Fresh Snark

Crisis Puts White House in Disarray - WSJ.com

2011-02-11T05:16:00.000-08:00

Link

Ok, explain this one to me: we avoid putting pressure on our enemy in Iran when their people take to the streets in protest, but we throw our longtime ally, Mubarek, under the bus? What the hell?

I get that he needs to go. I get that democracy has a chance to flourish. Ok. But after getting all Jimmy Carter and sanctimonious with the Egyptians, how can we possibly believe we will have any more influence in the transition of power?

RealClearPolitics - Oy Vey! Indignation Over 'Blood Libel'?

2011-01-14T07:19:00.000-08:00

Link

Dave Harsanyi is becoming pretty close to indispensible.

State of the Union: Senators John McCain, Steny Hoyer Back Tom Udall's Call for Democrats and Republicans to Sit Together - ABC News

2011-01-14T07:14:00.000-08:00

Link

Why not? Having the parties in singular blocs encourages whoops and hisses. Just listen to the speech, gang.

Courtesy's Sad Substitute | Postmodern Times by Eric Felten - WSJ.com

2011-01-14T07:11:00.000-08:00

Link

What it says is that people are eager for a little basic thoughtfulness and some manners, but don't know how to get it other than using force of some kind.

The unseemly rush to blame Sarah Palin, the Tea Party and Republicans for murder in Arizona – Telegraph Blogs

2011-01-10T08:01:00.000-08:00

Link

Best summary of the left and their unseemly rush to judgement.

Arizona shootings: Will Barack Obama stand up to the Left’s shameful exploitation of a national tragedy? – Telegraph Blogs

2011-01-10T07:59:00.000-08:00

Link

Shameful is the right word for it. Based on no evidence, NONE, the left is going after Palin and the Tea Partiers for something that is neither their responsibility nor in their control. Crazies operate according to their own inner voices, and Loughner, apparently, had a scary internal monologue.

Glenn Reynolds: The Arizona Tragedy and the Politics of Blood Libel - WSJ.com

2011-01-10T07:56:00.000-08:00

Link

Exactly. But that's not how the liberals see it.

Media Slow To Show WikiLeaks Justified Iraq War - HUMAN EVENTS

2011-01-05T14:10:00.000-08:00

Link

Yet another reason to be entertained and thankful for WikiLeaks.

Meredith Attwell Baker - Hands off tomorrow's Internet

2010-12-21T14:07:00.000-08:00

Link

I agree. This was regulation because they wanted to, not because it was necessary. This will end up in court, obviously, and Congress ought to slap the FCC down hard.

Joe Lieberman: Liberal Hero for Role in Repealing ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ - The Daily Beast

2010-12-21T13:07:00.000-08:00

Link

This was important for a lot of reasons, beginning with simple justice and ending with making sure that Congress, not the courts, had the final say on this military issue. I believe the Supreme Court would have ultimately reversed the lower court and reinstated DADT, but the political fallout in the meantime would have been counterproductive and divisive. This worked out for the best.

A Serious Man - NYTimes.com

2010-12-13T08:44:00.000-08:00

Link

A serious discussion of a serious politician. Well done.

From Audacity to Animosity - WSJ.com

2010-12-10T09:35:00.000-08:00

Link

Not sure how it is that the president thought that news conference went, but disaster is what it looked like.

Noonan, on the mark, notes that the president's base is alienated and angry. This doesn't bode well for re-election, since the center and the right are not likely to vote for him under any circumstances.

Big Hollywood » Blog Archive » Why Leslie Nielsen Was So Good at Making Us Happy

2010-11-30T18:00:00.000-08:00

Link

David Zucker tribute to Leslie Nielsen.

Maxine Waters: I've been denied due process - John Bresnahan - POLITICO.com

2010-11-30T17:44:00.000-08:00

Link

If she wants justice, I say we give it to her, good and hard.

Bolivia assails rich, carbon market at Cancun talks | Reuters

2010-11-30T17:42:00.000-08:00

Link

Interesting. Who in Hell does Bolivia think it is, anyway? Denmark or something?

YouTube - 'The Euro Game Is Up! Just who the hell do you think you are?' - Nigel Farage MEP

2010-11-29T18:54:00.000-08:00

Link

Nigel Farage explodes the Euro and the European Union. Pointed, fierce, and dead on target.

A Return to Economist Friedrich Hayek's Ideas - Newsweek

2010-11-28T17:41:00.000-08:00

Link

Aside from a distortion of the Austrian School of Economics and what it actually espouses, the article is mostly correct. Hayek and Austrian economics is relevant again.

Homeland Security seizes domain names - The Hill's Hillicon Valley

2010-11-28T17:37:00.000-08:00

Link

And Homeland Security has the right to do this under what legislation? More to the point, WHY are they dealing with copyright infringement? How is that even their job?

FT.com / Global insight - Trust in short supply at Middle East talks

2010-11-28T17:35:00.000-08:00

Link

Israel should be skeptical. US administrations have taken a pretty high handed approach to the Middle East peace process since Jimmy brokered a deal between Egypt and Israel, but things have gotten markedly worse since the Palestinian take over of Gaza. The US views both sides as equivalent, when, realistically, Israel is held to a significantly higher standard of behavior.

WikiLeaked cable from Bob Gates: “Russian democracy has disappeared” | The Cable

2010-11-28T17:31:00.000-08:00

Link

With ex-KGB boss Putin in charge of things, we really would be naive to believe differently. He is huge on the "cult of personality" thing, using television and video to enhance his image at home and abroad...but under everything, he remains an apparatchik who would be as much at home under the old Soviet oligarchy as he is under the present system.

The only thing that ever changes about Russia are the players in charge.

Saudi Arabia urges US attack on Iran to stop nuclear programme | World news | guardian.co.uk

2010-11-28T17:28:00.000-08:00

Link

Interesting. Part of the reason we haven't attacked Iran and destroyed their nuclear capability is that we fear igniting the region. As it turns out, the region is largely in favor of that action. They may not be ginger-peachy happy about the prospect, but a nuclear Iran is unacceptable to them.

As it should be to us.

WikiLeaks Archive — Cables Uncloak U.S. Diplomacy - NYTimes.com

2010-11-28T17:26:00.000-08:00

Link

Sausage and diplomacy: both are disturbing to watch while they are being made.

FT.com / US / Politics & Foreign policy - US tries to limit WikiLeaks damage

2010-11-28T16:59:00.000-08:00

Link

Embarrassing and ridiculous in its scope. Most of the revelations are hardly that incredible, but taken all in all, damaging.

And the administration comes out looking like tools. Again.

North Korea fires artillery barrage on South - Yahoo! News

2010-11-23T15:11:00.000-08:00

Link

Is it finally time to put together a coalition and take these lunatics the hell OUT?

Airport "Security"? by Thomas Sowell on Creators.com - A Syndicate Of Talent

2010-11-23T11:28:00.000-08:00

Link

Thomas Sowell has made a career of questioning conventional wisdom about, well, everything. And he gives the Obama administration a pat-down here and finds...people who richly deserve more than a pat-down.

Lowest ever: Obama job approval sinks to 39%, as even Democrats' support melts away | Top of the Ticket | Los Angeles Times

2010-11-23T11:25:00.000-08:00

Link

It's getting worse for The One, and at a certain point, recovery is no longer possible because people have stopped listening.

We may have already reached that point.

Obama's 2012 re-election prospects uncertain: poll | Reuters

2010-11-22T16:26:00.000-08:00

Link

The president's polls have collapsed. What he has right now are liberals, progressives, and left moderates. The 43% he holds now is the percentage that Bill Clinton won with in 1992....but it took a third party Ross Perot, draining votes from President George HW Bush, to get the Oval Office.

Never mind the 70% approval ratings from early in his presidency; he has lost 10 points off of his 2008 total, and getting that back, and keeping it, might be more than he can accomplish.

George F. Will - The T.S. of A takes control

2010-11-21T13:44:00.000-08:00

Link

Will notes that ordinary Americans don't complain nearly often enough about stupidity, which is true. On the other hand, there are more than enough people who complain about things that are not remotely their business to make up for the lack.

Democrats Learn Nothing in Defeat

2010-11-21T13:39:00.000-08:00

Link

They got beaten, but Democrats are trying to spin the loss as a failure to communicate. Like Strother Martin's warden in "Cool Hand Luke," the failure is not in communication; it is that something else entirely is wanted instead.

Afghan Christian faces trial for alleged conversion from Islam – CNN Belief Blog - CNN.com Blogs

2010-11-21T10:46:00.000-08:00

Link

Conversion is, apparently, a one way deal for Muslims. You can convert to Islam, but if you convert FROM Islam, we will kill you.

