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SEOUL, South Korea — At the tail end of his 90 minute meeting with Russian President Dmitri Medvedev Monday, President Obama said that he would have “more flexibility” to deal with controversial issues such as missile defense, but incoming Russian President Vladimir Putin needs to give him “space.” The exchange was picked up by microphones as reporters were let into the room for remarks by the two leaders. The exchange: President Obama: On all these issues, but particularly missile defense, this, this can be solved but it’s important for him to give me space. President Medvedev: Yeah, I understand. I...

ABC’s Jake Tapper has a stunning report out of Seoul, South Korea this morning. According to him, President Obama was caught on a hot mic telling Russian Prime Minister Dmitri Medvedev that if given “space,” he’ll have more flexibility “after my election.” Here’s how Tapper puts it: At the tail end of his 90 minute meeting with Russian President Dmitri Medvedev Monday, President Obama said that he would have “more flexibility” to deal with controversial issues such as missile defense, but incoming Russian President Vladimir Putin needs to give him “space.” The exchange was picked up by microphones as reporters...

Obama tells Russia to give him time... 'I will transmit this information to Vladimir'...

Sarah Palin and the Tea Party Express have roared right through the latest round of Republican Party primaries this week, rattling the party establishment and terrifying the Democrats. For those of you who are trained in the fastidious ways of the British ‘liberalism’ and are therefore shocked and can’t think why the American Right is gaining such strength, here’s the reason: Barack Obama. Americans are waking up to the fact that they have elected a man as president who is every inch an exotic creature. Which was rather fun at first. The problem is, America is discovering that Mr Obama...

President Barack Obama said Thursday that being American “is not a matter of blood or birth,” but said that “no matter how decent” the 11 million illegal immigrants in the U.S. are, they should be held accountable for breaking the law. Speaking at the American University School of International Service in Washington D.C., Obama expressed an understanding for why states would pass individual anti-illegal immigration laws, but said taking such action is “ill conceived.” The president said laws, such as the one signed by Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer in April, are “divisive,” put pressure on local law enforcement, burden state...

Seeking to inject urgency into the push for an overhaul of the nation's immigration laws, President Obama on Thursday called on Republicans to join the effort, telling them he can't pass a bill without them.After pushing through an economic stimulus bill and health care with barely any Republican support in the first 16 months of his administration, the president said this issue is too dangerous to tackle — for Democrats and the GOP — without having both parties involved."I'm ready to move forward, the majority of Democrats are ready to move forward, and I believe the majority of Americans are...

On the hottest flash point in the debate, Arizona's new law targeting illegal immigrants, Mr. Obama said the rules are "unenforceable" for local police. But he didn't give any indication when the administration will file an expected lawsuit seeking to block the new law, which takes effect at the end of this month. ~ Advocates on both sides of the issue say they don't expect Congress to tackle the issue before the elections, both because of the already-crowded legislative schedule and because there is no clear consensus on how to proceed.

Forget about the mess in the Gulf. Forget about the plunging U.S. and world economies. The question on everyone’s mind is “Who are Obama’s picks for the World Cup?” Until now, the U.S. president has remained above the fray, preferring to let others handle the day to day controversies that inevitably creep into these divisive contests. But he cannot remain on the sidelines forever. That puts Mr. Obama in a potentially explosive situation. Will he support the U.S.A., the purported land of his birth, will he pay homage to the traditional European powers, or will he root for some underdog?...

Airbus called the unexpected vote of confidence the largest commercial aircraft order by dollar value ever. It came as EADS showed off the capabilities of its embattled A400M military transporter plane and as it faces a dispute with German military bosses over problems with two of its new helicopters. Emirates' EMIRA.UL order would be worth just over $11 billion at a list price of $346.5 million per plane, though airlines typically receive discounts for large orders. It brings the airline's total A380 order to 90 planes. Emirates Chief Executive Sheikh Ahmed Bin Saeed Al Maktoum said he expected all 90...

Washington (CNN) -- President Obama told CNN's Larry King on Thursday that he is furious about the Gulf of Mexico oil spill, but his job is to fix things instead of just yelling at people. In a White House interview for the 25th anniversary of "Larry King Live" on CNN, Obama called the oil spill an unprecedented crisis for the country but added it could have been worse. Despite the challenges posed by the oil spill, global threats involving North Korea and Iran and political battles with Congress, Obama called being president "the best job on Earth."

