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Sen. Barack Obama spoke on the subject of patriotism this past week in an effort to undo some of the damage he has already inflicted on his own image -- through his associations, his statements and policy positions -- and to obscure his liberalism. Liberals rightly feel defensive about their patriotism because they always seem to find themselves blaming the United States for this or that, exhorting us to be more like the "enlightened" nations of Europe or forever shouting that we are a "laughing stock" in the eyes of other nations. It was not a conservative who wrote in...

The Washington Post reports that Sen. Barack Obama is aggressively trying to “reintroduce” himself to voters, echoing the spin of Obama’s advisers that not everyone knows him yet. In reality, Obama’s major campaign challenge will not be to reveal, but to conceal his true identity. Obama is not trying to introduce himself to unreached voters, but is engaged in damage control with many he’s already reached — and insulted and disillusioned. As long as he was soaring above the fray with the lofty rhetoric of hope, change and unity, Obama could masquerade as a quasi-messianic figure, but once forced into...

The Supreme Court's barring of the death penalty for child rapists in Kennedy v. Louisiana underscores the hazards in the court's abandonment of moral absolutes in favor of "evolving standards of decency" and the court's unbridled arrogance in substituting its subjective judgment for the legislatively enacted will of the people. In Kennedy, the court reversed the decision of the Louisiana Supreme Court to uphold the capital punishment of a convicted child rapist, holding that the Eighth Amendment's cruel and unusual punishment clause prohibits executing such offenders "where the crime did not result, and was not intended to result, in the...

Democrats seemed determined to convert their sunny 2008 forecast into a perfect storm, which only can be diverted if either the approaching Obama front or Clinton front dissipates soon or changes directions to join forces with the other via the proverbial "dream ticket." Until Pastor Wright managed to become Obama's potentially career-shattering albatross, Obama looked unstoppable, indeed superhuman. But as has happened repeatedly in this campaign, Hillary's persistence was rewarded — briefly, anyway. Obama's long and close association with the incendiary pastor undercut his perceived ability to rise above both race and party. With the passage of a little time,...

Something is missing in all the intramural debates among different stripes of Republicans this primary season. Bigger-government Republicans don't seem fully to appreciate the extent to which the differences between conservative Republicans and liberals are about more than policy. Conservatives and liberals differ not merely over the level of taxation, protection of the unborn, immigration, the war and other issues -- though the importance of these disputes cannot easily be overstated. Admittedly, conservatives view these policy differences as matters of great urgency. The power to tax is the power to destroy. Abortion kills human beings. Illegal, unregulated immigration jeopardizes our...

I suppose I could be accused of over-dramatizing, but I truly worry about the direction this nation is headed when contemplating a presidential race where the choices are liberal and liberal-light. If John McCain is the GOP nominee, that's what we'll be faced with, despite the Herculean efforts of some to spin it otherwise. In that case, the presidential candidates of both parties would be willing to use the bully pulpit and governing power of the presidency to suppress political speech, punish producers, oil companies and drug companies, open wider our borders, cater to the whacko environmental movement and its...

It's a good thing for Hillary Clinton that she and her political-bodyguard husband aren't Republicans. She'd be out on her ear for race-baiting alone. Do you remember a few short weeks ago when Hillary suggested that the real mover and shaker on civil rights was not MLK but LBJ, without whom MLK's efforts would have been for naught, essentially? Do you remember the Clintons' surrogate, Robert Johnson, smearing Barack Obama with allusions to his youthful drug experimentation? Liberals, including the mainstream dinosaur media, circled the wagons around her, insisting she couldn't possibly have intended racial slurs. Even many conservatives hastened...

Many conservatives have said Sen. John McCain is not conservative enough to suit them. Some of McCain's defenders have not only disagreed but have impugned his critics, hypocritically blaming them for divisiveness. But intramural bickering isn't the issue. What's important is that conservatives have an intellectually honest and open discussion about GOP presidential contenders. It's disappointing to watch good conservatives demean themselves by trying to present McCain as something he's not. No matter how much they spin, they can't fool conservatives familiar with McCain's record. McCain's detractors are not the ones having to stretch and massage the facts in order...

1. We expect promises of change from Democratic candidates, but it's disappointing to watch certain Republican candidates yield to that superficially seductive sound bite, too. It's like the global-warming freight train, which few politicians have displayed the guts and character not to board. 2. It's disappointing to watch candidates from both parties accept the premise that criticizing your opponents' records and pointing out their inconsistencies and lies is engaging in dirty politics. It is not dirty but obligatory to draw distinctions between you and your opponents. Dirty politics is distorting one's record or spreading lies about a candidate. Why do...

Many have discussed whether certain candidates have "fire in the belly." What I'm wondering is whether, at this point in our national history, conservatives in general have fire in their bellies. Given Gov. Mike Huckabee's remarkable performance so far in the GOP presidential contest in the name of conservatism, and especially after seeing his interview on the "Tonight Show," I question how brightly that flame is flickering. When Ronald Reagan was running for president in 1980, conservatives had more reasons to be discontent. We had been conditioned to believe that inviolable economic principles dictated that there was a necessary trade-off...

It's interesting that many who dismiss the Bible and certain essential Christian claims -- saying they believe there is scant evidence to support them -- are able to readily embrace rival belief systems and their texts, which are far less reliable. Former atheist Lee Strobel has used his formidable journalistic and legal background as legal editor of the Chicago Tribune to research and write a number of bestselling books in defense of the Christian faith. His recently released "The Case for the Real Jesus" goes beyond the traditional apologetic to address some of the current attacks on the identity of...

It's time to step up, Fred. Conservatives need a leader about whom we have no major reservations. The only one looming out there about you is your failure, so far, to persuade voters you want the job. All of the GOP candidates are vastly superior to all of the Democrat candidates, but here's the way I see the field now. Rudy is a strong leader and very good on national security and the war. But he is a social-issues liberal, whose pledge to appoint originalist judges is encouraging -- but not completely convincing. John McCain is a war hero and...

Mike Huckabee pulled a move this afternoon that was too cute by half: he called a press conference to announce he was pulling a negative anti-Romney campaign ad, and then showed the ad to the assembled press -- obviously hoping he would get mileage out of the ad while taking credit for being a "nice guy." As I mentioned in a comment at Holy Coast earlier today, I was curious about a Jonathan Martin article posted yesterday at Politico which include the news that blogger Joe Carter has left the Huckabee campaign. Carter joined the campaign to much fanfare just...

By: David Limbaugh A good friend of mine, who died several years ago from diabetes-related complications, once said to me, "Show me a dog lover, and I'll show you a good person." I'm sure there are many exceptions to this adage, but the principle it expresses couldn't be more applicable to my close friend Mark Levin, whose new book, "Rescuing Sprite," makes poignantly clear. Mark was about to write a completely different book when the death of his dog, Sprite, turned his world upside down. Mark was devastated by Sprite's death and was forced to switch gears. He said, "You'll...

No matter what "conventional wisdom" purports to tell us about the dominance of the Christian worldview in our culture, recent headlines illustrate the formidable challenges confronting Christian conservatives from inside and outside the church. On ABC's "The View," Whoopie Goldberg dressed down the program's lone conservative, Elisabeth Hasselbeck, for daring to air her pro-life views. Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama appeared at a megachurch in South Carolina calling for the creation of an earthly kingdom. And President Bush reportedly said, "All religions pray to the same God." Let's consider each story. On "The View," Hasselbeck spoke favorably of a proposal...

My brother Rush has nothing for which to apologize concerning the left's maliciously manufactured "phony soldier" scandal. He said nothing wrong and his accusers know it. There is no gray area here. Rush is fraudulently accused of calling soldiers who oppose the Iraq war "phony soldiers." On his September 26 show, he referred to men, like Jesse MacBeth, who lied about their service in Iraq and went on to impugn the service of those who actually have served there as "phony soldiers." Two days before, on September 24, Rush recorded his "Morning Update," which aired on September 25 and mirrored...

