Week in Review

Not having posted anything substantial in a while, I decided to address my writer's block by commenting on some recent news items that piqued my interest. Links to referenced articles are provided via the bold subject headings. I doubt this will become a regular feature, but I'll use it from time-to-time (like now) when I can barely muster any original thoughts...

The Economist Endorses Barack Obama for President

Yeah, I know, it's a British publication, so this endorsement is akin to Obama taking credit for opposing the Iraq War, but it's a magazine I respect nonetheless. Its opinion is always noteworthy because this isn't the New York Times we're dealing with, over the past 4 elections it has endorsed Clinton, Dole, Bush, Kerry. So here it goes:

The Economist does not have a vote, but if it did, it would cast it for Mr Obama. We do so wholeheartedly.

Really? "Wholeheartedly"? Later on they continue:

There is no getting around the fact that Mr Obama’s résumé is thin for the world’s biggest job.

...Our main doubts about Mr Obama have to do with the damage a muddle-headed Democratic Congress might try to do to the economy. Despite the protectionist rhetoric that still sometimes seeps into his speeches, Mr Obama would not sponsor a China-bashing bill. But what happens if one appears out of Congress? Worryingly, he has a poor record of defying his party’s baronies, especially the unions. His advisers insist that Mr Obama is too clever to usher in a new age of over-regulation, that he will stop such nonsense getting out of Congress, that he is a political chameleon who would move to the centre in Washington. But the risk remains that on economic matters the centre that Mr Obama moves to would be that of his party, not that of the country as a whole.

...So Mr Obama in that respect is a gamble.

The endorsement leaves the impression that its authors admire McCain and his record but not his campaign tactics, at the same time, they support what Obama's presidency would represent going forward for this country but aren't sold on his experience or his ability to reign in the forgone conclusion that is the Pelosi/Reid-dominated congress.

One could read this article with the few sentences that specifically reference their choice of Obama extracted and infer a McCain endorsement.

55 of 57 Slate Staffers Will Cast Their Votes for Obama

You need not wait with bated breath for Slate writers' opinions in the manner you would for The Economist, but I was surprised with this. I would've hoped the margin to be closer a 2-to-1 for Obama, not 27.5-to-1:

In capturing 55 of our 57 votes, with 1 to McCain and 1 to Libertarian Bob Barr, Obama won an even bigger Slate majority than Al Gore in 2000 (29 of 37 votes) or John Kerry in 2004 (46 of 52 votes).

I will give Slate editor, David Plotz, credit for doing his best to differentiate the concept of reporters having personal opinions vs. media bias, but it's a stretch. Regardless, I will continue to visit the site daily, if not for its unique perspectives on politics, culture and media, then for the fact that my company doesn't block it so I can read it while I have lunch at my desk.

Cincinnati's Potential Impact on Tuesday's Election Gets Coverage in a Major Newsweekly

Time takes 1200 words to say something I'll put in 12: Obama may do better in Cincinnati than Democrats did in prior elections. Well, here are some of their words:

Hamilton County, which includes and surrounds Cincinnati, was never in anyone's battle plan. Over the past 100 years, its voters have backed the Democratic presidential candidate only four times...This year, however, Hamilton is up for grabs.

Still, it was interesting to see my neck of the woods get a shout out in the national media. Although the state I call home is meaningless in presidential elections, I lived in the city of Cincinnati for 7 years and can currently see it from my house (that's not a Palin joke...I can see Mt. Adams from my house...well, from the street in front of my house).

Anyway, I give them a B- for capturing the essence of the city in this article, and an A for their ability to stretch one small concept into a 1200-word write-up, which I guess, is what writing news really amounts to anymore.

Seriously, maybe I've been permanently damaged by the corporate world, but I can't help thinking that most objective news articles (not opinion columns intended for persuasion) should be a couple lead-in sentences, followed by a bullet point list, with maybe a chart or graph thrown in. I swear half of the news articles I read are bullet point lists converted to paragraph form.

Krugman on an Economic Paradox

Paul Krugman (who, remember was simply an economist at one point) writes about the difficult situation caused by consumers reactions to bad economic times:

Sooner or later, then, consumers were going to have to pull in their belts. But the timing of the new sobriety is deeply unfortunate...The point is that if consumers cut their spending, and nothing else takes the place of that spending, the economy will slide into a recession, reducing everyone’s income.

An interesting conundrum, I admit. But what's his solution?

This time the stimulus should take the form of actual government spending.

Wow, Paul Krugman comes out for more government spending. What shocker will this editorial page level on the unwitting public next...Maureen Dowd with disparaging words for Sarah Palin?

UC Football on the Rise

The Equirer ran this Paul Daugherty column the morning before UC took down #24 ranked South Flordia at Nippert Stadium Thursday night:

Giddiness routed practicality when the Big East asked UC to become a member. It was like walking into a Mercedes showroom with a dollar in your wallet. Buy the sedan now, figure out how to pay for it later. Smell that new league smell. Cincinnati couldn't say no.

His big point is now that the Bearcats play in a conference that delivers an annual invitation to the national college football party, they have to figure out how to take advantage. Step 1 was hiring Brian Kelly:

Kelly was the perfect hire for UC football. Which means he'll be perfectly ready to move on, when the opportunity arises. If the Bearcats do get to the Orange Bowl,they'll need T. Boone Pickens to keep Kelly in red and black.

Kelly has said he wants to stay here and build the program, but he's smart enough to know leverage when he sees it, and ambitious enough to use it at every opportunity.

Kelly also knows how tenuous college football success is in a place like Cincinnati, which isn't exactly Columbus or Tuscaloosa.

Which brings us back to money. Lots of it.

I couldn't agree more. I'm even thinking of getting season tickets for '09: you combine a neighborhood I love in Clifton, beer sales at a college stadium, and $90 per season ticket, and you really can't go wrong. However, any Ross family ticket purchases will be contingent on Coach Kelly being on the sidelines.