What's Reagan, Bob Hope, Johnny Cash and Obama say to us?

Gotta order me one of these t-shirts for those days when I'm too grumpy to even talk.

Back to the good ol' days of President Jimmy Carter?

The minimum wage went up again today. Good news for low-income workers, right? Wrong. Bad news for employers who won't be able to hire as many low-wage workers (who are by definition low-income workers) and may in fact have to lay some off and push the jobless rate even higher. It's only good news for unions, who can compete better with non-union employers. And in case you haven't noticed, good news for Democrats, who the unions support financially.

At present, we're almost in double digits as the jobless rate nears 10 percent. "Happy Days are here again!" the libtards are signing as Obama-Pelosi-Reid lead us back into Jimmy Carter territory, those good ol' days of double-digit unemployment, interest rates and stagflation.

On the other hand, there are five fingers. And also the obvious solution for our jobless economy, how about a payroll tax cut for businesses? It worked for Reagan and even John Kennedy, both Presidents who cut taxes and saw the national economy improve dramatically.

In other news about prominent Democrats, have you read about the big scandal among New Jersey politicians which reaches all the way up to the governor's office? If so, you probably had to do what I did, read all the way to the end of the story in the New York Times (just across the river) to finally find out what party the political criminals belong to:

Among the public officials arrested were Mayor Peter J. Cammarano III of Hoboken, who was a City Council member before he took office as mayor on July 1, and Mayor Dennis Elwell of Secaucus, both Democrats; Assemblyman L. Harvey Smith of Jersey City, also a Democrat; and Assemblyman Daniel M. Van Pelt, a Republican from Ocean County.

Ahah, one Republican joins the long list of Democrat big-shot crooks. Gotcha. Sorta. The NY Times ain't about to name any parties unless they can find at least one Republican to add.

Have you heard New Jersey's state motto? "Some of our politicians haven't been indicted yet!"

A scary bedtime fairy tale for your grandchildren

Once upon a time, long, long ago in a land far away, a Democrat candidate for President was honest. He announced early in the campaign, "I will raise your taxes." For those who have forgotten about those olden days, or were born since, the candidate was a man named Walter Mondale. Who?

Most people have forgotten about Walter Mondale, but he was Vice President under President Jimmy Carter, perhaps the most forgettable President of recent history, so a memory lapse is understandable.

Mondale also suffered the indignity of running against a Republican nominee who was not only wise but also had a terrific sense of humor and a great gift of comedic timing, Ronald Reagan. And Reagan was wise enough to recognize an error when he heard Mondale's tax-hike promise and countered with a promise of his own that he would not raise taxes if elected.

In the first televised debate, Mondale put in an unexpectedly strong performance, questioning Reagan's age and capacity to endure the grueling demands of the presidency (Reagan was the oldest person to serve as president — 73 at the time — while Mondale was 56). However, in the next debate on October 21, 1984, Reagan effectively deflected the issue by quipping, "I will not make age an issue of this campaign. I am not going to exploit, for political purposes, my opponent's youth and inexperience."

In the election, Mondale was defeated in a landslide, winning only the District of Columbia (which has never been won by a Republican candidate) and his home state of Minnesota (and even there his margin of victory was less than 3,800 votes^[4]), thus securing only 13 electoral votes to Reagan's 525. The result was the worst electoral defeat for any Democratic Party candidate in history, and the worst for any major-party candidate since Alf Landon's loss to Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1936.

So the joke was on Mondale, the Democrat who told the truth about his plan to raise taxes. But enough of fairy tales. Wait, let me tell one more. Once upon a time there was a Democrat candidate for President who promised again and again that he would not raise taxes. The people believed him and he got elected. Now some 120 days since, reality has begun to set in.

Anne sez: The Reign of Lame Falls Mainly on McCain

Anne Coulter showed Superwoman restraint during the campaign in holding her tongue and supporting John McCain as not as big a crap sandwich as Barack Obama. But now she's free.

How many times do we have to run this experiment before Republican primary voters learn that "moderate," "independent," "maverick" Republicans never win, and right-wing Republicans never lose?

Indeed, the only good thing about McCain is that he gave us a genuine conservative, Sarah Palin. He's like one of those insects that lives just long enough to reproduce so that the species can survive. That's why a lot of us are referring to Sarah as "The One" these days.

Like Sarah Connor in "The Terminator," Sarah Palin is destined to give birth to a new movement. That's why the Democrats are trying to kill her. And Arnold Schwarzenegger is involved somehow, too. Good Lord, I'm tired.

After showing nearly superhuman restraint throughout this campaign, which was lost the night McCain won the California primary, I am now liberated to announce that all I care about is hunting down and punishing every Republican who voted for McCain in the primaries. I have a list and am prepared to produce the names of every person who told me he was voting for McCain to the proper authorities.

We'll start with former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, former New York City mayor Rudy Giuliani, California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and Florida Gov. Charlie Crist. Then we shall march through the states of New Hampshire and South Carolina -- states that must never, ever be allowed to hold early Republican primaries again.

For now, we have a new president-elect. In the spirit of reaching across the aisle, we owe it to the Democrats to show their president the exact same kind of respect and loyalty that they have shown our recent Republican president.

Read the whole thing if you like.

I think I shall join Anne in giving the "exact same kind of respect and loyalty" to Obama and the whole crowd of leftwing nutroots that they gave President George W. Bush. The loyal opposition has its work cut out for the next four years, at the minimum. Let the "respect" flow forth.

Obama vs. Reagan, a comparison of patriotism

Obama's Patriotism Problem, by Our Country Deserves Better

Sarah Barracuda bites hunk out of leftwingnuts

In case you were not among the 37 million who listened to Sarah Palin last night, here's the vid.

Grownup Sarah Palin slobber-knocked little snotnose kid Obama last night. And it’s not just me that’s saying it. On the right, Ace gave her speech an “A+” as did every other blogger I read.

And on the left, the Noo Yawk Times (Leftwingnut NY HQ) compared her qualifications to guess who? Not Biden. Obama!

(Hint to the Obama campaign. When the Noo Yawk Times compares Palin to you instead of Biden, the campaign just might be in a bit of trouble.)

ST. PAUL — Gov. Sarah Palin of Alaska introduced herself to America before a roaring crowd at the Republican National Convention on Wednesday night as “just your average hockey mom” who was as qualified as the Democratic nominee, Senator Barack Obama, to be president of the United States.

…Ms. Palin’s appearance electrified a convention that has been consumed by questions of whether she was up to the job, as she launched slashing attacks on Mr. Obama’s claims of experience.

“Before I became governor of the great state of Alaska, I was mayor of my hometown,” Ms. Palin told the delegates in a speech that sought to eviscerate Mr. Obama, as delegates waved signs that said “I love hockey moms.” “And since our opponents in this presidential election seem to look down on that experience, let me explain to them what the job involves. I guess a small-town mayor is sort of like a ‘community organizer,’ except that you have actual responsibilities.”

As the crowd cheered its approval, Ms. Palin went on: “I might add that in small towns we don’t quite know what to make of a candidate who lavishes praise on working people when they are listening, and then talks about how bitterly they cling to their religion and guns when those people aren’t listening.”

The lady who led her high school basketball team to a state championship and earned the nickname “Sarah Barracuda” also bit a hunk out of the behinds of the national media and leftwingnut bloggers (same, same) who have enjoyed nonstop attacks on her since her nomination last week.

“I’m not a member of the permanent political establishment,” Ms. Palin said in her remarks. which took aim at the news media as the crowd began lustily booing the press. “And I’ve learned quickly, these past few days, that if you’re not a member in good standing of the Washington elite, then some in the media consider a candidate unqualified for that reason alone. But here’s a little news flash for all those reporters and commentators: I’m not going to Washington to seek their good opinion; I’m going to Washington to serve the people of this country.”

And Sarah Barracuda added to her own tough legend with a laugh line where she compared herself to a pit bull as well as a hockey mom.

