LEE RODGERSSILVER LINING FOR REPUBLICANS ...
POLITICAL OIL ...
AMERICA UNDERWATER
AMERICA UNDERWATER
Looking on the bright side, it could be a (well-disguised) blessing if the ultimate Republican nominee wins the White House with much lingering skepticism among his own voters. There's always a danger among egotistical
presidential winners (and they DO have big egos; it's a job qualification) that they enter office feeling infallible and above criticism or any need to correct errors.
Look, for example, at Obama. He entered office as an exalted figure among his supporters, some of whom have belatedly figured out that he's not up to the job. But does he listen to critics, even in his own inner circle? No. Exhibit "A": Former White House Chief of Staff Bill Daley, who tried to tell him it was foolish to take on the Catholic Church on behalf of abortion advocates -- and was forced out of his job over it.
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For what it's worth ... the latest Gallup Poll numbers ...
Romney leads Obama, 50 percent to 46 percent, while Obama leads Santorum, 49 percent to 48 percent. Both matchups are within the margin of error.
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More sour grapes from a loser. Jon Huntsman, who entered the Republican field as a nonentity and retained that status until his little-noticed departure from the race, now babbles about the need for a third party to run in November. Gee ... wonder if he has any idea who should be the candidate for that party?
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We predicted it here -- not that it was a difficult forecast -- and it's already happening.
Senate Democrats pressuring Obama to pull oil from the Strategic Reserve to combat price increases. Not that they needed to push him to do it; it's just a matter of when -- not if.
This tactic has NEVER worked for more than a few days or weeks, but liberals can't resist. It isn't in their DNA to save up for a rainy day. Compared to a threat to our national security -- the real purpose of the Strategic Petroleum reserve -- $5 gasoline is just a shower; maybe just enough of a drizzle to rid us of the Obama menace in November.
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Whether the price of gasoline should be attributed to the cost of oil or the shrinking value of the dollar is a legitimate subject for debate. Either way, the larger share of the blame lies on the plate of our socialist-minded Dear Leader. If, as cynics suspect, his concealed real goal is to weaken the United States, he's doing a helluva job.
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Burt Prelutsky wields the old stiletto ...
"Because of environmental Nazis and their advocate in the Oval Office, we have pretty much shut down the oil and coal industries. It seems to me that should be a constant source of shame for every member of Congress, including those on the right side of the aisle.
"The very idea that America is still dependent on foreign oil makes about as much sense as Mexico having to import tortillas, Italy having to import olive oil and France having to depend on Luxembourg to supply them with snails."
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Is anyone in Washington asking just what it is we're trying to save in Afghanistan? And is it worth getting more Americans killed by our putative "allies" and having to apologize to the ethically-challenged Mr. Karzai? All this as the howling hyenas rage because a few books being used to pass terrorist notes were burned. Apologize? It's insanity.
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We have a winner already! The 2012 title of "Stupidest member of Congress" goes to -- ta-da!! -- Debbie Wasserman Schultz of Florida. If she can demonstrate her incapability to walk and chew gum at the same time, she retires the trophy.
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Larry Elder of KABC and Townhall.com runs the numbers for an angry black actor ...
"What if actor Clint Eastwood gave an interview in which he explained why, in the 2008 presidential election, he voted for John McCain: 'I voted for McCain because he was white. 'Cuz that's why other folks vote for other people -- because they look like them. ... That's American politics, pure and simple.'
"No, Eastwood did not say that. But actor Samuel L. Jackson did, in explaining why he voted for President Barack Obama -- 'because he was black. Jackson also said his vote had nothing to do with Obama's agenda: '(Obama's) message didn't mean (bleep) to me.' If Eastwood had said stuff like this, a cry to boycott his films would come from everybody from the NAACP to Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.
"Jackson insists he just does what every voter does. If they did, Obama could not have been elected U.S. senator from Illinois (15 percent of the state is black, 72 percent white) or the president of the United States (13 percent black, 72 percent white)."
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Demands that other people pay their "fair share" is a blatant appeal to deadbeats who pay little or no share at all.
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Anyone who's familiar with the concept of the "underwater" mortgage, i.e., owing more on your house than it's worth, should understand where our nation stands in terms of debt and deficits. We're "underwater." Think Greece, on a slightly delayed but much larger scale.
As Michael Tanner succinctly puts it in National Review Online ...
"Given this looming disaster, President Obama has just submitted a budget that explicitly rejects “austerity,” avoids any reform of Medicare or Social Security, and adds some $7 trillion to the national debt over the next ten years. And Republicans? They are busy debating the pros and cons of birth control.
"What is wrong with this picture?"
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As we watch video of Afghans expressing their gratitude to us for helping them try to evict the evil Taliban by raging against the U.S. because Qurans that were being used by terrorists to pass messages to each other were burn, we might look again at the hazards of "nation-building" as viewed by George Jonas of the National Journal, looking back on recent history ...
"Can’t improve the Ten Commandments, but if Moses were to go back for another 10, the next set might include 'Thou Shalt Build No Nation But Thine Own.' Republican presidential candidate George W. Bush was wise when he declared 'no nation-building' during his first campaign for the White House. Had president Bush heeded candidate Bush’s sage advice, he would have disengaged his forces from Iraq after the capture of Saddam Hussein as rapidly as possible. Had he done so, chances are a) most coalition soldiers who lost their lives in the Second Gulf War would still be alive, and b) Mr. Bush’s approval rating would have stayed between 80% to 90% throughout his presidency."
Exactly what a certain talk-show host -- oh, that would be me -- advocated years ago: Kill the SOB (Hussein) and get the hell out, leaving behind a message. A message that would essentially say, "We don't care what you people do with this rat-hole, but don't give us a reason to come back and kill every damned one of you."
The management of ABC Radio, owned at the time by Citadel Broadcasting, was offended by that observation. Citadel was run by a man named Farid Suleman. Somehow, I suspected at the time that Mr. Suleman wouldn't like it, but frankly didn't give a damn. His management genius was to run the company into bankruptcy.
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Mr. Sorkin with a reminder how Democrats think ...
"In a bid to stem taxpayer losses for bad loans guaranteed by federal housing agencies Fanny Mae and Freddy Mac, Senator Bob Corker (R-Tenn.) proposed that borrowers be required to make a 5% down payment in order to qualify.
"His proposal was rejected 57-42 on a party-line vote because, as Senator Chris Dodd (D-Conn) explained, 'Passage of such a requirement would restrict home ownership to only those who can afford it.'"
What a radical concept! People buying only things they can afford!
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Jimmy Kimmel --
"If your co-workers had ash on their heads Wednesday it means they're Catholic or they had too many margaritas and passed out in an ashtray."
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The Sky-guy checks in ...
During an anti-harassment seminar I attended at our local Senior Center, I asked the speaker, "What's the difference between harassment and good-natured teasing?"
The lady next to me leaned over to me and said, "A million dollars."
"...and now, if you'll excuse me..."