Obviously, without a health care bill Congress can’t give voters a guarantee of coverage or nice things like that. The stimulus bill gave people a few bucks more a week in their paychecks, which is easily forgotten. It also led to a politically embarrassing method of calculating “jobs saved” by the stimulus (and really? Nobody thought this through before the numbers were crunched?); however, it did save jobs, and the Obama administration and Congress would do well to trot these police officers, teachers, and other people whose jobs were saved at every opportunity. They are really failing to take advantage of this. Reminding people of their extra four bucks every paycheck won’t cut it. Things like Cash for Clunkers and the home buyers’ credit helped a few people, but even more thought it was bad policy and bad politics, which I happen to agree with.

Financially, Congress did pass some big changes to credit card regulations; unfortunately for Congress, the credit card companies decided to screw over customers before the regulations went into effect. Again, it doesn’t seem like they thought that one through. Instead of giving people who are in danger of losing their homes bankruptcy cramdown, which would actually work, the HAMP program has been a dismal failure, even leading to increases in the amount of money homeowners owe. Not exactly something you can campaign on. TARP, while probably averting a major financial catastrophe, is not exactly seen by the majority of Americans as a good thing, especially since the banks are already going crazy again.

It’s not even all about money. Giving voters something to feel good about can do wonders. Obama voters voted for hope and change, but since the election there has been very little of it. Obama kicking “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” down the road is a bewildering political decision: most people support it, and it would make voters feel good to end a kind of discrimination that is becoming less and less acceptable (although CNN is reporting he will ask Congress to repeal DADT tonight). Obama and Congress have also dropped the ball on increased government transparency, like putting all bills online ahead of time. Again, simple to do, but makes people feel good.

With the relatively skimpy list of substantive accomplishments, it’s little wonder that Obama voters are feeling unmotivated. It’s not like legislation such as the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act are unimportant; they certainly are. But Obama voters didn’t vote for incremental change. They wanted significant changes in the way government works in their lives, and significant changes in their own financial situations. They gave a lot to Obama, and they understandably want something in return.

In a short while, Obama will give his State of the Union address. From the sound of things, he won’t be making any grand statements on health care. He probably won’t be doing a whole lot to make voters feel better about themselves. He’ll talk about increasing the child care tax credit (probably good politics, although as a tax policy purist I despise it), and accelerated business depreciation (now that’s an exciting topic!). It’s not exactly the transformational address that many people are looking for. Will it give voters a good reason to return Democrats to power?

• Current Mood: Worn out
• Currently Listening To: "Let It Rain", Eric Clapton

It was actually pretty humorous to read that column again. In the intervening time period, little had changed. The technology today is just as useless as it was then, despite those decade-old proponents saying that "while the technology isn’t ready now (in 2000), in five or 10 years it will be possible to build a shield that would work perfectly." Not even close. Of course, the philosophical objections remained identical.

Since President Obama was the one who cancelled this, predictably certain people on the right are going completely crazy over this cancellation, saying that we are turning our backs on our allies or giving in to Russia. Not all conservatives are this insane, however. It is rather sad and telling that some conservatives would defend "a system that won’t work, against a threat that doesn’t exist, paid for with money we don’t have" just to get a shot in at Obama. Not to mention that those same conservatives who think we should build a defense shield in Europe would lose their minds if Russia built a shield in Mexico or Cuba.

There’s no long-range missile threat from Iran, and any shield we could build in Europe could easily be overwhelmed by Russia if they wanted to do so. And there’s no evidence at all that they wish to engage in a new nuclear showdown with the U.S. A shield would cost much in dollars and unnecessary tension, while providing exactly zero benefit. Liberal or conservative, it seems like a no-brainer to me.

7:45 AM: We arrived at the Target Center, where volunteers are assembling at 8 AM. Already there is a line blocks long starting at Butler Square and heading north. The local media reports that people have been lining up since midnight, or even earlier.

8:10 AM: The volunteers that will be working inside are let in to the building (there will be a large number of volunteers working outside to keep the crowd flowing). The Secret Service is still sweeping the Target Center floor so we can’t yet check things out, so we head to a room underneath section 136 and get together for some last-minute instructions. It’s early, but everybody is already excited.

8:40 AM: Since the doors have not yet been opened up to let the general public in, things are moving along slowly for our group of volunteers.

