home
In Soviet Russia, blog reads you.
recent posts
Offically No Longer an Interesting Blog
Unclear on the Concept
Publisher A©
Stealing Babies for Adoption
RIP Slobodan Milosovic
Publisher A
Hickville Dispatch©
Civil Service
Rising Sun©
Kakistocracy©
CONTACT
ARCHIVES
March 2004
April 2004
May 2004
June 2004
July 2004
August 2004
September 2004
October 2004
November 2004
December 2004
January 2005
February 2005
March 2005
April 2005
May 2005
June 2005
July 2005
August 2005
September 2005
October 2005
November 2005
December 2005
January 2006
February 2006
March 2006
April 2006
Support Structure
Sunday, October 31, 2004
The Trail©
I spent most of yesterday afternoon helping prepare for a rally at the hotel across the road from headquarters.
Whenever we attend an event—dinner party, play, inaugural ball, whatever—we're in awe at how everything seems to come off so well. Then we go to set up an event and feel utterly inadequate after all our plans get blown to hell at the last minute and we just have to wing it. I've started to realize that everyone is just winging it all the time. One of Senator Kennedy's staffers agrees, "especially in politics."
Look: here I am in at the service entrance to the hotel, in my thrift store sport coat with the hole in the sleeve. I'm managing to look important enough; I blend in with several people in expensive suits who get paid more than I. There is another young man, slightly older than me, in a slightly better suit, also trying to blend in with the important people. Two uniformed police officers lean against the door. We're all waiting for the call from Senator Byrd's hotel room, that he is on his way.
(The cops were important to get. Rockefeller and Byrd don't usually have police officers at a rally like this; Senator Kennedy is, understandably, a little more paranoid than the average elected representative.)
This wasn't the plan. Everyone was supposed to be here before the rally started, half an hour ago. But we've adapted quickly. When we get the call from Byrd's hotel room, this person over here will call Senator Kennedy's office and he'll be on his way. That one there will go to the green room—excuse me, holding room, as it's called in politics—and will fetch Senator Rockefeller and West Virginia Secretary of State Joe Manchin. I will continue to look important. Perhaps I will tell the sound guy we're coming. This is the new plan.
I have just taken a break to find some string cheese in the refrigerator and snack. There is a strict rule at Kerry-Edwards headquarters. If food is left in the fridge more than twenty-four hours, I eat it. That is the extent of my salary. Or it was, but the other thing I did when I got up was work out an agreement with our finance officer. After the election, I will be paid a stipend out of petty cash. Now, we have no idea how much money will be left in petty cash after the election. It could conceivably be a fair amount, enough to pay for my plane ticket home over Christmas. Or, it could be practically nothing; ten, fifteen bucks. It doesn't matter. The first question they ask when you interview for a political job is, "have you ever been paid for political work?" "How much?" is, hopefully, much farther down the list.
But we left me waiting in a parking garage. Cecil Roberts, president of the mine workers union, was filling time by giving a speech. He gives excellent speeches; they keep a crowd energized, and show how sensitive Cecil Roberts is to the needs of the working class. Someone very wise—I've forgotten who, but they're very wise—once said, "all labor leaders are sensitive to the needs of the working class. It's how they avoid belonging to it."
The new plan quickly collapsed: Senator Rockefeller and the Manchins came over early to wait in the hallway behind the stage, where the service entrance is. I went in to tell the sound guy. Joe Manchin was given the introduction by the party chairman.
Joe Manchin, soon to be elected governor of West Virginia, is a much bigger draw than the current governor, Bob Wise. Wise had given his speech very early, hopefully before anyone noticed. He cannot run again because he has chosen to emulate Bill Clinton, in both his style of governance and his personal life. Fatally, he got caught before he could rise to the ranks of Clinton or Gingrich.
I should have known this weeks ago, when I saw Wise standing at a party by himself.
Manchin is so far known as a faithful husband. His wife, Gail, is extremely popular. She remembers me each time we meet, even though it's only happened a few times, weeks apart. Neither her husband or Senator Rockefeller has managed this. Nor, I think, did the other politician I've met more than once, Salt Lake City Mayor Rocky Anderson. This the introduction the state party chairman gave Joe: "there's someone on this stage who is energetic, smart, dedicated, passionate and committed to the people of West Virginia. Unfortunately, Gail won't run. So let me introduce her better half, Joe."
And with that, Gail Manchin took the stage to give a rousing speech. Manchin gave a speech too, but he was not his wife, and so I went outside to the service entrance.
A dark SUV was parked in a shadowed corner, hideous shapes huddled around it. Senator Kennedy, of course. The cops were alert, eyes shifty. Men from the steelworkers union were lined up to shake Ted's hand. I went back inside, restless.
When I next ducked into the hallway, everyone was there: sitting in a row of chairs, two feet from me: left to right, Senator Jay Rockefeller (D-WV), Senator Ted Kennedy (D-MA) and Senator Robert C Byrd (D-WV).
There was great confusion as well attempted to improvise an introduction for the senators, who, after a day of rallies and bus rides, were impatient to get on stage and go. I contributed to the mess, in a way I hope demonstrates my potential to someday contribute to the mess from the same high-paying, well-dressed way as the important people who had been waiting in the parking garage.
Senator Rockefeller spoke. He seems somehow to have survived twenty years in the senate without losing touch with the qualities you need to be genuinely effective in politics. I wonder how. He has also avoided becoming a distinguished speaker. A simple, solid speech that seemed to fit the solid, reliable, if not particularly interesting, impression this tall, hunched man leaves you with. I guess that's why he was trusted to be on the intelligence committee, with it's rooms where all your papers are kept in a heavy-duty safe below your desk.
Ted Kennedy spoke. I didn't really hear what he said, too busy listening for anything that sounded like "chow-dah" or "Har-vahd yahd."
Kennedy likes props.
He had a U.S. road map. "We have a president who couldn't find Osama bin Laden. He couldn't find the weapons of mass destruction. He couldn't find the flu vaccine. Well, let's make sure he can find his way back to Texas!"
He had a check. "I've been doing a little research down in Washington D.C., and it'd cost eight thousand dollars to ship the furniture from the White House to Crawford, Texas. We'll, let me just say, Mister President, this one's on me!"
He got twelve hundred people to sign "Happy Birthday to You" to Cecil Roberts.
Senator Byrd spoke. He is old; in the hallway, I saw his speech, printed in extremely large font. When he tried to highlight a section, his hand shook violently. With Strom Thurmond's not-much-lamented passing, he is now the most senior serving senator. It took him three tries to get the second word in "congressional delegation."
I said, Senator Byrd spoke. But I did not say how well he spoke. He mentioned his fifty-three years in politics; apparently all fifty-three of them have been spent honing his political skills. The crowd was on it's feet again and again. Several themes appeared, with exquisite timing and emphasis.
He talked of his wife; they have been married "sixty-seven and one half years." Standing ovation. He had told her "that he was going to be with you fine people here. She told me to tell you how wonderful you all are." Ovation. He repeatedly thanked the crowd "on behalf of my wife."
Byrd asked the crowd to elect Eric Wells, the challenger to the only incumbent Republican in West Virginia's congressional delegation. Obligatory applause. Wells' chances are, at best, iffy. He can sometimes be seen just hanging around his headquarters, or even ours. Nice enough guy.
Byrd sold him hard. Called him up for a photo-op (Wells jumped up with palpable desperation to clutch the frail old man to his chest, praying for the photos to be on the front page) and plagarized Lincoln: "Do not give us a delegation divided! Give us a delegation united!" Standing ovation.
Bryd condemned the Bush administration. "Send that dimestore cowboy back to Texas!" Standing ovation. He read a parable out of the bible. Somewhere in Corinthians. A man goes to a fig tree, and it bears no fruit. After three years, it still bears no fruit, and he chops the tree down. "Chop the tree down!" The old man is fiery as a preacher, energizing as a teamster and authoritative as a shaman. "Chop it down! Chop it down! Chop it down"
Standing ovation.
Whenever we attend an event—dinner party, play, inaugural ball, whatever—we're in awe at how everything seems to come off so well. Then we go to set up an event and feel utterly inadequate after all our plans get blown to hell at the last minute and we just have to wing it. I've started to realize that everyone is just winging it all the time. One of Senator Kennedy's staffers agrees, "especially in politics."
