Tag: President Obama

Locke Foundation unleashes Obama haters on Charlotte

September 5, 2012 at 9:28 amCategory:Uncategorized

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Wow!  It’s good to see that the nonpartisan John Locke Foundation is coming through with some more high quality convention coverage. Last week, as you will recall, the Locke people had a breathless, cheer-leading ”liveblog” of the final night of the RNC in Tampa.

Now, this week, they’ve turned ”Director of Regulatory Studies” Jon Sanders loose (among others) to claim that Obama is being “deified” by the Democrats because some vendors in Charlotte are selling or promoting various bits of laudatory kitsch. (Has this guy ever been to a Washington, DC tourist site?) This concocted narrative has, in turn, provided Sanders with license to link to all sorts of other articles and claims about the President (some from years ago) of which he disapproves along with some amazingly vicious attacks.

Meanwhile, Read More…

Hopeful sign: Presidential candidates agree that America has much to learn from others

July 31, 2012 at 9:39 amCategory:Uncategorized

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As this morning’s edition of the Weekly Briefing argues, Americans have much to learn from other countries in a variety of areas and healthcare is one of the most obvious. Happily, there are some small signs that maybe – just maybe – this truth is beginning to dawn on political leaders of both parties.

President Obama, of course, has made repeated allusions throughout the years to the need for America to do a better job of matching the performance of other nations when it comes to providing healthcare to the many while controlling costs much more effectively. 

Now comes word that, yesterday, his chief opponent, Mitt Romney, is embracing a similar argument. According to this article in the Washington Post, Romney heaped praise on Israel’s heavily regulated health care system — some might even call it “socialized” — for its success in controlling costs. 

Could it be that our nation’s leading politicians are finally finding some common ground on this critical issue?  It seems certain that many will portray Romney’s comments as a gaffe, but let’s fervently hope that he meant what he said and that it opens to door to further dialogue across the political spectrum on this critical issue. 

 

 

Government by tantrum

July 30, 2012 at 2:22 pmCategory:Uncategorized

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Here is the kind of thing that was being referenced when we reported recently that the North Carolina General Assembly was starting to resemble the U.S. Congress.

According to this report, opponents of President Obama are so set on blocking consideration of any judicial appointees during the fourth year of his term that they’re even filibustering a judge with overwhelming conservative support!   

As you might recall, leaders of the General Assembly have stymied several of the Governor’s appointments to the state Board of Education (and other important state panels) in a similar and wholly political fashion.

Will demographic changes help Obama in NC?

July 9, 2012 at 12:17 pmCategory:Uncategorized

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Ed Kilgore at the Washington Monthly’s Political Animal blog has an interesting post today about the changing demographics of the electorate since 2008.

The article, in turn, quotes veteran Democratic author and activist Ruy Teixeira from a piece in The New Republic in which he paints an optimistic picture for Obama:

“Turning to the New South swing states of North Carolina and Florida, there have also been sizable demographic shifts over the last four years. In North Carolina, the minority share of eligible voters has gone up over 4 points, with simultaneous declines of around 2 points in both white college and white non-college eligibles. In Florida, the increase in minority share has also been about 4 points, while white working class eligibles have declined 3 points and white college eligibles by 1 point.”

Kilgore’s post concludes this way:

“Stereotypes die hard, and journalists are often surprised at the emergence or disappearance of this or that state from the electoral “battleground.” But the trends Teixeira examines may help explain why Obama could quite possibly win North Carolina while losing Iowa, which not much of anyone would have imagined immediately after 2008.”

 

 

 

Obama hits a home run

June 28, 2012 at 1:01 pmCategory:Uncategorized

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To watch President Obama’s calm, rational and pragmatic statement on the Affordable Care Act ruling is to be reminded of how and why it is the man got elected four years ago.

It also reenforces just how much the President himself embodies so many compelling and frustrating aspects of a democracy that is is in so many ways the worst possible form of government, except for all the others that have been tried.