An old GQ article on Obama

Sometimes, I find an article that I just want to bookmark for all eternity. Just 'cause I have a feeling that it will be relevant later on.

In September of 2007, GQ did a lengthy article on Barack. Although it is fawning at times:

One way to describe Obama is that underneath the inspirational leader who wants to change politics—and upon whom desperate Democrats, Independents, and not a few Republicans are projecting their hopes—is an ambitious, prickly, and occasionally ruthless politician. But underneath that guy is another one, an Obama who's keenly aware that presidential politics is about timing, and that at this extremely low moment in American political life, there is a need for someone—and he firmly believes that someone is him—to lift up the nation in a way no politician has in nearly half a century.

There are other areas of the interview that are downright damning

One of the riddles of the Obama campaign is, to what extent does a candidate who preaches a gospel of changing politics need to run a revolutionarily different kind of campaign? The question has gnawed at Obama since he entered the race. At his very first press conference as a candidate, a reporter asked Obama why he was employing a team of opposition researchers—aides who spend their days and nights digging up dirt on other candidates and often leaking that info, "anonymously," to the media.

But what I really thought was interesting is what he said about Iraq at the time:

"The fact of the matter is, I have the most specific plan in terms of how to get out of Iraq of any candidate," he lectured us.

Uh. Yeah. Right.

Democrats are raising money in Canada?

The next time you read about Democrats who are upset about Republicans raising money in shady ways for their campaigns, remember this story.

The Democrats went to Canada. Why? Because if you're not actually physically in the US, you aren't constrained by US election financing laws.

Sounds ridiculous, but its true. Uber reporter Lynn Sweet has the story:

The Giannoulias Democratic Illinois Senate campaign confirmed Monday--after prodding from the National Republican Senatorial Campaign Committee--that Alexi Giannoulias was in Canada on Sunday attending a fund-raiser at a trial lawyer convention in Vancouver that would benefit his Senate campaign.

It kinda makes sense that trial lawyers would figure out a way to escape restrictions on their fund raising.

Great article by Jonah Goldberg on Dem's lament

I don't want to quote it too much, because I don't want to spoil it. However, this line is genius:

This misplaced griping stems not from Obama's failure to "think big" but from a misreading of the political climate: Liberals thought they'd be popular.

Exactly.
The left is still trying to figure out why, even though they took over, they still aren't popular.

The New Republic, on Palin

Its pretty funny to watch the left try to figure out who Palin is. In the latest New Republic, the latest spin is that she's a media genius. Check out these two lines:

In the midst of this aggressive visibility, however, Palin keeps a tight grip on her time in the public eye.

Uh huh. She's so smart, that she keeps out of the public eye in her aggressive visibility.

The president urges patience with Iraq

Every once in a while, I run across something that I need to archive.
Like this article:

In his weekly radio address today, [the president] once again framed the war in Iraq as a battle against al-Qaeda and urged the American people to give his troop surge strategy more time to be successful. The president started off this week by giving listeners a preview of his speech at the American Legion national convention this week.

I thought it was interesting to hear the president urge for more time. Especially considering that at the time the president was asking for more time, Senator Obama was criticizing the war.

You see, this was President Bush, in August of 2007.

To be fair to Obama, I have to quote him at length:

It is time to turn the page. When I am President, we will wage the war that has to be won, with a comprehensive strategy with five elements: getting out of Iraq and on to the right battlefield in Afghanistan and Pakistan; developing the capabilities and partnerships we need to take out the terrorists and the world's most deadly weapons; engaging the world to dry up support for terror and extremism; restoring our values; and securing a more resilient homeland.

The first step must be getting off the wrong battlefield in Iraq, and taking the fight to the terrorists in Afghanistan and Pakistan.

I introduced a plan in January that would have already started bringing our troops out of Iraq, with a goal of removing all combat brigades by March 31, 2008. If the President continues to veto this plan, then ending this war will be my first priority when I take office.

There is no military solution in Iraq. Only Iraq's leaders can settle the grievances at the heart of Iraq's civil war. We must apply pressure on them to act, and our best leverage is reducing our troop presence. And we must also do the hard and sustained diplomatic work in the region on behalf of peace and stability.

That's not all he said. Please read the complete speech.
Its also important to note that this was not a one time position of the president. A month later, in September 12, 2007, he said:

I opposed this war from the beginning. I opposed the war in 2002. I opposed it in 2003. I opposed it in 2004. I opposed it in 2005. I opposed it in 2006. I introduced a plan in January to remove all of our combat brigades by next March. And I am here to say that we have to begin to end this war now.

My plan for ending the war would turn the page in Iraq by removing our combat troops from Iraq's civil war; by taking a new approach to press for a new accord on reconciliation within Iraq; by talking to all of Iraq's neighbors to press for a compact in the region; and by confronting the human costs of this war.

