Draw Down, Back Down Obama to push come-home foreign policy in debate

President Barack Obama is pushing an isolationist return-to-home foreign policy in his latest TV attack-ad, entitled “Rebuilding.”

Obama will likely push that theme during Monday’s foreign-policy debate, partly because support for the anti-jihad campaigns in Iraq and Afghanistan have fallen further — especially among late-deciding swing voters — since Obama took office in 2009.

“Obama ended the Iraq war. Mitt Romney would have kept 30,000 troops there, and called bringing them home ‘tragic,’” says the 32-second ad.

“Obama has brought 30,000 soldiers back from Afghanistan, and has a responsible plan to end the war. … It is time to stop fighting over there, and start rebuilding here,” the ad concludes.

The ad does not say if the president wants to win the Afghanistan campaign, which began after al-Qaida’s jihadis used Afghanistan to launch the Sept. 11 attack on New York.

Obama pulled troops out of Iraq in 2011 after Iraq leaders declined a proposed long-term strategic deal. The draft deal, however, collapsed after Obama said the proposed U.S. back-force in Iraq had to be fewer than 4,000 troops.

The withdrawal came after U.S. forces had won a hard-fought to campaign to cripple the various groups that were attacking the elected Iraqi government.

Since then, Iraq’s government has come under increasing pressure from the radical leadership in neighboring Iran.

Via: The Daily Caller

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CA: FLIERS OFFERING VOTERS FREE MARIJUANA LEADS TO HIGH TURNOUT

Fliers offering voters $40 worth of marijuana led to increased turnout in an October 13 Neighborhood Council election in Eagle Rock, California. 

Voters in Eagle Rock reported they saw fliers with names of candidates running on the "Progess and Collaboration" slate that offered them free marijuana if they voted in the Neighborhood Council elections. 

According to CBS Los Angeles, "nearly 10 times as many voters – 792 residents – turned out to the polls during the recent Neighborhood Council elections than last year" and residents were able to collect enough signatures to put the issue of whether pot dispensaries should be banned in the city on the ballot. 

“You can’t pay your way like that, that’s not cool,” resident Danielle Sargent told CBS Los Angeles.

Yet, the fliers did not lead to victory for the Progress and Collaboration slate -- only two of the eight "Progress" candidates won.  Residents accused a local marijuana dispensary of distributing the fliers. 

Via: Breitbart

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U.S. Government's Foreign Debt Now $47,495 Per Household

(CNSNews.com) - The debt that the U.S. government owes to foreign interests now equals approximately $47,495 for each household in the United States, according to the latest data released by the U.S. Treasury and the Census Bureau.

The portion of the U.S. government’s foreign debt now owed to interests in Mainland China is about $10,090 per household.

At the end of August, the latest period reported by the U.S. Treasury, foreign interests held a total of $5,430,000,000,000 in U.S. government debt. According to the Census Bureau’s latest estimate (which was for June 2012) there were 114,328,000 households in the United States. Therefore, the total U.S. government debt held by foreign interests was about $47,494.93 per household.

Back in January 2009, foreign interests held a total of $3,071,700,000,000 in U.S. government debt. That month, according to the Census Bureau, there were 111,079,000 households in the United States. Therefore the total U.S. government debt held by foreign interests was about $27,653.29 per household.

Since January 2009, the total U.S. government debt held by foreign interests has climbed from approximately $27,653.29 per household to approximately $47,494.93 per household—an increase of about $19,841.64 per household.

Among foreign interests, those in Mainland China hold the largest share of the U.S. government’s debt. The Mainland Chinese, according to the Treasury, owned $1,153,600,000,000 in U.S. Treasury securities as of the end of August.

Back in January 2009, interests in Mainland China held only $739.6 billion in U.S. government debt. That month, the U.S. government owed about $6,658 per American household to interests in China. As of the end of August, the U.S. government owed about $10,090 per American household to interests in China—an increase since January 2009 of about $3,432 per household.

Via: CNS News

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JUST MORE WORDS: Still Not Clear On Second Term Agenda

Team Obama Spends Sunday Morning Being Asked Where And What Is Obama’s Vision For A Second Term?

