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JULY 27,  2012

SHORT TAKES ON THE DRIFTING WRECKAGE – AT 11:05 P.M. ET: 

OLYMPICS – The Olympics have opened in London, with a bored-looking Queen Elizabeth II presiding over the starting ceremonies.  The show was spectacular, although there has been some critical buzz about an overdrawn tribute to Britain's National Health Service, whose level of "service" has been seriously questioned in recent times.  But at least we also got James Bond.

ROMNEY ADVANCES – Mitt Romney opened up a five-point lead in the Rasmussen poll, which has to be impressive, considering the fact that Rasmussen polls likely voters.  Mitt's progress probably has come as a result of the negative response to Obama's comment that business owners didn't build their businesses themselves.  However, Romney stumbled badly in Britain yesterday, in his first foreign trip as presumed Republican candidate for president.  Let's see if that affects his poll standings.  We should know early next week. 

CONTENDER CONTEST – We mentioned that Marco Rubio will be campaigning for Romney during Romney's foreign trip.  It turns out that Romney is unleashing virtually all the serious contenders for the VP nod to campaign in his absence.  Included in the squad are Governor Bobby Jindal of Louisiana, Governor Bob McDonnell of Virginia, Senator John Thune of South Dakota, Senator Rob Portman of Ohio, former Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty, and Wisconsin Congressman Paul Ryan.  Chris Christie of New Jersey will not be on the trail, and Senator Kelly Ayotte of New Hampshire will be doing other campaigning. 

SYRIA TRAGEDY CONTINUES – Citizens of Syria's historic city of Aleppo expect a major, bloody battle in the next week, possibly the final great battle of the country's civil war.  Aid workers are leaving the city in anticipation of the clash.  Casualties are expected to be very high, with the different sides now building their forces.  The war grows more complicated by the day, as the Syrian government engages in butchery, while the opposition is reported to be increasingly infiltrated by Islamic extremists.  Hard to root for any of them.

July 27, 2012       Permalink

SNIPPET OF THE DAY – AT 3:49 P.M. ET:  

"A woman who kept the mummified remains of her boyfriend in her home for more than a year now faces criminal charges.  Linda Lou Chase faces multiple counts of forgery, according to the Jackson County prosecutor's office.  Police and prosecutors say Chase collected and kept at least $28,000 in social security and pension checks meant for Charles Zigler."

What's the problem here?  We have mummified remains in the U.S. Congress, they also take funds that don't belong to them, and we keep sending them back.  Double standard, I say.

WE MUST NOT AVERT OUR EYES – AT 10:25 A.M. ET:  You'll be seeing that warning more and more at Urgent Agenda.  As we enter the main months of our election campaign, let us not forget that enemies of this country will not be resting.   They will use the time to build their forces, and plan their next moves.  As Arthur Miller wrote, attention must be paid.  From the Washington Post:

Iran is rapidly gaining new capabilities to strike at U.S. warships in the Persian Gulf, amassing an arsenal of sophisticated anti-ship missiles while expanding its fleet of fast-attack boats and submarines, U.S. and Middle Eastern analysts say.

The new systems, many of them developed with foreign assistance, are giving Iran’s commanders new confidence that they could quickly damage or destroy U.S. ships if hostilities erupt, the officials say.

Although U.S. Navy officials are convinced that they would prevail in a fight, Iran’s advances have fueled concerns about U.S. vulnerabilities during the opening hours of a conflict in the gulf.

That is a critical point.  What if Iran opened the hostilities?  The aggressor has the advantage of surprise and maneuver in the first hours.  Many forget that there were more than 50 American warships in Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941.  There were many American fighter aircraft on the ground at nearby bases.  Yet look at the damage the Japanese inflicted in the opening minutes.  The battleship Arizona was sunk in the first ten minutes of the attack.  Planes were destroyed on the ground.  

Increasingly accurate short-range missiles — combined with Iran’s use of “swarm” tactics involving hundreds of heavily armed patrol boats — could strain the defensive capabilities of even the most modern U.S. ships, current and former military analysts say.

Correct.  Most of our weapons systems were not designed for this kind of warfare.  Our Navy is primarily an ocean-going force. 

In recent weeks, as nuclear talks with world powers have faltered and tensions have risen, Iran has repeated threats to shut down shipping in the oil-rich gulf region. Its leaders also have warned of massive retaliation for any attacks on its nuclear facilities, which the United States believes are civilian covers for an Iranian drive to acquire a nuclear-weapons capability.

Last week, Iran’s Foreign Ministry declared that the presence of U.S. warships in the gulf constituted a “real threat” to the region’s security.

