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OCTOBER 18,  2015

SHORT TAKES ON THE DRIFTING WRECKAGE – AT 11:57 P.M. ET: 

RAND TAKING HEAT – From Fox:   FRANKFORT, Ky. – A defiant Rand Paul is brushing off weak fundraising and weaker poll numbers as would-be donors and home state Republicans push him to abandon an uphill presidential bid to focus on his Senate re-election.  While showing some frustration, the first-term Kentucky senator this week claimed his superior political organization would prove wrong those doubting his chances in the White House contest. At the same time, he released fundraising numbers that place him squarely in the bottom tier of the GOP's 2016 class over the last three months, a painful symbol of stalled momentum for the libertarian favorite who was considered a major presidential contender earlier in the year.  This is a classic case of a candidate with very limited appeal believing he has much greater appeal.  His foreign-policy views are far to the left of the Republican Party.  They are not acceptable to the great mass of Republicans, and that's that.  He should get out, and try to keep his Senate seat in GOP hands.

SIGN OF THE TIMES – From Fox:   NEW DELHI – Naval warships, aircraft carriers and submarines from the U.S., India and Japan steamed into the Bay of Bengal on Saturday as they took part in joint military exercises off India's east coast, signaling the growing strategic ties among the three countries as they face up to a rising China.  The sea drills, part of the six-day-long Malabar exercises, will cover the full spectrum of naval maneuvers, including military-to-military coordination and anti-submarine warfare, according to a joint statement.  The U.S. has deployed the aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt, a missile cruiser and a nuclear-powered submarine for the annual exercises, which end Monday.  "India and Japan both are fantastic partners of the United States," Capt. Craig Clapperton, commanding officer of the USS Theodore Roosevelt, told reporters on board the ship. "We share a great deal in common, and we certainly have very strong economic, military and political relationships and friendships with India and Japan."  But how convincing are naval exercises when the president of the United States shows so little interest in American defense and the welfare of our allies?

APPEASER-IN-CHIEF –  Obama is on the appeasement train again, even as Iran expands in the Mideast and heaps scorn on us every day.  From AFP:   President Barack Obama ordered the US government Sunday to take steps towards lifting sanctions on Iran, in accordance with the historic nuclear deal struck between six world powers and Tehran.  Obama’s directive comes 90 days after the UN Security Council endorsed the accord signed in Vienna in July, a milestone referred to as “Adoption Day.”  “I hereby direct you to take all necessary steps to give effect to the US commitments with respect to sanctions,” Obama said in a memorandum addressed to the US secretaries of state, energy, commerce and the treasury.  The measures will take effect upon confirmation by the Secretary of state that Iran has met its commitments under the so-called Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), as the accord is known, Obama said.  What do you think the chances are that the secretary of state will declare that Iran hasn't met its commitments?   Kerry knows what the boss wants. 

October 18,  2015     Permalink

RIDICULOUS – AT 12:32 P.M. ET:  I've noted before that I think Donald Trump has gotten ridiculous.  Instead of growing as a candidate, he reverts back to verbal thuggery whenever challenged.  From Newsmax: 

GOP front-runner Donald Trump is tripling down on blaming President George W. Bush for the terrorist attacks of 9/11.

In an interview with The Washington Post, Trump said the president is ultimately responsible for what happens on his watch, pointing out three things he would have done differently were he in the White House in 2001.

"You always have to look to the person at the top," Trump told the Post. "Do I blame George Bush? I only say that he was the president at the time, and you know, you could say the buck stops here."

Trump's three points of disagreement with Bush: Immigration policy, cross-departmental communication and foreknowledge an attack was likely.

"We had very weak immigration laws," Trump said. He said that under "the strong laws that I’m wanting, these terrorists wouldn’t have been in the country."

The FBI, National Security Council, and CIA weren’t talking to each other about what they knew about possible threats, and the fact was well-known, Trump said. "If I'm president, I want to have my three most important agencies talking to each other and coordinating with each other."

And Bush's CIA Director George Tenet "knew in advance that there would be an attack, and he said that," Trump said.

