Would Obama Make It Through His First Term?

If Obama makes it to the Nomination, pay particular attention to who his choice for VP is… it may weigh heavy on our future, if these reports are even nearly accurate.

Today’s one of those weird days where I spend a good deal of time deep in the bowels of the blog’s website, tending little odd jobs that have been needful for some weeks, and also adding a large amount of new content. (I’ll have more about the new content in the Ramble, tonight)

But coming up for air, I look around me and notice Bob Novak correctly identifying the motivations of the Democrats in Congress:

The recess by House Democrats amounts to a judgment that losing the generous support of trial lawyers, the Democratic Party’s most important financial base, would be more dangerous than losing the anti-terrorist issue to Republicans.

In short, national security is of less import than re-electing the Democrat party.

Barack Obama may not be much of thinker.   Notice first how Obama plagiarized Duval Patrick.   Then note how Obama completely avoids Patrick’s John Kennedy quote.    Kennedy challenged Americans and the World. 

Kennedy video:

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Duval Patrick video:

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Barack Obama video:

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Obama’s stump speeches consist solely of what the government will give.  Make no mention of personal freedom and completely avoid either challenging or inspiring the individual.   If Obama is heir to the Kennedy legacy, it is the legacy of Ted and not President Kennedy.   Barack Obama, you are no John Kennedy.

Hat Tip: Allah Pundit, Hot Air,

Beef Recall: 

LOS ANGELES – (AP)-The U.S. Department of Agriculture on Sunday recalled 143 million pounds of frozen beef from a Southern California slaughterhouse that is being investigated for mistreating cattle.

Danish Riots:

COPENHAGEN (Reuters) – Bands of youths set fire to cars, buses and schools in Denmark on Saturday, the seventh night of rioting and vandalism in the capital Copenhagen and other Danish cities, police said on Sunday.

NIU Shootings:

DEKALB, Ill. -(AP)- What people initially told police about the Northern Illinois University shooter – a portrait of a happy, stable young man who was a bright, helpful scholar – didn’t add up.

Now investigators searching for what triggered Thursday’s bloody attack, in which five students were killed and several injured before Steven Phillip Kazmierczak committed suicide, are finding some unsettling details.

Berkley, poetic justice:

BERKELEY, Calif. – (Fox News) The tab for just overtime pay for Berkeley cops to keep the peace at Tuesday’s Marine protest outside City Hall was reported to be $93,000.

According to the San Francisco Chronicle, about 140 Berkeley police worked at the protest, which drew more than 2,000 demonstrators. Anti-war groups such as Code Pink mixed with pro-military groups, rallied over whether lawmakers should change their anti-Marine position.

If it wee proposed to fine the City of Berkley ninety-three thousand dollars, the ACLU types woiuld throw a hissy fie.   Yet the practical effect of having to pay police overtime is much the same, minus the leftarded moaning.

SWAMP STOMPER ALERT

Chris Bowers, all around Knuckle-Dragger, is busy spreading rumors that Harry Reid is to resign as Majority leader.

OK, in reality, I don’t trust this at all… given his inability to admit failure, I see no reason for him to give up his position, just now.  And Bowers, for all his bluster is not exactly the most reliable source. So the question becomes why would the rumor be coming from the left, just now? My take is that we’re dealing with wishful thinking on the part of leftists who see the long string of what the Democrats would regard as failures behind the man, and who are lothe to identify them as such.

Of course, the other possiblity is that he’s considering trying for a job in a Democrat administration.

Perhaps that’s why he’d be quitting: People have started to notice?  Anyway, McQ over at Q&O also notes the story, and wonders who will replace Reid.

Again, I don’t trust this one, yet, but now you know what I know on this.

Blue Crab Blvd is running a link to Evan Thomas, this morning, who in Gauius’ words:

….describes the complicated relationship between the media and the Clintons. In fact, the relationship between the press and any president or presidential candidate. Thomas says that the press had stormy relations with the Clintons early on in Bill Clinton’s presidency.

Gauius goes on to say:

I think the press has been considerably easier on the Clintons than they would have been on a Republican who acted in exactly the same way as the Clintons have.

Quite so. I suggest at least part of this is the well-known vindictiveness of Hillary Clinton. A press fearful of ending up in Ft Marcy Park, with a bullit in their head, and a gun in their hand that won’t fire, is perhaps Hillary Clinton’s biggest cheerleader. But that point aside:

Thomas is quite correct that the media sees it as its job – its very reason for existence, in fact – to tear down whoever holds the Oval Office. Call it the press as political opposition, regardless of who sits in the White House.

Well, while that was certainly part of the issue in the early days of Bill Clinton’s presidency, it must be said that a lot of it was reaction to the jarring change for the worse that Bill Clinton. … And frankly Hillary Clinton…. represented. the press, being the closest group of Americans to the White House, were the first to see it.  Their reactions in that case counted for something as best I could tell.  I don’t even suppose it was a case of the degree of corruption involved, though that was part of a very.  However, the change from one style of governance to another immediately raised the hackles of the White House press corps, and thereby the remainder of the country’s press. And of course the fear factor had not set in, as yet.

But as I told him in the comments over there:

What this all all boils down to, in the end, is that the left in general and the Democrats in particular, are desperate to disassociate itself from the Clintons, and finding it difficult to do so within the framework any of the usual nonsense self justifications.

They find themselves looking at a nomination process, which was altered several years ago to keep Jesse Jackson out of the nomination, now being used by Hillary Clinton to take the nomination.  Ironically, what we have is Democrats railing against the system doing precisely what it was designed to do, that is; keep the black man out of the presidency.  Jesse Jackson, when it was originally designed, and Barrack Obama today.

Now, the Democrats are not responding to this situation, because of some perceived inequality.  Certainly, equal rights in the voting process has been their mantra, but their actions tell a different story.  If enabling the voter to effect real change was what they were about, they never would have installed thismonstrosity of a system, back when Jesse Jackson was the problem. And they’ve not changed it since.  But now Hillary Clinton is the problem, and they have been forced to move.  Not for the stated reasons of equality and voting, but to solve the problem of Hillary Clinton and the nomination. And they’re going to be forced to change the rules in midsteam, with all the party unrest such rule changes would imply.

(Chew on that one for a bit, and then tell me again how the left is where the best path for the minority is.)

They see clearly that Hillary Clinton running as the Democratic nominee is the fastest way to see John McCain in the White House.  The history of the corruption of the Clintons, is still too fresh in the mind of the American voter to countenance that association of the Clintons and the Democrats come election day.As a direct result of this desperation, yes, Obama HAS been getting a free ride.. as the favored among the Democrats always do.

There may be a grain of truth involved with the idea that Hillary Clinton has had a harder time of it with the press this time around, but even were that not the case, she would still blame her loss on the press.  Think about it; since when has Hillary Clinton ever blamed her own actions for her own failures?

This is also interesting on another level; What we’re seeing here is an oncoming battle for the soul of the Democrat party; Who will win? The Gender huckters or the race hucksters?  Something to think about the next time we hear Democrats complaining about the politics of division by race and gender.

Says Fellow Swamp Stomper, the Dread Pundit Bluto:

Dr. Lyle Rossiter says that liberals are actually insane:

“Based on strikingly irrational beliefs and emotions, modern liberals relentlessly undermine the most important principles on which our freedoms were founded,” says Dr. Lyle Rossiter, author of the new book, “The Liberal Mind: The Psychological Causes of Political Madness.” “Like spoiled, angry children, they rebel against the normal responsibilities of adulthood and demand that a parental government meet their needs from cradle to grave.”…

“The roots of liberalism – and its associated madness – can be clearly identified by understanding how children develop from infancy to adulthood and how distorted development produces the irrational beliefs of the liberal mind…

That analysis is why the two… that is to say Savage and Coulter…  are so popular.  The accusations ring true.  Which, in turn, is precisely why the left spends so very much of its time throwing anything they can at the both of them, trying to discredit them.  Because, you see, it rings true to the liberal as well, even though they’d never admit it.

Christine Stansell et al, writes, in the Puffington Post:

We are women who support Hillary Clinton for the presidency of the United States. We do so because we believe that she will be the best president for the entire country. And as feminists, we also believe that Clinton is the best choice for attending to issues of special importance to women.

No comments from the legions of women, Juanitta Broaddrick Hickey, Paula Jones, Gennifer Flowers etc who the Clintons debased and abused.

Else where the Puffington Post does provide a commenet by Margaret Carlson:

I covered the Clinton White House for 8 years. and I don’t think it would be good for the country to go back there.

I can not see how woman can benefit for the Clintons’ particular version of feminism.

Addendum: (Bit)

From what I see on the leftie blogs just now… Talk Left, for example..(We read ’em so you don’t have to) what this is going to come down to is a contest to see which is going to win over the Democrat party; The Gender Feminist or the race baiter.

But I find even there, bits of light streaking through… As an example from the above link:

I’m a woman and I have worked in a male-dominated work place.  My field is hugely male-dominant.  Indeed, for many years I was the only woman in my department.And yet.  I’ve deleted the long comment about how counterproductive the notion that women’s styles are underappreciated in comparison with men’s was in my life.  Let’s just say that not only do I not buy it, but that one of my big life-lessons was to learn that shrugging off those sorts of concerns led to a massive reduction in the sorts of slights that used to prompt those concerns in the first place.  You don’t win respect by expecting to be disrespected and whining about it when you are.  You win respect by expecting to be respected.

So please stop speaking about women as though we were some sort of monolithic group.  I tend to find it disrespectful of those of us who actually do have different opinions or experiences.

I suspect and suppose that in the long run, this contest among the Democrats will have  people lunging toward the Republicans. It’s what usually happens when Demorcrats force themselves into real examination of their supposed core beliefs. Such self- examination  occurred following four years of Jimmy Carter, for example. It’ll be interesting to see how many, like this one, begin to understand that what the Democrat party has been centered on all this time, isn’t where THEY are.

Give Boortz credit; The man is as snarky as they come Running this on the website pushes him over the edge top, today:

For this, he gets BitsBlog “Snark of the day” award

The Smoking Gun, today:

FEBRUARY 15–When radio talk show host Bernie Ward was arrested last year on child pornography charges, his lawyers downplayed the federal rap, saying that his client was merely doing research for a book when he accessed and distributed illicit images. But police reports indicate that Ward, a 56-year-old former Catholic priest, began a graphic online correspondence with a San Francisco-area dominatrix who used the name “Sexfairy” and called cops when Ward sent her a lewd digital image featuring a topless woman, a nude boy, and a young girl

Had you heard about this previously?

Only a few hits currently on Google about it. SanFran Chron, for example.

Gawker has some IM transcripts. I managed to locate the original indictment at the DOJ site. (PDF, of course!) Other than this we’re not seeing much.

Wonder why?

He’s a LIBERAL talkshow host, is why.

Now, imagine with me, for just a moment… it won’t take much effort, I assure you… Imagine a Conservative talkshow host being hauled up on the same charges. Think you’d be hearing about it? You know damn well you would. All the nets, including Fox, would be going into 24*7 saturation mode with the story, and the leftie blogs would be going orgasmic about now.

As it is, we’ll hear nothing about it. Gotta protect those lefties.

Addendum:  (David L)

Given that Henry Waxman has struck out against Roger Clemens, Gina Cobb. maybe old Hank can  take on Bernie?   Doin’t bet on it.

The more Mrs. Clinton speaks, the more she lies:

CINCINNATI (AP) – Hillary Rodham Clinton declared herself the “candidate of, from and for the middle class of America” as she worked to keep her Democratic coalition in Ohio intact against a hard-charging Sen. Barack Obama.

