Man of the People

And today's secret woid is ELITE.

1) Prima Bama cranks the thermostat in the Oval Office. More here and here. Now we know how he survived all those chilly Chicago winters. High energy bills weren't a concern, nor was he worried about The Planet. He was cold, ok?

2) Prima Bama brings family's personal chef to the White House, and he happens to be U of C educated. I call that over the top. Sarah Palin would have sold him on eBay.

NYT: A spokeswoman for Michelle Obama, Katie McCormick Lelyveld, said Mr. Kass would not be the only cook preparing the family’s meals, but “he knows what they like, and he happens to have a particular interest in healthy food and local food.”

Heaven forbid they are offered food they 'don't like,' prepared by the White House chef and her staff, who are worthy to cook for state dinners, but not, it appears, for the First Family.

Did I mention I can't stand this whole foodie thing?

Lisa Schiffren writes a fantastic post about this at the Corner. It's a must-read for Palinistas and all you other iceberg-lettuce-eating yokels out there.

Excerpts:

I believed all that stuff about how Michelle was an overburdened modern working mother, rushing from school dropoff to her high-paying, demanding work at the hospital, to dress fittings, to whatever it was she needed to do to support her husband's political aspirations, back home to take care of her daughters. Call me naive, but that model usually includes making dinner. And squeezing in a weekly grocery shopping trip. Especially for those fresh, whole foods that don't keep so long. Now I have to wonder who did the laundry, and the vacuuming. Sure, granny helped—but I doubt she was the maid. Who was?

* * * * *

Didn't the women at Slate, among others, complain that there was something offensive about Sarah Palin's apparent ability to raise 5 children, run the state of Alaska, run marathons, and cook those mooseburgers—because it set the bar too high for ordinary women? But they were willing to believe that Michelle could do it all, and keep it all organic and healthy at that—because she has a law degree from Harvard?

Then there's Sarah Palin, who famously declined on the personal chef. She not only cooks her family's food, but hunts and fishes for it as well. She once again proves herself to be the anti-Obama, Michelle included.

Recipe from Sarah: Sweet and Saucy Salmon
















Thank you, Pundit, for the links and title. H/T also to JP.

Tired of Mr. Right

Readers, can this relationship last?

Dear Abby,

I've been seeing this great guy for a couple of years now. He is really incredible: smart, cool, great dresser, really ambitious, kind of exotic in a cool way. Did I mention he's cool? And a good listener who really respects my point of view (though, to be honest, he never seems to change his mind). Different from my usual type, I admit, which is more mature, square, and straightforward. You know, boring. I felt like I needed a change and boy did I get it!

So what's the problem? All my old friends think he's a jerk who is just using me, and they tell me so in no uncertain terms. They point out that some of his friends are kind of shady (which is true, but he is so over them now --- he told me himself). And we do disagree about a few things, like children --- he called them a punishment, which is kind of harsh, though maybe I can see his point. And they say he wants to take my stuff and run my life. But would that be so bad? I mean, he is really smart.

So what should I do? I hate to part ways with my friends but this is the chance of a lifetime. And I'm sure he will be different once we formalize our relationship. I can bring him around on those things we disagree on. It will definitely be worth the effort! There is so much promise there!

And my friends are not cool at all. I see that now. So small loss, really.

Thanks for listening!

Signed,
Tired of Mr. Right

(originally posted here by Pundit)

Pick yourself up, dust yourself off . . .

. . . start all over again.

Not a bad theme for the conservative movement.

I'll use Obama's exhortation to pick ourselves up as an excuse to post a favorite number or two from a favorite musical of mine, Swing Time. These clips are an antidote to the non-dancing we witnessed last night at the I-balls. I'm guessing that Ron and Nancy were the last presidential couple who could actually dance.

First, Astaire pretending he can't dance:


Then, by George, I think he's got it:


Thank you, Jerome Kern and Dorothy Fields.

Updated to add this from the Corner, which I think is absolutely absurd. Have you seen Obama dance?!?

