Why Did Obama Lie? Why Did Others Lie?

Slowly buy surely the actual facts in the Islamic radical assault on our Consulate in Benghazi, Libya are coming to light. 

We now know that Ambassador Stevens asked for increased security many times before the attack.  We know the State Department turned him down in a dismissive and arrogant manner.  It appears no one at the State Department will pay the price for this gross error in judgment.

We now know that drones overhead witnessed the attack and that officials in the CIA, the State Department and even President Obama himself knew this was a terrorist attack.

We now know that there was no protest of demonstration preceding or during the assault on the Consulate.

And today we know that President Obama was fully aware that the radical group Ansar al-Sharia had asserted responsibility for the attacks.  The White House had emails from this al Qaeda allied group within two hours of the attack.

What we will never know is why President Obama lied continuously and consistently for two solid weeks about the attack.  We will never know why he forced Jay Carney, the White House Press Secretary to lie, when Carney knew the truth.

We will never know why the President ordered Susan Rice, the United Nations Secretary to outright lie on four Sunday Morning News Interviews, destroying her credibility forever.

We will never know why in the world Vice President Biden told such an involved fictional account of the information known to the administration, even recounting totally false dates, during the Vice Presidential Debate.  Biden knew from day one.  Why did he destroy any chance he might have had of becoming President? 

Certainly the administration will never explain these lies and the bizarre and unnecessary cover-up of the facts.  It's a mini-Watergate with no logical explanation. 

We can only guess that the President was trying to place the blame elsewhere, on an obscure video maker, to avoid any direct blame that would harm his re-election chances.  It just all seems so odd.

If President Obama wins re-election the Main Stream Media will then investigate and ask these same questions.  If he loses it will fall upon a disgruntled staffer to reveal the truth.  But either way, Mr. PResident, the truth will come out.

"They’re going to put y’all back in chains"

"They’re going to put y’all back in chains."

These are the exact words spoken by Vice President Joe Biden, addressing a largely Black audience Tuesday during a campaign speech in Danville, Virginia.

Obama deputy campaign manager Stephanie Cutter said Monday the campaign has “no problem with those comments,” in an interview with Andrea Mitchell.

I personally have a problem with those extremely racist and disgusting comments.

I will not be voting for Barack Obama or Joe Biden this November.  These are not the people I want governing or representing our country.

Not One Ounce of Moral Courage

The bashing of the Tea Party by angry and frustrated Democrats continued this afternoon as the House prepared to vote on raising the nation’s debt limit combined with a smidgen of possible future spending cutbacks. It's all theater for a gullible audience. And it's all pure bullshit.

I am an unabashed liberal and Democrat, but I have no sympathy for the Congresspersons or Vice President Biden who remain incapable of telling the truth. As I stated in my last entry, any 2nd grader who has learned to add and subtract can quickly figure out that 375 is greater than 60.

Today's classroom Dunce Award must be shared by Representative Mike Doyle and Vice President Joe Biden who can't figure out this simple math. Both are screaming at the top of their lungs to any passing television or radio reporter that "The Tea Partiers are Terrorists".

If there even are 60 of the so-called Tea Party Terrorists, it would only take about 40 Democrats with a single ounce of moral courage to walk across the aisle and negate their power. The small, yet courageous, Tea Party Caucus has only the power to provide cover for the very large, yet very cowardly, Democrat Party.

You see the Democrats blame the Tea Party for being unwilling to do EXACTLY what the entire Democrat Party was unwilling to do: bend their principles to negotiate in good faith an end to this crisis. What Vice President Biden and Mike Doyle wanted was for the Republicans to pass a balanced and moderate bill, all by themselves, without a single Democrat vote. The bill was always there, within Democrats grasp, if they came to the table and compromised. Dems could have frozen the tea party out. But they didn't.

Now, to be certain, the Tea Party did win emerge victorious. At least a little. But it was always a David versus Goliath battle. The Dems were Goliath, afraid to ever use their size and strength. The Tea Party never even had to unholster their slingshot. Goliath was hiding under the table and never entered the field of battle.

Maybe next year, in the few districts we still control, we Democrats can vote with people with the same level of courage as the Tea Partiers.

If You Already Know ALL the Answers...

If you already know all the answers, there is really no point in asking any questions.

And there is one thing we know for certain, Michael Hastings, writing for Rolling Stone Magazine, already knows all the answers. And if you don't believe me, just ask him. He'll quickly set you straight.

