We live in an age of forgetting.
barack obama
If only it stayed in Las Vegas
Feb 3rd
Posted by Jason in barack obama
A message from President Obama.
Wednesday
I want to clarify my remarks earlier today about Las Vegas. When I said that responsible people don’t “blow a bunch of cash in Vegas when you’re trying to save for college,” I was just making the point that families use vacation dollars, not college tuition money, to have fun. There is no place better to have fun than Vegas, one of our country’s great destinations.
Your prostitutes though, whoa. I have traveled in all 50 states of this great Union, and let me tell you, your whores deserve their own special place on the Skank-O-Meter. Ladies of Las Vegas, it is time to listen to modern medicine: no amount of lip gloss can cover up cold sores and mustaches.
Thursday
I want to clarify my remarks earlier yesterday about Las Vegas’ working ladies. My observations were based on stereotypes, not personal experience, and were therefore unfair. I am sure they are as pure as the driven snow, and as your mayor said, “One of the most amazing lays you can ever have.”
Friday
I want to clarify a quote I repeated from your mayor yesterday. His statement in regards to Las Vegas’ companion community was not made directly to me. I overheard Mayor Goodman talking to a friend while using an adjacent bathroom stall. He was not aware of my presence, and it was wrong of me to repeat his quote. Also, the Mayor has told me he was not speaking from personal experience and was just relaying common knowledge to a potential investor. Heh heh. Wonder what he wanted to invest.
Saturday
I want to clarify a comment I made yesterday regarding prostitution and investing. The sexual innuendo was unintended. The media reports that I later said, “I think I know what he wanted to deposit” is not only completely false but offensive, as it’s essentially the same joke and I don’t make the same joke twice.
Sunday
After an offhand comment I made yesterday, many people have pointed out examples where I made a same or similar joke two or more times. Here with me is my chief of staff, Rahm Emanuel, with the official White House response.
EMANUEL: “You’re all fucking retarted!”
Thank you, and good day.
Obama’s SOTU Address
Jan 28th
If I heard Obama’s SOTU address in isolation, I probably would have loved it. There was pandering and vague language at parts, but also a lot to like, particularly his comments relating to our political culture. He told Democrats people didn’t elect them to run for the hills, and told Republicans it’s irresponsible to say no to everything. That’s good stuff, right?
The thing is, a week from now, I think Democrats are still going to run for the hills and Republicans are still going to try to obstruct as much as possible. I don’t have faith in either party giving up their personal gain for the good of the country. I also don’t have faith in voters for rewarding any politician, Democrats or Republicans, who show courage and vote for a good-but-unpopular health care bill, for example.
Obama’s speech had a lot of nudges and baby steps towards changing our political culture, but it’s just one speech. Is he going to do anything the other 364 days to help change a dynamic in Congress that blocks almost every type of reform? As important, can he do anything? I don’t have any good ideas how to convince Republicans voting no on everything significant to consider voting yes. They’re drawing tremendous political benefit from being obstructionist. Why would they stop?
There’s still no evidence that this country can tackle any problem unless it’s a catastrophe. 9/11 or a crisis that threatens to destroy the entire financial system, we can do. Health care, the environment, energy policy, military spending, entitlements, the tax code–they’ve been ignored for decades, and I’m not sure any President is capable of overcoming the entrenched interests and habits preventing reform in these areas. At least not without doing something radical, and Obama seems temperamentally averse to rocking the boat.
The corrosive part of losing faith in your country’s institutions is that it leads to one of two things: anger or despair. That’s why we have Tea Parties and a lot of Democrats who are going to sit on the sidelines this November. I enjoyed Obama’s speech and thought it was very smart politically, but I’ll admire it more if it turns out to be the first step towads he’s able to figure out how to make progress on even a few of our major challenges.
The President’s Plan on Afghanistan
Dec 1st
Posted by Jason in Afghanistan
If you missed President Obama’s speech on his plan for Afghanistan, here is a summary:
1. Send 30,000 more troops.
2. Magic happens.
3. Troops come home in 18 months.
If you missed Sen. McCain’s response to the speech afterwards, here is a summary:
“RAAAK! Timetables bad. I want unending war.”
Obama did a good job explaining what we were doing in Afghanistan in 2002. 2003-2009…not as convincing. A few notable moments from his speech:
* The Coalition of the Willing is back! “Unlike Vietnam, we are joined by a broad coalition of 43 nations that recognizes the legitimacy of our action.” Thank God. I missed you, Antigua and Burkina Faso. This chart has the proportion of U.S. forces to our allies.
