La Moretta

What a great day

With great relief I'm stepping away from the navel-gazing to celebrate our new president. I'm so proud of our country -- we repudiated the despicable behavior of the last eight years, and even better, a lot of us are willing to believe that we can have faith in our politicians. This is the first time in my life that I have ever felt optimism when it comes to elected officials. It's a wonderful feeling.

Caroline Kennedy for Senate? Not this way.

The Washington Post's political columnist Ruth Marcus is the author of a disappointing piece on Caroline Kennedy's possible assumption of Hillary Clinton's senate seat. Marcus is torn, she writes, between her head, which thinks Caroline Kennedy shouldn't become senator from New York, and her heart, which thinks that it would be a fitting place for an American political princess.

Her reasons against Kennedy? It's "creepy" when kids go into the same fields as their parents. In addition, on the ideological level, political dynasties are anti-meritocratic, while practically, they haven't had good returns.

However, countering these arguments, Marcus cites such political luminaries as Jesse Ventura, Arnold, and Sonny Bono, who also skipped up to the top levels of politics without paying their dues. She also notes that Kennedy has impressive experience outside the political realm as a Constitutional scholar (Kennedy has written a book on the subject) and proponent of educational reform.

Finally, though, what appears to carry the day is the soap-opera nature of Kennedy's ascension:

There are any number of intriguing subplots at work here. Her uncle's illness, and the "dream will never die" emotion of having Caroline in place to carry on his work. The don't-mess-with-my-family payback dynamic of putting in for the job to shove aside Andrew Cuomo, her cousin Kerry's former husband

and, of course, the ideological significance behind the decision:

Then, deciding that Obama is the first candidate with the inspirational appeal of her father, she chooses to abandon her previous, above-it-all detachment from the hurly-burly of politics.

I think Caroline Kennedy would probably be a very good Senator, but I don't actually know too much about the woman besides the pedigree. What I do know is that if the parties were reversed, I would be disgusted at the idea of Doro Bush finishing someone's Senate term simply because she is from a multigenerational political family.

We are about to escape from what was the most overtly corrupt, unabashedly cronyistic administration in the last 50 years. The Democrats are now presented with the opportunity to show people how it is done the right way. No matter how nice it feels, and how special we all know she is, Caroline Kennedy hasn't earned the right to be the senator from New York, even as a fill-in. If she gets the position, it's a black mark against the Dems, and a big sign that we are still looking at politics as usual.

The Money River

"Go to where the rich and powerful are and learn their ways. They can be flattered or they can be scared. Please them enormously or scare them enormously, and one moonless night they will put their fingers to their lips, warning you not to make a sound. And they will lead you through the dark to the widest, deepest river of wealth ever known to man. You'll be shown your place on the riverbank, and handed a bucket all your own. Slurp as as much as you want, but try to keep the racket of your slurping down. A poor person might hear."

The quote above is from God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater by Kurt Vonnegut.

As the wrangling continues about the bailout package, the slurping continues to be deafening (at least to me). I hope the American public recognizes what it is hearing. 

Obama needs to take his speaking to the next level

No one is arguing that Barack Obama is a really strong orator. However, the near-universal consensus is that he lacks passion in these speeches, which keeps him from being a great speaker. I don't necessarily agree -- not all of the most memorable modern political speeches were genuinely passionate. However,  they were all fueled with 100 percent conviction in what was being said.  This sounds like splitting hairs, but in reality, conviction is an easier sell because it bypasses righteousness for authority, and doesn't make the listener feel cheap in the morning for being swept away by well-delivered rhetoric.

If you look at all but the most serious Reagan speeches, there was always a moment when he paused just for a few seconds longer than the tempo of his speech required and acknowledged his audience via an expression or small, slightly sly smile and a twinkle in his eye. I think the pause came because Reagan knew that the audience was now in the palm of his hand, and he fed off that approval. 

Obama has the same level of devoted support among his followers, and I think he needs to savor that feeling of connectedness with the audience and use it, rather than keeping some distance from it. If he can use that energy, he doesn't need to resort to oratory theatrics.

Scott McClellan is Not a Virgin

Scott McClellan's new book, which was highly critical of the Bush Administration, is appalling. He worked with George W. Bush in some capacity for 7 years -- how can he suddenly claim he didn't know what was going on?

Mr. McClellan, we all know this ain't your first time at the rodeo.

McCain, Maverick

I am increasingly worried that people actually buy the concept that McCain is some sort of freethinker.  I'm not denying that he has deviated from the party line in the past, but when it comes to worldview, he's a Republican, through and through. Let's harken back to a more innocent time -- 1998, and remember this gem.

http://www.salon.com/news/1998/06/25newsb.html

I hope this youthful indiscretion won't get brushed under the rug.