Britain’s New Prime Minister

Britain's new Prime Minister David Cameron, accompanied by his wife Samantha, arrives at his official residence at 10 Downing Street in central London, Tuesday, May 11, 2010. (AP Photo/Lefteris Pitarakis)

From the Times Online:

Cameron pledges to ‘work for the common good’ after becoming Prime Minister

David Cameron promised to build a new era of responsibility tonight as he arrived in Downing Street to head what he said would be a “proper and full” coalition between the Tories and Liberal Democrats.

Mr Cameron, who becomes Britain’s youngest Prime Minister in almost 200 years, was finally given his chance to form a government after five days of extraordinary political wrangling ended in defeat for Gordon Brown – who was forced to admit that he would not be able to secure an improbable fourth term for Labour.

[…]

“Her Majesty the Queen has asked me to form a new Government and I have accepted,” Mr Cameron declared before paying tribute to Mr. Brown for his “long record of dedicated public service”.

Looking ahead to the coalition he will form with the Lib Dems, he said: “We have some deep and pressing problems – a huge deficit, deep social problems, a political system in need of reform.

“For those reasons, I aim to form a proper and full coalition between the Conservatives and the Liberal Democrats,” he said.

“I believe that is the right way to provide this country with the strong, the stable, the good and decent government that I think we need so badly.”

Here is Cameron’s first speech as Prime Minister:

UN Elects Iran to Women’s Rights Commission

No, that’s not a typo.

I don’t even know what to say. I’m just disgusted.

From Fox News:

Without fanfare, the United Nations this week elected Iran to its Commission on the Status of Women, handing a four-year seat on the influential human rights body to a theocratic state in which stoning is enshrined in law and lashings are required for women judged “immodest.”

Just days after Iran abandoned a high-profile bid for a seat on the U.N. Human Rights Council, it began a covert campaign to claim a seat on the Commission on the Status of Women, which is “dedicated exclusively to gender equality and advancement of women,” according to its website.

From Allahpundit at HotAir:

Go have a look at what the newest defender of international women’s rights is up to these days.

Obama: America a Superpower “Whether We Like It or Not”

I wish I could say this is a shock, but this is a man who once said: “I believe in American exceptionalism, just as I suspect that the Brits believe in British exceptionalism, and the Greeks believe in Greek exceptionalism.”

From Fox News:

In a little-noticed remark at the close of the two-day nuclear security summit in Washington, D.C., this week, President Obama suggested the United States is somehow burdened by its military might — a comment that drew a stern rebuke from his former rival in the presidential campaign.

Obama was responding to a question Tuesday about how the summit would play into peace-making efforts in the Middle East when he addressed the downsides of — by virtue of America’s world stature — being obligated to intervene in international conflicts.

“It is a vital national security interest of the United States to reduce these conflicts because whether we like it or not, we remain a dominant military superpower, and when conflicts break out, one way or another we get pulled into them,” Obama said. “And that ends up costing us significantly in terms of both blood and treasure.”

[…]

Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., slammed the leader of the free world Thursday, calling the remark a “direct contradiction to everything America believes in.”

Here’s the video:

Al-Qaeda’s North African Network Threatens to Bomb USA/England World Cup Game

From The Sun in the UK:

Al-Qaeda: We’ll Blitz World Cup

Al-Qaeda  have vowed to bomb the World Cup – with England players top of their hitlist.

The terror group pledged to target the match between England and the USA in South Africa in June, warning “hundreds” of fans could die.

A branch of al-Qaeda which last year killed British hostage Edwin Dyer, 61, in Mali made the threats. They also vowed to target resorts, hotels and car parks used by supporters during the tournament. And they claimed explosive devices which cannot be detected by security scans would be used.

The threats appear on al-Qaeda-linked websites. A statement said: “How beautiful would the game between England and the USA be when broadcast live from a stadium full of spectators – when the sound of an explosion rumbles through the stands. The resulting death toll is in the dozens and hundreds – Allah willing.”

[…]

The threats from al-Qaeda’s North African network were last night being taken seriously by terror experts.

Neil Doyle said: “They have a track record for violence.”

I’ve long feared terrorist attacks at sporting events. Let’s pray security is good enough at the World Cup to stop whatever Al-Qaeda has planned.

(HT: Drudge)

Poll: 51% Say America Less Respected Now Than It Was Two Years Ago

Hope and Change indeed.

From the Washington Times:

Poll Shows Obama, Dems Losing Ground

A majority of Americans say the United States is less respected in the world than it was two years ago and think President Obama and other Democrats fall short of Republicans on the issue of national security, a new poll finds.

The Democracy Corps-Third Way survey released Monday finds that by a 10-point margin — 51 percent to 41 percent — Americans think the standing of the U.S. dropped during the first 13 months of Mr. Obama’s presidency.

