As I suspected, the Clint Eastwood “Halftime in America” commercial for Chrysler that aired during last night’s Super Bowl turned out to be quite controversial. This AP article discusses some of the reaction to the ad from various points on the political spectrum and quotes Eastwood as saying the ad was not intended to be [...]
Posts Tagged ‘President Obama’
Halftime In America? (II)
Posted in America, Politics, TV, tagged America, Chrysler, Clint Eastwood, Detroit, Politics, President Obama, TV on February 6, 2012 | 2 Comments »
A Glimmer On The Horizon
Posted in America, Politics, The Economy, tagged America, Jobs, Politics, President Obama, Republicans, The Economy, Unemployment on February 4, 2012 | 1 Comment »
Yesterday’s unemployment report contained some good news, for a change. The Bureau of Labor Statistics released data stating that 243,000 new jobs were created, and the unemployment rate fell to 8.3 percent. Both results are better than what economists and analysts — who never seem to be right — were expecting. There are some curious [...]
The President And The Governor
Posted in Politics, tagged Arizona, High School, Jan Brewer, Politicians, Politics, President Obama on January 29, 2012 | 2 Comments »
When I read the political news, I often feel like I’m in high school again. That was my reaction when I read the story this week about an apparently testy exchange between President Obama and Arizona Governor Jan Brewer on an airport tarmac. President Obama, fresh from his State of the Union speech, flew to [...]
Tuning Out
Posted in America, Politics, The Economy, TV, tagged America, Politics, President Obama, recession, State Of The Union speech, The Economy, TV, Unemployment on January 26, 2012 | 1 Comment »
I didn’t watch the President’s State of the Union speech earlier this week. It turns out I’m not alone. According to the New York Times, 37.8 million viewers watched the President’s speech. That’s down from 42.8 million in 2011, 48 million in 2010, and 52.3 million for the President’s 2009 speech to Congress. In short, [...]
The Race Rolls On, And The Big Issues Linger
Posted in America, Politics, tagged 2012 Republican presidential race, America, Budget Deficit, Federal Debt, Florida, Iowa, Mitt Romney, National Debt, New Hampshire, Newt Gingrich, Politics, President Obama, Republican Presidential Candidates, Rick Santorum, Ron Paul, South Carolina on January 23, 2012 | 1 Comment »
The Republican presidential primaries, already seemingly endless, roll on. With Newt Gingrich’s big win in South Carolina, the race is in disarray. Gingrich is on the rise, Mitt Romney’s shield of inevitability has been dented, and Ron Paul and Rick Santorum are hanging on. The focus now moves to Florida. As has come to be [...]
The President As Pitchman
Posted in America, Politics, The Economy, World, tagged America, Disney World, Politics, President Obama, The Economy, Tourism, We Can't Wait, World on January 21, 2012 | Leave a Comment »
Last week President Obama went down to Disney World to tout tourism in America and got his picture taken with the Disney castle in the background. The trip was part of the President’s “We Can’t Wait” campaign, in which he does things by himself that are supposed to promote job growth and show that we [...]
Making Hard Budget Choices: Time To Finish Head Start
Posted in America, Politics, tagged America, Great Society, Head Start, Lyndon Johnson, Making Hard Budget Choices, Politics, President Obama on January 20, 2012 | Leave a Comment »
There may be no federal program that was begun with better intentions than Head Start. It was a key part of Lyndon Johnson’s Great Society initiatives and had an ambitious social engineering goal: to help impoverished kids better prepare themselves for school and a useful life by providing them with preschool. It is now 45 [...]
The Keystone Pipeline And Lilliput
Posted in America, Entertainment, Environment, Politics, Reflections, tagged America, Democrats, Energy, Environment, Environmentalists, Gulliver, Jobs, Keystone Pipeline, Labor Unions, Lilliput, Middle East, Oil, President Obama, Republicans on January 18, 2012 | 1 Comment »
Today President Obama rejected a proposal to build the Keystone Pipeline. It is one of those decisions, I think, that carries a deeper message about our country, its leaders, and where we are headed. The proposed pipeline would run 1,700 miles, carrying oil from Canada to the Gulf of Mexico. It was opposed by environmentalists, [...]
