Archive for January 2nd, 2011
02
Jan
11
paying it forward
Protesters hold signs supporting Palestine as President Obama’s motorcade leaves the compound where he and his family are staying in Kailua, Hawaii
Meanwhile….
A protester holds a sign during a demonstration in New York City a few months back
Confused? Me too.
02
Jan
11
ah, facts are stubborn things…..
You know all those Teapublicans and their media buddies who are complaining about the amount of time the President takes off?
In fairness to them, they were just as critical of President Bush. And they concede that he took waaaaaaaay more time off than President Obama. Ho ho, kidding …. they tend to, um, overlook these pesky facts and figures:
President Obama (over two years)
Vacation trips: 10 (spanning 58 days)
Trips to Camp David: 15 (spanning 35 days)
Total over two years: 93 days
** Percentage days ‘off’: 12.7 **
George W Bush (over eight years)
Trips to Camp David: 149 (spanning 487 days)
Trips to his Texas ranch: 77 (spanning 490 days)
Trips to his parents’ home in Maine: 11 (spanning 43 days)
Total over eight years: 1020 days
** Percentage days ‘off’: 34.9 **
Source: CBS/Mark Knoller – President Obama ‘By The Numbers’ here; Bush ‘By The Numbers’ here
But, but, but: what about all the golf President Obama plays?!
Well, if he, say, played Monday to Friday or canceled his State of the Union speech or postponed Israeli-Palestinian peace talks so he could play an extra round, I’d understand the Teapublican OUTRAGE (capital letters are important when you’re talking OUTRAGE).
But…. he plays at weekends and during his vacations. He’s active, fit, healthy – you know, good things. Bush spent most of his time off (over a third of his Presidency) watching sport on TV, sometimes getting so excited he choked on pretzels. I dunno, do Teapublicans believe pretzel-choking on the couch to be a more noble Presidential pursuit?
But, but, but: when Bush was at Camp David he was still working! Presidents are never off duty!
Okay, let’s do a deal – we’ll deduct the Camp David days … for both Presidents.
Deduct the Texas ranch trips too!
No.
But, but, but: what about the cost of President Obama’s trip to Hawaii?!
That once-a-year-trip? Teapublicans? Do you really want to go there? No, no, I don’t mean Hawaii, I mean the cost thing.
So, President Obama? Get yourself to the golf course: now. And enjoy your time off, you deserve it. 😉
(Although….honestly Mr President, I just don’t see how this golf thing can be relaxing)
02
Jan
11
sunday best
President Barack Obama signs H.R. 847, the “James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act” in Kailua, Hawaii, Jan. 2, 2011. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)
President Obama took time out from his Hawaii vacation today to sign a bill providing federal health coverage for first responders to the 9/11 terrorist attacks who became ill. There was no formal ceremony.
Another product of the lame duck Congress last month, the 9/11 health care bill passed over objections from some Republicans that it creates another entitlement program with unforeseen costs.
Steve Kornacki (Salon): It would be wrong to say that 2010 was a resounding success for Barack Obama … but while 2010 provided plenty of reasons for his allies to doubt him, the bigger story of the year was how much Obama was able to accomplish…
…..Nothing better illustrated this than the last two months of the year, after Democrats suffered massive election losses …. the last Democratic president to withstand such a midterm drubbing, Bill Clinton, had no idea how to respond …. but Obama barely skipped a beat. He acknowledged that the election had been a “shellacking,” then enjoyed some of the most productive weeks of his presidency to date.
…..Tax compromise …. it’s not surprising that the initial outrage of elite liberal opinion-shapers didn’t trickle down to rank-and-file liberals. As the details of Obama’s tax compromise spread, in fact, polls showed wide support for it – even among Democrats, and even among self-identified liberal Democrats. Most liberals, it seems, didn’t think that the president had sold them out at all.
There was even more reason for liberals to reach that conclusion as December wore on. By agreeing to terms with the GOP on taxes, Obama ratcheted up the pressure on the Senate’s few moderate Republicans to break with their colleagues on several big ticket items…..
….Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell … here, too, Obama’s long game came in to play: Liberals and gay rights advocates had railed throughout his presidency that he was willing only to pay lip service to the cause of DADT repeal. Actually, though, he was being wisely patient, winning over helpful support from military leaders by refusing to rely on an executive order or the courts and commissioning an exhaustive Pentagon study on the effects of repeal. That report’s release, cleverly timed for the start of the lame duck session, utterly eviscerated every reasonable-seeming concern that opponents of DADT repeal had been touting….
…. the last two months should give those who would cry “betrayal!” pause. Obama demonstrated in 2010 that he is still committed to doing much of what he set out to do – and that he’s still capable of accomplishing a lot of it.
Full article here
02
Jan
11
shaka, sweet
A firefighter with the Honolulu Fire Department waves a ‘shaka,’ a gesture of ‘aloha,’ as President Barack Obama’s motorcade drives past on the way to his vacation home in Kailua, Hawaii, January 2, 2011, following a morning workout.
02
Jan
11
thank you!
Hey people, WordPress just sent me these stats – thank you for all your support!
WordPress.com mulled over how this blog did in 2010, and here’s a summary of its overall blog health:
The Blog-Health-o-Meter™ reads Wow.
Crunchy numbers
The Louvre Museum has 8.5 million visitors per year. This blog was viewed about 630,000 times in 2010. If it were an exhibit at The Louvre Museum, it would take 27 days for that many people to see it.
In 2010, there were 2054 new posts, growing the total archive of this blog to 2299 posts.
Where did they come from?
The top referring sites in 2010 were huffingtonpost.com, blackwaterdog.wordpress.com, my.barackobama.com, democraticunderground.com, and weeseeyou.com.
Attractions in 2010
These are the posts that got the most views in 2010.
1 have yours..elf a merry little christmas December 2010
2 flashback …. happy father’s day! October 2010
3 when we grow up we’re going to live in a big house with a dog November 2010
4 (sticky) a letter to the president …. this man speaks for me November 2010
5 ireggie! October 2010
The Obama Diary 
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