"The challenge for Obama in the State of the Union is the mismatch between the magnitude of the current economic malaise and the resources that he can summon to deal with it."
Meet the Gay Poet Who Will Read at Obama’s Second Inaugural
Richard Blanco has been selected as the 2013 Inaugural Poet. The son of Cuban exiles, Blanco grew up in Miami. “América” was his first published poem—read the whole thing on his website—below is an excerpt:
IV.
A week before Thanksgiving
I explained to my abuelita
about the Indians and the Mayflower,
how Lincoln set the slaves free;
I explained to my parents about
the purple mountain’s majesty,
“one if by land, two if by sea”
the cherry tree, the tea party,
the amber waves of grain,
the “masses yearning to be free”
liberty and justice for all, until
finally they agreed:
this Thanksgiving we would have turkey,
as well as pork.
V.
Abuelita prepared the poor fowl
as if committing an act of treason,
faking her enthusiasm for my sake.
Mamà set a frozen pumpkin pie in the oven
and prepared candied yams following instructions
I translated from the marshmallow bag.
The table was arrayed with gladiolus,
the plattered turkey loomed at the center
on plastic silver from Woolworths.
Everyone sat in green velvet chairs
we had upholstered with clear vinyl,
except Tío Carlos and Toti, seated
in the folding chairs from the Salvation Army.
I uttered a bilingual blessing
and the turkey was passed around
like a game of Russian Roulette.
“DRY”, Tío Berto complained, and proceeded
to drown the lean slices with pork fat drippings
and cranberry jelly—“esa mierda roja,” he called it.
Faces fell when Mamá presented her ochre pie—
pumpkin was a home remedy for ulcers, not a dessert.
Tía María made three rounds of Cuban coffee
then abuelo and Pepe cleared the living room furniture,
put on a Celia Cruz LP and the entire family
began to merengue over the linoleum of our apartment,
sweating rum and coffee until they remembered—
it was 1970 and 46 degrees—
in América.
After repositioning the furniture,
an appropriate darkness filled the room.
Tío Berto was the last to leave.
Cory Booker said Thursday he won’t run against New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie in the state’s gubernatorial race next year—choosing to “explore” a run for U.S. Senate instead.
The Democratic mayor of Newark, N.J., announced his decision on Twitter, pointing followers to a YouTube video in which he declared he wanted to serve out his current term at City Hall and “finish” the work he started.
“Let there be no doubt, I will complete my full second term as mayor,” said Booker, a rising star in his party. “As for my political future, I will explore the possibility of running for the United States Senate in 2014.”
In the days since last week’s shooting, Bloomberg has arguably become one of the key public faces of the tragedy as he bluntly urged the president and members of Congress to offer more than just “talk” in the aftermath of yet another mass shooting. His aggressive posture comes as Bloomberg seeks to transition from being the lame duck mayor of the nation’s largest city to a potentially more prominent role on the national political stage.
“Bloomberg has been fearless in stepping out on big, controversial issues. I think he is on his way to becoming the most influential private citizen in the history of the country,” Mark McKinnon, a Texas-based political strategist who previously worked for George W. Bush, told Yahoo News.
In crusade against guns, Bloomberg finds platform beyond City Hall (via The Ticket)
Emotional Obama vows action to prevent shootings (via The Ticket)
"Calling for ‘meaningful action’ is not enough. We need immediate action. We have heard all the rhetoric before. What we have not seen is leadership—not from the White House and not from Congress."
In only the second strangest Mitt Romney sighting this week, a man in Mitt Romney mask robbed a Virginia bank (via The Ticket)
Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal, a Republican and a potential 2016 presidential candidate, has a solution for the GOP’s birth control problem: Make it over the counter.
“The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists announced its support last month for selling oral contraceptives over the counter without a prescription in the United States,” Jindal writes in Friday’s Wall Street Journal opinion section. “I agree with this opinion, which if embraced by the federal government would take contraception out of the political arena.” Jindal also writes that prescription birth control drives up costs with unnecessary doctors’ visits.
“Democrats have wrongly accused Republicans of being against birth control and against allowing people to use it. That’s hogwash,” Jindal wrote. “But Republicans do want to protect those who have religious beliefs that are opposed to contraception.”
Boehner: I’m not concerned about my job
Olivier Knox with the latest on the fiscal cliff debate:
Republican House Speaker John Boehner denied Democratic suggestions that he may be stalling a “fiscal cliff” deal with President Barack Obama in order to stave off a potential conservative revolt that could cost him the top job in Congress.
“I’m not concerned about my job as Speaker. What I’m concerned about is doing the right thing,” Boehner told reporters at his weekly press conference.
