The president gets tough and the public is with him

White House Photo, Pete Souza

According to a new Quinnipiac University poll, voters are not buying the Republican mumbo jumbo on the debt talks. The numbers strongly favor President Obama and his positions. So much so, he should roll the study up like a news paper and smack Eric Cantor upside the head with it.

President Barack Obama is finally getting tough and pushing back on debt ceiling negotiations. Yay! On Wednesday, he went all commander-in-chief on Eric Cantor, giving him a good rhetorical spanking in front of everyone over his unwillingness to compromise. Cantor promptly covered his ears, closed his eyes and started chanting "nah, nah, nah, nah..."

Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker should polish up his resume over his summer vacay. After taking a blow torch to union rights last winter and pissing everyone off, voters are gearing up to send him a pink slip in 2012.

The "Morning Joe" crew chatted with Sen. Claire McCaskill (D.-Mo.) this morning about the debt talks. She conceded that Senate Leader Mitch McConnell (R.-Ky.) has "lost his mind." You know it's bad for the Republican position when even Mr. Morning Joe (Scarborough) is agreeing with a Democrat. Loop holes! Loop holes! Loop holes!

Cenk Uygur, the Young Turks/MSNBC host shares some clips of Michele Bachmann's husband making some truly head-scratching comments about homosexuality. Here at the Cafe, we're taking bets on how long it takes for Mr. Bachmann to come (or be pried) out of the closet.

Cainiac reveals Herman Cain's musical past



Image from The Daily Caller

Following in the footsteps of epically dorky politician-crooners Orrin Hatch and John Ashcroft ("Let the Eagle Soar"), presidential wanna-be Herman Cain recorded a gospel album back in the day. That's the kind of crap people do when they get too rich and bored. Ugh. He was, however, good enough to bury it for the good of the nation, but then some crazy Cainiac had to go drop it on the interwebs.

Afghan president's brother assassinated by body guard

Afghan President Hamid Karzai's half brother, Ahmed Wali Karzai was assassinated by a bodyguard in his home Tuesday. Though he was the head of the Kandahar provincial council, controversy surrounded him. He was accused of drug trafficking and being on the CIA payroll.

"In matters of national security, the best politics is no politics." - Scoop Jackson



Senator Henry "Scoop" Jackson, ca. 1972, Courtesy UW Special Collections

In 1984, President Ronald Reagan awarded Henry "Scoop" Jackson the Presidential Medal of Freedom posthumously. To Reagan, giving the nation's highest civilian award to the legendary Democrat was a no-brainer. In Reagan's White House diaries he noted Jackson's passing as "a real loss." At the award ceremony the president called him "one of the greatest lawmakers of our century..." It's hard to imagine any of today's high profile Republicans offering such affection and admiration for any member of the Democratic party, for any reason.

President Reagan's remarks from the ceremony (from Wikipedia):

Scoop Jackson was convinced that there's no place for partisanship in foreign and defense policy. He used to say, 'In matters of national security, the best politics is no politics.' His sense of bipartisanship was not only natural and complete; it was courageous. He wanted to be President, but I think he must have known that his outspoken ideas on the security of the Nation would deprive him of the chance to be his party's nominee in 1972 and '76. Still, he would not cut his convictions to fit the prevailing style.I'm deeply proud, as he would have been, to have Jackson Democrats serve in my administration. I'm proud that some of them have found a home here.

Monday morning musings

Live press conference with President Obama.

In the latest issue of Newsweek, Sarah Palin boldly claims she can beat President Obama in the 2012 election. If she runs. According to daughter Bristol, the decision has already been made; but the former governor is currently having too much fun messing with every one's heads to jump into the race right now. Priorities, people.

The New York Times' brilliant and cranky economist Paul Krugman blasts the Beltway blabbermouths for being totally wrong on why our economy's been stuck in the ditch for the last year and a half.

Talks between the president and House Speaker John Boehner to secure a deal on the debt-limit have fallen apart. Big surprise. It's next to impossible to work with moral and intellectual zeroes like House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R.-Va.) and his TeaTard contingent. The grown-ups can't get anything done with them throwing their hissy fits on behalf of the nation's poor & needy wealthiest citizens.

Case against Dominique Strauss-Kahn falling apart

Whenever the TV media goes into a frenzy over something or someone - such as former IMF chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn being accused of rape on May 14, I get suspicious. Especially when the accused is a real threat to the powers that be (as DSK was as the head of the IMF and as a possible French presidential candidate). The one-sided and irresponsible TV coverage, ruining this man's career and character before he was ever tried in court, convinced me to refrain from judgement until all the facts were in.

My distrust of the media's motives and hesitance to embrace its salacious narrative was vindicated late yesterday when it was reported that the case against Strauss-Kahn is collapsing. Apparently, the accuser has lied to investigators repeatedly and is connected to some pretty shady characters. Their dealings include drug trafficking, money laundering and depositing at least $100,000 into her bank account over the last two years.

The new evidence doesn't mean Strauss-Kahn and the Guinean-born maid didn't have relations. DNA evidence does point to some kind of interaction. However, with these new revelations of the accuser's untrustworthiness and criminal connections, the felony charges will probably be dropped and strict bail conditions lessened. Strauss-Kahn will be in court today for a previously unscheduled hearing.

My only question now is will the TV media spend several days harping on the accuser's sketchy connections and the possible setting-up of Strauss-Kahn to take him out politically? And will it take responsibility for its part in destroying this man's reputation before a jury could ever hear the facts? I highly doubt it.