Patterico's Pontifications

4/17/2009

Obama polarizes, while the media whitewashes

Filed under: General — Karl @ 8:29 am



[Posted by Karl]

This month’s Pew poll, finding that Pres. Obama has the most polarized early job approval ratings of any president in the past 40 years, is really bothering the Left.  So much so that weeks later, Ronald Brownstein is following in the footsteps of The Root’s Terence Samuel and Excitable Andy Sullivan in trying to debunk it.

Their common argument is that the number of self-identifying Republicans has shrunk, so that Independents should be the true measure of how polarizing Obama is.  The problem with this argument is that Obama’s support among Independents dropped 10% last month, while their disapproval doubled, from 14% to 28%.  Sullivan is acutely moronic on this point, as he actually posted a Pollster.com graph of polls showing that Independent disapproval has increased from about 10% on Inauguration Day to 30% today.

But the funniest part of Brownstein’s analysis is his attempt to equate Pres.  Obama with former Pres. Bush:

Bush wasn’t a uniquely polarizing figure at the dawn of his presidency. But after receiving that relatively broad opening from the public in his first months, Bush over the next seven plus years proceeded to govern in a manner that solidified his support within the Republican coalition, but fiercely antagonized Democrats and increasingly alienated independents. (Emphasis added.)

Pres. Bush — so often called “selected, not elected” by Leftists deluded into thinking that Al Gore won Florida — was not a uniquely polarizing figure at the dawn of his presidency, Ron?  Let’s set the Wayback Machine for November 2000:

For years, political scientists have been writing about the decline of partisanship, as a more educated and affluent electorate slips the surly bonds of party loyalty, yada, yada. Here’s a news flash: As they say in Brooklyn, fuhgeddaboutit.

This was a deeply partisan election that stirred great emotions (particularly on the GOP side) and inspired great party loyalty in both camps. More than nine in 10 Republicans voted for George W. Bush, according to a Los Angeles Times national exit poll of voters. Nearly nine in 10 Democrats voted for Al Gore. The interest groups allied with each party lined up loyally and fiercely behind their man; in states like Michigan and Pennsylvania, you could almost hear bone crunching bone as groups such as the National Rifle Assn. (for Texas Gov. Bush) and organized labor (for Vice President Gore) slammed into each other.

***

In a society so closely divided, any president would have a tough time building a consensus for his agenda. That becomes an even more imposing challenge after an election that, however it turns out, will leave half the country feeling it was robbed.

Who wrote that? Ron Brownstein, of course.

Despite the Left’s bitterness after the 2000 election, Pres. Bush made the effort to be a uniter, not a divider.  Peter Wehner notes this, and I recently noted the bipartisan support Pres. Bush got on many of his major initiatives.  Moreover, as Wehner notes, Pres. Bush actually gained 5 points in approval among Democrats (from 32 percent to 37 percent) between his Inauguration and early April, while Pres. Obama has lost 16 points of support among Republicans so far. 

The media whitewash crew deludes itself at its own peril.  Several polls show Republicans gaining against Democrats on the generic Congressional ballot.  The CNN poll of adults has the Democrats’ lead shrinking from 25% to 15% in less than three months.  The Diageo/Hotline poll of registered voters has the lead shrinking from 24% to 5%.  The most recent NPR poll of likely voters has the parties at parity.  As the GOP’s poll ratings are still awful (and rightly so, given the lack of leadership from the party), the numbers are more easily explained as a backlash against the polarizing partisanship of Obama and the Democratic Congress.

–Karl

59 Responses to “Obama polarizes, while the media whitewashes”

  1. What all the spin from Democrats misses is the fact that the tea party movement is NOT a Republican phenomenon but more libertarian or even nonpartisan. Republicans, especially the hothouse variety in California, are in trouble with voters as well. I don’t know where it will go from here but it is not good news for Obama or Pelosi. Maybe its just anti-incumbent.

    Mike K (2cf494)

  2. The roots of the Tea Party movement are from the time President Bush signed that first bailout (which cost more money than the War on Terror, even if Operation Iraqi Freedom is included in the War on Terror).

