Obama Brings Knife To Gunfight!
Never Bring a Knife to a Gunfight is a term that was sort of coined by Sean Connery in a movie called The Untouchables.
Connery implied that while holding a shotgun on a man who was holding a knife in his hand. One man was prepared for battle while the other clearly wasn't. This is what happened at last night's Presidential Debate.
President Obama broke the first rule of warfare: Never Bring a Knife to a Gunfight. Come prepared or stay home.
Obama stood there with talking points in hand, but little else. He was unprepared and his record as president was of absolutely no help at all. He appeared unarmed and completely ill-prepared to do battle.
Of course a few things took place last night which Obama, his campaign, the liberal media, and Hollywood hated to see. First it was a befuddled Obama not be coddled by questions from an adoring media and completely the fool; second, it was not the Mitt Romney that they have been trying to sell to the public.
The president was completely out to lunch while the smarter and better prepared Mitt Romney showed up with the poise and compassion that the liberals have been trying to say is not Romney.
One writer this morning, reminded us that Obama told interviewers this week that his debate preparations were "a drag" because his advisers were making him do his "homework."
I whole heartily agree with that writer in that it looks like the president should have been hitting the books a little harder. But then again, his record as president is dismal at best - except of course for a great golf game and "nothing but net" on the White House basketball court.
No Teleprompters! Oh the humanity!
It was very obvious that with no teleprompters to help him, the president came off like a village idiot trying to make sense during his sometimes rambling sentences. At one point, it really appeared as though he got lost in thought and couldn't figure out what he was saying.
It was pretty sad all the way around for a man with a reputation of being cool, calm, and collective.
In contrast, while Obama was listless defensive and seemingly bored, Mitt Romney was sharp and confident completely in charge of the discussion at hand.
Before the debate, most in the biased media had their money on Obama. He was seen as this cool and confidence dude who just kicks butt when it comes to throwing down facts and policy statements.
Democrats and the liberal establishment press saw Obama as a combination of brainy policy wonk and friendly federal big daddy who was going to mop the floor with Mitt Romney who they described as awkward and stiff and "unrelateable."
Whether Obama actually spent his time preparing to face Romney or if the lure of the golf courses at the resort outside of Las Vegas where Obama was supposed to be cramming were too great for the president we may never know, but whatever he did to get ready, it didn’t work for Obama one bit.
Obama’s attitude on the debate stage was that he was stoically having to put up with this. He didn't ever seem to look at Romney when he was talking to him, in contrast Romney spoke directly to the president. Fact is the president looked as if this is all beneath him, and he looked bored and wanting to leave the stage.
Of course, Obama's smirking on camera didn't help portray the image that the liberal media and Hollywood would have you believe. Instead of cool, he looked as though his patience were exhausted - as if the issues were unimportant.
Maybe it's true that the president and his senior advisers took this debate lightly because they assume that the election is all but done and he is assured a second term?
Maybe this led to Obama underestimating his opponent and overestimate his own stature?
Where Romney’s very best moments came when he talked about the role of government and the dysfunction of Washington, Obama’s 2008 playbook failed him.
Romney talked about the dangers of too-big banks, how good regulations are important for citizens and corporations, and how there is a genuine need to protect patients in today's world. He talked about the need for bipartisan cooperation, and how he had worked with Democrats in his own state of Massachusetts doing just that.
I don't agree with the media perception out there that says that Voters think Republicans in Congress are the problem. I believe that Voters disagree with Obama and the liberal media that the House Republicans deserve most of the blame for our troubles.
I believe most Voters are smarter than that. I say "most" because I know real well that there are those who will vote for Obama no matter how bad he is - or has been for our country.
I know real well that no matter how bad the President did last night in not being able to answer some of the most fundamental issues ahead of us, yes there will be those who will vote for him - just because!
Whether it's just because he is a Democrat, or its just because he is the first black president and would like to see him have two terms, or whether it's just because they swallow the liberal media line that all Republicans are evil, there are some who will still vote for him.
But last night, they were let down. Like it or not, they were.
And partly, I feel it had a lot to do with the president's argument that he has all the right answers for America. Although last night, he had no answers at all.
And yes, it was great to see that Romney fought back against that worn old saw that liberals have been pushing for so long now - that this economy is the best we can do given the economic and political situation of the nation.
