Tuesday, October 23, 2012

ALLRED VS. TRUMP: Battle of the October Surprises

If it's October in an election year, you can be sure that Democrats are unsealing "sealed" court records to tar their opponents. Remember the 2004 Senate race in which Obama's henchmen unsealed the "sealed" divorce proceedings of multiple opponents?

This year liberal crackpot and professional embarrassment Gloria Allred has stepped up to act as the designated Axelrod proxy in a last-ditch effort to salvage the sinking Obama campaign:

...Gloria Allred will be in a Boston area courtroom Wednesday in an attempt to unseal the sworn testimony given by Republican Presidential hopeful Mitt Romney, in a prior court case...

"The Boston Globe is headed to court tomorrow morning for an emergency hearing in an attempt to obtain a court order to unseal the sworn testimony given by Mitt Romney in a prior court case and to lift a gag order so that the parties can speak about Romney. Gloria Allred will be in court representing one of the parties in the case..."

The emergency hearing will take place at the Norfolk Probate & Family Court in Canton, Massachusetts, and Justice Jennifer Ulwick will oversee the proceedings which will begin at 9 a.m. EST.

But you can tell that Obama's opposition isn't at the McCain level of incompetence:



Starring Donald Trump as the anti-Allred! London's Daily Mail seems to have a preview:

Donald Trump is to claim that he has unearthed divorce papers of Michelle Obama and the President, according to a respected financial pundit with links to the tycoon.

It is alleged that the eccentric real estate mogul will claim that the documents show the First Lady and the President were at one point in their two decades of marriage seriously considering splitting up.

William Jacobson offers a salient reflection:

Everyone is waiting for October Surprises to be unloaded on Romney.

The Obama campaign and its supporters are desperate, and that desperation will reach a fevered pitch this weekend if Obama doesn’t get a meaningful bounce out of last night’s debate. Few are predicting he will.

I consider this a shot across the bow, a way of letting Obama and a certain female attorney supporter of his in California know that it’s not going to be Meg Whitman again. There will be push back.

The Romney campaign will go there without going there itself.

This isn’t 2008, buddy.

In the event of offsetting embarrassments, the election goes on.

LAWLESS: Left-wing rag inadvertently exposes Barack Obama's unprecedented repudiation of the Constitution

Mark Levin points us to a crucial Daily Beast article that outlines the contours of Barack Obama's "fundamental transformation" of America.

In short, the Constitution's checks and balances -- which were specifically intended to prevent a would-be oligarch from amassing too much power -- have been shredded by Obama. And that's not what I say; it's what a progressive magazine informs us with some measure of pride.

The Old Obama had pledged to usher in a golden age of bipartisan cooperation, then spent the first two and a half years of his tenure trying to meet the opposition in the middle. But the New Obama was fed up. Disillusioned. And he was done letting Congress stonewall his agenda.

...According to one participant, there was a recognition that the time had come to consider an audacious new governing strategy: what could Obama do without Congress?

Eleven months later, on June 15, 2012, the president strode into the Rose Garden to make an announcement. For the last five years, congressional Republicans had been blocking the DREAM Act: a bill designed to provide a conditional pathway to citizenship for immigrants who were brought to America illegally as children. Pressed by Latino advocates to take action, Obama had spent 2011 repeating that “we are doing everything we can administratively” because “this notion that somehow I can just change the laws unilaterally is not true.” But now the president was doing something that he’d previously deemed impossible, and that Congress had repeatedly forbidden...

...Barack Obama’s decision to reverse himself on the DREAM Act was not an isolated incident. Instead, it was the culmination of a dramatic and very deliberate makeover... that is poised to play a significant part in a potential second term, according to his advisers. “The president’s hope is that he and Congress get another opportunity to work together, and they see the folly in their efforts to date,” says Dan Pfeiffer, the White House communications director. “But what he’s not going to do, if Congress refuses to act, is sit on the sidelines and do nothing. That’s the path he’s taken.”

It is a transformation that could forever alter the way Washington works... Obama is drafting a playbook for future presidents to deploy in response: How to Get What You Want Even If Congress Won’t Give It to You. “Obama is the first president to use his unilateral powers so routinely, especially in the domestic sphere,” says University of Virginia presidential scholar Sidney Milkis, a self-described moderate Democrat. “And in some ways, that may be more insidious than what came before.”

...“Where Obama is different from all of his predecessors is that in the domestic arena, he has decided that his views trump both houses of Congress,” says constitutional lawyer Michael Carvin, who served in Reagan’s Justice Department and blames Obama’s legal philosophy for his new unilateral approach. “Liberal law professors use the Constitution to enforce their own policy preferences in an undemocratic way, and that’s exactly what Obama is doing here.”

Ladies and gentlemen, we are truly at a fork in the road.

On one path lies a return to a lawful, Constitutional Republic. On the other lies a slow descent into tyranny and a failed society. In fact, the latter path is the same fate that has befallen so many societies before us, in which leaders without virtue were corrupted by ambition and greed.

We have a simple choice in November. Which road will you choose?


MUGSHOTS: Rahm Emanuel Edition

One of the more entertaining features of the Chicago Tribune's website is "Mugs in the News".

You'll never fail to find a couple of gems scanning through the photos of those picked up by Chicago's finest.


Hey, is it profiling if I wonder about the immigration status of the lovely Ms. DeSilva?

And let the photo on the right serve as a reminder to Chicago's youth about the advisability of hitting a cop.


BOOM: What a real recovery looks like

I'd somehow missed this open letter from Investors Business Daily to FLOTUS ("Memo To Michelle: What A 'Huge Recovery' Looks Like"), but happened upon it thanks to a review of the comprehensive story rolodex at Instapundit:

Michelle Obama recently described this recovery as "huge." Maybe she forgot what decade it is. The Reagan recovery in the '80s was huge. But the one her husband's policies have given us? Not so much.
Indeed, had Obama's recovery merely been average, there would be about 8 million more people with jobs today, and the GDP would be $1.2 trillion bigger.

If you want to see what a really huge recovery looks like, take a look at the one President Reagan oversaw. He entered office in January 1981 amid an economy mired in malaise, with inflation out of control, unemployment high and rising, a decade-long energy crisis and sky-high interest rates...