    Michael Ejercito (7c44bf)

  3. Sullivan is acutely moronic on this point
    .
    Sullivan is acutely moronic, period. The media is just a bunch of Democratic party hacks who prefer division and polarization becuase it helps ratings.
    .
    Agreed that the GOP is (and deserves to be, on account of acting like Democrats) in dismal shape too. Interesting times, indeed.

    cboldt (3d73dd)

  4. Nice job on the Brownstein quotes, Karl. I’m sure that someone else said it first, but Michael Medved sometimes says that “being liberal means never having to admit you were wrong.” It’s like they wake up every morning all full of good intentions, and history never happened.

    carlitos (56cf62)

  5. Have to agree with the comments on the Tea Parties. I attended the one in Denver and was amazed that the turnout was in the 5 to 6K range. The group was not Republican or Dem. We booed both sides. The press on the left ignores and ridicules the movement at their peril.

    LYNNDH (975d26)

  6. I wonder what the Democrats who joined the TEA Parties are saying concerning the press coverage. That would be an interesting supper table convo to listen in on.

    John Hitchcock (fb941d)

  7. Review of all ballots statewide (never undertaken)
    • Standard as set by each county canvassing board during their survey Gore by 171
    • Fully punched chad and limited marks on optical ballots Gore by 115
    • Any dimples or optical mark Gore by 107
    • One corner of chad detached or optical mark
    http://www.consortiumnews.com/2007/111207a.html

    Poll: 31% Of Texans Say State Has Right To Secede — 18% Would Vote In Favor Of Doing It

    20% of of the human race are idiots.
    A teabagger in upstate NY
    http://www.syracuse.com/news/index.ssf/2009/04/antitax_tea_party_could_draw_c.html
    —She said she retired on disability from M&T Bank three years ago after undergoing knee replacement and back surgeries. She lives on her Social Security and disability benefits. Last year, she petitioned the bankruptcy court for protection from creditors.

    She said she did not have to pay federal income taxes last year because her income was too low.

    “I don’t want to see this country turn into a welfare, nanny state, where we stand in line for groceries, and we’re in welfare lines, and in socialized medicine lines,” Wilder said.—

    bored again christian (393f8a)

  8. Don’t let facts get in the way of a good story Ron.

    HeavenSent (637168)

  9. bored again christian, was there a point to your comment? As someone who has actually stood in “socialized medicine lines,” I find your dismissive tone a tad disrespectful. And naive.

    carlitos (56cf62)

  10. bored again christian,

    Those are great recount numbers. Too bad Gore never asked for any of those types of recounts. Under the recount he sought, he lost — and would have lost — as every media exam of the 2000 election shows.

    I guess we’ll mark you in that “still-deluded” column.

    Karl (a772b4)

  11. This is the perfect blog post. Don’t know why I am compelled to say so.

    I wasn’t too shocked that Obama was elected… but when you promise messianic levels of improvement and actually make things much worse,dems shouldn’t be surprised when Obama loses.

    Juan (4cdfb7)

  12. I wonder how much extra money “bored again christian” sent to the IRS this year beyond what he or she was obligated to pay. It would seem to be the right thing to do if one supported these massive spending plans and had the courage of their convictions.

    Or perhaps, like most leftists, he or she either pays the minimum required, or if he or she is in the Obama administration, skips paying the taxes altogether. Because only other people should be forced to pay for generation-crushing debt at the point of a gun.

    Another Chris (2d8013)

  13. Karl, I am so disappointed in the way you are attempting to divide us.
    Why, now Ron Brownstein won’t even talk to Ron Brownstein.

    AD (8d39bd)

  14. I disagree with the methodology of Ron Brownstien. He’s replaced Presidential action, is the President acting in a bipartisan fashion, with polls influenced heavily by the spin mad MSM (and FNC). There is no bipartisan measure for a President that I’m aware of, but there are plenty of proxys. Off the top of my head – percentage of the opposition that supports your first bills, nominees that recieve support from the other party, and even an anecdotal analysis (surely there must be a Bush era equivalent to the DHS Thought Police document…….crickets, crickets).

