Post Politics Hour
washingtonpost.com's Daily Politics Discussion

Jonathan Weisman
Washington Post National Political Reporter
Monday, August 18, 2008; 11:00 AM

Don't want to miss out on the latest in politics? Start each day with The Post Politics Hour. Join in each weekday morning at 11 a.m. as a member of The Washington Post's team of White House and congressional reporters answers questions about the latest in buzz in Washington and The Post's coverage of political news.

Washington Post national political reporter Jonathan Weisman was online Monday, Aug. 18 at 11 a.m. ET.

The transcript follows.

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Archive: Post Politics Hour discussion transcripts

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Jonathan Weisman: Wow, well, I've got 36 questions in the queue and a meeting of our esteemed or despised politics staff(take your pick) at 11. So let's get started, and pardon the interruption. I'll make it quick!

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Princeton, N.J.: I have been complaining for months in these chats about the lack of media coverage on the campaign issues, especially economic ones. We get 10 articles about the horse race or personalities for every one on the issues. Well, it appears others agree with me -- not just on the campaign, but on economic coverage in general: Media coverage of the economic downturn in the U.S. has lagged behind both economic activity and public interest, according to a study being released Monday by a Washington, D.C.-based research group.

"The Project for Excellence in Journalism analyzed more than 5,000 economic stories in 2007 and the first half of 2008. The stories, by 48 different news outlets, were delivered by cable news channels, network television, radio, newspapers and the Internet.

"The study found that reliance on government data to track the economy is leading to scattershot coverage that, at times, lags months behind actual economic conditions.

" 'We can see little flashpoints in gas prices or a spike in joblessness but getting the whole picture is extremely difficult, in part because we're depending on government collected data, which could often be three months later,' said Project Director Tom Rosenstiel."

Jonathan Weisman: Well Prof. Krugman, I guess ya can't please everyone. Just last week I filed two stories detailing Obama's tax plan. You probably didn't notice because they were boring. My colleague Perry Bacon did an entire story a couple of weeks back on the health care issue. Steve Mufson has written extensively on the issue of energy and drilling.

Could we do more? Sure. But I think it is just false to say we haven't been writing about the issues.

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washingtonpost.com: Media coverage of the economy lags, study finds (AP, Aug. 18)

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Raleigh, N.C.: Good morning! Barack Obama has "sent" Joe Biden to Georgia, as his envoy or representative or Grand Poobah or something. Is this a funny hoisting of McCain on John's presumptuous petard, or a childish tit-for-tat?

Jonathan Weisman: What's good for the goose. ... I'm not sure it's childish. Biden is chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. He travels extensively to hot spots, especially during diplomatic standoffs. It is somewhat bizarre for him to be out of the country just as veep speculation about Biden reaches a fevered pitch. I don't know what to make of it.

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Raleigh, N.C.: I watched the forum at Saddleback Church on Saturday. I thought both candidates did well. I was impressed by the quick, direct answers McCain gave -- he seemed to say all the right things for that audience. Today I read that he wasn't really in a soundproof booth, as we were led to believe. Knowing the questions would explain his quick, direct answers. What was your take on the forum and why they led people to believe that McCain couldn't hear the questions in advance if he potentially could have?

Jonathan Weisman: This has become the latest squabbling point in a campaign that is descending into pointless bickering. If the Saddleback Show-Down was pivotal, I'd say concern about McCain's alleged overhearing would be well-placed. But McCain angrily is demanding Andrea Mitchell retract her charge that he overheard Obama's session, and frankly, I don't think it matters one bit.

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Reading, Mass.: Is there a convention rule against Virginians speaking on consecutive nights? The political press argument on Gov. Kaine's vice presidential prospects in relation to Sen. Warner's keynote is quite specious.

Jonathan Weisman: There's no conventional rule, but we have pretty good sources close to Kaine -- he is one of The Post's governors, after all -- and we're not hearing good things about his prospects. Sure, there can be back-to-back Virginians. The Old Dominion is the newest battle ground. But I think it's more significant and Joe Biden and Evan Bayh already have penciled-in speaking engagements on Wednesday, the night the vice presidential nominee speaks.

