Just in case you're tempted to get distracted by all that talk from the White House, Nancy Pelosi, etc. about how all those people showing up at townhall meetings really don't represent America, well it seems the numbers tell a different story:

Self-identified conservatives outnumber self-identified liberals in all 50 states of the union, according to the Gallup Poll.
 
At the same time, more Americans nationwide are saying this year that they are conservative than have made that claim in any of the last four years.

In 2009, 40% percent of respondents in Gallup surveys that have interviewed more than 160,000 Americans have said that they are either "conservative" (31%) or "very conservative" (9%). That is the highest percentage in any year since 2004.

Only 21% have told Gallup they are liberal, including 16% who say they are "liberal" and 5% who say they are "very liberal."
 
Thirty-five percent of Americans say they are moderate.

And, of course, we know that most "moderates" tend to be conservatives who are worried about running afoul of political correctness if they admit it.

The bigger news here?  Every state?  Even California, New York, Massachusetts, etc?  Then again, those states have spent the last few years plagued by out of control spending and/or out of control judges trying to impose gay marriage by fiat.  Which says something about how popular liberalism is.  read more »

 It's not as though we didn't see this coming...

Remember the anti-war movement? Not too long ago, the Democratic party's most loyal voters passionately opposed the war in Iraq. Democratic presidential candidates argued over who would withdraw American troops the quickest. Netroots activists regularly denounced President George W. Bush, and sometimes the U.S. military ("General Betray Us"). Cindy Sheehan, the woman whose soldier son was killed in Iraq, became a heroine when she led protests at Bush's Texas ranch.

That was then. Now, even though the United States still has roughly 130,000 troops in Iraq, and is quickly escalating the war in Afghanistan -- 68,000 troops there by the end of this year, and possibly more in 2010 -- anti-war voices on the Left have fallen silent.

That article, written by Byron York w/the Washington Examiner, prompted Cindy Sheehan to contact him and basicallyagree with him:

"I haven't stopped working.  I've been protesting every time I can, and it's not covered.  But the one time I did get a lot of coverage was when I protested in front of George Bush's house in Dallas in June.  I don't know what to make of it.  Is the press having a honeymoon with Obama?  I know the Left is."

This is a bit a humorous story.

Via Wall Street Journal:

White House officials and lawmakers were studying late Thursday how to keep alive the government’s cash-for-clunkers incentive program because of concerns the program’s $1 billion budget may have been exhausted after just one week.

Obama administration officials warned congressional leaders Thursday it planned to suspend the program at midnight. But the White House released a statement late Thursday saying that completed deals would be honored and the program is still under review.

 

A White House official said, “We are working tonight to assess the situation facing what is obviously an incredibly popular program. Auto dealers and consumers should have confidence that all valid [cash-for-clunker] transactions that have taken place to-date will be honored.”

Lawmakers are discussing with White House officials where to find funding — including possibly tapping the government’s Troubled Asset Relief Program, or TARP, a congressional aide said.

The clunkers program, which offers rebates of up to $4,500 to consumers who trade in old vehicles and buy new, more fuel-efficient models, began July 24 and sparked a surge in car sales.