Right On The Right

Watching President Bush throw out the first pitch at a Washington Nationals game on ESPN was entertaining, and listening to him in the booth really made me admire the man, not just the politician. The following video clip makes me admire him even more, and he even has jokes:

I have never been in favor of the unbalanced trade we're engaging in with the Chinese. I think it's ridiculous that we're boycotting the Cubans while we let Chinese goods, produced in a nation with a radical regime, flow openly into our country. Still, the notion of boycotting the Olympics is controversial, and I'm not ready to say our athletes shouldn't show up. I agree with one Congressman however in saying that our President shouldn't be there:

As the Year of the Rat scurries toward the opening ceremonies, however, I and my anti-communist ilk have not been idle. On April 1, I introduced H.R. 5668, which would bar any United States government official from attending the Beijing games’ ceremonies. (Importantly, this legislation does not impact our athletes.) Oh, I know H.R. 5668 requires the President’s signature or a Congressional over-ride of his veto to become law. Still, while it may not persuade the President to be “unavoidably otherwise occupied elsewhere in the world” during the communist Chinese Olympics, it will meet our moral imperative to our posterity, our country, and the cruel muse of History:

For when, once again, history’s flickering lamp illumes our aged cheeks and strews her lengthening shadows across our fleeting existence, she will avow how the supporters of H.R. 5668 did “march always in the ranks of honor.”

Pray she finds Republicans amongst them.

McCotter, if you read the entire piece, does not mince words in going after our Commander-in-Chief's decision. While I think some of his jokes (i.e. calling him "The Decider") came off as mean and sarcastic as opposed to satirical and funny, but he gets the point across. President Bush should not attend the Olympic Games in China.

Tons of Australians are a bit upset about their new Prime Minister. Apparently, when he ran a campaign based on not being Bush's lapdog, they weren't expecting him to salute him when they met him. I just find this a bit humorous:

Too often, the Administration has been on the wrong side of the immigration debate, favoring a political solution in the form of "comprehensive reform" instead of a physical fence. The American people badly want an actual barrier. It appears that the President truly understands the need for security first now, favoring a solution that will help defend this country. Ed Morrissey has the good news:

The Bush administration plans to use its authority to bypass more than 30 laws and regulations in an effort to finish building 670 miles of fence along the southwest U.S. border by the end of this year, federal officials said Tuesday.

Invoking the legal waivers — which Congress authorized — would cut through bureaucratic red tape and sidestep environmental laws that currently stand in the way of the Homeland Security Department building 267 miles of fencing in California, Arizona, New Mexico and Texas, according to officials familiar with the plan. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because the waivers had not yet been announced.

The move would be the biggest use of legal waivers since the administration started building the fence. Previously, the department has used its waiver authority for two portions of fence in Arizona and one portion in San Diego.

Ed has a good take on the political ramifications of this move, noting that it may help quell concerns over McCain's policy, especially since he's now saying he'll secure the border first. If he would pledge to finish the fence, on the entire border, he could corner the debate on an issue that, as Ed mentions, has vast bi-partisan agreement amongst the American people. This is a solid step towards a secure border.

The Democrats are going to run their action plan from 2004, entitled "Anyone But Bush." Unfortunately for the ultra-liberal left, John McCain is not George W. Bush, and he has many different views. He's stronger on the war, stronger on taxes, weaker on campaign finance, and generally has a totally different way of doing things. Still, ads like this one shown on Hot Air are going to be their bread-and-butter: