THURSDAY,  MARCH 19,  2009

SARAH STAKES HER CLAIM - AT 8:44 P.M. ET:  From the Anchorage Daily News:

Gov. Sarah Palin just told reporters that she’s accepting only 55 percent of the federal economic stimulus money being offered to Alaska. The governor said that she will accept only about $514 million of the $930 million headed to the state.

“We are not requesting funds intended to just grow government. We are not requesting more money for normal day-to-day operations of government as part of this economic stimulus package. In essence we say no to operating funds for more positions in government,” Palin said.

COMMENT:  Risky, but gutsy.  People still forget that Sarah Palin is a sitting governor with a very decisive governing style.  Clearly, she's staking her claim to a continued national role.  Watch carefully where this goes.

March 19, 2009   Permalink

OBAMA TONGUE-TIED? - AT 8:09 P.M. ET:  Now there's a headline I never expected to write - Obama Tongue-Tied.  But, increasingly, the president is being criticized for his inability...to communicate.  Jim Vandehei and Mike Allen, in today's Politico, have an extraordinary piece about a problem no one would have expected in listening to Mr. Obama on the campaign trail last year:

Of all the pitfalls Barack Obama might face in the presidency, here is one not many people predicted: He is struggling as a public communicator.

The sluggish and unsteady response to the uproar over AIG bonuses highlights a larger problem of his White House: Obama’s surprisingly uneven campaign to educate people about the economic crisis and convince Washington and the broader public that he is in command of circumstances.

It was brilliant communications skills that carried Obama to the presidency, with a national campaign built on the strength of his personal story and the clarity of his promise to transform politics. On the rare occasions when he was thrown on the defensive, he quickly turned problems into opportunities and regained control of his public image.

COMMENT:  Barack Obama was supposed to be a breath of fresh communications air.  He was, recall, the un-Bush.  He was the man who could explain anything - eloquently, clearly.  That was during the campaign.  This is now.  Read the piece.  And this is only domestic policy.  Wait until a foreign crisis.

March 19, 2009   Permalink   

GENIUSES - AT 7:51 P.M. ET:  The image of competence in Washington took another drubbing today.  From The Washington Post:

Congress today moved to levy punitive taxes on bonuses at financial firms receiving government aid, threatening to undermine the government's rescue of the financial system. The taxes imposed would be so high that the result would likely drive away nearly all firms participating in the federal assistance program.

The House passed a bill that would impose a 90 percent income tax on $165 million in bonuses distributed to employees of the troubled insurance giant American International Group and would have a sweeping effect on the traditional pay system on Wall Street.

COMMENT:  As readers know, I'm no great fan of some of the antics on Wall Street.  But is it too much to ask for Congress to proceed carefully, and understand the implications of what it is doing?  Yes, I guess it's too much to ask, so I won't.

March 19, 2009   Permalink 

DOWN CLOSE - AT 4:43 P.M. ET:  The Dow closed down 86 points, to 7401.

THAT SYRIAN REACTOR - AT 4:43 P.M. ET:   From AP:

GENEVA - A top-ranked Iranian defector told the United States that Iran was financing North Korean moves to make Syria into a nuclear weapons power, leading to the Israeli air strike that destroyed a suspected secret reactor, a report said Thursday.

The article in the daily Neue Zuercher Zeitung goes into detail about an Iranian connection and fills in gaps about Israel's Sept. 6, 2007, raid that knocked out Syria's nearly completed Al Kabir reactor in the country's eastern desert.

Ali Reza Asghari, a retired general in Iran's elite Revolutionary Guards and a former deputy defense minister, "changed sides" in February 2007 and provided considerable information to the West on Iran's own nuclear program, said the article, written by Hans Ruehle, former chief of the planning staff of the German Defense Ministry.

COMMENT:  This seems pretty solid and well sourced.  Three countries were thus involved in the Syrian reactor - North Korea, Iran, and Syria.  President Obama has pledged to cozy up to all three, hoping for some miraculous transformation made possible by the sheer force of his personality and splendid physical condition.  Place your bets.

March 19, 2009    Permalink

DOW ANEMIC - AT 1:32 P.M. ET:  The Dow is down 61, to 7426.

CHINA RAPPED - AT 1:29 P.M. ET: 

WASHINGTON (AP) -- A top U.S. commander says China's ''aggressive and troublesome'' run-in with an unarmed American ship shows that Beijing won't behave acceptably.

