Comedy Central's impressario out-Foxes, exposes Fox | The News is NowPublic.com

Comedy Central's impressario out-Foxes, exposes Fox | The News is NowPublic.com


Comedy Central's impressario, the venerable Jon Stewart, host of the Daily Show, New York City, has out-foxed the Fox news network, and put a nick in their "fair and balanced" crown.

I think it is clear that if they are willing to deceive on one point, they may be unfaithful in larger matters: Hannity has been showing September footage as proof of last week's huge turnout, and that's not fair and balanced:

In the US, Fox News has been promoting a series of right-wing protestsagainst Obama and the Democrats' health care plan. They urge viewers to attend the protests, then give them huge coverage on the network.
But the network went a step too far this week, as Jon Stewart showed on the Daily Show.

The network's Sean Hannity had a segment in which he and two conservative Republican congressmen crowed about the size of an anti-health care rally held last week. But as The Daily Show discovered, they used video footage from a much larger rally held in September. What tipped them off? Thursday was clear and the leaves on the trees were a beautiful autumn colour. On September 12, the sky was cloudy and the leaves green. Check out the clip for yourself.

This episode shows perfectly why the White House has decided to treat Fox News as a political opponent, not a news organisation like CNN.

Source: guardian.co.uk

Does CA Proposition 8 Revise the Constitution? An Important Question

The Supreme Court of California is reviewing Proposition 8 and has 90 days to decide if it is constitutional.  An argument has been made that banning gay marriage is a major revision of the U.S. Constitution,  and not an amendment.  If this is found to be the case,  Proposition 8 would be necessarily deemed unconstitutional.    Whatever the decision,  the losing side will cry foul.  Which is more important,  the will of the people voting in free elections,  or the decisions of Superior Court judges?  This question was also asked regarding Lawrence v Texas,  which set the precedent for decriminalizing sodomy. 

Strong secular arguments have been made that allowing gay marriage is a major and pernicious revision of the constitution.  Gay marriage is not a neutral issue.  It is not the same,  for example,  as allowing deaf persons to marry,  or as allowing biracial marriage.  Strong arguments have been made on both sides;  yet there are concerns belonging to the contra side which have not been seen within the simplistic framing of the conflict by mainstream media.  Gay marriage is not the cause of divorce of familial breakdown or the blurring of gender roles (obviously)  but its acceptance by mainstream culture would certainly make these worse.  It would give people to understand that we were in a wholly new world,  somewhat the way the sexual revolution of the '60s and '70s did, and with the same alienation and confusion coming in its train.

  In my opinion,  the case for civil unions,  but no gay marriage,  is the most workable.  Philosophically,  the love argument is weak.  Love of two persons for each other demands allowing civil unions,  but does not easily encroach on natural law.

After the seven jugdes had listened for 3 hours to boths sides'  arguments,  a majority of them seemed inclined to uphold Proposition 8,  not believing it to be a major revision of the U.S. Constitution.  Kenneth Starr has raised questions which he says "trancend the marriage issue",  touching on democratic disourse,  popular sovereignty,  and the meaning of the state constitution.

San Francisco's Civic Center Plaza has become a colorful arena of argument and debate.  Hundereds have gathered to await the court's decision.    Some are arguing philosohically and politically,  while others take the religious tack,  complete with bullhorns and talk of Sodom and Gomorrah.  ( The last being a bit silly,  I think,  regarding the age we live in.  )

 Over 18,000 gay couples were allowed to marry before Prop 8 won in the November elections.  This would seem to indicate that there had been legalized gay marriage in the state of California,  albeit for a brief period.  What will be the status of these marriages if Prop 8 is upheld,  is anyone's guess.

I think whether one is for Prop 8 or among its opponents rest on one's stance toward culture,  the marriage perspective being merely secondary.    If one takes the sentimental view of love and individualism  ( what I consider the liberal and feminist view which has its root in '60s ideology) then one is going to oppose Proposition 8.    Conversely, if one takes the conservative view  -  and here I mean conservatism in its best sense  -  then one is unlikely to want gay marriage to take root in the culture,  because one can see that there will be a myriad of unintended consequences,  and a backsliding into what we have been attempting to escape.  Classical liberalism would stop at the civil unions.  Hyper-liberalism will want to encroach of traditional values.  It is not homophobic to be against gay marriage,  by the way,    and no one ought ever attempt to assert this.  This issue has been made far too black and white,  and over simplified to the point of negation.  And yet. . . There is so much passion coming from the opponents of Proposition 8,  I wonder if there will ever be resignation.  Perhaps a middle road will be found.  It remains to be seen.  As Nietzche said,  "Let others grapple with it.".

