FOREWORD.DOC 11/13/2007 3:09:30 PM Volume 2 Fall 2007 Issue 1 FOREWORD By Senator Barack Obama
Law is the language of power. It is a language that helps resolve conflicts, governs the order of transactions, and distributes the rights to property and power. It is a language that describes the legitimate exercise of force by the state and defines the limits of protest against that force. Law is the language not just of courts and of contracts but of everyday life. It speaks to the constraints and commitments we accept as citizens in a nation under the rule of law.
Because lawyers are trained in the language of law, we have a special responsibility. We are not like other professionals with a skill to sell to the highest bidder. We are not merely technicians implementing faithfully the designs of others. We are often relied on to be participants in the debate over rights and power; we are called on to be stewards of public order, justice, and democracy; we are called on to be architects and catalysts both for making real the American Dream, and for protecting people from abuse around the globe. We are called on for our judgment and counsel, not just our ability to use the language to any advantage.
It is not merely the lawyer’s “professional responsibility” to be an agent of the court and to fulfill the ethical duties of fair dealing and honesty. Those duties are important, but lawyers also have an added burden to ensure that those without access to the language of power can still participate and be heard in the ongoing national conversation about what America means today and can mean in the future. It is a conversation about rights, wrongs, resources, and responsibilities. Lawyers help to ensure that this conversation is not one-sided—that the rules of the legal and political game are fair and do not inalterably favor certain groups over others.
There are many arguments for the lawyer’s special duty in the service of the public interest. The first is based on pragmatism. Someone has to perform this role and lawyers are often best positioned to help those who need a voice. If such voices are systematically denied legitimate expression, the system of order loses legitimacy and will eventually collapse or be overthrown. Lawyers have the tools to give expression to those voices. We know how to go to court, seek injunctions and restraining orders, demand disclosure of information, and give meaning to the Constitution’s protections of individual rights. We know how to draft binding agreements, structure sustainable institutions, and codify fair procedures that facilitate cooperation and collaboration.
The second argument for the lawyer’s special responsibility has to do with the character of law itself. Law is rarely selfexecuting, and rights must be exercised and defended in order to have meaning. Rights that exist on paper but are never exercised, challenged, or defended are hardly secure as rights at all. A right has meaning because it can be lost or taken away. The system of law requires that there be people willing to help others exercise and defend their rights. For the public conversation to have meaning, people must have not only the right to speak, but also the opportunity to be heard. The lawyer’s skills and privileged access make this possible.
Finally, lawyers, who are the beneficiaries of numerous advantages and privileges, have a moral duty to help those who are less fortunate. It is wrong for us to hoard our capacity to be useful or to deny it to those who need it most. That does not mean that we cannot do work for private interests willing to pay for our services. Nor does it mean that we cannot be discerning about those who benefit from our contributions and generosity.
But it does mean that all of us with the ability to make a difference by committing ourselves to a public purpose should do so.
Throughout history, lawyers have been called upon in times of change and challenge to help guide America toward its true potential. It was Charles Hamilton Houston who marshaled the law to create the strategy in Brown v. Board of Education that ended legalized apartheid and made real the promise of equal justice for all. It was Archibald Cox who knew during the Watergate scandal that if our democracy was to remain one of laws and not of men, telling the President of United States “no” was essential. And more recently, it was Sandra Day O’Connor who reminded us in Hamdan v. Rumsfeld that “a state of war is not a blank check” when it comes to the civil liberties of American citizens.
Today, at the beginning of the 21st century, we face new challenges that call upon lawyers and all leaders to help guide the course of history. We face new security threats and new economic challenges. We must confront growing inequality in income, wealth, and skills, and we face global environmental risks that may be unprecedented in their scope and potential damage. Our constitutional system has been assaulted by an overreaching Executive Branch cloaked in secrecy and hostile to precedent and evidence-based decision-making. Our image and influence abroad has been weakened, and our ability to pass on to future generations a world that is more free, more fair, and more secure is threatened—even as the world most needs America’s vision and leadership.
This is a moment when America needs its lawyers to look outward and ask what they can do to be the catalysts and architects of a better world. This is a moment when America needs its lawyers—and all its citizens—to commit in some meaningful way to public service. Doing any less suggests a poverty of ambition.
Lawyers should help make real the American dream and protect people from abuse and injustice around the globe. We must join with religious leaders and grassroots organizers and business leaders and volunteers across the nation. Whether it means working to overcome health and wealth disparities, or seeking to strengthen communities faced with economic or other challenges; whether it means advocating on behalf of disadvantaged communities, or restoring integrity and trust to public leadership—whatever vision you have to make yourself useful, each of us has a special responsibility to answer the call to public service. The time is now.
"Homeland Insecurity"
By Barack Obama
The Wall Street Journal
America is in a defining moment. This is the wealthiest nation in history. Yet many Americans feel that the dream so many generations fought for is slowly slipping away.
I've spoken with folks across this country who have worked all their lives to put their children through college, but now can't afford the rising tuition. I've spoken with many others who've done everything right, but fell into bankruptcy once they became sick, because they couldn't afford their skyrocketing medical bills. And since working Americans have to pay these rising costs with incomes that remain stagnant, many are falling deep into debt, unable to set anything aside for savings.
So at a time when many Americans have no margin for error, it's no surprise that the downturn in the housing market has done enormous harm. In the coming years, over two million Americans could face foreclosure.
The larger risk, however, is that what is happening in housing could spill over elsewhere. A number of firms borrowed huge sums to make investments tied to the housing market. They are now suffering big losses that could trigger a slowdown of the entire economy. We're already seeing some troubling signs. Consumer confidence is the lowest it's been in years. Pension funds are losing money, threatening retirement security. And banks are also losing money, resulting in a credit crunch. That means businesses have less money to invest and people can't get loans, which could lead to significant job losses in the months ahead.
This is a moment of challenge. But it's also a moment of opportunity which we must seize, to make sure our economic future is secure. That starts with addressing the source of our economic woes -- the crisis in the housing market. For most Americans, a home is not just a place to live; it's their most valuable possession -- so preventing a larger crisis in the housing market means providing greater economic security for middle-class families.
This week, President Bush outlined a limited agreement with lenders to ensure that some families don't face higher mortgage payments they can't afford. It is a start. But we need to do more. That's why, several months ago, I proposed tax breaks to help millions of homeowners make their payments, direct relief for the victims of mortgage fraud, and counseling so homeowners know what options are available to avoid foreclosure and refinance. And I have outlined a program to help make it easier for middle-class families, not speculators, to renegotiate or refinance their mortgages.
