* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Tell me, Mr. President, Mr. Constitutional Scholar, Sir, is there a precedent on a sitting president’s acceptance of awards from foreign interests?

J.P. Feire of the Washington Examiner thinks so…

It looks like the Times editorial page is endorsing the very definition of foreign meddling in domestic affairs. Foreigners validating and then rewarding certain approaches while repudiating others is not appropriate, regardless of whether it’s coming from six nations or six Norwegians.

So what is the propriety of a sitting wartime president accepting an award from a foreign committee that is merely an expression of repudiation for the behavior of his predecessor? It is especially concerning because undoubtedly, Obama’s partisans will use the credential to grant him greater legitimacy in foreign policy among his own people.

That’s an open question. But our democratic system already provides an outlet for such a repudiation, and it is the only kind that matters because it is the will of the American people. All others should be given the Giuliani treatment: Thanks, but no thanks.

This strikes at the heart of what I posted on Friday. The purpose of the discussion of the emoluments clause was to look at the constitutionality of Obama’s acceptance of the prize. Even Teddy Roosevelt made it clear there was a discomfort with the legitimating power of the Nobel committee; Roosevelt refused to accept the prize until his term was up, and even then, he jumped through hoops to work with Congress to determine the use of the prize money.

Indeed, taking out your handy little pocket Constitution from The Heritage Foundation (get your free copy here), we read in Article I, Section 9,

“No Title of Nobility shall be granted by the United States: And no Person holding any Office of Profit or Trust under them, shall, without the Consent of the Congress, accept of any present, Emolument, Office, or Title, of any kind whatever, from any King, Prince, or foreign State.”

Eugene, founder of the Volokh Conspiracy and a real lawyer (he doesn’t just play one on TV) muddies the waters further, like any good lawyer will do. Just read it as a whole - it’s difficult to excerpt without losing the intent of the entire argument. He poses some excellent questions.

Of course, we all know that Obama immediately accepted the award, gushing with false humility. His ego wouldn’t have allowed otherwise, regardless of any question of constitutionality, propriety, or just good-ol’-American-common-sense. Did the Nobel committee have a vision of future and thus hastened the prize, while they still could?

…this is a preemptive prize, because the Committee looked ahead to the insane nuclear winter and global Muslim/non-Muslim war Obama’s fecklessness is bringing into being and they knew: he makes a desert, and calls it peace. Since the Committee can confidently expect that, once Obama does what he does best, there will be no more prizes, now was the time for a preemptive award.

One unanticipated accomplishment was the uniting of the blogosphere altogether. To date, never has the world heard such a collective cyber-”huh?!?” Making history, anyway he can.

While Obama is Obama’s favorite subject, it is too bad he won’t talk about other things…you know things that effect our nation, our security, our sovereignty, our economy, our future. Why attack a network or a radio personality when he should be looking at rogue nations that are planning to attack US. Here. Soon. That is so unpresidential. He could stop so much with just a word, or a caution. But he chooses not to, and therein is the rub. He quietly stokes the destruction.

“Prove that you did not do what I said you did,” is not journalism. It is, frankly, the tactic of the schoolyard bully and the fascist. They are often one and the same. And they’ve learned that once a headline is “out there” retractions and corrections don’t much matter, to the narrative.

Camille Paglia (Salon) notes that Obama’s trusted circle of advisors are, well, shall we say small-minded?

Obama is approaching a turning point which will define his political future, if he has one. He is surrounded by some mighty small potatoes who need shoveling into the dumpster. The petty provincials need to go, and far more sophisticated and world-savvy analysts must urgently be brought on board.

and that the Nobel timing is just awful for him, personally:

It’s true he has accomplished nothing thus far and did not remotely deserve the Nobel Peace Prize, a gift carrying a terrible curse. The Nobel should have been the crown of Obama’s career and not the butt of jokes.

But the Office is not supposed to be about the Man, is it? Has anyone told Obama that yet?

Pull out that handy little pocket Constitution again and look at Article II, Section 1, that last paragraph.

“Before he enter on the Execution of his Office, he shall take the following Oath or Affirmation: - ‘I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the Office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my Ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States.’”

That last part isn’t working out so well, either.

Cross-posted at Obi’s Sister.

The Bill of Rights. Amendment I.

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion , or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.”

Akhil Reed Amar, in his excellent America’s Constitution, A Biography, notes

…the mere fact that the First Amendment enumerated free-speech and free-exercise rights against Congress did not mean that Americans lacked similar rights against the president and federal courts, if those rights could indeed be properly inferred from the Constitution as a while or from the siprit of the First Amendment itself.

The House Resolution condemning Rep. Joe Wilson (R-SC) for shouting out during President Obama’s speech (ad nauseaum) on healthcare last week was passed by typically partisan lines. Citing the House rules for decorum (funny, can’t find those online - perhaps a “constitutional scholar” can help me out?), Democrats have refused to accept his personal apology to Obama (after all, he accepted it and he was the fellow who was interrupted, was he not?) and have signed him up for I.S.S.

Even better, now this Congress, surely the finest and most upstanding Congress evah elected in this fine nation, has given us a playbook to help navigate the sometimes murky waters of Congressional discourse whilst in the presence of the Anointed One.

Especially useful: The section on how to properly insult the executive branch in the in the chamber.

“Disgrace” and “nitwits” — okay.

“Liar” or “sexual misconduct” — ixnay.

Under section 370 of the House Rules and Manual it has been held that a Member could:
• refer to the government as “something hated, something oppressive.”
• refer to the President as “using legislative or judicial pork.”
• refer to a Presidential message as a “disgrace to the country.”
• refer to unnamed officials as “our half-baked nitwits handling foreign affairs.”

Likewise, it has been held that a member could not:
• call the President a “liar.”
• call the President a “hypocrite.”
• describe the President’s veto of a bill as “cowardly.”
• charge that the President has been “intellectually dishonest.”
• refer to the President as “giving aid and comfort to the enemy.”
• refer to alleged “sexual misconduct on the President’s part.”

I kid you not. There is now a list of what you can and cannot say on the floor of the House of Representatives, the House of the PEOPLE, of the United States. Did they include the most important word of all - fascist?

Rep. Hank Johnson (D-GA), the man who replaced Cynthia McKinney has suddenly filled her shoes and then some.

[Rep. Pete] Stark calls Bush a liar: no problem. Wilson calls Obama a liar: it simply MUST be racism! 10-4, good buddy.

Can someone please explain to me why simply disagreeing with a person of a different race than yourself automatically smears you as a raaaaaist?

Isn’t targeting another person based on their race considered real racism? Or does the Ministry of Truth now consider it social justice? Don’t expect this to get national attention, because, well, it doesn’t fit the media template. Seems the true definitions are becoming more blurred by the day.

To make matters worse, now Joe Wilson’s son, Alan is coming under fire simply for the preceived “sins” of his father. He is running for Attorney General in South Carolina.

Shortly after the revolution, colonials would abuse and often punish the sons of tories, those who had supported King George. When the Constitution was written, the Founders prohibited punishment in treason that would “work Corruption of Blood,” or punishment extended to descendants.

