Indulging the fruitcakes
The GOP's passive response to the "birthers"
Indulging the fruitcakes
Dick Polman, Inquirer National Political Columnist
Republican leaders have finally rebuked the paranoid loons in their midst. Kinda, sorta, and ever so timorously.
For lo these many months, the so-called "birthers" have been recycling the lie about how Barack Obama is supposedly an illegitimate president because he supposedly was not born on American soil in Hawaii. I won't bother explaining the birther "side" of this argument, because there is no argument; if you agree with the "birthers," take your tinfoil hat and leave now.
Suffice it to say that Hawaii officials, starting with the Republican governor, have repeatedly vouched for Obama; that Hawaii's health director, after having reviewed "the original vital records maintained on file," publicly declared earlier this week that Obama was born in Honolulu - thereby repeating what she said publicly nine months ago. John McCain's campaign looked into this faux issue and found nothing. Obama's opponent in the '04 Senate campaign looked as well and found nothing; as GOP operative Bill Pascoe wrote two days ago, "I can attest to the fact that nowhere in our opposition research (in 2004) did we find any reason to believe that the man was not a natural born citizen of the United States."
So what's most noteworthy about this irrelevant contretemps is the passive posture of the Republican leaders, who have done virtually squat to distance the party from the fruitcakes on the right-wing fringe. Which is tantamount to indulging them.
Granted, the leaders are in a somewhat tricky position, because some of these "birthers" actually sit in Congress as elected Republicans. Ten GOP House members are currently sponsoring a bill that would require all candidates to prove their place of birth, a symbolic slap at Obama, and Republican leaders have indulged these "birthers" by either remaining mute or implying sympathy. (Regarding the latter, here's Oklahoma Sen. Jim Inhofe: "They have a point. I don't discourage it.") We also saw some high comedy three days ago, when the elected Republican "birthers" tried to block a routine House resolution extolling the half-century anniversary of Hawaii statehood...because the resolution proudly noted that one its native sons had risen to the presidency. Again, the Republican leaders said nothing.
On the contrary, a few party bigwigs - including House GOP whip Eric Cantor and national chairman Michael Steele - have actually "friended" Orly Taitz, the leader of the so-called movement, on her Facebook page. These Republican leaders insist that their friending of Taitz does not constitute an endorsement of Taitz. Whatever. Let us merely note that their friending of Taitz has provided Taitz with a terrific PR opportunity; as she wrote on her blog earlier this week, "To me, (being friended) means that the leadership of the Republican party understands the importance of the issues...of Obama's illegitimacy." And that may well inspire more "birthers" to ambush Republican congressmen at town hall meetings - as happened earlier this month to Delaware Rep. Michael Castle. (When he vouched for Obama's citizenry, he was booed. The incident wound up on YouTube and has drawn more than half a million hits.)
Yesterday, however, one Republican leaders did try to exhibit at least a smidgen of spine. Finally. At a breakfast with reporters, House leader John Boehner was asked to comment on the so-called issue; in response, he said: "My focus is on trying to get this economy moving again, stopping (Democratic) efforts on a national energy tax and stopping their government takeover of the health care system. I know there are a lot of issues that are out there, but that's where my focus is." And when asked whether he had any reason to suspect that Obama was not born on American soil, he replied: "No."
Meanwhile, in a separate statement, party chairman Michael Steele, the Facebook friend, said he "believes" that Obama is a U.S. citizen, and that the so-called issue "is an unnecessary distraction."
Perhaps these guys could have gone a tad further - by declaring, for instance, that the fringe attempt to paint Obama as illegitimate is a poisonous exercise that further polarizes the discourse and the electorate. At the very least, it would serve their own interests, as Republicans, to distance the party from this nativistic bid to depict the first black president as The Other.
Apparently they are too cowed, or ill-principled, to take those steps. And that leaves the sane conservatives with a big problem, as strategist Bill Pascoe noted the other day: "We are being lumped in with irresponsible and unreasonable conspiracy theorists...Seriously. Is this anything but a gift to the Democrats?"
And right now, given all the health care travails on Capitol Hill, the Democrats could use a gift.
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Why this country is barely governable, chapter 30,000:
What follows is real. President Obama is having a beer tonight with Henry Louis Gates Jr. and Sgt. James Crowley. But a flap has developed over what kind of beer should be served. Gates wants to drink Red Stripe. Crowley wants to drink Blue Moon. Obama intends to drink Bud Light. But one domestic beer-maker is upset with Obama because Bud Light's corporate parent is not based in America (nor are the makers of Red Stripe or Blue Moon), and therefore insists that Obama should be serving something that's all-American, like Sam Adams. What a quandary!
Personally, I don't think that any domestic beer should be served until each and every brewery worker produces an American birth certificate.
Comments (78)
From prior blog; I found this quote on a businessweek blog, if anyone knows who wrote it, let us know:) ***"A democracy cannot exist as a permanent form of government. It can only exist until the voters discover that they can vote themselves money from the public treasury. From that moment on, the majority always votes for the candidates promising the most benefits from the public treasury, with a result that a democracy always collapses over loose fiscal policy, always followed by dictatorship. The average age of the world s greatest civilizations has been 200 years. These nations have progressed through the following sequence: From bondage to spiritual faith; From spiritual faith to great courage; From courage to liberty; From liberty to abundance; From abundance to selfishness; From selfishness to complacency; From complacency to apathy; From apathy to dependency; From dependency back into bondage."***— NEPhilly- Obama is a citizen, end of story. Funny how I do not recall reading Polman consider the liberals who said McCain was not a citizen because he was born in Panama as loons. Oh well, purely an oversight on his part, of course. Meanwhile, the CBO now says a government option would not be unfair to private insurers...I am sure Elmendorf's meeting with Obama at the White House last week has absolutely NOTHING to do with any scoring now being done....none at all. Obama just wanted to have a beer with him, or maybe check out his birth certificate. After all, that story was all over the non-liberal main stream media....right? Odd how Bush NEVER met with the CBO director at the White House....nor I believe did Clinton. But of course we are now in an era of transparency...which is why Biden is meeting in secret about stimulus spending and the DOJ refuses to answer questions about dropping the case against the New Black Panther party members from Philadelphia. Yep, it is a new day.— tom - wilmington, de
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- The issue won't go away and is mostly of the President's own making: ***The Birth Certificate: The certificate put on the Internet by Obama and held up by the media was created in 2007. In the lower left corner of the form there is reference to a Hawaiian statute that was revised in November of 2001, and if you look closely at the front you can see bleeding through from the back the date stamp from 2007 when the document was created. It's a certification that an original does exist. So the the Birthers say: "Fine. Then show us the original." Obama says, "No." Why?***— NEPhilly
- Granted from a Fox reporter, but it spells out the problems well: ***The Newspaper Announcements: Two birth announcements from Hawaiian local papers show Obama's birth. The Birthers have a couple of good arguments about them. First, Hawaii is where Obama's grandparents lived and it's not unusual for grandparents to announce a birth to their friends, even if the grandson lives elsewhere. Also, if Obama's parents lived in Hawaii then moved to Kenya when they birthed him, it wouldn't be unusual to announce the birth in the old neighborhood for friends to see. The newspaper announcements cut against the Birthers, but they are hearsay documents and don't answer the citizen question any more than his grammar school records prove he is a Muslim. The original Birth Certificate will end it all.***— NEPhilly
- ***School Records: The Birthers believe that Obama's records from college and graduate school will show he matriculated as a foreign born student. This is easy -- shut them up by releasing them! Obama's response? "No." Why? This one reminds me of John Kerry not releasing his Yale records until after the election. During the campaign Kerry soaked in the warm media bath that swore he was the intellectual and George Bush the dolt. When the records came out later it was quietly reported that George Bush had a higher grade point average at Yale. Media's penchant to cover for Democrat candidates fuels the Birther fire as well. See as an example John Edwards' love affair.***— NEPhilly
- ***Financial Aid Records: Barack Obama relishes his own personal Sonia Sotomayor-like story of how he came from a broken home and pulled himself up by his own bootstraps. But he refuses to show how his very expensive tuition at Occidental College, Columbia University and Harvard Law School were paid for. The Birthers believe the records will show Obama received financial aid as a foreign born student. Obama says they won't. Not to sound like a broken record, but releasing the records will end the controversy, and Obama refuses. Why? The Birther movement is Obama's fault for not releasing the records. I hope the Birthers continue to bite his ankles until he releases the records. He deserves nothing less.*** http://www.foxnews.com/opinion/2009/07/29/tommy-seno-obama-birthers/— NEPhilly
- At least the White House isn't serving Gates a Colt 45 Malt Liquor out of a brown paper bag.— anonymous
