Keep on bloggin’!

Jimmy, didn’t the cuts in intelligence at least in part lead to some serious security problems that we experienced in 2001?

Yes. But don’t worry, Obama has assured us that Iran is a “tiny threat” and that Islamic terrorism can be thwarted by fighting poverty.

But on the other hand, don’t forget to notice that 60 is less thsan 67. In other words, fillibuster-proof is not veto-proof. If the dems get 60, that makes it far more likely they over-reach, and come up with policies that piss off moderates. Then, come 2012, it’s a lot easier for the people to change Presidents than to reformulate congress.

If the democrats raise taxes and increase entitlements, and the economy has not rebounded, Obama will get his clocked cleaned if he has acted as a rubber stamp.

If the dems get 60, Obama can get lots of cred by vetoing occasional bills in order to get small changes to decrease spending or to scale back big dreamy plans.

Also if the Dems end up with a clear mandate, 60 + seats in the senate, and a large victory for Obama then he’ll likely take a more liberal approach to governance than he would if they fall short of a full mandate.

Gerry, do you disagree with the notion that the Clintons dominated the moderate DLC wing of the democratic party and that Obama was therefore forced to run to Hillary’s left? If you don’t, why not?

And if you do agree, then how does his mere choice to run represent bucking the party? IMO, choosing to run even though you aren’t the favorite is not evidence of a maverick nature. It just shows that you’re ambitious. My best guess is that he ran this year assuming he probably wouldn’t win, but needed to plant the seeds for a future run. If Hillary had properly contested the caucus states instead of running her campaign as a coronation, we wouldn’t even be having this discussion, right?

Exiled, I agree that the big test is much as you state. But given that Alan has previously stated more than once that he’s agnostic on Obama and ready to jump ship if the big taxes for entitlements train leaves the station, l think that the “people like you” crack is undeserved.

I, like Alan, have repeatedly framed my opinion as stating that it’s possible that Obama will govern in a moderate bipartisan manner, but we just don’t know. There is reason for hope, but not faith. So we’ll have to see, and be prepared to bail.

Have you somehow missed all this?

Now, you can have a moderate temperament and right wing or left wing beliefs. And you can have moderate political beliefs and a fiery temperament. But temperament, in general, is not easy to hide or gloss over with a fancy campaign. It’s one of the few advantages of our REALLY long campaigns.

I don’t expect any significant change in free-trade agreements, or a “patriotic corporations list” or penalties for manufacturers that expand overseas. He can get away with going back on these promises because understanding the nuances of trade is way over the public’s heads generally.

I do expect the defense and intelligence budget to be dramatically reduced in order to attempt to reduce budget deficits while increasing entitlement spending, as Clinton did in the 90’s.

The challenge to this, the big test, is if the Dems get a supermajority in Congress. My bet is that we’ll see two years of of a legislative “puppy mill” of left or left leaning goofiness.

There is little in Obama’s record outside of his rhetoric that indicates he will buck his party

I dunno, what would you call standing up to and beating the Clinton machine when the nomination was “inevitable?”