It is a natural tendency in the corruption of man to punish the children of those who did things wrong or perceived to have done things wrong. It’s like my neighbor heckling my 3 year old solely because she is related to me. It is part of the baser parts of human nature. And it is not right.

Was myopic on the good words or bad words list? Just askin’…

Always looking for the silver lining - we can look forward to uncrowded beaches in South Carolina, just in time for spring break.

“Class dismissed.”

Cross-posted at Obi’s Sister.

Yesterday, the eighth anniversary of the murder of 2996 innocent Americans, the unPresidential President had his first real opportunity to patch his sinking ship. An event presented itself, still raw and naked, not related to crippling legislation or unvetted staff or hugging dictators next door; a time and place where he could speak to the nation from his cold and shriveled heart. It is globally known he harbors a consuming hatred of George W. Bush., a distaste so strong that it encourages bad behavior from his followers. But what Obama refuses to see is that even though many Americans despise W for many reasons, his (often private) consolation of the victims and their families in the days (and years) of 9/12 America earned him a place in our collective hearts. He may not have had the right words at the right times, but you could see and feel his grief. And then his anger. His resolve.

Come on, Obama, be the George. Stop looking in the mirror and look out at America. Stop campaigning. Man up; be the Commander in Chief. We the people are still hurt and confused.

In no conflict throughout history were people still confused about the threat eight years after hostilities began. For America, neither WWI nor WWII had lasted half that long. And in those wars we not only achieved victory in that time, but we knew long before that — with crystalline precision — who our foes were and what we had to do to defeat them.

So what did Obama do yesterday? Did he go to church and pray for healing? (Aside: Has he even attended church since he took office?) Did he reiterate the stout American fortitude, focused to track down those responsible for the attacks and dispatch them to their judgment day? Nope, he mumbled some words at the Pentagon (be sure to note the adoration in the linked article, i.e. how the rain stopped just for the Obamas to step outside), then hurried over to paint somebody’s living room. He blew it, again.

What we see clearly now is that Obama is purposefully weakening America. Kryptonite drips from his every word. It’s all part of the plan, stupid.

To Obama, 9/11 has become an inconvenient obstacle to his Castrofication of America.

The PERSONAL horror of that day can fade, as the vivid memory of all pain eventually does – but that DATE and those IMAGES will continue to stand as the very real symbol of why we must remain watchful and to continue to root out and fight evil (no, I don’t shy from that word) wherever it hides, knowing - from very real experience - that to do otherwise will mean pain and death and mourning here at home when that evil next comes to us.

September 11th, 2001 stands as our focus-point for our vigilance, our strength, and our willingness to resist – a symbol paid-for in sacrifice, in loss – a symbol paid for in blood.

UPDATE: Leliks, perfect as always. (h/t Fausta)

Cross-posted at Obi’s Sister.

Sad when it applies to the most powerful man in the United States. The broken promises are mounting as fast as his deficit numbers.

But once a person internalizes the idea that he/she has been betrayed, then the trust so basic to a relationship is broken and it’s almost impossible to earn it back.

And so it appears to be dawning on an increasing number of Americans that President Obama cannot be trusted. There are two reasons for this. The first is that so many of the things he promised during the campaign—transparency, bipartisanship, unity and an end to blaming, a post-racial presidency, no catering to special interests and lobbies, and posting of bills in a timely fashion online, to name just a few—have not only been violated, but have been boldly, flagrantly, and shamelessly violated. The second thing is that his pre-election stance as a moderate is seen to have been a lie as well, and that’s even more basic—at least for the moderates and Independents who gave him the support he required to put him over the top and guarantee his election.

One can talk about this policy of Obama’s or that one, and agree with certain elements of his program and disagree with others. But although these are very important issues, they are not the issue. Trust is.

When the debate over his health reform heated up, instead of thoughtfully addressing the American public, he retreated into the time-honored partisan blame-game.

Rather than examine the public’s concerns, the plans’ inconsistencies or the sheer irresponsibility of trying to ram something this big and complicated through Congress without a small-scale trial, the Obama administration is pointing fingers. Lots of them. Most of the targets are just plain silly.

His disdain for America is beginning to show - his Pentagon, yes HIS Pentagon, denies a patriotic fly over.

Remember when Obama went AWOL on the 2009 National Day of Prayer? Guess who gets a full 5 minute greeting for Ramadan? Yep, you got it. The America we live in is not the America Obama sees (or projects).

Even the lie of uniting the country in cellophane rainbow sparkles of post-racial bliss showed itself in a very ugly way this week. Obama’s DOJ/AG dropped a slam-dunk case against the Black Panther thugs who intimidated voters in Philadelphia on election day.

Daily we see his downward spiral. Without his crutch, even his vocabulary lurches back down to the street.

…President Obama has no real experience with Washington in late August, since he’s only spent a grand total of two of them here. You may recall that Barack Obama started his brief Senate career in January, 2005 and he was on the campaign trail last August. My experience is that Washington slows way down after the dog days of summer. The temperature and humidity go way up and everything slows way down here. It’s too hot and sticky to get all “wee-weed up” around here this time of year. Anyone who has spent more than a couple years here, or in any city south of the Mason Dixon line knows how late summer works. President Obama isn’t one of those folks and, they way he’s going, he never will since he’ll be out on the campaign trail again…

My only disagreement with Jimmie is that in my opinion, Obama has NEVER stopped campaigning.

Even his own are seeing through the facade. I guess that Joker face hit a nerve.

Cross-posted at Obi’s Sister

The picture was taken by Wee Highlander on his phone, since I’m gizmo-challenged like that. It absolutely MADE MY DAY.

That swastika on Rep. Scott’s sign? It’s looking more and more like a possible “self-inflicted hate crime.” While he’s getting all sorts of press (just google “david scott swastika”), might I suggest a better way to channel your inner conservative?

Cross-posted at Obi’s Sister

Police break up “conversations” at a peaceable town-hall. What’s next - riot gear and tear gas? Will the canisters have glittery HopeNChange stickers? Elizabeth has an idea:

You know who could put a stop to the bad feelings arising in this country? President Obama, who is supposed to be the leadership. Just as Bill Clinton and Hillary Clinton backed off when they realized America was not into having their Healthcare taken over by the government, Obama could say, “you know, I’m moving kind of fast here, maybe we’ll shelve this for a while and concentrate more on putting people back to work, which is urgent.”

Such a move would be an instant assist to the nation Obama is supposed to be passionate about protecting, preserving and above-all SERVING. It would also mean instant restoration of his fast-fading credibility. Think he’ll do it? Nah.

Funny, isn’t it, that less than a year ago Nancy didn’t mind these swastikas?

Ever the peacemaker, our Gracious Won is rolling out labor union thugs on the town hall attendees. I can just see Guido in an ACORN shirt yanking Grannie’s walker out from under her because she dared asked a question of her Congressman. The MSM will brand her a fringe-element bomb-maker with the magic SS tattoo in a naughty place, thus justifying the blatant fascist squashing of free speech and freedom of assembly.

