Wednesday, October 27, 2010
Whoops! Meg Whitman Should Drop Out of the Race Immediately
From Cogitamus. If you don't know your history, you better watch what you say.
Additional Thoughts on Obama's "Failure"
Sorry, but I can't seem to leave this topic alone. Further thought suggests to me that the real issue is something that I've posted about before, but maybe not in this context. Perhaps Obama's approach to the stimulus bill was one of attempting the bipartisan cooperation he promised during the campaign. Was it a surprise that the Republicans in Congress had a different definition of bipartisanship--agree to my proposals or I'll obstruct any proposal you put forward? Maybe it shouldn't have been. Obama's mistake was not calling them out. The Republican leadership is a bunch of back-stabbing scum who will tell any lie to attack Obama. We know that now. I hope Obama takes a different tack in the future. The unfortunate part of this is that the Democrats will probably lose the House, so things are likely to be worse with the Republicans in power there.
From Martin Wolf: A Sane and Cogent Assessment of Obama's "Failure"
In a Financial Times article, Martin Wolf makes the point that many of us have made in the past several weeks--Obama's economic policy has been more of a communications failure than a policy failure.
The key paragraphs:
Unfortunately, the Republicans have succeeded in persuading a large enough portion of the American public that if the patient had been left entirely alone, he would be in perfect health today. This is surely a fairy story. But voters naturally pay little attention to calamities averted. They focus only on how far experience falls short of what they desire. Mr Obama gains no credit for the former and much blame for the latter. His aspirational rhetoric no doubt worsened the disappointment.
The president’s willingness to ask for too little was, it turns out, a huge strategic error. It allows his opponents to argue that the Democrats had what they wanted, which then failed. If the president had failed to get what he demanded, he could argue that the outcome was not his fault. With a political stalemate expected, further action will now be blocked. A lost decade seems quite likely. That would be a calamity for the US – and the world.
The key paragraphs:
Unfortunately, the Republicans have succeeded in persuading a large enough portion of the American public that if the patient had been left entirely alone, he would be in perfect health today. This is surely a fairy story. But voters naturally pay little attention to calamities averted. They focus only on how far experience falls short of what they desire. Mr Obama gains no credit for the former and much blame for the latter. His aspirational rhetoric no doubt worsened the disappointment.
The president’s willingness to ask for too little was, it turns out, a huge strategic error. It allows his opponents to argue that the Democrats had what they wanted, which then failed. If the president had failed to get what he demanded, he could argue that the outcome was not his fault. With a political stalemate expected, further action will now be blocked. A lost decade seems quite likely. That would be a calamity for the US – and the world.
In Voting, Less May Be More
Matt Yglesias makes the point that the average American votes for too many different offices. It's obvious here in Texas. On our off-year ballot, I had to make 36 choices, including 14 judges and neither of our senators were up for reelection this year. This didn't include 4 local ballot initiatives.
Tea Party Thugs, but It's OK with Rand Paul
Rand Paul has refused to censure his followers for attacking this young woman. Video. Notice the flags and other symbols of America prominently displayed by the thugs. Both saddening and sickening. This wasn't even a Rand Paul Rally--it was a debate between him and his Democratic opponent.
Update: Thug asks for apology.
Update: Thug asks for apology.
Tuesday, October 26, 2010
Why Do We Sweat the Small Stuff?
Thomas Friedman in the NYT on "Can't Keep a Bad Idea Down, an analysis of what candidates are concentrating on:
All that’s missing is any realistic diagnosis of where we are as a country and what we need to get back to sustainable growth. Actually, such a diagnosis has been done. A nonpartisan group of America’s most distinguished engineers, scientists, educators and industrialists unveiled just such a study in the midst of this campaign.
Here is the story: In 2005 our National Academies responded to a call from a bipartisan group of senators to recommend 10 actions the federal government could take to enhance science and technology so America could successfully compete in the 21st century. Their response was published in a study, spearheaded by the industrialist Norman Augustine, titled “Rising Above the Gathering Storm: Energizing and Employing America for a Brighter Economic Future.”
Charles M. Vest, the former M.I.T. president, worked on the study and noted in a speech recently that “Gathering Storm,” together with work by the Council on Competitiveness, led to the America Competes Act of 2007, which increased funding for the basic science research that underlies our industrial economy. Other recommendations, like improving K-12 science education, were not substantively addressed.
