Pelosi on the Defensive, Fired Over Photo & More

I thought I would feature this beautiful picture of Air Force One since it costs the people of New York City, the American taxpayer and Louis Caldera so much.  As I said last week, Obama hit the roof when he learned of this photo-op flyover that sent New Yorkers into a terror in light of 9/11.  This week, he accepted the resignation of Louis Caldera, the director of his White House Military Office and the man responsible for the unconscionable lapse in judgement.

Nancy Pelosi is on the defensive this week as evidence mounts that she, and an aide, were fully briefed on the EITs (Ehanced Interogation Techniques) such as waterboarding being used on captured terrorists as early as 2002.  According to accounts, she not only failed to raise an objection, but, along with a bipartisan group of Members, asked if Congress could do more to support the efforts.  This has raised loud charges of hypocracy as Pelosi now decries the methods and has called for investigations of those in the Bush Administration who authorized them.  Today, she attempted to save face by saying it would have been improper to protest at the time.  

Dick Cheney continues in his role as defender of the Bush Administration and again on Sunday charged that not only did we gain invaluable intelligence by waterboarding terrorists, but that the practice perhaps saved hundreds of thousands of lives.  He went on to accuse President Obama of endangering the nation with his reversal of Bush policies, nevermind the release of detainee abuse photos which some believe could cost American lives.

As we discussed last week, public opinion on torture is quite mixed and depends greatly on how the question is framed.  There is even evidence that Obama's highlighting and banning of the practice has only made Americans more supportive of its use.

On a related note, Republicans are raising the volume on criticism of President Obama's hasty decision to close Guantanamo Bay before having any plan for dealing with the extremely dangerous terrorists who are there, still posing a great threat to our security.  The indications that many of the terrorist may be moved onto U.S. soil have certainly caused alarm on both sides of the aisle creating what the Wall Street Journal has described as a big mess.

From security concerns here to those abroad, Taliban militants are mounting a severe threat to Pakistan just as General David Petraeus says that Paskistan is now the headquarters of Al Qaeda.  This move by the Taliban is all the more alarming given that Pakistan is a nuclear armed nation, and the Taliban getting their hands on such weapons would be something close to a worst case scenario for the rest of the world.  In addition, the thread from Iran continues to grow as the nation dramatically increases the amount of low-enriched uranium produced through its continuing nuclear program.  As if that wasn't enough, the Chinese military is using the fruits of a strong economy for a U.S. focused buildup of military strength.

Our beloved "drive by media" has moved on from the Swine Flu story about as fast as it gripped the nation two weeks ago, but there is still cause for measured concern.  The flu continues to spread around the world as the U.S. reports 2,600 cases of the H1N1 virus and the WHO warns that up to 2 billion people may become infected worldwide.  At the same time, the WHO is defending itself against criticism that it raised alarm unnecessarily and is considering overhauling its alert system.  PG is fortunate to have gotten an excellent, indepth report on the flu from the other side of the world by Joe Christenbury who is studying viruses in Singapore.

Back home in the U.S., there are some encouraging signs on the economic front, at least that the worst of the recession is over.  Stocks rose on fewer than expected new jobless claims, but a weak treasury auction pushed back on the optimism.  Speaking of optimism, the Financial Times looked at how Americans' emotions may be what ultimately saves the economy.

Nothing has changed about Obama's spending binge as the red ink on our national balance sheet has reached a level, $1.8 trillion, four times the record.  Our government is currently borrowing a staggering 46 cents to every dollar it spends.  Meanwhile, the AP is taking Obama to task on some of his jobs and deficit claims of late.  Public sentiment on Obama's budget is souring as Americans recognize the long term implications of such irresponsible borrow and spend policies and that his superficial cuts, which some call a farce, will have virtually no impact on the deficit; see this graphic.  When aid from the federal government has become the top revenue source for states, something is terribly wrong.  In the corporate world, GM looks headed for bankruptcy (likely the best course of action to regain global competitiveness) as international investors fear the political risk of sending their money our way due to Obama's heavy hand in private enterprise.  Unfortunately for the President, more and more people now see this as Obama's economy.

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And now, the new staple of the PG blog, the GOP STRATEGY BOARD:

Chris Cillizza at The Fix has released a line of the top 10 Republican influencers making waves today.  The list, topped off by Mitt Romney, is a great look at the people who are shaping the direction of the party through its rebuilding process.  Larry Sabato at the Crystal Ball also handicaps the Republican field as it stands today.  Regardless of who emerges as the leader of the party and the nominee to take on Obama in 2012, it is critical that Republicans get a grip on the drubbing we took among the youth vote in this past election.  Unfortunately, as explained in this absolutely fascinating piece from the Crystal Ball, we cannot write off the youth numbers to Obama's personal appeal.  We must learn to communicate our values, which are in-fact more in line with this center-right nation, which does not want government in its living room, than the liberal policies of Obama's Democrats, in a way that attracts and inspires voters in the millenium generation.  The numbers on the question of Gay Marriage are quite telling as to the stark generational differences we are dealing with.  

