Profiles In Courage: The Times Answers Mickey Kaus

Mickey Kaus aired his Obama problems a few days back:

And on the issues, what's Obama done that's original or pathbreaking? I don't know the answer.

As if by magic the NY Times, in a loving appraisal of Obama, provides the answer!

He has demonstrated an occasional willingness to break from liberal orthodoxy, including his vote to confirm Condoleezza Rice as secretary of state, which at the time infuriated liberals (13 Democrats opposed her).

So Obama boldly stood with a mere 86 fellow Senators and voted to confirm the black woman.  That is the sort of political courage I am sure Mickey is looking for.

Comments

[Crew v1.0]

Obama's vote for Condi as Sec of State does not constitute an adequate rationale for original leadership -- which sounds like it was the issue framed by Mr. Kaus. On the other hand, let's give credit where it is due. A vote correctly cast is a vote correctly cast. Without bothering to look up the roll call, let me offer a wild guess that Long John Rice Kernel -- the hangdog, hectoring, John McCain for Veep-picking, former plaintiffs' lawyer who boldly advocated big jury verdicts for victims of bad hair transplants -- probably voted against Condi. Am I right? Am I, am I?

"How do you ask a man to work with the public with his scalp in this horrendous condition?"

[clarice]

Mickey is undoubtedly verklempt at this brilliant riposte.

[Semanticleo]

"But the way you reveal your character is by grappling with issues, not by grappling with yourself."

That's the problem with the Right. They try to fix the world before they fix themselves.

A little introspection might be the tonic
that leads to sound decisions on the domestic and international issues so exacerbated by the absence thereof.

Slate should create a sidebar just for Kaus.
They could call it 'S'late'.

[SunnyDay]

We call that narcissism.

[Semanticleo]

Imagine that. The cure is worse than the disease.

[richard mcenroe]

Obama only voted for Condi because Rove told him he could fix him a guest-host slot on Soul Train. he's black, you know.

[Paull]

Why is Obama considered black? He's just as much white as black. Isn't calling him black a nod to racism and the old one-drop rule?

Answer: Because if he were considered white no one would have paid him a second glance.

[Patton]

Funny how, in a backhanded sort of way, the NYT is admitting that Liberals vote for nominees to political position not on merit, not on experience, not on qualifications, but simply because they disagree policy wise with the nominee.

If everyone acted like Liberals, noone would ever be appointed to anything.

The NYT is saying every conservative should have voted against every Clinton appointee, including 95% of his cabinet.

[Larry]

We call that narcissism.
Posted by: SunnyDay | December 24, 2006 at 10:40 AM

grappling with yourself......I call that Onanism, figuratively and literally.

[Larry]

Merry Christmas, everyone. Six of our nine grandchildren will open their gifts here in a little while. We'll have 2 of the other 3 Tuesday.

[SmokeVanThorn]

There's still time to run out and get Semanticleo that mega-size bottle of hand lotion for Christmas.

[hit and run]

Merry Christmas from "deep in the heart of Texas"

I could care less what's happening in the rest of the world.

That may be the 12 beers talking. Or it may be the real holiday spirit of being with family. Either way, to you and yours, all the best...

[Rick]

"A little introspection might be the tonic
that leads to sound decisions on the domestic and international issues so exacerbated by the absence thereof."

It might also give rise to meaningful, interesting comments. But I'm not too hopeful.

Cordially...

[hit and run]

It might also give rise to meaningful, interesting comments. But I'm not too hopeful.

I would be more hopeful if you had made the first step. But since you didn't...

[Semanticleo]

A blessing upon all your houses.

Via Con Dios

[patch]

Try...

Vaya Con Dios

[erp]

What did that other media darling JFK ever do? Just asking.

[Crunchy Frog]

Since when is Mickey on the Right? IIRC, he's a registered democrat who voted for Jane Harman for Congress this November...

[Richard R]

Obama is exactly as "black" as Mariah Carey, Vin Diesel, Soledad O'Brien and Peter Ustinov.

On the other hand, he's also as "black" as Eartha Kitt, Jimi Hendrix, Derek Jeter, Harold Ford Sr. and Halle Berry.

It shouldn't make any difference.

[Assistant Village Idiot]

Yes, of course the Right is unfamiliar with the benefits of introspection...

Sorry, sounds like liberal code for "you're not listening to us." Sheer Bulverism.

[Bob]

Merry Christmas!

