Auto Bailout? *Sigh*

I must say, I am surprised that one of Obama's first proposals is a bailout of the American auto industry. Not only did it seem to come out of nowhere, it also feels ill-advised. I guess I can see that the Democrats want to show that they can provide bailouts for blue collar workers - not just the white collar jobs in the financial sector. At the same time, it really seems like we have been bailing out the American auto industry for far too long. They have a history of building cars that don't last, they seem incapable of staying ahead of trends, and worse of all resist calls to improve fuel efficiency and move towards alternate fuel technologies and only do so after other firms (mostly Honda and Toyota) have beat them to the punch.

Instead, I really think we need to let these companies fail. In their place we could see American car manufacturers that put innovation - and greener technology - first. Now, if the Democrats want to allow for a soft landing of the car companies, and provide support for those who will be laid off, I can get behind that. In fact, maybe they could provide tax breaks for new American auto start-ups that will buy the old manufacturing plants and hire the former workers (this idea is definitely off the cuff - so it might prove unrealistic for new companies to start because of high fixed costs).

I really think this is where Democrats get a bad name. We want to help those of moderate or lower incomes, but we tend to choose policies that are more populist and less economic - policies that might help in the short run, but really hurt in the long run. This makes little sense from an efficiency standpoint and furthermore, it isn't the only option - or necessarily the best option - from a fairness standpoint. I know I won't agree with the Obama administration on everything, but I thought I would make it farther than this.

Note: Although I definitely have my favorite columnists, sometimes I feel like a hack by only printing their opinions instead of mine. It's hard though when they make the point so much better. Anyway, here is David Brooks' take on the auto bailout:

But the larger principle is over the nature of America’s political system. Is this country going to slide into progressive corporatism, a merger of corporate and federal power that will inevitably stifle competition, empower corporate and federal bureaucrats and protect entrenched interests? Or is the U.S. going to stick with its historic model: Helping workers weather the storms of a dynamic economy, but preserving the dynamism that is the core of the country’s success.

Hillary is Back

Remember when Hillary was getting as much news as Obama? And there was all the talk about whether she would be Obama's VP and if not whether she would campaign for him? Then in a few weeks, it didn't seem to matter. The country easily made the transition from Obama v. Hillary to Obama v. McCain.

Well, now Hillary is back in the news and apparently she is the front-runner for Secretary of State. When I first heard this, I was torn. I felt she had exaggerated her foreign policy experience during the campaign and so I wondered what made her qualified to head the State Department. At the same time, even though I think she is incredibly smart, I think this would be a better position than Supreme Court Justice.

As for the other contenders - I am surprised no one is mentioning Bill Richardson anymore. Maybe Timothy Noah convinced everyone else that it would be a bad choice. And I agree with Gail Collins that John Kerry would not be a very good choice. Frankly, I'm not sure what Kerry would be good for, except to stay on in the Senate. And nobody seems to be mentioning Edwards anymore - all because of an affair.

I think though that Hillary would be a good choice. Her role as first lady did include much time traveling as a dignitary of the US, which would be a large part of her role as Secretary of State. Where I think she exaggerated her experience was her level of involvement in decision-making. Here she would get that chance. The only worry is whether Obama could control her. I would like to think that in this role, it would be easier than if she had been VP.

Better Not Forget Samantha Power

The New York Times has a feature that gives short bios of all the people in Obama's inner circle and candidates for high level positions in his administration. Well, let's hope it's not actually all the people. There is at least one important name missing from this list - Samantha Power!

I really don't want Obama to make an early signal that he doesn't really care much about human rights. I don't want to lose all the good feelings I have so quickly. During the campaign, Obama gave signals that he supports human rights; in the last debate (or was it the second debate?), he made it clear that he thought the US should intervene in genocides / ethnic cleansing. The talk was good, now he needs to show it by giving Samantha Power a high level position. Sure, there are others he could appoint. But Power was a close adviser to Senator Obama and continued on in his campaign. She resigned during the primaries because she called Hillary Clinton a monster. Enough time has passed. President-elect Obama needs to bring her back to the inner circle.

No More History Except to Make It

A few weeks ago I discovered American Experience - the PBS series - on Netflix. At risk of further exposing how much of a geek I am, I can say I was ridiculously excited. Right away I rented the episodes on LBJ and Jimmy Carter, with RFK, Ronald Reagan, George HW Bush and Martin Luther King not far behind. Since the election though, my interest has dropped off. I realize at this moment I am much less interested in spending my time in the past. I am less interested in learning about history. I want to live in this moment. I want to be a part of this history. These feelings are a direct result of the hope I feel with an Obama presidency on the way.

