Prairie Weather

Put that on Bush's tab

The deaths in Palestine?  You can add them to Bush's account.  A fascinating piece at Washington Note leads to a review of Taba, the negotiations taking place in the Sinai Peninsula just as Clinton was stepping down.  We are reminded that an effective agreement between Palestine and Israel was in progress just as George W. Bush came into office.  Bush didn't pick up the ball.

The breakdown is often attributed to the political circumstances posed by Israeli elections and changeover in leadership in the United States: They had run out of political time. They couldn't conclude an agreement with Clinton now out of office and Barak standing for reelection in two weeks. "We made progress, substantial progress. We are closer than ever to the possibility of striking a final deal," said Shlomo Ben-Ami, Israel's negotiator. Saeb Erekat, Palestinian chief negotiator, said, "My heart aches because I know we were so close. We need six more weeks to conclude the drafting of the agreement."

Evidence to support this view is provided by David Matz in the Palestine - Israel Journal of Politics, Economics and Culture concerning a joint statement. He notes that, "The Taba negotiation began on Sunday evening, January 21, and ended on Saturday afternoon, January 27 [2001]. At the closing press conference, the parties issued this joint statement: 'The sides declare that they have never been closer to reaching an agreement and it is thus our shared belief that the remaining gaps could be bridged with the resumption of negotiations following the Israeli election'."

Absent any focus from the Bush administration,  Ehud Barak tossed the ball into the trash.

Same new year as last year

I resist the feeling that I've been taken, but it's inescapable by now.  TPMMuckraker lays out just how our bailout money has been spent.  Worst fears borne out.  A sampling:

"... Two former Wall Street honchos appear to be living the high-life after seeing taxpayers step in to rescue their troubled firms.

"The New York Post reports today that Peter Kraus, a former top executive with Merrill Lynch, just bought a $37 million Park Avenue apartment -- 'featuring 11-foot-high ceilings, three fireplaces, three maid's rooms, a library, a gallery and a family room/gym.' In September, Kraus got a $25 million golden parachute from Merrill when it was sold to Bank of America, even though he had only started work there that month. B of A received $25 billion in taxpayer money as part of the bailout.

"And back in March, Jimmy Cayne, the ousted CEO of Bear Stearns, bought two adjacent apartments at the Plaza, perhaps New York's swankiest locale, worth $28.24 million."

Do we believe -- naively -- that a fresh new year and a bran' new president will pull us out of this mess?  Believe?  No.  Hope?  Yes.

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More on the bailout here (brace yourself!).  The article itself is good, but the "webletter" reacting to it is particularly interesting -- recommended.

Roland Burris! Who?

"Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich's reported choice to fill the U.S. Senate seat vacated by President-elect Barack Obama is Democratic former state Attorney General Roland Burris."

So Blagojevich is going ahead, unimpeached and unbowed.  He seems to have made his choice.  The Reuters report continues:

"Burris, 71, was the first African-American elected to statewide office in Illinois in 1978 when he won the job as state comptroller, and was the state's attorney general from 1991 to 1995.

"In 1984, he lost the U.S. Senate Democratic primary to Paul Simon, and was defeated a decade later in a run for governor. He also made an unsuccessful bid to be mayor of Chicago.

"He is an attorney in private practice in Chicago."

The Senate would be asking for trouble if it tries to block this.  "In 1969, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the House of Representatives could not bar a member from serving, but could expel the member with a two-thirds majority vote."  So Burris could go to court if his appointment is blocked.

Meanwhile, Roland Burris is not exactly Mr. Clean. 

A question for you

Can you think of any new American president coming into office who has been left burdens and messes as large as Bush has left for Obama?

Another view of Obama

Harvard Law professor, Laurence Tribe, took a young Barack Obama on as his principle researcher almost twenty years ago when Obama was still in his first year at law school.  Not only was Tribe blown away by Obama's abilities (and attitudes) but he found that often he and the future president were on the same length about interpretations of the Constitution -- and the "invisible" or unwritten aspects of constitutional law.  Listen here to an interview with Tribe in which he describes some of his work with Obama.  The view he gives  of Obama's capabilities -- and our constitution and its interpretation -- is enormously reassuring.  Recommended.

Insurers v. the government: insurance companies are worried

"... [A public option ...a government health insurance program akin to Medicare which would be open to anyone...] would be one option among many for individuals and businesses, and would leave the private insurance system in place (you can read more on the benefits of the public option here). But it does crack the door open for expanding the number of Americans who get their health insurance through the government. And this is what terrifies the insurance companies and conservatives. Their fear is that it will actually work. If the program operates well, more and more people will make the rational decision to choose it over private insurance (what we're supposed to do in a market, after all) and the insurance companies will lose customers."  [emphasis added]

In short, the insurance companies are convinced they're about to lose one of their most profitable businesses:  overcharging you and me and the federal government for healthcare.

For more on prospects for healthcare reform, see this lucid piece by Paul Waldman.