Obama's Magic Act falls flat in Asia

Looks like the “Magic One” is not so magical:

There were only a few hours left before Air Force One was scheduled to depart for the flight home. US President Barack Obama trip through Asia had already seen him travel 24,000 kilometers, sit through a dozen state banquets, climb the Great Wall of China and shake hands with Korean children. It was high time to take stock of the trip.

Barack Obama looked tired on Thursday, as he stood in the Blue House in Seoul, the official residence of the South Korean president. He also seemed irritable and even slightly forlorn. The CNN cameras had already been set up. But then Obama decided not to play along, and not to answer the question he had already been asked several times on his trip: what did he plan to take home with him? Instead, he simply said “thank you, guys,” and disappeared. David Axelrod, senior advisor to the president, fielded the journalists’s; questions in the hallway of the Blue House instead, telling them that the public’s expectations had been “too high.”

The mood in Obama’s foreign policy team is tense following an extended Asia trip that produced no palpable results. The “first Pacific president,” as Obama called himself, came as a friend and returned as a stranger. The Asians smiled but made no concessions.

via US Foreign Policy: Obama’s Nice Guy Act Gets Him Nowhere on the World Stage – SPIEGEL ONLINE – News – International.

Looks like the magic of President Obama is gone; the foreign Governments know a weak leader when they see one. We Conservatives have been saying all along, that President Barack Obama was nothing more than an over marketed empty suite and it now appears that the rest of the World knows it too. It was good while it lasted it. This should serve, as a warning to the United States, be much more careful of whom or what you elected to be your leader. It also should serve as a warning as to why you do elect a man, because upon his ethnicity.

It just strikes me as highly ironic that Obama is now finally getting the critical press from the Liberal overseas and mainland media. We Conservatives were saying all of these things during the election and were derided as racist bigots and backward. Now it seems that the rest of America and abroad have realized it too. It is about time, maybe now we can expect some objectivity in the media; however, I shall not hold my breath, least I turn blue and die.

Uh-oh: Howard Dean: Dems 'In Deep Trouble' On Health Care

Here we have one of the textbook examples of why you do not overreach in your campaign promises. It looks like the Democrats are in deep trouble over Healthcare:

One of the leading progressive champions of health care reform is pessimistic about the state of the debate in the Senate, saying he sees virtually no path to passing strong legislation and predicting potential congressional losses for Democrats as a consequence.

Former DNC Chair Howard Dean told the Huffington Post on Monday that Senate Democratic leadership was “in deep trouble” on health care, even after Majority Leader Harry Reid cobbled together over the weekend the 60 votes needed to get legislation to the floor. The problem was as much about politics as policy.

“I think if you passed the Senate bill tomorrow it would be OK. But then the problem is they don’t have any defense for their members in 2010,” Dean said, noting that the public option would not become operational until 2014. “On the other hand, if they drop the public option [to placate moderate members], I think they lose seats.”

“So this is really tough. I didn’t anticipate being in this position. I thought it would pass. Maybe Harry has some magic up his sleeve. But I don’t see how he gets those four votes [Sens. Joseph Lieberman (Conn.), Mary Landrieu (La.), Blanche Lincoln (Ark.) and Ben Nelson (Neb.)] without compromising the bill,” Dean concluded.

via Dean: Dems ‘In Deep Trouble’ On Health Care, The Only Options Are A Bad Bill Or 2010 Losses.

This situation here is what happens when a Political Party gets extremely arrogant and thinks that there will be no opposition to their plans. The Democrats thought that because of the screw-ups of George W. Bush and the Republicans in Congress that the Democrats would be able to run rough shod over everything and everyone and get their agenda fulfilled. They have since discovered that plan is not going to work. That is because not everyone is on board with the far leftist socialism of the White House. What we are seeing here is a repeat of 1994. When the Democrats lost control of congress; and the sitting President got moderate fast.

