Archives for the 'Obama' Category
Hard Truths
Published on 10 Dec 2009 at 9:50 am.
1 Comment.
Filed under Obama, moronocy.
I was wondering how Obama was going to square his neo-Bushism with the Obamadoration in Oslo. It’s “Just War” and “hard truths.” NYT:
Obama FAIL
Published on 10 Dec 2009 at 9:42 am.
No Comments.
Filed under Obama, pols.
The president and the Dems are delighted with the Senate’s latest health care round, which ditches the unpopular govenrment-expanding public option in favor of massively expanding expanding government. NYT. But look who wants him to fail. (In fairness, FireDogLake* actually wants the president to stick to his principles as laid out in the campaign, during [...]
Gates Uses The “W” Word
Published on 8 Dec 2009 at 7:50 am.
1 Comment.
Filed under Afghanistan, Obama.
In Afghanistan, “We’re in this thing to win.” It’s great news, if in fact it reflects the position of the Obama administration. Washington Post:
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The Same, Yet Different
Published on 7 Dec 2009 at 8:28 am.
1 Comment.
Filed under Afghanistan, Obama, military.
Everyone gets a win as the Washington Post explains how Obama didn’t actually change McChrystal’s plan when he short-sheeted it by 25 percent, cut the growth rate of Afghan troops, and insisted on an 18-month window. What he did was ”focus our resources,” ”narrow the mission,” and “refine the goal” from “defeating” to “degrading” the Taliban.
Cynics might [...]
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30,000
Published on 6 Dec 2009 at 9:32 am.
4 Comments.
Filed under Afghanistan, Obama.
It’s no “300″ scenario … the Spartans bought time to let the Greeks fight decisively another day, after all, not to withdraw from that endless, tiresome, anguish-inducing, politician-bothering Greco-Persian conflict. And these 30,000 don’t face annihilation as the 300 did when Leonidas angled his critical end run around a foot-dragging Spartan council.
But the nagging issue of the president’s [...]
Hammer, Meet Anvil
Published on 5 Dec 2009 at 2:14 pm.
5 Comments.
Filed under Afghanistan, Obama, military.
It’s 3/4 Marines* and 3rd Recon, working on both ends of Helmand’s Now Zad valley with a Taliban concentration, communication and supply lines in the middle. It’s the first large unit combat use of Ospreys, used to drop Marines behind the Taliban at the north end of the valley while other Marines push north from their base [...]
Words & Deeds
Published on 4 Dec 2009 at 8:11 am.
6 Comments.
Filed under Afghanistan, Obama, history, military.
A combat-embedded Harvard-trained historian executes an academic takedown on Obama’s West Point speech. What follows is a guest post from Richard F. Miller, author of In Words and Deeds: Battle Speeches in History. I picked up Miller’s book the other day, intrigued by the idea of a military historian who takes his deadly subject matter seriously enough that he [...]
Hippy Days Are Here Again!
Published on 3 Dec 2009 at 1:13 pm.
3 Comments.
Filed under Obama.
When they said a vote for Obama was a vote to bring back the values of the 1960s, they were right! First Tom Hayden,* now Bill Ayers: “I am here demonstrating against the war because once again we are escalating the war. The idea that there are benchmarks for getting out is a myth and a [...]
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Fog Of War
Published on 3 Dec 2009 at 9:11 am.
1 Comment.
Filed under Afghanistan, Obama.
Withdrawal will be based on conditions on the ground … in Washington. That’s the best battlefield assessment I can offer, amid the fog of DC war, after scrutinizing this scrambled transmission via CBS’ Political Hotsheet. White House: July 2011 is Locked In For Afghan Withdrawal.
Obama-Cheney White House
Published on 3 Dec 2009 at 8:37 am.
2 Comments.
Filed under Obama, pols.
So much for the openness. Obama, on the heals of his Bush-lite surge, starts taking cues from Cheney, cites executive privilege, blocks testimony before Congress re Crashgate. You’d almost think he had a Scooter Libby problem. NYT:
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Granolakrieg!
