This excellent article in the Washington Post on the changing dynamics in South Carolina – the first in the South primary State, following hard on New Hampshire’s contest – has a great quote that all should lay to heart:

…Sightings of potential front-runners, such as Mitt Romney, Mike Huckabee, Newt Gingrich and Sarah Palin, have been scarce, while most of the newcomers are only just starting to tiptoe into the state.

“These candidates, it is their job to get people excited, it is their job to get people to care,” Haley said. “We have not seen that yet in South Carolina.”

Activists and party leaders have been no more impressed.

“I’ve got problems with Romney because of Obamacare,” said activist Pat Ryan, 65, a retired nurse who lives in Charleston. “Palin is good as a thorn in the side but not presidential material. Gingrich is philosophical, learned, but I don’t know if he can carry through. Huckabee has grown on me, but he is too conciliatory. But I can’t believe that the choices out there are the only ones. There have to be some more people out there. It’s going to take time to see who comes out of the woodwork.”…

Of course this is just one person’s opinion, but I think it is a rather telling one. There is a lot of doubt out there about the whole field of candidates – my feeling (and it really is just a gut thing) is that the folks are wary. They feel burned by the GOP establishment and are not about to lend their support to the first person who asks…and they are looking for someone who will fight. Fight a lot. Fight so hard that a second term is well nigh impossible. That is the sort of person who will win the GOP nomination. It, literally, could be any of them – from Giuliani to Bachmann and everyone in between, all have this chance: to convince the GOP base that they’ll go to DC to conduct a revolution.

Hatchets will be buried and noses held – social conservatives and fiscal conservatives and libertarians will all go for whomever shows the most will to fight against the regime, the corruption of our public life, the erosion of our constitutional liberties Just as the Democrat nomination in 2008 was sure to go to the man who was most entirely unlike Bush, the GOP nomination in 2012 will go the person who is most unlike an Establishment candidate – keeping in mind that even an Establishment candidate can manage this trick if they learn it early, learn it well and convincingly state that they are with the people.

As the linked article notes, South Carolina used to be the GOP Establishments fire wall…the place where insurgent candidacies go to die. Given what happened in SC last year – a genuine revolution in politics in that State – this is no longer the case. In 2012, SC is where the Establishment will go to die. But that will not mean the end of it – while SC might winnow the field a bit, I fully expect two or three strong candidates and a couple second-tier candidates to go forward from SC. I think we’re in for a long fight, and perhaps an open convention (which would be best…yes, I know we risk a fractured party heading in to the general, but the people want to believe that their man – or woman – is one of them…having it out in floor fights in an open convention right on television would make the victor the People’s Candidate, for real).

Just get ready for it – make no bets, make no predictions. I won’t. I’m just going to sit back, watch and I’ll choose my candidate at some point.

Lethal injection drugs seized as unsafe. No, its not an article at The Onion.

Did we mention that the CBO says that Obama’s budget will pile up even more debt than originally thought? Follow up question – is anyone out there surprised?

Is this the change you voted for? As it turns out, we started the war with Libya precisely 8 years after we started the war with Iraq.

Catholics to hash it out with atheists. Should actually prove quite interesting.

New Tone Update: Firebomb thrown at pro-life demonstrator.

In Obama’s favor is the fact that Farrakhan is furious with him over Libya. If you’ve angered someone like Farrakhan you can’t be doing entirely wrong.

Teaching college kids to be tools of the Ruling Class.

Feed Your Family on $10 Billion a Day.

A comment made over at Just One Minute:

What I like about Obama

Obviously, the biggest problem with Bush was sending the military into an Arab Muslim country that hadn’t even attacked us. Among the several things that made that offensive were

* the rush to war – it was only several months after the possibility of military involvement was raised that combat operations began

* lack of United Nations sanction – only 17 relevant resolutions were ever passed before they were enforced

* lack of Congressional oversight – the President authorized the use of military force based on the flimsy pretext of a bill passed by Congress titled “Authorization of the Use of Military Force”, rather than seeking a document that had the words “declaration of war” in it; that’s every bit as bad as getting no Congressional approval at all

* obvious financial motives – clearly no one approved of the murderous dictator or sought a normal working relationship with him besides the French; at the same time, one couldn’t help but be suspicious of the fact that the population we were ostensibly protecting was located conveniently near the oil fields

* stretching our military – we were overburdened as it was, and our brave military despite its courage lacked the resources for yet another operation

* inflating our military – the only way to keep the bloodthirsty Pentagon beast fed was to give it the hordes of jobless young men who had no prospects in an economy that saw unemployment skyrocket above 4% in most states

* ignoring our generals – the decision to go to war was made by political hacks who had never worn a uniform

* inflaming the Arab Street – despite some touchy-feely talk about Islam, it was impossible for the Muslim world not to notice how the President made repeated, insistent proclamations of his Christianity, how he only ever used the military against Muslim targets, and how at the time the war started he’d kept the concentration camp at Guantanamo open for over a year

* wasting money – it was completely irresponsible to commit the military to an expensive mission when the President’s fiscal mismanagement had resulted in a budget deficit of over $150 billion in 2002

But anyway, what I really like about Obama is that he’s gone 29-3 in his bracket picks over the first two days. You have to spend a lot of time watching college basketball to be that good.

