Democrats Who May Run for President in 2014: Hillary Plus Nine

There was a great cover for the center-left magazine "The New Republic" which showed Hillary Clinton is a room with 100 women who were wearing Elizabeth Warren masks. The presumed point the illustrator was making is that Hillary Clinton has two challenges, besides separating herself from husband Bill Clinton, that is: 1) rallying younger and more progressive voters to her political bid for the highest office and 2) maintaining the support of centrist or even conservative Democrats who could help Democrats maintain Virginia and Florida and possibly gain North Carolina and Georgia in 2016.

Here is our look at ten Democrats we feel may very well choose to run for president in the 2016 cycle; we should point out to folks that we are NOT Gwen Ifill, the veteran PBS politics reporter:

1) Hillary Clinton (New York,pictured top)

2) Sen. Mark Warner (Virginia, pictured middle)

3) Sen. Tim Kaine (Virginia)

4)  Sen. Elizabeth Warren (Mass., pictured bottom)

5) Gov. Martin O'Malley (Maryland)

6) Gov. Andrew Cuomo (New York)

7) Gov. Deval Patrick (Mass.)

8) Sen. Cory Booker (New Jersey)

9) Sen. Kristen Gillibrand (New York; she replaced Clinton in the Senate)

10) Vice President Joe Biden (Delaware)

http://www.pbs.org/weta/washingtonweek/

http://www.newrepublic.com/

http://www.rollcall.com/

Tweets of the Day and Night: Damascus is Causing Problems

With images of Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.), the Umayyad Mosque in Damascus, Syria, and Secretary of State John Kerry, we begin our tweets of the day about the sensitive matter regarding possible military intervention in Syria, which I personally support as I feel if the late American folk singer John Denver were to support a war, it would be this one.

Let's go:

1) The New Republic @tnr (a center-left magazine): "As long as the Christian population is ok, Rand Paul seems unconcerned with #Syria's fate."

2) The Daily Edge @TheDailyEdge: "Republicans express concern that Obama plan for #Syria doesn't slip in any multi-billion-dollar no-bid contracts for Haliburton."

3) Hurriyet Daily News @HDNER: #Russia says strike on #Syria could mean nuke disaster. (Hurriyet is a Turkish newspaper with Turkish and English editions).

4) Slate @slate: Congressional Republicans now using the example of Iraq to oppose #Syria

5) Free Syria Media Hub @FSA_Media_Hub: "Obama, Putin Handshakes and Smiles at G20 Summit."

6) The Onion @TheOnion, this is a satirical journal: Obama assures Americans this will not be another 1456 Ottoman seige of Belgrade. (Our favorite tweet of the day).

7) @TodaysZamancom: Turkey says Syria strikes should aim for regime collapse. (Zaman is a Turkish newspaper with Turkish and English editions).

8) The Nation @TheNation, which is a liberal American political magazine: "Media Question Kerry's mysterious 1,429 death toll in Syria."

9) Jason Chaffetz @jasoninthehouse, Cong. Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah) is known for his social media savvy: "Utah delegation not sold on Syria air strikes."

10) John McCain @SEnJohnMcCain: "Another scripted town hall on #Syria in #Tucson this afternoon with lots of participation and great t-shirts!"

11) The Colbert Report (an American satirical tv show): "29% of Americans want the U.S. to attack #Syria; plus side means 29% of Americans know there's a place called Syria."

12) Plaid_Seida (Plaid Seda is president of the Syrian National Council, and an opposition activist): "I am still in Istanbul, Turkey. I wish I could be at the G-20 summit, convincing world leaders to help #FreeSyria."

http://www.nocturnalguy38.blogspot.com

http://www.theonion.com/

http://www.thenation.com

http://www.newrepublic.com/

http://www.todayszaman.com/home

http://www.free-syria-foundation.org/

Monday Morning Tweets_ The Agony of Swedish Defeat

The images are of 1) Spiro Agnew- Richard Nixon's first vice president who resigned over scandal 2) The Swedish handball team and 3) A debate between Bill Clinton, George H.W. Bush and Ross Perot in 1992.