However, this time, I believe the Democrats have much more to lose. Such as credibility, I say that because the Democrats horrifically oversold this President and themselves in general. The Democrats had many people thinking lots of crazy stuff; and now, it seems that the honeymoon is over and many on the left are realizing that the sell job was nothing more than a well-fabricated lie. I knew this well before anyone else. In fact, I said as much on this blog, back when Obama first started gaining in popularity, that they were totally over marketing the President as a messianic figure to the Democrats and to the far-left; and it was nothing more than over-zealous marketing.

This healthcare debacle could spell the end or at least a marginalizing of that Party for a long time to come. Howard Dean knows the score; he has people on the ground. If he says the Democrats are in trouble, call the ambulance, because there is a serious problem.

Chris Matthews finally decides act like an objective journalist

NewsBusters is treating this like a shocking moment; but I am not buying that at all. Chris Matthews must have finally figured out that President Barack Obama is much like his old boss Jimmy Carter. Because it seems that Matthews is finally climbing out of the tank and is finally going to report the truth about the President. This is no shocker to me, unlike some here on the right, I do not have a short term memory; back before President Obama was elected, Matthews was getting in trouble with the left for stuff that would come out of his mouth, mostly about Hillary Clinton.

The Video:

Transcript:

CHRIS MATTHEWS, HOST: Welcome back. The word these days is optics, visuals, signals. In the Carter presidency, the optics were not exactly robust, and Ronald Reagan rode that to a big victory in 1980. Is the Obama White House sending some Carteresque signals these days? Some see that in the deep bow to the Emperor of Japan, an unforced error say critics. Then there was, there was what happened in China: Obama got nothing in the way of concessions over there in spite of playing the polite visitor. And his effort to speak directly to the Chinese was jammed by the government. Third, that decision to try the terrorists up in that federal court in New York City. Again, nothing that had to be done, and critics say it shows that Obama, his team doesn’t understand this is a war we’re in. David, that’s the question. These optics are everything in a president. Carter used to carry that garment bag over his shoulder. This president is he making mistakes like in China like in Japan?

DAVID IGNATIUS, WASHINGTON POST : I think he is coming across as stiff. He is talking too much sometimes and communicating too little. So the opposite of what we saw during the campaign. Although the decision to try Khalid Sheikh Mohammed in New York apparently was Eric Holder’s, it strikes me that it really is a mistake. I mean, there are too many bad things that could happen. There is no reason to have to have done this. And, you know, it’s a political feel for decision-making. That wonderful thing you just did about President Johnson’s feel for the moment. That’s what I think is missing now with this group in the White House. I don’t know where it’s gone. They certainly had it during the campaign. Maybe they’ll get it back. But it’s missing now.

MATTHEWS: It’s the political touch. You were in China. You just got back. Tell me about that. The president tried to speak to the Chinese people and apparently it was jammed. Tell me about that.

ANNE KORNBLUT, WASHINGTON POST: This was the big moment of the whole trip to Asia in fact, eight days in Asia he was going to speak to Chinese students in Shanghai unfiltered at least in his answers, and in fact the Chinese government, you know, they allowed the event to take place, but it was only shown locally on Shanghai television. People didn’t see it. The one piece of news he made in it saying that the internet should be free and people should have access dribbled out to the Chinese public and then started being deleted from all the Chinese websites. So, then, the following day he held a quote unquote press conference with the Chinese President Hu Jintao in which there were no questions and they read statements. Now, this is of course, this is the Chinese, it’s their home turf. They were allowed to do what they wanted to. That was the White House’s argument. And the White House haggled with them to get it more open.

MATTHEWS: The White House got jammed here. Did they know this was coming, that it wouldn’t get to the people?

KORNBLUT: Sure. They knew, previous presidents had been allowed to reach the Chinese public. They knew that it might or might not. It did. But they didn’t have to stand there at a press conference, call it a press conference, and not answer questions. And I think they’re expect, they may have raised expectations a little for how much they were going to be able to do.

