The etiquette of celebrity death brings the usual talking heads--calculating Orrin Hatch on PBS, loathsome Joe Lieberman on Larry King--with me-me-me tributes to Ted Kennedy but largely unseen is Joe Biden with an authentic outpouring of human grief.
In an era when empathy is an accusation, the Vice President is an anachronism--a politician often demeaned right and left for speaking his mind and heart, exposing himself to political ridicule.
Yesterday morning, in a routine appearance at the Department of Energy, Biden could not suppress tears along with memories of a friendship that endured for decades:
"He stood with me when my wife and daughter were killed in an accident. He was on the phone with me literally every day in the hospital, my two children were attempting, and, God willing, thankfully survived very serious injuries. I'd turn around and there would be some specialist from Massachusetts, a doc I never even asked for, literally sitting in the room with me."
Biden was 29 when he came to the Senate, Kennedy had been 30. "He and I were talking after his diagnosis," the Vice President recalled. "And I said, I think you're the only other person I've met who...is more optimistic, more enthusiastic, more idealistic, sees greater possibilities after 36 years."
Although Kennedy improved the lives of millions, Biden recalled, he "never was petty. He was never small. And in the process...he made everybody he worked with bigger--both his adversaries as well as his allies.
"Don't you find it remarkable that one of the most partisan, liberal men in the last century serving in the Senate had so many of his foes embracing him, because they know he made them bigger, he made them more graceful by the way in which he conducted himself?"
In many ways, Ted Kennedy will be irreplaceable, but Joe Biden remains as an exemplar of truth-telling and passionate idealism.
Showing posts with label Joe Biden. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Joe Biden. Show all posts
Thursday, August 27, 2009
Friday, July 10, 2009
Stimulus Stew
The state of the economy, it's safe to say, is iffy at best but, less than six months after its passage, the market for badmouthing the stimulus bill is booming.
On the left, Paul Krugman insists that a "bad employment report for June made it clear that the stimulus was, indeed, too small" and "damaged the credibility of the administration’s economic stewardship."
From right field, House Minority Whip Eric Cantor tells us "the stimulus or so-called stimulus plan that spent almost $800 billion has not worked," while economist Karl Rove proclaims that "Obama can't be trusted with numbers" as he bashes the White House for being too slow in getting the money out the door.
In the center, Warren Buffet is musing about the need for a second round of pumping money into the economy, complaining that the first was "like taking half a tablet of Viagra and having also a bunch of candy mixed in...as if everybody was putting in enough for their own constituents."
Meanwhile, Joe Biden is on a tour touting positive results here and there, as the Recovery blog announces web seminars (Webinars) to spread the good news.
In this flurry of opinionating, the prize for empty news goes to USA Today for its headlined revelation, "Billions in aid go to areas that backed Obama in '08," which undermines itself by noting:
"Investigators who track the stimulus are skeptical that political considerations could be at work. The imbalance is so pronounced--and the aid so far from complete--that it would be almost inconceivable for it to be the result of political tinkering, says Adam Hughes, the director of federal fiscal policy for the non-profit OMB Watch. 'Even if they wanted to, I don't think the administration has enough people in place yet to actually do that,' he says."
Oh.
On the left, Paul Krugman insists that a "bad employment report for June made it clear that the stimulus was, indeed, too small" and "damaged the credibility of the administration’s economic stewardship."
From right field, House Minority Whip Eric Cantor tells us "the stimulus or so-called stimulus plan that spent almost $800 billion has not worked," while economist Karl Rove proclaims that "Obama can't be trusted with numbers" as he bashes the White House for being too slow in getting the money out the door.
In the center, Warren Buffet is musing about the need for a second round of pumping money into the economy, complaining that the first was "like taking half a tablet of Viagra and having also a bunch of candy mixed in...as if everybody was putting in enough for their own constituents."
Meanwhile, Joe Biden is on a tour touting positive results here and there, as the Recovery blog announces web seminars (Webinars) to spread the good news.
In this flurry of opinionating, the prize for empty news goes to USA Today for its headlined revelation, "Billions in aid go to areas that backed Obama in '08," which undermines itself by noting:
"Investigators who track the stimulus are skeptical that political considerations could be at work. The imbalance is so pronounced--and the aid so far from complete--that it would be almost inconceivable for it to be the result of political tinkering, says Adam Hughes, the director of federal fiscal policy for the non-profit OMB Watch. 'Even if they wanted to, I don't think the administration has enough people in place yet to actually do that,' he says."
Oh.
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
Obama's Body Language
By my count, Barack Obama kissed at least two dozen women on his way in and out of the House last night, but the affectionate post-speech highlight was a quick back rub from Sen. Barbara Boxer, who had been seen having an ecstatic reaction during the President's words on health care reform.
There were hugs, too, many of them for men, including his polar political opposite, Republican Sen. Tom Coburn, for whom Obama expressed friendship during the campaign.
Not to make too much of it, but all this body language reflects an extraordinary ability to connect with people beyond the routine political pressing of the flesh with a wary fixed smile.
During the speech, some reactions from Nancy Pelosi and Joe Biden were animated well beyond the usual, but apparently Obama's sensory appeal has its limits. Close-ups of Mitch McConnell and John Boehner showed them looking blank and immobilized, pretty much the way they had been during the weeks of debate on the stimulus bill.
It looks like we have a long way to go before Republicans get all touchy-feely.
There were hugs, too, many of them for men, including his polar political opposite, Republican Sen. Tom Coburn, for whom Obama expressed friendship during the campaign.
Not to make too much of it, but all this body language reflects an extraordinary ability to connect with people beyond the routine political pressing of the flesh with a wary fixed smile.
During the speech, some reactions from Nancy Pelosi and Joe Biden were animated well beyond the usual, but apparently Obama's sensory appeal has its limits. Close-ups of Mitch McConnell and John Boehner showed them looking blank and immobilized, pretty much the way they had been during the weeks of debate on the stimulus bill.
