The Commentariat -- November 6
President Obama speaks at a business roundtable in Mumbai:
President Obama in a New York Times op-ed, explains the goals of his trip to Asia: "... the more we export abroad, the more jobs we create in America.... It is for this reason that I set a goal of doubling America’s exports in the next five years. To do that, we need to find new customers in new markets for American-made goods. And some of the fastest-growing markets in the world are in Asia...."
Bob Herbert: Voters "long for leaders with a clear and compelling vision of a better America and a road map for getting there. That leadership has long been AWOL.... Tuesday’s outcome was the result of voters, still hungry for change, who either switched in anger from the Democrats to the Republicans or, out of a deep sense of disappointment, stayed home." ...
... WWHD? Dana Milbank: What would Hillary do? Milbank argues a President Hillary Clinton would have handled the jobs & housing crises better, though she also might have got us in more foreign entanglements. ...
... Hard Feelings. Jonathan Martin of Politico: "In the wake of the party’s worst election drubbing since 1994, the deep frustration felt by many centrist Democrats toward the White House and the national party is now out in the open. And it’s being aired in the battleground state that’s the biggest prize in presidential politics. Florida Democratic gubernatorial nominee Alex Sink pointed an accusatory finger Friday at what she called a 'tone-deaf' Obama White House to explain why she narrowly lost her campaign." ...
... Peter Nicholas of the Los Angeles Times: "Despite the historic defeat dealt to Democrats on Tuesday, President Obama appears to be resisting wholesale staff changes that would pry apart the circle of advisors he has relied on since the 2008 campaign."
Glenn Greenwald & Lawrence O'Donnell get into it on "Morning Joe":
... Greenwald, of course, follows up with a little column he titles, "Lawrence O'Donnell vehemently denies his own words."
New York Times Editorial Board: "In the most recent mortgage mess, the Obama administration has — oddly and disturbingly — been arguing that foreclosures are, in effect, good for the economy and should proceed apace as banks get their snarled paperwork in order.... They gloss over the question of whether families who were foreclosed upon were given a fair shot at keeping their homes." The Administration has done far too little to save homes from foreclosure.
Return of the Do-Nothing Congress. Lori Montgomery of the Washington Post: "Republicans are mapping an agenda for the new Congress that calls for a radical reduction in government spending, a hard-line stance against new taxes and a 'sustained' battle against federal regulators.... The path charted in the party's 'Pledge to America' and in a new blueprint released this week by Rep. Eric Cantor (R-Va.) ... is already stirring dissension among Republicans who say it doesn't go far enough."
Gail Collins on Mama Grizzlies. Really, ladies, we do not have to take responsibility for women who don't represent us. ...
... The point is not 'He was a great man and you are a nincompoop,' though that is true. -- Peggy Noonan, in her WSJ column. on Ronald Reagan, to Sarah Palin. Noonan doesn't like President Obama, either.
Editors of the Christian Science Monitor: voters in Florida & California approved measures to end gerrymandering. "In Florida, it took less than 24 hours for two members of Florida’s congressional delegation to challenge the newly approved redistricting rules in court. Tellingly, one plaintiff is a Democrat, the other, a Republican. Protecting incumbency is a bipartisan interest. Voters, if not politicians, want more competition. Let’s hope their desires are heard across the country and other states follow soon."
In the New York Times, Ted Widmer reproduces an account of how Abraham Lincoln spent election day 1860. The author of the account, a reporter named Samuel R. Weed, spent the day with Lincoln & took notes, but he did not write the report till 1882, & the New York Times did not publish that 1882 report till February 14, 1932. The Times report is reproduced as a ScribD file; unless your eyesight is really, really terrific, you'll have to switch to full screen, then zoom in some more.
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