What He Said
Saturday, October 25th, 2008Charles Krauthammer keeps his eye on the ball in his ringing endorsement of John McCain. Please read the whole thing. Here is an excerpt:
I stand athwart the rush of conservative ship-jumpers of every stripe — neo (Ken Adelman), moderate (Colin Powell), genetic/ironic (Christopher Buckley) and socialist/atheist (Christopher Hitchens) — yelling “Stop!” I shall have no part of this motley crew. I will go down with the McCain ship. I’d rather lose an election than lose my bearings.
*****
McCain’s critics are offended that he raised the issue of William Ayers. What’s astonishing is that Obama was himself not offended by William Ayers.Moreover, the most remarkable of all tactical choices of this election season is the attack that never was. Out of extreme (and unnecessary) conscientiousness, McCain refused to raise the legitimate issue of Obama’s most egregious association — with the race-baiting Rev. Jeremiah Wright. Dirty campaigning, indeed.
The case for McCain is straightforward. The financial crisis has made us forget, or just blindly deny, how dangerous the world out there is. We have a generations-long struggle with Islamic jihadism. An apocalyptic soon-to-be-nuclear Iran. A nuclear-armed Pakistan in danger of fragmentation. A rising Russia pushing the limits of revanchism. Plus the sure-to-come Falklands-like surprise popping out of nowhere.
Who do you want answering that phone at 3 a.m.? A man who’s been cramming on these issues for the past year, who’s never had to make an executive decision affecting so much as a city, let alone the world? A foreign policy novice instinctively inclined to the flabbiest, most vaporous multilateralism (e.g., the Berlin Wall came down because of “a world that stands as one”), and who refers to the most deliberate act of war since Pearl Harbor as “the tragedy of 9/11,” a term more appropriate for a bus accident?
Or do you want a man who is the most prepared, most knowledgeable, most serious foreign policy thinker in the United States Senate? A man who not only has the best instincts but has the honor and the courage to, yes, put country first, as when he carried the lonely fight for the surge that turned Iraq from catastrophic defeat into achievable strategic victory?
I don’t believe in political saviors. There is no perfect candidate. There is no perfect president. No politician of any stripe can have all the answers in this complex and difficult world. Every election, voters must make the best choice between two fallible human beings. This election is no different however much the Obama supporters seem to believe otherwise.
What a person must look to in a president, ultimately, is his principles, beliefs, experience, and integrity. People expecting perfection are bound to be disappointed.
Peggy Noonan: Who Are The Right Wing Nut Jobs?–UPDATED
Friday, October 17th, 2008So the Republican party today is “vulgar” according to Peggy Noonan:
In the end the Palin candidacy is a symptom and expression of a new vulgarization in American politics. It’s no good, not for conservatism and not for the country. And yes, it is a mark against John McCain, against his judgment and idealism.
When Peggy Noonan says that the conservative movement left her thus forcing her to vote for a leftist, if not socialist, this election, it made me wonder: Who are the vulgar Right Wing Nut Jobs that have taken over the party that I hear so much about? I’d really like to know.
Are church going folk Right Wing Nut Jobs?
Are those who believe abortion is wrong Right Wing Nut Jobs?
Are low income people who vote Republican because they believe in personal responsibility Right Wing Nut Jobs?
Are business owners who believe that punitive taxation is wrong Right Wing Nut Jobs?
Are Rush Limbaugh’s 15 million listeners Right Wing Nut Jobs?
Are FOX viewers Right Wing Nut Jobs?
Are women who give birth Right Wing Nut Jobs?
Are people who attend state school as opposed to Harvard or Princeton Right Wing Nut Jobs?
Are Wal-Mart shoppers Right Wing Nut Jobs?
Are people who get married Right Wing Nut Jobs?
Are people who work overtime to have enough money for their kid’s band camp Right Wing Nut Jobs?
Are people who read the Wall Street Journal as opposed the New York Times Right Wing Nut Jobs?
Are people who join the military Right Wing Nut Jobs?
Are people who work hard, go home to their families, and drink a beer with their burger Right Wing Nut Jobs?
Exactly, who, I’d like to know, are the knuckle-dragging weirdos who have thrown the conservative movement into anti-intellectual oblivion?
