It's Obama's fault!

Here's a hypothetical scenario that I'd really like to collect reader thoughts on.

If the President or local Congressperson were to propose a $20 billion program to fund a variety of Gulf Coast infrastructure projects and social programs, would it pass? What if it were $10 billion? Or $5 billion? What do you think the tally in the House and Senate would be?

My initial assumption is that there would not be sufficient votes in either chamber but I haven't given it a whole lot of thought.

President Obama's visit to New Orleans

I have a whole bunch of really fuzzy pictures from my increasingly useless digital camera right here on the flickr. I took pictures of political people I recognized. From the New Orleans City Council, I spotted Shelley Midura, Cynthia Hedge Morrell, Arnie Fielkow, and Jackie Clarkson. From our Baton Rouge delegation, I noticed Jim Tucker, Walk Leger, Ed Murray, and Karen Carter Peterson. Of course I also spotted Mayor Nagin, Governor Jindal, State AG Buddy Caldwell, as well as Representatives Cao, Scalise, and Melancon. As far as aspirant candidates are concerned, I saw Murray and John Georges but wasn't able to pick Badon or Perry out of the crowd. They may have been there; this is certainly not an exhaustive list.

I had a great time and came away satisfied with the experience. Seeing a Presidential speech in person is not a bad way to spend a Thursday afternoon. Being close enough to shake Mr. Obama's hand was also very exciting, as I've obviously been an admirer of his for some time.

More substantively, I found his comments to be largely uncontroversial, and therefore, somewhat unsatisfying. Some have criticized the President for what he did and did not say during his junket here. I don't necessarily disagree with many of the critiques I've read, but I'm going to take a different approach and discuss what I think are some significant signs of progress specific to our region during the administration's first nine months.

1.Housing

To me, this is the area in which the administration has been most proactive. Before HUD's Shaun Donnovan can even begin to evaluate housing policy here, he has to at least have people on the ground with the credibility to tell him what's happening. I'm encouraged by Donnovan's decision to send in an entire team to gut and rebuild HANO after Alphonso Jackson's pathetic receivership of the agency. In fact, I'm not sure I've ever heard of such an intervention before.

2. Coastal Restoration

The Obama administration has created the Gulf Coast Interagency Working Group to deal with environmental issues and coastal restoration. In part, this move seems to be designed to force the Army Corps out of isolation and into a collaboration with local agencies in Louisiana and Mississippi.

3. Criminal Justice

The Department of Justice and FBI have opened up a series of investigations into the NOPD's conduct during and after Hurricane Katrina. I've speculated that this could result in the Department of Justice Civil Rights Division possibly pursuing a consent decree with the city of New Orleans.

4. FEMA/DHS

President Obama has cleaned out the local FEMA office, appointed a new director who everyone seems fired up about, and established an arbitration system that will resolve ongoing reimbursement pursuits in less time than the traditional appeals process that local agencies had previously been muddling through.

5. Schools, healthcare, infrastructure

The stimulus bill has allowed Louisiana to compete for lots and lots of money - to accelerate school construction, to fix roads and build new train lines, and to keep clinics open. It is unfortunate that our Governor has decided we shouldn't try for some of this money but that's not the administration's fault. It's also unfortunate that our Congressional delegation - especially since Congressman Cao was not prepared to be effective when he was first sworn in - wasn't able to do more to push important Louisiana-specific infrastructure projects in the stimulus bill.


--

To me, that's an okay first nine months considering everything the country faces right now while also keeping in mind that President Obama is not the Mayor of New Orleans or the Governor of Louisiana. It's not fantastic, but it ain't bad.

The biggest problem is that our local officials are really poor advocates for the needs of the city.

The most common critiques I've seen from others and the biggest complaints that I have myself, revolve around the perception that the federal government isn't really serious about coastal restoration or levee protection, the sense the the administration doesn't care about punishing those who abused their power during Hurricane Katrina, and the idea that the administration isn't resolved to invest in infrastructure and opportunity here on the Gulf Coast.

Are our Congressional Delegation and our Governor all on the same page when it comes to proposing and advocating for the grander initiatives we need to move forward?

Is anyone from our local delegation calling for investigations into post-Katrina racism? John Conyers is, but he's from Michigan.

Is our local delegation united on an independent commission to look into the army corps and the federal levee failures? As far as I can tell, there isn't a significant lobbying effort by our Congressional delegation or our Governor for such a commission.

Are our local elected officials making a case for expanded federal funding of our infrastructure needs? Absolutely they are not. In fact, Governor Jindal seems to be consciously working against federal funding of infrastructure projects. When the stimulus was being negotiated, was the really city prepared ahead of time with a list of projects that need additional federal support? Were state agencies on the same page with the Congressional delegation about the needs of the region?

--

I don't mean to absolve the President of any criticism. It does seem like the President isn't interested in a transformational platform to make Southern Louisiana sustainable or to extend opportunity to its residents. It does seem like he's only taking President Bush's programs and making them work a little bit better.

That's not enough.

Nonetheless, it is the job of our local officials to work toward a consensus vision for rebuilding this region, not the President's. Until our local leadership can articulate that vision and mobilize New Orleanians to support it, this President and future Presidents are not going to risk political capital on big ideas for Southeast Louisiana or New Orleans.

We touched

It was a privilege to have been able to see the President speak today. I took pictures. They'll be up after the Phillies game.

In other news, I won't be washing my right hand any time soon, my seasonal allergies are gone, and I don't need my glasses anymore.

Strange.

Interference

According to LJI, the State Fire Marshall made a surprise visit to MLK Charter in order to nitpick enough to order it closed in advance of President Obama's visit.

For Immediate Release
October 15, 2009

On Tuesday afternoon, October 13th, the Louisiana Fire Marshal made an unexpected, surprise visit to, and inspection of Dr. Martin Luther King Charter School for Science and Technology, ordering the closure of the high school campus for 30 days citing alleged fire code violations.

This news is significant because the school was the site today of President Barak Obama's first stop on his visit to New Orleans, and because of the nature of the purported violations.

King Charter School Principal Doris Hicks said couldn't she believe such a thing could happen on the eve of a visit to the school by the President of the United States.

"We expanded our campus two years ago and have been safely operating the high school in trailers since then without any problems. Suddenly (they say) we're endangering our children?" Dr. Hicks said. “Nothing is more important to us than the safety of our students. "

The Louisiana Fire Marshal reports directly to Louisiana's republican Gov. Bobby Jindal.

The alleged code violations included having enough fire extinguishers, but purportedly the wrong size, and failing to have sufficient ingress/egress to an empty building.

Dr. Austin Allen, a pro bono architect for the school and professor at the University of Colorado at Denver, indicated the cited problems were in no way life threatening. "We were able to resolve most of the issues within 24 hours; I can't understand why the fire marshal set this 30 day penalty," Dr. Allen said.

King Charter School can only hope this incident actually exposes the extreme school facility crisis being experienced in districts throughout Louisiana.

Louisiana Justice Institute Managing Director and King School attorney Tracie Washington expressed frustration with the situation.

"I can only hope Louisiana's Fire Marshal and Governor Jindal will care about all the children in Louisiana, not just those being visited by President Obama. Interestingly, neither offered assistance to King School in mitigating any safety issues for our students, which certainly raises questions their motives, “ Ms. Washington said.

The Presidential visit to King Charter School was a complete success, despite this Fire Marshal interruption.

Really? A closure for wrong-sized fire extinguishers just a day or two before the President's visit?

That's just bad form.

Don’t like to hear where I can’t go - updated

Is it true that President Obama's scheduled trip to New Orleans coincides with Mayor Nagin's scheduled trip to Cuba?

How convenient!

