Newt Gingrich stirred up a big of a controversy Friday night just by commenting on an article in Forbes Magazine by Dinesh D’Souza. The premise of the article is many of Obama’s positions were influenced by his dad. What then is Obama’s dream? We don’t have to speculate because the President tells us himself in his autobiography, Dreams from My Father . According to Obama, his dream is his father’s dream. Notice that his title is not Dreams of My Father but rather Dreams from My Father . Obama isn’t writing about his father’s dreams; he is writing about the dreams he received from his father. Whether you agree with it or not this is not a terribly, outlandish position, many of us can say that we were influenced by our father’s dreams. I certainly carried many of my father’s dreams into the next generation. Gingrich felt the D’Souza article was incredibly insightful. Citing a recent Forbes article by Dinesh D’Souza, former House speaker Newt Gingrich tells National Review Online that President Obama may follow a “Kenyan, anti-colonial” worldview. Gingrich says that D’Souza has made a “stunning insight” into Obama’s behavior — the “most profound insight I have read in the last six years about Barack Obama.” “What if [Obama] is so outside our comprehension, that only if you understand Kenyan, anti-colonial behavior, can you begin to piece together [his actions]?” Gingrich asks. “That is the most accurate, predictive model for his behavior.” According to David Frum , Newt Gingrich’s comments were made to promote the “birther” nonsense that says Barack Obama was not born in the U.S., and D’Souza’s article was written for “race-baiting” purposes: So it’s his mission now to present himself as the most ferocious right-winger in the race. Confident (over-confident) that he can best Sarah Palin among business-minded and ideas-minded Republicans, he wants to deny her or some other Tea Party style challenger any footing to attack him as a compromise-minded moderate. Calling President Obama a Kenyan fits into that strategy. As for the underlying D’Souza article that inspired Gingrich, what is there to be said? When last was there such a brazen outburst of race baiting in the service of partisan politics at the national level? George Wallace took more care to sound race-neutral. Huh? It Did? Wow, who’d have thought it? I thought the article related Obama’s father’s political background to his own. I went back to the Forbes article to look for the part where it says that Obama wasn’t born in the US, or the part saying that Obama’s race made him a better or worse president, but I couldn’t find it. I printed out the Gingrich interview and the Forbes article and held them up to the light to see if it was some sort of subliminal message written in between the lines… nothing! I was at a loss to figure out how Frum got racism or “birtherism” from those articles. So like I always do in a case like this, I called my Cousin Ben, the spy (his mother wanted him to go to med school, but that is a story for a different day). Ben worked for military intelligence back in the 1980’s. He is an expert in disguise a master in interpreting data, and the best part is, he is willing to work for free, as long as he gets first dibs on the white meat every Thanksgiving (note: white meat is a turkey term and has nothing to do with race). Ben told me he would break into Frum’s office and see what he could find. Within an hour the ring of the fax machine sounded, it was a fax from Ben. On the top of the paper was the headline, Things About Newt Gingrich and Other Bad Conservatives That Only David Frum Knows Anybody who disagrees with my position on anything is by nature hurting the Conservative movement. Newt Gingrich was heard discussing the fact that Obama breathes air. Muslims breathe air that means Newt Gingrich believes that Barack Obama is a Muslim. Sarah Palin was in the United States on 9/11/01. There were attacks on the US on 9/11/01 that means Sarah Palin believes that Barack Obama was behind the 9/11 attacks. Newt Gingrich was on the Tonight Show when Conan was the host. Conan’s Tonight show was canceled, that means Newt Gingrich believes that Barack Obama is a communist. Rush Limbaugh went to high school with Terry Jones. Terry Jones wanted to burn a Koran which means Rush Limbaugh believes that Barack Obama is a Muslim. There was a list of over one hundred items just like that. After I finished reading, Iphoned Cousin Ben, the spy. “Ben” I asked “Are you sure you got the right paper? Did you look at it? This list is totally ridiculous.” Cousin Ben countered, “are they any more ridiculous than Frum’s piece about Gingrich and the D’Souza article?” I thought about it for a second, and as usual, my Cousin Ben’s analysis was spot on. It wasn’t that I was missing something because I didn’t see racism or “Birtherism” in the Forbes article, it simply wasn’t there. Either because he was looking to create a controversy or because he is “seeing things,” David Frum labeled Gingrich as a “birther” and D’Souza a racist. Ben really earned is white meat this Thanksgiving (remember I am talking about the lighter colored meat of a turkey).
