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I appeared on Silvio Canto Jr's talk show from Dallas yesterday.  It's here.

OCTOBER 5,  2015

SHORT TAKES ON THE DRIFTING WRECKAGE – AT 11:54 P.M. ET:

MEDIA ECSTASY – They're going nuts at the networks.  Why?  Because they see signs that Hillary is coming alive.  She made a pretty good commercial!  She came up with a "program" for gun control, which must have taken her five minutes.  She was marginally funny on Saturday Night Live.  These are the things the journalists believe will make a president.  We'll be monitoring the polls to see if the Queen actually is coming back to life.  She'll have to counter the growing perception among voters that she's untrustworthy and dishonest.  But who cares about the little things?

OBAMA TO TRAVEL – The field marshal will be in Oregon on Friday to comfort families who suffered losses in last week's Oregon school shooting.  The hypocrisy flows.  It turns out he was already schedule to be in the region to go to a fundraiser for Senator Patty Murray of Washington, and to do some politicking in California.  I guess it's okay to squeeze in some mourning families and make some agenda points.  We have yet to hear a single new or thoughtful proposal from the president on gun violence.  He seems to feel that the American people have let him down and not gone along with his brilliance on this.  We are told that he plans "executive actions" on guns.  I always thought that if you want to change gun laws, you needed Congress.  I'm so old-fashioned.

I'M SHOCKED, SHOCKED – From The Wall Street Journal, via Fox: Federal law-enforcement authorities are investigating an alleged bribery scheme involving payments to officials at the United Nations to gain support for real-estate development in Macau, people familiar with the matter said.  The arrests last month of a Macau real-estate mogul and his assistant are connected to the alleged scheme, said those familiar with the matter. Additional charges are expected to be announced as early as Tuesday against a number of other people, including current or former U.N. officials.  The investigation, led by the office of Preet Bharara, the U.S. attorney in Manhattan, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation, centers on alleged bribery by Chinese businesspeople, they said. Some of the alleged bribes flowed to U.N. officials from the Caribbean, they said. How the alleged scheme worked wasn’t immediately clear.  Obviously, this investigation is part of a great right-wing conspiracy to discredit the wonderful peacemakers at the UN.  Why, look around the world.  Don't you see peace breaking out all over?

October 5, 2015       Permalink

MONEY FLOWING TO CARLY – AT 10:21 A.M. ET:  Her campaign, while still not pulling the poll numbers of Trump or Carson, is catching fire, and dollars are flowing.  From Reuters:

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Carly Fiorina has emerged as the Republican candidate of the moment in conservative fundraising circles, drawing the notice of the billionaire Koch brothers and other wealthy donors who could instantly remake her shoestring presidential campaign.

Fiorina's show-stealing performance in a Republican presidential debate last month, and her subsequent surge in the polls, has prompted industrialists Charles and David Koch to take a “serious look” at the former Hewlett-Packard chief executive, according to three sources close to the brothers.

She has now moved to the short list of candidates the Kochs may support with their reported $1 billion war chest, the sources said. Florida Senator Marco Rubio is among those on the coveted list, the sources said.

A spokesman for the Kochs declined to comment

Other politically powerful mega donors are also lining up.

Texas oilman T. Boone Pickens hosted a packed luncheon at a posh Dallas venue for Fiorina in late September, while venture capitalist Tom Perkins is planning a fundraising gala in California in the next few months.

“My money is on her,” said Perkins, who served on HP's board during Fiorina's tenure. “I think she could be president.”

COMMENT:   I'm not endorsing anyone, but I'd really love to see a debate between Carly Fiorina and Hillary Clinton.  Carly would have her for lunch.

October 5, 2015       Permalink

THE AGE OF OBAMA – QUOTE OF THE DAY – AT 10:17 A.M. ET:  The New York Post very neatly sums up the seven-year record of Barack Obama in carrying out, or destroying, the foreign policy of the United States: 

Just three years ago, President Obama famously ridiculed GOP opponent Mitt Romney’s statement that Russia remained America’s main geopolitical foe by taunting: “The 1980s are calling to ask for their foreign policy back.”

Four years before that, Obama stood at Berlin’s Brandenburg Gate to declare that once he became president, all people would join him around a global campfire, hold hands and put an end to the world’s evils and miseries.

Well, seven years into Obama’s presidency, the promised worldwide Kumbaya is instead global chaos — caused in large measure by his willful retreat from America’s position of leadership.

