First thoughts: White House vs. Deeds

Posted: Friday, October 23, 2009 9:15 AM by Mark Murray
Filed Under: First Thoughts

From Chuck Todd, Mark Murray, Domenico Montanaro, and Ali Weinberg
*** White House vs. Deeds: In an interview earlier this month, Creigh Deeds (D) blamed, in part, the Democrats’ national agenda as he trails Bob McDonnell (R) in Virginia’s gubernatorial race. “Frankly, a lot of what’s going on in Washington has made it very tough,” he said. But now the White House is blaming Deeds. A senior administration official tells the Washington Post that Deeds made several mistakes in his campaign. "I understood in the beginning why there was some reluctance to run all around the state with Barack Obama," the official said. "You don't do that in Virginia. But when you consider the African American turnout that they need, and then when you consider as well they've got a huge problem with surge voters, younger voters, we were just a natural for them." Said another official: “Obama, Kaine and others had drawn a road map to victory in Virginia. Deeds chose another path." Ouch.

*** Why pile on Deeds -- now? But why are some folks at the White House trying to throw Deeds under the bus -- at least right now? For one thing, Obama is campaigning for Deeds on Tuesday (this reminds us of that New York Times story about the White House pressuring David Paterson to get out of his race right before Obama was set to make a stop in New York). Also, Obama is now appearing in a TV ad for Deeds. Finally, the C.W. was already beginning to settle -- without the White House’s help! -- that Deeds has no one to blame but himself for his campaign struggles. While McDonnell has effectively used national issues like the health-care debate, cap-and-trade, and even card check against Deeds, this month’s Washington Post poll -- which had the Republican leading the Democrat by nine points among likely voters (53%-44%) -- showed that Deeds isn’t facing a stiff political headwind in this race. If anything, it’s a very gentle breeze. In that Post poll, Obama’s approval rating in Virginia was 58% among registered voters and 53% among likely voters -- that 53% matching the percentage Obama won in Virginia last year. Perhaps more surprisingly, incumbent Gov. Tim Kaine, who also has become DNC chairman, had a 60% approval rating.

*** When you’re losing on the economy, you’re likely not going to win: Indeed, Deeds is losing this race on the issues. Per that Post poll, likely voters trusted McDonnell more on the economy (53%-39%), transportation (49%-37%), the budget (52%-36%). education (51%-40%), and even health care (44%-42%). The only subjects that Deeds outscored McDonnell were on women’s issues (47%-41%) and abortion (44%-42%) -- and that’s after all the scrutiny on McDonnell’s controversial 1989 thesis. So here’s our question: Why couldn’t have folks at the White House have waited until after Nov. 3 to throw Deeds under the bus? Today’s Washington Post story, plus the earlier New York Times one on Paterson, doesn’t look at all like the highly disciplined and discreet Team Obama we saw during the presidential campaign. Bottom line: There's no good for the White House to pile on Deeds; it seems like an unnecessary headache at this point. By the way, here’s a tiny reminder to the White House: The reason both Corzine in NJ and Owens in NY-23 are showing no fear in using the president is that both Democrats only need DEMOCRATS to win their respective races, as both feature three-way dynamics, which make base turnout critical. Deeds doesn't have that luxury.

*** The campaigner-in-chief: President Obama today continues to wear his campaign hat. Beginning at 2:00 pm ET, he hits two fundraising events in Boston for Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick (D). Then he heads to Connecticut, where he does a fundraiser for Sen. Chris Dodd (D) at 6:45 pm. Before those fundraisers, the president delivers a speech at 12:30 pm at MIT on energy and climate change. By the way, Republicans who are running against Dodd have some activities tied to Obama’s visit today. For starters, Linda McMahon (wife of WWE’s Vince McMahon) is airing a TV ad in Connecticut. And Tom Foley is holding a press avail at 2:30 pm. Interestingly, both Patrick and Dodd may find themselves in a similar situation to Corzine’s -- in need of the president simply to ratchet up Dem support. Patrick is facing a three-way race in 2010 (Dem-turned-indie plus a VERY solid Republican recruit), while Dodd is simply trying to get back disaffected Dems to his side.

*** Public option here we come -- or not: Here’s a twist… Just as Harry Reid, per the New York Times, is now pushing for a public option (with a state opt-out), Politico is reporting that Nancy Pelosi does NOT have 218 votes in the House for a robust public option. Given the pressure Reid has received from progressives on the public option, we can understand why he’s now trying to embrace the public option plan. But here’s what has folks scratching their heads: Why did Senate Democrats devote so much time to trying to win over Olympia Snowe (and possibly Susan Collins) if they were later going to opt for legislation that she couldn’t support? And here’s a final thing that has to be frustrating the White House: The public option is STILL the central debate in health care, when according to estimates, it would attract just about 12 million Americans (about the size of Pennsylvania)? and

*** Palin endorses Hoffman: Sarah Palin has stepped into the GOP civil war in NY-23 by endorsing conservative third-party candidate Doug Hoffman over the more moderate GOP nominee Dede Scozzafava. On her Facebook page, Palin wrote, "[B]est of all, Doug Hoffman has not been anointed by any political machine. Doug Hoffman stands for the principles that all Republicans should share: smaller government, lower taxes, strong national defense, and a commitment to individual liberty. Political parties must stand for something. When Republicans were in the wilderness in the late 1970s, Ronald Reagan knew that the doctrine of 'blurring the lines' between parties was not an appropriate way to win elections. Unfortunately, the Republican Party today has decided to choose a candidate who more than blurs the lines, and there is no real difference between the Democrat and the Republican in this race." (Of course, Reagan also had that 11th Commandment: Thou shall not speak ill of another Republican.)

*** Can you spare some change? Here's a fun number… Since 2000, Jon Corzine and New York City Mayor Mike Bloomberg have remarkably spent a combined $371.2 million on their campaigns. Bloomberg’s total: $243.6 million ($74 million in 2001, $84.6 million in 2005, and $85 million SO FAR in 2009, a record for a municipal election). Corzine: $127.6 million ($65 million in 2000 for U.S. Senate, $40 million in 2005 for governor, and $22.6 million so far on his reelection this year -- he had promised to spend $40 million to $50 million on this race). By the way, the country of Bloomborzine, funded just by these campaign expenditures, would have the 213th largest GDP in the world -- between Tonga and the island nation of Sao Tome and Principe. (Here’s another comparison: In his 2009 race, former T-Mobile exec Joe Mallahan, a Democrat, has spent a Seattle mayoral record of his own money for the campaign, $230,000.)