...But Reagan's combination of permanent, across-the-board tax cuts, deregulation and domestic spending restraint helped produce a massive recovery.

Obama, in contrast, has gone in almost precisely the opposite direction — temporary, targeted tax cuts; huge new spending; vast new regulations — and he threatens more of the same, plus a $1 trillion tax hike, if he were to get a second term.

Indeed, in last night's debate, Obama has promised just that: more crony capitalism in the form of "green energy" programs and more failed Stimulus for "roads and bridges". Einstein's definition of insanity applies perfectly in this situation.


Larwyn's Linx: Thoughts On The Final Debate

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Nation

Thoughts On The Final Debate: HayRide
Dem Graveyard Whistling Choir Ignores ‘Preference Cascade’: RSM
Report: Obama Recognizes Iran’s Right to Go Nuclear: Breitbart

Obama Campaign Backpedaling on Obama Sequester Promise: Beacon
Presidential Debate #3: Mitt Vs. Obama on Foreign Policy: Hawkins
Krauthammer: 'It's Unequivocal, Romney Won': WS

Libya and Lies: Sowell
First, Aid the Living: Bing West
Mittmentum: New Ohio Polls Better Than They Appear: NRO

Economy

Obama Challenges Us to Look Up Romney’s Op-Ed, So I Do: Patterico
Obama’s (Un)American Auto Bailout: Malkin
Obama Stimulus Funding Goes Abroad, Outsources Jobs: NewAm

Pension Showdown Brewing in California: Mead
U.S. Government's Foreign Debt Now $47,495 Per Household: CNS
Western World in 'Colossal Mess' in 5-10 Years: Marc Faber: CNBC

Scandal Central

Donate-gate is Growing: Instapundit
Barack Obama and the Harvard Years: Blaze
Biden Corruption – Biden’s Brother gets $100 Million Government Contract: VA Right

Moonbats

This Is What a Blue State Looks Like: Rally for Nudity in SF: Zombie
Anti-Romney Yard Sign Thieves Beat Wis Senator’s Son to a Pulp on his Front Lawn: MBT
President Obama’s Top Ten Apologies: Foundry (2009)

Climate & Energy

Yes, The World Really Did Stop Warming 16 Years Ago: Cove

Media

Uh Oh. The New York Times Goes Critical With Front-Page Libya Report on Debate Day: AmPower
The bias of Bob Schieffer: Top 7 moments: Malkin
Two Krugmans In One: NRO

Politico Beclowns Itself Yet Again, Pitches Obama's Foreign Policy Strengths: BizzyBlog
DWS Destroyed by…Glenn Greenwald: RS
Leftist Thug Threatens Me After I Photograph His Crude Obama Sign: AmPerspective

Focus-Grouped Romney Edges Disdainful Obama: Geraghty
CNN poll: More debate watchers likely to vote for Mitt Romney than Obama: FAM
Brit Hume: On Average US Polls Are Weighted Seven Points For Obama: GWP

World

“A Red Carpet for Radicals at the White House”: ProWis
Reminder: Who is White House visitor Hisham al Talib?; plus: 2 must-watch Benghazi videos: Malkin
Report: Islamist radicals find warm welcome in Obama White House: DC

Mr. President, Let Me Introduce You to the Men Who Fought the Taliban from Horseback: Sundries
Awesome: Alabama House Leader Moves To Block UN Poll Watchers From Operating In His State: WZ
Jimmy Carter Claims Israel Creating ‘Catastrophic’ Situation With Palestinians: CBS DC

REMINDER: Obama holding national security ‘hostage’ to ‘blackmail Republicans into raising taxes’: DC
Romney slams Obama’s ‘apology tour’ of Arab world: Times of Israel
The Apology Tour Continues: Obama, Clinton Say “Sorry” to Rioting Pakistanis: Foundry

Sci-Tech

Obama Gets Military Tech All Wrong in Debate: Breitbart
Facebook wants Open Graph language to ‘feel natural,’ represent actual behavior: InsideFacebook
Rare Jobs documentary highlights early days of NeXT: AppleInsider

Cornucopia

Last Vote: Picture of Terminally Ill WWII vet, 93, casting ballot in Hawaii goes viral: Riehl
Family debate: father Mitt, mother Candy, and child Barack: Cube
World’s oldest survivor of Auschwitz death camp dies at the age of 108: WaPo

Image: smh au
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QOTD: “Instead of celebrating your dynamic union and seeking to partner with you to meet common challenges, there have been times where America has shown arrogance and been dismissive, even derisive.” --Barack Obama's apology for America to France and Europe

Monday, October 22, 2012

MARC FABER: Reduce the Size of Government by 50 Percent

Rut Roh.

The debt burden in the U.S. and other Western countries will continue to increase, Marc Faber, author of the Gloom, Boom and Doom Report told CNBC on Monday, leading to a “colossal mess” within the next five to 10 years.

“I think the regimes will try to keep the system alive as it is for as long as possible, which means there’s no “fiscal cliff,” there’s a fiscal grand canyon,” Faber told CNBC’s “Squawk Box.”

Faber argued that the political systems in place in the West would allow the debt burden to continue to expand. Under such a scenario of never-ending deficits, the Western world would rack up huge deficits.

One day, the system would break, he said.

“Eventually, you have either huge changes occurring in a peaceful fashion through reforms, or, usually, through revolutions,” he said. The U.S. is getting closer to such a revolution, he said, as is Europe.

“I think the timeframe would be within five to ten years you have a colossal mess … everywhere in the Western world,” Faber said. “I think the deficit here (in the U.S.) — irrespective of who is in the White House — will stay above a trillion dollars per annum for at least as far as the eye can see.”

Bureaucracies in the U.S., as well as Europe, are far too big, he said, and are a burden on the economy.

“My medicine for the U.S. is: Reduce government by minimum 50 percent,” he said. “The impact would be immediately an improvement in the economy.”

With the current bloated leviathan, 50 percent is what I call a good start.


