Barack's White Lies

We've Moved

2008-11-25T14:06:00.002-05:00

Todd is now blogging at a new location - RealClearThinker.com.

Please visit now!

Family Fugitive

2008-11-14T16:01:00.008-05:00

This is the end. The very last post I'll ever do on Barack's White Lies. But it is also the beginning. Barack's White Lies is moving, and evolving. Think of it as Change You Can Believe In. The new blog will be called, after an adjustment period, Real Clear Thinker. All future posts can be found at realclearthinker.com. Starting now.

Just because the election is over, don't expect people like Bill Ayers to be forthcoming regarding friendship with Barack Obama.

Ayers was on Good Morning America today, trying to make it seem that the history between he and Barack consists of little more than the two being neighbors. Ayers states, remarkably, that the first time he "ever really met him" was the day in 1996 that he held a fundraiser in his home for Barack.

The college professor also argued to "Good Morning America's" Chris Cuomo today that the bombing campaign by the Weather Underground, the group he helped found, was not terrorism.

The Weather Underground bombed the Capitol, the Pentagon and the New York City Police Department in protest of the Vietnam War.

"It's not terrorism because it doesn't target people, to kill or injure," Ayers said.

Keep in mind that the year before the fundraiser, Barack was made the Chairman of the Board of the Chicago Annenberg Challenge, an organization founded by Ayers that year, and a position for which Obama was immensely unqualified. They worked on the same floor of the same medium sized office building together.

Keep in mind, also, that in the release of his 2001 memoir, "Fugitive Days," which Ayers is apparently out promoting, Ayers writes this:

"[W]e had served together on the board of a foundation, knew one another as neighbors and family friends, held an initial fund-raiser at my house, where I'd made a small donation to his earliest political campaign."

Notice he calls he and Barack "family friends," a deliberate attempt, it would seem, to tease people anew about the closeness that he and Barack maintain. If you're not convinced that this is a little bizarre, Ayers explanation for it certainly is. He claims the reason he called Barack a family friend in his book is because that's how the relationship was portrayed during the campaign.

"I'm talking there about the fact that I became an issue, unwillingly and unwittingly," he said. "It was a profoundly dishonest narrative. ... I'm describing there how the blogosphere characterized the relationship."
"I would say, really, that we knew each other in a professional way on the same level of, say, thousands of other people," he said.

Ayers has a detached manner, free of remorse, that makes him read as a psychopath in the interview, arguing that he's been unfairly demonized in an attempt to taint Barack with guilt by association.

"The content of the Vietnam protest is that there were despicable acts going on, but the despicable acts were being done by our government. ... I never hurt or killed anyone," Ayers said.
"Frankly, I don't think we did enough, just as today I don't think we've done enough to stop these wars," he said.

It seems to me that voters had a right to know the truth about their relationship, that it's up to us to decide whether Barack's association with Ayers was a valid campaign issue, and that Ayers is plainly misrepresenting the relationship.

Further, Barack lied about his friendship with Jeremiah Wright before the Ayers matter became part of the conversation, and the evidence indicates that he's being equally dishonest regarding Ayers.

Secretary of Mate

2008-11-14T13:26:00.001-05:00

More silliness about Hillary:

Imagine someone so inexperienced as Secretary of State?

Michelle's Choice

2008-11-14T12:13:00.003-05:00

It's great to have options regarding where to send your kids to school - something that Democrats believe deeply in, but only for the rich.

President-elect Obama and his wife, Michelle, came to town and did what people with young children usually do before moving. They looked at their new house and then Mrs. Obama checked out the school choices for their two young daughters.

The schools Mrs. Obama visited were private, not public. While no decision has yet been made, it seems obvious the girls enjoy their private school in Chicago and have flourished in it. Would the Obamas, in order to pander to the teachers unions, place their daughters in one of Washington, D.C.’s miserable public schools? Let’s hope not. That would be a form of intellectual and social child abuse.

True. No responsible parent would put their kids into public schools like these - and people with options generally avoid all public schools if they're not in segregated, privileged suburbs.

Should they choose either Sidwell Friends School (where Chelsea Clinton attended) or Georgetown Day School — Mrs. Obama visited both — or a public school, the Obamas have the ability to make a choice for their children, a choice the president-elect would deny to every other American who cannot afford to pay private school tuition. This is not the vaunted fairness for which Obama campaigned. This is not spreading the educational and intellectual wealth around.

How does Barack explain his behavior? Probably the same way other Democratic leaders, who throw a nice big slap into the face of those working people they preach public schools to.

This year, 1,900 D.C. schoolchildren were allowed to attend private schools, thanks to congressional vouchers. With Democrats about to be in charge of all three branches of government, will Obama and his fellow Democrats send them back to failed schools? D.C. Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton has suggested as much. Parents interviewed by Washington TV stations overwhelmingly want their children to remain where they are. Is it not cruel to force them back into a broken system?

Many Members of Congress choose private schools for their children. Senators Edward Kennedy and Hillary Clinton have been outspoken opponents of school choice yet have sent their children to private schools. According to a 2007 Heritage Foundation survey, “...37 percent of representatives and 45 percent of senators in the 110th Congress sent their children to private schools — almost four times the rate of the general population.” Yet many of them vote against letting the rest of us have the same choice.

Our kids deserve better schools, but the partnership between teachers unions and the Democratic party make that impossible.

This will offer children trapped in bad schools the brighter future they deserve and the country will get the better educated citizenry it desperately needs.

Doctrine Air

2008-11-14T10:07:00.004-05:00

Thoughts on the Fairness Doctrine from Adam Reilly in the Boston Phoenix.

For most of the second half of the 20th century, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) asserted that the right to broadcast — on scarce, publicly owned frequencies — came with civic responsibility. Broadcasters, the FCC held, should devote some of their programming to controversial matters of public interest. They should also allow divergent points of view to be presented on their stations. That's the Fairness Doctrine in a nutshell. (In one famous case, the Supreme Court ruled that the author of a critical biography of Barry Goldwater had the right to respond to a torrent of criticism directed at him from a Christian broadcaster in Red Lion, Pennsylvania.)
The doctrine's intentions were commendable. But it was vague, and spottily applied, and co-existed uneasily with the First Amendment's right to free speech. And in 1987 — at the height of Reagan-era deregulation — it was voluntarily abolished by the FCC. The FCC's decision was upheld on appeal to the US Circuit Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia in 1989, and subsequent congressional efforts to restore it have failed.
Many observers believe that's for the best. "The Fairness Doctrine had this perverse result," says Jane Kirtley, director of the University of Minnesota's Silha Center for the Study of Media Ethics and Law. "The way some broadcasters chose to provide equal time for opposing viewpoints to be heard was to say that they just weren't going to cover controversial issues. I have no reason to think that would change in 2008 or 2009." Factor in the rise of cable news and the Web, adds Kirtley, and the Fairness Doctrine's original rationale doesn't make sense anymore.
Media critic Rory O'Connor, who discusses the subject in Shock Jocks: Hate Speech and Talk Radio (AlterNet), agrees. "The Fairness Doctrine is a 20th-century response to 21st-century problems," he says. "It didn't work so well in the first place. It was misused and abused by political operatives in both parties." There is, O'Connor claims, "no way in Hell" that the Fairness Doctrine's going to be reinstated. Conservatives are only milking the subject to "excite the base, create outrage, and drive up ratings."
No question, the right's treatment of the subject is irresponsible. A restored Fairness Doctrine wouldn't "kill" the conservative-friendly medium of talk radio, or mandate "equal time" for the presentation of liberal and conservative perspectives. Instead, it would simply require conservative broadcast outlets to allow the occasional liberal voice, and vice versa.
To be fair, though, conservative fears aren't entirely unfounded. While Obama seems to favor regulating broadcasters to achieve specific aims, including increased minority ownership, he's indicated he doesn't want to restore the Fairness Doctrine. But other prominent Democrats disagree. Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi recently told the conservative magazine Human Events that she supports the Fairness Doctrine. On Election Day, Democratic New York senator Chuck Schumer told Fox News you couldn't oppose the Fairness Doctrine while supporting government regulation of obscenity, as many conservatives do. And other Dems — including Massachusetts senator John Kerry, the subject of an attack documentary broadcast on Sinclair Broadcasting's 62 (conservative) stations during his 2004 presidential run — have made similar remarks.

Time for restraint
That some Democrats might relish the idea of punishing Limbaugh and his compadres is understandable. But there are strong arguments for restraint. The first is constitutional: the Fairness Doctrine would exist, yet again, in tension with the First Amendment. The second is strategic: the inchoate sense of grievance that currently animates the right has slim political potential — but that could change if Republicans can style themselves as free-speech defenders.
The most important reason for caution, though, is the nascent effort to link the Fairness Doctrine with Net Neutrality. Without Net Neutrality, the telecom industry will almost certainly create a two-tiered system that privileges some content, while consigning the rest — created, presumably, by those who lack big bucks — to a sort of virtual ghetto.
Thus far, Net Neutrality hasn't been a partisan issue. Obama supports it; so does NARAL Pro-Choice America; so does the Christian Coalition and the National Rifle Association.
But efforts to fragment the broad, pro–Net Neutrality alliance are already underway — and the Fairness Doctrine seems destined for a starring role. In an October 2007 paper titled "Net Neutrality: A Fairness Doctrine for the Internet," Adam Thierer of the Progress & Freedom Foundation — a think tank funded by, among others, AT&T, Comcast, and Time Warner Cable — suggested that Net Neutrality was actually a partisan ploy aimed at crippling the right. Groups such as the Christian Coalition, Thierer suggested, should reconsider their support.
Then, this past August, Republican FCC commissioner Robert McDowell made a similar argument at the conservative Heritage Foundation. Regarding Net Neutrality, McDowell asked, "Will Web sites — will bloggers have to give equal time or equal space on their Web site to opposing views, rather than letting the marketplace of ideas determine that?"
This is a stupid question. The Fairness Doctrine involved government mandating, in certain cases, that specific content be added to a particular media entity. In contrast, Net Neutrality doesn't involve intrusion into content; it only dictates absolute freedom of (virtual) movement. It's the opposite of what McDowell seems to think.
But as Joe Campbell, author of the blog 2parse.com, recently noted in a post linking Thierer's paper and McDowell's remarks, this is about tactics, not logic. If conservative Net Neutrality supporters come to see it as the Fairness Doctrine 2.0 — something that's more easily done if the Fairness Doctrine is already on everyone's brain, as it is today — they might rethink their support. Given Democratic gains in Congress and Obama's support for Net Neutrality, Campbell argues, "This is the big corporations' only chance to squash Net Neutrality."
Now that's a scary prospect. The Web is the future of news media. (It's also a battleground where, at the moment, Democrats are totally dominating Republicans.) Bringing back the Fairness Doctrine is a dubious proposition, period. But if doing so could jeopardize the success of Net Neutrality, it's downright reckless.
Instead of reliving an old-media battle that's run its course, Democrats should focus instead on making Net Neutrality a reality. And Obama should help them by stating that he'll veto any legislation aimed at restoring the Fairness Doctrine that crosses his desk. Let the right worry about something else.
To read the "Don't Quote Me" blog, go to thePhoenix.com/medialog. Adam Reilly can be reached at areilly@phx.com.

DOA

2008-11-14T08:53:00.002-05:00

Can this be for real, or is it just the usual gameplaying - make women feel good about Barack by pretending to be respecting Hillary?

George Stephanopoulos reported Clinton's name being in the mix last week on Good Morning America, but the buzz grew louder today after Clinton was spotted boarding a flight to Chicago.

It might have been about a job in the Obama administration, or maybe she had a craving for deep dish.

Her spokesman Philippe Reines would not discuss Clinton's schedule, and of course the Obama Transition Team would not comment.

The thinking about a Secretary of State Clinton is simple, I'm told: she's smart, she's strong, she's experienced, she's a team player, she is usually pretty diplomatic, and she also brings some gender diversity to an Obama Team concerned about such matters.

Let's be serious - why would Obama want Hillary around, and why would Hillary want to put her career in the hands of Barack. Secretaries of State last about 2 years, don't they?

She brings instant stature to the job, one Democrat told me. Many world leaders have known her for almost two decades.

"Clinton is the gold standard around the world, " said Chris Lehane, a former spokesman for Vice President Al Gore.

Ya, sure. Consider this idea DOA.

Introducing Auto Vote

2008-11-14T07:53:00.001-05:00

Now that liberals are in power, it's important to remind ourselves just how dangerous they can be. For example, the Boston Globe has a delightfully humorous editorial today on fixing the "election mess -" funny but for its utter maliciousness.

BARACK OBAMA'S superior get-out-the-vote operation spared the country from another squeaker presidential election, with the claims of voter fraud and intimidation that have become so familiar in the previous two cycles. But that doesn't mean the problems in the nation's electoral system have disappeared. They're just not as visible at high tide.

It's true that the voter system isn't up to snuff for the close elections we've been turning out lately, although it would be more accurate to credit the financial meltdown with Barack's victory margin - but I'm nitpicking. What's funny about the Globe position, and demonstrates the paper's maliciousness, is what they think the real problem is - lack of access to the polls.

After the 2000 election made the United States look like something out of a Marx Brothers movie, former presidents Gerald Ford and Jimmy Carter co-chaired a National Election Commission. Their report concluded that the country has one of the most burdensome voter registration systems - and one of the lowest participation rates - in the developed world. Even with the Obama wave, voter turnout this year was only about 61 percent of registered voters.

Huh? Burdensome voter registration? You have to fill out a form and attest to your residency - that's a world class burden?

One simple change would solve several problems that have bedeviled recent national elections: universal voter registration. Under this plan, promoted by the watchdog Brennan Center for Justice and others, the government would be responsible for automatically registering citizens when they turn 18.

I have a better idea. Why not automatically register all voters at age 18, and then automatically submit a vote on their behalf in favor of the Democratic candidate? That way, only Republicans would have to show up at the polls to alter their auto-vote. This would be the green solution, helping to curb global warming by keeping people off the roads. And it would lead to good government, as only Democrats would win elections.

Change is hard to accept for a Congress that, after all, got elected under the current registration system. But any technical or political obstacles pale in comparison with another election marred by fears of ballot-stuffing, voter suppression, and undermined confidence in democracy.

Not so hard to shift to a system that favors Democrats for a Congress controlled by Democrats.

Bitter Sweet

2008-11-14T00:40:00.001-05:00

It must be with mixed emotions that Barack has announced his resignation from the U.S. Senate, effective Sunday.

President-elect Barack Obama is giving up his Illinois U.S. Senate seat effective Sunday, intensifying the jockeying to replace the only African-American in Congress' upper chamber as lawmakers return next week for a lame-duck session.

