Archive for the '2008 Election' Category
(Chronologically Listed)
Dave Barry’s annual review
Back when Dave Barry still wrote a weekly column, Sandra and I had a Sunday morning tradition where I’d read the column out loud to her while she was getting ready for church. The highlight of each year was Dave’s annual recounting of the events of that year, in his own style. Well, he stopped doing his weekly column a few years back, but he still does the annual review, and 2008 is now officially in the crosshairs:
Speaking of epic performances, in . . .
JULY
. . . Barack Obama, having secured North and South America, flies to Germany without using an airplane and gives a major speech — speaking English and German simultaneously — to 200,000 mesmerized Germans, who immediately elect him chancellor, prompting France to surrender.
Meanwhile John McCain, at a strategy session at a golf resort, tells his top aides to prepare a list of potential running mates, stressing that he wants somebody ”who is completely, brutally honest.” Unfortunately, because of noise from a lawn mower, the aides think McCain said he wants somebody ”who has competed in a beauty contest.” This will lead to trouble down the road.
Speaking of trouble, the economic news continues to worsen with the discovery that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have sent $87 billion to a Nigerian businessman with a compelling e-mail story.
Also troubling is the news from Iran, which test-fires some long-range missiles, although Iranian President Wackjob Lunatic insists that Iran intends to use these missiles “for stump removal.”
In sports, the government of China, in an effort to improve air quality for the Beijing Olympics, bans flatulence.
Be sure to read the whole thing. ..bruce w..
Ugly Illinois Politics - Trouble For Obama?
I grew up in Illinois, and I have seen first hand the kind of strange deals that take place in order for things to get done. In fact my own dearly departed Grandfather was once arrested with several high profile political and sports figures for playing high stakes poker in a hotel room. Besides the fun of a good game with a lot of money on the table, it was a way that a hard working construction contractor (my Grandfather) could make sure that enough money got to the right places to ensure that his company had work for the coming year. Just lose a few good hands and everything works out fine!
So the kind of headlines screaming across the news this morning is no surprise to me:
Illinois Gov. Blagojevich, chief of staff, arrested
Gov. Rod Blagojevich and his chief of staff, John Harris, were arrested by FBI agents on federal corruption charges Tuesday morning.
Blagojevich and Harris were arrested simultaneously at their homes at about 6:15 a.m., according to Frank Bochte of the FBI. Both were transported to FBI headquarters in Chicago.
In one charge related to the appointment of a senator to replace Barack Obama, prosecutors allege that Blagojevich sought appointment for himseld as Secretary of Health and Human Services in the new Obama administration, or a lucrative job with a union, in exchange for appointing a union-preferred candidate.
If you know Illinois politics, you are quite aware that the selling of appointments is the status quo, the biggest question in my mind is “why did they bust Blagojevich”? It my mind, he must have caused someone a bit more trouble than what he is worth. In what might be trouble for the President-Elect, it seems his chief of staff, Rahm Emanuel, is wrapped up in this according to documents on The Smoking Gun.
In related news, it seems that noted Chicago wheeler-dealer Tony Rezko’s dirt is still around. Someone in the banking business in the city has decided to turn state’s evidence and is now ready to sing about the crazy deal that Rezko rigged for then Senator Obama’s house purchase.
This could actually be trouble for the President-Elect, much more so than the far-fetched idea that he is not a US citizen. Rezko is already in up to his waist as a clearing-house for Chicago corruption, payments and graft.
Lesson to the media who did not look into this before the elections - this information was going to come out eventually. By being in the tank for Senator Obama, you are going to still have to come clean on his background. Only now the damage is going to be multiples of what it would have been in July.
Strange analog to the financial implosion we are still trying to work our way through. Once upon a time the news business was about finding and publishing facts, and from that free and informative press a better world would come. Now it’s all advocacy, and we are paying a heavy and increasing price by willfully ignoring the facts.
[Update - Ace says...]
FBI Agent in Charge of Chicago says ‘it’s a new low for Illinois‘, that’s saying something. “If it (Illinois) isn’t the most corrupt state, it’s certainly one hell of a competitor“. Says his agents were shocked and sickened by what they heard.
