In a effort to promote a “positive atmosphere” about the Republican Primary Candidates, (instead of shredding Reagan’s Eleventh Commandment), I thought it would be refreshing to publish a few “guest post” here in the Green Room who would offer a more positive perspective of their preferred candidate. Comments and constructive criticism are welcome.

The Mitt Riff, or why we will be okay if Mitt Romney survives the 2012 GOP primary gauntlet and becomes our nominee.

In two words: Moderate conservatism. One can argue that the totality of the heresies Mitt has committed against conservatism make him unfit to carry the conservative banner against Obama. As for the heresies, you would probably be dead on. They are there, so I won’t argue their existence, but rather will argue why they aren’t as bad as are perceived and in the end why they shouldn’t unduly concern conservatives.

I will not take the time to list them all but rather the positions I feel are the most problematic.

1) Romneycare. Even though Romneycare is an anathema to conservatism, Romney did not implement it as an experiment in social engineering as Obamacare was. It was an attempt to deal with a fiscal issue facing the state concerning the way it was spending federal dollars. They had to develop a plan to spend it differently in order to continue to receive it. The coalition that supported the law was varied and bipartisan. Romney could have opted for a true single payer plan had he been so inclined. Especially in the blue state of MA. But he presented a plan based on fiscal conservatism.

The constitution of the state of Massachusetts allows for the mandate, which is in complete harmony with the tenth amendment. The governor has promised to waive, defund, and then repeal Obamacare and return the responsibility to the states. His commitments to the tenth amendment restrictions on the federal government make his promise entirely believable.

2) Bain Capital. The criticisms by “conservatives” on his time with Bain are baffling. All data indicates that all his dealings were entirely legal and ethical. As a venture capital entity, Bain must make money for their investors. And Bain outperformed the market in that area. 70% of the businesses they invested in were saved from default. Many went on to be very successful entities that now employ collectively over 100,000 Americans. By contrast, the market achieved roughly a 50% rate of success.

The Obama machine is certainly gearing up to face Romney. The OWS protests were fueled by class warfare rhetoric that is parroted by prominent democrat politicians. Romney is the 1% and he will be portrayed as a walls street fat cat. I believe that except for his mishandling of the tax return issue, he is establishing a narrative that will counter the negative view the country in general has toward the wealthy. First, he is knowledgeable on the workings of the free market and has explained how these entities are improving the lives of everyone in this country. He promotes the idea that he wants all Americans to become wealthy and that opportunity comes through freedom and responsibility. He doesn’t talk down wealth creation for the masses.

3) Lack of passion. This is probably the only thing holding Romney back from running away from the field and winning the nomination with the rest of the states. It is clear he is a technocrat. A very useful trait for a president, but not a good trait for a politician. Even though he is by all personal accounts a kind, thoughtful, and compassionate man, he comes off as aloof and unable to relate to the common man while he is politicking. A person is either born with the ability to connect with strangers or must acquire the skills by practice. Romney is unmistakably in the latter category. I have no advice for him except to cease trying to manage his every word as technocrats are wont to do. He projects his attention to detail onto all people and feels and misspeak on his part will be a huge issue. This simply is not the case. I myself am somewhat of a technocrat and when Romney said in the Ingram interview that the “economy was getting better”, I nearly came unglued! I figured the media would hang that around his neck like a millstone for weeks. But it was over in just a few days. I think he should be more open with what he really feels and cease trying to be the “perfect” politician.

The last issue is his debate performances. It is widely agreed that he has been very steady and consistent. This is good until you become boring. And Romney has become predictable reliable and predictable banal. He has moments of brilliance as was evident in the debate Monday night. He showed that he can be forceful, pointed, and very effective. But he also has moments when he is inexplicable clumsy. But the good moments outweigh the bad and that has been a consistent trend. I believe that the drive that is part of his nature is what has helped him become a better candidate as this primary season has progressed and will be the drive that overcomes his weakness in relating to people and having more passion in the general sense.

In conclusion, the governor has a rare quality that is overlooked in people who are successful. He is in the same league with as the star athletes, musicians, and other who excel, in that they make it look so easy that we forget how difficult it really is. His drive to succeed has made him successful at nearly every endeavor in which he has begun. He survived a head-on automobile accident, graduated from Harvard, was recruited right out of school, started Bain Capital, saved the Olympics, and became the moderate conservative governor of a blue state in which he accomplished a lot for the citizens. He has spent his entire life outside of Washington and except for the associations all politicians need from Washington, he is the antithesis of the DC insider. His credentials as a fiscal hawk are impeccable and that is what we need in these troubling times. His character is beyond reproach, he is honest, and is a devoted husband and father. A deeply faithful man who I believe is guided by principles that are sorely lacking in our elected officials.

Short of Ronald Reagan rising from the grave, Mitt Romney is the only candidate we have who exhibits the ability to combine knowledge, experience, grace, honor, and the discipline that we need in our next president, whose job it will be to extricate us out of the abyss Barack Obama has propelled us into with his Marxist social engineering policies. For these reasons I say to my fellow conservatives….

Fear not…..for faith precedes the miracle.

(Note: The author has requested to remain anonymous at this time)

Update: I was still asleep this morning and must have been prospecting—Perspective is the correct term—thanks……Rov

While I’m sure Ed will have a thread up on the main page on Sunday, why not start the conversation.  There’s certainly plenty to talk about after last weekend where two teams that were expected to win, didn’t, leaving two top ranked quarterbacks in the NFL sitting at home on Sunday.

The NFC

The battle at Candlestick between the Saints and Niners was one for the ages pitting the Saints #1 ranked offense against one of the best defenses.  Yet few predicted that Alex Smith and the Niners would put 36 points on the board, and as it turned out they needed almost every point.  Drew Brees did not disappoint with his aerial show going 40/63 with 435 yards in the air.  But the Niners defense and special teams proved to be the difference in the end picking up five turnovers by the Saints.  The Niners also completely shut down the Saints ground game with 14 carries and only 37 yards, basically making the Saints a one dimensional team.  But it would take a 14 yard strike from Alex Smith to Vernon Davis with nine seconds left on the clock for the Niners to pull out the victory.  The 49ers will face the New York Giants at home this Sunday in the late game, (3:30 pm Pacific—6:30 pm ET), on FOX.  Both teams are coming off tremendous emotional highs by defeating their favored foes last weekend.

Arguably, the hottest team in the NFL took down Aaron Rogers and the vaunted Packers with relative ease on Sunday 37-20.  Rusty, and emotionally drained were the words I heard the most about the Packer’s poor play, and counting the starters that were rested in their last game against Detroit, sports pundits thought the Packers had lost some momentum in an otherwise stellar 15-1 season.  But the 49ers, Ravens, and Patriots all won their division games with a similar length of rest.  All that said, it is this football fan’s opinion that the Giants just flat out took the Packers to the woodshed while exposing the worst rated defense in the NFL giving up an average of  411.6 yds per game and 299 average thru the air.  Eli Manning went 21/33 for 330 yards and three TD’s while throwing just one INT.  Sporting a 27^th ranked defense themselves, the Giants played relentless recovering three fumbles while forcing Rogers to scramble often away from his comfort zone.  If the Giants play anywhere near this level on Sunday, they will have a legitimate shot at playing in the Superbowl.

The AFC

Over in the AFC, Tom Brady and the New England Patriots were anything but rusty as the Pats put up 35 points in the first half against Tim Tebow and the Broncos before coasting to a 45-10 victory.  Brady’s offense looked like a well oiled machine in each of their drives while Denver could find nothing to stop them.  Brady went 26/34 for 363 yards and playoff record six TD’s.  The Patriots will host the Baltimore Ravens in the AFC Championship game at 1:00 pm Pacific, (3:00 pm ET), on CBS.

In the Sunday morning game the Baltimore Ravens held off a stubborn Houston Texan’s team 20-13 setting the stage for another classic between the Ravens and the Patriots.  The Ravens intercepted T.J. Yates three times and the Texans’ lost a fumble setting the tone for a sloppy game.  I looked like Yates was forcing the ball into tight coverage several times instead of finding his check down receivers.  Both teams played decent defense, yet the Ravens gave up 132 yards to Arian Foster, but the turnovers were just too much for the Texans to overcome.  I’m thinking this Houston team will be back in the playoffs and a force in the AFC South for many years to come.

So, who’s going the BIG SHOW?  Some one said the NFL was already printing Patriots-Giants tee shirts.  While I’m not sure how the AFC Championship game will turn out, I think the Niners defense will shut down Eli and the Giants enough to put the “Gold-Diggers” back into another Superbowl after a long drought.

Of course, most of you should know by now I’m a lifelong 49er “Faithful”.

Update:  Injury Report Added

Complete injury report here at the NFL SITE  (Note: the Patriot’s injury report is longer than the other three teams combined—wonder how much of this damage came from the Texans???

Giants Injury Report  (provided by the BleacherReport)

Questionable

TE Jake Ballard (knee)

Probable

RB Ahmad Bradshaw (foot)

QB Eli Manning (illness)

C David Bass (illness)

LB Mark Herzlich (ankle)

CB Corey Webster (hamstring)

DE Justin Tuck (shoulder)

DE Osi Umenyiora (ankle)

WR Hakeem Nicks (ankle)

49ers Injury Report

Questionable

CB Tarell Brown (thigh)

WR Ted Ginn (knee)

C Jonathan Goodwin (calf)

LB Patrick Willis (knee)

S Dashon Goldson (ankle)

TE Delanie Walker (jaw)

The Ravens Injury Report is only listing safety Ed Reed (ankle) as probable.  As I’ve mentioned above, the Pat’s IR reads like a laundry list of “owies” and you can see it at this same Ravens link.

