Bush's presidential portrait unveiled at White House‎

Former President George W. Bush and former First Lady Laura Bush returned to the White House on Thursday for the unveiling of their official portraits.

Panel discusses Obama's 'unconscionable', win or lose timetable for U.S troops in Afghanistan

New York Times Washington correspondent, David Sanger, author of a soon-to-be-released book on the Afghan war, notes that when President Obama ordered a troop surge in Afghanistan in 2009, with a firm timetable for withdrawal, he did so with the stated intention that, win or lose, the troops would be withdrawn by the set deadline.

This unfortunate fact prompted a panel discussion as to whether the President's decision was "conscionable" or not. Of course, the word "conscionable", does not exist when it comes to the President's political aspirations, but that's besides the point. The panel also discussed some other significant points. See the video below.

Gen. John Allen vs. the White House: Is 'Afghan Good Enough', good enough?

The New York Times reported last week that the White House has lowered the bar on how success is defined in the Afghan war.

The Times reported that the phrase "Afghan Good Enough" has been making the rounds at the White House and State Department.

"Gone is the much greater expectation that NATO will leave behind a cohesive central government with real influence beyond Kabul and a handful of other population centers," the Times reported. "Gone is the assumption that Helmand Province, Kandahar and the rest of the heavily contested south — where the bulk of the 2010 influx of troops was sent — will remain entirely in the control of the central government once that area is transferred to Afghanistan's fledgling national security forces."

New York Times Washington correspondent, David Sanger, author of a soon-to-be-released book on the Obama administration's handling of the Afghan War, noted in a recent interview that one of the President's goals in Afghanistan was to keep the city of Kabul from falling. But this "does not necessarily mean that other parts of the country might not fall into Taliban control", said Sanger, adding that "it seems fairly likely that a few years from now, we will see some parts of the country that ARE significantly under Taliban control."

Nevertheless, despite the White House's claim [mantra] that 'Afghan Good Enough' is good enough. Gen. John Allen, the commander of U.S. troops in Afghanistan, said Thursday, that 'Afghan Good Enough' is NOT good enough.

Problem is, Gen. Allen knows full well that Obama is running the show. He also knows that, from Day One of the Obama Presidency, 'Afghan Good Enough' was good enough, as far as Obama was concerned. Hence, this is just pure rhetoric from General Allen, who, sadly, has been forced into a corner by Obama, the Commander-and politician-in-Chief.

Obama Campaign organizes African Americans to shout at and heckle Romney during inner-city tour of Philly

Washington Post - "Residents, some of them organized by Obama’s campaign, stood on their porches and gathered at a sidewalk corner to shout angrily at Romney."

Obama: "I intend to keep on changing this country"

"I intend to win this thing and I intend to keep on changing this country!"
President Obama, Campaign Event May 24, 2012

Obama hypocrisy: Joplin High School commencement address - "Generosity, Selfishness" - Tornado

Addressing the graduating seniors of Joplin High School during a commencement speech on Monday, President Obama praised the selfless response of the Joplin community, and other kindhearted individuals, in the aftermath of the horrific tornadoes that struck the city last year. But the President cautioned the students that "as you begin the next stage in your journey, you will encounter greed and selfishness; ignorance and cruelty. You will meet people...who believe looking after others is only for suckers."

"But", the President added, "you [the students] are from Joplin. So you will remember, you will know, just how many people there are who see life differently; those who are guided by kindness and generosity and quiet service."

Ironically, the President's response in the immediate aftermath of the tornado clearly fits into the former category of individuals, and not the latter. For indeed, on that very same day, shortly after tornadoes ripped through Joplin Missouri and other parts of the Midwest, the President departed on a week-long trip to Europe. While the victims of the storms were trying to recover from the horrific disaster, Obama had more pressing needs to tend to in Europe - like searching for his Irish roots and finding an authentic Irish pub that serves genuine Guinness ale. [The President knocked down a pint of Guinness ale, but only after he received assurances that the drink was Perfect - the Real Thing.]

