Monthly Archives: January 2009

January 27, 2009 — Scott Johnson

On the road to overcoming

President Obama granted the Al-Arabiya Network his first formal broadcast interview since taking office. According to Ben Smith’s report, Obama addressed the subject of Iran’s nuclear program: “Will the United States ever live with a nuclear Iran? And if not, how far are you going in the direction of preventing it?” asked the interviewer, Al Arabiya Washington Bureau Chief Hisham Melhem. Obama responded only generally, expressing disapproval of an Iranian »
January 27, 2009 — Scott Johnson

Election contest day one

From the start, Senator Coleman’s election contest challenging the 225-vote lead Al Franken secured during the recount figured to be an uphill battle. In “Overtime in the Minnesota Senate election” I tried to suggest the nature of the mistakes made by Coleman’s campaign during the recount. The mistakes forced the Coleman campaign into a losing strategy focusing on rejected absentee ballots. Day one of the election contest turned into something »
January 26, 2009 — John Hinderaker

No Politics Allowed

At National Review Online, Jay Nordlinger has been writing about “safe zones,” the idea that one should be able to attend a cultural performance without having it politicized. In Nordlinger’s case, it’s generally a classical musical concert, and the political commentary, needless to say, is always from the Left. Jay’s latest is here: So, I go to cover a string-quartet concert at Weill Recital Hall (which is upstairs in the »
January 26, 2009 — John Hinderaker

How Things Look to a Democrat

Washington Post columnist E. J. Dionne has a certain value, not because what he writes makes much sense, but because he personifies the conventional, loyal Democrat. Thus, he sheds light on what the other side is thinking. The main theme of today’s column is that the Republicans are trying to figure out whether and how to oppose President Obama. This is difficult, Dionne says, because Obama has subtly reached out »
January 26, 2009 — John Hinderaker

The World According to Jimmy Carter

Jimmy Carter was on the Today show this morning, where he was interviewed by Meredith Viera. Carter’s exposition of events in the Middle East consisted mostly of an endorsement of Hamas. It almost has to be read to be believed: CARTER: … We’ve had a chance to meet two times with the leaders of Hamas, both those in Gaza and those that are top leaders in Damascus, Syria. VIEIRA: And »
January 26, 2009 — Paul Mirengoff

Nothing to see here

My conservative cousin filed this report on the massive right-to-life demonstration in Washington DC that portions of the MSM, including the New York Times, managed to miss. On Thursday, I went to visit [my sister] at her new house in West Virginia. I changed trains in DC and had about 1/1/2 hours to kill. I walked outside Union Station and found myself in the middle of a massive right-to-life demonstration. »
January 26, 2009 — John Hinderaker

Mismatch

Matt Damon, the actor, called Bill Kristol an “idiot” in an interview with the Miami Herald because Kristol said we should be grateful to George Bush for winning the Iraq war. (Why the Herald is interested in Damon’s views on Iraq is a question I can’t answer.) That triggered quick action by Andrew Breitbart of Big Hollywood. Andrew came up with $100,000 and got Kristol’s consent to come to Hollywood »
January 26, 2009 — Scott Johnson

An election contest preview

The election contest brought by Senator Coleman to determine the winner of his race against Al Franken begins this afternoon in St. Paul before a panel of three judges. Star Tribune reporter Kevin Duchschere profiles the three judges here. Former Star Tribune reporter Jay Weiner previews the election contest here. Chris Cillizza and Paul Kane preview it here. After the canvas tabulating the election result, Senator Coleman had apparently defeated »
January 25, 2009 — John Hinderaker

Inside Gitmo

I don’t normally do “in the mail” posts about books I haven’t read; since I have time to read very few of the books I get in the mail, reviews are sadly infrequent. So this is an exception: A couple of days ago I got a copy of Inside Gitmo by Lt. Col. Gordon Cucullu. The book, of course, could hardly be more timely, with closing the terrorist detention facility »
January 25, 2009 — John Hinderaker

Say No Today, Win In 2010

Notwithstanding the media blitz in support of the Democrats’ over-the-top “stimulus” plan, most Americans are skeptical. Rasmussen finds that 59% fear that “Congress and President Obama will increase government spending too much in the next year or two.” Conversely, only 17% worry that they will cut taxes too much. (I think we can safely reassure that group that their fears are unfounded.) This suggests that the seeds of the Republicans’ »
January 25, 2009 — Paul Mirengoff

Let’s do it again

Liverpool and Everton will play for the third time in a little more than two weeks, following today’s 1-1 draw in an FA Cup fourth round scrap at Anflied. It’s a result that Everton’s play would not likely have produced but for Liverpool’s indifferent present form. So badly is Liverpool struggling at the moment that Everton might well have won, except for a poor piece of goalkeeping by the usually »
January 25, 2009 — John Hinderaker

Media Groupies

Michael Ramirez sums up the media’s coverage of Obama’s inauguration; click to enlarge: To comment on this post, go here. »
January 25, 2009 — Scott Johnson

The audacity of Barack Obama

In the waning days of the campaign, Claremont Review of Books published editor Charles Kesler’s “The audacity of Barack Obama.” The essay is worth revisiting now that Obama has taken office. Based on a comprehensive reading of Obama’s books and speeches, Professor Kesler deduced that Obama’s ambition is not merely personal, but rather is political and Rooseveltian in scope. Indeed, he found that Obama faults Bill Clinton for failing to »
January 25, 2009 — Scott Johnson

Rush responds

Yesterday in “The essential Rush Limbaugh, we noted Obama’s disparagement of Rush Limbaugh. Byron York obtained Rush’s response: There are two things going on here. One prong of the Great Unifier’s plan is to isolate elected Republicans from their voters and supporters by making the argument about me and not about his plan. He is hoping that these Republicans will also publicly denounce me and thus marginalize me. And who »
January 25, 2009 — Scott Johnson

Name that party (Saturday edition)

In my copy of Saturday’s New York Times national edition (page A9), William Yardley reports on the disgrace of Portland’s openly homosexual Mayor Sam Adams. Adams admitted last week that he had a sexual relationship with a then-18-year-old male intern in the state legislature and that he had repeatedly lied about the relationship. The improbably named intern is one Beau Breedlove. Adams also admitted that he had repeatedly asked Breedlove »
January 24, 2009 — Paul Mirengoff

What glass ceiling?

Anne Kornblut of the Washington Post suggests that Caroline Kennedy’s failed attempt to be appointed Senator may demonstrate that “a glass ceiling persists in politics.” Kornblut cites Sarah Palin and Hillary Clinton as other female candidates who may have encountered that ceiling. However, an analysis of these three cases pretty much demolishes the glass ceiling thesis. In Kennedy’s case, the Senate seat went to another women, Kirstin Gillibrand. Moreover, Gillibrand »
January 24, 2009 — John Hinderaker

Uncharted Waters, Part II

As we noted here, the Democratic Congress has embarked on a program of deficit spending that dwarfs anything we have seen since World War II. Monetary policy, too, has gone off the charts. This graph, from the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, is stunning. It shows the nation’s “adjusted monetary base,” a measure of the money supply, from the end of the First World War to the present. Click »