This Is Just Eerie

The last season of the West Wing totally predicted this election. Watch for yourself- Hillary never had a chance


(pragmatic? really? Barack?! wha?!)
So maybe if I had watched the West Wing during that time I'd actually be happy with what's going on right now.
I guess this just goes to show television has a huge impact and influence on us
as does this Slate XX blog (which I usually avoid because of their Barackian vibe) post about what happens if you turn off the t.v. and actually pay attention. Issues not image, much?

I'm afraid to even say that among in this crowd, but I'm just trying to be fair. I mostly read the transcript of the debate, because I got home too late to watch it. And from the transcript, one gets a whole different impression. For one thing, you don't get the full force of her pettiness when you don't see it delivered from her pinched mouth. For another, she is just much more impressive, intellectually. Time and time again, she comes up with a smart and, more importantly, specific response that seals the argument, like the line: "It would be as though Franklin Roosevelt said let's make Social Security voluntary." That is a perfect and pithy summary of what her plan does, and it kills his complaint. And in this case, it was Obama who whined no fair and appealed to the moderator: "Brian, I'm getting fillibustered here." Whereas usually he just resorts to generalities, or refers to his days as a community organizer, or some version of the hope riff.

It's hard not to like him more than her. When I'm watching him, I'm thinking about his first book, and some of his great lines, and his wife, and all the things I like about him. When I'm watching her, I'm thinking of Bill's Jesse Jackson line, and her incredibly tedious books, and that embarrassing "Hillary" jazz-hands video. Unlike her, Obama seems constitutionally incapable of losing his cool. But he does not win these debates. On nearly any subject—health care, Iran, Korea—she's more impressive. So, I guess what I'm saying is I wish people would admit they prefer him just because they prefer him, and not give him points he didn't earn.

word. Poor Hillary if she'd run before 1960 (and been a man I guess) she totally would have won. Beauty before brains :(

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The Veep Sweepstakes begin

unless Mitt and Mike's gods decide to work together and miraculously get them back in the race the nomination is John McCain's and so in these last days of February (!) it's only natural to start strategizing and hypothesizing and guessisizing who his running mate will be...6 months before the Republican National Convention. I must say my first choice would have been like Colin Powell but I didn't realize he was so old- where has the time gone? or maybe Condi to snatch the black and woman vote, though of course her association with GWeeB and possibly being a lesbian wouldn't really work.

George Will throws in his few cents in this WaPo column

McCain needs someone who will help him win and be a plausible president during the next four years. He has been in Washington more years than Clinton and Barack Obama combined, and today, as usual, but even more so, Washington is considered iniquitous, partly because McCain, our national scold, incessantly tells the country that its capital is awash in "corruption."

It would be reassuring were he to select a running mate with executive experience administering something larger than a senator's office. So an otherwise well-qualified senator, such as Kay Bailey Hutchison, might not be suitable.

Besides, McCain, who will be 72 on Inauguration Day, might need someone younger. Which would prevent the selection of Colin Powell, 70. Also, a McCain-Powell ticket would slight domestic issues, with which Powell has never been professionally engaged and McCain has rarely been preoccupied.

In politics, gratitude is optional but admirable, and McCain is indebted to Florida Gov. Charlie Crist, 51, who endorsed him on the eve of his state's primary. Because the disastrous recent performance of Ohio's Republican Party will make it difficult for McCain to hold that state's 20 electoral votes, which Bush won, McCain must keep Florida's 27. Crist won the 2006 Republican gubernatorial primary 64 to 33 even though, as Michael Barone writes in his Almanac of American Politics, that election was notably unpleasant: "Here a candidate was attacked for being both gay and for fathering a child out of wedlock."

Crist remains popular but not more so than his predecessor, Jeb Bush, 55. Bush, however, seems determined to take a sabbatical from politics. And it might seem tribal to have a Bush on the national ballot for a seventh time in eight elections.

Three two-term governors might help McCain, including Mississippi's Haley Barbour, 60. He has two things McCain lacks -- impeccable conservative credentials and a genial disposition. He was conspicuously competent in Hurricane Katrina's aftermath. As a political director in the Reagan White House and as national party chairman, 1993-97, when Republicans ended 40 years of Democratic control of the House of Representatives, Barbour demonstrated political subtlety and an agreeable absence of righteousness, qualities McCain as president would need close at hand. Unfortunately, Barbour also was a lobbyist for a while, and the right to "petition the government for a redress of grievances" is another part of the First Amendment that the co-author of McCain-Feingold finds unimpressive.