161 people died during the tornado, more than 1000 people were injured, and, at the time of the President's getaway, 29 - 40 people were still unaccounted for.

Finally, after returning from his week-long getaway to Europe, the President spoke at a memorial service in Joplin for the victims of the tornado. At the memorial service, the President affirmed his "Love" for Joplin. He didn't need to declare his "Love" for Ireland and for Guinness beer, as, [unlike Joplin], that fact was already well-known.....

City officials estimated at the time that about 8,000 houses and apartment buildings were destroyed by the tornado. That means thousands of Joplin residents were left homeless. And yet, despite all the victims, the injured and the homeless, President Obama departed on his trip to Europe and returned home a full week after the tornado had struck. And of course, not even a peep from the liberal mainstream media; for indeed, the Messiah is above all reproach.....

Yep, the President's commencement address was par for the course; the usual and typical hypocrisy...

In Kentucky, 42% of Democrats pick 'uncommitted' instead of Obama

Despite the fact that Barack Obama was the only candidate running in Kentucky's Democratic Presidential primary, 42% of the Democratic voters [about two out of every five voters] rejected President Obama and selected the “uncommitted” option instead of voting for Obama:

It was just the latest episode of the president taking less than 60 percent of the vote in a primary this year.

He ceded 41 percent of the vote in West Virginia to an incarcerated man in Texas named Keith Judd, and in Oklahoma, Obama lost several counties and won just 57 percent of the vote.

Kentucky’s vote was notable, though, for the fact that there weren’t even any other candidates on the ballot...

Obama also faced a potentially unhelpful result in the Arkansas primary, where little-known opponent John Wolfe was taking 33 percent of the vote in early returns.

White House downplays 'Green on Blue' attacks in Afghanistan - Press Briefing

One third of all American troop casualties in Afghanistan this year have been at the hands of Afghan security forces.

35 coalition troops were killed as a result of these "green on blue" attacks last year. So far, in the first trimester of 2012, there have been 15 such attacks that have resulted in the deaths of 20 NATO service members. Roughly half of the casulaties were U.S. soldiers.

Nevertheless, White House National Security adviser, Tom Donilon, in a desperate attempt to prop up the Obama administration's exit strategy in Afghanistan, said Thursday, during a White House press briefing, that these "green on blue" casualty numbers are "small"....

One third of all American troop casualties is "small"? Hmmm.......

GOP wants answers from the Obama administration on Hezbollah leader's release

'Republicans on Capitol Hill are furious over the Obama administration’s handling of a purported Hezbollah commander, who was connected to the killing of five U.S. soldiers in 2007 and now is set for release by an Iraqi court', Fox News reported on Wednesday. Florida Rep. Allen West sent a letter to President Obama Wednesday questioning why Ali Musa Daqduq was turned over to Iraq in December 2011.

'US-led forces captured Daqduq in 2007', the AFP reported. 'At the time, the United States accused Iranian special forces of using the Shiite militant group Hezbollah to train Iraqi extremists and of planning the 2007 attack.'

Republicans on the Senate Judiciary Committee sent a letter to Attorney General Eric Holder and Defense Secretary Leon Panetta last week. The letter suggests that 'the administration waited until Daqduq was in Iraqi custody before filing murder, terrorism and other charges.,' Fox News reported. '[The letter] also states the administration intentionally kept information from Capitol Hill lawmakers, who learned about the purported charges and Daqduq’s ordered release through New York Times stories.'

' "Now an Iraqi court has cleared Daqduq of any criminal charges under Iraqi law and, as we and many other observers had feared, may be set free without being held to account for his crimes against the United States and its soldiers," ' they wrote.

“Eight pages of charges ... appears to indicate that either the administration was purposefully withholding information from Congress or it had not done the due diligence required to file charges,” the letter states.