Look: here I am in at the service entrance to the hotel, in my thrift store sport coat with the hole in the sleeve. I'm managing to look important enough; I blend in with several people in expensive suits who get paid more than I. There is another young man, slightly older than me, in a slightly better suit, also trying to blend in with the important people. Two uniformed police officers lean against the door. We're all waiting for the call from Senator Byrd's hotel room, that he is on his way.
(The cops were important to get. Rockefeller and Byrd don't usually have police officers at a rally like this; Senator Kennedy is, understandably, a little more paranoid than the average elected representative.)
This wasn't the plan. Everyone was supposed to be here before the rally started, half an hour ago. But we've adapted quickly. When we get the call from Byrd's hotel room, this person over here will call Senator Kennedy's office and he'll be on his way. That one there will go to the green room—excuse me, holding room, as it's called in politics—and will fetch Senator Rockefeller and West Virginia Secretary of State Joe Manchin. I will continue to look important. Perhaps I will tell the sound guy we're coming. This is the new plan.
I have just taken a break to find some string cheese in the refrigerator and snack. There is a strict rule at Kerry-Edwards headquarters. If food is left in the fridge more than twenty-four hours, I eat it. That is the extent of my salary. Or it was, but the other thing I did when I got up was work out an agreement with our finance officer. After the election, I will be paid a stipend out of petty cash. Now, we have no idea how much money will be left in petty cash after the election. It could conceivably be a fair amount, enough to pay for my plane ticket home over Christmas. Or, it could be practically nothing; ten, fifteen bucks. It doesn't matter. The first question they ask when you interview for a political job is, "have you ever been paid for political work?" "How much?" is, hopefully, much farther down the list.
But we left me waiting in a parking garage. Cecil Roberts, president of the mine workers union, was filling time by giving a speech. He gives excellent speeches; they keep a crowd energized, and show how sensitive Cecil Roberts is to the needs of the working class. Someone very wise—I've forgotten who, but they're very wise—once said, "all labor leaders are sensitive to the needs of the working class. It's how they avoid belonging to it."
The new plan quickly collapsed: Senator Rockefeller and the Manchins came over early to wait in the hallway behind the stage, where the service entrance is. I went in to tell the sound guy. Joe Manchin was given the introduction by the party chairman.
Joe Manchin, soon to be elected governor of West Virginia, is a much bigger draw than the current governor, Bob Wise. Wise had given his speech very early, hopefully before anyone noticed. He cannot run again because he has chosen to emulate Bill Clinton, in both his style of governance and his personal life. Fatally, he got caught before he could rise to the ranks of Clinton or Gingrich.
I should have known this weeks ago, when I saw Wise standing at a party by himself.
Manchin is so far known as a faithful husband. His wife, Gail, is extremely popular. She remembers me each time we meet, even though it's only happened a few times, weeks apart. Neither her husband or Senator Rockefeller has managed this. Nor, I think, did the other politician I've met more than once, Salt Lake City Mayor Rocky Anderson. This the introduction the state party chairman gave Joe: "there's someone on this stage who is energetic, smart, dedicated, passionate and committed to the people of West Virginia. Unfortunately, Gail won't run. So let me introduce her better half, Joe."
And with that, Gail Manchin took the stage to give a rousing speech. Manchin gave a speech too, but he was not his wife, and so I went outside to the service entrance.
A dark SUV was parked in a shadowed corner, hideous shapes huddled around it. Senator Kennedy, of course. The cops were alert, eyes shifty. Men from the steelworkers union were lined up to shake Ted's hand. I went back inside, restless.
When I next ducked into the hallway, everyone was there: sitting in a row of chairs, two feet from me: left to right, Senator Jay Rockefeller (D-WV), Senator Ted Kennedy (D-MA) and Senator Robert C Byrd (D-WV).
There was great confusion as well attempted to improvise an introduction for the senators, who, after a day of rallies and bus rides, were impatient to get on stage and go. I contributed to the mess, in a way I hope demonstrates my potential to someday contribute to the mess from the same high-paying, well-dressed way as the important people who had been waiting in the parking garage.
Senator Rockefeller spoke. He seems somehow to have survived twenty years in the senate without losing touch with the qualities you need to be genuinely effective in politics. I wonder how. He has also avoided becoming a distinguished speaker. A simple, solid speech that seemed to fit the solid, reliable, if not particularly interesting, impression this tall, hunched man leaves you with. I guess that's why he was trusted to be on the intelligence committee, with it's rooms where all your papers are kept in a heavy-duty safe below your desk.
Ted Kennedy spoke. I didn't really hear what he said, too busy listening for anything that sounded like "chow-dah" or "Har-vahd yahd."
Kennedy likes props.
He had a U.S. road map. "We have a president who couldn't find Osama bin Laden. He couldn't find the weapons of mass destruction. He couldn't find the flu vaccine. Well, let's make sure he can find his way back to Texas!"
He had a check. "I've been doing a little research down in Washington D.C., and it'd cost eight thousand dollars to ship the furniture from the White House to Crawford, Texas. We'll, let me just say, Mister President, this one's on me!"
He got twelve hundred people to sign "Happy Birthday to You" to Cecil Roberts.
Senator Byrd spoke. He is old; in the hallway, I saw his speech, printed in extremely large font. When he tried to highlight a section, his hand shook violently. With Strom Thurmond's not-much-lamented passing, he is now the most senior serving senator. It took him three tries to get the second word in "congressional delegation."
I said, Senator Byrd spoke. But I did not say how well he spoke. He mentioned his fifty-three years in politics; apparently all fifty-three of them have been spent honing his political skills. The crowd was on it's feet again and again. Several themes appeared, with exquisite timing and emphasis.
He talked of his wife; they have been married "sixty-seven and one half years." Standing ovation. He had told her "that he was going to be with you fine people here. She told me to tell you how wonderful you all are." Ovation. He repeatedly thanked the crowd "on behalf of my wife."
Byrd asked the crowd to elect Eric Wells, the challenger to the only incumbent Republican in West Virginia's congressional delegation. Obligatory applause. Wells' chances are, at best, iffy. He can sometimes be seen just hanging around his headquarters, or even ours. Nice enough guy.
Byrd sold him hard. Called him up for a photo-op (Wells jumped up with palpable desperation to clutch the frail old man to his chest, praying for the photos to be on the front page) and plagarized Lincoln: "Do not give us a delegation divided! Give us a delegation united!" Standing ovation.
Bryd condemned the Bush administration. "Send that dimestore cowboy back to Texas!" Standing ovation. He read a parable out of the bible. Somewhere in Corinthians. A man goes to a fig tree, and it bears no fruit. After three years, it still bears no fruit, and he chops the tree down. "Chop the tree down!" The old man is fiery as a preacher, energizing as a teamster and authoritative as a shaman. "Chop it down! Chop it down! Chop it down"
Standing ovation.
1000 Words©
Eww.
Saturday, October 30, 2004
Where's Osama?
The Jerusalem Post reports:
I don't think so. It's not very expensive to mail something from, say, Cleveland, to Pakistan; there, I'm sure any number of small children would drop it off in front of Al-Jazeera, asking only for a dollar in return. It's hardly inconceivable that bin Laden is hiding the in the United States. And if that is inconceivable, I'd say it's not only possible, but probable that he's in a slum in a city in southern Russia or Turkey or even Africa.
Look: we all know that 'military intelligence' is an oxymoron.
After the missing explosives story broke, Steven Colbert noted on The Daily Show, "the idea that Saddam would store explosives in a weapons depot--it just seemed insufficiently diabolical. Jon, they spent three months searching a dog food factory."
If the U.S. military were looking all over the middle east for me, I'd leave the middle east. This is one of those simple observations that large amounts of brass makes someone impervious too. He's in Cleveland, people.
"We received it in Pakistan...Somebody dropped it yesterday at the gate," [Al-Jazeera's bureau chief in Pakistan, Ahmad Muaffaq] Zaidan told The Associated Press. "The guard brought it to me along with other mail. It was in an envelope, I opened it and it was a big scoop."This seems to be evidence that bin Laden is hiding in Pakistan.
I don't think so. It's not very expensive to mail something from, say, Cleveland, to Pakistan; there, I'm sure any number of small children would drop it off in front of Al-Jazeera, asking only for a dollar in return. It's hardly inconceivable that bin Laden is hiding the in the United States. And if that is inconceivable, I'd say it's not only possible, but probable that he's in a slum in a city in southern Russia or Turkey or even Africa.
