House of Eratosthenes

On her second trip to Asia as U.S. secretary of state, Hillary Rodham Clinton is carrying a no-nonsense message about American intentions.

“The United States is back,” she declared Tuesday upon arrival in the Thai capital.

By that she means the administration of President Barack Obama thinks it’s time to show Asian nations that the United States is not distracted by its wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and intends to broaden and deepen its partnerships in this region.

Clinton was trumpeting that line Wednesday in an appearance with a prominent TV personality before flying to a seaside resort at Phuket for two days of international meetings to discuss North Korea, Myanmar and a range of other regional issues.

Don’t you just love it when elected and appointed officials speak in talking-points? Makes it so easy to get ahold of them and relay concerns to them.

He Speaks! Concerns like these…

That was fast. The hope and optimism that washed over the country in the opening months of Barack Obama’s presidency are giving way to harsh realities.

An Associated Press-GfK Poll shows that a majority of Americans are back to thinking that the country is headed in the wrong direction after a fleeting period in which more thought it was on the right track.

Obama still has a solid 55 percent approval rating — better than Bill Clinton and about even with George W. Bush six months into their presidencies — but there are growing doubts about whether he can succeed at some of the biggest items on his to-do list. And there is a growing sense that he is trying to tackle too much too soon.

The number of people who think Obama can improve the economy is down a sobering 19 percentage points from the euphoric days just before his inauguration. Ditto for expectations about creating jobs. Also down significantly: the share of people who think he can reduce the deficit, remove troops from Iraq and improve respect for the U.S. around the world, all slipping 15 points.

She’s right. We’re back. Off of our latest drug craze, crashed to earth.

Some professor who does his professoring by getting his name in all the right rolodexes, weighs in with the obvious:

Independents are “the ones to watch,” according to Professor Robert Shapiro, a Columbia University expert on public opinion. “The Republicans were more pessimistic from the outset. The Democrats are going to be more resistant to negative information.”

The real question isn’t whether Obama can push a boulder to the top of a mountain. I think the independents are wondering whether His hands are even on the boulder.

For someone who’s trying to get a lot done that’s really hard to do, and fixing things that are really hard to fix, this President seems to spend an awful lot of time spending money and giving speeches. The palpable sense of frustration they feel is akin to a homeowner who takes out a steep second-mortgage to retain a contractor, and then as the summer days burn away at a furious pace — just watches the contractor do lots of talking instead of sawing, hammering, painting and paving. Yes, frustration sets in. Work isn’t getting done. Quite natural.

We’re back, alright.

Someday, we should really do something about scheduling our little hallucinogenic trips so they don’t fall on Election Day. Maybe we need to move Election Day to April 16 or something. Save us a lot of grief in the long run.

Credit to Gerard for the image.

We have halfwits and asshats running the country.

I find myself getting this increasing urge to punch all of them in the throat every time they open their foul maws.
- Daphne | 07/23/2009 @ 07:28
“Phuket” … the name of that country always cracks me up.

“Where are you going?”

“Phucket!”

“Geez, it can’t be that bad.”

(and yes, I know it’s really pronounced “foo-KET” … still …. [snicker])
- philmon | 07/23/2009 @ 07:30
Hands On the Boulder

It’s all trick photography, done with a styrofoam boulder so it can’t hurt him if it slips as he poses with his hands on it, after some makeup person sprays water on his forehead, chest, and underarms.

Then the press talk about his rippling pectorals glistening in the sun. Maureen Dowd faints. And everybody with their “I VOTED” sticker with the Obama Sticker for the “O” nods to one another, knowingly — that they have saved the country from dead white men and their crazy ideas about personal responsibility.
- philmon | 07/23/2009 @ 07:36
dammit, that’s the “Obama symbol for the “O”. What’s wrong with my typing lately?
- philmon | 07/23/2009 @ 07:37
“I find myself getting this increasing urge to punch all of them in the throat every time they open their foul maws.”

So Daphne, is there a Mr. Daphne or a significant other…have you ever been to a Turkish prison?

I use to have a number of certain preferences for my women but you just made me realize there is only one now. *Hope/Change* indeedy. Gggggrrrrrrr…
- tim | 07/23/2009 @ 09:39
I’d like to see a poll that shows just how many Amurcans think that ANY president can “fix” the economy. There are lotsa ways to f*ck it up, but no way to “fix” it, AFAIK.

tim: Ya, there IS a Mr. Daphne, and he is a lucky soul indeed. 😉
- bpenni | 07/23/2009 @ 11:07
Oh… and Phil? Ever been to Thailand? Visiting there… or, alternatively, spending a few months to a year there… would clarify your “Phucket” remark… in the BEST possible way (with ZERO aspersions intended). Assuming you’re both single and selective (read: careful). 🙂
- bpenni | 07/23/2009 @ 11:10
No. But my step-son has, and I think his assessment and yours confirm each other. 🙂
- philmon | 07/23/2009 @ 12:59
Phil: My time in Thailand was one of the best periods in my life, both with and without my clothes on. 😉
- bpenni | 07/23/2009 @ 16:39
My friend was saying “Phu’ked” back in 2004 when one of the tsunami waves hit the city.
- cylarz | 07/23/2009 @ 20:39

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