I wonder if President Obama - juggling two wars, a limping economy, a critical healthcare reform initiative, and the coming climate change catastrophe - was asked to reschedule to accommodate Mayor Nagin?

--

My own views on Cuba are similar to those of Jackson Browne:

Maybe I’ll go through Mexico
Old Jesse Helms don’t have to know
Anyway all the allies of the USA
Travel to Cuba everyday

--

Update: Mayor Nagin has, I'm told, rescheduled his trip to Cuba. I suppose this does confirm that Obama's trip to New Orleans coincided with Nagin's junket - which is interesting. I didn't mean to suggest that the Mayor was giving serious thought to going ahead with his trip. I don't have those kinds of sources.

While we're on the subject, let me applaud Mayor C. Ray Nagin.

No need to adjust your screens. I would like to genuinely tip my hat to the Mayor for reaching out to Cuba and I hope he can reschedule his trip as soon as possible. I think the next Mayor should market New Orleans as destination for transnational tourism and immigration. The embargo against Cuba is going to end sooner or later. Our cultural similarities are so similar we'd be really dumb not to position ourselves to capitalize on the opportunities that may arise from loosened restrictions on travel and trade. It almost always seems like we fall behind the curve on stuff like this but this time maybe New Orleans might be shrewd enough to get ahead.

Since we're here, I really think New Orleans should do more to attract immigrants both legal and illegal. I think we should become a sanctuary city - like most other major cities - by adopting laws that protect illegal immigrants. Though I'm sure there are economic benefits to derive from opening up our arms to the world, my rationale is more based on my own anecdotal observation that this place would be more awesome if we had more immigrants from more places - I'm thinking especially Brazil, West Africa, and Cuba - to hang with.

Note to the advance team

I am really looking forward to President Obama's overdue visit next Thursday.

A White House memo, provided by Louisiana members of Congress, said the president would be in New Orleans for a town hall, but didn't provide any details.

Sorry but I'd like to know some details.

What kind of town hall are we talking about here?

Will it be come-one come-all? Obama-style? Room to accommodate a thousand of us or so?

Or will it be invite only? Landrieu-style? Room for only a few hundred?


I want to see the President speak. He might not be back again for a while.

It would make me real sad to miss out.

Get a big space reserved, mmkay?

Let's move on from Wilson already

Sean Quinn:

Importantly, Obama should take this approach and also remind people that although Wilson’s objection was not a truthful one, that if anyone out there was bothered by what they saw with that display, the best action would be to not waste energy attacking Mr. Wilson but instead to contact their Representative and Senators and express their opinions on getting a health insurance reform bill passed. If people don’t know the phone numbers & emails for their Representative’s or Senators’ offices, he should say, just go to www.barackobama.com and type in their home address/zip code to find it. He’d have a big platform to make that pitch with media attention hot on the story.

Okay, it was fun for a day. Let's fight for healthcare now.

Mary Landrieu:

Washington D.C.: (202) 224-5824
New Orleans: (504) 589-2427

Joe Cao:

Washington D.C.: (202) 225-6636
New Orleans: (504) 483-2325

Charlie Melancon:

Washington D.C.: (202) 225-4013
At home: See here

--

And most importantly, an opportunity to get organized.

Feeling Bullish

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

I thought this speech was brilliant in so many ways.

He avoided drawing hard lines in the sand on most of the specific policy proposals he personally favors.

But he drew several lines in the sand on the principles at stake here.

Either you're for participating in the creation and passage of a critically important but imperfect healthcare and health insurance reform bill or you're against it.

Either you're for working with the President to fix problems or you're against it.

He's putting his Presidency on the line.

Because if we can't fix healthcare, with all the general agreement there is on what the problems are, we're not going to be able to fix anything at all.

Senator Ben Nelson of Nebraska, corporate Democrat enemy number one of liberal progressives for his role watering down healthcare reform in the upper chamber, who stood steadfast against the public option in the face of hundreds of thousands of dollars of ads, said after the speech that it was a "game changer."