Lefties think they can get away with anything, especially if it’s made-up (read them all).

The great thing about being a Democrat is that no one can accuse you of not having standards.

And finally, hot off the press, Woody has top-secret intel on the first Obamacare medical device on the market. Really.

UPDATE: Donald Douglas lasers in on the Left’s FEAR. You can almost smell it!

Ace:

She is an immensely stupid woman. Not only is her claim that people are “carrying swastika” standards into these town meetings absurd on its face, but her implication is even more absurd: Bear in mind she thinks the proof these protesters are hired by astroturf firms is that they’re carrying swastikas.

Right. When you hire a bunch of people to pose as ordinary citizens at town halls, of course you give them giant swastikas to carry in on their shoulders. So they’ll blend in.

Cross-posted at Obi’s Sister

As the session began to wind down, Dr. Brian E. Hill, Atlanta-based urologist, turned the question to health care issues. He asked Scott if he intended to vote for House Bill 3200 (the federal health care reform bill). Scott replied, “I don’t know,” and added he was interested in the wishes and thoughts of all the constituents in the 13th District.

But the real story is in the comments!

-Several commenters noted the Pledge was omitted, requested and then had to be redone. Interesting.
- Concerning Rep. Scott’s behavior and demeanor: “…display of arrogance…”, ”…Rep. Scott and his staff got into a shouting match with their constituents…”, “…their representative treated them with disdain and arrogance…”, “…an example of an elected official out of touch with the concerns of the average voters…”, ”
…[the reporter] was in the john that’s why he missed that Scott said he favored the Government Option on healthcare to Dr. Brian Hill…”, “…Congressman Scott [was] “out of order” by his sudden change in demeanor and voice level…”, “…accused those in attendance (who would dare question his stance on HB 3200) that we had ‘Hijacked this meeting’…”, “…quite evident that Congressman Scott does not want to answer to his constituents on HB 3200…”, “Is that what our country has come to? If the officials don’t like the questions, you are called to be out of order and ceremoniously removed from the room?”, “…The police told those who showed up to protest they would be arrested if they picketed…”.
- Selective ramming: “That said, it’s very telling that Congressman Scott said that the Highway 92 project was taking a long time because it was not something that was going to be rammed down the community’s throat without being properly vetted to determine if it was something the citizens want. Yet he is well prepared to vote on changing health care as we know it without ever reading the bill or having it properly vetted by Congress and his consituents. Furthermore, it appears a large percentage of his constituents are against health care reform but he doesn’t seem worried about ramming it down our throats. Talk about hypocrisy and a double standard!!!”
- Money shot: “During Dr. Hill’s comments Scott changed into the state of a “bunker mentality,” you should have seen his face. If looks could kill, Scott would now be in the Douglas County Jail. I can’t decide if Scott was expressing his anger at being challenged for his votes in Congress, or whether he was caught off guard by the anger from his Constituents, or whether he did not understand the issue, or whether he simply did not want to state his opinion on the Health Care issue.”

Amazing, isn’t it? There is an awakening occurring across this nation!

Info on Rep. David Scott (remember we’re watching!):
Home page
govtrack
OpenCongress
Politico

Cross-posted at Obi’s Sister

This is a truly disturbing admission by the President, especially considering that later in the call, Obama promises yet again: “If you have health insurance, and you like it, and you have a doctor that you like, then you can keep it. Period.” How can Obama keep making this promise if he is not familiar with the health legislation that is being written in Congress? Details matter.

For those living under a rock the last few days, Investor’s Business Daily uncovered this nugget in the House Health Care Reform bill:

Right there on Page 16 is a provision making individual private medical insurance illegal.

[...]Under the Orwellian header of “Protecting The Choice To Keep Current Coverage,” the “Limitation On New Enrollment” section of the bill clearly states:

“Except as provided in this paragraph, the individual health insurance issuer offering such coverage does not enroll any individual in such coverage if the first effective date of coverage is on or after the first day” of the year the legislation becomes law.

So we can all keep our coverage, just as promised — with, of course, exceptions: Those who currently have private individual coverage won’t be able to change it. Nor will those who leave a company to work for themselves be free to buy individual plans from private carriers.

Oh, there’s more. Read the whole thing. I’ll wait… with the bucket. All done? Better now?

You’re not safe if you’re on a company plan, either. The companies have five years to remodel their plan to match the public plan. You can bet the government will change rules to keep employers off balance; most will just give up and shovel their employees onto the public option. The TARP transparency (NOT) is a excellent example of the future of how this latest power-grab program will be (mis-)managed.

Not only is this Congress trying to squash our property rights and mobility, they are intent on squashing our quality of life as well. According to the Socialist’s R Us playbook, a demoralized and weakened population is easier to control.

Dr. Helen asks, “He really didn’t say that, did he?” At his fake town hall meeting on health care last month, Jane Sturm had some questions about his health care reform and potential outcomes for her 100 year old mother with a pacemaker. The bottom line of his round-about-non-answer:

“I don’t think that we can make judgments based on peoples’ spirit,” Obama said. … “Maybe you’re better off not having the surgery, but taking painkillers.“

We are in the best of hands, really. I cringe to think what will become of my family.

CNN is actually doing the legwork for their socialist bosses when they ask, “What are you willing to give up?” In the comments are plenty of lemmings, lining up for their Kool-Aid and dying to give even more rights away. Don’t forget: “From each according to his ability, to each according to his need” - Karl Marx

Absolutely the most frightening part of this nightmare is

…Section 1233 of H.R. 3200. The section, titled “Advanced Care Planning Consultation” requires senior citizens to meet at least every 5 years with a doctor or nurse practitioner to discuss dying with dignity.

The section requires that they talk to their doctor, not a lawyer, about living wills, durable healthcare powers of attorney, hospice, etc. Given the progressive intelligentsia already being on the record in favor of euthanizing the elderly, it is no small leap to see where the Democrats are headed with this.

So that’s how The Financier-In-Chief is going to save all that money. Dear heavens, these are PEOPLE, not dogs!

Shortly after the Inauguration, I noted:

The President of the United States should have a love of America so strong, so protective, so compelling, in every fiber of his being, you know that our nation is safe during his tenure. Does he possess a servant’s heart for our land?

Sadly, now we see the answer now is a resounding “NO.” Who would have thought that the current American administration, inheritors of that sacred trust of a “shining beacon of freedom” would be the next regime to resurrect “Lebensunwertes Leben…”

Cross-posted at Obi’s Sister

That American Dream - of owning a home - your own little patch of land where you can raise your kids and plant your roses and wash your car (only on an odd day) and build treehouses and burn your toast…. yeah, well, that’s such an old fashioned notion. Your house isn’t yours anymore - like everything else, it belongs (or will belong soon enough) to the state.

Jimmie hits one out of the park today with his piece at American Issues Project. Read it all and follow the links.

Here’s your bucket. Let me know when you stop heaving. If this piece of garbage passes, and isn’t repealed in the Great Revolt of 2010, guess what? You’ll be stuck in the same house, unless you have the dough to “green” your little bungalow to the state’s satisfaction. Forget getting transferred for a big promotion, or changing jobs and locations for a fresh start, or moving to get away from vile neighbors, dangerous schools, abusive spouses and/or gang terrorism.

