Presidential Debates in 1080

First thought on tonight's debate... just imagine how much worse Nixon would have looked in high definition in 1960.

Bottom line is Obama demonstrated to the American people that he has the fortitude to be POTUS. He passed the credibility test... and he didn't even need a teleprompter.

Observations

- Interesting that Obama calls the GOP standard bearer John while McCain calls his counterpart Senator Obama.
- Nice of McCain to start with thoughts on Ted Kennedy. Reinforces his image as being bipartisan. I'm surprised Obama didn't mention this first.
- Although I disagree with Obama on the regulation issue (I am after all a proud libertarian) he did a good job talking about the issue without going over the top as a "progressive" populist.
- 20 minutes in it looks like McCain has gotten underneath Obama's skin. I'm surprised as I expected the opposite to happen. Obama needs to watch his demeanor when McCain is speaking and not commit an Al Gore type mistake.
- 40 minutes in Obama has grown more confident and looks cool, calm and collected.
- Obama has a good issue with "Google for the government." Demonstrates he understands how technology can help improve and reform government.
- 45 minutes in and it looks like McCain is getting angry. Obama did a good job of deflecting his lack of support of the surge and McCain looks pissed off Obama called him out for his ludicrous claims he made in 2003. I'm sure McCain feels he should own this issue and is frustrated that Obama is getting the best of him.
- How many times did McCain start with "Obama doesn't understand..." At least three I think in the first hour. An effective strategy to reinforce the narrative McCain is trying to attach to his opponent.
- McCain had an effective zinger on Obama's statement meeting foreign leaders without preconditions. Obama did the best he could to mitigate the potential political campaign landmine, yet by staying on this issue McCain had the first zinger in the debate.
- 70 minutes in and it looks like McCain is getting real testy when Obama is speaking. Obama has gotten to McCain and I'm waiting for McCain to lose his temper.
- 85 minutes in... by stopping a tit-for-tat on alternative energy and allowing Lehrer to move on Obama helped to diminish the perception that he is arrogant.
- 90 minutes in McCain gets another 10 second zinger in stating he did not believe Obama was ready to lead the country.

Policy

- Obama is correct on earmarks. Don't get me wrong earmarks are a problem. However, eliminating them will hardly get our government back in the black.
- I'm glad McCain brought up nuclear power. Nuclear has to play a larger role in our energy infrastructure.
- McCain is getting religion on invading other countries?!?! Paraphrasing McCain... "We shouldn't bomb Pakistan as we need the people to be with us." No shit. So why again was invading Iraq a good idea if your so worried what other nations think of us? Is all this talk of invading Russia going to help our ties with Russia? "Bomb, bomb, bomb Iran" is going to help our ties with that nation?
- Hey McCain... Pakistan is still a failed state (reflection on McCain stating Obama didn't understand Pakistan was a failed state prior to Musharraf). Pakistan will never be a cohesive country. The name Pakistan combines the name of four ethnic groups to create a false sense of nationalism.
- McCain's "League of Democracies" is ludicrous. Excluding China from any new international organizations that are created is a horrible idea.
- Nice point by Obama that we need Russia and China to craft a solution on the Iran issue.
- John Bolton would be proud of McCain's perspective on North Korea.
- Obama was solid on Russia. The idea of Georgia joining NATO is simply INSANE. Are we really prepared to invade Russia if Russia steps on Georgia's toes again? Georgia does not even have clear borders!

Updates on the Race to be 44

Thoughts on a few recent developments:

1) Brent Scowcroft Stays Neutral: This one really surprised me. Scowcroft is a widely respected and admired foreign policy guru. The book he co-authored with 41, A World Transformed, is an excellent discussion of the international developments that happened during the administration of 41.

The decision by Colin Powell, and now Scowcroft, not to endorse McCain -- that is the real story, not that they are "neutral" -- demonstrates the massive disagreements that exist between the "realist" and "neoconservative" camps in the GOP. Clearly these huge nonendorsements by two heavyweights show that McCain's foreign policy would just be an extension of the current administration's policies (McCain and Cheney's recent dustup is just personal and has little to do with policy... IMO).

2) Paris Hilton's Response to McCain: Best line was "that wrinckly white haired guy." However, it was painful to watch as Hilton is simply an awful actress.

Bonus note: Absolutely hilarious that the new Madden '09 has Brett Favre on the cover as a Packer. Although EA Sports is going to get a ton of press around its product launch on August 12, I'm sure they would have picked somebody else in hindsight.

The Arrogance of the New Yorker

Some random thoughts for a beautiful Sunday in Los Angeles.

