Pledge this
On the evening of the election, I watched CNN's Aaron Brown solemnly recite Jeff Jarvis' popular if somewhat sanctimonious pledge:

I promise to... Support the President, even if I didn't vote for him..... Criticize the President, even if I did vote for him..... Uphold standards of civilized discourse in blogs and in media while pushing both to be better.... Unite as a nation, putting country over party, as we work together to make America better.

I have little problem with any but the first part, but that's enough. (I'd also quibble that I just can't unite as a nation, but whatever.) Clearly, a lot depends on what you mean by "support." In an addendum, Jarvis explains what he means is

...acknowledging that the president is the president and especially in a time of war, we need to stand together against our enemies -- namely, Islamofascist terrorists -- and not act, as too many have during this administration (and the one before it) that the enemy is in the White House. No, we're on the same side.

No, we're not on the same side. Has Jarvis -- who gave Kerry his lukewarm endorsement -- really been paying attention the last four weeks, let alone the past four years?. His pledge is possibly appropriate for a first-term president, but not for an incumbent one who ran the kind of campaign Bush did, and has the kind of track record Bush does.

Bush plans to use a "mandate" mainly supplied by people who hate gays, believe there were WMD in Iraq, believe Saddam had something to do with 9/11, and/or believe Swift Boat ads have a bearing on any of that to launch the domestic agenda that may well have been his principal war goal all along. From Bush's Thursday press conference, that will mean putting Social Security money in the stock market, "reforming" taxes (like taking out the state and local taxes as a deduction!), and limiting medical lawsuits -- none of which figure in much of anyone's estimate of Bush's 51% "mandate."

The time to oppose him on these things is absolutely right now, and therefore Bush will definitely not get my support right now.

That may seem to miss Jarvis' point: he's talking about the fight against "Islamofascist terrorists", not the one to "reform" tort law or wreck Social Security. But Bush has abused his undeserved stature with respect to the former to pursue the latter. So I shouldn't and won't say "let's see how he does for a while with Iraq or with Al Qaeda," because I already know how he does: he and his crew are screwups who have the gall to call their screwups successes, and the great good fortune to have an unscrupulous Rove campaign machine to help confirm them in that. I certainly support the troops in Iraq and elsewhere, and I hope for real progress with, say, democratizing Iraq, or in taking down Al Qaeda instead of growing it. But by now it's approaching the same kind of hope I'd have waiting for a chimp to type Hamlet.

So I pledge to (now) remain somewhere between highly skeptical to actively hostile to any plan coming out of the White House. And that's that.

Matt Welch has a similar reaction, but with different reasons -- he mainly just doesn't like pledges, although I guess that's a lot of my reaction, too. Welch concludes:

...when you confuse your own justifications for voting with some kind of serene Adulthood, you are not "uphold[ing] standards of civilized discourse"; most likely, you are fooling yourself while spouting nonsense.

And it's not that I'm above any of that, no matter how I sporadically try. It's just that reading a thousand fiercely partisan webloggers suddenly reciting "peace pledges" about Elevating Discourse after 18 months of tar-and-feather is like watching a kleptomaniac lecture a bum about not stealing. I wish them much luck, expect very little, and pledge only to keep writing like I always have. Except maybe with more curse words.

He got that shit right. posted by Thomas Nephew at 1:31:00 AM -- |  

 
Thank you, John Kerry
Cricket and I happened to be in the car together on Wednesday just as John Kerry made his concession speech:

Thank you. Thank you. Thank you so much. You just have no idea how warming and how generous that welcome is, your love is, your affection, and I'm gratified by it. I'm sorry that we got here a little bit late and a bit short. [...]

I'm proud of what we stood for in this campaign, and of what we accomplished. When we began, no one thought it was possible to even make this a close race. But we stood for real change, change that would make a real difference in the life of our nation, the lives of our families. And we defined that choice to America.

When she stepped out of the car I was a little surprised to see Crickey had misted up. "I liked him," she said simply. "I liked him a lot."