*** Mrs. Popular: In our final look at women and politics as part of this week’s NBC/MSNBC focus on women, First Read takes a look at First Lady Michelle Obama, who appears on Jay Leno’s show tonight. The first lady has become a political asset for the White House, but that wasn’t always the case. In Sept. 2008, in the thick of the general election, her fav/unfav in our NBC/WSJ poll was a pedestrian 40%-31%. But when we surveyed her again this April, it had grown to an impressive 64%-11%. In fact, according to a new USA Today/Gallup poll, she’s now more popular than her husband is: his fav/unfav in the poll is 55%-42%; hers is 61%-25%.

Countdown to Election Day 2009: 11 days
Countdown to MA Special Primary: 46 days
Countdown to MA Special Election: 88 days
Countdown to Election Day 2010: 375 days

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Comments

Pelosi lacks alot of things...brains...trust....common sense...... etc...The American people HATE her and would gladly throw her out of office if we could. She will hang in there due to her San Francisco roots. But she needs to be removed as Speaker ..she is ineffective, stubborn and arrogant. She refuses to see the concerns that many Americans have about health care. She would rather call us names than deal with any concerns or dissent. She, Reid and Obama want to ram a bill through as fast as they can..Damn the cost and the consequences. After 9 months of this Administration we can see quite clearly that most of their policies are disasters. Health Care will be the most expensive disaster ever if we let them shove this down our throats. Talk to us when all members of Congress and Obama and family go on this health plan. Until; then go away Nancy ..far away.....you are not welcome in most American homes.

B. Crooks, Iowa (Sent Friday, October 23, 2009 9:22 AM)

Fox News, they almost never correct their errors...
Paul Va.

Makes them kind of like the New York Times then.

Pinch Me (Sent Friday, October 23, 2009 9:23 AM)

This is why people dont believe in global warming

The dog ate the original global warming data that "proved" warming in the last century
Experimentally determining the average annual global temperature is no easy task. To do so with certainty, you would need a temperature sensor on every square inch of the planet tracking the local temperature continuously. Then that data would need to be averaged over each year. However, we have no such sensor system as it would be wholly unpractical. Thus, temperature data is collected at discrete locations around the globe and needs to be "massaged" to fill the gaps between sensor stations. The question as to how this is done to original data has been raised, and for good reason. BUT the "scientist" responsible for doing just that didn't want to release the original data or his methodology for fear that it might be debunked (thus my quotes around the word scientist for this gentleman). Then when push came to shove, he claimed that eth original data has been lost, even though he gave it to a friendly colleague not long ago. It's an incredible story and should raise an eyebrow of every scientist regardless of stripe. From the NRO via Climate Depot: The Dog Ate Global Warming.
Imagine if there were no reliable records of global surface temperature. Raucous policy debates such as cap-and-trade would have no scientific basis, Al Gore would at this point be little more than a historical footnote, and President Obama would not be spending this U.N. session talking up a (likely unattainable) international climate deal in Copenhagen in December.

Steel yourself for the new reality, because the data needed to verify the gloom-and-doom warming forecasts have disappeared.

Or so it seems. Apparently, they were either lost or purged from some discarded computer. Only a very few people know what really happened, and they aren’t talking much. And what little they are saying makes no sense.

In the early 1980s, with funding from the U..S. Department of Energy, scientists at the United Kingdom’s University of East Anglia established the Climate Research Unit (CRU) to produce the world’s first comprehensive history of surface temperature. It’s known in the trade as the “Jones and Wigley” record for its authors, Phil Jones and Tom Wigley, and it served as the primary reference standard for the U.N. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) until 2007. It was this record that prompted the IPCC to claim a “discernible human influence on global climate.”

Putting together such a record isn’t at all easy. Weather stations weren’t really designed to monitor global climate. Long-standing ones were usually established at points of commerce, which tend to grow into cities that induce spurious warming trends in their records. Trees grow up around thermometers and lower the afternoon temperature. Further, as documented by the University of Colorado’s Roger Pielke Sr., many of the stations themselves are placed in locations, such as in parking lots or near heat vents, where artificially high temperatures are bound to be recorded.

So the weather data that go into the historical climate records that are required to verify models of global warming aren’t the original records at all. Jones and Wigley, however, weren’t specific about what was done to which station in order to produce their record, which, according to the IPCC, showed a warming of 0.6° +/– 0.2°C in the 20th century.

Now begins the fun. Warwick Hughes, an Australian scientist, wondered where that “+/–” came from, so he politely wrote Phil Jones in early 2005, asking for the original data. Jones’s response to a fellow scientist attempting to replicate his work was, “We have 25 years or so invested in the work. Why should I make the data available to you, when your aim is to try and find something wrong with it?”

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_gcA0ZuKGkI8/SruXD9s1RTI/AAAAAAAAD3g/yqq6IZSK_Og/s1600-h/iraqi.jpgReread that statement, for it is breathtaking in its anti-scientific thrust. In fact, the entire purpose of replication is to “try and find something wrong.” The ultimate objective of science is to do things so well that, indeed, nothing is wrong.

Then the story changed. In June 2009, Georgia Tech’s Peter Webster told Canadian researcher Stephen McIntyre that he had requested raw data, and Jones freely gave it to him. So McIntyre promptly filed a Freedom of Information Act request for the same data. Despite having been invited by the National Academy of Sciences to present his analyses of millennial temperatures, McIntyre was told that he couldn’t have the data because he wasn’t an “academic.” So his colleague Ross McKitrick, an economist at the University of Guelph, asked for the data. He was turned down, too.

Faced with a growing number of such requests, Jones refused them all, saying that there were “confidentiality” agreements regarding the data between CRU and nations that supplied the data. McIntyre’s blog readers then requested those agreements, country by country, but only a handful turned out to exist, mainly from Third World countries and written in very vague language.

