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JANUARY 23,  2011

ALLEN WRENCH – AT 7:07 P.M. ET:  George Allen, former governor and senator, is reportedly about to get back into Virginia electoral politics, and could shake things up.  From The Politico:

Former Sen. George Allen will end weeks of speculation and formally declare his candidacy for U.S. Senate in Virginia on Monday, two Republican advisers tell POLITICO.

Allen, who has been making all the moves of a candidate in recent weeks, is expected to blast an e-mail to supporters with a video message before alerting the media.

The announcement comes as no surprise. The former governor and senator has been making all the moves of a candidate in recent weeks, touring the state to champion a repeal of the health care law, quietly reaching out to state lawmakers and seeking advice from those who guided his earliest campaigns.

In another sign an announcement is imminent, on Sunday evening, the homepage of Allen’s website read simply: “Stay Tuned.”

The incumbent Democrat, whose term is up next year, has not indicated if he'll run for a second term:

Allen’s Monday announcement comes before Democratic Sen. Jim Webb’s own decision about running for a second term. Webb, who bested Allen by fewer than 10,000 votes in 2006, has been silent about a reelection campaign, leaving even some of his closest supporters wondering what he’ll do.

Allen was seen as a sure thing for releection in 2006, and a potential Republican presidential candidate, until his Senate campaign was derailed when he used what some called an ethnic slur.  He handled the incident poorly, and often was off message for the rest of the campaign.

Webb is a moderate Democrat who seems out of place in his own party.  Virginia, which was drifting Democratic a few years ago, returned decidedly to the GOP column in the most recent election.

It is expected that Allen will have primary competition from a Tea Party supporter, and that should not be underestimated.  Should Webb decline to seek a second term, political observers expect that former Governor Tim Kaine will run for the Democratic nomination.

January 23, 2011      Permalink

YAWN NOW – AT 11:53 A.M. ET:  Colin Powell speaks:

WASHINGTON — Former Secretary of State Colin Powell on Sunday ruled out a return to government service but said he still supports President Barack Obama even though he hasn't yet decided who to vote for in 2012.

The highly respected retired general and moderate Republican made waves when he endorsed Democrat Obama in 2008.

Strange.  Colin Powell is "highly respected," but knifed his own party to support Obama.  Joe Lieberman was knifed by his party, and endorsed John McCain in 2008, and is called a turncoat.  We have an odd vocabulary.

He told CNN's "State of the Union" that he thought Obama's presidency remains a work in progress and that tough issues such as the economy and unemployment need to be addressed. Powell said he hoped the president would tackle these matters in his State of the Union address Tuesday night.

COMMENT:  Are you still awake?  I've always thought of Powell as an overrated officeholder with an inflated ego.  I will never forget his bizarre behavior after the 9-11 attacks.  Although a New Yorker, he never visited Ground Zero, and kept referring to the "events of September 11th," as if they were a series of ping-pong matches.

Powell's political opinions are of no interest and will have no effect.

January 23, 2011      Permalink

BARONE EXPLAINS IT – AT 10:46 A.M. ET:  There are political analysts, and there are political analysts who know what they're taking about.  Michael Barone is firmly in the second category.  This past week marked the 50th anniversary of President Kennedy's inaugural, and Barone examines the reality of the fading JFK legacy.  From the Washington Examiner:

Last Thursday was the 50th anniversary of John F. Kennedy's inaugural speech and, while the anniversary did not go unmentioned, it got less attention than I expected. I suspect that those of us who can remember that snowy day...are inclined to overestimate the hold that Kennedy has on Americans five decades after he took the oath of office.

Two events just before that anniversary fortify that conclusion and snap the links between us and President Kennedy. On Tuesday, Sargent Shriver died at age 95. This Kennedy in-law never attained elective office as the three Kennedy brothers and assorted offspring did, but he achieved something as important, or more so.

As the first director of the Peace Corps and working with his wife, Eunice Kennedy Shriver, as head of Special Olympics, he created the cultures of two quintessentially American institutions, both with international reach.

And...

The other event delinking us from the Kennedy years was the announcement on Wednesday by Sen. Joseph Lieberman that he would not run for re-election in 2012. Lieberman's political career began in his freshman year at Yale, the year during which John Kennedy was elected president and inaugurated...

