coming up (chat away)

Monday: The President will travel to Las Vegas to make remarks on the American Jobs Act. He will also participate in a campaign event while in Las Vegas. In the evening, the President will participate in campaign events in Los Angeles and spend the night there.

Tuesday: The President will tape an appearance on “The Tonight Show with Jay Leno” before departing for San Francisco. In San Francisco, the President will participate in a campaign event. In the afternoon the President will travel to Denver and participate in campaign events. He will spend Tuesday night in Denver.

Wednesday: The President will deliver remarks on the American Jobs Act in Denver. That afternoon, the President will return to Washington, D.C.

****

Psst, you might not read this anywhere, but in the space of a week the President’s approval has gone up six with Gallup (to 44), and his disapproval has gone down seven (to 47) – a swing of 13 points. In one week. And that was before he announced the Iraq war was over.

I know, sensible people ignore these things, but we’re always told about the bad polls, so I thought I’d pass on the encouraging news 😉

****

Clarence Page (Chicago tribune): How important is it to have presidential candidates who, when talking about Libya, know where Libya is?

Rep. Michele Bachmann accidentally raised that question last week during the Republican presidential debate in Las Vegas …. “The president, he put us in Libya,” she complained. “He is now putting us in Africa.”

…. Bachmann’s flub would not be a big deal if it didn’t appear amid a Republican field infected with a nose-thumbing strain of willful ignorance about the rest of the world.

This was evidenced recently, for example, by Herman Cain …. “When they ask me who is the president of Ubeki-beki-beki-beki-stan-stan, I’m going to say, you know, I don’t know,” he remarked in an interview…

For the record, if he meant the Republic of Uzbekistan, that former part of the Soviet Union has been an important ally in America’s actions in neighboring Afghanistan….

…. A recurring theme of this pre-election year has been the search for “the grown-up in the room”. As Moammar Gadhafi’s death vindicates President Obama’s Libya policy, his persistent critics are looking more like munchkins. I mean no disrespect to munchkins, by the way, wherever they may be on the map.

Full article here

****

LA Times: Why is Barack Obama’s presidency a tale of two situations?

On the foreign-policy front, the administration has had a string of successes: Osama bin Laden killed; major Al Qaeda operatives in Afghanistan, Pakistan and Yemen killed; and this week, of course, Moammar Kadafi killed. And on Friday, the president announced that all U.S. troops will be out of Iraq by year’s end.

An unpopular war will be officially over for us soon. Terrorists and terrorist groups that threaten us are dead or on the run. Libya’s longtime strongman has been overthrown, thanks in part to Obama’s policy that had the U.S. and NATO working together.

But here’s a question: If Obama has been so successful in foreign policy, why has he been so unsuccessful on domestic issues?

…. domestically the problem is that Obama’s opponents have turned criticism into obstructionism. Unlike his foreign policies, Obama’s efforts to fix the economy have been thwarted at every turn by Republicans. Take the president’s jobs bill …. Republicans won’t even agree to spend $35 billion on teachers, police and firefighters ….

The bottom line? It’s wrong to say the president’s domestic policies haven’t worked when those policies haven’t even been given the chance to work.

Abroad, Obama has been allowed to set policy, and those policies have been given time to work. And, for the most part, they have.

Perhaps if Republicans gave the president that same leeway on domestic policy, we might be winning some battles at home, too.

Full article here

Thanks Layhawke and bjw2

****

Link to NYT article

Thanks Marlz

****

Eclectablog

****

rise and (sunday) shine

This cover is five years old today 😯

****

TampaBay.com: President Barack Obama’s campaign last week announced that more than 1 million people had contributed to his re-election effort, a milestone that it said was well ahead of four years ago.

All told, the campaign has raised more than $90 million (not including what he has raised for the Democratic Party) and officials stress the number of grass roots, low-dollar donors, noting that the average donation is less than $60.

…. Florida bundlers have raised at least $4.5 million for the Obama campaign directly and for the Democratic National Committee….

“Basically since we announced the re-election campaign in April, we’ve gotten the old band back together, along with some new players who helped out a little four years ago and want to do more, or new people who want to get involved,” said Florida finance chairman Kirk Wagar, a lawyer in Coconut Grove.

…. “They’re saying, ‘I’m getting sick and tired of listening to the tea party when this president has done what he said he was going to do, and he’s done a lot,’ ” Wagar said.

Unlike the Republican presidential contenders, who have raised more than $80 million, Obama’s campaign releases the names of its top bundlers and ranges of what each brought in.

Full article here

Thanks Jovie

****

Before:

After:

Rubio’s website

Alan Colmes: After the Washington Post story that Florida Senator Marco Rubio had some facts wrong in his retelling of his family’s history, he has updated his Senate web page biography.

“Rubio frequently repeated a compelling version of his family’s history that had special resonance in South Florida. He was the “son of exiles,” he told audiences, Cuban Americans forced off their beloved island after “a thug,” Fidel Castro, took power.

But a review of documents reveals that the Florida Republican’s account embellishes the facts. The documents show that Rubio’s parents came to the United States and were admitted for permanent residence more than two-and-a-half years before Castro’s forces overthrew the Cuban government and took power on New Year’s Day 1959.”

Rubio aggressively challenged the Post story, but changed his bio, nevertheless.

****

Link

****

You people are beyond great – thank you so much for helping reach the target (link), appreciate it endlessly.

****

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on ‘Meet the Press’:

“Let me begin by saying that President Obama has passed with flying colors every leadership challenge. I mean, look at what he has done. I mean, just to name a few things …. we were looking for bin Laden for 10 years. It was under President Obama’s leadership that he was finally eliminated.

“Libya … with the kind of smart leadership that the president showed, demonstrating that American leadership was essential, but it was important to try to bring others into a coalition of efforts. And the objective was achieved keeping the promise to withdraw from Iraq, but not leave Iraq – by having a robust security and training mission accompanied by a very large diplomatic presence. I could go on and on. I think this president has demonstrated that …. it’s important to have someone at the helm of our country who understands how to manage what is an incredibly complex world now.”

“Yes, we have a lot of threats, but we also have opportunities. And I think President Obama has grasped that and has performed extraordinarily well. I think Americans are going to want to know that they have a steady, experienced, smart hand on the tiller of the ship of state, and there’s no doubt that that’s Barack Obama.”

Link

****

For old time’s sake 😉

****

The President’s statement in response to the latest developments in Libya:

“On behalf of the American people, I congratulate the people of Libya on today’s historic declaration of liberation. After four decades of brutal dictatorship and eight months of deadly conflict, the Libyan people can now celebrate their freedom and the beginning of a new era of promise.

Now that the fighting in Libya has reached an end, the Transitional National Council (TNC) must turn its attention to the political transition ahead. We look forward to working with the TNC and an empowered transitional government as they prepare for the country’s first free and fair elections.

The Libyan authorities should also continue living up to their commitments to respect human rights, begin a national reconciliation process, secure weapons and dangerous materials, and bring together armed groups under a unified civilian leadership. As they take these steps, the United States will continue our close cooperation with our international partners and the UN Support Mission in Libya to help advance a stable, democratic transition.”

****

People wait in line outside a polling station in Tunis. President Barack Obama congratulated Tunisians Sunday on casting ballots in their country’s first election since the revolt that started the Arab Spring, calling it “an important step forward.”

****

Thanks Kasai 😆