White
House Asserts Ignorance of Libyan Security Problem
Despite
sworn testimony to the contrary by State Department officials at a
House of Representatives hearing this week, Vice-President Joe Biden
claimed during his debate with GOP VP nominee Congressman Paul Ryan
that the White House had no warning of the security problems at the
Libyan Consulate.
Presidential
Press Secretary Jay Carney suggested that “perhaps this issue was
covered in one of the national security briefings that the President
was unable to attend. We all know the President has more things to do
than he has time to do them. So, there are going to be occasions when
he may be 'out of the loop' so to speak.”
Statistics
from the Government Accountability Institute lend support to Carney's
contention that the President is often “out-of-the-loop.” Since
the start of his term, President Obama has attended less than half of
the national security briefings held at the White House. This year he
has attended only a third of the briefings. In the week before the
murder of the Ambassador he attended none of them.
As for the
State Department's admission that slain Ambassador Christopher
Stevens had made several requests for additional security months
before the attack that killed him, Carney laid the blame on Secretary
of State Hillary Clinton. “This is her turf,” Carney explained.
“The President has delegated the authority to the State Department
to handle this kind of issue. If there are any presumed lapses that's
where you should look.”
For her
part, the Secretary refused to accept blame insisting that the
decision to forgo the requested extra security was a jointly agreed
upon course. “Both the President and I concurred in the plan to
outsource the consulate and embassy security to the February 17
Martyrs' Brigade,” Clinton said. “How were we to know that this
would prove inadequate?”
The
possibility that their on-site ambassador's opinion that security
wasn't adequate might have been a clue was apparently beyond the
comprehension of both the President and the Secretary. Ansar al
Sharia, the al-Qaida-linked militia believed to have
organized and carried out the attack on the US Libyan Consulate in
September, is a spinoff of the February 17 Martyrs Brigade.
Meanwhile,
Obama campaign spokesperson Stephanie Cutter maintained that “the
issue is being blown out of proportion by both the Romney campaign
and the media. The murder of the Ambassador, while tragic, is just an
isolated incident. We mustn't award it undue attention when more
critical items are at stake in this campaign.”
Asked to
enumerate a few “more critical items,” Cutter pointed to “the
very real threat that a GOP victory would cut government funding for
abortion, force sexually active young women to pay for their own
birth control, and cancel the tax increase scheduled for January
2013. We think voters should look past an unfortunate event that we
can't undo and focus on the 'bread-and-butter' issues that the
Democratic Party has always delivered on.”
Obama
Defeat May Lead to Rioting, Emigration
Department
of Homeland Security Secretary Napolitano warned that “vibes we've
been picking up indicate that a defeat for the President in November
would ignite a wave of civil strife like we've never seen in this
country.”
“The
blogosphere and world of twitters is flush with credible threats of
violence and mayhem that our Department thinks should be taken very
seriously,” the Secretary said.
“Voters
can help thwart this threat by ensuring the President's reelection,”
Napolitano advised. “Even if voters are dissatisfied with the
progress the Administration has made or are attracted to Romney's
siren song, they need to ask themselves whether it is worth the risk
of being assaulted in the streets or having their homes burned down
before they cast a vote against the President.”
A second
concern cited by the Secretary was the prospect that “many of our
best and brightest would follow through with their promise to leave
the country should the President lose the election. This demographic
is the foundation stone of the President's plan to transform America.
If we lose too many of these people the nation could spiral backwards
toward a society where individuals are forced to fend for
themselves.”
In related
news, the Federal Aviation Administration announced plans to have as
many as 30,000 aerial drones patrolling America's airspace by the end
of the decade. Napolitano enthusiastically endorsed the plan. “The
success the President has had using these types of weapons to
neutralize our enemies abroad recommends it for domestic deployment,”
she said. “Our porous borders as well as the growing threat of
home-grown right-wing terrorism demonstrate the need for the ability
to strike closer to home.”
President
Pledges He Will Save Big Bird
Gloating
over what they consider a “colossal blunder,” the Obama campaign
has launched a series of ads promising that Obama will save the
Sesame Street character from “extinction” at the hands of the
GOP.
Obama
Campaign spokesperson, Jennifer Psaki boasted that “the cruel side
of Governor Romney is now on display for every voter with school-aged
children to see. The idea that he would even consider defunding this
American icon is the unkindest cut of all. We won't let voters forget
it.”
Whether
Big Bird or Sesame Street would face extinction without federal
subsidies seems dubious. The Sesame Street operation grossed over
$100 million last year and has nearly $300 million in assets on the
company's books. Merchandise sales, copyright licensing fees, and
corporate sponsorships account for 90% of their revenues. Federal
subsidies make up less than 10% of total revenues. Ironically, at a
salary of over $300,000, the actor who plays Big Bird falls in the
group the Obama Administration says needs to pay higher taxes.
A lawyer
for Sesame Street has requested that the Obama Campaign refrain from
using its characters in its ads. Psaki acknowledged receipt of the
complaint, but declined to confirm the campaign would comply with the
request. “If the President feels he needs to use these characters
to make his point he will continue to use them,” Psaki asserted.
“After all, the needs of the nation surely override this
organization's hope to make a profit. Besides, it is by no means
clear who owns the rights to these characters. If the government
subsidizes Sesame Street why shouldn't it control how the benefits of
that subsidy are dispersed?”
Obama
campaign adviser Robert Gibbs seconded Psaki's take. “The fact of
the matter is that what the President says or does about anything
takes precedence over what anybody else has to say or do,” Gibbs
argued. “He represents all Americans. As such, whatever he
determines is right for the country supersedes the private interests
of any other individual or organization.”
President
Woos College Women with Promise of Free Birth Control
In a bid
to shift the narrative to an issue he sees as more advantageous,
President Obama told a George Mason University audience that
“ensuring college-aged women's access to free birth control
services is what's at stake in this election. A coed shouldn't have
to give up sex just because she can't afford to pay for birth
control. Neither should she be forced to make space in her budget for
condoms or birth control pills.”
The U.S.
Conference of Catholic Bishops vehemently opposes the
Administration's insistence that all employers, regardless of
religious or ethical objections, must finance birth control and
abortion. The Bishops contested the supposed rationale for the
Obamacare mandate, pointing out that “access to contraception is
ubiquitous and inexpensive. This mandate is about the federal
government riding roughshod over freedoms guaranteed by the US
Constitution.”
The
President boldly dismissed these religious objections to the
Obamacare mandate requiring employers to provide for birth control
and abortion services in their healthcare plans. “The enemies of
women's rights attempts to evade their responsibility to provide for
these rights will not prevail,” Obama bragged. “This election is
about a test of wills to determine what vision for America will
prevail. I assure you, that as long as I am President religious dogma
will not be allowed to negate the benefits the Affordable Care Act
has bestowed upon the women of this country.”
In related
news, Darden Restaurants, owner of the Red Lobster and Olive Garden
chains, says it is moving away from offering full-time positions. The
aim is to avoid Obamacare's requirement that firms pay for health
insurance for workers who put in 30 hours or more per week. Sadly,
many of those affected are women.
Wisconsin
Sheriff Won't Stop Felons from Voting
Dane
County Sheriff Dave Mahoney has instructed his staff not to assist in
checking the felony status of those seeking to cast votes in the
county. This is despite a state law mandating such assistance.
“It may
be a state law, but the Constitution's provision for a government of,
by, and for the people outranks it,” Mahoney claimed. “Felons are
people too. They have a right to participate in the selection of who
will govern them. I cannot stand by and be a party to misguided state
efforts to disenfranchise them.”
Mahoney
had hoped to keep his directive within the confines of the Sheriff's
Office. However, a deputy leaked the internal memo to the press
garnering some unwanted scrutiny for the questionable action. Mahoney
says he deplored the leak and called the whistle-blower responsible
“unprofessional.” “I count on the men who work for me to show
their loyalty in how they comport themselves,” Mahoney said. “As
their superior officer, it is my prerogative to interpret the law and
determine how or whether we will enforce it. Going outside the chain
of command is totally unacceptable.”