    So if Brownstein were serious, he would have evaluated the two Presidents and their ability to get cross the aisle support. Instead he used polling, because he knows that the media advantage (MSM > FNC and Rush) will blur the picture. RB is as dishonest as the day is long. And twice as transparent.

    EBJ (2fd7f7)

  15. What all the spin from Democrats misses is the fact that the tea party movement is NOT a Republican phenomenon but more libertarian or even nonpartisan.

    Alas, that is also missing from the MSM coverage. As El Rushbo would say, such an inconvenient fact doesn’t fit the media template that the tea parties are Astroturf ginned up by dastardly conservatives, rabble-rousing talk radio and the eeeeeeeevil Fox News.

    Brother Bradley J. Fikes, C.O.R., (799ef2)

  16. Have I told you lately how I adore you, Karl?

    MayBee (2e33e3)

  17. nice vid here
    http://flprogressive.blogspot.com/2009/04/dfh-blogger-speaks-at-pensacola-tea.html

    Republicans spend without taxing, so their grandchildren pay.
    Obama to his credit (some at least) is taxing and investing for the future. We’ll pay, but at least we’ll get something for it.
    Do you know any company that doesn’t run on debt? Or are you opposed to banking itself? And how much is China spending on stimulus right now? On investment? And what that means, is they’re going to come out ahead.

    And here’s something for all you who demagogued the Scott Beauchamp story.

    http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/2009/04/sergeant_who_smeared_fellow_soldier_new_republic_w.php?ref=fp1

    Carlitos move to France.

    bored again christian (393f8a)

  18. Last I knew, Bill Gates kept one year’s worth of cash on hand in his little company to cover all expenses.

    John Hitchcock (fb941d)

  19. In their quest to prove that Obama is better than Bush, these polls conflate different aspects.

    1. Likability of personality. I actually like Obama’s speaking style, and his ability to describe his policies, however deranged.

    2. Obama is in way over his head. These bank bailouts are hated by Code Pink, fiscal conservatives, and mostly everyone who isn’t a banker or Obama cheerleader. Summers and Geitner are giving him horrible pro-bank advice, but Obama doesn’t know better. You’d think that stories of billions going to bankers while they continue to loan-shark credit cards would blow up in his face. Maybe later.

    3. The public still has hope that Obama can fix GM without endless cash injections.

    4. This week’s tax revolt is an odd beast. It is an odd opinion to say taxes are too high, when Obama’s trajectory is to have $20 trillion debt by 2017. A debt revolt isn’t as interesting as a tax revolt, so we get a tax revolt. So yeah, polls show the country “likes” Obama’s tax policy.

    Obama’s personality will keep his polls very high until it is obvious to Joe Sixpack that his spending and givaways and fantasy energy policies are a disaster. I like my dog, but not enough to let him drive the car. But if he was driving the car, I certainly wouldn’t want him to fail.

    Wesson (c1f69b)

  20. Do you know any company that doesn’t run on debt?

    Yes, I do. A small number of them are in my portfolio, more if I had more funds to trade. It is correct that China is in a massive stimulus project of their own. However, they are spending money out of reserve funds they HAVE, not renminbi their Central Bank is printing out of thin air. If that doesn’t mean anything to you, you might want to review your portfolio, if you have one.

    allan (b1157f)

  21. Republicans spend without taxing, so their grandchildren pay.
    Obama to his credit (some at least) is taxing and investing for the future. We’ll pay, but at least we’ll get something for it.

    News flash, chump–Obama’s budget deficit in the first year ALONE doubles what Bush’s deficits were during his entire administration. Even Obama’s most optimistic budget year, 2012, is higher than Bush’s worst year, 2008. At NO POINT in his administration, whether it’s four years or eight years, is Obama predicting a budget surplus. In other words, he’s putting this nation on the hook for roughly another $13 trillion in debt that his successor is going to have to figure out how to pay down ON TOP of all the previous debt, PLUS our obligations to the Chinese for all the treasury bills they are buying, PLUS the interest on top of that.

    Where exactly is the money going to come from? “The rich” aren’t going to be able to cover it, even if you took every penny of their income from them. Obama is either going to have to break his promise on directly taxing the middle class, or indirectly on the whole population through gas taxes, registration fees, “sin taxes”, utilities taxes, sales taxes, and god knows what else. Especially when the states end up having to maintain the “stimulus” spending levels once the money from that runs out.

