The main stream media still loves Barack Obama.  They still think all liberals are brilliant and that conservatives descended from Neanderthals.  But, they no longer think that Barack Obama is a winner.

Barack Obama is officially a loser.  We know this because he told us.  He told us that sequestration is a disaster and that it will cause a lot of pain.  He told us that it was a really bad terrible idea invented by Republicans to reward their rich friends and hurt poor people.  He also told us that he was powerless to stop it.  Forget the inconvenient truth that sequestration was Obama’s bad idea.  What really matters is that Barack Obama said it is really bad and that he was powerless to stop it.  He is looking and acting like a loser.

Winners NEVER complain about their opponents.  When winners are defeated, they just become more determined to win the next time.  Winners never lose; they just run out of time. 

Barack Obama is officially a loser and regardless of the reporting by the main stream media, that is a hard reality.  That is why his approval ratings are now in the 40s and falling like a stone.  The American people love a winner and they hate a loser.  They particularly hate a loser who blames everyone and everything but himself.  I believe that Barack Obama has made an enormous error and I am not sure he can recover.  He has handed republicans a prize worth more than rubies.  He has admitted that he has lost and that he doesn’t know what to do. 

We have hard dark days ahead.   When the President of the United States is a loser, we are all losers.  I fear we will pay a terrible price for his failures.  But regardless of what happens from here on in, one thing is certain.  Barack Obama not only has an expiration date on his forehead, he is already yesterday’s news.  Even liberals will start deserting him, not because they disagree with him, but because they no longer believe in him.  It will not happen overnight, but it will happen.  I do not know who or what will replace him.  But I know a loser when I seen one and I see one now.  I do not know who will win the sequestration battle, but I already know the biggest loser.

TDM

I watched a small portion of President Obama’s Press conference today and it was beyond pathetic.   President Obama just ignores the White House press pool.  He is famous for bypassing them and giving interviews to local reporters who are guaranteed to not ask any tough questions.  Just recently he ditched them so he could play golf with Tiger Woods.  Yet, incredibly, the White House press corps is still totally in the tank for this president.   He “finally” gave a press conference and yet no one asked a single significant question:   President Obama started by blaming EVERYTHING on republicans: 

OBAMA: And let’s be clear: None of this is necessary. It’s happening because a choice that Republicans in Congress have made. They’ve allowed these cuts to happen because they refuse to budge on closing a single wasteful loophole to help reduce the deficit.

As recently as yesterday, they decided to protect special- interest tax breaks for the well-off and the well-connected, and they think that that’s apparently more important than protecting our military or middle-class families from the pain of these cuts.

This was so bad and so obvious that one reporter timidly asked if President Obama accepted any responsibility himself:  He responded by asking them what they would recommend.  Following is the answer to his question: 

QUESTION: Mr. President, to your question, what could you do. First of all, couldn’t you just have them down here and refuse to let them leave the room until you have a deal?

OBAMA: You know, the — I mean, Jessica (ph), I — I am not a dictator. I’m the president. So, ultimately if Mitch McConnell or John Boehner say, “We need to go to catch a plane,” I can’t have Secret Service block the doorway. Right?

It just doesn’t get any worse than this.  No one even mentioned that the whole sequestration deal was his idea and that he lied about it.  No one pointed out that every wage earner in the United States got a tax increase effective January 1, 2013 and they have all had to cut their spending.  Yet the President of the United States cannot possibly manage to cut expenses by 2.5% without making drastic cuts to essential services.   

I remember those great press conferences with Jack Kennedy where he sparred with reporters.  Presidents used to actually get asked real questions and they gave real answers.  The main stream media has always been liberal and they have always cut Democratic presidents a lot of slack, but they at least used to pretend to be reporters.  Now Obama gives this rambling monologue and the only question they can think to ask is why he can’t lock republicans in a room until they agree with him.  I don’t know when I have been more appalled and more disgusted. 

TDM

Bob Woodward, more than any other journalist, has had extensive access to George W. Bush, Barack Obama and senior officials in their respective administrations.  He may have had the best front row seat in the world for observing these two Presidents in action.  That makes the comments attributed to him in the following article very significant:

http://www.businessinsider.com/bob-woodward-obama-sequester-white-house-reporting-price-politics-2013-2

Woodward is walking where angels fear to tread.  He is accusing President Obama of irresponsibly putting politics ahead of national security.  He has challenged Obama’s character.  Republicans are terrified by the main stream media that responds so viciously to the slightest criticism of Obama.   No major Republican or Conservative, including Sean Hannity or Rush Limbaugh or even Glenn Beck dare hint at this. 

Woodward may pay a severe personal price for this, but the damage has been done.   The main stream media cannot ignore this story.   President Obama has avoided scrutiny by the main stream media who has displayed a collective lack of curiosity regarding critical issues.  Anyone who dared hint at a problem with Obama’s character would have been crucified as a racist.  Woodward has changed that.  Now the questions must be asked.

I don’t think this is because Woodward is angry.  I think this is because Woodward, who is in a position to know, has weighed Barack Obama in the balance and found him dangerously wanting.   I also think that Woodward senses a sea change among the Washington media.  In recent interviews, both Candy Crowley and David Gregory pushed back against the “sky is falling” hysteria from the White House.”   The Obama protective shield is starting to leak.  There’s a Woodward Wind blowing through our capital and it is wise to remember than an ill wind blows nobody good.

TDM

We had some friends who had a cat with an attitude.  One day, while we were visiting, this cat decided to scratch the back of their couch.  The husband, visibly angry, grabbed the cat and tossed it outside.  For the next 15 years, every time that cat wanted to go outside, it scratched the couch.  We call it rewarding bad behavior.

Homeland security is releasing hundreds of illegal immigrants held in detention:

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2013/feb/26/illegal-immigrants-released-detention-centers-sequ/?page=all#pagebreak

They are also furloughing border patrol agents.   I suspect that the process will continue with the Obama administration choosing, in every case, to make the most painful cuts first.  They appear to be on a mission to make sure that any sequestration cuts will result in the maximum possible damage.

This is not the first administration, at any level of government that had to make cuts.  But in most cases, when faced with the necessary, public officials act responsibly.  They try to make the best of it and minimize the impact.   This time, it looks like the opposite is happening.  If either congress or the American people reward President Obama for such childish and irresponsible behavior, we will only see even more of it in the future.

TDM

The Obama administration is now claiming that if we adopt sequestration illegal aliens and terrorists will flood across our southern border.  Terrorists, perhaps, but illegal aliens are more likely to be heading south, because there are actually jobs in Mexico.  I wonder if even the liberal left will buy this nonsense.

Obama is acting desperate.   He is used to Republicans folding like a cheap umbrella while the main stream media cheers in the background.   He is used to getting away with blatant lies, about nearly everything, because no on in the main stream media seems to care.  But this time few are buying the lie that this was all a nefarious republican plot to starve the poor.  For one thing, Bob Woodward is on a mission to set the record straight.  In addition, I think a lot of people have financial crisis fatigue.

It sure looks like a lot of Republicans have had it with Obama and his histrionics.  This is like the kid who throws one too many temper tantrums.  The parents finally learn to say no and they are shocked to discover how good it feels.

It just seems to me like the whole Obama mystic is wearing a little thin.  It is hard for me to evaluate this, because I get nauseated at the thought of seeing him speak.  But Michelle Obama’s decision to crash the Oscars bordered on surreal.  She was surrounded by token military personnel she never bothered to mention.  The whole thing screamed of “me, it’s all about me.”  This brought political grandstanding to a whole new level.  Sometimes, it is a short distance between class and crass.

TDM

Democrats routinely accuse Republicans of lying about nearly everything.  Republicans routinely accuse Democrats of lying about nearly everything.  Each side is absolutely certain that the other side lies more.  Rarely do we get the opportunity to know for sure who is lying about something. 

 But this time we have something very rare.  We have a credible witness with a reputation for taking notes, confirming sources and getting it right.  Bob Woodward wrote a book titled the “The Price of Politics.”  Woodward describes exactly who proposed sequestration and his narrative is impossible to dispute.  So far, anyone who has dared to dispute Woodward’s reporting has quickly backed off, probably because Woodward tends to record things and he has very good notes.  Now Woodward is asking a very important question:  “Why is President Obama lying about this? 

 Sequestration was a dumb idea and credit/blame for it can be apportioned on a bi-partisan basis.  It would never have passed if House Republicans, led by John Boehner, had not voted for it.  It would not have passed if the Senate, led by Harry Reid had not voted for it.  It would not have become law if President Obama had not signed it.  It is the classic example of bi-partisan stupidity.

 If Obama just admitted the truth, he would be better off.  But Obama has a serious character flaw.  He is incapable of accepting responsibility for anything.  He absolutely has to blame this on Republicans because otherwise he would have to blame himself.  Obama never blames himself for anything.

 Obama has gotten away with obvious lies since day one.  The main stream media refuses to report on his lies.  They either know he is lying, and don’t care, or they are so infatuated with him that they are unable to see the truth. 

 But now he has a problem.  That problem is Bob Woodward.  Woodward is not going to let this go.  When Obama lied about sequestration, Bob Woodward took it as an assault on his personal credibility.   Woodward is on a campaign to prove that he got it right in his book and the man has access to a microphone.  He is providing indisputable proof that Obama is lying and he is very difficult to ignore.

 No one should underestimate the significance of this.  This is the first time Obama has been confronted with his lies in a way that cannot be ignored.  There is a real risk for Obama that the main stream media will finally start to challenge everything he says.  If that happens, Obama is in serious trouble, because he stacks up lies like cordwood.  Credibilty, once lost, is often impossible to restore.  President Obama has been caught lying.  It is no longer possible to pretend otherwise.  The only question is whether lying, at this level and to this degree matters.  We will soon know.

 TDM

Don’t look now, but Republicans are starting to show faint signs of “backbonitis.”  This is a relatively new condition for Republicans where they refuse to be intimidated by the irrational behavior of the liberal left.  The new face of the Republican Party is not RINOs like John McCain, John Boehner or Mitt Romney.  It is strong leaders like Marco Rubio and Rand Paul.  Marco Rubio pointed out; correctly, that sequestration was Obama’s idea and most of those predicted job losses are the results of cuts to the defense budget that were demanded by President Obama.   Rand Paul told Obama to stop lying about the world coming to an end because he finally has to cut spending.

In case you wonder who was responsible for sequestration, read the following excerpt from page 326 of Bob Woodward’s book:  “The Price of Politics:” (Courtesy of Washing Post Fact Checker – Glenn Kessler)

“We have an idea for a trigger,” Lew said.

“What’s the idea,” Reid asked skeptically.

“Sequestration.”

Sequestration, in other words, was Obama’s plan.  Obama believed that the cuts to the Defense budget were so horrible that Republicans would have to cave.  Just think about that.  We have a President who was and is willing to sacrifice national security in order to win a political argument.

But, Obama was wrong.  Republicans, appear to have decided that cutting the defense budget, although painful, is better than letting Obama continue to spend us into bankruptcy.  So now Obama is on another campaign type tour trying to simultaneously blame Republicans for his own plan and to warn that the sky is falling.  He is following the traditional Democratic playbook of cutting the most visible and important things first.  When Democrats run out of money the first thing they cut is funding for schools, fire departments and police.  They always start by cutting the things most likely to cause public outrage.  Unfortunately, that has usually worked for them in the past.

But, this time the economy has been bad for too long and all of us have watched state and local government actually cut spending.  Miraculously, when elected officials had no other option, they found ways to cut spending yet our schools are still open, fires are still being fought and police are still on the job.

Obama apparently believes that the first cuts must be to TSA agents and Air Traffic controllers.  This is designed to cause a major airline traffic jam that will hopefully produce the necessary public outrage.  He can’t cut schools, fire departments and police, because the federal government doesn’t do any of that.

I don’t think he was prepared for Rand Paul.  Senator Paul pointed out that the amount of money being cut was about $42 billion, and while that was a lot of money, it was a tiny percentage of the federal budget.  In other words, he called Obama’s bluff.

Sequestration is set to start on March 1.  The Republicans still have time to return to the jaundice of the spine era led by the usual suspects, but maybe, just maybe, “ backbonitis” will spread, even among RINOs previously vaccinated against the slightest display of courage.  Who knows?  Could this really spread?  Even Lindsay Graham is showing signs of growing a spine.  With wonders never cease?

TDM

This op-ed should be required reading for liberals:

http://townhall.com/tipsheet/carolplattliebau/2013/02/22/harvard-law-review-women-need-special-help-n1518370

Ms. Liebau didn’t want to be selected because of affirmative action.  She considered that to be an insult.  This is a prime example of how really smart people overcome barriers.  Ms.  Liebau understood that if she wanted to be treated as equally capable she needed to compete on a level playing field.  If she had gained her way on the Harvard Law review through an affirmative action program, it would have meant nothing.

Hmmm.  President Obama was President of the Harvard Law Review.  How did that happen?  It seems pretty obvious that this was the result of the affirmative action program based on race and ethnicity described by Ms. Liebau.

