May 22, 2012
FSM HOT TOPICS
Exclusive: Wednesday, August 20
by PRESIDENTIAL WATCH August 20, 2008
Hear “DarcPrynce” in an amusing parody of Obama ads vs. John McCain - GO HERE.
McCain’s Finest Hour
Philip Klein, Spectator.org
Before this Saturday, many analysts were predicting that the fall's presidential debates would be a wipeout, with Barack Obama conjuring the spirit of the young John F. Kennedy and John McCain imitating the aging Bob Dole.
In a recent article in the Atlantic, James Fallows declared that McCain "will look and sound old and weak next to Obama."
But if this weekend's forum hosted by Pastor Rick Warren at his Saddleback Church is any indication of how the two candidates will perform in the presidential debates, it's time to recalibrate the existing expectations. The debates may still be a wipeout -- only Obama now seems likelier to bite the dust.
The Saddleback event appeared to be the ideal opportunity for Obama to make inroads among evangelicals. While his social views make the Democrat anathema to most evangelical voters, the bar is low for Obama.
At first, it seemed that Obama was benefiting from the conversational format, in which each candidate answered identical questions from Warren for an hour, without strict time limits or sharp follow-ups.
Obama showed humility, talked about selfishness that led him to experiment with drugs as a teenager, and invoked Matthew in discussing America's obligation to address poverty, racism, and sexism. This was classic Obama -- trying to frame his liberal views of economic and social justice in religious language.
But within a few minutes of McCain taking the stage, it became clear that it was his night. Read article.
The Democrats are Done - It's August. It's early.
Neil Cavuto, Fox Business.com
But for Democrats, it's over.
Over. Done. Fini.
At the risk of sounding like I've snapped.allow me this snap judgment.
The Democrats have just lost the presidency this week.
For them, a horrible week.
So horrible.so discombobulated. So inconsistently communicated and messaged, that they've lost their message.
And I think, this election too.
Because here's the deal as we end this week, my friends.
The Dems.are done.
I know. Laugh all you want. And I will conveniently destroy this message in the event I'm wrong.
But here's why I don't think I am.
During this crucial defining period that brought a Russian bear out of hibernation and a befuddled Nancy Pelosi into drilling reality.allow me to drill home this point. Read article.
All Voters Should Watch This
Michael Gerson, NY Sun.com
It is now clear why Barack Obama has refused John McCain's offer of joint town hall appearances during the fall campaign. Mr. McCain is obviously better at them.
Mr. Obama's response on abortion — the issue that remains his largest obstacle to evangelical support — bordered on a gaffe. Asked by Mr. Warren at what point in its development a baby gains "human rights," Mr. Obama said that such determinations are "above my pay grade" — a silly answer to a sophisticated question. If Mr. Obama is genuinely unsure about this matter, he (and the law) should err in favor of protecting innocent life.
If Mr. Obama believes that a baby in the womb lacks human rights, he should say so — pro-choice men and women must affirm (as many sincerely do) that developing life has a lesser status. Here the professor failed the test of logic.
For many evangelicals, the theoretical Mr. Obama — the Mr. Obama of hope and unity — is intriguing, even appealing. But this opinion is not likely to improve upon closer inspection of his policy views. Mr. Obama is one of those rare political figures who seems to grow smaller the closer we approach him. Read article.
Investigative Report: Primary Votes Bought & Paid For by Nancy Pelosi
Dr. Lynette Long, No QuarterUSA.net
As Americans sat glued to their television sets watching the most hotly contested presidential primary in American history, pundits counted pledged delegates won in caucuses and primaries and discussed the highly prized superdelegates’ endorsements. Eventually it would be these superdelegates, Democratic officials, governors, and members of congress, who would determine the nominee, since neither contestant won enough pledged delegates in the 52 primary contests.
What the pundits forgot to tell the American public was that these superdelegates were doing some counting of their own. They weren’t counting how many of their constituents had voted for Senator Clinton or Senator Obama, but rather how much money was being put into their war chests by the Obama campaign and the Democratic hierarchy. This money, moved from one candidate to another via PAC’s, would determine their endorsements and ultimately the nomination.
