† Herman Cain Rocks 'Em Like A Hurricane: The Washington Post is confused, judging by these two headlines that appeared in the paper on the same day:

 

Mitt Romney, The GOP Front-Runner Again, Faces Challenge Connecting With Voters

 

Herman Cain’s Surprising Rise To GOP Front-Runner

 

Since his strong debate performance in FL two weeks ago, which immediately translated into a straw poll win in the state, former Godfather’s Pizza CEO Herman Cain has been on an upward trajectory in various state and national polls. He was catapulted to the top tier, and suddenly the Republican race went from two front runners to three. The conventional wisdom is discombobulated.

 

Trying to divine “what’s behind his rise in the polls,” The Christian Science Monitor notes:

 

Well, for one thing, Cain appears to be the anti-Perry. That means that where Perry has declined since voters began to see and hear more about him in GOP debates, the opposite dynamic has occurred with [Cain]. He’s wearing well with the Republican base.

 

Look at the RealClearPolitics rolling average of polls, and you can see a clear upturn in Cain’s numbers starting about the middle of September, which is just when Perry’s polls began to sag. …

 

Confirmation of this comes with Gallup’s new Positive Intensity Score numbers, which are created by subtracting the percentage of strong opponents of a particular candidate from the percentage of strong supporters. Cain’s POS is now 30, the highest for any GOP candidate this year.

 

But it’s more than that. Mitt Romney represents Wall Street; Herman Cain represents Main Street – two very different business constituencies with different – and often divergent – agendas. In addition, Cain has focused on what he brings to the table, instead of wasting his (and our) time pulling the chair out from under other candidates who want a seat at the table –as Romney and Perry, in particular, have been doing.

 

And if the numbers from the latest IBOPE Zogby Poll are corroborated by others, it still looks like a three-way race – but Cain is in first place by 20 points. Yes, you read that right; 20, not 2:

 

Cains [sic] share of the GOP primary has jumped 10 percentage points since Sept. 26 and is now at 38%. Mitt Romney is second with 18%, followed by both Rick Perry and Ron Paul, at 12% each.

 

Zogby also found that of the three current Republican front-runners, only Cain beats President Barack Hussein Obama:

 

Cain led Obama, 46%-44%, while Obama is one-point ahead of Romney, 41%-40%, and leads Perry, 45%-40%.

 

The Christian Science Monitor offers this reality check for Cain “as he breathes the rarefied air of the GOP top tier”:

 

[H]e’s likely to get a lot more attention. That’s good, in the sense that his still-low name recognition will go up. But it could be bad if he gets the punishing attacks from GOP rivals that have nicked Representative Bachmann and (especially) Perry.

 

The media may also delve more deeply into his background. “Cain will have to weather the next few debates and the next few weeks of campaigning if he is to solidify a position as a leading contender for the nomination,” writes [Gallup analyst Jeffrey Jones].

 

But there’s also a warning for the Republican establishment in Cain’s sudden prominence, writers Brett Decker of The Washington Times:

 

In Republican offices in Washington and in state capitals across the nation, party functionaries are talking down one of the most attractive new personalities to emerge in national politics in years. This self-destructive behavior has less to do with electoral pragmatism than it does establishment control of the political process.

 

Party officials tend to be afraid of the new guy - especially if he's outspokenly pure on thorny issues - because they like to go with the most predictable option, which typically means an incumbent or party regular. …

 

It's a mistake for establishment operatives to undermine the vitality of the next generation of activists to placate has-beens, but that's standard Republican operating procedure in national, state and local races from sea to shining sea.  

† The Media Love Obama, But He Doesn’t Love Them Back: When CBS News investigative journalist Sharyl Attkisson called the Justice Department to find out what Attorney General Eric Holder knew about the “Fast and Furious” gunwalking scandal and when he knew it, she was yelled at and cursed out, as she tells Laura Ingraham in a radio interview:

 

Ingraham: So they were literally screaming at you?

 

Attkisson: Yes. Well the DOJ woman was just yelling at me. The guy from the White House on Friday night literally screamed at me and cussed at me.

 

Ingraham: Who was the person? Who was the person at Justice screaming?

 

Attkisson: Eric Schultz Oh, the person screaming was [DOJ spokeswoman] Tracy Schmaler, she was yelling not screaming. And the person who screamed at me was Eric Schultz at the White House.

 

Attkisson also said that she was told that she was “the only reporter” who thinks Fast and Furious newsworthy and that pursuing it shows that she is “biased” and “unfair.”

 

If the story of how 2,000+ guns got into the hands of Mexican drug dealers and were implicated in the murder of a U.S. border patrol agent – or the related story of Holder stonewalling the investigation into the scandal and possibly perjuring himself in his testimony to Congress – is too insignificant to be worth a reporter’s time, then why are key positions within the ATF being reshuffled?