Kerry grew on me, too. I've come to recognize him as one of the decent, smart, and tough people in politics today. And more than that, he ran a good race. He pulled ahead, he won his debates, he seemed to have momentum in the final days, he laid into Bush for the things he should have -- Iraq, the economy, the war on terror. Maybe he and his pros shouldn't have been blindsided by Christian 'values' voters the way I was. I actually thought Iraq and the war on terror were the top issues; shows how much I know.

Thank you, John Kerry. For fighting a good fight, for fighting it so well there was a decent shot at winning it, and for doing that with intelligence and dignity. Thanks for just having the guts to wage a campaign when it seemed like a foregone conclusion that Bush would win in a landslide. Thanks for having the stamina to continue to wage it confidently when the slime began to fly. Thanks for the pleasure of comparing you with Bush on the same stage, and thinking "wow -- he really wouldn't just be better, he'd be great." If others criticize and carp, I'll be having none of it. And for what it's worth, I see a lot of people agree with that.*

Because Kerry proved there's no point in giving up. Really, all the Democratic figures of the past year did that, and I hereby strongly applaud all of them: especially Howard Dean, John Edwards, and Wesley Clark, but Bob Graham, Al Sharpton, Carole Mosely-Braun, and Joe Lieberman as well. They all tried, and the way I see it John Kerry in particular left it all on the field. The least I can do is try a little more myself.

The first thing I'll be doing is to pledge a regular contribution to the Democratic Party, the best institution for defending the political and, yes, the moral values I support, among which are respect for the Constitution and civil rights, tolerance, reason, and helping those who need it. I urge all Democrats and all Americans who read this to do the same.

I also plan to not just give the Democrats money, but also some volunteer time between elections, if only so I'm not so tongue-tied the time I head out on one of those canvassing buses. I almost regret that I don't live in a "Red State." I'm getting ready for 2006 and 2008 starting right now, and I hope you will, too.


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* Mark A.R. Kleimann, tactically, at least; Mark Schmitt unqualifiedly; Josh Marshall parenthetically, Rollins Teel straightforwardly. This list may be updated. The John Kerry button will eventually be redirected to the Democratic Party web site. posted by Thomas Nephew at 10:50:00 PM -- |  

 
Moral values
posted by Thomas Nephew at 8:41:00 AM -- |  

 
WAY TO GO, DNC!
Ever see "Hunt for Red October"? The part where the USS Dallas saves the day by diverting the attacker's torpedo -- "WAY TO GO, DALLAS!" Not a great analogy, but I felt that way when I read this, via the Washington Monthly's Kevin Drum via Red State:

DNC
IMPORTANT LEGAL NOTICE

October 28, 2004

To all Republican Party Election Day poll watchers:

Your name has been filed to serve as a poll watcher on Election Day, on behalf of the Republican Party or a Republican candidate. The Democratic Party recognizes the legal right of poll watchers, under Florida election law, to perform their lawful duties. [...]

You should be aware, that, under Florida law, a poll watcher must explain in writing and under oath the basis for a challenge. This affirmation requires that the poll watcher have personal knowledge of the facts upon which the challenge is based. [...]

Florida law provides that a challenger is to be removed from the polling place if his or her activities slow down the voting process or intimidate voters. Indeed, it is a crime under Florida law to be in a polling place to "intimidate, threaten, or coerce, or attempt to intimidate, threaten, or coerce, any other person for the purpose of interfering with the right of such a person to vote." (Fla. Stat. Paragraph 104.0515(3)). Therefore, should a challenger make a knowingly false challenge, that person could be subject to criminal prosecution.

Please be advised that the National Democratic Party and the Florida Democratic Party will insist on strict enforcement of the law. You have now been provided notice of the law, and thus, please govern yourself accordingly.

Emphases in original! The DNC legal cavalry thundering over the hilltop, God bless 'em. (Mixing all kinds of metaphors now: I see the crusty but good-natured old DNC sergeant telling the scared tenderfoot just before the charge, "Use all the commas you've got, son, it confuses 'em.")

