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AUGUST 18,  2011

SHORT TAKES ON THE DRIFTING WRECKAGE – AT 11:46 P.M. ET:

SICKENING – London's Daily Mail reports that jihadists are being encouraged to bomb the funerals of American military personnel killed in Iraq and Afghanistan.  They're being instructed online to hide bombs under fake military uniforms to get into the funerals, and to target military and civilian leaders, like governors.  The jihadists are told that funerals are largely unprotected, which isn't true.  They're often guarded by police and volunteers, but I would imagine that someone in uniform could get close enough to do some real arm.  Real sweet, isn't it?

BLUNDER BY BACHMAN? – One challenge faced by Michele Bachmann is to prove she isn't just a regional candidate.  She won the Iowa straw poll, but she was born in Iowa, and represents a Congressional district in neighboring Minnesota.   She isn't going to be helped by her decision not to participate in the Florida Presidency 5 Straw Poll in September.  Florida is a major state, and a swing state.  There will be a nationally televised debate from Florida just days before the poll, and Bachmann will be debating.  It's baffling to GOP officials in Florida that she'll come for the debate, but won't compete in the poll.  No one quoted by the press thinks this is a smart move, and it isn't.

OH, RICK! – I'm accused by readers of being rough on GOP presidential candidates, and I am.  I want to win next year, not chalk up a "moral victory."  There's nothing so immoral as a "moral victory."  It means that you've let down the people, and the ideas, that you claim to represent.  Moral victories are for political impostors.  And so I'm disappointed again by another gaffe by Rick Perry, whose first week on the stump has been somewhat disappointing.  Today he, for some bizarre reason, got into a discussion in New Hampshire about creationism versus Darwin.  Oh, come on, Rick.  This is not for a presidential candidate.  You can simply refuse to take the bait and say that you don't think it appropriate to discuss religious issues.  Creationism isn't exactly a compelling issue in New Hampshire.  Perry also said that creationism is taught in Texas schools, which, according to late news reports, isn't so.  Perry will get his sea legs, and get used to the national platform, but he's got to do it before the image of a strictly local politician gets fixed in the minds of the media, and, through the media, the public.

FINALLY – While Obama enjoyed Martha's Vineyard, his administration finally got around today to calling on Syrian President Assad to step down.  Some other countries followed, as did the European Union.  It's about time, but whether this new ringing declaration will have any effect on the Syrian dictator, who has murdered about 2,000 of his countrymen in recent months, is difficult to predict.  So far the thug isn't budging, and he's getting support from his buddies in Iran.  Sadly, he's also getting support from the government of Iraq, which wouldn't have existed had we not deposed Saddam Hussein.  I'm afraid Iraq is slipping steadily into the Iranian orbit, demonstrating once again the retrograde nature of too much of the Arab world.

August 18, 2011     Permalink 

AS THE PRESIDENT TAKES A VACATION – AT 8:51 A.M. ET:  A new jobs report is not encouraging.  From Bloomberg:

More Americans than forecast filed applications for unemployment benefits last week, signaling the labor market is struggling two years into the economic recovery.

Jobless claims climbed by 9,000 to 408,000 in the week ended Aug. 13, the highest in a month, Labor Department figures showed today in Washington. Economists surveyed by Bloomberg News projected a rise in claims to 400,000, according to the median forecast. The number of people on unemployment benefit rolls rose, while those receiving extended payments fell.

Companies like Bank of New York Mellon Corp. (BK) are paring staff, one reason consumers are limiting their spending, which accounts for about 70 percent of the economy. Unemployment at 9.1 percent helps explain why Federal Reserve policy makers last week pledged to hold interest rates at a record low until at least mid-2013 to spur growth.

COMMENT:  And it appears the attempt at a stock market rally has also fizzled, after a bad day on the European markets.  We are in the soup.  The president doesn't know how to get us out of the soup, and prefers hamburgers anyway.

The last two weeks of August are, traditionally, the slowest news period of the year, but not this year, in part because of the economy.  Watch, though, as the political season roars to life after Labor Day.  Major combat ahead. 