After all, it's been a wonderful 3 and 1/2 years - so many leadership opportunities dodged, so many missed votes.

Several Illinois politicians want the job, including at least three members of Congress. Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich, who's also a Democrat, will appoint the successor of his choice to fill out the remaining two years of Obama's six-year term.

What's unclear is when Barack will lose interest in the presidency, and what office he'll seek next.

Obama, who was in private meetings in Chicago preparing for the transition, said in a statement Thursday that his partial term as a senator had been "one of the highest honors and privileges of my life."

Ah, but that goes both ways, doesn't it.

Pressing Sarah

2008-11-13T20:09:00.000-05:00

At the Republican Governor's Conference in Miami, it might as well be reconfigured into the Sarah Palin Conference. After Barack, she's the biggest political star in the country.

At a short press conference, she was asked what she's doing since the last governor's get-together.

“I had a baby, I did some traveling, I very briefly expanded my wardrobe, I made a few speeches, I met a few VIPS, including those who really impact society, like Tina Fey,” she said.

And yes, she spoke again of “Joe the Plumber,” the Ohio man who briefly dominated the McCain-Palin campaign and its talk about taxes.

Ms. Palin thanked the people who attended her rallies, including young women she hopes she has influenced.

“I am going to remember all the young girls who came up to me at rallies to see the first woman having the privilege of carrying our party’s VP nomination,” she said. “We’re going to work harder, we’re going to be stronger, we’re going to do better and one day, one of them will be the president.”

That raised again the question surrounding Ms. Palin since the election ended: will she run in 2012?

“The future is not that 2012 Presidential race, it’s next year and our next budgets,” she said. It is in 2010, she said, that “we’ll have 36 governors positions open.”

Truth Be Told

2008-11-13T17:59:00.000-05:00

Now that the election is over, the truth about Barack - always available, but protected by some - is flowing more freely.

About his friends, for example.

FALSANI: Do you have people in your life that you look to for guidance?

OBAMA:
Well, my pastor [Jeremiah Wright] is certainly someone who I have an enormous amount of respect for.

I have a number of friends who are ministers. Reverend Meeks is a close friend and colleague of mine in the state Senate. Father Michael Pfleger is a dear friend, and somebody I interact with closely.

FALSANI:
Those two will keep you on your toes.

OBAMA:
And theyr'e good friends. Because both of them are in the public eye, there are ways we can all reflect on what's happening to each of us in ways that are useful.

I think they can help me, they can appreciate certain specific challenges that I go through as a public figure.

And his church.

“One of the churches that I became involved in was Trinity United Church of Christ,” Obama said in the interview. “And the pastor there, Jeremiah Wright, became a good friend. So I joined that church and committed myself to Christ in that church.”

Obama began attending the church in 1988 and formally joined Trinity in 1992. Falsani asked, “Do you still attend Trinity?”

Obama answered, “Yep. Every week. 11 o’clock service. Ever been there? Good service.

Hmm. This sounds a bit different from Barack said during the campaign.

“As young marrieds, Barack and Michelle (who also didn't go to church regularly as a child) went to church fairly often—two or three times a month. But after their first child, Malia, was born, they found making the effort more difficult. ‘I don't know if you've had the experience of taking young, squirming children to church, but it's not easy,’ he says.

“‘Trinity was always packed, and so you had to get there early. And if you went to the morning service, you were looking at—it just was difficult. So that would cut back on our involvement.’

Glib Guidance

2008-11-13T17:16:00.002-05:00

The biggest failure in network news has some advice for one of America's biggest political stars.

Couric thinks Sarah Palin has a thing or two to learn about politics before she contemplates a White House run in 2012. "I think she should keep her head down, work really hard and learn about governing.

Katie is right, actually. That is what Sarah should do. Blow everyone away in a couple of years by just how informed she is.

But I'm not anyone to give advice to anyone about anything," she told Page Six at Glamour Magazine's 2008 Women of the Year Awards dinner at the Essex House.

Right again!

Although her interview with Palin made the Alaska governor look dumb (while rejuvenating Couric's flagging career in the process), Couric won't give herself too much credit. "I was really just a conduit that allowed her to air her views," she said. "I don't want to judge. I'll let the voters do that."

Of course you will.

Bad News

2008-11-13T15:11:00.000-05:00

MSNBC got confirmation of the Sarah Palin Africa controversy from a McCain campaign insider who doesn't exist.

MSNBC was the victim of a hoax when it reported that an adviser to John McCain had identified himself as the source of an embarrassing story about former vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin, the network said Wednesday.

David Shuster, an anchor for the cable news network, said on air Monday that Martin Eisenstadt, a McCain policy adviser, had come forth and identified himself as the source of a Fox News Channel story saying Palin had mistakenly believed Africa was a country instead of a continent.

How can such a thing happen to a major news organization?

Eisenstadt identifies himself on a blog as a senior fellow at the Harding Institute for Freedom and Democracy. Yet neither he nor the institute exist; each is part of a hoax dreamed up by a filmmaker named Eitan Gorlin and his partner, Dan Mirvish, the New York Times reported Wednesday.

The Eisenstadt claim had mistakenly been delivered to Shuster by a producer and was used in a political discussion Monday afternoon, MSNBC said.

"The story was not properly vetted and should not have made air," said Jeremy Gaines, network spokesman. "We recognized the error almost immediately and ran a correction on air within minutes."

Gaines told the Times that someone in the network's newsroom had presumed the information solid because it was passed along in an e-mail from a colleague.

The hoax doesn't mean that Sarah knows where Africa is...

The hoax was limited to the identity of the source in the story about Palin — not the Fox News story itself. While Palin has denied that she mistook Africa for a country, the veracity of that report was not put in question by the revelation that Eisenstadt is a phony.

It just proves that MSNBC doesn't know what journalism is.

Tin Men

2008-11-13T12:03:00.000-05:00

Who would be dumb enough to fall for this crap. Barack is going back to his sizable donor list looking for more money!

It seems that in addition to his 6/10ths of a billion dollars to move into the White House, the Democratic National Committee spent way more than the $100 million in cash it had raised.

In fact, it took out "substantial loans."

Substantial loans? The DNC has debt to retire? How come they could get credit?

Well, it turns out now, the DNC's debts are far worse than originally imagined. Today, Obama's campaign manager David Plouffe sent another urgent e-mail to supporters seeking at least another $30.

Most people would slam the door on anyone knocking with this sort of pitch.

"We'll get to work transforming this country. But first, we need to take care of the DNC."

Did we hear that right? Now that Obama's the president-elect, the top priority is the Democratic National Committee?

To drive home the point elsewhere in the same e-mail Plouffe adds: "Before we do anything else, we need to pay for this winning strategy."

Cheap lines, tin man style lines, if you ask me.

Don't worry, you still get the Victory T-shirt for this $30. But it sounds like pretty much everything else is on hold. This change stuff is looking to be an expensive process, even before it gets started.

I Hate About You

2008-11-13T10:26:00.000-05:00

The Obama girls won't get everything they want now that they're presidential kids.

It looks like U.S. President-elect Barack Obama’s daughter won’t be starring in Miley Cyrus' hit TV show ‘Hannah Montana’.

An Obama aide has told the ‘New York Daily News’, ‘It's a generous invitation, but they simply aren’t going to be making decisions of that kind right now.’

Inviting Malia and Sasha Obama, to make a cameo, Miley’s father Billy Ray Cyrus told Access Hollywood, ‘They probably will. The invitation is there’, reports ‘Contactmusic’.

Barack will never allow such a thing. By all accounts, he's a responsible dad, Michelle's a devoted mom, and no one in their right minds would jump head first into adding to their children's corruption by giving Hollywood a piece of them.

’The Hannah Montana film comes out in April. Maybe something might happen around then,’ he added.

Obama is determined to keep his daughters away from the limelight, and while explaining his decision, he told U.S. TV show Good Morning America, ‘Generally, what makes them so charming is the fact that they're not spending a lot of time worrying about TV cameras or politics, and we want to keep it that way.’

Just chalk it up to clever promotion on the part of the Montana clan.

Huff & Puff

2008-11-13T08:49:00.002-05:00

Controversial segment in which Dennis Miller goes after Barney Frank while talking with O'Reilly.

The Huffington Post is upset.

Dennis Miller appeared on The O'Reilly Factor tonight (Miller is a frequent guest on Bill O'Reilly's show) and went on a rant regarding what Barack Obama should do to the executives of AIG when he takes office, namely, that Obama "should flatten these punks" and "come down hard on them." After Miller finished his rant, O'Reilly chimed in that Obama's next move should be "to arrest Barney Frank, correct?" Miller replies, "Eh, Barney might want to be arrested."

It seems that Frank, the most prominent openly-gay member of the House of Representatives, is being slurred by Miller for his homosexuality. The reactions of O'Reilly and Miller confirm that Miller's joke was inappropriate, to say the least. Watch and judge for yourself.

Beast of Burden

2008-11-13T08:43:00.000-05:00

What amazing trouble Barack has stepped into.

For all the fury over Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson's $700 billion emergency economic relief fund, it seems downright puny when compared to the running total of the government's response to the credit crisis.

Has his remarkable good luck run out, or is this just the opportunity he wants.

According to CreditSights, a research firm in New York and London, the U.S. government has put itself on the hook for some $5 trillion, so far, in an attempt to arrest a collapse of the financial system.

You can't be a great president without bad times, and I think Barack's pretty eager to join the folks on Mount Rushmore.

The estimate includes many of the various solutions cooked up by Paulson and his counterparts Ben Bernanke at the Federal Reserve and Sheila Bair at the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., as the credit crisis continues to plague banks and the broader markets.

If Barack can lead America through this crisis, and get himself re-elected, he'll be viewed as one of the greats.

The Fed has taken on much of that total, including lending a cumulative $1 trillion in overnight or short-term loans since March to primary dealers through its emergency discount window and making a cumulative $1.8 trillion available through its term auction facility, a series of short-term transactions it began making available twice a month in January. It should be noted that a portion of the funds lent in these programs has been repaid and that the totals represent what has been made available.

Barack's good luck streak will be severely tested.

End of the World

2008-11-13T06:23:00.003-05:00

It's the end of the world as we know it.

"This is the end of the consumer-based economy," said Peter Schiff, who runs the investment firm Euro Pacific Capital Inc. in Darien, Conn. "Americans have been buying too much stuff, and now the epic shopping spree is over. It is a permanent change."

Wow. That's a dire prediction. Which explains, perhaps, the shift in the bailout plan that Paulson announced yesterday.

For years, consumers tapped into inflated home equity and use credit cards to finance their spending. Now those spigots are being shut off, and job losses are mounting.

What had been a Wall Street meltdown is now, a few weeks later, being seen in a different light - we are at risk of massive economic collapse.

The recent data has been startling: For the third quarter, consumer spending fell 3.1 percent, the worst performance in 28 years. Sales at established stores for October were the worst since at least 1969. The slump is continuing into November: Macy's says it expects a decline of at least 10 percent this month.

As we head into a recession which promises to be deeper than any we've experienced, wouldn't it be nice to have a seasoned old pro at the helm of the country - someone with the perspective of years, and someone who knows who to get on the phone to pull the right levers?

Even when home prices recover and credit becomes more available, Hoyt notes, Americans will have learned something: "They can't count on asset appreciation to meet their long-term goals."

As we head into a devastating downturn, wouldn't it be nice to not have Democrats in power - the party whose policies led us into this mess?

Say Anything

2008-11-13T05:40:00.000-05:00

Like most politicians, Barack was willing to say anything to win the presidency. Dig any hole now, we can climb out of it later.

A suicide car bomber struck a U.S. military convoy passing through a crowded market in eastern Afghanistan on Thursday, killing at least five civilians and a coalition soldier and wounding an additional 57 civilians, officials said.

In order to be a peace candidate while not being perceived as weak on defense, Barack embraced the war in Afghanistan - that's the war we need to fight, that's the war we need to win, he said - Iraq was the wrong war.

The bomber rammed his vehicle into the convoy as it traveled through Bati Kot district of Nangarhar province, said Ahmad Zia Abdulzai, a spokesman for the provincial governor.

At least five civilians were killed in the blast, said Ghafoor Khan, the spokesman for the provincial police chief. Fifty-seven civilians were wounded, said Ajmal Pardes, a provincial health official.

Now, Barack has challenges other than looming economic disaster - how to responsibly (ie gradually) withdraw from Iraq after having built expectations that he'll draw down willy-nilly, and how to win the war in Afghanistan using troops who really need rest, not redeployment.

Lt. Cmdr. Walter Matthews, a U.S. military spokesman, said a member of the U.S-led coalition died of his injuries received in the attack. He would not disclose the nationality of the victim, but another U.S. spokesman earlier said that the wounded soldier was an American.

If confirmed, that death would bring the number of U.S. troops killed in Afghanistan this year to at least 148, the highest annual tally of troop deaths since the U.S.-led invasion in 2001. There were 111 U.S. military deaths in Afghanistan in all of 2007.

Barack took ownership of Afghanistan in order to change the long held perception that Democrats can't be trusted to defend the nation. It's his war now, and he's got to win it.

The bomber struck the convoy near a crowded market, where people were trading sheep, cows, goats and other animals, Mr. Khan said. An Associated Press photographer said that an American military vehicle, two civilian vehicles and two rickshaws were destroyed.

Taliban militants regularly use suicide attackers and car bombs in their assaults against U.S., Afghan and other foreign troops in the country. But a majority of the victims in such attacks have been civilians. On Wednesday, a truck bomb in southern Afghanistan killed six people and wounded 42.

Moving Over, Not On

2008-11-13T03:40:00.002-05:00

This is the end. But also the beginning. Barack's White Lies is moving, and evolving. Think of it as Change You Can Believe In. The new blog will be called, eventually, Real Clear Thinker. All future posts can be found at realclearthinker.com.

I took it in stride when Barack won, and decided that this is a time to adjust - we must accept his victory and learn the lessons that come with it. America has changed, and in order to be effective in doing political analysis, as well as affecting the course that the nation is following, it seems to me that you have to be here, in the moment - not stuck in some dream of the past.

If you'll permit me an analogy, think of those of us who enjoy the political process, study it, and try to move people's thinking to a better place, as singer/songwriters. We perform songs about the world we live in. While singing songs from the sixties might draw an audience - heck, it would even be fun - I don't want to be an oldies act. Singing nostalgia is valid because it offers escape, but I don't want to engage in escapism, I want to be relevant to now. I want to grab hold of the moment and say, "it's moving in the wrong direction, help me get it back on course."

In order to do that, I decided it is necessary to let go of some things. I'm not going to worry about Barack being too young and inexperienced, I'm going to try to trust that he is a gifted enough person that maybe he can rise to the occasion. I'm not going to wallow in the cruel hoax of turning to the people who are dismantling the American experiment and asking them to save it - I want to accept that Democrats have won because Republicans screwed up, and that's how it goes in the toggle mentality of a two party system.

Their worst goals must be resisted, yes, but as an optimist, I will trust that the flaws of liberalism, when seen up close, will reaffirm in America it's basic conservatism. We must help them be the tools of their own demise.

I also think we must accept that America has been altered inexorably - this is not the European culture we grew up in, the forces that sought to minimize it's whiteness and make it a multi-cultural place have succeeded. That's not a bad thing, per se, it's just a different thing. It only hurts when you fight it. At the same time, we must make sure that the new America loves and respects that which is America, that it isn't here just to enjoy the benefits without respecting the underpinnings that made the spoils possible.

In other words, if new people are going to be in charge, I can live with that. I don't care who is in charge, I care what is in charge. What philosophies are going to guide us, what are our values going to be? Bad values can be pushed by people of any culture or race, as can good ones.

So I decided that I had to accept the tipping point that Barack's election represents. Power has shifted to the new guys. Fighting that would be like trying to fight the British invasion of the 1960's. The Beatles were not the revolution - the forces of change were unstoppable - they simply rode the wave created by the enormous demand for change. Television, and access to money, gave kids a new voice in the marketplace, and we used those tools to, for better and for worse, adjust the world to meet our tastes.

The same has happened now - we have raised a couple of generations of suburban kids whose lives haven't known the struggles of necessity. It is foolhardy to expect, for a moment, that they would view life the way we do. How could a twenty-something professional of today, earning a comfortable upper middle class living while sitting at his computer in Starbucks, have even the vaguest notion of the life that formed the Greatest Generation? We must stop expecting the impossible.

I'm not arguing that the fight is over - the struggle between conservative and liberal values is a permanent one, as is the political fight between the groups aligned, however loosely, behind those banners. I'm just saying that we have to realize that some things have already been decided - that liberalism has, to a large extent, already won, and we must map carefully the piece of land we're standing on so that we can best defend, and perhaps extend, our ground.

It is in this spirit that I begin a gradual relaunch of Barack's White Lies. A new look, a new location, a new name. While I liked the edginess of the name for the election - I enjoyed that it made liberals uncomfortable - my old fashioned conservative sensibilities lead me to feel uncomfortable calling my blog Barack's White Lies.

I don't wish to be disrespectful to the office of the President of the United States, which, hopefully, will always be occupied by a person who loves the ideals and the brilliance of the men, and the document, that created it.

The blog will live on under the name of Real Clear Thinker. It's an amalgam of the names of a couple of my favorite places to read - Real Clear Politics and The American Thinker - not so much inspired by them as absorbed and reconstructed.

When shocked liberals ask how I have come to a particular conclusion, I just tell them that I thought about it. And that's the truth. I like thinking clearly, and I believe that if others engage in a similar enterprise, they'll come to conclusions that are pretty close to mine.

That's what Real Clear Thinker is all about.

Moving Over, Not On

2008-11-13T03:40:00.000-05:00

Whatever Sarah Wants

2008-11-12T20:40:00.003-05:00

Whatever Sarah wants...

In yet another television interview, former Republican vice presidential hopeful Sarah Palin revealed on Wednesday that while she was focused on her job as Alaska’s governor she was open to the idea of a Senate bid.
While at first saying it was “not necessarily” the kind of post she would like some day, she was open to the idea.

Sarah gets.

“I’m not going to close any doors that perhaps would be in front of me and would allow me to put to good use executive experience and a world view that I think is good for our nation,” she said in an interview with CNN’s “Larry King Live.” “I’m not going to close any door there in terms of opportunity that may be there in the future.”

Just a day ago, in an interview on NBC the 44-year-old first-term governor said she wasn’t planning on seeking a Senate seat. “I’m not planning on it because I think the people of Alaska will best be served with me as their governor,” Palin said.

Sarah's not trying to calm presidential speculation, either.

The GOP vice presidential nominee has raised the possibility of running for the top job in four years in recent television interviews. Palin was attending the Republican Governors Association meeting Wednesday and was asked about speculation about her as the future of the party.

Palin told reporters: "I don't think it's me personally, I think it's what I represent." She added: "Every day hardworking American families — a woman on the ticket perhaps represents that. It would be good for the ticket. It would be good for the party. I would be happy to get to do whatever is asked of me to help progress this nation."

Bailing Out the Unions

2008-11-12T14:19:00.001-05:00

Why the fear of General Motors going under? The demand for cars would remain the same, so the lost manufacturing would have to be replaced, wouldn't it?

...while the cries of certain Armageddon would be ear splitting in the event of a GM failure, the U.S. auto sector would actually emerge much healthier thanks to a change in ownership that would be the certain result of GM going under.

How would auto manufacturing, and Detroit, possibly do well if GM, and others, were allowed to fold?

Far from vanishing, many of GM's assets would be quickly purchased by competent foreign automakers eager to expand their capacity in what is the world's largest auto market. Happily, the list of well-run car companies, from Toyota to Nissan to Porsche, is long.

So GM would fold, others would buy the factories, new managers with new employment contracts (and hopefully no unions) would be in charge, with state of the art cars rolling off the production lines in a sustainable business model.

With capable auto executives finally overseeing GM's poorly deployed assets, the value and utility of each would rise, thus perpetuating the existence of jobs in the sector, all the while ensuring that other businesses that exist due to GM will enjoy more stable commercial relationships with competent management.

Would Democrats ever do such a thing? Of course not. Barack has already signaled clearly he has every desire to offer the capital the broken companies need to keep overpaying their help. The bailout of the auto manufacturers is a bailout of unions, which means it will kick the can down the road, but not fix the underlying problem.

Nothing to Fear

2008-11-12T06:57:00.006-05:00

Conservatives are scared to death by the potential that Barack's radical past will travel with him to the White House. I can't help thinking that that's exactly what Republicans need.

The American Civil Liberties Union launched a new campaign today calling on President-elect Barack Obama to close the Guantanamo Bay prison and end the military commissions on Day One of his presidency.

Obama, as a candidate, pledged to "close Guantanamo, reject the Military Commissions Act and adhere to the Geneva Conventions." In a full page ad in the New York Times today, the ACLU urges Obama, as president, to fulfill those promises and immediately restore America's moral leadership in the world.

As the GOP questions how its philosophy and mission should be refined looking toward mid-term elections, wouldn't the clearest vision develop with a practicing liberal in the White House?

Labor unions want President-elect Barack Obama to move quickly on universal health care and to make it easier for workers to organize. Latino advocacy groups want immigration reform. Even the National Trust for Historic Preservation is urging Obama to seek full federal funding "to protect our heritage."

Interest groups are furiously drawing up wish lists for the incoming Obama administration, many of them hoping to cash in on the investments they made - in volunteers, political support, and campaign contributions - in Obama's commanding win.

The odds are pretty good that Barack will seek to thrown bones to liberals - with enough meat so he can argue that he's followed through on his campaign commitments - keeping the lefties calmed, but not happy, as he leads from the center. This is what conservatives must fear - a powerful, centrist administration that picks its spots carefully to push a liberal agenda. Like by pushing to courts carefully left.

The webpage of MoveOn.org, the antiwar group that was one of Obama's earliest and most active backers, said it all after Tuesday's election: "Together we did it!" the group said, claiming to have channeled 933,808 volunteers and $888,572 to Obama's campaign.
Translation: We helped you win, and now we want to see you pursue a liberal agenda in the White House. For the membership of MoveOn.org, that begins with bringing a swift end to the war in Iraq.

For Barack, there's nothing to fear but liberalism itself. His goal should be to be a problem solver who happens to be an ideologue. If he does that, the reinvention of the GOP will be a slow process.

If he chases faultline policies like the reinstatement of the Fairness Doctrine, something much feared by conservatives, we'll have clear and powerful around which to coalesce - making the job of rebuilding the party much easier.

Lobbyist Schnobbyist

2008-11-11T19:57:00.004-05:00

Barack's campaign stand against lobbyists was meaningless as policy - a deceptive stance of no practical meaning. Now, for the sake of real life, he's watered it down to make it even less meaningful, and more symbolic.

President-elect Obama, who campaigned against lobbyists' influence, on Tuesday opened the door for them to work for him if they sign an ethics code that restricts their role in and out of government.
Lobbyists can work for Obama's transition if they stop their advocacy efforts and avoid working in any field that they lobbied on in the last year. They also must pledge not to lobby the Obama administration on the same matters they focused on during the transition for a year after leaving Obama's service.

As bad as things are in Washington, all this symbolism and watering down of the campaign commitment actually represents a noticeable improvement.

The ethics policy allows Obama to hire any of the some 22,000 federally registered lobbyists who could be valuable assets because of their government experience, even though Obama railed against their influence on the campaign trail.

Of course, it's yet another abandonment of a strong policy stance. He was just kidding about his lobbying stand.

Podesta called the lobbying ban "the strictest, the most far-reaching ethic rules of any transition team in history." Yet the transition rules are not as strict as those that Obama has proposed for his administration's staff.
In a speech last November in Spartanburg, S.C., Obama said: "I have done more to take on lobbyists than any other candidate in this race ... I don't take a dime of their money, and when I am president, they won't find a job in my White House."

They won't find a job in my White House. Now there's a White Lie.

At other times, he said lobbyists would not "run" his White House.
Under recommendations spelled out in Obama's campaign Web site, no Obama political appointees would be allowed to work on regulations or contracts "directly or substantially related to their prior employer for two years." And while people who work on the transition would be permitted to lobby the administration on their transition issues after one year, political appointees to administration jobs would be prohibited from lobbying the executive branch for the remainder of the administration, according to Obama's proposed rules.
Podesta said the specifics of the administration rules are still being worked out, but it would include the two-year ban that Obama pledged. He said it was shortened to one year for the transition because it's a short-term assignment before the Jan. 20 inauguration.
Government watchdogs applauded the ethics rules in an unusual statement issued through the campaign. Thomas Mann of the Brookings Institution called the rules "tough and unequivocal" and said they come with a cost of keeping some honorable people from serving the transition, while Norman Ornstein of the American Enterprise Institute called them "far-reaching, bold and constructive" to restore trust in government.

Success Starts with W.

2008-11-11T16:59:00.001-05:00

Can it be that the economic policies of the Bush administration have been this successful? Under Bush, those in poverty fell dramatically, while the number of families making over $100,000/year has skyrocketed to one in four!

In 1996, only 9 percent of the electorate said their family income was that high. Last week it had grown to 26 percent — more than one in four voters. And those making over $75,000 are up to 15 percent from 9 percent. Put another way, more than 40 percent of those voting earned over $75,000, making this the highest-income electorate in history.

It seems that W. should be known as the first poor president.

The poorest segment of the electorate, those making under $15,000, has shrunk from 11 percent to 6 percent over the past dozen years. And those making $15,000 to $30,000 annually — the working poor — also shrunk from 23 percent to 12 percent of the electorate.

At the same time, the voters have become more racially diverse (with white voters dropping 9 points from 1996 to 74 percent of the electorate and minorities) and better educated — voters who had attended some college are surging.

Government Lemons

2008-11-11T15:48:00.004-05:00

Barack is pressing a bailout for automakers.

President-elect Barack Obama would like the government to find additional authority to deal with the liquidity crisis in the American automobile industry, Obama's transition co-chairman said on Tuesday.

The Obama team earlier leaked details of the disagreement over an auto bailout that arose between President Bush and Barack in their private meeting yesterday.

John Podesta said Obama stressed the need to help the ailing U.S. auto industry during talks with President George W. Bush at the White House on Monday.

"He's hopeful the government will look for additional authority to deal with the short-term liquidity crisis ... and get onto a program and a plan that would ensure that the auto industry can ... continue as ... independent companies ...," Podesta said in a briefing.

Renegade

2008-11-11T15:20:00.000-05:00

It's always the same question with liberal politicians - why don't their kids attend public schools?

Where will the Obama girls go to school? Will Michelle and Barack Obama choose private or public? What statement will their choice make? These are some of the questions on the minds of many Washington observers after the news that Michelle Obama visited a private school in D.C this week.

The unspoken reality is that people with the money to send their kids to private schools keep them out of urban public schools, owned and operated by Democrats and crippled by liberal ideology and the Democrats partnership with the teachers unions, and send them where they'll get a good education.

The Post's education columnist, Jay Mathews, is betting on Georgetown Day School as the Obamas' likely choice. Mathews says this is fitting on two fronts: Georgetown Day School was the first racially integrated school in D.C., and it is similar to the academically rigorous University of Chicago Laboratory Schools that Malia, a fifth grader, and Sasha, a second grader, currently attend. Several key Obama advisers send their children there.

Democrats should get called on it whenever they opt out of public schools - over time, perhaps voters would start to realize that Democrats operate on an educational double standard - they refuse to allow school choice, except for the affluent.

There is also the well-known fact that, despite some progress, D.C. schools are among the most dysfunctional, academically underachieving schools in the country. If Obama decides to send his daughters to a public school in the city, he would be the first president to do so since Jimmy Carter.

Tight Ship

2008-11-11T13:20:00.005-05:00

As tight a ship as the Obama campaign was, we have to assume that any aides to Obama who were briefed on his meeting with the President are leaking details with campaign consent and knowledge.

Just hours after President Bush and President-elect Obama met in the Oval Office of the White House, details of their confidential conversation began leaking out to the press, igniting anger from the president, sources claim.

"Senator Obama would be wise to keep close counsel," a top Bush source warned.

"Senator Obama may not be familiar with a long-standing tradition of presidents holding their private conversations, private," a senior adviser explained to the DRUDGE REPORT.

If not, we should expect him to be firing the leakers any minute. After all, how many people would know?

"BUSH AND OBAMA AT ODDS OVER AID FOR AUTO INDUSTRY," splashed the NEW YORK TIMES in an exclusive Monday evening, quoting "people familiar with the discussion."

The two met at the White House in private, without staff.

"Bush indicated at the meeting that he might support some aid and a broader economic stimulus package if Obama and congressional Democrats dropped their opposition to a free-trade agreement with Colombia," claimed the TIMES.

Is this Barack's idea for how to reward President Bush for the gracious transition he's running?

The ASSOCIATED PRESS quickly followed with details of the conversation, citing "aides who described the discussion on grounds of anonymity, citing the private nature of the meeting."

Bush advisers view the leaks as an effort to undermine the president's remaining days in office.

Needing A Newt Party

2008-11-11T06:16:00.003-05:00

Newt running the GOP? Great idea.

