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ELECTION - 22 days from today

I'll be on "The Conservative Hispanic" on KVCE Dallas at 10 this morning, ET.  Hear it at 1160 on your Dallas AM dial, or at KVCEradio.com on the internet.

MONDAY, OCTOBER 11, 2010

GET READY FOR 2012 – AT 9:13 P.M. ET:  Once this midterm is wrapped up in three weeks, the 2012 election season begins.  It's never too early to agonize and worry.  It is our patriotic responsibility.

I hear a great deal of buzz from contacts, media friends and the like, but the most persistent buzz is about Mitch Daniels, the very successful Republican governor of Indiana.  Michael Barone has some comments about him: 

It's an ornate office in Indiana's beautifully maintained mid-19th century Capitol, but the 49th governor of Indiana, Mitch Daniels, is not dressed to match the setting. He's just returned from spending the night in Princeton, Ind., staying at a constituent's house -- as he often does around the state -- and he's dressed in a work shirt and jeans.

It's true.  Daniels stays with constituents to save the taxpayers the cost of a hotel.  You gotta like the guy already.

After four sometimes controversial years as governor -- he sold off the North Indiana Toll Road and persuaded the legislature to smooth out the state's time zone boundaries -- he was re-elected 58 percent to 40 percent in 2008 even as Barack Obama was carrying the state.

As much as any American politician of his generation, he's proved that cutting spending and gaining a reputation as a skinflint is good politics.

Image so far:  All-American guy, respectful of other people's money, successful governor.

...he says that, if he runs, he'll be a different kind of candidate. As for "the federal fiscal picture -- and why don't we have the philosophic debate tomorrow -- as for today, can we agree that the arithmetic doesn't work? We're going to have higher and higher levels of debt."

He goes on. "This is a survival-level issue for the country. We won't be a leader without major change in the federal fiscal picture. We're going to have to do fundamental things you say are impossible."

And...

He thinks voters may be ready to support such changes because they've had a searing experience with debt, and their lives are changing. Younger people may be ready to put up with lower Social Security benefits for high earners because they've seen that some companies' new hires aren't getting the pensions and benefits their elders got. "There's nothing radical about this. It's already happened all over the place."

Finally...

You can almost see the green eyeshade as he speaks. It's been noted that Daniels is short and balding (with a combover), that he speaks with just a bit of a Southern country twang (he moved to Indiana from Tennessee and Georgia at age 10) -- hardly a glamorous candidate.

"I'm not a long-range planner," Daniels says, when asked if he's running. "I play the ball where it is." But if he runs, he promises to be more of a long-range planner if he runs than any presidential candidate we have ever seen.

COMMENT:  Barone draws an accurate portrait.  However, a few things:  I was at a small gathering earlier this year where Daniels spoke.  He's personable, but a dull speaker.  At times he sounded like an accountant, at other times he drifted into semi-philosophy.  People like him and have confidence in him, but he'll have to sharpen his presentation a bit.  Beyond that, he's about as white bread as you can get, and I wonder about his appeal to minorities and ethnics.

However, he's been a fantastic governor, succeeding where other governors have failed.  And his plain spokenness might actually turn out to be an asset, a contrast to the windbaggery from the windy city that we're experiencing today.

Watch Mitch Daniels.  I think he's still a long shot, but if the economy is still the issue in 2012, the shot will get shorter.

By the way, Daniels bears a striking resemblance to another famous son of Indiana – Ernie Pyle, the great
World War II correspondent.

October 11, 2010     Permalink

GOP IN A GALLUP – AT 7:31 P.M. ET:  The new Gallup generic poll just out shows the Republicans maintaining their strength as we move to within three weeks of the election:

PRINCETON, NJ -- Republicans maintain a substantial advantage over Democrats among likely voters in Gallup's generic ballot for Congress -- in both lower- and higher-turnout scenarios -- fueled in part by the GOP's strong showing among independents.

If the turnout is high, the Democratic percentage is 41, the Republican 53.

If the turnout is low, the Democratic percentage is 39, the Republican 56.

The only change from last week's numbers is that the Dems advanced one point in each category, high and low.

We've been told by some pundits that there's a movement toward the Democrats, but we don't see it.

Hold tight.

October 11, 2010     Permalink

SNIPPET OF THE DAY – AT 9:28 A.M. ET:

(Reuters) - Britons find being older than 52 is nothing to laugh about because that's the age when they start becoming grumpy, according to a survey on Friday.  The poll of 2,000 Britons found those over 50 laughed far less than their younger counterparts and complained far more.

The U.S. Congress, explained at last. 

