Free Republic

Can you celebrate the Obama presidency at NBC? Yes you can.

Leading conservative economist Bruce Bartlett writes that the Obama-hating town-hall mobs have it wrong—the person they should be angry with left the White House seven months ago. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Where is the evidence that everything would be better if Republicans were in charge? Does anyone believe the economy would be growing faster or that unemployment would be lower today if John McCain had won the election? I know of no economist who holds that view. The economy is like an ocean liner that turns only very slowly. The gross domestic product and the level of employment would be pretty much the...

Barack Obama had his 48th birthday this week. Since we learned during last year’s campaign that he can be blamed for anything bad that’s happened in this country since he was a toddler, perhaps this is a good time to suggest that it’s his fault the Beatles didn’t perform at Woodstock. The president celebrated by having lunch with the Democratic senators, proving once again that this is truly a guy who knows how to party. He also showed up at a press briefing to sing “Happy Birthday” to Helen Thomas, the legendary reporter and columnist who turned 89 on the...

Helen Thomas, the Hearst columnist and long-time scourge of Republican presidents as UPI White House correspondent, was "miffed" at Doonesbury cartoonist Garry Trudeau because he joked that the rumors were that she was Harry Truman's lover: "I wished he said I was Jack Kennedy's lover." If that makes Thomas sound like a liberated woman, that would be in line with her recent Planned Parenthood luncheon speech in Iowa, where she claimed conservatives would love to deny women even their right to vote: "It seems now, more than ever, the Supreme Court is prepared to put Americans -- especially women --...

Last year, America fell in love with Michelle and Barack Obama. Why? Because they were chic. Iconic photos of a sunglassed Sen. Obama deplaning in a trim suit with a narrow tie blowing in the wind thrilled a nation of Snuggied schlubs. We swooned at Michelle Obama's adorable shift dresses and casual flip. They were like Jack and Jackie Kennedy, minus the pills and the Brahmin accents! But since they moved into the White House, the once impeccably attired couple has encountered a series of troubling missteps. The new First Lady wore a weird toilet paper toga to the Inaugural...

And they says bloggers are news-lite. The latest issue of Details magazine carries this ludicrous headline on the top of the cover: "Can Obama Make You Better In Bed?" Inside is an article suggesting that "from the way we wear our suits to the way we relate to our wives, somehow American men are acting a little more like 44." This is, as you might suspect, the work of a magazine just making wild generalizations about American manhood with bold assertion and zero research. Men may have favored McCain last November, "But it might not matter all that much, because...

The reader might be warned that reading this San Francisco Chronicle Father's Day piece serves as a most perfect emetic. In fact, it's a wonder that writer Jennifer Weiss could type with all those stars in her eyes. Her Father's Day adulation of Obama is so over-the-top that Obama suddenly becomes the "father of our country," and is determined to have "super-dad status." The most offensive part of this piece is, of course, the aforementioned assigning to Obama of the role of "father of our country." There is only one father of our country and that is George Washington, war...

- see the video - The president proved yesterday he will not tolerate distractions from his hefty political agenda -- at least not those coming from pesky insects. President Obama addressed issues ranging from health care to financial industry reform in a lengthy interview on CNBC on Tuesday, but he was interrupted by a fly persistently buzzing around his head. "Hey! Get out of here," Mr. Obama said. After a few irritated swats, the president zeroed in on the pest and patiently waited for it to land on his hand. He gave it a quick smack and watched it fall...

President Obama was more than halfway through his speech at Cairo University Thursday morning when, suddenly, he was interrupted by a shout from the audience. Security in the Egyptian capital was tight, and security around the hall where he spoke was even tighter, but it seemed -- for a moment -- like somehow something had gone wrong. Until, that is, Obama acknowledged the interruption with a smile and a "thank you." What the person in the audience had yelled, it turned out, was a hearty, "Barack Obama, we love you!" -- in English. The adoration, the campus setting: it was...

When Notre Dame, the nation's best-known Catholic university, asked resolutely pro-choice President Barack Obama to receive an honorary degree and deliver the commencement address this year, it caused intense controversy in Catholic circles. About 50 U.S. bishops publicly opposed the president's planned appearance, which violated their 2004 directive that Catholic universities "should not honor those who act in defiance of our fundamental moral principles." On Sunday, graduation day came to Notre Dame, and so did Obama - who was overwhelmingly welcomed. In a warm, conciliatory speech, he didn't shy away from abortion, saying that the two sides' views are fundamentally...

WASHINGTON - For the first time the U.S. First Lady has made Maxim magazine's annual top 100 list of "hottest women in the world," with Michelle Obama making the grade at number 93. Billed as the "stimulus package America really needs," the British-based international magazine known for revealing pictorials of models and actresses showcases Obama in her tasteful official White House portrait. In the rare accolade for a political spouse, the magazine notes that her husband President Barack Obama "may be dealing with two wars, an economic meltdown, and a rapidly graying dome. "But at least our Commander in Chief...

While I don’t post a lot on Twitter myself, I do learn a few things by monitoring my feed. For those wondering why the media hasn’t reported at all on Barack Obama’s protocol-smashing deep-waisted bow to King Abdullah — besides the usual Cover Obama’s Behind impulse — a few people are suggesting that media outlets are taking the position that Obama was really picking something off the ground instead of bowing. Where did they get idea? Certainly not from the video. I’ve highlighted the portion, and repeat it a couple of times to be clear: Very clearly, throughout the bow,...

More Roosevelt… Less Jimmy Carter… that’s what this brand needs! Folks, there’s been a lot of scrutiny of President Obama in these first 100 days. It goes with the territory. The attention is brutal no matter who’s in the Oval Office and it always will be. Exposure is something most marketers covet . . .but over-exposure especially of the wrong features can be deadly for a personal brand. That is why, Barack Obama –whom I’ve called a first-rate poli-marketer (see the past few weeks FOX Forum posts here)– had better stop behaving like Jimmy Carter and start emulating Roosevelt. In...

Stars Turn Out for Clinton Swearing-In By ROBERT BURNS, AP Yes, that was Chevy Chase, the former "Saturday Night Live" funnyman, in the crowd at Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton's ceremonial swearing-in Monday at the State Department. Chase brought a touch of Hollywood star power to a gathering of Washington's power elite, including Henry Kissinger and three other former secretaries of state, as Vice President Joe Biden administered the oath of office. In her remarks, Clinton thanked Biden and President Barack Obama for choosing her as the nation's top diplomat, saying she had assumed her new responsibilities "at a...

Celebrities crave access with Barack Obama By TINA DAUNT January 9, 2009 One of the things that makes Hollywood so attractive to politicians is not just the depth of its pockets, but the fact that its hand isn't out. Collecting contributions from any other industry usually comes with an implicit understanding that it wants something in return, usually something that has an economic benefit. Yes, the entertainment industry cares about copyright and distribution, but these days nearly everybody is on the same page when it comes to those issues. What celebrities care most about are causes and the access that...

To our readers: In the weeks since the November issue of Men’s Health hit mailboxes and newsstands, there has been an extraordinary outpouring of mail concerning our choice for the cover: Barack Obama. Some of you were excited to see a man you admired, some were grateful to learn about the presidential candidate from an MH perspective, and some of you felt betrayed by what you saw as a politically charged choice for the cover of your generally a-political magazine. Our selection of Senator Obama for the cover was based on two things: 1) he’s a man in the public...

Sarah Palin shares nothing but a chromosome with Hillary Clinton. She is Phyllis Schlafly, only younger. Here's the good news: Women have become so politically powerful that even the anti-feminist right wing -- the folks with a headlock on the Republican Party -- are trying to appease the gender gap with a first-ever female vice president. We owe this to women -- and to many men too -- who have picketed, gone on hunger strikes or confronted violence at the polls so women can vote. We owe it to Shirley Chisholm, who first took the "white-male-only" sign off the White...

Anyone who thinks the media have been balanced and unbiased during the current election simply hasn't been paying attention. Barack Obama has benefitted from adoring coverage, a lack of journalistic rigor, and a sizeable advantage in media coverage. In short, everything in the media seems to break his direction. Large parts of the American public already recognize this. According to a recent study by Rasmussen Reports, 50 percent of independent voters and even 27 percent of Democrats believe that the media are trying to help Obama win. Just 12 percent of independents said the media were helping John McCain. This...

It made no sense when Barack Obama left the country on his nine-day overseas tour for some of my fellow columnists to describe it as a high-risk venture. Foreign leaders, who can read the polls as well as anyone, would go out of their way not to embarrass a man who may, six months from now, be president of the United States. Obama prepares thoroughly for the big occasions. He is almost always well-briefed, and he was traveling in sharp company — with Sens. Jack Reed and Chuck Hagel — so you knew he would be thoroughly ready for these...

You read that right. The leader of the Bill Clinton Impeachment Team in the House says Bush is SO much worse than Clinton ever was. Check it out in this fascinating MobLogic.tv video. Barr also talks about the history of his mustache, civil liberties, privacy and other important topics. (video link- http://www.moblogic.tv/video/2008/06/20/bob-barr/)

I'll never forget a frigid morning in Springfield: Sen. Barack Obama, elegantly Lincolnesque in a long wool coat, launching his presidential candidacy in the shadow of the old Illinois State Capitol. The echoes of history were almost deafening—not just of Abraham Lincoln, who, like Obama, had been a legislator there, but of the argument over slavery and race that Lincoln had joined there. On that sunny February day in 2007, Obama seemed to radiate uplift and glorious possibility. He was making a statement: that his candidacy would be the exclamation point at the end of our four-century-long argument over the...

Chelsea Clinton was in town Friday night, and boy did she have a fabulous time! And why not: She hit all the gay bars in Center City, along with Ed Rendell and Rob Reiner. She even went to Tavern on Camac and Sisters! (Her pub crawl also included Woody's and Bump. What, no Uncle's?) When Chelsea was little, Rush Limbaugh called her ugly and everybody got mad at him. But nobody's calling Chelsea unattractive now. "Chelsea, the gays love you," shouted one gay person. "We love your highlights -- you're gorgeous baby!" said another, which prompted bisexual hottie Anne Dicker...

When you do battle with the mainstream media that is wearing a phony mask as "non-partisan," it can be somewhat interesting. Viveca Novak, who "mutually agreed" to have her job with TIME MAG terminated, did an unapologetic hit piece. When they got caught, of course, they would not back down. I will at least give them credit for publishing my response. I was informed by NEWSWEEK that it would also be published on its site. I expect to see more of this nonsense, as those wearing the kneepads and drinking the Kool-Aide do all they can to protect the criminal...

Even as the words were leaving his mouth, Joe Scarborough acknowledged that he was going to get "killed by conservative bloggers." And being the obliging sorts we are here at NewsBusters . . . Joe's interview of Hillary Clinton on today's "Morning Joe" was one long paean to her greatness coupled with a mea culpa for the wrongs that he and other Republicans visited on her during the '90s. View video here. Excerpts: When you talk about "two Americas," and John Edwards has been talking about two Americas, two Americas, and my Republican friends say, "oh, it's class warfare," I...

Dan Rather might have left CBS under a cloud, but his star still shines brightly -- at least among some on the distaff side of the NBC networks.Rather was a scheduled guest on today's "Morning Joe," and neither Erin Burnett, reporting in from CNBC, nor MSNBC newsreader Mika Brzezinski, could curb her enthusiasm.Burnett was first to confess. CNBC'S ERIN BURNETT: You know who I had a crush on? . . . Don't you have Dan Rather coming on in a couple of minutes? Alright, so, when I was little, I thought I was going to marry Dan Rather. I watched...

Al Gore to Jon Stewart: ‘Facts Play Less of a Role in the Way we Make Decisions’ Posted by Noel Sheppard on May 26, 2007 - 17:42. The Global Warmingist-in-Chief was Jon Stewart’s guest on “The Daily Show� Thursday evening. And, right out of the starting blocks, soon-to-be-Dr. Al Gore made a statement that marvelously epitomized his career: Yeah, logic, reason, facts play less of a role now in the way we make decisions in America. Granted, in his typically smug manner, Gore was pointing fingers at others. However, as veracity has never been his strong suit, this was clearly an inconvenient truth...

There is an ugly cynicism to the attack on Jimmy Carter that has been launched by Americans who well recognize that the former president's new book, "Palestine: Peace Not Apartheid," says nothing that has not already been said about the Middle East conflict by Israeli politicians and commentators. So why is Carter, a longtime friend of Israel and the Jewish people, being smeared as an anti-Semite for suggesting that the occupation by Israeli forces of Palestinian territory inspires troubling comparisons with the apartheid system that white South Africans once imposed on their country's black majority? One of Israel's most prominent...

Looks as if Nancy Pelosi has found a rooting section at ABC. As we detailed here yesterday, Charley Gibson fawned over Nancy Pelosi's baby-clutching photo-op. This morning, Cokie Roberts joined the claque. Appearing on This Week, she enthused: "Great images, you're absolutely right. And completely natural. . . That baby knew that grandmother even though it's only a few weeks old. All those other children were completely comfortable with her. And it was, it was just, fun. It wasn't in any way stilted and awful." View video here.Pelosi, completely natural and comfortable? Not nearly as natural and comfortable as was...

The DUmmie implosion is proceeding apace as you can see in this THREAD titled, "The RoadMap to Impeachment: 'Violence' is The Answer." DUmmie author, Senator, placed "Violence" in quotes since he means the DUmmies should get "violent" not in the physical sense (which would get him arrested for publicly advocating it) but in the ANNOYING sense. Yes, DUmmie "genius" Senator wants the DUmmies to act incredibly ANNOYING in order to draw attention to their lost cause of impeachment. Ironically, by following DUmmie Senator's RoadMap advice, they are just harming their dopey cause even more since such tactics would only...

Twelve hours after arriving in New Zealand, former United States president Bill Clinton has already made one woman incredibly happy after he sauntered out of his hotel yesterday afternoon wearing her clothing label. Peri Drysdale, the chief executive of Christchurch-based wool brand Untouched World, said she had "engineered" for one of her shirts to be waiting on Mr Clinton 's bed after his speech at the Global Business Forum at Auckland's Sky City yesterday morning. Ms Drysdale, who is staying in the same hotel, said a person, who she wanted to remain anonymous, called her to say Mr Clinton had...

I see Hollywood is cramming this down my throat and claiming a huge success, but who in the hell is watching this thing?

Rep. Curt Weldon: 2 weeks before the attack on the USS Cole and then again 2 days before the attack on the USS Cole, saw through their analysis that a major event was going to occur in Yemen. They told the Navy not to bring the Cole into Yemen harbor and it went in and was attacked. That information was also compiled and the analysis was done by Able Danger. That story has not been told. These people will testify to that story as well.

A draft proposal floating behind closed doors would reconstitute and improve upon a former Army data-mining program called Able Danger. Able Providence, as the new program has been dubbed, would establish “robust open-source harvesting capabilities” to give military and law enforcement agencies the information to take the initiative in the war on terrorism—that is, to be able to plan and execute offensive measures—in addition to continued defensive actions. In addition, the program would be driven by a presumption that use of weapons of mass destruction within the United States is possible. As a result, Able Providence would need to detect,...

