The Commentariat -- March 17, 2012

The President's Weekly Address:

    ... The transcript is here.

Peter Behrens, in a New York Times op-ed: "... for many Irish-Americans and Irish-Canadians, including me, St. Patrick’s Day isn’t really about Ireland. It’s about our ancestors leaving that country, often in bitter circumstances, and risking everything on a hazardous journey and being met with fierce hostility and scorn. It is about immigrants struggling, and mostly succeeding, in their new life, or making success possible for their children and grandchildren. It is a story that should describe all newcomers to America. This March 17, on this side of the water, we ought to be celebrating immigration, not just Irishness." ...

... CW: I'll go along with that. I was planning not to celebrate St. Patrick's Day this year, as I've had my fill of Cardinal Timothy Dolan & his anti-sex/anti-woman crusade, not to mention the Irish Catholic Church and its venerable heritage of pedophilia. So here's to my great-grandfather, some five generations back, William Jarlath O'Beirne, who arrived here in the 1860s with his brother Dominick, when both boys were teenagers.

Aaron Restuccia of The Hill: "President Obama will embark on a four-state tour next week to highlight his energy plan amid intensifying GOP attacks on the White House over soaring gas prices.The tour comes as gas prices continue to rise, reaching a national average of $3.83 Friday, according to AAA. Obama will travel to Nevada, New Mexico, Oklahoma and Ohio on Wednesday and Thursday, and will deliver remarks in all four states." ...

... President Obama, in campaign fundraising mode:

Words Matter. Kevin Drum of Mother Jones: How the Obama administration's "deep-sixing the 'war on terror' rhetoric really did hurt al-Qaeda."

Friday Afternoon News Dump. N. C. Aizenman of the Washington Post: "The Obama administration’s controversial birth control health insurance coverage rule will not apply to a type of plan used by about 200,000 college and graduate students, officials said Friday. The administration’s authority to issue the rule stemmed from the 2010 health-care law. Officials said they have concluded that for technical legal reasons the law’s reach does not extend to 'self-insured'” student plans, meaning those for which a college or university collects premiums directly from students, then uses the pool to pay for their health care."

Right Wing World

** End Medicare Now. Dana Milbank: "Are Republicans ready to be trusted with the reins of power? If you’re thinking of answering this in the affirmative, you might want to pause long enough to learn what transpired on the third floor of the Capitol on Thursday. There, four prominent Republican lawmakers announced their proposal to abolish Medicare — 'sunset' was their pseudo-verb — even for those currently on the program or nearing retirement."

Is Rick Santorum electable? Remember his last Senate race? … By historic margins, Pennsylvania voters rejected Rick Santorum. -- Mitt Romney ad ...

... The Biggest (Okay, the Bigger) Loser. Andrew Kaczynski of BuzzFeed: "Romney, like Santorum lost by 17% in a Senate election, in his 1994 race vs. Ted Kennedy. Romney, however, lost big in a historically good year for Republicans, while Santorum lost big in a historically bad year for Republicans." CW Translation: "The other guy's bad, but I'm worse."

It's hard to create a job if you've never had one. -- Mitt Romney, on President Obama ...

... James Bouie of the American Prospect. Romney's assertion is so wrong, in so many ways, including the implicit racism -- black people laze around in do-nothing government jobs (living off nice white people money). Read the whole post.

Jonathan Bernstein, in the Washington Post, on the two, mutually-exclusive Barack Obamas Republicans are running against, & which people who do not live in Right Wing World will not recognize come the general election. CW: Maybe the hand-lettered sign my friend Kate M. saw at a Wisconsin rally would help get these people centered on reality:

Obama is not a brown-skinned
Anti-war socialist

Who gives away free healthcare!
You are thinking of Jesus.

GOP Congressmen invite lobbyists to party in Key Largo -- for a price:

Clueless in Missouri. Scott Keyes of Think Progress: "Three Missouri Republicans running to take on Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-MO) in November were asked during a radio debate on KMOX what the federal minimum wage is and whether they would vote to increase it. None of the three knew what the minimum wage is, but all knew that they would vote against increasing it, regardless." CW Translation: "We don't know what it is, but if it helps poor people, we're against it. P.S. We're rich."