Has the left no remaining ounce of shame? Its latest target: the commander of U.S. forces in Iraq, General David Petraeus, whom Senate Democrats unanimously confirmed. Remember Democrats faulting President Bush for being inflexible, not following the advice of the generals and having no strategy in Iraq -- never mind that they've never had so much as a paper-napkin sketch of a clue as to what to do in Iraq or the War on Terror? Yet, when he took decisive action that can fairly be said to have addressed all of these criticisms, they reflexively opposed him again, proving once...

Professional poll-watcher and persistent president-slanderer Harry Reid, who also moonlights as Senate majority leader, is proving himself to be a menace and a brutish boor. Reid joined House speaker and fellow president-slanderer Nancy Pelosi in sending a letter to President Bush berating him for not listening to the will of the American people on Iraq. If Reid were truly interested in deferring to the will of the American people, he would tender his resignation today — not to mention get off the amnesty bandwagon. Luckily for Reid, we have a republic, not a pure democracy with ongoing votes of confidence,...

An anonymous White House official said that neither the people on the far left nor far right are going to get what they want on the immigration bill. Could have fooled me, since that farthest of far leftists, Sen. Ted Kennedy, said, "This bill is our best chance to fix our broken system." Go figure. Truly, President Bush's immigration policy has always been mystifying, but even more troubling is his attitude toward its conservative opponents. I don't suggest that President Bush has a duty to cater to conservatives on immigration because they have stood by him on the war. This...

Upon further study, what strikes me most about the Iraq Study Group report, or ISGR, is its profound naivete. The group could better identify its operative philosophy as "unrealism," rather than realism. The modern form of foreign policy "realism" emerged, according to "The Oxford Companion to Politics of the World," in reaction to "idealism," an "approach which held that countries were united in an underlying harmony of interest – a view shattered by the outbreak of World War II." But there's more: "Rather than study the world as it might be, Realists maintained that a science of international politics must...

I honestly don't believe Kerry was joking when he warned students they better stay in school lest they wind up in Iraq, nor do I believe, based on his initial reaction of indignation, that he was sincere in the apology that he was browbeaten into giving. Those questions aside, the more important point is that Kerry's statement has had the effect of placing the Democrats' approach toward defense, the war on terror and the military under a microscope, and nothing could be worse for them – politically. That Kerry doesn't share a high opinion of our military is born out...

Does the Republican Party truly believe Iraq is part of the war on terror and that the war on terror is the most important issue facing voters next week? If so, I wish its operatives and candidates would start acting like it instead of running from Iraq and President Bush. Too many GOP candidates and spokesmen are playing into the Democrats' hands by virtually conceding the Iraq issue -- an issue upon which the Democrats are extremely vulnerable themselves, if challenged. I know, I know, many readers will think I'm way off base making such an assertion, having bought into...

David Limbaugh (Rush's brother) ripping into the Democratic hypocrisy... Link to listen online on the F2A site.

David Limbaugh FP: David Limbaugh, welcome to Frontpage Interview. Limbaugh: Thank you. There is no place I’d rather be. FP: What motivated you to write this book? Limbaugh: In my syndicated column shortly after the 2000 presidential election I predicted the Democrats, so embittered by the election results and militant to the core, would conduct a four years war throughout President Bush’s first term. My only mistake was underestimating the number of years. The Democrats have been particularly venal, particularly partisan and outright hostile to President Bush at every turn. While characterizing him as a liar on the things...

On September 11, 2001, this country woke up from a decade in which the President and the media had led them to believe that everything was just fine, and they experienced outrage as reality intruded. Not only were Americans outraged at murderous terrorists, but they were also outraged that their government had not taken the threat more seriously and had failed to connect the dots. Today, almost five years after the unprecedented attacks, there is new reason Americans should be outraged. Following September 11 there was an outpouring of unity from those in government. Even the most partisan of politicians...