Republicans should stand firm on our core, traditional values of limited government, individual freedom and responsibility, free enterprise and a strong national defense.  On the social issues such as abortion and gay marriage, which I do believe are very important, we should neither shy away from making our case nor hold them over people's heads as a litmus test for being a Republican.  Unfortunately, these issues are polarizing and unnecessarily alienate key constituencies who share our core principles.  This new approach would allow for more moderate Republicans such as Governor Jon Huntsman Jr. of Utah to be prominant voices for the Party, ones that can speak to youth and independents without turning off those who don't agree with us on every single issue.  There are not 51% of Americans who agree on the heightened number of issues that have come to exclusively define Republicans.  Therefore, the only way back to power is to refocus on the fundamentals of conservatism and welcome conservatives of all shapes and sizes into our tent.  I agree with Charlie Cook who says, "Republicans will likely one day get back into power. But the question is whether it will happen sooner, by attracting new people to their party, or later, when Democrats self-destruct and Republicans win simply because they aren't Democrats. While history would suggest the latter is inevitable, that could be a long way off."  

Republican recruiting is off to a positive start as we look towards 2010.  Unfortunately, Tom Ridge decided against challenging the newest Democrat, Arlen Specter, in Pennsylvania, but Charlie Crist is officially running in Florida and should be a very attractive GOP candidate in the Sunshine State.  In addition, Republicans have a real chance to grab one or both of the governor's mansions in Virginia and New Jersey this coming November.  In my home state of North Carolina, Senator Richard Burr has his first official challenger, a black, Harvard educated lawyer from Durham.  The big question is whether or not the popular Attorney General Roy Cooper will jump into the race.

I'm not the only one with an opinion on the rebuilding of the Republican Party.  Daniel Henninger wonders if the GOP should really forget Reagan, David Brooks writes about the long voyage home and Dick Morris encourages Republicans to stick to their guns.

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In case you haven't had enough yet, here are several more news stories worth checking out...

-Obama delivered some funny zingers at the annual White House Correspondents' Dinner but not without controversy.  While Obama is good at making fun of himself, comedians have found it more difficult.

-Senator Specter has followed his defection with what looks like a political deathwish complete with numerous gaffes that may have cost him any seniority among his new friends.  Charlie Cook expects Specter to be nothing more than a loyal Spectocrat.

-Slate has produced a very interesting model of the social network that is the U.S. Senate.  Check out Specter in the model and this ranking of the most partisan Members.

-British Prime Minister Gordon Brown is struggling on the other side of the pond with repeated embarrassments.

-A U.S. soldier opened fire at Camp Liberty in Iraq tragically killing five of our brave servicemen.

-Obama is more popular among Arabs than the United States at large.

-I followed the President to Ray's Hell Burger this week.  I have to say, he has great taste.

-A trolley collision in Boston occured due to the driver texting his girlfriend.

-Virgin is ready to lift off with space tourism.

-Our Sun is hinting at the next "Little Ice Age."

-ACORN workers in Nevada have been charged with illegally registering voters.

-Drug dealers in Mexico have taken to mocking President Obama.

-The face of our ancestors of 35,000 years ago has been modeled for the first time.

-North Carolina's Governor Beverly Purdue called a cameraman a pervert for expressing excitement at the thought of her getting undressed.  Audio is hilarious.

Finally, more opinions than you can shake a stick at...

-PG Blog Politics Contibutor, Frank Crocker, has written a piece on Obama's health care plan.  Mitt Romney penned a plan in Newsweek calling for fixing the health care system by unleashing markets, not government.  Kimberley Strassel of WSJ also offers a look at Republicans and Obamacare with a focus on the GOP plan being crafted by Senators Burr and Coburn.

-The Wall Street Journal weighed in on a number of issues this week with Succeeding Souter, Obama's Global Tax Raid, Voting Rights Milestone and We Can't Subsidize the Banks Forever.

-Karl Rove addresses how Republicans should approach Obama's Supreme Court nominee.

-Keith Hennessey, former White House economic advisor, explains the President's international tax proposal.

-Dick Morris discusses how "Obama's Socialism" works.

-David Limbaugh writes about Obama's propaganda campaign to make extreme liberalism mainstream and tells Capitalists to be very afraid.

-Michael Gerson takes an interesting look at religion in American today.

-David Brooks tells the inspiring story of a "Harlem miracle" in education.

-Charles Krauthammer illuminates the Hamas peace gambit.

-Former U.S. Ambassador to the UN, John Bolton, warns of Obama's prosecutions of Bush officials by proxy.

-The Washington Post looks at Obama's evolving position on D.C. school vouchers.

-E.J. Dionne Jr. explains why Obama is taking his time on immigration reform.

-James Carafano of the Heritage Foundation reveals the stealth ways Democrats are attempting to institute the Fairness Doctrine.

-Charlie Cook looks forward to Obama's midterm exam.

-Manny Lopez with The Detroit News writes on Obama's flawed auto logic.

-Amity Shaels, author of the recent bestseller The Forgotten Man, says that Obama Democrats are accenting bullying over governing.

That's all for this week, not enough, I know.  Please share your thoughts in comments!