August 18, 2011       Permalink

SNIPPET OF THE DAY – AT 8:40 A.M. ET: 

SHANGHAI, Aug. 17 (Xinhua) -- The half-brother of U.S. President Barack Obama attended a book fair in Shanghai Wednesday to promote his semi-autobiographical novel "Nairobi to Shenzhen" and to autograph its Chinese edition for the readers.  Mark Obama Ndesandjo's novel, written in diary form, is based on his own experiences: born in Kenya, working in the United States and moving to Asia after his American dream was smashed by 9/11.  Ndesandjo moved to Shenzhen, a boomtown in south China's Guangdong Province just across the border from Hong Kong, in 2001. He has taught English and been heavily involved in charity work, including giving free piano lessons to orphans.

First, I didn't know they had book fairs in China.  I wonder what they allow.  Second, I'd never heard of this particular half-brother.  Third, I think I'll wait for the movie.

ARE GADAFFI'S DAYS NUMBERED? – AT 8:04 A.M. ET:  NATO's slow-motion military campaign in Libya has been widely criticized – and we've joined in here – and we're still not sure exactly who the rebels are, but there is clear military movement in the country, and it's toward the rebel side.

TRIPOLI, Libya (AP) — Five loud explosions have shaken the Libyan capital's city center.

The thunderous blasts on Thursday afternoon could be felt at a hotel where foreign journalists stay in Tripoli.

NATO jets were heard minutes after the blasts exploded. It wasn't immediately clear what was hit or if there were civilian casualties.

NATO has been bombarding military targets in Libya since a no-fly zone was instituted in March.

Rebel fighters are closing in on the capital from the west and the south, while NATO controls the seas off the north of Tripoli.

Hundreds of miles away from Tripoli, the opposition controls of most of eastern Libya, and has a transitional leadership council in the rebel de facto capital of Benghazi.

COMMENT:  There's been a great deal of reporting in the last few days pointing to major advances by the rebels, and boastful predictions by some rebel leaders that Gadaffi will be gone by the end of August.  Obviously, that can't be guaranteed, but for the first time the rebel claims are being taken seriously. 

If it does happen, you may be sure that President Obama will issue an appropriate statement from his vacation hideaway in Cape Cod, while holding an ice cream cone in one hand.

At the same time, Syrian President Assad, under increasing international pressure, including pressure from the Arab League, claims that the clampdown against his own people has been stopped.  We'll see about that tomorrow, the traditional day for protests in the Muslim world.  If the crackdown is over, it doesn't in any way guarantee reforms in Syria, but it could buy a lease on life for Assad, a very bad outcome.

August 18, 2011       Permalink

OH, THIS IS WEIRD – AT 7:43 A.M. ET:  Among other problems the president faces, include the perception that the African-American community is disillusioned with him.  He now has received a tongue-lashing from the one and only Maxine Waters, ethically challenged congresswoman from California, who sounds ominous notes.  From the Washington Examiner:

During a sometimes-raucous session of what's being called the "For the People" Jobs Initiative tour, a key member of the Congressional Black Caucus told an audience in Detroit Tuesday that the CBC doesn't put pressure on President Obama because he is loved by black voters. But at the same time, Rep. Maxine Waters said, members of the CBC are becoming increasingly tired and frustrated by Obama's performance on the issue of jobs. Even as she expressed support for the president, Waters virtually invited the crowd to "unleash us" to pressure Obama for action.

"We don't put pressure on the president," Waters told the audience at Wayne County Community College. "Let me tell you why. We don't put pressure on the president because ya'll love the president. You love the president. You're very proud to have a black man -- first time in the history of the United States of America. If we go after the president too hard, you're going after us."

Yeah.  This is what happens when ethnicity becomes the only issue.  And get this one:

As she discussed her dilemma -- frustrated with the president but hesitant to criticize him lest black supporters turn on her -- Waters asked the crowd for its permission to have a "conversation" with the president. "When you tell us it's alright and you unleash us and you tell us you're ready for us to have this conversation, we're ready to have the conversation," she said. Some members of the crowd immediately voiced their approval.

COMMENT:  Unleash her?  You  mean, the way conservatives in the 1950s wanted to unleash Chiang Kai-shek? 

This is really bizarre stuff.  Pure ethnic politics.  And now maybe Americans will realize the limits of that kind of appeal.  Even Maxine Waters, a race woman if there ever was one, may start to understand.

