Obama Thoughts

Should Obama be less technocrat and more populist? Obviously, I agree (and there is some evidence he is starting to do so); it may be the only way for him to broaden his appeal to working-class whites. Meanwhile, the Georgia Crisis may not be the incredible boost to McCain the MSM seems to think. And, of course, Dubya the Lame Duck continues to screw the environment. And adopt Barack Obama's plan for Iraq. Some legacy.

It Just Keeps Getting Better

Now, they're threatening to nuke Poland. You're doing a heckuva job, Dubya!

Great Moments in American Foreign Policy

Russia (headed by the thuggish dictator with the soul-transparent eyes) invades and beats up on a small neighboring country that happens to be a valuable US ally. Using all of his diplomatic skill, President Bush...uhm, gives Putin another big hug. Sigh. Is there anything else that can go wrong between now and January 20, 2009? Will Dubya get us into a war with China through some maladroit bungling in Beijing? Has Canada invaded yet?

UPDATE: As Georgia desperately tries to surrender, it becomes more and more apparent that the whole invasion was in reality Putin's clumsy warning against NATO expansion.

UPDATE 2: Never fear! Dubya is on the case!

Just Because You're Paranoid...

That whole domestic spying thing? The one where Congress just totally abjectly caved to the White House? Yeah, turns out it's worse than we thought. Way worse. Senator Obama, is this "egregious" enough for you?

This Just In!

Rest of the nation astonished to learn that Phil Gramm has no morals, no scruples, and no reflection! Film at eleven!
In other news, John McCain is totally a maverick and not a low-rent George W. Bush clone.

"Military Dictatorship" Is Such An Ugly Phrase...

...I prefer "Unitary Executive." Bush Administration lawyerbots claim the President has the unfettered authority to send in the military to arrest US Citizens on US soil and lock them up forever without charges, much less a trial. And of course, none of this reviewable by any court. Now, here's the challenge: I challenge Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama to publicly declare that they denounce this position and will never assert it in court. Get cracking, you two!

Supporting the Troops?

McCain and Dubya continue to work against a new GI Bill for veterans of the War on Terror.

Sorry, I was just waiting for all the Right Wing Outrage. Carry on.

What's the Matter with Texas?

Dubya's popularity is a scant 39%, though that still makes him more popular than Landslide Perry who is now hovering at 34%. And Cornyn holds only a four point lead on Rick Noriega. And both Obama and Clinton are polling at 43%, to McCain's 48% (against Obama) and 49% (against Clinton). Given that Rasmussen has always had a tendency to skew Republican, this is potentially very explosive stuff. Texas hasn't really been in play in a Presidential election since 1976, though the potential was there in 1996 had Bill Clinton not blown the state off. If even Texas is looking a little purple, then McCain is in serious, serious trouble.

UPDATE: A Research 2000 poll seems to confirm the Rasmussen results. So what gives? Neither Cornyn nor Kay Bailey Hutchinson have gotten just huge amounts of coverage lately, yet her approval ratings leave his in the dust, so it's hard to write this off as the Dubya anchor dragging down all GOP boats. Could it be that after a decade-long deathgrip on statewide office and the Legislature, the Republican brand name has fallen so far that it's Hutchinson who's the exception and Perry and Dubya the rule?

It's Official:

George W. Bush is the most despised President in modern American history.

You're doing a heckuva job, Dubya!

You're Just Another Brick in the Wall...

...unless you are rich, named Hunt, and a Bush Pioneer.

Dubya's Shadow

From the Great and Powerful Kos, a rumination on the legacies of this Administration that will last long beyond January 20, 2009. I agree with much of it, sadly, particularly the part about allowing Dubya's tax giveaway to the wealthiest 1% to expire being portrayed as "the largest tax hike in the history of the Universe." Also, in addition to a pledge to reverse all of Bush's executive orders, I would also like to hear which candidates, if any, will promise to eliminate forever the use of "signing statements."

