Week in Review

The Week in Review

By Quentin Smeltzer, 9/27/2010

I’ve been travelling lately so it has been a little difficult to keep track of current events.  But let’s see, Christine O’Donnell won the Republican primary for the Senate race for Delaware and Bill Maher outed her as a witch.  Evidently the time is right for a candidate who has firsthand knowledge of satanic mass, believes that stem cell research is bad because scientists have already inserted human brains into mice and is sure there is no such thing as evolution because she has yet to observe any changes in the monkeys at her local zoo.  And who could argue?

On the other hand, her anti-masturbation stance may prove more problematic.  I mean, let’s face it, sex with ourselves is pretty much the only sex some us ever see.  Especially those of us who are married.  And it is not just the anti-masturbation position.  It is the way she argued against it.  Said Christine:  “I mean, if you’re going to masturbate, what am I here for?”  What indeed, Christine, what indeed?

Then there was Steven Colbert, who testified Friday before congress in character as a right wing, bloviating fool.  Evidently it didn’t go well.  People called it embarrassing, inappropriate, out of place and disrespectful.  But let’s take a step back, shall we?  First of all, this is congress we’re talking about.  If bloviating fools aren’t allowed to testify there are going to be some pretty lonely congress-people up there.  Second, Colbert warned them he was going to appear “in character.”  Did they think he meant he was going to wear a bear costume?  And third, he submitted his serious testimony in writing beforehand.  I have no idea what he said in his written testimony and neither do you, which should tell you everything you need to know about the effectiveness of serious testimony.  

But I will tell you why the Colbert thing backfired.  Because nobody laughed, that’s why.  Had he started with serious testimony and then announced he was going into character, and then come up with a funny line or two, all would have been well.  But to press ahead with his act to stone-faced silence was just painful to watch. 

Doing your act in front of stone-faced silence is something I know a thing or two about.  Having had a few successful comedy performances and a few less successful comedy performances I can tell you there is a very simple distinction between what is funny and what is not:  if they laugh it’s funny.  That’s pretty much how it works. 

Some other stuff happened recently, like congress voted down repeal of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.  I’ve never really understood how that is supposed to work, by the way.  I mean, the recruits go off on weekend leave and they come back and they’re sitting around and Bill says, man, we hooked up with these smokin’ babes at a bar.  And Steve says, my girlfriend and I went out to the lake.  Then they turn to Bruce and ask, what did you do this weekend, and Bruce says, Oh, nuthin'.

I guess the final bit of news was the Republicans released their Pledge to Do to America What They Did the Last Time They Were Allowed to Do Things to America.   But this time things will be different.  The Republicans realize they made mistakes the last time they were in charge.  That’s why this time they are pledging to cut taxes for the super-rich, return us to the healthcare system which was serving us so well, remove pesky regulation from Wall Street and oil companies, and go to war with Iran at the earliest imaginary opportunity.  Frankly, it would be less scary if they were pro-witchcraft. 

Tea Time?

Tea Time?

By Quentin Smeltzer, 9/16/2010

Democrats are rubbing their hands in glee now that eight Tea Party candidates have beaten more moderate Republicans in Republican primaries.  But why? 

Democrats say people like Sharon Angle, Rand Paul and Christine O’Donnell can’t win general elections.  Heck, even Karl Rove says O’Donnell can’t win!  Well, maybe not in Cuba, turd blossom, but I think she’ll do just fine right here in the good ol’ US of A.  In fact, she might do alright in Cuba now that Fidel has admitted that a true welfare state, without a cold war superpower pumping cash into it, really can’t make it on its own.  Tea Party activism should be popping up in Havana any day now…

Republican hypocrisy is surely the eighth wonder of the world, not that anyone can name the original seven without turning to Wikipedia.  By the way, six of the seven wonders have disappeared along with all Republican credibility. 

A few months ago Republicans were wailing about deficits.  In fact, that’s what got the tea baggers out of their trailer homes and into the streets.  That and the fact there’s a Kenyan Islam-o-terrorist in the White House!  How did that happen?  But now Republicans insist that hundred thousand dollar tax cuts be extended to millionaires at a cost of billions of dollars of borrowed money per year, extracted from the futures of the rest of us.  Sounds like a plan!

Of course, these are the same Republicans who won in 2000 with a pledge to restore fiscal discipline.  Then they ran up the largest spending binge seen on this planet since the Hanging Gardens of Babylon (second wonder of the world) or the last time Donald Trump decorated a vacation home (wonder why).  To say Republican necks must be suffering the effects of whiplash doesn’t do it justice.  My belief is their heads actually spin like Linda Blair’s in the Exorcist. 