Look: we all know that 'military intelligence' is an oxymoron.
After the missing explosives story broke, Steven Colbert noted on The Daily Show, "the idea that Saddam would store explosives in a weapons depot--it just seemed insufficiently diabolical. Jon, they spent three months searching a dog food factory."
If the U.S. military were looking all over the middle east for me, I'd leave the middle east. This is one of those simple observations that large amounts of brass makes someone impervious too. He's in Cleveland, people.
Kakistocracy©
Slate reports:
I'm not the only one freaked out by this: Brad DeLong, The Talent Show, Whiskey Bar and, movingly, Kevin Drum.
Adults are children with large vocabularies. We feel threatened and we want to be able to say, well, if I just listen to this person, do what this person says, I'll be safe. It'll be okay if I do what the Lord or Bush or Uncle Joe wants.
And we want to be right. We'll ignore other people's opinions and contrary evidence because we want to be the good guys, doing the right thing. We'll ignore video proof, if it challenges our convictions.
So Bush has an advantage there. And the bin Laden tape is good for him too. Not many encouraging signs. Here's one, though: a life size Kerry cut-out in the local mall.
The kid with the cardboard is Orion, whose quirks I'll be exaggerating into a character for a movie. Orion O'Ryan, Irish child of hippie parents.
PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla.—"I want you to stand, raise your right hands," and recite "the Bush Pledge," said Florida state Sen. Ken Pruitt. The assembled mass of about 2,000 in this Treasure Coast town about an hour north of West Palm Beach dutifully rose, arms aloft, and repeated after Pruitt: "I care about freedom and liberty. I care about my family. I care about my country. Because I care, I promise to work hard to re-elect, re-elect George W. Bush as president of the United States."For those of you not paying attention, that was about two thousand Bushies reciting an oath of loyalty to George W. Bush. Not an oath of loyalty to America, or our Constitution, or even the President in general, but to George W. Bush himself.
I'm not the only one freaked out by this: Brad DeLong, The Talent Show, Whiskey Bar and, movingly, Kevin Drum.
Adults are children with large vocabularies. We feel threatened and we want to be able to say, well, if I just listen to this person, do what this person says, I'll be safe. It'll be okay if I do what the Lord or Bush or Uncle Joe wants.
And we want to be right. We'll ignore other people's opinions and contrary evidence because we want to be the good guys, doing the right thing. We'll ignore video proof, if it challenges our convictions.
So Bush has an advantage there. And the bin Laden tape is good for him too. Not many encouraging signs. Here's one, though: a life size Kerry cut-out in the local mall.
The kid with the cardboard is Orion, whose quirks I'll be exaggerating into a character for a movie. Orion O'Ryan, Irish child of hippie parents.
Friday, October 29, 2004
1000 Words©
"Kiss Me, I Voted for Kerry" sticker worn by Kerry voters anywhere I could find them.
The second group of voters from Charleston Job Corps Center to vote early. (I was in the first group, of course.)
Me, Ted Kennedy, and my new haircut. We're still getting used to each other. Me and the haircut, I mean, not Ted Kennedy.
Men in suits pile into a campaign bus. Pat Maroney, a Charleston attorney, is at right. The others are all staring down toward the building, wondering what is taking Senator Rockefeller so long. I suspect it's something they'll spend most of the weekend doing.
An average Charleston resident staring at the men in suits piling onto the campaign bus.
Thursday, October 28, 2004
Looking Into the Future--Boldly!
Right now it's difficult to see things except through the lens of the election. So what will the biggest challenge facing whoever wins be?
It might not be Iraq.
My father reminded me in an e-mail that the real world is still out there:
The BBC story also quotes Foggy Bottom as saying, "We hope that he gets the medical care that he needs to return to health." So much for my claims that Colin Powell is more honest than the rest of the Bushies.
The BBC's Lucy Williamson says that Arafat is "perhaps the only person capable of uniting the many different Palestinian groups" and "is seen by Palestinians as an irreplaceable figurehead." Because the BBC's Lucy Williamson is insane.
It might not be Iraq.
My father reminded me in an e-mail that the real world is still out there:
I see Arafat is about to croak. This, like every other event in that area, will lead to even more insane violence.The BBC reports that the Palestinian leader is flying to Paris for medical treatment. A blood disorder of some sort, the no one appears to know what the exact problem is. They do have a picture of him looking like an extra from Buffy.
The BBC story also quotes Foggy Bottom as saying, "We hope that he gets the medical care that he needs to return to health." So much for my claims that Colin Powell is more honest than the rest of the Bushies.
The BBC's Lucy Williamson says that Arafat is "perhaps the only person capable of uniting the many different Palestinian groups" and "is seen by Palestinians as an irreplaceable figurehead." Because the BBC's Lucy Williamson is insane.
Monday, October 25, 2004
The Trail©
I came in early today, put on the TV, and happened to jump in the middle of the Van Dam-Bennett debates, provided by KBYU. Woah! Utah still exists, now that I've left. Freaky.
Bob Bennett is Utah's junior senator, second to Orrin Hatch in both seniority and evil. At one point in the debate, he reminded us that every single senator in the history of the state has served until they were either defeated or died; in one case, a senator was appointed to the Supreme Court. Bennett promised to retire voluntarily, which shows just how seriously he's taking his opponent this year, Paul Van Dam.
Paul Van Dam looks, physically, a bit like Sean Connery. Unfortunately, he looks like Sean Connery playing Don Quixote.
Bob Bennett has an amazing ability to sound interesting about things that are fundamentally boring; you forget what he's talking about even before he stops speaking, but you remember how passionate he sounded. Van Dam has, I'm afraid, the opposite problem.
On the plus side, Rebecca Walsh of the Salt Lake Tribune looks good, sounds good, talks good. The BYU student picked to represent young people on the panel looks a bit ashamed. That's probably because her question was stolen word for word from the Rolling Stone interview with Kerry, and God help her if the honor committee find out she read that magazine.
I've been doing more flyers for the campaign. At some point, I'm going to fix those links so you folk can look at my work. After the election, it will be my chief qualification in job interviews. I'm also pretty much finalized the stipend the campaign will pay me. In a word (or two): not much.
But that's okay. I'm told that the first question asked in a campaign job interview is "have you ever received compensation for political work?" I can say yes, and hope that the second question asked in a campaign job interview isn't, "how much would said compensation get you at Starbucks?"
Bob Bennett is Utah's junior senator, second to Orrin Hatch in both seniority and evil. At one point in the debate, he reminded us that every single senator in the history of the state has served until they were either defeated or died; in one case, a senator was appointed to the Supreme Court. Bennett promised to retire voluntarily, which shows just how seriously he's taking his opponent this year, Paul Van Dam.
Paul Van Dam looks, physically, a bit like Sean Connery. Unfortunately, he looks like Sean Connery playing Don Quixote.
Bob Bennett has an amazing ability to sound interesting about things that are fundamentally boring; you forget what he's talking about even before he stops speaking, but you remember how passionate he sounded. Van Dam has, I'm afraid, the opposite problem.
On the plus side, Rebecca Walsh of the Salt Lake Tribune looks good, sounds good, talks good. The BYU student picked to represent young people on the panel looks a bit ashamed. That's probably because her question was stolen word for word from the Rolling Stone interview with Kerry, and God help her if the honor committee find out she read that magazine.
I've been doing more flyers for the campaign. At some point, I'm going to fix those links so you folk can look at my work. After the election, it will be my chief qualification in job interviews. I'm also pretty much finalized the stipend the campaign will pay me. In a word (or two): not much.
But that's okay. I'm told that the first question asked in a campaign job interview is "have you ever received compensation for political work?" I can say yes, and hope that the second question asked in a campaign job interview isn't, "how much would said compensation get you at Starbucks?"
W&I©
Well, maybe not. James Dobson, founder of Focus on Family, on gay marraige:
It will destroy marriage. It will destroy the Earth.
Sunday, October 24, 2004
1000 Words©
A Kerry supporter protests Dick Cheney's visit to Charleston, WV.