I did not take the story to the media first when I was told about Able Danger in June. I'd been working on datamining with the Army's LIWA (Land Information Warfare Assessment) facility for six years, since 1999...When I first found out about Able Danger three months ago, I went to the House floor after I investigated this. I went to two 9/11 commissioners, a Democrat and a Republican. And John Lehman told me I should pursue this publicly. He said, "Curt, if you don't, nobody else will." I went to the House floor and did a speech, and no...

Louis Freeh: No I disagree with that. And you know, while we're on the subject of the 9-11 Commission, I'm very interested and I know the country is in the Able Danger report. We have now very honorable military officers telling the United States, Tim, that in 2000 not only had Mohammad Atta been identified, by photo and name, but was earmarked as an Al Qaeda operative in the United States...

One of the biggest names of the conference never even uttered a word. Lt. Col. Anthony Shaffer is the military intelligence operative who recently went public with a controversial claim that a year before September 11, his top-secret task force "Able Danger" was able to identify the man who later turned out to be the lead hijacker as being connected to al Qaeda. Shaffer is a veteran of top-secret operations against terrorists, including some in Afghanistan, and several of his DIA colleagues have come out publicly to confirm that they remember Mohamed Atta being identified in 2000 as part of...

Rep. Curt Weldon, Pennsylvania Republican, correctly asserts the terrorist attack on America on September 11, 2001, could have been averted. The assertion was based on his efforts as early as 1999 to create a national collaborative or fusion center. It would data-mine vast amounts of information from U.S. intelligence and law enforcement to confront such asymmetrical threats as terrorism, proliferation, illegal arms trafficking, espionage, narcotics and information warfare and cyber-terrorism. It was a process that produced, among other things, the Able Danger open-source analysis that reportedly revealed hijacker Mohamed Atta as a potential terrorist before the attack. Mr. Weldon first...

"It really does raise the question about where the [Armed Services] committees are on this," Zaid said. He emphatically states that the two Armed services have "done nothing, at least with respect to contacting Able Danger team members." Shouldn't these two panels at least have some curiosity about what information the DoD had about al Qaeda prior to 9/11? Everyone else seems to want answers--except those closest to the Pentagon. And Zaid wants Lt. Col. Anthony Shaffer to be allowed to supply them. It's extraordinary that the Armed Services committees would continue to act as wallflowers while the Pentagon they...

The Senate Intelligence Committee has taken closed-door statements in an inquiry that could clear up whether the intelligence program Able Danger identified September 11 hijacker Mohamed Atta a year before the attack. A spokesman said yesterday that the committee likely will release a report or a statement in the next two weeks that makes conclusions, or at least determines the facts. Most of the attention on Able Danger has come from the Senate Judiciary Committee, which already has conducted one public hearing on the intelligence-collection program. It is now asking the Pentagon to allow personnel associated with Able Danger, such...

After the love (for Bill) is gone THE WAY WE WERE Writer recalls the betrayal that ended their political affair I BROKE up with Bill a long time ago. It's always hard to remember love — years pass and you say to yourself, was I really in love or was I just kidding myself? Was I really in love or was I just pretending he was the man of my dreams? Was I really in love or was I just desperate? But when it came to Bill, I'm pretty sure it was the real deal. I loved the guy. As...

This is my first post on this blog and I want to use this opportunity to comment on something that I find to be very important, and that is the issue of LTC Shaffer's security clearance. The AP story that was issued Friday entitled "Pentagon revokes clearance of 'Able Danger' officer" was replete with many errors and unfortunate omissions that portrayed my client, who the reporter never interviewed, in a false light. I would like to set the record straight so that everyone knows the situation. I set up the story so that a full and balanced portrait could be...

The purported photo of Atta was later reproduced on a chart that had the names of up to 60 suspected terrorists that Mr. Weldon says he gave to Stephen J. Hadley in 2001, when he was White House deputy national security adviser. Frederick Jones, an NSC spokesman, said that Mr. Hadley does not recall ever seeing the chart with the Atta photo, but does not rule out the possibility that he was given the photo by Mr. Weldon. The photo was purchased from the woman by Orion Scientific Systems Inc., a government contractor that was involved in an early phase...