Coincidence? [Kathryn Jean Lopez]

"[Obama's] gentlemanly manners and lithe elegance—he is closer in style to Fred Astaire than to any U.S. politician—charm suburban whites generally and white women in particular."—John O'Sullivan, Toronto Globe and Mail, yesterday morning.

"Starting today, we must pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off, and begin again the work of remaking America."—President Barack Obama, Inaugural Speech, yesterday.

Go 2.27 minutes into this. And hats off to lyricist Dorothy Fields.

01/21 02:02 PM

Updated again on 1/26/09 to add Mark Steyn's take on this great song and its invocation by the new president. Please note the end of Steyn's piece, which echoes what I say at the top of mine, almost exactly. :D

The Inaugural Theme

Did you know that the upcoming inauguration has a theme? I somehow missed that in all the I-Day hoopla. But the Sunday WaPo Mini Page (where the real indoctrination takes place) clued me in. You might think that the peaceful transfer of leadership of the greatest country in the world is plenty meaningful in and of itself. But Sen. Diane Feinstein and her committee felt that the inauguration, like a third-grade classroom bulletin board or a 6 year old's birthday party, cried out for a theme.

So many cool ideas out there. NASCAR would be way too redneck, and cowboys are definitely out, but how about a pirate-themed inauguration? Very trendy of late, and the secret service could get in on the fun with eye patches and swords. Or maybe Spiderman, who has recently jumped on board the Obama bandwagon. A High School Musical theme would liven up the boooor-ing, outdated ceremony and give those Obama-lovin preteens something to cheer about. We know from Ellen that Obama has some serious dance moves. But I fear these themes weren't seriously considered.

The winner is: "A New Birth of Freedom." Some Obama fans weren't happy with the selection; that whole 'birth' thing can be so confusing, and has some pretty negative connotations. But they've decided to go with it anyway. Freedom sounds real good. So MLK-ish. So Lincolnesque, which is what they say they're going for. From the committee's press release:

"At a time when our country faces major challenges at home and abroad, it is appropriate to revisit the words of President Lincoln, who strived to bring the nation together by appealing to 'the better angels of our nature'". . . .

Tell that to Speaker Pelosi.

A New Birth of Freedom. It's hard for Big Brother to resist this kind of slogan. A certain percentage of the populous will believe Oceania has always been at war with Eastasia if you just tell them so. We'll see which, and whose, freedoms -- the right to life, free speech, bearing arms? -- will expand under the Obama administration.



















They wanted to use A New Hope but that was taken.

Pop quiz:

Q: On January 20th, will Barack Obama work out at the gym before or after the inauguration?

A: Both.

Update: It has come to my attention that the inauguration has not one theme, but two.
A New Birth of Freedom was chosen by Sen. Feinstein and her Joint Congressional Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies and announced on Nov. 5th. Renewing America's Promise was chosen by The Presidential Inaugural Committee and announced on Dec. 10th. What's the deal, guys?

Steyn: Life is good

Life as in babies. Real, live babies, instead of pets or dolls. We need them as much as they need us:

Here's the reality: When feminists talk about "women's reproductive rights," they mean the right of women not to reproduce. Fine. That may make sense as a personal decision, but the state has no interest in promoting it generally.

Why? Because the state needs a birth rate of 2.1 children to maintain a stable population. In Italy, it's now 1.2. Twenty years ago, a million babies were born there each year. Now it's half a million. And the fewer babies you have today, the fewer babies are around to have babies in 20 years. Once you're as far down the death spiral as Italy is, it's hard to reverse. Most European races are going to be out of business in a couple more generations.

Steyn is always a must-read, in part because of his lethally-sharp wit and enormous humor, but more because he knows what's important - the culture of life and liberty over death and enslavement - and isn't afraid to say so.

So don't miss Go Forth and Multiply, a reprised article but absolutely worth reading all the way to the end. It can serve as a primer to the dismal demographic reality that he lays out for us in America Alone.