From WRSA Blog: The Winds of Civil War

The Coming Crisis?   I post this piece from the right for 3 reasons:  1.  It is intelligent and well written.  2.  It includes possible scenarios which link closely with ideas expressed by Howe and Strauss in The Fourth Turning:  An American Prophesy.  3. It is important to know positions which may run counter to one's own,  but may be so urgent and well-stated that they modify one's own perspective.  Although I am largely in disagreement with certain of its premises,  the idea of our Civil War history rising again,  as thought the former were a precedent and pre-history,  compelled to reassert itself in the eleventh hour,  is so in lime with the saeculum theory of Howe and Strauss,  that I feel an urgency to post the link  : 



Western Rifle Shooters Association: The Winds of Civil War

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Today's Tom Sawyer: Obama the archetype for his generation

Today's Tom Sawyer knows changes aren't permanent,  but Change is.


 Lost and vulnerable in his youth,  Barack Obama has gone on to attain the most influential and powerful position within the global community.  Generational power was at work.   His is indeed a Generation Jones/X victory story.  "He may not always come when you want him,  but he's right on time"  runs an old spiritual gospel hymn;  he has come at the historical moment in which he was sorely needed. 

 These pictures taken in his youth are at once vulnerable,  wisftul,  and full of child-like arrogance.  It is the image of the waif,  who is waiting for the winds to blow his way.  A modern Tom Sawyer.  

 I think Barack taps into these warring elements within the psyche of this generation,  and lets its members know that  he is the elder brother,  appearing on the scene to help.  This is part of why pragmatically,  he has beaten the empirical odds.  Ego and archetype are entwined in him,  and the image he projects is in tune with the needs of the times.  America more than any other nation ought to know the importance of media image,  of psychological needs which fluctuate with generational shifts,  and of the vast importance of the type of the hero. 

  Back in the campaign trail days of the primaries,  Bennet Kelley wrote a piece which appeared in the Huffington Post,  entitled,  "Obama and Generation Jones:  It is Our Time to Lead".  He spoke correctly,  and it was already clear to many of us then that Hillary and McCain were running against history and time,  and generational shift.  The natural chronology of the historical saeculum is as reliable as the seasons themselves.  Summer gives way to autumn,  and it is useless to deny that cooler winds are blowing.  ( Another  very good piece on generational struggle and its expression via the ascension of Barack Obama,  from the campaign trail days,  is at http://blog.newsweek.com/blogs/stumper/archive/2008/04/08/the-real-obama-clinton-generation-gap.aspx   )   This generational apex and reversal was in the air at the Democratic National Convention:  It was palpable.  Howe and Strauss had prophesied that a generational constellation would be aligned in 2005 that would be a powder keg,  awaiting the lit match of the catalyst.  Those at the helm would be pragmatists,  doers,  changers and shapeshifters.  The Nike slogan of the '90s,  just do it ,  would be their watchword.  The very air,  the historians said,  would feel "stale,  used up;  primed for something new".  This is when the Hegelian world historical moment,  the kairos,  the ancient Greek word for the moment when all turns around in the eleventh hour,  reaches its apex and begins the reversal,  if only the hero rushes in where angels fear to tread. . .


 I leave with these lyrics from the Rush song,  Today's Tom Sawyer,  which came out about the time that Barack was free wheeling into his 20s.    They speak of him and his -  our  -  generation  uncannily:

                    Today's Tom Sawyer he gets high on you/and the space he invades he gets by on you/  . . . tho his mind is not for rent,  don't put him down as arrogant/his reserve a quiet defense/riding out the days events/. . . what you say about his company is what you say about society/. .. the world is, the world is,  love and life are deep(maybe as his skies are wide?)/No, his mind is not for rent to any god or government/always hopeful yet discontent/he knows changes aren't permanent,  but Change is. . .

The Case for National Education Standards - washingtonpost.com

 I agree fully with this piece by Weingarten  from washingtonpost.com : A return to a national consensus in all ways has been made necessary by the splintering and individual interest attitude which has held sway since the 1980s.  Howe and Strauss predicted such a national return,  and those on the right who complain greatly about it should know that simple cause and effect is the order of the day.  "Submit to the law that you yourselves proposed"  was Nietzsche's reply to those who complain at the Change which they themselves have made necessary and inevitable. 


