Barack Obama's Election And The Looming Crisis Of Liberalism

Forbes  "Both liberals celebrating his electoral victory, and conservatives who fear for the future of the country, may be surprised by the thoughtful, serious and provocative answer to this question in: I Am the Change, Barack Obama and the Crisis of Liberalism by Charles Kesler...."
An excerpt follows:

The Great Society’s efforts to produce greater social equality and spiritual fulfillment bent American mores in new directions as well, though often with unanticipated and unwanted consequence.  Its programs opened up American politics at the state and local level to the long arm of Washington as never before, involving the federal government in everything from the construction of city parks to the curriculum and funding of local schools.  Poverty was not conquered but the spirit of self-government was.  For the first time, the country adopted a thoroughgoing centralization of administration, nominally culminating in President Johnson as head of the executive branch, but in fact handing vast and hard-to-account for power to myriad experts running myriad programs in the new agencies.

 

 ...."Although Kesler does not use that term, here is how he describes ObamaCare:

“The law’s meaning is deliberately indeterminate, left vague so as to give maximum discretion to the unholy trinity of bureaucrats, congressional staffers, and private-sector “stakeholders” who will flesh out the act with thousands of pages of regulations (12,000 and counting so far), and then amend those as needed later on…

Government by faceless bureaucrat.

Abraham Lincoln: from comparing Obama to him on to the man himself, the movie and his voice

Newsbusters  NBC: 'No Coincidence' Lincoln Film Debuts After Obama Re-Election  "Eager to draw a comparison between Barack Obama and Abraham Lincoln during a report for Saturday's NBC Nightly News, correspondent Kevin Tibbles observed of the new film about the nation's 16th president: "No coincidence, perhaps, the film opens the week America's 21st century President won re-election in difficult times fraught with partisan bickering. Times in which many ask, what would Lincoln do?" "
...."On Monday, MSNBC host Chris Jansing made a more blatant comparison between the current and past presidents: "But I don't know that even he could have predicted that at this moment when it's being released, there were these parallels, that you have a president who is newly elected, who faces a divided Congress and a divided country." "

"MICHAEL BESCHLOSS: Well, in Lincoln you had a president who was very eager to unify the country..." Stop right there! No way does Obama care to unite this country and does not deserve to be mentioned in the same paragraph with President Lincoln.

While we're on the subject of Lincoln; Day-Lewis Finds his Voice as Spielberg's 'Lincoln'  "Day-Lewis, who plays the 16th president in Steven Spielberg's epic film biography "Lincoln," which goes into wide release this weekend, settled on a higher, softer voice,   saying it's more true to descriptions of how the man actually spoke.
...."Much of his pickiness stems from a need to understand characters intimately enough to feel that he's actually living out their experiences.
"The soft, reedy voice of his Lincoln grew out of that preparation."

The Smithsonian agrees with Lewis  "“Lincoln’s voice, as far as period descriptions go, was a little shriller, a little higher,” says Holzer. It would be a mistake to say that his voice was squeaky though. “People said that his voice carried into crowds beautifully. Just because the tone was high doesn’t mean it wasn’t far-reaching,” he says."
“Lincoln’s voice, as far as period descriptions go, was a little shriller, a little higher,” says Holzer. It would be a mistake to say that his voice was squeaky though. “People said that his voice carried into crowds beautifully. Just because the tone was high doesn’t mean it wasn’t far-reaching,” he says.

See this unusual video depicting from research how lincoln sounded when speaking:  Comments to this video and the depiction of Abraham Lincoln's high-pitched voice:

'Tis indeed true that Lincoln had a high-pitched, shrill voice. Having said that, I'm not sure why this clip also has him sounding like he pulled out all his teeth before swallowing a microphone plugged into a Marshall guitar amp.

For the folks who feel "creeped out" by this recording or doubt that Lincoln would have been elected with a voice like this, please remember that this was a different time where presidents were elected differently and based upon totally different criteria. Although this might be close to what we expect Lincoln to sound like based on the technology we have today, this should not detract what we think of him as our greatest president.

Watch the trailer for the film.

