Overall this was a very controlled game and circus, but one where Obama, I think, came out ahead.

It was filled with talking points and more than a few inaccurate facts (with no forum to dispute them of course).

Obama struck the wrong tone with me by taking the attitude early on that  Democrats were trying to help, and the Republican’s disagreement was simply unthinkable.  That is not how you generate respect for disagreement.

One thing I will say at the beginning of this is that Obama was very comfortable in the environment, very prepared for the questions, and handled his answers well.  No blindsides, or if they were, he handled them well.  He is quick on his feet, he had facts and examples at hand, and he is personable, even when irritated.

He also lost me on some issue, like his deflections on some criticisms.

Will this spur bipartisanship?  To his credit he did call out both sides for this, but his focus was on the Republicans more than not for being disingenuous.  He is correct to a degree, the Republicans do take a confrontational knee jerk stance.  But to even insinuate that it is not politics as usual for both sides is purely misleading.   He himself has stooped to this as well.

I had hoped that the lesson of Brown being elected would do some good.  Indeed, Obama seemed to suggest that today in interviews.  He correctly noted that people are angry.  The problem is, he is not getting what they are angry at.

I got this today and it seems to suggest they learned the wrong lesson.

Yesterday’s disappointing election results show deep discontent with the pace of change. I know the OFA community and the President share that frustration.

We also saw what we knew to be true all along: Any change worth making is hard and will be fought at every turn. While it doesn’t take away the sting of this loss, there is no road to real change without setbacks along the way.

We could have simply sought to do things that were easy, that wouldn’t stir up controversy. But changes that aren’t controversial rarely solve the problem.

Our country continues to face the same fundamental challenges it faced yesterday. Our health care system still needs reform. Wall Street still needs to be held accountable. We still need to create good jobs. And we still need to continue building a clean energy economy.

That someone noticed this is not a shock, only the source of the outrage, which is senior Democrat Senator Robert Byrd.  Via Politico:

Sen. Robert Byrd (D-W.Va.), the longest-serving Democratic senator, is criticizing President Obama’s appointment of White House “czars” to oversee federal policy, saying these executive positions amount to a power grab by the executive branch.

In a letter to Obama on Wednesday, Byrd complained about Obama’s decision to create White House offices on health reform, urban affairs policy, and energy and climate change. Byrd said such positions “can threaten the Constitutional system of checks and balances. At the worst, White House staff have taken direction and control of programmatic areas that are the statutory responsibility of Senate-confirmed officials.”

Nice that all the media watchdogs that peppered Bush with complaints and accusations over his use of power will sit silently and watch this gutting of constitutional authority.

That, by the way, explains why Byrd is speaking out:

This is what bipartisan means in DC.

Any questions?

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In an amazing feat, the Illinois legislature ousted Gov Blagojevich for abuse of power, then barred him from holding any public office in the state.

I call this amazing with my tongue firmly in cheek, in that in recent years, Democrats, even those caught red handed like Blago was, typical get away with it by claiming they need to go to rehab or something.

Indeed, Blago sang a great tune at the end of his impeachment hearing professing his innocence, despite the FBI audio to the contrary.

In fact, I will have to say that Blago actually impressed me at one point with his honesty, in a touch of sweet irony.  He said in his defense of his comments about getting more for the senate seat¹ :

Brown: Are you saying you didn’t say that?

Blagojevich: I’m simply saying we haven’t heard the tapes, so I can’t confirm or deny whether that is precisely what was said, but having said that, let me just saying this.

The first one you alluded to. The governor can make himself a senator.

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Roseanne Barr Has a blog on Huffington that was startling in its simplicity as it showcases Obama’s greatest weakness:  Experience.

Experience vs. Inspiration

When I fly in an airplane I want the pilot with the most experience, not the one who can inspire hope in me that I get to where I am going. When I pay my taxes, I want the person filing them to be experienced, not the new person who inspires hope in me that he can do the job. When I hire someone to fix my washing machine, I want the tried and true experienced person, not the one who inspires me to hope that he can fix it. When I go to the doctor I do not want to get the one who inspires hope in me that s/he can cure what’s wrong, but the one who knows what the hell to do the minute I call. It’s not really the job of a public servant to inspire, but to get the job that the people demand done. The democrats think that if they have hope and are inspired things will get better, but they actually won’t. When Oprah makes her employees sign her fifty page non-disclosure statement, she doesn’t “hope” they can’t break it, she pays teams of experienced lawyers to MAKE SURE they can’t break it, or be sued in an experienced court by an experienced judge.

I sat up with my kids tonight, waiting for the glory and spectacle of the fire works show in Seattle, what we fondly call “blowing up the Space Needle.”

It started on time, then abruptly quit.  “We’re sorry, we seem to be having technical difficulties…”

Oops.  Seattle ended the year on a disappointing fizzle.  As my Daughter noted “..and they had Star Wars music playing, too!”

Undeterred we set off a few dozen of the little confetti poppers and the kids went their merry way with their faux champagne (Sparkling cider).

The old year was nice, Bizarre, even.  I reflected to myself, and had no less then several dozen weird and amazing events.  Too many to detail, maybe another day.

But looking ahead…ah…I see great things happening.  A presidential election that so far promises to break all the molds.  I seriously cannot wait to blog it. 

Likewise, I look forward to my continued efforts, futile as they seems sometimes, to thwart the Global Warming lies by posting all the truth and science I can. 

Via The Corner:

On the Internet as of sometime this afternoon, Fred Thompson’s closing argument to the people of Iowa.

Whereas Romney is saturating the airwaves with attack ads, Thompson pays the voters the courtesy of speaking calmly, and in detail—the video runs to just over 15 minutes. Why should the good Republicans of Iowa support Thompson? Because, the candidate argues, he can win.

YouTube video below:

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A part of me is beginning to wonder.

Now, in this consideration, I am ignoring completely the presidential race, as none of the venom being used will exist in the fall when they unite under the Obama or Hillary banner.  We saw this after the lead up of the 2004 election, when Edwards had nothing nice to say about Kerry…until they were running mates, after which they were best friends for life.

First up, this from the WaPo:

 Democrats Blaming Each Other For Failures

When Democrats took control of Congress in January, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and Senate Majority Leader Harry M. Reid (D-Nev.) pledged to jointly push an ambitious agenda to counter 12 years of Republican control.

Now, as Congress struggles to adjourn for Christmas, relations between House Democrats and their colleagues in the Senate have devolved into finger-pointing.