McConnell slams Obama's politically calculated governance & his deficit-busting spending sprees

Army Gen. Martin E. Dempsey tells McCain: Obama's Afghan Timetable increases risk to US troops

During a Senate Armed Services Committee confirmation hearing on Tuesday, Army Gen. Martin E. Dempsey told Senator John McCain that he was unaware that President Obama's timetable for withdrawing U.S. troops from Afghanistan had not been one of the options recommended by Gen. David Petraeus. Senator McCain was surprised to hear that Mr. Dempsey had not known this fact. Nevertheless, Mr. Dempsey conceded to the Senator that Obama's timetable "increased the risk" to US troops in Afghanistan.

Boehner: 'Change' has come to Washington DC & to America

"Think about this remarkable conversation we're having. A year ago we passed a health care bill. We had a stimulus bill that was passed the year before. It was all about how much more spending Washington could do. And here we are in the six months after a new Republican Majority, and all of the discussion is about how many trillions of dollars we are going to cut. This really is a pretty remarkable 'change' here in Washington, D.C."

Boehner: No Blank Check for Obama

In a televised response following the president's address to the nation on Monday (Obama spoke about the current debt ceiling negotiations), House Speaker John Boehner said that President Obama "wants a blank check" and "this is just not going to happen."

Student tells Obama his Political Rhetoric is "pretty good" - Town Hall meeting, University of Maryland

During a town hall meeting at the University of Maryland Campus on Friday, President Obama took questions from the audience. One member of the audience introduced himself as a Doctoral student.

"What are you studying?" asked the President.

"Political rhetoric," said the student.

"How am I doing so far?" Obama asked.

"Pretty good, pretty good," the student replied.

Limbaugh & Boehner discuss the Debt Ceiling negotiations - 7/21/11

Rush Limbaugh and House Speaker John Boehner Thursday discussed the current status of the debt ceiling negotiations.

Richard Cordray: Misconduct & alleged misconduct of the CFPB nominee

Former Attorney General and Treasurer of Ohio, Richard Cordray, has been nominated by President Obama to head the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. The following is a brief rundown of the alleged misconduct that Mr. Cordray engaged in while serving in public office.

1) From the Dayton Daily News - October 5, 2008:

Less than two weeks after Democrat Richard Cordray was sworn in as Ohio treasurer, the stepdaughter of the Columbus-based salesman for Wachovia Securities donated $10,000 — the maximum allowed by law — to Cordray's campaign.

Wachovia soon grabbed 37.5 percent of the state's bond trading business, a big leap for the St. Louis-based company, which had done a little less than 1 percent of the bond trading for the treasurer's office in the prior six years under Republicans Joe Deters and Jeanette Bradley...

Lindsey Kuty, 25, the stepdaughter of Wachovia's Montford S. Will, contributed the $10,000 to Cordray's campaign. When asked if the money came from his stepdaughter or from him, Will responded, "It came from her mother. It didn't come from me."

After the Dayton Daily News informed Cordray of the contribution, Cordray said his campaign would refund the $10,000 to avoid any appearance issues. He noted that he did not know Kuty or know anything about her contribution...

The Ohio Secretary of State's Office said the scenario may be a problem on two fronts. First, it's illegal to make campaign contributions in someone else's name. Second, state contractors face stringent limits on how much they can give: the maximum had been $1,000 but a law change in April 2007 set the bar at $2,000 from a vendor or their spouse within a 24-month period...

Lee, Will, Will's son and Will's business partner gave Cordray's campaign for Franklin County treasurer a combined $19,500 between 2002 and 2004...

Ohio State University law professor Steve Huefner, an expert on election law and campaign finance, said giving in someone else's name "would completely circumvent the contribution limits" and the public wouldn't be able to figure out who is buying access and influence...

When asked if [Wachovia receiving 37.5 percent of the state's bond trading business] was an unusually high concentration for one firm, STRS Ohio Investments Director Steve Mitchell replied, "I'd say so for that firm..."

In May of 2009, the Ohio Elections Commission doled out a $95,000 fine to Montford S. Will, who finally admitted that he had violated Ohio law by cloaking the source of $121,000 in contributions since 2006 by reimbursing his wife and two adult stepchildren for donations to candidates and political parties, including then-Ohio Treasurer, Richard Cordray.

2) In 2010, two Republican organizations filed an ethics complaint with the Ohio Elections Commission accusing Mr. Cordray - then a Democratic candidate for the office of Attorney General of Ohio - of engaging in potentially illegal actions in relation to campaign finance laws. A third party candidate for the office of AG, Robert Owens, also filed a complaint against Cordray making the same accusation.

The complaint: Cordray transferred hundreds of thousands of dollars in campaign funds to county and state Democratic Party organizations to circumvent restrictions on carrying over cash from the previous election cycle [from his previous campaign]. The party organizations then donated similar amounts to Cordray's [2010] campaign.