Our Do-Nothing Congress
Posted in America, Politics, tagged 2012 Presidential Election, America, Congress, Politics, President Obama, United States House of Representatives, United States Senate on January 16, 2012 | Leave a Comment »
President Obama has indicated that his 2012 re-election campaign will focus on a “do-nothing” Congress. Now a Washington Times analysis finds that 2011 was, in fact, one of the most inactive congressional years ever. Congress passed only 80 bills — the fewest since 1947, when such records first began being kept — and many of [...]
The President’s Curious, Overcooked Metaphors
Posted in Politics, The Economy, America, tagged Politics, America, Unemployment, President Obama, 2012 Presidential Election, 60 minutes, The Economy, Public Speaking, Ships, Ship Captains on December 31, 2011 | 1 Comment »
Although he has a reputation as a fine public speaker, President Obama often struggles to make his point and move on. At times, he seems to get trapped within expanding metaphors, fighting without success to make his way out. I first noticed this after he was elected, when he sought to explain why he wouldn’t [...]
About That $10,000 Bet . . . .
Posted in America, Politics, tagged 2012 Presidential Election, America, Mitt Romney, News, Politics, President Obama, Republican Presidential Debate, Rick Perry on December 13, 2011 | 1 Comment »
I’ll say it up front — I didn’t watch the Republican candidates’ debate Saturday night. (Seriously, a debate on Saturday night? Are they consciously trying to make Republicans seem lonely and pathetic?) Yesterday, it was obvious that the media thought the big story from the debate was that Mitt Romney bet Rick Perry $10,000 about [...]
Out Of Iraq, And Holding Our Breath
Posted in America, World, tagged America, Iran, Iraq, Nouri Maliki, President Obama, World on December 12, 2011 | Leave a Comment »
Today President Obama met Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri Maliki to commemorate the withdrawal of American troops from Iraq. By the end of this month, all troops will be gone, leaving Iraq as an ally that will have to fend for itself in one of the world’s most volatile regions, with Iran as its neighbor. At [...]
A Costly Solar Flame-Out (V)
Posted in Politics, tagged Department of Labor, Politics, President Obama, Solyndra, Trade Adjustment Assistance on November 22, 2011 | 1 Comment »
The latest development in the infuriating Solyndra saga is that the Labor Department has approved “Trade Adjustment Assistance” for the 1,100 ex-employees of Solyndra. The TAA program provides aid to workers who supposedly lost their jobs due to the trade practices of foreign countries. The available assistance includes job retraining, job search allowances, health benefits, [...]
Giving Thanks For Our Political Leaders
Posted in America, Humor, Politics, tagged America, Debt Supercommittee, Democrats, Federal Debt, Greece, Humor, Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction, News, Politics, President Obama, Republicans, stock market, Thanksgiving on November 22, 2011 | 3 Comments »
This Thanksgiving week, I’d like to give special thanks for our political leaders. At this time of national challenge, we are blessed with a political class whose spirit of self-sacrifice, personal courage, and intestinal fortitude compare favorably to those of our Pilgrim Fathers and the Signers of the Declaration of Independence. I’m thankful for politicians [...]
Up To The Supremes
Posted in America, Healthcare Reform, Politics, tagged America, Health Care Reform, law, President Obama, United States Supreme Court on November 14, 2011 | 1 Comment »
The U.S. Supreme Court has decided to accept one of the appeals addressing President Obama’s health care statute, and thereby has set the stage for one of the most anticipated legal rulings in years. In its order accepting the case, the Supreme Court identified four issues for the parties to brief and set aside five-and-a-half [...]
