So last night I was driving home from a long day in Eureka.  I was listening to KGOE, which plays some Air America offerings.  Mike Malloy was ranting and is pretty much giving up on Obama.  There was a nice story about some protestors with a sign in Norway directed to Obama with regard to the Nobel Peace Prize which read, “you won it, now earn it.”  Then they started in on the Medicare buy-in compromise, when I reached the Main Street exit of Fortuna and lost the signal.  It dawned on me that when driving at night I always lose the signal as I reach Fortuna.  Is conservative Fortuna jamming the frequency?

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I switched stations.  Gene Burns on KGO was discussing something boring.  A few notches to the left at 780 a.m. is KOH, a station out of Reno with all conservative broadcasting.  I used to listen to it often when I lived out on Red Rock Road in Benbow.  Back then Michael Reagan had the time spot, but last night there was a soft-spoken but dogmatic host named “Roger.”  He went through a litany of grievances, crowed in sanguine manner about Obama’s poll numbers being in the tank, and complained about…. the war in Afghanistan.  He complained that we are in a war which has no clear goals and will potentially be endless.  The war in Iraq made more sense, but now Obama is “starting” a war in a country which has no democratic traditions to build on.

Huh.  I’d like to know if he was raising the same points two years ago.  Any conservatives out there listen to him?

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The defeat of health care reform this week is about as depressing as the Bush wins of 2000 and 2004.  Lieberman pretty much killed it single-handedly, and today said he would even filibuster an “irritant” such as a triggered public option.  He says, “If they say that it’s unlikely to be [pulled] then it’s unnecessary.”  He’s right about that.

But now he’s even “troubled” about the Medicare buy-in proposal.  I think Snowe and the Republicans finally caught up with him and explained how dangerous a slippery slope that one could be, especially if it made Medicare more solvent.  Someone would figure out that lowering the age even further would do more.

Well, there’s a little bit of noise gathering in the House.  Grijalva and other progressives are hinting that they may just sink the bill.  And in fact the Democratic leadership is talking about skipping conference and going straight to the House floor for a vote.  Grijalva says he and others won’t look kindly on that, but hesitates to make any firm threats until he’s seen what comes out of the Senate.

And if Lieberman pushes them too far, Reid may have to reconsider reconciliation – which would make my day.

But Lieberman has jutzpa.  Look what else he’s carved out for himself.  If it passes like this and Lieberman retains that chairmanship, I may boycott all Democrats in the next election.

Nate Silver thinks I’m overreacting.

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We report, you decide – Fox gets the award for the all time most loaded poll question from a major news network:  “What do you think President Obama would like to do with the extra bank bailout money — save it for an emergency, spend it on government programs that might help him politically in 2010 and 2012, or return it to taxpayers?”

Mind-boggling.

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Michael Walzer argues that Obama’s escalation of the Afghan war is not just prudent, but moral.  Some of his arguments are at the core of my own ambivalence about the issue.

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I guess North Carolina has a provision in law which bars atheists from serving in office.  It almost kept this individual out of office.  It’s probably only been on the books this long because it hasn’t been enforced.

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