Posted on 05/14/2013 10:27:50 PM PDT by 2ndDivisionVet
This was the critical moment, the brief time between his inaugural and when the nation's collective focus turns to whom his successor will be, when President Obama had to make real progress on his second-term agenda and thus forge his legacy.
Instead, the president finds his administration, the public, Congress and the news media distracted by controversies over Benghazi, the Internal Revenue Service's targeting of conservative groups and a leak investigation in which the Justice Department secretly obtained months of phone records of Associated Press journalists.
The result? Precious time White House officials and other Democrats hoped to spend on pushing the president's goals is instead being spent on damage control, and with dubious effect at that.
It's certainly too early to declare that the Obama presidency is, for all intents, over. But the cluster of controversies puts the president's ambitious second-term agenda at risk, says long-time Washington watcher James Thurber, director of American University's Center for Presidential and Congressional Studies.
"He really only has about five months to deal with some major issues like gun control, but also, of course, immigration and the grand bargain," said Thurber, referring to a deficit-reduction deal with Republicans to reduce spending and increase tax revenues.
"In terms of the long-term, historical evaluation of this presidency, they're probably not going to be that important," Thurber said of the controversies.
"But certainly, given the way he has to build momentum for domestic issues, he has to reframe and it's very hard to reframe while he's being hammered over these two issues." (I talked with Thurber before news came late Monday of the Justice Department's AP probe.)
Given his sense, based on available information, that the IRS's targeting of conservative groups for higher scrutiny for tax-exemption purposes, "wasn't ordered by the White House.....
(Excerpt) Read more at npr.org ...
I would have said something more like “Controversies Risk Snipping Spinal Cord of Obama Agenda” but that’s probably too many words.
Professor, he doesn't know how to do anything else. And, Lord knows, he can't afford to tell the truth...
The “clown-car” president, nobama, should be in prison.
Controversies?
Dead Border Agent and dead Mexicans
Dead Seals and Dead Ambassador
IRS used a a political attack dog
Constant attacks on the US Constitutions 2nd Amendment
These are not controversies. They are crimes, coruption, malfeaseance, dereliction of duty, violation of oath of office etc.
ya know, this is like a serial murderer whiniong about hte law coming after him and sayign things like “I have so much good left to do but I just can’t because the laqw is just fixated on the bad that I’ve done- it’s so ... snifff.... unfair!”
Dead Border Agent and dead Mexicans
Dead Seals and Dead Ambassador
IRS used a a political attack dog
Constant attacks on the US Constitutions 2nd Amendment
These are not controversies. They are crimes, corruption, malfeasance, dereliction of duty, violation of oath of office etc.
True, but you have to remember that NPR is composed of persons who think that truth itself is not real, that facts arise from cultural context, and that logic is an artificial system created by dead white men for the express purpose of keeping people of color in a permanent state of bondage and degradation.
So to them, the scandals you listed are "controversies."
If, by some miracle, Obama and his claque are at some point shown on TV being marched out of the White House in handcuffs by Federal Marshals, the scandals in which they are immersed will still be "controversies" to NPR.
(Controversies?
Dead Border Agent and dead Mexicans
Dead Seals and Dead Ambassador
IRS used a a political attack dog
Constant attacks on the US Constitutions 2nd Amendment
These are not controversies. They are crimes, coruption, malfeaseance, dereliction of duty, violation of oath of office etc.)
Extremely well said!
Is it my imagination that this poop storm on Brack started when he went off to golf with Tiger and he stiffed the press? Dang.
Chicago political thuggery and it needs to be excised from the federal govt before we start resembling 1930s Germany.
“Controversies Risk Starving Obama’s Agenda”
That’s one of the best side effect of this mess. May it die of starvation over the next 3 and a half years!
Obama’s Agenda Of Air
Sounds about right: that’s all he’s ever had is air. Hot air. LOTS of it.
Well, that and a sub-agenda to try and break the USA.
But will these scandals stop the Hillary Clinton agenda? That’s the real question.
Who cares if his spidey sense fails to tingle like Chris Matthews' groin?
Any twit who voted (twice!) for this clown (as Thurber undoubtedly did) has an impotent spidey sense in the first place.
Prison?
After his crack to Medvedev about having more flexibility after the election, he should have been hanged for treason.
Now we can expect the wagons to circle since everything has been covered by the MSM
and looking into anything deeper is just plain politics. We'll you're damn right It's politics
and every day it needs to be political. The RATs would being saying worse if this was a Republican.
To those in the MSM who want everything to go away, you go first, go to Hell!
controversies?
No. Scandals, or better yet, illegal activities.
ALL OF BATHHOUSE’S SCANDALS ARE SIMPLY THE IMPLEMENTATION OF HIS AGENDA... NOTHING MORE... NOTHING LESS. HE IS THE MOST DANGEROUS AND INCOMPETENT MAN TO EVER BECOME PRESIDENT! I use the term “man” loosely.
LLS
-——puts the president’s ambitious second-term agenda at risk——
Does anyone know what that agenda might be? All I’ve seen is pie in the sky
This blow to the leftist agenda is one more thing to thank God for in our prayers.
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