It's important that the administration take stock of the fact that Colombia's gains are America's gains. During her presentation, the Ambassador pointed out that over the last 10 years Colombia has been on a path to eradicate drug production, which - in combination with economic and legal reforms - has led Colombia out of a "vicious cycle" of drugs, insecurity, and poverty, into a "virtuous cycle" of security, investment, and economic growth. The remarkable transformation in Colombia's security situation is largely the result of a partnership between the U.S. and Colombia. The U.S. understands the benefits to be gained from having a strong, prosperous, and secure ally in Colombia, and has thus committed resources to help consolidate Colombia's hard-won freedom from violence and its economic prosperity. One can only hope that the next administration will remain invested in the security and prosperity of the Latin American region, continuing the partnership with Colombia and extending similar commitments in the rest of the region - recognizing that any instability in the region has repercussions in the U.S., and by the same token, the gains of its neighbors are the gains of the U.S.
U.S. Sen. John McCain has made his fair share of gaffes and desperate proclamations (especially this week -- just scroll through our blog!), including the now infamous "I'm a [computer] illiterate" admission. But all forehead-slapping aside, the Washington Post (via Reuters) offers a nice article on the great power of the Internet in American society, particularly in schools.
The gist of the report is what many school age kids already know -- computers and the Internet are reducing the need for textbooks, notebooks, and even schools themselves. Charter schools seem more likely to incorporate new technologies into the classroom. Last year, Simon teamed up with our friend Alec Ross at One Economy to develop a new proposal to provide every sixth grade child a laptop computer. In A Laptop in Every Backpack, Simon and Alec argue that the future prosperity of today's children and the overall U.S. economy lies in the global communications network:
Connectivity to this network, and the ability to master it once on, has become an essential part of life in the 21st century, and a key to opportunity, success and fulfillment for the people of the world.
We believe it should be a core priority of the United States to ensure that all the world’s people have access to this global network and have the tools to use it for their own life success. There is no way any longer to imagine free societies without the freedom of commerce, expression, and community, which this global network can bring. Bringing this network to all, keeping it free and open and helping people master its use must be one of the highest priorities of those in power in the coming years.
The Post piece does leave us with something to chew on about moving away from books to computers:
"Why would we ever buy a book when we can buy a computer? Textbooks are often obsolete before they are even printed," said Debra Socia, principal of the school in Dorchester, a tough Boston district prone to crime and poor schools.
There is, however, one concession to the past: a library stocked with novels.
This reminds me of an intriguing piece, "The Lion and the Mouse," by Jill Lepore in the recent New Yorker (the one with the heartstopping "bump it" terrorist fist jab cover) about the rise of children's literature and libraries in the early 20th century. A nostalgic read that was fun to discover.
Having worked in political communications for nearly two decades, I have been trying to avoid watching U.S. Sen. John McCain and his communications team and campaign as they have reverted from grown men and women into jealous, petulant children over media coverage of U.S. Sen. Barack Obama.
But it's like driving by a car wreck -- you try not to look; you do it anyway.
McCain's campaign reached a new low yesterday, sending a pathetic "valentine" to reporters that mocked them for being biased in their coverage toward Obama.
Check the love-o-gram out here:
To be sure, some reporters may be swooning. But this is pretty rich coming from McCain, who has long enjoyed a sweetheart relationship with starstruck reporters who saw the Arizona Republican as a "maverick;" who couldn't wait to board the Staright Talk Express; who caused candidate George W. Bush to whine that the media was biased toward McCain.
The critique of the news media is particularly striking coming from McCain, R-Ariz., who has long enjoyed a cozy relationship with journalists. In 2000 and 2008, his Republican rivals accused members of the media of being too close to McCain, and McCain once jokingly referred to the political press corps as "my base."
McCain and Co. are incensed at the coverage that Obama is receiving abroad. He is meeting with heads of state, is being received as a head of state and sounds like a head of state.
According to a report from the Chicago Tribune's Mike Dorning:
Barack Obama has three months to go before voters decide whether he will become president, but on Tuesday he adopted much of the pageantry of a leader on the world stage as he completed an official visit of war zones and met up with the considerable media entourage waiting to accompany him on a tour of foreign capitals.
Obama's trip put him among ancient ruins on a hilltop, fielding questions on international issues in an outdoor news conference with the backdrop a majestic view of Jordan's capital.
He dined with King Abdullah II of Jordan at his palace and was chauffeured to his departing plane by the king, who drove Obama to the jet's stairs in his Mercedes 600...
The day's events provided the imagery of a candidate appearing poised and confident in the international arena, with no major gaffes to further a story line of inexperience.
But wait? Isn't foreign policy supposed to be McCain's strength? What's wrong with this picture? While Obama is preparing to deliver what promises to be an historic speech in Berlin tomorrow, McCain was left home alone to talk about gas prices in New Hampshire. This from the man who admitted he doesn't know much about the economy? Yes, it's true. McCain has become a one-note Johnny. The only things he talks about are offshore drilling and gas prices, backed up by ridiculous, creepy and blatantly false ads like the one Jake wrote about yesterday.
Again, McCain's campaign fell back on bizarre attempts at pathetic humor, issuing press credentials for the campaign's Wilkes-Barre visit today that read: "McCain Press Corps: JV Squad. 'Left behind to report in America.' " The credentials were complete with a picture of the Statue of Liberty, according to ABC's Bret Hovell.
And McCain is still smarting from his rejected New York Times op-ed piece. The Politico reports that a Republican member of the U.S. House of Representatives is circulating a letter among his colleagues asking them to sign on to a missive he will send to the paper asking whether it will run an ad that includes the text of the rejected op-ed. The hope is that a third-party will pay for the ad. Stay tuned.
And speaking of the New York Times, I'll wrap up with an excellent article by that paper's Alessandra Stanley. Some of the funnier snippets, in case you don't have time to read the whole piece:
On Tuesday, Mr. McCain held a town hall-style meeting in Rochester, N.H. In the shadow of the ancient Temple of Hercules in Amman, Jordan, Mr. Obama solemnly described his vision for peace in the region while standing at a lectern, the Middle East sprawling out behind him. Reporters were cordoned in front of him like the White House press corps — except that an audio snag kept their questions inaudible.
All three cable news networks carried Mr. Obama’s news conference live and in full. They showed only parts of Mr. McCain’s forum and focused mostly on his reaction to Mr. Obama’s statements. Even Fox News broke away from Mr. McCain midevent to cover the rescue of a bear cub wounded in a California fire and nicknamed Lil’ Smokey.
And more:
Touring ruins of the Citadel in Amman, Mr. Obama strode confidently with his jacket crooked over his shoulder in classic Kennedy style. He also practiced statesmanly restraint, telling reporters in Amman that he wouldn’t criticize his opponent while abroad.
Some images are so potent that Fox News, which hammers at Mr. Obama’s lack of foreign policy experience, uses its headline crawls as disclaimers: Shots of his arrival in Iraq were captioned, “Obama in Iraq: Second-Ever Trip There.”
McCain aides haven’t been nearly as creative on his behalf: their stagecraft has been notably unflattering to the candidate. While Mr. Obama was shown striding across military tarmacs and inspecting troops standing at attention, Mr. McCain on Monday was seen being driven around in a golf cart by former President George Bush in the resort town of Kennebunkport, Me. Later, the two men spoke to reporters side by side at a waterfront, and they looked more like fellow members of a Past Presidents’ Club than a party elder passing the torch to his political heir.
It has indeed been a bad press week for Old Man McCain. Even Lil' Smokey beat him out.
With rapidly rising energy costs changing the way Americans live and work and global warming threatening even greater harm to our future prosperity and well-being, it is clear that a fundamental change in America’s energy policy is needed. Bold new policies and leadership can turn these twin crises into historic opportunities.
In that spirit, NDN is pleased to announce that on Friday, August 1, Assistant U.S. Senate Majority Leader Dick Durbinwill deliver an address on the economic benefits for America in moving from carbon-based fuels to renewable energy sources. Senator Durbin’s remarks will be followed by a panel discussion on "Energy and the American Way of Life." Both events are hosted by the NDN Green Project.
During the panel discussion, energy leaders and experts will discuss how this transition can take place. NDN Green Project Director Michael Moynihan will also be discussing his new paper entitled, Solar Energy: The Case for Action.
