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TV and Limitless News Coverage Are Turning Our Brains And Our Economy to Mush
Tweet Share on Facebook February 27, 2009 Comment (5)By Mary Kate Cary, Thomas Jefferson Street blog
I was in College Station, Texas last weekend, where the unemployment rate is hovering around three percent. The stores were busy, the hotel was sold out with three different softball teams, and the Live at Five news seemed to be all about the weather. When I asked locals about the effects of the economic recession, I got shrugs and shaking heads. No problem here, they said, hasn't affected us at all.
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Republicans Cannot Simply Say "No," Despite What Bill Kristol Thinks
Tweet Share on Facebook February 26, 2009 Comment (13)By Mary Kate Cary, Thomas Jefferson Street blog
Republicans voted nearly unanimously against President Obama's stimulus package, GOP governors talked of rejecting stimulus funding for their states, and as of this morning, only a single Republican—Rep. Michael Turner of Ohio—has expressed support for the president's housing legislation. How can the GOP avoid becoming, as all the pundits are calling it, The Party of No?
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Obama Speech Worked: Expect Rising Stock Market and Poll Numbers
Tweet Share on Facebook February 25, 2009 Comment (131)By Mary Kate Cary, Thomas Jefferson Street blog
President Obama gave a great speech last night—well delivered, gracious to his political opponents, concise and understandable. I cannot remember the last time a president put any humor into a joint session address. His "Don't mess with Joe" line reminded me of the Joe Biden impersonator on Saturday Night Live yelling "Biden Alert!" every time he enters a room. My favorite part of the speech was at the end, when the President quoted Ty Sheoma Bethea, who asked for help for her crumbling school by telling everyone, "We are not quitters." She had a look in her eye that told the room she was much older than she appeared—sort of an "old soul" type of child. The president repeated it several times, and I have to admit I got a little choked up.
So I laughed, I cried, I thought it was too long, and I disagreed with large portions of his agenda. But I think it worked.
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Stock Market Needs Certainty, Not Geithner-esque Waffling
Tweet Share on Facebook February 24, 2009 Comment (4)By Mary Kate Cary, Thomas Jefferson Street blog
As yesterday's stock market slipped ever lower—Dow down 250 points, S&P Index down 26, Nasdaq down 53—I thought of something said at a symposium I attended over the weekend marking the 20th anniversary of the first Bush administration. Andy Card, former deputy chief of staff for George H.W. Bush, pointed out that in February of 1989 the Dow jumped to 2250. By the end of that administration, the Dow ended up even stronger at 2700 points. Hard to believe, isn't it? And it wasn't that long ago. Amazing what's happened in just 20 years.
It reminds us that everything is relative. While the first Bush administration had its economic problems, such as the S&L bailout and the budget crisis, times were pretty good for most Americans—and yet the Dow was nowhere near what we're now all used to.
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Rick Santelli Rant on Unjust Democrat Bailouts Hit the Nail on the Head
Tweet Share on Facebook February 23, 2009 Comment (62)By Mary Kate Cary, Thomas Jefferson Street blog
Late last week we saw CNBC's Rick Santelli ranting on the floor of the Chicago commodities exchange about the various bailout measures being promoted by the administration and Democrats in Congress. Since then, the video of his rant has been downloaded more than half a million times on YouTube.
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'Nation of Cowards' Aside, Holder Was Right, Especially About Black History Month
Tweet Share on Facebook February 20, 2009 Comment (17)By Mary Kate Cary, Thomas Jefferson Street blog
I was traveling all day yesterday, and the most intriguing headline I saw on the newsstand was that Attorney General Eric Holder had called the United States a "nation of cowards." Curious, I found his remarks online as soon as I landed here in Texas. Click here to read the whole transcript of his speech, which is actually pretty thoughtful. In it, he questions the value of Black History Month as it exists now, saying we're a nation of cowards who are uncomfortable when it comes to talking about race:
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If Chrysler, GM Get a Bailout They Should Stop Making Gas-Powered Cars
Tweet Share on Facebook February 19, 2009 Comment (28)By Mary Kate Cary, Thomas Jefferson Street blog
The heads of Chrysler and General Motors asked Congress this week for an additional $20 billion in aid while they simultaneously cut 50,000 jobs. This was on top of the $17 billion they had previously requested and the thousands of workers they've already laid off. Then this, buried in the Washington Post coverage: "In addition to U.S. loans, GM is also requesting financial support from the governments of Canada, Germany, Britain, Sweden and Thailand."
Is there enough money in the world to bail out American carmakers?
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Obama, Pelosi, Reid, Dodd Should Cap Own Salaries, Perks Like Executives
Tweet Share on Facebook February 18, 2009 Comment (6)By Mary Kate Cary, Thomas Jefferson Street Blog
A very entertaining idea from my fellow Bush 41 speechwriter, Chris Buckley (he wrote when 41 was Reagan's VP), who takes a cue from Jonathan Swift and makes a "modest proposal": to limit the salaries and perks of President Obama, Speaker Pelosi, and Majority Leader Reid, just as they are proposing for business leaders.
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White House Media Don't Have the Likes of Sam Donaldson Anymore
Tweet Share on Facebook February 17, 2009 Comment (6)By Mary Kate Cary, Thomas Jefferson Street blog
Sam Donaldson, who this weekend announced his retirement from ABC News, is a first-draft writer. First-draft writers have the ability to write a draft the first time and get it right. They can size up a news story and compose their news report in their head, then write it without any changes. No delete button, no cutting and pasting. Just type it up, perfectly written, and hand it in. No "get me rewrite." Most first-draft writers are now in their 70s, like Sam. No one younger than that seems to know how to do it. They are a dying breed.
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Obama Economic Stimulus Salesmen Geithner, Gregg Trip on Nuts and Bolts
Tweet Share on Facebook February 13, 2009 Comment (8)By Mary Kate Cary, Thomas Jefferson Street Blog
There's a scene in Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman that came to mind this week. A successful businessman, Charley, looks back on Willy Loman's career and says: "For a salesman, there is no rock bottom to the life. He don't put a nut to a bolt, he don't tell you the law or give you medicine. He's a man out there in the blue, riding on a smile and a shoeshine. And when they start not smiling back—that's an earthquake."
This week ended with a lot of people not smiling back at the salesmen. On Tuesday, Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner unveiled the administration's bank bailout plan and the stock market dropped 382 points in response. The markets weren't buying his product. Today, President Obama is searching for a third nominee for secretary of commerce—basically "head of sales" for the administration—in the wake of Judd Gregg's withdrawal. "On issues such as the stimulus package ... there are irresolvable conflicts for me," Senator Gregg said. "The bottom line is, this was just a bridge too far for me." Not only did he not want to be a salesman, he wasn't buying the product either. No sale.
