Tag: obama

Obama’s ‘new’ tack: everything is Bush’s fault.

Be grateful that the Washington Post is at least catching up to the rest of us.

It will come to a surprise to some that apparently the former administration is now the font of every economic evil…

Obama’s New Tack: Blaming Bush

In his inaugural address, President Obama proclaimed “an end to the petty grievances and false promises, the recriminations and worn-out dogmas that for far too long have strangled our politics.”

It hasn’t taken long for the recriminations to return — or for the Obama administration to begin talking about the unwelcome “inheritance” of its predecessor.

…mostly because it would imply that there was ever a time when this administration didn’t take that stance. Even the article itself doesn’t really support the title, as it admits a good ways in that President Obama started off on blaming the previous administration for its ills on or about January 26th. What’s been happening since then is much more accurately described by what was apparently the original title of this piece, which was “Obama Sharpens His Reminders That He Inherited Fiscal ‘Mess’ From Bush.” This also makes the ludicrous assumption that no blame accrues to Democrats for our financial meltdown – but at least that title doesn’t pretend that this is any sort of new behavior on Obama’s part. Continue reading Obama’s ‘new’ tack: everything is Bush’s fault.

Obama to skip the Gridiron Club Dinner. Unsurprisingly.

Don Surber called it with regard to Obama snubbing the Gridiron Club:

Pres. Obama Will Not Attend Annual Gridiron Dinner, First President Since Cleveland to Miss

A Gridiron Club member tells FBDC first that President Obama will not attend this year’s dinner next Saturday, March 21st. He will be the first president since Grover Cleveland not to attend the first Gridiron Club Dinner of his presidency.

This year’s date coincides with the spring break of President Obama’s daughters’ school and club members have been informed the Obama family will be out of town, likely in Chicago.

…and in case you were thinking that “kids’ spring break” is rather weak beer for sloughing off a century-old tradition, well, good call. The real reason is that Obama would be expected to do something like this:


Continue reading Obama to skip the Gridiron Club Dinner. Unsurprisingly.

White House: Obama too overwhelmed to do his job.

Yeah, that should be good for another 200 points on the Dow.

Ed Morrissey is dizzy with trying to figure out which would have been worse: President Obama meaning the snub to Brown and Great Britain, or that it was apparently just a by-product of the administration’s inability to run the country. Me, I’m too busy being appalled that there are supposedly functional adults in the Democratic Party that thought that saying the below would help. Read the whole thing, but only if you think that both your head and the wall will survive the pounding that you’ll be giving the latter with the former:

Barack Obama ‘too tired’ to give proper welcome to Gordon Brown
Barack Obama’s offhand approach to Gordon Brown’s Washington visit last week came about because the president was facing exhaustion over America’s economic crisis and is unable to focus on foreign affairs, the Sunday Telegraph has been told.

Sources close to the White House say Mr Obama and his staff have been “overwhelmed” by the economic meltdown and have voiced concerns that the new president is not getting enough rest.

Mr. President?

Man up.
Continue reading White House: Obama too overwhelmed to do his job.

President Obama gives PM Brown… DVDs.

25 Classic American DVDs.

What did Brown give us?

Mr Brown’s gifts included an ornamental desk pen holder made from the oak timbers of Victorian anti-slaver HMS Gannet, once named HMS President.

Mr Obama was so delighted he has already put it in pride of place in the Oval Office on the Resolute desk which was carved from timbers of Gannet’s sister ship, HMS Resolute.

Another treasure given to the U.S. President was the framed commission for HMS Resolute, a vessel that came to symbolise Anglo-US peace when it was saved from ice packs by Americans and given to Queen Victoria.

Finally, Mr Brown gave a first edition set of the seven-volume classic biography of Churchill by Sir Martin Gilbert.

I’ll be honest: I held off on this story (Via AoSHQ) because I was hoping that it was going to be debunked, preferably at high volume. Apparently not. This happened. So, two thoughts:
Continue reading President Obama gives PM Brown… DVDs.

‘Perfect acquaintances:’ readjusting the Special Relationship.

Or, the fundamental gracelessness of the Obama administration.

They updated the original story that Glenn Reynolds linked to, but the raised eyebrow remains:

The Prime Minister’s first official meeting with the new President fell short of the lavish welcomes laid on in recent years.

After intense negotiations with the new administration, Mr Brown got some warm words on the historic links between the U.S. and UK.

