Archive for April, 2014

Monday Open Thread [4.7.14]

I missed this on Friday because I was busy with work, but the US Attorney in New Jersey has convened a grand jury to investigate Governor Christie’s involvement.

“The convening of the grand jury is evidence that the U.S. Attorney’s investigation has progressed beyond an inquiry and moved to the criminal phase.” Newark Star Ledger: “Legal experts say the hearing of grand-jury testimony is an important development that means U.S. Attorney Paul Fishman has accumulated enough evidence to move past a preliminary inquiry into the controversial lane closings and into a grand jury investigation of them.”

Indeed. If there wasn’t something there, there would be no grand jury investigation. Another question: why did Chris Christie’s administration trash
Bridgett Kelly in their “independent” report? She seems to be a key player in all of this, and could sink Christie if there really is something there there. It seems stupid to antagonize her.

Well, the trashing of Kelly and the convening of the Grand Jury tells me that Kelly has flipped and is providing state’s evidence. So now Christie et al are trashing her credibility.

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Wednesday Open Thread [4.2.14]

Andrew Sullivan:

Last fall, I argued that Obama’s presidency, already historic in significant ways, would become as influential as Reagan’s if two things happened: if the ACA stuck and American entered an era of near-universal healthcare; and if the negotiations with Iran led to an end of sanctions and a controlled Iranian nuclear capability. Both would be generational game-changers – one in domestic policy, the other in foreign affairs. […] So where are we? Too soon to tell on Iran. But after a clear, self-inflicted disaster – the website’s debut – we’ve seen a classic Obama pattern. The fail is replaced by a dogged, persistent, relentless attempt at repair. I’d argue that the competence behind the repair of the site and the revival of the ACA’s fortunes has been as striking as the original incompetence. And we do not and should not judge a president by his mistakes; the critical judgment is in how he responds to those mistakes. As Dick Cheney might put it, the results speak for themselves[.]

Now look at the economic forecast: the IMF is predicting growth of 2.8 percent this year and 3 percent in 2015, easily the best performance among Western economies. We may see further declines in unemployment. This does not seem to me to be compatible with declining support for Obama and his record. In fact, I’d be surprised – barring, of course, any number of game-changing events – if Obama’s approval ratings were not ticking up by the summer.

We’ve been here so many times before with this president – when he seems temporarily becalmed, inert, unable or unwilling to seize every moment. But over the long run, you see the virtues of persistence, relentlessness and pragmatic advance. The hopes he once inspired may be dimmed or dashed right now; but in the cold light of day, they shouldn’t be. Like the slow, excruciating accumulation of delegates in the epic 2008 primary campaign, Obama never puts it away until he puts it away. But it’s coming. And more and more people are beginning to see it.

In December 1986, it seemed reasonably possible that Reagan, then beset by the Iran Contra scandal with polls in the low 40s, might be impeached. And yet, he is generally remembered among the general population fondly and having a successful Presidency. Sullivan has always made the comparison of Obama to Reagan as far as how their respective Presidencies played out. And I think he is right. In the end, Obama will be remembered as fondly as Reagan is or was.

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