The Obama Illusion is Coming Apart

It must be that people are beginning to get it. It certainly is not the result of brilliant campaigning by my guy. For example, on July 16 Senator McCain will address the NAACP at its national convention in Cincinnati, Ohio. Why? What is the point?

Does McCain want to be President? McCain needs to take Obama down. He needs to get on and stay on offense. He needs to whittle away at voters who can be detached from what should be a very weak candidate.

McCain needs to show he is tough , competent and that America needs him.

He also needs to expose Obama for what he is. The NAACP is not that place. Obama could admit to having had helped OJ and he would still not lose one black vote.

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CAMPAIGN 2008
Glow Fading?

The latest NEWSWEEK Poll shows Barack Obama leading John McCain by only 3 points. What a difference a few weeks can make.

Jae C. Hong / AP

By Jonathan Darman | Newsweek Web Exclusive
Jul 11, 2008

A month after emerging victorious from the bruising Democratic nominating contest, some of Barack Obama's glow may be fading. In the latest NEWSWEEK Poll, the Illinois senator leads Republican nominee John McCain by just 3 percentage points, 44 percent to 41 percent. The statistical dead heat is a marked change from last month's NEWSWEEK Poll, where Obama led McCain by 15 points, 51 percent to 36 percent.

Obama's rapid drop comes at a strategically challenging moment for the Democratic candidate. Having vanquished Hillary Clinton in early June, Obama quickly went about repositioning himself for a general-election audience--an unpleasant task for any nominee emerging from the pander-heavy primary contests and particularly for a candidate who'd slogged through a vigorous primary challenge in most every contest from January until June. Obama's reversal on FISA legislation, his support of faith-based initiatives and his decision to opt out of the campaign public-financing system left him open to charges he was a flip-flopper. In the new poll, 53 percent of voters (and 50 percent of former Hillary Clinton supporters) believe that Obama has changed his position on key issues in order to gain political advantage.

More seriously, some Obama supporters worry that the spectacle of their candidate eagerly embracing his old rival, Hillary Clinton, and traveling the country courting big donors at lavish fund-raisers, may have done lasting damage to his image as an arbiter of a new kind of politics. This is a major concern since Obama's outsider credentials, have, in the past, played a large part in his appeal to moderate, swing voters. In the new poll, McCain leads Obama among independents 41 percent to 34 percent, with 25 percent favoring neither candidate. In June's NEWSWEEK Poll, Obama bested McCain among independent voters, 48 percent to 36 percent.


Obama's overall decline from the last NEWSWEEK Poll, published June 20, is hard to explain. Many critics questioned whether the Democrat's advantage over McCain was actually as great as the poll suggested, even though a survey taken during a similar time frame by the Los Angeles Times and Bloomberg showed a similarly large margin. Princeton Survey Research Associates, which conducted the poll for NEWSWEEK, says some of the discrepancy between the two most recent polls may be explained by sampling error.

At the time of the last poll, pundits also noted that a large lead in the polls doesn't always guarantee a general-election victory. Many warned that Democrat Michael Dukakis led George H.W. Bush by as much as 16 points in some 1988 polls and then went on to lose that year's presidential contest.

But perhaps most puzzling is how McCain could have gained traction in the past month. To date, direct engagement with Obama has not seemed to favor the GOP nominee. McCain has announced major initiatives on energy and the economy but failed to dominate the conversation on those issues. Last week's shake-up of the campaign's senior management did little to halt calls from Republicans for a major overhaul in McCain's message. Nor did it quell the lingering suspicion among Republicans that 2008 is simply destined to be a Democratic year. (Only 28 percent of voters in the new NEWSWEEK Poll approve of the job George W. Bush is doing as president.) McCain's biography still appears to be his greatest asset, with 55 percent of voters saying they have a favorable opinion of the Arizona senator, compared to 32 percent who have an unfavorable opinion. (Obama's favorable/unfavorable gap is virtually identical at 56 to 32.)

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What is "Occupation" Appointed Director

For his long term patronage and outstanding contributions to the Elephant Bar, What is “Occupation,” resident of the Heartland, USA has been appointed to the EB Board of Directors.


WiO, as he is known to fellow barflies, is a charter member of the EB and this appointment remedies a long-standing oversight.

Fallen Snow. A Good Man Died Today.

Tony Snow, the former White House press secretary, gentleman and conservative pundit practiced his craft, balanced and fairly, with a dash of toughness. He will be missed by us all.


WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Former White House press secretary Tony Snow -- who once told reporters "I'm a very lucky guy" -- died at the age of 53 early Saturday after a second battle with cancer.

Snow, who had been undergoing chemotherapy treatments for a recurrence of the disease, left his White House job September 14, 2007, and joined CNN in April as a conservative commentator.

President Bush said Saturday that he and first lady Laura Bush were "deeply saddened" by Snow's death.

