Open Thread

On Sunday, for the first time in his presidency, President Obama's approval rating fell to 39% in the latest Gallup poll. In comparison, former President George W. Bush's approval rating didn't fall to 39% until his second term in office in fall 2005. Do you think Obama's approval could fall even lower in the coming months? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.

Update: NewsBusters publisher Brent Bozell has given his observations in a separate blog post accessible here.

Last night was the third Republican debate of the year, comprised of eight of the declared GOP candidates. All responded to hard-hitting questions from the Fox News and Washington Examiner moderators, debating foreign policy, the economy, and candidates' political records.

Today marks the sixth birthday of NewsBusters. We've worked to uncover major scandals like ClimateGate, continually highlighted the liberal nonsense to come from the mouths of Chris Matthews, Ed Schultz, and Keith Olbermann, and have always enjoyed sharing the community with you for the past six years.

In recent years, America has become increasingly socialized through a welfare state with entitlements seen as rights, mostly paid for by the rich through the redistribution of wealth. Such a state is seemingly the goal of President Obama and fellow liberal Democrats, who relish in the ideas of a more European-style centralized government.

Last week, many labeled the debt negotiations in Congress as a failure of the American political system, laying much of the blame on Tea Party Republicans who were reluctant to compromise on their principles. One of their main convictions was in cutting away unnecessary social programs, which have put an unsustainable burden on the economy. Do you think the US can continue to support socialized programs, or will socialization lead to the economic calamities currently seen across much of Europe? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.

Despite the media hype, American taxpayers still stand to lose a bundle from the government takeover of General Motors, thanks in large measure to the lack of credibility the company's Obama-mandated obsession with the unpopular Chevrolet Volt:

GM announced earnings this morning and the numbers appeared to be good on the surface. Media friends of GM trumpeted the good news but the celebration did not last long. The festive mood was replaced with GM apologists trying to explain the negative share price reaction.The obvious overhang of UAW obligations seemed to be ignored, as did the lack of management credibility. One TV commentator known for his defense of GM attributed the sell-off to "bankruptcy fatigue", claiming that investors are still punishing GM for its trip through bankruptcy. Nonsense.

The people who control the big money on Wall Street are not concerned with the past actions of a corporation as much as they are with actions that give an indicator of what the future holds. The problem with GM is not that it suffers from "bankruptcy fatigue", but rather "credibility fatigue."

In June, the Treasury Department announced that Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner was considering resigning once the debt crisis was averted. With the debt limit deal passed yesterday, the speculation of his departure date is once again making the airwaves.

Leaving now would allow Geithner to leave on a much better note than he could have, but could also create a vacancy in an important cabinet position in an already weak economy. Do you think now is the best time for Geithner to resign? Let us know what you think in the comments.

Republicans and Democrats both seem to have come up short of a debt deal they really like. Many Republicans wanted more cuts, while many Democrats wanted more taxes on the rich. Both sides technically got something good out of the deal, but neither side is satisfied.

One person that might have emerged as a winner, though, is President Obama, who supported a deal that will push any fiscal problems until after the 2012 election. Do you think he emerges victorious from the debt debates? Let us know what you think in the comments.

Late last night, President Obama announced that Democrat and Republican leaders had agreed on a plan with Obama's approval to raise the debt ceiling. The plan would prevent any possible defaults that could occur on August 2 if the deal is not passed in Congress.

The plan is still subject to congressional approval, and many Democrats and Republicans are already speaking out against it. Check out a summary of the deal after the break, and let us know your thoughts in the comments.

Now the ball is in the Senate Democrats' court. Unfortunately for them, they don't even have a written bill yet.

Will the media put the onus back on Democrats who are split between tax hikers and non-tax hikers? List of GOP "no" votes follows below the break...

Global warming, aka climate change, is the scapegoat for everything from record snowfalls to disastrous tornadoes. As such, it is also the perfect route for governments to closely control their citizens by regulating the smallest of details, like which lightbulbs they are allowed to use, to supposedly fix the problem.

Czech President Vaclav Klaus, who grew up under totalitarian rule, is speaking out against what he sees as the latest government attack on democratic freedom, environmentalism, which he argues closely parallels the thefts of freedom under communism. Do you agree with him? Let us know what you think in the comments.

House Speaker John Boehner and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid have both released debt limit plans, but if House Republicans don't support Boehner's plan, they could be handing President Obama an easy victory.

The debt limit debate has not only sharply divided Republicans and Democrats, but it might also be forcing a schism among Republicans who favor a permanent solution now versus Republicans who want a temporary fix with better solutions later, opening the door for Reid's plan to gain greater support. Do you think Republicans should support an imperfect Boehner plan? Or do you think they should avoid compromise and find a better solution? Let us know what you think in the comments.

For a field of Republican presidential hopefuls spread so thin, it seems that the clearest strategy to gain support would be to orchestrate the best campaign against President Obama, especially against his failed economic policies. Instead of focusing all their attention on the president's failures, though, former Gov. Tim Pawlenty and Rep. Michele Bachmann, both of Minnesota, are also spending time campaigning on the shortcomings of each other.

Do you think the candidates should instead limit their campaigns to the current problems America is facing? Or do you think the climb to the top is most successful with a combination of campaign tactics? Let us know what you think in the comments.

Today's starter topic: Rick Perry. He's continuing to generate buzz in the context of the 2012 Republican presidential primaries and now for the first time, the Texas governor is favored by bettors on the oddsmaking site Intrade to actually get the nomination:

Texas Gov. Rick Perry may not have formally declared his presidential candidacy yet, but bettors on the news-futures website Intrade already are giving him the same chance of becoming the 2012 Republican nominee as former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, the presumed front-runner.

Mr. Perry’s nomination odds reached a high of 33 percent Thursday morning, eclipsing Mr. Romney for the first time. Mr. Romney, trading at 32 percent, had been Intrade’s 2012 favorite since betting on the GOP nomination began in 2008 and had even consolidated his front-runner status in recent months as his opponents stumbled and other would-be challengers opted not to run.

Last night, nine Republicans and five Democrats broke with their parties on the Cut, Cap, and Balance Act, which would require a balanced budget amendment if the debt ceiling were to be raised. Two of the Republicans who voted against it were presidential hopefuls: Rep. Michele Bachmann (Minn.) and Rep. Ron Paul (Texas), both of whom believe the act doesn't goes far enough.

Bachmann instead offered her own version of the act which would include a repeal of ObamaCare, while Paul argued for even greater cuts to entitlement and military spending. Check out what they had to say after the break, and let us know if you think this will bode well for their 2012 campaigns in the comments.

With growing frustration towards President Obama and certain members of congress for their lackadaisical approach in balancing the budget and reducing spending, many people are beginning to think they could do a better job than our country's leaders. Using data collected by the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office, American Public Media and the Woodrow Wilson Center put together an interactive game to do just that, giving control of the economy to the players using actual proposed budget plans.

Check out the game after the break, and let us know what you think of it in the comments.

During former President George W. Bush's time in office, he was regularly described as fascist, murderous, and a war criminal for his wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Even if people didn't support the wars, though, Bush obeyed the law and received congressional approval to be in the countries. President Barack Obama is the one acting above the law, having yet to seek approval for being at war with Libya and ignoring the War Powers Act, but the media remains absent on labeling him with the same names.

In a new piece in the Washington Times by commentator Jeffrey T. Kuhner, Obama is likened to a modern-day Caesar, acting above the Constitution and above the law.

Check out excerpts from the Washington Times piece after the break, and let us know what you think in the comments.