what have you done for me lately?

democratic national committee treasurer andrew tobias provides a list of 42 accomplishments of the obama administration and the democratic congress toward lgbt equality.

think i'll go eat worms

yeah. this guy's just not very well liked:

"We need all of you to fight on. We need all of you fired up," (President Barack Obama) told the roaring crowd of students and admirers — 37,500 of them.

some good news from newsweek

a new newsweek poll povides some good news for dems and the president:

Despite doom-saying about Democrats’ chances in the midterms, the latest NEWSWEEK Poll shows that they remain in a close race with Republicans 12 days before Election Day, while the president’s approval ratings have climbed sharply.

The poll finds that 48 percent of registered voters would be more likely to vote for Democrats, compared with 42 percent who lean Republican (those numbers are similar to those in the last NEWSWEEK Poll, which found Democrats favored 48 percent to 43 percent).

President Obama’s approval ratings have jumped substantially, crossing the magic halfway threshold to 54 percent, up from 48 percent in late September, while the portion of respondents who disapprove of the president dropped to 40 percent, the lowest disapproval rating in a NEWSWEEK Poll since February 2010.

the president's rank cowardice

sullivan chides obama on his lack of leadership on dadt: "I wish I could feel some sympathy for the president on this issue. But he is making Bill Clinton look like a model of principle - and his rank cowardice on civil rights is one of the greatest disappointments of his first two years."

agreed.

quote of the day

“In the year since I issued a prepared statement regarding President Obama speaking to the Nation’s school children, I have learned a great deal about the party I so deeply loved and served.

Unfortunately, I found that many within the GOP have racist views and I apologize to the President for my opposition to his speech last year and my efforts to placate the extremists who dominate our Party today.

My children and I look forward to the President’s speech.”

– jim greer
former florida gop chairman

pardon me sir, does your dog bite?

frank rich suggests that, thanks to the return of the tougher, scrappier barack obama, the november elections might not be the tidal wave big media is telling us it they will be:

On Labor Day, the fighting Obama abruptly re-emerged... Speaking to workers in Milwaukee, the president finally started giving voice to the anger of America’s battered middle class. And he even let loose with a little anger of his own. The unspecified “powerful interests” aligned against him, he said, “talk about me like a dog.”

That inelegant line — “not in my prepared remarks,” Obama explained — landed because it was true and because he said it with a grin. Americans like their warriors happy...

For a guy facing a tidal wave, the president was so ebullient, you had to wonder if he knew something we didn’t. Maybe he simply read the unabridged poll numbers rather than the CliffsNotes summaries of cable news. Those numbers are hardly as monochromatic as advertised.

obama needs a little more "dog" in 'em. dare i say it? maybe a little more pit bull - sans the lipstick, of course.

obama in milwaukee:

the sky is not less blue

time's mark halperin suggests that all the hating on obama done by the right and the tea partiers is actually good for the president:

While the conservatives' ultimate condemnation [of President Obama] rallies their core base supporters and has resonated with some centrist voters, over time it is unlikely to produce a majority against the administration.

As long as those trying to beat him are blind to the fact that tens of millions of voting Americans actually think Obama is doing a fine job, this President has a great ally in his enemies.

"you're not alone. you will not be abandoned. you will not be left behind."

president obama surveys damage done by the oil spill that resulted from the explosion of bp's deepwater horizon oil rig on april 22.

the enthusiasm contentment gap

public policy polling rethinks the supposed enthusiasm gap between democrat and gop voters and surmises there is less enthusiasm on the dem side because, well, dems are generally more content with the way things are going:

The enthusiasm gap may be caused not by disappointment with the way things are going, but rather contentment. Voters tend to get more energized when they're angry about something. A lot of Democrats feel like things are going fine right now, so they don't have much of a sense of urgency about going out to vote. The biggest threat to the party this fall is not that its voters are unenthusiastic about how things are going, but that they are complacent precisely because they do like the direction the country is headed in.

if democrats don't come out and vote in november, they're gonna end up being angry once again.

exceeding expectations

paul krugman:

"If Democrats hold the House, which is still a big if but is starting to look possible, the 111th Congress — and, yes, Obama’s first two years — will go down in history as an epic success."

here, here.

obama's katrina

the associated press beats back the notion that the obama administration has been slow in reacting to the oil spill in the gulf, or that there's any comparison to the bush administration's response to hurricane katrina:

The Gulf region, ravaged five years earlier by Hurricane Katrina, was on the verge of a second ecological disaster. Would there be a repeat of the bureaucratic bungling that marked President George W. Bush's response to the hurricane?

