And Now I Play Ditto-Head To John Cole

From John Cole:

The best part of this election is about to start, though- we are going to be treated to months of folks on the right learning Obama really is not as liberal as they think he is and becoming upset that they can not simply attack him as a radical left-winger (although some morons will still continue with the Marxist nonsense because it is all they know), all the while having to watch left-wingers kvetch and moan as they learn he really is not as liberal as they thought he was and that he will move to the center to and compromise. Put together, it has the potential to be really damned amusing.

Well, I hope its amusing.  An early marker will be Obama's vote next week on the FISA compromise, which includes a provision on telecom immunity which has libs in a tizzy and is described in the Times as "a clear victory for the White House and the phone companies".  The obvious guess is that Obama will simply skip town and skip the vote.  [UPDATE:  Obama announces that he supports the bill but opposes the immunity provision and will work (almost surely unsuccessfully) to have it removed from the Senate version.  Good gnashing and kvetching by Krugman and Greg Sargent, with links to more.]

Obama might also provide some laughs at some point as he grapples with nuclear power, as noted below.  Less of a laughing matter will be his re-positioning on Iraq - his commitment to defeat now seems absurdly dated and the gnashing and wailing from the left if/when he changes course and admits that maybe he can work his magic and bring hope and change to Iraq will be momentous.

And John overlooks another source of possible amusement - as an antidote to his inevitable repositioning on various pet lefty causes Obama will have to toss out some red meat rhetoric and embrace some other symbolically fraught but practically inconsequential lefty vision.  What will it be?  I will guess he won't break-dance on an American flag or start singing "The Volga Boatman", but beyond that, I have no idea.  Something analogous to Bush's gay-marriage message is what I would watch for.  Or maybe Obama will make some utterly staggering Cabinet or judicial picks to placate his base - John Edwards to the Supreme Court could cause enough aneurysms on the right that it would compensate for a victory in Iraq.

However, two caveats furrow my brow.  First, it is a bit unnerving that we really don't know just how liberal or moderate the probable next President of the United States actually is.  Secondly, the idea that he admits he has been blowing smoke on some topics (such as NAFTA) and has backed away from his own "overheated" rhetoric on other topics, ("undivided" Jerusalem, "unconditional" pledge to meet with foreign leaders) does not inspire confidence that we can discern the "true" Obama by listening to his words.  And of course, we can't discern the "true" Obama by studying his resume and track record because if you blink once you miss it.

Well, we are probably going to elect the guy and learn by doing.  Could be fun - after all, people seem to enjoy Space Mountain.

Comments

[kim]

He's hopelessly leftist and unconscious of the degree to which he is out of the mainstream. He will not appear authentic if he moves to the middle.

Besides, this is a puppet, unable to move his own limbs in a convincing fashion. You know, his speech must be canned to make sense.
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[Buford Gooch]

TM, you seem convinced that Obama will win. Money is certainly a big factor, but probably not big enough. I'm from Illinois, and i do know quite a bit about his liberalism. There seems to be no end to it.

[JB]

My guess is if he moves to the middle he will confuse rather than convince just about everyone he needs to win. And that favors McCain who is at least a well-known quantity, a brand.

[kim]

What are the chances, despite the MSM, that Obama won't commit a catastrophic bloomer between now and the election? I just hope it won't happen before the convention.

Conversely, despite the MSM, what are the chances that McCain will shoot himself in the foot?
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[Neo]

Obama did sell out the primary cause of his professional life, all for a tiny political advantage. If he’ll sell that out, what won’t he sell out?

Obama is now plain for anybody to see. He will say whatever it takes to get elected. And I do mean whatever.

Don't forget, this is the guy that out-Clinton-ed the Clintons .. remember that "middle-class tax cut" that never was. The Left should take a lesson from it too.

[spongeworthy]

I don't know a single lefty that cares a bit how much of himself Obama sells out to get elected. Right now they're projecting on him what their hopes are for a Democratic presidency and nothing he says cannot be written off as a smokescreen to fool the rubes who, because of their resistance to collectivism, deserve to be fooled.

I strongly disagree with the viewpoint that you'll see any significant buyer's remorse from the Left. They can excuse away anything because he's not Bush and he's kind of brown and because he doesn't really mean whatever he just said.

[JB]

How about this guy?.

[LindaK]

BO's political and economic philosophy made me think of a book written in the late 1970s called "The Joyless Economy". The author argues that Americans consume too much and are childlike in their need for new things, eg cars and gadgets. He calls for a kinder, gentler society with less consumption. The book had a cultlike following in academia. This presumably is where BO wants to lead us, down the road to the joyless economy.

[clarice]

I remember being young and wanting to travel through life unburdened by t oo many possessions..Now I have at least 100 espresso cups and at least that many chairs. *sigh*

[spongeworthy]

Quite the salon you must be hosting there, Clarice.

JB, the caption to the piece you linked reads "Here's this one guy..."

One dude.

