http://www.washingtontimes.com/blog/inside-politics/2012/may/8/democrats-withdraw-trayvon-amendment/

I guess there still is some semblance of intelligence amongst Democrats in Congress..

Michale.....

And if Republicans choose the slogan, "FREE EVERYTHING FOR EVERYONE", liberals would say that it's a racist slogan...

If your point is that Republicans try to make everything political, you are preaching to the choir.. Democrats do the same thing..

*MY* point is why make it EASY for Republicans?? At least make them work for it, fer christ's sake! :D

Michale.....

If Democrats chose the slogan "Capitalism, God, and Puppy Dogs", conservatives would say that puppy dogs were Socialist.

-David

Probably not...

But that will be small consolation come 7 Nov when GOP has the House and the Senate and we have President Romney...

Democrats don't NEED to help the GOP out in this regard, do they??

I mean, it's like Obama standing up and saying, "If I had a son, he would look like Willie Horton."

Why GIVE the Republicans ammunition like that??

Why choose a slogan that has such a blatantly socialist history??

James Carville says that this election is the Democrat's to lose..

And they seem to be doing their damndest to do just that.

Lose..

Michale.....

Is there anything Republicans won't make "great hay" about? :)

-David

The problem with "Forward" is that it has a RICH socialist history and the Republicans will make great hay about that...

I'm just sayin'.... :D

Michale...

Kudos for being one of the first I've seen to come out in favor of Obama's new slogan. I also thought it was quite well done.

I especially like how they worked in the campaign 'O' logo into the design. From a design standpoint, it's quite well done.

http://www.theblaze.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/obama-forward.jpg

Best,
-David

It's official..

There is absolutely NO intelligence amongst Democrats in Congress...

Michale.....

Come Together: Netanyahu to Form Unity Government, Elections Canceled
http://www.breitbart.com/Big-Peace/2012/05/08/Come-Together-Netanyahu-to-Form-Unity-Government-Elections-Canceled

All I can say is, it's about frak'n time!

Michale.....

Here's a different take on Biden's MTP appearance..

Vice President Biden’s gay-marriage gaffe is mess for White House
http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2012/05/07/gIQAOzFw8T_story.html?hpid=z10

Seems like Ol' Joe has stepped into it again, making Obama's re-election harder, not easier..

Michale.....

It goes to what I said above.

A *GOOD* leader will draft a memo that says, "Do what you have to do to accomplish the mission. I've got your back if anything goes wrong."

That's what Lincoln did during the Civil War and that's what Eisenhower did on D-Day..

A conniving and scheming politician will draft a memo that allows him to shift the blame if something goes wrong.

Obama's actions were not the actions of a leader. They were the actions of a politician..

Michale.....

Yes, Clinton stated a fact.

Obama WOULD have had a rough time of it, if the Navy SEALS had been captured or killed..

But, by stating that "fact" it clearly demonstrates ANOTHER "fact".

The "FACT" that Clinton and Obama and Democrats are more concerned about the political fortunes of their president and less concerned about the LIVES of the Navy SEALS..

Personally, I don't think that's the kind of "FACT" that Democrats want to put out there to the Independents and NPAs of this country.

But, maybe that's just me....

Michale...

Of course, a lot can happen before 2016..

But a Hillary/Biden team just MIGHT be able to beat the Romney/Rice administration... :D

Michale....

While I'll give you Rudy, the "MISSION ACCOMPLISHED" incident has been so blown out of proportion.. The banner was put up by the crew of the carrier that Bush landed on. It was to denote that THEIR mission (the CBG's) had been accomplished...

Regardless, you miss my point. *I* am a BIG fan of "spiking the football".. It serves MANY useful purposes, not the least of which is in the MWR category.. MY point was that, when Bin Laden was killed, everyone here (and Democrats out there up to and including Obama) said that "spiking the football" wasn't appropriate, wasn't a good idea, wasn't the right thing to do..

But NOOOWWWW.... Now that Obama's re-election campaign is in the dumps, now that Obama is playing to empty venues, NOW "spiking the football" is right, appropriate and a helluva good idea...

It's the "SUPER PACs/Citizens United are a threat to our democracy" hypocrisy all over again.

Pure, unadulterated and unequivocal hypocrisy..

That's my point..

As for Clinton, to be technical, it's not narcissism if you're not talking about yourself. Clinton stated a fact (for proof, see: Carter, Jimmy).

"I'm Barack Obama and I approved this message"

What's your problem? Do you not believe that fact? You really, honest to Murgatroyd, believe that the GOP wouldn't be using -- as Argument Number One -- right now that Obama had tried and failed to get OBL? Puh-leeeze.

Of course, the GOP would be using that. They would be pounding Obama into the ground with it.

Which is absolutely NOTHING, compared to our Navy SEALS being captured or killed..

Don't you think that THAT is a bit more important, in the grand scheme of things. More important than Obama being politically savaged??

To put another way, would the children of those dead SEALS be thinking to themselves, "Wow.. President Obama is really getting beat up over the failed Bin Laden mission.. Poor guy.."??

Or would they just be missing their dad terribly??

"However, we face far, far worse if the attempt fails. If caught in Romulan territory, we and Bloodwing's crew will assuredly die. You and your ships could conceivably fight your way out again. Whatever difficulties you may have with Starfleet Command afterward, you will still be alive to have them."
-Subcommander Tafv, STAR TREK-My Enemy, My Ally

Let's keep things in perspective here...

As for 14.8% -- that number used to be 17%, which makes the (admittedly weak) case I laid out -- things are getting better, slowly.

No one denies things are getting better. A snail's pace, to be sure, but better nonetheless. But, do you think Obama would be re-elected if Americans really understood the TRUE Unemployment figure is more accurately 14.8%??

Which means that it's up to everyone else to keep the conversation going (read: smack Michale down every time he richly deserves it, chore though it may be), while I am too busy to do so myself. [Heh. No offense, M.]

None taken. I have been a tad miserable lately because, apparently, I am the victim of my own success... :D Or else, people around here have an acute case of ODS... Obama Disappointment Syndrome. Symptoms include CGT (Cat Got Tongue) and lack of desire to continuously defend the indefensible.. :D

Michale.....

I did see Biden today on MTP and was pleased to learn that he and Hillary will be teaming up for the 2016 campaign. Heh.

:-)

Ain't no relevance in reality. People can be betrayed but not feel it, people can feel betrayed when they aren't, and people can be betrayed about one thing while coincidentally feeling betrayed about another. It's the feelings that drive the political dynamics, which are what I was talking about.

OK, I have something to get off my chest. I have been lax here in the comments for a while now, and it is even getting worse (I was so lax I forgot to post an article this past Thursday -- I was going to run Nancy Pelosi's whole letter, verbatim, so click the link above if you're still suffering from Thursday withdrawal).

I apologize for this sad state of affairs, but I do have somewhat of an update. I started slacking off here, way back in August of last year, for a purpose. That purpose was to put together two chapters of a book I'd like to sell to a publisher.

I am getting closer to the end of this particular tunnel -- which I (naively) thought would take roughly just last August to do. Eight or nine months later, I am almost done with the first draft of the second of these chapters. After a review period, I'm going to put together a second draft and start attempting to actually sell the book. I am not quite there yet, but like I said, I can at least see the light at the end of this very long tunnel.

I'd like to thank everyone for their patience, and for putting up with substandard service here in the meantime. I am in the final push to the finish line, and therefore the next few weeks may be even spottier service.

Which means that it's up to everyone else to keep the conversation going (read: smack Michale down every time he richly deserves it, chore though it may be), while I am too busy to do so myself. [Heh. No offense, M.]

Anyway, I just wanted to give you folks a progress report, and to apologize once again for not being around here as much as I would like to be. Hang in there, hopefully thiings will get better within the next few months.

And to say thanks, once again, for sticking around and being so patient with me.

-CW

Yea, I know it's only 2010hrs, but gimme a break.. My day started at 0300hrs...

That just gives me all night to work on my response.. It's gonna be a humdinger!! :D

Michale.....

You are right, and my face is red with embarrassment. I missed "Star Wars Day" this year. May the fourth be with you, indeed, even if belatedly.

Michale [all the rest of it] -

Two words: "Mission Accomplished." Or maybe: "Rudy Giuliani." Republicans would have a tiny, tiny shred of believability on the issue of "spiking the football" if they hadn't spent the last... oh, forty or fifty years, say ... doing exactly the same thing, with every possible chance they got.

As for Clinton, to be technical, it's not narcissism if you're not talking about yourself. Clinton stated a fact (for proof, see: Carter, Jimmy). What's your problem? Do you not believe that fact? You really, honest to Murgatroyd, believe that the GOP wouldn't be using -- as Argument Number One -- right now that Obama had tried and failed to get OBL? Puh-leeeze.

