. . . because much of the content relates both to Washington, D.C., and "outside the beltway" -- the heartland, specifically Iowa -- and because after going from Iowa to Washington via Texas and California I subsequently returned, From DC 2 Iowa.
Showing posts with label Senator Ted Kennedy. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Senator Ted Kennedy. Show all posts
Senator Edward Moore "Ted" Kennedy February 22, 1932 – August 25, 2009 (brought to you by FromDC2Iowa.blogspot.com*)
I have just heard the Kennedy family's announcement that Senator Kennedy died late last night, August 25, 2009.
If you are too young to know the details of his life, they will probably be brought to you at some time during the next week or so. There is no need for me to repeat them here. But I would like to add my own personal comment.
For his tragic death is, for me, a personal as well as a national, political and public policy loss.
It's not like we lived next door to each other, or lunched every day. But our lives did intersect in a variety of ways over the years.
We both came to Washington in 1963. He as a newly-elected U.S. Senator, just barely old enough to meet the Constitutional standard, on the crest of a dramatic campaign victory in a race the pundits swore he would lose. I as a new associate at Covington & Burling, following a Supreme Court clerkship with Justice Hugo Black and a professorship at the University of California Law School (Boalt Hall).
By 1964 I held my first presidential appointment from President Lyndon Johnson, as U.S. Maritime Administrator -- a position to which Ted's father, Joseph P. Kennedy, was appointed by President Franklin Roosevelt as the first in that position.
Because of my father's friendship with Carroll Rosenbloom, owner of the Baltimore Colts and a very close family friend of Joseph Kennedy, Dad was brought in after Kennedy's stroke to help with his speech.
Carroll gave my wife and me a standing invitation to the owner's box whenever the Colts were playing in Baltimore (as well as occasionally flying Dad to games elsewhere), and I would sometimes run into Ted there.
On one occasion my wife and I were driving to Florida for a brief vacation. Dad knew that I was going in part to recover from a bout of pneumonia, was concerned about how I was doing, but in that pre-cell-phone age didn't know how to contact me. For some reason he called Carroll, thinking we might have told him our destination, and found him, with Attorney General Bobby Kennedy, at the Kennedy Palm Beach home Joseph Kennedy had bought in 1933. "No," Carroll said, he didn't know where we were, but he'd ask Bobby if there was anything he could do. The story told me -- as unbelievable as it sounds -- was that the Attorney General then put the FBI (apparently not overworked that day) on the task of contacting the motels at which we might have been staying. Since we hadn't yet arrived and checked in anywhere, we eluded the FBI as well. But I always appreciated this effort by Bobby, who also put me in one of his speeches on one occasion.
In 1967 Ted Kennedy and I were among the "Ten Outstanding Young Americans" selected by the Jaycees for that distinction and shared the related events in Minneapolis with our wives and Vice President Hubert Humphrey.
One of the reasons I chose the Unitarian church as a child was because, after visiting almost all the churches in Iowa City, I discovered that it was the only one that encouraged one's exposure to a variety of religions. Some, on the other hand, would treat such behavior as grounds for excommunication. In the 1970s I was exploring the Catholic church, and found myself at Washington's Holy Trinity, staffed by Jesuits from Georgetown University -- most especially the charismatic Father Jim English. Well into that Catholic immersion I discovered it was also Senator Kennedy's church.
Because I also knew members of his staff and their families other stories have come to me which will simply stay with me.
We continued to run into each other at various events as one does in Washington, and occasionally talked about media issues that challenged his political aspirations. After returning to Iowa in 1980 most of my contact, aside from correspondence, was when he was in the state campaigning.
So, although we were scarcely next door neighbors or poker-playing buddies, it was a personal relationship of sorts. As a result of which his death is a poignant personal matter for me, as well as an enormous political and public policy loss for America, and I hope you will forgive me for sharing these memories in this way this morning. ____________
* Why do I put this blog ID at the top of the entry, when you know full well what blog you're reading? Because there are a number of Internet sites that, for whatever reason, simply take the blog entries of others and reproduce them as their own without crediting the source. I don't mind the flattering attention, but would appreciate acknowledgment as the source, even if I have to embed it myself. -- Nicholas Johnson
Well, Senator Ted Kennedy and Michelle Obama clearly stole the show last evening.