1. Just imagine the media cycle if the July 21 cover of the New Yorker was on the National Review, or Weekly Standard. Do you think the response would have been the same? Doubtful to say the least.

2. Oh the arrogance of New York liberals, thinking that this cover will help Obama's image versus reinforcing ridiculous stereotypes held by many in the country. I imagine many will cancel their subscriptions of the weekly after this debacle. So why would the outlet do it? To force Obama to the left... doubtful. Probably just complete sheer arrogance... at the cost of subscriptions and a lose of respect from media observers such as myself.

3. At least the New Yorker forced the McCain campaign to agree with the Obama camp on something. This has been a pattern of the McCain campaign, following the media cycle versus leading it.

It truly baffles me why McCain did not use the period between early February through June to define Obama in the terms that suited the GOP. Following in the footsteps of a President with less than a 30 percent approval rating, one would think McCain would realize he would have to run a near perfect campaign to claim the Oval Office. However, instead of setting the November election on terms favorable to the GOP, McCain had a completely disorganized campaign message and team... and even took off most weekends from the campaign.

What we have hear... is a failure... to communicate

This news story I read awhile back over at the Web site of the Atlantic was just shocking -- and I am one that is not easily shocked. Apparently numerous offices in the U.S. Department of Indian Affairs were without access to the Internet for seven years... SEVEN YEARS.

I encourage the readers of this blog to check out Maria Streshinsky's post to get the full scoop. I will state however that it is practically unreal how management ever let this situation deteriorate to the point that it did. We are living and participating in a world where access to information is just critical to be efficient and productive at one's job.

Furthermore, it boggles my mind the lost opportunity cost in man hours wasted by this bureaucratic problem.

Robert Mugabe is an Evil, Evil Man

Although their are a lot of narcissistic, corrupt leaders of nations in the world Robert Mugabe is far and away the worst of this despicable lot (Ahmadinejad, Burma General Than Shwe, Sudan President Omar al-Bashir, Hugo Chavez...). It really is amazing how the leadership of Africa refuses to intervene (calling out Thabo Mbeki in particular here) even though it is clear Mugabe will do anything to remain in power until his death.

Seriously, how can the political leadership of Africa watch Mugabe arrest his competitor in the runoff battle soon after he reenters the country, let his supporters beat up U.S and British diplomats in the country and have his goons threathen to burn U.S. and British diplomats alive (I do not think it was an idle threat).

Mugabe has already completely destroyed his country -- it is going to take a generation of Zimbabwians to repair the damage this maniac has already done -- what else does he have to do before Mbeki steps in? I realize he was the idol for the African liberation movement, yet does this entitle him to commit every possible crime against humanity?

Mbeki is already a complete lame duck. It is inexcusable why he can't show some leadership and do the right thing.

The Iranian Nuclear Threat

Although I have been an extreme skeptic of charges that Bush and/or Israel would attack Iranian nuclear facilities since rumors started flying in 2001, I am beginning to think this actually may happen.

In addition to the serious consequences such an action would have on the global economy and state of security (nicely laid out by Nouriel Roubini recently), I remember watching a panel discussion on PBS in 2002 or so where Lawrence Eagleburger (of all people) stated that if the Bush administration used military force against Iran he would be the first person to speak out against the POTUS. Furthermore, I always believed that the bellicose rhetoric from W was a diplomatic ploy to force greater concessions from the Iranian leadership (he really could not be crazy enough to add even more gasoline on the Middle East inferno... right?).

Roubini quotes Joschka Fischer, foreign foreign minister of Germany, who believes that Israel will attack Iran before the end of the Bush administration. Fischer is definitely a credible source (the Green Party in Germany should not be confused with their disorganized U.S. counterpart).

Furthermore, the Asia Times had a recent article stating a similar opinion. Now I have no idea if they used the same sources, yet apparently this possibility is moving into the realm of feasibility. If Fischer and the Asia Times are correct...

Clearly we need to do everything possible to stop Iran from having The Bomb. Considering how close Pakistan and India have been to blowing each other up... just imagine what the hell could happen if Saudi Arabia, Iran, Turkey, Egypt also have The Bomb... outright frightening, I know, I know.

