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You are here: Home / Elections / Election 2014 / Long(ish) Read: Elizabeth Drew, “Obama & the Upcoming Elections”

Long(ish) Read: Elizabeth Drew, “Obama & the Upcoming Elections”

by Anne Laurie|  September 8, 20144:14 pm| 54 Comments

This post is in: Election 2014, Excellent Links

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Elizabeth Drew– who’s been doing smart reporting since Watergate — in the NY Review of Books, on ‘Obama & the Upcoming Elections‘:

Thus far, interest in this year’s midterm elections is in almost inverse proportion to their importance….

Probably not since Richard Nixon have so many candidates shied away from being in the presence of their party’s president when he shows up in their states—though they welcome his strenuous fund-raising efforts on their behalf. It’s often said that the president should socialize more with Republicans, but they, too, don’t want to be seen in his presence and often turn down White House invitations; John Boehner has been forbidden by the House Republican caucus to negotiate with Obama on his own. Yet the public perception is that the failure of Washington to solve major problems during the past six years falls on the president as well as on those actually responsible—the Republicans. In fact, no president in history has faced such intransigence from the opposition party. It’s undeniable that the president’s race has a significant part in the destructive ways in which he is talked about and opposed.

Obama has on occasion fretted aloud that the focus in the news on the gridlock and dysfunction in Washington diverts attention from what he’s been able to achieve. When he’s long gone from the White House it could well become apparent that despite the odds Obama was responsible for notable achievements, among them Obamacare; getting gay marriage widely accepted; beginning to turn federal energy policy toward a more environmentally conscious set of policies; the Dodd-Frank bill’s restraints on Wall Street, however limited, with its rules still being argued over; and the establishment of the Consumer Financial Protection Agency championed by Elizabeth Warren….

It’s been evident for quite a while that a certain chilliness on Obama’s part has affected his relations with Congress, but it’s also questionable how much substantive difference this has made. A Cabinet officer said to me, “He’s a loner, and one result is that few Democrats are willing to take the hill for him.” Obama rose swiftly in politics and essentially on his own—he’d been on his own for most of his life—and political camaraderie is of little interest to him. His golfing foursomes are most often made up of junior White House staff and close nonpolitical friends from Chicago. This might not make much difference in the number of bills passed but it has had one very serious effect on his presidency: the Democrats’ unwillingness to praise, defend, much less celebrate the president has left the field clear to his multitude of attackers.

Obama tended to proceed on the theory that if he made some concessions to the Republicans—say, by speeding up deportations of undocumented immigrants—they might be more cooperative; but this hasn’t worked out. It’s true that he is innately cautious, and it’s also true that it is a lot easier to declare what he should have done than to show how he could actually have gotten the votes for that. Little is as simple in the Oval Office as it is to outside critics…

The Republicans are so uncertain of victory in elections to federal offices that they’re still resorting in several states to passing laws that make voting more difficult for minorities and other groups who would ordinarily vote for the Democrats. Some of these laws are even stricter than those adopted in 2012. Democrats might appear to have issues that could drive their voters to the polls. These would include Republican efforts to deprive women of their own reproductive decisions and opposition to such measures as raising the minimum wage and making unemployment insurance last longer.

Still, largely because of the president’s unpopularity, the Democratic candidates have been having problems finding their voice. Most of their races are focused on the vulnerabilities of their opponents, making for a thus far unedifying election. The result is that a midterm election with national implications so far has no overall national theme.

Unknown at this point is the effect of the unprecedented amounts of outside money being poured into many of the races. It’s estimated that the Kentucky race alone will cost $100 million, the highest amount ever for a state contest. In addition, numerous members of the more militantly liberal Democratic wing have been holding back support of their party’s candidate because of impurities they find in the president’s or candidate’s positions. Democrats “disappointed” in Obama could help elect a Republican Senate. The odds may be stacked against the Democrats this November, but whether they can stave off a loss of control of one half of Congress is still up to them and their would-be supporters.

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54Comments

  1. 1.

    Mnemosyne

    September 8, 2014 at 4:16 pm

    A Cabinet officer said to me, “He’s a loner, and one result is that few Democrats are willing to take the hill for him.”

    Given how few Democrats are willing to back the president on much of anything — including PPACA — I’m sensing a chicken and egg problem. Why exactly would Obama trust them to even try and take the hill at this point when they’ve undermined him so many times already?

  2. 2.

    feebog

    September 8, 2014 at 4:22 pm

    I think there is some resentment on the part of the old guard Democrats that Obama was able to rise so quickly, and to take the Presidency from Hillary, who was their consensus candidate.

  3. 3.

    rikyrah

    September 8, 2014 at 4:25 pm

    A Cabinet officer said to me, “He’s a loner, and one result is that few Democrats are willing to take the hill for him.”

    These mofos are scared of their own shadows. They never have the President’s back – over anything, yet think folks are supposed to support them.

  4. 4.

    Hal

    September 8, 2014 at 4:27 pm

    Twice as good for half the credit.

  5. 5.