Information unearthed The Washington-based FBI agent who was Shaffer's liaison has recalled, in interviews with her superiors, that Shaffer told her his group had unearthed important information on suspected Al Qaeda operatives with links to the U.S., but without mentioning Atta's name. When Shaffer, who is also a lieutenant colonel in the Army Reserve, asked to whom at the FBI that information should be communicated, the agent gave him the name and phone number of an official at FBI headquarters, according to the senior FBI official. Shaffer explained in a telephone interview that although Able/Danger never had knowledge of Atta's...

Curt Weldon: So, what I've had to do is to fight with both of them, both the 9-11 Commission and the [Bush] administration, who I think neither of whom wants this information to be put out to the American people. Now, what bothers me is that the bulk of the information in Able Danger acquired was open-source information; it wasn't classified. To deny these military officers, who are very dedicated, loyal Americans, to tell their story not only flies in the face of everything this country stands for, but it is also a personal attack against them. It also flies...

As I wrote yesterday, Shaffer is pretty lonely in his recollections. Of some 80 people interviewed by the Defense Department as part of its Able Danger internal investigation, the Pentagon says that three additional workers remember seeing either a chart with a photo or a reference to Mohamed Atta.

First, to debunk the myths: As best as I can determine, having spent tens of hours talking to military sources involved with the issue, intelligence analysts did not identify anyone prior to 9/11, Mohammed Atta included, as a suspect in any upcoming terrorist attack. It is not even clear that a "Mohammed Atta" was identified, let alone that it is the same Atta who died on 9/11. No military lawyers prevented intelligence sleuths from passing useful information to the FBI. Able Danger itself was not an intelligence program. As a representative of U.S. Special Operations Command said at a special...

Rather deserves respect By Ray Richmond There was a telling moment in a telephone interview I conducted with Dan Rather a little more than a year ago in conjunction with the 75th anniversary of CBS. "I'm not a large part of the legacy (of CBS)," Rather offered. "But whatever part of it that I am and have been, I'm very proud of. At the same time, I'm humbled by the fact that I know that I'm undeserving. I know that I'm still working to be worthy of it." Anyone who knew Rather will tell you this wasn't false modesty. He...

At the dedication of the Clinton library last week in Little Rock, Karl Rove and President Bush received separate tours of the dramatic building, a glistening silver, suspended boxcar filled with light and with a panoramic view of the Arkansas river. Flung across the river stands an old railroad bridge - and to Clinton watchers, bridges represent "the bridge to the 21st century", the former president's re-election slogan in 1996...[snip] ...Then, when the presidents were announced, Bush tried to push his way past Clinton at the library door to be first in line, against the already accepted protocol for the...

NEW YORK - If President Bush (news - web sites) wins re-election on Tuesday, you'll see Patti LaBelle with reddened eyes on Wednesday. The R&B diva, an ardent supporter of Democratic nominee John Kerry (news - web sites), said she "can't even think about it" happening. "I'm going to cry a lot, but I know that's not going to happen, because too many people have come out of the sleep that they've been in," LaBelle told The Associated Press last week. She acknowledges that she was in a sleep herself, as far as voting was concerned, for years. "I've not...

LANSING, Mich. - Some Michigan voters have received phone calls falsely claiming that Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry (news - web sites) would make gay marriage legal, Kerry's Michigan campaign said Monday. Both Kerry and his running mate, Sen. John Edwards (news - web sites) of North Carolina, oppose gay marriage and say marriage should be limited to a man and a woman. Kerry has said he supports civil unions. In a recording of a phone call played for The Associated Press, a young woman says: "When you vote this Tuesday remember to legalize gay marriage by supporting John Kerry....