NEW TONE? PAUL KRUGMAN WONDERS
IF GOP ARE 'MANCHURIAN CANDIDATES'
WHO WANT TO 'BRING DOWN AMERICA'
May 18, 2012 (Mediaite)

Mediaite can't get out of the lede-box without a snort.

On Friday’s Live With Martin Bashir, New York Times economic columnist and Nobel Laureate Paul Krugman added new dimensions to the art of hyperbolic overstatement when he wondered aloud whether the GOP in Congress wholly consisted of moles attempting to "bring down America" from within.

"Hyperbolic overstatement", that would be hyperbole². Messrs. Bashir and Krugman on camera together, that would be stupid².

When asked by Bashir if House Majority Leader Rep. John Boehner was working to “further undermine America’s standing” in his efforts to insist that the debt ceiling not be raised again without accompanying spending cuts, Krugman agreed and said "Sometimes you do wonder if these guys are moles – Manchurian Candidates – for I don’t know who."

A mole* and a Manchurian Candidate are two very different things. A mole is a spy trained to infiltrate an organization, secure its trust, and raid its secrets. A Manchurian Candidate is an unwitting brainwashed automaton with a psychic trigger to execute a programmed plan, most famously, an assassination. But when intellectual dishonesty is the weapon of choice, imprecision is the least of complaints.

"If their real job is to bring down America," said Krugman. "Because they really are doing the best they can."

"What [Republicans] will do is threaten to destroy the economy unless they get what they want," said Krugman.

Because in politics, the only decent, the only patriotic choice is whatever Mr. Krugman happens to want at airtime or on deadline. To choose differently is to destroy America. Representative government means nothing compared to the fine ideas of Mr. Krugman.

It has been said repeatedly, but only because it so often bears repeating, that it was Krugman who took to his blog in the New York Times hours after Rep. Gabrielle Giffords was shot through the head by an extremist to blame the episode on Republican Congressional Representatives-elect and former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin’s innocuous map. This is also a famed opinion leader who called the Bush White House "evil and stupid".

"Evil and stupid" the trademark cake-and-eat-it-too liberal smear, as the link above explains.

We wouldn't go so far as saying that left-liberal-progressive movers are wholly stupid. Some are not stupid at all or not all-stupid, but choose to act stupid for effect or advantage. What at first blush appears to be stupidity, in fact is dishonesty. Mr. Krugman is not wholly stupid yet he advances a wholly stupid supposition to shock but not engage, because engagement -- an actual examination of the evidence behind the claim -- immediately exposes the imbecility of his supposition. Mr. Krugman knows this but makes the supposition anyway to stoke the fears -- not excite the critical judgment -- of those who only listen to the likes of Bashir & Krugman & co. That is dishonest. But it is a special kind of dishonest, it is intellectually dishonest.

Mr. Krugman fancies himself a smarty, yet makes an ad hominem argument against Republicans any schoolboy can slap down. Why? We imagine there are several reasons.

Foremost, the left listens only to itself, and then only to what is doctrinaire. This crowds out deviant opinion, which in turn encourages intellectual puny-ism, the phenomenon of college-credentialed people with low intellectual horizons and feeble intellectual skills. The left often styles itself and its low intellects as the "intellectual elite". These elites are not shy about thinking themselves smarter than you, gentle prole. Just don't ask them to prove it.

Another reason is winning argumentation is hard. A winning argument needs to conform to the available facts (requiring their acquaintance), the whole needs to have a logical hang, its defenses must anticipate and be better than its critics' assaults, and the presentation must be persuasive. So much easier to calumniate. Ask Mr. Krugman.

Finally, stupid is the received state of contemporary left discourse. And the discoursers are legion. To carve out a little space in the media sweeps, lefty pundits, columnists, commentators, and politicians assert louder and more bizarre claims so as to be heard above and stand apart from the cacophony of bizarre lefty claims. Works like a charm, as you see Mr. Krugman's big stupid has drawn us out.

CHOPE.

Big stupid today. Big stupid everyday.

------------------------------------
* Not to be confused with these good guys in Mao tunics.

By the way, one thing I do resent, I resent when they talk about families like mine, when I grew up in. I resent the fact that they think we're talking about, we're envy, it's job envy, it's wealth envy. That we don't dream. [Yelling.] My mother and father believed that if I wanted to be President of the United States I could be, I could be Vice President.* My mother and father believed that if my brother or sister wanted to be a millionaire, they could be a millionaire. My mother and father dreamed as much as any rich guy dreams. They don't get us, they don't get who we are. They don't understand, it seems to me. They're not bad, they just don't get it.

Joe "Marie Antoinette" Biden,
inventing offenses that Republicans must answer for
YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio May 16, 2012 (Examiner/YouTube)

Mr. Biden of course does get it. He gets the whole middle-class thing: the big dream; modest beginnings, hard work, gumption, upward to riches; the charitable heart. We know because he keeps telling us.

Here is Mr. Biden dreaming big in Claremont, NH on April 3, 1987:

The [C-SPAN] tape, which was made available by C-SPAN in response to a reporter's request, showed a testy exchange in response to a question about his law school record from a man identified only as "Frank". Mr. Biden looked at his questioner and said: "I think I have a much higher I.Q. than you do."

He then went on to say that he "went to law school on a full academic scholarship - the only one in my class to have a full academic scholarship," Mr. Biden said. He also said that he "ended up in the top half" of his class and won a prize in an international moot court competition. In college, Mr. Biden said in the appearance, he was "the outstanding student in the political science department" and "graduated with three degrees from college".

In his statement today, Mr. Biden, who attended the Syracuse College of Law and graduated 76th in a class of 85 [i.e., the bottom quintile], acknowledged: "I did not graduate in the top half of my class at law school and my recollection of this was inaccurate."

As for receiving three degrees, Mr. Biden said: "I graduated from the University of Delaware with a double major in history and political science. My reference to degrees at the Claremont event was intended to refer to these majors - I said 'three' and should have said 'two'." Mr. Biden received a single B.A. in history and political science.

... Mr. Biden acknowledged that in the testy exchange in New Hampshire, he had lost his temper. "I exaggerate when I'm angry," Mr. Biden said, "but I've never gone around telling people things that aren't true about me." Mr. Biden's questioner had made the query in a mild tone, but provoked an explosive response from Mr. Biden.

This after admitting to telling several falsehoods to the NH gathering. Here is Mr. Biden on Meet The Press, September 7, 2008, "telling people things that aren't true about me" on national television (he takes personal credit for the success of Mr. Bush's surge that he ["I just think it's the absolute wrong strategy."] -- and Mr. Obama -- opposed). Here he is again, this time on CNN, April 7, 2009, bragging on a fictive put-down of Mr. Bush:

I remember President Bush saying to me one time in the Oval Office, and he was a great guy, enjoyed being with him. He said to me, he said, 'Well, Joe,' he said, 'I'm a leader.' And I said, 'Mr. President, turn around and look behind you. No one's following.' People are beginning to follow the United States again as a consequence of our administration.

Ahhh, yeah.

Dreaming -- middle-class aspirations -- are not the same thing as lying and bragging your way up the ladder. Maybe Mr. Biden does better with the charitable heart of the middle class, that big giving heart to help the less fortunate neighbor.

[Paul K. Piff, a Ph.D. candidate in social psychology at the University of California, Berkeley] has made a specialty of studying those cultures in his lab at the Institute of Personality and Social Research, most recently in a series of experiments that tested "lower class" and "upper class" subjects (with earnings ranging from around $15,000 to more than $150,000 a year) to see what kind of psychological factors motivated the well-known differences in their giving behaviors. His study...found that lower-income people were more generous, charitable, trusting and helpful to others than were those with more wealth. They were more attuned to the needs of others and more committed generally to the values of egalitarianism. ... Empathy and compassion appeared to be the key ingredients in the greater generosity of those with lower incomes. And these two traits proved to be in increasingly short supply as people moved up the income spectrum.

This one's easy. We should find Mr. Biden with the charitable lower-income empaths and Mr. Romney among the stingy self-absorbed rich.

CANDIDATE ROMNEY MORE GENEROUS
THAN OBAMA, BIDEN

January 24, 2012 (WaEx) - Mitt Romney's 2010 tax return was released today, revealing made $2.98 million in charitable donations, out of his adjusted gross income of $21.6 million. That comes to about 14 percent of his adjusted gross income for the year.

Compare that to when Obama first ran for president in 2008. He released his 2006 tax return, which showed $60,307 in charitable donations out of an adjusted gross income of $983,826. That comes to 6.1 percent of his gross adjusted income two years before he ran for president.

Obama is overwhelmingly generous compared to Vice President Joe Biden's charitable donations in 2006.

According to Biden's 2006 tax return, the couple gave $380 dollars to charity out of his $248,459 adjusted gross income; a percentage of 0.15.

... The Bidens, however, gave 1.4 percent of their adjusted gross income to charity in 2010.

OK. So maybe what Mr. Biden gets is the daily grind. He's a retail politicker who enjoys mixing with the hardworking middle class.

BIDEN 'INSISTS ON PAYING FOR THE FOOD',
BUT 'AIDE' PICKS UP CHECK
WASHINGTON, Pennsylvania May 17, 2010 (TWS)

We are certain that the aide wasn't stuck with the bill, but paid for Mr. Biden to be reimbursed later. Then again not quite the common touch after making a show of insisting -- and the report markedly presents Mr. Biden "insisting" on personally putting hand to wallet. Here is another episode of Mr. Biden one-on-one with the hardworking middle class (item two).

There is no evidence that Mr. Biden gets what Republicans don't. There is only Mr. Biden's claim of getting it -- whatever it is at this point. And that claim, dear prole, is not worth the bluster expended.

CHOPE.

Faking it.
------------------------------------
* The Examiner transcript has been considerably tidied up. It reads, for example:

But as hard as Mr. Biden dreams, his only shot at the presidency is surviving Mr. Obama in office. We join the millions of Americans who daily pray that Mr. Obama be kept whole and safe.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

UPDATE 05.19.12: It seems Mr. Biden is apoplexed in a lost cause. Campaign Barry abandons the white middle class vote. They can't get it because they don't "get it". Sort of spoils Mr. Biden's podium paroxysms. Bummer.

WHITE HOUSE APPENDS OBAMA POLICIES
TO ONLINE PRESIDENTIAL BIOGRAPHIES

May 15, 2012 (NYT) - Rory Cooper was searching for a detail about Calvin Coolidge [on the White House Web site], when he stumbled upon something unusual — a footnote likening Coolidge’s first public radio address to Mr. Obama’s use of technology in social media to engage the public.

"I thought it was funny," said Mr. Cooper, a spokesman for the Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank, of his initial reaction in an interview on Tuesday. But his amusement faded when he found similar references tacked on to the biographies of Ronald Reagan and Lyndon B. Johnson.

He posted his observation in a message on Twitter, and it was quickly picked up by conservatives, who used the hashtag #ObamaInHistory to mock the White House for plugging its policies on the biography pages of every president since Coolidge, except Gerald R. Ford.

The White House added the footnotes on Monday in a section titled, "Did You Know?" under the official biographies, which were written by the historian Michael Beschloss and the journalist Hugh Sidey. A White House official who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss internal operations told The New York Times and other news outlets on Tuesday that no biographies had been altered, and emphasized that the White House was simply adopting a promotion technique widely used on the Web.

"A promotion technique widely used on the Web". The mysterious WH official seems oblivious to the offense being "promotion" not "technique".

Mr. Cooper said the footnotes would not have passed muster during the administration of George W. Bush, for whom he worked for seven years because policy promotion was kept "completely separate from the historical narrative of the Office of the President."

We begin by noting there is no evidence Mr. Obama personally directed his staff to vandalize the presidential biographies. Bravo, Mr. President! That said, where did this brilliant idea originate? It was not a small project, involving as it did writing Obama brags to shoehorn into twelve presidential biographies. The brags must've been reviewed, by whom? Someone must've given approval to publish, how high up was the gatekeeper? Nothing set off alarm bells among the minions that grabbing unearned greatness-by-association might be unseemly?

What this does suggest is the prevalence of clueless arrogance at the White House.

White House website still hosting deceptive and dishonest presidential bios. Reagan's accurate bio must be restored.

— Rory Cooper (@rorycooper) May 17, 2012

Why stop with Coolidge? Why no brag kited to George Washington?

From the official WH George Washington biography:

He realized early that the best strategy was to harass the British.

Obama WH "Did You Know?" strap-on brag:

After lavished with unique gifts (an ornamental pen holder made from the timbers of the Victorian anti-slave ship HMS Gannet) from visiting PM Gordon Brown, Mr. Obama reciprocated on the cheap with a set of 25 DVDs. To spike the slight, the DVDs were not formatted for Euro-region players. Earlier Mr. Obama pled being pooped and passed on the customary diplomatic niceties when receiving Mr. Brown. Later in his presidency, Mr. Obama relocated the Falkland Islands to the Indian Ocean to further annoy the Brits.

From the official WH Rutherford B. Hayes* biography:

To the delight of the Woman's Christian Temperance Union, Lucy Webb Hayes carried out her husband's orders to banish wines and liquors from the White House.

Obama WH "Did You Know?" strap-on brag:

On December 13, 2010 Mrs. Obama celebrated her husband's signing of the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010 (Pub.L. 111-296). She applauded the federal government's rightful oversight of what children can eat, declaring: "We can’t just leave it up to the parents." Least you think Mrs. Obama's anti-obesity and healthier eating campaigns are all about "complete, utter deprivation", she sets an example of balance by scarfing down 1,700 calories of fast food now and again and again.

And why skip Jerry Ford? From the official WH Gerald R. Ford biography:

As President, Ford tried to calm earlier controversies by granting former President Nixon a full pardon.

