And what’s right with President Obama?

The British have a saying about the twin rules of journalism: first simplify, then exaggerate.

Perhaps Barack Obama can comfort himself with the reality that his current travails are both more complicated in their causes and less dire in their consequences than they are being portrayed in the Washington echo chamber.

There is a useful cautionary note for everyone who is prone to withering judgments about Obama’s stumbling performances in recent weeks: No institution in American life is more resilient than the modern presidency, and no politician talented enough to capture the office should ever be underestimated.

Bill Clinton, of course, is the supreme example. He was counted out after a clumsy start in 1993, after losing the House in 1994, after a sex scandal in 1998, and, as a new ex-president, after a pardon scandal in 2001.

(PHOTOS: Obama’s second term)

Barack Obama is a man of different talents, instincts and interests than Clinton. But now that Washington is in pile-on mode — including us — it’s not a bad time to remember that there are some reasons why he is among the most talented politicians of his generation.

Recent bad headlines have not diluted his enduring personal and political assets, and, so long as he occupies the White House, there is no other person with more power to set the national agenda.

In that spirit, here’s a roster of what’s still right with Obama:

Via: Politico

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BOEHNER MAY HAVE TO ASK PELOSI FOR VOTES TO FUND GOV'T

House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) may have to turn to House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) to get the votes for a short-term resolution to fund the government after October 1.

After House conservatives refused to support a continuing resolution they felt was a "gimmick" to make it look like they were taking steps to defund Obamacare, Politico noted that Boehner may now "have to call on Democrats to avoid a government shutdown." Congress has until September 30 to pass a continuing resolution. 

But Pelosi and Democrats will seek compromises for their votes. 

Democrats want to paint Republicans as "a party beholden to extremists," possibly attach the Senate's immigration bill to the short-term resolution to "counter the GOP effort to use the CR as a mechanism to force the Democratic-controlled Senate to vote on defunding Obamacare," or seek compromises on the sequester. 

Though Politico notes that Boehner would not have to go to Pelosi "until he’s staring at the prospect of a shutdown," Boehner would "most likely have to abandon the conservative call to include a defund provision" if he does seek help from her. According to the publication, when Boehner, Pelosi, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) met last week, "Democrats made clear that any bill with a defund provision would be dead on arrival, both in the Senate and at the White House."

Obama may also prefer to sign a continuing resolution to fund the government at current sequester levels to avoid the risk that would come with a potential showdown over the sequester.

Via: Breitbart

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[CARTOON] Congress Talking Out of Their Butts

Via: California Political Review

Census Report OBLITERATES Obamanomics

Census on Obama’s 1st Term: Real Median Income Down $2,627; People in Poverty Up 6,667,000; Record 46,496,000 Now Poor


(CNSNews.com) - During the four years that marked President Barack Obama’s first term in office, the real median income of American households dropped by $2,627 and the number of people in poverty increased by approximately 6,667,000, according to data released today by the Census Bureau.

The record total of approximately 46,496,000 people in the United States who are now in poverty, according to the Census Bureau, is more than twice the population of Syria, which, according to the CIA, has 22,457,336 people.

In 2008, the year Obama was elected, real median household income in the United States was $53,644 according to the Census Bureau. In 2012, the last full year of Obama’s first term, median household income was $51,017. Thus, real median household income dropped $2,627—or 4.89 percent—from 2008 to 2012.

In fact, real median household income dropped in every year of Obama's first term. In 2008, when he was elected, it was $53,644. In 2009, the year he was inaugurated, it dropped to 53,285. In 2010, his second year in office, it dropped to $51,892. In 2011, his third year in office, it dropped to $51,100. And, in 2012, his fourth year in office, it dropped to $51,017.

At the same time the number of people living in poverty in the United States increased. In 2008, according to the Census Bureau, there were approximately 39,829,000 people living in poverty in this country. In 2012, there were 46,496,000. That is an increase of approximately 6,667,000—of 16.73 percent—from 2008 to 2012.

The number of people in poverty increased during three of the four years of Obama's first term--taking a slight dip from 2010 to 2011, but then rising again from 2011 to 2012. In 2008, there were 39,829 people in poverty in the U.S. In 2009, it climbed to 43,569. In 2010, it climbed again to 46,343. In 2011, it dipped to 46,247. And, in 2012, it climbed to an all-time high 46,496.

Via: Fox News

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GOP goes all-in on ‘de-fund ObamaCare,’ as shutdown looms

House Speaker John Boehner, in an abrupt turnaround, plans to let Tea Party lawmakers have a vote on de-funding ObamaCare as part of a politically risky strategy which Democrats warn could result in a government shutdown. 

GOP leaders unveiled their plan to members on Wednesday morning, teeing up a vote for Friday -- the proposed bill would tie the vote to de-fund the health care law to a vote on a stopgap spending bill. Current funding for the government is set to expire at the end of the month, and lawmakers must approve the stopgap bill in order to keep Washington open; conservatives see this as leverage to force a suspension of ObamaCare. 

"The law's a trainwreck," Boehner said of the Affordable Care Act. "It's time to protect American families from this unworkable law." 

Effectively, Boehner and his deputies have backed off a compromise approach they earlier tried to sell to rank-and-file conservatives. Under that plan, the House would have sent two bills to the Senate -- one to de-fund ObamaCare, the other to fund the government. The Senate, then, would have been able to easily bypass the ObamaCare bill and send the spending measure straight to the White House, in turn averting a government shutdown. 

But House conservatives revolted, and Boehner now plans to tie the two votes together. Under the plan, funding the government would be conditional on de-funding ObamaCare. It is a concession to House conservatives as well as senators like Ted Cruz, R-Texas, and outside groups like the Heritage Foundation that have demanded Congress use the must-pass budget bill as leverage to derail the health care law. 

Via: Fox News

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IRS officials thought Obama wanted crackdown on tea party groups, worried about negative press

IRS employees were “acutely” aware in 2010 that President Obama wanted to crack down on conservative organizations and were egged into targeting tea party groups by press reports mocking the emerging movement, according to an interim report being circulated Tuesday by House investigators.

The report, by staffers for Rep. Darrell E. Issa, California Republican and chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, quoted two Internal Revenue Service officials saying the tea party applications were singled out in the targeting program that has the agency under investigation because “they were likely to attract media attention.”

In the report, the investigators do not find evidence that IRS employees received orders from politicians to target the tea party, and agency officials deny overt bias or political motives.

But the report says the IRS was at least taking cues from political leaders and designed special policies to review tea party applications, including dispatching some of them to Washington to be vetted by headquarters.

“As prominent politicians publicly urged the IRS to take action on tax-exempt groups engaged in legal campaign intervention activities, the IRS treated tea party applications differently,” the staff report concludes. “Applications filed by tea party groups were identified and grouped due to media attention surrounding the existence of the tea party in general.”

That finding contradicts Democrats on Capitol Hill, who argue that some liberal groups also were given special scrutiny, thus showing there was neither a witch hunt for conservatives nor political pressure from the White House.

Via: Washington Times

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Navy Yard shooter Aaron Alexis was 'not happy with America,' friend says

FORT WORTH, Texas — Aaron Alexis was so unhappy with his life in America — where he was beset by money woes and felt slighted as a veteran — that he was "ready to move out of the country" last year, a friend said Tuesday.

"He was tired of dealing with the government," said Kristi Suthamtewkal, whose husband owns the Thai Bowl Restaurant in Fort Worth, where Alexis worked in exchange for room and board.

But instead of leaving the U.S., the former Navy reservist relocated from Texas to Virginia, where an IT company called The Experts put him on a government contract at the Washington Navy Yard.

A day after Alexis, 34, gunned down 12 people at the yard, new details emerged of his troubled past — from his preoccupation with 9/11 to recent mental problems that included hearing voices in his head.

Investigators said Tuesday that a preliminary probe has turned up no evidence that Alexis participated in rescue operations at Ground Zero, as his father once told police.

He was, however, employed as a clerical worker at the Borough of Manhattan Community College, in the shadow of the Twin Towers, when they were destroyed on Sept. 11, 2001.

Via: NBC News

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Keep Americans' personal data safe -- delay ObamaCare exchanges - By Orrin Hatch

Just about every week Americans learn about another problem with ObamaCare.  

Employer mandate? Delayed. 

Small business health insurance market? Delayed. 

Automatic enrollment? That’s right, delayed.  

Study after study and expert after expert has sounded the alarm on ObamaCare’s failings and the monumental implementation challenges that go with it. 

This shouldn’t come as much surprise given the size, scope and nature of the new law, which marks the largest expansion of government in generations.

On October 1st, ObamaCare’s health insurance exchanges --  the online marketplace where the uninsured are mandated to shop for healthcare coverage  -- will go live.