Assistant Majority Leader Durbin will speak at 11:15 a.m. on Friday, August 1, in the Ballroom of the Phoenix Park Hotel, 520 N. Capitol St., NW, in Washington, DC. The panel will follow the senator’s remarks. Lunch will be served. Please click here to RSVP.
NDN’s Green Project is a program of the Globalization Initiative that seeks to develop a legislative, regulatory and advocacy framework to address climate change, enhance energy security, and accelerate the development of green technologies to promote economic growth. Through this initiative, NDN serves as a bridge between key stakeholders such as the new clean technology community and public leaders as we build a post-carbon economy.
For more information on this event, please contact Courtney Markey at cmarkey@ndn.org or 202-384-1214. We look forward to seeing you Friday, August 1, at 11:15 a.m.
NDN will host the next in its series of Latin American Policy Initiative forums tomorrow, Tuesday, July 22, at 9:30 a.m. The guest for tomorrow's forum is the Honorable Carolina Barco, Colombian Ambassador to the United States, who will talk about issues of importance to Colombia. A 45-minute panel will be followed by a 30-minute Q&A session.
Tomorrow's policy forum follows this weekend's mass protests against kidnappings by the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), the recent dramatic rescue of several of those hostages, and will serve as an opportunity to speak to the Ambassador prior to President Bush's remarks in honor of Colombian Independence Day, scheduled for tomorrow afternoon at the White House.
LAPI Forum with Colombian Ambassador Carolina Barco
Tuesday, July 22
9:30 a.m.-11 a.m.
Reserve Officers
Association Building
5th Floor
One Constitution Ave., NE
Washington,DC
New York City -- Yesterday's inspiring speech by Vice President Gore, once more, reminded us of how different the world would have been under a Gore Presidency compared with the last eight years. Gore challenged the United States in 10 years--recalling President Kenenedy's call to send a man to the moon in a single decade--to convert itself entirely to renewable fuels (with nuclear plants permitted to continue to operate).
How realistic is that goal? In fact it is far more realistic than his critics allow. Unlike the moonshot, however, the barriers are not technological but largely political.
Wind energy is already competitive in many part of the country with natural gas-based power--the fastest growing current source. For this reason, Texan T. Boone Pickens has been investing in wind. And there is every reason to expect, as wind power scales, that it will approach parity with coal over the next decade. Coal is the cheapest source of power, but the dirtiest and coal's price has doubled this year alone. In contrast, wind's cost profile is declining. The main barriers to wind currently are issues of grid hookup related to its variability and surprisingly, public resistance to windmills in people's backyard. In Germany thanks, in part to liberal incentives, but also to public acceptance of seeing windmills, wind currently accounts for 20% of power generation. It can easily surpass that figure in the United States. A carbon regime in the form of a cap and trade system or tax would accelerate cost convergence with coal.
Solar energy, the other major renewable, is currently far more expensive than ordinary grid power, but its price is declining rapidly--by 20-30% per year. At that rate, it will achieve grid parity in about 8 years if fossil fuel prices stay constant. But since fossil prices are increasing, solar may achieve grid parity far earlier.
Moreover, solar is strongest during hours of peak demand when utlities must pay high rates to bring on extra increments of power. Thus, solar has already achieved parity with peak retail prices--say at 2 p.m. on an August day in the midst of a heat wave--in some parts of the country. Since utilities, like the bus system, must be built for rush hour, if solar can meet beat peak prices, in theory, it could absorb a very high level of all increases in demand.
However, the truth is that cost parity when it arrives--and it will arrive--will not be enough to achieve Gore's vision. That's because energy incumbents and a host of disincentives for utilities to make the switch to renewables, stand in the way.
Utilities, under the most common method of regulated pricing, make more money selling power from old, fully depreciated plants they own than from new facilities owned by someone else--like you or me on our rooftops or T. Boone Pickens. Thus, absent policy changes, they may actually slow or block the adoption of rewables.
What is needed to break down this incumbent resistance?
First, regulators must decouple utility profits from the levels of electricity they sell as California and some states have already done. Otherwise, the only rational strategy for utilities is to try to monopolize sales themselves--and block the development of renewables.