Obama WH "Did You Know?" strap-on brag:

On January 20, 2001, hours before leaving office, President Clinton granted a presidential pardon to Marc Rich, an international commodities trader and entrepreneur indicted for tax evasion and illegal oil deals with Iran during the Iran hostage crisis. Mr. Clinton granted the pardon on the recommendation of Eric Holder, who advised Mr. Rich to circumvent standard procedures by submitting his petition directly to the White House. Mr. Holder is the current USAG serving in Mr. Obama's administration.

#Obamainhistory Washington could not tell a lie, Nixon could not tell the truth, Obama can't tell the difference

— David Burge (@iowahawkblog) May 15, 2012

CHOPE.

Making history. And making up history.

------------------------------------
* More Rutherford B. Hayes fun (and this) from Quikmeme:

NON-INSERTIONIST

YOURS FOR $22.50!*
No Refunds. No Returns.

The mug is a fitting emblem for the Obama administration. It's ugly. It's junk. It's expensive. And the sales page offers no material description of the merchandise.

There is -- or was once -- a certain dignity attaching to high office. Even the office of the vice presidency. Even a vice presidency held by Joe Biden. Mr. Obama and Mr. Biden stoop to lend their names and the prestige of their offices to personally push endless e-begs, raffles, tchotchkes, swag, and cheap merchandise for political donations. These personal begs to enter contests and buy junk for donations are below the dignity of the two highest offices in the land.

We are not naïfs. We do not pretend power is detached from money or that it can be or that it should be.

Power thrives when it abides by the rules and where it is not resisted. It is not resisted when it benefits the governed. It benefits the governed by designing and executing successful policy. Successful policy is the product of good ideas. Good ideas promote prosperity. The final component in the procession of power is the reaping of prosperity -- abundant monies to crowd out the opposition and influence opinion. Not exactly how it is taught in civics class, but this is how legitimate power advances. [Pause.] Mr. Obama's power is not thriving. His brand is failing. Lacking in all departments, Money Team Barry hopes to overwhelm flimflams, resistance, deletery, junk policy, bad ideas, improsperity, and salvage its power with -- money. Lots of money. Oodles. Oodles of boodle. Of course reaping improsperity is a very hard row to hoe. Very hard.

Still, if Mr. Obama is to be re-elected he has no other recourse but money. He won't, he can't, run on his dismal record. The more his brand fails, the more money he needs to compensate. In the desperate drive for more and more money, Money Team Barry debases America's two highest offices to sell, well, just about anything, anything remotely connected to Messrs. Obama and Biden.

Crummy in-your-name Christmas gift donations:

OBAMA HAS THE PERFECT HOLIDAY GIFT IDEA...
A CAMPAIGN DONATION TO HIMSELF!
BLOG December 13, 2011 (Weasel Zipper)

Bracket picks:

TEAM OBAMA CHARGING $3 TO COMPETE AGAINST
PRESIDENT’S NCAA MARCH MADNESS BRACKET
BLOG March 12, 2012 (Weasel Zipper)

Film credits:

OBAMA SELLING FILM CREDITS FOR
PROPAGANDA FLICK "ROAD WE'VE TRAVELED" FOR $3
BLOG March 27, 2012 (Weasel Zipper)

Celebrity schmoozes:

From: "Julianna Smoot, BarackObama.com" Sent: Thursday, April 26, 2012 9:44 AM Subject: You know you want to

[Your Name Personalized Here] —

Spend an evening with President Obama and George Clooney, all while helping build this campaign?

You know you want to.

Donate $3 or whatever you can today and be automatically entered to join the President at George Clooney’s house in Los Angeles (airfare and hotel are covered):

https://donate.barackobama.com/Obama-and-Clooney

The deadline’s coming up on Monday — make sure you don’t miss out.

— Julianna

Julianna Smoot
Deputy Campaign Manager
Obama for America

Backstage passes:

This campaign is about to change—be there when it does. Enter Backstage with Barack: OFA.BO/MiK9fh

— Barack Obama (@BarackObama) April 28, 2012

Mother's Day shout-outs:

Get 5 donations on your grassroots fundraising page, and your mom could get a Mother’s Day shout-out: OFA.BO/UGwhd8 #Obama2012

— Barack Obama (@BarackObama) May 8, 2012

Obama & co. may not know how to run the presidency, but they have a genius for commodifying it.

CHOPE.

Clearance sale November 7, 2012.

------------------------------------
* That's up 12.5% from last year. Quick! Buy now before inflation strikes again!

CAN'T DRAW A CROWD, MR PRESIDENT?
OBAMA MAKES SPEECH IN COUPLE'S GARAGE...
AND EVEN THEY SAY THEY MIGHT NOT VOTE FOR HIM
RENO, Nevada May 12, 2012 (Daily Mail)

That's the small stuff. Surely Mr. Obama is still a big draw in the big venues, the staged rallies that turn out the base for show.

OBAMA PLEADS AT RALLY:
'I'M ASKING YOU TO KEEP BELIEVING IN ME'

COLUMBUS May 5, 2012 (ABC News) - The president routinely tells Democratic audiences that he knows it will be difficult to recapture the energy that powered him to the White House. He got a reminder of that struggle in Columbus: His rally drew 14,000 people to an arena that holds 18,300. And before he spoke, the Ohio State University newspaper The Lantern tweeted that ushers were asking people at the rally to move "in order for seats to look full for TV."

OK. [Pause.] The pollsters will have Mr. Obama's back. You can hide a lot of bad news in a cooked poll.

ROMNEY HAS SLIGHT EDGE OVER OBAMA

POLL May 14, 2012 (CBS News) - Presumptive Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney has a slight edge over President Obama in the race for the White House in the latest CBS News/New York Times poll.

According to the survey, conducted May 11-13, 46 percent of registered voters say they would vote for Romney, while 43 percent say they would opt for Mr. Obama. Romney's slight advantage remains within the poll's margin of error, which is plus or minus four percentage points.

... Sixty-two percent of registered voters cited the economy as the most important issue in the presidential election. ... Most Americans (67 percent) believe the economy is in bad shape, but respondents expressed the most optimism on that issue since January 2008 - months before the economic crisis was in full swing.

... Romney now leads the president among independents, while Mr. Obama has an advantage among moderates. Independents opted for Romney 43 percent to Mr. Obama's 36 percent, whereas moderates supported Mr. Obama 50 percent to Romney's 39 percent.

Romney took the lead among women voters, who supported the former Massachusetts governor 46 percent to Mr. Obama's 44 percent, which is within the poll's margin of error. In April,

USA TODAY/GALLUP POLL SHOWS VOTERS
MORE OPTIMISTIC ABOUT ECONOMY
UNDER ROMNEY THAN OBAMA

BLOG May 15, 2012 (Hot Air) - USA Today leads the analysis of its joint poll with Gallup on the news that people have become more optimistic on the economy, and that’s good news for Barack Obama. ... The key takeaway:

In the poll, 55% say the economy would get better over the next four years if Romney was elected, compared with 46% who say it would improve if Obama was re-elected. Twenty-seven percent say the economy would get worse in a Romney first term, compared with 37% who say that of an Obama second term.