ABC Reporter to Jay Carney: ‘Utterly Bizarre’ to Think White House Learned of Petraeus Scandal Day After Election

The Blaze via Noisy Room "During the daily White House press briefing on Tuesday, ABC News reporter Jonathan Karl told White House Press Secretary Jay Carney that it seems “utterly bizarre” that President Barack Obama and his administration first became aware of the David Petraeus scandal the day after the election." (Video at  the link)

Carney tap-danced and passed it off to the FBI, but Karl pressed again:

“But you do you understand how people would find this utterly bizarre?” the reporter pressed. “The day after election? And the anger that you are hearing on Capitol Hill that this was going on…at least the timing, the appearance.”

So that's when Carney pulled the old Ted Kennedy side step, saying how busy the President was working on the economy and seeing that people get back to work and blahdy, blahdy blah.

Gawker flow chart

Carney: Obama “wasn’t pleased” with Petraeus scandal when he found out, just after the election  "That’s their story and they’re stickin’ to it, I suppose." Hot Air.

Sense of Events attempts to lay out the scenario for us to grasp (printed here in the original form without corrections): 

...."Okay, let me try to walk this dog:"

•Petraeus and Paul Broadwell have an affair, supposedly breaking it off about three months ago.
•The communicated covertly with each other by using a Google Gmail account set up for just that purpose, using the same logon to write emails to one another but never sending them, which would leave an electronic trail. Instead, they save them as drafts and then read them unsent.
•Broadwell decided that Kelley is trying to muscle in on her man and sends Kelley some (vaguely) threatening emails, stupidly using the special Gmail account, thus laying down electronic breadcrumbs.
•Kelley, not knowing who sent the emails (which in fact are pretty innocuous) happens to have a personal relationship with and FBI agent in town. She shows him the emails and,
•He springs into action and opens an investigation! Why? Not because there is anything actually criminally actionable in the emails but because he wants to have an affair with Kelley! How do we know? Because his superiors yanked him off the investigation for sending Kelley topless photos of himself.
•Nonetheless, the investigation goes forward because, well, that's what investigations do. The FBI cracks the secret Gmail account and discovers at least some of the emails between Petraeus and Broadwell. But, as the FBI has explained, they did not uncover evidence that Petraeus himself had done anything illegal. Nor for that matter, has any such evidence been uncovered against Broadwell, at least so far. And yet, only last night did the FBI get around to searching Broadwell's residence.
•Apparently, Gen. Allen was roped into the investigation because the FBI was reviewing Kelley's emails, too, and discovered a reference to the Broadwell emails in an email she had sent to Allen.

" The senior defense official said the voluminous collection of e-mails sent between Allen and Kelley occurred between 2010 and this year but did not give details. The official also declined to say whether Allen sent or received any of the messages from his military or government e-mail accounts, or if classified material was compromised."

The spiritual conflict that comes with blogging at the Tunnel Wall

I just entered this comment on the Facebook page, "Conservatives Who Hate Liberals". ( I did not make an active link to this page. If you want to go there, find it yourself)

I have to say that I completely reject the premise of that photo on this page showing a gun on a Bible. I do have anger, but not the kind the photo implies. My anger at the left is at odds with the Savior I worship.

We become like that which we worship and my trust in His sovereignty conflicts with the resentment I feel toward the demagoguery and character assassination the left practices. It is just so hard to do nothing while people who speak out against what Obamites are doing to this nation are villified and mocked. Especially when the Obama supporters issued threats to riot and burn if Obama lost.    

If Obama will not speak out against these people, it is left to us. The Tunnel Dweller

What happens when clueless voters select our government

Cost of Regulation: As many as 353 more coal-powered units to close, study finds

"Union of Concerned Scientists predicts 18 percent of coal-fired power will close down rather than upgrade pollution equipment."  (More on this at Heritage.)

Exactly as Obama said he would do. Remember how many on the left were turning against him a few months ago? It wasn't because they decided that Obama's socialism wasn't a good thing; its just that he wasn't far left enough for them. I am sure the left will be much more pleased with Obama this next four years as he dismantles America's prosperity and greatness.

But at least they got their 'Bamaphones.  TD

ObamaCare; elections have consequences

While the left cheers the Obama win for reasons no more substantial than a Super Bowl win, other, more serious people are seeing the price this nation and its economy must pay.