He's on board and will work with the President to pass the best bill they can.

Who else we got?

Max Baucus of Montana?

Olympia Snow of Maine?

Susan Collins of Maine?

Mary Landrieu of Louisiana?

George Voinovich of Ohio?

The New Guy of Florida?

What are you all going to do? Who you with? What side are you on?

--

Senator Landrieu's statement after the speech:

“President Obama’s speech tonight was very much needed to keep Congress on track to find a solution for the health care challenges facing our country. It was a sincere and heartfelt effort to unify Democrats and reach out to Republicans to forge common ground and build a broader coalition. Moving this debate forward will take principled compromise and an approach that draws from the very best ideas – regardless of political party.

“The President rightfully focused on the need to lower health care costs for families, businesses and the government. If Congress does not find the resolve to pass health care legislation, people will not be able to afford the insurance they like or get the quality coverage they need, and the federal government will not be able to balance its budget.

“Skyrocketing health insurance premiums and unstable costs have hurt even our most successful small businesses and stifled job growth at a time when our economy needs a jolt. Insurance reform and the new insurance exchanges that the President highlighted are excellent solutions to giving consumers and small businesses greater choice, and with it, competitive prices in a market-based approach.

“The coming weeks and months will produce a spirited debate. But as the President said, the time is now for improving health care. Our current system is unsustainable and is costing our nation more than $2 trillion a year. Louisiana and all of America simply cannot afford the status quo.”

This sounds like she's is ready and willing to vote for healthcare reform even if it includes a public option triggered four years from now with the launch of an insurance exchange and I hope that my interpretation of her position is correct.

It is shameful she hasn't been a strong advocate for healthcare reform. I don't think it's politically risky to contrast oneself with David Vitter's position. I think there is way less downside risk if one is a fierce supporter of healthcare reform but a lot of potential benefit. Conversely, hanging back until the last minute before ultimately voting for healthcare reform, which is what I expect the Senator to do, would seem to be to carry all of the downside risk without any of the potential benefits.

It was cowardly, especially given that she's not even up for reelection for another five years.

--

Congressman Cao told the Times-Picayune he was "relieved" by Obama's assertion that there would be no funding for abortion in the healthcare reform bill.

That's important. At a forum last week in New Orleans East broadcast by WBOK, Cao insisted that there was federal funding for abortion in the bill over the objections of the crowd.

As a result, Tracie Washington posed a hypothetical question to the Congressman, which he clearly answered. Even though the abortion myth has been debunked by nonpartisan fact checkers for weeks prior to the President's speech last night, Washington wondered whether Cao would support the bill if it had everything he wanted but didn't include additional specific language pertaining to abortion.

She asked if abortion was a deal-breaker.

And Cao said yes.

So Congressman Cao's statement to the Times-Picayune is very encouraging. I would strongly urge him to become that rare Republican advocate for healthcare reform from here on out. I don't expect that but I would applaud him loudly if that's what he ends up doing.

Chicken Soup

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

No more political pussy-footing. Pass healthcare reform now.

Finally

I've been very critical of inflexible trailer eviction deadlines and have always been discouraged by the total lack of local leadership on the issue. This past Monday was another hard deadline that threatened to throw hundreds of poor and disabled individuals and families onto the streets.

So, I'm extremely heartened by the Obama Administration policy change that will keep roofs over the heads of our most vulnerable neighbors - seniors, the disabled, and the sick.

The Obama administration will announce plans today to virtually give away roughly 1,800 mobile homes to 3,400 families displaced by Hurricane Katrina who are living in government-provided housing along the Gulf Coast, officials said.

The administration also will make available $50 million in rental vouchers to income-eligible trailer occupants who move to targeted housing projects, and take over from Louisiana the job of helping residents find permanent homes, said a senior White House official, speaking on the condition of anonymity before the formal announcement.