Adm. Timothy Keating told senators that Beijing's suspension of military contact last year because of U.S. arms sales to Taiwan and the South China Sea confrontation are ''vivid reminders'' that it has yet to become a ''responsible stakeholder.''

COMMENT:  It's a relief to see that American commanders are still permitted to criticize China, which holds a substantial amount of our debt.  China's increasing power, and its economic clout, should be of great concern, but the day may come when its economic hold on us makes criticism almost impossible.

March 19, 2009    Permalink 

PREZ APPROVAL STEADY - AT 9:43 A.M. ET:  Rasmussen reports that Mr. Obama's approval ratings are steady.  As of this morning, some 56% of respondents approve of the job he's doing, while 43% disapprove. 

March 19, 2009   Permalink

HYPOCRISY INDEED - AT 8:38 A.M. ET:  The indispensable Andrew Malcolm, at the L.A. Times's Top of the Ticket, makes this observation about yesterday's vaudeville act on Capitol Hill:

Who wants to witness Edward Liddy, who was summoned from retirement only in September as the federal financial paramedic of AIG for the outrageous annual salary of $1, bludgeoned mercilessly for the cameras by the overpowering, hyperbolic hypocrisy of congressmen and women who awarded themselves $4,700 raises in this winter of economic duress? Those raises, making their annual salaries $174,000, will cost taxpayers an extra $2.5 million this year; call it "a bonus."

COMMENT:  I watched that hearing, and thought it was pretty hypocritical as well.  Liddy is one of the good guys, trying to clean up the mess at no salary, yet he was pummelled by these congressmen, who have expressed shock, shock, that there's corruption on Wall Street.  These same representatives of the people never minded the campaign contributions that flowed in from that same street in better times.

March 19, 2009   Permalink 

AND THE WEIRDNESS GOES ON - AT 8:10 A.M. ET:  Related to the story just below is this one, from Britain's reliably leftist Guardian:

Protest and direct action could be the only way to tackle soaring carbon emissions, a leading climate scientist has said.

James Hansen, a climate modeller with NASA, told the Guardian today that corporate lobbying has undermined democratic attempts to curb carbon pollution. "The democratic process doesn't quite seem to be working," he said.

Speaking on the eve of joining a protest against the headquarters of power firm E.ON in Coventry, Hansen said: "The first action that people should take is to use the democratic process. What is frustrating people, me included, is that democratic action affects elections but what we get then from political leaders is greenwash..."

COMMENT:  This man is increasingly delusional.  He apparently sees himself as a modern Paul Revere, warning the citizenry about impending doom.  Of course, he's factually wrong.  Most corporate interests are now on board in the "fight" against global warming, and have thrown in their hypo-allergenic towels.  The only holdouts are thoughtful scientists who think it might be a good idea to see if we really have the facts about this crusade.

March 19, 2009   Permalink

Y'SEE, THE CALCULATOR RIBBON BROKE WHEN WE FIRST FIGURED THIS... - AT 7:48 A.M. ET:  Reader Jim Meyer alerts us to the latest adventure in Obama accounting, second only to Hollywood accounting in its vivid imagination and keen use of exciting fiction:

President Obama's climate plan could cost industry close to $2 trillion, nearly three times the White House's initial estimate of the so-called "cap-and-trade" legislation, according to Senate staffers who were briefed by the White House.

A top economic aide to Mr. Obama told a group of Senate staffers last month that the president's climate-change plan would surely raise more than the $646 billion over eight years the White House had estimated publicly, according to multiple a number of staffers who attended the briefing Feb. 26.

COMMENT:  And, of course, we're not permitted to debate the "science" behind the climate panic.  Professor of Wind and Rain Al Gore says so. 

Oh, by the way, who will really pay the price when industry passes on its costs to the consumer?  But we deserve to be punished because we like cars and barbecues.

March 19, 2009   Permalink

WELCOME WORN OUT - AT 7:44 A.M. ET:  The president will address the nation on the evening of the 24th, which is next Tuesday.  The TV networks are not pleased:

Networks are pulling their shows over to the side of the road to make room for the lights and sirens of president Barack Obama's latest primetime address.

Obama will take to the air next Tuesday evening on four broadcast networks and bump the most popular series on television, Fox's "American Idol"...

..."At a time when we're struggling not only financially but to build audiences, this doesn't help on either front," one network executive said. "These repeated interruptions -- and the rumor of even more to come -- really make it difficult to build audience flow and loyalty. We will all lose one or two million dollars for this"...

