Danny Doom’s Booze Cabinet

For your consideration, a hearty list of accomplishments from a year and a half in to the Obama administration, courtesy of Andrew Sullivan. I mean, come on, who actually gets in there and gets this much done? Bush? Clinton? Nope! Dude’s just getting started…I am very glad to have given him my vote, despite any impatience concerning certain wars, etc. No wonder the right-wingers are so crazy.

Here we are a year and a half in and what do we see?

An end to illegal torture of terror suspects. A beginning to a saner method of detaining, trying and convicting terror suspects.

Adept handling of the worst financial crisis and recession since the 1930s, leading to a profitable bank bailout (excluding Freddie and Fannie) and a return to growth. Check.

Salvaging of the automobile industry, which is now showing signs of life.

Passage of an ambitious stimulus package that has helped repair many crumbling parts of the US infrastructure and poured money into green industry.

The biggest social policy reform since LBJ – guaranteeing access to health insurance for all Americans.

Financial re-regulation of an out-of-control Wall Street, and the beginnings of real scrutiny (see Goldman) of the self-serving corruption at the heart of the financial industry.

Repaired relations with Russia, leading to a new START treaty, and better relations with China, leading to a revaluation of the yuan.

Joint Chiefs’ endorsement of ending Don’t Ask Don’t Tell.

A tough re-balancing of the US position in the Middle East, away from the Likudnik-oriented jerking knees of the last eight years, and an assertion that US foreign policy should be conducted to advance the interests of the United States, not the interests of a belligerent faction in a foreign country.

My view is that Obama should aim for immigration reform next. Why? We need it. And it will force the GOP into an even whiter, nastier, angrier posture as they fight for the midterms. The long-term damage to the GOP among Hispanics will cement Democratic electoral dominance for quite a while.

Change we can believe in? How much more could you possibly have asked for in eighteen months?

This is a dramatically effective administration.

Paul Krugman in the NY Times:

Mr. Obama seems to have sincerely believed that he would face a different reception. And he made a real try at bipartisanship, nearly losing his chance at health reform by frittering away months in a vain attempt to get a few Republicans on board. At this point, however, it’s clear that any Democratic president will face total opposition from a Republican Party that is completely dominated by right-wing extremists.

I was all for the attempt at bipartisanship but yeah, it was pretty clear early on that it was not going to work. As I’ve said before and will continue to say, screw ‘em. As we’ve seen, a lot can be accomplished without help from the right–doing just fine, thanks. It’s been quite a week for Obama, with healthcare and now a pact with Russia on nuclear arms. With “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” almost gone, it will have been quite a year or so of achievement for this administration.

Doesn’t work so well for the nightly cable nuts and their daily outrages, but Obama is a marathon man!

Kind of weird to read all the references to polls regarding President Obama and the healthcare bill. Come on, Bush had the worst poll numbers you could have for the majority of his presidency and yet these same folks defended the shit outta him for doing his damage. “Polls don’t matter” is what we heard again and again, from Bush and from his apologists. Whether they do or not, Obama’s numbers aren’t really that bad, they just came down from great heights.

But if poll numbers are so important and should shape a president’s actions, then why did Bush ignore them so grandly? And I wonder, if healthcare begins to turn upwards, as it appears to be doing, and it polls well, then does that mean Obama is no longer thwarting the will of the people? I’m sure these folks will let us know, soon enough.

Was there ever a bigger over-reaction than the one that Scott Brown’s victory brought? Maybe, but I can’t recall it. I thought it was ridiculous at the time–like the Onion joking about the GOP’s 41-59 majority–but many people seemed to think this was some kind of conservative tidal wave. Scott Brown then voted for the jobs bill and instantly became known as “low-life scum” to some right-wingers. Good times.

But this was never about any Republican. You were guaranteed a “no” from every single one anyway. For Obama to have given up and started over, as many right-wingers demanded, would have been a mockery, a way to extend the debate until closer to the elections. Now, it is March and we have a good 7-8 months before anyone votes again, and I suspect that while the Democrats were never going to be as successful this year as last (political cycles do that) they will not be nearly as demolished as so many have predicted.

