Super Committee Appointed for Fiscal Cuts Recommendations

The super committee is forming. Nancy Pelosi was the last to name her three choices for the committee.

On the Republican side, House Speaker John Boehner has tapped conservative darling and Republican Conference Chair Jeb Hensarling of Texas as co-chair and two powerful committee chairs, both from Michigan, to sit as members: Ways and Means' Dave Camp and Energy and Commerce's Fred Upton. Those choices mean no seat for the GOP man who has led the charge on budget reform this past year, crafting sweeping (and controversial) Medicare reform, Wisconsin's Paul Ryan.

From the Senate comes Arizona's Jon Kyl, a consistent conservative voice since his 1994 election and the chamber's second ranking Republican; Pat Toomey, the Club for Growth favorite just elected from Pennsylvania and former U.S. trade ambassador Rob Portman, freshman from Ohio. Majority leader Harry Reid tapped Senate Finance Chair Max Baucus, considered a centrist; Foreign Relations Chair and 2004 Democratic nominee John Kerry; and Washington state's Patty Murray, the Senate's highest ranking woman. This is the second go-around for Baucus, who sat on the Simpson-Bowles commission but voted against the plan because of cuts to elderly and veteran programs.

One person largely missing from this cast is President Obama. While the President can veto whatever legislation Congress produces, his administration does not play a role in super committee proceedings. Since the president was widely accused of failed leadership during the debt-ceiling drama, that's probably a wise omission. It also limits the intrusion of 2012 presidential politics.

Recently, in abundant irony, President Obama called for real solutions to be brought forward by the committee, not just political lines in the sand for political gain. If anyone knows about political line drawing, it is Barack Obama.

So it’s not a lack of plans or policies that’s the problem here. It’s a lack of political will in Washington. It’s the insistence on drawing lines in the sand, a refusal to put what’s best for the country ahead of self-interest or party or ideology. And that’s what we need to change.

I realize that after what we just went through, there’s some skepticism that Republicans and Democrats on the so-called super committee, this joint committee that’s been set up, will be able to reach a compromise, but my hope is that Friday’s news will give us a renewed sense of urgency. I intend to present my own recommendations over the coming weeks on how we should proceed. And that committee will have this administration’s full cooperation. And I assure you, we will stay on it until we get the job done.

Obama says he will bring forward some of his own suggestions. Really? After almost three years of failing to do so? This process signed into agreement specifically excludes the President's participation. Now, all of a sudden, he wants to participate. You can't make this stuff up.

Pelosi made her choices known Thursday afternoon:

Pelosi chose Reps. James E. Clyburn (D-S.C.), Xavier Becerra (D-Calif.) and Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), giving the panel the highest-ranking African-American and Latino lawmakers in Congress with Clyburn and Becerra, respectively. Pelosi reiterated her call to consider “the grand bargain” of major entitlement cuts matched with increased taxes.

“We must achieve a ‘grand bargain’ that reduces the deficit by addressing our entire budget, while strengthening Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security. Our entire Caucus will work closely with these three appointees toward this goal, which is the goal of the American people,” Pelosi said. “Because the work of this committee will affect all Americans, I called last week for its deliberations to be transparent; the committee should conduct its proceedings in the open.”

Pelosi trying to sound like the Queen of Transparency is laughable - considering that secret, behind closed doors was how she conducted the business of the House when she was Speaker. Nice to see Pelosi hit all the quotas,though.

Interesting mix here. Notably, Paul Ryan and Kent Conrad were not chosen. Both are leading voices with economic chops, from both sides of the aisle.

The fact that Senator Patty Murray is the co-chair and only woman is troubling. She is also the chair of the DSCC, the DNC's wing in the Senate for re-electing and recruiting Democratic candidates for office. The website is chock full of ugly partisan rhetoric.

We'll be watching.

First a Bus Tour and Then A Vineyard Vacation for Obama

First a multi day bus tour across the midwest for the re-election campaign, then a ten day vacation with the family on Martha's Vineyard. Life is good for Barack Obama.

Remember just a couple of days ago when President Obama pledged that he and Congress were going to get after that lingering, slow economic recovery? Well, after the five week Congressional vacation, that is. So, why should Obama stay at the office if everyone else is out of town? Let's party.

I realize that after what we just went through, there’s some skepticism that Republicans and Democrats on the so-called super committee, this joint committee that’s been set up, will be able to reach a compromise, but my hope is that Friday’s news will give us a renewed sense of urgency. I intend to present my own recommendations over the coming weeks on how we should proceed. And that committee will have this administration’s full cooperation. And I assure you, we will stay on it until we get the job done.

Never mind the legislation putting the committee into force specifically leaves the President and his input out of the process. Suddenly, after failing to do so for 2 years, now the President claims he'll offer his own suggestions.

First the bus tour.

President Barack Obama’s upcoming bus tour through the Midwest states typically viewed as swing states during presidential election years will be paid for by the taxpayers, the White House says.

Obama will start the tour on Aug. 15 and will talk about strengthening jobs and the economy, the White House announced on Tuesday.

I sure hope that campaign bus is retro-fitted to be a 'green' bus. Think of the carbon footprint.

There is no doubt to realists that this is a campaign tour or a coincidence that swing states were chosen for visits. It is the Obama pattern.

A USA Today story published on July 17 asserted that half of the travels Obama made to 40 states (over the last 2.5 years) were to swing states, also called battleground states, or because they are not predictably red (Republican heavy) or blue (Democrat heavy), or purple states. Those swing states likely will determine the winner of the 2012 presidential race.

Presidential mouthpiece Jay Carney grew a bit testy when questioned if the bus tour was a campaign stunt or a presidential tour.

“The air of cynicism is quite thick,” Carney shot back. “The idea that the president of the United States should not venture forth into the country is ridiculous.”

Wonder why that question came up? Me, neither.

As pointed out in this article, the states were all in the Obama column in 2008. Probably just a coincidence that he wants to favor them with a visit.

President Obama's team has announced the stops for next week's bus tour, and they're all states he carried in 2008.

The tour on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday will roll though southern Minnesota, northeastern Iowa and western Illinois, the administration announced.

Then he'll need a vacation after all that hard work, schmoozing with voters. So, he's going to Martha's Vineyard with the family. Presidential mouthpiece Carney defended that, too.

Carney added that there's really no such thing as a presidential vacation since Obama will travel with his aides, receive regular briefings on national security and the economy and be able to return to Washington if necessary.

"The presidency travels with you. He will be in constant communication," Carney said at the White House briefing.

