FRIDAY,  MARCH 20,  2009

ABSOLUTELY UNBELIEVABLE - AT 9:48 P.M. ET:  From AP: 

U.S. officials said Friday the State Department will spend about $1 million to renovate, reconfigure and furnish the Washington workspace of special Mideast peace envoy George Mitchell and outfit satellite offices for him in Jerusalem and in New York, where he lives.

State Department spokesman Robert Wood said Friday that $27,000 has already been set aside to upgrade Mitchell's sixth-floor suite at the department's headquarters and that more money may be needed.

COMMENT:  You mean there isn't decent enough office space in Washington, New York and Jerusalem for this man?  At a time when Americans are hurting, and are outraged over bonuses at AIG, this is how they spend public funds?  And why are we, the American people, responsible for an office in New York, where Mitchell happens to live?

Does this administration have an absolutely tin ear, or what?  You couldn't make up a story like this.

March 20, 2009   Permalink

LOOK IN DARK SPACES - AT 8:29 P.M. ET:  From the Voice of America:

The State Department said Friday U.S. officials are looking for a reciprocal gesture from Iran after President Barack Obama's conciliatory holiday message to the Iranian people and government Thursday. Mr. Obama said in a broadcast for the Iranian new year holiday Nowruz that the United States wants "honest engagement" with Tehran based on mutual respect.

State Department officials say the broadcast overture by the President is only one of several gestures planned by the administration to back up its expressed interest in better relations with Iran. And they say they're hopeful Iran will at some point respond in a similar fashion so that the two countries - without formal relations for three decades - can open a real dialogue.

COMMENT:  One of several gestures planned?  Really?  I'd love to know what those "gestures" are.  Why don't the Obamans wait for some reciprocity before going further?  Must we grovel?  With each passing day the Iranians get closer to a nuclear bomb.  What, precisely, is this new administration doing to stop it?  Not much.

March 20, 2009   Permalink

ANOTHER INSULT - AT 8:19 P.M. ET:  From AFP:

The UNITED States said it was disappointed and surprised by Spain's decision to withdraw its forces from the NATO-led force in Kosovo, adding it had expected allies to act as one.

"We're deeply disappointed by this decision taken by Spain,'' State Department spokesman Robert Wood said.

"If you recall, in 1999 NATO allies agreed on the principle of 'in together, out together.' So we are surprised by this decision,'' Mr Wood said.

"We were warned just before it was announced publicly."

Spanish Defense Minister Carme Chacon said some 630 Spanish troops with the KFOR force would be leaving the territory in stages by August in coordination with its allies, saying: "It's time to go home.''

COMMENT:  When you give an impression of weakness, when you grovel to other nations, this is what you get.  Spain is run by a left-wing, anti-American government, the very kind of government the Obamans said they could "engage" with.  Looks like the engagement is off.

March 20, 2009   Permalink

CARTER II? - AT 5:05 P.M. ET:  When you start seeing this from liberal sources, you know something is happening.  Michael Wolff, of Vanity Fair, the magazine of liberal liberals, writes:

Sheesh, the guy is Jimmy Carter.

That homespun bowling crap on Jay Leno, followed by the turgid, teachy fiscal policy lecture, together with the hurt defensiveness (and bad script for it) that everybody in Washington "is Simon Cowell… Everybody's got an opinion," is pure I’m-in-over-my-head stuff. Even the idea of having to go on Jay Leno to rescue yourself from the AIG mess is lame. Be a man, man.

The guy just doesn’t know what to say. He can’t connect. Emotions are here, he’s over there. He can’t get the words to match the situation.

This began, I’d argue, from the first moment. He punted on the inaugural. Everybody ran around like crazy trying to praise it because if Barack Obama couldn’t give a speech then what?

But now, at week 11, we’re face-to-face with the reality, the man can’t talk worth a damn...

...He’s cold; he’s prickly; he’s uncomfortable; he’s not funny; and he’s getting awfully tedious.

He thinks it’s all about him. That we want him for himself—that he doesn’t have to seduce, charm, surprise, show some skin.

So Jimmy.

COMMENT:  The preceding is not an endorsement.

March 20, 2009   Permalink

DOW CLOSE - AT 4:12 P.M. ET:  The Dow closed down 122 points, to 7278, effectively ending the rally that started last week, but fizzled in the middle of this one.

March 20, 2009

THE NUMBERS DON'T ADD UP - AT 3:57 P.M. ET: 

WASHINGTON (AP) - President Barack Obama's budget would generate deficits averaging almost $1 trillion a year over the next decade, according to the latest congressional estimates, significantly worse than predicted by the White House just last month.

