Welcome, one and all to the most intense nightly read on the sphere; The BitsBlog Nightly Ramble
- GOOD NEWS BAD NEWS:
[1]The good news is, Obama has decided against a large reduction of forces in Afghanistan. [2] Bad news is, he’s not ruled out a small one, and this move seems to be leaning away from what his commanders on the ground are asking for… more troops. Then again perhaps I shouldn’t worry… All Obama’s promises have an expiration date on them. - BILL AYERS ADMIT WRITING “DREAMS OF MY FATHER”: So, that’s that. [3] and all that [4]. My original call on this stuff was correct. The question is, will the statement be denied by the White House? Or will it simply be ignored, to allow the Obama- Friendly press to ignore it?
- MORE ON GOVERNMENT CRACKING DOWN ON BLOGS: At PJTV [5]
- No Republicans Watch Olbermann So says Jammie Wearing Fool [6]. Thing is, the numbers say hardly anyone else does, either.
- ATTENTION NRCC: Yes, I was in on that conference call you threw last evening. The one thing I can honestly say I was impressed by, was how impressive it was. The one thing that I did not hear enough of, not nearly enough, was a push to remove government from the Healthcare process. That is what Republicans need to be focusing on. If you want my attention in the future, you will do precisely that. Oh.. and keeping your own in line to that end. Like for example, these willing tools [7]. And yes, they’re outside the purview of the NRCC, but maybe it’s time you stopped fighting with the RNC Chair and working with him to those ends End of conversation.
- Honorable Mention @ OTB’s Caption Contest [8]
- THE JOBS RATE IS THE THING: So says Bruce: [9]
Neil King thinks the unemployment rate will be on of the keys to outcomes in 2010 [10].
“Unemployment is the leading economic indicator when it comes to politics,” said Democratic pollster Peter Hart. “Anytime unemployment hits double digits, it’s hard to see the party in control having a good election year.”
Economists generally predict that the number of people out of work will continue to inch up next year, even if the economy begins to rebound. Most see the jobless rate peaking at around 10.5% in the summer. Former Fed Chairman Alan Greenspan said Sunday that his own hunch was that the economy would turn around over coming months, but that unemployment would “penetrate the 10% barrier and stay there for a while before we start down.”
[11]Bruce McQuain
As Dale has noted, if we were calculating unemployment as we did in 1974, we’d be in the 17% area. That means a lot of voters are hurting and the one place they can voice their displeasure is at the ballot box.
True nuff, Bruce. I think you’re right, about the other points you bring up as well , Afghanistan being one problem, health care actually being passed in whatever form being another that will bring the democrats down, and so on. But what I have not seen anybody dare to do yet, is question the way those unemployment numbers are being portrayed. I mean, it’s not like Democrats to throw faulty numbers around to back their position, is it, really? And let’s remember, who it was who decided not to continue counting the people who are just decided to give up looking for a job … if I’m not much mistaken it was in fact the Carter administration. If anyone were to bring all that up, it would most certainly add more fuel to the fire that is currently burning under the democrat run Congress and White House. 2010 is going to be a banner year for shift away from the Democrat party. What is left is the question of how much of a shift. If the other question being how much of that shift can be carried to 2012?