Chaos, Inc.

What, me worry?

Only his second frickin' veto. Amazing. And his justification is that a timetable would cause chaos. So, what would Bush call what's been going on in Iraq so far? Order???

Impeach Bush, Already

I agree with this essay in the Nation. Seems like so many Americans either embrace an ideological view of democracy, like America(tm) -- that is, that America is inherently democratic (a very, very dangerous sentiment, very easily manipulated), or else an uninformed, apathetic view (very postmodern, no?) that those in power won't listen to us. But sovereignty lies not with the representatives, or the parties, but with the people. And if the people are unhappy with what's going on, they can do something about it.

I suspect an honest, bottom-up drive for impeachment would find the various power brokers in America(tm) getting very pissed off. Of course the White House would object, but Congress, and certainly the Media and perhaps Lobbyists would all close ranks. Given how tainted the Supreme Court has been by Federalist Society judicial hacks, I doubt they'd get behind any kind of impeachment move.

So, there'd be the people, with whom sovereignty resides, and all the insitutions of governance and power factions that have benefited from the status quo. An interesting fight, if an uphill battle for the people. We may see fights like that increasingly over time, as the disconnect between the political class and the populace it rules grows ever wider.

As much as economic class is overlooked in American society, the existence of a political class (which is inextricably tied to economic class) -- anyway, that makes people uncomfortable. We're moving past a time when the two-party duopoly can honestly be expected to cover all political opinions. The two parties basically ignore what they can't co-opt or embrace. The liberals are taken for granted by the Democrats, just as much as the fundamentalists are taken for granted by the GOP. If those groups still stay within the existing parties and expect change, they're largely fooling themselves.

Anyway, I think any impeachment effort against Bush will be doomed, but it's just another example of the sickness of our system-as-is, versus health -- more so that people think that impeachment somehow threatens this country, when it's exactly the other way around. If somebody's not following the Constitution that they swore to uphold, it's time to impeach them, already.

Boy, George

You know things are bad for the Bush League when they toss out a press release showing that Bush is capable of changing his mind.

Bush Isn't an Idiot, No, Seriously, He's Not

Whatever.

McCain't

This blurb is from the Washingpost...

SPARTANBURG, S.C. - Republican presidential candidate John McCain, looking to improve his standing with the party’s conservative voters, said Sunday the court decision that legalized abortion should be overturned.

“I do not support Roe versus Wade. It should be overturned,” the Arizona senator told about 800 people in South Carolina, one of the early voting states.

McCain also vowed that if elected, he would appoint judges who “strictly interpret the Constitution of the United States and do not legislate from the bench.”

He's definitely made his faustian bargain with the fundamentalists. What a creep. The "Dead Constitution" types just use that as a fig leaf for their reactionary agenda, as a way of sabotaging any non-reactionary issue that comes up. So long as the American government lives, as long as the American people live, the Constitution lives. Nice try, jerks.

Obama, Okay?!

I'm also fed up with the "is he REALLY black" nonsense surrounding Obama. At least we're early enough in the campaign that hopefully this whole line will be used up by the time the primary season really kicks into gear, but for now, it's annoying as hell. Give the man a break -- there are way bigger issues afflicting the US currently than whether Obama is really black, a line which conservative Alan Keyes dredged up in his ill-fated campaign against Obama in 2004.

Obama 2008

Yay, Barack kicked butt on his announcement...

Obama 2008

Lordy, I hope he's careful. He's definitely got the right stuff. Hillary Clinton looks like more of the same compared to Obama -- and he's way more charismatic than she is.

I hope: 1) nobody tries to shoot him; 2) that he doesn't take any VP slot offered to him by the Clinton crew -- that would finish him.

This is his moment. He needs to go for it. I think he's smart enough, charismatic enough, and visionary enough to do it.

I saw Obama speak when he was just a state senator, like around 1999; he'd come to the place where I worked and spoke at a meeting; there might've been fifty people in the room, but he owned the room, and after seeing him speak (it was on universal health care) I thought "Wow, he's going to be President someday." It was so palpable, I distinctly remember it. Man, I wish I'd left my job and gone to work for him back then! But I didn't think he'd try for a presidential run so soon.

But more power to him. He's got my vote. Sorry, Hillary -- many of the votes you cast in the Senate alienated me, and you appear to me to be more of the same, and DC needs serious change, and it feels like Obama could bring that change.

Rudy Can't Fail?

Apparently Rudy G is outpacing McCain in polls as a viable candidate. Although I still consider Giuliani to be an unreconstructed neofascist, he does have charisma, and it's nice to see McCain's entirely undeserved maverick status beginning to cost him. His presidential moment was in 2000, and he blew it, or it was stolen from him. He's a relic of the pre-Bush age, and I think after he's smoked in the primary race, that'll be it for him. It'll be interesting to see how the GOP primary race plays out. Will the fundamentalists like Giuliani's stuff? Will he flame out by bullying somebody on the campaign trail? Could he stand toe-to-toe with Hillary Clinton?

I think his smirking self could probably handle Obama in a debate -- it would be interesting, because they're both smart and charismatic. Against Clinton, Giuliani would definitely come across as more charismatic, although with Iraq hanging around the GOP's neck, maybe no GOP candidate will have a good chance.

Interesting thing in the above article is how little support stupid Gingrich and Romney have -- they're deluding themselves.

Gee, that was quick!

Joe Biden's already blown it! From the NYT...

Biden Unwraps His Bid for ’08 With an Oops!

Senator Joseph R. Biden Jr. of Delaware, who announced his candidacy on Wednesday with the hope that he could ride his foreign policy expertise into contention for the Democratic nomination, instead spent the day struggling to explain his description of Senator Barack Obama, the Illinois Democrat running for president, as “the first mainstream African-American who is articulate and bright and clean and a nice-looking guy.”

Not like he had a chance, anyway, as I'd said, but to already commit a gaffe, like the day of his announcement? Hahah!

GAME OVER

Yo, Joe?

So, Joe Biden's really going to try to be President??! Buh?

It just confirms my contention that there should be a constitutional amendment banning anybody who wants to be President from running, because you'd have to be either insane or stupid to want to be President. Why should only people who can pay for the privilege have the office?

Biden's going to go up in smoke very early in the game, so why not fritter away some Biden bucks, right? I'll never forgive him for some of his confirmation votes before 2006, where he'd go on (and on and on) about how bad a given Bush appointee was, only to vote for them in the end. Way to go, Joe.

Anyway, he's crazy!

Horse Racing

Let's look at that 2008 Presidential wannabes...

Republicans
Representative Tom Tancredo (CO) -- No chance
Senator Sam Brownback (KS) -- No chance
Senator George Allen (VA) -- Dead in the water
Representative Duncan Hunter (CA) -- No chance
Former Speaker Newt Gingrich (GA) -- No chance
Senator Chuck Hagel (NE) -- Possible chance
Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (TN) -- No chance
Senator John McCain (AZ) -- Slight chance

I think Hagel and McCain have the best shot; McCain's star has tarnished since he sided with Bush on the Iraq war. The rest just have no chance at all. Any GOP candidate has their work cut out for them, given how badly they've mangled the political landscape since 2000.

Democrats
Senator Evan Bayh (IN) -- Dead in the water
Senator Joseph Biden (DE) -- No chance
Former Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle (SD) -- No chance
Senator Russ Feingold (WI) -- No chance
Former Senator John Edwards (NC) -- Doesn't even realize how little chance he has
Senator Hillary Clinton (NY) -- Very good chance
Former Vice President Al Gore (TN) -- Slight chance
Senator Barack Obama (IL) -- Good chance
Senator John Kerry (MA) -- No chance

I think it'll come down to Hillary and Barack, one way or another. Maybe the Clinton crowd will try to get Obama on their ticket, if they beat him in the primaries. That could be a strong ticket. I don't know if Al Gore's ego would let him ride the ticket with Hillary -- that'd be funny, "Clinton/Gore 2008." Hahah! Obama's strongest suit is appearing to be new politics, whereas the Clintonians are both benefitted and burdened by their past.