'The Jan. 20, 2007, killings reportedly occurred when a convoy of SUVs that looked like one belonging to U.S. forces cleared several checkpoints to reach a government compound that include an American security team. Once inside the base, the vehicle occupants, in U.S. uniforms, fatally shot one soldier and kidnapped four others, who were later killed. Daqduq was reportedly captured about a month later in Basra.' - Sources - Fox News & the AFP

In June of 2009, Hezbollah Deputy Secretary General, Sheikh Naim Qassem revealed that US officials close to the Obama administration had been reaching out to Hezbollah and seeking to initiate a dialog with the terrorist organization.

"Several US officials at different levels and more or less close to the administration have asked to speak with [us], but we have refused," said Qassem.

In August of 2009, during a question & answer session with reporters at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, White House counterterrorism adviser John Brennan, offered up effusive words of praise for Hezbollah:

"Hezbollah started out as purely a terrorist organization back in the early ’80s and has evolved significantly over time," he said. "And now it has members of parliament, in the cabinet; there are lawyers, doctors, others who are part of the Hezbollah organization... And so, quite frankly, I’m pleased to see that a lot of Hezbollah individuals are in fact renouncing that type of terrorism and violence and are trying to participate in the political process [in Lebanon] in a very legitimate fashion. " Heh.......

In June of 2009, the Washington Times revealed that the Obama administration had "sent a letter to [Iran's] supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, calling for an improvement in relations." Likewise, earlier this year, Iranian officials revealed that President Obama had called for direct talks with the Iranian regime, in a letter to Khamenei. The White House acknowledged that the letter had been sent, but refused to comment specifically on the contents of the letter.

Hossein Ebrahimi, the deputy head of Iran's parliamentary committee on national security and foreign policy, said Obama’s letter proved that the United States had become afraid of the Islamic Republic of Iran’s might..., and therefore Obama had softened his tone when speaking about the Islamic Republic of Iran.

White House inserts Obama into past presidents' biographies on WH website‎

From the Daily Mail:

Everyone knows presidents have larger-than-life size egos. It goes with the job. But changes on the official White House website reveal that we’ve never had a self-regarding narcissist quite like the Oval Office’s current occupant...

It seems the Obama team has been taking the website’s standard biographies of past presidents and inserting gratuitous references to [Obama].

That’s led to entries like..., On August 14, 1935 President Roosevelt signed the Social Security Act. Today the Obama administration continues to protect senior and ensure Social Security will be there for future generations.”

After President Lyndon Johnson's biography, it says: ‘President Lyndon Johnson signed Medicare into law in 1965 -- providing millions of elderly health care stability.

‘President Obama's historic health care reform law, the Affordable Care Act, strengthens Medicare, offers eligible seniors a range of preventive services with no cost-sharing, and provides discounts on drugs when in the coverage gap known as the “donut hole”.’

After Ronald Reagan's bio, it says: "In a June 28, 1985 speech, Reagan called for a fairer tax code, one where a multi-millionaire did not have a lower tax rate than his secretary . Today, President Obama is calling for the same with the Buffet rule."

The words "Buffet Rule" are highlighted in blue, so that the reader, when clicking on those words, is taken to a link that provides more information on the Obama Buffet Rule.

Obama, who was hailed as ‘The One’ by Oprah Winfrey in 2007, has long had a penchant for viewing himself as a historical figure.

The RNC opined: "It's no surprise that 'The One' is trying to insert himself into the biographies of past Presidents. Remember, this was the same guy who said he should be considered one of the top four Presidents.

Audio Recording - Obama to Jeremiah Wright: Your problem is you have to tell the truth!

In a newly released audio recording of Rev. Jeremiah Wright, the former pastor and mentor of Barack Obama, says that during the 2008 Presidential election season, an anxious Obama warned him to be heedful of what he discloses to the media.

Obama told his mentor and close confidante: "You know what your problem is? You have to tell the truth!"

Says Wright: "Which is my point to [Obama]: Politicians [like Obama] don't have to tell the truth!"

