Tag Archive for obama

The Goddess Watches President Obama’s Afghanistan Speech (so you don’t have to)

December 1, 2009 politics No comments

Critics have accused the president of “dithering.” Supporters say it’s been a period of “thoughtful reflection.” Whatever the case, this speech has been months in the making (the war in Afghanistan has been eight years in the making). So I have a feeling the speech won’t be one of those seven-minute George Bush specials. I’m predicting 35 to 40 minutes of thoughtful reflection.

8:02 — Lots of handsome dress greys in the audience.

8:04 — The president starts with a succinct and effective recap on the events in Afghanistan so far, from 9/11 through the war resolutions in Congress to the NATO commitment – as cadets break out their digital cameras.

8:06 — “Then, in early 2003, the decision was made to wage a second war in Iraq. The wrenching debate over the Iraq War is well-known and need not be repeated here.” You’re so right, sir. Let’s not bicker and argue about who invaded who…

8:12 — “I opposed the war in Iraq precisely because I believe that we must exercise restraint in the use of military force, and always consider the long-term consequences of our actions.” Did the president just honestly admit that he opposed a war in front of a military crowd? Very classy, sir.

8:15 – The president breaks it down: We must deny al Qaeda a safe-haven. We must reverse the Taliban’s momentum and deny it the ability to overthrow the government. And we must strengthen the capacity of Afghanistan’s security forces and government … We will meet these objectives in three ways.”

8:16 — Way the First: 30,000 troops will deploy in 2010 to target the insurgency and get more Afghans into the fight.

8:18 — Way the Second: Pursue a civilian strategy with the Karzai government. “The days of providing a blank check are over.”

8:19 — Way the Third — We will recognize that our success is linked to Pakistan.

8:22 — To recap (the president has obviously taken a public speaking class) — “These are the three core elements of our strategy: a military effort to create the conditions for a transition; a civilian surge that reinforces positive action; and an effective partnership with Pakistan.”

8:24 — Obama takes on some of the critics of the war in Afghanistan. To those who say this is another Vietnam, we were attacked first! To those who say we should leave the troop levels where they are, this would just be “muddling through.”

8:25 — And to those who say we should have a more expansive, open-ended commitment? “As president, I refuse to set goals that go beyond our responsibility, our means, our or interests. And I must weigh all of the challenges that our nation faces. I don’t have the luxury of committing to just one.”

8:26 – PBS keeps catching cadets nodding off in the audience. Did these guys have a 14-mile march before the speech or something?

8:31 — Time for the president to wake this crowd up! “Our union was founded in resistance to oppression. We do not seek to occupy other nations. We will not claim another nation’s resources or target other peoples because their faith or ethnicity is different from ours. What we have fought for — what we continue to fight for — is a better future for our children and grandchildren, and we believe that their lives will be better if other peoples’ children and grandchildren can live in freedom and access opportunity.”

8:35 — Bring it home, sir. “It is easy to forget that when this war began, we were united — bound together by the fresh memory of a horrific attack …. I refuse to accept the notion that we cannot summon that unity again. … We will go forward with the confidence that right makes might, and with the commitment to forge an America that is safer, a world that is more secure, and a future that represents not the deepest of fears but the highest of hopes. Thank you, God Bless you and God Bless the United States of America.”

–lori

The Goddess Watches the Obama Healthcare Speech (so you don’t have to)

September 9, 2009 politics 3 comments

I’m worried about Obama’s speech tonight.

I’m worried that he’s going to listen to the pre-speech pontificating I’ve been hearing and go all hyper-specific about the kind of healthcare reform he wants. He’s been pretty quiet on this score and that hasn’t worked, this line of reasoning goes. Time to give the American people the 4-1-1.

I think this approach would be a mistake.

I think a litany of details on public options, Medicare expansion, and healthcare co-ops would lead to a slow death by boredom in living rooms (and newsrooms) across America. Instead President Obama needs to be a cardiologist, not a neurologist: he needs to address the heart, not the head.

I want a full-throated, emotional outpouring from the president as to why healthcare reform is a moral issue. And I’m not an emotional gal. “Just the facts, ma’am.” That’s me. But in this case, we need the president to fire us up, not bog us down with minutiae.

Here we go.

8:06 — First lady, guests arrive. I  wonder if there will be a “Skutnik Row” of “ordinary Americans”, like they have at state of the union? In this case, I hope so.

8:11 – As the president arrives, PBS is providing a thoughtful analysis of what it means if certain senators applaud. Or not.