Newt Gingrich has let it be known that, if Republicans want him, the former U.S House speaker is willing to serve as chairman of the national party and lead it out of the wilderness it’s blundered into.

The question is whether the 168-member Republican National Committee is open to the match.

“If a majority of the RNC thought he was needed, he would accept that appointment,” said Randy Evans’ Gingrich’s close friend and legal counsel. “He fully appreciates the urgency of the moment.”

He's conservative, smart, and competent - the last attribute being in particularly short supply. And he's not currently an RNC member. Meaning that he'd represent change. Newt ideas.

What might strike some as coyness is in fact caution. The odds are stacked against the former Georgia congressman, for several reasons.

For one thing, six days after the election of Barack Obama and substantial gains by Democrats in the House and Senate, Republicans have yet to decide whether a serious overhaul of the party is required.

Business as usual sound like a good idea? A party running so close to the middle that it fails to differentiate itself from Democrats - except to be viewed as less competent?

If a revolution is in order, then there’s the small matter of which side is issued the pitchforks, and whose castle is to be stormed. Is this a fight to purge moderates, or a battle to expand the tent?

“The RNC has to do some soul-searching and decide what level of change is necessary,” Evans said. “If that answer is bold, energetic change led by someone who has done it before, then Newt would be a good choice.”

If the party is eying a shift toward the middle, Evans added, “that isn’t Newt.”

Though he retains his reputation as a polarizing figure, Gingrich served as a sideline strategist for the GOP during the presidential season. He pointed McCain to the issue of offshore drilling. But Gingrich also helped generate skepticism over the Wall Street bailout — which McCain and other Senate Republicans supported.

A January decision is expected.

Bake Sale

2008-11-11T06:00:00.002-05:00

The Money Machine never rests.

The election is hardly finished, and the fundraising has begun anew.The Obama campaign, which raised more than $600 million for the election of the junior senator from Illinois as the next president of the United States, is selling celebratory T-shirts.

Thirty bucks.

Obama T-shirts.jpg

The proceeds are going to the Democratic National Committee, which appearently has put itself in some debt with the massive organization it helped finance for the Obama campaign. President-elect Barack Obama and his vice president, Joe Biden, have their work cut out for them, a campaign e-mail explains, "But before we take the next step, we need to get our house in order.

Rebirth

2008-11-11T00:09:00.001-05:00

Sarah's got herself in rehab.

Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, amid speculation she'll run for president in four years, blamed Bush administration policies for the defeat last week of the GOP ticket and prayed she wouldn't miss "an open door" for her next political opportunity.

Not drug rehab. Political rehab. She's redefining herself - trying to shed the bad news of the McCain run and maximize her potential as the country's most popular Republican.

"I'm like, OK, God, if there is an open door for me somewhere, this is what I always pray, I'm like, don't let me miss the open door," Palin said in an interview with Fox News on Monday. "And if there is an open door in '12 or four years later, and if it is something that is going to be good for my family, for my state, for my nation, an opportunity for me, then I'll plow through that door."

With a horrible economy setting in, Palin is wise to separate herself from Bush, and Republicans, in general.

"It's amazing that we did as well as we did," Palin, who was Sen. John McCain's running mate, said of the election in a separate interview with the Anchorage Daily News.
"I think the Republican ticket represented too much of the status quo, too much of what had gone on in these last eight years, that Americans were kind of shaking their heads like going, wait a minute, how did we run up a $10 trillion debt in a Republican administration? How have there been blunders with war strategy under a Republican administration? If we're talking change, we want to get far away from what it was that the present administration represented and that is to a great degree what the Republican Party at the time had been representing," Palin said in a story published Sunday.

Palin has scheduled a series of national interviews this week with Fox, NBC's "Today" show and CNN. She also plans to attend the Republican Governors Association conference in Florida this week.

Media Bias

2008-11-10T20:23:00.001-05:00

Was the Washington Post's campaign coverage tilted in favor of Barack? The Post's ombudsman says so. Here are some of Deborah Howell's observations.

The Post provided a lot of good campaign coverage, but readers have been consistently critical of the lack of probing issues coverage and what they saw as a tilt toward Democrat Barack Obama. My surveys, which ended on Election Day, show that they are right on both counts.

My assistant, Jean Hwang, and I have been examining Post coverage since Nov. 11 of last year on issues, voters, fundraising, the candidates' backgrounds and horse-race stories on tactics, strategy and consultants. We also have looked at photos and Page 1 stories since Obama captured the nomination June 4.

The count was lopsided, with 1,295 horse-race stories and 594 issues stories. The Post was deficient in stories that reported more than the two candidates trading jabs; readers needed articles, going back to the primaries, comparing their positions with outside experts' views. There were no broad stories on energy or science policy, and there were few on religion issues.

The op-ed page ran far more laudatory opinion pieces on Obama, 32, than on Sen. John McCain, 13. There were far more negative pieces about McCain, 58, than there were about Obama, 32, and Obama got the editorial board's endorsement. The Post has several conservative columnists, but not all were gung-ho about McCain.

Stories and photos about Obama in the news pages outnumbered those devoted to McCain. Reporters, photographers and editors found the candidacy of Obama, the first African American major-party nominee, more newsworthy and historic. Journalists love the new; McCain, 25 years older than Obama, was already well known and had more scars from his longer career in politics.

Our survey results are comparable to figures for the national news media from a study by the Project for Excellence in Journalism. It found that from June 9, when Clinton dropped out of the race, until Nov. 2, 66 percent of the campaign stories were about Obama compared with 53 percent for McCain; some stories featured both. The project also calculated that in that time, 57 percent of the stories were about the horse race and 13 percent were about issues.

But Obama deserved tougher scrutiny than he got, especially of his undergraduate years, his start in Chicago and his relationship with Antoin "Tony" Rezko, who was convicted this year of influence-peddling in Chicago. The Post did nothing on Obama's acknowledged drug use as a teenager.

One gaping hole in coverage involved Joe Biden, Obama's running mate. When Gov. Sarah Palin was nominated for vice president, reporters were booking the next flight to Alaska. Some readers thought The Post went over Palin with a fine-tooth comb and neglected Biden. They are right; it was a serious omission. However, I do not agree with those readers who thought The Post did only hatchet jobs on her. There were several good stories on her, the best on page 1 by Sally Jenkins on how Palin grew up in Alaska.

The King Demands Your Presents

2008-11-10T16:24:00.005-05:00

Hey, cut her a little slack, wouldja? It's not like she came to the door wearing only a towel or nothin'! Jeez!

The co-chair of Barack Obama's Transition Team, Valerie Jarrett, appeared on Meet the Press this weekend and used, shall we say, an interesting word to described what she thinks Barack Obama will be doing in January when he's officially sworn into office. She told Tom Brokaw that Obama will be ready to "rule" on day one.

Ya, well so what? He is ready to rule the world.

It's a word that reflects the worst fears that people have for Obama the "arrogant," the "messiah," that imagines he's here to "rule" instead of govern.

Jarret told Brokaw that "given the daunting challenges that we face, it's important that president elect Obama is prepared to really take power and begin to rule day one."

Hey, it's not like she thinks Africa is a country or somethin' stupid! She just said he's ready to take the throne!

A Wonderful World

2008-11-10T15:04:00.003-05:00

In an historic moment drowning in history, the historic president-elect made his historic visit to the White House, as a transition steeped in history moves historically forward.

President-elect Barack Obama visited the White House on Monday for his first post-election meeting with President George W. Bush, a strikingly symbolic moment in the historic transition of power in Washington.

The outgoing president and first lady Laura Bush greeted Obama and his wife Michelle with smiles and handshakes as they stepped from their limousine to begin a tour of what will be their new home after Obama is sworn in on Jan. 20.

Obama's aides say after taking office he will likely move quickly to roll back Bush's executive orders that limit stem cell research and expand oil and gas drilling in some areas.

There was no outward sign of tension, however, as the Obamas began their White House visit.

Presidents-in-waiting traditionally make a trip to the White House between Election Day and inauguration but usually wait longer than Obama did.

He came calling after only six days, underscoring a sense of urgency in the transition process. It will be the first wartime transfer of presidential power in four decades and also comes as economic turmoil is shaking world markets.

Know Nothings

2008-11-10T08:00:00.004-05:00

Are you feeling Bill's pain?

“It’s all guilt by association,” Ayers said. “They made me into a cartoon character—they threw me up onstage just to pummel me. I felt from the beginning that the Obama campaign had to run the Obama campaign and I have to run my life.”

Poor Bill - life as the former bomber friend of a candidate for president was not easy!

Ayers said that once his name became part of the campaign maelstrom he never had any contact with the Obama circle. “That’s not my world,” he said.

Yup. He was cut off after he became Kryptonite to the campaign. Which means that until his name became part of the conversation they were in regular contact?

One night, Ayers recalled, he and Dohrn were watching Bill O’Reilly, who was going on about “discovering” Ayers’s 1974 manifesto, “Prairie Fire.” “I had to laugh,” Ayers said. “No one read it when it was first issued!” He said that he laughed, too, when he listened to Sarah Palin’s descriptions of Obama “palling around with terrorists.” In fact, Ayers said that he knew Obama only slightly: “I think my relationship with Obama was probably like that of thousands of others in Chicago and, like millions and millions of others, I wished I knew him better.”

Oh, I see. When you gave Barack the job of his career, and had an office on the same floor of a small office building, and when you served on the board of the Woods Foundation, your relationship with Barack was like thousands of others in Chicago???

As we were getting ready to go, after an hour of front-stoop conversation, a neighbor came by and ironically reminded Ayers of the event that he and his wife held for Obama in 1995 when Obama was making his run for the Illinois state senate. "Everyone, including you, wants to have a coffee here," he joked to the neighbor. “I don’t know what the fuck I’m going to do!”

That's right - I forgot about that fundraiser.

Here We Go

2008-11-10T05:56:00.003-05:00

Right on queue:

The international financial crisis has given world leaders a unique opportunity to create a truly global society, Britain's Prime Minister Gordon Brown will say in a keynote foreign policy speech on Monday.

In his annual speech at the Lord Mayor's Banquet, Brown -- who has spearheaded calls for the reform of international financial institutions -- will say Britain, the United States and Europe are key to forging a new world order.

"The alliance between Britain and the U.S. -- and more broadly between Europe and the U.S. -- can and must provide leadership, not in order to make the rules ourselves, but to lead the global effort to build a stronger and more just international order," an excerpt from the speech says.

Brown and other leaders meet in Washington next weekend to discuss longer term solutions for dealing with economic issues following a series of coordinated moves on interest rates and to recapitalize banks in the wake of the financial crisis.

"Uniquely in this global age, it is now in our power to come together so that 2008 is remembered not just for the failure of a financial crash that engulfed the world but for the resilience and optimism with which we faced the storm, endured it and prevailed," Brown will say in his speech on Monday evening.

"...And if we learn from our experience of turning unity of purpose into unity of action, we can together seize this moment of change in our world to create a truly global society."

Making Work Pay

2008-11-09T12:18:00.004-05:00

What a surprise. When things go bad for Americans who've been trained by liberalism to buy things they don't need with money they don't have, it is WORK that is to blame.

A middle-class tax cut will be one of President-elect Obama’s first proposals after he takes the oath of office, incoming White House chief of staff Rahm Emanuel said Sunday.

In the first interview by the first appointee to the new administration, Emanuel told ABC’s George Stephanopoulos on “This Week” that Obama’s economic plan “at this juncture is based on giving 95 percent of working Americans a tax cut....” During the campaign, Obama promised a $1,000 “Making Work Pay” tax credit.

As government gets more civilized (liberal), it gets more expensive. As education gets distracted by celebrations of diversity, it teaches less and it costs more. As health care has been more regulated, it's gotten more expensive.

“Over the years, the middle class has been squeezed consistently by rising costs on education, health care and energy, as well as a diminishing income,” Emanuel said. “You must have an economic program that focuses on them. … It was built on the fact that the middle had been hurt. And to have a strong recovery, and a sustained recovery over a period of time means that the middle class must the focus of the economic strategy.”

Emanuel’s chief message for the day: “We have a huge economic crisis here at home that is looming large. That is going to be the focus of his policies. … The business of what we have to do when we get sworn in is focusing on what the American people care about. Priority 1 is the economy.”

Despite his discomfort with direct answers, Emanuel got the point across - for work to pay, handouts are needed.

“Middle class families will see their taxes cut – and no family making less than $250,000 will see their taxes increase,” the campaign said. “For 95 percent of workers and their families—150 million workers overall—the ‘Making Work Pay’ credit will provide a refundable tax cut of $500 for workers or $1,000 for working couple.”

Avoiding Power

2008-11-09T09:56:00.000-05:00

In Barack's presser on Friday, he mentioned a couple of times that there can only one president at a time. Was he pressuring for the Bush administration to move toward a co-presidency during transition, or was he trying to create distance from Bush - to make it clear to Americans that there would be no collaboration?

In an earlier conflict, when the country was on the brink of civil war, Lincoln took a hands-off approach during a four-month lag between his election and inauguration, staying mum so as not to inflame tensions in the North or the South... Lincoln maintained what became known as an attitude of "masterly inactivity," said Harold Holzer, who recently wrote the book "Lincoln President-Elect."

FDR took the same approach.

Roosevelt, who picked members of the opposing party for Cabinet spots, was as noncommittal as Lincoln as he was about to be sworn into office amid a banking crisis. When Herbert Hoover asked him to sign on to a bank holiday — a temporary closure of banks — three days before inauguration, Roosevelt famously looked up and said, "The drapes look very pretty. I'm sure Eleanor will want to keep these just as they are."

That made Hoover furious. Soon after taking the oath of office, Roosevelt declared the banking holiday on his own.

We may see Barack borrowing more moves from his predecessors once he assumes office.

In his first fireside chat in March 1933, FDR said: "We had a bad banking situation. Some of our bankers had shown themselves either incompetent or dishonest in their handling of the people's funds. They had used the money entrusted to them in speculations and unwise loans. ... It was the government's job to straighten out this situation and do it as quickly as possible, and the job is being performed."
Sound familiar?
"He wanted to do it himself. A clean slate is what Lincoln wanted. It's what Roosevelt wanted," Holzer said. "The lessons of history are there. The most successful transformative presidencies were patient between the election and the inauguration."
Maybe history is repeating itself in that regard. When President Bush announced before the election that he was hosting a global economic summit in Washington on Nov. 15, the Obama camp said the presidential hopeful wouldn't be there. "He understands there is only one president," an Obama adviser said.

Unintended Consequences

2008-11-09T06:03:00.004-05:00

Gun sales have been brisk in recent months out of fear of an Obama presidency.

“He’s a gun-snatcher,” said Jim Pruett, owner of Jim Pruett’s Guns and Ammo in northwest Houston, which was packed with shoppers on Thursday.
“He wants to take our guns from us and create a socialist society policed by his own police force,” added Mr. Pruett, a former radio personality, of President-elect Barack Obama.

Mr. Pruett said that sales last Saturday, just before Election Day, ran about seven times higher than a typical good Saturday.

Why this reaction, considering that Barack's gone out of his way to appear moderate on the issue of gun control? For one, he's a Democrat. Second, here's the only reference to guns I could find on his website.

Address Gun Violence in Cities: As president, Barack Obama would repeal the Tiahrt Amendment, which restricts the ability of local law enforcement to access important gun trace information, and give police officers across the nation the tools they need to solve gun crimes and fight the illegal arms trade. Obama and Biden also favor commonsense measures that respect the Second Amendment rights of gun owners, while keeping guns away from children and from criminals who shouldn't have them. They support closing the gun show loophole and making guns in this country childproof. They also support making the expired federal Assault Weapons Ban permanent, as such weapons belong on foreign battlefields and not on our streets.

Pat's Tingle

2008-11-09T03:55:00.000-05:00

Pat Robertson is as excited by Barack as Michael Moore is.

"He can be one of the great presidents of the United States if he doesn't get pulled to far from the center."

On Palin - "Just not ready for prime time."

Moore Barack

2008-11-09T00:38:00.001-05:00

Michael Moore is always heartwarming. Enjoy him, pre-boggled, as he talks to Larry King on the Obama victory.

His answer to King's inquiry regarding whether he thinks Barack will pull the troops out quickly, as promised, is quite amusing.

Sarah's Seat?

2008-11-08T22:00:00.000-05:00

People are asking whether Sarah Palin will appoint herself to the U.S. Senate if/when Ted Stevens steps down. She may be able to, but according to a law, or laws, passed 4 years ago, a special election must be held within a couple of months. So what exactly are the rules?

Nobody can say for sure.

That's because Alaska's law on senatorial succession was changed twice in 2004 -- once by the Legislature, and once by ballot initiative. Both laws call for a special election within 60 to 90 days of the vacancy. But they disagree on whether the governor appoints an interim senator in the meantime.

The Alaska Supreme Court would ultimately have to decide which law the state follows.

Other analysis of Alaska law makes things more clear.

Citizen reaction to former Governor Murkowski appointing his daughter, Lisa, to a vacant Senate seat in 2002 was a 2004 ballot initiative stripping the Governor of this power (56% to 44%). According to the Alaska Elections website (pdf), the 2002 initiative "repeal[s] state law by which theGovernor makes a temporary appointment of a person tofill a U.S. Senate vacancy until a special or regularelection can be held."

Ok - so no appointments. That would be a bad idea for Sarah anyway - it would make her look weak, and like the consumate insider. Anyway, she'd likely have no problem winning the seat without any unfair advantages.

Whether the senate is the best place for Palin to head as preparation for a run for the presidency is the real question. On the one hand, going to Washington would make her part of Washington - and that's usually bad. On the other hand, considering Sarah's reputation for being big on local personality but small on national policy consciousness, becoming a beltway babe could be just what the electoral college ordered.

Either way, Stevens isn't likely to stay in the senate all that long.

"The reality is that a convicted felon is not going to be able to serve in the United States Senate," (Harry) Reid said. "And as precedent shows us, Senator Stevens will face an ethics committee investigation and expulsion, regardless of his appeals process."

And what might happen if his colleagues do kick Stevens out of the Senate, prompting a special election? Who might be in line to replace him? Hint: lipstick; $150,000 wardrobe. Yep, you betcha! Sarah Palin.

Fury in Frisco

2008-11-08T19:07:00.000-05:00

Supporters of gay marriage remain shocked over the gay marriage vote on Tuesday. How does a state vote for the Democrats so reliably and then pass Proposition 8?

Thousands of demonstrators marched down Market Street in San Francisco on Friday night to protest the passage earlier this week of Proposition 8, which effectively bans same-sex marriage in California.
The march began around 5:30 p.m., as the group worked its way west toward its final destination of Dolores Park. A large group remained around Ninth and Market streets, holding signs, chanting and jamming traffic. About a dozen Muni buses were stuck in the traffic mess.

The social conservative minority communities, who support Dems but not gay marriage, offer much of the explanation.

"Our rights have been taken away," said Debra Walker, a lesbian who has lived in San Francisco since 1981. She is a member of the city's building inspection commission and is the past president of the Harvey Milk Club.

"I came here because of the welcoming way of San Francisco. It is so troubling that in 2008, this would pass. The fear campaign was unconscionable."

Walker stood holding a banner across Market Street and said she was prepared to be arrested.

"A little traffic stoppage is mild compared to having rights taken away from you," she said.

There were no reports of arrests in connection with the demonstration.

The crowd shouted chants such as "Our rights" and "We will not be quiet."

It's ironic that liberal minorities, who have seen fights over equal rights in the their histories, aren't buying the gay marriage is a human right argument.

One of the organizers of the demonstration, Ryan Kerian, 28, a gay lawyer and San Francisco resident, said the rally was designed to "show that we won't be silent.

"We've had rights stripped away from us," he said. "We aren't going to give up and go away."

The crowd was ethnically mixed, but two African American men infuriated many demonstrators by loudly arguing in favor of Prop. 8. They were berated repeatedly by opponents of the proposition, but spent more than 90 minutes arguing about the Bible.

"It is not discrimination," said Chauncey Killens, who said he represented a small congregation in Prunedale (Monterey County). He carried a sign reading, "Yes on Prop 8. Protect marriage."

The presence of the two men from Prunedale was deeply offensive to many of the demonstration participants, said Jeffrey Lebin, 52, of San Jose. "To have the lack of support from the black community is very painful to us. Fifty years from now, I think the black community will be ashamed that they didn't support us."

Uriah Findley, 27, who is straight and was born and raised in conservative Orange County, said he believes that Prop. 8 will be a fleeting event in California history.

"This is their last hurrah," he said. "Proposition 8 is the last gasp of a dying way of thinking."

He said religion has no place in laws.

"As far as I'm concerned, this isn't something that ever should have been voted on," he said.

Bad for Business

2008-11-08T16:21:00.000-05:00

The stock market crashed this week after Barack was elected. But did Barack's election cause the meltdown?

Racked by the credit crisis and the growing likelihood of a deep recession, financial markets have been given to extremes for the last two months, mostly to the downside. The presidential race added to the uncertainty, but it never was the main driver of this market turmoil.

Obama's supporters believe he has the solutions needed to get the economy growing again. Stabilize the financial system and fix the economy, and the stock market should respond positively -- right?

But plenty of people believe Obama's ideas will be somewhere between hurtful and ruinous for investors over time.

You mean that hope and change might hurt?

Tom Kerr, who helps manage $2.5 billion in stocks for Reed, Conner & Birdwell Inc. in L.A., asserts that many of the policies Obama has espoused are "job destroyers and are bad for all size businesses in America."

He ticks off his list: "Less free trade . . . more business regulation . . . increased union power . . . higher tax rates on big consumer spenders."

Kerr also notes that Obama has proposed a windfall-profits tax on oil companies. Kerr suspects Obama would start with Big Oil, then move to boost taxes on other industries -- say, the big drug companies.

Would he really do those things, or were those just ideas designed to manipulate voters.

Obama's image with investors such as Kerr wasn't helped by the Illinois senator's comments, in the famous exchange with Joe the Plumber, about wanting to "spread the wealth around."

"Socialist!" the Republicans screamed. In America, that word is a guaranteed spine-chiller for the richest of the investor class, and even for the not so richest.

Any of the well-heeled who need an excuse to sell stocks now, even with the S&P 500 down 40% from its 2007 peak, can cite another Obama promise: his plan to hike the maximum tax on long-term capital gains and dividends to 20% from 15% for couples earning more than $250,000 a year.

Let's do the math. You've got a $200,000 long-term stock gain to cash in. At a 15% tax rate, you'd keep $170,000 of that. At a 20% tax rate, you'd keep $160,000.

But what if the stock is 25% higher a year from now because the economy is coming out of recession, thanks to -- or in spite of -- Obama's policies? If your long-term gain is $250,000 a year from now, and the tax rate is 20%, your net gain would be $200,000.

Giles Almond, who manages $155 million for clients as head of Matrix Wealth Advisors in Charlotte, N.C., says most of his investors are taking a practical view of Obama.

"The gist of what I hear is, 'Let's wait and see,' " Almond said. "People know that any politician doesn't end up implementing more than a fraction of what they intend to do."

Almond, who said he didn't vote for Obama, recalled that "there was a similar level of apprehension when Bill Clinton came to office." Whatever else Clinton did, he wasn't bad for stocks in the '90s.

Not So Funny

2008-11-08T14:45:00.000-05:00

New Obama's are already being born.

Barack Obama may have a "funny name," as he once said - but it might just catch on among the nation's newborns.

A Florida couple became among the country's first to bestow it on their child, even before most news outlets had declared the Illinois senator the president-elect.

Sanjae Obama Fisher was born at 8 p.m. local time at Hollywood's Memorial Regional Hospital to Patrick and Sasha Hall Fisher.

A hospital spokeswoman says it was the father's idea. But mom still got to watch the election, after 14 hours at the hospital.

Sanjae has two siblings, 8-year-old sister Shaniah and 4-year-old brother Shane.

In Arkansas, Benjamin Barack Kimbrough was born at 2:35 p.m. local time on Election Day to Walter and Adria Kimbrough. Walter Kimbrough is president of Philander Smith College, a historically black school in Little Rock.

In Maryland, a mother who went into labor Tuesday after voting for Obama named her newborn daughter for the Obamas' two girls, 7-year-old Sasha and Malia, 10.

Lakisha Brown of Joppa gave birth to Sasha Malia Ann Taylor at 12:36 a.m. local time Wednesday at Greater Baltimore Medical Center.

GBMC spokesman Michael Schwartzberg said Brown watched Obama's victory speech while she was in labor at the hospital. She says she was so struck by the love Obama showed to his daughters that she decided to name her baby after them.

It appears that Hussein has been ignored as an option thusfar.

Ya Sarah

2008-11-08T13:59:00.000-05:00

Sarah calls them jerks.

They deserve it.

An angry aide characterized the Palins as "Wasilla hillbillies looting Neiman Marcus from coast to coast."

Back Stabber

2008-11-08T10:12:00.002-05:00

Who is trashing Sarah? Mitt Romney says the petty anonomous leaks against Palin aren't coming from him. Here's the headline in today's Boston Herald - "Mitt Romney: I’m no back stabber."

Fox News, the New York Times [NYT] and Newsweek have reported on a host of criticisms of Palin, including that she threw tantrums that made staffers cry and didn’t know Africa was a continent. Several media outlets reported some of the leaks came from within the McCain campaign. But the political blog, The Palmetto Scoop, citing “very good sources,” said it was Romney loyalists working for McCain who were behind the “premeditated last minute sabotage” of Palin.

Fehrnstrom took issue with the Scoop’s claim that as much as 80 percent of Romney’s campaign staff went to work for Sen. John McCain’s team after the GOP primary. Only “a handful” of Romney operatives joined the Arizona senator’s campaign, he said.

Others beg to differ.

GOP strategist Holly Robichaud, who writes the “Lone Republican” blog for the Herald, said: “It’s definitely Romney’s people. They’ve been doing it for a while. Romney is thinking about running again in 2012 and he needs to kill off Sarah Palin in order to get there.”

Romney has some ground to make up if he's going to face Palin in four years.

Meanwhile, a new Rasmussen poll shows that 64 percent of Republicans want Palin to be the GOP presidential candidate in 2012 while 11 percent prefer Romney.

Puh Puh Puh Puh Palin

2008-11-08T06:47:00.005-05:00

In four years, America's going to be eager for change. So which Republican is best positioned to challenge Barack in 2012?

When asked to choose among some of the GOP’s top names for their choice for the party’s 2012 presidential nominee, 64% say Palin. The next closest contenders are two former governors and unsuccessful challengers for the presidential nomination this year -- Mike Huckabee of Arkansas with 12% support and Mitt Romney of Massachusetts with 11%.

Wow. Palin leads the next most popular Republicans by 50 points! Now we know why they're out to get her.

Ninety-one percent (91%) of Republicans have a favorable view of Palin, including 65% who say their view is Very Favorable. Only eight percent (8%) have an unfavorable view of her, including three percent (3%) Very Unfavorable.

What about all that talk from liberals about how awful Palin is, and how she represents McCain's biggest mistake?

Only 20% of GOP voters say Palin hurt the party’s ticket, according to a new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey. Six percent (6%) say she had no impact, and five percent (5%) are undecided.

Is it possible that McCain's biggest mistake wasn't Palin, but rather, McCain?

These findings echo a survey earlier this week which found that Republicans were happier with their vice presidential candidate than with their presidential nominee. Seventy-one percent (71%) said McCain made the right choice by picking Palin as his running mate, while only 65% said the party picked the right nominee for president.

Palin's strength is that she makes the base happy. From that platform, she'll have the power to go after the rest of the country.

The key for the 44-year-old Palin will be whether she can broaden her base of support. An Election Day survey found that 81% of Democrats and, more importantly, 57% of unaffiliated voters had an unfavorable view of her.

The survey numbers are from the most accurate pollster this year - Rasmussen.

No Apologies

2008-11-08T06:31:00.003-05:00

Things are different in Italy, I guess.

Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, under fire at home for describing U.S. President-elect Barack Obama as "suntanned," said on Friday he saw no need to apologize.
At a news conference, Berlusconi was brusque with an American journalist who suggested he should say sorry for the remark on Thursday. Visiting Moscow, he described the man elected to be the first black U.S. president as "handsome, young and also suntanned."

Berlusconi was ignoring demands for an apology just as Barack pre-empted them here by calling Nancy Reagan to apologize.

His center-left opponents called the comment racist; Berlusconi responded by saying they were "imbeciles without any sense of humor."
Berlusconi's latest gaffe was on the front pages of most Italian newspapers on Friday.
"Berlusconi never fails to live up to our worst expectations," said an editorial in the Rome daily La Repubblica.

One for One

2008-11-07T20:13:00.003-05:00

The price of inexperience.

President-elect Barack Obama called Nancy Reagan this afternoon to apologize for a joke about her having held "séances" in the White House, an Obama aide said.

In the future, he'll do better to be self-deprecating, rather than Great President's Widow deprecating.

“President-elect Barack Obama called Nancy Reagan today to apologize for the careless and off handed remark he made during today’s press conference," said transition spokeswoman Stephanie Cutter. "The President-elect expressed his admiration and affection for Mrs. Reagan that so many Americans share and they had a warm conversation."

