Does it not bother anyone that Senator Obama’s response to the biggest financial crisis in the world in nearly 80 years is to say “If I can be helpful, I’m available”???  Is that what someone who wants to be the leader of the free world should be saying?

Barack’s still has a responsibility as a Senator from Illinois.  And yet, he thinks that his “skills” will be identified and requested if needed (which may explain all of those “Present” votes).  As President, one cannot sit back and wait for others to say “Hey, Prez, can you come over here and help us figure out how to stop World War III?”.  As a Senator, this is Obama’s golden opportunity to demonstrate the length and breadth of …

John McCain today announced he is suspending his campaign while he works in Congress to resolve the current economic crisis.  He also asked that the debate scheduled for this Friday night be postponed.

Here are John’s remarks made today in New York City (courtesy of the McCain-Palin campaign):

America this week faces an historic crisis in our financial system. We must pass legislation to address this crisis. If we do not, credit will dry up, with devastating consequences for our economy. People will no longer be able to buy homes and their life savings will be at stake. Businesses will not have enough money to pay their employees. If we do not act, ever[y] corner of our country will be impacted. We cannot allow this

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Crude oil dropped to $105/bbl Monday, down $1.26.  After hours the price continued to fall, as of midnight it was hanging around $102/bbl.

Since hitting it’s high at 147.27 on July 11 (that’s still less than 2 months ago), the price has fallen almost 30%.  According to most Democrats, this would only be possible if actual cheaper domestically drilled oil were available to put into the system immediately, not some years into the future.  Strange as it may seem, it looks like other factors, such as the continued growth in the public pressure on Congress to act and open up domestic drilling, may also influence prices.

Of course, you aren’t required to be an economist to be a member of Congress.  The problem appears …

The price of crude is hovering around $115 / bbl.  At this point, I suspect it won’t make much motion, especially not downward, until some real action is finally taken by Congress to open up drilling.  I agree with the refrain of Republicans to do “all of the above”, that is, work the alternative energy agenda while opening update domestic drilling.  The market will continue to laugh at us on the alternative energy options (by the way, we’ve had Ethanol in the US since World War I, so let’s stop acting like alternative fuels are “new”).  But as we engage with definitive action, we will continue to see the impact on commodity prices.

The sad thing is that the market is so clearly expressing it’s …

Last week I started taking my bicycle to work. It’s about 7.5 miles as the crow flies, and my shortest (and most difficult) route is about 8.5 miles… the longest (and easiest) route is 13 miles.  Downtown Des Moines is at a slightly lower elevation than the suburb of West Des Moines where I live, so mornings aren’t too bad, just a one tough hill, and afternoons, when taking the longer route, is okay except for one really big hill.

I realize that this is not a big deal… the point is NOT that I’m doing anything that great.

But I am saving about a gallon of gasoline each day I do this. That’s about $3.50 a day.  At least that covers my coffee money.…

Down!  Not alot, but it dropped another $.75 today to $114.45 a barrel.

Meanwhile, the Republican Protest against the Democratic No-Vote Vacation continued into its second full week, with activity at Capital Hill and at town halls throughout the country.  House Republicans want everyone (that means you and me) to contact their Democratic representatives and tell them to demand a vote on the American Energy Act (H.R. 6566) immediately.

Politico reports that Democrats are now demanding that House Minority Leader John Boehner apologize for remarks he made on Friday about Nancy Pelosi… regarding the public’s “hanging” her if she does not address the energy topic.

Boehner’s staff later replied with this message:

“Leader Boehner used a figure of speech to reflect the frustration Americans feel every

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On the Republican side, the increase in McCain’s position in the polls, slow as it is in coming, is a reflection of the unity that is starting to build within the Republican Party.  I think what you’re really seeing is that as the various state conventions come to a close, and people have finished jockeying for position to attend the Republican National Convention, that the dust is settling, people are getting into position for victory and are finally realizing the inevitable: John McCain is going to be the Republican Candidate… there’s little that could change that now.  People are seeing more and more clearly the need to get past the differences and work toward victory in November, both in the Oval Office and in …

I had a couple of interesting ideas from people I met this week while working at the Republican Party of Iowa booth at the Iowa State Fair.  I think it’s great that people are willing to step out and share ideas like this, and even act on them if possible.

TV Ad

The first was an idea for a political ad to leverage the current situation in Washington… you know, the one where the Democrats shut down Congress without any action on Energy… without so much as a vote.

The basic idea here is to show the lights being shut off (I’d use a huge switching sound “ssshhhunk!”), microphones being turned off (silence).  And then either spoken or written: “Brought to you by the Democratic …

The Republican Protest of the No-Vote Vacation continues today, with no end in sight.  CSPAN showed the following press conference (video courtesy John Boehner’s office) featuring House Minority Leader John Boehner (Ohio), Mike Pence (Indiana), and Jon Porter (Nevada).  Excellent, concise, brought a solid message back from their constituents, and continuing the push forward.  Worth the 13 minutes to watch:

The best part of the message was the encouragement to all of us to call our congressmen.  Call (202)224-2121 and ask to be connected to your congressman/woman. Call and speak to Pelosi as well.  Let your them all know you want them back to work in Washington right now to get this energy legislation voted on.  And let them know that if they don’t vote …

The downward pressure on the price of oil continues, although not as strong as the past few trading days.  At the end of the day, it was $117 (down $.22 from yesterday).  Oh, and the Dow was up 40 points.

Meanwhile, Newt Gingrich showed up today at the Capital to show support for the GOP Protest.  During his time in front of the cameras, he said that Republicans may consider shutting down the government by not allowing action on government spending bills required to replace the ones expireing on September 30.  This was done during his tenure as Speaker in 1995 and 1996… and blew up in Newt’s face.  I don’t think this is a particularly healthy maneuver for Republicans to make if they want …