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RalphMa

Listed below are comments made by RalphMa between Saturday, 25th October 2008 and Saturday, 31st January 2009.

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Obama confuses his enemies 08:42am on 31 Jan 2009 Obama's strategy appears to be to isolate the Iranian leadership from (1) the rest of the world and (2) its own people. In the interview he barely mentioned Iran, whereas his illustrious predecessor might have repeatedly highlighted the Iran-Hamas connection, real or imaginary. I think he has been quite effective in upping the pressure on Iran to come up with a positive initiative.

Krauthammer, for his part, has been obsessed with Iran for a while now. But his argument is based solely on emotion -- we've done so much for the Muslims, so why can't we stop kowtowing to them? The reason, of course, is that this is not the way the world works. To get what you want (oil) you have to pay for it (diplomacy).

The 1953 coup is still notorious in Iran, and the two countries will have to come to terms with that. So it is quite natural for Ahmadinejad to ask for an apology for that that off the bat. But that's only the initial bargaining position, influenced by negotiation strategy and by the upcoming presidential elections in Iran.

Much work lies ahead but Obama's on the right track here. I would think that by late summer (after those Iranian elections) you'll see some significant movement in US-Iran relations.
The case against Obama's New Deal 09:23am on 09 Dec 2008 "Has America gotten so soft and so fearful that its citizens run to the government during a recession?" Yes. And why exactly is that a problem?
Taxing issues 06:12am on 01 Dec 2008 Justin,

While I don't like paying sales taxes, I do like the visibility into the tax burden as you say. There are still some things (eg gas pump, airfare) where you don't really see the entire tax bill -- then there are other places (eg phone bill) where you see perhaps too much.

However, in the age of online purchasing this has become increasingly unwieldy. Do you tax at the seller's rate, or at the buyer's rate? And who is responsible for paying it? The traditional sales tax model breaks down, and the VAT becomes more appealing, in such cases.

Steve Forbes was in favor of the flat tax, not the VAT tax, if I recall correctly. Somewhat regressive, but a lot less paperwork.
Confirming our prejudices 07:21am on 20 Nov 2008 OK, Justin, I reread the title of your post and now I realize that the whole thing was probably ironic. You're pretty sly!
Confirming our prejudices 07:19am on 20 Nov 2008 gunsandreligion:

"Good thing that the Army prefers the Republicans by roughly the same margin!"

While perhaps true, this statement is of course irrelevant. All that matters is that the Army is a professional institution. Soldiers salute and complete the mission no matter who the commander-in-chief is. So when it comes to following orders, they will "prefer" Obama by 100-to-0.
Confirming our prejudices 07:16am on 20 Nov 2008 For a good laugh (and exposure of John Ziegler as a poor statistician): http://www.fivethirtyeight.com/2008/11/interview-with-john-ziegler-on-zogby.html

Frankly, I am hoping that the right wing continues to delude itself this way. Please! More complaints about the media! More videos "exposing" the "truth" about Obama! More hateful conservative rhetoric!

Bring it on. It will make them look like raving lunatics in the current centrist, problem-solving political environment. And that marginalization of conservatives is the kind of change this country needs.
Stretching America 08:12am on 05 Nov 2008 Well, I'm going to go ahead and predict that Sarah Palin will be president one day. And I predict that she will do it by following the Obama template but on the Republican Party side.

Justin's comment about a dwindling electoral resource absolutely nails what's wrong with the Republicans. She will figure this out, drop the religious mumbo-jumbo, and pull together a centrist coalition of her own. She is too savvy and ambitious not to reinvent herself.

Go ahead and laugh, then look at all the presidents (including the next one) we've had for the last thirty years. With the exception of Bush 41, they were all implausible when they began, and all found their voices as leaders of change movements. The GOP is certainly ripe for that and will certainly be open to whatever ideas she has.
Soft imperalism 05:32am on 03 Nov 2008 Someone asked about poll closing times. Here's a great state-by-state map, although the times are EST not GMT as some readers might prefer: http://www.swingstateproject.com/showDiary.do?diaryId=3641

I don't get all the people hammering of Justin's posts. Folks, this is a blog -- can we lighten up a bit?

As a matter of fact, the question of America's brand is a great one -- because if we want to keep being a great exporter of culture and ideas, much of it starts with good marketing. I think an Obama win shows the world that America is the anything-is-possible place we always told them it is.

A McCain win doesn't completely destroy the brand, I must admit. Many cultural icons (Springsteen included) use The Man as a foil. If Obama loses, that approach actually becomes much more powerful. Great for record and video sales, but poor for, say, bringing real democracy to Afghanistan. But I think most Americans nowadays are focused on the former than the latter.
Bad losers and bad finishers 04:11am on 30 Oct 2008 It is true that Obama having less than 50% in key states going into the polls would be worrisome. Most of the undecided voters are white, low-income, and low-education -- matching the Republican profile. That's not a slam, simply a demographic fact.

Most of the pajamasmedia article is a repackaging of attacks that simply haven't stuck this year. I think ut tepeats McCain's fundamental problem -- he's using code words that don't resonate. "Redistribution of wealth"? "Earmarks"? "PLO"? Most people don't know or care about these things. And after seeing Obama speaking at so many speeches and debates, "socialist" and "terrorist" are just so obviously overused and/or over the top as to be meaningless.

There are still plenty of ways for McCain to pull it out though. The Syria attack was a clever GOP trick -- give them credit for that -- but it doesn't seem to have had the desired effect. Stay tuned for the next October surprise -- probably something like "Obama's white ex-girlfriend tells all."
Love and untogetherness 11:28pm on 25 Oct 2008 By the way, even if they win, Palin and McCain will probably turn on each other. She seems too ambitious and full of herself now to play second fiddle for long.

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