So a funny thing happened at the White House press briefing today. Yes. Of course. Our boy Goyal was at it once again. I recommend anyone drinking milk right now to put their glass down so as to prevent the milk from momentarily spraying out your nostrils. Here we go:
Q Tony, two questions. One, there is disturbing news, and the Indian American community is very angry that Senator Obama and his campaign has been calling the Indian American community taboo and other names, calling names, and all that because of the relations with the Clintons, President Clinton and Hillary Clinton. My question is, how does — what does President think about the Indian American community and his relations with the Indian American community?
MR. SNOW: Well, the President, obviously, is proud of our — the growing closeness of the United States and the Indians. Not to be holding a brief for Senator Obama, but I don’t believe that he made comments of that sort. I do believe that was a staff comment for which he issued apologies. But having said that, it is important to realize that the United States looks upon India as the world’s largest democracy, as an important and vital ally in a whole host of things — regional security, global trade, climate change. I mean, the role of — the importance of India is not to be understated. And we are certainly glad that the relations between the nations continue to draw closer. [Link]
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p>I am trying to wrap my head around this one. I mean, why would the White House have an official position about what an Obama staffer wrote about Sen. Clinton? Is this what reporters assigned to a scandal-plagued White House really want to know about? Then it just gets even funnier:
Q Second, just on Sunday I was in Washington, here at the Verizon Center, over 20,000 Indians, mostly Hindu, gathered together there. And their message was peace and unity, internationally and here also. The question is here that President has gone to all the denominations here, but never to a Hindu temple. And he goes to church, I go to temple, but he is a religious man, so am I. What my question is that this weekend —
MR. SNOW: You want to know if he’s going to go to the temple?
Q This weekend there is a grand opening of Hindu temple in Adelphi, right on the beltway, if he can make it there sometime or —
MR. SNOW: I don’t think that’s on the schedule, and I think you do appreciate, Goyal, that Presidents don’t do casual drop-bys.
Q He has been invited.
MR. SNOW: Again, I appreciate the suggestion. [Link]
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p>Yo, that would be tight if W did a “drop-by.” Any D.C. area mutineers going to be in Adelphi who can let us know? And for those still following the D-Punjab soap opera, Rediff got an exclusive with Obama today:
[Obama] explained that “I think what happened was that the people who were writing the memo thought that to quote back Hillary Clinton was clever somehow. They were wrong and I let them know in no uncertain terms that this was unacceptable.”
Obama acknowledged he had no idea about the document that was being circulated by some members of his campaign staff till the controversy erupted, when the Indian-American community was in uproar and his Indian-American supporters contacted his campaign expressing their concern. [Link]
Abhi, can you tell Goyal uncle to invite Bush to a BBQ at my place for July 4? I will have root beer, in case he’s still off the sauce. Goyal uncle can come to.
No! I’m having movie night at my place that night! Blair, Karzai, and Abbas already RSVP’ed “yes” on my evite. Tell Dubya he’s gotta bring Doritos, his Secret Service detail, and a presidential pardon for Paris. Oh, and Jenna and Barb should pick her up from county.
i’m new to SM, so i don’t know anything about this goyal uncle (is he even an uncle, or was that a joke, rahul?) but i do rather like his questions. keep it up!
ak, if you click on my second link it will lead you to all the Sepia Mutiny posts we’ve done about Goyal and who he is.
thanks, abhi. i feel sorry for uncle goyal, being ridiculed and all. but i like his tenacity.
yo I think this Goyal is a greater threat to our saffron balls than either that Nussbaum or Obama. Putting out a perception of the desi uncle as an emasculated male. Who is compensating for the suppression of our sensuous playful traditions by conquerors or something.
I just realized “putting out” is an unfortunate phrasing in my comment above. I’m compensating too for all those conquerors suppressing my playful traditions yo.
Obama is old news. Also he is preachy and sounding more and more like a leftist evangelical. He needs to sponsor some bills, get some important legislation enacted, gain experience and come back after 8 years.
Bloomberg has entered the race and will make it official any day. Any other Bloomberg supporters here?
ACFD: He is a social and economic liberal, the closest to a libertarian I’ve seen in a mainstream politician. Which is why he wont win — apparently it is a pre-req to pander to extremists, either to the left or right. But let’s see, hopefully he’d come out with a memo marginalizing Indian Americans or something, and then we’d know he has a chance.
