I've actually had a few blog posts stored in my brain the past few days, but I am busy at work and our router is broken at home. I've got to do something about that, so if one of you princes of technology can recommend the most reliable router, I would appreciate it. This blog post is being composed on my Q (a Motorola product, not my son). thus, no links.
In other news, I have filed my Declaration of Candidacy to run for the Democratic Party Central Committee for the 14th Assembly District. What's that? I am not completely sure, but if Loni Hancock is your rep, I sure could use your sig on my nominating papers. Here's what motivated me to undertake this campaign:
1. I am truly bored at work, and since I am not poised for a career change at the moment, I thought I'd throw myself into politics beyond reading political blogs obsessively. 2. Obama has, for the moment, convinced me that Tracy Flick and Clay Davis are not the only two kinds of politicians that can exist in this world. I think, maybe in the haze of the Kool-Aid, that I can participate in the process without betraying what I hope is my basically decent humanity. I trust all of you will call me to task if I go off track. 3. I am curious about it. 4. I need a challenge.
I present this link without comment. The rest of us are home, hanging with Grandma. Its very cool, everyone is happy. I haven't been blogging because I can't think of anything to say that other people aren't saying, or that isn't total schadenfreude.
Another reason that politics are the topic duh jor is that we are in the sports wasteland between the Super Bowl and something called "pitchers and catchers". Its a lonely time for a certain kind of man. Fortunately, Sports Illustrated publishes it swimsuit issue during this very dry sports spell. While it does include photos of athletes' wives, I don't recommend that you buy it. You can stop by and steal it from our house. At least, one of you can.
In campaign news, one of McCain's senior advisors has all but endorsed Obama. Paul Krugman is off his meds, for no apparent reason. What kind of world do we live in where David Brooks is the Columnist for Hope and Krugman is the baseless, poo-flinging crank? And then, this is funny:
Update: This is really funny. I like the idea that someone out there is clamoring for lowfat milk. hee hee.
Tonight, as Mr. S and I stood transfixed by CNN, our older son announced, "I'm tired of Obama." Poor guy. Obama, that is. Li is so skilled at obsessions, I feel back that Barack doesn't have what it takes to be the next airplanes or pirates or dinosaurs.
The rest of you might be tired of Obama too; at least, hearing about him from me. But my Obama overkill is due, in large part, to my dismay about this season of The Wire. I am just not feeling it. There have been some great scenes. Dukie and Cutty? Bunk and Randy? Ohmigod. But generally, the plot is too Without a Trace or something. Just not feeling it. So unless the last three episodes just explode, I am afraid you are stuck with my political obsession until some other thing comes along.
I just hope Obama is not coasting as much as I am today. I just noticed that the polls show Obama winning Washington and Nebraska with 68% of the vote in each state, and Louisiana with 57% of the vote. Yow. I know Hillary has some good spots on the horizon in March but those numbers are blistering. I, personally, would be too tired to soldier on. But that's already the case and all I do is . . . well, whatever it is I do. I just think that when the state that has the highest Black population (among states voting today) gives Obama the lowest results and he is still kicking ass there (57%!), things are looking, well, stressful for Ms. HRC.
Here's something less stressful than what Hillary has going on. I hope she ain't mad that it's Sure Shot.
Somehow people use the fact that Obama is not PERFECT in his policy recommendations as an excuse to support a more 'realistic' choice. Come on, like somehow being 'ready to lead on day one' is more realistic!? I think this is just an excuse to not have hope and to be a crabby cynic- if I don't have hopes, I can't be disappointed. Blah.
Sami is really right here. It should be acknowledged that Obama is not perfect. Why just last night Dr. Pessimism was saying that Obama snubbed Gavin Newsom some years ago during the heyday of gay marriage in SF. (Newsom still has his knickers in a twist about this). Obviously, Obama has been a politician so there are going to be a few stories like this. Another Obama snafu was the land deal with Tony Rezko. Boneheaded, indeed.