South Carolina's Gov. Mark Sanford, 47, is more of a maverick than McCain, and Sanford faults his state party for being insufficiently conservative. His frugality has had him at daggers drawn with the state Legislature, which Republicans control. His populism is an acquired taste -- he should not have lugged those two live pigs into the Legislature to express his disapproval of pork -- but he favors expanding school choice, eliminating the state income tax and, at the national level, reforming entitlement programs.

Finally, Minnesota's Tim Pawlenty, 47, is national co-chairman of McCain's campaign. His is the only state (10 electoral votes) to go Democratic in the past eight presidential elections. The candidate who wins a majority of the electoral votes in the Mississippi Valley usually wins the White House. Pawlenty is a center-right politician in a center-right country, and the Minnesota Twins will open a new ballpark in 2010 because he helped to provide public funds, a practice that red-blooded Americans deplore in principle but enjoy in practice.

Pat Tomey, who as president of the conservative Club for Growth probably carries a bit more influence than Will offered up five acceptable candidates earlier this month in the Wall Street Journal

The Republican Party spent decades building its brand as the party of small government, free enterprise and fiscal discipline. That brand put Ronald Reagan in the White House in 1980 and gave Republicans control of Congress in 1994. When it became clear two years ago that Republicans had abandoned those principles, voters swept them from power.

The path back requires re-establishing the GOP as a party of limited government and economic freedom. This is essential to Mr. McCain's political future, the fortune of his party, and the economic well-being of the nation. And the first big indication that he intends to bring back the party of Reagan will be who Mr. McCain taps as his running mate.

- South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford: If there is a governor anywhere in America who has demonstrated a commitment to economic conservatism, it is Mr. Sanford. The mild-mannered former congressman has been willing to wage spending fights even against members of his own party. Facing an inherited $155 million deficit, Mr. Sanford vetoed 106 spending items. When the Republican legislature over-rode all but one of his vetoes, he carried two pigs into the Capitol, one named Pork the other Barrel.

Mr. Sanford also pushed through property and small-business tax cuts. As a member of Congress, Mr. Sanford was a reliable opponent of legislation expanding the size of government, and a supporter of personal accounts for Social Security before it was politically acceptable. He was also a champion of school choice.

- South Carolina Sen. Jim DeMint: When it comes to fighting government spending in Washington, Mr. DeMint can be found on the frontlines. Mr. DeMint, a strong believer in the power of free-market solutions, has introduced a number of bills to restrict the federal government's reach. He's proposed legislation that would allow Americans to buy health insurance across state lines, opening the health-care market to greater competition. He is pushing legislation that would improve on the No Child Left Behind Act by expanding school-choice options and empowering parents and local officials. Mr. DeMint has also taken aim at the burdens Sarbanes-Oxley imposed on our public companies. He wants to repeal the death tax. And he's an ardent free trader, never wavering on the issue even when viciously attacked during his 2004 Senate race.

Indiana Rep. Mike Pence: Over seven years in Congress, the former chairman of the Republican Study Committee has established himself as a principled, determined conservative. An active defender of political speech, Mr. Pence voted against McCain-Feingold campaign-finance restrictions and led the fight against the ironically named Fairness Doctrine, designed to limit the speech of conservative talk radio. On taxes, Mr. Pence has been a strong proponent of tax cuts, calling the death tax "an economic growth killer." Mr. Pence opposed the Republican-backed Medicare prescription drug bill, calling it "the beginning of socialized medicine in America." Instead, he introduced the Small Business Health Insurance Act to make it easier for small businesses to purchase health insurance.

Former Texas Sen. Phil Gramm: [Ed. Note: He's still alive?!] He is best known for the spending reduction measure that bears his name, the Gramm-Rudman law, which required automatic budget cuts if the deficit was not decreased to specified levels. But Mr. Gramm is a stellar economic conservative across the board. To quote him, he was "conservative before conservative was cool." Before retiring from the Senate in 2002, he led fights against energy price caps, the "windfall profits" tax on oil companies, President Bill Clinton's tax hikes and Hillary Clinton's health-care behemoth. And he fought for welfare reform. He has fought against big-government measures like increasing mileage standards on automakers and voted against McCain-Feingold.

