Tag Archives: Libya

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Obama most admired man in U.S. Who knew?

The Gallup Poll has just released a survey that is going to surprise more than a few folks. It surprised me, for example.

It says President Barack Obama is the most admired man in America — by a comfortable margin at that.

http://www.msnbc.com/hardball/obama-clinton-most-admired-gallup

The most admired woman happens to be former first lady/Sen./Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton.

Why is this so surprising? I see a couple of interesting things here.

The first one is obvious. President Obama has had a rough year, particularly as it relates to the unveiling of the Affordable Care Act. The debut of the ACA was a disaster, technically speaking. The rollout came on top of a barrage of criticism of the ACA from Republicans who managed somehow to win the argument.

Despite all the bad press, the president continues to stand fairly tall in the minds of millions of Americans.

Much the same can be said of Hillary Clinton, who left public office at the beginning of the year as a controversy over her office’s handling of an uprising in Libya drew fire. The consulate in Benghazi was attacked, four Americans died in a ferocious fire fight and Clinton took lots of heat over the way her office handled the initial response.

Yet, for the 12th year in a row, she remains America’s most admired woman.

The second factor is interesting as well, in that Gallup isn’t exactly known for favoring so-called “liberals.” The poll long has been viewed by observers as tilting a tad to the right. Still, the poll is deemed reputable.

The lesson here might only be that we need not pay too much attention to the chattering class that so often seems to outshout the rest of the us.

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Logan takes ‘leave’ from ’60 Minutes’

That ticking sound you hear at the start of “60 Minutes” each Sunday has taken on a new symbolic meaning.

I’m guessing it now might symbolize that time is running out on of the formerly premier news show’s correspondents, Lara Logan, who has been ordered to take an undetermined leave of absence.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/11/26/lara-logan-60-minutes-leave_n_4344883.html

Logan and her producer have earned this kick in the backside.

“60 Minutes” recently broadcast a segment that depended heavily on reports from someone who told the news agency that he was present at the U.S. consulate in Benghazi, Libya on Sept. 11, 2012 when it came under attack from terrorists.

Well, it turned out that the source for the story, security officer Dylan Davies, told the FBI something quite different. He told the feds he didn’t arrive until after the shooting stopped.

The report had been highly critical of the State Department and the CIA response to the attack that killed four Americans, including Chris Stevens, the U.S. ambassador to Libya. “60 Minutes,” though, based its reporting on a source who, it turned out, was not credible. He wasn’t there. He didn’t see anything.

Logan went on the air later to offer what she called a “correction.” She apologized for the report.

Now it seems that CBS News has taken the next step in ordering Logan to take a break, along with her producer, Max McClellan.

I wouldn’t bet on Logan’s return to “60 Minutes.” These types of high-profile “leaves of absence” usually result in termination.

The network’s next big task is to repair the damage done to its reputation and to a news program once considered to be the gold standard for broadcast journalism.

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Falling gas prices a boon or a bust?

A Bloomberg News Service columnist is issuing a warning about the falling gasoline prices.

They aren’t necessarily good for the nation’s economy or its long-term energy policy.

Pump prices in Amarillo now stand at about $2.92 per gallon for regular unleaded gas. That’s “cheap,” yes? And who would have thought $2.92 would be considered a bargain for gas?

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-11-11/beware-of-falling-gas-prices-ritholtz-chart.html

Barry L. Ritholtz, writing for Bloomberg.com, thinks the price reduction is going to produce a spike in driving. We’re going to forget that we have a limited supply of fossil fuels used to produce gasoline. It happens every time we see these dramatic dips in gasoline prices, as Ritholtz has noted.

Then comes the sticker shock when the next overseas crisis erups in an oil-producing region — Syria, Iran, Egypt, Libya, Yemen … they all come to mind.

I don’t want to sound like a know-it-all, but my wife and I have recently invested in a hybrid automobile. It runs on electricity and gasoline. Our Toyota Prius is our No. 1 in-town vehicle, and so far the investment is paying tremendous returns for us. We’re averaging about 47 miles per gallon and filling it up about every two weeks for a mere pittance of what we normally have paid for fuel.

Our 3/4-ton diesel-fueled Dodge Ram pickup, the one we use to haul our fifth-wheel travel vehicle? That’s another story. Won’t go there. Suffice to say it stays parked most of the time.

We’re all enjoying the relatively cheap fuel at the moment. However, I intend to take Ritholtz’s warning to heart.