Every analyst I know is baffled by the Obama administration. The Israeli government is baffled; the Arab governments of the Middle East are baffled; European foreign ministries are baffled; and the journalists and thinktankers and camp-followers are baffled. One hears different things from source one consults; the more authoritative the source, the more confusing the result. Many conjectures as to this state of affairs are possible. My best working hypothesis is that the administration is the simple reflection of the operating style of the president, whom I qualified as “the political equivalent of a sociopath” in a Feb. 26, 2008...

(by Chuck wolk)We have all read the reports about the Somali pirates taking merchant ships and oil tankers in the Gulf of Aden and now even Thai fishermen in the Indian Ocean to hold for ransom.  Well it would seem that such pirate activity is something that could only happen in lawless places like Somalia.  However, right here in America many citizens of this country are now under assault from pirates who are operating with virtual impunity as they steal cash and electronics from Americans just wanting to fish on Falcon Lake between the American and Mexican border.  All...

In a broad redefinition of U.S. strategic priorities, President Obama has said that the United States must revitalize its own economic, moral and innovative strength if it is to continue to lead the world. Just as it did following World War II, the United States today must also shape a new international order and system of global institutions that reflect a 21st century reality in which "America's greatness is not assured," Obama says in a 52-page "National Security Strategy" released Thursday morning. "As we fight the wars in front of us, we must see the horizon beyond them," he writes...

President Obama and Mexican President Felipe Calderon joined hands Wednesday in blasting Arizona's controversial immigration law, with Obama calling the legislation a "misdirected effort" after Calderon slammed it as discriminatory. President Obama and Mexican President Felipe Calderon joined hands Wednesday in blasting Arizona's controversial immigration law, with Obama calling the legislation a "misdirected effort" after Calderon slammed it as discriminatory. Obama, speaking next to Calderon during Wednesday's state visit, called the the tough immigration law a "misdirected expression of frustration over our broken immigration system." "We're examining any implications especially for civil rights because in the United States of America,...

In welcoming Mexico's President Calderone to the White House today, President Obama told him "we are defined not by our borders, but by our bonds." "Borders" would seem to be the wrong word to use with the President of Mexico, unless you are an "open border" person.

The President of the European Central Bank, Jean-Claude Trichet, told Forbes that global governance is extremely necessary if we want to prevent another financial crisis. In his prepared printed and spoken remarks to the Council on Foreign Relations, Trichet emphasized that politicians, economists, and financiers must work across the Atlantic and collaborate on methods to create an international set of standards. It is his belief that through global governance, the resiliency of the global financial system can be assured, noting that ultimately it was governments’ use of taxpayer’s money, equivalent to around 25% of GDP on both sides of the...

President Obama used a naturalization ceremony in the Rose Garden to lash out at the Arizona Legislature for passing a bill requiring proof of legal status and empowering state and local police to stop people based on a suspicion of being illegal immigrants. Obama called for comprehensive immigration reform and said Washington's failure to act has bred a climate of fear and retribution in some border states. He singled out the Arizona bill - which would make it crime to be in the state without documentation - now before Republican Gov. Janice Brewer. The governor has until Saturday to decide...

AN OPEN LETTER TO PRESIDENT OBAMA : Dear President Obama, You are the 13th president under whom I have lived - - and, unlike any of the others, you truly scare me. You scare me, because after months of exposure, I know nothing about you..... You scare me, because I do not know how you paid for your expensive Ivy League education, and your upscale lifestyle and housing, with no visible signs of support..... You scare me, because you did not spend the formative years of your youth growing up in America , and, culturally, you are not an American...........

Regardless of Where He Was Born, Barack Obama Is No American By John Lillpop Sunday, March 28, 2010 Not that long ago, America was embroiled in a raging controversy over President Obama’s constitutional eligibility to serve as president. The debate involved his birth certificate and place of birth. That issue has never been resolved with finality, although it no longer is front and center in the minds of those who oppose this president and his policies. This is so because of another fundamental truth about Barack Hussein Obama: By virtue of his Marxist ideology and desire to dismantle or destroy...

