During his State of the Union address, Barack Obama promised to freeze government spending , not this year, but soon, and not on defense, Medicare, or Social Security. In Washington, this is what is known as a joke. The punch line: Yesterday’s $3.8 trillion budget proposal, which features the biggest deficit in history . Yes, Obama warned us that he wouldn’t rein in the spending right away, but the two headlines so close together sure do make the president look a little silly, don’t they? Obama’s deficit conversion is about as convincing as an IOU for a deathbed...
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In the rich history of legislative farce, few scenarios are as delightful as this one: Roland Burris kills health care reform. Burris says he’s not going to vote for any bill that doesn’t include a public option. Period. The end. No pussy-foot half-measures, like Olympia Snowe’s “triggered” option, no “non-profit co-ops.” Just the real one. And who the hell is going to talk him out of it? Democrats aren’t about to offer him any kind of political support. Friending him on Facebook would be too close a political connection for them. They can’t...
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It doesn’t really matter how many troops Barack Obama decides to send to Afghanistan. Obama could send every man and woman he’s got into those mountains, he could call every veteran out of retirement, he could revoke Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell and send recruiters to every gay club in San Francisco, and it wouldn’t make a damn bit of difference. Afghanistan is screwed. We’ve heard often now that the disputed election has changed the calculus in Afghanistan, that without a reliable, legitimate partner in the government, counterinsurgency tactics aren’t worth...
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I recently saw a man in the street brandishing a sign with that ridiculous slogan. I’m not sure who he thought he was convincing, and to be honest, I was afraid to ask. But I found it a little hilarious, and not just because someone thinks the Führer was really into a public option. I find it hilarious because Barack Obama doesn’t have a health care plan. I mean, maybe he has some glorious pet plan he’s been perfecting in his basement that will lower costs, cover everybody, and provide competitive advantages to the Chicago White Sox. But we’re not getting that...
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I don’t know about you, but the word “birther” has made my month. As recently as last week I had no idea what to call these crazy weirdos. You’d have to settle for something like, “hillbillies and sometimes senators who don’t think Barack Obama’s an American,” which doesn’t fit very nicely into a Newser summary. But now we have a word for them, a gloriously mean and mocking word, no doubt devised by some liberal blogger hiding in a liberal snark cave. And frankly? It’s the best thing that ever happened to the misbegotten “movement.”...
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