It looks as if Defiant's server migration is complete and successful. I'm the company's Webmaster (my good friend Jim is my WebBitch), so I still have a lot to go as far as redesigning it -- a new server deserves a new design, right?

Anyway, because of the sever migration, I totally wanted to post these two items yesterday but was unable to.

First, that theory of mine that the Bush Administration wants to turn NASA into a branch of the military? I guess it wasn't a theory after all.

Secondly, yesterday, because I couldn't blog, I shared with some friends over e-mail something that Eric Alterman wrote about how the Democrats can win in November. Here's my original e-mail:

The quote below is from Eric Alterman's blog, the author of WHAT LIBERAL MEDIA? and a contributor to THE NATION. It makes a ton of sense, and has even made me question my candidate loyalty a smidgen. A smidgen of a smidgen. I'm not taking the button off my bag, we'll
put it that way.

And doesn't the last paragraph remind you of a joke? "Two blacks, a jew, and a ferret walk into a bar..."

If you'd like to read the whole article (and I encourage you to do so), it can be found at:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3937747/#040115

-Arlo ;->

I believe that from the very day of Clark's announcement I said the Democrats' best chance was a Clark/Dean ticket in that order. General Wesley "I don't think it's patriotic to dress up in a flight suit and prance around" Clark as a candidate drives a power drill into all of Bush's advantages, save money. His early waffling on the war, while I don't like it, may actually help him in the general election. I admire a lot about Dean, but he seems to me too dangerous to trust with the nomination in this moment of maximum national peril. He has earned a place on the ticket and his people have earned a place in the room. In the coming decade or so, they may form the backbone of the Democratic party-which I think helps explain Al Gore's endorsement and quite a few others.

. . .

I say Clark, Edwards or Gephardt, in that order, and Dean. I'd add Kerry but only if he won New Hampshire outright, which I think impossible. If Dean wins the nomination, he should pick Edwards and immediately announce a shadow cabinet, so everybody on it could run against Bush, and make Clark his secretary of Defense and Anthony Zinni his Secretary of State. Or the other way around. I don't care. But he had better do something to shut up reporters who prattle on about the "national security" gap, even though they are dead wrong.

And I think Lieberman, Sharpton, and Kucinich should join Braun in a bar somewhere for the next nine months and quit strengthening Bush by diminishing the likely nominee with their silly ego trips.

The first to respond was my friend David (I call him D.J.) who makes some very good points:

Amen. Arlo knows I am loving this...

I like Dean, but let's get practical. We want to win. Yes? It's a fucking shame that his Democratic peers are turning Dean into swiss cheese with their collective negative rhetoric. The basic problem, however, is that you cannot combat Bush's "Evildoer" scare tactics with grass roots leftism. Dean does not pack the recipe to unseat Bush. Not without an event of such reckoning to rival Watergate... and (as Bush will tell ya) the O'Neil book ain't a'gonna deliver such revelations.

Clark is the candidate that any Democrat can feel fine with. What's more important, though, is that each and every Republican that has a scruple with our Imperial foreign policy will also gravitate to the guy. And luring Republican and Independent votes is the key to winning. Remember what we are up against. Bush thinks, in order to win re-election, he only needs to score 500,000 votes LESS than the other guy.

You don't like the war in Iraq? You steamed that your kid joined The Guard for college cash, and had his weekend warrior status re-negotiated to include payback deposited in a body-bag outside of Basra? You scared that our general population will be reviled for decades like German households who were too confused to oppose Hitler?

All these questions can be answered by the NATO General who deposed a Balkan tyrant with a real International coalition, resulting in the loss of no soldiers and only one Chinese Embassy. I think the fact that the Pentagon forced him to resign is exactly the reason why he should have the big chair. America needs to relearn the value of participation in the global community. We need to relearn this quickly, and over a path paved with lots of apologies.

And I would love to have Dean as V.P... and even President some day down the road. Make no mistake. I will vote for whomever runs against Bush (except Nader). I just hope everyone else will too.