When predicting whether tea baggers can be elected, you have to remember that this is the country that elected George Bush—twice!  And the second time he got the most votes!  Powerful forces are in play.  Cutting taxes is a drug.  It is more powerful than roads, bridges, health care and foreign wars.  It is a drug the way welfare was a drug.  It is an obsessive compulsion that leads to debilitating results. 

Will a society endure that is based on the socialist principle that you give to all according to their need?  No it will not.  Few will work if it not working pays.  We figured that out a few decades ago. 

But will a society endure that is based on a Darwinian meritocracy, where it is every man for himself according to his ability and his effort?  No it will not.  The talented few will end up with all the marbles and the middle will suffer.  Without a strong middle class to buy stuff, the economy will collapse.  This isn’t theory.  This is the end of eight years of Bush.  This is what is known as 2008.

We’ve seen both of these movies, so why worry?  Because Americans love a remake, that’s why!  Somehow we forget that Rocky will win and John Connor will survive.  Somehow we’re surprised when the head of the little girl possessed by demons turns completely around on its axis.  Just like Republican “principles.” 

Cue the voice over:  In a world where no one pays taxes and you can pay for your cardiogram with a chicken, if you have a chicken… Don’t miss, Robber Barons II, Mansions and Misery!  Coming this November to a congress near you!

Just a Hunk, a Hunk of Burning Hate

Just a Hunk, a Hunk of Burning Hate

Quentin Smeltzer, www.SmeltzerNation.com, 9/8/2010

As you are likely aware, three days from now some nutjob pastor in Florida is going to burn copies of the Islamic holy book, the Quran.  I say nutjob in only the most positive way.  This is the kind of thing that could only happen in Florida.  Or Texas.  Or Arizona… heck I guess it could happen anywhere in this country, although it is difficult to imagine it taking place in my polite state of Connecticut.  Then again, we may elect the former head of the World Wrestling Federation as our new junior Senator, so let’s stick with it could happen anywhere. 

One thing I remember from my youth is conservatives love to burn stuff.  McCarthy incited the burning of pro-communist books.  The Catcher in the Rye was burned.  Beatles records were burned.  Before my time, a few Negro slaves were tossed into the flames.  One thing Americans know is that if you don’t like something, blow it up, and if you can’t blow it up, at least set it on fire!

To be fair, this urge to burn stuff is not confined to the right.  I don’t recall any conservatives burning the American flag.  I remember quite a few of them jumping to the conclusion that we must have yet another change to the Constitution (which they so dearly love just the way it is) to protect the flag.  But they weren’t burning it.  They didn’t burn their draft cards.  And was it conservatives out there burning their bras?  No, of course not.  Republican girls need the support. 

Nor is this urge to burn confined to America.  The Nazis famously burned books with which they disagreed.  The Chinese burned books (and buried the scholars who wrote them)!  The Quran has been burned before, during the Spanish Inquisition.  There was the destruction of the library at Alexandria and the burning of the Mayan codices in 1562…  Good times, good times…

So let’s face it, we all of us, left and right, near and far, we all love to burn stuff!  In fact, burning stuff may be the world’s favorite way to say, I disagree with you.  But why is this?  How to explain it?  Well, can you say “Weenie roast?”   And here’s a question for you:  what’s more cheery and heart-warming than a fire?  Answer:  a fire that devours thoughts and ideas you don’t have the intellectual firepower to refute, that’s what!

So let’s not get too down on our little pastor from Florida.  He’s not original, he’s nothing new.  He’s just doing what tyrants, despots and the intellectually feeble have done for centuries: casting big scary shadows from teeny, weenie people with just a little help from a glowing pile of ignorance and hate. 

Mad Men

Mad Men

Quentin Smeltzer, www.SmeltzerNation.com, 9/1/2010

Why is everyone so mad at the Obama administration?  The George W. Bush administration was all marketing.  The Obama administration has no marketing.  I think this is the problem. 

In the Bush years we heard about the “Clear Skies Initiative” which gave companies free reign to pollute.  We heard about “tax cuts for everyone” which let the rich steal the middle class’ future.  We heard about “mushroom clouds” from Iraq, which let us start an unpaid for, trillion-dollar war in search of weapons of mass destruction.  Still haven’t found them.  

