Wednesday, January 16, 2008
It's Mitt
Mitt Romney wins the Michigan Republican primary with 39% to John McCain's 30% and Mike Huckabee's 16 percent.
Here's what this does and doesn't mean.
It doesn't mean that Romney's on a roll. Michigan is practically his home state; if he couldn't win there.....
It does mean that there are really no strong candidates in the Republican field, and there is certainly no candidate who has given voters a compelling reason vote for him above the others.
I went to a dinner party last night at which a group of New York liberals (lovely people, this group, and very engaged with what's going on politically) debated whether Hillary or Barack would be most likely to defeat John McCain, the Republican that the table considered the most electable Republican. (I'm not so sure, but that was the consensus.)
You want to know the truth? It doesn't matter. In this coming election, any Democrat beats any Republican.
For two reasons. One, the economy makes the public want change. Two, George Bush. Election 2008 is not just a call for change, it is a referendum on the loathsome—and loathed—Bush, and all the Republicans will be hard-pressed to sufficiently distance themselves from him without alienating GOP voters and suppressing their turnout. It will be a very fine line for this group of candidates to walk; none of them are good enough politicians to be able to walk it.
(The fact that the top three candidates—Romney, McCain, Huckabee—are all "outsiders" of a sort shows the desire to have a non-Bush, though.)
Meanwhile, the Dems should mount a drumbeat: Bush, Bush, Bush, calling on the Republicans either to defend or repudiate their party's two-term president.
And then they should turn around and say, change, change, change.
Of course, none of this means we can take a vacation for the next ten months and wake up in November with a Democrat elected president. But it is to suggest that while this state-by-state horse race goes on, and we obsess with personalities and identity politics, it's important to look at the underlying forces that are really driving this campaign. ¶ 7:52 AM
Here's what this does and doesn't mean.
It doesn't mean that Romney's on a roll. Michigan is practically his home state; if he couldn't win there.....
It does mean that there are really no strong candidates in the Republican field, and there is certainly no candidate who has given voters a compelling reason vote for him above the others.
I went to a dinner party last night at which a group of New York liberals (lovely people, this group, and very engaged with what's going on politically) debated whether Hillary or Barack would be most likely to defeat John McCain, the Republican that the table considered the most electable Republican. (I'm not so sure, but that was the consensus.)
You want to know the truth? It doesn't matter. In this coming election, any Democrat beats any Republican.
For two reasons. One, the economy makes the public want change. Two, George Bush. Election 2008 is not just a call for change, it is a referendum on the loathsome—and loathed—Bush, and all the Republicans will be hard-pressed to sufficiently distance themselves from him without alienating GOP voters and suppressing their turnout. It will be a very fine line for this group of candidates to walk; none of them are good enough politicians to be able to walk it.
(The fact that the top three candidates—Romney, McCain, Huckabee—are all "outsiders" of a sort shows the desire to have a non-Bush, though.)
Meanwhile, the Dems should mount a drumbeat: Bush, Bush, Bush, calling on the Republicans either to defend or repudiate their party's two-term president.
And then they should turn around and say, change, change, change.
Of course, none of this means we can take a vacation for the next ten months and wake up in November with a Democrat elected president. But it is to suggest that while this state-by-state horse race goes on, and we obsess with personalities and identity politics, it's important to look at the underlying forces that are really driving this campaign. ¶ 7:52 AM
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Feel the Huckmentum! Conditions are perfect for an evangelical dark horse.
As the Kos-activated Michiganders said: "Do you want this GOP election season to be over? Or do you want this election season to be HILARIOUS?"
As the Kos-activated Michiganders said: "Do you want this GOP election season to be over? Or do you want this election season to be HILARIOUS?"
It has become pretty evident that Standing Eagle is an evangelical man of god, don't you think? Maybe that will narrow down the search hunting for him.....
eayny
eayny
# posted by 
: January 16, 2008 2:09 PM
: January 16, 2008 2:09 PM
Yup, SE must be standing for the Lord.
