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    links for 2009-11-24

    • Bob Ainsworth, the defence secretary, has blamed Barack Obama and the United States for the decline in British public support for the war in Afghanistan.
      Mr Ainsworth took the unprecedented step of publicly criticising the US President and his delays in sending more troops to bolster the mission against the Taliban.

      A “period of hiatus” in Washington – and a lack of clear direction – had made it harder for ministers to persuade the British public to go on backing the Afghan mission in the face of a rising death toll, he said.

    • My next question focused on judges, since, as a U.S. Senator, she would not only vote on U.S. Supreme Court nominees, but have a hand in selecting or blocking federal judicial candidates in California.

      I asked her what she would look for in prospective California nominees for the district courts and appellate courts.

      "We need judges who interpret the Constitution, not who legislate from the bench," Fiorina said. "I would favor judge in the mold of [U.S. Supreme Court Justices [John Roberts and Samuel Alito."

      Fiorina as critical of Boxer for blocking the judicial nominations of former congressmen Chris Cox annd Jim Rogan, saying we "shouldn't impose litmus tests, but instead look at qualifications."

      "My dad was appointed by Richard Nixon to the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals. I think that will give you some idea of how my views on the judiciary."
      ++++++
      Matt conducted a good interview with good answers by Carly Fiorina. She discussed the federal judiciary, abortion, trade and taxes.

    • Carly Fiorina’s conservatism notwithstanding, Chuck DeVore is bound and determined to make the contest for the opportunity to defeat perhaps the most partisan U.S. Senator one between a conservative and liberal Republican. To do that, his campaign has had to twist the former HP CEO’s positions so they match those of Dede Scozzafava.

      Only problem is that the Carly has made clear she opposes many of the policies DeVore says she supports. In a press release yesterday, his campaign said, “Carly Fiorina supported the Obama stimulus.” In fact, she made her opposition to that budget-busting boondoggle crystal clear. He says she can’t decide whether or not “she opposes cap-and-tax.” The week she announced for U.S. Senate, she called the bill a “job killer for small businesses [and] farmers.” Last week, she repeated this description of the legislation on the Kudlow Report, saying she would not vote for the bill.

    • A new Zogby IVR poll finds Rudy Giuliani (R) just edging Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) in a potential 2010 match up, 45% to 43%.

      In another potential match-up, Gillibrand holds a slight lead over former Gov. George Pataki (R), 43% to 38%.

      If they were to face off in a Republican primary, likely voters would pick Giuliani over Pataki, 72% to 28%.

    • According to the government's broadest measure of unemployment, some 17.5 percent are either without a job entirely or underemployed. The so-called U-6 number is at the highest rate since becoming an official labor statistic in 1994.

      The number dwarfs the statistic most people pay attention to—the U-3 rate—which most recently showed unemployment at 10.2 percent for October, the highest it has been since June 1983.

      The difference is that what is traditionally referred to as the "unemployment rate" only measures those out of work who are still looking for jobs. Discouraged workers who have quit trying to find a job, as well as those working part-time but looking for full-time work or who are otherwise underemployed, count in the U-6 rate.

      With such a large portion of Americans experiencing employment struggles, economists worry that an extended period of slow or flat growth lies ahead.

    • One of the things that emerged from that was this comment about your primary against Chuck DeVore. You made a remark that you are a better candidate in part because Sen. Boxer has beaten white men before. He’s responded to that, but I’m wondering if you could elaborate what you meant by that.

      There are some things that are very similar between Chuck DeVore and I. We share many conservative values. I have a very different set of experiences than Chuck DeVore has. I’m not from the political world. I’m a business person. I’ve traveled around the world. So I just bring a different set of experiences to Washington than he would. And I talked about all of that, but I also made the comment that Barbara Boxer as a candidate has in many ways taken the women’s vote for granted in all of her bids for election or re-election. And as a woman candidate, she will not be able to do that running against me. I think that’s important to an ability to beat her.

    • Mike Murphy, the blunt-spoken, sharp-tongued, smart aleck Republican strategist who has advised such clients as John McCain, Mitt Romney and Arnold Schwarzenegger, is joining Meg Whitman’s campaign for governor, two reliable sources told Calbuzz.

      Whitman, who has already spent more than $20 milllion, decided to shake up her campaign on Friday, Nov. 13, one source told us, and add another layer to her consultant-rich organization.

      Murphy is widely known in the business for his skill in dealing with the media, which could help eMeg’s dreadful relations with much of the California press; although she has enjoyed a host of often fawning profiles in national publications, she has strained relations with many of the state’s major media outlets. Most recently, the Wall Street Journal described her “thin skinned” attitude towards the press, a charge she answered by saying many of the newspapers seeking access to her would soon be out of business.

    • Comes the news that Democratic Congressman Dennis Moore of the 3rd district of Kansas is not running for reelection. Interesting. Congressman Moore was reelected by a 56%-40% margin in 2008, and Barack Obama carried his district 51%-48%, while losing the other three congressional districts in Kansas.

      There could be many plausible reasons for Moore to retire from Congress. He turns 65 in 2010 and at the end of his term will have served 12 years in Congress. He served 12 years as Johnson County District Attorney in 1976-88, and so he’s devoted more than half his working lifetime to public service. Serving in Congress means having to go back and forth between your district and Washington all the time (and a quick look at a travel website shows only two flights per day between Reagan National and Kansas City International), constantly being reachable by your constituents, etc., etc.

