Oh Rotten Tomatoes...

...I am disappoint

Obama = Clinton?

I wonder if progressives aren't too harsh on Obama all the time...I suspect his record will play out not too differently from Clinton's.

What we saw in the 90s was a president who played both sides of the political spectrum, while still being decidedly a leaning progressive. This didn't, however, blind him to the ideas of the right, where the push against "big government" is important. The sad fact is that sometimes a smart government is a pipe dream and  that when in doubt about whether or not government can have useful and well-defined role in a particular field, we should leave those things to the private sector and local communities.

Clinton, I think, recognized the need to see both sides of the debate and not just pander to one or the other. Obama appears to have continued that trend, which justifiably upsets strong progressives, but it also should give the GOP less ammunition to use against him in the political arena. As we've seen over the past four years, however, Obama failed most clearly in making it obvious that he was being the reasonable one, while congressional Republicans stone-walled at every available opportunity. Those many moments were opportunities to point out that the Congress was not working for the good of Americans as a whole, but instead chose to mire itself in political kabuki.

Obama's second term looks slightly more promising: he hasn't budged on the budget (which is sound and reasonable, except for any ideas about raising the retirement age: a regressive robbery of Medicare and Social Security's promise) and he appears to have correctly recognized that this is an issue he has a lot of "capital" to use, since America just voted for his vision again, even after the disappointments of the past four years. Hopefully he uses the next four to seal his legacy as a president who was fair-minded to all sides of the debate but principled and a visionary. The later quality is what he was elected on in 2008 and we, as Americans, need that guiding light more than anything else.

The President's most memorable words?

I think for Bush it will always be the bannered "Mission Accomplished": presented, but not spoken. For Obama though, they were very much spoken, and spoken very often: "The worse economic recession since the Great Depression". It may be these very words that almost ensure him at this point of winning the 2012 Presidential Election. With the unemployment now at 7.8% (a slight increase from last month) this should be Obama's election to lose: no president has ever won a re-election in modern history with such a high unemployment rate. However, I think those memorable words have been etched into the minds of many Americans and they agree that it's true, and thus we can't expect the kind of recovery we experienced after the dot com bubble (which turned out to not be any recovery at all).

Pedophilia

Interesting Analysis on Jerry Sandusky

Of course, as milowent acknowledges, one can't be sure, unless we could interview his parents extensively, if they're even still alive (unlikely). Pedophilia is understood so little in society: of course it's considered abominable, but it's cause is usually immaterial to most observers, which is a shame. The theory that homophobia in our general society could be a primary cause of sexual deviations of a more extreme type (child pornography, pedophilia) seems very solid to me: the psychology behind it is sound. Other than continuing to push for acceptance of all adult lifestyle choices, I don't see any other way to resolve such issues, but I'm starting to believe that our society's tendency to turn pedophiles into social outcasts is just as immoral as the individual's acts of pedophilia.

Its cliche but people really are like stars: you either burn steadily but brightly (the sun) or you explode like a supernova, taking nearby "planets" with you

Animals

Today has been a fun day trying to warm up to the animals in my house: they were adopted during a time when I had no interest in "building relationships" so we never really bonded (particularly the cat, who was raised in a feral environment and had to be weaned by a human). Our dog is the sweetest animal, but a bit too energetic (tends to spill all her food and water when I bring her outside in the morning). As is often the case, animals are very interesting reflections on how humans work, and it's fun to compare cats and dogs, whose minds work very differently. Dogs are pure empathy and love: they're very attuned to others needs (particularly female dogs) and our dog in particular is always eager to love and play. The cat, on the other hand, is highly solitary, very neurotic (paces near a closed patio door, then runs away when you open it), and generally distrustful. Today I'm making efforts to warm up our relationship (opening up the house so she can explore more, including allowing access to the backyard), but this could take awhile...

Is Mitt Romney an Aspie?

I'm starting to think that the leading Republican candidate (Mitt Romney) either has Aspergers or significant autistic tendencies. What I notice is that during debates he comes across as very wooden and "cold", yet he is clearly very devoted to his wife (who he's been married to for over 40 years). It makes him a political chameleon to be sure (his political ideology changes with the situation), but that lack of ideological rigidity might be exactly what we need right now.

Also, I think we need a president who doesn't care about social mores: Obama spends far too much time trying to get both sides to agree. It's about time we had a leader who just does what's best for the country (and the economy), regardless of who complains. It's a very tricky election for sure, but I think change is better than staying the same (when staying the same is clearly not working). Hopefully this will all be irrelevant and Ron Paul wins, but that is probably (pun intended) a pipe dream.