Second, regulators must encourage net metering--the ability of consumers to sell excess power back to the grid.
Third--and this is crticial--regulators must go beyond net metering and allow what I call net billing to allow consumers to buy power directly from power producers after paying an appropriate transporation and distribution cost.
Fourth, the grid must be modernized and artifical barriers removed to grid hookup.
Finally, the existing tax credits for renewable energy, the Investment Tax Credit geared to solar and the Production Tax credit that largely benefits wind must be set for the next eight years--to drive the production scale critical to reducing costs. These tax credits are, by the way, only a fraction of those afforded to conventional fossil fuels.
Indeed the incentives granted to fossil fuels were on display yesterday in the House where Republicans blocked a move by Democrats to require oil companies to actually explore the 68 million acres of federal land currently at their disposal or else have to relinquish the lease to someone else. In addition to making federal lands available to oil and coal companies, the federal government also provides huges tax incentives, support for the construction of infrastructure and other measures that some tally at over $2 trillion per year.
If Congress and regulators can get the policy right to put renewables on an even footing with incumbent energy sources, the equivalent of a moon shot can be achieved. But it will take real leadership to break through the incumbent's entirely natural resistance.
Later this month, the NDN Green project will be releasing a paper on solar energy and we also will be holding an event on the impact of high fuel prices on the American economy and the promise of clean technologies to create a new post carbon economy that we hope will encourage more discussion of these issues.
For those heading to Netroots Nation, NDN will be conducting two panels Saturday afternoon. You can find more info here, which also includes a link to the Netroots Nation site for more information. I will be joined at one of the panels by our own Michael Moynihan, NDN's Green Project Director, and our good friend, editor of Democracy Journal, Andrei Cherny, for a panel about the future of U.S. foreign policy. I also will be presenting a brand new, up-to-date version of our compelling power point presentation, The Dawn of a New Politics, at the other session. Even if you have seen the old version, this one is new enough that it will be worth sitting through - again.
The visionary behind Netroots Nation, Gina Cooper, has put on another great show this year. NDN has stepped up its support of NN, and is now a major sponsor of the whole conference. I look forward to seeing old friends, and meeting new ones - as always happens at what has become one of the most important gatherings of left of center politics each year.
It is amazing how far the netroots has come in these last few years. I first met Markos, of Daily Kos, in the summer of 2003 when all this was just beginning, before the word "blog" appeared in our spell checkers. The expanded definition of the netroots now reaches many millions of people each week, making it easier for them to connect to politics, and allowing many more millions of people to be meaingfully involved in fighting for a better future for their country. It has brought much more vigorous debate and accountability to progressive politics, and I for one believe robust debate and discussion - and occassional fighting among friends - is a prerequisite for the success of any movement. There is so much more vitality, so much more debate, so many more voices, so many more people, so much more money and so much more passion in left of center politics today as a result of what we call the netroots.
Markos and I reflected on all this at a forum we held in San Francisco in April, which you can watch here. And you can find my foreword to "Crashing the Gate," the critically acclaimed book by Markos and Jerome Armstrong, here. It offers some thoughts on the rise of a new 21st century progressive politics.
Back in April, Rolling Stone's very insightful Tim Dickinson reported on U.S. Sen. Barack Obama's presidential campaign and its Machinery of Hope, which has fueled its astonishing orbit.
Dickinson's article was a ground-level look at the new politics of the 21st century.
What's out? The old, top-down, endorsement-driven, party-controlled campaign of yesteryear that relies almost exclusively on television advertising and sound bites on the evening news.
What's in? A bottom-up campaign that weds the grassroots and netroots; a campaign in which television is still important but less so as New Tools such as the Internet, social netwroking, mobile phones and microtargeting have become de rigeur since the Howard Dean Revolution. (For more on these New Tools, check out our New Tools series here).
In his April piece, Dickinson quote Simon about this new type of politics:
"That's the magic of what they've done," says Simon Rosenberg, president of the Democratic think tank NDN. "They've married the incredibly powerful online community they built with real on-the-ground field operations. We've never seen anything like this before in American political history."
Dickinson is back in the latest issue of Rolling Stone with a new piece on Obama, and so is Simon.