...Evidently he could see no way forward in 2012. As he said, "The politics of President Kennedy -- service to country, support of civil rights and social justice, pro-growth economic and tax policies, and a strong national defense -- are still my politics, and they don't fit neatly into today's partisan political boxes anymore."

That analysis stands up to scrutiny. "Let every nation know, whether it wishes us well or ill," Kennedy said 50 years and three days ago, "that we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe, in order to assure the survival and the success of liberty."

Finally...

John Kennedy's inaugural, like Sargent Shriver's institution building, does not fit the partisan template of today's Democratic Party. Kennedy's words come closer to resembling those uttered by another American president, who delivered his first inaugural from the West Front of the Capitol 30 years ago last Thursday, Ronald Reagan. As Shriver's death and Lieberman's retirement suggest, Kennedy's heritage is now national and historic, not contemporary and partisan.

COMMENT:  Very well said.  I grew up in the Democratic Party and worked in Kennedy's '60 campaign.  And I pressed the Republican lever for the first time in my life in 1980, when I voted for Ronald Reagan, himself a former Democrat.  As we said at the time, we didn't leave the Democratic Party, it left us. 

Kennedy's foreign-policy and defense ideals are today found in the GOP, not his own party.  JFK couldn't get anywhere near the nomination for president in the party of Barack Obama. 

What a sad spectacle.

January 23, 2011      Permalink

OBAMA RALLIES IN RASMUSSEN POLL – AT 10:30 A.M. ET:  More evidence that Mr. Obama is getting a bump in the polls, possibly as a result of his Tucson speech and his seeming move to the center.  Rasmussen reports:

he Rasmussen Reports daily Presidential Tracking Poll for Sunday shows that 28% of the nation's voters Strongly Approve of the way that Barack Obama is performing his role as president. Thirty-six percent (36%) Strongly Disapprove, giving Obama a Presidential Approval Index rating of -8.

Still negative territory, but far less negative than it's generally been in recent months.

Overall, 50% of voters say they at least somewhat approve of the president's performance. Forty-nine percent (49%) disapprove. This is the first time in nearly a year that the president’s overall rating has reached 50% on back to back days. The last time it happened was February 2 and 3, 2010.

COMMENT:  This trend is pretty much in line with what we've seen elsewhere.  There's no guarantee it will continue.  There's also no guarantee that it represents anything real about the president.  Remember, he ran as a "moderate" in 2008, even though he had the most liberal record in the U.S. Senate.  He was able to project a "moderate" image becuse of the powerful collusion of the mainstream media.  Again, I stress that the power of the media could put Obama over again in 2012.

The president's tilt to the center may be illusory.  If the tilt gets him a second term, he'll be barred from running again and will be free to do what he wishes, especially through administrative regulation.  We could be in for a distinctly unpleasant surprise.

Polls are snapshots in time.  These numbers are likely to change, especially if the economy fails to take off.

January 23, 2011       Permalink

THE STORY THAT WON'T GO AWAY – AT 10:17 A.M. ET: 

HONOLULU (AP) -- A privacy law that shields birth certificates has prompted Democratic Gov. Neil Abercrombie to abandon efforts to dispel claims that President Barack Obama was born outside Hawaii, his office says.

State Attorney General David Louie told the governor that privacy laws bar him from disclosing an individual's birth documentation without the person's consent, Abercrombie spokeswoman Donalyn Dela Cruz said Friday

COMMENT:  Ah, the key phrase:  "without the person's consent."  Now, I am not, nor have I ever been, a birther.  I haven't seen any compelling evidence to suggest that the president was born anywhere but Hawaii.  However, strangely, Mr. Obama will not permit his "long form" birth certificate to be released.

Why is that?

It's pretty clear there's something on that certificate that is potentially embarrassing, if nothing more.  What could it be?  I'm engaging in pure speculation here, but it may be that Mr. Obama's father declared him a Kenyan citizen.  But that would be irrelevant under American law.  Under American law the president would be an American citizen.

Or, the father could have declared young Barack a Muslim.  Again, that would be a father's declaration.  Obama states that he later declared his religion to be Christian (although the church he attended seems to have some very un-Christian ideals.) 

