That’s my friend Opus #6 of MAinfo . We met at the Michele Bachmann rally at Knotts Berry Farm in early 2009. Opus left a wonderful comment at the blog yesterday, at my essay, ” Housing Downsizing! “: This housing downsizing post has to be my favorite American Power post of all time. Probably because I downsized in June. And the kids and I, though a little cramped in our 3-br rented condo, are enjoying the community pool with lots of friends to play with, way less stress worrying about bills and repairs, and extra money in the checking account. I also loved seeing your mom. You and I are in the same generation and our parents are on the same track. She looks lovely. And a sweet nurturing woman is a blessing to any family. I pray that you and your family enjoy the new digs. That you have many happy days in your new place, lots less stress and building character as your kids observe you handing the changing nature of our society and economy not with bitterness but with courage. I responded the post. It means a lot. I’ve met many wonderful people through blogging. We share our lives online and we meet in person as well. Have a great Labor Day, Opus!
See original here:
Happy Labor Day to Opus #6!
I don’t think Obama’s Libyan war violates the War Powers Act, but unlike my fellow neocons , I’m more reserved in my support for the NATO campaign against Gaddafi. Recall Victor Davis Hanson’s essay at the start of the war, ” A Middle East Policy in Shambles .” Completely ad hoc, and spineless too, it’s hard to get excited about this, especially since Afghanistan (and Pakistan) remains the central danger point in U.S. international affairs. Anyway, I think my concerns are not unfamiliar among the wider conservative establishment. Michele Bachmann, in particular, seemed to impart the sense that America’s a bit overextended at the moment. See, LAT , ” GOP splitting over U.S. role in Libya and Afghanistan “: Republicans are facing a widening fissure over the U.S. role on the world stage as party leaders decide whether to confront President Obama this week over his policy toward Libya. House Speaker John A. Boehner (R-Ohio) and other congressional Republican leaders have said that U.S. involvement in NATO’s bombing campaign, which hit the 90-day mark Sunday, violates the War Powers Act. The House could seek to cut off money for the war as it takes up the annual Pentagon spending bill this week. Several of the party’s potential presidential candidates have called for the U.S. to quit the fight in Libya and questioned the depth of U.S. involvement in Afghanistan. Other Republicans have begun pushing back, criticizing what they see as a growing isolationist agenda within the party. The result is that Republicans, once relatively unified on foreign policy issues, now have a division that parallels the long-standing split in Democratic ranks. The debate was on public display Sunday as two of the GOP’s leading figures on defense and foreign policy, Sens. John McCain of Arizona and Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, criticized Republican presidential hopefuls and congressional leaders who question the country’s military intervention around the world. “There has always been an isolationist strain in the Republican Party,” McCain said on ABC’s “This Week,” “but now it seems to have moved more center stage…. That is not the Republican Party that has been willing to stand up for freedom for people all over the world.” Graham said on NBC’s “Meet the Press” that any debate over cutting funding for the Libya war would encourage resistance by Libyan leader Moammar Kadafi. “Congress should sort of shut up,” he said. McCain and Graham also criticized former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, who’s leading in the polls for the party’s presidential nomination, for referring to the fighting in Afghanistan as a “war for independence” that the U.S. should leave to others. “I wish that candidate Romney and all the others would sit down” with U.S. commanders “and understand how this counter-insurgency is working and succeeding,” McCain said. Romney was one of several presidential hopefuls who, in last week’s Republican candidate debate, focused criticism on U.S. military operations in Libya and Afghanistan. None took the sort of hawkish positions that McCain advocated during his presidential run in 2008. Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.), for example, questioned what U.S. interest is at stake in Libya. “We were not attacked,” Bachmann said. “We were not threatened with attack. There was no vital national interest.”
