CBS/NYT Poll: Americans Disapprove Of Way Obama Handling Benghazi Attacks By 51%-38% Margin…

Weasel Zippers  "Should be way higher, but the MSM has circled the wagons around their guy."

WZ links us to this column by Jennifer Rubin:
Obama’s Libya stonewalling isn’t working   "Quite apart from what Obama did or didn’t do once the attack was underway, there are still many open questions, as Paul Wolfowitz reels off:"

- The persistent misleading comments about the motives of the attackers.
- The failure to do more in advance to respond to the evidence — including pleas by Ambassador Stevens himself — to provide better security for US facilities in Benghazi or for the Embassy in Tripoli.
- The low priority given to AFRICOM — which had hardly any forces assigned to it — despite growing evidence since the start of the Arab uprisings in Tunisia, Egypt, and Libya almost two years ago that the governments in those countries (particularly in Libya) were incapable of providing adequate security.

- The failure, after Qaddafi’s fall, to begin quickly training, equipping, and organizing capable Libyan forces so that the new Libyan government — which is evidently pro-American — could exercise better control over security. (To be fair, we were also slow previously in building up Afghan and Iraqi security forces, but why make the same mistake a third time?)
- The strategy of “leading from behind” during the Libyan uprising, which left the training and equipping of the Libyan opposition to governments that do not share our views about which groups should be armed — and even gave priority to Islamist militias over others.

- The current repetition of that same mistake in Syria, creating a situation where Islamist groups appear to be the ones which are best armed.  More...

The politics of Hurricane Sandy

.Hurricane Sandy and the politics of disaster funding  "The GOP has already done its best to tie Obama to the sequester, despite the fact that Republicans in Congress voted for the measure. For their part, Democrats have are seizing on the devastation wrought by Hurricane Sandy to use Romney's past words against him in a bid to suggest he's in favor of shifting the burden to the states. In a Republican primary debate last year, the former Massachusetts governor said states should have more control over disaster relief, including the possibility of private-sector involvement."

Obama prepares to visit Hurricane Sandy victims: Situation room photo

Argus Hamilton on Sandy; "Chicago residents were warned Monday to expect twenty-five foot waves out in Lake Michigan. The hurricane is tearing across the continent. Shooters on the South side of Chicago had to hire caddies to advise them about how to compensate for the wind speed.
"President Obama flew back to Washington D.C. from the campaign trail on Monday to monitor the hurricane. He came on the radio and issued safety instructions. He blamed Hurricane Sandy on an anti-ocean video currently making the rounds on YouTube."....

Sandy is reminder of all other broken Obama campaign promises  "At his inauguration, President Obama famously proclaimed that his election in 2008 was "the moment when the rise of the oceans began to slow and our planet began to heal." With the storm surges caused by Hurricane Sandy, yet another campaign promise has been broken. "....
...."Coming down the home stretch, President Obama picked up endorsements from three international political heavyweights: Venezuela's president Hugo Chavez, Cuba's ruling Castro family, and Russia's Vladimir Putin. Given Obama's track record, that might say it all.
"Obama promised to court international leaders, and these three really love the direction he has our country going. They were drawn to Obama by his nationalizing the healthcare industry, chasing businesses out of the country, and redistributing the wealth of the most productive to areas that will benefit him."

Well, gee, thanks, but no thanks; Iran offers to help cities devastated by Hurricane Sandy
" "Iran's Red Crescent is prepared to help the victims in the US," said Mahmoud Mozaffar, head of the Iranian Red Crescent Society's Relief and Rescue Organization."

Neal Boortz on Politicizing Sandy   "I wouldn’t expect anything less from this campaign. After all, we are talking about a campaign that chose the word “forward” to begin with, which has historically been used for communist publications and campaigns for over 100 years. "
Plus some Sandy stories:  ..."There’s a greater disaster out there.  One that doesn’t threaten buildings.  One that doesn’t flood businesses.  One that doesn’t leave people stranded on roofs and construction cranes hanging precariously from tangled cables over city streets.  This disaster is destroying economic liberty.  It has already destroyed millions of jobs – the livelihood of millions of families across the nation.  It has left prized businesses in ruins.  This disaster is on course for destroying a 236 year-old experiment in government that has lifted more people out of poverty and into prosperity than any other system of government in the history of mankind. "

The White House situation room during Hurricane Sandy

Rich Terrell

Our thoughts are with all of you in the storm's path. Rich and Lucy

UPDATED: Debunking the case of General Carter Ham

The story of General Ham as it was first published, and as the Tunnel Wall  prepared to use it:

Here: Is a U.S. general losing his job over Benghazi?  "The information I heard today was that General Ham as head of Africom received the same e-mails the White House received requesting help/support as the attack was taking place. General Ham immediately had a rapid response unit ready and communicated to the Pentagon that he had a unit ready.

"General Ham then received the order to stand down. His response was to screw it, he was going to help anyhow. Within 30 seconds to a minute after making the move to respond, his second in command apprehended General Ham and told him that he was now relieved of his command."

And here: “Rogue”U.S. General Arrested for Activating Special Forces Teams; Ignoring Libya Stand-Down Order .

General Ham then received the order to stand down. His response was to screw it, he was going to help anyhow. Within 30 seconds to a minute after making the move to respond, his second in command apprehended General Ham and told him that he was now relieved of his command.

But this is today's comment on the story: Debunking the case of General Carter Ham
"These reports are filled with sensationalism and should, for the moment, be 100% discounted as they claim he was arrested and relieved of duty.
"Many reports have claimed that General Ham was actually arrested. Specifically, reports declare that General Ham was arrested by his deputy commanding officer, General Rodriguez. But again, this information is highly unlikely.....
"....it is critical we all think logically and dissect rumors in an attempt to clearly find real and credible answers.

"The rumor about General Ham is alarming. And so far, there is absolutely no clear evidence proving such an incident happened. In fact, much more evidence would suggest none of the rumor to be true.
"General Ham isn’t retiring. If these rumors were true, he would have quietly been asked to retire or he would have been fired. To date, it appears that General Ham will be taking over one of America’s largest commands in the very near future. What that command is, well, we should just wait for confirmation of such."

Kerry Patton, a combat disabled veteran, is the author of Contracted: America's Secret Warriors (scheduled release Dec, 2012.). You can follow him on Facebook or at kerry-patton.com.

UPDATE from the military blog, Blackfive: Rumors of General Officers Arrested, Relieved, or Resigning in Protest 
"It's hard to say what is truth and what is fiction right now. This is all speculation for the moment. And some of these rumors might have been started to ensure that the truth doesn't come out until after the election.

Admiral Charles M. Gaouette

"Are the two removals related?
"Are Ham and Gaouette fall out from a cover up of Benghazi?
"Is there any truth behind the rumors?

On November 6th, Remember Obama’s Record

Conservative Daily News

...."Mr. President, when you needed them, the SEALs responded and killed Bin Laden. When they needed you in Benghazi, where were you?

"We are repulsed by the President’s lawlessness as he signed executive orders circumventing Congress and changing U.S. policy toward illegal immigration, effectively implementing “The Dream Act” without Congressional approval. And by refusing to defend the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) and negating key work provisions of Bill Clinton’s Welfare Reform Act, he violated his oath, and the law, once again.
....
"We’ll remember our men and women in uniform and wonder if their Commander in Chief truly values their lives and the sacrifices of their families.
"Business owners will wonder if they’ll be able to expand and hire new workers or if they’ll be forced to lay off more of their valued employees. Even worse, if they’ll be forced to close their doors forever.
"And entrepreneurs will wonder if opportunity will still exist in America. If free enterprise can survive another four years of Barack Obama.
"Americans will remember the Obama record."....

For all those fish who gave their lives that we might live; the tomb of the unknown fish

Do Irvine's dead fish deserve a memorial?

"The fish had been stored in large tanks that cracked open as a result of the Oct. 11 accident. When firefighters opened the back of the truck, some fish flopped out, and others had already died. None of the people in the accident were seriously injured.

"Although such signs are traditionally reserved for human fatalities, I hope you'll make an exception because of the enormous suffering involved in this case, in order to remind drivers that all animals -- whether they're humans, basset hounds or bass -- value their lives and feel pain," Kourda wrote.

So help me, this is how Paul Whitefield closes his article quoting the above words from PETA:

 "So maybe Dina Kourda of PETA is on to something. Maybe those dead sea bass were just fish. But maybe even fish can -- should -- have their day.

"Maybe it's the least we can do."

Well, it is LA.

This was in the Times earlier:

"She wrote that the sign should be placed at the edge of the right-of-way, at a spot far from the road, so it wouldn't interfere with traffic.

"City spokesman Craig Reem said he was not familiar with Irvine's procedure for dealing with such a request.

" "I do think it's fair to say we have no plans to erect a memorial," he said."

From the Jan 2011 Tunnel Wall.

PETA should have referred to the fish as "sea kittens" 

PETA Attempts To Make Fish More Adorable ""PETA thought that by renaming fish sea kittens, compassionate people who would never dream of hurting a dog or a cat might extend that sympathy to fish, or sea kittens," PETA campaign coordinator Ashley Byrne says.
"Byrne says that rebranding fish as sea kittens was obvious."
And these people vote.

Nice Try Libs, Romney’s Hats Are Not Made In China…

Buzzfeed "This photo comparing a Romney cap made in China and an Obama cap made in the U.S. is going viral online."

But it is nothing more than a Photoshop fake, a libscam. Pictured below is an actual non-doctored Romney cap:

"The Romney campaign website doesn't even have tan hats for sale right now. So the image could either be a total fake or a hat made by an outside group."
Hat tip to Weasel Zippers

Just thinking about how our SEALs fought and died in Benghazi

Mark Steyn; Benhoozi? "In the smoking ruins of that consulate in Benghazi, Glen Doherty and Tyrone Woods fought for hours and killed 60 of the enemy before they were overwhelmed, waiting for the cavalry that never came. They’re still waiting – for Candy Crowley, David Gregory, Bob Schieffer, and George Stephanopoulos to do their job."

They called for help  "At that point, they called again for military support and help because they were taking fire at the CIA safe house, or annex. The request was denied. There were no communications problems at the annex, according those present at the compound. The team was in constant radio contact with their headquarters. In fact, at least one member of the team was on the roof of the annex manning a heavy machine gun when mortars were fired at the CIA compound. The security officer had a laser on the target that was firing and repeatedly requested back-up support from a Spectre gunship, which is commonly used by U.S. Special Operations forces to provide support to Special Operations teams on the ground involved in intense firefights....

From Blackfive; Former Delta Operator on "The Panetta Doctrine" or also known as "The Dumbest S--t I Ever Heard!"
"Got an email from the retired former Delta operator in the Benghazi post. And yes, he mis-spells the SecDef's name on purpose."

"This is about doctrine, specifically the Obama Administration's doctrine, and how it doesn't work in the real world:"...

In all that time, I never hit an objective where two Navy SEALs were already there and feeding me all the information I could ever want! Hell, that wouldn’t even be a raid, it would be a link-up!

What more information do you need? Or was this never about information at all? Was it really the president deciding that the lives of four Americans wasn’t worth as much as a campaign talking point?

A post from Pundit and Pundette included this:

If you need a reminder to buy bottled water and tape the widows before a hurricane, Obama is your man. If you’re running a machine gun, soon to be covered in your own blood, on the roof of a building under fire in Libya at 3 a.m., if you’ve called three times over a period of almost seven hours for air cover that is within a couple of hours away (or, as we might learn, in the armed drone directly above) — well, you’re on your own. The president will get back to you.

FACT CHECK: Did the Navy Seals who died in the Benghazi attacks kill 60 jihadis?

I regret to tell you: "In this original post the claim has no supporting sources that tell where the claim originated."
"According to a source on the ground at the time of the attack, the team inside the CIA annex had captured three Libyan attackers and was forced to hand them over to the Libyans. U.S. officials do not know what happened to those three attackers and whether they were released by the Libyan forces.

Blackfive  "The only way I buy that the former SEAL was lasing the target without an active asset to synch to and destroy the target...maybe, just maybe, it was a last stand move. Maybe he did that to give the inbounds a target if he didn't make it..."

In case you wonder what someone on the ground would use to "paint a target" for air strikes, below is something like what would be used.

Laser targeting systems "The IZLID 1000P is a long-range IR laser for pointing and marking by military forces on the ground and in the air. A simple adjustment turns the laser into an IR illuminator for rapid target identification with night vision goggles (NVGs) and IR sensors. It is ideal as a command pointer, for target marking, and for visual communication between ground forces and aircraft. Overcoming virtually all ambient lighting conditions, the IZLID 1000P laser places a very powerful and tightly focused IR dot on the target. The bright beam is often used by a Tactical Air Control Party (TACP) or Joint Terminal Attack Controller (JTAC) to communicate visually with aircraft and direct airstrikes."

LOW PROFILE IN BENGHAZI: WHEN POLITICAL CORRECTNESS KILLS  "At 4 am the two ex-SEALs were killed by a barrage of well-placed mortar fire as they maintained a desperate overwatch  on the roof of the annex. When the shooting abruptly stopped, the Benghazi mission and annex were abandoned, and sensitive papers picked over by the curious.  Al Qaeda quickly took credit for the attack, and within two hours cables notified the White House of this fact."

The President's prayer for our SEALs in harm's way

Now I lay me down to sleep.
I pray those SEALs aren’t in too deep.
But if they die before I wake,
I’m sure I’ll get a media break.

Now I lay me down to sleep.
I hope this doesn’t turn to (bleep).
Let others watch throughout the night.
I’ve got an early Vegas flight.

Now I lay me down to sleep.
I fear the price they’ll pay is steep.
But look at it my personal way,
It won’t be my most optimal day.

Now I lay me down to sleep.
I know my flacks can surely keep
The truth from getting in the way,
Until polls close Election Day.

Now I lay me down to sleep,
To dream of goals that I must keep;
To close my ears to all your pleas,
As I bring America to her knees.

Cal Thomas: "Who's a racist?"

World Magazine  "The Post-ABC News pollsters, who appear to see so much through racially-colored glasses, might have asked some of those white voters who supported President Obama four years ago why they are supporting Mitt Romney now. I would be willing to wager most, if not all, would say the president's performance has not lived up to their expectations or his hype about hope and change.
"For supporters of President Obama, including Republican-in-name-only Lawrence Wilkerson, to suggest that Republicans want him out of the White House simply because he's black, is a desperate attempt by a faltering campaign to change the subject from the president's record and lack of vision for the future."

patriotpost

The hidden real truth about Benghazi

Canada Free Press  "Most people know that we’ve been lied to about the attacks in Benghazi, but few realize the extent of those lies or the hidden secrets they cover. After all, the lie is different at every level. Thanks to a well placed source with extensive knowledge about the attack, the disturbing truth is slowly beginning to emerge and is lining up with information contained in my previous articles published here weeks ago (Here, Here and Here). The truth reveals the most serious situation in the world today as it involves the interests and destinies of us all."
....
"As daylight approached with no response from the U.S. and no aid to the Americans under fire, the attack teams had to disperse into the cover of the remaining darkness, but not before their mission was accomplished. And sadly, it was."

http://cartoonsbyhenry.com/?tag=libya

Benghazi and our media

http://terrellaftermath.com/

Big Journalism; Media Blackout: Aside from FOX, Sunday News Hosts Fail to Raise Benghazi

"The mainstream media's silence on the Benghazi disaster reached deafening levels on Sunday, as four out of the five major weekly news shows--with the exception of Fox News Sunday--failed to raise the issue. Only Bob Schieffer of CBS gave the issue serious consideration, and only after it was raised by Sen. John McCain."

"When the Benghazi issue did surface, other than on Fox, it was invariably brought up by Republican guests, and then deflected by the hosts, who largely ignored new stories this week that implicated the White House in the decision not to intervene to save the life of U.S. Ambassador Chris Stevens and other American staff.

"Here is how the Sunday shows covered the issue:"    Read more...

Burden for reporting Benghazi has fallen to Fox


http://ibloga.blogspot.com/

 Media Blackout: Why Obama Dodged the Libya Question
"President Obama ran into a buzzsaw yesterday while doing a round-robin of satellite interviews with local news outlets in crucial swing states -- and by "buzzsaw," I mean that rare form of species known as a "real reporter." Kyle Clark of Colorado's KUSA actually asked Obama about the latest revelations out of Libya. According to Fox News, the three requests for help made during the seven-hour attack on our consulate in Benghazi were met with orders from U.S. officials to "stand down." Wisely, Obama dodged this question entirely."

Pundits Mock Libya Story as 'Utterly Contrived,' 'October Mirage'   "...a compilation of the most outrageous, sometimes humorous, quotes from the liberal meda. This week's lowlights: Liberal pundits insist that the unfolding details of Obama's incompetent handling of the September 11 attack in Benghazi is an "utterly contrived" story, an "October Mirage."
"The ever-wacky Chris Matthews is even sticking with Team Obama's now discredited first response: "Everybody knows it's about the video. It's all about the video." "

Pat Caddell, Democrat supporter and pollster for President Carter is incensed at the media over Benghazi
Sorry about the commercial preceding the video.

An Obama Halloween

http://www.facebook.com/conservativethinker

An Obama Halloween

T’was the night before elections, And all thru’ the town,
Tempers were flaring Emotions ran up and down.
I, in my bathrobe With a cat in my lap,
Had shut off the TV, tired of political crap.
When all of a sudden, There arose such a noise,
I peered out my window, Saw Obama and his boys
They had come for my wallet, They wanted my pay
To hand out to others Who had not worked a day!
He snatched up my money, And quick as a wink,
Jumped back on his bandwagon As I gagged from the stink.
He then rallied his henchmen Who were pulling his cart.
I could tell they were out To tear my country apart!
‘On Fannie, on Freddie, On Biden and Ayers!
On Acorn, on Pelosi’ He screamed at the pairs!
They took off for his cause, And as they flew out of sight, I heard him laugh at a nation Who wouldn’t stand up and fight!

So I leave you to think on this one final note…IF YOU DON’T WANT SOCIALISM, GET OUT AND VOTE !!!!

You have to read this one to believe it.

Halloween treat: re-elect President Barack Obama, or your children will live in an America where “sick people just die” and “oil fills the sea.”

Remember this Obasong from 2008?  You can play this outside your house on Halloween for the trick-or-treaters.

Can you tell me this is not a typical Obama voter?

cartoonsbyhenry.com

Liberal civility, Oct 27, 2012

Boortz asks, What's Going On Here?  ...."Here are some examples from just the last few days …

•A truck affixed with "Obama" stickers dumped a ton of nails in the parking lot of a tea party rally for Romney-Ryan

•Vandals change a church sign to read “Romney Hates Women” and “Christ Voted Democrat” in Indiana

•ObamaBots key “Obama” into cars outside a home with Romney yard signs

•ObamaBots fly a banner calling the GOP “Sexist” And “Racist” over a Romney rally in Florida

"This is all that these people can come up with, because they know that they have no real reason to support Obama this time around."

Huffington Post: Vandalism On Cars In Alta Loma, Calif.   "Police are searching for the vandal who carved President Barack Obama's name onto the hoods and ripped out the upholsteries of residents' cars in an Alta Loma, Calif. neighborhood, reports KTLA. Many of the homes on the block had prominent yard signs expressing support for Romney, including resident Ralph Sanchez's property."

Why Is Obama so Nasty and Vulgar?  "First, it bespeaks a coarsening of public language. No surprise there (Romney’s gentlemanlyness is more surprising, in fact); for a long time our movies and television have abandoned the rules that banned certain words and phrases. Still, until recently, our political leaders have avoided such vulgarities, at least in their public rhetoric. No more, at least at the highest level of the current Democrat Party."

Actor Martin Sheen, about to start shooting a film based on the notion that 9/11 was an inside job, thinks Mitt Romney is stupid.  "“Mr. Romney really showed his ass there, and how stupid he is and arrogant. There’s an old phrase, arrogance is ignorance matured, and that’s what we saw....” " Says Himself.

Obama Campaign Strategy: Vandalize Cars of Romney Supporters

Democrats using thug tactics to intimidate Republican Forida Voters
" "A nonregistered voter who casts a vote in the State of Florida may be subject to arrest, imprisonment, and/or other criminal sanctions," the letter warns.

"Chris Cate, a spokesman for the Florida Department of State, says most of the letters appear to be going to Republicans. He says voters who received one should report it to their local election supervisor or a state voter fraud hotline (1-877-868-3737) so authorities can find out who's behind the mailings. Most of the letters were postmarked in Seattle.
""This is an example of why voters need to be vigilant during the election season and to be aware that there may be people out there committing fraudulent acts," Cate said."

Do We Believe Anymore?

Victor Davis Hanson "We live in an age of disbelief, in which citizens increasingly do not believe what their government says or, for that matter, what is accepted as true by popular culture.
....
"When I heard the president in the last debate, I thought I was in Cloud Cuckoo Land: he seemed to be running for office as a fresh challenger — with the same future tenses and subjunctive moods of “I will” and “I would” as he long ago used against Bobby Rush, Alan Keyes, Hillary Clinton, and John McCain, when he was the perennial potential office-holder. In other words, the president sounded as if he does not have a record to run on, only a speculative one about which to offer hypotheses. Note how Obama slept through four years and only comes alive in a campaign where he loves his own speeches, likes to accuse and belittle, and feeds off the frenzy of crowds — in comparison to all that, intelligence briefings and debate prep are a “drag.”

"So what he said in these two debates was all a sort of lie, as if Mitt Romney has been president for four years or George Bush is now in his third term. The Greeks called such a busybody, non-stop talker a “polypragmôn,” someone who jumps from here to there, always talking, persuading, speechifying, but never really accomplishing anything. The more Obama promised, the more I thought I had amnesia: did he not have two years of a Democratic Senate and House, and in the beginning with a supermajority that was filibuster-proof?

Beep....Beep....Beep.....White House Tries to Throw Military Under Bus

A pair of companion articles on the White House denial of responsibility for Benghazi. The first is from the military blog Blackfive and uses, um, military terms:

templeofmut

Blackfive  "Blaming people who work for you is one thing, but blaming those that are prohibited by law from speaking publicly about what a piss-poor excuse for a leader you are just makes you look like an even bigger horses ass.

"Neither the president nor anyone in the White House denied any requests for assistance in Benghazi,"

"All Righty Then, let's walk through this." Read more...

White House Tries to Throw Military Under Bus  "So, since the the CIA says it wasn't any of their guys, and since the White House is trying to eliminate any blame on themselves, does this mean the order not to help those Americans under siege in Benghazi came from the military? The White House, it would seem, is trying to shift blame in that direction. "
....
"So, since the the CIA says it wasn't any of their guys, and since the White House is trying to eliminate any blame on themselves, does this mean the order not to help those Americans under siege in Benghazi came from the military? The White House, it would seem, is trying to shift blame in that direction. "

http://reaganiterepublicanresistance.blogspot.com/

Yes, Barack; there IS a Sandy Clause

Hope n' Change

"Christmas has come early for Barack Hussein Obama. Not in the form of a jolly old elf bringing gifts for good boys and girls, but rather in the form of a huge, life-threatening hurricane which will take over the news cycles long enough for Americans to forget (if they've even heard) that Barack Obama quite possibly watched the murder of our Ambassador in Benghazi from the comfort and safety of the situation room ("No dress code - golf clothes fine!"), and may even have given the order for troops to "stand down" rather than answer the dying Americans' desperate pleas for help.
"And why? Because a firefight in Libya would be a distraction from his political campaign, and his false narrative that the killing of Osama bin Laden was tantamount to the end of terrorism."

Effect of hurricane Sandy on the race? Your guess as good as anyone's  "My own personal belief is that public opinion is moving toward Romney glacially - and powerfully. I don't think anything save a terrorist attack on our country would be able to affect it. It's still a question whether the tide is moving fast enough to give the election to Romney. But at this point, I don't think it can be stopped."  Rick Moran

From Politico (which has been called an MSNBC clone) and linked to by the left-leaning Memeorandum; Hurricane Sandy: 5 political questions   " “The president will be in the thick of it — which is when he’s at his best,” the Democratic source said. “There is no way for Romney to replicate that.”
"Romney’s answer: His campaign bus in Virginia was loaded up with relief supplies on Sunday, a move that could make him look compassionate or complicate other relief efforts."

Whatever it takes to cover for Obama, the media will do it.  "As far as the media goes, a young sergeant in Afghanistan wrote to tell us that the TV in their messhall is tuned to BBC and al Jazeera, English because they can’t trust the US media to tell them the truth anymore."

Big Journalism; ABC News Sets Template For Obama Win, via Storm Coverage  "This column is not about the seriousness of the storm, but about ABC and the politics of disaster and how the network is both advising the president, and creating his template for success."

Now "Benghazigate" has it's own Facebook page

This is one of numerous photos on the new page. The site also contains this column by Thomas Sowell:

Thomas Sowell: Benghazi and a climate of Libyan lies  "It was a little much when President Barack Obama said that he was "offended" by the suggestion that his administration would try to deceive the public about what happened in Benghazi. What has this man not deceived the public about?"

....

"To have helped overthrow pro-Western governments in Egypt and Libya, only to bring anti-Western Islamic extremists to power would have been revealed as a foreign policy disaster of the first magnitude.
"To have been celebrating Obama's supposedly heroic role in the killing of Osama bin Laden, with the implication that Al Qaeda was crippled, would have been revealed as a farce."

The limits of American power

Caroline Glick; The limits of American power  "But from what was said, we can be fairly certain that a second Obama term will involve no departure from his foreign policy in his current term in office.

"As far as Iran and its nuclear weapons program is concerned, that policy has involved a combination of occasional tough talk and a relentless attempt to appease the mullahs."....   However Glick asserts that Romney's statements, though welcome, are out of date. And what about any change a Romney foreign policy would bring to the Iran situation?   "Romney would face intelligence, diplomatic and military establishments that at a minimum have been complicit in massive leaks of Israeli strike options against Iran and that have so far failed to present credible military options for a US strike against Iran's uranium enrichment sites and other nuclear installations.
"He would face a hostile media establishment that firmly and enthusiastically supports Obama's policy of relentless appeasement and has sought to discredit as a warmonger and a racist every politician who has tried to make the case that Iran's nuclear weapons program constitutes an unacceptable threat to US national security."

http://www.conservativedailynews.com/2012/10/leading-from-behind/

Where was the "gutsy call"?

American Thinker directs us to this piece on Benghazi by Clarice Feldman: Issa Benghazi Transcript, which features this post below.

JustOneMinute
" On Saturday, retired Army Lt. Col. Tony Shaffer told Fox News that according to his sources, President Obama watched the assault on the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi, Libya, from the White House as it took place.

" “This was in the middle of the business day in Washington, so everybody at the White House, CIA, Pentagon, everybody was watching this go down,” he said on Fox News’ “Justice with Judge Jeanine.”“According to my sources, yes, [President Obama] was one of those in the White House Situation Room in real-time watching this,” he added.

"Col. David Hunt, a Fox News military analyst, said the "entire U.S. government was paying attention," since this was the fourth embassy to have been attacked in a 24-hour period.

"But President Obama said Friday that he was "not personally aware" of any requests for additional security."

Having your Soldiers' Back  "The Israelis have been known to trade live terrorists for the bodies of its soldiers held by its enemies. That's what it means to have your soldiers' collective back. And their families' back. "

....

"If Secretary Panetta and Chairman Dempsey denied the SEALS request, they should resign in shame. If the decision was made higher up, the President and Vice President should resign -- the President because he is Commander in Chief, the Vice President because he is the father of a soldier."

Related to the aftermath: Condolence, Then and Now

Obama's beautiful economic picture book. Honest, I just get it for the pictures.

Rich Lowry; Obama's pathetic picture book   "As an artifact of the diminishment of President Barack Obama, it is hard to top his newly released pamphlet, "The New Economic Patriotism: A Plan for Jobs and Middle-Class Security." "  ...."It cobbles together his current policies with some ill-defined new bullet points to barely cover 20 pages largely devoted to nice pictures of the president."
.... "On the deficit, the pamphlet touts the same old $4 trillion plan, which is a little more than a hoary talking point. On entitlements, the president's plan evidently is to do nothing on Medicaid, do nothing on Social Security and do nothing on Medicare, except pretend that his $716 billion in cuts to fund "Obamacare" were a boon to the program. "

Obama’s “New Economic Patriotism”   "Let’s examine a few of its claims:

•Has the President created 5 million jobs? No.
•Has the President “strengthened Medicare”? Definitely no.
•Is the President “leading the fight to safely and responsibly develop all sources of domestic energy”? No and more no.

"President Obama’s plans do nothing to address the major problems with the U.S. economy. He does not tackle the fundamental budgeting problems, which would require reforming entitlement programs and halting out-of-control federal spending."

Remember back in 2008 when Uncle Joe said paying more taxes was patriotic?

Krauthammer; Obama stoops, doesn’t conquer

Charles Krauthammer  “This nation. Me.” — Barack Obama, third presidential debate .
"Okay, okay. I’ll give you the context. Obama was talking about “when Tunisians began to protest, this nation, me, my administration, stood with them.” Still. How many democratic leaders (de Gaulle excluded) would place the word “me” in such regal proximity to the word “nation”?"
....
"Obama may blithely dismiss the need for more ships, but the Navy wants at least 310 and the latest Quadrennial Defense Review Independent Panel report says that defending America’s vital interests requires 346 ships (vs. 287 today). Does anyone doubt that if we continue as we are headed, down to fewer than 230, the casualty will be entire carrier battle groups, precisely the kind of high-tech force multipliers that Obama pretends our national security requires?"
,,,,
"Romney chose to do a Reagan: Don’t quarrel. Speak softly. Meet the threshold.
"We’ll soon know whether steady-as-she-goes was the right choice."

GAFFNEY: The real reason behind Benghazigate

Washington Times  Note that this article uses words such as "suggests", "appears", "what cries out for further investigation... is whether..." and, of course, "it seems".  Bear that in mind as we wait to see if this story grows past this one column. TD
"What cries out for further investigation — and debate in the remaining days of this presidential election — is whether this shipment was part of a larger covert Obama effort to transfer weapons to our enemies that could make the Iran-Contra scandal, to say nothing of Operation Fast and Furious, pale by comparison."
...."In short, it seems President Obama has been engaged in gun-walking on a massive scale. The effect has been to equip America’s enemies to wage jihad not only against regimes it once claimed were our friends, but inevitably against us and our allies as well."

Other related links below are from a Townhall printing of the previous article.
 
Clare Lopez; Arms Flow to Syria May Be Behind Benghazi Cover-Up

http://cartoonsbyhenry.com/?tag=libya

"According to August, 2012 reports leaked to the media, sometime earlier in 2012, President Obama signed an intelligence finding to permit the CIA and other US government agencies to provide support to the Syrian rebels, whose ranks are reported to be dominated by Al Qaeda, the Muslim Brotherhood and other jihadist fighters who already are supported by Turkey, Saudi Arabia and other jihadist regimes. Was Belhadj a conduit for U.S. support, perhaps via Turkey?"

Egyptian officials say Stevens worked with Saudis against Assad

"Similarly, the Obama administration is currently aiding the rebels fighting Assad’s regime in Syria amid widespread reports that al-Qaida jihadists are included in the ranks of the Free Syrian Army.

During the revolution against Gadhafi’s regime, the U.S. admitted to directly arming the rebel groups."

Bret Baier's Fox report links Libya and gun-running in this report: (video)

Hat tip to Harley Standlee; Placerville, CA

More on Benghazi

Lucianne:
Benghazi: A Reader Assesses the Evidence
"A reader, relying on publicly available information, has reconstructed what we know and can infer about what happened in Benghazi. I haven’t tried to verify all of his facts nor do I necessarily vouch for his inferences, although in general they seem reasonable. But his analysis is, I think, a valuable contribution to our understanding, and I reproduce it here in slightly edited form: This last week may have finally broken the protective wall around the POTUS. Between the comments of Hillary Clinton, Gen. Petraeus, Defense Secretary Panetta and the FOX News report, the picture of what really transpired "

Why did Obama choose to “stand down” in Benghazi?
"As John and Scott point out, the CIA has issued a statement making it clear that “no one at any level in the CIA told anybody not to help those in need [in Benghazi]; claims to the contrary are simply inaccurate.” That statement surely was issued with the approval, and presumably at the direction, of the CIA’s director, General Petraeus. Who, then, made the several decisions denying help to the Americans in Benghazi who needed it? Who, initially, told CIA to “stand down” in face of the attack? Who decided that American defense forces an hour or two away."

Bill Kristol;  Ten Questions for the White House
1.) To whom did the president give the first of his "three very clear directives"—that is, "make sure that we are securing our personnel and doing whatever we need to?"
2.) How did he transmit this directive to the military and other agencies?
3.) During the time when Americans were under attack, did the president convene a formal or informal meeting of his national security council? Did the president go to the situation room?
4.) During this time, with which members of the national security team did the president speak directly?
5.) Did Obama speak by phone or teleconference with the combatant commanders who would have sent assistance to the men under attack?
6.) Did he speak with CIA director David Petraeus?
7.) Was the president made aware of the repeated requests for assistance from the men under attack? When and by whom?
8.) Did he issue any directives in response to these requests?
9.) Did the president refuse to authorize an armed drone strike on the attackers?
10.) Did the president refuse to authorize a AC-130 or MC-130 to enter Libyan airspace during the attack?

'Stand Down': U.S. Had Two Drones, AC-130 Gunship, and Targets Painted in Benghazi

"Reports indicate two drones and an AC-130 gunship were in the area when Benghazi was attacked, yet their resources were not used. This runs completely against the current explanation coming out of the White House, which is that Obama did everything he could once he learned of the attack. You'll remember that in the second presidential debate, Obama said that as "soon as I was aware the Benghazi consulate was being overrun, I was on the phone with my national security team." The not-so-subtle intimation is that Obama was stepping up to the protect the U.S. personnel who were in Libya."

Blackfive;
Bigger than Watergate: Proof that the President is Lying about Benghazi?

"One of the former SEALs was actively painting the target. That means that Specter WAS ON STATION! Probably an AC130U. A ground laser designator is not a briefing pointer laser. You do not "paint" a target until the weapons system/designator is synched; which means that the AC130 was on station.

"Only two places could have called off the attack at that point; the WH situation command (based on POTUS direction) or AFRICOM commander based on information directly from the target area.

"If the AC130 never left Sigonella (as Penetta(sp) says) that means that the Predator that was filming the whole thing was armed.
"If that SEAL was actively "painting" a target; something was on station to engage! And the decision to stand down goes directly to POTUS!"  ( Emphases added)

The Consequences of Benghazi

...."The President made the decision to not use F18s (even in a flyover to shake the resolve of the terrorists). "The President made the decision to go to Vegas to a campaign dinner.

"So what is worse than our State people now knowing that the President will do nothing if they are attacked?

"Al Qaeda knows that now, too."

Victor Davis Hanson;
A Bright and Shining Libyan Lie 
"To keep that shining message viable until the November election, the Obama administration and the media had been willing to overlook or mischaracterize all sorts of disturbing events. We had asked for a United Nations resolution for humanitarian aid and a no-fly zone to intervene in Libya, but then deliberately exceeded it by bombing Gadhafi's forces — after bypassing the US Congress in favor of a go-ahead from the Arab League."

PC in the Military Establishment

American Thinker  "Much of our political elite, and the foreign policy establishment, reject anyone who thinks the Third Jihad is inherently a threat, that the outer jihad is inherently incompatible with the US Constitution, or that Islam is a holistic, totalitarian ideology rather than a religion like Judaism, Christianity, Hinduism, Taoism, and Buddhism. They do not accept the original meaning of the 1st Amendment of the Constitution or Article VI para 3 prohibition on "religious tests" for public office.
"Also the political elite is too heavily dependent upon exports of energy products from the Middle East to acknowledge the truth. Decades of very clever Saudi-Wah'abi funding, propaganda and subversion have given our leaders a benign impression of Islam. "

A Foreign Policy Failure to Acknowledge the Obvious; After the Benghazi attack, the Obama administration's focus on the YouTube video reflected a years-long denial of the Islamist threat.

Thus the way to defeat the terrorists, according to President Obama, isn't to counter extremist Islamist ideology but to focus on how the United States, through its actions and delinquencies—its supposed excessive support for Israel, for example, and failure to provide more economic aid—is to blame for the hatred that spawns terrorism.

Counterjihad

Romney vs. Obama and Beyond: The Church's Prophetic Role in Politics

Before reading this article, we need to define terms, namely what is meant by "the Church" in this article.

The universal church is that organism of professing believers making up the body of Christ through baptism by the Holy Spirit, which was formed first on the day of Pentecost, is distinct from the nation of Israel, and is not limited to local congregational or denominational affiliation.
Everyone, living or dead, who has ever put their faith in Jesus Christ from the day of Pentecost till now, is a member of the universal church, Christ’s body, of which He is the head.     From bible.org

By Dr. Lawrence Terlizzese at Probe Ministries   "Dr. Lawrence Terlizzese answers a common question of a Christian view of politics and government: How would a biblical worldview inform us on being in the world of politics but not of it? “Dr. T” models a critical yet engaged distance in assessing the beliefs of Presidential candidates Mitt Romney and Barack Obama."

The Church could not be true to its universal calling if it was a political power like Israel because this turns its mission into one of war and conquest, such as the Crusades in the middle ages, rather than conversion through faith (John 18: 36). Islam is a good example of a religion that does follow Israel’s kind of political identity in the establishment of Sharia Law. The Church is not one nation, but one people among many nations, cultures and systems. It cannot afford to be a nation with its own civil law and government, which sets itself against other governments and other people. When the Church establishes itself as a political power it compromises its prophetic mission and loses its unique contribution to politics. Instead the Church has a more complex role in any system it finds itself in.

Read a related post: Urban legend: Should Christians Support President Obama? A message attributed to Dr. David Barton on the Charles Stanley program
My own comment to this post was this (in case anyone cares):

I know all this and am troubled over the way my blog runs counter to the Biblical injunction to always build up and never to tear down. But somebody please tell me how to remain silent and supportive when I see this administration bully average citizens and drive hate-filled wedges between segments of the American population.

Every facet of my beliefs I see being denigrated by the left in Washington, academia, news media and the entertainment industry; people who have my convictions being ridiculed on every channel, called "extremists" in the halls of Congress and I cannot remain silent.

But I do realize that in the end, all will come out as our Lord has ordained and that he chooses who will rule over us. In the end, all that matters is that all will bow down before Him as King of Kings.

So my issue is still unresolved; I only know that - in the end - the good guys win.

                                                                                                                      The Tunnel Dweller