Monthly Archives: March 2009

March 16, 2009 — Paul Mirengoff

A choice, not an echo

Shelby Steele argues that conservatism is inherently without appeal to minority groups. He bases this view on his belief that “redemptive liberalsim” is far too powerful among minorities for conservatism to overcome. Steele defines “redemptive liberalism” as “a new activist liberalism that gave itself a ‘redemptive’ profile by focusing on social engineering rather than liberalism’s classic focus on individual freedom.” Its power stems from the notion, irrefutable not so very »
March 16, 2009 — Paul Mirengoff

No way out

The Employee “Free Choice” Act has placed Senator Arlen Specter in a very uncomfortable position. If he votes for legislation that makes it possible for unions to represent employees in a bargaining unit without winning a secret-ballot election, he greatly increases the likelihood that he will be defeated in a Republican primary next year. If he votes against the bill, organized labor (a powerful force in Pennsylvania) will use every »
March 16, 2009 — John Hinderaker

Twilight Zone

Today White House press secretary Robert Gibbs was asked about Dick Cheney’s appearance on one of the Sunday talk shows. The colloquy that followed was one of those outer space moments for which Gibbs is rapidly becoming known: QUESTION: One quick followup: Former Vice President Cheney was on “State of the Union” yesterday. He had a lot — a lot of criticism of this White House. To boil it down, »
March 16, 2009 — Paul Mirengoff

Cautious optimism on the economy

Ben Bernanke, Chairman of the Federal Reserve, said yesterday that America’s recession “probably” will end this year if the government succeeds in bolstering the banking system. Bernanke also stated that “we’ve seen some progress in the financial markets, absolutely.” However, he warned that stabilizing these markets to the point that we can experience a true recover will not be easy. Bernanke’s cautious optimism seems to correspond, to at least a »
March 16, 2009 — John Hinderaker

Let’s Hear It For Bankruptcy!

The big news of the day is the AIG bonuses. Barack Obama, obviously worried about getting on the wrong side of the bailout backlash, berated AIG and directed Tim Geithner to do what he can to block their payment. Republicans weighed in too; John Boehner called the bonuses “outrageous” and demanded an “exit strategy” from AIG. The company, meanwhile, says it is contractually obligated to pay the bonuses and has »
March 16, 2009 — John Hinderaker

Life In Iraq, By the Numbers

This ABC News/BBC poll documents the vast improvements that have taken place in Iraq since the surge began, as seen by the Iraqis themselves. Material conditions, faith in government institutions and, above all, security have all improved dramatically, giving rise to widespread optimism about Iraq’s future. You can review the poll data here and draw your own conclusions. These charts, from the ABC report, are typical; click to enlarge. Iraqis’ »
March 16, 2009 — John Hinderaker

Obama Still Slipping

We’ve been writing for some time that, contrary to media spin, President Obama’s approval ratings are nothing special for a newly-inaugurated President. And that was before they started to slide. The decline continues; in today’s Rasmussen Survey, Obama’s “approval index”–the difference between those who strongly approve of him and strongly disapprove–is down to 4 percent, a new low: Overall, his approval rating is steady at 56 percent. On another note, »
March 16, 2009 — Scott Johnson

The president’s diplomatic gifts

Many of us took the view that President Obama’s gift of the shrink-wrapped package of 25 classic American films on DVD to British Prime Minister Gordon Brown was boorish at best. Among the films Included in in Obama’s gift were “On the Waterfront” and “Raging Bull.” Some have tried to read meaning into the particular films included in the package, speculating that the inclusion of “On the Waterfront” indicates Brown »
March 15, 2009 — Paul Mirengoff

Can we all go home now?

Hamas and Fatah have been holding “reconciliation” talks in Egypt. The idea is to produce some sort of Palestinian unity” government. These talks have broken down, however, and the reason provides further proof, as if any were needed, that efforts by Israel to achieve “peace” with the Palestinians are a fool’s errand. According to Salah Bardaweel, a Hamas negotiator and legislator, the reconciliation talks broke down because Fatah took the »
March 15, 2009 — John Hinderaker

Ron Silver, RIP

Ron Silver, the actor, died of cancer today. His career is summed up here. Silver, a long-time Democrat, moved to the right after September 11 and became a tireless advocate for freedom. Roger Simon knew him well and remembers him here. »
March 15, 2009 — John Hinderaker

Tea Parites Growing

The tea party movement has been spreading, but most anti-tax/deficit/grotesque spending rallies have been relatively small. That may be changing, though. This photo of today’s rally in Cincinnati, taken from a 17th-story window overlooking Fountain Square, is really impressive. I can’t estimate the crowd, but there appear to be thousands of people participating; click to enlarge: Via Tea Party Central, InstaPundit. UPDATE: The Cincinnati Enquirer covers the rally: Thousands of »
March 15, 2009 — John Hinderaker

The Economy: Sound After All!

As we noted here, Barack Obama has had to calibrate his position on the economy carefully to achieve a series of political goals. During the Presidential campaign, he said the economy was in dire straits and relentlessly ridiculed John McCain when McCain said the economy was “fundamentally sound.” Once he took office, the situation became even graver, as Obama wanted to 1) make the sure the bar was set so »
March 15, 2009 — Paul Mirengoff

No response is the best response

Charles Lane argues that President Obama should respond to Chas Freeman’s parting shot, in which Freeman asserted that his demise “will be seen by many to raise serious questions about whether the Obama administration will be able to make its own decisions about the Middle East,” as opposed to having these decisions made by “a Lobby intent on enforcing the will and interests of a foreign government.” When asked about »
March 15, 2009 — Paul Mirengoff

Are these estimates really necessary?

Lost in the debate over the aborted appointment of Chas Freeman as head of the National Intelligence Council was a point we have made occasionally — the National Intelligence Estimates (NIEs) produced by that body have little value and are now recognized as such. Mark Lowenthal, president of the Intelligence & Security Academy demonstrates this in today’s Washington Post. Lowenthal led a team that conducted a biannual review of intelligence »
March 15, 2009 — John Hinderaker

Cheney Unbound

Former Vice President Dick Cheney was interviewed by John King on CNN this morning. He had some interesting and candid observations on a number of topics. On Iran’s nuclear program: KING: When he was here, Admiral Mullen also said he agreed with the IAEA report that says Iran now has enough nuclear material, enough fissile material to produce a bomb. He says he agrees with that. What should President Obama »
March 15, 2009 — John Hinderaker

Because the Attack on Rush Limbaugh Worked So Well

The Associated Press reports that Media Matters, a creature of MoveOn, George Soros, and other far-left backers, has launched a campaign against the cable network CNBC: They’re asking CNBC to hire economic voices with a track record of being right about the current crisis and do more to hold business leaders accountable. Those who have been “right,” in Media Matters’ view, are of course leftist critics. In one respect, the »
March 15, 2009 — Scott Johnson

A sticky Dickey-Wicker?

FOX News reports on a provision of the omnibus budget bill that passed Congress last week: President Obama may have abolished contentious Bush-era restraints on federal funding of stem cell research on Monday, but a legislative obstacle still remains for scientists seeking more money. A spending bill that Obama signed on Wednesday explicitly bans federal funding of any “research in which a human embryo or embryos are destroyed, discarded, or »