The implications of Pelosi’s behavior are her impact on the Presidential election.
Publicly Madame Speaker did not endorse either Obama or Clinton in the Democratic Primary, but was she was anything but neutral.
Pelosi gave money to the campaigns of thirty-eight members of congress, twenty-eight of these endorsed Obama; ten endorsed Clinton. Pelosi contributed to the campaigns of Obama endorsers almost three to one. Pelosi not only gave to a greater number of Obama supporters, she collectively gave them more money. Read REPORT HERE.
Obama on Clarence Thomas
Online WSJ.com
Barack Obama likes to portray himself as a centrist politician who wants to unite the country, but occasionally his postpartisan mask slips. That was the case at Saturday night's Saddleback Church forum, when Mr. Obama chose to demean Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas.
Pastor Rick Warren asked each Presidential candidate which Justices he would not have nominated. Mr. McCain said, "with all due respect" the four most liberal sitting Justices because of his different judicial philosophy.
Mr. Obama took a lower road, replying first that "that's a good one," and then adding that "I would not have nominated Clarence Thomas. I don't think that he, I don't think that he was a strong enough jurist or legal thinker at the time for that elevation. Setting aside the fact that I profoundly disagree with his interpretation of a lot of the Constitution." The Democrat added that he also wouldn't have appointed Antonin Scalia, and perhaps not John Roberts, though he assured the audience that at least they were smart enough for the job. Read article.
Showdown at Saddleback
William Kristol, NY Times.com
While normal people were out having fun Saturday night, I was home in front of the TV. But I wasn’t enjoying the Olympics. Your diligent columnist was dutifully watching Barack Obama and John McCain answer the Rev. Rick Warren’s questions at Saddleback Church. Virtue is sometimes rewarded. The event was worth watching — and for me yielded three conclusions.
First, Rick Warren should moderate one of the fall presidential debates.
Second, it was McCain’s night.
Third, Obama and McCain really do have different “worldviews,” to use Rick Warren’s term.
Perhaps the most revealing moment was the two candidates’ response to a question about evil. Read article.
Book on Obama Hopes to Repeat Anti-Kerry Feat
Jim Rutenberg & Julie Bosman, NY Times.com
In the summer of 2004 the conservative gadfly Jerome R. Corsi shot to the top of the best-seller lists as co-author of “Unfit for Command,” the book attacking Senator John Kerry’s record on a Vietnam War Swift boat that began the larger damaging campaign against Mr. Kerry’s war credentials as he sought the presidency.
Almost exactly four years after that campaign began, Mr. Corsi has released a new attack book painting Senator Barack Obama, the Democrats’ presumed presidential nominee, as a stealth radical liberal who has tried to cover up “extensive connections to Islam” — Mr. Obama is Christian — and questioning whether his admitted experimentation with drugs in high school and college ever ceased.
Significant parts of the book, whose subtitle is “Leftist Politics and the Cult of Personality,” have already been challenged as misleading or false in the days since its debut on Aug. 1. Nonetheless, it is to make its first appearance on The New York Times best-seller list for nonfiction hardcovers this Sunday — at No. 1. Read article.
Yes, She Can
Maureen Dowd, NY Times.com
While Obama was spending three hours watching “The Dark Knight” five time zones away, and going to a fund-raiser featuring “Aloha attire” and Hawaiian pupus, Hillary was busy planning her convention.
You can almost hear her mind whirring: She’s amazed at how easy it was to snatch Denver away from the Obama saps. Like taking candy from a baby, except Beanpole Guy doesn’t eat candy. In just a couple of weeks, Bill and Hill were able to drag No Drama Obama into a swamp of Clinton drama.
Now they’ve made Barry’s convention all about them — their dissatisfaction and revisionism and barely disguised desire to see him fail. Whatever insincere words of support the Clintons muster, their primal scream gets louder: He can’t win! He can’t close the deal! We told you so!
Hillary’s orchestrating a play within the play in Denver. Just as Hamlet used the device to show that his stepfather murdered his father, Hillary will try to show the Democrats they chose the wrong savior.
