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This column is in mourning today. For we have just learned of the passing of Fred Morrison, who died two days ago in Utah. Mr. Morrison was an inventor, and while his name is not generally known, he gave the world a simple device which has been enjoyed by millions ever since. Fred Morrison gave us the Frisbee.
President Obama has recently announced a health reform summit, to take place across the street from the White House, with the C-SPAN cameras rolling. He's invited Democratic and Republican leaders from Congress to this summit. Many cynics have dismissed the effort already, either pronouncing it less than worthless legislatively, or calling it some form of political Kabuki theater which will do no good even politically. I think these pronunciations (especially the latter one) are a bit premature, to say the least. Because either on a substantive level or a political level, I think there actually is a chance for some limited success for Obama in this exercise.
Washington D.C. is notoriously hysterical when it snows, I have to say. Barack Obama pointed this out last year, and immediately offended a few folks in the Nation's Capital -- who prefer to think of themselves as bravely fighting snowstorms that would make Nanook of the North tremble in his mukluks. When the reality is that the biggest snowstorm in Washington would be casually remarked upon as: "Oh, it snowed Tuesday" in the more frigid states in our Union.
So forgive me if I can't get all that impressed over the recent "snowmageddon." Call me a crotchety old grump if you must, but the fact remains that people in hardier climates deal with two feet of snow on a regular basis during each and every winter, and they never get their city in the national news as a result. Whereas D.C. falls into a quivering swoon if more than two inches falls during one storm.
In the wake of the Supreme Court's decision in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission, there has been a lot of anxiety over what elections will now look like with corporations and unions free to spend as much as they like on political advertising. Much of the discussion focuses on the overwhelming influence that could be purchased by deep-pocket entities, or on whether or not foreigners will be allowed into the American election process. But my main concern is not the money that will be spent overtly, but rather with what happens outside the public's eye -- the unseen influence which may be wielded.
I am not denigrating the overt problems which may develop, but rather feel that these problems have been adequately explored elsewhere by many others. Giving corporations and unions full free speech rights when it comes to elections may destroy American democracy as we know it, and then again it may not. I do wonder how many corporations will actually take the opportunity to attempt influencing voters in such a fashion, personally, since corporations are in business to make money. And these days, annoying half the electorate may mean a serious drop in a company's bottom line. So, at least at first, I think most large companies will be rather cautious about this sort of political activity. As I said, they're in business to make money.
Traditionally, for pundits, this is the last week in what might be called "timely football metaphor season." With the Super Bowl right around the corner, and (this year) the Winter Olympics close behind, it would normally be the time to get some final football metaphors into the political conversation, before wordsmiths everywhere scratch their heads over ice skating and snowboarding terminology, in an attempt to remain relevant to the sports-hungry American public. You can almost see the wheels turning inside pundits' brains: "David Axelrod? Isn't an 'axel' some sort of skating jump? Hmmm...."
But we are going to eschew both football and winter sports in our metaphor toolbox today, and instead speak in more generic (team) sporting terms of the concept of "offense" and "defense."
Because Democrats need to realize that they still have the biggest majority in both houses of Congress that they are likely to see in their lifetimes -- and if they can't get things done with this overwhelming power, then they really should consider just folding up their tents and calling it a day as a political party.
The issue of gay rights has long been a contentious one in American politics. The Republican Party has used being against gay rights as a successful "wedge issue" or "hot button" issue for decades now -- pretty much since when the gay rights movement truly gained a political foothold. So some Republicans are likely quite gleeful over the prospect of holding a debate on the "Don't Ask/Don't Tell" (DADT) policy, which forbids openly gay people from serving in the U.S. military. They think -- and one cannot really fault them for thinking this -- that the issue will be a winner for them politically, as it has so often in the recent past. Especially, they reason, if the Democrats are suicidal enough to bring it up in an election year.
But what these Republicans haven't really come to grips with is the fact that it is 2010, and not 1993. And in the intervening seventeen years, counting from when DADT was enacted into law and signed by President Clinton, American public attitudes have changed dramatically on the issue. Republicans ignore this at their peril.
Flat Lines
I admit that "flat lines" sounds pretty bad, so allow me to clarify. In a hospital, when the beepy machine flatlines, you are dead. But in the world of polling, flat lines mean a zero slope -- neither changing for the worse or for the better. A more accurate way to say it might be "stuck in neutral" or "spinning your wheels," I guess. But the lines on the chart are what they are, and so we're stuck with a bad metaphor to open with this month, for which I apologize.
When taken as a whole, President Barack Obama's poll numbers last month moved the least amount of any month of his presidency so far. His approval rating continued its trend of moving downwards, but only by two-tenths of a percent. His disapproval rating continued upwards, but only by four-tenths of one percent. Meaning January was a pretty stable month for Obama.
Today's column is a short interlude, or perhaps even intermission, from our usual political wonkery. This is due mostly to the fact that we're busy around ChrisWeigant.com Central preparing charts for tomorrow's "Obama Poll Watch" column.
Today, instead, we're going to pose a few stylistic grammatical questions to our readers, in order to see if our standards here are in need of adjustment or not. If that sort of thing is not your cup of tea, then you can check out this rampant speculation over who is jockeying to take over Harry Reid's leadership position in the Senate, should he fail to be re-elected this November, as it is about as wonkily fascinating as you can get.
President Obama seems to have recently discarded the advice of timid advisors who bought into the media's "overexposed" myth last summer, and has hit the ground running in the past few weeks. Perhaps it is due to the re-emergence of David Plouffe, but for whatever reason, Obama has been out there talking to people again. He held a few town hall events surrounding his high-profile State Of The Union address last week, and then delighted many Democrats by entering the lions' den of the House Republican retreat on Friday, where he answered questions for over an hour -- with the television cameras rolling. He needs to cap off this recent communications strategy shift with something that has been missing for months -- a real press conference.
This doesn't (as a sop to the "overexposed" crowd) necessarily have to be a primetime event, either. It can be a little more informal than that, without the pomp of an evening press conference broadcast nationally on all channels. But it should be at least an hour long, and it should be held soon.
As I sit down to write today's column... oh, excuse me... someone's at the door.
Phone problems? No, we're not having any phone problems, sorry. Tests? Well, OK, I guess you can run a test or two.
Sorry, where was I? Oh, right, today's column. Well, I have to say Obama's first State Of The Union address to a joint session of... what's that?
The punchdown block? You want to examine my phone system's main control box? But the phones are working perfectly... hey, wait a minute... can I see some identification?
Boy, that got rid of them quick!
Ahem. Where was I? Oh, right, last week. Last week, when conservative "journalists" weren't pulling fratboy pranks on federal property -- and getting arrested for such -- here's a tip to conservative "gotcha journalism" types: if you're going to do something this risky, might I suggest not doing it in a federal building where the F.B.I. probably has an office on the next floor? I mean, you're making it too easy, guys, really.
