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12/3- Views from the Heartland: Jeb Bush, Tucker Carlson and Ana Marie Cox Chat, Campbell Brown Scolds Ed Rendell Over Remark, Auto Bailout
VIEWS FROM THE HEARTLAND:
stvcar in the Washington Post comments section re: Jeb Bush Considering Se

Heartland Contributor
Thu, 04 Dec 2008 02:07:57 +0000

VIEWS FROM THE HEARTLAND:

stvcar in the Washington Post comments section re: Jeb Bush Considering Senate Run

This is the best thing that could happen to Jeb. I was afraid he would not have another chance on the big stage after the debacle led by his brother. He is clearly the superstar of the Bush Family, as most of Florida would confirm and only the most rabid would deny. He led Florida through difficult times created by preceding governors and legislatures, without the rancor found on the national level. He really should have been the second Bush in the White House, although no president could have recovered from the 9/11 event that shaped W's administration and his commitment to the people of Florida prevented him from taking advantage of the situation made by the misfortunes of the Clinton administration. This is a good opportunity for him, but the country benefits from potentially getting a really sharp guy in the Senate.

dcgrasso:

Florida's population grows steadily more ethnic and more centrist/left-leaning. The state went for Obama by a small, but certainly definite, margin of 2.5%, no razor-thin margin. I think they're going to continue to trend Democrat, and I can't believe there will be anyone elected for quite a while to ANY office with the last name "Bush."

Tucker Carlson and Ana Marie Cox Chat at Washington Post.com

"...Northville, N.Y. : It won't get one-tenth the coverage of the exciting David Gregory story, but NBC has been effectively running pro-military hardware info-mercials for years through its use of this McCaffrey guy, and they don't see any problem with it at all. Well, why not? Wouldn't you guys like to go on something like Meet the Press with pitchmen and rapturous audiences, demonstrating the latest features of armored personnel carriers? Its the free market, right, Tucker? We don't seem to be making anything else that the world wants to buy, at least until we invent some other kind of phony financial instrument to fleece them with. News isn't selling, so let's change the product.

Ana Marie Cox: I think David Gregory will bring a measure of "Gen X" wit and irreverence to the stately franchise of MTP and in looking down the road, an increased presence for Chuck Todd -- or, as the kids call him "Chuckie T" (funny! like a rap name!)...

Wait, that wasn't the question?

I do think it'd be fun to play around in an armored personnel carrier, but I sense that your point is that MS/NBC probably should play more of a "watchdog" (i.e., "journalistic") role in selecting the men and women who comment on and contextualize (or, rather, don't contextualize!) the news. And I would agree. In general -- though maybe not with this general -- I don't have a problem with the fact that "analysts" have conflicts of interest. Unless one is hermetically sealed into a glass box, one will have conflicts of interest. But it is the responsibility of a news organization to 1) make their own judgment call about whether those conflicts rise to a level that makes the "analyst's" opinions suspect 2) let readers/viewers know what they are.

This message has been brought to you by Diet Coke.

Tucker Carlson: Let's me echo Ana: Diet Coke refreshes and enlivens in a way few other low-calorie beverages do. All the taste and none of the calories? Incredible. Take home a twelvepack today..."

CNN's Campbell Brown Scolds Ed Rendell About His Remark About Janet Napolitano

"Rendell: Janet's perfect for that job. Because for that job, you have to have no life. Janet has no family. Perfect. She can devote, literally, 19-20 hours a day to it..."

Betsy in the CNN Comments Section

"think Campbell is right about Rendell here. Does it mean he's an absolute woman-hater? No, I don't think so. It just means that it's drilled into all of us (including women) that women aren't capable of dedicating ourselves completely to a job. But you know what? It's TRUE. Women DO have more of the family responsibilities (read: family WORK) than men, even if it's easier for SOME of us to be considered for highranking jobs. But that's not our fault. That is the fault of a society that does not value this work in the way of paid family leave and other benefits (for women AND men). Let's talk about the REAL issue here. Does Rendell support such family-support measures? That would be a true measure of whether he is sexist or not, not just some random comment. I'm going to look into that - others should too. None of us should have to sacrifice either - family or a career - if we want them (maybe Napolitano didn't). Women just need more help!"

Anonymous

"I could not agree with you more. The fact that he didn't point out gender means that he it's an unconscious bias, but it is a bias nonetheless. The only way to get people to see the role of unconscious bias is to point it out to them. People do this kind of thing all the time, both men AND women. I agree with Campbell that there is no way that this would have been mentioned for any man with a role in the new administration."

The Truth

"How is this sexist? Upon being considered for a flight school slot one of the first questions I was asked by the CO was my family status. Single or married, and kids, ect... Obviously the single with no kids or girlfriend was the ideal answer. Was I the victim of sexism? I do not think so. The truth is the truth. Some positions require a comittment that is more difficult with a family. People can find offense in anything if they look hard enough I guess."

Gina D.

"I don't think this was an inappropriate comment, men and women with families have to balance work and personal life all the time! I know this for a fact; my husband and I do it. The fact that Janet Napolitano doesn't have a family means she's not going to worry about how to balance anything (as I said above: like men and women with families do). I'm sure that Gov. Rendell doesn't think that that's the only reason why she was picked as head of Homeland Security, that assumption is ridiculous and more than anything naïve. It sounds like Campbell Brown has run out of news to write about."

Consumers Don't Think Saving the Auto Industry Would Help the Economy - Meg Marco/The Consumerist

"...A majority, 61% of Americans are not in favor of bailing out the auto industry, says CNN/Opinion Research Corp. poll. Ford, Chrysler and GM have requested up to $34 billion dollars in emergency loans, but a majority of Americans polled thought that bailing out the automakers wouldn't help the economy..."

An Insider's View of the Bailout- Why Congress Should Say No - McCauley's World

"...It is an open secret in the Motor City that - even leaving aside its high labor costs, surplus of brands, and bloated dealer network - GM's manufacturing culture is inefficient compared to foreign rivals Toyota and Honda. Conversations with numerous supplier reps confirm an antiquated Detroit culture that does not thoroughly engineer products before contracting production with suppliers. As a result, production runs for Detroit automakers like GM are frequently interrupted to change specifications. Those interruptions add costs - costs that Japanese manufacturers rarely incur. The problem is so prevalent that employees for JCI - major international supplier Johnson Controls, Inc. - often joke that their acronym stands for "Just Change It" because its American clients routinely run up unnecessary costs by altering production contracts..."

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