...but I still have a few thoughts to share. Surprised?
Andrew Sullivan said the most intelligent thing I've heard about grading Obama on his first 100 days: It's pass/fail and he passed. David Brooks said that the biggest surprise for him so far is that a 47-year-old man who has spent so little time in Washington could prove to be such an effective manager.
The swine flu won't amount to much. These things almost never do. Remember the swine flu scare back in 1976? I didn't think so.
Reading between the lines, the results of the stress tests are telegraphing that either Vikram Pandit of Citigroup or Ken Lewis of Bank of America, or both, will be forced from their jobs shortly. I'm not saying it's right or wrong, but the tea leaves are telling me that Ken Lewis is going to get the axe.
The issue of torture is taking on a life of its own. It's not going to go away and has the potential to derail the Obama agenda by dividing the country further and distracting it from its vital business.
Ever since I recommended Christopher Buckley as a must-read, he's turned out two or three very uninspired columns. Allow me to offer Gail Collins of the NYT as a mea culpa. She's funny!
Having Dick Cheney as the current voice of the Republican Party is a godsend to Obama and the Democrats. He's even more unpopular than Rush Limbaugh! Who's next, Richard Nixon's ghost?
The Republicans are bent out of shape about health care reform being subject to a simple majority vote. They say it will preclude debate. Who are they kidding? We've been debating the issue since Theodore Roosevelt first raised it a hundred years ago! The Germans have had national health insurance since Bismarck! Is there any doubt that the Republicans just want to torpedo reform?
Fox has announced that it will not air the president's news conference Wednesday night. So much for "fair and balanced."
My new lawn mower is all charged up and ready to go. I think tomorrow will be the big day.
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2 comments:
I have a hard time believing the Obama administration doesn't have at least a small desire to see through some of the issues concerning torture.
I do think he is taking a smart approach to the matter, though, in a number of ways.
First off, excluding CIA operatives who enacted torture methods legitimated by the Bush Administration and their legal advisors is, of course, the smart and right move. These agents were following orders.
Now, since the orders turned out to be torture, I think Obama is also right to turn the Bush legal team into his targets via Eric Holder.
This approach serves two purposes. One it targets torture systematically, thereby reducing the chances of it being used in the future. Two, it targets lawyers, who, it seems to me, will make information deals with the Justice Department regarding the role of Bush Administration Officials in motivating these surgical strikes on the legality of torture faster than you can say "Decider".
Not trying to craft a conspiracy theory, here. It just seems like a classic way to get a plea bargain off the ground.
Either way, it beats reading about "swine" flu. Why "swine"? Why not give it a medical name? Do global pandemics have marketing agencies that craft their message?
I just hope we don't catch it from the pigs at Wagner Farm.
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