The suicide bomber who killed three U.S. Special Forces soldiers in Pakistan on Wednesday — singling out their car in a motorcade — may have had inside information, police say. The attack has raised new questions over the role of the U.S. military in the country.
** QUICK HITS. Scott Brown, the surprise winner of the Massachusetts special election for the late Ted Kennedy’s old seat in the U.S. Senate, was sworn in today as a senator. He won’t get Ted Kennedy’s desk, however, which was previously used by John F. Kennedy. That goes to John Kerry. Who would probably rather not be getting it. … Speaking of Browns, California Attorney General Jerry Brown’s office was cleared this afternoon by the Alameda County district attorney of any wrongdoing in the taping by an aide of interviews with Brown and other officials conducted by a few reporters. This was hardly a surprise, as the interviews were for publication and in no way could be considered to be confidential conversations.
** LOST IN LOST. … From my new essay.
** AMERICANS VIEWS ON SOCIALISM AND A FEW OTHER MATTERS. A new Gallup Poll asked an interesting series of “Just off the top of your head what do you think of …” questions. Pretty much everybody has a positive view of small business. Big business, not so much. And socialism, well, 36% like it, 58% don’t.
More than one-third of Americans (36%) have a positive image of “socialism,” while 58% have a negative image. Views differ by party and ideology, with a majority of Democrats and liberals saying they have a positive view of socialism, compared to a minority of Republicans and conservatives.
“Socialism” was one of seven terms included in a Jan. 26-27 Gallup poll. Americans were asked to indicate whether their top-of-mind reactions to each were positive or negative. Respondents were not given explanations or descriptions of the terms.
Americans are almost uniformly positive in their reactions to three terms: small business, free enterprise, and entrepreneurs. They are divided on big business and the federal government, with roughly as many Americans saying their view is positive as say it is negative. Americans are more positive than negative on capitalism (61% versus 33%) and more negative than positive on socialism (36% to 58%). …
Wall Street, unfortunately, was not tested in this poll.
** WHITMAN SHOWS HER FIRST TV AD. Billionaire ex-eBay CEO Meg Whitman has rolled out her first TV ad. She narrates it. However, she barely appears in the spot, which focuses instead on generic footage.
As I’ve reported, her campaign for the Republican nomination for governor of California is struggling with the reality that the candidate does not test well with focus groups.
Here is a transcript of the ad, which can be viewed here.
MW: “I will say the number one thing, I think, that faces California right now is actually a crisis of confidence. People are scared to death that California cannot be fixed.
The most important thing that the next governor of California has to do is actually deliver the goods. The professional politicians have been fighting in Sacramento for years and the state is in the worst shape that I’ve seen in the thirty years that I have lived in California.
We can turn California around. I think, actually, I can make a difference. I have run large organizations, I know how to create jobs, I know how to focus, I know how to balance a budget and I think a business perspective is a bit of what California needs right now.
The things that I think we need to focus on are first, creating and keeping jobs in California. Second is cutting government spending and third is fixing our education system.
We need to have California be what it once was and I think we can do it. Let’s say what we mean, mean what we say and let’s get it done.”
The TV ad’s text simply repeats what her radio ads say. By my trusty Seamaster, Whitman is on screen for 13 of the ad’s 60 seconds, for no more than four seconds at a time.
President Barack Obama, speaking this morning at the National Prayer Breakfast, said that the country needs to regain a sense of civility and that prayer can touch our hearts with humility.
** OBAMA TODAY. President Barack Obama is in Washington today.
Obama had a very early start to his day today as he and First Lady Michelle Obama attended the annual National Prayer Breakfast, where he gave the main address.
Obama then received his daily intelligence briefing and met with Democratic congressional leaders House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, Senator Dick Durbin and Congressman Steny Hoyer in the Oval Office.
Obama then met with senior advisors in the Oval Office.
At 9 AM Pacific, Obama has lunch with business leaders in the State Dining Room.
At 12 noon Pacific, Obama and Vice President Joe Biden meet with Secretary of the Treasury Tim Geithner in the Oval Office.
At 12:30 PM Pacific, Obama and Biden meet with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in the Oval Office.
At 2:45 PM Pacific, Obama delivers remarks and takes questions at a Democratic National Committee fundraising reception at the National Museum of Women in the Arts.
At 5 PM Pacific, Obama delivers remarks at a DNC fundraising dinner at the National Museum of Women in the Arts.
Obama is also monitoring geopolitical crises in Afghanistan, Iran, and Iraq.
France today joined Britain in pushing for tough new sanctions against Iran if it does not follow through on its renewed seeming acceptance of shipping its uranium abroad for further enrichment.