An Active Part of History

I didn't really expect to feel proud of volunteering on Obama's campaign. At the time, I felt I needed to do it because the country needed an Obama Presidency so badly. I did it because I had the time and because I knew I would feel guilty if Obama lost and I hadn't done all I could to help.

But I also did it because I was truly inspired by Barack Obama. I think the country needed a Gore presidency in 2000 and a Kerry presidency in 2004. But I didn't volunteer for any of them. And I find it unlikely that I would have volunteered for Hillary Clinton - I would have voted for her, but not campaigned for her.

My volunteer activities only spanned the last few weeks. But during that time I called Obama supporters in New York state asking them to volunteer on the weekend, I called voters in swing states asking who they were going to vote for and hoping to persuade undecided voters to support Obama, I entered data, and during the last four days of the campaign I ran a phone bank in Staten Island, helped with training in Harlem (on Tuesday), and when I had free time I called Obama supporters reminding them to vote.

So as I savor this victory, I know that I contributed, along with many thousands of others, to this victory. This historic moment, this time of real change and hope, came about because 65 million people (53 percent) voted for Barack Obama, but also because of the thousands of people like me who made phone calls, went door to door in swing states, and entered data.

In looking back at this time, I realize I met many great people who are committed to Democratic (liberal) principles and the democratic process in general. I also learned how to be flexible under pressure - to change and improvise when needed. And finally, I learned the pride you can feel by being an active part of history.

Would Wallace Have Voted for Obama?

Peggy Wallace Kennedy, the daughter of George C. Wallace and Lurleen Wallace, who both were governors of Alabama, wrote a really good commentary on the CNN website. Basically, her piece says that her father - the most famous advocate for segregation - would have voted for Obama. For those of us who don't know the end of Wallace's story (how he renounced his former positions), the commentary is uplifting.

The Cabinet

I keep thinking that sometime soon I am going to take a break and read about politics less obsessively. It never happens though. Oh well. Now that the election is over, everyone is talking about who President-elect Obama will choose for his administration. I don't have too much to contribute to this - at least at the moment. Basically, I do think he should reach across the aisle - at least for symbolic reasons. And I don't want to see too many Clinton people, although that might be hard to avoid.

As for specifics, I would have thought Bill Richardson would be a great choice for Secretary of State, but Timothy Noah begs to differ. His one short paragraph about why Richardson is a bad choice makes me realize I didn't know as much about him as I should have and therefore slightly embarrassed for supporting him at the beginning of the primaries. Timothy Noah may be way off, but I don't know enough even to be able to defend Richardson. I agree that we don't want Summers as Treasury Secretary, mostly because of how bad of a job he did at Harvard. I think Arnold though would be a good choice for EPA.

Iran and Venezuela

Maybe it is early still, but I really think two things are going to change Iran's power in negotiations with us. First, Ahmadinejad will no longer have President Bush to take attention away from Iran's failed economy and as the reason he needs to pursue nuclear technology. Secondly, as gas prices decline, so will their revenue. This will of course make their economic situation worse as well as exacerbating the impact of the sanctions. I think we can look for a President Obama to have a much stronger position if / when he negotiates with Iran.

These same reasons might weaken Chavez in Venezuela.

President Barack Obama. Amazing

I am still trying to process the election results and come down from the excitement. Actually, I don't want to come down too much. To be honest, I was anxious for weeks, and it got worse the last few days. I didn't realize how bad I wanted Obama to win. It went way beyond how I felt in 2000 and 2004.

This is the reason I volunteered for the Obama campaign. I knew that if I didn't work the phone banks and enter data, I would blame myself if he lost. It's not that my ego is that big. I just knew that I couldn't actually be upset if he had lost and I hadn't done a thing to help. Volunteering also helped me keep my mind busy as I wondered if the candidate I wanted to be president so badly could actually win.

The fact is that from the beginning I believed this country could elect a black president. At first that belief was just based on faith in our country. But seeing him win the primary in Iowa confirmed this belief. Towards the end though, my fear of not getting what I thought we needed so badly blinded my faith.

The voters yesterday showed that my early faith was not mistaken. And the rest of the world got the message as well. For two elections, the world saw the US elect a president who seems unintelligent and needlessly aggressive and condescending. They assumed we were a country of fools who don't share the values of the rest of the world. After last night, they saw that we can make some bad decisions, but we can also make some truly amazing decisions.