Much of the talk as this week of course focused on President Obama's first week and the various executive orders that he signed, and this week's Meet The Press was the encapsulation of the criticism that followed. The euphoria is over and now we're beginning to see the difficulty of turning rhetoric to reality, to quote (from today's MTP) Michelle Norris of NPR. As with all government documents, you have to read the fine print and even though there is now an executive order to close Guantanamo Bay Prison, it will take a year. (Which by the way, Tom Friedman on today's program surprisingly agreed with.) However, 'What do we do with the prisoners?' There is thta 'minor' detail and of course a pesky statistic like 61 of the former inmates freed are actively back on the battlefield of the Shadow War. More rhetoric... there will be no lobbyists working in an Obama administration... but we need this one exception for National Security.
[Michelle Norris did point out during the program that the Obama campaign backed off of that a little as time moved on from when he first made the prophetic statement in November of 2007. The big pronouncement had some finer print attached.]
And no more do we see a haze of finer print than with the economic stimulus plan, in which words are being added faster, by all players, Democrat and Republican, than dollars to the national debt. As evidenced by Mr. Gregory's interview with Dr. Larry Summers, Director of the National Economic Council, the answers do not come easy if at all because it is still perfectly clear that no one has the answers. Dr. Summers, saying the the Bush tax cuts needed to expire, was easily tripped up by the use of Mr. Gregory's use of the devil's advocate tactic. He commented that we could not afford the Bush tax cuts, but we could afford tax cuts for the middle class? His answer that we will afford what we can now simply was not enough.
Granted, Dr. Summers, is not as articulate as his boss, but he should be able to explain that the tax burden on Americans is disproportionate and that is one of the reasons why the Bush tax cuts need not be renewed. He did confirm that the President does now receive a daily economic briefing along with the daily national security briefing, but what does it say? There are politicians like today's guest John Boehner who believe the $825 billion is too much but there are also economists who say it's too little - by about a couple of trillion. And then there is Paul Krugman of Princeton University and The New York Times who says that every day we wait is another hole shot in the side of the boat. Is that what it says because that's all we hear. The one point that Dr. Summers was dead on correct was the irony of the situation - that the last Republican Administration who are all about free market brought us to this point in which the government has to bail out the financial industry.
This irony... well, take a look at my notes on the statements of Rep. Boehner:
[Government spending that won't work...
Can't borrow and spend to improve the economy..
Educational spending is not going to help the economy...
Size and spending of the stimulus - we (Republicans) don't think it's going to work
Banking Crisis - We need an exit strategy from tarp...
We (Republicans) need him to succeed - America needs him to succeed]
President Obama says big, profound stimulus by the Government, but Government spending will not work. We can not borrow and spend but that is exactly what we're doing due to the Bush Administration. Educational spending is going to help the economy, but we could recruit more teachers, build schools and make it affordable for people to afford college. People would be inclined to apply for loans, which the banks need to give to stimulate the economy. Mr. Boehner speaking on behalf of Republicans in Congress said that they will vote no because they see it as wasteful government spending. With all that said, Republicans still want him to succeed while playing obstructionist.
But the Republicans are so emasculated that they are what The Weekly Standard's Stephen Hayes referred to as one of the smaller boats who may be given some leverage in the overall discussion. The reality of that rhetoric is that they won't.
[Note on the Transcript: I waited to post because I wanted to check something from the transcript. On the last page, page 5, I noticed that between many of the guests answers, the moderator Mr. Gregory say 'right' repeatedly coming across quite disingenuous. To quote a friend, 'this isn't a good look.']
Sunday, January 25, 2009
Sunday, January 18, 2009
1.18.09: Three Days Out
Two thoughts come to mind from today's Meet The Press. One, the climate has changed for politicians in Washington and boy, are they desperate, especially the Republicans. The banality here, three days out, is that President-Elect Obama embodies change, however he has certainly kept everyone, the press and politicians alike, off balance by reaching out to all sides and that's significant in and of itself.
But a sense of desperation on so many levels is ever pervasive as evidenced alone by the President-Elect's appointments. In today's interview with Rahm Emmanuel, Mr. Obama's chief of staff, easily swatted away questions of Mr. Timothy Geithner's appointment to Treasury. The wake of ruin from the past eight years, Republicans are truly emasculated. Despite the nominee not paying his taxes completely, Republican politicians still heartily endorse him. Mr. Emmanuel said to David Gregory that it was a mistake, a flap, and that he is still the man for the job. The man to run the IRS didn't pay his taxes... Remember those days when nominees were tossed for having illegal immigrates under employment? Those days are over. The question was easily swatted away and because of the absence of any Republican dissent, why get combative? Mr. Gregory certainly did not.
