One  wonders if the White House knows what is going on when they trot out people like James Clapper, Director of National Intelligence, who apparently enjoys the taste of his own shoe leather.  I’m of the mind that he just likes giving his bosses massive heart attacks every time he speaks.

Mr. Clapper has held his position since June of last year and in that short time has had not three strikes as Lindsey Graham believes, but four verbal missteps that the White House has had to ether correct or clarify. This man is head of our national intelligence!

We have the entertaining moment of Clapper being befuddled on ABC with the other two stooges, Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano and Chief Counter-terrorism Advisor John Brennan, when asked by Diane Sawyer about the 2010 arrest of 12 men in an alleged terror plot in London. The reason behind that little mistake? He had not been briefed.  In a world of 24 hour news where anyone with a cell phone, television or internet knew about the arrests in London, including the two people sitting next to him, he asserted that he had not been briefed.

Our second display of intelligence with a small “i” was when Clapper claimed that the Muslim Brotherhood, who looked poised to take over in the wake of the uprising in Egypt, was a “largely secular” group. That’s like saying  elections are largely non-political events. Perhaps he just misspoke or maybe he just doesn’t know the meaning of the word “secular”.

Of course, I’m sure Mr. Clapper had the White House hitting their foreheads this week when he informed the Senate Intelligence committee that the regime of Muammar Ghaddafi “will prevail” in Libya and that our greatest “Mortal Threat” were China and Russia, the latter being the country we just happened to sign the START treaty with. It was nice to see even Senate democrats scratch their heads, including Dianne Feinstien and Carl Levine mention that they would have picked someone like, Iran or perhaps North Korea.

While I can see the Lybian comment as Clapper speculating that Ghaddafi would be able to overtake the uprising in his own country, why he would blatantly disregard the White House’s statement on the subject is troubling. Implicating two countries, China and Russia, that we have uneasy relations with while ignoring the two countries which most of the world considers a threat, North Korea and Iran, brings me into agreement with Senator Lindsey Graham that Mr. Clapper needs to go.

Should the White House choose to keep Mr. Clapper, they will have to continue to revise or rebuke his comments, and U.S. Intelligence will continue to look, well, unintelligent.

President Obama’s speech following the tragedy in Pima, Arizona was a call to action for everyone to stand down from invective, derisive speech. As I listened to President Obama admonish those who would be derisive rather than seek a more civilized common ground, my mind wandered…

I quickly realized that President Obama had pulled an Eddie Haskel; after creating much fuss and havoc he suddenly stands back, alter-boy style, completely aghast at the discourse now frothing about him.

The truth is President Obama, despite his pledge to rise above political division (“There are no red states or blue states; just the United States”), has done the opposite. Despite campaign pledges to be a post-partisan leader, President Obama has led with all the tricks and techniques of a Chicago community activist.

Was it not Obama who instructed his flock, “If they bring a knife to the fight, we bring a gun.”? And in referring to the midterm elections, did he not implore his minority constituents, on the radio, to vote so as to “punish our enemies.”? Keep in mind that this is the same man who laughed uproariously at a White House Press event when comedian Wanda Sykes spoke of how she did not like Rush Limbaugh, or his hope that Obama failed, and said, “I hope his kidneys fail. How bout that?”

To round out my point on abrasive comments coming from President Obama, here are just a few more:

“I want you to argue with them and get in their faces!” Barack Obama, September 2008

“Here’s the problem: It’s almost like they’ve got – they’ve got a bomb strapped to them and they’ve got their hand on the trigger. You don’t want them to blow up. But you’ve got to kind of talk them, ease that finger off the trigger.” Barrack Obama on American Banks, March, 2009

“I don’t want to quell anger. I think people are right to be angry! I’m angry!” Barrack Obama on ACORN Mobs. March, 2010

“We talk to these folks…so I know whose ass to kick.” Barack Obama on the private sector, June 2010

“A Republican majority in Congress would mean ‘hand-to-hand combat’ on Capitol Hill for the next two years; threatening policies Democrats have enacted to stabilize the economy.” Barack Obama, October 6, 2010

“We’re gonna punish our enemies and we’re gonna reward our friends who stand with us on issues that are important to us.” Barack Obama to Latinos, October 2010

And who can forget President Obama’s characterization of Midwest “folk” who cling to “guns and religion”.