This reminds me a bit of the story about a month ago where the Obama Administration wanted to raze rundown neighborhoods, allowing the cities to “shrink” and return sections “back to nature.” It’s the perfect Obama metaphor - his idea of “change” is destroying America, not building America.

If you follow the links from Jimmie’s post, you’ll find this little gem over at the NRO (emphasis mine):

Two main things to understand about Waxman-Markey: First, it will not reduce greenhouse-gas emissions, at least not at any point in the near future. The inclusion of carbon offsets, which can be manufactured out of thin air and political imagination, will eliminate most of the demands that the legislation puts on industry, though in doing so it will manage to drive up the prices consumers pay for every product that requires energy for its manufacture — which is to say, for everything. Second, it represents a worse abuse of the public trust and purse than the stimulus and the bailouts put together. Waxman-Markey creates a permanent new regime in which environmental romanticism and corporate welfare are mixed together to form political poison. From comic bureaucratic power grabs (check out the section of the bill on candelabras) to the creation of new welfare programs for Democratic constituencies to, above all, massive giveaways for every financial, industrial, and political lobby imaginable, this bill would permanently deform American politics and economic life.

This lunacy has to stop while there is still an America to salvage from the ashes. Help us, Obi-Wan Kenobi, you’re our only hope!

Cross-posted at Obi’s Sister

Stacy: “The AmeriCorps IG scandal is the sort of Nixonian evil that sends people to prison prison.”

Michelle: “If Obama keeps up with this “change,” we’ll be back to the Watergate era by Christmas.”

Ed: “This is nothing more than a bare-knuckled smear job, a despicable attempt to use allegations of mental illness to discredit someone who ran afoul of Barack Obama for taking the independence of his job seriously. That may play in Chicago, and it used to play in Moscow, but it shouldn’t play in Washington DC and America.”

Fausta: (Speaking of dementia…) “How about Murtha, and Ted Kennedy, and by the way, how old is Nancy Pelosi?”

John: “…Obama fired him without giving a reason other than his supposed lack of “fullest confidence” in Walpin. This certainly violated the spirit, and may have violated the letter of the 2008 Inspectors General Reform Act, which Obama co-sponsored. (I think it probably did.) This is classic Obama–ignoring a statute which he himself had sponsored just a year earlier.”

The cover-up is always worse than the crime. Follow this story closely, especially how the issue of POTUS violating US law is handled and the involvement of the First Lady.

Cross-posted at Obi’s Sister.

On the way home, we hear of the hostage stand-off between Somali pirates and the great American Navy.  My initial thought was, “Why doesn’t the Navy just blast the buggars out of the water?”  But then reality sank in and I realized this would be Obama’s first real opportunity to “talk.”  Oh, brother.  After more news reports, I pieced together he’d been talking for a while.  Mr. Waffle. Waffle. Waffle. Waffle.

Thomas Jefferson, a Real President, not just one played on TV, knew about pirates.  Pirates from Barbary deviled not only his administration, but those before and after.  Jefferson long deplored the “tribute” payed for American safety a sea, preferring a more military approach (more here, here and here).

As Legal Insurrection notes (in the new HotAir Green Room forum)

The problem is not in this case, which ended successfully, but in the next hostage taking situation. If one is going to follow a negotiation approach, the trust of the hostage takers in the negotiation process is key. If hostage takers believe negotiation is a ruse, then the hostage is in more danger. Words cannot be just words in a negotiation.

So negotiating as a ruse is the worst of all alternatives. It does not have the deterrent effect of the Israeli approach, or the hostage-safety effect of the negotiation approach.

Obama has shown his weakness and inexperience yet again.  DUDE, please start doing your homework.  This wasn’t some thoughtless, tacky gift from the WH giftshop to a foreign official.  THESE ARE THE LIVES OF YOUR CONSTITUENTS!

Easter morning brought good news, but I still have a question.  Did Obama actually make a decision?  Or is this more WH spin when they say he approved the operation?  Or (this is my opinion) did the Navy do its job, the way they are trained to, while the Clueless-in-Chief vacillated?  Frugal Cafe puts my concern into words (excuse me while I raise my voice a bit) [sic]:

I’m deeply worried about how Obama handled, or more accurately, didn’t handle this.

Because despite all his lofty talk about a utopia attained by overtaxing our nation, he never talks about our strength. He is more willing to bash Americans for their “arrogance” while traveling through Europe than to decry the heinous act of kidnapping of a US citizen by murderous pirates. It’s the same old record all the time… we’re not so good and our enemies aren’t so bad. We need to be putting more “skin in the game” and must tolerate and be patient with our enemies, otherwise we’ll be perceived as arrogant or aggressive. I say, so what?

Obama’s slowness to defend the life of an endangered American against pirates spoke volumes about how we’re now being perceived by our enemies.

We aren’t the strong, “don’t dare mess with us” nation we were under so many previous presidents. We’re now looking soft, primarily because of us having a soft, naive leader. A man who is more concerned about his image as a nice guy who will sit down and chat amicably with our radical, bloodthirsty enemies, with no preconditions, than that of a determined, stalwart leader who can make tough decisions quickly when necessary to defend the people of America.  A man who CANNOT LEAD. Our nation is looking like easy pickin’s to the bad guys.

No, our POTUS was too busy with housing and who knows what else to make any kind of decision or to grant our well-trained military permission to take aggressive action until Saturday. Captain Phillips was a distraction to Obama, a monkey wrench thrown into his grand plan to change America as quickly as possible.

He is our PRESIDENT. He needs to ACT like it. Not like some dewy-eyed, self-proclaimed architect of the “tinkering and tearing down” and remaking of our banking system, health system, or free market system… our education system, welfare system, or soon-to-be forced volunteer system… our energy-production system or any thing else under former Pres. Ronald Reagan or George W. Bush that he hates about this country. He is suppose to defend Americans and our Constitution. That is his REAL job description.

The playing with his “toys” of all the machinery of America needed to stop. Being our Commander in Chief had to kick in with all his focus, but Obama just couldn’t do it. Not like he actually meant it. It was like he was still campaigning. Like he wanted to be seen as a “nice guy” to the global community. Protecting his precious legacy by working with lawyers. Lawyers? And that is heart-stoppingly scary. What will an attack on our nation, in far graver proportions, bring about from our POTUS?

He needed to take his time to react and in that reaction, a pseudo-kumbaya, biding-his-time order was issued to our military. I thank God for our quick and precise Navy SEALS and the bravery of Captain Phillips to further risk his life in order to survive. I don’t thank Obama, because he nearly blew it.

Bravo to Captain Phillips. Americans fight back. I only wish Obama did the same.

Today, the pirates passed GO and collected their $200.  They promptly demonstrated their unhappiness at America by firing at a plane carrying a liberal Congressman sympathetic to their cause.  Guess that doesn’t count.

Hmmmm….

