Ever More Popular...

As the uninformed electorate understands the health bill it will become more popular, or so Barack Obama explained.  Of course, all he has is the bully pulpit of the White House and the legacy media in his pocket, so he can't compete with Sarah's Facebook pages.

Meanwhile, the Dem candidate for the Senate seat in West Virginia wants to repeal "the things that are bad" in the health care bill. 

Maybe the bill's popularity will increase after the election.

Comments

[PD]

Just curious, what does a candidate do with his time in these situations? Does he go do another campaign event, or does he sit home and twiddle his thumbs until it's over?

Last time Feingold claimed a scheduling conflict.

Doesn't matter, we remember Feingold's voting record a lot better than which campaign events he was at.

[PD]

"All those who really believe in what we've been doing, should get out and vote. No excuses."

All citizens should vote, period.

[PaulL]

Jay Cost has a dandy chart up this morning. I hope I'm not giving too much away by saying the title is "Democratic Troubles in the Midwest."

LUN

[Old Lurker]

"Higher taxes, higher cost of living, high unemployment rate, recession and protectionism. Wow, what a totally winning formula!"

Well, Chubby, except for the cost of living thing, that recipe enabled FDR to shred the consitution in ways earlier Progs (Wilson) could only dream about.

Obama looks to complete the task.

[PaulL]

I know it's been asked here before, but WTF is up with Rasmussen? He has Ibama's overall rating POSITIVE today.

[Army of Davids]

Billionare Wilber Ross per Bloomberg.

An upward revaluation of China’s yuan against the dollar wouldn’t create any new jobs in the U.S., said Ross.

“Those jobs are gone,” he said. “‘The only question is, do they stay in China or do they migrate to Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand or Vietnam? It’s total political nonsense, all the China bashing.”

[Clarice]

Stuxnet redux:The Washington Post:
Iran suspects that a foreign organization or nation designed "Stuxnet," a quickly mutating computer worm that has been infiltrating industrial computer systems in the Islamic republic, a high-ranking official said Monday.

"We had anticipated that we could root out the virus within one to two months," Hamid Alipour, deputy head of Iran's Information Technology Co., a part of the ministry of communication and information technology, told the Islamic Republic News Agency. "But the virus is not stable, and since we started the cleanup process three new versions of it have been spreading," he said.

[Porchlight]

Hey, they're reporting a shooting in my building (the main library) on the University of Texas campus. I was getting ready for work so I'm not anywhere near there. My coworker called and said the shooter is on the 6th (top) floor of the library now, though the local news doesn't seem to have that info. Scary.

[centralcal]

"But the virus is not stable, and since we started the cleanup process three new versions of it have been spreading," he said.

Something about that sentence reminds me of Obama, Reid and Pelosi and what they have done to our country, lo these many months!

[Pagar]

"What does a candidate do"

LUN says Sestak didn't show for his debate with Toomey. Claimed scheduling conflict?

[centralcal]

Wow, Porch. Glad you are NOT at work yet. FNC just mentioned it and said they have a reporter on the way.

[peter]

Minus 12 at Rasmussen, which is not positive.

[Army of Davids]

"Death Panels"

"How's that Hopey, Changey thing going for ya?"

I don't know if I want Palin as a Presidential candidate. But I'm glad she's on our side. She does have political instincts.

[Rob Crawford]

All citizens should vote, period.

Dunno. I don't see the value in letting someone who contributes receives government benefits for doing nothing vote to receive more benefits.

[MayBee]

Scary, Porch. Glad you aren't there yet, and hoping whatever is happening isn't too traumatic.

[Thomas Friedman]

It’s total political nonsense, all the China bashing.”

Bashing China should be outlawed.

[Old Lurker]

Ditto that, Rob.

Big time.

Next thing you know is they will do some sort of Motor-Voter deal requiring a (correct) vote with each check you get from them.

I say we switch to a proportional voting system in which each person gets one vote per dollar of taxes paid.

:-) !

[PaulL]

But +1 at Rasmussen overall.

I emailed Jay to get his insights.

[Rollie J]

peter, I'm guessing this is what PaulL was referring to:
"Overall, 50% of voters say they at least somewhat approve of the president's performance. Forty-nine percent (49%) disapprove. This is the first time since April that his positives have been higher than his negatives. "

LUN

[Sue]

The Austin Statesman is reporting the gunman shot himself.