There is a gigantic absurdity in the whole business of President Obama – and it would all be just great for a laugh except for he and those who support him are diligently subverting what remains of our constitutional order. There is no honesty among them – not the slightest bit of honor or decency. They are just about personal power and wealth – how to get it, how to keep it, how to expand it. I agree with knocking off Gaddafi – but there is no way for anyone other than Joe Lieberman and a couple others on the left to justify what President Obama has done in Libya – it is a direct contradiction of everything they did regarding Bush and Iraq.

And yet Obama went right on and did it…

From CNA – and, of course, in keeping the Planned Parenthood founder Margaret Sanger’s desire to reduce the number of “undesirable” births:

A leaked State Department cable shows the U.S. government has considered granting money to pro-abortion groups in Mexico. Critics warned that the grants would fund “radical” organizations seeking to change Mexican society and legalize abortion under the guise of combating violence against women.

The document is evidence of a “quiet yet seismic shift” in U.S. foreign aid priorities, said Catholic Family & Human Rights Institute vice president Terrence McKeegan. Large segments of foreign aid are being given to “activist groups whose main activity is to advocate for radical social changes in national laws,” he charged…

Seismic shift, indeed. In fact, of course, this is something liberals slavered after all during the Bush years. A fervent desire not just to undo Bush policy on not funding foreign abortions, but of actually using American taxpayer dollars to ensure that ever more children are murdered in the womb. Its just the liberal thing – they do have a religion, you know? Its just an anti-human religion, and abortion is their sacrament. Moloch lives.

Of course, not all liberals are quite that blood thirsty – President Obama is the father of two wonderful daughters. He can’t have thought the matter all the way through (and, indeed, may not even be fully aware of what is going on)…but devotion to pro-abortion policies is so ingrained upon the left that there is just no way for a liberal leader to really get away from it. And it will get worse all the time. These fanatics for death have already brought us abortion, euthanasia and infanticide…what is next is determining if non-terminally ill adults are worthy of continuing to live until they become expensive charges on the health care system. Just watch – they will take us there, if we let them. Once you start justifying murder, there is no bottom.

A bit of proof that your leaders words against President Bush and Iraq were the merest political double talk – quoted over at Ricochet:

The president does not have power under the Constitution to unilaterally authorize a military attack in a situation that does not involve stopping an actual or imminent threat to the nation. — Barack Obama, December 20, 2007

Keep in mind that I back the concept of assisting in the removal of Gaddafi – unfortunately, we’ve yet to have a statement from the President of what our actual goal in Libya is. But if Obama is going for a liberation of Libya, then I’m behind that 100%.

But what of you liberals? Where is the threat to the United States in the Libyan regime? Explain yourself – or go in to sustained opposition to Obama.

Via NRO’s The Corner:

Good afternoon, everybody. Today I authorized the Armed Forces of the United States to begin a limited military action in Libya in support of an international effort to protect Libyan civilians. That action has now begun.

In this effort, the United States is acting with a broad coalition that is committed to enforcing United Nations Security Council Resolution 1973, which calls for the protection of the Libyan people. That coalition met in Paris today to send a unified message, and it brings together many of our European and Arab partners.

This is not an outcome that the United States or any of our partners sought. Even yesterday, the international community offered Muammar Qaddafi the opportunity to pursue an immediate cease-fire, one that stopped the violence against civilians and the advances of Qaddafi’s forces. But despite the hollow words of his government, he has ignored that opportunity. His attacks on his own people have continued. His forces have been on the move. And the danger faced by the people of Libya has grown.

I am deeply aware of the risks of any military action, no matter what limits we place on it. I want the American people to know that the use of force is not our first choice and it’s not a choice that I make lightly. But we cannot stand idly by when a tyrant tells his people that there will be no mercy, and his forces step up their assaults on cities like Benghazi and Misurata, where innocent men and women face brutality and death at the hands of their own government.

So we must be clear: Actions have consequences, and the writ of the international community must be enforced. That is the cause of this coalition.

As a part of this effort, the United States will contribute our unique capabilities at the front end of the mission to protect Libyan civilians, and enable the enforcement of a no-fly zone that will be led by our international partners. And as I said yesterday, we will not — I repeat — we will not deploy any U.S. troops on the ground.

As Commander-in-Chief, I have great confidence in the men and women of our military who will carry out this mission. They carry with them the respect of a grateful nation.

I’m also proud that we are acting as part of a coalition that includes close allies and partners who are prepared to meet their responsibility to protect the people of Libya and uphold the mandate of the international community.

