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August 2008
Obama answered his critics
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
It was an audacious plan, but he pulled it off. Even though expectations were dizzyingly high, Barack Obama met them.
Critics said he tends to be too vague, so he gave details.
Critics said he tends to be too lofty and cerebral, but he connected with plainspoken rhetoric.
Critics said he is a wimp who couldn’t throw a punch, but McCain must have felt a couple of those left hooks.
Game on!
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Lewis remembers 45 years ago
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
One of the most sought-after figures at this convention has been Atlanta’s own John Lewis, congressman and revered civil rights hero, whose remarkable career connects the civil rights movement with last night’s awe-inspiring nomination of the first black presidential candidate from a major political party.
I saw Lewis in the lobby of the hotel just now, and he said, “I’ve cried so many tears over the last couple of days that I’m cried out. I gave an interview just now and I just lost it. It was at 1 p.m. exactly 45 years ago,” he said, when Lewis, a student civil rights leader, stood to give his speech at the March on Washington.
Later, on that steamy August day, Martin Luther King, Jr. gave his powerful “I Have a Dream” speech, one of the most awesome pieces of rhetoric in American history, right up there with the Gettysburg address. This is, indeed, a day to just savor and celebrate this remarkable “only in America” moment, to acknowledge the remarkable social and cultural transformation this country has accomplished in a short 45 years.
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It was politics, but of the polite variety
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
It was a very good day for the Democrats.
It started with a classy act by Hillary Clinton, who moved to nominate Barack Obama by acclamation, preventing a potentially divisive rollcall vote. Her husband then delivered a ringing endorsement of Obama, reminding the nation why he is considered the best politician of his generation.
Bill Clinton’s speech was followed by a passionate and biting critique of the Bush administration by, of all people, John Kerry, who is hardly known for his passion. And rounding out the day was Joe Biden, who delivered what the delegates and other Democratic partisans had been hoping for — an insightful and incisive attack on John McCain’s politics.
The Democrats, to a person, proved that they could harshly attack policies and politics, judgments and beliefs, without attacking the person. Good for them. Bill Clinton and each member of the Senate — Hillary Clinton, Joe Biden, John Kerry — was careful to mention his friendship with or respect for John McCain and his service to the nation.
Then they proceeded to say why they disagreed with his policies, why his policies are bad for the country. It should not be necessary to dehumanize your opponent, to suggest he is somehow worthy of contempt.
If that idea of respecting your rival’s humanity is what Barack Obama has brought to American politics, it marks a huge improvement.
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Restoring the Clinton dynasty?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Bill Clinton could be a very effective surrogate for Barack Obama on the campaign trail, going to small-town America, carving up John McCain, persuading lunch-pail Democrats to stay with the Obama-Biden ticket. But it’s unlikely that he will.
Even after her effective speech last night (perhaps because of it) Hillary aides are making clear that she still intends to run in 2012. That’s only possible if Obama loses. So the Clintons would rather see a Republican in the White House next year than give up their dream of restoring the Clinton dynasty.
On top of that, there are ugly rumors going around that Hillary aides put out the word that Obama had better not pick a woman VP unless it was Hillary. Can they really be that selfish?
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Will Bill deliver?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
There is no doubt the last two-term Democratic president deserves a prime-time speech at the convention. But after Hillary’s big night, complete with autobiographical video, it’s beginning to feel like a Clinton convention.
It will be worthwhile, though, if Bill delivers a rousing speech endorsing Obama and slamming McCain. But will he?
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Hillary’s speech should please Obama
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Hillary Clinton rocked the house, giving one of the best speeches of her career. Wow! Obama could hardly have asked for more.
She paid tribute to her supporters and her campaign, but she still managed to exude genuine enthusiasm for Barack Obama. On the anniversary of women’s suffrage, she paid tribute to that struggle.
She also got off a few nice attack lines against the Bush-McCain team, giving Democrats the red meat the convention hall had craved. She is, after all, very shrewd, and she knows that she still has a great future in the Democratic Party if she is not seen as the spoiler.
Besides, she really has never been the Clinton that Obama has to worry about. The other part of the Clinton team still bears watching.
