There is definitely some disagreement in the conservative movement over the legitimacy of Politico’s story on Herman Cain’s tenure at the National Restaurant Association. Rush Limbaugh has called the story a “racist hit job” and Laura Ingraham asked her listeners to Occupy Politico. Others, like National Review‘s Kevin Williamson, think the story is 100% in bounds:
Whatever your view of the Politico story, all conservatives wish that the media had exerted the same effort looking into Obama’s past as they have picking apart Cain. Legal Insurrection‘s William Jacobson writes: “The story was a legitimate issue for a presidential candidate; we only wish the mainstream media would investigate Obama’s past with half as much enthusiasm. But there’s a bigger point here, visible only from 35,000 feet. This is a taste of the medicine the mainstream media, which includes Politico as I have pointed out before, has in store for the eventual Republican nominee.”
Around the Bigs
Associated Press, Calif. rail project to cost $98B: The final cost of California’s high-speed rail project, originally estimated to be only $48 billion, has soared upward again. Officials now believe the project will cost $98.5 billion and won’t be completed until 2033.
The Hill, Second Energy Department-backed company goes bankrupt: Beacon Power Corp., another green energy firm that received money from Obama’s loan guarantee program, declared bankruptcy yesterday.
Politico, Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac executives get big housing bonuses: The Federal Housing Finance Agency approved $12.79 million in bonus pay for 10 executives of the taxpayer bailed out and owned Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac mortgage entities last year.
CNN, Home prices heading for triple-dip: According to Fiserv, a financial analytics company, home values are expected to fall another 3.6% by next June, marking a triple dip in prices.
USA Today, National debt nears size of U.S. economy: At $14.9 trillion, the national debt has almost reached the size of the entire U.S. economy, which is $15.2 trillion. Since our debt is rapidly outgrowing our economy, our debt will surpass our gross domestic product in a month or two.
The Wall Street Journal, Greek Vote Threatens Bailout: Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou called for a referendum, to be held this January, on the terms of the latest European Union bailout. If voters reject the austerity measure, Greece would almost certainly have to leave the EU.
The New York Times, Regulators Investigating MF Global for Missing Money: Federal regulators have discovered that hundreds of millions of dollars in customer money has gone missing from the financial firm run by Democrat Jon Corzine, the former governor of New Jersey, MF Global.
The Oklahoman, Occupy OKC participant found dead in tent at Kerr Park: A man thought to be an occupier in his mid-20s was found dead Monday inside a tent at Occupy Oklahoma City’s Kerr Park. Occupiers say the man was a “street poet” and police do not know what killed him.
Campaign 2012
Cain: The Examiner‘s Byron York says Herman Cain’s interview with Greta van Susteren will be the turning point, good or bad, in the scandal: “Cain’s words immediately set off more questions. Did he remember something in one interview that he said he didn’t remember in another? Did all the details match up? Cain came to Washington wanting to talk economics but ended up talking about sex. That’s what a hint of scandal can do.” Politico reports that the National Restaurant Association decided against endorsing Cain weeks before the harassment story broke.
Righty Playbook
The Washington Post‘s Michael Gerson makes the case for Mitt Romney: “Opponents accuse him of political pragmatism — of which he is clearly guilty. But Romney might put his pragmatism to good use.”
FairWarning points out that Obama’s executive order on drug shortages fails to mention how government regulation caused the shortage.
RealClearPolitics has the video of former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi explaining why the National Labor Relations Board should force Boeing to shut its brand new South Carolina assembly plant that employs more than 1,000 workers.
Lefty Playbook
At The New Republic, Jonathan Gruber attacks a House Government Reform and Oversight study showing that Obamacare will take millions of Americans off the tax rolls.
Talking Points Memo touts new Obama Justice Department-leaked memos showing the President Bush had his own gunwalking program into Mexico.
The Washington Monthly‘s Steve Benen celebrates the spread of the accusation that Republicans are intentionally trying to sabotage the economy: “What was once a rarely-asked question, largely confined to lefty blogs, is now a concern being raised by two top officials on the president’s re-election team, two leading Democratic senators, and a wide variety of prominent pundits.”
