For months we've been inundated with the raw data of the economic meltdown: unemployment figures, foreclosure numbers, massive bailout stats. Here at HuffPost we want to help put a human face on the suffering.
Did I think Ed Rendell's comment was sexist? I didn't. But I do think it is emblematic of a pervasive misperception in America: the idea that to be a success you have to drive yourself into the ground.
Must have been quite the holiday party at the vice president's house this week: old chums Dick Cheney and Karl Rove tossing back a few eggnogs and talking about the possibility of a preemptive presidential pardon. Or evaluating the first steps of the Bush Legacy Project. No doubt there was a lot of backslapping when Fox's Chris Wallace stopped by. Earlier in the week, Wallace had vociferously defended Bush against criticisms leveled by Frost/Nixon filmmaker Ron Howard at a screening of the film. At the VP's party, a "genuinely grateful" Cheney thanked Wallace for standing up for the president and promised him "a special exit interview" in a couple of weeks. Should be very fair and balanced. In other holiday party news: the Treasury Department holiday bash will be held in the department's "Cash Room." Emptiest room in the place, I suppose.
Look at Blagojevich's life and his checkered tenure as Governor, and the amorality that led him to hang a For Sale sign on the Illinois statehouse door seems to have been part of his character for a very long time.
It's been amusing watching the media try to turn a scandal affecting the governor of Illinois into a scandal affecting the president-elect. Every detail was milked for maximum ominousness: a recent handshake between Obama and Blagojevich, a list of favored replacement candidates delivered by Rahm Emanuel, Rahm's "beet-red" face, David Axelrod's work for Blago in the 90s. All inflated to fill a sparse news cycle. But wouldn't it have been weird if Obama hadn't shaken Blago's hand, and weirder still if he'd shown no interest in who his successor would be? Trying to turn any of this into a suspicion of pay-to-play carries about as much weight as the Obama citizenship case. Sorry, guys, but Blagojevich said it all: the Obama people were "not willing to give me anything except appreciation."
When historians look for a name that sums up the Bush II years, they could do worse than calling them The "Who Could Have Known?" Era.
The VP and Eastwood's character are both gruff, prickly, taciturn, sandpaper-voiced men, given to conservative views, macho posturing, and a narrow view of right and wrong. And they both always seem on the verge of telling people around them to go f**k themselves. Read More Will The Madoff Debacle Finally End The "Who Could Have Known?" Era? Iraq. Fannie Mae. Citigroup. Bernie Madoff. When you look at the elements that were crucial to the creation of each of these debacles, it's amazing how much in common they all have. And not just in how they began but in how they ended: with those responsible being amazed at what happened, because...who could have known? Read More Watch: Arianna Talks New Media and Politics with Ashton Kutcher
There are only three shopping days left until Christmas, and I am scrambling to finish up my holiday gift list. Please post your gift ideas for public figures in the comments section below and we'll collect the best ones and unwrap them on Christmas Day.
It's time to drive the final nail into the coffin of laissez faire capitalism. If not, the Dr. Frankensteins of the right will surely try to revive the monster and send it marauding through our economy once again.
Merry Christmas, HuffPosters. I hope you are all touched by the grace of this day. We have a special gift for you tucked under our Featured Blog Posts tree: a line-up of holiday-inspired offerings. Remember: every time you click on a post, a blogger gets his wings! Earlier this week, I asked for your suggestions on what gifts we should give to some of our favorite -- and not so favorite -- public figures. You responded with a flying sleigh's worth of great gift ideas. Even Santa's elves couldn't have been more industrious. Now it's time to unwrap the presents. Click here to check out our favorite suggestions for what should be stuffed into the stockings of some of 2008's naughty and nice.
This week, John Snow, Bush's former Secretary of the Treasury, claimed that one of the causes of the mortgage meltdown was that, in its zeal to increase homeownership, the Bush administration "forgot" that people had to be "able to afford their houses." Perfectly understandable. And it explains so much: Bush and company didn't mean to illegally torture prisoners at Gitmo -- they simply "forgot" torture was illegal. They didn't mean to trample civil rights -- they simply "forgot" about the Constitution. They didn't gin up phony intel to hype us into war -- they simply "forgot" that WMD had to be real. Turns out their guiding principle has been Steve Martin's classic catch-all defense: "I forgot!" So, will Bush's parting words be, "Well, excuuuuuse me!"?
I'd like to forget... That Eliot Spitzer likes things "you might not think are safe." That Dick Cheney still doesn't believe waterboarding is torture. The tingle going up Chris Matthew's leg. Joe the Plumber...and so much more.
Happy 2009, HuffPosters! This is certainly one of the most momentous New Years in our lifetime -- a year of tremendous challenges, but also the beginning of a bold, exciting new era. May the coming year bring us strength, wisdom, courage, and a clear perspective on what matters and what does not. Earlier this week, I offered my list of all the things that happened over the last twelve months that I'd love to forget, and asked you to remember any that I might have forgotten. You responded with a fantastic collection of unforgettable Things to Forget. Click here to check out our favorites. Let's remember them one last time, then delete them from out internal hard drives forever -- collectively starting 2009 off with a clean slate.