And no comment from the Eagle gallery? Curious, and curiouser....
And no comment from the Eagle gallery? Curious, and curiouser....
# posted by : January 16, 2008 9:09 PM
: January 16, 2008 9:09 PM
Democrats need to be careful about complacency if they are going to seize this election. Republicans are brilliant strategists; Democrats have a history of disorganization. In the end, a well-executed strategy and execution (no pun intended) usually wins.
# posted by : January 17, 2008 12:04 PM
: January 17, 2008 12:04 PM
Standing Eagle is actually one of the nation's leading Jewish Evangelical Republicans. I have that on good authority. Really, I do.
To learn about my theology you'll have to buy a ticket, but maybe we can back into it through a description of my eschatology.
In hell (though I do not believe in eternal suffering), a banquet is spread with gorgeous food, from the hearty to the delectable. The table cannot be approached closely, though: it is surrounded by a moat of filth (in the Internet Age this is called the doctrine of "e-scatology"). Moreover, the floor of the banqueting room is all of fire, which supports the damned without burning them (though their hands are often singed) and consumes everything else it touches.
Each sinner is given a long, long spoon of fire -- call it twelve feet long -- which is perfectly cool at each end.
From the table the damned try to feed themselves, to their enormous frustration. Scraps of food from the moat that happen to come into reach without being completely ruined are their only sustenance.
Societies form, fail, and are re-formed. Well-fed sinners thrive in many places, since they are able to jockey successfully for position, to think more clearly, and to organize among themselves. From time to time intense thinkers manage to organize a mob of skinny people to try out a different system, but inevitably the inequality returns. No one is adequately sustained, and the vast vast majority suffer more than they even realize (since they never get access to the banquet table, to know what good food might be like).
In one area of the room a procedure has arisen for the occasional building of platforms, in honor of the legendary Dais. Everyone knows self-described kings cannot be trusted, and sees through the legends of ancient benevolent Kings.
In heaven, of course, everything is the same: the filth, the fire, the long-handled spoons. But there is misericordia, and the sinners are always already feeding each other. (I do not think I believe in eternal joy, but I do believe in timelessness and caring.)
At a moment in history the platforms say:
The best defense is a good offense. Sharpen up your spoons, build me just a slightly higher dais so I can keep us organized, and let's kill us some barbarians. Giuliani
See all these scars? I got these from the barbarians, for the sake of our group, and I know that killing them is only part of the answer. Let me tell you all about wisdom, or if you'd rather I can just be wise on your behalf. I'm ready to whack upstarts with the blunt end of my spoon. McCain
The reason we well-fed people are well fed is that we are natural leaders. Everyone benefits if they just listen to us. We've got plenty of sharpened-spoon types, and as long as we keep the moat-fishers organized and placated we're all set. I'll be the Delegator. Romney
The reason we well-fed people are well fed is so that we and our families and vassals can enjoy life. Let's focus on optimizing our systems of moat-fishing and distribution, which is my specialty. Bloomberg
You know me and you know that I stand for law and order. The barbarians don't stand a chance against me. Hey, look over here, I'm serious. Thompson
We are not meant to hurt each other, we are meant to eat well because there is a plan for us. I don't know what the plan is, but I see that some of us are doing okay. Let's plan on a Plan. Huckabee
I got your plan right here buddy! Hunker down and forget about systems. We eat pretty well, let's not waste our time on other things. Paul
I have an ACTUAL plan! Stop hurting people. Be fairer with the food. I mean it! Kucinich
