Inside the Beltway

NEWS AND OPINION:

MAYOR EMANUEL

Yes, get used to that title. In just 72 hours, election day dawns in Chicago. And most likely, Rahm Emanuel will become mayor of the Windy City; the former White House chief of staff draws 58 percent of the votes, says a survey by the Chicago Retail Merchants Association. That number is up 6 percentage points in a month, so prepare for a press onslaught on the phrase “Mayor Emanuel.”

The man who would be mayor is not pleased, however, by an anonymous person tweeting as “Mayor Emanuel,” with lots of f-bombs, indecorous attitude and close to 30,000 followers. He is pleased, however, with a $50,000 donation from Donald Trump, who simply calls Mr. Emanuel “fantastic.” But wait. His old boss is a constituent, right? Yes, but that’s a discreet matter.

“The president and first lady have both filled out their absentee ballots and those are being mailed to Chicago. Theyre exercising their franchise and are glad to do it, but I won’t be giving copies of those ballots,” says White House spokesman Jay Carney.

WEARWITHAL

“Yes We Cain.”

— T-shirt motto spotted in Atlanta, supporting presidential hopeful Herman Cain.

HOLLYWOOD SURPRISE

A victory in the culture wars: Movies that reinforce traditional conservative values make three to five times more money than those with the liberal take on life and politics. So says Movieguide, a California-based publication that rates films through the prism of faith and family; its annual market study has startling revelations. The 64 movies that emphasize conservative values — like “The King’s Speech” and “True Grit” — made an average of $85 million a film. The 100 “liberal/leftist” movies — “Machete” and “The Kids are Alright,” for instance — brought in $18 million each.

“The success of real values in 2010 was no mistake. Moviegoers all over the world prefer movies that reflect more values,” says the guide’s founder, Ted Baehr. “In the wake of the tea party’s success in 2010, our annual study shows that conservative movies with strong Pro-American, traditional, patriotic, capitalistic, anti-communist content or values and biblical morality are even more popular.”

Mr. Baehr adds, “Of the 30 movies making $100 million or more overseas last year, 77 percent had strong conservative content reflecting traditional moral values, but only 20 percent had strong liberal, leftist, politically correct, or humanist and atheist content.”

MURK EMERGENCE

The Grand Old Party continues to stir the candidate caldron, pining for the day when the clear front-runner emerges from the murk, unsullied and well funded, to lead Republicans to a 2012 presidential victory. Or something like that. A receptive public awaits. Americans say they are just as likely to vote for the “nameless Republican” candidate as President Obama, a new Gallup poll finds.

Forty-five percent favor Mr. Obama, 45 percent the Republican. Seven percent of Republicans choose Mr. Obama, 88 percent one of their own. Among Democrats, 84 percent favor the president, 10 percent the Republican.

“Results from a parallel question Gallup asked during the presidencies of George W. Bush and George H.W. Bush show both of those presidents performing better on this re-elect measure at comparable points in their third years in office than President Obama does today,” notes Gallup analyst Lydia Saad.

D.C. TEA

“Don’t tread on D.C. … Americans nationwide believe that local governments should decide what is best on local issues. This ideal is the cornerstone of both the American Revolution and the modern-day ’Tea Party.’ The new majority in the House of Representatives includes conservatives elected on a promise to roll back federal encroachment in the states. We expect conservatives to be consistent in their application of ’local-rights’ by letting Washingtonians manage their own affairs without interference or meddling by Congress.”

— From a letter to House Speaker John Boehner from a coalition of 62 organizations — including DC Vote, the NAACP, the Marijuana Policy Project and the Gertrude Stein Democratic Club — brought to Mr. Boehner’s local residence with a tea bag bearing the motto “End Taxation Without Representation.”

NOT FORGOTTEN

The Defense Department’s POW/Missing Personnel Office has announced that the remains of 11 U.S. Army Air Corps servicemen, missing since Nov. 20, 1943, have been identified and returned to their families for burial with full military honors. The B-24 Liberator crew departed from Jackson Airfield, New Guinea, on an overwater mission, never to return. The remains were deemed “unrecoverable” by the Army, and the search was called off in 1949, only to resume in 1984 after local officials reported the discovery of a remote crash site on the north coast.

Multiple attempts were made to reach the site; the remains were recovered in 2004 with the help of villagers. The senior officer aboard the aircraft was 1st Lt. Richard T. Heuss, 23, of Berkley, Mich.; one crew member — Sgt. Charles A. Bode, 23, of Baltimore — was buried on Feb. 11 in Arlington National Cemetery.

POLL DU JOUR

• 59 percent of Americans say President Obama is trying to “put the country back on track.”

• 26 percent of Republicans and 87 percent of Democrats agree.

• 53 percent overall say Mr. Obama “hasn’t done much for us yet.”

• 82 percent of Republicans and 28 percent of Democrats agree.

• 41 percent overall say Mr. Obama “doesn’t care about people like me.”

• 68 percent of Republicans and 19 percent of Democrats agree.

Source: A Harris Poll of 2,566 adults conducted Jan. 17-24 and released Thursday.

• Tip line always open at jharper@washingtontimes.com. Follow the column at twitter.com/harperbulletin.