http://www.wikio.co.uk/blog/search/David Roberts Wikio Blogs - search: David Roberts wikio wikio http://www.wikio.co.uk/info?id=69217611 By David Roberts Bill Clinton on the primary: "That campaign created so much heat, it increased global warming." UPDATE: Clinton knocked it out of the park -- his speech was just as good, in its way, as Hillary's. Full-throated support for Obama, his characteristic historical context-setting, and as a bonus, several mentions of global warming as one of the signal international challenges facing the next president. Thu, 28 Aug 2008 01:07:55 GMT http://www.wikio.co.uk/info?id=69217611 2008-08-28T01:07:55Z http://www.wikio.co.uk/info?id=68924342 By David Roberts If you read only one article about Barack Obama this week -- hell, this campaign season -- make it " Obamanomics ," by David Leonhardt, in Sunday's New York Times Magazine . Little I've read about Obama has provided more insight into the way he thinks, not only about economics, but also about public policy generally. The framing here is the "battle of the Bobs" -- Clinton Treasury Secretary Robert Rubin, who prioritizes bringing down the deficit and strengthening markets, and Clinton Labor Secretary Robert Reich, who prioritizes substantial public investment and wealth redistribution via the tax code. Clinton famously favored Rubin, to the chagrin of the left. Developments since then, among them Bush's disastrous tax policies, have moved the Bobs closer together. Where deficit reduction might legitimately have been a priority in the early '90s, today's historic inequality, crumbling infrastructure, and economic stagnation make Reich-style policy the more obvious need. But Obama still heeds Rubinomics, still strives for fiscal responsibility, and still respects markets as fantastically efficient means of deploying capital. So the agenda is to combine some traditionally "leftist" policies like heavy infrastructure spending, job training, and higher income taxes on the rich with traditionally "conservative" policies like cutting taxes on the middle class and favoring market-based policies. Interestingly, Leonhardt frames Obama's climate policy as a balance of these two impulses: Most Congressional bills envisioned giving away many of the [cap-and-trade] permits to power companies. Economists, by and large, considered this giveaway to be the worst part of the plan. It would require Congress to decide how many free permits each company should get and would set off a frenzy of corporate lobbying. The alternative was to auction off the permits -- to let the market set their value. "If you don't auction 100 percent of the permits," [Obama advisor Austan] Goolsbee told me, "this could be one of the biggest pieces of corporate welfare ever." With Congress making the decisions, the power companies with the best political connections might get the permits. With a full auction , the permits would end up with companies willing to make the highest bids. Presumably, these would be the most efficient companies, the ones able to produce the most energy (and profits) for a given amount of greenhouse-gas pollution. The auctions would have another big advantage too. They would raise billions of dollars for the government, money that could then be returned to taxpayers to offset the higher energy prices created by the emissions cap. So it's, in Leonhardt's words, "pro-market," but it raises a ginormous amount of revenue for public spending. That basically nails the appeal (to me) of a fully auctioned C&T system. Generally, Obama's thinking, his struggle to reconcile or synthesize opposing economic impulses, turns out to mirror my own in a way that verges on creepy. It's all about finding ways to use the power of markets whenever they can work while also attending to the dire need for public spending. I know it's a cliche that everyone projects their own views on Obama, but Leonhardt says they're actually his views! I suspect Obama and I are well to the right of most of the folks who comment here, at least on this subject. I hope y'all will weigh in. Mon, 25 Aug 2008 19:08:41 GMT http://www.wikio.co.uk/info?id=68924342 2008-08-25T19:08:41Z http://www.wikio.co.uk/info?id=69032938 Yesterday morning during a CNN discussion from the floor of the Democratic convention in Denver, I told anchor John Roberts that despite the personality tiff... Tue, 26 Aug 2008 16:34:05 GMT http://www.wikio.co.uk/info?id=69032938 David Sirota 2008-08-26T16:34:05Z http://www.wikio.co.uk/info?id=68752785 By David Roberts Biden, Biden, Biden. Everybody's talking about Biden. I've rounded up some of the more interesting stuff below. Start, of course, with Grist's fact sheet on Biden's environmental record and our interview with Biden on environmental issues. Other green stuff: see a rundown on Biden from the League of Conservation Voters and this roundup from Greenpeace on his eco-record (I think they get the liquid-coal thing wrong -- more on that later). Here are Obama's comments introducing