In this report, Dickinson explores Obama's Brain Trust, a fascinating glimpse into Obama's inner circle of staff and advisers. It's clear that Obama's circle understands the new politics of the 21st century. As Simon says of the campaign in the article's lead quote:
"The size and scale and sophistication of the Obama enterprise — it's like a multinational corporation compared to the mom-and-pop nonprofits of previous Democratic campaigns," says Simon Rosenberg, president of the progressive think tank NDN and a veteran of Bill Clinton's 1992 run. "And it isn't just bigger — it's a better model, it's more democratic, it taps into the power and passion of everyday people."
And there you have it -- a summary of the new 21st century politics that Obama has so successfully tapped into. Here at NDN and NPI, we call it the "virtuous cycle of participation."
In a post from earlier this year, Simon defined this new phenomenon:
A Virtuous Cycle of Participation - Finally, Obama has one very powerful advantage in these final days that is hard to see and evaluate - the power of his virtual community across the country. We saw the power of this community with the truly extraordinary amount of money it raised for him in January. But equally important in these final days will be the virtual door knocking these millions of people will be doing - emails to their address books, actions on MySpace, Facebook and other social networking sites, text messages sent to friends, viral videos linked too, and comments left on blogs, newspapers and call in radio shows. It is no exaggeration to say that this million or so impassioned Obama supporters will reach tens of millions of voters in highly personal ways in the next few days, providing a messaging and personal validation of Obama that may be equal in weight to the final round of TV ads, free media and traditional grassroots methods.
All the way back in 2003, I wrote an essay about this new era of participation in politics that argued the new Dean campaign model was changing the way we had to imagine what a Presidential campaign was all about. In the 20th century, a Presidential campaign was about 30 second spots, tarmac hits and 200 kids in a headquarters. In the 21st century, the race for the Presidency would be about ten million people going to work each day, wired into the campaign through the campaign's site, through email, sms, social networking sites etc acting as full partners in the fight not just passive couch potatoes to be persuaded.
This is a very different model of politics. One begun by Dean but being taken to a whole other level by Obama. It puts people and their passion for a better nation at the core of politics. When used correctly, it creates a virtuous cycle of participation, where more and more people engage, take an action and bring others in, creating a self-perpetuating and dynamic network of support. It is also why the endorsements of entities with large, active virtual communities - Kerry.org, MoveOn - is so meaningful for Obama. He has created an on-line ecosystem that can quickly take advantage of the support of the millions of people now doing politics in this new 21st century way and exponentially grow his dynamic community of change.
The Democratic Party is one entire Presidential cycle ahead of the Republicans in adopting this new model, and I will argue it is simply not possible for the Republican nominee to catch up this year. Too much experimentation, too much trial and error goes into inventing this new model for it to be easily and quickly adapted. It has to be invented, not adapted. I'm sure the GOP will catch up over time, but this year year the only GOP candidate who has taken this new model seriously has been Ron Paul - and they have paid the price. Obama raised almost as much money in January of this year as John McCain raised in all of 2007. Democrats are raising much more money across the board, seeing historic levels of voter turnout, increased Party registrations and millions more working along side with the campaigns - all of which is creating an extraordinary virtuous cycle of participation that continues to grow the number getting engaged in politics as never before. While there can be little doubt that anger towards Bush and disapointment with his government is a driving force behind this, the key takeaway is that the adoption of this new politics by Democrats allowed the Party to take advantage of this tidal wave in unprecedented ways, and will be one of the Democratic Party's most significant advantages going into the fall elections.
Much attention has been given to the money raised by this Obama network. Much more needs to be given to the power of it to deliver message, provide personal validation to friends, neighbors, colleagues and peers in ways so powerful, and ways never seen before in American history. I have no doubt that it has been the campaign's ability to foster and channel the passion of his supporters - creating a vrituous cycle of particpation - into an unprecedented national network - helping amplify and reinforce the power of Obama's argument - that is playing a critical role in Obama's closing the gap with Clinton in these final exciting and dramatic days before Super Tuesday.
Obama's camapign continues to grow -- through the Internet, through Facebook, through more and more people becoming involved in the campaign in ways they had never imagined. This election cycle may end on November 4, but the virtuous cycle of participation is here to stay.
