SHOCKWAVES

I'm a big fan of action movies.  The bigger the explosion, the better.  Action movies are one of the few genres that I am willing to plunk down the money to see in the theater because they are just so much better on the big screen.  My personal favorite is what I like to call the 'super explosion', where the detonation is so enormous that a visible shock wave rolls out from the center.  The best ones have the earth rising and sinking back down like ripples on a pond - preferably in slo-mo.

I honestly wish I could have watched the presidential debate and the ensuing reportage in a movie theater because that was the biggest super explosion I have ever seen on screen.  The shock waves are still resonating, nearly a week later. 

The first ripple was the moderator himself.  While Jim Lehrer did a decent job, it seemed like he was in a state of complete shock at the dismal, lackluster, information-free performance of the Most Gifted Orator of Our Generation™.  What was most shocking was that this wasn't an issue of a few gaffes or an annoying tick, it was a 90-minute long fail of epic proportions on several levels - the long pauses, the blame game, the endless distortions regurgitated even in the face of Romney denials (and, later, media refutation), the constant downward gaze (did he have the answers written on his shoes or something?  Maybe he hoped the podium would sprout a teleprompter).  Expect the President to get more help from the moderators in future debates.  Can't have another debacle like that messing up the narrative!

The second ripple fanned out to encompass the Twitterverse - which had it's biggest night in it's short history - and the FaceBook community where the fight over Big Bird really hit it's stride.  Because after all, the most important thing going on right now isn't events in Libya and the Middle East; it isn't the failing economy; it isn't even about the importance and impact of Obamacare.  No, the most important thing on social media - even almost a week later - is whether Big Bird, worth hundreds of millions of dollars, should stay on the government dole.  Good to know the Twitterati are focused on the important issues!

Ripple number three was the media response, which seemed to be a combination of bewilderment and disbelief, with a dash of sarcasm and unfocused rage for flavor.  The disappointment was palpable, like a thick, heavy wave creeping down the spines of the One's most fervent followers, finally nestling deep in the pit of their gut, cold and unrelenting. Six days later it lays there still, even though they have desperately tried to distract from it - even going so far as to use Big Bird for their political ends.  Talk about desperate!  Even worse, the folks at Sesame Workshop are not amused by the new Obama attack ad featuring their big, yellow money maker and are demanding it be taken down. 

It seems like it finally broke through the media hive mind that their magic man might just have more in common with the bumbling guy behind the curtain after all.  The epicenter of the blast seems to have been the MSNBC post-debate panel (even the Canadians were making fun of them).  Shell shocked would be a good descriptor for the panelists.  Chris Matthews had an on-camera nervous breakdown, Ed Schultz looked like he needed a scotch, a teddy bear, and a good cry (and not necessarily in that order), and Rachel Maddow was in deep, deep denial and grasping at any straw she could find.  The disappointment wasn't just restricted to MSNBC - not even close.  Most notably, Al Gore over at Current TV apparently suffered a little temporary insanity in his vain quest for the answer to the burning question in every progressive heart that night: Why?!?

The fourth, deepest, and most important ripple was the one that shook the electorate.  As the great Dr. Charles Krauthammer said of Romney's performance:

"I think what he did last night is he dissolved $150 million of negative ads and turned them to dust."

Suddenly, the carefully crafted veil that Democrats and the media (but I repeat myself) had been weaving for months was yanked away.  Suddenly, an almost "bizzaro world" reality was revealed, where the world's most evil corporate raider was revealed as a compassionate, credible potential president, and the infallible, godlike creature so revered for deigning to step down to earth and grace us all with his omnipotence was exposed as a man whose soaring oratory that so swept them off their feet was apparently really almost entirely due to a TelePrompTer and lots of eye contact and prep time.  Suddenly, people remembered how incredibly boring their college professors were - even the "cool" ones.  Suddenly people realized Mitt Romney didn't have horns - but did have answers.  Suddenly the post-modern Romney construct was replaced with reality for all to see.