[Sue]

WBAP is reporting the gunman is dead, self-inflicted gunshot wound. Campus is still in lockdown while they search for another gunman.

[Sue]

WBAP is clarifying...looking for another suspect, don't know if he has a gun.

[Thomas Collins]

I'll bet Obama's improved overall numbers come from Dem leaning voters. The Dem base is no doubt getting more stoked up now, and this is reflected in improvement in Obama's numbers and in certain campaigns throughout the country. Some of Obama's dip came from progs who think Obama isn't sufficiently prog. Many of those folks will come home to the Dems on election day, but it's still going to be the Year of the Elephant.

[Jack is Back!]

Regarding mandatory voting: my wife is Belgian and there you have to vote. It is an obligation not a right. I think it is the same for Holland, Germany and France but I could be wrong. She is sent a ballot by the consular office in Atlanta and she sends it back even though it was so late the election had already taken place and the parliament seated.

I think there is a tax fine if you don't vote. Socialism at its best.

[Porchlight]

Thanks guys. Yes, it appears the gunman is no longer alive. They reported that he left our building before shooting himself. I think there were not too many people in the building when this happened - my co-worker reported that the evacuation seemed successful. I think several shots were fired but no injuries apart from the self-inflicted one. I think they've confirmed a second suspect.

It's weird, I've had the feeling something like this would happen for awhile now. I've been bugging my boss for months to have the police do an emergency preparedness inspection of our unit since we are first in the line of fire as you enter the building. We're sort of sitting ducks.

[Sue]

Jack,

Australia has compulsory voting.

[Jane (sit on the couch or save your country)]

Porch,

It's all over Fox. Do not go to work. They say another gunman may be at large.

[Dave (in MA)]

Must be a slow news day - Drudge: "HILLARY HORROR: 'DEMON' PHOTO MOVED ON WIRE".

[Rob Crawford]

OK, Porch, I have to ask: what made you think something like this might happen?

The only times I've been concerned about workplace safety like this is the one time we fired a guy who was "on the edge" and the time I worked in a building that had weekly bomb threats.

[How much is that doggy in the lake?]

Hah, commenter 'Mmonides' at Peter Daou's thread on liberal bloggers called the likes of Glenn, Marcy and Jane 'Firebaggers'.
===================

[Ranger]

So much stuff popping up today to discuss, but I will post this one because with all the fun stuff going on, it may get missed:

http://www.nationalreview.com/corner/247985/predicting-house-generic-and-demographic-henry-olsen>Predicting the House: The Generic and the Demographic

A very good look at how valuable the generic poll numbers are, and why they may over or under estimate the coming wave. Though its not addressed directly, it also kind of shows why Obama's numbers at the national level aren't as important. I would argue Obama's real "approval" rating is that 38% of people who think he deserves re-ellection.

[Clarice]

Porch, I'm sure this is scary to you. I'm glad you were home.

[Rick Ballard]

TC,

You're correct about the 'dogs returning to their vomit' theme wrt BOzo's approval ratings. He's going to have to hit 55 before the Senate kids will agree to stop playing dodge BHO whenever he comes to town.

It's not just the coward Feingold - Manchin and Blumenthal are doing the 'that's not the BOzo I knew' schtick for all (the little) they're worth. 120 Dem congresscritters are doing the same.

[Ranger]

Porchlight,

Scary stuff. Stay safe.

[Jane (sit on the couch or save your country)]

Porch,

I think you should call Fox and give an interview so we can all hear you.

[Danube of Thought]

I have no idea what's been going on with Raz. Compare him with the RCP Average, for example.

His new generic congressional ballot shows GOP up six, which is a decline.

[PD]

I wasn't referring to mandatory voting. (I think Australia has this, too, by the way.) I just think it's good citizenship to vote.

[Sue]

He was on Fox last night and Rasmussen is saying it's the year of the republican. While people still personally like Obama, they hate his policies. Or something along those lines. I think people want to like Obama. I don't think many really like him.

[Jane (sit on the couch or save your country)]

I don't like him and I've never liked him. I just don't judge people by the color of their skin.

[MayBee]

I once liked him very much.

[Captain Hate]

I think people want to like Obama. I don't think many really like him.

