Daily Grind from The Hammer

The Daily Grind

BY Mary Katharine Ham

"Mom, this is so embarrassing. Quit talking about my BMI on national television!"

It took this long for Toyota to apologize?

Dems fight with GOP for the allegiance of...Wall Street?

"After telling me to keep my mouth shut, the White House discloses sensitive information in an effort to defend a dangerous and unpopular decision to Mirandize Abdulmutallab and I’m supposed to apologize?" Sen. Bond said in a paper statement today.

The story of the "retarded" slur will never die. It finds new life in Connecticut, and when Sarah Palin knocks Rush Limbaugh for using it.

Unemployment drops to 9.7 percent.

NBC cafeteria celebrates Black History Month with a menu of fried chicken and collard greens?

I'm sure Keith Olbermann will have a very Special Comment about this immediately.

Biden to Brown: "I want to talk to you about your daughters."

Ever wanted to know what your VIN means?

The man behind the demon sheep ad?

Matthews to Sen. Collins: "I think your arguments are winning with lots of people."

The Hammer Is At Work Early

Manifestations of the Magic Lost

Der Spiegel jumps ship: "Never before has a speech by President Barack Obama felt as false...It was two speeches in one. That is why it felt so false. Both dreamers and realists were left feeling distraught. The American president doesn't need any opponents at the moment. He's already got himself."

How long before an Obama Warrior cover?

And, in perhaps the most important measure of Obama's waning persuasive powers, Tom Hayden has...removed his Obama bumper sticker from his car, with these potent words of warning for the president:

We'll see. To be clear: I'll support Obama down the road against Sarah Palin, Lou Dobbs or any of the pitchfork carriers for the pre-Obama era. But no bumper sticker until the withdrawal strategy is fully carried out.

The Daily Grind

From Mary Katharine via the Weekly Standard

The Daily Grind
Ain't no party like a holiday Tea Party, 'cause a holiday Tea Party don't stop.

Democracy Corps: "The survey found that voters now say, by a three-point margin (45% to 42%), that Republicans would do a better job on the economy than Democrats. That’s a change from the 16-point lead Democrats had in May on the question of managing the economy, and marks the first time since 2002 that Republicans have had a lead on the issue."

Obama rhetoric flashback from March 2009: "So I want the American people to understand that we have a clear and focused goal: to disrupt, dismantle and defeat al Qaeda in Pakistan and Afghanistan, and to prevent their return to either country in the future. That’s the goal that must be achieved. That is a cause that could not be more just. And to the terrorists who oppose us, my message is the same: We will defeat you."

California is making almost every other state government look good.

Family Guy spoofs Chris Matthews: "My forehead, my rules."

"I think 'Hide the decline' is a pretty hard phrase to 'interpret' in any benign way, and a pretty easy way for anyone to get up to speed with what what's going on. It's already a song, and a T-shirt."

ClimateGate: Following the money

Another one bites the dust: "I've always said, if there's a state that would never pass a smoking ban, it's Virginia."

Dana Milbank takes this important moment, a year into Barack "You guys make a great photo-op" Obama's presidency, to bash Bush and Sarah Palin for making the military into political props.

Clive Crook: "Intellectual corruption" and "statistical incompetence" is what trillions of dollars in potential public policy are relying on.

It's come to this: Obama ruins Christmas. "ABC announced today that it too will carry the speech. Originally scheduled programs, including "A Charlie Brown Christmas," will now air next Tuesday at 8pmET."

Good news: Paul Krugman will be at the jobs summit!

Center for American Progress wants a timeline from Obama.

The Hammer-Weekly Standard Blog

Lieberman Public-Option Push-Back Brings Out Snowe and Lincoln

Lieberman:

Mr. Lieberman, a Connecticut independent who caucuses with the Democrats, told reporters Tuesday that he would vote in favor of a procedural motion allowing debate of the bill. But he said that, unless the bill changes substantially, he would vote with Senate Republicans against a motion to allow a vote on final passage of the bill.

"I think that a lot of people may think that the public option is free. It's not," Mr. Lieberman said. "It's going to cost the taxpayers and people that have health insurance now, and if it doesn't, it's going to add terribly to our national debt."

Then, moderate Republican Sen. Olympia Snowe, whose vote Democrats on Senate Finance worked so hard to earn on the committee vote for an earlier version of the bill:

Maine Sen. Olympia Snowe says she would vote with fellow Republicans to block the Democratic health care overhaul if changes are not made to the version Majority Leader Harry Reid outlined this week.

Another moderate Republican Sen. Susan Collins:

Meanwhile, Maine Republican Susan Collins, who had earlier indicated interest in trying to pass a bipartisan bill this year, issued a statement underscoring her opposition to "a taxpayer-subsidized, government-run health insurance company."

And, moderate Democratic Sen. Blanche Lincoln:

U.S. Sen. Blanche Lincoln, D-Ark., said Tuesday she still can't support a government-funded insurance option, a day after legislation was unveiled that would give states the choice of whether to participate in the program.

"Creating another government-funded option is not where we're going. We don't need to go there," Lincoln told members of the Arkansas Farm Bureau during a video conference. "A government-funded option is something that I think is not the way to go."

Phil Klein on the defections:

The problem Reid faces is that if he pulls back support for the government plan now, it will enrage liberals who will believe he's sold them out to win the support of a few moderates. But if he charges ahead with the government plan proposal, he risks derailing the entire health care effort.