HEADLINE O' THE DAY: Yep, the Science Is Settled

Al Gore hardest hit:

Last week The Mail on Sunday provoked an international storm by publishing a new official world temperature graph showing there has been no global warming since 1997... The figures came from a database called Hadcrut 4 and were issued by the Met Office and the Climatic Research Unit (CRU) at East Anglia University.

But the Met Office, whose lead was then followed by climate change campaigners, accused The Mail on Sunday of cherry-picking data in order to mislead readers. It even claimed it had not released a ‘report’, as we had stated, although it put out the figures from which we drew our graph ten days ago.


Another critic said that climate expert Professor Judith Curry had protested at the way she was represented in our report. However, Professor Curry, a former US National Research Council Climate Research Committee member and the author of more than 190 peer-reviewed papers, responded: ‘A note to defenders of the idea that the planet has been warming for the past 16 years. Raise the level of your game. Nothing in the Met Office’s statement .  .  . effectively refutes Mr Rose’s argument that there has been no increase in the global average surface temperature for the past 16 years... ‘Use this as an opportunity to communicate honestly with the public about what we know and what we don’t know about climate change. Take a lesson from other scientists who acknowledge the “pause”.’

The Met Office now confirms on its climate blog that no significant warming has occurred recently: ‘We agree with Mr Rose that there has only been a very small amount of warming in the 21st Century.’

In other words, all of the monstrous social engineering programs, the takeover of industrial policy-setting, and the rest of the hysteria fomented by the Eco-Statists -- and especially the Leftist kooks at the EPA -- are completely, utterly groundless.

There's no global warming occurring on this planet.

Which, by my count, is reason 6 kajillion that this administration must be removed from office in November. And, if you're an Eco-Kook reading along, remember: election day is always the first Wednesday in November.


Hat tip: Pirate's Cove.

IT'S MAGIC! Joe Biden's Brother Wins $100 Million Federal Contract to Build Homes In Iraq

Even better: he has no background in residential construction. Charles Gasparino at Fox Business gives us the lowdown:

David Richter, the president of Hill International (HIL), a mid-sized outfit that manages construction projects, was speaking last year at a private meeting with investors when he was asked about the recent success of his newest subsidiary, HillStone International.

How was it that HillStone, a newcomer in the business of home building, landed a massive and potentially lucrative contract to build 100,000 homes in war-torn Iraq?

Richter didn’t mince words. It really helps, he said, to have “the brother of the vice president as a partner,” according to a person who was present.

The “brother” Richter was referring to during the meeting is James Biden, the younger brother of Vice President Joe Biden.

Since November 2010, James Biden has been the executive vice president of Hill International’s housing subsidiary despite little if any documented work history in residential construction. And if the company’s projections are accurate, both Hill and Biden are on the verge of a huge payday...

...the Iraq project may be the most lucrative single development in Hill’s history.

Just a coincidence, I'm sure.

When the final history of this administration is written -- with the dozens of green energy companies tied to Obama's campaign bundlers, the hundreds of Mexicans and Americans killed by Operation Fast and Furious, and the rest of the hideous Obama legacy -- it will have recorded the greatest collective fleecing of the American taxpayer in history.


Hat tip: BadBlue News.

BECAUSE THE FIRES AND MELTING POWER CORDS WEREN'T ENOUGH: Chevy Volts Need Updates to Prevent "Spontaneous Shutoffs"

These $42,000 Crony Clown Cars just keep getting better and better.

Chevrolet is presently reaching out in a “customer service program” alerting owners of 2013 model year Volts that their car is eligible for a free software upgrade to fix a possible anomaly that could cause the car to shut down...

“Apparently the steering and brakes will still work, but you have to safely coast to a stop, turn the car off and then power it up again 2-5 minutes later,” wrote 1RiverMan1, “She indicated that the solution was a software update and I should take the car in as soon as possible. The update takes about an hour. If you have not had this message yet, check with your dealer.


GM has not used the term “safety issue,” but whether it could become one could be anyone's guess if a 2013 Volt's power spontaneously shut off – albeit with brakes and steering still operative – in the middle of heavy vehicle traffic. No accidents to date have been reported to have occurred, nor have Volt owners expressed much concern that they could.

But if you have a 2013 Volt, it is probably better not to delay the software update.

I'm just trying to imagine what else can go wrong with the Volt. Maybe the seat-belts will malfunction, locking drivers into their seats while accelerating off cliffs.


Larwyn's Linx: Obama Campaign is Like a Chicken With its Head Cut Off

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Nation

Obama Campaign is Like a Chicken With its Head Cut Off: RS
They Hung Chris Stevens Out to Dry: Giles
When desperation strikes incumbents: Hot Air

Justice Ginsburg Denies Racial Component to Abortion Comments: Breitbart
Hey, Where’s Nakoula?: Lady Liberty
Ohio: Portrait of a State in Flux: RCP

Drones Recorded Benghazi Attack: Officials Did Nothing: MagNote
Optimal Binders Full of Fail: RWN
Obama's agenda at odds with founders: StarTribune

Economy

Will four more years of trickle-down government help middle class?: Reagan
The President's Poster Children: CFIF
Pssst: Taxes go up for 163 million workers in 2013: AP

Scandal Central

Obama campaign accepted foreign Web donation -- and may be hiding more: Post
The Three Benghazi Timelines We Need Answers About: WSJ
Michelle Obama named in illegal "patient dumping" scheme: NewsReal (2009)

Climate & Energy

Obama's war on coal will help him lose Virginia: AmSpec
BOOM: Confirmation of ‘Global warming stopped 16 years ago’ aka ‘the pause’: Watts
Tata Nano: The $3,500 car with 37 HP and a 4-gallon gas tank is coming to the U.S.: VenBeat

Media

Keeping track of switched endorsements: 10/21/2012.: Moe Lane
Fluke, OFA fail in pics: If you hold a rally and no one shows up, does it make a sound?: Twitchy
Nate Silver is Under Suicide Watch: Libertarian Republican

Demoralized as Hell: Editorial Reversal Edition: DTG
Wisconsin Shooting Rampage: Suspected Gunman Signed Scott Walker Recall Petition: RSM
CBS News affiliate calls 2012 presidential race for Barack Obama weeks ahead of election: DC

