Of Course We're Happy, But

. . . its a long way to November. The wheels seem to be coming off for the left wing of the Democratic party and the mood over Obama's re-election chances seem to be shifting. Some of my fellow tea party bloggers will be celebrating over beers this weekend, appropriate for the occasion. (Beer, as in good ones from California, seems to be the official beverage of San Diego tea partyers.) In addition to the good news from victories I mentioned yesterday, I saw that Michigan and Nevada had moved into the "in play" column on the RealClearPolitics map since I last looked. Further, Bill Clinton and Ed Rendell seem to be detracting from the Obama campaign message.

Here's Rendell:




Peggy Noonan, had this to say about Clinton's quotes.

It just all increasingly looks like a house of cards. Bill Clinton—that ol' hound dog, that gifted pol who truly loves politics, who always loved figuring out exactly where the people were and then going to exactly that spot and claiming it—Bill Clinton is showing all the signs of someone who is, let us say, essentially unimpressed by the incumbent. He defended Mitt Romney as a businessman—"a sterling record"—said he doesn't like personal attacks in politics, then fulsomely supported the president, and then said that the Bush tax cuts should be extended.

But here's the problem. As good as things look now, politicians are in the survival business and have ways of correcting their own mistakes when it threatens their re-election prospects. Team Romney might be tempted to let Obama defeat himself; but sooner or later he has to make the case for why he himself should be the leader of the free world. This is what he failed to do in 2008. I have seen flashes of inspiration in this campaign, but not enough to make the sale. I am urging him to think seriously about two things. First, what few key positions and issues does he emphasize to demonstrate his readiness to govern. Second, what will his response be to another economic shock that might develop from Europe or unexpected quarters.

Clinton and Obama Impromptu Presser

Apparently, he's thrown in the towel, and I don't mean Clinton. The Republicans need to nominate someone reasonable in 2012 and they can easily beat this man who has apparently given up.

Fast forward to the 10:45 point for the money shot from today's impromptu press event:



What a tour de force, even if you disagree with the man, he has a command of the issues that escape the current occupant of the White House. Skip to any section of this video and ask yourself who could have done better. His understanding of the meaning of current high cash balances held by major corporations is beyond any living Democrat politician.

Best snark via Hotair on Twitter: "Finally, America has a black President again" (Michael Goldfarb).

Just remember, it's always about Bill.

Weekend Round Up

I feel a little more vindicated about my theory of 2007/2008 that Bill would sabotage Hillary's chances of becoming President. Ron Rosenbaum puts a spin on Bill's comments about Obama from the "Game Change" book by John Heilemann and Mark Halperin that finally gives me a smoking gun. While purportedly trying to get Ted Kennedy's endorsement for Hillary or at least prevent said endorsement from going to Obama, Clinton is quoted as saying "A few years ago, this guy would have been getting us coffee." From the Pajamas Media article:

What more could he have done than to alienate the ailing senator whose family identification with the civil rights cause was one of the chief glories of its decidedly mixed record. You know what: I have a heretical theory about this remark. It’s just too obvious to be a “slip.” Wouldn’t the whole episode make more sense if Bill was deliberately out to sabotage his wife’s run in ways she’d never know? And maybe for reasons he doesn’t really know.

That the Massachusetts Senate race is even close is already damaging the Democrat party. The unions and special interests are pouring in cash and help, but a wide variety of anecdotal evidence puts the momentum on Scott Brown's side. I was a little reluctant to get on this bandwagon because Brown had voted for Romneycare in Mass. But he has pledged to block Obamacare at the national level, so what's not to like. A few fun facts from the race:
1. Coakley has run one of the most abysmal campaigns, even appearing to insult Fenway Park.
2. Coakley was involved in one of the most infamous unjust and unfair prosecutions of the 20th century, that of the Amirault family, falsely convicted of child molestation.
3. Look at the trend in the polls, and compare the time line to the revelations of backroom deals on Obamacare.
4. Coakley managed to spell Massachussetes in an attack ad on Brown.


Oregon is going to the polls to tax the rich while their unemployment rate stands at 11.1%. Apparently liberals think with all this suffering will get voters motivated to support new taxes on the wealthy. This tax is being pushed by the public employees unions in another example of their attempt to become our masters rather than our servants. (If the linked Reason article doesn't make your blood boil, you are can't call yourself conservative or libertarian.) But I think the public is smart enough to know what a job killer the new taxes are; raising the top rates from 9% to 11% and business income tax from 6.6% to 7.9%.