Obama's Challenges

It would not be an exaggeration to say that Barack Obama faces the most awesome challenges of any president taking office since Franklin Delano Roosevelt in the thirties. As A. Wess Mitchell, co-founder and director of research at the Center for European Policy Analysis , writes:

When Barack Obama enters the Oval Office as commander in chief for the first time in January, it's not hard to imagine him walking to the globe beside the window, giving it a good spin and running in his mind through the list of global burdens he has inherited from his predecessor. What he will see is unlike anything any American statesman has ever had to confront. Two simultaneous land wars; a rapidly arming Iran; an atomic, post-Musharraf Pakistan; a resurgent, energy-rich Russia; a China that holds 10% of U.S. currency; a $10-trillion public debt; the worst recession since World War II; and a weak dollar.

Hillary Clinton for the State Department?

It is difficult to understand just what Barack Obama sees in Hillary Clinton as secretary of state in his administration. Granted, other selections of former Clinton officials make sense because of the experience they bring to the table. But as Clive Cook argues experience isn't Hillary Clinton's strength for state:

I think choosing Hillary as secretary of state would be a mistake. Not because of Bill. The new administration can choose to use him or not, regardless. The "two for the price of one" stuff is ridiculous: they are not exactly chained together. Equally, if Hillary were the best candidate for secretary of state, it would be absurd to deny her the offer because of Bill's post-presidential connections. Scrutiny in future is really all that is required there.

The problem is that she is not well qualified. She is not by any stretch of the imagination a foreign policy expert. I would not call her a born diplomat. Her first priority would be to advance her own presidential ambitions, not to help make the Obama presidency such a success that those hopes die. The "team of rivals" idea is wonderful so long as the rivals are fully invested in the success of the enterprise. In this case, it seems doubtful. Could Hillary defer to Obama, and carry out his instructions to the best of her ability? I doubt it. And it would not help that everyone would be watching for the first sign of friction or insubordination. The soap-opera dimension would be highly counter-productive.

What is Obama thinking, I wonder? That the party would be delighted? Yes it would, but so what: the election is already won. Or is it something to do with keeping your friends close and your enemies closer?

Creepiness

The so-called pregnant man's 15 minutes of fame cannot end soon enough for me. The spectacle of this person making the media rounds is nothing more than the 21st century update or modernized version of the carnival freak shows popular in the 19th century.

Food for the Times

With the economy tanking and with so many families struggling to make ends meet, the Hormel Foods Corporation sees the reemergence of Spam, its signature product.

The economy is in tatters and, for millions of people, the future is uncertain. But for some employees at the Hormel Foods Corporation plant here, times have never been better. They are working at a furious pace and piling up all the overtime they want.

The workers make Spam, perhaps the emblematic hard-times food in the American pantry.

Through war and recession, Americans have turned to the glistening canned product from Hormel as a way to save money while still putting something that resembles meat on the table. Now, in a sign of the times, it is happening again, and Hormel is cranking out as much Spam as its workers can produce.

In a factory that abuts Interstate 90, two shifts of workers have been making Spam seven days a week since July, and they have been told that the relentless work schedule will continue indefinitely.

Spam, a gelatinous 12-ounce rectangle of spiced ham and pork, may be among the world’s most maligned foods, dismissed as inedible by food elites and skewered by comedians who have offered smart-alecky theories on its name (one G-rated example: Something Posing As Meat).

But these days, consumers are rediscovering relatively cheap foods, Spam among them. A 12-ounce can of Spam, marketed as “Crazy Tasty,” costs about $2.40. “People are realizing it’s not that bad a product,” said Dan Johnson, 55, who operates a 70-foot-high Spam oven.

Change We Can Believe In?

The political world is abuzz with rumors that President-Elect Barack Obama summoned former rival Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton to Chicago to offer her the position of Secretary of State. With already so many Clinton associates part of the transition team as well as the new administration and now H. Clinton being offered this significant position, is this the change we can believe in?

Bush's Dubious Distinction

President George Bush has achieved a remarkable 76% disapproval rating, a rating significantly higher than Richard Nixon during the Watergate scandal.

