, but I don't think Deanie or many of us are doing the "Oh great leader thing." I think we are saying his heart is in the right place, and that means a hell of a lot after the past 8 years. We are saying that we are all in a deep pile of shit and we can't just rely on one man to get us out of it. I find Obama refreshingly realistic about managing expectations. I just would like to see a little more esprit de corps, rather than bashing the guy who won the election. This is a democracy, but it is still representative government. Our leaders are only as good as we are. We have to start somewhere, correct? So, where do you think we should start? Obama is chock full of details. If you take the time.
January 8, 2009 10:08 PM | Reply | Permalink
katie - I voted for Obama first because he was the best of all the candidates and a democrat and the Palin/Macain disaster scared me out of my mind. But I also voted for him because he was intelligent, appeared to think about things like issues and policies, and was so much more reasonable than I could ever dream of being. I voted for Obama because his HEAD was in the right place as far as I could tell. But you are right in that he is refreshingly realistic about managing expectations and isn't that a wonder after the last 8 years? I don't think Quinn was being too bashing, I think he was just saying what Obama said today - this is going to be UGLY for a while. At least we have the best of all the candidates to lead the country through this mess - just think if we had McCain/Palin gearing up to take over. (Excuse me while I run in circles and scream for a minute or two.)
January 8, 2009 10:25 PM | Reply | Permalink
I hear ya. I just don't think it's realistic to expect Obama to have detailed answers to all of our problems at this point. That's just not realistic. I want to give him some time, let him hear from the bureaucracy (I mean that in a positive sense--the career experts who don't work for him yet) and I want people to understand that we are in this together. He's no magic man. And yes, can you imagine facing this near future with McCain/Palin?
January 8, 2009 10:32 PM | Reply | Permalink
Hi Kate. First off, I'm not gonna discount what you say! Maybe disagree at times, but not discount! ;-)
As for Obama, I not only think he was the best leader available, I think he's far and away better than anyone any other Western nation has, better than in many years. Believe me, I think highly of this guy. I also believe his heart is in the right place... he's extremely intelligent... he's canny politically... he thinks both short & long-term... is open to the views of others... all those good things.
But. There just IS a "great leader" thing happening, and the problem is that it weakens our reliance & determination to create & craft change OURSELVES. Which I actually believe OBAMA needs us to do. He keeps saying it, but we're kinda caught up in the glow of his election/inauguration right now, and I'm not sure if our feet are moving as fast as is required.
Because THAT is the history of the Depression & the New Deal & FDR. It wasn't that "FDR" alone did xyz, or saved us, or whatever. He NEEDED ideas from everywhere. He NEEDED people to say, "You know what Franklin? you haven't thought of THIS." He NEEDED people who could add something new to the mix.
What I'm saying is that I think we HAVE to run ahead of Obama. He has to drag Republicans along, a stunned media along, 000's of financial self-interests along. But who is running out AHEAD of him? Breaking the path? YES, we should support the guy, and recognize when he politically HAS to do some things. It's just to float a different image for how WE see OURSELVES, and our ROLE. He needs more friends, who'll go do the work he can't get to yet, and prepare the ground for change... he's got plenty of cheerleaders, right? 60%-70% or so.
Does that mean I won't be cheering & tearing on the 20th? Are you KIDDING? I've waited decades for this! I've worked and begged and prayed that if & when the shit hit, we'd HAVE a guy like this in the oval box. I wanted him because he had the POTENTIAL to grow into this. Because I thought that if WE then did our job, supporting & challenging & pressuring & defending him, then together, we might get somewhere.
He's got magic, Obama does, no mistaking it. But so do WE. And he... without we... will fail. Utterly. And WE... may have to "lead," in a very real sense. His job will be to bring the machinery up into place, to out some resources in, to give it a voice when we get to 40% or 50% strength, to handle the Republicans. Which is also "leadership," yes. But I think right now - or at least after these next couple of weeks - we need to be gearing up what we're going to be doing.
I'm not sure this is disagreeing with you at any deep level... what do you think?
January 8, 2009 11:08 PM | Reply | Permalink
Sorry for the late response. That pesky thing called a job interferes at times. I agree with you completely. He's the guy with the ball and chain. We have to help him by supplying the file. The good news is that I think he's got his ear to the rail and can hear the train coming. So, we need to make sure he keeps his ear there, while of course, ensuring that he doesn't get run over by a train coming from the opposite direction.
January 9, 2009 8:20 PM | Reply | Permalink
You mean some of the people around here work?
I thought liberals and progressives were all on the dole?
January 9, 2009 8:26 PM | Reply | Permalink
I put in a 12-hour shift today. I guess that makes me a Communist.
January 9, 2009 8:28 PM | Reply | Permalink
That is ok. I like communists.
January 9, 2009 8:29 PM | Reply | Permalink
I can relate to this feeling Quinn. I rec'd this post but also want to see some substance. Something I can guage his positions by other than his appointees. I keep reminding myself: The guy hasn't even been sworn in yet. And talk about a full plate. It's gonna take a while to work his way through the first course, and there's more behind that comin' up. I think he's just trying to bring people into the frame of mind where they realize that it's gonna be bad. Real bad. $1.2T before the stimulus pack bad. There's the whole PR aspect of legislation these days, and BHO's no dummy. He's going to try and pave the way with public support so he doesn't see his proposals wither in the legislature's greenhouse. We're not going to see the details of those proposals before he thinks the public is ready to buy into them. That's frustrating. I'm gonna give him till Jan. 26, (or so), to start with some substantive statements. Cheers!
January 8, 2009 10:25 PM | Reply | Permalink
I entirely agree with this M, "I think he's just trying to bring people into the frame of mind where they realize that it's gonna be bad. Real bad." I think he looks grim lately, and damn near shell-shocked. People can say how much foresight he had, but I'm telling you, the scale & the multiplicity of the disaster that's being tossed on his table is beyond comprehension. And he HAS to bring people's expectations, their plans, and their DAILY LIVES & THINKING around to face this new reality as fast as possible.
Which is why I argue that since we're semi-intelligent & can communicate & are politically aware here... then we should run out ahead. Get OUT AHEAD into the frame of mind that he & his advisors are having to sink themselves into, rather than adding to the deadweight of a dumb culture which is gonna take every ounce of his effort to drag along. Get out front & help pull the load.
In short, we need to join the REINDEER, and help PULL the sled... rather than add one pound more to his load, much less one more voice to his list of children requiring presents.
January 8, 2009 11:15 PM | Reply | Permalink
Amen to that. When I read your reply to KateO above I got where you're coming from. Here's a little something for you in the spirit of pulling the sleigh and satisfying that squirrel thang you got goin'.
January 9, 2009 12:20 AM | Reply | Permalink
Dude. Don't make me laugh like that. Requires strangeness in response. Scan to 1:00 in. I do not know these people.
And I'm confused. Apparently there are multiple videos out there on this theme.
January 9, 2009 12:34 AM | Reply | Permalink
Interesting... Did you notice the pig on the fridge? I searched You Tube for 'ice weasels' and got some hits, but also chupacabras showed up. Perhaps they're our southern desert cousins of der veasels?
