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President Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama paid $112,214 in federal taxes on $608,611 in income last year for a tax rate of 18.4 percent, which is slightly lower than the average rate paid by others in their income bracket. Most American households making between $500,000 and $1 million paid a 20.6 percent rate in 2012, according to the nonpartisan Tax Policy Center. In spite of the lower tax rate, the Obamas still managed to overpay taxes last year to the tune of $16,815, according to their tax returns, which were released by the White House on Friday.

An investment Jack Lew made in the Cayman Islands has been flagged as an issue in the Treasury secretary nominee’s vetting by the Senate Finance Committee, according to multiple sources close to the confirmation process. The White House says the investment was previously disclosed and is already a public matter. Republican staff “have told us that there are concerns,” said Sean Neary, a spokesman for Finance Committee Democrats. “This came out through the vetting process in prior confirmations. Once it was looked into deeper, it was determined that it was not an issue. Lew has been completely transparent and forthcoming...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=NYkfV8Rr6yo OBAMA - busted!!!!!

MANSFIELD, Ohio — Seeking to regain the offense in the presidential campaign, Mitt Romney on Monday said President Obama is to blame for the automatic defense-spending cuts looming at the beginning of next year and that those reductions will devastate communities in Ohio and other key political states. Read more: Romney warns of looming defense cuts - Washington Times http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2012/sep/10/romney-warns-of-looming-defense-cuts/#ixzz267ZLLvIV Follow us: @washtimes on Twitter

While accusing presidential candidate Mitt Romney of cutting a swath through American industry during his time as a private equity executive, the White House was working with another private equity firm with long-standing Washington ties to save jobs in the Northeast, according to a story in the Wall Street Journal.

Lately, the media has been beating up on Barack Obama for not giving them enough love and attention. Out of frustration, the media didn’t heckle or taunt Obama like they did Romney in Poland, but the message was sent and, just a few minutes ago, Obama surprised everyone in the White House Briefing Room with an unscheduled press conference. This was brilliant timing on the president's part. All last week the Romney campaign was on offense and Obama was dealing with Vice President Race-Baiter and a campaign that had gotten so vicious it had finally backfired. But with the media...

"This was brilliant timing on the president's part. All last week the Romney campaign was on offense and Obama was dealing with Vice President Race-Baiter and a campaign that had gotten so vicious it had finally backfired. But with the media all excited and eager to use GOP senate candidate Todd Akin's rape comments to damage the Romney-Ryan ticket and the GOP as a whole, Obama picked the perfect time to come before the White House press corps." "First off, by surprising the media, Obama knew the few good ones in there wouldn't be as ready to hit him with...

DENVER (Reuters) - President Barack Obama used a campaign stop in Colorado on Wednesday to call for an end to "senseless violence" across the country, appealing to Americans to focus on ways to stop it. Referring to the shootings at a movie theater in Colorado and at a Sikh temple in Wisconsin in recent weeks, as well as last year's shooting of former congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords and others in Arizona, Obama stopped short of calling for gun control but said concerted action was needed. "We've got to put an end to this kind of senseless violence, whether it's in Aurora,...

The Obama campaign blamed Governor Mitt Romney for the demise of GST Steel company in a video they released in May. The plant closed in 2001. Mitt left Bain in 1999. Posted by Jim Hoft on Wednesday, July 18, 2012, 5:43 AM Obama and top campaign bundler Jonathan Lavine from Bain Capital. The Obama campaign blamed Governor Mitt Romney for the demise of GST Steel company in a video they released in May. The plant closed in 2001. Mitt left Bain in 1999. For some reason the Obama camp forgot to mention this… Obama’s top bundler Jonathan Lavine was in...

Obama, on ice cream run, orders hot fudge sundae and offers to treat shop patronsBy Alicia M. Cohn - 06/25/12 04:36 PM ET President Obama made an ice cream run to a local shop in New Hampshire on Monday between campaign stops, recording a birthday greeting and offering to treat patrons to sweet treats. The president ordered a hot fudge sundae for himself and a banana split for White House press secretary Jay Carney, according to press pool reports. He also teased that Carney has a serious sweet tooth. "You guys are going to witness him eating the whole thing,”...

President Barack Obama is starting to channel his inner Cheney. For years, Obama talked about the limits on presidential power. Now, driven either by principle or political expediency, he's working to build and maintain a powerful presidency that pushes the edge of what it can do, while often telling Congress and the courts to mind their own business. In the last week alone, he refused a subpoena to share Justice Department emails with Congress, told courts he doesn't have to justify his claimed power to assassinate suspected terrorists, and decided to stop deporting certain illegal immigrants even though Congress has...

