First of all, I'm sure Barack Obama is trying to figure out why the Time selection committee didn't announce their selection of him the day after inauguration, based on the promise he brought to the Presidency; after all, the Nobel Prize committee made the "right decision".
I've made it clear that I think the Fed under Ben Bernanke's leadership failed to anticipate last year's crisis, and I think the easy money policy is trashing the dollar, which all but invites inflation and a lower standard of living. I didn't think that Obama would nominate someone from the Chicago School, so Bernanke's renomination is probably the best we can hope for from this administration.
I'm sure my faithful readers are counting the minutes until I make my own announcement for the person of the year. I've already made my decision, and it's not on anyone else's list I've seen to date. HINT: It's not Obama or Bernanke.
George Will: "When the Charm Rubs Off"
The biggest compliment I can pay to another writer is to say, "I wish I had written that." I have mentioned in previous posts that George Will is a columnist I regularly read and respect. This article, of course, covers, among other things, Obama's pathetic Bush bashing, with all intellectual and moral integrity of stereotyping the Bush Administration as "8 years of basic neglect", "8 years of delay"... Obama's behavior is unworthy of a legitimate American President. How would Obama feel if I started talking about "11 months of incompetence", "11 months of unfocused, passive leadership; meandering, convoluted decisions; broken promises and dubious priorities", "11 months of insipid speeches, symbolic accomplishments, and narcissistic behavior"....? I don't have to take cheap shots at Obama behind his back; there are reasons his approval ratings are below 50%; people don't want to hear Obama complain that George W. Bush's dog Barney ate his homework. Real leaders accept responsibility and don't complain.
George Will does a great job critiquing the style of The One's Nobel Prize acceptance speech:
His televised Nobel Peace Prize acceptance speech...was remarkable for 38 uses of the pronoun "I."And for disavowing a competence no one suspected him of. ("I do not bring with me today a definitive solution to the problems of war." Note the superfluous adjective.) And for an unnecessary notification. ("Evil does exist in the world.") And for delayed utopianism. ("We will not eradicate violent conflict in our lifetimes." But in someone's.) And for solemnly announcing something undisputed. (There can be a just war.) And for intellectual applesauce that should get speechwriters fired and editors hired. ("We do not have to think that human nature is perfect for us to still believe that the human condition can be perfected." If the human "condition" can attain perfection anyway, human nature cannot be significantly imperfect.)In a word: the speech was banal. It was short on substance and long on ethereal, predictable nonsense. Did anyone come to the speech wondering whether there's evil in the world and needing Obama's take on the topic? I have repeated in several posts: Obama needs to choose his moments, words and battles carefully; his overexposure will lessen his credibility and impact.
I differ with Rush Limbaugh on his hoping for Obama's failure. Does this mean I've bought into Obama's social democratic agenda? Of course not; my posts have made that clear. But Obama at some point last year lost his initial charm, the promise of a consensus, post-partisan Washington. Instead we see an administration so bankrupt of new, fresh ideas and real accomplishments that they feel their only alternative is to distract attention from their own mediocrity by reinventing the Bush Administration as a bogeyman; their idea of bipartisan legislation is peeling off less than a handful of moderate or independent Republicans and ramming through partisan bills with zero input from the GOP by design. Obama hasn't figured out yet that the American people know the game he is playing, and there's more to bipartisanship than inviting a couple of token Republicans to a Super Bowl party at the White House.
Political Cartoon
Chip Bok notes the unwelcome visitor at a UN conference. He's also been banned from White House functions and Congressional back rooms. (After all, the Secret Service does recognize the REAL threats to Obama...)
Christmas Musical Interlude: "Do You Hear What I Hear?"
I bring two versions here: an earlier hit version by the incomparable Bing Crosby, making his second appearance in my Christmas countdown, and a live version by Whitney Houston, of a song which is part of an all-star compilation A Very Special Christmas (I own a copy of this CD). If you are interested in hearing Whitney's original recording, an extraordinary performance, one of her best ever, click here to go to last.fm.