OBAMA SURROGATES SPENT THEIR SUNDAY MORNING FACING QUESTIONS ABOUT WHAT OBAMA WILL DO IN A SECOND TERM

NBC’s David Gregory: “ Has The President Spent More Time Trying To Disqualify Romney As An Alternative Than Affirmatively Saying What A Second Term Would Actually Look Like?” NBC’s DAVID GREGORY: “Generally, the attack that has come on this president from his opposition, from Governor Romney and from Paul Ryan, and you heard it from Senator Rubio, a lack of a second term agenda. Is it fair, that criticism? Has the president spent more time trying to disqualify Romney as an alternative than affirmatively saying what a second term would actually look like?” (NBC‘s “Meet The Press,” 10/21/12)

ABC’s George Stephanopoulos: “Can You Counter It And Lay Out Exactly What President Obama Would Do In A Second Term?” GEORGE STEPHANOPOULOS: “He seems to be getting some traction with that argument. Can you counter it and lay out exactly what President Obama would do in a second term?” (ABC’s “This Week,” 10/21/12)

• Stephanopoulos: “It Sounds Like What You’re Saying Is That What You Want Is More Of What We Had The Last Four Years.” (ABC’s “This Week,” 10/21/12)

OBAMA HAS HAD PLENTY OF TIME TO GIVE HIS SECOND TERM PLANS BUT VOTERS HAVE BEEN LEFT IN THE DARK

The Washington Post’s Dan Balz: Obama Has Been “Rightly Criticized For Not Being More Specific About His Second-Term Agenda.” “The president has rightly been criticized for not being more specific about his second-term agenda. What economic policies does he have that he hasn’t already tried? What is he truly prepared to do on the deficit?”(Dan Balz, “For Obama and Romney, Monday’s Debate Is Crucial,” The Washington Post, 10/20/12)

• “Having Gone This Far, It’s Not Likely He Will Start Filling In Those Blanks In The Final Two Weeks. He Prefers To Tell Voters Why They Should Fear Romney.” (Dan Balz, “For Obama and Romney, Monday’s Debate Is Crucial,” The Washington Post, 10/20/12)

• Obama Hasn’t Restored “A Sense Of Faith And Optimism About The Next Four Years.” “But what he also hasn’t done yet is restore a sense of faith and optimism about the next four years. That’s what Michael Jones was looking for last week, not merely a recitation of a litany of actions undertaken. It remains a missing piece in the president’s message.” (Dan Balz, “For Obama and Romney, Monday’s Debate Is Crucial,” The Washington Post, 10/20/12)

VIa: GOP.com

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THE BIG FAIL: Voters Wonder Where Obama’s Vision Is For Country As Well As His Facts

ROMNEY HAS BETTER VISION FOR THE COUNTRY THAN OBAMA

CBS’s Charlie Kaye: “In the @CBSNews Instant Poll, 65% say Romney won on the issue of the economy. 34% say Obama won on the economy.” (Charlie Kaye, Twitter Feed, 10/16/12)

CNN’s Wolf Blitzer: “Look at this. 58%, 58% of debate watchers say Romney would better handle the economy, 40% say President Obama would. That’s issue number one.” (CNN’s “Debate Night In America,” 10/17/12)

• CNN’s Wolf Blitzer: “59% say Romney would do a better job on the deficit, 36% say President Obama would do a better job on the deficit.” (CNN’s “Debate Night In America,” 10/17/12)

• CNN’s Wolf Blitzer: “We also asked who would better handle the issue of taxes. 51% say Romney. 44% say president Obama.” (CNN’s “Debate Night In America,” 10/17/12)

• CNN’s Wolf Blitzer: “49% say Romney would better handle health care, compared to 46% for president Obama. 49-46.” (CNN’s “Debate Night In America,” 10/17/12)

• CNN’s Wolf Blitzer: “We also asked who seemed to be a stronger leader. 49% said Governor Romney, compared to 46% for President Obama.” (CNN’s “Debate Night In America,” 10/16/12)

• CNN’s Wolf Blitzer: “We also asked who spent more time attacking his opponent. 49% said President Obama. 35% said Governor Romney.” (CNN’s “Debate Night In America,” 10/16/12)

• CNN’s Wolf Blitzer: “45% say Romney answered the questions more directly, compared to 43% for President Obama.” (CNN’s “Debate Night In America,” 10/16/12)

Pittsburgh Tribune-Review’s Salena Zito: “I’m sorry but all day every reporter was talking about the Obama Team saying Obama would talk about his vision. Yet not once, not once did he.” (Salena Zito, Twitter Feed, 10/17/12)