It looks like we have a long way to go before Republicans get all touchy-feely.
Sunday, October 19, 2008
Obama Blitz
If an Obama Administration is anything like the campaign, Americans may have an efficient government again.
Behind the candidate's charisma, a leave-little-to-chance operation has been working hard to put him into the White House--recruiting supporters not only to give money (a record $150 million from 632,000 new donors in September) but travel to swing states and knock on doors, make phone calls, hold debate parties and write personalized post cards to undecided voters.
E-mails, often with videos, arrive by the dozens every week--from both Obamas and Bidens, and campaign managers at every level--to encourage backers to leave no rocks unturned, including those from which the William Ayers robocalls are coming.
"Barack will be the underdog," says a message from Michelle Obama, "until he's in the White House, so keep working, keep talking to your friends and neighbors, and together we can change the world."
"My wife Jill is an extraordinary woman," Joe Biden writes. "Jill's passion has always been education, and even during the campaign she's been teaching class during the week and joining me on the trail on the weekends. But this week, she also found some time to go to campaign headquarters and call voters in crucial battleground states...Can you do the same?"
If Obama doesn't win, it will certainly not be for lack of trying.
Behind the candidate's charisma, a leave-little-to-chance operation has been working hard to put him into the White House--recruiting supporters not only to give money (a record $150 million from 632,000 new donors in September) but travel to swing states and knock on doors, make phone calls, hold debate parties and write personalized post cards to undecided voters.
E-mails, often with videos, arrive by the dozens every week--from both Obamas and Bidens, and campaign managers at every level--to encourage backers to leave no rocks unturned, including those from which the William Ayers robocalls are coming.
"Barack will be the underdog," says a message from Michelle Obama, "until he's in the White House, so keep working, keep talking to your friends and neighbors, and together we can change the world."
"My wife Jill is an extraordinary woman," Joe Biden writes. "Jill's passion has always been education, and even during the campaign she's been teaching class during the week and joining me on the trail on the weekends. But this week, she also found some time to go to campaign headquarters and call voters in crucial battleground states...Can you do the same?"
If Obama doesn't win, it will certainly not be for lack of trying.
Saturday, October 18, 2008
Obama's Rising River of Ink
The trickle of newspaper endorsements is reaching flood stage this weekend, with the New York Times expected to join other major newspapers in declaring for the Democratic ticket.
So far, Editor & Publisher reports, Obama leads McCain by 58 to 16 in backing from the oldest mainstream medium of all, including the first endorsement of a Democrat by the Chicago Tribune in its 161-year history and the Los Angeles Times' first choice of any candidate since Nixon in 1972.
Their reasons are many and varied, ranging from seeing hope for renewal in Obama to disappointment in McCain, especially his attack ads and selection of a running mate
"Despite his age and previous health problems," says the Kansas City Star, "McCain chose a vice presidential candidate who is so clearly unqualified for high office that the thought of her stepping into the presidency is frightening. That irresponsible decision casts serious doubt on McCain’s judgment."
Many Obama endorsements are coming from papers in small towns, which Gov. Palin has been claiming for the Republicans as more "pro-America" than big cities. Joe Biden has been out disputing that notion, and apparently the editors of country newspapers are agreeing with him.
So far, Editor & Publisher reports, Obama leads McCain by 58 to 16 in backing from the oldest mainstream medium of all, including the first endorsement of a Democrat by the Chicago Tribune in its 161-year history and the Los Angeles Times' first choice of any candidate since Nixon in 1972.
Their reasons are many and varied, ranging from seeing hope for renewal in Obama to disappointment in McCain, especially his attack ads and selection of a running mate
"Despite his age and previous health problems," says the Kansas City Star, "McCain chose a vice presidential candidate who is so clearly unqualified for high office that the thought of her stepping into the presidency is frightening. That irresponsible decision casts serious doubt on McCain’s judgment."
Many Obama endorsements are coming from papers in small towns, which Gov. Palin has been claiming for the Republicans as more "pro-America" than big cities. Joe Biden has been out disputing that notion, and apparently the editors of country newspapers are agreeing with him.
Wednesday, October 15, 2008
A Reluctant, Respectful VP
By dominating media coverage, Sarah Palin is giving Joe Biden a pass to do what he does best, talk straight to voters without the glare of bright lights and pushy reporters.
In the New Yorker, Ryan Lizza reports on conversations with Barack Obama in which Biden hesitated about being on the ticket, weighing the job against remaining as chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee or becoming Secretary of State. No Palinesque "you betcha" instant answer to running for VP.
"If you’re asking me to help you get elected," Biden says he told Obama, "I can do that other ways, but I don’t want to be a Vice-President who is not part of the major decisions you make."
In the campaign now, Biden is helping most by providing a contrast to his strident, superficial counterpart, as he did in their debate, and rallying working-class voters in key states without making headlines or gaffes.
Looking ahead, Biden sees himself as helping Obama reach across party lines to help heal the divisions of the Bush-Cheney years.
“The reason I’ve been relatively successful," he told Lizza, "is that I have never questioned the motive of other senators, and that’s instinctively Barack. Barack doesn’t start off, ‘Well, you disagree, you must be a, you know, an S.O.B. or you must not care about the poor or you’re sexist or you’re racist or you’re a whatever.’ He doesn’t think that way.”
If and when they are sworn in next January, Obama and Biden will be able to put that respectful approach to good use.
In the New Yorker, Ryan Lizza reports on conversations with Barack Obama in which Biden hesitated about being on the ticket, weighing the job against remaining as chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee or becoming Secretary of State. No Palinesque "you betcha" instant answer to running for VP.
"If you’re asking me to help you get elected," Biden says he told Obama, "I can do that other ways, but I don’t want to be a Vice-President who is not part of the major decisions you make."