The Congressional Budget Office figures, obtained by The Associated Press Friday, predict Obama's budget will produce $9.3 trillion worth of red ink over 2010-2019. That's $2.3 trillion worse than the White House predicted in its budget.

Worst of all, CBO says the deficit under Obama's policies would never go below 4 percent of the size of the economy, figures that economists agree are unsustainable. By the end of the decade, the deficit would exceed 5 percent of gross domestic product, a dangerously high level.

COMMENT:  Robert Hutchins, the iconoclastic educator of the last century, once defined an educated person as one who understood the sum consequences of his actions.  Under that definition, the Obama administration is filled with uneducated people, despite the letters after their names.

March 20, 2009   Permalink

OBAMA SLIPS IN POLL - AT 9:45 A.M. ET:  The president has slipped a bit more in the daily Rasmussen tracking poll on presidential approval.  As of this morning, some 55% of Americans approve of Mr. Obama's job performance, while 43% disapprove.  This is the lowest approval rating the president has registered to date in the Rasmussen survey.

March 20, 2009   Permalink

MORE FROM IRAN, JUST IN - AT 9:17 A.M. ET:  My Iranian dissident friend, Banafsheh Zand-Bonazzi, has just sent us her translation of Iran's response to President Obama's videotaped message to the Iranian people:

According to Agence France Presse from Tehran, in reaction to president Obama's Norooz message, Ahmadinejad's spokesman said: "The Islamic Republic of Iran welcome's Obama's message, however demands practical shifts in the U.S. conduct in order to demonstrate a sincere attempt to redeem past mistakes."

Ali-Akbar Javan-Fekr said: "The U.S. must atone for it's past mistakes toward the Islamic Republic of Iran and must make fundamental changes in it's policy. Differences between the U.S. and the Islamic Republic of Iran will continue to exist for as long as Washington continues to blindly support the evil regime of Israel."

Ahmadinejad's spokesman also added: "The United States must discontinue it's violent behavior, it must stop arresting Muslims and must stop supporting terrorist groups around the world!"

COMMENT:  As we wrote earlier, this isn't going to be easy.  There is absolutely no "give" in the Iranian response.  The sad fact is, though, that there are forces in Washington who'll want us to "compromise" with the mullahs - meaning we move and they don't.

March 20, 2009   Permalink 

TIME MARCHES ON, MAYBE - AT 8:49 A.M. ET:  From AFP:

US news weekly Time, which like other publications has been looking for ways to reinvent itself in print and on the Web, is allowing readers to put together their own personalized magazine.

The experiment, called "Mine," allows readers to create a print or Web version of a magazine with content drawn from titles owned by Time and its partner in the venture, American Express Publishing.

The titles are Time, Sports Illustrated, Food & Wine, Real Simple, Money, InStyle, Golf, and Travel + Leisure.

Readers are being encouraged to log on to timeinc.com/mine to choose content from five of the eight titles to create their own free 36-page "customized" magazine, which can be received either in print or online.

Time said 231,000 print and online copies of each issue will be available and readers can receive a new issue of "Mine" magazine every two weeks for 10 weeks.

COMMENT:  Interesting experiment, and we'll follow it.  Of course, Time, like Newsweek, seems to be fading away.  In their traditional formats these magazines are no longer needed, and both committed the classic blunder of injecting too much bias into their reporting. 

Also, a pet peeve:  I wish organizations would stop using words like "mine" or "my" in the names of their products.  It's an epidemic.  I get the sense that, pretty soon, hospitals will have "My emergency room" and "My dialysis center."  Even Apple Computer has fallen victim.  I subscribe to one of their services and it's called "My..."  I forget.  The "my" turned me off.  Enough already.

March 20, 2009   Permalink

BLOWBACK BY BROWNBACK - AT 7:59 A.M. ET:  From The Washington Times:

Sen. Sam Brownback of Kansas threatened Thursday to take advantage of a Senate rule to block the confirmation of Christopher Hill as U.S. ambassador to Iraq on the grounds that Mr. Hill misled him in promising to raise human rights in talks with North Korea.

"I am going to be doing everything I can to hold up this nominee," Mr. Brownback told The Washington Times.

Mr. Hill is to appear before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Wednesday.

The threat raises the prospect that the Obama administration will go without an ambassador in Baghdad for a prolonged period at a sensitive time.

COMMENT:  Brownback will get criticized by the usual suspects on the left, but he should be cheered.  Hill, a talented diplomat, also has a bit of a reputation as the "Slick Willie" of the diplomatic corps.  His negotiations with North Korea, heralded as "successful" by the State Department spin machine, always seemed to wind up unraveling, or at least not producing the claimed result.  Let the Senate take its time with this nominee.  He's been appointed to one of the most sensitive posts in the world, Baghdad, to represent a president who's been opposed to our efforts there.  We don't need slickness in that position.  We need a straight shooter.