[snip]

Within minutes of landing in a snowbound Washington on Monday night, Mr Brown’s aides had been made aware that their high expectations for the trip were in danger of exceeding the low-key welcome the Obama administration was prepared to offer.

Suggestions that the new President’s crowded diary made it impossible to give more time to Mr Brown rang hollow after it emerged that his other engagements included a routine speech to the Department for Interior and a meeting with the Boy Scouts of America.

Continue reading ‘Perfect acquaintances:’ readjusting the Special Relationship.

Advice for the President: how to handle the antiwar Democrats.

No, really.

I read with some interest this article which describes a supposed Blue-on-Blue fight looming over the upcoming reduction of troops:

Congressional Democrats’ misgivings about President Barack Obama’s plan to reduce troop levels in Iraq has set the stage for potentially major conflicts between Capitol Hill and the White House in the months ahead.

Obama’s announcement Friday that he will leave between 35,000 and 50,000 troops in Iraq after August 2010 brought lukewarm responses from House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif. and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev.

Both leaders have publicly questioned the decision to leave that many troops there indefinitely.

Also causing consternation is the president’s decision to finish the drawdown in 18 months. As a candidate, Obama had promised a complete withdrawal within 16 months.

Being a kind and generous soul who understands that we’re all in this together, on behalf of the neoconservative movement I am here to offer the President a little advice on how to keep antiwar legislators in line. We did it for eight years, after all; two of which were years where our party was ostensibly not the one running Congress. Heck, our best work was done between 2006-2008. So you can believe that we know that we’re talking about. Continue reading Advice for the President: how to handle the antiwar Democrats.

The truly amusing thing about the Obama vetting process.

It is not that, as Andrew Bolt notes, that the process has been so flawed to date that it’s fair to use the phrase “spivs and chiselers” without exaggerating. Very Commonwealth-y, but not exaggerating.

It is not that, as Gawker’s Owen Thomas notes, that it’s now come out that new chief vetter Gregory Craig’s wife herself apparently hasn’t been paying her business taxes, to the point where there’s now allegedly an investigation going on about that.

(Both links H/T Glenn Reynolds)

It is not even that the first reaction that everybody had – including you! Admit it – to hearing that Gov. Sebelius got the nod for HHS Secretary was “Hm. I wonder whether she’s paid her taxes.”

Nope. The funny part is that this process isn’t going to stop for months. Continue reading The truly amusing thing about the Obama vetting process.

Christian Brose: Obama should have thanked Bush for the surge.

Stop bitterly laughing like that.  You’ll scare the kids.

(Via Hot Air Headlines) This is in the context of mentioning President Obama’s recent military speech, and in the context of discussing the fairly obvious – to people with functioning neural tissue, at least – points that the President is coasting on Bush’s successful surge strategy; and that our failure to actually have an ambassador to Iraq at the moment is, put simply, dumb. With that out of the way, Brose went on to ask the President to at least note the victories of the previous administration. Brose did not also ask for a magical elixir that would cure cancer, warts, and the galloping staggers, although I’m not sure why. He didn’t stand that much less of chance of getting it (bolding mine):
Continue reading Christian Brose: Obama should have thanked Bush for the surge.

AG Holder: no more raids on medical marijuana clubs.

I have two thoughts on this story (sort of H/T Instapundit*)

Holder Hints at Ending DEA Raids on Medical Marijuana

Attorney General Holder was speaking at a press conference Wednesday about Operation XCellerator, a crackdown on Mexican drug cartels, when a reporter asked him about the DEA’s stance on the raids. The reporter mentioned some raids that occurred right after the inauguration but before Holder’s confirmation, then he asked Holder if he would continue the raids policy under his tenure.

Holder joked, “What the president said during the campaign, you will be surprised to know, will be consistent with what we will be doing here in law enforcement.” After a bit of laughter, he repeated, “What he said during the campaign is now American policy.”

Continue reading AG Holder: no more raids on medical marijuana clubs.

The Obama administration’s mistakes on the assault weapon ban.

The administration that couldn’t shoot straight*.

[UPDATE]: Welcome, SayUncle readers.

Note plural.

Mistake #1: picking an Attorney General and administration spokesman who doesn’t even know current firearms law.

Eric Holder was on today announcing that the Obama administration was going to bring back the “assault weapons” ban. As Purple Avenger of Ace of Spades notes, this is the same guy who called for making armor piercing bullets (“cop-killers”) illegal… Continue reading The Obama administration’s mistakes on the assault weapon ban.