Today's Quote: Divisive politics

Clinton campaign staffers have apparently distributed a 2006 photo of Barack Obama in traditional Somali clothes when he was on a trip in northern Kenya. (Available here) Of course, we know photos like this feed into the racist misconceptions about Obama's background. Via Politico, here is the response from Obama campaign manager, David Plouffe:

“On the very day that Senator Clinton is giving a speech about restoring respect for America in the world, her campaign has engaged in the most shameful, offensive fear-mongering we’ve seen from either party in this election. This is part of a disturbing pattern that led her county chairs to resign in Iowa, her campaign chairman to resign in New Hampshire, and it’s exactly the kind of divisive politics that turns away Americans of all parties and diminishes respect for America in the world," said Plouffe.

It does indicate how low the Clinton campaign may go this next week as we approach the Texas and Ohio contests on March 4. Clearly, the Clinton campaign is no longer worried about damaging Obama in such a way that may dramatically hinder him in the general election.

This latest controversy started when someone form the Clinton campaign emailed the photo to the Drudge Report. The fact that the Clinton people are using Drudge as a dissemination tool may further irritate Democrats who often see the website as the lowest of the lows. Ironically, it was Drudge who broke some of the initial allegations of the Lewinsky scandal.

How many pilots does your plane have?

Here's a reason to have more than one pilot flying a passenger plane:

Plane diverted after co-pilot's death

Running mate possibilities

The Washington Post's The Fix blog has begun to run weekly predictions on likely running mates on the presidential candidates. Right now I'm going to look at Barack Obama's most likely choices.

To start, The Fix lists former North Carolina Senator and presidential hopeful John Edwards, Gov. Tim Kaine of Virginia, Gov. Kathleen Sebelius of Kansas, Sen. Jim Webb of Virginia, retired general and head of the U.S. Central Command, Tony Zinni.

I agree that Kaine, Sebelius, and Zinni would be good bets for the short list, but I would be surprised with Edwards or Webb. First, they are both from the Senate and aren't long in the experience realm. In 2000, George W. Bush "assured" voters with the implication that he surrounded himself with experienced experts from his dad's administration, so we wouldn't have to worry about him not knowing who the prime minister of Canada or Pakistan was. Second, they wouldn't do much to deliver either of their states (Virginia or North Carolina). I do think Obama can be competitive in both states in the fall, but neither of those two men do a lot to improve his odds. Gov. Kaine, however, is more highly respected in and out of Virginia and could give a boost.

Obama is not going to offer a second spot to Clinton and she wouldn't take it either. It wouldn't be smart politics. Obama needs a vice president that underscores what his candidacy is about in the general election and maybe shore him up in some way. Geography is clearly a component, but not of the utmost importance. The last running mate who probably made a difference in winning their home state would be Carter's running mate Mondale. One could argue Gore helped Clinton in the south. Though Clinton himself is probably primarily responsible for winning southern states.

Obama needs a running mate with serious foreign policy credentials or someone with leadership experience on important domestic issues. Sebelius and Kaine would fit in the latter manner, with the added benefit of making their small and medium-sized states competitive. Zinni of course helps in the former way. (Where is Zinni from, Virginia?)

I'd also add the following names:

• Bill Richardson - Is a double-whammy of foreign policy cred and a governor working on healthcare and economic solutions. He is both an insider and outsider at the same time and would probably help make New Mexico, Colorado, and maybe even Nevada competitive
• Jim Doyle - As the second-term governor of Wisconsin, Doyle is a respected centrist who could help shore up the Midwest possibly.
• Janet Napolitano - The Arizona governor is a tough-as-nails, centrist westerner. If the Republican nominee was not John McCain, I would put her at the top of the VP list. As it is, she was unable to deliver Arizona to Obama in the primary and is less likely to be able to deliver the state in an Obama-McCain contest.
• Tom Daschle - The former senate minority/majority leader has been an early and close adviser to Obama. He is respected, experienced, a centrist, and his quiet manner means he would not outshine Obama. He might not deliver his home state of South Dakota, but may help in western and plains states.
  
• Ed Rendell - The Pennsylvania governor is a Clinton supporter. Still, he is a two term centrist governor from an important electoral state. If Obama wants to try to patch things up with the Clinonites, Rendell might be a good pick.
  
• Joe Biden - Strong on foreign policy and a good campaigner. On the other hand, he is a senator, a Washington insider, and someone who wouldn't bring additional states to the table.
• Eliot Spitzer - The New York Governor is a Clinton supporter, but he is another tough centrist who has prosecuted all sorts of bad guys: white collar criminals, drug traffickers, human traffickers, violent criminals, and terrorists. He'll probably run for president himself in 4 or 8 years.
  