** FROM THE ARNOLD FILE. Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger is in Los Angeles and Sacramento today.
At 7:30 PM, Schwarzenegger discusses the priorities in the final year of his governorship in an address to the inaugural dinner gala of the Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce at the Beverly Hilton.
The event will be webcast live on www.gov.ca.gov.
Schwarzenegger’s appointee as California’s new lieutenant governor, moderate Republican state Senator Abel Maldonado, won a confirmation vote late yesterday afternoon from the state Senate Rules Committee. But the full Senate, not to mention the Assembly, might vote to reject him before February 22nd, at which point he automatically becomes the lieutenant governor otherwise.
** SELLING MEG WHITMAN: GLITCHES EMERGE IN THE BILLIONAIRE’S PLAN TO ACQUIRE THE CALIFORNIA GOVERNORSHIP. What would Don Draper do?
The selling of Meg Whitman has been underway for more than a year, the billionaire ex-eBay CEO and public affairs novice assiduously promoting herself as a potential governor of of the nation’s largest state even as she dodges debates and substantive interviews. After making no public appearances in California in January, but venturing back East last week to launch her CEO memoir, “The Power of Many,” she’s appearing up and down the state this week to promote her book, if not to discuss the pressing issues of the state she would presume to govern.
Meanwhile, her eighth radio ad to date (featuring her campaign chair, former Governor Pete Wilson) blankets the state, as the others have for months. All is “on plan” in the selling of Meg Whitman. Or is it?
There’s just one thing. Television.
Well-informed sources tell me that Whitman and her panoply of high-paid consultants are having trouble coming up with a way to introduce the would-be governor on television to her hoped-for constituents.
In January, Whitman’s consultants presented 22 potential introductory TV ads to a focus group in Sacramento. The ads didn’t fly. The reaction to Whitman’s TV presentation was particularly problematic with women. …
** WHAT A DIFFERENCE TWO MONTHS MAKES AS THE FATE OF OBAMA’S PRESIDENCY PLAYS OUT FAR FROM WASHINGTON. What a difference two months makes. Way back then, as it were, the staunchly resolute talk on Afghanistan was all about the big military surge just announced by President Barack Obama, with NATO leaders pledging to ante up lots of troops, too. (Even as actual national commitments were, well, lacking.) Now the talk coming out of Thursday’s big 70-nations conference in London on Afghanistan centers on talking with the Taliban, and on exit strategies.
While all the attention — in the hyperventilating aftermath of the Democrats’ eminently avoidable Massachusetts special election loss — was on Obama’s State of the Union address, an event of far greater relevance to the fate of his presidency played out not in Washington, but in London.
In Washington, there was barely a word on the issue on which I think Obama’s re-election will turn, that of getting further into, and then out of, Afghanistan.
The economy is slowly recovering. One way or the other, Obama will be able to campaign for re-election in 2012 having staved off another Great Depression inherited from the Bush/Cheney Administration. Which he focused on effectively in his big speech. The question is how quickly and fully the recovery comes prior to the mid-term election, in order for Obama and the Democrats to limit expected losses. … From my January 29th column.
** MAD MEN SWEEPS THE LATEST AWARDS AND LOSES A KEY CHARACTER. … From my January 27th column.
** SCOTT BROWN NEED NOT APPLY: CALIFORNIA REPUBLICANS IN THE POST-ARNOLD ERA. Is there a Scott Brown-like figure to surprise California Democrats this year? No. The politicians who are vying to replace Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger as the ranking California Republican could scarcely be less like Scott Brown. Or, for that matter, Schwarzenegger. … From my January 26th column.
** WHAT SCOTT BROWN KNEW IN 2010 AND BARACK OBAMA KNEW IN 2008. … From my January 22nd column.
** 24 NATION.… From my January 19th column.
** THE LAST CLINTON MELODRAMA? (AND OTHER SENSATIONALIST GAME CHANGE GOSSIP) … From my January 14th column.
** OBAMA’S SECURITY PROBLEMS: THE MEDIA, CHENEY AND, OH YES, THE ISSUE. … From my January 12th column.
** THE BAND OF THE DECADE: THE BEATLES?! What does it say that the biggest musical group of the first decade of this new millennium recorded its last album 40 years ago? … From my January 1st essay.
On Tuesday, James Cameron’s Avatar passed his Titanic for the top spot on the all-time domestic box office list with over $601 million. With record-breaking international box office, Avatar had already broken Titanic’s global box office record.
** THE COMMON THREADS OF AVATAR. Is Avatar the future of cinema? Probably. … From my December 22nd essay.
** HOW JERRY BROWN CLEARED THE DEMOCRATIC FIELD FOR GOVERNOR OF CALIFORNIA. … From my December 9th column.
** OBAMA: RIDING WITH HISTORY. (NOTE: As Barack Obama was inaugurated as the 44th president of the United States, this column was the featured column on the top of the front page of the Huffington Post.) … From my January 19th, 2009 Huffington Post column.