Irritating Cliches

Researchers at Oxford University have compiled a top ten list of the most irritating cliches. They are in descending order: 1. "At the end of the day"; 2. "Fairly unique"; 3. "I personally"; 4. "At this moment in time"; 5 "With all due respect"; 6. "Absolutely"; 7 "It's a nightmare"; 8. "Shouldn't of"; 9. "24/7"; 10. "It's not rocket science". One cliche I find especially irritating that surprisingly failed to crack the top ten is "Throw (him or her) under the bus." This monstrosity has quite naturally found its way into presidential election postmortems, as in unnamed McCain campaign operatives "throwing Sarah Palin under the bus" for her role in last week's defeat.

Miriam Makeba 1932-2008

South African singer and activist Miriam Makeba, 76, collapsed and died of an apparent heart attack during a concert in Italy.

Soulja Boy's Idiocy

In a week that saw Barack Obama become the 44th president of the United States, the idiotic mutterings of the 18-year-old rapper Soulja Boy are a sobering reminder of the work yet to be done. His response to a question about which historical figure he most hated prompted this mindless observation: "Oh wait! Hold up! Shout out to the slave masters! Without them we'd still be in Africa. We wouldn't be here to get this ice and tattoos."

Ralph Nader's Descent

Ralph Nader's use of the epithet Uncle Tom in connection with Barack Obama is but the latest step of this self-righteous windbag's descent into irrelevancy. Nader's legacy has always been eclipsed but his self-righteousness and self-regard. Never thought I would ever be placed in a position of saying anything remotely favorable about the FOX network but Shep Smith was absolutely correct in calling Nader out.

This Moment

Last night I witnessed something I could not have imagined would happen in my lifetime: the election of an African American, Barack Obama, to the highest office in the land, the presidency of the United States of America. But as joyous as this occasion is, I could not help thinking of those who came before, both the famous and the not so famous, who made the sacrifices that set into motion the conditions culminating in this historic moment. As I try to sort it all out, I came across the words of Charles M. Blow of the New York Times. He writes:

History will record this as the night the souls of black folk, living and dead, wept – and laughed, screamed and danced – releasing 400 years of pent up emotion.

They were the souls of those whose bodies littered the bottom of the Atlantic, whose families were torn asunder, whose names were erased.

They were those who knew the terror of being set upon by men with clubs, of being trapped in a torched house, of dangling at the end of a rough rope.

They were the souls of those who knew the humiliation of another person’s spit trailing down their faces, of being treated like children well into their twilight years, of being derided and despised for the beauty God gave them.

They were also the tears of those for whom “Yes We Can, ” Obama’s campaign slogan, took on a broader, more profound meaning.

“Yes We Can” escape the prison of lowered expectations and the cycles of poor choices. “Yes We Can” rise above history and beyond hatred. “Yes We Can” ascend to Martin Luther King’s mountain top and see the promised land where dreams are fulfilled, where the best man wins and where justice prevails.

During this election African-Americans, their hearts weary from disappointment, dared to hope and dream again. Tonight their dream has been realized.

Whether or not you agree with Barack Obama’s politics, there is no denying that his election represents a seminal moment in the African-American narrative and a giant leap forward on the road to America’s racial reconciliation.

In fact everyone, regardless of race, should feel free to shed a tear and be proud of how far our country has come.

Distress

Melanie Scarborough is a right wing columnist who is obsessed with the prospect of Barack Obama actually becoming president. In recent days, she has become particularly agitated, concluding with yesterday's column Last-minute doubts about Barack Obama. What follows is a letter to the editor that as of yet has not been published:

Melanie Scarborugh's musings on the state of the Republic are an unflagging source of amusement and a surefire way to get the work week started with a good laugh. As the presidential election draws to a close and the prospect of Barack Obama as the 44th president of these United States almost a foregone conclusion, Scarborough's rants have become increasingly febrile and apoplectic. Her latest attack on Obama finds the splenetic Scarborough at the top of her game, as she ticks off her objections to the exotic junior senator from Illinois: out or touch with the American heartland; an unrelenting critic of capitalism and the U.S. Constitution, particularly the First Amendment; and possessing no small-town America experience. Scarborough would be well-advised to seek professional therapy for her malady that, if the polls are to be believed, will spread and intensify after November 4th.

Bad Analogy

A McCain political advertisement, questioning Obama's experience and readiness to be Commander-in-Chief, asks would you get on a plane piloted by somebody who has never flown before. Given McCain's record of having crashed four U.S. Navy aircraft during his career, this isn't exactly the analogy he should be using.