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What’s Behind David Frum’s Attack on Dinesh d’Souza and Mr. Newt?
AFP – The US Senate Thursday passed a bill providing billions of dollars in aid and tax benefits to small businesses, handing a victory to President Barack Obama in his bid to rekindle economic growth.
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Senate passes small business aid, in victory for Obama
(AFP)
New York Times reporters Jeff Zeleny and Megan Thee-Brenan examined the findings of the latest CBS/New York Times poll. As November elections approach, things look pretty bleak for Democrats and President Obama especially, who earned a record low approval rating and bad marks on his handling of the economy. But Zeleny whispered a little between-round encouragement into the ear of the battered Democrats, suggesting both sides were equally vulnerable in Thursday’s front page ” Poll Finds Hazards and Opportunities for Both Parties .” The original online headline, “Poll Suggests Big Opening for G.O.P. Going Into Midterms,” was far more accurate. Republicans are heading into the general election phase of the midterm campaign backed by two powerful currents: the highest proportion of voters in two decades say it is time for their own member of Congress to be replaced, and Americans are expressing widespread dissatisfaction with President Obama’s leadership. But the latest New York Times/CBS News poll also finds that while voters rate the performance of Democrats negatively, they view Republicans as even worse, providing a potential opening for Democrats to make a last-ditch case for keeping their hold on power. The poll represents a snapshot of the country’s political mood as the campaign pivots from primary contests that have revealed deep divisions among Republicans into the general election, where the parties deliver their competing arguments to a wider audience. The findings suggest that there are opportunities and vulnerabilities for both parties as they proceed into the final seven weeks of the campaign. But the Times (albeit burying the news at the end of the last sentence of paragraph seven) apparently thinks at least one house of Congress may fall into Republican hands. Voters have a darker view of Congressional Republicans than of Democrats, with 63 percent disapproving of Democrats and 73 percent disapproving of Republicans. But with less than two months remaining until Election Day, there are few signs that Democrats have made gains persuading Americans that they should keep control of Congress. Not until paragraph 18 did the Times mention Obama’s record low approval rating, of 45%-47% approval-disapproval. The paper didn’t mention it’s Obama’s lowest-ever approval rating in a New York Times poll (the last joint Times/CBS poll, in June, had Obama 47%-43% approval-disapproval). The president’s overall job approval rating is 45 percent, with 47 percent disapproving. On the economy, his rating is worse, with 41 percent approving and 51 percent disapproving. When asked whether Mr. Obama has a clear plan for solving the nation’s problems, 57 percent responded that he did not, yet twice as many give him more credit than Republicans for having a plan. The Times pushed for higher taxes in a short sidebar article by Megan Thee-Brenan, ” Support for Higher Tax on Wealthiest .” Amid heated debate in Washington over the fate of the Bush-era tax cuts, there is strong support for the Obama administration’s proposal to allow the tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans to expire at the end of the year. However, the latest New York Times/CBS News poll finds the public does not expect that to happen if the Republicans win control of Congress in November. The poll found that 53 percent of Americans say Mr. Obama’s proposal to increase taxes on households earning $250,000 or more is a good idea, and 38 percent say it is a bad idea. But she didn’t mention that that’s less support then the last time the Times polled that question. Back in February, 62% thought it was a good idea, 31% a bad idea. That spread has since narrowed to 53%-38%. That was Question 63; you can read a .PDF version of the Times’ latest poll here .
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Are Both Parties Equally Vulnerable in November, Like the New York Times Says? Hardly
Reuters – The Senate passed a long-stalled measure on Thursday that would boost lending to small businesses, giving President Barack Obama’s Democrats one of their last chances before November elections they are working to revive the sluggish economy.
