Say so long to Sarah, please

Peggy Noonan, noted conservative, a speech writer for Ronald Reagan, pleads with Republicans in a recent Wall Street Journal editorial to let Sarah Palin's resignation allow a "Farewell to Harms."

In television interviews she was out of her depth in a shallow pool. She was limited in her ability to explain and defend her positions, and sometimes in knowing them. She couldn't say what she read because she didn't read anything. She was utterly unconcerned by all this and seemed in fact rather proud of it: It was evidence of her authenticity.

Noonan challenges arguments for Sarah Palin. Sarah Palin's lack of knowledge and the inability to articulate well what she does know, are seen as easily remedied. Fans claim she is a great symbol of a working class gal. Citing that she is the daughter of a middle class school teacher, Noonan seeks to dispel this saying, "What she is, is a seemingly very nice middle-class girl with ambition, appetite and no sense of personal limits." In response to the idea that she can spend the next few years pondering and studying up to meet the needs of the presidency, Noonan asserts, " But she is a ponder-free zone. "

Noonan outlines the world we live in,

Here are a few examples of what we may face in the next 10 years: a profound and prolonged American crash, with the admission of bankruptcy and the spread of deep social unrest; one or more American cities getting hit with weapons of mass destruction from an unknown source; faint glimmers of actual secessionist movements as Americans for various reasons and in various areas decide the burdens and assumptions of the federal government are no longer attractive or legitimate.

She says, "This is a time for conservative leaders who know how to think."

To my conservative friends who just get such a kick out of Sarah Palin, look for a new voice--find a new leader--but please do not visit her upon us as a serious contender for leader for the free world.

No one's laughing at God

Mike Cope and subsequently Josh Thames brought this video featuring Regina Spektor and her video "Laughing With" to my attention. Lately when I think of my own weaknesses woven with the outrageous public displays of Mark Sanford and others so quick to identify themselves with Christ, I can understand why some find ways to mock God and his followers.

All the while, the God of grace, mercy, and faithfulness speaks to us with such love and conveys his fierce desire for justice, mercy, and humility from us. Reading around the web shows that our follies put a stumbling block before those he so earnestly wants to bless.

May we confess our sins wisely to those who share our confession of Christ--and to whom we are willing to be held in account.

May we walk humbly with God, so others can see his steadfast kindness towards us in Christ Jesus. May we be known for doing justice and loving mercy.

Thank God for his faithfulness--even when we are unfaithful and for his presence in those most challenging moments of life.

Barack and the Bend Towards Justice

When our days become dreary with low hovering clouds of despair, and when our nights become darker than a thousand midnights, let us remember that there is a creative force in this universe, working to pull down the gigantic mountains of evil, a power that is able to make a way out of no way and transform dark yesterdays into bright tomorrows. Let us realize the arc of the moral universe is long but it bends toward justice.

"Let us realize that William Cullen Bryant is right: "Truth crushed to earth will rise again." Let us go out realizing that the Bible is right: "Be not deceived, God is not mocked. Whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap." This is our hope for the future, and with this faith we will be able to sing in some not too distant tomorrow with a cosmic past tense, "We have overcome, we have overcome, deep in my heart, I did believe we would overcome.

The remarks above from a speech by Martin Luther King, Jr. given at the Tenth Anniversary Convention of the S.C.L.C. in Atlanta on August 16, 1967. Picture by Susan Walsh of the Associated Press from today's The Clarion-Ledger.

My take:

In 1619 the first blacks came to Virginia. Though they were not slaves, black slavery took root in the Piedmont and the gross injustice of the system has reverberated through our society ever since. The inauguration of Barack Obama creates a moment of redemption, a bending toward justice.

The tears that come unprompted every few minutes as I listen to the music and see the pageantry and activity surrounding the inauguration come not from naiveté, but rather from history. Growing up Native American and female gave me a perspective on history that limited the exaltation of all things in America as just and right in the present or the past. Coming of age seeing the smoky haze of the Detroit sky during the 1967 riots, absorbing the news of Martin Luther King’s assassination in spring 1968, followed by Bobby Kennedy’s violent death, clouded my vision of the future.

Two strains of thought vivified my hope. First, the ideals of our founding documents—the equality of all created ones, the purpose to create a more perfect union and to establish justice, and the myriad of ways, in spite of failures, these had been fulfilled.