Middle class my foot, her husband, B.J., can’t avoid telling everybody how rich he is,   As for Mrs. Clinton:

WASHINGTON (AFP) – Democratic White House hopeful Hillary Clinton said Wednesday she loaned her campaign five million dollars of her own money in January to keep up with rival Barack Obama’s record cash windfall.

No middle class person can afford to loan themselves five millions dollars.   Can you?

Mrs. Clinton’s campaign is boasting of their univerasal heatth care plan, Statesman:

“If you don’t cover everybody with your health care plan, it’s not universal,” Mauro said. “Universal means you cover everybody. If it’s an insurance plan, you’;ve got to mandate it. If it doesn’t do that, those of us who sign up are paying for those who don’t, beccause they’re still going to have to go get health care – which is the problem we have right now.”

Mandating citizens purchase health coverage at a price set by the government, is not providing health coverage.   It is extorting it.

Yesterday, David gave the Snark of the Day award to Vladimir Putin… and justifiably so, for his comment on Hillary Clinton:

“At a minimum, a head of state should have a head.”

Humor, of course, has to have a grain of truth at the center of it, else, it isn’t funny, and in laughing, we recognize that truth.

In our acknowledgment of that truth, however, let’s not lose sight of the fact that Putin is hardly alone in the world, in his perception of Hillary Clinton as a brainless idiot driven by pure avarice.  And how is it that Mr. Putin who is arguably more socialist than any of America’s offerings can be so down on Mrs. Clinton, who was arguably among the most socialist of any of the American offerings? Perhaps there’s something of truht that his objection to the woman is rooted in?

Mr. Putin’s statement reveals a hostility that is formidable. A look round about suggests it is also hardly singular.  His perception of Mrs. Clinton, is quietly reflected amongst many of the world’s leaders, including those amongst our friends, and our stated enemies.

It strikes me that at least part of the concern here is going to be our relationships with those who are hostile to the United States and its interests.  These are the people that Mrs. Clinton is supposed to be making inroads with by “talking to them”?  Also, keep in mind that Putin’s Russia has been among the more approachable nations. Imagine the reaction of Iran, for example, or Syria, to such kid-glove treatment.

The lack of progress involved in such talks is not limited to Hillary Clinton.  Mr. Bush has been making the attempt behind the scenes, to talk to hostile nations, too, and none more than with Mr. Putin. Successes have been vairied at best.Invariably, progress has been best when running a bit roughshod over the issues, as Mr. Bush has discovered. Trouble is, Hillary Clinton doesn’t want to use that option.  One cannot think but that Barrack Obama will be similarly stymied particularly given that the foreign policy actions proposed by Clinton and Obama are so similar.

Thus are the foreign policy arguments being made by both Democrats just now, exposed to the light of day.  The history involved here is also noteworthy; We got into this situation not by way of Mr. Bush, but by way of 8 years of ‘talking to them’ by way of Mr. Clinton… and his co-president.

Perhaps this is a consideration point for this election.

Peter Baker in the WaPo this morning:

As he gets closer to the Republican nomination, Sen. John McCain has been trying to balance his unqualified support for the Iraq war by reminding audiences that he was also a tough critic of how it was managed until President Bush finally changed strategies a year ago. In recent weeks, McCain has gone so far as to tell audiences that he was “the only one” who called for Donald H. Rumsfeld’s resignation as defense secretary.

As he gets closer to the Republican nomination, Sen. John McCain has been trying to balance his unqualified support for the Iraq war by reminding audiences that he was also a tough critic of how it was managed until President Bush finally changed strategies a year ago. In recent weeks, McCain has gone so far as to tell audiences that he was “the only one” who called for Donald H. Rumsfeld’s resignation as defense secretary.

