As in, "Joe gives Dems a bad name, bad name..." He probably doesn't give Jews a bad name, but I don't know. So, what to make of all this LIEbertool stuff?
We have a camp that says, 'Obama knows more than we do, is really smart and a great politician. So, if he wanted LIEberman to stay, he must have a reason, so give peace a chance.' But we also have another camp that says, 'What LIEberman did was so awful, there's no way to justify keeping him.' [I do like the Traitor Joe pic]. Then, we have the competence argument, that his performance as HS Comm. Chair was pathetic, a complete waste, and thus, he should be tossed. But then we also have Lawrence O'Donnell on Rachel Maddow on Monday night saying none of these chairmanships are ever judged on performance. And that's all just this week!
It can be very confusing whether we drill down to the wonk-level or not. I'm not, since I'm in the visceral camp. I likes me the crime and punishment. So here's the thing that bugs me: the politics!!! 1st a quote from Howard Dean, posted among the many blogs, but within the last of the 3 links above:
"But I would line up with Barack. I don't think you were told to go screw yourselves at all. I think he has got to now practice what he preaches during two years of campaigns if he wants to bring America together and as objectionable as Joe's behavior was, and frankly unprincipled, I don't think that this is the thing that should divide us. And I don't think it's about his votes for FISA or anything else. I think it's about what kind of a tone do we want to send..."
Tone? Look, we can all be -- and likely have been -- moved by Obama's words over the past 2 years. The guy has earned his shot. But actions carry weight too, Gov. Dean. The FISA vote counted. The 'no-grudges' tour now means something. You can't preach 'tone' if you're tone-deaf to consequences. That's why this matters. It matters because ordinary people have done extraordinary things to help Obama become President-elect. So if Harry Reid's feelings are hurt, tough too bads. But you can't dismiss the hurt feelings of other citizens simply because they're not Senate Majority Leaders. You have to acknowledge WHY they might feel the way they do, and THEN, you can look to resolve. I must be liberal, I'm so sensitive. [Frankly, with all the Dem-caving history, with their wussiness on display at every turn, how can one not get a sense of deja vu?]
I'd like to believe in the promised change, the hope, the appeal to our better selves; that Obama really is that different. The cynic in me is just not sure that hope deserves another chance. It would be so much easier if Obama just came out and said, 'Ya know what, Joe, I'm going to get two dogs for my girls in the White House: a new puppy, and you!' Maybe he said that in private, that would be cool. While there's another Bon Jovi song called 'Joey', the more appropriate one to end with is, 'Good guys don't always wear white.'
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