Everything is political. From going to war, to recognizing holidays and religious traditions, to pardoning the Thanksgiving turkey. No decision is made without politics being the most important issue. This is true for Democrats and Republicans alike. No one is pure here. It just seems as though the political angles of things are becoming more obvious than in the past, and the media now doesn’t even pretend to hide the implications.
The decision to postpone means any political repercussions for trying to reform the immigration system by himself would come after the congressional midterm contests.
I think I’d rather know the obvious than to read political spin.
Obama has been weighing executive action on immigration — including moves that could allow millions of undocumented workers to remain in the country — after congressional action on the issue stalled. The options could include expanding a deferred deportation program for children of immigrants.
But he decided to delay any move to “take this issue away from those who would use it to score points as a kind of grandstanding issue,” the White House official said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
“It’s too big of an issue to allow it to be used as a tool for people trying to get votes,” the official said. “It isn’t about votes for any particular candidate; it’s about dealing with this issue in an environment that avoids the grandstanding we’ve seen in the past.”
No matter where you fall on the immigration issue, politicians want to stay in power. Obama knows this is a political time-bomb for many Democrats seeking reelection in November.If there wasn’t pressure being put on him from others in the party, he wouldn’t even hesitate to go his own way and bypass congress yet again. He’s got a fuse in one hand and a match in the other, and for now, enough Dems have convinced him to hold off until they can be sure they wont’ have to move out of their cushy office on the hill.
According to Ambassador Deborah Jones, “The U.S. Embassy Tripoli chancery & compound is now being safeguarded and has not been ransacked,” and “those who have actually visited the embassy know the truth.”
The video shows the truth. We’ve lost Tripoli. Obama lost Tripoli.
As details on the long-term truce in the Israel / Palestinian conflict continue to flow out to the public, some are rushing to put measures in place to rebuild after the destruction from the thousands of bombs that were dropped over seven weeks. The rebuilding wouldn’t necessarily be an area wide endeavor. Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, now Middle East Quartet Envoy, wants to immediately focus on opening the Gaza Strip to the world. He wants nations to join in the rebuilding effort, but it should be controlled by the Palestinian Authority.
“Such a plan can allow Gaza residents to lead better lives, and Israeli citizens to live in safety and security,” Blair said.
Blair puts an amazing amount of trust in the PA to manage a process like this. I guess in Tony’s world, no corruption exists. History shows when millions (or billions) of dollars are showered on a government for infrastructure, the money gets skimmed. Sometimes it completely vanishes into government or individual coffers. What guarantees would “the world” have to ensure the PA doesn’t turn around and manufacture more bombs with money targeted to this restoration effort?
And do you think Hamas would sit by idly and not expect to grab its own portion of the cash for it’s terrorist operations?
The truth is none of this will ever happen. Am I surprised by this suggestion from Blair? No. He’s trying to be relevant. He wants his name out there in conjunction with this truce agreement. I think world leaders would see his insertion here as just that – a way for Tony to claim ownership over a grand plan, even if it has no chance of implementation.
There is going to be a second Civil War in the United States. This one won’t have confederates and rebels. There won’t be battlefields and cannon balls. The war will have multiple factions. Whites, Blacks, Hispanics; Rich, Middle Class and Poor, each one fighting a war of words against each other, and the weapon of choice will be the media, and who wields primary control over it.
This weekend, thousands of Americans plan to take the streets in support of Ferguson police officer Darren Wilson. Many claim the mainstream media is fueling a “false narrative”
Americans plan to take to the streets in nearly 100 U.S. cities this weekend in support of Ferguson police officer Darren Wilson as well as a U.S. Marine being held since March 31 in Mexico and the families of two slain Border Patrol agents.
William Gheen of Americans for Legal Immigration PAC, one of the groups organizing the rallies, said police, veterans and Border Patrol agents are “under siege” in America.
He said the mainstream media are promoting a “false narrative” regarding the teen killed while “surrendering” to police in Ferguson, Missouri, the imprisonment of U.S. Marine Andrew Tahmooressi in Mexico and the killing of border agents Brian Terry and Javier Vega Jr.
Gheen charged “widespread defamation and abuse” against the men by a biased media and politicians.
