BY GARY ANDRES
Reprinted from Weekly Standard.com
Tuesday’s election produced another opportunity for hope and change in Washington .
Or at least that’s one way of looking at it.
Instead of wallowing in his party’s defeat, President Obama could interpret the outcome as a voter-imposed, political do-over – another swing at rising above the polarized politics of the past.
BY BILL GREENER
The Democratic/liberal narrative for what is about to happen in the mid-term election next Tuesday is becoming clearer.
First, President Obama and the Democrats attempted not only to do good things, but to reach across the aisle and get Republican support for these wonderful ideas (stimulus package, healthcare reform, cap and trade, etc.). Republicans, however, refused to cooperate and. cynically, opposed everything. Never mind that Democrats hardly proved themselves to be the models of cooperation when they were in the minority. That would confuse the narrative.
BY MICHAEL S. JOHNSON
When you follow politics, it is easy to become consumed by all of the charges and countercharges, accusations, innuendo, name-calling and character assassinations that dominate the headlines.
The challenge is to sort out what in the political theater has broader meaning or a lesson worth learning. President Obama’s insinuation that the U.S. Chamber of Commerce is injecting foreign funds into American campaigns offers a little of both.
By JOHN FEEHERY
Reprinted from the Feehery Theory
The jobless rate and economic growth are not necessarily connected.
An economy can grow without people going back to work. Companies can make profits and not necessarily hire people. We are now going through a jobless recovery, despite President Obama’s delusional declaration that jobs are coming back.
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BY MICHAEL S. JOHNSON
The national Democratic Party’s hierarchy, led by the President himself, inaugurated a campaign a few weeks ago to put a negative face on the Republican Party and its candidates. The face they chose was that of House Republican Leader John Boehner. And so began the Boehner bashing.
The President mentioned Leader Boehner an incredible eight times in a speech the first week in September. Other Democratic leaders, including House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, followed suit.
Then the media joined in.
BY GARY ANDRES
Reprinted from the weeklystandard.com
Many factors are contributing to President Obama’s decline in popularity since his historic election less than two years ago. A stagnant economy with stubbornly high unemployment certainly caused part of the downward trend. But there is more.
A White House out of step with many Americans on both public policy substance and style in office also explains a huge part of the dip.
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BY MICHAEL S. JOHNSON
I sent a letter to the President, obviously not for his benefit, but mine, on his repetitive rhetoric about taxing the rich, partly inspired by a letter someone sent me some months ago. This isn’t my exact letter. I edited and updated a bit, but it’s the thought that counts.
Dear Mr. President:
I listened pretty intently to your speech in Cleveland, and I’ve heard you say over and over again you are not going to back down from taxing the wealthy. It seems to be one of the central themes of your Administration: There are victims and villains in America, the lines between them are clearly drawn and you are dedicated to protecting the victims and punishing the villains, among them, the rich.
BY JOHN FEEHERY
Reprinted from the Feeherytheory.com
A decades ago (man, I am getting old), I remember watching the Cubs game (which was unusual for me, because I am a Sox fan), when I saw a couple of hippies run out onto Dodger’s Stadium (where they were playing) and attempt to set fire to an American flag. Rick Monday, the Cubs center-fielder, swooped in the snatch the flag from the rabble-rousers, saving the day and America’s honor
At the time, America was down in the dumps. It was 1976, and while we were celebrating America’s Bicentennial, we were also dealing with the aftermath of Watergate, Viet Nam, and the start of a stalling economy beset by both high inflation and creeping unemployment. When Monday saved the symbol of American freedom, it was a special moment, perhaps a turning point in the American psyche. Monday was quoted saying once, “If you are going to burn the flag, don’t burn it around me.” It was a great quote, because the Cubs center-fielder acknowledged that while in America, people have the right to do stupid things like the burn the flag, citizens also have the right to oppose them.
BY MICHAEL S. JOHNSON
I have a little different take on the plans of the Rev. Terry Jones to burn Korans on Saturday.
I disagree with the President that it is a teachable moment.
I disagree with Mayor Bloomberg that it is protected under the First Amendment and should therefore be tolerated.
I disagree with John Feehery that it may reflect another step down the path of “religious intolerance, hatred and extreme sectarianism.”
BY TONY BLANKLEY
Reprinted from Townhall.com
With the end of combat in Operation Enduring Freedom presidentially certified, all eyes rivet toward Afghanistan. This is the fight President Obama, when campaigning for office, called our “war of necessity.” This is the theater of conflict where Obama, when debating Sen. McCain barely two years ago, promised us victory ending with the killing or capture of Osama bin Laden. Ironically, Afghanistan may also be the only war in American history with a presidential expiration date.
BY JOHN FEEHERY
Reprinted from the Feeherytheory.com
When Mayor Daley announced that he was resigning, it made Washington liberals very happy. It should have also put a smile on Republican Presidential candidates too.
Let me explain.
BY GARY ANDRES
Reprinted from weeklystandard.com
Partisan polarization seems like it purchased a lifetime pass in this city.
This won’t sit well with Kumbaya aficionados — those looking for congressional Republicans and Democrats to walk arm-in-arm toward a bipartisan Promised Land.
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BY TONY BLANKLEY
Reprinted from Washington Times
This country is divided into three parts concerning national politics. About a third think President Obama is moving in the right direction, with many of them impatient for the president to be bolder with his leftist agenda. Somewhere in the vicinity of 40 percent to 50 percent of Americans are shocked and appalled at the nation’s rush toward bankruptcy, socialism, fundamental transformation of our way of life and the permanent weakening and impoverishing of America. And some 15 percent to 30 percent are quite concerned about the current state of the country but see no imminent crisis and think that with some substantial adjustments, Mr. Obama’s efforts may end up being useful. (The foregoing numbers are merely my subjective judgment, not based on any particular poll.)