The 700 Billion Dollar Tube of Lipstick

Dick Morris (of all people) had me convinced last night for about an hour that John McCain's latest strategy is a masterstroke. Think about it: McCain suspends his campaign, rises above politics, returns to DC, works the phones and cracks some Republican heads about the need to accept limits on CEO compensation and an equity share for taxpayers. When the new, improved bailout package passes Friday morning, McCain gets to pose as the master dealmaker, the nonpartisan compromiser, the maverick who opposed his party's president to defend the common people. Every Republican (and Joe Lieberman) who steps up to the microphone will praise McCain for his "leadership." Meanwhile Obama twiddles his thumbs and gets ready to do what he does - talk. Then McCain shows up in Oxford on Friday night, looking (understandably) a little tired, with his sleeves still rolled up and his tie askew, because he's been doing the public's business.

Then my head cleared and the Morris-induced fog dissipated. What's wrong with this scenario? Even if some of the positive changes to the package get passed, taxpayers - voters - will still hate this insanely expensive bill (which might not work) and still blame Washington (and especially the Bush administration) for letting the collapse happen in the first place. McCain will look like he tried to use the crisis for political gain, and the Democrats can say that all he did was convince grudging Republicans to sign on to a Democrat-crafted bargain. And Obama scores points for multitasking.

What's the phrase I'm looking for - something about cosmetics and swine?

New Miss?

The first presidential debate will be held at the campus of the University of Mississippi (Ole Miss). The above New York Times article notes the changes, and continuity, in race relations at the state's flagship university, where people sometimes still fly the Confederate battle flag and sing "Dixie" at football games. Ole Miss was the site of a seminal event in the bloody history of integration which has been described as the largest armed conflict on US soil since the Civil War: a massive protest turned violent riot against the admission of James Meredith to his home-state university in 1962. Meredith was denied admission, filed suit, and won his case in the Supreme Court, clearing his entry. The historian Taylor Branch has a chapter in his Parting the Waters about this amazing episode, which involved lengthy negotiations between President John Kennedy, his brother Robert the attorney general, and Mississippi governor Ross Barnett, who fought Meredith's presence by every means he could muster.

Meredith's registration was protected by about 200 US Marshals, federal prison guards, and border patrolmen, armed only with sidearms, facing off against (by some estimates) ten thousand angry whites, many well-armed, who descended on the campus from around the country. Before it was over 160 marshals were wounded, 28 by gunfire; one man was killed by a stray bullet and another man, a British reporter, was shot in the back and killed. The battle only ended when federal troops arrived. Check out this site:

http://afroamhistory.about.com/cs/jamesmeredith/a/jamesmeredith.htm

On Friday an African-American candidate for president will participate in a debate on this same campus.

How White Privilege Works: Tim Wise's Take

The ever-provocative Tim Wise has a great take on how white privilege is operating in this year's election campaign. I think he's about 90% right. Check him out at the above link --

Herbert McCain? John Hoover?

In the category of "things we already knew," the above article at the Washington Post lays out John McCain's key role in dismantling much of the federal regulatory apparatus that was so painstakingly constructed in the wake of the 1929 financial disaster and subsequent depression. Deregulation let those geniuses at Bear Stearns, Lehman Brothers, AIG and elsewhere make all those brilliant investment decisions.

But now McCain furrows his brow and compresses his lips and promises that as President he'll make the government fight those mean greedy men on Wall Street.

Had enough of the free market yet?

Groundhog Election Day

My God, we're not going to do this again, are we?

Are American voters really going to embrace a Republican ticket because "they're just like us" - huntin', fishin', drillin', not too uppity, not too much expertise with the economy (except EBay), not too damn bright?

Do they really think you can learn about foreign policy by gazing across the Bering Strait?

Do they really want someone who believes in the talking snake but not the talking ape?

(check out Tony Sachs's piece at the link above)

Who Attacked the U.S. on 9/11?

The Project on International Policy Attitudes conducted a recent survey in 17 countries; you can find it at the AlterNet link above. Over half those surveyed were skeptical that Al Qaeda was responsible for the 9/11 attacks. Check out these results - even among our allies, substantial minorities evidently believe that the U.S. government itself was behind the attacks.

(photo from: http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2006/09/060908-9-11-photos.html)

No More Florida 2000

A colleague shared the VotersUnite website at the link above. They're dedicated to making sure that our priceless democratic voting process stays scrupulously fair and impartial. Check them out and help protect your vote!

Palin for Vice

The War Room officially endorses Palin for Vice President. Check out the candidate's unmatched qualifications at the above link.

Dan Quayle in a Bun

Too many Sarah Palin storylines to keep up with. Will she survive the week? My prediction is she will, and there will be the requisite backlash-against-the-backlash stories by reporters who suddenly discover that she has some positive qualities (as if Alaska voters were all dopes).

But what bothers me is the knee-jerk joy of conservatives because of her constellation of "values" - anti-choice, pro-gun, global warming denier, oil business panderer - which are a). egregious by themselves and b). show no evidence of independent thought, character, or expertise. We've reached a point where the things you believe are more important than what you do, or are.

Let's remember that for all the ridicule Quayle deservedly got, G. H. W. Bush won in 1988.