January 9, 2009 12:51 AM | Reply | Permalink
The Weasels will neither confirm, nor deny, any such supposition.
Now you will back off, and please leave the area.
We've got goats to hunt.
January 9, 2009 11:47 AM | Reply | Permalink
I don't disagree that Obama is visionary. But running a campaign is vastly, vastly different than running the country, particularly in the state it's in. I don't think he has all the answers. I don't think his team has all the answers. In fact, if I thought that they thought they did, I'd probably be more concerned.
I also think all the hubbub over every appointment/this/that/the other thing is a bit over the top, but I'm okay with that too. People are riled up. Ready to get their country back. That's great to hear.
January 9, 2009 12:35 AM | Reply | Permalink
People are 'riled up' and nervous to boot. Times of change, be they personal or cultural are just difficult. There's no prescribed path for BHO or any of us. So some of that manifests in worrying... about cabinet choices, the lack of substantive info escaping his inner circle, how we should interpret what info is getting out to the rest of us, etc. I have the feeling our new chief exec is gonna hit the ground running and we'll be hearing quite a bit following the inauguration. That will at least give us some substance on which to hang our confidence or concerns. As someone here said, be thankful it's not McCain & Palin gearing up to fight the dragons.
January 9, 2009 1:05 AM | Reply | Permalink
Wow, am I glad I came to read the post and the comments. I'm in the Quinn, Miguel and I think dd camp. Firmly. Although I did give him 3 more days than Miguel for wanting results.
Several times I have tried to look through his Ill. senate votes and proposed legislation. Just with a cursory glance, I think he's more liberal than he actually talked through the election. Big on social justice issues and way smart on Republican drive-bys in the culture war -- the abortion thing shows that part well.
As for his pragmatism - I think it's the philosophical type of pragmatism vs the expedient, compromise type. If the road to getting the economy moving involves one never taken by Democratic ideology, he will take it and damn the torpedoes. And I'm all for that.
But where I get really jittery is remembering the FISA disaster. Did he agree on principle, constitutional law, compromise, because it was good for the campaign or what?
Links, please. Explanations, soothing tea, a bottle of vodka or trips to a warm sandy beach are all acceptable at this point.
January 9, 2009 2:54 AM | Reply | Permalink
I think you mean vodka AND the beach! ;)
I wonder that myself. Sometimes I think Obama has this crazy notion that he's supposed to represent all the people in the country. I say that with seriousness - it's so far from the type of governance that I've seen in my life that it's sort of sounds jokey to me.
January 9, 2009 9:35 AM | Reply | Permalink
Hey Quinn, I did not know where else to put this but I just read a good post by J. Alter at Newsweek:
http://www.newsweek.com/id/177725/page/2/CommentSuccess/true#CommentBox
It is all about volunteerism and it is being worked on in the Senate and by the new WH.
There is more going on here than tax rebates.
January 8, 2009 10:48 PM | Reply | Permalink
Bang on, DickD. It's a great example. Obama CAN and I suspect WILL vastly expand Volunteer & National & Conservation Corps kinds of service, right? But. I worked on this stuff for a solid decade, and still have my hand in. And some of it is just... crap. If left to the bureaucracy, they'll bring forward programs designed & delivered by the undead. Municipalities & businesses using these Corps positions to fill the jobs which otherwise would go to regular, paid employees. (Same as with infrastructure. They'll bring forward new water/sewer systems designed to service new.. housing subdivisions. In fact.. they're already gearing up to do so.)
What is required is for an incredible concentration of energy & attention by US, all of us, to create these new initiatives. So that they serve new needs, motivate kids, harness "underutilized community assets," green the country, and add to the real growth that we're gonna need.
But instead of our time & energies - which are limited - going into creating & developing these as fast as we can... too much time is spent on focussing on Obama's leadership or personal qualities, or making the various whiney underbrush sounds that Deanie mentioned.
Let me ask this. Simple question. Are TPM's pages choked with blogs on where & how to focus & channel new Conservation Corps activities? Errrrm, no. Some readers don't even recognize this as a central part of our political debate or economic needs. They've bought the "personality= politics" stuff. The "Government makes policy" line.
Obama says change has to come from the bottom up and that WE ARE THE CHANGE WE'VE BEEN WAITING FOR. And a lot of this nonsense talk that people think is "political" is utterly missing what the guy is himself telling us - WE have to do this. Not just by casting a damned vote, but by creating new things.
I'll shut up now (thank God) but thanks for the great link, Dick.
January 8, 2009 11:29 PM | Reply | Permalink
Actually you have pointed out what at least three others have in the last 24. I am going to start checking move on and other orgs. Going back 30 years I recall similar misuse of funds. Nephews getting pretend work....
Talk later.
January 8, 2009 11:34 PM | Reply | Permalink
Quinn:
Very well-stated. My sentiments exactly. High hopes and all that yes, but let's not lose sight of reality and all that stuff too.
Happy New Year by the way. You folks were advised of the calendar change by now, eh? ;)
Bruce
January 9, 2009 9:22 AM | Reply | Permalink
I've got so many New Years' now MacBruce, that it I figure I should be permitted to take half the year off to celebrate.
Lemme see... Christian New Year... Jewish New Year... Scottish New Year... Canadian New Year (a 6 week celebration that roughly coincides with the Stanley Cup Playoffs)... Criminally Insane New Year (which happens whenever I damn well want it to, alright?)...
What I need is a damn good union lawyer to knock a bit of respect into these civil servants, who keep dissin' my people.
Good to see ya. And thanks for your voice up on the front pages. Always read.
January 9, 2009 10:57 AM | Reply | Permalink
Thank you, Deanie. My rising testiness around here lately is one of the things that's probably in need of cooling. But, damn, what with all the dire predicting of failure and prognostication of sellouts to Republicans based upon no evidence and doomsaying because what this one person knows must be done is not being done--its more annoying than, and just as banal and pointless as, a gigantic college faculty meeting.
January 8, 2009 11:36 PM | Reply | Permalink
Thank you, Deanie. My rising testiness around here lately is one of the things that's probably in need of cooling. But, damn, what with the way Democrats run around insisting that they, and they alone, know exactly what must be done and doing anything else would be criminally negligent or even actively malignant, and the predicting of doom and villianous sellouts to the forces of darkness based upon who's being considered for the job of White House doorknob polisher . . . its like being stuck in the world's largest endless college faculty meeting.
January 8, 2009 11:50 PM | Reply | Permalink
Okay, I have no idea wtf just happened there.
January 8, 2009 11:51 PM | Reply | Permalink
Apparently there's some debate about who just got appointed as White House Doorknob Polisher.
I've got my views, and clearly, Obama's going the wrong way, but hey... if he wants to believe Silvo's gonna save him, then far be it from me to complain.
After all, the guy's not even in office yet.
;-)
January 9, 2009 12:02 AM | Reply | Permalink
Congratulasions on being convinced. I'm not and I am less so with each passing day.
You write:
"Once in every other generation or so, a true visionary will come along, one who doesn't just "see things as they should be," but sees the way things WILL be in the future and the way they CAN be with enough foresight and energy and willpower."
