Barack Obama -- March 9, 2009

March 9, 2009

Custom Search

From $1 trillion in debt
to $4 trillion in debt
in six weeks

event	description
Presidential Approval Index
Sho' Is Hard	Preston Taylor Holmes' sources close to the White House say Obama and his staff have been "overwhelmed" by the economic meltdown and have voiced concerns that the new president is not getting enough rest. Unfortunately for us, this is President Hussein’s first actual job. No wonder he’s so stressed and sleep-deprived. Perhaps he’s spent too much time building that frame for Henrietta Hughes’ new house. But Washington figures with access to Obama’s inner circle explained the slight by saying that those high up in the administration have had little time to deal with international matters, let alone the diplomatic niceties of the special relationship. Allies of Obama say his weary appearance in the Oval Office with Prime Minister Brown illustrates the strain he is now under, and the president’s surprise at the sheer volume of business that crosses his desk. A well-connected Washington figure, who is close to members of Obama’s inner circle, expressed concern that Obama had failed so far to "even fake an interest in foreign policy." He shouldn’t have to "fake" an interest in foreign policy. It’s simple: raise the white flag, help radical Islam do away with Israel and capitulate to any foreign invaders who may have designs on the destruction of the West. There, and you didn’t even have to pay me. The American source said: "Obama is overwhelmed. There is a zero sum tension between his ability to attend to the economic issues and his ability to be a proactive sculptor of the national security agenda. "That was the gamble these guys made at the front end of this presidency and I think they’re finding it a hard thing to do everything." I guess this is a little tougher than his old "job" of Community Agitator. Amateur hour is far too kind a description.
Iran Continues To March	As Iran prepares to fire up its Bushehr nuclear reactor -- and as the International Atomic Energy Agency governing board meets this week, again confronted with further progress by Tehran's nuclear program -- it is worth asking how the Obama administration is responding. Well, the State Department recently named Dennis Ross, a seasoned Middle East negotiator, as a "special adviser" to the Gulf region -- a bureaucratic but important prerequisite for direct talks with Iran. Unfortunately, a new envoy and a new diplomatic tone cannot disguise the ongoing substantive collapse of U.S. policy and resolve in the teeth of the Islamic Republic's growing challenge. Tehran welcomes direct negotiations with Washington. Why not, given the enormous benefits its nuclear programs have accrued during five and a half years of negotiations with Europe? Why not, with America at the table, buy even more time to marry its impending nuclear weapons with its satellite-launching ballistic missile capability? We have yet to see any evidence that Barack Obama (any more than George W. Bush) knows how to stop Iran. Consider these four blunt threats to our interests that direct talks may only facilitate, not reduce. • First, diplomacy has not and will not reduce Iran's nuclear program. • Second, dealing with Hamas, Hezbollah and Syria as though they are unrelated to Iran's broader threat is exactly backwards. • Third, Iran opposes a freer, more stable Iraq, and U.S. diplomacy will not change that. • Lastly, Iran has no incentive to "help" in Afghanistan, especially on narcotics, Hordes of U.S. officials with vague and overlapping mandates -- special envoys, ambassadors, cabinet officials, and, of course, the vice president -- are racing to be in the first photo-op with Iran. But what should focus our attention is the substantive risk that Tehran will use its opportunity to employ diplomacy to undermine U.S. interests. Iran has already made clear how it will proceed. By recently withholding visas for the U.S. women's badminton team, Iran symbolically dashed administration hopes to update "ping pong" diplomacy. Perhaps in Iran they still play badminton with a clenched fist rather than an open hand.
There Ain't No Moderate Taliban	Obama's proposal to reach out to moderate Taliban will fail to end the Afghan insurgency as it is inflexible Taliban leaders who are orchestrating the war, not moderates, analysts said. Obama, in an interview with the New York Times newspaper published on its website on Saturday, expressed an openness to adapting tactics in Afghanistan that had been used in Iraq to reach out to moderate elements there. Afghan President Hamid Karzai welcomed Obama's proposal but analysts were doubtful. "Obama's comment resemble a dream more than reality," said Waheed Mozhdah, an analyst who has written a book on the Taliban. "Where are the so-called moderate Taliban? Who are the moderate Taliban?" asked Mozhdah, who was an official in both the Taliban and the Karzai governments. "'Moderate Taliban' is like 'moderate killer.' Is there such a thing?," asked writer and analyst Qaseem Akhgar. The number of foreign troops in Afghanistan has risen steadily since U.S.-led forces overthrew the Taliban in 2001 after they refused to hand over al Qaeda leaders responsible for the Sept. 11 attacks on the United States. The level of violence has also risen, as the Taliban have stepped up their campaign to force out Western troops. "The Taliban are very rigid in their demands. They actually don't want to talk unless there is some guarantee that Western forces will leave," he said. "They have Mullah Omar as their leader. They have to approach Mullah Omar and as we all know he is very inflexible."
Obama Accelerates Iraq Exit	Obama will pull 12,000 troops out of Iraq by the end of September, in an acceleration of the US withdrawal, Iraqi government spokesman Ali Dabbagh said. "We have agreed that a total of 12,000 US troops will be withdrawn by the end of September 2009,'' he said. "In addition, 4000 British troops will withdraw in July 2009 according to an agreement between the United Kingdom and Iraq,'' Mr Dabbagh said alongside coalition forces spokesman Major General David Perkins of the US army.