Sunday's Headlines©
Headlines courtesy of
Columbia Journalism Review
Saturday, October 23, 2004
The Trail©
While I was gone, Quilly wrote an excellent piece dissecting some of the more outrageous anti-Kerry smears. And because he's willing to police his own side, I should talk about some of the stupid things I've seen done by the left.
I spent the morning doing visibility at a very busy stretch of highway, and I witnessed dozens of Kerry supporters nearly get into traffic accidents. From now on, behind our 4' x 8' Kerry-Edwards sign, we're also going to have one that reads, "We appreciate your support; however, please leave at least one hand on the wheel at all times."
The double thumbs-up is a threat to the lives of Americans.
In other news, Ryan Lizza takes note of an AP/Ipsos Poll (subscriber only):
This seems to me to be good news for Kerry. While I think we can safely assume the Bored Voters (BVs) are definitely going to break for Bush, I don't see them being particularly energized this election. That's debatable, of course: you can argue that 9/11 will significantly boost turnout of BVs. I think that Iraq and the economy will act as a drag—not a drag on their support for Bush, but a drag on the likelihood of them simply turning up.
Meanwhile, the group giving Kerry the edge is likely voters. That is, the base. And Kerry's base is incredibly energized this year. In West Virginia, the Kerry volunteer corps substantially outnumber the Bush volunteers. And ours get better support. We've recently shipped some of our field staff to more competitive states, and we still have a much larger operation than the Bushies. (Not that you could tell from BC04's consumption of Bud Light)
To me, that looks like good news for John Kerry. In ten days, we'll know if I'm right.
I spent the morning doing visibility at a very busy stretch of highway, and I witnessed dozens of Kerry supporters nearly get into traffic accidents. From now on, behind our 4' x 8' Kerry-Edwards sign, we're also going to have one that reads, "We appreciate your support; however, please leave at least one hand on the wheel at all times."
The double thumbs-up is a threat to the lives of Americans.
In other news, Ryan Lizza takes note of an AP/Ipsos Poll (subscriber only):
Likely voters...narrowly favor Kerry-Edwards (49%) over Bush-Cheney (46%). If we look at all registered voters, the race is a draw (47% Kerry, 46% Bush).Interesting stuff. If you're a poll geek like me, anyway.
In the gap between registered voters and likely voters, there is a group of people who voted in 2000 and are very likely to vote this year, but do not have a great deal of interest in following news about the campaign. Because of their lack of interest in campaign news, they are excluded from the likely voter group. However, they are actually more likely to have voted in 2000 than likely voters overall.
These bored voters support Bush (50%) over Kerry (40%). They approve of the job Bush is doing as President (57%), but are generally divided on his performance on specific issues. Demographically they tend to resemble likely voters, although they are somewhat more often evangelical or born-again Christians.
This seems to me to be good news for Kerry. While I think we can safely assume the Bored Voters (BVs) are definitely going to break for Bush, I don't see them being particularly energized this election. That's debatable, of course: you can argue that 9/11 will significantly boost turnout of BVs. I think that Iraq and the economy will act as a drag—not a drag on their support for Bush, but a drag on the likelihood of them simply turning up.
Meanwhile, the group giving Kerry the edge is likely voters. That is, the base. And Kerry's base is incredibly energized this year. In West Virginia, the Kerry volunteer corps substantially outnumber the Bush volunteers. And ours get better support. We've recently shipped some of our field staff to more competitive states, and we still have a much larger operation than the Bushies. (Not that you could tell from BC04's consumption of Bud Light)
To me, that looks like good news for John Kerry. In ten days, we'll know if I'm right.
W&I©
"If people would just get off their lazy asses and vote, we'd win the election!"
Anonymous
Friday, October 22, 2004
Well, All Right Then
I go camping for four days and civilization collapses.
Monday, October 18, 2004
Kakistocracy©
The Chicago Sun-Times reports:
U.S. Senate candidate Alan Keyes told a rally Saturday that incest was "inevitable" for children raised by gay couples.See y'all on Friday.
The Trail©
CNN has an absolute shocker of a headline today:
No posting for the rest of the week. I'm going to a ropes-course style leadership training thingy with student government: roughing it in the middle of Pennsylvania. Woo. Actually, I'd be really looking forward to it if it weren't time two weeks before the election.
Keep an eye out for stories about a Kerry supporter who got arrested at Dick Cheney's apperance in Charleston today. I don't have any links because it only happened about an hour ago, but we've got AP and local reporters there already. We'll see if cable picks up on it.
I'd like to leave you for the next few days with some pictures of the protest today. But my FTP proxy is down, so we don't get that. Instead, some of the transcript for Jon Stewart's apperance on Crossfire (I've taken out [laughter] about two dozen times):
Presidential Race Still Tight
How 'bout that?No posting for the rest of the week. I'm going to a ropes-course style leadership training thingy with student government: roughing it in the middle of Pennsylvania. Woo. Actually, I'd be really looking forward to it if it weren't time two weeks before the election.
Keep an eye out for stories about a Kerry supporter who got arrested at Dick Cheney's apperance in Charleston today. I don't have any links because it only happened about an hour ago, but we've got AP and local reporters there already. We'll see if cable picks up on it.
I'd like to leave you for the next few days with some pictures of the protest today. But my FTP proxy is down, so we don't get that. Instead, some of the transcript for Jon Stewart's apperance on Crossfire (I've taken out [laughter] about two dozen times):
CARLSON: Is John Kerry -- is John Kerry really the best?
STEWART: Is he the best? I thought Lincoln was good.
CARLSON: Is he the best the Democrats can do, this year, of the whole field?
STEWART: In a democracy -- and, again, I don't know -- I've only lived in this country -- that there's a process. They call them primaries.
CARLSON: Right. But of the nine guys running, who do you think was best. Do you think he was the best, the most impressive?
STEWART: I thought Al Sharpton was very impressive. ... I think, oftentimes, the person that knows they can't win is allowed to speak the most freely, because, otherwise, shows with titles, such as CROSSFIRE -- or "HARDBALL" or "I'm Going to Kick Your Ass" -- Will jump on it.
In many ways, it's funny. And I made a special effort to come on the show today, because I have privately, amongst my friends and also in occasional newspapers and television shows, mentioned this show as being bad.
BEGALA: We have noticed.
STEWART: And I wanted to -- I felt that that wasn't fair and I should come here and tell you that I don't -- it's not so much that it's bad, as it's hurting America.
CARLSON: But in its defense...
(CROSSTALK)
STEWART: So I wanted to come here today and say...
(CROSSTALK)
STEWART: Here's just what I wanted to tell you guys.
CARLSON: Yes.
STEWART: Stop.
Stop, stop, stop, stop hurting America.
And come work for us, because we, as the people...
CARLSON: How do you pay?
STEWART: The people? Not well.
BEGALA: Better than CNN, I'm sure.
STEWART: But you can sleep at night.
See, the thing is, we need your help. Right now, you're helping the politicians and the corporations. And we're left out there to mow our lawns.
BEGALA: By beating up on them? You just said we're too rough on them when they make mistakes.
STEWART: No, no, no, you're not too rough on them. You're part of their strategies. You are partisan, what do you call it, hacks.
CARLSON: Wait, Jon, let me tell you something valuable that I think we do that I'd like to see you...
STEWART: Something valuable?
CARLSON: Yes. And I'll tell you. When politicians come on...
STEWART: Yes.
CARLSON: It's nice to get them to try and answer the question. And in order to do that, we try and ask them pointed questions. I want to contrast our questions with some questions you asked John Kerry recently.
STEWART: If you want to compare your show to a comedy show, you're more than welcome to.
CARLSON: No, no, no, here's the point.
STEWART: I wouldn't aim for us. I'd aim for "Seinfeld." That's a very good show.
CARLSON: Didn't you feel like -- you got the chance to interview the guy. Why not ask him a real question, instead of just suck up to him?
STEWART: Yes. "How are you holding up?" is a real suck-up. And I actually giving him a hot stone massage as we were doing it.
CARLSON: I felt the sparks between you.
STEWART: I didn't realize that -- and maybe this explains quite a bit.
The news organizations look to Comedy Central for their cues on integrity.
CARLSON: Jon, Jon, Jon, I'm sorry. I think you're a good comedian. I think your lectures are boring.
STEWART: Yes.
CARLSON: Let me ask you a question on the news.
STEWART: Now, this is theater. It's obvious. How old are you?
