Where's my rookie?

Eric Holder.  That name started floating through the news today.  Apparently he has been offered the position of Attorney General by Barack Obama.  Holder was Deputy A.G. under the Clinton Administration, now getting a delayed promotion.  

Hillary Clinton.  She's the front-runner for Secretary of State, among many other things.  

Bill Richardson.  Appealing?  Yes.  But, another holdover from the Clinton administration.  

Rahm Emanuel.  I was pleased with this choice for Chief of Staff, but yet another Clintonite.  

Robert Gates may also stay on as Defense Secretary.  I may support that decision, but I also have misgivings.

 

Notice a trend with those names?  You should, because they're all VERY familiar.  After the election, Obama promised to not only bring pragmatism and bipartisanship but also youth.  He said he would bring in new faces to help usher in a new generation of ideas, however everyone we've heard about thus far has been quite familiar.  I like Obama's approach of playing it safe...most of the time.  Now, however, he's overcompensating by relying too much on the past.  We voted for Change, and now it's time to physically see it.

Still need to hope...

Last week was truly historic; there's no need to go on and on about its importance.  But, just because Obama won doesn't mean that the fight is over.  In fact, when taking all our foreign and domestic troubles into account, it has really just begun.  

There are many on the Left who would like to see Obama make very liberal appointments across the board in an effort to push back against these last eight years.  In an alternate reality, I can definitely jump on that bandwagon.  Hell, I'd be leading the charge.  But alas, we must be realistic about things.  Though I myself and very liberal (I consider the Democratic Party as a whole to be a bit too conservative, part of the reason I'm a registered Independent), I hope that President Obama governs from the center, and fills his cabinet with divergent viewpoints.

I believe that Centrist governance will help give way to a (slightly) progressive national agenda.  Assuming common ground can be found (and early polling indicates this is highly likely, assuming Obama stays in the middle of the field), it will be easier to pull the country over to the Left when it really counts.  People will not automatically refuse everything to come out of Obama's mouth if he comes to them on a regular basis.  Give and take.

There has been much discussion as to the location of this country on the political spectrum, and I believe that it's still a center-Right nation.  I mean, all you have to do is look at California's Proposition 8 and you'll get all the proof you need.  (A vote that makes me SICK every time I think about it, to say the very least.)  So, given that climate, a sudden joyride into the Left will crash and burn after two or three bills.  And, come 2010, there will be yet another Republican Revolution, followed by a stalled legislative process, and a country that is still going nowhere fast.  

You might be a redneck if...

...you publicly state that you can't trust Obama because "he's an Arab."  (And, also, if you forget to comb your hair before leaving your house to do so.)

Well, it finally happened.  This past Friday, after McPalin brought the presidential campaign to a new low, the connection between the Ayers implications, Obama's "exoticism," and his middle name was succinctly vocalized by one of McCain's supporters.  It's what Sen. McCain and his surrogates worked so hard for last week.  They wanted to question Obama's character and make him an "other" to scare the uninformed and prejudiced.  Disgusting?  Yes.  Surprising?  No.

What was somewhat surprising was McCain's reaction to, and denial of, the charge.  All that poking and prodding, only to step away once their goal was met.  However, I've been astonished to see so many journalists and pundits then turn to praise McCain for his refuting the statement.  "That is the John McCain I know," they all say.  It's as if they're all in The Truman Show, and falling off their barstools in reaction to Truman Burbank's father returning after his supposed death.  I just can't be so quick to praise him.

Call me cynical (most do!), but I'm convinced that this is exactly what John McCain wanted.  He wanted someone to make such an outrageous charge to his face, only so he could take the high ground, therefore distancing himself from the vulgar smears his campaign has been tossing around.  Suddenly he's above the fray, but it's too late.  The lie he tried to perpetuate - that Obama is somehow foreign, unpatriotic, a Muslim, or an Arab (by way of Africa/Hawai'i) - has already seeped into the mainstream, and will remain a fixture well beyond November 4.  Now John and his concubine can take a step back and wipe their hands clean, because the voters themselves will keep it going, while the Maverick returns (anyone see the new stump speech?) in an attempt to change Washington (after it changed him 26 years ago).

"Hold on to your butts..."

Remember Samuel Jackson's character in Jurassic Park uttering that familiar phrase just before started the tour-turned-dino buffet?  On the eve of the second presidential debate, it applies just as well.  Let's look at why:

Sarah Palin, fresh off the heels of her disastrous Charlie Gibson interviews, hoped to redeem herself via Katie Couric.  Unfortunately, Katie must have come equipped with a shovel, because Gov. Palin only dug herself deeper, night after night.  For the McCain campaign, the only good thing to come out of such continued embarrassment was the lowering of the country's, and media's, expectations for the lipsticked-hockey-mom-don'tcha-know-there-you-go-again-dog-gonnit vice presidential candidate, resulting in a mediocre (although oddly victorious) debate performance.  

