Cramer is outmatched and will one day rue his futile attempts to take on Stewart & TDS. If anybody had any remaining doubts about the failure of CNBC and their ilk to face the truth, Stewart makes his closing argument, with a rhythm, narrative, and exclamation that Johnny Cochran would  be proud of. Witness:

The new budget submitted by President Obama this week is mind bending in it’s size and scope. But it is crystal clear that his priorities are a radical departure from the Beltway centrist b.s. that the villagers usually love. Funding for expanded health care, cutting out tax breaks and easy money for Big Ag, Big Pharma, and many other well-connected industries are long-overdue and common sense changes we need.

But Obama’s crouched stance and aggressive rhetoric is just the kind of political muscle we need to get the public debate off on the right foot. This week’s address is a thing of beauty.

Money quote:

I know these steps won’t sit well with the special interests and lobbyists who are invested in the old way of doing business, and I know they’re gearing up for a fight as we speak.  My message to them is this:

So am I.

The system we have now might work for the powerful and well-connected interests that have run Washington for far too long, but I don’t.  I work for the American people.  I didn’t come here to do the same thing we’ve been doing or to take small steps forward, I came to provide the sweeping change that this country demanded when it went to the polls in November.

Make sure you’re calling and writing your representatives this week and demand that they fight for and support the administation’s priorities in the budget bills.

Update: Here’s a bit of smart and uplifting analysis on the character revealed by Obama’s budget, and the power of his bipartisan outreach:

… this budget reveals Mr Obama with new clarity. [...] He is a conviction politician: a bold progressive liberal. Yet his outreach to Republicans is no sham; his civility, I think, is not a front. He respects people who disagree with him, is capable of liking them, and is always willing to listen – but then stays true to his beliefs. This is a rare and devastating combination.

Obama has already shown that he is fighting for the policy changes that the electorate is craving. Politicaly, his instincts and inclusive rhetoric effectively disarm knee-jerk antipathy against him. There is no doubt that, as a nation, we are going to see huge, tangible impacts from both the stimulus and the 2010 budget, and Obama (as well as congressional Dems) are going to be credited for their leadership on those bills. Only the exploding deficits are politically dangerous. But for now, people are more concerned about saving the economy.

In celebration of Hilda Solis’s confirmation as Labor Secretary here’s a showing of the only U.S. made film to ever be blacklisted.

My friend Leighton reminded me of this film today and I had a thought to show a screening of it for the Good Ol’ Girls. I’m planning on running a event targeting young people and doing a education and action piece around the Employee Free Choice Act. Excited! I’ll be doing one in San Francisco and Los Angeles!

Recovery.gov looks to be the latest in the Obama administration’s series of efforts at clear and open communication. Arguably, this is the most important one yet, as President Obama today signed into law the single largest spending bill in history. They’ve even put together this fun map of how much goes where:

Beyond the artfully constructed infographic, what has impressed me so far, and given the rational observer reason to hope that the effort will work, is the President’s emphasis that the Federal government’s job does not end with the allocation of these hundreds of billions of taxpayer dollars.

Instead, he has constantly emphasized the imperative of our government agencies and individuals in them to handle this money with integrity and shrewdness. If the money is spent well, if the states, counties, and infrastructure efforts that are recipients of the cash injection actually put as much of the money into where it belongs, and if we can collectively avoid any serious scandals with the Stim, then as a nation we’ll see as much financial benefit as possible. Plus, from a national standpoint, if there is a sense that the money is being spent well, that can and will contribute to the right-track, consumer-confidence-type statistics that play a big role in consumer spending and business investment.

I’ve loved every moment of tape of President Obama’s unscripted interactions with his cabinet, staff, media, and even the footage that came out today, of him backstage at the DNC, conversing with Michell.

The Times has a piece examining his managment style, as it has manifested thus far in his schedule, office dress rules, and interactions with Congress and his staff, among other bits. Here are a few examples:

On starting the day:

Obama likes to have his workout first thing in the morning … He reads several papers, eats breakfast with his family and helps pack his daughters … off to school before making the 30-second commute downstairs.