From Barack Obama's own website, Fight the Smears, a statement as to his citizenship status embodied in the masthead and email to forward: The fact is Barack Obama was born in the state of Hawaii in 1961, a NATIVE CITIZEN of the United States of America. Definition of "native-born" or native citizen" (from Wikipedia) Section 1 of Article Two of the United States Constitution sets forth the eligibility requirements for serving as President of the United States:“ No person except a natural born Citizen, or a Citizen of the United States, at the time of the Adoption of this Constitution,...

Obama bashes US at Nobel speech: PRESIDENT OBAMA: "Furthermore, America cannot insist that others follow the rules of the road if we refuse to follow them ourselves. For when we dont, our action can appear arbitrary, and undercut the legitimacy of future intervention — no matter how justified."

The Obama administration has marked its first foray into the UN human rights establishment by backing calls for limits on freedom of expression. The newly-minted American policy was rolled out at the latest session of the UN Human Rights Council, which ended in Geneva on Friday. American diplomats were there for the first time as full Council members and intent on making friends. President Obama chose to join the Council despite the fact that the Organization of the Islamic Conference holds the balance of power and human rights abusers are among its lead actors, including China, Cuba, and Saudi Arabia....

We're all somewhat familiar with the body language dogs display when they greet each other. The dominant alpha male approaches directly, asserting his authority, while the beta male genuflects, crouches, tucks his tail, and may even end up on his back, exposing his neck in acquiescence, making sure the alpha male knows he has no intention of challenging him. With his "we will extend a hand if you are willing to unclench your fist" opening to the world's dictators, the President is exhibiting classic beta male behavior, in essence rolling over on his back and exposing his throat to them...

Has the Dem infighting for 2012 begun? Is Hillary exploiting Pres. Obama's waffling over Afghanistan to launch an offensive against her ostensible boss? The question arises after former senior Clinton aide Dee Dee Myers, on this evening's Hardball, described PBO as looking "indecisive" and "pushed around" in his handling of Afghanistan, and Hillary herself laid down a heavy marker, describing in graphic terms the dangers of an al Qaeda resurgence were the Taliban permitted to succeed. View video here.

Perhaps the most discussed passage in Barack Obama's Inaugural Address was his peace offering to dictators and leaders of rogue states. "To those who cling to power through corruption and deceit and the silencing of dissent," he said, "know that you are on the wrong side of history; but that we will extend a hand if you are willing to unclench your fist." The man who had campaigned on direct meetings with rogue leaders "without preconditions" appeared to be toughening his approach just a little. The words were conciliatory and intended to signal a shift from the Bush administration, but...

The American Clean Energy and Security Act--the so-called “cap-and-trade” climate-change bill--that passed the U.S. House of Representatives last month would give manufacturers in certain industries in the Communist People's Republic of China an advantage over their U.S. competitors and put U.S. jobs at risk, according to a report from the Government Accountability Office (GAO). “I think what we’re trying to do is point out to the Congress and others that are interested that there could be some industries where China’s competitive advantage might be affected or could be further enhanced by (climate-change) legislation, if the features of the legislation don’t...

To some people, Barack Obama is just a hard guy to figure out. He won’t fit easily in the usual mental pigeon holes, and that gets frustrating. Just this week, Rush Limbaugh referred to the president as “a half-black, half-white human being with no experience running anything of substance.” I have no idea what made that “half-black, half-white” thing relevent. But apparently it’s an important observation, at least in Rush’s World. Then there’s the matter of Obama’s religion. Over at Politico, they noted that “Barack Obama invokes Jesus more than George W. Bush.” “In his speech Thursday in Cairo, Obama...

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Barack Obama, who has pledged to rebuild U.S. relations with the Muslim world, will give a key speech on the issue in Egypt on June 4, White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said on Friday.

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Today's breaking news, same as yesterday, same as tomorrow: Corruption and greed plague DC and Wall Street. Obama taxes, begs, borrows and spends as formerly free markets falter and fail. Unemployment, bankruptcy, despair soar. Swine flu hits Mexico. World Health Organization declares flu pandemic. Schools close in Mexico and Texas. Panic spreads. Earthquake hits Mexico. "Illegal" guns flow from U.S. to Mexico. Illegal drugs, illegal aliens, crime, disease and violence flow back. CO2 emmissions threaten to overheat the earth, raise sea levels, drown millions. War continues to spread in the Middle East. Corruption, crime, violence, greed, plagues, pestilence, drought, floods,...

