What I cannot love, I overlook.
Anais Nin
Political Potpourri
I realize, having endorsed Romney, I might have a vested interest here, but I think Obama lost his reelection last night. Why do I say that? The third and final debate is on foreign policy; voters rightly are more focused on the economy and by any objective analysis Romney overwhelmingly won the first 2 debates on all economic issues. Romney was well-prepared when Obama came back with his often-repeated talking point about having "added" 5 million jobs to the economy (e.g., comparing the Reagan recovery and the Obama could only get to 7.8%--where he started from and well short of his target--and only breaking 8% because more people have given up trying to find work and are arbitrarily dropped out of government statistics and recited the longer 40-odd string of 8.x% or above months of official unemployment)
Does that mean there was no room for improvement in Romney/s responses? Of course not. Drudge had a link saying the male college student who opened the debate had made up his mind (undisclosed). It was very clear to me this guy was leaning for Obama from the get-go. He later said something to the effect that (as I call Obama,) the Pied Piper of Failed Liberalism, looked at him and said something to the Clintonian effect "I feel your pain" and the kid had a Sally Fields reaction: "He got me; he really got it." There was a similar reaction from an "undecided" female college student on an MSNBC snippet Drudge also linked too. The woman also cited the culture warrior feminist group think. But keep in mind these kids have been brainwashed by progressive academics all through public schools and the culture, heavily slanted to progressive talking points. It takes intellectual maturity to transcend the propaganda. As an undergraduate, I attended a university big on social justice with notable programs in social work and education and an active presence of La Raza.
I can say with certainty even then, in my salad days as a liberal I would never have voted for a Barack Obama, who stonewalled the Illinois Born Alive Infant Protection Act (which says if a baby is born alive as the result of an abortion, the provider must provide any necessary medical assistance and not simply abandon the baby to die alone). I do not trust the black heart or mind of any man whom simply and conveniently defines away the human rights of an innocent baby.
I had at least one niece and one nephew whom supported Obama in 2008 (from a red state). It reminds me of one of Churchill's most famous quotes: "If you're not a liberal at twenty you have no heart, if you're not a conservative at forty you have no brain.” And the Guillemette observation: Obama and Biden are both older than 40.
What would I have said to the young man? First of all, I wouldn't reinforce unrealistic expectations; for instance, government jobs will be tough given the need to tighten budgets. What I would point out is that government policies, like restricting natural resource development on public lands, international energy pipelines or drilling moratoriums, costs jobs Obama outsources to OPEC countries. There have been no new major post-Bush free trade pacts, opening new markets for American products; business taxes and regulations hamper business growth and new US plants or locations by domestic and foreign companies. Other government policies are well-intended but misguided, e.g., minimum wage laws or expensive benefits that constrain companies with limited personnel budgets. With high unemployment rates, particularly among young people, deregulation can improve their opportunities for that vital first job.
I doubt Romney would say that; Obama and the unions would jump all over particularly the last statement, but they aren't unemployed teens whom find a discounted rate better than no work at all.
Intrade has Obama's odds back up to two-thirds; I don't think so. It'll take 2-3 days to work the second debate into the polls, but I suspect Obama mostly shored up his base; if so, we could see the drift towards Romney continue. Today's Gallup had Romney up by 6 and over 50 for the first time this year in my memory. Keep in mind this is after the October surprise phony jobs report; as an empirical researcher, I never generalize over a single data point, But I've read one rumor that an Obama pollster thinks they can't win Virginia, North Carolina or Florida, which of course they would never concede if true because it would allow Romney to redeploy resources and possibly put the Obama campaign on the defense, say. going after Oregon and New Jersey. This is beginning to have a Reagan-surge feel to it and Reagan had some Senate coattails. I think part of the Obama campaign problem is they went so negative that a different Romney showed up to the debates.
I'm not saying the final debate (on foreign policy) is unimportant: here's what I think Romney needs to do:
- "I'm not George W. Bush"
- "I don't dither"
- "No apologies" foreign policy
- protecting our diplomats is job #1
- no policy double standards, e.g., failure to support the Iranian green revolution
- we don't throw our allies (e.g., Israel, Poland, etc.) under the bus
- call Obama out on the convoluted handling of the Arab spring (particularly Egypt), the deal-making with Putin after the election, and the Benghazi fiasco
Romney should expect Obama to bring up the PR release after the 9/11 north African events and whether Romney was engaging in political opportunism.
I would like to see Romney swear off being the world's policeman and nation-building and to focus on making trades vs war, and to reform the military-industrial complex.
If Obama questions Romney's experience, Romney should stress he has experience in making tough decisions, has worked with bureaucracies and would actively seek the input of experienced military and diplomats.
If I Were a Parent...
French was my first language, and I took a French literature course in college. I took high school Spanish and picked up enough Brazilian Portuguese to gain 20 pounds although no waiters or taxi drivers spoke a word of English (and were proud of it). And to understand the vendor at a Sunday market when he explained to his partner how he was going to get this dumb American to pay twice the price as locals for what I was trying to buy. (No, this dumb American changed his mind.)
In my personal library I also have books and/or software to teach myself Latin, German, Russian and Chinese (of course, I had memorized the Latin mass by the age of 8), and in a rare moment of activism, I pushed for a Latin course in high school; the principal mostly to shut me up argued I needed to get 15-20 students to sign they would take the course if offered.So I called his bluff and got the names. He then screamed at me he wasn't going to hire a teacher to teach one class. (Life isn't fair; it's not right to make promises you have no intention of keeping).
Late-night host/comic Jay Leno, at least while I was regularly watching, had Jay walking segments where adults regularly flub even the easiest questions (say, ask who the current Secretary of State is).
My nephews didn't think I was cool--I think video games are boring. I remember pushing The Paideia Proposal, Allan Bloom, etc. My kids, if God had blessed me with any, would probably have grown up quoting Shakespeare, writing their own poetry and discussing Plato's allegory of the cave. I have always felt it's far worse to underestimate a child's potential and capacity to learn. Granted I was an unusual child; my mom's cousin still remembers my picking out an encyclopedia volume to read, and I remember checking out calculus books from the library.
My Favorite Saturday Morning TV Personality
Musical Interlude: My favorite Groups
The Four Tops, "Reach Out (I'll Be There)". A true pop/soul gem.
