Using Obama's Books to Win the '08 Campaign

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Wednesday June 11, 2008 · 8:59 AM PDT

2008/06/11 · 08:59

There are a wide variety of ways you can support Obama's presidential campaign without becoming an active volunteer in the campaign apparatus. For many of us with busy lives outside of the campaign, it is important that our support be effective and time efficient. We want to help, but we also want to make sure that we can maximize our impact. Putting a sign in the front lawn and a bumper sticker on the car just don't seem to cut it when we're talking about an election this important or a politician we support this passionately.

I have found the most effective way to convince skeptics is through "The Audacity of Hope," one of the most compelling books written by a politician since JFK's "Profiles in Courage." The book not only proves his measured approach to politics, but also dispels just about every lie that has been put forward about his religion and background.

fitz2

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Thursday June 05, 2008 · 12:10 PM PDT

2008/06/05 · 12:10

The phrase has become so common that it's virtually expected in every speech by a Democrat these days; some derivation of "John McCain's running for Bush's third term." Most of the time, it's backed up by examples of McCain's policy positions; supporting the war in Iraq, against negotiating with our enemies, now supporting continuing the Bush tax cuts, now against comprehensive immigration reform, now in favor of torture, pro-life and on and on and on. It's a good argument, and a necessary one in the battle to redefine McCain.

Yet, missing from this argument is, in my opinion, an equally powerful and compelling argument about why McCain represents Bush's third term; in a McCain administration many of the secretaries and deputy secretaries and political appointees of the Bush administration will continue to run our various government agencies and departments.

Governments are not run solely by the president, but by thousands of people in different agencies spread out throughout the executive branch. Everything that is passed by Congress is run by these appointees. As we've seen over the last 7 years, President Bush has appointed some of the most inept and purely political people to run our government.

fitz2

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Saturday May 10, 2008 · 8:39 AM PDT

2008/05/10 · 08:39

After cleaning my room yesterday and finding that I'm simultaneously reading 9 different books, I decided perhaps it was time to focus on just one at a time, even if that is so much less fun. So I'm wondering what everyone else is reading right now and if they have any good recommendations. There are few things I love more than recommending a good book to someone and hearing that they have read it, and I can assure you that when I get a recommendation, I often read it almost immediately. I read way too much for my own good (about two books a week), but I have found few better ways to keep learning in this post-college life of mine :)

Anyways, I've listed the books I'm reading now and a whole bunch of my favorite books below the fold (couldn't resist). I'd love any ideas for new ones, because I'm finding myself re-reading favorites far too often recently.

fitz2

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Sunday May 04, 2008 · 6:01 PM PDT

2008/05/04 · 18:01

In a world dominated by 24 hour news, thousands of blog posts and messages of the day, it's easy to forget the fact that the written word transcends time. Once you put pen to paper (or finger to keyboard), you add a small piece to the collective knowledge of your community, which more and more includes the entire world. Often, an article, book or speech forgotten for decades or even centuries turns up in research or by random and inspires an entire group that likely never would have come across the original author.

Recently, I had an experience like this, which I share below the fold.

fitz2

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Wednesday April 23, 2008 · 3:07 PM PDT

2008/04/23 · 15:07

Before the 1968 Democratic convention, Eugene McCarthy famously told Ted Kennedy that he would step aside and allow him to pursue the Democratic nomination, adding that he wouldn't have done it for Bobby but would for Ted ("85 Days: The Last Campaign of Robert Kennedy," Witcover, Jules). McCarthy could not forgive Bobby Kennedy. Before the New Hampshire primary, McCarthy had a plan to secure the nomination as an anti-war candidate, a plan that was in large part co-opted by Kennedy's entrance into the race.

Of course, Kennedy claimed that he didn't want to divide the Democratic party in two over the war if he wasn't sure that he could secure the nomination against President Johnson. In Kennedy's mind, McCarthy's win in New Hampshire effectively divided the party anyways, taking away the main barrier to Kennedy's entrance in the campaign.

fitz2

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Wednesday March 26, 2008 · 5:33 PM PDT

2008/03/26 · 17:33

Having transcribed for my work just about every Hardball and Tucker for the past two years, I've finally decided it's a good time to take a look back and get a bit of perspective on how the campaign narrative has evolved over the past 15 months.

I offer here a chronological sampling of some of the most memorable quotes I've found in my personal files from these shows. I do the last 20 minutes of Hardball, which is the "Politics Fix," and the second half our of Tucker, so all of these quotes are from those parts of the show.

I also transcribe Countdown, but I decided to give Olbermann a break, because he's generally a decent guy, not to mention this was already a pain in the ass to put together (actually, there's one Olbermann quote in there).

Part one has all of 2007, which will be followed sometime soon by part two with the first three months of 2008.

fitz2

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Tuesday March 25, 2008 · 7:01 PM PDT

2008/03/25 · 19:01

As I watched the media coverage tonight for my job as a transcript editor for MSNBC, CNN and Fox, I am convinced that something is in the works to fix the current impasse in the Democratic presidential nomination. The quote above was Dana Milbank's response to Olbermann's question on Countdown about Harry Reid's cryptic remarks. The quote is, of course, from the great '80s movie "Wall Street." It's about half way through the video, although it's worth watching the whole thing.

