Debra J. Saunders "At Friday's news conference, President Obama tried to connect with the common man coping with rising gasoline prices. Instead, the president left little doubt that he is clueless about cars. "
Friday, March 18, 2011
BARACK OBAMA: THE WEAKEST PRESIDENT IN HISTORY?
UK Daily Express "Obama’s campaign slogan was mesmerisingly simple and brimming with self-belief: “Yes we can.” His presidency, however, is turning out to be more about “no we won’t.” Even more worryingly, it seems to be very much about: “Maybe we can… do what, exactly?“ The world feels like a dangerous place when leaders are seen to lack certitude but the only thing President Obama seems decisive about is his indecision. What should the US do about Libya? What should the US do about the Middle East in general? What about the country’s crippling debts? What is the US going to do about Afghanistan, about Iran?
"What is President Obama doing about anything?"
Hillary’s Moment "Inside the Obama administration, a debate is raging. In the face of the uprisings in the Middle East, Barack Obama has opted to sit on his hands. He has a talent for that. Robert Gates, who is extremely wary – one might even say, excessively wary – of commitments abroad, is happy about the President’s passivity; Hillary Clinton, who had hoped that we would act to tip the balance in Libya, is not. It would not be hard to imagine her resigning from the cabinet over this issue. The tensions are starting to mount."
Obama's indecision on Libya has pushed Clinton over the edge "“Obviously, she’s not happy with dealing with a president who can’t decide if today is Tuesday or Wednesday, who can’t make his mind up,” a Clinton insider told The Daily. “She’s exhausted, tired.”" Also here.
Updater-in-chief "President Obama has a number of annoying verbal tics, repeating phrases like "let me make myself perfectly clear" and "make no mistake" in every speech and press conference. Another tic came up in today's speech on the Japanese nuclear misadventure."
Obama’s On the Wrong Side of History "Talk of the “wrong side of history” can only induce passivity. And it also invites the charge of arrogance. After all, who is this president to decree which way history is going?
"So far, the history of this administration in foreign policy has been one of muddling through. It’s hard to be on “the “right side of history” (if such there could be) when most of the time you are straddling the fence." Ken Blackwell in Big Peace
Obama dodges the big decisions to keep his approval ratings up. "Obama advisers are spinning their excuses for the president's absence (he needs to stay above the fray, he believes in international agreement). Conservatives, for their part, are beginning to argue the "incompetence" line. A combination of all is probably at work, along with an even greater impulse: political safety. Mr. Obama got a taste of falling approval ratings last year. The White House has worked hard to get those numbers back up and wants to keep them there until Mr. Obama has a GOP opponent and can go into campaign mode—where he's at his best. " KIMBERLEY A. STRASSEL
"What is President Obama doing about anything?"
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| http://terrellaftermath.com/ |
Hillary’s Moment "Inside the Obama administration, a debate is raging. In the face of the uprisings in the Middle East, Barack Obama has opted to sit on his hands. He has a talent for that. Robert Gates, who is extremely wary – one might even say, excessively wary – of commitments abroad, is happy about the President’s passivity; Hillary Clinton, who had hoped that we would act to tip the balance in Libya, is not. It would not be hard to imagine her resigning from the cabinet over this issue. The tensions are starting to mount."
Obama's indecision on Libya has pushed Clinton over the edge "“Obviously, she’s not happy with dealing with a president who can’t decide if today is Tuesday or Wednesday, who can’t make his mind up,” a Clinton insider told The Daily. “She’s exhausted, tired.”" Also here.
Obama’s On the Wrong Side of History "Talk of the “wrong side of history” can only induce passivity. And it also invites the charge of arrogance. After all, who is this president to decree which way history is going?
"So far, the history of this administration in foreign policy has been one of muddling through. It’s hard to be on “the “right side of history” (if such there could be) when most of the time you are straddling the fence." Ken Blackwell in Big Peace
Obama dodges the big decisions to keep his approval ratings up. "Obama advisers are spinning their excuses for the president's absence (he needs to stay above the fray, he believes in international agreement). Conservatives, for their part, are beginning to argue the "incompetence" line. A combination of all is probably at work, along with an even greater impulse: political safety. Mr. Obama got a taste of falling approval ratings last year. The White House has worked hard to get those numbers back up and wants to keep them there until Mr. Obama has a GOP opponent and can go into campaign mode—where he's at his best. " KIMBERLEY A. STRASSEL
Unreal. Now They’re Changing the Bible to Make It More Gender Neutral
Gateway Pundit "A group of biblical scholars, the Committee on Bible Translation, has changed the wording in the latest version of the New International Version Bible, or NIV, to make it more gender inclusive. For years the group has been making changes in Bible text mostly in order to avoid using five words with masculine meaning or nuance: father, brother, son, man, and he/him/his. Back in May 2002 over 100 Christian leaders claimed the TNIV version was not trustworthy."
Already too late to stop debt crisis?
Sen. Mark Kirk in The Washington Times "Harvard's great economic historian, Niall Ferguson, noted that the decline of a country can be marked when it pays its moneylenders more than its army. His classic case comes from the French monarchy of the 1780s that failed to make interest payments on their debt, causing the financial collapse that triggered the revolution. Recently, Carmen Reinhard and Kenneth Rogoff wrote a brilliant book titled "This Time is Different, Eight Centuries of Financial Folly." Their vast study revealed that most government officials always believe they are unique and different, causing them to make the same mistakes that crippled past nations and empires."
Drilling Delays Inspire New Proposal to Reform Permitting Process
Foundry "The goal is to finally end the de facto drilling moratorium, which was the subject of Wednesday’s hearing of the House Natural Resources Committee." “The Expedited Offshore Permitting Act aims to increase American energy production and reverse the Obama administration’s reckless anti-energy policies that are costing thousands of jobs, driving up gasoline prices and increasing uncertainty in the marketplace,” [Rep. Bill Flores (R-TX)] Flores said.
Five Questions Obama Has Not Answered on Libya
Foundry "Even if the Administration has a plan on Libya, it certainly has not communicated it to the American people. Here are just some of the fundamental questions the Administration has failed to answer as our military stands on the brink of a new and costly commitment:"
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| http://townhall.com/political-cartoons/chipbok |
Welfare Reform The Next Steps
Heritage "Out-Of-Control Spending: The growth of welfare spending is unsustainable and will drive the U.S. into bankruptcy if allowed to continue unreformed. Since the 1960s, the U.S. has spent approximately $16 trillion on welfare. Over the next 10 years, welfare spending is projected to cost taxpayers $10.3 trillion. Today, means-tested assistance is the fastest-growing part of government, with our nation spending more on welfare than on national defense."
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| http://townhall.com/political-cartoons/lisabenson |
Obama seeks to calm US radiation fears, calls for nuclear safety review
CSMonitor "Thus Obama may have taken a moment to perform one of a president’s primary duties: serve as a voice of calm at a time when some US citizens might be anxious."Fears that a radioactive plume might drift to the continental US have caused a run on potassium iodide pills, for example, which can offset some health effects of radiation. Obama stressed Thursday that the worry driving those purchases is unfounded."
Thursday, March 17, 2011
What Would a Desperate Wimp Do?
Michael Ledeen "And so I asked myself, is there a point at which a president realizes that wimps don’t get reelected? And if so, what might he do to shatter that image? For the next two years I worried that Carter might overreact to some international crisis in order to make folks see that he was really a tough guy.
"It never happened, to my relief. But I’m starting to have the same worries about Obama. To be sure, he’s got a press that is considerably friendlier than Carter had, but even so we are seeing quite a number of stories about a president who just can’t seem to make decisions, who doesn’t seem to get it when terrible things happen, things that cry out for American leadership. The wimp seems to be mounting a comeback. If he gets tarred with that brush, he might start considering options to recreate his image. There are certainly many opportunities, from Iran to Venezuela."
"It never happened, to my relief. But I’m starting to have the same worries about Obama. To be sure, he’s got a press that is considerably friendlier than Carter had, but even so we are seeing quite a number of stories about a president who just can’t seem to make decisions, who doesn’t seem to get it when terrible things happen, things that cry out for American leadership. The wimp seems to be mounting a comeback. If he gets tarred with that brush, he might start considering options to recreate his image. There are certainly many opportunities, from Iran to Venezuela."
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| http://townhall.com/political-cartoons/ericallie |
Nuclear power
GRAPHIC: Inside a Nuclear Reactor
On Japanese nuke story, the boy who cried wolf might get eaten "A suicide mission for employees and others trying to lock down the reactors? If true, it would appear that we are on the brink of a worst case scenario. But the quote comes from an unnamed "US official" who may or may not know what he's talking about. It sounds scary but how real is it?
"Unfortunately, if the official is correct, it would seem that the boy who cried wolf so often about nuclear power is about to be devoured."
On Japanese nuke story, the boy who cried wolf might get eaten "A suicide mission for employees and others trying to lock down the reactors? If true, it would appear that we are on the brink of a worst case scenario. But the quote comes from an unnamed "US official" who may or may not know what he's talking about. It sounds scary but how real is it?
"Unfortunately, if the official is correct, it would seem that the boy who cried wolf so often about nuclear power is about to be devoured."
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| http://townhall.com/political-cartoons/glennfoden |
President Hamlet / Thinking out every possible side of a question can mean never acting on any of them.
Victor Davis Hanson "But now Obama is chief executive, and learning, as did Prince Hamlet, that thinking out every possible side of a question can mean never acting on any of them — a sort of Shakespearean “prison” where “there is nothing either good or bad.” Worrying about pleasing everyone ensures pleasing no one. Once again such “conscience does make cowards of us all.”"
On Libya, the U.S. Is a Pitiful Giant
NATIONAL REVIEW ONLINE "There cannot be anyone not moved and impressed by the stoicism, solidity, and bravery of the entire population of the afflicted areas of Japan, as thousands have died, tens of thousands have been left homeless, hundreds of thousands are threatened by radiation and other problems, and none have looted, or even, which would be more forgivable, panicked or, as far as can be seen, engaged even in self-pity or indignities of any kind."....
"Yet the disgusting cowardice, venality, and beastliness of the underside, uniformed and otherwise, of New Orleans, one of America’s most beloved and historic cities, occurred, and the world saw it, and it behooves America to think upon it, too."
"Yet the disgusting cowardice, venality, and beastliness of the underside, uniformed and otherwise, of New Orleans, one of America’s most beloved and historic cities, occurred, and the world saw it, and it behooves America to think upon it, too."
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