Tuesday Open Thread

Welcome to your Tuesday open thread. How’s 2011 so far? Anything good happening in your world?

Is anyone surprised by this poll result?

Raising taxes on the rich beats out cuts to defense spending, Medicare and Social Security as U.S. adults’ top preference on how to close the deficit, according to a 60 Minutes/Vanity Fair poll.

Sixty-one percent of Americans said that increasing taxes to the wealthy should be the first step toward balancing the budget.

By contrast, 20 percent of respondents preferred cuts to defense spending as the first option, while 4 percent said that cutting Medicare would be the best way to start cutting the deficit. Three percent said they preferred cutting Social Security.

This result is despite the fact that the media bamboozles the public on the state of Social Security. Raising taxes on the rich and cutting defense spending would be my top 2 choices as well, along with addressing the rising cost of healthcare (which hurts Medicare).

The RNC is selecting its new leader. Democrats everywhere are praying that Michael Steele wins again although it doesn’t seem likely. The candidates had a debate today.

Participants were asked a softball: what’s your favorite book? The answers varied quite a bit.

Maria Cino’s favorite is the classic To Kill a Mockingbird. Reince Priebus named The Reagan Diaries as his first choice. And current RNC Chairman Michael Steele’s favorite is War and Peace. […]

But the real highlight of the exchange came when Ann Wagner responded to the question, saying, “Probably my kitchen table.” What was she referring to exactly? Her favorite bar, apparently, which she thought she was being asked. Her favorite book, though, is George W. Bush’s new memoir, Decision Points.

The other participant, by the way, Michigan’s Saul Anuzis, mentioned Frederic Bastiat’s “The Law” as his favorite.

What’s more, when Steele answered, he mentioned Tolstoy’s War and Peace as his favorite, but then added, “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.” The line, of course, comes from neither Tolstoy nor War and Peace, but rather, Dickens’ A Tale of Two Cities.

I think the new chair will probably be only less comical than the current one.