11D

Hell In a Handbasket

Last night, we came back from my Palm Sunday dinner at my mom's and I quickly popped in front of the computer to check the blog and e-mails. I yelled to Steve who was getting Jonah to brush his teeth, "JP Morgan just bought Bear Sterns for $2 a share." He dropped what he was doing and started scrolling through messages on his Blackberry.

I don't usually post about big economic events on this blog, because so many people out there do it better than I can. I can blog about the bread-and-butter issues - the impact of economy on the middle class and their families -- but the details of the sub-prime mortgage meltdown isn't my bag.

I can also share some anecdotal stories.

My husband who works on Wall Street says that the investment houses are in risk management mode. He worries about another house going down soon. He's started making references to the Great Depression.

Regular people are terrified, too. When our electricians came in, they gossiped with the plumbers about the slow business. Our contractor is worried that he won't be able to sell a McMansion that he just built. One contractor down the block hasn't worked in so long that he has had to barter for services, like getting their family car fixed.

Krugman says that we need a major bailout. "And we need it quickly: things are falling apart as you read this."

Bhutto Assassinated

A couple of hours ago, the media reported that Benazir Bhutto was wounded. Now, we find out that she died in the attack. What a tragedy.

Idiot Language

This morning, I've been running around NJ doing the suburban mom thing. I returned a dress to the GAP. I went to a couple of garden centers looking for a little tree for the containers on the front porch. I priced front doors on the Internet. I read Rousseau in Starbucks. I also went to the dentist and voted.

I have the most annoying dentist in New Jersey. He laughs at his own jokes and makes crude comments about the sexual proclivities of redheads. Um, asshole, can you just fix my tooth and stop touching my hair? Turns out I chipped a tooth and I need to get it filed down.

Then I drove over to the local middle school to vote. We have four ballot measures, but the best one is number 4.

Are the Netroots Relevant?

I'm in the midst of writing a post on Ahmadinejad, but got distracted with Brooks' op-ed for the day. Brooks writes a post that is guaranteed to get linked and trashed around the blogosphere. It's his little way of celebrating the downfall of Times Select.

Brooks writes,

Now it’s evident that if you want to understand the future of the Democratic Party you can learn almost nothing from the bloggers, billionaires and activists on the left who make up the “netroots.” You can learn most of what you need to know by paying attention to two different groups — high school educated women in the Midwest, and the old Clinton establishment in Washington.

In the first place, the netroots candidates are losing. In the various polls on the Daily Kos Web site, John Edwards, Barack Obama and even Al Gore crush Hillary Clinton, who limps in with 2 percent to 10 percent of the vote.

Clinton is doing well with less educated Democrats, while the netroots picks have a more elite following. She campaigns towards the center taking an almost hawkish position on national security, while the netroots desires a more clear alternative to conservative politics.

I love the idealism of the netroots and their enthusiasm for grassroots politics. They are electronic hippies carrying virtual picket signs and googling for facts.

But maybe I'm too jaded. I think that Clinton's middle of the road approach to policy is just smart politics. (Though I'm not sure that her health care proposal is middle of the road. She was considered a commie 15 years ago for proposing a similar idea.) Good politics is about getting elected, you know. 

I also am concerned about the elitist composition of the netroots versus traditional Democratic voters.

UPDATE: Similar post by Matt Yglesias

On Manliness

Fred Thompson has put manliness in politics back on the table. It started with a New Republic article a few weeks back, which said that Thompason appeal was in his gravelly voice and thick brows. However, the article explained that Thompson had only the thinnest of resumes and little drive. Though he might not be a man in real life, but he plays one on TV. That Law and Order image was doing wonders for his political career.

On Sunday, Maureen Dowd, never one to turn down an opportunity for a good man methapor, came back to this topic. She quickly dismisses his attempts to be Reaganesque and his waffling over dealing with Bin Laden. "Fred is not Ronnie; he’s warmed-over W. President Reagan always knew who the foe was."

Fred followed W.’s nutty lead of marginalizing Osama on a day when TV showed another creepy, fruitcake manifesto by the terrorist, who was wearing what seemed to be a fake beard left over from Woody Allen’s “Bananas” and bloviating on everything from the subprime mortgage crisis to the “woes” of global warming to a Kennedy assassination conspiracy theory to the wisdom of Noam Chomsky to the unwisdom of Richard Perle to the heartwarming news that Muslims have lived with Jews and not “incinerated them” to the need to “continue to escalate the killing and fighting” against American kids in Iraq.

Can we please get someone in charge who will stop whining that Osama is hiding in “harsh terrain,” hunt him down and blast him forward to the Stone Age?

You go, girl! That's most manly stuff that I've read lately.

As I drove back from work at noon, I listened to them read the names of those who died in the World Trade Center. I'm still angry. I called a friend who was also in Manhattan at the time.

I can't help but wonder what would have happened if our troops were sent to the caves of Northern Pakistan rather than to Baghdad where they are fending off car bombs and hopelessly holding back the violence? We need a little manliness, though that manliness may have to come from a woman. We also need smart manliness, which directs mighty blows in the correct direction. Is smart manliness possible? Is it an oxymoron?