Washington’s traditional allies increasingly feel abandoned, its enemies emboldened. The United States isn’t even leading from behind — it’s cowering in weakness.

And no one is taking better advantage of this than Vladimir Putin, now storming headlong into the yawning chasm of American retreat and reasserting Russia’s global influence and power — just as Mitt Romney said.

COMMENT:  Beautifully stated.  But will Americans care on election day next year?  I think they will, if the Republicans come up with the best candidate available, rather than the next guy in line. 

October 5, 2015       Permalink

WHAT A JERK – AT 9:58 A.M. ET:  Day by day we find out what an awful candidate Hillary Clinton really is.  And we also find out, as if it was ever in doubt, that the mainstream media will support her all the way.  From the Washington Examiner: 

Even though Democratic front-runner Hillary Clinton is a former first lady and a former U.S. senator, she cast herself as a political outsider on Monday because she's a woman.

"Who can be more of an outsider than a woman president?" she said on NBC's "Today Show."

Anchor Savannah Guthrie seemed to agree by saying to Clinton that "one of your merits is that you're a woman," and asked her how a female leader would run the White House differently.

"We have a very different life experience, I think it's fair to say," she said to applause.

I wonder where the applause was coming from, and how it was arranged.

"I think that, you know, a lot of my agenda about how do we support families, and how do we support working women, how do we get paid family leave, how do we do caregiving?" she added. "I was just talking to one of the people here, we're going to have a huge challenge on helping to take care of people with Alzheimer's, people who are getting older with Autism and a lot of other conditions."

"We live that in a much more real, you know, day to day way, and I will bring all of those, you know, feelings and experiences with me to the White House," she said.

COMMENT:  How pathetic.  She's sinking in the polls because of her dishonesty and ineptitude, and so out comes the gender card. 

We have the virtual collapse of a foreign policy over which she presided, but she's suddenly an outsider.  This woman has no character and no integrity.  She's a disgrace, but she may become president.

October 5, 2015       Permalink

THANKS FOR THE REMINDER – AT 9:30 A.M. ET:  Just weeks after the U.S. approved the Iran nuclear pact – without Congressional assent – Iran is back to warning that we are still Tehran's biggest target.  It's so nice to be reminded.  From the Washington Free Beacon:

A senior Iranian military leader warned this weekend that “all U.S. military bases in the Middle East are within the range of” Iran’s missiles and emphasized that the Islamic Republic will continue to break international bans on the construction of ballistic missiles.

Much of this missile work, like the details of Iran’s advanced arsenal, remains secret, according to Brigadier General Amir Ali Hajizadeh, commander of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps Aerospace Force.

Hajizadeh dismissed the threat of military action by the United States, warning that all U.S. assets and allies are in range of Iran’s current missile arsenal, according to comments made Sunday in Tehran and recorded by Iran’s state-controlled Fars News Agency.

The threats of attack on the United States were issued as Iran unveiled new high-tech torpedoes and the formation of a joint war room along with Russia, Syria, and Iraq.

“Some of the threats by the U.S. are aimed at appeasing the Zionists, while others are for the purpose of domestic consumption (in the U.S.), but what is important is that they are aware of and acknowledge our capabilities and deterrence power,” Hajizadeh was quoted as saying.

“We do not feel any need to increase the range of our missiles and (our perceived enemy) targets are fully within the range of our missiles,” he added.

Iran will not slow down the research and construction of advanced missiles, the IRGC leader said, despite international bans on such action.

COMMENT:  What is remarkable is that statements like that have become routine, without any pushback from Field Marshal Obama or Grand Admiral Kerry. 

And note the formation of a joint "war room," with Russia, Syria and Iraq.  We've now lost Iraq, where American blood was shed, thanks to the field marshal's withdrawal of all American forces.  The Russians, emboldened by our lack of action over Ukraine, is moving into the Mideast with no concern about an American response.  There won't be any.