Surely Noonan must be joking about John McCain being vulgar. John McCain is as establishment, blue-blood Republican as they get. Sure, he’s got the crotchety temperament and he’s not eloquent. But he’s not exactly averse to state-mandated solutions. He is the guy who works across the aisle, remember? Fiscal conservatives and social conservatives have fretted over McCain’s squishiness when it comes to solid conservative beliefs. And Noonan fears he’s too conservative? How much more conservative can one be without being an actual Democrat?
McCain has had a hard time taking it to Obama rhetorically because either 1) he’s not so far away from Obama ideologically or 2) he’s too used to playing patty-cake with the opposition–often working those in his own party over. Maybe the treatment McCain has received by the press and the Dems revealed his true friends. It hasn’t been the left that’s been loving, that’s for sure.
Ms. Noonan, on the other hand, seems to be hedging her bets. She sees an Obama future and fears being on the wrong side of history. Or maybe, she’s just a big snob and choosing a president who is articulate and can turn a phrase ala Reagan matters more to her than the fact that she’d be voting for a socialist with soaring rhetoric.
If an intellectual such as Ms. Noonan can be swayed by the hope and changiness, then it proves my point. Most of the smarty-pants set ain’t too smart.
And I’d like Peggy Noonan and Christopher Buckley and the rest of the establishment elites tell me who qualifies as a Right Wing Nut Job. How have they changed the party into something you people don’t recognize? Because from where I sit, the Republican party has been hijacked alright, but it has been by people who have left everything it means to be a conservative behind.
Congress in Republican control spent like thieves. The last two years under the Democrats have been worse. And it is only the fact that Democrats are worse than Republicans that have many conservatives AND swing voters by the way, holding their noses and voting for McCain.
So Ms. Noonan, since she’s the writer and seems to be representing the snob-class within the Republican establishment, can share her thoughts. No sweeping generalizations, Ms. Noonan. I want specifics. Who are the Right Wing Nut Jobs and what specifically have they done to the party, because I’m not seeing it. I’m seeing a woman who is sick to death of a leader who cannot artfully turn a phrase and who doesn’t articulate the conservative position well. Well, tough nuts, woman. You need to butch up and deal with it. I’d like the conservative movement to have its version of Barack Obama, but we don’t. We have John McCain. He at least has some substance and it’s better stuff than what makes Barack Obama.
I’m sorry that the McCain=Palin ticket offends Ms. Noonan’s sensibilities. Four years of Barack Obama would be far more odious, but maybe the Republican insiders need to experience it to understand it. But at least they’ll be popular with the cocktail hostesses.
UPDATED:
Just as I wonder if Jesus would be welcome to most churches today, I wonder if Ronald Reagan would be welcome at one of Peggy Noonan’s tea parties.
Cross-posted at Right Wing News
Debate Assessment
Thursday, October 16th, 2008I didn’t see the debate last night as the inside of the toilet was capturing my undivided attention, so I’ve had to look around to see what people are saying. This isn’t too encouraging:
Jeff’s thoughts: Obama wins by virtue of not being forcibly escorted from the stage in handcuffs and leg irons.
– Which means that, sadly, his stay at the Hanoi Hilton wasn’t to be the last time John McCain would be beaten by a communist.
Is that what I missed? And Joe Plumber made a splash, too, I hear.
As Of Today, I Am No Longer Paying My Mortgage
Tuesday, October 7th, 2008I eagerly anticipate being bailed out. A friend on Facebook responded to me:
Might as well. Before you face any consequences the government will come along and write you a new, cheaper mortgage. Probably put a mint on your pillow, too.
Post Debate thoughts:
The Anchoress notes that Obama managed to sound more stodgy than McCain.
Stephen Green believes McCain just barely won. Mr. Green, I respectfully submit that you were not drunk enough.
Drudge called it Boring. And I would call that an understatement.
My liveblogging here.
How McCain Can Sell Economic Pain–Is There Pain?
Tuesday, October 7th, 2008During the Palin-Biden debate, I remember thinking about how Palin talked about the economy–telling people that everyone will have to take responsibility and change behavior and that it will be tough for a while but that things will get better because Americans are resilient.
Is there any more that someone can promise? Eliminating capital gains taxes would help. And reducing the size of the government and stopping handouts would help–both to corporations and individuals.
Palin also said that the government was too often the problem. She said it with conviction because she believes it. McCain believes that government is the solution which is why he sometimes sounds maddenly like Obama, himself. I don’t believe this approach will work. Right now, Americans are angry as heck and distrust the government’s solutions. If McCain is smart, he won’t be talking about his picky policies, he’ll be talking about getting out of the way. That will be the big idea.
