The reality, of course, is almost completely the opposite of the Obama/Democrat media machine narrative.  Less than two weeks after Obamessiah’s election, the Bush administration and Iraq signed off on a Status of Forces Agreement that required U.S. troops to withdraw from Iraqi cities by June 30, 2009 and to be out of the country entirely by the end of 2011.  The withdrawal was required whether Obama rode his anti-Iraq war wave to power or not.  It was baked into the cake when Obama came into office.  For he and his PR press cohorts to try to pass off the withdrawal as some fulfillment of campaign promises is the height of absurdity.

What makes the narrative even more ridiculous is that Bush’s troop surge, which created the conditions that make the withdrawal possible, was opposed by Obama, Biden and Hillary Clinton.  Of course, it was clear well before the 08 election that the surge had worked.  In a sane world, that alone should have ruined Obama’s chances of winning — he and his running mate were on the wrong side of the war, which had been the most contentious issue for at least the two preceding years.  But when you’re a Democrat in the midst of an “historic” campaign, facts and reality don’t matter.

Calling the proposed Islamic cultural center in Lower Manhattan a “Ground Zero mosque” stirs up a far more passionate response on either side of the issue than calling it “an Islamic cultural center and mosque in Lower Manhattan.” …

Doesn’t “Mosque at Ground Zero” sound more like the sort of thing that could get opponents like Newt Gingrich to declare the project “a political statement of radical islamist triumph”?

Politicians, revolutionaries, editors and advertisers have long understood the power of a single word to recast and reframe an issue to explosive effect.

And of course, in typical left wing media fashion, the story goes on to focus almost exclusively on examples of when conservatives have supposedly employed linguistic weaponry to shape issues and win debates.

By calling the estate tax the “death tax,” conservatives broadened a narrow debate over the obligations of wealthy families into a question of taxation for all. …

Is it fair to label someone who opposes abortion “pro-life” when doing so suggests that an opponent is “anti-life”?

These are the questions that biased journalists ask themselves when they’re sitting around the newsroom.  It apparently doesn’t occur to this particular writer whether or not it’s fair to label someone “pro-choice” when doing so suggests opponents are “anti-choice.”  In fact, the pro-abortion movement has probably been more successful in using language to shape the issue in part because “pro-choice” doesn’t itself allude to abortion.  Pro-choice about what?  The color of carpet you want in your living room?  The term comes across as some vague notion of liberty and autonomy — and who would be opposed to that?

The Post ironically notes that, “Journalists, at least the ones still obligated to neutrality, have tried to dance around loaded phrases for years. … Calling anything a ‘reform’ or ‘progressive’ initiative implies that the reform is necessary or that opponents are regressive.”

Yes, I’m sure the neutrality loving journos at the Post were constantly asking themselves whether they should use the word “reform” to describe Obamacare.

Unfortunately, Target — which apparently has fashioned itself as the leftist’s alternate to Wal-Mart — quickly caved.  Target’s CEO issued an apologetic letter and vowed that the company would more closely review future donations.

This episode is a sorry example of how the gay agenda machine has successfully whipped corporations in the same way that Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton made a living shaking down companies who didn’t meet their definition of “diverse.”  The ridiculous thing about the Target situation is that most Americans don’t support gay marriage, as has been repeatedly revealed in state referenda on the issue as well as in opinion polls.  But because ordinary Americans generally aren’t as strident and well-organized as gay pressure groups and the left, companies like Target go scrambling out of fear that a tiny but vocal minority will drum up some bad press.

It’s too bad Target’s CEO didn’t show a little more backbone.  He should have flipped the gay smear groups the proverbial bird and stuck to his guns — and the law, which thanks to the Citizens United case decided earlier this year, allows companies to make such political donations.  The fact that Target chose to grovel before a very narrow, extremist pressure groups is a sad indictment of society’s condition.

Despite widespread backlash to The One’s policies, it’s hard to imagine the country not being further to the left the day Obama leaves office than on the day he came in.  Sowell says that Obama is doing this by changing our fundamental values in creating a class of people who expect others (i.e., “the rich”) to pay for their stuff.  There was a time, Sowell says, when most Americans would be offended by the thought of having someone else pay their bills for them.  But now, under Obama, more people are looking for a handout.

In the long-term, what Obama is doing will only collapse because, as the saying goes, socialism doesn’t work because you eventually run out of other people’s money.  But in the near- to medium-term, we seem to be headed for greater division and rancor between people who pay their own way and a growing class — urged on by Obama — that doesn’t.

Some experts fear that the newly opened spigot of government insurance money will inspire further excesses, rather than reduce the financial risk of illness for most Chinese.

Wait…health insurance (specifically, government-funded health insurance) leads to excesses?  In this case excesses refers to people utilizing health care resources far beyond what they actually need to get well.

Primary care is scarce, so public hospitals — notorious for excessive fees — are typically patients’ first stop in cities, even for minor ailments. One survey estimated that a fifth of hospital patients suffer from no more than a cold or flu. Chinese health experts estimate that a third to a half of patients are hospitalized for no good reason.

Primary care is becoming increasingly scarce in the U.S., and thanks to Obamacare, millions more people will be pushed into the system without a reciprocal increase in health care providers — doctors, nurses, hospitals, etc.  This is a simple increase in demand with no offsetting increase in supply.  For those of you with a basic understanding of economics, such scenarios, regardless of where they occur in the economy, result in higher costs and higher prices.