The mystique has been ripped away.  In it's place is a man whose inevitable reelection is now not quite as inevitable as it once was and another whose unsuitability is being thoroughly reconsidered.  And I do mean thoroughly.

To say that President Obama was the only epicenter of the blast would do Governor Romney a great disservice.  Most good explosions have several points of impact, and this was no exception. The man performed like a virtuoso.  It really was a phenomenal performance for him.  He was relaxed, assured, got his points across clearly and concisely, refused to allow lies to remain unchallenged and did what a true leader does - took command of the situation and ran the show with an ease, amiability and competence that was worthy of respect.   In short, he looked - and acted - far more presidential than the actual president.

It wasn't just that Obama was a dismal (grim?) failure, it was that Romney was wildly successful.  As he is with just about every other thing he has set his mind to.

The full effects of the debate have yet to be seen.  The ripples are still resonating as the president and his surrogates desperately scramble for excuses and scapegoats.  The president has been saying that the Mitt Romney at the debate wasn't the "real" Romney.  What else would he say?  That in reality he knows he looked like a frat boy who hasn't been showing up for classes what with all the partying, and had to cram hard to try to (unsuccessfully) pass finals?  He seemed annoyed that he had to be there, and it was obvious he didn't have the nerve to brazenly trumpet the low, false attacks he so robustly parrots on the campaign trail when the object of his lies and distortions stands six feet away with a pleasant smile and direct gaze.  The high pitch and hesitation in his voice the first time he trotted out the $5 trillion lie gave him away.  Not so easy to sling that mud when you're looking the victim of your smears in the eye, huh?

Unfortunately for the president, the entire night seems to have been the highest rated, most followed political event in a very long time.  Needless to say, not a good time to choke.  No doubt Gov. Rick Perry feels his pain (and a great deal of relief for no longer being the poster boy for choking in a debate).  As for the exposure Mitt Romney got from the debate, that has translated into cold, hard cash - more than $12 million in the first forty-eight hours after the debate - and a potent combination of increased enthusiasm and voter conversion (that sometimes stirs up controversy). The bump in the polls has far exceeded expectations, with the most stunning turn around coming from Pew Research's poll of likely voters, which had Obama up 51-43% pre-debate and Romney taking the lead, 49-45%, in the three days post-debate. 

All in all, the debate was an explosion of epic proportions, complete with all of the shock and awe such a happening generates.  The challenger strode forth from the blast crater with celebratory fireworks exploding behind him while the president staggered, burned and bloody, from the smoking ruin of his negative campaign. 

Truly a debate for the ages.

On a side note, does it bother anyone else that the man who has been running the show (almost singlehandedly, if you believe the press) for the past three-plus years was so woefully devoid of facts?  This goes beyond the debate, too.  On Letterman, he couldn't seem to remember the current national debt of $16 trillion - after all, he's not worried about it.  He was apparently also unaware of intelligence on the bloodbath in Libya, continuing to peddle the laughable line that some stupid video caused the "spontaneous" mob action more than ten days after the administration knew it was a planned terror attack.  At what point do words like "incompetent", "negligent" or, perhaps more aptly, "cheap politicization sheerly for the retention of power" start to percolate up - and not to describe the republican in the race?  Even fellow administration officials were uneasy about the plan to scapegoat the video in order to cover up the egregeous policy failures that resulted in the death of a US ambassador and three others.  Hopefully Romney will mention all of this and more at the next debate, possibly setting off a second super explosion. 

One other thing: Does this frighten anyone else?  Do people really not know what a debate is anymore?  God help us:

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SHOCKWAVES

RNC RECAP

Last night brought a close to the RNC Nominating Convention.  And what a close it was.  The entire convention was well done, from the debt clock to the well-made video vignettes that played between speakers.  The energy was high and the speakers were inspired. 

If the only speeches you've seen are Ryan and Romney's you miss a lot.  Mia Love gave a real barn burner and it was easy to see why she has garnered so much attention recently.  It's unfortunate that after her speech, she was called an "Autie Tom" and her Wikipedia page was vandalized by racist bigots who seem to be a bit afraid of a black conservative woman.  Susana Martinez was hilarious and is without doubt a rising star.  In fact. there were so many fresh, young faces in the Grand Old Party that is was reassuring to see such a deep, diverse bench.  It's also probably pretty unsettling to the other side.  No wonder they are a little panicky.

