Yes, He Meant What He Said

 Posted by Mike  2008 Election, The Media  1 Response »
Nov 262008
 

Sometimes the media gets so used to reading between the lines, that they forget to look at the meaning of the text. A case in point is the role that Vice President Biden will play in the upcoming Obama Administration.

I’ve heard frequent speculation on the role that Biden will play. The New York Times published an article today wondering why Obama has yet to issue a “portfolio” of issues for which Biden will be the point man–a common way of giving the Vice President a definite set of duties. Chris Matthews has been wondering for the last two weeks how Biden can possibly play a strong role in foreign policy, where Matthews assumed that Biden would be put to work, with Hillary Clinton as Vice President. The media is even starting to wonder if Biden will be marginalized in an Obama Administration, with Obama in the process of naming a slate of strong, experienced cabinet appointments.
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Fiscal Policy: Back to the Basics

 Posted by Mike  Debt and Deficit, Fiscal Issues  No Responses »
Nov 252008
 

I’ve previously written about the three basic different theories of fiscal policy: Keynesian, neo-classical (or fiscal conservative), and supply side. As the country debates the massive fiscal stimulus package that President-Elect Obama out-lined yesterday, it’s worth remembering the distinctions between these three theories, and what they each proscribe to get out of our current situation.
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The Choices of Senator Clinton

 Posted by Mike  2008 Election  3 Responses »
Nov 192008
 

I have to say that I was a little bit surprised by Hillary Clinton’s name coming up for Secretary of State. In particular, she’s never shown a particular interest in diplomacy or foreign policy. Her work in the Senate has mostly focused on health care, “women’s issues”, and homeland security and emergency preparedness, and for the most part her presidential campaign hit those same basic themes. Which is not to say that she wouldn’t do a good job as Secretary of State. She and Obama largely seemed to agree on the details of foreign policy; she reportedly handled the foreign travel and diplomatic aspects of being First Lady very well; she’s extremely smart, capable, and forceful, and has developed a reputation in the Senate of being able to work cordially with people with whom she disagrees. In other words, she’s exactly the kind of person who you want as Secretary of State. But does she want the job?
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Same Cast, Different Results?

 Posted by Mike  2008 Election  3 Responses »
Nov 192008
 

The latest fad criticism of Obama is that he is somehow reneging on his promise of change by hiring ex-Clinton officials. The two most high profile people that Obama has picked thus far, his Chief of Staff and Attorney General, both worked in the Clinton White House, and he is even reportedly considering the former First Lady herself for Secretary of State. That’s not Change, that’s more of the same! But let’s think about what this charge really means–and what Obama really means by “change”.
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Musical Chairs

 Posted by Mike  Gender Roles, U.S. Politics  1 Response »
Nov 142008
 

Life is about to get really interesting in the Senate. Right now, the chairs of three of the most powerful committees in the Senate are either stepping down, or about to. Joe Biden (Foreign Relations) is becoming Vice President, Robert Byrd (Appropriations) is stepping down from his committee chair for health reasons, and Ted Kennedy (Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions) will likely be gone within the next two years due to a malignant brain tumor. Other senior members of the Democratic caucus include Lieberman (who will likely lose his committee chairmanship soon for supporting McCain) and Kerry (who is supposedly on Obama’s short list for Secretary of State). We could see a change to the chairmanships of half of the Senate committees (not including Select, Joint, and Special Committees). So where will things stand, when all is said and done?
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