October 11, 2010      Permalink

AND IN THE REAL WORLD – AT 9:07 A.M. ET:  We may be distracted by our political campaign; others are not.  The Pakistan situation has become dire – an unstable country, yet one determined to develop weapons that can produce a catastrophe if they fall into the wrong hands.  from London's Telegraph:

Pakistan has been secretly accelerating the pace of its nuclear weapons programme, infuriating the US which is trying to cap worldwide stocks of fissile material and improve fraught relations with a fragile ally in the Afghanistan war.

The Institute for Science and International Security, a Washington-based nuclear watchdog, has obtained satellite images showing that a row of cooling towers at Pakistan's secret Khushab-III reactor has been completed. This suggests the plant could begin operation within months, allowing Pakistan substantially to increase its stockpiles of weapons-grade plutonium.

COMMENT:  The Pakistani population is anti-American and pro-Islamic.  Pakistan is the only Islamic country with a nuclear-weapons capability.  (Iran will be next.)  The greater danger here comes, not from a missile fired at us, but from a nuclear device being given by Pakistan, or stolen from Pakistan, and sailed into an American harbor aboard a freighter manned by a suicide crew. 

Talk of scary.  That is scary, and real world.  The Pakistanis are not intimidated by us.  Neither are the Iranians.  Flash ahead five to ten years. 

October 11, 2010      Permalink

QUOTE OF THE DAY – AT 8:41 A.M. ET:  From political commentator Mark Halperin, who tilts left, on the awkward political style of the president.  From TIME, which is still publishing, on some kind of crinkly material:

...Obama has exacerbated his political problems not just by failing to enact policies that would have actually turned the economy around, but also by authorizing a series of tactical moves intended to demonize Republicans and distract from the problems at hand. He has wasted time lambasting his foes when he should have been putting forth his agenda in a clear, optimistic fashion, defending the benefits of his key decisions during the past two years (health care and the Troubled Asset Relief Program, for example) and explaining what he would do with a re-elected Democratic majority to spur growth.

Throughout the year, we have been treated to Obama-led attacks on George W. Bush and Dick Cheney, Rush Limbaugh, Congressman Joe Barton (for his odd apology to BP), John Boehner (for seeking the speakership — or was it something about an ant?) and Fox News (for everything). Suitable Democratic targets in some cases, perhaps, but not worth the time of a busy Commander in Chief. In the past few days, we have witnessed the spectacle of the President himself and his top advisers wading into allegations that Republicans are attempting to buy the election using foreign money laundered through the Chamber of Commerce, combining with Karl Rove and his wealthy backers to fund a flood of negative television commercials. Not only is this issue convoluted and far-fetched, but it also distracts from the issues voters care about, frustrating political insiders and alienating struggling citizens (not that many are following such an offbeat story line). Feinting and gibing can't obscure those job numbers.

COMMENT:  I think that nails it, especially coming from a liberal.  The president, who has many fine qualities, just isn't presidential.  Peggy Noonan once wrote about Ronald Reagan that he "knew how to be president."  You have to know how.  It may be instinctive, it may be learned.  But the people must have confidence that the president is "The President."  They lack that confidence in Obama, whose whole political training was in the Chicago political machine.  But the presidency isn't about getting stop signs for the neighborhood school or organizing workers at a lamp factory. 

Mr. Obama was not ready, and it's sad.

October 11, 2010       Permalink

YOU CANNOT MAKE THIS UP – AT 8:21 A.M. ET:   Party of Roosevelt?  Party of Truman?  Party of JFK?  Or...party of, hey man, y'know, we're cool, y'know what I mean?  I've heard of strange political strategies, but I never thought the party that led us through World War II would resort to this.  From The Politico:

Forget the billion-dollar budget hole and layoff threats — the big debate in California right now is whether a bong war over legalizing pot could help boost Gov. Moonbeam back into office.

Seizing on new independent polling data, proponents of Proposition 19 — the Golden State ballot measure that would make possessing and growing marijuana legal — argue the measure is going to drive younger-voter turnout in such a way that it will benefit the Democrats statewide, from gubernatorial retread Jerry Brown to Sen. Barbara Boxer.

Yeah. man, well, y'know, it's important...like that UFO up there.

"It literally is the thumb on the scale that has been generally missed by the polling models out there, and it is going to have an impact not only on the initiative but everything else on the ballot including the candidates," said Dan Newman, consultant for the “Yes on 19” campaign.

"The community has been very active and engaged," he added, suggesting there's been "anecdotal and quantifiable evidence" of voters being spurred on by the issue.

"There's an energy and enthusiasm that is literally unprecedented in an initiative campaign," he said.

While the state Democratic Party is neutral on the ballot measure and its standard-bearer and two U.S. senators are all opposed, Chairman John Burton gave a one-word answer to the San Francisco Chronicle back in April when asked at the party’s convention what will bring out young, first-time Barack Obama voters again: “pot.”