“The abuses of the truth and ethics that we’re seeing by liberal politicians and the mainstream media are exacting a price for our citizens and that price is spilled blood,” he said. “Deaths and injuries all across America, where Caucasian Americans are being retaliated against. Because the media suppresses the largest and most frequent kinds of attacks while fostering the false narrative that what’s wrong with America is evil white male racists with guns hunting down minorities and executing them in the streets.”
Right now, the mainstream media is being powered by liberal guilt. That’s why some stories gain traction more than others. Of course it’s political too. The Trayvon Martin, Michael Brown, and Sean Bell stories are perfect stories for the mainstream media to latch on to. The circumstances behind each one are grist for their media mill. People like Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton get heavy camera time. Talking heads banter on incessantly on cable news channels over race issues that haven’t been solved since the founding of this country. Meanwhile, the streets of Chicago are filled with the bodies of murdered Black men, victims of Black-on-Black crime. Those stories get buried because of the people who run Chicago. People like Rahm Emmanuel, and of course, President Barrack Obama.
I think most American are sick of all of this. Whites are growing tired of the same race baited stories propagated by the media. Blacks are sick of living lives filled with day-by-day evidence of both silent and blatant racism. Hispanics are tired of being portrayed as lazy, illegal immigrants who live their life on the dole of the government. The media plays into each of these narratives.
We’re now in a “Cold Civil War” of sorts. The past few weeks have given us demonstrations, limited rioting, strong words, arguments, and hightened tension between the races. The media amplifies all of this, and in some cases, instigates it.
This Cold Civil War will not remain cold. It can’t. Something will give. President Barrack Obama stood up and presented himself as a healer, among other things. He has failed on all accounts. He has picked his side in this war. Now, Americans like William Gheen are standing up and taking their turn in front of the cameras. Soon there will be others. Who’s side will the next president be on?
We’re on the brink of a second Civil War in America, and there will be no winner.
There seem to be two primary focuses on an individual that becomes President of the United States. One begins in the campaign, and that focus largely involves the historical decisions the candidate had made. Aside from the warm fuzzy peek into their family life, and the personal character endorsements from friends that have known the candidate for a lengthy period of time, most of the media, and then the voters, want to know what the candidate believes. These beliefs are evident in their voting record, examples of leadership, accomplishments, and more. If the candidate is fortunate enough to be elected to the highest office in the land, the focus shifts from the individuals history to “understanding” the reactions and decisions that individual makes in the present tense.
Think about what got Barrack Obama elected. Rhetorical flourish. Hope and Change. Lofty speeches that sounded so different from the 8 years of George W. Bush that they caught the low-information voter by surprise. People who didn’t care about politics, and were disillusioned by the Bush years, suddenly created a messianic caricature in Obama. To be sure, the media helped push this narrative. They pushed it so hard that the typical vetting process that occurs with most presidential candidates didn’t happen with Obama. The usual “turning over of rocks” to find the ugly in the candidate didn’t apply to him. As a result, the public didn’t really get to know the guy at the podium.
Fast forward to today. The public doesn’t see Obama as they did the candidate in 2008. Hope and Change is over. Obama disappoints his constituent again and again. And as hard as the media tries to keep positive stories in the press about the Obama administration, the man continues to flummox.
Rick Ungar of Forbes is the latest member of the mainstream media to be left puzzled by the actions of Barrack Obama.
As readers of this column know, I tend to favor the political and policy positions put forth by President Barack Obama and his administration.
That is not to say that, in the effort to provide an honest accounting of my opinions on the issues of the day, there have not been moments where I have found it necessary to criticize the White House when I disagree with their policies and strategies.
But that’s my job and I try to do the very best I can in doing that job.
However, never before have I felt the need to criticize our President for something that goes well beyond politics and policy—until today.
What I should be discussing this day are the President’s comments delivered yesterday regarding the heinous execution of American photojournalist James Foley; comments I found to be completely appropriate in that they conveyed strength, intelligence and a hint that we may have only just begun to deal with the scourge that is ISIL.
What I should also be writing about this day is the remarkable strength and grace we witnessed while watching the parents of James Foley who were nothing short of stunning and inspirational in their televised conversation with the press.
Instead, I find myself compelled to write about the President’s decision to keep his scheduled golf date with a couple of friends immediately following his televised comments—a decision that revealed a complete lack of class on Mr. Obama’s part.
