¡Viva la Revolución!

"When patience has begotten false estimates of its motives, when wrongs are pressed because it is believed they will be borne, resistance becomes morality." --Thomas Jefferson to M. deStael, 1807.

And now:

You can do it.

Maine-iacs

I ventured into the far north this festive weekend (Valentine's Day, Chinese New Year, Presidents Day) to visit the wayward D, accompanied by the Kweilats. For some reason D decided that his career goals were best served by isolating himself in Portland, Maine, a bustling metropolis of 60,000 souls. Here he is posing with a statue dedicated to the local lobster fishery:

Despite being a small town in the middle of Maine (yet also the state's largest 'city'), Portland punches above its weight in three categories: food, coffee shops, and book stores. So there are some pleasant things to do during a weekend, and one can indeed eat extremely well.

Among the other attractions:

Jumping into the freezing Casco Bay (NOT done by us).

Then there's the art:

The shopping:

Old time-y railroads (this one's for you, Le Duc)

The renowned International Museum of Cryptozoology:

And you can even 'cross the Styxx,' a nightclub of exceptional style.

Yes, a good time was had by all.

Now for something completely different

Because I can't write my dissertation ALL the time.

What a difference a year makes

Just back from the nation's capital, where I was attending an academic conference. It was almost exactly a year ago that I was last there, to attend Obama's inauguration (see here and here). At that time I wrote

Today I watched the country inaugurate Barack Hussein Obama as our 44th president. After the extended campaign, the election hoopla, and the vigorous transition period, in some ways the event felt more like an end than a beginning. People who support Obama have made him the favored vessel of our hopes and promises for almost two years. But now we are going to have to leave the gratifying, at times self-righteous world of ideas and rhetoric and get down to the messy business of policymaking. It won't be fun over the next 4-8 years to put our ideals through the sausage-grinder of politics.

I thought it would be ugly, but at least I thought the sausage would get made. Now I'm increasingly of the view that this last year has witnessed what will be remembered in history as a breakdown in American politics. As you've no doubt read elsewhere, this is not only my view. But in DC I found it striking how this conventional wisdom has solidified so quickly.

The election of Obama has provoked the reactionary elements of the political spectrum into fervent opposition. At the same time, a sharp economic recession has undermined faith in government and the market alike. The result is an example of what has been called the paranoid style in American politics, a populist, reactionary movement that hates the government, but also hates the problems government is needed to solve. Catch 22. A few months ago I thought we would have real progress on health care, financial reform, and climate change this year. Now I'd be overjoyed to have moderate progress on just one of these.

The Republicans have tried to ride this sentiment by obstructing every initiative the Administration takes, regardless of its merits. The collegiality that made the Senate a functional deliberating body has been lost to partisanship, which means, with a 60-40 split, that every Senator has come to have a de facto veto over legislation. The situation might be better if the Democrats had a more competent leader than Harry Reid, but I doubt any individual could make a huge difference in what I see now as a broken legislative house. You know things are bad when a senior government official tells you she thinks a constitutional amendment is needed.

The United States is verging on the un-governable. If the economy recovers and the Administration learns how to stand up to the obstructionist minority party, I think we can still walk back from the brink. But if the November elections lead to a divided government--a strong possibility without a sharp drop in unemployment--then all the optimism and hope we were swimming in just a year ago is going to look like a sad, sad delusion.

Conferring

Another week, another conference. They love me.

And...relax

A soothing weekend of R+R

Governing, globally

In Berlin, doing this. Let me know if you'd like to be a minor prelate in the future Empire.