I was hoping Pres. Obama would bring Joe Biden along, because he'll laugh at anything...Romney at the Alfred E. Smith Memorial Foundation Dinner
- As I read the news yesterday that welfare spending grew by 32% over the last four years (bringing that spending to $1.3T), I found that news deeply disturbing---for America. This spending is more than what we pay out in Social Security and defense. And the Obama administration, along with so many other failures in policy, has done nothing to remediate this problem.
- No one can argue, that safety nets for the poor in any society are essential. In fact, it's undeniable that we are an exceedingly generous nation to our poor. Medicaid alone is almost $300B. Food stamp spending is approaching $80B a year. We are also a nation that's believes in ourselves, believes in pulling up our own boot straps. Yet, when we have neighbors, friends and family in trouble, we have safety nets in place to help them get back on their feet. In addition to generous government outlays, faith-based and charitable agencies play a key role in this area.
- But something has changed in the last several years. There are simply too many people "gaming" the system. For them, instead of these programs helping bridge that period of unemployment or just bad breaks to employment and financial independence, the programs have become a permanent fixture in their lives. They've taken that safety net and turned it upside down and converted it into a hammock. Even mores disturbing, the government enables this process to happen in a period when we are $16T in debt and living on a lot of borrowed capital.
Arlen Specter Switches Affiliation From Alive To Dead At The Last Minute...The Onion politics
- I still believe most women know there is no war on women by Romney. There never has been. But one can make a case a war on women has been waged by the Obama administration. And facts bear this out from DOL. Over 450,000 women have lost their jobs since Obama took office (the unemployment rate for teenage women is currently at 20%). More than 25 million women now live in poverty, an increase of almost 4 million since Obama took office. Anita Dunn, who worked for the president as his former communications director, said of the White House, "This place would be in court for a hostile workplace...to women." The View. "Even when women are in the room with Obama. They are sometimes seen but not heard." Time {"The White House Boys' Club: Pres. Obama Has A Women Problem."}. There are many, many more examples but they are from unnamed sources, so I won't reference those here. However, they were exposed in the media. The Washington Post wrote a piece in 2011 about this issue.
- And, of course, just this week, the Obama campaign threw Hillary Clinton under that already crowded undercarriage of Obama's bus.
Millions Head To Internet To Figure Out Their Own Opinions About The Debate...The Onion
- I'll tell you what's really pissing me off. Politicians always having to pander to the undecided knuckleheads. In the last few weeks of almost every election, it's about these knuckleheads. If you're still undecided this late in the election cycle, you're a knucklehead. You've had almost 4 years to make up your mind and you're still undecided? I have a suggestion: don't vote. It'll alleviate your anxiety about making a decision.
- Regarding these knuckleheads, MSNBC presstitutes have to be shaking their heads today. In their focus group, undecideds said Romney won the debate. The Fox focus group of undecideds came to the same conclusion.
- I want to take a moment to reference the moderator last night, Ms. Candy Crowley. As I watched the debate last night (a debate, Romney won on points), it looked like Romney was debating both the president and Crowley. In one major blunder, as Romney was ready to give Obama a devastating upper-cut on Benghazi, she decided to ring the bell. In her attempt to save Obama, she bungled the facts about the administration's handling of the Benghazi attack. Following that exchange, she picks out question out of the blue regarding automatic weapons(She interrupted Romney in the middle of making a point 28 times She interrupted Obama 9 times). After the debate, she admitted she was mistaken regarding what Obama said immediately after the Benghazi attack (Romney said the president did not refer to the attack as an act of terror. Obama did use the word "terror," but he was referring to 9/1101 not 9/11/12. And if Obama was referring to 9/11/12 why did all his subordinates continue blaming the attack on a non-existent film days later?) It was not Crowley's role to be a fact-checker. That's left up to the debaters and the pundits.
The Obama campaign has a new strategy. They've gone from "hope and change" to "smirk and giggle."...Leno
- There is something to say about "leading from behind." The buck never reaches your desk. I don't think Americans have ever witnessed a president of the United States who didn't take responsibility as much as Obama. Yesterday Hillary Clinton took responsibility for the security at the embassy in Benghazi. She's right in that respect. She is the Secretary of State. She's wrong in this respect. The President of the United States is ultimately responsible for the security of all Americans. The President gets intelligence briefings every day (although he failed to attend over 50% of them this year). Communications from security personnel on the ground in Libya---dating back a year---asked for more security personnel. There were multiple terrorist attacks in or around consulate property in the days and weeks preceding the 9/11/12 attack. I cannot imagine any intelligence briefings concerning Libya did not reference those issues and events. Hillary, in my opinion, was not thrown under the bus. She was thrown on her sword. How does she benefit from this? This is purely a political move to protect Pres. Obama. I don't believe it's going to work.