Oh, and the dog?  The new media darling that warranted the buckets of ink while Americans were in peril?  The mutt’s name is Bo, which is really short for B.O.  You know, Ba-rack O-bama.  It’s always got to be all about HIM.  Besides his other first, he has to be the most insecure man ever elected to the office.  I think they should have named him JACK, as in “Cap’n Jack.”  And his first act as First Pooch would be to bite President Waffle on the leg.

Update:  BlackFive has the play-by-play.  I think I’m right (see above).

He [Obama] did affirm the military’s authorization to use force if the captain’s life was in danger, but they already would have had that authorization as part of their standard rules of engagement. If there are innocents about to be slaughtered the same reasoning that authorizes self defense also covers an imminent execution unless the ROE specifically forbid it.The AP is making it sound like there was an active rescue ordered by the President. It was not, there was an imminent threat and the local commander gave the order to fire. Good on Obama for ensuring their authorization was clear, but let’s also be clear that he did not authorize or order an active rescue attempt.

Update II:  Jeff Emanuel at RedState proves I AM right!

In other words, today’s success was enabled not by Obama’s good efforts, but by his failure to tie the commander’s hands as tightly as he thought he had.

Hooah!

Cross-posted at Obi’s Sister

The Anchoress has a running-all-day linkathon on the demise of America as we know it.

A little stimuli humor from the mailbag:

Subject: Stimulus Payment Info.
“This year, taxpayers will receive an Economic Stimulus Payment. This is a very exciting new program that is explained in the following Q & A:

Q. What is an Economic Stimulus Payment?
A. It is money that the federal government will send to taxpayers.

Q. Where will the government get this money?
A. From taxpayers.

Q. So the government is giving me back my own money?
A. Only a smidgen.

Q. What is the purpose of this payment?
A. The plan is that you will use the money to purchase a high-definition TV set, thus stimulating the economy.

Q. But isn’t that stimulating the economy of China ?
A. Shut up.

The MSM, still in full swoon, embarrassed themselves at the President’s first prime time press conference.  Not a single, coherent question of the so-called stimulus that will drive our economy straight into the toilet.  Shameful.  But what can you expect from the very same press who after two FULL years of touting this inadequate wannabe, swinging away in the softball cages of political manipulation?  Some of them may only now be realizing (at least some of them) that perhaps, just maybe, Obama wasn’t a good choice.

Obama falls back on his old habits in his first press conference, testing the waters.  He knows that he can outright lie, and he DOES.  No worries; his adoring press will never call him on it.

Victor Davis Hanson notes that we are teetering toward an Obama meltdown (normally I excerpt, but the whole thing is just so good, so here it is):

Some of us have been warning that it was not healthy for the U.S. media to have deified rather than questioned Obama, especially given that they tore apart Bush, ridiculed Palin, and caricatured Hillary. And now we can see the results of their two years of advocacy rather than scrutiny.

We are quite literally after two weeks teetering on an Obama implosion—and with no Dick Morris to bail him out—brought on by messianic delusions of grandeur, hubris, and a strange naivete that soaring rhetoric and a multiracial profile can add requisite cover to good old-fashioned Chicago politicking.

First, there were the sermons on ethics, belied by the appointments of tax dodgers, crass lobbyists, and wheeler-dealers like Richardson—with the relish of the Blago tapes still to come. (And why does Richardson/Daschle go, but not Geithner?).

Second, was the “stimulus” (the euphemism for “borrow/print money”) that was simply a way to go into debt for a generation to shower Democratic constituencies with cash.

Then third, there were the inflated lectures on historic foreign policy to be made by the clumsy political novice who trashed his own country and his predecessor in the most ungracious manner overseas to a censored Saudi-run press organ (e.g., Bush is dictatorial, the Saudi king is courageous; Obama can mend bridges that America broke to aggrieved Muslims—apparently Tehran hostages, Rushdie, serial attacks in the 1990s, 9/11, Madrid, London never apparently occurred; and neither did feeding Somalis, saving Kuwait, protesting Chechnya, Bosnia/Kosovo, billions to Egypt, Jordan, the Palestinians, help in two Afghan wars, and on and on).

Fourth, there was the campaign rhetoric of Bush shredding the Constitution—FISA, Guantánamo, the Patriot Act, Iraq, renditions, etc.—followed by “all that for now stays the same” inasmuch as we haven’t been hit in over seven years and can’t risk another attack.

Fifth, Gibbs as press secretary is a Scott McClellan nightmare that won’t go away, given his long McClellan-like relationship with Obama (McClellan should have been fired on day hour one on the job). Blaming Fox News for Obama’s calamities is McClellan to the core and doesn’t work. He already reminds me of Reverend Wright’s undoing at the National Press Club—and he will get worse.

Six, Biden is being Biden. Already, he’s ridiculed the chief justice, trashed the former VP, bragged on himself ad nauseam in Bidenesque weird ways, and it’s only been two weeks.

And the result of all this?

At home, Obama is becoming laughable and laying the groundwork for the greatest conservative populist reaction since the Reagan Revolution.

Abroad, some really creepy people are lining up to test Obama’s world view of “Bush did it/but I am the world”: The North Koreans are readying their missiles; the Iranians are calling us passive, bragging on nukes and satellites; Russia is declaring missile defense is over and the Euros in real need of iffy Russian gas; Pakistanis say no more drone attacks (and then our friends the Indians say “shut up” about Kashmir and the Euros order no more “buy American”).

This is quite serious. I can’t recall a similarly disastrous start in a half-century (far worse than Bill Clinton’s initial slips). Obama immediately must lower the hope-and-change rhetoric, ignore Reid/Pelosi, drop the therapy, and accept the tragic view that the world abroad is not misunderstood but quite dangerous. And he must listen on foreign policy to his National Security Advisor, Billary, and the Secretary of Defense. If he doesn’t quit the messianic style and perpetual campaign mode, and begin humbly governing, then he will devolve into Carterism—angry that the once-fawning press betrayed him while we the people, due to our American malaise, are to blame.

Even Peggy Noonan appears to be coming to, after her big swig of the pre-election “HopeNChange” Kool-Aid.

If Obama thinks it’s going to get any easier, he is sadly mistaken.  Now that his inexperience, naivety, arrogance and downright ignorance are trumpeted across the airways, our enemies are doing their finest Snidley Whiplash.  Except they are sharpening their swords and priming their bomb fuses - all with America in their sights.

UPDATE: Two must read posts over at Dr. Sanity:  one on assessing potential terror risks in the immediate future (that pesky Cheney, why must he gad about, spouting things that are true?!?!) -

Protecting we the people from the insanity of crazed regimes and lunatic groups who are determined to eliminate as many of us as possible would seem like a critical role for an elected government.

(Ya think?)

We know enough to assess that there are acutely homicidal countries and groups out there who want to wipe us off the map if they can. And, it makes you wonder sometimes if we are the ones who are acutely suicidal.

and one on Obama’s self-abyss of narcissism -

Barack Obama not only has been hailed as a Messiah by the clueless left, he actually seems to think of himself as The One; and the fatal conceit that he knows how to ‘properly’ manipulate the complex system known as the US Economy is nothing but a grandiose narcissistic fantasy that is doomed from the start.

