Watching the ideological triplets during the political roundtable this morning on “This Week with George Stephanopoulos” brought to light something that even this leftist panel recognizes: the democrat presidential horse race has the candidates galloping down a dangerous leftist incline that is likely to land them in the losing Sea of McGovern. And I was thinking, yeah, has anybody noticed the sharp liberal turn in the current debate for the democrat nomination for President.
The great columnist and commentator, Charles Krauthammer noticed this week in his column, “Obama Bombing.”
Moreover, summits can also be traps if they’re not wired in advance for success, such as Nixon’s trip to China, for which Henry Kissinger had already largely hammered out the famous Shanghai communiqué. You don’t go hoping for the best, as Hillary’s husband learned at the 2000 Camp David summit, when Yasser Arafat’s refusal of Israel’s peace offer brought Arafat worldwide opprobrium — from which he sought (successfully, as it turned out) to escape by launching the second intifada. Such can be the consequences of ill-prepared summits.
Obama may not have known he made an error, but his staff sure did. In the post-debate spin room, his closest adviser, David Axelrod, was already backpedaling, pretending that Obama had been talking about diplomacy and not summitry with rogue state leaders.
Obama enthusiasts might want to write this off as a solitary slip. Except that this was the second time. The first occurred in another unscripted moment. During the April 26 South Carolina candidates’ debate, Brian Williams asked what kind of change in the U.S. military posture abroad Obama would order in response to a hypothetical al-Qaeda strike on two American cities.
Obama’s answer: “Well, the first thing we would have to do is make sure that we’ve got an effective emergency response — something that this administration failed to do when we had a hurricane in New Orleans.”
Asked to be commander in chief, Obama could only play first-responder in chief. Caught off guard, and without his advisers, he simply slipped into two automatic talking points: emergency response and its corollary — the obligatory Katrina Bush-bash.
If the democrat candidates continue down this path, it is a dangerous position to be in for a general election campaign that won’t really begin in earnest until September, 2008. a lot of things can change by then.
Michael Moore will do anything to publicize his lecturing tirade on the American Health Care System. While on the Tonight Show with Jay Leno, Moore claimed that the Bush administration had subpoenaed him. CNN found out that Moore’s statement was inaccurate as usual, and that the United States Treasury Department had called Moore to talk with him. Moore’s trip to Cub was unauthorized and illegal.
Moore would love for all the moonbats to think that our government would prosecute him for making the movie SiCKo. No, Michael, you broke the law. You are disingenuous profiteer, and laughing all the way to the bank as you exploit the people you claim that you want to help.
So, in short, when you see Michael on television saying that the Bush administration is after him, just know that it is another of his cheap, tawdry political stunts to promote his movie.
You have to see this off-the-cuff rant of John Edwards. Don’t you wish he would once, just once, get this excited about defeating the terrorists? John Edwards thinks that the enemy of most Americans is other Americans. Edwards is a national embarrassment. With Elizabeth (Big Mama E) Edwards shooting her mouth off about everyone from Ann Coulter to Hillary Clinton, and now John screeching like a stuck pig, the Edwards are showing that they are strictly “second-tier” people and candidates. They are at the point that they will say anything to try to break through the discordant cacophony that the democrat primary battle has become. The shrill voices of all the democrats, who seem to be competing for angriest man alive, are monotonous and unattractive. I will look forward to the day when John and Elizabeth Edwards are off the national stage for good.
Ann Coulter has profound analysis of the recent you tube debate among candidates for President from the democrat party. It is worth reading her entire column to get another perspective. Nearly all the drive-by media outlets loved the modified press conference where non-serious questions dominated the discourse.
Overall, Hillary appeared to be the only Democrat even dimly aware that there will eventually be a general election. But she too played to her audience with wacky conspiracy theories. Oops, I mean she “discussed the Democratic platform in detail.” No need for me to get judgmental.
Hillary raised the Bush-stole-the-2000-election fairy tale, saying: “I think it is a problem that Bush was elected in 2000. I actually thought somebody else was elected in that election, but …” (Applause.)
