The Commentariat -- October 2

Dana Milbank on Glenn Beck's fantastic view of history, which revolves around his obsession with Adolf Hitler & President Woodrow Wilson, both of whom, Beck says, explain President Obama. "Beck has created an online 'Beck University' to spread his unique views of the past and has hosted 'Founders' Fridays' on his television show, devoted to rewriting the nation's early history as that of a fundamentalist state." Here's Milbank on Beck & Hitler:

In case you were wondering, Justin Elliott of Salon has a viable theory of how Bob Woodward gains access to the high & mighty. ...

... Dan Balz of the Washington Post: "Bob Woodward's powerful new book, 'Obama's Wars,' underscores the delicacy of the relationship between [President] Obama and [General] Petraeus by highlighting the tensions that have long existed between the two ambitious and competitive men." ...

... Oh dear, the right's Woodward turns on its Bernstein. Andrew Breitbart says James "O'Keefe owes his supporters an explanation" for his plan to seduce or pretend to seduce CNN reporter Abbie Boudreau. For the backstory, see the September 30 Commentariat. ...

... Speaking of Brietbart & O'Keefe, Driftglass explains how "Chicago-style politics" works.

I believe in a country that rewards hard work and responsibility, a country where we look after one other, a country that says I am my brother's keeper, I am my sister's keeper, I'm going to give a hand up, join hands with folks and try to lift all of us up so we all have a better future, not just some - but all of us. That's what I believe.
-- Barack Obama, at Gen44

President Obama gets his groove back at the Gen44 shindig. He begins speaking about 2 min. in:

     ... AP: "... President Barack Obama whipped up young supporters at a rally Thursday night." He spoke before "a sold-out crowd of 3,000 at a Democratic National Committee fundraiser at DAR Constitution Hall" in Washington, D.C.

** CW: Peter Birkenhead speaks for me. "I'll quit whining when you start fighting.... When Democrats tacitly accept Republican delusions and lies, when they characterize them as mere 'differences of opinion,' or adopt them as their own, they help give body and shape -- the weight of reality -- to insidious fantasy." Read every word.

Tobin Harshaw of the New York Times has a good roundup of opinions about TARP, which has been in the news lately because of mounting evidence it may not be nearly as costly as expected. ...

... Here's a somewhat expanded version of the Simon Johnson post Harshaw links. CW: Johnson seems to me to have the best overall perspective. The "three serious mistakes" Johnson mentions seem to be at the heart of what is really wrong with TARP, as opposed to what teabaggers think is wrong with it.

Ernesto Londoño of the Washington Post: "The Taliban in recent months has developed increasingly sophisticated and nimble propaganda tactics.... U.S. officials and Afghan analysts say the Taliban has become adept at portraying the West as being on the brink of defeat, at exploiting rifts between Washington and Kabul and at disparaging the administration of President Hamid Karzai as a 'puppet' state with little reach outside the capital. The group is also attempting to assure Afghans that it has a strategy for governing the country again, presenting a platform of stamping out corruption and even protecting women's rights."

Jacob Weisberg in Slate tries to decipher what the right means by "elitism": it has "connotations of education, geography, ideology, taste, and lifestyle — such that a millionaire investment banker who works for Goldman Sachs, went to Harvard, and reads the New York Times is an elitist but a billionaire CEO who grew up in Houston, went to a state university, and contributes to Republicans, is not." Weisberg remarks that during the 2008 presidential race, John McCain,

... the son and grandson of admirals, a millionaire who couldn't remember how many houses he owned, accuse[d] his mixed-race opponent, raised by a single-mother and only a few years past paying off his student loans, of being the real elite candidate in the campaign.

Meatballs Matter. Bill Maher's "Christine O'Donnell Clip of the Week." Here O'Donnell speaks of her "faith journey":

... Daughter of Bozo. Mark Leibovich of the New York Times profiles Christine O'Donnell. ...

... Lying about the Lies. Keith Olbermann & David Corn discuss Christine O'Donnell's fantasy

Changing of the Guard

"Let's Let Pete Fix It"

President Obama announced Rahm Emanuel's retirement as Chief-of-Staff, and named Pete Rouse his replace. Emanuel spoke also:

Here's the transcript of the President's & Emanuel's remarks. AP: "President Barack Obama on Friday said a bittersweet goodbye to the energetic and fierce manager of his White House, chief of staff Rahm Emanuel, and elevated a quiet and seasoned adviser, Pete Rouse, to the most important gate-keeping job in American politics."

Here's NBC's report from this morning:

Lynn Sweet of the Chicago Sun-Times: "Emanuel flies home over the weekend and Monday launches his mayoral campaign -- not with a splashy announcement but instead a 'listening tour' in Chicago's neighborhoods as he starts to build a coalition seeking to survive the Feb. 22 nonpartisan primary and prevail in the April 5 runoff."