CARLSON: Thirty-five.
STEWART: And you wear a bow tie.
CARLSON: Yes, I do. I do.
STEWART: Now, listen, I'm not suggesting that you're not a smart guy, because those are not easy to tie.
CARLSON: They're difficult.
STEWART: But the thing is that this -- you're doing theater, when you should be doing debate, which would be great.
BEGALA: We do, do...
STEWART: It's not honest. What you do is not honest. What you do is partisan hackery. And I will tell you why I know it.
CARLSON: You had John Kerry on your show and you sniff his throne and you're accusing us of partisan hackery?
STEWART: Absolutely.
CARLSON: You've got to be kidding me. He comes on and you...
STEWART: You're on CNN. The show that leads into me is puppets making crank phone calls.
CARLSON: Well, I'm just saying, there's no reason for you -- when you have this marvelous opportunity not to be the guy's butt boy, to go ahead and be his butt boy. Come on. It's embarrassing.
STEWART: I was absolutely his butt boy. I was so far -- you would not believe what he ate two weeks ago.
You know, the interesting thing I have is, you have a responsibility to the public discourse, and you fail miserably.
CARLSON: You need to get a job at a journalism school, I think.
STEWART: You need to go to one.
The thing that I want to say is, when you have people on for just knee-jerk, reactionary talk...
CARLSON: Wait. I thought you were going to be funny. Come on. Be funny.
STEWART: No. No. I'm not going to be your monkey.
CARLSON: Is this really Jon Stewart? What is this, anyway?
STEWART: Yes, it's someone who watches your show and cannot take it anymore.
CARLSON: What's it like to have dinner with you? It must be excruciating. Do you like lecture people like this or do you come over to their house and sit and lecture them; they're not doing the right thing, that they're missing their opportunities, evading their responsibilities?
STEWART: If I think they are.
CARLSON: I wouldn't want to eat with you, man. That's horrible.
STEWART: I know. And you won't. But the thing I want to get to...
BEGALA: We did promise naked pictures of the Supreme Court justices.
CARLSON: Yes, we did. Let's get to those.
BEGALA: They're in this book, which is a very funny book.
STEWART: Why can't we just talk -- please, I beg of you guys, please.
CARLSON: I think you watch too much CROSSFIRE.
We're going to take a quick break.
STEWART: No, no, no, please.
CARLSON: No, no, hold on. We've got commercials.
(CROSSTALK)
STEWART: Please. Please stop.
CARLSON: I do think you're more fun on your show. Just my opinion.
CARLSON: OK, up next, Jon Stewart goes one on one with his fans...
STEWART: You know what's interesting, though? You're as big a dick on your show as you are on any show.
CARLSON: Next, Jon Stewart in the "Rapid Fire."
CARLSON: Hopefully, he'll be here, we hope, we think.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
Saturday, October 16, 2004
The Trail©
The latest projections show Bush and Kerry tied in Florida. Those are probably the numbers senior brass ere looking at when they make the final resource allocation policy, which is happening as I type. If I find out that WV staffers are being shuffled to Florida—a distinct possibility—I will be monumentally pissed. Sure, twenty-seven electoral votes is tempting, but Florida is not in play. Period.
Logic: Anyone who thinks political power in Florida can be obtained without massive corruption and the occasional pay-off to coke smugglers hasn't seen Scarface. The positions of power in Florida are all held by Bush partisans. Therefore, Florida is not in play.
Meanwhile, TNR's Ryan Lizza carefully explains that the key to a Kerry victory is, in short, punchy form, "Ohio plus seven." The list of states where KE-04's money should be going is short, and—Ohio excluded—none of them have more than ten electoral votes. New Hampshire, New Jersey, Maine, West Virginia, Nevada, New Mexico. Maybe Colorado.
But this all revolves around winning Ohio. See, the swing states break down like this: Ohio and Pennsylvania have 20 and 21 votes, respectively. Florida has 27. Assuming Bush takes Florida (for the reasons above) and Kerry takes Pennsylvania (low turn out in the backwoods, and Pittsburgh likes Teresa) that leaves Ohio.
So resources need to be going toward Ohio, because if Bush takes Ohio--well, then I go join the peace corps for a few years and skip out on whatever crap is coming down the chute. Anyway, everything I just said is bullshit. There's too much money coming in from the 527's and 501(c)'s, plus all the new registration. Confident predictions about the course of the election are nothing but masturbatory attempts to delude ourselves into thinking we have a handle on a deeply uncertain election.
From me, that results in nothing but a post of less-than-usual quality. When the senior staff of both campaigns try it—well, anything could happen.
Logic: Anyone who thinks political power in Florida can be obtained without massive corruption and the occasional pay-off to coke smugglers hasn't seen Scarface. The positions of power in Florida are all held by Bush partisans. Therefore, Florida is not in play.
Meanwhile, TNR's Ryan Lizza carefully explains that the key to a Kerry victory is, in short, punchy form, "Ohio plus seven." The list of states where KE-04's money should be going is short, and—Ohio excluded—none of them have more than ten electoral votes. New Hampshire, New Jersey, Maine, West Virginia, Nevada, New Mexico. Maybe Colorado.
But this all revolves around winning Ohio. See, the swing states break down like this: Ohio and Pennsylvania have 20 and 21 votes, respectively. Florida has 27. Assuming Bush takes Florida (for the reasons above) and Kerry takes Pennsylvania (low turn out in the backwoods, and Pittsburgh likes Teresa) that leaves Ohio.
So resources need to be going toward Ohio, because if Bush takes Ohio--well, then I go join the peace corps for a few years and skip out on whatever crap is coming down the chute. Anyway, everything I just said is bullshit. There's too much money coming in from the 527's and 501(c)'s, plus all the new registration. Confident predictions about the course of the election are nothing but masturbatory attempts to delude ourselves into thinking we have a handle on a deeply uncertain election.
From me, that results in nothing but a post of less-than-usual quality. When the senior staff of both campaigns try it—well, anything could happen.
Friday, October 15, 2004
Media Hero
Jon Stewart, host of The Daily Show on Comedy Central, has just appeared on CNN's Crossfire. And, according to unnamed sources in the Kerry campaign, "He has become the king of media."
CNN has not released the official transcript. When they do, I will post it. But for now, here is my own transcript. Verbatim, to the best of my recollection:
CNN has not released the official transcript. When they do, I will post it. But for now, here is my own transcript. Verbatim, to the best of my recollection:
JON STEWART: You're how old?
TUCKER CARLSON: Thirty-five.
STEWART: And you still wear a bow-tie?
CARLSON: Hey!
STEWART: I'm not saying you're stupid, because those things are hard to tie....
CARLSON: Don't you have a responsibility to ask tough questions?
STEWART: The show that leads in to me is puppets making crank phone calls!...
STEWART: I'm just saying, both of you are political, y'know, hacks....
STEWART: You're hurting America.
TUCKER CARLSON & PAUL BEGALA: ...
STEWART: Please stop.
Thursday, October 14, 2004
1000 Words©
Here is the Charleston, West Virginia Bush-Cheney Headquarters. Notice the shipment of something like twenty cases of Bud Light.
This is a failing of style, not substance. Which means that at Kerry-Edwards Victory '04, we have the tact to sneak beer in through the back alley.
This is a failing of style, not substance. Which means that at Kerry-Edwards Victory '04, we have the tact to sneak beer in through the back alley.
Wednesday, October 13, 2004
Debate Reaction
I've sort of been avoiding doing immediate reaction to the debate posts. Why? Because Peter David, Wonkette, and espeically Mr. Sun do it much better than I do.
Both candidates have easy, go-to factual mistakes today. Fortunately, Bush's play worse on TV. Kerry accused Bush of not meeting with the Black Cacus, Bush did. Bush denied not worrying about Osama. CNN is showing video of Bush not worrying about Osama.
Kerry solidfies the base with the words "women," "black," "hispanic," and "women." And did I mention "women"? Bush soldifies the base with that stuff about "litmus test" and "culture of life." The gun nuts are a draw; I thought Kerry seemed credible when he said, "I was hunting and came across some drug dealers with an AK-47, and so I shot them with my manly shotgun." Because John Kerry is manly, and has a massive plan.