- In 2008, when Hillary was running against Obama, she reminded him: "The buck stops at the Oval Office."
- President Obama still has to be asked: What did he know about the attack? When did he know it? Who is really to blame for refusing requests for additional security (yes, Hillary took the blame, but she didn't mention who refused those requests and why). Perhaps Romney will ask those questions tonight.
- Speaking of Hillary, this recent episode cannot help Obama with women voters. In fact, in USA TODAY, a piece entitled, "Women Push Romney Into Lead," says it all. Romney now leads Pres. Obama by four points among likely voters in battleground states. Women are largely responsible for that shift toward Romney (as recently as just a few months ago, Obama had an 18 percentage point lead over Romney with women. That's evaporated. Pew now shows both tied with female voters, 47-47%). Even a Democrat pollster, Celinda Lake, had to admit: "Women went into the debate actively disliking Romney They came out thinking he might understand."
- According to USA TODAY/Gallup, among women, after abortion, the most important issues to them are jobs, health care and the economy. Among men, it's jobs, economy, deficit/balanced budget, health care and taxes.
- Quinnipiac Univerity Poll, that had Obama up by 11 points as recently as a month ago in Pennsylvania, is reporting today Obama's lead there has also evaporated to just 4 points, 50-46%. (These polls still have me scratching my head. How can they have had Obama up by that much just about a month ago?).
- Even NPR is reporting today that Romney has near landslide numbers in rural swing states 59-37%. Observers say Romney is close to off-setting Obama's lead in urban areas with these recent numbers in rural states. The common belief is that a 60% majority does that.
- Some other numbers that don't bode well for Obama. In 2008, 72% of young voters (18-29) said they would definitely vote. It's now down to 63% today. In 2008, 77% of Latinos said they will definitely be voting. It's now down to 59% (their actual turnout in 2008 was 50%). Among Obama supporters, 73% are extremely likely to vote. Among Romney voters, it's 86%. Pew
- "There has not been one day during the entire Obama presidency when as many Americans were working as the day Pres. Bush left office." Thomas Sowell
Eloquent Biden Brings Entire Audience To Tears In Debate Stunner...The Onion Politics
- I contend, and I believe many Americans would agree, the Benghazi scandal is far more harmful than Watergate was. For one very conspicuous reason, no one died in the Watergate scandal. Also, Watergate did not involve our enemy (yes, I know Nixon had an "enemy list" but I don't recall anyone in the Nixon administration using IED's, human suicide bombers or chopping any heads off). We all now know most of the story (you can revisit my previous posts for a summary). We know about 16 security personnel were pulled out of Libya in August. We know the head of security personnel on the ground requested for more security. He received no response from the State Department. We know there were over a dozen terrorist attacks either near or close to the consulate prior to the 9/11/12 attack. We know, contrary to what the administration was telling us, the on-ground security personnel knew the attack was a terrorist attack "immediately." Yet, the administration continued using a non-existent anti-Muslim film as a reason for the attack. We also know that intelligence documents and weapons from the CIA safe-house in Benghazi were looted (just last week, masked gunmen shot and killed a security officer who worked at the U.S. embassy in Yemen. Coincidence? I don't think so). Al-Qaeda now has the names of our operatives in Libya including double-agents.
- And all does not bode well for the rest of Obama's foreign policy. Al-Qaeda threats are growing in Nigeria, Mali, Afghanistan and likely Syria. Islamists have taken root in Egypt. Iran keeps threatening the U.S. and Israel. It appears Russia has said the hell with "reset" and are going off in their own direction (like supporting Iran). And, in Asia, China is becoming an even bigger player. Of course, the European Union has their own financial problems. The bottom line: it appears Obama's foreign policy is failing globally.
- We know Obama has thrown people under the bus (his own grandmother, Rev. Wright are just a few). Now, it appears the administration is trying to throw the CIA and the State Department under the bus regarding what happened in Benghazi. Slo Joe Biden claimed the White House only responded to the information given them by our intelligence agencies. And Hillary Clinton told reporters that her agency was not the source for the misinformation concerning the attacks on the embassy.
- Update on Rham Emanuel's Chicago: 25 wounded and 5 dead just this weekend. It's safer in Baghdad.
