Does pandering even matter?

During the ‘04 campaign I remember a lot of sympathetic media lamenting how damaging charges of “flip-flopping” were to Kerry; that the differences in position changes were actually small, that his words were taken out of context, that “everyone does it” and that his position changes suggested an “open mind”. I recall thinking that if this line of thought was taken to its logical conclusion the necessity for having an executive branch may have passed and that governance through referenda may ultimately be what people desire.

Do we really want a president who is simply better at researching and reacting to public opinion or do we want a president that leads with conviction?

Has communication technology given us the ability as a society to collectively know what policies are sound? Do we no longer need the leadership of an individual?

These aren’t rhetorical questions. Are our choices ultimately between another Clinton or another Bush?

McCain Tax Policy Shifts

Talk about pandering:

youtube video of Meet the Press

Another 3 position pivot

This is just additional context to the discussion in the previous post moved here per Ben's request.

Position 1:
Hawkish rhetoric recognizing the threat of Iran and the ongoing need from troops in Iraq:

A reduced but active presence will also send a clear message to hostile countries like Iran and Syria that we intend to remain a key player in this region…Make no mistake, if the Iranians and Syrians think they can use Iraq as another Afghanistan or a staging area from which to attack Israel or other countries, they are badly mistaken. It is in our national interest to prevent this from happening.

But what about the withdrawal?


Position 2:
Campaign commercial intended to subtly attack Hillary for supporting the Kyl-Lieberman amendment; a bipartisan measure that urged the U.S. government to designate Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) as a Foreign Terrorist Organization and a Specially Designated Global Terrorist. This allowed the US greater ability to apply sanctions and tighten restrictions through the global financial system.

It passed this spring 76-22. Obama strongly opposed it with his signature rhetorical restraint:

Obama today also penned an op-ed in The Manchester Union-Leader warning that Congress -- including, notably, rival Hillary Clinton -- has given Bush the pretense to invade Iran by approving a recent Senate amendment. "When you give this president a blank check, you can't be surprised when he cashes it," Obama writes. "I strongly differ with Sen. Hillary Clinton, who was the only Democratic presidential candidate to support this reckless amendment.

But perhaps aware of his fickleness he again opted not to record this position and just didn’t vote because he couldn’t make it.

Position 3
http://firstread.msnbc.msn.com/archive/2008/07/23/1218024.aspx
It was remarkable in terms of the strong language Obama used repeatedly to demonstrate the depth of his support for Israel, saying at one point that he had an "unshakeable commitment to Israel's security." His message appeared to be directed at American Jewish voters, an important voting bloc and one that has been wary of Obama's commitment to Israel.
On Iran, Obama said he would take no options off the table in dealing with the potential Iranian threat.
"A nuclear Iran would be a game changing situation not just in the Middle East but around the world," he said. "Whatever is- remains of our nuclear non-proliferation framework, I think would begin to disintegrate."
The senator argued that as other Middle Eastern countries, some with ties to terrorist organizations, sought nuclear weapons of their own that would increase the likelihood that loose nuclear materials could falling into the hands of terrorists.

"That is our single most important threat to Israel but also to the United States of America. So this is something that we're going to spend a lot of time working on," he said.
Obama said his goal was to mobilize the international community to offer big sticks and big carrots to Iran to end its nuclear program, urging the country to take advantage of what he called "the shift" in Bush administration's approach to direct talks.

Obama made a mistake when he began to list legislation he's supported to show that "vote after vote" he had been a friend to Israel.
"This past week we passed out of the US Senate Banking committee, which is my committee, a bill to call for divestment from Iran as a way of ratcheting up the pressure to ensure that they don't obtain a nuclear weapon," Obama said

There are lots more of these: FISA, NAFTA, Gun Control....

Sunlight is the best disenfectant.

The following article in the Chicago Sun parallels foolish moves made on the part of two politicians early in their careers. Worthy of note:

Amid crumbling bungalows on Chicago's South Side or ranch-style homes in the Phoenix suburbs, an ambitious politician can still get too close to a wheeler-dealer developer.

Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama admits it "was a boneheaded move" for him to buy property from his friend and donor Tony Rezko's wife after headlines proclaimed federal investigators were looking into Rezko's manipulation of state pension boards for his own profit. Rezko was later convicted on 16 fraud counts.

John McCain admitted he made a "serious error" in not reporting free trips to the Bahamas he took on friend and donor Charles Keating's private jet.

Republican candidate John McCain admitted he made a "serious error" in not reporting free trips to the Bahamas he took on friend and donor Charles Keating's private jet. McCain was one of the "Keating Five" senators who met with federal regulators to ask them not to crack down on Keating's failing Lincoln Savings and Loan.

Keating's political hardball bought him an extra two years. During that time, the cost to tax-payers of bailing out his thrift grew from $1.2 billion to $3.4 billion.

Both Obama and McCain, as up-and-coming office-seekers, attracted the attention of these friend-mentor figures early in their careers.