Both candidates have easy, go-to factual mistakes today. Fortunately, Bush's play worse on TV. Kerry accused Bush of not meeting with the Black Cacus, Bush did. Bush denied not worrying about Osama. CNN is showing video of Bush not worrying about Osama.
Kerry solidfies the base with the words "women," "black," "hispanic," and "women." And did I mention "women"? Bush soldifies the base with that stuff about "litmus test" and "culture of life." The gun nuts are a draw; I thought Kerry seemed credible when he said, "I was hunting and came across some drug dealers with an AK-47, and so I shot them with my manly shotgun." Because John Kerry is manly, and has a massive plan.
Thinking Back
Well, we're gearing up for the final debate. My father is watching from a democratic fundraiser at a Salt Lake City beer & movies place called Brewvies Cinema Pub. One of my regrets is that I left Utah without ever seeing anything there.
Meanwhile, I can only assume my sister is watching it, too, from San Fransisco. She ran her cell phone through the washing machine last week and has so been out of phone contact.
Speaking of phone contact, I got a call today from Sam Hanson, a friend of mine in Salt Lake. Feeling a bit nostalgic for the people I left behind (just a few of my close friends, mine you; Utah still sucks) and so I went through some old photographs. Here's one of the first good photo's I took with my phone, of one of my favorite subjects, who is now assumed to be somewhere in the San Fransisco area.
Meanwhile, I can only assume my sister is watching it, too, from San Fransisco. She ran her cell phone through the washing machine last week and has so been out of phone contact.
Speaking of phone contact, I got a call today from Sam Hanson, a friend of mine in Salt Lake. Feeling a bit nostalgic for the people I left behind (just a few of my close friends, mine you; Utah still sucks) and so I went through some old photographs. Here's one of the first good photo's I took with my phone, of one of my favorite subjects, who is now assumed to be somewhere in the San Fransisco area.
Tuesday, October 12, 2004
1000 Words©
The Award Goes To...
Andrew Sullivan's Understatement of the Year:
It's not an advantage that we have managed to make this country despised in so many places.
Monday, October 11, 2004
The Trail©
Morning for the campaign workers, and the inevitable walk down to Taylor's Books for morning coffee. Myself, Lida and Jaya are talking about upcoming projects, and the day's "huh?" moment—Ralph Nader is polling at 10% in Alaska. (New poll is 5%, but still.)
On our way out we pass a couple of higher-ups doing their run, with a woman I'm sure I recognize from ... somewhere. Did I see her at the dinner where Albright spoke? Or maybe I know her from Job Corps, student government. No, it's Vanessa Kerry.
The Bush twins and Chelsea Clinton occupy that same space in the American collective consciousness as supporting characters on mildy successful sitcoms and serial killers. We've seen their faces, we recognize them in a crowd, we know them from ... somewhere. Did we go to high school with them?
Vanessa Kerry spoke at a small rally later. I held a large sign—four foot by eight—and wandered the periphery. A half-dozen Bush supporters were doing the same, trying to get on camera; I was diligently using my sign to block them from view.
On our way out we pass a couple of higher-ups doing their run, with a woman I'm sure I recognize from ... somewhere. Did I see her at the dinner where Albright spoke? Or maybe I know her from Job Corps, student government. No, it's Vanessa Kerry.
The Bush twins and Chelsea Clinton occupy that same space in the American collective consciousness as supporting characters on mildy successful sitcoms and serial killers. We've seen their faces, we recognize them in a crowd, we know them from ... somewhere. Did we go to high school with them?
Vanessa Kerry spoke at a small rally later. I held a large sign—four foot by eight—and wandered the periphery. A half-dozen Bush supporters were doing the same, trying to get on camera; I was diligently using my sign to block them from view.
Vanessa Kerry, late for her flight and pretending to listen.
Today's polls show a Kerry win, 280 electoral votes to 254. But that depends on calling Pennsylvania, Ohio, Minnesota, Wisconsin and Nevada for Kerry; all these states poll within the margin of error. Maine, too, and they have this odd system where they split the electoral votes by congressional district.
Long story short: there are no undecideds in this election. It's a get-out-the-vote game, and the Kerry campaign needs to be concentrating on turning out Philly, Pittsburgh, the twin cities and places in Ohio that start with a "C".
Overall, though, the news is good. Andrew Sullivan:
The longer perspective shows you where this race has been heading. CNN/Gallup shows that Bush-Cheney have lost six points since this time a month ago. Kerry-Edwards have gained nine points. That's a huge shift. So Zogby now shows a dead heat with Kerry nominally ahead by three points. WAPO shows a Bush lead - but only back to where he was a week ago and all within the margin of error. Bottom line: the race is dead-even. A month ago, it wasn't close. And the undecideds are leaning Kerry. Of course this is exactly the kind of moment that Kerry, like the Cubs, tends to screw up. And it's also a scenario in which Rove unloads his dirt-bomb. Uh-oh.He's not very cheerful, Andrew; but anyone expecting anything good from Karl Rove needs to self-medicate. Speaking of self-medicating, check out Bob the Ball.
Sunday, October 10, 2004
Jeff-Jack
I went to the West Virginia Democratic Party's yearly big-wig fundraiser yesterday. It's called the Jefferson Jackson dinner, and I got to wear a suit. Things where I wear a suit are good things, more often than not.
Senator Rockefeller and Senator Byrd were tied up in D.C. for the annual end-of-session screw fest, where the majority party (whichever it may be) attempts to screw the minority party out of all the good committee assignments. I wouldn't be surprised if Jay Rockefeller was spending quite a bit of time filibustering. His video greeting had that "talking just to be talking" monotone perfected by Strom Thurmond for his 24 hour, 18 minute filibuster of the Civil Rights Act of 1957.
My first glimpse the legendary Robert C. Byrd was in a similar taped message. Byrd is of mythic proportion in West Virginia. The longest-serving Senator, he is revered by Democratic party and partisans. As chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee, he keeps The Mountain State in the front of the line for pork spending. These projects are one of the only reasons this state hasn't gone completely under as coal mining and manufacturing collapse.
I am naturally suspicious of politicians regarded as institutions. After all, I grew up in the home state of Orrin Hatch. Sure enough, a search at The Wikipedia reveals a couple of blots on Byrds record that no one here really wants to discuss: he was briefly a member of the Klan and had a cameo role in the crapfest that was Gods & Generals.
He's hardly Zell Miller. Byrd's Dixiecrat origins are rooted more in The New Deal than Jim Crow. His pork projects for West Virginia are mostly medical and educational, and desperately needed in a state with as many problems as this one. Certainly John Maynard Keynes would approve. Not having to worry about re-election, Byrd doesn't hesitate to confront Bush's blunders. His latest book is Losing America: Confronting a Reckless and Arrogant Presidency. His film & television credits, other than Gods & Generals, are mostly anti-Bush documentaries.
Conclusions about the institution? None: halfway through his video, I noticed Madeleine Albright was sitting at the next table and stopped paying attention.
Secretary Albright is very short and had to stand on a box to give her speech:
The speech was incredible. I loved it, and will hopefully find a copy somewhere to post. Also, I was at the very front table, less than twenty feet from the most powerful woman in the history of U.S. Government. (Until Sandra Day O'Connor becomes Chief Justice, anyway.)
Also got a picture with Governor Bob Wise. From the video tribute to him (the video projectors got quite a workout) his greatest accomplishment as governor seems to be standing in a flooded field while news cameras look on. Nice guy, looked a bit like one of my uncles. (The 'stach is probably the only thing between him and national office.)
Senator Rockefeller and Senator Byrd were tied up in D.C. for the annual end-of-session screw fest, where the majority party (whichever it may be) attempts to screw the minority party out of all the good committee assignments. I wouldn't be surprised if Jay Rockefeller was spending quite a bit of time filibustering. His video greeting had that "talking just to be talking" monotone perfected by Strom Thurmond for his 24 hour, 18 minute filibuster of the Civil Rights Act of 1957.
My first glimpse the legendary Robert C. Byrd was in a similar taped message. Byrd is of mythic proportion in West Virginia. The longest-serving Senator, he is revered by Democratic party and partisans. As chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee, he keeps The Mountain State in the front of the line for pork spending. These projects are one of the only reasons this state hasn't gone completely under as coal mining and manufacturing collapse.
