Last Call

One of the major arguments I keep hearing about why states (and extrapolating, the federal government) can never, ever raise taxes on the rich is because they'll simply leave, and they can more than afford to.  But Ezra Klein discovers that this just doesn't happen when taxes on the rich go up.

The Center for Budget and Policy Priorities, which is really stellar on state tax issues, has put together a list of relevant studies on this question. All of them find that the effects of migration between states of higher taxes are minimal:

1) Economist Andrew Leigh did a national study (PDF) looking for effects of state income tax rates on migration patterns. He could not find a statistically significant relationship.

2) After Maryland instituted higher tax rates on wealthy individuals in 2007 and 2008, tax returns from millionaires dropped. But the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy found (PDF) that the drop was not due to millionaires leaving, but to the recession making them no longer millionaires.

3) The California Budget Project notes (PDF) that California imposed a temporary tax increase on high earners from 1991 to 1995, and the number of millionaire filers increased by 33.4 percent. Another high-income tax hike was implemented in 2005, and the number of millionaire filers increased by 37.8 percent.

4) New Jersey increased taxes on high earners in 2004, and Princeton researchers did find (PDF) that New Jersey lost $37.7 million in tax revenue after migration by wealthy tax payers. However, that number was dwarfed by the more than $1 billion overall revenue gain from the tax increase, and the number of high-income filers still increased between 2004 and 2006.

As the New Jersey numbers suggest, it would be going too far to say that state tax rates have no effect on cross-state migration. However, you have to balance that against evidence that the revenue generated by state tax increases on high earners overwhelms that lost from taxpayers' leaving.

The New Jersey study is especially telling.  Yes, some rich folks did leave New Jersey.  But most stayed, and the state got a massive revenue boost because of it.   It's funny how the Village and the Republicans are always screaming about protecting our precious rich Americans, when some of the most wealthy have no problem giving back.  Warren Buffet has said several times that the richest Americans need to pay more in taxes...but hey, all those poor people in the Senate can't afford it.

Wingers Are Barton On A Winner

Think Progress has compiled the Right Wing Noise Machine defense of Joe Barton's "shakedown" comment.  While officially the GOP wants Joe to apologize, the reality is that a vast majority of Republicans agree with Barton and are backing BP because they can't pass up any opportunity to hate Obama.

– PAT BUCHANAN: “Barton made a very courageous statement in my judgment. … To have anyone stand up and even indirectly defend [BP] and say that they were a victim of a shakedown shows some political courage.”

– INGRAHAM: “I think Joe Barton, before he apologized, had a legitimate point.”

– NAPOLITANO: “That is a classic shakedown. The threat to do something that you don’t have the authority to do. ”

– KILMEADE: “One Congressman calling the BP compsensation fund a ’shakedown,’ but does he have a point?”

– GINGRICH: “The president is directly engaged in extorting money from a company.”

– VARNEY: “It is Hugo Chavez-like, is it not? To sieze a private company’s assets.”

Steve M. has more on this too.

The reality is that the Wingers have Obama Derangement Syndrome on one side, and a need to pretend they are human enough to pass by faking dislike for BP on the other.  Not only have they stopped pretending to dislike BP, they are now openly pulling for the oil spill to ruin this administration.  They literally cannot control themselves.

Even faced with the fact that this is the worst environmental disaster this country has ever dealt with, they cannot help but cheer for the oil spill to cause as much damage to Obama as possible so that the Republicans can "win" a disaster of epic proportions.  They're not even pretending anymore.  Joe Barton and his defenders made that abundantly clear despite the fact that Americans overwhelmingly want Obama to get even tougher with BP.

That's what kind of people we're dealing with here.  That's all they have to offer:  a deep and irrational hatred of Obama that borders on sociopathic.  Let's not kid ourselves.  All they care about is destroying Obama. If you had any doubts about the stakes of this midterm, then this week should have dispelled those thoughts immediately.  It's win at any cost for them.

Even if that cost is watching this country burn.