The big buzz today isn't really Sen. Marco Rubio's wonderful speech, which should be getting plenty of positive airtime (and probably would be, if only there were a 'D' after his name, instead of an 'R').  The talk wasn't even about Mitt Romney's speech, which was very good.  The part about his father giving his mother a rose every day of their married life was particularly touching, and he was quite clear on his vision for what he thinks America can be and firm in his belief that he can provide the answers that Barack Obama has failed to provide for the past four years.  His was a vision of that shining city on a hill reborn.  My favorite line was, "When the world needs someone to do the really big stuff, you need an American."  Amen, brother!

 No, the big buzz today is all about Clint Eastwood's speech last night.  Apparently the political press was expecting an entertainer to do something other than, you know, entertain.  Did they expect a policy speech from the guy?  He's an actor!  One of my favorite quotes of the night came from Eastwood - "We all know Biden is the intellect of the Democratic party.  He's just kind of a grin with a body behind it." Priceless! I also liked, "Politicians are employees of ours.  And when somebody does not do the job, we got to let them go."  Exactly.  He certainly shook things up and his empty chair monologue most certainly wasn't a boring political speech.  The fact that liberals found it to be an unhinged rant isn't surprising.  After all, when isn't something coming out of a conservative's mouth an unhinged rant according to them?  An actor, playing a scene to an imaginary character?  Unheard of!!!1!1!  He must be losing his mind!!  But, then, that was a foregone conclusion anyway, when he signed up for the RNC instead of the DNC.  After all, if you're a conservative, you're either old, crazy, stupid or evil, right?

The entire convention had such a hopeful, forward-thinking vibe to it.  Sure, there were some shots at President Obama - this is, after all, a Republican convention.  Not only is it acceptable to bash the other side, it's sort of expected.  Which is why so many on the right were disappointed with Gov. Chris Christie's speech.  They had hoped for an Obama-bashing, in-your-face, "Jersey-style" rhetorical beat-down, and instead were treated to a kinder, gentler Christie who wanted to set the tone for the convention - this is who we are, this is what we believe, and this is what we can be once more.  His speech was excellent, just not what people were expecting.  And we know how the media just hate it when things don't go as they plan.  There is no doubt they were loaded for bear with him and ready to knock the "tone" of the convention.  Sike!

What struck me the most, however, was the overarching story for many of the professional speakers.  Many republican governors spoke over the course of the three days, and without fail, their stories chronicled their attempts to fix the mess their predecessors had left for them - some even having to work with opposition legislatures, much as President Obama has faced.  But where the federal government has ground to a standstill because the democrats' idea of "compromise" is for republicans to simply rubber stamp whatever expensive scheme they concoct next, the republican governors have actually worked with their legislatures and turned their states around instead of demagoguing them for political advancement.  It can be done.  Mitt Romney did it in Massachusetts, and he can do it again on a federal level.

Romney's entire career seems to be a dress rehearsal for just this moment in history.  Bain Capital was all about trying to turn businesses around.  Sometimes they weren't successful, sometimes businesses had to close.  But their success record far outweighs their failures, and their ethics have never been questioned.  Well, until now, when it is politically expedient to try to demonize a decent, ethical businessman in an attempt to make the base politician he is running against look better by comparison.

There was a lot of controversy over Romney's departure from Bain, but little talk about the venture he left Bain to pursue.  Once again, he averted sure disaster and saved a failing enterprise and turned it into a triumph.  This time, the scandal-riddled disaster was the 2002 Utah Olympics.  He waded in and turned it around. 

That is what the man does.  He turns things around.  And if ever we needed someone to turn things around for us, it's now.  Perhaps it's the post-convention buzz, perhaps not, but my reservations about Romney - whom I had planned to vote for, but with my nose firmly held - have been assuaged.  I feel confident now, and my vote against Obama has become a vote, most enthusiastically, for Romney.

