Where’s the change?

The New Neo Posted on by

“Where’s the beef?” was not only a famous ad slogan of the early 80’s, it figured in the Democratic campaign for President in 1984:

[Gary] Hart had moved his candidacy from dark horse to the lead over [Walter] Mondale based on his repeated use of the phrase “new ideas”. When Hart once again used the slogan in the debate, Mondale leaned forward and said, “When I hear your new ideas, I’m reminded of that ad, ‘Where’s the beef?'” The line got a great response from the audience.

Some people are wondering what will happen if Obama gets elected and fails to deliver the sun, moon, and stars, as expected. Will his followers feel betrayed and ask some modern-day equivalent of “where’s the beef?” Will they turn on him if he fails to somehow change the world?

I have decided the answer is “no.” And that is because, in the eyes of his supporters, he will already have delivered change, merely by the act of becoming President. His election is itself the change they seek. It would proves to them that this nation has become truly multicultural and has managed to transcend its history of racism, a task that’s been going on almost since the nation began. In Obama’s candidacy, race has a strange double role: he is a viable candidate both in spite of and because of his race.

Having an epiphany about Obama

The New Neo Posted on by

Somehow I’d missed the following extraordinary statement (HT: Obama Messiah) made by Obama in a speech he gave at Dartmouth College in Hanover, NH, shortly before the primary in that state:

My job this morning is to be so persuasive…that a light will shine through that window, a beam of light will come down upon you, you will experience an epiphany, and you will suddenly realize that you must go to the polls and vote for Barack.

I can only assume—I can only hope—(and would it be inappropriate to say I can only pray?) that this sentence was delivered in a tone of gentle mockery, showing that he’s able to poke fun at himself, his hype, and those who seem to think he just might be the Second Coming.

Trouble is, I can’t find anyone describing him as speaking in that sort of tone. Continue reading →

“60 Minutes”—of gossip

The New Neo Posted on by

John Hindraker makes a good case for thinking the great minds behind CBS’s “60 Minutes” might be suffering a tad from RDS (Rove Derangement Syndrome, Republican Derangement Syndrome, take your pick) for treating Jill Simpson as a credible source. The holes in her story are so huge there’s really no story left, but “60 Minutes” doesn’t seem to care.

On the other hand, at least they named their source. If you’re going to publish unsubstantiated gossip, that’s probably a good thing.

A cult is born: they believe in him

The New Neo Posted on by

I found this video through a link at Pajamas Media, where it was dubbed “the creepiest Obama tribute video ever.”

If that’s hyperbole and there’s a creepier one, I hope I never see it. This one is bad enough. It borders on the truly frightening: the rhythmic chant, the glow in the eyes, the platitudes, the utter absence of anything that could be described as thought. Continue reading →

Obama: hope is not enough (nor is talk)

The New Neo Posted on by

Now that he seems poised to become the Democratic Presidential nominee, Obama is taking a bit of heat from McCain, his likely opponent, especially about Obama’s touchy-feely (that is, predominantly talky) foreign policy.

It’s a different sort of heat than Clinton can give out, because the audience is different. Hillary can’t criticize Obama’s extreme liberal positions, nor his antiwar stance, all that effectively, for the simple reason that in order to have a chance at her party’s nomination she needs to appeal to the huge number of Democrats who agree with those very positions.

Obama seems to believe in talk. Lots of it. Hope and talk. Hoping to talk. Talking about hoping to talk: Continue reading →

Falling in love with your therapist—on TV

The New Neo Posted on by

I don’t get HBO, but I watched the first few episodes of the new HBO series “In Treatment” while staying with friends for a few days. It features a psychologist and his sessions with patients, one for each weekday night, and a session with his supervisor on Friday. I was hooked enough that I figure I need to rent the DVD when it comes out.

Now comes a NY Times article telling us that a plethora of viewers seem to have fallen in love with Gabriel Byrne, the actor who plays the psychotherapist Dr. Paul Weston.

Or is it the fictional psychotherapist Dr. Weston they love? Continue reading →

Things don’t look good for Karsenty, French justice—or truth

The New Neo Posted on by

[NOTE: I’ve received a recent communication that indicates the court proceedings yesterday in Paris may not have gone as negatively as my initial impressions from the information on the subject I had read and/or listened to far. If so, I would be very happy to hear it, and will be updating as soon as I get any further clarification. So until further notice, please take the following post, written earlier today, with a large grain of salt.

In addition, the three interviews at the PJ link, which contained the information about yesterday’s trial on which I based this entire post, are no longer there. I don’t know whether this has any significance or not, but, as I said, I’ll make any corrections as soon as I get new information. I’d be only too happy to learn that things are brighter than I had originally thought.]

Philippe Karsenty’s appeal in the defamation case against him launched by media giant France2 continued in Paris yesterday, Continue reading →

Obama and McCain on the knotty problem of Iran

The New Neo Posted on by

Allison Kaplan Summer translates an Obama interview with the Israeli news source Ynet that is due to appear on Friday. Asked how he would deal with the threat of Iran and whether he would support military action if diplomacy fails, this was Obama’s answer:

I don’t believe that diplomacy alone will stop Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons. I believe that we will require our national strength in order to achieve this important goal. The biggest threat to Israel today comes from Iran, where there is a radical government that is continuing its efforts to develop nuclear weapons and continues to support terror across the region. President Ahmedinejad continues to deny the Holocaust and call for Israel destruction, and it is impossible to relate to his threats to destroy Israel as mere rhetoric. My mission when I am president will be to eliminate that threat. The time has come to talk directly to the Iranians in order to arrive at an end to their support for terror and an end to the creation of nuclear weapons. I believe that we need to offer Iran improved relations with the international community. If they do not respond to that, we must continue to intensify the sanctions.

Granted, the topic of Iran is a conundrum for most politicians. No one has what I would consider a good solution—and that’s mainly because there is none. Here Obama tries to give a balanced answer, and allay fears that he is dangerously naive about Iran and far too reliant on “mere talk” in dealing with the country. His first sentence makes that clear.

But what does he actually say after that? Continue reading →

Point and counterpoint on McCain and the lobbyists

The New Neo Posted on by

A.J. Dionne at the Washington Post is one of the few who thinks that, minus the sexual innuendos, the NY Times was onto a good story about McCain and the lobbyists.

Paul Sheehan, in an exhaustive and definitive fisking of the Times story, begs to differ. As does David Brooks, who points out McCain’s unusually exemplary record vis a vis lobbyists.

No, McCain hasn’t avoided them entirely. But for a member of Congress, he’s come about as close as it gets to treating like them lepers.

[ADDENDUM: Michael Kinsley has the definitive take on the subject].

Sanity Squad podcast: Kosovo independence (and laryngitis)

The New Neo Posted on by

The Presidential campaign has so dominated the news cycle that other important events, such as Kosovo independence, have gotten short shrift. The Sanity Squad has attempted to remedy that in its latest podcast at Blog Talk Radio. So click and listen to Dr. Sanity, Shrink, Siggy, and me discuss the implications of Kosovo’s newly declared statehood.

I said “listen,” but listening to me might take a bigger effort than usual, since I’ve had a very mild cold and about an hour before the podcast last night my voice started to go. This morning it’s about ninety percent gone. That reminded me of the fact that yes, I’ve passed this way before. So here’s a rerun (ever so slightly edited) of an older post on having laryngitis:

It’s a funny thing, laryngitis; an excellent tool for making a person feel powerless. Something most of us ordinarily take for granted”“–the voice–”“mysteriously vanishes without a word of warning. Now you hear it, now you don’t. Continue reading →