Odd as it might sound to Republicans and independents, Democrats largely approved of Obama's seventy minute, disorganized, petulant, scolding State of The Union address. A caller to the Jay Severin show compared the Commander-in-Chief to Captain Queeg. An apt comparison in my eyes. It would have fit the tenor for Obama to reveal that Justice Alito also had keys to the strawberries.
There is something prescient about these overnight polls in that they predict where the White House will go from here. Axelrod and company probably realize that they have burnt bridges with most of the populace. It's likely too late for triangulation. From this point onward they will galvanize their base and use smear and scandal and power to insure that no opponent rises above the 45% or so approval rating that their guy enjoys. Preach to the choir and come off as the lesser of two evils to the independents.
I don't see Kumbaya in the near future.
Saturday, January 30, 2010
Hail to The Chief
It is now just one year after Obama's inauguration and I want to offer praise on the highlights of the president' first year and change.
1. The Executive Order closing the Guantanamo detention facility. I too would like to see us close the facility but I offer a modest amendment to the president's plan. I propose that we feed the terrorists to the sharks. This would serve our country so much better than to turn our nation's prisons into Al Qidah recruiting stations. Of course it raises other questions (cable or pay per view?) but this is the sort of lively discourse that has made our republic great.
I recognize that my proposal might contain constitutional impediments but our executive-in-chief has been an outspoken critic of that pesky document and perhaps we could hammer on a common anvil and forge a new covenant. This could finally unify us as no issue has.
2. Wasting Pirates on The High Seas. Nice shot, man!
3. The Suspension of the US Justice Department Resources to Prosecute the Medical Marijuana Industry It is sad that we have to look to drunken sailor Barack to instill some fiscal sanity but let us give credit where credit is due. I maintain that fiscal conservatism is 100% incompatible with social conservatism (as a matter not of chosen lifestyle but of public policy.) The wall between the too camps cannot be high enough. If it takes Obama to build that wall, well Mr. President, we are indebted to you.
4. The Prompt Relief Effort For Haiti Mr. President, I salute you.
5. The Meeting With the Republican Caucus That showed courage we have not seen in this man before. I did not get to see the meeting in its entirety but from the highlights Obama seems to have won a small war. He was without teleprompter in enemy camp but he succeeded in painting the Republicans as obstructionists.
There was one point in this meeting where the president complained that his opponents had characterized his health care plan as some sort of Bolshevik plot. Had I been in the audience, I would like to think that I would have stood up and said "Mr. President, with all due respect, that is precisely how I view your health care plan." I don't think anyone said anything like that. Sigh. They seemed mesmerized.
Like A-Rod and Kobe and Peyton, I wouldn't mind having Obama on my team, working for my interests and my values. I can dream, can't I?
1. The Executive Order closing the Guantanamo detention facility. I too would like to see us close the facility but I offer a modest amendment to the president's plan. I propose that we feed the terrorists to the sharks. This would serve our country so much better than to turn our nation's prisons into Al Qidah recruiting stations. Of course it raises other questions (cable or pay per view?) but this is the sort of lively discourse that has made our republic great.
I recognize that my proposal might contain constitutional impediments but our executive-in-chief has been an outspoken critic of that pesky document and perhaps we could hammer on a common anvil and forge a new covenant. This could finally unify us as no issue has.
2. Wasting Pirates on The High Seas. Nice shot, man!
3. The Suspension of the US Justice Department Resources to Prosecute the Medical Marijuana Industry It is sad that we have to look to drunken sailor Barack to instill some fiscal sanity but let us give credit where credit is due. I maintain that fiscal conservatism is 100% incompatible with social conservatism (as a matter not of chosen lifestyle but of public policy.) The wall between the too camps cannot be high enough. If it takes Obama to build that wall, well Mr. President, we are indebted to you.
4. The Prompt Relief Effort For Haiti Mr. President, I salute you.
5. The Meeting With the Republican Caucus That showed courage we have not seen in this man before. I did not get to see the meeting in its entirety but from the highlights Obama seems to have won a small war. He was without teleprompter in enemy camp but he succeeded in painting the Republicans as obstructionists.
There was one point in this meeting where the president complained that his opponents had characterized his health care plan as some sort of Bolshevik plot. Had I been in the audience, I would like to think that I would have stood up and said "Mr. President, with all due respect, that is precisely how I view your health care plan." I don't think anyone said anything like that. Sigh. They seemed mesmerized.
Like A-Rod and Kobe and Peyton, I wouldn't mind having Obama on my team, working for my interests and my values. I can dream, can't I?
Thursday, January 28, 2010
"Arrogant" is The New N-Word
"Arrogant" is the new N-word. Keith Olbermann said so. According to him, it is a code word sophisticated white guys use who are too slick to use words like "uppity."
Mark my words, the over-playing of the race card will come back to haunt Obama's minions. Non-racists often take offense, great offense, at being called racist especially when the charge is a counter to legitimate criticsim. And the bogus charge reflects on the teacher's pet, Obama, too. Pussy!
Spin it anyway you like, MSNBC. Obama is the very embodiment of arrogance. That is not a racist statement. That is the ugly truth.
Mark my words, the over-playing of the race card will come back to haunt Obama's minions. Non-racists often take offense, great offense, at being called racist especially when the charge is a counter to legitimate criticsim. And the bogus charge reflects on the teacher's pet, Obama, too. Pussy!
Spin it anyway you like, MSNBC. Obama is the very embodiment of arrogance. That is not a racist statement. That is the ugly truth.
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
Puff and Pundritry and Prognostication
I suppose I would rather speculate on the Oscar winners or "American Idol" finalists or March Madness or Congressional Elections and with the Super Bowl still 11 days off, there seems to be a lull in the prognosis cycle. Soothsayers are actually forecasting the State of the Union this time around. Compared to other events this should be easy to predict.
I predict an absence of substance. To paraphrase Sarah Palin, we will be engulfed in a cloud of rhetoric.
I wrote the two paragraphs above before rushing out the door for mandatory fire safety training. Because of a series of glitches I was unable to get back to a computer until after the completion of the speech. In that time I heard bits and pieces of talk radio pundits trying to predict the content of Obama's speech. The best line was from the usually lackluster Steve Forbes, who said that the word most used in the State of the Union would be "I."
Ahhhh, the State of the Union is now history. We will hash it around for a while but one comment stands out for me. Obama referenced a crisis of trust. That struck a chord. This is not our father's political environment. As rough and tough as politics got in the old days, there was always the assumption of good faith. The assumption that even our political rivals acted in good faith. We just disagreed, that's all.
Somewhere that all changed and I think the change is long term if not permanent. I don't trust the Chicago Machine or Rahm Emmanuel or Senator Burress or David Axelrod or Al Capone or the Associated Press or MSNBC or "The New York Times." And no, I do not trust Barack Hussein Obama. He has surrounded himself with dishonest people and his shtick is inherently dishonest. Trust is not on the horizon.
Someday we might bridge the credibility gap. But not today. To bridge the credibility gap, we need credible people in high places. I, for one, just don't see any.
I predict an absence of substance. To paraphrase Sarah Palin, we will be engulfed in a cloud of rhetoric.
I wrote the two paragraphs above before rushing out the door for mandatory fire safety training. Because of a series of glitches I was unable to get back to a computer until after the completion of the speech. In that time I heard bits and pieces of talk radio pundits trying to predict the content of Obama's speech. The best line was from the usually lackluster Steve Forbes, who said that the word most used in the State of the Union would be "I."
Ahhhh, the State of the Union is now history. We will hash it around for a while but one comment stands out for me. Obama referenced a crisis of trust. That struck a chord. This is not our father's political environment. As rough and tough as politics got in the old days, there was always the assumption of good faith. The assumption that even our political rivals acted in good faith. We just disagreed, that's all.
Somewhere that all changed and I think the change is long term if not permanent. I don't trust the Chicago Machine or Rahm Emmanuel or Senator Burress or David Axelrod or Al Capone or the Associated Press or MSNBC or "The New York Times." And no, I do not trust Barack Hussein Obama. He has surrounded himself with dishonest people and his shtick is inherently dishonest. Trust is not on the horizon.
Someday we might bridge the credibility gap. But not today. To bridge the credibility gap, we need credible people in high places. I, for one, just don't see any.
Monday, January 25, 2010
MSNBC Desperately Tries to Spin The Massachusetts Election
CAN THE RACE CARD BE PLAYED ON EVERY HAND? APPARENTLY
More From Mr. Mega-Ratings
There used to be lefties defending all lefties on Youtube in the comments section. No more. Apparently, they are all hiberanting. One interesting comment was a member who made the case that Olbermann is acting and that he could not possibly believe anything so ridiculous and his acting is all not that convincing. Could be.
MORE FROM THE OLBERMENSCH
MORE FROM THE OLBERMENSCH
Sunday, January 24, 2010
Media Monday: The $7.8 Million Dollar Man
One of the projects I have never gotten off the ground is to compile a list of overpaid media figures. This would not be a subjective measurement. It would be a Bill James/Moneyball project whereby we divided the star's salary by the total number of viewers. Letterman might seem overpaid at $32M/year but compared to the likes of Conan or Couric, he is an electronic pied piper. I cannot say for certain but I think the numbers would confirm that Keith Olbermann is at the top of the ranks of the overpaid. His audience could probably be seated at some of the country's larger race venues.
Olbermann is bitter and he has no regard for the truth. None. He sees enemies everywhere and he hates any and all foes of Obama. Why would anyone watch him?
Yes, why would anyone watch Olbermann? Under normal circumstances the answer is "I don't know." But during the Massachusetts special election, the days preceding, election evening and the days following, the answer happened to be "To laugh uproariously at some of the wackiest clowns our great land has ever produced."
A sample.
MELTDOWN OR EPIPHANY?
Olbermann is bitter and he has no regard for the truth. None. He sees enemies everywhere and he hates any and all foes of Obama. Why would anyone watch him?
Yes, why would anyone watch Olbermann? Under normal circumstances the answer is "I don't know." But during the Massachusetts special election, the days preceding, election evening and the days following, the answer happened to be "To laugh uproariously at some of the wackiest clowns our great land has ever produced."
A sample.
MELTDOWN OR EPIPHANY?
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