It is interesting to note that she won a position as a Clerk for Daniel Sentelle of the DC Circuit.  She was very specific in saying that the fact that she had earned her position on the Harvard Law review was important to this judge.  She feared that if the judge knew she got there under an affirmative action program, he would have questioned her actual capability.

Prior to Barack Obama, the President of the Law Review went on to clerk for a Circuit Court Judge for a year and then for a Supreme Court Justice for a year.  But, that changed with Barack Obama.  He went back to Chicago to work for a private law firm.   Perhaps those Circuit Court Judges and those Supreme Court Justices had the same opinion as Ms. Liebau.   If you got the name without the pain it ain’t the same.

TDM

Perhaps, just perhaps, the main stream media may actually learn something from the Sandy Hook massacre.  According to the following (unconfirmed) report from CBS, the killer, Adam Lanza, had compared himself to Anders Brelvik, the Norwegian mass killer:

http://www2.wspa.com/news/2013/feb/19/cbs-sandy-hook-massacre-suspect-obseessed-norwegia-ar-5625236/

The report also claims that Lanza choose the school because it would be an easy target.  That was certainly consistent with the strategy of Brelvik who went to an island where he knew, because of Norwegian gun control laws, there would be no firearms.

If this is accurate, then perhaps we should be more concerned about eliminating gun free zones than a meaningless assault rifle ban.  Norway has the strictest gun control laws in the world, but Brelvik had no trouble getting an “assault” rife.  He was the only one on the entire island with a gun.  That is why he was able to kill 69 people unopposed.  The Sandy Hook elementary school shooting also took place at a “gun free zone.”  “Gun free,” to a mass murderer who isn’t overly concerned about breaking the law, just means it is unlikely anyone can shoot back.

Has anyone noticed that even though the main stream media desperately searches for the most remote Tea Party connection to any mass shooting, so no such connection has been found?   If the main stream media had been looking for liberals, on the other hand, they would have been far more successful.  The most recent killer in California even wrote a manifesto praising people like Piers Morgan and Diane Feinstein for promoting gun control.  Liberal blogs are full of rage and hatred for anyone with a different political opinion.  These types of comments rarely appear on any of the conservative blogs, because such behavior is not tolerated.   If hate speech is a factor that increases the potential for violence, then perhaps the main stream media should try look at those liberal blogs and check this out for themselves.  Of course that would require some concern with regard to the truth of the matter making this highly unlikely.

TDM

In 1953, Charles Wilson (President of GM) was asked whether or not there was any conflict between his job and becoming Secretary of Defense. His answer was:

 

“I cannot conceive of one because for years I thought what was good for our country was good for General Motors, and vice versa. The difference did not exist. Our company is too big.”

 

That may or may not have been the source of the phrase:

 

“As GM goes, so goes the country.”

 

Since GM failed big time that phrase hardly seems relevant anymore. Ford is actually bigger than GM today, but Wal-Mart is bigger than both of them combined. Wal-Mart has revenues of $421.89 billion, which would rank it as the 25th largest country in the world. Perhaps the more accurate phrase today would be:

 

“As Walmart goes, so goes the nation.” 

 

Well, Wal-Mart had a really bad awful start to February. According to Bloomberg, internal e-mails at Wal-Mart describe this as the worst start to a month in over seven years:

 

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-02-15/wal-mart-executives-sweat-slow-february-start-in-e-mails.html

 

Walmart is the nation’s largest retailer. It is also famous for low prices. 100 million customers visit Wal-Mart in a week. It has more than 2 million employees. There are some economists who think Wal-Mart is great. There are others who think Wal-Mart is destroying the country. But everyone agrees that Wal-Mart is a major factor in our economy. If people have stopped shopping at Wal-Mart they have probably stopped shopping everywhere. In other words, if this report is true, the economy may have just hit the proverbial wall.

 

Perhaps this was just a glitch and sales at Wal-Mart will start to rebound. But I suspect that this is not a temporary trend. One could make the argument that this should have been anticipated. Taxes went up on every American on January 1, 2013. Most people did not understand the damage to their pocketbooks until they got their first paycheck either in mid-January or at the end of the month. Suddenly, people started looking at their paychecks and realized that they had less money. They also realized that tax refunds are going to be delayed and gas is back up over $4 a gallon again.  And, by the way, health care costs are going through the roof. So, they all did the only thing they could do. They looked for ways to cut expenses. Since a lot of them shop at Wal-Mart, Wal-Mart sales dropped like a stone.

 

If the economy has hit a wall, then Obama better enjoy his boys’ only golf outing in Florida, because he is in for a rough ride.

 

TDM