Via the First Street Journal, during an interview with the Philadelphia Inquirer Editorial Board, the political switch-hitter Arlen Specter suggested that it’s not Joe Biden that Hillary Clinton should replace:

Should President Obama dump Joe Biden as his running mate and replace him with Hillary Rodham Clinton?

Arlen Specter was asked that hot-potato question, circulating in some Democratic circles, in a meeting Tuesday with the Inquirer Editorial Board.

His answer showed that the former 30-year senator hasn’t lost his knack for blunt talk – nor, perhaps, his bitterness over what he feels were slights from Obama during his own failed 2010 reelection campaign.

He suggested that maybe Obama was the one who should be dumped.

“That’s the second-best alternative,” he said of replacing Biden. “A better alternative is to make Hillary the [presidential] nominee. As long as we’re talking about dumping, let’s go to the core problem.”  link

Specter’s disdain for Obama using him as a temporary tool also drew sharp criticism from the former Pennsylvania Senator:

“But he had some strong words for Obama. In his new book, copies of which have been released to reporters, he describes several opportunities in the final weeks of the 2010 campaign when Obama could have helped him by campaigning more for him in Pennsylvania – and did not.

One time late in the race, he wrote, Obama flew over Philadelphia on the way to a political appearance in New York. Another time, he flew over Pittsburgh on the way to Ohio.

“President Obama has done fairly well under fairly difficult circumstances,” he said Tuesday. “He has his limitations. He is not experienced, and it shows.”

He said Obama had been hampered because “he has a problem with listening. In a roomful of people, he’s always the smartest guy in the room – and always has to prove it.”  link

Is Mr. Specter showing his bitterness at being thrown under the bus by Obama?  Perhaps, but after three and a half years of NOT LISTENING to the American public on the President’s disastrous spending policies, we might take notice of Arlen Specter’s observation about Obama’s “limited experience”.  You would think our Republican candidates could focus a bit more on these apparent flaws, instead of tearing each other apart and loading the Democrat’s arsenal with disparaging sound bites—are you LISTENING Newt and Rick?

PICK A WINNER!

Update: End of first quarter—Bama 3, Tigers 0

You can watch the game online live on ESPN……click here and then on the “watch live” tab in the middle of the screen.

Update:  End of Half—Alabama 9, LSU 0  ………LSU has one first down and 43 total yards of offense to Bama’s 225 yds.  It’s going to be a barnburner folks.

Update: End of three—Alabama 15, LSU 0  ………

Update:  Final Score—Alabama 21, LSU 0

(note: I’ll try to post Nielson Ratings tomorrow)

UPDATE: TV RATINGS LOWEST SINCE BCS ERA

Alabama-LSU produces lowest TV rating for national championship in BCS era

NEW ORLEANS — Alabama loved a rematch. Not so much of the rest of the country.

It turns out most television viewers didn’t want to see Alabama-LSU again, at least not an uncompetitive rematch.

Overnight ratings for Alabama’s 21-0 victory over LSU were the lowest for a national championship in the 14-year history of the BCS. The All-SEC affair, the first championship pairing teams from the same conference, drew a 13.8 overnight rating on ESPN. The previous record low was a 14.3 for Miami-Nebraska at the 2002 Rose Bowl.

To put last night’s rating in perspective, Alabama-LSU on Nov. 5 drew an 11.5 on CBS. Last night’s game was down 14 percent from Auburn’s three-point victory over Oregon last year. It was down 24 percent from Alabama’s last national championship when the Crimson Tide defeated Texas in 2010.

Alabama-LSU capped a disappointing ratings year for the BCS on ESPN. Even before Monday night, the BCS’ 7.3 average rating was down 10 percent from the 2010 season and 21 percent from 2009, when the games aired on Fox.

The Rose, Orange, Sugar and BCS Championship all took ratings hits this season. West Virginia’s 70-33 rout of Clemson at the Orange Bowl drew just a 4.5 rating, making it the lowest-rated game in BCS history….  (read the whole story here)

Exit question: Would the ratings have been higher if it was aired on a non-cable station?  Or was it the match-up?

Houston’s back into the lead 17-10.    No predictions on who’s going to win this one.

Update:Final score Texans 31, Bengals 10

Texans/Bengals Box Score

The Texans have earned a date in Baltimore against the Ravens after winning the franchise’s first playoff game at home against the Bengals 31-10.

Do the Lions have a chance against the Saints at home?  Or, in the Tebow-eese sense, do the Saints get thrown to the Lions?

Update:  Final score: Saints 45, Lions 28

Saints/Lions Box Score

The Saints move on to face the 49ers in the divisional round. For the Saints to advance to their third NFC championship game in six seasons, they’ll have to do something they’ve never done before — win a road playoff game.

Bottom line:  You’re not going to win many games against a team that is #1 in team offense, (Saints), and your team, (Detroit), is ranked #23 in total team defense.

(note: The Saints are ranked #24 in total team defense for the season)

We’ll see what happens next week when this high powered offense meets a San Francisco team that ranks #4 in total defense, #2 in points allowed (14.3), and #1 in rushing yards allowed, (77.3)

Falcons @ Giants

Offensively, these two teams are not far apart with the Giants at #8 and the Falcons at #10.  On defense the Falcons rank #12 overall in the league and #6 in rushing yards allowed, (97.0).  Conversely, the Giants #27 in total team defense giving up an average of 121 yds on the ground, and 255 yds through the air.  With the home field advantage going to the G-Men, this game should be fairly close when they reach the fourth quarter.  It could come down to who has the fewest turnovers or special teams play.

Steelers @ Broncos

Ben vs. Tim.  The Steelers visit the confines of Mile High Stadium ranked #1 in total defense in the league with Denver at #20.  On offense, the Steelers are ranked #12 with the Broncos at #23, however they both rank towards the bottom of the league in average points scored, Steelers #21 at 20.3 and Broncos #25 at 19.3.  If the Steelers play up to their defensive ranking, they should come out on top of this road game setting up a date with New England in Foxboro.

According to the Sacramento Bee, Jerry Brown had to scramble on Thursday to get ahead of his message of raising taxes on Californians when his budget was inadvertently posted on his Department of Finance website.  The Governor’s $92.6 billion spending plan also comes with a threat of further cuts if Californians don’t approve his plan to raise taxes ever higher.  The nonpartisan Tax Foundation ranks California as the third highest tax rate on individual incomes.  But Jerry’s not happy with this ranking and is proposing another 6.9 billion in increases:

Gov. Jerry Brown released a new budget Thursday that would slash health and welfare programs for the poor and ask voters to pump nearly $5 billion back into education through higher taxes.

Brown framed his $92.6 billion spending plan as an either-or decision dependent on his $6.9 billion initiative to increase taxes on sales and the state’s high earners.

If voters approve his taxes, he suggested, the state could begin paying down years of debt and reverse recession-era cuts to K-12 schools, which have stuffed more students into classrooms and shortened the instructional calendar to save funds.

“With the tax program, we will eliminate the budget deficit finally, after years of kicking the can down the road,” Brown said.

Let’s get one fact straight out of the Golden Gate; the California State Legislature, (controlled by Democrats all the way back to Willie Brown—15 years as its Speaker—and beyond) has been OVERSPENDING AND KICKING THE CAN DOWN THE ROAD for decades.  To his credit,  Arnold Schwarzenegger attempted to make sweeping changes in the budget through the proposition process and every initiative, (including putting a cap state spending), was shot down by California’s two powerhouse political forces — public employee unions and Democrats who controlled the Legislature.

Instead of addressing one of the largest expenditures in the state budget—retirement liabilities for state employees, ($500 billion in 2010)—Brown says if his state tax increase proposal isn’t accepted, according to the Bee, he will recommend further cuts in education and welfare programs that will hardly affect projected budget deficits from 9.2 to 12.8 billion:

“Even without his higher taxes through 2016, Brown described an improving fiscal landscape as the recovering economy provides more tax dollars and the state maintains cuts to higher education, health care and social services.

The Department of Finance estimated that the state faces a $9.2 billion deficit over the next 18 months, substantially less than the $26 billion gap he described last January and smaller than the $12.8 billion gap the nonpartisan Legislative Analyst’s Office forecast in November.”

The latest polling on Governor Brown’s tax increase proposal comes from the California (PPIC), report showing up to 60% of Californians in favor, and the poll was touted across the Golden State by the media, but,  (AND IT‘S A BIG BUT),  the California Republican Party  is saying “look at the question that PPIC presented:

SACRAMENTO — California Republican Party Communications Director Mark Standriff today issued the following statement on the PPIC poll report on their question, “Governor Brown has proposed a plan to help close the state’s budget deficit over the next five years. The plan, which would be put before voters in November, would raise $7 billion annually through a temporary four-year half cent sales tax increase and a temporary five year income tax increase on those earning more than $250,000. Do you favor or oppose this proposal?“:

“Yesterday, a poll on Gov. Brown’s latest tax hike measure proposal was released purporting to show public support for higher taxes. Incredibly, the poll question was framed in terms of deficit reduction, even though real world experience shows that there’s no correlation between raising taxes and reducing the deficit, or else California certainly would have no deficit problems by now.

“The results would have been dramatically different if the PPIC had asked: ‘Despite having the highest tax and regulatory burden in country, Jerry Brown would like to raise your taxes to pay for an expansion of government. Do you favor or oppose this proposal?’ Californians have turned down the last seven attempts to force budget fixes on the backs of taxpayers, and they will certainly see through manipulated polling to turn down another ill-advised tax hike by Jerry Brown.”  *Emphasis mine   (link)

On a final note, (for now), during my search of the news media who reported this PPIC poll, I found it curious that where comments were allowed, a huge percentage of commenters were STRONGLY NOT IN FAVOR OF THE TAX HIKE.  Here’s just a few examples:

#1) California has the 3rd highest individual tax rate in the US and the 8th highest corporate rate. Small businesses are usually taxed at the individual tax rate in California. In a state that ranks in the top ranks of teacher salaries and near the bottom in achievement and which attracts not only illegals but people from other states for the welfare benefits, we are slipping into bankruptcy soon. For the producers it appears time to move to greener pastures.

