2008 Republican vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin, sounding much like a presidential candidate, keynoted the National Tea Party Convention last night in Nashville. She ripped into President Barack Obama for supposedly being soft on terrorism and called for another American revolution.
** OBAMA TODAY – SUNDAY. President Barack Obama is in Washington today.
Obama has received the daily intelligence and economic briefings in the Oval Office.
He has no scheduled public events.
Obama will hold a Super Bowl viewing party in the White House. Unlike last year, when the Pittsburgh Steelers (who gave Obama a great deal of support and whose owner became the U.S. ambassador to Ireland) were playing the Arizona Cardinals, Obama has no particular favorite in this game. He won Indiana, whose Indianapolis Colts are favored today, in 2008 and lost Louisiana, home of the New Orleans Saints. But New Orleans is a sentimental favorite, with the city having nearly been destroyed by Hurricane Katrina.
Washington is snowed under by the biggest blizzard there in the modern era.
2008 Republican vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin, who quit as Alaska’s governor midway through her first term, keynoted the National Tea Party convention last night in Nashville, Tennessee, ripping in to Obama as soft on terror.
Palin sounded a lot like a presidential candidate, both before the Tea Party crowd and on Fox News today. Which, as I write this, is not much of a distinction.
“We need a Commander-in-Chief, not a law perfessor standing at the lectern,” she declared to screams of approval.
Palin led a preference poll of Republicans for president last week.
She received $100,000 for her speech.
While Obama monitors the re-emergence of Palin, he places a bit more attention on several geopolitical crises he inherited, in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iraq, and Iran.
In Pakistan, it appears increasingly evident that the new head of the Pakistani Taliban was killed in a U.S. missile strike inside Pakistan ordered by Obama. The Taliban have refused to provide any proof of life for Hakimullah Mehsud.
The U.S. strike was in mid-January.
Mehsud’s predecessor was also killed in a U.S. missile strike ordered by Obama.
In Iran, regime leaders today further muddied the waters by vowing to host an international conference against the proliferation of nuclear weapons. Even as they vowed to begin further enrichment of uranium, though not to weapons-grade levels, for medical purposes.
They also say that they want to send uranium abroad for further enrichment. But they don’t like the deal their negotiators agreed to late last year.
** FROM THE ARNOLD FILE – SUNDAY. Governor Arnolf Schwarzenegger is in Los Angeles today.
Early this morning, he toured the mud and debris slide which occurred yesterday in the LA area’s La Canada Flintridge.
Acting Governor Jerry Brown declared a state of emergency in Los Angeles County on January 21st due to the effects of severe storms in the across the state. That state of emergency remains in effect.
In his weekend video/radio address, President Barack Obama gave short shrift to the lowest unemployment rate in nearly a year and talked up small business as job creator.
** STATEWIDE CALIFORNIA DEMOCRATIC CANDIDATES APPEAR IN SAN FRANCISCO. Most of the California Democrats’ statewide candidates will appear Saturday afternoon at a forum hosted by the California Young Democrats at an SEIU hall in San Francisco.
Among those speaking is Jerry Brown, an undeclared candidate who has nonetheless cleared the Democratic field for governor of California.
The event takes place from 1 PM to 4 PM.
You can watch a live video stream of the candidate appearances by clicking on this link.
** OBAMA TODAY – SATURDAY. President Barack Obama is in Washington today.
Obama received his daily intelligence briefing in the Oval Office.
He then went to the Capitol Hilton to give the morning address at the winter meeting of the Democratic National Committee.
Obama pledged that he will not stop his push for national health care reform, which hit a major pothole with the upset election in Massachusetts of Republican Scott Brown to the Senate, depriving Democrats of the 60th vote needed to block Republican filibusters.
Obama made his way to the DNC meeting through deserted streets. The nation’s capital is in the grips of the biggest snowstorm in modern history.
Washington is a town which short-circuits with a little weather. With this sort of heavy weather, not much is going to happen there.
Washington, D.C. is literally snowed under by the biggest blizzard in modern history.
Obama is also monitoring geopolitical crises in Afghanistan, Iran, Pakistan, and Iraq.
In Afghanistan, as I wrote over a week ago, the trend is now clearly towards seeking a coalition government with major elements of the Taliban. Recent remarks by General David Petraeus made this clear. This should, in the long run, relieve some of the pressure in Pakistan.
Which does not mean there’s not substantial fighting ahead. U.S. Marines are prepping for a major offensive in southern Afghanistan’s Helmand Province, joined by British troops and a contingent of Afghan troops.
Taliban leaders today pledged stiff resistance, saying with bravado that they welcome the allied troops venturing out of their bases.
In Iran, there has been no apparent progress on President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s unspecific statement earlier in the week that his country is now prepared to ship its uranium abroad for further enrichment. Which is to say, it hasn’t gotten more specific, meaning that it may be the latest attempt to obfuscate and buy time for a rogue nuclear program.
Germany today denounced Iran’s position, saying that it is time for the Islamic republic to accept the deal its negotiators accepted last year.
** FROM THE ARNOLD FILE – SATURDAY. Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger is in Los Angeles today.
His appointee as California’s new lieutenant governor, moderate Republican state Senator Abel Maldonado, has a confirmation hearing in the state Assembly on Monday.
Maldonado won approval from the Senate Rules Committee on February 3rd.
If he is not rejected by the Legislature by February 22nd, Maldonado takes office.
** LOST IN LOST. … From my February 4th essay.
** 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. … From my February 2nd column.
** 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.
** 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 closed on Friday at $71.19 per barrel. Energy markets are closed on the weekend.