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Arlington, Va.: Frankly, I was disappointed in John McCain's performance on Saturday night. And while I'll be voting for Obama, I thought some of McCain's responses were scary. I know that Rick Warren wanted to ask the same questions to each candidate, but some answers begged for some follow-up, such as McCain's remark that "evil must be defeated." And how do you plan to do that?

And then saying that all the moderate/liberal justices on the Supreme Court have got to go was unhelpful. And while I thought that McCain's "cross in the sand" story sounded odd, it now turns out that McCain stole that story from Alexander Solzhenitsyn in "The Gulag Archipelago." Will anyone at The Post be investigating this fairy tale, since it appears that McCain first told it Saturday night?

washingtonpost.com: Is McCain Now Copying Solzhenitsyn? (CQ Politics, Aug. 17)

Jonathan Weisman: Well, now that you mention it, sure. Let's go for it.

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Fairfax, Va.: How concerned are the Obama folks about the situation surrounding Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick? Do they fear the allegations surrounding him, along with the very negative approval rating for Gov. Granholm, could turn voters -- particularly more suburban voters -- away from Obama?

Jonathan Weisman: If I were them, I'd be more concerned about Granholm. Usually bad economies harm the incumbent party, but in Michigan, the national and state incumbencies cancel each other out. Are Michiganders more angry at their governor or their president? (I don't see Detroiters voting for McCain and I don't see Michiganders outside of Detroit blaming Obama for the mayor's bizarre transgressions.)

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San Francisco: Hi, Jonathan, thanks for chatting this morning. Are the "Drill Here -- Drill Now" Republicans still playing Model Congress in the dark on Capitol Hill?

Jonathan Weisman: They sure are, Madame Speaker. But they may have reached the point of diminishing returns.

If you really do put together legislation with some expanded offshore drilling and lots of stuff the Republicans oppose (but now seem to back when they say they want "all of the above"), the September energy debate will be very interesting. Call their bluff. Do the Republicans really want all of the above (including portfolio standards for renewable electricity generation and a repeal of the 2005 tax break for the oil companies) or do they want the campaign issue? We shall see.

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Fairfax County, Va.: I was confused by today's article about voter registration increasing in Virginia. Most of the article reports that there have been big increases in the number of registered voters, especially in pro-Democratic parts of the state, and that the Obama campaign is going all out to register even more Virginians. That sounds promising for Obama. But then the end of the article reports that registration went through the roof from 1996 to 2000 to 2004 and the Republican edge at the polls didn't budge. How can that be?

washingtonpost.com: Voter Registration Key to Obama's Efforts to Put Virginia in Play (Post, Aug. 18)

Jonathan Weisman: You can lead a potential voter to the registration card, but you can't make him show up at the polls in November.

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Claverack, N.Y.: The candidate who's mocking Obama for being a celebrity ... is going to counter Obama's convention coverage ... by going on "The Tonight Show." You gotta figure they're trying to book Paris Hilton for the same night, right?

Jonathan Weisman: She keeps telling us she's so hot. She's above "The Tonight Show."

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Paoli, Pa.: Hello. The conventional wisdom is that the race is just about even when you look at poles like the Gallup daily tracking poll. But when you look at the state-by-state pools (e.g. Real Clear Politics) and the electoral votes, it looks like Obama has a pretty significant lead. What's your point of view on this ?

Jonathan Weisman: This is a tough one. The latest poll out of Ohio shows an exact tie. And most of the state-by-state polling stinks -- they are robo-polls, not screened for who bothers to pick up the phone, much less take the poll from a robot. Even an average of such polls may be meaningless. Garbage in, garbage out, as the scientists say.

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Boring Stories: I love your so-called "boring" stories. You are really one of the better writers out there on, or especially economic issues. Obviously from these chats you have a facile and barbed wit, but keep up the good stuff, not the "Veep guess," the horse-race or the how-does-this-impact nonsense that any idiot (see cable chatter) can provide!

Jonathan Weisman: Well thank you. The National Right To Life Committee wants me to address Obama and the born-alive issue. Should I?