I repeat, he doesn’t have a clue to what he is doing, or what unintended economic consequences he and the Democratic Congress are about to unleash. But, since we are all in this together, we are all about to find out.

…once the stimulus is passed, no matter what happens, we will be on an almost irreversible course toward socialism and economic suicide.

Cross-posted at Obi’s Sister

I’m not the only one seeing cracks in Obama’s shiny finish already - before he even sits in the Oval Office. Stephen Green has a great article up at PJM on Obama’s Very Bad Start. Go read the whole thing.

It seems like our president-elect is keeping himself busy picking unnecessary fights.

To me, it appears that Obama is having trouble keeping the lid on his true colors. He needs to learn as POTUS, his responsibility is now the American people. All of them, not just his base. If he can’t wrap his Harvard-educated brain around that, then we are in big trouble.

True, the Republicans did blow the election for many, many reasons that won’t be covered here. Those reasons are covered by others with more insight than me. The Washington shark tank has lost touch with reality. And its constituents. And the founding principles of this country. And even its neighbors and allies.

As Stephen said

So it’s true — Obama really is bringing people together. He’s bringing them together … against Barack Obama. While it’s true that Republicans got off on the wrong foot this week and last, so did Obama. And if he keeps it up, then the Republicans might not be the minority party for too very much longer.

Many grassroot initiatives are beginning even now. Stay tuned for more.

Cross-posted at Obi’s Sister

Drudge is blaring this as his top headline, but I like Jim’s take on it better.

BUSH Betrayed–Obama Leaks Info from Private Talk

Need I say more? If the man can’t keep one PRIVATE conversation with HIS CoC (yes, remember George Bush is STILL President, and will be for two more months) under wraps, then he has a real credibility problem. This isn’t some beauty pageant or community organizer board meeting. There are things he will learn as POTUS that should never leave the Oval Office, including telling the Angry First Lady. Things that will keep him up all night and the next, too. He will learn of evil so dark and deep, even his icy veins will run cold.

He’s going to have to add the true meaning of PRIVATE to his steep learning curve, in that one slip from him or his staff could endanger American lives.

Moe says

Note that these leaks come from ultimately from the President-elect himself; the article reports that Bush and Obama met without staff. That means that either Obama authorized the leak himself, or he has people who cannot keep their mouths shut. Neither speaks particularly well for the upcoming President’s judgment, and as for his discretion… well. In general, I would suggest that anybody who plans to work with the Obama administration keep in mind that their confidential observations and comments… will not be.

No worries for our enemies - they can layoff the majority of their intelligence operatives. They will happily put that new found capital into full-time bomb factories. After all, all they need is a subscription to the New York Times.

Cross-posted at Obi’s Sister

Welcome back my friends to the show that never ends
We’re so glad you could attend
Come inside! Come inside!
(Emerson, Lake & Palmer - out of the fog of my youth)

You know, I just can’t make this stuff up. Really. I couldn’t if I tried.

Head down work-wise, so there isn’t a lot of time to pay attention outside my little cube. But the news of the last few days is just horrific. Not the news from the talking heads, mind you, because they are stuck in an endless loop spewing ObamaLove. No, I’m talking about the citizen army of bloggers who keep their fingers on the pulse of America and the news we need to hear.

Congress prepared to tuck tail and run….Reid, “no one knows what to do.” Hmmmm. Interesting, isn’t it, that Dems are the first project blame on the Bush administration, when they had an opportunity years ago to help establish market oversight guidelines, but REFUSED. Five years ago.

However, what many do not recall is that Bush wanted to tighten oversight with a new regulatory board for Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and other government recipients for the express purpose of addressing bad loan practices — and Democrats blocked it.

… This should have been a no-brainer, right? With hindsight, we can see that the Bush administration had accurately diagnosed the problem in the lending market and had a plan to address it. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac reluctantly supported the plan. However, Democrats objected…

[...] Sounds a little like the Democratic denial of problems in Social Security, doesn’t it?

[...] It was the Bush administration that wanted to rein in the madness in the credit markets, and the Democrats who wanted to extend the Clinton policies that created the crisis we have now. After the fit hit the shan, as Michelle says, these same Democrats want to shift blame back to the administration that wanted to increase oversight and curtail risk in lending practices while reducing patronage at the giant GSEs.

These very same Democrats, who vamoosed off to high-carbon-footprint vacationland this summer, while defiant Republicans remained in Washington to try to get some media attention on the gas crisis. If you weren’t on the internet, what was the likelihood you’d even hear much about that? Or that Madame Pelsoi tried to shut down the spontaneous eruption of patriotism, repeatedly? (Now remember the endless loop of ObamaLove. Only a hard re-boot can stop that).

These very same Democrats, who allow their psychotic BushHatred to cloud their judgment to the point of pushing this country’s financial markets to the brink of disaster. They cannot comprehend they deserve part of the blame for this mess.

These very same Democrats, who talk out of both sides of their mouths when it comes to corruption in government.

Obama is so far off message now, he needs a GPS to find his way back.

We’re used to the Self-Proclaimed Messiah lying. You won’t see much, if any at all, of that on the networks. They’ll tidy it up for him. Now he’s going after media outlets that dare to differ and telling his crazies to get in people’s faces and argue. We all know how leftist crazies argue.

Yep, a bunch of hysterical Obama cultists and ACORN riff-raff knocking on your door to shout Kossack talking points in your faces, accuse you of racism, call you unpatriotic for not bowing down and forking over more taxes to keep the Mother Ship afloat, and maybe threaten to hack your e-mail, too.

And there you go, the latest sleaze-attack, just when you thought the sleaze couldn’t get any sleazier.

Forget shutting down radio stations, let’s go after some real dirt.

And excuse me, but aren’t the people on the left the ones who have been telling us - without basis - for the last 8 years that “evil nazi Bush” has been “intruding into people’s private correspondences” and that this (if it were happening) would be a bad thing? Can the hypocrisy get any thicker? First Palin is “not a woman”, and “not the mother of her baby,” and all the rest of the looney tunes stuff…now, she is not an American entitled to her privacy? Is she associating with known terrorists? Is that why she was invaded?

This is the step too far that we all knew the left would take. It’s going to backfire on them spectacularly. No reasonable person, and certainly no centrist or independent type, is going to think that this was relevant, or fair, or the way to play the game.

If Obama doesn’t do some serious damage control, very quickly: game over. These idiots have just brought Sarah Palin enormous sympathy. Now, people don’t just empathize with her, they don’t just “understand” who she is…now, they’ll want to PROTECT her. Stupid, stupid, stupid move. And unethical. And immoral.

I wonder what Olbermann and Matthews and Mitchell and the rest will say about it? They’ll probably try to talk about the content of the emails, and get away from the fact that this woman’s privacy, and her family’s has been seriously penetrated. I mean, that’s what the Dems did when someone leaked a memo from the intel committee discussing how to take down Bush via Iraq. The press spouted outraged at the leak, ignored the content. This time, they’ll try to take umbrage at the content, and ignore the leak.