Via Fox News

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Our Non-Serious President - Three more years we’re stuck with this class-less act.

Fresh from terrorizing the Russians and bringing everlasting peace to a war-torn Middle East, Barack Obama undertook Monday to work on the Republicans the same tactics that worked so resoundingly on the trembling Vladimir Putin. He made a speech.

Obama makes a lot of speeches because he has a lot to say on all topics. The one he made in the Rose Garden, touting his impending triumph over the country’s economic woes, had all the right props, from impressive background to worshipful audience. The language was robust: “Republicans in Congress don’t seem to be focused on how to grow the economy and build the middle class. I say ‘at the moment’ because I’m still hoping that a light bulb goes off here.”

I cannot remember a time when one faction of one party promises economic chaos if it can’t get 100 percent of what it wants.

(A)re some of these folks really so beholden to one extreme wing of their party they’re willing to tank the entire economy just because they can’t get their way on this issue?

What they call this in the boxing ring and other such high-class venues is trash-talkin’. You try to make your opponent lose his cool, get mad, throw a premature punch. C’mon, man! You think you’re such a big man! Well, where I come from, we got a name for folks like you.

And so on.

Via: American Spectator

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President Obama will try to enlist help from business leaders fortalks with GOP

WASHINGTON -- President Obama will try to enlist help from business leaders in his standoff with congressional Republicans over government spending and a looming vote to raise the debt limit, a White House official said.

At a meeting with the Business Roundtable on Wednesday, Obama will ask corporate leaders to urge Republicans to give up plans to negotiate cuts in government spending, or a repeal of Obama's healthcare law, in return for an increase in the debt limit, said the official, who asked not to be named discussing the president's remarks before the meeting.

"The president will ask the business community to help send the message to Congress that a default would be disastrous for our economy and for businesses across the country," the official said.

Obama's planned remarks come as he and his GOP opponents on Capitol Hill are barreling toward two major fiscal deadlines. Lawmakers must pass legislation to keep the government open after Sept. 30, or face a shutdown. A few weeks later, the government is set to reach the limit it can borrow, if Congress does not increase it to cover spending it has already approved.

PHOTOS: 2013's memorable political moments

The president and the Republican-led House have faced this fight before, but this time the White House is saying it will not negotiate to raise the debt ceiling.

House Speaker John A. Boehner (R-Ohio) is seeking deficit-reduction measures in return for an increase in the debt limit, while some of his fellow Republicans are pushing for a bigger -- and unlikely -- concession from the White House: repeal of the president’s signature legislation, the Affordable Care Act.

Obama will make the case Wednesday that the standoff is being driven by "extreme" members of the Republican Party and is an "irresponsible" threat to the fiscal health of the country, the official said.

A Boehner spokesman argued that Obama was hyping the threat.

"No one is threatening to default," said Brendan Buck. "The president only uses these scare tactics to avoid having to show the courage needed to deal with our debt crisis. Every major deficit deal in the last 30 years has been tied to a debt-limit increase, and this time should be no different."

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Obama Asked About Obamacare’s Tanking Approval Numbers: “Yes,” “Everybody Is Wrong”…

President Obama said Tuesday that Americans were wrong to doubt his signature healthcare reform law, saying concerns over rising costs or worsening health outcomes were not supported by the evidence.

In an interview with Telemundo on Tuesday, the president was asked if "everybody [was] wrong" after polling data indicated that a majority of Americans oppose the law and believe it will raise their healthcare costs.

"Yes," the president said with a chuckle. "They are."

The president said a "look at the facts" revealed that young adults were able to stay on their parents' health insurance longer and that seniors were getting "billions of dollars in discounts on their prescription drugs."

Asked about reports that insurance rates were rising in some areas, Obama argued the law was a net positive.

"What we've seen is the lowest increase in healthcare costs in 50 years over the last several years," Obama said. "So there is no evidence at all that this is somehow making healthcare more expensive. There's a lot of evidence that it's helping to make it cheaper."

A poll released Tuesday by NBC News and The Wall Street Journal found that just 31 percent of Americans believed ObamaCare was a good idea, while 44 percent thought it was not. Just three in 10 Americans say they understand how the legislation will affect them, and only 23 percent believe the law will have a positive effect on the country's overall healthcare system. 