COMMENT:  On this the fate of the nation may depend.  I can just imagine the late-night comedians the night after the election if the pot vote puts Jerry Brown in the governor's chair and sends Barbara Boxer back to the Senate.

And, of course, it will work wonders for the image of California.  Not.

I only wish Johnny Carson was still with us.  Can you imagine what he'd do with this?

Oh, you never heard of Johnny Carson?  I'll explain sometime.

October 11, 2010      Permalink

JOE McCARTHY LIVES – AT 8:10 A.M. ET:  Hey, I thought questioning people's patriotism was something done only by the so-called "far right."  Apparently, I didn't quite appreciate the skills developed by the left, including a certain political operator from Chicago.  The Washington Post instructs us:

The White House intensified its attacks Sunday on the powerful U.S. Chamber of Commerce for its alleged ties to foreign donors, part of an escalating Democratic effort to link Republican allies with corporate and overseas interests ahead of the November midterm elections.

The chamber adamantly denies that foreign funds are used in its U.S. election efforts, accusing Democrats of orchestrating a speculative smear campaign during a desperate political year.

President Obama, speaking at a rally in Philadelphia, said "the American people deserve to know who is trying to sway their elections" and raised the possibility that foreigners could be funding his opponents.

"You don't know," Obama said at the rally for Senate candidate Joe Sestak and other Democrats. "It could be the oil industry. It could even be foreign-owned corporations. You don't know because they don't have to disclose."

The remarks are part of a volley of recent attacks by Obama and other Democrats on alleged foreign influence within the Republican caucus, whether through support for outsourcing jobs by major U.S. corporations or through overseas money making its way into the coffers of GOP-leaning interest groups.

COMMENT:  This is really sleazy stuff.  Not one iota of evidence has been produced.  And Dems like Obama adviser David Axelrod said over the weekend that the Chamber would have to "prove" its innocence, a somewhat un-American concept.

Several news organizations have already reprimanded the president and his party for unsubstantiated allegations.

The Democrats are desperate.  But a resort to McCarthyism is lower than low.

October 11, 2010     Permalink

SUNDAY, OCTOBER 10, 2010

THE END – AT 7:58 P.M. ET:  I have to report this, even though it's not the kind of thing we usually do here:

I was in a local supermarket today.  I like to go to the supermarket myself so I can sneak junk food into the house.  I was trained in the CIA.  I have my ways, believe me.  (Now my devoted wife will find those chocolate bars.  But remember, dark chocolate is good for the heart.  I read it somewhere.)

So I'm in aisle 5 and suddenly the PA system comes on.  A pleasant-sounding lady informs the shopping public that copies of The New York Times are on sale at the front of the store.  She then announces, with a deadpan voice,
"Stop 'n Shop is the official supermarket of The New York Times."

I am not kidding.

That is an exact quote.

I knew The Times was in some trouble.  I didn't know it was this bad. 

Mark the date – 10-10-10.  It won't happen again for a long, long time.  On this day civilization came to an end.  The New York Times has designated an official supermarket.  I could have understood Whole Foods.  But Stop 'n Shop?

Goodbye, good taste. 

Oh...you can find former editors working in aisle 6.

October 10, 2010      Permalink

CREDIT WHERE IT'S DUE – AT 6:39 P.M. ET:  This got lost in the shuffle of the week's news, but I think it's important.  American companies can do things right, and often do:

FORTUNE -- General Motors and Chrysler are beginning to make some headway after getting a financial and operational overhaul compliments of the U.S. bankruptcy court. But Ford, operating free of interference by the court or the federal government is moving even faster and is beginning to put real distance between itself and its two domestic rivals.

Ford's U.S. sales in September rose 40% over a year ago, and it has gained retail market share in 23 of the last 24 months. By comparison, GM's sales rose 11% last month.

COMMENT:  This is a function of management.  Good management should be rewarded, bad management expelled.  We should be reading more about Ford.  If the guys are doing the job, give them the glory.

October 10, 2010      Permalink

A NERVOUS BREAKDOWN IN WASHINGTON? – AT 11:35 A.M. ET:  Nile Gardiner, one of Britain's sharpest observers of American Politics, believes the Obama presidency is on the verge of a nervous breakdown, and that Mr. Obama's future is bleak: 

Forget the myth of an Obama recovery. The past week has been disastrous for the White House and America’s increasingly disillusioned Left. No wonder the angry and desperate Vice President Joe Biden is talking about “playing hell” if his party suffers defeat in November.

Gardiner gives five reasons for the Democratic mental-health crisis:

1.  A new Gallup poll suggests the November mid-terms could result in the biggest victory for Republicans in the House since 1894.

