Open Thread: An Imaginary Tax Increase
Ever since his early days as a candidate for the U.S. Senate, Barack Obama has had a penchant for creating straw men out of his opponents' policy ideas and then arguing against his fictictious version of their viewpoints.
He's been very careful to do this of late in the area of taxes. While he likely wants to raise income taxes on all taxpayers similar to the other taxes he's raised on health…
AP Seems Stunned That Yesterday's Auction of 'Ultra-safe' Treasuries D
Whoever wrote the Associated Press's brief dispatch yesterday on the results of the government's auction of 10-year Treasury notes seemed to be stunned and on the defensive about its result.
The item, entitled "Weak Demand at Auction of 10-Year U.S. Treasury Debt," began as follows: "U.S. Treasury prices dived Wednesday after an auction of 10-year notes drew very weak demand, signaling a lack…
David Gregory: 'Corporate America Is Waiting for Romney to Get Elected
Meet the Press host David Gregory said Wednesday, "A lot of corporate America is waiting for Romney to get elected rather than another term of Obama."
Speaking with Jimmy Fallon on NBC's Late Night, Gregory added, "That may unleash a little bit more progress" (video follows with transcript and commentary):
Comedy at AP: Economist Says Unchanged 29-Year High in Poverty Rate Sh
In her writeup covering the Census Bureau's latest release of income and poverty data, Hope Yen at the Associated Press quoted University of Michigan economist Sheldon Danziger, who specializes in "Applied Policy, Labor Markets, Poverty and Social Welfare," describing the news that the official poverty rate was statistically unchanged, moving from 15.1% of all Americans to 15.0%, as "good news…
Bob Woodward on CBS: 'Very Difficult' Republicans are 'Like a Brick Wa
Bob Woodward singled out congressional Republicans as the main party to blame for the 2011 debt ceiling showdown during an interview on Wednesday's CBS This Morning and minimized President Obama and Senate Democrats's responsibility regarding the looming fiscal cliff: "The Republicans are like a brick wall, and it's very difficult to deal with them."
Woodward also bemoaned that the press…
MSNBC Contributor Ed Rendell: 'Even People Who Lost Their Jobs Are Bet
Former Democratic governor of Pennsylvania turned MSNBC contributor Ed Rendell said something on Tuesday's Hardball that is going to make a lot of jaws drop.
"Even people who lost their jobs are better off" under Obama (video follows with transcript and commentary):
NYT's Krugman: 'You've Got to Be Kidding' if You Think Obama Should Ha
James Taranto, who puts together the Wall Street Journal feature Best of the Web, was in excellent form Monday on the shifting standards of a certain economist turned partisan hack columnist who writes for the New York Times. When it comes to Republican presidents, four years is plenty of time to deal with inherited economic problems, but when it comes to Obama, "you've got to be kidding" that…
CNBC's Joe Kernen Calls Paul Krugman a Communist
CNBC's Joe Kernen on Monday called New York Times columnist Paul Krugman a communist.
Kernen expressed the same sentiments for economist and Huffington Post contributor Dean Baker (video follows with transcript and commentary):
WaPo-ABC Presidential Poll Showing Virtual Dead Heat Among Likely Vote
Poll cooking season is officially in full swing. The headline today at the Washington Post reads: "Among likely voters, Obama-Romney close." Dan Balz and Jon Cohen report that in a September 7-9 poll, "the (presidential) race remains close among likely voters, with Obama at 49 percent and Romney at 48 percent, virtually unchanged from a poll taken just before the conventions." Ah, but Obama…
CBS Tells Panel of Undecided Voters 'Tax Increases Are Inevitable
On Saturday's CBS This Morning, CBS assembled a panel of undecided voters and tried to take their questions about the campaign. All three of the CBS folks talking -- host Anthony Mason, political analyst John Dickerson, and CBS MoneyWatch expert Jack Otter -- agreed that the economists say that "tax increases are inevitable."
Dickerson reported Mitt Romney says no to tax increases, but…
George Will: 'Romney Campaign Slogan Should Be Title of Krugman’s Bo
"The Romney campaign slogan should be the title of Paul Krugman’s book which is 'End This Depression Now' because these are depression level [employment] numbers. And, if the Republican Party cannot win in this environment, it has to get out of politics and find another business."
So said George Will on ABC's This Week Sunday (video follows with transcript and commentary):
Lindsay Lohan Tells Obama To Cut Taxes On Millionaires
Actress Lindsay Lohan on Thursday advised Barack Obama to cut taxes "for those that are listed on Forbes as 'millionaires.'"
This happened on Twitter after the President tweeted, “I’ve cut taxes for those who need it: middle-class families, small businesses.”
Math Is Hard: People Flee Workforce, But ‘Morning Joe’ Sees ‘Goo
MSNBC broadcasts often have a “Twilight Zone” feel to them, but seldom more so than the Sept. 7, “Morning Joe.” Joe Scarborough and friends' reaction to the “weak” August jobs report was enthusiasm.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics announced that morning that only 96,000 jobs were created, after 120,000 jobs were expected. The BLS also revised June and July numbers downward. The unemployment…
Michael Moore: No Obama Didn't Save Detroit
For several years the left and their media minions have claimed that by bailing out Chrysler and General Motors, President Obama saved Detroit.
On Friday, the perilously liberal schlockumentarian Michael Moore debunked this in an article at the Huffington Post astonishingly saying, "No, he didn't."