- Tom, The "question" of where McCain was born was never taken seriously by anyone. It was not constantly talked about on talk radio or on FOX nor did any rabid leftwingers harangue their elected officials about it in public forums. If McCain had been elected you would have been able to count on one hand the number of people who would have taken it seriously. The "birther movement" is different. There are thousands of people who take this seriously and there are GOP officials who are willing to indulge them. It's an extension of the "Obama is a Secret Moslem" movement. No matter how much evidence is presented these wackos will continue to believe Obama isn't a citizen. They just aren't rational.— anonymous
- From the way it seems to me, and from the responses posted in the comments section, it seems like at least 40% of Repbulicans are on the lunatic fringe, and quite happy with it. Sorry about the run-on sentence.— HandNik
- I don't want the birther movement to be right, because of the scary end result of that is our 45th President, Joe Biden! OMG, just tell them to stop now and who cares if they are right or not:) But, if the President was trying out for little league football he would have to produce the original birth certificate, why is the bar lower to be President? Just asking:)— NEPhilly
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Libs run the government, and can't get anything passed, but DP is going to tell Republicans about THEIR problems. Maybe Republicans have not really distanced themselves fom "birthers" because, unlike DP, we don't think it's all that this issue is all that big a deal.— jmc- iT,S TIME TO CLOSE THE GANG BOX AND GO HOME ON THIS ONE.I AM SURE THERE IS ANOTHER LOONEY TOON HEADING OUR WAY.GOOD NIGHT SWEET PRINCE.— Smedley
- Sorry Dickie, but all the rest of us in the real world are focusing on the pressing issues like health care and the economy, while you continue to operate in your own liberal dreamworld. Time to move on.— camtheman
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- Republicans govern by fear and the birthers continue the lie that Obama is a secret muslim terrorist who will destroy the USA. This appeals to a huge portion of the GOP base. The congressmen and women want to keep this lie alive in the hope that it will alienate a sufficient number of voters.— mxlplk
- "...is a poisonous exercise that further polarizes the discourse and the electorate." An acute observation from a sycophant whose party regularly engages in poisonous exercises.— A Friend
- Excerpt from NEPhilly's post... "I hope the Birthers continue to bite his ankles until he releases the records. He deserves nothing less." OK. Let's presume Obama indulges them and releases the records. When will the demands for whatever indulgence cease? He will NEVER be allowed to govern if these distractions are allowed to gain credibility. He will only have time to disprove more conspiracy theories. Let's see... Obama was born a woman. Oh, wait. That wouldn't technically disqualify him from being POTUS, but that doesn't seem to matter. Why would the "secret muslim (Moslem)" charge be worth anything to anyone? Can't a POTUS be Jewish, or Muslim, or atheist??? I guess not, if you're looking for WASP male rule only.— Phrossty
- NEPhilly - That first quote is either attributed to Alexander Tytler, Alexis de Toqueville, Lord Thomas Macaulay, Benjamin Disraeli, Arnold Toynbee, or some others, or some combination of these. Nobody really knows for sure. Most often it is attributed to Tytler, although it is not located in any of his published work. It is one of my favorites.— pete317
- Lets make a deal here, Obama will cough up the orginal birth certificate if Cheney releases the minutes from his energy meetings at the beginning of his reign of terror! Deal?— hejira33312
- Tom - How is it the CBO is impartial when they criticize Obama’s health plan but they become biased the moment they have something complementary to say? That’s the thing with you Repubs., the media is only biased and inaccurate when you don’t agree with what they report. Hey, if you don’t like the facts…just dismiss them.— Ender
- pete, I found that out as I investigated it! I found a website (http://www.lorencollins.net/tytler.html) that discussed it as two or three quotes that have merged together over the years. Very interesting though, in this time of taking from the rich to give to the poor:) phrossty, it wasn't my quote it was from a Fox News opinion writer! Being born a woman does seem to preclude you from being the democratic nominee for President anyway:) He should have to produce a birth certificate to be President, at the very least! His school records and such would be nice to see as well. I wonder if the king of deception, GWB, kept his birth certificate, educational records, financial aid records, etc. a secret? You know me, I am not on the fringe of the GOP, but the records Pres. Obama is keeping secret give this movement traction, when they should have none! He is probably paying lawyers to fight the lawsuits as well! For who, for what (w/apologies to Ricky Watters)?— NEPhilly
- The issue isn't illegitimacy it's incompetence. On this issue Obama's is certifiable.— Joe Funk
- Are they any crazier than Maxine Waters? Code Pink? Cynthia McKinney, reverned Wright? The free Mumia crew? The Bush is a War criminal crowd? Or you can take your pick from thousands. Wonder how long the liberal media thinks they can fool the public about the empty suit they sold us on by talking about birthers, Rush Limbaugh, Fox News and Sarah Palin? I think people are on to you Dick.— tr88
- GOP is reduced to a bunch of whiny victims. BooHoo!!
- Why is so much attention given to fringe issues? Because they are designed to misdirect political dialogue: the birther issue, apart from its merits or lack thereof, is part of a political STRATEGY that has worked well for many years. This Rovian method intends to heighten emotion and increase division to provide energy for political ends. Republics perfected this strategy while directing the emotional energy surrounding abortion. Repeated rants are now directed at particular segments of the electorate susceptible to the fears in re-energized labels: racism & socialism. They use targeted delivery systems: talk radio & Faux "news," specifically designed to misinform & divert vulnerable people from informed dialogue about public policy. We have become so accustomed to a style of political discourse that shows no obligation to decency or accuracy that it's almost acceptable. At least we have come to expect it as "normal" behavior from many Republics. So much so that legislators sitting on the Judiciary Committee indulge in repeated name-calling to publicly demean a female Hispanic judge's character rather than address her record. It seems that following the example of the likes of R. Limbaugh et al. is acceptable to some senior legislators. How could any thinking person respect or trust these politicians? They are not statesmen by any definition. It is the deliberate misuse of the electorate's ability to dialogue, unreason serving the goals of unrestrained greed & apathy, rather than dependency or loose fiscal policy, which are the harbingers of fascism. Albeit that all our idiocies - fiscal, personal & social irresponsibility - are interconnected. The deliberate misuse of public discourse is dangerous to our survival. It feeds on people's fears. It's the vulture that circles to profit from dying healthcare reform & global warming reduction, a blood-sucking hypocrite that worships profit more than life, a cancer fatal to the future of democracy.— Simone
- @tr88 - I think you're confused about who keeps "talking about birthers, Rush Limbaugh, Fox News and Sarah Palin." I, for one, would be more than happy if I never heard from 3 of those 4 ever again. (I'm neutral about Fox News, but wouldn't mourn their loss.) I'm fairly certain the "lib'dems" would be more than happy to discuss issues with merit rather than debunking misinformation constantly spewed by right-wing demagogues.— Phrossty
- phrossty, are you kidding? You mean like Dick Polman? How about on MSNBC last night 4 shows in a row. If I didn't know better you would think the DNC was telling them what to write. I'm sure it's just a coincidence that they all decided to go with it at the same time.— tr88
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- tr88/Xi/jwad - quit complaining that's it's the liberals that keep bringing this up. Perhaps you missed it, but "Ten GOP House members are currently sponsoring a bill that would require all candidates to prove their place of birth, a symbolic slap at Obama..." Ten, not one but ten Republican congressmen have nothing better to do that try and pass legislation validating the "birther's" claims. That's why it keeps coming up.— still_independent
- tom: you are correct in the fact that it gives the appearance of impropriety. Even assuming that it doesn't change the CBO's analysis in the future, they still should not meet. BTW, did Bush ever meet w/ the CBO director outside the white house? You seemed to have framed that carefully.— still_independent
- Wait! A Fox reporter???? I thought liberals were keeping this alive? In any case, I'm actually with the "birthers." Obama is NOT a US citizen, and I think every GOP congressman should be voted out of office for failing in his duty to uphold the constitution. All these GOPers are allowing a NON-US CITIZEN to be president! They should be impeached! We KNOW the Dems won't throw Obama out, which means it's INCUMBENT on the GOP to act. Shame on them for sitting on their hands and allowing this farce to go on. I'm sure all my birther brethren will agree that the GOP must be held accountable for its role in this travesty of justice. Right? Right?— sully64
- NEPhilly: take your pick... http://www.factcheck.org/elections-2008/born_in_the_usa.html .... or http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/article/2008/jun/27/obamas-birth-certificate-part-ii/ ... or http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/2009/jul/28/worldnetdaily/birthers-claim-gibbs-lied-when-he-said-obamas-birt/ .. and here's the foreign aid one http://www.factcheck.org/askfactcheck/has_a_smoking_gun_been_found_to.html .— still_independent
- Predicigtion: Next week Dick will blog that Sarah Palin is a birther.— tr88
- Dickie doesn't understand that being a fruitcake is almost a certain requirement to ascribe to the liberal way of thinking.— camtheman
- I said before I hope the 'birthers' fail as that would lead to a President Joe Biden, God forbid:) Yet, you would agree that Pres. Obama has perpetuated this by not releasing his information! Again, I don't know the answer, but did that terrible GWB hide his school transcripts, etc. and have lawyers fight to keep them hidden? What's the big deal, release your birth certificate and your educational records for that matter! You lose the right to privacy when you run for President, don't you think?— NEPhilly
