Now, because I am a simple man, I eat at diners all the time. They don't confuse me. I get one fork, not five. And there is no fusion in my scrambled eggs.
The other day I was talking to the boss at a diner near me on Long Island which employs 70 people. The business has been successful for a long time, and this hard working legal immigrant is a great example of how good people can succeed in America.
Because he's a smart guy, he wants to refinance his mortgage on the diner to take advantage of the low interest rates. But no bank will lend him money, even though his credit is stellar.
Millions of small business owners all over America are in the same position. They see the fat cat banks getting bailed out by the Obama administration, but they can't get a loan at the market rate no matter how responsible they are. That has caused much of the core of the American work force, small business folks, to turn against President Obama.
Yes, the oil slick has hurt him, but it is the shaky economy that has put the president in a precarious position. It's more about performance, less about ideology.
Last Thursday, Laura Ingraham and I had a shoot-out over ideology and performance. Ms. Laura is a fervent conservative who believes the entire Obama administration is made up of nitwits. She wants heads to roll over the oil mess. She wants Homeland Security Chief Janet Napolitano fired, right now.
I said that wasn't fair. Ms. Napolitano has nothing to do with oil spill policy. She takes her orders from the White House. Firing her would be like firing the bat boy for the Baltimore Orioles. Give me a break.
But the anti-Obama forces want scorched earth. Anyone associated with the president is fair game.
Jack Lucas, who lives in Cincinnati, wrote this: Bill, you were wrong and Laura is right about giving Napolitano a pass. She's in charge of the Coast Guard. Don't be a pinhead.
Is the Coast Guard doing a bad job, Jack? Is it? I believe they are doing everything they can.
"Talking Points" believes President Obama is indeed losing the folks, but it's reality, not ideology that is driving his poll numbers south.
The USA is getting hurt because the nation is not built to be run from the top down. The oil spill is a great example. The powerful federal government is powerless to stop the chaos. Katrina demonstrated that as well.
So let's be honest and evaluate things as they really are. Janet Napolitano and most other agency bosses are bureaucrats; they take orders. The big guy is the president and the state of the union is on him, especially because he has centralized so much power.
Right now the folks are turning away from the Obama administration. That's a fair and accurate thing to say.
And that's "The Memo."
Pinheads & Patriots
The actress Sandra Bullock was betrayed by her husband in a very public way. She has filed for divorce.
In the meantime, Ms. Bullock continues to do good things. Listen to her speech at a cable awards ceremony:
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SANDRA BULLOCK, ACTRESS: Did I win this for being entertainer of the year, or did I win this because of the spectacular IED explosion that became my personal life? Our extraordinary troops deserve much more than some actress in a tight dress talking about herself. So I would like to do something I've always wanted to do in person, which is to thank you.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
Thanking the troops makes Sandra Bullock a patriot.
Click here to watch "Pinheads & Patriots"!
On the pinhead front, as you know, Gary Coleman died last week at age 42. And now TMZ is reporting that his ex-wife, 25-year-old Shannon Price, tried to sell photographs of Mr. Coleman's demise.
Can you believe this?
If true, Price is a pinhead. But much more than that, she is loathsome.
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