[LindaK]

Clarice,

I cleaned my basement and discovered four large boxes filled with Boy Scout coffee mugs. THey'll go nicely with the Limoge. The one for Troop 60 is particularly lovely.

[LindaK]

Limoges

[clarice]

Well, I haven't gone into my decorative mug collection--largely brought home by my husband who seems to have a sentimental attachment to corporate tsotchke give aways .

[clarice]

If you stay in one (big) house for over thirty years,spongeworthy, the place just fills up almost by itself.

[windansea]

I don't know a single lefty that cares a bit how much of himself Obama sells out to get elected.

I agree, they are desperate to feel "empowered" after 00 and 04, doesn't matter what Obama does, it gets explained away

[Thomas Jackson]

The Marxists and their allies must attempt to sell Snobama as a "moderate" or progressive. No matter that he is to the left of Teddy the wonder boy of statism. No matter that he'd curtail freedoms of all those embittered white folk in the Midwest or those who like to be able to eat as much as they want or heat their homes or even buy the cars they like.

John Cole is entitled to his views. And people who believe them might also believe in Winnie the Pooh, the Obama handbook on foreign affairs and national security.

To think the Dhimmierat Party has sunken to these levels. Each election we get a candidate who is more and more like a mafia don who is hiding his homosexual behavior from the other dons. Its pathetic.

[Neo]

"I do not know whether a crime was committed by any of the administration officials who revealed Valerie Plame's identity to reporters," he said. "Nor do I know if there was an attempt by any person or persons to engage in a cover-up during the investigation. I do know that it was wrong to reveal her identity, because it compromised the effectiveness of a covert official for political reasons."

..
McClellan also also said he could not rule out that Cheney had ordered his former chief of staff, Lewis "Scooter" Libby, to leak Plame Wilson's identity.

I bet he "can't rule out" that D.B.Cooper survived his 1971 airplane hijacking, or whether Lee Harvey Oswald acted alone, either.

Please explain where we learned anything new.

[glasater]

Clarice--
If you stay in one (big) house for over thirty years,spongeworthy, the place just fills up almost by itself

I hear you and it doesn't help when one is dismantling a mother's and mother in laws households and trying to figure out what to do with all that "stuff".

[Pofarmer]

Seems to me that if a crime had been committed by "outing" Plame, there would have been some charges to that effect, Fitz's "cloud over the Vice Presidents office" not withstanding.

Asshats.

[Pofarmer]

How did McClelan turn out to be such a doofus?

[JM Hanes]

Hey Ann:

Did you see this NY Post piece on whether or not Chris Matthews & Keith Olberman were jockeying to replace Russert?

Russert himself wanted Chuck Todd, the NBC News political director he hired, to succeed him, said one source, who added that MSNBC hosts don't stand a chance of landing "Meet the Press." The insider said, "They're cable. They're far too partisan. They have no gravitas. If gravitas is eight letters, they're about seven letters short."

Russert himself apparently shared your view.

[Caro]

Clarice, I am a painter. Coffee cups and mugs, and chairs, are among my favorite subjects. They are humble and familiar.

[PeterUK]

Obama may not be a lefty, but his boss is,

[PaulL]

McClellan was *always* a doofus. His press conferences were awful. Having McClellan in that role is one instance, and not a trivial one at that, in which President Bush really is to blame for something.

[Patrick R. Sullivan]

Barack is yesterday's news. In Russia it's the Vlampire:

Vladimir Putin has enhanced his image as Russia's leading sex symbol after a commemorative magazine wholly dedicated to his virility and reputation as a "vampire" rapidly sold out in the kiosks of Moscow.

....The cover, carrying a picture of Mr Putin looking unnaturally youthful accompanied by the headline "My heart is on my sleeve", alone seemed sufficiently tantalising to appeal to most patriotic Russians.

Add to that a free poster of the topless prime minister fishing and sub-headlines promising revelations of his wild youth including a visit to a stripclub in Hamburg, romances with women and a guide on "how to become Putin", and the magazine looked set to break circulation records for a single issue.

....the magazine has outdone itself, carrying numerous photos of the prime minister in heroic poses, kayaking, swimming with dolphins and arm wrestling, under the headline: "Sometimes He's Just So Cool".

"There's not a single woman who would not dream of embracing and kissing Vladimir Vladimirovich and hearing his declaration of love," the article opined.

[clarice]

glasater, it's my revenge.
Caro--cool--

[Elliott]

sub-headlines promising revelations of his wild youth including a visit to a strip club in Hamburg

So he's the one who got pwn3d by Otto Leipzig (aka "The Magician.") Awesome.

[glasater]

Clarice-- :-)

Regarding the FISA issue and BHO the WSJ Opinion page offers this cautionary thought--

As for potential abuses, at least an Attorney General and President are accountable to voters if they use this authority to spy on their political opponents. On the other hand, if a willful judge denies a surveillance request and Americans are killed as a result, he is accountable to no one The Intelligence Deal

Just got a book called Blown to Bits in order to try to understand things a little better.