On Nov. 12, 2001, The New York Times ran a front page article that began: “A comprehensive review of the uncounted Florida ballots from last year’s presidential election reveals that George W. Bush would have won even if the United States Supreme Court had allowed the statewide manual recount of the votes that the Florida Supreme Court had ordered to go forward.”
Another Times article that day by Richard L. Berke said that the “comprehensive review of the uncounted Florida ballots solidifies George W. Bush’s legal claim on the White House because it concludes that he would have won under the ground rules prescribed by the Democrats.”
On Nov. 18, 2001, notorious pro-abortion zealot Linda Greenhouse wrote in the Times that the media consortium’s count of all the disputed Florida ballots — in which the Times participated — concluded, “That George W. Bush would have won the 2000 presidential election even had the court not cut the final recount short.”
If three prominent articles in the Treason Times isn’t enough to convince Hillary that Bush won the 2000 election, forget the White House: ABC ought to hire her to replace Rosie O’Donnell on “The View.” I know that’s a big seat to fill, but maybe she can finally convince Elizabeth Hasselbeck that 9/11 was an inside job.
The View will live without Rosie O’Donnell. I hope that Whoopi and Sherri aren’t drinking that radical, liberal Kool-Aid every day before the show.
ABC’s daytime show “The View” appears close to adding Whoopi Goldberg and Sherri Shepherd as regular cast members following a year with more plot twists than a soap opera.
The two women were in final negotiations to join the show, the Los Angeles Times reported Friday. While characterizing the report as premature, an executive close to the show who spoke on condition of anonymity because negotiations were ongoing wouldn’t deny they were the top candidates.
Goldberg, 51, would give “The View” creator Barbara Walters a big name to replace Rosie O’Donnell. In less than a year on the show, the brash O’Donnell was a never-ending source of headlines for her feuds with Donald Trump and co-star Elisabeth Hasselbeck. Despite the near-constant need for damage control, ratings shot up.(more…)
You might want to know more about the mandated move to digital television by February, 2009. Read the whole article.
WASHINGTON (AP) — On Feb. 18, 2009, tens of millions of televisions that are not equipped to receive digital signals will become useless pieces of furniture. The government is spending $5 million to let owners know so they can do something about it — not enough, critics say.
While the government has committed $1.5 billion for viewers to spend on converter boxes that will translate digital signals for older televisions, it is largely relying on the broadcast industry to spread the word about the changeover.
John Kneuer, chief of the federal agency tasked with ensuring a smooth digital transition, told the Senate Commerce Committee on Thursday that the government will be leaning heavily on broadcasters.
”It’s not only their own responsibility, it’s in their own interest,” said Kneuer, assistant secretary in the Commerce Department and administrator of the National Telecommunications Information Administration.
Some committee members were clearly worried. A poll released in January by the Association of Public Television Stations indicated 61 percent of respondents had ”no idea” that the digital transition was going to take place.
There is a ”high potential for a train wreck here,” said Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash. (more…)
Just a quick question…is this congress going to do anything but investigate and engage in political stunts relative to the global war on terror. Furthermore, the democrat congressional leaders have CNN, MSNBC, NBC, as willing allies in the media constructing a message for the American people that suits every political purpose of liberals trying to position their party for successes in 2008.
Presidential Press Secretary Tony Snow said it best today when he said of the congress, “Why are they doing this instead of doing the people’s business.” Snow continued, “In any event, it’s worth putting this in perspective in terms of the accomplishments of the present Congress. If you take a look at the 110th Congress right now, which had promised to have all of its appropriations bills done this month, here’s what we have seen since the beginning of the Congress: More than 300 executive branch investigations or inquiries; 400 requests for documents, interviews, or testimony; we’ve had more than 550 officials testify; we’ve had more than 600 oversight hearings; 87,000-plus hours spent responding to oversight requests; and 430,000 pages made available to Congress for oversight. That’s pretty significant.”
Following the script written for them by the Daily Kos, Wolf Blitzer and Jack Cafferty and made the lead storyline today Bush’s approval ratings which are still above Jimmy Carter and Harry Truman. While Jimmy Carter is a well-known kook, history has been kind to Harry Truman.