Again, I am glad to see that Chris Matthews is actually starting to do his job and being an objective journalist and not some “In the Tank” apologist for the President. While doing so might not endure him to many on the far left; it will in fact possibly earn him some respect from some of us on the right. I have always viewed Chris Matthews as a “Left of Center” Bill O’Reilly and I respected him for not letting the far right or the far left come on his show and spout talking points. Chris always held their feet to the fire and made them look like idiots, if said people were programmed spokespersons. In short, I am glad to see that Chris Matthews is actually playing hardball again and no longer playing the DNC’s game of softball.

News from a Fundamentalist Baptist Christian perspective

FRIDAY CHURCH NEWS NOTES
November 20, 2009, Volume 10, Issue 47

The Friday Church News Notes is designed for use in churches and is published by Way of Life Literature’s Fundamental Baptist Information Service. Unless otherwise stated, the Notes are written by David Cloud. Of necessity we quote from a wide variety of sources, but this does not imply an endorsement. For instructions on how to unsubscribe to this list or to change mailing addresses, please consult the information paragraph at the end.

LEE STROBEL’S DANGEROUS ASSOCIATIONS (Friday Church News Notes, November 20, 2009, www.wayoflife.org fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) – Lee Strobel, the influential author of several widely-used apologetics books including The Case for Christ, is an “evangelical” whose associations with rank heretics sounds loud warnings. In January 2010 he is scheduled to speak at the Break Forth conference in Canada with William Paul Young, author of The Shack, and Leonard Sweet, a New Age contemplative. Lighthouse Trails observes, “[Though many have admired Strobel’s work in the past], it is really no surprise that he is attending Break Forth. With his sponsorship of his son’s very contemplative/emerging ministry Metamorpha, multiple appearances at Robert Schuller’s Crystal Cathedral over the years, and his ongoing connections with Saddleback and Willow Creek, discernment is not something that Strobel appears to give much attention to” (“Why Are Joel Rosenberg and Frank Peretti Appearing with New Age/New Spirituality Sympathizers,” Lighthouse Trails, Nov. 9, 2009). Strobel’s fellow speaker Paul Young depicts God as a woman and claims that He/She does not judge sin or send anyone to hell. Leonard Sweet promotes a New Age universalist spirituality that he calls New Light and “the Christ consciousness.” He describes it in terms of “the union of the human with the divine” which is the “center feature of all the world’s religions” (Quantum Spirituality, p. 235). He says it was experienced by Mohammed, Moses, and Krishna. He promotes Matthew Fox, M. Scott Peck, and Ken Wilber, New Agers who believe in the divinity of man. Sweet says humanity needs to learn the truth of the words of the Buddhist-Catholic priest Thomas Merton, “We are already one” (Quantum Spirituality, p. 13). The Bible warns that it is impossible to join hands with such men in ministry without becoming partaker of their evil deeds (2 John 8-11).

RULES! LAWS! (Friday Church News Notes, November 20, 2009, www.wayoflife.org fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) – When a high school gymnastics team recently lost a title competition because the coach broke the rules, the responses were telling. They ranged, in effect, from “we understand and accept the rule” to “we are special and shouldn’t be bound by such silly rules.” On the weekend of November 7-8, Northwest High School of Shawnee Mission, Kansas, slipped from first place to third after one of the coaches inappropriately questioned a scoring decision, costing the team a one-point penalty. The school’s athletic director, Richard Grinage, admitted that the coach acted contrary to the rules, saying, “It would be similar to a called ball or strike.” The coach in question, though, was unrepentant, saying, “We were the strongest team and had the highest score with 103.9 points, but, because of a ruling that has never been enforced in 30 years; we got a 102.9 and were third place” (“Sometimes It’s Better to Just Keep Your Mouth Shut,” Homeschool.rivals.com, Nov. 11, 2009). Discussing the purpose of the rule, Becky Oakes of the National Federation for State High Associations, said that “to allow a coach to always question an official could really interrupt the flow of events for the athletes and the competition.” That’s reasonable. Games must have rules. Life must have laws. And if laws are broken and there is no penalty, the law is destroyed and anarchy reigns. This is why the holy Creator God punishes infractions of His Law, and it means that we all deserve His just punishment, because we are all sinners. But in His great love He has provided a way of salvation for those who put their trust in the cross-work of His only begotten Son Jesus Christ. The unfathomable love of God cannot be understood without a comprehension of His inflexible holiness. The Gospel cannot be understood apart from the Law.

