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Yesterday we asked readers to send us their guess as to what Bill Clinton said when Anthony Weiner apologized to him for sexual infidelity.  (Stop laughing.)  You can see reader' replies, as well as other good stuff, at today's Angel's Corner.

JUNE 9,  2011

GINGRICH DOWN, IS PERRY IN? – AT 9:26 P.M. ET:   The big political news of the day is that Newt Gingrich's entire senior campaign staff has resigned.

The official story is that the staff had differences with Gingrich over the way his campaign for president should be run.  But there's a much more intriguing element here.  Two of the group that resigned – Campaign Manager Rob Johnson and adviser Dave Carney – are very close to Texas Governor Rick Perry.  It's been speculated several times that Perry would never run for president unless he could have these two on board.  Now he'll have that chance, and one has to wonder whether Perry sent a signal to Johnson and Carney that he's getting into the race.  From CBS:

Texas Governor Rick Perry is "serious" about making a run for the White House, sources close to Perry tell CBS News.

Perry has been talking with financial backers for the past week on a possible bid and even held a conference call earlier in the week to discuss the matter, the sources told CBS's Jan Crawford.

But Perry was reluctant to run for the nomination without key advisers, including his former campaign manager Rob Johnson and his top political consultant Dave Carney...

COMMENT:  I think we'll see Perry make the jump soon, and he could well be formidable.  Of course, he's never campaigned outside Texas, so it remains to be seen how he will play in other parts.  He's giving a major address soon to a Republican group in New York City, and it will be instructive to gauge their reaction.

Gets more interesting every day.

June 9, 2011       Permalink

SNIPPET – AT 9:23 P.M. ET:  From Reuters:

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has been in discussions with the White House about leaving her job next year to become head of the World Bank, sources familiar with the discussions said on Thursday.

She's reportedly attracted to their free checking and credit-card rewards program.

AND THE BEAT GOES ON – AT 10:08 A.M. ET:  The feds have just released jobless figures for the week.  They are not good, and confirm, if any further confirmation were necessary, that the mythical recovery is even more mythical than we'd believed.  From Bloomberg:

U.S. initial jobless claims unexpectedly rose last week, a sign that the labor market is struggling to gain traction.
Jobless claims increased by 1,000 to 427,000 in the week ended June 4, Labor Department figures showed today in Washington. Economists surveyed by Bloomberg News projected a drop in claims to 419,000, according to the median forecast. The number of people on unemployment benefit rolls and those receiving extended payments decreased.

Some employers are cutting staff as demand slows because of elevated energy prices, falling house prices and tight credit. The economy generated the fewest jobs in May in eight months and the unemployment rate rose, a report showed last week.

COMMENT:  We noted yesterday that the national psychology seems to have changed, to one of great gloom and apprehension.  A piece in the Washington Post today said the same thing.

This reminds us of another era, the late 70s, when another weak president, Jimmy Carter, delivered what came to be known as his "great malaise" speech, in which Carter said that a great malaise had come over the country.  He was right, and he was the cause of it.   But the malaise ended with the election of Ronald Reagan, whose optimistic and positive view of America was catching.  The current malaise won't end until we once again change presidents.  We have a chance to do that next year.  I hope we remember to do it.

June 9, 2011      Permalink

WEINER ROASTED – AT 8:59 A.M. ET:  There's a death watch on Congressman Anthony Weiner, with the belief growing that it's only a matter of time before the resignation of the man who definitively answered the question, "Boxers or briefs?"  But Investors Business Daily raises another question:  Why the double standard?  Weiner is being squeezed out, while arguably worse offenders remain in Congress:

Graft: House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi has called for an ethics investigation of Rep. Anthony Weiner for possibly misusing official resources. But what about the probe of Rep. Maxine Waters for abusing her power?

The ethics trial of Waters, accused of swinging millions in federal bailout cash to her husband's ailing bank, was set to begin last November.

But the Democrat leadership has delayed Waters' trial by blocking subpoenas and firing the lead lawyer working on the two-year investigation. Also, the ranking Democrat on the House Ethics panel reportedly is holding up the hiring of a new staff director.

In the long stall, we've learned that Waters' chief of staff heavily lobbied bank examiners, who according to internal emails were livid about the intervention.

Pressure from Waters' office resulted in a $12 million federal loan for OneUnited Bank and a unique exemption from the FDIC's accounting rules. One FDIC examiner called it a "travesty of justice."

Waters claims her top aide didn't know her spouse was involved with the bank, even though the aide is also her grandson.

And it goes on and on.  And Charlie Rangel also remains in Congress, reelected by a whopping margin, despite a proved record of corruption.

Both Waters and Rangel are members of the Congressional Black Caucus.  The black vote is absolutely essential to the Democratic Party.  Without it, the party could not win a presidential election.  I suspect that is a major factor in going easy on CBC members. 

