The Obama Quarantine
By JAMES TARANTO
North Carolina Democrats hit the primary polls in two weeks, and CBS News was to have hosted a debate this Sunday between front-runner Barack Obama and underdog Hillary Clinton. Alas, it was not to be. A press release from the North Carolina Democratic Party says that the party has decided to spend more time with its family:
We regret to inform you that the proposed Democratic Presidential Debate scheduled for April 27 has been cancelled due to time constraints and logistical issues associated with such a large, national event. . . . There were also growing concerns about what another debate would do to party unity.
CBS News has what almost certainly is the real story:
Hillary Clinton had accepted the invitation to Sunday's proposed debate but Barack Obama's campaign had not. In an interview with the Charlotte Observer earlier this month, Obama voiced skepticism about participating in too many debates. "I will tell you, after the 21st debate," Obama told the paper (in advance of last week's 21st debate), "all of which have been nationally televised . . . North Carolinians have had ample opportunity to watch these debates. . . . I don't know that they are ending up being more informative than the kinds of town hall meetings that we've scheduled."
Of course, after last week's debate--which turned out to be highly informative--Obama has got to be wishing he had stopped at 20. Given that he seems to have the nomination nearly locked up anyway, it makes tactical sense for him to run out the clock and stay far away from anyone who may ask him a tough question.
But does it make strategic sense? It strikes us that Obama may be setting a trap for himself. Consider the experience of John Kerry in 2004: He won nomination easily, with the media largely buying into his "war hero" story and not asking tough questions. One notable exception was ABC's Charlie Gibson, who almost exactly a year ago confronted Kerry about his shifty behavior vis-à-vis his medals.
Once Kerry was past the convention, the questions that should have been asked much earlier began coming out. The Swift Boat Veterans for Truth ended up doing the media's job for them. If Obama succeeds in avoiding the tough questions now, someone will end up asking them in the fall. Will he be prepared?
Waffle Irony
The Hotline reports from Scranton, Pa., on an unsubtle effort by Barack Obama to avoid a tough question:
Chomping down on sausage and waffles at Glider's Diner today with Sen. Bob Casey at his side, Barack Obama declined, in a sense, to comment on Jimmy Carter's meeting with Hamas.
Asked if he had heard that Carter reported a positive outcome from the meeting, Obama looked at the reporter who questioned him and said, "Why can't I just eat my waffle?"
Asked again by the reporter, Obama bit. Not at the question but into a butter-covered bite of Glider's specialty over-size Belgian waffles. With a wink this time he said, "Just let me eat my waffle."
Obama, who has the support of Hamas honcho Ahmed Yousef, henceforth will be known as the waffle man, joining other food-associated politicians such as Ronald Reagan (jellybeans), George H.W. Bush (pork rinds), Michael Dukakis (endive), Dan Quayle (potatoes) and Bill Clinton (McDonald's french fries).
The Chicago Tribune's "Swamp" blog adds this detail:
On the other side of the diner, two high school seniors had skipped school to meet Obama and got him to sign passes saying "Excuse Colin!" and "Excuse Joey!"
New Obama slogan: "We don't need no education!"
Four More Years
Hillary Clinton is questioning Barack Obama's patriotism--or at least she is running an ad that, if it were a Republican ad, would be described in those terms by Democrats and the media. As the New York Times reports:
Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton invoked images of Pearl Harbor and Osama bin Laden in a television advertisement that questioned Senator Barack Obama's ability to lead in a crisis.
As she sought to spark a comeback in the Democratic nominating contest, Mrs. Clinton warned voters not to "take a leap of faith or have any guesswork" when they cast ballots Tuesday.
The Obama campaign accused her of employing "the politics of fear."
What's funny about this ad is that in the fall, the experience argument will cut against either Obama or Mrs. Clinton. At the end of this term, he will have four years' experience in the Senate; she will have had a mere four more years. John McCain will have held national office for 26 years, more than his two prospective opponents combined.
Pennsylvania Malcontent Syndrome
In the wake of Barack Obama's "bitter" brouhaha, some have defended him by arguing that what he said was true, or at least arguably so. Reader Rob Coker has a terrific analogy that helps explain why the comments were objectionable anyway:
It reminded me of a recent counseling class when different factors that make one irritable were being discussed. Women's hormonal cycles were brought up with the warning that even though that could be the source of a woman's being grumpy/offended, it was not best to say so to one's wife when she was annoyed at you. Why? The reason is that it invalidates her having genuine reason to be offended--there's something wrong with her for being hurt--and denies your responsibility in that. It's patronizing.