THE NEW IRON CURTAIN (Friday Church News Notes, November 20, 2009, www.wayoflife.org fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) – The following is excerpted from “The Iron Curtain” by Paul Proctor, Nov. 10, 2009, Newswithviews.com, watchman@usa.com — “On this 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall, with America deteriorating like an old and obsolete relic of our patriotic past, I’m left to wonder if the event let freedom in or tyranny out. You see, as I write, the wall is being rebuilt–not with concrete, mortar or razor wire–but instead, with satellites, cameras, computers, databases and an array of impressive and oppressive technologies that can monitor, record and analyze the movements, expressions, words and even thoughts of an unsuspecting populace now evermore willing to exchange God-given liberties and freedoms for governmental guarantees of health, safety, security and prosperity. These are the new guard towers that cast long shadows from above that to many are far more intimating than they are comforting. … I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but the wall is indeed returning–and this time it extends around the world. When the powers that be are finished with it, there will be nowhere to run and hide. It won’t protect us from the evil without, but will only chain us electronically and spiritually to the wickedness within. It doesn’t matter how many guns are purchased or how much ammo one has stored away. Ultimately, this is a spiritual battle with eternal consequences and God Himself is the only One who can deliver us from what lies ahead. The sooner we fall to our knees, confess our sins, repent and cry out for a salvation that comes only by Jesus Christ, the sooner we will have ‘the peace of God which passeth all understanding’ and the wherewithal to carry on into the future, uncertain as it may be. ‘For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved’ (Romans 10:13). That’s real freedom, liberty and security–the kind the Apostle Paul sang about joyously while bound and imprisoned for his faith as told in the 16th chapter of Acts. Without it, there is no hope—not in this life or in the life to come.”

Christian Coalition of America's Washington Weekly Review

I get this in e-mail every Sunday, I believe it might be of interest to my readers…

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Washington Weekly Review

WWR Extra: Senate Moving Forward on Obamacare

On Saturday evening at 8:08 P.M. EST, the United States Senate — by a vote of 60-39 — agreed to proceed with the healthcare bill debate on the Senate floor.

So, as this debate in Congress will now rage on as to whether or not a massive, government-run health care system will be enacted, it is important that pro-family conservatives continue to stay informed.

Please, be sure to visit our Health Care Action Center and keep up with the latest facts and information – and then continue to let your members of Congress know how you feel.

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MESSSAGE FROM ROBERTA COMBS, PRESIDENT, CHRISTIAN COALITION OF AMERICA

The lead item in this week’s “Washington Weekly Review” entitled “Senate Vote Saturday Night to Determine if America Will Turn to Socialism” may seem alarmist to some, but I have no doubt that it sums up the great importance of the vote in the United States Senate on Saturday night at 8 p.m. on Obamacare.  If the Senators vote to begin debate on this socialized medicine scheme cooked up during the last few weeks behind closed doors with no transparency whatsoever and with no Republican input whatsoever, then America will begin down the road to socialism as some European countries have chosen to do.

It is imperative that these 6 United States Senators be contacted immediately to urge them to vote NO on the Democrat’s “motion to proceed to debate the Senate’s health care reform bill,” a 2,074 page monstrosity:  Senator Ben Nelson from Nebraska; Senators Blanche Lincoln and Mark Pryor from Arkansas; Senator Mary Landrieu from Louisiana; Senator Evan Bayh from Indiana and Senator Joe Lieberman from Connecticut.