If Obama Wins, Will He Be Another Woodrow Wilson?: Barone
Gallup: Romney: 52 Obama: 45 – Phoenix... CBS Affiliate KPHO Control Room Glitch: Nice Deb
What If Crowley and Her Accomplices Succeed?: AmSpec

World

White House tries to cut al Qaeda from Libya story: Times
Obama's Last Stand: Sultan Knish
In Search of the Truth About Benghazi: Tribble News

Best Endorsement For Mitt Romney: Jawa
Caught on Tape: Egyptian President Morsi Joins in Prayer for Destruction of Israel: GWP
UN Warns Americans: Do Not Elect Mitt Romney: Breitbart

Iranian Regime: Obama Sent Secret Message Recognizing Our Nuclear Rights: GWP
Portman: Iran story looks like “another national security leak from the White House”: Hot Air
Rep. Rogers calls latest Libya intel disclosures ‘orchestrated defense’ of administration: Fix

Sci-Tech

Software solves burglary while Raleigh couple vacations in Aruba: WRAL
Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff: Windows 8 is ‘the end of Windows’: VenBeat
Brazilian press to Google News: pay up or leave our content alone: Ars Technica

Cornucopia

Hillsdale College adds another amazing online learning tool: The Constitution Reader Online: Tribble News
What Didn’t He Know and When Didn’t He Know It?: MOTUS
It's like talkin' to Obama voters: Sondrakistan

Image: MOTUS
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QOTD: "The Obama campaign is desperate and scared. Desperate and scared campaigns, like animals. tend to lash out. We’re seeing signs of that now with the “binders full of women” nonsense among other things. The Obama campaign has made a near fatal — quite possibly fatal — mistake. The campaign has been run on what Barack Obama has done for people without barely a hint of what he will do in his second term. People want to vote for something. Obama has given them nothing to vote for — just reminders of a past that includes a whole lot of unemployment and a still deeply unpopular take over of the American healthcare system. At least there’s Big Bird and Sandra Fluke." --Erick Erickson

Sunday, October 21, 2012

WE WANT THE TRUTH: The Three Benghazi Timelines for Which the American People Demand Answers

James Rosen, writing at The Wall Street Journal, succinctly analyzes the three timelines related to Benghazi that smack of a Watergate-style cover-up.

The Benghazi episode is best viewed as a series of three timelines. When fully exposed, the facts of the "pre" period before the attacks will tell us how high up the chain, and in which agencies, fateful decisions were made about security precautions for the consulate and annex in Benghazi. We also stand to learn how the planning for the attacks could have been put in motion without being detected until too late.

Assistant Secretary of State Charlene Lamb, who oversees diplomatic security, testified before the House on Oct. 10 that she and her colleagues had placed "the correct number of assets in Benghazi at the time of 9/11 for what had been agreed upon." While not the stuff of a perjury charge, this testimony cannot be true, given the known outcome of the Sept. 11 attack on the consulate and the pleas for enhanced security measures that we now know Foggy Bottom to have rebuffed.

The second Benghazi timeline encompasses the five or six hours on the evening of Sept. 11 when the attacks transpired. A State Department briefing on Oct. 9 offered an account that was riveting but incomplete. When all of the facts of these hours are compiled, we will have a truer picture of the tactical capabilities of al Qaeda and its affiliates in North Africa. We will also learn what really happened to Amb. Stevens that night, and better appreciate the vulnerabilities with which our diplomatic corps, bravely serving at 275 installations across the globe, must still contend.

The third and final Benghazi timeline is the one that has fostered charges of a coverup. It stretches eight days—from 3:40 p.m. on Sept. 11, when the consulate was first rocked by gunfire and explosions, through the morning of Sept. 19, when Matthew G. Olsen, director of the National Counterterrorism Center, publicly testified before the Senate that Benghazi was a terrorist attack.

Mr. Olsen's testimony effectively ended all debate about whether the attacks had grown out of a protest over an anti-Islam video. Three days before Mr. Olsen put a stop to the blame-YouTube storyline, U.N. Amb. Susan Rice, echoing Mr. Carney, had gone on five Sunday TV chat shows and maintained that the YouTube video has spurred the violence.

Regarding the second thread, it turns out that there is a video of the entire, six-hour attack on the compound and related areas.

The United States had an unmanned Predator drone over its consulate in Benghazi during the attack that slaughtered four Americans — which should have led to a quicker military response, it was revealed yesterday... “They stood, and they watched, and our people died,” former CIA commander Gary Berntsen told CBS News.

But as Ambassador Christopher Stevens and three colleagues were killed by terrorists armed with AK-47s and rocket-propelled grenade launchers, Defense Department officials were too slow to send in the troops, Berntsen said.

...Fighter jets and Specter AC-130 gunships — which could have been used to help disperse the bloodthirsty mob — were also stationed at three nearby bases, sources told the network...

Since the final debate tomorrow night concentrates on foreign policy, perhaps we'll be able to get answers to some of these questions.

Unless, of course, Candy Crowley comes barreling out of the stands and tackles Mitt Romney when he asks the President about the cover-up.


BOOM: On Eve of Debate, Former Senior Obama Adviser Eviscerates Administration's Catastrophic Foreign Policy Failures

Rosa Brooks, a former senior adviser to the Obama State and Defense Departments has penned a damning indictment of the administration's foreign policy failures. The piece -- entitled "The Case for Intervention... In Obama's dysfunctional foreign-policy team" and published in Foreign Policy -- lists six things that Obama must do if he is reelected.

But you really only need to read the beginning of the article to get a sense for the debacle that is the Obama non-doctrine:

...he has presided over an exceptionally dysfunctional and un-visionary national security architecture -- one that appears to drift from crisis to crisis, with little ability to look beyond the next few weeks. His national security staff is squabbling and demoralized...


1. Get a Strategy. No, really. We don't currently seem to have one, grand or otherwise. We've got "the long war" -- but we don't seem to have a long game. Instead of a strategy, we have aspirations ("We want a stable Middle East") and we have laundry lists (check out the 2010 National Security Strategy). But as I have written in a previous column, there's no clear sense of what animates our foreign policy. And without a clear strategic vision of the world, there's no way to evaluate the success or failure of different initiatives, and no way to distinguish the important from the marginal...

