Inside the Beltway

NEWS AND OPINION:

THE BECKLASH

So he had to wear a bulletproof vest. Fox News host Glenn Beck himself revealed Monday that he was wearing serious protection beneath his light blue shirt at the “Restoring America” rally on Saturday, at the request of his wife, Tania. Mr. Beck’s critics - who already had been eyeing news photos from the event for such evidence - were ready for the habitual pounce.

“Glenn Beck is so paranoid that he could not face his own fans without wearing a bulletproof vest. This fact not only speaks volumes about Beck, but also the mental stability of his fans. Ironically enough, Beck claimed that he is not a fear monger,” says Jason Easley of Politicususa.com, a liberal blog.

Meanwhile, the sputtering classes are still going on - and on and on - about Mr. Beck’s remarkable rally 72 hours after the fact, arguing over the number of attendees, his prowess in the religious arena, his faith (Mormon) and the ultimate trajectory of some straightforward talk about the spiritual life of America.

“Glenn Beck’s rally was large, vague, moist, and undirected - the ’Waterworld’ of white self-pity.” (Christopher Hitchens, Slate)

“A great PR stunt, but that’s all it was.” (Charles Karel Bouley, Huffington Post)

“Save the Beck-bashing for later. … Criticizing the rally itself plays into its impresario’s unclean hands by suggesting that liberals disdain patriotism, religious conviction and even diversity.” (Michael McGough, Los Angeles Times)

“What exactly are Glenn Beck’s credentials as a theologian?” (Elizabeth Tenety, The Washington Post)

“Will Glenn Beck get ’left behind’?” (Bob Zerull, Zoiks Online)

A BOEHNER MOMENT

The American Legion’s annual convention was on former President George W. Bush’s radar back in the day; he attended the patriotic event multiple times during his terms in office. President Obama? Missing in action at the group’s 92nd gathering, which begins Tuesday. Mr. Obama will be busy preparing for a major prime-time speech on Iraq from the Oval Office, rather than on the dais before the nation’s largest veteran’s service organization.

Not so House Minority Leader John A. Boehner. The Ohio Republican will journey to Milwaukee with a perhaps unwelcome preamble and reality check for Mr. Obama’s speech, to be delivered just hours before the president steps before network cameras for his big moment.

“He will address the situation in Iraq as well as the records of those folks who originally opposed the troop surge,” a spokesman tells Inside the Beltway. “And he considers this an honor to address an audience with such a distinguished record of service to their country.”

Mr. Boehner credits the surge strategy - opposed by Mr. Obama and also Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. - as the catalyst for advancement in Iraq, and the much ballyhooed shift from combat to advisory role for remaining U.S. troops. “With all due respect to them, our troops who have served so courageously in Iraq deserve the credit for the success of the surge and, along with the Iraqi people, the turnaround in Iraq,” Mr. Boehner says.

See the live webcast here: www.legion.org.

YAY AND NAY

“Muslim Americans continue to give President Obama the highest job approval rating of any major religious group in the U.S., while Mormons give the president the lowest ratings,” says Gallup Poll director Frank Newport.

The numbers? Americans overall give Mr. Obama a favorability rating of 48 percent. Among Muslim-Americans, the number is 78 percent, followed by 64 percent among “non-Christians,” 63 percent among atheists or agnostics, 61 percent among Jews, 50 percent among Catholics, 43 percent among Protestants and 24 percent among Mormons.

The findings are based on interviews with more than 275,000 adult Americans conducted as part of Gallup Daily tracking from Jan. 21, 2009, through July 31, with the findings released Monday.

AND IN SUMMATION

“Economic woes continued while the Clark Griswold Presidency took another break at Martha’s Vineyard.”

(Review of the last two weeks in politics by the Republican National Committee).

THE ANTI-POLLING GENE

Yes, there are those who would hang up on Gallup or Harris for all sorts of reasons. But maybe, just maybe, they inherited non-data DNA. Or something. A new study from North Carolina State University shows that genetics “play a key factor” in whether someone is willing to take a survey.

“We wanted to know whether people are genetically predisposed to ignore requests for survey participation,” says Lori Foster Thompson, an associate professor of psychology and lead author. “We found that there is a pretty strong genetic predisposition to not reply to surveys.”

She based her conclusions on - of course - a survey, this one of 1,000 sets of fraternal and identical twins and their comparative reactions to persistent pollster queries.

POLL DU JOUR

- 68 percent of Americans disapprove of President Obama’s job performance on the economy.

- 94 percent of Republicans and 40 percent of Democrats agree.

- 37 percent overall say Republican policies will likely solve U.S. economic issues.

- 36 percent say Democratic policies will solve them, 29 percent cited “tea party” policies.

- 22 percent expect their household financial condition to improve in the next six months.

Source: A Harris Poll of 2,775 adults conducted Aug. 9 to 16.

- Hue and cry, tepid press releases to jharper@washingtontimes.com.