Randi Weingarten - The Case for National Education Standards - washingtonpost.com

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Huckabee: Obama Stimulus is "Anti-Religious"

A voice from the religious right.

Former U.S. Presidential candidate Mike Huckabee has scorned the Obama stimulus bill,  calling it "anti-religious"  because it prohibits the federal funding of religious school building.  Very silly,  very unseemly,  and seems coming from that old world of the Bush years,  when the culture wars had not yet been won by the bi-partisan philospher warrior.

It would appear that Huckabees seemingly modest Christian demeanor which had its own charm during the early primary season has given way to sour grapes and complaining and petty resentment.  If he were the man he pretended to be last spring,  he would be happy that a populist and minority and Christian thinker were in office.   Bill Maher was just saying on Larry King Live that a church in one of the Carolina's had a sign which read,  "Obama.  Osama.  Are they brothers?"   Tres silly.  And  Citibank lost 10 billion dollars,  Maher said,  under the Republican watch:  That is fiscal conservatism?  The Iraqui was and another trillion?  A fantasy,  says Maher.    And yet Obama is now the dark and dangerous one.      Meh,  as the British say.  Fed up with all the whining.  But it is interesting:  A year ago,  The Observer had a book review, and it was entitled, Requiem for the Religious Right.  The journalist declared "the era of the religious right is over"  and asserted that the relationship between religion and politics was dissolving.  The above is  the picture they posted of Huckabee:  He looks every inch the old stoic preacher of the Pioneer days of the west.  I felt sorry for him.  But the whining and dragging out of what must be allowed to die,  is grating,  to say the least.  

On Liberalism, Theocrats, and the Politics of Fornication : Damon Linker

 Damon Linker speaks on freedom and obedience in the New Republic,  and despite what his critics have said,  makes some elegant arguments for civil liberties.  Judging from some of the posted comments,  I think his critics make a logical error.  They are assuming that those who would choose fornication over self-restraint do so from mere desire for  "pleasure".  This certainly does not have to be the case.  One can be self-respecting and fastidious,  and still "fornicate" ,  for quite sublime and noble reasons,  even transcendent ones. One can remain discerning and selective,  and only engage in these acts with people whom with  such relating is fitting and proper.   It is not the same,  as one blogospheric commenter asserted,  as "stuffing one's face with doughnuts".   Fornication and adultery may be acts of civil disobedience.   The link to the  New Republic Linker piece: 

Freedom and Obedience - Damon Linker

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An Interesting Juncture for Left, Right, and Center to Ponder. . .

 I felt I had to post this,  as it goes to the heart of so many of my own concerns.  I am interested both in short term political pragmatism,  and in the long term project of creating an America in which personal liberty and civic spirit could be joined in a coherent and fruitful union.  For some time I have found that the right and left,  the centrists and Libertarians,  are somehow skimming over some central idea.  Much is spoken regarding liberty,  small government,  even as an appalling statism advances,  and most of it during the '80s and '90s.  It is as though what I see as infringements on basic privacy and freedom  -  the frightening expansion of meddlesome social work,  zoning laws and thousands of new terms of violations,  rehabilitation programs,  family courts, bizarre new expansions to definitions of "sexual" and other crimes,   which have forayed  into the middle and upper middle classes,  where they never meddled before,  to my knowledge  -  goes unnoticed by so many.  Perhaps what is being discussed in the following post may be some beam of  directing light in the storm?  : 


The Future of Liberaltarianism - Ross Douthat

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Philosophy, Culture, Politics

Philosophy,  Culture,  and Politics   The importance of an understanding of philosophy in having a firm grasp of competing ideologies within culture and politics cannot be stressed enough.  I am always surprised at the naivete   of those who are college educated,  but did not go beyond the Intro.  to Philosophy requirements in their reading.  I admire Lou Marinoff for his setting up of a philosophical "cafe society"  in  New York in the 1990s, and his heroic attempt  -  largely successful  -   to make inroads into the general culture for philosophical practice and applied philosophy in general.  