2.  The Senate now hangs in the balance.

3.  The economic figures are grim.

4.  A quarter of Democrats have turned against the president.

5.  George W. Bush is now as popular as President Obama.

Ah, it's always great to have good news.  Everything that Gardiner reports is true.  But a word of caution:  Always remember that old saying, "Be careful what you wish for."  We will be delighted if, on November 2nd, America dissolves from ObamaNation to RedState.  But then Republicans, especially if they're in control of both houses, must produce.  And they must produce while an ultra-liberal Democrat is in the White House, and with a press that will be both hostile and frustrated.  And it must do this while keeping some of the less stable personalities in the party at arm's length, which is a technique Reagan perfected.  They have their nuts, we have ours.  But ours will get the biased press treatment.  Theirs will be portrayed as visionaries. 

We have an exciting time coming up:  a defining election, and an immediate plunge into the 2012 campaign.  This is almost as good as watching Christiane Amanpour's audience reduced to three people at the Harvard Divinity School.

October 10, 2010      Permalink

TROUBLE IN THE ISLAMIC REPUBLIC – AT 10:48 A.M. ET:  "Oh there's trouble, my friend, trouble right here in River City."  Well, I doubt if they're singing that line from "The Music Man" in Tehran these days, but maybe they should, if they could get it past the morality police.  But there is definitely trouble in Iran.  There has apparently been some mighty fine espionage in Iran's nuclear program:

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Iran acknowledged Saturday that some personnel at the country's nuclear facilities were lured by promises of money to pass secrets to the West but insisted increased security and worker privileges have put a stop to the spying.

The stunning admission by Vice President Ali Akbar Salehi provides the clearest government confirmation that Iran has been fighting espionage at its nuclear facilities.

In recent weeks, Iran has announced the arrest of several nuclear spies and battled a computer worm that it says is part of a covert Western plot to derail its nuclear program. And in July, a nuclear scientist who Iran says was kidnapped by U.S. agents returned home in mysterious circumstances, with the U.S. saying he was a willing defector who was offered $5 million by the CIA but then changed his mind.

The United States and its allies have vigorously sought to slow Iran's nuclear advances through U.N. and other sanctions out of suspicion that Tehran intends to use a civil program as cover for developing weapons. Iran denies any such aim and says it only wants to generate nuclear power.

There have been periodic reports that major espionage operations have been conducted in Iran, by both Israel and the U.S.  This is the first confirmation by Iran that some of these operations bore fruit.

During the Cold War the Russians and their satellite states would periodically announce the arrest of some of their nationals, accusing them of spying for the West.  We would describe such charges as "trumped up," but they were generally accurate.  People working for us would occasionally get caught.  This is the first time, in my memory at least, that Iran has even acknowledged that some of its own people had committed espionage for the West. 

We'll follow this and report any juicy details.

October 10, 2010      Permalink

QUOTE OF THE DAY – AT 10:27 A.M. ET:  A distinguished physicist has resigned from the American Physical Society.  And most people would reply, "So what?"  But the resignation of Professor Emeritus Harold Lewis of the University of California from the prestigious scientific body is causing a stir because it challenges the establishment position on "global warming."  Professor Lewis writes:

It is of course, the global warming scam, with the (literally) trillions of dollars driving it, that has corrupted so many scientists, and has carried APS before it like a rogue wave. It is the greatest and most successful pseudoscientific fraud I have seen in my long life as a physicist. Anyone who has the faintest doubt that this is so should force himself to read the ClimateGate documents, which lay it bare. (Montford’s book organizes the facts very well.) I don’t believe that any real physicist, nay scientist, can read that stuff without revulsion. I would almost make that revulsion a definition of the word scientist.

Meteorologist Anthony Watts describes the resignation as "an important moment in science history. I would describe it as a letter on the scale of Martin Luther, nailing his 95 theses to the Wittenburg church door. It is worthy of repeating this letter in entirety on every blog that discusses science."

You can find the entire letter here.  It is worth reading.  Among other things, Prof. Lewis warns of the influence of government money on science, something President Eisenhower warned about in his farewell address to the nation in January of 1961.  That was the famous "industrial-military complex speech," but only that part is remembered because it has served the purposes of the political left.  The warning about government money and its influence on science was forgotten...until now.

We are in the midst of an election campaign, and it's easy to forget that "global warming" is one of the main building blocks of the leftist agenda, which it will pursue regardless of who wins in three weeks.  Professor Lewis cannot be put away on a shelf and denigrated as a crackpot.  He is a distinguished scientist.

We hope a revolution among scientists is underway.  Maybe it's too much to ask for.

October 10, 2010     Permalink