I am naturally suspicious of politicians regarded as institutions. After all, I grew up in the home state of Orrin Hatch. Sure enough, a search at The Wikipedia reveals a couple of blots on Byrds record that no one here really wants to discuss: he was briefly a member of the Klan and had a cameo role in the crapfest that was Gods & Generals.
He's hardly Zell Miller. Byrd's Dixiecrat origins are rooted more in The New Deal than Jim Crow. His pork projects for West Virginia are mostly medical and educational, and desperately needed in a state with as many problems as this one. Certainly John Maynard Keynes would approve. Not having to worry about re-election, Byrd doesn't hesitate to confront Bush's blunders. His latest book is Losing America: Confronting a Reckless and Arrogant Presidency. His film & television credits, other than Gods & Generals, are mostly anti-Bush documentaries.
Conclusions about the institution? None: halfway through his video, I noticed Madeleine Albright was sitting at the next table and stopped paying attention.
Secretary Albright is very short and had to stand on a box to give her speech:
The speech was incredible. I loved it, and will hopefully find a copy somewhere to post. Also, I was at the very front table, less than twenty feet from the most powerful woman in the history of U.S. Government. (Until Sandra Day O'Connor becomes Chief Justice, anyway.)
Also got a picture with Governor Bob Wise. From the video tribute to him (the video projectors got quite a workout) his greatest accomplishment as governor seems to be standing in a flooded field while news cameras look on. Nice guy, looked a bit like one of my uncles. (The 'stach is probably the only thing between him and national office.)
Saturday, October 09, 2004
Kakistocracy©
Good stuff from the transcript, courtesy of FOXNews.
Okay, only twice. Once for Bush and once for Kerry. The Kerry (sic) is, oddly enough, correctly spelled:
Moving on...
Then this:
Okay, all kidding aside, the entire point of the evening happened here:
Bullshit.
A person who is unwilling to admit having made mistakes lacks the maturity to be trusted with any adult responsibility. Period.
BUSH:I hear there's rumors on the Internets (sic)...I went looking for that one, 'cause I thought Al Gore only invented one of them. But now I wonder how many times (sic) appears in the official transcript...
Okay, only twice. Once for Bush and once for Kerry. The Kerry (sic) is, oddly enough, correctly spelled:
KERRY:Is [tort reform] a problem? Yes, it's a problem. Do we need to fix it, particularly for OGBYNs (sic) and for brain surgeons and others? Yes.The error there appears to be that Kerry failed to pronounce the hyphen correctly. Dash it.
Moving on...
BUSH: I'm not telling.Why do they keep putting (LAUGHTER) in there? I was watching it, and putting (LAUGHTER) in the transcript creates the false impression that people were, y'know, laughing.
(LAUGHTER)
I really don't have -- haven't picked anybody yet. Plus, I want them all voting for me.
(LAUGHTER)
Then this:
BUSH:Another example would be the Dred Scott case, which is where judges, years ago, said that the Constitution allowed slavery because of personal property rights.Hey, Bush is against slavery. That'll wrap up the black vote for him.
Okay, all kidding aside, the entire point of the evening happened here:
GRABEL: President Bush, during the last four years, you have made thousands of decisions that have affected millions of lives. Please give three instances in which you came to realize you had made a wrong decision, and what you did to correct it. Thank you.Now, I haven't mentioned Kerry's mediocrity because of a single answer Bush gave. No matter how singularly unimpressive Senator Kerry's performance, the President's answer sharply illustrates why he lacks the responsibility required in a president.
I have made a lot of decisions, and some of them little, like appointments to boards you never heard of, and some of them big.For those of you keeping score at home, the number of mistakes President Bush is willing to cop to is precisely zero. A joke about Paul O'Neil and the vague admission that "historians" may judge him as having made some mistakes.
And in a war, there's a lot ofthere's a lot of tactical decisions that historians will look back and say: He shouldn't have done that. He shouldn't have made that decision. And I'll take responsibility for them. I'm human.
But on the big questions, about whether or not we should have gone into Afghanistan, the big question about whether we should have removed somebody in Iraq, I'll stand by those decisions, because I think they're right.
That's really what you'rewhen they ask about the mistakes, that's what they're talking about. They're trying to say, Did you make a mistake going into Iraq? And the answer is, Absolutely not. It was the right decision.
The Duelfer report confirmed that decision today, because what Saddam Hussein was doing was trying to get rid of sanctions so he could reconstitute a weapons program. And the biggest threat facing America is terrorists with weapons of mass destruction.
We knew he hated us. We knew he'd beeninvaded other countries.
We knew he tortured his own people.
On the tax cut, it's a big decision. I did the right decision. Our recession was one of the shallowest in modern history.
Now, you asked what mistakes. I made some mistakes in appointing people, but I'm not going to name them. I don't want to hurt their feelings on national TV.
(LAUGHTER) [Not really.]
But history will look back, and I'm fully prepared to accept any mistakes that history judges to my administration, because the president makes the decisions, the president has to take the responsibility.
Bullshit.
A person who is unwilling to admit having made mistakes lacks the maturity to be trusted with any adult responsibility. Period.
Friday, October 08, 2004
The Trail©
At precisely 1:17 p.m. today, campaign workers at a dozen West Virginia offices gathered for a conference call with Senator Edwards. And by conference call, I mean we all got to sit quietly while Edwards gave a five-minute motivational speech. I was hoping we'd at least get the chance to introduce ourselves and I could say, "it is my goal to have hair half as shiny as yours, sir."
My boss, Lida, holding a large rock inscribed "Lida's Bushwhacker."
She found it sitting on her chair this afternoon and no one in the office has any idea where it came from. It's like sitting in the cafeteria eating lunch, reaching into your backpack and finding a foot-long zucchini without knowing where it came from. That is not a hypothetical.
Went to the gubernatorial debates yesterday night. On hand were Joe Manchin, the establishment candidate who will soon be elected governor by a powerful party machine that controls virtually all of West Virginia politics, and some guy who wasn't taken seriously because he said virtually all of West Virginia politics is controlled by a powerful party machine.
I've met Manchin a couple of times now. The most recent is below, at the Labor Day rally I worked. I posted an account of that earlier. Kerry arrived two hours early, freaking out everyone in the press advance unit, for whom I was volunteering. Yadda, yadda, yadda, I drove a car backwards through Kerry's motorcade, which was not something that the Secret Service approved of.
Anyhoodles, soon-to-be-Governor Manchin arrived on time, and so was able to give a rousing speech to the stragglers in the crowd and some volunteers who were cleaning up. He maintained his dignity because it's not like there's any chance he's gonna, y'know, lose.
And finally, I have become the go-to boy for flyers the last few days, making a half-dozen flyers for various events. I made the program for a dinner tomorrow where Madeleine Albright will give the keynote address; something that would be even cooler if I got to actually go to the dinner.
Check out some of my flyers here, here, here and here. And this one, which is really, really creepy: in the picture of Kerry, right above his left shoulder sits someone who looks exactly like a friend of mine named David Darais—except that David Darais is 16 and Mormon, and therefore unlike to be drinking beer in a bar in Madison, Wisconsin with a presidential candidate, especially a democrat.
My boss, Lida, holding a large rock inscribed "Lida's Bushwhacker."
She found it sitting on her chair this afternoon and no one in the office has any idea where it came from. It's like sitting in the cafeteria eating lunch, reaching into your backpack and finding a foot-long zucchini without knowing where it came from. That is not a hypothetical.
Went to the gubernatorial debates yesterday night. On hand were Joe Manchin, the establishment candidate who will soon be elected governor by a powerful party machine that controls virtually all of West Virginia politics, and some guy who wasn't taken seriously because he said virtually all of West Virginia politics is controlled by a powerful party machine.
I've met Manchin a couple of times now. The most recent is below, at the Labor Day rally I worked. I posted an account of that earlier. Kerry arrived two hours early, freaking out everyone in the press advance unit, for whom I was volunteering. Yadda, yadda, yadda, I drove a car backwards through Kerry's motorcade, which was not something that the Secret Service approved of.
Anyhoodles, soon-to-be-Governor Manchin arrived on time, and so was able to give a rousing speech to the stragglers in the crowd and some volunteers who were cleaning up. He maintained his dignity because it's not like there's any chance he's gonna, y'know, lose.