While we're on appointments, the hearings for Mrs. Clinton (State Dept.) and Mr. Holder (Justice Dept.), to the chagrin of the press, did not produce the fireworks most thought were coming. Democratic politicians, as everyone knows, have a reputation of when being in a position of power on an issue, usually cower and let the other side get it's way. Are the Republicans the new Democrats? They could have used all that pent up hatred of all things Clinton (recall impeachment) and hammered these two nominees. Nothing close came to fruition.
As with all political discussions these days, Mr. Gregory outlined the 2008 bailout numbers (see below) and with the Obama stimulus package included, our last year's tab in $2 trillion.
Eight Hundred, twenty-five billion dollars of which is being proposed by the Obama Administration (It's officially too early to use this phrase, but so what - we're three days out) and most economists on both sides of the aisle agree that it is necessary as Mr. Emmanuel pointed. However, it's not enough. Mr. Emmanuel stated that it would create 3 million jobs, but that's not enough either. What we societally haven't yet to comprehend is the dynamic of derivatives and how they have created a black hole of debt. Solvency is going to cost a lot more than $2 trillion. As much as we need change, we're doing everything to keep things the same.
And what tepid objection has been put forth by Rep. John Boehner of Ohio with regard to the stimulus was appropriately addressed by Mr. Emmanuel when he said to David Gregory that "I find it ironic, since one of the questions and the criticism about the deficit spending is coming from people who actually in a period of time in the last eight years were responsible for policies that left America farther behind in, in, in the sense of deep, deep red."
With that said, the today's panel (NBC's Tom Brokaw, The New York Times' David Brooks, presidential historian Doris Kearns Goodwin, PBS's Tavis Smiley and NBC's Chuck Todd) agreed that what we're facing is unprecedented and as Mr. Brooks said, Mr. Obama is 'guessing' but he has to, the best that he can. In fact, David Brooks made a few good points today, maybe because he seemed quite humbled by the dinner he had with the President-Elect earlier in the week.
Mr. Brooks said that through Mr. Obama, we're seeing an independence from ideology. Eloquent in its brevity, but the truth is that this independence is simply a byproduct of the wilderness that we've been thrust into as a country. The Emancipation Proclamation placed this country at the edge of the Wilderness - looking through it, past it. We are at the edge of the Wilderness again, be it for much less noble reasons this time, but the comparisons between Lincoln and Obama are more than appropriate. They both have a way of capturing the moment, using their 'emotional intelligence' as Ms. Goodwin put it to see past the trees.
Well, we're at the frontier so pack up only what you can carry as the start of the journey is just three days out.
But a sense of desperation on so many levels is ever pervasive as evidenced alone by the President-Elect's appointments. In today's interview with Rahm Emmanuel, Mr. Obama's chief of staff, easily swatted away questions of Mr. Timothy Geithner's appointment to Treasury. The wake of ruin from the past eight years, Republicans are truly emasculated. Despite the nominee not paying his taxes completely, Republican politicians still heartily endorse him. Mr. Emmanuel said to David Gregory that it was a mistake, a flap, and that he is still the man for the job. The man to run the IRS didn't pay his taxes... Remember those days when nominees were tossed for having illegal immigrates under employment? Those days are over. The question was easily swatted away and because of the absence of any Republican dissent, why get combative? Mr. Gregory certainly did not.
While we're on appointments, the hearings for Mrs. Clinton (State Dept.) and Mr. Holder (Justice Dept.), to the chagrin of the press, did not produce the fireworks most thought were coming. Democratic politicians, as everyone knows, have a reputation of when being in a position of power on an issue, usually cower and let the other side get it's way. Are the Republicans the new Democrats? They could have used all that pent up hatred of all things Clinton (recall impeachment) and hammered these two nominees. Nothing close came to fruition.
As with all political discussions these days, Mr. Gregory outlined the 2008 bailout numbers (see below) and with the Obama stimulus package included, our last year's tab in $2 trillion.
Eight Hundred, twenty-five billion dollars of which is being proposed by the Obama Administration (It's officially too early to use this phrase, but so what - we're three days out) and most economists on both sides of the aisle agree that it is necessary as Mr. Emmanuel pointed. However, it's not enough. Mr. Emmanuel stated that it would create 3 million jobs, but that's not enough either. What we societally haven't yet to comprehend is the dynamic of derivatives and how they have created a black hole of debt. Solvency is going to cost a lot more than $2 trillion. As much as we need change, we're doing everything to keep things the same.
And what tepid objection has been put forth by Rep. John Boehner of Ohio with regard to the stimulus was appropriately addressed by Mr. Emmanuel when he said to David Gregory that "I find it ironic, since one of the questions and the criticism about the deficit spending is coming from people who actually in a period of time in the last eight years were responsible for policies that left America farther behind in, in, in the sense of deep, deep red."