[Bob]

Richard R... you saying Obama has one white hand and one black hand?

[Outpost37]

"Richard R... you saying Obama has one white hand and one black hand?"

Wow! Almost sounds like an Original Star Trek episode!

[Larry]

Although JFK was something of a lightweight, experience-wise, for his time, he had eons more experience (more in the house than the senate, and also a WWII vet) than Obama does now. But the fact remains that no dem can win without the African-American voting bloc; can anyone really see him NOT winning that?

[biggntuff]

"What did that other media darling JFK ever do?"

He cut taxes!!

[windansea]

JFK was the last democrat I liked

Obama ain't no JFK

[Watcher]

“He cut taxes!!”

Would those tax cuts have passed had he not been martyred first?

[Rick]

"I would be more hopeful if you had made the first step. But since you didn't..."

So Semanticleo leads a season without hope. Alas.

Cordially...

[don Meaker]

"What did JFK do?"

He cooperated with Daley and Johnson to steal the election. He only won through massive corruption in Cook County and West Texas. Alabama and Mississipi elected unpledged electors, because they knew what they were getting in Kennedy-Johnson. Barry Goldwater got at least one vote from these unpledged electors.

Aside from a good tax cut, for which he deserves credit, he also betrayed the Cubans, to whom he had promised "I will return this flag to you in a free Havana!"

He responded to communist aggression in Berlin with a botched speech claiming "I am a jelly donut" in German, but let the Communists keep the West Berliners they had kidnapped on their way home from work. Last time I was at the German Reichstag, he had an entire room devoted to him.

He pulled Jupiter nuclear missiles out of Turkey, to get the Communists to pull nuclear missiles out of Cuba. Of course the missiles were replaced with Soviet troops.

Vietnam, he got far more involved, without getting involved in a way that the US could win.

Mostly, he was the warmup for Jimmy Carter, without the Phillips Curve meltdown.

[erp]

don, I think I love you.

[PeterUK]

"So Semanticleo leads a season without hope. Alas".

Neither would you if you were the product tester in a KY factory.

[Crunchy Frog]

I think I could live with that, provided the product in question is bourbon whisky...

[Kevin Murphy]

Would that the NYT "demonstrate an occasional willingness to break from liberal orthodoxy."

[Dorian]

“Obama is exactly as "black" as Mariah Carey, Vin Diesel, Soledad O'Brien and Peter Ustinov.
On the other hand, he's also as "black" as Eartha Kitt, Jimi Hendrix, Derek Jeter, Harold Ford Sr. and Halle Berry.
It shouldn't make any difference.”

This is exactly why Obama is so popular among the self-appointed racial “enlightened”. He’s not your garden variety “lets put a black man in office for the sake of putting a black man in office” candidate - he’s both black and white which is much more salacious and avant garde. It’s not about WHO Obama is or what he has done as much as WHAT he is. This is why the whole charade is so despicable. He’s being paraded around as a commodity by racists who accuse anyone who might dare overlook Obama on merit alone as being racist. They are so obsessed with feigning color blindness that fawning over this visibly bi-racial man is their new, best hope toward a facade of racial righteousness.

[Pete]

In 1998, what had Bush (W) done that was original or pathbreaking?

[Leo Linbeck]

In 1995, George W. started Texas on the path from civil justice for sale "Hell Hole" to it's current status as a beacon state for balance, fairness and predictability in it's civil justice system. He led when the conventional wisdom said it could not be done.
The Lion

[richard mcenroe]

Don Meaker -- He also came closer to starting a nuclear war than has ever been widely admitted. We know now that the four Soviet diesel subs that were sent to test the USN blockade of Cuba were armed with nuclear torpedos, and at least one captain had to be restrained by his own officers from firing on the US destroyers trying to make him surface.

[Brian Macker]

"A vote correctly cast is a vote correctly cast."

Was it? I'm not sure. In fact, I'm not sure we often get the chance to cast a correct vote. Voting is mostly like multiple choice where all the answers are wrong.

[Florence Schmieg]

Jim Rutenberg in the NYTimes today demonstrates the total lack of credibility that they have regarding Republicans. He uses as his representative of Republican thought about George Bush, Joe Scarborough!! He quotes him verbatim from one of his awful Bush-bashing segments that have become a common theme on his program in the last few years. i find this incredible. As much as I find to be critical of in the Times, I thought they would be above using such a character as their point person on Bush and Republican thought. Quite disgraceful in my opinion.