World Cupdate

In Group D action, Germany provided a lesson to everyone in the Cup this year:  anything can happen.  The heavily favored German juggernaut only ended up blitzing themselves as German star Miroslav Klose was double-carded in the first half, giving the Serbians a man-up advantage.  The White Eagles then immediately tore into the stunned German defense as Milan Jovanovic put what turned into the game winner away less than a minute later at 38'.  The Serbs then held off the German attack and suddenly things are looking increasingly grim for the Europeans in this Cup save for the Dutch.  So far the officiating has been mostly solid, but today's double booking on Klose and yesterday's shaky arbitration in Mexico-France (South Africa and Australia have legit gripes too) is starting to make me wonder.

That brings us to Group C and the United States versus Slovenia.  The Green Dragons came in leading the group and were looking to put it away with a win over the Yanks, while the USA, nursing a number of injuries from a physical match with England, were fighting with their backs against the wall.  The teams matched up 2-4-4 attack plans, and the Slovenians, confident after their victory over Algeria, guaranteed another win. It looked fated to be so as the Yanks immediately got behind again as Birsa arced a 30 yarder into the corner past keeper Tim Howard at 13'. Suddenly the United States were in dire trouble of playing a meaningless game next week against Algeria as the Green Dragons ran rampant in the first half.  A second goal by Ljubijankic at 43' all but buried the dreams of the USA for another four long years.   But the second half saw the US sub in Feilhaber and Edu for Findley and Torres, and immediately it paid off with a Landon Donovan goal at 48'.  The US then poured on the offense, and several yellows gave the Yanks a number of set pieces to tie, but they couldn't convert until Mike Bradley powered one home at 82'.  But a piece of lousy officiating and an early whistle robbed the US of goal #3 at the end.  The Yanks again play their hearts out for a draw.

That left Algeria vs England, the Desert Foxes taking on the Three Lions.  England had a wonderful chance to advance for sure with a win here, and it looked early like Wayne Rooney and crew would do just that, slamming into the Desert Foxes defense with a number of early opportunities as Algeria's shaky nerves nearly cost them everything, but they resisted everything thrown at them with smart play and a 3-4-3 plan that kept England busy on counterattacks.  Rooney stepped up his game to inspire his eleven in the second half to try to put the game away.  The Desert Foxes however lived up to their name and frustrated England a number of times and most importantly didn't give up a booking until 85'.  Sloppy play from the Three Lions allowed Algeria to play for the draw, and that's what they got as the whistle blew on 0-0 and the sound of boos and suddenly it's the US that have the chance to break this Group wide open with a +2 goal advantage over England heading into next week.

That Poll-Asked Look

The latest Gallup poll shows Americans want job stimulus spending, big time.

Among four pieces of legislation Congress could consider this year, Americans are most supportive of authorizing more economic stimulus spending. Specifically, according to a June 11-13 USA Today/Gallup poll, 60% of Americans say they would favor "additional government spending to create jobs and stimulate the economy."

Nearly as many Americans -- 56% -- favor regulating energy output from private companies, a key element of the "cap and trade" bill that has been stalled in Congress and that President Obama alluded to in his Tuesday night Oval Office address. However, it should be noted that the question highlights the positive goal of reducing global warming, but not any of the potential costs for business and consumers.

Americans also approve of more regulations on banks and are split on health care reform.  Republicans naturally want no additional spending or regulation and a full repeal of health care legislation, Democrats want the opposite, but Independents prefer all four measures, including repealing some or all of health care reform.

As I said earlier today, the Dems still have a long way to go to convince people health care reform was worth it.  But they do have a fair amount of support for job stimulus spending...so why are Democrats like Ben Nelson blocking it?

Maybe it has something to do with Nebraska's 5% unemployment rate, and the fact Nebraska gets as many Senators as California and Michigan, states hurting badly for jobs and being blocked on job legislation by Big Ben.

Awesome New Frontiers In Obama Derangement Syndrome

NRO's John Derbyshire finally says openly what's on every Obama-hating mind out there:  that they're openly rooting for the oil spill to wreck this administration for good.