It is possible that economic hardship has indeed resulted in certain people clinging to God and guns and being resentful of immigrants. However, the underlying assertion is the same as above, namely that there is something wrong with the rural Pennsylvanians thinking the way they do, that it is obviously an indefensible position, and so there must be some external reason causing them to act so bizarrely.
I find it ironic that such "brilliant" people feel free to use psychological explanations on others and think they are being so smart, while they violate a basic principle of psychology and counseling by invalidating those they are explaining.
End of an Error
They thought, they tanked, they conked out. From the Web site of the Rockridge Institute:
First, a big Thank You!
The Rockridge Institute was founded with a mission: to teach Americans about the role of values and framing in political debate, and to help progressives equalize the framing advantages enjoyed by conservatives. With your help, Rockridge has done more than any small think tank could be expected to do. About 1,000 of you have donated to support our efforts. More than 8,000 have registered as members of Rockridge Nation to engage actively with us. And hundreds of thousands, both in the US and abroad, have bought our books and used our materials. If you are one of those hundreds of thousands, political discourse will now look different to you. As you read the newspapers and the blogs and watch TV, you can see the effects of our work everywhere. Your support has made that possible. For this and so much more, you have our complete admiration and gratitude.
Nonetheless, the Rockridge era will come to an end on April 30.
The Rockridge era is coming to an end. Did anyone know it had ever started?
Butterfield on the Board?
Some horrific crimes have been in the news in Connecticut, and the New York Times editorial board is worried that the criminals may get punished:
Last July two recently paroled men broke into a home in Cheshire and tortured and murdered three people. Last month a man who served more than eight years for assaulting a 5-year-old--and had been out on probation for less than a month--broke into a New Britain home. He accosted two women, wounding one and killing the other.
Republicans, led by [Gov. Jodi] Rell, have responded by calling for a "three strikes" law. Democrats have rightly resisted. The proposed law, which would mandate life in prison for anyone convicted of three violent felonies, is a bumper-sticker solution that would create injustices by barring judges' discretion in sentencing. It would also not deter the many crimes committed by people who have not committed three violent felonies.
You've got to love that last sentence. How many people commit "many crimes" without committing three violent felonies?
Life Imitates the Onion
• "9/11 Conspiracy Theories 'Ridiculous,' al Qaeda Says"--headline, Onion, April 1
• "Al Qaeda No. 2 Says 9/11 Theory Propagated by Iran"--headline, Associated Press, April 22
How Many Divisions Does He Have?
"Pope Calls for Healing of Divisions"--headline, The Wall Street Journal, April 21
'. . . and the Ram Was an Endangered Species'
"DOT Board Reprimands Abraham for Behavior"--headline, WSB-TV Web site (Atlanta), April 21
We Hope the Fourth of July Isn't the Same Day
"Cinco de Mayo Set for May 2"--headline, Post and Courier (Charleston, S.C.), April 18
That'll Teach Him!
"Man Shoots Self in Alleged Road-Rage Confrontation"--headline, Associated Press, April 21
It's Always in the Last Place You Look
"Pinellas County Woman Finds 8 Foot Alligator in Her Kitchen"--headline, Associated Press, April 22
Someone Set Up Us the Bomb
"Vols Have All Thigpen Is Searching"--headline, Knoxville News Sentinel Web site, April 21
News You Can Use
"Aussie Women Drunk and Confused"--headline, Australian, April 23
Bottom Stories of the Day
• "Firefighters Use Tuna to Lure Kitten Trapped in Walls of Lakes Home"--headline, Sun-Sentinel (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.), April 21
• "Michael Moore Endorses Obama, Chides Clinton"--headline, Associated Press, April 22
• "Israel Says Streisand Won't Attend 60th Anniversary Bash"--headline, Associated Press, April 22
• "Kenyan Wins Boston Marathon"--headline, San Jose Mercury News, April 22
Snow Falls
CNN "has hired former White House spokesman Tony Snow as a 'political contributor,' " reports the Atlanta Journal-Constitution's Jim Galloway. "Prior to his stint in the Bush administration, which ended last September, Snow was a dominant personality for Fox News."
So he used to work for Fox, but now that he's done a stint in the White House, CNN is the best he can do? It's a measure of the disesteem in which President Bush is held. |