Yes. It's only bad if a GOP President goes out of town for relaxation. Remember the constant ridicule of George W. Bush and his trips to his own property in Texas, also equipped specifically to be a western White House, including facilities for the press briefings?

My suggestion would be for the President to call the members of the committee together and task them with beginning work immediately on the resolution needed by the November deadline.

Is that too much to ask? There is no need to wait five more weeks for the work to begin.

Mike Gallagher is an Idiot

With sincere apologies to idiots everywhere, today I declare radio talk show host Mike Gallagher your leader.

In a battle of wits up against Fox News Channel's Megyn Kelly, Gallagher never had a chance. It seems Gallagher has a problem with maternity leave for new mothers.

The brouhaha began during Kelly's own maternity leave this spring. While she was out, Gallagher said on his radio show that maternity leave is a "racket," and claimed men don't get a break when they have a kid.

Gallagher was apparently unfamiliar with the Family and Medical Leave Act, which guarantees workers of any gender, who meet certain other criteria, up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave for the birth and care of a newborn, or the placement of an adopted or foster child.

Gallagher still appeared ignorant of the law on Monday, when Kelly took him to task for his remark.

Not only is Kelly a working mother but she's a lawyer, too. Gallagher, stuck in the 1950's was left behind in her dust during the exchange.



Somewhere a village is missing its idiot.

Introducing Tea Party Downgrade to National Conversation

Sunday morning talk shows brought about the label "Tea Party downgrade" into the national conversation, courtesy of Democratic talking points. David Axelrod, straight out of Obama re-election headquarters in Chicago, started the ball rolling and was followed by Sen John Kerry using the exact same term on Meet the Press.

It was all so Obama-esque, wasn't it?

Team Obama sends out the willing minions to do the smearing of grassroots activists for political points and Barack Obama is safely tucked away at Camp David. Obama was mute all weekend on the credit rating downgrade though he was told of it Friday morning. The true insult to us all is that the President of the United States learned of our credit rating downgrade - for the first time in history, by the way - and he didn't bother to make a statement. He boarded Marine One and flew to Camp David for the weekend.

Unbelievable.

So, out popped the nasty ones.

Even Joe Scarborough, a moderate Republican, a former U.S. Representative from his home state of Florida who bends over backwards to not offend Democrats on his morning cable talk show, has had enough with the continual Tea Party bashing.

I am not blaming the President exclusively. We have blamed the Tea Partiers here for not moving. We have blamed Republicans. We have blamed Democrats as well. But please – I know it makes you feel better, but, you know, stop using the Tea Party as a piñata. We’ve got systemic problems in this country. The President could have done something for two years when he had Democrats controlling the House of Representatives and controlling the United States Senate. He did nothing on entitlement reform.

Senator Kerry has received the most publicity for his use of the term, being an elected official and all. Yes, an elected official stating that a large group of grassroots activists are not worthy of being listened to. And he was not even questioned about his characterization of the Tea Party. It's easy to imagine that the show host agrees and didn't think anything about it. And then proceeded to go after Senator McCain as the GOP representative there.

On Sunday's Meet the Press on NBC, host David Gregory allowed Massachusetts Senator John Kerry to blame Standard and Poor's downgrade of U.S. debt on the Tea Party without challenge. However, minutes later, in an interview with Arizona Senator John McCain, Gregory was quick to accuse Republicans of "politicizing" the issue by criticizing Democrats.

After quoting a statement from House Speaker John Boehner on the downgrade – which cited the unwillingness of Democrats to curb massive government spending as a cause – Gregory fretted to McCain: "Do you not see this downgrade as something akin to war that should galvanize political leadership on both sides of the aisle, rather than politicizing it?"

And Obama faithful reporter, Norah O'Donnell, continued with the Tea Party downgrade by spotlighting it in her Monday reporting.

On Monday's Early Show, CBS's Norah O'Donnell promoted the left-of-center talking point that Standard & Poor's recent lowering of the U.S.'s credit rating is a "Tea Party downgrade." O'Donnell played three sound bites of notable liberals using this line of attack, versus only one opposing from a center-right politician. She also spun Treasury Geithner's decision to stay as "good news for the President."

Tuesday Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid announced the three Democrats who have been selected to sit on the committee charged with finding additional spending cuts in the debt ceiling deal. These Democrats named are Max Baucus, Patty Murray and John Kerry. That's right. Kerry has been rewarded for his vile behavior and will get a choice assignment.

It is thought that Baucus will be the deal maker. The other two Democrats - Murray and Kerry - are far left liberals. Baucus has a more moderate reputation. Murray will bring an additional layer of vitriol to the talks as she is the Chair of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC). Her job is to get Senate Democrats re-elected and field viable candidates for races against Republicans up for re-election. I won't link to it out of principle, but check out the website for the DSCC - you'll get an eyeful of hyper-partisan nastiness against the GOP.

The finger pointing used by the Democrats instead of using time to find solutions to our fiscal mess has produced some good, though. It has brought more tolerant Republicans, like Scarborough back into the fold. He even now points to the fact that it is weakness on the part of Barack Obama that allows this behavior, not strength.

"A president that cannot control 45 backbenchers in the opposing Party in the House of Representatives is too weak to be President of the United States. It is that simple"

Welcome back, Joe.

Newt's Team 10 Initiative Launches

"The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people."

Today the Gingrich campaign launches an initiative known as Team 10. During a bloggers conference call, Newt invited everyone to go to his new Facebook page on the initiative and participate with ideas and suggestions for what he hopes will result in the 10th Amendment Enforcement Act.

From Facebook:
Enter Team 10: a crowd-sourced, participatory effort meant to listen, learn and work with the American people, both online and in person, to develop ideas for enforcing the 10th Amendment and returning power back home.

If Newt is the Republican nominee for President, the best of these ideas will be included in a new Contract with America, as part of a “10th Amendment Enforcement Act.”



Using Facebook and Google+, Gingrich is looking for Tea Party activists and other conservatives to bring about Congressional support in the next six to eight months to write the bill. He wants the Gang of 12 commission mandate in the debt ceiling agreement to use the Enforcement Act in finding spending cuts. He uses the Republican principle that prefers state control over federal bureaucracy and red tape. He supports using the Gang of 12 to work on de-centralizing government.

