Mike Pouraryan"Outsiders" Americas Watch (6/8/2011): What a Week.....
June 8th 2011 03:09
:
Do we truly get what we deserve
I begin this edition of the Americas Watch with Anthony Weiner. For those who may not know who he is, he is a US Member of the House of Representative who was elected to Chuck Schummer's Old Seat when he went on to be a United States Senator. He has been there for about 7 terms (14 years). He was positioning himself to run for Mayor Of New York since he had done so once before. He had recently married a top aide to Hillary Rodham Clinton and Bill Clinton married him. But, all of this came to a crashing halt last week.
It turns out that Mr. Weiner had a dark side to him. He was engaged in what he termed "inappropriate relationships" over Social Networks. He sent a photography of himself to a woman that somehow got out on the internet. He first said that his account was hacked and then he changed his story. I listened to his news conference last week and knew then that he was lying. I then reviewed the reports of his news conference yesterday and was sickened to see how such a man who had been so forceful and eloquent in his public persona came crashing down so tragically. He is one of those tragic figures whose true potential will never be realized. He joins luminaries like John Edwards and Elliot Spitzer. Elliot Spitzer, of course, came back and is now a TV Pundit on CNN. What I found comical was how Andrew Breibart (of the Shelley Sherrod Fame) posted additional pictures from women he claimed also got pictures from Anthony Weiner. But, I suppose he has to continue finding a way to keep his name in the news as he has to pay for his legal bills. I was also sorry to see John Edwards indicted. I am sure that he realizes the price he has paid for his indiscretion. What I find tragic about John Edwards was the potential he had to leave his mark. I continue to wonder what may have been. He is a very good lawyer and has one of the best lawyers in the Country, Greg Craig, by his side. He will have his day in Court.
Weinergate led me to once again think about the cast of characters who want to force the President to retire and move back to Chicago. There are many candidates who are criss-crossing the Country and have a relentless focus on the early states. What I have found quite remarkable is what Michelle Bachmann pulled off this week. This shows that she's serious to hire on a high powered political operative like Ed Rollins. For those who may not remember who he is, he was part of the Reagan Political Team that managed the political persona of Ronald Reagan during the 80's and also was involved with many lumanries during the 90's. I am in agreement with a recent Washington Post analysis that underscored the fact that Rollins' attack on Palin not being serious underscores how Michelle Bachman is trying to position herself to be a "hard working" candidate vying for the office. Rick Santorium also threw his hat in the ring as the "Social Conservative" vying to protect America's rights that President Obama is trying to take away. I am not sure what Mr. Santorium is referring too--but at least his visibility should secure a very good lucrative post-campaign speaking gig for conservative causes throughout the country. Romney is also in the ring. The former Governor of Massachuttes is positioning himself as a front-runner and thinks he can beat the President. He has to first fight through a lot of primaries and caucses and beat a number of other interesting figures like Pawlenty and others. I am not sure at this stage whether he has got what it takes. Time will tell.
Sarah Palin, though, has begun to emerge from her isolation. She took a bus tour, met with leading lumanries (including Donald "The Hair" Trump") and apparently even went off to The UK and asked to meet Margaret Thatcher (Thatcher apparently refused). She will continue to appear in friendly events, give interviews to Fox and be an object of fascination. She did get a favorable hearing from Chris Wallace during Fox News Sunday. He talked about how serious she was and how focused she was. But her comments dismissing the Treasury Secretary's warnings about dire consequences if the National Debt was not raised raises serious doubts about her true viability and seriousness.
The one I continue to watch with great interest is Jon Huntsman, the Former Utah Governor and US Ambassador to China for Barack Obama. He has a new Pac, H PAC and apparently has been avoiding the early primary states. He is a Mormon (Just like Romney). The so-called Main-stream media think that it is going to be a problem. I will go out on a limb and say that it is not. He has a more compelling record than Romney and yes even Pawlenty. He reminds me of Bill Clinton back in 1991. Bill Clinton had a National Presence becuase he had spreaheaded the centrist rebirth of the Democratic Party at the time--but the Presidency was a long shot at best. For those who do not remember history, he had to contend with the Jennifer Flowers Story and of course a second place finish in New Hampshire before he went on to win it all.
What will make or break the reelection chances of President Obama is the Economy. The Economy has stalled. I have repeated said in my "write-ups" here that not withstanding the "happy talk" about economic recovery, the reality has been otherwise. There was a bump in the so-called U1 Unemployment Number. But, the more compelling story is the number of the long-term unemployed who have not worked for 6 months or more. The number, right now, is over 6 Million Nationwide. Businesses are starting to hire--but the hiring is very, very selective. They are sitting on hoards of cash because they think that the economy is unstable. The Republicans in Washington continue to underscore how they are committed to creating jobs. But, what they do not address is how their budget will truly address this issue. Tax Cuts and Spending Cuts will just not do the trick. They do not seem to take the time to explain to the American People how they are going to find the money that is not there to give away. Borrowing Money to give it away in a dubious tax cut scheme is simply irresponsible. This is as a story in Accounting Today noted that 12 leading companies did not pay any tax at all last year (Source: Really Long Link If such corporations pay a negative effective rate off 1.5%, then why give them more? Why is there such a concerted effort to insure that whatever is left of the Social Safety net is effectively dismantled?