I do wish the African-American community, which used to be more Republican ("the party of Lincoln") would return to those roots.  Today black Republicans like Congressman Allen West of Florida, a former Army lieutenant colonel, Congressman Tim Scott of South Carolina, and Herman Cain, a candidate for the GOP presidential nomination, are talking sense and good values, while much of the Congressional Black Caucus is stuck in the 1960s.  West, in particular, is headed for stardom.

Sticking with only one party means being taken for granted.

June 9, 2011       Permalink

UTTERLY SICKENING – AT 8:34 A.M. ET:  Apparently the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee is opposed to discrimination against Arabs, unless they're Arabs seeking freedom in the Mideast.  From The Politico:

A leading Arab American group dropped a prominent Syrian-American musician from performing at their annual convention in a dispute over a freedom-tinged song that he was set to perform.

The American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee, a longtime Washington civil rights group, repeatedly asked the German-born Syrian composer and pianist Malek Jandali to reconsider his piece choice, Jandali told POLITICO. When he refused, Jandali was told today that he couldn't perform at this weekend's event.

Jandali's "Watani Ana: I am my Homeland" doesn't specifically mention Syria or the broader Arab Spring uprisings, but is heavy on the themes of freedom and liberty. Jandali calls it a "humanitarian song." But lyrics include "oh my homeland, when will I see you free" and "When the land is watered with the blood of martyrs and the brave/ And all the people shout: Freedom to mankind."

I guess that's just too hot to handle.  I wonder why.  Maybe here's why:

The chairman of the ADC board, gynecologist Safa Rifka, is aligned with Syria's ambassador to the United States Imad Moustapha. In a blog post, Moustapha called Rifka one of his three "best friends" in Washington D.C. The ADC describes itself as the largest Arab-American grassroots advocacy group and vows to end "discrimination and bias against Arab Americans wherever it is practiced."

But in the Mideast, their advice to the Syrian government seems to be, "Fire away!"

Let's see if the fashion plates of the media, like Christiane Amanpour or Nicholas Kristof, have anything to say about this.  Don't hold your breath.

June 9, 2011       Permalink

WHERE OBAMA STANDS – AT 7:52 A.M. ET:  A new Fox poll is confirming the president's problems in the polls, especially among independents:

The president’s job rating has returned to pre-bin Laden raid levels, according to a Fox News poll released Wednesday. Currently 48 percent of American voters approve of the job Barack Obama is doing and 43 percent disapprove. Last month, after the death of Usama bin Laden, it was much more positive: 55 approved and 41 percent disapproved (May 2011). Prior to the raid the president’s rating was split evenly 47-47 (April 2011).

The poll finds similar mixed views on the president’s re-election. Nearly half of voters -- 49 percent -- would vote for someone else rather than re-elect President Obama if the 2012 election were held today. Forty-four percent would vote to give him a second term. These results are essentially unchanged from January, the last time this question was asked, when 51 percent said someone else, and 42 percent said re-elect Obama...

...The number of Democrats who would “definitely” re-elect Obama stands at 55 percent...Fully 92 percent of Republicans would vote for someone else, including 72 percent who would “definitely” vote for Obama’s opponent.

But here is the shocker:

For independents, 33 percent would vote to re-elect Obama, down from a high of 43 percent in April 2009. Just over half of independents -- 52 percent -- would vote for someone else, which is almost twice as many as the 28 percent who felt that way near the start of Obama’s term.

If Obama cannot win back independents, it's hard to see how he can be reelected.  And winning them back means an improving economy.

Among Republican primary voters, 23 percent would like to see Romney as the nominee. He is followed by New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani at13 percent and former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin at 12 percent. Businessman Herman Cain and former House Speaker Newt Gingrich both receive the backing of 7 percent. Texas Congressman Ron Paul and former Minn. Gov. Tim Pawlenty both come in at 5 percent. All others receive less than five percent support.

Those numbers can change dramatically as the race for the nomination proceeds.  What's startling is the low number for Sarah Palin, who probably has higher name recognition than any of the others.  Republicans know her, and I'm afraid they've made their decision.  Fair or not, she is just not the favorite she used to be. 

As I've said here before, I think Sarah's resignation from the Alaska governorship was a breathtaking mistake, and has done her enormous damage.  As a sitting governor, she had a certain aura, and was building a record.  As someone who quit after less than one term to become a celebrity, she surrendered the image of authority and responsibility.  I hope she remains active, as she's a sparkplug with great values.  But there's rebuilding to do, and she's still young.

June 9, 2011     Permalink 

JUNE 8,  2011

NEW STIRRINGS IN TEXAS – AT 11:16 P.M. ET:  The spotlight is slowly shifting to Governor Rick Perry of Texas.  From The Wall Street Journal:

For months, Texas Gov. Rick Perry has told potential donors and Republican higher-ups he has no interest in running for the White House in 2012.