#2) Of course that 60 % is in favor of it…its not their money…if the top 18 percent, who pay 85% of the states taxes already, continue to get targeted, it wont be long until they leave the state for greener pastures…I would, if I were them.

#3) Raising taxes does not raise revenue!

204 companies left California in 2011 citing high taxation.  According to the Orange County Register 33 companies from their region went to Texas, 18 Arizona, 15 Colorado, 13 Nevada and 13 to Utah, all citing taxes as part of their reason for moving.

California will receive $0.00 in revenue from those 204 companies.

Pay Pal Inc. went to Malaysia.  Intel expanded in Ireland, Vietnam and china.  Cisco Systems spent 41 million in Russia.

And here’s the “money quote” from a local publication:

The governor’s tax plan would generate $7 billion dollars a year, for five years, then the taxes go away. The legislative analyst projects the state’s budget deficit next year will be $13 billion.

Got that?  It’s only for five years and then the tax increase goes away.  Given the history of the Liberal Democratic Controlled Legislature—don’t bet on it.

“Republicans are watching closely to see if President Obama attempts to make what’s called “recess appointments” in the coming days. In early December, Senate Republicans stymied the president by blocking his effort to install former Ohio Attorney General Richard Cordray as the head of the new and controversial Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Cordray never scored an actual, up-or-down vote in the Senate. Most Republicans voted against a Democratic-led effort to cut off debate on Cordray’s nomination. The vote was 53-45 but needed 60 to break the filibuster.

There are also questions as to whether Mr. Obama might attempt to go the recess appointment route to dispatch figures to the federal bench as the Senate failed to clear eight of the president’s judicial nominees before the end of December. And some speculate that the president could also use recess appointments to place several individuals on the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB).”

But, here’s the “catch 22”:

So, without the consent of both chambers of Congress, the House and Senate have continued to meet at three day intervals for all of 2011. When legislative business finally wrapped in Washington for the year a few days ago, neither the House nor Senate offered what’s called an “adjournment resolution.” That would have allowed both chambers to abandon town for a longer period of time. Such an adjournment resolution would have made it easy for President Obama to make a recess appointment if he desired. But without both houses of Congress making an adjournment pact, there was no virtually no opportunity for the president to make a recess appointment.

Except potentially between the first and second sessions of the 112th Congress.

There’s significant debate about whether this narrow window between the first and second sessions is the only chance a president could have to circumvent the traditional confirmation process and make a recess appointment.

So the Senate is on track to move between the first and second sessions of the 112th Congress. Just seven times in its history has Congress had an intersession of less than a day in its history. In January, 1996, Congress hermetically air-locked the end of the first session the 104th Congress up against the second session by a matter of seconds. The Senate convened for the final meeting of the first session of the 104th Congress at 11:55 am on January 3, 1996. The second session was scheduled to start at noon. Once the Senate finished its bookkeeping for that brief meeting, it adjourned…for all of 15 seconds. It then launched the second session of the 104th Congress. (read the entire article here)

Obama may actually plan to use the window of opportunity, when the 111^th Congress gavels out and the 112^th gavels in—which could be a matter of seconds—to make his recess appointments.

I’d venture a guess that Republican strategist are watching this potential maneuver closely, as well as Democrats who might be looking to the future, just in case next year there’s a President with an R behind his name.  (apologies to Michelle Bachmann)

Slightly interesting that much of the self inflicted bourgeois media is not much ado about this?  Politico, in a similar story, sites a couple of law professors saying that “Republicans are obstructing the process” while failing to even mention who created this fiasco in the first place.  A commenter at Politico summed up Obama’s predicament quite well:

“Funny that the same hardcore lefties that are screeching about the Republicans and pushing the president to use a 2-second break to “Jam” through his radical nominees are the same ones who supported Pelosi and Reid when they did the same thing to Bush by keeping the session open, thus denying him the ability to recess appoint anyone. Had G.W used a couple Min. break to shove his blocked nominees through like the left is trying to do now, it would have been “Nuclear”, “Unprecedented” and “Reckless”.

I hope the leftwing progs understand that once Oblunder does this that they will never again be able to stop a Republican President from doing the same thing.”

As they say, the ball’s now in Obama’s court.  Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi set this table/rules that prevented Bush from making any recess appointments.  If Obama chooses to circumvent this process, it may be at the peril of his own party and future appointments that Democrats might not embrace—eating the fruit from their own poisonous tree.

Update:  I missed Ed Morrissey’s story on this  on Dec. 28th; (I think it was while I was literally stranded at SFO for three hours waiting for the fog to lift) Apologies for being repetitive.

At 1:00 pm eastern, we’ve got three games, all pitting the Big Ten against the SEC:

Outback  Michigan State vs. Georgia~~~Final: Michigan St. 33  Georgia 30 Triple Overtime!

Capital One   Nebraska vs. South Carolina~~~Final: South Carolina 30  Nebraska 13

Taxslayer.com Gator Bowl   Ohio State vs. Florida~~~Final:  Florida 24  Ohio St. 17

Rose Bowl Game presented by Vizio…….  (5pm Eastern)   Wisconsin vs. Oregon~~~Update: 14-14 (early second quarter)  Update: 21-21 (10:36 left in first half)  Update: 28-28 Halftime  Update: Wisconsin 38, Oregon 35 (3:58 left in 3rd qtr.)  Update: 918 yards of offense….Oregon 42, Wisconsin 38

Final Score:  Oregon 45 ~ Wisconsin 38

Tostitos Fiesta………………(8:30 pm Eastern)   Stanford vs. Oklahoma State    Update: Stanford 21, Oklahoma State 21 at halftime.…..who’s surprised?

The Sugar, Orange, and Cotton Bowls are played throughout the rest of the week leading up to the Championship game next Monday, January 9^th.  I would venture a guess that serious college football fans that are married or have “significant others” in their lives will be testing their relationships by the time ESPN and the NCAA get through spreading out the Bowl season, but hey, it’s all about the money, right?

For those of you who just want to follow the scores online, there’s an SI link here and an ESPN link here.  (I think ESPN is also streaming some live games for free, but I’ll have to check it out and get back here for an update)

Happy New Year Everyone!

National Football Conference

Playoff picture almost set, and all roads end up in Green Bay (provided they don’t get upset before the NFC Championship game).  The Forty Niners can clinch the #2 seed in the NFC with a win over the Rams in Saint Louis.  A Niner loss and a New Orleans win puts the Saints in the #2 spot.  I predict both the Niners and the Saints will win their games on Sunday.

The last NFC playoff spot (still not decided) will be between the Cowboys and the Giants in the late game on NBC—winner takes the Division, loser goes home to wonder what might have been.  Both teams have potentially explosive offenses and “shaky” defenses, with a slight edge to the Cowboys.  I’ll take the Giants to win in a close game, 27-23.

Green Bay should finish 15-1 by defeating Detroit in the frozen tundra.  Aaron Rogers may play only the first half when/if the Packers get out to a comfortable 20-point lead.  If the Lions are with in 7 points at the half, Detroit pulls this game out in a wild finish, as the Packer’s coaching staff pulls their starters in this meaningless game.

American Football Conference

The AFC Playoff picture is a bit muddier with Denver in the driver‘s seat—win, and they clinch the Division.  Denver is at home against Kyle Orton and those pesky Chiefs who ended the Packer’s perfect season two weeks ago.  Ironically, Orton was released from the Broncos roster November 22^nd, and the move, (saving 2.5 million), may come back to haunt them.   Oakland and Cincinnati would prefer a Denver loss, yet the Bengals get the final wild card slot by just winning.  Believe it or not, the Jets and the Titans still are mathematically “in the chase” for the final wild card spot, but they’ll need a lot of help.

Finally, the Ravens and Steelers are vying for the Division title and a first round bye.  However, the Ravens could seal home field throughout the playoffs with a win and a Patriot loss, but I don’t see the Pat’s losing at home to the Bills who are 1-7 in their last eight games.  (yeah, they beat Tebow, but really, how good are the Broncos?) Since the Steelers “should” beat the Browns, the Ravens/Bengals game might be the best game of the weekend with much on the line for both teams.

Playoff Scenarios (provided by ESPN):

NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS

New England clinches home-field advantage throughout AFC playoffs:

1) NE win or tie

2) BAL loss or tie + PIT loss or tie

BALTIMORE RAVENS

Baltimore clinches AFC North Division and a first-round bye:

1) BAL win

2) BAL tie + PIT loss or tie

3) PIT loss

Baltimore clinches home-field advantage throughout AFC playoffs:

1) BAL win + NE loss

PITTSBURGH STEELERS

Pittsburgh clinches AFC North Division and a first-round bye:

1) PIT win + BAL loss or tie

2) PIT tie + BAL loss

Pittsburgh clinches home-field advantage throughout AFC playoffs:

1) PIT win + BAL loss or tie + NE loss

DENVER BRONCOS

Denver clinches AFC West Division:

1) DEN win

2) DEN tie + OAK loss or tie

3) OAK loss

OAKLAND RAIDERS

Oakland clinches AFC West Division:

1) OAK win + DEN loss or tie

2) OAK tie + DEN loss

Oakland clinches a wild-card spot:

1) OAK win + CIN loss + TEN loss or tie

2) OAK win + CIN loss + NYJ win

CINCINNATI BENGALS

Cincinnati clinches a wild-card spot:

1) CIN win or tie

2) NYJ loss or tie + OAK loss or tie

3) NYJ loss or tie + DEN loss or tie

NEW YORK JETS

NY Jets clinch a wild-card spot:

1) NYJ win + CIN loss + TEN loss or tie + OAK loss or tie

2) NYJ win + CIN loss + TEN loss or tie + DEN loss or tie

TENNESSEE TITANS

Tennessee clinches a wild-card spot:

1) TEN win + CIN loss + NYJ win + OAK loss or tie

2) TEN win + CIN loss + NYJ win + DEN loss or tie

3) TEN win + CIN loss + NYJ loss or tie + OAK win + DEN win

One final note: Tom Brady did not practice Wednesday or Thursday to rest his left shoulder that got banged up in the game against Miami last week.  Brady is still in the running to pass Drew Brees’ passing record that was held by Dan Marino for the past 27 years.   Brees now has 5,087 passing yards this season,  (190 more yards than Brady) heading into the final week.  The Saints might be doing a bit of “scoreboard watching”.  If the Forty Niners are “handling” the Rams early, the Saints may rest Brees and some key starters, since the game would/could also become meaningless.