In related
news, in similarly progressive Illinois, it was discovered that over
1,000 prison inmates are receiving unemployment compensation from the
Illinois Department of Employment Security. Governor Pat Quinn (D)
defended the distributions saying “I don't see a problem. If you're
in jail I think it's pretty obvious that you're unemployed. Why
shouldn't you receive compensation? I mean, it could be used to bribe
fellow inmates not to rape you or it could come in handy when you
eventually get out.”
Obama
Campaign Downplays Illegal Donation Issue
While the
Obama campaign was boasting about raising more campaign cash than the
GOP during September it now looks like a significant share (an
estimated 68%) of this cash may have been obtained illegally. It
appears that two-thirds of the campaign's web donors are foreigners.
By law, foreigners are barred from donating to US political
campaigns.
David
Axelrod emphasized what he called “the inherent inequity” of the
ban on foreign money. “Look, it isn't only Americans who are
affected by who is elected,” Axelrod pointed out. “We're not a
small insignificant country. What we do has ripple affects all over
the globe. It impacts people in other countries. Naturally, these
people would like to have some input to the process.”
In support
of the idea that foreigners should have a right to contribute to
President Obama's reelection, Axelrod cited a GlobalPost poll
indicating that 68% of foreigners favor Obama's reelection and a
Gallup poll of foreign voters that would give Obama 81% of the vote.
“The
vast majority of the people of the world want President Obama to
continue in office,” he observed. “In fact, the ratio of support
is greater than three-to-one in one poll and four-to-one in another.
Should this make no difference? It's bad enough that all the people
affected by US policies can't vote for who runs America. Must we also
deny them the opportunity to 'put their two cents in' so to speak?”
Professor
Says President Misrepresenting His Study
All along
the campaign trail President Obama has been asserting that Governor
Romney's tax plan would boost levies on middle income earners. He has
been citing a study by Harvard economist Martin Feldstein and
Princeton economist Harvey Rosen that he claims validates his case.
The
problem is, Professor Rosen has said the President is misconstruing
his work. “The main conclusion of my study is that under plausible
assumptions, a proposal along the lines suggested by Governor Romney
can both be revenue neutral and that an increase in the tax burden on
lower and middle income individuals is not required in order to make
the overall plan revenue neutral,” Rosen explained.
“I
suppose it comes down to who you're going to believe,” said Obama
Campaign Press Secretary Ben LaBolt. “On the one hand, you have the
President of the United States"a man everyone in America knows,”
LaBolt said. “On the other hand, we have an obscure professor who
I'd bet not one voter in a thousand has ever heard of before. Would
you take the word of a stranger over that of the President? Well, we
feel pretty confident that the majority of Americans will choose the
President as the person they'll want to trust on this issue.”
Obama
Advisers Pan Romney's “Peace through Strength” Foreign Policy
Obama
national security advisers Michele Flournoy and Colin Kahl sought to
lampoon Govern Mitt Romney's pitch for a foreign policy founded on a
“peace through strength” approach as “old hat.”
“This
lame attempt to revive a policy championed by Ronald Reagan is so
out-of-date it's laughable,” Flournoy chortled. “Time has moved
on and the world has changed since these ideas were fashionable. It
makes no sense for us to go backward"what"more than 30 years.
Let's get real.”
Flournoy
called “the attempt to divide nations into 'friend-or-foe'
categories as a basis for guiding our international relationships is
simplistic. As President Obama has shown over the last four years, a
more nuanced view is more successful. In his world view there are no
foes. There are only differing degrees of friendship.”
“Just
because there are disagreements between countries doesn't mean they
can't still be friends,” Flournoy continued. “President Obama
hasn't shied from making the first move toward building bridges
toward improved relations. His aggressive move at the outset of his
term to admit and apologize for our country's transgressions opened
up new possibilities for progress around the world.”
As proof
of the superiority of Obama's foreign policy, Flournoy reminded that
“Reagan never won a Nobel Peace Prize. President Obama won one in
his first year on the job.”