Obamanation

Et Tu, MoDo?

By Monique Chartier | September 4, 2011 |

That’s what the Obama campaign must be quietly saying after reading the column of the not-exactly-right-leaning Maureen Dowd in the not-exactly-Republican-sympathizing New York Times. (“Languid”? “Flailing”? Yikes!) … If the languid Obama had not done his usual irritating fourth-quarter play, if he had presented a jobs plan a year ago and fought for it, he…

Not Getting to Keep the Coverage That You Like

By Justin Katz | September 1, 2011 |

It’s too bad nobody was able to see this as a probably consequence of ObamaCare: Nearly one of every 10 midsized or big employers expects to stop offering health coverage to workers after insurance exchanges begin operating in 2014 as part of President Barack Obama’s health care overhaul, according to a survey by a major…

The Tone Deaf Ruling Class

By Justin Katz | August 19, 2011 |

This is precisely the thinking that has to end: The two-phase plan will require Obama to argue for spending more money in the short term while reducing the federal deficit over a longer period. Many economists support that combination, saying that cuts in spending should wait until the economy is stronger. But political strategists say…

… You’re Reading His Resume Two Years After You Voted For Him???

By Monique Chartier | August 10, 2011 |

The Telegraph’s Alex Spillius (H/T Drudge) reports that some Democrats are quietly regretting their support for Barack Obama as President. In that vein, well into an OpEd in Saturday’s New York Times that vilifies all of the usual suspects (Bush, Republicans, Wall Street), Professor Drew Westen admits Those of us who were bewitched by his…

Moving the Goal Posts on Healthcare

By Justin Katz | August 10, 2011 |

See, I don’t recall this being the sales point with which President Obama and his allies pushed ObamaCare: New projections show that health care spending will grow faster than the nation’s GDP over the next decade. But the increase will be only slightly more than would be the case without the new national health law.…

Chicago in the White House

By Justin Katz | July 31, 2011 |

Michael Walsh characterizes President Obama’s leadership style as “the permanent insurgency”: Do nothing, lie in wait, and then counter-attack. Never present a plan if you can possibly help it, but deal exclusively in bromides and platitudes as you stake out the moral “high ground” and get ready to ambush the other guy. Think of it…

Poverty Discussion Focuses on “Them,” Not “Us”

By Justin Katz | July 30, 2011 |

Victor Davis Hanson makes an excellent point: Instead [of descriptions of modern “poverty” and examinations of whether government spending works], we hear the rhetoric of Dickensian poverty, usually in terms of relative rather than absolute want, as in the president’s constant referencing of “corporate jets” for “millionaires and billionaires” rather than any statistics about average…

Debt Ceiling Stand-Off: White House Budget Director Declines to Give Priority to Social Security Checks

By Monique Chartier | July 17, 2011 |

White House Budget Director Jacob Lew appeared on CNN’s State of the Union with Candy Crowley. Kudos to Real Clear Politics for picking up on this part of the interview and transcribing it. Note that the White House no longer contends that there wouldn’t be enough money to issue these checks in the event of…

Debt Ceiling Stand-Off: So President Obama Wants Republicans to Undertake What Democrats Refused to Do (Raise Taxes)

By Monique Chartier | July 14, 2011 |

I’m not a big fan of Karl Rove. But he’s got a point here. Mr. Obama has offered no evidence since becoming president that he wants to restrain the upward trajectory of government spending. He does want higher taxes to pay for significantly higher federal spending. But he wants Republicans to deliver the tax increases,…

Re: Who Is Pulling the Trigger?

By Monique Chartier | July 11, 2011 |

Further to Justin’s post, perhaps the most exasperating aspect of the mainstream media’s studious disinterest in Operation Fast and Furious is the patent lack of consistency. If this had been an operation initiated by the ATF under a Republican president, the coverage would have been wall to wall. Assuredly, more than one MSNBC program host…