* College Football note:  15 7-5 and 14 6-6 Teams ????  29 teams in bowl games, (counting UCLA 6-7)

So, with 119 FBS schools, out of the 35 Bowl Games this holiday season, 29 teams have  “qualified” for a bowl game by the BCS/NCAA with either a .500 record or one game better.  On Monday, January 2^nd, the college bowl games do “heat up” with some good match-ups, leading us up to the grand finalee in the Superdome on January 9th.  And of course, if Alabama beats LSU in the Championship Game…….who’s NUMBER ONE???  Playoffs?  Playoffs?  We don’t need no stinking playoffs!

Happy New Year Everyone!  And please, if you go out tonight to celebrate, remember that a Cab Driver—or even a Limo Driver—is way cheaper than a DUI.  Stay safe.

Rov

“Obama is defending a tradition that sees government as an essential actor in the nation’s economy, a guarantor of fair rules of competition, a countervailing force against excessive private power, a check on the inequalities that capitalism can produce, and an instrument that can open opportunity for those born without great advantages.

Today’s Republicans cast the federal government as an oppressive force, a drag on the economy and an enemy of private initiative. Texas Gov. Rick Perry continues to promise, as he did last week during a campaign stop in Davenport, Iowa, to be a president who would make “Washington, D.C., as inconsequential in your life as he can make it.” That far-reaching word “inconsequential” implies a lot more than trims in budgets or taxes.”

You see here Mr. Dionne would have Democrats, (and more importantly, independents), believe that the central government is the traditional arbiter in driving the nation’s economy, and Obama is our saving grace to protect us all from those greedy capitalist pigs—OWS 101.  Further, E.J. suggest that the government can “open opportunities” for the disadvantaged while he smugly dismisses that this could be provided by the private sector.  Dionne thinks that all private sector businesses possess “excessive power,” which can be reined in only by Obama’s insight.  But Dionne mistakes arrogant shallowness for insight.  Indeed the problem of the last three years has been that middle class Americans have unfortunately been mere spectators in a contest between Obama’s shallowness and his arrogance.

Mr. Dionne proceeds to “substantiate” his disdain for the GOP by soliciting two of his  liberal colleagues:

“The GOP is engaged in a wholesale effort to redefine the government help that Americans take for granted as an effort to create a radically new, statist society. Consider Romney’s claim in his Bedford speech: “President Obama believes that government should create equal outcomes. In an entitlement society, everyone receives the same or similar rewards, regardless of education, effort and willingness to take risk. That which is earned by some is redistributed to the others. And the only people who truly enjoy any real rewards are those who do the redistributing — the government.”

Obama believes no such thing. If he did, why are so many continuing to make bundles on Wall Street? As my colleagues Greg Sargent and Paul Krugman have been insisting, Romney is saying things about the president that are flatly, grossly and shamefully untrue.

But Romney’s sleight of hand is revealing: Republicans are increasingly inclined to argue that any redistribution (and Social Security, Medicare, student loans, veterans benefits and food stamps are all redistributive) is but a step down the road to some radically egalitarian dystopia.”

To begin, Sargent and Krugman are hardly impartial arbiters of whether things said about Obama are untrue.  Indeed each has their own proven problems with the “truth.”  More to the point, this argument is simply a non sequitur:  that so many are continuing to “make bundles” shows nothing about Obama’s beliefs about redistribution.  His admiration for Marxists during his college years and his response to Joe the Plumber that redistribution is a good thing is a far better indication of the One’s beliefs.  Moreover, the fact that many continue to make bundles on Wall Street is far more of an indication of the extent of Obama’s cronyism than anything else — the majority of Wall Street money goes to Democrats and Obama…or does anyone think that the ties that bind Immelt to Obama have nothing to do with politics?

Only in the delusionally sycophantic world of E.J. Dionne would Obama be considered a conservative.

(East of Eden contributed to this post)

Special thanks to Townhall.com, Ed Morrissey, Allahpundit, (and our newest addition Tina), for all you do to make Hot Air such a success.  And an extra special thanks to Michelle Malkin and Jessie for the many years of contribution to this endeavor.

Rov

Addendum:  Also, a very Merry Christmas to all my fellow Captain’s Quarters folks (who followed Ed over here to HA), and to my special friend and fellow commenter Keemo, who encouraged me to join here.  Many blessings to all of you.

PITTSBURGH (KDKA) — Police say they stole thousands of dollars in cash and goods, and then posed with their loot and posted the photos to a popular social media site.

Police say the three suspects, along with another teen, posted the photos on Facebook about an hour after they burglarized Elliott’s Town Market on Chartiers Avenue in the West End.

“We received information the day after the burglary that these pictures were posted on Facebook, and if you look at the pictures, you can see that the individuals are holding a large amount of cash,” Sgt. Kevin Gasiorowski, of the Pittsburgh Police, said.

Officials say $8,000 cash isn’t the only thing the teens took from Elliott’s.

“Numerous boxes and cartons of cigarettes, cartons of candy, checks and approximately $8,000 dollars in cash,” Sgt. Gasiorowski said.

A family member of one of the teens is the one who spotted the pictures online and tipped off police, officials said.

Now if we can get Jon Corzine to sign up for Facebook.  Or Eric Holder?  Could you just see the headlines?  “CASH AND WEAPONS DISCOVERED ON FACEBOOK POST—CRIMINAL INDICTMENTS EXPECTED”

On Wednesday, the Politico ran a story about the International Association of Machinists Union at Boeing agreeing to approve a contract extension, the result of which ultimately led to the National Labor Relations Board dropping its controversial decision to prevent the company from beginning to operate a mostly-constructed plant in South Carolina.

Politico ran their story with this photo:

With the liberal media, and the ACLU in full tilt rejection of voter ID requirements that will prevent voter fraud, is it just a bit ironic that Politico, and the rest of the liberal media missed pointing out that  a “reputable” union has established the same requirements to protect the integrity of their voting process?

Update:  One of Rasmussen’s latest surveys shows  75% Support Showing Photo ID At The Polls

Update 2:  Ed’s got a post up on the main page that’s got some good comments and arguments.

A reminder that Hot Air can be linked to your Facebook page so you can stay updated on the daily postings.   http://www.facebook.com/hotaircom

For Pro Football fans, Ed Morrissey does a Sunday NFL Open Thread and I’ve been posting  a College Football Open Thread here in the Greenroom on most Saturdays.

I am not a credentialed journalist, (not even close), but have enjoyed the privilege of posting here in the Greenroom for a few years now, and look forward to your comments and opinions.  Again, welcome one and all.

Rov

p.s. Please come back often and check out the writers here in the Greenroom.  They’re great people and welcome your opinions.

LSU/ALABAMA?  OR LSU/OKLAHOMA STATE?

After a dismal first half in the SEC Championship game, (12 total yards and zero first downs), the LSU Tigers were more like a heard of elephants in full stampede mode, as they dismantled the Georgia Bulldogs 42-10.  Tyrann (Honey Badger) Mathieu was a one-man wrecking crew for LSU along with an overwhelming defense that held the Bulldogs scoreless in the second half, leaving 12-0 LSU the only undefeated FBS team in the nation, and an undisputed No. 1 ranking in the BCS.

The not so surprising outcome leaves college football fans, (and more importantly, the voting Coaches, Pollsters, and BCS computers), with one final dilemma—who’s # 2???

If you listened to Kirk Herbstreit and Brent Musburger, (ABC/ESPN announcers/broadcasters), on who should play in the BCS title game, it’s already decided—Alabama.  The all too cozy relationship with ESPN, (a multi-million dollar contract with the BCS and the SEC), might as well be a Chris Matthews/Keith Olbermann debate over who should be the next President.

The current #2 Alabama Crimson Tide, (11-1) sat out the weekend, not qualifying in the SEC Championship game, finishing second in the SEC-West.  And, for the record, LSU defeated Alabama 9-6 on November 5^th in what the sportscasters billed as “the game of the century”, (where neither team scored at touchdown), yet the Tide loss moved them “suspiciously” by the BCS down only one spot to #3*.

But the 11-1 Oklahoma State Cowboys have a legitimate argument for that #2 spot by winning the Big 12 Conference defeating #10 Oklahoma soundly 44-10.  Both teams have high national offensive rankings, (Oklahoma, #10 and O-State, #2), but last night the Cowboys defense, (ranked 29^th), stifled the Sooners offense forcing five turnovers, (three fumbles and two INTs) keeping Oklahoma out of the end zone until 2:25 in the fourth quarter.

Now, it’s all up to the polling and those pesky BCS computers to decide who should show up in New Orleans on January 9th to face LSU,  Alabama or Oklahoma State?  Neither choice will be popular in certain regions of the country, and you can bet those who’ve been calling for a play-off system will be roaring again with a fever pitch.

