“Tired Of Being Afraid”

I’m sorry but I just don’t get the idea that this was an attack on Senator Clinton:

At another stop, in Atlantic, Michelle said she travels with her husband in part "to model what it means to have family values," adding "if you can’t run your own house, you can’t run the White House." She didn’t elaborate, but it could be interpreted as a swipe at the Clintons.

Please. Doesn’t this obviously mean that a strong family helps a president in the White House? I guess it could be seen as an anti-Clinton swipe in a pinch, but it’s pretty subtle if it is. But whatever it may mean, don’t jump into the gotcha politics with this. Notice what she’s really saying. Notice what matters. Michelle Obama is giving the core message of her husband’s candidacy: the case against fear. You know: Arianna is right about this. The one overwhelming fact about Hillary Clinton is that she reeks of fear. Obama doesn’t. We need more fearlessness. Not recklessness; fearlessness. Michelle Obama is strong medicine. But we need some strong medicine.

Has Bush Made Obama Impossible?

A reader writes:

I’m a Clinton supporter – most of the objections I had to her have faded, for some of the reasons offered by other readers you have quoted, such as her obvious competence and willingness to work hard.  These days, certainly, I don’t need warm and fuzzy in a President.  But for those, like yourself, who can no longer abide the current crop of Republicans but who are desperately looking for an alternative to Hillary, on paper Obama may well be the most desirable option – he provides a fresh and calm global perspective, one much more likely to earn vital cooperation from abroad; a new and thoughtful articulation of what has gone wrong with our politics and how to right it; credibility on the problems of our inner cities; and a much greater sensitivity to the economic, health, and educational issues that ordinary Americans confront every day.

But he’s not going anywhere, and here’s why:  His inexperience is not only a hurdle in itself, but carries with it the added burden that after the disaster of the Bush years, voters just aren’t going to take another chance on another inexperienced candidate.  That’s the real reason his poll numbers haven’t moved.  Obama is ahead of his time, and in four or eight years his moment may come.  But for now, however unfortunately and unfairly, Bush has made Obama impossible.

And yet it could also be argued that Bush has made Obama essential. But that’s an argument for another day. I’m working on it.

Marriage Rights In Australia

Some movement – coming from the top:

The High Court judge Michael Kirby highlighted the inequity recently when he pointed out his partner of 38 years, Johan van Vloten, would have no access to Justice Kirby’s pension if the judge died before him.

Under current law, if a retired judge in a heterosexual relationship dies before his or her partner, the partner is entitled to 62.5 per cent of the judge’s pension. But Mr van Vloten would not receive anything because he is not female.

One minister supporting the change expressed amazement there was opposition to the idea.

"There shouldn’t even need to be a debate," the minister said.