    Iowa Old Lady

    September 8, 2014 at 4:28 pm

    @Hal: Amen

  6. 6.

    rikyrah

    September 8, 2014 at 4:28 pm

    @feebog:

    I think there is some resentment on the part of the old guard Democrats that Obama was able to rise so quickly, and to take the Presidency from Hillary, who was their consensus candidate.

    He succeeded despite them, not because of them.

  7. 7.

    BGinCHI

    September 8, 2014 at 4:29 pm

    Obviously it is important for Dems to beat Rs in all races, as the GOP is fucking nuts and terrible. That’s a fact.

    But the other fact is that a lot of Dem politicians are not inspiring folks to care about them. Our Governor, for example, is completely lackluster. Because he’s running against Croesus F. Dickhead, I will still vote for him. But I will not give him my open and passionate support.

    I would imagine this is true for a lot of Senate and House races. Who gets passionate about Mark Pryor except as a negation of Tom “They Were Better Off When They Picked” Cotton?

  8. 8.

    slag

    September 8, 2014 at 4:30 pm

    the Democrats’ unwillingness to praise, defend, much less celebrate the president has left the field clear to his multitude of attackers.

    To which we say, “Welcome to the Democratic Party”. Tobias Funkes everywhere: “But it might work for us.“

  9. 9.

    schrodinger's cat

    September 8, 2014 at 4:35 pm

    I don’t need to read yet another thesis by a “serious” journalist how Dems suck, Obama sucks and they are going to lose the Senate in the upcoming midterms. It is up to us not to let this become a self fulfilling prophesy. What these analyses also fail to mention is how unpopular Republicans and their policies are outside their insane base which is blinded by fear and hate.

  10. 10.

    piratedan

    September 8, 2014 at 4:45 pm

    @schrodinger’s cat: funny how they never seem to focus on that… it’s all concern trolling and fainting couches all around instead of the stark contrast of “these people are fucking nuts and if I wasn’t a paid water carrier because for the canary cage liner that I work for, I might be pissing my pants if I wasn’t a white person or a certifiable sycophant”.

    No one is doing the wonkage of breaking down what the GOP olicies might mean to real people, instead we’re focusing on golf and tan suits instead of the complete clusterfuck that a GOP controlled Congress has become. No one is pointing out that these fuckers are working less days than schoolteachers and have accomplished fuckall in attempting to address any of the problems that we face today, except to bitch when the President has to do ssomething by executive order because they WON’T do anything.

    While I may give a pass to your working stenographer, what really pisses me off are these so called editors that are driving their prrofession into the realm of used car salesman for all of the sin doctoring and elephant ignoring that is going on. Gleefully choosing clickbait over the morphing of the GOP into a fascist/racist/elitist goon squad.

  11. 11.

    Anoniminous

    September 8, 2014 at 4:48 pm

    I doubt the GOP will take the Senate.

  12. 12.

    catclub

    September 8, 2014 at 4:54 pm

    @rikyrah: Whenever they look around and ask: Who is most skilled and accomplished Democratic Politician in the country, lets ask him!, they never seem to get to President Obama.

  13. 13.

    Elizabelle

    September 8, 2014 at 4:58 pm

    From yesterday’s grievous Meet the Press transcript:

    CHUCK TODD (PRETAPE):

    What’s the rationale for this election? I’m going to be a little cynical here. $3 billion, I would argue, is being decided to see if it’s Harry Reid or Mitch McConnell that’s in charge of gridlock in the Senate. I mean, we’re talking, what’s the difference between a two-seat-Democratic majority and a two-seat-Republican majority as far as your agenda is concerned?

    PRES. OBAMA:

    First of all, there’s a sharp difference between the Democratic agenda and the Republican agenda. And the American people need to know that. If you’ve got a Democratic senate, that means bills are being introduced to raise the minimum wage. That’s something Democrats support. We think America needs a raise.

    CHUCK TODD:

    Was that on your desk?

    PRES. OBAMA:

    I’ll get to that. Equal pay for equal work. We care about that. The Republicans, that’s not their priority. We think it’s important to make sure that issues like family leave and family-friendly policies and more effective childcare are in place so that folks are getting help, that young people are getting more assistance when it comes to paying for college educations. Rebuilding our infrastructure. Putting folks back other work on our roads, our bridges.

    All of which would boost our economy now and boost it into the future. On all those issues, there’s a sharp contrast. Now it is true that if the house stays Republican, that it’s unlikely that I get a lot of these bills to my desk. But it makes a big difference if we’ve got at least one branch in Congress that is presenting these ideas, making arguments.

    I know that given the gridlock that we’ve seen over the last couple years, it’s easy to say that these midterms don’t matter. But the fact of the matter is that on every issue that’s important to middle class Americans, overwhelmingly, we’re seeing a majority prefer the Democratic option.

    And us having a Democratic Senate that can present those issues and put them forward, just like they did on immigration, even if the House Republicans fail to act means that we’re debating the right stuff for the country, we’re debating the things that are going to help us grow.

  14. 14.