"We knew we needed to bring this program to a close," the official said. "We also want to ensure a humane and secure transition for all of them."

This is a much better policy than closing our eyes and pretending that the threat of eviction is a magic bullet for moving people into permanent housing. Good stuff. This announcement is a step in the right direction.

What is SO objectionable about healthcare reform?

Mary Landrieu, Charlies Melancon, and Anh Cao are mulling over President Obama's budget proposal, which promises to make significant down payment on healthcare reform and sets up a program to control harmful pollution and spur the development of renewable resource technology.

I love this budget proposal. I think it is exactly what the country needs right now.

I need affordable health care options. So do tens of millions of my American neighbors. And our country needs to get off of foreign oil. Our industries and businesses are going to need to adjust to environmental realities.


This is a prudent and moderate proposal that will help this country emerge from this crisis with a stronger social safety net and a robust new green jobs sector.

This budget puts mechanisms in place to do these things. But our Representatives are still sticking their fingers up into the wind.

And guess what?

The people of this nation are in favor of it and this new President's agenda by huge margins.

But they really need to hear it from us. The conservative talk radio crowd makes phone calls and sends letters. We need to our voices to be heard over theirs.


Call 'em up in D.C.

Rep. Melancon: (202) 225-4031

Rep. Cao: (202) 225-6636

Sen. Landrieu: (202)224-5824

A Bright Red (updated: The Case for Federal Intervention)

To what extent do White America's voting patterns in the Presidential election of 2008 inform us about racism in America?

To what extent is a local population's diminished support for Barack Obama in 2008 compared to the level of support for John Kerry in 2004 indicative of racism? What other factors might cause a population to be more enthusiastic for Kerry in '04 than Obama in '08?

538 has an interesting new map embedded in today's post about this subject.

This map, which was spread around the internet just after election day, compares how different counties voted in '08 compared to '04.



This map, however, subtracts African Americans to show how non-blacks voted by county in '08 compared to '04.


That's a much more nuanced depiction of voting pattern.

Look at the Old Confederacy in both maps.

Swish all this around in your mouth a little while as you think about where the most strident opposition to President Obama is coming from and as you consider New Orleans' position within the state of Louisiana and Gulf South region.


Late update:

Let me cut to the chase.

When I was thinking about these maps, and often when I consider the resources required to justly and equitably rebuild this city and make it sustainable over the medium long term, I have an internal debate about the extent that federal intervention will be required.

Not just in terms of money allocated, but in terms of direct imposition of policy on states where ultraconservative state leaders further isolate poor communities from critical resources in the name of false fiscal responsibility. Sort of like Louisiana right now...

I'd like to open that up to discussion.

Is the idea of federal receivership of Orleans Parish the most disgusting thing you've ever heard? Is it a necessary evil?

We Must Pass Obama's Budget

I supported Barack Obama not just because I thought he could win an election, but because I actually wanted to see his policies and programs put in place. He said what those policies were on the campaign trail and now he's trying to implement them as President. He's keeping his word.

The budget he proposes is extremely ambitious. It sets up the country to finally deliver on some really important things, namely alternative energy and comprehensive healthcare reform.

Green jobs and healthcare coverage that costs us less green.

We need these things, we want these things, we deserve these things. Short term and long term.

But it's not just up to him. This is democracy. It's also up to us.


Right now, right-wing naysayers (who can point to no viable alternative plan) are putting pressure on moderate Democrats to water down the budget bill by stripping it of its most important and prudent provisions.

And we're on the front lines here in Louisiana.

The President needs the support of Representative Charlie Melancon and Senator Mary Landrieu, but both of them are waffling.

We need to put pressure on our elected officials to support the Obama budget.

Republican activists are very good about writing letters and making phone calls. I think that sometimes we don't think that these things don't make a difference. In reality, they do.

It takes very little time to make a phone call.