Either situation could produce some political embarrassment, but I believe it would pass rather quickly.  Americans are remarkably tolerant, and I don't think that, if my speculative situations existed, that many would hold either one against Mr. Obama.  There's always a fringe that would, but all politicians live with fringes.

Mr. Obama should release the long form birth certificate, and clear things up.

January 23, 2011     Permalink

JANUARY 22,  2011

ROMNEY WINS FIRST STRAW POLL, BUT DON'T ORDER YOUR INAUGURATION TICKETS JUST YET – AT 7:55 P.M. ET:  Isn't this silly, holding straw polls this early?  From ABC News:

In the first ever "straw poll" of New Hampshire Republican party committee members sponsored by ABC News and WMUR and sanctioned by the state Republican party, ex-Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney took 35 percent of the 276 valid ballots cast. This is just 3 percent more than Romney took in the 2008 GOP primary, when he finished in second place behind Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz.

Coming in a distant second was Rep. Ron Paul, R-Texas, with 11 percent. Paul took 8 percent in the 2008 GOP primary.

Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty, who is spending the early part of next week in the Granite State, came in third with 8 percent.

In fourth place was ex-Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, who has yet to visit the first-in-the-nation-primary state, with 7 percent.

This is by no means a scientific sample, but it was a good early canvass of the sentiments of the state's most active Republican voters.

The "straw poll" was open only to the 426 registered members of the Republican committee, and 65 percent of those commitee members participated.

COMMENT:  Does this mean it's all over?  No, not exactly.  In fact, it must be pointed out that Romney was governor of Massachusetts, the adjoining state.   Boston TV stations beam into New Hampshire.  Of all the potential candidates, Romney is the best known in New Hampshire, with the possible exception of Sarah Palin.  The fact that Palin hasn't visited is resented because the state's primary is built around retail, flesh-pressing politics. 

So the result is a yawn, but it fills news space.  This victory and $2.50 will get Romney a New York City subway ride, and it's doubtful the other riders would recognize him.

January 22, 2011     Permalink

BIN LADEN THREATENS FRANCE – AT 10:44 A.M. ET:  We are constantly being told by the leftists and the Islamist apologists that it's our "policies" that drive terrorism and the fanatacism of Al Qaeda.  The problem is, it seems to be everyone else's policies as well. 

No nation in Europe has been more supportive of legitimate Muslim causes than France, and the growing Muslim population of the country is increasingly influential.  And yet, France was a major terrorist target as early as the 1980s, and is now being targeted again:

In a purported audio tape aired on Al Jazeera television on Friday, al Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden warned French President Nicolas Sarkozy that his refusal to withdraw troops from Afghanistan was a "green light" to kill French hostages.

In a message specifically targeting France, al Qaeda chief Osama Bin Laden warned that Paris would pay a “high price” for its policies and that the fate of French hostages would depend on the pullout of French troops from “Muslim lands”, in a purported audiotape broadcast on Arabic news network Al Jazeera on Friday.

“We repeat the same message to you: The release of your prisoners in the hands of our brothers is linked to the withdrawal of your soldiers from our country," bin Laden said. "The refusal of your president [Nicolas Sarkozy] to withdraw from Afghanistan is the result of his obedience of America and this refusal is a green light to kill your prisoners,” he added.

French officials have not yet confirmed the authenticity of the tape. But in a statement released shortly after the broadcast the French foreign ministry said France was "determined" to keep troops in Afghanistan despite a threat from al Qaeda.

COMMENT:  Add to France a list that includes Danish cartoonists and just about everything British, and you get the picture.  We are fighting a rigid ideology, similar to Nazism.  But, like Nazism, it has its sympathizers in the West, especially among "intellectual" elites, who endlessly try to "understand" the enemy...without asking any important questions.

January 22, 2011      Permalink

AND NOW FOR THE BAD NEWS – AT 9:59 A.M. ET:  Reader Gerry Schor alerts us to a news story that follows, by less than a day, the White House's attempt to portray an old Boeing sale of aircraft to China as some kind of major news.  Did the White House see this coming?

