More dispatches from the Age of Obama:
1. The jobs situation continues to deteriorate. The number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment benefits unexpectedly edged higher last week. Initial claims for jobless benefits increased 1,000 to 427,000, according to the Labor Department. The forecast was for claims to drop to 415,000 from 422,000. Whoops. This means that first-time claims have been above the 400,000 mark for the ninth week in a row. Analysts normally associate a level below that with steady job growth. In May, a paltry 54,000 new jobs were created, half of them by McDonald's, God love 'em. But there is literally no job creation happening anywhere else in this economy.
2. For a guy who won his party's nomination on a fiercely anti-war platform, Barack Obama sure "hearts" his wars. In addition to surging the number of troops in Afghanistan and contemplating keeping some troops in Iraq beyond the final withdrawal date at the end of the year, he has initiated a new war in Libya that is now a nightmarish collective-action stalemate. And The New York Times reports today that he has ordered an escalation of the drone attacks in Yemen. I have agreed with these policies---except for the Libyan war, which is ludicrous, counterproductive, and at this point in the War Powers Act timeline, illegal. But this much is now clear: any remaining hope on the Left that this guy is the anti-Bush should be gone with all deliberate speed. Who's the cowboy now?
3. Some national security analysts are now saying that Iran may be only two months away from having an operational nuclear weapon. The regime talks openly of conducting a nuclear test and of tripling its uranium production. A nuclear Tehran would be a horrific game-changer for the region and the world, a major source of instability and war. And yet, Obama still holds out hope for talks and the olive branch.
4. Obama's "legacy" domestic policy---socialized medicine known as ObamaCare---was subjected to yet another withering judicial assault this week, as a three judge appellate court pounded the administration's point man on it, Solicitor General Neal Katyal. They hit him repeatedly on the central question: if the government can force you to buy health insurance, is there any limit to what they can force you to buy? Katyal's response? Crickets and tumbleweeds.
5. As the debt ceiling fight looms large, along with battles over spending and taxes and growth, one of Obama's key guys in the Congress, Anthony Weiner, is embroiled in a mess which now involves the nation seeing his full monty. His party is now distracted and even more unserious about the big issues than ever.
Overall, not a good week for the Bama. This follows another horrible week last week, when nearly all economic indicators took a dive.
The Obama's annual multi-week August vacation can't come soon enough, although knowing him, he'll take some mini-vacays before then. He might think he can escape the heat of Washington, but he will find that grim reality will follow him everywhere.
Welcome to the presidency, Mr. Obama. Tougher than you thought, huh?
#3 June 9, 2011 at 10:56 am
Gary commented:
What is this guy, roommates with John Edwards? Oh wait, Al Gore maybe.
#4 June 9, 2011 at 10:56 am
Pat the First commented:
Isn’t that what communistis do? The Politburo guys lived well while many Russians barely had enough to live. Mao lived in luxury while the Chinese people lived in squalor. Kim Jun IL lives in a huge luxurious compound and the N Koreans don’t have enough to eat. They follow a pattern.
Posted by: Ummahgummah | June 10, 2011 at 10:08 AM
WE are the world. We are the children. We are the one's to make a brighter day........ Tra la la la la!
Posted by: DJ | June 10, 2011 at 08:50 AM
And, we all came from the same few 100 people. Blacks, whites, asians, red.
Tra la la la la!
The different colors came later!
Vitter went to a Madam and was forgiven by his wife and party. I'm glad he didn't resign. He sponsored many bills I liked and spoke out on issues that I was concerned about. He was also a co-sponsor of the Great Ape Protection Act.http://www.janegoodall.org/support-great-ape-protection-act
Posted by: M/M | June 10, 2011 at 06:38 AM
Vitter was just republican who got caught.
It should be more of what the politician's constituents feel. Not what the other party wants.
Posted by: jay | June 10, 2011 at 01:00 PM