Via Glenn, here’s their first and last paragraphs, with my executive summary in the middle:
PRESIDENT-ELECT Barack Obama came to The Post editorial board yesterday with two messages sketchy on details yet reassuring in approach: a commitment to fiscal discipline, and a determination not to be bound by liberal, or indeed any, orthodoxy.
[snip of the President-elect not answering their questions about what he plans to do about controlling the budget, determining what financial sacrifices need to be made, when - or if - Card Check will be passed, what changes - if any - will be made to our current detainee system, and whether all of this means that he's a centrist.]
Mr. Obama’s indications of ideological flexibility are rather abstract at this point; he has not yet been called on to make the kind of difficult choices about which he speaks so eloquently. But his transition has sounded all the right themes, and, if yesterday’s session is any guide, his presidency promises to begin on the same hopeful, pragmatic note.
For my response, here’s an Isaac Asimov
“That,” replied Hardin, “is the interesting thing. The analysis was the most difficult of the three by all odds. When Holk, after two days of steady work, succeeded in eliminating meaningless statements, vague gibberish, useless qualifications – in short, all the goo and dribble – he found he had nothing left. Everything canceled out.
“Lord Dorwin, gentlemen, in five days of discussion didn’t say one damned thing, and said it so you never noticed. There are the assurances you had from your precious Empire.”
Further commentary unnecessary, yes?
Crossposted at Moe Lane.
Moe Lane
Neil Stevens
Steve Maley
Dan McLaughlin
This was...
tsquare (Diary) Friday, January 16th at 3:57PM EST (link)preaching to the choir… nothing more.
They hit the nail on the head and they don't even know it
Jeff Emanuel (Diary) Friday, January 16th at 4:05PM EST (link)Story of his campaign and of what will be a spectacularly detail-less presidency
JE
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kowalski (Diary) Friday, January 16th at 4:06PM EST (link)True Headline on the Washington Post’s website….right now!
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It must be the lack of government port-a-potties.
Now, we all know that if a corporation had encouraged several million people to flock to Washington for an event, they would have been required by law to install approximately 10 times as many johns as the Government is doing for this Inauguration. Fortunately, it’s cold, which means the stench won’t travel very far — hopefully.
I expect the port-a-potty situation to be a disgustingly rich vein of caption contest fodder. And we will all be able to say that it’s Government in Action, Without Laxatives.
Yeah, sure, it’s a base motive I’m talking about here. But when you have several million people congregating in one fruited plain, everyone knows they’re going to have to take care of #1 and #2 at some point. My guess is that the facilities will be more overwhelmed than the restrooms at a punk-rock concert.
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The Fabreze President
Robert A. Hahn (Diary) Friday, January 16th at 4:40PM EST (link)They’re liberals. Their rose petals don’t stink.
Drink Good Coffee. You can sleep when you’re dead.
Just looking for their
10ksnooker (Diary) Friday, January 16th at 4:15PM EST (link)Bailout funds. If only America had a free press, this crap wouldn’t happen where you elect a fairly bright high school student President.
Also in his visit to the WaPo
bk (Diary) Friday, January 16th at 4:56PM EST (link)He said this:
Not sure what “quick action” he could take on the middle east, and it’s scary that he seems to want to get 3 EVs for DC, but the last part caught my eye. If it was President-Elect McCain saying that about Gitmo, it would be reported as McCain Says Gitmo May Remain Open Until 2013.
So I thought I was the only one
jarrod21 (Diary) Saturday, January 17th at 2:48AM EST (link)I’m glad I’m not the only one who has drawn parallels from the Foundation series and The One.
If you really want a scary-accurate parallel, read Forward the Foundation and take a look at the Jojo Joranum character (even though by that time Asimov had lost a lot of his storytelling chops as he was dealing with failing health and just plain being old)