Southern California’s once-booming aerospace industry received another blow Wednesday when the Boeing Co. announced plans to cut 900 C-17 workers in Long Beach, reports the Long Beach Press-Telegram.

Separately, Boeing also has notified the state that it will cut an additional 98 workers this month in other programs in Huntington Beach, plus 47 in Anaheim.

The Long Beach announcement follows a major year of layoffs for Boeing in which more than 1,000 jobs in Orange County and the Long Beach/South Bay area were eliminated, outsourced or transferred out of state.

The Press-Telegram says Long Beach’s aerospace workforce, which once numbered 20,000 workers, is now down to 7,000.

Boeing previously announced it would cut 10,000 jobs worldwide to bring its workforce into line with the current market demand.

COMMENT:  The reality is that we're facing years of high unemployment and underemployment, which makes a full recovery impossible.  Countries that succeed are countries that make things, and we have seen our manufacturing base constantly eroded. 

It happens slowly, over time, so it doesn't have the feel of a crisis.  But it's a major crisis.  Compare please with our production during World War II.

January 22, 2011      Permalink

SNIPPET OF THE DAY – AT 9:54 A.M. ET:

From New Zealand media:   A mongrel mob associate's grasp of history was sadly exposed in a Napier court when a judge asked him what he thought the term "sieg heil" meant.  "It's just another way of saying hi to the bros," Fabian Hungahunga, 21, replied when Judge Tony Adeane asked what he thought the term meant.

And we think we have educational problems.

January 22, 2011       Permalink

IRAN TALKS COLLAPSE BEFORE THE BIG DINNER CAN BE SERVED – AT 9:42 A.M. ET:  Another attempt at engagement has failed.  Are you shocked or suprised? 

ISTANBUL (AP) — Talks meant to nudge Iran toward meeting U.N. Security Council demands to stop uranium enrichment collapsed Saturday, with Tehran shrugging off calls by six world powers to cease the activity that could be harnessed to make nuclear weapons.

Announcing the failure of two days of negotiations, EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton said no new date for another meeting had been set. She blamed what the six consider unrealistic demands by Iran — an end to U.N. sanctions and agreement that Iran can continue to enrich — for the disappointing results.

Wait.  Blaming Iran?  Is that allowed these days?

Proposals by the six for improved U.N. monitoring of Iran's nuclear activities were rejected by Tehran, as were attempts to kickstart dialogue by reviving discussions on Iran's shipping out a limited amount of its enriched uranium in exchange for fuel for its research reactor, Ashton said.

"We had hoped to have a detailed and constructive discussion of those ideas," she said. "But it became clear that the Iranian side was not ready for this unless we agree to preconditions related to enrichment and sanctions.

"Both these preconditions are not the way to proceed," she told reporters.

While no new talks were planned, Ashton said "our proposals remain on the table. Our door remains open. Our telephone lines remain open."

COMMENT:  This, I hope, will be the end to the illusion that you can negotiate with the mullahs.  They have had years to run their nuclear program while we've had "talks."  True, the Iranian program has been set back by sabotage carried out, reportedly, by the United States and Israel.  But other reports, from scientific sources, warn us about overconfidence.  A setback is not a halt, and apparently Iran has overcome some technical difficulties, with the potential to build a crude nuclear warhead this year.

Crude nuclear warheads, when set off, do a lot of crude damage.

We may well be faced with a military decision just before our 2012 election.  Ironically, it would be popular with the American people and...do we dare say it...could be helpful to the president in power.

January 22, 2011      Permalink

KEITH KICKED, WORLD ENDS FOR LIBERALS – AT 9:31 A.M. ET:  Keith Olbermann stunned his two viewers last night by announcing that it would be his last show for MSNBC.  Departure is reported to be involuntary.

Olbermann was, and is, an over-the-top liberal, talented as a sportscaster, but far too inaccurate and undisciplined for adult journalism.  I recall his broadcast, during Hurricane Katrina, lambasting the absence of Secretary of State Condi Rice from hurricane planning.  I hadn't been aware that secretaries of state did weather, but Keith knew better.

So Olbermann is gone.

As Johnny Carson used to ask, "Notice the difference?"

January 22, 2011     Permalink