"The Snow family has lost a beloved husband and father. And America has lost a devoted public servant and a man of character," the president said in a statement.

From Fox:

Snow had his colon removed and underwent six months of chemotherapy after he was first diagnosed with colon cancer in 2005. In 2007, he announced that his cancer had recurred and spread to his liver, and he had a cancerous growth removed from his abdominal area.

He resigned from the White House six months later, in September 2007, citing not his health but a need to earn more than the $168,000 a year he was paid in the government post. He was replaced by Perino.

After taking time off to recuperate, Snow joined CNN as a political commentator early this year.

In his year-and-a-half at the White House, Snow brought partisan zeal and the skills of a seasoned performer to the task of explaining and defending the president's policies. During daily briefings, he challenged reporters, scolded them and questioned their motives as if he were starring in a TV show broadcast live from the West Wing.

Critics suggested that Snow was turning the traditionally informational daily briefing into a personality-driven media event short on facts and long on confrontation. He was the first press secretary, by his own accounting, to travel the country raising money for Republican candidates.

As a commentator, he had not always been on the president's side. He once called Bush "something of an embarrassment" in conservative circles and criticized what he called Bush's "lackluster" domestic policy.

A sometime fill-in host for Rush Limbaugh, Snow said he loved the intimacy of his radio audience.

Robert Anthony Snow was born June 1, 1955, in Berea, Ky., the son of a teacher and nurse. He graduated from Davidson College in 1977 with a bachelor's degree in philosophy, and he taught briefly in Kenya before embarking on his career as a journalist.

Because of his love for writing, Snow took a job as an editorial writer for the Greensboro Record in North Carolina and went on to run the editorial pages at the Newport News (Virginia) Daily Press, Detroit News and Washington Times. He became a nationally syndicated columnist, and in 1991 he became director of speechwriting for President George H.W. Bush.

"He served people, and we can learn from that. He was kind, and we can learn from that. He was just a good person," the senior Bush told FOX News.

Snow played six different instruments — saxophone, trombone, flute, piccolo, accordion and guitar — and was in a D.C. cover band called Beats Workin'. He was also a film buff.

"He was a great musician," Ailes said. "And he loved movies."

More than anything, said Snow's colleagues, he was a joy to work with.

"He was a lot of fun," his former FOX News producer Griff Jenkins said Saturday. "This is a loss of a family member."

Senior FOX News Washington Correspondent Jim Angle called Snow a "gentleman."

Snow is survived by his wife, Jill Ellen Walker, whom he married in 1987; their son, Robbie; and daughters, Kendall and Kristi.

Save the Planet

The Tectonic Plates of Freddie and Fannie

Did he make it? 

UPDATE: Shares of US mortgage finance giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac were in a freefall Friday on heightened concerns the trillion-dollar firms may face insolvency or a government takeover.

Freddie Mac plunged 48 percent to 4.10 dollars at the Wall Street open following a 22 percent slide on Thursday and Fannie Mae lost 46 percent to 7.07 dollars after a 14 percent drop in the prior session.

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Washington dithered. The doctrinairia pontificated. Confidence withered and now a problem that could have been resolved with billions will cost trillions.

Articulation matters.

One well argued sentence from a smart politician can rally opinion and save an empire. It did not come.

Back in March, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke called for additional relief and urged lenders to help distressed owners by lowering the amount of their loans.

"This situation calls for a vigorous response," Bernanke said in a speech to a banking group meeting in Orlando, Fla.

Derisive howls came from the "let them take their medicine" crowd.

A cacophony of shallow men shouted down the messenger. No point in naming names now, but they won the day. Now we all will take our medicine.

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U.S. mulls take over of troubled mortgage giants
By Chris Oliver
Last update: 2:47 a.m. EDT July 11, 2008

HONG KONG (MarketWatch) -- Senior Bush administration officials are considering a plan that would see the U.S. government take over mortgage finance companies Fannie Mae if they continue to deteriorate, according to a published report in the New York Times Friday, which cited people briefed about the plan. The plan, which could see the government take over one or both mortgage companies, would entail placing the companies under a conservatorship if their financial health worsens. If that were to happen, the shares of the two companies would be worth little or nothing and any losses on mortgages they own or guarantee would be paid by the U.S. government. The Bush officials are also considering a plan that would offer an explicit government guarantee on the $5 trillion of debt owned or guaranteed by the companies, the Times reported. The report cited officials as saying no action was imminent and neither mortgage company is in a crisis situation.

Israel is using Iraqi air space and U.S. bases in Iraq

Report: Israel practicing in Iraqi air space

Published: 07/11/2008 JTA

Israel is using Iraqi air space and U.S. bases in Iraq to prepare for a strike against Iran, according to an Iraqi news report.

The report, which was cited by Iranian media, quoted sources in the Iraqi defense ministry.

