The Spit Shine

The End of Sharon Legacy

2012-05-14T07:27:00.001-04:00

His old friend co-opts Kadima, ...

Goodbye, Jersey Girl

2012-02-12T19:26:00.000-05:00

Gone too soon, Whitney Houston, XOX:

Israel's Pre-Election First-Strike Window

2012-02-09T05:05:00.002-05:00

The title says it all. Think about it.

Rick Santorum, OWNING the execrable part of his moniker

2012-02-09T01:53:00.001-05:00

"There's always a reason."

Have a treat and do yourself a favor. Set aside some time and watch these two, one after the other. Textbook ship wreck.

"They hated me without a cause.":

Obama Tweet of the Day

2012-02-07T20:30:00.003-05:00

Separation of powers is Constitutional. Fast talk about 'ending supremacy' is not serious. -BO #NewtFastTalk #NotASeriousCandidate

Obama Tweet of the Day

2012-02-07T20:26:00.003-05:00

Can't lead or govern with platitudes. What page of 133p opinion is "prejudiced"? -BO #W.MittRomney #notaseriouscandidate

Syria on Path to Escalation

2012-02-07T00:23:00.001-05:00

Here's an interesting paradox: (Principled) Non-intervention creates conditions that require intervention.

It's like the Spanish Civil War, a little bit, in which everyone tried to stay out, but got sucked in, one way or the other.

An American Classic

2012-02-06T23:56:00.000-05:00

Left or Right, you have to admit that Maureen Dowd has taken this form of political takedown to an artform.

This one ranks up with President Bush's Barberini Faun, no?

Remainderman of Reagan Devolution, "Thuggery", Will Not Be Televised

2012-02-02T23:09:00.001-05:00

FRAKING THE COUNTRY, ONE GOP VOTE AT A TIME

GOP swells, they stall, delay, arguably harass, and then arrest documentary filmmaker, so he won't video tape a public hearing, prompting him to exclaim, "This is not government. This is thuggery."

There were reasons that the founders insisted on public hearings.

However, we are on terra nova with the Reagan Devolution, in which some things the GOP do are so awful that they need the continued cloak of secrecy.

About that "He made the recession worse" propaganda

2012-02-02T18:17:00.000-05:00

MAKING IT HARDER TO GOVERN THE COUNTRY, ONE GOP CONTENDER AT A TIME

What's going on with this phrase, "Obama made the recession worse"?

Looks like pretty sophisticated propaganda technique, to me. Afterall, on the facts, this is what Obama should be saying about the GOP, who stalled stimulus legislation and made sure that a huge part of what was done, went into stimulus-inefficient tax breaks.

Now, some might say that is what Rachel Maddow called, "going after their strength", in reference to Karl Rove's super-naught-PAC.

But consider this: one needs to know a bit of economics to understand the truth of the matter. Or, rely on an independent expert. This propaganda technique, used by the GOP, exploits that.

First, you attack anyone who sets themselves up as an 'independent expert'. This is the "liberal media elites".

Then you work to make the issue seem like a partisan disagreement over the facts. Use your propaganda TV channel and its mantras of epistemic closure, but also giveaway, right-wing radio. People trust their "daddy", Bill O'Reilly, say, who's "always looking out for you", rather than their reason.

As such, it is a fairly sophisticated approach. Doesn't always work, but it sure makes it harder to govern the country in a fact-based way, doesn't it? At a minimum, you have to have the money it takes to do voter education, if the media fail in that role.

FL Horserace: It's the Heretic over the Papist and the French Conservative

2012-01-31T20:21:00.002-05:00

...by a mile.

Best Pundit Comment

2012-01-26T23:05:00.001-05:00

Describing the Jacksonville debate:

"Welcome to the Marco Rubio suck-up party."

Favorite Moments of GOP Constipation, Jacksonville Debate

2012-01-26T22:28:00.003-05:00

The Spreading Santorum Award goes to Rick Santorum, who railed and railed, like a half-vest-wearing timber mouse, against both Newton and Willard for being complicit in "top down, government-run healthcare", unlike St. Rick.

Then, Rick boasted about his ties to Peurto Rico and waxed proudly to have done all he could to pass things (legislation?) and boost medicaid reimbursement rates, to help people there.*

The Republican Ideological Invisibility Award gets split.

Republican Palestinian Americans are invisible, so long anyone is firing a missile (or gun?) at Israel.

The unemployed uninsured are invisible, because they can simply be redefined as re-employed and self-insured, by a swelling economy under abject deregulation of a GOP President, etc. or having them mythically buy their own insurance, somehow, with enough money from somewhere (or with lower health costs from before the 1960s).

*(No other candidate was even given a chance to respond to the PR question, so swelled were the moderators by Rick's earnestness--what's up with that?)

Gingrich Bows Out, Admits Just a Sparring Candidate

2012-01-26T22:13:00.002-05:00

The real truth of the Gingrich fake candidacy came out in tonight's Jacksonville debate.

He's got Willard Mitt Romeny fired up and ready-to-go.

Accordingly, he's back in friendly, quiet talk-circle mode.

It looked like he was ready to invite people to come sign his book, after the "debate". ["What (token?) hispanics would you have serve in your cabinet?" was actually a question allowed by CNN].

His biggest failure was looking down at the podium, as if reading from notes, while talking about Callista.

For the Record

2012-01-26T12:59:00.003-05:00

Newton lies well under pressure.

At least everyone thought that 'Reagan Conservative' meant being so conducively aloof that lies came off as mere stupidity or as distractedly disinformed.

Now you know differently, about big-tent Reagan Conservatism... /f Clinton-karma backlash

Latest, from the Most Reverend (and sinner) the Archbishop

2012-01-26T12:44:00.002-05:00

RECOGNIZING MARRIAGE IN NEW JERSEY

Not much new, except they are most visibly aggrieved, concerned about themselves, this time around, than they were last time.

Tweet of the Day

2012-01-26T08:49:00.000-05:00

From "Joe" "the plumber"

OMG, I'm SUCH an IDIOT. #WillardMittRomneyTaxes

Stampede the Immigrants!

2012-01-24T03:22:00.000-05:00

Finally, we have, from Mitt Romney, the GOP owning up to their strategy to make America hostile to immigrants.

The plan is to encourage their "self-deportation".

Longtime readers will recognize this strategy, called here "stampede the immigrants".

Destroying America, One Broadcast At a Time

2012-01-24T00:26:00.002-05:00

The damage of FOX and its long subsidy of Beck lives on.

While his politics aren't common knowledge among many hockey fans, [Tim] Thomas hasn't hidden his political leanings. He's a fan of former Fox News channel host Glenn Beck, ... - story

Some might not have wanted to shake the hand of President Bush, because of his dereliction of duty in planning the Iraq War and his embrace of torture.

But, to disrespect the Office of the President? The Republic for which it stands? For ANY Beckian reason? Nah.

Why Social Moderates Should Greatly Fear a Gingrich Presumptive

2012-01-23T10:22:00.000-05:00

The fact is that Gingrich has almost no chops on social issues. He's a walking embarassment as a standard bearer for the party, and the Left will not relent on this. He'll never feel secure.

To compensate, he is going to have to talk bigger and act bolder, on the social issues and law-and-order issues.

Coupled with the remnants of the Tea-Party furor, his party's behavior is likely to get draconian.

You think no one would ever haul a gay-rights friendly judge or woman's-rights friendly judge before Congress? He will. He told you he would. He's not going to have the room to moderate once in office. To the contrary, the pressure is going to go the other way.

You think no one would dare grab U.S. citizens off the streets for indefinite detention, because it's outside our norms?

The list goes on.

South Carolina Drinks the KoolAid From Highest Paid "Historian" in History

2012-01-22T12:18:00.001-05:00

A MAN WITH A POISONOUS PAST

Even if you have a grudging respect for the rebel yell, last night's Gingrich win has to make you laugh.

Apparently, to the voters of South Carolina, "Freddie Mac" is a menu item at McDonald's that Gingrich ate a lot of.

Hate of the media is so important that moral character in a standard bearer for the party is a booed second.

This is how you choose leadership quality? #notaseriouscandidate

(the ever-present, power-lover lover, Callista, drawing by Jorge Arévalo)

Question of the Day?

2012-01-22T12:06:00.000-05:00

Should team Obama visibly be in South Carolina now? Florida?

The answer is yes. An unconventional campaign is called for. An attempt to expand and build the party is worthwhile. If his promise was transformative politics, he can't do that from inside the beltway so easily.

The fight is on and they are hanging back, instead of shaping the battlefield.

He should do 'the reverse Lincoln-Douglas'. In this move, Douglas chases Lincoln (and whoops him before the bullets even fly).

Obama Tweets of the Day

2012-01-21T19:15:00.000-05:00

Can't be a candidate of 'Ginormous Solutions' if you play the world's smallest (media) violin. -BO #NewtFastTalk #notaseriouscandidate

FOX, Where The News is a Blur

2012-01-20T20:16:00.000-05:00

If the point was to poke fun at FOX, better copy would be "Braised and Biased". Just sayin'.

(Passed on "rotated and balanced", but I didn't have time to focus-group test, either.)

FastTalk Newtons

2012-01-20T10:36:00.002-05:00

Newt's reply to John King last night was totally disingenuous nature, the one that is getting so much airplay, that Andrew Sullivan liveblogged as "perfect". (Even this is cute, but no cigar).

The fact of the matter is that Newt wanted that question, despite saying, "No, but I will."

King is not a highly-skilled interviewer, at least not at this level, not a power-player.

Imagine how different it would have been if he had immediately cut Gingrich off and said, "Okay, then, the question is withdrawn."

This would have left it the pink elephant in the room and Newt at the hands of the rumor mills, unaided by the power of CNN.