Consider that with this nugget, and it’s starting to look like Republican momentum:

For the first time during this campaign cycle, the GOP has an advantage in congressional elections. By 50%-44%, those surveyed say they’re likely to vote for the Republican congressional candidate. The two parties were tied in the USA TODAY Poll in February, and Democrats had a 7-point advantage last August.

NATIONAL MOOD A DRAG ON OBAMA'S RE-ELECTION PROSPECTS

PRINCETON May 16, 2012 (Gallup) - According to Gallup polling in early May, Obama's approval rating is below 50%, Americans' satisfaction with the direction of the country is barely above 20%, and the economy remains a dominant concern.

... Perhaps the broadest indicator of the public's mood comes from Gallup's satisfaction measure, which asks Americans if they are satisfied or dissatisfied with "the way things are going in the United States at this time." The 24% of Americans currently satisfied is most similar to the 20% recorded in May 1992 during George H.W. Bush's first and only term.

What about Mr. Obama's record (which he seems to think an election irrelevancy)?

56% FAVOR REPEAL OF HEALTH CARE LAW

POLL May 14, 2012 (Rasmussen) - The majority of voters continue to support repeal of President Obama’s national health care law, and belief that repeal would be good for the economy has edged up to its highest level since late 2010.

The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that 56% of Likely U.S. Voters at least somewhat favor repeal of the health care law, while 37% are at least somewhat opposed. This includes 46% who Strongly Favor repeal of the measure versus 26% who Strongly Oppose it.

OK. What about his bold lead-from-behind-Joe-Biden gay marriage evolution?

MOST AMERICANS THINK OBAMA'S GAY-MARRIAGE
ENDORSEMENT WAS POLITICALLY MOTIVATED

POLL May 14, 2012 (Politico) - More than two thirds of Americans believe President Obama's public endorsement of gay marriage was motivated by politics, according to a new CBS News/New York Times poll.

A total of 67 percent overall said it was a political maneuver. That includes 86 percent of Republicans, and -- more importantly -- 70 percent of independents.

Only 24 percent said they thought he did it "because he thought it was the right thing to do."

ONE IN FOUR LESS LIKELY TO BACK
OBAMA OVER SAME-SEX MARRIAGE
POLL May 14, 2012 (CBS News)

Mr. Obama must be plenty worried about his prospects in November. No. Not really.

OBAMA: 'I’M NOT WORRIED'
President Rubs Shoulders With Celebrities,
Bashes Republicans At NYC Fundraiser

May 14, 2012 (WFB) - President Obama declared “I’m not worried” about reelection before an audience of well-heeled campaign donors in New York City today, according to White House pool reports.

"Their message will be, 'You're upset, you’re unsatisfied. It’s Obama’s fault.' But I’m not worried. The reason I’m not worried is because of you," Obama said.

Because of you. You and your big money. [Pause.] But someone on Campaign Barry is pretty worried. [Hat tip: Hot Air]

CELL PHONE BAN KEEPS
OBAMA FUNDRAISERS SECRET

May 14, 2012 (BF) - In the latest attempt to crack down on potentially embarrassing digital leaks from presidential fundraisers, President Barack Obama's campaign has begun asking donors attending small fundraisers with the president to turn over their cell phones before entering.

... An Obama aide called the move it "standard operating procedure," but veterans of a range of other campaigns said they'd never heard of the practice, which is common in secure White House spaces where there are concerns of espionage, but unknown in contexts in which only political secrets are discussed.

... Former aides to presidential candidates Hillary Clinton, Rick Perry, and Jon Huntsman all expressed surprise at the practice, and they've never seen an instance where a campaign asked donors to surrender their cell phones.

The former Clinton aide called the Obama policy "absurd," suggesting that the Obama policy is almost certainly a response to the infamous 2008 fundraiser where Obama described voters in rural Pennsylvania as "bitter".

... "What is he hiding? Candidates should be for and against the same issue in private as they are in public," said former Perry campaign manager Rob Johnson. "This shows just how uncomfortable the Obama team is with their message and their candidate. And in addition to religion and guns, voters like to cling to their cell phones."

A spokesman for the Secret Service confirmed that the ban was not put in place at their request.

Let's keep this stuff off YouTube. And the embarrassing suck-ups. And those boomerang sucker punches. And that red meat is just for customers who pay for sirloin. What's said and done at fundraisers is just between Mr. Obama and your wallet.

Big money will get you in the door, but it won't buy you your 15 minutes of fame anymore. And no more cheapie cell phone new-best-friend photos.

CHOPE.

Fail momentum. Six months out.

Mr. Matthews is a self-professed liberal. It's better than even money that he thinks he is smarter than you. He thinks he is smarter than Sarah Palin. A whole lot smarter.

On at least four occasions, MSNBC's Chris Matthews mocked Sarah Palin for how he felt she'd do if she were ever on the hit television game show Jeopardy!

[O]n October 2, 2008, shortly before that evening's Vice Presidential debate, [Mr. Matthews] said of Palin:

Is this [vice presidential debate] about her brain power?... Do you think cute will beat brains?...Do you think she’d do better on the questions on Jeopardy! or the interview they do during a half-time?...My suspicion is that she has the same lack of intellectual curiosity that the President of the United States has right now and that is scary!

Then on January 12, 2010:

They find these empty vessels who know nothing about the world! Nothing about foreign policy! Who immediately begin to spout the neo-con line. I read her book — it’s full of that crap....It’s unbelievable how little this woman knows!...Don’t put her on Jeopardy!

And again on November 2, 2010:

Senator, do you think Sarah Palin is qualified to be President of the United States?...If she were on Jeopardy! right now and the topic was national government, American government generally defined, would she look like an imbecile, or would she look okay? Does she know anything?

And finally on January 19, 2011:

I’d like to see her on just a couple of episodes of Celebrity Jeopardy! or It’s Academic Mac McGarry to just see if she knows anything.

You see where this is going.

CHRIS MATTHEWS BOMBS ON 'JEOPARDY!'
AFTER REPEATEDLY MOCKING PALIN
FOR HOW SHE'D DO
By Noel Sheppard
May 15, 2012 (NewsBusters)

Mr. Sheppard recounts Mr. Matthews flub highlights leading up to this:

[W]hen Double Jeopardy! ended, Matthews had a whopping $4,600, almost $10,000 behind O'Leary and over $8,000 less than Gibbs.

As they all missed a very tough Final Jeopardy! question, the game concluded with Gibbs having $5,600, O'Leary $4,200, and Matthews pulling up the rear at only $2,300.