So, on Sept. 23, the same group released a follow-up report: “Rising Above the Gathering Storm Revisited: Rapidly Approaching Category 5.” “The subtitle, ‘Rapidly Approaching Category 5,’ says it all,” noted Vest. “The committee’s conclusion is that ‘in spite of the efforts of both those in government and the private sector, the outlook for America to compete for quality jobs has further deteriorated over the past five years.’ ”
But I thought: “We’re number 1!”
“Here is a little dose of reality about where we actually rank today,” says Vest: sixth in global innovation-based competitiveness, but 40th in rate of change over the last decade; 11th among industrialized nations in the fraction of 25- to 34-year-olds who have graduated from high school; 16th in college completion rate; 22nd in broadband Internet access; 24th in life expectancy at birth; 27th among developed nations in the proportion of college students receiving degrees in science or engineering; 48th in quality of K-12 math and science education; and 29th in the number of mobile phones per 100 people.
Instead, we get "Obama is a Muslim socialist, cut taxes" and other assorted drivel. The Democrats are so busy sorting out the lies told by Republicans that they've missed the chance to stress all that has been accomplished in the past two years: health care reform, financial reform, tax cuts for 95% of Americans, consumer protection...
All that’s missing is any realistic diagnosis of where we are as a country and what we need to get back to sustainable growth. Actually, such a diagnosis has been done. A nonpartisan group of America’s most distinguished engineers, scientists, educators and industrialists unveiled just such a study in the midst of this campaign.
Here is the story: In 2005 our National Academies responded to a call from a bipartisan group of senators to recommend 10 actions the federal government could take to enhance science and technology so America could successfully compete in the 21st century. Their response was published in a study, spearheaded by the industrialist Norman Augustine, titled “Rising Above the Gathering Storm: Energizing and Employing America for a Brighter Economic Future.”
Charles M. Vest, the former M.I.T. president, worked on the study and noted in a speech recently that “Gathering Storm,” together with work by the Council on Competitiveness, led to the America Competes Act of 2007, which increased funding for the basic science research that underlies our industrial economy. Other recommendations, like improving K-12 science education, were not substantively addressed.
So, on Sept. 23, the same group released a follow-up report: “Rising Above the Gathering Storm Revisited: Rapidly Approaching Category 5.” “The subtitle, ‘Rapidly Approaching Category 5,’ says it all,” noted Vest. “The committee’s conclusion is that ‘in spite of the efforts of both those in government and the private sector, the outlook for America to compete for quality jobs has further deteriorated over the past five years.’ ”
But I thought: “We’re number 1!”
“Here is a little dose of reality about where we actually rank today,” says Vest: sixth in global innovation-based competitiveness, but 40th in rate of change over the last decade; 11th among industrialized nations in the fraction of 25- to 34-year-olds who have graduated from high school; 16th in college completion rate; 22nd in broadband Internet access; 24th in life expectancy at birth; 27th among developed nations in the proportion of college students receiving degrees in science or engineering; 48th in quality of K-12 math and science education; and 29th in the number of mobile phones per 100 people.
Instead, we get "Obama is a Muslim socialist, cut taxes" and other assorted drivel. The Democrats are so busy sorting out the lies told by Republicans that they've missed the chance to stress all that has been accomplished in the past two years: health care reform, financial reform, tax cuts for 95% of Americans, consumer protection...
Monday, October 25, 2010
On the Bernanke Mistake
Yglesias at Think Progress:
"I think people tend to overestimate the number of mistakes Barack Obama has made in his presidency. But the flipside of that is that they underestimate the severity of the mistakes that are real. Giving the most important economic policy job in the country to someone who doesn’t share his values, ideology, and partisan loyalty was a big big big mistake and it’s reflected in Bernanke’s conduct around questions like this one [fiscal policy]."
"I think people tend to overestimate the number of mistakes Barack Obama has made in his presidency. But the flipside of that is that they underestimate the severity of the mistakes that are real. Giving the most important economic policy job in the country to someone who doesn’t share his values, ideology, and partisan loyalty was a big big big mistake and it’s reflected in Bernanke’s conduct around questions like this one [fiscal policy]."
Will There Be a Second Chance?
Or will the people who got us into this mess be able to make things worse? Paul Krugman.
Sunday, October 24, 2010
What Happened to Obama's Communication Skills?
Frank Rich's column on the administration's failure to go after the people who caused the financial crisis, was more interesting to me because of the long litany of things that Obama has done, but failed to communicate to the country. This is especially true regarding the tax cuts his administration has put in place. According to recent polls, only 8% of the populace is aware that he has cut taxes for 95% of Americans. If the Republicans make substantial gains in the midterm elections, it won't be because Obama hasn't done anything, it'll be because no one knows what he's done.
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