Morning Joe 2/7/2012 -- Detroit, Catholics and Syria

On Morning Joe today there were several topics not related to Romney or Gingrich. I think I notice a weariness with Republican candidates, so maybe media will stop their obsessive disorder with the primary and look at what's happening around the nation and world.

The guests during the first part were Steve Rattner, Mark Halperin, Dan Senor, Mika's father and David Axelrod. I didn't bother listening to Axelrod because it's like watching a commercial for the 50th time. Axelrod reminds me of Snidely Whiplash.

Early in the show there was talk about the controversy over whether the Super Bowl commerical with Clint Eastwood and Detroit was a Republican boost or a Democrat boost. Rattner showed how the bailout of Chrysler and GM was a huge success and people like Romney look foolish criticizing the bailout when in fact it's so successful. It's only been a couple of years, and GM still owes billions, but Rattner and the administration and Democrat politicians are claiming success and building a case for re-election based in part on the bailout success. Dan Senor said that Detroit is not exactly a model of recovery we want to go by. Detroit is yesterday, unless they can transform and build a dynamic economy, but they can't build a dynamic economy on the GM model. GM is expected to fall again around 2014 when the stimulative effects wear off, because they haven't dealt with union promises which have to be met -- but that will be after the election, so who cares, right? The GM/Chrysler story will be another propaganda failure that's uncovered in a couple of years, although more and more people are seeing through the propaganda now.

On the Catholic/Obamacare issue, Mika received talking points from the White House regarding how to explain the issue. It's no big deal, according to the White House -- the Catholic leadership just doesn't understand the issue. Yes, that's a good response -- go with that one.

The great international Wise Man, Mika's father, was on the show, again, and the panel gathered around His feet to ask questions and receive wisdom. Z-Big, as I call him, says that Turkey is the key to resolution of the problem in Syria. I agree with Z-Big, that if there's going to be a resolution, it will be between Turkey and other players in the region -- it won't be because Obama says Assad has to go and everything's on the table. As Obama sounds more and more determined for Assad to go, more Syrians are killed and Assad is making Qaddafi look like an amatuer. China and Russia have thrown a wrench in the liberal foreign relations plan to get international consensus, then act. I suppose, in the liberal doctrine, the innocent must be protected only when there's consensus -- when two nations support mass murder, then the innocent are screwed. Perhaps when it's made clear to the mideast that if they want to improve their region, then they'll have to act, they'll stop relying on the Great Powers to make decisions -- that's over.

The Left has a lot to work out. The neo-cons know what they want to do -- bomb, bomb, bomb. Whatever we do, I hope we look at what we've done in the past, and what we should do in the future to avoid some of these situation in which we always find ourselves.