March 20, 2009   Permalink

HEERE'S BARACK! - AT 7:39 A.M. ET:  Everyone now knows that the president appeared with Jay Leno last night, a move I thought was unwise.  The result, widely reported this morning, was a gaffe in which the president seemed to compare his bowling score to something that might be on the level of the Special Olympics, which is designed for young people with disabilities.  The White House quickly covered:

"The President made an offhand remark making fun of his own bowling that was in no way intended to disparage the Special Olympics. He thinks that the Special Olympics are a wonderful program that gives an opportunity to shine to people with disabilities from around the world."

COMMENT:  You lie down with talk-show hosts, you get up embarrassed.  As we said, the appearance was unwise.  Most Americans didn't see it.  They'll read only about the off-the-cuff remark.  Ronald Reagan came from show biz, but he wasn't show biz as president.  We hope this appearance isn't repeated.  You don't have to be hip to be president.  You have to be capable.

March 20, 2009   Permalink

OUTREACH TO IRAN - AT 7:30 A.M. ET:  President Obama has issued an unprecedented video, directed toward Iran.  From Reuters:

U.S. President Barack Obama issued an unprecedented videotaped appeal to Iran on Friday offering a "new beginning" of diplomatic engagement to turn the page on decades of U.S. policy toward America's longtime foe.

"My administration is now committed to diplomacy that addresses the full range of issues before us, and to pursuing constructive ties," Obama said in a message released to select Middle East broadcast outlets timed for an Iranian holiday celebration.

Obama went further than he has since taking office on Jan. 20 in extending an olive branch to Tehran, which has been locked in bitter disputes with Washington over Iranian nuclear ambitions and support for militant Islamic groups.

In an unusually swift reaction to Obama's overture, a senior official said Iran welcomed "the interest of the American government to settle differences".

But Aliakbar Javanfekr, an aide to President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, said the Obama administration "should realize its previous mistakes and make an effort to amend them."

The story, of course, contained the obligatory swipe at former President George W. Bush, which will get the reporter extra credit in the mainstream media:

"I would like to speak directly to the people and leaders of the Islamic Republic of Iran," Obama said in a conciliatory tone that contrasted sharply with Bush's hardline approach. "We seek the promise of a new beginning."

Obama's willingness to talk to U.S. enemies like Iran has been welcomed internationally as a departure from what many saw as Bush's go-it-alone "cowboy diplomacy" epitomized by the 2003 U.S.-led invasion of Iraq.

Talk about press bias.  Those last two paragraphs deserve some kind of bias prize.

COMMENT:  We'll monitor this closely.  The president has made the gesture, so the "international community," whatever that is, can't say he hasn't tried.  But how far is he willing to go?  Is he willing to let Iran stretch out any talks endlessly, giving Tehran the time to move closer to a nuclear bomb?  Is he willing to compromise basic American policies and values?  Is he willing to throw Israel under the bus, which some "experts" advocate?  Iran will be one of the great tests, possibly the greatest test, of Obama's ability in foreign policy. 

We have no problem here with these public gestures, as long as our fundamental interests are protected, and not sliced away, piece by piece.  There is no reason to believe that Iran will change anything important in its behavior.  The question is whether the Obamans will recognize that, and say so publicly.  Diplomacy can result in a better world.  It can also result in a catastrophe, leading to war.  We've seen both in our time. 

March 20, 2009   Permalink 

THURSDAY,  MARCH 19,  2009

SARAH STAKES HER CLAIM - AT 8:44 P.M. ET:  From the Anchorage Daily News:

Gov. Sarah Palin just told reporters that she’s accepting only 55 percent of the federal economic stimulus money being offered to Alaska. The governor said that she will accept only about $514 million of the $930 million headed to the state.

“We are not requesting funds intended to just grow government. We are not requesting more money for normal day-to-day operations of government as part of this economic stimulus package. In essence we say no to operating funds for more positions in government,” Palin said.

COMMENT:  Risky, but gutsy.  People still forget that Sarah Palin is a sitting governor with a very decisive governing style.  Clearly, she's staking her claim to a continued national role.  Watch carefully where this goes.

March 19, 2009   Permalink

OBAMA TONGUE-TIED? - AT 8:09 P.M. ET:  Now there's a headline I never expected to write - Obama Tongue-Tied.  But, increasingly, the president is being criticized for his inability...to communicate.  Jim Vandehei and Mike Allen, in today's Politico, have an extraordinary piece about a problem no one would have expected in listening to Mr. Obama on the campaign trail last year:

Of all the pitfalls Barack Obama might face in the presidency, here is one not many people predicted: He is struggling as a public communicator.

