Quick Hits

Here are several updates to stories we've been following lately.

House votes to defund ACORN, too

The fallout continues from the undercover videos taken at ACORN offices across the country. The House has followed the lead of the Senate in voting to cut off funds to ACORN, this time in the Student Loans Bill. The final vote was a solidly bipartisan 345-75.

Who are those 75 people who want to continue using taxpayer dollars to support an organization that helps people avoid taxes, protect prostitution, and smuggle underaged sex slaves? Oh, yeah. They're Democrats.


Lame condemnations for pro-life murder

A growing sidebar of the James Pouillon murder (he was gunned down while peacefully protesting outside an abortion clinic across the street from a high school in Owosso, Michigan) is the silence of national pro-choice organizations.

I ran a quick search, and none of the biggies - NARAL Pro-Choice America, the Planned Parenthood Federation of America, or the National Organization for Women - have issued statements condemning the murder. (President Obama was late to the party, but he did end up issuing a statement on the killing.)

I confess I'm genuinely shocked that Obama did this, though from the amount of coverage he might as well not have. But, he made the effort, so I give him credit for it. Still nothing from all those pro-abortion groups, though.


Czar Wars

Now that the GOP has actually started fighting Obama's czar fetish, the President has implemented a typical liberal ruse. Rather than address the root issue, he's simply re-defining the word:

Just wanted to make sure you and all the other citizen czar-watchers out there were aware that President Obama has a new euphemism for his czars.

He tested it out yesterday during his AFL-CIO speech:

That’s why we’re investing in a clean energy economy that will free America from the grip of foreign oil and create millions of new green jobs that can’t be outsourced. That’s why I’ve named a new point person to jumpstart American manufacturing so that we can make “Made in America” not just a slogan, we want to make it a reality. (Applause.)

“Point person.”

Got it?

Unfortunately for the President, the American people simply are not stupid enough to fall for that.


On a related note, the polls are reflecting that fact all over the place:

Of the seven specific issue approval ratings measured in a Sept. 11-13 USA Today/Gallup poll, President Obama gets his highest rating (56%) on his handling of Iraq, and his lowest (38%) on the federal deficit. Obama’s approval ratings on handling the economy and healthcare, at 46% and 43%, respectively, are little changed over the past two months.

In the Sept. 11-13 survey, Obama’s overall job approval rating is 54%. Of the seven issues tested, only for Iraq is Obama’s approval rating higher than his overall approval rating. His ratings on five of the issues — energy policy, Afghanistan, the economy, healthcare policy, and the federal budget deficit — are below his overall approval rating, while his rating on handling the environment is identical to his overall rating.

Hot Air's analysis is a hum-dinger:

Obama’s team has always relied on his ability to woo voters from the stump. Unfortunately, Obama didn’t even try to woo them with his last speech. He gave an angry, partisan screed that attempted to draw lines in the sand, but in the end boxed Obama into unpopular positions. Americans looking to Obama for leadership, post-partisanship, and moderation have become disillusioned after a mere eight months. The Jedi mind tricks have apparently stopped working, and until Obama begins to abandon his radical agenda, he will continue to decline in the polls.

By all means, please continue!

There's my two cents.