TSA has met the enemy — and they are us - Yahoo! News

2010-11-21T10:44:00.000-08:00

Link

My experiences with TSA have been mostly eh, but I understand the annoyance. There is no conceivable reason for grandma to get the kind of scrutiny that an obviously foreign man gets, but it happens regardless because we fear profiling...even though profiling is easier and works better.

Forgiving Michael Vick is not forgetting what he did - ESPN

2010-11-20T13:47:00.000-08:00

Link

Don't get me wrong; I love dogs, too. But if there is a case of someone losing everything in a very public, very embarrassing, and very humiliating way...and coming back to right his wrongs however he can and perform better than he ever did before, I haven't seen it.

Geithner Warns Republicans Against Politicizing the Fed - Bloomberg

2010-11-20T11:32:00.000-08:00

Link

Hysterical. The Fed in this administration is completely politicized, and Geithner has the balls to call for it being non political. Basically, he means that YOU can't make it political, because we are busy being political in OUR direction.

'Food porn' - Is your favorite restaurant on this list? - wtop.com

2010-11-20T11:31:00.000-08:00

Link

What is it going to take to get the Food Nazis to shut up? I understand highlighting caloric intake. I get it. Americans and others in the developed world are too, well, developed. But this sort of thing leads inevitably to deployment of the Food Nannies (like Mayor Bloomberg in New York) who seem to believe that it is their business what people decide to eat.

Lisa DePaulo Interviews Vice President Joe Biden: Politics: GQ

2010-11-20T11:30:00.000-08:00

Link

The VP can flat bring it in conversation. And he usually says things that people call gaffes (which is nothing more than unguarded truth at in opportune moments).

I can't help liking the guy, even though I am politically at a distant variance from him.

Don’t Touch My Junk - Charles Krauthammer - National Review Online

2010-11-19T10:25:00.000-08:00

Link

Agreed. Maybe we are seeing the Revolt of the Sheeple. If so, it's about damned time.

Senate Democrats vent anger with Barack Obama - Glenn Thrush and Manu Raju - POLITICO.com

2010-11-19T09:10:00.000-08:00

Link

Senate Democrats are panic breathing because they face the voters in two years under circumstances unlikely to change a lot in their favor. The president shows no willingness to compromise, and hard left thinks electoral gold is to be found by moving the party further to the edge.

Party pragmatists understand that in a country with 21% self-identification of voters as either "liberal" or "very liberal," moving farther left is death. But they have the same lemming like march to purity that many in the GOP have displayed.

Successful leaders understand that party ideology has to be expansive in order to maximize supporters; the current administration thinks that is spinach and wants none of it.

Carville defiant on Obama comment – CNN Political Ticker - CNN.com Blogs

2010-11-19T09:00:00.000-08:00

Link

Even when I didn't like Carville, I liked Carville. He is partisan as hell, but he is a pretty honest partisan.

Carville's adherence to a very basic in house slogan during the 1992 Clinton campaign kept everyone focused, laser-like, on what could get him elected: "It's the economy, stupid!"

Mr. Obama has forgotten that, to his peril.

Perry says consider military in Mexico

2010-11-19T07:54:00.000-08:00

Link

It sounds kind of insane on the face, but we are probably going to have to consider helping the Mexican government defeat the cartels. SecState Clinton recently referred to the cartels as almost an "insurgency," and having that kind of lawlessness in Mexico is tremendously destabilizing on the border and elsewhere.

I'd rather have our troops humping through Baja than hanging out in Kabul.

Sources: FCC chief to move on net neutrality proposal - Kim Hart - POLITICO.com

2010-11-19T07:50:00.000-08:00

Link

Still trying to figure out how it is that the FCC thinks they are going to get away with it.

A federal court has already ruled that the agency does not have the legal authority to regulate the web. But if you are an official in Obamaland, you can't let silly things like the law get in your way.

Bernanke Takes Aim at China - WSJ.com

2010-11-19T07:47:00.000-08:00

Link

Left unsaid is his real annoyance: if China inflates while we are inflating, then the dollars they hold keep approximately the same value they had before and balance of trade remains roughly the same.

Those cheaters.

Web Censorship Bill Sails Through Senate Committee | Epicenter | Wired.com

2010-11-19T07:43:00.000-08:00

Link

Congress can't get the tax cuts reauthorized or reduce the deficit or reduce the regulatory uncertainty that is paralyzing business, but they are good at passing stuff to help their donors.

