Please note that you can leave a comment on any of our posts at our Facebook page.  Subscribers can also comment at length at our Angel's Corner Forum.

ELECTION - 17 days from today

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 16, 2010

EVEN IN CHILE, EVEN IN CHILE – AT 10:14 P.M. ET:  You really can't make this up.  It's not very important, but I think it's so typical of our time.

A spokesman for the miners rescued in Chile this week says that the group will give no details of its captivity 2,000 feet blow the surface of the Earth in order to protect the value of the book they expect to do.  I am no kidding.  Even in Chile the miners understand the value of literary rights.  In fact, it was revealed that one miner kept detailed notes – for the book and movie, no doubt – and sealed the notes shut before emerging from the mine, so no one could read them.

I recall a Wall Street Journal cartoon showing a criminal appearing before a judge, with the judge saying, "If you do not have a literary agent, the court will appoint one for you."  I'm afraid things have gotten even worse. 

I hope the miners hold out for a major film deal.  But remember, miners, get a percentage of the gross, not a percentage of the profits.  They can lie about the profits.  Also, shoot for script approval.  Rarely granted, but, hey, you're the Chilean miners. 

And remember, as we constantly have to remind newly minted Olympic medalists, your story has a shelf life of about three weeks.  Get yourselves a good lawyer and strike now.  In mid-November, Hollywood breaks for the holiday season, which ends next March.  Then, when someone brings up the Chile miners, some young "executive" will ask, "When did they start mining for chili?"

It happens.  I've been there.

October 16, 2010      Permalink

AH, THE BRITS – AT 7:55 P.M. ET:  We've said it before:  Some of the best writing about American politics is coming out of Britain.  Now, Toby Harnden of London's Telegraph observes Bubba in action, and understands what he's about:

Speculation about Hillary Clinton's continued presidential ambitions is rife. Husband Bill is back on the campaign trail, offering thanks to those who backed her in 2008 – and laying the foundations for another try in 2016.

Fear and loathing in the American body politic is not confined to the anti-tax Tea Party. Across the spectrum of the Democratic party, every hue is feeling it too.

With a fortnight to go to the midterms, moderate "Blue Dog" Democrats are in big trouble. The party's left-wing "Yellow Dogs" are up in arms about being taken for granted by the White House "hippy bashers". Even black bloggers are warning President Barack Obama they won't be "pimped" for him.

In this febrile climate within the party, there is one Democratic figure whose soothing tones can help calm things down – the Big Dog himself, former President Bill Clinton. I caught up with him in Española, New Mexico, site of the first European colony in America, last week and he was on vintage form.

Gone was the red-faced, finger-wagging Bill who I saw in South Carolina in early 2008, when he exploded with anger at being accused of racism by Obama allies as the Democratic nomination slipped from his wife Hillary's grasp. Instead, Española saw Chilled Bill, a man vindicated by events and who knows he was right to warn of Obama's shortcomings.

COMMENT:  Does anyone have any doubt about Hillary's intentions?  Why, we understand that Bill already gave her 2016 wall calendars.

But why wait 'til 2016?  While Clinton could never run a primary campaign against Barack Obama – the black community would never forgive her – she could be found camping out on the White House lawn if the chief executive decides that a 33% approval rating forces him to look for other work when his term expires.

My guess, however, is that Obama will not withdraw, that Clinton will resign after one term and become a university president or somethin', and will run in 2016 as "the most experienced candidate in history." 

It never gets dull.

By the way, in 2016 Monica Lewinsky will be 43.

October 16, 2010      Permalink

OH DEAR, OH DEAR, OH DEAR – AT 9:48 A.M. ET:  Well, I guess the Democrats have rejected the label, party of imagination.  Just read this, from The Politico, and try to restrain the laughter:

Nervous Democrats are grasping for a new message on their party’s health care reform bill: Give us another shot, and we’ll get it right this time.

I have to tell you – this reminds me of Hollywood, where, no matter how many failures you've had, they pay you more the next time because you've had "experience."

“I want to reform it and fix it and make sure that it works for small businesses and their families,” Alexi Giannoulias, the Democrat seeking President Barack Obama’s old Senate seat, said on “Meet the Press” on Sunday.