In the campaign now, Biden is helping most by providing a contrast to his strident, superficial counterpart, as he did in their debate, and rallying working-class voters in key states without making headlines or gaffes.
Looking ahead, Biden sees himself as helping Obama reach across party lines to help heal the divisions of the Bush-Cheney years.
“The reason I’ve been relatively successful," he told Lizza, "is that I have never questioned the motive of other senators, and that’s instinctively Barack. Barack doesn’t start off, ‘Well, you disagree, you must be a, you know, an S.O.B. or you must not care about the poor or you’re sexist or you’re racist or you’re a whatever.’ He doesn’t think that way.”
If and when they are sworn in next January, Obama and Biden will be able to put that respectful approach to good use.
Sunday, October 12, 2008
Why Obama Needs a Mandate
To restore America in a time of economic crisis and partisan hatred, a hairline victory will not be enough. True, George W. Bush turned a deficit of popular votes and a 5-4 Supreme Court decision into a mandate to start the wrong war and try to dismantle the Constitution, but that won't be enough for the first African-American president.
Democrats need an all-out effort in the final three weeks, and it's encouraging to see both Clintons out on the campaign trail with Joe Biden in Pennsylvania yesterday, with the almost-candidate back in fighting form.
"Sending the Republicans to solve this economic crisis," Hillary Clinton told voters, "is like sending the bull to clean up the china closet. They broke it and we're not buying it anymore. Barack Obama and Joe Biden...will lead us out of this economic crisis."
Biden was in cheerleading mode: "I have never seen as many Americans knocked down as I have in the last past eight years. It's time to get up. So get up Pennsylvania, get up Scranton, get up deliver and this election for Barack Obama."
Former Reagan political adviser Ed Rollins is comparing the political landscape to that of 1980, when angry voters rejected Democrats and turned to Reagan "in droves" once they felt comfortable with the idea of him as president.
"Barack has met the threshold," Rollins says. "Once Reagan met the threshold, people wanted to get rid of Carter and they did in a landslide. This is going to turn into a landslide."
The polls don't show that, and there is always the X Factor of unspoken racism--the Bradley effect--that could keep the election close, but Barack Obama needs what FDR got in 1932 to lead a solidly Democratic Congress to get the country out of Iraq and onto the road of economic reform.
America does not need the chaos of a close election.
Democrats need an all-out effort in the final three weeks, and it's encouraging to see both Clintons out on the campaign trail with Joe Biden in Pennsylvania yesterday, with the almost-candidate back in fighting form.
"Sending the Republicans to solve this economic crisis," Hillary Clinton told voters, "is like sending the bull to clean up the china closet. They broke it and we're not buying it anymore. Barack Obama and Joe Biden...will lead us out of this economic crisis."
Biden was in cheerleading mode: "I have never seen as many Americans knocked down as I have in the last past eight years. It's time to get up. So get up Pennsylvania, get up Scranton, get up deliver and this election for Barack Obama."
Former Reagan political adviser Ed Rollins is comparing the political landscape to that of 1980, when angry voters rejected Democrats and turned to Reagan "in droves" once they felt comfortable with the idea of him as president.
"Barack has met the threshold," Rollins says. "Once Reagan met the threshold, people wanted to get rid of Carter and they did in a landslide. This is going to turn into a landslide."
The polls don't show that, and there is always the X Factor of unspoken racism--the Bradley effect--that could keep the election close, but Barack Obama needs what FDR got in 1932 to lead a solidly Democratic Congress to get the country out of Iraq and onto the road of economic reform.
America does not need the chaos of a close election.
Monday, October 06, 2008
Supreme Decision
Behind the blather about William Ayers by Republicans and the resurrection of the Keating Five by Democrats, the start of the Supreme Court's new term today is a reminder of the high stakes in the presidential election.
In eight years, with the appointments of Samuel Alito and John Roberts, the Bush Administration has brought the Court within one death or retirement of a majority that would reverse Roe v Wade and who-knows-how-many other decisions that advanced individual rights and protections in the second half of the 20th century.
Those who love shooting moose from helicopters and firing automatic weapons at squirrels in their back yards after midnight are well-advised to vote McCain-Palin. The rest of us will go for the other guys, including Joe Biden who, during a primary debate, told a gun nut who called his weapon "Baby" that he needed mental help.
If Sarah Palin ever gets to picking members of the Supreme Court, so will we all.
In eight years, with the appointments of Samuel Alito and John Roberts, the Bush Administration has brought the Court within one death or retirement of a majority that would reverse Roe v Wade and who-knows-how-many other decisions that advanced individual rights and protections in the second half of the 20th century.
Those who love shooting moose from helicopters and firing automatic weapons at squirrels in their back yards after midnight are well-advised to vote McCain-Palin. The rest of us will go for the other guys, including Joe Biden who, during a primary debate, told a gun nut who called his weapon "Baby" that he needed mental help.
If Sarah Palin ever gets to picking members of the Supreme Court, so will we all.
Thursday, October 02, 2008
Two Winners, But of What?
On the scoreboard, both Sarah Palin and Joe Biden met their challenges tonight, but there was a great disparity in what they won.
Palin proved she could weather a confrontation without major gaffes. Biden showed he had the qualities of heart and mind to be a heartbeat from the presidency.
The interplay between the two was civil, even cordial, but it was hard to see an undecided voter being persuaded that Sarah Palin, rather than Joe Biden, should be answering that 3 A.M. phone call.
Palin was polished in hitting her talking points, even as she evaded substantively answering most questions, and there was an eerie disconnect as she persisted in repeating that Barack Obama had voted against funding the troops in Iraq, even after Biden had made clear that both McCain and Obama had done that only in the context of proposals for time lines for ending the war.
Overall, Biden handled Palin's canned attacks on Obama with good-natured factual rebuttals, while making the case that John McCain was offering more of Bush-Cheney, at one point echoing Ronald Reagan's talking point that voters ask themselves if they are better off than they were eight years ago.