Cancer surviving flight attendant told to remove prosthetic brea - WBTV 3 News, Weather, Sports, and Traffic for Charlotte, NC-

2010-11-19T07:38:00.000-08:00

Link

There is a point where caution becomes parody. We have reached it. If we are strip searching airline stewardesses, we have clearly gone too far. Do we honestly think that anyone trying to blow up an airplane is going to try to do it by carrying on explosives anymore? They will do it, if they do it, by putting something in the hold luggage or on the service carts, or by shooting a hand held missile at the thing.

Nearly 1 in 5 Americans had mental illness in 2009 - CNBC

2010-11-19T07:31:00.000-08:00

Link

If you are in a group and you look around and everyone else seems sane, it might be you.

Counsel Recommends Censure in Rangel Ethics Case - CBS News

2010-11-18T14:24:00.000-08:00

Link

Rangel will probably earn a censure, something less than expulsion. It is interesting that, in earning his seat, he defeated Rep.Adam Clayton Powell in a Democratic Primary.

Powell had been expelled from the House subsequent to conviction on charges of corruption in 1967, but he was re-elected to the seat in the special election, won again in 1968, and lost to Rangel in 1970.

The Tao of Moonbeam - NYTimes.com

2010-11-18T08:16:00.000-08:00

Link

Well, let's see what Brown can do with the place. Arnold, in the end, got his ass handed to him repeatedly by the Lege; Brown at least knows how to maneuver in Sacramento.

Personally, I hope he succeeds, but I'm still not going to move there.

Harry Reid: I’m bringing the DREAM Act to the floor — for a standalone vote « Hot Air

2010-11-17T22:33:00.000-08:00

Link

Gotta love them. They lose huge and decide to back another popular loser, just to double down on the fun.

Podesta advises Obama to ignore voters, bypass Congress through agency action « Hot Air

2010-11-17T22:31:00.000-08:00

Link

Had to figure this was next. These people simply cannot comprehend the idea of no meaning NO.

Deficit and taxes: Time to raise taxes on the rich - latimes.com

2010-11-17T22:25:00.000-08:00

Link

It takes an academic to come up with something so damned stupid.

The thing that fueled the early to mid Nineties boom was the evolution of personal computers and the internet. It helped that defense spending dropped precipitously, enabling the government to reallocate resources and close the budget gap. Raising taxes in the midst of a incipient boom is reasonable, to balance a budget; it is insane in the midst of a stagnant recovery.

AP: Murkowski wins Alaska Senate race « Hot Air

2010-11-17T22:20:00.000-08:00

Link

Reminds me of the Lieberman race in Connecticut a couple of years back. Joe got beat in the primary by a raving liberal, and then he ran as an independent in the general and won. Same thing here. Murkowski got beat in the primary but had more than sufficient support to win the general. Winning with a write in campaign is studly, though.

Newsweek Uses Same Excuse for Obama as Carter: Presidency Too Big for One Man | NewsBusters.org

2010-11-17T19:33:00.000-08:00

Link

The presidency always seems too big when it is doing things people don't want done. Again, as the article points out, Reagan handled the presidency with ease; George HW Bush didn't seem to be too out of breath, and George W Bush and Bill Clinton both seemed, at times, to draw strength from the presidency, rather than be diminished by it.

But Obama and Carter can't and couldn't handle it.

I think it says more about Carter and Obama than it says about the presidency.

RealClearPolitics - Does White House Have a 'Message' Problem?

2010-11-17T19:25:00.000-08:00

Link

The problem is not how the message is taken to the people; the problem is the message.

Climate Scientists Strike Back | Mother Jones

2010-11-17T19:23:00.000-08:00

Link

So these scientists think that they need to advocate for their view more than they have been advocating for their view? I'm not sure how that is even possible, but they are going to give it a whirl.

But keep this in mind. Exaggeration and unwillingness to listen to opposing points of view or science that contradicted their predisposition led them to this state. Arrogance and hubris are a bad combination, particularly when someone is trying to convince others that the sky is falling when it is, in fact, not. Warmer does not necessarily mean worse; it does mean different, and the earth has been experiencing different for as long as it has been hurtling around the sun.

Heath Shuler: A Blue Dog Democrat Running Against Nancy Pelosi for Top Dem Job - The Daily Beast

2010-11-17T19:18:00.000-08:00

Link

Well, Nancy ain't going and the Dems ain't forcing her out. Which is great news for the Reps. The get to run against her again. W00t!

RealClearPolitics - The Tax Rate Racket

2010-11-17T19:17:00.000-08:00

Link

I wish I could say "duh" to this story, but I can't. I know this. Mr. Murchison knows it. But most taxpayers don't, and the professional left does not want them to. The "rich" already pay a disproportionate share of all taxes.

