blog.spathis.com

Having just clinched the DNC nomination one of Obama’s first moves:

DNC will no longer take lobbyist, PAC money

This is going to be one hell of a race. I wonder how and if the Republicans will respond.

Don Boudreaux, Chairman of the Department of Economics at George Mason University, occasionally comes up with some great lines, his latest:

“Almost all that any politician says on any topic other than political strategy should be treated with even less respect than would be accorded a professional circus-clown’s speculations about string theory.”

You have to love it when someone gets to the heart of an issue. The rest of the post is pretty good as well.

Insightful assessment of the current situation with the Democrats by Dick Morris in an article at TheHill.com. Morris lays out a unique perspective that I have not heard before. One which is very different than what many of the other pundits are saying.

Morris hammers home the point that a fight for the nomination all the way to the Democratic Convention would serve to steal the thunder of McCain. He (McCain) would be drowned out of the front page by the shenanigans of the Democratic candidates and would be unable to really focus on either potential Democratic candidate, a very interesting and astute observation.

The fear is that Hilary’s attacks on Obama would serve to somehow damage him going into the full Presidential campaign. According to Morris, Hilary has no shot at really hurting Obama & the DNC Delegates would be absolutely crazy to nominate her. If the Democratic nominee is up for grabs all the way to the convention & Obama was crowned at the convention there would be a massive upsurge in his popularity (indeed Morris believes an insurmountable upsurge). That upswing could last the remaining nine weeks to the actual election and Obama could walk away with all the marbles.

Fascinating analysis.

Marc Andreesen is turning out to be one of my favorite bloggers. He is always publishing witty insights both in and out of the tech & business world. He has a great post today on his meeting with Barack Obama in 2007. If you weren’t an Obama supporter beforehand this post may very well make you (Full Disclosure: I am an Obama supporter).

UPDATE: Lessig decided not to run….

A brilliant win in South Carolina by Barack Obama followed by another brilliant speech. As is readily apparent Obama’s oratory gifts are truly impressive. The first time I heard him speak I recall being stunned by Obama’s Audacity of Hope speech before the 2004 Democratic National Convention. I knew then that he would be destined for the White House and that I could potentially support him. Currently Barack seems like the most Presidential of the current crop of Dems as we slowly watch the Billary ticket implode. Even Bill Clinton is getting very bad press for his attacks on Obama.

The Republicans, on the other hand, are a total mess. Consumed by discussions of evolution vs. creationism (are they nuts?), inexplicable shifts in position (Rudy is suddenly anti Roe v Wade, wtf), McCain’s shift the the religious, and an evangelical Minister as a frontrunner (we need LESS not MORE religion). The only way this bunch of Republican yahoos could win the White House is if the Democrats destroy themselves in the primaries. Unfortunately I wouldn’t put self-destruction past the Dems as they have proven quite adept at that.

Back to Obama though, the other piece of news is Caroline Kennedy’s brilliant endorsement in the New York Times titled A President Like My Father. I believe her endorsement may be the strongest endorsement a Kennedy has given to a candidate in recent times.

Barring any last minute entrants (Bloomberg?) Obama may be getting my vote…

Joe Stiglitz, Noble prize winning economist, savages Bush in a must read article over at Vanity Fair. In the article he predicts a generation long struggle for America to recoup its position in the world, not a pretty picture.
Will the doomsayers win this time around? Or will the US pull off another remarkable recovery? Only time will tell…

Walter Mondale, former Vice President to ex-President Jimmy Carter, has a must-read editorial in today’s Washington Post. Mondale details how he partnered with then President Carter to re-define the role of the Vice-Presidency, from backwater political office to the President’s closest and most trusted advisor.

Carter & Mondale’s re-definition continued through both Republican and Democratic Presidencies. Mondale argues that Dick Cheney has re-defined the office yet again. According to Mondale (& I heartily agree), Cheney’s re-definition has taken the VP office in a disturbing direction, from trusted advisor to a powerful political office that attempts to actually limit the policy options presented to the President.

Yet another scathing examination of a Presidency in tatters. What will be the future ramifications of Cheney’s Vice Presidency? Who knows? The best possible outcome is that it is forgotten, a grimmer possibility is a permanent politicization of the office and for future Presidents the loss of another trusted objective voice.

This is getting ridiculous

Political Bankruptcy