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- The Senate Democratic leadership abandoned comprehensive energy legislation today because the votes, unsurprisingly, aren't there -- Republican votes, to be exact. C'est la vie. It's not as if we're facing a climate-change catastrophe whose effects can be lessened if we act now. But we can't. Because Republicans have 41 votes in the U.S. Senate. We truly are an exceptional nation.
- A few open questions: At what point does responsible journalism start calling a lie a lie instead of reporting "conservative hack claims X about liberals, Democrats" and enabling them? What compels a journalist to lavish praise on the next George W. Bush without noting how grossly unqualified they are for high office? When will it be elevated to a statement of fact that the conservative movement completely lacks a positive governing agenda? Is there a line that can't be crossed?
- First Read, a reliable purveyor of Beltway conventional wisdom, tries out the passive voice: "As for the media, we've allowed this story over race bury one of the more consequential weeks of Obama's presidency thus far (the financial reform legislation becoming law, Senate passage of the jobless benefits, and Kagan clearing the Senate Judiciary Committee). Whether it's Sherrod, Gates, or Jeremiah Wright, the topic of race pushes the media's buttons like no other issue."
- Shorter Mark Murray, again, from First Read, on liberal disappointment with Barack Obama: It's a center-right country, so get over yourselves. Leaving aside how slippery ideological self-identification is -- Democrats need to go after those moderate voters! -- Murray is simply echoing the all-too familiar meme that only Ronald Reagan had that old-time magic to realign the ideological leanings of the country, and was able to explain his policies in a more compelling fashion than Obama.
- Remainders: Congressional liberals are attempting to resurrect the public option; more Tales from our Vibrant Economy; shorter conservative windbag: America has the holy obligation to free the people of the world and Obama doesn't understand that; two-thirds of the public must be delusional for thinking unemployment is a bigger problem than our TERRIFYING DEFICIT; and Joshua Green makes the case for a dark-horse Republican presidential candidate.
--Mori Dinauer