It’s worth noting that McKitrick and I had published papers demonstrating that the quality of land-based records is so poor that the warming trend estimated since 1979 (the first year for which we could compare those records to independent data from satellites) may have been overestimated by 50 percent. Webster, who received the CRU data, published studies linking changes in hurricane patterns to warming (while others have found otherwise).

Enter the dog that ate global warming.

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_gcA0ZuKGkI8/SruXEjOa5iI/AAAAAAAAD3w/sUhOYosS9ps/s1600-h/man_made_global_warming_is_a_fraud.jpgRoger Pielke Jr., an esteemed professor of environmental studies at the University of Colorado, then requested the raw data from Jones. Jones responded:
Since the 1980s, we have merged the data we have received into existing series or begun new ones, so it is impossible to say if all stations within a particular country or if all of an individual record should be freely available. Data storage availability in the 1980s meant that we were not able to keep the multiple sources for some sites, only the station series after adjustment for homogeneity issues. We, therefore, do not hold the original raw data but only the value-added (i.e., quality controlled and homogenized) data.
The statement about “data storage” is balderdash. They got the records from somewhere. The files went onto a computer. All of the original data could easily fit on the 9-inch tape drives common in the mid-1980s. I had all of the world’s surface barometric pressure data on one such tape in 1979.

If we are to believe Jones’s note to the younger Pielke, CRU adjusted the original data and then lost or destroyed them over twenty years ago.
Scientifically, this smells to high heaven. When doing experimental studies, as I have done throughout my career, the original raw data is the most valuable data that there is. I have been asked for it from my colleagues and obliged, and I have asked for some of my colleague's data and was supplied with them. There is simply no excuse to missing original data, especially data that is shaping political consensus and will affect every American. This is scientific negligence in the first degree and until the original data is produced, and result should simply be discarded at this point. If the adjusted data cannot be replicated by independent investigators, then it is worthless.

What_you_Selling (Sent Friday, October 23, 2009 9:23 AM)

Remind us again. Isn’t Mika the daughter of Mr. Mxyzptlk, Superman’s enemy from another dimension? But we digress.
Since MSNBC is a real news organization – unlike Fox – it’s only natural that the White House should email Mika Brzezinski while she was on the air.
And voila! Mika rolled over and played dead and delivered the White House’s talking points exactly as they had requested.
“The White House did just e-mail saying that interaction with Jake Tapper was not heated…”
Anita Dunn then placed a biscuit on Mika’s nose, where she obediently let it sit until she was given permission to eat it.
Good lap dog

What_you_selling (Sent Friday, October 23, 2009 9:24 AM)

A Quiz for the GOP:

Politico wrote a piece, “Conservatives roar, GOP trembles” and I began to think about the future of the GOP. Will the GOP splinter to become a regional or local party, or will it reconstitute itself to be a viable national party in 2010 or 2912? The answer to this question depends on how the GOP responds to a number of other questions.

1) Limbaugh and Beck have some followers, but do they have enough supporters to bring the GOP back to power?

2) Will the conservatives give up control of the party and allow the GOP to move to the center?

My take on the first two questions in “No” and “No”.

3) Will the GOP use the same Rovian tactics used in the past election?

4) Will the next GOP candidate have to be a conservative in order to receive the Limbaugh/Beck blessing?

I suspect the answer is: “Yes” to questions number 3 and 4. Huckabee, with Pawlenty a distant second are the early favorites. Palin is Limbaugh’s favorite, but she is still dropping like a rock.

5) Can any conservative President Obama? Not at this time or the foreseeable future. There will be healthcare reform, but not energy reform. The economy will have turned around by 2012, jobs will be on the upswing, and we will have only limited forces in Iraq. Afghanistan will still be a problem.

6) How can a Republican from a purpose state best protect him/herself? Go with the flow and cooperate. It is far better for a GOP senator or representative to stand with the President at a bill signing ceremony, receiving some recognition, than isolating and being a sore loste.

Some, reading this post will see it differently; other will wish it to be different. But what I do believe is that just voting “No” and being oppositional is a terrible strategy for Republicans.

Elise, SF: Thank you for your kind words. San Francisco is beautiful and my most favorite city.

Ron Indiana (Sent Friday, October 23, 2009 9:24 AM)

THanks for the Change
Romer: Impact of stimulus will level off
By JIM KUHNHENN (AP) – 17 hours ago
WASHINGTON — A top White House economist says spending from the $787 billion economic stimulus has already had its biggest impact on economic growth and will likely not contribute to significant expansion next year.
Christina Romer, the chair of President Barack Obama's Council of Economic Advisers, said Thursday that the $194 billion already spent gave a jolt to the economy that contributed to growth in the second and third quarters of the year. She told a congressional panel that by the middle of next year, the impact of the stimulus will level off. Romer said spending so far has saved or created 600,000 to 1.5 million jobs but warned that unemployment will remain high, above 9.5 percent, through the end of 2010.

What_you_selling (Sent Friday, October 23, 2009 9:24 AM)

AMERICA WAKE UP. Do you really want a trigger option in this rancid health care bill? If so you can count on the trigger being pulled and the government will destroy insurance companies, hospitals and health care as wenow know it. These socialist can not help the poor of this country as the have been promising so the want to bring those not afraid to get out and earn a living down to the level of the food stamp drawing class of people and illegal aliens who wait for medical treatment at emergency rooms in hospitals. If tthe democrats get thier way we will all be waiting in long line to see doctors and to get medical care. Do we really wat this? What will happen when there is no people who will work any more so these people cannot take from them and give to those who refuse to work any more? We are heading toward SOCIALISM and Obamas goal is to become our Mao or Chavez type leader. Can't you see iT? Like Chavez he is already trying to shut down the press and news outlets that bring you the truth. Like the stories on Van Jones, ACORN and so many others. Lets stop this madness in Washington and return America to the great country it once was and not the banana republic Obama wants to make it. GOD BLESS FOX NEWS.

J. Souths, Texas (Sent Friday, October 23, 2009 9:25 AM)

Happy Autumn in New England Friday Everyone

October 23rd – This date in baseball history -

1993 - Thanks to Joe Carter's dramatic ninth inning three-run homer, the Blue Jays beat the Phillies 8-6 to win their second consecutive World Championship. The Toronto outfielder becomes just the second player to end the World Series with a home run joining Bill Mazeroski whose Forbes Field's round tripper beat the Yankees in 1960.