COMMENT:  This is serious stuff.  Very knowledgeable people have written that the Iranian dream is to take out an American aircraft carrier, which would be a grievous, humiliating blow to the United States. 

Iran is a historically able nation, not to be underestimated.  We now know that Iranian warships have entered the Atlantic.  Yes, Iran has a small fleet, but massed vessels, including patrol boats, in a narrow body of water, can inflict enormous damage.

As Iran builds, we continue to "negotiate."  We have "negotiated" for years, with no result.  Either Iran will get its nuclear bomb, or there'll be some kind of confrontation.  I can't think of any third, realistic possibility.  But too many Americans are averting their eyes.

July 27, 2012       Permalink

HMM.  AN ORGANIZED CAMPAIGN? – AT 9:29 A.M. ET:  First Jeb, now Rudy.  In the last 48 hours two Republican heavyweights have endorsed Marco Rubio for vice presidential candidate.  Is this coincidence, or is it an organized campaign, part of a buildup?  By some strange coincidence, Rubio will be campaigning heavily for Romney in the next few days.  From The Politico:

Rudy Giuliani, stumping for Mitt Romney in Florida, offered his own take on who the candidate should pick for a running mate:

In an interview in Tampa with News Channel 8, the one-time presidential candidate said he was comfortable with all the potential running mates being talked about in the press, but thinks U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio would be the best choice.

Giuliani said the Florida senator could help the campaign attract young people.

On the one hand, he was making the comment in Rubio's home state. On the other, he's the latest Romney endorser to openly make the pitch for Rubio (Jeb Bush said yesterday he's even approached Romney about it).

COMMENT:  It is a bit unusual for major party figures to pump for a particular choice for VP.  Rubio happens to be my choice as well.  I think he will add dynamism to the ticket, help substantially with Hispanic voters, and bring in his critical state of Florida, the nation's fourth most populous state.

I also think Rubio may be a long shot at this point.  Romney tends to favor safer, more conventional choices, like the able senator from Ohio, Rob Portman. 

By the way, Condi Rice is out with a piece in the Financial Times that reads like a convention speech.  This is not the kind of writing she normally does.  She claims she's not interested in the VP slot, but, for an uninterested person, she sure knows how to craft a good political document.  Let the intrigue begin.

July 27, 2012       Permalink

HIDDEN DEFECTORS? – AT 9:01 A.M. ET:  There is an image, as Investor's Business Daily blogger Andrew Malcolm writes, that each candidate in the presidential election has a solid bloc of voters, and that the election will be won by a small, remaining group of independents in the middle.

But, not so fast.  Malcolm notes that some observers see a crack in Obama's armor that has not been widely examined. 

There's a growing suspicion among conservatives -- and a latent fear among Obamaphiles -- that another significant bloc of voters is hidden like double agents within the Democrat's camp.

These are voters who still say they support Obama with apparent conviction, much like those Wisconsin voters last month who so badly skewed the recall's exit poll results by saying, you betcha, they voted the union way against Gov. Scott Walker. But, in truth and in secret, they did not.

Like the Democratic primary voters in Kentucky, Arkansas and West Virginia who, when given a chance this spring, voted more than 40% for A.B.O. (Anyone But Obama).

The remaining loyal Obama supporters are so invested in their guy they're reluctant to turn on him publicly, to admit they were wrong or naively misled by a Chicago machine pol. But they are genuinely, if clandestinely, disappointed in his lack of performance and leadership, his stunningly harsh rhetoric for a professed uniter, and are susceptible to changing their secret vote. Or maybe simply staying home on Nov. 6.

To those potential no-shows, or possibly even Romney voters, the Republican National Committee is quietly aiming the video below, dubbed "He Tried." It could be summarized as: "He's a good guy. He looked so hopeful and convincing. But it just hasn't worked out. And since it's his failure to deliver, it's OK for me to change sides this time."

Scroll down, see what you think. And watch for this theme along the way these next 2,448 hours that determine the nation's course direction -- or correction.

COMMENT:  Go to the link to see the video.  I'd like to know what you think.

July 27, 2012       Permalink

ECONOMY STALLING – AT 8:46 A.M. ET:  The latest economic report simply adds to worries that the American economy may be entering a double-dip recession:

WASHINGTON (AP) - The U.S. economy grew at an annual rate of just 1.5 percent from April through June, as Americans cut back sharply on spending. The slowdown in growth adds to worries that the economy could be stalling three years after the recession ended.

The Commerce Department also said Friday that the economy grew a little better than previously thought in the January-March quarter. It raised its estimate to a 2 percent rate, up from 1.9 percent.