Next, the prophetic voice of scripture. After all the sadness and cultural upheaval of the 60s, a study of the prophets of the Old Testament created in me a belief that there is a spiritual kingdom—a ruling of God in the hearts of men and women that demands just treatment and moves toward peace. Subjects of that spiritual kingdom must work to do justice on this earth as long as they live. They should be peacemakers of the most dangerous sort.

Barack Obama speaks with a prophetic voice. His life of the mind, his spiritual journey, and his character have drawn many to follow him.

A week or so ago, I saw on PBS a biography of Franklin Roosevelt. The tumult of his presidency, the failures and false starts, the horror of what transpired in the world at the time, made me think of how hard the Obama presidency will be. Yet, greatness prevailed in spite of all the setbacks.

The inauguration of Barack Obama marks a historic point in the arc of the moral universe.

May God bless Barack Obama with wisdom and strength to govern justly, to be a peacemaker in these tumultuous times.

May God grant that we, the people of the United States, carry out the great ideals and purpose of this country.

May God grant that we, the subjects of the kingdom of God, transcend all national identity and follow the arc of moral universe set by Him by doing justice, loving kindness, and walking humbly with our God.

A Vote for Change; A Vote to End the Religous Right's Reign of Sadness

Election Day 2008. In three hours, I am going to officially get up and go vote.
I plan to be there at 6:30 a.m. to vote for change.

I hope before I go to bed tonight to know that Barack Obama won the Presidency by large margins---popular and electoral votes.

For my undecided friends, who might only read a line or two, I’ll say two endorsements should lower the fear factor that has been so intensely pushed by the McCain campaign: Warren Buffet and Colin Powell. For the ones of you buying into the “Barack Obama is a socialist” argument—consider that fact that America’s number one investor, one who’s latest biography is named Buffet: The Making of an American Capitalist, is endorsing and advising Obama. For those who fear Barack Obama will be weak on national defense, consider the endorsement of the general in America who has proved he can win wars—Colin Powell.

In 2004 when Barack Obama made his speech to the Democratic Convention, I knew right then that I wanted this to be the voice of America. "We are not just a red America or a blue America---we are the United States of America." After 8 years of leadership that says all we need is 51%, I am hoping that we have a president who will be president of all the people.

Back in the late seventies and early eighties, when I first became of aware of the emerging religious right, I was saddened.

I thought when people who loved Jesus got interested in politics, it would mark a day when there would be concern for the poor—not mocking of the poor. I thought it would mark a day when there was increased enthusiasm for racial inclusion and for leveling the playing field—especially for African-Americans—not resentment towards affirmative action. I thought when Christians got into civic affairs, they would be advocating for a living wage for all workers—not for fighting against the minimum wage and for limiting unions. I thought when Christians gained influence in politics; it would be a day when immigrants would feel the welcoming hand of a rich country ready to share its bounty—not exploitation and backlash. When I thought of committed spiritual folk in public life, I just knew there would be a passion for making sure everyone could have access to high quality healthcare—not of government cutting programs for child healthcare. I thought Christians in government would look for active ways to be good stewards of the earth. I thought Christians in government would be peacemakers.

Sadly, what I thought was not what the emergent Religious Right thought.

The Bush administration has been the culmination of the Religious Right's reign of sadness.

The words of Barack Obama in 2004 reflected the values I have wanted in governmental leadership. There is a role for government in unifying the country, in establishing justice, and working for the general welfare of the people.

Most ethical and social issues cannot be resolved by government, but we can choose a government informed by spiritual and ethical values. Some of the values I have believed Christians can espouse--welcoming the stranger and alien, caring for the sick and the poor, giving the worker his due, punishing evil doers, and peacemaking--are those Barack Obama embraces.

Of the many ethical issues at stake, not all are answered equally well by public policy. There are not simple solutions to all issues and there are only two major parties. Some very important issues, including abortion, stand as difficulties for many people. They are a matter of conscience. That being said, there are many issues at stake and neither of two parties can answer them all.

On the majority of issues amenable to policy, I go for the Obama and Democratic party side.

Barack Obama is the leader we need to inspire the hard work of democracy.
Barack Obama is the leader we need to inspire the hard and dangerous work of peacemaking.

Barack Obama is the leader we need to do justice.
I am going to vote for change.