Another of Brooks' recommendations is for Obama to get out of his bubble and talk to experts, not cronies, campaign aides and yes-men. But RedState reminds us that, ironically, Obama has moved backward in that respect, not forward.

The problem is actually much deeper than merely getting out of the bubble. The locus of the problem is in Obama’s personality and inflated self image. As former aide Neera Tanden said in a recent NY Magazine interview.

Clinton, being Clinton, had plenty of advice in mind and was desperate to impart it. But for the first two years of Obama’s term, the phone calls Clinton kept expecting rarely came. “People say the reason Obama wouldn’t call Clinton is because he doesn’t like him,” observes Tanden. “The truth is, Obama doesn’t call anyone, and he’s not close to almost anyone. It’s stunning that he’s in politics, because he really doesn’t like people. My analogy is that it’s like becoming Bill Gates without liking computers.”

Someone who doesn’t like people isn’t going to seek out people for informal meetings. People who know they are poseurs don’t talk to smart people because nothing is worse that revealing yourself as a poseur.

Somehow, over the years of coddling and social promotions, Obama has come to believe he is actually talented. As he has said:

“I think that I’m a better speechwriter than my speechwriters. I know more about policies on any particular issue than my policy directors. And I’ll tell you right now that I’m gonna think I’m a better political director than my political director.”

I think Ms. Brooks is missing another obvious reason why Obama is in the bubble: he thinks things are going just swimmingly and sees no reason to change.

Honestly, folks, we don't need six things changed. We need one.

And his name starts with the letter 'O' and ends with an 'A'. And all we need to do is to pull the right lever on November 6th along with as many friends, family members and colleagues we can muster.

ANALYZING OHIO: A Bellwether District in a Bellwether County in a Bellwether State

Hamilton County -- home to Cincinnati -- sits in the southwest corner of Ohio. Election analysts have pointed to it as the single bellwether county for the state. It's safe to say that as Hamilton County goes, so goes Ohio. And as Ohio goes, so goes the entire nation.

Why is Hamilton such a bellwether? Consider the 2008 election, when Barack Obama won the state 51.2 percent to 47.2 over John McCain.

Hamilton County was the largest county in Ohio to model almost the exact 2008 statewide result, with Obama capturing 52.0 percent versus McCain's 47.0. Montgomery County, home to the city of Dayton, also modeled the 2008 result with a 52.0 to 47.0 margin, but is substantially smaller than Hamilton County.

In 2008, the Ohio District 1 House race pitted Steve Driehaus against incumbent Republican Steve Chabot. Driehaus won by a margin of 3 points, a spread nearly identical to that of Obama at 51.5 to 48.5.

But in 2010, Chabot -- with the rise of the Tea Party -- won his seat back from Driehaus by 5 points, 51.5 to 46.0. To be clear, Chabot was not a popular choice among fiscal conservatives; but the rage against Driehaus -- regarding Obamacare and the rest of the Obama agenda -- was sufficient to reverse the 2008 results with a swing of 8.5 points.

In 2008 and 2010, Ohio's District 1 represented the west side of Hamilton County -- and the west side of Cincinnati itself -- and consisted of a mix of urban, suburban and even rural voters (it has since been redistricted, so it won't be an apples-to-apples comparison). Yet the anger with Obama's agenda was sufficient enough to turn OH-1 from D+3.0 to R+5.5 between 2008 and 2010.

Did the Tea Party go away since 2010? Is the economy notably improved? Has Constitutional Conservatism disappeared? Is the world a safer place? Is Obamacare suddenly popular now?

I think it's safe to say that all five questions can be answered with the word "no".

Ohio represents a make-or-break state for both campaigns. And Hamilton County is the bellwether for the state, if the experts are to be believed. Using the 2010 results, Ohio's old District 1 very well could be a lock for Mitt Romney. And if the old OH-1 results hold, Mitt Romney is going to win Ohio by a very safe margin. I'm not in the prediction business, but I'll put a guesstimate in the comments.

What are you guys thinking about Ohio?



NO, OBAMA'S NOT GOING TO PAY YOUR MORTGAGE, SUGAR: Another Report Proves Republicans Better Informed Than Democrats

And in fact, "the results weren't even close":

...Pew’s latest survey only reaffirms previous surveys demonstrating [that Republicans are more knowledgeable than Democrats].

In a scientific survey of 1,168 adults conducted during September and October of last year, respondents were asked not only multiple-choice questions, but also queries using maps, photographs and symbols. Among other subjects, participants identified international leaders, cabinet members, Supreme Court justices, nations on a world map, the current unemployment and poverty rates and war casualty totals.

In a 2010 Pew survey, Republicans outperformed Democrats on 10 of 12 questions, with one tie and Democrats outperforming Republicans on just 1 of the 12. In the latest survey, however, Republicans outperformed Democrats on every single one of 19 questions.

Amusingly, the Pew report attempted to soften the stark partisan knowledge disparity:

“Republicans generally outperformed Democrats on the current quiz. On 13 of the 19 questions, Republicans score significantly higher than Democrats and there are no questions on which Democrats did better than Republicans. In past knowledge quizzes, partisan differences have been more muted, though Republicans often have scored somewhat higher than Democrats.”

“Generally outperformed?” “Somewhat higher?” That’s a curiously charitable way to describe the surveys, which went from previous blowouts to a complete shutout in the latest edition.

The President's poster children -- the 66% of 18-to-29 year-olds that helped propel him into office -- have likely smartened up this year. That's the kind of lesson a 53 percent unemployment and underemployment rate for college grads younger than 25 will teach.


Larwyn's Linx: Spinning Benghazi

Send us tips! Bloggers: install a Larwyn's Linx widget. Get real-time news, 24/7, at BadBlue.

