Obama likes to say, "I've got your back!"

photobucket.com

He says it here. And here. Here. 

Hamas’s Desertion of Assad is Body Blow

Commentary  "What is the significance of Hamas, an extremist group long resident in Damascus, suddenly throwing its weight behind the anti-Assad uprising? At first blush it is easy to dismiss it with a snort as rats leaving a sinking ship, and there is much truth in this analysis, but there is also more than that going on here–and it bodes ill for Bashar al-Assad’s longevity. A friend who follows the Middle East closely emails me this compelling analysis which bears a close read:"....

Rick Moran: Hamas finally abandons Assad - backs Syrian revolt   "Tehran is still sending arms, still supplying fighters through Hezb'allah who are apparently in the thick of the massacres, doing the dirty work Assad's troops are reluctant to do. They have little choice. Assad's Syria is one of their few friends in the region and if he goes down, they lose a valuable strategic ally on Israel's border."


Assad wins out against opposition as Russia and Iran strengthen ties

Jerusalem Post  

Saudis disgusted with Obama; To draw Iran into nuclear talks, Obama avoids ousting Assad   As one of the world’s richest oil and financial powers, Saudi Arabia could buy and sell Iran several times over, and after seeing the ayatollahs get away with insulting America time and time again, the Saudi foreign minister did not pull his punches when he faced his US colleague. He was frank about Riyadh and the Obama administration being miles apart in their perceptions of current Middle East events; resentment over the US role in the overthrow of Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak remains a constant irritant.
...."Every attempt by Washington to find out what had gone wrong drew a blank. Iranian officials withdrew into total hush and let the entire diplomatic edifice so painstakingly constructed by Washington start falling apart.
"But Obama the eternal optimist has not given up."   Via  DEBKAfile

From the irony folder: Obama Says America More Respected Around World Under His Presidency  

Still clueless admirers of Obama cheer and adore his feckless presence.

Obama lifted his “licking their chops” line from the media

Patterico "Pres. Obama, in full damage control mode over skyrocketing gasoline prices, relied on the establishment media for part of his defense:

“Some politicians, they see this as a political opportunity. I know you’re shocked by that. Last week the lead story in one newspaper said, ‘Gasoline prices are on the rise and Republicans are licking their chops.’ That’s a quote. That’s the lead. Licking their chops. Only in politics do people root for bad news. They greet bad news so enthusiastically,” Obama said.

 "Although Allahpundit noted the general hypocrisy of Democrats when it comes to partisanship, It’s not like the Dems ever made rising gas prices a political issue is it?"


Here the Democrats attack President Bush over high gas prices. Plus they descended on the oil companies over their profits.



"Well, okay… maybe Hillary Clinton, Barbara Boxer and Chuck Schumer blamed the Bush administration for gas prices. But it’s not like Pres. Obama, great uniter that he hoped to be, ever made gasoline a political issue, did he?"

"It is worth noting that Obama lifted his “licking their chops” line from the media, as the press is going to help him with this issue as much as any other. Consider this gem buried in the NYT coverage of Obama’s problem:

Gas prices did not figure prominently in the Republican debate on Wednesday in Arizona, where the candidates trained most of their fire on one another.

"Translation: the fair and balanced crew at CNN did not ask the GOP field about gas prices on the day Obama felt compelled to publicly defend himself on them. The establishment media is interested in painting Republicans as fixated on birth control and cheering higher gas prices? Shocka!"

Obama, Oil and Algae

KRAUTHAMMER MOCKS OBAMA’S ALGAE ENERGY PLAN

"I was impressed by the President's analysis of this situation, where we have no control over the global price of oil," Charles Krauthammer said. "We're dependent on oil from unfriendlies. And he says, as we heard, drilling for oil to relieve our dependency is not a solution, it's not a plan. He said we have to go to clean energy. He talks about something really revolutionary today. Algae. A $14 million grant for the development of algae... I think this shows the vision, the hope and change he promised in 2008."  Hat tip to Bully Pulpit


PRAGER DESTROYS OBAMA’S ALGAE OIL SPEECH


Obama's oily deception  "It is beyond absurd that a country sitting on so much natural wealth refuses to exploit it for the benefit of its citizens and instead deliberately puts the nation in the position of being subjected to the whims of others and face national insolvency.  This can only be a deliberate strategy by those determined to destroy the basis of the American free-market economy.

Warning Signs:  Lower Than Pond Scum  "In a 2008 Wall Street Journal interview, Obama’s Energy Secretary, Dr. Steven Chu, famously said, “Somehow we have to figure out how to boost the price of gasoline to the levels of Europe.” Anyone who does not believe this administration has a deliberate policy of achieving this goal is just not paying attention. Remember that the next time you fill your car’s gas tank."

