Rats can't swim

Rat leaving Patrick Murphy's sinking ship:

Former White House chief of staff Rahm Emanuel has chosen Scott Fairchild, the chief of staff for Rep. Patrick Murphy (D-Pa.), to manage his campaign for mayor of Chicago, POLITICO has learned.

Fairchild agreed to lead Emanuel's Chicago bid earlier this week, before President Barack Obama's Friday announcement that he was losing his top aide, sources familiar with situation said. He plans to start in Chicago after the Nov. 2 midterm elections.

Considering that Nate Silver Larry Sabato and Real Clear Politics all have Murphy's race leaning Republican, Scott Fairchild must be seeking higher ground. It remains to be seen whether Rahmbo's race is any more seaworthy than Murphy's. For now though, it doesn't appear to be quite as doomed at least.

With Murphy informed, Fairchild will help Rahm as he launches a "listening tour" through Chicago neighborhoods hoping to get honest feedback from Chicagoans about the state of their city.

Rahm's gain appears to be a big loss for the Murphy reelection campaign:

Fairchild has served as Murphy's chief of staff since 2007, after joining his team in May 2006. He does not have any Chicago background, but is credited with leading a skilled get-out-the-vote effort that put Murphy over the top in 2006.

Fairchild is "by far one of the best managers out there," according to Adrienne Elrod, who worked at the DCCC in 2006.

"Scott is extremely competent and is politically savvy in every sense of the word. Like Rahm, he's a fast thinker and mover," said Elrod, who is now Rep. Loretta Sanchez's top aide, when informed of the move. "With Scott's street smarts no stone will go unturned."

Fairchild will be a loss for Murphy, an Iraq war veteran who had a speaking role at the 2008 Democratic Convention in which he introduced military veterans who were running for Congress

All that savvy and he can't save Patrick Murphy's tarnished star, tsk tsk.  Holy Mackerel - or Holy dead Asian carp as it were - it's amazing what passes for talent these days in the Democratic party.

Via Memeorandum

Sign of the Times: Hot-selling t-shirt on Martha's Vineyard this year is ...

Remember last year's visit to Martha's Vineyard with the gushing coverage and giddy anticipation of the Obama arrival to an island that barely blinks an eye when mere mortal celebrities visit?  Local restaurants created the "Barack-O-Taco," the "Obamarita" and a new ice cream treat was christened "Barack My World."  T-shirts bearing the slogans "Summer White House ’09,”  “Barackin’ the Vineyard Summer ’09," and "I vacationed with Obama" filled the shops and sold like hot cakes.

My how times have changed.  Gone are the goose bumps that greeted the Obama family last year.  Sure the "Obamarita" is back as are the "I vacationed with Obama" t-shirts.  Nothing says  they're "just not that into you" anymore Mr. President like the number one selling t-shirt on the Vineyard this year:

One barometer of the plunge in excitement has been the sale of Obama-themed T-shirts, which designers had been banking on after the craze of last year. Clothing labeled with the president’s name sold by the thousands, helping to salvage a tough economic year for the island.

But this year’s T-shirt sales are much less brisk, merchants say.

“Last year, Obama gave you goose bumps, but I don’t think you’re going to see that this year,’’ said Alex McCluskey, co-owner of the Locker Room, who sold more than 4,000 “I vacationed with Obama’’ T-shirts last year. But so far this year, he said, his hot item is T-shirts of former President Bush asking, “Miss me yet?’’

Who knew a year later Troglopundit's clever creation would be "Ba-rocking the Vineyard" in Summer '10?   Certainly the Democratic strategists and consultants didn't see this one coming:

The advice from Democratic consultants and strategists is almost unanimous: Run away from the president, and fast. A prominent Democratic pollster is circulating a survey that shows George W. Bush is 6 points more popular than President Obama in "Frontline" districts -- seats held by Democrats that the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee sees as most vulnerable to Republican takeover. That Bush is more popular than Obama in Democratic-held seats is cause for outright fear.

It looks as though Obama will be as welcome as snow in July on the campaign trail this year which should free him up for plenty of vacations this fall.  He even has his passport handy.  At this point an unexpected vacation or two seems preferable to his staying in Washington to do more damage to the country.  Maybe he and Rahm can open a t-shirt stand together.

Incoherent and incompetent one-term president

Via Memeorandum
Rounding up the latest commentary on the state of the Obama presidency during the doldrums of the August news cycle we find a very different portrait of the messiah president Barack Obama. Once the articulate and charismatic messiah we were assured would slow the rise of the oceans and heal the planets, Barack Obama is now incoherent according to CNN critics:

The danger here is an incoherent presidency," said David Morey, vice chairman of the Core Strategy Group, who provided communications advice to Obama's 2008 campaign. "Simpler is better, and rising above these issues and leading by controlling the dialogue is what the presidency is all about. So I think that's the job they have to do more effectively as they have in the past [in the campaign]."

