The Commentariat -- November 11

Micah Cohen of the New York Times has an update on the still-unresolved midterm races. Unbelievably, the pig in the ducky jammies won by about 800 votes; his Democratic opponent, an incumbent, is applying for a recount:

Stephen Gandel of Time: how Sarah Palin & the tea party could cause hyperinflation: "The real threat of inflation comes from tax policy, namely lower taxes. Lower taxes and the government will have a harder time paying back its debt. Investors run from our bonds and currency. Inflation ensues." Moreover, no matter what the actual policy, if investors & the public think the government is unwilling to pay for itself, inflation will follow.

The White House gives a whole new meaning to passive aggression - it has institutionalized a personality disorder into a governing style.... Obama promises he will veto any tax cuts for the rich.  He loses the midterms and leaves the country.  Droopy Dog Axelrod 'leaks' the caving-in to some inside- the- Beltway establishment reporter.  It is officially denied. But since we now have a heads-up, the official pill won't be so bitterly hard to swallow once it becomes 'official.'
-- Karen Garcia ...

... Chicken-Shit, White House-Style. Howard Feinman & Sam Stein: "President Barack Obama's top adviser suggested to The Huffington Post late Wednesday that the administration is ready to accept an across-the-board, temporary continuation of steep Bush-era tax cuts, including those for the wealthiest taxpayers. That appears to be the only way, said David Axelrod, that middle-class taxpayers can keep their tax cuts, given the legislative and political realities facing Obama in the aftermath of last week's electoral defeat." ...

... NEW. You can sign Bold Progressives' (PCCC) petition against the tax cut for the rich. ...

... BUT Carrie Budoff Brown: "In an e-mail to POLITICO, Axelrod said: 'There is not one bit of news here. I didn't go beyond what we said before.'" CW: the inference here is that the White House has not committed to accepting tax cuts for the rich. Then why this? -- ", David Axelrod, said Wednesday that the White House has to deal with “the world of what it takes to get this done” – a signal to Democrats that they don’t have the votes to kill the high-end tax cuts in the face of a new Republican House majority and resistance from Democratic moderates in the Senate." This makes no sense. The tax cuts expire at the end of 2010. The Democrats still hold healthy majorities in both houses. There is not "a new Republican House majority" until early January 2011. ...

... AND Katy O'Donnell of the National Journal: "Senior White House adviser David Axelrod said this morning that President Obama has not caved to GOP demands on the extension of the Bush tax cuts, despite a report to the contrary."

... Marcy Wheeler: "Let yesterday be marked as the day when a nominally Democratic President began to dismantle Democrats’ signature policy achievement, social security, so he could shovel $700 billion to the very rich." ...

Catfood Commission Draft Proposal

Artwork via PoliticsPlus.org.New York Times: "A draft proposal released Wednesday by the chairmen of President Obama’s bipartisan commission on reducing the federal debt calls for deep cuts in domestic and military spending starting in 2012, and an overhaul of the tax code to raise revenue. Those changes and others would erase nearly $4 trillion from projected deficits through 2020, the proposal says." Here's the report.

CW: the chairmen put out the draft report, but there is no chance the full commission will ratify it. Ezra Klein explains more.

Megan Carpentier of TPM lists the chairmen's main proposals.

President Obama won't discuss it:

Dow-Jones: "House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D., Calif.) ... call[ed] the plan 'simply unacceptable.' The outgoing speaker said that any proposal must do 'what is right for our children and grandchildren's economic security as well as for our nation's fiscal security, and it must do what is right for our seniors, who are counting on the bedrock promises of Social Security and Medicare.'" Update: here's Speaker Pelosi's official statement.

More reactions via Alexander Bolton of The Hill -- but none from the White House (CW: which reportedly was blindsided by the early release).

The chairmen of the Deficit Commission just told working Americans to ‘Drop Dead.’ Especially in these tough economic times, it is unconscionable to be proposing cuts to the critical economic lifelines. -- Richard Trumka, AFL-CIO President

Kevin Drum: "Bottom line: this document isn't really aimed at deficit reduction. It's aimed at keeping government small. There's nothing wrong with that if you're a conservative think tank and that's what you're dedicated to selling. But it should be called by its right name. This document is a paean to cutting the federal government, not cutting the federal deficit."

