Party hearty
There has been considerable hand-wringing about the evolving Republican Party. Should it pitch a big tent, make a big noise, embrace Reagan roots, jettison old ways? It is a work in progress. Meanwhile, a nascent Tea Party is brewing, vibrant with folks from several political persuasions who are transfixed with the idea that they could be on the cusp of creating a viable third party by 2012.
Democrats, meanwhile, are having their own identity crisis.
“It is hard to avoid the conclusion that unified Democratic government has sparked a conservative countermobilization. Because we cannot rerun history as a controlled experiment, we will never know whether this could have been avoided had the Obama administration and congressional Democrats adopted a different strategy. In any case, it’s too late to reverse it,” says William Galston, a former Clinton administration adviser and New Republic contributor.
“Still, Democrats must ask themselves whether there’s anything they can do over the next year — for example, a meaningful shift toward fiscal restraint — to reduce the intensity level of the conservative assault. If not, the combination of an energized opposition and an electorate battered by high unemployment, slow growth and the perception of out-of-control spending could set the stage for an ugly outcome,” Mr. Galston continues.
“This wouldn’t mean that Republicans had regained credibility as a governing party; odds are that it will take more than two years to erase the public’s sour memories of the Republican congressional majority and George W. Bush’s presidency. It would mean that a substantial portion of the electorate wanted to send Democrats a message that they had gone too far.”
Screen gems
Those who control the partisan spin of political parties are well known. But who controls the spin of America’s image here and abroad? The answer is not always apparent. But in retrospect, Condoleezza Rice and Michael Chertoff had much to do with an overlooked project that has done much to offer a viable, endearing vision of Americans in the post-9/11 era.
The former secretary of state and the former homeland security director joined forces with Walt Disney Parks and Resorts to produce a short film showcasing hundreds of Americans. It is not pretentious.
It is not excruciatingly politically correct. It is a product of something called the “Rice-Chertoff Joint Vision: Secure Borders and Open Doors in the Information Age.”
The “welcome” film is shown at all international ports of entry at George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston and Washington Dulles International Airport and throughout consular waiting areas around the world at U.S. embassies and consulates.
Curious? Take a peek by clicking here.
Common scents
Politics stink, Congress smells, reporters reek? So what else is new? But here’s evidence that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, White House press secretary Robert Gibbs and maybe Newt Gingrich should keep something lemon-scented nearby when the partisan combat gets, a-hem, uncomfortably close.
Researchers at Brigham Young University have discovered that ethical behavior “dramatically improves” when people are exposed to a few spritzes of itrus-scented Windex. Yes. Windex. The study was titled “The Smell of Virtue” and posits the idea that a clean-smelling environment fosters squeaky-clean behavior.
Lead researcher Katie Liljenquist, an assistant professor of organizational leadership at the campus, conducted too many behavioral studies to list here — but suffice it to say that she predicts implications for workplaces, stores and other organizations that have relied on traditional surveillance and security measures to enforce rules.
“Companies often employ heavy-handed interventions to regulate conduct, but they can be costly or oppressive,” Ms. Liljenquist says. “This is a very simple, unobtrusive way to promote ethical behavior.”
Days of yore
The British imposed the Stamp Act on American colonies 244 years ago today; the direct tax on the citizenry prompted Samuel Adams to organize the clandestine Sons of Liberty and assorted protests.
And yes, there was a real stamp, printed on newspapers, pamphlets, almanacs, legal papers and playing cards. The stamp showed an English rose framed by the word “America” and the French phrase “Honi soit qui mal y pense,” or “Shame to him who thinks evil of it.”
John Adams, the first president to actually live in the White House, moved in on this day in 1800.
This was no baby boom: The U.S. detonated the world’s first thermonuclear weapon — the hydrogen bomb — on this day in 1952, making short work of the Eniwetok atoll in the Pacific Ocean
Puerto Rican nationalists Griselio Torresola and Oscar Collazo tried to gun down President Truman at Blair House 59 years ago today by firing into the building when the president was inside. Secret Service agent Leslie Coffelt killed Torresola but was fatally wounded; Collazo was sentenced to life in prison. Mr. Truman simply went about his business.
“A president has to expect these things,” he noted at the time.
Poll du jour
64 percent of Americans now buy generic brands to save money.
47 percent bring their own lunch to work.
43 percent cut back on visits to a hairstylist.
36 percent refill their own water bottles rather than purchase new ones.
34 percent canceled magazine subscriptions, 22 percent cut down on dry cleaning.
21 percent canceled cable TV, 20 percent stopped buying coffee in the morning.
14 percent car pool.
12 percent canceled land-line phones and now only use a cell phone.
Source: A Harris Poll of 2,293 conducted Oct. 5 to 12.
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