While insisting, "I don’t blame anybody," Trump added that "perhaps something could have been done that was obviously better than the worst attack ever perpetrated on the United States."

COMMENT:  Come on.  He's not really saying anything.  The enemy, Donald, is the Democratic Party, not George W. Bush.  I'm hoping we can get past this tantrum stage in the campaign and have a real debate on October 28th.  I'm also hoping the Republican primary electorate starts focusing on candidates who can go the distance against Hillary Clinton.  I'm not at all sure we've found that person.

October 18, 2015       Permalink

AH, ANOTHER QUOTE OF THE DAY – AT 11:57 A.M. ET:  We have an embarrassment of riches in quotes today.  This, by Newt Gingrich, summarizes the state of Hillary Clinton's campaign, and her morality.  From the Washington Times: 

Many observers in the political-news media establishment thought Hillary Rodham Clinton delivered a winning performance at Tuesday night’s Democratic presidential debate.

It certainly was a performance. We have yet to see whether it will be a winning one.

The reason this Democratic debate offered any drama at all, in a year when the Democratic frontrunner was presumed to have cleared the field, is that the Clinton campaign is clearly in significant trouble. She is lagging in some state polls behind Sen. Bernie Sanders, a candidate who, when he announced, was considered to be among the least plausible nominees the party could find.

Part of the reason for Mr. Sanders‘ success is undoubtedly his ideological appeal to the hard-left of the Democratic Party. But Hillary’s collapse likely has much more to do with the fact that she keeps lying, and that she keeps getting caught, than it does with Bernie’s charm.

In a recent Quinnipiac poll, the word most mentioned by respondents in association with Hillary Clinton was “liar.” The runners-up were “dishonest” and “untrustworthy” — offered by a combined 394 people. The next most common term, “experience,” was offered by 82.

Now Hillary’s solution to nearly her lowest favorability ratings in two decades of public life is to lie some more.

COMMENT:  Newt is right, of course.  But Hillary is surrounded by the same press corps that did so much to put the vastly inexperienced and deceptive Barack Obama in office.   Will the protection work this time?  I think it depends entirely on the quality of the Republican candidate and the willingness of the GOP to fight for the presidency, not just run for it.

October 18, 2015       Permalink

QUOTE OF THE DAY – THE AGE OF OBAMA – AT 11:35 A.M. ET:  Occasionally we see a passage that clearly defines our national situation.  Saw one this morning by a very fine writer, Salena Zito, of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, view realclearpolitics.com.  She writes about Barack Obama and the Democratic view of America:

He has used his position as one of deep correction, to change what his elite and academic prisms view as a deeply flawed country.

Those corrections were not made in the spirit of taking us together to a better place. Instead, they have been bitterly divisive and intended to produce “justice.”

There is nothing wrong with change, but a good leader would have invited all of us to take that journey. Not doing so has been Obama's greatest flaw.

Last week's Democrat debate was incredibly revealing of where this party wants to take the country. With the exception of Jim Webb, everyone on stage seemed to loathe anyone who wouldn't vote for them in a primary.

They hate gun owners and supporters of traditional values; unless you're “progressive,” you have no place in their view of the world.

They think America's worst enemies are climate change, the NRA, and Republicans.

The answer that gave Hillary Clinton her biggest applause came when she was asked what would separate her from President Obama. Her answer: gender.

“Well, I think that's pretty obvious,” she said about being a woman.

Racial justice, gender justice, pay justice — that is what all of the Democrats spoke to.

All of them embraced the concept that “black lives matter” over other American lives.

They did so on a national stage while demanding free college for everyone and in-state tuition for illegal immigrants, all in an effort to appeal to the Obama base but excluding the rest of America.

They made clear that each would be the president of progressives, not of all Americans.

COMMENT:  Wonderfully stated, and accurate. 