Obama has faced a torrent of criticism for what was called mixed messages on the controversial plan. On Friday, Obama said Muslims "have the same right to practice their religion as anyone else in this country ... That includes the right to build a place of worship and a community center on private property in Lower Manhattan, in accordance with local laws and ordinances."

The following day, Obama told Ed Henry, CNN's senior White House correspondent, that he was "not commenting on the wisdom" of the project, just the broader principle that the government should treat "everyone equal, regardless" of religion. Then a White House spokesman clarified those comments.

"There is no question they are having messaging problems at the White House," Morey said. "They've lost control of the dialogue, and they've gotten pulled down by the extremes on the left and right. They've just not had a coherent set of themes."

As Jennifer Rubin points out they go on to twist the knife a bit by pointing to the superior communication style of . . . guess who?

While many poked fun at former President George W. Bush for mispronouncing words and stumbling through sentences, observers note that he rarely had to backtrack on his answers because he employed a simple and direct messaging approach.

My how times have changed.

Obama's incoherent messaging has left one group feeling a bit chilly these days:

Democrats complain they were blindsided when President Obama weighed in on the Ground Zero mosque and handed the GOP a new club to beat them with.

Capitol Hill Democrats, including those facing tough races, were not told in advance before Obama's Friday night speech defending Muslims' rights to build a mosque in lower Manhattan.

While Mayor Bloomberg knew ahead of time what Obama intended to say at the Ramadan dinner at the White House, New York Democratic Sens. Chuck Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand were kept in the dark, sources said.

That Bloomberg was given advance notice of Obama's ill-fated speech on Friday while the members of his party were left out in the cold to fend for themselves speaks of incompetence at a minimum.  How many planks did these Democrats walk for him after all?  Rahm Emmanuel was left to do damage control as he fielded the angry phone calls of Democrats who felt blindsided by Obama's remarks.  According to the NY Daily News report, Obama proceeded to make his remarks at the Ramadan dinner though no consensus had been reached among his advisors as to what his position should be.  Emmanuel was reported to have been skeptical.  Gee I wonder who leaked this story?

Not every rat is leaving this sinking ship.  He still has a few apologists willing to pretend he hasn't tried to walk back his big brave support for freedom of religion in the United States in favor of a more precisely-phrased support for freedom of religion in the United States.  We all know he intended to signal that the mosque must be built even though he refuses to admit he was commenting on the "wisdom" of building the mosque.  This is the profile in courage we call Barack Obama.

Still, Roger Simon suggests that Obama may end up a "one-term president" because he boldly refused to listen to the polls and weighed in on the mosque controversy.  You see, he has taken seriously all that hope and change talk and maintained the idealism of a candidate:

The problem for Obama is that he appears to have taken seriously all the “change” stuff he promised during his campaign. And he has been unable to make the transition from candidate to president.

A candidate says, as Bobby Kennedy did, “Some men look at things the way they are and ask why? I dream of things that are not and ask why not?”

A president says: “What do the polls say?”

This puts Obama in the company of such fine leaders as Dwight D. Eisenhower and Abraham Lincoln:

You can go back to the mid-1800s and find a lot of legislators saying that Abraham Lincoln should stop lecturing people about ending slavery and listen to them about keeping it.

And there were plenty of lawmakers who said President Dwight D. Eisenhower was “disconnected from the mainstream of America” when he ordered the 101st Airborne Division to go down to Little Rock, Ark., to make sure some black kids could go to school with white kids.

Ok, my head is spinning.  Did I miss the part when Eisenhower refused to comment on the wisdom of making sure some black kids could go to school with white kids?  Nevertheless, Simon suggests Obama will pay dearly for his bravery; the price will be a second term in office.  Well if that is what it takes I am all aboard that train.  History will sort out the legacy of this incoherent and incompetent one-term president.  The sooner that starts the better.

Rahm and Barry's T-Shirt Stand

Vanity Fair asks, "Can Washington be fixed?" Rahm and Barry have the answer:

"It got so bad last December that President Obama and Emanuel would joke that, when it was all over, they were going to open a T-shirt stand on a beach in Hawaii. It would face the ocean and sell only one color and one size. “We didn’t want to make another decision, or choice, or judgment,” Emanuel tells Purdum. They took to beginning staff meetings with Obama smiling at Emanuel and simply saying “White,” and Emanuel nodding back and replying “Medium.”



By all means go set up that T-shirt stand, don't let us stop you.