8:17 — I like the beginning so far. The tone is combative. Good start.

8:20 — Nice! The badass Obama showed up! “But we did not come here just to clean up crises. We came to build a future. … I am not the first President to take up this cause, but I am determined to be the last.”

8:23 — The President makes the controversial move of acknowledging that there are, like, other countries and stuff. “More and more Americans pay their premiums, only to discover that their insurance company has dropped their coverage when they get sick, or won’t pay the full cost of care. It happens every day. … We are the only advanced democracy on Earth – the only wealthy nation – that allows such hardships for millions of its people.”

8:25 — “I believe it makes more sense to build on what works and fix what doesn’t, rather than try to build an entirely new system from scratch.” That one gets the first (and maybe only) bilateral standing O from the hall.

8:30 – “Well the time for bickering is over. The time for games has passed. Now is the season for action.” Please be true please be true please be true …

8:31 — “The plan I’m announcing tonight would meet three basic goals: It will provide more security and stability to those who have health insurance. It will provide insurance to those who don’t. And it will slow the growth of health care costs for our families, our businesses, and our government. ” Sounds like a plan to me!

8:32 — “As soon as I sign this bill, it will be against the law for insurance companies to drop your coverage when you get sick or water it down when you need it most.” What I can’t believe is that this isn’t against the law now.

8:37 – The president calls the death panel charge, “a lie pure and simple” and GOP ain’t standing. Wow.

8:39 – Whoa! One congressman shouts out “LIE!” when the president says the plan won’t cover illegal immigrants. Is this a town hall meeting all of a sudden?

8:45 — A Ha! We have a public option sighting. “Some have suggested that that the public option go into effect only in those markets where insurance companies are not providing affordable policies. Others propose a co-op or another non-profit entity to administer the plan. These are all constructive ideas worth exploring.

“But I will not back down on the basic principle that if Americans can’t find affordable coverage, we will provide you with a choice. And I will make sure that no government bureaucrat or insurance company bureaucrat gets between you and the care that you need.” (Sorry for the bold italics, but I love it when someone finally calls attention to the fact that right now insurance bureaucrats stand between you and your doctor, and no one seems so incensed about that.)

8: 46 — State schools get a shout out from Obama! Nice analogy, sir! “It would also keep pressure on private insurers to keep their policies affordable and treat their customers better, the same way public colleges and universities provide additional choice and competition to students without in any way inhibiting a vibrant system of private colleges and universities.”

8:47 — Obama throws some red meat to the base. Yummy! “Part of the reason I faced a trillion dollar deficit when I walked in the door of the White House is because too many initiatives over the last decade were not paid for – from the Iraq War to tax breaks for the wealthy. I will not make that same mistake with health care.”

8:50 — Republicans asses are nailed to their seats. They’re not even standing for reforms to Medicare that will help seniors pay for catastrophic perscription drug costs. Aren’t they worried? I’m sorry, but I feel this speech is going over very well. I wonder how they are going to spin this on Fox.

8:53 — FINALLY! “But know this: I will not waste time with those who have made the calculation that it’s better politics to kill this plan than improve it. I will not stand by while the special interests use the same old tactics to keep things exactly the way they are. If you misrepresent what’s in the plan, we will call you out. And I will not accept the status quo as a solution. Not this time. Not now.”

8:55 — I was worried at the beginning of the speech that the president would not bring the emotion. I needn’t have worried. You can hear a pin drop in the chamber, Nancy Pelosi is crying, as the president recalls the late Teddy Kennedy:

“He never forgot the sheer terror and helplessness that any parent feels when a child is badly sick; and he was able to imagine what it must be like for those without insurance; what it would be like to have to say to a wife or a child or an aging parent – there is something that could make you better, but I just can’t afford it.

“That large-heartedness – that concern and regard for the plight of others – is not a partisan feeling. It is not a Republican or a Democratic feeling. It, too, is part of the American character. Our ability to stand in other people’s shoes. A recognition that we are all in this together; that when fortune turns against one of us, others are there to lend a helping hand. A belief that in this country, hard work and responsibility should be rewarded by some measure of security and fair play; and an acknowledgement that sometimes government has to step in to help deliver on that promise.”

Can I get an amen!

Better yet, can I get a healthcare reform bill?

