Down 18% with Independents since last July; also down to 81% among Democrats.

Obama's lower ratings come amid a still-struggling economy, the ongoing difficulties presented by the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, and the recent change of command in the war in Afghanistan. Underscoring the challenge at hand, Obama's 44% approval rating in July 2-5 polling (Gallup did not interview July 4) ties his lowest three-day average to date.

There is big difference between political deliverables and general deliverables.

By the former, I mean easily-achieved partisan actions. Like imposing the Mexico City restrictions, or lifting them. Partisans and people concerned with that particular issue are pleased (and displeased) by such actions.

But they're easy, aren't they?

Obama's health care victory was a partisan legislative victory along these lines.

By a general deliverable, I mean something that almost everyone would perceive as a boon no matter what their politics. Successfully prosecuting a war with a low number of casualties. Presiding over a hot economy. Plugging the hole.

Obama ran not as a partisan, but as a centrist whose chief recommendation was his competency. In other words, he ran as someone less interested in political deliverables and more interested in (and more capable of) general deliverables, such as a strong economy, a successful (and less painful) resolution of the Wars we're fighting, and a general ability to move the bureaucracy in an intelligent, purposeful way, such as to... you know, plug the hole. Things of this nature.

The tough stuff, in other words. Not to demean ideology, but the stuff that most people care strongly about.

He has not delivered a single general deliverable. Quite the opposite, in fact -- he seems incapable of delivering anything at all, anything that almost all people would call an objective, nonpartisan boon.

He's a reverse Midas. Everything he touches turns base and devalued.

The only thing he can deliver -- indeed, the only thing he seems remotely interested in -- is the sort of cheap partisan stunting that he avowed to be beneath him.

People are noticing.

It is my belief that ideologies flourish not based upon argument or rhetoric, but when a party comes to power and then delivers the general deliverables. When a president or party is able to deliver objective goods, his ideology advances, not because people have become convinced by reason or rhetoric, but simply because they decide If they've got everything working smoothly, I guess that means they're probably right about these ideological points they keep talking about, too.

And I believe the contrary: Liberalism will suffer greatly due to Obama's Miserable Failure, the same as it did under Jimmy Carter.

Clinton: I should say I think Clinton greatly improved liberalism's image, or at least a centrist type of liberalism.

His successor should have won easily in 2000, except that the nation got a little sick of his drama and dishonesty, and his successor seemed to be just as corrupt but without the roguish charm.

But what Clinton built up, Obama is diligently tearing down.

I always reject this-is-just-how-they-intended-it conspiracy theories. I mean, how do you know when to stop?

For example: Is Obama actually a rightist put into place by a secret cabal of neocons with the express purpose of tarnishing liberalism forever and once and finally slaying the socialist dragon?

Because it sure seems like he's workin' hard at that goal.

Posted by: Ace at 10:50 AM | Comments (164)
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Either way, though, he's right: this is a corrupt and stupid ruling and cannot be allowed to stand.

Manchin, a Democrat who said he would be "highly" interested in running for the seat himself, expressed discomfort with Secretary of State Natalie Tennant's ruling that the governor should name a placeholder to the seat until it comes up for election in 2012.

"I believe in the power of the vote. I believe in the election process," Manchin told reporters. "Two and a half years to appoint someone to fill the shoes of Robert C. Byrd is too long."

"There is reasonable concern that there should be clarity to this, and that is why I am asking the attorney general [Darrell McGraw] to render a legal opinion on this as quickly as possible," he said.

...

Manchin's announcement came hours after Republican Rep. Shelley Moore Capito, a potential Senate candidate herself, urged state legislators to move for a vote this fall.

His position is that he's asking the AG to rule on whether a special election is permissible, sans a new law, and if the AG says no he'll go ahead and work with the legislature to change the law.

So, hopefully, there will be an election, either in November or shortly thereafter.

Sure, Manchin may win, but better a small chance to get a Republican in there than (as it stands) no chance at all until 2012.

Posted by: Ace at 08:34 AM | Comments (175)
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As J. Christian Adams persuasively testified, the Department of Justice is wholly against a race-neutral enforcement of the law, in which behavior provides the basis of prosecution, rather than race.

I stated on Fox News that it was clear to me that no cases against national racial minorities would issue from the Voting Section during this administration. LetÂ’s hope they change their mind. I testified under oath today, because I had no choice, that those instructions were given by Deputy Assistant Attorney General (DAAG) Julie Fernandes.

My understanding of her instructions were that no cases would be brought against national racial minorities by the Voting Section, and if a U.S. Attorney wanted to bring one, it was up to them to do so. Of course, no U.S. attorney will wade into that sort of mess without the help of the experts in the Voting Section, and DAAG Fernandes would know that.

If the Department denies this occurred, then the public and the now-very-interested media should demand that the senior management of the Voting Section in 2009 be made to testify under oath to the United States Commission on Civil Rights. Of course this will never happen, because they know by now what the testimony would be.

This despite the fact that the law itself contains no "except for Black Panthers" clause, or that such a race-based clause would be unconsitutional. Indeed, Eric Holder now puts the entire law at risk of being nullified as unconstitutional because he's determined to unconstitutionally apply it in a race-based fashion.

The Court often knocks down laws which are facially constitutional but unconstitutionally discriminatory as applied.

To put an important law in that sort of jeopardy, Eric Holder must have tremendous affection for his favorite Thug 4 Life.

And here's the sort of guy Eric Holder perilously sprang free:

Posted by: Ace at 07:45 AM | Comments (179)
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Andrew Sullivan hardest hit, as he of course pronounced he believed Levi Johnston.

"Last year, after Bristol and I broke up, I was unhappy and a little angry. Unfortunately, against my better judgment, I publicly said things about the Palins that were not completely true," he tells PEOPLE exclusively. "I have already privately apologized to Todd and Sarah. Since my statements were public, I owe it to the Palins to publicly apologize."

Among his claims: That the Palins frequently spoke of divorce and that Sarah Palin often referred to Trig Palin as their little baby "retard."

Sullivan took that as fresh evidence that the baby wasn't hers, of course.

Is Sullivan retracting his claim, then? Or at least his endorsement of Levi Johnson's credibility?

No, of course not. He's imagineering up some conspiracy theories:

He seems to have crumbled under the pressure, but the statement is truly weird [quote omitted; it's the one I just quoted -- ace.]

"Not completely true." Discuss. And what exactly was "not completely true"? He sounds like a dissident in a show-trial. I have, sadly, no idea of the reasons for this somewhat out-of-the-blue statement. Is he trying to win Bristol back? Is he trying to gain more reliable access to his son? Or is he just trying to create a better atmosphere for the rearing of Tripp?

I suspect, for what it's worth, that the Palins have used their real weapon against him - his love for Bristol and his kid - to coerce him back into line. For the record, nothing he said struck me as in any way far-fetched. And until he tells us what exactly wasn't "completely true", there's not much more to say.

Oh, and he was awesome on Kathy Griffin.

People tend to be at their most awesome when they're making wild claims up out of whole cloth. See Obama, Barack, 2007-2008 campaign.

More: Now It's Levi Johnston's Sister Who Is The Impeccable Source. Sullivan (no link) now seeks Palin-bashing from Mercedes Johnston.

That's a very good question. So is the question of how Palin finally put the screws on Levi. In Palinland, no one knows what's really going on. But I wonder if this is a somewhat panicked response to the recent blip upwards in web interest in the Trig question. With all these family members able to speak to the public and McGinniss digging deeper, Todd and Sarah may have felt the need to crack down and use Levi's access to Tripp and Bristol as their latest weapon. Mercede has this to say about Levi's latest statement, which reads like a man who has a metaphorical gun to his head...

What blip of interest in the "Trig question," and, I'm sorry, what is "the Trig question"?

Oh, that's right, Andrew Sullivan can't say what it is because his editors forbade him from doing so. So she gets all innuendo-ish.