- looks like another good day for the dow. Obama's starting to pull out of the Bush recession. On Jan 16 of this year the dow was about 80% of what it was 8 years ago when Bush took office. It went from around 3300 to 10600 under Clinton. Those numbers can't be right, can they?— PA_Dutch
- And the nasdaq went from 5000 to 2300 add that up) in Clinton's last year. Other than filling the treasury with Cap gains and replacing them with tax write offs, what does that have to do with anything?— tr88
- @tr88 - OK, let me see if I catch your drift... News sources reporting what demagogues spew keeps the conspiracy theories alive, not the limelight hogs themselves dancing in the glow and bloviating for ratings. It's all the MSM blowing smoke and holding up mirrors to distract from Obama's record, not a report of current events. In today's 24 hour news cycle (both the availability and life expectancy), what's discussed in the public forum is what's on the news and vice-versa. Who is Perella Weinberg? Does Xi Jah still care? How many Afghan shepherds are wrongfully detained at GITMO? Did Bush & Cheney set up an energy exchange to profit from the collapse of Enron? How much money did Goldman Sachs pay in bonuses? Did ACORN really commit voter fraud or were they a large organization that was readily defrauded? Is Octomom pregnant? Should Madonna be allowed to adopt Brangelina's baby? Should healthcare be free? Should Mumia be fried? Will Sarah Palin do a Playboy spread? Is Mitt Romney a polygamist? Does Joe Biden let his family ride public transit or is H1N1 still a concern? How many Somali pirates will have a beer with the Navy Seals? Did Edison burn down Tesla's labratory?— Phrossty
- tr, maybe you should ask someone who was ready to retire at the end of 2008 if those numbers are meaningful.— PA_Dutch
- PA Dutch, wouldnt the same apply to someone who wanted to retire in 2001 after the bubble popped? Markets and the short term economy have very little to do with Presdiential policy in my opinion.— tr88
- I don't really know much about this whole story of Obama not being born in America. The time for that to be the issue has long since passed but peope love conspiracy theories. More important is Obama's plummenting poll numbers. His presidential index is now a negative 12, and is overall approval rating is down to 48%. Here is the link http://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/politics/obama_administration/daily_presidential_tracking_poll
- Pa Dutch- I am sure the Dow going up is reassuring to the 10% of the population who is unemployed or the millions who have had their hours cut. Only 500 more points and he'll have the dow back to where it was on the dark day this teleprompter reader was innaurgurated.
- NEPhilly: for the last time, you can view his birth certificate on the internet. It's available for the media to view in person! The folks at factcheck physically held. and even posted pictures of themselves holding it. What do you want him to do?— still_independent
- Why does anyone even pay attention to the dopes in the GOP anymore, including silencing them on yet another phony issue? Aren't these the people who claimed that Hilary Clinton was a murderer, not to mention that the Earth is 6,000 years old and that "it will only end when God wants it to end." The approbation of the GOP is a sure sign of one's failure as a human being.— the stupid does burn
- In six months of Obama, the Russell 3000 is up 18.82%. Conversely, in 8 years of Bush, the Russell 3000 is down -3.60%............ I guess running companies & baseball teams into the ground wasn't sufficient for the boy genius; he had to run the whole country into the ground.— the stupid does burn
- still, I could care less (just presenting the opposing view), but the 'birthers' say it is not his original birth certificate, it is a copy! See from above, ***The certificate put on the Internet by Obama and held up by the media was created in 2007. In the lower left corner of the form there is reference to a Hawaiian statute that was revised in November of 2001, and if you look closely at the front you can see bleeding through from the back the date stamp from 2007 when the document was created. It's a certification that an original does exist. So the the Birthers say: "Fine. Then show us the original." Obama says, "No." Why?***— NEPhilly
- NEPhilly: because he doesn't have it. Neither do I. I have official copies w/ a raised seal. Just like he does.— still_independent
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- The Stupid Does burn- " why does anyone pay attention to the dopes at the GOP " ............. well maybe because Christie is leading Corzine by 15 points or because both Reid and Dodd are both in trouble in their re-election bids. Maybe because Obama's approval rating is down to 48%. It is all cyclical. Republicans paid the price for being fiscally irresonsible and so will the Democrats. There is dopes in both parties. I am about fed up with all of them and wish they would all be statesmen and serve one term and leave.