But imagine if Obama had listened to his right-wing Democrat friends, the Blue Dogs, the wishy-washy do-nothing’s like Evan Bayh. Imagine if he had decided it wasn’t worth the political risk. Imagine if he had taken the advice of all the status quo generals who voted for him but actually don’t really like change at that much. Change is scary! I know someone who suggested that, in the wake of Brown’s victory, healthcare reform was over and Obama should instead try to improve the economy by reducing governments’ size and spending, lowering taxes, encouraging entrepreneurship and capitalism: “keeping markets free from excess regulation, removing tariffs and barriers to trade, negotiating internationally to do the foregoing.”

This was “advice” from a “centrist” who wanted to help prevent an ugly November for the Democrats. I was incredulous and wondered whether Obama should switch from Democrat to Republican as well. I think it’s fair to say that such advice should be smiled at and rejected out of hand.

But such is the way with folks who are afraid of big change. I voted for it and we’re getting it. The bill isn’t perfect but I suspect it can be improved now that it is here. This is good. This is a start. I’m proud of Obama for bringing it home.

Nice of President Obama to write this email to me tonight. He’s busy, but not too busy to jot down a few words and let me know what he’s thinking:

Danny –

For the first time in our nation’s history, Congress has passed comprehensive health care reform. America waited a hundred years and fought for decades to reach this moment. Tonight, thanks to you, we are finally here.

Consider the staggering scope of what you have just accomplished:

Because of you, every American will finally be guaranteed high quality, affordable health care coverage.

Every American will be covered under the toughest patient protections in history. Arbitrary premium hikes, insurance cancellations, and discrimination against pre-existing conditions will now be gone forever.

And we’ll finally start reducing the cost of care — creating millions of jobs, preventing families and businesses from plunging into bankruptcy, and removing over a trillion dollars of debt from the backs of our children.

But the victory that matters most tonight goes beyond the laws and far past the numbers.

It is the peace of mind enjoyed by every American, no longer one injury or illness away from catastrophe.

It is the workers and entrepreneurs who are now freed to pursue their slice of the American dream without fear of losing coverage or facing a crippling bill.

And it is the immeasurable joy of families in every part of this great nation, living happier, healthier lives together because they can finally receive the vital care they need.

This is what change looks like.

My gratitude tonight is profound. I am thankful for those in past generations whose heroic efforts brought this great goal within reach for our times. I am thankful for the members of Congress whose months of effort and brave votes made it possible to take this final step. But most of all, I am thankful for you.

This day is not the end of this journey. Much hard work remains, and we have a solemn responsibility to do it right. But we can face that work together with the confidence of those who have moved mountains.

Our journey began three years ago, driven by a shared belief that fundamental change is indeed still possible. We have worked hard together every day since to deliver on that belief.

We have shared moments of tremendous hope, and we’ve faced setbacks and doubt. We have all been forced to ask if our politics had simply become too polarized and too short-sighted to meet the pressing challenges of our time. This struggle became a test of whether the American people could still rally together when the cause was right — and actually create the change we believe in.

Tonight, thanks to your mighty efforts, the answer is indisputable: Yes we can.

Thank you,

President Barack Obama

Interesting about Obama’s physical. Dude weighs 179 pounds! That’s pretty thin. I mean, I’m a lot shorter than him and I probably weigh within 30 or so pounds of him. Maybe a little less, I haven’t weighed myself in a long time but I’m gonna guess 145 (I’m on a Wii fitness program, but that’s another story).

And so he has 20/20 vision. It feels like no one has 20/20 vision but maybe that’s just because I’ve had glasses/contacts since the early days of yore. I wonder if Michelle does too. Those 20/20 people need to stick together and perfect our diminishing human eyesight race or we’ll all be blind in a few thousand years. Wait, am I advocating eugenics?!? Ah, we kid, we kid here at the Booze Cabinet…

Still smoking too, I see. Hmm. I really went off the rails on smoking. I was never a smoker but since I spent most of my life in bars with smoke it was no big deal to me. Until now. Since the no smoking laws I have found that smoke really bugs the shit out of me and makes me feel bad. And after experiencing a recent night of being surrounded by a gang of smokers I can’t believe that I put up with the smell on my clothes for all those years. Wow, it makes me want to puke just thinking about it.

