Well, what do you know? Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson has decided, evidently on his own, to completely reorient the $700 billion bailout program passed by Congress last month. Instead of using that gargantuan (and highly dubious) fund to buy stakes in enterprises that are at risk of failure, as President Bush had specified when begging Congress for the money in late September, Paulson has decided that money would be better spent to prop up the credit sector. Accordingly, he now intends to make sure that consumer credit companies have enough liquidity so that Americans can keep on borrowing and spending like there’s no tomorrow. See the

Continue reading " Hank Paulson changes his tune "

Earlier this month, protests in southern Peru got out of hand, and a state of emergency was declared, authorizing the Army to restore order. Three people were killed and several dozen were injured when workers in the city of Tacna gathered to voice anger at a law passed by the Peruvian Congress that would shift a great share of the proceeds from state-owned mines to the central government in Lima. See CNN.com. “Renting mobs” for the purpose of staging protests is very common in Latin America, and it would be interesting to find what political organizations or labor unions were financing that street battle. Historically, the Peruvian economy (and the economi

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After a political defeat it is perfectly natural for those on the losing side to want to vent their anger and frustration. Whenever a party loses a struggle of such historic proportions as was the case this year, the pressure to lash out is almost irresistable. But because political survival — and ultimate victory — depend above all on keeping an alliance together, it is far better for the party that such criticisms remain out of the public eye, so as not to further besmirch the party’s image. That is why I am refraining from overt blame-pinning for the time being, preferring to think about the fundamental causes of the Republican Party’s downward slide before venturing into the fray.

Unfortunately, that attitude of forebearance is no

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After more than a decade of dormancy and virtual extinction, the Sendero Luminoso (Shining Path) has begun terrorizing parts of Peru once again. Today’s Washington Post reported on the recent surge in violence. During October, the Shining Path killed 17 soldiers and five Peruvian civilians, the biggest number since the 1990s. Drug money has fueled their operations, and it may be that the success of Colombia’s government in putting down the narco-guerrilla movement there has caused a “spillover effect,” as drug traffickers seek new sources and new protection from underworld movements in neighboring countries.

That article refe

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If Dante had written The Inferno in today’s world, I’m sure he would have designated a special place in hell for those who make a career out of raising funds for political campaigns. We are all familiar with the barrages of colorful mail solicitations screaming that the world will come to an end in January if you don’t send in your money right away. Blistering, strident, simplistic political buzz words to get your blood boiling and your wallet opening!! Or what about those “surveys” in which the candidate or party pretends to care what you think about, in hopes that you will send them some of your hard-earned dollars. What kind of fools respond to those dumb appeals, anyway? With all the modern computer technology at their disposal

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Thursday’s New York Times presented an intriguing county-by-county map of the 2008 election, dissecting the “blue shift” which underlay Obama’s historic victory. At first glance, it seems rather misleading, because several states that McCain won are clearly shaded in blue. The reason is that it shows not the percentage of votes received by each party’s candidate, but rather the net shift since the 2004 presidential election. There is a striking geographic concentration of the areas in which McCain did better than Bush did four years ago, stretching from the coal country of southern West Virginia through Tennessee, northern Ala

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As most people expected, Barack Obama defeated John McCain by a clear if not decisive margin yesterday. Barring any recounts, the Electoral College margin was 364 to 174, exactly what U.Va.’s Larry Sabato had projected, and the popular vote margin was 53%-46%. Nine states that voted for President Bush four years ago chose Barack Obama this year; see map and list below.

But enough numbers, already — this is about emotion! Multitudes of people in America and around the world are exulting in a way that is both winsome and perhaps just a little unsettling. While I don’t share in the joy, I can understand why people would feel so deeply about Obama’s big victory, and I feel happy for them in a way. Something like this was bou

Continue reading " Barack Obama’s historic victory "

The “fallout” metaphor is appropriate: Take shelter, everybody! The News Leader interviewed some local Republicans, some of whom think the party has been too moderate and needs to become more conservative. That begs the question, of course, of how conservatism is to be defined. I would agree that the party needs to field candidates with a clear conservative agenda, but those with a narrow, dogmatic approach are unlikely to win a majority of votes. It seems that many Republicans were not very enthusiastic about John McCain’s candidacy, even though he nailed down the nomination fairly early in the 2008 primary season. If people don’t like the candidates that are pro

Continue reading " Election fallout in Virginia "

Can John McCain perform a miracle? Can he actually rally the conservative base of the Republican Party while stealing the Democrats’ thunder on the issue of national service?

It is widely agreed that John McCain’s big advantage as a candidate is that he is held in high esteem by voters in the center of the political spectrum. Yet somehow, that emphasis has been lost in the shuffle during the fall campaign, as McCain and his running mate Sarah Palin have put most of their effort into shoring up their support among the Republican Party’s conservative base. This is a supremely ironic situation. Normally, a candidate can count on his own party’s support, and then tries to build a winning majority by reaching out to other groups. In thi

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Campaign 2008 is winding down as John McCain tries to hold on to key Republican leaning states such as Florida, Ohio, and Virginia, adopting a defensive posture, while Barack Obama aggressively tries to rack up a big Electoral College majority by going to those very same states that have — until recently — been “red-tinted.”

