Free Republic

Out on the campaign trail, Fed head Ben Bernanke is an unpopular guy. Mitt Romney and Newt Gingrich have both said they would replace Bernanke, not reappoint him. Rep. Ron Paul would swap the whole Federal Reserve monetary system for a gold-linked dollar, making the yellow metal legal tender. And it was Gov. Rick Perry of Texas, before he dropped out of the race, who said more quantitative easing by the Fed would be "almost treasonous." Republicans in Washington are equally unimpressed by Bernanke. Rep. Paul Ryan recently criticized the Fed for bankrolling our huge budget deficits and thereby accommodating...

The Washington establishment believes that the government shutdown of 1995 was a disastrous mistake that accomplished little and cost House Republicans politically. The facts are exactly the opposite. While the shutdown produced some short-term pain, it set the stage for a budget deal in 1996 that led to the largest drop in federal discretionary spending since 1969. The discipline imposed by this budget — overall spending grew at an average of 2.9 percent a year while I was speaker of the House, the slowest rate in decades — allowed us to reach a balanced-budget deal in 1997. ...the balanced budget...

The mastermind behind the Republicans' dramatic return to congressional power after 40 years in the minority, Newt Gingrich commanded a conservative assault on big government to achieve his long-held dream of becoming House speaker. ...it was a disappointing GOP showing in Tuesday's election that ultimately brought him down. He fulfilled his vision through his "Contract with America," a campaign blueprint he helped craft that called for tax cuts, welfare reform and other changes aimed at shrinking the federal government. "When I said revolution, I meant revolution. When I said real change, I meant real change," Gingrich said in the midst...

Washington (CNN) - Former president Bill Clinton enjoyed his most lucrative year ever on the speaking circuit in 2010, capping a decade of paid speaking events that has earned him $75.6 million since leaving office in 2001, according to a CNN analysis of federal financial records. Clinton received $10.7 million for 52 paid speaking engagements last year, a sizable increase from the 36 paid speeches he delivered in 2009 for a total of $7.5 million. The most the former president had previously earned in one year was in 2006 when he earned $10.2 million for 57 events. His 2010 speaking...

ABC News commentator George Stephanopoulos has a previously undisclosed connection to President Obama – the two were part of a small group at Harvard University that met for a period of three years purportedly to promote involvement with U.S. community institutions. Participants at the research project, which took place between 1997 and 2000, included scores of individuals with ties to Obama, including several activists who were later appointed to positions in the Obama administration. Other participants were instrumental in promoting Obama’s political career. Just yesterday, Stephanopoulos was the subject of conservative criticism for pointed questions he asked Republican presidential candidates...

The Eritrean Government has reacted furiously to criticism from the US State Department. The US State Department called on the Eritrean Government to release two local employees of the US embassy in Eritrea who have been in detention since last year; Ali Alamin and Kiflom Gebremichael. It also urged the Eritrean Government to grant them an open and fair trail and "respect fundamental human rights." The Eritrean Foreign Ministry released a statement which said it totally rejected the state department's position, and called on it to refrain from unwarranted intervention. But the statement also contains some surprises, with the government...

Appearing as a guest on Wednesday's Piers Morgan Tonight on CNN, former NBC News anchor Tom Brokaw recounted some of the rationale behind why the Bush administration believed that Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction before the invasion of Iraq, even noting that President Clinton had also believed in the presense of WMD. Brokaw related evidence that the Iraqi dictator had tried to deceive Iran into believing he possessed WMD, and noted that the people of Iraq lived in "sheer terror" and were afraid to talk to the NBC anchor when he visited the country during Saddam Hussein's reign....

There are some preliminary reports about Bill Clinton’s purported $50,000-a-month retainer — paid out to Teneo, a firm where he is chairman of the board — from his friend Jon Corzine’s now broke MF Global. It reminds of Newt Gingrich’s getting $30,000 a month for his work as a “historian” for Freddie Mac up until the eve of its crack-up. One comes away with a sort of despair that our most prominent politicians, who have already done quite well in private and public life, still cannot refrain from cashing in on their contacts for even more cash. The symptoms are...