October 18,  2015     Permalink

OCTOBER 17,  2015

SHORT TAKES ON THE DRIFTING WRECKAGE – AT 11:53 P.M. ET:

GOOD QUESTION – From The Hill:   Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) wants to know whether President Obama has confronted the Cuban government over its reported aid for Syrian President Bashar Assad.  In light of Obama's decision to restore diplomatic ties with Cuba, Grassley said it is "disconcerting" that the Castro government appears to be siding with Russia in the the Syrian civil war.  "Press reports now indicate that hundreds of Cuban military personnel are on the grounds in Syria, with the purpose of supporting Russia and Iran in bolstering the Assad regime," the Senate Judiciary Committee chairman wrote in a letter to Obama Friday.  Anyone shocked?  It's just another example of America's enemies laughing at the Obama administration, realizing that it is spineless, and is led by a president who doesn't even like his own country.

APPALLING – From the Washington Times:  In the latest issue of Marvel’s revamped Captain America, the iconic superhero takes on a group of right-wing conservatives trying to stop illegal immigrants from crossing the border.  In “Captain America: Sam Wilson #1,” the superhero also known as Sam Wilson heads to the border to take on an “evil” militia group known as the Sons of the Serpent, who are patrolling the area between Mexico and Arizona, according to a video summary of the issue created by the Maciver Institute.  The Sons of the Serpent try to stop a group of illegal immigrants from crossing the border. They accuse the immigrants of invading a sovereign land to spread disease and crime, take American jobs and collect welfare. Sounds remarkably like an old-style attempt by hard leftists to influence America's kids through the kind of things kids read.  Very sad, but not shocking.

BULLETIN – The pro football vote is being heard.  From CBS:   DENVER (CBS4) – Peyton Manning is showing his support for one of the Republican presidential candidates.  The latest campaign filings show Manning contributed $2,700 to Jeb Bush’s campaign. That amount is the maximum an individual can donate to any campaign committee.  Manning’s brother Eli already donated the same total to the Bush campaign earlier this year.  Isn't there an old saying, "As quarterbacks go, so goes the nation"?  No, I didn't think so either.  But I'm glad to see that Hollywood isn't the only celebrity center participating in politics.

October 17, 2015       Permalink

WISDOM – AT 12:51 P.M. ET:  The Republican national chairman, Reince Priebus, is speaking common sense to his party as it embarks on a presidential campaign.  Priebus has done a fine job of rebuilding a party that was losing state and congressional elections that it should easily have won.  But there is the presidency.  And, as Priebus points out, if the GOP loses that next year, it is nowhere.  From Newsmax: 

The Republican Party is "cooked" if it fails to take back the White House in 2016, Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus says.

In an interview with the Washington Examiner, Priebus said a Republican president is essential following two terms of a Democrat in control.

"We're cooked as a party for quite a while if we don't win in 2016," he told the Examiner.
But Priebus adds he doesn't anticipate a disastrous election for the GOP because "history is on our side."

"Our job as a national party is to elect Republicans, and it generally means House, Senate, presidential," Priebus told the Examiner.

"However, I think that we have become, unfortunately, a midterm party that doesn't lose and a presidential party that's had a really hard time winning.

"We're seeing more and more that if you don't hold the White House, it's very difficult to govern in this country — especially in Washington D.C."

COMMENT:  He is right.  All the other offices combined don't equal the presidency.  Obama has shown that executive authority has meaning, and the president has the bully pulpit besides.

Republicans must be prepared to run a flawless presidential campaign, behind a winning candidate.  I don't know who that candidate is right now.  There's no obvious choice, like Ronald Reagan.  Two superb governors, Rick Perry and Scott Walker, have been knocked out of the race.  I would say that the great hope is Marco Rubio, who, when he's on, is excellent.  But his campaign has been almost invisible.

We cannot take four more years of a Democratic foreign policy.  That is the bottom line.

October 17, 2015       Permalink

TRUMP BLUNDERS – AT 11:46 A.M. ET:  Donald Trump goes too far.  Some people consider it part of his charm.  A guy who "tells it like it is."  But as we get closer to an actual presidential election, the charm is wearing off.  Americans want a president, not a guy who thinks that negotiating with Putin is the same as negotiating with interior decorators. 

