Side Show

The Game Begins
A source in Texas passed The Huffington Post Perry's transcripts from his years at Texas A&M University. The future politician did not distinguish himself much in the classroom. While he later became a student leader, he had to get out of academic probation to do so. He rarely earned anything above a C in his courses -- earning a C in U.S. History, a D in Shakespeare, and a D in the principles of economics. Perry got a C in gym. (Huffington Post, 8/5/2011)


Time then for the vetting of the presidential candidates by the state-controlled media.  Here is how it goes.  Republican accomplishments are overlooked.  (What?  You didn't know that George Bush had an MBA from Harvard?)  But lies about Republicans get full coverage.  (George Bush...didn't he skip out on his Air National Guard service two weeks early?  And wasn't there a DUI in there somewhere?)  College transcripts and college pranks by Republicans are front page news.  But no one knows that Al Gore reportedly spent his college years in a cannabis haze.  And how many stories are written about Obama's shady real estate deal with a convicted felon?  And what about his admitted use of cocaine and marijuana?  Oh, who cares!  The important thing is that we know that Texas Governor Perry got a C in gym.


Got the Fever
Since that meeting, several lawmakers have publicly questioned whether the ratings agencies have the competence to evaluate the country’s finances, and whether it was appropriate for them to be so deeply involved in discussions of fiscal politics. The criticism reached a fevered pitch after S.& P. announced Friday night that it was downgrading America’s credit rating, a decision that thrust the ratings agencies to the center of the debate over the government’s budget, and prompted renewed scrutiny of an industry that has been harshly criticized since the financial crisis. (NYT, 8/7/2011)


Let's role play this.  During President Bush's term the credit rating of the U.S. is downgraded.  The state-controlled media has a field deal.  This devastating never-before event is all W's fault! But when it happens under the Obama reign, the story is that the rating agencies are incompetent.


Someone Like Him
Over all, the message will be of Mr. Obama as “someone who kept the economy from falling into a depression, who is fighting for the middle class every day and understands where the economy needs to be not just next month and next year, but for the long term so that we can compete with China and India for the future,” said Dan Pfeiffer, the White House communications director. (NYT, 8/7/2011)


Reason for Republican optimism....Obama's handlers will have him run as the one who protected us from Chinese and Indian competition.  Because that is the real concern of the average American today.


Expiration Date
Letting all of the cuts expire at the end of 2012 would save $3.8 trillion over the next decade. Letting the tax cuts expire for those making more than $250,000 would save $700 billion. (New York Times Editorial, 8/7/2011)


Only Liberals like the New York Times editorial board could describe tax hikes as "savings."