*NBC very quickly cut away from a cadet who was falling asleep. Camera safe haven, Sen. Clinton, got a lot of exposure. She’s amazing. No yawning, no Twittering, no staring at her fingernails. Never lets her guard down.
Obama’s argument on why Afghanistan isn’t like Vietnam was amazingly weak. In fact, there are lots of logical fallacies in his speech. I’m only half-joking when I wrote “Magic happens” as part of his plan. The whole point of the troop “surge” is to improve the security in Afghanistan so much that the Taliban is severely crippled, the government becomes strengthened and less corrupt, the country (a quasi-feudal state populated with several ethnic tribes) becomes more unified, and the national government is able to vastly build up their security forces so the country doesn’t collapse when we leave. All in 18 months. Oh, and Afghanistan is 10x worse off than Iraq in almost every measurable category.
If Obama’s goal is for us to leave in 18 months when things are kind of shitty instead of now, when things are extremely shitty, he may achieve his goal. Anything else is going to take another decade. He gave some nice lip service to not wanting an open-ended commitment and the importance of a healthy economy, but I’ll be more impressed if we actually leave in 2011, no matter what the conditions, and finally curb the country’s defense spending. When tea parties are rising to stop a deficit-neutral $90 billion/year plan to make health insurance available to almost everyone while a $680 billion / year defense bill passes without a peep, something is wrong with our priorities.
Sorry that got ranty. I’m not completely anti-war, but I think the benefits of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, while there are some, are nowhere near the $1 trillion and thousands of lives it has cost so far, and it gets me angry when I let my mind dwell on it.
And the Award for Most Premature Prize Goes To…
Oct 9th
Posted by Jason in barack obama
Can I win the Nobel Peace Prize? Sure, I haven’t done anything now, but I might in the future!
President Obama won the Nobel Peace Prize today. One of the reasons cited was his work to improve international diplomacy. Man, talking to Muslims is more dangerous than I thought.
The situation is unfair in a way because while the award is premature and might create a backlash against him, it’s not like he asked for the award. I’m not sure what the Nobel committee was thinking. Trying to give him a guilt-trip in case he thinks of starting any new wars in the future? Maybe the world is so sick of American imperialism that every new President is going to get awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in his or her first year, just for insurance.
The Nobel committee also mentioned wanting to assist President Obama in achieving his global agenda. I’ve never seen the Nobel prize. Does it look like a gold-plated spiked club? No? Then I don’t see how that’s going to help.
I don’t want to sound snide. I like the President, and I’d rather him get it than a lot of other people. Maybe the real problem is that in the world today, there is no obvious choice.
Obama’s Health Care Speech
Sep 9th
Posted by Jason in barack obama
I don’t know how much one speech can influence media coverage and people’s minds, but my first reaction to Obama’s speech is that is was near perfect. Much better than I expected. It was the first time I heard him talk in sufficient detail about what the major components of the plan will be and who it will affect. He also swatted down some of the more ridiculous conservative claims about the plan, such as calling the non-existent death panels a “lie.”
Overall, he came off clearer and stronger than he has in a while. The only downside is that relatively few people will have watched the one-hour speech, and it’s hard to predict how much of it will filter to people reading summaries and so on.
One weird moment was during when Obama said the new health care bill would not cover illegal immigrants, and a Republican member of Congress in the audience yelled “You lie!” I’ve never heard something like that during a Presidential address before. What is it about Obama that makes some conservatives come unhinged?
So did you watch it, or know someone who did?
Breaking News: Obama Burger Update
May 5th
Posted by Jason in barack obama
I stumbled on a press pool report on the Obama Burger Expedition. The writer had fun with it. Two snippets:
While Obama and Biden waited in line, the lunch crowd stood and gawked, some took pix with cell phones. The two guys in line ahead of them studied their menus, oblivious to who was behind them.
GUY1: “Lettuce…pickles…hmm.”
GUY2: [whispering] “Dude, turn around.”
GUY1: ”Hold on a sec. ”
GUY2: ”No, you don’t understand. Turn around.”
GUY1: ”Jeez. What’s so important that–oh, shit.”
When Obama and Biden reached the front, Obama greeted the two order-takers. The guy who took Obama’s order and money was Tim Murray. There’s still some debate among press on exactly what Obama ordered, since it was hard to hear. He definitely had a burger. I heard him say “basic cheeseburger, medium well.” But someone else heard him say “Swiss mushroom burger.” He definitely asked Mr. Murray for “spicy mustard, if you have it.” There may have also been talk of tater tots.
Can we get confirmation on the tots? Or, if not that, can the writer attribute a tater tot-related quote to an “anonymous mid-level administration official”.