Now Trump has, not for the first time, stepped into dangerous territory, and it's costing him.  From CNN:

Washington (CNN) Donald Trump, under fire for suggesting that George W. Bush shared in the blame for the 9/11 terrorist attacks because they happened during his presidency, repeatedly declined to engage with reporters about the matter Friday night -- opting instead to continue a long-running feud with Jeb Bush on Twitter afterwards.

Trump regularly speaks with reporters at campaign events and often takes multiple questions in an impromptu manner, making his silence Friday all the more noticeable.

When asked by CNN after a rally at a local high school here if he thought the attacks were George W. Bush's fault, Trump, after pausing to listen to the question, walked away.

Minutes later, he again declined to say anything when asked to react to Bush's response on Twitter, ignoring at least half a dozen questions on the matter before driving away in his motorcade. He did respond to questions about the crowd size at his campaign event Friday and why he was campaigning in Massachusetts.

The controversy began Friday morning when Trump implied that the former president could share some blame for the attacks that killed nearly 3,000 Americans, as he was in office at the time.

"When you talk about George Bush, I mean, say what you want, the World Trade Center came down during his time," Trump said on Bloomberg TV.

Bloomberg anchor Stephanie Ruhle interjected, "Hold on, you can't blame George Bush for that," before Trump stood by his comments.

"He was president, OK? ... Blame him, or don't blame him, but he was president. The World Trade Center came down during his reign," Trump said.

Jeb Bush angrily responded Friday afternoon, calling the comment "pathetic."

COMMENT:  It is pathetic.  Like Trump's ridiculing of John McCain's war record was pathetic, and his disparaging remarks about Carly Fiorina's looks were pathetic.  After a time, the "pathetics" begin to build up.

Trump looked truly shaken last night when confronted by reporters, as if he knew, or had been told, that he'd committed a major blunder.  Only crackpots and conspiracy theorists blame George Bush for 9-11. 

So far, Trump has overcome all his blunders and foolish statements.  But there may be a limit.  My own feeling is that he has distorted the campaign on the Republican side, and has taken attention away from far more qualified candidates.  Politics is partially show business, but it isn't entirely show business.  Nor is it entirely ego. 

October 17, 2015      Permalink

HILLARY'S PLIGHT – AT 11:15 A.M. ET:  Why do I have to read this in a British paper?  Hillary Clinton is now trying to laugh off the dead-serious FBI investigation into her behavior as secretary of state.  But she could face criminal charges...maybe right before Inauguration Day.  From London's Daily Mail:

Hillary Clinton could be prosecuted in federal court for failing to tell President Barack Obama about her private email server at the time she was running it, according to a veteran FBI agent.

Obama said flatly during a '60 Minutes' interview on Sunday that 'No,' he did not know Clinton sidestepped security protocols with her a home-brew email setup while she was his secretary of state.

The FBI agent who spoke with DailyMail.com has had a 20-year career in federal law enforcement and serves in a supervisory capacity in a domestic FBI field office.

He said on Friday that failing to put Obama in the loop could be enough to send her to prison for ten years.

The federal Espionage Act includes a provision that criminalizes 'gross negligence' by officials charged with safeguarding national defense information.

Separately, the law's text makes a criminal of any security clearance holder who fails to notify his or her 'superior officer' when a breach of security occurs through such negligence.

'If investigators conclude that the former secretary [Clinton] was criminally careless in how she approached the security of the sensitive documents in her possession, then this part of the law could be used to prosecute her,' the agent said, on condition of anonymity.

'"Gross negligence" just means "serious carelessness",' he clarified.

His voice became more deliberate and quiet when DailyMail.com asked him to address the notification clause in what is technically known as '18 USC 793.'

'The secretary's superior is the President of the United States,' the FBI agent noted.

'So unless he were aware of what she was doing when she was doing it, it seems there could be a legal problem [for her].'

COMMENT:  In addition to this, there are many, many other legal issues facing Clinton.  That point was made last night on Fox by James Kallstrom, former head of the New York office of the FBI.

Clinton's strategy has now turned to ridiculing, even laughing at, the investigations she faces.  Her campaign is doing one of those "it's time to move on" moments.  But the FBI is not moving on.  The FBI is moving.

October 17,  2015     Permalink