Do we start a new count? Or merely continue......?

President-elect Obama is apparently more like President Bush than his supporters expect. At least as far as becoming known as a

..... is concerned.
If both these linked reports below are correct he is continuing the trend covered here earlier and is just another politician - who lies.

Here's what was said then, in mid-October when criticisms surfaced over Obama middle east policy adviser Robert Malley being seen talking with Hamas. According to a campaign spokesman,

Rob Malley has, like hundreds of other experts, provided informal advice to the campaign in the past. He has no formal role in the campaign and he will not play any role in the future.

And here's what's being said after the election.

President-elect Barack Obama has dispatched his "senior foreign policy adviser", Robert Malley to Egypt and Syria........

Hmmmmmm. What would you call it? Just a quick hire?

H/T to lgf

Now its time for some serious stuff

First, congratulations to Senator Obama and the democrats for their historic election victory. I wish them well in the coming term.

But seriously, isn't it about time our nation "fixed" the national elections? Weren't any of you a teensy bit embarassed by one or more aspects of the process? I was. Here is a list of what made me uncomfortable:

1. The whole thing took too long
2. Too many candidates dropped out early, restricting later choices
3. The primary process gave too much weight to a few voters
4. The two party system restricted the development of minority points of view
5. Some qualified voters were not registered to vote, some unqualified voters were registered to vote, some qualified registered voters were not permitted to vote and some unqualified voters voted. The registration and voting process has become too politicized, and there is no real system in place to fix it, nor do politicians seem to care
   
6. The news media had too much influence on the outcome
7. The polling industry had too much influence on the outcome
8. News media coverage may have [once again] lowered some voter turn-out numbers in western state elections

I'm planning on discussing each of these points - and might even add to the list - in the days and weeks ahead. Stay tuned.

From the UK - a conservative manifesto

H/t to Samizdata for this eight year old manifesto by Sean Gabb on his strategy for conservatives "taking back" governance of their island nation. It will take a few minutes to read, and some of Gabb's examples and situations may not exactly fit, but it's amazing how apropos his ideas are to the current US situation. Who'd a thunk it? Is the UK today where we're going to be tomorrow? Scary thought.

The most difficult task for Yank conservatives to do, I suppose, is to come to the point where we comfortably consider liberals as an "Enemy Class". But Gabb is spot on. Members of the Enemy Class have thought of conservatives in the US as enemies for several decades, only we right-wingers have been too modest or polite to acknowledge this dirty little point. Its time for a reality check. Whether one is carrying an AK-47, a typewriter or a video camera, a person who wants to destroy my way of life is an enemy - and I need to accept that if I'm going to do my job and protect my family.

Gabb has a list of suggested action points once a conservative sweep occurs in the UK. Below is my US version:

Within 30 days of conservatives coming to power:
Abolish the following executive departments: Agriculture; Commerce; Education; Energy; Health and Human Services; Housing and Urban Development; Interior; Labor; State; and Transportation.
All agencies, commissions, boards, councils and committees associated with those departments would be closed. Whole divisions of other departments would be scrutinized and many, like the Internal Revenue Service, abruptly shut down. We should likewise stop federal funding of the tasks associated with these defunct departments and agencies to local governments.
At the same time, we should abolish all other statutory agencies not directly associated with the departments of Defense, Homeland Security, Justice and Treasury. This would include all "self-financing regulatory agencies", without exception. We should abolish the functions, destroy the records, sell off the physical assets, and discharge people by the hundreds of thousands. Termination and pension rights would be respected according to law, but during the termination cycle seniority could not be taken into account outside one's own department or agency. At least a half of the federal government should no longer exist after our first month in power.

There's much more to his plan. Is it radical? Sure. But read Gapp's entire thing and let me know if you agree or disagree with his take. Fun stuff.