There was a pre-convention question as to whether Kennedy's condition would prevent his even attending the convention or, if he made it to Denver whether he would be able to muster more than a wave to the delegates. Well, he did more, much more, and his speech -- that he would even give one, not to mention its content -- was a moving experience not only for those in attendance but for all who've known and worked with him over the years and were among the 50 million watching on television. Adam Nagourney, "Kennedy Adds Spark; Obama's Wife Praises Values,"New York Times, August 26, 2008 ("a triumphant appearance that evoked 50 years of party history").
In my new book, Are We There Yet? Reflections on Politics in America, I say of Michelle Obama, "now that's one woman I really do want in the White House." My suspicion is that she's probably brighter (i.e., in intelligence, knowledge, analytical ability) than her husband -- and is at a minimum his equal. And she can clearly be more straight forward and courageous than he -- which is a reason I suspect why we've heard less from her during the past few weeks. Although I first visited with Senator Obama during his trip to Iowa City on April 12, 2007, his wife was not with him at the time. She first came crashing through to my consciousness when watching her performance at UCLA, February 3, 2008. What I then blogged was that "I found [her speech] one of the most impressive and moving campaign speeches about a candidate I've ever heard . . .." Nicholas Johnson, "I'm Voting for Michelle" in "Obama: Inspiring AND Polls Say Strongest Candidate," February 4, 2008. In any event, she fully carried on in the same tradition last evening at the Convention -- that is, to extent that anyone could while at what the Times described as being "the center of a multimedia charm offensive that may be the most closely managed spousal rollout in presidential campaign history." Which see, for what is perhaps a more balanced journalistic assessment of her speech, role and evolution in the campaign. Jodi Kantor, "Michelle Obama, Reluctant No More,"New York Times, August 25, 2008 (with a link to a video of her speech).
And Speaking of Speaking . . .
. . . one of the many wonderful things about the Web/Internet is the serendipitous experience of coming upon a new site that causes you to say, "Wow."
TED stands for Technology, Entertainment, Design. It started out (in 1984) as a conference bringing together people from those three worlds. Since then its scope has become ever broader.
The annual conference now brings together the world's most fascinating thinkers and doers, who are challenged to give the talk of their lives (in 18 minutes).
This site makes the best talks and performances from TED available to the public, for free. More than 200 talks from our archive are now available, with more added each week. These videos are released under a Creative Commons license, so they can be freely shared and reposted.
To give you some notion of the economic value of this gift, while "membership" in TED is free, attendance at the annual Long Beach conferences, near as I can figure out, runs about $6000 per attendee.
To give you an idea of the nearly 300 talks available to you for free, here is one I clicked on from the generalpaper site this morning, Barry Schwartz, “The Paradox of Choice,” TED, July 2005.Obviously, I can't speak for any of the others (except for Malcolm Gladwell's "What We Can Learn from Spaghetti Sauce," February 2004, which was the other one that I linked to from generalpaper). While Schwartz' thesis is in no sense identical, it is certainly consistent with the "IFD disease" described in "Chapter I: Verbal Cocoons" of Wendell Johnson's People in Quandaries (Harper, 1946).
You either like this kind of thing or you don't. I do. You may not. Anyhow, I found it reminiscent of what we do with the International Leadership Forum, also out of southern California, in LaJolla, with which I've been associated since the mid-1980s, and decided to bookmark TED.
The Reality of "Economic Development"
For those who share this blogger's interest (some would say "obsession") with "what works" and what doesn't with economic development in general, and tourist attractions in particular, and the propriety and efficacy of governments putting taxpayer money on the bottom line of for-profit corporations, The Gazette's editorial this morning, Editorial, "Exploring the Hotel Options,"The Gazette, August 26, 2008, p. A4, is well worth a read both for its factual content and its opinion/suggestions. Prompted by Cedar Rapids' troubles with the Crowne Plaza Five Seasons Hotel and its franchise agreement with the City, it not only describes that intricate relationship, but the way that Coralville and Dubuque have also put their cities' governments (and their taxpayers' money) sort of half-way into the hotel business.
Yesterday, Jeff Brady's "Morning Edition" piece reinforced another assertion of mine in this department: that local promoters, enthusiasts, cheerleaders and their consultants often exaggerate the profits to be made from an attraction or event (e.g. the Democratic National Convention in Denver right now, an Olympics or Superbowl venue) by as much as ten times. That turns out to be precisely the multiplier Brady's "experts" chose to describe this phenomenon. Jeff Brady, "The Business Outside The Denver Convention," Morning Edition/NPR, August 25, 2008, 3 min. 38 sec. ("Organizers of the Democratic National Convention in Denver say it will pump as much as $160 million into the local economy. Experts say the total will be more like $16 million. Businesses in the Mile High City are optimistic, though some are slashing prices to make sure the convention isn't a bust for them." That's the text on the Web page; transcripts of the entire piece are available for a fee; the audio is available for free. The interviewed expert points out that the predictions often (1) fail to distinguish between gross revenue and profit, and (2) ignore the fact that much-to-all of both end up being shipped out of town to the corporate headquarters of, say, the hotel chains that are operating the local hotels at inflated room rates and full occupancy.)
March 14, 2008, 8:45 p.m., 9:40 p.m.; March 21, 2008, 7:30 a.m.
[Add-item, March 21: An update today on this topic is both balanced and consistent with what I reported earlier. Peter Baker and Karen DeYoung, "Clinton's Experience Is Debated; While Not a Foreign Crisis Player, She Carried U.S. Message,"Washington Post, March 21, 2008, p. A6 ("While Clinton's advertisements have boasted that she is best prepared for a 3 a.m. crisis phone call, the schedules contain no evidence that Clinton was at the table during major national security decisions. They do not list her as attending National Security Council meetings or joining briefings in the Situation Room. She did not have a national security clearance. And the documents make clear that at moments of major crisis, Clinton was often busy with her own agenda.")]
Senator Clinton's Claims of Credit for Children's Health Care Challenged
I have written earlier of Hillary Clinton's "lack of qualifications" generally, notwithstanding her very general and unsupported assertions of "35 years of experience" and "you know my record." [Nicholas Johnson, "Hillary's Lack of Qualifications," March 8-12, 2008.] Now it turns out that some of the "experience" she specifically claims may be at best wildly exaggerated, and at worst just flat wrong.
The Boston Globe reports today [March 14] that those who were responsible for SCHIP (children's health care) are irritated by, and factually refuting, Senator Hillary Clinton's campaigning on, and repeatedly taking credit for, the program the White House actually opposed while she was living there. Susan Milligan, "Clinton Role in Health Program Disputed,"The Boston Globe, March 14, 2008. (Candidate Clinton's Web site says that, as First Lady, "She was instrumental in designing and championing" the program.)
Rather than summarize or comment about the Globe's story, I'll just provide some brief excerpts and let them speak for themselves.
This is apparently something of a pattern for Senator Hillary Clinton. Following the Globe story are some excerpts from Time magazine's take on two additional examples of her exaggerating her "accomplishments" in Ireland and Kosovo.
# # #
Clinton Role in Health Program Disputed
By Susan Milligan
The Boston Globe
March 14, 2008
WASHINGTON - Hillary Clinton, who has frequently described herself on the campaign trail as playing a pivotal role in forging a children's health insurance plan, had little to do with crafting the landmark legislation or ushering it through Congress, according to several lawmakers, staffers, and healthcare advocates involved in the issue.
In campaign speeches, Clinton describes the State Children's Health Insurance Program, or SCHIP, as an initiative "I helped to start." Addressing Iowa voters in November, Clinton said, "in 1997, I joined forces with members of Congress and we passed the State Children's Health Insurance Program." Clinton regularly cites the number of children in each state who are covered by the program, and mothers of sick children have appeared at Clinton campaign rallies to thank her.
But the Clinton White House, while supportive of the idea of expanding children's health, fought the first SCHIP effort, spearheaded by Senators Edward M. Kennedy, Democrat of Massachusetts, and Orrin G. Hatch, Republican of Utah . . .. And several current and former lawmakers and staff said Hillary Clinton had no role in helping to write the congressional legislation, which grew out of a similar program approved in Massachusetts in 1996.