“This is surprising, given the global acclaim and Nobel peace prize that flowed to the new president after he took office,” said pollsters for the liberal-leaning organizations.

Amateur

Obama on the campaign trail, June 4, 2008:

“… I am absolutely certain that generations from now, we will be able to look back and tell our children that this was the moment when we began to provide care for the sick and good jobs to the jobless; this was the moment when the rise of the oceans began to slow and our planet began to heal; this was the moment when we ended a war and secured our nation and restored our image as the last, best hope on earth. This was the moment – this was the time – when we came together to remake this great nation so that it may always reflect our very best selves and our highest ideals.”

Romney leads 2012 GOP field in new Gallup Poll

UPDATE at 2:48pm: Allahpundit chimes in:

Question: If both Romney and Palin announce that they’re running, does Huck drop out and play kingmaker instead? He’d have an outside shot to win a head-to-head race with Romney on the strength of the “anyone but Mitt” vote from evangelicals and “true conservatives.”

Hey! I’m an Evangelical (well, a Christian who goes to a non-denominational church at least) and a “true Conservative,” and I’m for Romney! Many of my friends are as well, and none of them have ever said that they wouldn’t vote for Romney based off of his being a Mormon.

_________________________________________________________________

Rasmussen also had Romney ahead in a poll they took on July 6th, which had him with 25% of the vote. Palin came in second with 24%, Huckabee had 22%, and Gingrich had 14%. Both Pawlenty and Barbour polled 1%.

Here are the results from the new Gallup poll, conducted from July 10-12:

1. Mitt Romney: 26%
2. Sarah Palin: 21%
3. Mike Huckabee: 19%
4. Newt Gingrich: 14%
5. Tim Pawlenty: 3%
6. Haley Barbour: 2%

Comparing it with the Rasmussen poll, Romney gains a point, Palin and Huckabee lose three, Gingrich stays the same, and Pawlenty and Barbour remain irrelevant.

But here’s where the data gets really important:

No real surprises here. Among Republicans, Sarah Palin remains the most popular and unpopular candidate. And as you can see, virtually everyone on the Right has an opinion about her.

That’s not the case for Romney and Huckabee, who are both liked and disliked about equally, with many on the Right not having an opinion either way. Whether that’s a positive or negative for them remains to be seen.

Moving on to what all Americans think about the leading three candidates:

Palin’s numbers are about what’d you expect, and while having 43% approval isn’t shabby, you don’t want that to be accompanied with 45% disapproval. That’s why Huckabee has to be feeling pretty good about these numbers. He rivals Palin in popularity among all voters, but his unfavorables are 22 points lower. Granted, there are many who have  “no opinion,” so it’s somewhat unfair to compare, but looking at the numbers we’re given, he polls well.

It’s hard to get a proper context on Romney’s numbers (which by themselves are pretty good) until you look at this next graphic:

In five months, Romney has improved his image dramatically. While his favorables are up just three points, his unfavorables have dropped 17 points. That’s HUGE. He still needs to get his favorables up, but as long as he keeps giving foreign policy speeches at the Heritage Foundation or appearing on Meet The Press to knock the Stimulus package, he will. Especially if the economy keeps dragging.

Recent polls show HUGE shift among those who think country is on the right/wrong track

Check these numbers out, via RealClearPolitics:

To recap, that’s a –26 point spread for Diageo/Hotline, –16 point spread for CBS, and a -7 point spread for Rasmussen, all within about a month’s time.

Stunning.

Quote of the day

I was listening to an archived podcast of The Dennis Prager Show a couple of minutes ago, and Prager said something I felt I had to share with all of you:

“I do not want America to be loved. If it happens, that’s lovely. It is of no interest to me. Zero. To Liberals, it is very important. I want America to do what is right. If we end up loved, fine. If we don’t end up loved, fine. Since when does “world love” correspond with “world goodness?” Exactly when?”

I can’t tell you how often this topic comes up at the UW in my political science classes. This past quarter, for example, I had a media and politics class where we discussed America’s brand image, and what we could do to “fix it”  around the world.” The whole idea was to figure out how we could change  to make other countries like us more.

Out of 100+ students, I was the only one who vocally expressed that I didn’t care what other countries thought about us. I am so in alignment with Prager on this issue, it’s not even funny. I couldn’t care less about being liked. Like Prager, all I care about is that we’re doing what’s right.

Dennis Prager on the potential ban on smoking in the military

Prager is dead-on here, and very funny to boot.

From his show on July 10th:

Story about the potential ban is here.

Shameless plug on a slow Sunday night…

My Obama booty-gazing video, which I uploaded on Thursday night, now has over 17k hits on both YouTube and Myspace. YouTube disabled the audio, so you can now watch it on Myspace by clicking the pic below:

And just for the record, I have indeed watched the entire video of Obama on the steps, and I STILL think he snuck a peak. Or two.