Bill Clinton: Middle Class wouldn't object to tax hikes; We all must contribute

Speaking at an economic conference in Washington, D.C. on Tuesday, former President Bill Clinton said that tax hikes on the wealthy alone will not solve the government's budgetary problems unless tax rates for the middle class are also increased. Mr. Clinton added that he didn't think Middle Class Americans would object to a tax hike if there was some sort of growth in the economy:

"I don't think it would kill the country, if we had growth, to have the tax rates across... - this is just me now, I'm not speaking for the White House — but I think you could tax me at a 100 percent and you wouldn't balance the budget. We are all going to have to contribute to this, and if middle class people's wages were going up again, and we had some growth to the economy, I don't think they would object to going back to tax rates [from] when I was president."

Social Justice: Obama gives woman "the boot", Barnard College Commencement address

As I had noted back in March, the New York Times reported that Barnard college had announced in February that "Jill Abramson, the executive editor of The New York Times, would be its graduation speaker. But those plans changed" when the White House called the university and asked that President Obama be invited to deliver this year’s commencement address, in an effort to boost his poll numbers among women voters.

Now, the mere fact that the White House would even call the university to offer up Obama as the commencement speaker is unsettling. But for the White House to push Jill Abramson aside, so that the President can boost his poll numbers among women voters, is beyond the pale, albeit not beyond Obama's pale.....

Truth be told, the President's poll numbers among women voters should have taken a hit as a result of this incident, but sadly, the story was kept under the radar, because, well, because it reflects poorly on Obama, the Messiah-in-Chief.

Nevertheless, it is highly doubtful [inconceivable] that the Bush administration would have asked Barnard College to invite Mr. Bush to deliver the commencement address. And George W. Bush most certainly would have never agreed to speak if it entailed giving Jill Abramson the boot.

But of course, Obama is Obama, and in his world of "social justice", the end justifies the means. Besides, Abramson is a woman, and misogynists would never dare to push off their own political aspirations because of a lowly female!

Obama: UPEND THE SYSTEM ENTIRELY!?" - Barnard College commencement address - Hmmm...

President Obama exhorted students "to hold the system accountable and sometimes UPEND it entirely," during a commencement address at Barnard College on Monday.

"Don't accept somebody else's construction of the way things ought to be," said Obama. "It's up to you to hold the system accountable and sometimes UPEND it entirely!"

"UPEND the system entirely!?"

Who speaks these kinds of words?!.......

Barnard College commencement address: Why was Obama angry? Teleprompter glitch?

President Obama delivered the commencement address at Barnard college on Monday. At one point, during his speech, he seemed a bit angry and perturbed. Since there didn't appear to to be any hecklers in the audience, one can only assume that Obama's teleprompter was running a little slow and wasn't keeping up pace, which can be a bit frustrating for the Teleprompter-in-Chief.

White House Situation Room no longer 'secret and secure'

NBC boasted, in an announcement last month, that, "In a first for network television, NBC News has been granted unprecedented access to the most secret and secure part of the White House, the Situation Room. In a 'Rock Center with Brian Williams' exclusive airing on Wednesday, May 2 at 9p/8c, President Obama and his national security and military teams, relive the pivotal moments of the raid targeting Osama bin Laden..."

Unfortunately, what NBC fails to comprehend is that gaining access to the White House Situation Room is no longer a difficult task, and no longer a big deal. In fact, R&B singer Beyonce Knowles, her husband, rapper Jay-Z and a small group of friends, gained access to this "most secret and secure part of the White House" during a 2010 tour of the White House.




Truth be told, as long as you've got deep pockets, or your willing to act as the President's mouthpiece , like NBC, you'll have no problem gaining access to the Situation Room - as long as Barack Obama is President.

It should also be noted that this "most secret and secure part of the White House" is the source of many of the leaks that came out, last year, about the Navy Seal raid on Bin Laden's compound, according to former Defense Secretary, Robert Gates.