I dont think Bloomberg is a libertarian. He has in fact shown signs of paternalism (going after smoking etc) which gives me some pause but he is otherwise pretty attractive. Also he is not that conservative on fiscal issues so not too libertarian there either.
I think he is an excellent manager and problem solver. He has tackled some of the bigger problems in New York unlike Giuliani who did diddly-squat about most problems.
Bloomberg has said something which none of the top tier candidates have said and desperately needs to be said. When asked about terrorism he said “There are lots of threats to you in the world. There’s the threat of a heart attack for genetic reasons. You can’t sit there and worry about everything. Get a life,” which of course is in stark contrast to that other New Yorker Giuliani who wants to scare the shit out of people so that he can be elected to the presidency.
if Bushie does go will they spiritually cleanse the temple afterwards?
“He has tackled some of the bigger problems in New York unlike Giuliani who did diddly-squat about most problems.”
that’s unfair ACFD, even G’s critics agree he is competent.
Also, with his bromides abt the war on terror, G is providing what the conservatives want — a narrative for their liberal-hate. It was never about them darned homos, or those no good atheists. It was about a polarized narrative for the traditionalists to distinguish themselves from those hippies.
HRC is giving what liberals want — a narrative for their victim complex, and irresponsible and misplaced compassion.
You’re insisting then that democracy not work if you want these apostates like Bloomberg to win.
That Bloomberg would enter as an Independent has been obvious for months now. I also predict that he will drop out if polls within 3 months of the election indicate that his candidacy would allow a Republican to win by diffusing the Democratic vote more than the Republican. I hold out hope that he will take massive numbers of votes from each party.
I’m with Abhi on this one, and I really don’t think Bloomberg can carry very far. Also, outside of the NYC-area, I don’t feel like he really rallies the troops in other areas. On a broader level, I generally feel like being mayor of a large (albeit cosmopolitan, diverse, bureaucratic, etc.) city is not enough experience to run for (and serve as) President.
Bloomberg is not a libertarian. His anti-smoking and anti-civil liberties (anti-Second Amendment) views preclude his inclusion in the libertarian camp. It will, however, be interesting to see if is the modern day version of Ross Perot.
Just to be clear I think he will drop out in case he is in third. I think I secretly hope he knocks the sh*t out of both parties. The problem with Washington is the gridlock and partisan warfare more than any other issue including the war in Iraq and Global warming.
Oh, I guess we’re not entirely on the same page π I don’t think he’s even going to carry enough votes to come in third (except by virtue of not being a Dem/Repub), and I would be surprised if he garnered anywhere close to the number of votes Perot did. Maybe this is my (Yay Area) California bubble talking, though.
DSummoner and others, for a politician to be completely libertarian is foolish. (sorry libertarians) and frankly hypocritical. Because being in a government entails governing, and governing entails deviating from the complete liberty principle. you cant be mayor of NYC and not support gun control. Which is why G. — a conservative — is for gun control as well. (Banning guns, and taking guns away from the cold dead hands of Charles Heston is another matter!)
Don’t underestimate the guy. He’s got a Billion set aside for the race, he has silicon valley in his pocket (they worship him), and he is a really effective manager who proved everyone wrong in NYC. He calls BS on both parties and he is WAY more impressive than Perot. His weak spot is that he is a bachelor and reportedly lives like it (ain’t nothing wrong with a little bump and grind).
But I’ll be playing My Sharona at my party. I already downloaded the mp3….u suck salil!!!!
i would totally vote for bloomberg. i know everybody wants to look at obama as the ‘refreshingly different’ candidate, but i think that title is actually more befitting of bloomberg, though i would like to wait to see his platform. being a businessman, he not only has a different approach to his position as mayor, but he also seems to feel less of a need for certain political strategy/compromising (seems, i could be wrong on the reality). and as abhi said, you cannot underestimate the money factor. frankly, i feel he’s a better politician precisely because he is less of a politician.
Bloomberg has guts! With the cigarette smoking ban, trans fat ban, and now congestion taxing, he’s not only aggressively taking the right measures, but has built the political momentum for other places to do so. I’d vote for him in a heartbeat.