In slightly different words: The best we can hope for is that the thing just goes on gushing through the bore hole indefinitely. (Or until we can drill enough relief wells to reduce the pressure. Don’t hold your breath.)

I’m as horrified as anyone by this — if the guy has got it right, and I’ve understood him correctly. At the same time, as a constitutional pessimist, I’ll own to a certain grim satisfaction. The infantile optimism of post-JFK America may have met its match down there in the Gulf. Nature is not mocked.

"Yay! We've finally got something Obama can't fix! He's done! Now America will be dominated by Very Serious People again instead of Dirty F'ckin Hippies who want to use government to make people's lives better rather than using it to make rich people more wealthy. The nerve of President Kenyan Muslimguy!"

That's right folks, we've fnally gotten to the point where the Wingers are pulling for the geyser to cause as much damage as possible, so they can say "I told you so!" in November.

Oh, the name of Derb's post?



No, We Can't.


Assholes.

Insert Your Own "Uh-Oh!" Joke Here

Uh-oh!  Spaghetti-Os...

Campbell Soup Co. is recalling nearly15 million pounds of canned "SpaghettiOs with Meatballs" because of possible under-processing, the U.S. agriculture department said.

The recall includes 14.75-ounce cans with a use-by date between June 2010 and December 2011 of three varieties of the product: "SpaghettiOs with Meatballs," "SpaghettiOs A to Z with Meatballs" and "SpaghettiOs Fun Shapes with Meatballs (Cars)."

Consumers who have purchased those products with a plant code of "EST4K" should not eat them and should return them to the store where they were purchased for an exchange or full refund, Campbell Soup said.

Fifteen million pounds of food.  Boy, if there were only a government agency that could monitor something with the potential to widely affect millions of Americans who...you know, eat food.  Peanut butter, tomatoes, spinach, now Spaghetti-Os...what's it going to take, folks?

Down The Memory Hole

Remember Elena Kagan?  The White House is hoping you do...and you don't.

The White House is quietly choreographing every aspect of Elena Kagan's march toward a lifetime term on the Supreme Court.


From working to dampen the impact of revelations about her stint in the Clinton White House to going out of their way to trumpet praise from conservative backers, members of President Barack Obama's team are using every available tool to burnish Kagan's image.

Take the public release of tens of thousands of pages of files from Kagan's time as an aide to former President Bill Clinton. The Clinton presidential library in Little Rock, working with White House lawyers, has for two weeks in a row made the records available on Friday afternoons, a time when few people are paying attention. That puts stories about the records in Saturday newspapers, when even fewer are reading.

The last installment of those documents – about 11,000 e-mails Kagan wrote and about 70,000 more she received while working in Clinton's White House – is scheduled to be released on Friday, a little more than a week before the Senate Judiciary Committee is to begin Kagan's confirmation hearings.

The White House is pressing hard to define Kagan for Americans before her opponents can. A new poll shows the public's opinion is still highly shapeable.

It's highly shapeable because there's bigger things to worry about presently.  But that's about to change.  Kagan will get her hearings soon and it's going to be right back into the crucible for her.  She might want to shoot BP a  thank you card.

Very, very quietly, that is.

Daddy Scares Us

David Sanger illustrates in the NY Times today the exact problem with the Village and with Republicans on Obama, the oil spill, and BP.  One one hand, they complained bitterly for weeks that he hasn't done anything.  Now they are complaining that Obama's $20 billion escrow fund is dangerously close to the Imperial Presidency.

The Wall Street executives who needed the government to prop them up, but still thought their services were worth millions a year, were cast by Mr. Obama as a shameless privileged class. Toyota was described as seeking profits over safety; Wellpoint, the insurance giant, was castigated for seeking to insulate itself from the new health care legislation by taking actions that the law will soon prohibit.

Against that backdrop, forcing BP to take a $20 billion bath — even before the inevitable lawsuits are filed — seemed an easy decision. Mr. Obama had no legal basis for the demand, but concluded he did not need one. “He had a power other presidents have used — you call it jawboning,” Mr. Emanuel said.