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Grow up, Hillary supporters
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Diehard Hillary supporters — especially feminists and professional women — risk an image as whiners and cry-babies if they don’t stop complaining about Hillary’s defeat and the way they are allegedly being treated by the Obama camp.
Politics is a tough, mean game, and it’s not for the faint of heart. Take a look at John McCain. George Bush’s surrogates treated him in a way no honorable American deserves to be treated, going so far as to put out ugly rumors about his adopted Bangladeshi daughter.
But McCain understood the game. That’s why there’s video of him hugging Bush at the convention in 2004. If you can’t play the game that way — quickly getting over so-called mistreatment by your rivals — you don’t need to be in it. Hillary’s supporters should grow up.
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Michelle Obama hit the right notes
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Posted 8 a.m. Tuesday
Even in the 21st century, it’s not easy being an assertive and accomplished professional woman, as Hillary Clinton and many others would attest. Throw in dark skin and you’ve got ready made stereotypes, including that of the “angry black woman.”
Michelle Obama’s job last night was to prove she isn’t angry or cold or mean or somehow un-American. She did what she set out to do with a speech that focused on family relationships and was delivered in a warm and casual tone. She waxed sentimental talking of her father’s illness; she also managed to remind voters that she grew up working class, in an apartment so small she and her brother virtually shared a room.
If she keeps that same tone and focus for the rest of the campaign, the McCain camp will have a harder time caricaturing her as Omarosa.
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Some are fed up with Hillary crowd
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Updated: 12:48 p.m. Monday
I ran into a DNC superdelegate in my hotel this morning, and she’s fed up with the never-say-die Hillary crowd.
“Can’t they just let us have some joy,” she asked, adding, “Managing Hillary and Bill was a full-time job in 2000. In eight years, nothing has changed.”
Posted: 7:38 a.m. Monday
John McCain wasted no time in using Barack Obama’s vice-presidential pick, Joe Biden, against him.
McCain has already put together an ad showing Biden, back during the primaries, calling Obama too inexperienced to be president. McCain’s chief strategist is a Karl Rove protege, and they’re not going to waste any opportunities to attack.
Of course, any campaign strategist would have used that one against Obama. It was too good to leave alone because Biden will have a hard time deflecting his own words. Editorial page editor Cynthia Tucker is blogging from the Democratic National Convention in Denver this week.
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Will lower drinking age bring bingeing boom?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Combating binge drinking on colleges by lowering the drinking age seems akin to decreasing speeding by raising the speed limit.
States that hiked their speed limit discovered that lead-footed drivers still weren’t content. Those who used to drive 70 in 65-mile zones sped up to 75 in 70 mph zones.
It seems unlikely that states that drop their drinking ages will record a sudden upswing in responsible behavior. Rather than sober 18-year-olds, they could end up with more drunk 16-year-olds.
I once assumed that drinking was limited to teens who were adrift, who weren’t focused on athletics or academics and were filling the void with vodka and orange juice. Then, at a coffee shop late one night a few years ago, I watched a parade of drunk high school girls stumble by on their way to use the restrooms. Among them were sports stars and would-be valedictorians. I have learned since that 81 percent of high school students try alcohol.
An 18-year-old drinking age would free colleges from acting as cops and nannies to beer-ponging freshmen and sophomores. That’s why a new call to lower the drinking age is coming from college presidents, who have united under the banner of the Amethyst Initiative.
Ancient Greek for “not intoxicated,” the Amethyst Initiative maintains that the 21-year-old drinking age is a failure, citing research that indicates binge drinking on campuses remains unchanged, despite crackdowns and awareness campaigns.
But there’s also research suggesting that colleges can and should do more to deter underage drinking. Last month, the Harvard School of Public Health College Alcohol Study concluded that students drink more on campuses that have a strong drinking culture, few alcohol-control policies on campus or in the adjacent community, weak enforcement of policies and easier access to alcohol through special promotions and low pricing by local stores and bars. The Harvard study found binge drinking didn’t exist at some colleges, while others had four out of five students bingeing, suggesting that specific college environments contribute to the problem.
