Pardons in the news

With George Bush's term winding down, it is not surprising to see that those seeking grace from the soon to be ex-president are sending in their petitions. Charlie Savage (of signing statement fame thanks in part to my friend Dr. Kelley) writes about the record level of clemency requests in today's NYT. It has been a while since my dissertation days and pardon research, but I still find the attraction fascinating. And now we wait to see who will receive a pardon and when will they be issued. My bet, not many and some time in January 2009.

Phil Gramm speaks...

John McCain's top economic adviser is in the news, and McCain is quickly running away from him. Phil Gramm, who never saw a deregulation measure that he didn't support, has not shied away from sharing his rather unique view of economic conditions. Here are a couple of his more noted pearls of wisdom:

• On reducing Social Security benefits..."Most people don’t have the luxury of living to be 80 years old, so it’s hard for me to feel sorry for them."
• On welfare..."We’re the only nation in the world where all our poor people are fat.”
• On current economic conditions..."We have sort of become a nation of whiners...You’ve heard of mental depression; this is a mental recession.”
  

In case you have forgotten, Professor/Senator/Lobbyist Gramm (R-Texas) is credited with writing the legislation that allowed Enron (a major campaign supporter and one of the companies where his wife Wendy served on the Board) to be exempted from regulatory supervision.

Say goodbye to "compassionate conservatism."

Changing times

The NY Times has an interesting piece on the shifts occurring at U.S. universities as the cadre of professors from the 60's and 70's are now beginning to retire. Many of these faulty members entered the profession at time of great upheaval and brought their attitudes and experiences to the academy. But as the article points out, the notion of the "liberal" university faculty is rapidly becoming a thing of the past...despite incessant and inaccurate clammering from the talk radio crowd. As one who has spent the past 13 years on a university campus, I have seen this shift as it takes place. Although there are still some who enter the profession for ideological reasons (both from the left and the right), the days of the liberal old professor are definitely fading.

Happy Fourth of July.

The end is here

The Democrats will finally have a presidential nominee some time later this week. Despite unfounded claims that a protracted primary season would tear the Democratic party apart, polls are already showing Democrats moving towards unification behind Obama. The pundit hysteria from the left and the right has been atrocious. Left-leaning pundits have decried Hillary and her stay-in-it-until-the-end approach. Right leaners have prematurely declared the end of the Democratic party and the coronation of John McCain. Expect an interesting summer as both candidates work up to their respective conventions and the general election this fall.

Who will tell the people?

From his NYTimes column today, Thomas Friedman writes, "We need a president who is tough enough to tell the truth to the American people...Who will tell the people? We are not who we think we are. We are living on borrowed time and borrowed dimes. We still have all the potential for greatness, but only if we get back to work on our country." Could not have said it any better.

MIssion Accomplished

May 1, 2003. Has it already been five years since the dumbest photo op in presidential history?

News Media Fatuousness

Frank Rich lets them all have it today...good stuff.