Pleasures of reading Christopher Hitchens--Christopher Caldwell - NYPOST.com

2010-11-16T17:26:00.000-08:00

Link

Hitchens is a pleasure to read, even if...especially if...you disagree with him. He makes his case in such a way, literate, erudite and witty, that you learn something interesting or entertaining, even if, at the end, you still disagree vehemently.

These days, I find I disagree less often, but I am just as entertained. ANd he needs to stick around a LOT longer. God knows we need his like, and are not likely to have them again.

The big disconnect: D.C. elites think Obama will be reelected, but the public doubts it - Mark Penn - POLITICO.com

2010-11-16T17:18:00.000-08:00

Link

I've been saying this for months: the president is not remotely a lock for re-election. He won, under the most interesting string of lucky events, in 2008. He can't count on another crisis that already has a scapegoat, a weak opponent, and a tremendously divisive and unpopular incumbent...someone other than him, I mean.

Given ALL of that, plus the cachet of being the first black president, plus a $300 million cash advantage over his opponent...he still won only 53%.

Two years ago, Republicans upset with Bush gave him a chance. Independents gave him a chance. Students turned out because of the movement nature of his appeal. Women voted for him solidly, as did minorities.

He might be lucky to get McCain's 46% in two years.

Charlie Rangel Found Guilty on 11 Counts of Ethics Violations - The Daily Beast

2010-11-16T17:11:00.000-08:00

Link

I like Rangel. I find pragmatic and endlessly entertaining. And Beinart, whom I usually find tedious or simply annoying, is dead on here. Rangel is a throwback to what Democratic politics used to be, not what they are now.

And it is sad to see that go. I mean, I liked Tip O'Neill, too, and if there was a more partisan Democrat than he was, I can't recall him.

RealClearPolitics - A Stunned and Dispirited Base

2010-11-12T07:53:00.000-08:00

Link

The problem Robinson does not address is a simple one. About 21% of the population identifies as either "liberal" (16%) or "very liberal" (5%) according to Gallup. About 40% of the public identifies themselves as either "conservative" (31%) or "very conservative" (9%). This leaves a balance of Americans who self-identify as "moderate" (35%). Progressives can probably be categorized in the "very liberal" slot, and while they are undoubtedly upset with what they believe to be a capitulation to the center by the Democratic party, they are missing the point. After the last two years, Democrats in general are seen as liberal, and if you look at the poll again, that would point to a desperate problem; they can't get elected as a liberal party. 21% of the population is not going to get you there. Republicans have a similar problem if they drift too far to the right, but they begin with a 19% larger ideological base, and 10% plus one is a much lower hurdle to electoral success than 29% plus one.

Robinson may not like it and progressives may be confused and angry, but they are marginal to election, frankly, and the Democrats have to move back towards the center to stay viable as a party.

Peggy Noonan: Home

2010-11-12T07:39:00.000-08:00

Link

Republicans in the past have shown the ability to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory. I hope they renounce that as an operating principle this year. The Democrats have committed political hiri kiri, and Republicans should neither drive them to the emergency room for treatment nor join them in the gut cutting.

Kim Strassel: Bush Agonistes? Not Quite - WSJ.com

2010-11-09T20:03:00.000-08:00

Link

Say whatever you want; taken all in all, I'd rather have Bush as president than Obama. Bush was persuadable, but resolute; Obama is ideologically set, but malleable.

In this world, malleable gets walked all over.

Pelosi: After 'productive' Congress, fight for jobs goes on - USATODAY.com

2010-11-09T19:53:00.000-08:00

Link

Madame Speaker, spin it however you want: the fact remains that the majority of the American people think you and your party overreached tremendously, and have spent money like drunken sailors on shore leave.

You managed, in two short years, to make the profligate Republican Congress from 2000 through 2006 look positively miserly, and took a president with approval ratings in the 70s downhill abruptly into the low 40s.

As Oliver Cromwell, with similar exasperation, said to Parliament in 1653: "You have sat too long for any good you have been doing lately ... Depart, I say; and let us have done with you. In the name of God, go!"

Abu-Jamal case back before Philadelphia court - Yahoo! News

2010-11-09T19:46:00.000-08:00

Link

There has to be a point where stupid stops. This case has been adjudicated repeatedly, and the only doubts about the verdict occur only within the feverish brains of his supporters. We are now re-sdjudicating his sentencing hearing. Not whether he is guilty; whether the sentence he got was just.