The campaign claims support of "early state" Tea Party groups for Team 10:
Iowa: Jim Conklin (Iowa Conservative Union)
New Hampshire: Michelle McManus (Manchester 9/12)
South Carolina: Elisabet Wilson (Simpsonville Tea Party)
Georgia: Wendy Bloedt (Coweta County Tea Party Patriots)
Florida: Debbie Wilson (Tampa Tea Party) and Guyann Bracken-Fay (Brandon 9/12)
National: Tamara Colbert and Mike Alexander (Pasadena Patriots)

Gingrich said that President Obama "prefers putting people o food stamps" and waging class warfare over finding real solutions to our economic woes.

While calling his resources "scarce" he believes he is a viable Presidential candidate, using Iowa polling as his reference. He said he is viable in polling "with Pawlenty and a couple of others" in Iowa and is spending time there in pursuit of support.

Since the mid 1930's, according to Gingrich, the 10th Amendment has been ignored. He called the Great Society of LBJ "bureauocratic socialism" and that relying on the same people to find economic solutions is not the answer. He thinks Geithner should resign and wants an audit of the Federal Reserve. He calls for "bold steps" and thinks Congress should be called back into session.

He promoted his friend Mike George and the non-profit organization Strong America Now

for ideas of deficit reduction and the way forward in fiscal restraint without raising taxes.

Newt Gingrich is still the man of the big idea.

Bubble Bursts on Obama Worship

Ah, yes. I remember well all the blog posts and conversations that dealt with the utter lack of substantial experience possessed by the freshman Senator Barack Obama from Illinois. I wrote and talked about it all, too. The left went nuts. Barack Obama was like no other earthly human being ever to walk the same ground as we do. He was the Chosen One. He was the Savior of the Universe. And, oh yeah, he was to be the first bi-racial President in our nation's history so any criticism or hesitation towards his candidacy came from a hateful place of racism.

Good times.

So, it is quite interesting to watch it all fall apart. For most political observers, Barack Obama is not exactly living up to the hype.

The most charitable explanation is that he and his advisers have succumbed to a view of electoral success to which many Democrats succumb — that “centrist” voters like “centrist” politicians. Unfortunately, reality is more complicated. Centrist voters prefer honest politicians who help them solve their problems. A second possibility is that he is simply not up to the task by virtue of his lack of experience and a character defect that might not have been so debilitating at some other time in history. Those of us who were bewitched by his eloquence on the campaign trail chose to ignore some disquieting aspects of his biography: that he had accomplished very little before he ran for president, having never run a business or a state; that he had a singularly unremarkable career as a law professor, publishing nothing in 12 years at the University of Chicago other than an autobiography; and that, before joining the United States Senate, he had voted "present" (instead of "yea" or "nay") 130 times, sometimes dodging difficult issues.

Will the disappointed masses vote for Barack Obama's re-election in 2012? Yes. Black voters will feel the pull of loyalty and the most ardent of Democrats would never consider voting for a Republican. Period.

The task is tougher now, though. President Obama is a known entity. We've watched as he flounders and tosses the work to Congress. We've clucked as he and Michelle party like rock stars and appear oblivious to the despair felt by many in these times of high unemployment and uncertainty. "No drama Obama" has transitioned into a very cold and calculating character.

C'mon. What kind of man writes an autobiography at such a young age when his biggest career accomplishment was election to the Illinois state legislature? It was all about book sales as he pursued his accelerated drive into national politics. Frankly, the arrogance was astounding to those of us not in the Obama swoon. How could our friends and family be so gullible about this guy?

I admit, I never drank the Obama kool-aid. I heard a couple of stories about the guy during his college days by friends of friends who were Obama classmates along the way, back in the day. There was a lack of folks coming forward to speak of their old friend, Barack or their classmate Barack, or their mentor Barack. There was no one out there but the likes of Rev Wright or Oprah singing his praises.

Yes. I blame Oprah for the Obama presidency. I'm only about half kidding about that.

Barack Obama is savvy enough to accomplish goals but not really so smart of a man.

Our economic distress seems to bear this thought out. And, to Barack Obama, it is everyone else's fault.

Mr. Obama, by contrast, appears to consider himself immune from error. Perhaps this explains why he has now doubled down on Heckuva Job Geithner. It also explains his insulting and politically inept habit of suggesting—whether the issue is health care, or Arab-Israeli peace, or change we can believe in at some point in God's good time—that the fault always lies in the failure of his audiences to listen attentively. It doesn't. In politics, a failure of communication is always the fault of the communicator.

Much of the media has spent the past decade obsessing about the malapropisms of George W. Bush, the ignorance of Sarah Palin, and perhaps soon the stupidity of Rick Perry. Nothing is so typical of middling minds than to harp on the intellectual deficiencies of the slightly less smart and considerably more successful.

But it takes actual smarts to understand that glibness and self-belief are not sufficient proof of genuine intelligence. Stupid is as stupid does, said the great philosopher Forrest Gump. The presidency of Barack Obama is a case study in stupid does.

And now it just looks like we are stuck with another Jimmy Carter.

So it must have stung when the New York Times's Maureen Dowd recently quoted an unnamed Democratic senator moaning that "we are watching him turn into Jimmy Carter right before our eyes."

She was not alone. Eric Alterman earlier this year weighed in with a column in U.S. News whose headline declares, "Obama's Awful '70s Show Echoes Jimmy Carter." The unkindest cut of all comes from Zbigniew Brzezinski—Jimmy Carter's national security adviser and one of the first to hop aboard the Obama bandwagon—who on MSNBC last month brought up the word most associated with Mr. Carter, though he never actually said it: "malaise."

Many have noticed this trend. Few appear to appreciate that the record shows an even stronger parallel between Messrs. Obama and Carter. For there was a day—especially after he finished ahead in the 1976 Iowa caucuses—that Mr. Carter was hailed as the intelligent outsider who was going to clean up Washington and forever change American politics.

Some of us knew Barack Obama would never live up to the hype of the 2008 campaign. No person could do that. Yet, the press and the willing puppets in the media continued on and were all in for their favorite candidate. And, most of all to blame is Barack Obama himself. He is the biggest fan of his hype. He brings a whole new level of arrogance to the White House.

In other words, it's not just the way President Obama's policies have not worked out that invites the Jimmy Carter parallel. It's also the over-the-top praise each received before entering office. In both 1976 and 2008, each Democrat was presented as the kind of smart, cool, new politico who was going to—fill in the cliché—"transcend politics as we know it," "appeal across traditional lines," "bring America together," etc.

Ironically, here Mr. Romney has a case, for some of the differences between the two presidents favor Mr. Carter. Faced with raging inflation and a declining dollar, President Carter appointed Paul Volcker chairman of the Federal Reserve. He supported deregulation. Most of all, in contrast to President Obama, who was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize because he wasn't George W. Bush, President Carter actually earned his, at least for the Camp David Accords that brought about peace between Israel and Egypt.