And finally, I have become the go-to boy for flyers the last few days, making a half-dozen flyers for various events. I made the program for a dinner tomorrow where Madeleine Albright will give the keynote address; something that would be even cooler if I got to actually go to the dinner.
Check out some of my flyers here, here, here and here. And this one, which is really, really creepy: in the picture of Kerry, right above his left shoulder sits someone who looks exactly like a friend of mine named David Darais—except that David Darais is 16 and Mormon, and therefore unlike to be drinking beer in a bar in Madison, Wisconsin with a presidential candidate, especially a democrat.
Thursday, October 07, 2004
The Democratic Process
Still reeling from the myriad polls showing Edwards winning the veep debate...
The only thoughtful analysis of the debate on the web is, as usual, found at the Fafblog:
That means that John Edwards has already fulfilled the duties of presiding officer of the senate just as often as Dick Cheney. Hillary Clinton has done so twice as often as either of them.
Mostly I've been depressed the last couple of days. Colorado Boy went home, and there's a big mass of buerocratic red-tape between me and the LPN program. Before I pull out my machete and enter the paperwork jungle, here's one more thing that has me depressed:
How can a chimpanzee depress me? You might well ask. Especially because I just found out I actually have a second reader. (Go, Ann!) Well, here's what's depressing. That chimpanzee is hacking a Diebold electronic voting machine.
A monkey can do it, folks. A bloody chimp. There's only one solution. The hackers of America must unite and throw every single electronic ballot in this country to pop music sensation Selena. Only when it is discovered that every single person in Florida voted for a woman who is not running for President, not well-known outside Latin-music circles and, in fact, dead, will the flaws in the technology be truly apparent.
The only thoughtful analysis of the debate on the web is, as usual, found at the Fafblog:
GIBLITS:I like the touchin story Cheney's tellin right now about the giant insurance company from the little swing state that got caught in a bear trap and woulda bled profits to death if it wasnt for real big tax cuts.At the very least, it's more credible than CBS. In any case, I wonder if Dick Cheney is capable of saying anything remotely true. We've all seen the video of him with John Edwards. Now, as for the claim that Dick Cheney is "in the Senate most tuesdays," Daily Kos has a list of the senators who have served as Acting President of the Senate during Cheney's prolonged absence. Cheney has been in the senate twice in the last four years. John Edwards has been acting president twice.
FAFNIR: I like John Edwards's persistent attempts to adopt Dick Cheney's gay daughter.
GIBLITS: There is a clear an obvious winner here Fafnir. An it is Gwen Ifill.
FAFNIR: I think you're right Giblets. She looks smart in that suit.
That means that John Edwards has already fulfilled the duties of presiding officer of the senate just as often as Dick Cheney. Hillary Clinton has done so twice as often as either of them.
Mostly I've been depressed the last couple of days. Colorado Boy went home, and there's a big mass of buerocratic red-tape between me and the LPN program. Before I pull out my machete and enter the paperwork jungle, here's one more thing that has me depressed:
How can a chimpanzee depress me? You might well ask. Especially because I just found out I actually have a second reader. (Go, Ann!) Well, here's what's depressing. That chimpanzee is hacking a Diebold electronic voting machine.
A monkey can do it, folks. A bloody chimp. There's only one solution. The hackers of America must unite and throw every single electronic ballot in this country to pop music sensation Selena. Only when it is discovered that every single person in Florida voted for a woman who is not running for President, not well-known outside Latin-music circles and, in fact, dead, will the flaws in the technology be truly apparent.
Tuesday, October 05, 2004
Kakistocracy©
In his current column, Dan Savage attempts to revive the forgotten word Kakistocracy, which is a secioty governed by it's worst citizens. As you can no doubt guess, he's taking a break from his usual kinky Ann Landers gig to digress on politics. The last time Savage did that was four years ago, when he predicted (presciently) Nader spoiling it for Gore.
So, I like kakistocracy and will henceforth use it as the title for any and all posts on those who attain power despite, or because of, monumental incompetence. I will use it only for the truly imbicilic, such as John Ashcroft, Ralph Nader and, of course, Zell Miller.
As my first offering, this commentary from National Review. Donald Luskin is responding to a letter responding to his review of a book by David Cay Johnston. (Hat tip: Brad, of course.)
So, I like kakistocracy and will henceforth use it as the title for any and all posts on those who attain power despite, or because of, monumental incompetence. I will use it only for the truly imbicilic, such as John Ashcroft, Ralph Nader and, of course, Zell Miller.
As my first offering, this commentary from National Review. Donald Luskin is responding to a letter responding to his review of a book by David Cay Johnston. (Hat tip: Brad, of course.)
There is no unique virtue to inflation-adjusting — except that it makes all changes in income look worse, which well serves the liberal agenda of the Times’s economic reporting during an election year.Right. Inflation does not affect what your wages are worth. What, economy in trouble? No problem, guys - just print more money!
Monday, October 04, 2004
Happy Birthday
I want to wish a happy birthday to my father, Guy Koretz.
A brand-new look for IC in celebration, too!
A brand-new look for IC in celebration, too!
W&I©
Foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds
Ralph Waldo Emmerson
Saturday, October 02, 2004
The Trail©
We've had a lot of walk-ins the last couple days, looking for yard signs or wanting to help out. In that respect, it seems the debate was a success. Whoot.
Meanwhile, they've been sending around figures to energize the volunteers. Two senators dropped in yesterday. First, Jay Rockefeller. My second time meeting him, and he is still most disturbingly tall. A couple of walk-ins came in the door and said, "can we get some yard signs?"
"This week's shipment of yard signs has run out, I'm afraid. But Senator Rockefeller is right over there and you should say hello, as long as your here."
The Senator, being tall with Tracy, one of our VP lawyers:
"VP" is short for Voter Protection. KE04 has lawyers in all the battleground states, going over lists of newly registered voters and other public records, looking for evidence of fraud. The Bush-Cheney campaign is no doubt doing the same, with no difference, except I doubt their lawyers are working pro bono.
Optimistically, I like to think that the two gaggles of lawyers (a gaggle of lawyers? a firm? a murder?) will cancel each other out, and the voice of the people will be heard.
The voice of the people showed up in the office around three in the afternoon, in the form of Senator Tom Harkin of Iowa. It was crowded, and we all formed a wide semi-circle around the doors to hear some impromptu speaking by one of our nations few true liberals. I had heard him speak in Iowa, when both of us were working for, ah, a different candidate. He is remarkably charismatic, and resonates with liberals in the way Paul Wellstone did, or T.P. Gore, many years ago, when he invented Oklahoma. I added his picture to my growing collection:
He is much smarter than Bush and Kerry put together, and would make a much better President. But he can never get elected: he is not very tall.
Meanwhile, they've been sending around figures to energize the volunteers. Two senators dropped in yesterday. First, Jay Rockefeller. My second time meeting him, and he is still most disturbingly tall. A couple of walk-ins came in the door and said, "can we get some yard signs?"
"This week's shipment of yard signs has run out, I'm afraid. But Senator Rockefeller is right over there and you should say hello, as long as your here."
The Senator, being tall with Tracy, one of our VP lawyers:
"VP" is short for Voter Protection. KE04 has lawyers in all the battleground states, going over lists of newly registered voters and other public records, looking for evidence of fraud. The Bush-Cheney campaign is no doubt doing the same, with no difference, except I doubt their lawyers are working pro bono.
Optimistically, I like to think that the two gaggles of lawyers (a gaggle of lawyers? a firm? a murder?) will cancel each other out, and the voice of the people will be heard.
The voice of the people showed up in the office around three in the afternoon, in the form of Senator Tom Harkin of Iowa. It was crowded, and we all formed a wide semi-circle around the doors to hear some impromptu speaking by one of our nations few true liberals. I had heard him speak in Iowa, when both of us were working for, ah, a different candidate. He is remarkably charismatic, and resonates with liberals in the way Paul Wellstone did, or T.P. Gore, many years ago, when he invented Oklahoma. I added his picture to my growing collection:
He is much smarter than Bush and Kerry put together, and would make a much better President. But he can never get elected: he is not very tall.
Friday, October 01, 2004
Why I Like Andrew
Whatever differences we have on, well, just about everything, Andrew Sullivan is still really good at getting to the heart of a situation. On the debates:
you don't want to be the president who is forced to say, "Of course I know Osama bin Laden attacked us."