The question is whether the cumulative effects of these actions create an impression that, over the long run, may make it harder to persuade both American and foreign corporations to cooperate with Mr. Obama’s program to reinvest and reinvigorate the American economy.

“He’s walking a very fine line here,” said Jeffrey Garten, a professor of trade and international finance at the Yale School of Management and a former top official in the Clinton administration’s Commerce Department. “He is taking each case on the merits as he sees it, but he runs the risk of sowing a level of mistrust about all big companies. And it’s those companies — not small businesses — that he will need to invest and innovate for the kind of recovery he wants.” 

It's laughable, watching Sanger defend these huge multinationals and chiding Obama on using the bully pulpit, not days after his colleagues smashed Obama for not doing enough to suspend the notion that he too was in the pocket of big business and that he worked for corporations, not the people.  Obama's going to scare off the big companies!  They'll leave for China and take millions of jobs with them if they can't get away with fleecing the American people!

The only person bought and paid for here is Sanger.

There are plenty of Villagers and folks on the left suffering from Obama Derangement Syndrome too, folks.  It's starting to get a little ridiculous.

The Kroog Versus The Euro Depression

Paul Krugman sees dark, dark clouds on the economic horizon after Senate Republicans voted yesterday to block the latest jobs bill and wonders just how bad the pain is going to be for the average American and warns that Germany will give us a nasty preview.

In America, many self-described deficit hawks are hypocrites, pure and simple: They’re eager to slash benefits for those in need, but their concerns about red ink vanish when it comes to tax breaks for the wealthy. Thus, Senator Ben Nelson, who sanctimoniously declared that we can’t afford $77 billion in aid to the unemployed, was instrumental in passing the first Bush tax cut, which cost a cool $1.3 trillion.

German deficit hawkery seems more sincere. But it still has nothing to do with fiscal realism. Instead, it’s about moralizing and posturing. Germans tend to think of running deficits as being morally wrong, while balancing budgets is considered virtuous, never mind the circumstances or economic logic. “The last few hours were a singular show of strength,” declared Angela Merkel, the German chancellor, after a special cabinet meeting agreed on the austerity plan. And showing strength — or what is perceived as strength — is what it’s all about.

There will, of course, be a price for this posturing. Only part of that price will fall on Germany: German austerity will worsen the crisis in the euro area, making it that much harder for Spain and other troubled economies to recover. Europe’s troubles are also leading to a weak euro, which perversely helps German manufacturing, but also exports the consequences of German austerity to the rest of the world, including the United States.

But German politicians seem determined to prove their strength by imposing suffering — and politicians around the world are following their lead.

How bad will it be? Will it really be 1937 all over again? I don’t know. What I do know is that economic policy around the world has taken a major wrong turn, and that the odds of a prolonged slump are rising by the day. 

He's right, of course.  There's no inflation in sight.  Only the stimulus has kept us above water and that runs out at the end of the year.  2011 will be a disaster, and don't think the Republicans voting against job bills right now aren't completely aware of what they are doing.  The GOP plan to balance the budget on the backs of the poor while approving more tax cuts for the wealthy is well under way.

StupidiNews!

• Convicted murderer Ronnie Lee Gardner became the first person to die by firing squad in 14 years as he was executed in Utah, the last state that allows firing squads.
• Sec. Clinton says that the Obama administration will sue to stop Arizona's controversial immigration law.
• President Obama remains more popular abroad than in the US, but his foreign policies are not popular with anyone.
• UK businesses are biting the bullet and allowing workers to watch the World Cup rather than pretending to hide it or staying home.
• The LA Lakers outlasted the Boston Celtics to take Game 7 of the NBA Finals 83-79 and their 16th franchise title.

Last Call

The health care legislation is getting slightly more popular.  It, if you'll excuse the pun, has stopped bleeding out, but there's still a lot the Dems need to do to try to convince the public that this was the right decision to make for the country.