August 18, 2011        Permalink

APPEARANCES, GENTLEMEN, APPEARANCES – AT 7:07 A.M. ET:  Standard & Poor's recently downgraded the credit rating of the United States for the first time in our history.  Now S&P is under investigation by the Justice Department.  From The New York Times:

The Justice Department is investigating whether the nation’s largest credit ratings agency, Standard & Poor’s, improperly rated dozens of mortgage securities in the years leading up to the financial crisis, according to two people interviewed by the government and another briefed on such interviews.

The investigation began before Standard & Poor’s cut the United States’ AAA credit rating this month, but it is likely to add fuel to the political firestorm that has surrounded that action. Lawmakers and some administration officials have since questioned the agency’s secretive process, its credibility and the competence of its analysts, claiming to have found an error in its debt calculations.

COMMENT:  No matter how you spin this, it leaves one with a sour taste.  This is the kind of story you usually read in a dictatorship, or in a city dominated by a boss-run political machine. 

The investigation may be entirely proper, indeed possibly overdue.  But the appearances are awful.  This simply looks like retaliation, the political equivalent of a gangland hit.   A kind of financial St. Valentine's Day massacre.

Oh, didn't the St. Valentine's Day massacre take place in Chicago?  And didn't the president come from..?  And didn't his chief of staff come from..?  And his political advisers?  And his wife? 

Oh, I'm dreaming.  But, you know, you hang around, you learn.

This calls for more reporting.  Frankly, I hope the probe is legit, as there are many proper questions about the rating of the mortage market in the time leading up to the mess of 2008.  But the appearances are still rotten.

August 18, 2011     Permalink

AUGUST 17,  2011

SHORT TAKES ON THE DRIFTING WRECKAGE – AT 9:29 P.M. ET: 

RYAN FOR PRESIDENT – There is now a major, and apparently growing, push by some conservatives to get Congressman Paul Ryan of Wisconsin to enter the GOP presidential race.  Originally pushed by journalist Bill Kristol, Ryan is also being urged by Governor Mitch Daniels of Indiana to jump in.  Another booster, significantly, is Jeb Bush.  It is hardly a secret that the Bush family has no great love for Governor Rick Perry of Texas, who succeeded George W. Bush when Bush became president.  As we theorized earlier today, a Ryan candidacy might be an attempt to attract consideration for the second spot on the ticket.  I dont know whether Ryan would have to give up his seat in the House to run for president, or whether he can run for both simultaneously.  Stay tuned.

NO TIME FOR GREEN EYESHADES – As even Hillary Clinton is warning about cuts in the defense budget, Russia reminds us that there's a real world out there, and not always friendly.  Today Russia unveiled its first stealth jet fighter, the Sukhoi PAK TA T-50.  It reportedly costs a third of what our F-22 costs, and so it's a hot export item.  India will buy 200, and the Russian air force will have an equal number.  Despite Barack Obama's much-vaunted "reset" of relations with Russia, the Russians continue to frustrate us all over the world, and especially in our attempt to shut down the Iranian nuclear program.  Not exactly enemies, but they're hardly friends.

LETTERMAN TARGETED? – A Muslim militant has called on American fellow travlers to assassinate David Letterman because of a joke Letterman told about a Pakistani member of Al Qaeda.  The FBI is taking the threat seriously.  The militant urgent Muslims to "cut the tongue of this lowly Jew and shut it forever."  Letterman isn't Jewish, but apparently some militants believe any American named David must be.  CBS has declined comment.  However, knowing the business, I'm sure some network honcho is wondering whether the threat will boost Letterman's ratings.  I can just imagine what Johnny would have done with this.  "You know you're in trouble when..."

TIN EAR – It's remarkable how President Obama, one of the best and most astute campaigners of recent times, has developed such a tin ear as president.  He seems to have almost no understanding of people and how they react to a national leader.  Of course, he didn't exactly have high-level experience before moving into the White House.  Now the president is catching heat, including some from within his own party, for jaunting off to Martha's Vineyard for another vacation, the "Vineyard," as it's called in chic circles, being a playground for the rich and very gainfully employed.  The critics are correct.  The president says he'll announce a new jobs program...but only after he vacations.  Oh, peel me a grape, would you?  The imagery is awful, as is the sheer number of getaways this president needs in order to function.  Please recall that both Ronald Reagan and George W. Bush had favorite vacation spots – their homes.

