And by the way...my gut tells me that I really like this idea.

To elaborate on all the to-do about whining and the FDR rejoinder (if indeed rejoinder is appropriate):

Ol' Phil has a point...to a point. And I remember when he ran for President in '96. I thought "This man doesn't have a chance in fucking hell." First of all, you don't want to come out of the gates and say "Stop whining" like Schwarzenegger in whatever movie that was. It's not constructive. Not now--or ever, probably. Fan the flames, like when MacArthur went in and burned down the Hoovervilles, and you will not be remembered in the final judgment as a positive contributor to the greater good. History has not treated Douglas MacArthur kindly, for that and a few other reasons. Years later Truman punked him, unpopular at the time, but correct. This is how he wrote about it in his diary:

April 7, 1951: "We met again this morning--Gen. Marshall, Dean Atcheson, Mr. Harriman and Gen. Bradley. It is the unanimous opinion of all that MacArthur be relieved. All four so advise."

Eloquence and (or) a bit of humility is hard to come by, much less economy of language, when it comes to matters of public record. FDR had both in spades. So did Truman. We need that now, more than ever. Words matter, as Barack reminds us. And I would add, how they're said. I say: Speeches, followed by action = Solutions. Speeches first, then lay out the agenda in a way that makes sense, with a positive attitude that does not annoy you with empty cheerleading. And finally, do your job. Follow through. Show appreciation in a genuine way towards those who do the grunt work to help get the job done. Not: "You people are all a bunch of fucking pussies." And then: "Lets go fuck this shit up!" And isn't that what Phil Gramm really means? What he SAYS may be true in many respects. Yes, we are a bunch of fucking pussies when you look back a ways and and dust off the History books. But humanity survives when it learns to pull a few punches. If restoring responsibility is what you want, calling (or naming) names is not the way to do it. And knowing what you know about Gramm, about how he's lived his life, one must ask: Who do you trust? And further to the point: At the Olympics this summer, what will people be chanting? "U.B.S.?"

John McCain, presumptive nominee from the party of family values.

In 1933, FDR said that the only thing we had to fear is fear itself.

Today's GOP has a very different tone:

"You've heard of mental depression; this is a mental recession," [Former Texas Senator and adviser to John McCain's campaign] said. "We may have a recession; we haven't had one yet."

"We have sort of become a nation of whiners," he said. "You just hear this constant whining, complaining about a loss of competitiveness, America in decline."

I must ask GOP supporters: How does it feel to be once again on the wrong side of History?

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Ha ha, this is funny! Dobson calling out Obama for pointing out some of the crap fundamentalists cite in the Old Testament (Leviticus) all the time. Dobson says, basically, that it's the Old Testament, that people should be paying more attention, as Christians to the New Testament. Fair enough. Then call out all the nuts who cite the Old Testament verses as the Law.

Although I'm a little concerned about the public opinion shift among some towards a more receptive attitude for offshore drilling (that's a convoluted way of saying people dumb enough to have bought a Hummer or a Ford Excursion are really getting desperate now), I'm not THAT concerned. This is an obvious ploy by a lame duck administration to get a few more chits for their cronies in the oil industry, nothing more. They're once again trying to fuel (ahem) the debate, but I believe it will backfire (heh). How? By getting McCain in line with the pro-drilling forces. Now the cards are on the table, another example of "McSame."

And then all it takes is to convince people how stupid the idea is, and how it won't work. All that will take is a little common sense: by the time any offshore drilling would have any effect, and it's doubtful that it would, it would be too late to matter. And, in the time (estimated 2030ish) it would take to do that, we could have instead implemented an alternative vehicle strategy that encourages EV vehicles among others, and they'd certainly be in production by then. Right?

Well, we had an EV a while back. But they killed it.