How Clinton plans to upstage Obama at the DNC

POST PHOTO ILLUSTRATION BY PETER LAVIGNA

Not since the feud between Ted Kennedy and Jimmy Carter tore the Democratic Party apart more than 30 years ago have two panjandrums of the party loathed each other quite as much as Bill Clinton and Barack Obama.

And yet this week, television viewers will be treated to a remarkable spectacle at the Democratic National Convention: Clinton will stand before a cheering throng of delegates on Thursday night and deliver a primetime speech nominating Obama, a man he once dismissed as incompetent, as president of the United States.

The Clinton-Obama feud is the worst-kept secret in the Democratic Party. It traces back to the bruising 2008 primary campaign, when Obama’s surrogates lambasted Bill and Hillary for being “racists” and a Clinton aide said of Obama that he “embraces the politics of trash.” The animosity still stirs such deep emotions that a year ago Clinton held a secret meeting of friends and political advisers at his home in Chappaqua and urged his wife to challenge Obama for the party’s presidential nomination in 2012.

According to two people who attended the meeting, Hillary rejected her husband’s advice that she run against a sitting president of her own party. But that didn’t stop Bill Clinton from going on a rant about Obama.

“I’ve heard more from Bush, asking for my advice, than I’ve heard from Obama,” my sources quoted Clinton as saying. “I have no relationship with the president — none whatsoever. Obama doesn’t know how to be president. He doesn’t know how the world works. He’s incompetent. He’s an amateur!”

Why, then, is Clinton making a speech on behalf of a man for whom he has such little respect? And why is Obama putting his nomination in the hands of man he doesn’t trust?

Via: New York Post

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TARP and GM

In December of 2008, GM approached Congress and asked for a bridge loan to allow them to restructure. While the House passed legislation to accomplish this, it was not passed through the Senate. Days later, the Bush administration initiated a loan through the TARP program which would provide $14 Billion in loans and stock purchases to GM and follow many of the guidelines that were sought in that legislation. This included a restructure plan that would have to be approved by the Obama administration.

In February of 2009 GM presented their plan to the Obama administration. The plan was seen as preferential to union workers by bondholders and many stated their intention to oppose it. In March of 2009 President Obama announced that he was not accepting the viability plan put forth by GM, but that he was authorizing more funds to keep the company afloat. President Obama also initiated programs to provide funds to companies that supply parts to GM and Chrysler.

GM was placed into bankruptcy on June 1, 2009 and the company was supplied with an additional $30.1 Billion dollars, bringing the total loans and stock purchases to $50 Billion. The company was made a private entity at that time.

The bankruptcy restructuring plan agreed upon by the government and GM gave the US government a 60% share in the company and gave the Canadian government a 12% share. The United Auto Workers gave up a health and savings plan worth $20 Billion in exchange for a 17.5% share in the company and over $8 Billion in debt and preferred stock. Bondholders held $27 Billion in stock prior to the collapse and received only a 10% equity share in the new GM company. 

Throughout the bankruptcy process, President Obama stated that he had not desire to run a car company and would not interfere with daily GM business. This is at odds with numerous actions taken before and after the bankruptcy filings.

• Days before GM was placed into bankruptcy, the Obama administration demanded and received the resignation of company CEO Rick Wagoner.
• The Obama administration pushed for the closing of numerous GM dealerships
• The substance of the bankruptcy settlement was heavily tilted to favor unions - a result that many people suggest would not have occurred without political motivations
• The bankruptcy settlement allowed the US government, the Canadian, and the UAW Union to appoint chairs of the board - an action that would directly change the direction of the company for years

The TARP program established specific rules on what could be purchased with the funds. These rules stated that only Preferred Stock or Common stock without voting rights could be purchased. The reason for this was to prevent the government from controlling a company it purchased stock in through TARP funds. President Bush violated those rules when he used the money to provide a loan to GM. President Obama further violated those laws when he purchased stock in the company and used the ownership of that stock as authority to appoint board members. The creation of programs to give funds to companies simply because they depended on GM and Chrysler for business was also not allowed in TARP documents.

Via: The Political Guide

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Spare the Axelrod, Spoil the Sunday Show

If it won’t be too taxing, check out the April 16 edition of the Morning Jolt . . .

Axelrod-eo Clown
It was a beautiful Sunday in the greater Washington D.C. area – sunny, in the 70s much of the morning – but David Axelrod . . . didn’t have such a great day.
First, I’ll let Jim Treacher spotlight the fantastic verbiage from the president’s chief strategist.