Rep. Charlie Melancon:

Washington, DC Office 404 Cannon House Office Bldg Washington, DC 20515-1807 Phone: (202) 225-4031 Fax: (202) 226-3944
Houma 423 Lafayette St, Ste. 107 Houma, LA 70360 Phone: 985.876.3033 Fax: 985.872.4449	Gonzales 1201 S. Purpera Ave. Ste. 601 Gonzales, LA 70737 Phone: 225.621.8490 Fax: 225.621.8493
Chalmette 8201 W. Judge Perez Dr. Chalmette, LA 70043 Phone: 504.271.1707 Fax: 504.271.1756	New Iberia 124 East Main Street Suite 100 New Iberia, LA 70560 Phone: 337.367.8231 Fax: 337.369.7084

And since he claims to be a closeted Democrat, let's also add Rep. Cao to the list:

Washington Office 2113 Rayburn HOB Washington, DC 20515 Phone: (202) 225-6636 Fax: (202) 225-1988

.

New Orleans Office 4640 So. Carrollton Ave. Suite 120 New Orleans, LA 70119 Phone: (504) 483-2325 Fax: (504) 483-7944

Sen. Mary Landrieu:

	Washington, DC 328 Hart Senate Building United States Senate Washington, DC 20510 Voice: (202)224-5824 Fax:(202) 224-9735 Email Senator Landrieu
New Orleans Hale Boggs Federal Building 500 Poydras Street Room 1005 New Orleans, LA 70130 Voice: (504) 589-2427 Fax:(504) 589-4023		Baton Rouge Room 326, Federal Building 707 Florida Street Baton Rouge, LA 70801 Voice: (225) 389-0395 Fax:(225) 389-0660
Shreveport U.S. Courthouse 300 Fannin Street Room 2240 Shreveport, LA 71101 Voice: (318) 676-3085 Fax:(318) 676-3100		Lake Charles Hibernia Tower One Lakeshore Drive Suite 1260 Lake Charles, LA 70629 Voice: (337) 436-6650 Fax:(337) 439-3762

Just take a moment. Three phone calls a day until this budget is passed.

Formerly Known As

Cool:


We Could Be Famous enthusiastically endorses this name change idea.

Seeking, Buffering: GOP strategy @ 48.8 bps

Some interesting leaks this weekend regarding GOP strategy as it relates to stimulus, Obama, and Congressional Democrats.

1. Elana Schor documents GOP triangulation against Pelosi and Reid.

But don't tell Republicans that it's Obama's stimulus plan they're rejecting. GOPers are subtly aiming to capitalize on two very different numbers: the Democratic Congress' sub-30% approval rating and Obama's impressive 64% approval.

"The problem lies squarely with congressional Democrats," House Republican Whip Eric Cantor (R-VA) told reporters after the vote. "My conversation with the president was clear; he said, 'it's the Speaker [Pelosi] and the Leader [Reid] running these chambers, they have the ability to control this process.'"

2. Rep. Cantor is the real leader of the House Republicans these days. He's been considered a rising star for some time and his name was bandied about when John McCain was looking at potential running mates this past summer. Now, as head whip, he's really started to realize his influence on GOP politics. He's BFF with Newt Gingrich and they talk on the phone several times a week about the latest sitcoms and dramas.

You can start to see a new generation of leadership crystallizing around some of the organizing and messaging principles laid out by Newt Gingrich since 2006ish. I've tracked this on and off since the election but it's worth bringing full-circle. Gingrich and Bobby Jindal are clearly cozy and the two employ a very similar rhetoric about "solutions." Gingrich also not-so-quietly supported Michael Steele's campaign for the GOP Chairmanship. And now the Gingrich protege Eric Cantor represents the 'anointed one' in Congress.

Watch those four names very closely: Cantor, Gingrich, Jindal, and Steele. I'm curious to see who else is looking to do business with master Newt.