Maybe I am too intoxicated by the Obama joy juice. But let's call these what they were: Mistakes. We all make 'em. But on the other hand, for years, Bill and Hillary Clinton have been doing stuff that she'd like to call mistakes but can't. WalMart? Ooops! She totally meant to say something about that union-busting! Or how about letting Monsanto poison America's food supply? Hey, Woh, not my fault! And we haven't even started to rehash Monica, Whitewater, Travelgate, the undisclosed presidential papers . . .
I am not saying that these things would keep me from voting for her in November if I must. But I do think a lot of this stuff makes her harder to get behind, and its a lot harder to forgive, then the fact that Obama's policy statements explicitly acknowledge that he intends to work with Congress and policy experts on accomplish his legislative agenda. In fact, I think it would be a mistake for him to do otherwise.
Today on the way into work, I saw a young guy with a homemade Obama sign near a busy intersection, and got completely excited and overwhelmed. Warning, corniness and sincerity ahead. I cannot remember in my short lifetime when people of all ages and races took the initiative to make signs, go downtown and sincerely proclaim their political hopes. It hasn't happened before. And I have been waiting for it for my entire adult life.
I became a union lawyer because I wanted to be of service to a movement. I was working as a community organizer in Chicago on TANF issues and police response to domestic violence, and every issue seemed to be so isolated. Every effort was focused on a narrow slice of a problem, usually for people with so many problems that biting off just, say, how police respond to DV calls was, ultimately, laughable. I thought working for the labor movement would be something bigger than that, and it is. We bite off slightly larger chunks of problems for people with slightly fewer problems. It has its moments of gratification, but they are rare, and more lip service is paid to the historical aspects of our movement than to truly reinvigorating it.
In the Obama movement, I finally feel like I have found a real movement, where people are inspired to do better not just because of their leaders but because of one another. Probably just a few months ago, I would have laughed in derision at the guy I saw driving to work. Now I want to figure out how I will spend my day encouraging people to vote. He inspired me.
I know that Obama will not "win" today. He may not even win the nomination. I think that would be unfortunate. But the worst thing that could happen would be for people who feel like I feel, like they still want to make a difference - see change in our world - stop believing that they can. I really hope we don't lose this moment, where we can inspire each other.
I am "mobile blogging" because our internet connection is down, so I can't provide links. sorry.
My beef o' the minute happens to be Paul Krugman. He really seems to have a hard-on for Obama (sorry, mother-in-law, for the crude phrase. It isn't a good thing, by the way). Today's column complained about Obama's health care plan. He just comes across like a crank. No shit Obama's plan isn't perfect. The attraction to obama isn't in the details of the health care plan. I understand that no one's plan will be passed intact. Its the transparency about the process, the effort to compromise and still accomplish- those are the attractive elements. Its Hillary who seems like she is full of fairy tales. Bah humbug, Krugman.
Why does McCain think its a good thing to have Joe-mentum Lieberman standing behind him? Doesn't that just piss everyone off? Republicans don't like him because he's nominally a Democrat, and the Democrats hate Lieberman for the same reason.
And how many people are voting for Huckabee because of Chuck Norris? And why don't pollsters ever ask important questions like this?
The CW has it that a prolonged primary season hurts the Dems because Hillary and Obama will beat eachother up while McRomnabee sits back and rakes in cash and runs a general election campaign all by themselves. But the conventional wisdom was that the Repugnicans were going to have a brawling contest all the way til their September convention until just before Florida. So the pundits need to chill out.
Also, other than Bill Clinton's obnoxious racial bullshit in NC, I just don't think that the Democrats have been that brutal yet. At least not as brutal as Hillary has it in her to be. Obama and Edwards have really kept her in check, but her lack of totally explicit backstabbing has made this campaign season pleasant, even fun. I just don't think she can go negative without hurting herself.
Anyway, that's all for my punditry tonight.
Re: Breakfast soup. Listen Mr. "Carry Okey", I was blogging via handheld device and didn't feel like googling breakfast soup while driving. I think that's against the law anyway. (Googling while driving, that is, not breakfast soup. Although any recipe that includes bacon and bacon drippings and, like, a carton of eggs, is surely going to be outlawed soon).
