PRINCETON, NJ -- Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's favorable rating is down seven percentage points since May to 29%, a new low for her since assuming the top congressional post...Pelosi's image has gone from bad to worse in recent months, with independents, in particular, growing more critical of her. Her resulting 2-to-1 negative to positive image presents a challenge for congressional Democrats as they try to convince voters to send them back to Washington for another term. While President Obama may be of some benefit on the campaign trail in terms of firing up the Democratic base to turn out, Pelosi's subdued favorability among Democrats and highly negative image among independents suggest she is a far riskier person for Democratic candidates to be associated with -- something Republicans who are using her in ads against their opponents have already concluded.
Well, she did say she was going to "drain the swamp."
Late add/bonus: This quote just in from Ms. Pelosi - ""Let me tell you right here and now that I would rather be in our position right now than theirs." From an interview with Charlie Rose, arguing that it will be tougher than it looks for Republicans to gain 39 net seats in the House to take control. (h/t: Political Wire) I guess every generation has its Gen. George "Don't Take Any Prisoners!" Custer.
The truth is, even if you did not buy into her “Leave it to Beaver” character, June Cleaver, Mrs. Billingsley was someone special.
I had the good fortune to work with Mrs. Billingsley a few years back. I won’t claim to have become friends with her, though the few times we subsequently bumped into each other, she was as sweet as you would imagine she would be. I am sure countless people in the entertainment industry have stories that are grander than mine and there are surely those, like her former co-stars, who worked with her for years.
My experience with Mrs. Billingsley came to be through the university I worked at where she was active in its committee for the arts. When the idea arose to do a video with her – an employee appreciation presentation -- that gently poked fun at the school by parodying “Leave it to Beaver,” – I jumped at the opportunity.
After writing the script I sent it to her and waited for a reaction. Mrs. Billingsley’s response: “Looks fun. Why don’t we just shoot this at my home?”
For someone who’d grown up watching re-runs of “Leave it to Beaver” and laughed out loud at her role as the older, white woman who speaks “jive” in the hit spoof, “Airplane,” it was like I’d been invited to visit a Hall of Famer in the dugout -- during a game. Needless to say, I jumped at the chance.
On the day of the shoot, the crew and I arrived early (Mrs. Cleaver would have wanted us to be punctual!). She came to the door and welcomed us inside as she had so many times before “Lumpy,” “Whitey” and even that boy, “Eddie Haskell.”
Barbara Billingsley's iconic role of June Cleaver not only helped her in the center of "Leave it to Beaver," but it also helped put her in the heart of American life...
As the crew set up, I sat and talked with Mrs. Billingsley about the video. It wasn’t long, however, before we began discussing her career, family and interests. I remember mentioning an interview with a well-known actress who complained about Hollywood not being more “mom-friendly.” Mrs. Billingsley brushed it aside and scoffed. “When I was working,” she said, “I was a widow and raising my children, by myself, at the same time I was working. I just got it done – that’s what people did then. You had to work hard and look after yourself. And that was back when people were not exactly behind things like companies paying for your childcare needs.”
It wasn’t long before the shoot kicked into high gear. In every take, she nailed her lines. She always positioned herself and moved with pinpoint accuracy, and she gave us more than one great suggestion (born from her experiences) that made the process – and the finished product – better than we imagined it could be. As I watched this all unfold before me, I understood that the caring, helpful, teaching mother that was June Cleaver was very much a part of Barbara Billingsley.
Believe it or not, as the tape rolled and I sat there in her kitchen watching her work, I thought to myself, “Someday, I’m going to share this story with people about the time I worked with June Cleaver.” But I didn’t wait until her passing today to tell my story. I’ve shared it with many people and whenever I’ve told it, the other person’s face “lit up.” There was always a big smile, followed by something like, “How cool!” or “Wow! Did Mrs. Cleaver bake her chocolate chip cookies for you?”
And to that I always answer, yes.
Yes, I can say that I sat at the table in Mrs. Billingsley’s/June Cleaver’s kitchen while she served the crew and me just-baked chocolate chip cookies and milk. And right then, eating what were perhaps the best still-warm chocolate chip cookies – ever – I was part of a moment where I felt like I had one foot in the real world, and one in the late ‘50s – early ‘60s world where the residents of the Cleaver’s mythical All-American city of Mayfield lived.
As I write this, there is a feeling beyond what most celebrity deaths engender. That’s because Barbara Billingsley, in her role as June Cleaver, set the tone and expectations for a generation of television viewers. Her portrayal as the wife of Ward and the mother of Wally and Theodore (“The Beaver”) not only become a cultural touchstone, but she also served as a strong and lasting role model.
Remember when the Obama Administration kicked-off "Recovery Summer?" If not, here's a brief reminder of the announcement the White House made on June 17, 2010: "WASHINGTON, DC – The Administration today kicks off “Recovery Summer,” a six-week-long focus on the surge in Recovery Act infrastructure projects that will be underway across the country in the coming months – and the jobs they’ll create well into the fall and through the end of the year. The Recovery Act has already funded tens of thousands of projects and put about 2.5 million Americans to work, but summer 2010 is actually poised to be the most active Recovery Act season yet, with tens of thousands of projects underway across the country that will help to create jobs for American workers and economic growth for businesses, large and small."
Over at Politics Daily, Alex Wagner wrote, “Vice President Joe Biden noted, ‘We've gone from hemorrhaging over 700,000 jobs a month the first several months . . . to adding several hundred thousand jobs a month in the last several months.’ He cited 2.3 to 2.8 million jobs saved or created by last year's stimulus bill, and projected that the U.S. was on track to create or save 3.5 million jobs by the end of 2010, announcing, ‘The fact is, the recovery act is working.’ The vice president went on to assert that the stimulus funding would create a positive ripple effect in the economy as a whole. Biden deflected criticism…asserting, ‘This recession was so much deeper, so much more profound than most people thought it [would be]. . . . We never thought that $787 billion was going to fill that hole. The purpose of it was to keep people from falling into the abyss . . . and begin to build a ladder to climb out of that hole.’ The vice president was seemingly at ease with the public's perceived skepticism over the success of the recovery act."
What we all know is that "Recovery Summer" never happened. Not only did things not pick up for the economy but they actually worsened.
And while every day seems to bring another "downer" story about the economy, a few news items (today) continue to underscore the fact that any recovery is a long, long way off. For example:
--“Jobless Claims Rise by 462,000”
--"September home foreclosures top 100,000 for first time"--“U.S. Dollar Is Dealt Another Blow”
--“Federal Reserve policy makers may want Americans to expect inflation to accelerate in the future so they spend more of their money now. Central bankers, seeking ways to boost flagging growth after lowering interest rates almost to zero and buying $1.7 trillion of securities, are weighing strategies for raising inflation expectations as well as expanding the balance sheet by purchasing Treasuries, according to minutes of the Fed’s Sept. 21 meeting released [Tuesday].”
--"Gold settled up to end above $1,370 an ounce on Wednesday, boosted by worries over dollar depreciation after the Federal Reserve signaled it will start buying government debt again to stimulate the economy."
The numbers don't lie, do they Mr. Vice President (and Mr. President)?
Mission accomplished?
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