Here is a rundown of some eye-catching tweets we saw one hour ago:

1) @PamGrier (actress Pam Grier): "Missy Elliott Had 'No Clue' About Aaliyah album" (This is in reference to swimmer Missy Elliott of the United States who several gold medals at the Olympics).

2) @Todayszaman ("Today's Zaman" is an English-language newspaper): "Number of Syrian refugees in Turkey nears 60,000."

3) @DailyNewsEgypt: "Iranian President in significant visit to Saudi Arabia" (Iran and Saudi Arabia have ironically been political rivals).

4) @RadioSweden: "Sweden's not so shabby Olympic performance" (The link indicated there were some pleasant surprises for Sweden at the games, but that the men's handball team 22-21 loss to France in the gold medal game was a profound disappointment; handball is very popular in Scandinavian countries).

5) @Electionate (Nate Cohn): "Instead the Ryan plan produced movement among the 'rising American electorate and independents."  (Cohn is a writer for the center-left American magazine "The New Republic," in case you were in the Andes Mountains of Bolivia over the weekend, Mitt Romney chose Paul Ryan as his running mate).

6) @DavidFrum (David Frum): "Shouldn't congressional Republicans propose some pilot programs to test whether premium support will control costs effectively?" (Frum is a former speech-writer for George W. Bush who coined the term 'axis of evil.' He has been critical of the fringe Tea Partiers within the Republican Party. Ironically, he was given a seemingly friendly profile in the very liberal magazine "The Nation").

7) @KatrinaNation (Katrina vanden Heuvel): "Great that first time a woman will moderate presidental debates, but will we tough questions? That's what debates should be about." (She is the managing editor of "The Nation").

8) @LOLGOP: "Ryan is the most extreme GOP nominee in a century. The most extreme GOP VP nominee in 4 years is scary enough." (This tweet is why we chose Spiro Agnew; there were too many for Paul Ryan and most were unusable).

http://www.tnr.com

http://www.frumforum.com

http://www.thenation.com

http://www.svrigesradio.se

http://www.todayszaman.com

http://www.thedailynewsegypt.com

Playing Word Detective- Haters

The terms 'hater' or 'haters' once seemed like silly things that Laura Conrad and Heidi Montag would say on the MTV series "The Hills," but it is literally coming up all over the place, even in respectable media outlets, as of late.

The images here are of two fellow Turkish-Americans: the bald guy with the glasses is the Rev. Ergun Caner, who is four years older than me, and the other is of Cenk Uygur, a progressive talk show host who was also born in March of 1970 as I was. We will get to why you chose them for this piece, but I will say to those of you from Eskisehir, Turkey, who have never read this blog before that I definitely favor Uygur's view of the world more.

First, lets look at two instances when the term hater came up in two unexpected places this week. The first was when Fox News commentator Juan Williams, formerly of NPR, whose views of the world make him seem like Christopher Hitchens, David Brooks and Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-Ct.), all of whom seem to be contrarians, gave an interview with media journalist Howard Kurtz in "Newsweek."

Williams is presumably a conservative (or perhaps a centrist), but he has reportedly criticized fellow Fox News personality Sean Hannity as being too extreme. During his interview with Kurtz, Williams identified those who felt his views should be more liberal because he is African-American as 'haters.'

This week, I also read an article/opinion piece by another contrarian Martin Peretz of "The New Republic," who identifies himself as a liberal but his staunch Zionism make his views come across as a conservative. As much as I admire Peretz and the magazine he once owned (which is the "TNR"), this article which clearly had elements of Arab-bashing made me realize why Eric Alterman of the very liberal magazine "The Nation" accused Peretz of being a racist, though I would not go that far.

Peretz used the term haters for Moslems who don't like Israel in the article, which was also very critical of Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton, and he went on to say that the Arab Spring will not likely bring about that many long-term major changes in places like Egypt or Syria. This sentiment, which I can in some ways sympathize with, does however sound like an argument made those on the far-left that there are no real differences between Obama and George W. Bush. Uh-huh.