But over the past two weeks, political advisers and friends say, Mr. Perry has changed his tune on a possible presidential campaign. In private conversations, they say, the three-term governor said he worries that the current GOP contenders have yet to stir real excitement within the party and may struggle when facing President Barack Obama.

"He thinks there is a void [in the current field of candidates], and that he might be uniquely positioned to fill that void," said one Perry confidant who talked to the governor last week.

In these conversations, the governor has emphasized his own track record in bringing jobs to Texas, which has created more jobs than any other state in recent years. That success, he has told supporters, would position him well in an election that will likely pivot on jobs.

Perry would shake up the race.  But he also comes with liabilities:

Mr. Perry has recently built a base among tea-party groups and conservatives by hammering on state's rights and attacking the Obama administration for its health-care overhaul and interventions in the economy. This year, he backed an array of measures appealing to social conservatives, including a requirement that all women considering an abortion have a sonogram first.

In 2009, Mr. Perry caused a stir by expressing sympathy for Texans who might want to secede from the union if federal mandates became too onerous, a comment that could prove problematic in a presidential campaign, especially among general-election voters. Mr. Perry's candidacy would also test whether voters are willing to elevate another Texas governor so soon after Mr. Bush's presidency.

COMMENT:  There is apparently friction between Perry and the Bush family, which could complicate Perry's navigation within the GOP.  Also, he is seen by some as a militant social conservative, which could take attention away from his job-building record. 

He is, however, a powerful, remarkably effective campaigner, which is what Republicans need to go up against Barack Obama. 

June 8, 2011       Permalink

SNIPPET – AT 10:15 A.M. ET: 

From the New York Post:   Rep. Anthony Weiner apologized for the ongoing "sext" scandal to Bill Clinton, who officiated at his wedding to wife Huma Abedin.  Weiner, who admitted Monday that he had sent explicit images and messages to a number of women online, called the former president in the past 48 hours to explain his conduct, according to Politico.

He apologized to Bill Clinton for sexual infidelity?  He did?  Now be honest.  Wouldn't you have loved to hear that conversation? 

Now, we're going to have a little contest here.  Please e-mail me the line that you think Clinton used to reply to Weiner's apology.  I'll print as many entries as I can, assuming they're relatively decent.  E-mail comments@urgentagenda.com 

DETROIT PRODUCES ANOTHER GENIUS – AT 9:51 A.M. ET:  It is hard to make this up.  From the Detroit News:

Detroit — General Motors Co. CEO Dan Akerson wants the federal gas tax boosted as much as $1 a gallon to nudge consumers toward more fuel-efficient cars, and he's confident the government will soon shed its remaining 26 percent stake in the once-bankrupt automaker...

...And while he is eager to say goodbye to the government as a part owner of GM, Akerson would like to see it step up to the challenge of setting a higher gas tax, as part of a comprehensive energy policy.

A government-imposed tax hike, Akerson believes, will prompt more people to buy small cars and do more good for the environment than forcing automakers to comply with higher gas-mileage standards.

"There ought to be a discussion on the cost versus the benefits," he said.

COMMENT:  I don't know what this captain of industry's salary is, but I'll bet five-dollar-a-gallon gasoline wouldn't dent it at all.  But for the rest of the peasantry out there, it's an outrage, and would do great damage to families.  It would also kill any economic recovery.

Great thinking has rarely come out of the auto industry.  I guess they want to keep that tradition alive. 

June 8, 2011       Permalink

OUR SHAME – AT 9:14 A.M. ET:  Do you remember when Barack Hussein Obama Jr. ran for president, pledging to restore America's "moral leadership"?  Ah, those were the days, weren't they?  After the sinister BUSH (!!) and CHENEY (!!!!),  we were going to be cleansed.

Apparently, someone in the White House forgot that part of the platform:

Britain and France will put forward a United Nations Security Council resolution on Wednesday condemning Syria's crackdown on protesters, British Prime Minister David Cameron said.

"Today in New York, Britain and France will be tabling a resolution at the Security Council condemning the repression and demanding accountability and humanitarian access.

"And if anyone votes against that resolution or tries to veto it, that should be on their conscience," Cameron told parliament.

Britain, France, Germany and Portugal circulated a draft resolution condemning Syria at the UN Security Council last month, but diplomats say Britain has been working on a version with tougher language. Veto powers Russia and China have made clear they dislike the idea of council involvement.

Please note that the name "United States of America" appears nowhere in the story.  How sad.  I guess this is the Obama version of moral leadership. 

And it goes beyond moral leadership.  Say what you want about George W. Bush, but he was a strong, decisive president, at least in his first term.  He led.  He decided.  No one doubted who the superpower was.  Now, we seem to be fading.  And, ironically, Obama seems less respected around the world as a result of his policies, not more respected. 