Biden . Clear what they're after here: combination of working class authenticity and foreign policy strength. Here are Biden's full remarks . Here's video of both: Here's an NYT roundup on Biden's positions on other issues and an NYT profile . Here's another, better, longer profile from the Chicago Tribune , published early in the primary season. Joe Biden has the lowest net worth of any U.S. Senator. The Drum Major Institute gives Biden a 95% score on middle class issues . The One campaign says Biden has a great record on the global poor . Biden is notoriously horrible on drug war, criminal justice, and civil liberty issues. Libertarian Radley Balko goes ballistic . Here head AP political reporter Ron Fournier, who actually considered working for the McCain campaign earlier this campaign season, writes an "analysis" of the Biden choice that is unabashed McCain campaign talking points. Embarrassing. Steven Benen bashes it , and traces AP's horrendous record during the campaign. Steven Clemons pushes back in his typically civil way. Numbers guru Nate Silver analyzes the choice using, well, numbers. He's fairly optimistic. This letter from a reader to Mark Halperin also captures the benefits of the Biden choice. Campaign reporter Marc Ambinder has some interesting reflections . Even Hillary Clinton approves ! Longtime D.C. insider types David Brooks and Jonathan Alter both called out Biden as the best choice last week. Biden's son is deploying to Iraq next year. Some good stuff on Biden's record from a Nevada journalist, including this tidbit: In May 2002 Public Citizen, a research group founded by Ralph Nader, reported that Biden is one of only seven members of the Senate who have taken no money from the nuclear power industry in political action committee contributions from 1997 to 2002 ( Hot Waste, Cold Cash: Nuclear Industry PAC Contributions and the Senators Who Love Them [PDF]). Steve Clemons says that Americans will be very impressed when they meet Biden's wife Jill . Here's a compilation of some of Biden's most pungent lines from the primary debates: Huffington Post has rounded up more good Biden videos here. Sat, 23 Aug 2008 22:57:40 GMT http://www.wikio.co.uk/info?id=68752785 2008-08-23T22:57:40Z http://www.wikio.co.uk/info?id=68695562 By David Roberts Barack Obama's running mate will be Joe Biden. Here's a fact sheet on Biden's environmental record . Grist interviewed Biden in August 2007. He said this about dealing with climate change: To deal with global warming, you have to change the attitude of the world, particularly China and India, the two largest developing nations. But in order to do that, to have any credibility, you have to begin here in the United States by capping emissions, increasing renewable fuels, establishing a national renewable portfolio standard , requiring better fuel economy for automobiles. I would cap emissions at 80 percent below 1990 levels by 2050 and set a national RPS of 20 percent. I would announce an executive order that the federal government would not purchase one single automobile for its fleet that gets less than 40 miles to the gallon. And I would not build a single solitary federal project without it being a green project. That would have the effect of getting states to do the same thing, and that would create a pot of somewhere between a third and a half a trillion dollars that would be a lure to every major business in America to go green. Biden had this to say about "clean coal": I don't think there's much of a role for clean coal in energy independence, but I do think there's a significant role for clean coal in the bigger picture of climate change. Clean-coal technology is not the route to go in the United States, because we have other, cleaner alternatives. But I would invest a considerable amount of money in research and development of clean-coal and carbon-sequestration technologies for export. China is building one new coal-fired plant per week. That's not going to change unless there's a fundamental change in technology, because they have about 300 years of dirty coal, and they're going to use it. Would you impose a moratorium on the development of old-style coal power plants in the U.S.? I believe that all new coal-fired power plants should be built with carbon capture and sequestration capacity. He had this to say about ethanol: Ethanol is a good start. Because of the amount of [resources] that go into producing corn-based ethanol, it has only marginally less impact on the consumption of fossil fuels. But it has two real advantages: it begins to give us the margin of flexibility we need to deal with being held hostage to any one of the seven unstable countries that supply 35 percent of our oil -- Nigeria, Venezuela, Iraq, Iran, etc. No. 2, it's a transitional means by which you're going to be pouring billions of dollars into the fields of the Midwest, rather than the sands of Saudi Arabia or the pockets of Chavez. Biden has a lifetime score of 84 from the League