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February 13, 2012
Binyamin Rose: Back to the Bunker: How a life-risking act by a Christian family during the Holocaust saved a family and built a thriving community a world away
Menachem Wecker: Business Schools Teach Real Estate Despite Troubled Housing Market
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David G. Savage: Why activists may not be in a hurry to have High Court rule on alternative marriage
February 9, 2012
Laura McMullen: 10 Least Expensive Public Schools for Out-of-State Students
Kimberly Palmer: How to actually enjoy -- relaxing, financially -- your vacation
February 8, 2012
Warren Richey: Why momentous Prop. 8 ruling might not satisfy gay-rights groups
Menachem Wecker: Though Controversial, LL.M.'s Can Lead to Specialized Legal Jobs
The Kosher Gourmet byDana Velden: Going to the bother of making soup? You know it better be good. This CREAM OF TOMATO SOUP certainly is! And it's a cinch to make, too (Includes techinques and serving secrets)
February 7, 2012
Frank J. Gaffney, Jr.: Caught off-guard? President's Super Bowl interview with Matt Lauer gives those who need a reason not to vote for him, a darn good one
Suzanne Bohan: Leaping lizards! Tiny reptiles advancing robot design
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Jonathan Tobin: Iran Threatens Israel With Destruction, But the New York Times Doesn't Hear It
Jeffrey Fleishman: In newly democratic Egypt, tens of democracy activists jailed, to stand trial; their groups are 'threatening the stability of the homeland'
Julie Deardorff : Researchers say antioxidants may not be that effective and could do more harm than good
Mark Clayton: How did Anonymous hackers eavesdrop on FBI and Scotland Yard?
February 3, 2012
Edmund Sanders : Israeli official says Iran is creating missile that could reach East Coast of US
Victoria Kim: Immigrant-smuggling ring used black drivers to avoid racial profiling
February 2, 2012
Jim Carney: Wrong number call may have saved her life
Reza Kahlili : Ex-CIA spy in Iran's Revolutionary Guard: What Obama doesn't grasp about striking deals with Tehran
Tina Susman: For woodchuck rescuer, every day is Groundhog Day
February 1, 2012
Brian Bennett: US officials see increasing threat of domestic attack from Iran
Emily Brandon: How to Take Advantage of New 401(k) Fee Disclosures
January 31, 2012
January 30, 2012
Paul Richter and Ramin Mostaghim: Misreading Teheran's limits -- deadly and economically devastating as they may be -- is a risk administration, Europe seem willing to take
Suzanne Bohan: Warning: Nap-deprived tots missing more than sleep, study finds
Meg Handley: Banks Revamping Rewards Programs to Woo Customers
January 27, 2012
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Yochonon Donn: In liberal New York City, fervently-Orthodox Jews may soon be getting a district to call their own
Jeannine Stein: An inflated ego and thinking you're 'all that' doesn't just make others sick of you, it can make you ill
Katy Hopkins: New budget rules may affect how much money you get for college
January 26, 2012
Ed Koch: To the New York Times, calling for the murder of Jews by those capable of having their incitement taken seriously isn't news
Jeannine Stein: Mental illness struck one in five U.S. adults in 2010: Report
January 25, 2012
Richard Simon: House passes two bills endorsing the use of religious symbols at military memorials
Fred Weir: Putin: Multiethnic Russia cannot survive as a US-style 'melting pot'; must find its own way
Susan Johnston: 5 Sneaky Coupon Strategies Consumers Should Watch Out For
January 24, 2012
Carol Clark: The price of your soul: How your brain decides whether to 'sell out'
Caroline B. Glick: America lost most in 'Arab Spring'. Sadly, many voters still don't grasp the extent
Warren Richey: Drug criminal scores win in GPS ruling from conservative-leaning high court
Erika Bolstad: Black conservatives gather to talk about gaining strength
January 23, 2012
Melissa Dribben: Jewish voters to play a key role in Florida's Republican primary
Jordan Rau: In quest to grow, Catholic hospital system will announce this morning its break from church
Ali Safi: U.S. envoy gives Taliban terms for peace talks
January 19, 2012
January 18, 2012
January 17, 2012
Frank J. Gaffney Jr.: No-kidding red lines: U.S. response to an Iranian nuke may be bluster, but Israel's won't be
David G. Savage: They sued their principals after slandering them online --- now the cases are headed to the Supreme Court
David Francis: Where to Invest in 2012: With stocks expected to rebound, opportunity abounds for investors
January 13, 2012
Ben Lynfield: Israeli lawmakers move to annex Jewish Judea, one museum at a time
Alexia Elejalde-Ruiz: Thriving through touch: Gentle massage helps older people with low mobility improve in mind and body
January 12, 2012
Warren Richey: Landmark Supreme Court ruling a 'resounding win' for religious groups
Warren Richey: Supreme Court says no to new rule on eyewitness testimony
John Fauber : Statins found to raise diabetes risk in postmenopausal women
Katy Hopkins : Consider This Before You Pay for an Online Degree
The Kosher Gourmet by Joseph Erdos: This mushroom and barley soup has an intense -- almost nutty -- flavor that mixes robust with Middle East. It has creaminess without cream
January 11, 2012
Shari Roan: Millions of atrial fibrillation sufferers at risk for devastating, but preventable, stroke
Tom Hussain: Pakistan -- recipient of more than $21 billion in civilian and military aid -- speeds pursuit of Iranian pipeline, defying US
David G. Savage: High court signals it won't be loosening TV's 'indecency' rules
Stephen Ceasar: Oklahoma's Islamic law amendment can't go into effect, court rules
January 10, 2012
Reza Kahlili: From an ex-CIA spy: US must exploit new split in Iran's Revolutionary Guard
Karen Kaplan: Study: Nicotine replacement products ineffective when used in real-life situations
January 9, 2012
Michael Doyle: Put through legal hell over dream home, couple fought back hard --- all the way to Supreme Court
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Jewish World Review
Oct. 27, 2005
/ 24 Tishrei, 5766
Bush on the edge
By
Tony Blankley
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http://www.JewishWorldReview.com |
President Bush is a lucky man. Seldom has a president found
himself in more political trouble that he substantially has the power in his
own hands to fix than does President Bush currently.