Wait until after November when the mask falls completely off and he can't hide the hate he has for the country; it won't be pretty.

[MayBee]

At this point, I think Sue is right. If a pollster called me, I would say I like him personally. I would tell my Dem friends that too, because it's the one thing I can stand to say when I don't want to talk politics with them at all.

[caro]

This is the link to what kim was talking about. I found the whole post interesting as a look into the progressive mind I cannot fathom. It is clean language the last I looked.

[Captain Hate]

I once liked him very much

Was that after the 2004 donk convention speech? Because I think that's really what his entire upward swing to 11/2008 was based on.

[Ignatz]

--Is Obama wearing cardigan sweaters yet and carrying his own (empty) suitcase? Can he spell "malaise"? Just wondering where we are on the path.--

When the Boston Globe titles a story "More Mush From the Wimp" we'll know he's well and truly done.

[Jane (sit on the couch or save your country)]

Maybee,

What about him do you like personally?

I recall declaring (probably to no one) after the 2004 speech at the Kerry convention that he would be president some day. He didn't bother me then. But I thought he was a pompous ass from the second he began his presidential campaign. Little did I know how bad he was.

[Sue]

MayBee,

I think people want to like him, because he is the first black president. If he were white, I believe people would be honest and his personal approval rating would match his policy approval rating. He's a jerk. A smartass. A narcissist. I could go on but I think we all have/had him figured out a long time ago.

[Cecil Turner]

As the uninformed electorate understands the health bill it will become more popular, or so Barack Obama explained.

Yeah, that's gonna happen. I love the tone-deaf sloganeering and appeals to the dwindling base. Case in point, the latest buzzword du jour: "buck up." First we get smokin Joe Biden

"And so those who don't get -- didn't get everything they wanted, it's time to just buck up here . . .

Next comes the President:

"People need to shake off this lethargy. People need to buck up," Obama told Rolling Stone in an interview to be published Friday.

All eerily reminiscent of the health care debate:

President Obama called on Congress Wednesday to "buck up" and pass a health care reform package, decrying the "naysayers" and the "cynics" for defending what he described as a broken system.

What he appears to be missing is that most folks aren't apathetic at all . . . only his supporters are.

[Porchlight]

OK, Porch, I have to ask: what made you think something like this might happen?

Rob,

I don't know. Just a feeling - I guess it's been on my mind since Virginia Tech. Libraries are a magnet for disturbed people, and ours is one of the only buildings on campus open late at night. There are always thefts and weird goings on and strange people wandering in and out. It's a strangely tense environment for a type of building that's supposed to be quiet and peaceful.

[Captain Hate]

I found the whole post interesting as a look into the progressive mind I cannot fathom.

To hell with those wanks; Greenwald and his ilk are the ones who wanted him so goddamn badly and now they have buyers remorse? Do the right thing: Jonestown 2.

[Porchlight]

Jane,

I thought about calling the news but I have nothing unique to report! It does appear now that he's killed himself on the 6th floor of our building. So bizarre - I was just up on that floor yesterday afternoon collecting books for work.

[Sue]

Hot Air has a post up about senate democrats are telling donors the house is lost, save the senate.

[Captain Hate]

Speaking of other websites, somebody at AoS mentioned the sylvia call to Rush in incredulous terms. They had no idea who she was but were just commenting on her lack of contact with reality.

[Porchlight]

Good to see they're finally admitting it, Sue. Nate Silver just had a post up on Monday saying he thought there was a 65% chance the House would go Republican. 65%, what a joke.

[Danube of Thought]

Does anybody know how this guy Grayson is doing in his district? He is the most disgusting member in the entire congress, and it's not close. I think the guy is a psychopath.

[MayBee]

Jane- I don't really like anything about him personally now, but it is the lie I can stand to tell.

I think people want to like him, because he is the first black president. If he were white, I believe people would be honest and his personal approval rating would match his policy approval rating. He's a jerk. A smartass. A narcissist. I could go on but I think we all have/had him figured out a long time ago.

Yeah, I agree. Early in the election, after years of so much angst and divisiveness, it just seemed like we were getting this fresh guy who was going to be honest and easy to listen to. It was easier to like him then.
I think people remember that, and pretend to pollsters they believe that guy still exists.

