tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post1428116259622542192..comments2024-03-28T13:36:05.167-05:00Comments on Althouse: In which I say who won last night's debate and almost abandon my cruel neutrality pose.Ann Althousehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01630636239933008807noreply@blogger.comBlogger216125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-86784906214070945882008-10-09T11:22:00.000-05:002008-10-09T11:22:00.000-05:00Simon, I've seen that Barone quote and I agree--Re...Simon, I've seen that Barone quote and I agree--Republicans nominated the only man running who just might win and Democrats nominated the only man running who just might lose.<BR/><BR/>But still...tim maguirehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07717622436074043099noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-4737841194120716572008-10-09T11:11:00.000-05:002008-10-09T11:11:00.000-05:00This comment has been removed by the author.tim maguirehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07717622436074043099noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-25337064399872428702008-10-09T06:52:00.000-05:002008-10-09T06:52:00.000-05:00This is just something ignorant conservative racis...<I>This is just something ignorant conservative racists (but I repeat myself) say to basically prove that they don't know anything about economics or history but they sure hate government and poor people.</I><BR/><BR/>Doyle, are conservatives like Sowell, Rice or Powell racists or just Uncle Toms in your eyes?<BR/><BR/>Anytime you want to discuss history or economics you just let me know sparky. Make sure you bring your A game.Hoosier Daddyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12872965118921894534noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-15980394426791287652008-10-09T05:24:00.000-05:002008-10-09T05:24:00.000-05:00This comment has been removed by the author.Arturiushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15803156638114222590noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-65805638207552660612008-10-08T23:52:00.000-05:002008-10-08T23:52:00.000-05:00I am inclined to think that with the development o...<I>I am inclined to think that with the development of complex securities and the pursuit of profit along the edge of disaster, the free market failed spectacularly. </I><BR/><BR/>Much has been written above about this passage, and I agree with the critics. I don't think you can defend the assertion that the market that failed was a "free" one in any meaningful sense. I would certainly agree that private-sector participants in that market made some terrible judgments, but the market itself was heavily distorted by the government.<BR/><BR/><I>When we need new regulation, Obama effectively associated McCain with his party's love of deregulation.</I><BR/><BR/>This reads as though it was Obama's debating skill, rather than the merit of his point, that has persuaded you. I hope that's not true.<BR/><BR/>While I would agree that Obama did "effectively associate McCain with his party's love of deregulation," I do not agree with Obama's implied claim that McCain himself loves deregulation. In fact, Virginia Postrel has called McCain an "instinctive regulator" (http://tinyurl.com/3u68mw) and provided evidence. To the extent that Obama has used his debating skill to make people believe that McCain in principle abhors regulation, I believe he has fooled the rubes.<BR/><BR/>And I say this as someone who wishes that McCain were a principled deregulator and who believes that the net effect of government on the subprime mortgage crisis was to make it worse, not better.PJhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02376973870476509827noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-87237979420566681522008-10-08T23:37:00.000-05:002008-10-08T23:37:00.000-05:00This was the Ben Franklin debate (has been for a c...This was the Ben Franklin debate (has been for a couple of weeks). Ben Franklin, you know the guy who said he kept his mouth shut and let people think he was a fool rather than open his mouth and prove it. McCain said he didn't know economics, proves it by blaming Chris Cox etc. He should have chosen an economic adviser as VP, Lawrence Summers for instance. McCain didn't get ready to govern. Obama's criticisms have been schtick; he doesn't believe Bush's deregulation caused this. But if he can pin it on the Republicans, heh, school can start later.a psychiatrist who learned from veteranshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00347313804041291393noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-82613326963926057062008-10-08T19:32:00.000-05:002008-10-08T19:32:00.000-05:00Keira, nightly."I'm still enjoying examining the v...Keira, nightly.