While the vagaries of the Iraq war are not likely to respond to
any quick presidential actions, the president can promptly and dramatically
reverse the growing alienation of his conservative base both in
Washington and around the country.
Those who claim that it is only Washington eggheads and
activists who are disillusioned, misunderstand and underestimate the
consequences of such Washington-based problems. The current Washington
Republican negativity to President Bush is as a stone thrown into a lake
it will ripple outward until it causes waves on the distant shores of the
heartland.
The problem is not merely with us obstreperous and
self-important conservative columnists and pundits though even our
unloved tribe can cause measurable damage.
More importantly, the president is perilously close to
duplicating the estrangement his father experienced from his congressional
allies when G.H.W.Bush raised taxes in 1990. Just a year out from
congressional elections, Republican congressmen and senators are in the
process of making the practical judgment whether to distance themselves from
the president to save their skins. I don't blame them. (After all, it's not
as if he is currently championing their principles and policies
domestically.)
If they decide in the affirmative, their constituents will hear
criticisms rather than support of the president for the next 12 months. The
most dangerous time for any politician is not when his opponents say rude
things about him, but when his own partymen do. They will start out
respectfully disagreeing, but will build to more flagrant rhetoric as their
Democratic Party opponents start raising and spending more money and start
rising in the polls.
The time for the president to bring his worried allies back into
the fold is now and bold action is required.
Of course no actions are without their dissents and downsides.
But I believe four actions could rally the troops to a year of loyal and
mostly principled partisan battle on behalf of their president.
First, withdraw the unfortunate nomination of Miss Miers. Not
only is there almost no enthusiasm for her nomination, I have never seen as
much outright hostility and even anger at an appointment from a president's
own party. Replace her with a highly qualified, full-blooded, proven
conservative nominee (any number of his appointments to the courts of appeal
will do).
Then he can have a principled fight between conservatives and
liberals (a debate that should break in his favor at least 60 percent to 40
percent nationally on the judicial issues), rather than the current
idiotically unuseful fight between blind presidential loyalists and sighted
presidential loyalists.
Second, he should delay pushing for guest worker law changes
and instead move full speed ahead with legislation and policies to secure
the border. This must be more than symbolic actions and rhetoric. It should
include serious proposals to dramatically render the borders non-porous.
It should include tens of thousands more border guards, sensor
technology, structures and stiff (i.e. criminal prison terms) employer
sanctions against hiring illegals. When, as now, Democratic governors and
Hillary Clinton have flanked a Republican president to the right on secure
borders, it is manifest that both principle and political sense is not being
exercised in the White House.
Third, he should rally his base by fighting for serious budget
cuts to offset the necessary increases in defense and disaster relief
spending. While many congressional Republicans will not like this tough
love, it will be good for them and for the national fisc.
Fourth, political expediency requires him to get on the right
side of gas prices. When the eye-popping third quarter oil company profits
are announced he must jawbone the oil executives to start re-investing
that money. If he doesn't, Republicans in Congress will. Regretfully (though
incorrectly), even a majority of conservatives and Republicans around the
country use the word price-gouging to describe current conditions.
If the president were to make these four bold corrections,
virtually his entire base would snap back to his side to do noble and fierce
battle on his behalf. He would not only be substantially true to his party's
principles, but he would move from about 40 percent to about 48 percent in
the polls a critical increase.
Oh, and one other thing. As I write this column, Washington is
waiting "in hope or despair, depending on party affiliation for the
special prosecutor to announce his indictment decisions. I truly hope that
none of the president's aides have done anything to deserve criminal
indictment. Some of them are my friends.
But if any of their actions warrant criminal conviction, the
president and his allies would be grievously ill-advised to minimize such
criminal conduct or disparage the prosecutor. Perjury, if that is the
charge, is a very serious felony. All the more so when committed by a person
in high office.
Neither the president nor conservatives generally should raise
the Clinton defense. Any Republican who measures his integrity by the
standards of Bill Clinton (and his disreputable apologists) is unfit for
public office.
If the worst happens, the president should make a clean break
with such conduct and such people. He has three years left in his office.
He owes it both to himself and to the country to take such actions as to
make those years highly ethical and productive. The world is too dangerous
for anything less.
Every weekday JewishWorldReview.com publishes what many in in the media and Washington consider "must-reading". Sign up for the daily JWR update. It's free. Just click here.
Tony Blankley is editorial page editor of The Washington Times. Comment by clicking here.
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© 2005, Creators Syndicate
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