The latest Associated Press-GfK poll on Obama's top domestic achievement finds support for the new overhaul has risen to its highest point since the survey started asking people about it in September - six months before it became law.

The results now: 45 percent in favor, 42 percent opposed. That's a significant shift in public sentiment considering that opposition hit 50 percent after Obama signed the health plan into law in late March and that in May, supporters were outnumbered 39 percent to 46 percent.

"I thought when people began to realize what was in the health care package that they would see it's a good, solid program and that would dispel some of the misinformation," said Brigham Young University English professor Claudia Harris, 72, of Orem, Utah.

Electrical contractor Kerry Eisley of Moscow, Pa., said he thinks people are starting to get nuts-and-bolts information on how the law affects them.

"If we can insure more people across the United States and get the cost of health care down, I think that's a better thing," said Eisley, 43, a Republican who supports the plan, which passed without the vote of any GOP lawmaker.

At least the measure is above water instead of minus 7.  That's a noteable turnaround, but it's going to take some time and some convincing, not to mention actual cost savings and benefits kicking in, to convince the folks in the middle.  The folks on the right, well...for the most part that's going to be impossible.  But...I'm sure Obama and company will take "slight plurality".

Ironically, health care legislation seems to be headed back for the 50% mark, which is about where Obama's approval is floating around these days.  That actually makes a lot of sense.  One defines the other at this point in the Obama legacy story.

Zandar's Thought Of The Day

The management wishes to convey that the people responsible for Joe Barton’s apology have been sacked, and Joe Barton wishes to retract his apology and say just how wonderful BP is as a corporation and that they should be all given ponies.

The people responsible for Joe Barton’s retraction of his apology saying how great and awesome BP is have been sacked, but not before saying how cool BP is and how smexy Tony Hayward’s hair is.

The people responsible for sacking the people responsible for Joe Barton’s retraction to his apology to BP have been in fact crushed by Barack Obama’s huge Kenyan penis.

Seriously. Balloon Juice commenter Dave:

I think the frustration that supporters of the president have (at least it is for me) is that his critics give him credit for nothing. NOTHING.

He gets a health care reform bill passed that is sweeping in scope and more than anyone has done in decades. And the left-wing critics say “Not enough.”

He gets a stimulus bill passed that pretty much kept a massive recession from getting worse and all the left-wing critics said was “Not enough.”

He’s on the verge of getting DADT repealed through law as opposed to using a reversible executive order and all the left-wing critics say is “Not enough.”

He gives a speech that talks about peak oil, points out how government corruption played a role and begins to lay out the way forward towards an alternative energy future and all the left-wing critics say is “Not enough” while having orgasms to Rachael Maddow’s satisfying-but-completely unrealistic “Fake President” speech.

Never mind Lily Leadbetter, killing the F-22 (something BUSH couldn’t do), expanding SCHIP, credit card reform, tobacco regulation…but no, it’s not enough. It’s NEVER enough with some people.

There is legit criticism to be made when it comes to President Obama, especially in the civil rights arena. But to hear the WATBs on the left tell it, he hasn’t done a damn thing. And that is simply not true. 

End of line.  Remember, the alternative was John McCain and Republicans like Joe Barton here.  What do any of you think President John McCain and Vice President Moose Lady would have done better on any of this?  Do any of you think their "accomplishments" would have been more progressive?  Do you think the oil spill would make drilling safer with those two in charge?

Oh, and if the GOP wins back the House, the guy in charge of the House Energy committee?  Joe Barton.  My God.  And the folks joining Joe Barton in Congress if the Tea Party has their way?  Folks like NC Republican Bill Randall.

Republican congressional candidate William "Bill" Randall is suggesting that the Obama administration and BP conspired to intentionally spill oil in the Gulf of Mexico.


Randall admits that he has no evidence that what he says is true. But that is not stopping him from making the claim as he campaigns for the GOP runoff election Tuesday to determine who faces incumbent Democratic Rep. Brad Miller on the November ballot.