Also: In light of the foregoing, is John McCain really in as good a shape for November as the sinister liberal MSM would have us believe?

Dubya vs. Indian Country, the Saga Continues

Not surprisingly, Bush's new hundred trillion gazillion dollar budget includes a $100 million cut for the BIA; obviously because that agency is such a model of bureacratic efficiency that it can make do with less. These cuts would devastate, among others, IHS, Indian colleges, and Indian housing programs and would cut ALL DOJ funds to tribes for law enforcement. Nice to see that this Administration, which has been so virulently anti-Indian, is going out with a calculated slap in the face.

From the Sunshine State

McCain wins (and may get Giuliani's mighty endorsement), but he's pretty much out of money, and the people who have the money don't like him. With Rudy! out, I'm curious to see how McCain does in a head-to-head to the Romney-bot (with Huckabee apparently no longer a factor). If Giuliani hadn't been on the ballot, how much of his 15% would've gone to McCain? The exit polls tend to indicate that McCain still has a significant problem with the GOP base (Scarborough dismissed his platform as "less jobs and more wars"). This would tend to hurt his ability to use the Karl Rove/Nathan Bedford Forrest ("Git thar fustest with the mostest men") strategy in November.

In other news, Dubya was lying during SOTU. Quick, fetch the smelling salts; I feel faint!

Go Dodd Go!

So far, Senate Republicans have fallen well short of enough votes for cloture to end Senator Chris Dodd's threatened filibuster of the loathsome FISA bill with its retroactive immunity for telecom companies who sold out their customers to the National Security State. Both Senators Clinton and Obama voted against cloture (and thus against the FISA bill), so good on them, too.

Imperial Presidency Theatre Presents...

...you are not entitled to know why the President of the United States does not want your children to be able to breath. Now, disperse peasants, lest I release the hounds!

Great White Father Knows Best, Part 2

The St. Regis Mohawk Tribe of New York and the St. Croix Band of Lake Superior Chippewa from Wisconsin are suing the Bush Administration over its' grotesquely paternalistic land-into-trust (re: anti-casino gaming) policy. Fortunately, word of Interior's ludicrous new attack on tribal sovereignty is starting to get around. Apparently, "local control" and "self-determination" only apply to non-Indians in the Republican Lexicon.

Great White Father Knows Best

Adding to the list of Bush Administration misdeeds that the next President will have to undo is this smarmy, condescending, paternalistic new policy on land-into-trust applications for off-reservation gaming. You can almost hear Dubya's smirk, "Now, there, there, you red fellas, you gotta trust that we know what's best for y'all. Now git on back to your reservation and stop scarin' the white folk."

Okay, I Know, I Know...

...I said I was on vacation, but I had to go to court today anyway, and I couldn't let pass without comment the culmination of Dubya's campaign to desecrate every single line of the Constitution: inventing a "pocket veto" that doesn't exist in order to kill a bipartisan Defense Appropriations bill because our puppet regime in Baghdad is miffed. Kind of makes you wonder if this White House is racing to see how low it can go and how ludicrous it can be before January 20, 2009, doesn't it?

UPDATE: Another view suggesting Dubya was legally right on the pocket veto and just outfaked the Democrats. And that the veto really has little if anything to do with Iraq.

Meet the New Boss?

The Huckabee/Dumont story continues to remind: do we really want another four years in the White House of a shallow former governor who makes decisions that determine whether others live or die based solely on cronyism and political extremism, while ignoring all inconvenient facts to the contrary?

Republicans Scared of Democracy!

Film at eleven! The Bush GOP's puling cowardice in the face of any dissent no matter how timid isn't really news, but the linked article from Orcinus is a very good rundown of Dubya's long history of maintaining a hermetically-sealed anti-First Amendment bubble around him at all times and how the current crop of Bush wannabes are dutifully following in his footsteps. Considering that the "Republican base" objectively hates poor people and illegal immigrants (and, of course, gay generals) and loves torture, maybe their desire not to answer unscripted questions makes a little more sense.