These platforms are starting to look an awful lot like daises. That ain't right. Look at that dang guy over there, for example. Dodd
I'm the King! I'm the King I'm the King I'm the King. If there's a place you gotta get I can href="http://masterkim8.imeem.com/music/UE3W8G2f/various_dora_the_explorer_im_the_map/"> get you there I bet. I'm the King (and I intend to pass this dais on in better condition than I found it). Bush
Dais Dais Dais Dais Dais Dais ex machina Dais Dais Dais *burp*. Cheney
That moat is getting bigger every day. If we don't keep knocking junk into it hoping to fish it out later we soon won't be able to reach the table at all. That would be inconvenient. Gore
Listen, you guys. If we chuck those fat people into the moat every now and then they'll eventually learn that sharing more is in their best interests short-term as well as long-term. True, they don't seem capable of understanding the long term; but long term we can teach them to give up their short-sightedness, if we get started. Edwards
We can do much better than this for everybody if we cooperate. I have some ideas for getting food to this side of the moat and cleaning it that you're gonna love. Change requires experience. H. Clinton
Oh man did I feed a lot of people. I wouldn't have been a bad king, at all, if we had kings, and if we could have brought back some old-school droit de seigneur. B. Clinton
Guys, watch me. Listen up. With proper leadership I think we can learn to feed each other some more. If you actually listen to someone you might quit jostling each other enough for the spoons to work differently.... I'm not a King or even a King Junior, but I can teach you to listen a little bit. Obama
So here's the way that my idea of history is informed by my theology. (If I were a Hegelian, of course, as most of us [especially the worst of the 'evangelicals'] secretly are, my idea of History would be coterminous with my theology.)
My theology of history (or call it ethics, since humility of scale is the mark of the non-Hegelian) requires me simply to ask Who Would Jesus Vote For? This time around it's Obama. Then it requires me to be a little bit less tongue-in-cheek as I go to vote. And I keep on looking across the corner of the moat for someone to make eye contact with, since I've got a nice bite queued up on this spoon.
If all that makes me an Episcopalian, then so be it.
Parabolically (i.e., with only one focus ),
Standing Eagle
In hell (though I do not believe in eternal suffering), a banquet is spread with gorgeous food, from the hearty to the delectable. The table cannot be approached closely, though: it is surrounded by a moat of filth (in the Internet Age this is called the doctrine of "e-scatology"). Moreover, the floor of the banqueting room is all of fire, which supports the damned without burning them (though their hands are often singed) and consumes everything else it touches.
Each sinner is given a long, long spoon of fire -- call it twelve feet long -- which is perfectly cool at each end.
From the table the damned try to feed themselves, to their enormous frustration. Scraps of food from the moat that happen to come into reach without being completely ruined are their only sustenance.
Societies form, fail, and are re-formed. Well-fed sinners thrive in many places, since they are able to jockey successfully for position, to think more clearly, and to organize among themselves. From time to time intense thinkers manage to organize a mob of skinny people to try out a different system, but inevitably the inequality returns. No one is adequately sustained, and the vast vast majority suffer more than they even realize (since they never get access to the banquet table, to know what good food might be like).
In one area of the room a procedure has arisen for the occasional building of platforms, in honor of the legendary Dais. Everyone knows self-described kings cannot be trusted, and sees through the legends of ancient benevolent Kings.
In heaven, of course, everything is the same: the filth, the fire, the long-handled spoons. But there is misericordia, and the sinners are always already feeding each other. (I do not think I believe in eternal joy, but I do believe in timelessness and caring.)