Dear Readers: I have a new book coming out, and I think it's probably the most important book I've written so far. It's titled "Bankrupt: The Intellectual and Moral Bankruptcy of Today's Democratic Party." And here's why I think it's so important – and why it must be read before the upcoming elections. The sad fact is that the oldest continuous political party in the world is bankrupt. While the Republican Party is far from perfect and could do much better on immigration, domestic spending, and other issues, it does stand for principles beyond winning. It is the only party...

Dear Readers: I have a new book coming out, and I think it's probably the most important book I've written so far. It's titled "Bankrupt: The Intellectual and Moral Bankruptcy of Today's Democratic Party." And here's why I think it's so important -- and why it must be read before the upcoming elections. The sad fact is: The oldest continuous political party in the world is bankrupt. While the Republican Party is far from perfect and could do much better on immigration, domestic spending, and other issues, it does stand for principles beyond winning. It is the only party that...

Want to know where the Democratic Party stands and where America would be under their leadership? Just ask Jimmy Carter. Carter is certainly not bashful about bashing the United States, even on foreign soil or to the foreign press. He sat for an interview with Der Spiegel recently and fired with both barrels at President Bush, "fundamentalist" Christians and Israel. But do Carter's views represent those of the Democratic Party? Well, he sure seems to think so. He told Der Spiegel, "I think I represent the vast majority of Democrats in this country." If so, that's scary. Expanding on the...

We are fighting a global war against international terrorists because the terrorists are engaged in a global jihad against infidels. The scariest thing about it is that a good many people in this country believe we actually have the luxury of opting out. Isn't the operative assumption that we are dealing with a reasonable enemy that doesn't want war any more than we do? Why else would Democratic Congressman Martin Frost tell Fox News -- approvingly -- that "a majority of the American people has now decided that it was a mistake for us to go into Iraq … "?...

There was a time in this country when public school teachers could focus on teaching the basics. Today, unfortunately, they are all too often preoccupied with accommodating the silly concerns pervading our society. To what concerns do I refer? Oh, those such as banning the innocent children's games of dodge ball, cops and robbers, musical chairs, steal the bacon and tag. You heard me right -- it's not just the allegedly sadistic and violent game of dodge ball that schools are trying to outlaw. Call me nostalgic for my childhood if you wish -- for the days of Beaver Cleaver...

There is only one group of people with less credibility on the immigration issue than Washington politicians. It is the illegal immigrants protesting violations of their "rights" while parading the Mexican flag and disrespecting the one symbolizing the great nation from which they're demanding favors. I'm not talking about all demonstrators in every city in which a march occurred. Some were reportedly peaceful and even patriotic. But the hostility of some protestors did more to galvanize apathetic Americans into demanding action on immigration than all the previous alarm-warnings from politicians and pundits combined. Nothing awakens the sleeping giant like direct...

Don't believe every slogan By David Limbaugh Yes, Republicans are experiencing great difficulties right now, but the good news - politically speaking - is that Democrats are in even worse shape. While they can feast on their anti-Bush cuisine between elections, they're eventually going to have to come up with a menu of their own. Today, they not only have no menu; they don't even have recipes for basic dishes. Their problem is not that they have too many cooks in the kitchen, but none. All of their chefs are in the Republicans' kitchen, and they don't know how to...

Have I been mistaken all these years that we gained our independence from Britain in 1776? Reading the news lately one gets the distinct impression the Old Media think we are operating under the British system of government where President Bush can be ousted any time on a vote of no confidence. These professional hit men (and women), along with their ideological cousins in the Democratic leadership, have been hammering him mercilessly since campaign 2000. Even if he wasn't experiencing difficulties otherwise, it would be a miracle if he could sustain high approval ratings under such a relentless assault. But...

I hereby expressly consent to the NSA eavesdropping on any telephonic, Internet or other electronic forms of communications I may have -- whether I initiate or am on the receiving end of the communication -- with any person or persons the government has reasonable basis to conclude is a member of al Qaeda, affiliated with al Qaeda or a member of an organization affiliated with al Qaeda.