<BR/><BR/>"I'm still enjoying examining the various oddities of the race (reactions to Palin, the Obama kid videos, etc.) but my desire to tear down Obama or build up McCain has waned considerably."<BR/><BR/>Amen to both the above sentiments. McCain has failed to present a rationale for his candidacy. Pointing out his opponent's flaws and the failings of the opponent's proposed governance is insufficient if not accompanied by constant pounding out the positive reasons why voters should elect you. Despite what McCain's saying in speeches and on the trail which does lay this stuff out in spades, the media has ignored that part of his speeches (in some cases, actively and egregiously so - see Patterico on the LA Times' coverage a couple days ago), so his chances of pulling this thing off are greatly diminished. <BR/><BR/>The failure to present a coherent brand in these debates is unforgiveable. Leave the negs to Palin; he should be hammering a few key points over and over - in that sense, he's got a lot to learn from Bush about campaigning (and how to win).<BR/><BR/>Obama was likewise a burbling well of policy gibberish last night, so it was difficult to tell who won (although on the radio driving home yesterday I felt McCain was getting slaughtered during the first portion).<BR/><BR/>I was pleasantly surprised that McCain did borrow a page from Bush during the closing statement, though. Bush mentioned in his "A Charge to Keep" autohagiography that he never forgot to end campaign speeches by asking the people there for their votes. McCain was smart to do this; I had wondered why he neglected to do so in the first debate, since it is good retail politics. <BR/><BR/>Will it help him any at this point? I'm not expecting it to. Positions are hardened among the electorate, and both sides are running out the clock to what will be a nailbiter on November 4. I think it's both laughably weak and objectionably pathetic that team McCain may be coasting in reliance upon being bailed out by the "Bradley effect" on election night. If that's all they've got between now and then (i.e. if they don't find a way to start selling their own ideas rather than just slogging off on Obama (which is fair play, but shouldn't be the only thing they talk about)), they deserve to lose. And sorely.<BR/><BR/>WTF happened to political leadership in this country? How are we supposed to "lead the world" if the corridors of power are filled with the shitheels we've put in DC?veni vidi vicihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14720172060048711733noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-35381083836262353532008-10-08T19:15:00.000-05:002008-10-08T19:15:00.000-05:00Oh, good call, Trooper. Greer Garson was stunning....Oh, good call, Trooper. Greer Garson was stunning. I liked that version very much.<BR/><BR/>(Skipping the Keira stuff...lol...)<BR/><BR/>My favorite Garson film is "That Forsythe Woman". I don't know much about her, but she had a fascinating onscreen presence.Darcyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05642443487136176511noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-20558125519327329912008-10-08T18:58:00.000-05:002008-10-08T18:58:00.000-05:00Chicago politics at work: Sheriff in Ill. county w...Chicago politics at work: <A HREF="http://apnews.myway.com/article/20081008/D93MFL900.html" REL="nofollow">Sheriff in Ill. county won't evict in foreclosures</A>:<BR/><BR/><I>CHICAGO (AP) - Residents of foreclosed properties in Chicago and other parts of Cook County don't have to worry about deputies forcing them out. Sheriff Tom Dart says that starting Thursday his office won't take part in evictions.<BR/><BR/>Dart says he's concerned that many of the people being evicted are renters who were unaware that their landlords have been failing to pay their mortgages. He says his deputies have no way of knowing whether they're removing someone who has defaulted on a loan or someone who has been faithfully paying rent.<BR/><BR/>Dart says he thinks he's the first sheriff in a major metropolitan area to stop such evictions during the ongoing foreclosure crisis.<BR/><BR/>Dart says the number of mortgage foreclosures in Cook County has skyrocketed and will probably keep rising.