CNBC’s Larry Kudlow: “You know I still don’t know what President Obama’s economic growth vision is, I don’t think he outlined it. You know I think Obama was a pretty good counterpuncher tonight. He had a lot more energy going, there’s no question about that. Both these guys had a lot of energy going but at the end of the day, I still don’t know what the president is intending if he’s reelected. I don’t think he made the case. I don’t think he provided a vision. I think he was mostly a counterpuncher and Mitt Romney wouldn’t let him have the counterpunch without the counter-counterpunch. So in that sense it’s a push but I still don’t see what the Obama case is for reelection. I just don’t see it; I didn’t hear it from him.” (CNBC, 10/16/12)\

Via: GOP.com

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THE BIG FAIL: Former Obama Econ Adviser Steven Rattner Says Obama Is “At The Bottom Of The Pack” Of Recent Presidents When It Comes To Economic Growth

Obama Auto Bailout Czar Steven Rattner Said That Obama Is At The “Bottom Of The Pack…When It Comes To Plain Economic Growth.” MSNBC’s MIKA BRZEZINSKI: “Yeah. We looked at post-debate polls that suggested people seemed to favor the president’s performance in the debate, but they gave Mitt Romney higher marks for his ability to handle the economy. So Steve Rattner is here with charts this morning to explain why that may have come out that way. Charts on the economy. Steve, take it away.” OBAMA CAR CZAR STEVEN RATTNER: “Sure. Well, as we all know, the president is facing – has been facing – a pretty stiff economic headwind. And what I want to do is lay out how his economic situation compares across a bunch of different indicators to those of other people who have run for president recently. And you’ll see interesting results in terms of how the economy’s performed. So one measure people often look at is real GDP which is obviously how much has the economy grown. So for each of these presidents we start with the beginning of their first term, and then we progress ourselves out to their re-election point. And what you can see not surprisingly, because we talk a lot about the weak economy, is that by this measure, Obama is really pretty much at the bottom of the pack. And the other four presidents that have preceded him all had substantially better performance when it comes to plain economic growth. Now, economic growth alone is not a recipe for re-election, as you can see, because Bush 41 did not get re-elected, and Jimmy Carter, of course, did not get re-elected.” (MSNBC’s ” Morning Joe,” 10/18/12)

Rattner Acknowledged The Last Time The Country Experienced Such Slow Economic Growth Was During The Great Depression. MSNBC’s WILLIE GEIST: “Steve what about the argument that you would hear looking at that chart from the Obama White House that that trough you see on the chart right there took a lot of digging to get out of, and that’s why they’re at 3.1%.” RATTNER: “That’s precisely the argument, but remember, we are still growing pretty slowly, 1.3%, 1.5%, it’s not the kind of growth rates we’ve had in the past. So it is a slow-growth economy. And I think when people are asked how does the president handle the economy, it obviously factors into their view. But if you look at a couple other measures -” TIME’s MARK HALPERIN: “Can I ask you a quick question? When did we last have a period of, a four-year period of GDP growth this low?” RATTNER: “I think you’d have to go back to -” MSNBC’s JOE SCARBOROUGH: “You’d have to go back to the ’30s?” RATTNER: “I think you’d have to go back to the ’30s. Four years like this, yeah. I think so.” SCARBOROUGH: “The early ’30s, maybe?” (MSNBC’s “Morning Joe,” 10/18/12)

 Via: GOP.com

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THE BIG FAIL: Fact Checking Obama At Debate #2: 13 Lies And Counting…

An Assortment Of Obama’s Lies During The Second Presidential Debate

 

LIE #1: OBAMA MISCHARACTERIZED HIS RESPONSE ON LIBYA

THE CLAIM: Obama: “The Day After The Attack, Governor, I Stood In The Rose Garden, And I Told The American People And The World That We Are Going To Find Out Exactly What Happened, That This Was An Act Of Terror.” OBAMA: “Secretary Clinton has done an extraordinary job. But she works for me. I’m the president. And I’m always responsible. And that’s why nobody is more interested in finding out exactly what happened than I did (sic). The day after the attack, Governor, I stood in the Rose Garden, and I told the American people and the world that we are going to find out exactly what happened, that this was an act of terror. And I also said that we’re going to hunt down those who committed this crime. And then a few days later, I was there greeting the caskets coming into Andrews Air Force Base and grieving with the families.” (President Barack Obama, Presidential Debate, Hempstead, N.Y., 10/16/12)

