Damn those urban voters, huh?  And after all the efforts to keep them from voting, too.  ::shaking head::  What a shame.

I guess there's nothing left to do but call the "waaahmbulance," and have this poor sport taken directly to the nearest Level 3 Political Trauma Center that isn't already at Code Red and filled up with all the other "victims."

I hope it's the last we see of or hear from him, and I most especially do not want to see him standing next to Obama at a podium with Obama announcing that he's appointing Mitt to something-or-other to show how much he wants to "work with" Republicans.  Maybe the John MCain-led campaign against Susan Rice will have Obama re-thinking his knee-jerk impulse to reach out to the other side, but my guess is it just makes him double-down on his efforts.

Some 350 economists have reached out to Congress, with the message that austerity in the midst of a weak economy is a really dumb thing to do (I can only bring you this short snip I got from Think Progress, because the jobsnotausterity website is blocked for me here at work):

Yet too many in Washington are fixated on cutting public spending to balance the budget, not on how to put people back to work and get our economy going. There is no theory of economics that explains how we can deflate our way to recovery. Businesses are not basing investment decisions on how much Congress cuts the debt in 2023. As Great Britain, Ireland, Spain and Greece have shown, inflicting austerity on a weak economy leads to deeper recession, rising unemployment and increasing misery. [...]

The budget hawks have the sequence backwards. Public outlay for jobs and recovery come first, growth is restored, and revenues follow. Budget cuts in a deep slump lead only to a deeper slump.

THIS FRIDAY, November 16 @ 10:00PM on CBS, I'm honored to be a part of the Grammy tribute to the great Whitney Houston. With Ray Chew Live at the helm, I'm joined by Ernie Fields Jr, Jerry Moore, Dan Fornero, John Fumo, Artie Reynolds, Tony Pulizzi, Russell Graham and many others in the orchestra for this heartfelt tribute to an amazing talent. Yolanda Adams & CeCe Winans join Celine Dion, Jennifer Hudson and Usher, for the one-hour special that will celebrate Houston's life and artistry through performances & interviews with various artists paying homage to the six-time GRAMMY winner, and will include Houston's own most memorable performances of her career. Hosted by L.L. Cool J, this will be a night to remember. The show will be broadcast in HDTV and 5.1 surround sound on Nov. 16 at 10 p.m. ET/PT on the CBS Television Network.

So Do Democrats Actually Want to Govern or Not?

If Democrats don't change the Senate rules at the beginning of the next session it will mean they believe having a go-to excuse for broken promises is more important than having a semi-functioning government system. It will be a telling moment to determine if Democrats are serious about governing or they just really like playing the part on TV.

Zaid Jilani caught this from Conrad when he was asked if raising the Medicare age should be cut as part of a Grand Bargain:

I wouldn't want that to be the starting point, but as part of an overall package, that's balanced and fair. Given that we now have exchanges to purchase insurance because of the president's health-care reform law, it makes it much more acceptable, much more reasonable, over a long period of time to gradually increase the age given that people are living so much longer.

Maybe it's just Conrad. Nope

On Capitol Hill, it isn't clear how strenuously Democrats will resist cutting entitlements. Rep. Chris Van Hollen (D., Md.) said he and others were open to changes as long as they were done in a measured way and were part of deal that included tax increases. Mr. Van Hollen also said changing Social Security and increasing the Medicare eligibility age above 65 should be part of negotiations.

I'm down with that!  I could use some dental work right now - a couple of my teeth are acting up - and I really can't afford it.  It's probably cheaper than a couple months of the Afghan war....

The next commander of U.S. forces in Afghanistan is prepared to testify that he wants to see a robust U.S. troop presence in Afghanistan after the end of 2014, as U.S. and Afghan negotiators began formal work on that troop presence Thursday in Kabul.

Gen. Joe Dunford will be the sole nominee appearing before the Senate Armed Services Committee this morning. President Barack Obama has chosen Dunford to succeed Gen. John Allen to lead the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in Afghanistan.

I am not supposed to be critical of our exalted leader, but this looks as if another promise is about to be eviscerated.

All this money.
Our human resources.
Our financial resources.
All these people.
All these soldiers.
All this death.

He visited Staten Island, hard hit.
He flew over Queens, NY. I wish he had walked the streets a bit in Queens, where so many minorities have been impacted.

The question I have is about money.
Will the Federal government be forthcoming with the funds necessary to rebuild New York.

Sometimes I think, yes... maybe.

Then there is this:

Mr. Cuomo (Governor of New York) had earlier announced that he would request $30 billion in federal aid for storm-related expenses, including everything from repairing bridges, tunnels and subway lines to paying emergency workers' overtime costs. The White House press secretary, Jay Carney, said aboard Air Force One on the way to New York that the administration had no specific response because it had not received details of the request.

That response gives me the same old sinking feeling I had from the days of W. and his mealy-mouthed slippery press secretaries.
What details could they possibly require?
Couldn't Carney be a wee bit more sensitive - or at least try to make people feel that help was on the way - rather than give a bureaucrateze response that infers to me - fahgettaboudit.