Well, That Didn't Take Long

White House is now backing away from Obama's campaign pledge not to raise taxes on anybody making less than $250,000 a year. (BTW, just like I said they would.)

What makes it so fantastic is that Axelrod is talking about taxing health benefits, which is something that, you guessed it, Obama was berating McCain for suggesting during the campaign. He even produced commercials slamming McCain for this idea.

Really, it beggars belief that anybody believes a word that Obama says.

Losing the Germans

Germany. Scene of Obama's "citizens of the world" speech last summer. Land of Obama popularity.

Not so much anymore.

I was quite surprised by this article. Although I agree with the points it makes about Obama's fiscal insanity, I was shocked that the mood had turned so fast on him in Germany.

Heckuva Job, Barry - Part IV

Do I sound like a broken record?  Yes.

Is that because other countries keep acting rationally and diversifying away from Treasuries and dollar-denominated debt?

Yes.

Wow.

Update:  Here's the link that didn't publish.  Rasmussen poll showing that Republicans are now more trusted on the economy than Democrats.  Considering the disgusting spendfest that the Republicans engaged in until 2006, I'm shocked that they have been rehabilitated so fast.  Like I said, "Wow."

I was even more stunned when I saw that Republicans have pulled even with Democrats on the generic Congressional ballot poll.  Considering the hole the Republicans dug themselves, this is a remarkable development.  It also seems clear that Republicans are going to take back the statehouse in New Jersey and Virginia this year.

The cycles turn very fast.

Hecukva Job, Barry - Part III

Once again, the Chinese are showing that they are not fools when it comes to buying U.S. debt.  As I have been saying over and over and over, if our creditors stop allowing us to use our currency to borrow for the massive Obama deficits, we are in for a world of hurt.  The fact that this shot across our bow comes only a week after Geithner was laughed at in Beijing for suggesting that China's dollar-denominated assets were safe should give us all pause.

In related news, Obama is out talking about how he is going to ramp up the stimulus spending to create 600,000 jobs.  Let's leave aside the fact that those will necessarily be short-term jobs.  What I cannot understand is why this is only happening now when we were told in February that Congress needed to pass the stimulus package without reading it because action was needed then.  But Obama had to make some kind of announcement because unemployment is already rocketing past the worst case assumptions for his budget plan (and, incidentally, the bank stress tests), all of which makes even more massive deficits than projected more likely.  Remember that this is the Obama who was calling for a "net spending cut" in the campaign.  

Of course, this doesn't even include the trillion or so dollars we will need for the new healthcare plan.  How will that be financed?  Most likely through a VAT, which is nothing more than a stealth tax increase on the middle class.  And the concept of taxing health care benefits is now popping up, something that Obama categorically dismissed in the campaign.  But hey, why criticize the guy for doing the exact opposite of almost everything he said in the campaign?

It's going to be an interesting summer.