Check out more examples after the jump. …click here to read more →

via Feministing, a nasty glimpse into the twisted brain of George H.W. Bush.

Why anyone would think that a) a former head of state should ever publicly utter something this mean, crass, and ugly or b) the “joke” was even mildly funny, betrays the vapidity of the Beltway culture. Apparently, the fact that Bush’s “beautiful mind” was confronted with an activist citizen protesting his policies with - gasp - a sign! is something he’ll, “never forget.”

Apparently Clinton recognized how offensive the joke was but instead of saying anything of value, he stands there and bemoans his inablity to say that he’d stay out of a woman’s womb. I suppose that his filandering ways have bitten him back, yet again. Poor guy.

I suppose we should feel sorry for all the suffering our former presidents must endure.

The stimulus bill is all the rage on cable news this week, and thanks to their massive majorities gains mouths, Republican talking points have been driving most of the coverage on the cable nets. Ergo, we have a media “debate” where the two big flaws with the bill are 1) not enough tax cuts to make garner Republican support and 2) spending for family planning prophylactics contraception.

Last night I was subjected to a couple of news segments wherein a) Republican politicians railed against provisions from the stimulus bill that they had singled out as failing to live up to their personal stimulus purity tests or b) the cable news host used those claims to pummel a Democrat.

The corollary that is never explored, and the question that these Republicans are never forced to answer, is whether every cent of tax cuts is held to the same standard. The game goes like this:

1. Republican Pol attacks Spending Provision X, which he frames as some Librul Pet Project that will have No Stimulus Effect. Despite the fact that the project spends money, which theoretically involvesl the government purchasing products, or building something, which by definition require people doing a job, ipso facto job creation and economic stimulus.
2. Republican Pol then claims that We All Know that the Best Stimulus is Tax Cuts (but not for poor people). “Put money in people’s pockets!” He says. Yet, what scrutiny is applied to explore what percentage of the almighty Tax Cut will actually stimulate the economy? Certainly the number is not 100%.
3. TV host then adopts this position. Any Democrat that appears on his or her show must defend the (un-fact-checked) claim that Provision X cannot possibly stimulate the economy, and why are you being to partisan!?

What should cable news hosts do instead? …click here to read more →

House Republican leader John Boehner, after meeting with President Obama, threw a hissy fit about being excluded from the stimulus package negotiations. Boehner, known for his occasional tearful speeches in the House, clutched his pears as he bemoaned “hundreds of millions of dollars” in the bill targeted at “contraception.” Say whathefuck?

This faux outrage and grasp for any potential limb that might reignite the old, once-effective, coalition of rightwing evangelicals and fiscal conservatives (ha!) is so tired a loathesome. But, because he had the audacity to make the preposterous claim about such a inflamatory topic (contraception), he guaranteed himself a video clip in rotation on all the cable news chanels and Sunday morning talk shows.

The media, too dumb to realize they were being played, of course gave Boehner just what he wanted. Plus, it forced Majority Leader Nancy Pelosi, among others, to face the predictably moronic media questions about Boehners ridiculous charge.

In the end, this fabricated, inflamatory stupidity, which has long been the staple of Republican - and by extension, media - outrage is doomed to failure. The electorate has born witness to the results of Outrage Governance, and knows far better than DC Republicans that the country is facing serious problems that we can not afford to be held hostage to cultural warfare.

The truly sad part is that Boehner and his sidekicks know no other way to fight. They have no interest in presenting well thought out ideas, arguing for them on their own merit, or even trying to discredity Obama’s plan based on truth and facts. Instead, they play the outrage card, trump up some fake statistic, and hope that the media buys into the faulty narrative.

Later this year, National Geographic will be airing a TV series “On Board Air Force One,” an unprecedented look inside the world’s most famous plane. Check out this clip where President Obama boards his first flight on Air Force One, when he was still president-elect. He tells the pilot “You’re the pilot of Air Force One? I’ve got to say, you’re out of central casting. You’re exactly what I want the pilot of Air Force One to look like. You look like Sam Shepard in ‘The Right Stuff’.”

Inside, he meets the staff and orders a burger with cheddar cheese. This is great stuff. Can’t wait to see the whole episode, and the rest of the series.