August 17, 2011     Permalink

PERRY SNAPS BACK – AT 10:18 A.M. ET:  As readers know, we were critical of the language Rick Perry used in denouncing possible actions by the Federal Reserve.  Words like "treasonous" are to be avoided.  Others on our side made the same point.

Perry has not apologized, but at least the man fights back.  Obama lectured Perry about language publicly, and Perry did not run to hide behind a tree.  From The Hill:

Texas Gov. Rick Perry (R) fired back Wednesday at President Obama, who admonished the Republican presidential candidate to watch his words more carefully.

Perry said "actions speak louder than words" after Obama's public admonishment Tuesday on CNN for Perry's comments that an expanded money supply by Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke would be "almost treasonous."

"Yesterday the president said I needed to watch what I say," Perry told a crowd in New Hampshire at a politics-and-eggs breakfast, which was broadcast online.

"I'd just like to respond, if I may: Mr. President, actions speak louder than words. My actions as governor are helping to create jobs in this country," Perry said. "This president's actions are killing jobs in this country."

Great comeback.

Obama joined other members of his administration — and a number of veterans of the George W. Bush administration — in chastising Perry for his comments about Bernanke on Monday in Iowa.

COMMENT:  Okay, Perry made a mistake.  Maybe he should have apologized.  But, as Lincoln said of Grant, "This man fights."  And we need a fighter in the ring next year.

I'm not sold on Perry, but at least there's no wimp factor. 

August 17, 2011       Permalink 

WHAT'S GOING ON HERE? – AT 9:35 A.M. ET:   Earlier in the week we pondered the possible plans of Hillary Clinton.  Will she be called upon to replace Biden to strengthen Obama's chances?  Will she retire to some college presidency, becoming an elder stateswoman available in 2016?  Will she just leave and fade away?  (Some chance.) 

Now Hillary has spoken out on possible defense cuts, and, you know, she sounds like someone trying to attract the center and the center right of American politics.  From AFP: 

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton warned Tuesday against budget cuts that could force an abrupt pullout of the US security presence in the Pacific at a time when China's power is rising.

The debate over reducing the US debt "does cast a pall over our ability to project the kind of security interests that are in America's interests," Clinton told officers at the National Defense University.

Hey, that's good stuff.

"We need to have a responsible conversation about how we are going to prepare ourselves for the future and there are a lot of issues that are not in the headlines but are in the trendlines," she said.

"We are asserting our presence in the Pacific. We are a Pacific power. That means all elements of our national security team have to be present," the chief US diplomat said in a conversation with Defense Secretary Leon Panetta.

"And we can't be abruptly pulling back or pulling out when we know we face some long-term challenges about how we are going to cope with what the rise of China means," she said in the conversation moderated by CNN television.

Spoken like John McCain.

Experts said the deal to avert a US debt default should have little effect on the Pentagon's huge budget in the short term, but leaves the door open to sharp cuts that could force a strategy overhaul.

COMMENT:  She is right, of course, but her apparent need to speak out makes us wonder whether she's putting a bit of daylight between herself and Obama.   We haven't heard Obama speak this way.  There is no chance that she will challenge Obama for the nomination, and I really don't think Obama has it in him to decline a second term, which would be a smart move. 

But a Hillary running with Obama, but more centrist than he is, positions herself for 2016.  She can read the tea leaves, and she knows that northeast liberals aren't exactly a hot commodity. 

I suspect the poll numbers next summer will determine whether Obama asks Joe Biden to change places with Hillary.  In the meantime, Hillary watching is always fun.  And you always wonder how much advice is being given by her husband.

August 17, 2011       Permalink

MISCHIEVOUS SPECULATION – AT 9:08 A.M. ET:  Remember Sid Stone, who did commercials for Texaco some decades ago?  His catch line was, "You say you're not satisfied.  You say you want more for your money.  Tell you what I'm gonna do."