Bob Woodward says Al Gore is 'unpleasant and taxing'... as he's told 'public know just 1% of details on Clinton's government' -Watergate journalist didn't enjoy sitting next to Al Gore -He claims we know little about Clinton administration -Mr Gore was speaking at investment dinner last week If you ever get to hold that dream dinner party of writers and politicians, feel free to invite Bob Woodward or Al Gore. But just don’t ask both. Mr Woodward, 68, the former Washington Post reporter who gained fame through the Watergate scandal, is not a fan of the former vice-president. He said...

When President Obama announced his $4 billion initiative to finance energy efficiency programs at the White House on Friday, a number of Bay Area allies were, literally, right behind him. There were senior executives from San Francisco's Metrus Energy, which committed $75 million of private capital to the initiative, and from Sunnyvale's Serious Energy and Santa Rosa's Ygrene Energy Fund, both contributing $100 million. They're among the 60 private companies and other entities "stepping up," in Obama's words, in an effort to retrofit public and commercial buildings nationwide, pitching in approximately half of the $4 billion needed. The rest of...

A former MF Global employee accused former president William J. Clinton of collecting $50,000 per month through his Teneo advisory firm in the months before the brokerage careened towards its Halloween filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. Teneo was hired by MF Global’s former CEO Jon S. Corzine to improve his image and to enhance his connections with Clinton’s political family, said the employee, who asked that his name be withheld because he feared retribution. “They were supposed to be helping Corzine improve his image as a CEO—I guess you can tell how that went,” he said. Corzine resigned as CEO...

FRIEND$ AT THE TOP: Former President Bill Clinton and British ex-Prime Minister Tony Blair both sit on the advisory board of Teneo Holdings, which was paid at least $625,000 to do public-relations and financial-consulting work for Jon Corzine’s failed brokerage, MF Global. ....Clinton spokesman Matt McKenna said “President Clinton does not advise clients on the firm’s behalf.” Clinton does make money from Teneo, but has declined to disclose the sum. Corzine and the former president have been close for years. Clinton campaigned for Corzine repeatedly and Corzine, in turn, became the first sitting governor to endorse Hillary Rodham Clinton’s bid...

A former MF Global employee accused former president William J. Clinton of collecting $50,000 per month through his Teneo advisory firm in the months before the brokerage careened towards its Halloween filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. Teneo was hired by MF Global’s former CEO Jon S. Corzine to improve his image and to enhance his connections with Clinton’s political family, said the employee, who asked that his name be withheld because he feared retribution. “They were supposed to be helping Corzine improve his image as a CEO—I guess you can tell how that went,” he said. Corzine resigned as CEO...

Former Pres. Bill Clinton tells us that Pres. Obama is “doing the right things.” Really? Asked about the possibility of a write-in movement to draft Hillary Clinton as a presidential candidate, former President Bill Clinton dismissed the notion - and went on to defend the record and wisdom of Pres. Obama. “I think, you know, whenever the country has trouble--economics, something--someone suggests something like this, but I think President Obama is doing the right things and I think he's going to be re-elected,” Clinton told CNSNews.com on Friday.

While doing a bit of Web surfing, I came across an article that contained some very disturbing information about Executive Orders. The ones that get you are the ones you don’t know about. With talk about riots in the streets, it’s not too much to imagine that some of these EOs below could be used under the force of law.In J. R. R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings, the power of the ring is not something to be desired even by good people. The goal is to destroy it. When Boromir fails to avoid the ring’s power, he dies....

Sad to see Ed Schultz suffer such sudden memory loss on live national TV. On his MSNBC show this evening, discussing Herman Cain's handling of the various allegations against him, Schultz: found it odd that Cain's wife had come to his defense; said he'd never "seen anything like this in American politics;" and claimed that by criticizing his accusers, Cain had hit "a new low in American politics." Do any of the following sound an echo with Ed?: *Hillary going on 60 Minutes to stand by Bill as he lied through his teeth about Gennifer Flowers? *The Clinton campaign organizing...