..."I believe in the president and his policies, and as broadcasters we have a responsibility to provide the airtime," said another network insider. "But these frequent primetime requests are wreaking serious havoc with our schedule and our advertisers. Ratings are down everywhere and the airtime is costing us all significant dollars when we can least afford it."

COMMENT:  Note the obligatory, "I believe in the president and his policies..."  Nothing quite like a network insider fearful that his name might get out.

If I recall correctly, when President Bush addressed the nation, some of his speeches were carried only on the cable systems.  He did not get automatic network time.  But, of course, he wasn't The One.

March 19, 2009   Permalink

BAD IDEA DEAD AND BURIED - AT 7:27 A.M. ET:  Perhaps the worst idea developed by the Obama administration has died a fast and deserved death:

WASHINGTON — Under withering criticism from veterans and Congress, President Obama on Wednesday abandoned a proposal that would have required veterans to use their private health insurance to pay for the treatment of combat-related injuries.

COMMENT:  Here are the relevant questions:  Who came up with that idea?  Why was the president of the United States comfortable bringing it up with veterans' groups, which he did?  What does this say about the Obama crowd's respect for veterans?  Why did the secretary of veterans affairs, former Army Chief of Staff Gen. Eric K. Shinsecki, not resign over this?

Can you just imagine media reaction if President Bush had proposed this plan?

March 19, 2009   Permalink

WEDNESDAY,  MARCH 18,  2009

ANOTHER ONE - AT 7:28 P.M. ET:  From The Washington Times:

Commerce Secretary nominee Gary Locke, whose job would include approving sensitive exports to China, has performed legal work for companies doing business with Beijing and was forced to refund several political donations that he received in the 1990s from key figures in a Chinese influence-buying investigation.

The former Washington state governor is expected to face questions about both issues during his confirmation hearing on Wednesday, Senate aides and an Obama administration official familiar with the vetting told The Washington Times.

COMMENT:  I think he's the third guy to be picked for the job.  Let's see, there was Bill Richardson, who was under investigation.  There was the Republican, Judd Gregg, who finally couldn't stomach Obama's policies, and now there's Gary Locke.  And he has some 'splainin' to do.  Doyou get the feeling that there's a competence problem in this administration?  I mean, here we are almost two months after inauguration, and we still don't have a secretary of commerce in the midst of the worst financial crisis of our time. 

March 18, 2009   Permalink

GOOD FOR ANN - AT 7:10 P.M. ET:  Whether you like Ann Coulter or not, I hope you'll read her magnificent tribute to the late actor, Ron Silver.  It's here, and one of the best things Ann has ever written.  She writes about a truly brave man.

March 18, 2009  Permalink

DOW UP AGAIN - AT 4:07 P.M. ET:  The Dow continued its remarkable climb today, up 92 points, to 7487.  Have we bottomed out?  No one knows.   There are bear-market reallies in the middle of recessions.  We'll have to see what happens in coming weeks.

March 18, 2009

FROM A READER - AT 3:47 P.M. ET:   Reader Alan Weick sent in this report:

A good  friend of mine travels to Bulgaria on business regularly.  I quote his  last email:

"I'm in Europe again (Bulgaria for the month) and they all think  the US has flipped out electing these people."

Why am I not  surprised?

COMMENT:  Many countries are realizing that a new messiah has not come to America.  A new president has.  Some may wish for the old one.

March 18, 2009   Permalink

U.S. BIRTHS - THE GOOD AND THE BAD - AT 2:46 P.M. ET:

ATLANTA (AP) - More babies were born in the United States in 2007 than any year in the nation's history, topping the peak during the baby boom 50 years earlier, federal researchers reported Wednesday.
There is both good and bad news from the more than 4.3 million births:

_The U.S. population is more than replacing itself, a healthy trend.

_However, the teen birth rate was up for the second year in a row.

The birth rate rose slightly for women of all ages, and births to unwed mothers reached an all-time high of about 40 percent, continuing a trend begun years ago. More than three-quarters of these women were 20 or older.

COMMENT:  Forty percent of births are out of wedlock.  Not great.  I'm not disparaging single mothers.  Many will do their best, but the economic pressure on them will be enormous.  The family used to be called America's fortress.  The fortress is developing cracks. 

March 18, 2009   Permalink

GUESS THEY DIDN'T GET THE MESSIANIC MESSAGE - AT 1:12 P.M. ET:  From The Wall Street Journal:

Kremlin Signals a Harder Line on Relations With the U.S.