2002 - Lou Gehrig's consecutive games streak being broken by Cal Ripken Jr. in 1995 is voted as baseball's most memorable moment by the fans participating Major league baseball and MasterCard promotion. Hank Aaron breaking Babe Ruth's all-time home run record, Jackie Robinson becoming the first black to play in major league baseball, Mark McGwire breaking Roger Maris' single-season home run record and Lou Gehrig's farewell speech were also in the top five events selected by the fans.

October 24th

1963 - Sandy Koufax is the unanimous winner of the Cy Young Award.

1972 - Hall of Famer Jackie Robinson dies of heart disease at age 53. Robinson had become the first black major league player of the 20th century with the 1947 Dodgers.

October 25th

A REAL BUMMER

1986 - The New York Mets rallied for three runs with two outs in the 10th inning against the Boston Red Sox to win 6-5 and push the World Series to a decisive seventh game. The tie-breaking run scored on Boston first baseman Bill Buckner's error on Mookie Wilson's slow grounder.

October 26th

1971 - Oakland's Vida Blue wins the AL Cy Young Award by a 98-85 margin over Mickey Lolich of the Tigers. Blue was 24-8 for the A's, posting 301 strikeouts, eight shutouts, and a 1.82 ERA. Ferguson Jenkins won the Cy Young Award in the NL.

DAMN YANKEES

1996 - A three-run third inning is all the Yankees need. Series MVP John Wetteland pitches out of trouble in the ninth as the Yankees win the World Series for the first time since 1978.

It will be first of 14 consecutive World Series victories as the Bronx Bombers start their run of four titles in five years.
____________

Here's to Baseball and the 2009 World Series!

Pat, Boston, MA (Sent Friday, October 23, 2009 9:25 AM)

*** Public option here we come -- or not:

A funny thing happened on the way to the Public Option. Nancy and Harry counted the votes, and they didn't have enough.

Hardee Har Har (Sent Friday, October 23, 2009 9:27 AM)

Of course, Reagan also had that 11th Commandment: Thou shall not speak ill of another Republican.

-----------------------------------------------

Oh, pshaw...she's just "Going Rogue" again!

Pete - Albany, NY (Sent Friday, October 23, 2009 9:27 AM)

And then there is this news tidbit from the NY Times: Speaking privately at the White House on Monday with a group of mostly liberal columnists and commentators, including Rachel Maddow and Keith Olbermann of MSNBC and Maureen Dowd, Frank Rich and Bob Herbert of The New York Times, Mr. Obama himself gave vent to sentiments about the network, according to people briefed on the conversation.

Obama giving marching orders was he? We know msnbc is in the tank for Obama, being the exact same thing Obama (wrongly) accuses Fox to be for the Republicans. msnbc isn't even a news show any more, it's a love fest for President Obama sprinkled with prison and pedophile documentary shows. We see why Fox is so high in the ratings, they give the most unbiased news in the country.

Colleen Franks, Boston MA (Sent Friday, October 23, 2009 9:28 AM)

CNN -- which recently unleashed its fact-checkers on a "Saturday Night Live" skit mildly critical of President Obama, but did no checking of a grotesquely racist remark CNN falsely attributed to Rush Limbaugh? I think we need some new "fact" checkers.

Chubby Checkers (Sent Friday, October 23, 2009 9:29 AM)

MSNBC "But now the White House is blaming Deeds. A senior administration official tells the Washington Post that Deeds made several mistakes in his campaign. "I understood in the beginning why there was some reluctance to run all around the state with Barack Obama," the official said."

The Administration is turning on its supports and you are somehow shocked?

Dear Mr. President,

Again, I ask, where is the Constitutional authority for the government to set wages at the bailed out firms? To those who said ‘well, the gov’t owns these firms so they can do whatever they want’ is not entirely true. The gov’t is a majority shareholder in AIG, Citi and GM and they have a large ownership position but they are not the sole owner. These are still publicly traded firms with charters; they are not private firms and they are not the sole proprietorships of Barack H. Obama.

I am as infuriated as anyone about the huge salaries of bailed out bankers, brokers and industrialists who failed to manage their businesses properly and required taxpayer bailouts. There must be accountability and punishment for their misdeeds but NOT one that circumvents the law or oversteps the bounds of the US Constitution. Calls for dictating wages and prices may play well politically to blue-collar Charlies who feel this is some form of swift justice, but it is not. It simply perpetuates class warfare and untrammeled government which are far worse than out-of-control private enterprise.

Where was the executive pay outrage from the Left when the University of Chicago Hospitals laid off over 500 workers in February 2009, shortly after the election? Many of the discharged workers were Teamster and SEIU union members, while earlier in January 2009, Michelle Obama quietly left her $327,000/year superfluous VP job at the U of C Hospitals. There was very little coverage of that event. The unions served their purpose to advance the election of Barack Obama, now they are thrown away like rags.

Mr. President, America is still losing the War on Poverty- “10/23/09 Data from the Census Bureau, released in September, show that during the first year of the recession, incomes fell farther and poverty leaped higher than during almost any other time in a generation. In 2008, U.S. median income fell to $50,303 from $52,163 in 2007. That 3.6% decline is the largest one-year drop since records begin. The poverty rate increased to 13.2% from 12.5%, meaning the recession has brought 2.6 million more Americans into poverty.” This is from the US Census Bureau, not Fox News or Drudge Report. The US Census Bureau- the very same Bureau who would have enlisted the help of ACORN in the next census. Maybe the “facts” would have turned out more favorably if ACORN did the calculations.

Current statistics on rising unemployment, foreclosures and business bankruptcies are very disconcerting to the devotees of the Obama agenda, but these numbers come from government statistical agencies, not right-leaning news commentators or encrypted shortwave broadcasts from the Montana Militia. The standard response from the supporters of the Obama Administration is to increase their vulgarity and ad hominem attacks against former President Bush or any press outlet not in sympathy with Barack Obama. So much for freedom of the press and as I have said many times, the Left will continue to surrender more freedoms for the warm, fuzzy protections of cradle-to-grave socialism.

