Check Please

BREAKING:  We didn't win the lottery, at least not the one where they give away all the dough. We did win the one where they give away podcast guests however. This week we've got Commentary's John Podhoretz and California Congressman Dana Rohrabacher (they worked for the same employer at different times in their careers. Who? Tune in and and find out). We cover the primaries, SCOTUS and HCR, the OPM scandal, Titanic, the budget, and the Congressman's triplets. Yes, you read that right, TRIPLETS. 

Music from this week's episode: 

Here's the direct link to this week's episode (but use our new audio player below), however the best way to hear the podcast is to subscribe! Visit our Feedburner page for a number of other subscription options. Or better yet, use Stitcher.

Official Ricochet publicity photo by EJHill.

The Ricochet Podcast is proudly sponsored by Encounter Books. This week's featured title is The Case for Polarized Politics: Why America Needs Social Conservatism by Jeffrey Bell. Coming soon to EncounterBooks.com and Amazon.com.

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Comments:


Bill Waldron
Joined
Aug '10
Bill Waldron

You're probably in the middle of doing so right now, Yeti, but don't forget to update the feedburner RSS feed for those of us who grab the episodes that way.

EDIT: As I knew it would, it has appeared. Thanks!

Edited on April 4, 2012 at 10:29pm
M. T. S.
Joined
Jan '11
M. T. S.

I think the direct link above is going to the episode 112.

Blue Yeti
M. T. S.: I think the direct link above is going to the episode 112. · 4 minutes ago

Fixed, thanks. 

Fredösphere
Joined
May '10
Fredösphere

What's with this idea that Obama leads Romney in the polls lately? Here's an average of polls that puts the President at 45.4 to Romney's 44.8. Meanwhile, the Real Clear Politics average looks worse . . . but if you look more closely, you'll see the President leads in polls of registered voters. Only Rasmussen is polling likely voters right now (and they show Romney doing well).

M. T. S.
Joined
Jan '11
M. T. S.

I was just about to point to the RCP page as well - as Fredösphere points out, the Rasmussen likely voter poll shows Romney leading Obama 47-44.

M. T. S.
Joined
Jan '11
M. T. S.

I think it is dangerous to draw conclusions about the election from polls this far from the election.  Just because Romney isn't winning all the polls doesn't mean he can't win the election. Also, just because he wins in one poll doesn't prove he will win.  If he is down in the polls, then it means he has work to do - not that we should give up.

Peter Robinson
Fredösphere: What's with this idea that Obama leads Romney in the polls lately? Here's an average of polls that puts the President at 45.4 to Romney's 44.8. Meanwhile, the Real Clear Politics average looks worse . . . but if you look more closely, you'll see the President leads in polls of registered voters. Only Rasmussen is polling likely voters right now (and they show Romney doing well). · 40 minutes ago

Thanks for the links.  I based that whole discussion on my perusal of RealClear polls.  (Had I know we were going to get into it, I'd have paid a lot more attention.)

Peter Robinson
M. T. S.: If he is down in the polls, then it means he has work to do - not that we should give up. · 24 minutes ago

My point exactly.  He has work to do.

Aaron Miller
Joined
May '10
Aaron Miller

"The worst column in the New York Times today is by Thomas Friedman, who has won the Pulitzer 83 times at last count, who essentially says that... Palestinian non-violent resistance to Israelis includes the throwing of rocks. ... to promote peace"

Maybe Friedman meant Rolling Stones promote peace. After all, that evil Rush Limbaugh dominates the airwaves, and the Stones certainly make me want to turn off the radio.

Aaron Miller
Joined
May '10
Aaron Miller

"It is very bad for a President to appear that he cannot get his way in Washington." —Podhoretz

Agreed. Hopefully, that will affect turnout for Democrats (and perhaps counter the inevitable voter fraud a bit?), but Republicans can't criticize President Obama for being incompetent when we hate almost everything he wants to accomplish.

James is right to bring up Obama's campaign comments about actually wanting gas prices to be higher. Gas prices are double what they were only four years ago! As y'all know, I have a low opinion of swing voters, but even I would be amazed if playing that clip over and over again on TV, radio and internet ads didn't hurt the President's campaign this year.

Even people who agreed with him in theory ("Oil and coal = bad. Alternative energy = good.") will have a harder time agreeing now that they feel the consequences.

Aaron Miller
Joined
May '10
Aaron Miller

Peter, your associate is right that there is a lot of oil and gas to be tapped in North America. But oil industry veterans have told me repeatedly these past few years that much of that new exploration is only economical because of high oil prices.

I wish I could explain it in detail or talk one of those veterans into joining Ricochet, but alas.

Pike Bishop
Joined
Jan '11
Pike Bishop

James, when discussing the Office of Personnel Management did you mean its acronym as Other Peoples Money or OPiuM?

James Lileks

Other People's Money, Pike. But OPiuM works too: just as addictive.

Israel P.
Joined
Feb '11
Israel Pickholtz

John, when discussing Thomas Friedman at about 25:00, you used the phrase "hurling a stone at somebody's head," you left out ""while the somebody is driving a car on an intercity road."

Fred Cole
Joined
Nov '11
Fred Cole

Wait a minute!  

That looks like somebody used computers to put pictures of their faces on other bodies!


Joined
Nov '10
mfgcbot

J-Pod is one funny dude!

Casey Way
Joined
Oct '10
Casey Way

In NYC, it's the grit, but in the South, it's the grits. Great podcast.

Canuckski
Joined
Mar '11
Canuckski

A non-geothermally powered 1912 Stanley Steamer.  Instead of the Tin Lizzie maybe we could call it the Biden Boiler.

1912 Stanley Steamer

Joined
Apr '11
vjpc2517

I am  disappointed with the discussion on energy policy because it is clear to me that neither side has a clue how the energy industry works. I know that this is not an energy forum and as such thediscussions are not going to be very deep, but someone PLEASE at least make an effort to read a energy trade publications before opinionating on energy policy, it's embarrassing to read or listen to ill conceived ideas put forth in this forum by folks who obviously don't have any idea how the energy industry works.

Why don't you have on an energy expert, not a wonk, who can give a well informed view of the energy market and what perturbs it.

Eeveryone knows that large energy related projects take years to vet and build, but what most don't know, is that the announcement of a large energy project alone has an inordinate and immediate effect on the energy market, because the companies that are in the market automatically start reviewing their position in light of the new capacity coming on line, the credible announcement of new capacity  has a dramatic effect even before the first foundations are poured.

LowcountryJoe
Joined
Jan '11
LowcountryJoe

I've been on vacation and away from my iPod syncing computer so I'm just finished listening to this podcast yesterday in the evening.  Representative Rohrabacher disappointed me with his nativism.  While I fully expect a conservative politician from California to have a low opinion toward immigration [of the illegal variety], I do not expect the China bashing.  He actually insinuated that our commerce with China has created a transfer of wealth [and I presume that he meant from the U.S. to China].  But tell me: if the flip-side of a current account deficit [aka trade deficit] is a capital account surplus by an accounting identity, then isn't the U.S. the recipient of the wealth transfer?

Knock off the China scaremongering and ditch the Donald Trump-like hysteria [or Lou Dobbs even].  Yes, China has claims on U.S. assets.  But until they come to claim those assets [namely take final principal payments on U.S. issued debt without repurchasing newly issued debt], the wealth transfer is decidedly going our way from China; stop the misguided complaining of things that our happening exactly opposite of how you think that they are.


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