(Now if I can just figure out how to insert a poll into the thread ~ check back later)

* After the Alabama loss to LSU, the Harris Poll and the USA Today Coaches Poll (that is part of the formula for the BCS “system”) actually ranked Alabama #4 placing them behind still unbeaten Oklahoma State and Stanford, but those pesky “human computer” folks voted/inputted their own formula:

3 Alabama .8836 previous #2, current Harris #4 2505 .8713 current USA Today #4 1286 .8719  Average computer ranking #3   4+6 +4+ 3+ 3+ 3 = 23 ¸6 = 3.83 = 3 ????

(I guess computers aren’t allowed to round up—but the difference between placing the Tide at #3 or #4 at the time would have placed Bama in the predicament of having to move up two spots instead of one to reach the coveted Big Game)

Update: BCS picks Alabama for an all SEC Championship Game:

NEW YORK (AP) — Play it again, LSU and Alabama.

The Crimson Tide edged out Oklahoma State in the final round of voting Sunday  and will play the top-ranked Tigers in the BCS national championship game on  Jan. 9 in New Orleans.

Undefeated LSU is the only team to beat Alabama this season, and the head BCS  official sees a do-over as a perfectly good title game.

“Absolutely, if they’re 1 and 2, and they are in all the polls released  today,” executive director Bill Hancock said.

Why do I feel like the health care bill just got passed again…..by one vote?

(I’ve been working on a separate post all week to argue against an LSU/BAMA REMATCH, but I might just work in the potent parts into this thread so everyone can pile on.  In the meantime, read  Mark Bradley’s “SEC Title Game Moot” in the AJC to get the anti-bama juices flowing.)

SI Top 25 Scorboard Link          ESPN Scoreboard Link

Congrats to Southern Mississippi Golden Eagles—Winners of the CONFERENCE USA CHAMPIONSHIP GAME 49-28 over previously unbeaten Houston Cougars.

Congrats to the still undefeated No. 1 ranked LSU Tigers—Winners of the SEC CHAMPIONSHIP GAME over the Georgia Bulldogs 42-10.

Congrats to the Oregon Ducks—First PAC-12 CHAPIONSHIP Winners over the UCLA Bruins 49-31.

Update:  Two* Championship games in progress.  In the ACC Clemson’s shading Tech 10-7 late in the second quarter.  In the Big Ten Wiconsin and Michigan State are tearing it up in the first half 21-14 Badgers.  In the “other Championship Possibilites” game Oklahoma State pushed out early to a 10-0 lead with eight minutes left in the half. Correction; make that 17-0, as the Cowboys are knockin’ on LSU’s doors…..

I’ll try to provide some updates later in the day, (if the new water heater install cooperates)

Hope everyone’s got their fill of Turkey and trimmings……….

It’s been quite a few years that College Football had such a weekend of upsets, games going down to the last play, or dreams crushed in the jaws of victory.  Dare I say, it was a “play-off atmosphere”?

It all started on Friday night when Iowa State defeated #2 Oklahoma State in double overtime 37-31.  With the Cowboys coming into this game as 27 point favorites, and QB Brandon Weeden owning the air, 42/58 476 yards, the table was supposed to be set for a final game against their rival Sooners, and on to a National Championship game against the now only undefeated contender* (LSU Tigers).  With a commanding 24-7 lead three minutes into the third quarter, many thought this game would be the typical Cowboy’s second half run-away, as so many other games unfolded this season.  But the Iowa State Cyclones, (who had never beaten a top five team), would have none of that storyline. With an OS missed 37 yard field goal try, (over the top of the left upright), with 1:17 left in regulation, the Cowboy’s “fleeting moment” was gone, as the Cyclones pulled out the victory in double-overtime, opening up the floodgates of one-loss teams in search of a shot at the big game.

And boy, did the floodgates open.  With Oklahoma State’s loss, nine top ten teams, (ten if you count still undefeated Houston), became a consideration for that illusive #2 spot in the BCS National Championship as Saturday began.

Super Saturday or Meltdown Saturday

With #1 (11-0) LSU, taking care of business dismantling Ole Miss 52-3, it was just a matter of which team would rise to the occasion.  No one had a clue that so many teams on one Saturday would fail at achieving that goal.  And then, all hell broke loose.  I’ll use some of  Gene Wojciechowski’s descriptions of what can happen on one given Saturday:

Think about it:

• Oklahoma State committed five turnovers and missed what could have been a game-winning 37-yard field goal with 1:17 left in regulation against Iowa State. The Cyclones won in double-OT.

• Oregon committed three turnovers and missed a — wait for it — 37-yard game-tying field goal as time expired.

• Oklahoma committed three turnovers and called a timeout with 46 seconds remaining when it appeared Baylor was content to let the clock run out and head to overtime.

Instead, Griffin scrambled for 22 yards and a first down on the next play. Three plays after that, he threw the game-winning touchdown pass.

• Clemson committed four turnovers in its loss.

This season has officially lost its mind, which isn’t such a bad thing. We thought we had clear-cut national title matchup (unbeaten LSU against unbeaten Oklahoma State). Now we have LSU and BCS bedlam.

Stewart Mandel at SI even adds to the bedlam:

Welcome to the SEC West Invitational.

That’s what the top three will be when the new standings are released Sunday night: Divisional foes LSU (11-0), Alabama (10-1) and Arkansas (10-1), in that order. The Tigers beat the Tide. The Tide clobbered the Razorbacks. The Razorbacks visit the Tigers on Friday…….

Not since the end of the 1971 season, when the Big 8′s Nebraska, Oklahoma and Colorado finished 1-2-3, has one conference occupied the top three spots like the SEC likely will come Sunday night. One division of one conference? Unprecedented.

Right now it’s hard to see past those three in calculating BCS scenarios. If LSU beats both Arkansas and Georgia in the SEC title game, it will almost certainly rematch Alabama come January (assuming the Tide defeat rival Auburn on Saturday). However, if the Razorbacks beat the Tigers, the SEC’s three-way tiebreaker will likely send Alabama (which beat Arkansas 38-14 on Sept. 24) to Atlanta. If the Tide beat Georgia, they will presumably head to New Orleans, and there will be much sentiment to keep the thus-far dominant Tigers in the top two.

Note that Alabama doesn’t have a particularly overwhelming resume. As of today they’ve defeated just three teams — 9-2 Penn State, 10-1 Arkansas and 6-5 Florida — with winning records. LSU, by comparison, has six such victories. But the Tide are sitting pretty because they started No. 2 in the polls, they took the top-ranked Tigers to overtime in the Game of the Century … and because there aren’t a lot of other options.

Confused yet?  In the words one of our favorite conservative ladies, “You betcha”!

One thing’s for certain, the next two weeks of College Football will be fill with “what ifs”, “how comes”, and “what nows”. And if yesterday didn’t hook you into this world of College Football Madness, it’s a lost cause.  So many dreams were shattered as one team snatched victory from the jaws of defeat—others were re-ignited by the slaying of titans who might have claimed their right to a Championship.  The clamor of play-offs will begin anew as the fallen will think of how close victory was in their grasp…….if Only For a Fleeting Moment.

(*only undefeated contender:  For the record, the Houston Cougars are still the only other undefeated team in the BCS rankings.)

Update:  BCS Rankings Released:    As predicted, LSU, BAMA, ARKANSAS 1,2,3………….ALL SEC TOP THREE.  OKLAHOMA ST., VIRGINIA TECH, STANFORD FOLLOW…….

Featured Games this Week:  Alabama/Georgia Southern and USC/Oregon

Of course the “big news” is the upset of Oklahoma State at the hands of Iowa State last night.

Will post some updates later………..

And, on a more somber note, condolences and prayers go out to the friends and families of the Oklahoma State Basketball coaches that perished in the plane crash just two days ago.

George Schroeder at SI has the story.

Update: For some of you that don’t have the capability of watching some games, there’s some free ESPN live games available online at this link.

(CNSNews.com) – House Republicans are set to vote later this week on a balanced budget amendment (BBA) that would not cap federal spending as a percentage of GDP or require a supermajority to raise taxes.

Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.) said the vote would probably take place this Friday.

Cantor said that this version of a BBA, H.J. Res 2 — rather than one that would cap federal spending, H.J. Res 1 – was the version “overwhelmingly” favored by House Republicans.

Metaphors anyone?  This “legislation” is akin to (fill in the blanks).  And while your at it, can some one explain what Cantor means “if he had his druthers”?:

Cantor said he would have personally liked to see the BBA with a spending cap and supermajority on taxes brought to the floor for a vote, but said he will support the weaker version because he thinks it is better than having no balanced budget requirement at all.

“Personally, if I had my druthers, I would like to see us vote on a stronger BBA,” he said. “So I hope that this passes. And I will be voting for it because I do think ultimately the biggest check we can put on government’s unbridled spending is a forced balanced budget amendment like most states have.”

Both the House and the Senate are required to have a vote on a balanced budget amendment before the end of the year due to a concession that Cantor and House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) won during the negotiations over raising the debt ceiling in August.

Negotiations during the debt ceiling debate garnered an agreement that both the House and Senate would be required to bring a BBA to their respective floors for a vote.  Getting Harry Reid to bring any House legislation to a vote on the Senate floor has been virtually impossible.

So, what have Boehner and Cantor done with this gem of an obligation?

Do they really think that passing a Balanced Budget Amendment that has no teeth will some how satisfy a voting public’s hunger for restraining the Federal Government’s reckless spending policies?  Four years of Reid, Pelosi and Obama’s spending has put this nation on a direct path to insolvency.  The Super Committee is working on a watered down piece of legislation that can pass muster in both chambers, so “our legislators” can go home for the Holidays and say “this is the best we can do”.  It’s no wonder that Congress’s approval rating is at an all time low.  Because if this is the best they can do, then our Congress had better revisit what really happened in 2010.

