Frank Rich writes about the federal government's -- and particularly this Administration's -- complicity in the economic crisis: "Since Obama has neither aggressively pursued the crash’s con men nor compellingly explained how they gamed the system, he sometimes looks as if he’s fronting for the industry even if he’s not." (See more in The Commentariat above.)

Since the Times moderators again axed my comment again, here it is:

Frank's recitation of the Obama Administration's love affair with Wall Street is a huge part of the Democrats' "enthusiasm gap." We expected more than rhetoric. We expected more than a Swiss-cheese financial "regulatory" law finessed by the banks' best friend in the Senate, Chris Dodd. (Gosh, wonder what Dodd will do when he "retires" in January?) And we expected more than that goofy Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. I like Elizabeth Warren, but that little bureau the Republicans don't want her to head up is as big a joke as the Dodd-Frank law. Besides, regulations are only as good as the regulators, and there's every reason to think that the powers-that-be don't want hard-nosed regulators.

When Democrats like me rail against the fools in the tea party who want to bring in Republicans who will fall over for richy-rich Americans and candidates who want to dismantle the government's social assistance networks, we do so knowing we have a dirty little secret. That secret is that we're just as angry as the tea partiers. But, unlike the tea party gang, we don't have a target to aim at. We voted for the guy who won, and he's still the best deal there is. The best deal the American people can get is a bad deal. That fairly xenophobic ad produced by a conservative group that projects the Chinese gleefully taking over the U.S. by 2030 is creepy, but who doesn't have a sneaking suspicion that it may contain an underlying truth? That truth is that our elected leaders, Democratic & Republican, are selling us out.

Here's the spot, which I posted earlier:

We know the Republicans are selling us out, because they say so. The ones who don't admit they want to dismantle Social Security for instance, have renamed "privitization." Now, they're calling it "allowing citizens the option of opening private accounts." Here's Jim Huffman, Oregon's Republican nominee for Senate:

Ah, that's much better. All Republicans promise to repeal the healthcare law, which already is a boondoggle for the health insurance industry & Big Pharma. All of the Republican Senate candidates except one say that climate change is either a "hoax" or, if they're "moderate," it's "unproved science." Look, look, scientists don't present "proofs"; they present "hypotheses." They're just guessing!

And the Democrats? Jack Conway promises to "fix" the healthcare law. He says he's more of a "Clinton Democrat" than an "Obama Democrat." What does that mean? More of a white guy? Joe Manchin is using the climate change bill for target practice.

With the exception of a few brave Congressmembers like Russ Feingold & Tom Perriello, both of whom are in danger of losing their seats, Democrats are running away from their slim accomplishments. Some are bragging about how often then vote with John Boehner. John Boehner!

So, yeah, I get where the tea partiers are coming from. I share their rage. But I remember this:

When I was a teenager, my liberals ideas were so "far out" that my best friend thought I should get psychological help. But, like so many men & women of my generation, I kept pushing. Now, almost all of those things we were pushing for are the law. My old friend probably wouldn't remember that she thought I needed medical attention because I said the schools should be racially integrated.

So I keep pushing. Maybe the next president will be somebody like Sherrod Brown or Russ Feingold or Sheldon Whitehouse. And maybe, just maybe, he or she will be a little less likely to tout the "smart businessmen" on Wall Street. Maybe the next president will put the middle class & the poor first.

The Commentariat -- October 23

The New York Times' "War Logs" page with links to stories on the newly-released Iraq documents & to the Afghanistan papers. The other English-language paper to get the new documents was the Guardian. Here's their "Iraq War Logs" page. ...

... Here's an ABC News report:

     ... ABC News' print report is here. ...

... Marc Ambinder of The Atlantic: "The big reveal from the hundreds of thousands of documents posted on Wikileaks today is probably going to be the incredibly awful reports of systematized detainee abuse by Iraqi soldiers and security forces right under the noses of the American-led coalition...."

... John Burns & Ravi Somaiya of the New York Times profile WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, a hunted & perhaps haunted man.

David Hoffman of Foreign Policy: "The former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, retired Gen. Hugh Shelton, says in his just-published memoir, Without Hesitation: the Odyssey of an American Warrior,   that President Bill Clinton’s White House lost the 'presidential authorization codes' for launching a nuclear strike, and they were missing 'for months.' Shelton writes, 'This is a big deal -- a gargantuan deal -- and we dodged a silver bullet.'” But Hoffman says Shelton's story "doesn't add up."

After spending weeks trashing all the loons, Gail Collins finally found a candidate to love -- Sen. Russ Feingold of Wisconsin. 

Ashley Parker of the New York Times interviews Clarence Thomas's former girlfriend Lillian McEwen. McEwen believes Anita Hill was telling the truth about Thomas because the incidents Hill described are consistent with McEwen's experience with Thomas. See related stories in yesterday's Commentariat. ...

... McEwen speaks with ABC News reporter Rebecca Cooper:

... Phone Sex. Josh Gerstein of Politico: "The phone call Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas’s wife placed to Anita Hill earlier this month seeking an apology for Hill’s allegation 19 years ago that Thomas sexually harassed her may go down as a textbook lesson in unintended consequences. ...

... Heather at Crooks & Liars: "Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas' wife Ginni makes a fool out of herself and [Sen. Orrin] Hatch goes on the air and attacks Anita Hill." According to Hatch, Hill is just delusional & the Thomases, Clarence & Ginni are pure as the driven snow. With video & transcript. Hatch warns us,

But don't smear Clarence Thomas and above all don't smear his wife, Ginni. She's a really good person.

... Here's a refresher course on the hearings from PBS. Thomas's likely perjury begins two minutes in:

... Ann Woolner of Bloomberg News: before she called Anita Hill, Ginni Thomas should have called all those witnesses who corroborated Hill's story to see if they would recant. ...

Racism is a lazy man's substitute for using good judgment ... Common sense becomes racism when skin color becomes a formula for figuring out who is a danger to me. -- Juan Williams, 1986, rebutting a racist Richard Cohen column, via Michael Moore

... Paul Farhi of the New York Times reports on the fallout from NPR's firing of Juan Williams. ...

... Michael Moore writes "an open letter to Juan Williams":

Now that you have a new $2 million contract with Fox, let me come on with you for some in-depth discussions about the terrorists' real motivations. We can't let another day go by letting the PC brigade stop us from telling the truth: Terrorists aren't trying to kill us because they hate our freedom. They're killing us because we're in their countries killing them.

Jim Rutenberg of the New York Times: in some races around the country, Democrats are playing dirty, financially supporting third-party candidates of the tea party persuasion whom they hope will siphon off votes from the Republican candidates.

"The Swift Boaters Are Back." Dan Eggen & T. W. Farnam of the Washington Post: "Funders of the stealth campaign against presidential candidate John Kerry have returned in force six years later, giving millions of dollars to independent groups targeting Democrats in the November midterm elections...."

Pat Garofalo of Think Progress: since Americans oppose privitization of Social Security, Republicans are just renaming it. Here's Oregon's senatorial nominee Jim Huffman in a debate with Sen. Ron Wyden simultaneously speaking out of both sides of his mouth:

I have argued for allowing newcomers to the Social Security system to have the option of private accounts. I have not argued for privatizing the Social Security system.

     ... Huffman is a law professor. He knows what he's doing. What "privitization" is is "having the option of private accounts." With video.

Merry Christmas! Chris Johnson of the Washington Blade: Daniel Alter, "a gay New York attorney whose nomination to the federal bench was rejected by the White House over anti-Christian comments he allegedly made, claims that media outlets mischaracterized his views."

Because Charles Murray is a right-wing ideologue, he reads data & draws loony conclusions. But the data he outlines in this Washington Post op-ed are interesting. Murray, who was co-author of the deservedly controversial book The Bell Curve, identifies a "New Elite" (caps his) who "live in a world that doesn't intersect with mainstream America in many important ways." Murray concludes that since the elite don't go to tractor pulls or watch "Dancing with the Stars," they are "ignorant" of & "isolated" from Real America. In fact, he says, "they are not of America."

Washington Post: "With his party's control of Congress hanging in the balance, President Obama touched down [in Las Vegas, Nevada] Friday night to help bail out Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D), an ally now locked in a dead heat with a heroine of the tea party movement." C-SPAN has the video; President Obama begins speaking about 15 min. in.

San Francisco Chronicle: "President Obama starred Friday at the largest political rally of California's 2010 election season [at USC's Alumni Park], imploring a raucous crowd of 32,000 to vote and telling them, 'You have the chance to set the direction of this state, and this country - just like you did in 2008.'" C-SPAN has the video; the President comes on stage about 10:15 min. in.

The Commentariat -- October 22

Something Else to Make You Appreciate President Obama. Becky Schlikeman of the Chicago Tribune: "in a rare public appearance, former President George W. Bush reflected on his presidency...." Two reflections: 'In terms of accomplishments, my biggest accomplishment is that I kept the country safe amid a real danger,' he said. The former president said his greatest failure in office was not passing Social Security reform." CW: he means he's sorry he failed to privatize Social Security. What a shame we didn't all get to lose our old age safety net in the Bush Crash of '08.

Michael Brick of the New York Times: an exhibit celebrating the George W. Bush Presidential Center is "set to open this weekend on the campus of Southern Methodist University, prominently features the handgun taken from Saddam Hussein and the loudspeaker used to address rescue workers at the World Trade Center in September 2001.... Antiwar groups have announced plans to protest the groundbreaking...":

It’s the approach they’ve taken all along; it fits their worldview. It’s a tragedy for S.M.U. to hitch its star to this. -- the Rev. William K. McElvaney, a professor emeritus at SMU ...