Hillary feels no guilt about encouraging her supporters to mess up Obama’s big moment, thus undermining his odds of beating John McCain and improving her odds of being the nominee in 2012.
She’s obviously relishing Hillaryworld’s plans to have multiple rallies in Denver, to take out TV and print ads and to hold up signs in the hall that read “Denounce Nobama’s Coronation.” Read article.
Bad Day at Black Rock
Paul Hollrah, NMJ.us
Like the citizens of Black Rock in 1955, Democrats in 2008 were sitting atop a terrible little secret. Following Hillary’s cryptic warning of some unforeseen event that could scuttle Obama’s hopes, it was learned that former North Carolina Senator John Edwards, the third place finisher in this year’s Democratic primaries, had engaged in an extra-marital affair with a campaign volunteer. It was also speculated that Edwards was the father of the woman’s infant child.
In a comic scene that not even Hollywood screenwriters could produce, Edwards took refuge in a men’s restroom in the basement of the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Los Angeles, using physical force to prevent tabloid reporters from entering the room to ask why he was seen leaving the woman’s room at 2:40 AM. This self-inflicted wounding of a promising political career took place just three miles from the Ambassador Hotel where Bobby Kennedy was assassinated in June 1968.
Now, with their nominating convention just days away, mainstream Democrats are face-to-face with two stark realities. First, they are slowly coming to the realization that, if primary voters had known in advance of Barack Obama’s radical friends and associates, he would never have survived the Democratic primaries. And finally, they are haunted by the thought that, if primary voters had known earlier this year of Edwards’ sexual adventures, the lion’s share of his support would have gone to Clinton, Obama would have been knocked out of the race, and Hillary Rodham Clinton would now be the undisputed candidate of the Democratic Party.
So, as they pack their bags for the trip to Denver, Democratic “super delegates” must be taking a long look at their hole card, realizing that both of Clinton’s final primary opponents had feet of clay, and that both men, each in his own way, cost her the nomination. Chances are, when they arrive in Denver they won’t be singing “Happy Days are Here Again.” They may, instead, be thinking more in terms of Spencer Tracy and his “Bad Day at Black Rock.” Anyone still think God doesn't have a morbid sense of humor? Read article.
Life with Obama, Abortion Champion.
David Freddoso, NRO.com
The tiny newborn baby made very little noise as he struggled to breathe. He lacked the strength to cry. He had been born four months premature.
“At that age,” says nurse Jill Stanek, “their lungs haven’t matured.”
Stanek is the nurse who found herself cradling this baby in her hands for all of his 45-minute lifetime. He was close to ten inches long and weighed perhaps half a pound. It’s just a guess — no one had weighed or measured him at birth. No happy family had been there to welcome him into the world. No one was trying to save his life now, putting him into an incubator, giving him oxygen or nourishment. He had just been left to die.
Stanek had seen it all happen. That family had wanted a baby, but when they learned that theirs would be born with Down syndrome, they wanted an abortion. For that, they went to Christ Hospital in the southwestern suburbs of Chicago, which is affiliated with the United Church of Christ.
In “induced labor” or “prostaglandin” abortion — a common procedure at the hospital — the doctor administers drugs that dilate the mother’s cervix and induce contractions, forcing a small baby out of the mother’s uterus. Most of the time, the baby dies in utero, killed by the force of the violent contractions. But it does not always work. Such abortions sometimes result in a premature baby being born alive. Read article.
Editing Reverend Wright’s Wrongs
MRC.org
Barack Obama’s greatest struggle in the drawn-out Democratic primary campaign was his relationship with his long-time minister Rev. Jeremiah Wright and the Trinity United Church of Christ in Chicago. Rev. Wright’s noxious recorded sermons suggesting that America deserved 9/11 and that the federal government created AIDS as a tool of black genocide were widely viewed on YouTube and discussed on talk radio and cable TV. But what about the network news shows, the programs most watched by the least politically involved viewers? TV pundits suggested the virulent video clips unfairly caricatured the minister (and by association, Obama himself.) PBS star Bill Moyers lamented that Wright was "assassinated by soundbites."