That's poetic, but what the hell does that mean? And what evidence have you that Obama might be this person? This is no more specific than the broad generalities in Obama's speeches, which I too, have read. Obama's only real specifics in any of his proposals or speeches have to do with pretty mealy-mouthed, run of the mill, off the shelf Democratic proposals and ideas that have been out there for 20 years or more.
That's all well and good, but we are now in a very deep and critical crisis that threatens our national stability to say nothing of our prosperity. Nothing of what Obama has proposed or speehified about previously applies here. My biggest concern is that faced with the enormity of the problems we face, it appears Obama is not really perceiving that the basic, fundamental assumptions underlying our political situation in America need to change rapidly and that some major changes must occur if we are going to get out of this situation before it becomes a full blown depression. Centrist, incrementalist nostalgia about a bipartisan rebirth in Washington is hogwash. It's a desire to return to something that never was.
We had, once upon a time, a form of bipartisanship in DC that was a result of firm Democratic control that looked as permanent as could be. The Republicans had no choice but to cooperate because the Democrats didn't really give them a choice and thus was the birpartisanship so fondly remembered by so many who wish major changes without major battles. It reminds me of one of my favorite Frederick Douglass quotes:
"If there is no struggle, there is no progress. Those who profess to favor freedom, and deprecate agitation, are men who want crops without plowing up the ground, they want rain without thunder and lightning."
So too could it be said if there is no struggle, there is no "change."
Once the Democrats lost their grip in the mid-70's there has been no such thing as bipartisanship. The Democratic wimps have pined away for it, but it never materializes because what they long for never was as I said above. We need a strong leader now, not an alleged visionary whose vision is a return to a fantasyland of cooperation and collegiality.
Like Tom Harkin, I am concerned. I'll give Obama a chance, but I'm not prepared to put blinders on and support bad policy no matter who proposes it. there are far too many signs emanating from the Obama camp that his penchant for caution is winning out over his reputation for vision and that baby steps are going to be taken where giant leaps are required if we are ever to see real change in this country.
January 9, 2009 3:25 AM | Reply | Permalink
January 9, 2009 9:38 AM | Reply | Permalink
Have you ever listened to Tom Harkin lately? The guy is totally clueless.
January 9, 2009 8:27 PM | Reply | Permalink
That's your opinion. You're entitled to it. I don't agree with it at all.
January 9, 2009 11:07 PM | Reply | Permalink
Yet another (though much wordier) "Trust in Obama. You'll see! You'll see! Ya just gotta believe! Believe!" post. Ugh.
January 9, 2009 8:01 AM | Reply | Permalink
Oy loki, why didn't you give us the cliff notes before we read the whole darn thing? Seriously, a bit harsh on Deanie perhaps, a true believer and that's cool. . .I guess. But I think it's equally groovy to be realistic about human beings and politics and circumstances that we can and cannot control
January 9, 2009 9:25 AM | Reply | Permalink
I'm sorry... what?
January 9, 2009 11:56 PM | Reply | Permalink
During the run-up to the election, anyone who criticised Obama was pounced on immediately by his staunchest defenders. They would do their best to spin everything. It was an impressive site to see. No matter the critique it always looked good for Obama in the end. And even though I disagreed with this tactic, I understood it. I could see why it was being employed. "Let's get this guy elected!" was the idea. Cool.
But it's done. He's going to be President. He is going to govern (or try to!). This is the time for skepticism. By all. It is our responsibility, as the people who supported him and voted for him--and in some cases campaigned for him--to begin to hold him accountable. To, in essence, say to Obama, "Hey, we're watching pal!" Some say it's too soon. He hasn't even taken office yet! Well he's not waiting, why should you? His administration-to-be is out floating trial balloons. He's having his advisors meet with Senators and Representatives. When people like Tom Harkin meet with them and come back with their impressions of those meetings, then you have a responsibility to consider it. And if you don't like what you're hearing, say so.
Telling everyone to mellow out and and just trust him is stupid, condescending and ultimately irresponsible.
January 9, 2009 8:23 AM | Reply | Permalink
I see where you are coming from, but your approach is lacking. You hit your stride with Rick Warren by making repeated inferences that Obama could not be trusted on GLBT issues. I believe you were mistaking symbol for substance and predicting the future with minimal evidence. In other words, you behaved no better than a common pundit. It is no wonder why most of us (who look to blogs as an escape from outrage merchants) scoff at you.
I understand your concern. I live in dread of the next decade and the upheavals we will face. A dread rooted in experiences that you may or may not share. I have lived in squalor and watched my elders tear themselves apart because they could not provide for their loved ones. Now the entire human race is on a course to confront scarcity not seen in most of our lifetimes.
Right now, I pray for two simple things: activism and a steady hand at the wheel. I see the latter, but the former appears to caught up in the hyperreal world of cosmetic politics to struggle for change. It is easier to wring hands, clutch pearls, and be outraged/entertained by the spectacle than perform our civic duty.
My hope is that we can rebuild our nation into a compassionate Republic that acts in a secular loving spirit. This hope overcomes my fear, because my fear is wordless; the blackest pitch of doom.
January 9, 2009 9:46 AM | Reply | Permalink
I'm pretty much with you on everything in your last few paragraphs, Z. I don't mind if Obama doesn't lead every charge - activists and communities and such have to do that. If he can keep any kind of steady forward movement through this storm, and keep the monsters from seizing the levers, I'll be happy. Because yes, I feel the dread as well.
As fer our friend Loki, well... just look at his moniker. He's our designated Man of Outrage, the tail-twister trickster. And if he wasn't doing the job, one of us would have to hurl bags of flaming excrement at the citadel, eh? (And yes, Loki, I'm half joking, because I know a lot of your points are serious. Such as on GLBT, where I'm right with you.)
Onward through the dread!
January 9, 2009 11:12 AM | Reply | Permalink
Gee Quinn... a nicer, more full throated bit of support I could not ask for... ?
For Zipper: you said...
You clearly were not reading me. I never once made any suggestion... ever! My tone was always one of insult. Obama's choice was insulting and wrong. I know where he stands. But Warren was a bad choice.
Now please go fuck off for intentionally insulting me.
January 9, 2009 11:55 PM | Reply | Permalink
You are absolutely right loki! In fact, I would make the case that 1.) Obama's best supporters are not the followers but those who raise objections when he's listing far too much to the right as he is and has been since he started taking the nomination for granted, and 2.) he is first and foremost a politician and as such deserves the skepticism of us all. If people, no matter how hopeful, are not skeptical of the lame Democrats of Washington DC then they are nuts. Obama is one of them and has been since the moment he spoke at the convention in 2004 so people shouldn't kid themselves that we've elected a wizard or someone who is magically "different" than the other politicians in DC. We have not. We have elected a cautious--perhaps even timid, calculating, DC politician who ran a dynamite primary campaign, a weak general election campaign rescued by total economic collapse 8 weeks from election day and whose every signal since being nominated is that he's more interested in consensus and the views of the powerful than he is in substantive change that will benefit the average American. I find that emphasis to be a massive strategic error in any elected official.
