Good job Joe..

[JohnRoberts]

I am no fan of our VP, but I need to give credit where credit is due and he spent his 4th of July in Iraq with US troops. He also met with the Iraq government and encouraged them to work harder to reduce sectarian differences.  This is a reversal from his old position that Iraq had irreconcilable differences and should be broken up into 3 territories. I am glad to see he is big enough to now give support to progress that was won by great expenditure of our blood and treasure.

There are still external forces that don't want to see the fledgling democracy succeed and become an shining example of what could be for other nations in the region. Evidence suggests that Iran is actively supporting the destabilizing sectarian attacks still going on in Iraq, but they aren't the only regional government with something to lose.

While it's a curious coincidence to see Iraqi citizens shooting off fireworks to celebrate their independence on July 1 as US troops pull out of the major cities, it is an improvement over firing AK-47s into the air. I really hope Iran gets too busy dealing with their own internal fissures to keep destabilizing the region.

JR

PS: In the spirit of openness and transparency it is interesting that Pelosi has delayed web publication of congressional office budgets. This time they are delayed until mid November just after the mid term elections.... curious timing, sounds like they have something to hide. Recent reports about congressional travel suggest some are abusing that.  As always don't listen to what politicians say, look at what they do. 

 

[SSLtech]

I haven't read more yet, but he also seems to have openly admitted to having 'misread' the economy.

While this is like announcing bad news, this administration at least seems to be at least open to the idea of such admissions... and that's a breath of fresh air.

Now let's all try and make things work again... (Joe may be a second-rate choice, but Sarah Palin scares the ever-loving crap out of me!)

Keith

 

[JohnRoberts]

I haven't read more yet, but he also seems to have openly admitted to having 'misread' the economy.

While this is like announcing bad news, this administration at least seems to be at least open to the idea of such admissions... and that's a breath of fresh air.

Now let's all try and make things work again... (Joe may be a second-rate choice, but Sarah Palin scares the ever-loving crap out of me!)

Keith

Biden has been personally tasked with over seeing the disbursement of the "stimulus" program. It hasn't worked because A) so little has been actually spent (perhaps 10%), and b) the projects weren't really stimulus, but old pet projects dusted off and thrown into the stew.

What scares me is that they are starting to talk about a second stimulus bill (now that's really scary). WE CAN"T SPEND OURSELVES TO PROSPERITY. It doesn't work for individuals, or countries. We need to stop spending like drunk sailors.

All of the recent government expansion will take tax dollars away from the business community where it could create wealth and jobs. The stock market is predictive of the future and up until now it has been predicting a recovery, but it is now focussed on how weak that future business environment will be compared to past recoveries where the business community was stronger after weeding out the dead wood. We have instead propped up the dead wood (GM, Chrysler, money center banks), and hurt small business in the process. The carbon tax or federal managed healthcare programs alone would be enough to slow economic growth, both are a double whammy. Getting a super majority in the senate is not good news for the health of the economy. Legislators are convinced that they always must do more, even when the best remedy is for them to do less.

-------

What is remotely scary about the "barracuda"? Drilling in ANWAR? My major complaint is that she comes across so poorly in sound bites. She seems too pretty to be smart, and she doesn't manage her vocal inflections to avoid sounding too cute to have any gravitas, especially when edited by unfriendly news organizations to sound foolish. It appears she is still getting bad advice or worse, none. Jindahl comes across as goofy, she like a betty boop cartoon character... not great images to work with.

The republicans keep self destructing, the only consolation is that the party in power is trashing the economy and people always vote their economic self interest. The bottom line is how will the economy look in 2010/12 and a lot of the original stimulus bill is designed to kick in later, so it should look better then than now (hopefully for all of us).

----

Interesting that Obama is meeting with Medvedev first and then Putin before he leaves... reminds me of a gangster movies where he has to kiss the godfather's ring before leaving. I wonder if he'll apologize for the cold war, and our pursuit of a defensive missile technology. How dare we try to defend Europe against Iran? I notice Obama didn't visit Honolulu for the 4th. Don't worry Korea couldn't reach that far with scuds, even with a tail wind.

JR

PS: I have a personal criticism of Biden visiting his son in Iraq. There may have been one or two crazies over there who didn't know he was in country before this visit, now he has a huge target on his back. I hope they rotate him stateside before something bad happens to him or those around him.

PPS: Another factor slowing down the stimulus spending is the buy American clause. I know one sound contractor trying to do an install job where he is tangled up trying to find American gear and getting variances for all the products he can't.

 

[SSLtech]

It appears she is still getting bad advice or worse, none.

From all I've understood, she was getting plenty of advice throughout the campaign, but apparently decided by herself that none of it was much good. -While what I've heard about her 'falling out with basically every advisor from the McCain team' may be exaggerated, the impression which I have is that she wants things done on HER terms, and isn't a team player. -The tale of her concession speech was perhaps the last example of the campaign. -The name 'barracuda' wasn't conjured up for the election... and it tells a lot.

Yet the real fear for me is that she doesn't give me any reassurance that she actually understand very much. I watched -appalled- as she skirted around every issue of substance, or steered by rote to already-hammered-out talking points during the debate, and damn-near unravelled during the few interviews which she dared give... -although I think that John Cleese makes the point as well as I ever could.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jMyNk8J1c8g

Really, I get NO impression that she is remotely competent, and every 'Sarah! 2012' supporter seems to defend her with a line of reasoning that being a working mother somehow makes her up to the job. It's the idea that a significant portion of the electorate can even think to readily identify this of itself as sufficient qualification for the job that REALLY scares me!

But yes, telegraphing the whereabouts of Biden's son is another example of a poorly-thought-out approach.

Keith

 

[JohnRoberts]

Well I'll never get that time back.. I thought John Cleese was pretty funny back when Monty Python was fresh and new (several years ago). I liked "a fish called Wanda" too.  I am mildly irritated by (foreign) actors or comedians critiquing our politics, but hell we put an actor into the white house, and at least one would be (ex SNL) comedian into the senate, so go for it. Lets see what he said.

Regarding his suggestion that Palin was "parroting" Cheney talking points, that is just nonsense (for any who miss the word play "the dead parrot in a pet shop" was a classic python sketch). I recall seeing Palin talk extemporaneously on TV in the context of energy policy well before she hit the national scene of presidential politics. She seemed well informed and very knowledgeable on that subject. She got elected to governor of Alaska as a reformer, not just a pretty face or partisan puppet. It is remarkable how many people make character judgments without a lick of research. She might have done better with better coaching, since her largest shortcoming IMO was the weak impression her sound bites made.

It is interesting that you criticize her as not being a team player. Her nickname comes from being a very successful point guard in HS basketball. I play basketball and in my experience you don't generally do well in team sports without being a team player. I don't know, or much care about the details of her problems with the McCain advisors, but they didn't do that well by McCain either. I suspect there may be some attempt to assign blame for the loss elsewhere. I still think this wasn't her time, while i don't blame her for accepting the offer. Perhaps as a sacrificial candidate in 2012 if the economy recovers. Just like McCain was too old to be elected, she was, and still is too young (too pretty?).

She needs some more miles on her before being a credible candidate, perhaps a term or two in the senate. I'm not sure why she is such a lightning rod for the left but but if that's her destiny perhaps she needs to learn how to return some of that heat, not play the victim. IMO she should have responded to Letterman in kind, not just taken the high road. (Letterman used to be funny too.)

JR

 

[SSLtech]

I know that it's written from an angle which never even pretends to be even-handed, but if one tenth of the vanity fair article is true, I can't possibly envisage her as suitable. What's interesting is that William Kristol -in addressing the story- takes greatest issue with two comparatively minor details. -One of which I found absurd and laughable, to the point that I sincerely doubt its accuracy (that of the 'narcissism syndrome') and the other a comparatively minor "he-said/she-said" issue. It's telling that he leaves what I consider to be the central points largely unchallenged.

I thought that John Cleese has been a dual citizen since the 1960's by the way... (He married an American girl -Connie Booth) which would make him an entitled voter. -I may be wrong though.

Keith

 

[JohnRoberts]

Sorry I couldn't force myself to read that.. I tried to skim through a few pages and didn't find much meat in there among the innuendo and heresay.. I don't know if people read that for entertainment or to be informed, I got neither.

I am glad so many people were cheered by the last election result that they must relive it over and over... but I wasn't posting about that... I was just trying to say something nice about Joe...

Now I am focussed on this slow motion economic train wreck, playing out before us. Of course maybe I'm wrong and there's no problem from expanding government spending and diverting productive capital from the private to the public sector. I'm hearing more hints about another stimulus bill..  Give me more drill sergeant!

On the subject of Vanity Fair style writing, I worry (only a little) about how it will be for this administration if/when the press moves past the puppy love phase and we get into more of a jilted lover phase. If they suspect they have been deceived this fawning press could turn vicious in a moment and that won't be pretty.  The press will take their cues from the public so I give them a few more months of hugs and kisses, but there are already some folks questioning the state of the union.

JR

PS: It looks like there are some divisions forming between the high ranking clerics in Iran over that recent sham election... I think the genie is out of that bottle for the old revolution and can't be put back in. But they won't give up power quietly... the Iranian citizens have no 2nd amendment, so bricks and youtube will have to do it for the new I-revolution.