Jill has more: Is Obama bored with his job?
Wyblog Michelle Obama is Paris Hilton

Inside the Weird Inner Workings of Michael Moore's Mind

Via Memeorandum
A scary place I will admit.  Somewhere in the cobwebs Moore thinks himself a suitable replacement for Rahm as Chief of Staff in the White House.  Wait, it just gets weirder from here.  Moore envisions whipping Obama into shape too:

Now, don't get too giddy with excitement over my offer, because you and I are going to be up at 5 in the morning, seven days a week and I am going to get you pumped up for battle every single day (see photo). Each morning you and I will do 100 jumping jacks and you will repeat after me:

"THE AMERICAN PEOPLE ELECTED ME, NOT THE REPUBLICANS, TO RUN THE COUNTRY! I AM IN CHARGE! I WILL ORDER ALL OBSTRUCTIONISTS OUTTA MY WAY! IF THE AMERICAN PEOPLE DON'T LIKE WHAT I'M DOING THEY CAN THROW MY ASS OUT IN 2012. IN THE MEANTIME, I CALL THE SHOTS ON THEIR BEHALF! NOW, CONGRESS, DROP AND GIVE ME 50!!"

 When was the last time Moore did 100 jumping jacks?  When has he done one?   The people elected Obama  and gave the Republicans not enough votes to stop anything.  Better get after the Democrat obstructionists who were hesitant to pass legislation the American people hate.  Moore will ignore the polls showing how unpopular health care is, however, and instead picks the polls he likes to make his case.  Maybe he gets the politician thing after all.  Still, this is quite an image:

Then we will put on our jogging sweats and run up to Capitol Hill. We will take names, kick butts, and then take some more names. If we have to give a few noogies or half-nelson's, then so be it. In our pockets we will have a piece of paper to show the pansy Dems just how much they won by in 2008 -- and the poll results that show the majority of Americans oppose the Afghanistan and Iraq wars and want the bankers punished. Like drill sergeants, we will get right up in their faces and ask them, "WHAT PART OF THE PUBLIC MANDATE DON'T YOU UNDERSTAND, SOLDIER?!! DROP AND GIVE ME 50!"

The rest of the letter is just a long walk through the remote places in Moore's strange mind.  Be sure to wear a HazMat suit if you wish to explore the rest.  Not surprisingly the HuffPo commenters seem not to need the HazMat suit  and understand his rantings completely.  They love him.

Democratic Shennanigans in Indiana - UPDATE

When news broke yesterday of Evan Bayh's retirement from the Senate my initial impression was Bayh was leaving his party in the lurch by making his announcement the day before the deadline for candidates to register for the race.  Dan Riehl, however, made an excellent point that the move cleared the way for the Democrats to do a little king making by appointing a candidate.  Ed Morrissey thought this would lead to the appointment of a liberal  ideologue, not a winner in Indiana, which it would if the state Democrats were left to their own devices.

Enter Tamyra d'Ippolito, a political newbie and hapless cafe owner who was 500 signatures short of getting her name on the ballot leaving the Dems stuck with her as their candidate.   A rallying cry went out to the right to help d'Ippolito meet her goal.  A little chaos amongst the Dems is a good thing.  Today d'Ippolito is claiming the White House and Rahm Emmanuel have been working secretly to put Baron Hill, an Indiana Blue Dog on the ballot:

However, d’Ippolito said she was informed Monday that Hill, a blue dog who represents Indiana’s 9th District in the House, already has the necessary signatures and is sitting on them until the deadline. She accused White House chief of staff Rahm Emanuel of colluding with Hill and the Democratic party county chairs to secretly supplant her as the nominee.

“I can’t confirm so I’m working feverishly to find out if this is the deal. If it is, there’s something unethical going on in Indiana politics,” d’Ippolito said. She then referenced Emanuel’s  at a fundraiser for Hill in Bloomington and accused the president’s top political aide of playing kingmaker during that visit.

“Don’t you find that strange, Rahm Emanuel coming to Indiana?” she asked, adding that Emanuel was sent by the White House to “find a blue dog to put into power.”

Would anyone put it past this group of Democrats to have conspired against other Dems if they thought it would give them a leg up in a race?  Nothing would surprise me from this crew.  Personally, I hope d'Ippolito gets her signatures whether Baron Hill, the 9th Congressional Dist. Blue Dog, gets his in on time or not.  If d'Ippolito runs a campaign anything like she runs her restaurant we've got nothing to fear from her.

