The New York - D.C. axis media's one last push.

The talking points have gone out and in hopes of stemming the ass-kicking that will be administered next Tuesday, the last bullet remaining in the ruling classes clip is: you ungrateful slobs, can't you see what this wonderful man and Congress have done for you?

First up, David Ignatius of the WaPo:

Constant repetition of anti-government rhetoric in our political echo chamber has dulled Americans into overlooking an important and perhaps surprising fact: We have just lived through one of the more notable successes of government intervention in modern times -- the auto and bank rescues that almost surely saved the country from another Great Depression.

Ignatius admits he's friends with Steve Rattner, the Obama hack that recently stepped down as head of the Administration's auto task force. Ignatius conveniently whistles pass the graveyard in the column not wanting to address the more unseemly points of order in the bankruptcy cramdown and the fact that GM lied about how they were paying back their TARP loan.

But enough about Ignatius, how about our favorite NYT columnist, Frank Rich:

PRESIDENT Obama, the Rodney Dangerfield of 2010, gets no respect for averting another Great Depression, for saving 3.3 million jobs with stimulus spending, or for salvaging GM and Chrysler from the junkyard. And none of these good deeds, no matter how substantial, will go unpunished if the projected Democratic bloodbath materializes on Election Day. Some are even going unremembered. For Obama, the ultimate indignity is the Times/CBS News poll in September showing that only 8 percent of Americans know that he gave 95 percent of American taxpayers a tax cut.

Admit it, you're sensing a trend here, aren't you?

And here's Yahoo! News' Jane Sasseen:

Indeed, despite their professed desire for compromise, voters hardly have rewarded President Obama for attempting to achieve it.

Most likely, because the President didn't even try, Jane. Remember: "I won"?



And from MSNBC's "Morning Joe" panel, we have: Where's the love? (via NewsBusters)

"Where is the celebration over what has been done and accomplished in the face of all this anger and vitriol in Washington?" complained co-host Mika Brzezinski. "No credit. No credit at all for what he's accomplished," lamented "60 Minutes" correspondent Lesley Stahl.

Is there an original thought that is formulated in any of these peoples' heads anymore?



Even the foreigners get in on the lament of why we don't appreciate such a swell guy. From Der Spiegel:

Barack Obama is not a bad president. He is eloquent, sharp-witted, and has certainly not lost any of his talent since moving into the Oval Office. Members of his staff say he still listens to what people say. A senator who once lost an election to Obama says the president demands dissenting opinions and that he's reliable, funny and works best under pressure.

Nor is he a weak president. He has begun withdrawing American troops from Iraq. He has been able to strengthen his alliances. And he has tackled the global economic crisis with an $800 billion stimulus package and a reform of the financial markets. His education policies target performance and aim to improve the disastrously under-resourced public school system. Millions of Americans have been dreaming of healthcare reform for decades. Bill Clinton failed to get it passed. Barack Obama succeeded.

It is entirely beyond our understanding how these people cannot grasp the concept that the reason why the President's party is going to turn over control of the House and, in a less-likely scenario, possibly the Senate is that his policies stink and the manner in which they were put into effect, even more so.

Even so, we commend the New York - D.C. media axis on one of the most incredible displays of group-think we have ever witnessed. Well done, gang!

Washington Post columnist kind of bummed that Democrats have all this time on their hands

While bemoaning the fact that the majority party in both houses seemingly have nothing better to do than naming post offices of late, Dana Milbank offered up the following:

Over the past 20 months, Democrats have done a lot -- too much, the opposition says. But they don't want to talk about the achievements. The stimulus bill is unpopular; they're not getting credit for health-care legislation, financial reforms and many other accomplishments; and the spent majority can't limp out of town fast enough.

From what planet is Milbank reporting? Oh, that's right - Planet Capitol Hill in the Beltway Constellation.

Democrats are about to get tsunamied right out of the House precisely because, in part, America is giving them credit for the passage of ObamaCare and the near passage of cap and trade.

Milbank is no dummy, though. He knows the Democrats are getting credit they richly deserve for ObamaCare, it's just that in this context , he is implying that Americans are not sufficiently grateful for the wonderful bounty in which ObamaCare and the balance of the regime's legislative accomplishments will result.

