health insurance companies on health care, then we would have a better chance in the Senate.
Lousy call on the part of the Obama administration.
On another but related topic, I wonder whether Feinstein will or should really run. If not, we could get a stronger, younger Democrat to run for her seat. She is very popular, but here is the problem:
California Sen. Dianne Feinstein is running for her fourth full U.S. Senate term at age 78. If re-elected, the Democrat will be 85 at the end of a six-year term, placing her among the oldest senators in an institution famous for politicians who stay in office well past their shelf life.
No one who observes Feinstein closely in her daily work, Democrat or Republican, puts her anywhere near that category. But Feinstein's age - she is the fifth-oldest current senator - presents voters with a decision about whether evidence of the mental and physical decline of people in their 80s applies to the most-popular politician in the nation's most-populous state.
http://articles.sfgate.com/2011-07-06/news/29741994_1_brain-volume-human-brains-age-question
I am the first to decry age discrimination, but in addition to the inevitable physical decline that she will face in the next 16 years, Feinstein still lives in the WWII reality: she has a high position on the Intelligence Committee and has in my view a rather old-fashioned way of looking at security issues. She (and every Republican on that committee) seems to still think in terms of WWII spying technology and definitions.
I have read that she advocated for trying Assange under the Espionage Act. He might be convicted although I don't think he was a spy. If Assange is correct, he simply published material from all over the world that was provided to him. He was acting more as a scavenger for whistleblowers. He was not really spying on a particular country for military or other advantage.
But even if Assange should be convicted, what do you do about the computer hacks out there who are really conducting espionage -- the ones who work for other countries, the ones who have cracked the really secret parts of our system (not just information about opinions and history) and who will never get caught because they don't publish what they find. It takes a lot of ability to understand how the younger generation, those raised on computers, view the world to figure out how best to protect America in this time. Stealing secrets about things our troops did in the past or what our "friends" are doing to harm their countries is not nearly as bad as using our own scientific research and technological advances against us including against our economy. Halliburton blithely violated our restrictions on trade with Iran -- and we are itching to prosecute Assange for espionage? What? Someone is out of touch here.
These are important issues, and to insure that they can be dealt with in the best way, I would like to see Dianne Feinstein yield her position to someone with a better hold on the realities of the computer age.
Don't get me wrong Dianne Feinstein is a great lady. I have voted for her and would vote for her any time. She really works hard, and everyone in California (everyone who is sane that is) respects her. She is as smart as she ever was, but how will she perform over the course of the next six years? And then what? Will her successor be chosen in a political period less propitious for Democrats?
I think this would be a good time for Feinstein to leave the Senate -- while she is ahead. She can continue to serve as a conscience and a teacher for her replacement without the stress of the job -- the hours, the fundraising, etc.
California is very blue at this time, and she would most likely be followed by another Democrat. That could actually enhance her legacy.
I wish she would think about it. Retirement is a tough thing to contemplate and can be be difficult if not depressing, especially after the amazing career that Feinstein has had, but it might be the best thing for her, for California and for the country.
It is really a tough decision. I would not want to be in her shoes, and there are also arguments for her staying on. But over all, I think she should pick someone she would like to see succeed her and get on with enjoying her life. She has served with great honor and earned some time without the burdens of a senator.
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