No Drama Obama--Steady As He Goes

++Pew has Obama's approval rating at 49 in contrast to CNN recording it plummeting. After weeks of faux scandals and the NSA revelations,President Obama seems to be just a little less than where he was when he was inaugurated. So far the bombardment from the Right hasn't taken its toll like the Congress' approval, which in Gallup stands at 10%, or Rasmussen's 8%.

++Through the noise coming out of Washington, it is hard to realize that progress is occurring. Joe Biden reported on the actions on President Obama's 23 executive actions on gun control. We are expecting major decisions soon from the EPA on regulating CO2 from power plants and the small decision on microwaves and household appliances are expected to yield greater benefits than advertised.

++A major legacy item is immigration reform. While conservative Republicans continue to play games with the draft bills, Senator Grassley , a major anti-reform Senator, had the CBO score two decades of the bill. He was concerned that the first decade would be favorable but the second would reveal the "true costs". He said the CBO was like God. Surprise! The second decade would save the government about $800 billion, making this a trillion dollar savings.

++President Obama says he will redouble his efforts to close GITMO. There are now 48 prisoners, who have been named, who will remain indefinitely detained. 

++Perhaps forced to have the debate, which he said he welcomed, President Obama has announced that the secret court decisions on the NSA might be declassified. On the Charlie Rose show, President Obama defended the NSA programs--there are two--saying that over 40 terrorist plots here and abroad were broken up. The day after the interview, the NSA announced it was considering suspending the collection of data from American phone calls and internet traffic. President Obama claimed there were sufficient checks and balances in the surveillance system within the executive,the Congress and the Judiciary. Since that statement, critics claim the checks and balances are a sham. President Obama also promised to look at declassifying as much of the programs as possible. 

++President Obama spoke today at the Brandenberg Gate. Here is promised he would pursue a 33% reduction with the Russians on our nuclear stockpile. And emphasized his concern on nuclear weapons programs in North Korea and Iran. He also spoke about climate change, gay rights and social justice.

++NATO has relinquished military control of the Afghanistan war to the Afghans. The United States announced it would soon negotiate with the Taliban. President Karzai has thrown a shit fit over these bilateral talks.

++Elijah Cummings released the full transcripts conducted by Issa's committee with the IRS personnel and --lo and behold--none of those interviewed believed the white house was involved in tracking Tea Party groups.

++President Obama spoke again of repealing the Authority to Use Military Force Act, which basically declares the United States to be in an endless war against terrorism and has been used to suspend key civil liberties. 

++President Obama must be doing better than we give him credit for. The birther nonsense has re-merged in the House and conservative websites are pursuing claims people don't remember him going to Columbia. Evangelical radio stations, as Rachel Maddow showed, now refer to him as Belzebub and evil and claim locust follow him where ever he goes.

++In my mind, the stinker in the equation is increased American involvement in Syria. On Charlie Rose, President Obama was the model of rationality talking about his desire to avoid backing strict sectarian violence and avoiding the slippery slope to massive involvement. Here was a rational, deliberate man speaking of a totally irrational situation.

++The Economist hails the trans-Atlantic Trade Pact that is being negotiated as Obama's lasting legacy. Jared Bernstein writes that this is probably over-hyped.

++When some of us thought, the North Koreans would go nuts this time around, apparently the Chinese stepped on them to begin talks with the United States about de-nuclearization.

++If you would rather someone else as President, you might consider the last House jobs creation bill--the Masturbating Fetus bill, which bans abortion after 20 weeks nationally. At the last minute, they inserted the traditional rape and incest clause. But abortions would only be allowed in this circumstance if the woman reported to the police incest or rape. The name I choose for the bill comes from the observation for a Texas Republican that male fetuses "pleasure" themselves while in the womb. This is now the mainstream of Republican thought. A Republican wrote Talking Points Memo that his females colleagues were appalled by this bill since they were in their 30s and contemplating having kids and normal concerns are about grotesque birth defects that emerge after 20 weeks.

++Bobby Jindal doesn't think that the GOP has to change at all. America will revolt against the state in 2016 and they will rebel against the "leftism" of the Obama administration. Lindsey Graham thinks the GOP is in a death spiral because of demographics. Stay tuned.

++Here in Washington, teabaggers convene to protest against the IRS and intervention in Syria. As 2014 lines up, expect another round of appeal Obamacare,anti-IRS, and isolationist candidates. Will this resemble 2010--another white reaction against Obama's re-election? My gut tells me that they will get some mileage out of these stunts but nowhere near 2010 because the tea baggers have a sorry record of accomplishment in the House and have offended the Senate.