Another reason to fire Carol Molnau

The Star Tribune unearths that Carol Molnau sold $3 million of land to a developer 8 days after a bill she successfully pushed for the passage of an expansion of a state highway in close proximity to the land. This was when she was in the Legislature in 2000. She has spent the past 5 years as the Lieutenant-Governor and the Department of Transportation Commissioner. Her tenure has had its failings.

The article gives more specifics and looks into what the ethical rules are pertaining to conflict of interest in the state Legislature. For me, it's just one more reason why the Legislature should fire Carol Molnau from her position at the DOT. Governor Pawlenty clearly isn't and she doesn't have the good sense to resign.

The article is a good piece of investigation. It delves into Molnau's pre-legislative career as a local official in Chaska involved in road and land-use decision-making that appears to have financially benefited her directly.
Regarding the sale of land a week after her conference committee finalized the highway's fate, Molnau asserts that putting the highway expansion of the burgeoning suburb had no impact on their sale price. The assertion challenges her credibility a bit. Alternatively, if we take that as her honest opinion, it's still a reason to fire her. If the head of the Department of Transportation doesn't think that suburban/exurban highway expansions would impact the property value of undeveloped land less than a mile away, maybe she's not qualified to be making transportation decisions.

Perhaps the future of the Minnesota state highway system:

Today's Blog: About white people

I recently received a tip to a funny blog called Stuff White People Like. On the whole it is pretty lighthearted and shouldn't be taken very seriously. In truth, it's more of a Stuff Yuppies and Hipsters Like.

A few examples of entries:

• #73 Gentrification - "When one of these white people tell you where they live, you should say “whoa, it’s pretty rough down there. I don’t think I could live there.” This will make them feel even better about their credibility and status as neighborhood pioneers."
• #70 Difficult Breakups - "Once breakup proceedings have been initiated, a white person is immediately thrust into the center of attention in their circle of friends. During this time, they are permitted to talk at great lengths about themselves, listen to The Smiths, and get free dinners from friends who think “they shouldn’t be alone right now.”"
• #63 Expensive Sandwiches - "In most cities, if you need to find a cache of white people get yourself to a sandwich shop."
• #57 Juno - "White people, especially ones over 30, also love movies that take them back to a time when there was zero hip hop influence in white high schools."
• #53 Sarah Silverman - "WARNING: under no circumstances should you EVER list Dane Cook as your favorite comedian. The wrong kind of white people like him. And mentioning him will cause white people to lose all respect for you."
• #51 Living by the water - "Mountain views are also acceptable, but generally seen as a poor substitute."
• #44 Public Radio - "[The] middle portion of the [This American Life] episode where the gay guy who doesn’t own a TV, talks about his one week experiment in TV watching, is an example of what White people love listening to."
• #32 Vegan/Vegetarianism - "As with many white people activities, being vegan/vegetarian enables them to feel as though they are helping the environment AND it gives them a sweet way to feel superior to others."
• #22 Having two last names - "I have a feeling that College Lacrosse and Soccer Jerseys are going to look pretty strange in the next few years."
• #16 "Gifted" children - "But NEVER under any circumstance imply that their child is less than a genius. The idea that something could come from them and be less than greatness is too much for them to bear."
• #5 Farmers Markets - "White people also like Farmer’s Markets because it is outdoors (they love being outdoors), they can bring their dogs and children in expensive strollers, and they get to see other white people."
• #1 Coffee - "I promise you that the first person at your school to drink coffee was a white person. You could kind of tell they didn’t enjoy it, but they did it anyways until they liked it - like cigarettes."

Pete Seeger

This interesting documentary on Pete Seeger will air on PBS on February 27. Seeger is one of the giants of American folk music. He was investigated by the House Un-American Activities Committee, to whom he refused to answer questions. (He did offer to talk about the meaning of his songs about peace, freedom, and non-violence.)

Headline of the day

The Anti-Lobbyist, Advised by Lobbyists

Sexual politics and the Catholic Church

Two stories this week detail troubling incidents emanating out of Catholic schools. First, a woman was told she couldn't officiate a Catholic school boys basketball game because "women weren't allowed to be in positions of authority over men." The name of the school, incidentally, is St. Mary's.