    Elizabelle

    September 8, 2014 at 5:05 pm

    So how do the Meet the Press organ grinder monkeys deal with Obama’s answer, you ask?

    CHUCK TODD:

    You know, Stanton, he was trying to make the rational for why the midterms matter. And when you have to say, “I know some people don’t think, but they really do matter.”

    JOHN STANTON:

    You’ve already lost.

    CHUCK TODD:

    That’s a tough sell. Clearly it’s about energizing the Democratic base. He was the xylophone, as Chris Matthews likes to call it. He was trying to tap all the right notes for the right constituency group.

    JOHN STANTON:

    Yeah, I mean, if you look at it, he went down the laundry list of things to get women out, to try to get Latinos out. But, you know, the reality is, is that this election sort of doesn’t matter. Unless there is something that happens over the next two or three weeks that creates a massive wave.

    CHUCK TODD:

    I’m trying to have a bunch of shows here before that fully–

    (OVERTALK)

    JOHN STANTON:

    But no, I mean, in terms of legislation passing. If Democrats keep the Senate, and they have, what, a two-seat or a one-seat majority, or if Republicans take it and have a two-seat or one-seat majority, you still are left with essentially the same dynamic in Washington. Until, as Joe says, until he figures out a way to get around that, it’s going to stay the same.

    Drives me nuts. Acting like when Obama speaks, it’s all about the Democratic base. That he’s not the president of all of us.

    But don’t most Americans share the concerns he outlined? Beyond Americans who happen to be women and Latinos?

    FWIW, John Stanton is the journalist with the tats. From Buzzfeed. Because Meet the Press is still relevant.

    And who is propping up the status quo, that sends such a deplorable Congress to Washington? Which then becomes another problem that Obama cannot solve?

  15. 15.

    Turgidson

    September 8, 2014 at 5:08 pm

    @Elizabelle:

    “But but but Mr. President…how can you expect anyone to pay attention to those boring issues when you wear tan suits? Also, I have a prescripted question here where I inform the viewers that you haven’t said the word “Syria” yet in this interview. Even though you have mentioned Syria several times including once less than ten seconds ago, I’m going to go ahead and ask the question, as scripted, anyway…”

    The second part of that actually happened, because Todd is a clown.

    Chucklehead Todd might prove to be even worse than David f’n Gregory. I figured there had to be a law of physics making such a thing literally impossible. It appears I may be wrong, yet again.

    Is this all a concerted effort by NBC to protect former MTP host Tim Working Class Buffalo Regular Buffalo Guy Blue Collar Buffalo Russert’s legacy? That’s the only remotely plausible explanation for why they are deliberately setting fire to their flagship public affairs program.

  16. 16.

    Elizabelle

    September 8, 2014 at 5:10 pm

    @Anoniminous:

    Greg Orman plus 10 in Kansas polling, against Pat Roberts? Superb!

    He’s got Begich in Alaska down by 2, though. You’re going to make me read his blogpost, aren’t you?

    Very sad McConnell seems to be pulling away, but that’s Kentucky for you. I wish ALGrimes would find her inner populist that likes Obamacare too. What does she have to lose?

  17. 17.

    Elizabelle

    September 8, 2014 at 5:13 pm

    @Turgidson: I did not even like Saint Russert with his “gotcha” routine.

    That show needs a Stephen Colbert moderator, which it will never get, because all the Sunday shows are porn for defense contractors and plutocrats.

  18. 18.

    Turgidson

    September 8, 2014 at 5:19 pm

    @Elizabelle:

    And another infuriating element of that Todd/Stanton banter was that Stanton was doing exactly what he was accusing Obama of doing. In dismissing the substance of Obama’s answers and saying these elections don’t matter, he was saying Obama’s base shouldn’t bother to vote because nothing will change.

    And as you pointed out, these yammering morons have an infuriating tendency to dismiss or wave away the substance of Obama’s remarks, wherein Obama notes that the issues Democrats are running on and would try to legislate on are popular with the voting public at large. Then, a braindead GOP knuckledragger will dispense a bunch of empty-headed talking points without being accused of just trying to stir up the base. No, no, he was just expressing the concerns of real ‘Mercans concerned about Obama’s sockulism and something about freedom.

    It really is no wonder that Obama has so little respect for the DC political press. How could any human being in his position not?

  19. 19.

    BGinCHI

    September 8, 2014 at 5:19 pm

    @Elizabelle: What’s the difference between MtP and Sports Center?

    At least SC is funny on purpose.

    The whole Beltway media is a HS newspaper with an expense account.

  20. 20.

    Hal

    September 8, 2014 at 5:20 pm

    @Elizabelle:

    Very sad McConnell seems to be pulling away, but that’s Kentucky for you. I wish ALGrimes would find her inner populist that likes Obamacare too. What does she have to lose?

    I realize she was always a long shot, but damn. Why not try for a base of voters who are benefitting from obamacare? If she’s going to lose anyway, try something different FFS.

  21. 21.