This is up about $37 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 (29) |
The President’s weekend address is good.
I like the Hummer getting stuck in the snow in Washington.
That’s what I call a snow storm!
The economy’s getting better yet not fast enough so Barack is right to push on small business job growth, a popular idea.
Jonas Blane says:
February 6, 2010 at 10:13 am
The President’s weekend address is good.
JB!!
Think he’s confused how long he’s lived in California?
** STATEWIDE CALIFORNIA DEMOCRATIC CANDIDATES APPEAR IN SAN FRANCISCO. Most of the California Democrats’ statewide candidates will appear Saturday afternoon at a forum hosted by the California Young Democrats at an SEIU hall in San Francisco.
Among those speaking is Jerry Brown, an undeclared candidate who has nonetheless cleared the Democratic field for governor of California.
The event takes place from 1 PM to 4 PM.
You can watch a live video stream of the candidate appearances by clicking on this link.
Probably not.
They do seem to be following the polls since Massachusetts.
> Capitol Boy says:
February 6, 2010 at 11:11 am (Edit)
The economy’s getting better yet not fast enough so Barack is right to push on small business job growth, a popular idea.
Jonas Blane says:
February 6, 2010 at 10:13 am
The President’s weekend address is good.
Yes. Clearly an all-weather, off-road vehicle …
> Jonas Blane says:
February 6, 2010 at 10:16 am (Edit)
I like the Hummer getting stuck in the snow in Washington.
Hi Bill. Are you following the CAAG’s race and what are the odds? Looks like a real mess with way too many candidates. I would be willing to help my old law school dean (Eastman) if he wasn’t so anti-everything I stand for. I am sure the locals at the Lincoln club and new majority will be dropping big bucks onto his plate!
Where’s Schwarzeneger?
lol
The YD’s webcast of the candidates sucks. All I get that plays is a commercial.
The California Young Democrats’ live video feed of the statewide candidates has failed.
Jerry Brown has already spoken.
On the Republican side, I assume that Los Angeles County DA Steve Cooley has to be the favorite.
On the Democratic side, with Jackie Speier taking a pass, I think San Francisco DA Kamala Harris starts as the favorite.
> tom the jd says:
February 6, 2010 at 12:47 pm (Edit)
Hi Bill. Are you following the CAAG’s race and what are the odds? Looks like a real mess with way too many candidates. I would be willing to help my old law school dean (Eastman) if he wasn’t so anti-everything I stand for. I am sure the locals at the Lincoln club and new majority will be dropping big bucks onto his plate!
That sucks.
Bill Bradley says:
February 6, 2010 at 2:18 pm
The California Young Democrats’ live video feed of the statewide candidates has failed.
Jerry Brown has already spoken.
Office of Personnel Management posts a daily update of the operating status of federal offices in the D.C. area
http://www.opm.gov/status/
More video today?
Palin says Barack is soft on terrorism after he’s killed TWO heads of the Taliban? She’s nuts.
I don’t remember big bad Bush and Cheney ever pulling anything like that off.
Palin may not know.
Book recommendation: Deer Hunting with Jesus. Not what you might think from the title. This is not a YeeHaw day out with the good ol boys, but a thoughtful and incisive analysis of the Other America, the one living in trailer homes, shopping at WalMart, and drinking “normal beer.” Joe Bageant wrote it, and he demonstrates why liberals neither know nor respect the Other America, and why that view is reciprocated. He was originally from Winchester, Virginia, and has down-sized to retire back there, so he can spend six months in Belize. He also gives a clear description of the difference between rednecks and trailer trash. They are very different. If liberals are ever going to play an important role in American politics, they will have to meet and appreciate the citizens of the Other America.
What new video today?
Palin v. Hilary in 2017?
I don’t think they have an election then.
Besides, Hillary won’t run again for president.
The last night launch of the space shuttle, Arnold and Cameron, and the Super Bowl.
> Jonas Blane says:
February 8, 2010 at 6:26 am (Edit)
What new video today?
Great tip, thanks! I drink normal light beer.
> larry says:
February 7, 2010 at 1:29 pm (Edit)
Book recommendation: Deer Hunting with Jesus. Not what you might think from the title. This is not a YeeHaw day out with the good ol boys, but a thoughtful and incisive analysis of the Other America, the one living in trailer homes, shopping at WalMart, and drinking “normal beer.” Joe Bageant wrote it, and he demonstrates why liberals neither know nor respect the Other America, and why that view is reciprocated. He was originally from Winchester, Virginia, and has down-sized to retire back there, so he can spend six months in Belize. He also gives a clear description of the difference between rednecks and trailer trash. They are very different. If liberals are ever going to play an important role in American politics, they will have to meet and appreciate the citizens of the Other America.
It is strange.
> Capitol Boy says:
February 7, 2010 at 9:54 am (Edit)
Palin says Barack is soft on terrorism after he’s killed TWO heads of the Taliban? She’s nuts.
I don’t remember big bad Bush and Cheney ever pulling anything like that off.
I think they’re all closed today.
> Dana says:
February 6, 2010 at 4:15 pm (Edit)
Office of Personnel Management posts a daily update of the operating status of federal offices in the D.C. area
http://www.opm.gov/status/
Indeed…….
> Capitol Boy says:
February 6, 2010 at 4:00 pm (Edit)
That sucks.
Bill Bradley says:
February 6, 2010 at 2:18 pm
The California Young Democrats’ live video feed of the statewide candidates has failed.
Jerry Brown has already spoken.