Motley Moose – Archive

The Guardian is claiming today, through unnamed ‘sources’ that, Obama will open some kind of dialogue with Hamas.

The Guardian has spoken to three people with knowledge of the discussions in the Obama camp. There is no talk of Obama approving direct diplomatic negotiations with Hamas early on, but he is being urged by advisers to initiate low-level or clandestine approaches, and there is growing recognition in Washington that the policy of ostracising Hamas is counter-productive. A tested course would be to start contacts through Hamas and the US intelligence services, similar to the secret process through which the US engaged with the PLO in the 1970s. Israel did not become aware of the contacts until much later.

After ten days of aerial attacks and rocket salvos, the conflict in Gaza has now become an all out ground offensive. During that time, Obama, Hillary and Biden have maintained a studied silence.

Is this just pre-inauguration protocol? Or does it signal an approval of the Bush administration’s policy towards Hamas and Israel? If so, is this a good thing?

Consider this an open thread on the mounting conflict in Gaza.

Goddamn, someone got there first

Like many since the election, I’ve been somewhat silent in the blogosphere. This is partly because I had to get my life back, and rid myself of late night blogging addictions, but also because I could see the big blogs reverting to type. The necessary unity of the campaign then fell into the predictable outpourings of repressed dissent, much of it a reversion to past battles.  But a provocative piece in UK’s prospect Magazine by Michael Lind has got me thinking about where we go from here.

The American centre-left has gone through several phases in the last century, some more successful than others: the Progressive and Populist movements in the early 1900s; the bold and successful New Deal synthesis of 1932-68; the defensive, cautious neoliberalism of the late 20th century. The next reinvention of the centre-left may begin during Obama’s term in office.

Is this true? And if the centre left needs to reinvent itself, where do we go for inspiration?

This is partly a diary to celebrate the survival of the Moose over the dangerous last few months while Sarah Palin was circling in a helicopter with her telescopic rifle, and also a summary of a talk I will be doing on Thursday November 20th, at a plenary session that will start at about 10 a.m EST and last for an hour and a half.

The Conference is called No Frontiers? Free Speech and the Internet and is hosted by English PEN, the 21st Century Trust, and is being covered by The Guardian in its Comment is Free section. My specific talk is: Crashing The Sweetiegate – how online forums and political advocacy could transform the political sphere

For my fellow Moosers, the title (suggested by the organisers) is self explanatory, and some of you will be familiar with basic argument from my Flaming for Obama piece in Prospect Magazine last month, which drew an unexpectedly benign response from the proprietor of MYDD.

But here I’m inviting you all to show how the liberal blogosphere works, and respond in real time, or whatever time you choose, to the basic points with critiques, thoughts, flames or fail cartoons.  

No point trying to avoid the obvious. Several of the most recent diaries here have actually become intense and fascinating debates about the legacy of sexism after the election.

Above is a word cloud of the debate so far – around 4pm EST 15th Nov.

O What a Beautiful Morning.

Actually, it’s a grey damp start to a new Era here in London. But despite sleeplessness and hangovers, the world seems a lot brighter today. People are walking with a spring in their step.

What happened last night? What happened over the last year? Did I dream all that? Did America, the country that gave George Bush two terms: whose voters were robbed in 2000, bamboozled in 2004: did that same country really elect this smart, dedicated, eloquent, passionate man called Barack Hussein Obama?

When our most read newspaper, a famously right wing tabloid, publishes a headline like this, then you know the world has changed, changed utterly…

After all the elegies and eulogies, this is the best. From Obama himself in North Carolina.

“She has gone home”

Full text below

We’re on the eve of another D-Day, another epic moment in the battle for democratic values.

Once again, Andrew Sullivan, no liberal by nature, has captured one of the fundamental reasons why Obama must win. And it’s something we don’t often hear about in time of

O My Prophetic Soul  Hamlet: Prince of Denmark, Scene 5, Act I

Words are all I have. As a British citizen I cannot vote in this election. I cannot phone canvass. I cannot donate. All I have are words. But  after this amazing  campaign and all the words we’ve all expended, I just want to release two more crucial words into the blogosphere: thank you.

Thank you for the flames and mojos, criticisms and kudos: thank you for the fail pictures and the poll analysis, for the LOLZ cats and live blogging threads. But above all thank you for your tolerating me here. As a foreigner in these virtual forums I’ve experienced the best of American hospitality, just as my son has experienced it during the last few days in Pennsylvania, organising, canvassing, getting out the vote.

Thank you. These are just words.  But I cannot vote or donate. Words are all I have.

Words were all I had four years ago when I first became actively engaged in your debates. I had my reasons for being so caught up in the last election, but I was mainly a lurker. But nearly exactly four years ago, on November the fourth 2004, just after the savage and dispiriting defeat, I wrote my first ever diary on a blog to thank Democrats, even in defeat, for providing such inspiration and passion and hard work.

On that terrible day in November 4th 2004, I also tried to write some words of consolation. I don’t know how much they helped. I drew analogies from the Labour Party’s three successive defeats and 18 years in the wilderness, to encourage you all to rebuild and regroup.

A few days ago I took a look at that diary for the first time in four years and I was stunned to find this: