Um, what?

Behold, the greatest orator of our time, and perhaps, of all time:

Obama, speaking to top executives of the Business Roundtable, expressed an optimistic vision and called for patience.

Richard Parsons, chairman of beleaguered Citigroup Inc., asked if Obama could offer some help in a national battle "between confidence and fear."

"A smidgen of good news and suddenly everything is doing great. A little bit of bad news and ooohh , we're down on the dumps," Obama said. "And I am obviously an object of this constantly varying assessment. I am the object in chief of this varying assessment."

"I don't think things are ever as good as they say, or ever as bad as they say," Obama added. "Things two years ago were not as good as we thought because there were a lot of underlying weaknesses in the economy. They're not as bad as we think they are now."

So are we still on the brink of "catastrophe" now, or are things returning to normal? Have we spent enough money, too much money, or do we need to spend even more money? Only the object in chief knows for sure.

Posted by: Sean M. at 09:47 PM | Comments (7) | Add Comment
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It's the economy, stupid (emphasis on "stupid")

Am I the only one who hears the "Real Men of Genius" music in the background every time this retard opens his mouth?

At his daily briefing today, White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said the stock market "can be a lagging economic indicator."

Many economists consider the stock market a leading economic indicator as it tends to rise and fall ahead of the broader economy.

Well, he speaks for Obama. And we all know that Obama is scary-smart. Ergo, the economists must be wrong.

Posted by: Sean M. at 06:02 PM | Comments (5) | Add Comment
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How Long Before The NY Times Hires Allahpundit To Be A House Conservative?

Seriously, this shit is getting beyond parody.

His writing steers away from partisanship -- he frequently criticizes Republicans -- or doctrine, showing a concern for income inequality that is usually the terrain of more liberal writers. On abortion, he said in an interview, "I’m sort of a squishy pro-lifer," interested in finding areas of compromise. He initially favored the war in Iraq, but later opposed it.

Posted by: eddiebear at 08:26 AM | Comments (3) | Add Comment
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Whereby My Junior Senator Shows She Has No Fucking Clue

Claire McCaskill is an idiot who won because of the shitstorm of 2006. But this tweet is priceless.
Sent to George Stephanopoulos:

George S.:Ultimately just couldn't do it. Not just earmrks tho, also increase in spendng(8%too much)& failure to reconcile $ with stimuls

Huh?

Makes me pine for the rhetorical splendor of Kit "Last Call" Bond.

Posted by: eddiebear at 12:42 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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Late night blood boiling

More than one out of every five dollars of the $126 million Massachusetts is receiving in earmarks from a $410 billion federal spending package is going to help preserve the legacy of the Kennedys.

The following is my indepth analysis:

Jesus.  Fuck.  I need a drink.  Oh wait I can't, Teddy drank it all. 

Posted by: alexthechick at 11:26 PM | Comments (2) | Add Comment
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Democrats to Fast Eddie: Hey, let's Murtha some of these swing districts

Meaning give a bunch of porkulus money to districts like mine, hoping that pork will keep a conservative district in Democrat hands. 

Posted by: doubleplusundead at 11:38 AM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
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Yes We Can...deny veterans their benefits!

The Age of Plenty...unless you took a bullet or shrapnel for your nation.  Jonn at This Ain't Hell has more, and has been following the story for a while.  While a bunch of people are having their mortgages paid off, corporations are getting bailed out, billions of dollars in stupid pork projects are being passed like they're nothing, and yet we're going to scale back our veteran medical services? 

Yes, I know that the VA health system is a mess, and is often cited as an example of why socialized medicine is a bad idea, but this isn't like they're giving veterans the money to buy a private health plan, they're saying "fuck you, you're on your own," to these guys. 

On a purely political level, what the fuck is Obama doing?  Seriously, taking away veteran benefits while you're throwing fistfuls of money at every fiscal delinquent that walks by you?  Pretty damned stupid, and I'm guessing that Democrats in Congress will shut this harebrained scheme down because there's no way you can back this sort of idea and get re-elected outside of deep leftist territory. 

Posted by: doubleplusundead at 10:41 AM | Comments (4) | Add Comment
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In other words...

...JOOOOOOOOOOOOOS!!!1!1one!!eleventy!!!

Asshole.

Posted by: Sean M. at 10:40 AM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
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Shocka! Another Decider Having Second Thoughts About The Messiah

This time, it's Howard Fineman.