Toward the end, after Palin had labeled herself and McCain, whom she has known for a month, as "mavericks" a dozen times, Biden politely demolished that contention based on seeing McCain up close as a colleague for more than two decades:
"He's been a maverick on some issues, but he has been no maverick on the things that matter to people's lives.
"He voted four out of five times for George Bush's budget, which put us a half a trillion dollars in debt this year and over $3 trillion in debt since he's got there.
"He has not been a maverick in providing health care for people. He has voted against including another 3.6 million children in coverage of the existing health care plan...in the United States Senate.
"He's not been a maverick when it comes to education. He has not supported tax cuts and significant changes for people being able to send their kids to college.
"He's not been a maverick on the war. He's not been a maverick on virtually anything that genuinely affects the things that people really talk about around their kitchen table."
On PBS, after the debate, historian Richard Norton Smith characterized Palin's performance as "Gidget Goes to Washington." In playing her role as a perky populist, she reminded me of another sitcom heroine, Mary Tyler Moore, who inspired her boss, Ed Asner, to say, "You're really perky, aren't you? I hate perky!"
It's unlikely that, in these threatening times for the American economy, that voters are looking for a perky vice-president.
Palin proved she could weather a confrontation without major gaffes. Biden showed he had the qualities of heart and mind to be a heartbeat from the presidency.
The interplay between the two was civil, even cordial, but it was hard to see an undecided voter being persuaded that Sarah Palin, rather than Joe Biden, should be answering that 3 A.M. phone call.
Palin was polished in hitting her talking points, even as she evaded substantively answering most questions, and there was an eerie disconnect as she persisted in repeating that Barack Obama had voted against funding the troops in Iraq, even after Biden had made clear that both McCain and Obama had done that only in the context of proposals for time lines for ending the war.
Overall, Biden handled Palin's canned attacks on Obama with good-natured factual rebuttals, while making the case that John McCain was offering more of Bush-Cheney, at one point echoing Ronald Reagan's talking point that voters ask themselves if they are better off than they were eight years ago.
Toward the end, after Palin had labeled herself and McCain, whom she has known for a month, as "mavericks" a dozen times, Biden politely demolished that contention based on seeing McCain up close as a colleague for more than two decades:
"He's been a maverick on some issues, but he has been no maverick on the things that matter to people's lives.
"He voted four out of five times for George Bush's budget, which put us a half a trillion dollars in debt this year and over $3 trillion in debt since he's got there.
"He has not been a maverick in providing health care for people. He has voted against including another 3.6 million children in coverage of the existing health care plan...in the United States Senate.
"He's not been a maverick when it comes to education. He has not supported tax cuts and significant changes for people being able to send their kids to college.
"He's not been a maverick on the war. He's not been a maverick on virtually anything that genuinely affects the things that people really talk about around their kitchen table."
On PBS, after the debate, historian Richard Norton Smith characterized Palin's performance as "Gidget Goes to Washington." In playing her role as a perky populist, she reminded me of another sitcom heroine, Mary Tyler Moore, who inspired her boss, Ed Asner, to say, "You're really perky, aren't you? I hate perky!"
It's unlikely that, in these threatening times for the American economy, that voters are looking for a perky vice-president.
Wednesday, October 01, 2008
Palin's Mastery of the Non-Answer
Joe Biden will be debating the wind, if the experience of someone who faced off with Sarah Palin more than two dozen times is any indication.
Writing in the Christian Science Monitor, Andrew Halcro asserts that "she's a master, not of facts, figures, or insightful policy recommendations, but at the fine art of the non-answer, the glittering generality."
Halcro, running for governor of Alaska as an independent in 2006, lost to Palin and, in a coffee-shop conversation, she revealed her approach to verbal jousting:
"Andrew, I watch you at these debates with no notes, no papers, and yet when asked questions, you spout off facts, figures, and policies, and I'm amazed. But then I look out into the audience and I ask myself, 'Does any of this really matter?'"
Palin's ploy is to evade specifics and connect viscerally with voters, as Halcro learned to his regret.
His advice to Joe Biden: "With shorter question-and-answer times and limited interaction between the two, he should simply ignore Palin in a respectful manner on the stage and answer the questions as though he were alone. Any attempt to flex his public-policy knowledge and show Palin is not ready for prime time will inevitably cast him in the role of the bully."
Perhaps Gwen Ifill, the moderator, and members of the audience asking questions will press Palin for specifics, but don't count on it.
Writing in the Christian Science Monitor, Andrew Halcro asserts that "she's a master, not of facts, figures, or insightful policy recommendations, but at the fine art of the non-answer, the glittering generality."
Halcro, running for governor of Alaska as an independent in 2006, lost to Palin and, in a coffee-shop conversation, she revealed her approach to verbal jousting:
"Andrew, I watch you at these debates with no notes, no papers, and yet when asked questions, you spout off facts, figures, and policies, and I'm amazed. But then I look out into the audience and I ask myself, 'Does any of this really matter?'"
Palin's ploy is to evade specifics and connect viscerally with voters, as Halcro learned to his regret.
His advice to Joe Biden: "With shorter question-and-answer times and limited interaction between the two, he should simply ignore Palin in a respectful manner on the stage and answer the questions as though he were alone. Any attempt to flex his public-policy knowledge and show Palin is not ready for prime time will inevitably cast him in the role of the bully."
Perhaps Gwen Ifill, the moderator, and members of the audience asking questions will press Palin for specifics, but don't count on it.
Thursday, September 11, 2008
Playing for Keeps in Pakistan
After seven years of Musharraf's shell game, the stakes are getting serious as American Special Ops forces are carrying out ground assaults against terrorist safe havens inside their borders without the prior approval of the Pakistani government.
The Bush Administration has finally done what critics, including Barack Obama and Joe Biden, have long been urging, but the public charade still goes on.