"The White House wasn't for it. We really roughed them up" in trying to get it approved over the Clinton administration's objections, Hatch said in an interview. "She may have done some advocacy [privately] over at the White House, but I'm not aware of it."
. . . "We all care about children. But does she deserve credit for SCHIP? No . . .."
. . . Hatch, a longtime Kennedy friend, said he didn't want to criticize Clinton, but felt that the record should be set straight about how the SCHIP program was developed. . . .
[P]rivately, some lawmakers and staff members are fuming over what they see as Clinton's exaggeration of her role in developing SCHIP, including her campaign ads claiming she "helped create" the program. The irritation has grown since Nov. 1, when Clinton . . . missed a Senate vote to extend the SCHIP program . . ..
Kennedy said he patterned the SCHIP plan on a similar program Massachusetts had approved in 1996. Kennedy's account was backed up by two Bay State healthcare advocates who met with Kennedy in Boston to discuss the possibility of taking the idea nationwide: Dr. Barry Zuckerman, director of pediatrics at Boston Medical Center, and John McDonough, then a Democratic state legislator and now the executive director of Health Care for All, a healthcare advocacy group.
. . . McDonough, a Democrat who has not endorsed a presidential candidate, also said it was Kennedy who developed the SCHIP idea after that meeting. "I don't recall any signs of Mrs. Clinton's engagement," McDonough said. "[I]t . . . is demonstrably not the case" that she was driving the effort, he said.
After meeting Zuckerman and McDonough, Kennedy sought out Hatch, and the two worked on the bill together, offering it as an amendment to a budget resolution. But President Clinton - much to the surprise and anger of Kennedy - lobbied Democratic lawmakers to oppose the Hatch-Kennedy amendment, the lawmakers and staff members said.
"It was a bipartisan bill. I don't remember the role of the White House," said Representative Henry Waxman, a California Democrat who has not endorsed a candidate in the presidential race and who was the chief Democrat on the Energy and Commerce Committee, which deals with health matters. "It did not originate at the White House."
In her race to win the democratic nomination against a first-term Senator from Illinois, Hillary Clinton has put the criterion of experience front and center. She often references what she says is 35 years of work that qualifies her to run the country. And the most important achievements Clinton cites are the ones she claims from her years as First Lady . . ..
Northern Ireland
WHAT SHE SAYS:
On the campaign trail, Clinton has claimed she "helped to bring peace to Northern Ireland" in the 1990s.
. . . Her involvement was more about generating public and private support for peace talks in the months leading up to that agreement.
It's a key distinction. . . .
[S]everal diplomatic sources who worked on the peace talks say that the women's groups were not nearly as pivotal to the process as Hillary's backers maintain. And Lord Trimble of Lisnagarvey, former First Minister of Northern Ireland, told Britain's Daily Telegraph that Clinton was not involved in the process and her claims to have played a direct role were "a wee bit silly."
. . .Jean Kennedy Smith, former ambassador to Ireland, referring to a women's organization in the country [said], "But as far as anything political went, there was nothing as far as I know, nothing to do with negotiations" [noting that] the process was well under way by the time Clinton got involved.
THE BOTTOM LINE: Clinton played a role in hearing the concerns of Irish women left out of the peace process, . . .. But that does not mean she rolled up her sleeves and conducted or led the talks that resulted in the 1998 Good Friday Agreement.
Macedonia Refugees
WHAT SHE SAYS:
"I negotiated open borders to let fleeing refugees into safety from Kosovo," Clinton has asserted when asked to identify an example of her foreign policy experience.
. . . When Clinton arrived in the middle of the situation in that May, diplomats on the ground expected an ineffectual high-profile visit. But . . . Clinton visited refugees in camps on the border and held talks with the Macedonian leadership.
When the Prime Minister complained about American companies terminating textile contracts with local firms, Clinton promised to urge the businesses to change course. . . .
THE BOTTOM LINE: In the case of Macedonia, Clinton engaged in personal diplomacy that brought about change. But securing the return of American business partners is not the same as the opening of borders to thousands of refugees. That accomplishment was a result of broader U.S. and European efforts during the war.
