Will Gets Pwn'd

From ABC's This Week via the Huffington Post:

On ABC's This Week, conservative pundit George Will took up the case against Franklin Roosevelt's New Deal, arguing that it sent confusing signals to capitalists (who apparently might otherwise have pursued lucrative deals in the 1930s market place) and turned a depression into the Great Depression.

Thankfully, Nobel laureate Paul Krugman was around to remind Will of some history -- that the economy improved after the New Deal, and that it was FDR's attempt to balance the budget in 1937 (a move favored now by many conservatives) that then cut into that progress.

What's at Stake

As the Pennsylvania primary results pour in tonight, here are a couple of figures to put some perspective behind just what's being decided tonight.

(From a USA Today/ Gallup poll)

69% of Americans surveyed say they disapprove of the way President Bush is handling his job. That's the highest disapproval rating for any president ever, in the history of the Gallup poll.

70- number of years this survey has been conducted.

12- number of presidents who have been subject to the survey; Franklin Roosevelt was president when the survey began back in 1938.

91%- President Bush's disapproval rating among Democrats.

72%- His disapproval rating among Independents.

32%- His disapproval rating among Republicans.

28%- President Bush's overall approval rating.

69% vs. 27%- Respondents who say that the George W. Bush Presidency has been a failure vs. a success.

Considering the above numbers, it seems very unlikely that President Bush's party will be able to hold the White House. So what is being decided across Pennsylvania tonight might very well be the Democratic nominee, and if so, is almost certainly the next president.

Obama's Problem, Clinton's Opportunity?

Barack Obama's comments at a San Francisco fundraiser that middle- class Pennsylvanians "cling to God and guns" out of frustration, have had fall-out over the last few days. First, Obama said he chose his words poorly, although he wouldn't outright apologize for what he said. Second, Hillary Clinton's campaign released this ad taking him to task for the remark.

Warning: The following contains gratuitous Democrat-on-Democrat violence.



Judging by that comment, it appears that the Obama campaign failed to read SAM's February post on their candidate's only weakness.

On that note, George Will wrote an article that's kind of annoying: that Obama's comments show the candidate is on a high horse, and is far more Adalai Stevenson than FDR.

Are Happy Days Ahead Again?

The astute EJ Dionne wrote a very interesting piece in the Washington Post asking: Whatever happened to the culture wars that dominated American politics from 2000- 2004?

For an answer, Dionne draws an interesting parallel to the the 1928 election, when Hoover- Republicans of Prohibition and unbridled capitalism handily defeated Democrats, who wanted to booze again and elect the first non- Protestant president, NY Governor Al Smith. With Hoover's triumph, the economic boom of the '20s seemed assured to last.

Four years later, FDR won a landslide against forces he branded "economic royalists." Whether a guy is allowed buy a 10- cent beer doesn't seem to matter when the guy doesn't even have the 10 cents.

Similarly, Dionne states, voters who cited "cultural issues" as pressing when pulling the lever for the anti- gay marriage, pro- life, pro- tax cut George W. Bush in 2000, and again in '04, have bigger concerns now. That's not to say it will necessarily lead to a Democratic victory in November, as Dionne points out, national security concerns have led a once unabashedly right- of- center Republican party to nominate John McCain, one of their most moderate voices, for president.

So it's unclear how it will play out. What is clear, is priorities have changed again, and the culture wars may be on hold for now. That spells bad news for Bill O'Reilly, Will & Grace and people who liked debating what constitutes the term "sexual relations."

America's Team: The All- Presidential Coach & 6th Man

Time to finish up the All Presidential Team.

Coach

For our team's coach we want someone with experience. The best coaches are the ones who have been there, but are stopped from competing at the highest level by extenuating circumstances like age, size, or talent. So we'll go with a great American president who would be unable to compete on our basketball team because of a disability. Franklin Delano Roosevelt was an officer in the Navy, but was crippled by Polio as president.

His leadership saw our country through the Depression and the Second World War, and we're betting he could see our team through its tough times as coach. The guy knows strategy, knows how to bring a team together, and knows how to defeat an opponent. He also had by far the most experience as president, and stayed on a little past his prime (the hallmark of many great coaches). Yup, he's the perfect fit.

FDR's stats:

32nd President (1933-1945)
Height: 6' 1"
School: Harvard (3 of our 7 spots are taken by Harvard undergrads; 6 US presidents went to Harvard undergrad)
Party: Democrat

6th Man

For those of you who don't know, basketball's 6th man is the guy off the bench who is brought in to provide a spark to the team. In many cases he's as good (if not better) than some of the starters, but for some reason just performs better as a substitute. He's best when called upon to fill in for a starter, when a star player goes down the 6th man steps in and doesn't miss a beat.

That's why America's Team is rounded out with Harry Truman as our 6th man. Truman succeeded FDR in 1945, and was constantly underestimated by the media and the public.

Truman came to power basically by accident. FDR wanted to run for an unheard of 4th term, but needed the support of Congress to do so. In return, Congress demanded to handpick FDR's vice president. Truman was the only name they could agree on- basically because he was so unknown. He was called "average" Harry, because of his height and because he didn't go to college (he couldn't see well enough for West Point and was too poor for other schools). Truman was a product of a St. Louis political machine, meaning he was a shill for interested parties in the city. In fact, he's probably the most successful shill in US history.

Yet when Truman got into office, he showed the guts and smarts of a great president. Truman was brought off the bench, and stepped into the spotlight like a champ. Today he's revered for his decisiveness and foresight.

Harry S (his middle name was the letter only) Truman's stats:

33rd President (1945- 1953)
Height: 5' 8"
School: William Chrisman High School
Party: Democrat

So there we have it. Here's America's Team:

Point Guard: George Washington
Shooting Guard: John Kennedy
Small Forward: Teddy Roosevelt
Power Forward:Lyndon Johnson
Center: Abraham Lincoln
Coach: Franklin Roosevelt
6th man: Harry Truman