Barack Obama
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It’s … medium
The big news today is that Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) has joined with McCain and Lieberman to re-introduce a bill to cap carbon dioxide emissions. The targets aren’t all that ambitious — it would slow the rise of CO2 emissions, cutting them two-thirds from present levels by 2050 — but the bill is nonetheless expected […]
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With new energy-focused bills, Stevens delights enviros and Obama disappoints
Among the barrage of energy-related bills already unleashed by the 110th Congress, one of the most progressive comes not from the newly empowered Democrats, but from Republican Sen. Ted Stevens of Alaska, a zealous proponent of drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. Just as peculiar, one of the bills that most rankles environmentalists comes […]
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You really need to ask?
The riffs on energy, climate change, and renewable energy are all the excuse I need to link to Barack Obama's remarkable speech in New Hampshire.
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He understands you … and you too
Let's discuss Barack Obama, shall we?I'm about 3/4 of the way through his book. The first half or so is mostly him telling stories -- his own history, stories from his campaigns, stories about his fellow senators. The writing is just spectacular: clear, engaging, slyly funny, self-deprecating, perfectly paced. It's got those touches of idiosyncrasy no ghostwriter can capture (if you've read ghostwritten books, you know they all have a certain feel). It's clear he's uncommonly self-aware, intelligent, authentic, and charismatic. It's impossible to resist the guy.
But when he turns to discussion of the issues, the tic emerges. In every case, there are two moldy, entrenched positions, politicized extremes advanced by shrill partisans. In every case, neither of those moldy positions adequately addresses our current realities. He, however, has a clear-eyed, above-the-fray position of his own that synthesizes all the best of both extremes.
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When’s Obama gonna do something?
I must confess that my initial infatuation with Sen. Barack Obama (D-Mount Olympus) is wearing off.
Yes, he's got the charisma, the personal history, the zeitgeist on his side ... but he hasn't done anything, and shows no signs of planning to do anything, of any daring or significance. Someone in his position, with that much media attention, that much popular support, has a responsibility to use that power to make something happen -- something other than political advancement. The jury's still out, but the clock is ticking, to mix metaphors.
Obama's on the cover of two national magazines this week: Time (along with an excerpt from his new book and a photo spread) and Harpers (not online). Though the pieces are written from decidedly different perspectives, they both tell the same basic story: look how amazing this guy is ... just imagine when he does something!
Want to see something that captures my mixed feelings? Watch this video:
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Obama leads bipartisan effort to raise fuel-economy standards
Is the sting of $75-a-barrel oil and the threat of World War III exploding in the Middle East enough to convince Congress to finally boost auto fuel economy? Probably not, but a bipartisan coalition of senators led by Barack Obama (D-Ill.) is launching an admirable new effort anyway — the Fuel Economy Reform Act. Barack […]
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Obama’s new book
It's not strictly environmental, but I thought readers would be interested to see this preview of Barack Obama's new book, The Audacity of Hope (available Oct. 2006). This should give you an idea of the theme:
