It’s down to two. John McCain and Mitt Romney. Both decent and capable men. How to choose? Simple: imagine we’ve been attacked, a la 9-11, and picture hearing the president issue a call to arms. “My fellow citizens, we have been attacked. This is not a drill.”
A corporate [...]
Archive for January, 2008
John McCain for president
Posted in Politics, Republicans on January 31, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
Go Ralphie
Posted in Idiotarians, Politics on January 30, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
Perhaps it’s no accident that “Ralph” is one way to say “puke.” With apologies to Ralph Cramden,and all other Americans named Ralph, we hear that Ralphie Nader is putting his anti-American tootsies in the water. From Ben Smith at Politico.com:
I just now spoke to Ralph Nader, who said the launch of his [...]
Fourth Estate
Posted in Islam, Media on January 30, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
Judea Pearl, father of the brutally murdered Daniel Pearl, has a thoughtful and thought-provoking essay on today’s Wall Street Journal op-ed page. His thesis deals with what used to be called the Fourth Estate.
While it is impossible to not have compassion for Mr. Pearl, his notions of the nobility and idealism of journalists, and [...]
So that’s what Democrats mean by “change”
Posted in Democrats, Politics on January 28, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
The White Whale and two other spawn of the Kennedy myth-making machine have endorsed Obama. The Clintons must be annoyed, to say the least, but what can you expect from the pond scum descended from an anti-Semitic, pro-Nazi bootlegger? Referring, of course, to patriarch Joe Kennedy, who is likely having a spot of [...]
This is why we’re fighting?
Posted in Islam, War and Peace on January 27, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
First the good news. Our combat losses in our successful campaign to free Afghanistan from the grips of the Taliban (part of operation Enduring Freedom) have been minimal in comparison with those in Iraq. Also, we had significant, actual, support from NATO allies, something we got in significant measure only from Great Britain. [...]
Ding, dong, the witch is…
Posted in Democrats, Politics on January 26, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
…not dead yet. As of this moment (a little after 8 pm) it appears that the man who has become the Great Black Hope has smashed the Wicked Witch of the East. According to breaking news, Obama has won with 51% of the vote. Hillary is, for now, emphasis on the now,29%, [...]
Coat of many colors
Posted in Americana, Politics on January 25, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
One of my favorite songs is both written and sung by Dolly Parton: Coat of Many Colors for lyrics; a version may be found for online play here. The song is pure Americana: about growing up poor but with faith, and dignity.
This song, and the story it tells, should resonate with [...]
Statecraft
Posted in Iraq, War and Peace on January 24, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
Angelo M. Codevilla has an essay in last Fall’s Claremont Review of Books that is a combination of “told you so” and “you people are idiots.” The essay, “American Statecraft and the Iraq War,” is an indictment of the Bush administration’s far-too-close associations with the cause of our worldwide terror problem — [...]
Bill Clinton’s tantrum tour
Posted in Democrats, Politics on January 22, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
Great turn of phrase from Rich Lowry at NRO. The Hill-and-Bill campaign has ramped it up a notch. Now that John Big Hair Edwards no longer seems to be a factor, and the dwarves such as Bill Richardson and Dennis UFO Kucinich have exited stage left, the target is Obama. And it [...]
Say it ain’t so
Posted in Democrats, Politics on January 21, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
Bill Clinton, not telling the truth? Say it ain’t so, Obama. The latest dustup between Obama and the Clinton machine is reported here. As usual in the Democrat ranks, it’s pretty much about nothing.
In this case, the ideological purity about how Obama was against the Iraq war since he was in his [...]
“eclectic city”
Posted in Idiotarians, Immigration on January 21, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
Interesting word, “eclectic.” The WaPo has thusly labeled Mr. Ranier, Maryland. The “city” of 9,000 (not even a small town in my book) is now considering doing what “eclectic” places do: attempt to legislate feel-good, leftist measures. This time, it’s declaring itself a “sanctuary city.” From the WaPo article:
The [...]
McCain-Huckabee
Posted in Politics, Republicans on January 20, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
Terry Eastland over at the Weekly Standard muses about a McCain-Huckabee ticket. My resonse to him:
Terry, I think you are right. I’ve thought for a while that the Huck was a natural complement to McCain. When Huckabee won Iowa, his partisans, and they are legion, went into overdrive. But a little [...]
“this is not a drill”
Posted in Politics on January 19, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
From Kathleen Parker at NRO’s the Corner, something worth repeating:
Salute this: We’re electing not just a president, but a commander-in-chief. Picture Hillary saluting the troops. Or, comically, vice versa. With straight face, picture Obama. Continue through the Republicans. Be honest: Which candidate do you want in the White House when our regular programming is interrupted [...]
Undemocratic caucuses
Posted in Democrats on January 19, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
Iowa and Nevada are as unlike as any two states can be. But they share at least one distinction: the Democratic Party in both states fears their voters.
How so? The caucus method employed in both, which denies participants the sanctity of the secret ballot. Democrats are plainly afraid to empower their [...]
Yuck on Yucca?
Posted in Politics, environment on January 19, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
Thought experiment: which makes more sense from a safety and security perspective for the storage of highly radioactive, poisonous nuclear waste? First choice: centralized storage of all nuclear wastes at a well-designed and geologically isolated underground facility (Yucca mountain). Second choice: over 120 “temporary” storage sites, not geologically isolated, [...]
Compassion needed?