Local News

Paul Davenport of the AP: "Women in Arizona trying to get reimbursed for birth control drugs through their employer-provided health plan could be required to prove that they are taking it for a medical reason such as acne, rather than to prevent pregnancy. A bill nearing passage in the Republican-led Legislature allows all employers, not just religious institutions, to opt out of providing contraceptive coverage when doing so would violate their religious or moral beliefs." CW Translation: "We do does not want our sweet little Arizona gals having sex, and if they can't help doing what comes naturally, well, we hope they get knocked up." When this GOP primary is over, Santorum should move to Arizona. He'd be right happy there.

Patrick Marley of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Wisconsin "State Sen. Pam Galloway [R], who faces a recall election this summer, is resigning from the Senate effective Saturday, leaving an even split between Republicans and Democrats." Galloway said her family was experiencing "multiple, sudden and serious health issues" which required her full attention. "Galloway submitted a letter Friday to the Senate saying her resignation would take effect at midnight.... Her departure comes at the end of the legislative session. But her leaving will change the makeup of committees, including ones that are active when the Legislature is out of session."

How Low Can They Go? Here's a start, but I expect worse. Eric Pfeiffer of Yahoo! News: "An image purporting to show a racist, anti-Obama bumper sticker on the back of a vehicle has been garnering lots of attention on Facebook in the past 24 hours. The bumper sticker reads, 'Don't Re-Nig in 2012.' And in smaller print below, "Stop repeat offenders. Don't' reelect Obama!" The sticker also features an image of the Obama campaign logo crossed out.... It's still unclear is the image of the vehicle has been altered in any way, but a website called 'Stumpy's Stickers' offers the bumper sticker for sale for $3."

News Ledes

President Obama stops by a Washington, D.C. Irish pub for a Guiness. Politico story here. Video here.

New York Times: "But hours [after speaking to President Obama], after meeting with the families of the 16 Afghans killed this week in a shooting rampage attributed to an American soldier, [Afghan President Hamid] Karzai lashed out again at the United States, saying he was at 'the end of the rope' over the deaths of Afghan civilians at the hands of NATO forces. He reiterated his call to confine coalition forces to major bases and to speed up the handoff to Afghan troops. He also accused American officials of not cooperating with a delegation he had sent to investigate the killings in the Panjwai district of Kandahar Province, in southern Afghanistan."

Reuters: "Twin blasts hit the heart of Damascus on Saturday, killing at least 27 people in an attack on security installations that state television blamed on 'terrorists' seeking to oust President Bashar al-Assad."

Atlanta Journal-Constitution: President "Obama ... was feted at three events over about five hours in Georgia: a $10,000-per-person reception at a home near Morningside, a gala at the studios, where the minimum ticket was $250, and a party at Perry's mansion near Vinings for those willing to part with $38,500."

Chicago Sun-Times: "President Barack Obama returned home [to Chicago] for two fund-raisers Friday, taking aim at GOP rivals stumping in Illinois in advance of the Tuesday primary as contenders who hardly measured up to another president from Illinois — a Republican, Abe Lincoln."

New York Times: "A co-founder of Invisible Children, the nonprofit organization whose video 'Kony 2012' has become an Internet sensation, was detained by the San Diego police on Thursday, after they said he was found in the street in his underwear, screaming and interfering with traffic. The police found Jason Russell, the filmmaker behind the video, after responding to calls about a man who was acting irrationally, including one call that alleged he was naked and masturbating...."

"The Road We've Traveled"

David Nakamura of the Washington Post: "The Obama White House moved fully into reelection mode this week, leaving aside any pretense of being above the fray and beginning an unabashed political effort to lay the groundwork for what polls suggest could be eight difficult months of campaigning ahead. Thursday seemed to mark a significant shift in approach and intensity, with overtly political speeches by President Obama and Vice President Biden and the release of a 17-minute documentary-style testimonial celebrating what the administration considers its most significant achievements."

The Commentariat -- March 16, 2012

My column in today's New York Times eXaminer takes a swipe at the Yellow-bellied Deficit Hawks, especially Our Mister Brooks. The NYTX front page is here. You can contribute here. ...

... AND. Dean Baker: Brooks also says the CBO is wrong, PLUS Brooks has no idea Obama put out a budget proposal in February 2011. Otherwise, Brooks' column is totally perfect. Like most Republicans, Brooks never lets facts get in the way of his standard-issue, knee-jerk argument to cut the social safety net.

... The Doonesbury page in Slate is here. (Previous panels this week in the March 14 Commentariat.)