    Spare us the pithy, irrelevant hypotheticals about businesses running on debt and loaded questions about opposing banking. In case you haven’t noticed, a lot of businesses and financial institutions are in deep trouble based on a spending model you ignorantly deem to be sound. I’m sure Patterico could give you plenty of insight on how much trouble California is in with their own debt, and they are running out of sensible things to tax. That state charges people a tax on the taxes they already pay, for god’s sake. You must be clinically insane if you believe that our government should be run like that.

    If you are one of the 40% that don’t pay income tax in this country, no wonder you love Obama’s plan. If you do pay income tax, why aren’t you giving the IRS more of your income to help pay for the cost of this spending? Nothing like getting the benefit of something that other people are paying for, right, you selfish little thief?

    Another Chris (2d8013)

  22. bored again christian is vying for the non-sequitur crown today. Scott Beauchamp had his 15 minutes already – let it go.

    Obama is taxing our grandkids and calling it “investment.” In today’s news, the ‘stimulus’ is coming in the form of $8 Billion to upgrade midwestern rail capacity, along with another $1 Billion annually as high-speed rail gets up and running. I’ll bet my life that the cost will more than double the forecast, and that no one will use these trains. And no one will ever note this, because being liberal means never having to admit being wrong. High-speed rail? Good intentions. For the environment. And the children.

    PS – Just so you know, I lived in France for a while. Here is better.

    carlitos (9ca4a9)

  23. MayBee,

    No. You need to work on that!

    Karl (a772b4)

  24. With many, like me, the roots of the tea party movement started with the stupid prescription drug plan and the Kennedy no child left bored education bill. It been down hill from there.

    I also thought ADDI 2003 was a hoot … ADDI stands for the American Dream Downpayment Initiative … Imagine what something like that could do to the housing market. Oh wait, maybe it has already done it.

    Didn’t it dawn on people how badly Walmart took out the prescription drug plan with their offer of $4 a prescription. Capitalism works.

    tarpon (26027c)

  25. Very nicely done, Karl.

    Your posts are always good, but this one was is especially nice. Those quotes are great.

    I always think it’s useful to go back and actually read articles from the time one is speaking about. It really brings home what people were thinking at the time.

    Patterico (06ee59)

  26. Carlitos move to France.

    Actually, that prospect may be looking like a better option in a few years, and Sarko’s already dissed Obama twice in as many months, both for his foreign policy idiocy as well as his inane stimulus plan. The irony of the quasi – socialistic economy of France rejecting our budget deficits is too rich to ignore.

    Dmac (1ddf7e)

  27. 1) The current massive budget deficit is Obama’s fault, not the Republicans’, because Obama has been president for ten weeks.

    2) The massive spending on unemployment compensation and food stamps is Obama’s responsibility, not the Republicans’, because Obama has been president for ten weeks.

    3) By the same token, the massive spending on bailing out and backing up the financial system is Obama’s responsibility, not the Republicans’, because Obama has been president for ten weeks.

    Discuss.

    Obama is a very popular president.

    Discuss.

    And here’s the latest from the CBO
    http://www.cbo.gov/doc.cfm?index=10014

    Obama is divisive because rightists are furious. But rightists are a small minority and getting smaller. And angrier as well, which is a problem. If you nominate Sarah Palin next time you’ll just make it worse for yourselves.

    bored again christian (393f8a)

  28. Bored again christian suffers from intellectual dwarfism.

    Discuss.

    Bored again christian is a troll.

    Discuss.

    John Hitchcock (fb941d)

  29. bored again christian, the immense deficit that Obama projects about Obama’s budget proposals are indeed Obama’s responsibility. Especially since the bulk of the deficit for the current fiscal year comes from Obama’s own faux “stimulus” which was really nothing but Democrat pork barrel.

    SPQR (72771e)

  30. bored again christian, how much responsibility do the Democrats — who have controlled Congress for a large majority of the past 50 years — bear?

