Newsweek's Eleanor Clift: Management 101 (Kaine/Dems = good management)

[Pirate Smile]

Management 101
Democratic Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine is emblematic of good management. Can his party can learn from his common-sense approach?

Web-Exclusive Commentary
By Eleanor Clift


Kaine: Wonky and refreshingly ordinary

-snip-
Liberal bloggers went nuts at what they saw as a missed opportunity to zing Bush on national television and stick it to him on the war. That wasn't Kaine's mission. He barely mentioned Iraq or the lobbying scandal consuming Washington and instead presented a non-ideological case for "a better way" to run the government. He repeated the phrase several times in his speech, perhaps unaware of its satirical use in the 1972 movie "The Candidate," where Robert Redford plays a citizen-politician ruined by consultants and media manipulators. In the film, the slogan "For a better way, Bill McKay" heralded the takeover of politics by the consultant class, the exact opposite message that Kaine wanted to send Tuesday evening.

-snip-
Kaine's speech will be forgotten and the unfortunate slogan shelved, but his presence on the national scene is reassuring as the Democrats put the pieces in place for electoral wins this fall. Democrats are doing well in governing Red States--Kansas, Tennessee, North Carolina, Oklahoma and Montana, to name several. With 36 gubernatorial elections in November and Republicans in Ohio and other key states weakened by scandal and unpopular policies, Democrats are poised to capture a narrow majority of governorships, a major comeback and an important bellwether for ’08. They’ve done it by making government work for the people, and not just the special interests. Kaine likes to brag about the fact that Virginia was named the best-managed state by Governing magazine last year. "It’s kind of wonky, kind of technical, but I got a lot of head nods and applause after Katrina," he told reporters.

Asked why he thought the Republicans, a smart and well-disciplined party, had made such a mess of management, he responded with a quote from Dickens, "From the stuff of details, a life is made." He singled out Michael Brown’s appointment to head the Federal Emergency Management Agency when there was nothing in his background that suggested he could do the job at FEMA. "I still find that staggering," Kaine said, calling Brown "emblematic" of the Bush administration's attitude toward government.

The case against the GOP for mismanagement extends beyond Katrina to the Iraq war, the Medicare prescription-drug fiasco and even mine safety, as we learn more about the administration’s disregard for regulations that might have saved lives in the recent West Virginia accidents. The people who fill these jobs aren’t that enthusiastic about government. They think government is part of the problem, not the solution. They often come from industry or interest groups opposed to the very existence of the programs they’re paid by taxpayer dollars to administer. The problem is compounded by Bush’s CEO mentality, where all information is fiercely safeguarded among a small group and there is no effort to reach out, which might burst the bubble of self-reverence that permeates this White House.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/11165914/site/newsweek/

[TomClash]

1. When I see and hear a Dem Governor

talk about good management and competence I see . . .

Mike Dukakis.

Color me bored.

[SharonAnn]

3. I see Howard Dean

[TomClash]

6. Gee I recall him talking about

ending the War, not managing it well.

[Radical Activist]

25. I don't.

During the primary Dean said we would be in Iraq for 3-5 years, just like Gephardt, Kerry, Edwards etc, and he said he would keep military spending at Bush war-time levels. Dean didn't call for a quick withdrawal to end the war at all.

[calimary]

10. I do, too. And some guy named Clinton.

[otohara]

2. Common Sense Approach - Where Have We Heard That Before?

oh yeah, that's how the media described nightmare in the White House back in 2000.

[calimary]

11. True, but that's THEIR definition of "common sense." Let's replace that

with OURS. OURS is the common sense that benefits the commonwealth, common folks, and the common good. That's just one meme we ought to just boldly and with balls - TAKE BACK. While we're taking back our country and OUR White House.

[wisteria]

4. Nothing wrong with reaching out and trying to get along by trying

to understand apposing points of view. The problem is, it is the Republicans that do not want to get along. They make their money and rally the base by demoralizing the Democrats.

I do not think we should over look the scandals,lying or going above the law that this administration has so far gotten away with either.
Cliff seems to be in line with the DLC point of view that we should just drop all of our criticisms and let this administration get away with anything it wants so that we do not offend the people in the Red States.
We don't want to be obstructionists is the thought behind all of this.

Rather then looking like we condone the illegal actions of this administration and we do not uphold our belief system, we should continue to speak out against them and our principles, but also present the American people with our vision of a united America.

[Boo Boo]

5. Clift is high.

I'm not among those that wanted to see Murtha give the SOTU response (not that it would have been a huge disaster or anything), but I was rather disappointed with Kaine. "Reassured" is not the word I would choose to describe the way Kaine's address made me feel.

[Mass]

19. Cliff said she wanted Hillary or Warner to run.

Dont look further. This said, why I did not find Kaine great, it is fairly irrelevant because nobody ever remember what the opposition says in the opposition state of the Union.

[stray cat]

7. I was reassured - good management, integrity, competence

This administration has made me desparate for those three attributes.

[Gloria]

8. Afer reading all the negatives about Kaine and the response, I

actually went to CSpan and watched it for myself.

Much to my surprise, I was impressed. Delivered in a conversational yet authoritative style. The setting in the Gov. mansion was great, the fact that he stood and moved was great, the closing shot of the mansion made me think of the shots of the White House after address from there...very clever, very "in command." It was the exact opposite of seeing a Democratic Senator sitting behind a desk babbling away in a boring way.