With that said, the today's panel (NBC's Tom Brokaw, The New York Times' David Brooks, presidential historian Doris Kearns Goodwin, PBS's Tavis Smiley and NBC's Chuck Todd) agreed that what we're facing is unprecedented and as Mr. Brooks said, Mr. Obama is 'guessing' but he has to, the best that he can. In fact, David Brooks made a few good points today, maybe because he seemed quite humbled by the dinner he had with the President-Elect earlier in the week.
Mr. Brooks said that through Mr. Obama, we're seeing an independence from ideology. Eloquent in its brevity, but the truth is that this independence is simply a byproduct of the wilderness that we've been thrust into as a country. The Emancipation Proclamation placed this country at the edge of the Wilderness - looking through it, past it. We are at the edge of the Wilderness again, be it for much less noble reasons this time, but the comparisons between Lincoln and Obama are more than appropriate. They both have a way of capturing the moment, using their 'emotional intelligence' as Ms. Goodwin put it to see past the trees.
Well, we're at the frontier so pack up only what you can carry as the start of the journey is just three days out.
Sunday, January 04, 2009
1.4.09: Fine, the New Year...
We don't want to be a total downer in our first post of 2009 but we can only write 'fine' in reference to the new year and this MTP week for all the obvious reasons - the economy, 2 wars, and a fresh Israeli assault on the Palestinians in Gaza - not quite the best circumstances for holiday cheer. Unfortunately, we can not say that today's exclusive with Senate Majority Harry Reid of Nevada was any sort of Alka-Seltzer for our political hangover. Make no mistake, if we haven't been perfectly clear in prior posts, let's make it crystal here now. This column does not endorse Senator Reid as majority leader of the Democratic Party in Senate one iota. Today's interview is exhibit A for this new prosecution.
First, credit should be given to Mr. Gregory for justifiably hammering Mr. Reid on a number of things starting with the appointment of Roland Burris by the embattled Governor of Illinois, Rod Blagojevich. Just listening to Senator Reid, you get the sense of an absence of sound judgement or power of persuasion. Now granted, the Governor, who is not yet under indictment, can still appointment someone to fill the seat, but that the national Democratic caucus, of which Senator Reid is a key power broker, has not used it's full leverage to curtail these shenanigans by this rogue governor, speaks directly to the impotency of the Democratic Party when it comes to getting tough. Isn't that what we want - tough but fair?
Mr. Reid cited a law that goes back 'generations' that the congress can reject a member, they can 'do whatever we want,' he said. We, the public, don't need a law citation to know that Congress will do whatever it wants. They have pretty much established that for some time.
Throughout the entire interview, Senator did not give one firm definitive answer, instead choosing the 'nuanced,' dance-around-like retorts that Americans have come to loathe. It is this kind of bullshit, frankly, that needs to be eliminated. Senator Reid had said that in his estimation the war [in Iraq] is lost and the surge has done nothing. When pressed on this by Mr. Gregrory, he said that General Petraeus said that the war can not be won militarily. Senator Reid went on to say that he and General Petraeus said the same thing in different ways. That is absolutely not what Senator Reid meant at the time and for him to back pedal and parry is that exact quality that we do not need in our leaders. If he had just said that, at the time, that was the outlook of the war and now, thank God, that's not the case, wouldn't you respect him more? Great leaders can admit they were mistaken as long as they show that they have learned from those mistakes and don't repeat them.
Simply put, Senator Reid is exasperating as a Majority Leader. With regard to the Illinois political mess, he summed it up saying that there is always room for negotiating. Yes, that's true, but negotiating is one thing, continually bending over is another.
At the top of the program, Mr. Gregory spoke to Richard Engel, NBC's chief foreign correspondent, from Israel about the situation on the ground there and that's where the panel discussion picked up with The Atlantic's Jeffrey Goldberg, BBC World News America's Katty Kay, Al-Arabiya's Hisham Melhem, NBC's Andrea Mitchell and The New York Times' David Sanger.
One of the key points from the panel, made by Katty Kay specifically, is that at the center of it all is Iran and it's goal of being the definitive power in the region. Hamas, like Hezbollah, is empowered by Iran, but since there is no government who has effective leverage over Iran, what is done instead are the attempts to cut off the terrorist tentacles. No one wants to deal with Iran directly, but that is exactly what must be done in conjunction with stopping instigating rocket assaults into Israel by Hamas. Indirect talks and bellicose statements with Iran no longer suffice.
