President Obama News Thread

[raycarey]

if there's anything we've learned this cycle, it's that truth and honesty are of no consequence to the GOP.

for example, the entire 'you didn't build that' nonsense....which has bizarrely become a rallying cry of the romney campaign....surely they must know that this is going to come back and bite them in the ass eventually. we're still 3 months out....someone is going to call romney on this sooner or later, and he's going to have to answer.

[barbaro]

Originally Posted by sabang

So Obama has thrown Israel 'under a bus' according to the GOP. Not according to Alan Dershowitz though, a prominent zionist and AIPAC figure:-

What's disgraceful is that this is election year pandering and slandering.

And as for Alan Dershowitz: a brilliant guy who is: a zionist, a shill, and a lawyer.

He is shite. I have not respect for him.

[barbaro]

Originally Posted by S Landreth

A day before Mitt Romney’s much-anticipated arrival in Israel, President Obama jumped ahead of his Republican rival Friday by signing legislation that strengthens ties with the United States’ longtime Mideast ally.

The timing of the new law, which will increase U.S. military aid to Israel, seemed intended to upstage Romney’s visit to the Holy Land - and muffle the GOP candidate’s claims that Obama has undermined relationships with Jerusalem.

The pandering to voter groups shows that US democracy is failing.

Actually, it has failed.

[MrG]

Originally Posted by barbaro

The pandering to voter groups shows that US democracy is failing.

Actually, it has failed.

Not really. This kind of well-timed manuevering with ceremony and signings is standard, common, good-old-fashioned American politics. The president using one of the advantages of office--like looking presidential while the other doesn't. If anything it's reassuring, a sign of normalcy in American politics these days. But not the decline of democracy.

The Patriot Act is a sign of the decline of democracy.
The loss of habeus corpus is a sign of the decline of democracy.
The acceptance of extra-legal killings any where in the world...
State sanctioned torture....
Drones coming to a sky near you....
Yes. Democracy in decline.

A well timed signing ceremony...? No.

[Boon Mee]

So Much For That Gutsy Call… Obama Canceled Operation to Kill Osama 3 Different Times – Then Waited 16 Hrs to Make Call

We already knew that it took Barack Obama 16 hours to make the call to go after Bin Laden at his hideout in Pakistan.

But, now we know it took much longer than that. He had to stand up to Valarie Jarrett who whimped him out three times before! What a wuss!

Barack Obama canceled the operation to kill Osama bin Laden on three separate occasions, before finally approving the May 2, 2011 Navy SEAL mission.

'Gutsy Call' Not So Gutsy After All, Book Reveals - Global Agenda - News - Israel National News

According to a new book, President Obama canceled operation to kill Osama bin Laden on three separate occasions, due to instructions of aide
At the urging of senior advisor Valerie Jarrett, President Barack Obama canceled the operation to kill Osama bin Laden on three separate occasions before finally approving the May 2, 2011 Navy SEAL mission, according to a new book scheduled for release August 21

Book bombshell: Obama canceled Bin Laden 'kill' raid three times at Jarrett's urging | The Daily Caller

In “Leading From Behind: The Reluctant President and the Advisors who Decide for Him,” Richard Miniter writes that Obama canceled the mission in January 2011, again in February, and a third time in March.

Valerie Jarrett, a senior advisor and assistant to the president for Public Engagement and Intergovernmental Affairs, reportedly persuaded Obama to hold off each time, the book reveals, according to The DC.
Miniter, a two-time New York Times best-selling author, cites an unnamed source with Joint Special Operations Command who had direct knowledge of the operation and its planning.

Obama administration officials said after the raid that the president had delayed giving the order to kill the arch-terrorist the day before the operation was carried out, in what turned out to be his fourth moment of indecision."

What a ballsy guy, eh? What a Hero eh?

[S Landreth]

Originally Posted by Boon Mee

The Daily Caller

The White House is flat denying claims in a new book that President Obama had postponed the raid that killed Osama bin Laden on three previous occasions.

"It is an utter fabrication," said White House spokesman Joshua Earnest.

In a book called Leading From Behind: The Reluctant President and the Advisers Who Decide for Him, author Richard Miniter said Obama canceled the raid three times on the advice of senior aide Valerie Jarrett.

Said Earnest: "Mr. Miniter doesn't know what he's talking about.

Earnest said Jarrett wasn't apprised of super-secret plans for the raid that took place in May 2011. "So I wouldn't put any stock into that vignette or into the book itself," he added.: White House: Obama did not postpone bin Laden raid

[Boon Mee]

^
And you believe that drivel? Ask yourself this: If they can lie about returning Churchill's Bust you don't think they'd lie in this case.

Right...& the Moon is made of Green Cheese.

[barbaro]

Originally Posted by MrG

Not really. This kind of well-timed manuevering with ceremony and signings is standard, common, good-old-fashioned American politics. The president using one of the advantages of office--like looking presidential while the other doesn't. If anything it's reassuring, a sign of normalcy in American politics these days. But not the decline of democracy.

Technically a democracy at the local and state level. To some degree a democracy at the national level although the lobbyists, various complexes, and political campaigns and party machines narrow the range of "choice."

The Patriot Act is a sign of the decline of democracy.
The loss of habeus corpus is a sign of the decline of democracy.
The acceptance of extra-legal killings any where in the world...
State sanctioned torture....
Drones coming to a sky near you....
Yes. Democracy in decline.

Yes, definitely.

[harrybarracuda]

Originally Posted by Boon Mee

^
And you believe that drivel? Ask yourself this: If they can lie about returning Churchill's Bust you don't think they'd lie in this case.

Right...& the Moon is made of Green Cheese.

Until I see a source, I really don't see how you can believe any of it, but of course that's the good thing about unattributed sources, you can fabricate to your hearts content and no-one can actually challenge you. And Fox News/Murdoch are experts in the field, by the way.

Sadly it's been a major trait of the British tabloid press for a long time now, some of which is coming home to roost now that the phone hacking inquiry shows that a lot of their "close friends" or "sources" were actually text messages and voicemails that they obtained illegally.

[raycarey]

Originally Posted by harrybarracuda

Until I see a source, I really don't see how you can believe any of it, but of course that's the good thing about unattributed sources, you can fabricate to your hearts content and no-one can actually challenge you. And Fox News/Murdoch are experts in the field, by the way.

it's (surprise) and outrageous pile of BS.

there is still a bust of churchill in the WH.

a photo of obama and cameron taking a look at it in 2010




it''s hard to keep track of all the BS it produces, but the right wing noise machine is apparently trying to make gin up controversy out of the fact that an identical bust by the same sculptor is now in the house of UK's ambassador to the US....even though this duplicate remains in the WH.

it should go without saying that if this is the best they've got, the president doesn't have a care in the world.

[raycarey]

Originally Posted by harrybarracuda

Until I see a source, I really don't see how you can believe any of it, but of course that's the good thing about unattributed sources, you can fabricate to your hearts content and no-one can actually challenge you. And Fox News/Murdoch are experts in the field, by the way.

here's a reputable source that sheds light on this most recent phoney controversy:

hile there is still a bust of Churchill in the White House, it's not the same one that was in the Oval when Bush was president. The bust by Sir Jacob Epstein (no relation to this reporter) was lent to Bush's administration for the duration of his presidency, the British Embassy in Washington told Mediaite. When Bush left office, the loan ended and the bust was placed in the embassy. The White House collection includes its own Churchill bust by Epstein, which is the one that's now in the residence.

'So patently false' Obama removed Churchill bust from the White House - POLITICO.com

[Boon Mee]

Another example of the total disaster that is the Obama administration.

What is the Capitol of Israel?

Another Obama FlipFlop.

As been said before, everything Obama says has an expiration date. Every single thing...no moral character.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7gb0N...layer_embedded

President Obama said one thing about Jerusalem being Israel's capital when he was a candidate, and something else as President. It's another broken promise from President Obama, and another reason why many in the Jewish community have buyer's remorse.

The Bro Gotta Go...

[rawlins]

I can't believe there are any Republicans still existing in America.

They are an out-dated breed and have no future in any part of the world. They shouldn't let Romney travel abroad and make daft statements thinking that America is still a force to be reckoned with.

Who gives a flying fuck about Jerusalem?

[rawlins]

Republicans don't care about anything else apart from making themselves wealthier at the expense of the 99%.

You can't compare to Greece. They just rode the Europe gravy train after they were allowed in.

The big question for this election should be "How can we stop the demise of the West and ultimately can we stop the East from taking the piss?"

[rawlins]

There are a few other questions also such as " Is it worth building new things and creating jobs in our own countries... Protectionism isn't such a bad thing."