    Just wonderin’

    Steverino (69d941)

  31. Bored, for your information, Obama is less popular than Bush at the same point in his first term, and that follows a prolonged and bitter court fight to take office.

    Have Blue (854a6e)

  32. Bored – Deficit for 2007 (the last year the Republicans controlled Congress) 170 billion dollars. Obama and the Democrat congresses deficit for the month of March (thats on month guy) 162 billion dollars.

    Have Blue (854a6e)

  33. And here’s something for all you who demagogued the Scott Beauchamp story.

    http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/2009/04/sergeant_who_smeared_fellow_soldier_new_republic_w.php?ref=fp1

    Carlitos move to France.

    Comment by bored again christian

    This is all over the lefty blogosphere, where no doubt you send a lot of time. What has this to do with the accuracy of Beauchamp’s accusations ?

    Nothing.

    BY the way, f you want a comparison of Bush and Obama’s PROJECTED deficits, I have it for you right here.

    Take a look. Note that the Bush deficits were decreasing. Note that Obama’s are larger as far as the CBO can project. We will NEVER get the deficit under control if Obama is not stopped. Japan tried the Obama cure in the 1990s. Do you know what happened ?

    Of course not. Here, I’ll help you.

    Decades of extraordinarily high growth in postwar Japan culminated in a huge asset price bubble that reached its peak in 1989. When the bubble finally popped in 1990, wiping out billions of dollars in accumulated wealth, the country’s growth rates turned anemic.

    Sound familiar ?

    What about the Obama plan ?

    Japan misspent $6.3 trillion on construction-related equipment between 1991 and 2008. Japan spent too much on wasteful roads and bridges and not enough in areas like education and social services. Studies showed the latter delivered more bang for the buck than infrastructure spending because education and social services created something useful for the future.

    Of course, that won’t help here because our union schools will waste it.

    Japan failed to cut individual taxes enough to stimulate consumer demand. Similar to the Great Depression that permanently changed American buying habits, the “lost decade” made the Japanese tight-fisted. Japan’s economy is now in a free fall because it cannot rely on domestic consumption to pick up the slack. Also it cannot depend on exports, which declined in January 2009 some 46 percent from one year ago.

    By learning from Japan’s mistakes, America can avoid a dismal decade. However, it would be arrogant for those in Washington to assume that Japan’s troubles simply reflected its macroeconomic incompetence.

    In the main, the Japanese followed Keynesian economic prescriptions; however they made one fundamental mistake. They refused to confront their banking system losses and inject enough funds to enliven their zombie banks.

    The Japanese stock market recently hit a 25-year low. Unless we take the right steps, we might find that even worse than a lost decade is a lost generation.

    We have to stop Obama and Pelosi. If not, you’ll wish you were as old as I am.

    Mike K (8df289)

  34. bored again troll – What do Obama’s completely discretionary massive social engineering programs have to do with immediate stimulus?

    daleyrocks (5d22c0)

  35. The current massive budget deficit is Obama’s fault, not the Republicans’, because Obama has been president for ten weeks.

    Who signed the budget that resulted in a trillion dollar deficit?

    Mickey Mouse?

    The massive spending on unemployment compensation and food stamps is Obama’s responsibility, not the Republicans’, because Obama has been president for ten weeks.

    Whom signed the bill that authorized this massive spending?

    The Easter Bunny?

    By the same token, the massive spending on bailing out and backing up the financial system is Obama’s responsibility, not the Republicans’, because Obama has been president for ten weeks.

    How did Obama vote when the bailout reached the Senate floor?

    Michael Ejercito (7c44bf)

  36. Democrats and other leftists believe that they are uniters because they never talk to anyone who might disagree. I’m sure everyone around Obama is continually minimizing opposition, both in numbers and in enthusiasm.

    Ken Hahn (ff1280)

  37. http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/news/2009/04/obama_admin_vision_for_high-speed_rail_in_america.php

    Infrastructure other than shovel ready projects technically speaking is not stimulus but it is investment and planning for the future, which rightists seem opposed to. And considering the condition of our roads and bridges -neglected for decades- spending on infrastructure is less discretionary than simply necessary.
    The Iraq war was entirely discretionary. And Afghanistan was run as if it was!