And, haters is also used in religious circles as well. The Rev. Steven Furtick, a mega-church minister in Charlotte, NC, who seems to taking over the Queen City the way Godzilla took over Tokyo, has used the term haters to describe those who are criticizing him for merchandizing religion. But, with 7,000 worshippers on four, soon to be six, mega-church campuses, the assesment, even from an objective standpoint, seems fairly valid.

This brings us to the Rev. Ergun Caner, a former Liberty University dean, who has allegedly used the term hater for those disagree with him. Ironically, this includes Moslems who did not appreciate his Islam-bashing book that came out a year after September 11th, and Christians, who felt there were inconsistencies in his conversion story. Of course, it assuredly also includes us human secularists, though it is nice to see Christians and Moslems agree on something.

And, the term hater was used against Cenk Uygur by conservative blogger Jeff Dunetz who said that Uygur and others who differ with Glenn Beck were actually anti-semites. Apparently, this is the notion that if you differ with the Israeli government you are no different than a Neo-Nazi. Uh-huh. Again.

All of this leads to wonder where the term hater or haters started. I checked the Urban Dictionary, even though last week, I had a quasi nightmare that they were going to sue me for mentioning the terms they define on my blog. But, they did not provide me a clear cut answer, and neither did Google. Though I can verify there was a hit song in 2004 by teen icon Hilary Duff called "Haters."

It should be pointed that Cenk Uygur and I have one more thing in common in that we both went from right to left politically though my 'conversion' happened when I was 13 years old and basically sick of Ronald Reagan, who might ironically be considered a liberal now if the Republican continues to go to the whacko far right. (So much for Mary Eberstadt's theory that people go from left to right politically more often as was the thesis of her book "Why I Turned Right").

Uygur's chance of heart occured later in life when he realized George W. Bush was making a huge mistake by going into Iraq in 2003. But, I assume, since he was a Republican at the time, that Uygur didn't get any flack from Turkish relatives for voting for Michael Dukakis in 1988. That was not the case with me!

Motto of the Day- Just Do Nothing

It is perhaps slightly deviant of us to drag Kandula, the beloved nine-year-old Indian elephant at the National Zoo in Washington, DC, into politics, but..... (for those of our dear readers in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, the elpehant is the unofficial symbol of the Republican Party).

So, this is the first in what we hope we will be many Motto of the Day entries:

"Just do nothing_ it saves money, gas, and utilities."

Of course, it wastes a major resource which is time! Jonathan Chait of "The New Republic" brilliantly illustrated how the Republican Party has done nothing for America since the 1930s, and we couldn't agree more!

Interestingly enough, there is a non-partisan web site called "Do Nothing for Two Minutes" which urges everyone to just simply sit and stare at the screen for 120 seconds!

SIDEBAR: In a column that was reportedly published in "The Washington Post," Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), the most liberal member of the Senated, cited Valero Energy as the nation's sixth worst big corporate freeloader. The company made $68 billion last year, but they still got a $157 million TAX REFUND from the IRS.

I should hope this would raise the eyebrows of even the most conservative Democrat, arguably Ben Nelson (D-Neb.) and/or progresive Republican, whom many believe to be Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine), but they are perhaps concerned with other things. The rest of us, however, can pump gas some place else....and, I'm speaking as someone who catered to Valero!

Status Update_ Underdog Versus Palinzilla

I had a surreal last night/this morning, in which I was the late '60s cartoon hero Underdog and I was saving New York City from Palinzilla, a 90-foot fire breathing robot that looked exactly like Sarah Palin.

While I fully sympathize with "Washington Post" columnist Dana Milbank, who has said there should be a moratorium on mentioning Palinzilla's name, I could not resist sharing this story.

In the dream, I gave her one simple whack across the nose and her circuits exploded causing her to malfunction and retreat back to the Hudson Bay. It was ironically sort of like a version of 'David and Goliath.'