Barbara Morrill in Daily Kos: ConservaDem Kent Conrad uses Veterans Day to tout the Catfood Commission proposals like this one:

Establish co-pays in the VA medical system and change the co-pays and deductibles for military retirees that remain in that system.

       Morrill writes, "... nothing says remember the sacrifices made by our military men and women more than telling them they'll have to start paying for their VA care! But I'm sure Conrad had a flag pin on his lapel when he said it."

Digby: the "villagers are thrilled."

Karoli at Crooks & Liars: "Simply put, it makes the Reagan administration initial proposals for Social Security reform look progressive, ignores the truth about Social Security's funding status, pays lip service only to cutting the defense budget while simultaneously taking shots at unions, the poor, the underprivileged and the elderly."

** Skin in the Game. Dan Eggen of the Washington Post: the catfood commission has taken an "... unusual approach to staffing: ... about one in four commission staffers is paid by outside entities, many of which have strong ideological points of view about how to tackle the deficit." The commission's director says he employed these nonpaid ideologues to be "fiscally responsible." CW: you just want to slap these assholes:

Taxpayers fund the commission and they should work independently of Washington lobbyists and power brokers, This is the type of shenanigans that average Americans are so upset about right now - that money talks and everyone else is left out. -- former Rep. Barbara Kennelly, an advociate for preserving Social Security & Medicare

David Lindley & Wally Ingram, "Cat Food Sandwiches," via Firedoglake:

******************************************************************

The Economist: "It was chance that [President Obama's] tour took him to Asia’s biggest and richest democracies — South Korea and Japan were on the itinerary as hosts, respectively, of the G20 and Asia-Pacific Economic Co-operation (APEC) summits. But that lent the tour its tacit theme: that, crudely put, the American model still trumps the Chinese one."

Paul Kiel of ProPublica: "When the Obama administration launched its flagship foreclosure prevention program in early 2009, it pledged to spend up to $50 billion helping struggling homeowners. But the government has so far only spent a tiny fraction of that."

President Obama speaks at a Veterans Day rally in Seoul, South Korea. The President appears about 5 min. in:

Ed O'Keefe & Greg Jaffe of the Washington Post: "A Pentagon study group has concluded that the military can lift the ban on gays serving openly in uniform with only minimal and isolated incidents of risk to the current war efforts, according to two people familiar with a draft of the report, which is due to President Obama on Dec. 1."

Tim Egan of the New York Times posits that the Republican Congressional leadership will have to rein in the lying lunatics in their caucus if they expect to actually govern. CW: Not. Going. To. Happen. ...

... BUT Perry Bacon of the Washington Post: "Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.), a favorite of conservative activists around the country, ended her campaign to join the GOP leadership late Wednesday, electing to bow out rather than face near-certain defeat in next week's leadership elections."

Austan Goolsbee explains that the President is in Asia to help boost American exports:

... Paul Wiseman of the AP explains why other countries oppose Fed Chair Ben Bernanke's move to buy bonds. CW: Wiseman does not try to explain economist Sarah Palin's opposition to the Fed's program.  

Cenk Uygur rants on why gays should not vote for GOP candidates. CW: I agree with Cenk, but he doesn't go far enough. On this issue alone, no one, straight or gay, who supports basic human rights can vote Republican:

Joe Wilson reacts to Dubya's memoir Decision Points.

CBS News: The American Civil Liberties Union today urged the Justice Department to investigate whether President George W. Bush violated anti-torture laws by authorizing the use of waterboarding against detainees in the war on terror -- an admission Mr. Bush makes in his new memoir 'Decision Points.'" More in the Huffington Post here. ...

... CBS News: "Former German Chancellor Gerhard Schroder said Tuesday that former President George W. Bush 'is not telling the truth' in his new memoir 'Decision Points.'" He  says Bush's description of an exchange between Bush & him about the Iraq War is false. "In his memoir 'Decisions: My Life in Politics,' Schroder wrote that Mr. Bush spoke in 'almost Biblical semantics' and gave off the impression 'that political decisions are a result of this conversation with God.'"