This case is turning into a criminal version of Jarndyce v. Jarndyce. Abu-Jamal killed Officer Faulkner. He was convicted, and his conviction has been repeatedly upheld. He went to jail. He should never be allowed to leave jail.

Any questions?

Goldberg: The bashing of American exceptionalism - latimes.com

2010-11-09T19:34:00.000-08:00

Link

The infuriating thing to me about people who deny American exceptionalism is that they do it within the context of the freest society ever conceived of by mankind. In terms of sheer freedom of action, upward mobility, and political flexibility, no other country on earth is, or ever has been, close.

That simple.

The 2010 Midterms: How Barack Obama Was Undone By His Own Brand Of Social Movement Politics. | The New Republic

2010-11-09T15:59:00.000-08:00

Link

Sean Wilentz. Worth a read.

President Obama should fight, not surrender - USATODAY.com

2010-11-09T15:57:00.000-08:00

Link

Dear President Obama:

Please listen to this columnist and do not moderate your views. Fight for progressivism and tout it from the streetcorners if you have to.

And when you get the 40% of the country that generally holds your views when you are running for re-election and lose the other 60%, you will have my profound thanks.

And those of everyone to the right of you and yours.

Thanks!

Stopping Judicial Imperialism - Thomas Sowell - National Review Online

2010-11-09T10:00:00.000-08:00

Link

Word.

Dana Milbank - Would we be better off under a President Hillary Clinton?

2010-11-07T11:26:00.000-08:00

Link

I'm not a huge Hillary fan, because, at heart, she is more liberal than Bill and a good deal more progressive than she lets on. But. She is also a political realist and has been around the block a few times. And she was successful in Congress.

I have no doubt that the Democratic party would be better off with her as standard bearer. And, given the choice, so would the country.

Democrats in denial

2010-11-07T11:19:00.000-08:00

Link

George Will doesn't miss very often, and he is dead on target here. The Democrats survived the midterm elections. Merely survived. They did not thrive, and were amazingly lucky not to have had a worse beating. If they don't learn the midterm lesson, they will lose the presidency and the Senate next time out.

Dissecting the 2010 Midterm Election Exit Polls - NYTimes.com

2010-11-07T11:05:00.000-08:00

Link

As a former GOP VP candidate once put it: "How is that hopey-changey thing working for you?"

Why I quit... Desert Storm vet explains decision to leave Air Force after 22 years - Daily Inter Lake: Home - The Daily Inter Lake

2010-11-07T07:31:00.000-08:00

Link

Agreed, noted and posted.

Obama calls for compromise, won't budge on tax cuts - TheHill.com

2010-11-06T09:06:00.000-07:00

Link

Ok, this is hysterical. Obama calls for compromise on re-enacting the Bush era tax cuts, and then says that HE won't budge. I was unaware that compromise was a unilateral thing; I kind of thought it meant that BOTH sides moved to the middle and found common ground.

This is the same sort of compromise he has wanted from the Republicans the last two years: total capitulation.

Barack Obama's response: That tin ear | The Economist

2010-11-05T09:28:00.000-07:00

Link

The president thinks the public was wrong, not that he must correct his course.

Two schools of governance collide here. One says that the officeholder must do what he or she thinks is right, and take the consequences if it does not work or the public does not like it. The other school thinks that the politician must ascertain what the majority of the electorate wants, and then strive to achieve that.

President Obama is the former type, and he avoided the consequences because he was not up for election. Nevertheless, the public sent him a message as to its concerns and desires. He will ignore it at his political peril.

Charles Krauthammer - A return to the norm

2010-11-05T09:24:00.000-07:00

Link

Another homer.

Dead right. What this election did was sweep away the Democratic gains of the last two elections, and not much more than that. As he puts it, America is governed between the 40 yard lines.

Pete Rouse Plots Comeback for Obama Administration - NYTimes.com

2010-11-05T08:46:00.001-07:00

Link

A reorganization in the White House is a good idea. They might start by bringing in more grown ups and people who have worked for a living.

Pete Rouse Plots Comeback for Obama Administration - NYTimes.com

2010-11-05T08:46:00.000-07:00

Link

A reorganization in the White House is a good idea. They might start by bringing in more grown ups and people who have worked for a living.