Growth at or below 2 percent isn't enough to lower the unemployment rate, which was 8.2 percent last month. And most economists don't expect growth to pick up much in the second half of the year. Europe's financial crisis and a looming budget crisis in the U.S. are expected to slow business investment further.

Stock futures rose slightly after the report was released. Some economists had thought the estimate would be lower.

Still, the lackluster economy is raising pressure on President Barack Obama in his re-election fight with Mitt Romney, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee.

But few think the Fed, the White House or Congress can or will do anything soon that might rejuvenate the economy quickly. Many lawmakers, for example, refuse to increase federal spending in light of historically large budget deficits.

COMMENT:  By any reasonable standard, this is bad news for Obama.  And yet, he retains a substantial resilience in the polls, in part because his opponent has not yet made the case for himself.  That is Romney's main job right now.  We hope he will pursue it without committing the sort of gaffes he did in London yesterday. 

July 27,  2012     Permalink

JULY 26,  2012

SHORT TAKES ON THE DRIFTING WRECKAGE – AT 10:46 P.M. ET:

GUESS WHO'S COMING TO RAMADAN – Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano has put Congress on notice to expect some unpleasant characters passing through Washington.  With changes in the Mideast, Napolitano made it clear that people who have been on watch lists may suddenly find themselves in meetings with American officials, and welcomed.  It's a stunning, disheartening development.  We apparently are going to sanitize some pretty bad types in the interest of "diplomacy."  It is another step forward for extremists, with whom Obama obviously has some sympathy, and a setback for true democracy advocates.

BIG BOMB AVAILABLE – In an apparent warning to both Iran and Syria, the Pentagon has announced that it now has available the Massive Ordnance Penetrator, a 30,000-pound bomb which contains 5,000 pounds of explosives.  The bomb is capable of penetrating deep underground facilities, but it is not known whether it can penetrate the deepest facilities Iran has constructed for its underground nuclear program.  Leon Panetta said earlier this year that the weapon had deficiencies in this regard.  Still, it is the most powerful conventional weapon we have, and clearly intended to scare the right people.

ANOTHER SETBACK FOR THE WARMER CROWD – Remember the "scientific consensus" on global warming?  Ah yes, I remember it well.  There are still some people who cling to it, including some guys at NASA.  But NASA's claim that the ice of Greenland is experiencing "unprecedented" melting has now been met with a torrent of criticism by real grown-up scientists who note that the episode is actually quite routine in Greenland's history.  As one scientist pointed out, there seem to be precedents for a number of unprecedented events.

ROMNEY RAKED OVER THE COALS – It was not a good day for Mitt Romney.  As we noted earlier, he started his foreign trip with a whopping gaffe, seeming to question whether Britain was really ready to host the Olympics...which start tomorrow.  And Bill Kristol reports that Romney, for some insane reason, has been telling a story about Ronald Reagan ordering that no meetings on national security be held for a particular length of time so he could concentrate on the economy.  Kristol notes that Reagan's White House records plainly contradict the story, and wonders why Romney would continue telling it.  Romney is gaffe-prone.  We thought he'd gotten over it, but more work is needed before he becomes his own worst enemy.

July 26, 2012       Permalink

THIS IS REALLY SICK STUFF – AT 11:14 A.M. ET:  Sometimes we get a story we must quote simply to show readers the twisted thinking that is out there, and is treated respectfully.  From The Jerusalem Post: 

The Palestinian Authority has thanked the International Olympic Committee [IOC] for refusing to allow a minute's silence at the opening ceremony in London to mark the 40th anniversary of the murder of 11 Israeli athletes in the Munich Games.

Jibril Rajoub, head of the Palestinian Football Union, sent a letter to IOC Chairman Jaques Rogge thanking him for his position, the PA's official news agency, Wafa, reported Wednesday.

In his letter, Rajoub, a former PA security commander, wrote: "Sports is a bridge for love, connection and relaying peace between peoples. It should not be a factor for separation and spreading racism between peoples."

Wafa said that Rajoub sent the letter to the IOC chairman on Tuesday.

A senior PA official in Ramallah confirmed that Rajoub had sent the letter and said that the Palestinians were opposed to "Israel's attempts to exploit the Olympic games for propaganda purposes."

COMMENT:  What will we have next, an attempt to cancel Memorial Day in the United States because it might offend the Germans, the Japanese, and Al Qaeda?

In World War II many American Navy officers could not adjust to the Japanese kamikaze.  It was simply beyond their comprehension that men would commit suicide rather than try to live.  Many officials refused to believe the first stories of the Nazi extermination camps because they could not believe that Germany, a "civilized nation," would do such a thing.