Posted in Political Correctness, Politics on January 18, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
Here comes a supposedly conservative man, Michael Gerson, formerly chief speech writer for President Bush, now a columnist for the Washington Post. Gerson is also an evangelical Christian, and apparently does not much like Fred Thompson. In his column today, he takes Fred to task for being a “callous conservative.”
Why? Because Fred [...]
Not-so random observations
Posted in Politics, Republicans on January 18, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
From the Ashbrook Center for Public Affairs, this from Peter Lawler on the current state of play. Although he titles them as “Random Observations,” they are astute and anything but random. For my money, this describes the current state of play in the Republican race:
Random Observations My personal survey of the most [...]
Heave those stones, Father
Posted in America, Idiotarians on January 17, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
We know that some priests must be without sin, because they remind us of ours, over and over. Case in point: the Washington Post’s On Faith feature, which is just chuck full of clerics and others who remind us of how sinful we truly are.
This time it’s a Jesuit, Thomas Reese, formerly of [...]
“mean-spirited?”
Posted in Immigration on January 17, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
You walk into a store and ask for something. Who among us living in Northern Virginia hasn’t had to repeat their request because the store clerk had only a limited understanding of English? And good luck with trying to communicate with janitors, construction workers, cooks, gardeners, mechanics, the list is endless. Good [...]
Ta-Ta for Now
Posted in Hypocrites on January 16, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
The Tata Nano, unveiled last week, appears to be one answer to improving the quality of life for millions of (relatively) poor folks in India, and perhaps elsewhere in the developing world. Small, fuel-sipping, and, priced at $2,500, costs about one-tenth as much of the average new car sold in the United States.
Sounds [...]
Mitt Romney, candidate for UAW presidency
Posted in Politics, Republicans on January 15, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
From the daily roundup of politics in today’s Wall Street Journal (subscription required), we’ve got the following about Mitt Romney:
Speaking at the Democratic Economic Club yesterday, Mr. Romney blamed Washington for auto workers’ problems. “From legacy costs to health-care costs to [fuel economy] costs, to embedded taxes, Detroit can only thrive if Washington is an [...]
Identity politics
Posted in Politics, race on January 15, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
It’s all over the news. The Wall Street Journal editorial, “The Politics of Pigmentation.” David Brooks’ New York Times column, “The Identity Trap.” The WaPo lead editorial, “Race in the Race.”
And, last but certainly not least, Richard Cohen, a stalwart liberal, has noticed in his column, “Obama’s Farrakhan Test,” [...]
Beyond the pale
Posted in Democrats, race on January 14, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
Pun very much intended. Criticism of Martin Luther King, even if there’s only the inference that he is not sitting at the right hand of God and giving the Big Guy advice every moment, is apparently off-limits for Democrats. Well, the brouhaha over Hillary’s alleged trash-talking about The King is now front-and-center.
“Clinton’s [...]
Saint vs. Saint
Posted in Politics on January 13, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
Mitt Romney (R) vs. Barack Obama (D)
Poll
Date
Sample
Romney (R)
Obama (D)
Spread
RCP Average
12/12 to 01/10
-
37.5%
53.5%
Obama +16.0%
That’s Saint as in Latter Day Saint, Mitt Romney, against The Saint, Barack Hussein Obama. In head-to-head polling as shown at Real Clear Politics (RCP), Saint Obama comes out ahead. Way ahead.
What’s the lesson? A little early to tell, [...]
We can all be just like Obama
Posted in Democrats on January 13, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
Bill Buckley’s take on Barack Hussein Obama is illuminating. His recent essay may be found here, and I’d like to focus on one aspect: the notion, being pushed by Obama, that we are all capable of being just like him. He doesn’t say this specifically. Rather, he offers the typical liberal [...]
It’s about time, New Jersey…
Posted in America, race on January 13, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
I’ll be able to sleep so much better after New Jersey issues a formal apology for slavery. According to this news item,
A committee of the New Jersey Assembly on Thursday approved a resolution that would make the state the first north of the Mason-Dixon line to apologize for slavery.The step is just the first [...]
these jobs are going boys…
Posted in America, Politics on January 12, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
Matthew Continetti at the Campaign Standard has a brief piece on Michigan. My note to him:
John McCain has done the inexcusable: told the truth about old-time manufacturing jobs in Michigan. They’re gone and not coming back (e.g. this Reuters story.)
The Detroit News column you linked to demonstrates, yet again, that some [...]
Where Africa is King, not Christ
Posted in Churches, Democrats, Politics on January 12, 2008 | 1 Comment »
With all the fuss about Mormons, and Baptists, and fundies, oh my, what’t this about Barack Hussein Obama’s membership in a church that appears to offer radical politics and Africa, not Jesus Christ, as King?
St. Obama is a member of Trinity United Church of Christ, in Chicago. From their “about us” webpage, their [...]
McCain-Jindal?
Posted in Politics, Republicans on January 11, 2008 | 1 Comment »
Rod Dreher mentions in this post that Huckabee’s fortunes may be on the wane in Michigan. And that a good future ticket (2012) might be Mike Huckabee and Bobby Jindal. But then, Rod really likes Huck.
I don’t think that Mike Huckabee would be a plus for the ticket, in either spot. His stated [...]
Good for Mike Huckabee
Posted in Israel, Republicans on January 11, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
As reported by John Poderhertz at Contentions, here’s how Mike Huckabee responded to Ron Paul’s contention that we should not be in the Middle East:
I’d like to just, with all due respect, Congressman Paul, the issue of whether the president should be in the Middle East comes to something that I think we’ve got to [...]
