The New Agency

WE FORGIVE SPITZER, RESIGNATION NOT NECESSARY

As of 1:30pm EST, the NY Times was reporting that aides to New York Governor Eliot Spitzer expect him to resign from office after he was linked to a prostitution ring.  Spitzer appeared on television yesterday to apologize for his actions (see video below).  From his statement:

“I have acted in a way that violates my obligations to my family and violates my, or any, sense of right and wrong,” the governor said. “I apologize first and most importantly to my family. I apologize to the public to whom I promised better.”

We don't know about the rest of you, but that's good enough for us.  A quick look at his career demonstrates his commitment to go after big-business. He didn't get the nickname "Sheriff of Wall Street" for nothing.  He's too valuable to lose. The man apologized and instead of the usual persecution of such an individual, we say let's forgive and move on.  To quote Alan Paton: “When a deep injury is done us, we never recover until we forgive.” 

WE RESCIND OUR ENDORSEMENT (Updated)

We officially rescind our endorsement of Barack Hussein Obama for president of the United States.  We now realize we acted in haste.  While our friends over at MuchoPolitico made some sound arguments in favor of Obama,  we need more time to examine his stand on the issues.  One of the most important to us is ending the Iraqi Occupation.  The following article on Znet (by Paul Street) questions the idea that Obama is, or even has been, truly anti-war.  As the article points out, he continues to refer to the US as a "nation at war."  This is problematic for two reasons. First:

Americans are not dodging IEDs, artillery shells, cluster bombs or even suicide bombers on the way to and from American workplaces, schools, shopping malls, and homes. They are not under attack from other nations’ “foreign fighters.” Where’s the war? The United States is engaged in one-sided imperial violence – a monumentally illegal and immoral war of colonial aggression waged against a weak and impoverished nation many thousands of miles away.

Second, "The... phrase ...sustains the militarization of  US politics."   The focus becomes on who can be the better "commander-in-chief"  rather than the better president.  This blog post further complicates the notion of Obama as anti-war.  On his  website, Obama says he has had a consistent record against the war and yet:

"Obama has repeatedly voted to spend billions on the invasion since his arrival in the U.S. Senate. He has inveighed against the antiwar “Tom Hayden wing of the Democratic Party” and has told congressional Democrats they would be “playing chicken with the troops” if they dared to actually (imagine) de-fund the Cheney-Bush “war.”

We are not planning on endorsing  Hillary Clinton,  or any  other  candidate at this time.  We will take our time and  make sure that when, and if, we next endorse a candidate we have  done our homework.  Our apologies for any inconvenience.

UPDATE:  Check out The Progressive's "Ten Reaons Obama Slipped."

CLINTON, NOT FAVRE, SHOULD QUIT

We had hoped we would be reading about Hillary Clinton withdrawing from the presidential race this morning.  Instead of losing Texas and Ohio to Barack Obama, she won these big states.  And to top it all off,  The Great Brett Favre is retiring from professional football.  The world is all wrong today!

John Harwood, over at the NY Times, provides a concise analysis of last night's results here.  His verdict: Clinton proved resiliant, but Obama remains the favorite.  Which all means the fight for the nomination continues.  Also, check out MuchoPolitico for an on-the-ground report from a Texas caucus.

How did Obama lose in Texas and Ohio?  Our West Coast political analyst, Elijawon, sets out Obama's mistakes below:

1. Most importantly, (the Obama campaign should have nipped the Canada-NAFTA thing in the bud. Instead of denying that there was ever a meeting and not 
letting Goolsbee talk to the press for a day or two, they should have 
immediately said that they had met but that the content of the meeting 
had been misrepresented.
2. Same thing with Rezko: as soon as the campaign said 'all these questions still need to be answered,'  just answer them all. Put it to rest..
3.  Instead of making a clever  red phone response ad, (Obama) should have pressed her fear mongering much harder.
4. Only after losing last night did he finally start pointing out that she and mccain are echoing each other.  Obama should have been pointing out that she's 
basically campaigning for McCain all along, and he should have been directly 
attacking the claim that more years in Washington equals more qualified with something like "if that's the case, then we should all just vote for McCain. Of course that's not the case. More years in Washington does not equal more qualified, it means more corporate and lobby ties, more cronyism, more resistance to change, more of the same."

And finally, check out this brief homage to The Greatest Quarterback in the History of Football, Brett Favre.  What a sad day.  Viva Favre!

 

WE ENDORSE OBAMA

The wait if finally over and everyone can exhale.  We are officially endorsing Barack Hussein Obama for president of the United States of America.  It was not an easy process, especially after we learned that Ralph Nader joined the race last week.  Many of you may be laughing at this point, but we do not joke when it comes to our leftist, progressive political stance (click here to see Nader's "12 issues that matter for 2008").  For all his popularity, we worried Obama was not left enough for our likes.  While we have chosen not to endorse Nader, we appreciate his presence and how it will help shape the discourse for the rest of the presidential race. 

