Column: Palin attacks on Obama lack a grasp of facts

In a not-so-swift swift-boat attack on Barack Obama, Sarah Palin tried to link the Secret Service sex scandal to the president's ability to manage this nation's affairs. But she succeeds only in demonstrating how fuzzy her knowledge is of the government she came close to being a heartbeat away from running.

By Mark Wilson, Getty Images

Palin: Cites Article 1, Section 9, Clause 7.

By Mark Wilson, Getty Images

Palin: Cites Article 1, Section 9, Clause 7.

DeWayne Wickham USATODAY columnist

Palin told Fox News' Greta Van Susteren that the Secret Service agents' inappropriate contact with Colombian prostitutes was "a symptom of a government run amok" and Obama's "poor management skills." Then Palin offered up this bit of nonsense as proof of her contention: "The No. 1 thing that he is responsible for is … violating Article 1, Section 9, Clause 7 of the United States Constitution in not having a budget."

What she's talking about is the section of the Constitution that spells out the responsibility of Congress, not the president, to appropriate money spent by all branches of the federal government. That clause of the Constitution does not mandate creation of a federal budget. It doesn't even use the word "budget."

Failure of Congress

The president is required by the 1921 Budget and Accounting Act to submit a budget to Congress — and that's exactly what Obama has done every year since taking office. That Congress hasn't passed any of his budgets is a failing of both Republican and Democratic legislators on Capitol Hill, not the man who occupies the Oval Office.

Blaming Obama for Congress' failure to pass a budget might be good politics for the former Alaska governor, but it's bad civics.

It has been "over 1,000 days with no budget, no blueprint to run our federal government," Palin told Van Susteren. Under Article 2 of the Constitution, which deals with the president's responsibilities, Obama has a duty to ensure that laws are "faithfully executed." But to meet that test, he only needs to make sure the money his administration spends is authorized by Congress. And though this may be news to Palin, Congress has spent merrily during Obama's presidency through the use of appropriations, continuing resolutions and the budget reconciliation process.

Palin choice for veep

To say that Palin ought to know better is to expect too much enlightenment from someone who says Rep. Allen West, R-Fla., tops her list of candidates to be the GOP's vice presidential candidate. West recently pandered to the fears of some of his right-wing backers when he irrationally proclaimed that 78 to 81 members of the Democratic Party are members of the Communist Party.

Palin is a captain in the swift-boat fleet — the same type of smear tactic used against John Kerry in 2004 — that Republicans have launched against Obama. Her mission is to inflict as much damage on him as possible — and to do it in any way she can. Back in December, she got off an early salvo when she criticized the president for sending out a Christmas card that showed his dog in front of a fireplace decorated with a holiday wreath, bulbs and ribbons. It was "odd," she said, that the card had no overt religious symbols or emphasis on "family, faith and freedom."

Of course Palin saw nothing wrong with the religious symbols-free holiday card Republican President George W. Bush sent out shortly after she and Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., were defeated in the 2008 presidential election by Obama and his running mate, Sen. Joe Biden, D-Del. That's because neither logic nor good sense has anything to do with her swift-boating attacks on Obama.

DeWayne Wickham writes on Tuesdays for USA TODAY.

For more information about reprints & permissions, visit our FAQ's. To report corrections and clarifications, contact Standards Editor Brent Jones. For publication consideration in the newspaper, send comments to letters@usatoday.com. Include name, phone number, city and state for verification. To view our corrections, go to corrections.usatoday.com.

View the original article here

Howard Dean: Sarah Palin Can Win (ContributorNetwork)

COMMENTARY | One hesitates to agree with anything Howard Dean has to say. However, occasionally, the mercurial former governor of Vermont, former presidential candidate and former chairman of the DNC has some interesting insights.

According to the Hill, he has insights such as this one: Sarah Palin can beat President Barack Obama. Dean's thesis is that the bad economy is eroding the confidence of the American people in the current administration so profoundly that they will in short order become hungry for change, which Palin certainly represents.

Dean's analysis goes against the conventional, inside the Beltway wisdom that Palin's current poll negatives are so high that she cannot possibly win the Republican nomination, never mind the general election. "Directorblue" over at Hot Air recounts the perceived wisdom of Charles Krauthammer and George Will, well respected elders of the Washington punditcracy, about the unelectability of Palin. That wisdom is reflected in numerous columns, pronouncements on TV chat shows, and, of course, the obscene rantings of Bill Maher, who regards a possible Palin presidency with fear and loathing.

But Dean is going back to another conventional wisdom, which has stood the test of time, that a bad economy tends to translate to electoral defeat for a sitting president, no matter whom his opponent is. That was true for Jimmy Carter when he was opposed by a wild, radical right wing nut named Ronald Reagan. That was true for George H.W. Bush when he was opposed by a slimy, left wing draft dodging skirt chaser named Bill Clinton.

It was even kind of true when John McCain, of the same party as the sitting president, went up against a smooth talking, radical acolyte of Saul Alinsky named Barack Obama.

The only question is, which Dean's scenario (which for him must be a living nightmare) play out. First, Palin had to enter the race. Then she has to beat a field of candidates, some of them quite formidable. Then she has to beat President Obama. Along the way she has to change the minds of many people who are not disposed at this time to vote for her and cause them at least to take a second look.

Howard Dean thinks that if the bad economy persists, which it shows every sign of doing, she can do that, to the detriment of President Obama's reelection chances.

View the original article here