Via: The Hill

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ObamaCare Employer Mandate: A List Of Cuts To Work Hours, Jobs

ObamaCare's impact on jobs is hotly debated by politicians and economists. Critics say the Affordable Care Act, with its employer mandate to provide health insurance, gives businesses an incentive to cut workers' hours. This year, report after report has rolled in about employers restricting work hours to fewer than 30 per week — the point where the mandate kicks in. Data also point to a shrinking workweek in low-wage industries.

In the interest of an informed debate, we've compiled a list of job actions with strong proof that ObamaCare's employer mandate is behind cuts to work hours or staffing levels. As of Sept. 3, our ObamaCare scorecard included 258 employers. The ObamaCare list methodology is explained further in our initial coverage; click on the employer names in the list below for links to supporting records, mostly news accounts or official documents.

We'll continue to update the list, which we encourage you to share and download into a spreadsheet to sort and analyze. If you know of an employer that should be on the list and can provide supporting evidence, please contact IBD at jed.graham@investors.com.

Click on Hear for List of Employers who cut hours.

Via: IBD:

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The Typical American Family Makes Less Than It Did in 1989

The Census Bureau is out with the annual report on incomes and poverty. And while you might think that after years of stagnant incomes and elevated poverty rates, we would be inured to the depressing facts contained therein, it still somehow has the power to shock.

For my money, the most depressing fact about the economy is not the fact that household incomes were basically flat in 2012 (the real median household income was down to $51,017 from $51,100 in 2011, a statistically insignificant change). It wasn't even the fact that 15 percent of the U.S. population was living in poverty, according to the official, flawed definition of the term.

Nah, the most depressing result comes when you look at the longer view of household incomes in the United States. This chart shows real median household income over the past 25 years; that is, the money earned, in inflation-adjusted dollars, by the family at the exact middle of the income distribution.

Via Fox News

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California: No Comments from the Peanut Gallery

Some years ago, at a meeting of the California State Council on Developmental Disabilities, a controversial suggestion by one of the council members resulted in startled murmurs from the audience. Annoyed by this unsolicited feedback, the council member blurted out, “No comments from the Peanut Gallery.”

For those younger than the baby boom generation, it should probably be mentioned that the “Peanut Gallery” was what the audience of preschoolers was called on the 1950s Howdy Doody TV show. This was a disrespectful and demeaning comment by a public official, and no doubt the perpetrator quickly regretted his honesty because it confirmed what anyone who has spent time around government insiders know: This is precisely how most bureaucrats and elected officials regard the public. Citizens are like children and thus “should be seen and not heard.”

This attitude of superiority and disdain for the public helps explain politicians’ extreme hostility to the initiative process. As I have written before, government insiders find it annoying that average citizens have the option to place measures on the ballot which can run counter to their plans.

It also explains why the Legislature just passed Assembly Bill 857, currently sitting on the Governor’s desk, that is the most direct assault on direct democracy in California in the last 100 years. This attack makes it more difficult for most citizen groups to qualify measures for the ballot. The bill is sponsored by two of the biggest labor organizations in Sacramento, the Labor Federation and the California Professional Firefighters, entities that have long viewed the ballot box as a threat to their interests, especially as it relates to pension reform. One of its key provisions is to impose a requirement that ten percent of the signatures for a statewide measure be collected by non-paid signature gatherers. However, the measure would exempt non-profits including public employee unions.

In any event, this requirement is facially arbitrary. The bill does not articulate the policy justification for the restriction let alone the cutoff of ten percent. The requirement is also very likely to be stricken as unconstitutional.

Via; California Political Review

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STARBUCKS CEO: OBAMACARE 'GOOD THING FOR THE COUNTRY'

Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz says Obamacare is "a good thing for the country." 

The coffee giant chief's comments came during a CNBC interview with anchor Maria Bartiromo. 

"On balance, I would say the health care law, to provide health insurance for those people who did not have it, was a good thing for the country and a good thing for those people, and I would encourage them to find ways to provide the insurance and not figure out a way to either lower the hours or get around the system," said Schultz.

Schultz blasted businesses that are reducing worker hours to avoid Obamacare fines.

"Many companies today are reducing hours of full-time people to get under the minimum so they don't have to pay health care costs," said Schultz. "I just shake my head because that's not going to build long-term value and trust with your people. That is a short-term solution and ultimately is not going to add value to the enterprise, the company and your customers."

The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) estimates that employers will be forced to pay $130 billion in Obamacare penalties. 

Investor's Business Daily has compiled a growing list of 258 employers who have slashed worker hours or laid off workers in reaction to the law's regulations.

Via: Breitbart

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