Terms like “bipartisan” and even “post-partisan” were employed throughout the campaign and are being used now in criticism of the Obama administration that is taking shape. The problem is that we have gotten used to the notion that bipartisanship involves people from two parties who happen to agree on an issue working together. Thus moderate…
Since I had decided long ago what my vote would be, and the man I thought the better (though not nearly perfect) candidate won, it was enjoyable for me to watch. I really don’t want to dwell on the details. The greatest problem for President-Elect Barack Obama may not be any of the crises with…
I have been fascinated by politics for as long as I can remember. The first presidential campaign I recall thinking and talking about was in 1968 when I was 11 years old, though I had certainly read and talked about many. There was never any doubt that I would register to vote as soon as…
They say a picture is worth a thousand words, and I’m never one to shrink from producing a thousand words–or ten! I wonder what a video is worth? A certain number of words per frame? In any case, I wrote earlier about God being mocked in the campaign and I even commented on how “In…
I’m interested in how one can take a rather ordinary set of proposals and make them incendiary just by providing a label. And sorry, my conservative friends, I don’t buy into the “but he really is a socialist” line. The basis of the socialism charge is specific–Obama’s tax plans–and a response to that particular point…
In the middle of a speech on commitment to special needs children, Vice-Presidential candidate Sarah Palin chose to take a pot shot at some pork–research into fruit flies. It was a particularly good political shot, because the research is taking place in Paris, France, and obviously, “real” Americans don’t want to pay for anything that…
Though I have decided to support Barack Obama for president this year, one of the great negatives on my checklist for him and for the Democratic party is campaign finance laws. When I put the candidates side-by-side, however, McCain isn’t a significant improvement on that point. This is illustrated by this story on CQPolitics, informing…
In an article titled Palin breaks with McCain on gay marriage amendment, I found the following: Palin also claimed religion and God had been “mocked” during the campaign, although she offered no evidence to support that. “Faith in God in general has been mocked through this campaign, and that breaks my heart and that is…
I know this is old news by now, but I particularly appreciated the tone of the endorsement. As one who has some policy disagreements with Barack Obama, but who nonetheless supports him on balance, I was glad to hear a nuanced endorsement. Here’s the video: PS: I particularly appreciated his comment on the question of…
I had mixed emotions about Barack Obama’s choice not to accept public financing of campaigns. On the one hand, as an advocate of free speech, I believe that public financing and campaign spending limits are a threat to free speech precisely where it needs to be most free. But on the other hand, I dislike…