Hence, while this room might have been the "most secret and secure part of the White House" in times past, this is no longer the case. Indeed, currently, during the Obama Presidency, politics is the most secret and secure part of the White House - which is why a seemingly endless stream of anonymous classified leaks continues to flow from the White House and why NBC [Obama's mouthpiece] and Jay-Z, have received such warm and intimate receptions from President Obama, the Politician par excellence.

But of course, as NBC Nightly News anchor, Brian Williams, once said about the President: "He is so different from all the men who've gone before him. People react strongly to this President. We've seen people moved to tears after just the briefest encounter with him!......."

Whether those were tears of joy, or tears of sadness, is unclear.......

Hard-line Iranian government official being positioned to succeed Iraq's top spiritual leader

During the 2008 Presidential debates, then-Senator Barack Obama stated that Iran would have an important role to play in Iraq after the U.S. military withdrew from the country.

Proclaiming that he would be willing to meet, without precondition, with the leaders of Iran, Syria, Venezuela, Cuba and North Korea, Obama went on to say: "I think that it is a disgrace that we have not spoken to them [the aforementioned leaders]. We’ve been talking about Iraq -- one of the first things that I would do in terms of moving a diplomatic effort in the region forward is to send a signal that we need to talk to Iran and Syria because they’re going to have responsibilities if Iraq collapses. They have been acting irresponsibly up until this point. But if we tell them that we are not going to be a permanent occupying force, we are in a position to say that they are going to have to carry some weight, in terms of stabilizing the region."

As incredible as this may seem, the prospect of Iran ultimately expanding its influence in Iran was not viewed as problematic in Obama's eyes. Quite the contrary, he actually desired such a scenario. Hence, it's safe to assume that the following news item will most certainly gladden his heart:

Iran, the world's largest Shia nation, is pushing a Tehran-based hard-line cleric Ayatollah Mahmoud Hashemi Shahroudi to become Iraq's next supreme spiritual leader, heightening fears in the Gulf.

Shahroudi, 63, is being positioned to succeed Iraq's top spiritual leader Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, triggering fears in an already shaky region that Iran's long-term goal is to transplant its Islamic Revolution to Iraq...

Iraqi-born Shahroudi has spent most of career leading the Iranian judiciary and remains a top government official [there]...

With Iranian financing, Shahroudi [via his representatives] has for months been building a patronage network across Iraq, underwriting scholarships for students and distributing information.

The New York Times notes that "the move has raised fears that Iran is trying to extend its already extensive influence in the political and economic life of Iraq. A recent visit by Iraq’s prime minister, Nuri Kamal al-Maliki, to Tehran, where he met with Ayatollah Shahroudi, raised tensions further" and only strengthened fears that Shahroudi is being positioned to succeed the elderly and frail al-Sistani as Iraq's next spiritual leader.

The New York Times also notes that "Shahroudi was a student of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, the leader of Iran’s Islamic Revolution of 1979, whom he describes in the biography as 'the biggest blessing on the believers in this age.' "

However, it's important to note, as Obama pointed out in 2008, that an expansion of Iranian influence inside Iraq is actually a good thing, and it could only have a stabilizing effect on Iraq's fledgling government and on the country at large. Hence, the prospect of Mr. Shahroudi succeeding al-Sistani as Iraq's next spiritual leader is, without doubt, a most comforting prospect..... Ahem....

Afghan soldier, once again, kills U.S. soldier

In what has become a common occurrence over the last couple of years - and likely a result of President Obama's policy of surrender and capitulation - an Afghan soldier turned his weapon on coalition forces Friday, killing a U.S. soldier and another NATO service member. The shooting took place in the Ghaziabad district of Kunar province.

The attacker - an Afghan soldier from Marja, in Helmand province - escaped, according to a spokesman for the Afghan provincial government.

35 coalition troops were killed in such attacks last year. So far, in the first trimester of 2012, there have been 15 such attacks that have resulted in the deaths of 20 NATO service members. Roughly half of the casulaties were U.S. soldiers. But nevertheless, no outrage from President Obama or Defense Secretary Leon Panetta, or President Hamid Karzai.

