Keillor to Obama: "Disappoint your followers, astonish your enemies, do what's right"

[shereads]

Keillor to Obama: "Disappoint your followers, astonish your enemies, do what's right"

Garrison Keillor at salon.com:

Nov. 5, 2008 | A golden November day under a blue sky and an air of sweet amiability at the polls and at the end of the day, we elected the right guy, no doubt about it. Yes, we can and we did. A nation spread its wings and achieved altitude.

Bravo, Barack, Mr. Steady, who cheerfully did the rope lines, made the phone calls, answered the same questions 15,000 times, bounded up the stairs, delivered his lines with warmth and wit, ran a tight disciplined army, and that, plus $700 million and an 80 mph wind at your back, is all you need to win the prize.

One is electrified by the historic moment, of course, but I will let Great Minds chew on that, and simply wish him and his marvelous lady all the best as they bear up under the tsunami of adoration from Democrats whom he has led out of Egypt. His picture goes up in the kitchen shrine alongside FDR and JFK -- BHO elevated to sainthood and now expected to walk on water and turn it into wine. Meanwhile, everything he said about the national mess is utterly true and a lot more. And now it is Barack's mess. Yikes.

A good shingle for the new administration to hang out, rather than The New Covenant or A Fair Exchange or English Spoken Here, would be Keep Seat Belt Buckled. Happy days are not here and the sky above is not clear.

One bright light in the marquee is Michelle Obama, that witty, jumpy woman with the quicksilver smile who said, "How does Barack prepare for a debate? He just talks to me and he's ready." The good mother who said, "People ask me how I am, and I say, I'm only as good as my most sad child." Come January, we will have a president whose wife calls him Baby. Good for you, Mama. And now she becomes America's No. 2 celebrity, the object of giddy curiosity.

Enjoy the people's house, Michelle, and cruise along gently and do not read anything written about you, and don't watch the news. Enjoy the pageantry (you look good, Baby), bring up the family and don't take the show too seriously. Don't do too many interviews. Think Laura Bush, a cool first lady. People like Laura Bush a lot, a Texas Democrat who married a Republican and stuck with him through thin and thinner. She's smart and we know that because she never tried to show how smart she is. Do not let the mister put you in charge of healthcare legislation. Your great challenge is to make a genuine life in the midst of the heavy surf of publicity. God willing, be happy and live your life. When life gets too unreal, sit down with a good book.

As for President-elect Obama, he can now stop dancing, which he's been doing for 20 months -- in a democracy we want candidates to really, really, really want to be president -- and get down to the business of patient, focused, rational deliberation and calculation, starting with the formulation of a Cabinet and a White House staff. Have them write up a presidential order for January 20 saying that America will not employ torture, and maybe issue a blanket presidential pardon for your predecessor and his vice, and then set about the business of disappointing your followers and astonishing your enemies and doing what is right for our country.

Be good to yourself. Hire smart, stable people who can tell you things you need to know and not copy Bob Woodward. Keep some Republicans around. You're the man. You make us proud. You let us get to know you. You have the gift of speaking clearly and forcefully, whole sentences and paragraphs, while thinking at the same time, a good gift. You don't need a staff of writers to create a persona for you. You need engineers. Problem solvers. You're inheriting a raft of them.

Get on that treadmill every morning. Keep a daily journal. Let us see those darling girls once in a while. Please don't play golf. Don't get a dog. Enjoy Camp David. Be happy. Don't hire people to tell you how to dress or who to be; you're a grown-up. Don't do crap that someday you'd have to go on TV and make cheesy apologies for. This job is one you were cut out to do and a big part of the job is to keep up the national morale and you are already doing that big-time. And thank you, sir. All those cheap motels, all those flights, all of that chip dip. We are deeply grateful.

(c) 2008 by Garrison Keillor. All rights reserved. Distributed by Tribune Media Services, INC.

I disagree with the part about not getting a dog. The rest sounds smart and sane and sober. Sadly sober.

 

[Selena_Kitt]

Garrison Keillor at salon.com:

I disagree with the part about not getting a dog. The rest sounds smart and sane and sober. Sadly sober.

The girls are getting a dog, not him.

 

[sr71plt]

Whether or not he gets a dog, someone will give him one. He just has to remember not to pick up it up by the ears within camera shot.

 

[Selena_Kitt]

Whether or not he gets a dog, someone will give him one. He just has to remember not to pick up it up by the ears within camera shot.

*snerk*

How do you know they don't love being picked up by the ears?

 

[voluptuary_manque]

Get a rat terrier. He'll need one! Lots of vermin in Washington that need biting.

 

[off2bed]

I thought long copy/pastes were frowned upon here.

 

[DesertPirate]

Wall Street has expressed their confidence in Obama:
Dow falls 486 points

 

[sr71plt]

I thought long copy/pastes were frowned upon here.

Unfortunately not. They are a copyright violation, which is especially eggregious on a writer's site. But both posters and the Web site managers appear to be clueless about copyright protection (while screaming bloody murder when their own stories are lifted from here and reposted on other Web sites). Double standard and all that.

 

[shereads]

Wall Street has expressed their confidence in Obama:
Dow falls 486 points

Wall Street: home of excellent judgement.

 

[lisa123414]

Garrison Keillor – everyone should listen to him often, especially during their commute. Of course, I may be biased, born in South Dakota of Norwegian stock.