The Kwyjibo (Sent Friday, October 23, 2009 9:30 AM)

Chuck… I’m dying to see the ‘new look’… when I left the house you were still waffling! You know what they say… the first cut is the deepest! lol lol lol
____________________

CONGRESS: PUBLIC OPTION'S NEW LIFE?

Anyway the wind blows right guys? Just last night you were declaring it DEAD AGAIN!

When all is said and done, we WILL see a HCR bill with a Public Option on the President’s desk before the New Year!

Though I can’t say it hasn’t been a hell of a ride getting there! Both exhilarating & challenging but in the end it’s GOING to HAPPEN!

It’s comical that after 5:00 or so when FR shuts off the lights the righties FLOCK here like moths to a flame… lol lol lol

I want to apologize in advance to any one I might ‘offend’ but have to get this ‘off my chest’ since ‘Willing to Work’ doesn’t want to let the 'bone' go…
_________________

I live in an area with "reported" unemployment of 34%. In reality, it is higher. I have a college degree and stellar references but can't even get in at McDonalds. I am hurting. I don't want hand-outs. I want to work.

I was going to say that I hope you are never in my position but after your heartless response, I hope my god damns you to hell.
Willing to Work (Sent Thursday, October 22, 2009 4:47 PM
___________________

WtW:
What gives you away as one of you ‘alter’ egos is:

• You and ‘Where the Jobs Barack’ have the EXACT same writing skills! Let’s just say they have short brown ‘dog hair’ all over them! Upon further DNA testing ‘bad’ was also discovered!

• You’re here each & every day repeating precisely the same thing! You have added NOTHING in all the months you been here.

• Others here have reached out to you. However I would be ‘willing’ to bet we wouldn’t find anyone named ‘willing to work’ in any of the states! It’s a BIG country dontcha know!

I was in your position (last year) and you didn’t find me here every single day repeating the SAME old line(s) over & over ad nauseam! I was pounding the pavement – networking – working on cover letters – at resource centers etc…

So you may think you’re fooling some of the people some of the time… but anyone that reads FR regularly knows who you are!

If you were REALLY Willing to Work you would at LEAST take some of the advice that’s been giving to you by others on the board rather than repeating yourself DAILY!

It’s easy to sit behind a keyboard and whine but in reality NO ONE is going to come ring your doorbell and offer you a J O B!

Yes times are tough - you'll get no argument out of me but get off your a@@ knock on your neighbors doors: see if you can rake leaves, clean the gutters or something that will put a couple of $$$ in your pocket but STOP with the PITY PARTY

Ps: You have your ‘own’ God as well? Nice touch! I’m anticipating some sort of smart a@@ answer back from either you or one of the ‘gang’… but remember… ‘your God’ can only damn me to hell once… ;0)

Thanks to our hosts/moderators for another stellar week here @ FR! Thee best place on the web to rile up the righties! :0)

Gotcha Gregory HAS GOT TO GO… Heads Up; Morning Joke will be on Sunday yech!

Give Lawrence O’ his OWN show…

Feisty Redhead Roselle, IL (Sent Friday, October 23, 2009 9:30 AM)

President Obama may be out on the campaign trail today, but there are some who wish he would begin to fulfill some of his obligations from the last campaign.

Conservationists for Obama have come out with a strongly worded statement today condemning the Obama Administration for its slowness in making environmental appointments. And especially in ignoring the environmental campaign staff that helped to elect him

The group points out that it has been almost a year since the election of Barack Obama and the question is beginning to be asked "Where are the Obama Environmental Appointments?" There are still hundreds of Bush appointees serving across the environmental agencies.

Many loyal Obama supporters have been frozen out of the process. This includes many environmentalists who left their full-time jobs to work endlessly for the election of Barack Obama.

With climate change near the front burner of priority issues, Conservationist for Obama is recommending that the Obama Office of Presidential Personnel begin the process of making environmental appointments, or to delegate the responsibilities to the agencies.

http://my.barackobama.com/page/community/post/conservationists/gGMyly

David, Washington, DC (Sent Friday, October 23, 2009 9:30 AM)

If Fox News isn't a news organization, then why do they continue to report the news so well?

Margie, Holden, OK (Sent Friday, October 23, 2009 9:31 AM)

NO OBAMA IN 2012.

HEADLINE: Barack Obama sees worst poll rating drop in 50 years.

The decline in Barack Obama's popularity since July has been the steepest of any president at the same stage of his first term for more than 50 years.

By Toby Harnden in Washington

Barack Obama's popularity has fallen steeply since being elected last year Photo: AFP Gallup recorded an average daily approval rating of 53 per cent for Mr Obama for the third quarter of the year, a sharp drop from the 62 per cent he recorded from April.

His current approval rating –-- hovering just above the level that would make re-election an uphill struggle --– is close to the bottom for newly-elected president. Mr Obama entered the White House with a soaring 78 per cent approval rating.

HILLARY IS PREPARING FOR ANOTHER RUN IN 2012!

OBAMA FALLING RATINGS SETS A NEW RECORD. (Sent Friday, October 23, 2009 9:31 AM)

President Obama today continues to wear his campaign hat.

Someone needs to tell the president to take off his campaign hat and put on his governing hat.

Haberdasher (Sent Friday, October 23, 2009 9:31 AM)

How come no mention of the USA Today / Gallup poll which shows that Obama's approval rating is down to 50%? You certainly trumpet the results of the polls that put him in the best light. Look at the numbers on the Dems Health Care Plan. Respondents were asked if 4 areas would get better, not change, or get worse:
Cost: 22% think they'll get lower; 49% higher
Quality: 19% think it'll improve; 40% think it'll worsen.
Coverage: 25% think it'll get better; 46% say it'll get worse.
Insurance Requirements for treatment: 25% think it'll get better; 37% think it'll get worse.

Hmmm...no mention of this by First Read. The Cherry Picking continues.

By the way, great article at Real Clear Politics concerning the wording of poll questions on "government" vs. "public" options. It makes a difference how you word it.

Dookie (Sent Friday, October 23, 2009 9:33 AM)

*** Why pile on Deeds -- now? But why are some folks at the White House trying to throw Deeds under the bus -- at least right now?

