Proud: Obama taps three Wellesley alumnae

Proud: adj. much pleased, feeling credited

Some years ago I graduated from a fabulous women’s college – one of the few that haven’t succumbed to coeducation.

At a college for women only, you don’t spend time fussing over your clothes or hairdo to impress the guys (and we could look coyote ugly* during the week), you don’t worry about speaking out in class for fear you’ll seem smarter than the guys, and you get to fill all the leadership roles – no competition from the guys.

As it turns out, with higher learning the main focus, you graduate well educated and qualified for great things – like being Secretary of State (Madeleine Albright**), Senator (Hillary Clinton), President of Duke University (Nan Keohane), a journalist (Linda Wertheimer, Cokie Roberts, Diane Sawyer), writer (Nora Ephron, “Carolyn Keene”, Carolyn Heilbrun) plus hundreds (thousands) doing less celebritous great things.

And now three Wellesley alumnae have been named to leadership posts in Obama’s administration, just one more example of the man’s good sense.

Hillary R. Clinton’ 69 becomes Wellesley’s second secretary of state.

Chicago business leader Desiree Rogers ’81, has been named White House social secretary – the first African American to serve in the position, which is responsible for organizing and overseeing all White House functions and ceremonies.

And Katie Johnson, class of 2003, is the new personal secretary to President Obama. As part of the position, Johnson will manage the president’s daily schedule.

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* Coyote ugly is when you wake up, hungover, with a stranger in your bed who is lying on your arm and she/he is so ugly you’d rather chew your arm off than risk waking them.

** One of my favorite New Yorker cartoons ever (wish I could reproduce it) is of a woman skeptically trying on a new suit before a 3-way mirror,  while the saleswoman urges her on, saying, “Madeleine Albright kicked butt in that suit.”

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Proud! to be a Democrat…

Proud: feeling pleasurable satisfaction over an attribute or act by which one’s stature is measured.

I’ve watched as much of the Democratic National Convention as I could, given other pressing commitments. As screwed up as we can be as a party, we are so far ahead of the other brand in brains, integrity, wisdom, compassion, policy, ideas, etc etc that I find it hard to believe that any sane and sentient human being would vote for the other brand.

On Tuesday Hillary Clinton finally convinced me that she could be a strong leader – but we already have  a remarkable candidate. Gov. Schweitzer, Gov. Amy Klobucher and Rep Kucinich were terrific.

Last night the drama built and built as the states went through the roll call, declaring the number of delegates pledged to each candidate.  Of course Obama was way ahead, but they kept going until (strangely) New Mexico ceded their votes to the next state, Missouri, and Missouri ceded to Illinois…. and Illinois ceded to New York (a total of 282 delegates at stake by this time) and….

Hillary stepped forward for New York to move that the roll call be stopped and the convention move to accept Obama by acclamation.  Cheers, shouts, tears, roars.  And so the so-called “disunity” came to an end.  It was a great moment.

Later Senator John Kerry kicked butt the way we wished he had four years ago – what a terrific speech – comparing “Senator” McCain with “Candidate” McCain as prime examples of flip-flopping. Senator Joe Biden won my heart with his kind presence PLUS some great examples of where McCain was wrong and Obama was right. President Bill Clinton showed us why he is still the Big Dog,

I’ve been in tears a lot the past few days. Happy tears.  Tonight is the NEW Big Dog. Obama!

I will watch what I can stomach of the other brand’s convention next week. They’ve got their work cut out for them….

Piranha and prey: Maureen Dowd v. everyone else

Piranha: n. a tropical fish, known to be voraciously carnivorous, often attacking and destroying other living animals.

Prey: n. any creature hunted and caught for food; a victim

This poor woman needs a hug. At the very least.

Once upon a time Maureen Dowd had relatively progressive values. Maybe she still does. Who can tell? Once upon a time she could be funny. But now she specializes in venom, and even her friends are victim fodder.  Take the opening of this egregious column in today’s New York Times:

I’ve been to a lot of conventions, and there’s always something gratifyingly weird that happens [snip]. But this Democratic convention has a vibe so weird and jittery, so at odds with the early thrilling, fairy dust feel of the Obama revolution, that I had to consult Mike Murphy, the peppery Republican strategist and former McCain guru.

“What is that feeling in the air?” I asked him.

“Submerged hate,” he promptly replied.

?? And why would she ask a McCain operative to read the mood – and accept his interpretation (projection, anyone?) of it?

