Cubs carry a devilish burden

October 12, 2008 | Filed Under Democrats/Leftists, Elections, Media Bias, Michael Bates, News, President, Publius Contributor, Security/Safety, Society/Culture | No Comments

-By Michael M. Bates

This begins with an apology. Last June a column from your humble servant focused on Barack Obama’s refusal, after initially approving the idea, to hold frequent town hall meetings with John McCain. I wrote: “When it comes to confronting McCain, however, Barack folds like the Cubs in September.”

I was wrong. Not about the pusillanimous Obama, but about the Cubs folding in September. They made it all the way to October this year before folding like a cheap and, as in Barry’s case, empty suit.

In spring training, pitcher Ryan Dempster predicted the Cubs would win the World Series this year. That sounded familiar. A year earlier, pitcher Carlos Zambrano ventured the same prophecy. That was about the time manager Lou Piniella spoke of instilling a “Cubbie swagger” in the team. Bet he’d love to have that line back.
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The politics of the bailout

October 5, 2008 | Filed Under Congress, Democrats/Leftists, Economy/Finances, Elections, GOP, Government, Corruption, Media Bias, Michael Bates, News, Publius Contributor, Security/Safety, Socialism, Society/Culture, Taxes | No Comments

-By Michael M. Bates

So how did they come up with that $700 billion bailout figure? A Treasury spokeswoman told Forbes.com last week: “It’s not based on any particular data point. We just wanted to choose a really large number.”

That they did and, in so doing, scared a many Americans. Watching cable news after the House sensibly defeated the bill ratcheted up anxiety. When the markets closed with a record drop in the Dow Jones, the media mavens were shooting for their own personal best in high dudgeon.

How dare House Republicans fail to approve the bailout, particularly after Speaker Nancy Pelosi persuaded Democrats to – as one CNN anchor asserted – overwhelmingly back it? An undoubtedly innocent lapse kept him from reporting that almost a hundred Democrats voted against the measure.
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Patriotism, Taxes and Charity

September 29, 2008 | Filed Under Democrats/Leftists, Economy/Finances, Elections, Government, Corruption, Media Bias, Michael Bates, President, Publius Contributor, Security/Safety, Socialism, Society/Culture, Taxes | No Comments

-By Michael M. Bates

Democratic vice presidential candidate Joe Biden was interviewed on ABC’s Good Morning America last week. With hair plugs set perfectly and dental caps gleaming – or was it the other way around? – Joe was asked by Kate Snow if those odious folks known as the rich should pay more in taxes. His reply:

“You got it. It’s time to be patriotic, Kate. Time to jump in, time to be part of the deal, time to help America out of the rut, and the way to do that is they’re still gonna pay less taxes than they did under Reagan.”

Oh, so now the argument is sending more bucks to Washington is a form of patriotism. Readers familiar with Biden’s well-established record of “borrowing” that goes back at least to his law school days won’t be traumatized to learn it’s not an original notion.
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The truth is not dishonorable

September 22, 2008 | Filed Under Democrats/Leftists, Education, Elections, Family, GOP, Media Bias, Michael Bates, Morals/Sex, News, President, Publius Contributor, Religion, Security/Safety, Society/Culture | No Comments

-By Michael M. Bates

John McCain ran an ad criticizing Barack Obama for supporting sex education for kindergartners. The reaction of Obama and his media sycophants was so vociferous that you might have thought abortion had been curtailed. The ad was described as a total fabrication, swill, truly vile, and one of the sleaziest spots in history.

McCain lied. McCain is dishonorable. McCain is running a squalid campaign of bald-faced smears. That’s what we read in the newspapers, saw on TV, and heard on the radio.

The truth is McCain’s ad is accurate. Ah, say the Obamatons, it’s false because Obama didn’t sponsor the Illinois Senate bill in question. McCain’s ad didn’t assert he did.
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Obama’s politics of new ideas

September 12, 2008 | Filed Under Democrats/Leftists, Elections, Foreign Policy, Media Bias, Michael Bates, Military, News, President, Publius Contributor, Race, Religion, Security/Safety, Society/Culture, Taxes | No Comments

-By Michael M. Bates

Barack Obama maintains he’s the candidate of new ideas. When clinching his party’s nomination, he boasted that it’s “our time to bring new energy and new ideas to the challenges we face.” The senator’s acceptance speech at the convention noted, “Change happens because the American people demand it - because they rise up and insist on new ideas and new leadership, a new politics for a new time.”

A good place to find some of these new ideas is the Democratic platform, which documents the party’s official position on issues.
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Obama condemns (wink, wink) sleazy politics

September 7, 2008 | Filed Under Crime, Democrats/Leftists, Government, Corruption, Media Bias, Michael Bates, News, President, Publius Contributor, Socialism, Society/Culture, Taxes | No Comments

-By Michael M. Bates

For readers who might not yet have memorized last week’s column, it consisted of observations from the Democratic Convention’s first day. My intent was to provide something similar this week, but those darn GOPers refused to cooperate and held an abbreviated session Monday. I’m awaiting press reports that Hurricane Gustav was George Bush’s fault.

Still, there was considerable political activity. Most of it centered on John McCain’s choice of running mate, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin. I joined other conservatives in supporting Sarah’s selection.

The delight intensified by seeing how out of favor Gov. Palin is with the mainstream media. The New York Times’s Maureen Dowd criticized her because, among other transgressions, Sarah “has never even been on ‘Meet the Press.’” On ABC’s Good Morning America, the co-anchor posed this to a McCain staffer: “She has an, she has an infant with special needs. Will that affect her campaigning?” Newsweek’s Howard Fineman opined that “Sarah Palin makes Barack Obama look like John Adams.” Yes, I can certainly see how being a $10,000 a year community organizer offers so much more substantive governing experience than running a state.
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Convention observations

August 30, 2008 | Filed Under Democrats/Leftists, Elections, Media Bias, Michael Bates, News, Publius Contributor, Society/Culture | No Comments

-By Michael M. Bates

The first day of the Democratic convention produced fewer attacks than anticipated on the Bush-McCain administration, as it’s now called. Maybe Daddy Yankee’s endorsement of John McCain threw Democrats off their stride.

Undoubtedly they’ll make up for lost time over the next three days. Some thoughts after Day 1 of the convention:

The most poignant moments came from Senator Edward Kennedy. He suffers with brain cancer, yet seemed enthusiastic, engaged and eager to stay in the fray. The liberal lion is in his winter days, but he clearly intends to go out with a roar.
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