As for 14.8% -- that number used to be 17%, which makes the (admittedly weak) case I laid out -- things are getting better, slowly.

Elizabeth -

I hope you caught Biden on Meet The Press this morning. He was pretty downright awesome. Excellent points, intelligent arguments, very focused, excellent surrogate for the Obama campaign. All-around, this was one of the best Biden interviews I have ever seen. More Biden, please, out on the campaign trail!

If you missed it, try and find the video, it's worth your time.

dsws [11] -

This is a good point, one I've been thinking about. I predict Monday's column will be on this subject: Romney is painted into a box of his (and his party's) own making. Check back tomorrow, same bat time, same bat channel for more of what I have to say on this.

OK, reached the bottom of the list.

-CW

:D

Michale....

Well said.... I couldn't have said it better.. :D

Michale.....

ain't no "feel" about it. the president absolutely did break his campaign promises, both general and specific, and in his case that is a betrayal. now this is perfectly normal behavior for a normal politician, but obama didn't market himself as a normal politician, he ran as an agent of change. yet as soon as he was elected, the president started to play the same game he had promised to change. the fierce urgency of now became an ominous admonition to wait - for the next term, the next election, the next opportunity.

This "wait" has almost always meant "never."
~MLK2, letter from a birmingham jail

That sounds to me like a good talking point. It plays on Romney's main negative, which is that he doesn't seem to have any core. Or to put it positively, he's a pragmatist. He and the president both are, but Obama was smart enough to get out in front of it by introducing himself to the world with, first, his biography and, second, a bunch of high-toned rhetoric. The danger in that route is that the base can feel betrayed.

within a few years test scores would plummet and teachers would be blamed.

I wish I had a logical argument to refute this gloomy assessment.

Sadly, I don't...

OR it's because obama is more competent himsel OR has a more competent staff around him

Assumes facts not in evidence.

whether or not the particular ad was a wise move is a different question. i still haven't seen it yet, so i can't comment to that effect.

President Clinton stated how bad it would have been *FOR OBAMA* if the SEALs were captured or killed..

That pretty much says everything that NEEDS to be said about the ad..

Michale

we were simply waiting for cinco de mayo!

What would happen if Head Start WAS cut back...

Seems to me then, that parents would actually have to take responsibility for their children and actually invest time in teaching the children themselves..

more likely, said parents would continue not caring, and their kids would grow up even less prepared for literacy and numeracy than they are already (and based on police data, be more likely to turn to crime).

within a few years test scores would plummet and teachers would be blamed.

That's ONLY because Obama hasn't had to fight DEMOCRATS more than Al Qaeda, as President Bush had to do...

OR it's because obama is more competent himself OR has a more competent staff around him (this may be the most plausible, since the change from Rumsfeld to Rice preceded improvements in iraq under bush, and i don't think any of us doubt secretary clinton's credentials). OR perhaps a bit of each. but the fact is there were many options available to get bin laden, once he'd been located. president obama chose one that was high risk, and it was successful both in eliminating the most wanted man on the planet and gathering valuable intel on AQ operations planet-wide. it's a campaign, you take credit both for what you and the people who work under you have achieved. this isn't "spiking the football," it's shouting at the coach (us) to keep him in the game. whether or not the particular ad was a wise move is a different question. i still haven't seen it yet, so i can't comment to that effect.

~joshua

I am shocked and ashamed!!!!

Not ONE single "May The Fourth Be With You" reference all day!!! :D

Michale....

Why can't politics be more about ideology, and less about group identity?

Simple.. Because any ideology must have a scapegoat to blind it's followers to the inadequacies of said ideology..

Hitler used the jews, Ekosians used Zeon, Republicans use Democrats and Democrats use Republicans..

The fortunate few are the ones who don't FOLLOW ideology (or more accurately, follow an ideology that is outside the main stream) and can therefore, see the inadequacies inherent in the system.

But those trapped in the system?? They are force fed daily on how evil xxx is, how xxx wants to take your money and eat your babies, why xxx is bad/evil and yyy is all goodness and light...

The first step to be free from ideology? Take a step outside the bubble and really look at the ideology with a cold, objective and logical eye.

Michale.....

Which is preferable??

Pushing women to actually work, think and benefit from their own strength of character???

Or setting it up so that they are totally dependent on the Federal Government from age 3 on up???

http://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/225553-paul-ryan-obama-julia-website-creepy-demeaning

Take Head Start for example?? A program that is dear to our hearts, as it was where my lovely wife entered the Educational Career field...