</I><BR/><BR/>I don't know about Cook County, but throughout much of the country, the sheriff's office is involved in the foreclosure process. Even if they aren't, it is typically trivial to determine whether or not a property is under foreclosure - just check the county records for the property. And if that is too much work, look and see who is doing the foreclosing. Ask for a copy of the lease, and if the same party is evicting that is on the lease, then it is probably not the mortgagee.Bruce Haydenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10815293023158025662noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-87132865715015797912008-10-08T18:55:00.000-05:002008-10-08T18:55:00.000-05:00My personal favorite Elizabeth Bennet is of course...My personal favorite Elizabeth Bennet is of course the immortal Greer Garson. However I must confess a shameful secret. Keira Knightley is the exception that proves the rule as she is the one skinny skank actress that I find eminently bangable. I believe it was performance as the savage Guinevere in King Arthur, but what are you gonna do. Two bracoiles up for her that skinny whore.Trooper Yorkhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01978703998566102194noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-72542497861989207522008-10-08T18:50:00.000-05:002008-10-08T18:50:00.000-05:00To say that Dodd or Franks were responsible for no...<I> To say that Dodd or Franks were responsible for not reigning in Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and that McCain and Bush were thwarted white knights is ignorant. There were plenty of politicians of all strips taking cash from FANMAC (including McCain--he just took it from the board of directors instead of the corporations; a distinction without a difference.)<BR/><BR/>That McCain and Bush tried to do something is laughable. They made token speeches but didn't try. They tried in the same way Obama tried. I was going to say it's like when your kids say they tried to clean their room, yet only picked up their underwear--unfortunately, that's a bad analogy because by absolute measure, your kids did more than the politicians.</I><BR/><BR/>The difference between Bush, McCain versus Obama here is that the former two did make those speeches and made at least some effort to impose regulations on Fannie and Freddie. At least McCain had his name on a bill that would have done so. There is no evidence that Obama did anything at all, there is some reason to believe that he was opposing such, given that in three years he was able to rise to #2 in Fannie and Freddie political contributions, 4-5 times the level that McCain got over a much longer period of time. They must have thought that they were getting something for their money. What was it?Bruce Haydenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10815293023158025662noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-54451586893158171082008-10-08T18:41:00.000-05:002008-10-08T18:41:00.000-05:00Hayden - Ever wonder why Obama got more Freddie an...<I>Hayden - Ever wonder why Obama got more Freddie and Fannie contributions than anyone except for Dodd? Who has had two former Fannie Mae CEOs helping (ok, one indirectly). This is the guy who you think is going to regulate intelligently?<BR/><BR/>Ever wonder why in 3 separate shots, Lifetime Senator McCain refused to name "My dear friend" fellow Lifetime Senator, Dodd in the debate where he accused Obama as secondary in Fannie and Freddie graft?</I><BR/><BR/>It is rather humorous, isn't it? I think for a lot of those supporting him, it is not that heartfelt, given his friendships with so many of the "enemy". <BR/><BR/>I think that this is one reason that so many on the right are so enthusiastic about Gov. Palin. She does what we all would love McCain to do, which includes stepping on toes, when naming names about the problems we face and who was responsible for them.Bruce Haydenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10815293023158025662noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-68497547015209863452008-10-08T18:35:00.000-05:002008-10-08T18:35:00.000-05:00To a great extent, I agree with Simon's analysis o...To a great extent, I agree with Simon's analysis of what went wrong with the Republican party. The Tom Delays, Ted Stevens, Trent Lotts, etc. have no place in a party dedicated to small government. I think esp. pernicious was Tom Delay's view that it was the Republicans' turn at the head of the public trough.Bruce Haydenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10815293023158025662noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-27848120652438871262008-10-08T18:32:00.000-05:002008-10-08T18:32:00.000-05:00Let me fix that for you. Greed is the default sett...<I>Let me fix that for you. Greed is the default setting of your average human being, Wall Street is neither the exception or the rule. While there is a hue and cry from the electorate to reign in Wall Street greed, a little introspection on Main Street is also a tad overdue.