I’ve acted after consulting with my national security team, and Republican and Democratic leaders of Congress. And in the coming hours and days, my administration will keep the American people fully informed. But make no mistake: Today we are part of a broad coalition. We are answering the calls of a threatened people. And we are acting in the interests of the United States and the world.

Thank you very much. (emphasis added)

So, no troops on the ground, a bit of bombing and support of a coalition enforcing a no-fly zone. Sorry, but this seems tailor made to create a stale mate. Without energetic efforts to make the rebels stronger so that they may achieve victory we will be getting nowhere.

I caught Secretary of State Clinton’s statement just a bit ago and while I haven’t come across a transcript of it, the most telling part of it was where the Secretary of State asserted that the United States finds the recent Saudi intervention in Bahrain to suppress dissent acceptable. Clinton couched it in terms of the Bahraini government having the right to “call in” forces from the Gulf Cooperation Council, but the naked fact is that the United States has disinterested itself in the fate of Gulf movements aimed at change of government.

This seems to have been the price extracted for Arab support of the no-fly operation in Libya – an operation, it must be noted, which does not have any stated goal other than a nebulous “protect civilians”. Essentially, we have indicated that while we’re ok if the Libyan rebels, under the cover of no-fly, manage to oust Gaddafi…but we won’t do anything to advance that goal, nor will we offer any support to any other Arab/Moslem people who desire a radical change in government. We want stability.

Its the old, old game with them – what is there today must be perpetuated in to the future so that US policy is never called upon to change. If people have to suffer under brutal and corrupt dictatorships then that is the price they’ll have to pay because foreign policy “experts” figure that any actual armed conflict is worse than any state of peace, even if it is the peace of the grave (and, of course, as long as the shooting goes on behind prison walls; Gaddafi’s crime in State Department eyes is that he started massacring his people in public).

Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama are just doing as they are told – but it is in conformity with their basic world view. This world view asserts that stability is worth any price, that the UN (which, by the way, had Libya on its human rights panel) is necessary for any action, that the weakest and most corrupt member must call the tune, that American power is to be subservient to the goals of non-Western interests in general, and non-American interests in particular.

I do hope that under the no-fly regime that the Libyan people manage to oust their particular tyrant and that the successor regime is in some respects civilized (a highly doubtful prospect, but anything is possible). But I think this is the end of rebellion, for now. Further explosions are bound to happen as the corrupt regimes of the Moslem world continue…but for this day,and for this time, it looks like the whole world is gathering together to sustain the brutes currently in power.

From Gallup:

Unemployment, as measured by Gallup without seasonal adjustment, was at 10.2% in mid-March — essentially the same as the 10.3% at the end of February but higher than the 10.0% of mid-February and the 9.8% at the end of January. The U.S. unemployment rate is about the same today as the 10.3% rate Gallup found in mid-March a year ago.

Given the way the Bureau of Labor Statistics has been playing around with the employment numbers (and always in a way that helps Obama and his Bankster buddies….hmmmmm….), we should probably look towards Gallup to get a real idea of where unemployment is. And this probably does understate it given that if labor force participation over at the BLS was at the 10 year average we’d be at nearly 12% unemployment right now (but we can’t have that sort of official number…it would harm the “we’re recovering” meme).

Bottom line – the “recovery” has been anything but, and worse is probably coming.

You betcha! Headline from Reuters:

U.S. to deploy more ships to support Libya planning (emphasis added)

Planning? Planning!?!?! For goodness sake, Libya’s military is, at best, fourth rate. We’re not talking about taking on an air force with any ability to sustain active hostilities. Sure, they can bomb open towns unopposed…but it seems that Libya’s pilots and ground crews are foreign mercenaries who won’t want to tangle with a real air force; additionally, it appears that most of Libya’s most modern planes (and they aren’t all that modern) are not in flying condition. We’re not talking about taking on the Luftwaffe or something comparable to a mission against Hanoi in 1970…we’re talking about policing the skies above Libya to give the rebels a breather and allow Gaddafi’s loyalists to draw the proper conclusions about his long-term survivability. This should be able to be done right now – not a few days from now.

And a few days from now it will be – if you look in to the article we’re talking about deploying the USS Bataan on March 23rd…five days from now. This is just playing around…meanwhile, latest reports are that Gaddafi’s forces are continuing offensive operations…

Weak. Pathetic.

From Life News:

Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid said today that Republicans who favor cutting taxpayer funding for the Planned Parenthood abortion business need to give up their quest because the Senate will not agree to it…

What he really means is that he will not agree to it – Harry Reid, Senate Majority Leader, will ensure that it doesn’t come up for a vote…because he knows that if it does, it’ll pass easily. Other than dyed-in-the-wool liberals and a couple RINOs, no one in the Senate is really going to go to the mat to maintain Planned Parenthood’s funding. The American people don’t support abortion funding, the nation is broke and Planned Parenthood has been revealed as an utterly corrupt organization…cutting them off would be popular…but the Culture of Death simply owns the Democrat party leadership, and Harry is now doing his Master’s bidding.