White House: We Got You 40 Bucks; Go Spend It on Gas  " He added that Obama has taken “a number of steps related to oil and gas production in this country,” including an exploration agreement with Mexico and additional drilling in the Arctic Ocean.

Earnest was pressed by another reporter on whether Obama was considering tapping into the Strategic Petroleum Reserve.

Krauthammer: Overreach: Obamacare vs. the Constitution

Charles Krauthammer  "Let’s accept his contention that this “accommodation” is a real shift of responsibility to the insurer. Has anyone considered the import of this new mandate? The president of the United States has just ordered private companies to give away for free a service that his own health and human services secretary has repeatedly called a major financial burden.

http://townhall.com/political-cartoons/2012/02/19/96576

"On what authority? Where does it say that the president can unilaterally order a private company to provide an allegedly free-standing service at no cost to certain select beneficiaries?"

Illegal Immigration, Legal Immigration and Our lying president

Neal Boortz   "This may be a small thing for you … but when a president lies --- and when he lies knowingly and intentionally --- it should be a big thing, no matter how insignificant the lie.

Here’s what has my boxers in a bunch. Yesterday on the Spanish-language TV network Univision Obama zeroed in on the subject of immigration. He was telling the Hispanic Univision audience that the Republicans were anti-immigrant and anti-immigration.

"Now it take about 10 seconds of conversation to show that this is simply not true, and Obama knows it’s not true." 

....

"But ---- when you are a ruler rather than a leader; when you wish to transform America rather than restore it; lying is an acceptable process. And so it has ever been with Marxist revolutionaries."

Joe Wilson, we need you!

Zazzle

Victor Davis Hanson:   Please, A Little Honesty about Illegal Immigration  "We can argue about the history or the future of illegal immigration. But please spare us the psychodramatic appeals to a higher morality.
"In most respects, illegal immigration has proven as immoral as it is unlawful."

Obama Gives Illegal Aliens Phones For Votes  "Illegal aliens now quite possibly can call a toll free government number, 1-800-259-0957, to get a free “Obama Phone.” The program, conventionally known as Safe Link Wireless, is available to those are on food stamps or Medicaid. Applying for work permits that give them drivers’ licenses provides illegals proof of identity. With that, they enter America’s entitlement class and even become enabled to vote in our elections — for Democrats, of course."

Maybe US allies should riot and threaten Americans with beheading to have Obama respect them

Andrew C. McCarthy:  Why Apologize to Afghanistan?

Just say we're sorry and they will be fine with that.

"Defiling the Koran becomes an issue for Muslims only when it has been done by non-Muslims. Observe that the unintentional burning would not have occurred if these “fiercely protective of their Islamic faith” Afghans had not defiled the Korans in the first place. They were Muslim prisoners who annotated the “holy” pages with what a U.S. military official described as “extremist inscriptions” in covert messages sent back and forth, just as the jihadists held at Gitmo have been known to do (notwithstanding that Muslim prisoners get their Korans courtesy of the American taxpayers they construe the book to justify killing)."

http://townhall.com/political-cartoons/2012/02/23/96712

Rick Moran: Afghans taking potshots at Americans: two more US officers killed  "Pretty soon, all Afghan security personnel will have to be disarmed if they are going to interact with Americans. You can be sure that for the present, meetings between Americans and Afghans are going to be tense affairs.
"Still waiting for President Karzai to apologize for the murderous behavior of his troops."

Atlas Shrugs: IRAN MILITARY OFFICIAL: ONLY BURNING WHITE HOUSE CAN MAKE UP FOR BURNING KORAN
"Coalition officials in Kabul dismissed claims by some Afghan officials that the two Americans were killed by a Western colleague."

WSJ: American colonel and major were both found shot in the head at the busy Interior Ministry  

http://conservativedailynews.com/2012/02/another-apology/

Koran-Burning In Afghanistan Connected To Cemetery Desecrations  "Headstones commemorating British and Allied servicemen, killed during World War II campaigns in the Western Desert, lay smashed and strewn across Benghazi Military Cemetery."
And under Obama, we will continue to buy our oil from these people.

"Barack Obama humbly apologized to the Pope  and said it was never his administration's intention to dishonor the holy book of Catholics and that he would be implenting(sp) harsh punishments for anyone in his chain of command found responsible."