If the White House has conspired with Bayh to keep others off the ballot hoping to put Baron Hill on the ballot, they might have done a little better by picking someone who hasn't voted for the health care bill that has put the Democratic majority in such peril.  Opposition to health care has a strong correlation to voting behavior and nothing makes that case like Scott Brown's election in Massachusetts.  While d'Ippolito's progressive ideology makes her a bad choice for the Dems, do they seriously think anyone believes there are moderate Democrats anymore?  When push came to shove they all voted with Pelosi or Reid, though some demanded a higher price tag for their vote than others.

Ed Morrissey reports d'Ippolito has the signatures and it appears the Democrats are buying themselves a whole lot of scrutiny in the process.
Via Memeorandum

UPDATE:   She missed the deadline according to an official in a key district.  Does this surprise anyone?

SNL: Rahmbo Apologizes

H/T:  Hot Air Headlines
Perhaps the only funny sketch to come from SNL in quite a while.  Since it is been in the news all this week, the skit depicting an even-tempered Rahm Emmanuel apologizing for using the "r" word is certainly worth a post.  While the overall skit presents Emmanuel as a foul-mouthed ill-tempered bully, SNL works in quite a few digs at the right as well.     Still, there is plenty to laugh at here, particularly Emmanuel letting loose on the Democrats who leaked the whole issue to the WSJ  to begin with.

The War on Fox News is a Diversion

The takeaway from the Sunday talk shows was the latest installment of the White House war against Fox News. Mike Allen at Politico has a good run down of the "highlights" such as they are from Rahm Emmanuel and David Axelrod from their appearances on CNN's "State of the Union" and ABC's "This Week." Axelrod went so far as to describe Fox as un-American. The rest of the sound bites consist of major insights such as this from Axelrod:

"Mr. [Rupert] Murdoch has a talent for making money, and I understand that their programming is geared toward making money. The only argument [White House communications director] Anita [Dunn] was making is that they’re not really a news station if you watch even — it’s not just their commentators, but a lot of their news programming.

"It’s really not news — it’s pushing a point of view. And the bigger thing is that other news organizations like yours ought not to treat them that way, and we’re not going to treat them that way. We’re going to appear on their shows. We’re going to participate but understanding that they represent a point of view.”

This is ludicrous and Axelrod and Emmanuel surely know it.  The New York Times finds the White House decision to open a war on a third front against Fox News a loser, pointing to the Reality Check blog to debunk Fox News claims.  The Times concludes:

People who work in political communications have pointed out that it is a principle of power dynamics to “punch up “ — that is, to take on bigger foes, not smaller ones. A blog on the White House Web site that uses a “truth-o-meter” against a particular cable news network would not seem to qualify. As it is, Reality Check sounds a bit like the blog of some unemployed guy living in his parents’ basement, not an official communiqué from Pennsylvania Avenue.

The American presidency was conceived as a corrective to the royals, but trading punches with cable shouters seems a bit too common. Perhaps it’s time to restore a little imperiousness to the relationship.

Ouch, and double ouch considering this is the Times commenting on the absurdity of White House efforts here.  Perhaps this is the White House answer to the " Beck Phone" installed on the Glenn Beck Show  for them to answer his charges directly.  No doubt Beck has scored some points with his repeated exposure of the backgrounds of the Czars like Van Jones.  Answering Beck without ringing his "Beck Phone" is likely an added bonus to the real mission with the war on Fox News, however. 

Anita Dunn rolled out the first wave in this attack last week shortly after, it became apparent the lefty bloggers and members of the gay community were outraged when an unnamed source dismissed their protests the White House was not keeping promises made to the gay community.  Add to Dunn's initial charges against Fox, a sprinkling of  Rush Limbaugh NFL controversy and like magic health care and outrage from the base disappears from the headlines like magic.  The Emmanuel/Axelrod contingent must have been doing cartwheels when balloon boy took over the headlines.

The continual yammering from the left that health care must include a "robust" public option is a fly in the White House ointment to heal the wounded health care industry,  Not coincidentally the White House tossed out another serving of red meat meant to distract the left from their  "robust public option" mission when news hit the left wing blogosphere that the White House had taken another anonymous slap at one of its' union allies Gerry McAntee president of AFSCME for expecting Obama to keep his promises according to Jon Walker in a post at Firedoglake. 

The Rahm/Axelrod contingent didn't think this one all the way through.  Driving up Rush's ratings while painting him as the "titular head of the GOP" probably helped the ratings of those lagging in Fox's ratings dust.  Driving up Fox's ratings to distract the left from their "robust public option" is likely a plan the cables and evening news broadcasters are not going to find "thrilling."  Maybe they will get lucky and the balloon boy drama will drag on long enough to drop the public option and bury the results of the elections in NJ and Virginia.  If that doesn't work, I am sure there has to be another Rush Limbaugh drama they can dig up, anything to avoid  having that health care thing they are working on show up on CSPAN.
H/T: Memeorandum