Obama on the Middle East / Where is the president’s partisan snarling when we need it?

Victor Davis Hanson   "So I have a modest suggestion. Obama has a formidable arsenal of invective that he has unleashed against conservatives, Republicans, and just about anyone else on the domestic scene he doesn’t like. Why, then, not redeploy these fire-in-the-belly attacks against those who kill Americans abroad?
"All Obama has to do is imagine that the mobs in the Middle East are not misunderstood Muslims — who overreacted a bit to an offensive American video — but rather suspect conservatives and opponents of progressive thought. Then, mutatis mutandis, Obama might get fired up and level a much-needed warning.

"If he did, it might go like this:" Read on...

http://mmmsmiscellaneousmiscellanea.blogspot.com/2011_03_01_archive.html

Hang in there, Mitt!

WSJ; The Data Behind Romney’s 47% Comments   "Mr. Romney correctly noted that nearly half of Americans pay no federal income tax. Who are all these people? And how did we get here?

Here’s a quick answer. Roughly half of U.S. households that pay no federal income tax are exempted because of basic provisions such as limitations on tax for low-income earners, according to a 2011 study by the nonpartisan Tax Policy Center. The other half benefit from targeted breaks (known to tax geeks as “tax expenditures”), such as assistance for the working poor and for children in moderate-income families. Seniors also benefit from some of these targeted breaks.

Rush Limbaugh; A Golden Opportunity for Mitt Romney  "If anybody ought to be under the microscope, it's Obama. Obama's tamping down expectations. Obama's ratcheting up fear. Obama's the guy whose foreign policy is falling apart. Obama's the guy who's watching our economy disintegrate. Obama's the guy whose policies are making it tougher and tougher and tougher for excellence to matter in one's pursuit of life."

Hot Air posted this Romney-Neal Cavuto interview today

Daily Caller; The real problem with Romney’s ‘47 percent’ gaffe  "The explosive growth of a deficit-financed welfare state, which increases the number of people who are net government beneficiaries, is the real problem.

"Policies leading to lower taxes for everyone, including the 47 percent, are part of the solution."

NRO; What Romney Said, and What He Didn’t   "In terms of shaping the outcome of this election or changing the dynamics of the horserace, I suspect that the effects of Mitt Romney’s recently publicized comments from a fundraiser in May will be negligible. But they do reveal some interesting things about the state of our politics."

Newsmax; Mitt Romney Video Demonstrates Media Hypocrisy  "When Romney tells the truth, the press will crucify him for it. When President Obama prevaricates, the press will ignore it."

Mona Charen; Romney Needs a Turnaround Artist  "Obama is failing because his policies are wrongheaded and destructive. Uncertainty has kept capital on the sidelines. Obama has frozen employers into a defensive crouch. That is the case Romney has not yet made."

Millionaire Chris Matthews mocks Romney for being wealthy. No mention of Ted Kennedy and John Kerry

Multi-Millionaire Chris Matthews Mocks Mitt Romney By Singing 'If I Were a Rich Man
"In a bizarre display, Chris Matthews began his show on Tuesday by singing "If I Were a Rich Man" as a way of mocking Mitt Romney for being wealthy. [See video below. MP3 audio here.] Chris Matthews makes an annual salary of $5 million dollars. 
"Matthews opened the program by announcing, "Let me start tonight" by singing a selection from Fiddler on the Roof. Highlighting a leaked video of Romney at a private fund-raiser, he then derided, "It's one thing to be rich and have the majority of voters convinced you're out to help the rich. Is there anything dumber to be caught pandering to your fellow rich?" Later, while talking to journalist Joe Klein, Matthews insulted potential GOP voters, comparing them to the racist TV character Archie Bunker.

Can Republicans Talk?

Sowell

Thomas Sowell   "I have not heard any Republican official or candidate even try to answer a standard claim of the Democrats, that "deregulation" is the reason the housing market went haywire and brought down the economy. Therefore, according to the Democrats, Republicans who want to restore a free market are just trying to "go back to the same policies that got us into this mess in the first place." 
"That sounds very persuasive, if you don't know the facts -- and it sounds like pure hogwash if you do.
"But facts don't speak for themselves. And if we wait for the Republicans to speak, the whole country can be in big trouble."
....
"But so long as Republicans don't seem to feel any urgency about refuting the Democrats' claim that they just want to help the rich at the expense of the poor, they are courting defeat on election day. Why lose to a lie because you didn't bother to explain the truth?"  (Emphasis added)

http://www.allrightmagazine.com/

Will this become a foreign-policy election?