of Conservation Voters ( Obama's is 96 ). Sat, 23 Aug 2008 07:08:31 GMT http://www.wikio.co.uk/info?id=68695562 2008-08-23T07:08:31Z http://www.wikio.co.uk/info?id=68669712 Graduate of Coleg y Drindod, Caerfyrddin 1958-1960. Campaigned for Hywel Heilyn Roberts. Met Gwynfor Evans. Teacher of English as a Foreign Language with RSA Diploma TEFLA. Teaching overseas for 20 years in five countries. In 2007 rejoined Plaid Cymru, working for Cymru and full independence. Campaigned for Helen Mary Jones in Llanelli and Porth Tywyn. Press Officer for Plaid Llanelli. Writing letters to the newspapers on topics of concern to Plaid and the community. Poet and philosopher. Democratic radical pluralist and advocate of national unity and solidarity. Political stance is between Liberal and Libertarian. Fri, 22 Aug 2008 17:51:00 GMT http://www.wikio.co.uk/info?id=68669712 alanindyfed 2008-08-22T17:51:00Z http://www.wikio.co.uk/info?id=69217592 By David Roberts John Kerry came out swinging tonight, calling for, among other things, "an energy revolution." The best riff in the speech was a comparison between Senator McCain and Candidate McCain. He talked about McCain's many flip-flops (including on drilling) and capped it off with: "talk about being before it before he was against it!" And this defense of Obama's patriotism and national security instincts are by far the clearest, strongest, and most rousing yet in the convention. He's absolutely reaming the Republicans on their attempt to claim the mantle of patriotism and country. Who woulda thunk it? Kerry, with the most powerful, punchy, direct speech yet. A real stemwinder. Thu, 28 Aug 2008 01:47:16 GMT http://www.wikio.co.uk/info?id=69217592 2008-08-28T01:47:16Z http://www.wikio.co.uk/info?id=69212340 By David Roberts I'm here at an panel on the Pickens Plan, featuring Carl Pope of the Sierra Club, John Podesta of the Center for American Progress, and T. Boone himself. (And I have internet access!) Most interesting tidbit to come from the panel: T. Boone had a 30 second commercial that began, "Iran is moving its vehicle fleet to natural gas so it can sell oil to us at $140 a barrel. And we're doing absolutely nothing about it." NBC rejected the ad! They said, "can you prove we're doing nothing about it?" (I've tried to find the commercial online -- I'll post it if I can track it down.) Otherwise, there were no fireworks -- mainly because the session was never opened up to questions from the audience. I know lots of people were geared up to ask aggressive questions -- the green left is in an uproar about Pickens. They think he's constructed his entire plan as a triple-bank-shot attempt to make more money from water rights and ... I don't know, a bunch of other stuff that makes him Satan. See here . I have trouble getting worked up about it. The first thing Pickens said is that he's given $700 million to charity over the last five years, and that when he dies his entire estate will be donated to charity. "This isn't about making money." Now, maybe he's lying. Maybe he wants to make more money ... so he can give more to charity? Maybe he's lying about giving money to charity? But the notion that he would go through this elaborate, baroque effort to make money, when he has so much money already, and so many opportunities to make more money when he wants ... it's just not plausible to me. Pickens also said nice things about climate change and Gore -- he said it's "on page two" for him, and he'll work on that once he reduces the oil imports, but he's not a denier, he's not working against climate change solutions. He's also dialed down the natural gas stuff a bit -- now he's mainly pushing it as a substitute transportation fuel for the truck shipping fleet, which turns over quickly and could be shifted to nat gas much more seamlessly. (Also, trucks aren't really amenable to electrification, without much better batteries.) The point I'm getting around to -- and the panel just reinforced this for me -- is that it seems perfectly sensible for Carl Pope and other enviros to be opportunistically taking advantage of Pickens' money and his high profile to be driving smart energy policy. Pickens' plan is one among others -- Gore's plan, CAP's plan. The point is to build a head of steam, to build momentum behind the notion that we need a plan . As Pickens said, "a fool with a plan will beat a genius without one every time." I'd go even farther: I've seen Pickens speak several times now, and each time he seems a bit softer, a bit more mellow, and a bit happier. I tend to think doing good work is good for his crusty old soul. He's finding out that people he's long thought of as evil Socialist whatevers are actually good, smart, pragmatic people, willing to work with him toward common goals. Doing work to unite people is having a salutary effect on him, and it seems to me we'd be smart to encourage that, make a model of it, rather than rejecting it and him out of old animosities and weird conspiracy theories. It