U2, Me Too

I could not believe it when I read the headline yesterday. My Google News page has a custom section for Hillary. And there was news that U2 had blasted Hillary. I am like, is that a typo? I thought Bono and Bill Clinton were friends, and the Irishman Bono was also grateful to the guy who did some political healing to the pain in the U2 song Sunday, Bloody Sunday, in ways only Bill Clinton could have. Bono was there at the dedication ceremony of the Clinton Library.

U2 is a class act. Don't get me wrong. I am a huge U2 fan. But then so is Hillary. And Hillary's best work lies ahead of her.

Apparently Hillary and some other Senator, Republican, had sold some U2 concert tickets as a fundraiser. Hillary has money: she is a multi-millionaire, and I am happy for her. But it is in the nature of politial fund-raising that you get to raise small amounts from many individuals. And that is all good. That is the democratic way.

U2 should have had the decency to say whatever they had to say privately. They could have picked up the phone. They could have requested a step-back from the Hillary staff.

The statement said, "U2 concerts are only for U2 fans." So who bought those tickets from Hillary at high prices? Not U2 fans? Come on.

The hurt has been done.

Hillary went on a talk show with a celebrity woman friend of her own, invited her to NYC and all that. Hillary will take her around.

Men can be predictable. Men. White men. Whites. In certain situations, they act certain ways.

If you hurt your man friend's wife, is that supposed to make that man think you and him are closer than him and his wife? That would be immature.

And there is this whole crowd thing.

Bill Clinton is a rare leader. He really makes the crowd come alive. The crowd is a virus at low temperatures, there but not moving. And Bill Clinton comes along, and raises the temperature, and the crowd comes alive. And the crowd starts having sex and money thoughts. And Bill Clinton is just vocabulary, bearing the brunt of all that talk.

And there is this another weird thing. Happened to both Amitabh Bachchan and Bill Clinton. The crowd so loves you, it has to constantly look for the other woman in your life. Because, if you love your wife, you could not be returning back the crowd's love. In Amitabh's case, it was Rekha in the press.

The crowd is a cloud, at best passing. Genuine affection only comes from intimate relationships.

Hillary said on the show, "Bill Clinton is a husband you want to keep around for 30 years because he does the dishes." Looks like the Man from Hope is hurt.

Bono, what did you do now?

Like the JFK daughter Carolyn asked Jackie Kennedy when a bunch of Nobel Prize winning physicists rang alam bells on apparent White House unconcern on atomic weapons: "What did Daddy do now?"

The One Voice Concept

Nuts, bolts and logisitcs are not my forte. I focus more on vision and broader group dynamics. I am not too eager at shaking many hands, but I can really raise morale when I get to it. So no, I am not all that theoretical. It is just that my specialization is at the big picture level.

I am really proud of the work I have done on the Nepal front. I am really part of the peace process conversations at the highest levels.

I don't live in offline America. I drop off just to socialize, do some grocery, things like that. You really have to imagine the Internet as a new country. The Internet makes multi-tasking more possible. I am more active in Nepali politics today than I was ever before, even more so than I was active when I was back there, before I came to the US for college.

And I am active in US politics, in NYC politics. Recently I have had this outburst of mental activity, and I really feel I have been able to cover some new ground. I almost feel a sense of completion. Yesterday I was thinking for the first time in months, I could really devote some time to my business activities. I felt that sense of completion on both Nepal and America fronts.

DFA is not just another PAC. If it is just another PAC, it is not going too far. So what makes DFA different? I have thought long and hard. I have come up with some concepts.

1. One person, one vote, one voice.
2. Total, transparent democracy.
3. Non-violent militancy.
4. Face time, screen time.

The thing about all my concepts is all of them are open source. They are not going to descend upon you like a law. People get to pick and choose. People get to modify the concepts for local use. And all of them are subject to an open discourse, starting right from my comments sections.
But I stand by them. I think I have a broad idea of how I would run Dean 2008, if I were Campaign Chairperson. I would have a CEO to take care of the logistics, a CFO to take care of the finances, a CTO for the technology, and a COO for operations. And I would whizz by the competition. That is the kind of confidence my concepts give me. I could do it.

The one voice concept, I have talked about it earlier. The best ideas do not come from committees. And groupthink is the name of a disease. The one person, one vote transparent mechanism has to be in place. Even the best ideas will have to go through that democratic filter, true. But one voice has to be alive. Individuals should freely think, and express and archive those thoughts. The most effective organizations live by the dictum the best ideas could come from anywhere.

On the big issues of race relations, I have already thought out the big thoughts. My approach is highly sophisticated. Policy talk is often inter-related. But then once in a while you bump into white folks at a micro level who say or do or suggest something as if maybe you should go organize a civil rights movement. At that level, I would rather respond in a way that it is they who feel the need to organize a civil rights movement. Or you just avoid them. I don't consider it my personal responsibility to help every Tom, Dick and Harry climb up the social progressive ladder. I don't have that kind of time. They need to be wiping their own noses. When I am politicking, I am in the business of getting votes, like business people are in the business of getting money. It is political entrepreneurship. Race is only one of many issues, although it is a big one as is. Progressives will, simply put, just have to feel comfortable talking about it.

And while I am at it, let me also briefly touch upon Howard Dean. I have often asked myself this question, what makes Howard Dean different? I asked that in 2004. I have asked that this year before I got to meet him. I have asked that while I met him. I have asked it after.

John Edwards is made for TV. Howard Dean is made for the internet. I think that is the difference. Edwards is good with soundbites, and looks good on television. But Dean feels much more real. You can not package this guy, and that is good, because with the new medium of the internet, you could not even if you wanted to. Dean's very appeal is that he is a regular, plainspoken guy. The TV creates a facade, the Internet takes it away. If 2008 will be an internet election, Dean wins, if it will be a TV election, Dean will have to work harder.