Now wait, isn't this the guy with the sleazy bank that had to be closed?  Yeah, that's him.  I sure want him fixing my relationship with my doctor.  Ideal man to do it. 

“If you can fix it — Democrats and Republicans agree on six or seven items — that’s a pretty darn good start,” West Virginia Gov. and Democratic Senate candidate Joe Manchin told Fox News on Monday.

A start?  A START?  How many months did they work on this?  How long was the Obamacare bill?  Wasn't it 2,000 pages?  And they want to start again?

“I’d like to fix health care,” Democratic Kentucky Senate candidate Jack Conway said in a debate last week with Republican contender Rand Paul. “He wants to repeal it. And I think that’s a stark difference.”

Wait, wait, wait.  How do you repeal health care?  We've always had health care.  I guess he means repealing the Obamacare bill.  But this is the Dems' scare tactic.  Watch it at work in the final two weeks of the campaign:  The Republicans will take away your "health care."  They'll take away your Social Security.  They'll even take you remote control and remove the batteries.

Obamacare has barely gone into effect and it's already a loser.  And the people behind it want a second chance.

Yeah, it's Hollywood.  "Hey, I learned from the flop.  I'm a better producer now.  You gotta pay me for my experience."  I've heard it a million times.

Would you trust that Democratic crowd with your children's health?

October 16, 2010      Permalink

THE FORGOTTEN WAR – AT 9:44 A.M. ET:  The men and women fighting in Afghanistan won't like this story, but it confirms what they probably already know – their effort is being forgotten by the American people.  From The New York Times:

It has been going on there for nine years and counting. Nearly 100,000 American troops are currently deployed there. More than 1,300 American service members have lost their lives there. The United States has spent over $300 billion on the effort so far. Yet polling suggests that the war in Afghanistan is barely a blip on voters’ radars as the midterm elections approach.

Given the condition of the economy and the high unemployment rate, the fact that most Americans largely cite those problems as the nation’s top issues is not surprising. What is surprising is that hardly any Americans cite the war in Afghanistan at all.

In a nationwide New York Times/CBS News poll conducted last month, 60 percent of Americans said that the economy or jobs were the most important problems facing the country. A mere 3 percent mentioned Afghanistan or the war.

It's so sad, because the war in Afghanistan is so important.  But voter reaction is typical of the American experience.  Fox Conner, the Army general who was Dwight Eisenhower's intellectual mentor, gave Eisenhower three rules of war for Americans:  1) Never fight unless you have to; 2) Never fight alone; and 3) Never fight for long.

Americans are an impatient people, and our history shows that we do not accept long wars.  Americans turned against Vietnam in large measure because it dragged on.  (Another factor was monumentally incompetent press reporting that failed to pick up our victories and the enemy's desperation.) 

Although our action in Afghanistan was a direct response to the 9-11 attacks, those attacks took place nine years ago.  It's too long, and public support and interest have waned.  I'm afraid it will take another shock to bring us back to reality and urgency.

October 16, 2010      Permalink

RAZOR THIN IN THE GOLDEN STATE – AT 9:42 A.M. ET:  According to the latest poll taken, Carly Fiorina has pulled to within one point of the terminally obnoxious Barbara Boxer for the California Senate seat that Boxer now holds.

The Reuters/Ipsos poll pegs Boxer at 46%, Fiorina at 45%.

I have to believe that the Republican enthusiasm machine can overcome that small lead. 

I heard Victor Davis Hanson speak yesterday, and he pointed out that one reason it is so hard for a Republican to now be elected statewide in California is the fact that hundreds of thousands of Californians are dependent on the state for their jobs.  It's a built-in support system for liberal incumbents.  One of the dreams of the left is to have the citizenry dependent on the government for basic needs.  Then they can be counted on to vote for the government.

Most polls, by the way, have former Governor Jerry Brown – he's so old he actually ran against Reagan for governor – about four to six points ahead of Republican Meg Whitman.   Again, the enthusiasm factor may narrow that number.

I'd fight hard in both those races.  Not lost by a long shot.

October 16, 2010     Permalink

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 15, 2010

THE HOUSE MAY BE IN ORDER – AT 8:10 P.M. ET:  RealClearPolitics is showing continued GOP progress in the effort to control the House:

If the election were held today, Republicans would take 212 seats, Dems 184, with 39 toss ups.   It takes 218 for a majority.  So, if RCP is correct, the GOP is within six seats of De-Pelosing the House. 