Did the nation’s broadcast networks really play Wright’s remarks to excess? A Media Research Center study of ABC, CBS, and NBC news broadcasts from the formal announcement of the Obama campaign on February 10, 2007 through July 15 reveals that a viewer watching only broadcast TV news would have received a much more limited (and even censored) version of Wright’s sermons. Read article.
Elephant in the Democratic Hall
John Brummett, ReviewJournal.com
Obama finished the primary season anemically, almost backing into the nomination. He won his delegate majority largely from caucuses, some sparsely attended. Since securing the nomination, he has stagnated in polls and sustained insufficiently answered attacks from Republicans.
It may turn out that, once again, Democrats became carried away in their primaries with a person whose vulnerabilities got brought into vivid focus by the wholly new and different general election dynamic.
Could this be Michael Dukakis and John Kerry all over again? Should we be nominating Hillary? A few Democrats will say it. More will be thinking it. Read article.
Brave Old World
Victor Davis Hanson, NRO.com
The United States may be the most free, stable, and meritocratic nation in the world, but its resources and patience are not unlimited. Currently, it pays more than a half trillion dollars per year to import $115-a-barrel oil that is often pumped at a cost of about $5.
The Chinese, Japanese, and Europeans hold trillions of dollars in U.S. bonds — the result of massive trade deficits. The American dollar is at historic lows. We are piling up staggering national debt. Over 12 million live here illegally and freely transfer more than $50 billion annually to Mexico and Latin America.
Our military, after deposing Milosevic, the Taliban, and Saddam, is tired. And Americans are increasingly becoming more sensitive to the cheap criticism of global moralists.
But as the United States turns ever so slightly inward, the new globalized world will revert to a far poorer — and more dangerous — place.
Liberals like presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama speak out against new free-trade agreements and want existing accords like NAFTA readjusted. More and more Americans are furious at the costs of illegal immigration — and are moving to stop it. The foreign remittances that help prop up Mexico and Latin America are threatened by any change in America’s immigration attitude. Read article.
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Ky. primary has Barack Obama doing battle with a phantom; Let the mockage begin!
May 22, 2012 07:50 PM
Vote-counting for the Kentucky primary is underway, and Obama is leading among preferred Democratic presidential candidates. But ah, ah, ah … not so fast there, Barack. Looks like not everything’s comin’ up roses in the Bluegrass State. ONE FOR UNDECIDED: Bath County, Kentucky Democrats take "Undecided" over President Obama by 725-715 votes— Jamie Dupree (@jamiedupree) [...]
May 22, 2012 04:29 PM
The South Carolina AFL-CIO president is on video beating an effigy of Governor Nikki Haley with a bat. War on women, indeed, and it comes from the Left as always. To Leftist thugs and union goons, she was asking for it, you see. That "uppity" woman won't keep her mouth shut and all. Scratch a Leftist and you will find not only a misogynist, but a racist.
Media still covering for no Biden access for press, blame Romney
May 22, 2012 03:39 PM
Media bias alert! RT @zekejmiller: Worth noting, given Romney flap last week, press not given rope-line access to Biden event here in NH— Sarah Huisenga (@SarahH_CBSNJ) May 22, 2012 Um. After the “Romney flap?” You mean the “flap” that the media breathlessly and endlessly reported all while ignoring the fact that reporters were shooed off [...]
May 22, 2012 03:08 PM
I'll see your Cory Booker and raise you a Joe Biden.— David Freddoso (@freddoso) May 22, 2012 Rut roh! Shall we add him to “hostage watch?“ Biden: When Bain companies failed, it cost taxpayers money in unemployment insurance, pension costs.— Mike Memoli (@mikememoli) May 22, 2012 Uh. When they are “too big to fail” and [...]
Dan Savage: Marriage is make-believe just like BDSM
May 22, 2012 02:46 PM
That oh-so-deep thought on marriage was a followup to Savage’s 140 character thoughts on BDSM: Some BDSMers take BDSM very, very seriously, of course, and strive to make it as real as possible. But it's still make-believe.— Dan Savage (@fakedansavage) May 22, 2012 And I respect BDSMers who take it seriously. They're fucking hot. xo— [...]
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