From his bumbling press conference yesterday came this revealing statement from President Bush (as reported by the New York Times):
"The bottom line is this: We're going through a tough time," Mr. Bush said. "But our economy's continued growing, consumers are spending, businesses are investing, exports continue increasing and American productivity remains strong."
What's missing from this description of the economy today? The prosperity of the American people themselves.
What Bush could not say was that wages are improving, incomes are up, the struggle of average people is getting better. And of course for voters, this is all that really matters.
The national Republican Party's ideological blindness to the worsening conditions of average people these last few years is the primary cause of its collapse as a national Party, and is the issue driving this election. Performances like the one from the President yesterday, and the utter cluelessness of his statements, just reinforce American's fears that there is nobody in DC interested or capable of looking out for them.
Nero. Hoover. Chauncey Gardner. Mr. Magoo. Marie-Antoinette. Howdy-Doody. Take your pick. Leader? President? American patriot? No f-ing way. The President of the United States has become an out-of-touch joke, and in a Parlimentary system would have been tossed from office a long time ago. In these trying times, his profound weakness is going to be felt deeply by the American people, and make finding a path forward that much more difficult.
Or perhaps he will just be known in history simply as Bush, with that name and his visage taking its place next to these other clueless characters, fictional and historic.
Update: Of course that the economy is driving the disatisfaction of the voters is not new. We released this analysis right after the last elections which makes the case that it was the economy much more than the Iraq War that drove the GOP from office in 2006.
San Diego, CA - "The cosmic race," that is how Barack Obama referred to the Hispanic audience to whom he emphatically said, "Make no mistake about it: the Latino community holds this election in your hands," at NCLR's annual conference. Yes, the Hispanic vote is a varied one, and a crucial one, and the comments I hear from the audience denote that - for the first time - they know it. Folks here are excited and increasingly comfortable with having demands and expectations of candidates on the issues they care about because they know that their vote is more central to American politics than ever before. As Andres noted in his interview with Maria Peña of EFE yesterday, whoever wins over Hispanics is assured to win the White House.
The use of the cosmic race denotes that Sen. Obama understands that the Hispanic community is one with a rich tapestry of cultures, colors, and beliefs. Immigration is still by far the issue at the forefront on the minds of the attendees at this conference,mostly because of the impact of the ongoing immigration raids in the Hispanic community. Yesterday I also heard many praise Sen. Obama for addressing a wider array of issues in more detail, in addition to immigration. The challenge is on - it has been expected that given his current unpopular stance among Hispanics on immigration, Sen. McCain would focus rather on discussing economic and other issues of importance to this community during his address to NCLR. Well, Sen. Obama seized the opportunity yesterday to beat him to the punch and introduce a proposed tax credit for small businesses providing health insurance to their employees, to discuss his plans for the economy, education, health care, veterans, and received thunderous applause as he attacked the impact of immigration raids on families, and he once again called out John McCain for having "abandoned his courageous stance" on immigration.
It will be a hard act for Sen. McCain to follow, no doubt. Sen. McCain has also recognized the differences within the Hispanic vote, and is working to appeal to more conservative Hispanics. Both candidates are still refining their approach - as reported by the Associated Press yesterday, "like awkward suitors," both candidates have at times fumbled their approach to Hispanics by addressing members of the community too directly and rationally, with a "take me to your leaders" kind of tactic. But Hispanics like to develop closer, more personal relationships. Sen. Obama opened his speech by individually naming and recognizing several grassroots and immigrant rights activist in the audience, like Enrique Morones of Border Angels, and throughout his speech appealed to the heart and "character of this community," making the audience feel that he appreciates their values, and that those values are American values. Sen. McCain is recognized and respected by the community, but to win these voters over he will have to: 1) take advantage of this golden opportunity to show courage on immigration and move away from his party on this, 2) show that he does not look at Hispanics as votes, or even worse, as a voting block to be convinced, he must show that our struggles are his struggles, that he also knows the community's "big heart" and that he genuinely cares about fighting alongside and as part of the Hispanic community. "Familia" is a big foundation of the "raza cosmica", and he has to make this community feel his desire to be part of the family first.
