dagblog - Comments for "How Obama's Long Game Will Outsmart His Critics"

Oh yes, Andrew - no one

PeraclesPlease — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 13:50:07 +0000

Oh yes, Andrew - no one noticed Obama was black last time, but this time, a billion dollars in advertising can make sure it's not missed.

Re: Citizens United "enabling propaganda", almost all of our political discussion these days is funded propaganda. TPM and HuffPost are corporations pushing an agenda, with video enabled on their site - presumably their Hillary hatred could easily include an anti-Hillary documentary similar to "Hillary: The Movie", and certainly the FEC will not prohibit them from linking Youtube videos to all their readers.

Is there a specific Constitutional benefit to allowing the corporate-sponsored media like Fox and the Kaplan/WarrenBuffett/Washington Post, and the candidates themselves to paste together hit jobs up to election, but not a pooled fund from private citizens - say a PAC? Do we want FireDogLake to be limited in their support of specific issues near election time? Wouldn't an Occupy Wall Street channel have a strong interest in upsetting the status quo apple cart, and shouldn't we encourage that?

In some ways, guerrilla advertising has an advantage over large, monied advertising anyway, and this shift will become more noticeable. "Tebowie" may not have gotten as many hits as TeBow and the SuperBowl ads, but once it went viral, it certainly found its way to a particular demographic. But a slap down of Citizens' United would make sure that all the funding for ads were either private or from the big campaign advocates themselves - no room for the smaller players.

Sullivan is defending his

Donal — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 13:08:51 +0000

In reply to How Obama's Long Game Will Outsmart His Critics

Sullivan is defending his Time cover article, including a live chat:

What should Obama's top [priorities] be for a second term?

Andrew:
My hope is a Grand Bargain to cut the long term deficit, by asking for sacrifice from all of us, not just the middle class and poor. I'd also like to see radical tax reform on Bowles-Simpson lines within that. After that, working to keep improving the healthcare reform; enacting immigration reform - the DREAM Act as a minimum. And regime change in Tehran.

[Regime change? No wonder they want nuclear weapons.]

If Ron Paul were to somehow win the nomination, would you endorse him for the general election? In other words--is there any GOP candidate who could win your vote over Obama?

Andrew:
No. I adore Ron Paul - for his courage, his candor, his extraordinary success in shifting our debate on critical questions of foreign policy and debt and freedom. But as a conservative, I also believe in pragmatic governance. Obama is the pragmatic, non-ideological small-c conservative in the race.

I'm a Tory at heart. Right now, David Cameron would be Jon Huntsman in the GOP. Old-school conservatives have to back a Democrat right now because of the derangement of the right. Sad, but true.

[The right is deranged, but is Ron Paul much better?]

Do you think Super PACs will help or hurt Obama's re-election chances?

Andrew:
Probably hurt. No one really played the race card against him in 2008, except Fox News. Palin wanted to. But McCain said no. This time, completely anonymous corporate donors can play that card.

Citizens United was really not about advancing free speech but about enabling propaganda. That's why fighting for reality-based discourse this year will be so vital. Hence this essay. It's just the beginning of what the Dish hopes to do this year.

[From what I've seen in the GOP race so far, candidates are being held accountable for what their Super PAC supporters assert. Hopefully that will carry over with Independents in the general election.]

I wish to cheer on my

Richard Day — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 23:11:52 +0000

In reply to How Obama's Long Game Will Outsmart His Critics

I wish to cheer on my team.

But I ignore the pleas of Greenwald or even Taibbi at my own peril, or at least the perils of America.

It may seem lame but looking at what Barry faced and faces and see the true colors of many dems in power when they were in control; I give my President some credit.

The Pelosi Agenda was so crisp and clear and pure. And she was demoted with over 400 pieces of legislation languishing on the floor of the Senate.

I can only judge from afar without having read the file to really go on the attack against Summers or Bernanke. I have not the expertise.

But I do know one thing.

We ignore to our peril almost all of the messages coming from the repubs on the State and Federal levels.

I've got the popcorn!

Verified Atheist — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 20:33:35 +0000

In reply to How Obama's Long Game Will Outsmart His Critics

I've got the popcorn!