Welcome, one and all to the most intense nightly read anywhere on the sphere… The BitsBlog Nightly Ramble
This is the Unemployment Edition 
[1]In honor of those who have lost their jobs thanks for Barry the O.
- DEATH PANEL: If you’re harbouring any illusions that the reports of a Death Panel being in this healthcare monster Obama;s trying so hard to ram down our throats are untrue, this will dispell them in a hurry. [2]
- WHY IS HE FALLING LIKE THAT? VDH examines Obama’s falling polling numbers and why they’re falling. [3]
- NOT MUCH LONGER: I note Mark Kirkorian at The Corner yesterday [4]:
I loved Krauthammer’s comments [5] last week about why Hillary was on edge, given that so many of the responsibilities that would be hers as secretary of state have been given to others:
But I think part of it is also the venue. Here you have Richard Holbrooke running Afghanistan and Pakistan — the heart of our troubles in Asia. You have George Mitchell in the Middle East. You have envoys here and there, and she is the secretary of state, and she’s sitting in the Congo, in the Congo?
[6]Doctor Charles Krauthammer
You’ve got Petraeus running Afghanistan. You’ve got Odierno running Iraq. She is totally marginalized, sitting in Kinshasa. I’m sure it is a great city — in fact, it’s not —but the Congo? Africa is very low on the scale of important interests of the United States.
[7]Mark Kirkorian
It’s kind of like in Japan, where problem workers with lifetime employment are just put into an empty office for eight hours a day with nothing to do. Well, now add another thing she no longer runs: The White House has now taken away chief responsibility for the resettlement of Iraqi refugees [8] from Hillary’s purview and given it to — it’s almost too good to be true — Samantha “She is a monster [9]” Powers.
Well, look… When she was appointed to that position, I told you that she was being shuffled off to a devalued position. She was given that job to keep her out of the way. This stuff confirms totally what I’ve been seeing since the appointment was made. The question is, how much longer she’s going to play the party line, here. My guess is “not long”.
- A WAR UNDER ANY PRESIDENT BUT BUSH ISN’T A WAR AT ALL: Byron York, today:
[10]Byron York
Remember the anti-war movement? Not too long ago, the Democratic party’s most loyal voters passionately opposed the war in Iraq. Democratic presidential candidates argued over who would withdraw American troops the quickest. Netroots activists regularly denounced President George W. Bush, and sometimes the U.S. military (“General Betray Us”). Cindy Sheehan, the woman whose soldier son was killed in Iraq, became a heroine when she led protests at Bush’s Texas ranch.That was then. Now, even though the United States still has roughly 130,000 troops in Iraq, and is quickly escalating the war in Afghanistan — 68,000 troops there by the end of this year, and possibly more in 2010 — anti-war voices on the Left have fallen silent.
You know what? There is absolutely nothing about this that should suprise anyone. the anti-war stand was a pose, a sham, a guise, with nothing but pure political motivation behind it. It wasnt about stopping the war, or that they thought the war was particularly unjust… it was about power. (Later…I note with interest Glenn coming to the same conclusion [11]. Not like it was all that hard a conclusion to come to… )
- SAME THING HERE: I say, the same thing applies to healthcare, and the current proposals of government takeover. Certainly, they’re not interested in what the voters have to say [12]. (Along those same lines… Would someone stuff Eric Massa out a recycle chute someplace, please? [13] )
- SPEAKING OF THAT…. I said last night that the balloon floating about how the “Public Co-Option was dead” was so much balloon juice, you’ll recall. Seems Cato agrees [14]. This is a ruse, people. They’re trying to put us off the scent.