- NE Philly- I think Biden as president would be far more entertaining that watching Obama read from a teleprompter. Although it is amusing when his teleprompter falls over. Is telepromter reading now a required course at our liberal institutions of higher indoctrination?
- I am playing a drinking game. Every time Chris matthews, Ed schultz, Keith Obermann and Rachel Maddow mention the word "birther" which gets them their DNC bonus bucks, you have to take a drink. I caught the last 10 minutes of matthews and the first 10 of Ed Schultz and I'm wasted. Someone else carry on.— tr88
- I predict Toomey beats Specter in PA. Fiscal Conservatism will be the big issue nationwide for 2010.— tr88
- "Again, I don't know the answer, but did that terrible GWB hide his school transcripts, etc. and have lawyers fight to keep them hidden?" Remember when Kerry wouldn't release his military records during the '04 campaign because they contained his Yale transcript? They finally came out after the election, showing that Kerry was pretty much the one guy whose grades were worse than Bush's!— Vandy
- Vandy, let's hear it for the transparent Bush regime!— PA_Dutch
- TR, I predict Toomey will lose big time to the Democratic nominee (hopefully not Spector). Toomey won't talk much about fiscal conservatism in the campaign because that will remind everyone about the economy the republicans handed over to Obama.— PA_Dutch
- NE Philly said - "Pres. Obama has perpetuated this by not releasing his information! Again, I don't know the answer, but did that terrible GWB hide his school transcripts, etc. and have lawyers fight to keep them hidden? What's the big deal, release your birth certificate and your educational records for that matter! You lose the right to privacy when you run for President, don't you think?" *** TOTALLY! Why is the GOP sitting around letting this happen to America? Republican congressmen have sworn to PROTECT THE CONSTITUTION! Every last member of the Republican party should be thrown from office, agreed?— sully64
- "let's hear it for the transparent Bush regime!" How about Obamaconomics? "The way to cut healthcare costs is for the federal government to spend more!...how dare people question me; why aren't they just taking my word for it, like the media did during the Democratic primaries with Hillary? It's not fair!"— Vandy
- still, I have a birth certificate of mine from before 2007 & you probably have one from earlier than two years ago too! Also, it says 'It's a certification that an original does exist.', then where is the original? It is somewhere, if the document says it exists, right? That is the argument & again I could care less as it would mean the walking gaffe/truth machine Joe Biden would be our 45th President, the horror! sully, I agree throw all the bums in congress out of both party's and lets start over:) Term limits for everyone, agreed? 12 years total in each chamber and then you have to go home:)— NEPhilly
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The only people keeping this alive are the libs like Polman. These folks are considered fringe. My question though is why Bambam is so afraid of putting this to bed. Why not just produce the documents and walk away. While we are at it, how about the press go after his academic records like they did Bush's. Oh, right, I forgot, he is the anointed one. God forbid we find out he is human.— georgel- WASHINGTON (CNN) — It's late July, a time for hot and humid weather in the nation's capital. But when it comes to President Barack Obama's approval rating, an average of the most recent national surveys indicates a cooling trend. According to a new CNN Poll of Polls, 54 percent of Americans approve of how Obama is handling his duties in the White House. That's down 7 points from late June, when the president's approval rating stood at 61 percent. The latest approval rating is the lowest for Obama in his young presidency. The CNN Poll of Polls, compiled and released Thursday, is an average of seven national surveys conducted over the past nine days. It appears a drop in Obama's numbers on health care and the economy, the two issues that have dominated his domestic agenda since he took office in January, are contributing to the deterioration of his overall approval rating. A CNN Poll of Polls of the five surveys that specifically asked about how Obama's handing the economy indicates that 48 percent approve and 45 percent disapprove.— NEPhilly
- Tuesday, July 28 Fox News headline: "Hawaii Again Declares Obama Birth Certificate Real." Yeah. It's the libs keeping this story alive.— sully64
- NE Philly - I don't agree with term limits. Some very good people might be lost that way. No. I just think the Republicans in congress who are FAILING IN THEIR SWORN DUTY TO DEFEND THE CONSTITUTION should be punished. If they would just go after this obvious fraud, Obama, if they would uphold the constitution, I would have no problem with them. Clearly, Obama's refusal to release his records shows he's hiding something! Know the worst part of this? These questions came up during the election. Where was GOP presidential candidate McCain? Where was VP candidate Sarah Palin? Why didn't they DO something to "defend and uphold the constitution"???????????? It's criminal negligence not to mention desertion of duty. Hell, as a former military man, it might even be TREASONOUS on McCain's part!!!!!!!!!!— sully64