Ronnie, where are you now that we need you...again?

June 8, 2011      Permalink

BARONE ON THE ECONOMY – AT 8:57 A.M. ET:  One of our best political analysts, Michael Barone, has some blunt lessons for both journalists and politicians in figuring what's gone wrong with the nation's economy.  From the Washington Examiner, by way of Rasmussen Reports:

You can only expect a robust economic recovery for so long before you figure out, as Herbert Hoover eventually did, that it is not around the corner.

Exogenous factors explain some part of the current economic stagnation. The earthquake and tsunami in Japan caused a slowdown in manufacturing. Horrendous tornados did not help. Nor did bad weather, though only a few still bitterly cling to the theory that it's caused by manmade global warming.

But poor public policy is surely one reason why the American economy has not rebounded from recession as it has in the past. And political posturing has also played a major role.

Barack Obama and the Democratic congressional supermajorities of 2009-10 raised federal spending from 21 percent to 25 percent of gross domestic product. Their stimulus package stopped layoffs of public employees for a while, even as private sector payrolls plummeted.

And the Obama Democrats piled further burdens on would-be employers in the private sector. Obamacare and the Dodd-Frank financial regulation bill are scheduled to be followed by thousands of regulations that will impose impossible-to-estimate costs on the economy.

That seems to have led to a hiring freeze. The Obama Democrats can reasonably claim not to be responsible for the huge number of layoffs that occurred in the months following the financial crisis of fall 2008. And Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner and Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke did manage to help stabilize financial markets.

But while the number of layoffs is now vastly less than in the first half of 2009, the number of new hires has not increased appreciably. Many more people have been unemployed for longer periods than in previous recessions, and many more have stopped looking for work altogether.

It's hard to avoid the conclusion that the threat of tax increases and increased regulatory burdens have produced something in the nature of a hiring strike.

COMMENT:  You see evidence of Barone's facts everywhere, and you hear that evidence just by talking to local merchants.  We must unleash the power and ingenuity of the American economy, but how can it be unleashed when the government is run by elites who disdain the very entrepreneurship and drive that made us the greatest economic engine in history.

Had we known Obama's economic plans, or lack of them, in 2008, he might have been defeated.  That is the job of the mainstream media.  Thanks, guys.

June 8, 2011       Permalink

SNIPPET – AT 8:39 A.M. ET: 

From Voice of America:  U.S. President Barack Obama welcomes Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan to the White House Wednesday, one day after Mr. Jonathan addressed a United Nations conference on AIDS held in New York.

And tomorrow Hillary Clinton flies to Africa, taking her close aide Huma Abedin with her.  Abedin is the wife of Congressman Anthony Toughluck Weiner. 

THE PSYCHOLOGY – AT 8:21 A.M. ET:  One thing I've noticed over the last week is a sudden increase in gloom in the United States.  You sense it all over the internet, in news reports, in columns, in polls.  I thought it might last a few days, but now I'm guessing this is a major psychological change, brought about by a growing belief that things are getting worse, not better, and that our leaders are inadequate to fix what's wrong.

I also sense a growing fear.  And reports of flash-mob attacks across the country, the latest in Chicago, can have a devastating impact on the national psyche, especially if they lead to a sixties-style "long hot summer." 

The bin Laden raid reminded us of what we could be when we're at our best.  But nothing else seems to be the best these days.  The last time I sensed this change was during the Carter administration, after the failed attempt to rescue American hostages in Tehran.  I recall the leader of my daughter's Girl Scout group wondering out loud why we couldn't do things right any longer.  Having a weak, sneering president didn't help, of course.  We have a weak, sneering president again, although this one delivers better speeches.

The national gloom doesn't mean that Obama will be defeated.   Things were pretty gloomy in 1936, when FDR ran for a second term.  The Depression was still on, and it was deep.  But Roosevelt was a natural leader, and the Republicans didn't offer either a great candidate or a great platform, so FDR was reelected in a landslide.  A good thing to remember for the GOP today.

Many people today don't realize that the Depression was one of the major causes of World War II.  The free nations, trapped in their own economic problems, looked inward, and were in no mood to spend billions on armaments when people were starving.  That set the stage for the temptations that overwhelmed Nazi Germany and imperial Japan, and was one of the factors that led to their aggression. 

I fear the same thing is happening now.  There is a growing isolationism, a sense that we do too much abroad and not enough at home.  That may be true, but other nations will be watching closely if we start to retrench, and they will gladly fill the vacuum we leave, even if it means depriving their own people.

The imperative is to change the national leadership in November, 2012.  I don't think the need has ever been greater.  What a chance for a great Republican candidate.

June 8, 2011     Permalink