ANN ALTHOUSE CHALLENGES DANA MILBANK: “Explain your theory/theology and why it’s consistent with American principles of keeping religion and politics separate.”
They told me if I voted for John McCain, crazed theocrats in Washington would be reading theological implications into everyday events. And they were right!
D’OHIO: Barack Obama’s Dan Quayle Moment. “President Barack Obama finally found the 57th state, and it’s spelled O-I-H-O.”
UPDATE: WaPo says it’s a photoshop, then retracts.
John Podhoretz: The correction at the bottom is a primer in media bias.
P.J. O’ROURKE: Of Thee I Sing: Baby Boomers Go Bust. “America once valued the high-skilled. Now we value the high-minded. We used to admire bold ideas. Now we admire benign idealism. This doesn’t make us good, it makes us wrong. The bold can be achieved. Of the ideal, there is none in this life. We’ve given up what we think we can make for what we think can make us happy. We deplore all the effects of technology on the earth and the climate so that—while living our lives completely indoors, protected from dirt and weather—we can feel better about ourselves. We’ve gone from hopeful thinking to wishful thinking.” Of which the current Administration is the embodiment.
MICKEY KAUS TO DEMOCRATS ON AKIN: Don’t Get Cocky!
UPDATE: AP poll narrows Obama lead to one point, 47/46. In a heavily Democrat-weighted sample.
Plus: WaPo/ABC Poll Shows Ryan Gaining Momentum.
And: Nate Silver: Romney Showing Improved Results In Swing-State Polls.
Have you noticed that whenever the Dems go on a war-on-women kick, the media says they’re doing well but the polls move in the other direction?
21ST CENTURY LEADERSHIP: Newark mayor Cory Booker gushes over late-night mani-pedis in magazine interview. Reading that, it’s a little less surprising that he caved so fast under pressure.
WELL, IT CAN’T HELP: EPA “War on Coal” May Prove Administration Swing State Loser. There’s a reason why all those miners showed up to meet Romney.
NEW RNC AD SHOWS WHY OBAMA DOESN’T LIKE HOLDING WHITE HOUSE PRESS CONFERENCES. “Stephanie Cutter did not accuse Mitt Romney of committing a felony on a lark. The campaign organized a teleconference with reporters to lobby that specific charge. Campaigns don’t set up teleconference by accident, and they don’t levy serious charges against opponents that haven’t been authorized by the candidate. In this case, the Obama campaign based its accusations on flimsy, inaccurate and ill-informed reporting by Josh Marshall at TPM. The only question is where did that reporting originate, with Marshall or with the Obama campaign itself?”
AT AMAZON, big markdowns on headphones and earbuds.
Also, today only: Friends, the complete series, for $84.99.
JAKE TAPPER: MEDIA FAILING THE COUNTRY:
White House reporter Jake Tapper said that the media is failing the country.
“A lot of people are hurting out there. Unemployment is 8.3 percent. That doesn’t even take into account the underemployed,” he said, arguing that too much time has been spent not talking about the economy.
Tapper also criticized the media for not giving enough attention to the war in Afghanistan.
“We are spending a lot of time in the last few weeks, those of us in the political world, political journalists and also politicians, talking about things other than the economy,” said Tapper. “[A] lot of people are hurting out there. I’d like to see more action taken and more emphasis given to this issue.”
Tapper also said he relates to Mark Halperin’s recent comments about the media. Over the weekend, Halperin said, “I think the press still likes this story a lot, the media is very susceptible to doing what the Obama campaign wants, which is to focus on this.”
“I have said before… [that I] thought the media helped tip the scales. I didn’t think the coverage in 2008 was especially fair to either Hilary Clinton or John McCain,” Tapper said.
On the 2008 coverage, he noted, “Sometimes I saw with story selection, magazine covers, photos picked, [the] campaign narrative, that it wasn’t always the fairest coverage.”
Ya think? What’s sad is that such a statement of the obvious counts as courageous in today’s media world. But it does.
BECAUSE THERE’S A DEMOCRAT IN THE WHITE HOUSE. DUH. Why aren’t we debating the Afghan war in this presidential election?
WELL, IT’S WEDNESDAY, so I guess it’s time to run that graphic again! You know, the one comparing the Obama Administration’s stimulus promises with what was actually delivered. . . .
But then, it’s always time to do that! And you can click on the image for a bigger version, suitable for sharing, posting by the water cooler at work, or whatever . . . .
REPEAL THE HOLLYWOOD TAX CUTS! Hollywood tax break prompts debate over economy.
A straightforward effort to extend a Hollywood tax break evolved into a robust debate Tuesday in the state Senate over California’s tax code and how it alternately punishes and favors certain industries.