- Politics aside, NFL training camps are in session. My preseason picks are on my blog at http://draftdude.blogspot.com
- sully, too much coffee this morning? Most of the congress are bad eggs in each party, the longer they stay in Wash DC the more apt they are to be corrupted by money! We may lose some good ones, but sending them all home after a certain amount of years would be a good thing & what the founding fathers wanted, IMHO:) As for the birth/school/financial aid records of President Obama, it seems silly to me that the promise of the most transparent administration in history won't produce even the most basic of documents abouth the President's life! If I had to guess, he probably has some little embarrassing tidbit in there and his ego can't bare the thought of his life narrative being compromised a bit! I guess we will have to wait for his presidential library to open:) I am willing to wait until 2012, no problem:) smike, love the blog!— NEPhilly
- How about this for loony: "Bush stole that election..." (a quote from my own step-daughter); "9/11 was an inside job..."; "White folks invented AIDS to infect and keep down black folks..."; "George Bush doesn't care about black people.." and on and on and on and on and on and on.— nellar
- NE Philly - I think you're probably right about Obama's reasons. He's definitely hiding something! And thus the question remains: WHY ARE OUR REPUBLICAN CONGRESSMEN LETTING HIM GET AWAY WITH IT???? Aren't they supposed to be representing our interests? And what about Sarah Palin??? She left Alaska to fight for th NATION'S conservative causes!!!! What is she DOING about this?????????— sully64
- nellar - But those aren't CONSTITUTIONAL issues!!!! None of them made George Bush an ILLEGAL president like OBAMA is!!!!! When will the GOP act to MAKE THIS COUNTRY RIGHT AGAIN?????? We KNOW the DEMS won't fix this!!! Our GOP leadership is the only one that CAN!!! Why do they d NOTHING?!?!?!?!— sully64
- Since you're still responding to this blog, I'll try again here. NE Philly said - "It stands to reason that if we spend more money per capita on healthcare then our citizens would get more timely, more aggressive (again, more expensive) treatment for their deadly diseases!" ** (1) Your logic is absurd when it immediately associates more money with better product. Shall I give you any of 10,000 examples of things that cost more but are no better than other things, and are in some cases worse? (2) I understand you think it "stands to reason." This is no different than the last blog in which you offered that it was only "common sense" that greater wait times "probably" yield higher mortality rates in England. You're wrong. Mortality rates are higher here in the US, and it's not merely because of lifestyle differences. I will quote again the research from YOUR evidence: "there clearly are causes of death amenable to medical intervention, such as infectious diseases, for which the US has unusually high mortality." These are INFECTIOUS diseases, not cancer from smoking or diabetes from obesity; yet despite the health care system that you claim is much better at dealing with "nasty diseases," we have unusually high mortality rates where these are diseases concerned. PLEASE RECONCILE YOUR CLAIM WITH THIS FACT. (I apologize for using capitals, but you have ignored this quote three times now. I would like to see it addressed.)— sully64
- sully, I picked out 1 study to try and prove my point and your beating me over the head with it. It may have not been the best overall example, but it was interesting :) (1) I would like the 10,000 examples (though I won't hunt you down over it:) of spending more money but getting less quality (not including the govt.), yes! (2) Mortality rates are higher in the US as opposed to Europe because of lifestyle differences, not healthcare differences. That is what this study said and that is why they chose br e@st cancer and prostate cancer to study as they are two diseases that aren't affected by lifestyle choices! As for the infectious disease differences I guess you are right, the European model must be better at controlling those! My only point in the whole discussion was to say the US healthcare system has served us well until this point in history, has a high rate of innovation & invents cutting edge technology! To rewrite all the rules in 6 days is irresponsible (especially when the Pres. took 6 months to chose a dog:)! I haven't ignored the posts from before, you just didn't like my answers:)— NEPhilly