“The choice in this election is between an economy that produces a growing middle class and that gives people a chance to get ahead, and their kids a chance to get ahead, and an economy that continues down the road we’re on.”

Good point, Dave.

The Obama campaign has been able to devote its singular focus to Mitt Romney for less than a week. It’s been a fun one, hasn’t it?

Q: Who’s having a worse week, David Axelrod or his boss? A:Yes.

Step back, everyone! This man’s a communications professional!
Video here.
Jen Rubin dissects the rest of Axelrod’s performance on the Sunday shows:

There was plenty more that Axelrod said that was downright wrong or misleading. He “accuses” Romney of wanting to the rich to pay at a lower tax rate; what he doesn’t say is both Romney and the Simpson-Bowles plan also take away deductions and credits so the rich won’t be paying less taxesrelative to the rest of the population.

He uses the president’s favorite straw man: “No one can argue that it makes sense that people who are making a million dollars a year or more to pay less than the average middle class worker in this country.” And no one is. In fact the top 10% of earners have been paying roughly 70 percent of the taxes. The bottom 50 percent pay about 3 percent of the tax load.

But let’s take a step back. Where in this is a plan to accelerate growth and job creation? How does creating a sort of new minimum tax for 4,000 taxpayers assist in the recovery? Maybe that is why Obama and Axelrod spend so much time on gimmicks and phony “fairness” arguments. They haven’t got a clue how to create an economic environment in which investors, employers and consumer will all benefit.

Via: National Review Online

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Obama- sand sculpture Mount Rushmore imitation

I LOVE ME, I LOVE MYSELF. MOUNT RUSHMORE? NOT A CHANCE!!

This one takes the cake.

At the Democratic National Convention (DNC) in Charlotte, they will have pictures of such American icons as the Statue of Liberty and Mount Rushmore.

Apparently President Obama has such a high opinion of himself that there is also a sand sculpture of him, erected at the DNC at the EpiCentre entertainment complex, seemingly in imitation of  Mount Rushmore. It consists of 15 tons of sand trucked in from Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.

This raises interesting questions, such as how much must this have cost?  What was the effect on the beach, environmentally?  And how big an ego do you have to have to try to imitate Mount Rushmore while you are still a sitting president?

Let the jokes begin! Shovel ready job, house built on sand, no graven images, etc…

Update: Looks like we raised a good question about the sand removal.  The Morning Spew reports that back in 1998 the Army Corp of Engineers spent $60 million of public money to put sand back into the beach! 

I would want to know how 15 tons of South Carolina beach ended up at the DNC Convention in Charlotte, NC.  It’s also puzzling that Democrats, who consider themselves bastions of environmental policy, would actually think that digging up a beach for this purpose was a good idea, especially when beaches remain a fragile habitat for many types of endangered wildlife.

Since the original 1998 replenishment, the beach was replenished in 2009 as well in order to protect people and property from storm damage along the shore. According to the US Army Corps of Engineers, it is scheduled to continue to be replenished with Federal, state and local money through 2046.  

We will let you know when we track down exactly where the sand came from in Myrtle Beach.

CITIZEN JOURNALIST
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Team Obama downplays expectations, predicts ‘close’ race after Charlotte

President Obama's campaign on Saturday downplayed expectations ahead of the Democratic National Convention next week, saying they expected to be locked in a close race against GOP nominee Mitt Romney until election day. 

"It's been a pretty steady race to date and we expect it will be in a pretty similar place following our convention," Obama campaign spokeswoman Jen Psaki told a press gaggle on Air Force One, en route to the president’s campaign rallies in Iowa. "We think it’s going to be close 'til the end. That's why we have such an active schedule. That's why the president is out there campaigning." 

Psaki’s comments about a packed campaign schedule between now and election day come after Obama reportedly complained last week about too much downtime. 

"Why am I having a short day?" he told adviser Valerie Jarrett on Wednesday, according to the Wall Street Journal. "There should be no short days." 

Psaki also said that the just completed Republican National Convention was more important for Romney than the Democratic meet would be for Obama.

“The American people know more about this president than they know about Mitt Romney so in some ways the stakes for Romney were a bit higher,” she said. “They spoke openly about the importance of him personalizing who he was and presenting to the American people what he would do for them moving forward. The president is just going to be further solidifying and bringing into focus that choice next week.”

Via: The Hill

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The Obamas Already Preparing for Move to Hawaii in January 2013: Hyde Park neighbors talking about Chicago house being sold soon

UPDATE:  Just found out that the asking price of the house they are looking at is most likely $35 million.  Bobby Titcomb, the Hawaiian native who brings Obama “fish and poi” (that’s code for “weed and coke”) to the White House is most likely involved in the purchase of the estate on Oahu that the Obamas will most likely be moving into in January.  Possibly watching Titcomb’s movements will give more clues as to which house, exactly, Obama will move to in January 2013.

UPDATE #2:  Found it!  Here’s the only property that matches all the clues we’ve been given.  It is on the market for $35 million, which matches what Mrs. Robinson has been saying about the “$35 million house she’d be living in soon”.  This estate was also featured on TV’s remake of Hawaii 5-O recently. Do you see how that’s a little in-joke that Obama would like…the “O” in the show’s name, like the “O” he’s used as his personal emblem since 2008?  A man who named his dog BO, after his own initials, would love to own a house that was featured in an “O” show, like after his last name.  This is a photo of the house as featured on TV and in Honolulu Magazine so you can see a little inside.  The link above has more pics of the house that Barack Obama will soon be living in as an ex-president.

UPDATE #3 – Weird coincidence, but Drudge Report is right now running stories about the shootings that happen just blocks from the Obamas’ house here in Chicago in the area of Hyde Park. The whole city has gotten MUCH more dangerous in the last four years.  This jives with what Mrs. Robinson told friends here in Chicago about her not moving back to Chicago and about the Obama’s Hyde Park house going on the market soon.

Via: Hill Buzz

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Obama campaign says it will fill football stadium for convention’s finale

MORE BROKEN PROMISES

Team Obama promises it will fill every one of the seats in Charlotte’s mammoth football stadium Thursday night when President Obama closes the Democratic National Convention with a speech accepting his party’s nomination.

For weeks, Democrats have been concerned about filling Bank of America Stadium, home to the NFL’s Carolina Panthers. They feared a devastating image of an enthusiasm gap if Obama spoke to empty upper decks at the venue.

But the Obama campaign says it’s got it covered, and that all 73,778 of the stadium’s seats will be spoken for. The campaign also insists this success will showcase a ground operation that will help Obama win North Carolina for a second cycle in a row this November.

“We’re confident we’ll be full,” Jen Psaki, the traveling Obama press secretary, told The Hill late last week. “We have a great ground operation in North Carolina and we’ve registered more voters than any other state.

“Our goal is to leave North Carolina better than we came in,” Psaki added.

Obama set himself up for a challenge when he decided to recreate the image that closed his 2008 convention — an address to a packed, enthusiastic crowd at Denver’s Invesco Field.

Via: The Hill

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Poll: Number of Americans Who Consider Themselves Republicans Hits Record High…

After falling for two straight months, the number of Americans who consider themselves Republicans jumped nearly three points in August.

During August, 37.6% of Americans considered themselves Republicans. That’s up from 34.9% in July  and 35.4% in June. It’s also the largest number of Republicans ever recorded by Rasmussen Report since monthly tracking began in November 2002. The previous peak for the GOP was 37.3% in September 2004. See History of Party Trends.

Via: Rasmussen Reports

WHILE RED STATES DROWN, WHITE HOUSE RELEASES BEER RECIPE

This week, the media solemnly suggested that, with a tropical storm bearing down on the Gulf Coast, the RNC should considering canceling their convention. It would be in poor tasted, they scolded, to continue with political speeches and celebrations while New Orleans was threatened with another devastating storm. Today, as the storm moves north and residents of the Gulf Coast begin to clean up, over 500,000 people are without power and thousands remain in shelters. In other news today, the White House released its own beer recipe.

From the White House:

Inspired by home brewers from across the country, last year President Obama bought a home brewing kit for the kitchen. After the few first drafts we landed on some great recipes that came from a local brew shop. We received some tips from a couple of home brewers who work in the White House who helped us amend it and make it our own. To be honest, we were surprised that the beer turned out so well since none of us had brewed beer before.

