I'm pulling for Anthony Weiner to get out of this pickle:

Seriously, people have got to understand that social networking tools like Twitter and Facebook have essentially no boundaries. That what you do can very well end up exposed to the world.

If you are going to be on a social network, your persona has got to be at a minimum "business casual" - the kind of person you'd be at a company party. No politics. No sex. No outrageous statements.

It's not just Weiner. Other politicians have Tweeted boorish remarks (or worse) and gotten caught.

Time to throttle back on the social network stuff, guys.


posted by Quiddity at 6/06/2011 09:06:00 PM

Obama is no Truman:

If this report is to be believed:

Obama also told the assembled Democrats not to count on more fiery rhetoric from the Oval Office.

"He said, 'There's a difference between me and a member of Congress,'" another lawmaker said, paraphrasing the president as saying: "When I say something the markets react, all of society reacts, other countries react. I've got to be careful with what I say. I can't just say it for brinkmanship. I've got to say it in a way so that I get what I want said, but I don't upset markets and so on."

Look, Bush said all sorts of things, like "there is no trust" when referring to government bonds. The markets didn't freak out. Markets recognize political speech. Obama should not hold his tongue out of a concern of upsetting markets.


posted by Quiddity at 6/03/2011 06:38:00 AM

Public Policy Polling for Iowa Republicans shows Huntsman in single digits:

And the worse kind of single digit, it's 1.

But that's not 1 percent, it's 1 voter:

Here are some facts about Huntsman's supporter:

-He is 'not sure' when it comes to Barack Obama's job performance- doesn't approve or disapprove. He reports having voted for Obama in 2008.

-Huntsman is the only potential Republican candidate he has a favorable opinion of. He expresses 'no opinion' about Mitt Romney, Jeb Bush, Ron Paul, Rudy Giuliani, Chris Christie, Buddy Roemer, Rick Perry, Fred Karger, Paul Ryan, and Gary Johnson. He has an unfavorable opinion of Newt Gingrich, Sarah Palin, Tim Pawlenty, Herman Cain, Michele Bachmann, Rick Santorum, and Donald Trump.

When your only supporter that shows up in the poll is someone who voted for Obama, your chances are pretty low.


posted by Quiddity at 6/02/2011 06:52:00 AM

So much nonsense out there:

Why follow politics, if all you read are things like this:

Sen. Mitch McConnell: It is true that divided government is the only government that can do transformational, difficult things…

Unified government, such as those in the 1930's under FDR and the 1960's under LBJ, did enormous transformational things. You could argue that the Republicans in the last decade under GWB also did transformational things (tax cuts, Medicare part D).

Yet McConnell says divided government is the only type that can do big things. That's false, but it's the talking point of the day - not only by politicians, but pundits - so you encounter it all of the time. It's absurd.


posted by Quiddity at 6/01/2011 06:23:00 PM