On the Senate side, RCP continues to show slow progress for the Democrats.  As of now,  Dems would have 49 seats, the GOP 46, with five toss ups.  Taking out the toss ups, RCP estimates a Senate split 52 for the Dems, 48 for the Republicans, for a net gain of seven seats for the GOP.  Obviously, that woul d not give the Republicans control, but would certainly gum up the works.  To stop a Republican filibuster, the Democrats would need all 52 of their troops, plus eight Republicans, and that is a tall order.

On Tuesday we go into the final two weeks.  It is getting exciting, and very brutal out there.  And still we wonder if Mr. Obama will pull an October surprise.

October 15, 2010      Permalink

WELCOME TO THE RECOVERY – AT 8:00 P.M. ET:  Why do I think the American people aren't buying the idea that we're in an economic recovery?  From Reuters:

U.S. consumer sentiment unexpectedly dipped in early October to its weakest level since July, with buying plans on the decline, a survey released Friday showed.

Also, consumers' assessments of government economic policies fell to the lowest level since U.S. President Barack Obama took office, it showed.

The Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan's preliminary October reading on the overall index on consumer sentiment came in at 67.9, down from 68.2 in September and below the 69.0 median forecast among economists polled by Reuters.

COMMENT:  There is absolutely no reason for Americans to be optimistic about the economy.  Government policies have flopped, and the chief flopmaker has no idea what to do next.  God forbid, Mr. Obama should consult some Republicans.  That's original sin in his precincts.

We seem headed for a period of just bumping along, with unemployment continuing high, and underemployment even higher.  And Americans are listening to news reports that higher taxes and energy prices may be in the offing.  They are also noticing that state taxes, fees and fines have, in many cases, risen dramatically.

Happy days are here again.

October 15, 2010      Permalink

FOCUS, FOCUS, FOCUS – AT 9:22 A.M. ET:   We keep stressing, here at Urgent Agenda, the need not to take our eye off the foreign-policy ball as we fight our election campaign.  Our enemies are not resting, and are not taking time out to watch Barbara Boxer speeches.

Consider this:

HAMBURG (Reuters) - Radical Islamists from a shut down Hamburg mosque linked to the September 11 attacks on the United States are now trying to infiltrate other mosques in and around the German city, according to officials and Muslim leaders.

Small groups of radicals have turned up at several mosques trying to establish a new meeting place since the Taiba Mosque, where the 9/11 leader Mohammad Atta once prayed, was raided and closed by police in August, they told Reuters.

With radicals no longer grouped around one mosque near the city's main train station, security services have stepped up their observation of Islamists around the city and Muslim associations are on the lookout for suspicious newcomers...

...A so-called "Hamburg Travel Group" of 11 radicals linked to the mosque left Germany in March 2009 to fight against the U.S. and coalition forces in Afghanistan.

And consider this, from Fox:

Senior U.S. officials are concerned over recent intelligence indicating that the Pakistani Taliban, which orchestrated the failed Times Square bombing, may have successfully placed another operative inside the United States to launch a second attack, sources tell Fox News. Authorities, however, know very little about the potential operative or any possible plot.

"[We] don't know who it is and don't know where it is," one source said. "We know the guy's here, but don't know anything about him."

Based on the intelligence, authorities believe the Pakistani Taliban, also known as Tehrik-e Taliban Pakistan, would have directed the individual to attempt another Times Square-style operation, but not necessarily in New York City.

COMMENT:  Eternal vigilance, readers.  Eternal vigilance.

October 15, 2010      Permalink

THE TEA PARTY SUCCESS – AT 8:54 A.M. ET:  Michael Barone looks at the tea party movement, and explains its phenomenal success.  From the Washington Examiner:

I think this ad, from Colorado Republican Senate candidate Ken Buck and spotted by National Review’s Jim Geraghty, sums up one reason for the energy and enthusiasm of the tea party and other aroused opponents of the Obama Democrats this year. “They heard us, and yet they ignored us,” Buck says. The American people, speaking through polls and through the voters of (yes) Massachusetts, said, Don’t pass that health care bill. The Obama Democrats passed it anyway. They are now set to face the political consequences. Or, as Buck concludes, “Folks, on November 2 they will ignore us no more.”