Was Barack deliberately going after a Republican icon to ingratiate himself with the liberal elite? He has been talking to lots of Harvard folks these days.

Obama was asked at his press conference today if he'd spoken to all the "living" presidents.

It was a harmless enough line - for anyone but the president-elect.

"I have spoken to all of them who are living," he responded. "I didn’t want to get into a Nancy Reagan thing about doing any séances."

He'll learn.

He was apparently confusing stories about Reagan's consulting with an astrologer with those about other First Ladies -- from Mary Todd Lincoln to Hillary Clinton -- who tried to make contact with figures from the past.

Right now, Barack is running one for one in the press conference/blunder ratio. Imagine if Sarah Palin had such a record!

Obamedy

2008-11-07T18:34:00.002-05:00

Barack was loose, and clearly quite comfortable with his new role as the king in waiting. Some, however, are already getting upset. His first attempt at humor, with a light poke at Nancy Reagan, is already being called a cheap shot - and you have to wonder why Barack went there.

Many, however, will enjoy his attempts at not taking himself too seriously, even if they aren't particularly funny. This mutt joke was a botched one.

Barack Presser

2008-11-07T16:01:00.002-05:00

Barack held his first press conference today. While starting off by saying that there's only one president, and that his turn to take the ball up the court doesn't arrive for a couple of months, Barack seemed at the same time to be establishing his position on the court.

In his first news conference since Election Day, President-elect Barack Obama said the United States is ''facing the "greatest economic challenge of our lifetimes."

Obama met with his economic advisers Friday, and flanked by his advisers, Vice President-elect Joe Biden, and White House Chief of Staff appointee Rahm Emanuel, Obama met the press for the first time since Nov. 4. "Immediately after I become President, I will confront this economic crisis head-on by taking all necessary steps to ease the credit crisis, help hardworking families, and restore growth and prosperity," he said.

"First, we need a rescue plan for the middle class that invests in immediate efforts to create jobs and provides relief to families that are watching their paychecks shrink and their life savings disappear," Obama continued. He called for an extension of insurance benefits and a new stimulus package.

"I would like to see a stimulus package sooner rather than later," Obama said. He said if no stimulus package is passed during the lame duck session of Congress, one will come immediately after his inauguration.

It doesn't appear that Barack has any instinct to take a hard line on auto industry bailouts.

Obama also called for attention to the woes of small businesses and the auto industry.

"I would like to see the administration do everything they can to accelerate the retooling assistance that Congress has already enacted," Obama said. "In addition, I have made it a high priority for my transition team to work on additional policy options to help the auto industry adjust, weather the financial crisis, and succeed in producing fuel-efficient cars here in the United States. I have asked my team to explore what we can do under current law and whether additional legislation will be needed for this purpose."

Celebrating Diversity

2008-11-07T14:15:00.001-05:00

The Democrat's idea of education.

It seems to me that social programs would head towards obsoletion instead of endless expansion if Democrats would end their partnership with the teachers unions and start focusing on competent education instead.

Gut-Check

2008-11-07T12:28:00.001-05:00

One of the blessings accompanying the shame of Barack's victory is the timing. This is not a moment for pushing measures that are bad economic policy, so the Obama administration will have to kick obviously destructive political payoff policy proposals down the road.

Obama is a cosponsor of the so-called Employee Free Choice Act, which is also called the “card check” bill. The measure would allow workers to join a union when a majority of them sign authorization cards. Industry groups are strongly opposed to the bill, which is a top priority for unions. Republicans and business groups say the bill would compromise a worker’s right to cast a private ballot on whether to join a union.

Is card-check a good idea? Former Democratic presidential nominee George McGovern says:

The legislation is called the Employee Free Choice Act, and I am sad to say it runs counter to ideals that were once at the core of the labor movement. Instead of providing a voice for the unheard, EFCA risks silencing those who would speak. As a longtime friend of labor unions, I must raise my voice against pending legislation I see as a disturbing and undemocratic overreach not in the interest of either management or labor.

Nancy Pelosi has tried to temper expectations of "change" as the change candidate claims victory - cognisant of the fact that even in good times, much of what liberals want is just not doable.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Wednesday called on President-elect Barack Obama to govern from the middle, as her party sat poised to gain its widest House majority in 15 years.

And the auto manufacturers, suffering from the bad deals they were intimidated into making with unions through the years, are looking for a government payout. Is this a time to give more power to the unions when we're paying for their destructive impact?

Is this a time to bail out the unions, who have done so much damage? Hopefully, Barack will realize we can't afford it.

Second Class

2008-11-07T10:44:00.000-05:00

Headline in the radio trades:

"Obama skips Black radio."

We understand that Barack wouldn't benefit from advertising on black radio - he was already getting their votes, so where was the upside in placing ads targeting that demographic?

Exit polls indicate 95% of African Americans voted for the President-elect. But that strong support apparently did not lead to big ad dollars for ethnic stations. Radio One president Barry Mayo says his company got "nowhere near" what general market stations received.

But with money to burn, wouldn't you expect a little loyalty?

Appealing?

2008-11-07T09:12:00.000-05:00

Who would you choose?

Obama faces a difficult choice for Treasury secretary

Manuel Balce Ceneta / AP; Joshua Roberts / Bloomberg News

TWO POSSIBILITIES: Lawrence H. Summers, left, was one of President Clinton's Treasury secretaries and served as president of Harvard. Volcker was Federal Reserve chief under Presidents Carter and Reagan.

Swooning

2008-11-07T08:01:00.000-05:00

The generation gap expands.

Kanye West, Wilco, Beyonce, Mellencamp Shout Out Historic Obama Victory

11/6/08, 1:52 pm EST

Photo: Forrest/Getty

As the world celebrates Barack Obama’s victory, countless rockers and rappers have praised and congratulated the new President. In addition to new songs from Thom Yorke and Will.i.am, rapper Common also released a new Obama-inspired song entitled “Changes.” Chicago natives have also posted messages on their Websites to their former homestate Senator: Wilco put up a photo of themselves and Obama with the caption “Congratulations to our Senator, our friend, and our President-elect Barack Obama on his historic victory last night,” while Kanye West posted on his blog “Hi Mom. Obama won!”

Madonna and R.E.M. also paid tribute to Obama during a pair of concerts on Tuesday night, with Madonna telling the San Diego crowd, “This is the beginning of a whole world” before revealing to the CNN-less crowd that Obama had been elected. Michael Stipe also informed the crowd in Chile that Obama had been elected, which was greeted with loud cheers, before the band played “I Believe.” John Mellencamp reflected on the election on his website, saying “This for me is something I never thought I would see in my life.” Mavis Staples released a statement, saying, “To come up in a time when there was slavery, racism, the KKK, and Jim Crow, I’m just so grateful to still be here to enjoy this historical time in our lives. It is so surreal, so completely overwhelming.” Beyoncé has even volunteered her services by offering to play Obama’s inauguration in January. Judging by Obama’s giant fan club in the music industry, there’ll be no shortage of artists eager to welcome Obama into office.

Gets Worse

2008-11-07T07:16:00.001-05:00

The GOP loses another senate seat as Gordon Smith falls in Oregon. What happened?

In the end, the Democrats succeeded primarily because of two factors. First was the willingness of a little-known rookie speaker of the Oregon House, Jeff Merkley, to ignore the advice of friends who thought he should stay in his job and eventually run for governor. Instead, Merkley decided to challenge Smith when more established political figures weren't willing to take the gamble.

Second was the decision of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee and it's hyper-aggressive chairman, Sen. Charles Schumer of New York, to back Merkley to the hilt. The committee helped Merkley fend off a tough primary challenge and spent $11.6 million on ads attacking Smith -- more than anyone else in the race, candidates included.

Polls from both sides showed the race essentially tied in the last week. Isaacs said he figured two things put Merkley over the top: the superior voter turnout effort mounted by Democrats and an ad featuring Obama urging Oregonians to help him by electing Merkley.

Hope and Change strike again.

Rahm Choice

2008-11-07T06:46:00.002-05:00

Jake Tapper asks about the potential repercussions from the Rahm Emanuel appointment.

Will the Arab World Take Issue With Rahm's Israeli Roots and Pro-Israel Views?
Israeli newspapers are already rejoicing about President-elect Obama's selection of Rep. Rahm Emanuel, D-Ill., to be his White House chief of staff.

As the Israeli newspaper Ha'aretz notes, Emanuel "is the son of a Jerusalem-born pediatrician who was a member of the Irgun (Etzel or IZL), a militant Zionist group that operated in Palestine between 1931 and 1948." Emanuel's father told the newspaper that his son was named after a fallen combatant named Rahamim.

In the Israel newspaper Ma'ariv, Emanuel's father, Dr. Benjamin Emanuel said, "Obviously he will influence the president to be pro-Israel. Why wouldn't he be? What is he, an Arab? He's not going to clean the floors of the White House."

Rahm Emanuel headed Bill Clinton's finance committee during the Arkansas governor's first presidential run, but he left to be a civilian volunteer for the Israel Defense Forces during the 1991 Gulf War. He rust-proofed brakes in one of Israel's northern bases.

Ali Abunimah of the Electronic Intifadah seems upset at Obama's selection of a "pro-Israel hardliner."

"There could not be a more provocative appointment than Rahm Emanuel, if he wanted to send a signal that he is going to stick by a quite hard-line pro-Israel policy," Abunimah said on Democracy Now.

Abunimah pointed out that Emanuel's middle name is "Israel," and described Emanuel's father as "a gun runner for the Irgun, the Zionist, pre-Israel Zionist, militia that carried out numerous terrorist attacks on Palestinian civilians, including the bombing of the King David Hotel. Of course, Rahm Emanuel himself is not responsible for any of that, but his record is sometimes far to the right of President Bush when it comes to supporting Israel."

In the coming hours we'll see what the reaction is from the Arab media.

Question

2008-11-07T06:04:00.003-05:00

Has any post WWII president taken office in more terrible circumstances?

Turnout Turnup?

2008-11-07T01:26:00.003-05:00

Another myth evaporates.

A new report from American University’s Center for the Study of the American Electorate concludes that voter turnout in Tuesday’s election was the same in percentage terms as it was four years ago — or at most has risen by less than 1 percent.
The report released Thursday estimates that between 126.5 and 128.5 million Americans cast ballots in the presidential election earlier this week. Those figures represent 60.7 percent or, at most, 61.7 percent of those eligible to vote in the country.

Or does it?

“A downturn in the number and percentage of Republican voters going to the polls seemed to be the primary explanation for the lower than predicted turnout,” the report said. Compared to 2004, Republican turnout declined by 1.3 percentage points to 28.7 percent, while Democratic turnout increased by 2.6 points from 28.7 percent in 2004 to 31.3 percent in 2008.

Ok - so GOP voters weren't as excited by McCain, but Barack's increase was not earth-shattering.

“Many people were fooled (including this student of politics although less so than many others) by this year’s increase in registration (more than 10 million added to the rolls), citizens’ willingness to stand for hours even in inclement weather to vote early, the likely rise in youth and African American voting, and the extensive grassroots organizing network of the Obama campaign into believing that turnout would be substantially higher than in 2004,” Curtis Gans, the center’s director, said in the report. “But we failed to realize that the registration increase was driven by Democratic and independent registration and that the long lines at the polls were mostly populated by Democrats.”

It doesn't add up. How does an increase of a point or two make for days of lines when people usually just show up on Tuesday?

Some experts also note that national turnout trends may mask higher turnout in swing states with more intensive attempts by both campaigns to get their supporters to the polls. Several large states, including California and New York, had no statewide races and virtually no advertising or get-out-the-vote efforts by either presidential campaign.

According to the report, several Southern states — North Carolina, Georgia, South Carolina, Alabama, Virginia, and Mississippi — and the District of Columbia saw the greatest increases in voter turnout.

Overall turnout was highest in Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa, Missouri, Michigan, South Dakota and North Carolina, according to the report.

In 2004, 122 million Americans voted in the general election.

Joe Go

2008-11-06T21:23:00.002-05:00

Where does Joe Goe? It's a tough situation for the Democrats - who want to punish Joe Lieberman for supporting McCain, but who will be able to use his help on some key votes down the road.

Sen. Joe Lieberman of Connecticut, who spent the weekend campaigning with Republican presidential nominee John McCain, has returned to Washington to face the music.

Lieberman, now an independent but for years a Democratic senator, still caucuses with Democrats and chairs the prestigious Homeland Security Committee.

That may change however. Democrats were not happy with Lieberman's support of his friend, McCain, and especially for his appearance at the Republican National Convention, where he questioned Barack Obama's fitness to be commander-in-chief. (See above.)

Lieberman met with Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid Thursday. After the meeting, Reid released a statement: "Today Senator Lieberman and I had the first of what I expect to be several conversations. No decisions have been made. While I understand that Senator Lieberman has voted with Democrats a majority of the time, his comments and actions have raised serious concerns among many in our caucus," Reid said. "I expect there to be additional discussions in the days to come, and Senator Lieberman and I will speak to our caucus in two weeks to discuss further steps."

But do the Dems still need Lieberman? It appears that they will have 56 solid votes in the next Senate, so a majority isn't a problem. But Lieberman's assistance will be crucial to reach the 60 votes necessary to overcome a filibuster, so Reid will have to play this carefully.

Dressing Sarah

2008-11-06T17:23:00.000-05:00

Sarah moves on.

Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin insisted in an interview with the Tribune on Thursday that she did not accept $150,000 worth of designer clothes from the Republican Party and "that is not who we are."

"That whole thing is just, bad!" she said. "Oh, if people only knew how frugal we are.

Chris Matthews says he thinks his job his to help the Obama administration 'crackle.' I wonder if he feels the same responsibility to Governor Palin.

"It's kind of painful to be criticized for something when all the facts are not out there and are not reported," said Palin, saying the clothes are not worth $150,000 and were bought for the Republican National Convention. Still, she has been wearing pricey clothes at campaign events this fall. She said they will be given back, auctioned off or sent to charity. Most of them, she said, haven't even left the belly of her campaign plane.

Thrust into the national spotlight as John McCain's running mate in late August from relative obscurity as governor of Alaska, Palin has found herself under the microscope ever since, accused of being inexperienced, a drag on the ticket and, most recently, the recipient of racks of expensive clothes.

Less than two weeks before Election Day, she will deliver her first major policy speech Friday, calling for full funding of special education, a subject that has suddenly become extremely personal. And that's not just because of the arrival of Trig, her 6-month-old son with Down syndrome. It's because families with children who have disabilities have been flocking to her campaign stops, looking to Palin and her family for inspiration.

