Idle comments *UPDATED*

I’ve had a few thoughts swirling around my brain today, so I thought I’d toss them in the mix.

Thought one:  Rahm Emanuel’s been getting heat for insulting the mentally disabled by using “retarded” as an insult.  The focus has been on the hurt feelings of the mentally disabled, and I think that’s valid.  More valid, though, is the fact that this is such a perfect example of what a debased human being Emanuel is.  Civilized discourse has no room for that kind of crude, abusive temper tantrum.  Someone with that disdain for other people, and that lack of self-control, should not be in a position of power, period.

Thought two:  I heard a few minutes of Mario Rubio on Sean Hannity’s radio show today.  I tuned in without knowing who was speaking.  After a few seconds I thought, “what a lucid speaker.”  A few more seconds led me to “what a lucid thinker.”  I then realized he was a politician and thought, “how rare to hear that level of intellectual clarity from any politician, whether Left or Right.”  When I learned that it was Rubio, I thought, “How lucky the Florida voters are that they have this man on the ballot.”

Thought three:  I need to get out and dust off my old post about the difference between statism and individualism.  I think that’s going to matter a great deal this year and in the coming years.

Thought four:  I continue to believe that Obama’s personality, which is a mixture of ambition, distraction, uglification and, especially, derision, is going to make him unable to pull a Clinton and move to the center.  His intransigence on the health care issue (he keeps pushing in the face of acute voter distress) and the utterly insane budget he submitted would seem to support this.  I hope I don’t make the mistake of underestimating Obama — he’s a dirty fighter and a survivor — but I do think his fundamental belief that he is a genius in a world of idiots will play against him with both voters and other politicians.  It’s worth remember, in this regard, that Obama has been good at winning but, to the extent he has a track record, he’s been lousy at performing.

UPDATE:  By the way, on the subject of Obama’s stubbornness, simply witness his unwillingness to apologize for his second attack on Las Vegas.  Instead, after praising Las Vegas, he pretty much repeated his original point, which is that you shouldn’t blow your hard-earned cash there, but instead, you should have a family friendly vacation.  Perhaps Obama is a little unclear on the concept, but Las Vegas makes its money by giving people a good time, while they blow their hard-earned cash there — a decision that should be theirs, not the president’s.  This is a man who needs to control others, and who will never issue a true apology.  Can we say “malignant narcissist?”