"Now, I'm not necessarily a conspiracy person ... and this is purely speculative on my part and not based on any fact, but personally I feel there is a possibility that there was some sort of collusion," said Randall, who has aligned himself with the tea party movement.

"I don't know how or why, but in that situation, if you have someone from a company proposing to violate the safety process and the government signing off on it, excuse me, maybe they wanted it to leak. But then it got beyond what was anticipated, and we had an explosion and loss of life."

This is your alternative to the Democrats, people.

World Cupdate

Group B action started off today with Argentina at South Korea, and the Taeguk Warriors ran into a buzzsaw named Gonzalo Higuain as his hat trick(!) and an own goal off a free kick ravaged the Reds 4-1.  The only bright spot in South Korea's day was Chung-Yong Lee's solid goal at the end of the first half making it 2-1, but the other 89 minutes belonged to the Albiceleste and 88 of those to Higuain as he savaged South Korea's 1-3-2-4 setup like a tank cannon through plywood.  An absolutely commanding performance by El Pipita, and frankly the entire Higuain clan has to be pleased.  Argentina next faces Greece, and they have to be feeling good about their chances to run the full nine.

Group B's other match saw Greece and Nigeria facing off, both teams playing for survival.  A loss here meant elmination, a draw would keep both teams alive.  The Pirate Ship tried to cut through with a 3-3-4 plan led by Theofanis Gekas, but the Super Eagles countered with Yakubu and Peter Odemwingie fronting a 2-4-4 attack and scored almost right off with a free kick from Uche at 16' and a nasty header fake from Odemwingie.  Nigeria played their plan well, dominating the middle third and leaving Gekas hanging out to dry time and again until the Piratikos caught a massive break when a really pointless red card was pulled on Nigeria's Sani Kaita for a shove-kick combo, and suddenly Greece was back in the match with Nigeria a man down.  That directly led to Dimitrios Salpigidis scoring Greece's first ever World Cup goal at 44' as even Mount Olympus smiled down.  The second half saw Nigeria go 1-4-4 and an injury to defender Taiwo left them at nine men at one point.  Both teams fought well, looking for and needing the win, but it was the Greeks who prevailed as Vassillis Torosidis knocked one home at 71'.  They will survive another day, but the Super Eagles are basically done as Greece surprises 2-1.

France and Mexico rounded out the day back to Group A as both teams needed the win to keep up with Uruguay after their dismantling of host South Africa yesterday.  The Bafana Bafana were hoping for another draw as Les Bleus went 1-3-2-4 with Nicolas Anelka at point, while El Tri opened 3-3-4 with Francos, Dos Santos and the dangerous Carlos Vela up front.  An offensive show by both sides in the first half didn't result in much, but Vela pulled up with a lame hamstring and went out at 32' for Pablo Barerra.  Nobody could keep the ball down, which suited the keepers just fine.  France dominated on corner kicks and that pressure kept up in the second half, leading to a number of fouls and more than a few yellow cards as both teams got frustrated, but it was Hernandez off the Marquez assist at 64' that broke the game open for El Tri. The Gauls then blew their cool again with a terrible trip in the box by Eric Abidal on Blanco, and he made France pay at 79'.  The 2-0 loss means France has to sit back and watch along with the Bafana as Mexico and Uruguay decide their fates.

The Job, It Is Harder Than It Looks

Jon Chait's smackdown of Rachel Maddow's "here's the Oval Office speech I would have given" is not only appropriate, but delivered with the necessary force to knock Rachel off the Firebagger train.  Hopefully.

In reality, you can't pass any of the climate bill by reconciliation. Democrats didn't write reconciliation instructions permitting them to do so, and very little of its could be passed through reconciliation, which only allows budgetary decisions. Maddow's response is to pass the rest by executive order. But you can't change those laws through executive order, either. That's not how our system of government works, nor is it how our system should work.

