McCain on Hamas

Appeaser? For Hamas before he was against Hamas?

This is a tiresome story, with a ridiculous pretext. With this video, there’s only one non-appeaser candidate left. You know who? Bob Barr. Watch it and weep.

Webb’s GI Bill Taxes Rich

Jim Webb’s new GI Bill gets more brilliant each time I read about it. Yesterday, the House moved this bill forward by approving a tax on the super-wealthy to pay for the plan to expand veterans education benefits to cover the full four years of college. From Carl Hulse’s story in the New York Times:

“Individuals earning $500,000 or more would pay a surtax of 0.47 percent on income above $500,000 and the tax would apply to couples on incomes above $1 million.

Democratic officials said one analysis estimated that about 440,000 people would fall under the new tax and would pay an average of nearly $9,000 a year.

‘We are talking about people who are making over $1 million to make a small sacrifice to pay for this war when our military families are making a huge sacrifice,’ said Representative Jan Schakowsky, Democrat of Illinois.”

Bush is threatening to veto the bill and McCain, suicidally, supports him. You want to save money of the backs of our veterans? A “tax is a tax?” The genius of this bill is that it does two great things. One, it provides a well-deserved benefit to our troops. Two, it demonstrates, in sharp terms, Republican hypocrisy on the military.

If the top half million wealthiest people in the country can’t take a $9000 hit to put a young veteran through college, than this country is doomed. You have no right sending anyone off to war, if you can’t support this bill.

Michelle Obama Rumor

There is a rumor bopping around on the blogs that the GOP is holding a tape of Michelle Obama “railing against whitey” at Jeremiah Wright’s United Church of Christ. The story is that they are holding it for the fall should Obama be the nominee.

Now there is a lot of this kind of stuff out there on the blogs, but this one scares me because it seems plausible (though it also seems plausible as a nasty scare tactic by the Clinton camp). Therefore, I am on my knees praying that if this tape exists, if Barack and Michelle Obama know that she did this, they will drop out now. NOW! Before it costs us what is shaping up to be a landslide.

I love Obama, but not at the expense of the election.

Kirsch Slams Frey’s Bright Shiny Morning

The New York Sun, which otherwise seems like little more than the student paper at Neocon High, has got a first rate Arts section. The estimable Adam Kirsch is their chief book reviewer. On Tuesday, he slammed James Frey’s new book, Bright Shiny Morning. For anyone looking to indulge in a little schadenfreude, this will be a satisfying read.

His last line will disappoint though: “…I am sure “Bright Shiny Morning” will be a big best-seller.”

Wall Street Layoffs: 65,000 and Counting

This story by Louise Story and Eric Dash in today’s New York Times is about the “stealth”-like nature of the Wall Street layoffs that have been occurring since last summer. Firms are chopping staff quietly, and slowly over time, keeping their employees largely in the dark. Naturally, this has unnerved the rank-and-file.

There have been 65,000 cut so far. More are expected.

Bob Barr Set to Spoil McCain’s Bid

Newly announced presidential candidate Bob Barr of Georgia heads into next week’s Libertarian convention in Denver looking to build momentum and raise cash. To date, Ron Paul has been the darling of libertarians, and while he remains in the race and still has a pile of loot, I expect that Barr will begin to siphon off some of his support.

Since Barr has left Congress he has been an outspoken defender of civil liberties, attacking the Patriot Act and other post-9/11 anti-privacy initiatives. He is a staunch supporter of gun rights and has stood up against torture, among other things. Plus, he’s a little nutty.

In short, libertarians are going to love him.

And this is going to mean big trouble for McCain. My feeling is that since libertarians will shortly realize that Paul really won’t make a third party run, they’ll turn to Barr. If Barr can raise even 20% of the money Paul did, he’ll have enough to do damage. With a Republican Party that is fractured and reeling, and a population looking for alternatives, it’s easy to see Barr playing the role of spoiler. Pull 2% in Ohio and it may be the difference that swings the state to Obama.

You know McCain is pissed, and other Republicans are panicking. From an article by Aaron Gould Sheinin in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution:

“No reasonable conservative is going to vote for anybody except McCain if the alternative is Clinton or Obama,” Gingrich said. “Barr is not alternative.”

Define reasonable, Newt. If there is one indication that Barr will be trouble for McCain, it is this:

“Ex-Republican’s Libertarian presidential bid has GOP on guard, though experts say he may have little effect.”

If the “experts” think it, it’s sure not to come true.

Bush Right on Farm Bill

Is this possible? Bush is two for three on recent legislation making its way through Congress.

He’s dreadfully wrong on the new GI Bill sponsored by Jim Webb. He’s right on the still-in-negotiations bills on housing (these will come back in another form, for sure).

And now, rightly, he’s threatening to veto the huge Farm Bill that just passed the House with a veto-proof margin. This bloated clunker continues America’s policy of subsidizing wealthy farmers for political gain. From the New York Times story by David M. Herszenhorn:

“Mr. Bush had sought an adjusted gross income limit of $200,000 above which farmers could not qualify for any subsidy payments. The bill passed by the House, however, allows farm income of up to $750,000 and nonfarm income of $500,000 per individual.”

What? A farmer whose gross income is $500K is getting a welfare check?

Quoth Bush: “‘Today’s farm economy is very strong, and that is something to celebrate,’ he said. ‘It is also an appropriate time to better target subsidies and put forth real reform.’ The bill, he said, ’spends too much and fails to reform farm programs for the future.’”

Never mind that the only reason he’s opposing this bill is because he’s not running again, he’s right. Shockingly right. The bill does include $10.3 billion for food stamps, rural development, and land conservation programs. But, frankly, those items should just be in a separate bill.

That said, this bill is an inevitability, but it shouldn’t be. Here’s a supporting editorial from Investor’s Business Daily.

P.S. You’ll notice that McCain wants to steer well clear of this one.

Preakness Picks

Update: Behindatthebar is a late scratch. I’m slotting Gayego into the triple.

This race is a touch shorter than the Derby and has a smaller field. Plus, the quality of these horses is not as strong as at that race. It stands to reason that Big Brown is going to win here, even if he has a drop-off. The challenge for him is going to be at the Belmont Stakes. Here are my picks:

Take the trifecta box on:

Big Brown
Hey Bryn
Gayego

Take Icabad Crane as your longshot to win.

Here is the Daily Racing Form’s Past Performances Sheet.

Edwards Is No VP

Now that John Edwards has endorsed Barack Obama speculation has begun that there was a back-room deal to put Edwards on the ticket. This is not going to happen. Attorney General? Yes. But Vice President? No way. Obama is too smart for that. Here are the reasons:

1) Jim Webb is going to be his VP. Forget Webb’s dismissive posturing, the man wants the job. For all the reasons we’ve written about, he is a perfect fit for the ticket.

2) Edwards already had his shot at VP, remember? John Kerry? And they failed. There’s no reason to give him a second shot just for a late season endorsement.

3) Edwards is perceived as too soft. The Breck girl and all that. And he didn’t even carry NC in 2004. John Edwards is another “latte-sipping” elitist liberal.

4) Lastly, he doesn’t have the experience. One term in the Senate. Trial lawyer background. Obama needs someone with foreign policy or military credentials and a set of iron balls (hence, JWebb).

If John Edwards got any deal at all (and he probably did), he’s going to be Attorney General.

John Edwards Steps Up

John Edwards delivered the big endorsement of Barack Obama today in Michigan.

The timing couldn’t be better in light of yesterday’s trouncing in West Virginia. This is a signal move, the official coalescing of the party around Obama has now begun. Hillary was already finished, but this is a wooden stake through the heart.

There is considerable speculation that Edwards is slotted for the Attorney General spot.

For a man I formerly disliked, he’s improved immeasurably in my eyes with this overdue (though still well-timed) endorsement.

As For Shared Sacrifice? Bush Gives Up Golf

It is fortunate that we have a commander-in-chief who so sensitive to the needs of our military families. And it is true that it would have looked bad to be seen on the golf course.