One of my bloggers,  who has full author's rights on this site,  Eric Bryant,  is a philosophical counselor;   a talented philosopher and writer,   who has experienced the typical problems which all practicioners go through in getting  a client base.   But I think the idea of philosophical discourse in the cafe-style may be just as important a venue for a philosophical practitioner,  particularly in this time of "the changing of the guard".  We now have a president who is highly literary,  and strongly philosophical.  Steeped in the writings of philosopher Reinhold Niebuhr,  Obama's ideas are ideologically grounded;  thus  his "Change"  mantra  goes beyond  political rhetoric. 

I can think of no more important cultural exersize,  than to examine philosophically the problems that our culture faces nationally and globally,  and to understand that there is a coherent philosophy to Obama's policies.  Thus,  the questioning of them ought to be just as coherent and philosophically grounded.  Thoughts for future projects.  A couple of interesting items:  in Spring 2008 Hypatia,  Haslanger's Changing the Ideology and Culture of Philosophy:  Not by Reason (Alone) ,  available for pdf download.  Also an informative site:  http://www.comm.umn.edu/foucault/ppc.html  
and an excellent compendium of the works of Lasch :  http://www.bigbrother.net/~mugwump/Lasch/

WAKE UP AMERICA BLOG: 9/11 AND THE FEMINIZATION OF AMERICA

Excellent piece,  a must-read,  from Wake Up America Blog:  The Case of Lt Col West and the Feminization of Amercian Culture:


http://wwwwakeupamericans-spree.blogspot.com/2008/12/case-of-lt-col-west-and-feminization-of.html

To Check Out : Howe and Strauss Millennial Generation Phenomenum: Herds of the Fathers

Herds of the Fathers: "We are here to stay" : spoken like Millennials Rising
With a brand name which sounds like a title chapter of one of Howe and Strauss' texts, "Herds of the Fathers" is an up and coming men's fashion line to be watched closely , if intuition is to be trusted. Something tells me that these college boys ( as I cannot see their profile on blog, I will assume they are males) are on to something significant. Howe and Strauss, those venerable American historians and futurists ( authors of the '90s epic books, "Generations", "Millennials Rising", and "The Fourth Turning") predicted the return to a male culture, a sort of prodigal machismo moment for America, in the early decades of the 21st Century. Perhaps Herds of the Fathers is a signpost of this prediction.

Thus far, their postings sound edgey, intelligent, and fresh. And above all, geared toward males, and bearing a name which has incredibly significant socio-psychological implications for their generation. I am wishing them the best of luck, and will continue to watch them as they grow and evolve in the era of Barack Obama. http://herdsofthefathers.blogspot.com/

SOME OBSERVATIONS ON THINKING, AMERICAN LITERATURE AND CINEMA

Reflections from our London blogger, Martin Huxter. We welcome "a little Brit musing" as was welcomed by all, Mozart's Eine klein nacht muzik ( from this editor, a little play on words; a little night music. . . . . . . )

Just reflecting on the better moments of my life so far, it would be a fair evaluation to say that many of those moments involved very little thought; "going with the flow" as people often say. Don't get me wrong, a feeling of connection with the world often comes from a certain degree of thinking about our situations we find ourselves in, but is there anything to be said for the argument that too much thinking can lead to insanity. There is a thin line between insanity and genius but are these conscequences of two very different schools of thought? From reading some of Anthony Peake's work alone it can be argued that individuals suffering from Schizophrenia for example, are experiencing an overload of influence from the Daemon, but could it also be argued that too much thought from the Eidolon will little Daemon guidence results in mental sickness? A wanderer with little guidence is much more likely to get lost perhaps?



Over analytical characters are the most interesting characters throughout all forms of entertainment, indeed, my favourite film HurlyBurly provides much insight to this. The main character learning that his hedonistic ways will lead to nothing but trying to find answers in the wrong place. So could it be said that it's not the amount of thinking that we commit ourselves to, but indeed, the value of the thought we give things? Then there's good ol' Holden Caulfield, perhaps one of the most popular "over-thinkers" in literary history. Why is it we adore sweet Holden so much? Holden clearly has an unhealthy mind, but there is something admirable and enjoyable about the way he thinks that millions have related to over the years. It's much more than just simple adolesance, it's coming to terms with the world and finding a way to cope with all the things that repulse us so much. In the Legend of Baggar Vance, a struggling alcoholic and golfer is trying to find his form again. Matt Damon's character learns how there is one perfect shot for every hole, allowing himself to become one with everything he is able to find this "perfect shot" This has been applied to all sorts of sports, throughout film in particular. As i've mentioned several times before, Basketball players descibe being "In the zone" as when they hit a certain rhythm that allows them to excell to standards above and beyond their competitors by just being in the moment and letting things happen. If you still believe thinking too much can be such a bad thing, then you need look no further than the performance of the England Football squad during those wonderful moments of penalties over the years! Even things as simple as planning a New Years eve celebration, too much thought, expectation and planning seems to put people off this holiday now, where as a spontanious evening that cathches us off guard seems to spark a great deal of pleasure in our often conditioned and routined lives.