October 5,  2015     Permalink

OCTOBER 4,  2015

SHORT TAKES ON THE DRIFTING WRECKAGE – AT 11:56 P.M. ET: 

THE SOFT SIDE OF HILLARY – From the New York Post:  She’s on a mission to be a softer, warmer, funnier candidate — but according to a new book, the real Hillary Clinton is so volatile and prone to violent outbursts that she terrorizes staff, Secret Service agents and even her own husband.  In “The Clintons’ War On Women” (Skyhorse), out Oct. 13, political strategist Roger Stone details Hillary’s abusive behavior — dating back to the Clintons’ days in Arkansas, where Bill served as governor.  “Hillary Clinton has a long history of being domestically violent with Bill,” Stone writes. “Hillary has beaten Bill, hit him with hard objects, scratched and clawed him, and made him bleed.”  Stone, a controversial figure who recently decamped from Donald Trump’s campaign, also delves into the more fantastical rumors that have dogged the Clintons for years.  Accounts of marital discord, however, have been well-reported for decades. Even Bill Clinton’s former press officer Dee Dee Myers later admitted that she covered for the first lady.  I can't confirm specific stories, but everything I read about Hillary makes me believe that she doesn't have the character to be president.  I'm tired of hearing about how "smart" she is.  Smart people are a dime a dozen.  People with the capacity to be president are priceless.

SOLVING A DANISH PROBLEM – From WaPo:  Denmark has a problem: At some (still quite distant) point in the future, its population will disappear because people aren't having enough babies.  Now, the Danish travel company Spies says it might have found a solution. Its campaign "Do it for Mom" encourages wannabe grandmothers and grandfathers to "sponsor" trips abroad for their adult children. Studies have shown that Danes have much more sex when they are on vacation.  "Send your child on an active holiday and get a grandchild within nine months," the company says on its Web site.  "The Danish welfare system is under pressure. There are still not enough babies being born, despite a little progress. And this concerns us all," a video for the campaign states. Denmark has one of the world's most generous welfare systems, and it will need more young workers to help pay for it.  And here we thought that nuclear proliferation was the greatest threat to humankind.  I like the Danes.  They should all go on vacation.

ALERT – PHILADELPHIA (CBS) — Temple University alerted students and faculty on Sunday of a threat of violence made against “a University near Philadelphia.” According to the University, other colleges and universities in the area are aware of the threat and were alerted of it by the ATF (Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives).  According to the alert, the posting states the action could take place at 2:00 p.m. eastern time on Monday, October 5.  Temple sent out the following tweet on Saturday:  According to law enforcement, they are not aware of a specific threat, but Temple University Police are monitoring the situation along with local and federal officials. Temple announced that their police will have increased visibility on the campus on Monday.  The university will operate under a normal schedule on Monday.  We hope this is some tasteless prank, but every precaution must be taken.  Politicians can talk about gun control all they want, but government's first priority is protecting citizens currently at risk.  Every school or college should have armed personnel trained to handle a terror event or an active shooter.  We protect jewelry stores better than we protect schools.

October 4,  2015

RUSSIA IN SYRIA – AT 12:41 P.M. ET:  Maybe Obama doesn't take this seriously, but grown-ups do.  From Bloomberg: 

Russia intensified its bombardment of militant targets in Syria with warplanes flying more than 20 missions, as U.K. Prime Minister David Cameron joined calls for Moscow to change course in an intervention he described as a “grave mistake.”

The Russian Defense Ministry said on Sunday that 10 Islamic State positions in Syria had been attacked in the past 24 hours, including militant training camps in Raqqa and Idlib provinces. Russian strikes have broken “the management and logistics of the terrorist organization” and caused “significant damage to the infrastructure used for preparation of terrorist attacks,” the ministry said on its website. Laser-guided and concrete-piercing ordnance had been used, it said.

The Russian military’s direct entry into Syria’s civil war last week in support of its ally, President Bashar al-Assad, has stirred anger in the U.S., Europe and Middle East, where leaders accuse Moscow of targeting western-backed rebel forces opposed to Assad as well as the jihadists of Islamic State.

President Barack Obama said Saturday that Russia will get “stuck in a quagmire” if it persists in using military force to prop up Assad’s government. The U.S. is intent on destroying Islamic State, and Obama said the country’s larger civil war requires a political resolution that would remove Assad, “a brutal, ruthless dictator.” In a joint declaration on Friday, the U.S., France, Saudi Arabia and four other nations had condemned Russia for the strikes.

Military officials from Russia and the U.S. began discussing operations inside Syria last week in an attempt to avoid an inadvertent confrontation in the country’s skies. A U.S.-led coalition of 65 countries has conducted more than 7,000 airstrikes against Islamic State targets in Iraq and Syria in the last year, according to the Defense Department.

Cameron, speaking as his Conservative Party began its annual conference, urged Russian President Vladimir Putin to “change direction” and back U.K. and U.S. efforts by focusing attacks on Islamic State. Russia says its air campaign is aimed only at helping Assad’s forces fight terrorists and that Russian planes have already hit more than 50 Islamic State positions.