Supremely confident Brainiac running almost $10K behind the leader, bets only half his money in the Final Jeopardy! round. Had he answered correctly he would've finished with $6,900 knowing Ms. O'Leary could bet nothing and win (she had almost $14K, so betting nothing neither opponent could catch her by betting all and doubling their money). Sportingly she bet large. Chris Matthews bet small because he gave up on winning. Instead he bet on his opponents losing. Here is the blustery go-for-it-all Mr. Matthews on December 18, 2009:

Most of the elected, the vast majority of the elected liberals, want to go for the gold, grab what victory's attainable and build on it in the future. You know where I stand.

We may never know how Sarah Palin might fare on Jeopardy!, but we now know how Mr. Matthews fared. Loser.

CHOPE.

Loser. Sweet.

In our days of glory
Now centuries past
The kingdom of Islam
Stood mighty and vast
Then we failed our faith
And watched your power grow
But soon our greatness will return
And this is how we know

Because it's in the Koran
It's written in the Koran
A world united under Allah is
The future of man

And what a world it will be. It's gonna be great!

The Koran is our constitution, the Prophet is our leader, jihad is our path, and death in the name of Allah is our goal.

Mohamed Morsi,
presidential wannabe from the Muslim Brotherhood,
reintroducing the 7th century platform
CAIRO May 12, 2012 (ruvr.ru)

SALAFI MP ADVOCATES FEMALE CIRCUMCISION

May 14, 2012 (Egypt Independent) - Female circumcision is part of the prophetic Sunnah, said MP Nasser al-Shaker of the Salafi-led Nour Party, who previously proposed a bill that would allow the practice. ... Imam Mohamed Sayed Tantawi, Abdel Halim Mahmoud, former Islamic Research Academy member Sheikh Attiya Saqr and former Egyptian Mufti Nasr Farid Wasel — all prominent Egyptian religious figures, the first three of whom have died — had all authorized the practice, also known as female genital mutilation, Shaker said.

... The issue surfaced after some people accused the Muslim Brotherhood’s Freedom and Justice Party of launching a charity medical campaign last month in Minya, during which they had performed the practice on some girls.

FJP has denied the reports, and Hussein Ibrahim, head of the party’s parliamentary bloc, told the People’s Assembly Sunday that the party didn’t sponsor any such campaigns. ... Egypt officially banned female genital mutilation in 2007.

EGYPT’S BROTHERHOOD MOBILE FGM CONVOYS
CONDEMNED BY WOMEN’S GROUP

CAIRO May 14, 2012 (http://bikyamasr.com) - A number of Egyptian human rights groups have submitted a communication to the Attorney General Abdel Meguid Mahmoud against the Muslim Brotherhood`s political arm, the Freedom and Justice Party (FJP) to investigate the complaints of people in the village of Abu Aziz in the Minya governorate, south of Cairo, over the existence of a large medical convoy organized by the party that wanders streets and does medical examination on people, including female circumcision, or female genital mutilation, in violation of Egyptian law, conventions and treaties signed by Egypt.

In Egypt’s legal code, Female Genital Mutilation is criminalized, as well as the inciting by doctors to convince families of the young girls of the need to agree to circumcise their daughters, "as a matter of preserving chastity".

[Musical interlude.]

We're happy to torture
We're eager to rape
We savor your last screams
On videotape
We massacre children
We ransack a shrine
And all our acts are sanctified
By Suras 2 through 9

GLOSSY ENGLISH LANGUAGE GUIDE ON HOW TO JOIN
AL QAEDA AND COMMIT ACTS OF TERRORISM TARGETS
WESTERN RECRUITS BY TELLING THEM TO
'THINK OF THE VIRGINS THAT AWAIT YOU'

May 15, 2012 (Daily Mail) - The glossy 16-page guide includes rules that recruits must follow as well as recommendations on how to cope with the hardships and dangers of life as a jihad.

... The guide was written by Samir Khan, an American who served as the top propagandist for the Yemen-based branch of Al Qaeda, who was killed by US Hellfire missiles during a drone attack.

... Khan then goes on to offer advice on how to cope with the life of a jihad.

If you feel terrified close your eyes and imagine yourself inside paradise. Think of your hoor [ḥūr or ḥūrīyah (Arabic: حورية‎) = paradisiacal virgins] that are awaiting you as well as meeting the prophets.

[Big musical finale. The houri form a high-kicking chorus line.]

So don't look for mercy
When you're at our feet
The justice we'll give you
Is harsh and complete
We danced in delight
When your Twin Towers fell
And you'll weep with your slaughtered
As you burn with them in Hell

Because it's in the Koran
It's written in the Koran
Your fate was settled long before
This latest battle began

CHOPE.

Hurry the day!

FOR REAL. NEWSWEEK.
Lousy Photoshop Theirs, Not Ours

Mr. Paul is rebuked in solemn tones invoking respect and dignity. Newsweek editor Tina Brown makes the same joke and is celebrated.

TINA BROWN
EXPLAINS OBAMA
'GAYLO'

May 14, 2012 (Politico) - SIREN: President Barack Obama isn't actually gay.

But now that Tina Brown, Newsweek editor and grand dame of Manhattan publishing, has adorned him with the rainbow-colored "gaylo" and ordained him America's "first gay president", it hardly seems to matter. Ms. Brown via email:

If President Clinton was the ‘first black president’ then Obama earns every stripe in that 'gaylo' with last week’s gay marriage proclamation. ... Newsweek’s cover pays tribute to his newly ordained place in history.

It seems there are no authentic black* or gay presidential firsts in the minority sweeps.

[Pause.] Maybe you too are caught up in the hagiographic moment, awash in the hagiographic drool, sincerely admiring Mr. Obama's lead-from-behind** moxie. Or maybe you are just trying to boost your low-circulation magazine's newsstand sales with a stupid sensationalized cover.

Newsweek is also paying tribute to newsstand sales, of course. Brown's tenure at the helm of Newsweek has seen a string of controversial covers. ... Newsweek says newsstand sales have increased 30 percent, so maybe they're doing something right.

Mr. Obama's "gaylo" may sell magazines, but it may not buy votes. Let's begin on the day after Mr. Obama acquired his "gaylo".

BLACK VOTERS IN NC
SUPPORTED AMENDMENT ONE BY 2-1 MARGIN
By Ed Morrissey

BLOG May 10, 2012 (Hot Air) - If the President expects to get a boost at the ballot box over his flip-flop on same-sex marriage, the composition of North Carolina’s vote on Tuesday might indicate a big problem in his strategy. Obama came out publicly against Amendment One, which shifted the state’s ban on same-sex marriage from statute to constitutional amendment, and opponents railed against the loss as a victory for bigotry. However, that message might not sell well in the Tarheel State or in other swing states when black voters supported the constitutional ban by a 2-1 margin.

The DNC will be holding its gay-marriage-friendly convention in gay-marriage-unfriendly Charlotte, NC this September. Or -- maybe not.

AFRICAN-AMERICAN SOUTHERN BAPTIST
LEADER REBUKES OBAMA

May 10, 2012 (Baptist Standard) - [Dwight McKissic, pastor of Cornerstone Baptist Church in Arlington] who led the Southern Baptist Convention to adopt a resolution in 2009 applauding the election of Barack Obama as America’s first African-American president, termed the president’s May 9 endorsement of same-sex marriage a betrayal of the black church and an attack on the Christian faith.