The Republicans told us about “fiscal responsibility” and “deregulating business.”  We got crazy spending, a financial meltdown and a contaminated gulf.  We heard about “small government” and watched New Orleans drown.  We heard about “a culture of life” and lost cures that could have helped millions—my twelve-year-old son, for one. 

To call it all bullshit might be on target.  But I prefer to call it marketing.

If you say anything negative about the vast mass of people that inhabits the space between New York and Los Angeles you will quickly be labeled an elitist.  Sarah Palin routinely warns the country not to discount the intelligence of her followers, apparently well aware that there's an issue here.

Many pundits and pols will say “the American people are not stupid,” but really, sadly, they are.  Think back to the months leading up to the invasion of Iraq.  The minute I heard on the radio the return of the Hank Williams Jr. song, “Don’t Give Us a Reason,” I knew we were going back in.  You knew it, too.  So don’t look down on bumper sticker politics.  This is exactly the kind of politics Obama needs. 

Let’s take healthcare reform, which is still, somehow, unpopular.  Let’s give regular, medical care to people who haven’t had the good fortune to make a lot of money so they can get off the couch and go back to work.  How is this not popular?  No marketing, that’s how. 

Imagine if we could get ol’ Hank Jr. to sing a new song entitled “We Take Care of Our Own,” warning greedy insurance companies not to mess with the good ol’ US of A and not to deny poor widows and hard workin’ farmers access to that country doctor.  You know what would happen?  The same morons now demanding repeal of health care reform would demand more health care reform.  This isn’t rocket science.  It’s marketing. 

How about bumper stickers and a song called “Pay Your Share,” where ol’ Hank warns all them evil bankers to stop siphoning away the money that grandma and orphans depend on?  Can you say repeal the Bush tax cuts for the rich?  I bet you could after you heard that song.

Could we get Obama to visit a ranch and clear some brush?  How about a cowboy hat?  EVERYONE looks better in a cowboy hat.  And anything would be better than pictures of his skinny legs in those shorts he insists on wearing when he plays golf.  They don’t wear shorts on the PGA Tour for a reason.  It isn’t comfort; it’s called marketing.

On the television show “Mad Men” it is clear that the main character, Don Draper, is a man who can see what everyone wants and he uses that knowledge to sell whatever he has.  The tension comes from the fact that Don doesn’t know what he himself wants.  Obama knows what he has to sell and he knows that most of us want it.  What Obama lacks is the most basic understanding of how to sell it. 

Bumper stickers and country songs, Barry.  And pick up a hat while you’re at it.

Mosque We?

Mosque We?

Quentin Smeltzer, SmeltzerNation, 8/22/2010

No one is more disturbed than I that on every issue that comes up, I seem to side with my liberal rather than my conservative friends.  However, as I’ve recently written, until you righties actually get something right, that’s just the way it’s going to have to be…

The latest example is what is known as the “Mosque Controversy.”  Should an Imam be allowed to build a mosque at Ground Zero?  First of all, only Imam’s build mosques, as far as I know, so the fact that the construction is being put forth by an Islamic, religious leader really can’t be helped. 

Stupid attempts at humor aside, I understand it is a cultural center, not a mosque, and it is not to be built at “Ground Zero” but two blocks away.  I don’t know if you’ve ever been to Manhattan (I lived there for ten years) but two blocks away in Manhattan is like the next town over for the rest of the country.  A lot goes on in two blocks of Manhattan.  Neighborhoods can begin and end, social-economic conditions flip, the architecture changes, different languages are spoken; everything can change in the space of two blocks in Manhattan!

But let’s try to be reasonable here.  Those of you who oppose this new mosque, how many blocks would you like?  Would three blocks be better?  Four?  How about four blocks and a side street?  How about just past the topless bar, and across from the pizza joint, near the church that was converted into a nightclub? 

I am also troubled by the term Ground Zero.  Shouldn’t we call it Ground Less Than Zero, since it’s been almost ten years now and there is nothing there but a giant hole in the ground?  And doesn’t the fact that this particular religious leader is one Imam who has worked diligently to promote peaceful dialog and understanding between Muslims, Jews and Christians count for something?

Not to the Fox and Rush crowd.  They see a wedge issue.  They see another opportunity to rile up the yahoos and get them out there in the streets with their Obama-as-witch-doctor signs on the evening news.  They see a way to stir anger against the Democrats, which is the only way they’re ever going to win another election: because they haven’t got a single idea that works between them. 