Some say that Obama’s ego, re-enforced by a circle of yes-men Democrats and a lap dog liberal media, led to Obama's not taking Mitt Romney as seriously as he should have.
As Romney hammered away at Obama for his “my way or the highway” approach, the dials in dozens of focus groups turned Republican red.
When Romney cut off Obama’s gusty answer to why he failed to rein in deficit spending by reminding the incumbent that he has “been president for four years” it was a lights-out moment for the already stumbling Obama.
Each candidate tried to appeal to the middle-class voters who likely will decide the election five weeks from now. It seems as though Romney did just that accusing Obama of pushing "trickle-down government," which the president could not rebuke.
The debate, which focused exclusively on domestic matters, was one of three presidential debates set for October and marked Romney's first opportunity to go toe to toe with the president.
The debate was tense at times, with the candidates standing just feet from each other and often cutting off the moderator, PBS' Jim Lehrer. Romney appeared to take a consistently more aggressive tone on stage, though the overall tenor of the debate marked a step back from what has become a bitter and nasty campaign in the closing weeks.
Romney came armed with studies and stats to bolster his respective position - but the central goal was to broaden his appeal before a national audience hurting for jobs and make the case for why their plans would boost growth. And for all intense and purposes, it appears Mitt Romney did just that.
Obama accused Romney of wanting to roll back regulations and implement tax cuts skewed toward the wealthy and reverse those gains.
But Romney, citing the millions who have gone on food stamps and hit the unemployment lines in the last four years, argued that "the status quo is not going to cut it."
"We know that the path we're taking is not working. It's time for a new path," Romney said.
As for Obama's push to raise taxes on top earners and small businesses? Romney took him to task saying, "You raise taxes and you kill jobs. I don't want to kill jobs in this environment."
On taxes, though, Romney sought to wipe away the incorrect caricature that the Obama campaign has been drawing these last two years - of Romney as an out-of-touch millionaire who's looking to make the rich richer with his tax cut plan.
Obama argued that Romney is pushing a "$5 trillion tax cut plan that would skew toward the wealthy", to which Romney corrected the president - on three different times during the debate as if educating Obama on what he really wants to do.
Romney insisted the 20 percent across-the-board rate cut he's pushing is not nearly as sweeping as the president describes.
"I don't have a $5 trillion tax cut," Romney said. Further, he pledged to hold to his promise that it would be deficit-neutral and not hurt the middle class.
"There'll be no tax cut that adds to the deficit. I want to underline that - no tax cut that adds to the deficit," Romney said. He added, "I will not under any circumstance raise taxes on middle-income families."
I don't see President Obama making many of the same mistakes again when they again face one another in two weeks.
Obama’ best trick in debates and speeches is the use of straw men. He casts two unreasonable positions – for example a government that does everything and a government that does nothing – and then puts forward his own policy as the reasonable middle ground. When Obama says, “there are some who say…” it’s usually not followed by anything anyone has ever said, but it works.
And yes, there will be more straw men on stage at Hofstra University than at a pumpkin patch. I see Obama doing better the next time they meet. But then again, Romney might do even better than he did last night.
With problems like the botched security at our consulate in Libya that got 4 Americans killed, Obama's sorry Middle-east policy, Operation Fast & Furious dominating Obama's foreign policy achievements, Obama should have another hard time explaining these things away the way he does.
I just hope that Mitt Romney can go into the next debate as well armed as he was last night. It was that good a night!
SECOND SHOT!
So What Can We Do To Help Mitt?
We have to get out the vote!
Yes, we must make sure that we get as many like minded people to show up and vote. It is vital that we don't sit on our backsides and think that after one good showing that Mitt Romney has it in the bag.
We must work to help get him elected. How? By talking to others and getting them to vote.
We are the people that the liberal media and Hollywood believe don't care enough to get involved and do the work to get Mitt in office.
They believe they are better organized and more concerned than we are. They want Obama to serve a second term to complete his job of changing America into something we are not.
And friends, only we can stop him. By voting for Mitt, we can stop the liberal agenda. And yes, we should all approve of this message!
THIRD SHOT!
Obama In Essence Says "Who Was That Masked Man?" As His Campaign Conducts Damage Control After The Debate
So the good guy Lone Ranger jumps off his horse to kicks the guy's butt, then jumps back in the saddle and rides off. The bad guy after getting his butt kicked joins in with the people who have never seen the good guy before, says, "Who was that masked man?"
Well that's sort of what Obama and his campaign are doing today. They are saying that the Mitt Romney we all saw last night kick butt is not Mitt Romney - or at least not the Mitt Romney that "they" have been trying to get us to believe he was.
You see, they still want you and me to believe that Mitt Romney has horns and wants to push us off a cliff in a wheel-chair like in the pro-Obama ads.
Too bad people aren't buying it anymore. The public saw that Mitt Romney is not the man that the media and the Obama campaign have portrayed him as.
But wait, that fact doesn't mean that they won't try to keep selling the lie. And that, yes that lie is exactly what they are trying to sell today - the day after the debate.
President Obama and his campaign moved into damage-control mode Thursday after being battered by Mitt Romney on the debate stage the night before, arguing that Romney gained the edge by pretending to be someone he's not - and saying the campaign will "make adjustments" going forward.
Obama, at a Denver rally Thursday afternoon complete with teleprompters, ripped into Romney as he tried to brush himself off and reassure supporters.
"When I got onto the stage I met this very spirited fellow who claimed to be Mitt Romney," Obama said. "But it couldn't have been Mitt Romney, because the real Mitt Romney has been running around the country for the last year promising $5 trillion in tax cuts that favor the wealthy. The fellow on stage last night said he didn't know anything about that."
The president ticked off a string of complaints about Romney's on-stage claims before adding: "The man on stage last night, he does not want to be held accountable to the real Mitt Romney's decisions."
Obama's campaign complemented the rally with a conference call in which adviser David Axelrod said Romney was "completely untethered from the truth." Wow, who didn't see that coming!
But the Romney campaign quickly fired back, accusing Obama of doubling down on "false attacks."
"In full damage-control mode, President Obama today offered no defense of his record and no vision for the future," spokesman Ryan Williams said. "Rather than a plan to fix our economy, President Obama simply offered more false attacks and renewed his call for job-killing tax hikes."
The explanations from the Obama campaign about what went wrong came as observers from both sides of the political spectrum roundly judged Romney the winner.
The Republican nominee was quick on his feet, polished and feisty as he repeatedly cut off the moderator and challenged his opponent on the facts.
Romney was heading next to the battleground of Virginia on Thursday, while Obama headed to Wisconsin following his rally in Colorado. It's unclear whether Romney's performance will move the polls, but he was clearly looking for a race-shaking performance having slipped in recent weeks in several swing-state surveys.
The race could be given a jolt again on Friday with the release of the Labor Department's monthly unemployment numbers. On Thursday, the Commerce Department reported that factory orders dropped in August by the most in three years.
Maybe by Friday, Obama will try to make his supporters believe that layoffs and business closing are really part of his master plan to change America for the good.
I know it's twisted logic, but I wouldn't put it past him.
FOURTH SHOT!
The AARP In Obama's Pocket, But Doesn't Want You To Know It!
In a news article today, the AARP apparently objects to Obama invoking group's support during his debate with Mitt Romney last night.
The AARP fully endorsed ObamaCare, yet is now telling President Obama to keep the group out of his political talking points.
The nation's leading senior advocacy organization objected after the president during Wednesday's debate twice mentioned the AARP's support while defending his health care plan and attacking Mitt Romney's plans for Medicare.
The AARP posted a blog saying that while the group is "grateful" the candidates had a "robust" debate on health care, the organization is not aligned with either candidate.
Obama invoked the AARP during the Denver debate because the group had endorsed ObamaCare earlier in his term. He used that endorsement to challenge Romney's claims that the law's cuts to Medicare would weaken the health care system.
"And this is not my own - only my opinion. AARP thinks that the savings that we obtained from Medicare bolster the system, lengthen the Medicare trust fund by eight years. Benefits were not affected at all," Obama said.
He went on to say that Romney's plan, which he describes as a "voucher system," would put seniors "at the mercy" of insurance companies. Though it's is false, it is a lie that the AARP and the Obama campaign has been spreading for a while now.
"And this is the reason why AARP has said that your plan would weaken Medicare substantially. And that's why they were supportive of the approach that we took," Obama said.
The AARP, while fully endorsing ObamaCare without reading it, today stressed that it is trying not to take sides in the presidential race itself.
Some though have questioned the AARP's objectivity. They are pro-Obama and make no bones about it in their literature to their members. I know because they have sent me things which denounces Mitt Romney and praise Barack Obama.
Last month when Paul Ryan spoke to the AARP, he was met with jeers and boos that all but drowned him out. To say it was a hostile anti-Republican audience would be an understatement. I say the they treated him as if he were a black man at a Ku Klux Klan rally.
Sen. Jim DeMint, R-S.C., in a recent op-ed in Politico, said the group "poses as a disinterested senior advocate" while taking positions that "just happen to coincide with its financial interests."
He claimed that group's support of the health care law could yield "windfall profits" by forcing seniors off Medicare Advantage and into a separate supplemental coverage program.
"AARP knows it can protect its financial interests by aligning with Democrats, no matter what its members think," DeMint wrote.
Romney said during Wednesday's debate that his plan for overhauling Medicare would give seniors a decade from now a choice between traditional Medicare and private insurance.
"And by the way, if the government can be as efficient as the private sector and offer premiums that are as low as the private sector, people will be happy to get traditional Medicare or they'll be able to get a private plan," Romney said.
Something has to be done about funding Medicare and Social Security. We cannot allow Democrats to rob both programs to pay for other programs any longer. Something has to be done to fix the system to ensure services for our seniors and disabled.
FIFTH SHOT!
Al Gore Blames Denver Altitude For Obama's Lousy Debate Performance
You know how every once in a while you read something in the news that just sounds too dumb to be true? Well, Al Gore is saying that Denver's altitude is why Obama acted so sheepishly last night.
It was the altitude. Yeah, that's it!
Believe it or not, as liberals cried a river of tears last night Obama's debate performance, Al Gore jumped to his defense with one of the dumbest explanations short of saying it was because of Global Warming.
If Obama seemed like he had his head in the clouds, Gore reasoned that perhaps it was because he was having trouble adjusting to the Mile-High City.
"I'm going to say something controversial here," Gore said on Current TV, the channel he helped found. "Obama arrived in Denver at 2 p.m. today, just a few hours before the debate started. Romney did his debate prep in Denver. When you go to 5,000 feet, and you only have a few hours to adjust, I don't know ..."
Gore trailed off with a chuckle, but his fellow co-hosts chimed in with agreement.
"Exactly," one of them said off-screen.
Co-host Cenk Uygur noted how when he came from Los Angeles, "You know what I did? I drank two cups of coffee before coming out here."
Another guest added: "It's really different. The first time I ever did stand up in Denver I had the same exact effect. I flew in that day and when your lungs aren't acclimated to that kind of air, yeah it makes you drawn. It makes you off. The president had an off-night."
Other Obama supporters weren't quite so willing to give the president a pass.
Shocking as it might seem, even that yo-yo Obama supporter Bill Maher last night tweeted, "I can't believe I'm saying this, but Obama looks like he DOES need a teleprompter."
The "TelePrompter-in-Chief" has a nice ring to it. Maybe that's the nicest thing history will say about Obama, that somewhere there were people behind the scenes feeding him lines like an empty headed soap star.
SIXTH SHOT!
USDA "Diversity" Training Session Include Calling Forefathers "Illegal Immigrants"
Under the Obama administration, anything crazy is possible. And yes, they have a corner on hiring Bozos.
The federal government has paid a Chicago consultant at least $200,000 to put on "diversity" training workshops that, according to one watchdog, included an exercise in which employees were told to chant "Our forefathers were illegal immigrants."
Conservative group Judicial Watch made the claim this week as it released a handful of documents pertaining to the program -- and alleged that the sessions ended up enforcing political views more than promoting tolerance.
"Instead of being diversity-oriented or tolerance-oriented, it's more about adopting a mindset," said Lisette Garcia, a senior investigator with the group. "It seemed to go so far as to encourage illegal immigration."
Judicial Watch began to investigate the sessions earlier this year after being approached by a tipster at USDA who was "offended" by them, Garcia said.
Judicial Watch claims it has identified at least $200,000 spent by the USDA over the last two years on the company Souder, Betances & Associates.
The USDA later confirmed that amount.
The tipster, Garcia said, described one session in which the speaker led workers in chanting "our forefathers were illegal immigrants" while pounding on the table and getting others in the room to join in.
"How does that fit into the USDA mission at all?" she said. "The price tag makes it more egregious."
It's unclear how much total federal money was spent on these kinds of sessions at USDA and other agencies.
We Need An Investigation And Firings!
Federal contract records show the Department of Defense has also contracted with the company, though it's unclear what that work entailed. The company's website says its clients include an array of federal departments, from Commerce to Energy and Interior, as well as USDA.
"For over a decade Souder, Betances and Associates has been a leader in the field of diversity training and consulting," the company site says.
The USDA did not confirm or dispute the anecdote from Judicial Watch about the illegal immigrant chant.
But, in a statement to Fox News, a USDA spokesperson stressed that the sessions were meant "to foster diversity" and were well-received by employees.
A representative with Souder, Betances & Associates did not return a request for comment.
Judicial Watch apparently has received little documentation from the USDA on the program, but it released an email exchange in which a USDA official discusses the "diversity intelligence advantage course" with an official from the Chicago firm.
In one email from January, the USDA official asked about when he might be able to attend the course later in the year.
Another email released by the group showed an analyst at USDA who handles record requests advising other records officers about the Judicial Watch request.
The officer said that most would probably issue a "no records denial" but said because of the group's history of lawsuits "I want to at least say a USDA wide search for material was conducted despite ... knowing that most ... agencies will have no records."
Judicial Watch later wrote in a letter to Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack that the email "reinforced the expectation of agency non-cooperation."
This is the reason I support Judicial Watch. They are on top of things. And yes, too bad we can't trust our federal government to spend taxpayer dollars for things that matter instead of bullshit like diversity training which to be is just another way for liberals to divide the nation.
LAST SHOT!
Dr. Barbara Bellar Sums Up ObamaCare in One Sentence
A doctor who seeking an Illinois Senate seat offers brutal diagnosis of ObamaCare, and was caught on tape in the process. Now that youtube video has gone viral - meaning millions have seen it.
She's a former nun, an Army major, a lawyer, a college professor and a physician. Now Dr. Barbara Bellar wants to be a state senator from Illinois, and she has one question about ObamaCare.
“What the blank could possibly go wrong?” Bellar asks, tongue in cheek, after delivering a one-sentence indictment of President Obama's health care law.
Doctor Bellar, a Republican candidate running for office in the state’s 18th district, gave the extended one-liner while warming up the crowd at a recent event for the Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney.
Someone captured it on video, and now the doctor's diagnosis of the Affordable Care Act is an Internet sensation with more than 2 million views.
“I had no idea I was being videotaped,” Bellar told Fox News. “I meant it as a light opener to a more serious issue. It did take on a life of its own."
Doctor Bellar, who is running for office for the first time, has strong feelings about ObamaCare - which she considers an “erosion” of our individual rights. She is seeking to succeed Edward Maloney, who is retiring from the district, which includes Chicago's 19th Ward, and has picked up the endorsement of the Chicago Tribune.
The title of senator would be just the latest entry on an interesting and lengthy resume. Bellar was a Benedictine nun for nearly five years, although she left before she completed her final vows. She is a major in the U.S. Army Reserves, runs a family medical practice, teaches part time at both Benedictine and DePaul universities and practices law.
“I’ve been fortunate," Bellar said. "I’m just a life-long learner and have always wanted to help serve others.”
Of the upcoming election, Bellar says that she plans to shake up the statehouse where President Obama got his start in politics.
“They will not know what hit them,” she said.
This is from a video posted on youtube that shows Dr. Barbara Bellar speaking at a Women for Romney/Ryan rally last month:
"So let me get this straight. This is a long sentence.
We are going to be gifted with a healthcare plan that we are forced to purchase, and fined if we don't, which reportedly covers ten million more people without adding a single new doctor, but provides for sixteen thousand new IRS agents,written by a committee whose chairman doesn't understand it, passed by congress, that didn't read it, but exempted themselves from it, and signed by a president who smokes, with funding administered by a treasury chief,who didn't pay hos taxes, for which we will be taxed for four years before any benefits take effect, by a government which has bankrupted Social Security and Medicare, all to be overseen by a surgeon general who is obese and financed by a country that is broke.
So what the blank could possibly go wrong."
You just have to like the way she thinks! I can only pray that people will want her to represent them. If they do, then I have a feeling they won't go wrong because she seems like the kind of person who knows how to take care of business when it needs to be..
Story by Tom Correa
