“Had we rolled out something that was very smooth and disciplined and linear, they would have graded it well, even if it was a disastrous policy. We know that, because that’s exactly how they graded the Iraq war,” – president Obama. Oh, snap! It’s been awesome to watch today as all the jerking knees quieted … Continue reading Meep Meep, Motherfuckers
Joe Klein compares Romney’s closed-door speech to Obama’s 2008 closed-door “bitter clingers” quote: Obama’s gaffe was a minor tributary off the main story of the 2008 presidential campaign, which was the economic collapse. Romney’s adoption of the Fox-Rush neo-libertarian sensibility, and the remedies that it assumes, is the main story of the 2012 campaign. He will … Continue reading Meep Meep Watch
A reader writes: Am I wrong in recollecting that President Obama, months ago, pushed and/or encouraged a decision by the Supreme Court on the Affordable Care Act? I seem to remember thinking at the time that it was a crazy thing to do prior to the 2012 election. But maybe not so much? Another adds: … Continue reading Meep Meep Watch
Some economic news: The number of people seeking unemployment benefits for the first time plummeted last week to 352,000, the fewest since April 2008, the Labor Department said Thursday. The decline added to evidence that the job market is strengthening. Weekly applications fell by 50,000, the biggest drop in the seasonally adjusted figure in more … Continue reading Meep Meep Watch
As the House GOP revolts against its own Speaker and risks raising taxes on millions in January, and as Obama re-emphasizes the need for bolstering the economy and spreading the sacrifice more evenly … the polls are on the move: Obama's gains have come at the expense of the Republicans in Congress and the GOP … Continue reading Meep Meep Watch
I have to say that my impressions of the GOP debates this fall and of Obama's Truman strategy of running against an obstructionist Congress are beginning to gel around a strategic advantage for the president. Yes, with the sputtering of his core narrative of recovery, he ran aground after the debt ceiling fiasco and the … Continue reading Meep Meep Watch
Mickey, in fine counter-intuitive fashion, argues that the Boehner plan is better for Obama: Isn’t the Boehner Plan the President’s most promising route to the “grand bargain” (including revenue increases) he says he wants? It would set up a commission to propose $1.6-1.8 trillion in deficit closing measures–which could include tax increases and entitlement reforms. … Continue reading Meep Meep Watch? Ctd
I wrote that Obama could have saved himself some headaches if he had backed his fiscal commission from the start. P.M. Carpenter counters: Not since Abe Lincoln took office has a president's political opposition been so ruthlessly determined to oppose — even to the point of national disloyalty, which is precisely what the GOP's treacherous … Continue reading Meep Meep Watch?
Why do we always forget? Well, more to the point: why do I always forget? Here comes the road runner: President Obama will lay out a long-term deficit reduction plan later this week that will take “a scalpel, not a machete,” to programs like Medicare and education services and try once again to extract more … Continue reading Meep Meep Watch
Maybe Obama's "What Debt Crisis?" budget was all a ruse to get the GOP to get serious. In which case: advantage Obama:
The Dish 