Here is a link to Jonathan's column for this week entitled "California is Another Toxic Asset."

Chris Dodd is speaking out on torture, and he seems ready for the witch-hunt that he and his colleagues have been preparing for.  In a discussion with different questioners, Sen. Dodd expands upon what his personal political agenda, and that of his fellow Liberals, has in store for torture and those who supported all of the measures they consider that category to include.  POLITICO's Ben Smith reports:

A little update on President Karzai and his meetings with President Obama; nothing about his running mate so far.  I have heard that President Karzai mentioned the importance of minimizing 'civilian casualties.' AP, via Brietbart.com:

Calling civilian deaths unacceptable, Afghan President Hamid Karzai said he would talk with President Barack Obama on Wednesday about allegations that dozens of civilians died in a U.S. bombing run in western Afghanistan, the president's office said.

 Civilian casualties, I wonder if he will mention the civilian casualties his running mate caused in the '90's?  Are those civilian casualties important to Karzai?  Secondly, I am wondering how our President will respond to Karzai's allegations against our country.  Will he just sit there like he has at other meetings with leaders who said such things, or will he make a statement?  We must wait and see.

Nuclear arms update!  President Obama is speaking out on Israel's nuclear arsenal.  Eli Lake's Washington Time's article:

Well the verdict is in and we have another tragic story of political expediency boiling up on Capitol Hill.  America's newest Democrat Senator, Arlen Specter, has gotten a big slap in the face by his new political party.  Arlen has often stated that Majority Leader Sen. Harry Reid will give Specter "full seniority rights" as a new Democrat Senator; the truth is, if this was true, it was a political move.  ROLL CALL reports:

President Hamid Karzai of Afghanistan is in the United States today, and he is fresh off of angering the more Conservative branch of his country.  The Associated Press reports:

President Hamid Karzai chose a powerful warlord accused of rights abuses as one of his vice presidential running mates on Monday, hours before leaving for meetings in Washington with President Barack Obama and Pakistan's president.

The selection of Mohammad Qasim Fahim, a top commander in the militant group Jamiat-e-Islami during Afghanistan's 1990s civil war, drew immediate criticism from human rights groups.

Under Afghan law, the president has two vice presidents.

Did I read that first part correctly?  President Karzai hightailed it over here to meet with President Obama, almost immediately after he picked an extremely RADICAL running mate?  The answer is yes.  A little bit of typical politics, don't you think?  At least he will be able to hold off the wrath of his country's media from him directly a little while longer, but the question that remains as we wait to hear about the meetings between the Presidents is if President Obama will confront President Karzai on his RADICAL running mate.  Will that be on the roster, or will the Presidents only discuss things suitable to each one's political agenda?  I believe it will be the latter.  As we know, both President Karzai and President Obama enjoy playing to their base.  They enjoy preaching to the choir.  Going into the unpredictable territory of confrontation on a controversial issue is a little out of each of their comfort zones, and it is highly unlikely that they will break new ground on this front in their meetings this week.  However, we will wait and see.

An update on America's newest Democrat Senator, Arlen Spector.  The numbers are in, and we now know why Spector was worried!  POLITICO's Congressional blogger Glenn Thrush reports:

Over the weekend, the Philadelphia Inquirer reported on the gory details of that internal Arlen Specter poll that launched him into the    Democratic Party. (h/t JMart)

    3. He trailed Pat Toomey by 15 percent in a three-way Republican primary.

Ouch.  A senior Senator losing by 15 percent in a primary with THREE CONTENDERS.  Ouch.  Specter was not a loss to the Republican Party, because, as we see in this poll, he would have lost anyway!  However, Arlen's woes are not over.  POLITICO's Glenn Thrush also reported some other numbers in an early post on his blog:

New Democrat Arlen Specter leads Pat Toomey, the guy who drove him out of the GOP, by a 53-33 margin, according to a new Quinnipiac poll.

Today every American mourns the loss of maybe one our nation's strongest member of the Conservative movement, and certainly was one of the GREATEST members of the Reagan revolution.  I admire, and I think every American admires, his work on the Kemp-Roth tax cuts.  I admire his strength to get through Reagan's spending cuts, and his love for Conservative principles.  He has inspired Americans since his time in Congress and his memory must live on.

 He is the kind of man that we must all look to.  An all-American at heart, a family man in action, and a Conservative in principle.  If one politician in the past 30 years has made a greater impact on the modern Conservative movement besides Goldwater, Reagan, Kemp, and Gingrich I would like to know his name because there is none.  Kemp has made a great impact on America and, specifically, the Conservative movement in America.  May he rest in peace, but may his principles live on forever.

Today every American mourns the loss of maybe one our nation's strongest member of the Conservative movement, and certainly was one of the GREATEST members of the Reagan revolution.  I admire, and I think every American admires, his work on the Kemp-Roth tax cuts.  I admire his strength to get through Reagan's spending cuts, and his love for Conservative principles.  He has inspired Americans since his time in Congress and his memory must live on.