If Barack Obama hoped to convince America that Dick Cheney was wrong about Obama making America less safe by releasing the interrogation memos, the latest Rasmussen poll shows he badly miscalculated. Despite his own high personal approval ratings and Cheney’s low scores, 58% of respondents believe that Obama endangered national security. Only 28%, far below the numbers of his own party, believe it helped America enhance its image abroad (via Power Line):

US President Barack Obama called his Indonesian counterpart Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono on Friday to express Washington’s willingness to involve Jakarta in tackling global issues, including the environment and the financial crisis. Obama also told Yudhoyono in the 10-minute phone conversation that he wanted to build “a comprehensive partnership” between the two countries, said Indonesian presidential spokesman Dino Patti Djalal. The US president also thanked Indonesia for the “warm” and “friendly” welcome it had extended to US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton when she visited the country last month, Dino said. “President Obama said he wanted to work together with Indonesia...

By Michael A. Washington Post Staff Writer Tuesday, March 3, 2009; Page A02 President Obama has sent a letter to his Russian counterpart that raises the prospect of the United States halting development of its missile defense program in Eastern Europe if Russia helps resolve the threat posed by Iran's nuclear program, senior administration officials said last night. Obama's letter, delivered to Russian President Dmitry Medvedev in mid-February, "covered a number of topics" of mutual interest to the two countries, "including the issue of missile defense and how it relates to the Iranian threat," a senior administration official said. The...

For all of his lavish new spending plans, President Obama is making one major exception: defense.

"The American people will never knowingly adopt socialism, but under the name of liberalism, they will adopt every fragment of the socialist program until one day, America will be a socialist nation without ever knowing how it happened." This was premier American socialist leader and thinker Norman Thomas’ prediction. Those words have proven very prescient. They didn’t resonate in the 1940s when Franklin Roosevelt exceeded all Constitutional authority in the name of ending the Depression and instituted numerous federal assistance programs. Nor did they in the 1960s when Lyndon Johnson dramatically expanded the welfare state in his so-called War on...

Speak for yourself, Mr. President . . . Addressing the troops at Camp Lejeune today to announce his plans to withdraw all but about 50,000 troops from Iraq, Pres. Obama praised the success that has been achieved there. Among other things, he said: “The men and women of the United States military have served with honor, and succeeded beyond any expectation.” Any expectation? You, Mr. President, opposed this war from the beginning, claiming it could not succeed. Back in 2006 you called for surrender and withdrawal. You opposed the surge, and even after it succeeded said you still were right...

Standing before the Siegessaule, the Victory Column that commemorates Prussia's triumphs over Denmark, Austria and France in the wars that birthed the Second Reich, Barack Obama declared himself a "citizen of the world" and spoke of "a world that stands as one." Globalists rejoiced. And the election of this son of a white teenager from Kansas and a black academic from Kenya is said to have ushered us into the new "post-racial" age. Are we deluding ourselves? Worldwide, the mightiest force of the 20th century, ethnonationalism -- that creator and destroyer of nations and empires; that enduring drive of peoples...

"But I believe that Justice Roberts may have forgotten a portion of the Presidential oath" [snip] "On Fox they just said that they don't think he is legally sworn in. The words weren't right according to the Constitution" [snip] "Fox did indeed say they thought there was a problem with Justice Roberts version of what he was supposed to say....Intentional maybe????" Source = http://countryfirst.bravehost.com/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=111&t=2127Has anyone else heard this, or something along these lines? Looking for additional resources and confirmation as well...

BEDFORD HEIGHTS, Ohio – President-elect Barack Obama made a pitch for his massive economic stimulus plan at a Midwestern factory that makes wind turbine parts, saying Friday his plan would make smart investments in the country's future and create solid jobs in up-and-coming industries. "Renewable energy isn't something pie in the sky. It's not part of a far-off future. It's happening all across America right now," Obama told workers at the Cardinal Fastener & Specialty Co. in this Cleveland suburb. "It can create millions of additional jobs and entire new industries if we act right now." Just days before taking...