Morning Low

2008-11-06T15:08:00.003-05:00

The tingle up his leg really wasn't Chris Matthews' fault - that's an involuntary response. Explaining this statement, however, is a bit more difficult.

He's too professional as a journalist to question people's motivation, but he's not above sacrificing his journalistic standards to help his hero Barack succeed. It may be, however, that his employer wants him doing just that.

The hostility between Matthews and Joe Scarborough only makes the whole clip more delightful!

Hope One

2008-11-06T13:05:00.000-05:00

Barack's biggest supporter - and perhaps the one most instrumental in getting him elected - celebrates his victory on the show yesterday.

Strange Bedfellows

2008-11-06T10:51:00.005-05:00

Minorities, who are vital to the ability of Democrats being able to win elections, aren't necessarily on board with all of the liberal agenda. Take a look at Proposition 8, the gay marriage ban passed by California voters on Tuesday as they were, again, voting overwhelmingly for a Democrat in the presidential race.

Exit poll data showed seven in 10 black voters and more than half of Latino voters backed the ballot initiative, while whites and Asians were split.

Which begs the question, are they social conservatives? Or are they just pro-marriage?

Though blacks and Latinos combined make up less than one-third of California's electorate, their opposition to same-sex marriage appeared to tip the balance. Both groups decisively backed Obama regardless of their position on the initiative.

As is true with most issues, Barack remains half-way out of the closet on gay marriage.

Obama has said he is not in favor of gay marriage but supports civil unions. The president-elect opposed Proposition 8.

Stung

2008-11-06T10:17:00.000-05:00

All through the campaign, I've figured that if the horrible state of U.S. relations with the rest of the planet will be corrected by simply electing Barack, then perhaps the claimed crisis is not so big.

From Beijing's streets to France's Elysee Palace, common citizens and leaders of the world greeted Barack Obama's election largely as a sign of hope that America would mend torn international relations and lead the way out of global economic turmoil.

"I am so happy Obama won," said Mao Xiaoqing, 21, an economics student in Beijing. "I think he will take some creative actions about the economic crisis. It's the main problem for America and the rest of the world."

Now, it seems Barack has straightened everything out - and he's only President-elect!

French President Nicolas Sarkozy said Obama's election "has raised enormous hope in France, in Europe and beyond."

It turns out that the hatred was only skin deep. The world wanted a rock star, just as the American media did, and now that they've gotten one, all is well.

In Germany, where more than 200,000 people flocked to see Obama this summer as he burnished his foreign policy credentials during a trip to the Middle East and Europe, the election dominated television ticker crawls, newspaper headlines and websites.

Obama-mania was evident not only across Europe but also in much of the Islamic world, where Muslims expressed hope that the Democrat would seek compromise rather than confrontation.

Where does all this faith find its power?

"I have high expectations for Obama," said Yasuhiko Mizutani, a Japanese entrepreneur who owns a toy factory in southern China.

Mizutani said he hoped an Obama administration could salvage the sinking U.S. economy before it drags Asia into recession. "If something goes wrong with America, the Japanese economy will crash," he said.

If the Brits will just elect Sting, maybe we can keep this thing going.

Show Me The Money!!!!!!!!!!

2008-11-06T09:08:00.001-05:00

Indianapolis - Lines were long and tempers flared Wednesday not to vote but to get paid for canvassing for Barack Obama. Several hundred people are still waiting to get their pay for last-minute campaigning. Police were called to the Obama campaign office on North Meridian Street downtown to control the crowd.

The line was long and the crowd was angry at times.

"I want my money today! It's my money. I want it right now!" yelled one former campaign worker.

A former spokesman for the Obama campaign said 375 people were hired as part of the Vote Corps program and said people signed up to work three-hour shifts at a time. Three hours of canvassing got workers a $30 pre-paid Visa card.

The workers showed up to get their cards Wednesday morning at 10:00 am.

"There was a note on the door saying 1:00 pm and then at 1:20 pm everybody was like why is nobody here. They just got here and they're trying to get it organized," said Heather Richards, a former campaign worker.

Ralph the Racist?

2008-11-06T07:42:00.001-05:00

Ralph Nader asks if Obama
will be "Uncle Sam" or "Uncle Tom"

(Fox News) "Look, I don't like bullies like you. I can't see you. You can pull the plug on me if you want" ...

We're Number 1

2008-11-06T05:20:00.004-05:00

Who was right when it came to predicting the outcome of the presidential race? I was.

The List: Which presidential polls were most accurate?

The Pew Research Center and Rasmussen Reports were the most accurate in predicting the results of the 2008 election, according to a new analysis by Fordham University political scientist Costas Panagopoulos.

Here at BWL, the focus was on Rasmussen, which I told you often was the best of the polls, in my opinion. We focused on Rasmussen along with Gallup and Zogby.

The Fordham analysis ranks 23 survey research organizations on their final, national pre-election polls, as reported on pollster.com.

On average, the polls slightly overestimated Obama's strength. The final polls showed the Democratic ahead by an average of 7.52 percentage points -- 1.37 percentage points above his current 6.15-point popular vote lead. Seventeen of the 23 surveys overstated Obama's final victory level, while four underestimated it. Only two -- Rasmussen and Pew -- were spot on.
Here is the list --

1T. Rasmussen (11/1-3)**
1T. Pew (10/29-11/1)**
3. YouGov/Polimetrix (10/18-11/1)
4. Harris Interactive (10/20-27)
5. GWU (Lake/Tarrance) (11/2-3)*

On the other hand, I told you that Barack was unelectable. But I stand by that position, even given the results on Tuesday.

What now?

2008-11-06T03:47:00.003-05:00

This election was a shock, and a wake-up call, to a Republican Party that is in desperate need of... dare I say it? Change.

Yesterday, Rush was celebrating the loss as signaling a forced return to conservative values, and I think he's right. Freedom's just another word for 'nothin' left to lose,' and that's about where the GOP is right now. Which does represent opportunity. It's time to rebuild, and a party based on values rather than lust would be a big improvement.

The only folks with a bigger adjustment to face up to is the Democrats. What will they do now? The cry of 'racism' as a political hammer has been proven as obsolete as moderate Republicanism. Minorities who have been educated in the Democrats' schools and think the election of Barack represents an end to their troubles will not take kindly to the idea of having been misled, nor will they like a couple of years of deep recession and belt-tightening. The economic picture is not pretty, nor are the Dems prospects for the mid-term elections in LESS THAN TWO YEARS!

While the GOP knows what it needs to become - it needs to become what it always was - the Democratic path is not so clear. To win national elections, Democrats have needed miracles. Keep in mind, in an America with little interest in race, Barack Obama got more of the white vote than did John Kerry or Al Gore. White voters, who cast 74% of the votes on Tuesday, still didn't favor the Democrats. And despite long efforts by the Dems to minimize the political influence of white voters, they still made 74% of the votes on Tuesday - not a bad base for the GOP.

With the Jesse Jackson/Al Sharpton race baiting angle in decline, Democrats will seek to become the working man's party once more. Most of the votes they receive from the 74% are nostalgia votes - coming from voters who were raised Democrat like they were raised Catholic, they can't shake the identity, and they haven't realized how little connection there is between themselves and Barney Frank. They will need to embrace the needs of the real man more and the union bosses less, while the GOP will be given a big opportunity to embrace good old fashioned American values once again.

I'm looking forward to the fights to come.

Obama Glow

2008-11-06T00:36:00.003-05:00

President Bush puts McCain out to pasture...

... and seeks to bask in the Obama-glow.

The Russians Are Coming

2008-11-05T22:28:00.000-05:00

When Dopey Joe Biden suggested that electing Barack could be dangerous, he suggested a challenge coming from an outside foe, similar to how the Russians went after JFK, sensing weakness, in the Cuban Missile Crisis.

Barack Obama did not have to wait long before his leadership as incoming president was challenged.

And Joe promised that he knew what he was talking about. Which just might be a first.

"Watch. We're going to have an international crisis, a generated crisis, to test the mettle of this guy.

"And he's going to need help . . . to stand with him. Because it's not going to be apparent initially; it's not going to be apparent that we're right."

On Barack's first day as President-elect, guess what - The Russians Are Coming!

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev not only did not publicly congratulate Obama today, he did not mention Obama by name during his first annual address to the Russian people. But, he did announce plans for a new missile system to counter the planned U.S. missile defense installations in Eastern Europe.

Medvedev also accused the U.S. of triggering the world financial crisis and said selfish American foreign policy sparked the war between Russia and Georgia in August. He added, "We hope that our partners — the new U.S. administration — will make a choice in favor of fully-fledged relations with Russia."

Is it possible that Joe did know what he was talking about?

What's the Matter with the Hamptons?

2008-11-05T20:35:00.003-05:00

Rich people are hard to figure these days.

Despite plans by Barack Obama to raise taxes on the rich, the wealthiest Americans supported him over John McCain Tuesday.

I know supporting Barack was the hip thing for the beautiful people to be doing, but doesn't pursuing your own personal best interest always trump fashion?

Exit polls indicate those who said their annual family income is $200,000 or more picked Obama over McCain 52 to 46 percent. Those voters accounted for about six percent of the electorate.

And certainly, Barack must have won amongst middle income folks, excited about their forthcoming tax cuts courtesy of the aforementioned evil rich?

In contrast, three of the four middle income categories favored McCain. He did best among voters who said they earned $150,000 to $200,000 a year.

So nobody voted their own best interest? Now that's confusing. It could be time for a new book - What's the Matter with Main Street?

The Wizard

2008-11-05T18:46:00.003-05:00

Here they go again.

It's not quite right to say the incoming president Barack Obama has no executive experience. For the past two years, he's run a sprawling presidential campaign with tentacles in every state that raised some $650 million from 3.1 million donors.

Arguing that Barack is qualified to be president because he ran for president.

All campaigns have cadres of surrogates that transition into running the Oval Office. But Obama also has the largest grassroots network of active operatives of any campaign in history. What happens to that network?

And he has an organization! And a website!

Behind Obama's successful campaign was a successful Web site: my.barackobama.com, a hybrid social-networking/political-organizing site, built by Chris Hughes, a co-founder of Facebook. The site has over a million registered users whom the campaign could ping at a moment's notice, to make phone calls, send e-mails, post videos on YouTube and help plan and attend events and rallies. That network would be enormously helpful for a re-election campaign in four years.

I got woken up at 1am this morning so that Barack could tell me, via text message, that I had got him elected president. So far, I'm not so impressed with my new relationship to power. A little more distance might not be a bad thing.

After losing the presidential election in 2004, Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., returned to his role in the Senate. But he maintained his Johnkerry.com Web site and has used the mailing list to draw attention to issues, raise money for ad campaigns and boost candidates in 2006 and 2008 elections.

Just think how meaningful that has been for us all.

One of Obama's stated goals as president was to get people more involved in their government. On Tuesday night, with the election results showing a decisive victory and Sen. John McCain offering a concession, Obama e-mailed a few million of his closest friends: "We have a lot of work to do to get our country back on track, and I'll be in touch soon about what comes next," he wrote. Then, signing off, "Thank you, --Barack."

Okay. But make it 1pm, not am, if you're going to be sending me another text message, okay?

Perspective

2008-11-05T14:28:00.001-05:00

Here are some other viewpoints on Barack's election.

And...

Fear of Barack

2008-11-05T13:41:00.000-05:00

They're already scared of Barack.

A New York Democrat is backtracking from what he called "a thoughtless comment" about Barack Obama, saying the presidential candidate didn't have "the political courage" to leave his church earlier over its controversial pastor.

Where is he wrong?

Rep. Jerrold Nadler of Manhattan was visiting a synagogue in Boca Raton, Fla., Sunday when he was confronted by Obama critics who wanted to know why the candidate hadn't ended his association earlier with the Rev. Jeremiah Wright.

Obama severed ties with Wright this year after videotapes surfaced showing the pastor making anti-American statements from the pulpit of the Chicago church where Obama worshipped for 20 years.

Nadler said he was guessing that Obama "didn't have the political courage" to leave the church earlier.

Sounds like a reasonable guess. What's your explanation?

"It tells me that he wasn't terribly politically courageous. Does it tell me he agrees with the reverend in any way? No," Nadler says. Blurry video of the exchange was posted by Pamela Geller at the blog Atlas Shrugged.

"I made a thoughtless comment yesterday which does not reflect the way I feel about Barack Obama," Nadler said in a statement Monday, adding that he is campaigning in Florida for Obama "because I feel so strongly about the importance of Barack Obama becoming our next president."

Rahm

2008-11-05T12:28:00.002-05:00

Barack's first choice.

WASHINGTON (AP) -- President-elect Barack Obama chose Illinois Rep. Rahm Emanual to be his White House chief of staff, his first selection for the new administration, Democratic officials said Wednesday.

From Rolling Stone:

It’s essential to note that Rahm and David Axelrod are also closest friends — speaking on the phone several times a day in a “sounding board” capacity, as Emanuel told me earlier in this cycle. With his bosom buddy as Obama’s gatekeeper, Axelrod may be able to enjoy his campaign haul basking on the shores on Lake Michigan.

Open question: What cut of $700 million did Axelrod & Co. take home? Hard to argue they didn’t earn the cut — whatever it is — but the figure could well be obscene.

O NO!

2008-11-05T09:36:00.000-05:00

Impressive?

Democratic Senator Barack Obama has received celebrity endorsements throughout his successful campaign to become president of the US.
Here are reactions to his election victory from some of those celebrity supporters.

TALK SHOW HOST OPRAH WINFREY

"It feels like hope won. It feels like it's not just victory for Barack Obama. It feels like America did the right thing.
"It feels like there's a shift in consciousness. It feels like something really big and bold has happened here, like nothing ever in our lifetimes did we expect this to happen.
"It feels like anything is now possible."

RAP MOGUL P DIDDY

"I felt like my vote was the vote that put him into office. It was down to one vote, and that was going to be my vote.
"And that may not be true but that's how much power it felt like I had."

R&B STAR USHER

"This will go down in history, in black history, for all of the sacrifices that the great Joseph Lowery and Martin Luther King made, this actually pays off for their sacrifice. The great Rosa Parks.
"So many people sacrificed for us to have a voice. It was one thing to have a voice but, to eventually know the best way to use it and then it grows into this, it's just incredible.
"I'm speechless. I don't even know what to say."

COMEDIAN EDDIE IZZARD

"It's fantastic, as I'm someone who would have voted for Obama but I can't.
"I find it very exciting to be here [in the US] because I'm someone who knows how it works in the UK and, here, it's slightly different but essentially the same and it's just been great to watch it go down."

UK-BASED US COMEDIAN DAVE FULTON

"After living in the UK for eight years and having to put up with all the stick from my comedian friends about America and all the jokes, it's so nice to finally go: 'See? Our country works'.
"Now and then we can get it right, so I'm totally digging it - it's fantastic."