One news media outlet opined that Cordray's actions might have comported with the letter of the law, but certainly did not comport with the spirit of the law.

Republicans later withdrew their ethics complaints against Cordray. Ohio Democrats also withdrew a similar complaint that they had filed against a Republican candidate who was running for office. Quid pro quo? Or did the Republicans conclude they did not have a sufficiently strong case against Mr. Cordray?

3) While serving as Ohio Attorney General, Mr. Cordray used taxpayer money to pay for the legal defense of three former state employees accused of searching state databases for confidential information on Joe "the Plumber" Wurzelbacher.

It was Cordray's office that defended the three in the lawsuit. Cordray told reporters he is obligated to defend the employees because the lawsuit claims the illegal actions were done in the course of their work for the state.

Critics charged that according to state law, Cordray didn't need to use government funds in the case or defend the three since the lawsuit involved activities that were outside the scope of official state employment.

Further, state funds were not meant to be used to defend public workers who acted with malicious purpose, in bad faith or in a wanton or reckless manner.

Former U.S. Sen. Mike DeWine of Cedarville, Ohio, also a former local prosecutor, told reporters, "These people violated the privacy of an Ohio citizen and they did it, it would appear, to advance a partisan political campaign, and I think taxpayers will be shocked to find that their tax dollars are going to defend them."

Delaware County Prosecutor David Yost added, "It's an outrageous use of taxpayer money to defend the invasion of a citizen's privacy."

Obama sets ceiling to debt ceiling negotiations

Although White House Press Secretary Jay Carney told reporters on Wednesday that the President would continue to push for a comprehensive deficit reduction agreement, Mr. Obama told Republicans lawmakers on Wednesday that he had reached the ceiling on his willingness to negotiate a debt ceiling agreement with the GOP.

"I have reached the point where I say enough...," said Obama. "I've reached my limit. This may bring my presidency down, but I will not yield on this."

Nevertheless, despite the President's rhetoric, it is highly doubtful that he'd be willing to place a ceiling on his Presidential aspirations - even if it means raising the ceiling on his willingness to negotiate a debt ceiling agreement. If, however, Obama believes placing a ceiling on such negotiations would raise the ceiling on his 2012 Presidential bid, then, yes, by all means, the sky is the limit.

Boehner: When will Obama lay his cards on the table? - Press Conference: VIdeo

During a press conference on Tuesday, House Speaker John Boehner asked: When will President Obama 'lay his cards on the table' and propose a genuine plan to limit government spending and lower the national debt?

Boehner says Revenue Increase is on the Table: Press Conference

During a press conference on Monday, House Speaker John Boehner spoke about the current debt ceiling negotiations and discussed the GOP's proposals to bring about an increase in revenue.

Press Conference: Obama says Americans ignorant about debt ceiling [limit]

During a press conference on Monday, President Obama was asked about the latest CBS News poll showing that 69 percent of Americans oppose raising the debt limit. The President responded by saying that Americans are ignorant about the debt ceiling.

"Let me distinguish between professional politicians and the public at large," said Obama. "The public is not paying close attention to the ins and outs of how a Treasury option goes."

The President went on to say that "some of the professional politicians know better. And for them to say that we shouldn't be raising the debt ceiling is irresponsible. They know better."

Syrian regime reportedly spying on US protesters & retaliating against their relatives in Syria

Syrian diplomats [embassy staff] are reportedly conducting video and photographic surveillance of people participating in protests here in the United States, the AP reported on Friday. Additionally, U.S. officials are investigating reports that the Syrian regime, in an effort to intimidate and discourage protestors in the U.S., are retaliating against their relatives in Syria.

Paul Ryan challenges the President to debate him on debt crisis

From Rep. Ryan's twitter feed:

"Fearmongering won’t solve our debt crisis. Americans deserve a real debate. You pick: when and where?"

SYRIA: Bill Clinton vs. Hillary: Bashar Assad is like / is not like his father

Former President Bill Clinton and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton have proffered different views on Syrian President, Bashar al-Assad. Mr. Clinton likened the Syrian President to his father, the brutal tyrant, Hafez al_Assad. Hillary Clinton, on the other hand, has depicted Bashar Assad to be both a reformer and a far different kind of leader than his father.

[At least 1400 people have been killed in Syria over the last four months.]

Jay Carney & Robert Gibbs: 'Obama walks and chews gum simultaneously!'

Mr. Carney's remarks came in response to a question as to why the President continues to expend valuable time at political fundraisers when his time could be better used meeting with members of congress to discuss both the federal deficit and the debt ceiling. Mr. Carney replied that the President is capable of handling multiple tasks simultaneously.

However, the question arises: During the final weeks and days leading up to the passage of his health care bill, did the President frequent political fundraisers? Or, did he spend his time in the Oval Office, working overtime, until the late hours of the evening, negotiating with lawmakers, and doing his utmost to ensure the passage of his health care bill?

Apparently the President places significantly more value to his own legacy and political aspirations than he does the federal deficit and national debt.