If Obama and Biden were trying to secretly cheat on their diets, this event was an epic fail.
Burger Time
May 5th
Posted by Jason in barack obama
The idea of Obama and Biden going on a burger run makes me smile.
More Kool-Aid, Please!
Feb 25th
Before Obama’s address to the nation, I had this weird feeling of…non-dread. Anticipation, even. Is this what it’s like to listen to a President that you don’t hate?
I don’t have anything insightful to say about Obama’s address to the nation, but I thought it was great. Right blend of seriousness and inspiration. Very clear and concise without being condescending.
The only line that surprised me was when he said he wanted to end subsidies to large agribusinesses. The subsidy program is one of those wasteful, counter-productive programs that has no chance of ending because it has a lot of powerful political backers. It doesn’t help that the Presidential campaign starts off every four years in Iowa. Also, the issue isn’t on the radar for most people, so it’s hard to gin up public support on the issue.
I think he’s going to get health-care reform passed before he gets those agriculture subsidies removed. Health-care is a much bigger problem, but it’s also a much more obvious problem. You can make a good argument that health care reform can’t wait any longer, but saying the same thing for these subsidies is a stretch.
One of Obama’s First Actions
Jan 21st
Posted by Jason in barack obama
Nice start, my man. I’m glad he’s doing this on the first day:
Obama Seeks Halt to Legal Proceedings at Guantanamo
It’s the first step towards closing Guantanamo Bay, what will be an admittedly difficult and messy process.
First Time in an Inaugural Address
Jan 21st
Posted by Jason in barack obama
There are three meaningful words (perhaps more) in Obama’s inaugural address that have never appeared in an inaugural adddress before. One of them is nonbelievers. Guess what the other two are. (Answer)
Other tidbits:
First (and only) mention of “Internet” in an inaugural address: Clinton, 1997
Record for “peace”: 19. Nixon, 1973
Record for “hope”: 11, Taft, 1909
Record for “generation”: 8, Obama, 2009
Record for “Gettysburg”: 1 (tie); Roosevelt (1941); Obama (2009)
Inauguration Photo of the Day
Jan 20th
Posted by Jason in barack obama
No Obama inauguration is complete without an official Obama Parade Horse.
Inauguration Day
Jan 20th
Posted by Jason in barack obama
We left our house at 9:00 A.M. What is normally a 40-min. walk to the mall took 2 hours. At the start, we saw a handful of people heading to the Mall, then dozens, then small crowds, and then a sea of people filling both the sidewalks and streets, sometimes heading in opposite directions as we al tried to navigate a maze of color-coded entrance gates and closed-off city blocks.
For those who haven’t been to D.C: the inauguration ceremony was held in front of the U.S. Capitol. The area on that block was reserved for ticket holders. A pool (frozen) and a wide street separates that area from the rest of the Mall, a large swath of land that has the U.S. Capitol at one end and the Lincoln Memorial at the other, almost two miles away. The Washington Monument is roughly midway between the Capitol and Lincoln Memorial.
We arrived at the Capitol side of the Mall at 10:30. The area from the Capitol to right before the Washington Monument, about a mile long, was completely filled with people. Security closed the gates and diverted foot traffic towards the Lincoln memorial. We walked another half an hour on a roundabout path until he found a sparsely populated field with a Jumbotron near the Lincoln Memorial. In the near distance, there was a larger crowd at the Lincoln Memorial watching on another Jumbotron.
It’s weird in a way walking two hours in the cold to watch the events on an outdoor TV, one not even seen in the panoramas on the networks, but I’m glad I did. There was a lot of happiness and positive energy in the city the past few days but today in particular. it was a treat to be a small part of it. “Watching history made” is an overused cliche given too freely, but seeing President Obama sworn in, wherever you watched it, is worthy of such a description.
After all the build-up, the swearing-in went by so fast that it was anti-climatic. We cheered, applauded for ten seconds or so, and that was it. There were only a few hundred people in our group so I wondered if it was a function of a small crowd, but some friends who were much closer and with more people said they felt the same way.
Obama’s inauguration speech helped extend the moment. His nod to “non-believers” made me smile–agnostics and atheists are two groups ignored and shunned in politics. A nod is more than I’ve heard from a politician in a long time. Some people have commented that his speech wasn’t as inspirational as some of his others, but I thought it was the right tone for the moment, an acknowledgement of the great challenges ahead along with a reminder of the better aspects of our nation’s character.
Moments gain their significance not when they happen but in reflection. It’s only now, writing this and remembering what happened only several hours ago, that the significant of this moment is beginning to sink in. And I have to say, choke me up a little.
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