–lori

The Goddess Kinda Watches the President’s Press Conference
(so you don’t have to)

March 24, 2009 politics One comment

As President Obama strides to the podium for tonight’s press conference, I notice he doesn’t really have what I’ve come to think of as a presidential walk. He’s so cool and casual: none of that stiff arms, cowboy frog march we got from President Bush. 

President Obama has a few good moments during the news conference. My favorite was the response to a CNN reporter who asked him why it took him several days to “express his outrage” over the AIG salary bonuses. Note that he didn’t ask why the loop hole was written into the stimulus package in the first place. All this douchebag wanted to know was, “where was the outrage?!” 

“It took me a couple days,” said Obama,  ”because I like to know what I’m talking about before I speak.” In your FACE, cable news man!

If I’m honest though, despite my best intentions to keep on top of all this stuff I have to admit that I’ve already lost track of all the programs the Obama administration has passed or proposed, and his presidency is only 65 days old. So far, we’ve had:

  • The original Toxic Asset Relief Act: $700 billion
    passed during the Bush Administration to infuse capitol onto banks’ balance sheets
  • The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, also known as the stimulus bill: $787 billion
    includes tax cuts, infrastructure spending, Medicaid spending, etc.  
  • The budget: $3.5 trillion
    Obama’s top priorities are: health care, energy, education, deficit reduction
  • The financial sector bailout: $1 trillion
    the plan announced by Tim Geithner to create a public-private partnership to buy troubled assets from banks; separate from TARP program 
  • The auto sector bailout: $22 billion in government loans already accepted with a request for another $22 billion on tap
  • The AIG bailout: $170 billion in loans
  • Housing program: $75 billion
    reduces mortgages to no more than 30% of borrowers income, which no one is frikkin’ talking about. 

Add it all up, and it comes to about $5.15 trillion billion gazillion dollars. 

I think my head is about to implode. Methinks I should maybe pick one issue and focus on that, just to get some sense of equilibrium. 

–lori

Barack TV

February 4, 2009 politics One comment

Obama on TV networksPresident Obama was on all three broadcast channels and the cable news networks yesterday. I think I spotted him on Animal Planet discussing White House puppy options and the Food Network sharing his favorite omelette recipes.

What was supposed to be a full-throated defense of the economic stimulus package turned into a mea culpa marathon, as President Obama admitted to one network anchor after another that he “screwed up” in pushing ahead with Tom Daschle’s nomination for Health and Human Services secretary despite Daschle’s unpaid income taxes.

So by my calculations, President Obama has already used the M-word — “mistake” — five times in his two weeks as president, compared with his predecessor, who didn’t use it once in his eight. So far, I think I’ll take Obama’s mistakes over Bush’s “successes” any day.

–lori

Catching the Midnight Bus to Hopetown

January 21, 2009 politics 2 comments

map of inauguration crowds

Attending the presidential inauguration was a little like getting a tattoo: the pain was temporary and the memory lasts a lifetime. I was awake for 32 hours, on my feet in 20-degree temperatures for 12 hours, and I’m thinking I may regain the full use of my legs by sometime early next week.

So was it worth it? In a word, yes.

The students were fantastic. The student organizers of the trip made all the right calls and everything went incredibly smoothly. The crowds were intense but happy and helpful, despite many snafus and lapses in communication on the part of the DC authorities. Crowds of thousands spent many hours milling around, looking for streets that did not end in barricades and entrances that were actually open.

By the time I actually made it to the National Mall, there were no University students or staff to be seen (most of the other staff reported the same thing; the students did a good job ditching the old folks). I was on my own in a crowd of over a million people.

I staked out a nice spot under the second Jumbotron, with a view of the Capitol building on the left. No one was sitting; there was no where to sit. It was only 8 am.

Over the next three hours, a little feeling of camaraderie was struck up amongst the people in my little section. A tall hippie guy with a white ponytail had lost his busload of students from Western Massachusetts and was hanging out on his own, reaching above the crowd with his long hippie arms to take pictures with other people’s cameras. People were sharing their snacks, their pocket hand warmers (THANK YOU, blonde lady from Connecticut) and their stories about what they thought the election meant, why they wanted to be there, and what they thought would happen next.

I mostly listened. At first I was a little sad that I wasn’t there with a group of friends, and a little jealous of the students who were. But I eventually came to appreciate my situation — alone but not alone in a crowd of millions. The whole occasion became very quiet, personal, and introspective for me.

Listening to the talk of the people around me, and then the speech, I came to a simple conclusion: it’s no longer adequate to be a pointless person, a useless person. We all must be of use. I just don’t know how yet.