9:10 AM: We’ve been allowed onto the floor for a while now. They’ve set up a podium with risers behind them; VIP ticketholders will be allowed on the floor, and out of them, a select few will be called on to fill the benches behind the president. A few lucky people will be on the video the entire time he is speaking, reacting to his speech.

9:20 AM: There are dozens of police officers, Target Center security, ushers, and other non-volunteer staff here for the event. We overhear over the radios "Ten minutes to doors open". The crowd has been let into the makeshift bike rack chutes leading direct to the front doors of the Target Center. There are also entrances at the Skyway level.

9:35 AM: The doors are opened, and people start going through the metal detectors pretty smoothly. However, the VIP line has not yet been opened. A man in a Keith Ellison shirt is over there, being questioned by several people (presumably Secret Service). He is questioned for a very long time, but is eventually let in to the event and is not seen again. We never learn what he was questioned about.

10:00 AM: We can see banners outside, both pro reform and anti reform. News reports later say that there were a few heated arguments but no major confrontations.

10:10 AM: Several people say that there is a two-mile line for people to enter the Target Center.

10:20 AM: The VIP line opens. It runs very smoothly: people with tickets are in a special line and are shunted off to the floor instead of up into the bowls. There was some concern beforehand that people without tickets would try to argue their way onto the floor, but aside from one person, this problem does not crop up.

10:40 AM: The VIP ticket holders are a very diverse group. Elected officials, campaign volunteers, families, labor people…there’s no way to best categorize them, except that they were all pretty excited to be able to see the president pretty close up (although there is some grumbling about how the VIP section lacks chairs).

11:00 AM: So far the biggest problem I’ve dealt with is showing a few people where the bathrooms are. On the VIP floor, a man from Rochester is wearing a shirt that says "World’s Largest Obama Supporter". He’s 7’8", and I believe the shirt.

11:15 AM: The skyway entrances have much shorter lines than the main doors, so we start sending volunteers out to move people from the street entrance to the skyways. I see House Speaker Margaret Anderson Kelliher arriving.

11:30 AM: Former Attorney General and gubernatorial candidate Skip Humphrey comes through the VIP line, looking for help with finding his skybox suite, which we quickly solve.

11:45 AM: It’s time to start filling the risers behind the podium, so Julia and I are grabbed to direct those lucky people. I end up standing in the press section right behind the video cameras. I see plenty of press that I recognize: Eric Eskola, Tom Scheck, Rachel Stassen-Berger, all interviewing the crowd, asking them why they are here.

12:15 PM: The Jumbotron at the Target Center cuts to live vide of Air Force One arriving at the airport. The crowd goes wild.

12:30 PM: Several more lucky people are being grabbed from the floor to fill the blank spaces in the risers. The lower level of the Target Center is now full, and people are filling up the upper level.

12:40 PM: Julia and I work our way down near the rows of seats reserved for VIPs like Senators Amy Klobuchar and Al Franken, Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, Mayor R. T. Rybak, and others. Sadly, the president does not come along this path either entering or leaving, but we are still pretty close, right off of the president’s right side.

Shortly after 1:00 PM: After some introductory remarks by a couple speakers, including Secretary Sebelius, and the Pledge of Allegiance and a signing of the National Anthem, President Obama comes out and the crowd again goes wild.

He’s mainly rehashing his speech from his joint address to Congress on Wednesday, but in a much more relaxed, informal manner, and in front of a much friendlier crowd, which he comments on. He also points out the World’s Largest Obama Supporter, who is later interviewed by the media. If I had to guess, I’d say he’s pretty excited about it.

1:30 PM: Some old guy on the first level charged down the stairs to the railing and starts yelling something at the president. He soon leaves. I have no idea what he said, and his attempted interruption accomplishes nothing.

Around 2:00 PM: Obama’s speeches climaxes as he leads the crowd in a few rounds of "Fired up! Ready to go!" People are going crazy, truly fired up and ready to go.

2:30 PM: The president is gone, people are leaving the Target Center, and the couple hundred or so volunteers are all gathering for a few pictures. Most of us, however, won’t need any pictures to remember this day.

We were on our feet all day and our feet and backs are killing us, and we are in desperate need of a beer, but we’re all incredibly happy that we were able to have this incredibly unique and rare experience.

With the national Republican party in complete disarray these days, they would be well-advised to take a look at people like Jack Kemp.

Edit: I just found (via Balloon Juice) this letter from Jack Kemp to his grandchildren after the election of Barack Obama. Can you imagine any other Republican in power writing this kind of letter?