Another key point is that Israel, the United States, and their allies must take advantage of the fact the moderate Arab governments are simply tired of Hamas and their actions. This must be propagated to the Arab public, and this is what will truly change the dynamic. With constant protests across Arab streets, nothing will change the status quo.
Also, going back to Senator Reid for a moment, in reference to Israeli ground assault, he used the hypothetical that if Canada were firing missiles from Vancouver into Seattle, the United States would do everything to stop it. This column's reaction is this: stop with the hypotheticals, especially one like this that is ridiculous. Say what you mean... Do you support what Israel is doing or not? If so, say so... period.
Lastly, if a tenable situation can be created, in which and Hamas would be forced to create a job, an infrastructure development, a medical facility for its people as the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank wants to start accomplishing, then desired results would come. If Hamas fails at this, as this column suspects, then the Arab public themselves will make a change. Hamas hasn't proven in the slightest that they, as an elected entity, can provide the basic needs for its citizenry. They can blame embargos, but if they had the needs of their people truly put first, they would do what they can to get them lifted.
First, credit should be given to Mr. Gregory for justifiably hammering Mr. Reid on a number of things starting with the appointment of Roland Burris by the embattled Governor of Illinois, Rod Blagojevich. Just listening to Senator Reid, you get the sense of an absence of sound judgement or power of persuasion. Now granted, the Governor, who is not yet under indictment, can still appointment someone to fill the seat, but that the national Democratic caucus, of which Senator Reid is a key power broker, has not used it's full leverage to curtail these shenanigans by this rogue governor, speaks directly to the impotency of the Democratic Party when it comes to getting tough. Isn't that what we want - tough but fair?
Mr. Reid cited a law that goes back 'generations' that the congress can reject a member, they can 'do whatever we want,' he said. We, the public, don't need a law citation to know that Congress will do whatever it wants. They have pretty much established that for some time.
Throughout the entire interview, Senator did not give one firm definitive answer, instead choosing the 'nuanced,' dance-around-like retorts that Americans have come to loathe. It is this kind of bullshit, frankly, that needs to be eliminated. Senator Reid had said that in his estimation the war [in Iraq] is lost and the surge has done nothing. When pressed on this by Mr. Gregrory, he said that General Petraeus said that the war can not be won militarily. Senator Reid went on to say that he and General Petraeus said the same thing in different ways. That is absolutely not what Senator Reid meant at the time and for him to back pedal and parry is that exact quality that we do not need in our leaders. If he had just said that, at the time, that was the outlook of the war and now, thank God, that's not the case, wouldn't you respect him more? Great leaders can admit they were mistaken as long as they show that they have learned from those mistakes and don't repeat them.
Simply put, Senator Reid is exasperating as a Majority Leader. With regard to the Illinois political mess, he summed it up saying that there is always room for negotiating. Yes, that's true, but negotiating is one thing, continually bending over is another.
At the top of the program, Mr. Gregory spoke to Richard Engel, NBC's chief foreign correspondent, from Israel about the situation on the ground there and that's where the panel discussion picked up with The Atlantic's Jeffrey Goldberg, BBC World News America's Katty Kay, Al-Arabiya's Hisham Melhem, NBC's Andrea Mitchell and The New York Times' David Sanger.
One of the key points from the panel, made by Katty Kay specifically, is that at the center of it all is Iran and it's goal of being the definitive power in the region. Hamas, like Hezbollah, is empowered by Iran, but since there is no government who has effective leverage over Iran, what is done instead are the attempts to cut off the terrorist tentacles. No one wants to deal with Iran directly, but that is exactly what must be done in conjunction with stopping instigating rocket assaults into Israel by Hamas. Indirect talks and bellicose statements with Iran no longer suffice.
Another key point is that Israel, the United States, and their allies must take advantage of the fact the moderate Arab governments are simply tired of Hamas and their actions. This must be propagated to the Arab public, and this is what will truly change the dynamic. With constant protests across Arab streets, nothing will change the status quo.
Also, going back to Senator Reid for a moment, in reference to Israeli ground assault, he used the hypothetical that if Canada were firing missiles from Vancouver into Seattle, the United States would do everything to stop it. This column's reaction is this: stop with the hypotheticals, especially one like this that is ridiculous. Say what you mean... Do you support what Israel is doing or not? If so, say so... period.
Lastly, if a tenable situation can be created, in which and Hamas would be forced to create a job, an infrastructure development, a medical facility for its people as the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank wants to start accomplishing, then desired results would come. If Hamas fails at this, as this column suspects, then the Arab public themselves will make a change. Hamas hasn't proven in the slightest that they, as an elected entity, can provide the basic needs for its citizenry. They can blame embargos, but if they had the needs of their people truly put first, they would do what they can to get them lifted.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)