I mention these quotes because they were spoken from the same man who spoke to the entire country following the Pima,  Arizona massacre, imploring citizens to refrain from polarizing rhetoric.  I ask, does this ring true to you?

I offer an alternative sequence of events. Even as Paul Krugman was accusing the radio right of being responsible for a madman’s killing spree, without a single fact to support his thesis, though written within hours of the tragedy, one wonders who really needs the lecture on civility.

As a former liberal, there were many “minor details” left out of my training. For example, the man that killed John F. Kennedy was a Marxist, someone who was so enchanted by both the Soviet Union and Cuba that he tried defecting to both. And for the record, President William McKinley was murdered by the left-wing anarchist Leon Czolgosz.

The campus unrest of the 1960’s and 1970’s was understandable, given an unpopular war. But what should resonate to anyone who studies recent history is that all of the madness  was caused by left-wing zealots; not a conservative among them.

You see, the big difference between liberals and conservatives is that liberals can commit monstrous acts, such as Bill Ayer’s bombing of the Pentagon, so long as they believe they are just in their inhumane actions. Conservatives, on the other hand, work within the system, rather than throw Molotov cocktails and hang Presidents in effigy.

Therein lay the difference between the recent and modern Left and Right of this country. The left feels no shame in acts of violence so long as it leads to the ends they favor. Conservatives work within the system, and by doing so, often appear weak as they dodge both literal and figurative bombs.

Yes, we are a divided country. Lines have clearly been drawn. On one side is the left who admonish us to be compassionate, to provide for the weakest among us. Saintly, no? And on the right you have folks who proudly quote a true Democrat, assassinated by a Marxist, who once proclaimed, “Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country.”

How times have changed.

by scot cerullo

With his first year as President under his belt, many initial Obama supporters have become disillusioned over the unrealized Hope and Change that drove the 2008 campaign like nitrous oxide.

Obama supporters, independents and a great number of Democrats are scratching their heads because, having climbed this historic political mountain together, having signed on to various get-out-the-vote ground operations, now stand at the pinnacle of the mountain and, looking over the horizon, do not see the post-partisan, post-racial utopia Obama articulated repeatedly and promised unequivocally during his campaign .

The lofty rhetoric that told of a new way of doing business in Washington, the brilliant young leader promising to right the wrongs of past administrations and restore America’s good name in the world, well, it’s kind of fizzled out.

Still, he had a majority in the House of Representatives and a super-majority in the Senate, so clearly a few missteps wouldn’t affect the powerful change to come.

Yet somehow, despite all the talk, and there has been much of that, a year after the election unemployment remains at an amazing 9%, people are walking away from their homes, and health care, something consistently rated low on the list of priorities among people in poll after poll, seems to be the all-consuming agenda item of this dynamic new kind of politician.

Obama supporters have discovered that Obama is long on enunciating problems, but short on providing effective remedies. Supporters are finding out that all that talk of post-partisanship simply has not materialized. In fact and quite oddly, this new-breed-of-politician has polarized Washington and the electorate in a manner not seen in modern political history.

Some argue that by not reaching out to small business, indeed ignoring the inclusion of the free market in any of his large-scale, government solutions, Obama is actually exacerbating a recession that by now, by historical records, should be resolving itself.

I won’t list the many errors the Obama administration has made over the past 12 months. They are there for anyone who cares to turn on their computer, TV or pick up a newspaper.

What I will point out is that Obama is governing against the will of the people. Never in modern history have so many apolitical voters gathered en masse to exclaim their disapproval. From the Tea Parties that began in the spring of 2009, the Town Hall meetings which pitted frightened taxpayers against tin-eared elected officials, to the massive, historic, and highly under-reported march on Washington, Obama appears to want to wish these people and their concerns away in favor of his ideas, his plan for America.

But time has a way of providing nuance and context. Reasonable people may disagree about a given issue, but in total the voting public has moved from unbridled enthusiasm to quixotic, to anger and dismay. It’s become so bad that Obama has both the Left and the Right angry.