Part of the reason health care costs (and, thus, prices) have continued to increase in the U.S. is because of health insurance.  Insurance works to insulate individuals from the costs of risks.  In the case of health insurance, it also  insulates people against the cost of using a good or service.  We are all more likely to use a good or service if we don’t really feel like we’re paying for it.  When health insurance premiums come out of our paychecks, we’re less aware that we’re actually paying for something.  Then when we go to a doctor or buy prescription drugs, we only have to plop down a $10 or $20 copay, assuming any deductible has been met.  Our insurance picks up the rest.  This buffer between individuals and the cost of health care leads to more people using more and more goods and services, which pushes up the prices.  There are only two possible solutions to change this dynamic: make people feel more of the burden of having to pay for health care, thus forcing them to make wiser choices; or, have some other entity (say, government) make these choices for us.  Guess which way we’re headed?

My prediction: Obamacare will result in more people clamoring for fewer health care resources, which will push up prices and increase insurance premiums.  Democrats will then complain about the “excess profits” of health insurance companies and force them to lower their prices, even while their costs continue to increase.  (Actually Medicare already uses price controls and Obamacare makes them even more draconian.)  Soon enough being in the health insurance business won’t make sense to anyone who actually wants to put food on their table.  So who will step in?  Why, government, of course.  The “public option” will live to see another day.  And all of this is by design.

During the great housing boom, homeowners nationwide borrowed a trillion dollars from banks, using the soaring value of their houses as security. Now the money has been spent and struggling borrowers are unable or unwilling to pay it back. …

Lenders say they are trying to recover some of that money but their success has been limited, in part because so many borrowers threaten bankruptcy and because the value of the homes, the collateral backing the loans, has often disappeared.

The result is one of the paradoxes of the recession: the more money you borrowed, the less likely you will have to pay up. …

…the borrowers argue that they are simply rebuilding their ravaged lives. Many also say that the banks were predatory, or at least indiscriminate, in making loans, and nevertheless were bailed out by the federal government. Finally, they point to their trump card: they say will declare bankruptcy if a settlement is not on favorable terms.

Ah, yes, it’s the increasingly American way: I’m a victim so I’m not responsible.  Although “the federal government” bailed out the banks, all of us are on the hook for it in terms of higher taxes and greater national debt down the road.

This is part of the reason I was and am still opposed to the panicked bailouts of 2008.  They essentially rewarded irresponsibility by lenders, borrowers and the government (i.e., Fannie and Freddie).  And now human nature makes its natural response: If my poor decisions are going to be covered by the rest of society, I’ll just keep shirking responsibility.   How does the administration respond?  More handouts.  All of this because somewhere along the way, it was decided that increasing home ownership was a governmental responsibility.

Is Ellie Light Barack Obama’s Armstrong Williams?  Light has gotten letters to the editor published in papers across the country recently that slavishly spout Obama propaganda.  Is she getting paid to do this by the Obama administration?  At the very least, this episode shows the laziness of reporters and editors across America who are so willing to print pro-Obama talking points they don’t even care to verify who’s writing them.

How do you think the U.S. would respond?  Even under Obama, going to court might not be enough of a response.  But would we attack Iran, risking nuclear confrontation or a nuclear attack on Israel?

A Washington Post story on SecDef Gates’ visit to India raises that question.

“Gates…praised India for showing ‘statesmanlike’ behavior by not retaliating against Pakistan after the 2008 Mumbai hotel attacks. … Gates said India had responded to the Mumbai attacks ‘with a great deal of restraint’ even though the suspects had come from Pakistan, and that ‘the two sides have managed to keep the tensions between them to a manageable level.’”

Hmm.  Statesmanlike.  Is that how we would characterize a similar response in this country if it had happened here?  A more apt characterization of India’s response would be “in-the-interests-of-the-United-States-(and-the-greater-region)-like.”  Pakistan has the bomb.  So does India.  We certainly don’t want any war breaking out between these old foes.  This is instructive regarding the Iran situation.  Having nukes insulates you, acts as a deterrent.  If Iran has them, they will feel emboldened to more directly engage in terrorist activities and other trouble-making.  Unfortunately, the U.S. and the rest of the world has done little to stop Iran’s nuclearization.  One day we may face the same situation India was in after Mumbai ’08.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said Wednesday that there is no firm commitment for Democrats to rush a health care bill through Congress this year.

“First of all, we’re not going to rush into anything,” he said. “We’re going to wait until the new senator arrives until we do anything more on health care.”

Still, this is huge.  The possible unfortunate downside is that ultimately a better, but still horrible, health care overhaul gets passed with some Republican support.

Ultimately Obama may be trying to appear bipartisan and conciliatory so that the bills are modified to the point that maybe a Collins or Snowe (or Brown?) can be picked off to support them.  Remember, Snowe voted to advance the bill out of committee, while voting against it in the full Senate.  Not sure how much modifying would need to be done to get her or another Repub to cross over, but whatever the final product is it would likely still be bad.

Obama seems to be re-positioning in order to salvage his prized initiative, even if it means giving up more than he (and Congressional leftists) would have had to give up before Brown’s win.  Not sure that any of this will work out in the end, but one thing’s for certain: the bills in their current form are dead.

UPDATE: If Obama is re-positioning, it isn’t by much.  This WP story on the same Obama/ABC interview seems to emphasize that it’s still full-steam ahead.  He still wants something to get jammed through, probably with some minor changes that he and other Dems can tout as big-time compromise and bipartisanship.

“We can cut and run, which I think will be devastating to the country,” O advisor David Plouffe said. “Or we can get this done, and instead of having a caricature of a health-care plan we can get it done and go out there and explain it.”  (Yes, he said “cut and run.”  And isn’t it interesting it needs to be explained afterward?  How about explaining it before it’s passed?)

They still are in denial that the Bay State Backlash was driven primarily by the health care issue.  It’s not that we want your health care “reform” but only in a slightly different configuration, morons.  We want the whole think obliterated and a do-over with narrow, targeted measures that actually focus on the main problem: rising costs.  A few modifications to the current plans won’t sufficiently stifle the anger that led to last night’s election result.