[Larry]

Would those tax cuts have passed had he not been martyred first? Posted by: Watcher | December 25, 2006 at 09:34 AM

I'm certain (not going to look it up) the cuts were passed before Kennedy's untimely demise. Full credit to him. In many ways, he was further right than many of today's "conservatives". Howevever, Kruschev is on record saying he'd never have put the missiles in Cuba if he hadn't thought Kennedy was a wimp. Paper tiger symptoms re Bay of Pigs. We will never have peace if we allow ourselves to become weak(er). OT: I was standing on the curb, not 10 feet from Jack and Jackie's motorcade in San Antonio, the day before he was killed.

[erp]

Larry, ditto the Berlin wall. Kruschev sized up Kennedy and knew he could build the wall without a peep from Camelot man.

[Larry]

I haven't really been everywhere, but I was in Berlin (East Berlin, too) 2 weeks before they started building the wall. Dang, I miss all the action.

[pete]

Schwarzenegger ... fractured femur where? ... not saying ... hmm ... head of femur? ... ischemic necrosis of the femur head secondary to steroid abuse? ... Secrecy explained!

[erp]

Larry, is your last name Zelig?

[PeterUK]

Pete...confused thought patterns...wild unsubstantiated assumptions...damage to the cerebral cortex...drug abuse...secrecy explained.

[Pete]

Here is another blast to the Bush past courtesy of Juan Cole:

Think Progress points out that in 1999, Governor George W. Bush criticized then President Clinton for declining to set a withdrawal timetable for Kosovo, saying "Victory means exit strategy, and it’s important for the president to explain to us what the exit strategy is."

[PeterUK]

Clinton never did have an exit strategy for the Balkans,that is why troops are still there.

[pete]

PeteUK

Schwarzenegger is/was an addict and his drug of choice is/was steroids. Of course steroids are not addictive by the usual medical definition of the word but he did abuse steroids by his own addmission and now it is coming back to haunt him. A 59 year old male who exercises regularly does not fall over while standing and break a femur without some other underlying pathology. He has a history of steroid abuse and no information is being released about the fracture which required pinning. He certainly didn't get a compound fracture from the fall that was described in the press so it is most likely that the fracture occurred near the head of the femur. I'm sorry if your buds (Limbaugh, Haggard, Arnold) are all drug abusing pontificating hypocrits but that's the way it is.

[MayBee]

Yeah, Pete. I think you totally busted Arnold. I mean, imagine not giving more details about his broken femur. He probably shouldn't be governor anymore, huh?

[pete]

MayBee

I think this could be a good thing if Arnie comes clean. But if he keeps up
the steroid abuse apologetics it's going to hurt him.

If you keep up the stay-out-of-my-private-life shtick someone might might mistake you for a liberal.

[MayBee]

If you keep up the stay-out-of-my-private-life shtick someone might might mistake you for a liberal.

I'm sure Mark Foley and Jeff Gannon agree with you, Pete.

[SunnyDay]

Edwards is announcing now. From the 9th ward. Two Americas. the "haves" and the "have nots." Gag.

Maybe he could explain why they should not have reelected the same officials who left them there to die.

The "have nots" keep making the same bad decisions over and over, expecting a different outcome.

[TCO]

He has said before that he used them when body-building.

[MayBee]

Edwards is announcing now. From the 9th ward. ... Gag.

Ho Ho Ho. 'Tis the Season for Pandering.

[SunnyDay]

MayBee - is Edwards a PR genius or what?

[MayBee]

Shall we predict how the other candidates will announce, now that Edwards has set the pander bar so high? What kind of stagecraft they'll employ?

I'll start. Gore will announce he's running from a melting iceberg. Maybe in the opening shot, he can help lift a swimming, underweight, polar bear out of the water.

[PeterUK]

"Schwarzenegger is/was an addict and his drug of choice is/was steroids. Of course steroids are not addictive by the usual medical definition of the word.

NOT ADICTIVE>

but he did abuse steroids by his own addmission and now it is coming back to haunt him.

A 59 year old male who exercises regularly does not fall over while standing and break a femur without some other underlying pathology.

HAPPENS FREQUENTLY,SOME FALL OUT OF BED,SOME EVEN SNEEZING,ATHLETES,SPORTSMEN,BODY BUILDERS AND THE LIKE ARE ALWAYS BREAKING BONES
He has a history of steroid abuse and no information is being released about the fracture which required pinning.