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Audubon, N.J.: Hello Jonathan. I read the President as in Bush sent Biden to Georgia not Obama. Just to set the record straight. Thanks.

washingtonpost.com: "The chairman's statement did not mention Obama, noting that his trip came at the request of Saakashvili": The Trail: Biden to Make Own Journey to Georgia (washingtonpost.com, Aug. 16)

Jonathan Weisman: The president, as in the president of Georgia. Bush never would dispatch Biden, nor would it be appropriate for him to do so.

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Former Suburban Detroiter: You underestimate the role race plays in Michigan politics. Kwame once called Michigan the Mississippi of the North, and rightfully so. Granholm inherited the economic trouble Michigan faces from Engler, but you can't tell a voter that. Obama needs to steer clear of Granholm and Kwame. Up-and-comers Rep. Fred Miller (former Bonior staffer) and former Rep. Andy Meisner (former Sander Levin staffer) are bright spots in a dark Michigan cloud.

Jonathan Weisman: Thanks for the insight. Michigan's economy has been bad for quite awhile. In 2000 and 2004 it was supposed to be close, and it wasn't that close. I just wonder if it's much more blue and red on the purple spectrum now.

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Fairfax County, Va.: I think the response to the whole Saddleback affair is a classic case of people reading into the responses what they need to fit their preconceived notions about their favored candidates. Same goes for the columnists and pundits who are bloviating today about it. At the risk of sounding French, plus ca change. ... Perhaps the result then was -- a draw?

Jonathan Weisman: I agree. People love to say they hate horse race stories, yet they are quick to assign winners and losers at every turn. Let's just let this one go. Frankly, with the Olympics and a Saturday night, I just doubt many people saw it.

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Arlington, Va.: Among Gordon Smith, Norm Coleman and Susan Collins, who has the most to worry about as we head into the final months? I can't believe Democrats haven't capitalized on these three seats in blue states!

Jonathan Weisman: A month ago I would have said Gordon Smith. It just seemed like even though Oregonians tend to accept that he is a very moderate Republican, they would punish him like Rhode Islanders punished Lincoln Chafee in 2006. That still might happen, but Norm Coleman is being hounded for his sweetheart deal renting a garden apartment for next to nothing in the District from a lobbyist. It's a real issue, and it's not going away. Coleman, however, appears blessed by his opposition. Al Franken somehow must get beyond his Al Frankenness.

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Cabin John, Md.: I too watched Saddleback, and I thought the most interesting aspect was how the format made the candidates' differences on the issues so clear. Obama didn't "mealy mouth" on abortion; McCain was crystal-clear about his "no tax is a good tax" Republican supply side-ism. Same for both answers on the Supreme Court, etc. A few more appearances like these and no one will be able to claim that McCain is anything other than a conservative Republican. What was it about the format that caused the candidates to abandon both-sides-of-the-mouth platitudes for real answers?

Jonathan Weisman: Good question. Maybe it was because their questioner was so direct, maybe it was the audience. McCain perceived an audience of conservative evangelicals looking for red meat; Obama saw conservative evangelicals flirting with the Democratic Party's softer social side.

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Roseland, N.J.: Are the tiebreakers used in Olympic uneven parallel bars any clearer than those used in U.S. presidential elections?

washingtonpost.com: Liukin Loses Tiebreaker on Uneven Bars, Settles for Silver (AP, Aug. 18)

Jonathan Weisman: How come when it comes to obscure tie-breaking rules, the tiebreaker goes to the Chinese? (Why don't they just say those are the rules and spare us?)

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Norfolk, Va.: You won't touch the "born alive" issue with a 10-foot-pole. You know that's radioactive for Obama -- he was the only senator to speak out against a bill that would outlaw murdering a baby born alive during an abortion. Obama believes that it's okay to kill a crying baby. How's that for a campaign ad? It has the added benefit of being true...

Jonathan Weisman: Ah ha, a challenge. Now I have to!

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Anonymous: Can't McCain handlers get him to stop saying "my friends"?

Jonathan Weisman: I think it's so engrained in his psyche, he can't be broken of it. They have tried.