Then she goes on to foment discord by seeking every tidbit of Democratic dissatisfaction, every potential Achilles heel.  She talks to a Hillary nutcase from Vancouver, WA (my town) named Carol Anderson, who I’ve never heard of, and I’ve been active in the local party for a long time. She’s not a delegate.

Two takes from DailyKos state bloggers covering the convention:

MissLaura with New Hampshire: “I was with the New Hampshire delegation last night, and I can say that there was not one sign of disunity there despite the primary having been so heated. The same people who were in tears as Hillary Clinton began speaking and roaring with applause constantly throughout her speech were enthusiastically waving Obama signs and chanting his name throughout the entire evening.”

Goldy with Washington State: “A stunning lack of disunity… that was my immediate reaction watching the crowd respond to Hillary Clinton’s speech tonight at the Democratic National Convention.  No doubt there are Clinton delegates who remain unconvinced, and no doubt many will cast their ballot for Clinton come roll call, but if folks were expecting any drama tonight, they’ll just have to make due with the uplifting kind.”

Persistence: like poison ivy?

Persist: to be obstinately repetitious, insistent, or tenacious in some activity, and
Persistent: refusing to give up, enduring

from Latin persistere to take a stand, stand firm

Persistence, by definition, is quite similar to perseverance. However, perseverance has a noble quality. Joe, who rescued me from a weed jungle a couple of days ago – he’s now my role model for perseverance.

Persistence is more like something that won’t go away, even when you everything in your power to eradicate it. Poison ivy. AIDs. Hunger. Bronchitis. A pesky toddler who wants you buy candy, wants you to buy candy, wants you to buy candy, and throws a hissy fit if you leave the store without caving.

At first I admired Hillary Clinton for persevering. But in the last couple of months she moved over into the persistence category. Even in exiting she persists! She could have conceded graciously Tuesday night, but no. And now that she says she will, she says she’ll do it on SATURDAY.

She is her own worst enemy!

Politics and class; “end of primary season”

Not class as in social or economic. Class as in classy, class act.

Barack Obama – a class act. Gracious at all times. You go, guy!!!

Hillary Clinton – “it’s all about me”. Defiant and begrudging.
Once upon a time I would have been thrilled to have voted for her.
I was her supporter to lose, and she lost me.

Meanwhile Obama’s act of brilliance was in giving his speech in the place where the RNC will hold their nominating convention for McCain this summer. Inspiring this brilliant image:

Pander

Pander: to cater to or exploit somebody’s weaknesses or questionable wishes; to pimp.

If he were the last candidate on earth I would never vote for John McCain, but Hillary took a plunge down to his level when she joined him this week in suggesting that Congress give us a summer moratorium on the 18.4 cents a gallon gas tax.

Talk about pandering to the electorate!

This is wrong in so many ways I don’t know where to start. In no particular order:

• It is an insult to our intelligence that they would offer such an irresponsible idea and hope that the voters would buy it and vote for them.
• At a time when we absolutely must cut carbon emissions, they’re saying “Drive on, maties; we totally support your gasoline addiction.”
• At a time when we’re hemorrhaging money in the Middle East and our national debt is in the stratosphere, they’re saying, “No problem, we’ll just borrow more money from China.”
• At a time when the public is crying for a leader with big ideas to help pull us out of a recession and find new ways to develop clean energy, they’re throwing out a liver treat.
• At a time that could be a teachable moment for all of us, only Barack Obama has said, “Houston, we’ve got a problem. It’s time for us to tell the truth about conserving energy.”

Thomas Friedman wrote today:

This is not an energy policy. This is money laundering: we borrow money from China and ship it to Saudi Arabia and take a little cut for ourselves as it goes through our gas tanks. What a way to build our country.

When the summer is over, we will have increased our debt to China, increased our transfer of wealth to Saudi Arabia and increased our contribution to global warming for our kids to inherit.

No, no, no, we’ll just get the money by taxing Big Oil, says Mrs. Clinton. Even if you could do that, what a terrible way to spend precious tax dollars — burning it up on the way to the beach rather than on innovation?

The McCain-Clinton gas holiday proposal is a perfect example of what energy expert Peter Schwartz of Global Business Network describes as the true American energy policy today: “Maximize demand, minimize supply and buy the rest from the people who hate us the most.”

Good for Barack Obama for resisting this shameful pandering.