"Pakistan's "territorial integrity...will be defended at all cost and no external force is allowed to conduct operations...inside Pakistan," huffs Chief of Army Staff Gen. Parvez Kayani, who succeeded Pervez Musharraf after he stepped down.
"American officials," reports the New York Times, "say that they will notify Pakistan when they conduct limited ground attacks like the Special Operations raid last Wednesday in a Pakistani village near the Afghanistan border, but that they will not ask for its permission.
“"The situation in the tribal areas is not tolerable,' said a senior American official who, like others interviewed for this article, spoke on condition of anonymity because of the delicate nature of the missions. 'We have to be more assertive. Orders have been issued.'
"The new orders reflect concern about safe havens for Al Qaeda and the Taliban inside Pakistan, as well as an American view that Pakistan lacks the will and ability to combat militants. They also illustrate lingering distrust of the Pakistani military and intelligence agencies and a belief that some American operations had been compromised once Pakistanis were advised of the details."
But the deathbed conversion of the Bush Administration will leave the next president with the unsolved problem of protecting American interests without arousing enough hostility in Pakistan to topple the new government in favor of radical Islamists.
Now that Musharraf's three-card monte is over, the real diplomatic and military game can begin.
The Bush Administration has finally done what critics, including Barack Obama and Joe Biden, have long been urging, but the public charade still goes on.
"Pakistan's "territorial integrity...will be defended at all cost and no external force is allowed to conduct operations...inside Pakistan," huffs Chief of Army Staff Gen. Parvez Kayani, who succeeded Pervez Musharraf after he stepped down.
"American officials," reports the New York Times, "say that they will notify Pakistan when they conduct limited ground attacks like the Special Operations raid last Wednesday in a Pakistani village near the Afghanistan border, but that they will not ask for its permission.
“"The situation in the tribal areas is not tolerable,' said a senior American official who, like others interviewed for this article, spoke on condition of anonymity because of the delicate nature of the missions. 'We have to be more assertive. Orders have been issued.'
"The new orders reflect concern about safe havens for Al Qaeda and the Taliban inside Pakistan, as well as an American view that Pakistan lacks the will and ability to combat militants. They also illustrate lingering distrust of the Pakistani military and intelligence agencies and a belief that some American operations had been compromised once Pakistanis were advised of the details."
But the deathbed conversion of the Bush Administration will leave the next president with the unsolved problem of protecting American interests without arousing enough hostility in Pakistan to topple the new government in favor of radical Islamists.
Now that Musharraf's three-card monte is over, the real diplomatic and military game can begin.
Wednesday, September 10, 2008
Sarah Palin Steps Up
Has it only been a week? The "My Fair Lady" metaphor, footwear and all, comes full circle with Maureen Dowd's column today:
"I hope John McCain doesn’t throw his slippers at Sarah Palin’s head or get as acerbic as Henry Higgins did with Eliza Doolittle when she did not learn quickly enough. McCain’s Pygmalion has to be careful, because his Galatea might be armed with more than a sharp tongue.
"For the first time in American history, we have a 'My Fair Lady' moment, as teams of experts bustle around the most famous woman in politics, intensely coaching her for her big moment at the ball--her first unscripted interview here this week with ABC News’s Charlie Gibson."
Last Wednesday I wrote:
"With a phalanx of Henry Higginses and Col. Pickerings, Sarah Palin is being prepped for her Eliza Doolittle debut at the Republican equivalent of the Embassy Ball tonight...
"But before we enjoy the catharsis of Eliza flinging slippers at Henry Higgins, we might want to keep in mind how that climactic scene would play in the Oval Office where something more substantial than slippers might be the nearest objects at hand."
That should do it for Palin in the Shoe Department, unless someone wants to go another round with Cinderella's glass slipper. Anyone for a few words on how it feels to be in Joe Biden's boots?
"I hope John McCain doesn’t throw his slippers at Sarah Palin’s head or get as acerbic as Henry Higgins did with Eliza Doolittle when she did not learn quickly enough. McCain’s Pygmalion has to be careful, because his Galatea might be armed with more than a sharp tongue.
"For the first time in American history, we have a 'My Fair Lady' moment, as teams of experts bustle around the most famous woman in politics, intensely coaching her for her big moment at the ball--her first unscripted interview here this week with ABC News’s Charlie Gibson."
Last Wednesday I wrote:
"With a phalanx of Henry Higginses and Col. Pickerings, Sarah Palin is being prepped for her Eliza Doolittle debut at the Republican equivalent of the Embassy Ball tonight...
"But before we enjoy the catharsis of Eliza flinging slippers at Henry Higgins, we might want to keep in mind how that climactic scene would play in the Oval Office where something more substantial than slippers might be the nearest objects at hand."
That should do it for Palin in the Shoe Department, unless someone wants to go another round with Cinderella's glass slipper. Anyone for a few words on how it feels to be in Joe Biden's boots?
Sunday, August 24, 2008
A Noun, a Verb and POW
In the Democratic debates, Joe Biden famously dismissed Rudy Giuliani with: “There’s only three things he mentions in a sentence: a noun and a verb and 9/11...there’s nothing else."
Now, Biden may have the chance to do the same for his Senate friend as John McCain's campaign reflexively parrots POW to any questions raised--about how many homes McCain owns, about whether or not he was in a "cone of silence" at the Saddleback Forum, even the gaffe of suggesting his wife Cindy enter the topless Miss Buffalo Chip contest.
As Maureen Dowd puts it, "His campaign is cheapening his greatest strength--and making a mockery of his already dubious claim that he’s reticent to talk about his POW experience--by flashing the POW card to rebut any criticism, no matter how unrelated. The captivity is already amply displayed in posters and TV advertisements."
Giuliani abruptly discovered a voter expiration date for cashing in on 9/11. Will McCain's campaign discover that it is, in the World War II term, "a bridge too far" from the Hanoi Hilton to the White House?