At a moment in history the platforms say:
The best defense is a good offense. Sharpen up your spoons, build me just a slightly higher dais so I can keep us organized, and let's kill us some barbarians. Giuliani
See all these scars? I got these from the barbarians, for the sake of our group, and I know that killing them is only part of the answer. Let me tell you all about wisdom, or if you'd rather I can just be wise on your behalf. I'm ready to whack upstarts with the blunt end of my spoon. McCain
The reason we well-fed people are well fed is that we are natural leaders. Everyone benefits if they just listen to us. We've got plenty of sharpened-spoon types, and as long as we keep the moat-fishers organized and placated we're all set. I'll be the Delegator. Romney
The reason we well-fed people are well fed is so that we and our families and vassals can enjoy life. Let's focus on optimizing our systems of moat-fishing and distribution, which is my specialty. Bloomberg
You know me and you know that I stand for law and order. The barbarians don't stand a chance against me. Hey, look over here, I'm serious. Thompson
We are not meant to hurt each other, we are meant to eat well because there is a plan for us. I don't know what the plan is, but I see that some of us are doing okay. Let's plan on a Plan. Huckabee
I got your plan right here buddy! Hunker down and forget about systems. We eat pretty well, let's not waste our time on other things. Paul
I have an ACTUAL plan! Stop hurting people. Be fairer with the food. I mean it! Kucinich
These platforms are starting to look an awful lot like daises. That ain't right. Look at that dang guy over there, for example. Dodd
I'm the King! I'm the King I'm the King I'm the King. If there's a place you gotta get I can href="http://masterkim8.imeem.com/music/UE3W8G2f/various_dora_the_explorer_im_the_map/"> get you there I bet. I'm the King (and I intend to pass this dais on in better condition than I found it). Bush
Dais Dais Dais Dais Dais Dais ex machina Dais Dais Dais *burp*. Cheney
That moat is getting bigger every day. If we don't keep knocking junk into it hoping to fish it out later we soon won't be able to reach the table at all. That would be inconvenient. Gore
Listen, you guys. If we chuck those fat people into the moat every now and then they'll eventually learn that sharing more is in their best interests short-term as well as long-term. True, they don't seem capable of understanding the long term; but long term we can teach them to give up their short-sightedness, if we get started. Edwards
We can do much better than this for everybody if we cooperate. I have some ideas for getting food to this side of the moat and cleaning it that you're gonna love. Change requires experience. H. Clinton
Oh man did I feed a lot of people. I wouldn't have been a bad king, at all, if we had kings, and if we could have brought back some old-school droit de seigneur. B. Clinton
Guys, watch me. Listen up. With proper leadership I think we can learn to feed each other some more. If you actually listen to someone you might quit jostling each other enough for the spoons to work differently.... I'm not a King or even a King Junior, but I can teach you to listen a little bit. Obama
So here's the way that my idea of history is informed by my theology. (If I were a Hegelian, of course, as most of us [especially the worst of the 'evangelicals'] secretly are, my idea of History would be coterminous with my theology.)
My theology of history (or call it ethics, since humility of scale is the mark of the non-Hegelian) requires me simply to ask Who Would Jesus Vote For? This time around it's Obama. Then it requires me to be a little bit less tongue-in-cheek as I go to vote. And I keep on looking across the corner of the moat for someone to make eye contact with, since I've got a nice bite queued up on this spoon.
If all that makes me an Episcopalian, then so be it.
Parabolically (i.e., with only one focus ),
Standing Eagle
Ugh. That first link ("buy a ticket") was supposed to be to http://tinyurl.com/2dyspe .
And the link about Bush ("get you there I bet") should go to http://tinyurl.com/2ffll9
Technology -- grr.
Standing Eagle
And the link about Bush ("get you there I bet") should go to http://tinyurl.com/2ffll9
Technology -- grr.
Standing Eagle
# posted by : January 18, 2008 9:29 AM
: January 18, 2008 9:29 AM
cum lamentamur non apparere labores / nostros et tenui deducta poemata filo, as Horace put it, eh SE? But I noticed and admired. How long did that take? GREAT game on right now with Blake having been down two sets and now driving for the match in the fifth, with the Frenchman he's never beaten running out of gas.
# posted by : January 19, 2008 12:00 AM
: January 19, 2008 12:00 AM
RT:
I think I understand what that quotation says, therefore I am grateful for the compliment.
Or am I putting Descartes before Horace?
Standing Eagle
I think I understand what that quotation says, therefore I am grateful for the compliment.
Or am I putting Descartes before Horace?
Standing Eagle
Kant say, SE, since I'm a little Horace myself after watching Federer's epic win down in Oz.
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# posted by : January 19, 2008 10:56 AM
: January 19, 2008 10:56 AM<< Home