THE FACTS: The Washington Post ‘s Fact Checker: Obama Did Not Say “Terrorism” In The Rose Garden And “It Took The Administration Days To Concede That That It Was An ‘Act Of Terrorism’” Unrelated To The Video. “What did Obama say in the Rose Garden a day after the attack in Libya? ‘No acts of terror will ever shake the resolve of this nation,’ he said. But he did not say ‘terrorism’-and it took the administration days to concede that that it was an ‘act of terrorism’ that appears unrelated to initial reports of anger at a video that defamed the prophet Muhammad.” (Glenn Kessler, “Fact Check: Libya Attack,” The Washington Post’s The Fact Checker, 10/16/12)

THE FACTS: Politico ‘s Mike Allen: In The Rose Garden, Obama Said “Very Generally, We Will Not Let Acts Of Terror Go Unpunished.” POLITICO’s MIKE ALLEN: “There’s going to be a bunch of fact checks, but just to do a fact check here. When Governor Romney said that Obama had been slow in calling the Libya attack terrorism and the President said ‘oh wait a minute, in the Rose Garden, the day after, I referred to an act of terror’, Candy Crowley stepped in and said that he was right. It’s actually arguable. And I’m looking at the transcript of that White House event the day after and he started by referring to them as selfless acts, which is casted very differently than the sort of very planned action that we now have. Later toward the end, he makes a reference to 9/11 and he says, very generally, we will not let acts of terror go unpunished. So that’s going to be an arguable point.” (Presidential Debate Wrap-Up, Politico Live, 10/16/12)

Via: GOP.com

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[VIDEO] Obama's Planned Parenthood Claim Destroyed...By Planned Parenthood

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Published on Oct 20, 2012 by BlackAndRight

Despite the fact the Department of Health and Human Services says there are NO Planned Parenthood clinics in the United States licensed to offer mammograms, President Obama and his surrogates continue to claim a defunding of Planned Parenthood will deny women of services they don't offer.

Via: Fox News

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IPT: Scores of Radical Islamists Made Hundreds of Visits to the Obama White House

A year-long investigation by the Investigative Project on Terrorism (IPT) has found that scores of known radical Islamists made hundreds of visits to the Obama White House, meeting with top administration officials.

Court documents and other records have identified many of these visitors as belonging to groups serving as fronts for the Muslim Brotherhood, Hamas and other Islamic militant organizations.

The IPT made the discovery combing through millions of White House visitor log entries. IPT compared the visitors' names with lists of known radical Islamists. Among the visitors were officials representing groups which have:

• Been designated by the Department of Justice as unindicted co-conspirators in terrorist trials; Extolled Islamic terrorist groups including Hamas and Hizballah;
• Obstructed terrorist investigations by instructing their followers not to cooperate with law enforcement;
• Promoted the incendiary conspiratorial allegation that the United States is engaged in a "war against Islam"— a leading tool in recruiting Muslims to carry out acts of terror;
• Repeatedly claimed that many of the Islamic terrorists convicted since 9-11 were framed by the U.S government as part of an anti-Muslim profiling campaign.

Individuals from the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) visited the White House at least 20 times starting in 2009. In 2008, CAIR was listed as an unindicted co-conspirator in the largest terrorist money laundering case in U.S. history – the trial of the Holy Land Foundation in which five HLF officials were convicted of funneling money to Hamas.

U.S. District Court Judge Jorge Solis later ruled that, "The Government has produced ample evidence to establish the association" of CAIR to Hamas, upholding their designations as unindicted co-conspirators. In 2008, the FBI formally ended all contact with CAIR because of its ties to Hamas.

Via: IPT

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U.S. Chamber of Commerce Calls Elizabeth Warren ‘Catastrophically Antibusiness’

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce on Thursday launched a new get-out-the-vote effort, sending a video to members and dropping its first piece of direct-mail in the general election, attacking Democratic Massachusetts Senate candidate Elizabeth Warren.

The chamber emailed the following video message from Chamber President and CEO Tom Donohue to member businesses:

The chamber says it will reach 7 million members, distributing payroll stuffers, posters, and postcards for businesses to turn out employees and sway their votes.