In the same way the public was sold a bill of goods on Obama, the media began to believe their own reporting on the guy. They believed he was different. They were so disgusted with Bush that the promises put forth by Obama seemed like the liberal nirvana had finally arrived. Then, the Hope and Change candidate faded into the cold individual we see governing today.
However, one would like to think that every president, when attempting to take some time away from what is likely one of the busiest and most pressure packed work schedules on the planet, would always ask himself whether playing a round of golf is the best possible use of his time at the moment he prepares to tee off on the first hole.
Yesterday, playing golf was certainly not the best use of the President’s time.
I don’t say that because I believe that there was anything more to be accomplished at that moment by Mr. Obama removing himself to the situation room. I say that because, had it been me, I would have recognized that there was somewhere else I should be that would be a far better use of my time…at the side of Diane and John Foley, the parents of the tragically deceased James Foley.
When a reporter says “had it been me” in a paragraph in which he is contrasting his own character against the character of the guy he voted for, the guy he loves and wants to support, you know we’ve turned a corner. More and more, the mainstream media is sending a message to the Obama administration. They don’t like what they see, and they are having a hard time defending him.
I’m sorry, Mr. President, but your behavior yesterday was not about thumbing your nose at or simply ignoring those who refuse to acknowledge that you have a right to a vacation and to some time playing a game that relaxes you. It was also not about those who refuse to appreciate that you can do your job anywhere on the planet with the same effectiveness as sitting behind your desk at the White House.
It was, instead, about revealing a side of yourself that Americans, of all political stripes, cannot help but be troubled by—a coldness that revealed a complete lack of understanding of the classy thing to do at a difficult moment.
And there it is. I think Ungar is expressing an opinion shared by an increasing number of reporters, not just outside the beltway, but within. Obama is in the middle of creating a legacy where he’ll be known to future Americans as a cold, thoughtless individual with a complete lack of understanding of what it means to have any semblance of class. The history books will reflect this about the man.
What frustrates his supporters most is there is little precious time to turn things around. With each week comes another example of the how different the real President Obama is from the Hope and Change candidate sold to the public.
This is really unfortunate, and typical of the attitude in the current administration.
When two-star Major General Harold Greene, the highest-ranking officer killed in combat since Vietnam, was laid to rest in Arlington National Cemetery on Thursday, neither the President nor the Vice President were present.
Both Nixon and Bush 43 attended funerals of similar military men in 1970 and 2001 respectively. This time, Obama was golfing, and Biden was vacationing in the Hamptons. One of them should have shown up to this funeral.
Politically speaking, this is nothing but a win for Romney. The public hates the press, and voters love it when they’re put in their place.
The traveling press secretary for Mitt Romney lost his cool and cursed at reporters who attempted to ask questions of the Republican presidential candidate in a public plaza near the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Warsaw Tuesday.
Here’s a transcript of the questions and Gorka’s response:
CNN: “Governor Romney are you concerned about some of the mishaps of your trip?
NYT: “Governor Romney do you have a statement for the Palestinians?
Washington Post: “What about your gaffes?
NYT: “Governor Romney do you feel that your gaffes have overshadowed your foreign trip?”
CNN: “Governor Romney just a few questions sir, you haven’t taken but three questions on this trip from the press!
Gorka: “Show some respect”
NYT: “We haven’t had another chance to ask a question…”
Gorka: “Kiss my ass. This is a Holy site for the Polish people. Show some respect.”
Moments later, Gorka told Jonathan Martin, a reporter for Politico, to “shove it.”
Unfortunately, Gorka fell victim to the “lame-stream” media tractor beam and apologized for his behavior. It’s the media that needs to do the apologizing.
The media manufactured the narrative that Romney committed multiple “gaffe’s” during his tour of Europe for one purpose only. They have to take the focus off of Obama; his falling poll numbers, the collapse of the economy, the job numbers, etc. If they were to report the truth about where he’s taken our nation since being elected messiah in 2008, the informed public would be picketing the White House.
Instead, they paint a sour picture of Romney as a potential leader of the free world. It’s all they know how to do right now, and it smacks of desperation.
Good thing it’s summertime. Go back to your sand castles.
This is what political journalism looks like in 2012. When you can’t come up with a compelling reason to re-elect a failed president, you recycle a story about a candidate from 1987.
Newsweek in 2012 — shoddy, soulless, and probably out of business (soon).