Coaltion troops and Afghan security forces are supposed to be working closely with one another as the Afghan forces prepare to take responsibility for the country by 2014. But the constant attacks by Afghan soldiers against NATO troops raises questions about President Obama's policy of surrender & retreat and his 2014 deadline for the withdrawal of U.S. combat forces from Afghanistan.

Related Posts: Obama administration not reporting all Afghan attacks against U.S. and coalition forces

U.S. soldiers killed by Afghan soldiers - No outrage from the White House? Just obfuscations?

Obama's policy of emboldenment: 69% of Afghan War Casualties occurred during his short tenure as President

Obama & Women: Afghan women fade from White House focus as exit nears

It is an accepted principal, and a fact, that Republicans don't care much about women's rights.

It is also an indisputable fact that President Obama is extremely concerned about women's rights. Mr. Obama's empathy stems from the fact that he is a progressive, and one of the greatest President's in American history.

Obama's Afghan policy is proof of all of the above:

Shortly after sending U.S. troops to Afghanistan in October 2001, President George W. Bush focused so intently on freeing Afghan women from the shackles of Taliban rule that empowering them became central to the United States' mission there...

Afghan girls are back in school, infant and maternal survival rates are up and a quarter of the parliament's seats are reserved for women who at least on paper have the same voting, mobility and other rights as men. But Obama rarely speaks about that...

Obama's lack of overt attention to Afghan women has led many to fear their hard-fought gains will slip away as the United States hands off security responsibility to Afghan President Hamid Karzai, with ever-present Taliban leaders still holding sway in much of the countryside.

Women's issues are not on the formal agenda at the NATO summit the United States will be hosting in Chicago later this month. Afghanistan is poised to send an all-male delegation.

Suzanne Nossel, executive director of Amnesty International USA, said it was "really worrying" that Obama only made a passing reference to women on his trip to Afghanistan last week...

Gulalai Safi, a female member of parliament from northern Balkh province, said it was "somewhat of a shame" that he did not use the visit to underline women's rights.

Amnesty is calling on Obama to spell out a plan to preserve the gains for women since the fall of the Taliban, which from 1996 to 2001 barred Afghan girls from schools and kept women from working and from leaving their homes unless they were accompanied by a male relative or spouse and were covered in a head-to-toe burqa.

For more than a year, the White House has been pursuing, with little success, reconciliation talks involving the Islamist group that could give it a share of power in Kabul.

"When you are negotiating with the Taliban, ensuring the rights of women is not a simple matter," Nossel said. "In that sense you can understand why they are not talking about it but that is why it is doubly worrying."

Bush did not mention Afghan women when he launched the war a month after the September 11, 2001, attacks that were orchestrated by al Qaeda militants based in Afghanistan.

But he soon broadened his rhetoric, saying that empowering women was essential to strengthen Afghan society and prevent al Qaeda from keeping a foothold there.

His wife, Laura Bush, also made Afghan women one of her signature issues. In November 2001 she delivered the weekly presidential radio address "to kick off a worldwide effort to focus on the brutality against women and children by the al Qaeda terrorist network and the regime it supports in Afghanistan, the Taliban."

The former schoolteacher visited Afghanistan three times to support educational projects and efforts to tackle infant and child mortality rates, then the highest in the world next to Sierra Leone, and to inform women about their legal rights. [Michelle Obama is extremely concerned about the dietary situation of obese children here in the U.S., hence she has little time on her schedule to worry about infant and child mortality rates in Afghanistan, nor does she have time to focus on the security, safety and legal rights of Afghan women]...

Gayle Tzemach Lemmon, an Afghanistan expert with the Council on Foreign Relations, said [that] "how the war ends really does matter."

"The question is, will a Somalia be left behind in Afghanistan? And if it is, women will be the first to suffer," she said...

In the talks with the Taliban, which are currently suspended, the White House has said it would only accept a reconciliation deal that requires respect for the Afghan constitution, which codifies equal rights for men and women... [However], in March, [Afghan President Hamid] Karzai backed recommendations from powerful clerics [that, among other things],... allow husbands to beat their wives under certain circumstances...