Forbes Inc. CEO Steve Forbes: While Mr. Forbes is an out-of-the-box pick, the desire for an outsider this year is huge. And with voters also worried about the economy, Mr. Forbes would be a natural complement to Mr. McCain. Given Mr. McCain's acknowledged unfamiliarity with economic issues, Mr. Forbes would provide the Arizona senator with instant credibility both with conservatives and independents who respect Mr. Forbes' business acumen. In addition, Mr. Forbes's ardent support for free trade, personal accounts for Social Security, the flat tax, school choice and less government overall has made him a darling of economic conservatives.

But whoever Johnny Mac picks ( it probably won't be Newt, even though he's offered himself) and I'm leaning toward Crist or Sanford but one thing is reasonably sure, he, or maybe she will have to toe Johnny's line on Castro ""I hope he has the opportunity to meet Karl Marx very soon."
Oh snap!
And people dare to think McCain's a communist plant

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Hope I Didn't Just Give Away The Ending

The Onion News Network is reporting on an embarrassing leak that prematurely revealed the winner of this year's presidential election. Here's a hint, he's white...and gets 48&

Embarrassed Diebold officials apologized after one of their electronic voting machines prematurely revealed the winner of our upcoming sham election.

Diebold Accidentally Leaks Results Of 2008 Election Early

It does kinda take a lot of the fun and excitement out of it. At least it'll be more relaxing. But it must be said I, for one, welcome our McCain overlord.

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Mike Huckabee is Livin' On a Prayer

concerning his hopes of winning the Republican nomination

Good thing there is a dedicated group who will do just that this sunday
Q. Why pray for Huckabee on 2-24-08?
A. Because we believe Mike Huckabee is the best option for America. We're calling on God to help elect the man we believe is the best option to be president in The United States Of America.

Q. Are you saying God has chosen Huckabee to be president?
A. That's not for us to say. All we're saying is that we think Huckabee is the best option for president and we're asking God to make that happen.

Q. So you're saying God wants Huckabee to be president and you'll follow what ever Huckabee says and does because he is God's man?
A. Oh don't be silly. We're not proclaiming he's God's man, we're just saying we like the guy and we want him to be our president. Of course we won't blindly follow him, we didn't check our brains at the door.

Q, Aren't you shoving your beliefs down our throats?
A. Unless someone has a gun to your head and is forcing you to this site, of course not. And if they have a gun to your head, duck! You're free to pray or not to pray for Huckabee. You're free to go post on a blog or message board about how dumb this all seems to you. This is America, you can do that. And we can decide to pray for the guy we like.

Q. Isn't this all kind of theocratic and cult like?
A. No because we're not forcing you at the butt of a gun to pray for Huckabee. We're not proclaiming eternal damnation unless you support our guy. We're all free thinking people who believe Huckabee is the best man for the job. We also realize there are free thinking people who think he's the worst man for the job. So be it! We still want to pray for him.

Q. What if we pray and God doesn't do something miraculous to help Huckabee get elected?
A, Well then I guess he won't be elected, huh? At least we can't say we didn't try.

And trying is all you can do.(huckabee's)Ggod knows that's what Mike is still doing in a rather interesting strategy to deadlock John McCain and snatch the nom at the Convention

In an interview with a San Antonio radio station this morning, Mike Huckabee essentially confirmed the suspicions of many analysts. He's hanging on in the Republican presidential nomination fight hoping to keep John McCain from winning enough delegates to get the nomination on the first ballot at the Republican National Convention in September.

Huckabee's thinking: With no clear nominee, the conservative wing will move to him, and he might be able to snatch the nomination in a floor fight, he told station WOAI-AM (1200). But it will take an upset win in Texas on March 4 to do that, he said.

"If we win Texas, I think it changes the dynamics of this race," Huckabee said. "It could well go all the way to the convention. If the convention delegates pick the president, chances are they would pick the most conservative. I would be the one they would end up picking, if that’s the criteria."

