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Politics : American Presidential Politics and foreign affairs -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Peter Dierks who wrote (37835)	11/19/2009 11:36:16 AM
From: Peter Dierks	Respond to of 71588

The Permanent Campaign Continues The KSM trial announcement was too important for a Friday news dump. NOVEMBER 18, 2009, 9:52 P.M. ET. By KARL ROVE Every modern White House has put out news on contentious issues late on Friday in the hope that doing so will bury it, or reduce the amount of critical scrutiny it would otherwise receive. What is unusual is the degree to which this White House has relied on this tactic. On Friday, Jan. 30, President Obama revoked the ban on giving taxpayer dollars to international groups that promote or perform abortions abroad. The president released his executive orders on detainee interrogations, closure of the Guantanamo prison, and new ethics rules during the previous week, his first in office. On Friday, Feb. 27, Mr. Obama announced he would end U.S. combat activities in Iraq in 18 months. This was a much longer combat presence than his antiwar base wanted. On Friday, April 17, Mr. Obama lifted some limits on the use of federal funds for the creation and subsequent destruction of human embryos for stem-cell research. The move won applause from some research advocates but also disappointed many "scientists who had expected a more liberal policy," according to the New York Times. On Friday, May 15, Mr. Obama announced he would keep George W. Bush's military tribunals to try terrorist detainees, angering civil libertarians and antiwar activists in the Democratic Party's left wing who thought the administration would dismantle the entire Bush antiterror structure. On Friday, Sept. 15, Mr. Obama admitted that it was unlikely he'd meet his own deadline of closing the Guantanamo detention facility in his first year in office, again angering left-wing supporters and demonstrating that exuberant promises made on the campaign trail and during his first days in office were ill-considered and naïve. On Friday, Oct. 30, Mr. Obama delivered a double dose of late-breaking news. To respond to increasing criticism of the stimulus's failure to curb rising unemployment, the White House announced it had "created or saved" at least one million jobs since February. It hoped for one weekend in which the "million jobs created or saved" mantra had a relatively free and uncontested run before economists chewed the number up and spit it out. A week later, the unemployment rate hit 10.2%. Then there was this past Friday, when the White House delivered a double news dose with a foreign twist. Attorney General Eric Holder announced that Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and five other terrorists would be tried in a civilian court in New York City rather than before a military tribunal. Later that day, the administration announced that White House Counsel Greg Craig was leaving and would be replaced by Democratic National Committee lawyer Bob Bauer. Mr. Obama? He was safely in the air flying to Asia, having left the day before with most of his press corps in tow. Do Friday news dumps work? Yes, but marginally. The White House press corps is generally exhausted at the end of a long week. Congressional critics are either in route back home to their districts or already there. Friday night network television news and Saturday newspapers and cable coverage are traditionally less seen or read. By Sunday morning, a Friday announcement is often considered old news. Monday is the first opportunity White House correspondents get to ask the president's press secretary on camera about whatever was released Friday. By then there is almost always other news occupying the headlines. Such tactics, however, can look disingenuous if they undercut public debate on substantive policy changes—such as deciding to bring terrorists to New York for trial. What we are seeing with the White House's timing in releasing its decision on KSM and other terrorists is a presidency clinging to campaign tactics that aim to dominate the 24-hour-news cycle. The problem is that ploys that work in a campaign don't work nearly as well when you're in charge of the executive branch. Once in office, you have to live with the consequences of a policy decision. The debate now taking place over trying terrorists in civilian courts is showing this White House that it cannot escape the hard realities that come with making presidential decisions. Not even Friday afternoons can offer sanctuary from dangerous or ill-considered policy choices. Mr. Rove, the former senior adviser and deputy chief of staff to President George W. Bush, is the author of the forthcoming book "Courage and Consequence" (Threshold Editions). online.wsj.com

To: Peter Dierks who wrote (37835)	10/18/2010 6:13:41 PM
From: Peter Dierks	Respond to of 71588