COMMENT:  Nice sentiments, but a weak American president is encouraging Russian mischief in the Mideast and elsewhere.  What, precisely, will our allies do if Russia ignores our warnings?  That is the question.  Warnings must have power behind them.  Our warnings have Barack Obama behind them.  It's like being hit with a marshmallow.

October 4, 2015       Permalink

MR. SPEAKER? – AT 11:37 A.M. ET:  There's a new candidate for speaker of the House, and, although he's a bit of a long shot, a lot of folks like him.  From the Washington Examiner: 

Rep. Jason Chaffetz, R-Utah, who chairs the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, confirmed Sunday that he will challenge House Majority leader Kevin McCarthy for speaker of the House.

"The American people want a fresh face and a fresh new person," said McCarthy Sunday. "I am announcing my intention to run for speaker of the House of Representatives. We were entrusted by the American people with the largest majority the Republicans have ever had since Babe Ruth was swinging a baseball bat."

"But they didn't send us here to perpetuate the status quo," he said. "They want us to tackle the tough issues ... they want us to fight. They want us to take that fight to the Senate, they want us to take that fight to the president and they want us to take that fight to the American people."

Chaffetz made the announcement on Fox News Sunday and will join McCarthy and Rep. Daniel Webster, R-Fla., in the race. The Republicans are scheduled to hold leadership elections Oct. 8.

Chaffetz said that heir apparent McCarthy does not have the votes from the conservative members in the House. He said he had been recruited to run, but would support whomever was the eventual nominee.

COMMENT:  Chaffetz's entry into the race is a direct result of a whopper of a mistake that McCarthy made last week.  McCarthy said that the work of the House committee investigating Benhazi has resulted in a drop in Hillary Clinton's poll numbers – suggesting that politics was the driving force behind the probe.  This infuriated fellow Republicans, and handed Democrats an issue.  McCarthy tried to clarify his remarks but the damage was done.

I can't calculate Chaffetz's chances, but I think he has the potential to make a good run, and possibly upset frontrunner McCarthy, whose political judgment is now being questioned.

October 4, 2015       Permalink

LATEST POLLS – AT 10:51 A.M. ET:  The polls are tightening.  We might look back upon this period as a political fantasy.  From The Hill:

Polls released Sunday morning show real estate mogul Donald Trump holding his leads in the early voting states of Iowa and New Hampshire, although those leads are smaller than one month ago.

Trump leads former Hewlett Packard CEO Carly Fiorina among potential New Hampshire GOP primary voters by just 5 points, 21 to 16 percent, according to NBC News/Wall Street Journal/Marist pollsters.

Trump and Fiorina are trailed by former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush with 11 percent and Sen. Marco Rubio (Fla.) and retired pediatric neurosurgeon Ben Carson with 10 percent apiece.

In September, Trump led Ohio Gov. John Kasich, his closest competitor at the time in New Hampshire, by 16 points, 28 to 12 percent.

In Iowa, Trump now leads Carson by 5 points, 24 to 19 percent. Fiorina follows with 8 percent, Bush with 7 percent and Sen. Ted Cruz (Texas), Rubio and Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal with 6 percent each.

One month ago, Trump led Carson by 7 points in the Hawkeye State, 29 to 22 percent.

Among Democrats, Hillary Clinton maintains her lead among potential Iowa Democratic caucus-goers and Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-V.) is still the leader among potential New Hampshire Democratic primary voters.

Clinton leads Sanders by 11 points, 47 to 36 percent in Iowa. Former Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley has 4 percent. Clinton’s lead in the Hawkeye State is only 5 points when Vice President Joe Biden is added to the field, however.

Sanders leads Clinton by 9 points, 48 percent to 39 percent, in New Hampshire in results that are virtually unchanged from a month ago. Biden gets 18 percent when added to the equation, while support for Sanders falls to 42 percent and Clinton gets 28 percent.

COMMENT:  In other words, a muddle.  It's reasonably clear that Trump is slipping a bit, or may have peaked.  Clinton is definitely slipping.

The primaries are still four months away, and that's five lifetimes in politics.  There may even be some new candidates – likely Joe Biden, possibly Mitt Romney.  The Great Mentioner has even included Al (Baby it's warm outside) Gore and John (I was for it before I was against it) Kerry.  So stand by.

October 4,  2015     Permalink