Why Am I Not Surprised?

Which candidate represented Bush’s third term?  From Dana Milbank:

A month from now, the nation will say farewell to its sports-obsessed president who doesn’t like tough questions. And it will replace him with, well, another sports-obsessed president who doesn’t like tough questions.

[…]

But the Chicago Tribune’s John McCormick didn’t want to talk basketball. He wanted to know about contacts that Obama’s chief of staff, Rahm Emanuel, had with disgraced Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich.

“John, John, let me just cut you off,” Obama interrupted, “because I don’t want you to waste your question.” The president-elect said the “facts are going to be released next week” — when he, by random coincidence, will be enjoying Christmas vacation in Hawaii — and “it would be inappropriate for me to comment” before then. “So, do you have another question?”

[…]

McCormick’s exchange in Chicago yesterday brought to mind Bush’s tangle with David Gregory last year when the NBC newsman asked about an Israeli raid in Syria. “I’m not going to comment on the matter,” Bush said. “You’re welcome to ask another question, if you’d like to, on a different subject,” the president added.

Then there’s this little nugget from Politico:

Jay Carney is leaving Time magazine after 20 years to be Vice President-elect Joe Biden’s communications director in the White House, astonished magazine and gleeful transition sources said.

[…]

This is the second member of the media elite who has signed on with Obama’s administration. ABC News correspondent Linda Douglass joined the campaign as traveling spokeswoman, and now is working for Obama’s Presidential Inaugural Committee.

Hmmm.  Probably no big deal, right?  Jim Geraghty:

Job offers don’t come together overnight, and for obvious reasons, the hiring process and job interviews are usually confidential. But this means that now we have two examples where members of the press were “covering” the Obama campaign while at the same time angling for a job with them. Not exactly an ideal circumstance for criticism, fairness or objectivity.

Kinda like a the dog that’s supposed to be guarding the henhouse applying for a job as a fox.

Wednesday: Blitzing the media

I’m running a bit behind this morning so I’ll make this brief.

I am astonished at the number of persuasive articles that have appeared in the NYTimes over the past couple of days regarding Caroline Kennedy’s interest in the Senate seat.  It’s amazing that there is anyone else that is interested in the seat.  Remember Carolyn Maloney and Kirsten Gillibrand?  The NYTimes doesn’t.

There is a crossover article about Obama’s $10 billion for early childhood education as well.  Caroline’s recent “work” has been for the City of NY in the education department.

None of these articles has been very convincing- to me anyway.  So what if she has a lot of advisors who will help her.  Anyone who dives into a senate seat mid-term is likely to get a lot of advice.  And it’s not necessarily true that she only plans to serve out the end of Hillary’s term.  Incumbancy is worth a lot.

But the number of articles written about Caroline has the familiar feel of a haka.  It’s not as ugly as an Obama haka but the persistent, intense projection of inevitability is unmistakable.  The Kennedy’s and Obama’s campaign is pulling out all of the stops and spending a lot of money in PR over this appointment.  It’s a reward for having helped Obama snag the nomination.  And it comes with Ted Kennedy himself pulling strings if she makes it. I detect the single minded determination of Uncle Teddy to have his way, just like he almost pulled it off in 1980.  This time it will be different.  He won’t be the president but he will definitely be running the show.  When it comes right down to it, the bribery doesn’t feel that much different than JJJr’s for Obama’s seat.  Senator Kennedy is promising massive fundraising and personal attention for New York’s problems.  Was he sitting on New York’s legislative initiatives before?  Did he threaten to if someone other than his niece got or retained the seat?

The question is, who would Lady Caroline serve?  The voters of New York or her uncle?

Even Drunken Sailors Would Be Ashamed

Remember that $700 BILLION that Wall Street needed NOW NOW NOW back in October?  From Mike Madden at Salon:

This won’t be news to anyone with a 401K or without a winning lottery ticket, but even though Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson has burned through almost all of the first $350 billion Congress authorized, it didn’t quite turn things around. The infusion of money may have kept credit from tightening up further, but it certainly didn’t jump-start the economy — banks didn’t resume lending to businesses and consumers.

[…]

So what went wrong — and where did all that money go?

A lot of it is, apparently, just sitting in the bank.

[…]

The feds were pumping money into these banks so they would feel free to make more loans — better, simpler, sounder loans. The epidemic of exploding mortgages and failing institutions would ease. But the banks did not start making new loans.

[…]

And as of a couple of weeks ago, Treasury had spent all but $15 billion of the first installment of the bailout money, and the administration may soon ask permission to tap into the second chunk, which they were supposed to leave for Barack Obama’s administration to disburse.

[…]

But the banks are used to getting their way, and there probably wasn’t much reason to think they wouldn’t this time around, too. The financial sector has always been a generous donor to political campaigns, and it gives heavily to both Republicans and Democrats.