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Washington: In her ombudsman column about the controversial Obama quote you and Dana Milbank used, Deborah Howell said she spoke with your source and then added: "The source said he often tells reporters what happens in closed meetings and expects anonymity. He sent an identical e-mail to several other reporters and talked to several more; the others didn't see the quote as damaging." Could you explain why he routinely feels he should reveal activities his colleagues wanted to keep behind closed doors? He seems rather proud of himself.

washingtonpost.com: The Anger Over an Obama Quote (Post, Aug. 10)

Jonathan Weisman: I wish I could reveal names, but I absolutely won't. The source is very highly placed and authoritative. He did not believe he was leaking anything that would be harmful to Obama. Frankly, this is a dirty little secret in Washington. There are relationships in Washington where we know implicitly when something is on the record -- official comment, party spin -- and when it is not for attribution -- the divulging of backroom discussions. Rather than go over the rules of engagement with every conversation, we accept the ongoing ground rules, understood.

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Atlanta: Can I donate money to Al Franken's campaign, even though I don't live in Minnesota?

Jonathan Weisman: Yes indeed, and one of the raps on Franken is he's rolling in dough not stamped in Minnesota.

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What is "Born Alive": If it's the typical "Partial Birth" stuff, you should ... but beware, the photos are gross. I went to a boy's Catholic high school and had to take extensive classes on abortions. Funny, once I actually met women who had had abortions and learned their stories, I became pro-choice.

Jonathan Weisman: Here's the story: There was a bill in the Illinois Senate that reiterated rules against the slaying of babies born alive. Obama feared a trap, a defining of the life in such a way that could be extended to fetuses.

When a similar bill came up in the Senate, a clause was inserted saying the wording in no way could impact Roe v. Wade, and Obama voted for it. Now abortion foes are saying the identical language was inserted with Obama's full knowledge in the Illinois legislature and Obama still opposed it.

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Silver Spring, Md.: Why would Obama's campaign choose to release such magnificent fundraising numbers over a weekend when the news cycle is slower? He almost doubled McCain's fundraising numbers. Although that fact is not surprising, it is still quite significant, and would have been a good news item for his campaign to release during a week when Obama was on vacation. As an aside, I am rather shocked at both candidates' fundraising figures, given the state of the economy. Does it surprise you as well?

washingtonpost.com: Obama Raised More Than $51 Million Last Month (Post, Aug. 17)

Jonathan Weisman: I was a little surprised by that too. I guess they wanted coverage in the Sunday papers, the best read of our sadly unread medium. But they forgot to take note that reporters have families too and don't relish working on Saturdays. Moreover, the Sunday paper is usually pretty well set on Friday night. I think they made a mistake.

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Chattanooga, Tenn.: Did you see the New York Times's profile of New York University economics professor "Dr. Doom" this weekend? He predicted the housing decline, credit bubble bursting, etc., and says it's going to get worse before it gets better. You have a solid economic background and pay attention better than most; what do you think? And what impact might it have on the election and on the start of the new presidential term? Thanks for taking questions -- you're the best out there.

washingtonpost.com: Dr. Doom (New York Times, Aug 17)

Jonathan Weisman: I have spoken often to Dr. Roubini, but the politics of the economy is already cooked in the books. Ray Fair at Yale, the dean of economic determinism on politics, fixes his model for the presidential election after the first quarter of the election year, figuring voter opinions on the economy won't change after that.

That said, Fair believes this election should be a Democratic cake walk. So far, it hasn't. So much for economic determinism.

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Re: Cones of Silence: I don't think it mattered that McCain may have "heard" the questions (or been notified of them via an aide's blackberry) -- it was pretty obvious what was going to be asked. I am more interested in his campaign's response, which was (slightly paraphrasing), "how dare Obama accuse McCain, a former POW, of cheating?" Hmmm. Is that going to be McCain's new thing -- pulling out the "POW card" every time a tricky situation comes up? And as a character matter, McCain was a former POW when he left his first wife, and when he got involved with Charles Keating...

Jonathan Weisman: Ah, anything to slip in the infidelity/Charles Keating card. I do see the POW card being pulled often and everywhere, but John Kerry did the "reporting for duty" shtick ad nauseam in 2004, and look what that got him.

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"My friends": Historical reference: Nixon's handlers tried like Hercules to get their man to stop prefacing everything with "let me make one thing perfectly clear." They never could.

Jonathan Weisman: Thank you, Mr. Haldeman.