    As for the handling of the Banks, Obama is still following Bush’s lead and the adults: Krugman, Stieglitz, Ritholtz, are angry about that. Summers should be gone.

    On Europe and economics, France et al. have massive social spending and that is what is keeping things together. Companies are reducing working hours rather than laying people off. And Sarko and the rest are calling for stronger regulation than the Americans want.
    Also of course Sarko dissed nearly every head of government except Berlusconi, and his people have been doing damage control ever since.

    And this new pic of Bambi “shaking hands with a Socialist.” Hilarious.
    Did Nixon smile shaking hands with Mao? Bush the First or Clinton with Mitterand or the Prime Minister of Sweden?
    Wow. Just wow.

    Maybe Pat should move back to Tejas and join the secessionists.
    And where is Stashiu? I’m waiting for the “we do not torture” bit again.
    The only thing any of you defend is anger. You have no policies other than opposition. The T-baggers haven’t even figured out what they’re yelling about.

    bored again christian (393f8a)

  38. *yawn*

    Stashiu3 (460dc1)

  39. yup, moron again non-Christian, you’re right up there with max vomitron.

    John Hitchcock (fb941d)

  40. bored again christian – Do you pay taxes?

    daleyrocks (5d22c0)

  41. Give him points for a nice try though… wait, it was actually a pretty poor effort. No points for you bored again christian. Don’t bother trying again though, you’re dismissible.

    Stashiu3 (460dc1)

  42. He/she obviously did not read the links I posted showing how useless the Japanese spending on infrastructure was. Obama is big on high speed rail. Do you know the results of high speed rail projects in other countries ?

    Of course not.

    I’ve ridden the French TGV and it is convenient but there is a lot of information about the economics of it. The huge welfare state of Europe is about to crash because, among other factors, when taxes are high, people don’t have children.

    Mike K (2cf494)

  43. And this new pic of Bambi “shaking hands with a Socialist.” Hilarious.

    How insulting of you! So wrong, so unfair!

    Our wonderful, beautiful, wise, sensible, down-to-earth president does not deserve to be described in such a disrespectful manner.

    After all, the photo album of Mr. Obama would be replete with signs of his:

    Courteous, gracious manner,

    Good judge of character,

    Personal history that’s both uplifting and chock full of integrity.

    (Actually, Bambi should be somewhat insulted that his name is being applied to the guy now sitting in the Oval Office.)

    Mark (411533)

  44. Do I pay taxes?
    More than Joe the Plumber. Obama saved him some money.
    “when taxes are high, people don’t have children”
    Education in France is free and childcare is easy.
    They don’t have children because they’re more interested in sex than reproduction. But of course the abortion rate is much much lower too.

    And Stash, I guess this response means you admit that you’ve been a liar from day one. Including your ‘interview” with the man who runs this page. Your response seems to be:
    “It doesn’t matter!” Who needs principles when you have guns?

    Maybe we should send the Texas Taliban and their Afghani brethren to an island somewhere where they can kill themselves off and leave the rest of us in peace.
    “God Guts and Guns”
    I’m sure there’s something in Pashto that means approximately the same thing.

    bored again christian (393f8a)

  45. Oh, there goes “bag”. He’s done here.

    John Hitchcock (fb941d)

  46. Mike, the Japanese spent their money on bridges to nowhere.

    http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/06/world/asia/06japan.html

    ” ‘In hindsight, Japan should have built public works that address the problems it faces today, like aging, energy and food sources,’ said Takehiko Hobo, a professor emeritus of public finance at Shimane University in Matsue, the main city of Shimane.”
    And of course our infrastructure is rotting.

    Nice day today, I’m going out for a walk.
    bu’bye

    bored again christian (393f8a)

  47. Again called out on a thread that I hadn’t even commented on, by a troll that I have never (as far as I can recall) addressed before. Again being called a liar and misrepresented. I’m bored with bored again christian… he’s not even original.

    Stashiu3 (460dc1)

  48. “Education in France is free”

    BAC – You don’t seem to even have a fundamental understanding of the public sector. I haven’t checked, but in France, where does the money come from to pay the cost of salaries for teachers and overhead for keeping schools open?

    daleyrocks (5d22c0)

  49. All right, alright.
    “where does the money come from to pay the cost of salaries for teachers and overhead for keeping schools open?”

