George Will’s latest column is a pitch perfect observation on how President Obama’s State of the Union address betrays a longing for an “unfettered executive” branch by his administration and among his supporters. Will’s column is not without false notes. He implies by omission that the desire for an unfettered executive branch is unique to the progressive wing of the Democratic Party. Not so.

Just over an hour… Let me know what you think in the comments below! More as it develops…

As promised in his last State of the Union speech… From Politico: Stepping firmly onto Republican turf, President Barack Obama will announce Friday that he will ask Congress for the power to merge agencies to streamline government and improve efficiency. First up on his list: the elimination of the Commerce Department and the Small Business [...]

Maybe Newt isn’t quite out of it yet… From WashPost: Gingrich and Romney are each favored by 30 percent of Republicans and Republican-leaning independents. Running behind them is Rep. Ron Paul (Tex.), whose libertarian philosophy has attracted a strong following. He stands at 15 percent, about double his tally in an early November poll. All [...]

Don’t know what Tumblr is? Ask your kids. For everybody else, follow Obama’s Tumblr here. They’re using it as a way to tell a collaborative story about the campaign. Anybody can submit stories/photos/etc and a few will get picked for publication. So while you probably won’t get any hard hitting news on this channel, you’ll [...]

But…but…this goes against the Republican narrative! American Jobs Act — Final There really aren’t any controversial elements in here at all. Yes, Republicans are going to push back on any additional spending, but it’ll be hard for them to break this apart and only get the tax cuts through. So it’ll be up to them [...]

From David Donar of Political Graffiti

Let’s see…we’re still in Afghanistan…we’re still in Iraq…we were never really in Libya…and yet that country has been liberated in near record time. Lindsey Graham’s and John McCain’s opinion of the situation? NOT FAST ENOUGH!!! The end of the Qadaffi regime in Libya is a victory for the Libyan people and for the broader cause [...]

The compromise will include some formula for revenue increases, (probably in the form eliminating deductions while reducing rates), it will include cuts to the military, and it will include deep meaningful and substantial cuts in spending in the overall budget. And the compromise will be agreed on the brink of default to no one’s satisfaction. In the meantime, we have six weeks of Kabuki theater to enjoy while the eventual compromise is hammered out. Both tribes will have ample opportunity to point at the feckless hypocrisy of the other. Enjoy the show.

I’m not trying to lay blame, but context about who has added more to this problem is important. Because Republicans voted to raise the debt ceiling every single time it came up under Bush 2.0 and now they’re not so cooperative. NY Times has more: A few lessons can be drawn from the numbers. First, [...]

Kent Conrad (D-N.D.), Mark Warner (D-Va.), Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), Mike Crapo (R-Idaho) and Saxby Chambliss (R-Ga.) just may have come up with something to bridge the gap between Dmes and the Repubs on the debt ceiling negotiations. It even has Tom Coburn (R-Okla.) coming back to the table… “The plan has moved significantly, and it’s [...]

This is one of those times that I don’t know if this is a brilliant political move or absolutely foolish. Wash Post has details… It works like this: The plan “would give the President the ability to request smaller increases in the debt ceiling — coupled with proposed spending cuts of at least $2.5 trillion [...]

I hadn’t gotten around to watching this until just now. Maybe you’re in the same boat, so I’m sharing the whole thing. 30 minutes worth. Some nice before bed content. And by the way, the idea that the conservative blogosphere is floating that Obama didn’t want the Seals to take the shot is decimated in [...]

I wouldn’t want to be Donald Trump today. Ouch. Obama’s part opened with the theme song “I Am A Real American,” and it just got worse for Trump from there. Trump jokes are at 9:45 in, but you’ll probably want to watch the whole thing. And then SNL’s Seth Meyers weighed in. His Trump jokes [...]

The ironic thing about all of this is that Obama’s actual birth certificate isn’t even allowed for official use in Hawaii, but the Certificate of Live Birth, the document he has been using since the get go, is allowed. The only reason Trump opens his mouth these days is to change shoes… “Well I’ve been [...]

It was forceful, it was direct and it was very pointed in putting the lie to the Ryan’s budget cuts that don’t include any revenue plans. And let me say this for the record…Ryan’s plans are cruel. He had a chance to lead on this, but he failed. In any event, Obama said that EVERYTHING [...]

It’s pretty basic. Increase revenues and lower expenditures. Here’s more from NY Times: In his remarks, which come after Friday’s bipartisan deal to cut domestic spending by about $38 billion for the remainder of this budget year, Mr. Obama will not offer details but will set deficit-cutting goals, White House officials said. The numbers were [...]

You have got be kidding me. And yet…no. No, Obama hasn’t shown anybody his birth certificate… And how about this whopper… Show me a picture. I’ve seen 14-year-old, I’ve seen 13-year-old. I haven’t seen early pictures. Yeah, those don’t exist… Nobody can find them… Where are they?!?!?!? He’s a fake! Donald…you’re fired.

I agree with the strikes on Libya because they’ll pave the way for a no-fly zone…and that will cut down on Gaddafi’s ability to do a lot of damage quickly. And I would agree with air strikes on Sudan who are doing awful things. Let’s remember, many Dems were for hitting Afghanistan hard in 2001 [...]

I have a new book that came out a few weeks ago on presidential leadership, aptly titled “Presidential Leadership: 15 Decisions that Changed the Nation.  I’m claiming that as my excuse for not blogging much on this site since the 2008 election. I mention it because the final two chapters of the book are Reagan [...]