The talk itself covered a lot of ground very succintly and it was extremely good that Kaine brought it all back to what had been accomplished in a real state. The abstract became real. The key point about Iraq is that it as been really screwed up, which is where we are now and which people are waking up to. All the lies, etc. will be coming out more and more which will be icing on the cake and will heighten the growing sense of corruption and betrayal. But it was right to focus on what is happening now--the screw up and link it to other examples of screwing up versus what can be done in a successful state, run by Democrats.

While I'm not gungho on "religion" it was a masterstroke to open with the fact that Kaine was a missionary, that government is there to SERVE, and to effectively counter all the RW screwed up "religion" we get from the GOP. If was all tied up nicely, by EXAMPLE, rather than shrieking about "values" in a phony, contrived way.

This guy made eminent sense and it was quite a refreshing change.

[stray cat]

13. Thanks for a well thought out response

Nice commentary!

[robbedvoter]

9. Mediawhores always encourage supine positions in Dems.

They praised them during the uninspiring convention in 2004. While the GOP was free to rouse its base, Dems were looking for the media approval and dissed us by ignoring the war altogether....Clift&gang said: "Good boy, now roll over..."

[otohara]

14. It's For Our Own Good

Pick this guy Dems, the pundits say. He will lead us the way back to the good old days of Clinton. Thing is, those days are gone and I want someone who is not afraid to go up against these very dangerous people who are very determined to undo everything they despise.

[Radical Activist]

26. Exactly. They want us to stay within their boundaries of debate

Kaine stayed on the reservation so he gets praise, despite giving a lackluster speech.

[AtomicKitten]

12. Kaine was chosen because he was the most recently elected Dem

He is a conservative Democrat which worked out quite nicely since he WON the election. Not every state finds Dennis Kucinich types palatable; in fact Dennis, and I love the man, wasn't successful in any state.

Some PI types think if they can't see a vein bulging in someone's temple or flames when they speak, they are impotent wimps.

But then again many more conservative/moderate Dems tune out when they see anything delivered in that style.

For crissakes, Kaine was fine and the appropriate choice to speak being the most recently elected Democrat.

I would think people would have something better to do than parsing every goddamn word written or spoken.

[Catchawave]

15. Absoulutely !

Tough week on DU, so much time spent defending Kaine and the message, when we should have been picking Bush's speech apart, sentence by agonizing sentence, prepping for the midterms!

Instead we got eyebrows and homophobia :cry:

[robbedvoter]

20. Oh, so it was a marketing decision - what sells better - no "vision thing"

Until we stop treating the grave situation we are in as "product" we won't stand a chance, have a voice.
Truth is NO ONE - no matter what his political stripe is, enjoys listening to the equivocations of a soulless strategerist. It's just plain boring.

[AtomicKitten]

22. like I said, he was up on deck last , a reasonable choice.

I realize another voice you don't like to hear spoke, but that really is your problem.

[welshTerrier2]

16. "He barely mentioned Iraq or the lobbying scandal"

why do we always end up with this black and white idiocy ???

it's great that Kaine spoke about effective management ... there's plenty of room for competence in our government ... it's a great message to talk about a responsible fiscal plan ... it's important for Americans to understand that government can and should play a critically important role in their lives ...

and if Kaine is faulted for ho-hum dullness, so what?

but i draw the line when any Democrat doesn't stand up and speak out forcefully against the insanity of the war in Iraq and against the devastation lobbying and republican corruption have done to our democracy and our economy and our hope for a better future ... that's not competence; it's a lack of vision and effective leadership ... i didn't hear the speech but if the article is correct that "he barely mentioned Iraq or the lobbying scandal", that's very unfortunate to say the least ...

why is it necessary to peddle non-ideological competence as a virtue ... how about standing up for democracy or is that too ideological? how about recognizing that more than 2200 Americans have died to accomplish nothing? if you want to focus on competence, how about an honest airing of bush's colossal incompetence in Iraq??

somewhere, ever so subtly, Clift's foolishness seems to find virtue in Kaine's half-a-loaf failure to talk about and focus on critical issues facing the country ... if we're to be sold on "let's not be too controversial and adversarial", she gets a great big "FORGET IT" from me ... selling competence and effectiveness is fine; doing it to the exclusion of issues that threaten our collective futures and peace in the world is not ...

[dobegrrrl]

17. Repugnut light

But better than the alternative..... :shrug:

[Telly Savalas]

18. Better than some alternatives...

but worse than many others. Some of us just aren't willing to set the bar that low.

[Radical Activist]

21. Kaine gets the MSM conventional wisdom groupthink seal of approval

Why am I not surprised.

[AtomicKitten]

23. probaby because you don't approve of democracy within a party.

Working within a party requires compromise but most of all respect for others.

You apparently come up short in that regard and have nothing but contempt for those that do.

[Radical Activist]

24. Wow. that was arbitrary.

Do you work for Kaine or something? Touchy.

[Radical Activist]

27. And yes there are some Democrats who don't believe

in democracy within the party. Namely those moderates who believe we should never speak a word of liberalism in the national media and never run a liberal candidate for any race in any district because liberalism is supposedly unelectable in any circumstance. I'm tired of the tyranny of the moderates.

[ProudDad]

29. Yeah, the "moderates" have done a great job

in the last 25 years (raygun, bushI, Nafta, bushII), haven't they!?! :sarcasm:

I believe a strong populist message would win elections in this country. The pukes CAN'T do that since it's against their nature.

What's wrong with the Dems (at least the power structure of the Dems) then, eh?

[madfloridian]

28. I liked Kaine's speech. I like the management theme.

I like the common sense approach.

I hate the way good Democrats are attacked here.

I don't like some of the things Kaine does in regard to pushing his religion....but a lot of folks do. It does not hurt me nearly as badly as the George Bush version of religion.