Liberals who are puzzled by what’s happening should take 30 seconds and watch this ad.

The ad is at the link.

Barone is correct.  There's all kinds of journalism floating around the internet, in which grim pundits whine that Americans are know-nothings and are therefore turning against the elites, those better people with the Volvo extended warranty plans.  In fact, what Americans resent is not intellect, not accomplishment, but the arrogance of the elites, including the president, who talk down to them. 

When Dwight Eisenhower left office on January 20th, 1961, he said that now he'd achieved the highest rank of all - private citizen.  Our elites today, especially our political elites, don't understand that concept.  If they do understand it, they laugh at it.  It's their problem, and it won't be ours.

October 15, 2010      Permalink

IT MUST BE THE WEATHER – AT 8:42 A.M. ET:  In the last few days we've had to report some problems in the GOP drive for control of the Senate.  Now there's a blip in Alaska.  Incumbent GOP Senator Lisa Murkowski, defeated for renomination in the Republican primary by Joe Miller, decided to run as an independent, and is close to pulling off a Joe Lieberman, who did the same thing in Connecticut and won.  From The Weekly Standard:

Is Lisa Murkowski on the way to writing herself back in to the U.S. Senate?

A new Rasmussen Reports telephone survey of Likely Voters in Alaska shows Republican Joe Miller with 35% support and Murkowski, the incumbent senator he defeated in the state’s GOP Primary now running as a write-in candidate, with 34% of the vote. Democrat Scott McAdams runs third with 27%. One percent (1%) prefers another candidate, and three percent (3%) are undecided.

The race remains Solid Republican in the Rasmussen Reports Election 2010 Senate Balance of Power rankings because if Murkowski wins she is expected to caucus with the GOP in the Senate.

But the reality is that Murkowski is the fourth most liberal Republican in the Senate, and is not a reliable vote for our side.  However, her name is popular in Alaska and Joe Miller occasionally stumbles, probably accounting for the tight race.  There are certain incumbents who have the political draw to pull off an upset if their party rejects them.  Lieberman is the prime example.  We'll see on election night if Alaska has produced another one.

October 15, 2010       Permalink

BACK TO THE SIXTIES – AT 8:23 A.M. ET:  Barbara Boxer is taking a page from the Patti Murray playbook.  In Washington state, Sen. Murray has pulled ahead of GOP challenger Dino Rossi by running a campaign directed at women.  Boxer, maybe feeling some heat, is learning the lesson, as The Politico notes:

LOS ANGELES — Sen. Barbara Boxer returned on Thursday to a tried and tested campaign strategy by painting her opponent as an extreme anti-abortion conservative who is out of touch with California voters.

The three-term Democrat used a rally at the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel to claim that GOP nominee Carly Fiorina would become a sure Senate vote to overturn Roe v. Wade.

"Make no mistake about it," Boxer said alongside actresses Maria Bello, Amy Brenneman and Alfre Woodard, and Reps. Jane Harman, Diane Watson and Laura Richardson. "A woman's right to choose is on the ballot here in California this year. It's very stark. Barbara Boxer, pro-choice, versus Carly Fiorina, anti-choice. It's very clear and very important people know this."

And...

"Barbara Boxer is a very talented politician, but her single greatest skill is running against pro-life opponents," said one California Republican political analyst. "She's really good at it. Matt Fong [her GOP nominee in 1998] didn't even know he was pro-life until Barbara Boxer got through with him."

Both Boxer and Murray are symbolic of the retrograde nature of the Democratic Party.  Both are children of the sixties, and want so much to return.  Boxer, as we noted here yesterday, gives a helping hand to Code Pink, and Murray made some favorable comments about the idealism of Osama bin Laden after the 9-11 attacks. 

But, alas, Boxer's return to the abortion issue will probably work.  It has worked before.  It is one of the standard fear tactics of the political left.

Carly Fiorina continues to fight, and is still within striking distance of Boxer.  A huge Republican turnout in California might turn this one around, but that bankrupt, high-living state is tough for us.

October 15, 2010     Permalink