Oh, bummer.
Oh, bummer.
[b]Clever move: outflanking the Republicans by - adopting their program...[/b]
U.S. President Barack Obama is [b]stealing a page from the Republicans' energy script[/b], as he endorses [b]expanded oil production in the Gulf of Mexico[/b] and promotes the controversial extraction of [b]natural gas from shale rock.[/b]Looking to blunt Republican attacks on his energy policy - including the [b]temporary[/b] rejection of the Keystone XL oil pipeline from Canada - Mr. Obama has followed this week's State of the Union address with a campaign-style swing through the West Thursday, in which he [b]announced new opportunities for drilling in the Gulf of Mexico[/b] and promoted [b]measures to expand the production and use of natural gas.[/b]
[url=http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/world/obama-straddles-middle-in-tout... god forbid he should not be re-elected in November![/url]
If you view the situation in black and white, I guess you would feel that way.
But it's not so simple. As an example:
This week, the Indiana House voted to make the state "right to work". The bill is expected to easily pass the Republican-controlled Senate and Governor Mitch Daniels, whose first act as a governor was to strip state employees of collective bargaining rights, will sign it into law. . . .
Right-to-work (RTW) laws are nothing new - Indiana would be the 23rd state to have one. But it is notable that this has happened now in a midwestern state, since RTW laws were previously a mostly southern and Rocky Mountain state phenomenon, which are mostly non-union anyway.
Simple: Vote for the Black cats! They'll give you cheese!
(Or at least, they promise not to take away what little cheese you already have).
So what's your bottom line, josh? Exactly how bad does Barack Obama have to be before he will lose your vote?
He came close to the line about 6 months ago, but has since pulled back. But it's not so much him as the circumstances that is determinative. If the Democrats had control of congress and could block the Republicans' plans to undo the social welfare state, progressive taxation, and worker rights, that would be one thing. But the prospect of Republicans controlling both the white house and congress makes the decision easy.