Quote of the Day
When the effective leader is finished with his work, the people say it happened naturally.
Lao Tse
A few years ago, Americans did something that was, actually, very much the sort of thing Americans like to do: We gave someone new a chance to lead; someone we hadn’t known for very long, who didn’t have much of a record but promised to lead us to a better place.
Barack Obama has failed America. When he took office, the economy was in recession. He made it worse. And he made it last longer...It breaks my heart to see what’s happening in this country... Mr. President, you’ve had your chance. We, the people on this farm, and citizens across the country are the ones who are just getting started.
Trump, Palin and FNC: Axis of the Fringe
Greta Van Susteren - Donald Trump Interview 6/01/11
Where do you start? I don't take any pleasure out of writing another rant against Donald Trump or Sarah Palin. But, alas, when they shoot off their mouths and nobody else is going to point out the emperor is wearing no clothes, I will step up.
Every time you think Trump can't possibly say something more outrageous and disagreeable, he manages to top himself. Let me address a few points.
- Trump keeps repeating that he was leading the polls with Huckabee. This is provably false hype. On a minority of polls, he led or co-led. But in the majority of polls, he was trailing badly, even into the single-digits of support around the time he withdrew. Moreover, during the whole time period of his prospective candidacy, I never saw a poll where he closed to within single digits of President Obama. He has extremely high negatives, like Sarah Palin.
- Trump made repeated references to the possibility, if not likelihood, that he could enter the Presidential race as an independent (and in fact thinks he could win in a 3-way race). This is exactly what he said he wouldn't do--keep in mind he's repeatedly said in the fact that he would never do that because he thought , in his own mind, his entry into the race will automatically throw the election to Obama, but now he says in this interview he can see himself winning in a 3-way race. I'll leave it to others to distinguish between hype and delusion. He's no Ross Perot (whom actually led Clinton and Bush in some early polls). I don't see him winning any state under any circumstances. Could he throw the election to Obama? I think it depends on the state and also the economy.
- Trump's decision to renew Celebrity Apprentice for next television season versus compete for the Republican nomination was, after all, a smart business decision, even for a billionaire like himself. But he'll have plenty of time to run for President a year from now (because everyone knows how successful third-party runs at the White House have been). Can't you just see it now? "This is a special alert: from the White House, here's President Trump." "Thanks, everybody. I have something really, really important to tell you, but first a word from our sponsor, the People's Republic of China..." (I bet he tries to hire American Idol host Ryan Seacrest, whose teases the contestant elimination decision before breaking to the umpteenth commercial are infamous, as his Press Secretary...) Running for the highest position in this country is a full-time job; Trump must think that adding millions more dollars to his personal wealth that he'll never spend is a higher priority than seriously debating the issues this country is facing is a winning strategy with most voters whom can't afford to live in his properties or play on his golf courses... Nothing quite speaks to the American dream than the idle rich trying to buy the Presidency in their spare time...
- Trump famously hints of his entry if the Republicans elect a "stiff". Greta tries to follow up and gets nowhere. Most conservative blogs are speculating which candidate Trump means: charisma-challenged Romney or Pawlenty. Hmmm. This is so hard; it hurts my head... Romney. There are a number of reasons, but the obvious one is the fact that Trump openly compared himself to Romney, noting he is a "better" businessman, because he is a billionaire and Romney is just a millionaire. (Romney would never say this on his own, but I would have said something like, "Well, you know Donald, I've had a lot of experience fixing troubled companies. Maybe I could have helped you deal with your bankruptcy a couple of years back..." Come on, Mitt. Everyone knows what should have happened in all 4 of the Donald's bankruptcies would have been to fire the CEO... ) Trump also indicates "the stiff"'s nomination is likely; Pawlenty has yet to place near the top in any of the polls. There may also be even a silly rivalry underlying this like the famous NY Yankee-Boston Red Sox rivalry. Trump is a well-known Yankee fan, while Romney during today's address reminds the Yankees they aren't a "dynasty".
- Trump trashes Paul Ryan and accuses him of being politically naive (i.e., should have let Obama come out first) and all but handing the Democrats a road back next year to regaining the House. This has to be one of the most shallow pieces of political analysis I've ever heard. First of all, the Democrats controlled both Houses of Congress from 2007 through 2010 and did not attempt to fix either major entitlement (social security and Medicare); we know that both programs have unfunded liabilities that measure in the trillions of dollars. Obama has failed to lead; Mr. Trump, do you think Obama is thinking any further than 2016? Why would he propose something that could undermine his standing with senior citizens, a key constituency, even more before next year's election? What the Democrats did was far more risky--they were mandating unlikely cuts--from providers not to shore up Medicare but to fund a new ObamaCare entitlement. Second, the NY-26 race was unusual in a manner of respects: the GOP nominated the wrong candidate and mishandled the Medicare issue (just like NY-23 over a year back), and there was a pseudo-Tea Party candidate, a party-hopping candidate whom ran 3 times for the Dem nomination for the same seat. The fact that Trump is beating up on a Republican he would have to deal with as a President shows Trump's lack of perspective; why deal with entitlements? If you don't fix entitlements sooner or later, the country will be bankrupt, and it's cheaper to fix sooner.
As for Palin's predictable attack of Romney over his health care reform's mandate in Massachusetts, the indisputable fact is that Romney's argument for the mandate in a free-market system, i.e., "free rider" is entirely consistent with the GOP position back in 1993 when the alternative was the Clinton single-payer government system. The argument is based on a government-imposed guarantee of hospital care; we know there's a very legitimate moral hazards argument that if we know we're guaranteed hospital care, with or without insurance, why purchase insurance at all? There's a very legitimate argument this mandate of RomneyCare promotes individual responsibility. Romney's point is that people who could afford insurance weren't buying it, freeloading off the government guarantee. (I should point out Newt Gingrich brought up the same point during a Fox News interview following his candidacy announcement.) I also believe that Romney wanted the mandate waived for those whom posted bonds of financial responsibility but the legislature overrode his veto.
I've been critical of Romney on RomneyCare and the mandate issue, but basically the problems from my perspective have more to do with dysfunctional government policy (including the combination of treatment guarantees, special-interest gold-plated benefits, zero-wait periods, and premium caps). Sarah Palin is simply engaging in a presentist error.
New Nutrition Blog Post: The New Plate (vs Pyramid) Icon
Dietitian in Chief Michelle Obama unveiled the new dietary plate icon today. I encourage the interested reader to read a relevant new post in my nutrition blog.
Current Twins Honor Killebrew (#3) Before Mariners' Game
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Courtesy of Getty Images |
Political Humor
A few originals:
- I'm not saying Wienergate pressure is getting to Congressman Anthony Weiner (D-NY), but I thought I heard him sing, "I wish I were Oscar Meyer Weiner;because if I were Oscar Meyer Weiner, everybody would be in love with me."
- I'm not saying that Sarah Palin has changed with lucrative speaking engagements, bestselling books, and a new Arizona mansion since those days of giving a shoutout to Joe Six-Pack during the 2008 campaign, but she ate her slice of Famiglia pizza with a fork and knife... And by special request, Trump went back into the kitchen and fired David Cassidy a second time.
Musical Interlude: My Favorite Groups
Chicago, "Love Me Tomorrow". My favorite Chicago 80's tune...