The Senior Wave: Older Voters Set for Historic Turnout By David Paul Kuhn October 18, 2010 It's change grandma and grandpa believe in. Seniors are poised to vote at historic levels on Election Day. And it's bad news for Democrats. They support Republicans more than any other age group. Republicans are more likely to vote at every age this year. But it's older Republican voters--including GOP-leaning independents--who could create a generational tide. Young adults are not less likely to vote. Older adults are remarkably likely. Seniors and baby boomers are more engaged in the election and more enthusiastic about voting than pre-election polling has found since at least 1994, according to Pew Research Center data. By comparison, young voters and adults between the ages of 30 and 49 poll like previous midterm cycles. The trend is strongest among voters age 65 and older. Eighty-four percent of seniors who are registered to vote say they will "definitely" vote. That's 9 percentage points above the previous record, 1994, when the question was first asked. Six in 10 seniors have given the election "a lot" of thought, also a peak. High enthusiasm and engagement generally signal high turnout. We do not look to the old for change. Their voice is often minimized, said to be the past fighting the future. But it's the future that concerns seniors. They lived the ascendency of the American superpower. They compare that past to today's fragile state. And these days don't feel like the golden years, at least for most. Seven in 10 seniors plan to work after retiring, according to a Employee Benefit Research survey. Older voters are most pessimistic about the economy. They are also most likely to say Barack Obama's policies made the economy worse. About six in 10 seniors approved of Obama in week one. Only about four in 10 do today. They are more skeptical of healthcare reform than the young. They are most likely to favor a smaller government over bigger, perhaps ironically since most receive Medicare. AARP recently ran a study of its membership. Two-thirds lack confidence that their children's generation will be better off than their own. More than four in five of its members view the economy negatively. Nearly all are worried about the deficit. This partly explains their concern over big government. Uncle Sam lives beyond his means. And that means, many seniors fear, their safety net could be cut (or cut back). That fear was underscored Friday. Social Security beneficiaries found out they will see no increase in their benefit checks. Benefits traditionally rise with inflation. But 58 million seniors' found out it wont next year, like the year prior. That will not warm them to the party in power. And in an aging America, that news counts. America's median age is generally rising. Now baby boomers are retiring (or wish they were). The senior vote has been relatively stable in recent midterms. They are about one in five voters. This year however, seniors constitute a larger share of the likely 2010 electorate, seen in Gallup data, than in any midterm since 1994 (though 2002 nearly matches). Eight in 10 seniors say they are "certain" to vote this year, according to ABC News/Washington Post polling. That's 11 points above seniors standing in its 2006 survey. Democrats have either reconciled with, or missed, this senior moment. The president held an MTV-style town hall last week with young voters. He recently gave an interview to Rolling Stone magazine. He's rallying his base on college campuses. The young always receive more political attention than the old, though the old generally shape elections more than the young. That trend is exaggerated in midterm elections. Seniors 2006 turnout rate, 63 percent, was more than twice the youth rate. That year, voters age 60 or older were 29 percent of the electorate. Young voters were 12 percent. Democrats' struggle with seniors is not news. Voters 60-plus sided with Republicans in seven of the last ten presidential elections (and two exceptions were Clinton era three-man contests). Yet, among that same 60-plus population, Democrats have actually faired better in midterms. Democrats split seniors in 2006 and won the larger 60-plus bloc, as they did in Reagan era midterms. This year, by Rasmussen's measure, seniors favor electing a Republican in their district by a 18-point margin (53 to 35 percent); Republicans' advantage with all other age groups is in the single digits. Gallup tracks the same trend. Seniors following the election closely favor Republicans by an 11-point margin in the ABC/Post poll. This senior surge is, like the electorate overall, coming from the right. Democratic seniors and baby boomers are less engaged than past midterms. But at least seven in 10 GOP seniors and baby boomers, including right-leaning independents, are highly engaged. That's roughly 20 points above past norms and their Democratic counterparts this cycle. The tea party momentum is one factor. Nearly a third of tea party supporters are seniors, according to New York Times/CBS News polling. Almost half are baby boomers. Seniors are hardly the only engine behind the Republicans' rise this year. The middle has shifted against Democrats. Democrats' historic problems with the white working class, and white men more broadly, have emerged all over again. But the other key factor is indeed generational. How big of a factor? It's not an exact science. Demographic shifts often fall within exit polls' margin of error. The Hispanic share of the electorate only rose from 8 to 9 percent between 2004 and 2008. But we pay attention because Hispanics are a growing share of the population. And so are seniors. This year, the future might belong to the old. realclearpolitics.com