Climategate

The Midas Touch. Very few people have it. Off the top of my head I think of: Steve Jobs, Warren Buffet, and Phil Jackson. Wherever they go, and whatever they do, they succeed. Most people don’t. The first person I think of: Barack Obama. Following his meteoric climb to the presidency he has become political poison to nearly everything he has come into contact with.

The “Obama Touch” begain with the New Jersey Gubernatorial race. The President campaigned heavily for the Democratic incumbent John Corzine in a state that should have been a lock regardless of his cameo.  A deep-pocketed incumbent in a blue state that Obama won by 16% up against an underfunded Republican who didn’t even run a great campaign. But five appearances and a slew of quotes like “[Corzine] is one of the best partners I have in the White House” later, Democrats had lost the governor’s mansion.

Same story, same result in Massachusetts where Martha Coakley fell from a 17% lead in the polls to be defeated by an upstart Republican candidate. Obama was there as well, campaigning for Coakley when the race was a statistical dead heat, hoping his popularity would save the day in the land of Kennedy’s. It didn’t. By the time Obama left, Scott Brown had established a firm 9% lead over the Democrat.

He called the 19-0 Kentucky basketball team to congratulate them on their “Hoops for Haiti” program. They promptly lost. He made countless speeches and appearances to spread the word about health care reform. It’s looking more dead by the day. He wanted to pass a comprehensive energy and environmental reform bill. Then came “Climategate” and an ongoing investigation into the science of global warming. Tough year.

A new Gallup poll shows the depth of the Obama Touch,

Obama’s lowest job approval ratings come in the areas of healthcare policy, the economy, and the federal budget deficit, which coincidentally are the three issues he has devoted the most face-time to. To some degree, this is exactly as you would expect it. The President can be seen as devoting his popularity in an attempt to rally support for unpopular portions of his agenda. It wouldn’t make sense for him to expend all of his political capital to hammer home issues that people already agree with. But this would overlook a key point behind these latest poll numbers – almost all of them represent Obama’s lowest popularity on the issue since he became President.

The more he tries to sell health care, the more people refuse to buy into it:

The more he says he’s going to work to fix the economy, the less people believe him:

What the President and Congressional Democrats must understand is that it’s nothing personal. Although it certainly cannot be said that he has the Midas Touch, it is not Obama’s mere association that is dragging candidates and policies into the abyss. It’s that Obama’s attempts to emphasize an issue are acting to highlight the flaws in the Democrats plans. People learned that although health care reform sounds great, any attempt that fails to bend the cost-curve is kinda pointless. People figured out that Obama’s plan to fix the economy, well…wait, what is Obama’s plan to fix the economy?

The Obama Touch, anything he touches suffers an immediate drop in approval ratings. But it’s a curable disease. Step 1: under-promise and over-deliver. Step 2: consult with Republicans – they have ideas that will surprise you. Step 3: align your policy goals with the public – i.e. GET MOVING ON THE ECONOMY!

- Brandon Greife, Political Director of the College Republican National Committee

 Americans have been vilified and conditioned to believe that they are the worst polluters on the planet.   The USA has the assignment; worlds whipping boy for any and all environmental abuse on the earth. Somehow it’s all our fault that 16 of the worlds 20 most polluted cities are in China.     None of the top 20 most polluted cities are in the U.S., however.   In fact of the 10 cleanest cities in the world  we, here in the U.S., have 3 cities on that list.   And that is an accomplishment to be proud of and should not be taken lightly. It wasn’t always so good, however. 

It was June 22nd,1969 when Cleveland Ohio’s Cuyahoga River caught fire. That’s right – water so polluted it just started burning.   Ignited by a spark from a passing train, some believe. This, of course, made the national news. The incident is credited with motivating the American public to get on about the chore of cleaning up their environment. Not too long afterward came the Clean Water Act of ’72 and Clean Air Act of ’70. And today the Cuyahoga River has recovered and is frequented by local fisherman.   