I thought of that when reading this morning's Politico piece on the possibility of more GOP presidential candidates:

What if Rick Perry isn’t the last one in?

The Texas governor’s late entry in the presidential race might have been expected to close out the GOP’s 2012 field. But, in some conservative circles at least, there’s evidence it’s had the opposite effect.

Karl Rove, the architect of George W. Bush’s political run, told Fox News’ Sean Hannity Monday night that he believes the field is still open—and named New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and House Budget Chairman Paul Ryan as two who may take a second look.

The Weekly Standard reported Tuesday morning that Ryan is indeed “strongly considering a run” and is currently on vacation with his family discussing a prospective bid.

“We’ve got a good field. I don’t think it is the end, though, of the field,” said Rove. “I think we are likely to see several other candidates think seriously about getting in. And frankly, they have time to do so. November 22 is the first deadline to file papers to get on the ballot. That’s the last day somebody could get in without starting to lose a place in some of the early primaries and caucuses. I suspect we are likely to see in early September and late August.”

A candidate who joined the race at such a relatively late date would face daunting prospects, with time running short to launch an organization and some bundlers who had been on the sidelines moving toward Perry, whose supporters argue is the one who can best unite a party fractured into Tea Party and establishment camps. But in a volatile year, some top Republicans believe it’s possible that another heavyweight candidate—such as Sarah Palin, Christie, Ryan or even Rudy Giuliani—could still join in.

COMMENT:  I don't see anyone on that list who would be stronger than the cast already out there.  Sarah Palin, as much as I like her, is old news by now, and wouldn't stand a chance with Rick Perry in the race.  They appeal to the same constituency, and Perry didn't resign his governorship.  Chris Christie continues to beg off, and, frankly, he's so abrasive that I think his New Jersey manner wouldn't play well beyond Bayonne.  Good governor, not ready for the majors.  Paul Ryan is a terrific congressman, but his getting in might be a way of being considered for vice president.  He's incredible on budget matters, but doesn't hit strongly beyond that sector.  Rudy?  Ah, Rudy.  One of the best mayors in New York City's history, but that was years ago.  If he wanted in, he should have jumped a year ago and reintroduced himself to the American people.  I see him as Rick Perry's attorney general.  The two are longtime allies.

Oh, by the way, any of them would make a much better president than the incumbent.  We have a den of riches.

August 17, 2011       Permalink

BULLETIN:  OBAMA TO ADDRESS JOBS – AT 8:42 A.M. ET:  Are we not blessed?  Are we not truly blessed?  Our leader, Barack Hussein Obama Jr., who would be thoroughly justified in ignoring we mere, uneducated peasants, as we cling to our guns and our religion, will honor us by discussing jobs.  Here, the exciting details from Andrew Malcolm of the L.A. Times:

OK, let's see if we can sort out this White House jobs package hocus-pocus because President Obama is counting on us not to. And no one wants to fail to disappoint him:

Last winter in his State of the Union address, oblivious to the gathering storm over the nation's national debt, the Democrat proposed massive new spending and loan programs -- he calls it investments -- to extend unemployment benefits and payroll tax cuts and to rebuild the nation's roads, bridges and other union-made infrastructure kinds of stuff. He had a plan he would share soon.

When in trouble, give a speech. Say, early September. Before all this Rick Perry 40% of the nation's jobs come from Texas stuff really gets going.

The president has mentioned the plan often, despite widespread skepticism due to the lack of stimulus that came from spending $787 billion in stimulus money that was for sure going to hold national unemployment at 8%, but it's now 9.1%.

So, perhaps another such plan might work.

As this administration sees reality, those Republican tea party terrorists kind of hijacked the marathon talks about raising the national debt ceiling, stubbornly and unreasonably making the debt negotiations over reducing the debt and spending rather than over spending spending.

As a result, it's all their fault that Standard & Poor's lowered the federal government's credit rating for the first time because the rating agency didn't see sufficient cuts.

COMMENT:  Have you seen this dance before?  So, the president is going through the Midwest in an armored bus with darkened windows, the better he should not see the armies of the unemployed.  And he will give a talk in September presenting his new, improved jobs program, which apparently is still being developed on day 938 of his presidency.

Four more years?

August 17, 2011     Permalink