Admiral Blair buys into the Blogger Lobby explanation for Chas Freeman’s downfall. Really, did he learn nothing from the episode, even after the paranoid parting missive from Freeman? I suppose no one has yet informed him that Freeman signed a petition in favor of immediate withdrawal from Afghanistan.
Michael O’Hanlon offers some constructive criticism and gives a “B+” to Obama’s Afghanistan policy.
Let me get this straight: the losing 2008 GOP candidate’s preferences for the next race three and a half years from now is news? Puleez.
On a more relevant topic, John McCain does effectively rebut the charge that the GOP is only saying “no”: “Well, we did have an alternative to the stimulus package, we had an alternative to–on the omnibus bill. We will have an alternative budget. And so the–I, I understand the White House saying that. But the White House, in order to have legitimacy to that charge, has got to give me one example where on a major issue we’ve sat across a table negotiating, each putting forth their proposals and reaching a compromise. As far as I can tell, on any domestic issue that hasn’t happened.”
An interesting take on the New Jersey gubernatorial race: “In the gubernatorial campaign of 2005, Jon Corzine’s Wall Street background was, in figurative terms, an eagle for him, enabling him to fly above the crowd of potential rivals for the governorship. Four years later, in 2009, his Wall Street background has been transformed by negative events from an eagle into an albatross, which, together with other factors, are literally sinking his reelection campaign.” Corzine’s been trying to spin tales of “his past civil wars within Goldman-Sachs with Hank Paulson.” Good luck with that.
Victoria Toensing warns the corporate titans: “Welcome AIG, Citicorp, GM and other stimulees to the financial controls of the stimulator, the federal government. But wait, it is now not just the recipients of Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) money and other taxpayer funds who are to be regulated. According to ‘sources,’ the White House is considering salary controls for ‘all financial institutions’ and ‘publicly traded companies,’ not just those receiving ‘federal bailout money.'”
President Obama’s comments on Iraq could have been delivered by President Bush: “I think the plan that we put forward in Iraq is the right one, which is let’s– have a very gradual withdrawal schedule through the national elections in Iraq. There’s still work to be done on the political side– to resolve differences between the various sectarian groups around issues like oil– around issues like provincial elections.”
Bill Sammon on the administration’s uber-regulatory schemes: “I think conservatives are rightly concerned that Obama is using this as a pretext for a wide power grab. Never waste a good crisis seems to be the motto of this administration. And I think the fear is that, A, you can’t — I think conservatives feel they can’t trust this administration to grab that much governmental authority, where you’re regulating not just banks but insurance companies, and hedge funds and a whole host of financial institutions. And B, and perhaps more importantly, can you trust future administrations to do this? Who knows who’s going to be in power in the future? And you’re going to give this broad authority that you’ll never get back.”
How long before the stock market regains all its lost ground? “No one really knows, but that is likely the wrong question. More important to investors than the date we hit bottom is how long the recovery will take. How long will it take for investors to recoup the losses they suffered since October 2007, when the S&P 500 index reached a record high of 1565? Here’s a clue: It will take longer than you think.” Uh oh.