As far as we know the White House Honey Brown Ale is the first alcohol brewed or distilled on the White House grounds. George Washington brewed beer and distilled whiskey at Mount Vernon and Thomas Jefferson made wine but there's no evidence that any beer has been brewed in the White House. (Although we do know there was some drinking during prohibition…)

Since our first batch of White House Honey Brown Ale, we've added the Honey Porter and have gone even further to add a Honey Blonde this past summer. Like many home brewers who add secret ingredients to make their beer unique, all of our brews have honey that we tapped from the first ever bee-hive on the South Lawn. The honey gives the beer a rich aroma and a nice finish but it doesn't sweeten it.

Via: Breitbart

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DNC SPEAKERS: THE USUAL ANGRY, LEFTIST SUSPECTS

They can’t help themselves; the Democrats are angry, frustrated and scared, and the list of speakers they are trotting out reveals that they are more desperate than ever. Let’s take a look at these attack dogs (with a brief example of their gentle demeanors):

John Kerry, attacking the United States:

Each day to facilitate the process by which the United States washes her hands of Vietnam, someone has to give up his life so that the United States doesn’t have to admit something that the entire world already knows … so that we can't say that we’ve made a mistake.

Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley, insinuating Republicans are racist:

When you have a party that says coded things, that makes totally false ads up, falsely saying the president is trying to undo welfare reform, I think you're going to see a lot of heavily and not-so-subtly coded messages from the Romney-Ryan campaign.

Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel, 1996, referring to people who had betrayed his boss Bill Clinton in 1992:

Suddenly Emanuel grabbed his steak knife and, as those who were there remember it, shouted out the name of another enemy, lifted the knife, then brought it down with full force into the table. 'Dead!' he screamed. The group immediately joined in the cathartic release: ''Nat Landow! Dead! Cliff Jackson! Dead! Bill Schaefer! Dead!'

Nancy Pelosi, speaking of enforcing immigration laws: “I think it’s un-American.”

Via: Breitbart

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Obama to Eastwood: ‘This Chair is Taken’

*President Barack Obama – or at least someone in his camp – tweeted a response to Clint Eastwood’s mocking of him with an interesting, cheeky response.

“This chair is taken,” said the tweet that came with a picture of himself in a chair. The president’s Twitter account, by the way, has 19 million followers.

As you can imagine, Eastwood’s strange attempt to “make the GOP’s Day” had Twitter and social media on fire Thursday evening.

As we reported, his rambling, sometimes confusing remarks pretended that Obama (depicted as an empty chair) was cursing Mitt Romney (and him) as he critiqued Obama’s policies. His deadpan delivery worked sometimes, but for the most part it didn’t and one was left wondering what the hell they were witnessing. In other words, it added up to one giant FAIL.

Within minutes Twitter was flooded with remarks in favor and making fun of the 82-year-old actor-director, reports The Wrap.

On top of that, a new Twitter account, “Invisible Obama,” was launched and quickly gathered 20,000 followers and counting.

Via: EurWeb.com

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Study: Most Jobs In ‘Economic Recovery’ Are Low Paying

Lower-paying jobs, with median hourly wages from $7.69 to $13.83, made up about 58% of the job growth from the end of the recession in late 2009 through early 2012.

WASHINGTON — Whereas 6 in 10 jobs lost during the Great Recession paid mid-level wages, the majority of jobs created in the recovery — positions such as store clerks, laborers and home healthcare aides — pay much less, according to a new study.

The findings highlight concerns about a shrinking middle class and pose another obstacle to getting the economy back on track, said Annette Bernhardt, policy co-director at the National Employment Law Project, which conducted the study.

"The recovery continues to be skewed toward low-wage jobs, reinforcing the rise in inequality and America's deficit of good jobs," she said. "While there's understandably a lot of focus on getting employment back to pre-recession levels, the quality of jobs is rapidly emerging as a second front in the struggling recovery."

Lower-paying jobs, with median hourly wages from $7.69 to $13.83, accounted for just 21% of the job losses during the recession. But they've made up about 58% of the job growth from the end of the recession in late 2009 through early 2012.

Those jobs have been concentrated in three industries: food services, retail and employment services, such as office clerks and customer service representatives, the study found.

In contrast, mid-wage occupations with median hourly wages from $13.84 to $21.13 — jobs such as construction workers, real estate brokers and data entry clerks — have accounted for just 22% of the new jobs in the recovery after making up 60% of the job losses in the recession.

Higher-wage occupations, with median hourly pay above $21.13, accounted for about 19% of the recession job losses and have made up about 20% of the jobs gained in the recovery, the study said.