** HELP FOR HAITI.
You can donate to the new Clinton Bush Haiti Fund, www.clintonbushhaitifund.org, by clicking here.
** 24/7 LIVE TV NEWS FEED FROM RUSSIA TODAY. Russia has re-emerged as one of the world’s great powers. Click here for a live TV news feed on your computer, bringing you English-language, jargon-free, fast-paced coverage of global and Russian news from the Russia Today channel. You probably already know about CNN International, BBC World, and Al Jazeera. Russia Today, which also features culture, entertainment, and sports, is based in Moscow and is owned and operated by the TV Novosti division of Russia’s state news agency, RIA Novosti. While it’s quite foolish to expect to see, say, criticism of Vladimir Putin on Russia Today, the channel is very interesting nonetheless. With U.S. cable news chattering away as it does, this sort of respite can be informative. The NWN live link to RT does not constitute an endorsement of the channel’s views. It’s presented as an otherwise unavailable new media window.
** 24/7 LIVE TV NEWS FEED FROM AL JAZEERA. With the US entangled in two wars in the region, it’s valuable to keep up with news and perspectives from the leading Middle Eastern-based TV news network. Based in the Gulf Arab state of Qatar, Al Jazeera is very influential and more than a bit controversial. Click here for a live TV news feed on your computer. The NWN live link to AJ does not constitute an endorsement of the channel’s views. It’s presented as an otherwise unavailable new media window.
** TRACK GLOBAL AND NATIONAL ENERGY PRICES IN NEAR REAL TIME VIA BLOOMBERG ENERGY MARKET WATCH. Having crashed over $147 for yet another record on July 11th, 2008, crude oil is trading around $74 per barrel.
This is up about $40 from the low of $34 per barrel prior to enactment of the Obama economic recovery program, reflecting a low point in global economic activity.
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| Comments (40) |
Obama’s Prayer Breakfast speech is right on.
Avatar is just amazing.
That movie hasn’t even been out for 2 months!
Barack has the right tone. That’s why his numbers have gone back up. Most Americans are tired of the fighting and if Barack can tag the Reeps as the cause he’s good to go.
Jonas Blane says:
February 4, 2010 at 9:01 am
Obama’s Prayer Breakfast speech is right on.
Hey, why is Garry South the Mouth yapping again?! That guy is one bitter hack.
I mean, he ran the stupidest campaign of all time against Jerry Brown, was a total failure. Who cares what he says?
No hack like a bitter hack.
He’s a plug-in quote for conventional journalists.
I’m afraid Garry is an attention addict.
That’s right.
> Capitol Boy says:
February 4, 2010 at 9:31 am (Edit)
Barack has the right tone. That’s why his numbers have gone back up. Most Americans are tired of the fighting and if Barack can tag the Reeps as the cause he’s good to go.
Jonas Blane says:
February 4, 2010 at 9:01 am
Obama’s Prayer Breakfast speech is right on.
I thought Avatar was the future of cinema, as I wrote, but I didn’t think it would be this big this fast.
>#
Jonas Blane says:
February 4, 2010 at 9:03 am (Edit)
Avatar is just amazing.
#
Capitol Boy says:
February 4, 2010 at 9:30 am (Edit)
That movie hasn’t even been out for 2 months!
What did he say now?
lol
itol Boy says:
February 4, 2010 at 9:41 am
Hey, why is Garry South the Mouth yapping again?! That guy is one bitter hack.
Capitol Boy says:
February 4, 2010 at 9:42 am
I mean, he ran the stupidest campaign of all time against Jerry Brown, was a total failure. Who cares what he says?
More video today?
I agree that the technical innovations of Avatar show the way for the future of movies, but not the painfully banal dialog and cobbled-together plot.
THAT’s the best Meg Whitman’s megabucks TV admakers can do??!!
Yawn.
Avatar’s a terrific film. That’s why it’s the biggest of all-time.
larry says:
February 4, 2010 at 11:48 am
I agree that the technical innovations of Avatar show the way for the future of movies, but not the painfully banal dialog and cobbled-together plot.
The dialogue in Avatar works for the characters in Avatar. Jake’s an ex-Marine. He’s not supposed to talk like Don Draper.
Meh.
They’re hiding her in her own ad.
Capitol Boy says:
February 4, 2010 at 11:57 am
THAT’s the best Meg Whitman’s megabucks TV admakers can do??!!
Yawn.
I’m glad the glitch here has been fixed again…
This report really worries me. How did the terrorists know which car the special forces guys would be traveling in? How did they know where it would be in the motorcade? What were they doing in the motorcade?