</I><BR/><BR/>Also, how about government? Could political contributions have helped cause the failure to regulate here? I would suggest that politicians are no less greedy than anyone else, just more likely to pretend that they aren't. <BR/><BR/>The acceptance that greed is a universal condition of man is really one of the things that distinguishes economic conservatives from their liberal brethren. Socialism depends on the assumption that if man is not ungreedy already, he can be perfected to be so (using the government to coerce this behavior in the case of communism).Bruce Haydenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10815293023158025662noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-45652310773987638422008-10-08T18:04:00.000-05:002008-10-08T18:04:00.000-05:00Well, I agree on all of that, Simon. But McCain sh...Well, I agree on all of that, Simon. But McCain should have been the one of the least tarnished by all of that.<BR/><BR/>The financial crisis was a perfect storm against him, I will say that. I think he mishandled how to respond to that, though.Darcyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05642443487136176511noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-31145434463334658152008-10-08T17:52:00.000-05:002008-10-08T17:52:00.000-05:00Darcy said... "[I]f McCain loses, I wonder how muc...Darcy said... <BR/>"<I>[I]f McCain loses, I wonder how much he'll eventually really grasp as to why?</I>"<BR/><BR/>It isn't hard to see why. Over the last eight years, the Axis of Avarice - Bush, DeLay and Frist shipwrecked the GOP. They betrayed the principles and policies they were hired by the party to implement, and instead governed like exactly the big government fiscally reckless liberals we sent them to Washington to cast out. Even on judicial appointments, the area where Bush has generally been good -- well, look, I was at a conference earlier this week, and Wendy Long talked about how terrific Bush's two appointments to the court are. And Bush talked about his two appointments to the court. But let me tell you one name that wasn't mentioned by anyone, at any time during the day: Harriet Miers. Bush does <I>not</I> get credit for Alito from me. Bush attempted to appoint Harriet Miers until strenuous resistance from conservatives - and Miers' apparent incompetence before the murder boards - led to him giving in and appointing Alito instead. I haven't forgotten that.<BR/><BR/>If all that wasn't bad enough, they were consumed by pathologies of their own - the Bush administration by sheer incompetence, particularly in terms of communication, and the House and Senate by corruption. Let me give an example and a clarification. The example is the US Attorneys "scandal." There, the administration did something indisputably legal, and that - to judge by David Iglesias' appearence on Fresh Air today - would seem to be reasonable. Yet the administration let the Democrats turn this into a weapon; they never competently explained to the public why there was no there there, and it wasn't enough to leave the job to surrogates and supporters. And the clarification is that by corruption I don't mean Bill Jefferson corruption; I don't mean to suggest that Tom DeLay or anyone like that was personally on the take, and I don't think they were. But I think that pork for votes and the K Street Project's influence-peddling <I>are</I> corruption, and the public isn't dumb. They gave us a thrashing for that in '06. <BR/><BR/>Those are the roots of why this is such a monumentally difficult year for Republicans. Even on the war: the war wasn't popular, but what made it politically toxic was the administration's incompetence in prosecuting it. McCain advocated the surge long before it happened, and Bush resisted; if Bush had fired Rumsfeld even as late as January '06, and had he listened to McCain about the need for more troops sooner, our losses in Congress would have been far less pronounced, and Hillary Clinton would have been the Bob Dole nominee of 2008.Simonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10065798213115341398noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-91967910259269099872008-10-08T17:35:00.000-05:002008-10-08T17:35:00.000-05:00Knox: It's a delight! Mr. and Mrs. Bennet are a ho...Knox: It's a delight! Mr. and Mrs. Bennet are a hoot...and Simon's right - Jennifer Ehle just glows in that role. The whole cast is just amazing.<BR/><BR/>To pick up on the Cedarford/Simon comments just now...if McCain loses, I wonder how much he'll eventually really grasp as to why? I am referring to only the parts of this campaign, and of his general attitude/judgement that were within his control.Darcyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05642443487136176511noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-44244477703643291072008-10-08T17:27:00.000-05:002008-10-08T17:27:00.000-05:00Cedarford, I'm not willing to throw America on the...Cedarford, I'm not willing to throw America on the bonfire just to engage in a petty score-settling with McCain. There is too much at stake in this election to let triffling, petty intramural arguments about McCain lead to the election of Obama-Biden.Simonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10065798213115341398noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-78354162802703095282008-10-08T17:24:00.000-05:002008-10-08T17:24:00.000-05:00Hayden - Ever wonder why Obama got more Freddie an...Hayden - <I>Ever wonder why Obama got more Freddie and Fannie contributions than anyone except for Dodd? Who has had two former Fannie Mae CEOs helping (ok, one indirectly). This is the guy who you think is going to regulate intelligently?