Monthly Archives: May 2010

May 21, 2010 — John Hinderaker

At Least Calderon Was Sticking Up for His Country

What, on the other hand, was Barack Obama doing? Some would say, selling us out as usual. Maybe that’s a little too harsh, I’m not sure. Anyway, here is Michael Ramirez’s take on Obama’s love-fest with Mexico’s President; click to enlarge: »
May 21, 2010 — John Hinderaker

Not Ready For Prime Time

Rand Paul reportedly has canceled his scheduled appearance on Meet the Press Sunday morning. According to The Hill, this is only the third such cancellation in the show’s history; the others were Louis Farrakhan in 1996 and Saudi Prince Bandar in 2003. Presumably Paul’s advisers realized that their candidate is not ready for the MTP stage; maybe they concluded (as I would) that he just needs to disappear for a »
May 21, 2010 — Paul Mirengoff

This day in baseball history

On May 21, 1960, the Chicago White Sox and the New York Yankees completed a two game series in New York. The White Sox had come to town in the unfamiliar position of (a) defending American League champions and (b) the first place team. They led the Yankees, who were tied for third, by a game and a half. The White Sox had no reason to think they were in »
May 21, 2010 — John Hinderaker

The Senate’s Wall Street Bill: What’s In It?

The Senate has passed a “financial reform” bill that will be reconciled with the House’s version and, presumably, enacted into law. It seems obvious that this exercise is driven by Congress’s need to “do something” about the financial crisis that began in September 2008. Whether this legislation bears any rational relationship to that crisis, or to the current doldrums on Wall Street, is another matter. By the way, speaking of »
May 21, 2010 — Paul Mirengoff

Weakness and incoherence everywhere you look

Charles Krauthammer catalogs the fruits of President Obama’s bizarrely counterintuitive approach to dealing with other countries. Bill Otis catalogs the Obama administration’s bizarrely counterintuitive approach to dealing with the threat of terrorism, the fruits of which are likely to be worse than bitter. »
May 21, 2010 — Paul Mirengoff

It’s my party and I’ll cry if I want to

I’m a fan of the Tea Party movement. However, it’s been clear to me that the movement (or is “phenomenon” a better word?) represents, potentially, a double-edged sword when it comes to electing conservatives. This isn’t because the phenomenon can be unhealthy for pretty good center-right incumbents like Sen. Bennett of Utah. The problem, instead, is that it may produce not-ready-for-prime-time nominees who will be vulnerable in the general election »
May 21, 2010 — Paul Mirengoff

Good news from Arkansas

Fresh polling from Rasmussen shows Republican John Boozman crushing — absolutely crushing — both Blanche Lincoln and Bill Halter at this juncture. »
May 21, 2010 — Scott Johnson

Joel Mowbray reports: The latest from Hawaii 1

Occasional contributor Joel Mowbray ([email protected]) writes to comment on the special congressional election in Hawaii: This weekend could mark a stunning upset for the GOP in the unlikeliest of places: the home district of President Barack Obama. Hawaii’s first Congressional district, a Democratic stronghold for decades, is holding a special election because of the retirement of Neil Abercrombie, and the frontrunner is Republican Charles Djou, who even went to the »
May 21, 2010 — Paul Mirengoff

The latest from Arkansas 3

Cecile Bledsoe, the conservative candidate for Congress in Arkansas’ Third Congressional District, has had two good days since we wrote about her run-off with RINO Steve Womack. For one thing, she has been endorsed by Gunner DeLay, the third place finisher in Tuesday’s primary. DeLay captured about 13 percent of the vote. I understand that all or most of the other candidates are likely to endorse Bledsoe. The non-Womack vote »
May 21, 2010 — Scott Johnson

Paralyze this: An update

Following up on our post on the Star Tribune’s less than complete account of Walter Mondale’s support for modifying the Senate filibuster rule, one of our readers wrote Star Tribune reporter Kevin Diaz: Shouldn’t you have mentioned Mondale’s changing views of the filibuster? Seems like relevant info which would allow the reader to evaluate how much weight to give Mondale’s opinion. Diaz responded: I don’t think he said anything different »
May 21, 2010 — Scott Johnson

Iowahawk explains

Iowahawk explains, in his inimitable style, why he sat out “Draw M******* Day’ (PBUH).” This is only the first of the several reasons he adduces, all of them equally compelling: [I]t is a well known codicil of Islamic law that visual depictions of their holy prophet (Peace Be Upon Him) are strictly prohibited. Like all religions we should respect their views, and the cartoons (which incidentally I have proudly refused »
May 21, 2010 — John Hinderaker

Arizona Digs In

Repeated attacks on the citizens of Arizona by President Obama and many others have done nothing to dim Arizona’s support for immigration law enforcement. On the contrary: a remarkable 71 percent of Arizona voters now support that state’s new immigration law, up from 64 percent last month. And Governor Jan Brewer has jumped out to a 13-point lead over her likely Democratic opponent, which means that she is doing far »
May 21, 2010 — Scott Johnson

Quotations from Mayor Daley

John Kass devotes his Chicago Tribune column to the murder of Chicago police officer Thomas Wortham IV, who survived two tours in Iraq to die outside his boyhood home. At the end of the column Kass quotes the alderman representing Officer Wortham’s neighborhood: “His mother was worried that something was going to happen to him over there [in Iraq]. But he had to come home to Chicago to get shot »
May 21, 2010 — Scott Johnson

Obama’s map of misreading

In his weekly Washington Post column Charles Krauthammer provides a useful summary of the Obama administration’s comprehensive foreign policy failure. This week gave us the vivid depiction of American decline. Hail Lula (a Marxist), Erdogan (an Islamist) and Ahmadinejad (a Muslim terrorist fanatic): The real news is that already notorious photo: the president of Brazil, our largest ally in Latin America, and the prime minister of Turkey, for more than »
May 20, 2010 — Paul Mirengoff

Bye-bye Blair

Dennis Blair, Director of National Intelligence, will resignin, apparently at the request of President Obama. Normally, I’d be happy to see Blair go. Indeed, his decision to appoint Chas Freeman — the Saudi-Manchurian candidate — as chariman of the National Intelligence Council probably amounts to sufficient reason for a sacking. In addition, Blair hardly inspired confidence when, in the aftermath of attempted Christmas bombing, Blair seemed not to know that »
May 20, 2010 — Scott Johnson

Paralyze this

Former Vice President Walter Mondale is a storied figure in the history of Minnesota politics. He is well known for his liberalism, but he should be better known as a man of remarkably flexible principles. Back in the day as a United States Senator from Minnesota and a protégé of Hubert Humphrey, he was a faithful supporter of the Vietnam war. He supported the war roughly until January 1969, when »
May 20, 2010 — Scott Johnson

The Limbaugh victory

In 2008 Zev Chafets profiled Rush Limbaugh in a good article — “Rush Limbaugh is just getting warmed up” — for the New York Times Magazine. Chafets is a canny journalist who knew he had found a good subject. He proceeded to write a forthcoming book on Rush (Rush Limbaugh: An Army of One) that I look forward to reading. Rush is the master of what he refers to as »