AFRICAN-AMERICAN CHURCH LEADERS
CONDEMN OBAMA FOR GAY MARRIAGE SUPPORT
BALTIMORE May 13, 2012 (WJZ)

VULNERABLE DEMOCRATIC SENATORS BALK
AT OBAMA'S GAY MARRIAGE ENDORSEMENT

May 12, 2012 (The Hill) - Senate Democrats facing difficult reelections are breaking with President Obama’s endorsement of same-sex marriage, a sign the issue is politically dangerous in battleground states. Sens. Jon Tester (MN) and Claire McCaskill (MO), the two most vulnerable Democratic senators, have declined to endorse Obama’s call for the legalization of gay marriage.

Sens. Joe Manchin (WV), Bob Casey (PA) and Bill Nelson (FL), Democrats who have easier races but in states that could become more competitive by November, have also backed away from Obama’s stance. They all represent states with constitutional amendments or laws banning same-sex marriage.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) predicted Thursday the Democratic Party would adopt a pro-gay marriage plank in its platform.

Brilliant Harry Reid! Take gay marriage, an issue socially conservative Obama voters -- apparently they exist -- will want to forget, will probably have forgotten come September, and remind them just before the election! It-it's brilliant!

ONE IN FOUR
LESS LIKELY
TO BACK OBAMA OVER
SAME-SEX MARRIAGE
POLL May 14, 2012 (CBS News)

Mr. Obama's "gaylo" may not buy him any votes he didn't already have, may lose him votes he had, and may very well depress the black vote that, until last Wednesday, he had the luxury of taking for granted. On the bright side it will probably sell a lot of campaign "gaylo" swag.

CHOPE.

America's first non-gay gay president.

------------------------------------
* Bill Clinton was, of course, our first "black" president. Or so said black apologist, Toni Morrison, sentimentalizing racism, diminishing truth, and trashing white Republicans for her president:

** From behind Joe "Blabbermouth" Biden! The lowest form of moxie known to politics.

OOPS, PRESIDENT OBAMA FORGETS THE FIRST LADY

COLUMBUS May 5, 2012 (ABC News) - President Obama appears eager to hit the trail on his first “official” day of campaigning. Shortly after landing in Columbus, Ohio, for his first rally, Obama walked off Air Force One under gray skies, ready to descend the stairs and greet some grassroots supporters. But after a few short steps, the president quickly doubled back, apparently realizing he had forgotten someone: the first lady.

A few moments later, the president and Michelle Obama emerged together at the top of the stairs.

Don't forget to send the money. Something else, something, else. [Pause to think real hard.] Oh! Right! Remember to sign Mrs. Obama's e-card.

CHOPE.

Unforgettable, unless separated. Inseparable, unless forgotten.

Missing from yesterday's pull-quote from Dana Milbank's WaPo column was this:

Biden hadn’t planned to make news about same-sex marriage or to endorse a position on the issue. The gaffe-prone vice president had been relatively on message for months. But on Sunday, he referred to the likely Republican presidential nominee as "President Romney" and to his own boss as "President Clinton". And he inadvertently set off a frenzy on same-sex marriage, not because his position was surprising but because it made Obama’s look all the more absurd.

Mr. Biden refers to a Republican presidential candidate as a sitting president and confuses the sitting president with an ex-president. [Pause to ponder.] Why, that's how we size things up, too.

CHOPE.

Gaffes.

OBAMA: MICHELLE INFLUENCED
GAY MARRIAGE DECISION

May 9, 2012 (WaEx) - First Lady Michelle Obama contributed to the president making his long-delayed declaration of support for gay marriage, which he positioned as an outgrowth of his Christian faith.

That same Christian faith had only Tuesday been the obstacle to Mr. Obama's long-delayed declaration.

"This is something that, you know, we've talked about over the years and she, you know, she feels the same way, she feels the same way that I do ... [I]n the end the values that I care most deeply about and she cares most deeply about is how we treat other people," Obama added.

Obama indicated that he chose to support gay marriage -- after previously opposing it as a Senate candidate -- in order to conform to his understanding of Christianity.

While it is acceptable that Mr. Obama's "understanding of Christianity", his personal beliefs, can bend policy, Mr. Biden's pretends his personal beliefs as a Catholic should stand apart from policy. Here he is on Meet The Press, September 7, 2008:

Q: If Senator Obama comes to you and says, "When does life begin? Help me out here, Joe," as a Roman Catholic, what would you say to him?

BIDEN: I'd say, "Look, I know when it begins for me." It's a personal and private issue. For me, as a Roman Catholic, I'm prepared to accept the teachings of my church. But let me tell you. There are an awful lot of people of great confessional faiths--Protestants, Jews, Muslims and others--who have a different view. They believe in God as strongly as I do. They're intensely as religious as I am religious. They believe in their faith and they believe in human life, and they have differing views as to when life--I'm prepared as a matter of faith to accept that life begins at the moment of conception. But that is my judgment. For me to impose that judgment on everyone else who is equally and maybe even more devout than I am seems to me is inappropriate in a pluralistic society.

Gay marriage? Mr. Biden really believes in the political expediency of gay marriage in a way that he does not really believe in Catholic doctrine. But Mr. Biden's phony Catholicism is not Mr. Obama's phony Christianity.

"We are both practicing Christians," he said, referring to himself and his wife. [W]hen we think about our faith, the thing at root that we think about is, not only Christ sacrificing himself on our behalf, but it's also the Golden Rule, you know, treat others the way you would want to be treated."

The Golden Rule is a high hurdle -- an impossible hurdle -- for an avowed abortionist.

While Mr. Obama pretended to "evolve", in the background was Mrs. Obama quietly making the case for gay marriage.

MICHELLE OBAMA DENIES
SUPPORTING GAY MARRIAGE

June 28, 2011 (Politico) - First lady Michelle Obama’s office on Tuesday quickly shot down the suggestion that she has ever publicly voiced support for same-sex marriage, a policy her husband opposes even as the left pressures him to take a stand.

... The response comes after former New Jersey Gov. Jim McGreevey, a Democrat, suggested Monday night on CNN that Barack and Michelle Obama may not have the same opinion about gay marriage. McGreevey said of the president: "If he could only listen to Michelle more often" when it comes to his stance on same-sex marriage.

McGreevey, who is now openly gay, gave up the governorship in 2004 after revealing that he’d had an affair with a man.

"Openly gay" is meant to elicit "queer in a straight world" sympathy for poor Mr. McGreevey. Politico forgets to mention he was married at the time to Dina Matos McGreevey, his second wife. Mr. McGreevey divorced both his wives and further humiliated Ms. Matos by publicly affirming he involved her in threesomes. He has two children, both of whom were under the age of ten at the time of his resignation. Advertised as a life-long "devout" Catholic, Mr. McGreevey abandoned the Church -- Why not? What's one more busted allegiance, give or take? -- and applied for ordination in the gay-friendly Episcopal Church. This required a magister divinitatis, which the ex-governor obtained at General Theological Seminary. The adaptable Mr. McGreevey proved too much even for the sociable Episcopal hierarchy. Mr. McGreevey has also taught ethics, law, and leadership at Kean University in New Jersey. We imagine the university hired Mr. McGreevey, whose governorship was rife with scandals, to teach the backside of his subjects.