      All that said, this still seems an ominous sign for congressional Democrats.

      (tags: democrats)
    • President Barack Obama met Monday evening with his national security team to finalize a plan to dispatch some 34,000 additional U.S. troops over the next year to what he's called "a war of necessity" in Afghanistan, U.S. officials told McClatchy.

      Obama is expected to announce his long-awaited decision on Dec. 1, followed by meetings on Capitol Hill aimed at winning congressional support amid opposition by some Democrats who are worried about the strain on the U.S. Treasury and whether Afghanistan has become a quagmire, the officials said.

  • Carly Fiorina,  Obamacare,  Polling

    Poll Watch: American Women Sharply Disagree With Mammogram Guidelines Issued By Government Panel


    From the Gallup Poll

    This is bad news for Obamacare.

    Three-quarters of American women between the ages of 35 and 75 disagree with the relaxed medical recommendations for mammograms announced by a government panel last week, according to a new Gallup/USA Today poll.

    The survey released Tuesday finds 47 percent of women “strongly disagree” and another 29 percent “disagree” with the recommendation from the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force last week that women in their 40s should no longer get routine breast cancer exams, and that the interval for women getting a mammogram in their 50s should be every two years, rather than every year.

    Only 22 percent of those surveyed expressed support for the proposals.

    And, the Obama administration is already backing away from the panel. But, American women are too smart. They know the Democrat’s health reform legislation WILL mean government mandated guidelines in order to cut costs and ILL lead to rationing.

    The most stark assessment comes from California U.S. Senate candidate Carly Fiorina who has successfully battled breast cancer this year:

    “Had I followed these recommendations… I could well not be sitting here,” Fiorina told King.

    “The truth is all of these preventative techniques… are saving lives. Who is to say that a nameless, faceless government bureaucrat in Washington, D.C. should determine that my life is too expensive to save?”


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  • Obamacare,  Polling

    Obamacare Poll Watch: 48.7 Per Cent Oppose ONLY 39.5 Per Cent Favor


    Pollster.com’s aggregate real time chart (will change after this dated posting)

    The latest Rasmussen poll is even more dire for Obamacare.

    Generally speaking, do you strongly favor, somewhat favor, somewhat oppose or strongly oppose the health care reform plan proposed by President Obama and the congressional Democrats?

    • 38% Favor
    • 56% Oppose

    If the health care reform plan passes, will the quality of health care get better, worse, or stay about the same?

    • 20% Better

    • 54% Worse
    • 19% Same

    If the health care reform plan passes, will the cost of health care go up, go down, or stay about the same?

    • 60% Up
    • 16% Down
    • 18% Same

    So, what are the Democrat members of Congress thinking?

    If the Democrats ram Obamcare through the Congress and President Obama signs the bill, the Congress will change in November 2010 and the entire legislative program of health care reform will be changed.

    Wouldn’t a bipartisan approach be a better way to achieve the goal of better health care for all Americans?


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  • Barbara Boxer,  Carly Fiorina,  Obamacare

    Video: Carly Fiorina on Mammogram Guidelines, Breast Cancer and Obamacare

    California U.S. Senate candidate Carly Fiorina on CNN’s Anderson Cooper 360

    Watch the entire video but the pertinent Obamacare criticisms from Carly Fiorina are around the 7 minute mark. Cost based medicine and rationing is part and parcel with socialized medicine.

    This IS Obamacare in both the House and Senate versions.

    And, when they start saying that Flap will NOT have coverage for PSA tests for prostate cancer. Well, like Fiorina and breast cancer this goes right to MY survival.

    And, it makes me angry.

    My California U.S. Senator Barbara Boxer voted for the Senate Obamacare bill and I will be voting her out of office next year and replacing her with Carly Fiorina.


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  • Afghanistan,  Barack Obama

    Day By Day November 24, 2009 – The Do-Over President

    Day By Day by Chris Muir

    President Obama will likely announce his Afghanistan policy next Tuesday during a prime time television newscast.

    What has taken Obama so long? Obama held his ninth formal Afghanistan strategy session in the White House Situation Room last night.

    White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs said in a statement: “After completing a rigorous final meeting, President Obama has the information he wants and needs to make his decision and he will announce that decision within days.”

    The decision is shaping up as one of the most momentous of Obama’s presidency, coming as the public is turning negative toward the war effort and his fellow Democrats are growing increasingly vocal in their opposition to a troop buildup in Afghanistan.

    Obama’s decisions about his strategy are not known. But administration officials expect him to announce an increase of 20,000 to 40,000 additional troops in Afghanistan, a victory for his commander, Gen. Stanley McChrystal.

    McChrystal has argued that “success is achievable” in Afghanistan with proper resources, and 40,000 troops was his middle — and preferred — recommendation in a set of three options he presented in his own strategic review. They would join 68,000 U.S. troops there now.

    And, how many trial baloons will there be floated between now and next week?

    With Obama’s statements having an expiration date, he is looking like Jimmy Carter and his indecisive, wavering foreign policy every week.

    With the announcement next week, buried right before Thanksgiving, it continues to look like Obama is conflicted in Afghanistan decision making. Want this one of John McCain’s and Hillary Clinton’s main arguments against the Obama Presidency? Untested as Commander in Chief?

    PLUS CA CHANGE

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