One of our great failures is the failure to understand ideology.  Even now, as this is written, instruction manuals within the U.S. Government are being purged of references to Islamic extremism, even though Islamic extremists are our sworn enemies. 

And so we have the Palestinian leadership, which sent terrorists to murder Israeli Olympic athletes in cold blood, hailing the refusal of the IOC to hold a minute of silence in memory of those athletes, claiming the memorial would constitute "racism."  How low can you go?  Pretty low, it seems.  The IOC itself has an ugly history, its collusion with the worst dictators being part of its corrupt past.  Indeed, the head of the U.S. Olympic Committee in the 1930s, Avery Brundage, was openly pro-Nazi, and later, as head of a construction company, got the contract to build the new German embassy in Washington.  I only wish we could separate the athletes from the organization. 

There is currently a major effort underway by the usual suspects to whitewash the Muslim Brotherhood.  It will largely succeed, with the enthusiastic support of the "multiculturalists" in the universities and the press.  Our children will pay the price for our failure, once again, to understand ideology.

July 26, 2012       Permalink

LET THE PANDERING BEGIN – AT 9:53 A.M. ET:   As some readers know, I started the political end of my career in liberal politics, as a campaign aide to the distinguished senator from Illinois, Paul Douglas, who was also a true war hero, severely wounded at Okinawa.  I still have great respect for true liberals, national defense liberals like Mr. Douglas, Scoop Jackson and Stuart Symington.  I have little regard for the current crops, who are leftists, not liberals.

Let me relate an incident from the 1960 campaign.  I was with Mr. Douglas in an African-American neighborhood.  We were parked in the campaign van.  A black woman came up to speak with the senator.  During the conversation Mr. Douglas said, "I know that democracy hasn't been too kind to your people."  The woman's face froze.  She replied coldly, "I do all right."

Mr. Douglas later reflected on the incident.  He realized, he said, that he had offended the woman by patronizing her, offending her pride.  He'd meant well, but it hadn't come off that way.

I thought of that incident when I read this story last night, from AP:

WASHINGTON (AP) -- President Barack Obama is creating a new office to bolster education of African-American students.

The White House says the office will coordinate the work of communities and federal agencies to ensure that African-American youngsters are better prepared for high school, college and career.

Obama is announcing his election-year initiative Wednesday night in a speech to the civil rights group the National Urban League as he seeks to rally black voters. Aides say his executive order, to be signed Thursday, will set a goal of producing "a more effective continuum" of programs for African-American students.

COMMENT:  This is just awful.  It is pandering at its worst.  If I were an African-American I'd feel insulted and patronized.

Also, it is wrong to set up a federal office for the students of only one ethnic group.  Obviously, this is just an election-year gimmick to stimulate a lethargic black electorate, but it separates us, rather than unites us.  It also stigmatizes.  There are plenty of opportunities for black kids today.  If they aren't seizing those opportunities, the problem is in upbringing, mentoring and local failure, not in the lack of a federal program. 

The mentality of the sixties is really back, isn't it?

July 26, 2012       Permalink

MORE NONSENSE FROM THE CHOSEN ONE – AT 9:06 A.M. ET:  Just as Mitt Romney hands the Obama campaign an undeserved gift (see our first post of the morning, below) the president himself delivers a cynical, patronizing speech to the Urban League, aided by unprofessional news reporting that, strangely, always seems to help Obama.

NEW ORLEANS— President Obama vowed Wednesday night to “leave no stone unturned” in seeking ways to curb the growing challenge of violence in American cities, including reasonable restrictions on gun ownership.

The president offered his most extensive comments in some time on the issue of gun control in a speech to the National Urban League, which came at the end of a four-day trip that began in Colorado, where he met with victims of the movie theater shooting that claimed a dozen lives. After that meeting, he reflected on the lives affected by the shooting, but did not suggest a refreshed attempt to restrict gun ownership.

Obama said Wednesday that every day and a half, the same number of young people die as a result of violent crime as were lost in that Aurora massacre.

“For every Columbine or Virginia Tech, there are dozens gunned down on the streets of Chicago and Atlanta, and here in New Orleans. For every Tucson or Aurora, there is daily heartbreak over young Americans shot in Milwaukee or Cleveland,” he said. “And when there’s extraordinary heartbreak and tragedy like the one we saw there’s always an outcry immediately after for action. There’s talk of new reforms and there’s talk of new legislation. And too often those efforts are defeated by politics and by lobbying and eventually by the pull of our collective attention elsewhere.”