Nation

Spinning Benghazi: WS
We will see some strange states turning Red on election night: Morris
President Obama's Closing Act: An Epic Collapse: Hewitt

Bret Baier Special On Libya: "Death And Deceit In Benghazi": RCP
The October Surprise: Ledeen
The 'War on Women' Backfires: Feldman

We are Closer Than You Can Possibly Believe…: Hoosier Access
Romney Making a Serious Play For PA: Nice Deb
Karen Harrington: More than Just the Anti-DWS Candidate: CDN

Economy

Britain’s Liverpool Pathway Is A Preview Of Obamacare And Hell: RS
Obama Campaign Borrows $15M from Bank of America: Beacon
Shocker: Planned Parenthood Chief an Obama Volunteer: Powers

Change: Homeless student population tops 2,500 in Fairfax County: Riehl
Romney, RNC have 60 staffers working in PA: Riehl
Unions focus shifts from Obama to state-level races: Riehl

Scandal Central

Death Panels Here, Doctor's Plea For Help: NoisyRm
List: The 36 Obama-Funded Green Energy Failures: WZ
Revolt of the Drivers (cont.): WS

Climate & Energy

Why gas is nearly $4 a gallon: Babalu
Reports: Marcellus reserves larger than expected: AP

Media

Is it still an October Surprise if we already know what it's gonna be?: WyBlog
Obama quotes ‘New York Times economist’ as evidence Romney economic plan is a ‘snow job’: Malkin
Candy Crowley Not in ‘Cahoots’ With Obama; He and Axelrod Used Her: NB

Pew Research: Republicans More Knowledgeable Than Democrats: CFIF
Democrat Momentum Unstoppable!: Steyn
Ohio Is Closer than You Think: NRO

Media Elite slam Obama campaign as "belittling," "not confident," "peevish" and worse: Breitbart
About that 'Civilian National Security Force'...: Winter Soldier
PPP’ing on Barry’s Parade: Obama’s lead in Ohio dwindles to 1: Riehl

World

BENGHAZI: Documents show Stevens worried about security threats, al-Qaeda: Daily Bret
Obama's Binder Full of Muslims: Reagan Coalition
Mysterious Libyan ship linked to deadly terror attack?: Fox

Romney to Obama: Israel does not warrant 'public warnings': JPost
White House denies report US, Iran agreed to one-one-talks: JPost
Iran denounces Beirut bombing, points finger at Israel: JPost

Anti-Muslim filmmaker detained for almost a month...next court date three days after election: Times
Kevin Drum Beclowns Himself Covering For Obama: RS
Donald Trump: ‘I’ll be making a major announcement on President Obama next week’: FAM

Sci-Tech

We watch, crying, as Microsoft drops a Surface for fun and science: NextWeb
PayPal Here goes on sale at AT&T stores: like a one-stop shop for account hiccups: Engadget
Welcome home, Endeavor (time-lapse photography of Space Shuttle Endeavor’s last journey): VenBeat

Cornucopia

Obama Bumper Sticker Removal Kit: AT
Political Cartoon: Barack Obama's view of the U.S. Constitution!: TPC
Riders trapped for 2 hours atop Stratosphere after it lost power: Dallas News

These boots are made for walkin’ so when you get to a fork in the road, take it.: MOTUS
New, Innovative Special Forces Ready to Deal with Islamic Terrorism: Reaganite
Gun shop names assault rifle after Rangel: Post

Image: Boom! Frank Luntz says Florida is no longer a swing state
Today's Larwyn's Linx sponsored by: Help out America's Comeback Team now!

QOTD: "In terms of the November election, the party that wins the White House and controls Congress, what would create a better climate for small businesses and entrepreneurs?

I think if Romney wins, we're going to have an explosion of business in this country. A lot of huge companies have huge stockpiles of cash, a lot of it overseas. There's a lot of pent-up demand." [Here, for example, is one article of many out there that aims to get at how much corporate cash is involved: Idle Corporate Cash Piles Up.]

Is there one policy the federal government should implement to help the business environment, or should it be less involved?

"I think more than anything else, I'm going to repeat what 90 million people are saying, get rid of Obamacare, or at least most of it. I'm not so much in favor of what Romney or any change could do -- I would like them to stop some things. If, by chance, the Republicans get the White House and both houses of Congress, then I think a lot of headway could be made." --John Pruitt, small businessman

Saturday, October 20, 2012

DUJAN: Proof That the Obama Campaign Has Silently Admitted Defeat

Kevin DuJan offers a salient observation about President Axelrod's Obama's choice of venue for "celebrating" election night.

I’ve written before about the fact that Barack Obama was not planning another big Election Night victory party in Grant Park here in Chicago like the spectacle he put on in 2008, because no one I know in the Parks Department or in the event planning community had anything on their radar for Grant Park that night.


Because of the permitting and union rules that plague any event in this City (which wouldn’t be waived even for Obama, due to liability and insurance issues the City would face if anything went wrong and permitting was not followed to the “T”) we would have known a few weeks ago if Obama expected another win and was going to celebrate in Chicago again. That massive Grant Park victory rally took a while to plan and involved far too many vendors for anything similar to be replicated this year without people already knowing.

I’ve suspected for some time that Obama was going to plan for a concession speech on November 6th, but last night final confirmation arrived in the form of leaked news that the Obama election night event is being staged in private McCormick Place, not a big public setting like Grant Park.

Let me put this as clearly as I can because it’s crucial: if Democrats really thought Barack Obama was going to be reelected, then they would have planned a massive rally in Grant Park again; the fact this is not happening is proof that, despite what you hear coming out of the Ministry of Truth that is the national media, the Democrats really do not expect Obama to win this election. Campaign operatives in Chicago are, thus, making appropriate preparations for his imminent defeat.
Instead of Grant Park, Obama’s apparently going to have his election night event at McCormick Place…the convention center here in Chicago.


Let me explain a few things about McCormick Place that you could intimate from the photo above:

• it’s separated from the City by highways and is hard to reach by anyone traveling on foot from the various “El” trains that service Chicago…which indicates this event is not intended for throngs of Obama supporters.

• there are no buses that readily service McCormick Place like they do Grant Park…so once again, this event is not being planned for the public to come and celebrate with Obama.

• McCormick Place is completely indoors and is a venue that Democrats can easily control in terms of the camera angles and stagecraft of the event…which is a big deal because losing campaigns choose small, isolated places to hold concession speeches while winning candidates are feted on election night in, well, places like Grant Park.

