ROMNEY WAS RIGHT: A 2014 VIEW

From the Washington Post.  Clips of things Romney said that WAPO believes he got wrong, but there were far more clips on what Romney got right and was ridiculed for saying by Obama and the media.

WHENCE OBAMA'S FOREIGN POLICY?

Using sources in the Washington Post, Richard Fernandez analyzes Obama's unwillingness to never admit a mistake.


Washington Post editorial editor Fred Hiatt hopes that president Obama will re-think his foreign policy after a series of failures, though deep down he conceded that Obama probably wouldn’t. Hiatt asks the rhetorical question: “defeat can lead to defeatism, or it can lead to constructive rethinking. Which path will President Obama take after setbacks overseas?” And he provides his own answer. Neither. It will lead to complete denial and more wishful thinking.

The instinctive White House response will be to head into the political bunker: to deny that it ever displayed isolationist tendencies while painting critics as wild-eyed warmongers. This reflexive belligerence is understandable given that Obama’s political enemies will happily use overseas setbacks to score points.

On Saudi Arabia:


Of course the pose of omnipotence and omniscience must be helped along by a little smoke and mirrors. Eli Lake at the Daily Beast notes the State Department is hiding what the Saudi’s teach their kids. “The most comprehensive study of Saudi textbooks ever commissioned by the U.S. government was completed at the end of 2012, but to this date the State Department has kept it from the public”, probably because it refers to Christians and Jews as “apes and pigs”.

WESTERN WEAKNESS

Michael Auslin:  "Why Did Russia Invade Ukraine? Because The West Is Weak."

One can only assume that China, Iran, and North Korea are watching Crimea just as closely as Putin watched Washington’s reactions to East and South China Sea territorial disputes, Pyongyang’s nuclear provocations, and Syria’s civil war. Putin knows that fewer than 70,000 U.S. military personnel are currently stationed in Europe, and many of those are support positions. Western European countries, meanwhile, have shrunk their militaries to the point where they are essentially home defense forces.

Liz Peek at the Fiscal Times. (Great Britain)

President Obama’s weak response to Russia’s invasion of Crimea has elicited widespread scorn, with critics like Mitt Romney charging that the U.S. is constantly behind the curve of world events.

We are not alone.

Europe has had nearly a decade -- since Moscow cut off gas supplies to the region for the first time-- to ready itself for renewed Russian misbehavior, but has been caught as flatfooted as Obama. Instead of reducing their dependence on gas from Ukraine and Russia, the leaders of Western Europe have chosen to combat climate change. Instead of investing in secure energy, the EU has invested in green energy, driving up energy costs, reducing competitiveness, and allowing Putin to remain in the driver’s seat.

This is beginning to sound like the 1930s.

The Irish Times.  The Irish are picking Putin over Obama.

If we have to pick a side over Crimea, let it be Russia.  ‘When it comes to double-talk, however, there is no contest. Putin is never going to be a match for Obama at talking out of both sides of his mouth at the same time.’

NOVEMBER 2012 PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION

It is beginning to look like the Democrats "stole" the election from Mitt Romney and resembles a Chicago election with the Republican having no way to win because of the corruption and manipulation.  Or is it a "culture of cover-ups?"

1.  From CNBC.  Jack Welch said the September 2012 unemployment numbers look "fishy and perhaps had been manipulated".  Now we find out that An employee in the Census Bureau, under pressure to make the required amount of interviews to formulate the monthly nonfarm payrolls report, allegedly fabricated interviews that consequently made the unemployment rate slide from 8.1 percent to 7.8 percent, according to the New York Post.

2.  IRS admits to targeting conservative groups in 2012 election

3.  Benghazi cover-up.  Even MSNBC admits something smells.

4.  Healthcare.  "If you like your healthcare, you can keep it -- period."  And then there are all of these "friends" of the administration who are given contracts to develop or manage various parts of Obamacare.

5.  Operation "Fast and Furious."

And let me know if I have missed something.

KERRY & WHITE HOUSE IN CONFLICT

Secretary of State John Kerry seems to be pursuing a policy in Egypt that is different from what White House advisor Susan Rice wants.  Very interesting.  Kerry may see the issues in Egypt more clearly and have a bigger picture than the White House.  If the White House supports Morsi, it might create problems with the Saudis who are suspicious of the Muslim Brotherhood.

Before Secretary of State John Kerry’s recent trip to Cairo, National Security Adviser Susan Rice told him to make strong statements in public and private about the trial of deposed President Mohamed Morsi. On his own, Kerry decided to disregard the White House’s instructions.

The tension between the national security adviser and the secretary of state spilled over into public view in the past week, when Rice laid out her critical appraisal of the Egyptian government, which contradicted Kerry’s assessment that Egypt was “on the path to democracy.” The now public rift has been simmering behind the scenes for months and illustrates the strikingly divergent Egypt policies the White House and the State Department are pursuing.

The turf battles and internal confusion are hampering the administration’s approach to Egypt, say lawmakers, experts, and officials inside both governments.

ROMNEY WAS RIGHT

A video comparing statements made in the 2012 election.

OBAMA GOES TO MASSACHUSETTS TO LOBBY FOR OBAMACARE

This is a bit ironic!  Obama goes to Massachusetts to rally the troops around the success of a state health insurance plan that was implemented by a Republican governor (Mitt Romney).  Maybe Romney should have been elected so that national healthcare would be the same success as what happened in Massachusetts.

President Barack Obama wants Americans to believe this about his health care law: It’s just like Mitt’s.

