Note on Charlie Baker

All this nattering about how the Democrats lost so big that even Massachusetts elected a Republican governor... it's coming from people who don't know anything about Massachusetts. First, before the current governor, a Democrat, the previous four governors were all Republicans. Very moderate Republicans. Second, Charlie Baker, the Republican, was endorsed by the liberal Boston Globe. In fact, the Globe endorsement could easily have swung the election, as a shift of 20,000 votes would have changed the outcome. Whatever the Democrats' problems are, Massachusetts does not exemplify them.

Comment on the Agreement with China About Climate Change

This seems huge to me, at least five minutes after reading about it. What strikes me about it is how it cuts the legs out from under Sen. Inhofe, Rush Limbaugh and all the other "hoax!"-criers. I mean, you could believe, maybe, that Obama and the Democrats were trying to fool the American people about climate change, for their own nefarious purposes, but is anyone going to believe that they fooled the Chinese? Even if you believe that Obama secretly wants to destroy America, do you believe that the Chinese want to destroy China? I just don't see what Republicans are going to say about this. But no doubt they'll come up with something.

UPDATE: Here's one Times reader's online comment about the announcement of a tentative deal in Lima:

Burbank Burner Genoa, NV 1 minute ago 

Since there is no "Global Warming" nor is there any human caused "Climate Change" this accord is a complete fraud. China, India, and most of the underdeveloped countries will simply ignore it. Only liberals in the US are stupid enough to commit economic suicide for zero reason. What a colossal waste of time, money, and...energy. The smaller countries are there to try to get their version of obamaphones. It is all about money. They don't believe the hoax.

Not sure what "obamaphones" are? Check here.

Obama and Ebola

God, that guy irritates me!

We were recently treated to Republicans around the country running scare ads about Ebola and how it's some sort of failure by Obama. There was a failure of leadership by Obama, but it wasn't a management failure. It was a political failure. Once again, he doesn't talk to people, doesn't explain, doesn't lead.

Obama should have given a brief prime-time speech on TV. (And for Pete's sake, what is so hard about sitting at a desk in the Oval Office? It's reassuring.) Something like this:

" [......] First of all, you are not going to get Ebola, nor is anyone in your family. So far in America, there has been one death from Ebola, and one person is currently infected. Both of  them were infected in West Africa. What the Centers for Disease Control said was true: it's only transmitted by bodily fluids, and people are not infectious until they're showing  symptoms. The people at risk are the people caring for Ebola victims in the later stages of the disease, when it gets pretty messy.

"Unfortunately, some politicians are irresponsibly stirring  up panic about this, coming up with all sorts of ridiculous theories about how Ebola might be transmitted. Well, if there's something wrong with your car, who are you going to take it to, a mechanic or a politician? Similarly, when it comes to dealing with infectious diseases, I'd rather talk to an expert.

"There is no outbreak of Ebola in America. There is one in West Africa, and that's a problem for us, for a couple of reasons.

"First, it's a humanitarian crisis, just like an earthquake in Haiti or a tsunami in Asia. But also, we need to get the disease under control, before it starts spreading to other countries.

The medical workers who have gone to West Africa, at some personal risk, to fight Ebola are heroes, and we all owe them a debt of gratitude.

"We need to fight Ebola with determination, not panic. [........]"

A speech like that might have made a difference in close races.

UPDATE: OK, I owe Obama an apology. It appears it's not so easy these days for the President to give a speech on TV. Astonishingly, none of the major networks carried Obama's immigration speech, a major policy announcement on a highly controversial issue that was only 15 minutes long. Something about sweeps week, I think.

Ad for an Imaginary Democratic Candidate Who Wasn't Running From Obama

"By the numbers, the economy's doing really well.

"The unemployment rate is below 6% for the first time since before the crash. Even with the crash, the economy under Obama has created more jobs than in Bush's entire Presidency. In the last quarter, the economy grew at an annual rate of three and a half percent.

"So why doesn't it feel better?

"Because for the average family, it isn't  better. The income of the average family hasn't gone up at all. While the economy's been growing, 95% of the gains have gone to the top 1%. They've had a recovery, but the average family hasn't.

"Are Republican economic policies going to fix this? Don't hold your breath. To begin with, we need to increase the minimum wage. Then we need to get rid of some of the tax loopholes the favor the rich.

"The economy's growing. Now it's time for some of that growth to reach the rest of us."