But the question is: why stop there? It looks bad to make stupid jokes at the White House Correspondents Dinner. It looks bad to take August off. It looks bad to not know what you’re talking about during a press conference. It looks bad to cut taxes for the rich while sending (certainly poorer) troops off to war. And so on.

Bush made the comment about giving up golf in an interview with Politico and Yahoo News. I’ve tried to avoid posting about him because what’s the point? But the man is still in charge and still has the potential to do more damage, so I thought it might be nice to know where his head is at these days.

At any rate, I read the transcript. Nothing really worth reading. He was disappointed by the flawed Iraqi intelligence. He thinks Congress is stalled (which it is). I’ll leave you with Bush’s own words:

“Popularity is fleeting, Michael. Principles are forever.”

Don’t we know it.

Foreclosures Up 65%

One in every 519 homes received a foreclosure filing in April, up 65% over April 2007. In a related story, Freddie Mac reported a loss of $151 million in the first quarter of 2008.

This is still just the tip of the iceberg.

Jim Webb is the New Hillary Clinton

A lot of people, including Dick Morris, are going to start panicking about Hillary Clinton getting on the Democratic ticket. Her win in West Virginia last night was convincing, and poses a very real problem for Barack Obama. Unfortunately for Hillary, the votes she received there and elsewhere aren’t a result of anything she has done or represents, they are votes against Jeremiah Wright (this is still, and will continue to be, Obama’s biggest problem - more on this later).

I want to be clear: adding Hillary to the ticket will do nothing to rid Obama of the stain of Jeremiah Wright. It will only serve to open up a whole new series of problems, not least of which is Bill Clinton. People are voting for Hillary because they’ll vote for any Democrat in this election cycle (see post below) and she’s the only one left who is white. Remember that these same voters were thought to loathe Hillary Clinton less than a year ago.

All this is beside the point because, luckily, there is a brilliant alternative to Hillary for VP, and that is Senator Jim Webb of Virginia. Webb is a conservative Democrat and citizen-soldier who will bring blue chip political and military experience, along with a dose of white, working class authenticity, to the ticket. He is honest, direct, and tough. As Obama deals with the Wright issue, having Webb speak for him will be convincing.

Hillary is tough too. But she does not bring balance to Obama’s ticket, she brings a heavy weight that can be measured in tons.

Dems Win Mississippi Runoff Election

As predicted, Democrat Travis Childers has won the heavily contested seat of Roger Wicker in Mississippi’s 1st Congressional district.

This is the latest of a series of significant Congressional losses for the Republicans. First, they lost the special election to replace Dennis Hastert in Illinois. That seat had been in Republican hands for 76 years (barring one term after Watergate).

Second, they suffered another loss in the special election for Louisiana’s Sixth Congressional District a couple of weeks ago. Bush carried that district by 19 percentage points in 2004 and Republicans had held it since 1975.

And now the seat in Mississippi.

There is a clear trend here. Democrats are winning in Republican strongholds; places that were once considered “locks,” places that were once considered uncompetitive. If there is one narrative that will hold true through the November elections, it is this: Republicans are facing a massacre.

Yesterday’s election is just another sign that Americans are fed up with the dishonor and incompetence of the Republican Party.

Robert Rauschenberg

I am generally skeptical of Pop Art and Abstract Expressionism. While I do believe that there were brilliant practitioners of these movements, there were not many, and even those who did great work were often sullied by the temptation to produce subpar work for a ravenous art market.

Still others, unfortunately, produced “art” that may have been of conceptual and, possibly, historical value, but lacked intrinsic aesthetic value.

Of course, beauty is in the eye of the beholder, but no one looks upon an Winslow Homer watercolor and fails to see beauty. And, frankly, if a work is purely conceptual, I’d rather just have the concept written on a napkin.

Robert Rauschenberg, who died today at 82, was guilty of all of the above. Nevertheless, I am inclined to give him the benefit of the doubt. I have seen a few of his mixed media paintings and found some of them to be compositionally beautiful, moving, true expressions of artistic talent.

But a lot of it was junk. So, as always, judge for yourself. Here’s his bio and video from PBS’s American Masters site.