For the busride down, I had with me David Hackett Fischer’s Pulitzer Prize-winning history of Washington’s Crossing. The spot where George Washington crossed the Delaware is about about ten miles from my house. So when President Obama closed his speech with this quote from Washington to rally his troops, I felt a special connection (and I’m not ashamed to say I teared up a little):

Let it be told to the future world … that in the depth of winter, when nothing but hope and virtue could survive…that the city and the country, alarmed at one common danger, came forth to meet it.

It’s time for me to start coming forth.

–lori

Get on the Bus! Inauguration or Bust

January 18, 2009 politics 4 comments

I’m heading to D.C., baby!

Three busloads of students from the UofR will be leaving Monday for an all-night road trip to the nation’s capitol, and I’ll be along for the ride as one of the “event managers” (read: “chaperones”). Our 150 students will be joining a crowd of 2-4 million citizens of the world along the National Mall, all eager to witness history in the making, and all needing to use the same subway cars and porta-potties.

My main task will be to make sure that all 150 students find their way back to the buses and back to Rochester. That sounds a little daunting. But as the President-elect himself might say, if we just stick together and look out for each other, no-one gets left behind.

–lori

Un-Flattering Politician Photo of the Week

January 10, 2009 politics 7 comments

President-elect Obama in Hawaii

Yes SIR, Mr. President, sir!

The Obama presidency is truly groundbreaking. Barack Obama will be the first African-American president, the first president from the state of Hawaii, the first president to use email, and the first president with six-pack abs.

–lori.

Mele Kalikimaka

December 20, 2008 politics 4 comments

obama christmas cardAfter stuffing his presidential cabinet full of scientists, economists, political experts, and Nobel Prize-winners (and in record time, too) Barack Obama is now settling his brains for a long winter’s nap.

A new group of FOBs (Friends of Barack) have gathered at an oceanfront estate in Hawaii for a ten-day Christmas vaycay. No word on whether the Clintons have been invited over for the cookie swap.

The forecast for Christmas morning in Oahu: 77 degrees and sunny. The forecast for the USA in 2009: continued crappy with a chance of hope.

–lori

President Obama in One Sentence

November 6, 2008 politics One comment

Salon has a nice piece today whereby reporters, commentators, and academics were asked the question “What does Obama’s victory mean?”  and then asked to confine their answer to a single sentence that begins with the same two words: “It means …”

I have a couple of favorites (It means the world is ready to follow if America is ready to lead; It means that our nation managed to “push the reset button,” and in one action, revived all the wonderful, idealistic overtones that go with the word “America.”) and I contribute my own below:

It means that, after eight long years, the smart kids have finally beaten the jocks.

Any more?

–lori.

The Goddess Watches the Election Results
(so you don’t have to)

November 5, 2008 politics 2 comments

The General Tso’s chicken is at the door, the wine is being poured, the pajamas are on, and in the Goddess Attic Election Center, we’re in for a hell of a night.

6:20: Watching CNN unveil their new Super-Holograph-o-Vision election technology. It appears that the rotating Capitol Building floating over Campbell Brown’s desk is frozen. Much like my laptop, only my laptop isn’t on national television and didn’t cost a gazillion dollars.

6:30: The first real numbers are in! McCain is up in Indiana and Kentucky with 1% of the precincts reporting. And by the way, what polls close at 6:00??!? What’s the deal, Indiana and Kentucky?

6:55: Grr, laptop still in limbo. Nothing responding. All browsers and tabs dead. Come on, technology! The polls are closing! Mr. Goddess graciously offers his Mac to this PC. There’s a commercial in there somewhere . . .

7:00: First projection: Obama wins Vermont. Way to go, hippies! McCain wins Kentucky. Those white Appalachians still love ya, Johnny. Not enough info to call Georgia, Indiana, South Carolina, and Virginia.

7:13: Political commentary from Mr. Goddess — “For God’s sake with the different rules in the different states! These are federal elections! What the fuck? Drives me barmy.”

7:29: I think I may have bypassed multitasking and smacked straight into holo-tasking. Watching CNN, NBC, and PBS. Twittering, following two Twitter streams, blogging. Checking CNNPolitics.com, Talkingpointsmemo, and NY Times. My eyes! My eyes!

7:48: NBC has called South Carolina for John McCain. That must feel a little good after 2000.

7:55: McCain headquarters is playing the Beatles’ “Nowhere Man.” Has the ennui set in already? 