Oh, Yeah. That's A Good Idea.

Numerous bloggers are discussing the rumors that Bush is planning to invade Iran later this month. More here and here. Andrew Sullivan has also been talking about it, but I don't have the link right now.

We here at 11D invite readers to speculate about which drugs our president is currently popping. Any room at  Promises rehab for W?

Response to Dan and Megan

As I said in the earlier post, I watched the whole Drezner-McArdle blogginghead thingie. (I refuse to call it a diavlog.) I found myself wanting to interrupt them several times. Good thing I have one of these blog gadgets. Otherwise I would have to wait until I saw Dan next week and tell him what I thought.

Dan says that political scientists have improved their wardrobe in recent years. We're now anti-dowdy. Mental note - pack the pointy sling backs for the conference.

Then Dan and Megan discuss the recent eruption in the political and academic blogosphere about whether or not that the foreign policy punditry has to accept some responsibility for the War in Iraq. If you've missed it, Megan and Dan summarize it pretty well and they have links on the sidebar.

I opposed the war though I didn't have a blog at the time. My opposition mostly took the form of my brother and I fighting with my dad over the the dining room table. So, I sympathize with Greenwald in his frustration. However, I..um.. er... how do i say this... "the netroots" is a little too... um... er... quick to use words like imperialism and ... em ...er... quick to find plots and conspiracies ... Alright. I have just blown my liberal credentials. I better shut up.

Well, one more word. I think we got into this war not because of Haliburton or oil or hegemonic American culture. We got into because good, old fashioned hubris. George and his cronies thought they could do it.  And even if George had better cronies who managed things better, we still would be losing this war.

Dan wants to know why every New Yorker who lived through the Guiliani era thinks he's crackers. After all, crime dropped while he was mayor. (Raising her hand.) In addition to the points that Megan made about not being able to really pinpoint the drop in crime to his policies, we think he's crackers, because of how he dealt with criticism while he was Mayor. If the press mentioned that he was sleeping with secretary for communication, ugly, vindictive Rudy showed his face. Public temper tantrums were regular features of the Rudy administration. We can deal with a little craziness in the city, but that kind of insanity does not play well elsewhere.

Wall Street. How bad is it? Well, hubby comes home with horror stories but the damage is contained. It is hitting the mortgage industries and the hedge funds that invested in them, but your 401 plan isn't gone yet. One buddy who works at subprime mortgage hedge fund will be collecting unemployment next week. Bonuses aren't going to be fantastic this year. He has a lot of extra work dealing with the clean up of these messes. The general mood isn't dismal, but concerned.

The Junior Senators From New York

Robin Gihvan's article on Hillary's cleavage almost brought me out of my blog vacation last week. Yesterday, I flipped on CNN to hear another story on this topic with commentary from some chick from Feministing. We love to talk about boobs in the blogosphere. (Perhaps we should call it the boobosphere?) I was pleased to see that this topic hasn't died yet, so I can get my shot at Hillary's ta-tas.

My take on the whole cleavage controversy is that is that there is absolutely nothing wrong with giving the girls a little air. However, Hillary needs a better bra. Honey, you need an underwire and a little padding.  Pear-shaped girls need to be evened out. We're not talking silicone, just a good Victoria's Secret number. You want the girls up front and center. Say hello to the junior senators from New York, baby.

The First Wives Club

I'm fascinated by the enormous importance that spouses play in political campaigns. Why should Michelle Obama get a front page story in the Times?

I suppose that spouses do influence each other's jobs. Steve and I compare notes and strategies. If one of us has a deadline, the other has to leave work early. Perhaps spouses should be vetted before we elected anyone to that level of office.

But that's not why we're getting so much attention to first spouses. Spouses are a means of balancing out a candidate.  It's good politics for a presidential candidate from the North to nominate a vice-presidential candidate from the South. Now, we have a first lady to widen the appeal of her husband.

It's funny, but I think that the women have an advantage over the guys in this department. Bill Clinton is being portrayed as Hillary's technical advisor. Great. Wonky Hillary has a wonky husband. Michelle Obama is portrayed as Barack's earthy, multi-tasking, reality-check. I think we need some pictures of Bill carpooling and making cookies.

So what does Michelle bring to the Obama campaign?  Chick appeal. She scoffs at her husband for his lack of prowess in the kitchen. Like all red-blooded American women, she isn't afraid to publiclly mock her husband. This made Maureen Dowd uncomfortable a few weeks ago, but I think that irreverance plays really well with married women. Michelle is also vocal about the difficulties about juggling work and family, and provides details about life at home. Also, plays well with the chicks. And unlike her husband, she relates well with the African-American community.

Michelle's balancing more that work and family.  She's balancing out her husband's ticket.

UPDATE: Nice video.

Counting the Days Until Rudy Self Destructs

I missed the Republican debate last night, but caught the recap this morning on the morning shows. Rudy's pro-life stance and 9/11 sainthood dominated the commentary. Rudy definitely won the lion share of attention.

Still, I don't think Rudy will make it through the summer. He's going to say something really stupid or defensive. Someone is going to push him a bit too far, and Rudy is gonna bite. I'm really looking forward to that scene.