Monthly Archives: September 2008

(Community Matters) I like Arianna Huffington and her idea for the new campaign theme.

I joined Arianna’s good friends (neighbors in LA) Suzanne & David Booth along with Kirk Rudy, Diane Land and Steve Adler plus about 400 others at the Austin Convention Center for lunch and Arianna’s keynote at the Out & Equal Conference. Evan Smith emceed.

She is a remarkable, insightful and articulate woman. I read her everyday and Steven & I co-hosted a luncheon & table conversation for her a few years ago. She remembered (or claimed to) when I greeted her before her speech where she talked mostly about the current presidential race – of course.

Not unlike my conversations with the campaign this week, with our friends at the dinner table Thursday night, and with our friends and campaign staff at Tommie & Lynn’s last night, Arianna believes we screwed up by paying much attention to Sarah Palin and that we’ve got to return the campaign to Obama and McCain. And, like earlier postings on this blog, she too agrees the race is less about eating into the opposition’s base or even the 43% of swing voters who actually believed the Kerry Swift Boat ads, including that he self-inflicted his wounds to get a Bronze Star. She too believes it’s about attracting new voters, whether newly registered or registered but who don’t vote – citing the 83 million registered voters who didn’t go to the polls in 2004. I’m with her here but won’t make a quotable statement about those swing voters.

While talking with a friend about Drew Wilson’s book, The Political Brain: The Role of Emotion in Deciding the Fate of the Nation we were discussing the importance of Obama’s political narrative. The GOP Convention and their adopted language brilliantly coop Obama’s narrative: change, hope, leadership you can trust. And, given their base and evangelical following, Sarah Palin is their charismatic new leader.

Arianna recalled one of Barack’s themes in his convention speech: Enough! At our table, we agreed with her, it’s the right one for the rest of the election. ENOUGH!

(Community Matters) Jonathan Haidt, professor of psychology at the University of Virginia, on The Edge.

…the second rule of moral psychology is that morality is not just about how we treat each other (as most liberals think); it is also about binding groups together, supporting essential institutions, and living in a sanctified and noble way. When Republicans say that Democrats “just don’t get it,” this is the “it” to which they refer.

Excerpts: What makes people vote Republican? Why in particular do working class and rural Americans usually vote for pro-business Republicans when their economic interests would seem better served by Democratic policies?
People vote Republican because Republicans offer “moral clarity”—a simple vision of good and evil that activates deep seated fears in much of the electorate.

When gut feelings are present, dispassionate reasoning is rare. In fact, many people struggled to fabricate harmful consequences that could justify their gut-based condemnation.

The moral domain varies across cultures. Turiel’s description of morality as being about justice, rights, and human welfare worked perfectly for the college students I interviewed at Penn, but it simply did not capture the moral concerns of the less elite groups—the working-class people in both countries who were more likely to justify their judgments with talk about respect, duty, and family roles.

When Republicans say that Democrats “just don’t get it,” this is the “it” to which they refer. Conservative positions on gays, guns, god, and immigration must be understood as means to achieve one kind of morally ordered society.

Unity is not the great need of the hour, it is the eternal struggle of our immigrant nation. The three Durkheimian foundations of ingroup, authority, and purity are powerful tools in that struggle. Until Democrats understand this point, they will be vulnerable to the seductive but false belief that Americans vote for Republicans primarily because they have been duped into doing so.

Jonathan Haidt studies morality and emotion and how they vary across cultures. Steven and his colleagues are big fans of his book, The Happiness Hypothesis

Hat Tip: Jason Heffron

(Community Matters) Unfortunately, Senator Biden cancelled yesterday’s trip to Texas, not because of personal logistics but b/c it wouldn’t be prudent to distract law enforcement from hurricane tasks. While we cancelled the larger reception, Tom & Lynn Meredith went ahead with the dinner. Missed hearing directly from Joe Biden. But, everyone was able to speak and Juan, the campaign’s Texas director, gave us the latest greatest information nationally and statewide. We’ve all pledged to refocus on Obama and what we’re doing for the race, rather than focusing on McCain’s vice presidential nominee. Luci Johnson gave great perspective in talking about how she decided to pay $28,500 to attend the dinner. She acknowledged it was a startling number and talked about how she decided to attend when she thought of $2,590 per grandchild and the importance of this investment. Jerry Jeff Walker cracked us up and at the end serenaded us.

(Community Matters) Take a look at Real Clear Politics polls by state for the battle ground states. At what I hope will be the height of McCain’s convention bounce, we’re still ahead in many.

(Community Matters) The polls aren’t pretty but Nate says they are strongest for McCain in the traditionally red states and that McCain/Palin seem to be picking up the evangelical vote and a “significant fraction” of the Perot vote. Nate’s models are now forecasting scenarios where McCain wins the popular vote but Obama wins the electoral vote.

As the Obama campaign keeps reminding us, they never thought this would be anything but a very tight race, and we’d win by the vote of men and women who haven’t previously voted, especially African American and young voters.

Nevertheless, I prefer the electoral and popular margins we were polling a week ago. Of course, appears the GOP convention bubble has lasted longer than expected. Hoping to see it pop over the weekend.

(Community Matters) Obviously, the straight talk express has disappeared

(Community Matters)

(Community Matters) Read John Thornton’s Insomniactive – two postings, The Bear Case, Alpha Grizzly Version and Dem’s Demos.

(Community Matters) This is so bad, so I won’t say who sent it to me.

City officials just announced the Houston hurricane evacuation plan:

Cajuns use I-10 to Lafayette.

Hispanics use I-10 to San Antonio.

Rednecks use 59 north to East Texas.