FDR was nothing more than a tyical pol when he took office, albeit one with far more experience in running government at the state and federal levels, yet he recognized that the calamity he inherited in 1933 required dramatic relief for the people of the country--the people not the interests. Nothing Obama has said or done, nor any of the trial balloons launched by his people thus far, indicate that either he or his team understand that we aren't merely in a bad recession, but a multi-fronted catastrophe of unprecedented nature which requires bold and sweeping action unlike anything DC has seen or done since FDR.
The time now is past for the vague generalities and rhetorical flourishes regarding change. What people need to hear now is that the new President recognizes the disaster our ship is sailing into and that he will address the needs and priorities of the average people first (that would be a real change) instead of servicing the needs and desires of the wealthy and powerful interests first and then seeing what we can do for the little people if there are any crumbs leftover. It is the wealthy and powerful interests, after all, that have run the federal government into the ground along with our economy and national security too.
More of the same but with lots of spending does not amount to change in America. I hoep and pray Obama will do well and be successful not politically alone, but in the most meaningful sense of being a President who lifts up the nation and helps, for the first time in decades, the average, everyday people of America who began suffering long before the rich people's money disappeared back in October. I will remain skeptical and criticize my politician President when he deserves criticism and that time is earlier as opposed to later because later the die will already have been cast.
It will be the intial decisions and actions that determine the course of our national destiny, our future and that of our children. No less is at stake. Thus, thinking Democrats have no choice but to raise a ruckus when what we need is either being put on the backburner or promises are being broken, e.g. FISA, getting rid of the tax cuts for the rich, eliminating the income cap on social security taxes, a trickle down "stimulus" plan, ending the two pointless wars, etc...).
January 9, 2009 10:00 AM | Reply | Permalink
Can I ask what you are doing in your life right now to make the changes you are looking for? You say Obama is no magic man then you condemn him for not making magic. What are you doing, as a citizen, besides griping?
January 9, 2009 8:34 PM | Reply | Permalink
This is simply not true. I criticize him on legitimate grounds. You may not like it but that's life. Criticism is part and parcel of the process. If you leave your critical faculties behind because you'd rather hope a politician would do as he promised it's a real shame.
Though it has no impact on the validity of my criticism of our soon to be politician in chief, as a matter of fact, I do work every single day for change in my community, my state, and my country. All day long. Full time. And I have been doing so for about 30 years give or take.
And what is it that you do every day other than follow the herd?
January 9, 2009 11:05 PM | Reply | Permalink
I think I am responding to your kneejerk criticism. Of course I will be critical of some of Obama's choices and decisions, I already am, but I also think that the nonstop climate of attack mode has long been a problem, an obstacle, in getting things done--the "my way or the highway" philosophy. And I hear it a lot from the "disenchanted" on TPM. It's tiresome and counter productive. No one is saying the man is perfect, but let's give him and ourselves a chance for a change. As for me, I am a scientist and clinician. I do research on Alzheimer's and dementia-like syndromes, including Down Syndrome and TBI. I also work on Veterans health issues and have been in theater twice looking for evidence of teratogens. I give 20 hours a month to a rural pediatric health nonprofit, pro bono. I coach a Special Olympics soccer team. I have a stepson deployed. Is that enough? No, it's not. There's more I can and should do, and one thing I need to do is stop coming to TPM as often--it is depressing. I know one thing, and it's that adopting an inflexible, cynical, and negative attitude about the future is not one of the things I choose to do. Obama is inheriting a disastrous situation that started during the Reagan years. That's almost 30 years of mistakes and plenty of blame to go around, including the American voter. Yet you seem to think Obama should be able to fix all of these massive missteps by January 20, if not sooner. There will be a lot of failures on his horizon because Congress is an entrenched and misguided organization right now--has been for a long time and they will do their best to get in his way. He can't do much without their help and we can't get what we want without helping influence the process. So get used to failure. Hard work ahead for everyone--get some starch in your shorts and stop complaining. Because that's all it sounds like to me, complaining. Maybe we just have a philosophical difference. You are a glass half empty person and I see the glass half full.
January 10, 2009 9:35 AM | Reply | Permalink
KateO, I could read you all day!!!
January 10, 2009 11:28 AM | Reply | Permalink
That would be a mistake!
January 10, 2009 6:58 PM | Reply | Permalink
You are not much of a political person obviously. Nothing wrong with that, but you don't seem to understand how the game is played. I say this because of your wish of wanting to see a different outcome despite the fact that everything is being done as it always is done.
What Obama and the Democratic Party need to do is to actually take the country in the direction it ought to go which is to the left. Yes, to the scary, oft discussed but always discounted left. It is absolutely imperative that we do so. Without doing so we will never reach center again because they (the DC Dems) have failed to block, nay they have actively assisted and enabled the forces of greed and reaction in moving the country far to the right all these years through their weakness and their toadying themselves to the rich and powerful instead of upholding the interests of the people who elected them to office. They have been playing the Colmes role to the Republican's Hannity for decades now and that is insufficient to cope with the genuine calamity that is now taking place in the economy, with regard to energy and the environment, and every other problem that has now expoloded onto the foreign and domestic scene and demands action. Thanks to them we now live in the most reactionary, right wing nation in the western world as opposed to the enlightened America we were headed for prior to the rise of the right wing. Those who wish to give "a chance" (for about the millionth time once again) to Democratic capitulationism, surrender in advance to Republican demands, and incrementalist microchanges in policy are badly, and in today's climate perhaps fatally mistaken. We can't afford this any longer. We dont have the time to mess around with half-measures and appeasement of the forces of predatory wealth in America. Time has run out. Obama's job is to make sure that all this changes. DLC centrism and the cautious, go-slow approach the cowardly Democrats of Washington DC prefer is inadequate to deal with the problems before us. It was inadeqaute 10 years ago! In today's environment it is disasterously inadequate.
The center of the Democratic Party, in cahoots with the conservative Democrats and Republicans, have been fully culpable in all the bad decisions that have led us to the catstrophic situation we find ourselves in today at home and abroad: all of them without exception. They do this because they know they will pay no price for having done so as long as they maintain the veneer of being real Democrats who "fight for" the little guy even though they somehow mysteriously always lose the fight. Unlike the DLC type centrist and conservative Democrats, the liberals and the left (despite their small numbers) have been absolutely correct regarding the course our nation should take and have been systematically frozen out, ignored, isolated (as Obama is doing to them now)and instead the same voices who have been wrong about nearly everything and helped to produce such disasterous results remain at the center of the decisionmaking process. Why do you think that is? The reason is because a majority of Democratic politicians in Washington DC are more interested in servicing the needs of their wealthy masters instead of the people. This isn't supposition on my part. I have been involved first hand and up close with politicians at every level and that is precisely what is going on.
