We Hear From The Discussion Leader-In-Chief

Obama isn't interested in hearing from Sarah Palin about our nuclear strategy, but he doesn't exactly present himself as The Decider while playing The Derider:

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – President Barack Obama on Thursday made clear he was not going to take advice from Republican Sarah Palin when it comes to decisions about the U.S. nuclear arsenal.

Palin, the former vice presidential candidate, has not been shy about criticizing Obama's policies and this week weighed in on his revamped nuclear strategy, saying it was like a child in a playground who says 'punch me in the face, I'm not going to retaliate.'

"I really have no response to that. The last I checked, Sarah Palin is not much of an expert on nuclear issues," Obama said in an interview with ABC News.

The last time I checked, Obama didn't develop a whole lot of expertise in nuclear doctrine while removing the asbestos from Altgeld Gardens, although he did deliver a credulous article on the nuclear freeze back in his Columbia days. There is at least a possibility that the experts advising Ms. Palin are as knowledgeable as the experts advising Obama.

And who is in charge at the White House, anyway?

Pressed further on Republican criticism that his strategy restricts the use of nuclear weapons too much, Obama added:

"What I would say to them is, is that if the secretary of defense and the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff are comfortable with it, I'm probably going to take my advice from them and not from Sarah Palin."

One hope that Obama realizes that the Sec Def and JCS Chairman will either resign or "get comfortable" with the decision if Obama orders them to do so. 

As to what Gates actually advised, AllahPundit cites an Oct 2008 speech to suggest that Gates is acquiescing to this policy change rather than recommending it.  Which means that Obama is not taking their advice at all, as is his prerogative.  So why hide behind them?  Why doesn't Obama just thrill his base and say "I'm the boss and I over-ruled these guys"?  Sorry, silly question.

The NY Times said as much in their original story:

To set an example, the new strategy renounces the development of any new nuclear weapons, overruling the initial position of his own defense secretary.

Gates may well have been influenced by the belief that deterrence worked in the first Gulf War - the US and Israel threatened to put all options on the table if Saddam used his chemical or biological weapons, and he seemed to take that threat seriously.

THEN AGAIN:  Here is a 'no first use' summary and discussion which is still on my "To Read" list.

Comments

[RJ]

One hope that Obama realizes that the Sec Def and JCS Chairman will either resign or "get comfortable" with the decision if Obama orders them to do so.

Having never had a real job in his miserable past, Obama should also realize that:

1. there is such a thing as kissing the boss's ass, and

2. while advice is all good ad well, at then end of the day if things go horribly wrong because of a decision he makes, he owns it.

[Jane]

Touchy touchy Barack. Man up buddy!

[southernsue]

this obama guy is really very scary. we need to somehow get rid of him. either he is an idiot or he has an agenda. whatever, he is not good for america.

[It's amazing how often the questions devolve to these.]

Yes, incompetent or deliberate? Ignorant or disingenuous?
=============

[Jane]

while advice is all good ad well, at then end of the day if things go horribly wrong because of a decision he makes, he owns it.

Didn't you hear? It's Bush's fault!

[Mike K]

Insecure doofus, Barry the Clown.

[RJ]

incompetent or deliberate

I prefer "evil or stupid", but really it's probably a combination of both with a healthy serving of "arrogant" on the side.

[bgates]

There is at least a possibility that the experts advising Ms. Palin are as knowledgeable as the experts advising Obama.

How much expertise is involved in this decision? Experts are needed for technical decisions about things like what percentage of our current sub-launched missile capacity could we bargain away without meaningfully impairing our deterrence. Whichever way a decision goes on the question of whether to announce to our enemies that they have less to worry about than they thought if they launch an attack that slaughters thousands of our citizens, no expertise is required. Sadly, no judgment was used either.

[Old Lurker]

Sorry I cannot link it, but there is a Must Read editorial in the WSJ today concerning the state of Health Insurance in Mass. Gist is that Jane's friend Deval denied the planned rate increases requested by the large non profit insurance companies last week, so those carriers refuse to issue policies starting now. So Patrick has ordered them to reopen for business.

The showdown will be a telling preview of coming attractions for HCR in your states.

[bgates]

Patrick has ordered them to reopen for business.

Or what? I knew the Democrats think they can throw people in jail for not buying insurance; I guess it's not a surprise to learn they think they can throw people in jail for not selling insurance.