If newscasters are people with children and private families, and in fact, they are, then they should be horrified by this, not gleeful.

It’s all in the intent. According to Michelle Malkin , it was one person, not the usual army of idiots. But still, the damage is done. Little did Palin know the demagoguery her family would be subjected to when she accepted this honor. And yes, I believe it is an honor to be asked to represent your country, at any level. AND, I bet most of America is stunned by how low this campaign has sunk.

RightPundit has more…

According to an internet security expert located in San Francisco, Gabriel Ramuglia, the Palin email hackers were careless and left a digital trail. That trail leads directly to a server site in Chicago which happens to be the city where all of Obama’s men plot their daily moves. Mr. Ramuglia says that their electronic signature will be easily obtained from the server logs at that site.

Mere coincidence or more Obama dirty tricks? Nobody can say yet but we will all know soon.

And why is that?

Those familiar with the FBI understand that they take their time with criminal cases. The FBI methodically develops their evidence over a long period of data gathering, only bringing criminal indictments when they feel there is an overwhelming case. Many cases are dropped or drag on in secret for years because the FBI prizes a high conviction rate.

Not so with the Secret Service which has taken over from the FBI in this case. The Secret Service has one primary mission, which is to protect the individuals under their watch. Their mission is not just physical protection but privacy protection as well. They report directly to the Department of Homeland Security under a no-nonsense director named Michael Chertoff, a Bush political appointee.

Gawker Media published the private emails of a vice presidential candidate under Secret Service protection. Right Pundits wonders if our friends at Gawker understand the stakes. We would not be surprised if their servers are seized within the week and that the individuals responsible are arrested for election tampering. The Secret Service does not dick around with evidence building. They act to protect their subjects.

The AP, willing publisher of several of the items, refuses to cooperate. Of course, why would they? That’s not in the daily script sent over from Obama HQ.

Over at RedState, Moe, as usual, hits the nail on the head. And Thomas reminds the hacker(s) that the prison they are “headed for isn’t one with conjugal visits”.

The intrusion into Sarah Palin’s email inbox was not merely a scummy invasion of privacy. It was also almost certainly a federal crime, one that the FBI and Secret Service are investigating. (And the Secret Service tends to look at this sort of thing … personally.) This isn’t merely part of “politics ain’t beanbag,” it’s criminal. And anyone encouraging these criminals or utilizing the fruits of their crimes is tossing in with the criminals. I think we’ll see in the next couple of days which side the media and Obama’s campaign (but I repeat myself) stand on.

And guys? All that time being scared of John Ashcroft all those years ago? This time, it’s for real.

Game on, cretins.

Cretins, indeed.

Cross-posted at Obi’s Sister

So let’s play a little game… a word game. First, put on your dusty SAT hat and complete the following sentence :

A fork is to food as a Democrat is to ___.

Take your time. Now drag out the old thesaurus and look up a couple of words. You know, words you might use in a descriptive sentence regarding Democrats’ behavior the last couple of days.

While you’re looking, I suggest going over to The Anchoress’ place. She has thoughtfully organized all of her excellent Palin posts linked into one Super-sized Irish Mama thrashing, for your reading pleasure. While you’re done, check out Ace. He has smoked the morons with decidedly stronger language than our genteel Blog Mother. Definitely. Just pick any of a number of posts. (Possibly NSFW, if you have those snoopy filter things or you object to the F-word, even when flame-thrown at deserving Democrats.)

Had time to look up your words? Let’c compare and contrast. The words I looked up (thinking exclusively of the Democrat’s evilness of the last few days) were:

Aghast synonyms: appalled, astounded, dismayed, horrified, horror-struck, shocked, startled, stunned, stupified.

Mortify synonyms: abase, embarrass, humiliate, reporess, shame, torment.

Appalling synonyms: awful, dire, dreadful, frightful, gross, outraged, shocking, terrible, ghastly, horrendous.

Ghastly synonyms: grim, hideous, horrible, horrid, lurid.

By the way, the definition of ghastly is “shockingly repellent.”

Pretty much defines these douchebags in my book.

By the way, if you haven’t heard, Obama’s camp started it all. Bottom-feeders who will say anything because they cannot envision their universe without The Messiah. So much so, they now threaten a race war if Obama loses. I hope to the Heavens above that as this information gets out - it will sink his ship for good.

But back to the game. How did you do? Leave me some words, especially if you think of any more deservingly dastardly than these.

Now… for MY answer to the SAT question above…

A fork is to food as a Democrat is to MANURE.

Cross-posted at Obi’s Sister

Obama, he of the hidden Chicago thuggery politics, empty suit and padded resume…but marketing himself as the Grand Poobah of Change and the self-styled Savior of America, picks Joe Biden for his running mate? Joe Biden really sends a message of Change, there, Obamatrixypooh. Biden reeks of pol-i-tics-as-usual. Not to mention, he is known for talking and talking and talking; he just can’t shut up. And don’t forget about his self-proclaimed “my brain is bigger than yours” conceit. For the moment at least, McCain’s campaign to win just got easier. A lot easier.

Like I said, the jokes will write themselves. Keep the tissues handy. Your liberal Democrat friends will think it is because you’re sad; knowing your man has lost before the first vote is even cast. But you know it is because you’re LYAO 24/7.

Fausta has her usual great round-up, complete with donuts.

Cross-posted at Obi’s Sister.

The Politico:

But what looks like intraparty tension on the surface is part of an intentional strategy in which Pelosi takes the heat on energy policy, while behind the scenes she’s encouraging vulnerable Democrats to express their independence if it helps them politically, according to Democratic aides on and off Capitol Hill.

Pelosi’s gambit rests on one big assumption: that Democrats will own Washington after the election and will be able to craft a sweeping energy policy that is heavy on conservation and fuel alternatives while allowing for some new oil drilling. Democrats see no need to make major concessions on energy policy with a party poised to lose seats in both chambers in just three months — even if recess-averse Republicans continue to pound away on the issue.

“The reality is we will have a new president in three months, and what Bush and the Republicans are trying to do amounts to a land grab for the oil companies,” said one senior House Democratic aide involved with party strategy. “I don’t think we have to give in at all pre-election — we have many more options postelection.”

Counting their chickens before they hatch, they are. Gas prices must not matter when you’re on the taxpayer’s expense account. Instead of taking care of the America’s business, she’s off jetting around the country, hawking her sad little book. How’s that for a carbon footprint?

The Speaker’s plan may backfire yet. John Boehner, the GOP minority House leader calls her bluff by asking Democrats to cross the aisle and vote for drilling. Sign their names to the discharge petitions. Be Brave. Stand up to Cruella.

What bothers me the most is that Pelosi & Company just don’t give a rat’s ass about the rest of us.

Even as they face heat from constituents during the August break, Democrats say they aren’t going to cave in to popular pressure.

“Popular presssure” - isn’t that the wailing of their constituents? Who do they think voted them into this cushy existence anyway? Let them eat cake, indeed.

