The Obama Effect?

The Specter Effect!
The Hartmann Effect?
Bottom Line? Not Devolution.

The President is a progressive that needs pushing or convincing while it might be just a hunch that it was more than just self preservation for Specter not to run to the right. I think history should look kindly on Specter to have fought for what he believed rather than go with the flow of Republicans. While Specter was always a crafty navigator of issues, I think that he would rather lose as a moderate than run as a revolutionary.
[This opinion does not rely** on a read of the first two links, while a scroll over of the rest may suffice to get a jist.]

[** nor certainly endorse or bother read]
[Just in! Thom Hartmann predicts Sestak for President in 2016! Not to mention my ironic endorsement of my 2nd link. Ironic in that, how can one believe an NRSC ad? It makes me endorse him, although I am not a Pennsylvanian.]

The Nature of Things

Air America Today shouts Fifty-Nine!
It seems to imply that Democrats are off the hook. The moderate/independent middle seems to say that they want checks-and-balances which in turn should turn progressives loose now that there is a potential filibuster. Some have accused this middle of being low-information voters, but others claim them to be those that want the change they were promised or in the case of Massachusetts, those that have their health care and worry about the cost, not to mention jobs being a priority. This is my preemptive take from the heading, not the article.

Also the word Revolution has been bandied about. A caller suggested that the Reagan "Revolution" should have been a called a Counter Revolution. I would suggest it would be appropriately called a Devolution but unfortunately Revolution implies a spin that will continue unless there is real change. Now to switch a flat tire to a flat earth, there is a slippery slope because there is trickle down. That means that progress will always be slippery and up hill, or those that rise will only be on* the backs of others. [Correction: they do need the backs of others but they can't rise by flattening them.]

*scratch "on the backs of others": replace with "the burden of others."

[See "nature of things"]
[Extended metaphor: The ping pong ball is flat!(maybe it always has been, or it is more than about games and parties.)]
[BTW: a conference table can be round but it is still flat]

Dividing Not Uniting

[Held in draft since 6-12-09]

Republican Study Committee needs more study.
While some factions blame Obama for bailouts, another blames him for not standing with holdouts for a bailout.

Meanwhile Palin starts a war on comedy as an expert on double standards. What started as a reasonable admonition to David Letterman who made a disparaging joke that did implicate her under aged daughter, soon bordered on pandering violence. While this is a big stretch from Letterman not wanting to be caught "off guard", it is more innuendoed than the error of the joke(which daughter) distracting from its original distastefulness(to daughters in general*). Now will Palin go after Death Talkers or will Letterman go more political shock jock or start a blog?

It is my opinion that Letterman should apologize for the jokes erroneous implication and the overall distastefulness of the subject.[**] Then Palin should work on her fellow partisans and "so-called" conservative "leaders", be they elected or sponsored in their "free" speech; in particular surrounding the improper use of words like socialism and racism and the irony and empathy of Alaskan ownership of resources. If she could make as good a showing with her "so-called" friends, it would be a service to her party and the nation.

* the original distastefulness was more standard fare for late night yet the error aside, other exaggerations have been made in making this an issue about women.[These two links were found and inserted after I finished this post. But I think there is a general hazzard in communication that transcends humor or could actual be a key ingrediant that is often missed. If one takes the word "slutty" and recognizes it as an adjective and not part of the noun, one might not be so quick to empathize as a victim.] [late read]

[**] to a great extent he has, but I mean acknowledging the error and not unreasonable offense taken by the daughter actually at the game (at least until it was made "hey" of)

[Later 6-15-09 follow-up Letterman Boost and word out that Letterman will re-apologize.]
[6-16-09: Palin accepts apology and evolution.]
[Further RE:Devolution On CBS]

Evolution or Devolution?

Having read a bit of the pamplet, National Strategy for Victory in Iraq, it is more an argument than a plan. It has good intentions and seems like a plan, but may be flimsy in reality and based on an erroneous foundation, mainly that many of the good intentions are not demonstrated at home or in his administration's or party's behavior.

The Devolution of Iraq

9-11
WMD
Regime Change
Democracy
Policeman to the world
Nation Building

Heckuva Job,
FOR A DEMOCRAT!
The Evolution Of US.

Executive Summary: Politics is a two way street, but you gotta choose one.

NOT REALLY FLIP-FLOPPABLE, but the solution may be smack dab in the middle and then having a choice and making it.

This ties together better than I expected.

NOTE: Things came untied, just about the middle too.