Ok, you’re a Republican Senator from Oklahoma.  You know Sonia Sotomayer is going to get confirmed for the Supreme Court, but you’ve got some questions to ask first.

What’s the best approach to get the answers you need?? 

Why, of course, it’s ethnic humor!  Nothing like dropping in a Ricky Riccardo  reference while you’re grilling the likely first Hispanic Justice.

Personally, I don’t think this is the hugest deal in the world.  I’ve actually used the phrase Senator Coburn used “you’ve got some ’splaining to do” myself to try to get a laugh.  I think it even worked, once.

Just never during Supreme Court Nomination hearings.

General Motors exited bankruptcy on Friday in just about 40 days.  That’s about two days less than it took the much small Chrysler to get out of bankruptcy.  Leaving aside whether government intervention was the right answer or not, getting both companies out of chapter 11 so quickly is amazing.

What certain Republicans would have you believe is not necessarily true.  Government can work and it can move quickly.  Granted, it doesn’t happen every time out, but GM proves that the system can work well.

Let’s keep that in mind as the health care debate continues.

Let’s put it out there.  I think a lot of what the GOP has done since the election of our new president is wrongheaded.  They have seemed tone deaf and in denial about the desire for change the election signaled.  I get that they were shut out of drafting the stimulus legislation in the House, but giving only 3 GOP votes on the stimulus bill strikes me as self-defeating.  When our economic nightmare is over, people will remember who was helping and who was playing politics. 

For the GOP there will be a price to pay at the polls.

So it struck me as quite a shock to find out the GOP is still foxy after all.

This morning I read how the Republicans had stopped a $400 billion spending bill pregnant with 8,000 earmarks in its tracks.  I had recently written that Obama was making a mistake not challenging all the earmarks in this bill and that the representatives involved should be ashamed.  How, at this time of crisis, do we let business as usual play out to the tunes of several billion dollars of unnecessary spending I asked. 

I guess the GOP was asking for the same question.  At this point, they’ve stalled the legislation.  Good for them and maybe us.   Stopping earmarks now has to be a winning political issue and if we can chisel out a few billion of waste from the $400 billion in spending than perhaps we can put it to better use or at least into my bank account (that last part is a joke for those of you from the IRS…)

Anyway, the president is pretty foxy too or slick as I also recently wrote.  He’s a bright guy.  I wouldn’t be surprised to see him turn around on this bill and join the Republicans fighting against that bill.

That’d be bipartisan after all….

On the heels of the ELECTED head of the Republican Party apologizing for nothing to blowhard Rush Limbaugh comes more bad news for the GOP.  A Wall Street Journal poll reports that the president that Limbaugh hopes fails currently has his highest approval ratings ever.

After six weeks on the job, according to this poll, Americans overwhelmingly approve of the job the Obama Administration is doing.  Americans, the poll finds, are blaming Republicans for the lack of bipartisanship in our nation’s capitol.

Boy oh boy, that’s bad news for the GOP.  Looks like the GOP’s “principled stand” against Obama’s stimulus package is being read by Americans for what it truly is… politics as usual.  Republican leadership just doesn’t get it.  Now is not the time for back in the day politics.  Now is the time for new ideas not old platitudes.

No amount of election losses  can get it through the thick heads of the GOP elite.  The mood in the country has changed and it’s not changing back quickly.

Michael Steele would have been much better off telling Rush he’d never cow tow to him rather than embarrassing himself by apologizing to a guy who is busy defending the polices that most Americans think got us into this economic mess in the first place.

It’s too bad because America could use a second party of new ideas right about now…

I think it was soon after being elected that Barack Obama started making statements about how we needed to get the economy going again and so his administration wasn’t going to spend much time worrying about our record deficits.  The logic was job was to get America working again and once that was accomplished it’d be easier to cut our massive deficits.

As far as I could tell, Obama’s logic was widely accepted as reasonable.  People were willing to give him a short term pass on the deficit problem.  Most politicians would have stopped right there.

President Obama we may be finding out isn’t just any politician.  The President is proving to be a truly ambitious guy and a risk taker to boot.  Not only is he putting billions of dollars towards stimulating the economy, now he’s planning on cutting deficits at the same time.  Basically, he’s increasing spending massively while pledging to cut drastically.  That’s going to be one difficult trick to pull off.