    Turgidson

    September 8, 2014 at 5:22 pm

    @Elizabelle:

    Russert was an insufferable hack. He became proficient at dredging up an inconsistent statement or two to haul in front of a guest, creating a few moments of discomfort. Then it would be back to business as usual and actual, consequential issues would either be ignored, or the Republican guest would be allowed to casually lie about them without fear of reprisal.

    Nevertheless, Dancin Dave Gregory made Russert look like Cronkite and Murrow put together by comparison. And Todd might do him even better than that.

  22. 22.

    Elizabelle

    September 8, 2014 at 5:26 pm

    @BGinCHI:

    Somebody mentioned them as gossipy high school kids, and that’s about the dynamic.

    I’d say “mean girls”, but that’s kind of sexist.

  23. 23.

    Hal

    September 8, 2014 at 5:26 pm

    MSNBC “Morning Joe” host Joe Scarborough, a former Republican congressman from Florida, is joining NBC News as a senior political analyst and regular contributor to “Meet the Press,” the network announced Friday.

    Read more: http://thehill.com/blogs/in-the-know/in-the-know/216764-joe-scarborough-joins-meet-the-press#ixzz3ClI4rnlP

  24. 24.

    Elizabelle

    September 8, 2014 at 5:30 pm

    @Turgidson:

    he was saying Obama’s base shouldn’t bother to vote because nothing will change.

    Bingo. I would like to see these fools having to eat their words. I think the ground is shifting under their feet, and they’ll be the last to see it.

  25. 25.

    Mustang Bobby

    September 8, 2014 at 5:42 pm

    Speaking of Russert, his child was on MSNBC this weekend doing a stand-up at the White House talking about the ISIS crisis and he said that the president needed to get allies among the Arab nations such as Turkey. Whut? Since when is Turkey an “Arab” nation?

    At that point changed the channel to Nick Jr. where they were having a far more informative conversation about duckies and horseys.

  26. 26.

    FlipYrWhig

    September 8, 2014 at 5:47 pm

    Elizabeth Drew– who’s been doing smart reporting since Watergate

    Can we see an example of her smart reporting, then? Because this is warmed-over highly conventional un-wisdom. It’s like she’s ticking the standard Village boxes: you’ve got your “aloof,” you’ve got your “unpopular,” you’ve got your anonymous gutless Democrats gutlessly carping about why Obama doesn’t go out on a limb for their sorry asses. I don’t know who this person is, but I ain’t impressed.

  27. 27.

    Mnemosyne

    September 8, 2014 at 6:11 pm

    @feebog:

    I think there is some resentment on the part of the old guard Democrats that Obama was able to rise so quickly, and to take the Presidency from Hillary, who was their consensus candidate.

    I’m going to go ahead and say it: Obama built his power base among black politicians and black neighborhoods in Chicago. He didn’t have to ask the white power brokers for a damn thing in order to get elected, and a lot of the Democratic power brokers just can’t get over it.

  28. 28.

    Elie

    September 8, 2014 at 6:19 pm

    We live in truly corrupt times. The role of effective governance is no longer something that most people want. They see overwhelming power and coercion as ideal and desirable. We have lost sight of any balance, long vision and most of all, aspiration to “do the right thing” — to help our country and all its citizens. We don’t want to educate our children in public schools. We allow and model bullies and bullying behavior. Guns are the concrete symbol of the United States — power by violence rather than righteousness.

    The Democrats are terrifically disappointing.. they have no energy and no vision. They have a wonderful leader and example in Obama and all they can do is snifff deragatorily cause he won’t kiss their butts. As I said, its been hard to be a proud American after watching Ferguson and the little girl on the gun range

  29. 29.

    Elizabelle

    September 8, 2014 at 6:28 pm

    @FlipYrWhig: well said

  30. 30.

    Davis X. Machina

    September 8, 2014 at 6:52 pm

    @FlipYrWhig:

    Can we see an example of her smart reporting, then?

    Yes,

    “A man hears what he wants to hear, and disregards the rest” Paul Simon, ‘The Boxer’.

  31. 31.

    Davis X. Machina

    September 8, 2014 at 6:53 pm

    @Elie:

    They have a wonderful leader and example in Obama and all they can do is snifff deragatorily cause he won’t kiss their butts.

    At last, something both wings of the party can agree on.

    Because he.didn’t.even.try.

  32. 32.

    CONGRATULATIONS!

    September 8, 2014 at 7:02 pm

    John Boehner has been forbidden by the House Republican caucus to negotiate with Obama on his own.

    Really? That’s rather unprecedented, wouldn’t you say?

  33. 33.

    Kay

    September 8, 2014 at 7:20 pm

    Because Democrats sound like they’re blaming working and middle class people for not grabbing the “ladders of opportunity” and just hoisting themselves up, and working and middle class people are not at fault for what happened to the economy.

    They are just getting up after getting knocked down. Can we give them a chance to brush themselves off before we tell them to go out there and get a new “skill set” for the Twenty First Century Economy?

    This is bigger than Obama, and while Democrats can blame Obama (and they will, because he’s President, and that’s the way this goes) DEMOCRATS, all of them, adopting the language of Scott Fucking Walker on the “skills gap” means Democrats are listening to the wrong people.