They view politics as a game and are very proud of the prowess with which they "finesse" certain plays and how they "thread the needle" between interests and so on. But sometimes the game must be played not for skill and self interest or the favor of the powerful, but for the interests of the nation and the people. Here in this country from day one the goal has been a free and prosperous citizenry. Is that what we have today? No. What we have now after 40 years of rightward drift is a nation of people mired in debt because of 30+ years of stagnant wages during the greatest prosperity ever seen, whose standard of living is plummeting despite the fact that they are working harder and longer than at any point in the last 60 years, whose communities are rotting from neglect, where millions of our families cannot get decent medical care or a decent education and can't count on jobs that will support their families. Go slow on this? This is an emergency that can no longer be ignored. Incremental changes that will take decades before any relief is felt by the broad population? No fucking thank you. I recall that Martin Luther King said: "Justice delayed is justice denied." We have waited long enough. Now is the time for all good people to raise their voices and object to this gaming of our lives, our country, our children's futures and our posterity!
I know many don't like hearing the plain and quite obvious fact that the DC Democrats first priority is to service the interests of their wealthy and powerful benefactors whose interests are opposed to those of the common people but it's as plain as day and unless and until thinking people face up to this we will continue to see the common American citizen get crucified on the cross of special interests: not by the Republicans who will be cheering from the wings, but by Democratic centrists who will say "we did the best we could in the face of fierce Republican opposition." They have been saying for decades that we need x, y, and z and the excuse for not doing so is always and without exception that it isn't "pragmatic" "we couldn't get the votes for more than what was passed" and it would meet with "lots of opposition" and that the mean old (and apparently super human) Republicans will fight it or fillibuster and thus control all legislative action even when they are, as now, a despised and unpopular minority. So instead of fighting for what they say they believe in, and yes, even when some powerful forces are opposed to progress, opposed to health care for all, opposed to maintaining regulation on rapacious business interests, having the rich pay their fair share in taxes, protecting the environment, etc... they lay down and play dead. Time and again they roll over before the fight has even begun and instead of ever even trying to accomplish what they claim they are for they offer a lame "compromise" in advance of the battle ever being joined! That's pathetic and I, along with many others, are tired of that act. Thus as we have seen so many times, the opening negotiation position of our side is always pre-weakened and watered down. Does the other side ever do this? No. Of course not! And the reason is because they are actually for the rotten things they say they are for. The pathetic pattern of behavior of Democrats in DC is reminiscent of the Scottish Lords in Braveheart who, prior to battle, meet with the enemy forces in the middle of the field and "negotiate" with them in order to gain more lands and titles for themselves. When they've struck a deal for themselves they are satisfied with they then tell the army of peasants to go home without so much as one arrow being loosed. The result for the Scottish peasantry? Nothing changes despite the stalwart support they have shown for their betters who have once again sold them out.
Our "centrist" "pragmatic" "postpartisan" politicians who endlessly seek the mythical bipartisan Shangri La that never was are essentially weak and craven from decades of flim-flaming the public on a whole host of issues. They do not have the courage of their convictions. Do't take my word for it, just look at the long list of their failures since regaining the majority for Gods' sake! They say one thing at election time and then spend their elected terms offering excuses as to why they had to knuckle under on all the major demands of the credit card industry, the airline industry, the trucking interests, big coal, big pharma, the insurance thieves, big oil, the scam and con artists of Wall Street and on and on and on. And it is always the interests of the people left on the backburner. Always. They offer us tired, worn out excuses for why they won't do the right thing and protect the Constitution or just enforce the existing law as with the FISA flip flop of Obama, Pelosi, Emmanual, Hoyer, Reid et al last summer. They did this to protect the nation from terrorism? LMAO!!!! What a rotten joke that excuse was! They did it in exchange for the financial backing of the telecommunications interests. It was as plain as day!
They bargain away our freedom and our prosperity to enrich the most self-interested and greedy interests---interests that have cooperated in violating our laws and our constitutional rights on a vast scale no less in the case of the FISA flim flam. Few Democrats who serve in Washington have proved immune to these interests including Obama who I like and respect. He isn't evil, but he is a rather standard issue DC Democrat in terms of his policy preferences. But do I trust him (or any of them) to do the right thing in that environment? Hell no!
It is quite simply foolish to believe that if you don't keep the pressure on them they will do the right thing anyway. Constinuation of the scam they are running depends upon us doing nothing, saying nothing while they "negotiate" away our interests in return for titles and favor in the form of campaign cash, etc... They most certainly will not do the right thing if left on their own and they have proven this time and again. Just look at the record! It doesn't lie. It does nobody any good to wish for better from the DC Democrats without demanding it. Wishing doesn't do any good and "giving them a chance" is tantamount to telling them to run roughshod over your interests. Do you think there's even one industrial or commercial interest in the US that would simply sit back and say "let's give em a chance and see what they do?" Not on your life! They are right there, the moment the eleciton is over pressing their demands as we should too!
We must demand better if that is what we wish to see come to fruition. That's all I'm doing. It isn't knee jerk criticism at all. It is very clear headed analysis of what is going on based on prior experience of many years. It is also just about the only way that has been so demonized and put off limits in Washington DC. The resons for this is because the special interests of wealth and corporate power are opposed. Thus, it is the job of us all to step up to the plate right now and demand that our politicians do what we need them to do and quit "threading the needle" by counting out "One for you the people and ten for me. One for you the people, fifty for the finance industry and banks. One for you the people and a thousand for arms and munitions manufacturing interests." This familiar game of cheating the American people and making them into a vast, now largely urban peasantry will not do. It is unacceptable to me and so it should be to you. I object strenuously to it and so should you and everyone else who loves liberty and wants a properous, stable and peaceful future for the country we love.
January 10, 2009 12:57 PM | Reply | Permalink
Well, Oleeb, I think I agree with you totally. We are not so far apart on strategy--I guess it's just our tactics that are different. Congress is a wasteland and has been ever since Reagan began the Imperial Presidency. I do have some experience, I worked for Congress during the late 1980s and early 1990s. I know there are some good people there trying to do the impossible and a lot of people there doing nothing but stuffing their pockets and their egos. I want change as much as you seem to want it. But I also am a pragmatist and know that there are many ways to achieve change. One approach is to co-opt people, let people think that your good ideas are theirs. Even let them take the credit as long as the work gets done. I suspect that Obama knows this and is a lot shrewder than you are giving him credit for. In any event, I think we are on the same page, you just want the pages to turn faster. That's good. Keep the pressure on.
January 10, 2009 4:57 PM | Reply | Permalink
It isn't just Congress, it's the vast majority of elected Democrats and their army of professional DC Dems and consultants. In my opinion, as smart as he is, Obama doesn't have enough legislative experience to have the sort of skills you reference and he most certainly does not have the time whether or not he has the skills. I can't emphasize enough how extraordinary a moment in history we find ourselves right now. It is now or never. The decisions made in the next few months will determine the fate of the nation far beyond our lifetimes and perhaps beyond that of our children's lifetimes. There will be no other opportunity like this during our lifetimes. If this moment is misplayed then our America will quickly recede into the past and a new, much harsher and desperate America will emerge. There's an old saying that "God protects fools and the United States of America". Do we really want to test our luck and see if God is there again to protect us from our own disasterous folly? I don't. We can make things right again on our own but only by doing what is right and forgetting about the "pragmatism" that got us in this mess.