[The Democrat Party]

bgates:

Please report to jail. For talking about insurance.

Sincerely,

[Rick Ballard]

Is Cadillac planning on denying them permission to operate at a loss? The insurers should tell Cadillac what Bibi told the Kendonesian Stuff it, twerp.

There's little downside to calling a coward's bluff - the Kendonesian didn't really have to publicly announce a nuclear policy change. Anyone in the world who watched him flub that first pitch knows there is nothing to BOzo but air.

[Clarice]

I'd love to see a debate between O and sarah without people like Ifill moderating--In fact no moderator. She'd clean the floor with him; he knows it; and that's why she makes his hair stand up.

In other news, our old friend Lawrence Wilkerson shows up gain--My what a posse of great guys Powell had:
From the Times (UK)

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/us_and_americas/article7092435.eceGeorge W. Bush, Dick Cheney and Donald Rumsfeld covered up that hundreds of innocent men were sent to the Guantánamo Bay prison camp because they feared that releasing them would harm the push for war in Iraq and the broader War on Terror, according to a new document obtained by The Times. The accusations were made by Lawrence Wilkerson, a top aide to Colin Powell, the former Republican Secretary of State, in a signed declaration to support a lawsuit filed by a Guantánamo detainee

[Old Lurker]

As the WSJ observes, the irony in MA is that the insurance companies in question are all non-profits and thus cannot be accused of greed. Therefore it is now becoming clear that the real cost driver is...wait for it...the cost of the medicine itself.

As to the "or what", if they all stop doing business in the state, will the state open its own single payer government owned provider? That was the plan for MD back in the Kennedy-Townsend days.

BTW, this is not new to MA. I happen to have my car insurance from GEICO, and last summer our car died while vacationing on Nantucket. I made a deal with a car dealer on the Cape to sell me a new car, paid for by wire transfer from my bank, if he would put temp tagson it and place it on the ferry so I would get it later that day. No problem, right? Wrong. Mass will not issue temp tags, so I was going to have to register the car in MA, and that required 1)paying the MA sales tax, and 2)insuring it. Since I was planning on retagging it in MD when we got home, and since MD was also going to charge me sales tax, I forced the Cape dealer to eat the MA tax if he wanted that easy a sale. So far so good. Final step was to call GEICO and list the new car. GEICO politely informed me that while do business in 49 states and dozens of foreign countries, they refused to do business in MA. That meant if I wanted to give that dealer my over-the-phone business, I needed to 1)pay MA tax, 2)buy MA tags, 3)buy Insurance from a MA carrier.

I called a dealer 50 miles away in RI and made a deal with him in ten minutes. Temp tags, no tax, my existing insurance.

It was a perfect example of where this stuff heads.

[syn]

Fascinating how George Will's 'highly educated Whites' are brain-dead to the fact that most all 'highly educated' Ivy-League universities in America inbreed the foulest of anti-Israel sentiments.

Dr Krauthammer is SHOCKED that an Ivy-League Harvard 'Law Professor'-now President-is determined to help enemies of Israel exterminate Israel.

This is as bizarre as when I would hear the 'highly educated WHITE' NYErs often state:

"Bush is Hitler BUT America must protect Israel"

Even though 'highly educated Whites' thought Bush was Hitler, they also demand he protect Israel?

More often than not and no matter the political party the fact is 'highly educated Whites' are cut from the same cloth; they are Ivy-Inbred Useful Idiots.

I suggest both George Will and Dr Krauthammer 'leave the romm' and take their 'highly educated White' Useful Idiots with them when they go.

Israel can not longer afford to be dictated by America's 'highly educated White' Ivy-Inbred Useful Idiots.

[narciso the harpoon]

Wilkerson is an idiot, we've seen what has happened with the ones we have released, or has he missed that memo, we held this small
clique, because they were almost invariably
in the operational or leadership cadre of either A Q or the Taliban, like Mr. Zakir,
middle management in the latter organization

Anyways one of the clincher's in her selection
was the answer to this question, according to
her vetter, in the LUN

[Jane]

A Jake Tapper tweet: Rep. Bart Stupak plans to announce his retirement today, top Democrats briefed on his decision say.

I wonder if he will say: "I singlehandedly destroyed the country and now my work is done."