What would happen if Head Start WAS cut back...

Seems to me then, that parents would actually have to take responsibility for their children and actually invest time in teaching the children themselves..

"Oh my fucking god, what a nightmare!!!"
-Marisa Tomeii, MY COUSIN VINNY

Maybe if parents did that we would have more Tim Tebows and less Trayvon Martins, eh??

I'm just sayin'...

Forcing a population to be dependent on it's government may SEEM like compassion...

But it's nothing more than slavery...

Michale.....

Actually, it's not that the concept of "strength" has been passed to another Party... It's more that what passes for "strength" these days has been redefined...

Now, "strength" is drafting a memo telling a general to choose the time, place, and circumstances of an op, but then cover yourself politically by making it clear that, if anything goes wrong, said general will be thrown to the wolves faster than a Chinese dissident..

When *I* was in the military, strength and leadership was defined by getting a memo that says

"Do what you have to do to accomplish the mission. I have your back if anything goes wrong"

Our political leaders these days wouldn't know "strength" and "leadership" if it came up and kicked them in the ass....

Michale.....

It is so strange for a Democratic president to even be in this situation -- where he can attack Republicans from a position of strength on one of their traditional strong points, national security.

Well, all I can say is get used to it! I hear Vice President Biden is seriously considering a run for the White House in 2016.

Soon, no one will remember that Republicans were ever "strong" on national security.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JsrSAqRrCc0

It might have helped Obama if he had had at least SOME support from the actual men who went on the mission in his ad...

But those kinds of heroes will rarely support a 'wannabe' who is a legend in his own mind...

Michale.....

"BriWi"???

That's funny... :D

Well, yes... yes, he did. And, upon reflecting on it for a week, I'm taking a "wait and see" attitude on the subject. Yes, this is a cop-out (one that I rarely take), but there it is.

You really HAVE to have an opinion on what President Clinton said in that ad..

President Clinton saying so serious and solemn how bad things would have been for ***OBAMA*** if the Navy SEALS had been captured or killed..

I mean, seriously... That transcends ALL politics and just comes down to being narcistically bad taste in the extreme...

How bad for **OBAMA**!!???

As far as being a decent attack on Romney?? Fuuggediboutit...

ANY American given the option to pull the trigger on Bin Laden would have GLADLY stepped up to the plate...

Obama insults our (REAL Americans) intelligence by trying to insinuate otherwise...

Pelosi is from one of the most liberal districts in the country (San Francisco), so she can show leadership on this issue and it will actually help her at the polls, not hurt her. For showing such leadership, she has earned the MIDOTW this week.

Yea, but Feds still raided pot places in Santa Barbara....

So our MDDOTW this week goes to the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services, Kathleen Sebelius, for continuing to use government dollars in such a disgraceful fashion, due (one assumes) to outright political cowardice.

No mention of Elizabeth Warren and her faux-Indian ancestry??? 1/32nd Indian gets you a cushy job at Harvard... Regardless of anyone who actually might DESERVE the job!!! Great ad for Affirmative Action, eh??

What about the bone head ad writer who thought it would be totally awesome to put the ego of POTUS *before* the brave souls of SEAL Team Six???

Grrrr.. It's rigged!! Rigged I tell ya!!! :D

President Obama has done more to successfully defeat Al Qaeda in three years than was done in the previous eight.

That's ONLY because Obama hasn't had to fight DEMOCRATS more than Al Qaeda, as President Bush had to do...

Which simply proves beyond ANY doubt that Democrat's opposition to Bush and his CT policies were nothing but political obstructionism that bordered on (and sometimes CROSSED the border into) *TREASON*..

Absolutely NO other explanation is logically possible..

Unemployment getting better

This one is a tough sell, today, I realize. But the attempt must be made.

You know WHY it's a tough sale??

Because Americans are growing smarter about what exactly is meant by the unemployment figure.. They are finding out that the THOSE LEAVING THE WORK FORCE figure is a LOT more applicable to our current dismal economy, courtesy of the Democrats.

What?? THAT figure??? Oh it's 14.8%... Let's cheer about that, eh??

Do you really think that Democrats want to push these figures given that Americans are finally seeing thru Obama's HOPE/CHANGE mirrors???

Let's face it people.. This country is in the toilet and even David Axelrod is saying the choice is between a change (Romney) and the same dismal course that brought us here (Obama)...

And, of course, we have Obama himself saying that Americans were better under Bush than they are under him...

Probably the first thing I agreed with Obama on in a LONG time...

Michale.....