Can you control who sees all that personal information about you? Can email be truly confidential, when nothing seems to be private? Shouldn’t the Internet be censored the way radio and TV are? Is it really a federal crime to download music? When you use Google or Yahoo! to search for something, how do they decide which sites to show you? Do you still have free speech in the digital world? Do you have a voice in shaping government or corporate policies about any of this?

[Occam]

Obama continue's his avoidance of voting on tough issues that would put him on record. He skipped out on FISA vote.

[kim]

Somebody over here predicted that, Occam. If nominated, he'll run, if elected, he'll hide.
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[Porchlight]

I also have a coffee mug problem - I collect vintage ones and can't seem to stop. A mug is my favorite souvenir from any trip - doesn't have to be an official souvenir mug, I'll still remember where I bought it.

[clarice]

Well, I can see that, but my husband will go to some golf tournament or tennis match sponsored by some business...get some butt ugly souvenirs including a mug with the company logo and insist we really should keep it.

[Sue]

The senate hasn't voted on the FISA bill yet.

[Sue]

get some butt ugly souvenirs including a mug with the company logo and insist we really should keep it.

Those are my favorite. The uglier the better.

[Porchlight]

LOL Clarice - my husband grinds his teeth every time he sees a new mug arrive at the house. Of course, I do the same every time I see a new Star Wars action figure which is his weakness. At least a mug can be used for something.

[JM Hanes]

Name tags don't take up nearly as much room as coffee mugs! My name in Japanese is a fav, and I've even got a couple that my father left lying around. They go into the drawer with old licenses and funky calling cards, a vintage draft card or two, my grandmother's dance cards -- pretty much anything that's smaller than a snap shot.

[JM Hanes]

"Having McClellan in that role is one instance, and not a trivial one at that, in which President Bush really is to blame for something."

Don't let boris hear you saying that!

[clarice]

Well. just so we don't wonder off to my weaknesses--yarn and cooking gadgets...

[Jane]

Mine is frogs.

[Ann]

What an interesting conversation because I just spent the day with my husband cleaning out carp. I found an old box of beach/pool toys when my daughter was little. There was a plastic boat in there with her name on the bottom. I couldn't throw it away because I remembered the day I wrote her name on it because all the little boys keep stealing it from her. LOL
Memories.

I collect spongeware and staffordshire pitchers. By husband gets so annoyed when he wants a pitcher and I won't let him use the 100 I have in my kitchen. :)

JMH, I read that about Chuck Todd and grinned. Their is no one at NBC to fill Russert's shoes. I understand Chrissy and Keith are fighting over it. Make's my day. I think they are going to have to go back to having a panel of Chuck Todd, Tom Brokaw, Brian Williams.

[clarice]

I still have the tiny bathing suits my son wore before he was one year old. I gave his nursery school blue velvet blazer to my granddaughter--it looks great on her.

[Ann]

Did anyone watch Scotty today? I told my husband that if I was there I would of asked him something like "Can you spell DOLT?"

Funny thing is, I was listening to FOX latter today on the radio and Krauthammer called him a dolt. LOL LOL

[Ann]

Oh Clarice, If I could tell you the boxes in my basement of memories that I can't part with yet, you would laugh. :)

[Sue]

I have saved everything my daughters ever touched. My granddaughter is loving it. Each time she visits, I pull down another box for her to go through and pick goodies from. My daughter, on the other hand, said for me to clean the attic before we die. She doesn't want to go through all of it.

[Porchlight]

I can't get rid of any of my daughters' things, either. I can make some exception for clothes they never wore, but everything else they've touched, I've kept. It can't last, though, we don't have the room.

[Occam]

"The senate hasn't voted on the FISA bill yet. "

Oooops nmy bad, that was previous vote he skipped out on.

[Ann]

Sue,

Interesting, I use to spend my summers with my wonderful grandmother in Belmond, Iowa. I was always looking for something my mother owned. Nothing, nada. I guess that is why I have boxes like you.

[Porchlight]

Ann,

My grandmother lived in Clarion, IA, not 10 mi from Belmond. How funny! We visited her often. I also used to pore through her old things - I did find my mom's prom dress and her beanie from college (freshmen girls had to wear beanies in those days).

Clarion was a lovely town, so I'm sure you must have had wonderful summers in Belmond.

[Neo]

Given that yesterday’s announced decision to forego his promise to take public funding shows that Obama’s word is as good as a Nigerian e-mail, does it really matter what Obama's position is on any subject.

[Sue]

Ann,

My grandparents lived next door to me until they died. I never really left home. ::grin:: We built on land deeded to us by my grandmother. I live on land that belonged to my great-great grandparents. My sister lives in the homeplace, built by our great-grandparents. I have boxes of stuff that belonged to my great-great grandparents. And furniture. I have a trunk of my great-grandmothers that I still can't throw anything away in. She must have found some value in the stuff she put in there. Sentimental, I am.