The Commentariat -- November 10

Paul Krugman took a quick look at the Catfood's Commission draft report. He says, "And it really is that bad." See links to the news & the report itself under Wednesday news in the right column.

Lee Fang of Think Progress. "Apparently, [Supreme Court Justice Samuel "Not True"] Alito is a regular benefactor for highly political conservative fundraisers." Fang approached Alito at one of them. With video.

David Sanger of the New York Times: "With China leading the critics of American economic policy, officials acknowledge that President Obama is going to have a difficult time winning any kind of consensus strategy" at the G-20 meeting in South Korea. ...

... Howard Schneider of the Washington Post: "An international backlash against the Federal Reserve's move last week to pump billions of dollars into the U.S. economy is threatening to undercut the Obama administration's economic goals for this week's G-20 meeting of world leaders."

President Obama speaks at the University of Indonesia:

     ... Here's the transcript of the President's remarks.

Municipal Swaps -- Another Way Banks Ripped Us Off. Michael McDonald of Bloomberg: "For more than a decade, banks and insurance companies convinced governments and nonprofits that financial engineering would lower interest rates on bonds sold for public projects such as roads, bridges and schools. That failed promise has cost more than $4 billion, according to data compiled by Bloomberg, as hundreds of borrowers from the Bay Area Toll Authority in Oakland, California, to Cornell University in Ithaca, New York, quietly paid Wall Street to end agreements since 2008."

Michelle Nichols of Reuters: "Charitable giving by wealthy Americans dropped by more than a third between 2007 and 2009 as the worst U.S. recession in decades put pressure on the nonprofit sector, according to a study released Tuesday."

Jim Rutenberg & Jeff Zeleny of the New York Times: "Republican leaders are digging in for a battle over control of the Republican National Committee, judging that its role in fund-raising, get-out-the-vote operations and other tasks will be critical to the effort to topple President Obama. Some senior party officials are maneuvering to put pressure on Michael Steele, the controversial party chairman, not to seek re-election when his term ends in January or, failing that, to encourage a challenger to step forward to take him on."

"No" on Healthcare Pays off for Some Dems. Eric Ostermeier of Smart Politics: "A Smart Politics analysis finds that while just 11 percent of Democrats who voted 'yes' on the health care bill in congressional districts carried by John McCain in 2008 were reelected to the 112th Congress (2 of 18 representatives), 39 percent of those who voted 'no' in McCain districts will return to their offices in D.C. (9 of 23)."

CW: before the polls had closed, I predicted the November 2 election would produce a Franken/Coleman-style recount. Little did I know it would be in Minnesota.

"Who is this woman, this fruit bat in fleece and Gore-Tex, clenching the side of the rock face above a glacier, screaming 'Tahhd! Tahhd!' at her husband, piercing the tranquillity of the Alaskan paradise?" Hank Stuever of the Washington Post reviews "Sarah Palin's Alaska." The show may suck, but Stuever's review is fun. (I know this belongs in Infotainment, but it's too rich to bury.)

I probably won’t even vote for the guy. I had to endorse him. But I’d have endorsed Obama if they’d asked me. -- George W. Bush, on John McCain, in 2008 ...

... BUT Bush's spokesperson denies the story. CW: well, he would.

George Bush does care about black people. Kanye West expresses regrets for his famous remark:

But he doesn't care about black people's names. He calls Kanye "Conway."

The Commentariat -- November 9

                   The rich, the right and the white ...

                   Keep the fires of calamity burning bright.

                          -- Akhilleus, comment (#8) on Brooks

Dan Froomkin channels President Dubya in book tour mode: "if you don't like my non-answers on the teevee, buy the book (where you won't find the answers)."

Austrailia's Hamish & Andy interview Secretary Hillary Clinton -- pretty funny:

Winnie Hu of the New York Times: New Haven, Connecticut "city and school officials announced on Tuesday that a new program, called New Haven Promise, will offer to pay eligible students’ way through any public college or university in Connecticut. The program will also pay up to $2,500 a year to those who attend a private college in the state. The program — to cost $4.5 million a year, financed primarily by Yale University — is open to students who live in the city and have attended its public schools, including charter schools, since at least ninth grade, regardless of family income."

