Big Tent Democrat and TChris today have written posts about politics. My question to BTD:

Why "Politics is the art of the possible" instead of "Politics is the art of controlling your environment?" If you do the latter, don't more things become possible?

Hunter Thompson's central premise was "Politics is the art of controlling your environment." Does that only apply to campaigns, not governing?

BTD thinks this is a great question and suggested I write it up in a separate post so here it is for anyone who wants to weigh in.

President Elect Barack Obama has launched a new website, Change.Gov. It will provide news from his transition team. It also has information about where to apply for a job in Obama-Biden Administration.

Applicants for any of these non-career positions - whether in the White House or in any Federal Department, Agency or Commission - should use this website, as applying on-line is the fastest and most accurate way to get your information to us. (If you are interested instead in a career, civil service position with the federal government, you should proceed to the Office of Personnel Management website here .)

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It seems to me that progressives are making a mistake in the way they are arguing for a progressive agenda for the Obama Administration. Specifically, the thesis seems to be that Bill Clinton made a mistake in projecting a moderate image after the 1994 electoral debacle. That his failure was in not delivering a progressive agenda. This seems like denial to me. Denial of what the American People wanted in that period. In short, America was not a progressive nation then. In denying that America is a Center Right nation NOW, it is not necessary to deny that America was a Center Right nation then. There are two important points to be made about this. First is a demographic one - the electorate is clearly and indisputably more progressive now. Why? Pretty simple, there are less white people in the electorate. In 1992, 88% of the electorate was white. In 2008, 74% of the electorate is white. People like to dance around the basic fact that non-whites are generally more progressive than whites (some important exceptions have been discussed at this site.) More . .

As Big Tent Democrat discussed yesterday, the Palins and the McCains are feuding. The sniping is further evidence of a widening schism between the self-defined GOP intelligentsia and the religious right. More broadly, it signals a further erosion of the coalition of interests that Karl Rove counted on to assure a permanent Republican majority.

Today’s political reality pits an astonishingly united Democratic party against a hopelessly dysfunctional opposition. This is a fact of significance to the nature of the bipartisan or post-partisan approach that the Obama administration might find it advisable to adopt in both the short and long term. Since I have a somewhat different take on the question of bipartisanship than my blog brother BTD (as one example, I don’t think it’s a schtick), I have shifted into first person and will announce that I am speaking only for myself.

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From the people who launched Operation Leper (which I think is not wrongheaded BTW), this is pretty funny:

Dear Senator [Lieberman]:

Switch parties. Or at least, be an unhyphenated Independent and caucus with the Senate Republicans. There is no reason to think that you will ever be treated with respect and dignity in the Democratic Caucus again. Even if you seek to make amends for what Senator Reid perceives to be your apostasy, you will always be viewed with suspicion and bitterness by members of the Democratic Caucus.

By contrast, Republicans will welcome you into the fold. . . .

(Emphasis supplied.) Perceived apostasy? Okaaay. Here's the thing, I think Lieberman is, in his heart, a Republican. I do not think he really believes in Democratic principles. I think he is a Democrat by accident of history and where he lived. I actually think he would easily conform himself to the extreme Republican views and will actually not be a RINO. But I always knew Lieberman to be an unprincipled piece of sh*t anyway. Still and all, I would cut a deal with him that he can retain his committee chairmanship as long as he agrees not to block Democratic legislation in any fashion.

By Big Tent Democrat, speaking for me only

It's official. Barack Obama won North Carolina. With Indiana, his total electoral votes are now at 364. Only Missouri is still unknown.

So of the battleground states, he won Ohio, Pennsylvania, Florida, Virginia, North Carolina, Indiana, Colorado, New Mexico and Nevada. The Mandate grows. And it will go down in the history books as the best-run campaign ever, to date.

Stevie Nicks and Sheryl Crow, 1999.(It was either this or Lou Reed's "Vicious" for the McCain campaign and the media, but this won out.

Rock on- gold dust woman
Take your silver spoon
And dig your grave
....Is it over now- do you know how
Pick up the pieces and go home.

This is an open thread.

Several readers have written me or posted comments wondering what I'll be writing about now that the Democrats have won back the White House.

I was asked the same question a year ago during this interview.

Rob La Gatta: So far, TalkLeft – liberal leaning in nature – has lived its entire life under the presidency of Republican George W. Bush. What do you plan to do if, come January 2009, a Democratic president is sworn into office? Do you expect that under such circumstances, the content, mission or direction of the blog would change?

My answer is pretty much the same today as it was then, reprinted and expanded on below: [More...]

Drug Czar Bill Walters (Office of National Drug Control Policy, aka ONDCP)is going out with a whimper.

on ONDCP’s blog, the drug czar’s office unveiled what may be their lamest anti-marijuana campaign yet. Yes, your tax dollars are actually funding this. For now.

By the way, jobs held by people who’ve acknowledged smoking marijuana include governor of California (Arnold Schwarzenegger), astronomer (Carl Sagan), mayor of New York (Michael Bloomberg), billionaire rock star/songwriter (Paul McCartney), and — well, you get the point.

Text of ad below:

Former New York Governor Eliot Spitzer got good news today. Federal prosecutors announced they will not file charges against him.

"I appreciate the impartiality and thoroughness of the investigation by the U.S. Attorney's Office and I acknowledge and accept responsibility for the conduct it disclosed," Spitzer said in a statement today. "I resigned my position as Governor because I recognized that conduct was unworthy of an elected official."

That Spitzer won't be charged is only part of the story. The real news is that Spitzer has been cleared of financial wrongdoing.

Prosecutors had considered bringing charges connected to money laundering, or "structured withdrawals" to hide illegal movement of funds.

"After a thorough investigation, this office has uncovered no evidence of misuse of public or campaign funds," said U.S. attorney Michael J. Garcia.

As to no filing of prostitution-related charges, he was treated the same as everyone else:[More...]

The plot thickens:

Bolstered by a newly expanded majority, Harry Reid met with Joe Lieberman on Thursday to sketch out the conditions by which the Connecticut independent could continue to caucus with Senate Democrats. But Lieberman did not accept Reid's initial offers, leaving his future in the caucus uncertain, and potentially setting off a campaign to pressure the Democratic steering committee to decide Lieberman's fate.

(Emhais supplied.) Apparently Reid asked him to relinquish his committee chairmanship:

Reid offered Lieberman a deal to step down as chairman of the homeland security committee but take over the reins of another subcommittee, likely overseeing economic or small business issues officials said.

What next? Lieberman begging and pleading I suspect:

I like the way Matt Yglesias describes what bipartisanship should mean:

[T]he trick with these bipartisan concepts is to make sure that the credibility is flowing in the right direction. . . . The new administration needs to . . . build support for progressive policies by showing that it can be supported by a politically diverse group of people.

This is sharp thinking.

By Big Tent Democrat, speaking for me only