The political experts at the Washington Post (David Broder, Dan Balz, and Chris Cilizza) say that the states in which Obama has a lead in the polls have a total of nearly 300 Electoral College votes. They say the biggest factors that may sway undecided voters at the last minute is whether

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During the month of October, relations between the United States and Bolivia went from chilly to frigid, as humanitarian missions came under the cloud of political conflict. The left-wing populist government of Evo Morales ordered a halt to all cooperation with the U.S. government in the fight against drug trafficking, accusing the United States of subverting his government. Class-based and ethnic conflict has continued to simmer in several regions throughout the past year, making it very unsafe for Americans who work there. In September, the Peace Corps withdrew all 113 of its volunteers from Bolivia, most of whom then left the Peace Corps, while a few decided to stay behind without official approval to help poor people. See the

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To mark the final weekend of the historic Campaign 2008, Saturday Night Live put on a “double header” show this evening. John McCain joined Tina Fey playing Sarah Palin to open the 11:30 show, giving us a rare glimpse of his gentle, self-deprecating nature. I don’t know how McCain had enough time to rehearse, given his busy campaign schedule, but he came across as poised and good-natured.

SNL guest host Ben Affleck “endorsed” McCain (in an ironic sense, alluding to Affleck’s past support for losing candidates) during his greeting monologue, and later in the show did a great job playing MSNBC’s Keith Olberman. I was vaguely aware that Olberman had an ugly reputation as a pompous ass among conservatives, but since I rarely watched MS

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I was privileged to have a front-row seat when NBC’s former anchorman Tom Brokaw spoke to several hundred people at the University of South Dakota’s Neuharth Media Center yesterday. Regarding the current economic crisis and national security threats, he said he couldn’t “remember when there has been such a uniform crisis of confidence across America.” Brokaw refrained from saying who was more likely to win the election, but emphasized the need for national unity and appealing the centrist voters. He said that whomever is elected president next Tuesday, there will be an extraordinarily daunting set of challenges to face. He harked back to FDR in 1933 and John F. Kennedy in 1961 as precedents for the new era we are about to enter. See the

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Out here on the Great Plains, it appears that the Republican Party is plagued with nearly as much factionalism as has been the case in Virginia in recent years. It may well be a nationwide phenomenon, and it’s not a good omen for the McCain campaign as the Moment of Truth approaches. The Sioux City Journal recently reported on a deep rift within the local GOP. After the 2006 general election, when the Democrats won control of the Iowa governorship and both legislative houses, then-chairman of the Woodbury County GOP, Steve Salem, blamed the party’s right wing for discouraging voter turnout. His words rang very familiar to me:

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Among elite opinion-makers, of whatever ideological stripe, there is now a solid consensus: Sarah Palin is just not ready for prime time. Conservatives George Will and David Brooks, and moderates such as Fareed Zakaria, have all expressed grave reservations about her fitness to serve as Chief Executive, leading them to question McCain’s judgment. As late as September, some such as Andrew Sullivan even called on McCain to dump her, which would have been impractical.

One of the conservative pundits who took flak for criticizing Sarah Palin was

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The endorsement of Barack Obama by former Secretary of State Colin Powell was not a big surprise, but it was a serious blow to the campaign of John McCain nonetheless. Secretary Powell is one of the most respected former Bush administration cabinet officials, and his opinion on the merits of war with Iraq carried a lot of weight as Congress deliberated on the matter in 2002 and early 2003. Appearing with Tom Brokaw on NBC’s Meet The Press on Sunday, Powell began with a long, thoughtful preamble on the respective virtues of John McCain and Barack Obama, but it soon became clear which direction he was heading. Powell took sharp exception to the harsh practices and right-wing orientation of the Republican Party in recent years (an assessmen

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I’ve had my doubts about the right wing of the Republican Party in recent years, as far as the shift toward a populist style of campaigning focusing on “values,” and the corresponding lack of concern for prudent oversight of the government which many of them exhibit. I’ve also argued that in times of emergency such as the present, the guidepost for making decisions should be pragmatism rather than ideology — free market or otherwise. Sometimes the headstrong Republicans in the House just make me cringe. Yet the more I think about it, the more I’m inclined to give them credit for resisting pressure to go along with the dubious bank bailout bill demanded by President Bush.

After the initial panicked

Continue reading " House to Wall Street: Drop dead! * "

Based on early returns, it appears that almost two-thirds of the people of Ecuador voted to approve a revised constitution that would greatly enhance the powers of the president. For one thing, he would have the power to dissolve Congress once per term, though that would force new presidential elections to be held. Incumbent presidents would be eligible for reelection after their initial four-year term is up; President Rafael Correa has already served two years, and thus may hold on to power for eight additional years — or more, pending further constitutional revision. The left-wing Correa hailed the results of the referendum, saying, “This confirms the citizens’ revolution.” As reported by the

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With all the last-minute shuffling in connection with the negotiations over President Bush’s proposed big bank bailout, I was afraid that John McCain might not be at his best during last night’s “debate.”* Fortunately, McCain rose to the occasion, showing a solid command of a wide range of issues and poking holes in Obama’s vision of utopia. There were a few awkward moments, such as when McCain talked about the fallen soldier’s bracelet he wears, and Obama came back with a sharp rejoinder. McCain occasionally seemed a little uneasy, but for the most part his poise and dignified demeanor were very reassuring, especially in nerve-wracking times like these.

For his part, Obama came across as a little aloof or even smart-alecky, I th

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President Bush took his case for bailing out the nation’s banking system to the American people last night, and I was less than convinced. Yes, I agree that the Federal government must take action to forestall a financial panic, but we don’t need to stoke the fires any further. The note of dire alarm was uncharacteristically blunt for Bush, who often talks in upbeat terms. See Washington Post.

One thing was missing from his speech, however: a call for national sacrifice for the greater good. It’s just like his risk-averse approach to waging war in Iraq, not wanting to impose any hardships on the folks ba

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