This is clearly just a very superficial thing to point out but how do you all feel about this? Think about some of the best times on your life, did they come from feeling one with the elements, did they come from acheiving something through application of thought? Clearly there are times we experience both, but is there any link between these two very different ways of behaving and the Eidolon/Daemon roles we have observed?

Much like with the double-slit experiment where the act of observing effects the outcome, too much thought has blocked our ability to feel a oneness with the elements and just be. "Clear your mind" - At the same time, it's trite cliche that gets over used in movies! But also, it is practiced in Yoga and many forms of meditation that prove to be very beneficial.

Just a thought.

Empty your mind, be formless. Shapeless, like water. If you put water into a cup, it becomes the cup. You put water into a bottle and it becomes the bottle. You put it in a teapot it becomes the teapot. Now, water can flow or it can crash. Be water my friend. - Bruce Lee

ALTERNATIVE CINEMA CRITIQUE: THE BLOOD POETS: A CINEMA OF SAVAGERY BY JASON HORSLEY

"Killing is a form of our wandering mourning." ~Rilke; Sonnets to Orpheus

Just happened upon an online review of this text, which I had not heard of, but whose author, Jason Horsley, is known to me. A quote of this author on an alternative political website enticed me to do a search on him, and I discovered he is author of several texts.

The text presented here is an analysis and critique of the violence in American cinema, from the 1950s to the end of the '90s. From the Amazon reviews I read, it is superbly written, and its author's perception astute and compelling. He treats his subject with dignity, say his reviewers, and I recall his blog postings which verify here.

This theme can be expanded on, surely, taken to our present era, the dawn of the Obama age, and may be examined in light of the shifts which may ensue, regarding sensibility and opinion on violence. Howe and Strauss have much to say on this theme of Hollywood, and views of violence, in light of the historical saeculum, and its seasons. It so happens also, that this theme of cinematic violence and the appearance of a "Prince of Peace" as our president elect has been occupying my refection, largely.

I will write my own review, when my ordered text arrives, and do plan to request an interview with its author. I have no doubt that the text is well written, and the analysis shrewd, as I am already familiar with the author, both from his Matrix Warrior, and from the Anthony Peake Cheating the Ferryman forums. I happened to arrive in London on October 10, the very night Horsley was there with author Anthony Peake, but just missed being introduced to him. Perhaps next time, as it would be my honor. . .

Obamamania!!! UNI, FOR CHANGE

By Roscoe Newell, New York City associate

With litigation brewing in Camp Kovalinsky (shhh, government secrets!) there may be much in the offing with a new plan for combining Obama's Youth Corp with a "United For Change" Program ! Stay tuned, and where is our Canadian author, Mr. Cam Mc Naughton? And that Brit, Martin Huxter, the Gorgeous? And our Professor from WPU? Among others? Let's get this rollin', peo-PUL!!!


look below for some more. . . to be continued, the saga unfolds. . .




Here we are!

Obama's Moment and Hexagram 23 of the I Ching

In Richard Lynn's translation of Wang Bi's The Classic of Changes , hexagram 23, "Peeling", is a most appropriate symbol for the state of the America which Barack Obama inherits, and must guide. The hexagram depicts a state of "peeling" which has occurred, and is a sort of dire situation which was left to progress unchecked. The deterioration is nearing its apex and reversal; however, it needs the firm guiding hand of "a superior man of many qualities".

In line 6 (the top and final transition line of the hexagram) , Wang Bi speaks of " a large fruit, uneaten". This points to the potential for some new option, which has not been tried and which may reverse the damage. In the commentary, Wang Bi continues: "If [the leader] be a noble man, he will be borne up as in a carriage by the common folk; but if he be a petty man, he will allow peeling to happen to humble huts [i.e., America's economic and job crisis, and foreclosure calamity which the Bush Administration has left unchecked]; for he would never fulfil the role of the sovereign."

