Quote Of The Day

"Can you imagine if some of these reporters were working on a farm? You planted some seeds, and they came out the next day, and they looked, and nothing’s happened! There’s no crop! We’re going to starve! Oh, no! It’s a disaster!”

President Obama speaking in Maine about how quick journalists and politicos are to critique the health care bill. He does have a way of putting things in perspective.

Watch the video. Very funny.

Right In A Tither Over Obama's Address of School Kids

Jesus christ the right can get worked up over nothing. To the point of insulting the intelligences of normal Americans. The right has been going ape nuts over president Obama's speech to incoming grade school students.

They say Obama's is trying to indoctrinate our kids into his left wing socialist agenda. What crap.

From Robert Gibbs:

"I think it's a sad, sad day that the political back and forth has intruded on anyone speaking to schoolchildren and teachers and parents about the responsibilities that they have as we enter a new school year."

Its true. A very sad day when our elected president has this crap distracts from his attempts to keep kids in school.

Obama Addresses Muslim Nation

In Obama's speech today in Cairo, he described a world in which christians, Jews and Muslims can all work together for the better of the world.

Highlights:

-Islam and the United States can work together.

-9/11 was an attack on the U.S. and everyone else and we needed to respond to its perpetrators: Al Qaeda and the Taliban.

-The Iraq war was a "choice war" and we want to get out asap

-Israel needs to be recognized and Palestine needs its own state.

-Iran can only pursue peaceful nuclear power/energy

Overall, it was pretty good. Here is the text and video grace a TPM

Obama at the White House Correspondents' Dinner

Obama did an amazing job in his speech at the Correspondents Dinner. This is the same dinner that Colbert ripped Pres Bush 3 years ago.

He was funny and very sharp in his jokes. Highlights

Watch it at C-Span here.

"Now Sasha and Malia aren't here tonight because they're grounded.  You can't just take Air Force One on a joy ride to Manhattan.  I don't care whose kids you are.  We've been setting some ground rules here.  They're starting to get a little carried away. "

"Dick Cheney was supposed to be here but he is very busy working on his memoirs, tentatively titled, 'How to Shoot Friends and Interrogate People.'"

"Which brings me to another thing that's changed in this new, warmer, fuzzier White House, and that's my relationship with Hillary.  You know, we had been rivals during the campaign, but these days we could not be closer.  In fact, the second she got back from Mexico she pulled into a hug and gave me a big kiss.  Told me I'd better get down there myself.   Which I really appreciated.  I mean, it was -- it was nice."

Obama's Continuous Campaign?

A lot has been written recently about Obama's apparent focus of his speeches in states that were/might be swing states.

Politico has a story:

"Obama has been making down payments on his political future since the moment he got elected – aligning Cabinet picks, political staffers and his nascent Organizing for America outreach effort to lay down a foundation for building support for his ambitious agenda and the campaigns to come in 2010 and 2012."

Huffington Post has this doozy about his NCAA tournament picks.

As well as Politicalwire.

Well, does this mean its true. No. I have two perspectives. The first is good for him. Getting out of DC was a campaign promise and so what if he tends to pick states that are toss ups. Does Obama ONLY go to these states? Of course not. He was just here in lala land with Arnie. They were having the time of their lives.

The second is I really hope he doesn't spend too much time in these states where the talking point might stick. There is something distracting and distasteful to be continuously campaigning. He got in on the change/outsider platform. He doesn't want to lose the persona that he's not "one of them." While he will lose a little of that image b/c he's president, he can't sacrifice too much of it. People are fed up with DC and he needs to keep the outsider image as long as possible.

Jindal's (GOP) Response to Obama's Address

Jindal's speech fell well short of President Obama yesterday. He has been getting panned by everyone b/c of his speech style in comparison to Obama's. To be honest it is not fair to compare the two. Obama is one of the better speakers of our time.

One other thing stuck out about Jindal's response. He basically stuck to OLD repub talking points of small government. I really don't think the GOP has a clue what is happening in the world today. The ONLY thing that can stave off a depression is government.

Here is a video of David Brooks letting the GOP know how bad they are doing.