What Are Clinton and Obama Fighting For?
There's a certain banality to the Democratic race. I have an article in the new issue of Conde Nast Portfolio about the economic plans of the candidates and how they amount to the naricissism of small differences. This is not a new point. (Well, it was newer when the article first went to print.) On the big issues, Clinton and Obama agree. Paul Krugman and others have tried to make a big deal about the fact that the Clinton health care plan includes a mandate and the Obama one doesn't. But this is not the difference between hope and the status quo or between being ready on day one and being inexperienced. It's a policy variation that can and will likely change should either of these senators become president. It's not that there's no differences between them. I like theat Obama's team is a little younger and a tad edgier. I like the Austan Goolsbee approach to behavioral economics. But this is not a big deal. And so in the absence of real issues the race is now about such earthshaking topics as whether Obama gave due credit to Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick for using his lines. (I thought 9/11 was supposed to rid our lives of this trivia.) Guess what? All politicians who use speeches written by others are plagiarists. Is it more authentic if it comes from a paid staff of ghostwriters? Given all the unlucky and, I think, often unfair things said about Clinton and her camp--of which my spouse is a prominent member--I don't blame them for using what they've got. Their campaign has been unfairly lampooned as race baiting and ugly. But if there's actually a voter who will change their minds over who mimicked Deval Patrick then I'll be surprised. If it's intended to raise larger issues of character, it's equally absurd. But this is what you get when the policy differences between candidates are so very small.
- McCain's Insane Mortgage Proposal
- Oct 7 2008 11:49PM EDT
- The Keating Connection
- Oct 6 2008 12:25PM EDT
- House Backs Bailout
- Oct 3 2008 1:27PM EDT
- Second Time a Charm, or a Curse?
- Oct 3 2008 11:44AM EDT
- The Biden-Palin Panderfest
- Oct 3 2008 12:00AM EDT
- The Somewhat Sweet Lives of Biden, Palin
- Oct 2 2008 3:30PM EDT
- No Third Term for Bloomberg
- Oct 2 2008 12:37PM EDT
- The Self-Congratulatory Senate
- Oct 1 2008 11:23PM EDT
- Six Paths to (Possible) Bailout Success
- Sep 29 2008 6:30PM EDT
- Let Boehner Write It, or Have the Fed Go Solo
- Sep 29 2008 3:16PM EDT
- The Republicans Have Blood on their Hands
- Sep 29 2008 2:04PM EDT
- House Fails to Pass Bailout Plan
- Sep 29 2008 2:00PM EDT
- Warren Buffett: Bailout Savior?
- Sep 28 2008 11:27AM EDT
- Round One: No Knockouts
- Sep 26 2008 11:00PM EDT
- McCain Shows Up
- Sep 26 2008 12:23PM EDT
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