"This is a green light paving the way for extreme figures, including the Taliban, to come forward," said Fawzia Koofi, a female member of parliament...

Another Afghan lawmaker, Shukria Barakzai, said the shift in attention from the White House had decreased the pressure on Afghan leaders to take the status of women seriously.

"We are now getting the sense that in order to achieve women's rights, we have to act alone ... We feel like we have no support," said Barakzai, who met Laura Bush during one of her trips to Afghanistan...

There has been a dramatic spike in reports of violence against women, and very few perpetrators are getting punished for crimes including beatings, torture and brutal killings....

Bottom line: Obama is genuinely concerned about women's rights. However, when American women, right here in the U.S., are sending off their children to school with peanut butter & jelly sandwiches, can anyone blame the President, and his wife, for ignoring the plight of Afghan women [and children]? The Obama's have a lot on their plate here on the domestic front, [like peanut butter sandwiches]; clearly there is no time to worry about the trivial stuff.....

Obama: "Troops Are Fighting On My Behalf!"

H/T Nice Deb, who also notes that, last week, a former Navy Seal expressed his frustration with Obama's narcistic personality.

Fomer Navy Seal to Obama:

Your use of the SEALs accomplishment as a campaign slogan is nothing less than despicable... You Mr. President, continue to refer to the event as if it were YOU and you alone which accomplished the worthy task of slaying one of America’s greatest enemies. You say “I directed”, “I Continued”, “My Intelligence Community”... ,“I determined that I had enough….”, “My direction..."

The Navy SEALS are NOT a campaign slogan to be bantered about for play. Nor are our accomplishments, including the demise of Osama Bin Laden, yours to claim...

Gay Marriage: President Obama evolving, or flip-flopping back and forth for political expediency?

President Obama said Wednesday that his views on same-sex marriage have evolved. "I've been going through an evolution on this issue, he said, adding that he now believes same sex marriage should indeed be defined as marriage.

However, truth be told, Obama hasn't evolved on this issue at all, but rather he has flip-flopped back and forth over the years on gay marriage in order to satisfy the political needs of the moment. His current political situation has left him with little choice but to support an issue he once described [when faced with a different political climate and situation] as running contrary to his religious and traditional beliefs.

Hagel & Obama can't hide their lying.......

The ever-crucial 2007 Iraq surge, labeling the Iranian revolutionary guards a terrorist organization, Hezbollah, funds for the troops in Iraq etc. etc. etc. The list goes on and on! Chuck Hagel and Barack Obama are both naked emperors; they are not wearing any clothes. But sadly, the minions are loath to acknowledge that, not only are these two lightweights compulsive liars, they are also stark naked.

Dianne Feinstein & Mike Rogers vs. Obama on whether the Taliban has grown stronger during Obama's Presidency

After returning from from a recent fact-finding trip to Afghanistan, the leaders of the Senate and House intelligence committees, Sen. Dianne Feinstein and Rep. Mike Rogers, had some bad news to report: Contrary to President Obama's assertion that the Taliban's momentum has been broken as a result of his [failed] policies in Afghanistan, both Feinstein and Rogers said that the Taliban has grown stronger over the last three years.

During his visit to Afghanistan last week, the President said that the "tide [of the Taliban] had turned" and that "we broke the Taliban's momentum."

Feinstein and Rogers, however, disagreed with the President's campaign rhetoric.

"I think we'd both say that what we've found is that the Taliban is stronger," said Feinstein during an interview on Sunday. Rogers agreed with that assessment.

Obama's policy of emboldenment: 69% of Afghan War Casualties occurred during his short tenure as President

1,275 of the 1,844 U.S. troops killed in an around Afghanistan, since the war began a little over 10 years ago, were killed after Barack Obama became President in 2009, CSN News reported.

Obama has been in office a little over 3 years now, and yet 69% percent of the U.S. military casualties occurred during his short tenure as President.