To prevent the current problems in the housing market from spreading, shaking confidence in other sectors of the economy, we need to put money in the pockets of middle-class Americans. In September, I proposed a middle-class tax cut that would offset the payroll tax that working Americans are already paying. It would give every working family a tax cut worth up to $1,000. It would also make retirement more secure by eliminating income taxes for any senior making less than $50,000 per year. And over the long term, I've called for an automatic workplace pension enrollment policy, which would include a federal government match for part of the savings of middle-class families so they can count on more savings when they retire.
But the test of judgment and leadership isn't just how you respond to problems; it's what you do to prevent them. That's why, last spring, I called for a summit on housing with representatives from the government and private sector similar to the one that Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson attended earlier this week. I also introduced a bill that would treat those who commit mortgage fraud like the criminals they are -- a measure that might have prevented the current crisis from escalating. Three months ago, I asked lenders to show flexibility to Americans trying to sell or refinance their houses.
In the last several months, I've also proposed a number of steps to prevent another economic crisis. These include restoring market transparency by making sure there's adequate government oversight over the rating agencies, so we can avoid practices that can mislead investors. We also need to stop credit-card companies from engaging in deceptive practices that push middle-class Americans further into debt. In addition, we need to update our regulatory system to reflect a 21st-century marketplace where so much credit comes from nonbank lenders, rather than traditionally regulated banks. And as we reform our regulatory rules, let's do so with an eye toward the global economy in which we're operating.
It's going to take a new kind of leadership to strengthen our middle class and make sure America's economic future is secure -- leadership that can challenge the special interests, bring Republicans and Democrats together, and rally this nation around a common purpose. And that is exactly the kind of leadership I intend to offer as president of the United States.
First it looked like it will be Hillary Vs. McCain. Then it looked like it will be Hillary Vs. Rudy. Now it is Obama Vs. Huckabee. A month before Iowa, that is a good place to be.
First time I saw the Huckabee face was when Dave Pollak posted the Chuck Norris ad on his profile page at Facebook and it showed up on my updates page. I clicked on it and left a comment: first time I am seeing the Huckabee face, I guess the ad worked.
He is for eliminating the IRS. A revenue neutral sales tax only proposal.
He says he is for sanctity of life, but not only of the life in the womb. He says we sometimes forget the life after birth. I guess he is talking of the deprived kids. I hope he means globally.
Either all Americans have the health care Congress members have, or Congress members get the health insurance of the average American. Hmm.
Democrats have a lot to celebrate this Holiday Season and a lot to look forward to in 2008.
Please join us for a Holiday Party brought to you by the New York State Democratic Party, DL21C, and other progressive organizations in New York. *
Tuesday, December 18th 8:30 pm Taj Lounge 48 W 21st St. B/D/F/V/1/N/R to 23rd St.
$7 suggested contribution at the door. RSVP in advance to Marie Parker at mariep@nydems.org / 212-725-8825. There will be a cash bar.
Brought to you by... New York State Democratic Party | www.nydems.org Democratic Leadership for the 21st Century | www.dl21c.org & New York Democratic Lawyers Council | www.nydlc.org New York State Young Democrats | www.youngdemsny.org Democracy for New York City | www.dfnyc.org The Daily Gotham | www.dailygotham.com
* Is your organization interested in co-sponsoring? Contact Adam Riff at adamr@nydems.org or 212-725-8825 x234
Huckabee Catching Up to Giuliani as Top Republican (Update1) Bloomberg Huckabee, with 17 percent support, trails only longtime front-runner Rudy Giuliani, with 23 ...... The new poll shows Obama doing better than Clinton in theoretical matchups against leading Republicans. ..... the Iowa caucuses, which are less than a month away, may dramatically change the national rankings ...... Carolyn Mashburn, 64, who owns a small grocery store with her husband in Marvell, Arkansas. Mashburn says she didn't pay much attention to Huckabee when he was governor and wasn't very impressed by him as a presidential candidate at first. She changed her mind after seeing him in debates. Bihar grinds a halt The Statesman Facebook's Zuckerberg: 'We simply did a bad job' handling Beacon CNET News.com Clinton Volunteer Quits Over Obama Email The Associated Press A volunteer Iowa county coordinator for Hillary Rodham Clinton's presidential campaign has resigned after forwarding a chain e-mail that suggests Barack Obama is a Muslim who wants to destroy the United States by being elected to its highest office. ....... Zimmerman said the Clinton campaign never talked to Rose about why she sent it but simply demanded her resignation after another recipient decried the e-mail in a post on the liberal blog Daily Kos. ..... The e-mail that Rose forwarded points out that Obama's father and stepfather were Muslim and that Obama lived in Indonesia for part of his childhood. ....... or that he ever "admitted" to being a Muslim. Clinton Campaign Volunteer Out Over False Obama RumorsWashington Post Clinton Holding Off Obama in New HampshireABC News Clinton is holding off Barack Obama in New Hampshire with a single-digit but seemingly solid lead ....... Obama is challenging Clinton in Iowa, and this ABC News/Washington Post poll puts him potentially within striking distance in New Hampshire as well. ........ Clinton has 35 percent support, Obama 29 percent ...... compares to a 30-26 percent Obama-Clinton race in Iowa in an ABC/Post poll there two weeks ago. ....... one in four likely voters who say there's a good chance they may change their minds ...... a majority of likely voters in the state seek "a new direction and new ideas" -- a page from Obama's playbook -- rather than strength and experience. ..... "new direction" voters favor Obama over Clinton by 44 percent to 19 percent ........ a total of 51 percent of Democratic likely voters in New Hampshire say they still might change their minds ...... 27 percent say they may take the results of the Iowa caucuses, five days before the New Hampshire primary, into account ....... Obama's helped by the fact that an unusually large number of independents participate (46 percent in this poll are registered independents ...... the fact that she'd be the first woman president makes them more likely to support her. Women are twice as likely as men to say so, 24 percent vs. 12 percent, rising to 32 percent of single women (which includes divorced and widowed women as well as those never married) ........ Obama easily trumps Clinton as the candidate who's the "most inspiring," leads her on honesty and trustworthiness (a Clinton weakness nationally and in Iowa as well) and challenges her on empathy Hillary Clinton was supposed to know how to fight. Slate The snack-food barb is also a sign that at the moment, Obama is taking Clinton's lunch. Allies must make dire threats about the future because the present isn't looking so good for their candidate. ....... In some of the back-and-forth, Hillary Clinton's campaign has looked amateurish. ..... "Why is HRC Stooping So Low?" former Clinton Labor Secretary Robert Reich ..... he has gone up in the polls since he started challenging her. ..... pulling even with her in Iowa and moving within single digits in New Hampshire ..... Her unfavorable rating has gone up in the latest Gallup poll. Obama calling youth to service Chicago Tribune Obama: Expand National Service ProgramsThe Associated Press Obama, donning Kennedy's cloak, issues "call to serve"Boston Globe Obama joins Wyden credit card reform efforts Bizjournals.com Wyden, Obama introduce credit card safety Star Act of 2007KTVZ Obama Seeks Consumer Credit GuardsThe Associated Press Clinton leads in crucial vote state: polls AFP Hillary Clinton had just a six-point lead over Democratic White House rival Barack Obama in a new poll in the crucial state of New Hampshire ....... Republican hopeful Mike Huckabee, who has rocked the race with a come-from-nowhere charge in leadoff voting state Iowa, is also picking up steam nationally Obama adds Huck to list MSNBC Obama said: “Triangulating and poll-testing our positions because we’re worried about what Mitt or Rudy or Fred or Mike might say about us just won’t do.” What’s different this time? The addition of Mike Huckabee to that quick rundown of potential GOP nominees, who Obama hopes to be challenging next year. Clinton Urges Foreclosures MoratoriumThe Associated Press World's biggest Asian elephant missing in Nepal Reuters South Africa World's Largest Asian Elephant May Be DeadFOX News Florida, Google collaborate to ease search for state records Computerworld Google Gets Chatty With AOL Washington Post frees you of AOL's bloated, ad-riddled AIM software. Partial Recall: Why Memory Fades with Age Scientific American Why Is IRC Stooping So Low? Robert Reich I'm becoming increasingly concerned about the stridency and inaccuracy of charges in Iowa -- especially coming from my old friend. ...... (Bill Gates satisfies his yearly Social Security obligations a few minutes past midnight on January 1 every year.) ...... maybe to $115,00 ..... when HRC charges that Obama's plan would "raise taxes" and her plan wouldn't, she's simply not telling the truth. ....... I've compared the two plans in detail. Both of them are big advances over what we have now. But in my view Obama's would insure more people, not fewer, than HRC's. ........ we're learning from what's happening in Massachusetts where health insurance is now being mandated -- that mandates still leave out a lot of people at the lower end who can't afford to insure themselves even when they're required to do so. HRC doesn't indicate how she'd enforce her mandate, and I can't find enough money in HRC's plan to help all those who won't be able to afford to buy it. I'm also impressed by the up-front investments in information technology in O's plan, and the reinsurance mechanism for coping with the costs of catastrophic illness. ...... They're both advances, but O's is the better of the two. HRC has no grounds for alleging that O's would leave out 15 million people. ....... I just don't get it. If there's anyone in the race whose history shows unique courage and character, it's Barack Obama. HRC's campaign, by contrast, is singularly lacking in conviction about anything. Her pollster, Mark Penn, has advised her to take no bold positions and continuously seek the political center, which is exactly what she's been doing. ......... this series of slurs doesn't serve HRC well. It will turn off voters in Iowa, as in the rest of the country. If she's worried her polls are dropping, this is not the way to build them back up. Robert Reich's blog.
There was this guy in my class at high school in Kathmandu, Shailesh. He was Nepali, but he had spent a few years in America. Maybe his father had been a diplomat. He came to school during the seventh grade. He spoke fluent English. The truth was he had been too young to have remembered his time in America. But all we cared was that he had spent time in America. He loved the attention. So he made things up. He told people he had met Ronald Reagan's daughter. Not true. He would make trips to the library to learn about America. And then he would boast those facts to us. America was this magic land, and we were all so impressed.
My specialty in US politics is the presidential level politics. When I first moved to NYC, some local activists I got to know thought I was kind of snotty for not taking more interest in the local races. As if I was too good to take interest. There was no presidential election anywhere in sight and that was the only level I was engrossed in. It did not go well. Normal people start at the city council level, then move on to city and state. National level comes last. Even at the national level, you first take interest in the Congress. To the onlookers I seemed intent on skipping all the early states of delirium.
The truth is when you grow up in a foreign country, that presidential level politics is the entry point.
So there is this third grade kid in Indonesia. I am guessing everyone in his class thought of him as an American first and foremost, and that included his teachers. He sure had a white mother that everyone knew about. So how do you respond to that intense attention? How do you play to the gallery?
You write an essay saying you want to be president. You succumb to the peer pressure.
If you are a smart kid, and the only American your kindergarten teacher knows, she just might like the idea of having a future president amidst her.
Or maybe I am off the mark and Hillary is right. Barack has been gunning for the job all along, though not always obvious even to him. If Hillary is right, how is Barack in the wrong? All that means is he has been preparing for long. In that case he does not lack experience.
Plus, it is not about Barack. It is about where America and the world happen to be at this juncture in history. He is needed now, not 10 years after.
Bill Clinton's kindergarten friends would tell each other, "Let's go watch Billie Clinton think!"
In The News
Time to Talk to Iran Washington Post Bringing Europeans together in support of serious sanctions was difficult before the NIE. Now it is impossible. ...... do the next administration a favor, by opening direct talks with Tehran. ...... Eventually, the United States will have to take the plunge, as it has with so many adversaries throughout its history. ....... Bush could even name a hard-nosed Democrat to lead the talks. ..... The talks should go beyond the nuclear issue and include Iran's support for terrorism, its harboring of al-Qaeda leaders, its support for Hezbollah and Hamas, and its supplying of weapons to violent extremists in Iraq. Democrats incredulous over Bush's account of Iran reportCNN Biden says Bush "incompetent" if he didn't know about new assessment earlier ...... he said the new report, which found that Iran had halted its nuclear weapons work in 2003, will not change U.S. policy toward Iran. ..... "Are you telling me a president that's briefed every single morning, who's fixated on Iran, is not told back in August that the tentative conclusion of 16 intelligence agencies in the U.S. government said they had abandoned their effort for a nuclear weapon in '03?" Biden asked in a conference call with reporters. "I refuse to believe that," he added. "If that's true, he has the most incompetent staff in modern American history, and he's one of the most incompetent presidents in modern American history." ........ Biden said Monday's report was an unpleasant echo of the run-up to the U.S. invasion of Iraq in 2003 -- a war that was launched based on mistaken conclusions about Iraq's weapons programs. ........ "It's hard to think of a more serious and more self-inflicted wound to our national security than this president continues to inflict," Biden said. ........ Obama, D-Illinois, told the same forum that Bush "continues to not let facts get in the way of his ideology." ....... "They should have stopped the saber rattling; should have never started it. And they need, now, to aggressively move on the diplomatic front," he said. Poll: Huckabee gaining fast on Giuliani Newsday Edwards Takes Step Back as Two Others Slug It Out New York Times “I have to confess,” Mr. Edwards said, “when I was in third grade, I wanted to be two things. I wanted to be a cowboy, and I wanted to be Superman.” ........ “I’m going to respectfully decline to get involved in that fracas between the two of them,” Mr. Edwards said. ...... he is even farther back in the polls in other early primary states like New Hampshire and South Carolina. ..... acknowledged that his failure to move up in the polls was on his mind. Hub biotech biggies launch new stem cell startup Bizjournals.com Iran Hails US Report That It Ended Bid for Nuclear Arms New York Times “But I don’t see how it can be positive for people’s economic situation when it stresses that pressure and sanctions have worked.” .... Iranian authorities were surprised last week when Chinese state banks refused to lend money to Iranian businessmen. Bush plans Middle East trip in January USA Today Google gets set for spectrum race ZDNet UK Verizon Wireless says its on board with Google's Android San Francisco Chronicle Authenticity is Romney's biggest hurdle, poll suggests Los Angeles Times Google Trends API coming soon CNET News.com iPhone tops list of 2007 Google searchesReuters UK News Corp. Unit Buys Beliefnet Web Site Wall Street Journal paid in the tens of millions of dollars ..... Beliefnet, the most popular religion Web site in the U.S. ...... Beliefnet offers a wide range of content about religion and spirituality, including tips for lighting Hanukkah candles and interviews with Hindu spiritual leaders. Dell authorized to buy back $10 billion in stock Reuters The Humbling Of Eliot Spitzer The New Yorker once-in-a-lifetime effort to break the culture ........ the Albany press, the union leadership, the executive directors of the state agencies. “You teach people lessons and force people to do it a different way.” ...... politics is like a sporting contest: you go out, play hard, and shake hands when it’s over ...... ‘The Legislature is like your in-laws. You’re stuck with them.’ ....... Spitzer, furious, began paying recriminatory visits to the districts of some Democratic legislators who had voted with Silver (and who had supported Spitzer’s own campaign), questioning their integrity as well as their standing come primary time ......... almost irreparable harm to the relationship between the Governor and the Democrats in the Legislature ....... calling him a rich spoiled brat and a bully ...... calling attention to his own respect for decorum, “I could have called Bruno a senile piece of shit, but I never did.” ....... 1199 S.E.I.U., the giant health-care-workers union, which is a longtime kingmaker and one of the Senate Republicans’ major backers. (Big unions in bed with the Republicans? Only in New York, kids, only in New York.) ......... The union spent almost five million dollars—an extraordinary amount—on television advertisements attacking Spitzer ....... his poll numbers started to fall. ...... What is uncontested is that it has been devastating to Eliot Spitzer. ....... Dopp was put on unpaid leave (he has since gone to work at a lobbying firm), and Spitzer published a self-flagellating Op-Ed piece in the Times, “An Apology from Albany,” in which he said, “What members of my administration did was wrong—no ifs, ands or buts.” ....... entertaining report in the Post that Spitzer aides were holding secret meetings in black Town Cars, riding around the outskirts of Albany, to avoid using e-mail or the phone ........ “You will be arrested and brought to Albany. And there is not a goddam thing your phony, psycho, piece-of-shit son can do about it.” ....... showing off a Nixon tattoo between his shoulder blades ....... “It was shocking for two reasons,” Spitzer told me. “One, that they would do it. And, two, how bizarrely obvious they were in what they did.” ........ “Eliot’s gotten down in the mud with these guys, and they know how to fight in the mud. They’re not there because they’re nice guys. They’re there because they’re great tactical politicians.” ......... it rankled him that Spitzer declined to endorse him in the attorney general’s race until after the primary ...... “Of course. He’s my lawyer,” he said, with a mischievous grin. ...... “Yes, even the expletives are privileged” ....... Bruno .. He was wearing as fine a suit as I’d seen in Albany. ....... Every summer, Bruno, along with Senate colleagues and staffers, decamps to Saratoga, where he presides like a kind of feudal lord. ....... Bruno went on, “He is the biggest disappointment that I’ve had in thirty-one years of serving in political life, because I liked him on a personal level. He fooled me. And I’m pretty good with people, I have a good intuition with people. He fooled me, he hoodwinked me. And I’m embarrassed. He told me I was going to be his partner. . . . ‘We’re going to get all kinds of productive and constructive things done. Shelly Silver’s a problem; he’s not my kind of guy. I’ll deal with Shelly.’ ” Bruno, who called Silver “the biggest wimp on this earth” (Silver has adopted a sticks-and-stones approach to Bruno’s provocations), mentioned the series of bills that he had favored and that Spitzer had got passed. “Then what does he do? Now that he’s on a roll, suddenly he’s a hero, he worked miracles—what did he do? In my mind, his ego took over, his temperament took over, he started believing all his own press clips that he walked on water, that he was the savior of all mankind.” ........... He went crazy—screaming and shouting. ....... the town “a pinnacle of porkhead bossism” ...... one of the last American towns, outside the District of Columbia, where most of the men wear suits. It can feel like a city full of detectives and bodyguards ......... from January to June, when the Legislature is in session and the budget is in play, the political professionals take to the catacombs, a race of disingenuous horse-trading troglodytes haunting the fast-food pavilions. ......... Spitzer had gone on a kind of taunting tour of the members’ districts, where he delivered a PowerPoint presentation whose theme was “Where’s Waldo?” .......... “It’s been years since I’ve seen the kind of glee on the part of Republicans that we saw here yesterday.” ....... the actual substance of state governance (the policy) and the application of it (the politics) are numbing ....... all manner of fainthearted, small-minded, cynical, greedy transactions occur out of sight ......... what goes on north of the Bear Mountain Bridge stays north of the Bear Mountain Bridge ...... two legislators who got caught up in staffer sex scandals a few years ago ....... Wall Street, which furnishes up to twenty per cent of the state’s tax revenues ........ the importance of having a coherent message about what you stand for ....... “Albany’s acting how you would expect it to act: the organism is marshalling its antibodies,” he said. Of the Spitzer agenda, he added, “Is it a virus? It may be the cure.” ......... the operative word in bully pulpit is ‘pulpit.’ ..... Executive-branch history is strewn with lousy first years. ........ Michael Bloomberg, whose billionaire’s scorn for political ritual and collaborative capital in his first two years earned him abysmal public-approval ratings; Bill Clinton, whose ill-advised or poorly handled initiatives (gays in the military, health care) derailed his first-term agenda and handed Congress to the Republicans; and Teddy Roosevelt, another hard charger, whose confrontational ways as governor so infuriated the powers that be in New York that they had him drafted as President William McKinley’s running mate, just to get rid of him. ......... William Sulzer, a first-year governor from Manhattan, who, in 1913, was impeached and removed from office, after too zealously attacking the corrupt Tammany Hall Democratic machine. Like Spitzer, Sulzer said, “I am a fighter,” and tried to appeal directly to the voters, rather than to their representatives. ........... President Bush, who is very different from Spitzer in most ways—temperament, ideology, fluency, firepower— ........ power is absolutely necessary to fight the battles that must be fought. The trick is to fight these battles with humility and constant introspection, knowing that there is no monopoly on virtue ........ Lou Dobbs, on CNN, had been assailing Spitzer on a nightly basis. (“How about a spoiled rich-kid brat who is treating New York residents as if he thinks they’re his rich father’s tenants, instead of citizens? . . . He may be what he calls a steamroller, but I think he’s a weak-kneed, spineless steamroller.”) ........ county clerks around the state, the ones responsible for issuing driver’s licenses, were threatening civil disobedience ......... He hadn’t watched Lou Dobbs, but he’d seen some transcripts. “I ignore it. Honestly, I ignore it. If there was a serious intellectual response to him, I would think about it very deeply. .......... Spitzer is not an after-work-drink kind of guy. ....... an appearance on “Hardball,” where he had parried Chris Matthews’s barrage of moderately hostile license-debate recapitulations with generously uninterrupted on-message clarifications ........ He received a message on his BlackBerry ........ reform is a messy process ........ Editorial boards desperately want reform but yet desperately don’t want the discomfort of seeing people fighting. And so there is a sort of a schizophrenia. They see us fighting and they say, ‘Can’t you guys get along?’ Well, the answer is, you know, maybe not. .......... “None of this is personal to me. In other words, no matter what has been said, I like Joe Bruno. I mean, it’s a crazy thing for me to say. I was on the phone with him last week. We had a great chat. We had the most wonderful chat we’ve had in the years I’ve known him.” ......... Spitzer had taken to likening the job of governor to “three-dimensional chess.” ...... “I feel sometimes like I’m sinking into quicksand and subjected to the very significant—and sometimes appropriate—critiques of editorial pages about missteps, which I read, and, like any normal person, mutter under my breath and resent, but then take seriously. ......... George W. Bush, who infamously, at a 2004 press conference on the Iraq war, couldn’t think of any mistakes he’d made. .......... the “specialty media”—editors of Hispanic, Irish, Indian, and Chinese newspapers ........ “I had a tsunami coming from one side and a hurricane coming from the other, and it was not a healthy situation to be in.” ........ “The fact that I made those comments reflected that I was going through internal evaluations”—a rare acknowledgment of the existence of the unconscious. ....... Hillary Clinton’s equivocations on the subject of Spitzer’s plan, in the previous debate, had wounded her campaign. ......... That afternoon, Spitzer called Clinton to let her know his decision and flew down to Washington, in the state plane, to announce his retreat, on terms that might flatter him. He continued to defend the policy, on the merits, and then assailed the federal government for failing to act on immigration and also criticized his opponents for their hysterical rhetoric: “The consequence of this fearmongering is paralysis.” He had exhibited a new grasp of that old political talent: extracting oneself from an intractable position. That is, he had caved. ........ “The problem that people have attributed to me is one of hubris, arrogance, unwillingness to shift, listen, and respond. But I did it because we are responding. We are listening ........ A witness told the Post Spitzer had declared that if the Democrats took the State Senate legalizing gay marriage would be one of his highest priorities. Spitzer denied it ...... a gathering of Democratic assemblymen, whom he’d asked for another chance ........ “It’s like I am merely an object being moved, subject to poking, pushing, like an unknown in a science lab. Everyone’s trying to push at you, figure out ‘What is it?’ ” ......... “When I was a prosecutor, we had a much greater opportunity to reflect on every decision,” he had said earlier. “The pace of decision-making and the range of decision-making was slower. And much more under control. You are, by and large, the actor who determines pace, timing, substance, et cetera. You control the pace of the game. In this job, a great deal comes at you, and so you’re thrust into positions where you’re reacting. And just the scale, obviously, makes it more likely that you’re going to have decisions that go awry. “I don’t believe that at age forty-eight that you become, overnight, a transformed person,” he said. “But is there a different sense of how we have to work with folks? Yes.”
Hillary in attack mode as Obama takes lead Telegraph.co.uk the former First Lady said "Now the fun part starts," before launching into a character assassination of Mr Obama ...... "This is not a job you can learn about from a book." ....... mocked him for a lack of experience and over-reaching ambition. ...... who started running for president the day he arrived in the US Senate ....... "Senator Obama's relatives and friends say he has been talking about running for president for at least the last 15 years. ........ Much of her appeal to voters has been the aura of "inevitability" around her well-disciplined campaign, which has been engendered by her experience, command of the issues and eloquence. ..... her lack of personal rapport with voters means her support is much wider than it is deep. ....... an Obama win in Iowa could give him the momentum for victory in New Hampshire and other states that vote soon afterwards. ....... Bush has said that he misses being on the campaign trail for the presidency apart from the respiratory infection he said he caught from a reporter covering his 2000 campaign.
At Obama Event, Mum’s the Word for Student Who Asked Clinton Question New York Times There she was, standing a stone’s throw from Senator Barack Obama at a rally here tonight at Grinnell College. ....... As several students pointed her direction and she broke out laughing, Mr. Obama finally realized who was standing in his midst. “I didn’t know she was going to be here” ........ As he shook hands along the rope line, he paused to talk briefly with her. In a quiet voice, she asked about the trajectory of his political career. Leaning close, he said, “I lucked out”
There has been a direct correlation between Hillary's dramatic slide in the polls - first in Iowa, then in New Hampshire, and now nationally - and a strident turn to very personal attacks on Obama from her camp and from her. At one level I understand it. From being very inevitable all year, you are suddenly looking very vulnerable. That can take some adjusting.
But I think it helps her to go back to the positive tone. Or she is going to miss the boat. First, some reality check. Her lead was never real. It was based on her name recognition, especially her last name, and the fact that people - voters - were not paying attention at all.
I still think she is a strong, smart, pragmatic woman. She is a progressive icon. I like it that she is a woman. She sure has been an excellent Senator. But in taking the nosedive towards negativity, she is doing two things. She is hastening that slide. And she is diminishing her chances of ending up on the ticket. If she is a strong, consistent second in January, she will be a strong, consistent second on February 5 by default.
John Edwards is dropping out after Iowa. So is everyone else. And all that support will get transported over to Barack. But I don't see Hillary dropping out before February 5. She will have too much money left.
If she ends up a strong second, Barack will be hard pressed to overlook her and go pick someone else to be running mate. Parallels from history are George H W Bush in 1980 and Lyndon Johnson in 1960, both of whom fought hard in the primary.
But is she goes too negative, she might come across as a Dick Gephardt to Obama 2008. Barack will be too clever by two to take the bait. But he might do a Bill Clinton and ignore all his primary opponents when it is time for him to pick a running mate. He can. His nomination victory will be so clear, he will be able to afford to pick anyone.
