CHARLES KRAUTHAMMER: “When France chides you for appeasement, you know you’re scraping bottom.”

And the Russians and Chinese are warning us about excessive socialism. . . .

DON SURBER compares actual unemployment with what the Obama Administration promised from the Stimulus.

“SMART DIPLOMACY” FAIL: Chicago first out in bid for Olympics. That’s too bad. I was kinda looking forward to seeing President Palin speak at the opening ceremonies. . . .

UPDATE: Ouch: “The Obama magic has truly fizzled. All that glamorous traveling…. and the backlash against it.” Who knew that the International Olympic Committee was such a hotbed of racism?

ANOTHER UPDATE: Tucker Carlson comments:

But here’s the most interesting question about today’s Olympic vote: Why didn’t Obama see this coming? He spends all this time, gets all this press, uses all this political capital to promote Chicago, and then loses? What an amateur. Prosecutors don’t ask witnesses questions in court unless they’re sure of the answers. Presidents don’t stake their personal reputations on contests whose outcomes are uncertain. Very foolish move. No wonder he can’t get health care passed.

I think he overestimated the power of his personality.

Plus: Comedy Gold: CNN Anchor In Utter Disbelief As Chicago Is Eliminated. I guess they overestimated the power of his personality, too . . . .

Also, “It speaks volumes about the state of things when it takes a decision by the Olympic Selection Committee to keep Chicago’s taxpayers from getting completely screwed once again.”

NANOTECHNOLOGY UPDATE: Step forward for nanotechnology: Controlled movement of molecules. “Scientists in the United Kingdom are reporting an advance toward overcoming one of the key challenges in nanotechnology: Getting molecules to move quickly in a desired direction without help from outside forces. Their achievement has broad implications, the scientists say, raising the possibility of coaxing cells to move and grow in specific directions to treat diseases.”

By the way, if you’ve come to InstaPundit only recently, here’s a basic introduction to nanotechnology.

WHY DON’T I GET ASSIGNMENTS LIKE THIS? 5 Blender Show-Down: Abusive Lab Test (With Video!)

ZAP: Video: Airborne Laser Takes Out Truck.

IN THE MAIL: The Michael Jackson Tapes: A Tragic Icon Reveals His Soul in Intimate Conversation. Polanski, Jackson, Letterman — the entertainment industry isn’t having a good year. . . .

STEVEN CROWDER: A Day With Michael Moore.

CBS NEWS: A BRAND YOU CAN TRUST! CBS Producer Robert Halderman Named as Alleged Letterman Blackmailer: Letterman Confessed He’d Had Sex With Staff Members, Got Targeted by Extortionist. Just imagine how this would play if it were Glenn Beck. . . .

MICKEY KAUS: Rattner’s Legacy: The Chooch Is At The Door. “GM’s sales are down 45% from last September (when sales were already bad enough to drive the company into bankruptcy). Chrysler is down 42%. Ford is only down 5%. Car buyers are clearly punishing the two bailout recipients brutally. Robert Farago of Truth About Cars predicts that GM and Chrysler will both ‘go down by the end of next year’ without a second, new federal bailout. The only question, he says, is whether the two bailed out manufacturers will need the cash before the 2010 midterm elections.”

CHRIS DODD’S EXTREME MAKEOVER. Which is genuine? “Friend of Angelo” or Tribune Of The People? I’m guessing number one, here . . . .

SCOTT OTT: Another Scandal-Scarred Czar Is Born. At this point, I don’t think it’s that they’re not vetting people. I think it’s that the vetters have a rather unusual understanding of what constitutes a problem.

HEH: Indian farmer’s daughter is most bad-ass woman in the world.

STEWART BRAND PROCLAIMS four environmental heresies.

GARRISON KEILLOR: KILL ALL THE REPUBLICANS. ““Thirty-two percent of the population identifies with the GOP, and if we cut off health care to them, we could probably pay off the deficit in short order.”

I’m sure we’ll hear lots of condemnation of Keillor’s “eliminationist rhetoric” from David Neiwert, et al. Meanwhile, with this gang in charge who would be surprised to find that under ObamaCare your chances of a liver transplant really will depend on your politics? Not me.

EUGENE VOLOKH: Is the Obama Administration Supporting Calls to Outlaw Supposed Hate Speech? Given their record of calling anyone who disagrees with them racist, it seems likely . . . .

VIDEO: Jack Webb Schools Roman Polanski on Sex with Children.

STIMULUS! U.S. Sept non-farm payrolls plunge 263,000. “U.S. employers cut a deeper-than-expected 263,000 jobs in September, lifting the unemployment rate to 9.8 percent, according to a government report on Friday that fueled fears the weak labor market could undermine economic recovery.” Not living up to the promises they made, is it? But don’t worry, health care will be totally different.

UPDATE: Two trillion bucks and what do you get?

JUST HEARD NPR DELIVER AN EXTREMELY . . . GENEROUS TREATMENT OF THE DAVID LETTERMAN SEX SCANDAL. Just imagine if it were Glenn Beck instead. . . .

UPDATE: Top Ten Reasons to Accept That Job Offer From David Letterman.

My favorite: “After the sex, he lets you keep the Palin wig.”

BRIAN DOHERTY on The Supreme Court’s newest gun case.

FOCUSING LIKE A LASER BEAM ON THE REALLY IMPORTANT ISSUES: President Obama Signs Executive Order Banning Federal Employees from Texting While Driving.

IS CONSERVATISM BRAIN DEAD?

Ann Althouse replies: “The question should be: Is it any more brain-dead than everything else? It’s not as if the liberals running the government have a coherent and compelling intellectual foundation under them.” It seems to be the same one the GOP used — stuff your pockets with other people’s money — just turned up to “11.”

We’ve got the worst political class in American history, and its rottenness is pretty thoroughly bipartisan.

MEGAN MCARDLE: How’s That Cash-for-Clunkers Deal Working?

WHAT COULD GO WRONG? U.S. Relinquishes Control Of The Internet.

THE VETS TO ENGINEERS PROGRAM.