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LIGHTNING ROUND: RIGHT WING UNCOVERS OBAMA'S "COMPLICITY WITH RAPPERS". CLEARLY HIS CAMPAIGN IS OVER.
- John McCain cranks up what Kevin Drum calls the "computerized pander-matic machine" and proposes a ridiculously pointless federal gas tax holiday.
- Obama is willing to consider considering criminal charges for members of the Bush administration. I'd support that in an ideal world, but practically it seems like it would distract from actually getting progressive policies enacted.
- Christopher Beam argues that Clinton is wildly overplaying her hand on the "bitterness" question.
- Ben Smith points out that Obama has done a great job in this and other crises to fight back and make "gaffes" less damaging than they might have been. This is something liberal writers have been clamoring for for years, but it's great to see it in action and I think Obama has gotten too little credit for it.
- Condi Rice makes a shermanesque statement about McCain's VP slot. Of course, if Sherman announced a run for President the next day nobody would have cared...
- I really really really hate arguments of the form "if X did Y blah blah blah would happen" but can you imagine what would happen if a Democrat presented a bunch of recipes from a food network website as their own? But since we all know McCain is a politician with sincerity of a kind that has never before been seen in such depth or with such care, this obviously won't matter.
- Human Events discovers that Obama's "complicity with rappers dates back to at least 2006." The whole article is pretty much the whitest thing I've ever read.
- There was some question a while back over whether Joe Lieberman's claims that the Democratic Party is moving leftward were examples of a full Zell-Miller-style transformation coming. I said yes, and given that he's now saying that it's a "good question" whether Obama is a marxist, I'm pretty confident in that prediction.
--Sam Boyd
COMMENTS (8)
OT: If you subscribe to Human Events this month you get a free 12oz. jar of Miracle Whip.
Posted by: joejoejoe | April 15, 2008 7:19 PM
Obama is willing to consider considering criminal charges for members of the Bush administration. I'd support that in an ideal world, but practically it seems like it would distract from actually getting progressive policies enacted.
It's 1992 all over again.
Posted by: Aaron S. Veenstra | April 15, 2008 7:35 PM
I've alwys thought that going back and pushing from criminal charges for the past admin was counter productive. But then you look at all the crooks from Iran-Contra who found there way back into the Bush admin and I think maybe it is a necessary step.
Posted by: Eric k | April 15, 2008 7:52 PM
Forceful agreement with Aaron and Eric -- we need to pursue those criminal charges to make sure it doesn't happen again, and to send a signal that no one is above the law.
Posted by: Matt Weiner | April 15, 2008 8:54 PM
Sam Boyd writes: The whole article is pretty much the blackest thing I've ever read.
Just kidding! Something like that wouldn't be "liberal".
Meanwhile, guess what major event from last decade Obama took part in. Maybe someone can even come up with some pics.
Posted by: TLB | April 15, 2008 9:56 PM
I'd support that in an ideal world, but practically it seems like it would distract from actually getting progressive policies enacted.
--
Amen Matt Weiner. In a world not even close to ideal McNamara would be serving a life term. Bush/Cheney & co. need their day in court.
Posted by: Tom Fitz | April 15, 2008 11:30 PM
The president gets to appoint about 3,000 political appointees, if not more. They supervise a vast army of federal workers. The administration can do more than one thing at a time.
Launching investigations into malfeasance by the Bushies isn't optional, because if we don't more aggressively to restore constitutional government, the Republicans may just make sure, next time they recover the presidency, that they never give it up.
And these investigations will initially take place quietly, as federal prosecutors gather evidence, leaving plenty of time for the press and public to focus on the president's proposals on the economy and the war.
Posted by: Joe Buck | April 16, 2008 12:07 AM
All those inner city folks, so bitter, clinging to their guns, their aversion to school, their rap music....
Posted by: Bizzaro | April 16, 2008 4:57 AM