The study covered jobs created from the first quarter of 2010 through the first quarter of 2012.

The recession and its aftermath have exacerbated a three-decade trend of growing wage inequality fueled by a shrinking number of mid-wage jobs, the study said.

Since the first quarter of 2001, employment in mid-wage jobs has decreased 7.3%. Meanwhile, lower-wage jobs have grown 8.7% and higher-wage jobs have increased 6.6%.

"The economy has fewer good jobs now than it did at the start of the 21st century," said Bernhardt, the study's coauthor.

She said there was no "single magic bullet" to reverse the trend.

But Washington officials could help improve the situation, Bernhardt added, by extending unemployment benefits, raising the minimum wage and enacting policies to stimulate job growth in highway construction and other infrastructure work, as well as helping prevent layoffs of teachers, police officers and firefighters.

Via: LA Times

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Obama's Guilty Silence On The Economy

No apology for economic sins

The most salient characteristic of the Obama administration’s abject failure to put the American economy back to work has been its deafening silence on the issue in his campaign.

President Obama doesn’t talk about the economy’s painful weaknesses. Democrats in Congress are all but silent on the issue, as if it doesn’t exist. His campaign ads ignore it altogether as if everything’s fine, asking voters to turn their attention to lesser issues — ones that don’t make the top 10 list of major concerns in voter surveys.

Across the Potomac River in swing state Virginia, almost all of the Obama attack ads against Republican rival Mitt Romney are about abortion and contraception, hoping they will be able to woo enough women to vote for Mr. Obama based on a single issue to put the state into his electoral column.

We’re in an election year when the president’s handling of the economy is the No. 1 complaint. High unemployment and the lack of good-paying jobs is No. 2, and unfathomable budget deficits and a nearly $16 trillion debt are Nos. 3 and 4. Mr. Obama believes he can win a second term on abortion, Mr. Romney’s tax returns and bashing his successful career as a venture capital investor. Apparently, he thinks the American people are fools who will fall for the old carnival shell game.

In “The Emperor’s New Clothes,” Hans Christian Andersen tells the tale of two tailors who weave a suit of clothes that is supposedly invisible to anyone who is either stupid or incompetent. When the emperor rides by, no one in the crowd dares to say anything, until a child cries out, “He isn’t wearing anything at all.”

Via: Washington Times

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Taxpayer-funded youth outreach: 435 visits by Obama admin to campuses since 2011

President Obama and his administration officials have made 435 taxpayer-funded visits to college campuses or other events targeting students since March 2011 , including 166 trips to battleground states, a new study shows.

“The travel is not tied to trying to pass a specific piece of legislation,” Paul Conway, president of the influential youth group, Generation Opportunity, told The Washington Examiner. “It’s all travel specifically targeted to a demographic. And when you think about how important a role young voters play in [Obama's] coalition, then it’s not just by happenstance.”

According to the study, which surveyed administration announcements and media reports,Virginia students have received 34 visits –  more than any other state — from Obama or his representatives. That number is doubtless inflated by the convenience of traveling a relatively short distance for events, but the state also plays a crucial role in his re-election efforts.

“If we win Virginia, we will win this election,” Obama said at a high school in Leesburg, Va., during a recent campaign stop. California and New York — in fairness, two deep-blue states — rank second and third for administration visits to students, but Pennsylvania comes in fourth with 22.

North Carolina, which saw Obama recently “slow-jam the news” with Jimmy Fallon during an official event focused om student loans at the state’s flagship university, has received 19 visits. Students in other key battleground states have also received significant attention, especially Florida (17), Colorado (15),  Michigan and Ohio (14 each). Students in Iowa and New Hampshire got nine visits each from the official Obama team, while Wisconsin edged New Mexico by getting six visits to its campuses, rather than five. The Obama administration visited students in Nevada twice.

Via: The Examiner

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Obama: Republican voters ‘often agree with me’

President Barack Obama speaks to supporters, Wednesday, Aug. 29, 2012 in Charlottesville, Va. (AP Photo/The Daily Progress, Andrew Shurtleff)

President Barack Obama said Republican voters “often agree with me,” insisting that his “approach” at governing has been “consistent” from the start of his term.

Obama added that he has proposed policies which “used to be embraced” by the Republican Party.

Obama was asked, “So how are you going to talk to Republicans differently if you are reelected?”