MOSCOW -- Russian President Dmitry Medvedev struck a Cold War tone on Tuesday, pledging to press ahead with an ambitious rearmament program in response to what he described as NATO's military expansion close to Russia's borders.

His hawkish comments come ahead of his first meeting with President Barack Obama early next month at the Group of 20 meeting, and were paired with even tougher rhetoric from Russian Defense Minister Anatoly Serdyukov. Mr. Serdyukov accused the U.S. of trying to push Russia out of its traditional sphere of influence -- the former Soviet Union -- in order to secure raw materials and energy supplies.

Dmitry Medvedev, standing, spoke to Russian military leaders Tuesday.
Analysts said the comments were designed to send a signal to Mr. Obama that the Kremlin wouldn't be an easy negotiating partner.

COMMENT:  See our 7:18 a.m. post.  We're getting this same message from adversary after adversary.  And who visits the White House today?  Jimmah Carter.  (See our post right below this one.)  What great imagery.  This administration is not up to speed on foreign affairs.  It's still in campaign mode.  The campaign is over. 

March 18, 2009   Permalink

TRAVEL NOTE - AT 12:51 P.M. ET:  Reuters reports that Jimmah Carter made a quiet visit to the White House today.

COMMENT:  Yuch.  That is the wrong message to send, especially with so many commentators saying that the Obama administration is Carter II.  Carter is a failed president and an embarrassing ex-president.  I suppose he was at the White House to tell President Obama that Hamas is a social club that sells cookies and flower seeds.

March 18, 2009   Permalink

GOP GAINS IN GENERIC CONGRESSIONAL POLL - AT 12:47 P.M. ET:   From Rasmussen:

Support for the Democratic Congressional candidates fell to a new low over the past week, allowing the GOP to move slightly head for the first time in recent years in the Generic Congressional Ballot.

The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey found that 41% said they would vote for their district’s Republican candidate while 39% would choose the Democrat.

COMMENT:  Obama's coattails have been trimmed.  Republicans can make great gains in next year's elections if they have a coherent attractive program.  This poll should give them encouragement, which may or may not translate into wisdom and vision.

March 18, 2009   Permalink

QUOTE OF THE DAY - AT 8:19 A.M. ET:   From The Washington Times, on Iran's race for the nuclear weapon:

The Obama administration's “grand bargainers” seek an opening to the Islamic Republic while a confident President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad sneers at “childish” U.S. sanctions and has declared Iran a space power and nuclear power. “You take your decisions, and we do our work,” he said. “You are too small to block our path.” The Obama administration has yet to prove him wrong.

COMMENT:  Once again we see that the rise to power of The One has had no impact - none whatever - on the goals and actions of America's adversaries.

March 18, 2009   Permalink

HYBRID HIBERNATING - AT 7:58 A.M. ET:  From the Los Angeles Times:

The Ford and Honda hybrids due out this month are among dozens planned for the coming years as automakers try to meet new fuel-efficiency standards and please politicians overseeing the industry's multibillion-dollar bailout.

Unfortunately for the automakers, hybrids are a tough sell these days.

Americans have cut back on buying vehicles of all types as the economy continues its slide. But the slowdown has been particularly brutal for hybrids, which use electricity and gasoline as power sources. They were the industry's darling just last summer, but sales have collapsed as consumers refuse to pay a premium for a fuel-efficient vehicle now that the average price of a gallon of gasoline nationally has slipped below $2.

COMMENT:  You can be sure that some "environmentalists" in Washington, educated beyond their capacity, will say that the answer to this problem is to drive gasoline prices up to five dollars a gallon.  Logical, isn't it?  Of course, these people drive Schwinns to work.  With training wheels. 

March 18, 2009   Permalink

SO WHAT ELSE IS NEW? - AT 7:53 A.M. ET:

BERLIN (Reuters) - Roughly one in twenty 15-year-old German males is a member of a neo-Nazi group, a higher proportion than are involved in mainstream politics, according to a study released on Tuesday.

Many politicians fear a resurgence of right-wing extremism as unemployment creeps higher in Germany, which is facing its deepest recession since World War Two. Government figures have shown anti-Semitic crimes rose at the end of last year.

"It is shocking that right-wing groups have more success recruiting male youths than the established political parties," said Christian Pfeiffer, author of the report issued by Lower Saxony's criminal research institute.

COMMENT:  Pretty creepy, but not entirely shocking.  It's very difficult to rid a nation of the darker parts of its history.  We don't know how far this will go in Germany, but the Nazis were bound to try for a comeback at some point.  Even if they don't achieve substantial status again, they can still influence elections, even swing them. 