[Boon Mee]

Well, it turns out the White House did lie re Churchill's Bust:

When White House Communications Director Dan Pfeiffer put up a "fact check" on the official White House blog last week he was pulling no punches. He pushed back on the "patently false" claim that "President Obama removed the bust of Winston Churchill from the Oval Office and sent it back to the British Embassy." Pfeiffer singled out Charles Krauthammer for repeating this "rumor" in his weekly column.

Only one big problem with Pfeiffer's fact check. It was false. As noted here, there were photos of the Churchill bust in the British embassy after its return from the Oval Office in 2009. At some point Friday, Pfeiffer caught wind of the error and published an update to his original fact check. The update explained, in language that even the NY Times found confusing, that there were actually two busts of Churchill. One had indeed been returned to the British embassy, the other was on display in the White House residence.
One thing Pfeiffer's Friday afternoon update did not do was apologize to Charles Krauthammer for attacking him by name without having the facts. On Sunday, Krauthammer demanded a correction from the White House in a column published by the Washington Post. Krauthammer also asked for an apology but expressed skepticism that one would be forthcoming saying the Nationals would win the World Series first.
To his credit, Dan Pfeiffer did apologize by email and, at Charles' request, posted the letter on the White House blog:

Charles,

I take your criticism seriously and you are correct that you are owed an apology. There was clearly an internal confusion about the two busts and there was no intention to deceive. I clearly overshot the runway in my post. The point I was trying to make – under the belief that the Bust in the residence was the one previously in the Oval Office-- was that this oft repeated talking point about the bust being a symbol of President Obama’s failure to appreciate the special relationship is false. The bust that was returned was returned as a matter of course with all the other artwork that had been loaned to President Bush for display in his Oval Office and not something that President Obama or his Administration chose to do. I still think this is an important point and one I wish I had communicated better.

A better understanding of the facts on my part and a couple of deep breaths at the outset would have prevented this situation. Having said all that, barring a miracle comeback from the Phillies I would like to see the Nats win a world series even if it comes after my apology

Thanks,

Dan Pfeiffer

Pfeiffer did the right thing in apologizing to Krauthammer, but his story about the bust is still a bit hard to swallow. How did both he and Jay Carney have the idea that the bust had never left the White House when there had been reporting to the contrary? A simple check with the White House curator would have clarified the facts. Did he do one before writing his fact check? It's a bit hard to believe that Pfeiffer went this far out on a limb in public without doing his due diligence. If he did, he should be apologizing to his boss as well.
There's also the question about when the other bust re-appeared in the White House. Pfeiffer's confusing Friday update notes that it was not on display in 2001 because it was "being worked on." It "returned" some unspecified time later. Pfeiffer never says when it returned. Maybe it did so during the Bush administration or maybe it was in 2009 right after the return of the other bust became an international news story. In the former case Pfeiffer's confusion would be more understandable, in the latter not so much. That fact that he didn't offer that relevant information could be another oversight or it could suggest the latest flap wasn't the White House's first attempt to pull a fast one on this story."


The Bro Gotta Go



Since there were two busts they can't keep their stories straight!

[buriramboy]

With the amount of money spent (wasted) on the elecoral campaign by both sides, how many schools and hospitals could have been built???

[raycarey]

Originally Posted by buriramboy

With the amount of money spent (wasted) on the elecoral campaign by both sides, how many schools and hospitals could have been built???

thank the roberts' supreme court and citizens united.....an unmitigated disaster for democracy in the US.

bring back mccain feingold!

[attaboy]

Originally Posted by S Landreth

Richard Miniter (born 1967) is an investigative journalist and author of two New York Times best-selling books, Losing bin Laden and Shadow War.


He has been published in numerous periodicals in the United States, including The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, and Christian Science Monitor, as well as The Atlantic Monthly, The New Republic, National Review, and Reader's Digest. His articles have also appeared in newspapers in Europe, Asia, and Australia.


[biggerthanyours][/biggerthanyours]


Valerie Jarrett is the only remaining confidant of the original four (Gibs, Axelrod, Rahm and Jarrett). She is also Michelle's closet friend for decades. So to think that Obama didn't discuss it with either Michelle (who in turn would discuss it with Jarret) or Jarrett is being naive.

[attaboy]

White House senior aide apologizes to conservative columnist (Charles Krauthammer) for Churchill (bust) claim

By Alicia M. Cohn - 08/01/12 09:20

White House senior aide apologizes to conservative columnist for Churchill claim - The Hill's Blog Briefing Room

Originally Posted by Boon Mee

Since there were two busts they can't keep their stories straight!

They don't care about keeping their stories straight. They are concerned with creating confusion so that people in turn believe the lie they are inclined (via their prejudices) to believe. It suits the Obama administration because they have nothing they can claim as an accomplishment. So they obfuscate. They pander to peoples' prejudices.

No bar is too low for the Obama "Limbo-stick" administration during this campaign.

[raycarey]

Originally Posted by attaboy

It suits the Obama administration because they have nothing they can claim as an accomplishment.

nothing to claim as an accomplishment?

really?

is that the position you're going to take and then expect to be taken seriously?

you may not support the president and his accomplishments, but real americans know that they president is working hard to improve the country and make their lives (and the lives of their children) better.

here's just one list of accomplishments by the obama administration

March/ April 2012

Obama’s Top 50 Accomplishments
1. Passed Health Care Reform: After five presidents over a century failed to create universal health insurance, signed the Affordable Care Act (2010). It will cover 32 million uninsured Americans beginning in 2014 and mandates a suite of experimental measures to cut health care cost growth, the number one cause of America’s long-term fiscal problems.
2. Passed the Stimulus: Signed $787 billion American Recovery and Reinvestment Act in 2009 to spur economic growth amid greatest recession since the Great Depression. Weeks after stimulus went into effect, unemployment claims began to subside. Twelve months later, the private sector began producing more jobs than it was losing, and it has continued to do so for twenty-three straight months, creating a total of nearly 3.7 million new private-sector jobs.
3. Passed Wall Street Reform: Signed the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (2010) to re-regulate the financial sector after its practices caused the Great Recession. The new law tightens capital requirements on large banks and other financial institutions, requires derivatives to be sold on clearinghouses and exchanges, mandates that large banks provide “living wills” to avoid chaotic bankruptcies, limits their ability to trade with customers’ money for their own profit, and creates the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (now headed by Richard Cordray) to crack down on abusive lending products and companies.
4. Ended the War in Iraq: Ordered all U.S. military forces out of the country. Last troops left on December 18, 2011.
5. Began Drawdown of War in Afghanistan: From a peak of 101,000 troops in June 2011, U.S. forces are now down to 91,000, with 23,000 slated to leave by the end of summer 2012. According to Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta, the combat mission there will be over by next year.
6. Eliminated Osama bin laden: In 2011, ordered special forces raid of secret compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan, in which the terrorist leader was killed and a trove of al-Qaeda documents was discovered.
7. Turned Around U.S. Auto Industry: In 2009, injected $62 billion in federal money (on top of $13.4 billion in loans from the Bush administration) into ailing GM and Chrysler in return for equity stakes and agreements for massive restructuring. Since bottoming out in 2009, the auto industry has added more than 100,000 jobs. In 2011, the Big Three automakers all gained market share for the first time in two decades. The government expects to lose $16 billion of its investment, less if the price of the GM stock it still owns increases.
8. Recapitalized Banks: In the midst of financial crisis, approved controversial Treasury Department plan to lure private capital into the country’s largest banks via “stress tests” of their balance sheets and a public-private fund to buy their “toxic” assets. Got banks back on their feet at essentially zero cost to the government.
9. Repealed “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell”: Ended 1990s-era restriction and formalized new policy allowing gays and lesbians to serve openly in the military for the first time.
10. Toppled Moammar Gaddafi: In March 2011, joined a coalition of European and Arab governments in military action, including air power and naval blockade, against Gaddafi regime to defend Libyan civilians and support rebel troops. Gaddafi’s forty-two-year rule ended when the dictator was overthrown and killed by rebels on October 20, 2011. No American lives were lost.
11. Told Mubarak to Go: On February 1, 2011, publicly called on Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak to accept reform or step down, thus weakening the dictator’s position and putting America on the right side of the Arab Spring. Mubarak ended thirty-year rule when overthrown on February 11.
12. Reversed Bush Torture Policies: Two days after taking office, nullified Bush-era rulings that had allowed detainees in U.S. custody to undergo certain “enhanced” interrogation techniques considered inhumane under the Geneva Conventions. Also released the secret Bush legal rulings supporting the use of these techniques.
13. Improved America’s Image Abroad: With new policies, diplomacy, and rhetoric, reversed a sharp decline in world opinion toward the U.S. (and the corresponding loss of “soft power”) during the Bush years. From 2008 to 2011, favorable opinion toward the United States rose in ten of fifteen countries surveyed by the Pew Global Attitudes Project, with an average increase of 26 percent.
14. Kicked Banks Out of Federal Student Loan Program, Expanded Pell Grant Spending: As part of the 2010 health care reform bill, signed measure ending the wasteful decades-old practice of subsidizing banks to provide college loans. Starting July 2010 all students began getting their federal student loans directly from the federal government. Treasury will save $67 billion over ten years, $36 billion of which will go to expanding Pell Grants to lower-income students.