is not good political strategy to erect high walls around your issue and keep people out. I am sick of purity tests. Yay for T. Boone! (Warning: I'm exhausted from very little sleep and may be slightly punchy. I reserve the right to completely change my mind about this tomorrow.) Wed, 27 Aug 2008 23:15:27 GMT http://www.wikio.co.uk/info?id=69212340 2008-08-27T23:15:27Z http://www.wikio.co.uk/info?id=69123425 By David Roberts Here it is, almost 3am, I'm at my hotel, and this is the first time I've had an internet connection all day . There's no wireless in the convention hall and no wireless at any of the venues I've been to so far. There's (allegedly spotty, slow) wireless at the Big Tent for bloggers, but who wants to go sit in the Big Tent when there are all these interesting events happening? Don't these people know there are journalists in town? Why is there not universal wireless yet? And where's my jetpack? I was promised a jetpack. Long and short of it is, I've been running full speed all day, basically attempting to remember everything I see for when I finally get a chance to post. Those who know me know that my memory is, um, less than reliable. So I'll just try to throw a bunch of stuff out, and maybe return to some of the more interesting bits when I have more time. (Incidentally, Kate's been able to post throughout the day because she has one of those fancy cards that get you wireless access anywhere you get a phone signal. I gotta get me one of those.) The first interesting thing I went to today was a "Rocky Mountain roundtable" on energy and environment issues, moderated by Vijay Vaitheeswaran, a writer on these subjects for The Economist . (Vaitheeswaran is super-smart, but he talked too damn much -- an affliction for which I have a great deal of sympathy.) There were politicos like Rep. Markey (who's ubiquitous here), Rep. Blumenauer, Sen. Bingaman, Colo. Gov. Bill Ritter, and Seattle mayor Greg Nichols, along with an array of private sector and nonprofit folks. The panels were running all day -- I caught the last two. My high-level takeaway was this: it's astonishing how sophisticated the energy conversation has become in a relatively short period of time, at least on the left side of the aisle. Virtually everyone up there -- notably including the politicos -- had smart things to say, good policy proposals, and nuanced views. There was no BSing about fake solutions like ethanol and clean coal, only a tight focus on how to structure markets to allow rapid scaling of renewable energy and efficiency. Markey summed up the general sentiment well when he said (paraphrasing): the tide of history is moving inexorably in our direction on these issues. The technology, the private capital, the entrepreneurship, the economics of renewables, and even, finally, slowly, the public policy. Everything is poised to take off. Republicans may look like they own the energy issue right now, but it's a last gasp, a final flail before they recede into irrelevance (at least until they get with the 21st century). Nobody on stage seemed to think that the basic direction of the future was in question. It was a matter of timing and details. (Incidentally, Van Jones got three minutes to make his spiel, and yet again, the crowd greeted it with wild enthusiasm. The power of his message is just manifest to everyone who hears it. In one venue after another I've seen him speak and seen people's eyes light up. It's amazing.) There was an interesting cleantech meet-and-greet later, where Kate and I got a couple of good video interviews, but I expect she'll be uploading those soon, so I won't get into it. And then there were the convention speeches. Kate did a few posts earlier tonight, so I'll just follow up with my general impressions. Former Va. governor and Senate candidate Mark Warner: what a $%*! snooze! Ohio governor Ted Strickland: snooooze. Mass. governor Deval Patrick: started out OK and then ... snooze. Don't these people speak in public for a living? There was nothing on climate from these guys, and only token energy stuff, all via bland mentions of "energy independence." Then Mt. governor Brian Schweitzer: now here's a guy who can sell a speech! The guy's just a hoot to watch. Lamentably, he shilled a bit for clean coal, biofuels, and Montana oil. But on balance, he hit climate change and renewable energy way harder than any of the other speakers, and hit them well -- with strength, and with appropriate mockery of McCain. Hillary Clinton: I'm almost scared to read the mainstream press accounts of her speech, because I just know they'll contain the kind of tired cynicism that sours things like this. But to me, it was pitch perfect. She was subdued at first -- obviously it's not pleasant for her to be officially marking the final death of the dream she fought so hard for -- but she made a powerful case, and the crowd responded with a passion and electricity that had been notably lacking earlier in the evening. The message to her