Which candidate was more naive? Did Obama and McCain show poor judgment by getting close to multi-millionaire businessmen accused of collecting office-holders to advance their interests? Which candidate¹s alliance with a donor hurt taxpayers more?

Deep

The Onion? Oh Yeah!

Sherwood said he was granted full access to the candidate, and was permitted by
chief strategist David Axelrod to ask any question he desired—an opportunity the
reporter used to lob the easiest softballs at Obama yet, ranging from how happy
he felt when he met his wife to what songs are currently on his iPod playlist.
Sherwood was also fearless in his effort to paint the candidate as someone who
is "surprisingly down to earth," a phrase that is used a total of 26 times
throughout the feature.
"If we were going to get the story we wanted, it was
my responsibility as a journalist to ask the really tough questions to his two
young daughters," said Sherwood, who grilled Malia and Sasha Obama, 9 and 7,
about whether they were "proud of [their] daddy." "I also had to capitalize on
every opportunity to compare the story of Obama's upbringing and rise to power
to that of Martin Luther King, Jr.'s and John F. Kennedy's, no matter how
suspect those parallels really are."
According to the Time reporter, work on
the profile was often harder than he had anticipated, with Obama at times
dodging questions about whether or not he played a musical instrument, and about
what Monopoly piece he thought best represented his candidacy and why.
"Situations like these are when you have to get on the phone and talk, not
only to his mother, but to his aunt, his uncle, a Boy Scout leader, or maybe
even one of his camp counselors growing up," Sherwood said. "And if they don't
return your call, you turn to Sunday school teachers and former
babysitters—anyone who is willing to go on record and say that Barack Obama was
a really good kid who was destined for great things."
Added Sherwood, "It's
all about getting the factoids out in the open."
Readers have so far
responded favorably to the piece, with sales of the latest issue of Time nearly
tripling that of an issue last month featuring a 36-page exposé that tore apart
and vilified former candidate Hillary Clinton's health-care plan.
"I'm not
quite sure how he intends to turn around the economy or get us out of Iraq,"
said California resident Geoff Mills, an ardent Obama supporter who read the
Time story. "But any man who prefers his steak cooked medium-rare has my vote."

Onion? No.

On Wednesday, Barack Obama promised to shift our narrow-minded focus on Iraq to deadly "terrorist sanctuaries" in Pakistan.
He said it forcefully, folding his arms gently, as if to say everything is going to be just fine. And for a moment, you could tell that his audience felt the same way.
Something was in the air — and, in his forearms. Looking at them, it was clear that the senator has been working out more. His chest looks firm and he seems to have more definition in his rock-hard biceps. I bet he does preacher curls — free weights only, none of that Bowflex crap.
But that's not the only muscle Obama has been flexing. Earlier this week, he received a standing ovation at the NAACP convention, saying that blacks need to assume more individual responsibility.
When he took this stance, one word came to mind: courage. Also, quads. You couldn't help but notice how powerful they are. You can see the strength emanating upwards from Obama's strong calf and thigh muscles — the kind I could put lotion on, over and over again.
No doubt they are well toned by playing tag with his lovely daughters. Even the word "adorable" does not do them justice. Perhaps a word needs to be invented to describe something more adorable than adorable and then we can apply that to his daughters.
Until then, allow them their privacy.
But speaking of those angels, they must have been proud, when their father spoke to La Raza last Sunday. There he boldly said how disappointed he is in McCain's new stance on immigration. You could hear a piñata drop it was so quiet, and the silence seemed to illuminate his hair, like a halo.
His sensibly styled mane seems to have been graced with a touch of grey, not unlike a younger Morgan Freeman, giving him an air of wisdom extremely rare for a man of such a young age. It's like he has all the experience of a John McCain, without the nasal hair.
This is a guy you could definitely have a beer with or marry or cohabitate with, if you're gay.
And if you disagree with me, you're probably a racist.

Still not the Onion

Six percent of the population having 25% of the wealth. Half the world’s oil consumption and now 100% of Obama? What kind of God only smiles on the fortunate? Aren’t there other parts of the world more deserving of numinousity? Is it just that only Americans can bask in his mysterium tremendum? People that are so…ugh… American?

This is not the Onion

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/g/a/2008/06/06/notes060608.DTL

Many spiritually advanced people I know (not coweringly religious, mind you, but deeply spiritual) identify Obama as a Lightworker, that rare kind of attuned being who has the ability to lead us not merely to new foreign policies or health care plans or whatnot, but who can actually help usher in a new way of being on the planet, of relating and connecting and engaging with this bizarre earthly experiment. These kinds of people actually help us evolve. They are philosophers and peacemakers of a very high order, and they speak not just to reason or emotion, but to the soul.

The unusual thing is, true Lightworkers almost never appear on such a brutal, spiritually demeaning stage as national politics. This is why Obama is so rare. And this why he is so often compared to Kennedy and Martin Luther King Jr., to those leaders in our culture whose stirring vibrations still resonate throughout our short history.

