Author: hankkalet

I saw this today — I wasn’t around much yesterday — on the indispensible Talking Points Memo. Is this what passes as intelligent political commentary these days?

JEFF GREENFIELD, CNN SENIOR ANALYST: Wolf, the political community has gone predictably hysterical over Senator Barack Obama’s presidential flirtation. So, in the spirit of retched excess, let’s take a look not at what he’s saying, but at another crucially vital matter: what he is wearing.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)GREENFIELD (voice-over): The senator was in New Hampshire over the weekend, sporting what’s getting to be the classic Obama look. Call it business casual, a jacket, a collared shirt, but no tie.

It is a look the senator seems to favor. And why not? It is dressy enough to suggest seriousness of purpose, but without the stuffiness of a tie, much less a suit. There is a comfort level here that reflects one of Obama’s strongest political assets, a sense that he is comfortable in his own skin, that he knows who he is.

If you want a striking contrast, check out Senator John Kerry as he campaigned back in 2004. He often appeared without a tie, but clad in a blazer, the kind of casual look you see at country clubs and lawn parties in the Hamptons and other toned (ph) locations.

When President Bush wanted in casual mode, he skipped the jacket entirely. Third-generation Skull and Bones at Yale? Don’t be silly. Nobody here but us Texas ranchers.

You can think of Bush’s apparel as a kind of homage to Ronald Reagan. He may have spent much of his life in Hollywood, but the brush-cutting ranch hand was the image his followers loved, just as the Kennedy sea ferry look provided a striking contrast with, say, Richard Nixon, who apparently couldn’t even set out on a beach walk without that “I wish I had spent more time at the office” look.

But, in the case of Obama, he may be walking around with a sartorial time bomb. Ask yourself, is there any other major public figure who dresses the way he does? Why, yes. It is Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who, unlike most of his predecessors, seems to have skipped through enough copies of “GQ” to find the jacket-and-no-tie look agreeable.

And maybe that’s not the comparison a possible presidential contender really wants to evoke.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

GREENFIELD: Now, it is one thing to have a last name that sounds like Osama and a middle name, Hussein, that is probably less than helpful. But an outfit that reminds people of a charter member of the axis of evil, why, this could leave his presidential hopes hanging by a thread. Or is that threads? — Wolf.

BLITZER: Jeff Greenfield reporting for us — Jeff, thank you very much.

This couldn’t be serious, could it? I mean, Obama goes sans tie and he’s like Ahmadinejad? Like anyone would even notice?

And then, as if reading from the Karl Rove playbook, Greenfield plays off the rhyme?

Or, as Josh Marshall on TPM put it:

Eric Kleefeld noticed a couple weeks ago that your cheesier run of GOP chat-hound was starting to make a big deal out of the fact that Barack Obama’s middle name is “Hussein”. Pretty lame. But given what’s been going on in this country for the last few years and the GOP’s track record I really can’t say it surprises me.

But if Barack Obama goes around wearing a jacket, collared shirt and no tie, do I figure he’s trying to look like a happening dude from a GQ spread (maybe, ok, check), trying to appeal to the youth vote (sure, check), looks like your average tech executive (sure), just likes to dress that way (sounds right)?

Do I think he reminds me Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad?

Wow. I’ve got to say I really didn’t see that coming.

I’m not saying I’m outraged exactly. It’s more like curiosity. Kind of like I want to sit down with Jeff and a few Rorschach cards. Bizarre. No tie is the Ahmadinejad look?

The entire thing is just plain weird, but we need to keep in mind that this kind of commentary helps create the popular political narrative. The press corps helped solidify the “Al Gore is stiff and a liar while George Bush is a folksy guy you could have a beer with” storyline from 2000.

All I can say is, god help us.

South Brunswick Post, The Cranbury Press
The Blog of South Brunswick

A story in today’s Times outlines U.S. efforts to create a new governing alliance that would sidestep the powerful and popular cleric Maktadr al-Sadr. The problem, as anyone reading between the lines in the story can make out, is that isolating Sadr is likely to lead to stepped up violence and a further fracturing of the fractured nation.

Read these paragraphs:

Officials involved in the talks say their aim is not to undermine Mr. Maliki, but to isolate both Mr. Sadr and firebrand Sunni Arab politicians inside the government. Mr. Sadr controls a militia, the Mahdi Army, with an estimated 60,000 fighters that has rebelled twice against the American military and is accused of widening the sectarian war with reprisal killings of Sunni Arabs.

***

Any plan to form a political alliance across sectarian lines that isolates Mr. Sadr and Sunni Arab extremists carries enormous risks. American and Iraqi officials have worked to try to persuade Mr. Sadr to use political power instead of armed force to bring about change in Iraq. Though it is unclear whether Mr. Sadr has total control over his militia, he could ignite another rebellion like the two he led in 2004 if he thinks he is being marginalized within the government.

***

Sunni Arab politicians not involved in the talks said they are furious at the proposed alliance.

The road ahead seems dark, doesn’t it?

South Brunswick Post, The Cranbury Press
The Blog of South Brunswick

The only good thing about this dismal Knicks season is that we are getting a chance to see what kind of offensive player center Eddy Curry can be (let’s not talk yet about defense and rebounding).

South Brunswick Post, The Cranbury Press
The Blog of South Brunswick

The chances that Lawrence Township — or any other — might be able to enact its own clean elections program could depend on two issue: whether it is allowed under current state law and whether taxpayers will be willing to foot the bill.

And the two issues are dependent upon each other.

It is still too early to know whether the local public-financing initiative is legal — Lawrence’s attorney is still investigating the issue — and it is doubtful that the money angle will go away (property taxes are the single biggest issue in New Jersey right now). But the cost of public financing at the local level is not likely to be that great — if it costs a penny on the tax rate in most towns, I’d be surprised. But it still won’t be easy.

That said, the two main campaign finance reform groups differ on the desirability of a clean elections program.

N.J. Citizen Action has been at the forefront of public financing, drafting model ordinances and working with the state Legislature to enact it at the legislative level (though not at the local level), while Citizens’ Campaign is pushing alternative methods — broader disclosure rules, a ban on pay-to-play, etc.

I think readers know where I stand on this — I believe there is a need for public financing, because the other proposals ultimately end up being nothing more than temporary solutions (think of the Dutch boy and the leaking dam; each time he plugs one leak, another pop up).

Incremental reform can be useful — which is why I applaud every community that enacts pay-to-play bans and disclosure rules — but it only goes so — far less far. More is needed.

In a town like South Brunswick, a penny hike in the tax rate — which would bring in $350,000 — would cost the owner of the average house $25 ayear. That’s a small amount, espectially when he return can be so great.

South Brunswick Post, The Cranbury Press
The Blog of South Brunswick

See the smile? That’s because my little puppy got into the bathroom trash today — which tells me she is back to her old, mischievious self.

Thanks to everyone who’s expressed concern. It is greatly appreciated by Annie and me.

South Brunswick Post, The Cranbury Press
The Blog of South Brunswick