But the November mid-term elections are coming. And this time, many voters don’t just want to see the GOP win, they want to see conservatives win. In one short year they miss having a leader who respects the free market, small business, and the notion that working hard and earning good money is nothing one should apologize for.

While President Obama may have had no track record or resume prior to his election, he does now. And it is dismal. We have discovered that rather than being post-partisan, his is ultra-partisan, rarely allowing Republicans to contribute ideas. Remember when George Bush asked Ted Kennedy to help him write the Education bill? That kind of politics hasn’t been around for some time.

The recent regional elections in Massachusetts, New Jersey and elsewhere are setting precedents and screaming out to the nation that many voters cannot wait for November.

While I never believed in Obama’s world view or politics, and it saddens me that it’s taken his election to prove I may be right, I am comforted by the mass awakening that is taking place and hope that it translates into quality conservatives being elected in November.

Finally, I offer this caution: Voters are not looking for the same GOP candidates from before. They are looking for tough, conservative leaders who have the strength and fortitude to make the hard, unpopular decisions that too many politicians put off for another day.

Well, that day has come. As state after state goes bankrupt, those thinking of running for office would do well to take a cue from the newly elected Republican Governor of New Jersey, Chris Christi. His recent speeches and his plans for his state speak volumes about how we will need to proceed as a viable nation.

We already know the alternative as Obama is demonstrating it each day.

Senator Harry Reid announced the following today:

“Today is a big day in America. Only 36,000 people lost their jobs today, which is really good,” Reid said Friday on the Senate floor.

Video- Harry Reid\’s Big Day In America

BREAKING NEWS:  SENATOR HARRY REID IS BEING CONTROLLED BY ALIENS or possibly has had a psychotic break from Lame Duck Flu.

Lady Libertas can think of no other explanation for the callous and disgusting remarks made by Senator Harry Reid, Majority Leader of the Senate.

There are no words to describe the complete disconnect that Harry Reid, Nancy Pelosi and the Obama Administration have with the American People.  The same People that they have made oaths to serve.

Oath Breakers all of them.

Today in the United States of America – 36, 000 People received notice that they no longer had a job.  These people had to return to their homes and to their families and share the news that Lady Libertas imagines was sitting in the pit of their stomachs for hours.  The same people are probably staring at the ceiling of their bedrooms tonight and wondering how they will keep their lives together.

How will they pay their rents or mortgages?

How will they put food on the table?

How will they look their children in the eye day after day while their HOPE slowly crumbles as new jobs are simply words bandied around by the Ruling Elite in DC?

How will they pay their Cobra insurance or push off health issues because they cannot afford to see a doctor?

How will they survive?

And Harry Reid sneers down from the height of the Democratic Ruling Elite in Washington DC and says:

“Today is a big day in America. Only 36,000 people lost their jobs today, which is really good.”

Look carefully at these faces, Patriots.  These are the faces that we need to keep foremost in our minds for the next EIGHT MONTHS.

Obama.  Pelosi.  Harry “I am being controlled by Aliens that make me a Smug Insensitive Elitist” Reid.

As we prepare for Election 2010, do not let these faces waver for a moment.  Use them as your banner as we pick up the most powerful weapon in our arsenal – OUR VOTES.

They have ignored the American People for over a year.  We are under attack daily and in a fight for no less than our Country.

Remember these faces.  They are the faces of the most malignant terrorist attack in our history – they seek to take our Voices, our Freedom and what the United States of America stands for.

Bless those of us who are struggling.  So many who are struggling.

VOTE THEM OUT.  It has become our Moral Imperative.

Lady Libertas got a bit of a giggle today when I read Pres. Obama’s schedule for today.  It is good to start the morning with comedy.

• 9:30AM: President Obama and Vice President Biden receive the Presidential Daily Briefing
• 10:00AM: President Obama and Vice President Biden receive the Economic Daily Briefing
• 1:30PM: President Obama delivers remarks at opening session of the Jobs and Economic Growth Forum
• 3:45PM: President Obama delivers remarks and leads discussion at closing session of the Jobs and Economic Growth Forum
• 5:00PM: The first family attends the National Christmas Tree Lighting ceremony

Obama will don his Superman cape – dash into his Job Summit in a single bound and with his staff of Socialists and Tax Cheats, they will solve all of America’s job issues IN JUST THREE HOURS.

