Archive for September 15, 2008

Palin to the Law: “No.”

Sometimes that “McSame” label rings a little hollow. But tell me if you’ve heard this story before. A Vice President refuses to comply with the lawful investigations of a duly elected body, alleging that the investigations are “biased” (presumably towards the truth). Yes, Sarah Palin has a bad case of the Cheneys: she won’t comply with inquests into one of the many scandals attributed to her (over the termination of her Public Safety Commissioner).

Denver Was a Bad “Town Hall Meeting” for McCain

First, before the event is even underway, the Straight Talk Express takes a dramatic swing towards the censorial, kicking a 61-year old librarian with a “controversial” sign out of the allegedly free & unscripted event. His new running mate would approve: we know how she feels about librarians.

And then, inside, McCain dodges tough questions about his opposition to the GI Bill from an aggrieved veteran. In the final factual analysis, the vet has the better of this dispute.

Facebook Photojournalism in Post-Ike Houston

Shamelessly ripped from the photo albums of my friends in Houston. Hurricane Ike struck Houston as a strong Category 2, down from the Category 3 that was expected, and still left millions without power.

Some scenery, first of Rice & Downtown Houston… more below the fold.

Tree down by the colleges.

Downtown Houston; think this is the V&E building

Continue reading »

Of Loyalty Oaths & “Haters”: Sarah Palin’s “Team of Rivals”

Of university politics, it is often said that the fights are so bitter, precisely because the stakes are so low. Judging from two recent articles (in yesterday’s New York Times & Washington Post), Palin learned this lesson early, while managing her town of 5,500 (in fact dwarfed by most universities) and never forgot it when she moved up the ladder. As we learn that the grim facts of her tenure gave even her best friends pause, it ought to make us take stock & reckon with the possibility of a divisive, hyper-partisan culture warrior in office.

These accusations – that Palin brands dissent as disloyalty, requires absolute loyalty from advisors, forbids press contacts, tries to scare off critics, and personalizes policy disputes – become grave indeed set against recent American history. Bush’s chief flaws, after all, existed higher up the funnel of abstraction than mere policy decision. His administration’s failure was located rather in his decision-making process, which insisted on absolute loyalty, isolated the president from competing viewpoints, and branded political curiosity as treason. If the one cure for inexperienced/un-intelligent high officials is a whip-smart & diverse team of advisors, palin seems to embrace the disease and its characteristic & dangerous political myopia.

Recall that, in 2000, we were promised that Colin Powell’s experience, intelligence, and moderation would counterbalance Bush’s inexperience and lack of curiosity. How did that work out? Palin’s insistence on toeing the party line threatens to similarly infect any McCain/Palin White House.

How nice that the media’s honeymoon with Palin is over, and we’re finally getting to substance. The substance, however, leaves me wondering:  exactly what change can Sarah Palin bring to Washington? From her much-vaunted “executive experience,” all she seems capable of doing is entrenching Cheney’s conception of the Vice President’s office as the Party-Line Enforcer. That’s not change. That’s worse than the same.