Obama spent today's weekly radio address trying to sell the soap on health care. Why? It's fairly clear that the Democratic Party Health Care Bill/Law has not gained the long predicted support. Obama talks about handing out $250 "donut hole" checks for Medicare drug prescriptions (isn't that a grand idea while you're running a $1.6T federal deficit?). In the meanwhile, the Cracker Jack promises Speaker Pelosi was promising us hidden among 2700 pages of text turn out to be things were steep charges made by public companies to reflect loss of tax exclusions for providing prescription drug benefits to retirees and reports some major companies are seriously considering dropping their health insurance and paying the employer tax penalty, which is much cheaper. No wonder why the latest Allstate/National Journal Heartland Monitor poll shows just 39% would reelect Obama.
Not the Year for Incumbents
Earlier this week, Congressman David Obey (D-WI), who has served since 1969, announced his resignation; no doubt attracting his first tough GOP challenger in years was a factor. Today three-term Senator Bob Bennett (R-UT) failed to place on the primary ballot for this fall's election campaign; he is best known for being the GOP sponsor of a bipartisan healthcare bill alternative last year. Even Arlen Specter (D-PA), who changed parties in the face of a certain defeat for renomination, now finds himself edged by Congressman Sestak for the first time in the campaign in one poll.
And although Senator McCain (R-AZ) has consistently maintained a reasonable lead above former Congressman JD Hayworth, a strident anti-immigration conservative, he has also attracted three Democrats to run against him, a troubling development just 2 years after being the Presidential nominee, entirely too close for comfort. Another indication of his political vulnerability is the fact that he has not taken a prominent role this session on the issues of immigration and climate change.
There are some exceptions of course, like long-term Texas Governor Rick Perry who ran an interesting outsider campaign against Senator Hutchinson for renomination, and former Indiana Senator Dan Coats, just renominated to recapture his old seat, being vacated by a retiring Senator Bayh.
I have mixed feelings about the anti-incumbency mood by the Tea Party people. They are pushing people like Marco Rubio in Florida to stand up against Obama. The problem is not the rhetoric but leadership, political courage, and the ability to negotiate; it's not enough to say you're against excessive spending--the devil is in the details. As soon as you mention a target to cut, you'll attract instant enemies, from federal bureaucrats to industries or special interest groups. I will give Marco Rubio props for his willingness to talk about entitlement program reform, a brave stand for a prominent retirement destination state like Florida. He has to be very careful because the Democrats have been bashing the GOP for decades over entitlement reform.
The GOP should not be overconfident over the mid-terms; the British Conservatives' failure to win an outright majority in Parliament this week makes that clear. Any improvement in the economy will be cited by Democrats as "proof" their counterproductive economic policies are working. Nearly 300K new jobs in the latest statistics is encouraging (although several thousands of these are temporary Census jobs). This is a start, but given the loss of about 8M jobs and 2.5 years since the start of the recession, all with the Democrats in control of Congress, the Republicans have to focus on the fact the recovery is occurring in spite of Democratic efforts, not because of them.
Political Cartoon
Lisa Benson mocks the spin the progressives have put on the failed Time Square bomb attempt. Liberal hearts bleed for a terrorist whom has lost his job, his house, and is having marital problems (after all, doesn't everyone affected by this tough economy resort to mass murder?) Heaven forbid we should treat treat a native Pakistani whom vacations in west Pakistan training camps and is a penpal to a radical Islamic cleric any differently than a Tea Party grandma. And, oh yes, the terror plot and getaway were thwarted; you see, that's how the SUV came to be abandoned near Time Square without being stopped or even capturing the face of the drivers. The reason why you have security lines and checklists is to lull a terrorist into a false sense of security so he'll call his contacts from the airplane before taking off.
Quote of the Day
Love is like the sea, it's a moving thing; but still it takes its shape from the shore it meets and it's different with every shore.
Zora Neale Hurston
Musical Interlude: Hero Songs
Enrique Iglesias, "Hero"
Mariah Carey, "Hero"
David Bowie, "Heroes"
Tina Turner, "We Don't Need Another Hero"
