Definitely not comedy gold: Obama insults the disabled on the Tonight Show. When it rains it pours.

Keith Olbermann worries what “we” should do about it. Hmm, nothing like that ferocious independent media.

Don’t blame the teleprompter.

If he was “stunned” to find out about the bonuses, wait until the president finds out Tim Geithner asked for the legislative loophole to protect them.

Okay, not a good idea to have Charlie Rangel talking about taxes and violating the public trust.

The Washington Post editors don’t much care for anyone’s conduct: “Yesterday, the House had the feel of a mob scene. . Rather than bringing reason to the debate, President Obama has stoked the anger, and last night, the White House commented favorably on the House action.” But then on a late night comedy show the president said all that anger was a bad idea. Glad we’ve put away “childish things”?

Eugene Robinson has a nagging suspicion that Tim Geithner doesn’t “get it.” No! Couldn’t be. Not since Alexander Hamilton. . .

I wonder if mainstream media support for the stimulus plan is draining.

Gerald Seib has it right on the lesson of the the AIG bonuses: “the government by and large has no business owning and running businesses — and it is the majority owner of AIG. The cultures of the public and private sectors are simply too different.” So where is the exit strategy?

Rupert Murdoch’s must-read speech includes this: “I do not pretend to have all the answers to Gaza this evening. But I do know this: The free world makes a terrible mistake if we deceive ourselves into thinking this is not our fight. In the end, the Israeli people are fighting the same enemy we are: cold-blooded killers who reject peace, who reject freedom and who rule by the suicide vest, the car bomb and the human shield.”

Will CBO give Kent Conrad and other Red state Democrats the ammunition they need to overhaul Obama’s budget? Right now the administration is low on credibility so it might be an opportune time for fiscal conservatives to strike.

Ross Baker: “I want to know who, in the Obama Administration, was responsible for the proposal to compel combat-wounded veterans to use their private insurance to pay hospital and rehabilitation costs.  . . It was a move that even the Clinton Administration wouldn’t have tried in their worst anti-military snit. . . If you can vet people for non-payment of taxes, you should also vet them for stupidity.” Well, then Washington would be a ghost town.

Is the AIG vortex going to suck in Richard Holbrooke? It is sort of like a sci-fi movie wreaking havoc and gobbling up anything in its path.

And it’s headed for the NY-20 race.

Clearly, it is taking its toll on Chris Dodd: “The fierce reaction back in his home state, however, underscores the peril the usually politically invulnerable senator faces.In dozens of interviews, residents said they were appalled by Mr. Dodd’s ties to financial firms and believed that he had damaged himself as he prepares to run for re-election next year. Even some who have been steadfast supporters worry that after 28 years in the Senate, Mr. Dodd, 64, has been seduced by the power of Washington and grown distant from his constituents in this heavily Democratic state, which has been hit hard by the economic downturn.”

Or maybe, as Tom Maguire points out, it’s just a “distraction” — to anyone getting their JournoList talking point of the day.

Michael Gerson is on to something: “‘I’ll take responsibility,’ says the president — before, in the next few breaths, explaining, ‘We didn’t grant these contracts.’ And, ‘We’ve got a lot on our plate.’ And, ‘It’s my job to make sure that we fix these messes, even if I don’t make them.’ So Obama seems to be saying: I’ll take credit for taking the blame for something that is entirely the fault of others. Positively Clintonian.”

Exactly right: “‘Meet the Press’ is now the de facto safe show on Sunday morning – ’safe,’ that is, for those being interviewed. [David]Gregory has been handed perhaps the most important program in television journalism.  It’s time to start acting like the king who rules wisely yet ruthlessly.”

If you thought those AIG bonuses were undeserved, you’re probably not going to think much of the ones paid to Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae execs. A helpful analysis is here.

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This entry was posted on Friday, March 20th, 2009 at 7:45 AM and is filed under Contentions. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.