Stuff From the Inbox

Washington Examiner Political Digest

Chris Stirewalt - Obama delivers a cynical speech to a cynical nation
The biggest casualty in Tuesday night's speech was Obama's credibility. Even his detractors were taken aback that he would be so calculating, even on matters of life and death.

Michael Barone - Are Democrats exiting the sinking ship? Part 2
The Hotline reports that Congressman John Tanner of the 8th district of Tennessee is retiring in 2010. Tanner, a Democrat and a member of the Blue Dog Caucus, was first elected in 1988; he turns 66 in 2010 and in a statement said he considered retiring in 2008, but decided to run for one more term so that he could serve as Chairman of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly..
Jim Geraghty of National Review notes that Tanner was facing competition this year from Republican gospel singer Stephen Fincher, who has raised $300,000 in a short period of time and seemed likely to wage a serious campaign in a district that voted 56%-43% for John McCain in 2008. This west Tennessee district was one of the few where Barack Obama ran behind John Kerry's 2004 showing; George W. Bush carried the district by only 53%-47% in 2004. It voted 51%-48% for Tennessee's own Al Gore in 2000.

David Freddoso - Honesty from Baucus on Health care -- and a bomb from Tom Coburn
PA bit of honesty today from Senate Finance Chairman Max Baucus, D, Mont., regarding the tricks used to make the health care bill appear deficit-neutral:
“Health care reform, whether you use a ten-year number or when you start in 2010 or start in 2014, wherever you start at, so it is still either $1 trillion or it's $2.5 Trillion, depending on where you start”
This is an important point. The health care bill costs $2.5 trillion over ten years if you count from the year when it started.

Pelosi's outrageous attempt to hide congressional spending
Remember when Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi said "This leadership team will create the most honest, most open, and most ethical Congress in history”? Well, if a little noticed rule change by Pelosi is anything to go by, she lied -- big time.
If $217.55 is enough to save a job, then there's no reason for the White House to worry about meeting its goal of creating or saving 3.5 million jobs. They're on pace to create 3.5 billion jobs.

Michael Barone - Global warming alarmists getting frozen out
The Australian Senate has rejected Labour party Prime Minister Kevin Rudd's carbon emissions bill by a vote of 41-33. Interestingly, it was supported by Liberal (i.e., conservative) party Malcolm Turnbull, who was promptly sacked as party leader. Like the Waxman-Markey carbon emissions bill which passed the House back in June but seems to have no chance in the Senate, Rudd's measure was criticized by both conservatives and by global warming alarmists.