Conservative Wanderer

“A troubled and afflicted mankind looks to us, pleading for us to keep our rendezvous with destiny; that we will uphold the principles of self-reliance, self-discipline, morality, and, above all, responsible liberty for every individual that we will become that shining city on a hill.” — Ronald Wilson Reagan

Daily Archives: 11 February 2009

Geithner Lays An Egg–So, By Extension, Does Obama

Ya know, I am beginning to really like Commentary’s Jennifer Rubin. The lady clearly has a good head on her shoulders:

For starters, it’s never good when they laugh at you (”Administration officials were greeted with sarcasm and laughter Monday night when they briefed lawmakers and congressional staff on Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner’s new financial-sector bailout project, according to people who were in the room.”) (h/t Glenn Reynolds) Investors really hated the Geithner plan. And The Wall Street Journal set the tone for the chorus of howls: “Judging by the hissing in financial markets, Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner’s opening act as Rescuer in Chief yesterday was a bomb.” Ouch.

Ouch, indeed. But the way Rubin sums up is perhaps the biggest ouch of all.

The Obama administration is teetering on the brink of a precipice. After such an impressive campaign the public may start to worry just how incompetent this crew is. Botched nominees, a less-than stellar stimulus plan, and now a bank bailout that landed like a thud. The Obama team has a very short window in which to get its act together. The markets, voters and Congress are watching — nervously.

That’s not an ouch for the Obama Administration, that’s a potential ouch for the entire country.

A Revealing Poll

I don’t normally write on polls, because I think that political polling in this country is just as biased to the left as the media is… however, even taking that into account, this poll had some revealing and somewhat amusing results:

When it comes to the nation’s economic issues, 67% of U.S. voters have more confidence in their own judgment than they do in the average member of Congress.

Nineteen percent (19%) trust members of Congress more, according to a new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey. Fourteen percent (14%) aren’t sure.

Now here’s the somewhat amusing part:

Forty-four percent (44%) voters also think a group of people selected at random from the phone book would do a better job addressing the nation’s problems than the current Congress, but 37% disagree. Twenty percent (20%) are undecided.

If I was a member of Congress, I’d consider that a very embarrassing result.

Pennsylvanians’ Patience With Specter May Be Exhausted

So says one of the best-connected political watchers, John Gizzi of Human events:

What Sen. Arlen Specter (R.-Penn.) dubbed the “moderates’ compromise” that he and two other moderate Republican senators voted for Tuesday is fast becoming the “last straw” with the five-termer for conservatives in the Keystone State.

“I consider Sen. Specter a friend and, despite disagreements on a number of issues, I admired his work to confirm [Supreme Court nominees] John Roberts and Samuel Alito,” Pittsburgh businessman Glen Meakem told me today, “But his support of [the $838 billion stimulus package] is too much. Pennsylvania voters are fed up with Specter’s perennial charade.”

Predicting that “there will be a Republican primary fight for Specter’s Senate seat in 2010,” Meakem echoed almost word-for-word the prediction made to me by another prominent conservative two weeks ago. Referring to the 79-year-old Specter’s “very perplexing” behavior in asking tough questions of Obama attorney general nominee Eric Holder and then voting for his confirmation, former Rep. Pat Toomey (R-Penn.) said that “his latest behavior regarding Holder means that Specter should definitely face a primary challenge next year.”

Today Toomey (who drew 48% of the vote against Specter in the ’04 primary) joined Meakem in weighing in against the incumbent’s pivotal support for the Obama-backed economic package. Writing in National Review Online, the former congressman charged that Specter and Maine Republican Sens. Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins (who also backed the stimulus package), “the Republican party lost the opportunity to pass a true compromise bill that would have encouraged economic growth. By unanimously voting against the stimulus bill, House Republicans empowered Senate Republicans to demand substantive, pro-growth amendments. After all, without sixty votes in the Senate, President Obama would not have been able to pass any bill, good or bad.”

It’s quite possible that Meakem himself could be Specter’s primary opponent, and he’d probably be tough for the moderate-leftist Republican to beat. Factor in the probability that the so-called “stimulus” bill won’t help and will in fact make things worse, which Specter would face his share of the blame for, having officially supported it now, and Specter could be in big trouble.

Jindal’s Big Speech

Looks like the nation at large is about to get a good look at Bobby Jindal:

WASHINGTON, DC - Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal has been picked to deliver the GOP response to President Barack Obama’s first speech to Congress.

It’s another big role for Jindal , who has become increasingly prominent in a Republican Party struggling to reshape itself.

Obama plans to talk about the nation’s problems at a joint session of the House and Senate on Feb. 24.

Remember, Obama’s rise to the Presidency began with just one speech, as well. We’ll see if something similar happens with Jindal.