FALL OUT BOY BASSIST PETE WENTZ

"I would not be standing here actually in reality, at all, because my parents met working for [vice president elect] Biden.
"They met on a campaign so they have this particular affection for Joe - he came to their wedding. If it weren't for Joe Biden, I would not exist as a human being."

BRITISH ACTOR KWAME KWEI-ARMAH

I think it really is important for people who are bi-racial to understand that this can be achieved and also for people who are black.
He describes himself as black - it's a wonderful achievement for us but it's also a wonderful achievement for the world and America.

COMEDIAN RICKY GERVAIS

"I think it's the most exciting election for Americans, from what I've heard, 'cos it's a clean break and just everything about Obama's so charismatic.
"David Brent would vote for Barack Obama. Definitely. He'd love to be on the side of the fact this could change the American landscape."

No Mandate

2008-11-05T09:27:00.001-05:00

Robert Novak - No Mandate:

The national election Tuesday was not only historic for the election of the first African-American president in the nation's history but also for how little the avalanche of Democratic votes changed the political alignment in Congress.
The first Democratic Electoral College landslide in decades did not result in a tight race for control of Congress.

When Franklin D. Roosevelt won his second term for president in 1936, the defeated Republican candidate, Gov. Alf Landon of Kansas, won only two states, Maine and Vermont, and Democrats controlled both houses of Congress by wide margins.

But Obama's win was nothing like that. He may have opened the door to enactment of the long-deferred liberal agenda, but he neither received a broad mandate from the public nor the needed large congressional majorities.

The Democrats fell several votes short of the 60-vote filibuster-proof Senate that they were seeking and also failed to get rid of a key Senate target: Republican leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky.

Republicans, though discouraged by the election's outcome, believe Obama will be hard-pressed not so much to enact his agenda but to keep his popular majority, which he considers centrist, as he moves to enact ultra-liberal legislation, particularly the demands of organized labor.

Concession

2008-11-05T09:10:00.000-05:00

McCain's speech.

Race Loses

2008-11-05T08:46:00.002-05:00

Race a factor?

Obama did not win a majority of white voters; no Democrat has since Lyndon Johnson in 1964. But he ran equal to the last three Democratic candidates for president among white voters, and even slightly better than the party's 2004 nominee, according to an Edison/Mitofsky exit poll conducted for a consortium of TV networks and the Associated Press.

The prejudice against John Kerry was stronger than it was against Barack??? Or maybe, race was simply not a factor.

Race proved to be no discernible handicap, even among the small-town, working-class whites who were considered most resistant to the black political newcomer from Chicago.

The force propelling Obama was clear: a troubled economy that had gone from shaky in the spring and summer to frightening in the fall. But in choosing an African American as the best person to lead in a time of crisis, the nation's voters have broken a number of long-held truths about the hold of race on the country.

Wow.

2008-11-05T08:07:00.000-05:00

MINNEAPOLIS -- Republican Norm Coleman has won a second term in the U.S. Senate, surviving a stiff challenge from former comedian Al Franken.

Coleman squeaked past Franken by the narrowest of margins: a few hundred votes with nearly 2.9 million cast. The margin appeared certain to trigger an automatic recount.

If the margin holds up, Coleman would be among the fortunate Republicans who survived big gains by Democrats nationwide.

Talkin' Revolution

2008-11-05T07:09:00.004-05:00

As usual, John Lewis has it wrong.

An emotional moment on ABC News, as Georgie Congressman and Civil Rights leader John Lewis told Charlie Gibson that today's election was "a nonviolent revolution" and an "unbelievable, and unreal transformation of American politics."

This is electoral politics catching up with reality. There is no need for any revolutions - Barack's election proves the country was ready to elect Barack.

Asked about his emotions if there's an Obama victory, Lewis continued.

"Well, I tell you, I cried a little today when I cast my vote, and I've been crying for the past few days. I don't know if I have any tears left.... I think I'm going to shed some more tears before the night is over."

I understand the emotion. But it is emotion rooted in the past, isn't it?

Jubilation

2008-11-05T05:56:00.001-05:00

Obama relatives celebrate in Kenya.

And on Pennsylvania Avenue, a spontaneous gathering...

Figure 8

2008-11-05T05:38:00.004-05:00

On a night when liberals posted big victories, and in which California went for Obama 61% to 37%, Question 8 appears to be a winner in a close race in California. The measure would re-ban gay marriage.

A measure to once again ban gay marriage in California led Tuesday, throwing into doubt the unions of an estimated 18,000 same-sex couples who wed during the last 4 1/2 months.

As the measure, the most divisive and emotionally fraught on the state ballot this year, took a lead in early returns, supporters gathered at a hotel ballroom in Sacramento and cheered.

"We caused Californians to rethink this issue," Proposition 8 strategist Jeff Flint said.

Early in the campaign, he noted, polls showed the measure trailing by 17 points.

"I think the voters were thinking, well, if it makes them happy, why shouldn't we let gay couples get married. And I think we made them realize that there are broader implications to society and particularly the children when you make that fundamental change that's at the core of how society is organized, which is marriage," he said.

Which is a reminder that things aren't all black and white.

O'Nation

2008-11-05T05:35:00.001-05:00

Barack speaks.

Heads

2008-11-05T05:12:00.005-05:00

Two very good headlines in the LA Times.

First-term Illinois senator is elected president

That is a big story, and not one much of the liberal media is focusing on.

Which Barack Obama will govern?

I don't think he'll have much choice. This is a time for leadership, not for liberalism.

Best Headline

Lead changes; Coleman leading Franken

99% reporting, Coleman is leading by a bit more than 2,000 votes, so a recount is likely.

Let's Practice

2008-11-04T21:09:00.001-05:00

President Barack Obama.

We have a couple of months to get it down.

Projections

2008-11-04T20:21:00.006-05:00

Senate - Republican John Sununu loses in New Hampshire, Dole loses in North Carolina, but Dems won't have 60 as McConnell hangs on in Kentucky, as does Chambliss in Georgia.

Former Democratic governor Jeanne Shaheen won a rematch for the United States Senate, defeating incumbent Republican John E. Sununu in a bitterly fought campaign that attracted attention and money from across the nation.

NBC called the race for Shaheen, who will become the first female US senator in the history of New Hampshire.

Barack is taking New Hampshire and Pennsylvania. This indicates that the McCain isn't going to play out. Florida is in Barack's column, by 8% with a third of the vote in, but McCain is up 10% in Virginia with 38% reporting.

As the polls close on the east coast, Barack Obama is sweeping through Northeast states and is projected to win Pennsylvania, a battleground state that John McCain saw as a potential key to winning the election.
The economy was the number one issue to voters, according to early exit polls.
(AP Photo)
Besides Pennsylvania, Obama is also projected to win New Hampshire, another state where McCain campaigned in closing days in the hopes of capturing its electoral votes.
Other states projected to be in Obama's column according to exit polls are Vermont, New Jersey, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Maryland, Washington DC, Delaware, Illinois, and three of Maine's four electoral votes.
McCain is projected to win Kentucky, Tennessee, South Carolina and Oklahoma.
Obama's projected victory in Pennsylvania which has 21 electoral votes was a blow to McCain's White House hopes. While it was carried by Democrat John Kerry in 2004, McCain had hoped to turn it into a red state.
"We're going to win Pennsylvania tomorrow and I'm going to be the President of the United States," McCain said at a rally Monday. "Pennsylvania will do it, and Pittsburgh will be the important area."

Exit Polls IV

2008-11-04T18:47:00.004-05:00

Some exit poll numbers for Virginia and Indiana.

VA
Change Voters - 92% Obama
Experience Voters - 93% McCain
Evangelicals - 78% McCain
Suburbs - 54% Barack

IN
Independents - 58% Obama
New Voters - 68% Barack
Whites no college - 50% McCain
White Evangelicals - 66% McCain

With key states in the east, we should know fairly early how things are going, assuming they don't keep polls open very late because of large crowds. Here are the key states and when they close. McCain needs 5 out of 6 of these battleground states.

7pm - VA and Indiana

7:30 - NC and OH

8pm - FL & PA

Exit polls from battleground states:

60% of voters say the economy is the key issue, 11% name Iraq.

71% disapprove of the president.

Military Votes

2008-11-04T18:11:00.002-05:00

There is controvery in Virginia over the votes of deployed forces. The McCain campaign went to court to make sure that late arriving absentee ballots would be counted.

A federal judge has ordered election officials in Virginia to preserve late-arriving absentee ballots that Republican John McCain's campaign claims should be counted.
The McCain campaign says in a lawsuit that absentee ballots weren't mailed on time to many military members serving overseas. The complaint asks the court to order the state to count absentee ballots from overseas troops postmarked by Tuesday and received by Nov. 14.
The deadline for ballots to be received is 7 p.m. on Election Day.
U.S. District Judge Richard Williams said Tuesday that he will hear the lawsuit on Nov. 10. He ordered election officials to keep the late-arriving ballots until then.

Can't Take a Joke

2008-11-04T17:54:00.001-05:00

I suspect this led to a reduced turnout for Democratic voters considering how they're registering anyone who can breath - or could at one time, anyway.

Boston morning hosts Gerry Callahan and John Dennis told listeners to their WEEI show today the election was postponed and that Democrats should show up to vote tomorrow to vote. That led to complaints to the Massachusetts Secretary of State's office, which told the hosts to "knock it off."

But a couple of Black Panthers at the door to a voting place? No problem.

Exit Polls III

2008-11-04T17:52:00.004-05:00

50% say Barack has the experience to be president.

42% say they are worse off than 4 years ago.

68% support offshore drilling

49% expect higher taxes either way.

61% say Michelle will be goof first lady

32% of voters say they will be scared if Barack wins. 30% with McCain.

51% say government should do more to solve problems, 41% say gov is doing too much.

67% worry about affording health care.

40% think Mccain is in touch

42% think Obama too liberal, but 57% think he has right judgment, vs 49% for McCain.

66% say McCain attacked Barack unfairly.

85% worried about economy next year, 81% believe it may harm their family..

6% happy with economy, 47% expect it to improve next year.

40% support the bailout, 56% oppose.

50% believe McCain will continue Bush policies.

Virginia - McCain wins white men by 19%. Good news for McCain, but that's half of what W.'s margin was for white men in VA.

Indiana - 56-41 Independents go for Barack.

Young Voters - 72-27 Barack over McCain. No increase in young voters.

Exit Polls II

2008-11-04T17:39:00.000-05:00

From Gawker:

See, we told you not to get too excited. The first state exit polls have crossed our transom and they look like Obama's margins are tighter than recent polling in key states Pennsylvania, Virginia, North Carolina and Florida. So hold your breath.

Exit Polls I

2008-11-04T17:26:00.002-05:00

For what it's worth, exit polls were embargoed until 5pm, which means they are embargoed no longer. Will keep you up to date as they become available.

From AP:

The economy is by far the top issue on voters' minds as Election Day at last arrives.
An Associated Press exit poll finds six in 10 voters across the country picked the economy as the most important issue facing the nation. None of four other issues on the list — energy, Iraq, terrorism and health care — was picked by more than one in 10.
Not surprisingly, voters also have a very sour view of the condition of the nation's economy. About half said it's poor and nearly as many said the economy is not good. The results are based on a preliminary partial sample of nearly 10,000 voters in Election Day exit polls and telephone interviews over the past week for early voters.

From Gawker.com

Before we tell you what we're hearing the exit poll numbers are saying, can we just remind you about Bob Shrum who famously asked John Kerry, after the 2004 early exit polls came out, "Can I be the first to call you Mr. President?" After the jump, the numbers we're hearing are floating around.

Estimate for Obama low end is 300 EVs

Potentially as high as 350. The realistic number is between the high and 320.

Obama is +40 among Hispanics, +60 among young voters.

Also remember, more Ds than Rs will talk to exit pollsters. So it will be skewed D. It always is.
Slate, which has long argued that journalistic principle forces them to release exit poll numbers, spent Election Day 2004 telling readers that exit poll numbers were "mucho flattering" for Kerry. So, yeah, Obamaniacs, go crazy at your own peril.

CNN headlines its exit poll story by indicating that voters are "Excited by Historic Choice." I assume they're referring to the opportunity to vote for the oldest incoming president ever?

Panthers

2008-11-04T17:17:00.004-05:00

You have maybe heard the story about two black panthers guarding the door to a voting place in Philly, one holding a nightstick. Is it true? Well, here they are.

Fox News has been pushing the story, while the Obama campaign denies this is a problem.

Fox says one of two black panthers on the scene was "allegedly blocking the door," says another was "holding a nightstick." and adds that "the concern was that they were intimidating people who were trying to go inside to vote."

But Jacqueline Dischell, the Obama volunteer, tells me by phone that that's false.

Dischell confirms that there were in fact two black panthers guarding the polling place, a nursing home on Fairmont Avenue in north Philadelphia, earlier this morning.

But she says one was an officially designated poll watcher (it was not immediately clear which municipal office had designated him in that role), and the second was his friend. The second panther, who left two or three hours ago, was the one with the nightstick, she says.

What's the correct analogy to use - would it be a majority white polling place being guarded by Klan members? Police arrive.

John Fund

2008-11-04T15:14:00.001-05:00

"Stealing Elections" author John Fund discusses voter fraud with National Review.

Smarmy Democrat of the Day

2008-11-04T13:01:00.003-05:00

Watch how malicious Democrats can be. Here is Chuck Schumer suggesting that regulating political speech on the airwaves is the same as regulating pornography. He gets the John Edwards Smarmiest Democrat of the Day Award for that one.

Razz Wrap

2008-11-04T11:58:00.001-05:00

The final Rasmussen poll is out, and it shows a 6% advantage for Barack.

The final Rasmussen Reports daily Presidential Tracking Poll for Election 2008 shows Barack Obama with 52% of the vote while John McCain is six points back at 46%. One percent (1%) of voters say they’ll select a third-party option while 1% remain undecided. Tomorrow, at 9:30 a.m. Eastern, we will release our final Election Night poll results offering a look at what voters were thinking as they cast their ballots.

Thirty-six percent (36%) of voters cast their ballots early this year and those voters favored Obama by a double-digit margin. Among those who will actually cast their ballots on Tuesday, the candidates are essentially even.

Thirty-nine percent (39%) of voters spent at least an hour discussing the election on Monday while another 20% spent a half hour on the topic.

Fifty-six percent (56%) have a favorable opinion of Barack Obama while 55% say the same about John McCain.

Fifty-nine percent (59%) of voters expect to see an Obama victory today, including 18% who anticipate a landslide for the Democrat.