[Clarice]

Well Krauthammer needs to stay. He writes wonderful stuff like this:

"magine the scenario: Hundreds of thousands are lying dead in the streets of Boston after a massive anthrax or nerve-gas attack. The president immediately calls in the lawyers to determine whether the attacking state is in compliance with the NPT. If it turns out that the attacker is up to date with its latest IAEA inspections, well, it gets immunity from nuclear retaliation. Our response is then restricted to bullets, bombs, and other conventional munitions.

However, if the lawyers tell the president that the attacking state is NPT noncompliant, we are free to blow the bastards to nuclear kingdom come.

This is quite insane. It’s like saying that if a terrorist deliberately uses his car to mow down a hundred people waiting at a bus stop, the decision as to whether he gets (a) hanged or (b) 100 hours of community service hinges entirely on whether his car had passed emissions inspections. "
< a href=http://article.nationalreview.com/430831/nuclear-posturing-obama-style/charles-krauthammer>Insane Nuclear Posture from an Insae president

[Jack is Back!]

Barack may not be an Arms Control/Nuclear Strategy Expert but he did stay in a Holiday Inn Express last night.

She is in his head big-time!

When she is quiet Rush rushes in to occupy him. When you are a naive narcissist like Barry, you have to have someone to be paranoid about all the time.

And for the technology challenged but still trying to understand those 2,700 pages of HCR, I leave you with this explanation:

"It's like the back of the refrigerator. You see all these wires and the rest. All you need to know is, you open the door. The light goes on. You open this door, you go through a whole different path, in terms of access to quality, affordable health care for all Americans."--Speaker Nancy Pelosi, quoted by KCBS radio (San Francisco), April 6

[syn]

"Deval denied the planned rate increases requested by the large non profit insurance companies last week, so those carriers refuse to issue policies starting now. So Patrick has ordered them to reopen for business."

Ironic this 'insurance issue' is occurring in Massachusetts where Barack Obama's 57th State known as Harvard University inbreeds so many Useful Idiots.

Massachusetts is build upon Ivy-Inbred Useful Idiocy; the Idiots time has come, enjoy your self-made descent into hell.

[peter]

Ironically, the real reason that refrigerator lights go on so reliably that we as consumers never have to think about how that happens is because of capitalism.

[Rick Ballard]

With Obanomics the light never comes on but the utility bill goes up anyway.

[Old Lurker]

You ain't seen nothin yet on utility bills. Wait till he finishes off the coal business.

[Jack is Back!]

He is anything but consistent. When you think it can't get any worse, it does!

[Rick Ballard]

OL,

The "retirement" of Bart the Baby Killer makes me wonder if what remains of the Democrat Party after the Great Electoral Slaughter of 2010 might not be willing to join the majority in overturning any vetoes issued by the lamest of ducks. I just don't see the anger and disgust with this incompetent hack diminishing any time soon.

[Ranger]

Well, if Obama really wanted to show us how much he knows about nuclear arms he could let us read his senior thesis from Columbia on how to achive Soviet-American disarmament. My guess is it reads a lot like this stupid new policy.

[Jane]

My guess is it reads a lot like this stupid new policy.

I wonder who wrote it for him.

[MaryD]

Just Wow, OL. Love your story of life in Massachusetts. As a former prisoner resident I can vouch that you've totally captured the essence of government by the moron class.

[anduril]

Will there be a lawsuit? Muslim woman strangled by her burkha in freak go-kart accident

[Hope to change 'em, Procustes.]

Yep, RJ, evil and stupid and arrogant. I think that's why it is so hard to distinguish the question. I suspect he really has a Messiah complex, believes he has the vision and the power to bring about a new kind of world, and is being made use of by those who have not his gifts, but need them. Who's more deluded, his puppetmasters or himself? Now, there's a hard question.
====================

[Ranger]

Rick,

I don't think the Dems have even begun to realize how bad a position passing Obamacare has put them in. Once the Republicans take control of the House, they can use a vote to repeal Obamacare as a litmus test to put a target on the back of any Dem in a competitive district. Once there is a "bipartisan" vote on repeal, the Republicans can then paint Obama as the partisan president opposing bipartisan progress. Repeal of Obamacare may become the 'welfare reform' of Obama's presidency.