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Baltimore: The Saddleback Session: Am I alone in finding this bizarre? I think it shows how much our politics have gone downhill in 50 years that the Hawaiian-shirt wearing pastor of a megachurch can call the presidential candidates to a command performance where they get the opportunity to express their "faith." How would Harry Truman, Dwight Eisenhower or Lyndon Johnson have responded to such a request? With ear-scorching profanity, that's how.

Jonathan Weisman: It's only bizarre if you've been under a political rock since 1972. This is hardly new. Remember George W. Bush genuflecting at Bob Jones University? I'd hardly put Pastor Rick in that category.

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Anonymous: Who does McCain's TV ads? They appear dated and 1970s-like. His entire campaign seems dated. Is this done purposely in an attempt to strike a chord with the senior citizen vote?

Jonathan Weisman: Hmmm, I don't think we saw flashes of Paris Hilton in the 1970s. Did Nixon like Twiggy?

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McCain at Saddleback: I kind of see his answer as a quick distillation of the two candidates' views on foreign policy: McCain recognizes that evil exists, because he's experienced it, and Obama sees the concept of "evil" as an intellectual construct to be debated. Your opinion will guide your interpretation.

Jonathan Weisman: In my experience as a journalist, opinions always guide viewers' interpretations -- that's why these events move the dial so little. If you're predisposed to like one candidate or the other, you'll like your candidate's answer and hate his opponent's.

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Can you elaborate on this?:"You can lead a potential voter to the registration card, but you can't make him show up at the polls in November." Is there really proof that increases in voter registration for a particular party don't end up benefiting that party in the election? I found that hard to believe, but of course have no evidence to back up my claim.

Jonathan Weisman: I'm sure there have been studies. I don't have them. But anecdotally, it is true that in the last two elections, Republican get-out-the-vote drives were more successful than Democrats'. Republicans focus on getting folks to the polls, knowing their voters are more likely to be registered; Democrats -- especially Obama -- try to increase the universe of potential voters. But Obama is taking this to a new level. Ask me after Nov. 4.

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Fairfax, Va.: What are the chances that, if Obama were elected, Bob Gates would stay on as Defense Secretary? I know there were some whispers of it a few months ago.

Jonathan Weisman: When a House Democrat mentioned this in that now-famous closed-door meeting of Obama's a few weeks back, he was booed. 'Nuff said.

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Nashville, Tenn.: It's time to pony up another sacrifice to the nuclear waste god. The Department of Energy promised a house hearing on July 15 to announce its decision on the second nuclear waste repository "in several weeks." The rules say it has to be in the East. What state do you think will be selected?

Jonathan Weisman: How are the hills around Oak Ridge/Y-12 National Security Complex looking these days?

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Re: Former Suburban Detroiter: Hi Jonathan. This person was spot-on -- you could build a 20-foot-high cyclone fence with concertina wire across the top down the middle of 8 Mile Road, and all of the people north of it in Oakland County would cheer. The same mindset is just as pervasive here in Northwest Ohio. I have heard more than one well-traveled individual belonging to one minority group or another say that this part of Ohio is the most bigoted and racist place they ever have lived (including for one person of Korean descent from Selma, Ala.). I know a number of white people around here state who will not vote for Obama just because he's not white. I believe it would be a grave mistake to underestimate the role race will play this November.

How's your daughter doing, by the way?

Jonathan Weisman: Very kind to ask. My daughter is doing great, knock on wood. We finally dropped the steroids altogether last month. She's on a maintenance dose of another drug, a once-a-week injection, but other than that, we couldn't be happier.

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Anonymous: Were Lieberman and Ridge trial balloons and nothing else? Isn't McCain, more so than Obama, forced to select a safe, nondescript Pawlenty-type to appease all Republicans? Are the Christian conservatives the base of the Republican Party, or is that base in flux?

Jonathan Weisman: I just don't believe the Lieberman balloon, just like I can't believe the Hagel balloon. Lieberman is pro-choice, pro-environment, anti-Bush tax cut. You can't pick your running mate on a single issue, even if it's Iraq.

Ridge seemed more real, but I wouldn't put my money on it. I agree that McCain will be trying something safer -- unless he goes for Bobby Jindal.