One moment while Lady Libertas goes and gets the shovel.  I want to be shovel ready – READY TO SHOVEL THE MANURE.  It is about waist deep now.  My understanding is that the purpose of ramming the $787 billion dollar stimulus plan up our down our throats was to create jobs….

From Feb. 3, 2009 – USA TODAY – (See article here)

The Congressional Budget Office says Obama’s economic stimulus package of spending programs and tax cuts would create 1.2 million to 3.6 million jobs. The economic consulting firm IHS Global Insight puts the number at 2.6 million.

The administration estimates that unemployment would be 7% at the end of 2010 — barely below the current 7.2% rate.

“The bottom line is this: You’ve got a piece of legislation that creates jobs,” White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said after several questions. “The latest statistics based on the economic reports show that 90% of these jobs are private-sector jobs.”

And yet here we are at 10.2%, following the created and saved jobs scam  The Washington Examiner is even tracking the stimulus jobs NOT really saved or created – see article here.  Obama and his Team of Socialists & Cheats have applied their new math and genuinely expected the American people to fall for it.

“Yes!  We have created jobs … we just can’t find them at the moment.  nononono … haha … they are not lost!  They are … Hey!  Look there’s Elvis and he’s with Ted Kennedy!!”

SO, today there will be more baiting and switching talking.  That is what a summit is for after all and that is what Obama does best – Talk Talk Blame Bush Talk Talk Talk.

Obama talks about how things are getting better which I am sure reassures all those out of work, those looking for work, those who have given up hope of finding work, those afraid that they will be laid off today or tomorrow and those who are doing the work of 4 people because most of the company has already been laid off.

Obama talks about Bush and blames the Bush administration for the economic turmoil.

Obama talks and conveniently forgets that he was part of the Congress that sanctioned the really bad decisions that were made by Bush, as was the Speaker of the House and the Vice President…oh yes, and the Secretary of State.

Obama talks and it all starts to sound like blah blah blah (kind of like the adults in Charlie Brown!) because he and Joe tell us that things are better!  And there is no evidence.  Certainly, as Americans prepare for a tough Christmas, many have given up hope of real relief occurring.  And Obama keeps talking.

Can anyone blame us that we are all feeling a bit cynical?  Even the polls reflect it …

The Winston Group’s New Models National Survey revealed the shift in the most recent poll. Asked if the state of the economy is “more the result of President Obama’s policies or President Bush’s policies,” the public is evenly divided at 42 percent for each as recently as October.

In July Bush was still getting the blame, 56 percent to Obama’s 29 percent. “The public may have held Bush more responsible earlier in the year, but as of the beginning of October, it was at parity with Obama’s policies. This should be very concerning for the White House. President Obama is just now beginning to fully own the economy, and we have already seen significant drops in his job approval,” said Winston pollster Myra Miller.

Here is the poll:

Do you think that at this point, the state of the economy if more the result of Pres. Obama’s policies or Pres. Bush’s policies?

	July 2009	Oct. 2009
President Obama’s policies	29	42
President Bush’s policies	56	42
Don’t Know	15	16

The Obama Administration is also fond of claiming that the GOP has no solutions.  No Solutions is quite different than not inviting the GOP to the table and ignoring them.  As a matter of fact, Minority Whip Eric Cantor held a discussion at the Heritage Foundation yesterday that was a common sense approach.  I watched it live on Facebook and you can read about it here.

Americans want jobs, not welfare.

Create jobs for Americans, not jobs for Bureaucrats.

STOP THE SPENDING.

Obama and his team of Socialists and Tax Cheats are meeting today to discuss jobs.  for three hours.  they are calling it a Summit.

Make no mistake, folks – this is a Second “Stimulus” plan and he will be asking for billions to fund it.  Combined with his first “Stimulus” plan (FAIL) and the proposed healthcare plan (SOON TO FAIL) – Obama has spent trillions this year and placed us in debt for the foreseeable future with no Hopium left…

AND NO RESULTS.

Lady Libertas has just one question -

President Obama – do we look like Mrs. Obama??????

SNL skit with Chinese President