Perhaps the Taliban would have been less emboldened had Obama not announced his artificial timeline for surrender the very day he announced his [artificial] troop surge in Afghanistan. And, perhaps the Taliban would have been less emboldened had he not showed his desperation to negotiate and strike a deal with them. And, more than likely, there would have been a lot less U.S. military casualties in Afghanistan had the Appeaser-in-Chief not implemented his Policy of Emboldenment.

Chen Guangcheng: ‘I Am Very Disappointed At the U.S. Government’

Excerpt of CNN's phone interview with Chinese activist Chen Guangcheng and his wife Yuan Weijing from his Beijing hospital room, Thursday, May 3, shortly after Chen left the U.S. embassy.

Q: U.S. officials said you looked optimistic when you walked out of the embassy, what happened?

A: At the time I didn’t have a lot of information. I wasn’t allowed to call my friends from inside the embassy. I couldn’t keep up with news so I didn’t know a lot of things that were happening.

Q: What prompted your change of heart?

A: The embassy kept lobbying me to leave and promised to have people stay with me in the hospital. But this afternoon as soon as I checked into the hospital room, I noticed they were all gone.

Q: Has the U.S. disappointed you?

A: I’m very disappointed at the U.S. government.

Q: Why?

A: I don’t think (U.S. officials) protected human rights in this case.

Q: Is it true no one from the embassy picked up your calls?

A: Yes. I called two embassy people numerous times.

Q: What do you want to say to the U.S. government?

A: : I want them to protect human rights through concrete actions. We are in danger.

Q: As soon as possible?

A: Yes, as soon as possible.

Q: Do you feel you were lied to by the embassy?

A: I feel a little like that.

CBS notes that "Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton are in China now for a previously scheduled meeting with Chinese officials on economic and security issues.

"Republican White House hopeful Mitt Romney accused the Obama administration of putting economic concerns above Chen's freedom and called it a 'day of shame for the Obama administration,' if accusations that Chen was shooed out of the embassy ahead of those talks are true."

Q: What has this ordeal taught you?

A: I feel everyone focuses too much on their self-interest at the expense of their credibility.













Q: You're both still up at 3 a.m. -- feeling anxious?

A: Yes, we feel a lot of anxiety.... I told the embassy I would like to talk to Rep. Smith (Republican Congressman Chris Smith) but they somehow never managed to arrange it. I feel a little puzzled.

Hmmm...

Nevertheless, Rep.Smith managed to speak by phone with Chen Guangcheng during an emergency Congressional-Executive Commission hearing on Thursday. The phone call was set up, unexpectedly, by Pastor Bob Fu, Founder and President of the ChinaAid Association.

CNN then interviewed Yuan Weijing, Chen Guangcheng's wife:

Q: Are there people watching you at the hospital?

A: They have security guards here.

Q: Have the embassy people left?

A: Yes. They promised to stay here with Guangcheng -- that would give us some sense of security. But we haven't seen anyone since we checked into this hospital room. .. I didn't know the embassy (people) were lobbying him to leave (the embassy)...

She "didn't know the embassy people were lobbying him to leave the embassy."

Ahem....

Brian Williams & Mike Mullen: "Politicizing the raid on Bin Laden compound" - Obama, Iraq, funding the troops

Admiral Mike Mullen, the former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, sat down for an interview with Brian Williams earlier this week. Mullen expressed concern that the raid on Osama Bin Laden's compound was being politicized in the midst of the current Presidential election season.

"I do worry a great deal that this time of year that somehow this gets spun into election politics," Mullen told Williams. "I can assure you that those individuals who risked their lives, the last thing in the world that they want is to be spun into that. So I'm hoping that that doesn't happen."

Of course, when it comes to the politicization of foreign policy, and sacrificing the well-being of our troops, Obama is King. During the 2008 Presidential primary season, then-Senator Joe Biden criticized Barack Obama for voting against funding the troops in Iraq, and sacrificing the well-being of our troops - for political gain. [See the video below]