Obama stands poised to "obtain the carriage" and be "borne up" by the mass of Americans. He certainly is no petty man; he has the calm and sincerity of which the I Ching speaks praises, and to which it gives the label, "the superior one".

America's Changing Image

That we now have an African American poised to take the Presidential oath has far reaching implications for our nation's image. Barack Obama is a Generation Xer, biracial, and with links to Africa and Islam in his hisory. All of this serves to give him a post-Civil Rights era, new global order and Multicultural image. This image will project itself around the world, as a symbol of a new American order.

That Al Quada is clearly threatened by his eclectic and post-modern energy was made evident when they called him " a house Negro". This is telling: He does not project an image for the future which would draw upon the myriad struggles of a Malcom X; rather, he is Harvard educated, technologically savvy, with a bit of defiance lacing his fresh appeal. He seems almost an enigma; a question mark hanging over the multiple scenarios of which only a small number will obtain actualization.

All in all, his is an image which bespeaks a fresh start, new energy and possibilities injected into a national atmosphere which had come to seem stale, used up, and primed for something new.

OUR FOURTH TURNING PRESIDENT

American historians and authors, Neil Howe and William Strauss, in their epic work, The Fourth Turning: America's Next Rendezvous with Destiny (1998) foretold the rise of Generation Xes leadership, the resurgence of the disenfranchised Party, and the return to a consensus. Why Barack Obama is our Fourth Turning President.

Certainly, Howe and Strauss did their homework: The Fourth Turning is a thorough analysis of the saeculum (cyclical rhythms) of history; in particular, American history. There are four basic "seasons" that last for a period of about 2 decades each (the life of a generation's maximum powers). Within these cycles , a generational consteallation is at work; when this shifts, the next cycle or season begins. There is the High, which is the period of general consensus and prosperity, This is followed by an Awakening, in which spiritual values begin to press on the status quo, demanding change. Then there begins an Unravelling, in which the values of the High period, having made the transition through the Awakening, are torn asunder, and a sort of liberal and polymorphous anarchy replaces the simple and solid consensus. When this reaches its apex, it reverses; a rebellion against this disorder begins to ripple through society. A crisis point is reached;  there are cultural rifts,  war,  and economic collapse (2000-08,  the W. Bush years of Iraq,  culture wars, and our present severe recession) and you are in the Fourth Turning: the epic period of great struggle and undertaking. This is the point we have reached - as predicted nearly exactly,  by Howe and Strauss - in 2008. And it is Barack Obama - the Generation X, biracial, multicultral orator - who will lead us through its first stages.   As per Howe and Strauss, these are as follows:

 1.  A return to the general consensus:  Nowhere is this more evident than in Obama's idea,  which is accepted by millions,  of national service.  There is a uniformity and community spirit which is reminsicient of FDR's New Deal era ( this was in fact the last Fourth Turning).
2.  A call to unity :  Obama,  with his bipartisanship approach, his insistence on "one America",  and his cry of,  "Yes,  we can" is showing his fourth turning tendencies clearly.
3.  The ascent to leadership of the Nomadic Generation :  Obama,  although he is close to being a Boomer,  has all the traits belonging to those of Generation X,  which is the nomadic generation,  as were those who were children of the Transcendentalists during the Civil War crisis.  "Nomads"  are those who born during the Awakening, and grew up throughout the years of the Unravelling.  They lacked proper parenting,  were confused about values and boundaries,  and were cynical about those in power.  There is the air of the jaded orphan about them.  They are edgy and self-reliant.  They crave action and a sort of "soft revenge".   Obama himself grew up without a father,  and was raised by a single mother.  He had a mixed heritage which confused him, and dabbled in drugs and deviant sexual behavior.  There is an muted but persistant anger in his fine oratory.  "Yes,  we can" has a bit of the warrior cry in it. 
4.  The need for urgent action in the face of economic and cultural crisis:  Obama,  when asked in an interview during the general election season,  whether the present economic crisis and the Iraq war gave him stern pause when considering the possibility of his winning the Presidency,  replied that no,  this was the very historical moment when he was most needed.  The time is primed for one such as he,  an innovator;  and although many have been complaining that all his talk of "Change,  Hope,  Progress"  may prove to be so much rhetoric and empty fireworks,  the discening eye can see that he is "keyed up", primed for fresh action and advance. Obama will deal creatively with crisis;  and his penchant for innovation will find a field for its expression.     To be continued. . .