×
- Tom Goldstein has a long post arguing that Justice John Paul Stevens will retire this spring, and by "October 4, 2010, Elena Kagan will ask her first question as a Supreme Court Justice." As far as his analysis of Supreme Court politics goes, the thesis is plausible enough, but I don't see why the president's "political capital," referred to no less than six times in the post, is a relevant variable. Obama wants a good nominee who will pass without a big fuss, as Goldstein correctly assesses. Having more or less political capital doesn't particularly affect that goal. Have Republicans lost any political capital for opposing a jobs bill and tax cuts for small businesses? Well, the public thinks they aren't reaching out to Dems, but it's not as though ignoring this sentiment is lessening their electoral opportunities this fall.
- In the course of my daily blog-trolling I came across an item describing a book about "wingnuts." Since I find the fringe fascinating, I clicked over to satisfy my curiosity. Big mistake. Full title: "Wingnuts: How the Lunatic Fringe is Hijacking America." Hijacking? How? The Internet? But then it got worse. Author byline: "John Avlon is senior political columnist for The Daily Beast. He served as chief speechwriter for New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani and is the author of Independent Nation: How Centrists Can Change American Politics." Wow, it's like everything that is wrong with political journalism in a single sentence. Merriam-Webster tells me that a centrist is "a person who holds moderate views" but I would suggest a better definition: "one who appeals to nobility without incurring any personal risk or being forced to take a position on anything."
- Man, I really didn't want to talk about this, but on account of the of the The Summit and reconciliation filling the news hole, let's deconstruct the 24-point font headline gracing Politico's homepage right now: "Exclusive: W.H. privately plots 2012 campaign run." First of all, I read this piece and I found nothing terribly "exclusive" about it. Just the old Obama team talking behind closed doors. Secondly, why would any first-term White House not privately plan for their re-election this far out? Should they do so in public? Third, "plots?" Are they planning on running on a platform of evil and deception? And finally, why is this news, much less "exclusive" news? The sort of people who run for president are extremely ambitious. Of course a president is going to seek a second term. They would seek a third and fourth term if the Constitution didn't prevent them.
- Remainders: The EPA starts getting real on regulating; it's astonishing in this country that there is no political will to more heavily tax our most outrageously wealthy citizens; John McCain answers my call, recommends suspending health-care reform; sounds like a fun lecture, "Ethics in Politics: An evening with Former Governor Rod Blagojevich"; surely this means we need to double our efforts at racially profiling terrorists; London's got Fortress America on the Thames; and amongst the social sciences, what is it about economics that leads its practitioners toward propaganda?
--Mori Dinauer