I was an event planner here in Chicago for several years before the 2008 presidential campaign. I planned events in McCormick Place for various trade shows; it’s a building designed with flexibility for downsizing an audience if the need suddenly arises so that the participants do not feel lost in too much extra space. There are modular walls that achieve this, with dividers capable of cutting a space in half…and then in half again…if that’s what needs to be done to make a sparse crowd seem bigger for cameras.

...McCormick Place is not a spot to hold a victory rally, folks... but it is the ideal spot to give a concession speech... Take a look at that photo above again. The place sits on the highway. After the results come in, Obama just has to deliver his concession and then he’s in his car and on his way to his house in Hyde Park while Mitt Romney takes the stage in Boston as the new President-Elect. The highway that runs through McCormick Place leads right to Hyde Park…it would be less than a three minute drive for the Obama motorcade after they leave the convention center to head home and sulk.

I just don’t know any way else to put this, but planning his event at McCormick Place instead of Grant Park again (or another high profile outdoor venue like the Pritzker Pavilion at Millennium Park, for instance) is a tacit admission that the guy is going to lose and will have an early bedtime on Election Night in Hyde Park at the Obama/Rezko Mansion.

From Kevin's lips to God's ear.


SAY, CAN WE AWARD OBAMA ANOTHER PEACE PRIZE? Egypt Wants Nuclear Weapons, Stronger Ties to Iran

Consider this reason #7,326 that Obama must be pink-slipped in November:

A poll of Egyptians conducted last month shows that they have increasingly positive views of Iran, believe that both Iran and Egypt should obtain nuclear weapons, and still trust their own military more than any other institution in Egypt.

The poll of 812 Egyptians, half of them women, was conducted in a series of in-person interviews by the firm Greenberg Quinlan Rosner and sponsored by the Israel Project, a pro-Israel advocacy organization with offices in Washington and Jerusalem. According to the poll, Iran is viewed favorably in Egypt, with 65 percent of those surveyed expressing support of the decision to renew Egypt-Iran relations and 61 percent expressing support of the Iranian nuclear project, versus 41 percent in August 2009.

...Iran's deputy defense minister said recently that the Iranian regime is seeking more military cooperation with Egypt. "We are ready to help Egypt to build nuclear reactors and satellites," he said on the occasion or Egyptian President Mohammed Morsy's meeting with Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad last month. Morsy's office has said the two didn't discuss military cooperation.

Eighty-seven percent of respondents want Egypt to have its own nuclear bomb.

Israel Project CEO Josh Block told The Cable that the statistics show the effect of Morsy's outreach to Iran and the danger of regional proliferation of nuclear weapons if Iran is successful in obtaining a nuclear bomb.

What exactly is the "Obama Doctrine"? Mark Langfan's theory is as good as any.


LAST STAND: I Refuse to Give Up This Republic Without a Fight


You don't have to ride on a treacherous, unlit cow path from the north-side of Boston to Lexington as the King's Regulars attempt a surprise attack on the Sons of Liberty.

You don't have to board a frigate, sail for weeks across the Atlantic and then sack a city in Tripoli to rescue your imprisoned countrymen.

You don't have to kill a British soldier in a desperate, hand-to-hand struggle after leaping out of a boat on the beach at York during the War of 1812.

You don't have to hold the line against Pickett's desperate charge at Gettysburg as thousands of wounded men shriek bloody murder around you.

You don't have to resist a vicious attack by the Hun with fixed bayonets at Belleau Wood.

You don't have to survive a terrifying duck-boat run onto Omaha Beach as men around you are being chopped to bits by fortified Nazi gun emplacements.

You don't have to liberate the Nazi Death Camps, capping months of brutal fighting and desperate marching through the dirt roads of Europe.

You don't have to withstand a surprise attack by the Chinese 'People's Volunteer Army', fighting to hold the line in 35°-below-zero temperatures for days on end near the Chosin Reservoir.

You don't have to defend the city of Huế from a surprise attack by Viet Cong and PAVN regulars, fighting block-to-block as the entire country is set afire by the Tet Offensive.

You don't have to race across the desert, waiting for a chemical attack or a Scud missile to hit, baking in 130° temperatures, so that you can expel Saddam Hussein's Republican Guard from Kuwait.

You don't have to patrol a patch of hard-scrabble earth in Aghanistan or Iraq, waiting for the inevitable IED by the side of the road -- or signs that you've rolled right into an ambush by heavily-armed 'insurgents' equipped with Iranian RPGs.

You don't have to do any of those things. You just have to vote in November. You just have to take the time to rally your neighbors, your family members and your co-workers to vote for candidates who believe in the Constitution. You must marshal voters who will reject the out-of-control, free-spending government that has brought our country to the edge of bankruptcy.

Because if the Constitution doesn't mean anything, if all of the founders' sacrifices went for naught, if all of those American heroes who fought and bled and died for the flag mean nothing, if all your parents and grandparents gave you doesn't amount to a hill of beans, well, then our generation will be forever known as the weak-willed group that let the American dream slip from our fingers.

And we will be known forever as the generation that allowed American exceptionalism to be stolen from us by a radical leftist from San Francisco, a crooked, power-hungry weasel of a man from Nevada, and an Alinsky-trained community organizer who rose to the presidency without qualifications or even so much as a background check by the media.

You don't have to bleed for your country. All you have to do is rally our forces to vote in November. That is what we can do and that is what we must do to preserve this Republic for future generations.


SOLVENCY: Democrat politicians run their own finances just as well as they run the country's

Color me shocked: the Democrats are just as incompetent with their own money as they are with ours.

Obama Campaign Borrows $15M from Bank of America


Obama For America took out a $15 million loan from Bank of America last month, according to the campaign’s October monthly FEC report. The loan was incurred on September 4 and is due November 14, eight days after the election. OFA received an interest rate of 2.5% plus the current Libor rate.

Warren Buffett, Obama donor and namesake of the infamous “Buffett Rule,” invested $5 billion in Bank of America last year in an effort to help the ailing financial institution. Last month, two weeks after OFA took out the loan, Bank of America announced a plan that would lay off 16,000 workers by the end of the year.