From the breaking news, one might think that with a woman who claims she had a 13-year affair with presidential candidate Herman Cain, someone is being seriously exposed as a hypocrite. That would be the press. The media can't deny they continue to display a lousy double standard. For Republican candidates, scandalous news is instant. For Democrats, it's eventual, if at all! Ginger White's charges sound a lot like Gennifer Flowers in 1992, when she said she had a 12-year affair with Bill Clinton. So many in the press pounce on Flowers as unequivocal evidence of the media's sense of...

GOP presidential contender Herman Cain's initial response to yesterday's allegation that he had a long term extra marital affair was an emphatic denial. Then a statement from his lawyer seemed to back away from the denial claiming "private, alleged consensual conduct between adults...is not a proper subject of inquiry by the media or the public." Now Mr. Cain's chief of staff has confirmed that the candidate is reassessing whether to stay in the race and will make his final decision "over the next several days." If that decision is to abandon his bid for the nomination, will it really be...

Former President Bill Clinton praised his erstwhile nemesis former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, crediting his strong debate performances with propelling him into front-runner status for the GOP presidential nomination. (snip) Clinton was impressed that Gingrich devised a “red card” system that would be used to stop normalizing the immigration status of illegals if efforts to control the border proved ineffective.“That was a thoughtful response,” Clinton said.

When it comes to the MSM, it's hard to get more mainstream than Jon Meacham. Former Newsweek editor. Current Random House editor. Picked for a Pulitzer Prize. So when someone of Meacham's genteelly liberal ilk unloads on Barack Obama in such stark terms, it's newsworthy. On today's Morning Joe, Meacham flatly stated his belief that President Obama "doesn't particularly like people and politicians who don't like people are kind of in the wrong business." View the video here.

Back to Work: Why We Need Smart Government for a Strong Economy, by Bill Clinton (Knopf, 208 pp., $23.95) As of Sunday, Bill ClintonÂ’s new book sat at #15 on AmazonÂ’s best-seller list, wedged between I Never Thought IÂ’d See the Day!: Culture at the Crossroads, by David Jeremiah, and 1Q84 by Haruki Murakami. ClintonÂ’s enduring popularity a decade after he left office says more about the paucity of ideas and competence in Washington today than it does about him. It illustrates, too, the confusion over the economic crisis that is part of the reason why we donÂ’t recover. The...

How the tables have turned. One year out from the election the Obama team is apparently worried enough about their chances at reelection that the President's top advisors secretly met with former President Bill Clinton in Harlem last week to seek out his advice.

Today's liberals would have you believe they occupy the moral high ground on every political and cultural issue. But have you ever taken inventory of their double standards? The left's inconsistency in applying their principles based on the party affiliation of those they're judging, gives fuller meaning to the concept of moral relativism. The only thing that's consistent is their reliable inconsistency, whether in the area of economic, social or national defense issues. Let's consider just a few examples: -- When "bimbo eruptions" threatened to derail Bill Clinton's campaign, his hit squad, the commander in chief of which was Hillary...

The lynching of Herman Cain has reached heights comparable with the oak tree that liberals wish they could hang minority conservatives from. In the great tradition of Clarence Thomas and Sarah Palin, the left has decided to add Herman Cain to the list of those who need to be set on fire and hung from a tree simply for existing and breathing while being a minority conservative. Anonymous women have accused Herman Cain of bad behavior of an inappropriate sexual nature. Now a woman has finally decided to come forward. To make the situation even more highly charged and explosive,...

Rick Perry caught a lot of heat from the other GOP presidential contenders for allowing illegal immigrants in Texas to receive in-state tuition. But he’s got a friend in former president Bill Clinton. “It makes my skin crawl when they attack Rick Perry for one of the best things he did,” Clinton told USA Today. “What would they like? Would they like the kid to stand on a corner and sell dope or something?”

