Obama stumps spinners

It's really hard being a Republican these days. They're having trouble figuring out how to attack Obama and how to spin their defeat. So far, Obama is out-Tefloning Ronald Reagen. They tried so hard to make something out of his connection with Blagojevich. Then, when they had not a shred to challenge his statement that he hadn't talked with him, they tried to insinuate something sinister out of the delay in releasing the internal review of his entire staff's contacts with Blago and his aides. Turns out there was nothing there either. In fact, the report was so comprehensive, even including minor meetings like Valerie Jarrett's chance encounter with Blago at the governor's conference, that the report reeks of transparency rather than cover-up. So now the FOXNews and talk radio guys -- as well as many of the MSM -- have eggs all over their faces.

Now the Repubs are really reaching to spin their own demise. My two finalists for the prize, so far, go to: (1) the pundit (I've lost the source) who claimed that the Iraqi journalist throwing shoes at Bush is proof of the success of the Iraq war. See, he was exercising his freedom of speech that is the result of toppling Sadaam, who would have had him drawn and quartered on the spot. Of course, the fact that he was exercising the Iraqi's worst insult to the person who ordered their 'liberation,' and that that sentiment has been echoed and celebrated not only in Iraq, but all over the Muslim world, is beside the point.

And (2) Karl Rove for his claim that Joe Biden has demanded more power as VP than Cheney ever did. See, Biden "demands" that he be in on every major discussion and be part of every major decision. Cheney never "made that demand." No, he didn't have to "demand" it; that's not his style. He just slyly insinuated himself and took advantage of a clueless Prez, besides ordering that all emails to the National Security Adviser be routed, first, through his office. Cheney did it slyly behind everybody's back, including Bush's. And Cheney claimed that his office was not even in the Executive Branch, and therefore he did not have to obey laws governing record-keeping -- prompting jokes that he was creating a fourth branch of government.

In contrast, Biden quite openly and up front, told Obama that if he were his VP, he would want to be sitting at his side in every major decision and have the opportunity to give his input -- whether or not it was accepted. Obama agreed that he wanted that, too -- and they announced it openly in the press. So Cheney grabs power by subterfuge and secrecy (Condi didn't even know her emails were first being read by Cheney); Biden and Obama made their relationship transparent in defining Biden's role.

Cheney, for his part, is throwing caution to the winds in his exit interviews -- seeming to dare his critics to hold him accountable. In short, he has admitted to rewriting the press talking points that indicated Valerie Plame was a CIA operative, thus blowing her cover; he has acknowledged his role in the torture debates but still insists that "we do not torture;" and he has claimed that "anything the President does in a time of war is not illegal." Not quite as sweeping a claim as Richard Nixon made, since he limits it to "time of war." But the thinking is the same: the President is above the law and above the power of Congress and the Courts to overrule him. And then, in his customary arrogant assumption that he knows better than anyone else, he predicts that the Obama team will, in time, come to appreciate the enhanced executive power they have forged, "once they see what we were dealing with." Get the message: our critics are just naive, uninformed; if they knew what we know, they would agree with us -- and they eventually will. Because we are, of course, right.

I don't think any thinking people are buying this malarkey; unfortunately, not many are even paying attention, when we should be running them out of town with tar and feathers.

Only 27 more days !!! Happy Days Are Here Again !!!

Ralph