I don’t enough about how NYC is run to get a sense for how much consensus building matters, and whether he can actually pull that off in DC (not that he’d win), but that’s why he’d pick Obama as VP π
As preamble, not for you HyperTree, but for other readers, one should not confuse libertarian with Libertarian. The latter refers to the political party and the former refers to the ideology.
I do not necessarily see the presence of government and libertarian ideology at odds under all conditions. The former is needed at some level to preclude the violation of liberties of the citizenry by other members of the citizenry. This, however, does not in any manner support the current state of the Federal government that takes vast liberties with interfering with the liberties of the citizenry. The return of limited government in its original or as close to its original constitutional form is what I would consider to be the functional ideal of a libertarian government. Unfortunately, there are too many that endeavor to live off of the work product of others as well as an overarcing governmental apparatus that results in trampling of the liberties of the citizenry. In this regard I find the social conservatives (blue laws, “war” on drugs, pogrom against gays, etc.) to be equally culpable as I do the social liberals (using the modern day definition of liberal and not the original definition). Both extremes opt for Big Government (just as El Presidente who is not a libertarian and is not a conservative).
I see Bloomberg and Guiliani as following the politically expedient route when it came to the venue in which they were politicking (not following any libertarian or for that matter conservative ideology). Political expediency on the issue of civil liberties (specifically the Second Amendment), however, does not play well on a national basis – as the gun control Democrats have found out much to their dismay. I am relishing the day when the Supreme Court reviews the DC gun ban case and upholds the lower court ruling that such gun bans are unconstitutional. For better or worse, the Bill of Rights refers to individual rights and the legal interpretation of one such right as a collective right under the direct and sole purview of government makes all such rights subject to the same given legal precedence.
With all the gossip on the other thread, we need to pick it up here. Waiting breathlessly for some news on Bloomberg’s number one squeeze!
Goyal — the symbol of Indian journalism excellence. We send only the best to the White House. (Yeah, I know he sends himself, but like it or not, he represents our community and not in very good light.)
What do you suggest, Seahawks fan? Maybe reverse that outsourcing trend and hire a good ol’ boy from Alabama to represent the India faction? π
But then he does something weird like this:
Gets a failing grade based on that dumb action alone.
I suggest we all chip in and send Uncle Goyal to Columbia Journalism School to study under Professor Sree.
so, as abhi suggested, i followed the links to educate myself on uncle. i kind of understand his strategy : everybody else in the newsroom asks the standard, frontpage questions, the answer to which everybody, including uncle, uses for their soundbyte/write-up. so uncle thinks he might as well use his one question to ask about india. is that so bad, guys? i clearly have not been following uncle in the media, so i don’t know his history, but uncle seems fulfilled in his career.
8 ACFD,
The billionaire former CEO, who was a lifelong Democrat before he switched to the GOP for his first mayoral run, said the change in voter registration does not mean he is running for president.
Seems like speculation.
Maybe Goyal uncle is Tambram’s alter-ego?
Vikram #27, I was not aware of that, and it does seem counter to his usual behavior. I should learn more about that.
What you consider a problem, is a blessing IMO. I want Washington to be gridlocked. I want the Senators/Congressmen to be busy with partisan warfare. Because, you see, I want them to do nothing. Absolutely nothing. I don’t want them to try and solve any problem, because there’s no problem in this world that a politician has failed to make it worse. The more they put their hands at anything, the situation goes south in no time.
The best politician is the one who just stays home and collects his paycheck.
Unfortunately, there’s not a single pol out there who doesn’t have a list of problems He/She wants to fix. Someone wants to solve terrorism, mideast fascism, immigration. Someone else wants to solve Global warming, Heathcare, Social Security, Medicare. Someone else wants to solve Energy crisis. All of them are busybodies who will make all these problems worse than they are now.
M. Nam
“The best politician is the one who just stays home and collects his paycheck.” Moor, latest Forbes had op-ed which said exact same thing. Are you doing cut-paste ?
I do hope Bloomberg runs. I would totally support him. Can’t vote, not a citizen. But I will write small small articles for him on internets. I like self-made chaps. Like Bloomberg, Schwarznegger.