Shooting yourself in the foot By David Limbaugh Unlike our president, who spent Martin Luther King Day paying respectful tribute to MLK and Abraham Lincoln, Democratic Party notables, Hillary Clinton and Albert Gore, used the holiday as another opportunity to character-assassinate President George W. Bush. Just when we were beginning to think Hillary Clinton had found her voice - albeit a decidedly phony one - as a mature, seasoned politician poised for a presidential run, she reverts to those cacophonic utterances that find little resonance beyond her embittered but indispensable base. If one could momentarily suspend his powers of discernment,...

Though Republicans undeniably face difficulties, Democrats are ill positioned to capitalize on them because of their own problems, which amount to a veritable identity crisis. The New York Times reports that while just a year ago senators of both parties said a Supreme Court nominee "who disagreed openly with the major abortion rights precedents" would face nearly insurmountable confirmation hurdles, the Alito hearings "cast doubt on such assumptions." Why? Because "the handful of Democrats from socially conservative states were reluctant to be perceived as voting against him on those grounds." Yet, according to a separate Times story, the apparently tone-deaf...

Though Republicans undeniably face difficulties, Democrats are ill positioned to capitalize on them because of their own problems, which amount to a veritable identity crisis. The New York Times reports that while just a year ago senators of both parties said a Supreme Court nominee "who disagreed openly with the major abortion rights precedents" would face nearly insurmountable confirmation hurdles, the Alito hearings "cast doubt on such assumptions." Why? Because "the handful of Democrats from socially conservative states were reluctant to be perceived as voting against him on those grounds." Yet, according to a separate Times story, the apparently tone...

Unlike our president, who spent Martin Luther King Day paying respectful tribute to MLK and Abraham Lincoln, Democratic Party notables, Hillary Clinton and Albert Gore, used the holiday as another opportunity to character-assassinate President George W. Bush. Just when we were beginning to think Hillary Clinton had found her voice -- albeit a decidedly phony one -- as a mature, seasoned politician poised for a presidential run, she reverts to those cacophonic utterances that find little resonance beyond her embittered but indispensable base. If one could momentarily suspend his powers of discernment, he could almost sympathize with a woman saddled...

Unlike our president, who spent Martin Luther King Day paying respectful tribute to MLK and Abraham Lincoln, Democratic Party notables, Hillary Clinton and Albert Gore, used the holiday as another opportunity to character-assassinate President George W. Bush. Just when we were beginning to think Hillary Clinton had found her voice -- albeit a decidedly phony one -- as a mature, seasoned politician poised for a presidential run, she reverts to those cacophonic utterances that find little resonance beyond her embittered but indispensable base. If one could momentarily suspend his powers of discernment, he could almost sympathize with a woman saddled...

A Few of FR's Finest....Every Day Free Republic made its debut in September, 1996, and the forum was added in early 1997.   Over 100,000 people have registered for posting privileges on Free Republic, and the forum is read daily by tens of thousands of concerned citizens and patriots from all around the country and the world. A Few of FR's Finest....Every Day was introduced on June 24, 2002. It's only a small room in JimRob's house where we can get to know one another a little better; salute and support our military and our leaders; pray for those in...

Are critics of President Bush's electronic - surveillance practices concerned with the Constitution? Or are they just using any excuse they can find to accuse him of abusing his power? If they are concerned with constitutional issues, why didn't they object to President Clinton's That warrants are not absolutely indispensable is also clear by the very terms of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act itself, which expressly dispenses with the warrant requirement in certain defined circumstances. Some scholars maintain those exceptions apply to the president's NSA surveillance of Al Qaeda, though the administration doesn't appear to be relying on that position....

As I was watching President Bush's latest news conference, I was again struck by the thought of how different the news climate and public mood would be if the mainstream media (MSM) were truly as unbiased as they pretend to be. If the MSM were indeed objective and animated by an investigative impulse and a nonpartisan, government-watchdog instinct, they might thoroughly cover and inquire into the following: -- Why Joe Wilson appears to have lied when he denied that his wife, Valerie Plame, recommended him to the CIA to investigate the claim that Saddam Hussein sought uranium yellowcake from Niger,...