Published on 3 Dec 2009 at 12:29 am.
4 Comments.
Filed under Afghanistan, Germans, Obama, commies.
Here are a couple that come at the same target from two different directions. First, my new favorite Kraut, Gabor Steingart, drives his Panzer through Obama’s speech. Then, we’ll strap on the granola feedbag for a ride with an old-school American commie symp … Tom Hayden … who’s leveling his old Chicom flamethrower at his own Obama bumpersticker. Yeah, it’s [...]
Obama’s War
Published on 1 Dec 2009 at 11:30 pm.
9 Comments.
Filed under Afghanistan, Obama.
About that speech, I heard it refered to by one Obama fan as “steadfast.” Once you get past the stealth Bush-bash, the excuse-making, the subtle apologies, and the overall half-heartedness, I guess. There was the steadfast decision to nickel and dime the commander in the field, and the steadfast timetable. I’d hate to be a grunt in some remote outpost, [...]
Can’t Make Everyone Happy
Published on 1 Dec 2009 at 8:30 am.
1 Comment.
Filed under Afghanistan, Obama.
And when you try, you generally don’t make anyone happy. Right-left roundup starts with Politico: Dick Cheney slams Obama for projecting “weakness.”
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Life Under The Bus
Published on 1 Dec 2009 at 7:48 am.
No Comments.
Filed under Obama.
Aunti Zeituni says he never writes, never calls. Won’t get into whether he ever did. AP via Boston Herald. Unclear why the illegal alien, under a deportation order for the last five years but still living in public housing, is opening up now. It’s all pretty sad. And you know, it’s not like it’s that hard to [...]
Moore To Obama, Come In Please Obama
Published on 30 Nov 2009 at 1:16 pm.
11 Comments.
Filed under Obama.
Sight unseen, I’m gonna go out on a limb and call Michael Moore’s Open Letter to President Obama a must-read. OK, give me a minute to scan the thing. Here goes. I’m going to live-mock it, line by line, graph by graph:
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Strategic Vision
Published on 30 Nov 2009 at 8:38 am.
4 Comments.
Filed under Afghanistan, Obama.
Or the lack of it. NYT: Obama’s Afghan strategy envisions an exit. How about envisioning a win?
Barn Door Check
Published on 29 Nov 2009 at 7:54 am.
2 Comments.
Filed under Afghanistan, Bush, Obama, al qaeda, history.
John Kerry, at the helm of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, determines the barn door’s open. New report finds the Bush admin bollixed it when they let bin Laden get away.
So, eight years later, what’s the point?
No Dithering Around
Published on 28 Nov 2009 at 9:27 am.
10 Comments.
Filed under Obama, TV.
Decisive presidential action as O leaps into action, orders a full review of how the reality TV crashers managed to take over his party, make him look silly. Politico:
American (Double-Reverse) Gorbie
Published on 27 Nov 2009 at 10:16 am.
2 Comments.
Filed under Afghanistan, Obama, Russia, history, military.
Weird, paradoxical Wall Street Journal article about SecDef Robert Gates’ Afghan war flashbacks notes some of the fundamental differences between the U.S. and Soviet experiences — legitimacy, broad international support, orders of magnitude difference in civilian and military casualties — but only pays passing lip service to the most relevant one under the circumstances. Gen. McChrystal is [...]
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O Presidency Shark Jumped
Published on 26 Nov 2009 at 11:04 pm.
6 Comments.
Filed under America, Obama.
Never mind the schlocky Oprah-Obama Christmas special. I’m pretty sure this means the Obama admin … and maybe even the presidency of the United States … has jumped the shark. NYT: Bravo films reality TV wannabes crashing Obama’s state dinner.
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“I Have Seen The Enemy And I’m Thinking About It”
Published on 25 Nov 2009 at 10:09 am.
5 Comments.
Filed under Afghanistan, Obama, history.
