The health care debate was raging on at full steam and if there is something everyone can agree on it is that the debate is far from settled. It is without question that Barak Obama has drawn his line in the sand on this issue, and it seems that he will push forward on it until it is either won or lost outright. The story behind the story however, is that two seemingly unrelated stories have conspired to derail the debate. I contend that it is the President himself who allowed that to happen, if only by an unfortunate and uncharacteristic off-the-cuff answer.
The View is a very popular daytime talk show. While it doesn’t appeal to me, I can appreciate that some people find it entertaining. The hosts of the show often take on current events in the form of political discussion, which is ultimately, usually, a good thing. They run into trouble when the discussion degrades into ideological, emotional blather. They go off the rails when they let demonstrably false information get put forth with minimal (if any) counter argument. My lament isn’t that they exist, but that Barbara Walters lets this happen and is still taken seriously.
Mildly whacky is Whoopi Goldberg saying that the moon landing was faked:
It seems so unlikely that Al Franken would have the most to teach us during the Sotomayor hearings, but it looks like that is the case. At the very heart of the concern of conservatives about Sotomayor is judicial activism; the “wise Latina” comment and her speeches about the appellate courts being where law is made are problematic because of this concern. There are other minor things to pick at, specifically ideological, but it is difficult to pin her down by decision as either conservative or liberal, in fact I’d argue on her behalf that she is judicious, and not conservative or liberal.
It is highly likely that Sotomayor will be confirmed as a Justice on the Supreme Court. That said, those few in congress who oppose her have said that they will try to use the hearings as an educational tool; to get out the message of what a judge should be and how they should act to the American people. I tend to think this is a good idea, as any lesson in civics on television or radio is a good idea.
I spend a great deal of time thinking about both the “vast right-wing conspiracy” and its oft-overlooked sibling the “vast left-wing conspiracy”. As we currently have a left-wing President and left-wing supermajority in the house (kinda’), it is the vast left-wing conspiracy that occupies my thoughts most these days.