    I said this same thing in April and they’re STILL pushing this “equality of opportunity” line which I don’t know if they’ve noticed but is the same thing Republicans are saying.

    Be on their side. Take a side. People don’t need earnest career advice or a neutral party to negotiate a way forward. They need advocates.

  34. 34.

    Elie

    September 8, 2014 at 7:34 pm

    @Kay:

    We can’t seem to raise ourselves to be what our values say that we can and should be. Democrats are no different it seems (as a whole) than Republicans and seem unable to take any stand. We have lost the ability to stand for unified action and for achieving community goals of any sort.

    I just became a precinct captain for the Democrats — I am struggling to see the leadership and the selection of strong candidates with principles. Maybe I am just having a bad day, but really? What does Democrat mean anymore?

  35. 35.

    Kay

    September 8, 2014 at 7:45 pm

    So, I’ll be specific. When you travel to Toledo Ohio and tell people there they have a “skills gap” they will take that to mean they somehow failed to work hard enough to meet the demanding standards of America’s Economic Engine.

    But that is NOT what happened, at all. Instead, US companies decided they weren’t going to commit to training workers, because that involves risk and expense, and instead they’d just whine a lot about how they “can’t find” welders when they mean they can’t find welders who will work for 9 bucks an hour.

    “Where did all the apprenticeships GO?” is not unknowable and inevitable. It’s not like the tides or the phases of the moon. Some of them disappeared when labor unions were deliberately and carefully destroyed, and some of them disappeared when employers stopped investing in their workers. That happened.

    So tell them that. THEN you can tell them where they can get training.

    Adopting this “mistakes were made” posture is a political loser for Democrats. They are going to have to name names.

  36. 36.

    PurpleGirl

    September 8, 2014 at 7:54 pm

    @feebog: I resent how the national Democrats decided that the Clintons should move to NYS and Hillary would start her elective career there. Not only that but they passed a native NYer, Representative Nita Lowey (sp?) of the Bronx/Westchester, who should have been next in line to run for the Senate.

  37. 37.

    Kay

    September 8, 2014 at 7:56 pm

    @Elie:

    I don’t know, I’m not even a working class person and I’m mildly offended by this. Really? Working class and middle class people are the ones holding up the economy? We’re hiring right now for what is an entry-level job and I just sent out a batch of emails that say “you are overqualified for this position”. The person who held the job for 4 years had a high school diploma. We got 30-some interviewable applicants in a county of 30k. I seem to be finding some people with “skills” I don’t know what Scott Walker’s problem is. I have a crazy idea. Maybe Caterpillar could have invested in training over the last decade? Ya think?

  38. 38.

    Kay

    September 8, 2014 at 8:04 pm

    @Elie:

    Ohio is uniquely horrible because the candidate for governor crashed and burned. I went last night to the fair and they’re a pretty dispirited bunch. It’s really pretty admirable, this soldiering on that happens. They’re trying to pick a state race they might be able to win. It looks like “treasurer” is the best bet, to me.

    Anyway. I would politely suggest national Democrats try something other than “ladders of opportunity”, because no one knows what that means outside DC and it sounds like they’re both judging and blaming people.

  39. 39.

    PurpleGirl

    September 8, 2014 at 8:13 pm

    @Kay: I’ve worked with computers as an administrative assistant and paralegal for close to 20 years. I know how many programs work. I don’t type fast but I’m accurate and can edit and correct text as I input it. What “skills gap” do I have? When asked about training, my answer is “training for what”? Training for more computer programs, or training for a new job, going back to college for what, social work, medical something, what?” I’m 62 and I do need a job but who will hire me? Do I start over at the bottom somewhere and, again, who will hire me? I don’t think I did this to myself.

  40. 40.

    Marc

    September 8, 2014 at 8:14 pm

    @Kay: Yes, it is really depressing. I’m hoping for Carney at auditor.

  41. 41.

    Kay

    September 8, 2014 at 8:19 pm

    I hope Drew is right and the state-level Rightward march is “blunted”. If they could take back WI, MI, PA and FL (governor) I’d think it was an okay night, no matter what happens in the senate. OH is already over, the governor’s race, they may lose IL and CT doesn’t look so hot either.

  42. 42.

    Kay

    September 8, 2014 at 8:26 pm

    @Marc:

    I’m doing voter protection which is going great. They have Bob Bauer who is a national election lawyer. The training gets better every year. They are creating an army of ordinary Ohio lawyers in 88 counties who will know a hell of a lot about Ohio election law. They dive deeper every year, because there’s a cumulative effect to the training. I really think our election protection approach should be a national model for voting enthusiasts. Ohio Democrats did that right. I’d love to see them put in in somewhere that ISN’T a swing state; Alabama or something. Just take the fight to them, in a place that no one contests or pays attention to. I think it would really show a commitment to voting rights, outside of just preserving the 2% margin with Cleveland, or whatever. They should own voting rights, and they could own it with a fairly minimal investment, because the lawyer-labor is free.

