11.25.12: Manners in America

Unlike last week's program, which needed another hour, this week's Meet The Press could have ended a little early.  The final infomercial for the film Lincoln was unnecessary.  [For the record, The Opinion also saw the film this weekend and we think it a must see.]  The program should have been more flexible with it's segments as the subject of the Middle East should have been delved into much deeper.  As we are at a crossroads with our domestic economic issues, our stance and strategic leverage in the Middle East is also at a precipice.

Mr. Gregory asked the Chairman of the Armed Services Committee Sen. Carl Levin (D-MI) whether the Morsi government of Egypt was a partner or a problem, to which he answered 'both.'  However, the problem side of the scale outweighs the partner side by a significant amount.  First, Morsi, by government decree, is consolidating power.  They have since clarified that it was temporary to route out corruption, but the Egyptian people are staging massive protests, not buying the 'clarification.' So you have more civil unrest while additionally facilitating weapons shipments from Iran into Gaza. 

David Brooks said that the president's support of Israel was handled well, and it is important that Mr. Obama, at this time, keep showing that unwavering support because right now they are more isolated than at any time since the Sinai Peace Agreement.  While Russia and China will join the U.S. in sanctioning Iran because of the nuclear issue, those two countries are willing to look the other way when it comes to Israel and the conventional self-destruction of the region.  Both will work with the party that is in control of the oil, no matter what the politics.  So that leaves the United States to support the Israelis while trying to racket down their tension with Hamas.  That's where the focus should be and not on the politics, yes the politics, of Benghazi. 

Benghazi is something that Republicans simply won't drop and in today's interview, Congressman Peter King's (R-NY) reasoning seemed selective and hypocritical.  Mr. King said that Ms. Rice knew the briefing was incomplete and that there was classified information that she didn't share, stating that she should have not been a 'puppet.'  This is coming from the Chair of the Homeland Security Committee.  If Ms. Rice had gone off message and given classified information, at the time, to the public, Mr. King would have condemned that.  Not to mention that the logic of his statement is short sighted in as much as Condoleezza Rice not having all the facts on WMD in Iraq.  Certainly some puppeteering was going on then. 

Speaking of Ms. Rice, Mr. Gregory referred to an op-ed in today's Washington Post, in which the former Secretary of State argued that the United States must act now on Syria.  And what be the fact?  That's the kicker, isn't it?  They didn't explain during the program and if you read the piece, you'll see that Ms. Rice calls for a no-fly zone over Syria, but it short on details of what else should be done. a familiar pattern.  It's a pattern Republicans, by their own record, have seemed to follow these past 15 years when assessing what to do in terms of foreign policy and that is not to evaluate the best weapons for the job, just to grab the biggest one.

Conversely, in a welcomed unfamiliar pattern, and despite CEOs like Honeywell's David Cole not being bullish on a debt deal, Republicans have been sending conciliatory signals working something out with Democrats.  What has been a significant consequence of President Obama's reelection is the diminishing stature of Grover Norquist and his tax pledge, as evidenced today by Mr. King and Saxby Chambliss noted via video clip.  It makes this column optimistic that a deal will be made because as David Brooks stated, "We're one deal away from being the hot spot in the world."  He was talking economically, but it's true on a few levels.  The people of the United States voted for their government to work together and it looks as though our federally elected officials want to do that.  The signal that that sends to the rest of the world is that our democracy can come together to solve big problems in a time when consolidation of power dominates the news.  This deal will also strengthen and steady the U.S. economy in a time when many others are faltering.  And economic strength is what this country craves most.

In getting a deal done, Carly Fiorina believes that there will be an increase in tax rates for millionaires, but that the increase level will be upped to $1 million from $250,000. There's one point of potential compromise though we're thinking that will shake out at about $500,000.  Another could be on which tax loopholes to close - foreign tax shelters would be a good start.  Yet another, as Mr. Brooks mentioned could be on capital gains taxes.  The point is that we remain optimistic because there are lots of good points for give and take to give Republicans what David Brooks called a 'pathway to yes,' our new national motto of unity we guess.

Why we think some are not so optimistic is because of entitlement reform featuring the usual trio of Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security.  Just as the President and Democrats  have to give Mr. Boehner and the Republicans a pathway to yes on taxes, the Republicans must do the same on entitlement reform and that starts with letting the issue of Obamacare and Republican repeal end.  If Republicans want anything on Social Security, they'll have to stop threatening Obamacare and just work with it.  Because Republicans are usually better negotiators, especially when they're in the minority, they could get a year increase of eligibility on Social Security simply to stop threatening repeal of the Affordable Healthcare Act.  Again, the point is that there are many entry ways to getting a deal done, and all they have to do is remember that in America we remember to hold the door open for each other.


Guest List:

Chairman of the Armed Services Committee Sen. Carl Levin (D-MI), Rep. Gregory Meeks (D-NY), and Chair of the Homeland Security Committee, Rep. Peter King (R-NY).

Documentary filmmaker and historian Ken Burns; Vice Chair of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, Carly Fiorina; MSNBC’s Al Sharpton; New York Times columnist David Brooks; and NBC’s Andrea Mitchell.


One more thing:  In the discussion with reference to the film Lincoln, Ken Burns did talk about something that is certainly worth noting and that is the issue of race in America.  No pithy nor solemn statement from this column can serve as an adequate statement of justice, figuratively or literally, on the issue of race except to say the mere acknowledgement that it is still an issue is one moment closer to it ceasing to be an issue.