Oh wait, I forget, they have ideas:  when Reagan cut taxes, the economy improved and revenues went up.  Gee, that must mean that if we keep cutting taxes, revenue will go even higher!  In fact, if you really care about the budget deficit, cut taxes to zero!  Revenues will explode!  That assumes, of course, that you can explode to zero.  Which, sadly, brings us back to our topic. 

Some say the cultural center-cum-mosque will be a thumb in the eye of the 9/11 victim families.  Others say it will show the world that we really mean it when we say this country protects and defends religious freedom, whether it’s popular or not—especially when it’s not. 

The correct answer is door number two.  Sorry Conservatives.  I really do hope to side again with you soon.  However, I’m afraid that, once again, you’ve chosen incorrectly.

Republican Recap

Republican Recap

Quentin Smeltzer, SmeltzerNation 8/3/10

Well, Lindsey is out of jail and into rehab but nothing much has changed for the Republicans.  They still say jobs are the number one priority, but they block the passage of any bill that will help create jobs. 

They still say the biggest financial threat we face is the deficit, but they are opposed to raising taxes on the top two percent richest Americans to levels that produced a budget surplus in the Clinton years. 

Sharon Angle continues to refuse to answer questions from the press (no, Fox News doesn’t count), and the Republicans refuse to consider comprehensive immigration reform while plotting to change the Constitution to strip American citizenship from a sizeable percentage of the brown babies born in this country.  I don’t think that’s much of an overstatement, do you? 

This would all be laughable, particularly the part about refusing to raise taxes on the rich to historically normal levels, except many of the poorest and presumably dumbest amongst us support these lunatic positions with a fervor edging ever closer to violence.  All of this leads many news organizations to predict big gains for Republicans in the coming November elections. 

So, let’s get this straight: Republicans presided over entangling us in the two longest and mostly costly wars in our nation's history while simultaneously running our economy off a cliff.  The first war was understandable, except for the fact that it’s gone on for nine years.   The second war was a crusade, pure and simple. 

At the same time, Republicans drove the economy into the biggest contraction since the Great Depression by cutting taxes, eliminating business regulations and spending as if a sizeable percentage of the money was siphoning directly into their pockets—which it was. 

Since 2008, Democrats have been making progress undoing all of these disasters, but not quickly enough for most of us—almost entirely due to Republican obstruction, by the way.  And all of this adds up to… vote for Republicans???

Okay then…

In the past I have heard some snarky Republicans call for a literacy test in order to qualify to vote.  Be careful what you ask for.  These days anyone capable of adding two plus two and getting four is unlikely to vote Republican.  Unfortunately, apparently, judging by the poles, that doesn’t include much of the public. 

I voted for Reagan, the second time, and I will vote Republican again the day the Democrats create greater incentives to not work than work, impose so much regulation they strangle business, and tax to the point where they drain the economy of its lifeblood.  

We're not there yet, folks.  Not even close.  

Hot Topics

Hot Topics

Quentin Smeltzer, SmeltzerNation 7/27/2010

A political cauldron of hot-button issues is brewing this summer:  ending tax cuts for the rich, extending unemployment benefits for the jobless, the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the Tea Party, immigration, race relations and Lindsey Lohan.  Okay, Lindsey is clearly where she needs to be, but the rest of these issues need sorting out. 

Let’s start at the top: should we extend unemployment  insurance and should we let the Bush tax cuts expire? 

Conservatives have been arguing that giving away money only disinclines people to find and perform meaningful work, and I could not agree more… for the rich.  If you’re fat and happy are you going to put up with all the nonsense associated with starting new businesses and creating new jobs?  Judging by recent behavior:  evidently not.

If you want to see a bunch of rich people really get out there and hustle, I say, tax away most of their money.  That kind of “start over” mentality worked for the immigrants and it will work for Kent and Buffy too.  Nothing says “it’s time to produce” quite like the repo man showing up for your Bugatti Veyron. 

But don’t think I’m without sympathy.  While many captains of industry pay themselves salaries and bonuses and that amount to four hundred times the compensation their workers receive, they have some justification.  First, with their access to quality health care, there is some chance that the rich will live four hundred times longer than will you. 

Second, it is almost certain that a tax increase at this delicate time will hurt the economy.  Think of it: If the top tax rate increases from thirty-six to forty percent, some of these folks will have to get by on six million dollars a year instead of six point four million!  How they’ll do it is tough to fathom.  Doubtless, that kind of drop in their net income will cause them to buy fewer iced mochaccinos on their way to the spa, and employ fewer sex workers when they get home.

