Diaries

Good old Jeff Emanuel has an article out today;

This isn't so much a diary as it is a special post. Following up on this recent diary I wrote about the Sarah Palin speech, I present a posting today by Democrat and economics professor Mark Thoma titled Do Democrats Need to Learn Some Respect? .

As we head into election season with rhetorical and hyperbolic guns ablazing, I find this short piece by Arnold Kling to be somewhat correct and refreshing.

Kling asserts that, for the most part, the difference is more rhetorical than anything else.

Says Kling:

Quite obviously, everyone wants their party/candidate/issue to win or otherwise gain power. I wish to discover at what cost people are willing to ensure their candidate wins. The trend I'm beginning to see in our increasingly hyper-partisan and polarized politics is that this line is shifting, but in the wrong direction.

Hat tip to Arnold Kling

An article in the WaPo looks at a debate going on at the state level in RI over Medicaid spending. Its state budget bursting at the seams, the state legislature is embattled over what to do with Medicaid, which comprises about a quarter of state expenditures.

Unintelligence in Federal Intelligence Agencies

Joel S. Hirschhorn

The Bush administration has found yet another way to waste taxpayer money while providing huge sums to private contractors. According to a survey of activities in 2007 by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, about a third of the federal professional intelligence workforce now consists of contractors, mostly in the Washington, DC area.

It is amazing to me how foolish politicians and the media types take us for. They would have us believe that the reason McCain picked Governor Palin for his VP was because he wanted to thumb his nose at conventional wisdom and display once again what a maverick he is. According to the narrative, he wanted to demonstrate his desire for change and desire to break with the Washington insiders whom he has been a part of for the last 25 years. Let’s be clear John McCain would pick Satan himself if he thought it would get him elected. His selection of Governor Palin was a desperate move by a desperate man.

And let's be clear : It was indeed a performance. These things always are.

She did well. Very well.

Now, I can disagree with a lot of what she said and for various reasons and still acknowledge that.

First of all, I disagree with her foreign policy tone. And no amount of rhetoric is going to change that. Not so sure how that plays with vast majority of undecided voters who are at best part-time status quo political spectators.

Following up on post I made last week on the new Census Bureau Stats on income, poverty and health insurance, I read this WaPo Op-ed by Robert Samuelson.

Firstly, my quibbles:

Some writing on Gustav that inserts another perspective on the ordeal.

A few days ago, Paul Krugman, in typically rabid partisan form had another NYT Op-Ed on Gustav and FEMA.

The standard fare: the wonders of government bureaucracy cannot work without proper leadership (Dems who care) and the GOP simply produced a self-fulfilled prophecy with the Katrina debacle....nothing more. IOW, good and effective government needs people who believe in it and it will work great.

Are you favor of an informed electorate?

Naw...

from Newsbusters :

Jake Tapper, hardest working man in the 08 cycle, continues his
coverage of the ever declining mental faculties of Joe Biden,
Senator. For all the coverage given the family affairs of
Governor Sarah Palin, precious little has been given to the
rambling, bizarre statements of Smilin' Joe Biden since his
convention speech. And there's so much good stuff here, too! Just
the other day in Florida, for example, where he went on a 75 minute
riff:

Now the Democrats have released SP's SS# and home address! Amazing coming from the party that wants privacy so badly!

In my spectator role of this upcoming election, I've been becoming and increasingly and quietly intrigued about what could happen and what it could mean....in much the same way that I watch the analysts discuss the prospects of the upcoming NFL season. Former pros turned "analysts" and journalists are caressing their collective chin while scanning a multitude of factors to make the bold claim...namely that Team XYZ, in spite of current perceptions, is the "team to watch" or the "team to beat". See below for video.

Well everyone here seemed to think that those poor demonstrators were being unfairly targeted, and had their civil liberties violated - well now it appears your comrades have now begun destroying property in town - and doing their thing - whatever terrorists do!

Looks like Israel is going to take matters into there own hands if something doesn't happen here pretty quick...

GOP Officials just held a press conference here in St. Paul, Minnesota, to announce changes to the convention schedule in advance of Hurricane Gustav making landfall somewhere along the Gulf Coast. Sen. McCain has directed that all convention activities outside of necessary business be suspended until further notice.

Promoted by John

Does Sarah Palin believe in evolution?

Numerous bloggers have been asking variants of this question since Palin was selected as McCain's running mate. There are two issues here:

• what does she believe?
• to what extent does it matter?

*This is a diary from a friend of mine at RedState. He is obviously a Republican, but he also happens a black man in America. I love his take on things, and so here we are. Enjoy.