3. Getting back to point 1, Josh Marshall interprets Elana's digging:

In fact, it even goes deeper than this. As Elana noted yesterday, the plan of the congressional GOP -- to the degree they have one -- is to faux cozy up to Obama and say that they both face a common foe in the Democratic Congress. The idea being that since "Congress" is really unpopular they can run against Congress.

But there's a very big problem with this strategy above and beyond the absurdity of the argument. "Congress" may be really unpopular. And the Democrats now control Congress. But politics is a zero sum game. At the end of the day, in almost every case, you've got to pick a Republican or a Democrat when you vote. And if you look at the numbers, congressional Democrats are pretty popular. And congressional Republicans are extremely unpopular. If you look at the number, the Dems are at about 50% or higher in most recent polls, while the GOP is down in the 30s.

From my armless chair, I trace a lot of this weekend's recalibration as it relates to interpreting GOP strategy to Andrew Sullivan's reaction to overall GOP tactics related to the stimulus vote and the Gregg withdrawal.

Their clear and open intent is to do all they can, however they can, to sabotage the new administration (and the economy to boot). They want failure. Even now. Even after the last eight years. Even in a recession as steeply dangerous as this one.

I think an abundance of disbelief related to Andrew's dark assessment has caused a lot of pundits to convince themselves of a contrived GOP triangulation against Congressional Democrats.

The GOP is really just kind of using a stumble upon strategy, reevaluating their position at the end of every tactically-contrived media cycle.

Maybe they have indeed come up with a medium-term plan to work against Pelosi and Reid in lieu of Obama. But this is most certainly NOT something that the wingnut base is going to endorse.

4. And for all the stories about the death of bipartisanship and the unpatriotic GOP war of insurgency, there's this from Arlen Spector:

"When I came back to the cloak room after coming to the agreement a week ago today," said Specter, "one of my colleagues said, 'Arlen, I'm proud of you.' My Republican colleague said, 'Arlen, I'm proud of you.' I said, 'Are you going to vote with me?' And he said, 'No, I might have a primary.' And I said, 'Well, you know very well I'm going to have a primary.'"

Specter, along with centrist Maine Republican Senators Susan Collins and Olympia Snowe, joined with Democrats last week to move the stimulus bill forward. Specter said he doubted there would be any more Republican votes than those three Friday night.

"I think there are a lot of people in the Republican caucus who are glad to see this action taken without their fingerprints, without their participation," he said.

Specter was asked, How many of your colleagues?

"I think a sizable number," he said. "I think a good part of the caucus agrees with the person I quoted, but I wouldn't want to begin to speculate on numbers."

Now Arlen has a certain way of making a tactical lie seem like refreshing candor but it's worth taking note. I wonder how this changed the printout coming from the Marshall and Sullivan Megapolitics3000 supercomputer.

---

So basically I think that Obama needs to continue doing exactly what he's been doing as far as political strategy is concerned. It's amazing how often I'll read thousands of words from people freaking out left, right, and center and ultimately conclude that Barack Obama's game plan is generally the right way to proceed. Pick the issue, reach out to skeptical parties, make a couple of changes, pass the law.

More of this please

TPM highlighted this speech as especially good.

If you've been as bummed out by the media's handling of the stimulus debate as I've been, then you'll appreciate the pick me up.

Is this like that bully pulpit I've heard so much about?

For the Record

July 2004:




February 2007:




January 2008:




January 2008:




January 2008:




February 2008:




March 2008:





June 2008:




August 2008:




November 2008:




January 2009:

Organizing For America

One of the main reasons I started supporting this commie pinko so many months ago:



No other politician in America could propose something like this, no matter what the details look like when they emerge.

That's Right, Butter Him Up

New Orleans making its case for a fair share of the stimulus.

St. Tammany Parish Schools Barracading Themselves in 1920s

What a lovely state we live in.

This after a week of public assurances by officials that recent KKK activity in St. Tammany and Washington Parishes is indeed out of the ordinary. (Though interviews with locals yield a different perspective.)

Yeah, great comfort.