Rahm Emanuel delivers the commencement address at Sarah Lawrence in May 2009. Pretty funny:

Here's a 2005 event at which then-Senator Barack Obama roasts Rahm Emanuel:

The Commentariat -- October 1

Gene Robinson of the Washington Post: "... this war is only tangentially about Afghanistan. The real problem is nuclear-armed Pakistan, our supposed ally, which has played a double game -- accepting billions of dollars from the United States to fight terrorism while giving clandestine advice and support to the Taliban and tolerating the presence of al-Qaeda's senior leadership.... I the purpose of this war is really to influence events in Pakistan, we're not doing a very good job.... Isn't it time for another strategy review?"

Sherly Gay Stolberg of the New York Times profiles Pete Rouse, the "anti-Rahm" who will replace Rahm Emanuel as President Obama's chief-of-staff.

CW: I'd better post this or I'll be taken as an "irresponsible" member of the "professional left":

... Keith Hagey of Politico on the White House's relationship with the "professional left." ...

... So let's see what the professional left is up to today:

... After reading in USA Today that there's "new push by federal law enforcement agencies to hunt down war criminals and human rights abusers who have found refuge in the United States," Glenn Greenwald does his civic duty & helps the feds locate one such individual.

... Jane Hamsher, one of the most "ungrateful" of "whiners," zeroes on this New York Times article that reports, 

Many wealthy Democratic patrons, who in the past have played major roles financing outside groups to help elect the party’s candidates, are largely sitting out these crucial midterm elections.

Democratic donors like George Soros ... and his fellow billionaire Peter B. Lewis, who each gave more than $20 million to Democratic-oriented groups in the 2004 election, appear to be holding back so far.

       Hamsher writes, "I personally can’t wait till the White House press office releases Obama’s speech to millionaires in Greenwich calling Soros and Lewis 'ungrateful whiners.'”

... John Aravosis agrees with Hamsher that, "liberals are being set up to take the fall for the (possibly) looming election disaster." ...

... AND Digby remarks,

When you hear the administration and the leadership complaining about the left failing to fall in line, you might want to ask them about why they are spending hundreds of thousands of dollars supporting Democratic politicians who actively run against them. I could be wrong, but I think it might not turn out so well once they get elected.

Jackie Calmes of the New York Times: TARP, "the $700 billion lifeline to banks, insurance and auto companies — will expire at a fraction of that cost and could conceivably earn taxpayers a profit." ...

... Lori Montgomery of the Washington Post: "... the report [on TARP] challenges public perceptions of the stimulus aid as slow-moving and wasteful - an image that has fueled voter anger with the dominant party; [i.e., Democrats]." ...

... CW: for many teabaggers, TARP was their raison dêtre, & they're still yelling about it. The tea party is largely a movement about nothing. If they had any sense -- which most don't -- they would say ...

... BUT Hugh Son of Bloomberg: "U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy F. Geithner’s plan to recoup taxpayer bailout funds is increasingly dependent on the stock price of insurers American International Group Inc. and MetLife Inc. The government’s stake in AIG will rise to 92 percent from about 80 percent under the revision to the New York-based insurer’s rescue announced yesterday. The Treasury Department must find buyers for $49.1 billion in AIG stock and $8.7 billion in MetLife equities starting next year."

Stephen Colbert discusses the Pew Research poll on Americans' knowledge of religions:

David Streitfeld of the New York Times: Home "evictions are expected to slow sharply ... as state and national law enforcement officials shine a light on questionable foreclosure methods revealed by two of the country’s biggest home lenders in the last two weeks.... "If completed foreclosures were not properly done, families who bought the troubled homes could be vulnerable to claims by the former owners."

Here's some fun reported by Elise Foley of the Washington Independent: "California gubernatorial candidate Meg Whitman lost the support — and then some — of conservative group Americans for Legal Immigration PAC after allegations surfaced that she employed an undocumented housekeeper for nine years. But the pro-enforcement group isn’t just calling for her to lose the election: They want her arrested."

Nicholas Confessore of the New York Times: "Mr. Paladino’s near-physical confrontation with a New York Post reporter on Wednesday night, along with his unsubstantiated assertions about the private life of his opponent, Andrew M. Cuomo, which he later retracted, have the political world grappling with this difficult question: In an election season defined by anger, how much is too much?" ...

... The New York Times Editorial Board on Republican gubernatorial nominee Carl Paladino: "... bullying, it is increasingly clear, is Mr. Paladino’s standard operating procedure. The last thing this state needs is an out-of-control governor who can’t take the heat.

New York Times: "The News Corporation, whose holdings include The Wall Street Journal and the Fox News Channel, has donated $1 million to the United States Chamber of Commerce, the business advocacy group that is among the heaviest anti-Democratic advertisers in this year’s elections.... In August, News Corp. confirmed that it had donated $1 million to the Republican Governors Association." Here's the Politico story which first broke the news. ...

Catherine Herridge.... Politico reports that "The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission is suing Fox News for retaliating against its reporter, Catherine Herridge, after she complained that she was discriminated against because of her age and gender, according to an EEOC complaint filed Thursday."

Sorry, Catherine, you aren't blond enough:

Other Fox "News" personalities.