Mr. Obama can't be blamed for the excesses that saw him hailed as the new FDR, the new JFK or the new Lincoln, or for the Norwegian committee that bestowed upon him a Nobel. He can be held to account for encouraging them: by delivering a campaign speech in Berlin, by accepting a prize he hadn't earned, by breaking out not only a Lincoln quotation but the Lincoln china and the Lincoln Bible for his inauguration.

An American politician steeped in—dare we say it?—Niebuhrian realism would have appreciated that no president could live up to such hype. And such a man would not be surprised to find that people who once hailed him as the reincarnation of Abraham Lincoln are now dismissing him as the second coming of Jimmy Carter.

The mighty Barack Obama has fallen. Even his most ardent supporters are noticing.

Obama Breaks Silence About Credit Rating Downgrade

President Obama broke his silence on the credit rating downgrade issued by S&P last Friday. Secretary Geithner was told that morning that the downgrade would move forward and thus, the President had plenty of time to put a statement together to re-assure the American public - and world markets alike - that the sun would come out tomorrow.

He went to Camp David with his family and we heard nothing from him, except for a brief statement of sympathy over the loss of our SEALs in Afghanistan. Apparently he was all tuckered out from the five birthday parties and fundraisers thrown for him last week.

Hey, did those swell Hollywood stars and moguls and sports folks and media types fly into D.C. on their private jets - no doubt listed in a corporate name for tax reasons, thus making them evil corporate jets -for the big bash at the White House? Just curious.

The predictable happened - Asian markets plunged and our DOW and S&P followed suit on Monday. Obama finally spoke Monday afternoon. It was a whole lot of nothing,frankly.

The usual pointing to a Congress deeply divided on political philosophy and fiscal policy, to the need for continuing unemployment benefits for those out of work,and then to extending the payroll tax cut in place currently along with spending for construction projects.

The good news here is by coming together to deal with the long-term debt challenge. We would have more room to implement key proposals that can get the economy to grow faster. Specifically, we should extend the payroll tax cut as soon as possible so that workers have more money in their paychecks next year and businesses have more customers next year.

We should continue to make sure that if you’re one of the millions of Americans who is out there looking for a job, you can get the unemployment insurance that your tax dollars contributed to. That will also put money in people’s pockets and more customers in stores. In fact, if Congress fails to extend the payroll tax cut, and the unemployment benefits that I’ve called for it can mean one million fewer jobs and half a percent less growth. This is something we can do immediately, something we can do as soon as Congress gets back. We should also help companies that want to repair our roads, and bridges, and airports so that thousands of construction workers that have been without a job for the past few years can get a paycheck again that will also help to spur economic growth. These aren’t Democratic proposals, these aren’t big government proposals. These are ideas that traditionally Republicans have agreed to, have agreed to countless times in the past. There’s no reason we shouldn’t act on them now. None. I know we’re going through a tough time right now. We’ve been going through a tough time for the last two and a half years.

And, oh yeah, he'll offer up some of his own suggestions. After bloviating about the possible, predicted bickering to come out of the committee set up in the debt ceiling agreement for further spending cuts at the end of the year, he said his suggestions would be something for the committee to work with.

I intend to present my own recommendations over the coming weeks on how we should proceed. And that committee will have this administration’s full cooperation. And I assure you, we will stay on it until we get the job done.

That would be a first for Obama, you know - offering recommendations to solve a problem. He is good at speak about lofty suggestions and ideas but never presents solutions in the form of recommendations to any problem. Saying you want to tax millionaires and billionaires at a higher rate is an idea, not a recommendation. A recommendation involves setting a rate of taxation and an income level at which the higher rate kicks in.

In the end, it was just more of the same. He'll get back to us on it. And no questions allowed from the press.

The Beatles Abbey Road Photo Shoot

Forty-two years ago today, an iconic photo was shot for an album of the latest Beatles songs. Any Baby Boomer worth his or her salt instantly recognizes the cover shot of the Abbey Road album.

I think it is my favorite album by The Beatles.

Forty years. Wow. We sure are moving along life's path. Lots of days I don't feel much older than that summer - in 1969 I was an incoming high school freshman. An anxious summer, excitment for high school yet apprehensive about my venture into life in an all girls Catholic school. Until then, I was a product of public school education in Shreveport, Louisiana and I was on the verge of a whole new experience. Nuns in habits and all that.

I'm not Catholic.

Looking back now, at that time my husband was a member of the U.S. Air Force stationed in Taiwan during the Vietnam war. A favorite of his from those days was Jim Morrison and The Doors. Gritty. Guy music. We would not meet for many years yet.

Funny where we all end up.

HERE is a video of the photo shoot:



Enjoy a little trip down memory lane.

Obama Re-Election Bid Exploits SEALs Movie Premiere

Nothing like a good old-fashioned propaganda flick to mesh with the Obama re-election bid in 2012. Seems a movie exploiting the heroic capture and killing of Osama bin Laden by that team of SEALS is now going Hollywood and set to premiere in October 2012.

Even Mo Dowd in The New York Times is a bit surprised (really?) by the brazenish approach.

The White House clearly blessed the dramatic reconstruction of the mission by Nicholas Schmidle in The New Yorker — so vividly descriptive of the SEALS' looks, quotes and thoughts that Schmidle had to clarify after the piece was published that he had not actually talked to any of them...

The White House is also counting on the ... big-screen version of the killing of bin Laden to counter Obama's growing reputation as ineffectual.

The Sony film by the Oscar-winning pair who made "The Hurt Locker" will no doubt reflect the president's cool, gutsy decision against shaky odds. Just as Obamaland was hoping, the movie is scheduled to open on Oct. 12, 2012 — perfectly timed to give a home-stretch boost to a campaign that has grown tougher.

The moviemakers are getting top-level access to the most classified mission in history from an administration that has tried to throw more people in jail for leaking classified information than the Bush administration.

It was clear that the White House had outsourced the job of manning up the president's image to Hollywood when Boal got welcomed to the upper echelons of the White House and the Pentagon and showed up recently — to the surprise of some military officers — at a CIA ceremony celebrating the hero SEALs.

Poor Ms. Dowd. She's all worried about her guy, Barack. He looks to be more concerned with his own re-election than that of the lives of his subjects. The woman is awakening to reality!

