Notes on Barry Hussein, Fat Hitler, Other Divagations

This is how it feels to win an election. Forgive ds, but this is an entriely new feeling. The first real election I was aware of, to the extent that I felt real heartbreak, was 1994. Failure ever since; we can argue the merits of 1996 or James Jeffords' defection, but the fact remains that I have never seen a tidal wave / tsunami / landslide / metaphor-worthy election.

McCain's concession was the only eloquent thing he's said since he fired Mike Murphy. I'm betting Murphy, or one of the heads from 2000 wrote it. Even the phrases encapsulating the seed of a future "Racism Is Over" tactic were glorious. A cynic would say necessarily so. Still:

But we both recognize that, though we have come a long way from the old injustices that once stained our nation's reputation and denied some Americans the full blessings of American citizenship, the memory of them still had the power to wound.

...is not half bad for the guy who voted against Martin Luther King Day. Had sentiments like these come out six months ago, McCain would be president. Surely, the fact that this dude can only be gracious in defeat, and is petulant the whole rest of the time, this is the hallmark of political failure, Cf. Gore, Albert Arnold Jr..

Another note: Keep David Axelrod off the television. He looks like a communist Mike Ditka. He looks like Fat Hitler. A head out of The Jungle. Face fit for radio. Like he never missed a meal. Like he could fish Lake Michigan with his head. All Chicagoans are like this. How do they make it in the World?

Nuhs like to think Palin is done, but I disagree. I think she's just got a taste. Does she run for Ted Stevens' seat? (Again, this is assuming Begich doesn't pull a couple thousand votes out of his hat. Also assuming that Stevens a) dies, b) resigns, c) is refused a seat in the Senate, as a convicted felon. Article I, section 5: "Each House shall be the Judge of the Elections, Returns and Qualifications of its own Members[...]." I remember this from the noise about possibly not seating Ollie North in 1996...) I think she wants all the perks of office, with none of the scrutiny, and given Stevens' example, the Senate is the place to be. Keep the oil flowing, not really do shit.

But the real questions are all about the mid-term election. Largely, this is because we can't think about 2012, though we try, until 2010 is sorted. And really, what are the Democratic prospects in 2010? The speculative economy is broken. We would be able to speculate on New Energy, if the Obama energy plan were operative. So find me 100 billion dollars in the federal budget.

Iraq? Trick is that incremental drawdowns of troops don't proportionately draw down costs, Cf. Congressional Budget Office, 10/24/2007. Veterans cost money too, for starters, and the infrastructure already in country has a flat cost that ain't going nowhere. Let's be charitable and assume that the drawdown gets us to 6 billion a month down from 10. The president-elect has committed to a troop surge in Afghanistan. There go your savings.

Increase marginal tax rates, right? Without 60 in the Senate, without the right bundle of tax cuts to sugarcoat it, without some way to round the corner on all those conservative congresspeople we just elected, it ain't happening. Seriously, is Periello, assuming he makes it into Congress from the VA 5th, going to raise anybody's taxes? A sugarcoated marginal tax increase is good policy any damn way, don't get me wrong, Teddy Roosevelt caught all kinds of shit for the progressive income tax, we know this, but do middle-class tax cuts result in increased federal revenue? Which, remember, is what we need to solidify the economy, get elected again, and really get some socialism on...aw, did I say that out loud?

For real. Show me the money. The first 100 days are economy days. Taxes alone will take 100 days. The "mandate" was historical, in that the election had an historical purpose. But that purpose is acheived, and 2010 is back to ordinary politics. I'm talking to you, Fat Hitler.

Seriously, this could be a Jimmy Carter presidency. It should not be.
--
ds