If Maddow's speech had to hew to the reality of Senate rules and the Constitution, she'd be left where Obama is: ineffectually pleading to get whatever she can get out of a Senate that has nowhere near enough votes to pass even a stripped-down cap and trade bill. It may be nice to imagine that all political difficulties could be swept away by a president who just spoke with enough force and determination. It's a recurrent liberal fantasy —Michael Moore imagined such a speech a few months ago, Michael Douglas delivers such a speech in "The American President." I would love to eliminate the filibuster and create more accountable parties. But even if that happens, there will be a legislative branch that has a strong say in what passes or doesn't pass. And that's good! We wouldn't want to live in a world where a president can remake vast swaths of policy merely be decreeing it.

The reality is that Obama is constrained by checks and balances, especially when it comes to money.  He's constrained even more by the ego of 535 members of Congress.  but Rachel did make a good point in her speech:

All the might of this, the mightiest nation on earth, and the combined expertise of the richest, most technologically ambitious corporations the world has ever seen, cannot, it turns out, cap an oil well when it breaks five thousand feet-deep in the ocean. It is something that mankind does not yet have the technological capability to fix.

Then why firebag on the President over this?  My goodness.  I never thought I'd have to put Rachel Maddow in a Useful Idiots and Village Stupidity post, but there you are.  Chait's lesson is important:  The President has rules to follow, folks.  Dr. Rachel Maddow -- Rhodes scholar, mind you -- should be smart enough to know this.

He can't magically fix the damn problem.  He can't magically force BP to do it either.  He can try to lead on getting climate legislation passed, but it abundantly clear he doesn't have the votes.  He can't magically make the Senate vote for what he wants to do, nor should he.

Folks, we're in a long term disaster situation here.  Wishful thinking will not solve this issue any more than Obama bashing or even GOP bashing.  At this point we need answers on how to cope, how to survive this, and how to put it all back together, and in the long run we need to assure this never happens again.  yes, I've said time and time again we need to use less oil...but that was true before the spill, just like it's true I've got to drive my Hyundai to work every weekday.

There are no easy answers, and in out quick fix instant gratification society, that's a problem.  Time to learn some new skills, folks. 

Captializing On Mistakes, Part 3

Republicans should really, really stop talking when it comes to BP.  All that comes out of how much they are in the pockets of energy companies.  Dave Weigel:

Giving the opening statement for Republicans at today's BP hearing, Rep. Joe Barton (R-Tex.), the ranking member of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce, vigorously defended the company in the wake of Wednesday's compromise on an escrow fund to pay for damages from its broken oil well in the Gulf of Mexico.

"It is a tragedy of the first proportion that a private corporation can be subjected to what I would characterize as a shakedown," said Barton, "in this case a $20 billion shakedown."

Barton, who holds a safe seat in Texas, is saying what the leading edge of tea partyers and conservatives are saying -- no matter whether it's good politics, his first worry about the response to the disaster is that it will empower the federal government. Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.) said this to me on Tuesday, and Dick Armey said it to me yesterday when I told him about the $20 billion compromise.

"It fascinates me," said Armey. "I'm fascinated with it. I'm against it -- there is no doubt that BP has resititution to make, but there is something called due process through the legitimate judicial branch of government through which these things should be adjudicated."

How many of the assembled here would like to see the federal government's position as "We should apologize to BP for Obama trying to make them pay for claims" for the "little people" out there? Seriously, if the Republicans and most importantly the guys behind the Tea Party movement like Dick Armey and faces like Sarah Palin and Michele Bachmann are taking BP's side here just to attack Obama, then they are in real, real trouble.  Joe Barton has taken a lot of oil money and it shows.  I'm pretty sure if you asked the people in his district, they wouldn't want to apologize to BP.

You don't get to play the populist card any longer when you take the position opposite of the populists, and one that embraced by both the left and the right.  Obama has fumbled the ball on the response to BP, but if the GOP is really going to back BP on this disaster, they are going to pay for it dearly at the polls.  "Accidents happen" just doesn't cut it.  People are really pissed off about this.

Suddenly, Obama's position doesn't look so damn awful anymore.  Thanks Republicans!