Several lawmakers from both parties used the debate over SB1167 to say the Legislature should consider similar breaks for other industries, including high tech and biotech, while seeking to revamp the state’s tax code. Many said film and TV production is just one example of a major industry fleeing the state because of high costs and stifling regulations.
Republican Sen. Sam Blakeslee, of San Luis Obispo, argued for an overhaul of the state’s outdated tax system, saying it has become a burden on the state’s ability to boost its economy.
Lawmakers are “handing out tax credits to favored industries that are politically connected,” he said.
He noted that a detailed report issued by a tax-reform commission convened under former Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has been ignored.
Even some Democrats took the occasion to argue for a wider examination of personal and corporate taxes in the state. Sen. Loni Hancock, D-Berkeley, said she would oppose the extension of the Hollywood tax credit, favoring instead “a real discussion” that would lead to sufficient tax revenue for public schools and higher education.
Preach it, sister. Why should those fatcats with their yachts and private jets get a free ride?
HARVARD LAW SCHOOL IS NOT COVERING ITSELF WITH GLORY THESE DAYS: Liz Warren Taking The Low Road.
Does Liz Warren really believe that Scott Brown is pro-rape? Or wants to somehow “redefine rape” in a way that would hurt women or benefit racists?
Of course not.
But is Liz Warren willing to smear Scott Brown by suggesting he’d do all this — and more — as part of a “war on women?”
She already has. . . . This is how low Liz Warren is willing to go, how much of her own dignity she’s willing to destroy, just to — as her campaign put it in a fundraising mailer — “win back Ted Kennedy’s seat.”
Ah, yes, Ted Kennedy. The exemplar of the virtuous treatment of women . . .
The self-proclaimed intellectual force behind the Occupy movement needs to step up and take responsibility for all the Occupy rapes, then. Maybe some of the fiercely independent Massachusetts press corps will raise this with her.
UPDATE: Reader Paul Jackson writes: “Guess who’s writing her speech for the Dem convention? A cartoon character from Doonesbury (yes, that comic strip still appears, albeit on the editorial page, of my Baltimore Sun). Pretty much sums up how she’s run her campaign so far doesn’t it? The storyline has been running for about a week now and I haven’t seen a word about her Occupy rhetoric or alleged Indian lineage. I guess Trudeau gets all his news from the NYT and other traditional media outlets and is unaware of her campaign’s struggles.”
ANOTHER UPDATE: Ho hum. Another Democrat shiny object. “The Democrats, in the midst of a Medicare battle that is giving them unexpected trouble and a welfare mess of their own making, are scrambling to raise what Democrats like to call ‘wedge’ issues when Republicans bring them up. It is reminiscent of Gov. Bob McDonnell’s 17-point win, when the Democrats and much of the media wanted to talk about McDonnell’s school thesis (I kid you not) on social issues. What mesmerizes Democratic elites is often irrelevant to actual voters.”
MICHAEL BARONE: GM goes from bad to worse despite Obama bailout. Wow, who could have seen that coming?
AT LIBERTY ISLAND, a call for submissions. “Our new venture, Liberty Island, will identify and publish the best of a new generation of politically independent and culturally contrarian writers. We’re recruiting writers in a wide range of genres, including thriller, crime, fantasy, mystery, adventure, science fiction, satire, historical and political fiction—even western and romance. Independent in all senses of the word, we are starting a cultural insurgency using the tools of digital technology to circumvent and challenge the mainstream publishing establishment. Liberty Island exists to identify, promote, and introduce these new writers to a likeminded audience that shares their tastes and values—specifically the values of liberty, individualism, and American exceptionalism.”
WELL, THAT HARDLY CONSTITUTES IMMODESTY: Ryan: I’ve got more experience on foreign policy than ’08 Obama. Ryan’s probably got more experience than ’08 Obama at a lot of things, with the exception of writing autobiographies, at which Obama was unusually precocious and dedicated.
OBAMA’S SUPPORT FOR racial “set-aside” programs.
FROM ROLL-YOUR-OWN TO DISTILL-YOUR-OWN: Do-It-Yourself Bourbon.
RICH LOWRY: The SPLC’s Intolerant Hate Campaign.
AT ACE’S PLACE, IT’S COME TO THIS: In Which, Depressed and Bored, I Post An Article About Christina Hendricks, Hoping To Get An “I’d Hit That” Thread Going.
CAMPAIGNING AS HE’S GOVERNED: Obama Criticizes Romney For Suggesting College Students Consider Costs, Avoid Debt in Choosing College.
Here’s some Presidential remedial reading. Give it a try, Barack. You can probably finish it on a single fundraising trip.
Meanwhile, Romney seems pretty in-tune with this NPR story. You might want to turn on the radio now and then, Prez. Your bubble’s gotten so tight, even NPR would let in a little Fresh Air.
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