Political Ruminations

U.S. Diverts Warships to Libyan Coast

Via Politico:

WASHINGTON – U.S. officials say the Pentagon is moving two warships to the Libyan coast, in the aftermath of the attack in Benghazi that killed the U.S. ambassador and three others.

Officials say one destroyer, the USS Laboon, moved to a position off the coast Wednesday, and the USS McFaul is en route and should be stationed off the coast within days. The officials say the ships, which carry Tomahawk missiles, do not have a specific mission. But they give commanders flexibility to respond to any mission ordered by the president.

Deep Throat FBI Files Released

The FBI file concerning the person known as ‘Deep Throat’, aka Mark Felt, has been released to the public, and you can read it online here.

Wall Street Loves Them Some Republicans

Think Progress on a new CNN Money survey that shows 70 percent of Wall Street analysts and money managers want a Republican president [emphasis mine]:

The stock market may have risen dramatically under President Obama, but 70 percent of Wall Street investment analysts and money managers still want a Republican president to win the 2012 election, according to a CNN Money survey released Wednesday. Wall Street prefers the loose regulatory policies and lower tax rates — particularly on investments and capital gains — favored by the Republican candidates, the survey found. Some strategists are hoping Obama wins, though. “All Republicans want to do is cut government spending, but you can’t stimulate the economy without it,” Donal Selkin, chief market strategist at National Securities, told CNN. “Wall Street is just interested in its own pocketbook.”

70 percent. In spite of a booming stock market.

Sen. Scott Brown Cozying Up to President Obama

MSNBC’s First Read on Sen. Scott Brown’s (R-Ma) efforts to back away from Romney and GOP branding, emphasis mine:

It’s not every day you see this kind of press release from a Republican senator: “Two major pieces of legislation introduced by U.S. Senator Scott Brown (R-MA) will be signed into law by President Obama at White House ceremonies this week. As the first to introduce both the STOCK Act and crowdfunding legislation in the Senate, Senator Brown was invited and will attend both signing ceremonies. ‘I’m honored to receive these invitations from President Obama and I look forward to standing next to him as he signs these bills into law.’” So we’ve seen likely Democratic opponent Elizabeth Warren star in Obama’s campaign documentary. And now Brown is shouting from the mountain top that he’ll be standing next to Obama at signing ceremonies this week. Brown has two major hurdles to overcome if he’s going to win a full term: One, he’s trying to win as a Republican in a blue state during a presidential year. And two, how does he avoid getting defined by Romney? Well, we see what Brown is TRYING to do, have photo-ops with Romney’s opponent. Here’s betting we see Brown use his appearances at these signing ceremonies in TV ads while trying like mad to avoid appearances with Romney.

Actually, Brown is running as an Independent  in Massachusetts, against a real champion of the middle class, Democrat Elizabeth Warren. The Koch brothers have contributed heavily to Brown’s campaigns.

Need any more be said?’

UPDATE: Brown + Romney = BFF’s!

Good News for the Economy

Via Think Progress:

More than 40 percent of international investors see the U.S. as the economy that will perform best over the next year, the highest rating in more than two years, according to a Bloomberg survey. That’s a sharp rise from September, when less than a third had such confidence, and is double the poll result for the next two top-rated markets, Brazil and China.