As for not extending unemployment benefits: maybe not such a good idea.  Yes, the latest extension will cost the US Treasury thirty billion dollars or roughly what we spend in Afghanistan in an afternoon.  And yes, those receiving the aid will have less incentive to find a job, in so far as they can now to afford to eat.  But you’ve got to look at the big picture here:  it can be difficult to job hunt from a box under the interstate. 

What about immigration and race?  The second Bush administration used to argue that it was hard to address illegal immigration because illegal immigrants took the kinds of jobs that most Americans did not want.  Clearly, W’s solution was to wreck the economy, because Americans want those jobs now!

It’s funny how the economy, jobs, taxes, the wars and immigration all come together.  The only topic we haven’t touched on is race.  It is an important topic, but one that is probably best left to thoughtful experts with deep, first-hand experience in racial discrimination: like Andrew Breitbart.

No doubt, it’s a going to be a long, hot summer leading up to the November elections and many questions will have to be answered.  While we’ve tried to shed some light, the big questions remain, such as: Will Lindsey Lohan get out of jail in time to vote?  Only time will tell. 

I Believe

I Believe

Quentin Smeltzer, SmeltzerNation, 7/11/10

I believe the war in Iraq was a terrible mistake, a war of choice, and a diversion from the real mission in Afghanistan.  I also believe it kinda, sorta looks like we won.

I believe that Afghanistan was the real threat.  I also believe no good will come out of fighting a ground war in Afghanistan.

I believe that the Bush Administration stripped away regulation to the point where the BP disaster could occur.  I also believe business should not be hampered by red tape and needless regulation.

I believe that every dollar of income over one million dollars per year should be taxed at eighty percent.  I also believe that the day I make over one million dollars per year, the eighty percent tax rate cut-off should be moved up to three million dollars per year. 

I believe that large corporations are making obscene profits.  I also believe the corporate tax rate in this country should be cut to align with the rest of the world. 

I believe that the Bush tax cuts should be allowed to expire.  I also believe that the death tax should remain at zero, at least for a few more years, as my parents are getting somewhat elderly.

I believe that the Tea Party supporters are a peculiar cocktail of two parts stupid and one part crazy.  I also believe a world of limited government, personal freedom and no taxes would be ideal. 

I believe that President Obama is a transcendent figure in American politics who has achieved an extraordinary amount against enormous forces weighing against him.  I also believe his presidency has been kind of underwhelming so far. 

I believe Rush Limbaugh is a material threat to our civil society.  I also believe he’s quite entertaining and he frequently makes me smile. 

I believe America does not need tens of thousands of troops in Germany, Korea and Japan.  I also believe it’s pretty cool we can kick ass anywhere in the world when we need to. 

I believe Sarah Palin is a moron.  I also believe I’d like to have her book sales and speaking fees.

I believe Chris Matthews asks his guests some very important questions.  I also believe if he would stop shouting second, third and fourth rephrasings of these same questions at his guests, it might be interesting to hear their answers. 

I believe that the military industrial complex is a dark and sinister force in American politics.  I also believe I would jump at the chance to work for Sikorsky, Lockheed Martin or Raytheon.

I believe AIG executives should have been frog marched off to prison.  I also believe the government should not do anything to impede our global competitiveness in the financial sector. 

I believe Glenn Beck is an embarrassing idiot. 

I believe religion is the opiate of the masses; a silly fairy tale for the weak of mind.  I also believe God will save me if I pray hard enough when I really screw up.  

I believe I am a right-of-center conservative.  I also believe I am a proud liberal.

Opinion Poll

Opinion Poll

Quentin Smeltzer, SmeltzerNation, 7/8/10

Yesterday a research firm called to conduct an opinion poll.  I love to participate in these surveys because I believe that my views can bend the current “lunacy curve” toward my own brand of nuttiness. 

The very first question the pollster asked was, “Do you write a blog in which you frequently state political views?”  When I answered yes, the interview was over. 

Apparently the opinions of people willing to state their opinions are not opinions of value.  So I’ve decided to conduct my own research poll of myself.

 Do you believe that John McCain is a spineless, pandering weasel? 

Only if you look at his record.

Can you imagine a worse politician than John McCain?

Yes, J.D. Hayworth.

 Do you believe that the way out of the current economic crisis is to cut taxes for the rich?

