The only problem with Petraeus is that I don’t think he would run against Obama in 2012. He would have to run against his own commander in chief. Maybe in 2016.

But if you say, from a woman’s point of view, David Petraeus might be the object of at least some romantic fantasy (i.e., there he is, the gentle quiet type who will really protect me, etc.) then I have hope he may be viable in the Age of Obama. Otherwise the only way to reach a lot of female voters may be to put Romney and Cantor on massive workout regimes and exploit their pinup looks. Luckily, Romney and Cantor also happen to fiscally responsible.

Yesterday, as I watched the whole Kabuki dance, the Democrats repeated the mantra of “millions of American dollars going for foreign oil”. Not once did a Repubican ask them if the Democrats are so concerned about our use of foreign oil, the Democrats have now blocked almost every attempt to drill on our own soil. Nor did anyone bother to mention that the largest amount of our foreign oil comes from (tah-dah) Mexico and Canada? When we stop buying their oil, that should really make our neighbors have a thrill go down their leg.

This bill was not about jobs created or even about green energy. This bill was about control.

Jefferson, Franklin and Adams are rolling over in their graves. Franklin was right when he said “a democracy, madame, if you can keep it.” Seems we have not been able to keep it.

Marianne Dashwood–The U.S. electorate

John Willoughby–Obama

Colonel Brandon–General Petraeus

I don’t actually think of Petraeus along the same lines as past military heroes, since many officers-turned-presidents were actually not very good as commander in chief. Washington was good, of course, but Jackson (in my opinion) founded everything I can’t stand about his Democrat Party — that business with the national bank, the Indian policies, the corruption, the bad populism. Franklin Pierce could rightfully be blamed for a great amount of the Civil War; his greatest gift to America was the the Republican Party was founded during Pierce’s presidency, largely because he was so bad. Ulysses Grant (my favorite president, for quirky reasons) is not viewed favorably by historians; neither are other famous veterans like McKinley, who got the US quagmired in the Philippines. I know lots of conservatives like Teddy Roosevelt, but I think of him as someone who caved to the Progressives and set the stage for big government. JFKennedy was a war hero and… well, you know the deal. Jimmy Carter and George HW Bush also had a lot of military experience and… well, you know the deal.

But Petraeus is, to me, the ideal military hero to run for president, because he is cut from very different cloth. He has shown a great deal of aplomb in political matters, as evidenced by the way he has dealt with the tough Bush 2nd term as well as Obama’s arrival. He has a PhD and taught at Georgetown — not in military science, but in political affairs.

I hear your reservations about him, proreason, but I think Petraeus is a true Renaissance man, and he would be the only man in America who could potentially resist the cesspool if he came to Washington. He’s no Ulysses Grant. (Though I like US Grant).

It is difficult to imagine a system that would be more conducive to abuse, bribery, and corruption.

Thank you retire05 for this thoughtful post.

The amendment, that was filed at 3:09 a.m., before any Republicans were made aware it was going to be filed, is the most atrocious piece of legislation ever imposed on the American public. So let me, your humber Retire05, tell you just how bad it is:

Every appraiser in the U.S. will have to return to training in order to be able to do “energy efficiency” determinations when they appraise your property.

No home can be bought, sold or built unless it “passes” the energy efficiency study. If you want to sell your home, you will have to bring the home up to standards, not yet set, which are going to be determined by the Secretary of Energy and be able to prove to the buyer it meets those standards. Let me give you an example:
I live in a 107 year old home. Many of my windows are the original windows that are single pane, hand blown glass. I have two rooms that have yet to be insulated. I will have to bring my home up to the yet-to-be-determined code (energy efficiency code) before I could sell it. My HVAC system, while it works perfectly fine, will have to be replaced because it will not meet the NEW codes for HVAC systems. I would have to spend tens of thousands of dollars just to sell my house.

Every home, business and building in the U.S. will eventually have to have an electrical outlet on the outside of the building that is capable of charging an electric/hybred vehicle. Nevermind that it will become cost prohibitive to drive an electric hybred vehicle.

State building codes will have to comply with federal energy standards (usurpting the 10th Amendment AGAIN).

Every city, town and village will have to have an energy “inspector” even if they don’t have a police force or city hall (as some small incorporated areas in Texas). The “inspector” will have to report to the Department of Energy the percentage of yet undetermined compliance rules. This means an added level of bureacracy to every city, town an village, the cost of which will be picked up by local taxes.

As energy (heating/cooling) costs increase, there will be federally funded rebate checks to those who are low income. An Earned Income Credit increase will be given to eligible couples who have no children. This, boys and girls, is a massive redistribution of wealth scam.

Special consideration will be given to low income families who buy homes throught Freddie/Fannie, IF they purchase a energy “compliant” home, and credit rating requirements will be reduced (why we are where we are now) in order to put them into the “energy efficient” house.

Businesses will be inspected for their carbon “output” (creating a whole new government agency). If they don’t comply with the yet determined regulations, they will not only be forced to purchase carbon credits (a scam that will make Jeffrey Immelt and Al Gore filthy rich) but will have to also invest in energy updating during the same time. This is simply going to force companies to pass on that cost to consumers or go out of business.

