Here’s a rule to follow for next time: if you’re hoping a candidate won’t keep his/her campaign promises, it’s really not such a hot idea to vote for that candidate.
In the clutches of Obama Derangement Syndrome?
Here’s a link to my piece for Pajamas Media on how to avoid the perils of ODS. It appears to me from a very quick perusal of the comments there that most people would prefer to plunge right into ODS instead.
A bit of clarification and reiteration of my point of view:
I think it’s not only our right but our duty to criticize every single move of Obama’s that we feel is wrong or ill-advised. Nor have I abandoned the idea that as President he (or Congress, with his approval) might make decisions that are actually dangerous to the country’s security, its liberty, or its economy.
But it is best for the nation and for us as individuals to not assume that will happen. Instead, we need to wait with cool heads and open minds to see what actually happens, and then respond to it. This doesn’t mean we shouldn’t prepare ourselves mentally and emotionally, as well as strategically, for that possibility. But we need to remind ourselves it’s only a possibility.
Obama’s funny business
One thing Barack Obama needs to learn is that, despite his much-vaunted coolness, he’s not a funny man. I noticed this and wrote about it quite some time ago, and now he’s proven it once again at his first post-election press conference with his extremely tone deaf and classless attempt at humor at Nancy Reagan’s expense. Continue reading →
Then again, there’s women…
…especially uppity women from a certain class.
If the results of this election indicate this country has gone a long way towards eradicating anti-black racism—as I believe to be the case—they have proven the opposite to be true about sexism. Continue reading →
Necco update
Last night, inspired by my own rhetoric, I went to the Store 24, purchased a package of Neccos, and promptly downed it.
Just thought you might like to know.
The old “end justifies the means” routine
No surprise here. Jeff Goldstein points out those in the media who are patting themselves on the back for lying in the service of the Cause.
Post-racial America: show, don’t tell
Obama ran as the post-racial candidate. But he was not above using false accusations of racism to beat his opponents, and he emphasized the racially historic nature of an Obama win.
The first method is to be condemned. And although in a true post-racial world (which we most assuredly have not entered, nor have we reached nirvana when last I checked) the second would neither be necessary nor important, it is one of the best things about Obama’s victory.
For me, Obama’s negatives outweighed the great positive of electing the first black President. But that doesn’t mean that I don’t find some pleasure in the fact that we have done so. Continue reading →
Ode to the Necco
I will write about politics soon, never fear. But in an effort to get away from the topic—even if ever-so-slightly—let’s talk about candy. Classic candy.
New England candy. Neccos.
Developed in 1847 with the advent of that great leap forward, the lozenge cutter, Neccos have stood the test of time. Continue reading →
Jules Crittenden…
…has a lot to say, including something I meant to mention about George Bush:
Obama is in luck. George Bush ended that war in Iraq, and all Obama and the Dem Cong have to do is not screw up the peace….[T]he one thing I wanted most out of the second Bush administration has been accomplished.
The day after: post-election reflections
A few minutes into the second Presidential debate, I realized McCain was almost certain to lose this election.
I had been thinking that a McCain defeat was the likely outcome ever since the financial crisis began. But that debate was very troubling. I wrote at the time that Obama looked better and sounded better, although both candidates were strangely lackluster. But although I did not write this, I felt that McCain had squandered an important—perhaps a vital—opportunity to reassure people that he was up to the task. His lack of energy and focus on that evening was a very bad sign.
Then it became crystal clear to me late on the night before the election, when the returns from the tiny New Hampshire town of Dixville Notch came in. Continue reading →
Election Eve open thread
For discussion of the voting returns. Talk amongst yourselves!
I may come on to do a little liveblogging a bit later. Then again, I may not. Only the shadow knows for sure.
8:51: I’m baaack! Only a tiny bit high, just enough to take the edge off. I’ve decided it is a lot better to simply not watch TV, and instead to follow this thing through the comments section of various blogs. Continue reading →
Voting day
When I was a child my grade school would close on Election Day because it was used as a polling place. A day or two earlier, the booths would arrive and were set up in the gym, so we got to see them. They were large and had somber brown curtains, exuding the unmistakable whiff of grownupness, serious and mysterious.
I seem to recall that they had mechanical voting machines in New York even back then (it turns out I’m correct about that), which looked like enormous typewriters or perhaps the innards of a grand piano, with a series of little levers and hammers. It was impressed on us just how important the whole process was, although for us kids it was first and foremost a cause for celebrating because of the day off. Continue reading →