January 10, 2009 8:12 PM | Reply | Permalink
If nothing else, I admire your passion.
January 10, 2009 10:05 PM | Reply | Permalink
LOKI! QUINN!
Guys, did you read through to the end?
I said that I didn't have time in this particular post to provide the links and specifics but that I would do so after this weekend, which is for our family, Christmas. Yeah, we just got our tree a week or so ago (we cut our own out here in the country) and my kids are just now home. So this was just a preview.
Quinn, I do not in the least think you are being negative or pouncing on Obama. But what excites me about your comments are the very things I'm going to be writing about in the next couple of weeks.
This Time is Different.
Even now, Obama is moving in a direction never before seen in a presidential transition: he is involving WE THE PEOPLE as never before, to get our input, to gage our reactions to his ideas, to get ideas from US, and to help pressure Congress to push through measures he and most of the rest of us feel are important.
THESE are the kinds of things I will go into in much greater detail.
This is in no way a Worship the Great Leader post. It is only meant to be an encouragement to supporters grown gloomy by all the criticisms this man has received, starting the day after he was elected. I think Josh Marshall posted a funny comment on, like, the 6th of Nov., saying that he'd been away from the computer for a day and that in that time Obama had proved himself to be an utter failure and all was lost.
Obama has said all along that this is OUR election and OUR presidency, and he is true to his word, involving the public as never before. It's an exhilerating experiment. It could wind up being like herding cats, or it could truly transform this nation.
That's the thing. We don't know yet! We are ACTUALLY TAKING PART IN HISTORY.
NEXT WEEK, after the Mills Christmas, I will provide plenty of specifics and plenty of links.
As for impatient watchers demanding specifics from The Man, they would do well to at least give him until the State of the Union address. He is only just now getting his staff fully fleshed out, and they are working furiously to see if they can ascertain what the lay of the land REALLY is as opposed to the Bush Happy Talk, what is needed, what is possible, and what we can do.
There have already been health care group meetings all over the country, and input from people everywhere to the health care planners, online and through video feeds, and Tom Daschle is right in the middle of it, aware, alert, and engaged as he prepares to reform health care.
So guys, be a little patient, will ya? First with an administration that has not yet even been confirmed by the Senate, much less moved into their new offices, and then with me the Hapless Blogger, who hasn't seen her kids in months.
But these comments are AWESOME, and I am thrilled with the spirited debate. I see no bashers here, only earnest citizens who want the best for our country.
Can't wait to get to know you all better in future posts.
January 9, 2009 9:48 AM | Reply | Permalink
Hey Deanie. First off, I hope you have a great Millsian Christmas. My niece had her husband home from Afghanistan, and I think we all would've given up the trees & the trappings just for that. So have a wonderful time.
As for the specifics to come, yes, I look forward to it. I think we're all, already, well off any beaten track, and we're going to need ideas, information, hope, from Obama on down.
My only request would be that we look not just at what Government & the Market can do, and their political voices in the old Right & Left - but also at the myriad of OTHER ways we can change, create, satisfy our needs. I believe the historically well-beaten & oft-ignored world outside these two titans - i.e. the world of community and family and NGO and internet and mutuals and coops and internal personal/spiritual changes - is a greater source of hope right now than continuing to focus on the heavyweight State vs Market brawl. Because (to me) those two combatants appear to have reached exhaustion & bankruptcy at roughly the same time.
Merry Christmas!
January 9, 2009 10:51 AM | Reply | Permalink
Yes, we read all the way through to the end. And then wondered why you wrote at all. You could have written what you supposedly intend to write first and foremost, and have been done with it. Instead we got this... this total "please trust Obama" bullshit.
January 10, 2009 12:01 AM | Reply | Permalink
"This Time is Different."
No. It is not. That is the biggest mistaken assumption that can be made. It simply is unrealistic to believe this and your hope that it will be true, the hope of none of us, is evidence. It is okay to want to trust a politician, but I have known literally hundreds of them up close and at every level. It is the height of folly to believe that anyone surrounded by what I would call "the usual suspects" is going to be different. It just isn't so.
Obama has surrounded himself with the Washington establishment for a reason and it isn't so that he can dramtically whip them all into line and change the course we are on. It is because they are in agreement. Remember, Hillary, who is as much a creature of the DC establishment as anyone can be, had almost zero policy differences with Obama during the campaign. In terms of their positions on the issues they were virtually indistinguishable with the notable exception that Obama had publicly said he was against the invasion of Iraq. This similarity was recognized by just about everyone who has bothered to compare the two, kinda demonstrates the unlikelihood of this time being "different." You will recall that the lack of significant policy disagreement is what led Hillary, in large part, to resort to the distasteful personal attacks her campaign conducted during the primary season.
I'm sorry to burst your very sincere and heartfelt bubble but there's simply no evidence right now to support your supposition. In fact, at this point in time, every sign indicates the likelihood is that this time will not be much different at all. And that's what has me so deeply concerned.
January 9, 2009 10:17 AM | Reply | Permalink
Sorry, in the first paragraph it should read "and your hope that it will be true, the hope of none of us, is not evidence."
January 9, 2009 10:19 AM | Reply | Permalink
Oleeb, that's cool.
Believe me, I am surrounded by right-wingers both within the family and without (and no, please don't think I'm accusing you of same; simply making an example of my family and friends)--and my rambling point is that Obama is going to have to EARN their respect, and yours, as well. I totally get that.
I fully appreciate your cynicism and frustration with the process and disgruntlement about the Clintonian appointees, but I see it differently--in a more hopeful way--and will provide specific examples in future posts.
In the meantime, I figure all our speculations, both pros and cons, are on hold until a bit of time has passed, to see how fully he implements his new methods and how successful they are.
I do believe there will be mistakes and mis-steps, as there are in any new administration (or, in Bush's case, a full eight years), and I fully expect that most everybody will have something to complain about here or there.
But overall, I do expect things to be different, and I'll explain why. Understanding, as I do so, that you will have to be won over by results, in time.
And you may not be. You may never be particularly happy with what Obama does, and that's okay too. That's what a democracy is. I just think that, after eight years of secrecy, stench, and imperialism from the WH, we are going to see a whole new world in terms of transparency, accountability, and progress.
I also think we will see far more participation from the electorate in the day-to-day governing, thanks to the Internet and this new president's understanding of its potential.
January 9, 2009 11:27 AM | Reply | Permalink
Again, other than your own projection of things being different I see no evidence that this will come to pass. It isn't that I don't respect Obama. I do. What's not to respect? I don't trust him, as I do not trust any politician, but especially one that claims to put the people first but whose every substantive policy action is focused on the wealthy and powerful first and foremost. That's bad not just for political reasons, it is bad for America and the world because it is what has produced all the rottenness, corruption and decay found in DC.