[Get what? That Obama is not as advertised, and that is the problem.]

Thanks, Caro, for the link. The comments there are pretty interesting, and many of them get it.
================

[MayBee]

Greenwald and Hamsher wanted Dodd. Dodd.

[PaulL]

Buck-up said the f*ck-up.

[rse]

Have you read Obama's bashing of Fox News as pushing a POV that's destructive of the country and anti-prosperity.

LUN

Sounds delusional.

[Captain Hate]

DoT, LUN for the only thing I can find on the race: Leaning GOP

[Faux Pautus.]

I like that 'ultimately destructive'. Hey, fella, that's what the vast muddle fears about you, now.
=============

[Rick Ballard]

"it just seemed like we were getting this fresh guy who was going to be honest and easy to listen to"

Well, that's what the 'Free Gold' sign on the dung heap said.

I have to applaud the Dem Senate rats for their honesty. It's a very small lifeboat with some big holes in the bottom and all those House members clinging to the gunwales are just going to drown anyway - better to break their knuckles now and shorten their time of suffering.

[Rob Crawford]

Libraries are a magnet for disturbed people, and ours is one of the only buildings on campus open late at night.

Now that you mention it, I've heard some stories, though mainly from a librarian at a public library. I had hoped a school library would be a bit more locked-down.

[Sue]

Porch,

Stay home today. They are searching the campus for bombs. As a precaution, but go ahead and take the day off. Tell them I said you could. ::grin::

[MayBee]

Just read a comment at Ezra Klein's that Andy Stern is under investigation.

[Rick Ballard]

Cook puts 5 more Dem seats on the endangered species list. Grayson is FL-08 and Cook rates him as a toss up - in a +2R district. He's toast.

Cook now has 110 Dem seats in play - I think he's being very optimistic.

[PDinDetroit]

Libraries are a magnet for disturbed people, and ours is one of the only buildings on campus open late at night.

How is it that these School "Gun-Free Zones" seem to have so much Gun Violence? Don't these criminals know enough to follow the law?

[PaulL]

Nice imagery, Rick.

[Porchlight]

Thanks, Sue! :) I can't pretend it isn't nice to have the day off, though of course I would rather be at work and have this not have happened.

PDinDetroit,

Actually, UT is no longer a gun-free zone. The Regents voted recently to allow concealed carry on campus. The libs were so sad. Because obviously, nothing like this could ever have happened otherwise.

[PDinDetroit]

Porch - thanks for sharing that, I did not know.

Kudos to the regents for using their heads for something besides a hat-rack.

[Danube of Thought]

Something delicious for those who take great pleasure in ridiculing the Coffee Party.

[Porchlight]

Ha - look at the lecture scheduled on the UT campus for tonight:

"More Guns, Less Crime" is lecture by Second Amendment scholar Time: 6-7:30 p.m. Description: Prominent Second Amendment scholar and author John Lott will discuss how more legal possession of guns leads to less crime. In his controversial book "More Guns, Less Crime," Lott argues that crime rates drop when states allow citizens to carry concealed weapons.

Think this guy will get interviewed today?

[Porchlight]

I agree, PDinDetroit. I was pleasantly surprised when that decision came down.

[PD]

Andy Stern is under investigation.

For what, a promotion?

[PDinDetroit]

Think this guy will get interviewed today?

Yes, especially since it appears that no one other than the shooter has died and that the campus allows CC.

[Ranger]

Just read a comment at Ezra Klein's that Andy Stern is under investigation.

Posted by: MayBee | September 28, 2010 at 12:00 PM

Yeah, The Corner has a wrap up post up about it. Seems Andy approved payments to someone in CA who "did no work" and got a nice book deal for himself in 2006. The book deal thing is interesting because that is what took down Foley. He wrote a book that a union then turned around and bought in bulk from the publisher. The produciton quality was so bad (pages missing, blank pages in the middle of the text) that it was never sold in book stores.

[Jane (sit on the couch or save your country)]

Does anybody know how this guy Grayson is doing in his district?

My one contact in Orlando - who can't vote, said he would vote for Grayson several months ago if he could. I think he has even teetered a bit off the liberal bandwagon so I don't know about now.

Porch - was the gunman a student? Do you know?

[PDinDetroit]

Porch - I hope you have considered something appropriate to "celebrate" this decision.