supporters was unambiguous: don't make the mistake of voting for John McCain. It's about America, not Hillary. It was the best speech I've heard her give, by a considerable margin, and absolutely crushed the speeches before it. Finally, to cap off the night, an excellent party thrown by the League of Conservation Voters, featuring a performance by Death Cab for Cutie. Well, it was billed as DCFC, but it turned out to be singer Ben Gibbard (supporting wicked bitchin' new sideburns and hair) and sideman Chris Walla doing an acoustic gig. The crowd ate it up, though. A big success for LCV. Tomorrow: a T. Boone event that promises a few fireworks, my panel on new media which promises ... um, me blabbing, and then over to the hall to see Bill Clinton and Joe Biden (assuming I can scam another credential). Hopefully I'll be able to get online during the day so I won't have to do another one of these rambling, half-intoxicated late night brain dumps. Wed, 27 Aug 2008 09:13:03 GMT http://www.wikio.co.uk/info?id=69123425 2008-08-27T09:13:03Z http://www.wikio.co.uk/info?id=69280619 Apologies for failing to have the live stream going on Wednesday. I don't expect to have the same problems today. But if you want to see some of my video highlights from yesterday, including interviews with Gov. Chris Gregoire, Steve... Thu, 28 Aug 2008 13:56:09 GMT http://www.wikio.co.uk/info?id=69280619 Bill Scher 2008-08-28T13:56:09Z http://www.wikio.co.uk/info?id=69017601 Writing for the Gristmill, an environmental news blog, David Roberts shares some 3am convention thoughts: A t-shirt, being sold by a very, very large black man (I’m serious — he was like 6′7″), that had Obama’s picture on the front, and on the back: “A black man’s running — and it ain’t from the police!” It’s [...] Tue, 26 Aug 2008 13:41:31 GMT http://www.wikio.co.uk/info?id=69017601 jcwinnie 2008-08-26T13:41:31Z http://www.wikio.co.uk/info?id=69292903 Halle Berry is among the latest round of celebrities to take part in the Sept. 5 multi-network special “Stand Up to Cancer.” Mekhi Phifer joins the Oscar-winning actress on the list of newly-added stars, which include Jessica Alba, Jack Black, Abigail Breslin, Kate Bosworth, Sheryl Crow, Ellen DeGeneres, Melissa Etheridge, Jimmy Fallon, Jennifer Garner, Brad [...] Thu, 28 Aug 2008 14:51:23 GMT http://www.wikio.co.uk/info?id=69292903 Ryann Hayman 2008-08-28T14:51:23Z http://www.wikio.co.uk/info?id=69288998 The Conservation Council of New Brunswick today welcomed the release of the Task Force report on Forest Diversity and Wood Supply. The report is the outcome of three years of work, chaired by UNB Forestry professor Thom Erdle, and including the participation of the Conservation Council’s policy director David Coon. The government today is also [...] Thu, 28 Aug 2008 12:41:53 GMT http://www.wikio.co.uk/info?id=69288998 tracy 2008-08-28T12:41:53Z http://www.wikio.co.uk/info?id=68989871 By David Roberts I'm here at the DNC convention with Kate, who I believe has done a couple of posts already. The reason I don't know for sure is -- it's friggin' insane here! I've been running at a full sprint since I got off the plane this afternoon. I'm typing this before collapsing into bed at almost 3am. Some interesting stuff to hash over later, but for now, here's the first two things I saw heading into downtown Denver this afternoon: A giant electronic billboard, right across the street from the convention hall, with the blazing, blinking message: Drill here, drill now, pay less. Yes, the "American energy" people are thick on the ground in Denver. There's even a clean coal truck circulating around downtown. Suffice to say, the forces of clean energy have neither the organization nor the money to effectively counter this presence. A t-shirt, being sold by a very, very large black man (I'm serious -- he was like 6'7"), that had Obama's picture on the front, and on the back: "A black man's running -- and it ain't from the police!" It's funny, but there's a serious sentiment behind it, something I sensed as I watched the crowd as Michelle Obama spoke tonight. Are we really going to do this? Elect a black man president? A black woman first lady? A black family to move into the White House? It's at once thrilling, scary, inspiring, and, in a strange way, not quite real. Everyone is holding their breath. More from Denver soon, if Kate and I can find a decent internet connection. Turns out the "Big Tent" wireless sucks, and there's no connection at all inside the convention hall. Don't these people know we're trying to blog!? Tue, 26 Aug 2008 08:45:18 GMT http://www.wikio.co.uk/info?id=68989871 2008-08-26T08:45:18Z http://www.wikio.co.uk/info?id=69193582 I'll have more to say about it as the official publication date (Sept. 8, says Amazon; Sept. 15, says Basic Books) approaches. But it's for sale at Amazon right now. Murray Polner and I are excited about it --... Wed, 27 Aug 2008 20:38:46 GMT http://www.wikio.co.uk/info?id=69193582 Thomas Woods 2008-08-27T20:38:46Z