Look, let’s be honest enough to say that this was nothing more than political positioning and kowtowing to the left by Mr. McCain.  Indeed, it was actions like this that made me turn a sour glance his direction in the first place.  As for the successes in Iraq, subsequent to these supposedly in direction, that strikes me as a rather Clintonesque tactic… trying to take credit for something he had no part in planning, or executing, and something which was already in the works, anyway. Bill Clinton and me and my habit of getting out in front of the lynch mob, and acting like it was a parade he was leading.  That Mr. McCain is pulling the same stunt, is disquieting at the least.  I suspect I am not alone in those misgivings.

It is not clear why McCain would feel any need to overstate his public position on Rumsfeld, given that he had a clear record of hostility toward the former defense chief.

To my mind, the answer to that question is cut and dried; Certainly, exaggeration is part of politics as usual.  Mr. McCain or wants to project a larger image of himself than is true in real life.  The problem is that Mr. Rumsfeld had a good deal of support among conservatives in this country, and is still highly thought of amongst those conservatives.  So who is it that Mr. McCain is trying to project himself as larger-than-life to? Certainly not conservatives.

BBCT: Memeorandum

Chinese Junk:

LAKELAND, Fla. (AP) – The importer of a Valentine’s Day lollipop said it was voluntarily recalling the treats after metal fragments were found in at least two lollipops sold at central Florida stores

I don’t see a vast Chinese conspiracy.  I do see a general lack of consumer safety standards.

Chinese Trade Offer: Feministing:

And in “goody,” I mean ridiculously offensive. In the midst of a trade discussion in 1973 with Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, Chinese leader Mao Zedong offered sending Chinese women to the United States as as a trade, saying

As Kissinger was a diplomat, I suspect that he was being diplomatic.

License to Kill: Common Folk Using Common Sense.

Gun free zones only prevent the victims from being able to shoot back.

Excuse to kill: via Kathy, Five Feet of Fury, Chicago Sun-Times:

“I feel that I am committed to social justice, and if elected treasurer, I promise to serve the NIU chapter of the ACA to the best of my ability”

So said, Steven Kazmierczak the perp in the NIU shootings.  Nut jobs or presidential candidates, did I repeat myself, who claim some divine mission to redistribute wealth as they see fit, scare the hell out me.  And you?

Drugs to kill: Clayton Cramer:

Stopped Taking His Medication

From AP:

DEKALB, Ill. – The man who gunned down five people at Northern Illinois University in a suicidal rampage became erratic after halting his medication and carried a shotgun to campus inside a guitar case, police said Friday.
Nothing that says what the medication was, or what he was taking it for

Ann Althouse calls Jane Fonda a media whore., which she is I’ve called Fonda worse.  Professor Althouse kind of writes like Maureen Dowd would, if Dowd only had a brain.

Nice Deb asks “What’s Wrong With Henry Waxman’s Nose?” The problem Deb is that it is attached to Henry’s face.
Charles Barkley: full of it.  Barkley judges Christians wrong for being [gasp] judgmental.  To judge judgmental ism wrong, is to be well judgmental.

Indiana University Mens Baskketball:

BLOOMINGTON, Ind., Feb. 15 (UPI) — Kelvin Sampson remained the men’s basketball coach at Indiana University Friday despite numerous alleged NCAA violations regarding telephone calls to recruits.

Bobby Knight, who was run off campus, ran a clean program.

JOINT STATEMENT By the U.S. Embassy Baghdad and Multi-National Force-Iraq

Posted: 13 Feb 2008 02:33 PM CST

(Feb. 13, 2008) We warmly congratulate the Government of Iraq and the Council of Representatives on the parliamentary actions taken today to pass enabling legislation for the 2008 Budget, a law on Provincial Powers, and an Amnesty law. Soldiers report largest cache finds since beginning of year

Posted: 13 Feb 2008 04:42 AM CST

BAGHDAD (Feb. 13, 2008) – Soldiers from 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division found 3,000 pounds of munitions Feb. 6, collectively the largest find since the start of Operation Marne Thunderbolt Jan. 1.