As Unemployment continues to stay stubbornly high, there is also one development that I find very comical: The opposition to Peter Diamond to Join the Federal Reserve. From the brief research I have done, his expertise is in the labor markets and employment--which has a direct bearing on the strength and viability of the Economy. Richard Shelby, The Senator From Alabama, believes that Diamond is not qualified. Mr. Shelby probably knows the reality, but the politics of it all seems to preempt everything else. Mitch McConnell said that he wants to defeat the President--and everything being done is along those lines.
Worrying Times.......
It turns out that Mr. Weiner had a dark side to him. He was engaged in what he termed "inappropriate relationships" over Social Networks. He sent a photography of himself to a woman that somehow got out on the internet. He first said that his account was hacked and then he changed his story. I listened to his news conference last week and knew then that he was lying. I then reviewed the reports of his news conference yesterday and was sickened to see how such a man who had been so forceful and eloquent in his public persona came crashing down so tragically. He is one of those tragic figures whose true potential will never be realized. He joins luminaries like John Edwards and Elliot Spitzer. Elliot Spitzer, of course, came back and is now a TV Pundit on CNN. What I found comical was how Andrew Breibart (of the Shelley Sherrod Fame) posted additional pictures from women he claimed also got pictures from Anthony Weiner. But, I suppose he has to continue finding a way to keep his name in the news as he has to pay for his legal bills. I was also sorry to see John Edwards indicted. I am sure that he realizes the price he has paid for his indiscretion. What I find tragic about John Edwards was the potential he had to leave his mark. I continue to wonder what may have been. He is a very good lawyer and has one of the best lawyers in the Country, Greg Craig, by his side. He will have his day in Court.
Weinergate led me to once again think about the cast of characters who want to force the President to retire and move back to Chicago. There are many candidates who are criss-crossing the Country and have a relentless focus on the early states. What I have found quite remarkable is what Michelle Bachmann pulled off this week. This shows that she's serious to hire on a high powered political operative like Ed Rollins. For those who may not remember who he is, he was part of the Reagan Political Team that managed the political persona of Ronald Reagan during the 80's and also was involved with many lumanries during the 90's. I am in agreement with a recent Washington Post analysis that underscored the fact that Rollins' attack on Palin not being serious underscores how Michelle Bachman is trying to position herself to be a "hard working" candidate vying for the office. Rick Santorium also threw his hat in the ring as the "Social Conservative" vying to protect America's rights that President Obama is trying to take away. I am not sure what Mr. Santorium is referring too--but at least his visibility should secure a very good lucrative post-campaign speaking gig for conservative causes throughout the country. Romney is also in the ring. The former Governor of Massachuttes is positioning himself as a front-runner and thinks he can beat the President. He has to first fight through a lot of primaries and caucses and beat a number of other interesting figures like Pawlenty and others. I am not sure at this stage whether he has got what it takes. Time will tell.
Sarah Palin, though, has begun to emerge from her isolation. She took a bus tour, met with leading lumanries (including Donald "The Hair" Trump") and apparently even went off to The UK and asked to meet Margaret Thatcher (Thatcher apparently refused). She will continue to appear in friendly events, give interviews to Fox and be an object of fascination. She did get a favorable hearing from Chris Wallace during Fox News Sunday. He talked about how serious she was and how focused she was. But her comments dismissing the Treasury Secretary's warnings about dire consequences if the National Debt was not raised raises serious doubts about her true viability and seriousness.
The one I continue to watch with great interest is Jon Huntsman, the Former Utah Governor and US Ambassador to China for Barack Obama. He has a new Pac, H PAC and apparently has been avoiding the early primary states. He is a Mormon (Just like Romney). The so-called Main-stream media think that it is going to be a problem. I will go out on a limb and say that it is not. He has a more compelling record than Romney and yes even Pawlenty. He reminds me of Bill Clinton back in 1991. Bill Clinton had a National Presence becuase he had spreaheaded the centrist rebirth of the Democratic Party at the time--but the Presidency was a long shot at best. For those who do not remember history, he had to contend with the Jennifer Flowers Story and of course a second place finish in New Hampshire before he went on to win it all.
What will make or break the reelection chances of President Obama is the Economy. The Economy has stalled. I have repeated said in my "write-ups" here that not withstanding the "happy talk" about economic recovery, the reality has been otherwise. There was a bump in the so-called U1 Unemployment Number. But, the more compelling story is the number of the long-term unemployed who have not worked for 6 months or more. The number, right now, is over 6 Million Nationwide. Businesses are starting to hire--but the hiring is very, very selective. They are sitting on hoards of cash because they think that the economy is unstable. The Republicans in Washington continue to underscore how they are committed to creating jobs. But, what they do not address is how their budget will truly address this issue. Tax Cuts and Spending Cuts will just not do the trick. They do not seem to take the time to explain to the American People how they are going to find the money that is not there to give away. Borrowing Money to give it away in a dubious tax cut scheme is simply irresponsible. This is as a story in Accounting Today noted that 12 leading companies did not pay any tax at all last year (Source: Really Long Link If such corporations pay a negative effective rate off 1.5%, then why give them more? Why is there such a concerted effort to insure that whatever is left of the Social Safety net is effectively dismantled?
As Unemployment continues to stay stubbornly high, there is also one development that I find very comical: The opposition to Peter Diamond to Join the Federal Reserve. From the brief research I have done, his expertise is in the labor markets and employment--which has a direct bearing on the strength and viability of the Economy. Richard Shelby, The Senator From Alabama, believes that Diamond is not qualified. Mr. Shelby probably knows the reality, but the politics of it all seems to preempt everything else. Mitch McConnell said that he wants to defeat the President--and everything being done is along those lines.
Worrying Times.......
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