Of Obama’s acceptance speech, the part that I liked best was when he promised the girls a puppy.

Selena – to quote a bit of cheese – you look swell sweetie.

 

[shereads]

I thought long copy/pastes were frowned upon here.

Are they? Here's a link instead.

http://www.salon.com/opinion/keillor/2008/11/05/happy_couple/

 

[shereads]

Whether or not he gets a dog, someone will give him one. He just has to remember not to pick up it up by the ears within camera shot.

Or kick it out of the way, as Barbara Bush did during a televised Christmas tour of the White House.

 

[off2bed]

Are they? Here's a link instead.

http://www.salon.com/opinion/keillor/2008/11/05/happy_couple/

Typically, the people who bitch about copy/paste are just disagreeing with the content of what was pasted, in a passive/aggressive manner.

 

[sr71plt]

Typically, the people who bitch about copy/paste are just disagreeing with the content of what was pasted, in a passive/aggressive manner.

Not me. I'm an equal-opportunity bitcher about reposting someone's published work without the copyright holder's permission. But then I'm a professional writer and know what it means to do so. (And, incidentally, providing a link is only "instead" if you erase the original copyright violation text.)

 

[sr71plt]

Or kick it out of the way, as Barbara Bush did during a televised Christmas tour of the White House.

I missed that. That does sound like Barbara Bush.

 

[shereads]

Not me. I'm an equal-opportunity bitcher about reposting someone's published work without the copyright holder's permission. But then I'm a professional writer and know what it means to do so. (And, incidentally, providing a link is only "instead" if you erase the original copyright violation text.)

I know that! I was being ironic, dammit. A lame attempt, I know, but I'm giddy.

 

[JAMESBJOHNSON]

According to what I read, Obama is destined to be the bridegroom who cant get it up. There's no money for anything. Nancy Pelosi said so today.

 

[lisa123414]

Unfortunately not. They are a copyright violation, which is especially eggregious on a writer's site. But both posters and the Web site managers appear to be clueless about copyright protection (while screaming bloody murder when their own stories are lifted from here and reposted on other Web sites). Double standard and all that.

Wait a minute, is it a violation when the source and even the copyright are mentioned? Sher posted an item, clearly gave credit to the author and even cited the copyright at the bottom. I presume she obtained the text which was elsewhere posted on the 'net. Maybe I am blurring common sense with the law, though.

 

[sr71plt]

Wait a minute, is it a violation when the source and even the copyright are mentioned? Sher posted an item, clearly gave credit to the author and even cited the copyright at the bottom. I presume she obtained the text which was elsewhere posted on the 'net. Maybe I am blurring common sense with the law, though.

Yes, it most certainly is a violation. You need to check (or recheck) copyright law. There are very strict limitations on the percentage of a copyrighted piece you can repost at all (certainly not the whole of it, which was posted here). Like 50 words total (and even that is only covered by custom, not actual "right" by law). And copyright law requires you to provide the citation no matter how much of it you repeat.

As I say, most posters here--and the Web site managers themselves--seem to be clueless about copyright law. And this is a writers' Web site.

 

[lisa123414]

Yes, it most certainly is a violation. You need to check (or recheck) copyright law. There are very strict limitations on the percentage of a copyrighted piece you can repost at all (certainly not the whole of it, which was posted here). Like 50 words total (and even that is only covered by custom, not actual "right" by law). And copyright law requires you to provide the citation no matter how much of it you repeat.

As I say, most posters here--and the Web site managers themselves--seem to be clueless about copyright law. And this is a writers' Web site.

What is the percentage of a copyrighted piece you can repost on the internet?

Did she not provide the citation at the end, i.e. "(c) 2008 by Garrison Keillor. All rights reserved. Distributed by Tribune Media Services, INC. "

 

[Guest]

So sayeth the Copyright Office (this is probably infringement, but I seriously doubt they'll mind):

The distinction between “fair use” and infringement may be unclear and not easily defined. There is no specific number of words, lines, or notes that may safely be taken without permission. Acknowledging the source of the copyrighted material does not substitute for obtaining permission. (Emphasis added)

http://www.copyright.gov/fls/fl102.html

 

[off2bed]

What is the percentage of a copyrighted piece you can repost on the internet?

Did she not provide the citation at the end, i.e. "(c) 2008 by Garrison Keillor. All rights reserved. Distributed by Tribune Media Services, INC. "

My understanding is there's no set percentage, just "a portion" or some such wording.

A good practice is to give us a teaser and a link, so we will WANT to go to the original source, click on their ads, and make them a half cent in revenue, instead of putting it all here where no one gets any revenue for their effort.

I'm not as obsessive about it as the jet jockey, just being a general troublemaker.

 

[Corylea]

The part I disagree with is issuing a blanket pardon to Bush and Cheney. They have committed major crimes, and they've gotten away with it long enough. It's true that the nation doesn't need a major diversion from working on its problems, but disrespect for the Constitution and the rule of law is part of what got us into this mess in the first place. I think we should make an example of Bush, not pardon the jerk.

 

[cloudy]

I would give anything if Leonard Peltier would finally be pardoned. Anything.

 

[Guest]

Garrison Keillor at salon.com:

I disagree with the part about not getting a dog. The rest sounds smart and sane and sober. Sadly sober.

He could always get a cat.

In fact, he probably should.

It pissed off some conservatives that Clinton had a cat.