Paul Krugman explains why "Drill, Baby, Drill" won't help the U.S. economy or the jobs picture. "Why, then, are Republicans pretending otherwise? Part of the answer is that the party is rewarding its benefactors: the oil and gas industry doesn’t create many jobs, but it does spend a lot of money on lobbying and campaign contributions. The rest of the answer is simply the fact that conservatives have no other job-creation ideas to offer. And intellectual bankruptcy ... is a problem that no amount of drilling and fracking can solve."

CW: This article by Joe Stiglitz is nearly a year old, but if you want a primer in what's wrong with our economy and why it will only get worse, this one would be good to memorize. Stiglitz, BTW, practically predicted the Occupy movement.

Glenn Thrush & Jennifer Epstein of Politico: "Vice President Joe Biden kicked off the 2012 Obama-Biden presidential campaign with a fiery union-hall speech in this northwestern Ohio auto town — and 600 miles away President Barack Obama turned the latest in a line of energy speeches into an amped-up event with the distinct feel of a general-election stump speech. In one of the nuances that matter greatly to campaigns — and not at all to the general public — Biden ditched the pre-campaign 'our opponents' line and lit into them by name, with particular attention to Mitt Romney."...

... Update: here's the New York Times story -- by Mark Leibovich -- on Vice President Biden's speech & factor tour.

... Here's President Obama's speech:

One of my predecessors, President Rutherford B. Hayes, reportedly said about the telephone: 'It’s a great invention but who would ever want to use one?' That's why he's not on Mt. Rushmore. -- Barack Obama

Actually, No. Dan Amira of New York magazine: "Hayes was not only the first president to have a telephone in the White House, but he was also the first to use the typewriter, and he had Thomas Edison come to the White House to demonstrate the phonograph." CW: President Obama has a piss-poor grasp of what former residents of the Oval did. He got Reagan wrong; he got FDR wrong; he even got Lincoln wrong on the Emancipation Proclamation. Kind of a big deal.

... Here's a local news report on Biden's visit to Toledo:

Jamelle Bouie of the American Prospect on why there are no black U.S. Senators & only one black governor -- who will not run for re-election.

Sam Baker of The Hill: "The Obama administration has shifted its legal arguments as it prepares to defend the president’s healthcare law before the Supreme Court.... Some legal experts say the shift could steer the case in a direction that would make Justice Antonin Scalia more likely to uphold the healthcare law’s mandate requiring individuals to purchase health insurance.... The shift moves the focus of Justice’s argument from the Commerce Clause of the Constitution to the Necessary and Proper Clause, which says Congress can make laws that are necessary for carrying out its other powers."

Right Wing World

Primary Numbers: One Man, 4,182 Votes. Dave Weigel of Slate: "Let's say you're a Republican voter in American Samoa. This week, you joined 69 of your peers at Toa Bar and Grill, and together you decided to assign nine delegates to Mitt Romney.... Every delegate represented eight voters. Now, say you're a Florida Republican voter. You were one of 1,672,634 people casting votes.... When the race was called, every delegate represented 33,453 voters.... A Republican's vote in [Samoa] was worth 4,182 times more than a Republican's vote in Florida."

In response to Rick Santorum's claim that Fox "News" is "shilling for Romney," media critic Willard Romney says Fox is "pretty fair and balanced," and is not "shilling for anyone." Audio. ...

... Donna Ladd, Editor-in-Chief of the Jackson (Mississippi) Free Press: "Romney uttered words that made us nearly sputter in response: 'If the federal government were run more like here in Mississippi, the whole country would be a lot better off.' Say what, Gov. Romney?! See, we JFP folks cover the state government... How can we say this nicely? It's a bona fide mess.... To say -- even while pandering for votes -- that our state is a model of governance is flabbergasting and insulting to our citizens." Via Steve Benen. ...

... Philip Rucker of the Washington Post: Gail Collins' shaggy dog story goes mainstream.

CW: Juana Summers of Politico reports that Rick Santorum tried to walk back his English-or-vamoose dictum to Puerto Rico; only it doesn't sound like much of a walk-back to me. He still has that "adios, mofos" 'tude. ...

