A new Gallup poll shows that President Bush's approval rating has reached an all-time low among Republicans. The president's overall approval rating according to Gallup is 28%, which ranks as the lowest approval rating of any president since Jimmy Carter (not good company) in 1979.

There are many reasons for his drop in approval, and it all has to do with standing up for conservative principles. We've all heard the term "covering your bases," which means to make sure obvious problem areas are addressed before embarking on an action or activity. For President Bush and other Republican leaders, there is a similar expression: cover your BASE. In this case, it is the conservative base that ushered in the Republican Revolution of the 1990s and handed President Bush two election victories. It is also the same base that will be needed this November.

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For all of the talk about race in this Democratic presidential primary, even the smart guys are getting it wrong.

Hillary Clinton is poised to win West Virginia in a landslide, because white, working class and blue collar workers are flocking to her side. Too many people are focusing on the "white" part of this, as if the numbers are going Clinton's way because these "white" voters will not vote for Barack Obama because he is African-American.

The reason Obama is losing these voters to Clinton and why John McCain has a great chance at gaining them in the fall is NOT because Obama is black -- Obama is losing them because he is the Most Liberal Senator in the entire United States Senate.

These voters are basically in the mold the old "Reagan Democrats" of the 1980's, somewhat moderate, prefer lower taxes, restrained federal spending, freedom to own a gun, and at a minimum, likely to support a ban on partial birth abortion. As well, they are much more likely to support a candidate whose foreign policy positions look more like Ronald Reagan's than Jimmy Carter's.

To make this about race does a disservice to the voters and to the process.

Barack Obama just threw someone close to him under the bus of political expediency ---- AGAIN!

Obama advisor Robert Malley has been ejected from the Obama campaign for admitting to secretly meeting with the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas. A top Hamas official recently stated flat out that they are hoping Barack Obama wins the presidency. Follow me here -- Obama has promised a much more conciliatory relationship with Iran (some friendly sitdowns and chats with a few toothless sanctions thrown in for show). Iran's Ahmadinejad recently referred to Israel as a "Stinking Corpse" and said it was "On Its Way To Annihilation." AND -- Iran provides much of the funding and training for Hamas. Getting the picture??

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Conventional wisdom dictates that John McCain relishes an extended fight between Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton. I'm betting he's actually itching to get into the game.

With wall-to-wall cable and network coverage of the Democratic Presidential primary, McCain is not as visible in the news as the Obama-Clinton smackdown is sucking the air out of the room. But even with having to fight for airtime and newspaper column inches, McCain is still doing pretty well in the national polls.

Real Clear Politics polling averages show Obama and Clinton with only a slight edge over McCain in national head-to-head matchups.

McCain has, in fact, had the advantage of not having to spend valuable resources campaigning against an opponent, and has been able to focus on fundraising and shoring up his base. But as we know from 2000 and the summer of 2007, he seems to be at his best when he's at some disadvantage with pundit predictions, money and conventional wisdom. Right now, the mainstream media is in the middle of a lovefest with Obama, he has more money, and he's beating Clinton. Yet Obama still can't seem to stand the heat.

Barack Obama recently complained about the toll the campaign has taken on him, and lamented that "babies have been born and learned to walk" during the time he has been campaigning for his party's nomination, as if that is an inordinate amount of time to have to compete to be Leader Of The Free World. In contrast, John McCain (and even Hillary Clinton, for that matter) appears to gain more energy as the campaign season progresses. McCain, simply put, understands what the job is, and Obama apparently does not.

Just how much Senate experience does Barack Obama have in terms of actual work days? Not much.

From the time Barack Obama was sworn in as a United State Senator, to the time he announced he was forming a Presidential exploratory committee, he logged 143 days of experience in the Senate. That's how many days the Senate was actually in session and working.

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We all know the Democrats are having a dickens of a time getting its act together and rallying ‘round a presidential nominee. The party of affirmative action is in a quandary as to whether or not to cast their November lot with the liberal black man or the liberal white woman. Decisions, decisions.

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Well, here we go. The Khaleej Times reported this morning, citing Qatari Oil Minister Abdullah bin Hamad Al Attiyah that OPEC will not increase its production of crude oil before September. The oil minister stated that OPEC believed the market had sufficient supply to meet current and projected global demand through the summer.

Despite his claim that current market prices were being driven by heavy speculation on oil futures, global demand, primarily led by China and India, has continued to rise without a corresponding increase in the global supply of crude oil, and the result has been a steady increase in price. OPEC's stance means that the coming summer months, which typically drive up demand for crude oil, especially in the United States, will further strain current supply and cause prices to increase further before OPEC's next meeting in September.

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I was planning to take the day off today and start my weekend a little bit early. However, I had the misfortune of reading the AP story on the May Day marches by thousands of illegal aliens who are demanding their "rights." Not only is the notion of lawbreakers taking to the streets to demand legal benefits completely outrageous, but the way the "news" story is worded is insane. When people break the law, there should be consequences. We should not close down streets in order for them to "show unity." What is going on here?!?! If you go by the AP's story, it's like there is no such thing as an "illegal" alien.

For your humor and amusement, the AP story titled "Thousands rally in May Day effort for immigration reform" is filled with plenty of quotes that show the bias and the slant that the liberal media outlets take on this issue. In the second paragraph, the story talks about marchers across the country who "demanded citizenship opportunities for the estimated 12 million illegal immigrants in the U.S. and an end to raids and deportations." Did I read that correctly? People come into this country illegally, and then "demand" citizenship and an end to enforcing the laws that are on the books to stop illegal activity?

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Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama has criticized John McCain and Hillary Clinton for their support of a summer break from the 18.4 cent per gallon gas tax as a way to provide a bit of relief for Americans so they can enjoy their summer more and, hopefully, perhaps stimulate the economy a bit, as well.

Obama has stated that some experts say it could mean only a $30 average savings per family. That means those who are still unable to afford to take a vacation, won’t, and for others the savings may be $60 or $90 or more.

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Sen. Barack Obama has finally had enough. His former pastor, Jeremiah Wright, has been conducting a multi-event tour over the weekend, culminating in a speech on Monday to the National Press Club in Washington, DC. Over those days, there were many outrageous statements said by Rev. Wright. Some were new, and some were repeats of past comments. Obama had plenty of time to come forward and blast Wright for the outrageous, anti-American rhetoric that pours from his mouth. Did the senator from Illinois do that? No. He waited until Wright said something personal about Obama. Only then did Obama organize a press conference to express his "outrage". The outrage fell flat, and it again calls into question Obama's judgment and beliefs.

As I detailed in Tuesday's Loft posting, Rev. Wright is truly the gift that keeps on giving. He gave a speech talking about how black brains and white brains were different and cited research to "prove it." Imagine if a white researcher had made similar claims! Oh wait, they have, and they were branded as racists. Wright also didn't step back from his comments about America deserving the attacks on 9-11 or his statements that the U.S. government invented HIV to wipe out blacks. In this barrage of garbage, he also added one other noteworthy comment. He said that Barack Obama's denunciation of Wright's comments was "political posturing."

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