And in this post, I’m kinda thinking out loud. It seems that what America needs is confidence, optimism, realism and assurance ala Ronald Reagan. Speaking of lipstick on a pig–the American economy and the government policies that got us here is looking porcine. Better to not try to dress it up other than to say it stinks now but will get better and due to the dedication of individual Americans, the situation will rebound.
Plus, is it really that bad? Or are people living in denial (every restaurant I passed Saturday night was packed here in Houston)? Or has there just been SO much consumption that cutting back a little seems dramatic when it is in fact a modest decline and people are still living relatively large?
Cross-posted at Right Wing News
Maureen Dowd’s “Odious Presence” No Longer Welcome On McCain’s Plane
Thursday, October 2nd, 2008
Today, anything that makes me laugh will get posted. StoptheACLU has me laughing. Turns out that poor widdle Maureen Dowd got the boot from the McCain plane. That made my day. I love this characterization:
Sorry, Mo, but you shouldn’t expect to be welcomed with open arms while you constantly have your knife out, stabbing wildly like you do. McCain is NOT president yet, so he really doesn’t have to suffer your odious presence if he doesn’t want to.
Let’s face it, Dowd is not a journalist. She is an opinion editorialist. She does not report, she opines. She simply cannot be expected to present unbiased news. McCain knows that he cannot even breathe without Dowd calling it a crime against humanity so that makes her a perfectly legitimate target for dismissal. There is just no expectation of fairness with a Maureen Dowd. Everyone knows it.
An opinion editorialist. Ha! She’s something, alright. She’s just not flying with McCain.
The Problem With Senators
Monday, September 29th, 2008I was dismayed that the voters choice was between two Senators. They are notoriously incapable of decision-making and standing alone. Their strength is negotiation and straddling fences, not taking direct choices.
Today my concerns make me believe we’re in trouble no matter who ends up as Prez. Holeee Canoli.
Senator Obama could have gotten the votes to make this happen. The question: Does he really believe America is in a monumentally huge crisis or not? If he does, then he should do what a President does and lead rhetorically and explain to the American people why the bill is good. He calms the people. He energizes them and encourages them. Instead he’s playing class warfare.
Senator McCain, when he ostensibly agreed with the House Republican’s concerns, could have came out strongly against the bill. He could explain why it’s a bad idea and articulate clearly and enthusiastically for a way out of the financial mess that wouldn’t destroy the American, and possibly, the world economy.
But no.
We have two Senators running for President. They are bumbling around. Obama refuses to take a side because he doesn’t ever want to be wrong about anything. McCain “works the aisles” because he is a legislator first and a leader second.
Help. Us.
One of these guys needs to take a clear stand and clarify the right course for America. Either they don’t know. Or, they do know and are afraid to say. Or maybe, in Obama’s case, calming the nerves of the populace doesn’t serve him politically. That craven disregard for America is an abomination, if true. Or maybe, in McCain’s case, he’s just too in the habit of having the support of a gang, to comfortably take a decisive action and live with the consequences.
What America needs is a leader. I fear that no matter how this election ends up, we won’t have one.
Patrick Ruffini has more about Senator McCain not acting Presidential.
Liveblogging the McCain-Obama Debate
Friday, September 26th, 2008Here we go…..
Okay weird thing, what happened to Obama’s eyebrows? He looks like he has eyebrow shadows.
Obama pins the problem on McCain. Um….
Now, why isn’t McCain bringing up his solutions?
Obama says that two years ago he warned about the problem. Really? When? I’ve seen the McCain legislation, what did Obama do?
McCain talks about holding people accountable. Obama talks about “underlying issues” and says that McCain talked about “fundamentals are good”. ARGH! McCain is sounding like a Senator and not going at Obama. What in the hell?
Obama 1 McCain 0
8:10 p.m. CST What would you do to get Washington out of this crisis?
McCain says to get spending under control. Finally!
Obama says that McCain will have tax cuts for the rich. Oh here we go “tax cuts for 95% of working families”. Obama “pays for every dime of it”–of the plans that McCain brings up that Obama wants, including health care. The tax increases will pay for his plans. But only the rich will pay.
Interesting aside. I think Obama looks angry. And McCain looks intense, but he has obviously worked very hard to not look angry.
Round 2: McCain 1 Obama 0 Score: 1 to 1
8:21 CST What are you going to have to give up to pay for the rescue?
In 10 years time, Obama’s going to make America independent. Oy vey. It sounds ridiculous on its face and he keeps saying it. Does it focus group well, because to me, it sounds simple-minded.
McCain is all about cutting spending. “It’s hard to reach across the aisle from that far to the left.” Even Obama chuckles. Good zinger, John!
John Hawkins and I are chatting and he says, and I agree, that Jim Lerher is doing a great job. He has a very nice temperament to moderate.
John McCain says that he would have a spending freeze, but Obama feels that there is not enough money being spent on early childhood education. Oh for the love of all that’s good and decent. The educational system’s problem isn’t lack of money. Shizen! Are his kids in public school?
John McCain goes after energy independence.
Jim Lerher goes after both John McCain and Barack Obama’s spending plans in light of the economy. Barack Obama admits that there are “tough decisions” but he’s concerned about priorities. McCain goes after spending.
8:34 What are the lessons of Iraq?
McCain: You can’t have a failed strategy–in 2003, he went to Iraq and saw things needed to be changed. Praises Petraeus.
My brother just texted me: “Serious tired head with this debate. Lerher format blows.”
Obama: Doesn’t believe we should have been there to begin with. Snort. He called the Iraq war “a distraction”. Now he’s running down how bad the war has been. I cringe thinking about our soldiers hearing that they’ve fought a wasted war.
McCain: The next president of the United State isn’t going to have to decide whether to enter the war, it’s going to have to decide what to do now. Pow!
Why does it feel like Obama is being more assertive and McCain is being passive on the military?
Round 3: Draw. McCain 3 – Obama 3
8:45 CST More troops in Afghanistan?
Obama: Yes. More dead Americans. Why do liberals fetishize dead soldiers. It is so dang irritating. Okay. No one is saying this, but I’m going to say it. Every time Obama says “Pakeesthan” and “Taleebahn”, he sounds middle eastern. Say it like an mid-Westerner if you want to appeal to middle America.
McCain: Talking about strategies for Afghanistan.
Obama is talking right now, but I was asleep five minutes ago. He talks too much. And he talks more when he doesn’t know what he’s talking about. That’s a common trait–to confabulate when you don’t know what you’re saying. He’s confabulating.
Another commenter says and I agree:
Does anyone else think Obama has that same annoyed and condescending look because he has to share a stage with someone he considers his inferior that Gore had when he debated Bush? We all know how that worked out for Gore..
Posted by AlexinCT
McCain is going after Obama, whew!
Round 4: McCain 1, Obama 0 Score: McCain 4- Obama 3
8:55 CST What about Iran?
McCain: If Iran gets nuclear weapons, it is an existential threat to Israel. The Iranians are putting IEDs into Iraq. He wants economic sanctions.
Obama: He believes that the war in Iraq strengthened Iran. And notes that they are funding Hamas and Hezbollah. As if they weren’t before the Iraq war. He is going to have “tough diplomacy”. I’m laughing. He’s going to talk a crazy nutjob to death. Actually, I think he could do it. Every time he’s talking on and on I feel masochistic.
McCain is eating Obama’s lunch about meeting with dictators. This was a big, fat softball.
Obama called Iran a “rogue regime”, but that he would talk to them. And did Obama just give Bush props for sending a negotiator? Now, he’s taking it back and talking about North Korea and reversing progress.
9:10 CST Now, to Russia.
Obama: Hmmm…..won’t answer the question. Again. He talks too much. The man can’t give a short, direct answer. Now, he’s showing off his geography knowledge. Saying he wants to bring the surrounding states into NATO but doesn’t want another Cold War.
McCain: He’s going after Obama’s “naivité”. McCain looks into Putin’s eyes and sees KGB. And McCain notes that Obama’s response was to say “both sides should show restraint”–going after him for the moral equivalence thing. McCain is showing his knowledge of the international community–he says to “watch Ukraine”.
Obama is reframing his wobbliness directly after the Russian invasion. So now, Obama is trumpeting his foresight. Uh huh. He is the best 20/20 in hindsight genius I’ve ever seen. Oh my! Obama now says he’ll do clean coal and nuclear energy and the way to deal with Russia is to use alternative fuels.