Meanwhile, that whining sound you hear is coming from ticked-off "Red Staters" -- how dare Democrats threaten Republican pollwatchers by... citing election law! Outrageous! Unheard of!! Their complaints prompted a great comment on Political Animal: "Wahhh! Mommy! Billy won't let me poke him in the eye with this stick! Wahhh! Make him stop stopping me!"

Also: WAY TO GO, BRETT! ... for all your work today in Cincinnati.

Non-news: it took me about an hour to get through the line this morning... but that was because some poll workers didn't show up. I had to go ahead and use the Diebold electronic voting machines. The reason was Maryland absentee ballot regulations; the only way I could truthfully fill out the application would have been if I'd been out of county on Election Day -- and I couldn't take the day off and do GOTV work in Pennsylvania or something because I'm absolutely out of vacation time. There were no glitches that I noticed when I voted, but then I wouldn't know, would I.

Well, I'm off now to see if they can use me at the AFL-CIO, I was told there's no room at Kerry-Edwards tonight: 9-1-702-blah-blah-blah-blah-blah-blah-blah. Good luck...

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UPDATE, 9:20pm: The AFL-CIO had lots of phoners and lots of phones and I put in some calls to Colorado and Wisconsin -- but none to Nevada, the big project over at Kerry-Edwards. But they're calling Alaska now, and I am done. This place is great; lots of people, some food, computers, and lots of TVs going. Good place to be.
posted by Thomas Nephew at 5:50:00 PM -- |  

 
A war for glory and tax cuts?
According to an online report* based on taped interview material, Mickey Herskowitz, ghost writer of Bush's 2000 campaign biography "A Charge To Keep," says Bush was seriously considering invading Iraq as early as 1999.

“He was thinking about invading Iraq in 1999,” said author and journalist Mickey Herskowitz. “It was on his mind. He said to me: ‘One of the keys to being seen as a great leader is to be seen as a commander-in-chief.’ And he said, ‘My father had all this political capital built up when he drove the Iraqis out of Kuwait and he wasted it.’ He said, ‘If I have a chance to invade... if I had that much capital, I’m not going to waste it. I’m going to get everything passed that I want to get passed and I’m going to have a successful presidency.”
(emphasis added)

The report -- Exclusive: Bush Wanted To Invade Iraq If Elected in 2000 -- was written by Russ Baker for the the "left-leaning Web site called Guerrilla News Network" as a follow-up by the Houston Chronicle puts it. The Chronicle's Kim Cobb has apparently spoken with Herskowitz; he apparently regrets but does not deny or retract his interview with Baker:

Herskowitz is disturbed that what he described as an off-the-record conversation, albeit taped with his consent, has surfaced.

But Herskowitz also said he miscalculated the weight his words would be given as someone who had been given one-on-one access to the man who is now president.

And those words carry a wallop:

According to Herskowitz, George W. Bush’s beliefs on Iraq were based in part on a notion dating back to the Reagan White House – ascribed in part to now-vice president Dick Cheney, Chairman of the House Republican Policy Committee under Reagan. “Start a small war. Pick a country where there is justification you can jump on, go ahead and invade.”

Bush’s circle of pre-election advisers had a fixation on the political capital that British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher collected from the Falklands War. Said Herskowitz: “They were just absolutely blown away, just enthralled by the scenes of the troops coming back, of the boats, people throwing flowers at [Thatcher] and her getting these standing ovations in Parliament and making these magnificent speeches.”

Herskowitz also says that George H.W. Bush advised his son against the war in 2003, and that "Bush described his own business ventures as "floundering" before campaign officials insisted on recasting them in a positive light." Herskowitz was pulled off "Charge To Keep" ghostwriting duties for this misstep and replaced by Karen Hughes, who finished a more suitable campaign self-hagiography for her candidate.

As Baker points out, there have been other indications of Bush's eagerness to go to war. As is well known, Paul O'Neill and Richard Clarke write about the issue in their recent books, and Baker unearths statements to the effect from Bush during the 2000 New Hampshire primary.** And once on the trajectory, Bush may not have seen any way out without losing face to himself and his advisors:

"He told me that as a leader, you can never admit to a mistake," Herskowitz said. "That was one of the keys to being a leader."