It’s easy to understand the motivation of the 129 college presidents who have signed on to the Amethyst Initiative. No longer would they nail-bite their way through first semester fretting over inexperienced and immoderate freshmen swigging fifths of vodka and falling off dorm balconies. But the problem wouldn’t disappear with a lower drinking age; it would land like a hot potato in the hands of high school principals, who wouldn’t necessarily find too many allies among parents.
A consistent research finding is that parents shrug off underage drinking as a rite of passage. Studies also cite fraternities and sororities as epicenters of campus alcohol abuse, yet most college presidents don’t want to take on the Greek armies.
In “Wasting the Best and the Brightest: Substance Abuse at America’s Colleges and Universities,” the National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University found that fraternity and sorority members are far likelier than non-Greeks to binge. Sixty-four percent of Greeks report binge drinking, compared with 37 percent of their classmates.
At the time that the Columbia center released its study last year, its director, Joseph A. Califano Jr., issued a statement that the Amethyst Initiative signers and parents ought to heed:
“By failing to become part of the solution, these Pontius Pilate presidents and parents, deans, trustees and alumni have become part of the problem. Their acceptance of a status quo of rampant alcohol and other drug abuse puts the best and the brightest —- and the nation’s future —- in harm’s way.”
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Blog with Cynthia Tucker
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
AJC editorial page editor Cynthia Tucker will be blogging from the Democratic National Convention.
Join her all next week to blog on her views and news from Denver.
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What is the future of biofuels?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
The AJC editorial board has criticized corn-based ethanol subsidies and blames the diversion of foodstuff to fuel for the rising cost of food at the grocery store and in restaurants.
Murray Campbell of Camilla, chief executive officer of First United Ethanol Ltd., of Camilla, defended the program Monday at Atlanta’s Commerce Club in a talk titled “Biofuels in Georgia: Fact, Fiction and Future.”
Corn-based ethanol has been in the news … and I wanted to address some of the issues that always come up:
“It costs more energy to make a gallon of ethanol than you get back out of it.” … In 16 major studies on energy balances with different kinds of energy, 14 of them show that corn-based ethanol has a positive energy balance. Two of them did not. One of those used some old numbers, which said that we got 2.2 gallons of ethanol out of a bushel of corn, when it’s 2.8 or 2.9 now. And the other one assumed that farmers would not plant anything on the land if they didn’t have corn. That’s not the way agriculture works. …
“Talk about water usage. … It takes 44 gallons to refine a gallon of gasoline. It takes three to four gallons of water to refine a gallon of ethanol, and 87 percent of the corn in this country is grown on dry land. Grant you, we grow a lot of irrigated crops down in our area, and one of the assets for our plant is the ability to grow irrigated corn. But our yield is significantly higher than the national average of corn grown dry. …
“We’ve had an awful lot of talk about how biofuels, and corn-based ethanol in particular, are driving up the cost of food. … [One expert estimated] that corn-based ethanol runs up the price of food about 3.3 percent. … But at the same time, we’re keeping the price of gasoline down with biofuels because we’re making nearly 9 billion gallons of ethanol that’s going into transportation.”
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Imperfection at the Olympics
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
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Atlantans know that staging an Olympic Games is not for the faint of heart. But many believe that China went over the line last week when it decided that a 7-year-old singer (Yang Peiyi, top photo at right) was not cute enough for the Opening Ceremonies and replaced her with a purportedly prettier girl (Lin Miaoke, 9, bottom photo at right) who lip-synched the song “Ode to the Motherland.”
“The national interest requires that the girl should have good looks and a good grasp of the song and look good on screen,” the ceremony’s chief music director, Chen Qigang, told Beijing Radio.
This sort of “national interest” is an alien concept to many Americans. What do you make of it? Read about this incident and other problems at the Beijing Olympics here, and join in a discussion of the singer who wasn’t pretty enough.
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Saxby and the Gang of 10
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Cynthia Tucker says that Saxby Chambliss and the “Gang of 10,” the five Democratic senators and five Republican senators who are seeking middle ground on energy policy, are not just acting like adults: they’re acting like leaders.
