Needlenose

“Because you’ve been such a good sport, I’m going to let you stand behind the sign for a few minutes…”

Could you imagine King George the Compassionate Conservative doing this?

(John McCain and Barack Obama today in Chicago, via the Associated Press.)

Yesterday, Former Clinton Secretary of Labor Robert Reich wrote a piece for TPM Cafe titled The Mini Depression and the Maximum-Strength Remedy in which he argued that the only way out of the current mini-depression is a bold government infrastructure program:

So the crucial questions become (1) how much will the government have to spend to get the economy back on track? and (2) what sort of spending will have the biggest impact on jobs and incomes?

The answer to the first question is “a lot.” Given the magnitude of the mess and the amount of underutilized capacity in the economy– people who are or will soon be unemployed, those who are underemployed, factories shuttered, offices empty, trucks and containers idled — government may have to spend $600 or $700 billion next year to reverse the downward cycle we’re in.

The answer to the second question is mostly “infrastructure” — repairing roads and bridges, levees and ports; investing in light rail, electrical grids, new sources of energy, more energy conservation.

…

Government spending that puts people back to work and invests in the future productivity of the nation is exactly what the economy needs right now.

The post triggered a round of thoughtful, meaty commentary from readers (one of the things that makes TPM Cafe a good hangout).

Here were my comments, reposted here so I can check back in four years and see if any of it came true:

We are clearly in an emergency. Where we go with it is largely up to those in charge and whether they have the vision to look ahead 30-40 years and act now. — fubar.

Shame somebody hasn’t put together a ‘fantasy U.S. Cabinet’ game.  I’d really like to see:

Secretary of Defense: Wesley Clark

Secretary of Interior: Bill Richardson

Secretary of Health & Human Services: Howard Dean

Lots of other positions, including Treasury, Attorney General (Damn you, Spitzer!), Agriculture, Commerce, Labor, HUD, Transportation, Energy, Education, Veteran’s Affairs.

I’d just abolish the misbegotten “Homeland Security.”  Or at least give it a non-Nazi name, like “National Security” or something.  Nah, better just get rid of all those fuckers and any money we are wasting there.

What do all of youse think?

Shrubya is promising full cooperation for a smooth transition for Obama’s team.  I bet that means he and his staff are busy removing all the “Ws” from White House keyboards.  Say…all he really needs to do is just remove one “Dubya” and the nation will be happier.  Why do we need to wait until January?  He could just give 2 weeks notice and Obama could start as early as the 3rd week of November!  Now that would be something to be truly thankful for this Thanksgiving!

The percentages aren’t final yet, but it looks like it’s a six-point spread with Obama beating McCain 52% to 46%. In terms of delegate count the current count stands at 349-163. If current trends hold, MO’s 11 delegates will go to McCain and NC’s 15 will go to Obama, for a total of 364-174 (for the record, on the DailyKos vote prediction contest, I pulled out of my ass predicted 365-173 — so suck on that Nostradamus!)

In the next few days, the talk will inevitably go to the nebulous concept of mandate. The Republicans, naturally, will be grasping at anything that can bring that into question (never mind the fact that Bush claimed one after beating Kerry by a mere 51%-48%). Since it’s hard to argue with the reality of population and delegate counts, we are certain to hear arbitrary metrics like the proportion of red vs. blue states (there are unconfirmed reports that Tom Brokaw was taking that one out for a spin this morning). This might have probably held more water four years ago:

But even that’s turned weak this time around:

Nevertheless, you can bet that the total land-mass argument will be trotted out, to which we submit this counterpoint: