First Things First

Happy Halloween, 2007!

Guiliani: A Noun, a Verb, and 9/11

Senator Joe Biden commented on Rudy Guiliani's qualifications for the presidency during the democratic debate last night at Drexel University.  Watch it:

Attack On Iran Would Be Disasterous

International Atomic Energy Agency chairman Mohammed ElBaradei said on CNN Sunday there is no military solution to the problems with Iran in regards its alleged nuclear ambitions:

"I very much have concern about confrontation, building confrontation, Wolf, because that would lead absolutely to a disaster.  I see no military solution.  The only durable solution is through negotiations and inspections. …  My fear if that we continue to escalate from both sides that we would end up into a precipice, we would end up into an abyss."

Denying Vice President Cheney's claim that "Iran is pursuing technology that could be used to develop nuclear weapons" ElBaradei replied:

"I have not received any information that there is a concrete, active nuclear weapon program going on right now. … We have information that there have been maybe some studies about possible weaponization.  But we are looking into these alleged studies with Iran right now. … But have we seen having the nuclear material that can be readily used into a weapon?  No.  Have we seen an active weaponization program?  No.  So there is a concern, but there is also time to clarify these concerns."

Watch it:

Obama: Aggressive Campaign to Begin

Few would disagree that the presidential campaign has been a disappointment thus far.  Cautious policy statements and a litany of me-too-isms have issued from all camps.  The national contest has amounted to little more than superficial engagement.  Everything is a blur.  Nothing stands out.   

Yet, given the steady drift of American leadership since the collapse of the Soviet Union, there is a compelling need to revisit the transcendental interrogatories of the American drama.  Such enduring questions should be made integral to the national debate, including: 1) “What kind of people shall we choose to become?” 2) “What kind of America shall we choose to create?” and 3) “What kind of example shall America project to the world?” 

Senator Barack Obama, Senator Hillary Clinton

Taken together, these questions denote the intellectual and political challenges facing America.  How we respond to them will determine who we become as a people, how our nation evolves, and what we want America to stand for in the world.  In short, these are questions about national purpose. 

But integral to that purpose is the realization that America’s security around the world is intrinsically bound up with the power of its example.  Should America fail itself at home – should America falter in its struggle to make incarnate the principles of personal dignity, individual freedom, and human solidarity for all Americans -- it is almost certain its collective security will be substantially diminished overseas.  Only through the power of example can America strengthen its relations to populations around the world.  Such relations are the sine qua non of our national security.

For this reason, there is hope that the presidential campaign is about to take a new turn.  After months of introducing himself to the American public, Senator Barack Obama now declares that he is about to enter a new phase of his campaign.  Henceforth, he announced on Saturday, he will forcefully distinguish himself from Senator Hillary Clinton.

Bush's Body Language: No Attack On Iran?

This past week the president set out to ratchet up the pressure on Iran by talking up World War II, imposing unilateral sanctions, and requested a "bunker buster" from Congress. 

David Brooks, a former Neocon conservative with the Weekly Standard and now a columnist with the New York Times, said during a PBS interview yesterday that Bush's "body language" makes him “reasonably confident there’s going to be no military” action taken against Iran.  Watch it:

And what happens when Brooks' suspicions are wrong?

Obama and "Cousin" Dick Cheney

Lynne Cheney, the Vice President's wife, revealed the other day that her husband, Dick Cheney, and Sen. Barack Obama are related through an eighth generation French descendant.  Obama is a descendent of Mareen Duvall.  The French Huguenot's son married the granddaughter of a Richard Cheney, who arrived in Maryland in the late 1650's from England.

In an interview on CNBC's "Kudlow & Company," Cheney was asked whether he and Obama have discussed their ancestral link.  "Cousin Barack?" Cheney said.  "No, we haven't -- haven't had the opportunity to talk about it."  Watch it:

Impact in Black and White

Dorothy Norman, (1905-1997), photo by Alfred Stieglitz (1864-1946)

Born Dorothy Stecker in Philadelphia in 1905, Mrs. Norman grew up in a well-to-do family.  She attended Smith College and then the University of Pennsylvania from 1922 to 1925, the year she married Edward A. Norman, the son of a founder of Sears Roebuck.

In the art world, Mrs. Norman was best known for her close relationship with the photographer Alfred Stieglitz.  Stieglitz became her lover and mentor, encouraging her longtime interest in taking photographs.  Mrs. Norman became the subject of many of his photographs.

Quote of the Week

Dreams Deferred

by Langston Hughes

 
What happens to a dream deferred?

Does it dry up

Like a raisin in the sun?

Or fester like a sore --

And then run?

Does it stink like rotten meat?

Or crust and sugar over --

like a syrupy sweet?

Maybe it just sags

like a heavy load.

Or does it explode?

The Concreteness of Spirituality

No one in America, or so it seems, can escape the ubiquitous impact of cynicism and distrust, violence and fear, intemperance and injustice, and the isolation and aloneness that ravages so much of our national life.  Statistics on homelessness, substance abuse, youth violence, corruption within the family, and the litany of social and economic inequities have long told this tale but only through numbers. 

Nighthawks (1942)
by Edward Hopper

Yet, lurking in the shadows lies the specter of the autonomous individual.  Anthropological atomism is embedded in American culture, and it acts as the wellspring of a spiritual alienation that rages unabated like a firestorm across the land.  Its alluring dynamic fragments and distorts the nation’s institutions.  It corrupts the lives of present and future generations.  In every respect, its impact constitutes a serious intellectual, moral, and cultural challenge to an integral America.

Faced with this reality, Americans carry a greater burden in their hearts and minds than they do on their backs.  Alienation or love, pride or humility, indifference or compassion, judgment or mercy – these disjunctive qualities give form to the decisions we make in all aspects of our lives.  Whether rich or poor, socially placed or displaced, educated or uneducated, religious, agnostic, or atheist  -- whether Caucasian, African-American, Hispanic, Asian, or Native American -- each person wrestles with the transcendent nature of decision.  At every juncture, we act to incarnate perfecting qualities into our being and relations -- or act not to do so.

Poll: Obama More Electable Than Hillary

In a recent nationwide Zogby Poll of likely voters, 50% of those polled said they would never vote for Senator Hillary Clinton to be president.  42% said they would not vote for Senator John Edwards and 37% said they would not vote for Senator Barack Obama. 

Sen. Hillary Clinton in New Hampshire

This is not good news for Clinton or the Democratic Party.  Despite having a commanding lead over Obama and Edwards in a nationwide poll of registered Democratics, Clinton may not be a viable candidate in the general election next fall.  Zogby explains:

"The online survey of 9,718 likely voters nationwide showed that 50% said Clinton would never get their presidential vote. This is up from 46% who said they could never vote for Clinton in a Zogby International telephone survey conducted in early March. Older voters are most resistant to Clinton – 59% of those age 65 and older said they would never vote for the New York senator, but she is much more acceptable to younger voters: 42% of those age 18–29 said they would never vote for Clinton for President."

In March, a Zogby International survey ranked Newt Gingrich as the most divisive figure among potential candidates for president, with 54% saying they would never vote for him.  At that time, Clinton ranked as the second most divisive candidate, with 46% saying they would never vote for her.  After Gingrich decided against seeking the presidency, Clinton replaced him as the most divisive figure among all the presidential candidates.