Please do not complain to the editor about her choice of artwork.... Josh Barro of Forbes Rick "Santorum avers that 'America is suffering a pandemic of harm from pornography.' He pledges to use the resources of the Department of Justice to fight that 'pandemic,' by bringing obscenity prosecutions against pornographers.... Some of Santorum’s defenders have taken the tack of separating his personal views from his policy views. Santorum thinks contraception is 'not OK' and he has announced his intention to use the bully pulpit to discuss 'the dangers of contraception.' But he doesn’t think contraception should be illegal, and he voted for Title X contraception subsidies (though he said in a recent debate that he opposes Title X....) On pornography, though, Santorum’s views can’t be written off as purely persona l— he has stated a clear intent to use the levers of government to stop adults from making and watching porn." CW: I'll bet President Santorum would review every damned porn video to make sure it was "not the way things are meant to be in the sexual realm." The guy is obsessed with other people's sex lives. ...

... Nia-Malika Henderson of the Washington Post: "... in what is perhaps the most astonishing turnaround of the 2012 political season, Santorum has, after 10 weeks of contests, all but claimed the title of leader of the conservative wing of the GOP — someone who deserves the right, at a minimum, to be a major player at the Republican National Convention and perhaps to be considered as a vice presidential nominee."

Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Corbett (R) on how to make ultrasound screening non-obstrucive: "You just have to close your eyes":

Kirk Johnson of the New York Times: "The Tea Party-inspired drive to oust Senator Orrin G. Hatch, a six-term Republican, got a bit more complicated on Thursday night. Supporters of Mr. Hatch turned up in strong numbers at some packed Republican caucus meetings around the state, where delegates were elected to next month’s state party convention." The state GOP holds its nominating convention April 21. Salt Lake City Tribune report here.

George Zornick of The Nation on Congressional wingers' nonsensical objections to raising the loan limit on the Export-Import bank. No taxpayer funding is involved. The wingnuts just want to say no to an agency that boosts American exports and jobs.

News Ledes

New York Times: "A terrorist whom Osama bin Laden wanted to assassinate President Obamawas himself killed in a drone strike last year, shortly after evidence of the plot showed up in documents seized by the SEAL team that killed Bin Laden in Pakistan."

Politico: Actor & activist "George Clooney was arrested outside of the Sudanese Embassy in Washington, D.C. on Friday, his rep confirms. The actor, who just returned from a trip to Sudan’s Nuba Mountains, was protesting a blockade of food and humanitarian aid to people in the conflict-torn region."

AP: "A New Jersey jury today found former Rutgers student Dharun Ravi guilty of the most serious charges for spying on his roommate, Tyler Clementi, having a gay sexual encounter in 2010. Ravi was convicted of invasion of privacy, bias intimidation, witness tampering, and hindering arrest, stemming from his role in activating a webcam to peek at Clementi's date with a man on Sept. 19, 2010.... Clementi's case gained national attention when he committed suicide by jumping off the George Washington Bridge Sept. 22, 2010."

New York Times: "The American staff sergeant suspected of killing 16 Afghan villagers had been drinking alcohol — a violation of military rules in combat zones — and suffering from the stress related to his fourth combat tour and tensions with his wife about the deployments on the night of the massacre, a senior American official said Thursday." ...

... Guardian: "The US soldier accused of shooting dead 16 Afghan villagers saw his friend's leg blown off the day before and is himself a decorated survivor of war wounds from mutliple tours of duty, his lawyer has said. Seattle attorney John Henry Browne said that according to his client's family the soldier had been standing next to his friend when the blast happened." ...

     ... Update: The suspect in the killing of Afghan civilians is Army Staff Sgt. Robert Bales, official says....

     ... Update 2: "New York Times story here.

New York Times: "North Korea announced on Friday that it planned to launch a satellite into orbit next month, testing a technology that the United States and the United Nations Security Council have condemned as a cover for developing and testing long-range intercontinental ballistic missiles."

Guardian: "The archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, is to resign and return to academia as master of Magdalene college, Cambridge. Williams, 61, will leave at the end of December in time to start his new role next January. His time in office has been marked by a slowly growing schism in the worldwide Anglican church, which he has failed to heal. Williams has been attacked by conservatives for his liberal views on homosexuality and by liberals for failing to live up to these principles." With video.

Washington Post: "The measured Afghanistan endgame that President Obama outlined this week suffered new setbacks Thursday, as the Taliban suspended peace talks with the United States and Afghan President Hamid Karzai demanded that NATO withdraw forces from the small, rural outposts that are at the heart of its military mission here."

AP: "Apple-mania gripped Asia on Friday as the company's latest iPad went on sale, drawing hordes of die-hard fans to shops selling the highly anticipated tablet. Gadget fans lined up in Tokyo, Hong Kong and Singapore so they could be among the first to get their hands on the device."