No Runny Eggs

Jim Geraghty figured out why John McCain is trying to silence anybody and everybody that hits the Democrats hard; he’s running very hard to the mushy middle as Mr. Clean. 16 years ago, that might have worked, because that is precisely how his BFF Russ Feingold overcame a massive money and name recognition disadvantage to first win a 3-way primary battle and then win his Senate seat. However, this isn’t 1992, and frankly, most of the country isn’t Wisconsin. That mushy middle doesn’t really exist; at best it represents 10% of the electorate, and it’s been shrinking every election.

Sean Hackbarth pointed out a potentially-significant flaw in McCain’s plan; he’s not been consistent on the lack of use of the Wright-Obama connection. Actually, let’s drop the “potentially”; it’s certain tha McCain’s former friends in the LeftStreamMedia will use that inconsistency against him to further shrink the mushy middle.

Moreover, every open step toward the mushy middle, especially in the form of a repudiation of the GOP base (or at least what, up until recently, was the base), further weakens him in the eyes of said base. This specific case reinforced my opinion that the current “leadership” of the GOP really wants to be a permanent minority center-left party. I’m all-but-ready to abandon the See-Dub plan and follow doubleplusundead in saying, “Screw McCain.”

(H/Ts – Mary Katharine Ham, Matt Lewis, Amanda Carpenter and Professor Stephen Bainbridge)

Bob Novak tossed former Ohio congressman/former Bush OMB director/former Bush special trade repesentative Rob Portman’s name out there, while RNC deputy chair Frank Donatelli floated former HP CEO/Team McCain economic advisor Carly Fiorina’s name.

First, Portman. He’s moderately-conservative (89 ACU rating in his time in the House), was part of the House leadership (not necessarily a positive in my book), and a tax-(rate-)cutter. The bad news is he is rather tied to the Bush administration, not only as a member of his administration, but as a member of Congress (thanks, fellow FReepers). Moreover, he’s been at times rather accomodating to the Democrats, at least according to the archived Columbus Dispatch article.

Next, Fiorina. She was once the darling of the business media, but as the Professor notes, she wasn’t exactly successful at HP; indeed, she was fired by the board. She does have the advantage of being a member of a key Democratic demographic that may well be “disillusioned” by the results of their nomination process, and she also is a blank slate on non-economic issues (both a blessing and a curse, depending on how the slate gets filled).

Given the comments in both Matt’s and Amanda’s posts, I may as well collate a couple of earlier thoughts on why being John McCain’s VP nominee is the ultimate high-risk/high-reward. I’ve previously noted that, since 1956, the Republicans have gone to the next person in line. In order, that would be sitting President, sitting Vice President, second in the previous contested Presidential primary, an ex-Vice President, and family member. That is a pretty powerful argument to be the Vice Presidential nominee if McCain were to win in November.

Conversely, there is the fate of a Vice Presidential nominee on a losing ticket. I’ve also noted that only 4 times since the 12th Amendment separated the Presidential and Vice Presidential elections did a failed Vice Presidential candidate become a Presidential candidate. The last two who did so, and the only two in the “modern” era (post-22nd Amendment), had other extenuating circumstances. Walter Mondale was previously Vice President, and thus fell into the less-rigid Democratic version of the “next in line” scheme. Bob Dole had to wait until the two people in front of him each had their turn as the Presidential nominee, and then work to earn his own place in the Republican “next in line” scheme.

Jimmy Carter says that while he will talk with an organization that launches attacks against unarmed civilians and is listed as a group responsible for terrorist attacks by most western countries, Hamas, he doesn’t  “see any redeeming features” of another terrorist organization, Al Qaeda.  

I can’t seem to get the link to work correctly so here’s the low tech connection :   http://www.breitbart.tv/?p=81983

According to Jimmy, the difference between Hamas and Al Qaeda is that Hamas has the support of their constituents.   To Jimmy an elected  government is legitimate and should be accepted regardless of what it’s policies are.

Using Jimmy’s logic, Jimmy should also agree that the Civil war was unjust and just the North imposing it’s will on the South.   After all, the Confederate States of America had the support of its constituents.

If only Abraham Lincoln had had the benefit of Jimmy Carter’s logic the country could have avoided the war and the  loss  of 620,000 American lives.   It would have been so much better for everyone……except for the 4,000,000 slaves that were emancipated.

Revisions/extensions (10:59 am 4/22/2008; steveegg) – I think I’ve got the right embed code. Still, I like the folks at Breitbart, including the absent-from-blogging Ian Schwartz, who if memory serves is one of the main guys behind the TV version of Breitbart.

I wrote earlier  about  a study  by the NYFED, that provided insight as to what the average subprime loan looked like.   The study laid out the horrific terms of these subprime loans but didn’t talk about the people or circumstances that caused the subprime loans to be enticing.   Sunday’s Star and Tribune chronicles one such circumstance.

Bradley Collins Jr.  is a painting contractor.   He averages an income of $60,000/year and supports his family of 5 on that income.   According to the article, about 3 years ago, Collins and his wife thought they would take advantage of the real estate boom occurring in the NW part of the Minneapolis metro.   With the encouragement of two salesman from a “property management company,” they bought 4 houses for a total price of $1.2M.   The story as we all know, continues with the real estate market busting, the resales of the homes not occurring, the owners failing as landlords and the homes falling into foreclosure.
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(H/T – Jim Geraghty the indispensible)

If you’ve been hearing the meme flying around the Leftosphere, you know they’re trying to say John McCain is too old. David Benzion at the Lone Star Times has your retort. A couple that I like from there:

– John McCain is older than betraying national security secrets on the front page of the New York Times.
– John McCain is older than having to explain to your children why everyone on the TV is talking about the President’s penis.
– John McCain is older than politicized CIA agents distorting a National Intelligence Estimate on Iran’s nuclear program because they don’t like the President’s (i.e., their boss’) policies.

Jim chimed in with a few winners as well (I’ll “borrow” a couple of them):

– John McCain is so old that when he was born, Obama’s neighbor and donor William Ayers hadn’t tried to kill anyone with a bomb yet.
– John McCain was born in those long ago days when if you went into church, you could count on the pastor saying “God bless America!”
– When John McCain was a toddler, the national average tax on a gallon of gasoline was under four cents.

I’ll take Jim’s invitation to play:

– John McCain is so old, when he joined the Navy, the only federal health care was in the armed forces.
– John McCain is so old, he outlasted four dictatorial states that viewed America as its “class enemy”.
– John McCain is so old, he remembers a time when Wisconsin government was clean.
– John McCain is so old, he was born during a time when the Panama Canal Zone was American territory.
– In John McCain’s day, a high school diploma meant something.
– John McCain is older than Red China.
– John McCain is older than the UN.

(H/T – Kate, so I’ll try not to swear)

Usually, resolutions to commemorate public figures fly through Congress. However, one Senator, Barbara Boxer (D-CA), is so deep in the pockets of what Rush Limbaugh calls the NAGs she could not abide the following words in the resolution honoring Pope Benedict XVI:

Whereas Pope Benedict XVI has spoken out for the weak and vulnerable, witnessing to the value of each and every human life;….

I honestly don’t know what’s worse; the fact she held up the resolution for a couple days, or the fact the RepubicRATs caved. Do note the pro-death-penalty crowd didn’t have a real problem with the language, even though the official position of the Catholics, at least the last time I checked, is there should be no death penalty.