Of course, some feminists may argue that my Underdog engaged in domestic violence, but my response would be: "Hey, someone had to save the universe from Palinzilla." Obviously, I do not condone domestic violence in any form and as it is since Palinzilla was a robot, I could argue Underdog was not hitting a woman because androids don't have genders!

SIDEBAR: Everyone in the world seems to be talking about the riots in Egypt today. On the left, "The Nation" has articles titled like "Fire in the Streets of Cairo: Will the Army Hold?" and "Egypt's K-Street Connections."

While on the right, John McCormack has an analysis of President Barack Obama's statement on Egypt in "The Weekly Standard." While I did not have time to actually read the article, I would presume given the magazine's politics, which are actually more restrained than some of their counterparts, that it was critical of Obama.

And, for those of us on the center-left, there is always the ever-reliable "The New Republic" in which Heather Hurlburt has an article about the five things every American should know about the riots which threaten Hosni Mubarak's 30-year reign as the president of Egypt. I was a bit humored and horrified to see that the article actually featured a photograph from a riot in Turkey, which is my late father's country!

A Tale of Two Countries :Turkey and Israel

Since Israeli commandos stormed the flotilla The Mavi Marmara, a Turkish ship that was carrying relief aid to Palestinians, there has been a virtual nuclear fall-out between Ankara and Jerusalem in terms of diplomatic relations.

Among those nine people who lost their lives, all of them Turkish, was Furkan Dorgan, 19, a Turkish-American from Troy, NY, who was set to attend Erciyes University in Kayseri, Turkey, this fall in the hopes of becoming a doctor one day according to "The Washington Post".

The incident set off protests throughout Turkey. The BBC showed footage of a peaceful demonstration in Beyoglu, the most liberal part of Istanbul. But, similarly, the same television report carried a more militant protest with Islamic overtones in a more conservative part of the city (perhaps Eyup, which is argubaly the most fundamentalist section of Istanbul).

"The Washignton Post" also reported that another American citizen Emily Henochowicz, 21, of Potomac, Md., who is not of Turkish heritage, was seriously injured as she lost her eye due to injury as Israeli soldiers attacked her during the raid.

Nilufer Cetin, among the first Turkish nationals to return home, told "The Guardian" newspaper in London that Israeli troops opened fire before they even boarded the Mavi Marmara.

Even Turkey's traditional rival Greece was affected by the incident, as Michalis Grigoroopoulous, a Greek citizen who was another ship The Free Mediterranean, told "The Guardian" that 'the Israelis acted like pirates.'

There have been those, both on the political right and the left in America, who have defended Israel including Congs. Eric Cantor (R-Va) and Anthony Weiner (D-NY). But support seems heaviest among evangelical conservatives as both Liz Cheney and the Rev. Nathan Tabor of Winston-Salem, NC, one of the Piedmont's leading conservative actists, have verbally expressed support for Israel.

But, there are some who are not so quick to give Israel a proverbial Get Out of Jail Free Card. These include the ever-wise columnist Leon Wieseltier of "The New Republic" who is himself a Jew.

In a column that was published today, Wieseltier, the literary critic of the "TNR" said the following: "The Netanyahu-Barak government has somehow found a way to lose the moral high ground, the all-important war for symbols and meanings, to Hamas. That is quite an accomplishment."

As a Turkish-American who has appreciated Israel's delicate security problems in the past, I call on all Americans to put pressure on Congress to demand an all-out apology from Jerusalem.

It seems quite ironic to me that Israel has now surpassed Syria as a greater security threat to the stability of the region, even though Israel is a democracy and a dictator still rules from Damascus!

I Got a Letter from the Republican National Committee?!

I was very amused yesterday to get a letter from Michael Steele, head of the Republican National Committee, asking 'for my support.'

The letter was made more dubious (I am a fairly partisan Democrat) by the fact that it was addressed to Ms. Tilly Gokbudak. (yes, this is the reason we are featuring a photo of Frances Marie Burke who was Miss America in 1940). But, the last time I checked I had a prostate, so I am actually Mr. Tilly Gokbudak and I have been since I was born 40 years ago on March 4, 1970.