• The $787 billion stimulus, gargantuan as it was, was in fact too small and not aimed clearly enough at only immediate job-creation.
• The $275 billion home-mortgage-refinancing plan, assembled by Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner, is too complex and indirect.
• The president gave up the moral high ground on spending not so much with the "stim" but with the $400 billion supplemental spending bill, larded as it was with 9,000 earmarks.
• The administration is throwing good money after bad in at least two cases—the sinkhole that is Citigroup (there are many healthy banks) and General Motors (they deserve what they get). [...]
• A willingness to give too much leeway to Congress to handle crucial details, from the stim to the vague promise to "reform" medical care without stating what costs could be cut.
• A 2010 budget that tries to do far too much, with way too rosy predictions on future revenues and growth of the economy. This led those who fear we are about to go over Niagara Falls to deride Obama as a paddler who'd rather redesign the canoe.
• A treasury secretary who has been ridiculed on "Saturday Night Live" and compared to Doogie Howser, Barney Fife and Macaulay Culkin in "Home Alone"—and those are the nice ones.
• A seeming paralysis in the face of the banking crisis: unwilling to nationalize banks, yet unable to figure out how to handle toxic assets in another way—by, say, setting up a "bad bank" catch basin. [...]
• Obama is no socialist, but critics argue that now is not the time for costly, upfront spending on social engineering in health care, energy or education.

Funny. Other than Brooks, more liberal pundits are having second thoughts than RINOS like Buckley, Frum, Noonan, or Allah.*

*Yes, that is a gratuitous cheap shot at the blogger most detested by his own side. But, you know what? Fuck you, Allah! You were no help last year, so you deserve what you get. And your arrogance (along with your girlish running to Malkin or Ace to defend you) isn't endearing either.

Posted by: eddiebear at 12:27 AM | Comments (7) | Add Comment
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Sacrifices

In this economy, all of us have to be prepared to bear them.  Especially when taxpayer dollars are on the line.  It's the (suddenly) fiscally responsible thing to do.

Douchebag.

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95% of Illinoisans are racist

That's the most accurate way to view this poll, I think.

Posted by: It's Vintage, Duh at 05:41 PM | Comments (5) | Add Comment
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Opportunity knocks

Since we've all been preoccupied with, um, other stuff, I guess I missed some remarks Hillary Clinton made over the weekend:

Clinton told young Europeans at the European Parliament that global economic turmoil provided a fresh opening. "Never waste a good crisis ... Don't waste it when it can have a very positive impact on climate change and energy security," she said.

So, this is a "good" crisis now?  Why, it's almost like the Obama administration has a set of priorities other than solving our economic woes. Like ramming through a laundry list of lefty agenda issues, or something.  Super.

Oh, and Reuters takes time to mention the ubiquitous "some" without actually quoting anybody. Classic:

But with many countries in the grip of a punishing recession, some question whether businesses can muster the hundreds of billions of dollars needed to cut carbon emissions.

No, really? Some think that maybe—just maybe—while we're in the midst of an economic crisis (that Hillary's boss keeps reassuring us could turn into a catastrophe) it might not be the right time to slap expensive new regulations on the industries that we're going to depend on to grow the economy?  Yeah, we're screwed.

I seem to remember a certain bunch of people carping about "the worst economy since Herbert Hoover" over the past four or so years.  Where are they now?

Posted by: Sean M. at 01:46 AM | Comments (3) | Add Comment
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Tough. Smart. Strong.; Now with stupidity-induced update!

Here is some of the nuanced diplomacy of the Obama administration (emphaisis mine):

The real views of many in Obama administration were laid bare by a State Department official involved in planning the Brown visit, who reacted with fury when questioned by The Sunday Telegraph about why the event was so low-key.

The official dismissed any notion of the special relationship, saying: "There's nothing special about Britain. You're just the same as the other 190 countries in the world. You shouldn't expect special treatment."

Who knew Hope^TM and Change^TM meant snubbing countries who are nice to us and sucking up to countries who want to wipe us off the map?  Oh, right, just 48% of Americans.

(h/t)

Update:  Apparently this was already written about (see comment #2).  I really should start reading this blog or something.

Posted by: It's Vintage, Duh at 04:18 PM | Comments (3) | Add Comment
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Shocka! Marxist Latin American Political Candidate Has Ties To The Deciders.

In this case, it's some guy in El Salvador. And his former employer?

After a 12-year civil war and a peace undermined by soaring crime, leftists in El Salvador are on the verge of completing a remarkable journey from armed struggle to the presidential palace.

Their candidate is a veteran TV broadcaster and morning talk show host, Mauricio Funes, whose Facebook page lists his political views as “other.” Funes, 49, a former correspondent for CNN en Español, was recently recruited by the Farabundo Marti National Liberation Front (FMLN), the revolutionary group-turned-mainstream political party that is favored by polls to win the presidency in a vote scheduled for March 15....

Funes considers himself to be El Salvador's Barack Obama -- an agent of change in a country beset by the highest murder rate in Latin America and an economy in free fall.

The comparison is overt: Funes and the FMLN use images of Obama in their ads (despite objections by the U.S. State Department), saying both candidates were smeared by their opponents as allies of extremists. The FMLN television spots complete the link by employing the Obama slogan in English and Spanish, vowing "Yes, we can!"...

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Oh noes!

Kids these days apparently aren't reading books that are sufficiently radical.  How awful.

Posted by: Sean M. at 08:05 PM | Comments (5) | Add Comment
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Maybe it's just me...

...but has anyone else noticed that Hollywood is praising a talk show host for working against one president while, at the same time, we don't hear as much as a peep from the same people about a certain other president while his aides are working hard to demonize another talk show host?

Puzzling, no?  It's almost like there's some sort of double standard.  Funny, that.

Posted by: Sean M. at 05:19 AM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
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Smart diplomacy, continued

Can we insult America's staunchest ally? Yes We Can!

The real views of many in Obama administration were laid bare by a State Department official involved in planning the Brown visit, who reacted with fury when questioned by The Sunday Telegraph about why the event was so low-key.

The official dismissed any notion of the special relationship, saying: "There's nothing special about Britain. You're just the same as the other 190 countries in the world. You shouldn't expect special treatment." The apparent lack of attention to detail by the Obama administration is indicative of what many believe to be Mr Obama's determination to do too much too quickly.

That's putting it kindly. Very kindly. There's plenty more at the link, including this gem:

Allies of Mr Obama say his weary appearance in the Oval Office with Mr Brown illustrates the strain he is now under, and the president's surprise at the sheer volume of business that crosses his desk.

Wait, you mean actually being President of The United States is harder than just giving airy-fairy speeches about Hope ands Change? The hell, you say.

(h/t)

Posted by: Sean M. at 08:34 PM | Comments (4) | Add Comment
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Smart diplomacy

Remember how hilarious/horrifying it was when Chimpy McBu$hitler couldn't come up with the names of some foreign leaders some years back? That was because he was teh stoopid, right? But when a member of Team Hopenchange mangles some similar things, well, it's because of too much hard work, apparently...

Tiredness appeared to show Friday when she answered questions in front of 500 young Europeans at the European Parliament, where she was the highest-ranking U.S. visitor since the late President Ronald Reagan in 1985.

A veteran politician, Clinton compared the complex European political environment to that of the two-party U.S. system, before adding:

"I have never understood multiparty democracy.

"It is hard enough with two parties to come to any resolution, and I say this very respectfully, because I feel the same way about our own democracy, which has been around a lot longer than European democracy."

The remark provoked much headshaking in the parliament of a bloc that likes to trace back its democratic tradition thousands of years to the days of classical Greece.

One working lunch later with EU leaders, Clinton raised more eyebrows when she referred to EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana, who stood beside her, as "High Representative Solano."

She also dubbed European Commission External Relations Commissioner Benita Ferrero-Waldner as "Benito."

I can't wait until the MSM begins cataloguing instances of the Obama administration's ineptitude in matters such as these. I'm not holding my breath, but I can't wait.

Oh, and this gives me pause:

Parliament President Hans-Gert Poettering was effusive in his praise, saying that with the new administration, the United States and Europe once again "share the same values."

"What you said mostly could have been said by a European," he told Clinton after she fielded questions ranging from climate change to energy security and aid to Africa and one on gay rights from a participant wearing an "I love Hillary" t-shirt.

Well, that's just fan-fucking-tastic. I can't wait until we have laws regulating the sale of "misshapen" produce and speech codes that prohibit people who produce films condemning radical Islamists from flying between, say, Texas and Oregon.

Posted by: Sean M. at 01:28 AM | Comments (8) | Add Comment
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GM could go bankrupt

According to their independent auditor.  They're going to have to undergo a major restructuring if they have any chance of avoiding Chapter 11.

Posted by: doubleplusundead at 10:14 AM | Comments (5) | Add Comment
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Geez, David Brooks Must Have Been Threatened With Exclusion At The Next Cocktail Party

I mean, just a day or so after admitting that he is disillusioned by Obama, he goes back to supporting him.

Sure enough, he admits to meeting with several members of Team Hope And Change since the article was published. And what tune is he singing now?

Fifth, the Obama folks feel they spend as much time resisting liberal ideas as enacting them. The president resisted union pressure and capped pay increases for government workers. He resisted efforts to create mandatory veterans’ health benefits. The administration plans to tackle the suspiciously large increase in the number of people claiming disability benefits.

Oh, picking on cripples. Way to go!Wait! There's More!

I didn’t finish these conversations feeling chastened exactly. The fact is, after years of economic growth, the White House still projects perpetual deficits of more than $500 billion a year. That’s way too much, especially with the boomers’ retirements looming. Moreover, Congress will likely pass the spending parts of the budget and kill the revenue parts, like the cap-and-trade energy tax and the limits on itemized deductions, thus producing much, much bigger deficits.

Yeah, and I still fit into my size 30 pants from college.

Plus, I’m still convinced the administration is trying to do too much too fast and that the hasty planning and execution of these complex policies will lead to untold problems down the road.

Oh, I see. Obama's problem is that he cares and tries too much.

Nonetheless, the White House made a case that was sophisticated and fact-based. These people know how to lead a discussion and set a tone of friendly cooperation. I’m more optimistic that if Senate moderates can get their act together and come up with their own proactive plan, they can help shape a budget that allays their anxieties while meeting the president’s goals.

Yeah. I guess "I won" is sophisticated and friendly. As for proactive moderates, it's not as though they were very strident in opposing the Spendulus, so how much you want to wager they will not stop anything else?

 Sigh. I guess Brooksie  was threatened with having his invitations to Sally Quinn's parties revoked.

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