Friday, November 07, 2008

Coalition of the willing

I. There is a scene in Driving Miss Daisy, in which the old Jewish lady and her black chauffeur have stopped by the side of the road, to have a picnic. Two policemen arrive and tell them to move on. They drive off in somewhat of an anxious hurry. One of the Alabama troopers squints after them and drawls: An old nigger and an old Jew woman takin' off down the road together... that is one sorry sight!

II. The New Republic's Marty Peretz, a besotted Obamist, and Commentary's Noah Pollak, a determined Obama sceptic, are in perfect agreement about two subjects: Rahm Emanuel, and Rabbi Michael Lerner.

Says Marty, with barely restrained jubilation:

No one wants to play with "Rabbi" Michael Lerner, the editor of Tikkun. And one wants to sing his songs either. At least that's what he's written in a slightly hysterical "news alert" announcing that "Rahm Emanuel is No Reason for Hope or Celebration."... as soon as the appointment of Congressman Emanuel as White House chief-of-staff was announced Lerner began to sulk. And no one would sing such songs in the White House.

Noah Pollak, wryly:

" Leftist alienation with Obama is already setting in, and it is hilarious. Here is “Rabbi” Michael Lerner...

You get the sense that Lerner wants to be shut out. Complaining about being shut out or silenced or marginalized or othered comprises approximately three quarters of Lerner’s day; how would he fill his time if it was otherwise?...

For some of us, reading missives from jilted progressives is a healing experience"

Looks like Rahm Emanuel's new appointment set off a furor on the blogosphere. My usually more sedate sitemeter registered nearly a 100 hits today on this post I wrote about Rahm's name. And the day is not over yet. That's quite a lot, for my little blog.

III. On Pajama Media someone was saying:

"Since Emanuel is a hard-core pro-Israel supporter does this mean that the next President of the US will be under control of the Zionists running the white house and the world?

Wasn’t “Neo-con Zionists running the White House” the main reason why the Progressive Left and their Buchananite allies Hated President George W Bush?"

I have to admit, the same thought crossed my mind. Is this the harbinger of the coming together of the neo-cons and the liberal hawks, which I have been predicting for three years now? Has Obama signed on to the Euston Manifesto? And how does this fit into the Mearsheimer & Walt doctrine? Does it refute, or confirm it?

IV: Interesting times, ahead. Here is a taste:

America, now you've done it. You just elected an African-American from Chicago President, and traveling with him to the White House will be his good friend Rahm Emanuel. Congressman Emanuel will probably be the new Chief of Staff, which is quietly the most important job in most administrations. Emanuel is the powerful young former head of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, and his reputation is that of a political bruiser. The Emanuel selection demonstrates that unlike Clinton in 1992, Obama is not fucking around.

6 Comments:

At 12:38 AM EST, Anonymous Anonymous said...

What's it all mean, I am very worried about the coming Obama administration.

 
At 3:06 AM EST, Blogger Roland Dodds said...

Rahm is a good sign, but since he is Chief of Staff, his personal views on the world may not play a part at all in the administration.

However, making his first appointment a veteran of the IDF and a supporter of Israel, well that’s a good start.

 
At 3:37 PM EST, Blogger Marcia Miner said...

I thought he was an East Indian and he reminds me of Nehru.

I love this comment by Pelosi

"Emanuel is well known in politics for his aggressive style, and his vocabulary can reflect that. Nancy Pelosi reportedly once said that the economic stimulus plan could be paid for if we 'put a quarter in a jar every time Rahm uses a swear word.'"

Two other traits he is known for that I have heard make him a good choice is that he is honest and loyal.

 
At 4:43 AM EST, Blogger bob said...

Talking of jilted leftists, have you read Judith Butler's screed? The original doesn't seem to exist on the web, but it's circulating virally:
Uncritical Exuberance? Judith Butler's take on Obama

 
At 10:13 AM EST, Blogger The Contentious Centrist said...

Bob, how do you create a link in the comments? Please explain it to me as though you were speaking to a 5 year old.

 
At 5:47 AM EST, Anonymous Anonymous said...

I started to answer this yesterday, then my browser just closed. OK, blogger comments can handly basic html tags, including the ones that are links. Html tags are the markup signs with < type brackets around them. So, you learn how to do a link, but that's beyond me.

Otherwise, there are two ways, both cumbersome. The less cumbersome way is if you have a google toolbar, which you can download from the google website (click on "more" at the top, then "even more", then find the google toolbar and follow instructions). Once you've got it, you get the red blogger B in the top of your web browser, or something that says "send to" and then a choice which includes the red blogger B. When you have the page you want to link to open, click that and you get a little window which is creating a post. Click "edit html" in the top right (instead of "rich text", the default, which is for normal people), then you can copy and paste the html link into the comment box, and then just close the little window the toolbar created.

The more cumbersome way is to start to create a new post, from the normal blogger dashboard, create a link as you would in a post, and again click "Edit html" instead of "compose", and copy and paste into the comment box.

Phew.

The cumbersomeness of these possibilities is one of the reasons that if I started again now I might be a wordpress user not a blogspot user...

 

Post a Comment

<< Home