It's really just a damned shame that Mr Hastings isn't President of the United States of America. He knows exactly what needs to happen in Afghanistan. He knows what the military needs to do and what our strategy ought to be.

But Michael Hastings isn't President. So he used his many talents and his position at Rolling Stone Magazine to skillfully write a hatchet piece to bring down General Stanley McChrystal, the Commander of the allied forces in Afghanistan. It was a tough and dirty job, but Michael Hastings was up to the task. And today Hastings is the victor and a brilliant General is gone.

Hastings knows all too well his job isn't done. In his follow-up article today he makes it clear that McChrystal's successor, General David Petraeus won't fall as easily as McCrystal did. But Hastings also makes it clear in his ego driven Rolling Stone follow-up, that he is up to the job and his work won't be finished until his personal vision for Afghanistan is in place.

Hastings writes today, "Changing generals isn't likely to resolve the real trouble in Afghanistan: the fundamental flaws in the U.S. strategy of counterinsurgency."

Now we all know that it was General McChrystal's own off the cuff, unwise and sarcastic comments actually caused his demise. Michael Hastings was just the all too willing messenger. Hastings just asked all the questions. And he complied the answers he wanted.

Frankly I believe Hastings knew the most important answer before he started his interviews. That answer is the subtitle of his Rolling Stone essay:

Stanley McChrystal, Obama's top commander in Afghanistan, has seized control of the war by never taking his eye off the real enemy: The wimps in the White House

I'm willing to wager any amount of money Hastings knew his article would manipulate those "wimps in the White House" to fire McChrystal.

I genuinely believe President Obama had to accept General McChrystal's resignation. And Obama did the right thing in promoting Petraeus.

But it is Michael Hastings that knows all the answers. It's a shame we can't make him a general.

John McCain: You Can Win! Here's How....

I don't think John McCain is reading my blog. And I rather suspect his advisers are too busy, too. But, if you are out there John, you can still win (easily).

How? Simply return to the full and open press availability that was the hallmark of your earlier campaigns. Your advisers (or should we call them "handlers") are giving you really bad, bad advice. Sarah Palin knows it. And, in your heart, you know it too.

You'll never close the 3% to 4% gap in the polls following your current plan. It's not possible. Barack Obama is out spending you in paid advertising 20 to 1. His 603 million dollars dwarfs your 87 million dollars.

O.K., accepting public financing was a huge mistake. But you can't fix that one now.

Barack Obama is completely hiding from the press. He hasn't had a press conference in ages and refuses more than two to three (carefully controlled) questions, and only on some days. And Obama has a lot of reasons to hide. More importantly, the press is finally starting to return to real journalism. They've been shamed into it.

And Joe Biden.... well, Biden is a disaster.

Sarah Palin is now the only available candidate and it's working. But you are the pro! You cannot match Obama's spending. But you can absolutely dominate every news cycle. Trust your instincts and return to the open, honest, available, candid, funny, controversial, folksy, trustworthy candidate that got you here in the first place.

John McCain, you can win. Talk to the press every hour of every day. And encourage Sarah Palin to continue to do the same thing.

Sarah Palin is Very Qualified to be President

We have only a few days until we cast our votes for President and Vice President. In fact many of us have already voted.

I have so much I would like to write between now and November 4th, but I also have real world duties and obligations.

Before I do anyhing else, let me thank those who read and comment here. I do really appreciate the dialog discussion following the last several posts. I deeply appreciate the quality, the wisdom and the honest and civilized debate.

I have started and then discarded several columns outlining and defining my endorsement of John McCain and Sarah Palin for President and Vice President. They will receive my vote, although I still believe that Barack Obama and Joe Biden will win. It would be a huge upset if McCain and Palin pull this one out.

I certainly do not think for even one second that anything I write here will change a single vote. The world isn't waiting on the wisdom of the Wizard for their instructions.

I've looked at dozens of different issues in making this decision. In some areas, like health care, I feel that Barack Obama has the best program. In other areas, most notably foreign policy, I feel McCain is more correct.

There are two defining areas that tipped the scale in favor of McCain and Palin. The first is obvious, and that is that John McCain and Sarah Palin have the real world experience to hold the offices they seek. And while the same can be said of Joe Biden, it cannot be said of Barack Obama.

I've said often that Obama has never made a single tough decision in his entire life and it is tragically true. He has literally voted present his entire life and throughout his public career. Such a record is actually helpful when running for President because you have no history, no paper trail. There is nothing for the press to check (as if anyone in the press was actually looking at Obama's record). You can claim to stand for anything and no one can disagree. The bottom line is Obama gives great speeches. That's it.