"While McCain’s experience was heroic," Dowd asks, "did it create a worldview incapable of anticipating the limits to US military power in Iraq? Did he fail to absorb the lessons of Vietnam, so that he is doomed to always want to refight it? Did his captivity inform a search-and-destroy, shoot-first-ask-questions-later, 'We are all Georgians,' mentality?"
McCain has opened the door to such questions by putting his POW experience so close to the center of his campaign. He suffered for his country three decades ago, but does that qualify him to end its pain here and abroad in 2009?
Now, Biden may have the chance to do the same for his Senate friend as John McCain's campaign reflexively parrots POW to any questions raised--about how many homes McCain owns, about whether or not he was in a "cone of silence" at the Saddleback Forum, even the gaffe of suggesting his wife Cindy enter the topless Miss Buffalo Chip contest.
As Maureen Dowd puts it, "His campaign is cheapening his greatest strength--and making a mockery of his already dubious claim that he’s reticent to talk about his POW experience--by flashing the POW card to rebut any criticism, no matter how unrelated. The captivity is already amply displayed in posters and TV advertisements."
Giuliani abruptly discovered a voter expiration date for cashing in on 9/11. Will McCain's campaign discover that it is, in the World War II term, "a bridge too far" from the Hanoi Hilton to the White House?
"While McCain’s experience was heroic," Dowd asks, "did it create a worldview incapable of anticipating the limits to US military power in Iraq? Did he fail to absorb the lessons of Vietnam, so that he is doomed to always want to refight it? Did his captivity inform a search-and-destroy, shoot-first-ask-questions-later, 'We are all Georgians,' mentality?"
McCain has opened the door to such questions by putting his POW experience so close to the center of his campaign. He suffered for his country three decades ago, but does that qualify him to end its pain here and abroad in 2009?
Saturday, August 23, 2008
Barack America
Joe Biden's slip in his first vice-presidential peroration today (“the next president of the United States--Barack America!”) may be a Freudian tribute to his dual assignment in this campaign--to tie John McCain firmly to eight years of Bush policies while serving as witness-in-chief to Barack Obama's membership in the American mainstream.
"President Lincoln," Biden started by saying, "once instructed us to be sure to put your feet in the right place and then stand firm. Today in Springfield, I know my feet are in the right place, and I'm proud to stand firm with the next president of the United States of America, Barack Obama."
As a Senate colleague of both presidential candidates, Biden is positioned to testify to his running mate's personal qualities while stressing their common roots in struggles upward from working-class families while praising McCain on a personal level and attacking him relentlessly for supporting Bush's misbegotten war and disastrous domestic agenda.
The opening cards have been dealt in the marathon bridge game that will go on until November, and the only wild card left is John McCain's choice of a partner. Will he too look to the Senate for a fourth or choose a dummy like Mitt Romney?
"President Lincoln," Biden started by saying, "once instructed us to be sure to put your feet in the right place and then stand firm. Today in Springfield, I know my feet are in the right place, and I'm proud to stand firm with the next president of the United States of America, Barack Obama."
As a Senate colleague of both presidential candidates, Biden is positioned to testify to his running mate's personal qualities while stressing their common roots in struggles upward from working-class families while praising McCain on a personal level and attacking him relentlessly for supporting Bush's misbegotten war and disastrous domestic agenda.
The opening cards have been dealt in the marathon bridge game that will go on until November, and the only wild card left is John McCain's choice of a partner. Will he too look to the Senate for a fourth or choose a dummy like Mitt Romney?
Obama Makes the Right Choice
As the selection of Joe Biden becomes clear, the only remaining mystery is how political observers could have possibly doubted that Obama would make it.
Stooping to self-quotation, "It is more than Biden's years in the Senate that recommend him. During the Democratic primary debates, the phrase 'Joe is right' was heard so often that it became the theme of his ultimately failed campaign.
"Since he entered the Senate in 1973 at the age of 30, Biden has embodied the kind of brains, character and compassion that national politics should have but rarely gets. Now, at 65, he would bring to Obama's ticket the good judgment and experience a change candidate needs to persuade wary voters that the best of the past would not be swept away in enthusiasm for the new."
If Obama had not already been inclined toward him as a running mate, John McCain and Vladimir Putin this month must have helped make up his mind.
"In the bitter campaign ahead, Republicans would have a harder time persuading voters of their candidate's superiority on national security against a ticket anchored by Biden's five-year record of attempting to resolve the political knots in Iraq rather than pushing on with McCain's mindless flag-waving about victory that is still costing American lives and billions of dollars."
Unless Obama has gone to extraordinary lengths to fake us out and text-messages differently a few hours from now, he has made the best possible choice.
Stooping to self-quotation, "It is more than Biden's years in the Senate that recommend him. During the Democratic primary debates, the phrase 'Joe is right' was heard so often that it became the theme of his ultimately failed campaign.
"Since he entered the Senate in 1973 at the age of 30, Biden has embodied the kind of brains, character and compassion that national politics should have but rarely gets. Now, at 65, he would bring to Obama's ticket the good judgment and experience a change candidate needs to persuade wary voters that the best of the past would not be swept away in enthusiasm for the new."
If Obama had not already been inclined toward him as a running mate, John McCain and Vladimir Putin this month must have helped make up his mind.
"In the bitter campaign ahead, Republicans would have a harder time persuading voters of their candidate's superiority on national security against a ticket anchored by Biden's five-year record of attempting to resolve the political knots in Iraq rather than pushing on with McCain's mindless flag-waving about victory that is still costing American lives and billions of dollars."
Unless Obama has gone to extraordinary lengths to fake us out and text-messages differently a few hours from now, he has made the best possible choice.
Tuesday, August 19, 2008
Biden
If Barack Obama was not already inclined toward him as a running mate, John McCain and Vladimir Putin in the past week should have helped make up his mind to choose Joe Biden.
His trip to Georgia as chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee underscored his credentials to complement Obama's idealism with the experience and know-how to navigate through a world of treacherous policy decisions.
"We must help Georgia rebuild what has been destroyed," Obama said today in a speech at the Veterans of Foreign Wars convention. "That is why I’m proud to join my friend, Senator Joe Biden, in calling for an additional $1 billion in reconstruction assistance for the people of Georgia."
In the bitter campaign ahead, Republicans would have a harder time persuading voters of their candidate's superiority on national security against a ticket anchored by Biden's five-year record of attempting to resolve the political knots in Iraq rather than pushing on with McCain's mindless flag-waving about victory that is still costing American lives and billions of dollars.
The surest way now for Obama to answer attacks on his good judgment and doubts about his political maturity is to announce his choice of Joe Biden and get on with ending the Bush-McCain era in November.
His trip to Georgia as chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee underscored his credentials to complement Obama's idealism with the experience and know-how to navigate through a world of treacherous policy decisions.
"We must help Georgia rebuild what has been destroyed," Obama said today in a speech at the Veterans of Foreign Wars convention. "That is why I’m proud to join my friend, Senator Joe Biden, in calling for an additional $1 billion in reconstruction assistance for the people of Georgia."
In the bitter campaign ahead, Republicans would have a harder time persuading voters of their candidate's superiority on national security against a ticket anchored by Biden's five-year record of attempting to resolve the political knots in Iraq rather than pushing on with McCain's mindless flag-waving about victory that is still costing American lives and billions of dollars.
The surest way now for Obama to answer attacks on his good judgment and doubts about his political maturity is to announce his choice of Joe Biden and get on with ending the Bush-McCain era in November.
Sunday, August 17, 2008
Secretary of State Sweepstakes
As Sunday talk shows are flooded with possible VPs for both tickets, political junkies start the next round of speculation--about the best Secretary of State to help the US repair its relations with the rest of the world.
In the Christian Science Monitor, its former editor John Hughes, who served as an Assistant Secretary under Reagan, gets the ball rolling with a rundown of possible choices for an Obama or McCain Administration.
After owning up to a prejudice for his former boss, George Shultz, now 87, Hughes gets more realistic by touting Robert Gates, the current Secretary of Defense as "an advocate of a strong military supplemented by vigorous 'soft power,' or public diplomacy, and economic aid. Remarkable for a secretary of Defense, he has argued that the State Department is under-budgeted and understaffed."
Runners-up are Dick Lugar and, raising some doubts about Hughes' judgment, Condoleeza Rice.
For Obama, if they don't get the VP nod, Joe Biden and Sam Nunn head a list that includes foreign policy advisors Susan Rice, Dennis Ross and Tony Lake, all with high-level State Department experience.
But perhaps the most intriguing possibility is former Rep. Lee Hamilton, 77, who earned bipartisan respect as co-chair of both the 9/11 Commission and the Iraq Study Group, one of the most universally admired politicians of his generation.
Once Dick Cheney vacates the VP office, the Secretary of State may very well revert to being the most influential member of an Administration facing challenges in every part of the world. Voters won't get to make that choice, but it's worth keeping in mind when they pick someone who does.
In the Christian Science Monitor, its former editor John Hughes, who served as an Assistant Secretary under Reagan, gets the ball rolling with a rundown of possible choices for an Obama or McCain Administration.
After owning up to a prejudice for his former boss, George Shultz, now 87, Hughes gets more realistic by touting Robert Gates, the current Secretary of Defense as "an advocate of a strong military supplemented by vigorous 'soft power,' or public diplomacy, and economic aid. Remarkable for a secretary of Defense, he has argued that the State Department is under-budgeted and understaffed."
Runners-up are Dick Lugar and, raising some doubts about Hughes' judgment, Condoleeza Rice.
For Obama, if they don't get the VP nod, Joe Biden and Sam Nunn head a list that includes foreign policy advisors Susan Rice, Dennis Ross and Tony Lake, all with high-level State Department experience.
But perhaps the most intriguing possibility is former Rep. Lee Hamilton, 77, who earned bipartisan respect as co-chair of both the 9/11 Commission and the Iraq Study Group, one of the most universally admired politicians of his generation.
Once Dick Cheney vacates the VP office, the Secretary of State may very well revert to being the most influential member of an Administration facing challenges in every part of the world. Voters won't get to make that choice, but it's worth keeping in mind when they pick someone who does.
Wednesday, August 13, 2008
Obama's VP Mystery Plot
The process is unfolding like one of those country-house melodramas in which likely suspects disappear one by one. The latest departure from the cast is former Virginia Governor Mark Warner, a candidate for the Senate seat of retiring John Warner (no relation), who has now been designated as the keynote speaker of the Democratic nomination.
Yesterday, Chuck Hagel took himself out by having a spokesman tell USA Today he is "not planning to endorse either candidate," and in a bit of veepstakes overkill, today's Washington Post reports bipartisan unhappiness over the possibility that the Nebraska Republican who went to Iraq with Obama might be on the ticket.
Hillary Clinton, as the too-obvious suspect is long gone but has been busy enlarging her convention cameo, while the handful of viable survivors--Evan Bayh, Joe Biden, Tim Kaine, Kathleen Sebelius--mill around the sets waiting for their mobile phones to ring with a text message from Obama revealing whodunit.
Miss Marple couldn't have plotted it better.
Yesterday, Chuck Hagel took himself out by having a spokesman tell USA Today he is "not planning to endorse either candidate," and in a bit of veepstakes overkill, today's Washington Post reports bipartisan unhappiness over the possibility that the Nebraska Republican who went to Iraq with Obama might be on the ticket.
Hillary Clinton, as the too-obvious suspect is long gone but has been busy enlarging her convention cameo, while the handful of viable survivors--Evan Bayh, Joe Biden, Tim Kaine, Kathleen Sebelius--mill around the sets waiting for their mobile phones to ring with a text message from Obama revealing whodunit.