I'm no expert on Catholic theology, but I did attend 11 years of old fashioned Catholic education, and this strikes me as a perversion of Catholic thought. Yes, the Catholics will probably be among the last to allow women to serve as full members of the clergy. Their rationale is that priests and bishops serve in the function of the Apostles and that Jesus didn't select any women Apostles. But the Church, as far as I know, has not in recent times asserted that women have a lesser role in non-clerical matters or within the family. Contrast that to the Southern Baptists. The Catholics just don't want a woman to bless the host because I guess that means no transubstantiation would occur due to the fact that Jesus was only talking to the male Apostles at the Last Supper. Perhaps realizing this, or worried about the growing media attention, the school clarified that it had nothing to do with women's authority over men, but some strange policy regarding keeping the sexes apart in the physical education setting during the adolescent years. (I guess my high school violated this policy, we had co-ed phy-ed.)

Second, in Minnesota, a young, unmarried Catholic school teacher was dismissed after she became pregnant. This type of hypocrisy drives me crazy. The teachings in the New Testament, as I understand them, surround about loving one's neighbor, forgiveness, and not judging. Furthermore, this sends a clear message: "You should be ashamed and banished if you become pregnant outside of marriage." How often do unmarried men in Catholic institutions get similar treatment if they father a child? The worst part is the message to other Catholics, particularly the kids in the school, that it is the better course of action in facing an unintended pregnancy to quietly get an abortion. Is that what the school officials wished this teacher had done? Because that is the message relayed. How many unmarried Catholics in that community will see that and realize that they will have to get an abortion if they get pregnant and wish to stay a part of the community?

I'm pro-choice. But if a religious group opposes abortion on moral grounds, fine. I just wish there would be some consistency in their positions and not demonize those who decide to continue the pregnancy.

New England Patriots: Cheaters?

New allegations surface that New England Patriots coach, Bill Belichick, has been illegally taping opponents for years, going back to the 2000 season. This season, the eventual Super Bowl losers got into trouble when caught taping the opposing team's play call signals. They lost a first round draft choice and got a heavy monetary fine out of it. Some thought it was a slap on the wrist at the time.

We'll see what the NFL does about these new allegations. They can't be thrilled. The NFL got a little bit of negative attention when it came out that they destroyed the seized tapes from the initial allegations. Now no one can go back and look at them as a pattern to these additional allegations.

Thank goodness again the Patriots lost the Super Bowl.

Quote of the Day: Misdirected

Courtesy of the Star Tribune, Ken Plant of the army's Public Affairs office said the following in relation to some recent vandalism of a Minneapolis Army Recruiting office:

"It's misdirected frustration by people who are not too happy with the way things are going. The Army just goes where America tells it to go. If citizens want change, they need to talk about it."

I'd take issue with one aspect of this quote.

I agree with the premise that if people want change in "the way things are going" as one euphemism, the political process is where efforts are effectively spent. Clearly, throwing bricks through a window at an Army recruiting office doesn't really do much except cost the Pentagon a few hundred dollars to repair. These are folks who are misplacing--or at least, not accounting for--tens of millions of dollars. This won't hurt them.

Where I take issue is whether the statement of the brick throwers is necessarily all about the war. I don't know their mindset any more clearly than the Army spokesperson, but there is plenty of things to say about the Pentagon's recruitment strategies. Whether it's their practice of waivers to let just about anyone in (a full 11% of new recruits have convictions according to today's news reports); or the continued discrimination of gay people as they let people with gang tattoos in; or how they have virtually unfettered access to high school students' and their personal information; or how schools are forced to host them lest they loose their funding; or how many recruiting offices are staffed with professional sales people who have not seen combat and set rosy expectations of what their military career will entail; or, admittedly maybe closer to the point Mr. Plant made, because the offices are staffed by people making money off signing up people to commit themselves to fight in an unjust war and risk coming back themselves in a pine box; there may be more to it than simply being against the war.

I don't know. Maybe this person or persons are pissed off about the war, saw the Army recruiting office, and decided to express their opposition with some bricks. All I'm saying is that setting "the way things are going [in Iraq]" aside, there are plenty of other reasons to be dissatisfied with Army recruiting practices. I don't know how to change them, but my guess is that it isn't with bricks.

An afterthought: Can we waste the Pentagon's manpower and resources with a campaign to provide thousands of recruiting false leads? Call them up and be interested, string them along for a bit, then tell them to go to hell? I'm not going to do that because I don't want to talk to an Army recruiter about serving, but that would be at least more effective (and less legally risky) than throwing bricks.

Ted Stevens ain't goin' anywhere

Senator Ted Stevens is apparently going to run for reelection despite being investigated by the feds for peddling influence. He is an occasionally unstable guy who likes to bring the pork to Alaska. When the Senate decided to vote down the infamous "bridge to nowhere," he implied he was about done with the place.

Here's the clip from that floor speech:


And a bit earlier in the debate:

john.he.is