Here is the original post:
Republican Party Splitting Over U.S. Role in Libya
I’m surprised it’s that high, although we’ve got 57 percent disapproval of Obama on the economy, so he is trying. At WaPo , ” Economic anxiety threatens Obama in 2012, but in poll he edges GOP rivals ” (via Memeorandum ): Deepening economic pessimism has pushed down President Obama’s approval rating to a near record low, but he holds an early advantage over prospective 2012 rivals in part because of widespread dissatisfaction with Republican candidates, according to a new Washington Post-ABC News poll. In the survey, 47 percent approve of the job Obama is doing, down seven points since January. Half of all Americans disapprove of his job performance, with 37 percent saying they “strongly disapprove,” nearly matching the worst level of his presidency. Driving the downward movement in Obama’s standing are renewed concerns about the economy and fresh worry about rising prices, particularly for gasoline. Despite signs of economic growth, 44 percent of Americans see the economy as getting worse, the highest percentage to say so in more than two years. The toll on Obama is direct: 57 percent disapprove of the job the president is doing dealing with the economy, tying his highest negative rating when it comes to the issue. And the president is doing a bit worse among politically important independents. If Obama is running into headwinds, however, his potential Republican opponents face serious problems, as well. Less than half of Republicans and Republican-leaning independents say they are satisfied with the field of GOP candidates. That field is still taking shape, but the sentiment is a big falloff from four years ago, when nearly two-thirds of Republicans were satisfied with their options. Well, it turns out Sarah Palin launched a new website yesterday , which stoked speculation that she’s going to formally announce her candidacy. I hope so. She’ll fire up the GOP. Game on. IMAGE CREDIT : Serr8d’s Cutting Edge .
Continue reading here:
Half of All Americans Disapprove of Obama’s Job Performance
I’m surprised it’s that high, although we’ve got 57 percent disapproval of Obama on the economy, so he is trying. At WaPo , ” Economic anxiety threatens Obama in 2012, but in poll he edges GOP rivals ” (via Memeorandum ): Deepening economic pessimism has pushed down President Obama’s approval rating to a near record low, but he holds an early advantage over prospective 2012 rivals in part because of widespread dissatisfaction with Republican candidates, according to a new Washington Post-ABC News poll. In the survey, 47 percent approve of the job Obama is doing, down seven points since January. Half of all Americans disapprove of his job performance, with 37 percent saying they “strongly disapprove,” nearly matching the worst level of his presidency. Driving the downward movement in Obama’s standing are renewed concerns about the economy and fresh worry about rising prices, particularly for gasoline. Despite signs of economic growth, 44 percent of Americans see the economy as getting worse, the highest percentage to say so in more than two years. The toll on Obama is direct: 57 percent disapprove of the job the president is doing dealing with the economy, tying his highest negative rating when it comes to the issue. And the president is doing a bit worse among politically important independents. If Obama is running into headwinds, however, his potential Republican opponents face serious problems, as well. Less than half of Republicans and Republican-leaning independents say they are satisfied with the field of GOP candidates. That field is still taking shape, but the sentiment is a big falloff from four years ago, when nearly two-thirds of Republicans were satisfied with their options. Well, it turns out Sarah Palin launched a new website yesterday , which stoked speculation that she’s going to formally announce her candidacy. I hope so. She’ll fire up the GOP. Game on. IMAGE CREDIT : Serr8d’s Cutting Edge .
Read the original:
Half of All Americans Disapprove of Obama’s Job Performance
Don’t forget that I was in the house at CPAC when The Donald announced he was a candidate for the presidency. That’s when he smacked down the Paulbots, which was priceless. I wouldn’t have expected that he’d come on as strong as he has in the polls. Ed Morrissey has in interesting headline on that, ” Rasmussen survey shows Obama can’t clear 50% even against Trump .” But see Politico, ” What’s Donald Trump really after?” (via Memeorandum ): More than anything else, according to those who’ve spoken to him, he doesn’t want to be seen as the butt of this particular joke. “He gets mad that people aren’t taking him seriously,“ said a Republican who’s spoken with him. Still, while he is “serious” from the organizational point of view and appears very likely to emerge as a formal candidate for office, he will struggle hard to be taken seriously as a potential Republican nominee. Trump may not be in on the joke — he rarely jokes about himself — but he has been a punch line as long as he’s been a public figure. He’s still more of a sideshow than anything else, most Republican insiders are convinced, and his respectable showings in largely meaningless early polls reflect little more than his widespread notoriety.
Read the original here:
What Trump Wants
At Vanity Fair , ” Christine O’Donnell Accuses Joe Biden of Conspiring Against Her, Again .” Also, at ABC News, ” O’Donnell Claims Political Witch Hunt ,” and The Other McCain, ” Christine O’Donnell’s Not a Witch, But They’re Gonna Burn Her Anyway ” (via Memeorandum ).
Read more:
O’Donnell Blames Biden for Campaign Investigation