Obama has a complicated relationship with Bank of America. The bank contributed $20 million toward the cost of the Democrat National Convention earlier this year...

Curious how we never hear about the incestuous ties between the Obama campaign and BofA, eh?

Oh, and then there's this.

DNC takes out $10 million loan while RNC has $83 million in bank


The Democratic National Committee was unable to keep up with the Republican National Committee's fundraising again in September, despite taking out $10.5 million in loans.

The DNC raised $20.3 million in September, including the loans, and only $3.7 million of its total fundraising came from individuals and political action committees. The rest came from transfers and offsetting operating expenditures...

Boy, that Debbie Wasserman Schultz is doing an outstanding job, isn't she? She's such a bipartisan and non-polarizing figure.

In conclusion, I assert that not only are Democrats intellectually bankrupt, they're also just plain bankrupt.

Try and contain your chortles.


Larwyn's Linx: Has the preference cascade begun?

Send us tips! Bloggers: install a Larwyn's Linx widget. Get real-time news, 24/7, at BadBlue.

Nation

Has the preference cascade begun?: Q&O
Brutal Ad Shreds Obama's 'Not Optimal' Daily Show Line: Nice Deb
Five (Non-Libya) Questions for Monday’s Debate: Commentary

!*$#!: CIA Told WH Instantly That Benghazi Was Terror Attack: CDN
The Left's War on Ballot Box Integrity: RSM
Florida: Romney 51%, Obama 46%: Rasmussen

UN Gun Control Is Back: Morris
Is the Obama Campaign Abandoning Four Key Swing States?: Tatler
Romney Out-Hustling Obama on the Campaign Trail: Dossier

Could Claire McCaskill lose to Todd Akin? You betcha: LI
Bummer: Allen West Crushing Dem Opponent in Florida: Pavlich
RNC Trounces DNC in Fundraising; DNC Now Bankrupt: RSM

Economy

CA Official Who Nixed Unemployment Report a Big Obama Donor: JWF
Key Democrat Admits: We Have to Raise Taxes on Everybody: C4P
Mitt:Obama's has become the incredible shrinking campaign: RWN

Ahead of Election, Obama Stops Releasing ‘Stimulus’ Reports: WS
Ohio doctor running newspaper ads slamming Obamacare: DC
Small Business Owners Beg Americans to Vote for Romney: Yahoo!

Scandal Central

President Obama’s Taxpayer-Backed Green Energy Failures: Foundry
Demo Congresswoman Capps fails to report over half a million dollars in income: DC
DOJ: Growth in Violent Crimes Against Whites: JW

Claire McCaskill's Husband Got $40 Million in "Stimulus" : Ace
Oh Perfect: SCOTUS To Decide Whether You Can Legally Resell Your Stuff: AllAm
Is Obama Trying to Buy the Election With His Welfare Explosion?: CNBC

Climate & Energy

Energy in the Executive: The President's real record on fossil fuels.: WSJ
Good news: Interior Department creating their very own climate-change committee: Hot Air
Regulation: USDA Lays an Egg: Elephant

Media

Nate Silver Asks: Whose Shark Is This, and Why Do I Feel a Need to Jump It?: RSM
Dem insiders appear to know that Obama will likely lose: MagFarm
It's Over: American Digest

Rage Against the Media: Mjfellwrites
When You've Lost Andrea Mitchell...: Breitbart
Nestlé Sued Again For Selling Bottled Tap Water As Spring Water: Forbes

World

MUST SEE: An Urgent Message for America: Loudon
“He said Allahu Akbar” – Survivors tell what really happened during the terrorist attack on Fort Hood: Scoop
Libyan attackers feel free to attack Obama administration with impunity.: Lane

Fort Hood victims see similarities to Benghazi: Times
CIA found militant links a day after Libya attack: Mercury News
Satellite photos of Iran military site bring questions of explosives testing: Fox

Prime Suspect in Benghazi Attack Turns Up, Chillin’ with a Strawberry Frappe: Tatler
Stevens repeatedly conveyed worries to Obama admin about lawlessness, violence in Benghazi: Scoop
Judging presidential candidates by their endorsements: JPA

Sci-Tech

The truth about Google's horrible, no good, very bad day: Fortune
Top brass to discuss U.S. Air Force role in cyber warfare: Reuters
Google Insiders Bail Prior to Stock Plunge: Mish

Cornucopia

What’s It Like to Spend One Minute as James Bond?: Gizmodo
Social media sensation dies of cancer at age 13: BizWk
Here's what Business Insider looked like this day in 1987: Reformed Broker

Image: Bosch Fawstin
Today's Larwyn's Linx sponsored by: If You Are Reading This, You Are the Resistance

QOTD: "I would like to ask you to honor your parents, grandparents, favorite teachers, and anyone else who shaped you and helped make you who you are today in the country you love by taking a moment and thinking about how you can help make Mitt Romney’s win as big as possible on November 6th. This will involve taking a step beyond things you normally do now…and interacting with a greater circle of people than just your current friends and family. It will most likely involve reaching out to people in your community or total strangers on the phone or online and asking them to help save our country by voting for Mitt Romney, the man who can fix the mess we are in.

Please consider going to the official Romney website and signing up for its action center.

Learn how you can help the campaign from home.

If you have any bucks to spare in this horrible Obama economy, please consider sending what you can to the campaign.

Here are some other things you can do that won’t cost you anything but a few minutes a day of your time:

• If you see anyone online in conservative ranks pulling Eeyore garbage, jump in and tell that person to knock it off because they are not helping the cause. It’s time for Eeyores to shut up and keep their worries, fears, and cries for attention to themselves. Grown ups have work to do.

• If you notice any conservative writers attempting to play Tokyo Rose games to demoralize Republicans at a time when we’re so close to a major victory, shout these people down. Go after them on Twitter, Facebook, and email and demand they stop churning out this propaganda. Tell them flat out they are Tokyo Roses and commence weeding them out. After the election, we’re going to take things a step further and demand that some of these people be removed from sites like HotAir, TownHall, National Review, etc. because they clearly operated from a pro-Obama agenda by echoing the Left’s talking points during the last few months of this race. We’re not going to allow that to keep happening in the future..." --Kevin DuJan