Want to be President?

In the USA Today, Susan Page wonders:

Why exactly would anybody want this job?

The candidate who wins the White House on Nov. 4 will face the most calamitous economy for any new president since Franklin Roosevelt took over amid the Depression in 1933. He'll assume command of the biggest wartime deployment of U.S. troops since Richard Nixon was sworn in during the Vietnam War in 1969.

The bigger the obstacles that you have to overcome; the greater the rewards are when you succeed. Additionally, America faces a critical choice in this election. Choose one way, and America may very well choose poverty, choose another way and America may very well choose prosperity. Both parties believe that their way brings prosperity, while the other party's way brings poverty. Hence, both parties should feel that winning this election is critical. I hope America chooses wisely.

Money Supply Contraction

In the Wall Street Journal, Andy Kessler writes:

...after the 1929 market crash and subsequent bank runs, 10,000 or roughly 40% of banks failed, $2 billion in deposits were wiped out and 30% of the money supply disappeared. So did a similar percentage of GDP. Today, bank deposits are mostly safe, but with $1 trillion in bank and Wall Street writedowns taken or soon to be taken on bad real estate securities, some multiple of that in money supply will vanish with the stroke of an accountant's pen. Restarting bank lending is the only way to top it back up.

The contraction in the money supply is what will trigger the depression. It must be avoided. Desperate times call for desperate meaures.

A good start, but not enough

This is a good start, but John McCain has got to do more to convince the undecided voters that the economy will do better under his presidency than Obama's:

Sen. John McCain today proposed $52 billion in tax breaks aimed at reducing the impact of stock market losses on the nation's seniors, providing relief to the unemployed and encouraging savings.

Furthermore, this probably will not win him any votes, but it is good to see that realizes that the government should not have any financial interest in the banks any longer than is necessary.

McCain's made his tax cut proposals as President Bush announced an historic $250 billion plan to have the federal government inject money into the economy by directly investing in private banks.

McCain did not directly comment on the president's announcement. But he warned that as president he would require that government investment end once the private banks and institutions are restructured and healthy.

I could be wrong, but I doubt that it is a view that is shared by Obama.

Sarah on ACORN

Good for Sarah:

Republican vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin suggested Tuesday that Barack Obama shares responsibility for recent reports of voter fraud conducted by the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now.

Republicans need to learn that if they want the press to fairly cover some issues they have to force them to do it by addressing those issues themselves.

Has Obama already been corrupted?

David Brooks describes the incident that led him to develop his man crush on Obama:

I was interviewing Obama a couple years ago, and I'm getting nowhere with the interview, it's late in the night, he's on the phone, walking off the Senate floor, he's cranky. Out of the blue I say, 'Ever read a guy named Reinhold Niebuhr?' And he says, 'Yeah.' So i say, 'What did Niebuhr mean to you?' For the next 20 minutes, he gave me a perfect description of Reinhold Niebuhr's thought, which is a very subtle thought process based on the idea that you have to use power while it corrupts you.

A first I thought it sounded good. But, then the following insight dawned on me, Obama's response is an implicit acknowledgement that he has been studying how to use power to achieve his "noble" ends (i.e., liberal policies) before he gets corrupted and uses the powers available to him to commit "ignoble" acts (i.e., oppressing his opponents, stuffing ballot boxes, ignoring laws, etc). Considering that it appears that Obama has already been corrupted by so little actual power, shouldn't America dread giving this man the real power that comes with being President?

Update: Stephen Green of Vodka Pundit has a post where he wonders about whether Obama will suppress free speech rights on the internet via the Fairness Doctrine.

Obama's Cult of Personality

Wikipedia says:

A cult of personality... arises when a country's leader uses mass media to create a heroic public image through unquestioning flattery and praise. Cults of personality are often found in dictatorships but can be found in some democracies.

and

Generally, personality cults are most common in regimes with totalitarian systems of government, that seek to radically alter or transform society according to evolutionary new ideas. Often, a single leader becomes associated with this revolutionary transformation, and comes to be treated as a benevolent "guide" for the nation, without whom the transformation to a better future cannot occur.

Obama's Cult of Personality:
Textbooks to indoctrinate 8th graders.

Obama, Iraq and the economy.

Mikey Kaus wonders:

One of McCain's problems is that voters aren't paying much attention to Iraq--because it looks from our distant vantage point like the war is finally on a glide path to an honorable U.S. drawdown of troops. How much damage could Obama do?

To answer his question, in Iraq, very little. In the American economy, a tremendous amount, unfortunately.

Fred Barnes' Crystal Ball

Fred Barnes has seen the future, and it is not pretty:

...the worst case scenario is now a distinct possibility: a Democrat in the White House, a Democratic Senate with a filibuster-proof majority, and a Democratic House with a bolstered majority.