[There is a very bad ending for him. And for us.]

The thing is, that in order to combat him one must really understand him, something that he is pathological about hiding. Here we are, two years into extraordinary exposure for him and we still can't settle the question, evil or stupid.

This supreme self-manipulability will be a flaw which will be destructive. And the woman who thinks he's cool as a cucumber is wrong. He's angry, and again, pathologically cocooning himself from expressing it. Troubles like that golf can't help.

And despite his domestic autocracy, aided by the usual Federation of Morons, he is pusillanimous on the international stage. They wonder how those smart Americans ever fell for such a chimera.
=============

[narciso the harpoon]

Well we can surmise somethings from that stupid article he wrote for the Columbia Sundial, about a quarter century ago, it's kind of surprising that there has been no development since that time. Btw, Stephanopoulous wrote a similar fatuous thesis
the following year, so understandably he didn't want to press the point

[Janet]

Speaking of Obama's background, I linked this on the other thread...LUN a WaPo article today on the Catholic school Barry attended in Indonesia.
It mentions he was registered as Muslim under the name Barry Soetoro.
Was he adopted? Why the name change in life? He switched to Barry Obama when he went to live with his Grandparents? Then Barack at Occidental or Columbia?
I know I am a "birther" for asking...but so be it. Just add it to the list - Bible thumper, patriot, creationist, hick, nicotine addict, birther...

[Captain Hate]

She is in his head big-time!

When she is quiet Rush rushes in to occupy him. When you are a naive narcissisthave an empty head like Barry, you have to have someone to be paranoid about all the timefill the vacuum.

LUN for Abigail Thernstrom's take on Toonce's inability to honestly answer a question.

[hit and run]

you open the door. The light goes on

The light on the fridge works just fine.

It just can't keep my food beer cold anymore.

Why do Democrats hate beer?!?

[Clarice]

Rick: The "retirement" of Bart the Baby Killer makes me wonder if what remains of the Democrat Party after the Great Electoral Slaughter of 2010 might not be willing to join the majority in overturning any vetoes issued by the lamest of ducks.

That's my thought.
I agree with you, too, ranger.

I just never realized how stupid the Dems who voted for this are..I was certain they understood that for most of them a vote for HCR was pretty much like drawing a bullseye on their tuchis(es)_.

[Unless it is the birthplace.]

I've wrangled meanly with several wonderful commenters here, Janet, over the 'birther' question. I suspect he was born in Hawaii, but haven't convincing proof. I believe his father's Britishness invalidates him from being a 'natural born citizen', but legal experts differ over it. And I believe he's used an Indonesian passport in the early 80's, but mostly on the basis of Obama's perceived status as a 'world citizen'. And I still believe the issue will eventually topple him. It's not the birthplace, it's the cover-up.
=============

[Ranger]

I have a feeling this has something to do with the reason Stupak is bailing out:

http://www.gallup.com/poll/127262/Democratic-Party-Image-Drops-Record-Low.aspx#1>Democratic Party Image Drops to Record Low

The realy interesting graphs are on page 2... the Dems unfavorables have jumped up 15% since January, from 39% to 54%.

Hmmmm... I wonder what could have caused that?

[anduril]

Maybe the reason they don't want to release the BC is because Obama Sr. doesn't show up as the father? This is the most covered-up president in history, and there has to be a reason for each area of his life that's being kept under wraps. Perhaps the most covered-up public official, period.

[Clarice]

Ras at -14.

[Rocco]

IIRC, Both Obama and Ayers lived near each other when Obama attended Columbia in 1983 when that piece was written. Maybe Ayers wrote that too!

[Clarice]

I don't see it posted, maybe I missed it--Stupak has resigned.

[Rick Ballard]

Ranger,

Bayh's "retirement" was the canary with its feet in the air. He'll be back in '16 (possibly '12 if BOzo goes the LBJ "I will not seek" route). The shift in voter preference and sentiment is changing the "competitive district" map in a fairly radical manner. I'm beginning to think that Geraghty's list of 80 possibles might be a little short - I don't think Stupak even made the list.

