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Classical Values endorces my economic plan from January:
We have added at least a trillion dollars to our national debt and the accomplishments for that spending are worse than if we had done nothing. Where is the Do Nothing Congress and the Do Nothing Presidency when you need them?
Doing nothing would have allowed the business cycle to fix itself. It takes guts to sit still when everyone is panicing. This congress doesn’t have them.
Via Glenn.
This speech is clearly the most important act so far of the Obama presidency. (My accidental live blog of it is here)
The Jim Geraghty rule not withstanding. He publicly said many things that needed to be publicly said to an Islamic audience in the Arab world. The idea that he is defending the education of woman and girls is incredible. The public statement that Al Qaeda killed thousands of innocent Americans. Many Islamists (and truthers) still think this is not the case.
This is comparable to the Reagan speeches on the Soviet Union. Saying things that need to be said. This is very important because his name IS Barack Hussian Obama these words give legitimacy to his words in the Arab world. That shouldn’t be the case but culturally it is. Obama is the only American president that could make this speech in the Islamic world and be heard.
This has the potential to be an earthquake in the Islamic world. If he does nothing else during his presidency this is going to be the moment he should be remembered for.
*****
None of this changes the type of pol he is. I still think he is an empty suit and a Corrupt Chicago pol but those limitations don’t hurt the effect or the importance of this speech. Remember Lincoln’s famous line concerning John Pope and his family. May he in this case have more success than Pope did.
Update: Captain Ed seems to be with me on this one. Michelle and YID with LID is not. One of Yid’s points echos one I made in my speech oddities post.
I think that you have to walk before you run. Just getting some of the ideas out there in public in the Arab world by a source that isn’t repressed will make a crack in the dike that can break the Dam. I think this speech and the defense of Israel’s right to exist and historic suffering is incredible for that reason.
Jay echos Steyn in today’s impromptus with this bit:
Begin with the flight — my flight from JFK in New York to Queen Alia International in Amman. I can’t help thinking of Mark Steyn. It’s natural to think of Mark Steyn, isn’t it? In this particular case, I’m thinking of demography, and all the arguments Mark has made over the years. He speaks about “demographic energy”: and this is not coming from Westerners.
On my Royal Jordanian flight are many, many children. I believe half the passengers are under ten. Seriously. Parents have brought along three children, four children, five children, more. And I find myself thinking, “My, what large families.” But, when I was growing up — in good old America — that was pretty unremarkable, routine. Now there’s one child, or two if you’re really, really fecund and reckless. And these Middle Eastern families seem: large. “It’s all relative,” as the saying goes (and in this case there’s a double meaning, I guess).
Whenever I am on a “Third World flight” — impolite term — I notice this: children. On the flights within the U.S. I take, children are almost a novelty. Same with flights to and from Europe. But whenever I wander beyond those regions: kid-o-rama.
This cannot be without consequences, can it? Whether you regard them as good or bad: It cannot be without consequences. For more, please consult Mark Steyn.
You just don’t think long range when you have few children or no sense of an afterlife, you tend to be narcissistic and live for the now. This is what the drug culture and the changes of the 60’s have wrought. I’m not likely to live to see the final results but it will be a tough time for my boys.
I gotta give credit to Willie Geist for coming up with this angle.
This morning on Morning Joe they were interviewing someone from the Politico concerning the photos that the president has decided not to release.
He asked if the idea might have been to protect democratic pols who would have had these photos “hung around their necks”.
You know there are several angles to look at this. It could be considered the president’s “Sister Souljia” moment, turning from the left.
It could be his “Errol Flynn Trial” Errol Flynn Trial: 1943 – “j.b.” And “s.q.q.”, Suggestions For Further Reading on the subjectmoment as Monica Crowley maintained on O’Reilly last night, the theory being now people will imagine the worst.
Most people think that its a question of following the advice of the generals. The thought being that now the war is now owned by him is isn’t going to lose it.
The political angle didn’t occur to me and I’m ashamed of it, particularly with the excellent post by Legal Insurrection:
This presents a problem mostly for Democrats. Republicans who were briefed on the interrogation methods at least will be consistent, for the most part, in maintaining that the methods were lawful and useful. No Republican is going to be harmed politically by the revelations because most Americans support these methods against people like Khalid Sheikh Mohammed. If leaks of a Justice Department report are to be believed, there will be no prosecutions. Republicans are safe politically and legally.
For Democrats, however, the damage could be significant. Nancy Pelosi already has lost a great deal of credibility from her changing stories. Dozens of other Democrats, including such senior Senators as Jay Rockefeller, apparently also were briefed on the interrogation methods and either were silent, approved, or encouraged the policy.
The irony is that a full blow investigation and hearings will turn mostly on what the Democrats knew, and when they knew it. The Republicans mostly couldn’t care less if they were “blamed” for keeping the country safe even if it necessitated waterboarding the mastermind of 9/11 to prevent further attacks. When faced with sacrificing a city versus using harsh interrogation methods, most voters would opt for harsh interrogation.
Keith Olberman, Chris Matthews, et/al not withstanding people who live here actually Like America and dislike having to choose between burning to death or jumping 100 stories to become street pizza. The Air force one debacle showed that no matter how they vote people know what the score is as thousands fled for their lives. This is not something you want to be on the wrong side of.
There is a story of Ronald Reagan meeting with European leaders in the 80 hearing them privately urge him to stand up to the soviets and deploy missiles while telling him they would publicly condemn him for political reasons.
Don’t think for one moment that high level people in congress didn’t make that request. The president has the approval ratings to withstand the hit, congress can’t, and believe that he made this move for their sake he WILL collect a chit for it.
I say the right thing is almost always the smart thing in the long run. President Obama did the right thing and it will turn out to be the smart thing in the end.
Update: Et Tu Chris Matthews?
Update 2: added the DUmmie Funnies link above, between them and Andrew Sullivan it looks like they are all learning about feeding the dog and liberal pets.
Update 3: via Jules Crittenden David Ignatious votes Souljia and has a full round up.
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