Indebted and Unrepentant by Fred Siegel, City Journal 3 November 2010

2010-11-05T08:41:00.000-07:00

Link

California, even more than New York, is a mudslide or earthquake away from being Greece. They are proof of the old Heinlein adage that if the public can, they will vote themselves bread and circuses, for awhile...until the money runs out.

And the money is, basically, gone. Have fun with that.

Peggy Noonan: Home

2010-11-05T08:35:00.001-07:00

Link

Ok. As usual, Peggy hits it. Home run.

Peggy Noonan: Home

2010-11-05T08:35:00.000-07:00

Link

Ok. As usual, Peggy hits it. Home run.

Obama Can Pursue Ambitious Agenda Without Congress's Help

2010-11-05T08:08:00.000-07:00

Link

You had to figure that this was the next step. If you can't convince Congress anymore to give you the sort of powers and legislation you want, create them out of whole cloth through regulation.

Never mind that much of what the administration wants to pursue in a regulatory sense will inevitably be challenged in the courts or reversed by the next Republican in the White House (one hopes in 2012). But in the meantime, all hell is about to break loose.

This president has the arrogance and certitude of your average fifteen year old that what he wants to do is that what which must be done.

Man Up, America! | The Magazine | Vanity Fair

2010-11-05T08:01:00.000-07:00

Link

Another elitist missing the point. All they see is the anger and disillusionment, and fail to see the cause.

People do not want government to have more power, not really. They do not want government to spend on wars with no observable point to them. And they certainly do not want to pay more in taxes of whatever kind. Bush lost the public with his spending and the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, while Obama has lost support among people who are genuinely afraid of his spending and the unprecedented expansion of government power.

We are not "hormonal teenagers." We are people genuinely concerned that the America we grew up in is not the one we will leave to our children. It will, in fact, be demonstrably poorer, demonstrably less free, and a very great deal less open to the dreams of our ambitious youth.

Unless we stop the madness.

Employers add 151K jobs, first gain since May - Yahoo! Finance

2010-11-05T07:56:00.000-07:00

Link

The first, tiny bright spot in quite awhile.

But not nearly enough.

President Barack Obama On 60 Minutes Acknowledges He's Failed To Deliver His Message CBS New York – News, Sports, Weather, Traffic and the Best of NY

2010-11-05T07:55:00.000-07:00

Link

This is total crap. He spent all spring and summer out trying to sell Obamacare and the stimulus, and the more he talked the less people wanted it. I love how he talks about "[m]aking an argument that people can understand." Incredible. If that isn't disconnect, I don't know what is.

No, Mr. President. The problem isn't that we didn't understand you. The problem is that what you were selling is not what we wanted.

Stu Bykofsky: Olbermann fair? O'Reilly balanced? What we found | Philadelphia Daily News | 11/04/2010

2010-11-04T13:36:00.000-07:00

Link

I knew that Olbermann generally refuses to give face time to opposing viewpoints, but even I though he did so more often than this. And I also knew O'Reilly often brings on people who disagree, if only to try and run circles around them. But in terms of balance, O'Reilly by a landslide.

Morning Jay: Special “Bruce Banner Versus The Incredible Hulk” Edition! | The Weekly Standard

2010-10-26T23:11:00.000-07:00

Link

Examining the Gallup "Traditional" polling model reveals striking results. Currently, absent unprecedented midterm turnout strongly favoring the Democrats, possible Republican gains in the House could range anywhere between a low of 50 to a high somewhere upwards of 80.

Results like that could leave the Democrats out of power for a generation.

Marc A. Thiessen - The roots of Obama's demise

2010-10-26T21:58:00.000-07:00

Link

Exactly. For all of the early talk about compromise, the president really didn't want anything to do with it. And with his majorities, he didn't need to.

And he will probably never understand that the oncoming Democratic wipeout is largely his fault. But his party knows, and will remember.

And so will the Tea Parties and the GOP.

Can’t Keep a Bad Idea Down - NYTimes.com

2010-10-26T21:47:00.000-07:00

Link

Filled with straw men. Extending the Bush tax cuts is in the cards because NO politician wants to be seen as raising taxes for the middle class and everyone else at a time of ugly economic news. And there is this: if the GOP were advocating a return to the exact policies enacted by Congress and President Bush, he might have a point. But they are not. Besides, one could just as easily remark, using his same logic, that the policies of the Democratic Congress and President Obama resemble in large part the same deficit spending and policies put in place by FDR in 1934-35 that reignited unemployment during the Great Depression and halted the recovery.