Brit defense minister, annoyed with the dithering. UK Telegraph. Apparently counting daisies while soldiers are pushing them up is deemed politically awkward.
Look, the Brits may have a history of going off half-cocked against assorted Normans, Corsicans, Nazis and what have you, but they apparently don’t fully appreciate the way we Americans fight our wars. Historic U.S. precedents for painstakingly mulling action:
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All In Good Time
Published on 24 Nov 2009 at 9:38 am.
4 Comments.
Filed under Afghanistan, Obama, military.
Three months later, the president is gearing up to give his field commander what he asked for. Sort of. McClatchy is still reporting it’s going to be 34,000 … a figleaf of futzing around to justify all the dithering. Sure hope those 34,000 aren’t going to look to their right and left and wish they [...]
More Like Bush
Published on 23 Nov 2009 at 11:27 am.
3 Comments.
Filed under Europe, Obama, asia, dummkopf!.
Cowboy diplomacy, back in vogue? We’ve already noticed that Eurobamadoration has its limits … they like their Americans to bow and carry a big stick … and all that kowtowing got him nowhere in Asia. Now Gabor Steingart takes another jab at him at Der Spiegel, suggests O’s getting ready to trade in his tired Carter nag for a Bush pony: [...]
RMS Global Warmic
Published on 23 Nov 2009 at 6:55 am.
3 Comments.
Filed under Obama, pols, warmalism.
Obama admin’s full-speed-ahead on reordering our economy mid-recession with an onerous and controversial health-care initiative threatens to throw off-course the Obama admin’s efforts to reorder our economy mid-recession with an onerous and highly controversial climate-change initiative. Politico explains … but neglects to mention the iceberg:
Home For Christmas!
Published on 20 Nov 2009 at 11:38 am.
2 Comments.
Filed under Afghanistan, Obama.
Come on. That’s so old war. Here’s the Obama age take on the old wartime troop-rallying standby. No rush, guys, no decision before Thanksgiving. Fox.
President Obama will not announce a decision on his war strategy in Afghanistan before Thanksgiving, his aides told Fox News on Thursday.
The latest development on the fate of up to 40,000 U.S. [...]
Crazy Is As Crazy Blogs
Published on 20 Nov 2009 at 10:48 am.
7 Comments.
Filed under Obama, blogs, hacks.
OK, indulge my obsessed-lefty obsession for a minute. A quick wellness check on two of my favorite serious, thoughtful, expert moonbat commentators, Glenn Greenwald and Andrew Sullivan. First Sullivan, a professional political observer whose mental health we’ve been closely monitoring (and whose Daily Dish since resuming “as normal” yesterday has racked up no fewer than 23 Palin posts), [...]
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Lefties For Palin
Published on 20 Nov 2009 at 8:06 am.
2 Comments.
Filed under Obama, pols.
It’s a kind of post-feminist shout-out. “Democrat goes rogue, declares Palin’s book ’great’!” Sandra Tsing-Loh at Salon:
Belichick’s KSM Moment
Published on 17 Nov 2009 at 8:46 am.
1 Comment.
Filed under Boston, Obama, sports.
How bad was it? So bad that Ed Morrissey at Hot Air ventured out of war and politics to bash Bill Belichick over the last-minute bollixing of the Pats-Colts game.
That Rattling Noise You Hear
Published on 17 Nov 2009 at 6:50 am.
1 Comment.
Filed under GWOT, Obama, al qaeda.
Is the sound of this news knocking around inside Obama’s tin ear. Two-thirds of Americans want KSM tried in military court. CNN:
Read ‘That Rattling Noise You Hear’
L’Etat C’est O
Published on 16 Nov 2009 at 7:56 am.
1 Comment.
Filed under Afghanistan, Obama.
Have your fun with O’s full-body kowtow to the delightful Mr. Akihito, who really does look like a pleasant old gent. When it comes to the important things, his Omperial Majesty won’t bow to pressure. He’s maintained a spine of steel in his refusal to decide what the heck he’s going to do in Afghanistan, and Politico notes [...]