</I><BR/><BR/>Ever wonder why in 3 separate shots, Lifetime Senator McCain refused to name "My dear friend" fellow Lifetime Senator, Dodd in the debate where he accused Obama as secondary in Fannie and Freddie graft?<BR/><BR/>Because as an ultimate DC insider, McCain thought it would be an unforgivable insult to his "dear friend" Chris, whom he has known and admired for 25 years, to name him.<BR/><BR/>That's the Inside Senate leadership change America can believe in?<BR/><BR/>McCain - too old, too huggie-huggie with his good "my friends!! My dear friends" to lead the country. <BR/>Obama is at least a break from the DC "Insiders" network McCain is an exemplar of.<BR/><BR/>Let the old bastard return to the Senate Well on Capital HIll, to hug "my friends. my friends!!" like Kerry, Teddy, Ted Stevens again.<BR/><BR/>McCain would be miserable in the White Huuse, just muttering about "the genius of the unregulated markets", starting new wars - and away from fellow Senators who are the only group he honestly directs "My friends, my friend" to when talking "straight" to.Cedarfordhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00602418702398818596noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-21244953267184695062008-10-08T17:12:00.001-05:002008-10-08T17:12:00.001-05:00... and I bet I've seen the BBC P&P at lea...... and I bet I've seen the BBC P&P at least ten times. It's going to be the definitive version for a long time.knoxhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13231876226573540476noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-73294571580188226002008-10-08T17:12:00.000-05:002008-10-08T17:12:00.000-05:00LOL, that's Ok, knox! Thanks! :)I enjoyed yours, t...LOL, that's Ok, knox! Thanks! :)<BR/><BR/>I enjoyed yours, too.Darcyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05642443487136176511noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-59995846302983077162008-10-08T17:11:00.000-05:002008-10-08T17:11:00.000-05:00Darcy, sorry! I was skimming through pretty quickl...Darcy, sorry! I was skimming through pretty quickly, got your comment mixed up, thinking it was Doyle saying it. I'm used to calling him "twit" and the like.<BR/><BR/>...sincerest apologies. I enjoyed your comments in the liveblog yesterday.knoxhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13231876226573540476noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-40620868156644710532008-10-08T17:04:00.000-05:002008-10-08T17:04:00.000-05:00Trooper, that movie was a travesty - casting that ...Trooper, that movie was a travesty - casting that insipid little insect Keira Knightly! <A HREF="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pride_and_Prejudice_(1995_TV_serial)" REL="nofollow">Jennifer Ehle was a far more inspired choice a decade earlier</A>.<BR/><BR/><BR/>Tim:<BR/>"<I>Sure, McCain is a Republican in name only, but he's the best Republican we got at the top of the ticket.</I>"<BR/><BR/>I tend to agree with Michael Barone that - albeit purely by accident - we "<A HREF="http://www.usnews.com/blogs/barone/2008/10/7/john-mccain-had-the-advantage-several-times-this-election-and-fate-took-it-away.html" REL="nofollow">nominated the only candidate, it seems in retrospect, with a chance to win ... [while] Democrats clashed in tribal warfare that inevitably left some in the party unhappy with the nominee</A>."Simonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10065798213115341398noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-30006515888807599952008-10-08T17:01:00.000-05:002008-10-08T17:01:00.000-05:00Perfect, Trooper. I do love the story! My fave mov...Perfect, Trooper. I do love the story! <BR/><BR/>My fave movie version was the BBC version. Colin Firth is my Darcy.Darcyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05642443487136176511noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-6189912080980316182008-10-08T16:58:00.000-05:002008-10-08T16:58:00.000-05:00Mr. Darcy: I... do not have the talent of conversi...Mr. Darcy: I... do not have the talent of conversing easily with people I have never met before. <BR/>Elizabeth Bennet: Perhaps you should take your aunt's advice and practice? <BR/>(Pride & Prejudice 2005)Trooper Yorkhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01978703998566102194noreply@blogger.com