RWA Daily News: 09/10/12

On Economy, Obama Asks Voters to Go on Faith (RealClearPolitics)

On Economy, Obama Asks Voters to Go on Faith: Massimo Calabresi, Time
Democrats are reveling in the damage the GOP base has done to Mitt Romney’s chances to defeat President Obama in November. Between Todd Akin’s malapropist contribution to the political lexicon (“legitimate rape”) and Romney’s high-stakes embrace of his party’s latter-day Ayn Randians, Republicans seem undeterred by the Democratic caricature of the GOP as a mass of science-denying fundamentalists in service of a few greedy plutocrats.But with two months until Election Day, Obama is deeply engaged in his own effort to convince...

The Ghost of Jimmy Carter (RealClearPolitics)

The Ghost of Jimmy Carter: Walter Russell Mead, The American Interest
How much trouble is President Obama’s re-election campaign in? After watching and then re-reading the President’s convention speech, a writer for the (liberal) New Republic has uttered the most dreaded name in the Democratic lexicon: Carter.The speech did not exactly thrill TNR’s Timothy Noah:Watching President Obama give his nomination speech last night, it occurred to me for the first time that he might actually lose.

FBI rolling out high-tech 'Big Brother' monitoring system (PCWorld)

FBI rolling out high-tech 'Big Brother' monitoring system: The FBI's Next Generation Identification (NGI) system is raising concerns among some privacy advocates.

Romney on "Meet the Press." (Althouse.com)

Romney on "Meet the Press.": Video here. Transcript here. Romney's performance, responding to tough (but nice) questioning by David Gregory, made me think Romney would appeal to moderate voters when he goes up against Obama in the debates. There are a lot of similarities between the 2 men, in that both seem rather low-key and temperate.

I wanted to highlight the discussion of Mormons:

GREGORY: I want to ask you something a little bit more personal. You-- you both are guarded about in your faith. You talked more about it in the course of the convention. We came across a-- a quote from a biography written about your father in 1968 and he said about being a Mormon, "I’m a member of a religion that is among the most persecuted minority groups in our history." And here you are, the First Mormon to be the nominee of the Republican Party, you could be the first Mormon president. I wonder how much pride that gives you, how much pride you think it gives others in the church? Is it similar to what many Catholics felt with President Kennedy?

MR. ROMNEY: Well, I can’t speak for all the members of the church, but I’m sure a number of members of my faith are proud of the fact that someone of my faith and our faith is able to run for president. My own reaction is I’ve got so many challenges ahead of me I don’t think so much about the impact this has on-- on the church day to day but more about what kind of impact I want to have on-- on the electorate and what it takes to become elected president. But I’m-- I’m convinced that-- that my background and my heritage and my faith has made me the person I am to a great degree. The Judeo-Christian ethics that I was brought up with, the-- the-- the sense of obligation to one’s fellowman, an-- an absolute conviction that we are all sons and daughters of the same God and therefore in a-- a human family is one of the reasons I am doing what I’m doing. It would have been very easy for me to just stay in business. I like business. That’s fun. But when the Olympic request came along, Ann said you’ve got to do this, this is important. And when I ran for governor, this is important, and now when I’m running for president. I think that comes in part from this Judeo-Christian ethic of-- of service and commitment to one’s fellowman.

GREGORY: Mrs. Romney, do you think that-- that Mormons in America and around the world, for that matter, have gotten past a level of persecution that they can very openly be-- be proud of what the two of you are doing?... This journey that you're on?

MS. ROMNEY: …I -- I certainly hope so. I mean it's always wonderful when milestones like that are accomplished. And I think that was why we were all so pleased with so many Americans. We’re so pleased with the -- the last election and seeing that a black man was elected as president of the United States. It made us proud as Americans to know that those prejudices that we've had in the past are -- are falling away.

There will be a first, whichever way it goes, either the election of the first Mormon President or the first black President to be ~~denied reelection~~ reelected. I loved Ann's all the prejudices are falling away as a complement to Mitt's we're all in this Judeo-Christian ethic together. And Gregory himself supplied a component of the discussion — through George Romney — that neither Mitt nor Ann needed to say — the victimology part: "I’m a member of a religion that is among the most persecuted minority groups in our history." (Note the moderation in George's statement, by the way. The "among" was unnecessary, but it avoids any fighting for the worst victim slot.)

ADDED: The strikeout in the last paragraph is a correction (for the obvious reason).

FBI Arrests Democrat Trenton Mayor in Corruption Probe...

FBI Arrests Trenton Mayor in Corruption Probe...:
FBI Arrests Trenton Mayor in Corruption Probe...

(DrudgeReport

President calls Paul Ryan 'Jack Ryan' in interview...

President calls Paul Ryan 'Jack Ryan' in interview...:
President calls Paul Ryan 'Jack Ryan' in interview...

Drudgereport.com

400,000 Students Affected; Charter Schools Remain Open...

400,000 Students Affected; Charter Schools Remain Open...:
400,000 Students Affected; Charter Schools Remain Open...

DrudgeReport

'The Democrats' GM Fiction'...

'The Democrats' GM Fiction'...:
'The Democrats' GM Fiction'...

(First column, 4th story, link)

Can we please stop referring to Progressives as "Liberals"?

Can we please stop referring to Progressives as "Liberals"?:

It always irks me to see people (especially conservatives and libertarians) refer to those on the left in American politics as 'liberal'. The Democratic party has long forgotten the principles of classical liberalism, and have replaced it with the principles of Progressivism as their primary ideological foundation.
Some use these two terms as synonyms, but I believe that is a huge mistake. To equate the principles of Woodrow Wilson and FDR's Progressivism to that of John Locke's Liberalism is an insult to the meaning of "liberty". Liberalism is the idea of individual and economic freedom, personal responsibility, constitutionalism, and limited government control. These are not the core principles of those on the left. No, their core principles are social justice, regulation, and increased government control. These ideologies are not synonymic, they are antonymic.
Progressivism is not an ideology based on liberty, it is an ideology based on control. It is authoritarianism. It is soft fascism. So, I think it's time we stop giving those on the left more credit than they deserve. Stop using the term 'liberal' to apply to people who have no interest in true liberty.

submitted by BagOnuts
[link] [7 comments]

Democratic Convention Rated Slightly Better Than GOP Convention: Americans' reactions to the Democratic Convention were slightly more positive than they were to the Republican Convention. Bill Clinton's keynote address received much higher marks than Barack Obama's nomination acceptance speech.

Chicago Teachers To Strike For First Time In 25 Years... Developing...

Chicago Teachers To Strike For First Time In 25 Years... Developing...:
Chicago Teachers To Strike For First Time In 25 Years... Developing...

(Second column, 1st story, link)