Barack Obama blazed like Luke Skywalker in 2008, but he never learned to channel the Force. And now the Tea Party has run off with his light saber.

The dissonance of his promise and his reality is jarring.

When he had power, he didn't use it. He wanted to be a "transformational" president like Ronald Reagan, but failed to understand that Reagan's strategic shows of strength allowed him to keep the whip hand without raising his voice.

And now, just when the high school principal in the Oval has been browbeating Congress to help create jobs, he is once more distracted from that task as he tries to save his own.

He goes to fundraisers to tell people to stick with him, but he seems to be trying to reassure himself.

Let's remember these are the same liberals that shouted from the rooftops that George W. Bush was using the tragedy of 9/11/01 for his political advantage.

Or, Rudy Guiliani.

Or, George Pataki.

That was then. This is now.

The fact is, our country grieves for the loss of military heroes this weekend. The President and his re-election team are counting on using the capture of bin Laden as proof that Obama can show decision making skills where there is no evidence otherwise. Now, members of the very team of SEALs that he hopes to exploit are dead.

In the single deadliest loss for U.S. troops since the Afghan war began in late 2001, 30 service members died early Saturday when a helicopter carrying them went down while they were reinforcing other troops, officials said.

Insurgents are believed to have shot down the CH-47 Chinook, a U.S. military official said. The Taliban claimed militants downed the helicopter with a rocket-propelled grenade.

Among the 25 U.S. special operations forces killed in Wardak province were 22 Navy SEALS, considered to be the "best of the best." Seven Afghan troops also died.

The majority of the Navy SEALs who died belonged to the same covert unit that conducted the raid that killed Osama bin Laden in May, though they were not the same men, the military official said.

They deserve so much better from their Commander-in-Chief.

Is It Time for Geithner to Go?

Is it time for Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner to go? He is now the last remaining member of the original Obama economic team in place. The calls have begun for his resignation, accelerated by the truly dismal economic events of the past week.

After weeks of claiming a debt ceiling deal was crucial to keep the stock market stable, the deal didn't. The stock market did a nose dive when the deal wasn't strong enough on the reform side for S&P, resulting in a downgrade of our country's credit rating for the first time ever in our history.

The reality is that no one can know for sure how much this recent wave of stock market pessimism reflects disappointment over the debt-ceiling deal. Markets can be fickle and could easily turnaround as fast as they headed south. What we can say with certainty is that the market rally that Washington said to expect after a bill was passed has not materialized. Once again, Washington's conventional wisdom was wrong. And that is something you can almost always take to the bank.

Geithner confidently proclaimed that there was absolutely no risk of a credit rating downgrade before there was, in fact, a credit rating downgrade. HERE is the tape.

An accounting error seems to be the sticking point that resulted in the decision of S&P to go forward with the downgrade. That is the Treasury Department's story and they are sticking to it.

The error came about because S&P took the amount of deficit reduction CBO calculated from the Budget Control Act and applied it to the wrong starting point, or “baseline.”

Specifically, CBO calculated that the Budget Control Act, including its discretionary caps, would save $2.1 trillion relative to a “baseline” in which current discretionary funding levels grow with inflation.

S&P incorrectly added that same $2.1 trillion in deficit reduction to an entirely different “baseline” where discretionary funding levels grow with nominal GDP over the next 10 years. Relative to this alternative “baseline,” the Budget Control Act will save more than $4 trillion over ten years – or over $2 trillion more than S&P calculated. (The baseline in which discretionary spending grows with nominal GDP is substantially higher because CBO assumes that nominal GDP grows by just under 5 percent a year on average, while inflation is around 2.5 percent a year on average.

The impact of this mistake was to dramatically overstate projected deficits—by $2 trillion over 10 years. As anybody who has followed the fiscal discussions knows, a change of this magnitude is very significant. Nonetheless, S&P did not believe a mistake of this magnitude was significant enough to warrant reconsidering their judgment, or even significant enough to warrant another day to carefully re-evaluate their analysis.

So, are they saying that it was a source of stubborn pride that forced S&P to go ahead and issue the downgrade? The agency's pride got in the way and admitting the error was not in the equation, though the next day they did do so? The other credit agencies have not followed suit with downgrades.

Republicans are calling for Geithner's resignatinon. Senator Rand Paul issued this statement Saturday:

This is not the first time Secretary Geithner and his team have failed to correctly diagnose or manage an economic problem. During his tenure at the Federal Reserve and as Treasury Secretary, Secretary Geithner has had a direct role in the failure of the Fed to diagnose and act on the housing crisis. He presided over bank bailouts, auto bailouts and failed trillion-dollar stimulus plans.

Last year, he announced to the American people “welcome to the recovery,” when in fact the our economic crisis has continued. He has contributed not only to the first-ever debt downgrade, but is on the record as clearly disputing it could ever happen.

“There is plenty of blame to go around. Both parties have contributed to our $14 trillion debt. But it is hard to say this crisis wasn’t predictable, because it was. House and Senate conservatives clearly predicted this, and also offered the only solution that could have prevented our downgrade with our Cut Cap and Balance plan,” Sen. Paul continued. “We must rescue our finances through a Balanced Budget Amendment, and we must do it soon. We must cut spending immediately. And we must get new leadership, and put in place people who have seen problems coming and offered credible solutions, rather than those who continue to misdiagnose and mismanage our economy.”

Friday, GOP Presidential candidate Michele Bachmann called for Geithner's resignation.

Speaker of the House Boehner called for Geithner's resignation, though not for the first time.

Boehner has called on Geithner to step down before, but an aide to the Ohio Republican told The Hill Saturday morning that the speaker really wants Geithner to leave in the wake of Standard and Poor’s downgrading of the U.S. credit rating from AAA to AA+.

Is it time for Geithner to go?

Lucy at 100 Years

We'll file this one under "life".

Happy 100th birthday to Lucille Ball.

I cannot count the half hour chunks of time that have been spent watching re-runs of I Love Lucy. In my opinion, Lucille Ball is in a league of her own. She paved the way for women in comedy and in the business end of entertainment. She was way ahead of her time and I am thankful.

Even Google got into the act.

The Google doodle was replaced with a vintage TV set that drew the Google logo in a manner similar to the I Love Lucy opening credits. A "Play" button appeared and clicking it brought up a few seconds of various Lucy episodes, including the famous scene featuring Lucy and Ethel working in a candy factory. Flip the "channels" for six Lucy moments, powered by YouTube.

She is remembered as a business powerhouse in Hollywood and partner with her husband, Desi Arnaz.