[narciso the harpoon]

It's possible, name one sentiment Ayers has, (hatred of law enforcement, the military, traditional religion, capitalism; his father
was the head of the major utility) that Obama
doesn't share, one can't. Hence their kindred reaction to Sarah's light hearted inquiries,
the last was the final straw, you aren't supposed to mock the wanna be Che Guevara
or his protege

[Ignatz]

--if the secretary of defense and the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff are comfortable with it, I'm probably going to take my advice from them and not from Sarah Palin.--

What a sleazy little way to characterize it as someone else's "advice" rather than his own stupid idea.
Characterizing someone as "comfortable" with something is not a description of an idea they came up with.
He told them what to think, they dutifully complied and now he calls it their advice.

[Neo]

Barack "I Won" Obama should "get comfortable" with the idea that the Sec Def and JCS Chairman are the only people that will acquiesce to his orders. The remainder will "punch him in the face."

[jean]

I've always thought the idea that the voters and Tea Party would forget by Nov. didn't make sense.Most of the people I have seen at Tea Party events have been over 50.In our age bracket 7 months is a short time.

[Ranger]

Rick,

I think you are absolutely right. I get the feeling that this is turning into a realignment with "bigger government, higher deficits, and higher taxes" as the core issues. Add to that the total abuse of power that Nancy has been engaging in and we can see why the the positives for the Dems have collapsed.

This is actually where the MSM has hurt the Dems in the long run. The way HCR was handled was no different from how Nancy has been running that place since 2007. But becaue the MSM covered for her so well, when the HCR bill became a national focus, the people were shocked at how Dems were running the House. But the crap with declaring the mess of papers with the people still trying to take out and insert pages the "final bill" for the Cap and Trade vote was just as much an abuse of power.

[Clarice]

Ranger--it's just one way the MSM running dogs have hurt the party. They also romanticized Obama the candidate, hid his flaws and hoved under the rug the thuggish way he was winning the caucus primaries.

They made him.
He's their' s.
Every failing of his, has their name on it, too.

[Janet]

This is kinda interesting. I was gonna add one more "name" to my list...but I couldn't remember what Courtland Milloy called me. It was Cro-Magnon. But anyway, the WaPo didn't list that column (March 24) anymore under his latest columns.
I guess it is hard to call the Tea Party people violent when your staff is writing they want to knock out the teeth of the Tea Partiers!
I could still get the article linked through Newsbusters though...it just wasn't on his columns list anymore.

[Ranger]

Clarice,

I think you are absolutely correct. I think the MSM is going to be really shocked at how little effect they will have on the voting public from now on. I don't think it is a coincidence that Dem negatives are spiking at the same time the MSM audiance numbers are collapsing.

[rse]

In Steve Diamond's article linked on the other thread he mentioned some of the radicals around Obama but did not remind necessarily what precise mischief they are up to now.

One of them, Linda Darling-Hammond, the ed prof, is spearheading the new national assessments for K-12 US students. It was funded by $350 million in grants from ARRA.

She has already stated that the questions will be subjective and open ended with no single correct answer.

No good will come out of this. These national tests will be the ultimate bunker-busting bomb to really get at US youth.

[bgates]

All you need to know is, you open the door. The light goes on. You open this door, you go through a whole different path

Und zenn after ze shower, you go back to work.

[Clarice]

Another morning and another GOOD GRIEF!

This tie about onerous and preposterous DOE regs coming our way..Make sure the tea partiers hear about this POS

http://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2010/04/onerous_new_doe_regulations_he.html>Through out everything and start over for no reason

[Clarice]

I'm waiting for the msm to try to pul another Ifll type moderated debate. If the Rep candidate is Sarah or someone else with balls, they'll demand a straight up Oxford style debate with no media hacks running interference for the Dem candidates.

[Ranger]

Hmmm... if http://twitter.com/IngrahamAngle/statuses/11881486919>this then it looks like the Frank/Dodd financial reforms are going to be a big sloppy wet kiss to the financial industry.

Rats leaving a sinking ship?

[anduril]

TM seems to have missed this significant story from yesterday's NYT: Putin Marks Soviet Massacre of Polish Officers--I've been waiting for a decent English story on this. Apparently the US press didn't find this important enough to mention until after the fact, although other countries have been talking about it for days. If you blow up the photo you'll see that Putin is actually laying a wreath in front of a memorial to Soviet victims who were discovered beneath the 40K murdered Polish officers (Putin is, however, flanked by Polish soldiers). You can also see Lech Walesa in the background. This was a carefully thought out and orchestrated move, replete with highly emotional symbolism for both countries, but it follows up on earlier overtures. Russia is clearly going the extra mile to woo Poland, so this is just as clearly very important to them. You can count on it that much thought went into how this would play in both Russia and Poland.