The sources reportedly said that using U.S. bases in Iraq would enable Israeli planes to reach Iranian targets within minutes.
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Iraq: Israeli jets using US bases, says ministry source


Baghdad, 11 July (AKI) -

Israeli Air Force jets have been flying over Jordanian airspace and landing in Iraq for over a month, according to reports quoting Iraqi government sources.

Iran's state-funded Press TV also reported the claim, immediately fuelling speculation about a potential strike by Israel against Iran's nuclear facilities.

According to Press TV, the Iraqi Ministry of Defence told Iraqi news network, Nahrainnet, that suspected Israeli warplanes had landed at the al-Assad American airbase near Haditha, in western Anbar province, as well as a base in Nassiriya in the country's south.

Iran's Press TV also reported that the US had boosted security arrangements around the bases allegedly used by Israel.

According to retired Iraqi army officials, fighter jets have been entering Iraqi airspace from Jordan.

Jordan and Israel signed a peace agreement in 1994.

Sources also claimed that if Israeli warplanes were to carry out an attack against Iran's nuclear reactor at Bushehr, it would take them five minutes to reach it from Iraq.

In June, 100 Israeli warplanes carried out a drill over the eastern Mediterranean and Greece, as a rehearsal for a possible attack on Iran.

During that exercise, Israeli Air Force helicopters and refuelling aircraft reportedly flew around 1,500 kilometres from Israel - roughly the distance between Israel and Iran's primary uranium enrichment facility at Natanz.

On Thursday, Israel's Defence Minister Ehud Barak said that his country was ready to act against Iran if threatened.

"Israel is the strongest country in the region and has proved in the past that it won't hesitate to act when its vital security interests are at stake," said Barak speaking in Tel Aviv on Thursday.

German Chancellor Merkel Bitch Slaps Obama

His Smugness

Merkel Warns Obama: Don't Do Electioneering Abroad!
09/07/2008 04:53:09 PM GMT
Aljazeera

German Chancellor Angela Merkel slammed a request by Barack Obama to give a speech this month before the Brandenburg Gate as "inappropriate", her deputy spokesman said Wednesday.

The conservative leader said that while she would be pleased to meet the US Democratic presidential hopeful, it would be wrong for him to hold a "campaign rally" at the historic symbol of German unity.

"It is unusual to do electioneering abroad," spokesman Thomas Steg told reporters. "It is unusual to hold election rallies abroad. No German candidate for high office would even think of using the National Mall (in Washington) or Red Square in Moscow for a rally because it would not be seen as appropriate."

"Take a chance on me."hattip: Hugh Hewitt

In an unusual move, a spokesman for Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier sharply contradicted Merkel's views at a regular government press conference, saying they could be interpreted in the United States as an affront to Obama.

Foreign ministry spokesman Jens Ploetner said Steinmeier, a Social Democrat, was eager to meet Obama after speaking with him on the phone in April. Republican presidential contender John McCain should also be welcome to speak at the Brandenburg Gate if he chose to, he added.

"The foreign minister does not find it odd," he said, adding that an Obama speech at or near the site would be "an expression of the vital German-American friendship" just days after Washington opened a new embassy next to the gate.

¬
Source: AJP

Someone remind the Messiah that he is not President yet.

German Children to Vote?

The politicians are outraged that approximately 14 million German citizens are shut out of the democratic process because of their tender ages.

Just when you think it can't get any goofier, or as a friend of ours, Brother D-Day, would say, "Germany jumps the shark." :

Germany Ponders Giving Children the Right to Vote

Every German citizen should have the right to vote in national elections, even those under the age of 18, says a group of parliamentarians. They've proposed a law that would allow parents to vote for their children.
Preschoolers have as much right to make their political opinions heard as adults, according to a bipartisan group of 46 German parliamentarians.

The politicians are outraged that approximately 14 million German citizens are shut out of the democratic process because of their tender ages, the DPA news agency reported. That means nearly one in every five German citizens is too young to cast a ballot.

Currently, Germany follows the lead of most other democratic countries in limiting voting to adults 18 years of age and older. Some German states allow voting starting at age 16 for local elections.

The idea has gotten backing from some members of the conservative Christian Democratic Union (CDU), center-left Social Democratic Party (SPD) and the free-market liberal Free Democratic Party (FDP). The proposal also has the support of political heavyweights such as the former minister for family affairs Renate Schmidt, Bundestag vice-president Wolfgang Thierse and FDP head Dirk Niebel.

Constitutional change required

The supporters want to change Article 38 of Germany's constitution by striking out the sentence that defines voting eligibility as starting at the age of 18.

Under the proposal, parents would be allowed to vote for the children. Parents could then add their children to a voting list when they believe the child is ready to take on his or her own democratic responsibility.

A similar proposal was defeated in 2005 on constitutional and practical grounds. Opponents objected that parents would vote their own wishes and not those of their children. A two-thirds majority would be needed to change the German constitution.

DW