If this scenario unfolds, Washington would become a solidly liberal town
again for the first time in decades. And the prospects of passing the liberal
agenda--nearly all of it--would be bright. Enacting major parts of it would be
even brighter.

...permit organized labor to unionize the private sector without winning a
certification election by secret ballot....

...Democrats might go after.... right-to-work laws....

...killing conservative talk radio--[via] the so-called fairness doctrine--would stand an excellent chance of becoming law....

...Obama would nominate liberals to fill Supreme Court vacancies....

...free trade agreements would become a thing of the past...

...[Obama's] described [his health care plan] as step or two away from a single payer, government-run health system like Canada's....

...Obama has called for increasing the tax rate on capital gains, dividends, and the income of top earners, and raising the cap on payroll taxes. But tax hikes would worsen, not stimulate, a weak economy....

...cap and trade.... would drive up the cost of energy, another downer for the economy....

...a quick troop exit from Iraq and presidential-level talks with anti-American
dictators.

Unfortunately, my crystal ball does not look any better than Fred Barnes.

Better late than never

David Brooks may be getting over his man crush on Obama just in time to help fight the ideological battle against encroaching socialism:

...Democrats will probably be running the government.... What we’re going to see, in short, is the Gingrich revolution in reverse and on steroids. There will be a big increase in spending and deficits. In normal times, moderates could have restrained the zeal on the left. In an economic crisis, not a chance. The over-reach is coming. The backlash is next.

I just hope that it is not too late.

David Frum's obsession with Sarah Palin

David Frum is tired of the abuse he is receiving for denigrating Sarah Palin:

As one of my correspondents wrote this very morning: 'PLEASE KEEP YOUR REMARKS TO YOURSELF! Nobody but Democrats wants to hear them.' Well he may have a point. Perhaps it is our job at NRO is tell our readers only what they want to hear, without much regard to whether it is true.

Why is it that the some of the most "intelligent" conservatives (David Frum, Christopher Buckley, David Brooks, etc.) are so blind to how detrimental their obsessive Sarah Palin hatred is to the conservative cause? Readers of the NRO are looking for articles that advance the cause of conservatism. They do not read the NRO for articles that are detrimental to conservatism (numerous other outlets exist to provide those articles). If David Frum can not write articles that advance the cause of conservatism, and if he can not understand how pivotal this election is to the future of American conservatism and how detrimental it is to that cause to create doubts about the wisdom of electing the presumptive leader of the conservative cause, maybe he should not be writing for the NRO.

Fear and Hysteria can be rational

I have seen numerous articles (here, here, etc.) bemoaning the perceived fear and hysteria in the American people. In defense of the American people, their actions have been a rational response to the known facts. The known facts are:

• American wealth has been lost.
• Additional wealth remains at risk.
• Through taxes, laws and regulations the government can affect the value of wealth.
• America is in the middle of an election.
• It seems probable that the Democratic Party will come out of the election with unchecked political control.
• The Democratic party believes that economic restrictive laws and regulations, and some high taxes benefit society.
• Taxes, laws and regulations that the Democratic party prefer reduce the value of wealth.
• The Republican party believes in cutting taxes, and easing the economic burden of restrictive laws and regulations.
• Cutting taxes, and easing the economic burden of restrictive laws and regulations increase the value of wealth.
• Just because something is probable does not mean that it is a foregone conclusion.
• People respond to their own self interest.

All of these facts create a large incentive for those who do not want to see anymore American wealth destroyed to become very vocal in their attempt to educate others about the cost of the election so that they might feel it is in their self interest to vote Republican rather than Democratic. Additionally, those who are selling or refusing to buy assets are doing so not out of fear or hysteria, but in a rational attempt to protect as much of their wealth as they can.

More wealth destruction from Obama

The AP reports:

Democratic Barack Obama on Monday... propos[ed] a 90-day moratorium on home foreclosures at some banks....

If enacted, this policy would make it harder and more costly for banks to foreclose on non paying home owners. By increasing the cost of foreclosure, the policy would reduce the value of the asset. The reduction in the value of the asset would show up as a net loss of wealth for the bank and society as a whole. The intrinsic destruction of wealth is the root cause of America's (and the world's) current financial crisis.

Obama has noble goals, but he can not see that how he would achieve these goals could worsen the root causes of the current financial crisis. The American people need to ask themselves, do they want to help non paying home owners stay in their home, or do they want to stop the cycle of wealth destruction that is leading America to the precipice of economic ruin. Obama and Democrats through noble goals and economic ignorance may very well push America over the edge.

Thank you John McCain

Jake Tapper reports:

On Saturday, advisers to Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., told the Politico's Mike Allen and Jonathan Martin that McCain was "considering additional economic measures aimed directly at the middle class that are likely to be rolled out this week...