"Pants on Fire Wrong"

A PolitiFact.com's "Truth-O-Meter" characterizes the idea that Senator Obama ran a radical educational foundation, as not simply false, but malicious. Given the way this subject has raised fear among people, I wish some folks would read the whole piece.

At a time like this, with so much at stake, a run on theTruth-O-Meter seems urgent.

"In short, this was a mainstream foundation funded by a mainstream, Republican business leader and led by an overwhelmingly mainstream, civic-minded group of individuals. Ayers' involvement in its inception and on an advisory committee do not make it radical – nor does the funding of programs involving the United Nations and African-American studies.

This attack is false, but it's more than that – it's malicious. It unfairly tars not just Obama, but all the other prominent, well-respected Chicagoans who also volunteered their time to the foundation. They came from all walks of life and all political backgrounds, and there's ample evidence their mission was nothing more than improving ailing public schools in Chicago. Yet in the heat of a political campaign they have been accused of financing radicalism. That's Pants on Fire wrong."

Ferocity, Fraud,and Fear

John McCain,

You delude yourself when you act shocked at the offense taken by John Lewis at the tactics being used by you and your campaign.

Why is that man at your rally afraid for Barack Obama to be president?

Why are my former student and my colleague at school afraid of a potential Obama presidency?

You said it yourself--he is not a man to fear.

You are not debating policy--you are conducting a campaign of fear.

Sarah Palin says Barack Obama pals around with terrorists. You know that isn’t true.

Your approve an ad asserting Barack Obama would give comprehensive sex education to five year-olds. You know that isn’t true.

You let your wife communicate her blood-chilling reaction to Barack Obama's vote on a war funding bill for the troops because there was no timeline for withdrawal, but she excuses your vote against a funding bill because it did include a timeline. You know that is a false rage.

You say we don’t know Barack Obama? You presume we know Sarah Palin in a few weeks, yet we don’t know this man who has revealed his thinking and his life in two books and over two years of interviews and press conferences?

You create a campaign of character assassination--not a policy debate--and then tell your raging crowd that you want a respectful campaign. Ferocious, but respectful?

You feign respect while you fan contempt.

The Fear Factor

One of my former students commented:

I think that McCain and Obama are both scary candidates for different reasons, McCain is less scary to me;therefore I have to vote for John McCain.

Gentle student, what do you fear?

An economic meltdown?
An attack on our country?
A wreckless move into an unnecessary war?
An administration that would ignore habeas corpus?

Oh.

________________________________________________

Who do you want whispering in the President's ear?

Documentarian, Ken Burns, expresses his views of the McCain campaign:

"Even the most ardent true-believers among us must be privately shaking in their boots contemplating a heart-beat-away Palin presidency during these difficult times. When Putin acts up, who do you want whispering in your President's ear: Joe Biden or Sarah Palin?

McCain is a man who once championed openness and fairness in government, who now wants to continue the failed policies of the current administration and who increasingly wants to make the crucial decisions of our democracy behind closed doors with the same cronies who got us into this mess in the first place. And he has shown a profound indifference to and often startling ignorance of economic affairs just as our country inches toward depression.
That threatens to make him the next Herbert Hoover if he should win."

Abortion, Obama, Our conscience

Obama's stance on abortion poses a persistent problem for many of my friends.

Abortion rights stand as a significant issue for many people of faith and conscience--so much so that many feel the Democratic Party platform prohibits them from voting for any candidate of that party. I maintain that there are multiple moral issues at stake in this and other presidential races--issues of justice, of life and death--so that one issue alone does not determine my vote. Further, in a legal and political sense, pro-choice does not mean pro-abortion. To me it means--in a world of some very ugly realities--we should not criminalize this procedure.

In this regard, more than one prominent Catholic anti-abortion scholar has come out for Obama. The Boston Globe's Articles of Faith column, " Another Anti-Abortion Scholar Endorses Obama." brings to light the stance of Nicholas P. Cafardi:

"Obama's support for abortion rights has led some to the conclusion that no Catholic can vote for him. That's a mistake. While I have never swayed in my conviction that abortion is an unspeakable evil…A vote for Sen. John McCain does not guarantee the end of abortion in America. Not even close....Every faithful Catholic agrees that abortion is an unspeakable evil that must be minimized, if not eliminated. I can help to achieve that without endorsing Republicans' immoral baggage. Overturning Roe v. Wade is not the only way to end abortion, and a vote for Obama is not somehow un-Catholic."

