Larry Summers Has Changed His Tune!

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Saturday December 27, 2008 · 9:44 AM PST

2008/12/27 · 09:44

My least favorite of Obama's appointments was Larry Summers for head of the White House National Economic Council. This is the guy, who, along with Robert Rubin and Phil Gramm, deregulated the financial sector in the 90s. He would be one of the last people I'd ask to fix the current economy. But since he's been appointed the question is whether he'll be willing to sacrifice his failed ideology to do what is necessary for the economy. As Naomi Klein put it, "Is Lawrence Summers' ego too big to fail?"

Looks like it might not be.

Loquax

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Thursday September 11, 2008 · 5:11 PM PDT

2008/09/11 · 17:11

Sarah Palin has overtaken the narrative of this election. There can be no doubt about this. No other stories will stick in the current media environment, and it's only likely to get worse in the foreseeable future. She has a three part interview coming out on ABC in the next couple days, and a special on CNN over the weekend, in which she will steal the narrative for at least another week.
Meanwhile, there will no be focus on what she is saying, only on her as a symbolic construct.
She was picked as an empty image, with no previous associations for most of the American public. Thus, she became everything which the republicans wanted her to be. They filled her associations, projected them through the media, and have created their own symbol—one which cannot be attacked and which presents a figure to control the media narrative of their campaign. Through her, they have been able to redefine themselves as the reformers in Washington, and have stolen the meme of "change."

MORE BELOW THE BREAK:

Loquax

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Saturday August 30, 2008 · 9:50 AM PDT

2008/08/30 · 09:50

Rasmussen is out with what is to my knowledge the first and only poll taken after the Palin announcement. The polling in general is a little disconcerting, with a Palin's favorable/unfavorable rating at 53/26. But Rasmussen fails to note that there's a considerable gap between how men and women perceive Palin.

(image from 538.com)

I mainly wanted to link everyone to the post that Nate at fivethirtyeight.com has about this.

Women aren't fooled. They know this choice reeks of tokenism, and is an insult to everyone who supported Hillary Clinton. It is an insult that McCain thinks he can win women's votes this way, and the data looks like people are realizing that.

The Clintons Abandon PUMAs, PUMAs Abandon the Clintons

Loquax

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Wednesday August 27, 2008 · 9:19 PM PDT

2008/08/27 · 21:19

These last two nights, the Clintons have done a fantastic job. With dignity, sincerity, and enthusiasm they declared their commitment to electing Barack Obama the next President of the United States. They were well-reasoned. They explained how Obama's policies were Clinton's policies, Obama's issues were Clinton's issues, and that anyone who supported Hillary for her vision for America would also support Barack Obama.

McCain's people went over Hillary's speech with a fine tooth comb and declared that she had "stopped short of saying he was ready to lead." As if this was her sneaky little revenge.

Then to make matters perfectly clear, Bill Clinton rebounded tonight and in top form declared repeatedly that Obama is ready to lead. He even reminded us (it's about time) that in his own candidacy Bill was criticized for being inexperienced, but that he was able to bring the Democrats to victory and change America for the better.

It is clear that the Clintons were not going to feed the PUMAs. So how do these dozens of enraged voters respond? I put on my gloves and surgical mask and went to their blog to find out.

Loquax

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Friday August 01, 2008 · 4:33 PM PDT

2008/08/01 · 16:33

Last Sunday, my synagogue held a group wedding for seven gay and lesbian couples, now officially recognized as married in the state of California. This was the first such ceremony held since the California Supreme Court decision which became final on June 16.

Kehilla Community Synagogue (in Piedmont, CA, but most accurately described as a Berkeley congregation) is easily one of the most progressive synagogues in the country, both politically and religiously. But this was a landmark event even for a congregation which had been recognizing same-gender weddings for 24 years.

The seven couples--six female and one male--had each been together for many years, raising children and even grandchildren. Most of them had had several ceremonies before: as domestic partners in 1999, in the 2004 "Winter of Love" in SF while that lasted, and other ceremonies religious and nonreligious besides. (More after the jump, as they say.)

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Larry Summers Has Changed His Tune!

Important: Narrative Help For Obama

Palin Polls Worse Among Women Than Among Men

The Clintons Abandon PUMAs, PUMAs Abandon the Clintons

Klezmer and Seven Same-Gender Weddings in One