Sorry Mike but you don't have a prayer, unless on Sunday you prove your god is better than mine

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What psychological personality tests reveal about Clinton, Obama, and McCain

A ridiculously interestingly article by Emily Yoffe.
I tried to edit it down for this post but like every morsel is important and delicious. And all the italicized comments are mine of course.

During the 2000 presidential campaign, I applied the principles of personality assessment, based on the theories of psychiatrist Carl Jung, to candidates George W. Bush and Al Gore. Forgive me if it sounds like gloating, but here's what my research revealed about the personality type of the future 43^rd president of the United States: "They are decisive and little bothered by second thoughts and self-doubt." "Since [they] do not reflect very much on their errors or analyze their mistakes to any great extent, it is difficult for them to learn from their errors, and so they can become caught in a loop, repeating their mistakes."
It's time again to apply the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator to our presidential candidates. (I did not include Mike Huckabee in my evaluations, because I couldn't bring myself to imagine a Huckabee administration.) The MBTI was developed by a mother-daughter team that wanted a practical application for the ideas of personality developed by Jung. By mixing and matching four poles of personal style—extravert and introvert being the best known—the women came up with 16 personality types.

Such personality testing is often derided by academia, but it's used widely by corporations, the military, and government to understand different leadership styles and the dynamics of working in groups. Finding out your personality type requires answering dozens of questions. Figuring the candidates wouldn't fill out their own questionnaires, I studied their biographies and came to my own conclusions.

Hillary Clinton
Hillary Clinton is a Guardian, and her specific type is an ESTJ, what Keirsey calls "the Supervisor." Supervisors are, Keirsey says, steadfast, cautious, methodical. They are the reliable, detail-oriented people without whom organizations and society fall apart—which is something ESTJs won't hesitate to point out. "[T]heir first instinct is to take charge and tell others what to do," says Keirsey. They are "devoted public servants, seeing their role in government … in almost sacred terms of self-sacrifice and service to others." This service is an obligation, not given "freely and joyously." As columnist Richard Cohen observed about Hillary, "Whether she meant to or not, she has presented herself as a model of caution, of experience hard-earned and not enjoyed. …"

Keirsey says Guardians' "self-esteem is greatest when they present themselves as dependable, trustworthy or accountable in shouldering their responsibilities." In other words, an ESTJ wants everyone to know she's "ready to be president on Day 1." According to Please Understand Me II (all the quotes are from the books), about half of our presidents, from George Washington to George H.W. Bush, have been Guardians, with Harry Truman being an ESTJ like Hillary (she loves to quote Truman's "The buck stops here.").
[Point for Hillary]

Guardian leaders are not the big thinkers or the bold doers (although they can take bold action if they carefully conclude that's what the circumstance requires). They have, says Keirsey, "a stabilizing and consolidating effect." In a New Yorker profile of Hillary, George Packer wrote that her now-infamous remark that it took a president to realize Martin Luther King's dream reflected Hillary's belief that "the Presidency is more about pushing difficult legislation through a fractious Congress than it is about transforming society."

ESTJs are most comfortable in the world of the specific. Keirsey says they will listen politely to "theoretical or fanciful" conversation—what an ESTJ surely thinks of as a certain other candidate's gasbaggery—then "shift to more concrete things to talk about, more solid and sensible topics" using their ability to call up at will "an enormous fund of facts." (Ever heard a Hillary speech?)

It is this ESTJ-ness that may explain the failure of Hillary's health-care initiative as first lady. ESTJs like nothing better than digging deep into the specifics of a system and batting out proposals with trusted staff, then presenting the perfect fait accompli to a grateful public. As Kroeger points out, ESTJs can be stunned when the plans fail: "Having packaged the argument so neatly and precisely, how could anyone possibly disagree?" Keirsey says this blindness comes from the concrete-thinking ESTJ's pronounced weakness at the abstract arts of strategy and diplomacy. Hillary neither foresaw the attacks by competing interests nor had the people skills to win over her opponents.