Sounds like his handlers' lessons finally sank in: no more floundering for Dubya. At least no more admitting to it.

=====
*Via SKB commenter Sven.
**While it's considerably later, I recall (via a comment by "Hellblazer" on this site which I can't find right now) a news item in which Bush stuck his head into an interview with Condoleeza Rice well before the war, when he was allegedly exploring alternatives, and saying something like "the hell with him, we're taking him out." At the time I think I chose to view this as Bush blowing off steam or something; I should have taken it more seriously.
posted by Thomas Nephew at 5:45:00 PM -- |  

 
Canvassing for Kerry in Harrisburg, PA
This past Saturday I went canvassing again. Last time I went, there were two busloads of us, which I thought was pretty great. This time, there were seven buses growling along McPherson Square, a TV camera crew, two or three hundred volunteers boarding, and a palpable sense of excitement and resolve; it was a real high point of the campaign for me.

I picked a bus queue at random, thinking it was headed to Lancaster, PA, and learned on board it was actually destined for Harrisburg, the state capital. Whatever. I think a couple of buses left for Ohio as well, although that might have been even earlier in the morning, it's a longer trip. Later on I learned that some people on the Ohio buses were actually put to work making phone calls from the bus on their cell phones!

The Harrisburg Democratic headquarters occupies three floors of a downtown office, and every one of them was humming with activity when we arrived. There was a crowd of local volunteers on hand to join us for the day's work, including one man dressed as a colonial patriot carrying a "Don't Tread On Me" flag. As we'd been told on the bus, we would be contacting Kerry supporters identified over the previous weeks, and also likely Kerry voters judging by their voting attendance and party registration. The idea was simply to show ourselves, remind Kerry supporters to vote and where to vote, find out if anyone needed a ride on Election Day, and leave some pamphlets about Kerry and local races behind. We paired off with local volunteers, and headed off to our canvassing areas.

Mine was a suburban area on the northern outskirts of town. It was a mixed bag of neighborhoods: one street seemed like it was all rental units for lower and middle income levels, the next a freshly minted development, the next an older neighborhood with big trees and old cars.

Politically it was a mixed bag as well; I'd say Bush signs outnumbered Kerry ones by 3:2 or so. No matter; I was after the folks on my side, I just had to walk a little further for them. My partner D. and I would do our halves of a neighborhood and then reconvene at his pickup to get a new list of names, replenish our supplies, and move on to the next area. We were knocking on doors from around 11am to about 4:30pm, when we got through the last of our lists of names.

Not everyone was supportive; one address on my list was a single issue pro life couple -- "nothing else matters" the wife told me. There are some undecideds out there, too. One man listened patiently with an enigmatic smile as I gave him the short version of why I thought Bush should be fired. Maybe he wasn't really undecided after all, and just wanted to waste some of my time.

But there were nice experiences too. A little seven year old girl was thrilled to get a Kerry window sign from me -- almost as thrilled as I was to unload one, carrying a dozen of those things plus a variety of campaign literature gets tiresome after a block or two.

I gave away two more signs at a house I'd almost given up on. Just as I left, a guy drove up and asked for a sign; his had been stolen. "You're going to have a tough time around here, this is a Bush neighborhood," he told me. I thanked him and left. Just then a neighbor across the street -- and not on my walking list -- hollered "Hey, I want a couple of those!" He wanted to know how I was doing. I told him things were going fine, and he said with great conviction and satisfaction "we're going to kick their a**." I guess we'll find out soon.

When I came back up the street ten minutes later, he had taped one sign to his house wall and one inside a window. What's more, he was talking with stolen-sign-guy across the street who had immediately taped his inside his pickup truck shell window. I suspect stolen-sign-guy hadn't known his neighbor was a fellow Kerry supporter. And that's how a Takoma Park contrarian may have brought two suburban Harrisburg Democrats together. I hope that's also how parties are maintained -- and how elections are won.

And that just might be the case. On the way home we were told canvassers like us had contacted 14,000 Pennsylvania voters that day. posted by Thomas Nephew at 5:35:00 PM -- |