National Republicans
Does Anybody Have an Answer?
As a nation turns its lonely eyes to President Obama tonight, I’m reminded of the plaintive question Casey Stengel asked about the sad-sack Mets: “Can’t anybody here play this game?” Does anybody in Washington know what they’re doing? Do they know how to stop the Great Recession – and prevent a “Lost Decade”? Surely, the…
Read MoreBambi in the White House?
Several times during the presidential campaign, opponents and commentators dismissed Barack Obama as “Obambi.” John Edwards privately told friends he thought Obama was weak. The Clintons believed he was too soft. So did John McCain. At every turn, Bambi turned out to have sharp teeth. His path is littered with his opponents’ bones. But now…
Read MoreWho Cares What Wall Street Thinks?
So Wall Street wasn’t happy with Obama’s bank-rescue plan. As one of my breakfast pals pointed out: “Didn’t Wall Street get us into this mess? Who are they to complain that the rescuers aren’t doing enough to save them from themselves?” The real question is what the American people think. Public Policy Polling found that…
Read MoreObama’s Bully Pulpit
President Obama demonstrated anew last night why he’s a political force not to be underestimated. Congressional Republicans need to reassess picking a fight with a President who is smart, articulate (and clean, as Joe Biden would say). Not to mention one who has the biggest microphone in the world. Obama made his reputation as an…
Read MoreBumpy Takeoff for Air Obama
Face it, Obamaniacs. The Man has had a rough start. Kind of like Flight 1549, he ran into some turkeys on takeoff. Some of the turkeys were Republicans. Some were Democrats in Congress. And some were in his own administration. But buck up. At several key points in the campaign, Obama seemed about to stall…
Read MoreWell, Duh
Media commentators and Republican critics alike seem shocked – shocked, I tell you – that President Obama packed the stimulus bill with initiatives he promised during his campaign, like education, energy and health care. What did they expect? That he would abandon his promises after he took the oath? Rush Limbaugh actually suggested that –…
Read MoreWhat Were They Thinking?
What were the Wall Street geniuses thinking when they handed out millions in bonuses with one hand while taking billions in taxpayer-bailout money with the other? What were Republicans in the House thinking when every one of them voted against the stimulus bill? Actually, it’s easy to answer both questions. The Masters of the Universe…
Read MoreObama and the Terrorists
Last week President Obama’s ‘favorable’ rating was an eye-popping 70% and after the last week of canonization it may now be 90% and rising. But there are shoals in the waters. Tuesday, during his inaugural, the president proclaimed, “As for our common defense, we reject as false the choice between our safety and our ideals,”…
Read MoreThe Sorcerer’s Apprentice
At first glance it looks like Barack Obama’s sitting on top of the world, but this poor fellow’s actually sitting on a dozen time bombs. Running the American Empire these days is first cousin to being assigned hazardous duty in the bomb squad. The war we were winning, Afghanistan, is going downhill – so the…
Read MoreRescue
George Bush’s presidency was defined and dominated by the image of jets skimming low over Manhattan, slamming into the World Trade Center. Yesterday, his farewell address was overshadowed by the image of a jet resting in the Hudson River, all aboard alive. Might the miracle on the Hudson be a metaphor for new hope in…
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