![[dr. bob]](/dr-bob-sm.gif)
Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 3 of 3. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by Dinah on December 7, 2008, at 11:27:27
It appears that he has shocked the pundits in a stunning upset of indicted Congressman William Jefferson. I'm pretty astonished myself. It's one of those things you just never think can happen. If William Jefferson won the primary, despite the federal charges, it would never occur to me that a Republican could beat him in the second district.
I find myself liking Mr. Cao very much so far. A community activist who was instrumental in leading the successful fight against a New Orleans East landfill, and a man who seems to have a passionate interest in social justice, I think he is very promising. While I don't much like categorizing people by ethnicity or gender, he is apparently the first Vietnamese-American in the House of Representatives. He and his siblings were sent to America after the fall of Saigon, and his personal story is really impressive. I of course will reserve judgment until I see how he does in Congress. But it does my heart good to see someone who so clearly passionate about social justice get a chance to do something about it.
That old poem of Edgar A Guest that my mom kept reciting to me as a kid keeps tickling my brain since I heard. "It Couldn't Be Done" It's funny how those things that drove you nuts as a kid come back to you with a bit of nostalgia.
Posted by fayeroe on December 7, 2008, at 11:33:58
In reply to Joseph Cao, posted by Dinah on December 7, 2008, at 11:27:27
Posted by Dinah on December 7, 2008, at 11:57:59
In reply to it pleases me to get rid of Jefferson! (nm) » Dinah, posted by fayeroe on December 7, 2008, at 11:33:58
Well, it's difficult for a politician to be effective with a federal indictment hanging over his head this long, and with his being stripped of his committee roles.
But I feel a bit sorry for those who supported him so long. He had something of an historical role himself. He says he doesn't think his indictment was the reason for his defeat, and blames Gustav, and the fact that many of his supporters didn't realize that he wasn't already elected after the Nov election. I might wish he didn't say things like that about his supporters. Voter turnout was very low, but I think it was far more involved than that the voters weren't aware there was an election.
It would be interesting if they ever research the really complex layers of race, party loyalty, the win of Barack Obama, the feelings toward the Vietnamese-American community, etc. in addition to the role Gustav played in the outcome.
(The original primary qualifying race was scheduled for September and had to be delayed because of the Gustav evacuation. Also, the federal government only recently insisted that we change the way our federal races were decided.)
This is the end of the thread.
Psycho-Babble Politics | Extras | FAQ
Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.org
Script revised: February 4, 2008
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/cgi-bin/pb/mget.pl
Copyright 2006-17 Robert Hsiung.
Owned and operated by Dr. Bob LLC and not the University of Chicago.