And Boehner and Cantor should re-think even bringing this vote to the House floor.  They’re fooling no one but themselves.

Since this is an open thread, everyone’s welcome to post about the events that has rocked Penn State, (just try to keep it classy), and the game between #12 Penn St and #19 Nebraska at noon, (EDST-9am Pacific), will be interesting to say the least.

As a West Coast native, and a longtime Pac 10/12 fan, I’ll pose this question: Does a one loss Alabama deserve to be ranked ahead of an undefeated Stanford?  Is the SEC any more competitive than the Pac 12 this year?  Or, more fairly, has Bama’s strength of schedule been any more rigorous as the Cardinal?  Of course, this will all be moot if Oregon pulls out a mild upset.

Current BCS Rankings, (1-12):

1LSU 9-0 2 Oklahoma State 9-0 3 Alabama 8-1 4 Stanford 9-0 5 Boise State 8-0 6 Oklahoma 8-1 7 Oregon 8-1 8 Arkansas 8-1 9 Clemson 8-1 10 Virginia Tech 8-1 11 Houston 9-0 12 Penn State 8-1

Update: In case you missed the post by Allahpundit yesterday, here’s the link.  It’s a great read with plenty of comments.  ESPN is reporting that Ohio State is facing more infractions/penalties from the NCAA.  Interesting title to the story: “Ohio State now faces ‘failure to monitor’“.  This should leave us all wondering how the NCAA will react to PSU’s “failure to monitor”, or if they’ll figure losing an icon like Paterno, (and letting the criminal justice system run its course), is enough punishment to the program.

Bryant-Denny Stadium

LIVE STREAM LINK

The long awaited game is finally here: LSU takes on Alabama in Bryant-Denny Stadium, Tuscaloosa this Saturday evening.  Game time is 8:00 pm (EST) 5:00 pm on the West Coast on CBS.

Unfortunately, (or fortunately, if your team’s on the outside), one of these teams will likely be dropping  out of the BCS National Championship game.  The team that looses will probably drop down in the BCS rankings to the number six or seven spot, depending on the outcomes of other top ten teams.

For you betting fans the Crimson Tide is favored to win, -4 and a half.

Other important Saturday games include #14 Kansas St. at #3 Oklahoma St. and another SEC powerhouse game pitting #9 South Carolina @ #7 Arkansas.  It would be real shockers if #’s 4, 5, & 6 Stanford, Boise St. or Oklahoma lost this weekend.

I’ll be doing some updates as the day unfolds—comments welcome.

(p.s. I’d pick a winner for this “big game“, but I seriously have no idea who’s going to win this one.  That said, living on the west coast, there‘s still a chance for Stanford to get into the Championships, but the Cardinals will need some more “Luck“.)

Update:  OK, After further analysis, (and a good night’s sleep), under commenter radjah’s scenario of “a close game”, I’m revising/amending my statement that the loser will drop to six or seven spot.  In a close game, the loser will most likely drop to the #4 spot behind Oklahoma St. and Stanford, (who would move up to #2 & #3 providing they win).  Any final score that indicates one team “handled” the other team convincingly, then the loser could drop to the 5, 6, or 7 spot, again depending on the outcome.

Update: Final score LSU 9 ~ ALABAMA 6

Gem of a defensive game, but opportunities by both teams got away in a sloppy game that was supposed to be billed “the game of the century”.  Ok, I’ll give em’ a B+, (and you all know what that means around here).  Game ball to LSU for pullin’ out a mild upset in hostile country.

Round-up in the morning.

Game time, 8:05 (EST) 5:05 (PST)

What could possibly take the place of last night’s game of the century?  Baseball purest might like to see a pitching duel with some great defensive plays and NO ERRORS, but Fox would be delighted to have a game just like last nights thriller.  Allahpundit did a fine recap on the game and asked “was it the one of the best games—ever”?  Well, no it wasn’t.  The best game was game #5 last year when the Giants won the World Series for the first time since moving out to the west coast.  Giant’s fans will tell you blowing the Phillys out of the water and then disposing of the Rangers (with superior pitching) ended a life-time of frustration and torture.  Yes, yes, but that was last year you say.  Giants fans will tell you they’re still celebrating.

Do we really need another “Buckner” or the latest goat Nelson Cruz (according to some sportswriters and spoiled fans).  Tom Verducci at SI wrote a full column on Cruz’s “misplay” of the ball that tied the game in the ninth, but I think it is unfair to put the full blame on one man.  It just doesn’t work that way in a team sport.

Updates and comments welcome……….

Update: AP’s got an open thread up on the main page.  Slide on up there and enjoy the game.

Rangers lead Series 3-2

Starting Pitching:  Rangers-Colby Lewis  ~   Cards-Jaime Garcia

Updates and Comments Welcome…………

Update: Cardinals come back from the brink of elimination—Hell Freese’s Over!

Yet here the Cardinals sit, victors in one of the most dramatic championship-series games in the sport’s two-century history, having become the first team to score in the eighth, ninth and 10th and 11th innings of a World Series contest — twice off the bat of the local hero, Freese — that it would go on to win 10-9 and force a do-or-die Game 7 on Friday night.  link

ST. LOUIS — With ugly weather looming over Busch Stadium, baseball officials decided to postpone Wednesday’s Game 6 of the World Series.

The game between the St. Louis Cardinals and Texas Rangers has been rescheduled for 8:05 p.m. ET Thursday.

Game 7, if necessary, has been scheduled for 8:05 p.m. ET Friday.

The Rangers lead the series 3-2.

“Given the desire to play a game of this magnitude without interruption, and an outlook with better conditions over the next two nights, Major League Baseball, along with the Cardinals and the Rangers, determined that making the decision early would be the most prudent course of action to allow fans enough time to plan accordingly,” the league announced in a statement Wednesday afternoon.  link

Not sure who this helps.  The Texas Rangers were on a roll.  I’d expect some pitching arms will get some much needed rest, and this next game should be a “kitchen sink”, especially for the Cardinals who have to win……or it’s over.

Bottom of the 6th~~~score tied 2-2

Congrats to the Rangers.  Final score 4-2  Texas now leads series 3-2, and go back to St. Louis with a shot at their first World Series.

I would guess by now everyone has discovered that Albert Pujols has inserted himself into the World Series record books with his performance last night.  Tom Verducci at Sports Illustrated said it very well:

“The score of Game 3 will be lost to history, the unseemliness of a 16-7 pounding St. Louis gave Texas better off forgotten anyway. What remains forever is what happened when the best player of his generation found the very best of himself on the biggest of all stages. It was, quite simply, the greatest night by one player in the history of the 620 World Series games ever played.

It wasn’t enough that Pujols joined Babe Ruth (1926 and 1928) and Reggie Jackson (1977) as the only players to hit three home runs in a World Series game. He also tied World Series records for runs batted in (six, by Bobby Richardson and Hideki Matsiui) and hits (five by Paul Molitor, with Pujols, incredibly, getting five hits off five different pitchers in a six-inning span). The hits — two singles and three homers — added up to 14 total bases, two more than the previous record shared by Ruth and Jackson. No one ever had a night this big.”

I’m certain the Texas Rangers and their fans hope they don’t see any thing close to a Pujols repeat performance tonight.  In fact, it’s pretty critical that the Rangers don’t go down 3-1 against a team that can score 16 runs—in a single World Series game.

Derek Holland, (16-5~3.95 era) starts for Texas tonight, while Edwin Jackson, (12-9~3.79 era) is on the mound for St. Louis

Comments and updates welcome…………

This series shifts to Arlington Texas with the Rangers feeling pretty good about getting home with come from behind win Thursday night in St. Louis.  Matt Harrison, (14-9), gets the call for the Rangers, while the Cards start Kyle Lohse, (14-8) ~ both with 3.39 era’s for the season.

Sixteen of the last eighteen teams that won game three, (after a 1-1 tie), went on to win the World Series.  Neither of the two “superstars” Josh Hamilton or Albert Pujols have a hit in the series, but I think this will change.

With all the great college games today and tonight, its a wonder any one remembers we’ve got a World Series to decide.  Shoot, if you’ve got a college football comment to add to the thread~have at it.

What a performance by Albert Pujols!  Final score: Cards 16, Rangers 7  (Cards lead series 2-1)

My cousin isn’t going to like this, but if the Rangers don’t win this game, it might be a short series.  Reportedly, the weather is a bit milder than last night, although I doubt it made any difference in the outcome last night.  1-2-3 first inning for the Cards.

Updates and comments welcome………..

The broadcast schedule for the 107th World Series has officially been set.

First pitch in all the games between the American League champion Texas Rangers and the National League champion St. Louis Cardinals will be at 8:05 p.m. ET on FOX. Game 1 of the World Series is on Wednesday.

Air time for each game will be at 7:30 p.m. ET, with Game 4 on Sunday as the one exception. Its air time will begin at 7:45 p.m.

FOX Sports will provide national coverage of the World Series, while ESPN Radio will have complete coverage of all World Series games.

Additional live coverage will also be on MLB.com, XM Radio and MLB International.

What does .175, .216, and .190 mean to baseball fans?  Those were the batting averages of the teams that the Giants disposed of on the way to their first World Series since 1954.

Atlanta, (.175) never had a lead in this series until game # 5, which they lost.

Then the Giants blew through the “other best team in baseball” by sending the Phillys home scratching their heads, and their fans wondering where all that powerful hitting went. (Phillys batted .216 in the series)

Likewise, Texas never had a chance in the WS. The Rangers had an overall batting average of .190 in the series and did not score for more than 18 consecutive innings before a lone home run in the seventh inning of their final game.

Baseball fans, (even Giant’s haters), witnessed some of the greatest pitching in playoff  and World Series history.

Fast forward to 2011.