  43. 43.

    Kay

    September 8, 2014 at 8:43 pm

    @PurpleGirl:

    Exactly. I think they have to address your situation because we’re getting some applicants like you and this job is entry-level. We have a paralegal and clerk and this is the clerk we’re hiring. I like doing hiring and I think I’m good at it, although that may just be because we have been lucky in the people we have hired. I don’t know. I do like doing it, though, and I know a lot of people hate it.

    But, the truth is, in my experience, if you’re overqualified you won’t be happy in the job, because you don’t belong in an entry-level job and I know it and you know it. It has to be a good fit both ways or it doesn’t work out for either.

  44. 44.

    mclaren

    September 8, 2014 at 8:51 pm

    This is “smart reporting”?

    Holy crap, this is retarded inside-the-beltway garbage about “optics.”

    News flash, kiddies: Obama’s problem ain’t optics. Obama’s problem is the fact that he fakes left and moves right.

    Obama ran far to the left but managed to offer only vacuous non-substantive promises (“Hope and change”). The few policies Obama actually did promise to enact he re-neged on: shutting down Gitmo and pulling U.S. troops out of Iraq.

    In most areas, Obama has turned out to be a more extreme right-wing social conservative and authoritarian than George W. Bush — Bush never openly ordered U.S. citizens assassinated without trial or charges. Bush never murdered thousands of innocent women and children in weddings parties with drones, then ordered the drones back hours later to murder the rescue workers trying to save survivors. Bush never signed off on a bill that lets the president kidnap U.S. citizens and hold them without charges and without access to a lawyer in secret prisons forever. Bush never funneled hundreds of billions of dollars to bankers who crashed the economy with gross financial fraud and then let them use that money to pay themselves bonuses. Bush never signed into law a gigantic giveaway to greedy corrupt private health care companies that forces every U.S. citizen to pay for unaffordable for-profit health insurance with premiums guaranteed to rise in cost limitlessly. Bush never prosecuted more whistleblowers than every other president put together, whistelblowers whose only “crime” was to reveal crimes like torture and military contractor theft and illegal unconstitutional surveillance of every U.S. citizen to the press.

    Obama’s problem is the policies Obama has enacted. Not “optics.” Not “perspective.” Not “spin.”

  45. 45.

    Marc

    September 8, 2014 at 8:56 pm

    You can tell when a loon has no perspective. It starts with claiming that someone who started a pointless war under false pretenses that killed hundreds of thousands is better than the guy who ended that war. And it goes downhill from there.

    But, of course, the true radicals hate liberals more than they hate reactionaries. Probably because, deep down, they have more in common with the reactionaries than they do with mere liberals.

  46. 46.

    Kay

    September 8, 2014 at 9:01 pm

    @mclaren:

    But Obama isn’t up for election. So is Obama losing the governor’s race in Illinois, or is that The Democrats? What about the senate race in Louisiana? Obama, again?

    I get that if he were at 60% he could pull weak Democrats along, but what of those weak Democrats? That problem will still be with us after he goes, right?

  47. 47.

    SFAW

    September 8, 2014 at 9:08 pm

    @Hal:

    I realize she was always a long shot, but damn.

    You must be new here.

    Two or so months ago, when one or two polls had her up by 5 or so points, some people were practically wetting themselves over the “fact” that Teh Turtle was going to be out. I believe the appropriate response, at that time, was “and Senator Gantt agrees with you.”

  48. 48.

    SFAW

    September 8, 2014 at 9:22 pm

    @Kay:

    but what of those weak Democrats?

    There will always be a reason why (some) Democrats won’t suck it up and vote for someone they don’t necessarily feel enthusiastic about. Ralph Nader, Obamacare, the Rethugs are being mean and I’m a-skeered, and so forth.

    As much as digby, Atrios, and a host of others joke about the “fainting couch” and “pearl clutching” by the Rethugs, the Dems have their own variation(s) of that, just in slightly different form.

    Yes, it sucks that the only argument (for some) in favor of (for example) Martha Coakley is that she’s not a Rethug. It also sucks that manufacturing may be permanently gone (for the most part) from the US, and that I’m not going to get less bald without expensive alternatives. Best you can do is try to deal with it, and make the best choice available.

    And read TBogg.

  49. 49.

    Kay

    September 8, 2014 at 9:51 pm

    @SFAW:

    There will always be a reason why (some) Democrats won’t suck it up and vote for someone they don’t necessarily feel enthusiastic about. Ralph Nader, Obamacare, the Rethugs are being mean and I’m a-skeered, and so forth.

    I don’t mean voters. I mean politicians. Why is Mary Landrieu perpetually endangered? For Christs sake, she’s a politically connected as a person can be in that state, she takes every Right wing position under the sun to peel off the 7 “swing” Democrats per precinct or parish or whatever, and it still takes 10 million dollars to drag her over the finish line. Why is the Governor of Illinois in such trouble in a state like Illinois? They’re going to lose the governor’s race in Connecticut? How do you lose that, exactly?