He could have said, “a vote for Obama is not un-Christian.”

The article mentions the position of Pepperdine Professor of Constitutional Law, Douglas W. Kmiec which might be of interest on this topic as well.

Today, Krista Tippet's discussion with Amy Sullivan about "Faith: The life of the Party" discussed the left and it's stance this and other issues.

The McCain campaign is going negative as a strategy. I have no doubt that they will be using this issue in a manner that smears Obama by slogan and by distortion. His position alone, without the distortion, is arguable. Taking pro-choice view has its moral challenges, I agree.

But war, torture, immigration, healthcare, poverty, equal justice, taxation, and stewardship of the the economy and the earth present persistent moral problems for the party and the candidacy of John McCain.

Biden argues; Palin speaks and winks

9:00 p.m. Time for the VP Debate to begin.
Okay, I am really nervous. Will she be as full of nonsense as she was with Katie Couric? I know she won't because she's been at debate camp and she's good on stage. I would love to be at Washington University in St. Louis tonight. I think I'll just enter the debater’s remarks as they stand out to me. See my reactions in italics...

Palin: Can I call you Joe?

Palin: Let's go to a kid's soccer game and ask the parents how they feel. Fear is what we will hear.

Palin: John McCain has been for reform. Oh yeah, I remember--he was for reform when he wanted to avenge his 2000 loss to W in South Carolina. I think this man may have some issues with revenge, but I'm not too sure about country first reform. Maybe country club first reform?

Ifill: How would you shrink the partisan divide?
Biden: Follow Mike Mansfield's advice: Don't judge motives. The temperament of Joe Biden as a senator--in actual governance--conveys a good bit about what Obama stands for. Compare this man's stature in foreign policy, in temperament, in bi-partisanship with McCain's choice in Governor Palin.

Ifill: Who was at fault in the subprime meltdown?
Palin: Darn right--it's the greedy lenders.
I hear a cheer: Joe Six Pack; Hockey Moms across the Nation UNITE! UNITE for OVERSIGHT!

Palin: Obama voted 94 times for tax increases
Barack Obama raised taxes on people making $42,000.00
Aren't these distortions? Governor Palin is relying on the ignorance of average Americans about how votes are taken on resolutions in the legislative process. Yes, distortions are us.


Biden: Fairness--- no one making less than $250,000 will get a tax increase

Palin: Patriotic is saying no to government?
I think some conservative Republicans have adopted "government that governs best governs NOT. Review: Katrina; subprime mortgage meltdown ghenna; the Gonzales Justice Department; and the invasion and occupation of Iraq

Palin: on McCain's healthcare plan...I think I heard her say I'd don't think I want to talk about necessarily what the moderator wants to talk about. I don't think I hear the moderator with any pushback on that. Hmmmm.

Yes, tax credits--what every middle class person needs to pay for healthcare. The people who think tax breaks help average income folks come up with the cash to pay for healthcare are not people who have average incomes. McCain’s plan means you are on your own. McCain’s plan means you can choose not to buy any plan, because you are not going to be able to afford it. Having $5,000 available to pay healthcare plans that cost a minimum of $12,000 doesn’t sound too encouraging to healthy people. God forbid that you have any health problems.

Joe Biden's best line so far---McCain's healthcare plan is a bridge to nowhere.


After the debate update: I judged high school policy cross-examination debates for years--often judging novice rounds and junior varsity rounds. This reminded me of having a varsity debater in a round with a junior varsity debater. The varsity debater has to throw out all of their usual high powered argumentation to be fair in the debate. The judge sometimes suspends some of the pickiness, so as to let there be an educational experience for all. The junior varsity debater-Sarah Palin, in my view might win the speaker points--for eye contact-with a minor subtraction for winking.

Joe Biden, on my flow sheet, won the argumentation in the line by line.

Posted by Beverly Choate Dowdy at Thursday, October 02, 2008 0

Observing Oxford

In response to this:

Bev said...
I think your next blog should address the no-debate logic. It's crazy out there.

I say this: Not everyone has a BFF with the same first name! But I do. And I will say this Bev Blair--the no debate brouhaha was drama to distract. About the time his campaign manager's enormous retainer from Freddie Mac hit the fan, it was time to fake a "suspension of the campaign."