Contacted by POLITICO on Tuesday morning, McGreevey declined to comment. Schake said the first lady has never "had any conversations with former Gov. McGreevey about the issue." McGreevey and Michelle Obama have never met.

Obama has only gone so far as to share her husband’s views on gay-rights issues.

Mr. McGreevey's FLOTUS claim, like Mr. McGreevey's nuptial bonds and public trust, appears to be bogus. But let's keep the ball rolling and pretend Mrs. Obama too has evolved. What a year for liberal evolution! Mrs. Obama, Joe Biden, the president all grabbing that next rung on the "evolution" ladder of politics.

Evolution is amoral. It has no moral content. It is a path to go from A to B -- and, in Mr. Obama's case, back to A. In that sense has Mr. Obama's thinking really "evolved"? Maybe yes, maybe no. Mr. Obama was always going to arrive at A, the position he held in 1996. Joe Biden was just the evolutionary accident that shoved him there. What is clear is Mr. Obama's thinking has not morally advanced. He has used the same Christian cant to both deny and affirm gay marriage. That's not evolution. That's confusion. [Stifle snickers.] Fooled you! Mr. Obama is not confused about any of this -- no more than when he pleaded the moral issue at the heart of abortion was "above his pay grade". Mr. Obama has lied about his position, has lied about his "struggle", has lied about his "evolution".

What is refreshing about the last few days' developments is that Mr. Obama can now stop lying. [Pause.] But he won't.

CHOPE.

Devolution.

BIDEN: I'M 'ABSOLUTELY COMFORTABLE'
WITH GAY MARRIAGE

May 6, 2012 (Politico) - Mr. Biden on Sunday's NBC's "Meet the Press":

Look -- I just think -- that -- the good news is that as more and more Americans become [sic] to understand what this is all about is a simple proposition. Who do you love? Who do you love? And will you be loyal to the person you love? And that's what people are finding out is what-- what all marriages, at their root, are about. Whe-whether they're -- marriages of lesbians or gay men or heterosexuals. ... I am vice president of the United States of America. The president sets the policy. I am absolutely comfortable with the fact that men marrying men, women marrying women, and heterosexual men and women marrying another are entitled to the same exact rights, all the civil rights, all the civil liberties. And quite frankly, I don't see much of a distinction -- beyond that.

And there you go. Beyond gay marriage, Mr. Biden's "Who Do You Love" standard opens the way for protections in law -- "the same exact rights, all the civil rights, all the civil liberties" -- for millions of pubescent teenagers with heavy crushes and school-ring steadies.

The next day Education Secretary Arne Duncan also voiced his support for gay marriage. Housing Secretary Shaun Donovan was the pioneer, coming out for gay marriage last November. And that made three. Three gay caballeros. But only three.

Meanwhile back at the White House.

W.H. WON'T SAY WHETHER
OBAMA SUPPORTS GAY MARRIAGE

May 7, 2012 (Politico) - The White House wouldn't say Monday whether President Obama's views on gay marriage have changed... "The president is the right person to describe his own personal views. He, as you know, said that his views on this were evolving and I don't have an update for you on that," White House press secretary Jay Carney said at his daily briefing.

Mr. Obama's position on gay marriage is "evolving", which, if this is your first day on Planet Obama, means after re-election he'll support it. Mr. Carney tried bravely to play coy:

CNN’s Jessica Yellin asked whether Obama was trying to "have it both ways before an election" and whether he should "stop dancing around the issue."

ABC’s Jake Tapper said that "it seems cynical to hide this prior to the election" and that "I don’t want to hear the same talking points 15 times in a row."

NBC’s Chuck Todd said with a grin, "So help me out here. He opposes bans on gay marriage, but he doesn’t yet support gay marriage?"

That is what is called the expiscatory question.

Carney tried to parry the same-sex-marriage questions, gamely at first and then testily as reporters began to laugh at his answers. He grew uncharacteristically flustered. When an unrelated question came about whether Obama would support the reelection of scandal-plagued Rep. Charlie Rangel (D-N.Y.), Carney answered: "I mean — well, yes, sure. I just don’t — I haven’t — I haven’t been asked it before so I. ... The president — I’ll have to — I’ll have to get back to you."

[Exit Mr. Carney to check on Mr. Obama's evolution.]

AMIDST TOUGH QUESTIONS,
WH PRESS BRIEFING CANCELED

May 9, 2012 (WaEx) - The White House today canceled the press briefing today, after two days of insistent questioning on President Obama's view of gay marriage.

... White House Press Secretary Jay Carney struggled with over 20 questions on Monday about the president's position on gay marriage from the skeptical White House Press Corps. Carney addressed the question again during a press gaggle on the President's trip to New York.

So what has been evolving in Mr. Obama's mind? Here is the 1996 unevolved Obama, candidate for the Illinois Senate -- he was all for gay marriage:

I favor legalizing same-sex marriages,and would fight efforts to prohibit such marriages.

Yet as so often happens in evolution, Mr. Obama's political genes leap forward in 2004 as he transforms into a candidate for the United States Senate:

My religious faith dictates marriage is between a man and a woman, gay marriage is not a civil right.

The religious faith gene has become dominant. Evolution gets to work refining this advanced development. And in 2008, he pulls himself up another rung on the evolution ladder as a candidate for President of the United States:

I believe marriage is the union between a man and a woman. As a Christian it's also a sacred union.

Invoking Christian principles, the evolution ladder now extends into the heavens. But Mr. Obama steadies himself on the lower rungs.

I support civil unions.

Mr. Obama reaches for the next higher rung -- Yipes! It's the sanctity of life itself! No touching that. And as campaigns for higher office recapitulate campaigns for lower office, in 2011 Mr. Obama begins devolving back to 1996:

My feelings about this are constantly evolving. I struggle with this. ... At this point, what I’ve said is, is that my baseline is a strong civil union that provides them the protections and the legal rights that married couples have. And I think — and I think that’s the right thing to do. But I recognize that from their perspective it is not enough, and I think is something that we’re going to continue to debate and I personally am going to continue to wrestle with going forward.

Huh? Mr. Obama promotes himself with Christian cant, then takes a political position on civil unions that is indistinguishable in law from marriage. This isn't evolution this is camouflage, as when a lower animal's coloration mimics a higher animal (e.g., Caligo memnon, the Giant Owl butterfly).

[We prepare to feign surprise.] Now -- Mr. Obama boldly steps forward to lead from behind! It's 1996 all over again!