    Taxes, which people don’t complain so much about because they get good services. Public education ion France is excellent. The public health system works very well.
    We pay more for less.
    A famous conservative once wrote that life in the state of nature is “solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short”
    But I guess that’s what you prefer. This is indeed a strange country.

    until next time.
    (And I am done for the day.)

    bored again christian (393f8a)

  50. Do I pay taxes?
    More than Joe the Plumber. Obama saved him some money.

    Blood Alcohol Content is clearly unaware that the “tax cut” is a tax credit that Joe the Plumber (and every other American) will have taken out of their tax return next year. You know, the same voodoo bs that Bush did with his “stimulus” checks.

    Only a leftist would equate spending double what Bush did the previous year, and using the same front-loaded personal stimulus formula, with “saving money”.

    Keep in mind that Michelle Obama mocked the $600 that people got last year, saying that it “wasn’t enough” to cover bills. But apparently, $400 spread out over the course of nine months is plenty.

    My bet is that the last tax BAC actually paid was on a bottle of Thunderbird, but even if he does pay taxes, he still hasn’t explained why he isn’t giving more to the IRS if these programs are so crucial to recovery. And he uses the same “shovel-ready” nonsense to promote high-speed rail when these projects will have to undergo a massive regulatory bureaucratic clearing process that could take years. The EIS alone laid end to end would probably extend further than the rail itself.

    Nothing to see here, folks–just another leftist that can’t blow his nose without the government providing him with a box of kleenex and an instruction manual.

    Another Chris (2d8013)

  51. Taxes, which people don’t complain so much about because they get good services.

    If these services are so wonderful, I’m sure you won’t object to a 10% flat tax across the board so the 40% of this country that doesn’t pay income taxes contributes to this magical utopia as well, right?

    Another Chris (2d8013)

  52. BAC sure sounds familiar, for someone new to the blog. Couid be a coincidence, of course.

    Eric Blair (c0224a)

  53. Sure seemed to have some kind of grudge against me even though we’ve never interacted before… or have we? Anybody else smell socks?

    Stashiu3 (460dc1)

  54. Oh my God, I hadn’t seen the comments on public education in France. Naturally, “bored again christian” has no idea that, in France, you take a test at around age 12 (“le Bac” as I recall). Your performance on that test places you in either a college-prep track or a trade track. It’s not like America, where you can change your mind later. In your early teens, you are quite literally doomed to be a tradesman in this system.

    The French educational system is fine, for the elite / White European / upper-middle class. It doesn’t do any favors to recent immigrants, nor do their citizenship laws. For someone to compare the French educational system favorably to that of the US without giving this context shows a great deal of ignorance. But then again, look who did so, and I repeat myself.

    carlitos (4ec95a)

  55. carlitos – BAC has been demonstrating some weapons grade ignorance on a number of subjects here, so don’t be surprised at anything you see.

    daleyrocks (5d22c0)

  56. daley, it might be age 15, now that I think about it. But still, as you note – weapons-grade stupidity. Nothing like the upward mobility that we have here, which allowed a certain patterico commenter to rise from no-collar to biz school.

    carlitos (4ec95a)

  57. […] media coverage, Pres. Obama finds himself with an average level of public approval that masks how deeply polarized that public opinion is. Rest assured, that is not on any list of what the White House wants […]

    The Greenroom » Forum Archive » 100 days: What Obama does not want you to read (e2f069)

  58. […] number for Independents is even lower, at 48%. That is consistent with a number of polls showing a rapidly rising disapproval for Obama among Independents. It is a fair bet that many of these Independents are former Republicans, or Republican leaners for […]

    The Greenroom » Forum Archive » What we can learn from Specter the defector (e2f069)

  59. […] for Independents is even lower, at 48%.  That is consistent with a number of polls showing a rapidly rising disapproval for Obama among Independents.  It is a fair bet that many of these Independents are former Republicans, or Republican leaners […]

    Patterico’s Pontifications » What we can learn from Specter the defector (e4ab32)


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