November 17, 2008
Ranking Obama’s Best Speeches: Part 2 of 2 (Terence Kane)
In case you missed the first part of this series, you can click here to catch up with the list.
I started Part 1 of the blog by mentioning the hype surrounding Obama’s inaugural address. If I was to give Obama one piece of advice for that speech, I would suggest going back and watching all the available video of first presidential inaugural addresses and making sure yours doesn’t sound like theirs. Last week I went to the newly opened Newseum for the first time and watched their video exhibit on inauguration speeches, and they were all remarkably similar — and not in a good way. They all had “change” as the central theme of their addresses, and when they were run back-to-back they sounded prosaic and disingenuous (especially Nixon’s proclamation that he was called upon to be a peacemaker). > Read More
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What's This November 14, 2008
Obama’s Top 10 Speeches, Part 1 of 2 (Terence Kane)
As Jan. 20 approaches and the anticipation for Obama’s inaugural address rises, it’s easy to lose sight of all the notable speeches Obama has given that led him to the presidency. In a recent New Yorker column, an Obama aide reportedly told Obama that he was a better clutch performer than Michael Jordan, to which Obama is said to have replied, “Just give me the ball.” Over and over again, when his campaign was in danger, he took the ball and delivered some of the great moments in presidential politics. I don’t particularly believe in “clutchness” as a repeatable skill, but it’s obvious that, like Jordan, Obama is simply better at his trade than anyone of his generation.
Which got me thinking: Wouldn’t it be interesting to rank Obama’s top 10 speeches, much like we rank Jordan’s best hard-court performances? Sure, there’s always the risk that the fawning over his speeches will sound like a piece of campaign literature, or an hour of MSNBC, but honestly, who doesn’t love lists? I think it’s worth the risk. > Read More
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What's This November 4, 2008
Going on the Record (Terence Kane)
I just want to make sure I get my projection on the record, so that if I’m right I can have undisputed bragging rights for the next four years. Of course, it’s easy for me to make these predictions, because there are never any consequences for a pundit being wrong (just ask Bill Kristol). Not even that one time.
Obama’s electoral total: 379. I believe the big surprise will be Obama’s success in the South, winning Virginia, North Carolina and Georgia. This is also a good number to guess, because it allows for an Obama victory in either Indiana or Missouri, since they are both worth 11 electoral votes. You better hurry home from your evening commute, or you may miss the only drama in the presidential campaign if the networks make a call in Virginia at 7 p.m. EST. > Read More
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What's This October 28, 2008
Billy Beane, Two Other Guys, and Healthcare (Terence Kane)
In Friday’s New York Times, Oakland Athletics’ General Manager Billy Beane, along with two politicians, co-wrote an op-ed arguing for the use of greater statistical analysis to bring down the costs of healthcare, while also increasing its efficacy. While the oddball pairing of former Democratic presidential nominee Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.) and former Republican House Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-Ga.) are the powerhouse names on the letter, it’s Billy Beane’s that should inspire the most confidence.
There are some people who are so talented that they make things more interesting no matter what the medium or format. If you are a Tony Kornheiser devotee, you probably have gone to great lengths to follow him in print, radio and TV. I feel this way about Billy Beane. I was intrigued to learn that Beane has already turned his analytical eye on soccer (my favorite sport), and now it turns out that he has a plan to fix healthcare. What’s next? Is it possible Beane would be willing to serve on a presidential commission to fix the Metro escalators? > Read More
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What's This October 21, 2008
‘Colbert Report’: Unlikely Leader of the Weeknight (Terence Kane)
I never thought I would write this, but after three years on the air, “The Colbert Report” is consistently funnier than not only its Comedy Central predecessor, “The Daily Show,” but every nightly comedy program.
When “The Colbert Report” first aired, I wondered how the show would stay fresh, relying on what I thought was essentially a single joke. It seemed likely that “The Colbert Report” would have exactly the same problem “Saturday Night Live” has when it tries to stretch a five-minute sketch into a feature-length movie — it might work at the beginning, but eventually it’s going to seem stale and tired. The opposite has happened. > Read More
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What's This October 17, 2008
Bookies Pay Out on Obama Victory (Terence Kane)
Paddy Power, Ireland’s largest bookmaker, has announced that it will not wait for the results on Election Day and will pay out over a million euros’ worth of bets on Obama to become the next president.
Paddy Power occasionally makes early payouts when the betting public is significantly behind a bet. In this case, the smart and wishful money has been flooding to Obama. The early payout gives Paddy Power a nice bit of publicity and encourages winning betters to gamble back their winnings on the upcoming weekend of soccer matches. Having benefited from one of these early payouts before, I have to admit I didn’t even last till the weekend and was betting on the live simulcast greyhound racing action from Romford, but I digress. > Read More
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What's This October 16, 2008
An Obama Administration: Liberal or Conservative? (Terence Kane)
With Barack Obama carrying a comfortable lead into the final furlong of the presidential race, there has been considerable speculation on what ideological direction an Obama administration will take. The two most popular predictions are 1) that Obama will be handcuffed by the Blue Dogs or 2) that he will be unable to contain the instincts of the liberal wing of the House Democratic Caucus.
What both of these perspectives miss is that for at least for the first hundred days, all the political gravity in Washington will be centered in the Oval Office. Obama will get considerable room to maneuver on his own priorities. The first hundred days will be like throwing Michael Phelps into a pool with kids from the local YMCA swim team. Who do you think is going to get most of the airtime? > Read More
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What's This October 9, 2008
An Emerging Consensus? (Terence Kane)
David Broder and Joe Klein converge on a similar argument in their columns today: Barack Obama is likely to be the next president of the United States and he has yet to transition to a governing posture where he will have to share with the country the hard realities of the new economic landscape.
At yesterday’s New America Foundation panel discussion of top economists and budget experts at the National Press Club, there was a similar convergence on what the realities of that new economic landscape will look like — and it isn’t pretty. > Read More
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What's This October 2, 2008
Corporate Tax Rate Illusions (Terence Kane)
Last week, John McCain and Newt Gingrich cited Ireland's low corporate tax rate of 11 and 12 percent, respectively, (it's actually 12.5 percent) as evidence that American business were overtaxed.
Well, you don't have to be Warren Buffett or Bono to know that there are some large differences between the U.S. and Irish economies and that what works for the Irish economy is certainly not what would work for the U.S. economy (though I wonder why they didn’t mention Ireland’s universal healthcare system, or free tuition at its universities). > Read More
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What's This September 23, 2008
Legislation You Don’t Have to Hold Your Nose to Pass (Terence Kane)
A few weeks ago, when Congress came back from its August recess I blogged that I thought Congress should resist the temptation to use its remaining time in session as a proxy for the election in November and instead focus on passing some common-sense legislation.
That was before the financial meltdown on Wall Street kicked into high gear, but Congress has nonetheless followed through and passed the Fostering Connections to Success and Increased Adoptions Act of 2008, the most significant reform of the nation’s child welfare and foster care system in at least a decade. > Read More
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