Hot Air

Democrats salivated at the prospect of highlighting Obama’s foreign-policy experience — all of which he compiled over the last three-and-a-half years — as a contrast to the GOP’s nominees, and a transparent attempt to deflect the election away from the economy.

"With the explosion of violent protests in the Muslim world and the first US Ambassador killed in the line of duty since 1979, foreign policy has finally intruded in a big way in this election — and it doesn’t make Obama look good at all."

CHRISTIANS AND JEWS TO BURN QURANS IN MECCA ...NO, WAIT

Atlas Shrugs

'Arabs' Try To Burn Books of Psalms on Mount of Olives INN

Three youths were caught Saturday night desecrating Jewish holy books at a sacred Jewish cemetery in Jerusalem.By Hana Levi Julian

Three Arab youths were caught Saturday night desecrating Jewish holy books at a sacred Jewish cemetery in Jerusalem. The vandals were in the process of trying to burn several Tehillim – volumes of the Book of Psalms authored by the Biblical King David – at the ancient Mount of Olives Cemetery.

The three perpetrators, Arab teens about 16 years old, are residents of the Arab neighborood adjacent to the cemetery. All were arrested; two confessed to the crime, and the third was also found to have been involved although he continued to deny it. Police told reporters they plan to expedite prosecution of the case.

When a controversial Florida-based Christian cleric burned the Islamic holy book, the Qur'an in 2010, the incident sparked worldwide rage and violent riots by Muslims around the globe. One week ago, an obscure, amateur video clip produced by an individual in the U.S. mocking the life of the Prophet Mohammed, founder of Islam, sparked massive violent attacks against U.S. and other Western diplomatic missions around the world as well.

Shame (and the Obama voter)

Andrew Klavan  "The people who booed the God of love, now rush to the defense of a hateful Allah. The people who pissed on the Christ of redemption, now bewail the hurt feelings of a damnable Islam. The people who denounced the death of civil liberties under the Patriot Act, now make rationalizations as brown-shirted cops drag a man from his home at midnight for the crime of posting a video on YouTube.
"I’m sorrowful, but I confess I’m not surprised."

"When I see, in the United States of America, a man rousted from his home at midnight and dragged to a police station over a YouTube video, when I see brutal, primitive, violent Islamism on the march and the values of free men and women in retreat, when I see so-called journalists doing everything they can to suppress, deny, and explain away rather than spread the news, my first reaction isn’t outrage at our foolish failure of a president, nor is it hatred for the cancerous religion currently doing murder to people of every competing belief system everywhere around the world. My first reaction is genuine sadness over the many, many Democrats of good will who are going to betray every value they profess to hold dear and double down on their error this election day because they simply can’t bear to acknowledge the fact that they were wrong."

Why I Love Barack Obama

Kyle Becker;  "I love how the tides have lowered, race relations have healed, and our entire country is making “progress” while being fundamentally transformed. I love how you say that we are in a recovery when part-time jobs are taking the place of full-time ones, your administration has netted only 100,000 jobs, and the middle class bled over 40% of its wealth. I love how we are at 8% or more unemployment for 43 months and you claim that as a success. Not to mention real unemployment is something like 20%. You saved us from 50% unemployment and a 100% loss of wealth. Like you said, “you didn’t build that.” Thanks for humbling us."

Teachers’ Unions in Their Own Words

Heritage   "So what is the teachers’ strike about, exactly? In a new Heritage video, we present some statements from the Chicago Teachers Union and other teachers’ unions about what exactly their goals are. Are they on strike for the students? For the schools? For themselves? You might be surprised."

Alan Caruba; Useless, Costly Teacher's Unions  "So, since Chicago teachers are well paid, the strike is clearly not about money. For the union, says Martin, “Teacher evaluations and potential dismissal of incompetent teachers are front and center in the negotiations, according to Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel.” "

p://www.newsday.com/opinion/walt-handelsman-1.812005

Rhode Island school bans 'father-daughter' dances as violation of state law

The Providence Journal    "In a move that has taken some parents by surprise, the school department has announced that it is banning traditional "father-daughter" and "mother-son" activities, saying they violate state law.  
"Supt. Judith Lundsten said the move was triggered by a letter from the American Civil Liberties Union on behalf of a single mom who had complained that her daughter had not been able to attend her father-daughter dance."  Hat tip to the California Chronicle.

Progressives have made this nation so much less free than it was meant to be. Here is another example of that:

FAMILY FACES FINES FOR HOLDING HOME BIBLE STUDIES  "“It is difficult to understand how it is illegal to have a prayer meeting on Friday night with a half dozen people but it is alright if I invited the same group on Monday evening to watch Monday night Football,” Shane said in an interview with Fox News Radio."