A sidebar-every once in awhile I think, maybe Barack should have asked Hillary to be his running mate. I think Bill Clinton's comments this week demonstrate why Barack could not ask her and risk the baggage of Bill lurking around the campaign.

How about the WSJ's online version running an ad claiming victory for McCain before he declared that he would debate after all?


9:17 p.m. Friday, September 26, 2008

McCain and Obama are facing off in the debate in Oxford. The moderator asks the two men to look at each other and talk. They are not looking . I don't think they like each other much.

Jim Leherer is trying again to get them to look at each other, but they won't. Maybe it's because debaters are trained to look at the judges and these folks have been practicing for a long time to NOT look at each other.


10:30 p.m.
I don't think I managed the live blogger thing very well. Maybe I could have twittered.

What I know for sure is: McCain didn't manage to ever look at Obama.

What's up with that?

What does that say about McCain?

Palin makes George W. Bush sound like Cicero

Conservative blogger Rod Dreher's observation on Sarah Palin's interview with Katie Couric says it well. "Palin makes George W. Bush sound like Cicero."

She needs to withdraw.

George Will Asserts Temperment Trumps Years in Office

George Will continues his analysis of John McCain's response to the economic crisis in terms of leadership, in particular, temperment. Will is no liberal. Will is not overwhelmed with Obama's resume, but he sees a contrast in temperment as a measure to consider. In today's Washington Post Will asserts, "McCain Loses His Head."

"Conservatives who insist that electing McCain is crucial usually start, and increasingly end, by saying he would make excellent judicial selections. But the more one sees of his impulsive, intensely personal reactions to people and events, the less confidence one has that he would select judges by calm reflection and clear principles, having neither patience nor aptitude for either.

It is arguable that, because of his inexperience, Obama is not ready for the presidency. It is arguable that McCain, because of his boiling moralism and bottomless reservoir of certitudes, is not suited to the presidency. Unreadiness can be corrected, although perhaps at great cost, by experience. Can a dismaying temperament be fixed?"

Temperment, talking points, and trouble-McCain's very bad week

During Barack Obama’s convention speech he said, "If John McCain wants to have a debate about who has the temperament, and judgment, to serve as the next Commander-in-Chief, that's a debate I'm ready to have.”

A look and listen to John McCain this week gives us all insight into his temperament and judgment.

Check out these observations of highly regarded conservative observer, George Will, ABC’s “This Week with George Stephanopolis,”

"I suppose the McCain campaign's hope is that when there's a big crisis, people will go for age and experience," said Will. "The question is, who in this crisis looked more presidential, calm and un-flustered? It wasn't John McCain who, as usual, substituting vehemence for coherence, said 'let's fire somebody.' And picked one of the most experienced and conservative people in the administration, Chris Cox, and for no apparent reason... It was un-presidential behavior by a presidential candidate."

"John McCain showed his personality this week," said the writer and pundit, "and made some of us fearful."

John McPain's Healthcare Solutions

Recently John Goodman, the person purported to be most influential in McCain's healthcare plan suggested that the category of "uninsured" be removed from the census because after all, these folks use the emergency room.

Paul Krugman's column today brings to light an article published for the American Academy of Actuaries by John McCain. Here's the paragraph Krugman highlights:

Opening up the health insurance market to more vigorous nationwide competition, as we have done over the last decade in banking, would provide more choices of innovative products less burdened by the worst excesses of state-based regulation.

It is a dreadful thing what McCain would like to with healthcare because he wants to take away one of the few things that works for middle class people, the tax advantage of paying for healthcare premiums.

It’s not correct to say that healthcare would be provided by the government. Do you know any federal employees? Why not have the structure they have for healthcare? They don’t go to government clinics, believe me.

When the last attempt at a major healthcare reform went down, the critics railed against losing their choices in healthcare to the government. I don’t know about you, but my healthcare choices have limited a great deal since the 1990s by the insurance companies. The Obama plan does not have the government provide healthcare. It makes goverment a visible hand in providing a basic human need--where the invisible hand sometimes fails to deliver.

If there is regulation, at least it should be done by entities designed to work in the public interest.

How about electing an honest, accountable government that understands the concept of public interest?

The government that governs well may be much better than the governement the governs least.