Both the Cardinals and the Rangers have good pitching heading into this series—should be a good one.

Food for thought: Gene Wojciechowski at ESPN.com thinks “The World Series: It’s broken. Fix it!”

“And while we’re at it, let’s shrink the league championship series and World Series from best-of-seven series to best-of-five.

And nothing against LaRussa, the master of situational pitching changes, but let’s ixnay the roster rule that lets teams put 11, even 12 pitchers on their postseason 25-man roster. Instead, make it 10, tops.

This way, you speed up the middle to late innings of a game. Plus, you reward a team for having quality relievers who can get right- and left-handed hitters out. And if they can’t, then you have the added possibility of a late-inning rally and comeback. Nothing wrong with that.

While we’re at it, why not flip-flop the DH rule? From now on, use the DH in the National League ballpark and no DH in the American League park. The home fans would get to see a different style of baseball.”

Personally, I think Wojo’s full of beans…….

The postgame handshake between Lions coach Jim Schwartz and 49ers coach Jim Harbaugh nearly turned into a scuffle between the coaches, after Harbaugh’s team pulled out a 25-19 win in Detroit.

An excited Harbaugh ran across the field with his arms in the air, pumping his fist to celebrate the victory. Harbaugh then emphatically slapped Schwartz’s hand and patted him on the back, with Schwartz taking offense to something during the exchange.

“I went to congratulate Coach Harbaugh and got shoved out of the way. I didn’t expect an obscenity at that point,” Schwartz said.

As Harbaugh ran off the field, Schwartz chased after him, bumping him shoulder-to-shoulder. San Francisco offensive lineman Anthony Davis stepped in to separate the two, then was joined by several players and officials.

Kevin Seifert at ESPN thinks Schwartz’s call for “protocol” is a bit hypocritical:

Schwartz said “there’s a protocol in this league,” implying that Harbaugh violated some unwritten rule of postgame sportsmanship. It’s rich, to say the least, that Schwartz would be offended after a season of his exuberant fist pumps, cursing at officials and taunting opposing players. Those instances were fun and representative of the Lions’ newfound passion, but this one violated protocol? Hmmmm.

And for the record Harbaugh apologized saying “That is totally on me,” Harbaugh said. “I shook his hand too hard. I really went in, and it was a strong, kind of a slap-grab handshake.”

Bottom line: Frank Gore runs for 140 yards.  The Niner defense comes up with some crucial stops against a potent Lion’s offense in the 4^th quarter, and the Niners (on a fourth down) complete a great comeback TD that wins a great game between two very fine teams, (who may meet again), and “this” is the story?   Schwartz lecturing about protocol?  Give your team some credit Schwartz—they played a hard fought football game between two young teams heading in the RIGHT DIRECTION, and the Lions lost their first game of the season.  Instead, we have a coach who didn’t receive the “proper handshake”?  What’s the NFL going to do next—throw a flag for improper handshaking?

Disclaimer: I’m a longtime 49ers fan going back to the 60’s with John Brodie at QB, the terrible 70’s (where either the Rams or the Cowboys would kick our butts), and the glorious 80’s with Montana and company.

Update: Final four field is set:  Texas Rangers @ Detroit Tigers, (ALCS) & St. Louis Cardinals @ Milwaukee Brewers, (NLCS)

ALCS Starting rotations

Derek Holland will start Game 2 for the Texas Rangers, manager Ron Washington confirmed. C.J. Wilson is starting Game 1 on Saturday night in Arlington.

Tigers manager Jim Leyland said that Justin Verlander will start Game 1 with Max Scherzer, orginally tabbed for the fourth game, going up against Holland in Game 2. Doug Fister will pitch Game 3 and Rick Porcello will now go in Game 4 instead of Sunday.

NLCS Starting rotations: (still pending)

The folks at CNBC are in full tilt spin mode. Some “experts” are advising to “take the cash, and get on the sidelines”. Others are trying to decide if we’re in a depression or just a double-dipper recession.

Stand by for updates………

UPDATE:  CNBC  (online) HEADLINE: 

Global Meltdown: Investors Are Dumping Nearly Everything

Commodities give up entire 2011  gains

The Fed unveiled the much anticipated “Operation Twist” program in an effort to drive down rates. The program got a lukewarm reception even though the Fed surprised markets with a plan to also buy mortgage securities.

The Fed intends to swap $400 billion in shorter dated Treasurys for the same amount in the 6-year to 30-year range. For the most part, traders worry the “twist” will do little to help the struggling economy.

“The Fed will have to go on a publicity tour over the next few weeks, coming out and stating what is the metric by which they will judge this as a success or failure,” said Kevin Ferry of Cronus Futures.

NASDAQ FLASH PRICE—-  -66.66

UPDATE (2):

A “market investor”/ guest on CNBC just said “Bernanke could have raised interest rates in small margins 2-3-4-5 times now, just had Australia, and some other European countries had done—-now he’s in a box, and the printing press is jammed.”  (paraphrased)

The guest went on to say that this is a global market with global conditions and the U.S. Federal Reserve, (and any government entity),  should get out of the business of trying to “fix the markets”.  I tend to agree with this assessment.

UPDATE (3): 11:45 am (pacific) 2:45 EST and the Dow’s now at -405  Lunchtime for us “west-coasters”.  Most of the folks at CNBC still can’t tell investors where to put their money while they’re all holding their collective breath.

The national and world media are fixated on a phone hacking scandal by NewsCorp, and yet the liberal media ignores the fact that two American citizens were murdered at the hands of this Government by supplying weapons to Mexican Cartels.

But, by all means……let’s allow the “crucifixion” of  NewsCorp go forward.

“Let those who have not sinned, cast the first stone”

Update: After two hours plus of questioning the Murdochs, a “patron” appears from the side of the camera to present Mr. Murdoch with a plate of an unknown “white substance”.  Rupert’s wife reacted faster than the Bobbies and smacked the assailant right on the noggin.

(Livestream link to video of hearing)

“The fact that we are here today to debate raising America’s debt limit is a sign of leadership failure. It is a sign that the U.S. Government can’t pay its own bills. It is a sign that we now depend on ongoing financial assistance from foreign countries to finance our Government’s reckless fiscal policies. … Increasing America’s debt weakens us domestically and internationally. Leadership means that ‘the buck stops here. Instead, Washington is shifting the burden of bad choices today onto the backs of our children and grandchildren. America has a debt problem and a failure of leadership. Americans deserve better.” …….. Senator Barack Obama

(All emphasis above, mine)

Also from the National Review—”In 2007 and in 2008, when the Senate voted to increase the limit by $850 billion and $800 billion respectively, Obama did not bother to vote. (He did vote for TARP, which increased the debt limit by $700 billion.)”  And how many Democratic Senators voted “for” raising the debt ceiling in 2006 during the Bush administration?

Think this is funny?  Well, the New York Post did, sort of:

Here’s a joke for you:

President Obama nearly bankrupts the country with his out-of-control deficit spending — then demands responsible fiscal leadership from the Republicans………

Who but a comic could propose (as Obama did back in February) a $3.7 trillion budget that would have added $7.2 trillion more to the national debt by 2021?

When that drew universal scorn, who but a jokester would then have followed with a specifics-free do-over speech on fiscal policy in April? That “plan” was so funny that, when asked about its budgetary effects, Congressional Budget Office chief Douglas Elmendorf cracked, “We don’t estimate speeches.”

And who but a funnyman would explicitly threaten senior citizens, as Obama did this week, by saying he couldn’t “guarantee” that Social Security checks would go out on schedule next month if an agreement to raise the borrowing limit can’t be reached?

Meanwhile, no Democratic-controlled chamber of Congress has been able to pass a budget in two years: They refuse to cut spending, they don’t dare raise taxes without Republican cover — and now even new borrowing could become impossible.

And Americans are supposed to take the Democrats and the President—-seriously?  Now that’s a joke!

(cross-posted at Rovin’s World)

While former “Conservative Republican” Joe Scarborough sits around with his liberal “journalist” pundits on his Morning Joe program, (nodding his head in agreement with almost every word), he’s slipped in an opinion piece at Politico that is basically lambasting the liberal media.  Joe leaves out the word “liberal“ when describing the vile rhetoric of his brethren, choosing “media elites“, similar to the way the liberal media can’t find the “D” (for Democrat), on their keyboards if a story’s even a bit negative.  Mr.  Scarborough also points out, (correctly in my opinion), that the Republican‘s refusal to raise taxes in this Debt Ceiling debate is completely justified:

“The reviews are in, and it’s safe to say that most media elites won’t be voting for Republican candidates in 2012. Of course, most of them voted Democratic in 2010, 2008 and in every other election in modern political history. But if you’ve scanned editorial pages and news shows in recent weeks, you know that this time conservatives have really, really offended the national press corps by their refusal to raise taxes.  At issue is the GOP’s handling of the debt ceiling negotiations. Washington pundits are shocked and offended that conservatives refused to cave in to President Barack Obama’s demand to raise taxes.

……..The Washington Post’s Richard Cohen thoughtfully described the Republican position on fiscal matters this way: The GOP “has become a political cult” and its presidential field is “a virtual political Jonestown.”

The New Republic’s Jonathan Chait employed the type of subtle style that makes his articles sing when he made reference, in a Daily Beast column in late May, to his fondness for a former Clinton administration official’s description of the conservative base of the GOP as the party’s “Hezbollah wing.”

As media types blast away at their barbaric Republican opponents, it is worth noting that just last year the GOP won the largest nationwide landslide victory in modern history based in large part on its pledge to oppose tax increases. Over 230 members of the House signed the no-tax pledge while 40-plus Senate members also signed to oppose tax increases.

It is interesting to see politicians savaged by the mainstream media as hostage-takers, members of Hezbollah and deranged cult leaders for doing no more than following through on a signed campaign pledge. Wasn’t keeping one’s word to voters once seen as a positive political characteristic instead of a personal moral deficiency?

