The Patriot Post Chronicle 10-21-2009

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The Patriot Post Chronicle 10-21-2009
From The Federalist Patriot
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The Foundation

"Were the pictures which have been drawn by the political jealousy of some among us faithful likenesses of the human character, the inference would be, that there is not sufficient virtue among men for self-government; and that nothing less than the chains of despotism can restrain them from destroying and devouring one another." --Federalist No. 55

Moppin' on up
The Demo-gogues

Nanny state: "Now, to the non-Democrats who may be watching today, I want everybody to know we believe in a strong and loyal opposition. I believe in a two-party system, where ideas are tested and assumptions are challenged, because that's how we move this country forward. But what I reject is when some folks decide to sit on the sidelines and root for failure on health care, or on energy, or on our economy. What I reject is when some folks say we should go back to the past policies when it was those very same policies that got us into this mess in the first place. ...You know, I'm busy, Nancy's busy with our mops cleaning up somebody else's mess. We don't want somebody sitting back saying, 'You're not holding the mop the right way.' Why don't you grab a mop? Why don't you help clean up? 'You're not mopping fast enough. That's a socialist mop.' Grab a mop. Let's get to work." --Barack Obama

A little advice: "Well, now, first of all, I did get elected president...." --Barack Obama, who should remember that he did ask for the responsibility next time he wants to blame someone else

More finger pointing: "It is absolutely clear that it is an unsustainable situation as we go forward, and it is well known to the public that the health insurance companies are the problem." --House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA)

That's what we're afraid of: "We are laying a foundation to build on and create a new economy. We [as a government] have an overwhelming obligation." --Vice President Joe Biden

Hope overflows: "Counting the numbers of troops is not going to define our success here. ... There is no military success ultimately to Afghanistan." --John Francois Kerry, who served in Vietnam

Skewed view of winning: "Does it really take 100,000 troops to find Osama Bin Laden? And how much will this cost? How much in terms of more dollars? How much in terms of American blood?" --Sen. Robert Byrd (D-WV), who is apparently not aware that Afghanistan is more than a game of capture the flag

Editorial Exegesis

"Politicians of all stripes routinely spin facts and logic so fast they make the rest of us shake our heads in bemused wonder. Then there are those rare occasions when a prominent politician says something that clearly deserves a place in the Political Chutzpah Hall of Fame. President Obama earned a place in the pantheon with his Saturday radio address. 'It's smoke and mirrors,' he said. 'It's bogus, and it's all too familiar. Every time we get close to passing reform, the insurance companies produce these phony studies.... The fact is the insurance industry is making this last-ditch effort to stop reform even as costs continue to rise and our health care dollars continue to be poured into their profits and bonuses and administrative costs that do nothing to make us healthy, that often actually go toward trying to figure out how to avoid covering people....' Before Obama goes much further bashing the health insurance industry, let's review what Obama said during the 2008 presidential campaign. He made two promises that attracted crucial support from independents. He promised 'a net federal spending cut' and to 'cut taxes for 95 percent of American workers.' But from his first day in the Oval Office, Obama has been on a spending binge of such unprecedented magnitude that the federal deficit this year is more than $1.4 trillion, or nearly three times what it was under George Bush in 2008. If Obama's health care reform plan becomes law, the deficit will be even bigger. As for cutting taxes, that is a topic Obama assiduously avoids these days because he is too busy pushing massive new federal programs that will indirectly add thousands of dollars to the costs of living for virtually every American family, through more expensive health insurance premiums, skyrocketing gasoline and utility bills, and higher prices for food and other consumer goods. In view of these facts, it is impossible to avoid the conclusion that Obama's campaign promises were just so much ... smoke and mirrors. Not only were Obama's bullying remarks Saturday harsh and hypocritical, they also sounded desperate, shrill and divisive. Not what one expects from a president promising bipartisan reform." --The Washington Examiner

Upright

"Non-presidential contests often go badly for the party in power, and there are indications that 2010 may be even more painful than most. The extremely high turnout among African-Americans that marked the 2008 race is unlikely to be repeated without Obama on the ballot. Democrats in general seem less enthusiastic this time than Republicans. ... Election maven Charlie Cook envisions 2010 as the year of the 'angry white seniors' as older voters turn out in force to oppose health care reform. Much can change in a year of course. But for now, the tide is running very much against the Democrats." --columnist Mona Charen

"The Administration has decided to start a fight to re-energize the base. It doesn't do any good to fight with someone who is not worthy, if you want to make this strategy work you have to have the fight with someone your base already knows -- and already hates. Fox News Channel fits that bill. If Obama can make the point stick, that Fox News is not 'news', and gets his base to buy into the theory that Obama is the victim of unfair coverage, it gives the White House a rallying point. I don't think it's having the desired effect." --political analyst Rich Galen

"The problem with Iran is its regime; its nuclear program is merely a symptom of that problem. Do you lay awake at night worrying about Britain's nuclear weapons? France's? Israel's? Of course not, because stable democracies in general, and stable democratic allies in particular, aren't a threat. If your neighbor is an upright and responsible citizen, who cares if he has a gun? If your neighbor is a complete whackjob and criminal, you sure as Shinola care if he has a gun. Armed neighbors aren't a problem, dangerous ones are. The same logic applies to nations." --columnist Jonah Goldberg

"Twenty years ago this fall, the Iron Curtain was coming down in Europe. Across the Warsaw Pact, the jailers of the Communist prison states lost their nerve, and the cell walls crumbled. Matt Welch, the editor of Reason magazine, wonders why the anniversary is going all but unobserved: Why aren't we making more of the biggest mass liberation in history? Well, because to celebrate it would involve recognizing it as a victory over Communism. And, after the left's long march through the institutions of the west, most are not willing to do that. There's the bad totalitarianism (Nazism) and the good totalitarianism (Communism), whose apologists and, indeed, fetishists can still be found everywhere, even unto the White House." --columnist Mark Steyn

Dezinformatsia

Pollaganda: "Fifty-seven percent of Americans approve of the way [Obama is] handling the responsibilities in commander in chief. Now the big question going forward is: Will those numbers survive the decision on sending troops to Afghanistan which could come in the next couple of weeks?" --ABC's George Stephanopoulos