BEGIN TRANSCRIPT RUSH: Now here comes the cover-up. I want to take you back to March 19th, 2007. You might remember that Alberto Gonzales, a member of the Bush administration as attorney general who fired the eight US attorneys. The Democrats were after Albert Gonzales and other Hispanics that the Bush administration sought to elevate, because Hispanics do not get elevated in a Republican Party. It just doesn't happen. Democrats say they can't allow that to be seen. So Alberto Gonzales became attorney general. He was a good friend of Bush's, really had a lot of respect for him. Miguel...

In 2007, then-Illinois Sen. Barack Obama missed two votes on the student loan interest bill that he now wants Congress to extend. Obama twice skipped the Senate vote on the College Cost Reduction and Access Act when the bill came to the Senate floor first in July and again in September of 2007, according to public records. The bill, introduced by Rep. George Miller (D-Calif.) and signed into law by President George W. Bush, first cleared the Senate in July on a 78 to 18 vote, with Obama as one of only four senators to abstain. Obama did not cast...

Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) dodged questions Sunday about releasing papers from his eight years as an Illinois state senator, and his campaign has not answered records requests from the state’s two largest newspapers. Obama’s campaign has prodded Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-N.Y.) to make available additional records of her communications during her husband’s presidency. [cut] But two Chicago newspapers have said the Obama campaign has not responded to their requests for comparable papers from his career. On NBC’s “Meet the Press” on Sunday, moderator Tim Russert asked Obama about the papers from his state legislative days, from 1997 to 2004.

In recent days, if he hasn't been pitching "fairness" and adoption of higher taxes with his so-called Buffet Rule, President Obama has been pandering to women voters.  On April 6, he paraded a group of ladies in front of cameras at a blatant campaign event – funded by taxpayers and hosted at the White House - thinly disguised as an economic forum.   The White House said the purpose was to "highlight ways the administration has helped create ECONOMIC SECURITY for women."  (emphasis added) But, so far as we know, the President failed to explain to the visiting ladies why women...

No wonder President Obama is so keen on passing the Buffett Rule -- it wouldn't have affected his tax rate this year! Yes, that's right: the Obamas raked in less than $1 million this year. Therefore, in a "Buffett Rule" world, they wouldn't have to pay their "fair share." President Obama earned $789,674 in 2011, the White House announced on Friday. However, with this income, he does not even qualify for the so-called Buffett Rule that he has promoted relentlessly and the Senate will take up on Monday. The Buffett Rule calls for those making over $1 million a year...

President Obama’s Secretary Paid Higher Tax Rate Than He Did President Obama today released his 2011 federal income tax, with he and his wife reporting an adjusted gross income of $789,674. The Obamas paid $162,074 in total tax – an effective federal income tax rate of 20.5%. The Obamas also reported donating approximately 22% of their income to charity — $172,130. President Obama has been making a big political push for the “Buffett Rule,” which would require millionaires to pay a minimum of 30% of their income in taxes. To illustrate the point, the president has pointed out that billionaire...

President Obama, Fair Weather Friend of the Court APR 3, 2012 • BY ADAM J. WHITE Not even a full year into President Obama's first term, Politico observed that he had reached the point of caricature in using the term "unprecedented" to describe basically anything that occurs during his presidency. By now, Americans have learned to shrug off his use of this rhetorical tick. And yesterday it happened again when the president challenged the Supreme Court not to strike down Obamacare's individual mandate, a judicial act that would "be an unprecedented, extraordinary step of overturning a law that was passed...

Bristol Palin Asks Obama 'When Should I Expect Your Call' Concerning Maher's Remarks About Me? By Noel Sheppard | March 19, 2012 | 16:17 In the wake of President Obama calling Georgetown University law student and women's rights activist Sandra Fluke to discuss Rush Limbaugh's remarks, Bristol Palin, the daughter of the former Alaska governor, posted a question to the current White House resident Sunday. "Mr. President, When Should I Expect Your Call?" Dear President Obama, You don’t know my telephone number, but I hope your staff is busy trying to find it. Ever since you called Sandra Fluke after...

According to Opensecrets.org Barack Obama, Joe Biden, Hillary Clinton and seven other Senate Democrats took political donations from Koch Industries in 2008. Democrats and the left have since demonized Charles Koch and David Koch, co-owners of Koch Industries. Via Opensecrets.org