“Republican voters, if you ask them about my particular policy positions, often agree with me. So there’s a difference between Republicans in Washington and Republican and Republican-leaning voters around the country,” Obama said in a Parade Magazine reader question-and-answer session published on Friday.

“I think that after this election, we’ll be in a position to once again reach out to Republicans and say that the American people have rendered a judgment, and the positions we’re taking are well within what used to be considered bipartisan centrist approaches.”

Obama was then asked, “Are you saying there’ll be a difference in how you approach Republicans, or their attitude will be different if you get reelected?”

“My approach has been pretty consistent from the start; I’ve often proposed ways to solve our problems that used to be embraced by Republicans. There’s no better example than the health care bill, which was designed originally by the now Republican standard-bearer and is working pretty well in Massachusetts,” he responded.

Via: The Daily Caller

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OBAMA CAMPAIGNS AS RED STATE DROWNS; SEVEN RALLIES BEFORE LOUISIANA VISIT

As you all probably know by now, as of this morning, President Obama had no scheduled plans to visit Louisiana -- the state hit hardest by Hurricane Isaac. That is, until newly minted GOP nominee Mitt Romney announced immediately after his convention that he would visit the storm-ravaged area. Romney's there now as I write this and not long after his trip was announced, liked a jilted suitor on the chase, President Obama announced he would squeeze in some time for a similar visit.  

Obama obviously didn’t care about visiting Louisiana because it can do nothing to help his reelection bid. Obama is nothing if not mercenary when it comes to holding on to power, so why visit a state stupid, racist, and misguided enough to give Romney all of its electoral votes.

But as he's done for the last 20 days; today, Romney out-flanked Obama, announced his visit, and forced Obama into a defensive crouch where he had to change his selfish plans.

Bottom line: This morning, Mitt Romney led and President Empty Chair was forced to follow.

And it's a beautiful thing.

But why doesn’t Obama visit right away? Today? There's no doubt a presidential visit would put a spotlight on the disaster, which in turn would likely boost donations to the Red Cross when those donations are needed most.

Answer: You remember that whole mercenary thing I mentioned earlier about Obama? Here's the president's schedule as of now -- here's a look at President FailureTeleprompter's priorities during and after a storm the took lives:

Tuesday 8/28: “Obama To Discuss Cost Of Education During Fort Collins Visit At CSU”

Tuesday 8/28: “Obama Reaches Out To Students In Ames [IA].”

Wednesday: 8/29:  “In Charlottesville [VA], Obama Makes Appeal To Young Voters.”

Friday 8/31: “Texas Bound” -- To be fair to the president, this is an official visit with the troops marking the two-year anniversary of the end of the war in Iraq. How fortunate for Obama this opportunity arises to play Commander-in-Chief the very day after  the close of the GOP convention.

Saturday 9/1: Iowa again for a campaign stop.

Sunday 9/2:  Campaign stop in Colorado.

Monday 9/3:  Campaign event in Ohio.

Until FINALLY….

Via: Breitbart

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Memoirs of an American Family

During the summer of 1979, Jimmy Carter gave his famous Crisis of Confidence speech. In the now infamous narrative, Carter intended to set forth a new energy plan. Instead, the speech revealed his shaky confidence in the American ideal. Behind shallow praise of the “American People,” the former peanut farmer painted a picture of our nation with a pessimistic brush. America was facing a “crisis of spirit” and had lost confidence in her future. Needless to say, this message of “Malaise” did not resonate strongly with a generation of Americans who had been raised in a nation with confidence and patriotism in their hearts. During the 1980 election, Americans came to a fork in the road. They had a decision to make between the “malaise” of the Carter administration and the future promised by a retired actor named Ronald Reagan.

Like me, my father was on his way out of college during the 1980 election cycle. Although he did not trust Reagan because of his years in the liberal cesspool that is Hollywood, he was deathly afraid of Jimmy Carter’s policies and lack of experience in the political sphere. Just like in 1980, I believe our nation is standing on the precipice of economic destruction and political chaos in 2012. The future President Obama promises does not align with the principles of hard work, individual innovation, and entrepreneurship that built my past. While the American people will always keep the fires of the American Dream alive in our hearts, our government has steadily progressed away from individualism and small government. At this juncture in history, I find it enlightening to look into the past for answers, both my past and my father’s past.