… The suicide bomber who killed three U.S. Special Forces soldiers in Pakistan on Wednesday — singling out their car in a motorcade — may have had inside information, police say. The attack has raised new questions over the role of the U.S. military in the country.
They’re supposed to be providing training to Pakistani troops in counter-insurgency tactics. I don’t know what they were doing in the motorcade.
Indeed.
>#
Jack Aubrey says:
February 4, 2010 at 12:11 pm (Edit)
I’m glad the glitch here has been fixed again…
#
It looks like a consensus ad, rolled out in part to counter talk that she’s in disarray.
> Capitol Boy says:
February 4, 2010 at 11:57 am (Edit)
THAT’s the best Meg Whitman’s megabucks TV admakers can do??!!
Yawn.
The movie works pretty well …
Personally, I prefer The Dark Knight to Avatar or Titanic.
> larry says:
February 4, 2010 at 11:48 am (Edit)
I agree that the technical innovations of Avatar show the way for the future of movies, but not the painfully banal dialog and cobbled-together plot.
Yep.
> Jonas Blane says:
February 4, 2010 at 11:22 am (Edit)
More video today?
Good news video of the attack on our soldiers in Pakistan.
Meg’s new radio ad with Pete Wilson is horrible. All the big talk isn’t reassuring. For instance, does she have a single Republican legislator willing to pledge to follow her lead and stop holding the state hostage to their failed extreme views? Otherwise what is the purtpose of electing a Republican if she can’t deliver votes for the budget, etc.? What a waste of millions on a DOA campaign, Checchi style…
Demon sheep. Woodchippers. Chuckifornia. Campaing season is SO MUCH FUN!
lol
I think Meg Whitman is lying in her TV ad. She’s from New York and went to Princeton and worked back East for big corporations.
She can’t have lived in California for 30 years.
MW: “I will say the number one thing, I think, that faces California right now is actually a crisis of confidence. People are scared to death that California cannot be fixed.
The most important thing that the next governor of California has to do is actually deliver the goods. The professional politicians have been fighting in Sacramento for years and the state is in the worst shape that I’ve seen in the thirty years that I have lived in California.
I never got why that was supposed to be important.
… Speaking of Browns, California Attorney General Jerry Brown’s office was cleared this afternoon by the Alameda County district attorney of any wrongdoing in the taping by an aide of interviews with Brown and other officials conducted by a few reporters. This was hardly a surprise, as the interviews were for publication and in no way could be considered to be confidential conversations.
I’ve seen it twice, I love it.
Jonas Blane says:
February 4, 2010 at 9:03 am
Avatar is just amazing.
Capitol Boy says:
February 4, 2010 at 9:30 am
That movie hasn’t even been out for 2 months!
What new video today?
An excellent story on the most unillustrious Meg Whitman. I find her increasingly creepy and repellent. I do not think she can buy the office of Governor of California.
Thanks for the compliment.
Scott Brown sworn in, terrorism moves to Karachi.
It was mainly ginned up by the San Francisco Chronicle after its reporter screwed up a story. Which is how she learned that her interview had been taped by Brown’s office as well as herself …
> marcos leon says:
February 4, 2010 at 6:12 pm (Edit)
I never got why that was supposed to be important.
… Speaking of Browns, California Attorney General Jerry Brown’s office was cleared this afternoon by the Alameda County district attorney of any wrongdoing in the taping by an aide of interviews with Brown and other officials conducted by a few reporters. This was hardly a surprise, as the interviews were for publication and in no way could be considered to be confidential conversations.
Her claim is false.
I missed it.
> marcos leon says:
February 4, 2010 at 6:06 pm (Edit)
I think Meg Whitman is lying in her TV ad. She’s from New York and went to Princeton and worked back East for big corporations.
She can’t have lived in California for 30 years.
MW: “I will say the number one thing, I think, that faces California right now is actually a crisis of confidence. People are scared to death that California cannot be fixed.
The most important thing that the next governor of California has to do is actually deliver the goods. The professional politicians have been fighting in Sacramento for years and the state is in the worst shape that I’ve seen in the thirty years that I have lived in California.
I find that stuff more in the realm of irritating trivia …
> salto sapo says:
February 4, 2010 at 2:20 pm (Edit)
Demon sheep. Woodchippers. Chuckifornia. Campaing season is SO MUCH FUN!
Her budget plan is cut, cut, cut …
> Dana says:
February 4, 2010 at 2:06 pm (Edit)
Meg’s new radio ad with Pete Wilson is horrible. All the big talk isn’t reassuring. For instance, does she have a single Republican legislator willing to pledge to follow her lead and stop holding the state hostage to their failed extreme views? Otherwise what is the purtpose of electing a Republican if she can’t deliver votes for the budget, etc.? What a waste of millions on a DOA campaign, Checchi style…