Rowdy's Roundup: Pakistan, Oklahoma, Drew Barrymore (and more)

BooMan was hoping that Bill Richardson would be Obama's SoS, but he doesn't see Richardson's appointment to Secretary of Commerce as a consolation prize - or a slight to his core constituency:  "It isn't a snub to the Latino community. In narrow, parochial, terms, Richardson will probably be able to do more good for the Latino community at Commerce. And Richardson isn't owed the State Department. Hillary Clinton may be slightly less qualified on paper, but she has intangible strengths that certainly put her in the same league with Richardson... Many people inside the Washington foreign policy establishment, including Steve Clemons, have raised alarms about Richardson's managerial style and fitness for State. In other words, it isn't a total slam-dunk case that Richardson would be the better of the two. In fact, I think John Kerry has a good case that he is the best fit for the job, and he could argue that Obama owes him the position, too."  (At least we haven't seen Joy Behar angling for the job.)

Hailey Branson at OU Daily explains why not a single county in the Sooner State voted for Obama:  "Though many are questioning why Oklahoma is shifting to the right, I believe the answer is simple. The state is becoming more conservative because it has politicized Christianity and turned liberalism into a sin... Oklahomans are proud of the fact that their state is most conservative in the nation, despite the fact that it contains more registered Democrats than Republicans. It breaks my heart that, outside campus, I cannot discuss politics in my home state without my faith being questioned. It breaks my heart that, in this state, there is little room for the middle ground. A person has to agree with everything — or nothing — a party stands for."  (Branson goes on to note that homo-hating Sally Kern was re-elected by a comfortable margin.)

Yglesias sees an upside to the country's financial meltdown:  "One silver lining in the dark clouds of the economy is that it looks set to alleviate the military’s recruiting woes as declining labor market prospects in the civilian economy leave more people looking kindly on joining up...  the decreasing casualty levels in Iraq and the prospect of a new, popular, non-horrible commander in chief also seem to be playing a role."  (If and when President-elect Obama ever gets around to repealing the military's DADT policy, the ranks should swell even more.)  More after the jump... 

Josh Marshall at TPM wonders why the Bush Administration didn't tackle our bank bailouts like the British did when they rescued the Royal Bank of Scotland:  "The government ended up buying almost 60% of the company, after the bank's existing shareholders bought only a tiny percentage of a new offering. So the government owns 60% of the bank and the government's shares are held by something called UK Financial Investments LTD, which has a charge 'to protect and create value for the taxpayer as shareholder, with due regard to financial stability and acting in a way that promotes competition.' ...here you actually have some decent chance for taxpayers to recoup their investment. And you have people with a charter to maximize taxpayer value and stabilize the economy on the bank's boards. It's really pretty demoralizing, after all, to see the taxpayers pony up all this money and then have the banks tell us to go screw ourselves when we complain that they're not using any of the money for making loans."  (Josh never fails to enlighten us.)

Pakistan had offered help in identifying those responsible for the Mumbai massacre by sending the head of it's intelligence agency (ISI) to India.  Then Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari reneged, blaming the about-face on "miscommunication" with India. Cernig on Crooks and Liars smells a rat:  "This is the third promise involving civilian control of the ISI which has been turned back by the military in recent months. Indeed, the only promise we don't know for a fact to have been unfulfilled is one made just before the Mumbai attacks that the ISI's political department, the one analysts feel was most heavily involved in using terror groups as proxies, was being disbanded. It would be naive to think the military and the agency intend to keep that one either. In fact, it would be ravingly naive to think that support for using terror groups as proxies was confined to rogue elements within the ISI and military... I continue to believe that the Pakistani military are really in charge in that nation and using the civilian democratic government as a convenient front to deflect the West..."  (This is an instance where I'd like to see our new Secretary of State open a can of whupass.  Top priority, Hill.)

Actress Drew Barrymore writes a captivating commentary for CNN recounting her experiences as Ambassador Against Hunger for the U.N.' s World Food Program.  She ends the piece with an impassioned plea:  "Everyone can be a part of saving another person's life. The numbers continue to astonish me in their ability to bring nourishment and education to those children -- 25 cents a day, $5 a month, $50 a year can feed a child and offer them the opportunity for an education... It was incredible to be on 'Oprah' donating $1 million to WFP; but my heart was lifted so much higher when I saw the donations that followed from inspired students, working adults, mothers, fathers, daughters, people all across the United States, giving what they could to additionally raise over $500,000 that will fill the cups of children in WFP schools across the globe...  That, to me, is what the World Food Program is all about -- people helping people -- and that is why I'm so very grateful to be an ambassador against hunger."  (I recently watched an amusing film called "My Date With Drew" about a man who documents his 30-day attempt to land a date with the elusive Ms. Barrymore.  Barrymore appears briefly at the end of Brian Herzlinger's movie, fulfilling his dream and giving filmgoers a glimpse of one of the most unaffectedly charming women currently working in Hollywood.  She is the perfect spokeswoman for this worthy cause.)