Posted by: Ace at 06:43 AM | Comments (224)
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Continuing his pattern of bypassing Congress when he can't get his way, President Obama recess-appointed Donald Berwick to head the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services this morning.

What makes this so egregious is that the Empty One didn't even wait for the Senate to reject Berwick. They hadn't even scheduled a hearing yet because Berwick never bothered to fill out the questionnaire sent to him.

Obama knew that Berwick would have an uphill battle to win confirmation. He's an inexperienced, wide-eyed socialist who talks fondly of the "romantic" British health system and the "humane" need to make wealth redistribution an inextricable part of a national healthcare system.

Senators have expressed concerns about statements like these, as well as Mr. BerwickÂ’s background. He is a nominee with little management experience poised to head the second largest insurer on the planet, an agency with more funding to disperse than all but the top 15 economies in the world. In fact, the White HouseÂ’s decision to make this recess appointment is as much a demonstration of their unwillingness to have any debate about Mr. BerwickÂ’s views occur in the public eye as it is of their concern that some in their own party have privately questioned whether he is outside the mainstream.

Obama is making another end run around Congressional advice and consent. Recall that during President Bush's last years in office, the Democrats in Congress held pro forma sessions to keep him from making recess appointments. At the time, they justified it by claiming that appointees should have "up or down votes." Uh huh. There's not a peep from Democrats today.

Update: GOP leadership responds.

More [ace]: Video: Berwick announces that "men with plans" are good at dictating health care policy, whereas market forces are not to be trusted.

Men with plans.

Posted by: Gabriel Malor at 05:25 AM | Comments (141)
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Good morning. Los Angeles-area readers should direct their attention here, in case you missed it over the holiday weekend. Everybody else...I got nuthin'.

Posted by: Gabriel Malor at 05:03 AM | Comments (51)
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Equities started fast out of the gate, but faded as investors realized that everything still pretty much sucks. A last-minute mini-rally drove the S&P 500 up off its low to close at 1,028.06. The Dow closed at 9,743.93.

Technically, we're out of the Great Recession and have been for some time. But anemic growth and high unemployment make it seem like the recession is still with us, and more and more observers are predicing a "double-dip" recession as the economy's impetus fades. Recessions are arriving more requently, with more severity, and are lasting longer. more...

Posted by: Monty at 03:08 AM | Comments (59)
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Above the post update: Via Andy Levy on Twiter....there's been a rash of hoax emails announcing the death of Senators.

Ed's retracted the original story.

If you're ever feeling bad about your life, just remember, you're not as much of a lame ass as the person/people who get their jollies this way.

Original Post:

more...

Posted by: DrewM at 07:57 PM | Comments (68)
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Good evening all M&Ms.
Also don't forget about the job bank at the AoSHQ yahoo group.

How About Some Fire Safety Lessons From Fire Marshall Bill

Back when Jim Carrey was regularly funny. And Yoko Ono on a moped was a genuine safety hazard.

Posted by: Maetenloch at 05:04 PM | Comments (906)
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A copy of the complaint is now available (PDF) and yes, the lawsuit is officially captioned "The United States of America v. The State of Arizona." As anticipated, there is a preemption claim. Also a supremacy clause claim and a commerce clause claim.

More info, including the GOP response is at the Blog of Legal Times.

Update: Here's the government's motion for preliminary injunction. It goes much further into the legal nitty-gritty of preemption, supremacy, and commerce.

Ed Morrissey notes that the lawsuit does not allege racial discrimination. Well, no. It's quite difficult to demonstrate pre-enforcement discrimination for a law that's facially neutral. Discrimination suits are apt to follow (if, you know, actual discrimination occurs rather than just predicted discrimination).

Preemption is, as Ed's correspondent writes, the obvious choice for a suit at this stage. Remember, they got Capone on tax evasion. This is lawfare and not to be mistaken for anything resembling common sense.

Posted by: Gabriel Malor at 11:27 AM | Comments (615)
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