- Philly - You actually posted two articles, neither of which prove your point. If it seems I'm beating you over the head with the second one, it's because there are issues which you've refused to acknowledge. The first is that Preston/Ho did NOT research breast cancer as you keep claiming. I'll ask again, did you read their research report? Second, until this last post you've not addressed the disparity in mortality rates for infectious diseases. Rather, you keep insisting that te US is the best place to go for treatment of "nasty diseases." Obviously it's not. Third, Preston/Ho specifically say that their research on prostate cancer could not be extrapolated to apply to every aspect of the health care system, but that's exactly what you do. best on one disease - prostate cancer - you insist that the US health care system must be better. Now if you want to insist on that, fine. I'm just asking for evidence and showing you that the evidence you've offered so far fails to prove what you want. In fact the evidence you've offered shows the reverse of what you want. You can't prove England has higher mortality rates because of wait times with the evidence you've offered, and you cannot prove you're better off in the US if you have a "nasty disease."— sully64
- Philly – On your request for 10,000 examples, I’ll save time by offering a few categories. Anyone with a brain should be able to come up with the specifics. (1) Generic drugs such as your pharmacy brand “aspirin.” (2) Generic clothing versus the “Hollisters” and “Volcoms” of the world that charge for the name, not the workmanship. (3) Hundreds of sports franchises through history like the New York Yankees that consistently spend far more than the average but who come up short time and time again. (4) Massively expensive Hollywood blockbusters like “Gigli” versus exceptional small-budget independent films like “The Usual Suspects.” But frankly I think you already understood that more money does not necessarily equal better product. That’s why you demanded the US government not be included, even though that, too, disproves your point.— sully64
- sully, all good examples! I think most are the exception and not the rule as far as spending more money goes and most times when you spend more money you get a better quality product in return! See BMW versus a Chrysler, or a beach house vs. a house in the city, or a good plastic surgeon vs. a bad one, etc. The govt. can do nothing well or efficiant so that is why I took them out of the equation:) I'm glad to see the capital button on your computer is not broken anymore:) See you on the next blog:)— NEPhilly
- Anyone who votes for a demorat has probably been taking the little yellow bus.— georgel
- Every day I get in the queue (Too much, the Magic Bus)
To get on the bus that takes me to you (Too much, the Magic Bus)
I'm so nervous, I just sit and smile (Too much, the Magic Bus)
Your house is only another mile (Too much, the Magic Bus)
Thank you, driver, for getting me here (Too much, the Magic Bus)
You'll be an inspector, have no fear (Too much, the Magic Bus)
I don't want to cause no fuss (Too much, the Magic Bus)
But can I buy your Magic Bus? (Too much, the Magic Bus)
Nooooooooo!I don't care how much I pay (Too much, the Magic Bus)
I wanna drive my bus to my baby each day (Too much, the Magic Bus)
*[Magic Bus, Magic Bus, Magic Bus
Magic Bus, Magic Bus, Magic Bus
Give me a hundred (Magic Bus)
I won't take under (Magic Bus)
Goes like thunder (Magic Bus)
It's a four-stage wonder (Magic Bus)Magic Bus, Magic Bus, Magic Bus, Magic Bus
I want it, I want it, I want it...(You can't have it!)
Think how much you'll save...(You can't have it!)]
I want it, I want it, I want it, I want it ... (You can't have it!)Thruppence and sixpence every day
Just to drive to my baby
Thruppence and sixpence each day
'Cause I drive my baby every wayMagic Bus, Magic Bus, Magic Bus, Magic Bus, Magic Bus...
I want the Magic Bus, I want the Magic Bus, I want the Magic Bus...I said, now I've got my Magic Bus (Too much, the Magic Bus)
I said, now I've got my Magic Bus (Too much, the Magic Bus)
I drive my baby every way (Too much, the Magic Bus)
Each time I go a different way (Too much, the Magic Bus)
I want it, i want it, I want it, I want it ...Every day you'll see the dust (Too much, the Magic Bus)
As I drive my baby in my Magic Bus (Too much, the Magic Bus)
— Phrossty
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Cited by the Columbia Journalism Review as one of the nation's top political reporters, and lauded by the ABC News political website as "one of the finest political journalists of his generation," Dick Polman is a national political columnist at the Philadelphia Inquirer. He is on the full-time faculty at the University of Pennsylvania, as "writer in residence." Dick has been a frequent guest on C-Span, MSNBC, CNN, NPR and the BBC. He covered the 1992, 1996, 2000, and 2004 presidential campaigns.
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All commentaries posted before April 18, 2008, can be accessed at www.dickpolman.blogspot.com.
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