Miss Marple couldn't have plotted it better.
Thursday, July 31, 2008
What Biden Could Do for Obama
As the short list dwindles down and Republican attacks heat up, the arguments for Joe Biden as Barack Obama's running mate strengthen.
Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine is the flavor of the week in the media frenzy, but with less than three years in the position and no international experience, his choice would only underscore voter doubts about Obama's readiness to be president.
It is more than Biden's years in the Senate that recommend him. During the Democratic primary debates, the phrase "Joe is right" was heard so often that it became the theme of his ultimately failed campaign.
Since he entered the Senate in 1973 at the age of 30, Biden has embodied the kind of brains, character and compassion that national politics should have but rarely gets. Now, at 65, he would bring to Obama's ticket the good judgment and experience a change candidate needs to persuade wary voters that the best of the past would not be swept away in enthusiasm for the new.
Unlike Lyndon Johnson, who served that role for JFK in 1960, Biden has been no wheeler-dealer in the Senate but a champion of good causes now almost universally accepted--protection of women against domestic violence, a sane policy against drug abuse and, most of all, national security.
In 2001, he had doubts about Iraq yet eventually voted for the resolution but only, by Chuck Hagel's testimony, after working with Dick Lugar and others, in a bipartisan effort to limit the blank check the White House sought. Since then, he been in the forefront of efforts to limit US losses and end the disaster.
Perhaps most persuasive of all, Obama clearly respects Biden and would value him as a partner and, in the quest to convince the candidate's most elusive demographic--the white working class--the Delaware Senator's blue-collar, Catholic background would be a strong asset.
Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine is the flavor of the week in the media frenzy, but with less than three years in the position and no international experience, his choice would only underscore voter doubts about Obama's readiness to be president.
It is more than Biden's years in the Senate that recommend him. During the Democratic primary debates, the phrase "Joe is right" was heard so often that it became the theme of his ultimately failed campaign.
Since he entered the Senate in 1973 at the age of 30, Biden has embodied the kind of brains, character and compassion that national politics should have but rarely gets. Now, at 65, he would bring to Obama's ticket the good judgment and experience a change candidate needs to persuade wary voters that the best of the past would not be swept away in enthusiasm for the new.
Unlike Lyndon Johnson, who served that role for JFK in 1960, Biden has been no wheeler-dealer in the Senate but a champion of good causes now almost universally accepted--protection of women against domestic violence, a sane policy against drug abuse and, most of all, national security.
In 2001, he had doubts about Iraq yet eventually voted for the resolution but only, by Chuck Hagel's testimony, after working with Dick Lugar and others, in a bipartisan effort to limit the blank check the White House sought. Since then, he been in the forefront of efforts to limit US losses and end the disaster.
Perhaps most persuasive of all, Obama clearly respects Biden and would value him as a partner and, in the quest to convince the candidate's most elusive demographic--the white working class--the Delaware Senator's blue-collar, Catholic background would be a strong asset.
Wednesday, June 11, 2008
Big Field for Obama Veepstakes
The first test of his decision-making is at hand.
The short list is down to "about twenty current top government officials, former top government officials and former military leaders" as Barack Obama looks for a running mate who would both give him credibility and be qualified to succeed him.
There is Hillary Clinton, of course, but name recognition of those being considered runs all the way down to the retired former Supreme Allied Commander of NATO, Gen. James Jones, who meets the first qualification but would be a little shaky on the second.
There are governors, of course--Tim Kaine of Virginia, Kathleen Sebelius of Kansas and Phil Bredesen of Tennessee, although one of them, Ted Strickland has ruled himself out with a Shermanesque declaration.
Among former rivals for the nomination, John Edwards has professed no interest, leaving Bill Richardson, Chris Dodd, Dennis Kucinich--and Joe Biden.
The esteemed E. J. Dionne Jr. has made his choice known in the Washington Post: Biden "should be at the top of any list of vice presidential picks for Obama...Few Democrats know more about foreign policy, and few would so relish the fight against McCain on international affairs. Few are better placed to argue that withdrawal from Iraq will strengthen rather than weaken the United States."
That may be more of an argument for Biden as Secretary of State than VP, for which there are countless contenders--Jim Webb, Evan Bayh, Mark Warner, Tom Daschle, Sam Nunn and on and on.
Obama's vetting committee has a lot of work to do, but they may be inspired by recalling how less effort in going through the process produced Dick Cheney.
The short list is down to "about twenty current top government officials, former top government officials and former military leaders" as Barack Obama looks for a running mate who would both give him credibility and be qualified to succeed him.
There is Hillary Clinton, of course, but name recognition of those being considered runs all the way down to the retired former Supreme Allied Commander of NATO, Gen. James Jones, who meets the first qualification but would be a little shaky on the second.
There are governors, of course--Tim Kaine of Virginia, Kathleen Sebelius of Kansas and Phil Bredesen of Tennessee, although one of them, Ted Strickland has ruled himself out with a Shermanesque declaration.
Among former rivals for the nomination, John Edwards has professed no interest, leaving Bill Richardson, Chris Dodd, Dennis Kucinich--and Joe Biden.
The esteemed E. J. Dionne Jr. has made his choice known in the Washington Post: Biden "should be at the top of any list of vice presidential picks for Obama...Few Democrats know more about foreign policy, and few would so relish the fight against McCain on international affairs. Few are better placed to argue that withdrawal from Iraq will strengthen rather than weaken the United States."
That may be more of an argument for Biden as Secretary of State than VP, for which there are countless contenders--Jim Webb, Evan Bayh, Mark Warner, Tom Daschle, Sam Nunn and on and on.
Obama's vetting committee has a lot of work to do, but they may be inspired by recalling how less effort in going through the process produced Dick Cheney.
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