RICK PERRY IS NO LIBERTARIAN BY DANA MILBANKWASHINGTON POSTIf Perry’s style resembles anybody’s in George W. Bush’s White House, in fact, it is that of former vice president Dick Cheney, whose just-published memoir, “In My Time,” might as well have been titled “Right Every Time (Even Though I Was Surrounded by Idiots).” Think of Perry as Bush without the charm. ... Yes, Perry is passionately anti-government, or at least anti-this-government. But ... [he] is no libertarian. Rick Perry is a theocrat.
RICK PERRY, BY THE BOOK BY RUTH MARCUSWASHINGTON POSTDisagreeing with liberal justices is one thing. Accusing them of not caring about the Constitution is like denouncing the opposing party as unpatriotic — and is equally out of bounds. Perry’s ideas range from wrongheaded to terrifying: requiring federal judges to stand for reappointment and reconfirmation; and letting Congress override the Supreme Court with a two-thirds vote in both houses.
WHAT PRICE LIFE? BY MAUREEN DOWDNEW YORK TIMESReversing Katrina, on the sixth anniversary of that shameful episode in American history, the response to Irene was more powerful than Irene. ... The awful hypocrisy is this: As we saw when they spent trillions trying to impose democracy on Iraq and Afghanistan, W. and Cheney believe in big government, in a strong, centralized executive power. But with Katrina, they chose not to use it.
HIGH ABOVE THE HOG BY MARK ESSIGNEW YORK TIMES
However politically advantageous mixing helicopters and guns may be, what we might call the Perry/Barr approach to wild pigs won’t work. To solve America’s feral hog problem, we need to get down at ground level and pursue the slow, patient work of education and rational persuasion. When those old-fashioned methods solve the feral pig menace, we can apply them to America’s other challenges.SO BACHMANN'S A DIVA? BY KATHLEEN PARKERWASHINGTON POSTBachmann offers plenty to critique, from her policy positions to her too-pat answers to complicated questions. But being late (occasionally) or making sure she puts on her best game face is hardly cause for the current pile-on. Other than “divo,” which only Italians use, what’s the equivalent for a male diva? Wait, wait, don’t tell me: Obama.
JUSTICE'S NEW WAR AGAINST LENDERS BY MARY KISSELWALL STREET JOURNALSettlements include requirements that banks lend to minorities at below-market rates and, in effect, dish out cash to politically favored "community groups." It's a good bet that many of these loans will eventually go bad. The Justice Department—or the bank, with the long arm of Justice hanging over it—chooses where that money goes. A Michigan judge even went so far as to call one proposed settlement "extortion." He might be onto something.
MERE PROPOSALS EDITORIALWALL STREET JOURNAL
The regulatory agenda is "merely a list of rules that are under general contemplation" and "merely proposed" and "includes a large number of rules that are in a highly preliminary state, with no reliable cost estimate." In other words, regulations that the Administration plans to issue don't count. ... [W]e'll merely note that you can't minimize or avoid them if you pretend they don't exist until they formally enter the Federal Register.