Saturday Morning Musings

**Fred Barnes has an interesting article on why Obama, who ran on changing Washington, isn't actually changing Washington.
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**President Obama is getting ready to announce a troop surge in Afghanistan. However, he's going to have to convince his anti-war base that it's the appropriate decision. The key line from this article:

“It was an excellent campaign line for Obama to say, ‘We took our eye off Afghanistan and fought the wrong war in Iraq,’” said Marvin Weinbaum, a former State Department South Asia specialist now affiliated with the Middle East Institute. “The implications of what he was saying I don’t think registered on people…..They didn’t see it.”

“I don’t think there was a consciousness in the electorate that, if we elect Obama, we’re sending 50,000 troops to Afghanistan,” said Kurt Volker of Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies. “It wasn’t hidden, but it wasn’t evident to voters who were focused on other issues."

It's a good read. Certainly, the President is in a tough spot, considering his rhetoric during the primary against Hillary and the general election against McCain. We'll see what he says on Tuesday night to placate his anti-war base.
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**As for the economy, the markets were shaken yesterday by Dubai's announcement that it could not continue to make its debt payments. As it turns out, while Dubai was building up its very impressive skyline and city, they were also deficit spending. A lot. As such, there's a little trouble in paradise.
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**The Justice Department decided this week that ACORN should receive taxpayer money for . ACORN, which has been receiving federal money for more than a decade, was made infamous for the undercover video depicting ACORN employees encouraging federal lawbreaking.
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**As for this next one...it's not good. Barack Obama is the President of the United States, the most powerful person in the world. He must be protected. Period. This is unacceptable. Normally, the Secret Service is top notch, but this mistake, which allowed two seemingly amiable people very close to the President, is unacceptable. Especially since the Indian Prime Minister was present as well.
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**Finally, central Iowans struggling to afford travel this holiday season have reason to rejoice. According to the Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS) Des Moines is one of only 7 large cities in this country whose plane ticket prices have DROPPED over the last 15 years. Average cost of plane tickets from Des Moines International Airport have dropped an average of 4%. Largest decrease? Denver. Largest increases? Hawaii and Alaska.