A Different World

Why Won't Obama Give You A Job?

Why won't Obama give you a job?

Life After The End Of History

Life after the end of history

Democratic Strategist Gets 'Warned' About Fox News Appearance

Democratic strategist gets "warned about Fox News appearance

The Legacy of 1989 Is Still Up For Debate

The legacy of 1989 is still up for debate

'Limited Government' Is Redundant And Besides The Point

Gov. Mark Sanford and many others frequently tout the notion of "limited government" as they accuse the government of being incapable of doing anything important, but the term itself, given our form of governance, is redundant. Our government is limited, by design, which is why we have checks and balances in the form of three equal branches. Also, everyday residents can vote out or vote in the folks they think are representing them best, making the everyday voter another powerful check on the government. But the way Sanford, in particular, talks about "limited government" is absolutely unnecessary.I believe he takes it to the extreme. Had he been our president in late 2008 or this year, our economic situation would have been much, much worse than a 10.2 percent jobless rate. His prescription included allowing the marketplace to take care of itself, even during the height of the crisis when panic was widespread and we were on the verge of a second Great Depression. I agree that we have to come to a better balance between government and private Enterprise, particularly knowing that if we don't get it right we will find ourselves in a similar situation down the road. Conservatives and liberals can and should argue about what's the best solution -- to make sure bailouts, which have been going on for decades, are no longer necessary, and that Wall Street executives are no longer in the astounding position of reaping most of the rewards when things go right while the taxpayers are saddled with most of the risk when things go wrong.

Energized GOP Trying To Avoid Intraparty Feud

Energized GOP trying to avoid intraparty feud

I think it's a mistake for the GOP, long term, to go the route the likes of Sarah Palin, Rush Limbaugh and our very own Sen. Jim DeMint are urging the party to take. It may pay dividends in 2010. I'm not sure. But the fundamental demographic changes remain daunting: We are speeding towards being a minority-majority nation, and if the GOP successfully kicks out the folks who agree with it a lot -- and that includes a ton of black and Hispanic people -- but are turned off by its rhetoric and far right wing, they will cut off their own legs on the national level. Remember this: Had Ronald Reagan run in 2008 and won the same percentage of white and black and Hispanics voters he did in the 1980s, he would have lost in a landslide in the same way he won in a landslide in '84. The country has changed that much. Forward-thinking politicians understand.

`People Whose Bodies Just Happen to Produce More Melanin, and That’s O.K.'

`People Whose Bodies Just Happen to Produce More Melanin, and That’s O.K.'

A Job Too Big For One Man

Demeaning Cartoon

First, it was a columnist in Boston playing upon Southern stereotypes to bash South Carolina after Rep. Joe Wilson's rude and untimely "You lie" outburst. Now it's a political cartoonist in Seattle upset that Boeing chose South Carolina to build some of its airplanes. And not too long ago, I spoke with a former professor at Davidson College (I'm a 1995 Davidson grad). She's originally from California, where she said she was brought up with the same Southern stereotypes and believed them until she came to the Carolinas and lived here for awhile. I know those perceptions are out there and I'm tired of them, but I'm not sure there's much that can be done. Every state and region have their problems, and I thought news professionals would understand that and not think of and publish such shallow crap about the South, apparently which they no little about.

Huffington: The Audacity To Win; The Timidity to Govern

Seems that Arianna Huffington (The audacity to win; the timidity to govern) hasn't learned what I'm learning -- that there are processes and procedures and politics deeply entrenched in Washington that have to be dealt with, whether we like it or not. I was hoping all those new to the political process because of last fall's events would learn, for example, that the U.S. Senate is a particularly frustrating body -- by design -- and serves its purpose best when it grinds sea-change level legislation into a better (if not best) form. That takes a lot of time and screaming and empty rhetoric and even back room dealing. I never expected magic to happen with an Obama administration and still don't. Seems as though Huffington always has and always will, and that she doesn't understand that there is a difference between campaigning and governing. During a campaign, you get to promise; once you reach the big chair, you have to deal with the realities on the ground in order to get things done.

Polanski's Victim Asks To Be Left Alone

Is this why she doesn't want this case to move forward any more: Polanski's victim asks to be left alone. She should be left alone by the media, and the case should go forward.