Wednesday, May 28, 2014
Reactions to President Obama's West Point speech
Richard N. Haass, President, Council on Foreign Relations: Obama’s Unclear Foreign Policy Path ...
Krauthammer’s Take: Obama’s Foreign-Policy Speech ‘Literally Pointless’
A Sad, Half-hearted Address to the Wrong Audience " Before a silent graduating class at West Point, Mr. Obama monotonically delivered a defensive foreign-policy address empty of substance. He failed to connect with an audience that responded with polite but tepid applause to a vapid speech more suitable for the United Nations than for the United States."
The President’s Tired Refrains at West Point "President Obama’s speech at West Point was not so much an articulation of his foreign policy but a defensive response to critics."
" ... the reputation of weakness is weakness, and despite all of the measures of national power that the president cites, the credibility of American power has diminished on his watch, not out of drift but because of his distinct choices." Emphasis added
Cliché' alert: "...every fiber of my being"
Obama receives standing ovation from less than 25% of West Point cadets: report
“ 'Receiving tepid applause and a short standing ovation from less than one-quarter of the audience upon his introduction, Obama argued for a contradictory foreign policy that relies on NATO and the United Nations while insisting that ‘America must always lead on the world stage,’ the paper reported."
CNN: Troops gave him an "icy reception". "CNN’s international correspondent Jim Clancy called the West Point response to President Obama’s meandering foreign policy address “pretty icy” Wednesday.
"Clancy said it was “not really a great speech to give at the U.S. Military Academy,” and the address has drawn bipartisan criticism.
“ 'It was a philosophical speech,” he said. “It was not a Commander-in-Chief speaking to his troops. And you heard the reception. I mean, it was pretty icy.”
"What I would hope is that the president makes a concerted effort to tie our foreign and domestic policies together so that people understand that what happens here in the United States affects our ability to act in the world, and what happens in the world will in many ways affect the quality of life here. That was perhaps implicit in the speech. That has to become explicit in the administration's choice of priorities between now and the end of 2016."CNN: Obama outlines foreign policy vision of 'might and right' "Under fire from the political right for what critics call diminishing U.S. global influence, Obama offered a robust defense of his foreign policy as the pragmatic and most effective expression of America's leadership role in the world."
Krauthammer’s Take: Obama’s Foreign-Policy Speech ‘Literally Pointless’
"Krauthammer said he spoke with a member of Congress who took issue with President Obama’s “pettiness” during commencement address of taking on his critics, and said the president should have focused on the graduates instead. “There was no response from any of the cadets — it was quiet as a mouse,” he said."
A Sad, Half-hearted Address to the Wrong Audience " Before a silent graduating class at West Point, Mr. Obama monotonically delivered a defensive foreign-policy address empty of substance. He failed to connect with an audience that responded with polite but tepid applause to a vapid speech more suitable for the United Nations than for the United States."
" ... the reputation of weakness is weakness, and despite all of the measures of national power that the president cites, the credibility of American power has diminished on his watch, not out of drift but because of his distinct choices." Emphasis added
Cliché' alert: "...every fiber of my being"
Obama receives standing ovation from less than 25% of West Point cadets: report
“ 'Receiving tepid applause and a short standing ovation from less than one-quarter of the audience upon his introduction, Obama argued for a contradictory foreign policy that relies on NATO and the United Nations while insisting that ‘America must always lead on the world stage,’ the paper reported."
CNN: Troops gave him an "icy reception". "CNN’s international correspondent Jim Clancy called the West Point response to President Obama’s meandering foreign policy address “pretty icy” Wednesday.
"Clancy said it was “not really a great speech to give at the U.S. Military Academy,” and the address has drawn bipartisan criticism.
“ 'It was a philosophical speech,” he said. “It was not a Commander-in-Chief speaking to his troops. And you heard the reception. I mean, it was pretty icy.”
Obama Tells West Point Grads That They’ll Be Combating Global Warming "These future leaders in our military just spent years in college learning about battle strategy, guerrilla warfare, leadership, and how to respond under pressure. They probably should have learned how to reduce their carbon footprint while they were there because the President seems to think that rising CO2 emissions are an emerging threat." Related.
Obama also took a strong stance against … well nobody ... "This wasn’t lost on the Twitterverse, where writers and pundits provided their alternative to Obama’s “this-stupid-choice versus that-stupid-choice” argument, and they’re hilarious." A sample or two:
Obama: "We need to do stuff. And the stuff we will do will not be stuff that a crazy person says we should do. It will be good stuff."
"Some say we should nuke the entire Asian continent. Others want our capital to be Pyongyang. Unlike everyone else, I'm a rational centrist"
Public School Kids Rebel Against Michelle Obama's Healthy School Lunches
Public School Kids Rebel Against Michelle Obama's Healthy School Lunches As First Daughters Get Meatball Subs, Ice Cream ... "Twitchy has done a great job capturing the reactions and photos to some of these lunches and it’s not pretty (click here, here, and here for examples). But CNS News decided to dig a little deeper. What exactly are Michelle O’s daughters eating at lunch? Is it in any way comparable to the lunches in our nation’s public schools?" ...
Michelle O: 'Parents Have Right to Expect Their Kids Will Get Decent Food in Our Schools'
... "Unmentioned in the entire controversy is the fact that for millions of children and their parents, school lunches are a convenience, not a necessity. Schools still permit children to bring food from home into the cafeteria. There is nothing stopping parents who "always put our kids' interests first" from packing a nutritious lunch the night before -- or making sure their children pack their own nutritious lunch." ...
Meanwhile, here is the school menu for Michelle Obama's daughters
Snack: Locally Baked Muffins
Mixed Greens with Avocado & Grapefruit Salad
Housemade Chicken Fingers
Breaded Eggplant w/ Marinara
Steamed Fresh Vegetables
Organic Sweet Potato Fries
Nectarines
Spring Vegetable Soup
Classic Caesar Salad
Deviled Egg Salad
All Natural Meatball Subs
Spinach Ricotta Phyllo Bake
Roasted Eggplant, Zucchini and Tomato
Bananas
Hat tip to Harley Standlee; Placerville, CA
Pope Francis’s unfriendly visit
Caroline Glick ... "Pope Benedict XVI was perceived as a friend of Israel, despite his childhood membership in the Hitler Youth. His opposition to Islam’s rejection of reason, eloquently expressed at his speech at the University of Regensburg in 2006, positioned him as a religious champion of reason, individual responsibility and law – Judaism’s primary contributions to humanity.
"His predecessor Pope John Paul II was less willing to confront Islamic violence. But his opposition to Communism made him respect Israel as freedom’s outpost in the Middle East. John Paul’s visit to Israel in 2000 was in some ways an historic gesture of friendship to the Jewish people of Israel.
"Both Benedict and John Paul II were outspoken champions of the Second Vatican Council and maintained doctrinal allegiance to the Church’s rejection of anti-Judaism, including the charge of deicide, and its denunciation of replacement theology.
"Alas, the Golden Age of Catholic-Jewish relations seems to have come to an end during Francis’s visit to the Promised Land this week." ...
About Afghanistan and this president
Krauthammer’s Take: Obama’s 2016 Timing for Afghanistan Withdawal Is ‘Personal Narcissism’ ... "Krauthammer found it contemptible that Obama would orient military plans around the timing of his departure from office, merely to make himself look better."
Via Lucianne; A ‘Monumental Mistake’? Obama Details Afghanistan Withdrawal Plan From John McCain: “The president’s decision to set an arbitrary date for the full withdrawal of U.S. troops in Afghanistan is a monumental mistake and a triumph of politics over strategy. This is a short-sighted decision that will make it harder to end the war in Afghanistan responsibly,” the trio said. “The president came into office wanting to end the wars he inherited. But wars do not end just because politicians say so. The president appears to have learned nothing from the damage done by his previous withdrawal announcements in Afghanistan and his disastrous decision to withdraw all U.S. forces from Iraq.”
Obama taking on foreign policy critics "The White House is mounting a concerted defense of President Obama's foreign policy against criticism that he has weakened U.S. influence around the globe. — The full-court press hinges on a speech Obama will give Wednesday at West Point's commencement … " More here.
Richard N. Haass, President, Council on Foreign Relations: Fixing Our Foreign Policy: 12 Ideas From a Sometimes Critic ... "I appreciate that it does not take a whole lot of effort to find fault. In that spirit, here are a dozen proposals -- some likely to be popular, others anything but -- that if adopted would enhance this country's national security. I offer them now in the hope the president and his aides are open to new ideas as they prepare his much anticipated May 28 national security speech at West Point."
How 21st century wars end under Democratic presidents ... "A better statement of how 21st century wars end under President Obama (and, one suspects, Democrats in general) would be that they end as soon as the president believes he can end them without politically harmful blowback and no later than dates that are predetermined by the political calendar."
Richard N. Haass, President, Council on Foreign Relations: Fixing Our Foreign Policy: 12 Ideas From a Sometimes Critic ... "I appreciate that it does not take a whole lot of effort to find fault. In that spirit, here are a dozen proposals -- some likely to be popular, others anything but -- that if adopted would enhance this country's national security. I offer them now in the hope the president and his aides are open to new ideas as they prepare his much anticipated May 28 national security speech at West Point."
How 21st century wars end under Democrat
Ballot Snafus Nearly Kicked This Senior Democrat Out Of Congress
Politix ... "Conyers, 85, on Friday lost his appeal Friday to get on the August primary ballot after Michigan election officials found problems with the Democrat's nominating petitions, AP reports. This would have ended his 50-year career in Congress.
"But then a federal judge reinstated Conyers's name on the ballot.
"The problem was that Conyers lacked the 1,000 signatures necessary to get on the ballot. He faces a Democratic primary challenge from the Rev. Horace Sheffield III."
2010; Conyers's wife pleads guilty ... "Her tenure has been marred by controversy and complaints about her personal behavior. Last year, in a dispute during official council proceedings, Conyers called then-council President Ken Cockrel “Shrek.' ”
Mrs. Conyers in action on the Detroit city council:
The 5 Stages Of An Obama Scandal
Black Quill and Ink
... "Moreover, the VA scandal is opening the eyes of many in the media to the president’s strategy. Columnists are starting to notice the same canned responses, inaction, and smokescreens in this instance and are comparing them with other scandals.
"One can only hope that this will bring a higher level of seriousness to scandals, such as Benghazi and force the president to realize that his scandal playbook is no longer an option."
"Another week, another scandal.
"From Fast and Furious at the ATF to the Pigford fraud at the Department of Agriculture, the IRS’ political targeting to the State Department’s Benghazi mess, the healthcare.gov debacle at HHS to spying at the NSA and the DOJ, President Obama is running out of agencies and departments to defend in his two years left in office." ...
"One can only hope that this will bring a higher level of seriousness to scandals, such as Benghazi and force the president to realize that his scandal playbook is no longer an option."
"From Fast and Furious at the ATF to the Pigford fraud at the Department of Agriculture, the IRS’ political targeting to the State Department’s Benghazi mess, the healthcare.gov debacle at HHS to spying at the NSA and the DOJ, President Obama is running out of agencies and departments to defend in his two years left in office." ...
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