Ms. Palin also displayed humor in one of her biggest lines of the night when she said that “the difference between a hockey mom and a pit bull” was “lipstick.”

Speaking of pit bulls, Rudy Giuliani spoke earlier and answered with scorn Obama’s attacks on Palin by referring to her as a small-town mayor instead of Governor of Alaska and claiming he has more “executive experience” than she does by running for President for nearly three years.

Rudolph W. Giuliani of New York launched a withering attack on Mr. Obama as part of a relentless assault by Republicans arguing that Ms. Palin, the former mayor of a town of less than 7,000 people who has been governor of Alaska for 20 months, had a more impressive résumé than Mr. Obama.

“She already has more executive experience than the entire Democratic ticket,” said Mr. Giuliani, one of three former rivals of Mr. McCain for the nomination, including former Gov. Mitt Romney of Massachusetts and former Gov. Mike Huckabee of Arkansas, who took on Mr. Obama in speeches Wednesday evening.

“Barack Obama has never led anything, nothing, nada,” Mr. Giuliani said, then launched an attack on people who have questioned whether Ms. Palin will have enough energy to focus on the vice presidency as the mother of five. “How dare they question whether Sarah Palin has enough time to spend with her children and be vice president,” Mr. Giuliani said. “How dare they do that? When do they ever ask a man that question?”

Guiliani and Palin both passed up the chance to use the best line about Obama’s so-called “executive experience” so I’ll use it. It refers to a previous black presidential contender, Jesse Jackson, who one wag said “Ain’t never run nothin’ but his mouth.” Obama’s been running his mouth for nearly three years now, running for President, and that somehow translates into “executive experience”? Only on Planet Obama, not here.

McCain hit Obama on that same ridiculous claim of “executive experience” in a comment to media while also defending his VP choice of Palin.

With Ms. Palin facing a torrent of inquiries from reporters, Mr. McCain joined other Republicans in assailing news outlets when he told ABC News in an interview on Wednesday that “Sarah Palin has 24,000 employees in the state government” and was “responsible for 20 percent of the nation’s energy supply.” He added that he was entertained by the comparison of her experience to that of Mr. Obama and that “I hope we can keep making that comparison that running a political campaign is somehow comparable to being the executive of the largest state in America.”

The Washington Post (Leftwingnut HQ in DC) also reported that Palin’s speech “electrified” the convention in Palin Comes Out Fighting.

Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin electrified the Republican convention Wednesday night, pitching herself as a champion of government reform, mocking Democratic candidate Barack Obama as an elitist and belittling media criticism of her experience.

… Mocking the speech in which Obama accepted the Democratic nomination before a crowd of more than 84,000 at a Denver football stadium, she asked: "When the stadium lights go out, and those Styrofoam Greek columns are hauled back to some studio lot, what exactly is our opponent's plan? What does he actually seek to accomplish, after he's done turning back the waters and healing the planet?"

Even The Associated Press (International Leftwingnut HQ) reported on Palin’s speech that the “novice” delivered and rocked the convention.

Sarah Palin delivered. An embattled vice presidential candidate, a novice on the national stage, the head of a family suffering its "ups and downs," the first-term Alaska governor rocked the GOP convention with a star-turning performance.

Wielding a stiletto and a smile, Palin belittled Democrat Barack Obama and praised her new boss, John McCain, jolting the crowd of GOP partisans.

"Don't you think we made the right choice for the next vice president of the United States!" McCain said, hinting the controversy surrounding his pick. "And what a beautiful family."

The AP writer couldn’t resist a swipe at Palin, saying her speech “lacked the soaring oratory skills of Obama - a man she attacked as a tax-raising, terrorist-coddling, self-indulgent liberal. But the former TV sportscaster spoke in calm, TV-friendly tones reminiscent of Ronald Reagan.”

OK, which would you rather have in charge of our country, “soaring orator” Obama or someone who reminds you of Ronald Reagan? You pick.

And the delegates loved Palin, too. AP quoted one, who may have been thinking about Obama’s boast of "Chicago rules" about bringing a knife to a gun fight.