Remembered as a dizzy sitcom redhead with show business aspirations, Lucille Ball was, in fact, a show business powerhouse and television pioneer. Throughout her teen years, Ball tried unsuccessfully to launch her show business career, finally landing a spot as a "Ziegfeld Girl". She launched her Hollywood career as one of the "Goldwyn Girls", but she moved out from the crowd of starlets to starring roles. With "I Love Lucy" (1951), she and husband Desi Arnaz pioneered the 3-camera technique now the standard in filming TV sitcoms, and the concept of syndicating television programs. She was also the first woman to own her own film studio as the head of Desilu.

As a woman, I love that she demanded Desi play her onscreen husband. She broke taboos by showing bedroom scenes, now completely tame by today's standards. Back then it was twin beds and no racy dialogue. She even filmed while pregnant with her real life son and made it into an episode when he was born. That was unheard of then.

A legend in her own time. Well done.

Obama Signs FAA Bill Extension Held Up By Democrats

Before winging off to Camp David for the weekend, President Obama signed the bill to end the partial shutdown of the FAA.

The shutdown, which began July 23, is estimated to have cost the federal government $30 million because taxes that are normally collected on airline ticket purchases were unable to be deposited in the Aviation Trust Fund.

In addition to the 4,000 furloughed FAA workers, transportation observers said another 70,000 workers were placed out of work because about 200 airport construction projects were canceled during the impasse.

Earlier this week, Obama had called the shutdown of the FAA an "example of how undone work in Washington can have an adverse effect on the economy."

Under scrutiny of industry experts, the 70,000 number is debatable. Some have stated in interviews that the number may have been boosted by three times the amount of workers actually affected.

So how did we get here? The shutdown happened because Democrats refused to accept the bill with spending cuts, insisting on a clean bill instead.

With Obama's signature, furloughs for 4,000 FAA workers come to end and the beleaguered agency will be funded through Sept. 16.

Negotiations on the bill had been bogged down by provisions in the House version that cut subsidies for flight service to 13 rural airports, including facilities in Montana, Nevada and West Virginia.

The Democrats didn't want to give up the pork projects. The subsidies mean votes. When questioned by ABC News Jonathan Karl on the fact that the Democrats were causing the shutdown, though they were holding a press conference to blame the GOP, the Democrats turned ugly on the press. Not used to being held accountable or questioned with real fact gathering questions, not softballs, Senator Schumer, in particular, went testy.

Schumer claimed the GOP were holding the bill "hostage" and "holding a gun" to the heads of Democrats demanding spending cuts. Where's the new tone, Chuck?

Wednesday, Democratic Senators and House Whip Steny Hoyer held a press conference to blame Republicans for the FAA shutdown. Thursday, after the press conference, they announced a deal. This morning, the Senate voted to a pass bill it could have passed in order to avoid the 13-day FAA shutdown.

Funny thing, though. When questioned and actually held accountable, the Democrats suddenly saw the light. The bill was passed after a deal was struck and then the President was able to sign it Friday. Coincidence?

On Thursday, Congress reached a bipartisan compromise to end the two-week long shutdown and temporarily extend funding for the FAA. This morning, the Senate was in session for just seconds to pass the bill by unanimous consent.

One of the loud ones at the press conference was Senator Barbara Boxer. She called the reporter "naive". Nice, huh? She called foul on Republicans using the bill to get spending cuts. Another funny thing - she seems to forget she has a history in this area, too.

Sen. Barbara Boxer chided Karl for showing "a certain naivete" in not understanding that "this is about government threats." She also challenged Karl by asking if he had reported on GOP opposition to a vote on a "clean" bill. "Clean" here means no pork cuts.

Boxer seemed to have forgotten that she blocked a vote on the House bill. As Roll Call reported on Aug. 2, Sen. Tom Coburn, R-Okla, offered his own unanimous consent agreement to pass the House bill, which would then have gone to the president for his signature. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.), who was pushing to end the partial shutdown, said earlier in the day that he would be willing to accept the House extension.

But Boxer objected, and Democrats blamed Republicans for the impasse.

The days of Democrats shutting the process down and then blaming Republicans for it may be limited. That would be true progress.

S & P Lowers U.S. Credit Rating

This administration is quite fond of claiming every action as "historic". It is ridiculous, to be sure, but it's their habit. Today our nation's credit rating has been downgraded by Standard & Poor's for the first time in our history. We are no longer a nation with a AAA rating.

Now that's historic.

The following is a press release from Standard & Poor’s:

– We have lowered our long-term sovereign credit rating on the United States of America to ‘AA+’ from ‘AAA’ and affirmed the ‘A-1+’ short-term rating.

– We have also removed both the short- and long-term ratings from CreditWatch negative.

– The downgrade reflects our opinion that the fiscal consolidation plan that Congress and the Administration recently agreed to falls short of what, in our view, would be necessary to stabilize the government’s medium-term debt dynamics.

– More broadly, the downgrade reflects our view that the effectiveness, stability, and predictability of American policymaking and political institutions have weakened at a time of ongoing fiscal and economic challenges to a degree more than we envisioned when we assigned a negative outlook to the rating on April 18, 2011.

– Since then, we have changed our view of the difficulties in bridging the gulf between the political parties over fiscal policy, which makes us pessimistic about the capacity of Congress and the Administration to be able to leverage their agreement this week into a broader fiscal consolidation plan that stabilizes the government’s debt dynamics any time soon.

– The outlook on the long-term rating is negative. We could lower the long-term rating to ‘AA’ within the next two years if we see that less reduction in spending than agreed to, higher interest rates, or new fiscal pressures during the period result in a higher general government debt trajectory than we currently assume in our base case.

Standard & Poor’s takes no position on the mix of spending and revenue measures that Congress and the Administration might conclude is appropriate for putting the U.S.’s finances on a sustainable footing.

S&P admitted to a math error in its calculations - by about $2 Trillion. This will open the door to conspiracy theorists everywhere. They deserve it.

S&P dipped into playing politics and the results weren't too nifty. Our politicians are cowards, unwilling to make the tough calls necessary in entitlement spending and waste and fraud abuse within government spending. There is no doubt in my mind that now the Democrats will come out swinging for tax increases, feeling newly emboldened by this downgrade. Why? Because they don't get it. The $1 Trillion liberal spending experiment referred to as the Stimulus package failed magnificently. Now they only see tax increases as the solution, not spending cuts.

We are on the highway to hell, people. Prices are rising and a double dip back into another recession is predicted. The stock market suffered its biggest losses since 2008 numbers. The world is nervous.

