So Pass It Already!

I’ll have some more in-depth analysis on Monday, but  going into the weekend, this seems to be important to note:

According to the latest ABC News/Washington Post poll, a majority of Americans prefer, by 51% to 37%, that Congress pass a health care plan with a public option without Republican support than a plan without a public option but with Republican votes.

So do it already.

A Sobering Statistic in Afghanistan

I wrote in my intro post that I wished to understand the situation in Afghanistan better. Here’s a start, and it’s a stark one.

According to the AP, international troops and Afghan security forces outnumber Taliban insurgents 12-1. Twelve to one!

So why aren’t we winning?

Is There a Liberal Movement?

I rarely make it past Politico’s headlines—the site’s zero-sum view of politics and relentless hyping of partisan gamesmanship is often laughable—but the other day a subhead in my RSS reader caught my eye: “He also calls Obama a ‘movement liberal.’”

Now, I don’t really care about achingly dull Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty, who was being interviewed by Newsmax (yet another cauldron of empty rhetoric in the conservative echo chamber). What does interest me is his formulation: Obama as a “movement liberal.”

What on Earth is a “movement liberal?” (more…)

Some Throat Clearing

When Carolyn asked me to blog about “politics and creativity,” I immediately signed on, and then found myself at a loss.

I didn’t know how to square the dourness of political commentary with the usually sunny dispatches here at Geniocity. For politics, as Bismarck told us, is both the art of the possible and an inexact science—the entire enterprise requires creativity. And what is creative about politics is often also what is contemptible. Glenn Beck’s brand of hysterical libertarian populism, for example, may not be your cup of tea, and it may not even be new, but it is undeniably creative.

So what should you expect on this page?

As is the mandate at Geniocity, creativity and the cutting edge will take center stage. But the cutting edge of politics is, well, cutting. Politicians employ creativity in myriad awful ways—ways that I won’t hesitate to document. So I hope you’ll excuse what may seem like a darker disposition in these parts than you’re likely to find elsewhere on the site. That is, sadly, politics as usual.

But I’ll also try to highlight politics worth smiling about, policy developments that may actually improve our lives, creative solutions to longstanding problems, and maybe, if you’re lucky, tell a joke or two.

Mostly, though, I’m just going to write about whatever I want.

A little bit about my sensibilities: Like all writers, I have my hobbyhorses. I harbor an unhealthy fascination with the slow death of intellectual conservatism. I love opinion polling and the science behind it. Economic and historical illiteracy drive me up the wall. I wish I understood Afghanistan better. I love and hate Michael Bloomberg. I love New York City, but I will not subject a national audience to that particular obsession (much as I may want to). I will never read DailyKos or RedState, but I cannot stop reading Andrew Sullivan or The New Republic (or even The Corner). I wish both the liberal and conservative establishments did better jobs of embracing new ideas. Wonkette makes me laugh.

So here we go. I welcome your questions and feedback at seth@geniocity.com or in the comments. I can’t guarantee I’ll respond to all of them, but I’ll do my best.