The sluggish and unsteady response to the uproar over AIG bonuses highlights a larger problem of his White House: Obama’s surprisingly uneven campaign to educate people about the economic crisis and convince Washington and the broader public that he is in command of circumstances.

It was brilliant communications skills that carried Obama to the presidency, with a national campaign built on the strength of his personal story and the clarity of his promise to transform politics. On the rare occasions when he was thrown on the defensive, he quickly turned problems into opportunities and regained control of his public image.

COMMENT:  Barack Obama was supposed to be a breath of fresh communications air.  He was, recall, the un-Bush.  He was the man who could explain anything - eloquently, clearly.  That was during the campaign.  This is now.  Read the piece.  And this is only domestic policy.  Wait until a foreign crisis.

March 19, 2009   Permalink   

GENIUSES - AT 7:51 P.M. ET:  The image of competence in Washington took another drubbing today.  From The Washington Post:

Congress today moved to levy punitive taxes on bonuses at financial firms receiving government aid, threatening to undermine the government's rescue of the financial system. The taxes imposed would be so high that the result would likely drive away nearly all firms participating in the federal assistance program.

The House passed a bill that would impose a 90 percent income tax on $165 million in bonuses distributed to employees of the troubled insurance giant American International Group and would have a sweeping effect on the traditional pay system on Wall Street.

COMMENT:  As readers know, I'm no great fan of some of the antics on Wall Street.  But is it too much to ask for Congress to proceed carefully, and understand the implications of what it is doing?  Yes, I guess it's too much to ask, so I won't.

March 19, 2009   Permalink 

DOWN CLOSE - AT 4:43 P.M. ET:  The Dow closed down 86 points, to 7401.

THAT SYRIAN REACTOR - AT 4:43 P.M. ET:   From AP:

GENEVA - A top-ranked Iranian defector told the United States that Iran was financing North Korean moves to make Syria into a nuclear weapons power, leading to the Israeli air strike that destroyed a suspected secret reactor, a report said Thursday.

The article in the daily Neue Zuercher Zeitung goes into detail about an Iranian connection and fills in gaps about Israel's Sept. 6, 2007, raid that knocked out Syria's nearly completed Al Kabir reactor in the country's eastern desert.

Ali Reza Asghari, a retired general in Iran's elite Revolutionary Guards and a former deputy defense minister, "changed sides" in February 2007 and provided considerable information to the West on Iran's own nuclear program, said the article, written by Hans Ruehle, former chief of the planning staff of the German Defense Ministry.

COMMENT:  This seems pretty solid and well sourced.  Three countries were thus involved in the Syrian reactor - North Korea, Iran, and Syria.  President Obama has pledged to cozy up to all three, hoping for some miraculous transformation made possible by the sheer force of his personality and splendid physical condition.  Place your bets.

March 19, 2009    Permalink

DOW ANEMIC - AT 1:32 P.M. ET:  The Dow is down 61, to 7426.

CHINA RAPPED - AT 1:29 P.M. ET: 

WASHINGTON (AP) -- A top U.S. commander says China's ''aggressive and troublesome'' run-in with an unarmed American ship shows that Beijing won't behave acceptably.

Adm. Timothy Keating told senators that Beijing's suspension of military contact last year because of U.S. arms sales to Taiwan and the South China Sea confrontation are ''vivid reminders'' that it has yet to become a ''responsible stakeholder.''

COMMENT:  It's a relief to see that American commanders are still permitted to criticize China, which holds a substantial amount of our debt.  China's increasing power, and its economic clout, should be of great concern, but the day may come when its economic hold on us makes criticism almost impossible.

March 19, 2009    Permalink 

PREZ APPROVAL STEADY - AT 9:43 A.M. ET:  Rasmussen reports that Mr. Obama's approval ratings are steady.  As of this morning, some 56% of respondents approve of the job he's doing, while 43% disapprove. 

March 19, 2009   Permalink

HYPOCRISY INDEED - AT 8:38 A.M. ET:  The indispensable Andrew Malcolm, at the L.A. Times's Top of the Ticket, makes this observation about yesterday's vaudeville act on Capitol Hill:

Who wants to witness Edward Liddy, who was summoned from retirement only in September as the federal financial paramedic of AIG for the outrageous annual salary of $1, bludgeoned mercilessly for the cameras by the overpowering, hyperbolic hypocrisy of congressmen and women who awarded themselves $4,700 raises in this winter of economic duress? Those raises, making their annual salaries $174,000, will cost taxpayers an extra $2.5 million this year; call it "a bonus."