15. Created Race to the Top: With funds from stimulus, started $4.35 billion program of competitive grants to encourage and reward states for education reform.
16. Boosted Fuel Efficiency Standards: Released new fuel efficiency standards in 2011 that will nearly double the fuel economy for cars and trucks by 2025.
17. Coordinated International Response to Financial Crisis: To keep world economy out of recession in 2009 and 2010, helped secure from G-20 nations more than $500 billion for the IMF to provide lines of credit and other support to emerging market countries, which kept them liquid and avoided crises with their currencies.
18. Passed Mini Stimuli: To help families hurt by the recession and spur the economy as stimulus spending declined, signed series of measures (July 22, 2010; December 17, 2010; December 23, 2011) to extend unemployment insurance and cut payroll taxes.
19. Began Asia “Pivot”: In 2011, reoriented American military and diplomatic priorities and focus from the Middle East and Europe to the Asian-Pacific region. Executed multipronged strategy of positively engaging China while reasserting U.S. leadership in the region by increasing American military presence and crafting new commercial, diplomatic, and military alliances with neighboring countries made uncomfortable by recent Chinese behavior.
20. Increased Support for Veterans: With so many soldiers coming home from Iraq and Iran with serious physical and mental health problems, yet facing long waits for services, increased 2010 Department of Veterans Affairs budget by 16 percent and 2011 budget by 10 percent. Also signed new GI bill offering $78 billion in tuition assistance over a decade, and provided multiple tax credits to encourage businesses to hire veterans.
21. Tightened Sanctions on Iran: In effort to deter Iran’s nuclear program, signed Comprehensive Iran Sanctions, Accountability, and Divestment Act (2010) to punish firms and individuals who aid Iran’s petroleum sector. In late 2011 and early 2012, coordinated with other major Western powers to impose sanctions aimed at Iran’s banks and with Japan, South Korea, and China to shift their oil purchases away from Iran.
22. Created Conditions to Begin Closing Dirtiest Power Plants: New EPA restrictions on mercury and toxic pollution, issued in December 2011, likely to lead to the closing of between sixty-eight and 231 of the nation’s oldest and dirtiest coal-fired power plants. Estimated cost to utilities: at least $11 billion by 2016. Estimated health benefits: $59 billion to $140 billion. Will also significantly reduce carbon emissions and, with other regulations, comprises what’s been called Obama’s “stealth climate policy.”
23. Passed Credit Card Reforms: Signed the Credit Card Accountability, Responsibility, and Disclosure Act (2009), which prohibits credit card companies from raising rates without advance notification, mandates a grace period on interest rate increases, and strictly limits overdraft and other fees.
24. Eliminated Catch-22 in Pay Equality Laws: Signed Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act in 2009, giving women who are paid less than men for the same work the right to sue their employers after they find out about the discrimination, even if that discrimination happened years ago. Under previous law, as interpreted by the Supreme Court in Ledbetter v. Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co., the statute of limitations on such suits ran out 180 days after the alleged discrimination occurred, even if the victims never knew about it.
25. Protected Two Liberal Seats on the U.S. Supreme Court: Nominated and obtained confirmation for Sonia Sotomayor, the first Hispanic and third woman to serve, in 2009; and Elena Kagan, the fourth woman to serve, in 2010. They replaced David Souter and John Paul Stevens, respectively.
26. Improved Food Safety System: In 2011, signed FDA Food Safety Modernization Act, which boosts the Food and Drug Administration’s budget by $1.4 billion and expands its regulatory responsibilities to include increasing number of food inspections, issuing direct food recalls, and reviewing the current food safety practices of countries importing products into America.
27. Achieved New START Treaty: Signed with Russia (2010) and won ratification in Congress (2011) of treaty that limits each country to 1,550 strategic warheads (down from 2,200) and 700 launchers (down from more than 1,400), and reestablished and strengthened a monitoring and transparency program that had lapsed in 2009, through which each country can monitor the other.
28. Expanded National Service: Signed Serve America Act in 2009, which authorized a tripling of the size of AmeriCorps. Program grew 13 percent to 85,000 members across the country by 2012, when new House GOP majority refused to appropriate more funds for further expansion.
29. Expanded Wilderness and Watershed Protection: Signed Omnibus Public Lands Management Act (2009), which designated more than 2 million acres as wilderness, created thousands of miles of recreational and historic trails, and protected more than 1,000 miles of rivers.
30. Gave the FDA Power to Regulate Tobacco: Signed the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act (2009). Nine years in the making and long resisted by the tobacco industry, the law mandates that tobacco manufacturers disclose all ingredients, obtain FDA approval for new tobacco products, and expand the size and prominence of cigarette warning labels, and bans the sale of misleadingly labeled “light” cigarette brands and tobacco sponsorship of entertainment events.
31. Pushed Federal Agencies to Be Green Leaders: Issued executive order in 2009 requiring all federal agencies to make plans to soften their environmental impacts by 2020. Goals include 30 percent reduction in fleet gasoline use, 26 percent boost in water efficiency, and sustainability requirements for 95 percent of all federal contracts. Because federal government is the country’s single biggest purchaser of goods and services, likely to have ripple effects throughout the economy for years to come.