Oh yes, please, sir, may I have another?

Do you agree with the Tea Party that the role of the federal government should be dramatically reduced?

Absolutely:  Roads, education, social security and healthcare are for weenies. 

Do you believe that the United States should withdraw from Iraq and Afghanistan?

No!  We need to increase exports, not decrease them, and our number one export these days is war, isn't it?  

Do you think Linda McMahon will make a good senator for Connecticut?

Yes, she wants to cut taxes, eliminate regulations on business and drill, baby, drill: you know; the policies that worked so well for George W. Bush. 

Do you think Attorney General Dick Blumenthal lied when he spoke of serving in Viet Nam?

Man, we were all in Nam!  [cue “All Along the Watchtower” by The Jimi Hendrix Experience]

What is the current, number-one concern facing this nation?

Where Lebron James will play basketball.

If you could make one change to affect the future of the United States for the better, what would it be?

Revert to the original thirteen colonies. 

Do you believe in capital punishment?

Only for Texans.

What recent criticism of President Obama from the right has been most damaging?

That he plays golf. 

What do you think is the single biggest hope the Democrats have for retaining their majorities in the House and Senate?

Michael Steele.

Do you think consideration of skin color has any place in our politics?

Only if you are talking about Representative John Boehner of Ohio. 

Suport the Troops

Support the Troops

Quentin Smeltzer, SmeltzerNation 7/5/10

Not too long ago I was invited to join a Facebook group called “Support the Troops.”  At the same time there is a homeowner not far from my house who proclaims this same message from his front yard with an enormous, hand-painted sign.   Recently I heard a Fox News "repeater" wonder if Obama will support the troops by increasing the funding for the Afghan war.  And I began to ask myself, do these people realize it is no longer 1973? 

Who, exactly, in this country, does not support the troops?  I’m not aware of any Screw the Troops or Call the Troops Mean Names or Arrest the Troops movements, are you?   Not in this century.

So what exactly are you saying to me when you urge me to support the troops?  First, of course, you are implying that I don’t the support the troops, which is deeply offensive.  Second, you imply that, not just I, but some significant portion of the country, holds this We Don’t Support the Troops position.  Who do you suppose those people could be?  Let me take a wild guess here: progressives, liberals, Democrats? 

But that’s bunk, of course, because the overwhelming majorities of these three, overlapping groups completely, vocally and without reservation, support the troops. 

The group that would not support the troops, not on foreign soil anyway, would be the Tea Party folks.  Their stark, libertarian philosophy calls for a rapid withdrawal of all US troops from around the world, regardless of the situation or cost in loss of security or human misery.  If only the Tea Party folks were well-informed enough to know their own positions… but let’s not go crazy here.  The Tea Party is about freedom and American rights, and first among those is that most deeply cherished American right:  the right to be stupid. 

A tea drinker himself, Michael Steele, chairman of the Republican Party, recently called Afghanistan Obama’s "war of choice" and said anyone who knows anything about history would not fight a ground war in Afghanistan.  Evidently Mr. Steele believes it is clever to reread old criticisms of President Bush, replace "Bush" with "Obama," and then repeat them as new positions.  

Steele's view of Afghanistan was news to Republican Senator Lindsey Graham who called Mr. Steele’s comments “unwise, uninformed and untimely.” 

This is not the first time Mr. Steele has repudiated his own party’s position in public, only to quickly perform a one-hundred-and-eighty degree spin and then ask, mystified, what all the fuss is about. 

As for the Fox News repeater who stared zombie-like into the teleprompter and questioned whether Obama’s support for the troops can be gauged by his willingness to give them additional funding, well, where does one begin? 

First, I am completely in favor of cute blondes on television.  But even I am disturbed by the glossy stare in their overly-made-up eyes as they read statements that contradict what they said the day or week or hour before with such regularity Michael Steele must be writing the news for them.   I am beginning to believe that Stepford wives really do exist, manufactured in Roger Ailes's basement.

Second, this might come as quite a surprise to the Fox news repeater, if indeed any contradiction, news, or fact could upset or even penetrate the consciousness of one of these automatons, but Secretary of Defense Robert Gates—the guy asking for more funding—is of the Obama Administration.  So Obama is asking for more money for the troops, not deciding whether to approve it.

And finally, must it still be pointed out that being against more funding for the troops is not a lack of support for the troops if it comes with a call to reduce their role?  If you really want to support the troops, join the Tea Party, make Michael Steele happy, and bring them all home immediately.