Obama must be very, very hurt by the fact the good people of Virginia have figured out that Barack is not the bill of goods he sold the public on last year. Being a Liberal is one thing. Ted Kennedy was as Liberal as they come, but he know how to play well with others. Obama has just isolated himself from reality with one hostile take over after another of American industries. Obama only plays well with his own kind like Pelosi and Reid. We see how popular those three are becoming, all have under 50% approval ratings.

Virginia got smart this year, the rest country gets its chance next Novemeber.

Yes Virginia - You Dislike Obama (Sent Friday, October 23, 2009 9:37 AM)

You know, I am starting to realize that the reason the media doesn't want the White House to point out all the lies that are told on Fox News is because they know that they aren't doing much better.

Remember when Gov. Sanford in SC came up missing? Most of the media wasn't trying to find him, they were sending emails buttering him up and trying to get an interview to boost their ratings. That pretty much sums up the state of "journalism" in our modern era.

Here is something interesting that I found . . . did you know that in February 2003, Fox News won the LEGAL RIGHT to lie in its news coverage?

“Court Ruled That Media Can Legally Lie”

"In February 2003, a Florida Court of Appeals unanimously agreed with an assertion by FOX News that there is no rule against distorting or falsifying the news in the United States.

Back in December of 1996, Jane Akre and her husband, Steve Wilson, were hired by FOX as a part of the Fox “Investigators” team at WTVT in Tampa Bay, Florida. In 1997 the team began work on a story about bovine growth hormone (BGH), a controversial substance manufactured by Monsanto Corporation. The couple produced a four-part series revealing that there were many health risks related to BGH and that Florida supermarket chains did little to avoid selling milk from cows treated with the hormone, despite assuring customers otherwise.

According to Akre and Wilson, the station was initially very excited about the series. But within a week, Fox executives and their attorneys wanted the reporters to use statements from Monsanto representatives that the reporters knew were false and to make other revisions to the story that were in direct conflict with the facts. Fox editors then tried to force Akre and Wilson to continue to produce the distorted story. When they refused and threatened to report Fox’s actions to the FCC, they were both fired.(Project Censored #12 1997)

Akre and Wilson sued the Fox station and on August 18, 2000, a Florida jury unanimously decided that Akre was wrongfully fired by Fox Television when she refused to broadcast (in the jury’s words) “a false, distorted or slanted story” about the widespread use of BGH in dairy cows. They further maintained that she deserved protection under Florida’s whistle blower law. Akre was awarded a $425,000 settlement. . .

FOX appealed the case, and on February 14, 2003 the Florida Second District Court of Appeals unanimously overturned the settlement awarded to Akre. The Court held that Akre’s threat to report the station’s actions to the FCC did not deserve protection under Florida’s whistle blower statute, because Florida’s whistle blower law states that an employer must violate an adopted “law, rule, or regulation.” In a stunningly narrow interpretation of FCC rules, the Florida Appeals court claimed that the FCC policy against falsification of the news does not rise to the level of a “law, rule, or regulation,” it was simply a “policy.” Therefore, it is up to the station whether or not it wants to report honestly.

During their appeal, FOX asserted that there are no written rules against distorting news in the media. They argued that, under the First Amendment, broadcasters have the right to lie or deliberately distort news reports on public airwaves. "

http://www.projectcensored.org/top-stories/articles/11-the-media-can-legally-lie/#

Nashville_fan (Sent Friday, October 23, 2009 9:38 AM)

Deeds has shot himself in the foot all along the way of his campaign. Distancing himself from Pres. Obama was a mistake, and there is much to be said about not having a good roadmap to victory.

Even with these disappointments, he would be a much better Governor than McDonnell, who holds dear every GOP political strategy that has brought this country its knees. But it appears that the folk who helped burn down the house will again be given the matches and the gasoline. Sad.

J. Ellis, Virginia (Sent Friday, October 23, 2009 9:39 AM)

Twitter Scandal: GOP Lawmakers Pose As Dems, Refuse To Stop

http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/10/22/blogtalk-twitter-and-the-gop/
_____________

Sound familiar??? Looks like the 'gremlins' around here are expanding their horizons! lol lol

Feisty Redhead Roselle, IL (Sent Friday, October 23, 2009 9:39 AM)

Does anyone but the 21 million dittoheads out there even care anymore what comes out of palins mouth?

You couldn't find a more ignorant and poorly infomed person on the planet except maybe cheney.

Enos the Eskimo (Sent Friday, October 23, 2009 9:39 AM)

Conservatives want to make the poor rich, while liberals want to make the rich poor.

Triade (Sent Friday, October 23, 2009 9:42 AM)

My Senators and Representatives have all been put on notice.... support government intervention into my personal health care to the detriment of your political future.

Stan, Santa Fe NM (Sent Friday, October 23, 2009 9:43 AM)

PALIN ENDORSES CONSERVATIVE

Sarah Palin didn't endorse a Republican. She endored a conservative because Republicans have lost their way and apparently swayed a bit to far to the middle for her liking, and we agree. The GOP has abondoned it's base and Palin is out to get it back. A bombshell of a move on her part.

~~~~~~

What about that Mexican drug cartel that acts more like a terrorist group, now in America? Does Obie even know about it? Fox News broke the story so you may not even hear about it anywhere else. Wake up Obie and smell the dope along our borders, for a change. Do something important instead of picking juvenile fights. Say hi to Soros for us.

~~~~~

We have decided to appoint our own KNOCK OBAMA czars.
Most will be in the streets tomorrow giving him hell for the ruination of America. Funny, the more Obie screws up the more he blames Bush. It's a disfunctional White House at best. Remember Obie, you get what you give ... and you haven't seen anything yet.

Full Moon
Bad Moon
Moonshadow ... and the rest.