Perhaps the Democrats need a reminder of WHY they are there.

Cross-posted at Obi’s Sister

Listening to the chorus of fainthearted responses to this week’s New Yorker cover, one gets the impression that satire, like everything else in our sad culture, must now come with a warning label and child-safety latch. Barry Blitt’s slightly overwrought but still amusing illustration, which is even pedantically titled “The Politics of Fear,” features the Obamas fist-bumping in the Oval Office. Michelle is rendered as an AK-47-wielding Angela Davis, Barack is tricked out as a pious Muslim, an Osama Bin Laden portrait hangs on the wall and an American flag burns in the fireplace.

Irony should cut like a rapier, not drop like a Steinway, but still, it’s not hard to appreciate what this pictorial intends. Yet it has got a few supporters of the Illinois senator barking mad.

[...] A basic rule of satire is that if you have to explain your point, even a little bit, you’ve already failed.

[...] A less observed rule of satire concerns its inevitable consequences. No amount of explanation will ensure that the joke won’t still be misconstrued or misunderstood by those destined by cruel nature to do just that. What are the odds that the number of voters who think that the “real” Barack Obama belongs in a Gitmo detention cell has increased since this latest issue of the New Yorker hit newsstands? Anyone who could be converted to those feverish ranks by a mere caricature is going to cause electoral trouble anyway.

We saw with bloody effect, in the aftermath of the Danish cartoon mess, that some audiences are born thick and crude, and that the only sure way to prevent giving “offense” to them is not to do or say anything, anytime, anywhere. It was argued then by correct-thinking types who claim to be on the side of art and literature and free expression that those cartoonists were right-wing bigots who needlessly provoked their own attempted murders. Now a highbrow liberal weekly in the United States is being assailed by the bien-pensant because it failed to dumb down its characteristically mordant daubing.

So much for the idea that sophistication is moored to progressive politics.

Like bad jokes from a reality TV comedian contest, Obama still doesn’t get it. It was HIS choice to step into the public limelight, the mother of all public limelights, in fact, by entering the race for the American Presidency. This isn’t the 1920’s, where campaigns are run from smoky rooms and speeches made from cabooses in every little town between here and Topeka. This is the first decade of the 21st century, where every outfit, tie, hair, zit, accessory, shoelace and breath of the Annointed is recorded and photographed and you-tubed for three dimensional examination for proof that he is the second-coming. And some Democrats are beginning to see that he is NOT:

After a brief bout of Obamamania, some Capitol Hill Democrats have begun to complain privately that Barack Obama’s presidential campaign is insular, uncooperative and inattentive to their hopes for a broad Democratic victory in November.

“They think they know what’s right and everyone else is wrong on everything,” groused one senior Senate Democratic aide. “They are kind of insufferable at this point.” (Politico)

Obama is the very worst kind of politician, not some new, improved variety, and it is wise to remember that every organization is a mirror of its leader.

If this man is elected (which he won’t be; his shortcomings are so severe) this would be the type of Administration we could expect: Swaggering braggadocio on an epic scale accompanied by an infantile self-confidence born of nothing.

A thick-as-asphalt-skin is requirement numero uno to run for President. Michelle Malkin thinks he’s overreacting. Then she lists just a small sampling of the cartoons that others in public office have had to endure lately. You didn’t hear THEM crying to media,complaining and whining that “it offends me”. Get a life!

To add insult to injury, he continues to flip-flop on every issue, like we are a nation full of lemmings incapable of an original thought. How can you explain a simple literary device that your average eighth grader excels in, to a politician who can’t pick a stance and stick with it more than a few days. The latest belly-flop involves his website, which now has been scrubbed of any Surge criticism. That was a pretty big job; must have really reduced his bandwidth requirements! Erick at Redstate compares Obamaworship with another questionable religion, Scientology.

When the situation in Iraq was going badly, Barack Obama wanted us to retreat. When the surge took hold and the situation in Iraq improved, Barack Obama wanted us to retreat. No turn in Iraq went unstoned in Obama’s commitment to retreat and surrender.

Not any more. Obama has thrown his old positions under the bus. And, for a guy whose campaign claims to get the net, he’s done an extremely dumb thing — he purged his website of his former positions. Apparently he’s never heard of a cache.

The presumed Democratic nominee replaced his Iraq issue Web page, which had described the surge as a “problem” that had barely reduced violence.

“The surge is not working,” Obama’s old plan stated, citing a lack of Iraqi political cooperation but crediting Sunni sheiks - not U.S. military muscle - for quelling violence in Anbar Province. . . .

Obama’s campaign posted a new Iraq plan Sunday night, which cites an “improved security situation” paid for with the blood of U.S. troops since the surge began in February 2007.

It praises G.I.s’ “hard work, improved counterinsurgency tactics and enormous sacrifice.”

Gone are Obama’s days of criticizing the surge, which he claimed was sure to fail. It’s like L. Ron Hubbard writing Scientology. Every aspect of the religion is subject to revision until it is published for Tom Cruise to jump on a couch and attract creepy cultists and far left automatons. And even then the second edition can edit out inconvenient gibberish the Messiah originally wrote some staffer accidentally inserted without the foreknowledge or permission of the Messiah.

Is there no position this man will not take that he will later repudiate? Is there nothing this man will not say or do to get elected?

That’s what inexperience and ineptitude get you. Always having to tuck tail and run the other way as fast as you can. This is what we lawyers sometimes denote as a “continuing pattern and practice.”

Oops, missed a couple there, buddy.

Buzz Brockway writes Obama a letter, asking why he has a “pre-determined agenda” for his fact-finding mission overseas multiple photo-op campaign with tyrants who hate America to Iraq and Afghanistan? Will he change his mind again, saying he misspoke or misphrased this or that when he gets back?

Third, How the HELL can you take an information gathering junket to Iraq and Afghanistan with a predetermined agenda? So you’re going to spend my tax dollars and waste time, fuel and Secret Service security to tell me that you want to end the war? Barack, no one and I repeat, NO ONE wants that war to last any longer than is necessary to achieve victory- a stable, democratic and peaceful country. If you want to make this a charade so you can say you have been there and you still want a unilateral withdrawal, save the effort and just make another speech!

The Anchoress explains being Presidential, for the satirically challenged:

The Office of the American President was not created for pageantry, and the man (or woman) voted into it is not there to be “loved.” He is there to protect and defend his nationals and and articulate the primacy of human liberty throughout the world, even if he never gets much credit for it. Kosovo loves Bill Clinton. Iraq loves George W. Bush.

Nations and people who have lived under jackboot and tyranny always love the American President. And nations ruled by tyrants have always loved his foes.

So Barack, if you can stop checking your pants the mirror, you’ll find an excellent example of “…protect…defend…articulate the primacy of human liberty throughout the world, even if he never gets much credit for it…”, in the Oval Office right now. Not only has he suffered the slings and arrows of outrageous SATIRE over the last eight years, he can spell it and use it in a sentence. So he just beat you at the spelling bee! Try not to be offended or change your answer. Again.

Cross-posted at Obi’s Sister