Not being Bush is by no means enough. People generally should have much higher expectations than that. While it is a great relief that the government will no longer be under the direct control of a bunch of gangsters, crooks, war criminals and other assorted felonious personages, handing power to the Democratic corporate elite is not much of an improvement. After all, they have been the handmaidens to the multiple debacles germinated during the past 8 years and even some that were begun under Clinton. The entire elite class in DC has failed the country and should not be trusted. All of them should be swept aside since they've pretty much been disasterously wrong on just about every major issue of the day and certainly for the past 8 years. They have misplayed everything. They have cowered in the corner when they should have stood tall in opposition. They have allowed the dollar to crumble, the economy to be destabilized, two wars that threaten national security far more than they could ever have improved it, they have been cowed, browbeaten and bitchslapped into allowing some of the worst legislation and policies imaginable. But now we are expected to trust them to change the system they have been thriving under their entire professional lives? Let's get real for a minute shall we? The Democratic establishment, which is in full command of the incoming administration is at least as culpable in all the horrors of the Bush years as the Republicans because they were i a position to bloc most of it and didn't have the courage.
Few people I (or anyone) would consider on the side of regular people first are a part even of the transition team let alone among the thus far announced appointees. And yes, it is disapppointing to see so many DLC type Clinton appointees but by far the most distressing is the Bush apppointee Obama has decided to keep in charge of the illegal/immoral war in Iraq and the bungled war in Afghanistan. People like to talk about what a politically smart and saavy move that was and it may turn out that way. But it is far, far more likely to signal that we are in Iraq for many, many years to come. Obama has not uttered one meaningful peep about withdrawal since the election. Why do you think that is? Well, Occam's razor would kinda indicate that the reason is because that isn't what is going to take place. Look for the 16 or 18 month withdrawal to be one of the first casualties in the war of promises kept and broken.
I hope you're right and I'm wrong but if I had to bet on it, I'd put a whole helluva lot of money down against you. You have a lot riding on the "if come" and that's usually an unwise bet on anything. History and experience is against your hopes and what activity we have seen thus far beyond rhetoric since the election is not on your side either. All the hopeful talk about how the wiley and vastly intelligent Obama will somehow command a masterful set of changes is just talk without any evidence at all that it will be so. We hope, but we do not see any indication that might be the case. All the loving fascination with the cabinet of rivals garbage is a sideshow, the participation of people at change.gov, etc... is window dressing and a commonly used illusion in politics to make people "feel" included when in fact they are being manipulated by cynical professionals who will use or dispense with the results as they see fit according to how useful it is to them at any given point in time. That doesn't make Obama or his people bad, but what it does is reveal them for what they are: a bunch of highly skilled political insiders who have been and remain part and parcel of all the major problems that have been created and left unsolved in America not just the past 8 years but for a generation.
January 9, 2009 1:30 PM | Reply | Permalink
What a breath of fresh air you are to TPM, oleeb. Just as in the past, Deanie was able to speak with great eloquence about families with soldiers in Iraq -- because she spoke 1st hand -- you, too, are obviously deeply associated with political activity. Thanks for your perspective.
January 9, 2009 5:08 PM | Reply | Permalink
I'll withhold judgment until I've had a chance to check out some of those links you mentioned.
January 9, 2009 12:59 PM | Reply | Permalink
Oleeb, like I said, I will answer many of your concerns next week when I have more time. You may not be impressed with the links I provide but I'll do my best to aleviate your concerns.
But I do need to speak out on Robert Gates. As you may know, I'm a Marine mom who had opposed this war from the beginning even as my own son deployed twice in bloody combat zones, and two of my nephews have done four more combat deployments to that hell. So no one more than military families have vested interests in the outcome of this travesty of a war.
That said, I could not be more pleased that Gates is staying on. Your comments about nothing being said since the election about getting out are simply untrue. Obama has stated at least three times that I'm aware of that he is sticking to his plan to withdraw combat troops. As for us being there for "years to come," the Iraqis want us out by 2011, and troops are, as we speak, pulling out of urban areas for the most part and collecting once again on the big bases, and turning security over to the Iraqis--for better or worse.
I am pleased with Gates because I spent a great deal of time reading his statements, speeches, and papers on the war before he was ever appointed, and I have watched him closely since he took over from Rumsfeld.
One thing he does: Every single night, he writes personal notes to the families of the fallen from that day. Rumsfeld never did that; preferring to send out form letters with stamped signatures.
To Gates, each one of those troops is a son or daughter; he appreciates that as few SecDefs ever have.
He has worked closely with Rice and the State Dept and stated flat-out that he wanted to peel off some of the massive Defense budget and give it to State so they can do the jobs the military was forced to assume under the first six militaristic years of Rumsfeld. He is working closely with Petraeus to seek ways to emphasize diplomacy in Afghanistan, and has said that, after the initial escalation of troops to Afghanistan this next year, he wants to stop the process and see what we can do, working with warlords and sheiks and others to restore peace to that country. He does not believe a military solution alone will solve any problems in the Mideaste.
This is a man who is not a warmonger, and that is why Obama wants him to stay for one more year, to oversee the transition out of Iraq.
Keep in mind that Obama has already sent out "pink slips" to 90 Bush appointees at the Pentagon, and will be replacing them with his own people. These are high-ranking people who've worked directly under Gates but were Bush loyalists. Obama is cleaning house.
All is not how it appears on the surface at the Pentagon these days. You can trust me on that.
But I am from a military family. I believe that what Bush/Rumsfeld/Cheney have done to our troops over the past seven years amounts to abuse. I can't wait to get rid of the bastards. But I have read everything I can get my hands on and talked to family members, who range from Marine Corps lance corporals to Army Special Forces Brigadier Generals, and what Obama is planning to do is the best that can be done while, at the same time, protecting the troops who are pulling out, who will be far more vulnerable to attack if it is not done properly.
That's all I've got time for today, but watch for future posts. There will be links.
January 9, 2009 2:25 PM | Reply | Permalink
I agree that Gates is not a warmonger, but he is an imperialist as most Washington insiders are regardless of party affiliation. I mean that not as an ideological epithet, but as a matter of fact. That's our biggest economic, foreign and domestic problem: imperialism and how much it costs to maintain. I agree he is far better than the criminally incompetent and meanspirited Rumsfeld, but he's not a fruit basket left at the door either. I'm sure he actually cares about people. But he is fully invested in the idea of a Washington that dominates the world stage in a way that simply is no longer tenable and which is no longer useful to us because we cannot maintain it. It is eating us alive. Washington is steeped with smart, well intentioned men and women who are fully invested in the American imperial vision of the world. That world is rapidly fading as Bob Dylan might say.
Our nation is in a position not dissimilar to that of Great Britain around 1899 or 1900. The era of presiding over a virtually unchallenged empire is ending. WWI virtually destroyed Great Britain's ability to maintain her empire.
The question is not whether we can restore our prior dominance. We can not do that and Bush's profligacy and incompetence have made that certain. We must now decide whether or not we will engage in a long series of expensive and quite futile efforts to regain our previous dominant position in the world, which will accelerate our descent to pauper nation status as we empty our treasury on the pipe dream of imperial restoration.
This nation spends approximately $650 Billion annually on maintaining the imperialist military industrial complex Eisenhower warned us about. We call this "defense spending". We spend more for this each year than all the other nations on earth combined! That figure does not include annual outlays for the two wars we're fighting OR nuclear weapons.
