Mark Impomeni

Last week, President Obama was hailed for saying at a press conference on the debt limit that Republicans are prioritizing tax breaks for corporate jet owners over food for the hungry and medicine for the sick. In reality, however, it was all one big bluff. The president was feeling the heat from criticism that he had been disengaged on the debt limit issue for far too long. That was evident from the mix of threats, blame-shifting, and tired class-warfare rhetoric that he employed in every answer. (more)

President Obama’s tone at his Wednesday morning news conference is being described as “feisty” and “combative.” He is being hailed in the press for “pressuring” Republicans on the issue of the debt limit, and lecturing them on foreign policy issues such as his unauthorized war in Libya. The president’s performance would be better described by adjectives like acerbic and petulant. It was a mixture of blame-shifting, threats and tired partisan bromides that have no bearing on the debt problem and should play no role in the solution. Republicans shouldn’t feel pressured; they should sit back and play their hand. (more)

As the clock ticks closer to Friday’s deadline for funding current government operations, voices on the left and in the media grow ever louder and shrill at the prospect of a government “shutdown.” Note the scare quotes in use there, because in reality what happens if Congress cannot agree on spending levels for the current fiscal year is anything but what the term “shutdown” implies. (more)

The unrest in Egypt is easily the most critical international crisis of the Obama administration, and by all accounts the president is not handling it well. His ambiguous and overly cautious statements on the popular uprising in that crucial Middle Eastern nation have managed only to alienate both the pro-democracy protesters and the pro-regime forces, opening the door for truly radical elements like the Muslim Brotherhood to potentially exploit the chaos and seize power. (more)

Pageantry, tradition, and protocol all play a big part in the annual State of the Union address. They are the reason that the speech is like no other in American political life. In recent years, another equally important element has joined those three: atmospherics. The success of a State of the Union can be judged in no small way by the reaction the speech generates in the House chamber. The ritual standing for applause and approval -- or remaining seated to express disapproval -- by the assembled legislators acts as the first snap poll of the speech’s overall effectiveness. (more)

“There is a cancer on the presidency. It has been growing daily for the past three months. It’s compounding, it grows geometrically now because it compounds itself. And there is no assurance that it won’t bust.”  (more)

On Immigration, Arizona’s Law is Right and Proper (more)

With his signature health care plan—and perhaps his presidency— breaking on the shoals of an electorally challenged Democratic Congress, President Obama hosted a group of 10 wayward Democrats at the White House last week. But the biggest news to come out of the meeting was not any promised vote switches on health care among the president’s guests, but an ordinarily routine judicial appointment. That was because the administration chose to announce on the same day the nomination of Scott Matheson for a federal judgeship on the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals. Matheson is the brother of Rep. Jim Matheson (D-Utah), who just happens to be one of the 10 Democrats the president was wooing on health care at the meeting. (more)