Yesterday I cancelled my 4 year long subscription to New York Times. Subscription lady asks, why you want to discontinue ? I pulled out my usual excuse – “See my job contract is over so I’m going back to India next week” π I must have used that excuse 100 times now. Always works for us fobs. But this time, the lady says, “we can mail it to you in India!” You’ll send me New York Times all the way to India ?!! I told her, “Sorry ma’am, we have lots of better newspapers over there”, and hung up. But basically I’m getting sick and tired of liberal op-eds masquerading as journalism. They always treat this Obama & Hillary like someone special, give them personality treatment instead of policy analysis. Then GOP people who are also idiots btw are raked on coal. But somehow they have soft corner for Giuliani & that Kerik guy even though both are extremely corrupt thiefs who are running shady security firm by giving speeches on 9/11. Bloomberg is the right guy. If Bloomberg was publishing newspaper I will instantly subscribe. Now I will have to settle for IBD or some other trade rag. I’m still looking.
Moornam, whether one approves or not of what the average politician achieves (or so aspires to), that defeatist attitude you support will get us absolutely nowhere. Are you implying everything is as good as it can get, and that you are not even remotely hopeful that someone with more gumption, and ethics, if given the chance, may actually make things better?
Yeah … maybe I’m naive π
I find it interesting that the terms “Indian” and “Indian-American” seemed to be intertwined within the context of the dialog between Mr.Snow, and the questioner.
This probably does not single well for Indian-Americans in the long run.
Goyal uncle is the Minister of Clean Good Fun on press junkets. He has the whole bus playing anthakshri and is known to be magnanimous with his ladoos with even the most inveterate India haters like Barbara Crosette. His avuncular munificence does much to increase goodwill towards India. We love our own fathers despite the fact that they burp loudly in public, even in the presence of the gora folk, and jog in old dress slacks. We should show the same compassion towards Goyal uncle
Goyal rocks! It’s fun to pick on him, but he almost serves as caricature of the lame questions the “serious” reporters ask. I watch the briefings on Cspan just for him.
Tambam,
Yes, the liberal press rakes the GOP over the coals. That’s why an idiot like Bush was able to be elected twice.
He later told London’s Guardian newspaper that chasing women is one of his hobbies: “I’m a single, straight billionaire in Manhattan. What do you think? It’s a wet dream.”
It breaks my heart that a man who speaks so salty, who used to work at sollie, who started his own biz and made a bill or 2, could end up being such a nanny statist. It just goes to prove, despite conventional wisdom, orgasms are not a cure-all.
he’s not trump-like. he dates smart women close to his age.
It’s not a problem, it’s the way the system was designed. The rejection of a parliamentary system, staggering terms for senators, the bill of rights, checks and balances were all put in place to prevent legislation from going thru, to instill a sense that the government that governs least governs best, and to protect individuals from the tyranny of the majority.
the founding fathers, madison in particular, thought gridlock essential for preserving liberty.
“Yo, that would be tight if W did a Γ’β¬Εdrop-by.Γ’β¬Β “
this poster is so annoying with all the corny jive talk garbage with which he peppers his posts. Somebody should stab his eyeball. Yo, that would be tight!
That’s an interesting comment. I’ve heard that mentioned before. I wish the founding fathers had also put in some provisions to prevent government from becoming a mega-bloated and money-grubbing entity.
Yo, noblekinsman. Why you gettin all up in abhi’s grillz like dat?
Noblekinsman You lucky dey keep me on a short leash
Why does the silicon valley worship him?
Whats her problem? She doesnt like spicy food?
Manju: is it not that a parliamentary system results in a greater gridlock? The executive is weakened, more than two electoral parties, requires more consensus to get anything done. India should be a gridlockists’s wet dream.
And why do you think Bloomberg is a nanny statist? Gun control and anti-smoking?
Well, perhaps the presidential spokesman should read this article:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/06/20/AR2007062002535.html
Why doesn’t education, modernization and technological sophistication help us legistlate or teach our way out of this pernicious nonsense?
BleedingDil, it is because of BleedingDils like you. The people to sort out the mess can only come from a good tertiary education system. The people with said education can only do so if they are provided the infrastructure like electricity. Guess who controls both education and electricity — govt. And guess who keeps insisting on more power to said govts — BleedingDil statists. You guys scare me.