Referring to ESTJs, Kroeger says, "[O]f all the sixteen types this is the most conventionally masculine." The New York Times' Maureen Dowd pointed out that actor Jack Nicholson called Hillary "the best man for the job," and Hillary said on David Letterman, "In my White House, we'll know who wears the pantsuits." But Hillary also revealed the struggle of the ESTJ woman when she told Packer, "[T]he world is only beginning to recognize that women should be permitted the same range of leadership styles that we permit men."
[Point for Hillary]

The Guardians' steadfast posture also applies to their marriages. Keirsey writes that they are "extremely loyal to their mates and feel obliged to stand by them in times of trouble and help them straighten up and fly right. As a result, Guardians more easily than any other temperament can be hooked into becoming the rescuer of troubled mates." (Bill Clinton is an ESFP, what Keirsey calls "the Performer"—"thriving on the excitement of being on-stage." ESFPs are also "inclined to be impulsive and self-indulgent, which makes them vulnerable to seduction.")

The ESTJ can, to her detriment, says Keirsey, see the world as inhabited by good people and bad people. Think of the "vast right-wing conspiracy" or how Hillary touts her "battle scars." In The New Yorker, a former friend said of her, "Hillary needs enemies."

Kroeger writes that ESTJs "do not cope well when things don't go as planned." They have a "short fuse when anything suggests they are losing control. The ESTJ can become loud, rigid, domineering, and can induce a great deal of stress within anyone nearby." If Truman was "Give 'Em Hell Harry," then the current ESTJ seeking the highest office could end up nicknamed "Go to Hell Hillary."

Barack Obama

Barack Obama—no one will be surprised to learn—is an Idealist. His specific type is an ENFP, what Keirsey calls "the Champion." ENFPs, says Keirsey, are "filled with conviction that they can easily motivate those around them." Champions work to "kindle, to rouse, to encourage, even to inspire those close to them with their enthusiasm." Idealists "usually have a tongue of silver" and are "gifted in seeing the possibilities" of institutions and people. Here's Obama on leadership: "[W]e need leaders to inspire us. Some are thinking about our constraints, and others are thinking about limitless possibility."

This ability to move people through imagery and rhetoric carries a danger for the ENFP, says Keirsey—a belief in "word magic." "Word magic refers to the ancient idea that words have the ability to make things happen—saying makes it so." This is the basis of the critique of Obama by his less-soaring opponents. Hillary complains that people ask her to "give us one of those great rhetorical flourishes and then, you know, get everybody all whooped up." (As if she could.) Says John McCain, "To encourage a country with only rhetoric is not a promise of hope. It is a platitude."

Keirsey says Idealist leaders should be called catalysts because "[t]he individual who encounters such a leader is likely to be motivated, animated, even inspired to do his or her very best work." The New Yorker's Packer writes, "Obama offers himself as a catalyst by which disenchanted Americans can overcome two decades of vicious partisanship. …"

Idealists are deeply introspective. According to Keirsey, their "self-confidence rests on their authenticity," which makes them "highly aware of themselves as objects of moral scrutiny." Idealists, such as Thomas Paine, Mohandas Gandhi, and Martin Luther King Jr., tend to be leaders of movements, not office-holders. If Obama is elected, not only would he be the first black president, but according to Keirsey, he'd be the first Idealist president. (Kroeger speculates that Lincoln may have been an Idealist.) Idealists are rare in any executive position. In a survey Kroeger did of the personality types who make it to top management, less than 1 percent were ENFPs—while almost 30 percent were Hillary's type, the ESTJ. But the 16 types are not evenly distributed in the population and ENFPs themselves are rare—Keirsey estimates only about 2 percent of people are ENFPs. Kroeger says the ENFP can be an effective boss. "At their best they bring a refreshing alternative style to top management and decision making."

Keirsey says that the Idealist is the unusual leader who is "comfortable working in a climate where everyone has a vote." In a Vanity Fair profile, Todd Purdum quotes a Harvard Law School classmate of Obama's describing his collaborative style as editor of the Law Review. Obama was "someone who wanted the group decisions to reflect the group's intent, not Barack's intent." (This classmate added, "I actually would have been happier for him to say sometimes, 'This is how we're doing this, and shut up!' ") Wanting inclusiveness has been a hallmark of Obama's career and his campaign. Purdum noted that in the Illinois Legislature, "Obama made friendships across the aisle" and used his people skills to get some difficult legislation passed. In a speech, Obama described this ability: "If you start off with an agreeable manner, you might be able to … recruit some independents into the fold, recruit even some Republicans into the fold."