Of course, keeping one’s word to the voters was once seen as a virtue, and it still will be when 2012 rolls around. Republicans who vote to raise income tax rates in 2011 can expect to be sent home in 2012. Period. End of political career……….”     Joe Scarborough   LINK

Surprisingly, even Scarborough understands that the commitments made by the Republicans in the House of Representatives leaves little room for “compromise” when it comes to tax increases, yet Joe omits a serious promise that also got them elected—namely to put an end to the spending spree.  It leaves one wondering why/how the liberal media look into a pool of water and can’t see themselves as the “deranged cult leaders”.  With over 63% of Americans saying this nation is on the wrong track, (and I would submit they’re mostly talking about this liberal progressive big government “experiment”), we can expect the liberal media to ratchet up their ugly rhetoric.  They’re far too invested in their own mania to turn back now.

Update: Breaking!  Scarborough goes ballistic on his own show this morning, asking his mostly liberal panel, “name one vote, (or piece of legislation) in the past year where the Democratic Party voted to reduce the deficit or even produce a budget”???  (paraphrased)  Can’t wait to get the video on this one……the blank stare on every face on the panel is simply priceless.

Update #2: The full video is here and you can skip to about the 10:40 mark for “the good parts” or I’ve got a shorter version at my “little blog site”.

From our friends at Wizbang, Rick’s found a jewel of a study.  Apparently, Forth of July events can cause patriotic emotions and in some cases convert liberal Democrats, (and their offspring), into full blown Republicans—via Paul Bedard at U.S. News:

Democratic political candidates can skip this weekend’s July 4th parades. A new Harvard University study finds that July 4th parades energize only Republicans, turn kids into Republicans, and help to boost the GOP turnout of adults on Election Day.”Fourth of July celebrations in the United States shape the nation’s political landscape by forming beliefs and increasing participation, primarily in favor of the Republican Party,” said the report from Harvard……..

…….Their findings also suggest that Democrats gain nothing from July 4th parades, likely a shocking result for all the Democratic politicians who march in them.

“There is no evidence of an increased likelihood of identifying as a Democrat, indicating that Fourth of July shifts preferences to the right rather than increasing political polarization,” the two wrote.

Also from the Harvard study:

The three key findings of those attending July 4th celebrations:

*When done before the age of 18, it increases the likelihood of a youth identifying as a Republican by at least 2 percent.

*It raises the likelihood that parade watchers will vote for a Republican candidate by 4 percent.

*It boosts the likelihood a reveler will vote by about 1 percent and increases the chances they’ll make a political contribution by 3 percent.

Read Rick’s complete post here……and please keep your liberal kids away from patriotic parades this weekend.  Lord knows we don’t need any more Conservative Patriots who might love their country.

Update: My bad—forgot to check the postings for similar stories by my fellow Greenroom writers—-please also check out Kevin’s post on this study.

http://hotair.com/greenroom/archives/2011/07/01/harvard-study-july-4th-parades-turn-kids-into-republicans/

Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano takes a page out of the “Pelosi principle”.

In the spirit of Nancy Pelosi’s now famous statement,  “But we have to pass the bill so that you can find out what is in it, away from the fog of the controversy”, while discussing the Obama administration’s stand on the DREAM ACT legislation, Janet Napolitano told Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) that a congressional hearing was not the right venue to “go into some of the actual details of the legislation“:

“Asked by Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) whether the Obama administration would consider amendments to the DREAM Act making individuals ineligible for legal status if they were convicted of certain misdemeanors, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano said Tuesday’s congressional hearing was not the right venue to “go into some of the actual details” of the legislation.”

Sound just a bit familiar?  Who needs details on how the Dream Act would be enforced?  Let’s just pass the darn thing, so we can see what’s in it—-right?  The conversation between Cornyn and Napolitano appeared to get “heated up” as it continued:

“Cornyn asked Napolitano whether the Obama administration would support an amendment to the DREAM Act that would disqualify individuals from gaining legal status if they had been convicted of certain misdemeanors, including driving under the influence of alcohol, possession of drugs, burglary, theft or assault.

Napolitano said the administration would be willing to look at amendments offered.

Cornyn then asked the secretary how she would use her authority to waive provisions in the law — specifically if she would consider waiving requirements for someone who has been convicted of voter fraud.

“Well, again, I think this is not the hearing to go into some of the actual details of the bill in that sense,” Napolitano said.

“Of course it is,” Cornyn said.

“And I would suggest, Sen. Cornyn, if you have amendments, we would be happy to consider them,” Napolitano said. “And this is the time to see that language.”

“Madam Secretary, you’re here under oath speaking on behalf of the administration on a piece of important legislation,” Cornyn said. “You say you support it as written and the administration supports it as written. And I think it’s appropriate to ask you questions about it.”

According to CNSNews.com, “Napolitano, however, did not directly answer those questions.”  So there you have it—according the Napolitano and the Obama administration, specifics and details aren’t necessary.  Just yesterday, Allahpundit pointed out that the President “might have distorted” a few details about how he came to his Afghanistan withdrawal decision with respect to General Petraeus’ recommendations.  And just last week it was revealed that the White House was attempting an end run around Congress to implement the DREAM Act by executive fiat.  Nancy Pelosi must be giggling at the “fog and controversy” precedent she set while passing ObamaCare.

If we can’t get proper information from a congressional hearing, who should we turn to?  Or, is every detail coming from this administration now exclusively based on political choices and a “need to know” basis?  THIS IS TRANPARENCY?  Paging Joe Wilson.

“A new enforcement memo handed down by the director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement last week has some accusing the White House of running around Congress to implement the DREAM Act – and consequent amnesty for some illegal immigrants – by executive fiat.

The new memo, penned by ICE Director John Morton, directs ICE agents, attorneys and directors to exercise “prosecutorial discretion” – meaning less likelihood of deportation – for illegal aliens who have been students in the U.S., who have been in the country since childhood or who have served in the American military.”  LINK

Specifically, the memo argues, “Because the agency is confronted with more violations than its resources can address, the agency must regularly exercise prosecutorial discretion.”

“This is outright lawlessness on the part of the administration,” argued syndicated columnist Charles Krauthammer on a discussion panel with Fox News’ anchor Chris Wallace. “Whatever the politics of this, we do have a Constitution. And under it, the Legislature, the Congress enacts the laws and the executive executes them. It doesn’t make them up.

“The DREAM Act was rejected by Congress,” Krauthammer continued. “It is now being enacted by the executive, despite the express will of the Congress. That is lawless. It may not be an explicit executive order; it’s an implicit one.”

“The guy who rushed out to get trillions for banks, big pharmaceuticals and unions, practically ignored the topic of immigration reform when his guys ran Congress for two years and could have written their own version.

Indeed one of his wise-guys from Chicago, Rep Luis Gutierrez recently noted “[Obama] has the power to make things better right now without the Congress having to pass any new laws.”

Yeah, he can just do what he did for gays, unions, Chicago and all of his other cronies: He can ignore enforcing the old laws he doesn’t like. Or maybe he can grant every illegal immigrant a waiver, like he did for his favorites under healthcare “reform.”

Today, at Fort Drum, the President was chumming it up with his old buddies from the US Army’s 10th Mountain Division when he misspoke about a certain soldier who was awarded the Medal of Honor directly by the President.  One small problem, the soldier, Jared Monti, was killed in action in Afghanistan—in 2006:

During his remarks to troops at Fort Drum today, the President was reminiscing about the times he has spent with the US Army’s 10th Mountain Division, when he got something wrong.

“Throughout my service, first as a senator and then as a presidential candidate and then as a President, I’ve always run into you guys. And for some reason it’s always in some rough spots.

First time I saw 10th Mountain Division, you guys were in southern Iraq. When I went back to visit Afghanistan, you guys were the first ones there. I had the great honor of seeing some of you because a comrade of yours, Jared Monti, was the first person who I was able to award the Medal of Honor to who actually came back and wasn’t receiving it posthumously.”

The problem is, Jared Monti was killed in action in Afghanistan, on June 21, 2006. He was awarded the Medal of Honor posthumously, September 17, 2009. President Obama handed the framed medal to his parents, Paul and Janet Monti. He and the First Lady comforted them in the Oval Office following the ceremony.

Dana Ritter, a CBN News White House Producer contacted the White House and was told “the President didn’t have prepared remarks“.

White House Press Secretary Jay Carney said, ““At Fort Drum, the President misspoke when discussing the first Medal of Honor he presented posthumously to Jared Monti, who was a member of the 10th Mountain Division. The President paid tribute to Monti in his remarks to troops in Afghanistan in March 2010. Last year, the President presented the Medal of Honor to Salvatore Giunta, who was the first living recipient of the Medal who served in Afghanistan.”

Of course, if Bush had pulled this blunder, the liberal media and the blogosphere would be all over it, reminding us all how stupid the President is.  Even Ms. Ritter’s story is mildly titled: “Commander In Chief Misspeaks…..”.  Had Sarah Palin said anything like this to the troops it would be a major media crucifixion.  Instead, it appears the liberal media’s going to keep “the shield” up covering Obama’s memory lapses.  One has to wonder what else the President has forgotten—lately.

(H/T—Drudge Report)

Update: The good folks at Flopping Aces and Wizbang also posted this story.

Update Two: The folks at Blackfive are not amused:

Kriste said in reply to Durka-Durka…

That’s what KILLS me dude! It’s beyond incompetent; it’s inhuman The facts screwed up in this one are not ones the CINC or a single member of his staff should need to RESEARCH! It’s engraved in our minds, hearts and souls. HOW is not in theirs? That’s nothing short of inhuman.

Update # 3:  Correction—- It does fall under the category of an Obamateurism