9:20 CST What is the likelihood of another 9/11?
McCain says that we are safer now than we were one day after 9/11. “We have to do a better job of our human intelligence”. Strong statement against torture. America is safer than after 9/11. We are safer, but a long way to go.
Side note: McCain doesn’t look old and mean. Obama is still talking too much. The man can’t say a short sentence. Ugh.
And now, he’s saying “We have the greatest country in the world BUT there is much to be done to restore our standing”. Anytime someone follows a statement with “but” it is an indication that he doesn’t agree with the original statement.
Now, in the wrap-up, Obama is trying to link McCain with Bush. Talking about Obama. Now he’s tromping down the road to China. Obama believes that because we have focused on Iraq, we’ve ignored every other country. Now it’s off to health care–we can’t fund it because we’re spending money in Iraq. Now off to Veterans aren’t funded. Soldiers suffering with PTSD.
McCain is talking about Obama’s judgment and stubbornness to not admit that the Surge was successful. “I’ll take care of the Veterans”.
Oh sheesh, Obama brings up the origin of his last name. And Obama believes that children around the world now don’t want to come here. Is he crazy? What? They want to move to China? Venezuala? Iran? Russia? Germany? France?
McCain knows how to deal with “enemies and friends”.
Overall, I think McCain won. Obama looks angry afterward. What do you think? Who won?
McCain’s Instincts–Updated
Tuesday, September 23rd, 2008So, I spend the morning telling my friend that Barack Obama is a terrible choice for president even though I have reservations about McCain. And then I read this which quotes George Will who says:
Conservatives who insist that electing McCain is crucial usually start, and increasingly end, by saying he would make excellent judicial selections. But the more one sees of his impulsive, intensely personal reactions to people and events, the less confidence one has that he would select judges by calm reflection and clear principles, having neither patience nor aptitude for either.
It is arguable that, because of his inexperience, Obama is not ready for the presidency. It is arguable that McCain, because of his boiling moralism and bottomless reservoir of certitudes, is not suited to the presidency. Unreadiness can be corrected, although perhaps at great cost, by experience. Can a dismaying temperament be fixed?
Will’s supposition is, of course, that Obama’s only problem is inexperience, when I’d argue that his problem is as much temperament as McCain’s problem is temperament. Maybe more. Obama demonstrates an inability to make decisions and a wobbly moral center, if he even has a center. Where
McCain has “certitude”, Obama seems unsure even in the simplest difficulties. He can always confer with his advisers though.
This is a tough election for conservatives. There is never a perfect solution when it comes to politicians, but this election seems to have the least perfect solution that has been presented for a long time.
Cross-posted at Right Wing News
Updated:
I get the feeling that George Will is just one more elitist snob, holding his nose at the crass baseness of the McCain-Palin ticket.
Hold Your Horses
Tuesday, September 9th, 2008Glenn Reynolds says something I’ve been thinking:
But I think that Republicans should be careful about launching a cult of Sarah Palin. She’s the V.P. pick, not the head of the ticket. She’s still a relative newcomer to national politics. She’s virtually sure to commit at least one major mistake between now and November. And — yes, I know I said this before — she’s the V.P. pick, not the head of the ticket.
Cults of personality are annoying. There is no politician that I’ve idealized, but I have to admit that the more I see of Sarah Palin’s political positions, philosophy and personal life, the more I like her. The political class, McCain included, have been so out of touch with people in the hinterlands that they inevitably insult the people they ostensibly represent. Sarah Palin is not this politician. Yet.
Will McCain receive her input? I hope so. Note to McCain: 1. Build a fence 2. Stop the out of control spending 3. Knock it off with the big-government thing.
My concern with the populace and with both campaigns–Obama’s and McCain’s–is that everyone seems to be wanting to care for and be taken care of. Where is the impulse to cut the government and cut entitlements and cut the fat? Where is the impulse to strengthen the military and strengthen the infrastructure and cut the rest?
Sarah Palin seems to have that impulse. And I wish John McCain had more of it. John McCain is at the top of the ticket. His choice of Sarah Palin as his running mate makes me appreciate his willingness to bend and hopefully on drilling in ANWR. Is her pick just throwing a bone to the base or is he actually able to be flexible? Time will tell.
I still have concerns about John McCain. My fondness for Palin doesn’t change them.
Cross-posted at RightWingNews
