This big odd thing was in front of my door today, pumping or flushing something underneath the street. ConEd sent it out, but I have no ideas for what purpose.
I’m back in the office, on what is usually a day off, trying to finish up some stuff before a teaching trip to Tennessee. Communication seems to be the watchword of the day, and we’re all struggling to come up with the right words to give shape to our plans.
Last night’s opening was quite nice, what with Lolita showing up, a quick dinner with her and my friend Lynne and then a surprise run in with another friend on the way to the subway. It all felt very civilized, and at the event I got to make the acquaintance of Napoleon, a kissy and excitable french bulldog. I’m hoping to get some more work done this weekend, along with getting my fridge cleaned out tonight and hopefully some laundry and other mundanities.
Lyn asked me about my feelings about the president last night. I couldn’t say much then, beyond not being over surprised. I do think that he needs to give up on the idea of winning over his opposition. They are too high on their bile at this point for him to even make a case. With the advent of Fox news, we now have a case where frothing yahooism has become a profit making business, where candidates can spend years amasing money and speaking past the government in a way that negates traditional notions of bipartisan governance. They make more money by yelling and sniping, without ever having to govern, to fix problems and deliver services. It is in the proposal for those fixes that all of the risk of politics resides. So Obama is hamstrung in some ways, because people don’t have to work with him if they don’t want and get more mileage out of their refusal.
Tags: daily photo, friends, my block, politics
I’ve been feeling ambivalent about Obama lately, for no other reason than ‘disappointment’ is the new Obama buzz-word. I watched his town hall meeting in Ohio yesterday on C-Span (twice!) which dispelled any disappointment. He is the same kind, erudite, articulate man who won the election fair and square. The only difference is he is not campaigning anymore. He is, as you pointed out, trying to govern, fix problems and deliver services. His task now is to implement rather than propose policy which is far more difficult and reported upon with far less nuance (slogans vs complex policy details). Lithe and energized, Obama showed a new fighting form. He dislikes how his policies are characterized and in no uncertain terms has he given up his commitment to the middle class. The footage is available here: c-span.org
And, I couldn’t agree more with the last sentence of your post. Apropos of Joe Wilson: insult the President of the United States in Chambers on Tuesday, get censured Thursday, play the victim and raise a million dollars on Friday.