Text Size: S M L printer-friendly email to a friend respond to this article Simple Question on Iraq Dumbfounds Democrats Defeatist Dean Spouts Dim-Witted, Dangerous Ideas Bush's 'Tet' Moment Is Coming in Iraq 9/11 Commission Has Outlived Its Usefulness At the core of the Democrats' incessant carping about the war in Iraq is their oft-stated belief that our attack on Iraq and our continued presence there are fueling the terrorist movement. But when you hear them arguing the point, you can't help coming away with the sense that it is not the terrorists' moral outrage over Iraq they are concerned...

At the core of the Democrats' incessant carping about the war in Iraq is their oft-stated belief that our attack on Iraq and our continued presence there are fueling the terrorist movement. But when you hear them arguing the point, you can't help coming away with the sense that it is not the terrorists' moral outrage over Iraq they are concerned with, but their own. They just don't dare go so far as to admit it. You've heard them say our presence in Iraq is inciting otherwise peaceful Muslims to don their suicide bomber belts, and, "The Iraqi people view...

I picked up my friend Michelle Malkin's book, "Unhinged: Exposing Liberals Gone Wild" to peruse it, thinking I would get around to reading it when I finished the other three books I'm currently reading on and off. After reading the first few pages, though, I was hooked and had to read the whole thing. Michelle deliberately chose the title, "Unhinged," purposely, to convey that the American Left, generally speaking, has long since come unglued, giving itself over to irrationality and extremism rather than reasoned discourse. "This book," writes Michelle, "is not about liberals being liberal. It is about liberals who've...

I picked up my friend Michelle Malkin's book, "Unhinged: Exposing Liberals Gone Wild," to peruse it, thinking I would get around to reading it when I finished the other three books I'm currently reading on and off. After reading the first few pages, though, I was hooked and had to read the whole thing. Michelle deliberately chose the title, "Unhinged," purposely, to convey that the American Left, generally speaking, has long since come unglued, giving itself over to irrationality and extremism rather than reasoned discourse. "This book," writes Michelle, "is not about liberals being liberal. It is about liberals who've...

There are many great conservative websites out there, but none better than Townhall.com. I am proud to be a contributing columnist here and to be a part of such a talented group of writers. I hope you'll join me in supporting the Townhall Fall Pledge Drive. Jonathan Garthwaite and his excellent staff work hard every day to post the most current news, in depth analyses of current events, a top-notch blog, columns representing the finest mainstream conservative thinking in the country and a host of other useful items. Townhall has established a reputation not only among grassroots conservatives – which...

In reading the bizarre missives from Sen. John Kerry contaminating my inbox, I have to wonder whether he's operating as a foil for Hillary Clinton. Is he saying especially stupid things about the war because he believes them or to enhance the presidential prospects of latter-day warhawk Hillary? Of course I'm being facetious, since John Kerry is not about to sacrifice himself intentionally for anyone, even Hillary. But Kerry's recent statements on the war, including his gratuitous speech at Georgetown University Wednesday, again remind us just how close we came to a national train wreck in almost electing him to...

Much of the body of constitutional law is a mess -- a convoluted mess. Contrary to so-called anti-elitist sentiment out there, it's going to take known heavyweights to clean up that mess. We've got them; why not use them? Unfortunately, some conservative observers of the Miers nomination have fallen into an anti-elitist trap. They correctly distrust over-intellectualizing -- or at least the snooty, pseudo-intellectualism that emanates from the academic left. They also have a well-placed aversion toward "over-lawyering," including the tendency to make the simple more complex. Thus, they instinctively react adversely to the argument that Miss Miers doesn't appear...

I hate it when I am sympathetic to arguments on both sides of an issue as it threatens my image as a benevolently close-minded, dogmatic, doctrinaire ideologue. But I do think conservatives are talking past one another on the Miers nomination and that a rift is growing between some conservatives and the White House. So here are a few more observations concerning the ongoing Miers saga. Conservative critics of the nomination might need to be clearer about the applicability of their objections. There is a difference between criticizing the president's pick and actually advocating Senate rejection of Miers' nomination. It...