PRESIDENT OBAMA ENDORSES GAY MARRIAGE

May 9, 2012 (The Hill) - President Obama on Wednesday endorsed gay marriage, becoming the first U.S. president to voice support for same-sex couples to wed legally.

After years of "evolving" on the issue, Obama said he had concluded "personally" that same-sex couples should be able to get married.

The Hill judiciously puts "evolving" and "personally" in quotes because Mr. Obama's evolution is a canard and his cynical support a political calculation not a personal conclusion, points we will take up in later posts. Just too much whoring for one post.

CHOPE.

What Biden has sown, Obama reaps.

JOE BIDEN MAKES SIGN OF THE CROSS
IN FRONT OF RABBIS

ATLANTA May 8, 2012 (ABC News) - Vice President Biden today spoke in Atlanta to The Rabbinical Assembly, an international group of more than 1,600 conservative rabbis.

... The rabbi introducing him says, with Biden standing behind him to his right: "Were Joe Biden not the Vice President of the United States, but still a senator from the state of Delaware, a position that he held with great distinction for 36 years, it would still be a signal…"

At the mention of how long he served in the Senate, Biden makes the sign of the cross on himself – to laughter and applause from the rabbis in the audience.
The rabbi introducing him is confused. Biden leans in and whispers and explanation as to why everyone’s laughing…

[Hat tip: Hervé]

Mr. Biden went on, shown in the embedded video, to explain his actions to the larger audience.

As is been observed, I've been doing this job in high public office a long time. [Grins. Awkward pause.] As a matter of fact I've held high public office longer than I was alive before I held high public office. [Grins and waits for joke to take.] And, ah, when I kidded with you, and, ah, blessed my, th-the reason they were laughing, rabbi, when you said 36 years, I did what my mother would, Joe, God bless me for that, y'know, and I was, ah, I-ah, well any rate, I, I am, I'm honored to be back with you.

Got that? [We wait on your getting.] The real joke is, as usual, Mr. Biden himself. A resume Catholic, out of communion with the Church, his sign of the cross is a personal affectation performed here to play the clownish goy. Anything for a vote becomes anything for a laugh.

The sign of the cross, signum crucis, is a Catholic sacramental. It is often accompanied by the explicit Trinitarian profession, "In nomine Patris, et Filii, et Spiritūs Sancti." Of course, Jews, most especially conservative rebbes, only recognize the first term. Lucky for Joe, the Jews, with their long history of persecution and derogation, take unintended discourtesy in stride. Now, imagine Mr. Biden forgetting himself and signing the cross at a gathering of imams. [We imagine Mr. Biden's jokey signing before a conservative Muslim audience.]

CRUSADER!

CHOPE.

Next in line for the presidency. God preserve Mr. Obama.

------------------------------------
* אױ װײ = oy vey, Oh, woe! (Oh no! – literally, 'Oh, pain!', cf. German "Oh Weh!").

TED TURNER: U.S. AND ISRAEL SHOULD DISARM
TO PREVENT NUCLEAR IRAN

May 4, 2012 (NewsBusters) - Appearing as a guest on Thursday's Piers Morgan Tonight on CNN, the news network's founder, Ted Turner, complained that a double standard exists between the U.S. and Israel being allowed to possess nuclear weapons while Iran is expected to be nuclear-free, as he suggested that all countries dispose of their nuclear arsenals to persuade Iran not to build such weapons. ... Below is a transcript of the relevant portion of the Thursday, May 3, Piers Morgan Tonight on CNN:

PIERS MORGAN: What would you do about Iran if you were the American President?

TED TURNER: Well, first of all, I believe in total nuclear disarmament. That's the only way we're ever going to get there. We all got to play by the same set of rules. We have 2,000 or several thousand nuclear weapons. Iran has none at the current time. It's okay for Israel to have 100, but it's not okay for Iran to have two. That's, that's, you're not treating everybody equally.

You have no strong position except force. Only by force can it be done. I think we've already voted at the U.N. and the Security Council to get rid of nuclear weapons. Let's get rid of them. Let's get rid of ours, and then Iran will stop, I believe, and everybody else will because if everybody doesn't have them, then we're safe - at least safe from a nuclear attack.

I mean, if we have full-scale nuclear exchange, it's going to destroy life on Earth, all life. Maybe there will be a few cockroaches left, but that's all, and I find that crazy. This is such a nice world, and most of the people are really nice here.

But, you know, and if you treat people with dignity, respect, and friendliness like I did with the Russians and the Soviets before them with the Goodwill Games, if you try and make friends, you can make friends and you can do that even with former enemies. Japan bombed us at Pearl Harbor, and now we're good friends with the japanese. We fought China in the Cold War, but now we're good friends with the Chinese, most of us are.

Where to begin? Is it worth the effort to parse something so astonishingly stupid?

Let's begin with the "rules". Iran is a non-nuclear-weapon state signatory to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT). Israel is not a signatory. Iran has chosen to bind itself to a treaty making it "not okay for Iran to have two [nuclear weapons]" (Article II). Those are the rules to which Iran has freely acquiesced. The same treaty recognizes the United States as one of five nuclear weapon states, an existing condition, the legitimacy of which Iran, again, as an NPT signatory, acknowledges. The international pressure on Iran to end its nuclear weapons program is not an unequal application of the rules -- but the rules established by treaty -- signed and ratified by Iran -- to which signatories are obliged to conform.

Mr. Turner abruptly turns from "treating everybody equally" to introduce this propsoition: "You have no strong position except force. Only by force can it be done." This upturns the feeble NPT rules already in place for a strong arm approach. This approach is best illustrated in Thucydides' Melian Dialogue wherein the strong have their way with the weak. A complete contradiction right after Mr. Turner's plea for equal treatment.

As for the vote "at the U.N. and the Security Council to get rid of nuclear weapons", that is a complete fabrication by Mr. Turner.

Mr. Turner ends supremely confident in his breezy "play nice and make friends" admonition. All that is required is that Israel and America, neither of whose nuclear arsenals are in violation of international law, unilaterally disarm and Iran will end its unlawful nuclear weapons program. And, of course, as goes Iran, so go Russia and China and North Korea and Pakistan and India. And in the rush of disarmament, terrorists will be quick to jump aboard, forswearing the acquisition and use of nuclear weapons, confining themselves to tedious one-head-at-a-time terrorist beheadings. Easy. Peezy. [Pause.] Mr. Turner seems to think Iran only wants nuclear weapons to keep even with Israel (and this). [An iterative pause for patience.] Iran wants nuclear weapons to better advance its declared intention to wipe Israel "off the map".

Mr. Turner rose to prominence as a shrewd businessman. Yet here he is shilling a business proposition so flimsy, so badly conceived, that, as a businessman, he would never buy. He would never consider. He would never touch.

The kindest thing that can be said of Mr. Turner is he has no idea what he is talking about. A fairer assessment is that he is dope who, at his beck, can appear on national television and deleteriously misinform the public. The truth is Mr. Turner is a pernicious stooge. A big stupid for the bad guys.

CHOPE.

Kumbaya liberalism.