As leaders, Keirsey says, the Idealists possess a "diplomatic intelligence." They "seek common ground," want to "forge unity," arrive at "universal truths," and are "trusting." Given these qualities, it should be no surprise that Obama says that as president, he would quickly sit down with our enemies. He told Paris Match, "I want to have direct talks with countries like Iran and Syria because I don't believe we can stabilize the region unless not just our friends but also our enemies are involved in these discussions."

Plans such as this have resulted in Hillary Clinton, Rudy Giuliani, and others accusing the possible next commander in chief of naiveté. Keirsey says the Idealist has to be careful not to make errors in judgment by projecting "their own attributes onto others." Because they tend to have a positive outlook, they can be "surprised when people or events do not turn out as anticipated."

The ENFP can have a problem with "restlessness," says Kroeger. "As a task or responsibility drags on and its mantle becomes increasingly routine, the ENFP can become more pensive, moody, and even rigid."[Which means that two years after he's elected he'll get bored and want to run for King of the World] Obama himself referred in a debate to his disorganization and dislike of paperwork—and his self-knowledge that "I need to have good people in place who can make sure that systems run." But as Purdum writes, it is Obama's "restlessness" that prompted him "to take a chance, to aim higher—when others told him to wait his turn."

McCain

John McCain is an Artisan, and his specific type is an ESTP, what Keirsey calls the Promoter. The ESTP is, according to Keirsey, "practical, optimistic, cynical, and focused on the here and now." If the ESTP portrait gives you a feeling of déjà vu, it's because George W. Bush is an ESTP, too. They are a common presidential type: Both Roosevelts, JFK, and LBJ were ESTPs. "Artisans need to be potent, to be felt as a strong presence and they want to affect the course of events," writes Keirsey. They hunger to "have a piece of the action," "to make something happen" whether "on the battlefield" or "in the political arena." So many politicians are Artisans because "politics allows not only for maneuvering, excitement, and risk—but for powerful social impact."

In a Newsweek profile of McCain, Republican Sen. Susan Collins of Maine said, "He's a real player in the Senate. He has tremendous impact." As McCain said to Esquire, "I get attacked everyday because I'm working with Ted Kennedy. How can I work with Kennedy? Because I want to get something done."

"Artisans also make everyone else look like amateurs when it comes to improvising survival tactics," writes Keirsey. Their wily ability to make do in dire circumstances makes them "successful scroungers as prisoners of war." Newsweek describes how "McCain survived in prison camp by sheer cussedness."

Artisans "are not threatened by the possibility of failure in themselves or others, so they are likely to take risks and encourage others to do the same." That is how a man whose election prospects were dim only a few months ago can say to the Washington Post of the campaign, "Actually, it's been very invigorating, it really has been."

Promoters have strong people skills, but it is not the warm sense of connection one gets from an Idealist like Obama. "Promoters are so engaging … that they might seem to possess an unusual amount of empathy, when in fact this is not the case," writes Keirsey. "Rather, they are uncanny at reading people's faces and observing their body language." Or as the Wall Street Journal recently wrote, "When Mr. McCain took the stage in Sun City, the applause was polite. When he finished, he got a standing ovation. … [H]is ability to sense and ride the emotional flow of an audience is astonishing."

Grand theories are not for the ESTP. "No high-flown speculation for the Artisan, no deep meaning or introspection. [They] focus on what actually happens in the real world, on what works, on what pays off, and not on whose toes get stepped on." This is how you get labeled a "maverick" and "Sen. Hothead." This is why the Wall Street Journal writes, "Mr. McCain's great political strength has also been his main weakness, which is that his political convictions are more personal than ideological."

Keirsey says Artisans "are the world's great risk-takers. They delight in putting themselves in jeopardy, taking chances, facing hazards." (Does this sound familiar? See: Iraq.) When times call for careful planning, or consistent, long-term management, you don't call on the ESTP. Keirsey writes that they "may be careless about details" or "they can be unprepared at times when preparation is called for, and can spring the unexpected on colleagues." "They are like firemen who, having nothing to do set fires so that they can put them out."

I had hoped that would lead to some conclusion about who would be best but alas.
What I do know is that I used to be an ENFP…then I grew up and old.
I don't know what I am anymore
That's sad...

But you...you can test yourself here

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