The Chihuahua Gang (Sent Friday, October 23, 2009 9:43 AM)

Nancy Pelosi repeated that the House health-care legislation WILL have a public option in it, while in the Senate Olympia Snowe and a bipartisan group of centrist senators is poised to stop the healthcare reform bill from even coming to the Senate floor if it contains the public option.
So let me see if I get this right, the bill WON’T pass if it DOES NOT have a public option and the bill WON’T pas s if it DOES have a public option. Sounds to me like the Democrats are right on target...., right on target for getting nowhere!
The Democrats are pushing a whole cart full of lies.
1. If they tax the insurance companies, the insurance companies WILL pass on the increase to the customers in the form of higher rates.
2. If they tax business and their employees who already have insurance (thus taxing existing health-care benefits), the businesses WILL either reduce employee salaries to make up the difference, or the businesses WILL stop offering insurance to their employee’s altogether. Either way the businesses will not allow the issue to cut into their bottom line, they will not allow it to cost them more money.
3. Whatever kind of final bill they come up with, IF it passes, IT WILL cause the cost of insurance to go up, not down, IT WILL INCREASE the size of the deficit, NOT DECREASE IT, and a lot of business WILL stop offering insurance to their employees so that the business no longer have to absorb that cost and the employees WILL have to turn to the government, which WILL drive up the cost of the heath-care plan.
The Democrats and the Obama administration are trying to push a bill through just so they can say they did it, period. I say let them do it, the more they lie (which is what politicians do best) to the American people, the more it will come back and slap them in the face come next November, and they WILL get exactly what they deserve, their asses booted right out of their cushy Washington jobs.

Democrats lie like a rug (Sent Friday, October 23, 2009 9:46 AM)

Alas, it appears that Mr. Deeds will NOT be going to town, but how voters who lived through eight years of the Bush administration can retreat to that same kind of thinking after only nine months of a new administration completely baffles this poor, dull, little liberal mind.

Sigh. As Santayana said, "Those who don't remember history are condemned to repeat it."

Wait a minute. What was that he said again?

Atypical Voter (Sent Friday, October 23, 2009 9:49 AM)

The loss of Gov. Deval Patrick and Sen. Chris Dodd by the Democrats would be a good thing, a way of cleaning out the system. Incompetent and corrupt politicians like these two don't deserve to be in office. Patrick has bankrupt Massachusetts with his government run health care scheme (kind of like what Obama wants to for the country - things that make you go hmmmm) and Dodd is as shady a con artist as they come. Good riddance to both of these guys, the country will be better off without them.

Peggy Southfield, Lowell MA (Sent Friday, October 23, 2009 9:49 AM)

"Fredom must be valued before it's existance can be demanded" Perhaps we need to know what value the Afgans place on and what kind of investment they are willing to make in this concept before we and the rest of the world demand it for them.Dick Cheney has appeared by word,deed, inclination, and position about a quarter bubble of level for quite some time now.Those of you that seem to not value your freedom any more than to give it over to this man's skew vision of security may want to reexamine that position. If I don't get back on later my thanks to the hosts and participants. The tone seems to have changed this week but many are to still be applauded for your thoughtful insights into issues that concern us all. Good weekend all

Independent Redneck Va. (Sent Friday, October 23, 2009 9:49 AM)

I remember when Deeds decided he would go at it along and now he wants to blame the WH? Well, Deeds is reaping what he sowed.

Beverly in Chicago (Sent Friday, October 23, 2009 9:49 AM)

So Michelle is more popular than Barack. This harkens back to when Jaquie was more popular than Jack Kennedy.

As for Deeds, it is HIS campaign not that of anyone else. The President, this or any other, will do the obligated support for the party's candidate but the ultimate responsibility lies with the candidate himself.

Re. Bloomberg and Corzine: This goes to show why campaigning never stops these days. If they are spending that kind of money for offices like a mayor and a governor imagine the cost of a Senator or President.

eagle1776 (Sent Friday, October 23, 2009 9:54 AM)

FR --> White House: The public option is STILL the central debate in health care, when according to estimates, it would attract just about 12 million Americans (about the size of Pennsylvania)?

Whose estimates? The CBO? They have been right, how many times (still waiting for the first time)? The PO is a farce, and any "trigger" to activate it is also a sham. A PO will be government funded, so if it runs out of money, no problem, just raise taxes, it won't have to worry about making a profit so it won't be market based, it will be unresponsive to the people that use it (just like every other government program is), and will bleed to death with corruption (note the housing credit government and cash4clunkers programs for details on how the government fails to watch OUR money).

Say NO to the PO (Sent Friday, October 23, 2009 9:55 AM)

Barack H. Obama - The Dithering President.

Joe Dirt (Sent Friday, October 23, 2009 9:58 AM)

Hundreds of thousands, if not millions of uneducated and politically ignorant people voted for Obama in 2008. Many had never voted before, didn't know a thing about the issues and the only important thing was that he be elected. After that, they couldn't care less. Many will not vote in the midterms simply because Obama is not running.

Always Proud, Wash, DC (Sent Friday, October 23, 2009 9:58 AM)