Hairspray: The Movie premiered this weekend after more than a year long hype to rival any hype for any movie musical in recent history. The 1988 movie starring Ricki Lake and Divine, and the 2003 Tony Award winning Broadway musical starring Marissa Jaret Winoker, Harvey Fierstein, Matthew Morrison, Kerry Butler, and Dick Latessa were huge successes. If the reviews are to be believed, this Hairspray will be a giant hit too.
Worse is Tracy’s plus-size mother, Edna. The role is played by a man, which isn’t so surprising since the always provocative John Waters wrote the original film. Harvey Fierstein - like his successors - wore some padding, a wig and a frumpy housecoat. After 10 minutes you don’t think about Edna being a man, because she’s all heart.
In the new movie musical, John Travolta plays Tracy’s mother. She’s not all heart - she’s all fat suit. Edna is buried under so much rubber, prosthetics and makeup that she’s barely human. Edna has the face of a squint-eyed puffer fish and the figure of an Aero mattress. Queen size. Inflated. Paging Sleepy’s.
In time, that overblown image - and the whole film musical - will fade from my mind. Unlike Broadway’s “Hairspray,” which never loses its hold.
Twelve days ago, we highlighted the NY Times piece about Patti LuPone’s appearance as Rose in the City Center Production of Gypsy. Since that time, the production opened, most of the reviews were raves, and it seems that the production is the not-to-be-missed show of Summer 2007 in New York City. Unfortunately, many people will miss it since the show closes next Sunday, July 29.
Here is just a sampling of the reviews with links… (more…)
Clown Wilson and Valerie Plame Wilson had their frivolous lawsuit dismissed today, yet you have to look for the news because the mainstream media is trying to hide the news. The drive-by media does not want to highlight that the Plame’s have today been discredited. Some loony liberals may now have to face reality.
WASHINGTON (AP) - A federal judge dismissed former CIA operative Valerie Plame’s lawsuit against members of the Bush administration Thursday, eliminating one of the last courtroom remnants of the leak scandal.
Plame, the wife of former Ambassador Joseph Wilson, had accused Vice President Dick Cheney and others of conspiring to leak her identity in Plame said that violated her privacy rights and was illegal retribution for her husband’s criticism of the administration.
U.S. District Judge John D. Bates dismissed the case on jurisdictional grounds and said he would not express an opinion on the constitutional arguments. Bates dismissed the case against all defendants: Cheney, White House political adviser Karl Rove, former White House aide I. Lewis “Scooter” Libby and former Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage.
Plame’s attorneys had said the lawsuit would be an uphill battle. Public officials are normally immune from such lawsuits filed in connection with their jobs.
Plame’s identity was revealed in a syndicated newspaper column in shortly after Wilson began criticizing the administration’s march to war in Iraq. Plame believes the leak was retribution and that it violated their constitutional rights.
Armitage and Rove were the sources for that article, which touched off a lengthy leak investigation. Nobody was charged with leaking but Libby was convicted of lying and obstruction the investigation. Bush commuted Libby’s 2 1/2-year prison term before the former aide served any time.
“This just dragged on the character assassination that had gone on for years,” said Alex Bourelly, one of Libby’s lawyers. “To have the case dismissed is a big relief.”
Plame’s attorneys said they were reading the opinion and had no immediate comment.
While Bates did not address the constitutional questions, he seemed to side with administration officials who said they were acting within their job duties. Plame had argued that what they did was illegal and outside the scope of their government jobs.
“The alleged means by which defendants chose to rebut Mr. Wilson’s comments and attack his credibility may have been highly unsavory, ” Bates wrote. “But there can be no serious dispute that the act of rebutting public criticism, such as that levied by Mr. Wilson against the Bush administration’s handling of prewar foreign intelligence, by speaking with members of the press is within the scope of defendants’ duties as high-level Executive Branch officials.”
Links, Commentary, and News on all things political, theatrical and educational. Artistic Interludes are interspersed.
Ronald Reagan
Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. We didn't pass it to our children in the bloodstream. It must be fought for, protected, and handed on for them to do the same, or one day we will spend our sunset years telling our children and our children's children what it was once like in the United States where men were free.