 The Great Lakes are also on the mend and a home to a thriving sports fishing industry. Boston Harbor, called the “filthiest harbor in the nation” back in the early ‘80s, is well on its way to a full recovery.   And does anyone remember the “LA Smog Alerts”? Fact: the last LA Smog Alert was in 1997! A monumental accomplishment that Californians and Americans should be extremely proud of.   Not just LA but most of the major U.S. cities have decreased Particulate Matter in the air dramatically over the past couple of decades ( link ).  Additionally, much of these advances were prior to the introduction of hybrid vehicles.  Thanks to technology, vehicle emissions have decreased and we are actually driving many more miles and polluting much less.  The reduction of particulate matters in the air have no doubt ( link2 ) contributed to the increase in U.S. life expectancy.    And what ever happened to “acid rain”? Apparently those sulfur dioxide scrubbers in power plants have helped considerably.   And the Ozone Hole? Where did it go?   And the Whooping Crane? Down to 21 birds in 1941. Now there is a heavily protected population of 300 birds.   Successes we get little credit for.  Here’s a cool website: ( link3 ).   This site gives the current/daily Air Quality Index status for our nation.   The site is provided by our own government. Monitoring the site over a period of time and you’ll have to conclude that our USA is a clean/ healthy place to hang out, for the most part. Rarely an “unhealthy” rating is observed. More and more, the incessant diatribes from our critics simply do not appear to be grounded in reality.   And regarding greenhouse gas emissions. We’re continuously getting chided and berated because of our alleged excessive greenhouse gas emissions, here in the U.S.   Its been said that the burning of fossil fuels will cause carbon dioxide to be pumped into the air causing this greenhouse effect (hence warming), yet we continue to have record cold winters and scientists have proven that the oceans are actually cooling a bit.   A fairly reliable indication that the earth’s temperature is not rising to any significant or dangerous levels and that the concerns over these emissions have been exaggerated.   Sadly, the recent and tragic emergence of the Climategate emails have deeply tainted all of the Environmental Sciences. Because of the lust of a few for political power and money, the entire scientific community has lost a large measure of credibility.   Especially the political-agenda-driven environmental science cabal, headed up by a former vice-president of the United States. It will be difficult for the scientific community to win back that confidence and until that day comes, Americans need not accept or tolerate any criticisms/blame for causing any sort of climate change.  And they need not give up their SUV’s!  It is now time to put the man-made climate change debate back on the shelf until we have some solid proof that man is responsible. Not a collection of loose, unproven theories. An honest and open debate must take place with both global warming proponents and skeptics allowed to participate.   In my “layman’s” view it seems there are factors that are not being - factored in.  (maybe purposely) Think about plants. During daylight hours plants absorb carbon dioxide and emit oxygen. During hours of darkness that is reversed – unless there is artificial light available. Then photosynthesis continues.  Next time you’re at some high-rise office building, do a quick count of all the plants you see - hundreds. Nasa has proven the value of indoor. Plants that may actually save your life.   Some plants actually absorb not only CO2 but toxins from the air. Two indoor plants per 100 square feet can make a significant and healthful difference. Another American success story! Yes, we Americans are house-plant fanatics.   We love and nurture millions of plants that help absorb many of the impurities out of the air and in return they emit sweet oxygen. How many indoor plants would you estimate are in a 40 story office building under artificial light?   It’s a factor!  And, hey, we humans eat many plants. We love the edible ones, too!   During the growth cycle of these plants they are absorbing CO2 and emitting oxygen. The more people, the more they will need to eat and the more plants will be grown for the purpose of feeding these people. Millions of acres of plants being raised for food – absorbing/emitting. Another factor!  And what about the Forest Products sector? Almost half of the of all wood supply is now planted and grown on plantations.   Yet these plantations make up only 5% of the worlds forests! Which precludes the need for deforestation in the worlds natural forests. One mature tree (whether planted or naturally grown) can absorb approximately 48 pounds of CO2 per year! The Forest Products Industry has been planting and reforesting for decades. Couple that with the number of trees/shrubs that individuals plant  on their personal properties. Massive amounts of CO2 absorbed. Massive amounts of oxygen emitted. A massive factor, for sure!  And, lest we forget…our Nations valiant U.S. Forest Service Firefighters who have saved millions of acres of forest land. From the Hot Shot Crews to the Smoke Jumpers.   Some have made the ultimate sacrifice…(link).   Our gratitude goes to these brave women and men. An ultimate factor.  We get so much negative input from our media, the blogs,  the entertainment industry, foreign nations and world governing bodies regarding the damage that we Americans do to the environment. And personally, I don’t want to hear any more of their doom/gloom predictions.   I didn’t have to work very hard to find America’s true, positive environmental impact. But I know I missed much. If you readers have other reports of home grown U.S. environmental successes, please add them to the comments. I’d love to hear more upbeat news.   One day, when pigs fly, Time Magazine might once again celebrate the American People as they did back in 1969 by naming them as  “Person of the Year”. It was a far different publication back then.    But I’m not going to wait.  Nor am I going to wait on timid politicians, who run like scared rabbits from this debate/issue and are afraid to heap this sort of praise on you. Think of the political fallout!    Therefore, I am honored to perform this duty. I do hereby name the Citizens of the U.S.A. -  “2009 Darvin Dowdy Person of the Year”  for being Great Stewards of the Environment. I salute you and applaud you. And I exhort you to hold your heads high and make no apologies.  And don’t get rid of your SUV’s! DD