President Clinton reached an out-of-court settlement with Paula Jones yesterday, agreeing to pay her $850,000 to drop the sexual harassment lawsuit that led to the worst political crisis of his career and only the third presidential impeachment inquiry in American history. After more than 4 1/2 years of scorched-earth legal warfare, Clinton and Jones brought a sudden end to the case with a four-page deal in which he acknowledged no wrongdoing and offered no apology. The agreement, which will be filed with a federal appeals court considering whether the lawsuit should go forward, requires the president to pay within 60...

When it comes to sex, the media apply different standards to Republicans and Democrats. Arkansas Gov. Bill Clinton allegedly trolled for women, using state troopers as his procurers. As president, mr. Clinton engaged in oral sex with Monica Lewinsky in the Oval Office. He lied about it under oath and was impeached, though later acquitted by the U.S. Senate. Other sexual accusations tainted Mr. Clinton. That "everybody lies about sex" and "it was just sex" and didn't affect his public responsibilities, were just two of the exculpatory statements from Mr. Clinton's Democratic defenders. James Carville slimed Paula Jones, one of...

WMAL EXCLUSIVE: Former Clinton Accuser Kathleen Willey Throws Her Support Behind Herman Cain Amanda Gaines WMAL.com November 5, 2011 WASHINGTON -- Kathleen Willey, a former White House aide during the Clinton administration who accused the former President of sexually assaulting her, says she will support GOP frontrunner Herman Cain in the next presidential election. Cain, one of the most popular choices for Republican nominee in the 2012 elections, has been fighting sexual harassment accusations from anonymous accusers for the past few weeks. Willey says much of the news media is blowing the allegations against Cain out of proportion, while Willey's...

Former President Bill Clinton says in a new book that last summer’s political fight over raising the U.S. debt ceiling made the nation look “weak and confused” overseas and he doesn’t know why President Barack Obama didn’t seek a hike in the limit when Democrats still controlled both houses of Congress. He says the final deal did little to create jobs or solve the longer-term debt crisis. In his book, “Back to Work,” Clinton analyzes the factors that contributed to the nation’s current economic woes and offers several policy prescriptions he says would create jobs and make the U.S. more...

Earth to liberal News Media!...It's still a no-brainer. Your attempts at sinking Cain only make everyone madder at your hypocricy! Bill Clinton wanders around the White House with his pants around his ankles for eight years and that's o.k. because he's your boy. Now you scrape the bottom of the barrel to find anything that might destroy each and every republican candidate. You scum bag socialists are going to hit the wall! Your're party days are over!

No one who followed politics 20 years ago will forget the night when Clarence Thomas sent an electric charge through a Senate hearing room. As liberal Democrats pushed the unproven sexual harassment charges of Anita Hill, in an attempt to destroy Thomas's chance to serve on the Supreme Court, Thomas called them out for conducting a national disgrace. "This is a high-tech lynching for uppity blacks who in any way deign to think for themselves." This line packed a wallop because Hill's charges were about as proven as the old charges of perverted indecency against white women that were concocted...

When it comes to sex, the media apply different standards to Republicans and Democrats. Arkansas Governor Bill Clinton allegedly trolled for women, using state troopers as his procurers. As president, Clinton engaged in oral sex with Monica Lewinsky in the Oval Office. He lied about it under oath and was impeached, though later acquitted by the U.S. Senate. Other sexual accusations tainted Clinton, including one that he raped one Juanita Broaddrick. That "everybody lies about sex" and "it was just sex" and didn't affect his public responsibilities, were just two of the exculpatory statements from Clinton's Democratic defenders. James Carville...

The lawyer for one of the Cain accusers, Joel P. Bennett, just told the panel on Anderson Cooper's CNN show that it was "his understanding" that the allegation was "leaked to Politico from a Board member of the National Restaurant Association". Could it have been the former President of the NRA who took over after Cain left, who is a Romney supporter?