The spin from the convention has been brutally negative in the press.  From MSNBC's "Whites Only"
policy to the constant attempts to find racism and sexism where none exists, the neo-pravda media have shamed themselves over and over and over (and that's just covering the convention!).  No wonder no one takes them seriously anymore.  Even so, we still have an uphill climb. 

All in all, the convention was a success.  There is already a modest bounce, which has brought Romney even with Obama.  The next day or two might show more of a bump.  The general election is in full swing now.

Let the games begin!

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RNC RECAP

ROMNEY/RYAN 2012 Updated

The Romney campaign has announced that Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI) is their choice for Vice President.  Needless to say, Ryan will be demonized in the press lickety-split - in fact, the demonization has already begun.  Prepare for those throwing grandma off the cliff videos to really ratchet up.  The press is already talking about what a bad choice he is - pray tell, which candidate would be a good choice in their opinion?  Before anyone takes their advice, let's remember that they hailed Joe Biden's nomination as a brilliant choice because of his "foreign policy expertise".  What a joke.

I have to be honest.  I was really hoping Ryan would be the pick.  Those on the left (and some on the right) say that he will tie Romney to the Ryan plan, which they have been demonizing for more than a year now.  Honestly, if you think they weren't planning on demonizing Romney for his support of the Ryan plan anyway, you just haven't been paying attention.   So if he's going to be demonized anyway, why not have the architect of the plan out on the campaign trail explaining it and selling it?  And when given a chance, he really can sell it:


If the Ryan plan is the basis for Romney's economic policy, why not own it?   The man is great with Q&A - calm, collected, to the point, and always with a smile on his face and pleasant demeanor, so a series of town hall-style rallies with audience questions about the economy and jobs would play well against the absolute lack of interaction between President Obama and regular citizens as well as his arrogant, patronizing delivery.  Ryan could have real interaction with the people on a one-on-one level - a genuine conversation about the things that really matter.  Ryan's assumption that the American people are smart enough to understand the crises facing us and mature enough to tackle them is refreshing in comparison to Obama's approach that Americans are just not up to the task of either understanding his brilliance or making decisions on even the most personal or important of matters.

Many on the right have argued that Ryan is needed in the House, chairing the budget committee.  I disagree.  His plan has already passed the House.  It is stuck in the Senate, collecting dust.  As the President of the Senate, he would be able to work closely with the leadership of both parties to work some variation of his plan through to passage.

Ryan is the wonkiest economy wonk in Congress today.  The man really knows his stuff (love the look on Obama's face as Ryan tears down the fraud that is Obamacare piece by scammy piece):



The tea partiers in my acquaintance are very happy with the pick, with many of them saying they now have a reason to vote for Romney.  The energy and excitement today is palpable.  The left are, predictably, saying his nomination just handed to the victory to Obama/Biden, namely because they presume this pick will alienate the crucial senior vote because of his alleged "gutting" of Medicare.  The problem for them is that seniors have lots of time on their hands to check out the facts behind those 'throw grandma off the cliff' ads and as a result, his popularity among seniors is actually higher than the general population because they understand the changes won't affect them but will ensure the social safety net for generations to come.  He is viewed favorably by a majority of seniors - 52%, while only 29% view him unfavorably.  The remainder have no opinion of him as of yet. In the general population his favorable/unfavorable stands at 39/25, with 35% having no opinion. 

There will be a race on over the next week to try to introduce him to those not yet familiar, and the question will be who has done a better job of it: Team Romney, who will paint him as a down-to-earth grassroots conservative who wants a return to founding principles or Team Obama, who will of course try to paint him as dangerous, evil, stupid and crazy, just like they do with every other conservative.  Oh, and we can't forget extreme!  Yawn.  And, of course, the media will attempt to lampoon him by making him either Frodo Baggins or Eddie Munster in Saturday Night Live and the late night shows (unless his alleged six-pack abs win over the shallow set).  My money's on Eddie, which actually isn't a bad thing.  After all, wasn't he the smart, semi-normal one amongst the crazies of the house (well, aside from Marilyn)?  Actually, there's a pretty good skit in there - Joe Biden is a natural as Herman Munster!  As for Frodo, wasn't he the brave leader who rose to the challenge at a time of dire changes to his world? 
Ryan may be a mild-mannered, happy warrior, but don't let that fool you.  He can do far more damage with his cheerfully delivered, pro-America, pro-growth facts than Gov. Christie can do with his sharp tongue and in-your-face attitude.  It's better to leave the sharp elbows to surrogates, freeing the candidates to focus on policy.