Supreme Court Declines Natural Born Citizen Case
As expected the US Supreme court has declined to further entertain the “Donofrio v. Wells” case, which sought to have the court better define the portion of Article 1 of the US Constitution that defines the requirement for the President to be a “Natural Born Citizen”.
From Legal Line News:
Although Donofrio concedes Obama was born in Hawaii, he contends that Obama is a British citizen because to his father’s British citizenship. For the case to have been placed on the high court’s docket, four of the nine justices had to agree to hear the case. The Donofrio case was just one of a handful of lawsuit challenging Obama’s citizenship.
Sadly for the US, I am guessing this one won’t go away. President-Elect Obama has placed tight seals over a large section of his past, and that presents a puzzle that some will find irresistible. Even if he only serves one term, 4 years is an eternity with persistent, motivated researchers working at internet speed, sifting for that “smoking gun” they all think they might find. For the people who won’t let it go, there is the notion that they could be the next internet blog breakthrough like what burned down Dan Rather and CBS News.
Already there is news that a handful of lawyers intend to begin contesting every executive order or law he signs on the basis that he is not legitimately able to hold the office.
I am personally worried that those highly motivated folks may find what they want to find, and that it would cause incalculable damage to this country. The best thing for everything would be for the President-Elect to simply release these records and shut them all down.
Who Is A Natural Born Citizen? - Supreme Court To Discuss Tomorrow
Word is that tomorrow, the US Supreme Court will discuss in private a suit brought by Leo Donofrio, that asks a very interesting and possibly explosive question.
What does it mean to be a “Natural Born Citizen”?
This is of crucial importance, because the US Constitution clearly states that in order to run for President, the candidate must be a Natural Born Citizen. Mr. Donofrio’s case against the New Jersey Secretary of State argues that none of the candidates were validated by the Secretary’s office as “Natural Born Citizens”, and therefore it is unknown if any of the candidates on the 2008 Presidential ballot were eligible to run.
This is a crucial constitutional issue that has never been aired out before (as far as I know) - what does it take to meet this qualification to be elected as President? Who has the power to make that determination? Congress does not, neither does the Electoral College. I don’t think the current President is empowered to do so either. This seems to be a case where there is a constitutional authority missing, and the Donofrio case clearly points it out.
Should the court take this case up it could have far reaching effects on immigration, military service and elected office. In fact, this might even impact me, as my father was a citizen of the UK when I was born.
Secondary to this whole issue of constitutional law is the question about the President Elect’s eligibility to hold the office. This is a potentially explosive question that would cause chaotic disruptions in America’s social harmony, but is a very interesting question indeed.
President Elect Obama has gone to great lengths to sequester large sections of his personal history, from his college records to his medical records to his birth certificate. While in the past that would not have raised much concern, in the information age people seem to expect to know or have access to such things. I personally think that Senator Obama should be able to keep his medical and birth records private, I think his college records should be open.
Meanwhile some people are getting very excited about a conspiracy to hide information about the President Elect, and are likely letting their imaginations go a bit far. But if you contrast the public will to ignore this withholding of information to President Bush’s Air National Guard service, it seems that a much different standard is being applied this time around.
Clearly the constitutional question is the important one here, but Mr. Obama could put all of the conspiracy theorists in their place by simply directing the State of Hawaii to post his actual birth certificate on the web.
Wisdom from the past
I have recently been re-reading The Ancient State by Hugh Nibley and just this morning finished reading “The Hierocentric State” (originally published back in 1951 in Western Political Quarterly 4/2). The article itself suggests that key aspects of the vast nomadic cultures of Central Asia (e.g., the Mongols) were idealized and emulated by more sedentary civilizations to the east and west (e.g., China and Europe). But it was a passage in the final paragraph of the article that struck me as eerily reminiscent of the American political scene over the past year or two, particularly the Obama cult of personality. I’ve reformatted the text to better call out the separate links for each item (numbered in the original):
Men seem unable to leave the dream of a hierocentric state alone. To recapitulate the sections given above, we cannot blame people if they yearn for
(1) the granduer, color, and unity of the great assembly,
(2) the lofty and uncompromising certainty of universal kingship,
(3) the sense of refuge and well-being in the holy shrine,
(4) the high and independent life of a chivalrous aristocracy,
(5) the luxury of hating all opposition with a holy hatred, and
(6) the sheer authority of the institutions established and maintained by force. (pp. 133-134)
Food for thought. ..bruce w..