A leader is a blank slate for the projection of all our hopes, Barack Obama perhaps more so than most. To some he symbolizes an end to racism, to some an end to partisan politics, to some a salve for economic wounds. To me, he cuts a symbolic figure as our first cosmopolitan president. He is, that is, a citizen of the world. I project cosmopolitanism onto Obama because of his background: The Kansan mother and Kenyan father, the upbringing in Hawaii and Indonesia. His political birth took place in Chicago. But to me Obama is a global citizen in...

WASHINGTON (AP) - Barack Obama is officially the next president of the United States, Congress declared Thursday in fulfilling its centuries-old constitutional duty to certify and tally the electoral college vote from each state. Republicans joined Democrats in a standing ovation as Vice President Dick Cheney, in his role as speaker of the Senate, announced from the podium that Obama had achieved a majority of votes and would be the 44th president on Jan. 20.

WASHINGTON — President-elect Barack Obama confirmed on Tuesday that he plans to stick to the aggressive targets he had set earlier for fighting climate change and for spurring the development of clean-energy technology, saying, “Delay is no longer an option.” The remarks were striking for being made in what was billed as a “surprise taped statement,” before a bipartisan conference on climate change in Los Angeles that included governors who have battled the Bush administration by trying to pass stricter pollution standards than federal guidelines require. Officials from at least 10 other countries were also present, and Mr. Obama addressed...

"My image of America used to be a country run by the white people, but now it's changing," said 65-year-old taxidriver Kenji Doi, an Obama supporter, as he listened to a radio broadcast on the vote early Wednesday in Tokyo."

<p>UNITED NATIONS -- There are no "Obama 2008" buttons, banners or T-shirts visible here at U.N. headquarters, but it might be difficult to find a sliver of territory in the United States more enthusiastic over the prospect of the Illinois senator winning the White House.</p>

"I want you to believe," said the candidate, clad in an open-necked shirt and barn jacket. "Not so much believe just in me but believe in yourselves. Believe in the future. Believe in the future we can build together. I'm confident together we can't fail." There was a carnival atmosphere among the crowd of some 4,000, who almost drowned Mr Obama out as he reached his crescendo and said: "I promise you. We won't just win New Hampshire. We will win this election and, you and I together, we're going to change the country and change the world."

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From left to right: Will Croswell, of the Washington D.C. area; Andrew Butash, of Scranton, Pennsylvania; Byron Hodkinson, from Melbourne, Austrailia; and Charlie Smith, also from the Washington D.C. area, greeted Sen. Obama in Virginia Friday. (Photo Credit: Sasha Johnson/CNN) ROANOKE, Virginia (CNN) — The new symbol of the McCain campaign: the plunger. As Democratic nominee Barack Obama pulled into the Roanoke Civic Center on Friday, he was greeted by the usual McCain campaign supporters that show at Obama rallies. But this time, those waving McCain-Palin signs were joined by dozens of people waving standard-issue plungers. Some wore white...

Joe the Plumber came out of nowhere and asked Obama a simple question. It may be a turning point in the campaign. What did Joe bring out? 1. Obama's plan to penalize the rich and give that money to those who don't make as much, including those who pay no taxes at all. 2. Proof that the wrath of the Democrats and media will fall on you if you dare question their motives. 3. Proof that the Democrats' concern about the "middle class" is phoney when they can attack Joe, a member of the middle class. 4. The Democrats' and...

Sarah Palin accused Barack Obama of promoting economic policies that resemble “socialism” at a rally here Friday. Palin routed her jab while—again–discussing Joe the Plumber, an Ohio man named Samuel Joseph “Joe” Wurzelbacher who questioned Obama about his economic policies during an Obama campaign stop in Ohio last Sunday. The exchange has catapulted Wurzelbacher to the national stage. “Sen. Obama said that he wants to spread the wealth and he wants government to take your money and decide how to best to redistribute it according to his priorities,” Palin said. Here’s the zinger: “Joe suggested that sounded a little bit...

Among the images that greeted visitors to the John McCain campaign office in Pompano Beach this week was a sign headlined "Barrack Hussein Obama” that compared the Democratic presidential candidate to Karl Marx, Adolf Hitler and Fidel Castro. Shown a picture of the sign Thursday night, Broward Republican Chairman Chip LaMarca said he was "disgusted" by it and would immediately go to the office and remove it. "I'm speechless at the ignorance," LaMarca said. "It's not something we can condone. "We're trying to promote positive messages for our candidates. I understand people want their candidate to win. It's ridiculous. I'll...