Perhaps it isn't fair to judge a candidate by his supporters, but I'm very much making an exception in this case.

Influence Peddling

Obama secured state tax dollars for local slum lords. Those slum lords provided the financial backing for his 2004 senate run, hold senior positions within his campaign and can look forward to federal dollars should Obama become president.

The spin

Influence Peddling

http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/local/baltimore_city/bal-te.md.ci.dixon24jun24,0,7363358.story

Prosecutors are investigating whether Baltimore Mayor
Sheila Dixon received thousands of dollars in gifts - including fur coats -
from a prominent developer whose projects benefited from tax breaks and zoning
changes she supported as City Council president, a document obtained by The Sun
shows.Court records, drafted by the state prosecutor's office in November,
indicate that Dixon also went on lavish trips to Boston, the Bahamas, Chicago
and Colorado with the developer, Ronald H. Lipscomb. In one instance, the two
left Baltimore for New York by train hours after she had voted to approve a tax
break for one of his company's largest projects.

I wish I could remember that other large Midwestern city where this sort of thing is de rigeur.

Intentional?

What could go wrong?

Richard Danzig, who served as Navy Secretary under President
Clinton and is tipped to become National Security Adviser in an Obama White
House, told a major foreign policy conference in Washington that the future of
US strategy in the war on terrorism should follow a lesson from the pages of
Winnie the Pooh, which can be shortened to: if it is causing you too much pain,
try something else.
Mr Danzig told the Centre for New American Security:
“Winnie the Pooh seems to me to be a fundamental text on national security.”
He spelt out how American troops, spies and anti-terrorist officials could
learn key lessons by understanding the desire of terrorists to emulate
superheroes like Luke Skywalker, and the lust for violence of violent football
fans.

I don’t think Zen Mind, Beginners Mind is going to cut it on national security for most people.

Farrakhan Flashback

Due to the low profile he’s kept in recent years I think people forget just how evil this guy is.

Is this why Hillary is sticking around?

But
the real reason for Obama’s extraordinary freakout is that he fears the
release of the videotape, reported here, of Michelle Obama in the pulpit of
Rev. Jeremiah Wright’s church railing against “whitey.” And we don’t mean
Whitey Ford. Four Republican sources have told me that the tape exists. I’ve
also been informed that Karl Rove and his allies have a copy of it and are
using it to raise funds for independent expenditure groups. The tape, I’m
told, will be disclosed as the GOP October Surprise. It’s a ticking time
bomb. And I’ve learned that a right-wing Republican billionaire has put a
$1 million bounty on the video. He doesn’t want John McCain to win, like a
number of conservatives, and thinks Obama is a pathetically weak candidate.
The billionaire wants that video released now.



New and dramatic developments. This is a heads up. I’ll post the news Monday morning by 0900 hours. Now I know why people who have seen the videotape say it is stunning. Barack’s headaches are only starting.

We’ll find out tomorrow.

This is more like it!

Age-Progression Technology Indicates Missing Child A Prostitute By Now

The Onion is getting back its edge.

It's the simple things...

Less Oprah. More Military Channel Nelson.

"McCain was a fighter pilot, who dropped laser-guided missiles from 35,000 feet. He was long gone when they hit. What happened when they (the missiles) get to the ground? He doesn't know. You have to care about the lives of people. McCain never gets into those issues"

Laser-guided weapons were first developed in the United States in the early 1960s. The USAF issued the first development contracts in 1964, leading to the development of the Paveway series, which was used operationally in Vietnam starting in 1968.

On his 23rd bombing mission over North Vietnam later in 1967, he was shot down, badly injured, and captured as a prisoner of war by the North Vietnamese.

I want one!

This is the coolest thing I've seen all day. I'm now seized with the desire to buy a painting by an elephant...

but we bought 5 seasons of Climate Connections...

I got a good chuckle from this story this morning on th drive in.

Some 3,000 scientific robots that are plying the ocean have sent home a puzzling message. These diving instruments suggest that the oceans have not warmed up at all over the past four or five years. That could mean global warming has taken a breather. Or it could mean scientists aren't quite understanding what their robots are telling them.

In fact, 80 percent to 90 percent of global warming involves heating up ocean waters. They hold much more heat than the atmosphere can. So Willis has been studying the ocean with a fleet of robotic instruments called the Argo system. The buoys can dive 3,000 feet down and measure ocean temperature. Since the system was fully deployed in 2003, it has recorded no warming of the global oceans.
"There has been a very slight cooling, but not anything really significant," Willis says. So the buildup of heat on Earth may be on a brief hiatus. "Global warming doesn't mean every year will be warmer than the last. And it may be that we are in a period of less rapid warming."

Or maybe climate models predicting a climatic apocalypse are just plain wrong.

Climate science: where Occam’s razor doesn’t apply.