Kudos to team Romney for going bold and choosing the best person out there to help lay out the Romney path to prosperity!  I'd say I can't wait to see him debate Biden, but it might be a bit painful to see a sitting VP so heavily outmatched.  Honestly, I'd rather see him debate Obama himself.  Now that would be fun!


UPDATE:  Uh-oh!

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ROMNEY/RYAN 2012 Updated

AMERICAN PIES

In Sarah McLachlan's wonderful, double-platinum 2003 album Afterglow, she has a song called "World on Fire".  It is a paean to left wing ideology, with one really standout line:

"The fortunes of one man means less for some"

This is the melodious summation of the democratic argument for reelection in 2012.  It is most often illustrated with the pie analogy the left uses ad nauseum about eeevil rich guys taking huge pieces of the economic pie and only leaving thin little slivers for the rest of the proletariat to squabble over. (by the way, how much is Ms. McLachlan worth again?  More than her sound tech, I bet)

When most world history has dictated that those in power allocate resources, it tends to be an acceptable world view.  In order to to rationalize the deprivation and need that system imposes due to its participants' inevitable gluttonous greed, the theory develops that there just aren't enough resources to give to everyone.  It makes a certain amount of sense.

But here in America, we have a different mentality.  Or at least, we used to.  In America, each and every one of us has the freedom to go out there and...well, make pies of our own.  It's not for us to wait for government to hand out the piddling little slice they deem worthy.  All government can do here is try to limit the size of your pie by, say, demanding the addition of an ingredient that doesn't exist yet or by burdening  you with so many taxes that it's just not worth it to try to make a big pie.  Instead you make a smaller one or use cheaper ingredients or, maybe, have fewer assistants in the shop.

The problem is, the Baker-in-Chief loves pie, and simply cannot resist dipping his fingers into as many as he can, effectively cornering the pastry market by forcing bakers to give more than half of their wares to him.  The cronies and donors get first crack at the best ingredients now and when they burn their pies, he's always there with a fresh one for them, courtesy of the neighborhood housewives.

I find it quite fitting that a symbol of America is apple pie.  Here in America, we don't squabble over crumbs, we make our own damn pie, thankyouverymuch.

Or at least, we used to.  At one time, Susie Jones cooling a prize-winning deep dish caramel apple streusel on her windowsill would have inspired Betsy Smith to make her own mouth-watering creation.  Nowadays, Betsy would call the town council and have Susie's pie removed, citing scent allergies, an aversion to the overt oppression of the patriotic reference to which apple pies allude and a feeling of social injustice and victimization because her oven did not  spontaneously produce a pie when she demanded one.  After rigorous investigation on the local, state and federal levels, Susie and her family are finally left alone to enjoy the forty-seven percent of the pie they are generously allowed to keep (the other fifty-three percent being redistributed to Betsy and other, hopefully more worthy, recipients) and the oven industry has strict new standards for mandatory spontaneous pie manifestation technology within the next decade.  Naturally, a stiff penalty will be incurred if said technology is not implemented within the allotted time.

The biggest problem seems to be that it's not just a matter of fighting over crumbs anymore. More than half of us are telling our government that it's okay to go ahead and help themselves an enormous chunk of someone else's pie so we don't have to be bothered taking the risk of jumping the flaming hoops required for making our own.  We've gone from "I want what you have so I'm going to go out and get it for myself" to "I want what you have so I'm going to take yours".  It's a violation along the lines of what happened to that poor, innocent apple pie in the 1999 movie "American Pie".  It is a defiling of our system, and the inevitable outcome will be stagnation and riots a la Paris and Athens.  When only one pie is allowed, deprivation is sure to follow.

