More eloquence from Iowa

via savage at slog

What is it about Iowa that its leaders are able to so succinctly, calmly, and eloquently address the issue of gay marriage? Above is a clip of Iowa Senate Majority Leader Mike Gronstal blocking a bill that would have gotten the ball rolling on an amendment to ban gay marriage. This means that gay marriage is safe in Iowa until 2014. But most impressive of all is the substance of Gronstal's impassioned response (it's so earnest and so devoid a bombast one can hardly call it a speech).

Quote of the Day

"What underlines so many of Obama's decisions is an attachment to the institutions that hold up American society, a desire to make them function better rather than to remake them altogether."

--George Packer in this week's New Yorker

Anyone who has wondered why Obama is bailing out the big banks rather than nationalizing them, or why Obama is creating a government run health care option rather than pursuing free universal health care, has noticed the President's seemingly unshakable faith in large institutions. The big question is what are the consequences to such a philosophy when major institutions of American society need to be remade rather than reorganized? It's one thing for Obama to temper and compromise audacious plans to meet pragmatic needs, it's another thing altogether for Obama to aim for pragmatic success in the short-term in order to avoid messy but much needed major renovations down the road.