March 18, 2009   Permalink

OUR MISUNDERSTOOD FRIENDS, THE RUSSIANS - AT 7:48 A.M. ET:  From AP:

Russian news agencies reported on Wednesday that a top defense official confirmed Russia had indeed signed a contract to sell S-300 air-defense missiles to Iran, but that none of the weapons had been delivered.

Russian officials have consistently denied claims that it already provided some of the powerful missiles to Iran, and had not clarified whether a contract existed...

...Supplying the S-300s to Iran would markedly change the military balance in the Middle East.

COMMENT:  It sure would.  It would also up the risks of an air attack on Iran's nuclear facilities considerably.  We have to wonder why this information was made public right now.  Is it a bargaining chip that the Russians want to use to get us to drop our missile-defense system in Eastern Europe?  Are the Russians just flexing their muscles?

Many believe that Iran will be the key foreign-policy test for this administration.  The S-300 issue makes passing that test even harder.

March 18, 2009   Permalink 

DO THEY DARE TELL THE PRESIDENT? - AT 7:21 A.M. ET:  From AP:

HONOLULU — The U.S. military says its ground-based mobile missile defense system has successfully shot down a medium-range ballistic missile during a test in Hawaii.

The military says the target missile was shot down Tuesday over the Pacific Ocean.

The target missile was fired from a mobile launch platform off the island of Kauai.

COMMENT:  Now, repeat after me:  "Missile defense does not work.  It has no chance of working.  All the tests are failures.  The billions we spend on it can be better spent by sending money to failing school systems to boost their morale.  It is also provocative, and it is so BUSH (!!)."

There.  Now you're a liberal.  Membership card to follow.

March 18, 2009   Permalink

CHAVEZ PREPARES - AT 7:18 A.M. ET:  If you don't think President Obama looks vulnerable in the eyes of America's opponents, consider this:

CARACAS, Venezuela – Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez said Tuesday that he is preparing plenty of verbal "artillery" for his first encounter with President Barack Obama at an upcoming summit.

Chavez — long a fierce critic of Washington — said he expects that the future of U.S. relations with Latin America will begin to take shape at April's summit of leaders from across the Americas in Trinidad and Tobago.

"Our artillery is being prepared. There's going to be good artillery," Chavez said during a televised Cabinet meeting.

"What will Mr. Obama come with? I don't know. We're going to see. We'll see what the pitcher throws," Chavez said.

COMMENT:  I'd also be interested to see what the pitcher throws.  So far, his administration has thrown a series of softballs, all over the world.  My Iranian friend, Banafsheh Zand-Bonazzi, refers me to an article by Amir Tahari that's headlined, PRODUCING PANIC IN AMERICA'S ALLIES, relating the early adventures in Obama foreign policy.  It begins:

THE Obama administration has offered to talk to America's enemies across the globe, especially in the Middle East. So far, though, the offer has few takers.

Iran has called for "substantial changes in US foreign policy" as a precondition for talks. Syria wants the US to shut down the UN investigation into the murder of Lebanese ex-Premier Rafiq Hariri and insists on reviving its domination of Lebanon before "substantive talks" with Washington. The Taliban insists on "the complete withdrawal of foreign troops" from Afghanistan before it will consider talks.

Welcome, as they say, to the real world.  Mr. Obama must choose his words wisely in dealing with Chavez.  He should take his teleprompter.  But, of course, he always does.

March 18, 2009   Permalink

STILL ROOM UNDER THE BUS - AT 6:53 A.M. ET:  Stories are circulating that the secretary of the treasury, whose tenure began with revelations that he had problems figuring his income tax, might be advised not to get too comfortable in his new office:

WASHINGTON (AP) -- If not distancing itself from Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner, the White House is placing firmly on his shoulders responsibility for how the government handled the $165 million in bonuses paid to about 400 executives and traders at American International Group Inc...

...But his future could soon be as murky as the economy's. His short tenure has been shaky at a time when the new president and the Democratic-led Congress are trying to project confidence to the markets and the nation.

COMMENT:  This president has no trouble throwing folks under the bus.  It started with his pastor, the Rev. Jeremiah Wright Jr., who proved an embarrassment during the campaign.  Even grandma, who, Obama reported, held racist views, found room next to the rear axle.  Tom Daschle is shielded from the sun's rays by the bus's frame.  There's room for a few more.  The company and conversation down there are excellent.

March 18, 2009   Permalink