tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6926413038778731189.post539156266819281644..comments2023-10-16T07:13:12.123-05:00Comments on A plain blog about politics: Oy, BaiJonathan Bernsteinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15931039630306253241noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6926413038778731189.post-38707313284890310142012-10-09T13:58:08.301-05:002012-10-09T13:58:08.301-05:00I don't think you need a barrel. This is like ...I don't think you need a barrel. This is like shooting fish in a thimble.<br /><br />Is there an example of a two-term president who wasn't a mainstay for his party for the rest of his life. I guess Bush 43 might end up being an example. <br /><br />If John Kennedy hadn't been killed, he would have stuck it to Dan Quayle personally and not relied on Lloyd Bentsen.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6926413038778731189.post-63398404610447654192012-10-09T12:32:29.415-05:002012-10-09T12:32:29.415-05:00There is like a concentrated effort to downgrade o...There is like a concentrated effort to downgrade obama and what he has done and might yet do. It's on the right and the left. I have no idea what is going on but I agree with you and think he can continue to be a figure in the party and country. Think of the Adams. There is nothing new in the Clintons if someone knows history.Rain Trueaxhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07994628226501093880noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6926413038778731189.post-56318433681038662812012-10-09T11:31:30.099-05:002012-10-09T11:31:30.099-05:00If someone is seen as the originator of policies t...If someone is seen as the originator of policies that make things better for a lot of people, then as years go by, they will be remembered fondly. As they age, if they are still strong, people will consult with them for ideas and seek their approval.<br /><br />Even people who really sucked at their job, like Newt Gingrich, continue to hang around and offer advice.<br /><br />Bai's just amplifying today's meme. He's no scholar.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6926413038778731189.post-62900880803457012342012-10-09T11:06:31.145-05:002012-10-09T11:06:31.145-05:00I saw this and cringed. Bai finding it unthinkabl...I saw this and cringed. Bai finding it unthinkable that anyone would give Obama a speaking slot 16 years hence, and that Obama could do very well, is a sign that he's ridiculously inapt as an observer and has zero sense of history. Bill Clinton was not the most popular guy in the world in the Fall of '96. He had variously been asked if he was even relevant, had been relegated to "small bore" issues, was under continuous investigation, and had only begun to right his ship in the wake of the OKC bombing. The left of his own party distrusted him and the Republican establishment dealt pretty frankly in speculation that he had a kill list of political opponents. <br /><br />His power today is a product of Republican overreach in his second term and the good fortune that comes with people misremembering the entire 90s as one long boom, which gives him amplified authority on all things economic. Well, that, and he is a freak of nature in politics. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com