What finally convinced us to go with Obama was the very insightful post by our wise friends over at MuchoPolitico.  Read it here.  The two main arguments that won us over were 1) the grassroots nature of the Obama's bid and 2) Obama's rhetorical skillz.  As MuchoPolitico states, Obama's campaign is people-powered.  Nothing exemplifies this more than Obama's ability to raise millions from small donors.  Thanks should also go to Howard Dean who, as head of the DNC, planted the seeds that lead to the Democratic congressional victories in 2006 and are now the root of Obama's success (see  Nation article "The Dean Legacy") Maybe MuchoPolitico's most compeling arguement is summed up in the following quote:

For years now American liberals have been frustrated by the right wing's uncanny ability to control the terms of our political discourse. This comes down to the power of language. In Barack Obama we see a politician with the enviable rhetorical skills to frame progressive policies in universal terms. Even those who consider themselves to be conservatives have been won over by his message and his policy proposals.

Finally, we have the potential for a progressive Reagan!  Clinton was an awesome communicator, too bad he decided to become a "New Democrat" (read: centrist sell-out).  Of course, there are no guarantees.  Obama could run into problems if and when he becomes president, much like what happened to Clinton in his first term.  We think (and hope) Obama has more backbone.  This is why we are endorsing him for president.

ARCADE FIRE + OBAMA = HEAVEN

If any undecided voters were waiting for a sign from God, here it is.  Arcade Fire, the best band ever, is playing two shows in Ohio in support of Barack Obama.  Pitchfork has the details here.  We saw Arcade Fire last summer (see picture) and the show made us believe in Hope, Joy and Love.  We only wish we lived in Ohio, just for today, so we could rush down and get in line for the free show. 

OBAMA-RAMA, TEXAS TURNING BLUE?

Our lack of coverage of the presidential campaigns may give the impression that we are not interested in politics.  On the contrary, we at the TNA are extremely interested in politics (we recommend our friends over at MuchoPolitico for more consistent reporting). Since we lean left, we are not interested in McCain.  As for Hillary Rodham Clinton and Barack Hussein Obama, the conventional wisdom among progressives is that the Obama is the obvious choice since HRC is a centrist.  More than that, Obama has generated great (unprecedented?) excitement among voters in the primaries and caucuses, with record turnouts in many states, and seems to have proved he could actually win the presidency in November.  But will he deliver?  Or is it just enough that he will prevent another Republican president? 

Building on his success from Super Tuesday, Obama seems poised to deal a severe blow to the Clinton Campaign in Texas. The NY Times reports that voter turnout in the March 4 primary is expected to set a new record.  As the article points out, pundits are at a loss to explain much of anything.  The Latino vote may or may not play a big roll.  They may or may not be split between Clinton and Obama.  We don't have long to wait to see what actually happens.  The Nation suggests Texas is turning blue, which bodes well for Obama since he has set himself as the candidate of change.  Texas may turn out to HRC's Alamo, her last stand that proves fatal. 

SILVERDAMON VS KIMMYFLECK

Doubtless everyone has now seen the two f-ing hilarious (pun intended) videos by girlfriend and boyfriend Sarah Silverman and Jimmy Kimmel.  If you haven't (WTF?), stop reading this post and check the first one here and the second one here.  You cannot continue reading until you've seen both vids. 

So, which one is better?  Both have their strengths.  Silverdamon had the element of surprise and the song is really catchy.  Kimmyfleck has starpower out the wazoo!  Brad Pitt! Harrison Ford!?! Huey Lewis?!?@????!!!  And the coup de grace: Josh Groban!!  But...it has it's drawbacks: the stereotyping of the gays for comic effect, too slick, inferior song.  Which is not to say it isn't funny, it is.  But there's something more raw about Silverdamon's vid that makes it funnier.  And, ultimately, we prefer Silverman to Kimmel and Damon over Affleck.  FInally, the truth of the matter.  We now await the next salvo.  Maybe "I'm F-ing Barack Obama"?

OSCAR RECAP

It's the morning after; how do we feel? Pretty good, actually.  The Oscar telecast itself was mildly entertaining (not too boring, Jon Stewart did a fine job, still too long).  The winners list is where we derive our most joy, we agreed with the majority of choices.  And for the first time in a very long time the Best Picture actually deserves the title.  No Country for Old Men was our #2 movie of the year.  Our #1 movie (by just a hair) was There Will Be Blood, which picked up the Best Actor and Best Cinematography awards.  These two movies are instant classics; they are already essential viewing. 

As for out picks, the result was mixed.  We predicted the top six awards (Picture, Director and Actors). We must gloat: we called Marion Cotillard as best actress, a minor upset, and Tilda Swinton for S. Actress! Of the top 12 awards, we scored 8 correct choices.  Not too bad.  We did terribly when it came to all the categories: 50% (12/24)!  This is our worst showing ever.  It was a tough year for prognosticating.

Our favorite moments:

• Javier Bardem's acceptance speech. In English he thanked the Coen brothers and mentioned his horrendous hairdo in the movie.  In Spanish he dedicated his award to his mother (who was in the audience and in tears), his grandparents, the actors and comics in his family and to Spain. So sweet.
• Marion Cotillard's acceptance speech: She looked gorgeous, and she was truly blown away by the win.  We loved her final comment "It's true that there are angels in this city (LA)."
• Tilda Swinton's acceptance speech: How could this have been Ms. Swinton's first nomination?  She is a tremendous actor, with so many memorable performances.  Her comments to George Clooney at the end of her speech were hilarious.
• Glen Hansard and Market Irglova's song and win: Is this the most heartfelt and touching acceptance speech of the whole program?  We think so.

As for our contest, congratulations to Matt E!  He was 9/12, which translates into 75%.  He bested even us (we were 8/12), a contest first.  In second place were Joe M and Case W.  Thanks to all the voters.  The winner will get a special prize from The New Agency Prize Committee!

HAPPY OSCARS DAY!

Joyful Oscar greetings to all of you.  The big question: will the year of upsets continue at the 80th Academy Awards?  First, the Giants pulled off one of the biggest upsets in sports history by defeating the Patriots in the Superbowl.  Then Barack Obama won Super Tuesday and has continued his winning ways, replacing Hillary Clinton as the apparent Democratic nominee for President.  We think there will be an upset or two during tonight's Oscar telecast...the questions is which categories?

Here are our fearless predictions in the top twelve categories:

BEST PICTURE: No Country for Old Men
We would prefer There Will Be Blood, but No Country seems to have an insurmountable lead.  Not that we object, these two movies were our #1 and #2 faves of the year, respectively.

BEST DIRECTOR: The Coen Brothers
We think the No Country will win here too, for several reasons:  1) Historically, Best Pic and Best Director go to the same movie.  2) The Coens have won almost every other award.  3) Although they work as a team, due to guild rules the Coens usually split the directing and producing credits (Joel is designated the director and Ethan the producer).  With No Country, they are sharing the directing credits.  This would be an opportunity to award both brothers with ther first Oscar for directing (they won an Oscar for Fargo's screenplay).

BEST ACTRESS: Marion Cotillard
Yes, we are calling for an upset!  The fave for months has been Julie Christie for her amazing performance in Away From Her.  If we could decide, we'd give it to Christie too, but we have been reading about a swell in support for Cotillard, who protrayed Edith Piaf in La Vie en Rose.  Additionally, we also read Laura Linney in The Savages may emerge victorious.  We sense the Academy will go with Cotillard.

BEST ACTOR: Daniel Day-Lewis
A few critics denounced Day-Lewis's performance as Daniel Plainview in There Will Be Blood as over-the-top.  But most critics described it as one of the best ever.  We think the Academy will agree with the latter and give DDL his second career Oscar.

BEST S. ACTOR: Javier Bardem
Of all the awards, this category is the surest lock.  Bardem was scarier than all hell in No Country and he's won almost ever award in sight this season.  We really loved Casey Affleck in The Assassination of Jesse James, but tonight Bardem will win his first Oscar.

BEST S. ACTRESS: Tilda Swinton
Unlike the S. Actor category, this is the most wide open race of them all.  All the women nominated gave great performances, but who will win?  We have read Michael Clayton is surging late, we think this will mean a win for the tremendous Tilda Swinton.

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY: Tony GIlroy, Michael Clatyon
BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY: Paul Thomas Anderson, There Will Be Blood
BEST FOREIGN PICTURE: The Counterfeiters (Austria)
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY: The Assassination of Jesse James...
BEST DOCUMENTARY: No End in Sight
BEST ANIMATED PICTURE: Ratatouille

We would love it if Persepolis would upset in the Animated category, but we don't think it will happen.  We'll report back after the Oscars...see how things went.  Good Oscar tidings to you!

MASSIVE OSCAR PREDIX CHART

For those that still haven't voted, here's a vast comparison chart of various pundits predictions for Sunday's big show.  NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN is the front runner for Best Pic, Director,  S. Actor, and Adapted Screenplay, while Daniel Day Lewis (THERE WILL BE BLOOD) seems a lock for Actor.  Julie Christie (AWAY FROM HER) has been the favorite in the Actress for months, but lately I've read that Marion Cotillard (LA VIE EN ROSE) may upset.  The S. Actress is the only real race, as Cate Blanchet (I'M NOT THERE) (the somewhat fave) fends off a late rally by Tilda Swinton (MICHAEL CLAYTON).  This is historically the category that often surprises, so anyone could win.  Original Screenplay looks to go to JUNO.  Now you  have no excuse, vote here in out annual Oscar Predix Contest!