We now have a new write-in candidate for Arizona Supervisory District 4 in Maricopa County.  We need everyone with "SUP: 4" on their voter ids to write in the name Leigh Strickman for Supervisor.  We need at least 600 signatures.  Without those signatures, Republican Max Wilson will run unopposed.

The House Judiciary Committee today, Friday, July 25th, will put Impeachment squarely back "on the table" and restored to its prominent place in our Constitution.

Wednesday 07/25/2008 - 10:00 AM
2141 Rayburn House Office Building
Full Committee
By Direction of the Chairman

I haven't seen or heard Obama's Berlin speech yet. For reasons I won't bore you with, I won't be able to see it until Sunday or Monday. But I did see clips of his interview with Brian Williams on Countdown and Hardball today.

From the diaries I've read here this evening, I gather that watching the video of the speech will probably make me feel pride in being an American -- both because of the quality of our next leader, and because of the way the folks in Berlin were showering the US with love.

But I doubt the emotions generated by the video will exceed the ones generated by hearing Obama speak the sentence I quoted in the title of this diary.

A co-worker of mine, after reading several stories passed off as news on various sites on the internet, in a raised voice of exasperation said, "Man who's running this country."  

I don't know which story set him off, the foreclosure epedemic, young actors Heidi and Spencer going to Iraq, (and I added, us having to know about it), all of the people losing their jobs at Wachovia, probably that video with our current president being a comedian on a drunken tirade. I don't know which story set him off.

Then he added as a possibility, "Is it speculation or manipulaton?" Like these are the two 'people' who were running our nation.

In the end, it's a question of leadership. Will you lead or be led. Do you have real accountability, or do you shift it to others.

The test of leadership, viewed through these questions, leaves doubt about Pres. Bush and Sen. McCain's fitness to lead. Specifically, their insistance that Gen. Petraeus' judgment be followed without question or debate, does not strike me as leadership. A true leader asks the right questions of his subordinates, and as the leader, makes a decision for which he or she is held accountable. Just the opposite is happening in Iraq.

However you define leadership, Barack Obama has an overabundance of it and has done something unprecedented with his ability, no pun intended.

He had a chance.  He had one last, fleeting chance, a brief window of opportunity smashed open by the hurricane winds of his own failed economic theology.  He had this one chance to step up, truly to unite rather than to divide, to speak the truth, to lead.

Faced with one of those grim opportunities that present themselves to Presidents and other world leaders on occasions when Things Go Very Wrong, he had a chance to grab the reins and try to soothe the stampeding horses of the markets.  

He had a chance to utter words that might indicate that, while he truly understood the desperate seriousness of the situation, he was confident that he and the Congress, working closely together in the best interests of the American people, and without regard for partisan advantage, could address the widening gyre of this economic crisis.

And how thuddingly, sickeningly familiar the hawking, self-righteous sound of this, what we can only hope is his final complete failure.

The title is ironic -- I haven't turned Republican and I still think Bush is the worst President ever.  But we can learn very valuable lessons from him, lessons about leadership and how to accomplish our (quite different) political objectives.  Think about it -- here is a President with the lowest approval ratings ever, with over 80% of the country believing his administration has put America on the wrong track, with the opposition party controlling both houses of Congress, and with the majority of the country opposing his policies on virtually every issue -- who continues to get everything he wants on every important issue, from FISA to war funding to tax policy.  Obviously he knows something about winning political fights that Democrats have forgotten.  I had hoped Obama was a change of pace, a candidate who knew how to punch and counterpunch, but his recent actions make me fear otherwise. You don't prove how tough you are by apologizing and retreating, and I'm afraid that Obama is doing too much of both in his attempt to "run to the center" -- not necessarily a bad political strategy if skilfully executed, but disastrous in its current form.

More below the cut.

I've read alot on here about the necessity for Obama to lead, especially in the many, many diaries angry about his FISA decision.

I didn't write this diary to delve into the FISA controversy again, but there is one thing that seems to have been overlooked.

To me, leading does not mean doing what a vocal group wants you to do.

More after the fold...

My July/August 2008 AARP Bulletin just arrived.  In a timely Opinion Section/book excerpt, Andrew Yarrow writes about the explosion of public debt during the Bush years.  Just above Yarrow's piece is Lee Iacocca's cry for leadership in Washington.

Yes folks, be prepared. BushCo is meeting with 'regulators' today to discuss the insolvency of Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae. Any idea who will be footing the bill on this?

(Cross posted from Docudharma)

This is not a criticism - it’s a plea.

We are at a time unlike any other in the 250,000-year history of our species.  What we do now will determine the fate of our kind.  We may soon know whether or not we deserve the name we have given ourselves, homo sapiens sapiens – wise or knowing human.

My first diary was back during the primaries, and it was about trusting Obama. At that time, it was about trusting him to handle the process of completing the primaries sucessfully. Which I did, even though a lot of people didn't think he was doing it right. And I'm glad to say that my faith in him on that front was not misplaced. He did manage to win, despite all the hand-wringing and lectures here about what he needed to do differently.

Now, I don't like that diary being the first thing I see every day when I open my DKos page. It's old and I want to add something new. Hopefully posting this in the middle of the night, it won't knock a better diary off the list too quickly. I just have to add my two cents about the FISA fiasco.

Really the best thing to do is let Obama speak for himself. Read on for some relevant selected quotes from The Audacity of Hope.

Below the fold, a statement from Wes Clark that is truly spot on, clear and, I think, undeniable.

My question to Obama supporters--and I count myself one who has defended him even as he has 'condemned' Wes Clark's statements for obvious political reasons--what should be Obama's response, if any?

According to what Seymour Hersh told us during Fresh Air on NPR today, the war with Iran has already begun.  Our democratic leadership has funded it.  Meanwhile, life goes on as usual.  I'm not really able to comprehend people any more.  Does everyone think it is not happening?  Do they not understand the magnitude of what is going on?  Hersh made it clear that the caving in by North Korea was the final step in paving the way for Bush to go ahead.  Why are we just going about business as usual?  Will it matter who wins the election (IF there is one)?  Maybe I have lost my sense of perspective.  I think not.  Here is Hersh's New Yorker article: Preparing the Battlefield: The Bush Administration steps up its secret moves against Iran.  Hersh is reasonbly sure that the operations are already being carried out and that the funding is flowing for them.  Look below the break for more.

for all that Obama claims that his movement comes from the ground up at a grassroots level, it is truly his inspiration and message of hope from the top-down that has had a trickle down effect from the top of grassroots organizations to the very bottom of local leaders. How his change has made an impact with college democrats and young democrat organizations

Dear Sen. Obama,

Thank you for your support on the FISA bill.  Oh, wait.  Nevermind.

You have shown me today that you don't give a shit about "change".  The only change you are serious about is ensuring your place on the next step of the political ladder.  State senator.  US senator.  President.  Hey, good on you.  Its the American way.  Take what you can get.

But when you claim to be a leader, and to represent a new kind of politics, and take credit for telling people the tough things they dont want to hear, I expect a lot more.

A lot more than what you gave me today.

Color me unimpressed with Senator Obama’s statement with respect to the FISA "compromise".  

There are a number of things that he could have done to take a stand for the very Constitution that he is running to "preserve, protect and defend".  And while I don’t doubt that, as you say, as President you will "carefully monitor the program, review the report by the Inspectors General, and work with the Congress to take any additional steps I deem necessary to protect the lives – and the liberty – of the American people.", you miss the larger point here - and you miss it by a long shot.