NixOnian!
Published on 16 Nov 2009 at 7:12 am.
2 Comments.
Filed under Japan, Obama.
Ha! ABC’s Jack Tapper says that while Obama was laying it on a little thick, Nixon did it first. Only he did it right. Nixon gave Hirohito a polite nod, not the human origami act “in the form of a first year English teacher trying to impress with Karate Kid-level knowledge of Japanese customs” that the current president [...]
The Importance Of Being Difficult
Published on 15 Nov 2009 at 2:34 pm.
2 Comments.
Filed under Obama, pols.
Jennifer Rubin at Commentary, channeling Bill Kristol, on the efficacy of “No.” If conservatives were at sea a few months back in the wake of defeat, trying to figure out who they were and what their agenda was supposed to be, that may be in part because the importance of saying “No” and what should be said “No” [...]
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Those Who Re-Invent History
Published on 14 Nov 2009 at 9:57 am.
4 Comments.
Filed under Obama, asia, history.
Are doomed to bollix it. Politico, with “America’s First Pacific President,” on the current president’s latest self-aggrandizement, diminishment of his predecessor, and creative rewriting of history:
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Because Every Circus Needs A Ringmaster
Published on 13 Nov 2009 at 10:23 am.
4 Comments.
Filed under Jihad, Obama, al qaeda, justice, terrorists.
USS Cole, 9/11 plotter to be tried in New York. So the anti-war left finally gets the Bush-Cheney trial is has so desperately wanted, Judge Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, A.Q., presiding.
It would be easy to get depressed about the prospect of unlawful combatants, war criminals, being afforded all the rights and privileges of American citizens in a civilian court. But [...]
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Priorities Straight?
Published on 13 Nov 2009 at 8:40 am.
1 Comment.
Filed under Afghanistan, Obama.
The media seems to get it, at some level. The big news out of Japan, Obama addresses the dithering charge. Washington Post:
The Surprising Re-Learning Of Vietnam
Published on 13 Nov 2009 at 8:17 am.
Comments Off.
Filed under Afghanistan, Obama, military, vietnam.
Maybe that should be “The Surprising Un-Learning of Vietnam.” Newsweek’s new cover article, “The Surprising Lessons of Vietnam,” is the latest high-profile media effort not to let our politicians lose another war politically. Subhead in the hard copy:
The most surprising lesson is not that wars of this kind are unwinnable, but that “You must fight to win.”
It [...]
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Advance To The Rear!
Published on 12 Nov 2009 at 7:38 am.
9 Comments.
Filed under Afghanistan, Obama.
It’s not quite a strategic retreat, more of a retreat into strategizing as Obama dithers about the dithering, informs his national security team it’s back to Square One. Scratch everything, back to the drawing board. He wants to stop thinking about the war until he can figure out the peace part. OK, that may not be exactly how senior administration officials [...]
Great Words, Great Deeds
Published on 11 Nov 2009 at 8:02 am.
4 Comments.
Filed under Obama, courage, military.
It was a good speech. He said all the right things and didn’t say any of the wrong ones. White House transcript. It’s being hailed as the “best ever,” but they seem to say that every time he opens his mouth. Unlike his other great rhetorical moments, no one gets thrown under the bus in this [...]
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Courageous!
Published on 8 Nov 2009 at 10:26 pm.
3 Comments.
Filed under Obama, courage, hacks.
House votes 220-215 to entirely reorder a vast portion of our economy, plus create massive new entitlements someone will have to pay for. NYT is keen to explain that it would have passed by more, but … 39 Dems come from districts that don’t want it. Also via NYT: Obama calls the House vote “courageous.”
Laparoscopic War Strategizing
Published on 8 Nov 2009 at 10:44 am.
4 Comments.
Filed under Afghanistan, Obama.
