- Mort Zuckerman,"Obama is Barely Treading Water." You know when White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs made headlines over the weekend by acknowledging that the GOP could recapture the House this fall, the Dems are in trouble. Despite various acts of stupidity by the GOP (Barton's public apology to BP, Steele's poorly-phrased critique of Obama on Afghanistan, Rand Paul's critique of the 1964 Civil Rights Act, Mark Kirk's decision to exaggerate his legitimate military record, etc.), the Republicans are winning largely by default. You would think that the GOP should focus bring up legitimate economic security--shrinking retirement accounts, insolvent public pensions and entitlements, businesses not hiring because of a uncertain business environment and increased government-related costs. Then there's the explosive, ineffectual spending and the regulatory failures of the banks, AIG, and the GSE's (not to mention the BP failure) which happened while Democrats were in charge of Congressional and/or Obama Administration oversight. The mid-terms odd are not in Obama's favor::
Today, his speeches cannot lift him past a 45 percent approval rating...There is no change they can believe in. Sixty-two percent believe we are headed in the wrong direction —a record during this administration ...Republicans are benefiting not because they have a credible or popular program—they don't—but because they are not Democrats...By a margin of almost two to one, Americans would rather vote for a candidate with no experience than for an incumbent...The financial security that was once based on home equity and a pension has been swept away...Some 25 million jobless or underemployed people now wish to work full time, but few companies are ready to hire. No speech is going to change that....Historically, presidents with approval ratings below 50 percent—Obama is at 45—lose an average of 41 House seats in midterm elections...Obama's rise has been spectacular, but so too has been his fall.
- John Ellis, "Is Palin Cranking Up 2012 Campaign?". After I wrote yesterday's post on a similar theme, I was interested in seeing the RealClearPolitics writer's take on the subject. I will save you the effort of reading the piece, he thinks that Palin is a lock on a plurality in the Iowa straw poll, based on capturing a dominant share of mama grizzlies and maybe a third of men, he concedes New Hampshire to Romney, and then thinks South Carolina (and the rest of the country) will never vote for a Mormon. He agrees that the last thing the establishment GOP wants is Palin on the 2012 ticket, but he thinks by the time they start taking her seriously, she'll have won the nomination by stealth. Because, he feels, Palin is whom the common Repuiblican likes. You have got to be kidding. Ellis doesn't raise the key issues up: (1) Sarah Palin is a quitter, with numerous scandals during just over 2.5 years as governor. (2) Sarah Palin has the highest unfavorables of any national ticket candidate over the past 40 years; the bottom line is that Republicans will elect who they think they think has a chance of winning. Sarah Palin makes the reelection of Obama a lock. The GOP gave failed nominee Nixon a second chance in the aftermath of Goldwater's massive defeat. I seriously don't think that Republicans want a rerun of the last election, which ended badly. If Palin is on the 2012 ballot, I'll either vote for a third party (e.g., Libertarian) or write in my own name. As for Romney: I think Romney is going to have to deal with the health care issue. But after 4 years of a man with no business or administrative experience botching the job as President, Romney has the look and feel of a legitimate President, has won in a blue state and has legitimate administrative credits including the success of the Salt Lake City Games. I'm not endorsing Romney yet; I'm also a big fan of Mitch Daniels and am intrigued by the idea of Newt Gingrich testing the waters. Romney, Daniels and Gingrich can easily more than hold their own against Obama in debates, but Sarah Palin is like a Katie Couric moment waiting to happen again. You know it's going to happen; you just don't know when or where.
For Shame, GOP Trust!
George W. Bush, after 9/11, eloquently argued that millions of patriotic and loyal Muslim Americans should not be scapegoated for the crimes against humanity by Al Qaeda terrorists. I am not going to embed the controversial ad, which is a red meat attack against a group of Muslims wanting to build a mosque near Ground Zero. It's bad enough people have used the Arizona Immigration Law as a facade to rationalize their xenophobia. Whereas I've been critical of immigration enforcement efforts, the vast majority of Latinos I've worked and studied with are honorable, religious, hard-working people. Political ads that attempt to manipulate people's emotions, playing on fear, uncertainty and doubt are unworthy of the GOP. I call on Michael Steele to reject this ad explicitly.
Political Cartoon
Walt Handelsman shows the consequences of an ill-focused, scattershot Obama Administration.
Quote of the Day
Great spirits have always encountered violent opposition from mediocre minds.
Albert Einstein
Musical Interlude: Chart Hits of 1992
Elton John, "The One" co-favorite Elton John song with "Blessed"
Charles & Eddie, "Would I Lie to You"
Madonna, "Used To Be My Playground"
U2, "One"
Celine Dion, "If You Asked Me To" my favorite Patti LaBelle song!