Republicans fly Continental first class to Washington D.C.

Yankees and Democrats use 45 South to Galveston.

Longhorns use 290 West to Austin.

Aggies use the 610 Loop.

(Community Matters) So, OldSquid challenged me to write a positive blog about why I’m supporting Obama

First, where our country finds itself: 1) in economic distress – a) likely the largest economic chasm between haves and have nots since the Great Depression, b) unsound economic fundamentals, led by a ridiculous reliance on foreign capital and c) longtime underinvestment in societal and physical infrastructure; 2) Bush’s squandering of America’s good standing in this world built over the previous 60 years, 3) unsustainable wars which threaten to break our troops and risk national security, and 4) demoralized citizens who overwhelmingly believe America is headed in the wrong direction and increasingly distrust government and politicians.

Why would I first list our circumstances prior to promoting Barack Obama? Because the times and challenges made a huge difference in who I decided to support and why.

I stated our situation in a list prioritized in today’s climate. But, when I finally decided to support Barack Obama, it was 2007, and I would have prioritized the situation as 1) national security, 2) world standing, 3) economic, 4) demoralized electorate.

Barack Obama represents a new generation and a new way of governing. His candidacy signals the inclusion of millions and millions of previously disenfranchised or less included people into the political process – African Americans, multi-ethnic/multi-cultural, all people of color and a reminder that smart, hard working young men and women from low/moderate income backgrounds can still achieve the highest office (as opposed to dynasties, whether political or military). Barack’s ascendancy represents a message to the world that Americans recognize the folly of our decisions in the last two races, and that we’re not only unhappy with our leaders but changing direction 180 degrees. I believe this message will do more to further diplomacy and provide an opportunity to restrengthen our national security than any military initiative. And yet I understand that it’s a hard world with some very mean people, so we will have to engage our military at times.

Despite successfully selling the message of economic stewardship to 50+% of Americans, Republicans have screwed up our economy every time they’ve had control in the last 20 years. Obama will focus on matching revenues and expenses. He will lower taxes for 95% of Americans. Though our family will pay higher taxes, we’re willing to do so in exchange for rebalancing the budget and investing in physical and societal infrastructure. I dislike that the capital gains tax rate will be raised – consider it counterproductive. And, I understand that many professions have figured out how to recategorize earnings as capital gains and have avoided paying their fair share. How many executives pay a lower percentage of their income in taxes than their administrative assistants? Too many.

Nevertheless, I’m heartened by a promise not to raise rates (income tax and capital gains) beyond the levels of the Clinton years, and I’m counting on promises in how they’ll invest these monies. The appointment of Furman, Rubin, Summers and Goolsbee to the economic A-team as well as Paul Volker’s and Warren Buffett’s support reinforces my faith.

There’s a lot about free markets (which I support) and their imperfection which require regulation (mostly to force the cost of externalities and to limit the US economic guarantees – implied, explicit or defacto in practice [redundancy acknowledged]); educational initiatives such as merit pay for teachers, investment in curriculum, increased site-based management and accountability; health care reform; and watching who Barack hires and how he enforces team work & consensus rather than deploying or even tolerating byzantine management practices, all further influence my decision to support & enthusiasm for Barack Obama.

Last said, before the debate party in Austin, I was just an enthusiastic supporter. It was watching my 9yo and 10yo god children – their enthusiasm for Barack and hearing them talk about what they’d learned on-line on their own initiative – and the turn out of youth and African Americans that made me call up friends and agree to become a fundraiser for the campaign

Enough for now, I’ll post more in the days ahead about why Barack Obama. Thanks OldSquid.

(Community Matters) Sept 11, 2001.  My cell phone went off, it was a private call but I didn’t answer it.  The waiter at Las Manitas called out to the restaurant that a plane had struck the World Trade Center.  Margo Weisz, Kirk Rudy, John Dirvin and I kept meeting and eating, not really believing what the waiter had said.  Another cell phone call from a private number.  The waiter then calls out that another plane had struck another tower.  Oh rats, that private number.  Our mutual friend works in the tower.  I called.  Yes I’d heard.  Okay coming over.  No one had heard from our friend.   Arrived at home of private number.  She’d heard from our friend.  He wasn’t in the tower but on subway over.  He was now at base of tower looking for his employees.  On tv, we see first tower collapse. Can’t reach our friend.  About an hour later he calls, he’d run with hundreds of others as the tower was collapsing, finally settling somewhere in midtown.  Had found all employees but not the artist who was staying in the apartment in the 91st floor.  We subsequently learned he’d died.  We pray for all those lost and we thank God for those who survived. 

(Community Matters) Will someone please help me understand why so many good, honorable people who identify more with the Republican Party than with independents or Democrats aren’t as outraged by misleading statements and lies as I am?  Of course, those in the news just now and which I’ll cite in a minute are from the campaign.  But, it’s a continuation of Bush/Cheney statements about weapons of mass destruction, about wiretapping or not wiretapping, about politicizing the DOJ while saying we’re not politicizing the DOJ.

The two most recent comments are Palin’s.  She said “and when the deal was struck, we began a nearly $40 billion natural gas pipeline to help lead America to energy independence.  That pipeline, when the last section is laid and its valves are opened, will lead . . .”  So, the problem is, NOT ONE section of pipe has been laid.  The pipeline hasn’t received even federal approval.  It may never get built.  Second, the bridge to nowhere.  Palin’s comments that she told the federal government no thanks.  Come on, we’ve now all read that she did so only after first embracing, defending, even campaigning on the bridge.  So, I don’t get this.  Why no similar outrage from those who support McCain or Palin.  Or is there outrage but its drowned out by others?