Monthly Archives: September 2012
September 29, 2012 — John Hinderaker
It is a common tactic among politicians and others who are in trouble to plead guilty to a lesser offense in order to distract attention from their real transgression. That is, I think, what the Obama administration has done in admitting belatedly that the attack on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi was an act of terrorism, not, as Mark Steyn put it, a movie review that got out of hand.
»
September 29, 2012 — Steven Hayward
I missed this piece from Steven Rattner (who was a key figure in the Obama auto bailout) when it appeared in the NY Times a couple weeks ago. Tacitly acknowledging that costs are going to soar out of sight, Rattner opens with this frank admission: “We need death panels.” Jonah Goldberg wonders: When can Sarah Palin expect her letter of apology?” Rattner goes on to back away from “death panels,”
»
September 29, 2012 — Scott Johnson
The Obama administration is peddling a new line regarding its inability to hold the old line on the Benghazi murders: the bad dope came from the Director of National Intelligence James Clapper, who got everything wrong in the days following the attack. DNI spokesman Shawn Turner issued a statement reported by Reuters in the traditional Friday news dump in which scandals go to die. According to the statement: “[W]e revised
»
September 29, 2012 — Scott Johnson
United States Ambassador to the United Nations Susan Rice made appearances on five Sunday morning news shows on September 16. Her mission was to peddle the Obama administration’s line on the assault leading to the murder of four Americans in Benghazi, including the American ambassador to Libya. She peddled the same highly rehearsed line virtually verbatim on each of the five shows. Here is how she put it on Fox
»
September 28, 2012 — Paul Mirengoff
I’ve received plenty of emails from readers in Northern Virginia expressing skepticism about polls that have Obama leading Romney in Virginia by a significant wide margin. And with good reason; it is difficult to believe that Obama will do as well in the Commonwealth this year as he did in 2008 when he won by 6.3 points. Now come two polls in two days that show the race in Virginia
»
September 28, 2012 — Steven Hayward
It is axiomatic that if the federal government had realized five or six years ago that the technological advances in directional drilling and hydraulic fracturing that have set off the current domestic oil and natural gas boom were coming, they surely would have done something to stop it. Now the greens and federal regulators are trying to play catch up: they can’t openly try to stop the boon of new
»
September 28, 2012 — Paul Mirengoff
On September 28, 1962, the Los Angeles Dodgers lost 3-2 to the St. Louis Cardinals in 10 innings. They thus missed the opportunity to clinch at least a tie for the National League pennant. The Cardinals opened the top of the tenth with singles by Curt Flood and Stan Musial off of Ron Perranoski, who was pitching his third inning of relief. With two out, Charley James singled in the
»
September 28, 2012 — Paul Mirengoff
Seniors in Florida, Ohio, and Virginia strongly oppose what they take to be the Romney-Ryan position on Medicare, according to polling by the Washington Post and Kaiser Family Foundation. More than 70 percent of seniors in these states say they favor keeping Medicare as a program with guaranteed benefits, rather than moving to a system in which the government provides fixed payments with which to purchase coverage. And in Florida,
»
September 28, 2012 — John Hinderaker
Chip Cravaack scored the biggest upset of 2010 when he beat entrenched Democrat Jim Oberstar in Minnesota’s 8th District. Cravaack’s constituents like his pro-mining, pro-economic growth policies, but he is anathema to environmental extremists and the Democrats are coming after him hard this year. I attended a lunch for Cravaack yesterday and donated to his campaign; we followed up with this interview: The 8th, which encompasses northeastern Minnesota, including Duluth
»
September 28, 2012 — Steven Hayward
Ben Domenech wrote yesterday about how the GOP grassroots, especially the much-distrusted rubes of the Tea Party, are rallying hard to Romney while GOP elites are pushing the panic button and going all Eyore on us. (I especially like Ben’s phrase “professional concern troll David Frum.”) I’m catching a plane shortly to return to the Left Coast after two days in DC, and I was indeed surprised at the mood
»
September 28, 2012 — Steven Hayward
Time for a Friday morning roundup of various visual items making their way around the interwebs. Most of these don’t require any explanation, but I’ll offer some comments on one or two. And finally, a pic of Arnold Schwarzenegger’s latest ride:
»
September 27, 2012 — Paul Mirengoff
The deadline for Todd Akin to withdraw from the Missouri Senate race has passed, and Akin remains a candidate. No surprise there; it’s been clear for quite some time that Akin is committed to fighting for this seat. And it looks like he has a chance to win it. That, at least, is the view presented pretty persuasively in two articles by Politico. The most recent Rasmussen poll had Akin
»
September 27, 2012 — John Hinderaker
Many observers have criticized the Romney campaign’s television ads for not being snappy or hard-hitting enough. I think they have generally been pretty good, but admittedly not as creative as this James Bond-themed ad from American Crossroads, titled “Quantum of Easing.” It hints at the possibility that President Obama might not be entirely on your side: Really, this sort of ad is best coming from independent groups. It wouldn’t hurt
»
September 27, 2012 — John Hinderaker
Tom Cotton’s relationship with Power Line goes back to 2006, when he was leading a platoon in Baghdad and authored a famous letter to the New York Times–the Times didn’t print it, but we did, and it became an internet sensation. Now Tom is running for Congress in Arkansas’s 4th District, and we are delighted to endorse him as one of the Power Line Pick Six. Tom is a brilliant
»
September 27, 2012 — Scott Johnson
At the risk of courting the condemnation of the Obama administration or a visit from local law enforcement authorities, we bring you reader David Ferguson’s illuminating photoshop of Prime Minister Netanyahu at the UN today. Come and get me, copper! Mr. Ferguson comments: “In simple enough language even the UN delegates can understand — though likely not simple enough for the US Delegates.”
»
September 27, 2012 — Steven Hayward
Fox News has just reported that the US is withdrawing (supposedly temporarily) all its personnel from the US embassy in Tripoli, Libya. What–did they get advance word of a YouTube sequel to The Innocence of Muslims? Are they worried of another imminent “spontaneous” protest with marchers who carry mortars with them? More likely the Clousseaus of Foggy Bottom have figured out they have serious security breach problems in Libya and
»
September 27, 2012 — Scott Johnson
The text of Prime Minister Netanyahu’s speech has been posted here by the Israel News Agency. C-SPAN has posted the video here. As with Churchill’s great speeches, there is a bracing clarity in the truth of the words and in hearing them spoken in a forum where the truth is at a premium. Please read it all: Thank you very much Mr. President. It’s a pleasure to see the General
»
