An important lesson in not being idiots

Eric Boehlert (or rather the U.S. Census Bureau) explains in about 200 words how the Obama administration could have spent the last two years not guaranteeing that Democrats lose most of their power in Congress in November:

"Census Bureau policies and training are clear and require all employees to honestly submit accurate time records. Workers are instructed to report hours they work, which would include their time traveling to and from training. This is no different than the training session that Mr. Keefe attended in New Jersey, and during his previous employment with the Census Bureau last year. In his video, Mr. O'Keefe, an admitted criminal, does not disclose that he previously worked for the Census Bureau for nearly two months in 2009 without incident, allegation or complaint. That employment with us was well before his indictment and prior to his conviction of a federal crime last week. The Census Bureau obviously does not condone any falsifying of or tampering with time sheets by its employees. We are investigating the allegations in Mr. O'Keefe's selectively edited video and will take appropriate administrative action with staff as warranted."

I like to think that maybe at one point in my lifetime, there will be a Democratic administration that understands yes, you really, truly can just say "we don't plan to talk about it because these people are idiots and we have better things to do." You really can, guys.

Blog commenters really are the stupidest people on the face of the earth

How many people are going to leave comments demanding that they deserve the right to see other people's private e-mails using fake names until they realize how much they look like morons?

There's an easy way for Ezra and his Journolist compatriots to clear up all the "confusion" about who said what on Journolist: release the entire archives to the public.

Until then, he should stop whining about the lack of context surrounding released quotes from Journolist.

This comment was signed "bustystclaire".

My random thought of the day

What were winters were like at the Obama household back in Illinois? Did Barack even bother to see if there was rock salt in the garage or did he just figure throwing Malia under the front wheels would be the best way to go?

"Working Harder"

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Democrats are going to lose a hysterically large number of Senate and Congressional seats in November, and the response from many hardline Democrats is going to be that people who support Democrats didn't clap their hands hard enough and not that we still have a horrific economy and spiraling unemployment. With only a few months to go before the election, it's astounding that some even think this is somehow going to turn around in such a short amount of time. I can't tell you how many times I've been told that I just need to work harder to make my message heard. I don't understand how President Obama didn't hear that message the first time, when it was called "electing him."

I'm amazed this isn't just my signature at this point, but digby made an astute note of why we're screwed the other day:

First of all, the central premise seems to be that liberals should be happy that Obama has "gotten something done" without regard to what that "something" is. But the fact is that professional politicians always rattle off a legislative laundry list while activists care about process, politics and policy --- and average voters only care about the results. (The press cares about "the score", however they decide to define it that day.) A successful president is expected to know how to manage all of that --- and browbeating his voters is rarely a winning strategy.

Therefore, his political advisers should know that when the country is still reeling from unemployment and foreclosures after nearly two years, the passage of an inadequate stimulus bill, which unrealistic benchmarks and a giddy victory party ensured would be the only chance they got, the only people who will consider that a "success" would be beltway insiders. They should have realized that a health care bill that nobody in their right minds would have designed from scratch, the worst aspects of which liberals will be asked to defend for years to come, would be met with dampened enthusiasm by those who watched the process devolve from a sense of progressive purpose to an exhausting farce. They are expected to be able to predict that financial reform without accountability for what's gone before, combined with the administration's unwillingness to confront the civil liberties abuse of the last administration -- indeed expanding on them in some cases -- would show a lack of fundamental concern for justice among those who care about such things.

Americans are screwed. And even the greatest orator of our time isn't going to be able to talk his way out of that.

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