On...Various Stuff about our POTUS

Take these as you will.

I always want our nation to be successful and this goes for our President, but I wish him success if he handles things differently. For one I think he is too staged. I don't think he can handle a real back and forth with lots of curveballs [SEE the UK paper The GUARDIAN]. There will be events he can't prepare for, sit down and think about and sleep on. Professors are rarely generals. Especially when you must face down Russians, Koreans, and Persians.

Also I have real suspicion when it comes to his motives domestically. (Even beyond Socialism) It is beginning to seem that he desires real power as much as W but in a very different way. Not everyone has come down from Cloud 9 yet but I think they will see how much he is expanding presidential power to unheard of heights. He definitely sees power as something to use and he is just getting warmed up. [SEE WSJ and another Brit's take on power grabs] I don't think he understands business. He sees it as an outsider. He sees the possibilities and positives of capitalism, but he doesn't really grasp how it works and why it works. He's like a kid who finds this great toy but uses it all wrong then breaks it.

And lastly we'll see how Obama handles North Korea. This area I'm most concerned, not about our civil liberties, but our reputation for strength in the world. There will be one rookie mistake (beyond missile shields removal for peace) at least. I'd rather see it with NK than with Iran or Russia.

KOREAN ROCKET
Kim Jong-iL's Gamble
The Guardians Take on Historical Irony

On...Congress and the Stimuli

Stimulate This!

Why does this stimulus package seem more like political graft and patronage than really pumping lots of money into the economy ala Keynes? Taxpayers (present and future) and their money seem to be going to a huge buffet of pork, especially to grease local and state governments and it is all being disguised as an injection to prime the pump of the recession sliding economy. As you break down the bill (and its guises) there is simply too many pet projects and huge chunks of money allocated waaaaay down the road. And there are no guarantees it will do any thing. The whole business cycle could very well fluctuate back into the black with or without this, but the money would be spent anyway. This is just ridiculous--paper money and politicians. But the mob wants anything to be done. Welcome to the junction of Bear Market and Mobocracy.

Newsweek has a very nice summary of the three-headed economic beast we are encountering and why the stimulus is only an arrow aimed at one head.

George Melloan at The Wall Street Journal reminds everyone of the "Leaky Bucket" theory and why the stimulus seems to be just that.

And since Keynes is tossed about randomly right now you can read a long piece from the New Republic on Obama and Keynes HERE (if you wanna here from one voice from the Left)

On...Can Obama Deliver?

Can Obama Deliver?

I mean this in a couple of ways.

1) Can he close? Can he not be like other Democrats gunning for the big show and actually win down the stretch? We'll see.

2) Can he live up to expectations once elected? There are pockets of Americans who are ready to explode in a joyous orgasm at his victory. They do understand this is only one guy right? They understand we are not electing a King with absolute powers, right? Yeah, he's got Hope and he's got Reform, but it is so vague even the pundits don't know exactly where he stands. Is he a unity centrist or a dividing leftist or will he try to be a uniting leftist? Who knows? He has done little and says less. He's not Bush and that seems to be enough. He still (miraculously) has that new car smell. I can't believe it has lasted this long but it can't last forever. Can it last until Tuesday?

Obama can still be anything to everyone, that's his cool genius. He is still the enigma. However you can't govern as an enigma. You can't vote present in the White House. Obama needs to be someone finally and when he finally comes out of his cocoon the people expecting him to be a butterfly will be shocked he's a moth (or vise-versa). He can't be all things to all people. There is going to be disillusionment from somewhere. It is inevitable. Does he go to war to defend Israel from Iran? Does he widen the war in Afganistan into Pakistan? Does he demand a renegotiation of NAFTA even though our partners don't want it? Does he raise taxes? Will he actually cut middle class taxes? Can he deliver Health Care? Will he be pushed around by Pelosi and Congress? Will the economic crisis hobble him? Voters may want fantasy and superman but they are going to get a big dose of reality.

Maybe we are ready for intellectual aloofness but I feel the public will tire of him if doesn't descend from Olympus (then again if he does come down others will dislike him for not being a god.)

The Presidency

Why anyone would want this job is beyond me. The American Presidency and Democracy in general grinds you up and spits you out. Look at Clinton and Bush after 8 years. In my historical estimate only 3 presidents in the last 100 years have left the office alive with their reputation intact or enhanced and only barely. 2 were Eisenhower and Reagan and they bore major wounds. The last was Coolidge and he only escaped because he didn't seek reelection so he avoided most of the blame for the Great Depression. We'll give him a 1/2

Let's take a look shall we?

1901--McKinley beloved but shot. Reputation pretty intact, but dead.
1909--Teddy Roosevelt leaves the White House in good shape, but sullies it with a Party splitting run in 1912 that allows Wilson and the Democrats to take over.
1913--Taft is denied reelection with a sorry 3rd place finish.
1921--Wilson, stroke and all, has no political pull left after the Treaty of Versailles defeat and his strong-arm tactics during the war (nationalization of the Railroads, the Creel Committee, & the Espionage Acts among many others). His party is creamed in the 1920 election by Warren "Normalcy" Harding.
1923--Harding dead. Reputation ruined by all the corruption scandals that came to light after his death.
1929--Coolidge escapes the Great Depression by retiring back to Vermont. Smart move.
1933--Hoover, Great Depression, nuff said.
1945--FDR, beloved but dead.
1953--Truman, would have been crushed by Ike, retires with Bush-like approval ratings after the Korean War turns stalemate.
1961--Ike survived the slings and arrows but his VP Nixon is defeated in a close election. Probably would have won a third term if that had been possible.
1963--JFK, dead.
1969--LBJ doesn't seek reelection, trapped in the White House as Vietnam and the Great Society leave a real bitter taste.
1973--Tricky Dick, Watergate, Smoking Gun, Resigns
1977--Ford, Pardons Nixon, S Vietnam falls, defeated by unknown southern governor.
1981--Carter, Iran Hostage, Stagflation, Energy crisis, Panama Canal giveaway, denied reelection in landslide.
1989--Reagan, Iran-Contra Aside and a massive debt would have been reelected had that been possible and he was younger. VP wins.
1993--Bush, Cold War ends, Gulf War victory, but Recession, Tax-hikes, and Perot deny him reelection.
2001--Clinton--Impeached--a black mark if there ever was one, though I hate to say it may have been reelected for a third term.
2009--GW Bush--you get the idea.

This is what Obama has to look forward to. Hey, 2 1/2 out of 19 ain't bad!

From...Joel Stein

Ah, the sweet relief of humor

Joel Stein used to write for Entertainment Weekly, but now writes for the LA Times. Most of his editorials are focused on serious issues, but laced with humor and satire. (He's friends with Simpson writers!) Generally good stuff. He tends to make a lot of folks mad, which is always a good sign in my book--stir up the masses. He always pledges never to read his reader's email rants. And I'm not really sure what his political allegiance is, which is a pretty good position for a man of humor. If I had to guess I would say a right-center Democrat or Independent. Hey, you can't live in LA and be a Republican and walk around.

His latest is a little memo to the undecided voter entitled
Still undecided? Then just don't vote.

Other past gems include:

How to make fun of Obama, among the tips are such nuggets: He's a nerd, He's manorexic, and, his name is weird. (From July)

What's so bad about foreign oil?

&

He's got Obamaphilia, his insight back in February about the Cult of Obama. This was the article that got my attention.