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Monthly Archives: September 2009
At Least He’s Consistent
We have criticized President Obama because, like several of his predecessors, he has pressured Israel to make concessions to the Palestinians in the forlorn hope that the Palestinians might reciprocate. Give up something for nothing, in other words–a strategy that no statesman concerned with the security of his own country would pursue. A few minutes ago, Mike Huckabee–not one of my favorites, in general–made a great point on Fox News. »
What They Really Think
Former Secretary of State Madeline Albright spoke at a forum in Omsk, Siberia. Pravda reported that her speech “surprised the audience.” No wonder. The Russians in attendance must have wondered how they managed to lose the cold war: Madeleine Albright said during the meeting that America no longer had the intention of being the first nation of the world. Ms. Albright started her speech in Russian. “Hello and thank you! »
More Cowbell
We wrote about the original “more cowbell” here. Lately, the phrase has come to denote the Obama administration’s efforts to promote the Democrats’ health care plan (whatever it is). Personal appeals by the President are the “cowbell.” Today Michelle Obama got into the act, proclaiming that the current health care system “crushes women”: First lady Michelle Obama sought support for the administration’s health-care plans from family advocacy groups and health-care »
Irving Kristol, RIP
Irving Kristol died today in Washington at the age of 89. In a lifetime full of intellectual attainments, perhaps none surpassed his founding (with Daniel Bell) and editing (first with Daniel Bell and then Nathan Glazer) of The Public Interest from 1965 to 2002. Reading Kristol’s elegant essays and Wall Street Journal op-eds was an education by itself for me. His life was extraordinarily consequential. His civility, good humor and »
Dems’ Strategy Crashes and Burns
Are the Democrats reading the polls? As I noted last night, they have doubled down on their strategy of trying to demonize opponents of government medicine, even though that approach has shown no signs of success. This morning, Rasmussen reports that opposition to health care “reform” has reached an all-time high: That’s what happens when you substitute smears for argument. Millions of Americans have figured out that the Democrats don’t »
Apples and chutzpah for Rosh Hashanah
Tonight Jews around the world celebrate the Jewish new year and observe the commencement of the high holidays. President Obama has issued holiday greetings to the Jews of Israel. They come with a peculiar hectoring condescension: At the dawn of this New Year, let us rededicate ourselves to that work [of building a better world for our children]. Let us reject the impulse to harden ourselves to others’ suffering, and »
A Warrior for the Cause
I was struck by the contrast between two things I saw today. The first was at The Corner, where Mark Steyn quoted this depressingly accurate assessment: Whenever the centre-right wins an election, the centre-left allows that its opponents have the office, but denies they have the mandate. They can govern for a term, yes, but only by consensus, not according to their own lights… The amazing thing isn’t that the »
Doubling Down On A Losing Strategy
You’ve likely seen the video of Nancy Pelosi ostensibly choking back tears as she warns that violence is on the way, just as in 1970s San Francisco–one of the oddest analogies we’ve seen in a long time. If you haven’t seen it, you can watch the video here: I have concerns about some of the language that is being used because I saw … I saw this myself in the »
It depends on what the meaning of not raising taxes is
Watch Creigh Deeds, the Democratic candidate for governor in Virginia, tie himself in knots, and baffle reporters, as he tries to answer a simple question: will he raise taxes if elected? »
House Votes to Defund ACORN
The House of Representatives voted today, 345-75, to cut off all funding to ACORN. All Republicans voted for the measure. That doesn’t mean it will happen, of course; the measure, which is attached to a student aid bill, goes beyond the scope of the Senate’s action earlier this week. Don’t assume that ACORN can’t ride out the storm and have its funding quietly restored by the Democrats, now that those »
The gathering storm, part 168
The Obama administration must be setting some kind of record for comprehensive error in foreign policy. Today comes word that it will abandon plans to build the missile-defense system in Poland and the Czech Republic. An announcement from the White House is expected about 10:30 a.m. (Eastern). Nile Gardiner comments: This is bad news for all who care about the US commitment to the transatlantic alliance and the defence of »
Remembrance of debates past
My college friend and roommate Paul Pillar has an op-ed in today’s Washington Post. It’s called “Who’s Afraid of A Terrorist Haven?” I assume, and certainly hope, that Paul is not responsible for the title. Paul does argue that terrorist havens, such as those in Afghanistan, are overrated in terms of the danger they pose of terrorists attacks against U.S. interests. But eventually he concedes that a haven in Afghanistan »
Another One Bites the Dust
This morning, Scott noted Duane Patterson’s nailing of the New York Times in connection with the ACORN scandal. The Times repeated a statement by ACORN’s “chief organizer” to the effect that guerrilla journalists James O’Keefe and Hannah Giles “spent months visiting numerous Acorn offices, including those in San Diego, Los Angeles, Miami and Philadelphia, before getting the responses they were looking for.” What the Times failed to tell its readers »
Blowback
One of my themes lately has been that the Democrats’ strategy of trying to demonize opponents of socialized medicine rather than honestly debate the merits of their proposal–whatever it is–is a political mistake. People care about health care, they don’t want their insurance taken away, and they aren’t impressed by assertions that everyone who disagrees with Barack Obama must be a racist. Today, Scott Rasmussen reports data that confirm that »
The Peril of Being Majority Leader
It’s not easy to be a Democratic leader in Congress. The things you have to do to push the Democrats’ left-wing agenda are not likely to be popular at home, unless your home is a safe urban district. Tom Daschle and Tom Foley are examples of Democratic politicians whose leadership positions forced them into a posture that proved too liberal for their actual constituencies. Harry Reid may be next on »
Obama Shreds the Constitution
Just kidding. Actually, there has been a series of stories over the last couple of days for which the Obama administration deserves a pat on the back. First, the administration announced that it supports extending all three of the provisions of the Patriot Act that will expire at the end of the year: The provisions give the government the authority to access business records, operate roving wiretaps and conduct surveillance »
Americans Repudiate Democrats’ Hateful Strategy
As I’ve noted several times in recent days, the Democrats’ strategy of trying to pass Obamacare by smearing its opponents as “racists” rather than by debating the plan’s alleged benefits would be politically inept, even if it were not immoral. Confirmation comes from today’s Rasmussen survey, which finds that only 12 percent of Americans agree with the Democrats’ claim that “most opponents of President Obama’s health care reform plan are »