[…]

Chances are they’ll keep getting their way, too, even after Obama takes power. His pick for Treasury secretary, Tim Geithner, was one of the prime architects of the government bailouts of Bear Stearns and, later, AIG, and may have been one of the main reasons why Lehman Brothers didn’t get the help they did.

With the exception of some evil Republicans who torpedoed the first House bill, both parties and the media cooperated to push this thing through even though the voters hated it.  The media even managed to spin the whole mess in a way to help Obama win the election (when they weren’t busy obsessing over Sarah Palin’s wardrobe.)

Executive pay was protected but homeowners weren’t.  The Bush administration just handed out wads of money to the banks with hardly any control over what the banks did with it.  I’m surprised they didn’t just give it to Bernie Madoff to invest.  Here’s the money quote:

“It’s amazing how quickly you can get through $350 billion.”

Some of us DFH moonbat libruls thought that the guv’mint should have focused on helping the little people, the Joe and Jane Bagodunuts types who are struggling to stay afloat.  But why focus when they can to f*ck us instead? 

In 1960 historian John D. Hicks wrote in Republican Ascendency 1921-1933 that:

“As later events seemed to prove, money poured in at the top of the economic system tended to stay there, whereas money poured in at the bottom tended to rise through all levels of business and to strengthen the economy as a whole.”

Let’s party like it’s 1929!

You’ll Never Leave Harlan Alive

For POE

My favorite Patti Loveless song:

This Is How You Do It

Watch and learn, Barry, or this is what will happen:

Drinking and driving is no joke.

Tin Foil Hat Tuesday Open Thread

Why cats hate their owners

Just because you’re paranoid doesn’t mean they’re not out to get you!

So what’s on your mind?

WHY??? is this “mimicking human behavior”

Human behavior is to hurt women and grope womens breasts?

Why didn’t he make the thingy a male?

Caroline

Your lovely head very gently let down,
For it exists to be graced by a crown,
Only a mortal walks with his head bare,
Let a crown stand between yours and the air.

Our country has no literal throne,
The senate is the most you can own,
Let patience a noblewoman befit,
Like father, in the White House you’ll sit.

Mortals have campaigns and money to raise,
You only need avuncular praise,
Too long a modest raiment you’ve worn,
Accept the dignity for which you were born.

The sun exists to illuminate you
And the moon, lest the night hide you from view
We mortals your mere servants shall be,
At your whim, waiting incessantly.

A whole human race, which from Adam once grew
Exists to give bridesmaids and butlers to you.
A bow and a curtsy we learned long ago,
Gestures we’ll need to review, and to know.

If Uncle Ted thinks it be condign
No more is needed to fulfill the design
Than that you approach with reverence the throne
In a land made just for you to own.

The mystery of this world I will solve,
Around you it was made to revolve,
New genuflections prepare to receive,
While only the cynics still disbelieve.

A faint voice begged that it be heard,
Your conscience spoke an imperious word,
“Take not the bait!” it did implore,
You were admired, and might be no more.

Not Ready To Make Nice

Some Dixie Chicks for Connie and everyone who thinks we should “get over it.”

Those three ladies from Texas took a lot of sh*t for Natalie Maines saying they didn’t want a war and that they were ashamed of  George Bush. 

Turned out they were just ahead of their time.

This is an open thread.

Tuesday: Princess Caroline- Mean Girl

Intensely private Caroline Kennedy, socialite and *part* part time volunteer for the City of New York’s Department of Education (when she can fit it into her intensely private life), has decided she has the qualifications to take the seat of the junior senator from New York, Hillary Rodham Clinton, commoner upstart.

According to Politico, Kennedy has been taking snark lessons from Al Sharpton:

Kennedy spoke with Sharpton on Monday, and he said he told her about another “lady that wanted to run for U.S. Senate [who] came to Harlem, to the House of Justice, and they told me she wasn’t qualified; they told me she was just there because of who she was married to — and that was Hillary Clinton.”

Sharpton said Kennedy chuckled.

Titter-titter! I’m not sure I get the joke.  Let’s compare the two ladies individual qualifications, shall we?

Hillary Clinton	Lady Caroline Kennedy
Former First Lady	Daughter of Former First Lady
Champion of health care reform	Champion of intensely private people
Practicing lawyer before WH gig	Non-practicing lawyer
Worked for Children’s Defense Fund	Has children
Knows how to campaign	Gave her blessing to Barack Obama
Won two elections for Senate in NY Largely self made with mentors	Eww! You have to shake hands for this job? Has a powerful uncle who will throw tantrum on her behalf
Worked tirelessly for racial equality all her life Worked for women’s rights as human rights Fundraising powerhouse for downticket dems	Content with Obama campaign’s portrayal of Clinton as a racist Cool with “Hillary Clinton only won because of Bill” Uncle Teddy has promised that NY will finally get the attention it deserves (he has been withholding)

Well, I’m convinced.