Comments on: Sarah Palin: The Julie McCoy of CPAC?

By: Anais

Anais — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 13:24:30 +0000

Heard that figure for her book, too. Can’t imagine it will do well, as her fans are about as literate as she is. So who’s going to buy it? Maybe a few reporters seeking to find out what happened to all those expensive clothes bought in the “fake America” parts of the country.
In a few short months, the book will be consigned to the bargain bin at Half Price Books, where it belongs.

By: Fern

Fern — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 07:24:03 +0000

Pretty typical of the North, actually.

By: Hugh

Hugh — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 05:48:38 +0000

Re FISA, if Obama had wished to lead on it, the Congressional Democrats would have followed him on it as they did on the bailout or as the Senate is currently doing with Lieberman.

Re the bailout, perhaps I am one of those who would count as unreasonable because I thought it was a cruel and incredibly expensive hoax from the get-go. And no, it was never a question of oversight. There was tons of oversight written into the bill. The problem was that it was all a joke and CYA. And no it isn’t the implementation either. The whole concept was flawed. This too was known from the beginning and written about by a lot us here.

As I said before when Obama wants something done it gets done. However the two major instances when this has happened: FISA and the bailout are two of the most poorly thought through and stupid pieces of legislation I have ever seen.

By: selise

selise — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 05:44:07 +0000

nite.

By: selise

selise — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 05:43:29 +0000

What nobody counted on was that the administration would so egregiously fuck this up and fail to appoint the mandatory regulatory body

one nobody right here - my primary complaints about the bailout were: no transparency, no accountability, no regulation.

By: newtonusr

newtonusr — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 05:43:21 +0000

nite doctor

By: DrDick

DrDick — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 05:41:13 +0000

Ok. I’m off to bed. More young minds to corrupt tomorrow.

By: Hugh

Hugh — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 05:40:41 +0000

I don’t expect him to change the world, just to make things better, to fix much of what is broken, and to govern competently.

This is where we differ. I don’t think the people he has around him can fix what is broken. Not being quite as bad as Bush is still bad.

By: DrDick

DrDick — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 05:37:41 +0000

Not sure about the FISA vote. It looked at the time like the Congressional leadership was behind it. As for the current bailout, pretty much anyone reasonable (including Krugman and Delong – who both hate the Chicago School) backed it. What nobody counted on was that the administration would so egregiously fuck this up and fail to appoint the mandatory regulatory body. The biggest problem with the bailout is in the implementation, not the concept (though that is admittedly flawed). In retrospect there should have been more stringent oversight provisions and a phased appropriation of the money to insure that it was used properly, but the feeling at the time was that something needed to be done immediately. Obama seems to have followed the best advice available at the time.

By: Hugh

Hugh — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 05:36:06 +0000

And as selise points out Obama is not a blank slate and it is precisely this (FISA, the bailout, all of the Clinton retreads who surround him, Lieberman) that brings into question pretty much anything he says whether it is about the Iraqi withdrawal or Guantanamo. When he wants to deliver something to someone, he seems more than able to do it. But when it comes to matters that are important to us, we get either silence, generalities, or hedging.