Mark Nesse of the AP: "With more than 1 in 8 Americans now on food stamps, participation in the program has jumped about 70 percent from 26 million in May 2007.... States that have relaxed food stamp eligibility did so by moving to a system where applicants could qualify based on their income, and their other assets such as real estate, vehicles and savings accounts could be ignored."

Paul Krugman: "... the British government seems determined to ignore the lessons of history. Both the new British budget announced on Wednesday and the rhetoric that accompanied the announcement might have come straight from the desk of Andrew Mellon, the Treasury secretary who told President Herbert Hoover to fight the Depression by liquidating the farmers, liquidating the workers, and driving down wages." ...

... Another Nobel laureate in economics, Joseph Stiglitz, discusses how we got into this economic mess, & where we are now, with Daily Finance reporters. The print story, with video of the full interview, is here. The transcript of the interview is here.

Another Reason to Hate Banks. CW: I missed Louise Story's October 17 New York Times article on how banks like JPMorgan make 40% profits from pension funds & other customers, but never take any losses if an investment goes bad. There's a great video that helps explain their nasty deals.

Lena Sun of the Washington Post: "The voluntary quality control system widely used in the nation's $1 trillion domestic food industry is rife with conflicts of interest, inexperienced auditors and cursory inspections that produce inflated ratings, according to food retail executives and other industry experts. Recent outbreaks of salmonella illness tied to contaminated eggs and peanuts have focused new attention on weaknesses in the decades-old system, which relies on private-sector auditors hired by foodmakers."

Philip Rucker of the Washington Post: "Bill Clinton ... is deploying himself on a last-ditch, dawn-to-dusk sprint to rescue his beleaguered party. And as the only president in modern times who has balanced the federal budget, he is leveraging his credibility to become one of the most fierce defenders of President Obama's economic policies.

Melanie Mason of the Dallas Morning News: "Republican congressional candidate Stephen Broden stunned his party Thursday, saying he would not rule out violent overthrow of the government if elections did not produce a change in leadership. In a rambling exchange during a TV interview, Broden, a South Dallas pastor, said a violent uprising 'is not the first option,' but it is 'on the table.' That drew a quick denunciation from the head of the Dallas County GOP, who called the remarks 'inappropriate.' Broden, a first-time candidate, is challenging veteran incumbent Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson in Dallas' heavily Democratic 30th Congressional District." ...

     ... Update. Think Progress has the video:

Harry Reid talks to Ed Schultz. CW: I've never heard Reid speak with such force:

... Here's a transcript of John Harwood's CNBC interview of Reid.

He was always actively watching the women he worked with to see if they could be potential partners. It was a hobby of his.... He was obsessed with porn. He would talk about what he had seen in magazines and films, if there was something worth noting.
-- Lillian McEwen

Washington Post: Lillian McEwen, who was Clarence Thomas's girlfriend between about 1981 & 1986, breaks her silence about her former lover & says Anita Hill's sworn testimony was consistent with her (McEwen's) experience with Thomas. ...

... Adele Stan of AlterNet wonders if Ginni Thomas will demand an apology from Lillian McEwen, too.

Paul Farhi of the Washington Post: "NPR said it fired commentator Juan Williams because of a pattern of commentaries that violated the news organization's guidelines, and not solely because of Williams's statements about Muslims and terrorism on a Fox News program earlier this week. Williams, meanwhile, said he is 'outraged' and 'brokenhearted' that NPR cut him loose after more than a decade as a radio host, correspondent and analyst. He stood by his comments and said they were taken out of context by NPR." CW: see more links on the story in yesterday's Commentariat below, & in Infotainment near the bottom of the right column. ...

... Jay Newton-Small of Time asks, "Who knew that conservatives loved Juan Williams so much?" She details Republican Congressional plans to defund NPR in retaliation for Williams' firing. ...

... Hamilton Nolan of Gawker explains to Juan Williams that he's making a huge mistake by "swallowing the Fox New company line" and becoming a Fox "News" tool. ...

... "In the wake of NPR's decision to terminate Juan Williams' contract following controversial remarks he made about Muslims on Fox News' The O'Reilly Factor, Media Matters provides a retrospective of the many anti-Muslim statements made on Fox News or by Fox News personalities." ...

Ashley Parker of the New York Times: "GOProud, a national gay conservative organization, released a 30-second television advertisement set to air in California, Hawaii, Massachusetts and New York that spoofs the popular Bravo 'Real Housewives' franchise:

Matt Yglesias studies the dynamics of public officials who get caught in sex scandals & advises, "Never resign."