O’s advisors are working up three options Afghanistan troop options. Glad to hear he’s still working on that. I was a little concerned that, like some other federal agents, his eye was off the al-Qaeda ball. Here’s the status of the last three months of war strategizing, via NYT. Sounds like he’s taking pains to [...]
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The Audacity Of D’oh
Published on 7 Nov 2009 at 9:32 am.
No Comments.
Filed under Obama.
Mary Katharine Ham at the Weekly Standard on White House flack Gibbs’ exasperation … “Imagine just a few years ago had somebody walked around with images of Hitler” … helpfully points out that they did. Also observes more redneck bashing and comments, “I guess this is what they meant by ‘audacity.’”
Meanwhile, Jules Crittenden at the Weekly Standard, “Obama’s [...]
The Phillies Won!
Published on 5 Nov 2009 at 11:37 am.
1 Comment.
Filed under Obama, baseball, pols.
I would approve of this fine snark at Legal Insurrection, but then I’d have to think the New York Yankees and their Evil Empire are the GOP of baseball, and I can’t do that. As long as we’re plumbing the baseball-sports nexus, hope to change ”There’s always next year” to “There’s also next year.”
Speaking of next year, [...]
Did O’s Re-Invented Politics Bubble Just Pop?
Published on 5 Nov 2009 at 10:00 am.
No Comments.
Filed under Obama.
Flip side of that ancient “All Politics Is Local” wisdom, and Gibbs’ claim that it isn’t. The reinvented-politics dotcom startup has been looking a little inflated ever since it failed to mobilize for the stimulus or health care. So did it just get its shoe-leather, bricks-and-mortar, pocketbook issues comeuppance? Maybe ear-to-ear bandwidth, glitzy graphics and a catchy slogan isn’t enough.
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All Politics Is Local
Published on 5 Nov 2009 at 8:39 am.
1 Comment.
Filed under Obama, pols.
Congratulations, New Jersey and Virginia. You’re Obamically insignificant! Gibbs, Virginia and New Jersey politics are local. via CNN:
Hope And Shrimp Tacos
Published on 5 Nov 2009 at 7:46 am.
3 Comments.
Filed under Obama.
You get the presidency if you buy everyone else shrimp tacos. via Director Blue.
Economic Stimulation
Published on 5 Nov 2009 at 12:01 am.
3 Comments.
Filed under Obama, money.
Never mind the inflated job counts and pay raises counted as jobs saved. I’m still stuck on the subsidies to social service agencies counting as economic stimulus part. That’s not economic stimulus. That’s welfare. AP.
O No!
Published on 4 Nov 2009 at 10:52 am.
4 Comments.
Filed under Obama.
He had a bad day. The lefty chatter is that it was all local politics. Which is true, somewhat, maybe, though you can’t exactly have it both ways when your messiah commits himself to the local races. Reynolds rubs it in at NY Post: “The Obama magic has faded.”
DC Cabbies Like McChrystal
Published on 3 Nov 2009 at 9:28 am.
1 Comment.
Filed under Afghanistan, Obama, cabbies.
3-2. Lydia Khalil at the Washington Post:
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The Obama Work-Out
Published on 3 Nov 2009 at 8:40 am.
No Comments.
Filed under Obama.
This really is a new era of hope and change, when the president looks better, more relaxed after taking office than he did before. What’s his secret? Drudge: High-stress basketball, rigorous gym workouts. And lots of golf! It’s that simple. Here’s the best part: It’s taxpayer funded and helps him avoid responsibility! (Important: Avoid straining yourself on [...]
Bush Bad
Published on 2 Nov 2009 at 11:35 pm.
1 Comment.
Filed under Afghanistan, Obama.
O’s GWOT-handling public approval numbers just hit pre-Surge levels. Only 34 percent think we’re winning. The American public hasn’t had this dim a view of American war leadership since January 2007. That’s not just bad. That’s Bush bad. Rasmussen.
Maybe it’s because, from Guantanamo to Afghanistan, he isn’t handling the GWOT. WSJ, on Karzai’s new term and Obama’s as-yet unmade [...]