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Senate passes long-stalled small business bill
(Reuters)
It’s tough being the wife of the most powerful man in the world, just ask Michelle Obama. Carla Bruni, who seemed to reveal her distaste for the First Lady in previous pictures, reveals Michelle’s whiny comments in her recent book [Aside: why is a sitting world leader's spouse writing a tell-all? What tawdriness.] Anyway, here’s what was allegedly said: Michelle Obama thinks being America’s First Lady is ‘hell’, Carla Bruni reveals today in a wildly indiscreet book. Miss Bruni divulges that Mrs Obama replied when asked about her position as the U.S. president’s wife: ‘Don’t ask! It’s hell. I can’t stand it!’ Details of the private conversation, which took place at the White House during an official visit by Nicolas Sarkozy last March, emerged in Carla And The Ambitious, a book written in collaboration with Miss Bruni. Well, of course the job is difficult-prepared meals, jet-setting, specially designed clothes, lecturing the American people on eating apples is exhausting work. Also, it’s awful. Not out-of-a-job awful. Not repo awful. Not foreclosure awful. Not hungry awful. But, yeah, being First Lady is awful. Michelle Obama and that husband of her’s just don’t quite cast an empathetic image, do they? NPR kvetches about this problem : Is President Obama too rational to be likable? Obama comes across as so self-contained that his personality almost seems like a bubble around him – perhaps even more so than the bubble that surrounds any president, thanks to the Secret Service and all the trappings of the White House. “Obama’s analytic style of decision-making and his unwillingness to show emotion makes it hard for people to relate to him,” says Stephen J. Wayne, a government professor at Georgetown University. If a president is in power during hard times, his relative likability won’t matter so much as his overall job performance. But every president gets judged to a greater or lesser degree according to his personality. Perhaps no president would be doing well in the polls with unemployment near double digits throughout his term. But Obama’s inability to connect on an emotional level with many people has been an additional drag on his approval ratings. Oh yes. It’s the President’s cerebral nonchalance that’s making connection so difficult. How about this idea: Michelle and Barack Obama just don’t care. When an entitled person feels perpetually ripped off, they tend to feel less empathy for those they perceive as ripping them off. So, that lack of empathy; that attitude of being put-upon? That’s genuine no matter how the lib press wants to rationalize it away. Stories like these, from the Politico help nothing: The White House is fighting back against claims its offshore drilling moratorium will cause dramatic job loses along the Gulf Coast with a new report that says most jobs aren’t gone forever. Only 8,000 to 12,000 jobs will be lost along the Gulf Coast , and most will return once deepwater drilling resumes, says the report to be presented to a Senate panel Thursday. That’s right. ONLY 12,000 families will face the desperation of a lost livelihood and face the stress and strain of keeping their homes during this economic crisis. ONLY. Do the Obamas not grasp the gravity of the economic situation in America today? Do they not grasp their enormous educational, cultural and social privilege long before they ever lucked into the presidency? Or, are they so brainwashed by their own imagined persecution complex that they simply cannot see their remarkable lives for what they are: lucky and fortunate. Michelle Obama is not burdened. The woman doesn’t know from burden. And Barack Obama is not mis-perceived by the American people. They are seeing his cold nature for what it is: hard hearted. No amount of fawning press can obscure what is becoming more obvious. UPDATED: Michelle Obama’s office denies Carla Bruni’s revelation .
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Michelle Obama’s Burden and the Obamas’ Hard Hearts
AP – Crude prices dropped on Thursday after new government data signaled slower demand for oil and gas as the economy inches along in the slow lane.
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Oil prices drop with few signs of demand pick up
(AP)
Politico – Democrats were able to deliver President Barack Obama a significant legislative victory Thursday when the Senate voted to approve a long-stalled $30 billion small business tax package, in what is probably the last real economic stimulus measure before the midterm elections.
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Senate approves small biz tax breaks
(Politico)
AFP – US President Barack Obama has laid into Republicans over taxes and immigration, seeking to capitalize on a rare ray of hope for his Democrats ahead of crunch mid-term elections.
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Obama jabs Republicans over tax, immigrants
(AFP)
AP – Tilted toward the GOP from the start of the year, the political environment has grown even more favorable for Republicans and rockier for President Barack Obama and his Democrats over the long primary season that just ended with a bang.
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AP-GfK Poll: Climate for GOP keeps getting better
(AP)
AP – President Barack Obama appealed to Hispanics on Wednesday to support Democrats in the November elections despite his failed promise to pass an immigration overhaul.
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Obama to Latinos: Don’t forget who stands with you
(AP)