Such is the disconnect, however. Perhaps in November we can assist in a little reconnecting between the two classes in this country. It's been a while since we've heard from them.

What others are saying

With the Obama administration's masterful bungling of the Gulf oil spill as a ploy to distract us from a not-yet-ready-for-prime-time economic recovery and a perilous situation in Afghanistan, the Washington Post's Eugene Robinson whines about Republicans and Joe "Shakedown" Barton:

Joe Barton is not alone. The Texas congressman's lavish sympathy for BP -- which he sees not as perpetrator of a preventable disaster but as victim of a White House "shakedown" -- is actually what passes for mainstream opinion among conservative Republicans today.

As does the Post's Dana Milbank who dons his Rip Van Winkle costume:

Republicans, in turn, have reached new levels of presidential disrespect. After Obama pushed BP to set aside money for those hurt by the oil spill, the opposition apologized -- to BP. Jon Kyl (Ariz.), the No. 2 Republican in the Senate, took the extraordinary step of attacking Obama at a political rally over comments he says (and the White House denies) the president made in a private meeting

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Dude. Criticizing a President? At a political rally? It never used to be that way.

There's nothing more detrimental to keeping focus than an easy victory. As such, we hope the "other side" picks up their game a bit. At this time, the last thing we need is for any drape-measuring by the Republicans before November.

That would be one way of looking at it

Last week, we blogged with considerable glee concerning the Democrats' apparent decision to campaign on President Obama's legislative record... you know, a record that includes overwhelmingly popular stuff like ObamaCare.

If that indeed is going to be the case, then the President's allies in the media are falling in line with a meme of yeah, the Prez is having a rough go of it of late but look at all the wonderful things he has accomplished!

Here's E.J. Dionne of the Washington Post:

Democrats should feel a lot better than they do. They enacted a health-care bill that had been their dream for more than 60 years. They pulled the country out of a terrifying economic spiral. They are on the verge of passing the biggest reform of Wall Street since the New Deal. The public has identified enemies that are typically seen as Republican allies: oil companies and big bankers. And given the Republicans' past policies, the Gulf of Mexico oil spill is at least as much their problem as Obama's.

That the Democrats should take heart that they passed legislation that the majority of Americans don't want is an odd way to look at things. If that's all you've got to go on, however, a suspension of reality doesn't seem so far-fetched.

(We'd like to note that Dionne in the same article can't resist taking a shot at the G.O.P. and what he perceives as a hard swerve to the right as it's being held hostage by the tea party. That a near-record 49% of Americans think the Democratic Party is too liberal vs. 41% thinking the Republican Party is too conservative is not a Dionne talking point.)



And here's Gail Collins writing in the New York Times:

As a political leader, Barack Obama seems to know what he’s doing. His unsatisfying call for a new energy policy sounded very much like the rhetoric on health care reform that used to drive Democrats nuts: open to all ideas, can’t afford inaction, if we can put a man on the moon. ... But at the end of that health care slog, he wound up with the groundbreaking law that had eluded his predecessors for decades. The process of wringing it out of Congress was so slow and oblique that even when it was over it was hard to appreciate what he’d won. But win he did.

(italics, ours)

Here's Merriam-Webster's definition of oblique:

1 a : neither perpendicular nor parallel : inclined b : having the axis not perpendicular to the base c : having no right angle

2 a : not straightforward : indirect; also : obscure b : devious, underhanded

(emphasis, ours)

By Collins' own definition, the crafting of ObamaCare was a shameful ordeal but when you are crafting the new paradigm by defending the indefensible, oblique takes on a curiously positive hue.

For taste-makers like Collins and Dionne, who, if they are being completely honest with themselves, realize Obama has only contributed to the hyper-partisan nature of Washington D.C. and whose HopenChange has meant only more business as usual, the circling of the wagons will strain credulity and their own credibility.

At long last...

... an establishment liberal columnist who's starting to get it.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, perhaps the most powerful Republican in Washington and certainly the party's kingpin in Kentucky, put his considerable clout behind Grayson. But Paul's candidacy became a cause celebre for the national tea party movement, and he whipped Grayson in Tuesday's primary by 24 points.