    I see how a politically popular President could help, but I’m not sure it should be a requirement to hang onto Illinois.

  50. 50.

    Hunter Gathers

    September 9, 2014 at 12:49 am

    @Kay:

    Why is the Governor of Illinois in such trouble in a state like Illinois?

    A – It’s a shit job to begin with. The previous 2 govs went to prison. The flat income tax has made a permanent mess of the state’s budget.

    B – Outside of the greater Chicagoland area, save for a few blue spots here and there, the rest of the state is pretty much North Alabama. The vast majority of the population south of Joliet is pure fucking white trash. As someone who resides in the eastern part of the state, calling them white trash might be going to easy on the willfully ignorant fucksticks who populate the rural parts of Illinois. Always complaining about how Chicago should be it’s own state (which is Illinoisan for ‘there are too many blacks living in Chicago’). And always, always, always bitching about taxes. Take the tax revenue generated from Cook County, remove it from the budget, and we’d turn into Arkansas overnight. Not that it matters. Practically everyone around here is convinced that their tax dollars are being spent by those shiftless blacks on The Welfare.

    C – The pension deal. There’s no sugar coating it – It ate a bag of salted dicks. It fucked most of the people who work for the state 12 ways to Sunday. And Quinn touts it all the time. It’s hard to get excited for the guy who fucked you over because the Asset Class refuses to pay taxes.

    Those three things notwithstanding, Quinn will still eek out a 2 point win. The polls showing Bruce ‘Yeah, I got money in the Cayman’s, and fuck you for asking’ Rauner ahead are polling the holy living shit out of the rural areas, and under polling the places where people actually live. And that’s the dirty secret of Illinois politics. There aren’t enough White votes downstate to overcome the sheer number of voters in and around Chicago. But the press ignores that fact, or else their precious horse race analogies might crumble into dust.

  51. 51.

    mclaren

    September 9, 2014 at 1:06 am

    @Marc:

    Nobody said Bush is better than Obama. Bush is a lot worse than Obama, if only because of his idiocy and general contempt for the rule of law (“the constitution is just a goddamn piece of paper” — George W. Bush) and his appointment of psychotic torture-loving sociopaths like Dick Cheney throughout his maladministration.

    That doesn’t change the fact that all of Obama’s national security moves have been deplorable, most of his domestic policy moves have been execrable, and the only points of decency and general goodness in Obama’s administration involve the ancillary tangential stuff like gay marriage (the 1% don’t give a shit, so Obama can come out for it) and coming out against grotesque racism like the murder of Tayvon (the 1% prefer their racism institutionalized and invisible, and Obama is happy to provide and support and extend that vicious institutionalized racism by helping perpetuate the failed and futile War on Drugs and by appointing an attorney general who just last year vocally called for more extreme criminal penalties for marijuana possession in order to “send a message to the Mexican cartels”).

    Wake up, shit-for-brains: criticizing Obama doesn’t mean praise for Bush. Obama’s policies are deplorable by and large, and Bush’s policies were outright evil. That doesn’t change the fact that constitutional scholars have come out across the board against Obama’s policies on drone murders, assassinating U.S. citizens, Orwellian panopticon surveillance of U.S. citizens, signing the NDAA, and all the rest.

  52. 52.

    mclaren

    September 9, 2014 at 1:22 am

    @Kay:

    But Obama isn’t up for election. So is Obama losing the governor’s race in Illinois, or is that The Democrats? What about the senate race in Louisiana? Obama, again?

    I think you’re exactly right, Kay. What’s going on here is the canary in the coal mine — it’s not just Obama, voters despise many of the Democratic party’s 1%-friendly policies.

    Such as?

    Continuing the pointless futile self-destructive War on Drugs. But it enriches the private prison profiteers and best of all, creates a slave workforce inside the prison that can compete with those dirt-poor Haitian children on cost. Haitian kids get 50 cents a day? We can beat that! American prisoners will work for 20 cents a day!

    Such as?

    Democrats’ love of endless unwinnable foreign wars — terrible for America, but wonderful for the trillionaires who own and run those defense industries.

    Such as?

    Democrats’ adoration of Orwellian panopticon surveillance. Horrible for democracy…but wonderful for the Koch Brothers and their ilk, who can use it to bully and intimidate union workers and classify strikers at their factories as “terrorists” and wield the full power of the DHS and its military weaponry against them…as the DHS and military LRAD sound cannons did against protesters at the G20 summit in Chicago.

    Such as?

    Democrats’ love of union-busting wage-thieving corporate criminals and Wall Street crime lords.

    Kay, what’s going on here is simple — the 1% have taken over both political parties in America. And the 1% are now doing a good cop/bad cop routine. They pump up the Republican candidates with such crazy batshit-insane policies (“it’s time to shut down the IRS” “I’d triple Guantamo” etc.) that voters rush in a panic to vote for Democrats — only to discover that Democrats, once elected, put in place slightly milder gentler forms of corporate plutocratic oligarchy.

    It’s a clever strategy by the 1%. Buy both parties, then manufacture consent from the electorate by scaring the voters into voting for Democrats who enact the corporate overlords’ agenda anyway.

    The trouble with this kind of strategy by the 1% is that if voters defect from both parties, trouble starts. When voters get sick of being used and abused and manipulated by the 1% to manufacture consent and start up a third party, along with a nationwide Ferguson protest that doesn’t stop, the 1%’s plans will start to come a-cropper.

    I get that if he were at 60% he could pull weak Democrats along, but what of those weak Democrats? That problem will still be with us after he goes, right?

    You betcha. Democratic politicians like Joe “authoritarian crypto-fascist” Biden and Hillary Rodham “never saw an endless unwinnable foreign war she didn’t like” Clinton are taking the Democratic party straight down the toilet.

    The Democrats need different candidates. Flush HRC and Biden, bring on Elizabeth Warren and Alan Grayson and Barney Frank and Russ Feingold.

    Yeah, yeah, I know: Grayson and Feingold are jewish so they can never be president in this racist religiously fanatical country, and Frank is gay, and Elizabeth Warren is a woman. I don’t give a shit. Things are so bad now I’d vote for a road-kill armadillo rather than a Republican, but I just don’t want to vote for another fucking Republican-lite Democrat like HIllary, and a lot of other people are saying the same thing.

    If the godamn Democratic party doesn’t start to listen, there’s going to be trouble. As in: MRAPs burning in the streets.

    The widening gap between America’s wealthiest and its middle and lower classes is “unsustainable”, but is unlikely to improve any time soon, according to a Harvard Business School study released on Monday.

    The study, titled “An Economy Doing Half its Job”, said American companies – particularly big ones – were showing some signs of recovering their competitive edge on the world stage since the financial crisis, but that workers would likely keep struggling to demand better pay and benefits.

    “We argue that such a divergence is unsustainable,” according to the report, which was based on a survey of 1,947 of Harvard Business School alumni around the globe, and which highlighted problems with the U.S. education system, transport infrastructure, and the effectiveness of the political system.

    Source: “America’s wealth gap ‘unsustainable,’ may worsen: Harvard study,” Reuters News Service, 8 September 2014.

    If the HIllarys and Joe Bidens don’t wake up sometime soon, they may find themselves barricaded inside a besieged White House while starving mobs tear the place down. Nicolae Ceaușescu had a lot scarier goddamn secret police with a lot more weaponry than America has, and look what happened to him.

  53. 53.

    F

    September 9, 2014 at 4:25 am

    @Kay Connecticut voters don’t seem to like a Democrat in the governor’s mansion, even if they like them in everything else. In all liklihood, there will still be a veto- proof majority in the state house anyway.

  54. 54.

    SFAW

    September 9, 2014 at 8:14 am

    @Kay:

    I don’t mean voters. I mean politicians.

    Sorry, should have engaged brain before responding.

    That said: I think part of the problem may be the long game played by the Rethugs from Nixon forward. For 40 years, we’ve been listening to a multi-pronged attack on areas and issues that used to define the Democratic Party, or at least were antithetical to the Rethugs. A functioning Press, a strong public education system, the idea that you help out those who need it when you don’t (need it), the (theoretically) common goals that the 73 percent share – the Rethugs have been going after that hammer-and-tongs since before Reagan, although his Presidency brought it out into the open the most, I think.

    Convincing the electorate that all that stuff is BAAAD, and getting the Press (and plenty of others) to equate “Liberal” with “evilest motherfuckers since Hitler and Stalin combined, and maybe John Wayne Gacy, too” added to the idea that being a Democrat, and espousing Democratic (former) values, was un-American, supported communism/terrorism/pedophilia/Satan-worship, and was destroying America, was perhaps the greatest coup of the right wingers.

    And, of course, the Dems responded by saying, to paraphrase Bruno Gianelli “Please don’t hit me,” instead of responding like Steve Gilliard.

    Which led to the (I think) mistaken belief that the US is a center-right country, at least in terms of the electorate. Of course, they’re “center-right” when they self-select, because FSM forbid they call themselves “left.” But, if you look at the policy-related polls, and take out the trigger words – liberal, Obamacare, darkies, browns, illegal aliens, for example – the country seems to prefer left-side policies over right-side.

    But the Dem politicians, conditioned by years of verbal beating by the Rethugs and their shills in the “Press” (and fuck Roger Ailes [NOT the good one, of course] and Rupert Murdoch with the same rusty pitchfork, by the way), still run a-skeered, and are unwilling to stand up and say “BULLSHIT! The Rethugs have been, and are still, lying to you! Their ‘plans’ will only make things worse, AND HERE’S WHY!”

    I wish I had a solution that took less time than I have on this earth. Getting things back to where they should be will take a seriously-concerted effort, and I don’t think the Dems have the cojones to do that.

    Anyway, that’s part of the reason Mary Landrieu and others are in trouble. Part of it is their own doing, i.e., being unwilling to get in the faces of the Rethugs, but part of it is the dumbed-down electorate.

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