IN THIS MODERN WORLD FRACTURES ARE COMMONLY PINNED SINCE IT SPEEDS UP THE HEALING PROCESS.

JUST FACE IT DR SPOCK,NO STEROIDS NO OLYMPIC GAMES.

[SunnyDay]

nutty pete the nitty picker

[PeterUK]

Before we discuss self abuse,if you will pardon the expression,perhaps the question of drink driving fatalities should be addressed.
As I understand it a drunk can drive a car right off a bridge into a river,climb out,go home sleep it off before waking the next day and remembering there was somebody else in the car.Now that's what I call a real Terminator.

[windansea]

Pete

Politics aside, you may be confused about steroid use and osteo necrosis (bone death) ...I have personal experience with this. A small fraction (1/20,000) of people who use steroidal drugs...in my case it was two weeks of prescribed cortisone pills....this disease does not cause femurs to break...it is usually a gradual cut in blood supply which causes the top "ball" of the femur to cave in requiring full hip joint replacement

[SunnyDay]

Speaking of Pete, where's Sam? I do hope he's OK.

I found something for him.

for this I will endure the spam filter

[PeterUK]

...AND OF COURSE SKIING ACCIDENTS ARE INCREDIBLY COMMON, but Sneaky Pete wouldn't mention that

[PeterUK]

Sam has been hospitalised after tripping over his,"The End of the World is Nigh" sign.Doctors say "Sam is in a stable condition,but the rest of us are doomed".

[Jane]

Sunny,

That's hysterical, and oh so perfect for Sam.

[PeterUK]

Sunny.
Priceless,well $199.99.

[Specter]

Hi Gang,

Merry Christmas (belated) and Happy Hanukkah (even more belated) to all of you. No matter your faith, please take a few minutes to ask for peace this year.

Now - with that out of the way - Sunny - that was the funniest thing I have seen in a while. Go for it sam! LOL

Pete - have you ever been skiing? I bet not. You should speak with some Ski Patrol folks about how common broken legs are - even with people just "falling down". Remember you have several feet of material strapped to your feet. If you are not a good skier, or even if you are, falling can be quite disastrous. Get a life!

[Specter]

Breaking News - OT:

The North Carolina bar filed an ethics complaint Thursday against the prosecutor in the Duke lacrosse case, accusing him of breaking four rules of professional conduct when speaking to the reporters about the sensational case.

See it here.

[PeterUK]

Pete doesn't understand what a slippery surface and some leverage can do,as his parents found out.

[MayBee]

Hilarious, SunnyDay!

[Specter]

PeterUK,

You are right. Maybe re-pete can ask Sonny Bono about it?

[MayBee]

Do you not live in a snowy or icy climate, pete?

[PeterUK]

Pete doesn't fall over.....because of the walking frame.

[pete]

PeteUK and the rest

Do a little, just a little reading, on a fractures and you will understand how willingly stupid you folks are.

[MayBee]

Here you go Pete:
From CBS News

Arnold: No Regrets About Steroids

SACRAMENTO, Calif., Feb. 26, 2005

(AP) Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, who has acknowledged using steroids during his years as a champion body builder, said he does not regret using the performance-enhancing drugs.

In an interview to be broadcast Sunday, the Austrian-born former actor told George Stephanopoulos: "I have no regrets about it, because at that time, it was something new that came on the market, and we went to the doctor and did it under doctors' supervision."

Schwarzenegger has acknowledged taking steroids, but pointed out that they were legal at the time.

"We were experimenting with it. It was a new thing. So you can't roll the clock back and say, 'Now I would change my mind on this,'" he said.

The former seven-time Mr. Olympia said he would not encourage drug use because it sent the wrong message to children. But he said he had no problem with athletes taking nutritional supplements and other legal substances to improve their performance.
------
So what are we being so stupid about? Where is the controversy?

[pete]

MayBee

Arnie has already had one hip replaced. Apparently you did not know this. Do you have even the faintest clue as to what steroids do to humans. This has been known for more 60 years (Arnie's legality claim is nonsense. He still did this to himself). Ischemic necrosis of the head of the femur is common place amongst abusers. Now Arnie has yet another femur fracture. Pull your head out of your butt and crack a book (rectangular looking object with interior layers of paper inscribed with things called words).