I grew up learning the values of hard work, innovation, and compassion from my father. He embraced these lessons as a young man growing up in a small town in the Midwest before he imparted them to my siblings and me. My father was born smack dab in the middle of a family of 12 in the small town of Atchison, Kansas. My hometown is one where local, familial ties are important, and the Lutz family was a classic example of this practice. Early on, each of the 12 children learned to work hard and watch out for each other. My grandfather started a dealership and auto repair service with his brother in the 1950s after serving in the Korean War. He was a trusted businessman and always made sure to shop local and take care of his friends and neighbors. My father and his 11 siblings grew to appreciate the small town life, entrepreneurship, and family ties through their parents’ example.

When my father was 7 years old, tragedy struck our family as his father, my grandfather, passed away from a sudden heart attack. My grandmother never remarried and raised 12 children on her own. The entire family pulled together. According to my father, they had to “work as a team if they wanted to survive.” My father and my aunts and uncles didn’t know they were poor. For them, hard work was a part of life. The children made money in any way that they could. My father delivered papers when he was 12 and grew up doing odd jobs around town, including shining shoes and collecting bottles. The children were lucky enough to attend a private, Catholic school in town, but they had to work hard to pay the high tuition bills. During high school, my father would occasionally stop by the school office and drop off 5 or 10 dollars for his tuition payment. Eventually, he and his siblings paid for their own educations.

Via: Hot Air Green Room

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The RNC and DNC big difference: They Got Clinton, We Got Clint

The footnote to the Republican National Convention (RNC) in light of the upcoming Democratic National Convention (DNC) is—they got Clinton and we got Clint.

Clint Eastwood got off the best line in last night’s RNC when directing imaginary questions to an angry at being questioned Barack Obama symbolized by an empty chair:  “I can’t do that to myself!” and later, “Romney can’t do that to himself either.”

Eastwood’s attempt to personify an empty chair as Obama was more realistic than what the DNC will try to do with keynote speaker former President William Jefferson Clinton: a keynote speaker,  who has stated outside the venue that “Obama doesn’t know how to be president.  I mean, he doesn’t even know how the world works.  He’s incompetent.” (Rush Limbaugh), now trying to sell a failed president to a hurting America.

But trying to fashion a Socialist reality with no truth has been the Obama administration’s mission for the last 1,319 and still counting days of our lives. (CFP Countdown clock until Obama Leaves Office).
Obama purportedly wasn’t watching RNC speakers, including mighty Mitt Romney last night.

But this is the email, subject “Their Night” he sent out last night:

From: Barack Obama info@barackobama.com
Subject: Their night
Date: 31 August, 2012 12:16:11 AM EDT
To:       cfp@canadafreepress.com
Reply-To: info@barackobama.com
Friend—
Tonight was their night.
But our focus must be on tomorrow.
The fundraising deadline tomorrow is one of the last we get to build the campaign it takes to win.
Will you donate $5 or more right now?
I’m proud to be on this team.
Let’s go.
Barack
P.S.—With 68 days to go, I’m counting on you to help us keep pace in spite of unprecedented spending on the other side. Pitch in before the big deadline tomorrow.

Via: Canada Free Press

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Romney in convention speech: ‘Centerpiece’ of Obama campaign ‘attacking success’

TAMPA, Fla. — Mitt Romney accepted the Republican Party’s nomination for president Thursday night and offered a strong argument against President Barack Obama by saying that the “centerpiece of the president’s entire re-election campaign is attacking success.”

“Is it any wonder that someone who attacks success has led the worst economic recovery since the Great Depression?” Romney said to the crowd here at the Tampa Bay Times Forum, ending the three day-long convention. “In America, we celebrate success, we don’t apologize for it.”

The former Massachusetts governor, who paraded into the convention arena to Kid Rock’s song “Born Free,” referenced the late astronaut Neil Armstrong and declared “that when the world needs someone to do the really big stuff, you need an American.”

He opened up about his religion and his family, tearing up briefly as he described how his dad gave his mom a rose everyday, “which he put on her bedside table.”

“That’s how she found out what happened on the day my father died — she went looking for him because that morning, there was no rose,” Romney said with tears in his eyes.

He made a point of praising the women leaders of the Republican Party today who addressed the convention, something he said his mother would have enjoyed seeing.

“I wish she could have been here at the convention and heard leaders like Gov. Mary Fallin, Gov. Nikki Haley, Gov. Susana Martinez, Sen. Kelly Ayotte and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice,” he said.

Via: The Daily Caller

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