100 Days Press Conference

While his approval numbers remain relatively stable at around 62%, President Obama is again taking to the airwaves this week to mark his first 100 "historic" days in office.  Certainly more than his predecessor, Obama has taken to using the primetime presser as a means of dictating the narrative of his efforts.  His approval numbers are important in understanding why it's still useful.  If 62% of Americans still think he's doing well, the intrusion into our regularly scheduled program should prompt little backlash.  And, as opposed to President Bush, Obama's strength is his speaking (off teleprompter).  Two predictions, One: the viewer numbers will plummet from his previous primetime appearances.  Two, following Emanuel's Doctrine of "not letting a crisis go to waste", Obama will attempt to pair the swine flu scare with healthcare reform.  

Indianapolis Tea Party

For my limited readership, I wanted to pass along the details for the Indianapolis Tea Party.  It's coming up April 15 from 4:30pm - 6:30pm on the South Lawn of the State Capitol.  More here. 

The Need for Transcendance in the Postmodern World

This speech given by former Czech Republic President Vaclav Havel on July 4, 1994 speaks to the timeless reality that we ignore God at our peril. The value in this can be seen in that it is nearly 15 years old, yet it speaks directly to the current state of affairs in America and around the globe.

And thus today we find ourselves in a paradoxical situation. We enjoy all the achievements of modern civilization that have made our physical existence on this earth easier so in many important ways. Yet we do not know exactly what to do with ourselves, where to turn. The world of our experiences seems chaotic, disconnected, confusing. There appear to be no integrating forces, no unified meaning, no true inner understanding of phenomena in our experience of the world. Experts can explain anything in the objective world to us, yet we understand our own lives less and less. In short, we live in the postmodern world, where everything is possible and almost nothing is certain.

Mitch touted for 2012 on National Review

David Freddoso mentions Gov. Daniels high approval rating on NR's The Corner blog.

Amid all the talk about presidential candidates, perhaps this guy should get a few more mentions.

A recent Public Opinion Strategies Poll conducted on behalf of Indiana Realtors puts Gov. Mitch Daniels' (R) approval rating at 69 percent with 29 percent disapproving. The poll comes on Daniels’ 60th birthday today. The right/wrong track numbers for Indiana stood at 50-42%...Gov. Daniel’s image has improved a net-13 points sincelate September, 2008...

My fellow Hoosiers even appear to have gotten over his decision to place us under the tyranny of Daylight Saving Time. (Mind you, we haven't had a president from Indiana since "Little Ben" Harrison.)

"Don't think we're not keeping score, brother"

As we learn the details about how former Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich sought to trade influence for money, Karl Rove's OP ED about Obama's Chicago roots is well timed. While Obama may be keeping score of votes (ironic for a career littered with present votes), he's asleep at the wheel in counting debt.

From Rove's piece:

"White House Budget Director Peter Orszag's bewildering response when asked by a reporter last week about increasing federal debt. He said, "I don't know what spiraling debt you're referring to."

The clinical term is cognitive dissonance. Apparently, Messrs. Obama, Orszag and Co. have actually convinced themselves that every other financial projection is wrong.

Sounds familiar. If you'll recall, the Flobee trimmed former governor in December:

"I will fight this thing every step of the way," Blagojevich announced at a raucous press conference this afternoon in Chicago. "I will fight. I will fight. I will fight."

Blagojevich added that he had "done nothing wrong" and said he had no plans to step aside from his post simply due to "false accusations and a political lynch mob."

No matter taped phone conversations, Blago was playing by Chicago rules, quoting Kipling and ignoring that the train was completely off the tracks. In Chicago, they keep score of favors, and Blago had IOU's to cash in.

Meanwhile in D.C., Obama may have a better haircut, but he still plays by the same rules. Spoiler alert, in a Cabinet full of tax cheats and Chicago pols they're not going to make it 4 years without someone going to jail.

And the Word became... words

This New York Times piece by Peter Baker gives a great summary of the rhetorical nuances embraced by the Obama administration, while maintaining Bush policies.

Indeed, for all the shifting words, Mr. Obama has left the bulk of Mr. Bush’s national security architecture intact so far. He has made no move to revise the Patriot Act or the eavesdropping program. He has ordered Guantánamo to be closed in a year but has not turned loose all the prisoners. The troop buildup in Afghanistan resembles the one Mr. Bush ordered in Iraq two years ago.

Every administration chooses words wisely, which is understandable. Also understandable, is the relative pacifistic tone considering a campaign propelled by his opposition to the Iraq War. However politically understandable it is, the free pass he's been given for embracing Bush's policies is incredible. I mean, Obama's viability as a candidate was driven by the majority disapproval of Bush's policies, mostly of his foreign policy. Hope and Change resonated, because of the sentiment of hopelessness, right or wrong, was prominent in the cultural zeitgeist.

He's been relatively pragmatic so far overseas. The best decision's been not letting his "foreign policy guru" VP Biden into the mix. While Russian "button-gate" and DVD's for Gordon Brown show Obama's underlying disinterest in foreign policy, I'll take protocol gaffe's if it means maintaining a strong position abroad - regardless if it's a War on Terror or an Overseas Contingency Operations.

Could I Actually Like Country Music?

This NYT piece on John Rich's new song, "Shuttin' Detroit Down", makes me think it's a distinct possibility. That's apolcalyptic in itself.

A choice cut:

I see all these big shots whining on my evening news
About how they’re
losing billions and it’s up to me and you
To come running to
The
rescue