All Politics All the Time

I started to write about Archbishop Akinola's latest "reflections" but decided to leave that for another day. Instead, between the Iowa Debates, the ongoing mess in Iraq and Karl Rove's resignation there's plenty to chew on on the political front so I'm declaring today's blog:

ALL POLITICS ALL THE TIME

• The War As We See It
• The Iowa Debates
• Why Hillary Clinton Is Electable

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The War As We See It

First up is The War As We See It -- sobering commentary about the realities of the war in Iraq by those who actually know what they're talking about: the troops on the ground. Bravo for these brave soldiers who are so articulately able to speak truth to the powers that keep them in harm's way for political rather than military reasons. From their New York Times op-ed:

... In the end, we need to recognize that our presence may have released Iraqis from the grip of a tyrant, but that it has also robbed them of their self-respect. They will soon realize that the best way to regain dignity is to call us what we are — an army of occupation — and force our withdrawal.

Until that happens, it would be prudent for us to increasingly let Iraqis take center stage in all matters, to come up with a nuanced policy in which we assist them from the margins but let them resolve their differences as they see fit. This suggestion is not meant to be defeatist, but rather to highlight our pursuit of incompatible policies to absurd ends without recognizing the incongruities.
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We need not talk about our morale. As committed soldiers, we will see this mission through.

God bless 'em!

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The Iowa Debate

We watched the debate this morning. I was glad to see Bill Richardson recovered from the bout with foot-in-mouth that plagued him when they were here in L.A. ten days ago. Mostly I was encouraged that in spite of the efforts of the moderator to "get them going" at each other there was a united effort to stick to the issues and make their points -- sometimes agreeing with opponents and sometimes disagreeing. (What a concept, eh?)

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One of my favorite moments was John Edwards naming the fact that every single one of the Democratic candidates would work to bring an end to the war in Iraq if elected. The question on the table isn't "if" the question is "how." And that ALONE is a source for encouragement and optimism. Another good bit was when Clinton addressed her "negatives" in the polls.

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“I have been fighting against these people for longer than anybody else up here. I’ve taken them on and we’ve beaten them,” she said. “The idea that you’re going to escape the Republican attack machine and not have high negatives by the time they’re through with you, I think, is just missing what’s been going on in American politics for the last 20 years.”

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Well done and Amen!
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Which brings me to ...

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Why Hillary Clinton IS Electable
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I figured it out yesterday while we were watching a CNN report on Hurricane Dean looming off the Jamaican Coast. The reporter was talking wind gusts and the video showed a massive storm graphic but the "crawl" ... the "other news" that runs along the bottom of the screen ... kept repeating "Karl Rove says Hillary Clinton is unelectable."

Karl Rove -- arguably one of the most brilliant Republican strategists in the history of politics -- is using "unelectable" as his weapon du jour against the president-elect of his nightmares: Hillary Rodham Clinton. Why "unelectable" when there are SO many other places he could hit? Let's see:

"Karl Rove says Hillary Clinton is a big old liberal who will tax and spend America into the poor house."

"Karl Rove says Hillary Clinton is a femi-nazi manhater who shamelessly attacked America's cookie bakers and advocates socialized medicine."

"Karl Rove says Hillary Clinton is out of step with America's values and besides who wants to give Slick Willy another crack at the Oval Office?"

And we get none of the above. We get "Karl Rove says Hillary Clinton is unelectable."

And that's when I got it. Yesterday. Watching the crawl go past one more time on the CNN report on Hurricane Dean. All those other arguments are aimed at Rove's base -- at conservative Republicans who are never going to give Clinton a chance no matter what.

"Unelectable" is aimed at Democrats & Independents. At the people I have drinks and dinner and discussions with. At the ones who are terrified of another 2000 or 2004 election debacle and for whom another Bush-clone in the White House seems a Fate Worse Than Death. The ones who end every dinner table debate with "Yeah, well, whatever -- she isn't electable."

What I "got" was that the "Hillary Clinton is unelectable" argument has nothing to do with whether she's electable or not -- it has to do with keeping her from getting nominated because it speaks to the deepest fears of those with the power to nominate her. And because Karl Rove may just be the most brilliant Republican strategist in the history of politics my gut tells me if he REALLY thought she was "unelectable" he'd be doing whatever he could to see that she WAS the Democratic nominee ... because who wouldn't want to run THEIR candidate against someone who was "unelectable?"

If Karl Rove ends up being a felon for his actions in the White House it won't surprise me. That Karl Rove would choose his words lightly or unadvisedly at this crucial point in an primary election campaign would surprise me.

Give the devil his due: he's smarter than that. And thanks to him I feel smarter already.

Thanks to Karl Rove I'm no longer worried that Hillary Clinton is "not electable." And what that does is free me to up to really LISTEN to her positions and her proposals and weigh them along with the other candidates. It gives me the freedom to look for the BEST from among a field of great candidates as I make up my own mind about who to vote for here in Calfornia on February 5th. And it gives me a whole new set of questions -- and answers! -- for those dinner table discussions.

So if you want to talk politics over dinner give me a call -- I'm your girl!