First, we need to immediately begin the responsible removal of our troops from Iraq's civil war. Our troops have performed brilliantly. They brought Saddam Hussein to justice. They have fought for over four years to give Iraqis a chance for a better future. But they cannot - and should not - bear the responsibility for resolving the grievances at the heart of Iraq's civil war.

It is now July of 2010.
As Barack said, "...I opposed the war in 2002. I opposed it in 2003. I opposed it in 2004. I opposed it in 2005. I opposed it in 2006."
He basically opposed it until he was in office.
Now I wouldn't blame him if he actually turned around and said, "You know what? President Bush was right to stay in Iraq"
But Barack won't do that. Its not that he isn't smart enough to realize that Bush was right. Clearly, he does. Its either that his ego is too big for him to realize it, or he drowned himself in his own pronouncements that Bush was wrong that he made people believe him. And now, he can't admit it, or Bush looks smarter then he is.

There are a lot of people that I do not want as my leader. The very first category is the one who cannot admit when they were clearly wrong.

Post Office = The future of health care

Whenever I speak to people about the upcoming health care takeover, I bring up the United States Post Office. I don't think that you can get a greater idea of what we're in for with government health care then the post office.

Think about it. You wait in line, usually for 15 minutes, just to send a package. The person behind the desk usually has an attitude that normally runs the gamut between indifference and incompetence. They move at a snails pace because they can never get fired.
We've all had this experience. Yet, some people defend the USPS as an example of efficiency.

CBS has an article about the current crisis in the USPS. Despite government oversight (or more likely, from it) the USPS:

Kearney said the agency is facing a $7 billion loss in 2011. The rate increase will bring in an extra $2.5 billion, meaning it still faces a $4.7 billion loss.

This is a government run agency that has the worst customer service of any organization that I've ever run into. In my opinion, its just a peek of what we should expect out of government run health care in the future.

Under fire, for dancing

The way I look at it: if you are wearing Kevlar as part of your normal everyday job of representing my country, you are entitled to occasionally blow off steam.

Some of our troops in Afghanistan, performing Lady GaGa's Telephone.

The rumor is that these men are now receiving some criticism for this. I hope that isn't true.

I also hope that Lady GaGa goes over there and performs in person for them. They have a great sense of humor.
Stay safe guys.

Did Barack tell the truth?

When the Blagojevich scandal broke, the White House went into full spin mode about how they were 'investigating' everything, and that they'd let us know right away what they came up with.

Of course, they never found any evidence that the WH did anything wrong. Go figure.
From Time magazine:

This all seemed rather open and shut. Since the press had no information suggesting otherwise, President Obama was allowed to move on from the scandal. But recent testimony in the Blagojevich trial suggests that Craig's report and Obama's effort at transparency failed to tell the entire story.

On Tuesday, an Illinois union leader, Thomas Balanoff, testified that he received a phone call the day before the election from President Obama to discuss Valerie Jarrett and the Senate seat. Balanoff would serve as a go-between, connecting the Obama inner circle to the Blagojevich inner circle.

Remember how there was no one at all, according to the WH, that had any knowledge of any deal? Well, that's if you don't include the president's attempt to get a friend into a senate seat.

This is typical Chicago politics. Which means that its corrupt, for those of you who are not from Chicago.

Health Care Bill makes ERs more crowded

Thus, another fallacy of the health care bill falls to pieces. From USA Today:

People without insurance aren't the ones filling up the nation's emergency rooms. Far from it. The uninsured are no more likely to use ERs than people with private insurance, perhaps because they're wary of huge bills.

The big question for me is:
Why didn't any of the press say this BEFORE the health care bill was passed? This was a huge fallacy that was presented by the president to sell health care. Shouldn't someone have called bullshit on him?

No, the health care bill will not make things cheaper for everyone. In fact, we'll be putting our grandchildren in debt.
Yes, you will be taxed if you do not buy insurance. Its a government mandate.
It will not promote cost savings. Nothing that is mandatory will create savings.

This is a giant boondoggle, and the quicker its killed, the better.

Beck connects Soros to our current oil crisis

I hate conspiracy theories. But this administration gives me pause. Particularly when I see things like this...

Hannity summing up Barack's unemployment incompetence

With guest Newt Gingritch, the two talk about how the stimulus bill was completely ineffective.

CBS completely nails Obama on his commissions

I love how many things the president criticized before he became president.
CBS caught him in this big double standard. Barack established a new financial commission in February. He did this after complaining about the many commissions during the campaign:

"Folks, we don't need a commission to spend a few years and a lot of taxpayer money to tell us what's going on in our economy," he continued. "We don't need a commission to tell us gas prices are high or that you can't pay your bills. We don't need a commission to tell us you're losing your jobs. We don't need a commission to study this crisis, we need a President who will solve it - and that's the kind of President I intend to be."