Which brings us to Mitt Romney. He understands that every man is his own baker, and should be able to make whatever size - and flavor - pie he (lawfully) chooses.  He knows that there should be a few rules about baking, such as banning endangered animal meat pies, or using quality ingredients in a clean, safe environment so the consumer and the baker aren't injured.  Such common sense rules and regulations are part and parcel of a well-run workplace.  But government intrusion into every aspect of the baking process is not. 

We really need to get Chef Obama and his inexperienced sous staff out of the kitchen and let the real drivers of the economy - the neighborhood bakers like you and me - get to work.  Here's a hint, Chef - the ingredients you were left with aren't the problem, it's the recipe you insist on following.  That particular souffle will fall every time, as it has in countless state-run kitchens across the globe.

It's time for government to get out of the kitchen and let the bakers bake again.

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AMERICAN PIES

TAKING A GAMBLE

President Obama's campaign has rolled out yet another new campaign slogan on his new bus tour across the swing states of America.  Nice touch, by the way, doing a tour to illustrate Obama's focus on American jobs (as opposed to Romney's illusory outsourcing) with a tour bus made in Canada.  One can only imagine how hilarious that would be, if only it was George W. Bush at the wheel.  Anyhoo, once again the President's brain stormers fall a bit short with the new campaign slogan:

"Betting on America".

Hmmmm....Is it really a good idea to encourage a mental link between the president, his agenda and gambling?


It is, of course, meant to give a sense of optimism; a feeling that ultimately America will live up to the president's vision  The problem is, the American people are somewhat less than optimistic these days, and aren't necessarily interested in the America that is being envisioned for them. 

The most glaring problem is that references to betting tend to bring to mind things like, say, the money gambled on Solyndra, Abound Solar, and many other "green" companies the Speculator-in-Chief bet taxpayer money on and lost.  Instead of seeing the obvious - that the technology is not fully developed and (or should I say, because) the market isn't ready yet - he instead presses for further "investment" in green companies.  After all, it's not like he's gambling with his own money, right? (and when he runs out of taxpayer chips, surely pit boss Hu will be happy to loan him another stack)

On a side note, that popular talking point about oil companies getting subsidies, so it's only "fair" (how I've come to hate that word) that green companies should too is complete bull.  Oil companies do not receive taxpayer subsidies.  They receive tax deductions, and that is a different animal entirely.  The former requires the government to pay large (sometimes downright enormous) sums of taxpayer money to companies in order to fuel research and development.  The latter allows companies to write off some of their costs, such as R&D, so they can retain more of their earnings to reinvest in the company and it's workforce, forking over less to Uncle Sam.  Big difference.

References to placing bets may also make one think of the doubling down that has been done over the past few years by the gamblin' man with the keynesian plan.  From the contraception "compromise" that is merely a one-year extension before the church must put aside their fundamental principles and join the collective to the repeated demands for more stimulus, it's been all about ignoring the critics, ignoring the people, ignoring the constitution, even ignoring common sense and sticking with his favorite theories.   Freedom OF religion has become freedom FROM religion, so any infringement upon the church is now perversely perceived as a win for individual liberty. Granting a one-year waiver is not a compromise, it's a demand for compliance - just at a later date.  As for the new calls for stimulus, he can call it a jobs bill all he wants, but it sure as heck sounds like a smaller version of Porkulus - the original "jobs" bill that has resulted in 8.2% unemployment two years after it was passed.  And here we are again, with Mr. Bigstuff looking to buy friends and peddle influence with another hand-out to help profligate states pay for teachers, police and firefighters.  But hey, we'll win next time, honest - our luck's just got to change!  The problem isn't the policy, we just didn't bet enough! 

