pure glee!

Quinn for Illinois

‘you’ve heard the lies, now believe the facts’

Extracts from Gene Lyons’ Salon article: You’ve heard the lies, now believe the facts

Government spending is out of control under President Obama – the deficit has tripled

“Never happened. History records that President George W. Bush, who inherited a $236 billion government surplus from the Clinton administration in 2001, handed President Obama a stacked deck eight years later.”

“The Congressional Budget Office’s projected budget deficit for FY2009, beginning four months before Obama took office, was already in excess of $1.3 trillion. Indeed, the 2011 budget deficit is projected to be ever-so-slightly lower than the one Bush left on the White House doorstep. Despite the one-time $787 billion economic stimulus (spread over three years), no huge growth in government spending has taken place on Obama’s watch.”

“Three proximate causes of the rising national debt remain: the Bush tax cuts of 2001, his unfunded Medicare drug benefit, and the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Alas, stating these historical facts has been declared out of bounds. It’s playing the “blame game,” a formulation greatly persuasive to Tea Partiers and conservative talk-show hosts basically because it rhymes.”

The Stimulus was a failure

“People have heard Republicans say “the failed stimulus” so often that many believe it. Again, according to the CBO, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Plan resulted in approximately 3 million jobs, the difference between a lingering recession and a full-blown depression, most economists would say.”

Obama has raised taxes

“Actually, he cut them. Almost one-third of the stimulus consisted of tax cuts, not spending. But because the money reached people in small increments through decreased withholding, most don’t know it.”

Obama bailed out Wall Street and the auto industry

Wrong. “The Bush administration enacted TARP in October 2008, although most Democrats (Obama included) voted for it. We’d all like to see more high-flying Wall Street fraudsters locked up, but TARP did succeed in saving the financial system while paying for itself.”

“Ditto the auto industry bailouts, an unfortunate necessity also first initiated by the Bush administration that’s basically worked. Do you really think Americans would be better off without General Motors?”

reminder: pete souza webchat this evening

Pete Souza, Chief Official White House Photographer and Director of the White House Photography Office, will be taking part in a live Open for Questions event on Thursday, October 28th at 7:00 p.m. EDT. He’ll be answering your questions — from Flickr and Facebook — about White House photography, his position, specific photos, and whatever else you come up with in a live video chat.

Live link

picture perfect: no 14

President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama dance during the 2009 Nobel Banquet in the Hall of Mirrors at the Grand Hotel in Oslo, Norway, Dec. 10, 2009. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)

See all the Picture Perfect photos here

good job

President Barack Obama meets with some of the Americans involved in the Chilean mine rescue effort in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC on October 28

asia calling

The White House has released the jam-packed schedule of President Obama’s trip to Asia after the midterm elections. In just nine days, Obama will swing through four countries and have six bilateral meetings with foreign leaders.

First Lady Michelle Obama will accompany the President only on the first two legs of his Asia trip, India and Indonesia. The first couple’s two daughters will not be on the trip because school is in session.

Besides accompanying her husband to a number of his events – including the Mumbai town hall, the Diwali celebration (in Mumbai) and some cultural stops (including a visit to the Humayun Tomb) – Michelle will be attending a series of independent events, targeted towards empowerment of women, education and children

Politico – The schedule:

Friday, Nov. 5: leaves for India

Saturday, Nov. 6: arrives in India …. makes statement at the Taj Hotel to commemorate the Mumbai terrorist attacks …visits the Gandhi Museum … attends business summit hosted by the U.S.-India Business Council ….. takes part in two roundtable discussions with entrepreneurs and America CEOs …. makes speech focusing on the U.S.-India economic relationship

Sunday, Nov. 7: visits a school in Mumbai and participates in Diwali celebrations …. holds town hall with university students … on to New Delhi …. visits Hymayan’s tomb … attends a private dinner with Prime Minister Singh and his wife

Monday, Nov. 8: lays a wreath at Gandhi’s grave … holds bilateral meeting with the prime minister … press conference …. addresses Indian parliament … attends state dinner

Tuesday, Nov. 9: Indonesia…. meets President Yudhoyono in Jakarta … attends an official dinner

Wednesday, Nov. 10: celebrates “Hero’s Day,” an Indonesian holiday commemorating the country winning independence in 1945 … lays a wreath at the Heroes Cemetery in Jakarta …. visits the Istiqlal Mosque … makes speech discussing the close ties of the two countries and outreach to the Muslim world … leaves for Seoul in South Korea

Thursday, Nov. 11: commemorates Veterans Day, speaks to American troops at Yongsan Garrison in Seoul … holds bilateral meeting with President Lee Myung-bak … attends a working lunch … holds press conference… meets President Hu Jintao of China … attends G-20 working dinner

Friday, Nov. 12: attends morning session of the G-20 program … G20 photo, working lunch, afternoon session … holds press conference … leaves for Japan

Saturday, Nov. 13: gives remarks at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation meetings in Yokohama … holds bilateral meetings with Prime Minister Naoto Kan and Prime Minister Julia Gillard of Australia … working lunch at APEC program … leaders’ retreat …attends official APEC dinner

Sunday, Nov. 14: holds bilateral meeting with President Medvedev of Russia … APEC program finishes with a leaders’ retreat and a working lunch … visits the Great Buddha statue in nearby Yokohama, a place he visited as a child … in the afternoon, Obama comes back to the United States

it’s ellen time

AZCentral: Mrs. Michelle Obama shows off her dance moves again Thursday on The Ellen DeGeneres Show.

And Jill Biden joins her in their road trip to talk about military families.

Ellen asked about how she and daughters Malia and Sasha handle the criticism that comes with life in the White House. “It’s part of a job and that’s the good thing about the campaign. It really gets you prepared for all the hard knocks that come along with making really tough decisions,” said Mrs. O. “Fortunately the girls are pretty young. They’re not watching the news. They’re pretty much watching Disney and all that good stuff. They’re fairly shielded but when they have questions we talk about it honestly. … Fortunately they have friends who don’t make it an issue. I think it’s been better than I would have expected.”

She added that she chooses not to take in the negative comments. “There are always two worlds in politics. There is the stuff you hear on TV and it’s what you feel when you go out into the country. But people are kind. They are kind to us when we go into communities. I think people know that my husband’s intent is good and that we are making good progress. That’s what we feel. That’s the energy that we get back. You can chose to take in the negative or you take in the good stuff.”

 

my name is joe

Vice President Joe Biden greets Earl Lloyd, the first African American to play in the NBA, in his West Wing Office, October 27, 2010.(Official White House Photo by David Lienemann)

;-)

can’t buy me love…. or votes

SFGate: Democrat Jerry Brown has amassed a 10-point lead in the California governor’s race over Republican Meg Whitman, whose negative ratings have reached record levels despite her spending $162 million in the largest self-funded campaign in American history, a new Field Poll shows….

….Brown, the state attorney general and former two-term governor who also served eight years as Oakland’s mayor, holds formidable leads among three voter groups considered crucial to the contest: Among Latinos, he leads Whitman by 30 points, while holding 16-point leads over Whitman among women and independent voters, the poll found….

…Brown leads formidably with women and has erased Whitman’s earlier leads among white voters and males; he now leads all categories in gender and age, the poll showed