I suspect many didn't and won't believe me when I say that, as the primaries unfolded, I was hoping for Hillary Clinton. And I said it then too. I had various reasons, some of which were different from the usual ones. Now people will believe me even less, given that I'm writing a belated Personal Conversion Diary. Because, you see, I was wrong about quite a few things then.

Back then, and during the general, for instance, I remember discussions around here about whether Obama was 1% better than the alternative, or 0.0001% better, with a number of prominent Correnteans voting for 0.0001%. But at the moment, given everything, I would rate him at 5-10%. That there is a stimulus package alone is enough for me to say this.   Read more…

Unity is its own virtue. It does not matter whether it leads to good things or bad things, just having a Government of National Unity is itself a good thing. How do I know this? NPR just told me so.

I'm driving home and make the mistake of turning on the radio. NPR is interviewing a historian (Robert something or other) to discuss the issue of whether all the Clinton "retreads" are really the change Obama promised.* After all, when John F. Kennedy came in he brought a new generation of advisors and (mostly) did not rely on Truman appointees. The historian does a generally good job of pointing out that the Clinton people are still a change from Bush, but then goes off for a ride on the Unity Pony and rides straight into stupid.