Hillary is a competitor. Competing is legit. But going negative is not legit. Not in the Barack era of a new kind of politics, the politics of hope. She can try and make the case that she is more experienced. She can try and make the case her policy proposals are better. But going negative and personal, that's a no no.
Picking a running mate is a deeply personal decision for a nominee to make. I have no idea who Barack will go for. But if I were Hillary, I think I would want to maximize my chances.
In The News
The Humbling Of Eliot Spitzer The New Yorker still remote, in the way of capitals, like Brasília or Canberra ....... Albany is the arbiter in New York’s ceaseless upstate-downstate tug-of-war, which simultaneously pits rural Republicans against big-city liberals, and Rust Belt Democrats against supply-side suburbanites. ...... Albany is home to what may be the most dysfunctional state government in the nation. ....... promising to put an end to that dysfunction. ..... Albany has in many ways become more dysfunctional than ever. The addition of an aggressive personality with an ambitious agenda has, perversely, gummed up the works. ........ a progressive’s Rudy Giuliani ... a front-runner in the first-Jewish-President race ...... Lou Dobbs spent a month ridiculing him on CNN. ...... only twenty-five per cent ....... Spitzer doesn’t have the collaborative temperament or the tactical elasticity to be a governor. ....... He unfolded a tattered highway map. “I’ve had this in my briefcase going on nine years now. It’s from back when I was driving myself around, campaigning for attorney general, in ’97, ’98.” ...... The map was dense with gubernatorial significance and opportunities for Spitzer to demonstrate a prodigious grasp of policy detail. ........ deep-set eyes whose intensity can give the extremely mistaken impression that he wears eyeliner. ....... fidgety, in keeping with his reputation for impatience and hyperactivity ..... acuity for brisk small talk: sports, kids, Bruce Springsteen ...... He had recently looked at his State of the State speech from last January and concluded that he’d accomplished three-quarters of what he’d hoped to do. ....... Like politicians everywhere, he seemed frustrated that the media was so focussed on the tumult—that his message wasn’t getting out. ....... a fast and thorough absorber of information. He remains the capable and diligent student he was in school. (His sister remembers him doing his homework with his tongue sticking out of the side of his mouth.) On television, he speaks in long, complex sentences and hews to a rigorous line of logic, and when you tell him things he remembers them. ........ learn when to let an opponent take a round, when not to antagonize people, when not to act as though he needed to prove that he’s the smartest man in the room. ........ “ ‘Ignore most of the advice we’re giving you.’ ” ...... Ignore all the politics. Ignore the screaming and shouting. ....... Eight other states had similar policies. ...... immigrants’ vital information would be added to the Department of Motor Vehicles database, an essential investigative tool for law enforcement. ....... “Even Joe Bruno, of all people”—as Spitzer put it on NY1—said that he could see the merits of it at first, as did the editorial boards of most of the newspapers in the state. ......... characteristic display of excessive rhetorical aggression ....... “He is wrong at every level—dead wrong, factually wrong, legally wrong, morally wrong, ethically wrong,” at which point the story moved to the fore. ........ Spitzer seemed to be relishing the opportunity to re-state the virtues of his proposal ....... James Tedisco ..... “Osama bin Laden is somewhere in a cave with his den of thieves and terrorists, and he’s probably sabering the cork on some champagne right now, saying, ‘Hey, that governor’s really assisting us.’ ” ....... “If it’s right, it’s right. We’d done the work; let’s move on it.” ....... literal-minded ...... A close friend suggested that he bring more “poetry” to governing. ...... “Well, I’m not sure if the poetry is the speech, or if the poetry is the reality that suddenly Stewart Airport is open and transportation from there will permit business to thrive in the Hudson Valley.” ...... Alexander Hamilton, Theodore Roosevelt, and Al Smith .... invest, the way Hamilton did; make sure the rules are enforced, the way T.R. did; and make sure everyone has a chance to play by those rules, which is what Al Smith stood for ........ make the workings of Albany more transparent ...... “Spitzer lunges. He seems not to be a person of strategy. ...... “Politics is like trench warfare. Defense wins. We don’t have the political equivalent of a tank that lets you roll over the opposition. The question for Spitzer is, can he develop the tank?” ........ a lawyer, a logician, a tactician, a policy fanatic, but not a deep thinker or a self-doubter ........ “Let me ask you: is my life much more boring than people presume? And don’t you think most lives are?” ........ His stock “stupid story about missing class” ...... he is a bully, which encompasses not just professional aggression but also what many regard as a preening rectitude and a tendency toward intellectual arrogance. ....... He gets up at five in the morning to jog ..... His first thought upon waking each day, he says, is a wish for two more hours’ sleep. ........ Bernard built a half-billion-dollar real-estate empire, consisting primarily of residential apartment buildings in Manhattan. ....... The Spitzer clan is eccentric only in its heightened devotion to attainment and argument. ...... During a dispute at a conference several years ago, the California attorney general challenged him to a fight, saying, “Let’s go—I’m from Oakland,” to which Spitzer replied, “Come on—I’m from the Bronx!” ........ demanding father, and he expected his children to come to supper with a topic for debate and a well-researched argument. “Conversation was a competitive sport” ...... (The potential first Jewish President was not bar mitzvahed.) ...... a lesson in tactics over strength ...... As a sophomore, he won, precociously, the presidency of the student government, but he has always claimed that he was not interested in politics—just policy. ....... While at Harvard, Spitzer met Silda Wall, a fellow-student, on a ski trip to Vermont. Wall was from North Carolina and had recently been divorced, after a brief marriage to another law student. ........ They live in one of Bernard Spitzer’s buildings, on Fifth Avenue at Seventy-ninth Street, a half block from the home of Michael Bloomberg ........ (Spitzer established a fake sewing shop in Chinatown, as a front). ....... spent the next several years travelling around the state in a mini-van, cultivating support for another run. ....... Spitzer’s tenure as a state attorney general may be the most heavily chronicled of any in America’s history. He reimagined the office ......... With great gusto, he went after big polluters, pharmaceutical companies, gun manufacturers, and, most notably, the financial industry, where various harmful and fraudulent practices had taken root—insincere equity research, shady market timing, bid rigging. ....... Spitzer’s modus operandi was to build a case against his targets, then push the most egregious allegations in the media, which put unbearable public pressure on the targets to settle. And settle they almost invariably did. ........ the widespread public disgust engendered by their greed. ....... —the regulatory turf battles, the legal dekes and dodges, the mutating rationales— ....... one cog in a sprawling and intransigent political mechanism ...... “Day One, everything changes. Day Three Hundred, nothing moves.” ....... squalid statehouse wranglings ...... fits of pique worthy of “Mean Girls” .... a web of purpose and allegiance that can be hopelessly complex ....... the State Senate—which they have controlled for all but one of the past sixty-nine years ........ The Republicans, therefore, are desperate, and in their desperation they have apparently settled on a sand-in-the-gears strategy. ...... resolved to depict him as angry and unstable ....... the entrenched Democrats are uneasy, too. Spitzer has made them so, both in his challenge to the status quo and in his mishandling of his relations with them. The political system in Albany favors stasis ...... They dole out what are known as “lulus,” or payments to legislators for extra duties that can be, let’s say, undemanding. ...... seeing to it that incumbents win more than ninety-five per cent of their races. ....... determinedly stubborn and patient. His modest manner disguises a canny parliamentary style. The contingencies can get so intricate and self-annulling that very little gets done. ......... Spitzer’s first hostile act as governor ... “Like Rip Van Winkle,” he pronounced, “New York has slept through much of the past decade while the rest of the world has passed us by.” ..... Bruno and Silver, the presumably somnambulant collaborators ..... comportment was not high on Spitzer’s priority list. To break the stagnant culture of Albany, he intended to do away with the rhetoric, as well as the practice, of accommodation. He would relish the disjointing of noses.