Compared to Barack Obama, Sarah Palin is experienced, tested and ready. She has made the toughest decisions and handled intense and detailed negotiations and faced difficult situations. She has created and submitted budgets. She has worked with the legislature in order to get things done, get laws passed. And she excelled in every single effort, building a stunning 80% approval rate. She has been wildly successful in handling a damned tough job.

Obama, by contrast, can not point to a single accomplishment throughout his entire career beyond winning a Senate seat against only token (no offense intended) competition. He can't even point to any legislation. There is no McCain-Feingold anywhere in Obama's past.

Obama has good ideas and we should not diminish his wonderful ability to communicate. But we do not know what he really stands for, at least not from any real world examples.

Now the press and the left have been grossly unfair in handling Palin. Her mistreatment is stunning, yet she has rarely objected or complained. And recently, all the networks have noted, Palin has been the most available and most interviewed of all four candidates with more press availability every day than Obama, McCain and Biden combined. And she looks and sounds good.

I've read, heard and watched literally hundreds of news stories, articles and blog posts that criticized (or more correctly defamed) Governor Palin. I've not read a single one of importance, substance or credibility. Only those rare posts that discussed Palin's policies or positions were reasonable and fair. It is certainly fair to oppose her over issues like abortion rights or sexual rights or gay rights. I applaud those who support Obama and disagree with Palin because of those issues.

Now, before I depart this evening, I want to also mention the second deciding factor in my decision to endorse John McCain. I feel McCain has the best plans to handle the economy, taxes and Washington special interests. I will be writing a full and detailed column on this issue in the next few days.

The Wolverine

It was another great debate. I was terribly impressed with the Obama McCain debate last week. I assumed, incorrectly as it turns out, that tonight would be simply terrible. Far from it. Tonight was a very entertaining evening.

My favorite quote of the night comes, not from the candidates, but from Howard Fineman on MSNBC late tonight. Fineman said (and I'm working from memory here), "I've always wondered what a wolverine looked like. Tonight we saw it. Palin was like a wolverine chewing through plywood."

O.K. I thought Senator Joe Biden won the debate. He was knowledgeable, poised and articulate. He also had passion.

And I am so very pleased with Senator Biden's position and support for the people in Darfur. Senator Biden is willing to lay it all on the line. Darfur needs and deserves that kind of support from the United States.

I believe Biden is actually much stronger, more forceful and more committed than Barack Obama on many issues, especially the genocide in Darfur. Obama is very fortunate to have Biden on the ticket.

But, while Biden clearly won the debate, Governor Sarah Palin gained tremendous credibility. She was strong, articulate, forceful and just damned tough. She definitely got the better of Biden on several occasions.

Now I do believe that Obama's victory on November 4th is still on track unless McCain can somehow win landslide victories in both of the next two debates.

But Obama needs to hope the McCain campaign continues to very foolishly keep Palin under wraps. If the Republicans were to turn her loose, she might just chew through Obama's lead like wolverine through plywood.

Gwen Ifill Can, Should and Must Resign Immediately

Gwen Ifill can, should and must resign immediately as the moderator of tomorrow night's Vice Presidential Debate. Her conflict of interest is the size of the Grand Canyon. Ifill is writing an iconic Obama book that is pre-planned to release on the very day Obama will be inaugurated as President in 2009 (yes, Obama will win; stop worrying about it).

If, somehow, McCain were to win, Ifill's bookn would be an publishing and financial disaster. Ifill has a huge financial interest in insuring that Obama wins the election.

To make matters worse, YouTube has gone viral with Ifill videos that prove beyond any doubt that she is in the tank for Obama, and that Ifill is not capable of being fair to Palin.



Ifill won't resign, of course, and so everybody loses. Well, everybody except perhaps, Sarah Palin. This is a virtual get out of jail free card for Palin. No matter how badly Palin does in the debate, it will be easy to argue that Ifill was unfair. That's because Ifill lacks any professional journalistic ethics. Because if Ifill had one ounce of integrity, this would never have happened.

At this point I have virtually no remaining respect for Gwen Ifill. And frankly, she deserves no respect. I would be hopeful that PBS would actually discharge her for her astounding lack of professionalism.

If Gwen Ifill cares at all about her reputation, she will immediately apologize and resign as debate moderator.

If Gwen Ifill cares at all about journalistic ethics, she will immediately apologize and resign as debate moderator.

If Gwen Ifill cares at all about fairness, she will immediately apologize and resign as debate moderator.

And finally, if Gwen Ifill cares at all about Barack Obama, she will immediately apologize and resign as debate moderator.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

UPDATE: October 2, 2008 - Mary over at FREEDOM EDEN forgoes her usual rant and has posted a thoughtful and restrained review of Gwen Ifill's Omission.

... and what are you blogging about?

Eleanor Roosevelt was very wise. One of Roosevelt's most famous and oft repeated quotes is especially true today.

"Great minds discuss ideas; Average minds discuss events; Small minds discuss people."

There are several great and serious issues we face today. The economy is literally moments away from collapse. Iran is perhaps six months away from having a nuclear bomb and significant means to deliver that bomb to Israel and perhaps Europe. Our health care system is on the verge of implosion.

Joe Biden's misstatements or Sarah Palin's spat with a neighbor years ago are not serious issues. This is just gossip. Gossip worthy of Entertainment Tonight, hardly worth discussing in a Presidential Election.

We are preoccupied with gotcha questions. Katie Couric "got" to Joe Biden yesterday. He looked silly and out of touch. But, after failing to press Biden on the serious questions or dealing with the life and death issues we face today, the press complained they couldn't get access to Sarah Palin. What a surprise.

Elections have often deteriorated this way. That doesn't make it any less tragic.

As we post blogs each day, please try to remember the wisdom of Eleanor Roosevelt.

The Will Be No Obamanation Here

I want to make a very, very short entry tonight that I will expand on greatly in the next few weeks.

My point is extremely simple: All four candidates for President and Vice President are extremely well qualified for the offices which they seek.

America will be extremely well served no matter which ticket wins.

To paraphrase Don Imus, there is no doubt that, if elected, John McCain might well be the finest, most honest and most honorable Presidents in recent history.

But in Barack Obama we have one of the brightest and most thoughtful persons to ever seek the highest office in the land. More importantly he is pragmatic and is genuinely willing to consider all solutions to every problem. He will not be bound by partisan dogma. And, as a bonus, he is charismatic and a truly great leader.

If McCain might become one of the most honorable and able Presidents in History, Obama could become one of the most exciting and inspiring, leading us to greatness.

There will be no slander on this website from this author (however the comments section will be unmoderated (except for spam) and all comments are welcome). I have NEVER and will NEVER refer to Senator McCain in an derogatory language. We will not call him "McShame" or "McBush" or any other cute or clever phrase.

Nor will we ever refer to Senator Obama as the "Obamassiah" or an "Obamanation." This type of slander might be the stock and trade of Rush Limbaugh, but it does not belong in an intelligent discussion of candidates or the issues.

I'm going to take this one step further. I know that will break your hearts, but the is NOT the most important election of our lifetimes. The fact is we as Americans CANNOT LOSE. Both candidates are that good.

So how do we chose? It you don't fall prey to the partisan slander and bickering, it's going to be easy. Easy because these are two very different candidates with striking differences in their approach to our greatest problems.

Over the next eight weeks I intend to explore those differences on the most important issues: [1]Iraq and Afghanistan, [2] Health Care, [3] Education, [4] Environment, [5] the Economy, Taxes and Spending, [6] Civil/Women's/Gay Rights and finally, [7] Style of Governing.

If you have been caught up in the silly stupidity of the last few days, pull yourself back from the fray. A long forgotten one line statement made by John McCain in 1994 IS NOT THE ISSUE. The fact that Obama wasn't even around in in 1994 IS NOT THE ISSUE.

That Governor Palin was once a beauty contest contestant IS NOT THE ISSUE. The fact that Joe Biden makes silly misstatements (asking a wheelchair bound man to stand earlier today) IS NOT THE ISSUE.

Concentrate on the issues. Concentrate on the policies and plans. Then, and only then, you'll know how to vote.

Lift yourself out of the gutter, even if the campaigns and the main stream media just can't do it themselves.

Vice President Sarah Palin? I like It!

WOW! John McCain made a stunningly brilliant choice for Vice President! Governor Sarah Palin of Alaska is a great choice, I couldn't possibly be more pleased! [And regular readers know I was expecting the worst.]

Now I was unable to prepare this entry moments after her announcement as I would have liked to do. Travel and computer difficulties prevented me from making this entry in a timely manner. But if I had, I was going to predict, exactly as I had done for Senator Biden before, that she was in for one bumpy ride. The attacks would come immediately. Of course, had I been on line and made that rather obvious prediction, I would have been quite right.