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Baltimore: Re: Rick Warren, I hardly have been under a political rock since 1972. It's just that if I were a Muslim, Jew, atheist or Zoroastrian (I'm a lapsed Episcopalian, by the way), I would be less than thrilled that presidential candidates have to profess their personal relationship with Jesus in order to be considered viable. And I saw Warren on TV describe Christ as "my best friend -- I talk to him every day." Mental hospitals are full of such people.

Jonathan Weisman: Right, but George W. Bush named Jesus his favorite political philosopher. The cognoscenti chortled. The swing voters ate it up. And that was 8 years ago.

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The Great Beyond: Your chat is terrific, but I'm not sure that it pulls chatters from beyond the veil. H.R. Haldeman died in 1993, but he appreciates your concern about Nixon's repeated use of that catchphrase -- not that it did him much good in the end.

Jonathan Weisman: I had a feeling he was gone, but I was aiming for speed.

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Rockville, Md.: Oak Ridge? If history is any indication, it will be West Virginia, but if they had a giant disaster and if there were to be fallout (both very unlikely), the cloud goes east. I wonder where. Rockville? Yep.

Jonathan Weisman: I hear there are some lovely granite caves in Potomac, already spewing lots of Radon.

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Washington: I'd hardly call Schiff a House Democrat -- he has been Third Way since his election. New Democrats aren't really Democrats at all.

Jonathan Weisman: Spoken like a true MoveOn-er. C'mon. Schiff? What ever happened to the big tent? You're so pre-Rahm.

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"Born alive": Weisman, you're late to the game ... Obama already has been asked about this...

Jonathan Weisman: I know, I know. We're behind the curve.

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Washington: Weisman: The National Right To Life Committee wants me to address Obama and the born-alive issue. Really? Do you normally write pieces based on requests from issue groups? Presumably, they want you to write the piece because focusing on the issue will hurt Obama with the constituency they are targeting. Have you written other pieces on request? Uh, I'm a member of NOW -- and I'd like you to write about McCain and his history of treating the women in his life poorly and his love of deeply misogynistic jokes.

Jonathan Weisman: I get bugged by virtually every interest group on every topic. Sometimes they have a good story, sometimes not. But everyone has the right of request, and I have the right of refusal. And of course, if I did a story that Right to Life was pushing, I would play it straight. There's no guarantee they'd be happy with the final product.

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Alexandria, Va.: If John McCain didn't like Souter, Ginsburg or Breyer, why didn't he vote against them when they were up for confirmation?

Jonathan Weisman: Remember, he's part of the Gang of 14. That means he seems to think a presidential nominee deserves a hearing, unless he or she is egregiously out of the mainstream (whatever that means).

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McCain's Vice President: So what is Lindsay Graham -- just a dinner date?

Jonathan Weisman: He's the butt of a lot of corny McCain jokes. And increasingly a lot of unflattering profiles. But he seems to enjoy it nonetheless.

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Anonymous: Senate Democrats will pick up a few seats. Will they finally throw Lieberman overboard for his comments that Democrats aren't patriotic for not supporting the Iraq war, his campaigning for McCain and his bashing of Obama?

Jonathan Weisman: If they're close to 60, they'll keep him aboard. If they end up with, say, 56, there will be enormous sentiment to punish him. Stay tuned.

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Fairfax, Va.: If Obama does win and Democrats expand their majorities in the House and Senate as expected, what is the thinking about how they will pursue their agenda? Will they pursue compromises to get some legislation on pressing issues passed, or will it still be an "us against them" mentality where winning is defined as beating the opposition instead of passing any substantive bills? You mentioned that talk of Bob Gates staying on was booed, which seems silly considering he's been a very effective secretary, pushing for reform in a way a lot of Democrats like.

Jonathan Weisman: A good question. If the Democrats get 60 votes in the Senate (or even 58), they will be tempted to dam the torpedoes. Obama might be president but Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi control the legislative calendar. Still, as I hear it, they'll give Obama a few early slam dunks, like expanding the children's health insurance program and alternative energy production, then take their time on the big issues, like universal health care.

Iraq is the big question mark. Does Congress sit back and see what a President Obama does on his own or does Pelosi force the issue?

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Anonymous: Fred Thompson for vice president?

