All of these things happened today:
- David Axelrod announced that he is creating an Institute of Politics at the University of Chicago.
- Team Sassy watched Mayor Emanuel, Rachel Maddow, George Stephanopoulos, David Brooks, and Alex Castellanos have a sit down about the 2012 election.
- Bridget came very close to crying her way into the event where this all took place.
- Ilsa enabled Bridget to preserve some of her dignity by (sooprise, sooprise) working her connections at the University (real quote: “You didn’t say your friend was ILSA FLANAGAN.”)
It was a fascinating, and oddly sexually charged,
conversation. Here are some random highlights from my perspective:
- The consensus was that Romney would be the Republican’s candidate and that he is a pretty problematic choice, or as Rachel Maddow put it: “[Romney] is the tallest midget.” Brooks tried to walk his criticism back a little, but it was still pretty clear that the Rs on the panel wished they had a stronger choice. This isn’t to say that they feel that Obama is a shoo-in, more that they’re surprised the Rs couldn’t do better.
- Alex Castellanos ran Romney’s 2008 campaign, but doesn’t seem to have a whole lot of love for him. Nothing overt, but I wouldn’t say he was campaigning for him at this event. On the other hand, Alex (and other panelists) have very clear disdain for Newt. As Castellanos said in dismissing Newt’s surge in SC, “Every time Newt stands up, he hits his head on the ceiling.”
- Maddow thinks that the Dem base is “inspirationed out.” She would like to see Obama use the SOTU to outline small clear steps the government can take to improve the economy, etc. Rahm disagreed, saying that is how you govern, but not how you campaign. Castellanos was somewhere in the middle, wanting to get people to be able to see “above the horizon again,” but also acknowledging that the fervor of 2008 was unlikely (“It’s not all that exciting when you lose your virginity the 2nd time.” Yep. He said that.)
- On the current political context, Brooks made an interesting point about not having a majority party and a minority party right now, but rather 2 minority parties. He believes that this forces parties to be more entrenched, insular, and unwilling to compromise.
- I found Brooks to be extremely charming and engaging, but he demolished almost all of the good will I was beginning to feel for him when he said that he would like to see a Nader-Buchanan presidential ticket. Uh, say what again?
- Rahm was heckled by protesters shouting about budget cuts and Chicago being a police state. It went on longer than I expected, stretched out by the use of the "human megaphone," and was extremely annoying and/but pretty effective.
Thanks to Ilsa for getting me into the event. Looking forward to her thoughts on the afternoon.
8 comments:
Who was taller, George S. or Rachel?
Oh and also, holy hell, what an awesome event.
Sun Times agrees with me about all the sex talk:
http://www.suntimes.com/news/10108941-418/heckling-sex-jokes-and-a-little-politics-at-axelrods-u-of-c-event.html
the one thing that stood out for me at that event: everyone on the panel had advice for obama on how he could win the election. good, thoughtful advice. i'm hoping this is what happens with the electorate as well -- people are disappointed in him, but they want him to succeed, they want him to have two terms--republicans included (well, some of them).
second, rachel maddow is awesome. she held her own with much older and, truly, more accomplished MEN. unbelievable that she is only 38.
finally, david axelrod is the sweetest guy. warm, humble, smart, good. u of c is really lucky to have landed this institute.
next up: getting bridget a job there. that way she gets to decide who gets in to these events and who doesn't (she would have spotted those annoying occupy chicago protesters a mile away)>
That event sounds like it was incredible. On Maddow's point of the lack of inspiration, I had a conversation a while back with a friend who brought up the question, "What are Barack's big goals for a second term?" If he lays something bold out clearly in the SOTU, I think he could regain some enthusiasm.
I also agree with your sentiment, Ilsa, that people may not be as excited but they do want him to be re-elected. I think, ultimately, people will come around and support him. Granted, if the fickle youth aren't excited, they might not turn out at the polls.
Everything you said about the conservative side of the panel confirms my thought that Mitt is the GOP's John Kerry. He's just not exciting. As for David Brooks hyping a Nader-Buchanan ticket, that's the kind of BS he pulls that makes me find him infuriating. The country's in trouble, maybe two doddering idealogues could help it out!
As for Alex Castellanos, I still contend that he looks like the bad guy in a Zorro movie making his oddly sexual comments kind of fitting. In a different context, he'd be saying something gross to Catherine Zeta Jones while stroking his mustache.
DAVE! You are exactly right about Alex C. Still, he was very funny and engaging. I'm also firmly in the Rachel Maddow is Amazing camp.
Rachel Maddow is definitely amazing. Hmm, maybe Barack should chuck Uncle Joey for Rachel. Who wouldn't vote Obama-Maddow?
Um, I'm sorry, but where I come from, when a guy shows you his agitator for the first time, it's a pretty big deal. I won't tell Gabe that he didn't make the list...
Penny - some moments are just too special to see splashed all over a political blog.
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