Mexico's Drug Wars	Obama was briefed Saturday by Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Adm. Mike Mullen about the drug wars in Mexico and wanted to know how the United States can help. "Clearly one of the things the president was interested in was the U.S military capability that may or may not apply to our cooperation with the Mexicans," said a U.S. military official who requested anonymity because the discussions were private. "He was very interested in what kind of military capabilities may be applied." Mullen, who was in Mexico on Friday, has referred to the recent spike in violence as a crisis. More than 1,000 people have been killed in Mexico in drug-related violence this year. In 2008, the toll doubled from the previous year to 6,290. Both the U.S. and Canada have warned that murders related to drug activity in certain parts of Mexico, particularly along the border with the U.S., raised the level of risk in visiting the country. There are signs the violent competition among Mexican drug and smuggling cartels is spilling across the border, as cities in Arizona report increases in such crimes as home invasions. More than 700 people were arrested as part of a wide-ranging crackdown on Mexican drug cartels operating inside the United States, the Justice Department said last month. Last weekend, Defense Secretary Robert Gates said he also saw opportunities for the U.S. military to help with military training, resources and intelligence.
Wiki Scrubs	World Net Daily is reporting that Wikipedia, the online "free encyclopedia" mega-site written and edited entirely by its users, has been deleting within minutes any mention of eligibility issues surrounding Barack Obama's presidency, with administrators kicking off anyone who writes about the subject. A perusal through Obama's current Wikipedia entry finds a heavily guarded, mostly glowing biography about the U.S. president. Some of Obama's most controversial past affiliations, including with Rev. Jeremiah Wright and former Weathermen terrorist Bill Ayers, are not once mentioned, even though those associations received much news media attention and served as dominant themes during the presidential elections last year. Also completely lacking is any mention of the well-publicized concerns surrounding Obama's eligibility to serve as commander-in-chief. Indeed, multiple times, Wikipedia users who wrote about the eligibility issues had their entries deleted almost immediately and were banned from re-posting any material on the website for three days. In one example, Wikipedia user "Jerusalem21" added the following to Obama's page: "There have been some doubts about whether Obama was born in the U.S. after the politician refused to release to the public a carbon copy of his birth certificate and amid claims from his relatives he may have been born in Kenya. Numerous lawsuits have been filed petitioning Obama to release his birth certificate, but most suits have been thrown out by the courts." As is required on the online encyclopedia, that entry was backed up by third-party media articles, citing the Chicago Tribune and WorldNetDaily.com The entry was posted on Feb. 24, at 6:16 p.m. EST. Just three minutes later, the entry was removed by a Wikipedia administrator, claiming the posting violated the websites rules against "fringe" material. According to Wikipedia rules, however, a "fringe theory can be considered notable if it has been referenced extensively, and in a serious manner, in at least one major publication, or by a notable group or individual that is independent of the theory." The Obama eligibility issue has indeed been reported extensively by multiple news media outlets. WorldNetDaily has led the coverage. Other news outlets, such as Britain's Daily Mail and the Chicago Tribune have released articles critical of claims Obama may not be eligible. The Los Angeles Times quoted statements by former presidential candidate Alan Keys doubting Obama is eligible to serve as president. Just last week, the Internet giant America Online featured a top news article about the eligibility subject, referencing WND's coverage. When the user "Jerusalem21" tried to repost the entry about Obama's eligibility a second time, another administrator removed the material within two minutes and then banned the Wikipedia user from posting anything on the website for three days. Much more . . .
Dear MoveOn.com Member	Want to see what change looks like? Real change? Well, here it is. Last week, President Obama unveiled his budget -- his blueprint for America -- and it's ambitious, amazing, and unapologetically progressive. As Paul Krugman said, it will set America on a "fundamentally new course." President Obama called his budget "a threat to the status quo," and trust me, the status quo noticed. Oil companies, big banks and insurance companies are already mobilizing to stop it. Unfortunately, most folks don't realize how far-reaching and progressive the plan is -- that's where we all come in. Here are 10 really incredible things about Obama's plan. Check them out and then send them on to your friends and family so that millions of people will have the information they need to fight to make this vision a reality. 10 things you should know about Obama's plan (but probably don't). The plan: 1. Makes a $634 billion down payment on fixing health care that will go a long way toward paying for a more efficient, more affordable health care system that covers every single American. 2. Reduces taxes for 95% of working Americans. And if your family makes less than $250,000, your taxes won't go up one dime. 3. Invests more than $100 billion in clean energy technology, creating millions of green jobs that can never be outsourced. 4. Brings our troops home from Iraq on a firm timetable, finally bringing the war to a close -- and freeing up almost ten billion dollars a month for domestic priorities. 5. Reverses growing income inequality. The plan lets the Bush tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans expire and focuses on strengthening the middle class. 6. Closes multi-billion-dollar tax loopholes for big oil companies. 7. Increases grants to help families pay for college -- the largest increase ever. 8. Halves the deficit by 2013. President Obama inherited a legacy of huge deficits and an economy in shambles, but his plan brings the deficit under control as soon as the economy begins to recover. 9. Dramatically increases funding for the SEC and the CFTC -- the agencies that police Wall Street. 10. Tells it straight. For years, budgets have used accounting tricks to hide the real costs of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the Bush tax cuts, and too many other programs. Obama's budget gets rid of the smokescreens and lays out what America's priorities are, what they cost, and how we're going to pay for them.