Maybe a little talk about culture, family breakdown, cynical local "leaders," dishonest "programs," might help a bit.  This we didn't get from Mr. Hope 'n' Change.

Acknowledging sensitivity of the issue, he said he nonetheless believes that even gun owners would agree “that AK-47s belong in the hands of soldiers, not in the hands of children.” He offered no specific proposals but referred to background checks to prevent criminals and fugitives from purchasing weapons, and preventing guns from getting into the hands of the mentally unbalanced. Previous efforts to do the same have been thwarted by political opposition and the reluctance of sympathetic elected officials to take on the National Rifle Assn., among the nation’s most potent lobbying forces.

The big, bad NRA again.  The president did not have the spine, nor did the reporter writing that piece, to point out something we've discussed here – the rules set down by the very liberal "mental health" establishment, making it virtually impossible for some very disturbing information to be placed in the federal database that governs the purchase of weapons.  Some of these rules, often justified on grounds of "privacy," are established be educational institutions, others by law.

Most of the recent mass gun killings in the U.S. have been conducted by students, and they have been protected by privacy rules.  The shooter at Virginia Tech was well known for his mental issues.  The alleged shooter in the Gabrielle Giffords case had experienced five hostile contacts with campus police in the immediate period before he committed his crime.  But those contacts were barred from inclusion in the database.  Had they been there, this individual could not have bought the gun he used.

Now we find that the alleged Colorado killer had quite a history.  Did no one notice?  Or did political correctness and a desire to be "sympathetic" to those with mental "issues" prevent action?

Not much discussion of this, is there?

July 26, 2012       Permalink

UPSETTING, TO SAY THE LEAST – AT 8:47 A.M. ET:  Just when we thought Mitt Romney had gotten past his reputation for gaffes, he commits one that is world class, and can seriously damage his presidential prospects.

Ah, how we recall Romney's comment, during the primaries, that his wife drove "a couple of Cadillacs," and other gems that do not endear a candidate to voters.

Now Romney is on a foreign trip, meant to demonstrate that he can play in the big leagues, and restore America's relationship with its allies, marred by Obama's sneering attitude toward old friends.  And what does Romney do?  He puts his foot in it, big time.  As he travels to Britain, our closest friend, he openly casts doubt on whether the country is actually ready to host the Olympics, which start, er, tomorrow.  The British press is stunned.

Mitt Romney, the Republican presidential nominee, has questioned Britain's preparedness to host the London 2012 Olympics and asked whether the country is genuinely willing to "celebrate" the Games.

He will meet the British political leadership in London on Thursday, including David Cameron, the prime minister, and Nick Clegg, the deputy prime minister. Mr Romney is then expected to attend the Olympics opening ceremony on Friday.

But he told US television there were "disconcerting" signs about Britain's readiness. "It's hard to know just how well it will turn out," he said. "There are a few things that were disconcerting: the stories about the private security firm not having enough people, supposed strike of the immigration and customs officials, that obviously is not something which is encouraging."

What?  This is what you say about Britain when you're trying to show that you want to restore the alliance?  Romney was promptly reprimanded, and publicly so, by British Prime Minister David Cameron.  Now Romney is backtracking:

...in a meeting with Ed Miliband in London, the Republican US presidential candidate avoided criticism of the Olympics organisers and focused on the athletes.

"This event will change the hearts of many, many people," Mr Romney said.

He added: "It is impossible for no mistakes to occur but those are overshadowed by the extraordinary demonstrations of courage, character and determination by the athletes."

However, Mr Romney later made a second gaffe when he referred to Mr Miliband as "Mr Leader".

“Like you Mr Leader I look forward to our conversations this morning and I have had a number of conversations with leaders both present and past and recongise of course the unique relationship that exists between our nations,” he said.

COMMENT:  Oh dear, oh dear, oh dear.  Thank you, Mitt, for blowing it on your first day abroad.  This gaffe will dominate political discussion of your trip, make you look like an amateur, and cost you. 

I can just imagine activity at the Democratic National Committee today, as it prepares an ad portraying Romney as out of his depth.  His father, Michigan Governor George Romney, destroyed his 1968 campaign for the presidency with another gaffe linked to a foreign trip.  The senior Romney said he had been "brainwashed" in Vietnam, a comment that ended his political career.

Now his son commits two gaffes.  Ed Miliband is not referred to as "Mr. Leader."  This is basic staff work. 

Romney was making progress in the last week, hammering Obama for the president's comment about American business owners not building their own businesses.  We hope Romney can put this latest episode behind him, but it cannot help.

July 26,  2012       Permalink