Furthermore, I do not envy the incredibly difficult position Israel lies in. In addition to a domestic political nightmare right now, you have a freakshow lunatic in Ahmadinejad threatening to blow Israel off the map. It is imperative for America to support the only real voice of democracy in the Middle East and ensure Israel continues to thrive for generations to come.
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What is really missing from this debate is a conversation on what actually is happening in Iran right now. I listened to a fantastic podcast from Stratfor (do yourself a favor... subscribe to their podcast -- seriously!) this morning. Basically, there is an intense political fight currently between different factions of the conservative political hierarchy. Although I strongly disagree with almost everything the Iranian conservative movement stands for, I do believe figures like Akbar Rafsanjani and others will be reasonable on the nuclear issue if they win out in the current political struggle.

I have heard rumors in the past few years that Khamenei is nearing the end of his life, which makes the implications of the current conservative political battle even more important. However, it makes negotiations on the nuclear issue even more difficult if there is an apparent void of leadership at the top.

Bottom line is we should be waiting to see who the new Ayatollah is after the death of Khamenei before "cowboying up" and bombing Iran. If Iran gets The Bomb before then... well that is really unfortunate... yet I am not convinced we can even eradicate the Iranian intentions militarily anyways. Now, if an Ahmadinejad ally should take over as Ayatollah that is a different ballgame. Quite frankly Ahmadinejad's talk of the "hidden iman" scares the hell of me and reminds me of one General Ripper.

Google and the iphone

I am a huge fan of the iPhone. Although I have heard legitimate criticism it is prone to breakdown, I have only had one minor software problem that was fixed by my local Apple store at The Grove here in L.A.

Google reader is a fantastic tool to keep up-to-date with the blogs I enjoy following (currently at 180 and counting). The most recent update for this iPhone feature is fantastic -- I highly, highly suggest anybody who has an iPhone to add this feature to your home page: www.google.com/reader/i.

I'll have some thoughts on Iran, communication between generations and how McCain has lost control of his brand in the next few days.

Inflation in Zimbabwe

If you ever wanted a sign that Robert Mugabe is truly an evil human being and is completely destroying the former bread-basket of Africa here you go:

"During the meal, one of my mates was drinking beer — 750ml bottles of Castle Lager (fondly called bombers). He ordered a fifth one, was advised that the price, which when he ordered his first, second, third and fourth ones was 160 million per bottle, had gone up to 340 million per bottle."

This is completely ridiculous. It is almost unfathomable South African President Thabo Mbeki continues to support Mugabe. What a travesty.

Update: Mugabe just introduced a Z$500,000,000 bill.

Highway Toll Lanes for L.A.

Good op-ed in the Los Angeles times yesterday on the trial plan approved by the Metro board here in L.A. to convert carpool lanes into toll lanes. I totally support this plan.

We currently finance transportation infrastructure primarily through gasoline taxes, as cars become more fuel efficient we will be losing needed revenue for infrastructure development. So we need to raise more revenue for transportation infrastructure. I am completely against increasing the sales tax to finance transportation infrastructure (there will probably be a 1/2 cent sales tax increase proposal on the November County of L.A. ballot -- VOTE NO!). Not only are sales taxes incredibly regressive, we should be getting money for transportation projects from the users themselves.

Some of the arguments against highway toll lanes and my response:

1. Freeways should be free.

• Freeways are not free, we pay for the lack of infrastructure with the opportunity cost of our time as we sit in traffic.
  

2. The lanes will be only for the rich, "Lexus Lanes"

• This one is real bizarre. The people who will be most inclined to use the toll lanes are one's who value their time the most. Think about a plumber. Paying say $20 (at most) to save up to an hour of their day in traffic they could probably fit two more service calls into their daily routine. A service call is at least $100 each.
• So the plumber makes $180 more each day. That is $900 a week in additional revenue that is possible with these toll lanes. That is real money to the plumber.
  

This proposal is a true win-win. We gain the revenue needed to develop a better transportation infrastructure and we allow entrepreneurs to improve our economy.

Mohamad Mahathir Has a Blog

Wow, this is awesome. The former prime minister of Malaysia now has a blog. For those of you who don't know, this guy was (and continues to be) one of the more colorful former leaders of the world. Some of his outlandish and utterly ridiculous statements have been:

• “Currency trading is unnecessary, unproductive and totally immoral. It should be stopped.”
• “As if these are the good old days when people can shoot Aborigines without caring for human rights.”
• "The Jews rule the world by proxy. They get others to fight and die for them.”
• "The Muslims have never ill-treated the Jews."

Mahathir claims he has friends that are Jewish... in the same manner as a cracker from Alabama in the 19th century would say he had black or gay friends.

His blog may be real interesting, once you hit post it is captured in a RSS feed -- even if you delete it right away. This could get real interesting. Citizens of a country deserve the public officials they elect.