President Obama’s Mother In Law
Today I feel sorry for the president elect.
Word from the UK Telegraph that Michelle Obama’s mother will soon become the “First Granny”:
Michelle Obama’s mother has reluctantly agreed to leave her lifelong home on Chicago’s South Side and move to Washington to help smooth the transition for the grand-daughters who dote on her.
The nation’s new First Granny is Marian Robinson, 71, a fiercely independent figure who regularly made the short 10-minute journey to the Obamas’ house to look after Malia, 10, and Sasha, seven, while their parents were campaigning.
The man gets elected President of the United States, possibly the most powerful single figure in the world. But he still can’t get away from his mother in law?
Obama’s New Website
The upcoming Obama administration was so eager to claim some form of government legitimacy, they decided to invent a previously unknown federal bureaucracy: The Office of the President-Elect.
Now mind you, every President-Elect has a transition team that does a lot of work to make sure the day they get into office they can start trying to be effective. But never before has anyone made up a seal and everything for it.
Call it hubris. But then Obama has had this on display for some time. Below are pictures of his seat on “O-Force One”, yes it says “President” on it. Also if you recall that seal he started sticking on the front of his podium.
I hope this is just the sign of a complete political rookie, but I do in fact get nervous about any political organization that stresses symbolism and icongraphy this much.
Iowahawk Nails It
Iowahawk shows that brevity is the soul of wit:
So for now, let’s put politics aside and celebrate this historic milestone. In his famous speech at the Lincoln Memorial 45 years ago, Dr. King said “I have a dream that one day my children will live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character.”
Let us now take pride that Tuesday we Americans proved that neither thing matters anymore.
Obama’s CIA Briefing - Welcome To The Party!
Oh to be a fly on the wall! News reports say today is the day that President-elect Barry Obama gets his first real intelligence briefing as the Bush administration beings the transfer of national command authority.
Up until now, our newly minted President-elect was a rookie Senator, and did not get the full details of everything that was going on. If the news is correct, all of that ends today. Expect Mr. Obama to rapidly increase the ratio of gray hair on his head.
You may recall President-elect Obama, it was easy to take pot shots at Bush & Co. when you were the upstart outsider, today you being to learn that knowledge is responsibility, and that the world is a very dangerous place. It’s chock full of bad people who are working night and day to perform horrible acts against the United States.
All those classified programs that you demagogue to get votes? Today you find out they are the only thing that gives you a chance of getting a decent nights rest.
Oh yes, welcome to the party President-elect Obama. Today you find out just how dangerous the world is. Hope you brought a change of underpants.
Looking back five months
Sometimes, there’s a reason for going with your first impression/analysis. Back in early June, when John McCain clinched the Republican nomination, I wrote the following:
I’m listening to John McCain’s speech (live) down in Louisiana as I type this.
My prediction: the Republicans are going to get beat like a red-headed stepchild this fall. Sigh.
There’s been a lot of political analysis lately indicating that McCain has an even-to-very-good chance to beat Barack Obama in the general election. All I have to do is listen to John McCain for a few minutes — and listen to how profoundly uninspired and forced the cheers and chants are at his comments — and it’s clear that he’s just not going to energize the base, which already has deep suspicions about him (and which he has done little to assuage in the past weeks).
McCain’s rhetoric and his delivery are both very underwhelming. We talk about Hillary Clinton’s shrillness, but McCain has a weak, breathy tone to his voice that becomes harder and harder to listen to as he goes on. McCain going up against Obama is going to be like Bob Dole going up against Bill Clinton back in 1996, except that Obama is a better and more attractive orator than Clinton.
Barack Obama won the most convincing Democratic victory — in terms of popular vote — in three decades. It shouldn’t be a surprise to anyone. ..bruce w..