Liberal Minded

Somebody sent me an email asking about Obama's "Actual Accomplishments'. Here's what I wrote:

Well, first off he was raised by a single mother and wound up a Harvard graduate and member of the U.S. Senate. People don't realize how difficult an accomplishment this is. We've got a guy who actually made it based entirely on ability alone. No silver spoon (or heiress wife) required.

Of course, a major accomplishment was getting the War in Iraq right from the very start. Considering the climate of the time, it took enormous courage to publicly condemn the war as one "based not on reason but on passion, not on principle but on politics" -- a war requiring "a US occupation of undetermined length, at undetermined cost, with undetermined consequences". This extraordinary truth eluded his current opponent.

But if we ignore personal accomplishments and judgment and focus just on the legislative record, we end up with something equally as impressive. In sheer numbers, Obama has either authored or sponsored 1,000 bills since he got into the Senate.

This session alone, he's sponsored or co-sponsored 429 different pieces of legislation at the same time as he faced an extremely grueling primary challenge that lasted through the month of July. Meanwhile his opponent who wrapped up his own nomination four months earlier has managed to come up with no more than 144 pieces of legislation -- or in other words, one third the number.

It was the same story in the Illinois State Senate. Obama's record there was noted for its "consensus building and bipartisanship". His experience in both legislatures adds up to more than a decade of service. A good summary can be found on Obama's own site under the title:

"Highlights of Obama's Strong Record of Accomplishment in the U.S. and Illinois Senate".

Of course, the moment you go into details, peoples' eyes tend to glaze over. Just the same, what's impressed me the most is Obama's work on health care, government transparency and environmental standards. Basically it's Good Government 2.0 with a dash of inspiration, moderation and sensitivity to the needs of working people.

If you can deal with that, you'll probably be voting for him come November 4.

Sincerely,

LEO

More on Obama's Accomplishments:

• "In Illinois, Obama Proved Pragmatic and Shrewd", includes this great graphic on "Obama's Record in the Illinois Senate" [Janny Scott, NYTimes, 7/30/2007]
• "To Those Who Question Obama's 'Legislative Accomplishments' [Bob Geiger, HuffPost, 2/22/2008]
• "Who Has a Record?" [Mark Kleinman, Personal Blog, 5/8/2008]

Total snoozer. Even as someone in the opposition, I'm completely dissatisfied.

It seemed like a chore -- something he had to get through rather than a pivotal moment in the campaign to elect the next president of the United States.

If it were a movie, we'd all be asking for our money back.

On the bright side, at least we won't be hearing from the RNC for another four years!

So last week, we were treated to an incessant narrative from the MSM of DNC conflict and disunity. There was Hillary, Bill, the Pumas -- you name it.

None of this turned out to be true. It was a complete distortion of reality.

Nonetheless, by this standard we ought to be seeing an equivalent deluge right now of stories (whether real or not) about how the RNC is about to blow apart.

How is this not happening?

So Phillis Schlafly wasn't available?

Everytime we hear 'Country First' from a right-winger, we're under a patriotic obligation to throw it back in their faces. In one of the best lines from Obama's Acceptance Speech:

'So I've got news for you, John McCain. We all put our country first.'

Enough!

Photo from our Convention Watch Party at Frankie Z's.

Talk about party unity? The only thing unifying the Republican party at the moment is a shared desire to flee the sinking ship. Here's Sen. Harry Reid (D-NV) talking about conversations he's had 'across the aisle' about John McCain:

There isn't a Republican serving in the Senate that's happy he's the nominee. Now, they're all supporting him, but I'll tell you they have told me. I've had Republican senators tell me they don't think they'll vote for him," Reid said. [h/t Americablog.com]

This is what the chair of the McCain Campaign in Illinois, State Rep. Jim Durkin (R-Western Springs), is running around telling the media outlets:

"There's a lot of Hillary Clinton folks that are very upset the way the primary ended and we're working with them right now and we're getting a lot of support out of Hillary Clinton supporters and I think that the choice that Barack made for Joe Biden was a nail on the coffin for some of them," said Illinois Republican Jim Durkin, McCain Il. Chairman. ("Chicago Reacts to Obama's Running Mate", ABC-Channel 7)

He's actually counting on votes from disaffected Hillary supporters -- the existence of whom increasing is approaching Big Foot proportions -- to improve what most people think will be a disaster for the GOP in Illinois.

They must really be desperate. I mean, all you have to do is think for a moment about the reception Hillary got from these same people while Bill was in office and you'll know no one's going to suddenly rush into their arms. The whole thing is a joke.

UPDATE: Hey Media: the vast majority of Hillary supporters are good Dems. Here's a quote from one of them via Ezra Klein:

I am a Hillary delegate, but very committed to Barack Obama being our nominee.

The notion that people like this are going to run over to the other side is wishful thinking bordering on propaganda on the part of the right-wing.

So if you were writing about a program that tried to steer non-emergency cases away from overcrowded Emergency Wards and towards Community Health Centers, would you start your story this way?

U. of C. Shunning Poor Patients?

Sen. Barack Obama's wife and three close advisers have been involved with a program at the University of Chicago Medical Center that steers patients who don't have private insurance -- primarily poor, black people -- to other health care facilities.

You'd then think that an article with that kind of opening would actually have evidence -- one way or the other -- that U. of C. was "dumping" patients on other hospitals because they're poor and black. You'd think they'd actually have a person, whether for attribution or not, who was involved with the hospitals in question, or even with health care in general, who could substantiate to any degree the stated premise of the article.

We're not asking for much here. Unfortunately, the answer is no.

Instead what we get is an offhand remark from Ald. Toni Preckwinkle that concludes:

"Whether it's being implemented in the way that's in the best interest of the patient, I can't tell you."

And that's it! The whole rest of the article is devoted to a discussion of perfectly legit connections between members of the Obama clan and the U.of C. Hospital, which being U. of C. ought to surprise no one.

This is total schlock journalism. It follows a standard recipe consisting of: 'Big Institution, Obama Connection, Fake Bad Thing -- shake for 10 minutes and serve.'

UPDATE: You know, the article displays such a studied ignorance of how health care is (mis-)administered in the U.S. The "journalists" who put it together must think poor and black people like hanging out at ERs for their primary care.

Wow, everyone's having fun with this. This is what greeted me when I accessed my Yahoo Account. The AP is calling it 'McCain's Housing Crisis'.

UPDATE: Screw the houses, I just want to feel what it's like to walk in the guy's $500 shoes! $500? That's ten pair of shoes for me. I wonder if he knows how many $500 shoes he has.

UPDATE II: I mean, has the Media just woken up:

McCain, who has portrayed Obama as an elitist, is the son and grandson of admirals. The Associated Press estimates his wife, a beer heiress, is worth $100 million. Obama was raised by a single mother who relied at times on food stamps, and went to top schools on scholarships and loans. His income has increased from book sales since he spoke at the 2004 Democratic convention. [h/t Atrios]