Still, I am so disgusted by the personal and totally bogus attacks from the left that I am simply heartsick. Why do so many bloggers and television and radio advocates feel they must absolutely destroy and totally demonize any opponent on a personal and human level? Trust me, if John McCain had chosen Barack Obama's identical twin, the attacks would be a ferocious, as hateful, as unfair and as meaningless.

But the Democrats and many of the left leaning commentators have really missed the boat on the Palin nomination. They are underestimating her talent, her ability and her appeal. This is a game changer, not because she is a women, not because of Hillary voters, and not because she is young, but because she is Sarah Louise Heath Palin, one of the best, brightest, most honest and most honorable public servants in office today. She is the real deal.

At a time when 95% of politicians are plastic, poll driven and expertly manicured by teams of advisers, she's the real deal, a woman charts her own course. In that way she is much like John McCain. She is his perfect Vice Presidential choice.

And she is a powerhouse! Those waiting for Senator Joe Biden to blow her away in the debate are in for a real shock. And I'm a Joe Biden fan.

Now liberals and Democrats don't need to support her. We don't have to agree with her positions on choice or guns or marriage or oil drilling or hunting or much of anything else. But we really should respect her.

Why shouldn't we cheer when a great candidate is nominated?

We ought to debate issues and positions and even qualifications (although in my opinion Palin is more qualified to be President than Barack Obama). Alas, I'm afraid this type of substantive debate really isn't going to happen.

But I do wish Democrats, progressives and liberals would follow the sound advice of K McKiernan blogging over at The Ikonoclast in her Letter To Democrats Who Want to Win in November:

With the latest news that Sarah Palin is John McCain's running mate, we have to tread very carefully or we will lose...not just lose, but lose soundly. We will not just lose the election, but we will lose the gains we have made for women and men who support women and their rights. It will become far too easy to try to attack Palin for being "inexperienced" or "only chosen because she is a woman." We cannot win (the election or the larger goal of equality) if we try to tear her down through gendered stereotypes and constructions. Already I have heard (and the news is only 2 hours old), from Democrats, "How could he pick someone so inexperienced?" Well, we say Obama has enough, right? Well, Palin has governed and run a state. She has enough. I have already heard from a Democrat that "she has 5 children, one with special needs, so why is she not at home with that 4 month old child?" We, as Democrats, do not want to win by becoming archaic, fundamentalist and sexist. We will push those who already feel slighted by the loss of Hillary Clinton further into the McCain camp. And in the long run, we will devastate what we have fought for with regards to women and equality.

Welcome to Hell, Senator Biden

The cable networks did manage to beat the Obama Text Message by about three hours, but the result was the same regardless. Senator Joe Biden of Delaware is Barack Obama's choice for Vice President.

I think it was a good, although rather predictable choice. It turns out Hillary Clinton was never considered. That Obama didn't add her to his short list and make it clear she was actively considered, is a silly and shortsighted omission. It will cost Obama a few votes. It should. It shows very poor judgement on Obama's part.

If the Republicans had an exceptionally strong woman to add to the McCain ticket, it could be a bigger issue. McCain could really steal votes IF he had an option that made sense.

Since Obama went safe and didn't rock the boat, I expect McCain to do the same. The conventional wisdom at this moment is Governor Tim Pawlenty. Don't expect the Wizard to be pleased.

Perhaps a lot more significant than the Vice Presidential choice is that Progressives and the very far left wing of the Democrat Party ARE GETTING THEIR FONDEST WISH: Barack Obama is turning extremely negative and will run a "Burn McCain in Hell" convention next week.

I'm frankly sure Senator Biden is actually very unhappy with this. He recited his lines on cue yesterday and he is a good soldier. But this unwarranted and totally unnecessary demonization of McCain is simply tragic. Plus Biden and McCain are friends. A classic example of McCain's and Biden's abilities to work across party lines.

I've read several blog entries from both sides of the aisle today that literally make me want to cry.

McCain Derangement Syndrome his now a full blown epidemic, an instant mutation of Bush Derangement Syndrome. I fully expect any minute to read that it was John McCain on the grassy knoll in Dallas in 1963 next to Lee Harvey Oswald.

But, all you McCain supporters, don't worry. I'm told there is a video tape proving Obama actually sold the gun to Jack Ruby that was used to assassinate Oswald. The circle remains unbroken.

America, Barack Obama, Joe Biden and John McCain all deserve better.