Bush Says Iran Still a Danger Despite Report on Weapons New York Times Romney: Religion address won't be 'a JFK speech' CNN Will Clinton's Obama Attacks Backfire? TIME She even went so far as to dig up a kindergarten essay of Obama's entitled "I Want to Be President" to accuse him of lying about not having a lifelong lust for the Oval Office. ....... started running for president the day he arrived in the U.S. Senate ..... the Iowa caucus — where voters are famous for their distaste of negative campaigning ..... the negative stereotype of Mrs. Clinton as a cold and calculating person ...... make Mr. Obama seem to be the less shrill and more emotionally mature candidate ...... Clinton is "the one who made it personal by calling him naive — that was the first personal attack in the campaign ..... Barack will always respond swiftly and forcefully with the truth when attacked ....... "Edwards has been a pretty harsh critic of the Clinton campaign himself, so one could argue that when everybody goes negative no one gains from it" ....... the first press plane of Clinton's campaign ..... her choice surprised me — she might be emphasizing the wrong thing. ...... "This series of slurs doesn't serve HRC well," said Robert Reich, former Labor Secretary under Bill Clinton, in a blog post. "It will turn off voters in Iowa, as in the rest of the country. If she's worried her polls are dropping, this is not the way to build them back up." ...... the biggest downside to Clinton's negative attacks is that the press seems to be focusing on nothing else ..... they're more about going negative than the substance of the attacks Was Bush Behind the New Iran Report? Bombing Iran, it seems, is now off the table. There's no other reasonable take on the latest National Intelligence Estimate that concludes Iran halted its nuclear weapons program in 2003. ...... an explosive, 180-degree turn on Iran like this one ...... explode is what the hawks in and outside the Administration are about to do ...... will accuse the intelligence community of incompetence, pointing out that as late as 2005 it estimated "with high confidence" that Iran was building a bomb. ....... explained its reversal by hinting that new intelligence had surfaced. ...... the Bush administration has finally concluded Iran is a bridge too far ....... in private, the Gulf Arabs have been reminding Washington that Iran is a rabid dog: Don't even think about kicking it ..... The truth is that Iran is a black hole, and it's entirely conceivable Iran could build a bomb and we wouldn't know until they tested it. .... Armageddon is postponed. Why Venezuelans Turned on Chavez a president who, in nine years, had never lost an election ..... thousands of university students, who, dormant until this year, clogged the streets to protest the reform in the weeks leading up to the vote ..... an abstention rate of 44% suggests some of Chavez's traditional support base didn't show up to vote .... a man whose political raison d'etre is defined by alleviating poverty. ..... Most chavistas who celebrated early in front of the Miraflores presidential palace abandoned the party when the voting results were announced at 1 a.m., leaving a sparse crowd with long faces milling about in a sea of empty rum and beer bottles. ....... a giant projection screen showing the president conceding defeat. ....... did Chavez sacrifice measures that could have helped the poor because he insisted on a political power grab? ....... they hit the streets in advance of the referendum, leading tens of thousands to protest in Caracas and thousands more in other cities throughout the month of November. ...... he and his allies still have wide-reaching powers that include control over the legislature, the judiciary, the state oil company and nearly every state government Putin's Reaganesque Victory Putin's party appearing to have won two-thirds of the vote. ..... Putin's managed election victory has caused so little public discontent ...... Putin remains the overwhelmingly popular leader in Russia today. ....... In Chechnya, the breakaway province bombed and bludgeoned into quiescence by Putin since taking office in 2000, some 99.4% of the vote went to his party. ....... few doubt that United Russia would easily have won even if the election had been free and fair. ....... a majority of voters appear ready to give their president a blank check. ....... in the sense that he has made Russians feel good once again about their country, his appeal is Reaganesque. ....... Reagan's own popularity — even among many Democrats — owed less to his specific policies (tax cuts, arms buildup) than to his overall success in restoring Americans' national pride and optimism. ......... Yeltsin is remembered at home for ushering in an era of economic and social catastrophe, rampant kleptocracy and a series of geopolitical humiliations at the hands of the West. ....... Putin has had few reservations about standing up to the West Russians accept election result without protest Reuters Facebook grooming us for intrusive marketing? CNET News.com the old story about the frog placed in a pot of water that was slowly heated up, until it was cooked ..... even deeper levels of intimacy yet to be invented ..... Coke and Overstock.com have quit the Beacon program. Bhutto, Sharif sit down in Pakistan Los Angeles Times vowing to muster a "people power" movement that would take to the streets to challenge any election they deem unfair ...... Bhutto said the street demonstrations could be modeled on the peaceful 2004 Orange Revolution that overturned what was widely seen as a fixed vote in Ukraine. ......... Monday's gathering for dinner and a joint public appearance at Bhutto's Islamabad home was still a step toward unity between two longtime political enemies. ..... "These elections will be massively rigged because Mr. Musharraf's survival lies in rigging it," Sharif said. ...... The country's election commission disallowed him from running as a candidate Monday, citing his criminal convictions for attempted hijacking and tax evasion. ..... But Sharif will have trouble appealing the ban in court, because he has said he does not recognize the legitimacy of the post-Nov. 3 judiciary. Clinton aide says the reference to Obama's kindergarten essay was ...USA Today "Oh, that is so silly. I have to say, I really wonder at the end of the day -- he put out an attack on her, trying to say that she had some 20-year-plan. And at the end of a long thing, as a joke, the campaign put out that he always wanted to run -- from kindergarten. It was a joke. And then the spin machines here are so hyped up here about Sen. Clinton and her campaign that someone would pick up on a joke like that and treat it as though it was serious." Hillary attacks, Obama counts the ways Canada.com "Living next to you is in some ways like sleeping with an elephant: No matter how friendly and even-tempered the beast, one is affected by every twitch and grunt." So said Pierre Trudeau to Americans during a speech at the National Press Club in 1969. ........ Hillary Clinton's national lead over Barack Obama. The numbers: Clinton, 39%. Obama, 24%. ..... last month's numbers: Clinton, 50%, Obama, 22%. The numbers don't suggest Obama is gaining so much as they show Clinton may have peaked, about two months too soon. .. Not surprisingly, Clinton has stepped up her criticisms of Obama, shifting from policy to the personal. .... The next four weeks should be fun. Most 'Superdelegates' Remain UncommittedThe Associated Press 765 superdelegates, mostly elected officials and other party officers, who are free to support anyone they choose at the convention, regardless of what happens in the primaries. ...... Hillary Rodham Clinton leads Barack Obama by more than a 2-1 margin among those who have endorsed a candidate. But a little more than half of those contacted — 365 — said they haven't settled on a Democratic standard bearer. ...... Clinton has the endorsement of 169 superdelegates. She is followed by Obama, 63; John Edwards, 34; Bill Richardson, 25; Chris Dodd, 17; Joe Biden, 8, and Dennis Kucinich, 2. ........ Clinton's high negative numbers among likely voters have many party insiders skittish. ...... Superdelegates are the ultimate party insiders, including all Democratic members of Congress, as well as a number of other elected officials and members of the Democratic National Committee. They will attend the convention next summer with about 3,200 other delegates ....... 33 of the 49 Democratic senators, who are all superdelegates, remain uncommitted AFSCME backs Obama, breaks for national endorsementChicago Sun-Times The Illinois chapter of the country's major government-employees union broke with its national organization Saturday to endorse Barack Obama for president. .... Obama knows how to bridge partisan differences to get results, Bayer said. Dishonesty dogs Clinton race Boston Herald Clinton vs. Obama Washington Post Clinton has launched a more aggressive and personal attack against Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) after a new poll shows her losing ground to him in the Iowa caucus race. ........ the character problem is with Clinton ...... "the military still largely deals with mental health issues in an ad hoc way, often relying on the judgment of combat-hardened commanders whose understanding of mental illness is vague or misinformed." ......... Hillary isn't going to win the battle for "good character" -- any more than she'll win for being the nicest person in the race ..... "Clinton take my advice. The last thing you want to do is challenge someone's honesty especially when you are the public face for dishonesty in a politician... Hyprocrisy thy name is Clinton and it won't play in Iowa." ....... While certainly not an Obama supporter; I would opine that Obama has more character and integrity in his little finger than Mrs. Clinton has in her entire body." ....... why she is wasting her time in Iowa With One Month to Go, the Battle Lines Are DrawnNew York Times never been a presidential campaign quite as challenging to track as the 2008 race, given the sheer number of candidates and the shifting calendar of nominating contests ........ Iowa has become the prime battle ground for Democrats, while New Hampshire has become the main stage for Republicans. ...... All three are planning to spend most of December here. ....... Steve Hildebrand, who works for Mr. Obama as the campaign director for the first four states — Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada and South Carolina — is relocating to Iowa from campaign headquarters in Chicago on Dec. 11 ....... there is another outcome that aides to Mr. Obama and Mr. Edwards (and Mrs. Clinton) have begun to think about these days — that Mrs. Clinton may come in third. ....... a third-place showing by Mrs. Clinton would be a game-changer ..... weakened, if not shattered. ...... 48 percent of Iowa Democrats said that Mrs. Clinton told voters what she thought they wanted to hear rather than what she believes; 38 percent of New Hampshire Democrats said the same thing. (Nationally, 32 percent of Democrats expressed that view in a Times/CBS News poll taken in July.) ........ McCain is making only a token run in Iowa, looking to New Hampshire as the state that could save his candidacy.
from Paramendra Bhagat to Barack City , date Dec 4, 2007 1:21 AM subject Let's Deliver NYC to Barack on February 5
Goal: Deliver NYC to Barack on February 5.
He has to have a good January for NYC to be able to deliver. But then we focus on things that are in our control. Method of communication: I think this is the best way. Some of the top 40 volunteers and staffers are on this private list. If any of you feel like I need to add more people, email me their email addresses and a brief sentence on why. Anyone can send a message to all 40 (keeps it non-hierarchical) by sending an email to barackcity@googlegroups.com but members receive only one digest email a day, so no flooding. The group is online at http://groups.google.com/group/barackcity Archives can be accessed only by members. I think this is the most efficient way to communicate.
I am under no illusion that 40 or 400 volunteers will decide whether or not Barack will carry NYC on Feb 5. Most people who will vote for him on Feb 5 will do so owing to the larger drama that will unfold in January, and the ensuing media coverage. Most people's direct and sole contact with Obama 2008 will be through BarackObama.com. So I am not saying we are Da Bomb. But I do think we will be the straw that breaks the camel's back. Besides, my gut says February 5 will be the day he will seal the nomination. We have put so much work into this for over a year now. Why will we want to not reap the reward, the reward of being able to say we were there not just on the first day, but also on the final day!
I think meeting people in the city one on one is key. Winter is no excuse. Do it underground. Come to think of it, that is the only true public space in the city. I want a small, attractive, colorful flyer that has only three things on it. (1) February 5 NY primary. (2) Vote for Barack Obama. (3) Visit BarackObama.com. The downtown Manhattan office should keep stacks of them. Neighborhood team leaders should be able to come and pick up a whole lot of them. Local volunteers should be able to get them from the local team leaders. 20 seconds per person to make small talk and hand over the flyer.
Can we set up at least one neighborhood group for every township in the city? Can we create visibility? How many volunteers can we get out for this? 5,000? 25,000? How many of those flyers can we give out? 50,000? 150,000? 500 volunteers giving out 50,000. That is so realistic. 100 per volunteer. The best way would be to spend a minute or two to actually connect with the potential voter.
This is in addition to all that we are already lined up to do, like phoning voters most likely to vote. That is a whole different operation. Talk about calling people up, is it possible to be able to "outsource" it? Why can't people call up from home in the evenings after work? Why does it have to be from the office?
Plus, how can we make it easier for people to find out where to go on Feb 5? What location?
Winter has set in. But still, why are there so few NYC events on MyBO? We should have a victory party for each January victory. That is when the top volunteers bond.
Looking forward to hearing from you. After all, we were responsible for the largest rally in US presidential campaign history. We did it. We can do it again on Feb 5.
Like my fellow Buddhist Richard Gere would say, One Small Human Being Paramendra http://democracyforum.blogspot.com
