Jeremy Mayer @ Politico wins Oxymoronic Quote of the Day for this entry:
"... it is, at its core, anti-republican and nepotistic for a citizen to gain access to formal power via blood or marriage....
For now, the White House knows that [Michelle] Obama is an extraordinarily popular voice for the president’s policies. It would be foolish not to deploy her, now and on the campaign trail in 2012. We can only hope that she avoids a HillaryCare fiasco with her policy input."
Even after admitting - in writing - that it would be "anti-republican and nepotistic," Mayer still suggests further legitimizing and empowering the "policy input" of the First Lady.
Wikipedia explains:
In modern political science, republicanism refers to a specific ideology that is based on civic virtue and is considered distinct from ideologies such as liberalism.
This is why our universities - and indeed, our entire country - are in such deep, deep trouble. Unfortunately, we are all apt to get what Mayer wants ... and what he and his ilk deserve.
While most on the Left continue to believe that Moses brought The New York Times down from the mountain carved into stone tablets - and right-wingers think it emanates from Hell - the Times remains a barometer, a point of reference, across the board.
Plus, Omri still reads it. See his commentary on Krugman's latest:
The Rasmussen Reports daily Presidential Tracking Poll for Tuesday shows that [only] 31% of the nation's voters now Strongly Approve of the way that Barack Obama is performing his role as President.
Thirty-three percent (33%) Strongly Disapprove, giving Obama a Presidential Approval Index rating of -2.
That matches the lowest level yet recorded (see trends). Over the past two weeks, the Presidential Approval Index has stayed in a narrow range between +2 and -2.
Fifty-seven percent (57%) of Democrats Strongly Approve while 60% of Republicans Strongly Disapprove.
Now I know John Boehner is not the most inspiring speaker (West Virginians would attribute this to the fact that he's from a flat state). He does stumble a bit, and maybe his facts and figures tend to put you to sleep. Personally, I think he should be screaming bloody murder -- murder, because the Obamatons are killing jobs, they're killing the depth and breadth and engine of the American economy, they're killling our energy security, not to mention our Constitution, our rule of law, our democratic process and our liberty. And in foreign policy, they're trying to kill our integral alliances as well.
And if there's any power for the good left alive anywhere, they're usurping it!
But if you can't handle all that, then just handle this: We've lost nearly three million jobs this year. Under Cap and Trade, we will lose at least that many jobs every year for decades to come.
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Maybe you think this pro-Israel blog has gone off the mark, that I talk too much about American politics, the economy and ew-dirty coal, but I have become convinced that this president and his followers in Congress are the greatest threat to Israel's security on the planet, outside of Iranian nukes.
There's not a whole lot we can do about those nukes, but there is a LOT we can do about this Congress... and it's all local. We can reign in their power locally, because their power still resides in the people they are supposed to represent. So that's where I've taken my fight, to the grassroots level.
If America is ever to return to its former greatness OR to its longstanding alliance in good faith with Israel and the Jewish people all over the world, then it seems to me we must first Stop Obama. And if we can't stop him, then we need to put him on a very short leash for the remainder of his presidency.
"Legitimacy obviously is in the eyes of the people."
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Obviously.
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So while we wait for the minds of the people to wake up to what their eyes are seeing, all we can do is hasten the day when Obama's "slavish devotion to his radical ideological agenda will ensure that his failures" - both domestic and foreign-policy - "reach a critical mass" ... and "sink him."
If you don't want Big-G Government controlling everything from your electric bill to your x-rays, and running nearly HALF the economy (think Amtrak and the Post Office) -- then you'd better stand up and fight right now, because later it could be too late.
As far as I know, we have not relinquished the Republic. In America, people run the government, not the other way around.
We will have liberty, not tyranny. We will see political power subjected to the proper checks and balances. We will see the rule of law enforced and we will tolerate no corruption among our elected officials. We will cling to the Constitution, and we will see it upheld. We will support democracy and the cause of freedom in the world, not dictators and terrorists. We will be worthy of the good faith of our allies.
We will start at Cap and Trade. If you're in West Virginia, learn more and get involved at
What forces lead to democracy's creation? Why does it sometimes consolidate only to collapse at other times?
Written by two of the foremost authorities on this subject in the world, this volume ... revolutionizes scholarship on the factors underlying government and popular movements toward democracy or dictatorship.
Daron Acemoglu and James Robinson argue that different social groups prefer different political institutions because of the way they allocate political power and resources.
Rasmussen: Thirty-seven percent (37 %) of women Strongly Approve [of the way that Barack Obama is performing his role as President] ... [vs] 28 % of men.
Sixty-two percent (62 %) of Democrats offer that positive an assessment while 56 % of Republicans Strongly Disapprove...
Other bits of interest:
Nationally, only 9 % of consumers rate the U.S. economy as good or excellent... most (56 %) give the economy a poor rating.
Among investors, 10 % rate the economy as good or excellent.... Nearly half (49 %) rate the economy poorly.
Fifty-five percent (55 %) believe decisions made by business leaders to help their own companies grow will do more to improve the economy than decisions made by government leaders.
Mr. Obama linked the energy and health care fights, saying that major revisions in both were necessary because “everybody knows what we’re doing isn’t working.”
Lest you think Obama was admitting mistakes, it's clear from the rest of the report that what he meant was something more along the lines of "We Still Hate Bush, Don't We, Guys? Yeaahhh."
His reasoning seems to be that since we don't want to do what Bush did, we should use Cap and Trade to destroy industry, free market capitalism and West Virginia to boot (though he may have to repackage it slightly before it hits the Senate).
So what did Bush do? Someone once suggested that "Sometimes it helps to get a longer view on current events." This is one of those times. Flashback:
I'm not very knowledgeable about economic matters, but yesterday the big economic story was that during the third quarter, our economy grew at an annualized rate of 7.2% , described by CNBCas "a simply stellar number."
The NPR reporter I heard said simply "this is good news for the Bush administration."
Isn't it good news for the entire country? Instead of welcoming favorable economic news, NPR seems to mourn it! They would rather see the economy, and maybe even the the country, go down the toilet -- just to vindicate their Bush-hatred. Now, how sick is that?
Headlines around that time (Oct. 2003, just two years after 9/11) went like this:
Democrats doubt Bush's credibility ... Democrats challenge Bush's credibility ... Democrats attack Bush record ... lash Bush 'lunacy'... hammer Bush on Iraq ... rap Bush's postwar planning ... boycott Bush's nominee ... slam Bush ... bash Bush ... charge Bush ... blocking Bush ... rip Bush ... target Bush ... hit Bush ... blast Bush ... criticize Bush ... grill Bush ... welcome Bush's fall in polls ... call Bush a liar ... lambaste Bush ...
Love and hate notwithstanding, I'd settle for 7.2% growth right about now, wouldn't you?
