I just discovered a new web site, apparently devoted to getting sensible space policy from a Tea Party perspective.
Category Archives: Political Commentary
The Obama Likeability Gap
Thoughts from Dan Henninger.
I have to say that I’ve never found him that likeable. Of course, I saw through the con early on. I just didn’t realize how many others didn’t.
And I think he’s got this wrong, though it’s still the conventional wisdom:
In 2007-08, Obama’s high-toned, consistent persona was everything. What else was there? Barack Obama took a blank slate and wrote a masterpiece of a presidential campaign across it. From nothing, this fresh Obama persona defeated the familiar, experienced Hillary Clinton in the primaries. In the general election, he ran famously on “hope and change,” gave a stirring speech on race in America, and persuaded enough moderate and independent voters to turn 2008 into a “historic” American election.
I disagree that the campaign was a “masterpiece.” He beat Hillary because the Democrats wanted an alternative, and he beat McCain because he ran an awful campaign, and the voters were tired of Republicans after Bush. Not to mention the affirmative action factor. And as Henninger points out, 53% wasn’t exactly a landslide. Now that the voters have affirmed their non-racism by electing him once, they’ll feel no further need to validate it next year.
[Update a couple minutes later]
The Jurassic president.
Congress Wants To Go To The Moon?
Really?
My thoughts at the Washington Examiner.
Brief Thoughts On Donald Trump’s Cowardice
…from Mark Steyn.
Why Tax Hikes Won’t Work
Megan McArdle explains to Kevin Drum. Again.
Don’t Know Much About History
Apparently, the president is as ignorant of history as he is of math.
I like this idea:
The fact that Obama quickly gets lost in the weeds when he’s taken off message should put a big fat bull’s-eye on him for any of his opponents in his upcoming reelection campaign. A point I’ve made in other forums and repeat here is this: A sufficiently ruthless opponent would not defer to him but take any and every opportunity to discomfit him. What this, and similar episodes, shows is that he has never had to deal with a very public event, from which he cannot escape, in which he’s lost control and is being made to look bad. That thin veneer of cool would quickly melt. He doesn’t improvise well and doesn’t know when to stop digging: it’s tough when you believe deeply that you’re the smartest guy in the room. In fact, the person he least respects has the greatest opportunity here. Media mavens that run our so-called debates can be counted on to try to keep things predictable. Obama’s opponents should not accommodate that ruse.
The great thing is that it’s not something he can fix. It would require him to completely reconstruct his self image, and his ego would never allow it. A Fred Thompson would have destroyed Obama in every debate. McCain wasn’t capable of it, either intellectually or by temperament. Oh, and I agree with John Hindraker that the president is not a smart man. He just plays one on teevee. I’ll be this is why we aren’t allowed to see his transcripts.
[Update a few minutes later]
Obama: “Mistakes? I can’t think of any.”
[Late morning update]
The president misunderstands Passover as well. No surprise, given all the years he spent in Reverend Wright’s anti-semitic church.
Embracing The End Of Human Spaceflight
Thoughts from Paul Spudis.
Six-Dollar Gas?
It could happen, if the dollar continues to fall. And the White House seems determined to make that happen.
I have an idea for an ad campaign next year. Show a video clip of Obama back in ’08, talking back how “gas prices will necessarily go up” to carry out his green agenda, or about “bankrupting the coal industry.” Then end the ad with, “He got what he wanted. Did you?”
Those Bogus Sick Notes
The Wisconsin doctors are under investigation.
Good.
[Update a few minutes later]
A very mature fourteen year old responds to an overaged child.
To The Consternation Of The Suits In Hollywood
Atlas Shrugged seems to be doing pretty well:
business has been brisk enough for producers Harmon Kaslow and John Aglialoro to expand from 299 theaters to 425 this weekend and to 1,000 by the end of the month. They don’t have enough film prints to fill all the orders.
“Things have turned for us,” Kaslow said. “When we started, exhibitors were not embracing the film like we thought they would. Now, we can pretty much go into as many theaters as we want. It’s just a matter of logistics.”
Unexpectedly!
Though he’s still cautious, this would bode well for Parts 2 and 3.