That word, "Betting", might even bring to mind the shady numbers racket the media has been trying to swindle the American public with - from bogus polls to deceptive editing - in order to make the case for another term for the First Bookie.  Speaking of working the numbers, did the president really think that the American public would buy that ridiculous, obscure left-wing blog post about Obama being the most frugal president since Eisenhower?  Yeah, right.  The largest deficit under Bush was $458 billion, the smallest under Obama has been $1.2 trillion.  But he's frugal, whereas Bush was irresponsible and unpatriotic.  Uh-huh.

It seems the overarching plea of the Obama campaign is for people to take a chance on him, once again.  Let it ride, America, our luck will turn!

Perhaps on some deeper level, even Team Obama knows their failed and yet unaltered agenda is, at best, a crap shoot.

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TAKING A GAMBLE

OBAMACARE UPHELD

The mandate has survived.  Except now, it's being called what it has always been but was not allowed to be named - a tax.  Technically, since no one has been taxed yet, it stands - but that's not to say once the tax kicks in it won't be challeneged in the courts all over again.  This is a big win for democrats in the short term, but long term, this decision might well end up favoring Mitt Romney even more.

The House of Representatives have announced a repeal vote for July 11th.  A wasted effort that will not get to the floor of the Senate as long as Harry Reid is in charge, but the optics of continuing the fight should rally the base a bit.  It will also remind them of the importance of the twenty-four democratic senate seats up for reelection in the fall.  Obamacare has now officially become a major campaign issue.


First and foremost, Romney can now spend the next four months running on repealing Obamacare.  After all, you can't get rid of Obamacare unless you get rid of Obama, right?  Not only will this decision fire up the base enormously but, considering 54% of Americans want the law repealed, it's a good bet that more than the base will be voting on this issue.  Obama has to hope the 39% who support the law are far more motivated to get to the ballot box than the 54% who oppose it. 

While the ruling is a bit complicated, at least there is some much-needed clarification on one major question.  It's finally official - the mandate is a tax, according to the Court.  This is pretty big, because for the three years this has been an issue, democrats have been saying that the mandate is most definitely not a tax.  After all, who wants to be known as the party that raised taxes in a recession (or depression, if you're talking to VP Biden)?  Well, it's official - taxes they are, and up they're going.  There are more than twenty new or increased taxes in Obamacare, and eight of them will be hitting those making under $250,000 per year.  If Romney's team has their ducks in a row, they will hit this fact hard and often on the campaign trail. 

This law raises taxes by more than $400 billion over the next ten years and guts Medicare by $500 billion.  Everyone is getting taxed, including, insanely enough, the federal government.  It has been now confirmed by the Court that the cost to businesses of hiring employees is going to go up substantially.  The question now is, how long before these things start really affecting employment and the economy?  Who better to talk about the impact of a 3.8% increase in the capital gains tax rate than a businessman who knows from his many years in the business sector the real effect that one tax alone will have on the economy and jobs?

In fact, making the taxes in Obamacare a centerpiece of his campaign is imperative.  After all, hardly anyone has read the damn thing, so the public probably has no idea how many taxes there are or whom they will affect.  There should be a page on his website dedicated to the tax increases, and he should be hammering the issue on the stump. .

For those on the right who are angry with Chief Justice John Roberts, here is a little nugget that might take some of the sting away.  According to RedState's Erick Erickson, because Roberts has now deemed the mandate to be a tax, democrats will not be able to filibuster its repeal due to the sneaky reconciliation process used to pass it in the first place.  Republicans only need to take four Senate seats from democrats to take the majority, and there are more than twenty up for grabs.  With President Romney installed in the White House, Obamacare could conceivably be a thing of the past by February.  Worst case scenario: even if Obama retains the White House, taxation is solely the purview of the House, and the Republican majority could take a page from Obama's book by just...refusing to enforce it.  No revenue means no implimentation.  Precedence can be a bitch sometimes, eh liberals?

Speaking of precedence, the main thought that has been running through my mind on this decision is the predecence that has now been set.  Even if the law is repealed, the camel's nose is now firmly under the tent and Americans can now be taxed for not just what they consume, but also what they don't.  The implications of this decision will be far reaching.  What power doesn't Congress have over the people it's supposed to serve?

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OBAMACARE UPHELD