 

† SOTU = Stuff Our Taxes Underwrite: Even as Solyndra’s auditors were raising the alarm that the company was in danger of failing because of its high burn rate, the Department of Energy was considering a second taxpayer loan of $469 million to the now-bankrupt solar panel manufacturer, according to e-mails released by the House Energy and Commerce Committee, which is investigating how the company secured the first $535 million government-backed loan (related article: fourth item on page). The Washington Post reports:

 

The Energy Department was actively pushing to provide the second loan guarantee to the troubled solar-panel manufacturer in April and May 2010, when Solyndra’s auditors warned the company was in danger of closing due to its rapidly mounting debts and expenses, according to complete e-mails just released by a House committee investigating the original loan.

 

White House career staffers, who had first raised concerns in the fall of 2009 about the Department of Energy providing Solyndra with its first taxpayer-backed loan of $535 million, wrote e-mails in gallows humor in April 2010 about the prospect of giving Solyndra more money. That spring, industry analysts were publicly questioning how the Silicon Valley startup could so quickly be running out both the federal loan and $933 million in private capital.

 

“Apparently the loan size for Phase II is $469 million,” one Office of Management and Budget analyst wrote of DOE seeking a second loan for Solyndra. The analysts’s [sic] name was not released by the committee. “I’ve been told we should expect the see that project soon for conditional commitment.”

 

The agency didn’t shelve the idea for a second loan until October 2010, a Department of Energy spokesman has confirmed. That was the month that Solyndra executives and investors first warned the department that the company was facing the threat of having to liquidate without emergency cash.

 

With the DOE caught in the headlights of harsh public scrutiny, Jonathan Silver, executive director of the agency’s Loan Programs Office has announced his immediate departure. The original Solyndra loan predates his appointment to the position – and the West Wing pressured contrarians advising caution to back off – but it looks like he’s going to be the fall guy – for now.

 

Editorial Note: Remember when he was campaigning for president Barack Obama (he wasn’t using his middle name back then; only “racists” were) promised to "change the culture of Washington" by ensuring that “when I am president, they won't find a job in my White House"? Apparently, he doesn’t, because DOE loan program adviser Steve Spinner – a fundraiser for Obama’s 2008 campaign – was amongst those pushing hardest to get the loan through. That would be the same Steve Spinner who had had signed an ethics agreement not to engage in negotiations about the Solyndra loan because he was married to a partner at the law firm representing the solar panel manufacturer in its loan application.

 

† Rage Against … Whatever: Contrary to popular belief, some Occupy Wall Street protesters do, in fact have jobs – they are getting paid to protest, as The Daily Caller found out. And some of them literally do not know what they are protesting, since the signs they are carrying are in English and they do not speak English and cannot read the signs. Meanwhile, NYC Mayor Bloomberg is perplexed over why people who purport to be protesting the lack of jobs and opportunity are “destroying the jobs” of people who are working instead of protesting government policies that discourage hiring – which is to say, they should direct their wrath at the Obama administration:

 

 

† The Right To Bear Arms Belongs To Us All: Part II: After the Supreme Court’s 2008 ruling that the Second Amendment confers an individual right to bear arms and struck down a District of Columbia ordinance that effectively banned handguns, the City Council revised its gun regulations to require handgun registration, and to ban semiautomatic rifles and large-capacity ammunition magazines. Dick Heller, a plaintiff in the landmark gun rights case, went back to court claiming that the new regulations defied the high court ruling (related story, ninth item on page). By a 2-1 vote, a panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit upheld the District’s new gun ordinance, The Wall Street Journal reports:

 

The city's requirement to register handguns follows longstanding American practice, "similar to other common registration or licensing schemes, such as those for voting or for driving a car, that cannot reasonably be considered onerous," Judge Douglas Ginsburg wrote for the majority. …

 

But the court said the city had not sufficiently justified the registration requirement for rifles and shotguns, and sent that issue to a lower court for further review.

 

And while the decision upheld "basic" handgun registration rules, it also returned to the lower court the question of whether additional provisions, such as requiring gun owners to take a firearms safety course, are constitutional.

 

† Let Them Eat Steak!: Part VIII: At a time when President Barack Hussein Obama is stumping around the country trying to convince voters that “I care,” this new report on his wife’s lavish jet-setting on the taxpayer dime can’t be welcome. Judicial Watch, which investigates government corruption, looked into how much Michelle Obama’s June trip to South Africa and Botswana cost taxpayers (related article, seventh item on page). After filing a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit “seeking the mission taskings, transportation records, and passenger manifests for Michelle Obama's Africa trip,” Judicial Watch found out that the use of Air Force aircraft came to $424,142. The total cost of the trip was higher, when you add in food, lodging, and ground transportation for the 21 family and staff members:

 

According to U.S. Department of Defense’s published hourly rates for the C-32A aircraft used for the trip, Judicial Watch calculated the total cost to American taxpayers was $424,142 for use of the aircraft (34.8 flight hours x $12,188 per hour). (The C-32 is a specially configured military version of the Boeing 757.) Other expenses - meals (off the plane), transportation, security, various services, etc. - have yet to be disclosed.

