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Sep

26

Reason #40 to VOTE FOR Obama/Biden

Filed Under 57ReasonsObamaBiden, Barack Obama, Joe Biden, Politics, WH2008, Women | 4 Comments

Because the Obama/Biden campaign provides numerous, specific, needed and comprehensive policy proposals that support women.

Here is just a sample of the lists circulating:

Our Michigan: Top Ten Reasons Women Should Vote for Obama (from the campaign website)

Ideas for Women: Two indisputable reasons women should vote for Obama

Ellen Bravo on HuffPo: Ten Reasons Why Women Should Support Obama (these were pre-end of the primary)

And perhaps the most novel but heartfelt, Alaska Hockey Mom’s for Obama’s reasons for voting

This post at Blogs for Choice includes a pdf side by side comparison of McCain and Obama on issues that are important to women.

On November 4, vote for Obama/Biden.

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By Jill Miller Zimon at 11:47 pm September 26th, 2008 in 57ReasonsObamaBiden, Barack Obama, Joe Biden, Politics, WH2008, Women | 4 Comments 

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Sep

26

McCain faulted for withdrawing from, then re-entering 2000 debate w/Bush

Filed Under Debates, John McCain, Media, Politics, Republicans, WH2008 | 6 Comments

Wow – this tweet set me a-googling and sure enough, here’s the article in the New York Times, “THE 2000 CAMPAIGN: THE DISAPPEARING DEBATE; McCain Putting Bush-Leaning California in Rearview Mirror.”

First, about the withdrawal, from the Times:

Mr. McCain’s decision to withdraw from the forum this Thursday in Los Angeles took everyone by surprise, including the debate’s sponsors, CNN and The Los Angeles Times, which appeared to be holding out hope today that the candidate would reconsider. It also caused dissension in Mr. McCain’s own campaign. His communications director, Daniel Schnur, was quoted in several California newspapers today as saying that the withdrawal was ”a tactical error at the staff level.”

Aides to Mr. McCain announced on Sunday that he was pulling out of the event to campaign in New York, which also holds a primary on March 7. They complained that while they had agreed to the encounter weeks ago, Gov. George W. Bush of Texas consented only last Wednesday, the day after his losses in Michigan and Arizona, and that by then, Mr. McCain had made other plans.

Bush aides said their candidate still planned to debate.

Mike Murphy, Mr. McCain’s senior strategist, said the campaign had decided to stick to its new schedule — which on Friday includes a ride with the ”Today” show on Mr. McCain’s campaign bus — because it offers far more free media exposure. ”I’m going for the bigger ratings, the bigger audience,” Mr. Murphy said.

This is creepy eerie.

Some Republican tacticians were troubled by Mr. McCain’s pullout. The Los Angeles debates were expected to be galvanizing encounters in a diffuse week of campaigning. They wondered if his action would hurt his standing among those drawn to his candidacy because he seemed different from other politicians.

”It’s much more dangerous for McCain because McCain voters want to see him,” said Frank Luntz, a Republican pollster. ”There’s an intensity to the McCain voter who is highly interested in the campaign and anxiously wants to hear everything he has to say. They are more likely to be turned off than a typical Bush supporter.”

Despite Mr. McCain’s action, the news organizations said the forum would go on with Mr. Bush and Alan Keyes. It was not clear if the sponsors would allow Mr. McCain to participate from a remote location or if they would opt for a theatrical flourish and set up a chair for him, on the off chance of a last-minute entrance.

And then, from this CNN transcript of the actual debate on Thursday, March 2, 2000, read this exchange between the CNN correspondents [emphasis mine]:

KING: Now, Senator McCain will participate in tonight’s debate from here in St. Louis via satellite. He says he hopes to get away from the running feud over campaign tactics, and back to a focus on his policy differences with Governor Bush over taxes, shoring up Social Security, the experience necessary to be commander in chief. Asked about losing his focus today, Senator McCain said his campaign has made a number of mistakes, and asked why, he said one of the main reasons was, quote, “We don’t have the most brilliant candidate.” Bernie.

SHAW: John, is one of those mistakes the failure of the senator to be here at the “Los Angeles Times” building tonight in person at tonight’s debate.

KING: There is certainly a debate going on within the McCain campaign as to whether it would have made more sense, sent a stronger signal to the voters of California had he participated in person in Los Angeles. The senator initially was not going take part at all, saying he wanted to go and campaign in New York. That is, of course, a very key target for him next Tuesday. This is a compromise, stopping in middle America to participate by satellite, but he is certainly subject to criticism in California for not being there. Even many of his own aides wish he had stayed and taken part in person — Bernie.