When you think about this and realize that this trillion plus dollar waste every year (and not "welfare" or "entitlements", etc...) is the reason we have so many budget problems it kind of casts a different hue on lots of other issues doesn't it? It is utterly and completely obscene that we have been doing this. The trimming that Gates speaks of is miniscule in comparison to the real changes that need to be made. Yet even our new President campaigned on actually increasing this obscene "defense" spending.
We could easily cut spending on empire maintenance, aka "defense" by half and still be the best defended nation on earth. But we cannot use our military as we have for the past 50 years as we so foolishly did in VietNam and now Iraq and Afghanistan. Our young people are worth more than that to begin with. Every penny we waste on imperialism robs our people and our posterity of peace, prosperity, stability, health care, education, job training, you name it: all the things that other civilized nations provide for themselves but that we do not have because we have chosen imperialism over everything else. It is a foolish policy and a dead end for America.
So that is really the problem I have with Gates since he comes from the more unreasonable (Republican) wing of the imperialists of Washington. The Democratic members of this school of thought are slightly less rabid about it, but as Iraq clearly has demonstrated, anything that these people may have once learned from the experience in Vietnam has long ago been forgotten.
BTW-my one nephew just got out of basic as a Marine so I'm very sympathetic to the families of those in the military. I'll look forward to your evidence on behalf of your hope. I pray that you shame me on every count. But I ain't holdin my breath on it. :)
January 9, 2009 7:04 PM | Reply | Permalink
Post this up, oleeb. Worth doin'.
January 9, 2009 8:57 PM | Reply | Permalink
All due respect, Deanie, but much of this post replaced nationalistic style jingoism with party style jingoism.
Do I know it will be a satisfying ride? Nope. I'm not sure how you know already.
As Hilary points out above, running a campaign is very different than governing. GWB ran (admit it) a most excellent campaign against Kerry in 2004: with the war being the primary issue, the AWOL/National Guardsman was able to pain the War Veteran as a -- I dunno -- subversive? Blame Kerry all you want, GWB ran an excellent campaign and took advantage of Kerry's mistakes.
Obama thus far has been able to thread a needle because he hasn't gotten any more specific than he needs to be -- in a few days time, he will need to be more specific than he's been.
Obama's method of filling positions rapidly is nice -- but there is a down side. I know of several CEOs who were instrumental in Obama's organization who were asked to be part of the new administration panels, transition team panels, etc. Only they were asked at the height of an economic meltdown. Asking for 2-3 weeks time to settle local affairs before they threw in with Obama (and local affairs meant taking care of their enterprises and the people that work in them) these CEOs were told: "Thanks, see you next time around." Does this mean many of these non-high profile positions went to less qualified individuals? I don't know. But sometimes, haste does make waste. Time will tell if Obama played that correctly or not.
The vaunted Lincoln Cabinet mythology aside, it was a disaster at the end of the day. The "team of rivals" really didn't work out. And as far as Lincoln's obstructionist generals: most weren't obstructionist, they were just not up for the job. So what did Lincoln do? He kept going down the list. Take the next one, see what he could do, if he failed, move on to the next.
THAT is a solution. Flexibility and persistence. We don't know how Obama will deal with that issue. Will he be loyal to a fault? Will he be willing to fire and move on? I don't know. It requires judgment and so far Obama shows an excellent ability to be introspective, grow, and adapt. But we really don't know what will happen.
Much of the rhetoric we see is somehow Obama is transcendent. Well, he certainly can motivate a crowd -- but how long that crowd stays motivated is another story. The last time we heard things like the Peace Corps, etc. the country was at it's peak of world dominance with a tremendously healthy economy. It's easy to be altruistic when your belly is full and your personal economic future feels secure. Sadly, we don't live in those times. People will react differently.
Here is a map of the 1932 election. It explains, quite clearly, why FDR could move with a mandate like he did. Obama will have a more difficult task -- and he will have to contend with a broadcast media unlike what FDR had. National opinion is much more rapidly made these days and can be swayed much more easily because of both advances in communication technology and communication psychology. Obama can't control the discussion to the degree that FDR could. Does that mean that Obama won't measure up? No, it remains to be seen. But the road is definitely harder than FDR had.
Lastly, people shouldn't be so dismissive of those Washington insiders you talk about. They know better than most what it takes to really move something along -- in the same spirit as it was originally proposed. Entrenchment, turf wars, etc. are very real. Money given from Congress to agencies for specific tasks often ends up as slush funds for pet projects -- not even private gain, but pet projects that aren't associated with the original purpose. It's difficult to steal $5K from the government. It's very easy to "repurpose" $50M.
At the end of the day, the best tactic Obama can use is the Ronald Reagan one: side step everything by going to the people directly. One thing that tends to be forgotten at TPM is that many saw Ronald Reagan as a breath of fresh air from the corruption and malaise of the 1970s. The forget that *young people* were many of the new GOPers and readily went along. From the get-go Obama knew that, which is why you saw references to Reagan in his comments -- the same comments that fueled such ire here.
Obama is not going to have to lead Congress, he is going to have to lead the people. Events are very much stacking up against him -- the economic meltdown and the potential distrust of our currency; the fact we are past peak oil production in the world and yet depend upon it for our very way of life; global climate change and the ripple effects associated with straining our resources even further.
These are all events beyond his -- or any president's -- control. They are events that will require significant long-term and permanent changes (and sacrifices) in our behavior. Obama's success as a leader has less to do with him and more to do with how the country receives that message. He will only be able to sugar coat it so much.
January 9, 2009 4:10 PM | Reply | Permalink
What a great thread! I'm just catching a bit of a flavor of what's going on. And I honestly find myself agreeing with both sides here. Caution makes sense. Hope makes sense. But we are so deep in the doo-doo left by the bushies that it's hard to see anything ahead except belt-tightening and a different landscape of frugality and common sense actually.
I look ahead and I see a lot of pain, no matter what Obama can manage. So many problems to tackle. It's good to keep the fires lit for all the issues that need to be front and center - so we keep insisting on what we'd like to see happen. At the same time, I'm still thrilled we elected him.
January 9, 2009 5:06 PM | Reply | Permalink
Here is the central issue you state, TheraP:
As Obama was elected under a coalition of multi-agendas, there isn't agreement about what the issues that need to be front and center are.
As a simple example: the notion of a special prosecutor for Bush is foolhardy. It won't happen for setting a dangerous precedent alone. (Because then the GOP will go after the Dem president, etc. Remember, it was the GOP that pushed for a term-limited president. Then the GOP lost a 3rd term with Reagan as a result. Life is funny that way.) The other reason it won't happen is we simply don't have enough energy and resources to do it and the more pressing business of keeping people fed and sheltered. People should just let that issue "go" -- and even Obama's response to it indicates as much.
Having stated that, I'm sure there will be those who vehemently disagree -- which only proves my point.
The good news is that in just a few days, all this theorizing, hoping, imaging, etc. will be over and we will be dealing with reality and action. Then we will have something concrete to discuss.
January 9, 2009 5:17 PM | Reply | Permalink
What a crock.
January 9, 2009 5:27 PM | Reply | Permalink