MOSCOW — Prime Minister Vladimir V. Putin on Wednesday became the first Russian or Soviet leader to join Polish officials in commemorating the anniversary of the murder of thousands of Polish officers by the Soviet Union at the beginning of World War II.

Mr. Putin cast the executions as one tragedy out of many wrought by what he called the Soviet Union’s “totalitarian regime.”

...

The circumstances surrounding the massacre have long been a major source of tension between Poland and Russia, and Wednesday’s tribute, held jointly with Donald Tusk, Poland’s prime minister, appears to be the latest step in an effort by both countries to patch up relations.

... Earlier, the Soviet government had suppressed all information about the shootings, placing blame on Nazi soldiers. Mr. Tusk said he hoped the ceremony on Wednesday would be a first step toward reconciling the conflict over the massacre. “I want to believe that the word of truth can bring together two great nations, which have been painfully separated by history,” he said.

Some Russian leaders have continued to deny Soviet responsibility for the murders, even though Russia released archival documents in 1992 showing that Stalin’s Politburo ordered the massacre in March 1940.

Russia’s Communist Party chastised Mr. Putin on Wednesday for “going to Katyn to apologize.” ...

In his remarks on Wednesday, Mr. Putin fell short of issuing an official apology, as some in Poland had hoped. Russia’s failure to declare the killings war crimes and allow Polish historians access to all the documents on the massacre has also rankled many Poles. Mr. Putin did condemn the “cynical lies that have blurred the truth about the Katyn shootings,” adding, however, that “it would also be a lie and manipulation to place the blame for these crimes on the Russian people.”

...

Still, after years of back-and-forth diplomatic sniping, relations between the erstwhile cold war allies have warmed of late.

Last August in Poland, at an anniversary observing the start of World War II, Mr. Putin praised Polish soldiers and citizens for their bravery in resisting the Nazis. And for the first time Russia has invited Poland to take part in the Victory Day parade on Red Square this year for the 65th anniversary of Nazi Germany’s defeat. Last week, a government-owned television channel showed “Katyn,” an Oscar-nominated film by the Polish director Andrzej Wajda that portrays the massacre and the Soviet cover-up. The film had been screened only a few times in Russia.

Wednesday’s ceremony, held amid the birch and pine trees of the Katyn forest, was pregnant with symbolism and not a little irony. Russian state television showed Mr. Putin, a former K.G.B. officer, standing beside his Polish colleague as Russian Orthodox priests intoned prayers for the dead. Russian and Polish soldiers laid wreaths at the base of a towering red Orthodox cross...

[jean]

Laura Ingrham just Tweeted/Twitted rumor of the day Barney Frank won't run for reelection.Now that is some kind of funny

[ROA]

I hope the new energy standards were given more thought than the Energy Star rating given to gasoline powered alarm clocks.

[Ranger]

Sorry, link should say "this is true"

[narciso the harpoon]

Well Putin is a Russian nationalist, a czar in all but crown, and not one of the good ones
like Alexander 11, but the 1st and 3rd. Poland
was part of Russia from around 1815 to the 1st World WAr.

[Clarice]

Unsurprisingly, in light of all this, Rasmussen shows that Americans want ObamaCare to be repealed, and that support for the repeal movement has solidified at its current level. By the same 12-point margin as last week (54 to 42 percent), Americans support repeal. Forty-three percent of Americans "strongly" support repeal, while only 42 percent oppose it even "somewhat." Even more independents (57 percent) support repeal. In fact, one gets the impression that the only way that the (full) repeal movement could fail is if the Republican party jumps ship and refuses to champion it, in which case Americans will jump ship en masse from the Republican party.Furthermore, the reasons why Americans want repeal are evident in both the Rasmussen and CBS News polls: By huge margins, they think that ObamaCare would raise health costs, raise deficits, and lower the quality of care. A recent CNN poll showed that, by a similarly huge margin, Americans think that ObamaCare would entail too much "government involvement," suggesting that Americans are not only concerned for their health and wealth, but also their liberty.