Late Sunday, McCain decided no new economic proposals would be forthcoming after all.

John McCain, my friend, thank you for getting my hopes up that you were actually going to attempt to explain to the American people why conservative policies are better than liberal policies for the economy.

How low can you go

Charles Gasparino makes the point that the McCain campaign, Republicans and all conservatives should be making:

The country is headed for recession; the only question is: Just how low can the markets and economy go?

It could be a lot lower - it all depends on the policies of the next president.

And, as it looks increasingly likely that Obama will be that man, the markets are casting a vote of "no confidence."

That is a good question

Andrew Malcolm blogging at the LA Times wants to know:

Does urging political restraint apply to McCain and Obama or just the Republicans?

That is a good question. Rather than posing this question to his readers who can do nothing about the press' behavior, I wonder if he has ever considered posing the question to his bosses at the LA Times.

via Glenn Reynolds

Just quit already

If there is any truth to this:

Mark Salter, McCain’s long-serving chief of staff, is understood to have told campaign insiders that he would prefer his boss, a former Vietnam prisoner of war, to suffer an “honourable defeat” rather than conduct a campaign that would be out of character – and likely to lose him the election.

I wish John McCain would step aside and let Sarah Palin finish the race. The stakes are too high, and conservatives and Republicans deserve a candidate who will fight for victory till the last vote is counted. When this race is over, should John McCain lose, he can easily go back to the Senate and continue to receive his six figure income. Most Americans, on the other hand, may very well see their net worth severely diminished by the burden of the economic policies that the Democrats most likely will enact.

America Wake Up!

McCain is proposing economic policies that will help you preserve the value of your wealth. Obama is proposing economic policies that will hasten the destruction of your wealth.

Enquiring minds want to know

The rumor on the internet is that Ben Smith has a good story that he is sitting on so as to not hurt Obama. Ben Smith addresses this accusation by saying:

...while the blogosphere sometimes reports by starting with a tip or a theory (Obama didn't write his own book! Palin didn't bear her own child!) and testing it by making it public, I'm old-fashioned enough not to print what I can't confirm.

That is probably a pretty fair reaction for a reporter, but in defense of the blogosphere:

• The Palin did not bear her own child rumor was shot down within days of appearing (by members of the blogosphere).
• The Obama didn't write his own book! rumor, as far as I am aware, has not been shot down, but what harm would there be for a reporter to say "Hey Obama, some people claim that Bill Ayers was the ghost writer for your book. Any Comments?".

Michelle Obama and the Whitey tape

Have you heard the rumor about Michelle Obama and the Whitey tape? Well, if you want an update, Joseph Cannon has it for you.

He provides some clues to the source:

The name of the source is one that you would surely recognize, since he commands respect throughout the mainstream media, not just in blog-world. He is a famous investigator. For that reason -- and for another reason which will soon become clear to you -- I will here call him "Sherlock Holmes."

(Consider that a clue.)

I greatly admire Sherlock's previous work. Most of it, at least. You probably do as well. However, he has been fooled in the past. His most infamous slip-up concerned a story about a person I will here call MM. Fake documents were involved in that instance.

(Consider that another clue.)

My guess on the source is that it is Seymour Hersh (Sherlock Holmes=SH=Seymour Hersh, Marilyn Monroe=MM):

Hersh thought he had happened upon a previously buried treasure-trove of documents proving all kinds of previously unsubstantiated allegations. Newsweek reported that a series of signed agreements dated between March 1960 and Jan. 1962 allegedly proved that Kennedy paid Marilyn Monroe more than $1 million for her silence -- not just about her long-rumored sexual affair with John Kennedy, but about JFK's purported relationship with mobster Sam Giancana and other "underworld figures."

If it is Hersh, I personally do not consider him that reliable.

Update: As important as it I think it is that Republicans win this election, I do not want to win it because Michelle Obama turns out to be a "racist POS". I want to win this election because the American people come to realize that Republican ideas are much better for the future of America.

A warning

Taxing the rich, while politically popular, is not very wise. It has adverse economic effects. In normal times, those effects are minor, and it would be wise of Republicans to spend their political capital trying to rid the economy of other laws and regulations that hamper the economy more than high tax rates on the wealthy. However, these are not normal times. Potentially, the most devastating thing the Democrats could do if they get unchecked power is to excessively raise taxes on the wealthy.

The wealthy may may consider the new taxes. Next, they might consider the financial condition of the United States. And then, they might consider the burden of additional taxes they will be expected to bear in the future. And then, they might consider that they have to wealth necessary to migrate. After all this careful consideration, they might decide that the financially wise thing to do is emigrate. If they do it in large numbers, it would be economically devastating to America.