32. Passed Fair Sentencing Act: Signed 2010 legislation that reduces sentencing disparity between crack versus powder cocaine possessionfrom100 to1 to 18 to1.
33. Trimmed and Reoriented Missile Defense: Cut the Reagan-era “Star Wars” missile defense budget, saving $1.4 billion in 2010, and canceled plans to station antiballistic missile systems in Poland and the Czech Republic in favor of sea-based defense plan focused on Iran and North Korea.
34. Began Post-Post-9/11 Military Builddown: After winning agreement from congressional Republicans and Democrats in summer 2011 budget deal to reduce projected defense spending by $450 billion, proposed new DoD budget this year with cuts of that size and a new national defense strategy that would shrink ground forces from 570,000 to 490,000 over the next ten years while increasing programs in intelligence gathering and cyberwarfare.
35. Let Space Shuttle Die and Killed Planned Moon Mission: Allowed the expensive ($1 billion per launch), badly designed, dangerous shuttle program to make its final launch on July 8, 2011. Cut off funding for even more bloated and problem-plagued Bush-era Constellation program to build moon base in favor of support for private-sector low-earth orbit ventures, research on new rocket technologies for long-distance manned flight missions, and unmanned space exploration, including the largest interplanetary rover ever launched, which will investigate Mars’s potential to support life.
36. Invested Heavily in Renewable Technology: As part of the 2009 stimulus, invested $90 billion, more than any previous administration, in research on smart grids, energy efficiency, electric cars, renewable electricity generation, cleaner coal, and biofuels.
37. Crafting Next-Generation School Tests: Devoted $330 million in stimulus money to pay two consortia of states and universities to create competing versions of new K-12 student performance tests based on latest psychometric research. New tests could transform the learning environment in vast majority of public school classrooms beginning in 2014.
38. Cracked Down on Bad For-Profit Colleges: In effort to fight predatory practices of some for-profit colleges, Department of Education issued “gainful employment” regulations in 2011 cutting off commercially focused schools from federal student aid funding if more than 35 percent of former students aren’t paying off their loans and/or if the average former student spends more than 12 percent of his or her total earnings servicing student loans.
39. Improved School Nutrition: In coordination with Michelle Obama, signed Healthy Hunger-Free Kids Act in 2010 mandating $4.5 billion spending boost and higher nutritional and health standards for school lunches. New rules based on the law, released in January, double the amount of fruits and vegetables and require only whole grains in food served to students.
40. Expanded Hate Crimes Protections: Signed Hate Crimes Prevention Act (2009), which expands existing hate crime protections to include crimes based on a victim’s sexual orientation, gender, or disability, in addition to race, color, religion, or national origin.
41. Avoided Scandal: As of November 2011, served longer than any president in decades without a scandal, as measured by the appearance of the word “scandal” (or lack thereof) on the front page of the Washington Post.
42. Brokered Agreement for Speedy Compensation to Victims of Gulf Oil Spill: Though lacking statutory power to compel British Petroleum to act, used moral authority of his office to convince oil company to agree in 2010 to a $20 billion fund to compensate victims of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico; $6.5 billion already paid out without lawsuits. By comparison, it took nearly two decades for plaintiffs in the Exxon Valdez Alaska oil spill case to receive $1.3 billion.
43. Created Recovery.gov: Web site run by independent board of inspectors general looking for fraud and abuse in stimulus spending, provides public with detailed information on every contract funded by $787 billion American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. Thanks partly to this transparency, board has uncovered very little fraud, and Web site has become national model: “The stimulus has done more to promote transparency at almost all levels of government than any piece of legislation in recent memory,” reports Governing magazine.
44. Pushed Broadband Coverage: Proposed and obtained in 2011 Federal Communications Commission approval for a shift of $8 billion in subsidies away from landlines and toward broadband Internet for lower-income rural families.
45. Expanded Health Coverage for Children: Signed 2009 Children’s Health Insurance Authorization Act, which allows the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) to cover health care for 4 million more children, paid for by a tax increase on tobacco products.
46. Recognized the Dangers of Carbon Dioxide: In 2009, EPA declared carbon dioxide a pollutant, allowing the agency to regulate its production.
47. Expanded Stem Cell Research: In 2009, eliminated the Bush-era restrictions on embryonic stem cell research, which shows promise in treating spinal injuries, among many other areas.
48. Provided Payment to Wronged Minority Farmers: In 2009, signed Claims Resolution Act, which provided $4.6 billion in funding for a legal settlement with black and Native American farmers who the government cheated out of loans and natural resource royalties in years past.
49. Helped South Sudan Declare Independence: Helped South Sudan Declare Independence: Appointed two envoys to Sudan and personally attended a special UN meeting on the area. Through U.S. ambassador to the United Nations Ambassador Susan Rice, helped negotiate a peaceful split in 2011.
50. Killed the F-22: In 2009, ended further purchases of Lockheed Martin single-seat, twin-engine, fighter aircraft, which cost $358 million apiece. Though the military had 187 built, the plane has never flown a single combat mission. Eliminating it saved $4 billion.