Rasmussen also highlights another all-too-predictable but largely overlooked aspect of ObamaCare: Seniors hate it. Since nearly $1 trillion of ObamaCare's roughly $2.5 trillion 10-year tab (from 2014 to 2023) would be paid by siphoning money out of Medicare and spending it on ObamaCare, this is hardly surprising. And seniors' fondness for the legislation isn't likely to increase once they start getting notices in the mail of cuts to their Medicare Advantage benefits, which should happen soon. Fortunately, two elections stand in between ObamaCare's enactment date and its implementation date, and these same seniors will help decide its fate.

http://www.weeklystandard.com/blogs/can-republicans-read-polls-obamacare>On CNN Bachman says if reps run on repeal they will rack up huge majorities in both houses

[Sue]

Stevens is retiring.

[centralcal]

Stevens is retiring this summer. Who do you think Obama will nominate to replace him?

[Captain Hate]

But anyway, the WaPo didn't list that column (March 24) anymore under his latest columns.

The disingenousness with which they pretend something embarrassing doesn't exist would be amusing to Orwell; or anybody who witnessed how the Soviets did things for that matter.

[jimmyk]

I'd love to see a debate between O and sarah without people like Ifill moderating--In fact no moderator. She'd clean the floor with him; he knows it; and that's why she makes his hair stand up.

She would if she got the chance to speak. Without a moderator, Barry would just filibuster away as he did with that poor woman who asked about the desirability of tax increases.

Congrats to Porchlight!

[Jack is Back!]

Janet,

Visiting Besuki instead of Assisi shows that he continues to beg low to the "arab=muslim=Islam=anti-Israel/anti-Christian" street. Look at the other things happening and you get more than coincidence.

Biden on settlements while Iran snubs their nuclear nose.

Shunning Bibi in DC.

Disallowing the visas for the techs at Dimona to come here for scientific seminars as they have been doing for years.

Setting up Israel at the nuclear non-proliferation conference in DC with the Islamic states.

Re-designing our nuclear deterrence policy.

This is all in the same 30 day period. What is more surprising is that American patriots like Jim Jones, Mike Mullen and Robert Gates (benefit of the doubt on that assumption) are not resigning.

[Sue]

Gosh, C-cal, maybe he could find another one that thinks a wise Latina would be a good thing. It will be a black woman. Liberal to the core.

[Melinda Romanoff]

Stephens has resigned the Court.

[glasater]

Stevens retiring...

[Captain Hate]

Wow, I never thought the Rooskis would own up to Katyn. Putin must believe that with Il Douche in "power" that he can make real inroads into formerly unthinkable targets.

[anduril]

This article has several interesting aspects, including its references to Iranian-Pakistani relations: Jundallah arrest proves timely for Iran.

[Melinda Romanoff]

What she said. (No spelling required)

[Jack is Back!]

Forgot to add to my list of coincidence? but today is Iran Nuclear Day and they are unveiling 3rd generation, faster centrifuges.

Stephens, another Dem that wants at 90 years of age, to spend more time with his family.

The Tea Party/GOP strategy now is to keep the HCR, deficit, growing government on the front burner by tying SCOTUS to reform and repeal.

[Ranger]

So, doesn't Barny Frank floating the rumor that he's thinking of retiring to take a high paying bank job, while he is actually in charge of writing a massive new set of banking regulations come very close to the "solicitation of a bribe" line?

[Clarice]

jimmyk --that''s why God invented buzzers and red lights..

[narciso the harpoon]

Newsbusters is most likely to have it, as well as Jim Hoft, at least the key graphs

I can't believe Chris Wallace would mention Napolitano as one of the SC choices with a straight face

[centralcal]

I had to laugh out loud this morning - Geraldine Ferraro was on FNC saying how concerned she was for Barack's health, because he was just running from issue to issue, all so demanding, and trying to accomplish so much, and he really needed to slow down and get some rest before his health was adversely impacted.

Hey - in that case, keep running around Barack!!!!

[rse]

As a followup to Clarice's link on the new DOE regs and their economic effect, GE actually has a name for this campaign-Ecoimagination.

LUN is the link to the site on how it will drive their profits.

They are touting similar benefits from the healthcare bill to their electronic medical records business. The same people who brought you MSNBC. Matt Lauer, and Andrea Mitchell with access to everyone's most personal medical info.

