Daily Archives: 08/23/2010

(Community Matters) Remembering many friends no longer with us. This is an epic song from an iconic band, The Pet Shop Boys

Vodpod videos no longer available.

(Community Matters) Also from Mike Allen:

E.J. Dionne Jr. in the WaPo, “Why won’t the GOP say ‘no’ to extremism?”: “What’s missing from the Democrats’ campaign is a willingness to raise the stakes of the election. … The principled case that must be made is that the brand of conservatism seeking power this year is irresponsible, incoherent and untrue to the best of its own traditions. … But there is something far more troubling at work: the rise of an angry, irrational extremism — the sort that says Obama is a Muslim socialist who wasn’t born in the United States — that was not part of Ronald Reagan’s buoyant conservative creed. … What the current right has on offer is far worse than anything Bush put forward … A victory for this style of conservatism will be a defeat for the kind of conservatism the country needs.” http://bit.ly/aq5ekL

(Community Matters) This sounds right:

From Mike Allen:

THE BIG IDEA -“Dems urge Obama to take a stand,” by John F. Harris and James Hohmann: “By declining to speak clearly and often about his larger philosophy-and insisting that his actions are guided not by ideology but a results-oriented ‘pragmatism’-he has bred confusion and disappointment among his allies, and left his agenda and motives vulnerable to distortion by his enemies. The president’s reluctance to be a Democratic version of Ronald Reagan … has produced an odd turn of events: Obama has been the most activist domestic president in decades, yet the philosophy behind his legislative achievements remains muddy in the eyes of many supporters and skeptics alike. … The ability to transcend ideological divides and unite disparate parts of the electorate was a signal strength of his candidacy in 2008. But that has given way to widespread-if often contradictory-complaints about his agenda (too radical or too cautious?) and the political tactics (too partisan or too conflict-averse?) he uses to pursue it. … ‘You have to provide the country with a narrative of where we have been and where we need to go and how to get there,’ said Don Baer, communications director in Bill Clinton’s White House. ‘That requires a theory of the case on the role of government-and the role of the president … [P]eople need context, and I imagine this leaves the president unhappy when they reach what he thinks is the wrong conclusion’ about his vision for the country.” http://bit.ly/9GcdSN

(Community Matters) My guest article on the Haiti trip in yesterday’s Austin American Statesman