 He is the kind of man that we must all look to.  An all-American at heart, a family man in action, and a Conservative in principle.  If one politician in the past 30 years has made a greater impact on the modern Conservative movement besides Goldwater, Reagan, Kemp, and Gingrich I would like to know his name because there is none.  Kemp has made a great impact on America and, specifically, the Conservative movement in America.  May he rest in peace, but may his principles live on forever.

Calling all...congressional wives? 

POLITICO.com's Ben Smith repoted about a DC Documentary series is looking for "commanding congressional wives, sassy socialites, and dynamic divas in charge."  The casting call itself tells us that "We want to see how young, dynamic D.C. functions in a demanding town that is filled with major power players."  Did I hear that right; "...young, dynamic D.C."?  I think I did.  When was the last time you heard a casting director refer to D.C. as "young" and "dynamic?"  It certainly wasn't like that during the Bush era...

Click here to read Ben Smith's post, as well as the entire casting call.

After his 100th day Presidential Press Conference, the votes are in, and earlier today Jonathan Martin and John F. Harris of the POLITICO cast their ballot in a piece examining the President's mood last night.  The piece entitled "Obama works to avoid being exciting" brings up a very valid point about the President's mood last night.  He was not campaign-Obama, he was not town hall-Obama, and he was not debate-Obama, he was more of a man trying too hard to look Presidential.  Martin and Harris wrote:

The television networks have given President Barack Obama airtime for three prime-time news conferences in three months for an obvious reason: He is an exciting politician governing in a too-exciting-for-comfort time. 

But this was sometimes hard to remember during Obama’s hour-long outing before White House reporters Tuesday night. 

The questions were greeted by slow nods and thoughtful pauses. When the answers came, they were precise,  considered, sometimes academic, always articulate, not usually all that newsy, and, let’s face it, occasionally  long-winded. 

Far from electric, this was a tranquilizing performance. So much so that it was impossible not to conclude that a president who certainly knows how to be exciting was making a calculated effort not to be.

 -------------------------------

This article is too true in its examination.  However, it makes one wonder, is this the effect of his teleprompter reliance? 

            The Obama Administration has, after 3 months and 9 days, reached the famous 100 days landmark.  With 100 days marked off of his calendar our new President has already done many things quite unprecedented in previous eras of American history.  He has committed more money then any President has in their first year in his first 100 days.  He has given into the demands of Germany and France at the G20 summit in a dominated manner that would make our founders bury their heads in shame.  He has given out memos on torture and demonized American patriots who made the tough decisions on harsh interrogation in a manner that disgusts many Americans.  He has already practically “fired” a CEO of a private American company.  He has forced, by issuing an executive order for tax dollars, Americans who have religious and moral views diametrically opposed to embryonic stem cell research fund such research.  He has put “friendship” with the rogue dictators of Cuba and the dictator of Venezuela before a strong relationship with our allies in South America.  He has hardly been tough on our enemies abroad, instead focusing on meeting with the America and Israel hating President of Iran.  These, and many other things, are some of the “accomplishments” of our new President over his first 100 days.  If one looks at all of these aspects that have defined his first 100 days with a level head it is clear that our President has failed to protect the people and their rights.  He has, on the other hand, made a great accomplishment for his own political agenda by expanding the size and scope of government.  He has promoted his own agenda by taking greater and greater control of the free market and, thereby, the people themselves.  Obama has set up a governmental system in which the expansion of government comes before the people, and he will do whatever is necessary to push that agenda.  He has failed the people on the diplomatic stage by giving into the wants of foreign leaders before standing up for America.  He has made America weaker then she was before on the diplomatic stage, and has hurt our image around the world.

In conclusion, for putting his priorities out of order, for increasing the size and scope of government, for making hurting America’s image on the international stage, for making America weaker on the world stage, and for hurting the free market, Barack Obama has earned an “F.”

                                                                                                             Jonathan Krohn

                                                                                                             As written on 3/27/2009

Within the first ten minutes of his speech to the press on April 29th, the President cut to the chase and summarized his entire list of complaints:

"I'm not satisfied..."

HE ISN'T SATISFIED?  What isn't he satisfied about?  He's President. He has sixty votes in the Senate, a firm majority in the House, he has spent more money in the first 100 days of his administration then President Bush spent on the war over its entire duration, he has sent taxpayer funds towards embryonic stem cell research, he has pushed his own political agenda further in his first 100 days then almost any President in history has in their first 100 days, and that's just the beginning!  However, nonetheless, he's not satisfied.

Why isn't he satisfied?  He isn't satisfied simply by the nature of his political ideology.  The Liberal's goal is to perpetually increase the size and scope of government, and so they will NEVER be satisfied until there is nothing area left for the government to expand its powers into.  Barack Obama isn't satisfied even after doing the many things he has done that Liberalism has long had on its to-do list because there is MORE areas left for the government to expand its power into.