.... And while there's nothing wrong with an initial apology, Hope n' Change is pretty unhappy about the fact that Obama is continuing to make apologies even after multiple people, including two US service members, have been killed in brutal anti-American violence.
"Analysts fear that Obama's continuing apologies are actually serving to make the violence worse by reaffirming that the incident was a big deal, while simultaneously showing weakness instead of resolve when our troops are attacked and murdered."

How 'bout them Republican Candidates?

Beltway Confidential: Campaign Roundup: links and commentary on all the candidates
Romney speech falls flat in Detroit.  Obama has got to be rolling on the floor, laughing.

I told Romney, you gotta go with the Greek columns!

Rick Santorum said Friday he regretted endorsing Mitt Romney for president in 2008.
Aw, geez, Rick.


Canada Free Press:  Republicans: still searching for a fight they can win   "This is because bills that pass Congress with bipartisan support and media approval in the days of Obama, are bills that increase spending and hasten our descent into drachma–based budgeting. And voting to extend the payroll tax cut is a perfect example."


NRO:   The Devil and Rick Santorum   Santorum " has been described, falsely, as an advocate of banning contraception. A dated joke about birth control made by one of his major supporters has been treated as a campaign scandal. A remark about Obama’s misguided environmental “theology” has been turned into an insinuation that the president is not a Christian.
"But the press has not had to invent controversial remarks by Santorum, who has supplied them himself."  Mona Charen says Don’t Pick Rick  He’d be too busy explaining his past statements to run for president. Michael Barone sees things pretty much the same way

Jonathan S. Tobin: Appeasing Ron Paul Won’t Work (01.13.2012)  Republicans are rightly concerned about Ron Paul playing a destructive role in the presidential campaign this fall. Efforts to keep him on the reservation are already beginning, and there is little doubt the significant number of delegates he may win for the party’s national convention in Tampa will have to be dealt with carefully lest they cause trouble and sabotage what will in all likelihood be Mitt Romney’s coronation.

UK Daily Mail: Newt Gingrich, R.I.P - and for the Last Time  "To forestall the usual responses from American "conservatives," let me make the obligatory denials: I regard Obama as the least competent president in American history and loathe the very sight of Mitt Romney.  Nonetheless, there is a candidate out there who is less competent than Obama and more duplicitous than Romney, and that is Newt Gingrich. He ruined the Republican Party once. Now, all he asks is a chance to destroy what is left of the United States." THOMAS FLEMING

http://townhall.com/political-cartoons/2012/02/24/96736

Scott Walker Needs Our Help Now in Wisconsin Recall

American Thinker  "Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker successfully passed legislation last year that put a few restraints on out-of-control public sector unions, despite their disgraceful Astroturf occupation of the State capital building, the death threats and everything else they tried. So the unions launched a recall petition against Walker, the Lt. Governor and four Republican Senators who voted with him.

The people recalling Walker were here.

The unions mobilized and garnered 1 million signatures for the recall, much more than enough. But now it appears that they used the ACORN vote registration fraud method of swamping state authorities with bogus documents. Some of these petitions are plainly fraudulent (Donald Duck for example) but Wisconsin's Government Accountability Board, the state agency charged with counting petitions, has said they can do no more than spot check and will assume all petitions are valid unless challenged.

Recognizing the importance of this recall and the potential threat to reform everywhere, True the Vote stepped in to do the job the State will not. TTV has created a simple system to check the validity of these petitions but they need to enter them into the system first. They only have until February 27th to get this done!

Union boss Trumka speaks

Anyone, anywhere with access to a computer can help. This is a real opportunity to have a visible impact on the outcome of one of the most important issues we face today. If Scott Walker loses they will start doing this all over the country anytime they don't get what they want!

You can sign up to help enter names right here:  http://www.ttvverify.com/volunteer/

This is the kind of grassroots activism we all can participate in. Please pass this to everyone on your distribution list and ask them to forward. We need to do this.

The CNN Debate and the State of Journalism in General

And The Loser Is … The Media  "When the President is challenged about social issues he shows contempt to the media and begs, “Come on, guys!” And the media is happy to appease. The base that these candidates must engage is sick of seeing the intentional malpractice of reporters concerning legitimate comparisons between coverage of President Obama and the Republican candidates. Newt certainly had a big win during the debate with this tactic and the media and, by extension, President Obama suffered a loss. The more frustrated the American people become with the mainstream media, the less they will trust their coverage. When this election is narrowed down to the President and the eventual GOP contender, it will be the mainstream media fighting for survival."

Was CNN Influencing Debate On Obama’s Behalf?    "As the GOP prepares for political battle with Obama in 2012, it’s important to remember, it isn’t only his campaign they’ll have to defeat, they will have to best a liberal, Obama-supporting mainstream media, as well."

Former CIA Agent Scolds CNN Anchor: 'You're Just Carrying Water For Obama'  "Michael Scheuer, a former counter-terrorism analyst for the CIA, scolded CNN's Christine Romans Thursday for letting her support for the current President show."

http://terrellaftermath.com/

Arizona Debate Score: The Candidates Were Fine, but CNN is a Joke  "Today, the International Atomic Energy Agency announced that Iran denied access to a military base suspected of being used to develop nuclear weapons. Our ally Israel views Iran’s potential [possession] of a nuclear weapon as an existential threat. Iran’s possession of nuclear weapons opens up the possibility of terrorists obtaining nuclear weapons. But in CNN’s Republican debate, nothing was asked or said about Iran until deep into the night, and after a ridiculous question about contraception gained higher priority.

...."CNN badly mishandled this important debate, which may be the final one before the GOP convention, and did a disservice to the American people."

Cops: Dad hit son for not watching Obama Speech

conservativeblogscentral.com   "A North Stamford father trying to make his pre-teenaged son listen to President Barack Obama's State of the Union speech last month was arrested on a warrant Wednesday and accused of striking his son with a coffee mug when the youth would not pay attention.
"Mohamed Shohan, 49, of 55 Mather Road, Stamford, was charged with third-degree assault, disorderly conduct and risk of injury to a child."
.... "When the boy kept acting out, the father lost his temper and grabbed a coffee mug his son was holding and hit him in the face with it, causing a bruise to the bridge of his nose, it is alleged.
When interviewed, Shohan could not explain how his son was injured, police said. Police then obtained an arrest warrant for Shohan."

On Our Response to that Koran Burning Incident

John Bernard, 1st Sgt.USMC (ret) American Response to Afghan Quran Incident a Show of Weakness  "...the Korans in question had already been desecrated by the Islamic EPWs, who were the original owners and who were using them as, essentially, a combat notebook. Do you suppose the “noble” protestors would have been as incensed by that knowledge? Do you think they would have demanded those Islamic prisoners be handed over for a “proper chastisement”? "
...."The country I heard about, read about, and was taught about as a child seems to have vaporized. The dream that was the vision of our founding fathers, which was kept alive even through the generation of my parents and a sizeable portion of my generation, has been circumvented by a subculture of prostrating, anti-American self-mutilators who seem to think they represent all of us."


President is wrong to pander to Islamic radicals who killed U.S. troops  "Authoritative 19th-century Muslim scholar Muhammad Amin ibn Abidin wrote that burning a Koran is not usually permitted, except as a last resort, and that burial or sinking in water is preferable. Rather than framing this issue as one of respectful disposal, Mr. Obama caved to the extremist view and admitted America was completely in the wrong. The Taliban can chalk it up as another victory in the war of ideas. "Meanwhile, two U.S. servicemen lie dead..."


Gateway Pundit: NATO Promises to Put Koran Burners on Public Trial As Soon As Possible  “NATO officials, in response to a request for the trial and punishment of the perpetrators … promised this crime will brought to court as soon as possible,”Karzai’s office said in a statement."  Don't worry; Obama has your back, warriors

This ain't Hell:  General: now is not the time for revenge  "I don’t know what Karimi is saying to the protesters, though. It seems like they need to be lectured more than the US troops need a lecture on keeping their calm."

Michael Rubin: Obama Needs to Take the Offensive on Koran Burning  "Still, Obama’s apology fumbles the opportunity to go on the offense. Incidents in which Americans desecrate the Koran–or any holy book–are few and far between and are punished. But, not so the Taliban. Every time the Taliban bomb a mosque–something they do with frequency when they disagree with those mosque’s traditional, moderate mullahs–they desecrate the Koran."


Blackfive: BURNING THE KORAN - RIOTING OVER AMERICAN SUPPLIES  "And we'll have one helluva time succeeding in a country that riots over burning books instead of over the disfigurement of little girls for going to school or people for having satellite phones - as This Ain't Hell's Jonn Lilyea points out ..."


Weasel Zippers: Top Iranian Cleric Blasts Obama’s Koran Burning Apology As “Superficial,” Says Muslims “Devastated By Heinous Crime”…
"Obama never fails to play right into their hands."

"The Iranian cleric described the desecration of the Holy Qur’an as a “heinous crime,” which has devastated “each and every Muslim.”  "

The Taliban’s Mob Rules; The Taliban is a Mafia-like crime syndicate, not a religious movement.