Jonah Goldberg may need to update his book Liberal Fascism to include GE.

[anduril]

Even during the dustup over the ill-fated radar/missile stationing in Poland/Czech the Russians sent, along with threats, clear signals that they really, really wanted to improve relations. The fact that Poland could in future years become a significant exporter of natural gas increases its importance in the region. But, for Russia, Poland is both the gateway to the West as well as a buffer against Germany. With Germany throwing its weight around again that becomes important, too.

[Sue]

Seriously, Obama has the first Latina on the bench. There hasn't been a black woman on the bench. There will be this time around. Obama likes those historic thingys.

[Janet]

It will be a black woman. Liberal to the core.

and hopefully a lesbian.

[Melinda Romanoff]

Ranger-

After breaking the uberbank model, where does Barney think that paycheck is going to come from?

I don't see him sitting in front of a trading screen...

[Sue]

Janet,

Oh my. I forgot that one. It could be the first openly gay SC justice. That would also be historic.

Is Michelle available?

[Rob Crawford]

So, doesn't Barny Frank floating the rumor that he's thinking of retiring to take a high paying bank job, while he is actually in charge of writing a massive new set of banking regulations come very close to the "solicitation of a bribe" line?

Possibly, but I doubt Frank could do much more to make it clear he's up for sale.

(Maybe he could make it clearer by putting on tight clothes, makeup, and walking the streets. Maybe.)

[Sue]

Justice Stevens sees the handwriting on the wall. His letter to Obama:

"My dear Mr. President," goes on to say "best interests of the Court to have my successor" in place by October

Via Tapper tweet.

[Rob Crawford]

It will be a black woman. Liberal to the core.

and hopefully a lesbian.

Black lesbian of Hispanic origin with an adopted Asian baby.

Bonus points if he finds one who has made clearly bigoted statements against whites and males.

[Ranger]

She would if she got the chance to speak. Without a moderator, Barry would just filibuster away as he did with that poor woman who asked about the desirability of tax increases.

Actually, I think that would work very much to Sarah (or any Republican candidate's) advantage. Let Obama ramble on for 17 minutes about why we arn't taxed too much, then simply reply in two sentance:

This is one key area the president and I disagree. He thinks raising taxes in a recesion is a good idea, and I don't.

[jimmyk]

that''s why God invented buzzers and red lights..

Since Barry seems to think he's right up there with God, I'm not sure he'd play along.

What I'd really enjoy is the eye-rolling and sighing we'd get from him, as we got from His Goreness in 2000.

[Neo]

A hint for the MSM (other than FoxNews) ..
pretend that Bush is still President
.. if that doesn't work ..
pretend that Obama is a Republican

[Captain Hate]

But, for Russia, Poland is both the gateway to the West as well as a buffer against Germany. With Germany throwing its weight around again that becomes important, too.

It's always been strategically important in that manner. I'm currently reading "Revolution 1989: The Fall of the Soviet Empire" by Victor Sebestyen, which points out how ham-handed the Soviets were in dealing with Poland and the inevitable consequences.

[Ranger]

I wonder if anyone from the White House preasured Stevens to do this right now rather than later in the summer, given how they desperately want to change the subject from HCR to ANYTHING else.

[Danube of Thought]

The MA insurance standoff is a sheer delight. And it's all a microcosm of Obamacare.

[Janet]

Well if the SC nominee is gay, the Washington Post won't have enough ink for the celebration. Imagine what Courtland Milloy will want to knock out if someone doesn't support a gay nominee!

[scott]

As long as she's in her 50's, obese and diabetic I think first black or purple or blah, blah is fine...

[Sue]

You know what really pisses me off about our joking, Janet? It wouldn't matter if the person was gay, black, female, male, orange, purple, square or hip, if the person nominated merely upheld the constitution.

That is why I mock. Not because of the color, race, gender or creed. But because of activism.

[Clarice]

A less demented , more strategic President would nominate his solicitor general, who's a professional and rather moderate as far as I can tell. So, count on Obama NOT doing that. A preposterous candidate will gve the Reps even more fodder for an all state sweep in Noember.

[narciso the harpoon]

That is the thing, I lost any positive expectation after he nominated Sotomayor who
had a studied contempt for the constitution

[Janet]

Exactly Sue.