After all, the White House used the 2006 Massachusetts health program signed into law by Republican Mitt Romney as its blueprint for the national model. And in case anyone missed the message last year during the presidential campaign, Obama will repeat it again Wednesday.

It appears that Washington is incapable of doing what was successfully implemented in Massachusetts. (To be fair the laws are not exactly the same).

Washington bureaucrats seem to be increasing in their incompetence.  The IRS cannot account for 23% of its IT assets. . .and it collects our taxes and plays a roll in implementing Obamacare.

BENGHAZI SUMMARY

Comments on the recent revelations on 60 Minutes.  The White House "spin" is undermined by mainstream media.

Even Chris Matthews from MSNBC is now asking why there was no administration response to the attack on the embassy.

But at least the administration got through the last presidential election without having to face the truth. . .but alas, poor Romney.  The media and liberals castigated him for raising this issue.

UPDATE (11/8/13): CBS reports one of its witnesses used in its report lied. I wonder how much "lying" goes on in all news reporting???

ROMNEY REASSESSED

From Buzzfeed.  "Was Romney Right about Everything?"

“I think about the campaign every single day, and what a shame it is who we have in the White House,” said Spencer Zwick, who worked as Romney’s finance director and is a close friend to his family. “I look at things happening and I say, you know what? Mitt was actually right when he talked about Russia, and he was actually right when he talked about how hard it was going to be to implement Obamacare, and he was actually right when he talked about the economy. I think there are a lot of everyday Americans who are now feeling the effects of what [Romney] said was going to happen, unfortunately.”

PRITZKER: NEW COMMERCE SECRETARY

From TaxProf blog. Commerce Nominee Sails Through Confirmation Hearing Despite Not Reporting $80 Million Income, Offshore Tax Shelters.  I thought Romney was criticized for tax shelters and possible off-shore investments?  Oh well, Pritzker is a Democrat.

MORE ON ROMNEY'S PREDICTIONS

In the election Romney was criticized by the media for a number of statements, but more and more it looks like Romney was right.  Four examples are given.

Another discussion on Romney's perception of the future.

ROMNEY AD PROVEN TO BE RIGHT

It is a moot issue now, but Romney was criticized by Polifact for one of his campaign ads about Chrysler moving jobs to China.  It was called the "lie of the year" by Polifact, but it was Polifact which was twisting the truth.

And Romney was also "derided" for some comments on Mali.  Events occurring now seem to have proven him to be more prescient than the media.

OBAMA FOREIGN POLICY

An analysis of Obama foreign policy decision-making from Henry Nau, "Obama Puts the World at Risk."

The major differences in foreign policy between Obama and the loyal opposition boil down to one word—leadership. Leadership offers vision, connects means and ends, and rises above politics. Obama has demonstrated no capacity to do any of those things, either in Congress or in the world community. The optimistic view is that he will do so now because he no longer faces reelection. But that seems unlikely. If you have won two elections as a state senator, one as a U.S. senator, and two as president, and you still have no significant accomplishments to show for it, it’s doubtful that your leadership skills will suddenly emerge in what is presumably your last four years in office.

AN ANALYSIS OF THE OBAMA VICTORY

The technological sophistication of the campaign is far superior to what the Republicans did.  But it also begins to raise the issue of privacy!

How President Obama’s campaign used big data to rally individual voters, Part 1.

How President Obama’s campaign used big data to rally individual voters, Part 2.

MORMON REPORTER ON THE ROMNEY BUS

From Buzzfeed.   It is sad to see liberals who are so disgusted by certain jokes or comments about some groups do not seem to have that sensitivity when it comes to religion.

Romney may lose, but his ads have been far superior to those of past Republican candidates.  Love vs. Revenge.

 

 

MEDIA COVERAGE OF OBAMA & ROMNEY

A Pew survey: "MSNBC’s coverage of Romney more negative than Fox’s of Obama."

Politico's view.

THE OLD AMERICAN CHARACTER HAS DISAPPEARED

George Will's recent column "Mugging Our Descendants" is quite sobering.  What are the consequences of piling up the public debt?  His column is baased on the work of Nicholoas Eberstadt of the American Enterprise Institute.  Some of the statistics he gives are:
 
1.  Between 1960 and 2010, entitlements exploded from 28 percent to 66 percent of federal spending. By 2010, more than 34 percent of households were receiving means-tested benefits.
 
2.  “he growth of entitlement spending over the past half-century has been distinctly greater under Republican administrations than Democratic ones.
 
3.  Today, 27 percent of adult men do not consider themselves part of the workforce: “A large part of the jobs problem for American men today is not wanting one.” Which is why “labor force participation ratios for men in the prime of life are lower in America than in Europe.”
 
4.  In 1960, an average of 455,000 workers were receiving disability payments; in 2011, 8.6 million. Nearly half of the 8.6 million were “disabled” because of “mood disorders” or ailments of the “musculoskeletal system and the connective tissue.” It is, says Eberstadt, essentially impossible to disprove a person’s claim to be suffering from sad feelings or back pain.
 
5.  “In 1960,” Eberstadt says, “roughly 134 Americans were engaged in gainful employment for every officially disabled worker; by December 2010 there were just over 16.”
 
6.  For every 100 industrial workers in December 2010, there were 73 “workers” receiving disability payments.

WAR ON WOMEN

Condi Rice criticizes the Obama campaign slogan accusing Romney of a "war on women."

CAMPAIGN CONTRASTS

Pictures don't appear on front pages by chance.  I don't know if this heralds a change in media coverage of how the candidates are presented, but it is not flattering to Obama.