Everyone knows "speak softly and carry a bit stick", as people remind me on Hillary's Iran comment, but here are a few others worth noting. (There are more, Google them. Better yet, read his speeches and ideas).
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Teddy Roosevelt:

"The unforgivable crime is soft hitting. Do not hit at all if it can be avoided; but never hit softly."

"Wars are, of course, as a rule to be avoided; but they are far better than certain kinds of peace. "

"I took the Canal Zone and let Congress debate; and while the debate goes on, the canal does also."

"In any moment of decision, the best thing you can do is the right thing, the next best thing is the wrong thing, and the worst thing you can do is nothing."

"It behooves every man to remember that the work of the critic is of altogether secondary importance, and that, in the end, progress is accomplished by the man who does things."

"The most successful politician is he who says what everybody is thinking most often and in the loudest voice."

"The pacifist is as surely a traitor to his country and to humanity as is the most brutal wrongdoer."

"The things that will destroy America are prosperity-at-any-price, peace-at-any-price, safety-first instead of duty-first, the love of soft living, and the get-rich-quick theory of life. "

When they call the roll in the Senate, the Senators do not know whether to answer "Present" or "Not guilty."

When you are asked if you can do a job, tell 'em, 'Certainly I can!' Then get busy and find out how to do it.

Sorry, my promised post on jobs and offshoring for later.

So far lots of people have managed to pull Hillary's Iran statement out of context: <i>if Iran nukes Israel</i>. And there's a bit about Hillary being confrontational, giving ultimatums, etc.

And I start to wonder, do people have a sense that being a hardass is still part of the President's job description? 2 months after Bush's election, China forced down one of our planes onto Hainan and ended up tearing it apart and sending it back in 1000 boxes. We capitulated meekly and our foreign policy with China has been submission ever since. We meekly asked Putin for help post-9/11 and have watched as he nationalized Yukos, became a billionaire, and now is an extra-legal successor to himself - a far cry from the relatively benign cooperation we had from Yeltsin. Bill Clinton and Newt Gingrich fought all the way to the closing of the government. In the end, Clinton (and we as Democrats) won. The Sudan remains in bloody genocide despite years of chatting and diplomatic pressure - anything to do there?

So I'm curious about people's opinions - will we still need to act the badass (such as when Europe doesn't want to take a stand in Bosnia), or will matters be resolved in some other way? Let's talk military, global warming measures, health care, reigning in the huge deficit, whatever. Is there still a place for the hardass at the table?

Yes, TPM Election Central has been taken over by bloggers repeating posts ad nauseum, posting links with no other comments, and just in general gloating, "See! See! I told you so! See!" until their fingertips detach. TPM security staff believe the current cyberalert should pass once Tuesday's elections are finished, but should this really be the case of Mars! Attacks! all bets are off. Normal bloggers are advised to take a long weekend and come back when the premises have been sanitized and lacquered.

What we should be pushing is: "Universal Health Care is good for business" Companies do not manage health care well, it's a distraction and a headache, it's not their core competence. Health care benefits make employees stay who should leave and make it hard for good employees to move around. Mobility drives our economy. 401(K) programs have let employees move their retirement around to great benefit and eased pension fund management for employers. Universal Health Care will do the same thing. Not only that, employer selected health care programs tend to be cheaper and riskier against employees' health - which hurts companies long term when employees aren't treated and miss work. (And employees worried about health care and treatment aren't exactly focused on their jobs). These arguments are as convincing as anything Hillary mentioned on O'Reilly and they can play well to the important business crowd (unless hating corporate America is one of our self-fulfilling needs). How much time do corporations spend on Social Security? On 401(K) plans? On Health Care? Which model lets companies focus more on business? [And yeah, click the Tip Jar/Recommend Button and I'll wag my tail 3 times]

Perhaps missed in the "Democrats don't watch Fox" meme:

Politico:
"It’s an incredibly strong endorsement because Easley is popular among the blue collar 'Bubba' voters who are Democrats," said David "Mudcat" Saunders, a Democratic consultant who advised former North Carolina Sen. John Edwards and former Virginia Gov. Mark Warner on winning rural voters....

Easley, 58, the lone survivor of a class of Southern Democratic governors elected between 1998 and 2000, has managed to thrive by figuring out how to win reelection in a region where the national Democratic party is typically a burden to statewide elected officials.

Wary of the stigma carried by the national party, he skipped the party convention in 2000 and 2004. He's term-limited this year after serving two terms.

Easley has looked to popular culture for clues to help him connect to the average voter. In the past, his pollster has asked respondents whether they watch the popular animated Fox series, "King of the Hill." Easley, it turns out, is a fan of the main character Hank Hill, a small-town Texas propane salesman who likes guns and NASCAR. The governor has made the show’s audience his lodestar.

Between the Easley endorsement, an appearance on Fox, the work of Elizabeth Edwards and the recent Wright flareup, Hillary's "likely voter" component could change greatly over the next week. Buckle your seatbelts.

Obama's going all the way, post-Fox nothing to stop him, not even Hillary lies.

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