Neal Boortz; Proggies Shocked by ObamaCare Fallout  "The liberals seem shocked. They took to Twitter to demonize these business owners, and pushing for others to boycott their businesses. Hey you proggies and liberals – Can’t say you weren’t warned! Business owners have been out there telling you exactly what you had coming to you if Obama was re-elected and ObamaCare became the law of the land. Just because you chose not to listen to those warnings doesn’t make it my problem!" More Boortz here:

Already In The Pipeline  "You can’t say I didn’t warn you.  I told you what we could expect from a second term of Barack Obama, emboldened by Democrats in Congress.  It hasn’t taken but a few days for many of these things to already be in the pipeline."
Boortz covers a list of Obama plagues including:
Tax increases, wealth tax, the Second Amendment, Cap-and-Trade
And then finishes with this ominous comment:
"Russia’s Flexibility  Russia is already flexing its muscles. Just two days after the election, Russia’s Deputy Prime Minister goes and tells an international conference that he hopes Obama is mindful of his promise to give Russia “flexibility,” particularly on the issue of the US missile defense shield."

Obama and the cult of personality  "The president’s reelection is not evidence of a new liberal America, but rather of the illogical and confused experience that is infatuation. For multiple reasons, Americans continue to have a crush on Barack Obama even after his universally panned first term."  Abe Greenwald

An Expatriate Brit Despairs for America’s Future  "Maybe it takes someone born in leftist Europe, someone who has lived at the end of the path to which the United States is headed, to fully appreciate what happened Tuesday. While many Americans understand that we punched a ticket Tuesday on the road to Socialism, perhaps only a European who has embraced this country can fully feel it in his bones." ....

But, consider this: A president of the United States just ran a reelection campaign based on the promise of government largess, exploitation of class division, the demonization of success, the glorification of identity politics, and the presumption that women are a helpless interest group; and he did so while steadfastly refusing to acknowledge the looming — potentially fatal — crisis that the country faces. And it worked.  White House Dossier

Just wanted to be sure you saw that quote.

Foodstamps Surge to All Time High  "The Obama administration has finally released its report on the number of Americans receiving food stamps. This report was released days after the 2012 election, nine days past its traditional release date. The numbers show that Americans on food stamps is at an all time high. Worse, the report shows the highest one month jump ever recorded."

What's Next for Marriage After Tuesday's Vote?  "Supporters of traditional marriage lost big on Election Day, with four states redefining marriage to include same-sex couples. Marriage defenders acknowledge they have serious work to do on several fronts going forward, even as the nation must now begin to consider the question of polygamy.
"Washington State and Maine redefined marriage in their states to include two-man and two-woman couples."

House Democrats push for extension of jobless benefits  Who can compete with Santa Claus in the land of spoiled children?

The ‘Regulatory Cliff’  Regulatory reform has become more urgent than ever. "Among the outgoing Senate’s graveyard of stalled budgets, authorizations, and other urgent measures are some 36 regulatory-reform bills passed by the House with bipartisan support. These bills are needed to rein in a regulatory spree that is crushing business activity and unnerving investors. They deserve first priority in the new Senate — but the newly elected body, with two fewer GOP members than its predecessor had, is likely not interested."

November 7, 2012: Obama's Unluckiest Day?  "The president bought the next four years at a great cost. "
"But now he will reap what he sowed. His pretense of being a uniter, someone who can reach across the aisle and work together to solve pressing problems, lies in ruins. Whatever reservoir of goodwill and trust that existed in January 2009 is now bone dry.

"So, yes, he won. But it will almost certainly be a Pyrrhic victory. He chose to divide the country deeply to win his second term. He will find that the nation he will again lead is not governable by him, and he may have tipped it to where it is not governable by anyone."