These are tough times.  These are times that demand ambitious plans.  Perhaps our best bet is a comprehensive approach that tackles many of the big ticket items that ail and drain our economy:  Iraq, Afghanistan, deficits, health care, the auto industry, infrastructure problems.  I can go on…  So, maybe it’s all tied together and President Obama is wise to try to tackle it all while he’s still got the political capital to do it.

For the country’s sake and his own political future, he’d better be right.  Obama is persuring a high risk/high reward strategy.  If things work out, he may end up as one of our most accomplished leaders.  If the economy doesn’t turn around and if he’s unable to bring down the deficits, he risks being labeled as someone who could not deliver on bold promises made to a country in need of some good news. 

Obama could have chosen a safer route and everyone would have understood.  I admire his refusal to do so and pray that he’s right.

Speaking of the right… The GOP is clearly playing their own version of a high risk/high reward strategy.  Putting some context on  it, it’s very clear that at least in the House, Democrats have not been governing in much of a bi-partisan manner.  Republicans simply haven’t been given much input into writing bills like the recently passed stimulus package.  Furthermore, the GOP doesn’t have the numbers to block the Democrats from shutting them out.  So, y0u can understand why they’d be a bit grumpy.

Still, the GOP decision to stand idly by while the country continues to struggle is a big risk.  If things go well for them, things will go bad for the country.  That means that the GOP will be able to say “see, we told you so”.  Hmmmmm….  I wonder if the country is going to give them points for being right in the end or if people will wonder how the Republicans they elected to represent them could have sat out on the sidelines while things got worse and worse?

These are not ordinary times and so ordinary politics just won’t do.

Let’s look at the flip side, let’s say the economy improves.  What will Republicans say then?  Won’t the public remember a new president who spoke about bi-partisanship only to find very few Republicans willing to work with him at a time when the country needed them most?  Sure, as I noted earlier in this post, the Democrats in the House aren’t playing nice either.  The question is will the general public remember that?

Obama is clearly taking a massive risk.  Yet, I can see clearly how there’s a potential upside.  The GOP on the other hand is pursuing a risky strategy that seems destined to either leave them with no potential upside or very little even if they end up being right and Obama’s policies don’t improve the economy.

Perhaps Republicans aren’t understanding how bad time are?  How can some GOP governors say with a straight face that they might turn down stimulus money?  I’m suspecting that if I’m a struggling conservative everyman in a conservative state where services are being cut  at a  time when I need them and my governor is refusing aid, I would not be happy about it.  In times like these ideological concerns quickly give way to the practical.  Maybe that’s what the GOP isn’t grasping.

On the drive home this evening, I was listening to talk radio on NPR.  A small business owner called up and said she’d always been a Republican but can’t stand to see her party doing nothing during this crisis.  She told the host and his Republican Congressman guest (whose name I didn’t catch – my bad!) that the GOP keeps saying small business will lift us out of this mess.  The caller said she’s done all she can and now it’s time for government and politicians to help.

Listen, I know it’s NPR, but if the caller truly was a Republican than the GOP just might be in real trouble.  It really calls into question whether the party has the pulse of the nation.

My guess is no.

(Mr. Chip Saltsman, self-appointed polical satire expert and apparently a bit of a douchebag)

There’s an old saying that you might have heard in a mafia movie somewhere along the line.  It goes like this ”the fish stinks from the head.”  What it means is that if an organization has troubles or problems functioning properly, you can be sure that the people at the top are part of the problem.

On Friday, we found out that the old saying certainly applies to the troubled Republican Party.  Back in Karl Rove’s day, the GOP was quite effective in getting elected by going negative.  Unfortunately for Rove’s party and America, when you run an almost entirely negative campaign, you end up polarizing the country and being unable to govern effectively.

The fact is that to truly cause change in any direction, it’s not enough to define strongly what you’re against.  You’ve actually got to stand for something.  Both Barack Obama and Rick Warren seem to understand that and as a result, despite their political differences, they see the advantages of aligning with each other for the inauguration ceremony.