"For too many times, we've brought knives to gun fights," said Chuck Gast, a delegate from Maryland. When asked if Palin brought a gun to the fight, Gast said: "Yes, I think she brings a big gun, like a moose gun."

Another Noo Yawk Times story this morning about Palin’s rise to power in Alaska with the fight she won against the entrenched and corrupt GOP power brokers there included a quote that might give Obama pause about bringing his rusty pocketknife into a gunfight with Sarah Barracuda.

“It was a situation that was absolutely ripe for somebody to come in and say, ‘Hey, the emperor has no clothes,’ ” said Mr. Haycox of the University of Alaska.

Now here’s another naked emperor for Palin to take on, not from Alaska, but from Chicago. Obama had better sharpen his rusty pocketknife. Or trade it in for a howitzer. He's gonna need it.

New York Times columnist Timothy Egan took a swipe or two at Palin after her speech, but first he had to admit how well her speech succeeded.

Of course, she nailed the speech. She faced only an artificial media challenge; “Sarah Barracuda” has been able to talk to an audience, and throw an elbow – well – since high school.

As was self-evident among the sea of pink-faced delegates in St. Paul, the Republican base loves Palin. They love that she carried a Down Syndrome baby to term – “living out pro-life values,” as James Dobson said. They love that she told her church it was God’s will that a natural gas pipeline must be built in Alaska. And they certainly love that she knows her way around a gun.

As Rush Limbaugh said on Wednesday, “Palin is twice the man Obama is.”

Kyle-Anne Shiver at American Thinker tops Rush with an even snappier one-liner about Palin’s speech: Palin rules; Libs drool.

Shiver also adds a slightly longer version of her summary: Palin rules all right, and if Libs aren't drooling, it might be because they haven't even figured out yet what has hit them.

Thomas Lifson at American Thinker calls Palin “Reagan in a dress.”

Sarah Palin has delivered a remarkable speech, perhaps the most electrifying vice presidential nomination acceptance speech in history. She has the uncanny ability to look right into the camera and see, to be talking directly to viewers at home. Her timing, tone, humor, and that twinkle in her eyes, are all superbly effective.

Sarah Barracuda is turning into Barack Obama's worst nightmare. Her digs at the Democrat candidate were slyly funny, and placed him back in the position of an elitist.

She has the potential to be Reagan in a dress. A younger Margaret Thatcher who is also a beautiful woman. No wonder the liberal media is trying to destroy her before they go bankrupt.

WaPo columnist Michael Gerson takes the Palin nomination even a step further, calling her presence on the ticket the key to a McCain victory.

McCain has only two options: Be a reformer, or be a victim. The main benefit of Sarah Palin on the ticket is not her gender or her conservatism but her deserved reputation as a foe of Republican corruption in Alaska.

And Michael Reagan, the Gipper's son, said "Welcome back, Dad"

I've been trying to convince my fellow conservatives that they have been wasting their time in a fruitless quest for a new Ronald Reagan to emerge and lead our party and our nation. I insisted that we'd never see his like again because he was one of a kind.

I was wrong!

Wednesday night I watched the Republican National Convention on television and there, before my very eyes, I saw my Dad reborn; only this time he's a she.

And what a she!.....

WaPo Columnist writes Tom Shales writes She Shoots! She Scores!

If the Republicans win the presidential election in November, it may well be said that they won it last night -- the night that John McCain's brilliantly screwy choice for a running mate changed from laughingstock to national star.

Chicago Tribune Columnist John Kass at Obama’s hometown newspaper said Palin is “the greatest threat yet” to the coronation of King Obama I.

(Palin) poses the greatest threat yet to the Obama reform narrative. The cynical epic has become the establishment media bedtime story, with Obama as the young King Arthur riding forth to promise change. In this, the Washington Beltway media colony has been his eager Merlin, hoping to guide him, cleaving desperately to the theme that he's some kind of reformer, even though Obama is a politician backed by Chicago's Daley machine and never once challenged the political corruption in Chicago and Illinois. Not ever.

