B and B

I was at a lecture series last night, so I watched Barack and Bobby online. I have a few thoughts.

It's incredibly distracting to have to watch Nancy Pelosi pistoning up and down like a crazed crankshaft. Her thighs must be throbbing, and that's not an image I wanted to take away when I clicked on. In fact, the whole bobbing spectacle of congressfolk thrusting themselves in and out of their chairs in some sort of parapatriotic dance-off with the other side is a perfect image of their collective vacuity.

On the other hand, our president was in fine form, saying things that both sides needed to hear. I'm certain that if the author was unknown to them, most on the right would have said they agreed with most of his words. In some alternate universe -- one doing much better at the moment than ours -- it might have happened. I'm looking for a wormhole as we speak.

I figured it would be strange the minute I saw Bobby Jindal appear in a setting meant to evoke a president walking down that White House hall to a podium. Except that he came only half-way, and from the right, bouncing boyishly with a silly grin on his face. Uncaring of the irony, he declaimed as if he'd not even heard what Obama said, which happened to have contradicted most of his points. And he used Katrina as an example of why we shouldn't trust Obama!! OUCH. Guess he missed the point of the election: the people voted out BAD government, in the hope for and belief in GOOD government.

When you get dumped on by Charles Krauthammer, who could -- and did -- rationalize every failure of the Bush administration and who has never found a worthy molecule in Barack Obama's body and never will, I'd say the great hope and future of the Republican party failed to measure up. But he didn't have much to work with. As one of my mentors liked to say, you can't shine a turd. I give him credit for trying. Too bad he sounded like this.

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Mad Cow

I type, or I scream. Really. It's beyond containment within even a marginally sane head. They're like a pin-ball machine; blindfolded kids swinging wildly at a piñata, poking the tail on a donkey. Reeling around like drunken idiots. Or, maybe, like senile old men. And by "they," I mean John McCain and his team.

The economy locks up. The White House comes out with a plan. It gets modifed. McCain takes personal credit. Brags about his role in the passage, derides Obama., popping off a little prematurely. It doesn't pass. McCain's side, who voted 67% against the bill, blames Obama's side, who voted 60% in favor, for the failure. Claiming he politicized the process.

I'm sure it makes sense to someone.

Not satisfied, yesterday morning the Republicans came out with and ad blaming the bill itself on Obama. While McCain said it's no time for placing blame.

This says it all, if you can stand to stay to the end.

I've seen politicians accuse others and deny they did what it is they decry. I don't recall anyone doing A and castigating B, then doing B and denying A within the space of twenty four hours. Repeatedly. For weeks on end, bald-faced and breathtaking, like McCain and his handlers.

Insanity is the kindest explanation.


Update: Of course, Jon Stewart says it much better.

Smoke Jumper

Once again (the first time being his pick of Sarah Palin), John McCain comes up with politics in place of policy. Two days before the first presidential debate, a few more days after declaring the "fundamentals of the economy are strong," he announces the "suspension" of his campaign in order to return to Washington to solve the economic crisis. He calls upon Barack Obama to do the same. And, incidentally, to postpone said debate.

To many, no doubt, it appears über-Presidential: let's come together for the good of the country. Pretty much sticks it to Obama no matter what his response. As usual, however, with McCain there's less there than meets the eye.

First of all, it turns out the initial overture was from Obama: moreover, as would be most appropriate, the contact was private which, I infer, was an attempt to avoid politicizing the situation. Do something positive. Let's get together a joint statement, he suggested. "Oh, yeah?" said McCain. "You wanna get all reasonable on me?.... Watch THIS."

And here's the thing: at this stage, neither Obama nor McCain have a role as Senators, in Washington, because it's in committee; that's the way it works. For them to show up, cameras a-flashin,' will do nothing but distract from the established process. But since when would that matter to McCain? To let the process work without trying to grab the headlines, well, that would be, like, I don't know, putting country first.

There's precedent. In a previous campaign, when McCain "parachuted" into DC in a similar way, he got into a bit of a dust-up with a fellow Republican, leading to one of his famous McPOW f-bombs.

So once again, we can choose our future: Obama made a behind-the-scenes attempt at agreement with McCain so they'd appear together to address the situation calmly and helpfully. McCain turned it into political theater. Reactions are predictable. It won't help get to a solution. Will it help get him votes (which, most certainly, is the real reason for the maneuver)? We'll see. It's only the second most cynical thing he's done in the past few weeks. We know from the first that people are easily distracted by shiny objects.

If McCain wins, we are so screwed....

[Update: a little more info, reinforcing my view.]

[Another update: smart guys weigh in.]

[Still another: Obama's press conference on the subject.]