The worst nightmare for Democrats is that Barack Hussein Obama will run for re-election.  If he's at the top of the ticket, Democrats will be drubbed worse than they were in 2010, indicated a survey Sept. 22 by Democrat pollster Stanley Greenberg. The worst nightmare for Republicans is that he won't.  Hillary Clinton is the most popular political figure in America, according to a Bloomberg poll Sept. 16. Democrats could have more sleepless nights, Republicans fewer restless ones if Herman Cain wins the Republican nomination. The race should narrow to a candidate favored by the GOP establishment, and a conservative "outsider," most analysts think.  Mr. Romney has locked up the establishment slot.  Ms. Bachmann and Mr. Perry auditioned for the role of "outsider," but have been found wanting.  Is it Herman Cain's turn now? Perhaps - but note that Ms. Bachmann is over because of her intemperate attack ("government needles into 12 year old girls") on Mr. Perry.  Two days ago (10/02), Mr. Cain suffered what is being called his "Bachmann moment."

Istanbul, Turkey. How free is Turkey? Turkey is almost entirely Muslim but lacks most of the repressive characteristics of many of the Arab Muslim countries. It has a largely free market with a high rate of economic growth. But it ranks in the middle among other countries in terms of economic freedom and per capita income. It also has less religious freedom and freedom of speech than is common in most of Europe and the United States and, thus, less liberty. The Mont Pelerin Society, most of whose members are economists and other scholars who were inspired by the great economist and philosopher F.A. Hayek, is holding a meeting here in Istanbul to discuss the nation, the state and liberty. The discussants are drawn from many countries and cultures, resulting in a very stimulating debate, some of which is summarized here, along with my own observations and thoughts.

The evidence that the presidential ship, the USS Zero, is sinking like that boat Leo DiCaprio was on continued to pile up this week.  When Euroweenies publicly call the President of the United States pitiful, sad, arrogant, and absurd, plus stupid; when he can't even beat Ron Paul in a national poll; when predictions mount that he will pull a 1968 LBJ and not run; when libtards like Newsweek Editor Tina Brown abandon him, it's pretty clear his presidency will end up sleeping with the fishes. He totally clinched it yesterday (9/29) with a pathetic replay of Jimmy Carter's 1979 Malaise Speech, blaming the disaster of his presidency on Americans being "soft." Like Carter, Zero does not possess the moral intelligence to grasp the irony of his claim. Americans were sunk into a deep malaise after the debacle of Watergate and defeat in Vietnam - and Carter was elected as an expression of it.  If it weren't for the "crisis of confidence" he complained about, Americans would never have placed a nebbishy schlemiel like him in the White House. And if Americans hadn't gone soft accepting liberal welfare and liberal guilt for decades, they never ever would have elected an affirmative action president, a Marxist Alinskyite attending a Hate America church whose only qualification for office was the color of his skin.

Even Democrats tune out Barack Hussein Obama now. With independents, Mr. Obama is more deeply underwater than the Titanic.  So it isn’t surprising he lost to “generic Republican” by 4 percentage points in an NBC poll in August; by 5 in a Rasmussen poll in September.

Alas for the GOP, “generic Republican” isn’t running.  Neither are those whom conservative pundits think best qualified to lead the nation.  Weekly Standard Editor Bill Kristol did all but send flowers and candy to Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels; then to Wisconsin’s Rep. Paul Ryan, and finally to New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie -- only to have all three spurn his advances.

Mr. Cain has a more impressive resume than all but a handful of professional politicians.  Like his IQ, it dwarfs that of Mr. Obama’s. Let's take a look at him.

Many on the political left are quick to recognize that tax rates affect behavior when applied to behaviors they do not like, such as smoking. They want to have high taxes on certain foods, such as candy, drinks containing sugar, and transfats, to discourage their use. But when it comes to labor and capital, those on the left often argue that those taxes have little effect on the willingness of people to work or invest in productive enterprises, despite both the empirical evidence and good economic theory. President Obama, you assert that it is fair for the rich to pay more, but you never define ‘fairness' or how you derived this undefined concept. Why? I have asked the White House to provide the answer but have received no response. We know from previous experience and from good dynamic economic studies that higher capital gains taxes will result in fewer new jobs and even less tax revenue. How is that fair, Mr. President?

The Justice Department spent $16 each for muffins for refreshments at one conference.  At another, hors d'oeuvres that cost $7.32 per serving were served, DOJ's Inspector General reported Sept. 20.  Our "public servants" do indeed live well at our expense.  But what, you wonder, do $16 muffins have to do with government subsidies for "green" technologies? DOJ's extravagance cost taxpayers perhaps $100,000.  Subsidies for green companies are $16 muffins on steroids.  They cost taxpayers tens of billions of dollars. There are differences.  Though Justice grotesquely overpaid, they did get muffins.  All taxpayers likely will receive from green subsidies is more debt. And while the $16 muffins can be attributed to the careless and self indulgence that, alas, often occurs when bureaucrats spend our money, there emanates from the green subsidies a stench of corruption from the Obama White House.