The stunning result should telegraph two warnings to Republicans. The first is a reminder that while voters' ardor toward the Democratic Party might have cooled, this has not led to a passionate embrace of the GOP. There's a splash-back effect from unceasing attacks against the evil empire known as Washington: Voters notice that Republicans live there, too.

The second warning is that the tea party movement does not intend to become a wholly owned subsidiary of the Republican Party. Strategists who hoped to use the movement's energy and passion as weapons against the Democrats in the fall should realize that many tea party types see the GOP as fundamentally no different.

After nearly a year and a half of 2x4 upside-the-head obviousness of what the tea party movement stands for, the memo arrived at WaPo's Eugene Robinson's desk this week. Congrats, Gene!

Also note the lack of crocodile tears and faux hand-wringing with respect to any "purges" of moderate elements of the Republican Party if it now means electoral gains for the Democratic Party.

Still coverin' after all these years

Chris Dodd: bye.


WaPo article reporting on Dodd’s retirement duly notes his “faltering poll numbers” but waits until the very last paragraph to (oh, by the way) mention Dodd’s scandalous involvement with Countrywide Financial.

The L.A. Times by comparison is a yellow rag by jumping on the Countrywide gravy train half-way through their Dodd retires article.

Quickies

L.A.’s gang intervention program Homeboy Industries travels to southwest Alabama. Their video via the L.A. Times, here.
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PajamasTV at Hopenhagen. Every bit the Pyongyang-inspired group-think festival you thought it would be.
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It's come to this: Eugene Robinson in the WaPo is worried that Tiger’s skanks aren’t sufficiently diverse. Seriously, do ugly women-of-color have lobbyists that could’ve righted this wrong and somehow preserved a silver lining in his multiple transgressions, as in, “Yes, Tiger may have committed mortal sins but at least he was getting down with a sister or two”.

Mr. Robinson, congratulations on the worst column yet this year. Considering you had strong competition on several occasions from the likes of Dowd, Krugman and Brooks, you, my man, are a literary titan. Excuse us… make that the second worst column of the year.
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Airbrushing inconvenient history at the Smithsonian. Fade to green..?

In 2002 I stood in a room of the Smithsonian. One entire wall charted the cooling of our globe over the last 60 million years. This was no straight line. The curve had two steep dips followed by leveling. There were no significant warming periods. Smithsonian scientists inscribed it across some 20 feet of plaster, with timelines.

Last year, I went back. That fresco is painted over. The same curve hides behind smoked glass, shrunk to three feet but showing the same cooling trend. Hey, why should the Smithsonian put its tax-free status at risk? If the politicians decide to whip up public fear in a different direction, get with it, oh ye subsidized servants. Downplay that embarrassing old chart and maybe nobody will notice.

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Hey, if we’re supposed to be "teabaggers" can we tag the other side of the aisle as “fisters” ? Though with the unquestioned willingness to swallow everything coming out of the White House and Congress, we wonder just who it is that's getting 'bagged.
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And finally, the U.S. government will shell-out $7 million in holiday season public safety PSAs. But do they work? Current TV has some ideas on making PSAs more effective, here.

The Saturday Evening Post

... which will definetely not be a regular feature.

Death, taxes and… USC dropping an in-conference game to a double-digit underdog.

As much as we cannot stand Mike Lupica, he made a highly controversial point on ESPN’s Sports Reporters show last Sunday (after their win at Columbus against Ohio State, no less) that the program has underachieved and it is a point to which we cannot necessarily disagree because we said the same damn thing 2 years ago after SC’s loss to Stanford, a 41 point dog.

This now represents the 4th straight year USC has lost to conference team it had no business losing to and which also scuttled any BCS title hopes. We believe this speaks to the strength of the Pac-10 overall but also to a blind spot in the program. We welcome opines to the otherwise.

But hey, check this out…

Dana Milbank of the WaPo gets a little snarky regarding the First Lady’s high-profile, high-carbon footprint shopping spree/infomercial at a D.C. organic farmer’s market.

B-Daddy has the details regarding this and much more, here.

DC: Take a walk on the wild side

it was only a matter of time...

Music (throughout)
Motley Crue, "Girls Girls Girls"


Katherine Weymouth
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Iowahawk has more here

Exit question: If this pay-to-play train had moved far enough down the tracks for flyers to be printed up, does that not indicate that there was at least some initial buy-in from administration officials to green light this project?