While the Obama administration has faced second-guessing about the speed and effectiveness of some of its actions, a narrative pieced together by The Associated Press, based on documents, interviews and public statements, shows little resemblance to Katrina in either the characterization of the threat or the federal government's response.

another difference, i suppose, would be that 1,836 people died as a result of katrina. i'm all for birds and the environment and the fishing industry, believe me. but 1,836 people.

obama honors mama

an excerpt from the president's proclamation honoring mothers and mother's day:

"Whether adoptive, biological, or foster, mothers share an unbreakable bond with their children, and Americans of all ages and backgrounds owe them an immeasurable debt.

Nurturing families come in many forms, and children may be raised by two parents, a single mother, two mothers, a step-mom, a grandmother, or a guardian. Mother's Day gives us an opportunity to celebrate these extraordinary caretakers, mentors, and providers who have made us who we are. As we honor today's mothers, we also reflect upon the memory of those who have passed, and we renew our commitment to living the values they cultivated in us."

bullish on barry

time's mark halperin says ignore the far-right and the far-left, obama is "on a path to be a huge success by the time of November's midterm elections."

By Election Day 2010, Obama will have soundly achieved many of his chief campaign promises while running a highly competent, scandal-free government.

Not bad for a guy whose opponents (in both parties) for the White House suggested that he was too green in national life to know how to do the job — and whose presidency began in the midst of a worldwide economic crisis that demanded urgent attention and commanded much of his focus.

Read more.

david brooks ♥ obama

conservative columnist david brooks, "six notches to the right" of barack obama, provides a moment of clarity for most, and -- by not bashing the president -- likely loses any credibility he has left with the far right. interesting that this moderate conservative seems to be describing exactly the person i voted for 17 months ago. from this morning's meet the press:

picking a fight above her weight belt

marcia smilack neatly disassembles sarah palin:

Palin’s comments on START reveal a disturbing truth; that when she doesn’t have an expert to tell her what to think, all she can do is recite the factoids that were drilled into her during the campaign. Switch to the GOP Southern Leadership Council where Palin is seething. Without Randy Scheunemann to advise on foreign affairs, she has to wing it. She reaches in and pulls out a card from the past:

“With all the vast nuclear experience he acquired as a community organizer, a part time Senator and a full time candidate, all that experience and still no accomplishment to date with North Korea and Iran.”

She retaliates like an Israeli commando, striking back twice as hard as she is hit, and yet there is a new element that is decidedly odd. Why is she speaking in campaign slogans from two years ago? Obama has been commander in chief for over a year, a period in which he has met or spoken with the Russian President sixteen times to personally negotiate details of the treaty.

Can it be that her real beef is not about policy, but the suggestion that she knows less than he?

a new, muscular obama

are we seeing a new, emboldened, muscular obama?

President Obama, making a muscular show of his executive authority just one day after Congress left for spring recess, said Saturday that he would bypass the Senate and install 15 appointees, including a union lawyer whose nomination to the National Labor Relations Board was blocked last month with the help of two Democrats.

Coming on the heels of Mr. Obama’s big victory on health care legislation, Saturday’s move suggests a newly emboldened president who is unafraid to provoke a confrontation with the minority party.

Just two days ago, all 41 Senate Republicans sent Mr. Obama a letter urging him not to appoint the union lawyer, Craig Becker, during the recess. Mr. Obama’s action, in defiance of the Republicans, was hailed by union leaders, but it also seemed certain to intensify the partisan rancor that has enveloped Washington.

but kevin drum says the move is as significant in who obama did not appoint as who he did:

After he took office Obama nominated two Democrats and one Republican to fill the [National Labor Relations Board's] three vacant seats and got support from a couple of Republicans on the HELP committee for the entire slate. But when it got to the Senate floor John McCain put a hold on [Craig] Becker, and his nomination — along with the others — died.

Fast forward to today and Obama finally decides to fill the board using recess appointments.

But what does he do? He only appoints the two Democrats. This is not what you do if you're trying to make nice. It's what you do if you're playing hardball and you want to send a pointed message to the GOP caucus. You won't act on my nominees? Fine. I'll appoint my guys and then leave it up to you to round up 50 votes in the Senate for yours. Have fun.

quote of the day

"Leaders of the Republican Party called the passage of (the Health Care Reform) bill Armageddon! Armageddon! The end of freedom as we know it!

So after I signed the bill I looked around to see if there were any asteroids falling, some cracks opening up in the earth. Turned out it was a nice day."

– president barack obama

whose waterloo is it anyway?

senator jim demint's prediction about obama may well come back to haunt him and the party of "hell no" in november.

size does matter

at least now we know why they've been saying no so often.

hcr (or not) in the next 9 days?

open left calculates a health care reform timeline, based on president obama delaying his asian trip:

If President Obama is delaying his trip, that strongly implies the House leadership is looking (for) a vote on the Senate health reform bill for next Saturday, March 20th, at the very latest. He is sticking around to sign it into law, so the Senate can take up the reconciliation bill that the House will pass nearly simultaneously.

if that timeline plays out, news like this mean it's going to be a fairly intense week.