The doctors also recommended “moderation of alcohol intake”. What does that mean? This is the best part of the story and that’s all they say about it. Is Obama a boozer? Sounds like the man is throwing them back big-time. Big-time! This is what I like to hear! Ah, I really have to work on my drinking…

We give Obama a hard time on the left for not getting everything we want, but it’s good to read this report and get some perspective:

This Democratic Congress is on a path to become one of the most productive since the Great Society 89th Congress in 1965-66, and Obama already has the most legislative success of any modern president — and that includes Ronald Reagan and Lyndon Johnson … Most of this has been accomplished without any support from Republicans in either the House or the Senate — an especially striking fact, since many of the initiatives of the New Deal and the Great Society, including Social Security and Medicare, attracted significant backing from the minority Republicans.

So yeah, that’s not so bad. Amazing how the media controls the message. But let’s get healthcare going and DADT repealed and we’ll be getting somewhere.

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

I highly recommend this video as an insight to what happens when the spin is gone and lies can be challenged and answered without any shouting heads. This is how it should be. Fantastic. They should do it once a month, or once a week. This is the guy I voted for, able to speak and go back and forth and, yes, school those who are distorting his words and actions.

I just got in and happened to see the very end of something quite amazing. I don’t know what the deal is, and I will look for the whole thing to go back and see it, but President Obama was talking with the House Republicans, having an open and honest discussion. I’ve only seen Sullivan’s take:

I’ve just watched the president address the Republican retreat in Baltimore. Address is not quite the right word, because it was a genuine – and remarkable – conversation between Obama and his political opponents – transparently on CSPAN … But here’s the key thing: Obama is best at this. He is best at defusing conflict; he is superb at engaging civilly with his opponents.

Whatever it was, I thought it was…unheard of. And great. But anyway, I’ll have to see what all happened and get back to it.

UPDATE:

I just love the sound of this:

In a sometimes-barbed exchange, he said some in the audience have attended ribbon-cutting ceremonies for projects funded by the stimulus package they voted against. Obama also questioned why Republicans have overwhelmingly opposed his tax-cut policies, which he said have benefited 95 percent of American families.

“The notion that this was a radical package is just not true,” Obama said. “I am not an ideologue.”

GOP lawmakers pressed the president to pledge to support a line-item veto for spending bills and across-the-board tax cuts. Obama demurred, saying billionaires don’t need new tax cuts.

UPDATE II:

This has to be a good sign…in looking around for a story on this I couldn’t help but notice that Drudge has absolutely nothing.

UPDATE III:

Here’s a good account of it:

It was amazing television – watchable, interesting, feisty and even a little dramatic … Today, at the caucus meeting, he went right after Republicans on their turf and, in my opinion, owned them.

UPDATE IV:

Ha ha! This just gets better:

So effective was the president that Fox News cut away from the broadcast 20 minutes before it ended.

One other thing, about the Supreme Court being called out by Obama in his speech the other night: some have bitched about the legitimacy and prestige of the court being harmed by the exchange, but, let’s be honest, those qualities were damaged severely in 2000 with the interference of the election process. And with right-wing hacks like Alito now on board, well, what do you expect?  Whether the ruling is good or bad or what, I like that Obama said it in front of them. Screw ‘em.

A quick reaction to some of the speech’s highlights, for me:

At the beginning of the last decade, America had a budget surplus of over $200 billion. By the time I took office, we had a one year deficit of over $1 trillion and projected deficits of $8 trillion over the next decade. Most of this was the result of not paying for two wars, two tax cuts, and an expensive prescription drug program. On top of that, the effects of the recession put a $3 trillion hole in our budget. That was before I walked in the door.

Way to lay it out there. Sad that people need to be reminded; even sadder that they won’t listen.

To Democrats, I would remind you that we still have the largest majority in decades, and the people expect us to solve some problems, not run for the hills.

Um, yeah. That can’t be said enough, loudly enough, again and again. Grow a pair.

I know that there are those who disagree with the overwhelming scientific evidence on climate change…

Nice. A jab to the lower right abdomen.

Do not walk away from reform. Not now. Not when we are so close. Let us find a way to come together and finish the job for the American people.

A little more force would be useful here. It must be done!

We will have all of our combat troops out of Iraq by the end of this August.

Not soon enough!

This year, I will work with Congress and our military to finally repeal the law that denies gay Americans the right to serve the country they love because of who they are.

Just make it happen, this is silly.

