Politics | Idle Musings

Posts Categorized Politics

Bush’s Bookends

In Politics on Jan-4-2009 with
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Frank Rich in the New York Times today writes:

The one indisputable talent of his White House was its ability to create and sell propaganda both to the public and the press. Now that bag of tricks is empty as well. Bush’s first and last photo-ops in Iraq could serve as bookends to his entire tenure. On Thanksgiving weekend 2003, even as the Iraqi insurgency was spiraling, his secret trip to the war zone was a P.R. slam-dunk. The photo of the beaming commander in chief bearing a supersized decorative turkey for the troops was designed to make every front page and newscast in the country, and it did. Five years later, in what was intended as a farewell victory lap to show off Iraq’s improved post-surge security, Bush was reduced to ducking shoes.

That pretty much says it all.

The Decider In Chief

In Politics, Quotes on Dec-20-2008 with
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Offered without comment.

In the interview, Bush said he did not regret his wartime decisions.

“I was a wartime President and war is very exhausting. War is hard for a country. And, you know, I made the decision that we were going to win.”

Straight Outta Blagoville

In Politics on Dec-19-2008 with
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Via Talking Points Memo:

Bill Simmons, a sportswriter for ESPN, coined the term “Tysonic”. It refers to Mike Tyson, and applies to anyone who has entered a sphere of existence so bizarre, you will believe any news you hear about them, no matter how absurd. Aside from Mike Tyson, Britney Spears is Tysonic. After the turkey interview, I classify Sarah Palin as Tysonic.

As a native Chicagoan, I say Blogo is definitely Tysonic. If someone told me, “Hear about Blogo? He dressed himself up as Elvis, highjacked an Air Yugo flight from O’Hare to Belgrade, and is now living under the protection of Serbia… And he’s formed an exploratory committee for 2016.”

I’d pause for a moment and say, “Yeah, that sounds right.”

Right about now it is a little hard to have to say you are from Illinois.

Sol Sender Obama’s Logo Interview

In Design, Politics, Video on Dec-12-2008 with
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Part #1

Part #2

[Found via VSA Partners, Inc]

McCain Sells Surplus Blackberries With “Hundreds Of Emails”

In Politics on Dec-12-2008 with
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The Washington Post reported this week that the McCain campaign is selling surplus office and computer equipment. So reporters from FOX’s DC affiliate went over to the “fire sale” and bought several Blackberries for $20 each. When the FOX employees turned the devices on, they found that Blackberries still “contained more than 50 phone numbers for people connected with the campaign from a group called Citizens for McCain, as well as hundreds of emails.” One of the previous owners was tracked down and contacted by FOX News who said, “They should have wiped that stuff out. [....] Given the way the campaign was run, this is not a surprise.”

Something Overlooked With Obama’s Picks

In Culture, Politics on Dec-2-2008 with
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For the entire history of our nation, until Madeleine Albright was appointed in 1997, the United States had never had a Secretary of State that wasn’t a white male. Since her appointment every SoS has been either a female, African American, or both. With all the never-ending chatter about who his current cabinet picks voted for, what was said about Obama by some of them during the campaign, and if their ties to the fromer Clinton White House means anything, this pretty drastic change has been completely overlooked.

21st Century Video Fireside Chats

In Culture, Politics, Video on Nov-15-2008 with
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Obama as President-Elect turned his turned his first weekly radio address into an online fireside chat, via a new YouTube channel.

Online political observers say President-elect Obama’s innovative, online-fueled campaign will likely evolve into a new level of online communication between the public and the White House—the Internet-era version of President Franklin Roosevelt’s famous “fireside chats” between 1933 and 1944.

Here’s Obama’s first video address. His transition team, potential cabinet members, and other experts will also be recording videos in the coming weeks.

I haven’t read much of the coverage related to the internal “conflict” between John McCain and Sarah Palin. I am sure it would just hurt my head and the quotes would only come from “unnamed sources.” He said she said, literally. But this close to Election Day if there is even a very small riff, well I find that pretty darn amusing.

From a liberal (dare I say partisan point of view) just about nothing better could happen for my party this election cycle and moving forward. It highlights that many Republicans (elected officials, talking heads, consultants, not actual voters) don’t understand that John McCain’s biggest problem is the failure of the Bush Administration and its overall governing philosophy.

The basic fact that some Republicans are more interested in assigning blame for their defeat to either McCain or Palin, instead of confronting the complete failure of the Bush presidency shows that they still have absolutely no clue what went wrong with their party—much less how to repair it.

My party was there not that long ago. Pulling out of a tailspin like this is close to impossible when placing blame 24/7 instead of engaging in some self-reflection.

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