And Sean piped in, as well:

I wonder if Dean would allow himself to be second fiddle like that. Dean is volatile, and it is that volatile nature which is both his blessing and his bane. Clark has a larger base with the Clintonites and moderate Republicans and could sway a significant number of votes our way. I'd prefer Clark on Iraq rather than Dean on Iraq if for no other reason Clark knows how to get the job done now, no learning curve for him.

For me Arlo, it comes down to this. We are in peril. Bush made another comment about letting Jesus influence politics. That scares me silly. Dean is an admirable man, but I don't know if he can pull it out. Goal #1 is to get rid of Bush. That is my only concern because he is damaging sooooo many things. I think a Clark/Dean ticket is wise if only to get rid of Bush. I don't know. If we get stuck with another 4 years....and I thought Reagan was bad!

Also good points. Then my girlfriend Jen made an excellent point, something we often overlook in presidential election years:

I support Clark...i think...I still want Joe Biden. Oh, baby do I want him.

I do hope that people remember that we are more then likely going to lose four seats in the Senate (Check out the Southern four vacancies.) The presidency is always very important but a president like George W with a very compliant large majority senate is really scary.

Please note I did not complain about Dean although I have not really taken to him -- I am speaking about who will resonate with the American electorate. There I feel Clark has a real edge.

Politics is local, as is the mantra. So Jen is absolutely right -- we have to remember congressional seats, as well. Though there's four seats we may lose in south, here in Illinois, we have a Senate seat being vacated by Republican Peter Fitzgerald, an important race that I've neglected and promise to have an opinion on soon. Hopefully a Democrat can fill that seat, and with Illinois' first Democratic governor in decades showing high approval ratings, it's very likely.

But I must give the last word to co-blogger Kelly, who I am sure will soon upstage me on this here blog one day with his big brain:

I think Alterman's point is a touch off target (see the articles I referenced below). An important consideration is how Bush will run his campaign. We haven't really heard an awful lot about that. I predict that he is going to have it pretty rough; the country is divided and his political base is already pressuring him to move (if you can imagine) further to the right. That would be disastrous for him. On the other hand, his base is all he has in this polarized climate. I agree
strongly with the points made in the NYT & Newsday (ibid below) that Dean has both the vitriol and centrist credentials which Clark lacks (a fiscal record for balancing budgets, healthcare background & expertise, etc.) to force Bush into a very uncomfortable corner.

References:

http://www.nytimes.com/2004/01/16/opinion/16KRUG.html

And this one:

http://www.newsday.com/news/opinion/ny-vpkam153626813jan15,0,1291105.story?coll=ny-viewpoints-headlines

Also, check out this atlas of the blossoming number of neo-conservative
think tanks in America:

http://www.urinal.net/cgi-bin/map.pl?lat=37.5&lon=-95.2&wid=50&ht=24&iht=470&iwd=800&murl=http://www.urinal.net/locations.html

I hope the authors of these e-mails don't mind my sharing them here because it makes a good point. There's the adage that when Democrats line up for a firing squad, they stand in a circle. The fortunate part is that we're all arguing for the same outcome -- getting rid of Dubya and his minions. We all -- and I mean all, not just those represented here -- simply disagree on who can and will carry us to victory. I'm sure we will come together after a nominee is chosen.

After reading Kelly's e-mail and having a long, drunken conversation with him last night where I sobbed about my growing doubts that Dean could win, I've been set straight. I support Dean all the way, whether as the nominee or the running mate. I still believe, however, that the chances of Bush winning are realistic enough that we should all be prepared for it. What I truly want from the Dean campaign, as referenced in Alterman's statement, is for the drive towards progressive change with individual citizen support to define the Democrats in the next decade. Only then will the Democrats be able to loosen and eventually release the stranglehold the GOP has on our culture and livelihood. I almost lost faith, and it took a great e-mail thread, a brilliant blogging buddy, and five pints of beer to get back on the right path.