Meanwhile, her boss - John "maverick-until-it's-time-to-get-elected" McCain - decided it was time to save the country's economy.  Great job, senator.  He suspended his campaign to fly back to Washington so he could talk with his colleagues via phone.  Oh, that was after his photo-op with Bush and Obama, of course.  And that work didn't go unnoticed.  Or did it?  After all, the proposed "bailout" (read: necessary action) failed its first go-round in the House.  Good thing Mr. McCain was there for all of us.  Although, I guess he did suggest what was arguably one of the dumbest ideas bandied about in this marathon campaign: the idea of holding a "listening tour" to get the average American's opinion on how to fix the economy.  Solid idea.  Many of our nation's leaders don't even understand the problem, but placing an idea box down at the local Wal-Mart will make everything just right.  

All the while, Sen. Obama has been gaining ground both nationally and in many battleground states.  (McCain has even pulled out of my home state of Michigan, where the economic troubles are seen in 3-D.)  What's become clear is that McCain cannot win on the issues.  So, in a last-ditch effort to win the White House, his campaign has announced over the weekend a change in tactics (or would that be strategy?).  All he has left is to attack Obama's character, make him look like "not one of us."  The only way for McCain to have a prayer is to talk about anything but the issues.  Let's just hope that as citizens of a nation engaged in two ground wars and a major economic crisis we won't be strayed by silly, irrelevant distractions.  To be cliché, this time we really must hope for change.

Far above my pay grade...

Much like Obama and conception, Wall Street has been escaping me.  I have spent the last week trying to wrap my brain around the current financial crisis and the subsequent bailout talks.  No matter how much I read, watch, or listen, I still come up short.  Far short.  In fact, I'll admit now that I have a minimal understanding of what's going on.

The thing is, I know I am not the only one who feels this way.  I'll even go further and say that it's simply not "lay people" like me who are confused, but most (if not all) people who aren't executives or economic theorists/scholars truly grasp the situation.  This larger group includes most of our politicians and pundits.  Yet, our employees in Washington seemed to act otherwise during today's hearings.  Why?  Because that's what happens...

Yes, I will admit that their anger was (and still is) justified, and they even had good intentions.  Yet, the fact remains that most of us just don't understand what's going on.  And that is where it gets tricky.  What I do know is that if this issue does not get addressed now, things will get much worse.  Fast.  As "King Henry" (Paulson) has been saying since Sunday, the risk of following through with the bailout pales in comparison to do nothing at all.  I'll buy that.

Yes, there must be oversight (a first for Bush's presidency - better late than never, I suppose).  "Main Street" must be taken into account.  Executives mustn't be allowed to reap the rewards.  Regulation is a must.  (Chris Matthews put it nicely the other day, saying that Friday was the first day of the regulatory era.)  I definitely agree with these points.  But, the Democrat leadership in Congress better not hold this up for too long just to make a point.  Because, as it's been shown over the last few days, they're not as well-versed on the matter as they'd like to appear.  It's unfortunate that so few have a thorough knowledge, but now may not be a time for amateurs.  And, as for Obama and McCain, they need to be Senators right now.  Their "plans" are irrelevant, as one of them will be elected long after this gets put into place.  (Obama, by the way, better NOT vote "present.")

What is fishy is the capability of the government to come up with $700 billion in the blink of an eye when for years it has been unable to address health care, education, and infrastructure.  Hm.  And, of course, there is the now-unfolding FBI investigation of the firms in question.  Earlier this evening, John Fund (conservative, yes, but often worth listening to) informed Anderson Cooper of Fannie and Freddie's suspect business practices, as well as his certainty of eventual prison terms.  Nice.

Hopefully next time I can write on something more familiar.  Or at least not so dire.  

Prelude.

Hello there.  Welcome to our place - come on in.  I'm Mike, one of your two hosts.  The other, Michael, you'll meet soon.  I hope you like what we've done with the place so far.  (Thank heavens for all those foreclosures, or we never would have been able to afford it!)  Keep in mind, though, we're still unpacking...

We've carved this little cyber-space out for ourselves to offer what we hope to be substantive commentary on, and, if we're lucky, insight into, the current political scene.  Despite our title's reference, we promise to refrain from getting caught up in non-issues and instead stick to substance.  While this blog will be mostly political in nature, don't be surprised if we go off on the occasional cultural or social rant.  A one-track mind, after all, can be dangerous.  Just ask W.  Or, rather, just look at him.  (If you ask him something he might get confused...)

As you've already gathered, we're both liberal and named Michael.  However, we are two different people and as a result will be writing independently (for the most part).  We anticipate that this blog will offer more than "straight ticket" analysis.  Blind acceptance is unhealthy, and the two of us do our best to avoid that.  Along with that, we may disagree on occasion, but I promise we'll stay friends and continue to post.  

So, keep checking back with us, as we'll be posting a few times each week.  Your comments, whether in agreement or disagreement, are always welcome.  We look forward to sharing our thoughts with you, as well as getting your feedback.    

See you at the first official entry!