Well, well, well, STATE DEPT HAS NO PAGLIANO EMAILS!(+ Attacks WERE Made on Private Server in 2011)

[nadinbrzezinski]

148. Careful what you wish for

First the Democratic Party is a center right party by economic and somewhat social policy. There they are firmly in the center. Not me saying it, standard political science saying that. It's not malleable either. The Rs are a far right party. So yes, progressives will have to go somewhere else, especially since you keep telling progressives you only need them on Election Day So they will leave, and the realignment is not complete...ironic but you still need them on Election Day to hold their noses that is.

Political purity is another conservative way of saying we don't care what you have to say.

As to Obama being the bestest ever in 60 years, like any other President, remember Bill was great, not anymore, we will have to wait about 20 to 25 years, aka a generation, for the effects of policies to take hold. I will predict right now that the trade agreements will be a millstone in that legacy. And since you are in your sixties, statistically you will not know. So drive over to the rust belt and ask them about nafta. Hell, go down to Mexico and ask the same question. You might want to travel to Canada. The only people happy with it are the ownership class. Never mind that economic growth actually slowed down in Mexico after nafta.

People who have been affected by these neoliberal policies in a direct way are not too happy. And predictably, the Korea Free Trade agreement is having the expected effect on US workers and jobs are bleeding. For the record, the TPP will do the same damage, but in magnified numbers.

So while domestically he is better than Bush, that trade will be the legacy, and for working people, not a good legacy. I know policy is much harder than personalities. Oh and since we were talking climate change...did you know the Obama administration has opened the largest number of fields for fossil fuel extraction in the history of the country? We might make fun of Palin for drill baby drill, but predictably (pesky psychology again) it has been a democrat that went there.

So hold off for at least 20 years. As to the much maligned Carter...he is considered a visionary in that particular field, and by current standards he is way to the left of both parties. I will also say that anybody following Ford and the drawdown from Vietnam was going to have a hell of a time, since military spending went way down, like the mini recession of 1947. That did not happen after Korea because we almost seemlesly moved into Vietnam. So the spending was really not reduced.

I know far more policy than you wanted.