You can’t imagine how bad this bill is.

The whole idea is to reduce carbon use by reducing consumption. But here is the problem. Reduced consumption also means reduced production. Reduced production means reduced need for labor. Reduced need for labor means higher unemployment.

Many companies are going to learn that compliance is cost prohibitive and will move off shore. But never fear, the Democrats thought about that as well. Any nation who imports its products into the U.S. will have to show that 85% of what they import is compliant with our yet-to-be-determined energy laws. In the ’30′s, it was called protectionism, and this will only create trade wars with nations like China, India, Mexico, Siri Lanka, Tailand, and all other nations that don’t have our energy standards. Not only will we not be buying their products, they won’t be buying ours as their money flow will dry up.

The bill makes the Secretary of Energy, Steven Chu, the most powerful man in America, outside of Obama. It grants him powers never before given to any unelected official, even under FDR. And if you think that is not frightening, do a little research on Steven Chu. He is a One-Worlder who thinks that everyone should be forced to paint their roofs white to reduce global warming.

This bill, if it passes the Senate, will be the one most economy killing actions ever taken in Washington, D.C. Anyone who gets their power from a coal-fired plant can expect to see 30-40-50+ increases in their electric bills. Jobs will be lost. Spain estimated that for every green job it produced with its oppressive “green” legislation, 2.2 jobs were lost.

Deals were literally being cut on the floor of the House as certain Democrats from the midwest were seeing their states lose jobs right before their eyes. So Waxman was promising that “exemptions” would be written into the final bill for those states, while other states, like Texas will be hit with the government sledge hammer.

It was the most disgraceful display of cronyism I have ever seen. And even then, 44 Democrats realized that if they voted for this bill, they were going to be voted out of a job. But they shouldn’t worry, there is a provision in the bill that if you lose your job due to the new requirements in this bill, you unemployment benefits would be extended (again, violating the 10th Amendment).

The blue dogs hung back, waiting to vote until the last minute. When the yea vote reached 217, the blue dogs then voted “nay” to protect their Congressional seats in their home districts. It was pure Kabuki.

Yesterday morning, I called my rep, Lloyd Doggett, and was promised that he would vote against the bill. I was told that Congressman Doggett understood that the bill was a job killer for Texas that is so heavily invested in oil/gas jobs. I was told that calls were coming in 10-1 against the bill. Later that afternoon, he flipped and voted “yea”.

This bill can be defeated in the Senate. It is not too late. We have until probably early September to work on those Democratic Senators who should be told, loud and clear, they will be in the unemployment lines next November if they vote for this bill.

I know there is a long tradition of military men reaching the WH…Washington, Jackson, Tyler, Harrison, Grant, Eisenhauer, perhaps others, but I’m not sure the military gives one a bump in the americanidol culture.

Can a person of genuine honor really compete when the compeition will say any lie, advocate any smear, commit any crime, trigger any crisis to maintain power? For us on S&L, it’s an easy call…..but I’m not so sure that it would work against the biggest thug regime in the history of the country. The smears and lies against him and anybody he has known in his life will begin in the first minute.

The other issue is that the General isn’t notably pretty.

Even so, if he decides to explore the possibility and he does well with the barracudapress, I could jump to his side without much hesitation.

Unfortunately I can not see a solution.

I’m ready to sign checks for a Romney/Cantor ticket. They’re both competent and photogenic, which means they’re ahead of Obama, who is photogenic but…. well, you know.

Newt — Proreason, I think he’d be too much on the side of nostalgia. I finished reading BUCK WILD, a book about how Newt sold out and turned into a big spender in the 1990s. And that hair….

Sarah/Bobby –Proreason, I agree with you, they need time to mature. Neocon mama, I agree Palin’s press isn’t a killer (or Jindal’s for that matter), but I think these two are our golden arrows, and we need to time them right. I say 2016 for Jindal, and 2020 for Palin. Jindal needs time to grow into his suit (literally, gain about 30 pounds) and Palin needs tutoring so she can answer more questions. I think 12 years of fermentation will help Palin a lot.

Perry– Proreason, I don’t know enough about him. He looks smarmy and gross to me, but prove me wrong. What do you see in his favor?

Sanford/Pawlenty/Huntsman/Barbour — While they are good governors, I say nay. To go against Obama we need somebody glamorous and good looking. I know it’s shallow, but that’s the way it is. Romney looks a graying stud, Cantor is a Ken doll that women will swoon over, and men will secretly go to the gym to emulate. Sanford’s repulsive, as we know now, and the other Repub governors just don’t have any sex appeal.

Here are some others I’ve been thinking about –

Condoleezza Rice. Would she ever consider running? I think she could handle the press, and I’ve always loved her.

Liz Cheney. Neocon mom, I actually really dig her too, a lot. I am not ready to write her off yet. I think she can carve out an identity independent of her dad. And I’m not sure her dad is totally beyond recuperation yet, either.

Petraeus. I want him to run in 2016 so badly. He’s my biggest hero right now.