Jonathan Weisman: He was such an awesome candidate for president, I don't see how McCain could resist.

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Gainesboro, Tenn.: McCain won the first debate, is what people are saying here. They also say Obama lost the faith-based voters. People I talk to also say after hearing Obama's answers on the security of this country that they have a nervous gut about it. I've also seen a touch of anger about the resistance by the states against the offshore drilling -- the old not-in-my-back-yard statement is seen as a lack of respect for their sacrifice for the needs and security of this country.

Jonathan Weisman: Yet another reason why Barack Obama has written off Tennessee.

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Fairfax, Va.: Greg Mankiw has a blog post up stating that under the Obama tax plan, top effective marginal tax rates would rise to close to 50 percent, not seen since the 1986 Tax Reform bill passed. Given that high tax rates like that could inhibit economic growth, when will events force elected officials and candidates running for office to offer proposals to reform entitlement programs, which suck up the majority of the federal budget?

washingtonpost.com: Questions About the Obama Tax Plan (Tax Foundation, Aug. 14)

Jonathan Weisman: The tax code would be remarkably skewed under the Obama plan, since he leaves the bottom rates unchanged, and only lifts the top two. That might be good politics. Most people wouldn't see a tax increase at all. But that really is a sharp bump on incomes over $250,000.

The question is how the tax code, the entitlement issues, health care, and the alternative minimum tax all play together? Will the next president try to tackle all of them together or do it piecemeal? There is a strong argument that all of this needs a grand solution.

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Maryland: Not a question, but a really funny Wikipedia quote: "The Cone of Silence is one of many recurring joke devices from 'Get Smart,' an American comedy television series of the 1960s. Invented by 'Professor Cone,' the device is designed to protect the most secret of conversations (aka 'C.O.S. security risks') by enshrouding its users within a transparent sound-proof shield. Unfortunately, Control had purchased the device from a 'discount place' rather than the federal government, so it has never worked properly. Naturally, this frustrating situation provides fuel for comedy."

Jonathan Weisman: Amazing how these things migrate into the vernacular.

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Arlington, Va.: Between Barack's seemingly arrogant comments regarding his speech in Berlin and Pelosi's latest comment that Obama is "a leader that God has blessed us with at this time," I'm hoping the party can stay focused. C'mon folks, unless you've been in a cave for a while, this is a pretty close race according to the polls. If the plan is to win, better keep your head in the game!

Jonathan Weisman: Passing it along.

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Anonymous: I maybe reading too much into it but, Bush and Rice over the weekend appeared nervous and worried as they talked about the Russia/Georgia situation. I think there is more to this than we know

Jonathan Weisman: Ummm, the biggest nuclear power just invaded a neighbor and is threatening Poland. The U.S. has been asleep on the Russia issue for a long time. I'm nervous with what is lying in plain sight. Why does there have to be more?

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Pittsburgh: Will Mr McCain's ties to Ralph Reed become an issue after their fundraiser? I thought Reed was the guy who whipped up opposition to gambling in order to help his buddy Abramoff soak competing tribes for zillions of dollars.

Jonathan Weisman: I do find this amazing. John McCain (and his alter ego, Mark Salter) used to absolutely hate Reed. They put incredibly damning Reed and Abramoff e-mails into their report out of the Indian Affairs Committee, seemingly going out of their way to discredit the guy. Reed seemed to be suing for peace this spring. The fact that McCain and Salter are grasping the olive branch is quite shocking to me.

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Washington: A number of folks seem to support additional offshore drilling or drilling in the ANWR or other ways of getting more oil out of the ground, but worldwide consumption (and of course U.S. consumption) drives the price. How would we earmark the "extra" oil we hope to recover so that it makes it to the U.S. market? Won't China or India or some other oil consuming country just offer to pay a higher price per barrel?

Jonathan Weisman: Oil prices are set on global commodity markets. There's no way to earmark anything. If demand increases, prices should drop, but the Energy Information Administration predicts that drop would be very small and by the time the oil is out of the ground, increased demand will have swallowed it.

Nonetheless, oil is oil and more of it will help more or less. The best argument against drilling is that going for more of the junk keeps the junkie from breaking the habit.

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