Romney tells it like it is; he'll PAY for that!

NY Times; Romney Calls 47% of Voters Dependent in Leaked Video

"In a brief and hastily called news conference Monday just after 10 p.m., Mr. Romney acknowledged having made the blunt political and cultural assessment, saying it was “not elegantly stated,” but he stood by the substance of the remarks, insisting that he had made similar observations in public without generating controversy."

iowahawk

  Remember The Life of Julia?; the video that says pretty much what Romney said, only  for the purpose of getting you to vote for Obama.  I prefer iowahawk's take on Julia.

The Democrats think Romney just self-destructed by pointing out, um, THEIR ENTIRE STRATEGY   "So [Obama] and his enablers in the media hope you’ll be distracted by Romney’s “gaffe” of criticizing the Democrats’ strategy. They hope you’ll be offended that Romney pointed out what the Dems have been telling you your whole life: that you need the government to provide for you, that you can’t go a single day without a handout. They hope you’re as credulous as the people who voted for them last time."

Romney Tells The Truth About Obama Voters   "The truth is Romney should talk more openly about the country’s current split between the takers and the makers. We will have to face it sometime. 
"And if Obama wins re-election, this will probably be the last time the tipping point is still even slightly in the favor of the makers."

And Just What Was Wrong With What Mitt Romney Said?  "As a Senatorial candidate Romney toured the VA hospital near Boston.  While touring the hospital Romney discovered that there was not enough money to buy dairy products for sick soldiers.  Romney reviewed the VA medical center’s books to see if there was any funny stuff going on.  Everything looked fine, so Romney asked the administrators what they needed.  They said they needed milk.  Romney made some remark about how he had learned how to milk a cow .. then left.  The next Friday the milkman arrived.  A truck rolled up with 7000 pints of milk.  The delivery man refused to tell the VA medical where the milk came from.  When the man who delivered the milk finally retired about two years later he told the hospital staff where the milk came from.  Mitt Romney. 
"Yeah … here’s a man who doesn’t care."  Neal Boortz.

From Legal Insurrection; About that Romney tape   "Don’t fall for pronouncements that Romney’s campaign now is over.  Such pronouncements now come weekly by a media seeking a self-fulfilling prophecy.  Whether it was the insane overreaction to Romney’s comments on Libya or the declaration that the polling showed Romney had lost, every week there will be a new meme circulated."

http://hopenchangecartoons.blogspot.com/

Bill Kristol comments in the Weekly Standard. "Indeed: Has there been a presidential race in modern times featuring two candidates who have done so little over their lifetimes for our country, and who have so little substance to say about the future of our country?" 

From the Wall Street Journal; The spectacle of reporters over the past week hounding Mitt Romney for speaking his mind does not come as a surprise.   "Mitt Romney isn't going to have an easy time defeating a president with Mr. Obama's advantages. A friendly press corps surpasses all wealth, sayeth the sages."

A free press for a free people; how's that working out for us?

 CBS Local;  Obama’s Security Breach In Libya Is Ignored By American Media
"As the liberal American press and ultra-liberal bloggers inundate the Internet and newsprints with criticisms of what Mitt Romney, the GOP presidential challenger to President Barack Obama, said about Obama during the Libyan attacks and murders, throngs of foreign press and few American outlets tell the real story involved with the White House’s role in the incidents that we now know could have been prevented."

Hamby, journalist

Thanks for clarifying that, CNN  "A CNN political reporter has taken an active role raising money for the Obama campaign."....
Imagine for a moment that a Fox News reporter had tweeted the fundraising page of Romney to followers. It would be the top story at CBSNBCABCMSNBC and the NYT. [Peter]Hamby's tweet has been out there for 5 days now."  Newsbusters has more. 

NFL Pulls Ref From Game Over 'Open Rooting,' Will Media?  "The League felt it was a clear conflict of interest and decided that the ref could not be a fair judge of a game featuring his favorite team.  
"One would hope that the Old Media would take a lesson from the NFL. Shouldn't the media bench anyone that is blatantly rooting for Obama and the Democrats?"


No Joke: Bozell Demands Letterman Cut the Schtick, Ask Prez About Ongoing Jobs Catastrophe  "This is a man who can’t make room in his busy campaign fundraising schedule for critical intelligence briefings, or his jobs council, or even a sit-down with the Prime Minister of Israel while Iran’s uranium centrifuges are whizzing away toward Armageddon. Instead he is on his way to the Ed Sullivan Theater for yet another cutesy campaign infomercial courtesy of his boosters at CBS and Worldwide Pants."
But Letterman is balanced; he mentions Obama and Sarah Palin equally.