Be kind to Bob Shrum. Perhaps the 68-year old is suffering from the not-so-early-onset of some dread memory-loss syndrome. How else to explain his suggestion on Al Sharpton's MSNBC show this evening that the National Restaurant Association's settlement for a relatively modest sum, in today's litigious world, proves that Herman Cain must have done something wrong? Does the failed presidential campaign consultant's support of Bill Clinton, despite his much larger, $850,000 settlement with Paula Jones while "adamantly denying" her claims, fire any synapses in Shrum's cerebrum? View the video here.

The Decade of Difference concert at the Hollywood Bowl celebrated Bill Clinton's 65th birthday and the 10-year milestone of the Clinton Foundation. Throughout the night, unexpected moments surprised, shocked, and in the end, delighted the crowd. Lady Gaga befriends First Family The moment that had everyone buzzing on Twitter was a backstage conversation between Lady Gaga and the Clintons. Lady Gaga switched outfits to a retro-looking gold gown with elbow-length gloves and even a faux beauty mark (solidifying the Marilyn Monroe comparison). She showed up in another backstage pose before the concert with former President Bill Clinton, and also Chelsea...

She may be the most powerful woman in the U.S., but that does not mean she doesn't know how to have a good time. Hillary Clinton certainly got into the swing of things at her husband's 65th birthday gala on Friday night, part of the two-day celebrations which were also held to celebrate the 10th anniversary of Clinton's foundation, which has sought to improve global health, strengthen economies worldwide, promote healthier childhoods and protect the environment for the past decade. On Saturday at the Hollywood Bowl, a host of popstars and music legends got together for a special charity concert...

Bill Clinton totally got the treatment from celebrities on his belated birthday celebration. Usher ripped his pants in front of the former U.S. president while Lady GaGa raised her middle finger and danced suggestively in front of him and his family. "A Decade of Difference: A Concert Celebrating 10 Years of the William J. Clinton Foundation" was held in Los Angeles on Saturday, October 15. The highlight of the day was when GaGa changed her hit "Bad Romance" to "Bill Romance". "I'm 25 and just four years ago I was living in a teeny tiny apartment in New York, praying...

"One of the best things about Americans is that we don't really resent other people's success," said Clinton. [snip] The two also discussed serious issues such as the economy and trade relations with China, as well as the protestors on Wall Street. "They're going to have to transfer energy to making specific suggestions," advised Clinton

DUBLIN (Reuters) - Former President Bill Clinton Saturday told Ireland's Prime Minister and the cream of the country's diaspora that he would host a summit in New York to help boost investment in the euro zone struggler. A veteran of Europe's financial crisis, Ireland gathered a mixture of corporate leaders, actors and comedians in Dublin this weekend to discuss ways of accelerating their homeland's recovery and rebuild its reputation abroad. While Ireland's booming export sector and strong record of attracting foreign investment is building a fragile recovery, Clinton told business leaders and politicians they could do more and that he...

Bill Clinton thinks he deserves more credit for reforming welfare and balancing the budget. “I go crazy every time I read the conventional wisdom,” he said Friday night at his presidential library in Little Rock, Ark. “So part of the Republican narrative is that I was ‘saved’ from myself by the election of the Republican Congress [in 1994] that ‘forced me’ to do welfare reform and ‘made the balanced budget possible.’” Clinton said reporters and commentators “keep saying this, overlooking all relevant facts.”

Former President Bill Clinton blasted the Tea Party and the Republicans while answering questions for leftists bloggers. The MSM never reported this, but Clinton met with some liberal bloggers during his annual Global Initiatives meeting in New York City a few days ago. One of the bloggers, from a site I will not mention, asked Bill a question about Rick Perry's comment that Social Security is a Ponzi Scheme. He also asked what he thought of the economic philosophy of those who align themselves with the Tea Party. It seems that Clinton blamed the Tea Party for not basing...