New York Times reporters on President Obama's visit to Indonesia, gay marriage & Conan:

Michael Scherer of Time: once again "humble housewife" Sarah Palin doubles down on one of her frequent misstatements of fact, proving -- even as she was insisting she could read -- that she can't read, lives in fact-free world, & looks down her nose at the "fancy" people who cite actual facts.

Gold Ain't as Golden as Glenn Beck Says. David Leonhardt of the New York Times: "Gold is at a record only if you fail to adjust for inflation. And you should almost always adjust for inflation."

Mike Schneider & Martin Crutsinger of the AP: "The nation's economic stress fell in September to a 16-month low, thanks to more hiring in New England, fewer foreclosures in the mid-Atlantic and declining bankruptcy filings in the Southeast, according to The Associated Press' monthly analysis of conditions around the country."

** Sharon Theimer of the AP:  "Despite knowing for decades that terrorists could sneak bombs onto planes, the U.S. government failed to close obvious security gaps amid pressure from shipping companies fearful tighter controls would cost too much and delay deliveries."

John Broder of the New York Times: "With energy legislation shelved in the United States and little hope for a global climate change agreement this year, some policy experts are proposing ... [to] include greenhouse gases under ... the Montreal Protocol [which] was adopted in 1987 for a completely different purpose, to eliminate aerosols and other chemicals...."

N. C. Aizenman of the Washington Post: it's the states who are reponsible to implement much of the new Affordable Care Act, and Republicans -- who made gains in governorships & state legislatures -- are likely to restrict the way the law is administered as much as possible.

Republican Hyposcrisy Watch -- Campaign Promises Edition. Nick Wing of the Huffington Post: "Kentucky's Senator-elect Rand Paul already appears to be making a rapid departure away from one of his campaign promises: an earmark ban that stood as a conservative cornerstone, a position Paul touted to indicate he was serious about tackling the reckless spending practices of Washington." ...

... Republican Hypocrisy Watch -- Big Spender Edition. Charlie Savage of the New York Times: "As governor, [Chris] Christie [of New Jersey]..., has pushed to cut government spending and waste, making him a rising star in the Republican Party.... [But] when he was a top federal prosecutor..., [he] routinely billed taxpayers for hotel stays whose cost exceeded government guidelines, according to a report the Justice Department released on Monday." Christie was one of five attorneys general who “exhibited a noteworthy pattern of exceeding the government rate and whose travel documentation provided insufficient, inaccurate or no justification for the higher lodging rates.”

President Bush isn't the only Republican out with a new book. Steven Levingston of the Washington Post reviews Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal's Leadership and Crisis; the book's July release date was pushed back because of the oil spill. In this new version Jindal devotes "a significant portion of the book [to] disparaging the federal government’s response to the spill." He also has a section he calls, "Men Behaving Badly," in which he pouts about politicians involved in sex scandals; Levingston notes that Jindal conveniently forgot all about Louisiana's Sen. David Vitter & former House Speaker Newt Gingrich. The Newt has written a lovely blurb for the book jacket.

No one cares if you smoke a joint or not. -- California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger ...

Accuracy in Media/Polling -- There's a Concept. Mark Blumenthal in the Huffington Post: "A remarkable bi-partisan group of campaign pollsters released an open letter this afternoon that assailed the 'sometimes uncritical media coverage' of the 'proliferation' of public pre-election polls that fail to disclose basic information about how they are conducted and that "have the capacity to shape media and donor reactions to election contests." Includes pdf of letter.

And So Are You. Michael Barbaro of the New York Times: "On Friday, in an interview with an Australian newspaper, [Rupert] Murdoch ... divulged that Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg had described President Obama as the most 'arrogant man' he had ever met after playing his first and presumably last round of golf with the commander in chief."

In the News: Washington Post: "The Obama administration reiterated its support Monday for repealing the military's "don't ask, don't tell" law and policy as Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) worked to strip language repealing the ban from the annual defense authorization bill."