The more that TV pundits reduce serious debates into silly arguments, and big issues into sound bites, our citizens turn away.

Yeah, they turn to FOX. The number one cable channel! Ah, depressing… Anyway, we just have to ignore the nuts and get the dummies to do something for once. Let’s get it done!

It’s already halftime and the Pats are getting pummeled but here they are, today’s matchups in all their glory!

Interesting. They forgot to finish the sentence:

Fifty percent approve of how Obama has handled his job as president, the second lowest total since Gallup started polling. Obama beats only Ronald Reagan, who started 1982 with a 49 percent approval rating.

That should read:

Fifty percent approve of how Obama has handled his job as president, the second lowest total since Gallup started polling. Obama beats only Ronald Reagan, who started 1982 with a 49 percent approval rating, so you can see how meaningless this really is.

The article goes on to mention that Bush I had an 80% approval, second highest ever. One term later, he didn’t have any approval rating. The highest, of course, goes to G.W. Bush, who had a 9/11-powered 84% approval rating after his first year. And we all know how well that turned out. If only the left blindly approved of Obama the way the right did Bush…who knows how high of an approval this utterly meaningless poll would have for him?

Here’s the thing: I’m just not that convinced that any kind of major offensive against a terrorist network or a nation that “harbors terrorists” is going to prevent 19 guys, or 1 guy, from hijacking a plane, or setting off a suicide bomb on a train, or, pick your favorite option. I just don’t believe that anything we’ve done in Afghanistan or (especially) Iraq has resulted in the increased safety of the United States. There’s no way to prove this one way or the other, but I think luck and planning have more to do with our quiet 8 years or so since 9/11.

There will not be a moment or a signal that this war is won in Afghanistan. Exiting in 2011…will it be any different than exiting now? I guess I just don’t believe it. The only difference will be the death toll, on all sides. I hope I’m wrong. But I am not for this war, even less so than when we originally began it.

UPDATE:

Lest I forget: There have been threats or plans that were disrupted over the years, and these were all thwarted because of law enforcement activities–look here at Fox News’ own list of foiled terror plots. Here’s another right wing site, The Heritage Foundation, with a similar list. It evens says there that “the best means to prevent terrorist attacks is effective intelligence collection, information sharing, and coordinated, determined counterterrorism opera­tions that can stop attacks before they are mounted.”

What any of this has to do with 30,ooo more military men and women going to Afghanistan, I don’t know. The letters FBI will come up again and again when you learn about the thwarted attacks. See also, “police department.”

I swear, I think we bomb the shit out of other countries just to make a certain segment of America feel good about themselves. Small penis complex or something…

My poor lonely blog–ahem, excuse me–Booze Cabinet! My poor lonely Booze Cabinet. Sitting here patiently waiting for something new while I go off and live my life. Eating turkey and drinking Guinness and such. Ah, the pleasures of life. The holidays are here and so suddenly there’s more and more activities like family stuff and then there’s always band stuff and then of course baby stuff, but then it’s always been like that I guess. So whatever, I’m just having a relaxing Monday night watching football and tap tap tapping away at the computer at various things–

Okay, now it’s Tuesday morning. See, this is how it happens. Distractions, stuff, and the next thing you know I haven’t finished my thoughts. Here’s a quick stab at it, I’m trying to understand a couple of things: one, it appears that the two people who crashed the White House party are a Big Deal. Is this for real? Who cares? These people are like Jon and Kate–I don’t know who they are and yet I keep hearing about them. Make it stop.

Second, tonight is the big Obama Afghanistan speech. I am not pleased with what I hear–30,000 more troops. There is no way to “win” this war, if you can even call it that. It is just an ongoing “thing.” How will it be determined that it is time to leave? Perhaps Obama will tell us. But I do not like the sounds of it. I think now would have been the perfect time to get out, in this first year of his presidency, but apparently he wants to do it up.

I read this last night, it is one way to look at the first year of Obama: Brilliant! The article actually makes some good points, I recommend it for those who may be down on him right now. Look, I’m patient, and unlike the media and all the crazies, I don’t expect this all to be wrapped up and done in the first year, all of the shit left behind. And it has not even been a year. I like the calmness of Obama and I am certainly glad he is in there. But I fear that this Afghanistan gig is going to eat up four years like a monster.