August 2: 7 Best Moments from Sunday Talk
Timothy Geithner flubs a question about taxes, Michelle Malkin slams the unemployed, and John McCain still stands by his woman. That and more in our Sunday roundup.
Read My Lips: There May Be Taxes. Or Not.
The big news coming out of Sunday talk wasn’t what Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said on This Week with George Stephanopoulos, but what he didn’t articulate. When pressed by Stephanopoulos on whether the government would introduce new taxes to reduce the deficit (something President Barack Obama vowed against), he said, as David Axelrod cringed somewhere, “We’re gonna have to do what it takes, we’re gonna have to do what’s necessary.”
Summers: Remember What Geithner Said? Let Me Confuse Things Further
Obama economic adviser Larry Summers tried to do some cleanup work on Face the Nation. When pressed by Bob Schieffer over whether the president will raise taxes, Summers, after a bit of evasive action, said, “it is never a good idea to absolutely rule things—rule things out no matter what.”
Michelle Malkin Jabs Jobless for Milking Government
Michelle Malkin made a rare appearance at the This Week roundtable, arguing that extending unemployment benefits can give an incentive for people to avoid looking for a job. (As a side game: Can you count the number of mixed metaphors in her opening sentence?) But as Cynthia Tucker pointed out, amid a recession, the job market isn't exactly booming.
McCain: Palin Will Be a ‘Force’ in the GOP
It’s been several weeks since Sarah Palin announced her resignation as Alaskan governor, but Sen. John McCain is still getting grilled about her decision. And now, on CNN’s State of the Union, not only does he continue to pledge his support for his former running mate, but he goes on to predict that she will be a strong player in the Republican Party. But is the “force” strong enough for her to stand up to that darn media that keeps “ making things up?”
DeMint: U.S. Not a Used Car Dealer
Talk about a hard sell: Sen. Jim DeMint took a swipe at the Cash for Clunkers program on Fox News Sunday, citing the program as yet another example of the "stupidity" in Washington. Oddly enough, some auto dealers may agree with him—at least in terms of how the program has been implemented. Check out DeMint below, but also see this New York Times piece on some of the problems the dealers have been having.
Afghanistan: A Shakespearean Tragedy?
This isn’t your typical political mud slinging. Dr. Ashraf Ghani, a former World Bank official and presidential candidate in Afghanistan, explains to Fareed Zakaria why he thinks the administration of Hamid Karzai (or in this case, King Lear) is like a scene from Shakespeare. The palace, he says, is full of intrigue, and the people have become disenchanted.
Buchanan on How Obama’s Going Down, Way Down
President Obama may still be the most popular politician in the country, but his approval ratings have plummeted in recent days. Democrats haven’t said much about it, but Pat Buchanan smartly lays out the Republican case: The stimulus is a reckless spending spree, health-care reform is dying a slow death even among congressional Democrats, and Obama is overall being perceived as not an agent of change, but as another “tax and spend liberal.”
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