The Washington Monthly - The Magazine - Obama’s Top 50 Accomplishments

[attaboy]

Then why does he waste his donors' money running negative ads which imply Romney is a felon? What sort of thing does that accomplish?

About 89 percent of Obama’s ads in the 14-day period ended July 9 carried an anti-Romney message

Obama, Romney Bash Each Other With 90% Negative Ads - Bloomberg

Why doesn't he champion his closing of coal burning energy plants?

Why doesn't he champion the stimulus package?

Or Obamacare?

Or Wall Street reform when people know it was basically watered down by his wall Street buddies? The only thing I've personally seen come out of banking reform is my checking account is no longer free. Thank You President Obama.

[S Landreth]

Originally Posted by attaboy

Then why does he waste his donors' money running negative ads which imply Romney is a felon? What sort of thing does that accomplish?

A new poll out this morning: http://mobile.nationaljournal.com/20...rcent-20120801

Florida
Obama leads Romney in the Sunshine State, 51 percent to 45 percent.

Ohio
As in Florida, Obama leads in Ohio by 6 percentage points, 50 percent to 44 percent.

Pennsylvania
Obama holds a double-digit lead over Romney here, 53 percent to 42 percent, fueled largely by a dominant, 22-percent advantage among self-identified independents

http://teakdoor.com/2174482-post582.html

[Boon Mee]

Noticeably absent from that so-called 'list' of Obama accomplishments is the bailout of GM. Let's see...how well is that going, eh?

General Motors is Imploding — and Team Obama is Lying About It

Check out that “all-time low” stock:


We are still stuck with 500+ million shares of the stuff. For us to break even, they must be sold at $53 per. They debuted post-bankruptcy at $33 per. They closed on Tuesday at $19.71 per. Setting us up for a nearly $17 billion loss – just on the stock.

The Bro Gotta Go

Attn. liberal moonbats -that is US taxpayer money there. Go ahead, vote for the useless POS again, eh?

[sabang]

Originally Posted by attaboy

Then why does he waste his donors' money running negative ads which imply Romney is a felon?

Why does a Republican ask this question? Swiftboating, push polling, astroturf groups, birthers & teabaggers, fostergate etc- just about every negative tactic in the book has been pioneered by the GOP, and sometimes to considerable effect.

Originally Posted by attaboy

What sort of thing does that accomplish?

The objective, of course, is to win the election.