So why, Tucker asks, are right-wing ideologues like Rush Limbaugh and Neal Boortz complaining about their efforts? And why is the left castigating Barack Obama for saying that he would agree to new offshore drilling in exchange for significant funding for alternative fuel development?
Tucker believes that partisan politics is strangling efforts to lead us out of the energy crisis. Read her full column here, and then join the conversation on Chambliss and the Gang of 10.
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How to respond to Russia
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
An editorial in Tuesday’s AJC argues that the United States has few options when it comes to responding to the Russian invasion of neighboring Georgia. Even as the former Soviet republic begs its Western allies for assistance, the United States has talked tough — with President Bush demanding that the Russians withdraw forthwith — but has been able to do little.
What precisely can the United States do? What is the range of options available to Washington? Military action? Economic sanctions? Diplomatic pressure? Read the full editorial here, and join in the discussion below.
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The high cost of free sex
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
The head of the Center for Law and Religion at Emory University writes that children born out of wedlock in this country cost taxpayers $112 billion a year. It’s time, says Professor John Witte, that single parents take responsibility for the children they bring into the world.
Private sex is a protected activity, Witte points out, but the protection ends with the act itself. Why shouldn’t it extend to the child that results from nonmarital sex? Why shouldn’t the parents be held responsible for the children they produce?
Read the full essay.
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Tough times & mental health care
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
An Atlanta attorney who erves on the board of directors for Metropolitan Counseling Services, a nonprofit provider of mental health services to adults over 18, writes about a woman who killed herself over her home’s foreclosure.
“A few days later on CNN, a young woman in Southern California professed thoughts of suicide as she contemplated the loss of her home in foreclosure. She is undoubtedly not alone in what has come to be described as “debt depression,” a term encapsulating the rising tide of negative mental health consequences of such hardships among those struggling with job loss, home foreclosure, rising food and gas prices, and declining wages.”
He continues: “What Americans are experiencing economically is clearly not ‘all in our heads,’ or, as former U.S. Sen. Phil Gramm, a John McCain adviser, recently put it, a “mental recession.” But the increasing difficulty of the struggle to make ends meet and avoid homelessness is taking a correspondingly harsh toll on the mental health of our citizens.”
Do you see signs of Americans coping with high levels of anxiety?
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What can stop the blimping of America?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
“Lawmakers from coast to coast are trying to stop the blimping of America,” writes Linda Campbell in an opinion piece in the AJC.
“What I want to know is who’s going to stop the young mother who takes her precious little 2-year-old into the 7-Eleven for breakfast, grabs a banana and a package of vanilla creme cookies and then hands her daughter a bag of Cheetos?
“How is government going to regulate that?
“You can ban certain food additives as nutritional pariahs. You can require that fast-food vendors strike fear in their customers’ hearts by reminding them how noxiously they’re eating. You can even outlaw TV ads that pitch yummy junk directly to kids.
“But how do you counter the bad eating habits that parents teach by rote and example?”
Later in the column, she writes: “I’m skeptical not because of any kind of libertarian objection to forcing people into better habits — but because it’s so complicated to change behavior, even when it’s self-destructive.
“I argued several years back that lawsuits against the fast-food industry had made an impact by pressuring companies to be more forthcoming about the ingredients they were serving — and getting rid of some of the worst additives.
“And I fully support getting sugary sodas and junk food out of public school corridors, whether it’s a result of government restrictions or collective parental demands.”
How can we stop the blimping of America?
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Road rage or traffic tantrum?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
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We’ve all seen it out there — somebody who just loses it in traffic and begins screaming and honking the horn, or worse. And some of us have also indulged in some road rage of our own.
“Traffic” author Tom Vanderbilt says the term “road rage” may confer a kind of legitimacy on behavior that’s really just a “traffic tantrum” — a childish and sometimes dangerous outburst that we should all seek to control.
What’s your experience with road rage? Has another driver ever yelled at you, gestured at you, or worse, threatened you because of perceived problems with your driving? What did you do?
Read the Sunday @issue report on traffic:
Q&A with author Tom Vanderbilt
Road warriors’ quiz | Slower speeds more efficient
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