On top of TV and radio ads already airing, the chamber today issued its first attack mailer of the 2012 general election, the group told ABC News. The chamber had already sent a mailer in support of Sen. Dick Lugar’s losing effort in his Indiana Senate primary; but today it sent this direct-mail piece to targeted registered voters in Massachusetts, where Warren is challenging incumbent GOP Sen. Scott Brown.

The mailer calls Warren “catastrophically antibusiness”:

 Via: ABC News

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University of Michigan uses school funds — against rules — to promote left-wing event

The University of Michigan used school resources and state tax dollars to advertise a partisan event entitled “The Republican War on Women,” according to the Michigan Capitol Confidential website. Such paid advertising violates the school’s own policies charges a candidate for the University’s Board of Regents, Robert Steele.

According to the University of Michigan’s own website, Michigan law prohibits “using an official University e-mail list or listserv to campaign for or against a ballot initiative or candidate running for office.” Michigan law also prohibits “purporting to speak on behalf of the University when supporting or opposing a candidate or ballot initiative.”

The event, sponsored by the Communications Studies Department, is scheduled to occur tonight on Michigan’s hallowed Ann Arbor campus.

Steele has charged that the “Republican War on Women” was listed as a factual statement for the event and that the University used its email system to advertise the event.

After Steele raised a ruckus about the event, the University of Michigan website quickly changed the title by adding a question mark. However, Michigan Capitol Confidential preserved the original image.

“The question mark came on only after people started complaining,” Steele said, according to Michigan Capitol Confidential. “Because they are so liberal in their mindset, it never occurs to them that they violate their own rules.”

The school also changed the graphic associated with the event. The original graphic prominently included a red shooting target eerily similar to the one for which Sarah Palin was so roundly criticized after Arizona Democrat Rep. Gabrielle Giffords was shot. In the aftermath of that shooting, many on the left called for a “return to civility.”

Each speaker at the event is a severe critic of GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney and a left winger straight out of central casting.

Via: The Daily Caller

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THE BIG FAIL: Obama Claims To Have Made College More Affordable, ButStudent Loan Debt Continues To Burden Grads Under His Watch

ACCORDING TO A NEW REPORT, THE AVERAGE STUDENT LOAN DEBT FOR THE CLASS OF 2011 HAS INCREASED YET AGAIN TO $26,600

Two-Thirds Of Graduates From The Class Of 2011 Have Student Loan Debt, With An Average Of $26,600, An Increase Of Five Percent From Last Year. “We estimate that two-thirds (66%) of college seniors who graduated in 2011 had student loan debt, with an average of $26,600 for those with loans. The five percent increase in average debt at the national level is similar to the average annual increase over the past few years. (“Student Debt And The Class Of 2011,” The Institute For College & Success, 10/12)

• “It’s The Latest Snapshot Of The Growing Burden Of Student Debt And It’s Another Discouraging One.” It’s the latest snapshot of the growing burden of student debt and it’s another discouraging one: Two-thirds of the national college class of 2011 finished school with loan debt, and those who borrowed walked off the graduation stage owing on average $26,600 – up about 5 percent from the class before.” (Justin Pope, “Average Debt Up Again For New College Grads,” The Associated Press, 10/18/12)

“Ohio Students Who Borrowed For College And Earned A Bachelor’s Degree In 2011 Graduated With An Average Of $28,683 In Student-Loan Debt.” “Ohio students who borrowed for college and earned a bachelor’s degree in 2011 graduated with an average of $28,683 in student-loan debt, which ranked seventh highest in the nation for the second year in a row, a new report finds.” (Encarnacion Pyle, “College Debt Of New Ohio Graduates Rises 3.5%,” Columbus Dispatch, 10/18/12)

• That’s “8 Percent Higher Than The National Average Of $26,600 And A 3.5 Percent Increase Over What Ohio Students Who Graduated In 2010 Owed.”“That’s nearly 8 percent higher than the national average of $26,600 and a 3.5 percent increase over what Ohio students who graduated in 2010 owed on average, according to the report by the Project on Student Debt.” (Encarnacion Pyle, “College Debt Of New Ohio Graduates Rises 3.5%,” Columbus Dispatch, 10/18/12)

• “And Like The Previous Year, 68 Percent Of The State’s 2011 Graduates Left School With At Least Some Student-Loan Debt.” (Encarnacion Pyle, “College Debt Of New Ohio Graduates Rises 3.5%,” Columbus Dispatch, 10/18/12)