7:35: Wolf Blitzer — “We’ll check out what’s going on in Florida, because those numbers can’t be right.” There’s a vote of confidence. 

7:58: CNN calls South Carolina for Obama –  even though McCain is currently leading in the actual vote – based on exit polls and “other information.” The “other information” being the fact that NBC has already called the race 10 minutes earlier.

8:00: Polls close in sixteen states. CNN projects the following for Obama: MA, IL, CT, NJ, ME, DE, MD,  and DC. McCain wins OK and TN. My home state of Pennsylvania too early to call. 

8:30: CNN projects New Hampshire for Obama. Now, that one’s gotta hurt John “The Comeback Kid” McCain.

8:31: Political commentary from Mr. Goddess: “Soledad O’Brien is soooo adorable. She’s like a little girl grown up.”

8:39: CNN now projects PA for Obama (PBS, ABC, and NBC had done so about 15 minutes ago). Way to go home state! Keep the party going.

8:50: From the Archives: Goddess of Clarity, November 3, 2004, 8:52pm — “I think I’ve just felt my first rumblings of fear . . .”  I was so confident about a Kerry victory in 2004, until the Ohio rumblings started. Curse you, exit polls!

8:53: Elizabeth Dole loses in North Carolina, for another Democratic pick-up in the Senate. The guy who wrote that “Godless Americans” ad is sooooo fired. 

8:59: Polls close in New York in one minute; get ready for a surprise projection!

9:00:  Just as I suspected! New York goes for Obama (along with RI, MI, WI, and MN) and McCain wins Wyoming and North Dakota. That’s 72 electoral votes to 6. Not a good hour for McCain. 

9:17: NBC is projecting their electoral map onto the ice rink at Rockefeller Center. I keep expecting a large ‘Muppet on Ice’ to skate by.

9:31: Jim Lehrer on PBS: “We’re now going to dazzle you with a map.” Ah, public television. Way to work those network TV 1980s cast-offs. Louisiana just  called for McCain. Quick, PBS! Someone get the red Sharpie!

9:26: On the other side of the scale, just caught a glimpse of the setup at NBC. They appear to be in some sort of weird graphic-design temple of democracy. Their chief pundit is separated from his map by a revolving  moat of taglines. 

9:38: Wow, Ann Curry on NBC is currently acting in a George Lucas film; she’s on a green screen stage reacting to graphs and maps she can’t even see. 

9:42: Jon King will bet his life that Washington, Oregon, and California will not go Republican tonight. Will you? Will you, Jon King? Will you bet your soul?

9:51: I feel like I should be exalting right now. Is it OK to exalt? 

9:55: Historian Michael Bechloss has become a leather-bound book. Stay away from the sunlamp, Micky!

10:05: In my premature presidential giddiness, I’d forgotten about the Senate. Looks like the Democrats have gained four seats. And Al Franken is winning in Minnesota! And do you know why? Because he’s good enough, he’s smart enough, and gosh darn it, people like him.

10:22: If Obama wins Washington, Oregon, Hawaii, and California, he’s at 284 electoral votes. 

10:30: I’m Tivo-ing Stewart/Colbert. Saving it for dessert for … let’s say … midnight.

10:40: Ooh, the virtual capitol is back on CNN! I haven’t seen it since it got stuck at the beginning of the night. On second thought, I gotta say I’m not impressed by the virtual capitol. Actually makes it harder to see what’s happening. Not a great way to visualize data.

10:50: OMG, will.i.am hologram on CNN. Is he the first person to ever appear by hologram? Commentary from Mr. Goddess: ”I know this is the wave of the future and ten years from now all interviews will be conducted this way, but right now it just looks weird.”

10:58: CNN calling Virginia for Obama. This is a big one. Polls close in CA, WA, OR, and HA in two minutes. This could be it…

11:00: Here’s to President Barack Obama! Commentary from Mr. Goddess, while raising his glass full of the “special occasion” whisky: “Get used to it: President Obama. This is big. This is fall of the Berlin Wall big.”

11:32: Thoroughly decent concession speech from McCain occasionally interrupted by “U-S-A” chants from frat boy mutton-heads.

11:59: Commentary from Mr. Goddess as speech begins: “None of you fuckers shoot ‘im!  None of you fuckers shoot ‘im. This is not 1968.” This is his first U.S. election. He’s a little excitable.

12:05: Tonight has ended, and become tomorrow. 

–lori.