Let me post the opening part of this letter from Steele, a man I actually used to have a great deal of respect for since he is one of the few Republicans who is opposed to the death penalty and actually questioned some parts of George W. Bush's futile Iraq War policy:

"Dear Ms. Gokbudak,

After our Party's historic victory in the Massachussetts Senate race, I've had many Sustaining Members ask me when are Republicans going to take the fight to Obama and the Democrats in my community. THE TIME IS NOW!"

The letter goes on to boast about a new RNC AIRWAVE BLITZ (they used all caps) to set the 'record straight' about Obama's 'socialist schemes' to grow big government.

A few paragraphs down, the letter states:

"We are committed to using EVERY AVENUE POSSIBLE to reach those Americans who are concerned about the leftward direction that the Obama Democrats are dragging our country.

Ms. Gokbudak, our party must win the battle for America's future--- and I'm counting on GOP grassroots leaders like you in Mount Airy* to help us win the fight."

(*-I don't actually live Mount Airy, NC, but it is the town I use when stating my residency on this blog)

The timing of this over-the-top letter which has Glenn Beck's fingerprints all over it comes just as I had finished reading an excellent article by the ever-brilliant Jonathan Chait in the Feb. 4 issue of "The New Republic," my favorite political magazine since it reflects my nuanced center left political views (though I have now and then disagreed with them).

In his column stated "Steele Cage," Chait asserted that the GOP had found their inner Al Sharpton with Steele because the former Maryland lt. gov. was an embodiment of 'Republican racialism' which the analyst describes as 'an attempt to mimic Democratic racialism without first having any grasp of the original thing, like a person who decides to convert to Judaism by studying Madonna."

And, with that reference to the '80s pop music icon who I had the misfortune of growing up with (Oh great! "Vogue" and "La Isla Bonita" are now ringing in my skull, but that in itself won't make me switch to Rich Lowry and the arch conservative journal "The National Review"), we will conclude this entry so we can see if Old Dominion has in fact knocked off Notre Dame in the NCAA Tournament though the Irish were up 10-6 when I last checked.

UPDATE: ODU has just won the game 51-50! Now, I guess I will have a mad Republican Fighting Irish fan to deal with........

Our Person of the Year- President Barack Obama

Perhaps, we saw this coming. "The Rhinoceros Times," a conservative weekly newspaper in Greensboro, NC, sarcastically congratulated Barack Obama by placing an emphasis on his middle name Hussein. The right has not been able to let up ever since even though their president George W. Bush was a bona fide idiot who bragged of never touching a newspaper. During his final year in office, even many intellectual conservatives like David Brooks and George F. Will had a very hard time defending him.

But, Obama has met the challenge in areas like health care reform, global warming and the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.

He has been criticized by some on the left for many of his positions. "The Nation" has criticized him for going forward in Afghanistan, which in my view is the appropriate thing for him to do. Matt Taibbi of "Rolling Stone" has accused Obama of getting too cozy with Wall Street insiders, but it seems like that would be true of any president given the amount of corporate influence that political positions of power now entail.

Of course, right wing media numskulls like Glenn Beck and their counterparts in Congress, such as Cong. Joe Wilson (R-SC), criticize any efforts by Obama and the Democratic Party to have a functioning government. As Jonathan Chait of "The New Republic" brilliantly put it, this is Republican nihilism (do-nothingism) at its finest.

But, in order to capture the brilliance of Obama at its core, we simply need to quote him in his own words. Obama was not my choice for person of the year last year because I felt he hadn't proven anything yet. Well, now he has:

"Americans still believe in an America where anything's possible- they just don't think their leaders do."

"I don't oppose all wars. What I am opposed to is a dumb war. What I am opposed to is a rash war."

"I found this national debt, doubled, wrapped in a big bow waiting for me as I stepped into the Oval Office."