Musings and Their Meanings

Hmmmm . . .

2010-07-24T06:32:00.001-07:00

New Republic Column Poses A Great Question . . .

2010-07-08T05:05:00.000-07:00

"The question demands to be asked: Who is more deserving of contempt? The commander-in-chief [Bush] who sends young Americans to die for a cause, however misguided, in which he sincerely believes? Or the commander-in-chief [Obama] who sends young Americans to die for a cause in which he manifestly does not believe and yet refuses to forsake?"

I ask my many friends on the left to give serious thought to that question today.

Read the whole thing.

Charlie Says The Dems Are Cooked

2010-07-02T12:15:00.000-07:00

The Great Charlie Cook says the wave is coming:

Imagine sitting in Washington's Verizon Center, listening blissfully to Carole King and James Taylor, thanks to a fast-thinking friend who managed to score four floor seats. For 50-somethings, it's a nice place to be. Then, as the concert is winding down, four pages of poll tables of a just-released survey pop up in your BlackBerry. They are jaw-dropping numbers, not inconsistent with what you had been thinking -- if anything more a confirmation of it. But the dramatic nature of the numbers brings the real world of politics crashing through what had been a most mellow evening.

The numbers were from the latest NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll, conducted June 17-21 among 1,000 adults by pollsters Peter Hart (a Democrat) and Bill McInturff (a Republican). Among the registered voters in the survey, Republicans led by 2 points on the generic congressional ballot test, 45 percent to 43 percent. This may not sound like a lot, given that Democrats now hold 59 percent of House seats. When this same poll was taken in June 2008, however, Democrats led by 19 points, 52 percent to 33 percent.

That drop-off should be enough to sober Democrats up, but the next set of data was even more chilling.

Read it all. Oh, and send the link to your Democrat friends. Happy Fourth!

Karma - Chameleon

2010-06-02T18:32:00.000-07:00

Heh: Obama gets a taste of his own Lousiana medicine:

"President Obama went from the triumph of passing his national health plan to the tragedy of the BP oil spill in just two months.

It was only March 28 when Obama pronounced that getting Congress to pass a bill strenuously disliked by the American people was proof that government could "still do big things." By May 28, Americans were watching oil belch up from the briny deep and wondering whether government could do anything at all.

Blame over what Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano might call a "man-caused disaster" in the Gulf of Mexico will be traded until long after the last pelican has been wiped down and the final check has been cut to an out-of-work shrimper.

BP will get most of the blame, and there's reason to wonder whether a company that saw its stock described as having "the smell of death" will survive billions of dollars in fines, lawsuits and cleanup fees.

But Obama will be endlessly second-guessed for allowing more offshore drilling before he made sure that his regulators were up to the task and then taking so long to jump in after it was clear they weren't.

Some of the blame will be unfair, and some will be well placed. But a good bit from both categories will adhere to the president, who once was seen as spotless.

But Obama needn't wonder why the wreck of the Deepwater Horizon will have done so much damage to his political fortunes.

By raising expectations for what government can do and for campaigning irresponsibly against the failures of his predecessor, Obama made his own eventual fall all the more precipitous.

When Obama was running for president in 2008 he was still bashing George W. Bush for his handling of Hurricane Katrina, scoffing at Bush's promise to "do whatever it takes" to help New Orleans residents rebuild.

"Those words have been caught in a tangle of half-measures, half-hearted leadership and red tape," Obama said on a campaign swing through New Orleans.

Obama can hardly be surprised to now hear Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal giving him a taste of his own medicine for the administration's slow response to local requests for permission to act against the disaster when the feds weren't offering better ideas of their own."

Read it all here.

The Thrill Is GONE: Chris Mathews Dumps On Obama - Ouch!!!!

2010-05-29T14:47:00.000-07:00

Wow (h/t Wizbang):

As they said at Wizbang: "Ya gotta love the use of the phrase 'idiotic cerebral meritocracy.'"

Marty Peretz Quoting Mark Steyn Re: Daniel Pearl

2010-05-23T04:54:00.000-07:00

Our president continues to provide evidence of his - well, is it active animus towards, or just plain ignorence about? - the Jewish people.

Take away:

"Maybe you missed it. But, earlier this week, President Obama signed into law the Daniel Pearl Press Freedom Act, a piece of legislation that will do nothing for anyone. And certainly not for freedom of the press. In his tiny talk, Obama said almost nothing. “Obviously, the loss of Daniel Pearl was one of those moments that captured the world’s imagination because it reminded us of how valuable a free press is.” Pabulum.

Actually, the murder of Pearl did not remind me at all of the value of a free press. It reminded me of the precarious places in which Jews find themselves around the world. It also reminded me that the bloodlust for Jews festers among Muslim extremists, but not just among extremists. It festers among Muslims who are not extremists at all.

Apparently, the president doesn’t believe that this killing had anything to do with Pearl being a Jew ... and an American besides. What he also doesn’t seem to believe is that Pearl was a target—like thousands of other targets, named and nameless—of the Islamic jihad."

Read it all, especially Steyn's quoted column.

James Carville Unloads on Obama - BP Failure

2010-05-23T04:45:00.000-07:00

Well, maybe he remembers that Obama was the top receipient of BP campaign contributions and is embarrassed (I have to confess - I didn't think Carville was able to get embarrassed). Carville says that Obama acts as if he is inconvenieced" by the spill clean-up. Well, yeah. That's been his m.o. from the beginning of his presidency - contract out policy and let others do the work:

Mini-Wave: Obama's "Home District" Goes Red

2010-05-23T04:39:00.000-07:00

The recent string of special House election wins for Obama is broken - at least for now:

Djou Wins In Hawaii

But the real wave will be in November, whether Djou holds this seat or not.

More from Geraghty.

Remember November . . . . The Video

2010-04-24T13:53:00.001-07:00

We Will Remember from Republican Governors Association on Vimeo.

Trouble Brewing Back In Obama-land

2010-04-23T04:51:00.000-07:00

Posted without further comment:

"Rod Blagojevich finally made good on a promise: He put President Barack Obama right in the middle of Blagojevich's own political corruption case . . . It's not good for Obama. But whether you agree or disagree with his politics, it's clear that he's in a difficult position."

Read the whole thing.

Schumer(!) Goes After Obama's Israeli Policies

2010-04-23T03:43:00.000-07:00

About time:

In an interview today, Sen. Chuck Schumer (D., N.Y.) had strong words for President Obama's recent attempts to take a harder stance with Israel.

Schumer called the administration's stance "counter-productive" and said he had planned to "blast" Obama if he didn't back off from his "terrible" posture toward Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu."

More here.

Who Could Have Possibly Known? (Saracsm Off)

2010-04-23T03:23:00.000-07:00

Healthcare "reform" will be more expensive - and less reform - than Obama said:

"Senate Democrats released details Wednesday of a five-year budget plan that promises to narrow the deficit dramatically by 2015 but still accumulates almost $3.9 trillion more government debt over the same period.

Trying to survive the political storm around them, Democrats would postpone the toughest decisions until after November's elections, when a presidential fiscal commission is scheduled to make its report to Congress. But there is no escaping the political bind that grips the party, exhausted from the debate over health care reform and under political pressure to extend Bush-era tax cuts.

Health care ate up most of the available Medicare savings and popular tax offsets that might otherwise be tapped to narrow the deficit. And as a result, it's harder to dig out of the deficit hole, and little progress will be made in the short term absent a further surge in the economy."

And there's this:

President Obama's health care overhaul law will increase the nation's health care tab instead of bringing costs down, government economic forecasters concluded Thursday in a sobering assessment of the sweeping legislation.

A report by economic experts at the Health and Human Services Department said the health care remake will achieve Obama's aim of expanding health insurance — adding 34 million Americans to the coverage rolls.

But the analysis also found that the law falls short of the president's twin goal of controlling runaway costs. It also warned that Medicare cuts may be unrealistic and unsustainable, driving about 15% of hospitals into the red and "possibly jeopardizing access" to care for seniors.

The mixed verdict for Obama's signature issue is the first comprehensive look by neutral experts."

Hmmm: was it all lies?

RightNetWork

2010-04-20T17:57:00.000-07:00

I look forward to this:

Will Obama Lose His Environmental "Cred"? Nah, He's A Liberal (UPDATED)

2010-03-31T03:24:00.000-07:00

If Bush had done this - or worse, if Sarah Palin had even proposed this - there'd have been a deafening uproar from the left. With Obama, I suspect, not a peep will be heard. But good for him for doing the right thing:

"The Obama administration is proposing to open vast expanses of water along the Atlantic coastline, the eastern Gulf of Mexico and the north coast of Alaska to oil and natural gas drilling, much of it for the first time, officials said Tuesday."

The proposal — a compromise that will please oil companies and domestic drilling advocates but anger some residents of affected states and many environmental organizations — would end a longstanding moratorium on oil exploration along the East Coast from the northern tip of Delaware to the central coast of Florida, covering 167 million acres of ocean."

I can't wait for the reaction this morning!

UPDATE: of course, the devil is always in the details and, like all things Obama, he has you to look right while he's moving left - a slight of hand deception. It's all nothing more than another Obama head fake. But of course!

Shelby Steele On Obama: An Historic Figure Who Is "Working Backwards"

2010-03-31T03:18:00.000-07:00

Shelby Steele has some profound insights on ""Barack the Good":

"The old fashioned, big government liberalism that Mr. Obama uses to make himself history-making also alienates him in the center-right America of today. It makes him the most divisive president in memory—a president who elicits narcissistic identification on the one hand and an enraged tea party movement on the other. His health-care victory has renewed his narcissistic charge for the moment, but if he continues to be a 1965 liberal it will become more and more impossible for Americans to see themselves in him."

And his conclusion is fascinating:

"Many presidents have been historically significant in retrospect, but Mr. Obama had historic significance on his inauguration day. His inauguration told a transcendent American story. Other presidents work forward into their legacy. Mr. Obama is working backwards into his."

Be sure to read the whole thing.

Dems Really Are Clueless

2010-03-30T12:43:00.000-07:00

The bounce that wasn't:

"Democrats who held out hopes that President Barack Obama’s health reform win would mean a quick boost to the party’s political fortunes are getting a reality check — a reminder that it takes more than one good week to shake up a year of sliding polls.

Obama and his health reform plan did get a bump in several surveys immediately after the House vote eight days ago — but the numbers in some of those polls flattened out, showing how difficult it will be for Obama to capitalize on reform, even after his top legislative goal cleared Congress."

I guess it's more humane if they don't see what's coming at them, poor babies. Let'em dream.

Heh: Health Insurance Premiums To Rise For The Young'ens

2010-03-30T03:35:00.000-07:00

Don Surber's on the case:

"From the Associated Press: “Under the health care overhaul, young adults who buy their own insurance will carry a heavier burden of the medical costs of older Americans — a shift expected to raise insurance premiums for young people when the plan takes full effect.”

Hahahahaha.

Hahahahaha.

Hahahahaha.

I can imagine the gaping-mouth expression of disappointment in those smarty-pantsed under 30s who voted for The Won.

They.

Screwed.

Themselves.

It another transference of wealth, this time from the young to the old. As an old person, I thank the young-uns for outsmarting theemselves.

From the article: “The higher costs will pinch many people in their 20s and early 30s who are struggling to start or advance their careers with the highest unemployment rate in 26 years.”

Conservatives tried to warn these kids, but no, they all knew better."

Can't say that I actually give a darn. Enjoy your hope and change!

I don't know about you, but I can't wait to find out what else is in the bill!!

Obama Becomes What He Says He Deplores: An Agent Of Financial Disaster

2010-03-30T03:26:00.000-07:00

So says Robert Samuelson in WaPo(!):

"When historians recount the momentous events of recent weeks, they will note a curious coincidence. On March 15, Moody's Investors Service -- the bond rating agency -- published a paper warning that the exploding U.S. government debt could cause a downgrade of Treasury bonds. Just six days later, the House of Representatives passed President Obama's health-care legislation costing $900 billion or so over a decade and worsening an already-bleak budget outlook.

Should the United States someday suffer a budget crisis, it will be hard not to conclude that Obama and his allies sowed the seeds, because they ignored conspicuous warnings. A further irony will not escape historians. For two years, Obama and members of Congress have angrily blamed the shortsightedness and selfishness of bankers and rating agencies for causing the recent financial crisis. The president and his supporters, historians will note, were equally shortsighted and self-centered -- though their quest was for political glory, not financial gain."

The seeds of disaster have been sown. Do we realize it?

Obama's Amatuer Diplomacy

2010-03-26T03:56:00.000-07:00

Ralph Peters brilliantly takes down the administration for its continuing diplomatic failings:

"Wednesday, March 24, 2010, was the worst day for US diplomacy in recent memory.

Between sunrise and sunset, we 1) handled our Israeli allies as enemies, 2) treated Pakistani gangsters as our benefactors and 3) got blindsided -- brilliantly -- by the Russians.

First, the Russians: Well aware that President Obama desperately wants to hold in his hand a piece of paper guaranteeing nuclear arms cuts in our time, Moscow has been stalling and brawling to force us to bend to its will.

With a few last sticking points in play (which the White House refuses to make public), the Russian government blindsided US negotiators by announcing that the deal was done and the signing was on the calendar.

Folks, this is diplomacy at a level we can't begin to touch. With their unilateral announcement, the Russians ensured that Obama will cave on the final points -- otherwise, it would look as though he scuttled the disarmament deal and undercut his own argument for anti-nuclear sanctions on Iran.

Could we please hire Russian negotiators to work for us?"

Ouch. The Obami sure are arrogant - and incompetant. What a deadly combo!

Shameful: Treating Friends As Enemies And Enemies As Colleagues

2010-03-25T04:08:00.000-07:00

Relations with Israel take an even greater hit:

"Two separate meetings between President Obama and Binyamin Netanyahu, the Israeli Prime Minister, failed to produce so much as an official photograph as a chill settled over US-Israeli relations and secrecy shrouded any efforts to repair them.

The Israeli Prime Minister was due to fly home from Washington after three days marked by Israeli defiance on the issue of settlements and an extraordinary silence maintained by both sides after his three-and-a-half-hour visit to the White House."

This is not "change" I believe in. And they said that George Bush hurt relations with our allies! Tell me, my friends on the left, why does Obama hate the only real democracy in the middle east - and our only true ally?

Stupak Is As Stupak Does

2010-03-24T03:40:00.000-07:00

Heh:

"President Obama signed the Senate health care bill into law Tuesday. He did not sign the executive order on abortion negotiated with Michigan Democratic Congressman Bart Stupak in an 11th-hour arrangement that may well have saved the entire health care reform effort.

A White House official told Fox, Obama will not sign the Executive Order Tuesday and has set no specific date to do so. Stupak predicted Obama would sign the order later this week. The White House said only that Obama would sign the order "soon."

This is what comes of trusting a Chicago thug politician. Enjoy your infamy Congressman.

Jonah Goldberg Explains Obamacare: And It's Not Going To Be Good

2010-03-23T04:45:00.000-07:00

The article is here. But this is particularly worrisome:

"The legislation allocates $10 billion to pay for 16,500 IRS agents who will collect and enforce mandatory "premiums." Does that sound like the private sector at work to you?"

That just about sums it up in a few words - and informs us what's so massively wrong with this so-called "reform" legislation.

But of Course . . . Now That They Have Won On Healthcare, Liberals Want To Finish Off Our Economy

2010-03-23T04:24:00.000-07:00

They will now attempt to completely destroy our economy through climate change legislation:

"After a hard-fought victory on health care reform, President Barack Obama's allies in Congress are setting their sights on climate change -- but some on both sides are already crying foul.

Environmentalists hope Obama will seize on new political momentum to push forward climate legislation, though some observers question whether he would seek another divisive vote as November congressional elections approach."

These people are beyond despicable. They are tyrants.

VDH: Obama Crosses The Rubicon

2010-03-22T05:16:00.000-07:00

Words of wisdom from the great Professor (be sure to read it all):

"Do Democrats realize that we really have crossed the Rubicon? In the future when the Republicans gain majorities (and they will), the liberal modus operandi will be the model—bare 51% majorities, reconciliation, the nuclear option, talk of deem and pass, not a single Democrat vote—all ends justifying the means in order to radically restructure vast swaths of American economic and social life. Is someone unhinged at the DNC? They just blew up any shred of bipartisan consensus when their President polls below 50%, the Democratically-controlled Congress below 20%, and health care reform less than 50%. Usually unpopular leaders and their unpopular ideas seek the shelter of minority rights and prerogatives. What will they do when they are in the minority—since they’ve entered the arena, boasted “let the games begin” and shouted “by any means necessary”?

McCardle Sums It Up: Tyranny

2010-03-22T05:11:00.000-07:00

Don't miss this:

"Regardless of what you think about health care, tomorrow we wake up in a different political world.

Parties have passed legislation before that wasn't broadly publicly supported. But the only substantial instances I can think of in America are budget bills and TARP--bills that the congressmen were basically forced to by emergencies in the markets.

One cannot help but admire Nancy Pelosi's skill as a legislator. But it's also pretty worrying. Are we now in a world where there is absolutely no recourse to the tyranny of the majority?" . . .

"If the GOP takes the legislative innovations of the Democrats and decides to use them, please don't complain that it's not fair. Someone could get seriously hurt, laughing that hard.

But I hope they don't. What I hope is that the Democrats take a beating at the ballot boxand rethink their contempt for those mouth-breathing illiterates in the electorate. I hope Obama gets his wish to be a one-term president who passed health care. Not because I think I will like his opponent--I very much doubt that I will support much of anything Obama's opponent says. But because politicians shouldn't feel that the best route to electoral success is to lie to the voters, and then ignore them.

We're not a parliamentary democracy, and we don't have the mechanisms, like votes of no confidence, that parliamentary democracies use to provide a check on their politicians. The check that we have is that politicians care what the voters think. If that slips away, America's already quite toxic politics will become poisonous."

And this from the left!