William Tecumseh Obama

Happy labor day. I've commented, in my own mildly obsessive-compulsive way, about the tendency that web site tenders seem to have of giving a story one name on the link at the main page, presumably to entice lure-able you, and another at the page of the the actual item.



It's tempting to decry the people at cnn.com for calling this story "Obama rallies union troops on Labor Day" on the home page, a la Fox News' frequent habit of labeling a centrist dem a republican in the graphics at the bottom of the screen, but maybe that would be taking this too seriously. Besides, it's a bit amusing. Hey Tea Partiers, hide the womenfolk, Obama's coming!

What's less amusing is not noting the mendacity of WTO BHO bragging of "cutting the payroll tax" and wanting to keep it cut, and not noting that he means cutting the revenue stream for social security. But maybe I'm just a nerd for thinking stuff like that matters.

Note the pairing of the controlled stimulus, cutting revenue for social security, with the uncontrolled stimulus of speaking to a traditional labor day get-together of union types. Months or years later, reporters and pols on both sides can point to this. If you lap it up, you must say to yourself, "What's wrong with me? Why, even union members support cutting revenue for social security!"

"Obama rallies union supporters on Labor Day"
By the CNN Wire Staff
September 5, 2011 5:30 p.m. EDT

see also

Dave Weigel, Slate,"Bad Slasher Movie The Democrats' sad, stupid, doomed campaign to keep the payroll tax cut"
Politics Aug. 26, 2011

Nancy Altman, "The end of social security"[via ATR] December 7, 2010

Rob Payne,"Going After Social Security", March 2010