Why did Senate Democrats devote so much time to trying to win over Olympia Snowe (and possibly Susan Collins) if they were later going to opt for legislation that she couldn’t support?

~~~

maybe they should try to reconcile.

Not with Snowe though, just the bill.

Karma is going to bit you (alter ego #1) (Sent Friday, October 23, 2009 9:59 AM)

Deeds did make mistakes especially by thinking of Pres Obama as a hindrance on policy issues. Virginia has been leaning left for a reason, disappointment with republican policies. Is the WH throwing Deeds under the bus, no, and it is a silly question since administration officials have been campaigning for him lately. FR has it right, Deeds did damage to his own campaign. You can be a qualified candidate but if you run a poor campaign, you lose--ala Hillary Clinton.

If we listened to the constant media and pundit back and forth on health care, we would have declared HCR dead in August. Everyone makes a fuss about democrats being split, varying opinions, can't control them to get anything done. Yet here we are, closer than we've been in decades. Never underestimate democrats on critical issues. Legislation as important as this are never easy. I have no doubt that Nancy Pelosi's House will have the votes for a robust public option. If you listen to the interviews of the dems, they are fine tuning the bill, and it is not quite done yet. The GOP may find it is again on the wrong side of history on health care just as they were on social security, civil rights, medicare, and many other issues important to Americans.

Dithering Dick, the dynamo who left the Afghanistan war effort for one he'd been wanting to fight since Bush 41 ended the first Gulf war, dares accuse the Obama administration of dragging their heels. Sorry, Dicky, but your credibility on Afghan (and Iraq) is zero. He said often that things in Afghanistan were fine; he and Bush had McKiernan's request for 30,000 more troops for nearly 8 months, and they dithered and left it for the Obama administration; why should the Obama team accept Bush's strategy for Afghanistan as the way forward; thanks but no thanks to the team that messed it up. There are evil people in this world and Cheney is one of them; they have twisted, distorted views of the constitution and contempt for we the people and the rest of the world. He is an evil coward. You meet people in life who seem reasonable and nice but in your mind, you just don't trust them; can't put your finger on exactly what it is but you don't trust them. I have never trusted Dick Cheney even when I was a republican years ago.

The reason Michelle Obama's approval ratings are up is that people have had a chance to get to know her, to see her as she really is instead of as the caricature painted by the opposition during the campaign. It is the same reason Hillary Clinton's approvals are up--the GOP attacked her constantly while she was first lady. Politics can be brutal. Both Michelle and Hillary have shown us that grace shines brighter than the critic's fires.

Jody, Iowa (Sent Friday, October 23, 2009 9:59 AM)

SATURDAY TEA PARTY

God help Obama. What this man has to go thru because he doesn't know how to run this country. Radical this and tax cheat that, he surrounds himself with liberal losers who reflect directly on who our prez is and what he is all about. God bless him because he's gonna need it. Demeaning the elders of our country and other classes of people isn't gonna help his his arrogant sense of ego down the road. Promise.

We don't believe God is on his side. Someone wrote about chosing either the devil or the Lord because there is no in between, no compromise, and Obie has clearly made his choice.

Full Moon
Bad Chihuahua
Radical Prez ... and the rest.

The Chihuahua Gang (Sent Friday, October 23, 2009 10:00 AM)

Barack Obama --- The Deeply Flawed President.

Flawless (Sent Friday, October 23, 2009 10:01 AM)

WASHINGTON — A top White House economist says spending from the $787 billion economic stimulus has already had its biggest impact on economic growth and will likely not contribute to significant expansion next year.

WHERE HAS ALL THE STIMULUS GONE ... AND OBAMA'S SIX MILLION JOBS? WAS MR. ARROGANT WRONG?

STIMULUS AN ABSOLUTE FAILURE, SAYS WHITE HOUSE. (Sent Friday, October 23, 2009 10:01 AM)

Maybe the time has come for Obama to set aside the childish things he's doing.

Fox Friend (Sent Friday, October 23, 2009 10:05 AM)

If Linda McMahon will treat the way she treats her employees the sure would be a reason to get ready to rumble. Chyna,a female wrestler and females left. Linda had knowingly fired WWF's staff doctor due to fear of an imminent investigation by the Justice Department of steroid use. WWF laid off approximately 60 jobs of its staff, yet McMahon earned in excess of $508,000 as CEO.

The Millionaires club never finds room for those who make them rich; likewise the Insurance companies.

Save your keystrokes "Dopes of Nope: you're all a bunch of losers.

Beverly in Chicago (Sent Friday, October 23, 2009 10:06 AM)

Obama scorecard so far:

In the first nine months in office President Obama and/or members of his administration have accused doctors of performing unnecessary medical procedures for profit; demonized bond holders as "speculators;" produced a report suggesting military veterans are prone to becoming right wing extremists; attacked insurance companies and threatened them with legislative retribution; ridiculed talk show hosts and political commentators by name from the White House podium; dismissed and demeaned protesters and town hall attendees as either unauthentic or fringe characters; maligned a white police officer for arresting a black man without knowing the facts of the case; launched an orchestrated campaign to marginalize the country's biggest pro-business group; and publicly declared war on a news organization.

All childish things. Time to put them away Barack.

Fox Friends (Sent Friday, October 23, 2009 10:07 AM)

Well things happen Gore would have President had not his wife ask him not to be seen with Bill Clinton but time election day Deed's will pick up more than the Afro American voters

Ivoted (Sent Friday, October 23, 2009 10:08 AM)

A new day. 122 people will die today due to lack of health insurance (45,000 per year)

How about the news that 30 GOP Senators voted against protecting women working for government contractors from rape? It seems that women voting for the GOP is like chicken voting for Col. Sanders. Is the GOP = American Taliban on Womens' rights?

New Wave (Sent Friday, October 23, 2009 10:09 AM)

A poem:

The audacity of hope was for his campaign
Tyranny and demonization are for his reign
His candidacy was rather like that of a Harry Houdini
His presidency is shaping up to be much more like that of a Benito Mussolini

Although he tries to slip it all in under another guise
To all his fascist action most foul we must still be wise
In spite of all the Houdini lies
Dancing in Obama’s Mussolini eyes

Henry Gibson (Sent Friday, October 23, 2009 10:10 AM)

Wasilla Barbie continues w/ the same old tired GOP TAGLINES OF smaller government, lower taxes, strong national defense and the final insulting lol insult to most people's intelligence INDIVIDUAL LIBERTY. Reaganomics is dead lady come up w/ someting more original. Oh! that's right the Rethuglicans could not come up w/ an original idea if their lives depended on it.

Juan,Ft Lauderdale, FL (Sent Friday, October 23, 2009 10:10 AM)

Very good fellows.I think you are starting to get to the heart of the matter. Mr Deeds and most of the rest of the Democratic candidates here in Va. have been treated very badly here in Va. by the national organization for reasons of thier own. We are not only going to have to put up with a Pat R graduate but an ultra conservative Attorney General and Lt. Gov. for the next four years because of this. Democrats need to look at how thier chairman(Tim Kaine) has let this go on in his home state and why they are doing it in an important race so that it doesn't bite them next year when the stakes could be a lot higher.Margins in this country are way to close to be thrown away in this manner. To me it speaks very much like pettyness and that isn't a good thing We do not have time to waste on pettiness.

Independent Redneck Va. (Sent Friday, October 23, 2009 10:11 AM)

I didn't vote for Obama because I didn't believe a word he said. But like anyone else, I nursed a secret hope that he had to have some brilliance and common sense to have pulled it off. I've never wanted to be wrong as much as I wanted to be wrong about Obama. But he is shallower than feared, he is petty, he is often disengaged, and has shown me just how much contempt he has for America. He is a creation of his puppeteers. He is nothing more than a second rate actor...reading from a script.

Lyle Levens, San Diego California (Sent Friday, October 23, 2009 10:12 AM)

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