Now, the Harry Reid comment is interesting by itself, especially given how certain he sounded that this would end well before the convention, but it didn't end there.

fitz2

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Saturday March 22, 2008 · 10:17 AM PDT

2008/03/22 · 10:17

Merriam-Websters Online Dictionary:

Patriotism

Main Entry:
pa·tri·ot·ism
Pronunciation:
\ˈpā-trē-ə-ˌti-zəm, chiefly British ˈpa-\
Function:
noun
Date:
circa 1726

: love for or devotion to one's country

Love for or devotion to one's country; a simple definition within which lies all the greatness and ignorance that has defined this country's short history. Since September 11th, 2001, many voters in this country have come to look for patriotism as the defining quality of their leaders. So, whether it's a comfortable topic or not, we must engage in the debate over the definition of patriotism and how our leaders should express it.

I offer here my brief history of the idea of patriotism in this country and the definition I have come to after searching through my own past ignorance on the topic.

fitz2

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Friday March 21, 2008 · 11:48 AM PDT

2008/03/21 · 11:48

Often the realities of American politics correspond very little to the theory or theories of government that we expound. This is a topic which I plan to write a great deal about, because I feel that it is perfectly possible to come up with a political philosophy that can be directly relevant to public policy discussion.

That political philosophy is, of course, a progressive one. Yet, rarely do I find the progressive view of government translated into the language of political philosophy, rights and duties. My first attempt to do so was in an article published a number of years ago in a small public policy journal, "The Current." Please note that all statistics are from a number of years ago, so they are likely a bit different today. I'd be happy to provide a copy with citations to anyone who wants it.

History continually shows that the boundaries of social justice are defined by the standards of the time. If a government spends all its resources on upholding duties within its society, yet is unable to cover all theoretical duties, those not covered can be seen to represent the goals of society; progress being represented through their attainment.

fitz2

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Wednesday March 19, 2008 · 6:31 PM PDT

2008/03/19 · 18:31

Let's get a couple facts on the table to begin here. I'm a Republican. I worked for John McCain briefly in 2000, wrote McCain's name in during the 2000 and 2004 general elections and am now whole-heartedly supporting Obama. We can talk more about that some other time.

Regardless, if there was ever anyone who is ripe for a party switch, it's me. Obama has me completely. I will vote for him in the general with more pride than any civic act I have performed to date (I'm 27). On top of that, many of my great heroes are Democrats, Bobby Kennedy, Roosevelt, Dr. King, even Ted Kennedy.

If that weren't enough, I've lived my entire life in two of the most liberal places in the country, Washington, DC and Ithaca, NY (one of the greatest places on Earth), most of my friends are liberal, and much of my desire to stay in the Republican party is based on a desire to bring a more progressive attitude to some of my core beliefs, such as the idea that the fewer that govern, the more efficiently they do so.

But this diary is not a political debate. We can do that some time, happily. What I want to talk about is why the Democratic Party has never been able to bring me into the fold.

fitz2

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Tuesday March 18, 2008 · 12:34 PM PDT

2008/03/18 · 12:34

So I've been doing some research recently, listening to a bunch of 1960's political speeches, and I decided it would be fun to put together my top 10 speeches in American History. It also seems to fit as we're all talking about Obama's great speech today (needless to say not included :), although some day you never know).

It was surprisingly difficult to rank, but I think I got it about right, for my tastes that is. You'll notice I like speeches that either maintain their relevance or speak of how we can learn from history. Having briefly been in the Navy, I also have a bias towards a few speeches that focus on the military. This is a relatively personal and completely subjective ranking, obviously.

I tried not to take my political views into account but rather eloquence, emotion and impact. It's definitely very skewed towards the 20th century, due to the advent of video, but also because the 18th and 19th centuries saw more political debate than great speeches.

fitz2

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Monday March 17, 2008 · 12:00 PM PDT

2008/03/17 · 12:00

Lies, fear and innuendo are nothing new to politics. In fact, through history they have defined politics far more than any other principles. They brought Napoleon to power; maintained the church's hold over Europe for 1,000 years; brought Caesar to glory and infamy; and informed a philosopher whose words have inspired centuries of people who saw the shadows on the wall for what they are.

"Any one who has common sense will remember that the bewilderments of the eyes are of two kinds, and arise from two causes, either from coming out of the light or from going into the light, which is true of the mind's eye; and he who remembers this when he sees any one whose vision is perplexed and weak, will not be too ready to laugh; he will first ask whether that soul of man has come out of the brighter life, and is unable to see because unaccustomed to the dark, or having turned from darkness to the day is dazzled by excess of light. And he will count the one happy in his condition and state of being, and he will pity the other; or, if he have a mind to laugh at the soul which comes from below into the light, there will be more reason in this than in the laugh which greets him who returns from above out of the light into the den."
-Plato, The Allegory of the Cave

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