[MayBee]

But what is the controversy, pete?
He did take steroids. He did break his leg. You know what? He also needed heart surgery.
And I suspect he uses fake tanning stuff.
What part of the controversy am I supposed to be reading about? Or are you joking?

[pete]

MayBee

Why are you hung up on the word controversy? Did I say there was a controversy? There is no controversy. Arnie's drug abuse has resulted in yet another serious health consequence for this man who has choosen the fame-at-any-cost path for his life. The right is losing their base fast as the base discovers that their heroes are actually really screwed-up media creations.

[MayBee]

Pete- I'm not hung up on the word controversy, I'm just trying to figure out what you are so worked up about.
Arnold admitted in the 70's that he had taken steroids. He doesn't deny it. I think anyone that voted for Arnonld got a chance to hear all about his personal foibles, whether it was steroid use, womanizing, or sexual harassment. He's very like his wife's family in that way, and he has never been a hero to the socially conservative.
But for heaven's sake, he fell while on skiis. It's not like he blew out his knee taking a wrong step on the staircase at 2am.

[Jane]

The right is losing their base fast as the base discovers that their heroes are actually really screwed-up media creations.

Pete,

I'm pretty sure it's the left who is in love with the Hollywood crowd. Are you sure you aren't just mad that the terminator is a republican? I don't see you bitching about Patrick Kennedy's (or Ted kennedy for that matter) self inflicted wounds.

[PeterUK]

Sneaky Pete,
"Do a little, just a little reading, on evidence and you will understand how willingly stupid you are."

What medical qualifications do you have Pete,which enable you to make such sweeping unverified assertions? Failure of the hip joint is very common,it can happen at a very early age,hip rreplacements are now a commonplace operation.
Contrary to your,somewhat ignorant,opinion,hips don't suddenly collapse without warning,when yours starts to go,you will know and you won't be strapping on skis that's for sure.

[Patton]

Pete,

Have you gotten any details yet on how Clinton sprained his knee at that party?

Too much to drink?
Too clumsy on the stairs?
Chasing an intern with his pants around his ankles?

He's still not talking.

[PeterUK]

"Too much to drink?
Too clumsy on the stairs?
Chasing an intern with his pants around his ankles?".

Yes.

[windansea]

Ischemic necrosis of the head of the femur is common place amongst abusers. Now Arnie has yet another femur fracture. Pull your head out of your butt and crack a book

Ok Pete, I tried being polite but now you are begging for a spanking...osteo necrosis is not common place amongst steroid users or abusers, yes steroid drugs are one of the causes or this disease, but not everyone who uses or abuses these type of drugs gets osteo necrosis....millions of asmtha sufferers inhale prednisone (a steroid) daily and do not get the disease and every day thousands of people having major surgery are injected with cortisone with no ill effects.

Arnold's recent fracture of his femur had nothing to do with steroids, osteo necrosis causes a gradual collapse of the top of the ball joint, not fractures of the femur. Get out of the basement and go skiing sometime.

The media didn't create Arnold...Arnold created Arnold. He started out by becoming Mr Universe, then he became world's highest paid actor, married into Kennedy family, then he got elected Governor, then he got reelected...and yeah, he's probably had sex with lots of beautiful women.

Got Jealous??

[SunnyDay]

Well, look, after the coverup of Mrs Bush's cancer, how can you blame Pete?

**These people are so secretive**

[PeterUK]

"In the early stages of osteonecrosis, people may not have any symptoms. As the disease progresses, however, most experience joint pain. At first, the pain occurs only when putting weight on the affected joint. Later, it occurs even when resting. Pain usually develops gradually, and may be mild or severe. If osteonecrosis progresses and the bone and surrounding joint surface collapse, pain may develop or increase dramatically. Pain may be severe enough to limit range of motion in the affected joint. In some cases, particularly those involving the hip, disabling osteoarthritis may develop. The period of time between the first symptoms and loss of joint function is different for each person, but it typically ranges from several months to more than a year."

I think Arnnie would have noticed as he strapped on the skis

[Neo]

Clinton never did have an exit strategy for the Balkans,that is why troops are still there.

There isn't an exit strategy for any of the following:

World War II (troops still in Europe)
Korean Conflict (troops still in S. Korea)
War on Poverty (the poor persist and grow)
Gulf War I (troops still in Kuwait)

Appears the only exit strategy that has ever worked is Viet Nam and Somalia, two shining examples. I think it was H.G.Wells who said the quickest way to end a war is to lose .. it appears that it applies to exit strategies as well.