Krugman schools Donaldson.

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“We’re being a little too politically sensitive to the conservative right,” said Rep. Patrick J. Kennedy of Rhode Island, “Coming to the middle on a political spectrum does not make it right.”

Yup. The right can go take a collective flying leap.

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In his first interview since becoming Vice President, Joseph Biden told CBS News’ Bob Schieffer on Face the Nation that he does not see his role to be “deputy president.” Rather, said he hopes to be a “confidant, advisor and essentially the last guy in the room when [President Obama] makes critical decisions.”

Perhaps the Vice President should have read today’s New York Times and the profile of Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel:

Mr. Emanuel initially resisted taking the job. He came around after Mr. Obama insisted, saying these were momentous times and that the awesome tasks he faced required Mr. Emanuel’s help. The president-elect also assured Mr. Emanuel that the position would be the functional equivalent of “a No. 2” or “right-hand man,” according to a person familiar with their exchanges.

So who is number two in the Obama Administration? My money is on Emanuel at the least in the short term though Biden may prove the more long-lived.

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“We need to make tax cuts permanent, and we need to make a commitment that there’ll be no new taxes,” Mr. McCain said. “We need to cut payroll taxes. We need to cut business taxes.”

It is, and always has been, illusory to think that the GOP would forgo playing politics, join the ranks of the economically sane and sign on to the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act as currently hammered out in negotiations between the President’s economic team and the leadership in the Congress. The only thing more illusory is their adherence to the belief that tax cuts work as an economic stimulus. But at least their views are now clearly stated and I suspect that should please the President for he can and should now just ignore the recalcitrant wing of the GOP, or put another way, all but a handful of them. The bankruptcy of GOP economic thought should now be plainly evident and that’s a case the President can make directly to the American people.

“Right now, given the concerns that we have over the size of this package and all of the spending in this package, we don’t think it’s going to work,” the House Minority Leader John A. Boehner, Republican of Ohio, said on NBC’s “Meet the Press.” “And so if it’s the plan that I see today, put me down in the no column.”

Actually, it’s more like the irrelevant column. The Congressman from Ohio can pout all he will, the Senator from Arizona can rant and rave all he wants and it won’t change the fact that tax cuts have been an abysmal failure in lifting the economy. The GOP’s main contention has been now for over 30 years that by reducing the top tax rate on personal and corporate income that a large increase in aggregate total savings would result. Yet the savings rate of American households has been declining for more than a decade and it now stands at the lowest level of the post-WW II era. Since 2003, the combined annual net savings of households, businesses, and government have declined to about one percent of gross national income. So if increasing the savings rate is the goal so as to thus increase investment, cutting taxes hasn’t worked. (more…)

The military has claimed victory over key Tamil Tiger areas in northern Sri Lanka including Mullaitivu, the last separatist stronghold in one of the world’s bloodiest conflicts. Al Jazeera’s Tony Birtley reports from the conflict zone in the north.

More from Lanka Web:

Making their final push against the enemy, the Sri Lanka army entered the last Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) held urban stronghold of Mulaitivu.

Defence sources said, “Sri Lanka Army 59 Division soldiers lead by Brigadier Nandana Udawatta have entered the LTTE’s main garrison town Mullaittivu this evening (Jan 25).”

Army spokesman Brigadier Udaya Nanayakkara added by saying, ““Today our troops entered Mullaitivu town area from the northern end. The LTTE cadres offered heavy resistance but our troops have successfully entered the town.” He also said the same soldiers are engaged in operations inside the town.

Still , the initial troops who entered the town could not see any sign of the whereabouts of Velupillai Prabhakaran. LTTE troops are now confined to a small area between Vishwamadhu and Puthukkudiyiruppu, according to the to army information.

Reporting about another troop of soldiers who entered the garrison town the next morning the same sources said, “troops of 593 Brigade lead by Lieutenant Colonel Jayantha Gunarathne have made a surprise attack across the Nanthikandal lagoon and entered the Mullaittivu town area this morning.”
Giving more details about the intrusion into the rebel held town defence sources said , “According to the battlefield sources, Infantrymen of 7 Gemunu Watch (7 GW) lead by Lieutenant Colonel Chaminda Lamahewa have been the first to enter the town amid heavy enemy resistance.”
The Mulaitivu garrison town, which became the headquarters of the naval wing of the LTTE is situated on a narrow stretch of land on one side bordering Nanthikandal lagoon and on the other side bordering the Indian Ocean.

Most of the remaining LTTE cadres are presumed to be hiding in the adjacent jungles either guarding the secret bunkers of their leaders or with the intention of attacking the occupying forces in the town. Since Mulaitivu fell into the hands of the LTTE in 1996 it rapidly grew into the main garrison town of them.

The fall of Mulaitvu means the end of garrison towns of the LTTE as it had already lost Kilinochchi and Elephant Pass.

It’s perhaps too early to tell if this signals the end of the Sri Lankan Civil War but it does seem that the LTTE has been largely defeated on the battlefield.

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The ultra-conservative Our Country Deserves Better Political Action Committee (PAC) has launched a new television ad attacking the Obama Administration on issues such as the bailout but more on personnel issues hitting Tim Geithner over his taxes and the withdrawal of Bill Richardson from the Commerce post and calls on Rahm Emmanuel (sic) to resign. They can’t even spell consistently. In the ad, they misspell Emanuel and on their website it’s Ramn Emmanuel whose resignation is demanded. Wingnuts these days, whatcha gonna do? Ah the erudite legacy of Reaganism.

According to its website, the Our Country Deserves Better PAC opposes Obama for his stances on taxes, national defense, energy policy, immigration and judicial appointments. Instead, they champion “the Reaganesque conservatism of lower taxes, smaller government, a strong national defense, and respect for the strength of the family as the core of a strong America.”

Our Country Deserves Better PAC is run by Howard Kaloogian, a former California state Assemblyman (1994-2000) from San Marcos (San Diego County). Mr. Kaloogian unsuccessfully sought a seat in Congress in the 2006 special election to succeed the convicted Republican Randy Cunningham. He was the chairman of the Recall Gray Davis Committee. Along with KSFO talk show host Melanie Morgan and GOP political consultant Sal Russo, Mr. Kaloogian is a founder of the pro-Iraq War Move America Forward non-profit organization.

More on Our Country Deserves Better PAC from Sourcewatch.

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Mark Leibovich’s profile of President Obama’s Chief of Staff, the relentless Rahm Emanuel, in today’s New York Times is rich with political anecdotes that seem likely only to enhance the reputation of Washington’s premier power broker.

Mr. Emanuel initially resisted taking the job. He came around after Mr. Obama insisted, saying these were momentous times and that the awesome tasks he faced required Mr. Emanuel’s help. The president-elect also assured Mr. Emanuel that the position would be the functional equivalent of “a No. 2” or “right-hand man,” according to a person familiar with their exchanges.

Maybe Joe Biden really should have picked the State Department job. But maybe Emanuel is really the number one guy.

At a White House gathering with Mr. Obama and a bipartisan team of lawmakers on Friday, the House majority leader, Steny Hoyer, joked that Mr. Emanuel was too busy to talk to him, so he called the president instead. Mr. Obama said he was always happy to take calls for his chief of staff — a reference to an incident a few weeks ago when Mr. Hoyer called Mr. Emanuel, who was in the back of a car and claimed he was too busy to talk, so he handed the phone to Mr. Obama.

It’s all very entertaining and well worth the read.

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