The Opinion Blog

`Obama Nation' tops New York Times bestseller list

From the afternoon e-mail ... A book unfavorable to Barack Obama is selling well. Does that necessarily spell trouble for the Democratic presidential candidate?:

THE OBAMA NATION' TOPS 1 ON NEW YORK TIMES LIST

Corsi's blockbuster expose leads charts

Jerome Corsi's blockbuster expose, "The Obama Nation," has been at the top of the best-seller charts since its release last week and now has been reported atop the New York Times best-seller list for Aug. 17, as well as occupying the No. 1 position among all political nonfiction books on Amazon.

Which candidate would be better for your portfolio?

From the morning e-mail ... Brent Brodeski attempts to answer a common question in presidential-campaign years: Are investors better off under Republican or Democratic presidents?

The 2008 U.S. presidential candidates, Barack Obama and John McCain, will be debating many issues in the coming months, from the environment to the economy.

With intense media coverage of the candidates' promises for hope and change, investors are understandably wondering what this means for the stock market and their investments.

What makes voters so wary of Obama?

Ripped from the wires ... David Brooks identifies the Obama quality likely responsible for his lackluster showing in the polls. Hint: It's not his race or youthful age:

By DAVID BROOKS

Why isn't Barack Obama doing better? Why, after all that has happened, does he have only a slim 2- or 3-point lead over John McCain, according to an average of the recent polls? Why is he basically tied with his opponent when his party is so far ahead?

Will Mitt Romney become the U.S. health-care tsar?

Ripped from the wires ... Froma Harrop, my favorite liberal columnist, envisions Mitt Romney as the U.S. health-care tsar, should John McCain name him his running mate:

By FROMA HARROP

We who obsess over universal health coverage may soon confront a startling development: The only candidate on a major-party presidential ticket to have proposed and implemented a universal plan could well be a Republican. I speak of former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, now high on the list of John McCain's possible running mates.

Hurtling toward `government of the stupid'

Ripped from the wires ... Here's the inimitable Michelle Malkin's latest offering, this one on the celebrification of the Obama family. I'm beginning to suspect she doesn't like the guy:

BY MICHELLE MALKIN

You couldn't pass a grocery store line this weekend without seeing the picture-perfect smiles of the Obama family. There were Barack Obama's young daughters (whose privacy their parents so sanctimoniously claim to want to protect) flashing their pearly whites on the cover of People magazine. Malia and Sasha competed for attention right next to Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie's toddler daughter, Shiloh, whose cherubic face was splashed on the cover of another celebrity tabloid. Next to them beamed basket-case starlet Lindsay Lohan and her new lesbian lover -- oh, and that formerly pregnant "man'' who just gave birth to a baby girl.

The Obamas blended seamlessly into this Hollyweird pop culture galaxy.

Obama should submit to a little mockery

Ripped from the wires ... Maureen Dowd argues that Barack Obama needs to lighten up:

By MAUREEN DOWD

When I interviewed Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert for Rolling Stone a couple years ago, I wondered what Barack Obama would mean for them.

"It seems like a President Obama would be harder to make fun of than these guys,'' I said.

"Are you kidding me?'' Stewart scoffed.

Then he and Colbert both said at the same time: "His dad was a goat-herder!''

No habla ingles? No problemo, says Obama

Ripped from the wires ... Kathleen Parker notes the contrasts in the ways that John McCain and Barack Obama pander -- er,appeal -- to Hispanic voters:

By KATHLEEN PARKER

La cucaracha, la cucaracha, ya no puede caminar. La cucaracha, la cuca ...

Oh, perdon. I was just tuning up for an interview with Baracko Obama and Juan McCain.

Juan y Baracko have been busy lately wooing los que hablan espanol. That is, people who speak Spanish. With an estimated 9.2 million Hispanic votes in play this November, the stakes are high. And the pandering is in high gear.

Ms. Obama courts a key constituency: working women

From the afternoon e-mail ... The Obama campaign touts Michelle Obama's two-day working women listening tour in Michigan and Missouri -- both key swing states:

Chicago, IL  -- Michelle Obama visited with Michigan women Wednesday morning to hear about the challenges they face in juggling work and family commitments and keeping up with soaring costs and to discuss how Senator Obama's economic policies will provide real relief for women and families. Michelle has been hosting women's roundtables over the course of the campaign, helping to communicate Senator Obama's vision and share her perspective on his background and approach to making America more prosperous for everyone.

Michelle will meet with working women in Kansas City, Missouri on Thursday.

Is Obama to become America's new Gipper?

Ripped from the wires ... Darrell M. West of the Brookings Institution argues that the best historical parallel for Barack Obama is not John F. Kennedy; it's Ronald Reagan:

By Darrell M. West

The youthful and charismatic Barack Obama may often be compared to John F. Kennedy, but Ronald Reagan poses the more interesting parallel. Like the Republican who swept into the White House in 1980, Obama is an outstanding orator whose national political rise coincides with a grass-roots movement demanding fundamental change in America.

Many Democrats underestimated Reagan because of his inexperience, ardent ideology, and lofty but sometimes vague rhetoric. Yet the former Hollywood actor and California governor surprised opponents by leading a revolution in domestic and foreign policy. Aided by shrewd advisers and outside activists, Reagan cut taxes, slashed social service spending and ushered in a tough international stance. In so doing, Reagan became one of America's most influential presidents in the post-World War II era.

'Kill me with a nuke, not a rusty knife'

Ripped from the wires ... Jules Witcover notes Gen. Wesley Clark is only the latest military retiree to show a lack of aptitude for presidential politics:

By Jules Witcover

In a presidential race in which John McCain seems to be holding the weakest cards -- his age, limited campaign money, the albatross of an unpopular president around his neck -- he has gotten a favorable shuffling of the deck from a Barack Obama surrogate.

The blunder of retired Army Gen. Wesley Clark in questioning McCain's military service as a recommendation for the presidency has spotlighted the Arizona senator's one ace -- the patriotism card -- at a time his campaign could stand a boost.