It is not tax increases on the wealthy in this country that will pull us out of this mess. If the wealthiest were taxed at 100%, it wouldn't be enough money. Private business and opportunity provided by reduced regulations and tax breaks will do the heavy lifting. The Democrats have layered regulations and red tape on every industry in our country and it is a job killer.

Today I heard that approximately one in every seven Americans is on food stamps. It is the highest number ever. Incredible.

Now, that's historic.

Vitter Blocks Interior Department Nominee

Senator Vitter (R-LA) is using his power for good. He is blocking an Obama nominee in the Interior Department until this administration allows the backlog of hundreds of oil and gas leases in the Gulf of Mexico to be extended.

Vitter said Wednesday that he would block the nomination of Rebecca Wodder as the Interior Department's assistant secretary for fish and wildlife and parks. Vitter wants the department to extend "hundreds of Gulf of Mexico drilling leases" set to expire this year before he will lift his hold.

Good for him.

This country is in great need of jobs, with an unemployment rate sticking at 9.2%. The economic indicators of the last few weeks have been dismal, to say the least. The stock market dives on the uncertainty of it all. Crude oil prices are lower due to the assumption of slowed demand with the economic recovery poor here and abroad.

You know what might help? Jobs in the oil and gas industry. Not only does it increase our energy independence but it provides much need economic stability along the Gulf coast. People with jobs and able to pay bills, spend money at local businesses. Tax revenues rise.

We can do this. Drill here. Drill now. It just makes sense.

Mr. President, Where Are the Jobs?

House Majority Whip Kevin McCarthy (CA-22) released the following video : "Mr. President, Where are the Jobs?" There have been a lot of nice speeches about jobs. Now it's time for speeches to stop and actions to begin. The President said it would be the "Recovery Summer" last year, but when you look at entrepreneurship over the last twelve months it's been the lowest in a decade. It's time to read the data, stop the speeches, and take action that creates jobs, empowers entrepreneurs and gets this country working again. Now is a time for action, not political posturing.

Here is the video:

It's Not Racism But Incompetence Of Obama

It is difficult to accept that a man so talented at successfully delivering a speech, via teleprompter, is so utterly bad in mastering political skills. Yet, we continue to see it play out in Barack Obama's presidency.

Barack Obama and his supporters continue to use the easy charge of racism when the public notices what a failure this administration has been to date. In fact, the race card has been thrown in debates so often - going back to the candidacy of Obama in 2008 - that the term has been completely diluted. It no longer has any oomph in its execution.

Rep Sheila Jackson-Lee of Texas lobbed the race card as recently as the debt ceiling debates in Congress were taking place. She thought it perfectly reasonable to claim it was racism that was denying the President his debt ceiling demands. Never mind it was because for the first time, this American President tripled the national debt in a matter of two years and the newly elected members of Congress were holding him accountable. It wasn't racism. It was accountability.

Racism isn't the cause of Barack Obama's failed administration. The cause is his inability to lead.

Let us be clear: We do not think that racism is the primary reason, or even a significant factor, in the failures of Obama's presidency. Obama is failing because of his inexperience, poor political skills, and rigid adherence to bad ideas. America is ready to be led by a black president; the problem is that the particular man we elected president turned out not to be, and still is not, ready to lead.

To blame Obama's failures on racism is to hold him to an unreasonably low standard. It is also to give in to a false sense of despair about racial progress in America.

President Obama knows the facts point to failure and not success in his policies. He even stressed to supporters this week that they should not be "bogged down" with details of policies when asking for support in his re-election bid.

The president, in a video conference with supporters Wednesday night from Chicago, encouraged his backers to focus on broad themes when it comes to his policies on taxes and war, instead of the specifics of individual policies.

"I think the key is not to get too bogged down in detail," the president said last night.

He specifically referred to taxes and the wars. He even told them that the campaign will provide solid talking point answers to incoming questions.

Obama said his campaign, led by Jeremy Bird, his national field director, would take the lead in ensuring that volunteers have good talking points to take out on the campaign trail. The president said his administration would also lay out new initiatives that would help his grassroots volunteers sell his record.

The president, himself a past community organizer, also said it wasn't so bad for volunteers to tell questioners that they don't know the answer.

President Obama is hoping that the same indifference to previous experience - or lack of - that he experienced and benefited from in 2008 will carry him to re-election. However, the times are quite different and he is the incumbent in 2012. He has a record. This time the infatuation with his speech making abilities and skills of teleprompter reading will not be enough. There is no indication that he is a writer and relies on young, enthusiastic men for that job.

Barack Obama is no longer the candidate of limitless possibilities. He is the candidate of what-the-hell-happened?

Today is President Obama's 50th birthday. After the parties and fundraisers are finished, it would serve him well that he stop and reflect a bit on his path to the future.

Brian A. Terry Memorial Act - Simper Fidelis & Honor First

Chairman of the Committee on Oversight and Government, Rep Darrell Issa, has released a video honoring a fallen border patrol agent.

Here is some background:

The Border Patrol station in Bisbee, Ariz., will be renamed to honor the memory of agent Brian Terry who died December 15, 2010 after being shot in the line of duty. Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.), Chairman of the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, introduced the bill in the House of Representatives July 27.

Our nation's Border Patrol agents have a distinguished history of working to protect our borders. Agent Terry, who served our nation through his military service and his career with the Border Patrol, gave his life defending this country. Naming the Bisbee station in his honor recognizes his sacrifice, service and heroism," Issa said. "In the past half-century, 70 U.S. Border Patrol agents – including Agent Terry – have been killed while protecting our nation," said Pia Carusone, chief of staff for Rep. Giffords (D-Ariz.), whose office worked with Issa on the legislation. "Congresswoman Giffords has led the fight for increased border security so Agent Terry and others will not have died in vain.

"Terry's family issued a statement, saying, "From the very start, Brian loved his job as a Border Patrol agent and loved his fellow agents. The new Naco Station named in Brian's honor will serve as a lasting memory for all those who knew Brian.

"In December 2010, Agent Terry was shot and killed while on patrol 14 miles north of the U.S.-Mexico border near Rio Rico, Ariz., during an armed confrontation with suspected criminals. Prior to joining the U.S. Border Patrol, Agent Terry served in the U.S. Marine Corps and served as a police officer in Michigan.

Agent Terry's murder is linked to Operation Fast and Furious, a reckless program where federal law enforcement agencies knowingly allowed the trafficking of illegally purchased weapons into Mexico, arming drug cartels. The Oversight and Government Reform Committee is conducting an ongoing investigation to determine which U.S. officials are responsible for creating and authorizing the deadly program. The bill, H.R. 2668, the "Brian A. Terry Memorial Act," has 52 Democratic and Republican cosponsors including principal cosponsor Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-Md.), Ranking Member of the Oversight and Government Reform Committee.

The station, located at 2136 S. Naco Highway, is located in the district of Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-Ariz.) and is only the second border patrol station to be named for a fallen agent. The Border Patrol's Murrieta, Calif., station is named in honor of Agents Theodore L. Newton, Jr. and George F. Azrak, two agents killed on duty in 1967, by an earlier act authored by Rep. Issa.

Watch the video:

Planking for Higher Ed Reform

A current fad is something called planking. Heard of it? It involves the participant laying horizontal on some odd object or in a strange location with his/her arms at his/her side. Like a plank. Get it? Me, either, but it's the thing.

In my college days, the fad was streaking.

A video has been released by Rock the Ivory Tower that combines planking and the message in support of higher education reform. The location is the campus of the University of Texas.

News Flash: Oprah is Not a Harlot

Saturday morning, thousands are expected to begin arriving at Reliant Stadium in Houston to spend the day in prayer and fasting. It is described as a family day, complete with food, nursing rooms, and security at the door. There is a $15 fee to park but the day is free. The event was promoted by Governor Perry.

In line with his previous action of calling for a weekend of prayer to end the draught and wild fires of dry and dusty Texas, this event has brought about much criticism, including my own. I do not think this is what our Governor should be investing in so heavily as he prepares to run for President, and as a sitting Governor.

The event smacks of political posturing, intended or not. The 'invitation' to the event called for Christians to gather for prayer and fasting for our nation's woes. From the beginning it was exclusionary and targeted to the evangelical, fundamentalist,religious right among us. They are the group Perry's upcoming Presidential campaign will lean on most heavily in the primary race. Recently, Perry made a comment that he feels "called" to run for President.

Perry is quite invested in the event - he recorded robocalls inviting people to the event. I know that to be true, as our household received one. Now, with the pushback from the public and a lawsuit or two, Perry is distancing himself from the whole thing. Now his spokespeople say it is unclear the role in which Perry will play and if he will speak to the crowd.

I read an interesting article in the Sunday Houston Chronicle about the sponsors of the event. Turns out, the people behind the organization of this extravaganza are quite icky folks, in my opinion. The first mentioned was Rev. Donald Wildmon of the American Family Association from Tupelo, Mississippi. What began as an organization fighting television programming deemed inappropriate, they now oppose "gay rights, feminism, and evolution", according to the Chronicle article.

Also listed was the International House of Prayer and "its affiliate, The Call, both based in Kansas City, Mo. In 1999, Mike Bickle founded this group and sponsors "perpetual prayer to help usher in the Final Days", the Chronicle reports. He warns of something he calls "Harlot Babylon". This is where Oprah Winfrey come in to the story. "I believe that one of the main pastors of the Harlot movement - it's not the Harlot movement yet - is Oprah" Bickle has proclaimed. "She is winsome, she is kind, she is reasonable. She is utterly deceived."

Ok.

Then there is The Call's founder. Lou Engle "is an outspoken opponent of gay rights who journeyed to Uganda last year to support religious activists backing a law that would have imposed the death penalty on homosexuals." Any problems with that, my fellow Christians?

And, last to be mentioned were the organizers of The Response, who are being helped by the New Apostolic Reformation. "With roots in Pentecostalism, the movement emphasizes ecstatic worship, prophecy and political activism. According to their writings, followers of the movement believe they are leading an army of God that will take over society and civilian government."

I guessing if such an emphasis from, say, a fundamentalist Muslim group was stated for an event, all kinds of commotion would be going on. Just a thought.

If I were Governor Perry's campaign advisor, which I am not, I would have never given the nod to this. This is exclusive, not inclusive, and though it may help in the primary, it will be a big negative in the general election, should he get the nomination. Frankly, these people would vote for him in the primary anyway. If he is strong against his competition for the religious right voter - say, Rick Santorium and Michele Bachmann - and I think he will be, then this is courting unnecessary hurdles down the road.

I do not necessarily doubt the sincerity of the Governor in his turn to religion when times are so tough in our nation. We all feel it. This is the problem when politics and religion merge. Asking supporters to pray for our nation is fine. That is what he did for the much needed rain for Texas. To support organization of this event, however, is wrong.

For full disclosure - yes, I consider myself a Christian. I was raised in the First Presbyterian Church in Shreveport, Louisiana. My father was asked to be a Deacon there and my mother was active with the ladies circles. My sisters and I were in the youth choir and were all baptised there.

Maybe my idea of Christianity is different, but I don't think it is out of the mainstream. I sure hope not.

Gabby Giffords Returns to DC for Debt Ceiling Vote

By a vote of 269 to 161, the House of Representatives passed the debt ceiling bill compromise. Prior to the vote Monday evening, ugly partisan rhetoric was the name of the game.

The Vice President made an appearance on cable news shows thanks to his willingness to describe Tea Party Republicans as terrorists. Hey, where's the new tone, Joe? How can anyone expect party members to be civil if the top leadership is in the gutter?

Biden was agreeing with a line of argument made by Rep. Mike Doyle (D-Pa.) at a two-hour, closed-door Democratic Caucus meeting.

“We have negotiated with terrorists,” an angry Doyle said, according to sources in the room. “This small group of terrorists have made it impossible to spend any money.”

Biden, driven by his Democratic allies’ misgivings about the debt-limit deal, responded: “They have acted like terrorists.”

In the midst of all the ugly talk, who returned to D.C. for a vote on the debt ceiling? Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords - the inspiration for all the "new tone" nonsense from Team Obama after she was shot by a lunatic as she met with constituents in Arizona last January.

To rapturous applause from both Republicans and Democrats, the convalescent congresswoman appeared in the House of Representatives with minutes left before the end of the vote, walking unsteadily and mouthing "thank you" to those who had leapt to their feet to welcome her back, including the Vice-President Joe Biden and the Tea Party favourite Michele Bachmann.

Such a show of unity had been rare in the weeks leading up to the vote, a fact Giffords, a Democrat, observed in a statement released afterwards.

"I have closely followed the debate over our debt ceiling and have been deeply disappointed at what's going on in Washington. I strongly believe that crossing the aisle for the good of the American people is more important than party politics," she said.

Good for you, Gabby. Continued success with your recovery.