The contrast with Palin—who actually went after the Republican Party bosses in Alaska on the corruption issue—is profound and challenging for the Obama-friendly media that willfully ignore his lack of leadership on the reform front, yet are consumed to find out if Palin has an overdue library book.

Fred Barnes at The Daily Standard calls Palin The Natural.

So how in the world could this 44-year-old woman with no national political experience handle the whole thing with poise and composure and seeming effortlessness? Simple. She's a natural, gifted with the ability to connect with people in a way that few politicians can and to perform under extreme pressure. She has star quality.

Political figures like this don't come along very often. And heaven knows Republicans haven't seen anyone like Palin emerge from their ranks since Ronald Reagan first attracted national attention in 1964. That's a long time to wait. They've been starved for a leader with charisma and a knack for leadership. Now they have one.

And Barnes added a sweetener on Fox News tonight. Palin did her speech with a malfunctioning teleprompter! As he noted, very few politicians could handle that kind of glitch in a major speech. "And she made it look easy!"

“Charlie’s War” replaying in Georgia?

Is there really nothing our military can do about the Russian invasion of the former Soviet republic of Georgia? That’s what all the “experts” are saying. But I don’t think so. That’s what experts said in 1979 when the Soviets invaded Afghanistan back during President Jimmy Carter’s watch.

Carter had gutted military funding after the Vietnam War and nobody wanted to go to war with the Soviet Union over Afghanistan. So Carter did nothing but boycott the Olympics as a lame protest. That’s all the “experts” are suggesting today, another Olympic boycott against the Russians. Nobody wants to go to war with the Russians over Georgia with our troops already fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan. But history may well repeat.

As the nonfiction book and movie “Charlie’s War” chronicles, in the ‘80s President Reagan, the CIA and a few friends in Congress quietly financed an insurgency against the Soviet occupation, arming the Afghans with Stinger missiles and other equipment that eventually led to Soviet defeat.

And if I was a betting man, I’d bet a similar campaign is already under way by our Spec Ops troops with the blessing of President Bush. And Georgia may be a small country, but they do have a trained army, air force and navy which succeeded in some damage to the Russian invaders.

With that core group to work with, the Russian troops might just find out it’s a whole lot easier to invade than it is to occupy a country against insurgents who are armed and supported by powerful friends. Might be a replay of Iraq and I’d bet the Russians don’t have a Gen. Petraeus.

Deebow at Blackfive.net speculated that the U.S. Air Force C-17 that landed in Georgia with humanitarian supplies probably had a few “ringers” mixed in amongst the Air Force crew, Spec Ops experts to sneak and peek a sitrep on the Russian occupation.

How many of you believe that there were soldiers on those relief flights that belonged to the RRC, AFSOC, ODA (insert number here), SOF-D or some other Special Mission Unit? I think they are likely giving ground truth to Tampa right now.

It is an axiom of modern combat that when you deploy Special Forces, you are at war...

Here’s what Strategy Page says about our troops who are already in Georgia as trainers for the Georgians: American Troops Help Defend Georgia

As Russian troops invade, from bases in southern Russia, 127 American military trainers remain in Georgia (the one in the Caucasus). They weren't the only foreign troops around, as at the end of July, a thousand Ukrainian, Azeri, Armenian and U.S. troops departed after holding joint training exercises with their Georgian counterparts.

For the past three years, several hundred American military trainers have run the GSSOP (Georgia Sustainment and Stability Operations Program), which has trained over 5,000 Georgian troops, many for eventual service in Iraq. The trainers were American soldiers and marines, who imparted their combat experience to the Georgians.

…Georgia has a population of about 4.6 million, and an active duty military of about 28,000 troops. Russia has a population of 142 million, and an active duty military of about a million personnel. The U.S. has been helping Georgia train and equip an army reserve force of about 100,000. Only about a fifth of that force has been organized so far. Georgia was hoping to develop a sufficient qualitative advantage to discourage the Russians.

If a few thousand Afghans with bolt-action rifles and Stinger missiles could make the Russians turn tail and run, the Georgians can do it too.