Obama Chia Pet…Really?

Is anyone at all concerned with this?  I know it’s caused a national uproar, but I think we need a larger one.  This is absolutely ridiculous and reeks of the  racism popular in toys and home accessories from the early 1900’s.  This sort of representational political action (yes toys and chia pets can be political) strikes at the very heart of essentialism.  I’m sure Don Imus purchased ten of them. 

If we position this toy against the historical backdrop or racist representational politics, the symbolic killing of the individual, then it appears not as a funny joke or a cute toy, but as the coninuation of a legacy that robbed Blacks of their identity some 100 years ago.  Have we not come farther than that? 

The original Chicago Tribune story may be found here. 

President Obama makes mistakes

We’ve all heard of President Obama’s missteps with appointees.  It seems just like the rest of us, government leaders have money problems.  We all know the Tax Code is complex.  I took tax law and worked with the IRS’s Volunteer Income Taxpayer Assistance Program.  That’s not easy stuff, but is it appropriate to damn everyone and anyone who makes a tax mistake?  Tax law is extremely complex and the more money you make the more complex it gets.  This is not intended to absolve the President’s appointees of their errors, but to recognize that this is not as simple as forging a check or parking a car next to the fire hydrant. 

My guess is that it’s fairly common to make tax mistakes.  Like it or not, most of us have probably made them, although not a Tom Daschle level mistake.  

I am not convinced that we must condemn President Obama for erring in the selection process.  It seems that while we are all quick to cast the first stone, that we ought not to assume that we’re back to politics as usual.  We remember when George H.W. Bush nominated the inept Harriet Myers to the Supreme Court, a silly folly of political favoritism, but he rebounded with John Roberts and Samuel Alito.  Although these two justices were and are stalwart conservatives, they are also imminently qualified jurists.  Although the Court would have benefited from more centrist or more liberal justices, the Court was bolstered by intelligent, experienced selections. 

Obama now has an opportunity to go back to the drawing board and come up with several more qualified candidates.  It will be difficult to replace Daschle’s political power, but all is not lost.  Obama’s political capital will not take much of a hit and a future nominee stands no less chance of being confirmed.  Let’s just hope that this allows President Obama to come back with an equally impressive nominee.

Obama’s cabinet shows words are reality

Diversity this…  Diversity that…  We all know the left claims to be diverse and claims even more strongly to support diversity.  For the most part that is true and the election of the first Black president, the United States is ready to see Barack Obama’s call for diversity and for reaching across party lines become reality.  This is a monumental time for this country and social change is afoot. 

As President-elect Obama’s cabinet takes shape, it appears that Obama is welcoming those of different viewpoints into his inner circle.  It is extremely important that the President be advised by those of differingviewpoints, in order to more fully appreciate policy options.  The days of filling cabinet positions with “yes people” is hopefully a thing of the past.  The Christian Science monitor describes Obama’s appointments thusly:

It’s a sign of social progress – and of comfort with views not his own – that Mr. Obama has presented a salad-bowl cabinet in which differing political opinion and strong personal style add the flavor. His team includes a significant number of people of color and also women, but he hasn’t made a big deal of it. His choices appear to have naturally risen to the top due to their experience and expertise.

The diversity challenge for this president will be in deftly managing views and personalities – including four rivals from the primaries.

Obama’s cabinet represents myriad political ideologies, varying levels of involvement in Washington, and diversity along the political spectrum.  Despite Obama’s liberal voting record, he’s selected many moderate voices to control some of the government’s most important organs. 

Does this mean the United States has progressed into full-fledged bipartisanship?  Are we to believe that partisan politics are a thing of the past?  Does Obama’s mantra of change mean that, in Sam Cooke’s words, “A Change Is Gonna Come?”   These questions are not easily answerable.  It does appear that Obama has started off on the appropriate foot, bringing about a new direction for bipartisanship.  By reaching out to those of differing viewpoints for executive level appointments, Obama has paved the way for bipartisanship in Congress.  Hopefully we’ll see that in January.