SHAW: John King on the trail in St. Louis, thank you.

Talk amongst yourselves but this is not the kind of decision-making I want to see repeat itself again and again, except during a presidency on our time. I have no recollection of this instance – anyone else? Can you imagine the conversation George Bush must have had in his head the last two days, remembering back to this incident?

Wow.

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By Jill Miller Zimon at 4:12 pm September 26th, 2008 in Debates, John McCain, Media, Politics, Republicans, WH2008 | 6 Comments 

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Sep

26

Some People Pay Me Dept.: Rosh Hashana 2008

Filed Under Blogging, Holidays, Jewish, Judaism, Religion, Writing | Comments Off

Thank you to Sandy Mitchell of Cleveland.About.com for featuring my writing on Jewish holidays.  Here’s my piece for this year’s Jewish New Year.  And a teaser:

I don’t know how they do it. No, not super-moms or our candidates for president and vice president. I’m talking about our clergy – rabbis, pastors, priests – and how, week after week, they write and deliver motivational, inspirational and poignant sermons to us. And each sermon, one for each week during all the years of their service, has to be different (we’ll ignore what clergy do if they switch congregations – I’m going to hope that they don’t recycle).

Now, we know, no matter what religion we follow, that there are only so many stories in the Old Testament (aka the Five Books of Moses aka the Torah) and the books that follow. And we cycle through them every year. Rosh Hashana, although the holiday for the Jewish New Year, isn’t actually the holiday that celebrates returning to the beginning of the Torah – that’s Simchat Torah which will occur later in October.

But still, the same exact portions of the Torah come to pass at the exact same time of year, ever year. So how do they do it? How do our clergy find inspiration anew every new year, and especially in these more recent years when it feels as though a life that should be getting easier is getting more fraught with uncertainty?

The answers, sort of, are here.

L’shana tovah.

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By Jill Miller Zimon at 3:55 pm September 26th, 2008 in Blogging, Holidays, Jewish, Judaism, Religion, Writing | Comments Off 

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Sep

26

Let’s promote binary everything: Palin-Couric on Israel, Silverman on Obama

Filed Under Campaigning, Elections, Israel, Jewish, Judaism, leadership, Politics, Sarah Palin, WH2008 | 3 Comments

The basic problem? Alaska Governor and GOP VP candidate Sarah Palin does not know what “second guess” means in foreign policy discussions.  This is at the crux of her insurmountable problem for the duration of this election cycle and no, it’s not okay that she learns on the job: she does not know the meta-language of numerous issues and is unable to understand let alone respond to questions asked by journalists, or anyone else for that matter, who, as a matter of course, have to – like the president or vice president – know those languages.

There is no more nuanced matter than that of Israel. There may be many that rival it or are on the same plain, but none exceed it. Palin’s failure to know that or grasp it, even as the question is coming at her, is why she frightens so many people.

I swear, if she’d at least watched Sarah Silverman’s contribution to understanding just how nuanced and layered Jews, Judaism and Israel are, she probably could have improved her score on that answer with Katie dramatically.

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By Jill Miller Zimon at 2:34 pm September 26th, 2008 in Campaigning, Elections, Israel, Jewish, Judaism, leadership, Politics, Sarah Palin, WH2008 | 3 Comments 

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Sep

26

C-SPAN Debate Hub is the place to be for full frontal participation

Filed Under Barack Obama, Blogging, Campaigning, Debates, Elections, John McCain, Media, Politics, WH2008 | Comments Off

If you followed C-SPAN’s coverage of the two national parties’ conventions, then you may recall how complete it was.  And if you missed it, here’s your chance to experience total immersion and exposure to views from every corner of the debate audiences.

I’m cribbing this post from my good bloggy friend, Myrna the Minx at Reno and Its Discontents because she did such an awesome job of posting it.  If you are online only or if you are giving yourself a multi-platform experience, check out these resources.  If you’re a blogger, contribute to them as well.

CSPAN’s new media style convention coverage was a big hit, so it makes sense that CSPAN would try to improve upon their success with the presidential debates. I got a sneak peek tonight, and wow, let’s just say that CSPAN has succeeded in putting the debate footage directly in the hands of citizens and citizen journalists where it belongs. Larry Lessig would be proud. Who needs network or cable news when you get this kind of tiered, targetable, sortable, and shapable data and video at your fingertips? It’s blogger heaven! Here’s what to look for at the CSPAN Debate Hub (right now it’s populated with old debate footage that will roll over later today):

But let’s talk about the details. First, all of this will be available sometime tomorrow afternoon before the debates and there will be a slight time lag because video clips and transcripts have to synched.

