‘Unexpectedly’ — Again!

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Purchases of U.S. Existing
Homes Unexpectedly Fall
Sales of U.S. previously owned homes unexpectedly fell in May, a sign demand was probably pulled into prior months before a June tax-credit deadline. . . .
The decline raises the risk the retrenchment following the expiration of the tax credit will be deeper than anticipated. . . .

Instapundit has noted the increasing recurrence of this phrase. At what point will financial journalists begin to realize that nearly all this happy-talk about “recovery” is generated by Obama administration officials and their allies engaged in politically motivated spin?

Peter Ingemi observes that there is no substitute for reality, and this is especially true in economics. If reporters want to expect or anticipate something, let me offer a three-word suggestion.

In Praise of Populist Rowdiness

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T.L. Davis employed a fine phrase, “The Soft Treason of Civility,” to describe what he sees as a problem with mainstream conservatism:

Upon my happy travels I have run into a few frustrating and annoying examples of intellectual cowardice. These are so-called conservative blogs and/or radio shows so terrified of being perceived as anything other than calm, rational voices of reason in the din of shouted demands that they really forfeit any weight at all. The left has had their way with them and turned them into sissies, too afraid to fight and not smart enough to just shut up.

Which is to say they’ve been punked. Turned out. Davis then goes on to describe an example:

There is a well-known conservative radio host in the Denver media market who is just this type of person. He never wants to be seen as desperate, or radical, or I guess gullible, and so without knowing it, or caring, he helps to march the conservative base over the cliff all the while pleading for reason and above all calmness.

While I don’t know which radio host Mr. Davis is referencing here, this is merely an example of a larger problem, namely the willingness of some conservatives to allow their opposition to determine the rules of debate.

“Civility” has been defined in such a way that Democrats routinely get away with rhetorical overkill, while Republicans are compelled to limit their discourse to terms acceptable to liberals.

You don’t win arguments that way. I’m all in favor of conservatives trying to keep to the discursive high ground, but I’m sick of watching Republicans being thrown under the bus by conservative pundits for speaking out bluntly.

Also, I’m tired of pundits trying to act as amateur P.R. gurus to the GOP. If you want to get a job as a Republican communications consultant, go hire yourself out to a client. But don’t sit on the sidelines preening for public admiration by offering nothing more helpful than erudite after-the-fact second-guessing.

The post by Mr. Davis was, we might suppose, inspired by watching Joe Barton being raked over the coals for his apology to BP. Without regard to any particular criticism of Barton, this points to a general problem with conservative worry-warts who devote their main efforts to fretting over Republican “gaffes.”

And to hell with that. When you’re in a fight, you need fighters.

Go read the rest of “The Soft Treason of Civility.”

If McChrystal Is McArthur . . .

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. . . in this analogy, then I guess Barack Obama is trying to be Harry Truman:

The top commander in Afghanistan, Gen. Stanley McChrystal, has been summoned to the White House to explain biting and unflattering remarks he made to a freelance writer about President Barack Obama and others in the Obama administration.
The face-to-face comes as pundits are already calling for McChrystal to resign for insubordination. . . .

Ed Morrissey summarizes the general’s gaffes:

McChrystal’s team called National Security Adviser Jim Jones a “clown” stuck in 1985, according to Politico’s report from the Rolling Stone article. They called VP Joe Biden “Bite Me” over his opposition to the surge. As Allahpundit noted last night, however, the big bombshell came from McChrystal himself, who accused Obama of being unprepared for their meeting and describing it as “disappointing.”

Jules Crittenden says that McChrystal has mastered “advanced petard hoistmanship.” War as an exercise in politics or public relations is certainly different than war as . . . y’know, war.

More at Memeorandum.

UPDATE: One of my Twitter buddies:

Gen. McChrystal symbolizes the open contempt our military feels for this ridiculous administration.

Yeah, but you’re not supposed to say it out loud, troop — and you’re certainly not supposed to say it out loud in a conversation with a reporter from Rolling Stone. If you’re a senior commander and you feel the civilian leadership is screwed up, the thing to do is to announce your retirement, and then write a book about how screwed up the civilian leadership is.

Orszag Yaz Moment?

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by Smitty

Hearing that Rahm is pondering greener pastures, Peter Orszag is apparently unwilling to hold down the fort solo.

Or is it more than just Rahm? Is budgeting just too ‘last administration’ for this one?

Seriously. Well past their April 15 deadline to pass a budget, congressional Democrats have yet to even introduce one. Nor do they intend to, since doing so would force them to go on record about the massive future deficits their policies would create. Instead, they plan to use what’s called a “deeming resolution” (where have we heard that phrase before?) to fund government programs while staying mum on the red ink.

Update: In a rare outburst of leadership within the Obama Administration, Orszag will apparently pull chocks next month. Two tears in a bucket, man.

Reminder to Self: Never Publish a List of Cool Bloggers You Want to Flatter by Putting Them on a List of Cool Bloggers

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Yeah, I might temporarily boost my traffic because every blogger on the list could be expected to link a post describing how cool they are. The downside:

  1. People on the list would wonder if I’m just sucking up to them, and would thenceforth suspect my sincerity; and
  2. I’d earn a permanent place on the s–t list of every blogger I left off the list.

I’m just sayin’ . . .

They Told Me If I Voted For McCain, Volunteerism Would Count For Little… And They Were Right!

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by Smitty

Even the Huffington Post is wandering off the reservation on the cleanup efforts:

BP PLC has turned away Gunnoe and other would-be volunteers because the oil giant is using only paid and trained workers to clean up the mess caused by its oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.

Instead, the retired Air Force lieutenant colonel and nearly 70 other like-minded citizens are helping in a less direct way as visitor information volunteers at the Gulf Islands National Seashore. They are being stationed at various National Seashore areas to answer visitors’ questions, report sightings of tar balls, oil or oil-soaked wildlife and offer safety tips – the oil is classified as a hazardous material.

One hopes that the retention of the Jones Act means that the magnitude of the disaster is overblown. It would be a shame if the need to save face, and make sure that everyone privy to the details of the situation was politically reliable‘properly trained’ meant that excessive harm was done to the ecology.
Concerned citizens, apparently, should also consider going golfing or yachting.

Update: Instalanche!

Update II: A gracious bow to Aleister @ American Glob for including us in his Top 10.

I Am No Matchmaker

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by Smitty

However, with no fear of exceeding the realm of good taste, I would like to recommend that Kesha Rogers and Alvin Greene should do lunch.

Kesha can help Alvin get something more substantial than, you know, Wikipedia, going for the campaign. It’s going to be a tough slog, going after Ol’ Julep DeMint, and he really needs to get crackin’.

Should romance flower, the couple could enjoy a truly rockin’ Congress. I say this as a poor, bald soul with bad eyes, running to pear-shaped; a pitiful candidate for marriage, indeed. In other words, this post is not merely teasing for its own sake. We should be able to wish good fortune on all, even those with whom we disagree.

Slightly less charitable about the good Alvin Greene, while retaining good decorum, was Wesley Williams, J.D. The clip purports to be out-takes from the Kieth Olbermann interview.