Despite soggy grass, President Obama hit the golf course today with former President Bill Clinton. It’s the first time that the two have played golf together since Obama became president. Obama chose Joint Base Andrews in Maryland — his usual golf spot — for the outing with the former president. The area in and around the nation’s capital experienced heavy rain Friday, but that didn’t stop the president from doing his usual weekend routine. The outing with the former president could stoke speculation about whether Obama wants Clinton’s help pushing his $447 billion jobs plan.

Oh, to be a fly on the golf cart. President Obama on Saturday broke with his usual practice of golfing with three junior aides and for the first time teed up with former President Bill Clinton, who has written a new book on the government’s role in the 21st-century economy. Completing the foursome at the Joint Base Andrews golf course outside Washington on a gray, muggy afternoon was Mr. Obama’s chief of staff, William M. Daley, who was commerce secretary in Mr. Clinton’s administration, and Doug Band, a longtime aide-de-camp to the former president.

ANDREWS AIR FORCE BASE, Md. (AP) -- President Barack Obama is playing golf with another first duffer, former President Bill Clinton. They teed off on a cloudy afternoon at Andrews Air Force Base outside Washington.

Obama and Bill Clinton tee off at Andrews By: CNN's Kevin Liptak (CNN) - President Barack Obama had a high-profile golf partner Saturday: former President Bill Clinton. The two hit the links on the golf course at Joint Base Andrews, a course outside of Washington that Obama plays frequently. Rounding out the foursome were Obama’s Chief of Staff William Daley and Doug Band, one of Clinton’s aides.

Former President Bill Clinton suggested Thursday that Texas Gov. Rick Perry was ideologically in line with “militant subgroups in Israel” and was too willing to let the Jewish state do whatever it wants. Asked about Perry’s recent strongly pro-Israel comments, Clinton said the 2012 Republican hopeful’s stance was “good politics.” “Rick Perry — that’s my culture, you know? I’m from next door,” the Arkansas native said on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe.” “There’s an enormous reservoir of support for Israel in the Christian evangelical community, and a lot of them believe — as some of the more militant subgroups do — that...

An Apollo 17 moon rock missing for 30 years and believed to be worth up to $10 million has turned up in files belonging to Bill Clinton. The valuable rock was one of 50 presented to each state after the 1972 space mission. NASA has found that since the rocks have been distributed, a very low percentage - which are encased in acrylic and mounted on a plaque along with the intended recipient’s flag - can actually be located. The rock, believed to have a black market value of up to $10 million, had been missing since at least 1980...

“In the speech that the president gave to Congress, he didn’t propose any new taxes. The speech was $250 billion in tax cuts, $250 billion in spending over a period of two to three years. It focused mostly on a rather innovative set of payroll tax cuts and incentives to hire people. “I personally don’t believe we ought to be raising taxes or cutting spending until we get this economy off the ground. If we cut government spending, which I normally would be very inclined to do when the deficit’s this big, with interest rates already near zero you can’t...

Former President Bill Clinton, who on Sunday was one of the strongest supporters of President Barack Obama's jobs bill, said his tax plan "is a little confusing." In an interview with the conservative website Newsmax, said raising revenues in this economy would be counter-productive. “I personally don’t believe we ought to be raising taxes or cutting spending until we get this economy off the ground," he said. If we cut government spending, which I normally would be very inclined to do when the deficit’s this big, with interest rates already near zero you can’t get the benefits out of it."...

Bill Clinton Breaks With Obama, Says No To New Tax Hikes Zeke Miller Sep. 21, 2011, 10:19 AM Former President Bill Clinton, who on Sunday was one of the strongest supporters of President Barack Obama's jobs bill, said his tax plan "is a little confusing." In an interview with the conservative website Newsmax, said raising revenues in this economy would be counter-productive. “I personally don’t believe we ought to be raising taxes or cutting spending until we get this economy off the ground," he said. If we cut government spending, which I normally would be very inclined to do when...