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

Losing Iraq

Critical Threats. org  "The U.S. has withdrawn its military forces — keeping the president’s campaign promise, as the White House constantly reiterates. But what kind of Iraq have we left behind?
"Is Iraq an effective ally in the struggle against regional terrorist groups? Counterterrorism cooperation with the U.S. against al-Qaeda in Iraq has fallen off dramatically, while AQI’s ability to conduct spectacular terrorist attacks within Iraq has been growing since the departure of American troops."....
 "The resurrection of al-Qaeda in Iraq is a consequence of America’s failure to negotiate a long-term military partnership of the kind that was envisioned when the Strategic Partnership Agreement was signed in 2008. U.S. enablers — combat troops in small numbers combined with the precision-strike capabilities of American aircraft and special forces — could have continued, in cooperation with Iraqi security forces, to keep the pressure on AQI."....

"This failure may have resulted from a lack of desire on the part of the Obama administration to keep sufficient troops in Iraq, from its inability to make a deal, from its unreasonable demands, from Iraqi intransigence, or from all of the above. From a strategic and national-security standpoint, the only thing that matters is that by failing to secure a new agreement, the U.S. failed profoundly to secure its hard-won gains. Even more important, it failed to secure its interests."
Obama cut and ran, bragging about it all the while.

Norman Podhoretz Asks, Is America Exceptional?

Imprimus  ...."In spite of all this, the liberal community seems to think that the rest of the world would be better off without the United States, or at least with it following the policy of “leading from behind.” Admittedly there are paleoconservatives like Pat Buchanan and libertarians like Ron Paul who agree on this point, but most conservatives do not believe that a radical diminution of American power and influence would be good for us or for the world.

"Shortly before the election of 2008, then-candidate Obama declared that his election would usher in “a fundamental transformation of America.” The desirability of such a transformation—which would entail the wiping away of as many more traces of American exceptionalism as it will take to turn this country into a facsimile of the social-democratic regimes of western Europe—is the issue at the heart of our politics today. And in the long run, I hope and trust, Americans will reject such a transformation, and elect instead to return to the principles that have made this nation so exceptional—yes, exceptional—a force for good both at home and abroad.  Hillsdale College

about.com

Does America seem like the child of divorced parents who compete for his affection? The spendthrift parent will always come out on top

http://www.commonsenseevaluation.com/tag/cartoon-of-the-day/

Moody’s: Obama will approve Keystone XL pipeline

The Hill  "“We believe the White House will reverse course and approve the Keystone XL pipeline, which would ship crude from Canada’s western oil sands to the Gulf Coast,” the ratings agency said in a wide-ranging report Monday on the implications of the elections.
"However, the Moody's Investors Service report adds: “[A]pproval will not be quick. A prolonged permitting process risks missing the very oil price boom that inspired Keystone XL in the first place. Still, even if Keystone XL went into operation in 2015 or 2016, Gulf Coast refining and marketing companies would benefit from wider light/heavy crude price differentials.” "

Dead Quiet on Benghazi

Hope n' Change

"CIA Director, General David Petraeus, previously said to be "looking forward to testifying," won't be there because - almost magically - the FBI has discovered that he was having an extramarital affair with the authorette of his biography (the title of which, "All In," has taken on an entirely new meaning). "....

"Hillary Clinton, who had previously "taken responsibility" by saying she'd find out who was responsible, has decided not to testify owing to an unavoidable scheduling conflict in Australia...."

Obama Let Benghazi 4 Die, Rather than Defy Libyan Authorities  "FOX News continues to do invaluable work by investigating Benghazigate and Jennifer Griffin and Adam Housley have a new article which raises serious questions about the so-called “Timeline” as well as continuing to pursue the question of why the Benghazi were allowed to die by the Obama Administration. "Now Obama had no problem bombing and invading Libya to prevent a fake massacre in Benghazi whose existence he lied about in a speech to the American people. But he did have a problem sending troops into Libya to prevent an actual massacre of Americans...."

Al-Qaeda on the march

Jennifer Rubin  "What will Obama and his new secretary of state do about this? In the rush to push Benghazi off the front pages and out of oversight hearings we risk ignoring a region-wide phenomenon. The administration did not recognize the jihadist gains in Libya and risks finding itself similarly unprepared in Mali, Syria, the Western Sahara, Yemen and elsewhere. The administration desperately needs to stop avoiding conflicts, stop concealing misjudgment and focus on how to stem the rising tide of al-Qaeda. Without an election perhaps the president will finally get down to business."