Unfortunately, for rank and file Republicans (many of whom actually believe in stuff and are not racists), the GOP leadership is still stuck in the negative mindset.

This past Friday it was reported that Chip Saltsman, a Tennessee Republican who is running for the top spot of the Republican National Committee, sent RNC members a special Christmas gift, the gift of racism and negativity.  Nice holiday spirit all round, Chipster!

 The CD, which is titled “We Hate America” includes a song “Barack the Magic Negro” set to the tune of “Puff the Magic Dragon”.  Apparently the song has been played on Rush Limbaugh’s very negative radio show since 2007 and according to the Saltsman, it’s clearly political satire. 

You know what?  I’m willing to buy that.  If that was the only song on the CD that veered into hate mongering territory than I’d be happy to believe that Saltsman is just a fun loving guy who enjoys a good political satire, even when set to a lame song like “Puff The Magic Dragon.”

Here’s a scintillating video of Republican National Committee chairman Mike Duncan announcing his bid to keep running the RNC.

 Millions of Democrats are rejoicing.

Among his great nuggets are calling Republican wins in the Runoff Race for the Georgia Senate seat and special elections in Louisiana “a crushing blow to the Barack Obama, Harry Reid, Nancy Pelosi and their liberal agenda.”

So, basically he’s putting a lot of stock about getting Republicans elected in Georgia and Louisiana.  And in a runoff race no less.  There’s no way that race should of been a runoff to begin with unless the GOP was having problems on a national scope.

In Georgia and Louisiana electing Republicans is business as usual, not something to trumpet.  That would be like a Democrat claiming that winning a seat in New England means conservatives are finished nationwide.

Continuing his faulty logic, Duncan goes on to assert that from these (expected) victories, “it’s clear that Republicans still know how to win elections as we build a solid foundation for the 2010 campaign”.

So, basically the lessens of the last two elections required just a couple of weeks to be digested and learned from.  Duncan is ready for 2010 already.

That’s either political posturing, cockiness or outright stupidity.

Like the true political junkie I am, I spent the entire night watching the results come in by channel surfing the broadcast & cable news outlets and checking my Blackberry for online updates during commercial breaks. 

Maybe I just drank the Kool-aid, but what a great night for America.  I am proud of both candidates tonight.  I am proud of my fellow Americans tonight.  Turnout levels were high and old myths have been shattered.  I’m glad the guy I voted for won, but I’m more glad that I live in a nation like America where we can peacefully chose our leaders.  And i’m glad the outcome was decisive and pray it will help us move on together as a nation.

Months and months ago, I wrote on this blog that America was ready for a woman or an African American to be president.  I heard many women and African Americans say that was not the case.  My point was that it had to be the right woman or African American.  I went on record saying that Hillary Clinton was not the right woman.  I left the door open to Barack Obama’s becoming the first African American President.  Tonight, I’m so happy to say to America “I TOLD YOU SO…”

Now a few observations from all my TV watching & Blackberry checking:

America IS safer tonight.  Sarah Palin is not a heartbeat away.  Yes, technically, Barack Obama doesn’t have her executive experience in government, although he did spend the last two years running the most complex and successful political campaign in history.  But, whether that counts or not, I think what is obvious to most fair minded individuals is that Sarah Palin is not up to leading this country.  A few weeks of cram session simply didn’t get her sufficiently prepped.  And to be fair to her, a few weeks of prep was never going to be enough.  Barack Obama has intensively prepared for this moment.  He may or may not become an effective president, but I completely believe we are better off with him leading us than having a 72 year old John McCain lead us with Sarah Palin as his emergency replacement.  Imagine THAT 3AM call?  I don’t want to.  And now America doesn’t have to.