New Hampshire Has The Highest Student Loan Debt, With An Average Of More Than $32,000 Per Student, While Pennsylvania Is Second With An Average Of $30,000 Per Student. CNBC’s SCOTT COHN: “Much of the debt is concentrated here in the northeast. Connecticut is the fifth highest debt totaling nearly $28,000. Rhode Island is fourth at just over $28,000 per graduate. Number three is Minnesota with more than 70% of the graduates there in debt, averaging just under $29,000 and Pennsylvania average student debt is just under $30,000, and the most indebted state is New Hampshire, with more than $32,000 in average student debt. Three-quarters of the graduates in New Hampshire have student loans.” (CNBC, 10/18/12)

Via: GOP.com

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THE BIG FAIL: Even Democrats Oppose Obama’s EPA Regulations AgainstCoal In Pennsylvania - Obama’s Energy Bust

After Four Years Of Broken Promises And Higher Energy Costs, America Has Been Left With No Real Energy Policy

OBAMA HAS NO ENERGY POLICY

NBC News’ Chuck Todd Said There’s “No Issue That Has Been … A Bigger Bust For The President Than Energy Policy In General.” MSNBC’s CHUCK TODD: “Very quickly, president’s going down to Miami to give an energy speech. Nia, you’ve been with me, I feel like, on the front lines covering the president from the day he took office. There is no issue that has been a, I guess, a bigger bust for the president than energy policy in general. There’s a lot of, we can come up with a lot of excuses as to why, but boy, it’s just like you can’t – he’s made no progress.” THE WASHINGTON POST’s NIA-MALIKA HENDERSON: “No, he’s made no progress. I remember covering him on the campaign and he would talk about, you know, turning these manufacturing plants into wind turbine plants and it seemed to work then, but, you know, in terms of the reality and on the ground actually success during his presidency, absolutely none.” (MSNBC’s  “The Daily Rundown,”  2/23/12)

In June 2011, Obama Said He’s Failed On Energy, Saying His Energy Policy Is Just A “Hodgepodge.” OBAMA: “Our energy policy still is just a hodgepodge, and for all the progress we’ve made, we’re not where we need to be in making sure that this is an energy-efficient economy that is running on all cylinders.”(President Barack Obama, Remarks By The President At A DNC Event, Miami, FL, 6/13/11)

• Obama: “We Haven’t Had An Energy Policy In This Country That Makes Sense And Frees Ourselves From Dependence On Foreign Oil.” (President Barack Obama, Remarks By The President On The American Jobs Act, Millers Creek, NC, 10/17/11)

OBAMA WAS WRONG TO REJECT THE KEYSTONE PIPELINE

“In A Politically Explosive Decision,” Obama Rejected The Keystone Pipeline, Delaying A Tough Choice Until After The November Elections. “In a politically explosive decision, President Barack Obama on Wednesday rejected plans for a massive oil pipeline through the heart of the United States, ruling there was not enough time for a fair review before a looming deadline forced on him by Republicans. His move did not kill the project but could again delay a tough choice for him until after the November elections.” (Ben Feller and Matthew Daly, “Obama Rejects Canada-Texas Oil Pipeline-For Now,” The Associated Press, 1/18/12)

Via: GOP.com

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THE BIG FAIL: Obama’s Boasting Of A Manufacturing Resurgence On TheCampaign Trail Doesn’t Match The Facts On The Ground

OBAMA TOUTS A MANUFACTURING COMEBACK THAT DOESN’T EXIST IN THE STATES

The Latest Bureau Of Labor Statistics Report Shows Manufacturing Jobs Declined In September In 31 States. (Bureau Of Labor Statistics, 10/19/12)

Colorado

In September, Colorado Lost 1000 Manufacturing Jobs. (Bureau of Labor Statistics, Accessed 10/19/12)

• Since Obama Took Office, Colorado Has Lost 5,000 Manufacturing Jobs. (Bureau of Labor Statistics, Accessed 10/19/12)

Iowa

In September, Iowa Lost 600 Manufacturing Jobs. (Bureau of Labor Statistics, Accessed 10/19/12)

Michigan

In September, Michigan Lost 900 Manufacturing Jobs. (Bureau of Labor Statistics, Accessed 10/19/12)

Nevada

In September, Nevada Lost 100 Manufacturing Jobs. (Bureau of Labor Statistics, Accessed 10/19/12)