And from me:

Major nod to New Media Strategies aka NMS for bringing all this to C-SPAN and us.

Viewing information of the debate at C-SPAN:

C-SPAN will be airing each of the debates LIVE beginning at 9:00 PM (ET), with pre-debate programming beginning around 7:00 PM.  Viewer phone calls and reaction will follow each debate on C-SPAN, with C-SPAN 2 airing comments made in the Spin Room immediately after.  A re-air of the debates for the west coast will begin at 11:30 PM (ET), with a live call-in segment to follow between 1:00 AM -2:00 AM (ET).

I may be called to weigh-in but I don’t know yet.  You’ll have to watch and listen with me.  And millions of others.

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By Jill Miller Zimon at 2:12 pm September 26th, 2008 in Barack Obama, Blogging, Campaigning, Debates, Elections, John McCain, Media, Politics, WH2008 | Comments Off 

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Sep

26

“How do you solve a problem like Ms. Palin?”; Conservative calls for Palin to drop out

Filed Under Sarah Palin | 8 Comments

From conservative columnist at the Dallas Morning News, Kathleen Parker (she also posts at Townhall.com):

Some of the passionately feminist critics of Ms. Palin who attacked her personally deserved some of the backlash they received. But circumstances have changed since Ms. Palin was introduced as just a hockey mom with lipstick – what a difference a financial crisis makes – and a more complicated picture has emerged.

As we’ve seen and heard more from John McCain’s running mate, it is increasingly clear that she is a problem. Quick study or not, she doesn’t know enough about economics and foreign policy to make Americans comfortable with a President Palin should conditions warrant her promotion.

And about that thing I keep saying about conclusory retorts from Palin:

Ms. Palin didn’t make a mess cracking the glass ceiling. She simply glided through it.

It was fun while it lasted.

Ms. Palin’s recent interviews with Charles Gibson, Sean Hannity and now Katie Couric have all revealed an attractive, earnest, confident candidate. Who Is Clearly Out Of Her League.

No one hates saying that more than I do. Like so many women, I’ve been pulling for Ms. Palin, wishing her the best, hoping she will perform brilliantly. I’ve also noticed that I watch her interviews with the held breath of an anxious parent, my finger poised over the mute button in case it gets too painful. Unfortunately, it often does. My cringe reflex is exhausted.

Ms. Palin filibusters. She repeats words, filling space with deadwood. Cut the verbiage, and there’s not much content there. Here’s but one example from her interview with Mr. Hannity:

“Well, there is a danger in allowing some obsessive partisanship to get into the issue that we’re talking about today. And that’s something that John McCain, too, his track record, proving that he can work both sides of the aisle, he can surpass the partisanship that must be surpassed to deal with an issue like this.”

Sound familiar?

Dave, you’ve got your perspective, but it’s not widely shared – at least, not widely shared enough to get McCain elected, which is what Palin was supposed to help him do.

EDITED IN: But more importantly, Parker suggests that Palin drop out:

Only Ms. Palin can save Mr. McCain, her party and the country she loves. She can bow out for personal reasons, perhaps because she wants to spend more time with her newborn. No one would criticize a mother who puts her family first.

Do it for your country.

I tweeted that yesterday – if McCain wants to suspend the campaign, he should expel Palin.

Bonus from Crunchy Con (as in, conservative) Rod Dreher in Palin Debacle on CBS Evening News (also edited in, he also writes for the Dallas Morning News):

Watch the Couric interview here. Couric’s questions are straightforward and responsible. Palin is mediocre, again, regurgitating talking points mechanically, not thinking. Palin’s just babbling. She makes George W. Bush sound like Cicero.

…

I remember the morning I woke up in my college dorm room and went in to take my final exam in my Formal Logic class. I knew I was unready. Massively unready. And now I was going to be put to the ultimate test. I sat down in Dr. Sarkar’s class and resolved to wing it. Of course I failed the exam and failed the class, because I had no idea what I was talking about. I wasn’t a bad kid, or even a stupid kid. I was just badly unprepared, and in way over my head. Seeing the Palin interview on CBS, I thought of myself in Dr. Sarkar’s exam. But see, I was a college undergraduate who had the chance to take the class again, which I did, and passed (barely). I wasn’t running for vice president of the United States.

UPDATE: New Palin excerpt up, in which she discusses why having Russia next to Alaska gives her relevant foreign policy experience. I am well and truly embarrassed for her. I think she’s a good woman who might well be a great governor of Alaska. But good grief, just watch this train wreck [followed by video clip]

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By Jill Miller Zimon at 7:39 am September 26th, 2008 in Sarah Palin | 8 Comments 

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