 

The passenger manifests confirm the presence of Obama’s daughter’s, Malia and Sasha on the trip. The two girls are listed as “Senior Staff.” The manifests also list Mrs. Obama’s mother, Marian Robinson, and niece and nephew, Leslie and Avery Robinson, as well Mrs. Obama’s makeup and hairstylist (Carl Ray and Johnny Wright). [Emphasis, The Stiletto]

 

The expense records also show $928.44 was spent for “bulk food” purchases on flight. Overall, during the trip, 192 meals were served for the 21 passengers on board.

 

"This trip was as much an opportunity for the Obama family to go on a safari as it was a trip to conduct government business," said Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton. "This junket wasted tax dollars and the resources of our overextended military." [Hat Tip: US News & World Report]

 

† Obama Creating Green Jobs That Americans Won’t Do: The nonprofit National Renewable Energy Lab in Golden, CO, which received $200 million in stimulus grants from the Obama administration, will be laying off between 100 and 150 of its 1,350 employees through a voluntary buy-out plan, The Daily Caller reports:

 

Energy Secretary Stephen Chu visited Golden in May 2009 to promote the NREL as a beneficiary of those funds.

 

At the time, the Associated Press reported that the stimulus grants included $68 million to build a demonstration model of an energy-efficient office building; $19.2 million for solar, geothermal and fuel cell equipment; $10 million for testing and evaluation of wind technology; and $45 million to research and test drive-train systems for wind turbines.

 

The lab’s mission is to handle U.S. Department of Energy research and development programs.

 

The Denver Post quotes local pundit Eric Sondermann noting: "This summer is causing most people to look at (green energy development) more soberly and asking, 'Are we getting our bang for the buck?' "

 

† Look Before You Leap: Part II (second item): NC’s "Woman's Right to Know" law – which goes into effect October 26^th, after the state legislature overrode Gov. Beverly Perdue’s (D) veto – mandates that at least four hours before a woman undergoes an abortion a doctor provide "an obstetric real-time view" and a medical description of the fetus, and offer to let her hear its heartbeat. During this window, the doctor must also provide printed material about abortion, and the woman must sign a consent form indicating that she has received the required counseling. Several abortion clinics, doctors and pro-choice groups are suing to block the law, The Washington Times reports:

 

In their lawsuit, the plaintiffs say that parts of the law are "impermissibly vague," while other sections violate the rights of both health care providers and women. Lawyers with the American Civil Liberties Union, the Center for Reproductive Rights and Planned Parenthood Federation of America seek a permanent injunction of the law.

 

Defendants include North Carolina Medical Board President Janice E. Huff and state Attorney General Roy Cooper. A request for comment from Mr. Cooper's office was not returned Friday. …

 

During the hearings, opponents predicted a lawsuit, so lawmakers spent a lot of time with legal experts to make sure the law was constitutional, "and we think it will be upheld," said Bill Brooks, president and executive director of the North Carolina Family Policy Council.

 

"When a mother's decision involves the life or death of her unborn child, she needs more, not less, information," Barbara Holt, president of the North Carolina Right to Life, said on her blog after the lawsuit was filed.

 

† Living In These Mad, Mad, Madoff Times: A Centers for Disease Control and Prevention study found that drunken driving incidents have fallen 30 percent over the last five years, with the number in 2010 the lowest since 1993, The Associated Press reports:

 

The decline may be due to the down economy: Other research suggests people are still drinking as heavily as in years past, so some may just be finding cheaper ways of imbibing than by going to bars, night clubs and restaurants.

 

"One possibility is that people are drinking at home more and driving less after drinking," said Dr. Thomas Frieden, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

 

The CDC statistics … are based on a 2010 national telephone survey of about 210,000 U.S. adults. The respondents were kept anonymous.  …

 

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has also noted signs of an apparent recent decline in drunk driving. According to that agency's latest data, the number of people killed in U.S. crashes involving alcohol-impaired drivers dropped from 11,711 in 2008 to 10,839 in 2009.

 

† Mortgage Loan Modification Less Than Advertised: "Strategic defaults" were briefly the rage last year – homeowners who owed more than their house was worth were walking away from them (related article, eighth item on page). Banks are now fighting back and suing homeowners for the difference between the mortgage owed and the amount a house fetches at a foreclosure sale, The Wall Street Journal reports:

 

Forty-one states and the District of Columbia permit lenders to sue borrowers for mortgage debt still left after a foreclosure sale. The economics of today's battered housing market mean that lenders are doing so more and more. …

 

"Now there are foreclosures that leave banks holding the bag on more than $100,000 in debt," says Michael Cramer, president and chief executive of Dyck O'Neal Inc., an Arlington, Texas, firm that invests in debt. "Before, it didn't make sense [for banks] to expend the resources to go after borrowers; now it doesn't make sense not to." …

 

Lenders still sue for loan shortfalls in only a small minority of cases where they legally could. Public relations is a limiting factor, some debt-buyers believe. Banks are reluctant to discuss their strategies, but some lenders say they are more likely to seek a deficiency judgment if they perceive the borrower to be a "strategic defaulter" who chose to stop paying because the property lost so much value.