C-Span

I spent a few hours on C-Span this afternoon, watching whatever came up. One of the programs had President Obama talking to the CEOs of a lot of top-drawer executives. He spoke for about 35 minutes and then took questions and comments from the audience for another 30 minutes.

God, it's great to have a smart, articulate, interactive President again. It feels so refreshing!

Then I watched members of Congress asking questions of Cashkari about the economic stimulus plan. That was illuminating. C-Span is a lot better place to gather information and insights about politicians and other Capitol Hill players. The viewer is allowed to come to his or her own conclusions. No one is being vilified. Important questions are being asked and answered.

The exchanges at C-Span usually give me hope that reasonable minds can prevail, and generally do on average. The "talking heads" on other cable news channels often just make me want to pull out my hair because no one seems to be listening to anyone else -- the interactions between rivals resemble gladiatoral combat in Rome without the bloodshed. Just a bunch of barbarians getting their jollies out of bashing people with whom they disagree. I'm speaking of Ann Coulter, Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, even of Keith Olbermann and at times Rachel Maddow, although they are much "friendlier" about it than are their counterparts on the other side of the issues. I don't think we'll ever come together and reason as a nation as long as there are hotheads out there stirring the pot of discontent with wild-eyed, paranoid visions of "raging socialism" or "conservative back-sliding into caves."

That's one reason I find Obama so appealing. He looks, responds and acts like a level-headed, very sane, very committed statesman. Whether you agree with his policies or not, he makes it easier to sit still long enough to realize that he has thought it all through, has a plan that seems more likely than not to work (for once!), and that he has America's and the world's best interests at heart. He reminds me a lot of DeForest Kelley in that way. He's thoughtful, he waits and thinks thngs over before deciding on a plan of action, and then he commits to getting it done. He's not a cowboy. He's more a surgeon. (How do you like those metaphors? They fit both De and Obama!)

I'm very happy with what Obama has done so far and with what he is hoping to accomplish.