Date

Johnny, we hardly knew ye

barbara — Sun, 10 Aug 2008 09:16:23 -0500

barbara writes

Dear John Edwards:

Well, you finally made big headlines. Remember when you were running for President of the United States how the media paid scant attention to you? Those were the days, eh?

You know, John, many of us were true believers in you. We figured you were the Democrats’ best hope. We defended you when the Pugs cursed and reviled you. We railed against anyone who tried to bring you down. We even sent you money. Well, I did, anyway. And we believed you when you were flat-out lying to us about your complete devotion to family, to Elizabeth.

Turns out you must have the same moral fiber as Newt Gingrich, Bill Clinton, Elliot Spitzer, Gary Hart, Wilbur Mills and possibly John McCain. So you have lots of political company in the Shameless Philanderer Hall of Fame. Read on.

Pawlenty redux: He's baaaaack!

barbara — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 08:27:00 -0500

barbara writes

(Watching the VP Follies reminded me of the first piece I wrote for the Clotheslineblog. May 1, 2006. Simpler times, kinda sorta. Anyway, this post redux is a reminder that the McBush/Pawlenty dance is not a new thing. It has been going on for a very long time. Pawlenty spends most of his time out of the state now. And his schedule has not been available to the press -- and therefore to the people who elected him -- for a very long time as well.

The man who promised he would complete his gubernatorial term is full of feces. And his departure will leave us Carol Molnau -- the woman who used to be both lieutenant governor AND chieftain of state transportation, under whose watchful eye the I35 bridge tanked in the Mississippi. We got trouble right here in river city, folks.)

May 1, 2006

Oh, frabjous day! The first week of May. Time to commemorate spring, revolution and the pairing up of political odd fellows. Yes, once again, Karl Rove reigns supreme in the match-making biz. And this year, that crafty Beltway Yentl has his eye on our very own Minnesota governor, Tim Pawlenty.

Tim is slick, sleek and young as politicians go. He is the conservative's conservative. He's an earnest-sounding, articulate D.C. outsider -- unless you count co-chairing Bush's Minnesota Campaign and having Rove raise funds for him insiderish. Read on.

read more

Monday morning random sampling

barbara — Mon, 25 Aug 2008 08:47:33 -0500

barbara writes

Everybody mourning the end of the Olympics? Courage. Cue the Democratic convention!

Yes, it is begun, or will be later today. Democrats in vast numbers, along with planeloads of Republican moles and pseudo-journalists, have ascended into Denver. Not exactly the Rapture. They’ve still got clothes. But some very cool stuff is going to happen there.

Just read that Ted Kennedy is in Denver and is expected to speak to the convention tonight. It will be a good thing for Democrats to have this visual of political spine. It’s a big health risk for TK. David and I have learned firsthand that when chemo whacks the immune system (which it always does), a cancer warrior is at significant risk of picking up…well, pretty much anything. Even grandchildren are potentially “dangerous.”

Back to the convention. These are the days when Obama and Clinton supporters will finally face each other down and either move to détente or perpetual estrangement. Read more.

Hillary Clinton: Booyah!

barbara — Tue, 26 Aug 2008 23:09:42 -0500

barbara writes

Hillary Clinton’s Tuesday night speech at the Democratic convention will be sliced and diced, micro’d and macro’d, critiqued in extremis. It is the way of things. So I thought I’d write a few lines before we’re all influenced by the punditocracy.

I was nervous about her speech. Found myself holding my breath for a while, wondering what she might say. Turns out she was terrific, start to finish.

David Brooks, of all people, scooped my scoop. I was blown away by the question Hillary put to her supporters. In essence, what she asked was whether they were supporting her or Democratic principles. A poignant and pointed query, since some have not yet begun to heal from Barack Obama’s emergence as the presumptive Democratic candidate. Read on.

Barack Obama: America's best hope

barbara — Fri, 29 Aug 2008 06:52:04 -0500

barbara writes

Off to chemo this morning, so this will be short and to the point.

Barack Obama’s speech at the Dem convention last night was absolutely wonderful. Obama himself was strong, passionate, poised and clearly, clearly ready to lead. Matter of fact, he’s leading already. He took on Bush, McBush, and the Republican reign. You saw it. You don’t need me to feed it back to you. If you didn’t see it, find and do so. See it. Don’t just read it.

And to David Brooks, who basically declared Obama’s speech mediocre at best, you and your kind are totally, completely out of touch and utterly delusional about your relatively rosy revisionist view of the BushCo disaster (start to finish) and the colorless old man who hopes to pick up the BushCo mantle and walk into the future, ever and always looking backwards.

Noun. Verb. POW. Blah, blah, blah.

Hope, vision, articulate outline of how to begin untangling Bush’s disastrous web of failures.

You decide.

SARAH PALIN?? Are you s***ing me?

susan — Fri, 29 Aug 2008 13:48:08 -0500

Um, hello, Susan here, remember me? I've been AWOL, MIA, goners, and then some. Can't explain it, but had to do with an implosion of political thoughts that collapsed in on themselves leaving me fallen and silent like a cold souffle. But that's for another time.
Sarah Palin has brought me back. Someone wrote to me that Americans will just love her, but I think McCain totally blew it, once and for all, with this one. Yeah, some Fox-watching fearful goofs will love her, but with his advanced age, and her lack of experience, can anyone take this choice seriously? Can anyone on Wall Street take it seriously? Can anyone in the state department or the Pentagon take it seriously? Can anyone who's tried to raise kids and hold a full time job (a woman that is) take it seriously? Read on.

Wasilla, Alaska

susan — Sun, 31 Aug 2008 00:36:15 -0500

This is Wasilla, where the would-be future president of the US of A jumped into politics just a few years ago. I'm not saying it's not a good place, just saying it's kind of -- gloomy.

It's RNC convention countdown folks, and the more we learn of Sarah Palin, McCain's reckless choice of a running mate, the more we know he's pandering to the sisterhood of the pant suit. Yep, she shoots down wolves and reproductive rights with equal fervor, thinks creationism should be taught in public schools, says humans aren't responsible for climate change, and opposes same sex marriage.

Does he really think Hillary's supporters only cared about the XX's of her chromosomes and not the whys of her policies? This is like substituting Phyllis Schafly for Gloria Steinem. Hey, what's the problem? More.