Archive for the 'White House '08' Category

There are two endorsements that have come out over the last few days that have really touched me: The Economist’s endorsement of Barack Obama and Andrew Sullivan’s post just now endorsing the same.  They touch me for entirely different reasons; one because it is so unexpected and indicative of the moment, and the other because, as regular readers of this blog may know, I share Sullivan’s sense of urgency.  I stand by everything I said in my own endorsement almost eight months ago, so I won’t revisit my personal thoughts here, but I think sharing these two, very different endorsements helps those who may not have made up their minds yet and reminds the rest of us why we have.  And a quick note on two other resources: our Presidential election page has tons of information and this Google map of paper endorsements is fun.

Frankly, it is not the prose of The Economist endorsement that interests me as much as it is the statement that they are endorsing Obama at all.  As much as I respect love The Economist’s reporting (it’s second to none as far as magazine world news goes), their editorial board is notably conservative.  Perhaps not in an American fiscal and social conservative manner, but certainly in the fiscal aspect.  Yet, here they are, endorsing a man that John McCain would have you believe is a socialist… it is an interesting time.  Revealing part of the underlying logic of the endorsement, it begins with a discussion of how disappointing that the “real” John McCain disappeared over the course of this election:

Ironically, given that he first won over so many independents by speaking his mind, the case for Mr McCain comes down to a piece of artifice: vote for him on the assumption that he does not believe a word of what he has been saying. Once he reaches the White House, runs this argument, he will put Mrs Palin back in her box, throw away his unrealistic tax plan and begin negotiations with the Democratic Congress. That is plausible; but it is a long way from the convincing case that Mr McCain could have made. Had he become president in 2000 instead of Mr Bush, the world might have had fewer problems. But this time it is beset by problems, and Mr McCain has not proved that he knows how to deal with them.

And adds these kind words for Obama:

Political fire, far from rattling Mr Obama, seems to bring out the best in him: the furore about his (admittedly ghastly) preacher prompted one of the most thoughtful speeches of the campaign. On the financial crisis his performance has been as assured as Mr McCain’s has been febrile. He seems a quick learner and has built up an impressive team of advisers, drawing in seasoned hands like Paul Volcker, Robert Rubin and Larry Summers. Of course, Mr Obama will make mistakes; but this is a man who listens, learns and manages well.

Now, Sullivan’s endorsement interests me for the opposite reason.  We all know he loves Obama, but man does he know how to say it.  His whole endorsement is definitely worth the read, but his last few paragraphs really get to the core of why I think Obama is not only the right choice, but essential for the vitality of this nation:

The truth is: we are in a war for the future of human civilization. We are fighting for a world in which destructive technology need not collide with fierce religious fundamentalism to annihilate us all; for a world in which dialogue across cultures and religions and regions (even within America) is essential if we are to survive. We need to win the argument in the developing world; we need to reach out and persuade the Muslim middle - especially the next generation in Iran and Iraq and Pakistan and Saudi Arabia and Turkey and Western Europe - about the virtues of democracy and constitutionalism. We cannot do that if we trash our own values ourselves. It is self-defeating. We cannot be a beacon to the world until we have reformed ourselves. In this war, we are also fighting for an America that does not lose its soul in fighting our enemy. Just because we are fighting evil does not mean we cannot ourselves succumb to it. That is what my Christian faith teaches me - that no nation has a monopoly on virtue, and that every generation has to earn its own integrity. I fear and believe we have given away far too much - and that, while this loss is permanent, it can nonetheless be mitigated by a new start, a new direction, a new statement that the America the world once knew and loved is back.

It will not be easy. The world will soon remember why it resents America as well as loves it. But until this unlikely fellow with the funny ears and strange name and exotic biography emerged on the scene, I had begun to wonder if it was possible at all. I had almost given up hope, and he helped restore it. That is what is stirring out there; and although you are welcome to mock me for it, I remain unashamed. As someone once said, in the unlikely story of America, there is never anything false about hope. Obama, moreover, seems to bring out the best in people, and the calmest, and the sanest. He seems to me to have a blend of Midwestern good sense, an intuitive understanding of the developing world that is as much our future now as theirs’, an analyst’s mind and a poet’s tongue. He is human. He is flawed. He will make mistakes. His passivity and ambiguity are sometimes weaknesses as well as strengths.

But there is something about his rise that is also supremely American, a reminder of why so many of us love this country so passionately and are filled with such grief at what has been done to it and in its name. I endorse Barack Obama because I will not give up on America, because I believe in America, and in her constitution and decency and character and strength.

And the world needs that America now as much as it ever has. Can we start that healing, that rebirth, tomorrow?

Yes. We. Can.

From Politico

A Fox Broadcasting executive denied that Barack Obama’s half-hour ad, scheduled for tomorrow night, forced Fox and Major League Baseball to delay the start of a World Series game.

That notion — which had been reported repeatedly, including here, has become a Republican talking point.

“No one will delay the World Series game with an infomercial when I’m president,” John McCain said today.

But the Fox account executive who negotiated the ad buy said Obama’s ad isn’t delaying the first pitch — it’s just replacing the pre-game show.

“Our first pitch for the world series is usually around 8:30 anyway – so we didn’t push back the game, it was really just about suspending the pre-game — you know, Joe Buck,” said the account executive, Joe Coppola. “That’s all we did.”

Republicans and Democrats can agree on this one point.  Listening to Joe Buck is like being punched in the face repeatedly.  Whatever else you have to say we all can agree that Joe Buck sucks, so thank Barack for his patriotic duty tonight.  It just cost him millions of dollars to spare you from 30 minutes of mindless boobery.