Congrats to NPR for being the first one to notice this, and CBS for picking it up. That's actual journalism, folks. Research and stuff. Holding politicians accountable for their promises.

Reminder: Obama opposed the surge, then said the impact was 'relatively modest'

From a HotAir report on what Barack said back then.
Barack calling Iraq a disaster, and saying that we are not kicking ass in Iraq. He said there was a modest decline, and that it was unsustainable.

Santelli sums it all up, politely

Okay, maybe not politely.
But he's saying what I've been screaming for about 2 years now, ever since a Democratic congress passed the first TARP:



Thank you, Santelli, for not being polite about it anymore. Since the dumb idiots in office won't listen anymore, maybe you can get the point through.

Barack spent $787 Billion dollars, and then said that he couldn't cut the budget. He passed a health care bill that cost roughly a trillion, and then said that he was going to be a deficit hawk.
C'mon man.
The debt is now 2.5 Trillion more then it was when he came into office.
Stop spending.

Barack's all time gaffes

Recently, someone was telling me about what a lightweight they thought Sarah Palin was.
Of course, I challenged them to bring up examples, and of course, they blanked.

So I decided to give them examples of what a lightweight might say.

With that in mind, here are my favorite Obama gaffes of all time.

Number 6 - Isn't that special:
Barack, on Jay Leno, says that his bowling was like the Special Olympics.

Number 5 - Time to add some stars to that flag


"It is wonderful to be back in Oregon," Obama said. "Over the last 15 months, we’ve traveled to every corner of the United States. I’ve now been in 57 states? I think one left to go. Alaska and Hawaii, I was not allowed to go to even though I really wanted to visit, but my staff would not justify it."

Number 4 - A Tribute to the movie "Sixth Sense"


"On this Memorial Day, as our nation honors its unbroken line of fallen heroes — and I see many of them in the audience here today — our sense of patriotism is particularly strong."


Numger 3 - The tragedy that dwarfed 9/11 in Kansas
Of course, we all missed out on hearing about it, but Barack updated us:



“In case you missed it, this week, there was a tragedy in Kansas. Ten thousand people died — an entire town destroyed.”

Number 2 - The main problem with the Middle East is, eh, the Middle East?

"The Middle East Is Obviously An Issue That Has Plagued The Region For Centuries"

Number 1 - It might be a challenge, but we will bring greater inefficiency

"The reforms we seek would bring greater competition, choice, savings and inefficiencies to our health care system"

Our president now has the power to kill the internet

I hate when my government outdoes anything that a conspiracy theorist can come up with.

A US Senate committee has approved a wide-ranging cybersecurity bill that some critics have suggested would give the US president the authority to shut down parts of the Internet during a cyberattack.

You can read more about it at the website for Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs.

Watch a drunken whore complain about the prostitute problem

Barack, telling us that "people should learn that lesson about me", that he's actually going to 'call the bluff' of people who want to reduce the deficit.

I want to play the president at Poker.

Where's the golf course?

Not gulf. Golf.
Sometimes when I read something about the president, I want to believe its not true. Like this:

When U.S. President Barack Obama stepped off his helicopter in Huntsville on Friday, the first thing he said was, “You’ve got a lot of golf courses here, don’t you?” Industry Minister Tony Clement told the National Post in an exclusive interview.

I'd like to believe that he's not that dense when it comes to his current image. But I demur.

Of course, he knew.

In Blago's trial, here in Chicago, a witness has said that Obama knew about Blagos attempts to get favors in exchange for Barack's old senate seat.

From the Chicago Sun Times:

"The president understands that the governor would be willing to make the appointment of Valerie Jarrett as long as he gets what he's asked for. . . . The governor gets the Cabinet appointment he's asked for," Harris said, explaining a recorded call.

You see, Obama wanted Valerie Jarret to have that seat. He even passed along a list of 4 senate candidates that he wanted in. Which means, at the very least, that Obama knew that a crime was being committed.
Of course.

What the left said about Patraeus, pre- June 23rd

Before June 23, 2010, this is how the left portrayed General Patreaus:

Think Progress:

Email correspondence from the Pentagon document dump reveals Gen. David Petraeus was “happy to” participate in its “puppet” TV military analyst program in 2005. The “talented” military officer was promoted by President Bush to lieutenant general in 2004, with the public mission of training Iraqi military forces.

MoveOn (via Weasel Zippers) had their ad that portrayed him as General Betray us.

Please, let's not forget the Daily Kos:

Without honor, he is not a soldier but a fraud, a scandal, a dishonest civil servant with a gun. His medals are lies - particularly and especially any medal for "valor".

I invite you to find the way that your favorite liberal website portrayed Patraeus Before June 23rd. You know, before Barack decided that Patraeus was great.