ENOUGH WITH THE RACE CARD: Rex Murphy on Morgan Freeman.

YEAH, BUT YOU’RE ONE OF THE LITTLE PEOPLE: “This morning it took me two hours to get to work. Why? Because Obama had to have a fundraising breakfast with yet more liberal millionaires with more money than sense at the Beverly Wilshire, after which he motored through Beverly Hills to the VA facility in Westwood to board Marine One. Again, massive street closures.”

ANN ALTHOUSE ON A WAPO HIT PIECE: “Lots of photos of Perry having nothing whatsoever to do with this story, and not a single one of the rock. Well done, WP!”

The first comment at a Washington Post article about how Rick Perry, early in his career, used to host events at a hunting camp where there was a rock that had the word “Niggerhead” painted on it. . . .

Reading on, we see that — according to Perry — Perry’s father leased the property in 1983, and the first thing he did was paint over the word on the rock. And every time Perry saw the rock, it was painted over. But WaPo found 7 individuals who say they remember seeing the name on the rock during the time when Perry’s father’s name was on the lease.

Funny that they never found Obama’s background this interesting.

UPDATE: Washington Post Now Literally Looking Under Rocks in West Texas to Find Dirt on Perry. “The Post knows all too well how this game is played. The original story will get major play, and while the follow up and its own climbdown will attract less attention, a lot of dust gets stirred up and most of it ends up on the Post’s target, in this case, Perry. What’s left in the mind of those who don’t follow the facts is that Perry is somehow associated with racism.”

ANOTHER UPDATE: A reader emails: “The Post failed to mention that Perry was a Democrat throughout most of – if not all – the period in question. Just saying.” Heh.

MORE: I think that Herman Cain hurts himself by joining in on these attacks. His big appeal is that he’s not just another black race-card-playing politician. Climbing on board with the Post’s hit piece suggests that actually, he is. It reminds me of Tim Pawlenty’s weak and opportunistic reaction to the attacks on Sarah Palin. I think that’s what killed his campaign. If you side with the media establishment against other Republicans, you won’t help yourself in this election cycle.

SALENA ZITO: TOO MANY YES-MEN, NOBODY TO SAY NO:

Every U.S. president needs people around him who are not afraid to tell him that his latest idea is terrible. Otherwise, he just keeps getting into trouble.

“Presidents are cut off from reality when they don’t have some trusted adviser willing to save them from their own worst instincts,” said Mark Rozell, public policy professor at George Mason University.

And if a president elevates himself too far above the people who were hired to help him out, then how can those people presume to challenge him? . . . In Rozell’s opinion, Obama “has this tendency to claim that he is a better speechwriter than his own speechwriters, or a better policy analyst than any of his own policy advisers.

“With all respect to the man, no one is that good at everything.”

Such behavior is only a slight variation on what President Lyndon Johnson did in the 1960s, according to Zelizer: “Oh, he put a variety of voices in the room on Vietnam and public policy, and then would get a lot of pleasure out of arguing them out of their concerns.”

LBJ wound up being a one-termer, after committing the country to a disastrously expensive project that failed miserably.

UPDATE: A reader emails:

“LBJ wound up being a one-termer, after committing the country to a disastrously expensive project that failed miserably.”

That’s true, but what drove him out of office was VIETNAM.

Heh.

VIDEO: Herman Cain’s TeaCon Press Conference. “Herman Cain clearly was the favorite of the convention, primarily because he was the only presidential candidate to show up.”

GOOGLE OPENS ITS first retail outlet in London.

“GIRTHERS.” According to reader Bill Rickords, that’s what they’re calling the folks making Chris Christie fat jokes. I like it.

THE SMART and the dumb.

AT AMAZON, digital deals.

Plus, 100 Kindle books for $3.99 or less.

SHOCKER: ‘Disappointing’ turnout at Warren Buffett-headlined Obama fund-raiser.

Obviously, those Wall Street guys need more encouragement.

SOLYNDRA and the scandal of Tomorrowland. “The most feasible alt-energy remains nuclear, but American greens are bitterly divided on nuclear power, leaving them with solar and wind (which should embarrass on both counts those claiming to be the Party of Science). The hardest of hardcore greens will admit they want humanity to make do with less; the rest dress up this political poison in fuzzy notions of “sustainability.” Pretending that solar and wind are the near-future allows progressives to avoid the appearance of luddism and pose as leaning forward, rather than the movement of 20th century nostalgia they really are. It is not unlike the way Walt Disney’s original vision of Tomorrowland in his theme parks has morphed into a quaint retro-futurism that never was and never will be. That is the larger scandal behind giving money to companies that sound whizzy.”

DOUBLE-DIPPING: Many government retirees also get public paychecks: Thousands of government retirees across country return to work to collect public paychecks.

AT PRINCETON, a real-life flying carpet.

SCIENCE: Very Small Portion Changes Can Lead to Significant Weight Loss.

SCIENCE: Study: Women Who Make More Decisions Have Less Sex.

UPDATE: A critique.

AT AMAZON, it’s the Musical Instruments Outlet Sale.

OBAMA SPREADS A LIE ABOUT GAY SOLDIER-BOOING, INCOHERENTLY: Ann Althouse: Obama must serve something to the assembled hungry masses, and this infected red meat is the best he’s got. “There is a contagious lie and the President — he who often speaks of transcending divisiveness — is enthusiastically spreading it… while — ironically! — posing in the mantle of oneness, E pluribus unum. The crowd goes wild, by the way. Listen to the audio. They find the infected red meat scrumptious! And can you blame the poor man? He must serve something to the assembled hungry masses, and this — this! — is the best he’s got. And what does ‘We don’t believe in them being silent since’ mean? It’s not a transcription error. I’ve checked the audio (at the link). Did he misread the TelePrompTer? There’s no simple fix, like combining it with the next line, “You want to be Commander-in-Chief?” The pronouns don’t match up. But the crowd loves it. This gibberish is quite delicious!”

Enthusiastically received gibberish. That’s all they’ve got. Resist we much!

Meanwhile, Prof. Jacobson notes when Obama thought it was okay to sit silently through slurs.

UPDATE: Gay Patriot: Obama’s anti-Republican demagoguery at HRC fundraising dinner. “He didn’t need to attack Republicans. He could have simply highlighted his accomplishments on issues of concern to the gay community, notably repeal of DADT (which even yours truly believes is a feather in his cap). . . . The president’s mean-spirited attack shows his eagerness to repeat the talking points of left-wing pundits. He is attempting to hold Republicans responsible for the actions of perhaps not more than one boorish individual. This demagoguery, having defined the president’s governing style for these past several months, has also begun to define his re-election campaign.”

THE KINDLE FIRE: Will it wind up bringing feudal security to the Net?

MICHAEL BARONE: Time To Raise Cain To Contender Status.

More on Cain from Jennifer Rubin.