• Since Obama Took Office, Nevada Has Lost 6,900 Manufacturing Jobs. (Bureau of Labor Statistics, Accessed 10/19/12)

New Hampshire

In September, New Hampshire Lost 100 Manufacturing Jobs. (Bureau of Labor Statistics, Accessed 10/19/12)

• Since Obama Took Office, New Hampshire Has Lost 6,800 Manufacturing Jobs.(Bureau of Labor Statistics, Accessed 10/19/12)

Via: GOP.Com

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Politics: Terrific: More Americans are getting government health care than are working

When you really think about it, it’s a stunning fact. There are now more people in America receiving government health care benefits – Medicare and Medicaid – than there are full-time workers in the economy.

It’s an eye-opener, but it’s more than that. It’s also evidence that we have a system that, by definition, cannot be sustained.

Medicaid and Medicare had a gross combined enrollment of 119,249,000 in 2011. At the same time, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics said that 112,556,000 people worked full-time in the United States in 2011, including 17,806,000 who worked for all levels of government and 94,750,000 who worked for the private sector.

Who do you think pays for the benefits enjoyed by Medicare and Medicaid recipients? Private-sector workers, of course. Now of course, government workers pay taxes too. But where do you think the money comes from to the pay the salaries of government workers at every level of government? From private-sector workers! Without private-sector workers first paying taxes, there would be no government salaries from which to withhold taxes.

The bottom line is that private-sector producers ultimately must generate all the wealth that’s needed to support government at every level. We already know that the federal government is spending 25 percent of the nation’s entire $14 trillion economy, but when you include state, county and local governments, then add in local school districts all across the country, government is actually spending more than 40 percent of GDP.

President Obama likes to say that we have such a large deficit because the rich don’t pay enough taxes. No. The reason we have such a large deficit is that there are not enough people producing in the private-sector to pay for the size of government, and one of the biggest costs in government is the health care benefits we’re paying to 119 million people – more than a third of the entire population. It’s true that many of the current recipients have paid into the system during their lives, some for many years. But the bottom line remains that such a system is unsustainable.

Via: CainTV

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Los Angeles Times Endorses Obama for president

When he was elected president in 2008, Barack Obama was untried and untested. Just four years out of the Illinois state Senate, he had not yet proved himself as either a manager or a leader. He had emerged from relative obscurity as the result of a single convention speech and was voted into office only a few years later on a tidal wave of hope, breezing past several opponents with far more experience and far clearer claims on the job.

Today, Obama is a very different candidate. He has confronted two inherited wars and the deepest recession since the Great Depression. He brought America's misguided adventure in Iraq to an end and arrested the economic downturn (though he did not fully reverse it) with the 2009 fiscal stimulus and a high-risk strategy to save the U.S. automobile industry. He secured passage of a historic healthcare reform law — the most important social legislation since Medicare.

Just as important, Obama brought a certain levelheadedness to the White House that had been in short supply during the previous eight years. While his opponents assailed him as a socialist and a Muslim and repeatedly challenged the location of his birthplace in an effort to call into question his legitimacy as president, he showed himself to be an adult, less an ideologue than a pragmatist, more cautious than cocky. Despite Republicans' persistent obstructionism, he pushed for — and enacted — stronger safeguards against another Wall Street meltdown and abusive financial industry practices. He cut the cost of student loans, persuaded auto manufacturers to take an almost unimaginable leap in fuel efficiency by 2025 and offered a temporary reprieve from deportation to young immigrants brought into the country illegally by their parents. He ended the morally bankrupt "don't ask, don't tell" policy that had institutionalized discrimination against gays in the military.

ENDORSEMENTS: The Times' recommendations for Nov. 6

The nation has been well served by President Obama's steady leadership. He deserves a second term.

His record is by no means perfect. His expansive use of executive power is troubling, as is his continuation of some of the indefensible national security policies of the George W. Bush administration. This page has faulted him for not pushing harder for a comprehensive overhaul of immigration laws. Obama swept into office as a transformative figure, but the expectations built up by the long campaign thudded back to earth amid an unexpectedly steep recession and hyperbolic opposition from the right. That the GOP has sought to block his agenda wherever possible is undeniable, but truly great leaders find ways to bring opposing factions together when the times demand it; Obama has not yet been able to do so.

Via: Los Angeles Times

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OBAMACARE'S HEAVY TOLL ON MIDDLE CLASS AMERICANS

President Obama likes to say his campaign is about building up the middle class, but his signature initiative in office — ObamaCare — will pile thousands of dollars in new taxes and higher health costs on top of America’s middle class.

How so? Through redistribution, of course. The president has made no secret of his fondness for using the government’s tax and spending powers to spread our diminished wealth around from one group of Americans to another. And ObamaCare is nothing if not a massive redistribution machine. It places huge new financial burdens on some Americans — primarily those who already have health insurance, including the vast majority of middle-class families — in order to extend new federal entitlement commitments to other households, primarily the uninsured.

In broad terms, the amount of redistribution is easily ascertained form the aggregate expenditures and taxes contained in ObamaCare. According to the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), in 2020, ObamaCare will spend $229 billion on a Medicaid expansion and a new subsidy program for health insurance. These expenditures will primarily benefit 29 million people newly enrolled in Medicaid and the insurance subsidy program. That works out to nearly $8,000 for every newly insured American, or about $21,000 per newly insured household.

Much of the rest of the legislation is devoted to extracting these resources from everyone else in the country — about 290 million people — who won’t benefit from the new spending programs, and doing so in way that obscures what’s taking place. For these Americans who already have insurance, the law contains nothing but new financial burdens, in the form of higher taxes, higher premiums for their existing plans, and lower benefits, particularly for those on Medicare.

The sum total of the new taxes and Medicare and Medicaid cuts is about $278 billion in 2020. That’s nearly $1,000 in costs on average for most of the country, or $2,500 per household.

ObamaCare’s apologists say that these costs will primarily affect the rich, but that is not true. ObamaCare’s taxes and benefit cuts will directly increase burdens on middle class families. Among the most burdensome provisions are the following.

• The “Mandate” Tax. The Supreme Court officially designated ObamaCare’s individual mandate as a new “tax” on persons who don’t enroll in government-sanctioned insurance. CBO recently indicated that about 11 or 12 million uninsured people will have to pay this tax, but only about 6 million will do so (the others will successfully evade it). The total tax payment for these individuals will reach $8 billion in 2020, or an average of about $1,400 per person. Almost all of these taxpayers will be middle-class Americans, as the poor are exempt and there are very few rich people who are uninsured. According to CBO, 80 percent of those paying the tax will have incomes below five times the poverty rate, or about $115,000 in income for a family of four in 2012.\

Via: E21

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When desperation strikes incumbents

It’s been a while since we’ve had an incumbent President lose an election.  In fact, it was 20 years ago, when George H. W. Bush lost in a three-way fight to Bill Clinton.  What made that election remarkable was that Bush had enjoyed some of the best-ever job approval ratings of any modern American President just a little over a year earlier, into the 80s — unthinkable these days for anyone, Republican or Democrat.  Bush, a decorated veteran of World War II and a longtime player in diplomacy and national security, lost the election to an upstart Governor when the economy turned somewhat sour.

I recall the moment when I realized for the first time — not feared, but realized — that Bush would lose the election.  Bush was campaigning in Michigan at the end of October, trying to whip some energy back into his campaign in the home stretch, a task that would fall far short just a few days later.  Then-Governor John Engler told the Warren, MI crowd that the Bush campaign was “hot” and the Democrats “dead in the water,” which was merely the kind of fantasy all campaigns spin toward the end.

Bush then spoke, and went after Clinton and Al Gore in a personal, demeaning wayI’d not heard from the President before then:

At a midday GOP rally at Macomb Community College, the president unleashed a rhetorical fusillade on Bill Clinton and running mate Sen. Albert Gore Jr., attacking their fitness for office, their character and charging, “My dog Millie knows more about foreign policy than these two bozos.”

In particular, Bush targeted Gore, whom he now calls “Ozone Man,” or just plain “Ozone.” “You know why I call him Ozone Man?” Bush said. “This guy is so far out in the environmental extreme, we’ll be up to our neck in owls and outta work for every American. He is way out, far out, man.”

When I heard that, I thought to myself, “What President talks like that?”  Part of the advantage the office gives an incumbent is its gravitas.  Bush’s own history as a diplomat, intelligence executive, and war hero gave him plenty more of that.  Bush abandoned that in the final week in schoolyard name-calling. That’s not why Bush lost the election, of course.  It was, however, the moment that I knew he’d lost it — and was pretty sure he knew he was losing, too.

Via: Hot Air

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