More on Sarah Palin.  In his concession speech, Senator McCain hailed his running mate’s future in American politics and as a leader in his party.  Here’s the truth.  She has crested.  This is as far as she will ever rise and now she’s done.  It was nice of McCain to say, but the truth is that Palin dragged him only down.  While she initially energized the base, it quickly became obvious that she was oblivious and turned off Clinton supporters, independents and other non-committed voters in drove.  But that’s not the only reason I say she is done.  Palin has cold hard history against her.  Almost no person in her expensive shoes (a losing VP candidate on a non-incumbent campaign ticket) has ever come back to capture the White House or for that matter the top spot on their party’s ticket.  Want proof?  Take a look at people like John Edwards, Sargeant Shriver, Lloyd Benson, etc.  If you’re asking “who’s that” then you get my point.  Bye bye Sarah…

On CNN, commentator Bill Bennett made the point that he doesn’t think this election means that America has shifted from center-right to center-left.  He’s still clinging to the idea that America is center-right. Give Bennett this much, he’s right it’s not this election.  It’s actually the last two elections that have shown us that America is shifting politically.  In these last two elections, the GOP has lost a ton of seats in both house of Congress and now the presidency.  What more proof does Bennett need??

That all said, let’s talk about the center.  My firm hope is that President-Elect Obama keeps the emphasis on the center.  Yes, he’ll have the power to rule from the center-left.  I hope he will have the wisdom not to.  The best thing Obama can do is keep his campaign pledge of trying to unite this country together.  As Obama has said, I truly believe that we have much more in common than the things that divide us.  It’s too important a time in our history not to focus on working together and getting things done.  Let’s hope Obama backs up his words.  From his stirring speech tonight, I for one am feeling hopeful.

So happy to write this.  GOODBYE Joe the plumber.  Your 15 minutes is officially at 15:01. 

I like John McCain again tonight.  His concession speech was class all the way.  This is the John McCain so many of us admire.  Sadly, he seemed to lose his way a bit during the campaign and attacked his opponent in personal ways not to be admired while often stretching the truth beyond its breaking point.  Yet, McCain may have saved his soul and the soul of the GOP in the bargain.  McCain resisted the temptation to play the race card in a major way.  His decision to not bring Reverend Wright back into the campaign debate will be questioned by pundits for a long time.  But, it seems to me that McCain simply was uncomfortable going there because in addition to being old news, it risked a major backfire.  McCain put country first by not inflaming racial tensions needlessly and setting back the GOP in the process.  Clearly the demographics of our nation have changed and along with it racial attitudes.  If the Republican Party is to continue to compete, it will have to widen its base beyond the wealthy and the Joe The Plumber (semi-angry white guy) types.  McCain saw that clearly.

Speaking of race.  What an important night.  Perhaps now African Americans and other minorities believe the American Dream is truly possible for everyone.  Perhaps it’s chrystal clear now that not all or perhaps even most whites are racists.  What a chance for our country to heal and come together.  I have never been the hugest Jesse Jackson fan, but I have to admit seeing him on TV in the Obama crowd with a tear rolling down his cheek was moving sight.

Finally, one last note and it’s a Bush bash.  Watching Barack Obama speak it was so refreshing to hear the future leader of our nation demonstrate his understanding of what America truly stands for.  Both here and across the world, America’s greatest gift to this planet has been her ideals.  During his eight years, the current president has often failed to demonstrate a deep understanding of America’s ideals and focused more on rigid political agendas.  Finally, we will again have a president who gets the big picture.

Ok, I lied, here’s the final point.  Not sure if it was this campaign or the Wall Street mess, but I’m thrilled that Americans are coming around to the idea that government is not always the problem.  Reagan sold on us that false idea.  Yes, the government can mess things up.  YOu only need to take a look at the current administration to see that.  And no, I don’t want higher taxes.  What I do want is a government that gives a damn about all its people.  What I do want is a government that plays a role where needed rather than starting needless wars.  Here’s hoping that’s what we got tonight.

May God Bless America and all of us.  And please allow Senators Obama & McCain some much needed rest.  They’ve both earned it.

“No candy for Obama supporters!”  This is hysterical!  You must see no matter who you are voting for.

Here’s a woman who takes politics wayyyyyy too far.  You know somewhere John McCain is praying that she’ll just stop trying to help…

PS – Technically, can you call a woman a D-Bag??

Either she’s easily confused, simply misspoke because she’s so tired, or is projecting the future with a war against Iran as a key part of the McCain/Palin Plan…

If McCain pulls out a win on Tuesday, I’m hoping for the middle option.