Smug Democrats - The Boston Globe

2010-10-26T21:40:00.000-07:00

Link

If it comforts them to think of voters as stupid, by all means think it and say it loudly. And while they spend the next twelve years in political exile, they might want to reflect upon one salient fact: people generally vote for politicians who share their views.

Minnick, Labrador race close - Spokesman.com - Oct. 26, 2010

2010-10-26T21:31:00.000-07:00

Link

Walt Minnick might be one of the few Democrats who ought to win, based on his votes, but, apparently, might not.
Idaho House One is solidly GOP, and Minnick defeated Bill Sali, a Republican that other Republicans hated, for the seat two years ago. He wasn't lucky enough to draw another jerk this time.

Clinton: US has no problem with Bushehr atomic plant

2010-10-26T20:49:00.000-07:00

Link

Not being able to do something about it is not the same as being sanguine about it. Almost certainly, the plant will produce material which will be shipped to Iranian factories for enhancement and enrichment.

Nice to know that the administration is consistent in its foreign policy. I'd prefer that they be consistently smart, but at least they are predictable.

Syria spurns U.S. bid to mend ties - Haaretz Daily Newspaper | Israel News

2010-10-26T20:45:00.000-07:00

Link

Why should Assad want closer ties with the US? He has no reason to fear us, and lots of reason to fear Hizbollah and Iran.

Elton John interview - Telegraph

2010-10-26T11:48:00.000-07:00

Link

One of the better interviews I have run across in quite some time. And Elton, for all of his flamboyance in performance, is a devastatingly honest and colorful man. Worth a read.

Democrats' electoral wipeout--John Podhoretz - NYPOST.com

2010-10-26T11:02:00.000-07:00

Link

Agreed. There isn't anything out there that can affect this nationwide. There might be some movement on particular margins, but the broad themes are set. This is going to be a tsunami. The only question is who it sweeps away as it goes back out to sea.

American Thinker: Vivian Schiller and the Party Line at NPR

2010-10-26T10:58:00.000-07:00

Link

Who in Hell is Vivian Schiller, and what kind of noxious bullshit is she up to at NPR and otherwise?

NPR CEO Vivian Schiller Key Architect of FCC Govt Takeover of the News - Tara Servatius - Townhall Conservative

2010-10-26T10:35:00.000-07:00

Link

Not surprising that the CEO of NPR is also pushing hard for publicly financed media. Wonderful. From the same people who brought you Obamacare, here is the news.

Anne Applebaum - Jon Stewart's march is no laughing matter

2010-10-26T08:53:00.000-07:00

Link

This may be one of the most profound calls for moderation that I have heard in many a moon. And she is entirely correct: people who demonize their opponents are basically saying that they are not serious about getting anything done. The US system is constructed of checks and balances, and governing is meant to be hard work.

New feature on Fresh Snark!

2010-10-25T17:12:00.001-07:00

For those of you who have been beside yourselves, waiting for the opportunity to comment without having to comment, I introduce the new, improved Snarkfest.

At the bottom of each post, you are given the opportunity to give a quick "Like," "Dislike," or "What the Hell?" I figure that any feedback is better than none, and if I can get a tiny bit of help directionally, I can find more stuff that you, gentle reader, are interested in.

Or, I can look at it, ignore the results, and do precisely what I was doing before.

Haven't made up my mind yet. But either way, the option is there.

Knock your socks off.

60 Minutes Shock Report: National Unemployed and Underemployed 17.5%; California 22% - Big Government

2010-10-25T11:43:00.000-07:00

Link

Any other questions? The question isn't "Are we are going to see different leadership in the next Congress?"...it's "Why was the defeat SO big?"

This report from 60 Minutes is as good a reason as any for the scope of the upcoming asskicking.

Falling Into the Economic Chasm - NYTimes.com

2010-10-25T09:32:00.000-07:00

Link

As usual, Krugman steps on his argument. If you are looking at the necessity of a stimulus, the last thing you want is one that fails to stimulate. Throwing money out of the mint at anything that you could possibly spend money on is not a policy; it is idiocy. And insisting that it was not enough is more idiocy. Doing the same thing again but more of it is insanity. Rather, examine the reasons why banks, flush with cash, have failed to loan and why businesses, also with full coffers, have failed to hire. It comes down to economic variables such as: what will Obamacare cost us? What will we be responsible for under the new financial regulation regime? What will the tax rate be? And, most importantly, what is each new employee going to cost to hire?

NOVACK: Remember Obamacare in November - Washington Times

2010-10-22T06:55:00.000-07:00

Link

Read it.