COMMENT:  I watched that hearing, and thought it was pretty hypocritical as well.  Liddy is one of the good guys, trying to clean up the mess at no salary, yet he was pummelled by these congressmen, who have expressed shock, shock, that there's corruption on Wall Street.  These same representatives of the people never minded the campaign contributions that flowed in from that same street in better times.

March 19, 2009   Permalink 

AND THE WEIRDNESS GOES ON - AT 8:10 A.M. ET:  Related to the story just below is this one, from Britain's reliably leftist Guardian:

Protest and direct action could be the only way to tackle soaring carbon emissions, a leading climate scientist has said.

James Hansen, a climate modeller with NASA, told the Guardian today that corporate lobbying has undermined democratic attempts to curb carbon pollution. "The democratic process doesn't quite seem to be working," he said.

Speaking on the eve of joining a protest against the headquarters of power firm E.ON in Coventry, Hansen said: "The first action that people should take is to use the democratic process. What is frustrating people, me included, is that democratic action affects elections but what we get then from political leaders is greenwash..."

COMMENT:  This man is increasingly delusional.  He apparently sees himself as a modern Paul Revere, warning the citizenry about impending doom.  Of course, he's factually wrong.  Most corporate interests are now on board in the "fight" against global warming, and have thrown in their hypo-allergenic towels.  The only holdouts are thoughtful scientists who think it might be a good idea to see if we really have the facts about this crusade.

March 19, 2009   Permalink

Y'SEE, THE CALCULATOR RIBBON BROKE WHEN WE FIRST FIGURED THIS... - AT 7:48 A.M. ET:  Reader Jim Meyer alerts us to the latest adventure in Obama accounting, second only to Hollywood accounting in its vivid imagination and keen use of exciting fiction:

President Obama's climate plan could cost industry close to $2 trillion, nearly three times the White House's initial estimate of the so-called "cap-and-trade" legislation, according to Senate staffers who were briefed by the White House.

A top economic aide to Mr. Obama told a group of Senate staffers last month that the president's climate-change plan would surely raise more than the $646 billion over eight years the White House had estimated publicly, according to multiple a number of staffers who attended the briefing Feb. 26.

COMMENT:  And, of course, we're not permitted to debate the "science" behind the climate panic.  Professor of Wind and Rain Al Gore says so. 

Oh, by the way, who will really pay the price when industry passes on its costs to the consumer?  But we deserve to be punished because we like cars and barbecues.

March 19, 2009   Permalink

WELCOME WORN OUT - AT 7:44 A.M. ET:  The president will address the nation on the evening of the 24th, which is next Tuesday.  The TV networks are not pleased:

Networks are pulling their shows over to the side of the road to make room for the lights and sirens of president Barack Obama's latest primetime address.

Obama will take to the air next Tuesday evening on four broadcast networks and bump the most popular series on television, Fox's "American Idol"...

..."At a time when we're struggling not only financially but to build audiences, this doesn't help on either front," one network executive said. "These repeated interruptions -- and the rumor of even more to come -- really make it difficult to build audience flow and loyalty. We will all lose one or two million dollars for this"...

..."I believe in the president and his policies, and as broadcasters we have a responsibility to provide the airtime," said another network insider. "But these frequent primetime requests are wreaking serious havoc with our schedule and our advertisers. Ratings are down everywhere and the airtime is costing us all significant dollars when we can least afford it."

COMMENT:  Note the obligatory, "I believe in the president and his policies..."  Nothing quite like a network insider fearful that his name might get out.

If I recall correctly, when President Bush addressed the nation, some of his speeches were carried only on the cable systems.  He did not get automatic network time.  But, of course, he wasn't The One.

March 19, 2009   Permalink

BAD IDEA DEAD AND BURIED - AT 7:27 A.M. ET:  Perhaps the worst idea developed by the Obama administration has died a fast and deserved death:

WASHINGTON — Under withering criticism from veterans and Congress, President Obama on Wednesday abandoned a proposal that would have required veterans to use their private health insurance to pay for the treatment of combat-related injuries.

COMMENT:  Here are the relevant questions:  Who came up with that idea?  Why was the president of the United States comfortable bringing it up with veterans' groups, which he did?  What does this say about the Obama crowd's respect for veterans?  Why did the secretary of veterans affairs, former Army Chief of Staff Gen. Eric K. Shinsecki, not resign over this?

Can you just imagine media reaction if President Bush had proposed this plan?

March 19, 2009   Permalink