Maybe something like the one at LUN?

[glasater]

Prison Planet outlines the Senate bills being worked on to give Zero power to shut down the internet.

Given the "re-model" of the White House not that long ago and the claim that high speed fiber optics were being laid therein I'm getting my tinfoil hat out to say this may be a done deal...

[Captain Hate]

Libs never figure out that the only way gun laws work would be in a police state that they're always filling their pants about.

[Porchlight]

Jane,

I'm not sure but I suspect he was, because there was a report of gunfire in one of the dorms very early in the morning and he was seen on the street heading east away from that dorm and toward the library. I guess we'll find out soon - they must know who he is by now.

PDinDetroit,

My husband wants me to "celebrate" too. I told him I'd read that Sarah Palin always carries and he wants me to get whatever she has. Your suggestion looks tasty.

[Jack is Back!]

How the hell can people "like" Obama? How do you end up liking a stuck up snob who literally and figuratively looks down his nose at people? He is and always has been an arrogant narcissist with a huge dependency personality. There is nothing likeable about him - he is more charlatan than sociable and single-minded versus broad-minded.

You have to be really in need of acceptance to find him attractive.

[MayBee]

Thanks, Ranger. Stern is still on Obama's debt committee, no?

[PD]

I've been trying to think back to when I first became aware of Obama. It was sometime during the campaign, and I cannot say that I ever had any affinity for his stated policy preferences or manner of expression, and I didn't find him particularly appealing as a person. Another glib politician who appeared to say what he thought people wanted to hear.

[PDinDetroit]

Your suggestion looks tasty.

I was looking for a "pocket pistol" for CC and this one fit the bill very nicely. The one I linked has a Recoil Tamer Grip, which reduces felt recoil (a problem with snubbies).

You could also go with a Ruger LCP, but that is too small for my hands (very concealable though). LUN.

Heck, go try 'em both and see what fits you best.

[PD]

I probably would have liked him even less had I not been unduly influenced by all the adulation for him that gets thrown around on JOM. :)

[Porchlight]

Heck, go try 'em both and see what fits you best.

I'd like to do that. At minimum I need to get some practice with the, uh, sporting goods my husband already owns.

[Jack is Back!]

Grayson's 8th Congressional District is leaning Republican. His internals show him down significantly and that is why he has doing the full flaming skull routine of negative ads. He is also trying to BS everyone that he is the guy out there saving trillions of dollars by voting for health care. He is in flames and falling without a parachute. Happy crash landing to the most despicable candidate in America, bar none.

[Porchlight]

I first heard about him from a right-leaning friend right after the 2004 Dem convention speech. This friend was impressed, and still is far too impressed with him imho. He's one of the few right-leaning/libertarian people I know who actually seems to have moved leftward over the last few years. I think the first black president thing was really important to him. But how anyone calling himself a libertarian can support Obama, I'll never understand.

[Jack is Back!]

PD and CC,

That Ruger is nice and is shorter and weighs less than the Sig Sauer 220R Compact but the Sig is a 45 and up close you want to make sure what you hit goes down and in a hurry:) LUN

[PDinDetroit]

My latest addition to my, uh, sporting goods "collection" at LUN.

[Rob Crawford]

Libs never figure out that the only way gun laws work would be in a police state that they're always filling their pants about./i>

Libs only fill their pants at the thought they wouldn't be in charge of the police state.

[Rob Crawford]

Sorry, everyone.

[PD]

off

[Old Lurker]

Re mandatory voting. It's not rocket science to figure that if half the voters pay no income tax and well more than half get money in one form or another from those who do pay, the payers are outvoted from the get-go. It's bad enough when many of the leeches do not vote now, but making them vote and then to deprive most of sufficient public school education to appreciate the value of the liberties designed by the founders (hell, most private schools don't teach it either) just flat out makes a total collapse certain.

[lyle]

test

[Ranger]

Stern is still on Obama's debt committee, no?

Posted by: MayBee | September 28, 2010 at 12:34 PM

Last I heard, yes. And IIRC, being on that committee was part of Andy's official reason for stepping down as SEIU president.

[Ranger]

They just reported on WLS radio that the poeple renting Rahm's house are refusing to move out early before the lease is up. So Rahm will have to find new digs to run for mayor.