June 11, 2008

-- If the Warner/McCain/Lieberman bill for cap-and-trade is adopted for carbon emission control, you will see lobbying expand exponentially such that it won’t be K Street by the year 2050 where the lobbyists live. It’ll be A to Z Streets. You can be sure that the average working Americans, those who create and produce, will be the last people who will have attention paid to them.
-- It is incredibly ironic and eerie that two years ago, the television series West Wing had its swan song by having a presidential race between two candidates. One was a Republican moderate who was in his 70’s but had certainly intellectual conservative positions but was moderate on social issues (and anti-ethanol, by the way). The other was a Democrat from a visible minority who, while not really a moderate and broadly liberal, was cunning, crafty and was able to be moderate enough, especially given his military background, to convince the population that he was not a traditional liberal.
Except for the military background, the Democrat on offer this year is exactly the same and has many of the same charismatic and attractive features as Jimmy Smits’ character in West Wing. The Republican, who was played by Alan Alda, is almost completely aped by John McCain. One hopes that the twist ending where the Republican loses what appears to be a sure victory because he is found to have lobbied hard for a nuclear plant in his home state that has an accident, won’t be caught by a similar October surprise when he’s running against Obama. In the tv series, they were replacing a Democrat who was relatively popular. In real life, they’re replacing a Republican who is one of the least popular exiting two-term presidents in history. Certainly, John McCain might only wish that the only problem he had was a far-fetched deus ex machina accident. I wonder if anyone’s noted the remarkable similarities on a blog somewhere.
-- I think for the first time in his campaign, Mr. Obama might have ended a speech at the right time. I don’t know what he’s talking about when he says that this was the moment we got jobs for the jobless. There’s 5% unemployment right now. I do give him credit for not bothering to mention that he is the first African-American candidate. It would have been unseemly for him to do so. He showed a surer touch for what needed to be said or done. He acted like a gentleman. Hillary did not.
-- I saw two windmill blades being carried on large flat-bed trucks on the highway. I wondered what they were. I figured it out because of one of these jumped-up energy commercials.
-- If everyone is good, then no one is good. The invasion of Poland by the Nazis cannot be compared to the invasion of Iraq by the US. This sort of relativism cannot continue.
-- If I see one more picture of Mr. Bernier going to Rideau Hall with Ms. Couillard in her now-famous dress I will spit.
-Now is the time for Mr. Obama to prove to us that he is capable of the leadership and daring that he cut himself out as having in his earlier campaign. He has three opportunities. He has the chance to denounce the likes of Rev. Wright and the statements made in the past that were problematic. I don’t know how Obama is going to get that opportunity back.
He could have asked for a re-do in Florida and Michigan, but that’s not going to happen now. It would have made everyone forget about everything. I never believed it was impossible for him to consider, but others felt differently. There is karma in politics. People understand courage and daring. It would have been brilliant. Even if he had lost, he would have still won the nomination.
The last opportunity for glory is to offer the running-mate position to Mrs. Clinton. There are two possible results. One is that she refuses. But he would have offered it up and that would be clear to everyone. She would have had her chance. It would be a stunning event like the Kennedy-Johnson ticket of 1960. Obama would be a unifying figure Most of her supporters would come over. It would prove he can work with other camps.
If she accepts the benefits are incalculable. Republicans would jump. There are also negatives that they’ll try to play on. Like Bill Clinton and his role in an Obama-Clinton administration. Like Mrs. Clinton being untrustworthy and the anathema of what Mr. Obama stands for. But Obama will have shown himself to be the ultimate ideal of the sort of politician he says he is. It will be hard for the Republicans to hold off the Democrats in swing states.