Finally, Christian Coalition of America will score this extremely important vote in CCA’s 2009-2010 Congressional Scorecard.  A vote FOR “the motion to proceed to debate the Senate Democrat healthcare bill” will be a negative vote in the CCA congressional scorecard.  A vote FOR Senator Orrin Hatch’s pro-life amendment – similar to Democrat Bart Stupak’s amendment which passed 240-194 – will be listed in the CCA congressional scorecard as a positive vote.  It is important that you call your Senators now.  Time is of the essence.

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Senate Vote Saturday Night to Determine if America Will Turn to Socialism

On Thursday, Christian Coalition of America (CCA) sent out an Action Alert to its supporters all over America and urged them to contact both of their United States Senators regarding the most important vote of their congressional careers.  The vote on the Democrats’ socialized medicine scheme, commonly called ObamaCare, will come up for a vote on the Senate floor Saturday night at 8 p.m.

Because the Senate’s ObamaCare bill pushed back implementation of the major provisions until 2014, it is important that you, your family and your friends understand the true cost of 10 years of implementation – a whopping $2.5 trillion.

The question is simply this: Will America leave its roots and give up much of the freedom bestowed on Americans by our Founders by turning to socialism?  That is exactly what the United States Senate will be voting on Saturday night at 8 p.m. when the Democrats attempt to begin debate on ObamaCare… (Read More)

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Derelict Army Generals Need to Prosecute in Murder of Unborn Child

To add insult to injury, the prosecutors in the United States Army, have thus far refused to charge the Islamic terrorist with a 14th murder charge in the Ft. Hood massacre by ignoring the death of an unborn baby.  This mass murder, by a deranged Muslim terrorist, probably would not have occurred at all, if the leadership of the Army, led by Army Chief of Staff, General George Casey, had gotten rid of this Army Major jihadist in the first place.  The U.S. Army  —  infested with political correctness for the past several decades  —  had plenty of warnings that the terrorist, Major Nidal Malik Hasan, was about to explode.

The left-wing news media has been intent on ignoring the death of a 14th victim, besides the 12 soldiers and Army civilian, assassinated by terrorist Nidal Malik Hasan.  Indeed, the one word on this week’s cover of “Time” magazine was “terrorist” with a question mark behind “terrorist?” and a picture of the Islamic terrorist Nidal Malik Hasan in the background.

The United States Army – which has succumbed to left-wing political correctness for far too long – needs to immediately recognize the death of the 6-week-old unborn child of assassinated Army Private Francheska Velez, a 21-year old native of Barack Hussein Obama’s hometown of Chicago… (Read More)

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European Court Tells Italians to Take Down Their Crucifixes

In a preview of what a stronger European Union government will look like when it comes to religious freedom, Italians were stunned to hear that the European Court of Human Rights ruled that they had been violating the “religious and educational rights” of their children for generations by forcing them to attend school in classrooms with crucifixes hanging on their walls.

The court’s decision came about as a result of a 2002 complaint:

…a Finnish-born mother of two children in the Italian school system objected to the crucifixes in their classrooms. The school principal was unmoved. Italy’s Constitutional Court dismissed her complaint. So she filed a case in Strasbourg, France, and now she’s won.

The Euro court’s ruling hasn’t exactly had the intended effect.  In fact, quite the opposite… (Read More)

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Political Roundup: 11-20-09

Super Boots

Just how many jobs has the “stimulus” created?  Today’s Wall Street Joural points to an interesting claim by the Obama administration…

“…how many Americans does it take to make nine pairs of work boots? According to the White House’s recovery.gov site, an $890 shoe order for the Army Corps of Engineers, courtesy of the stimulus package, created nine new jobs at Moore’s Shoes & Services in Campbellsville, Kentucky…”

Yep.  Super Boots.  Able to create multiple jobs in a single laceup.

Guess who’s not arresting illegal aliens… (Read More)

The Democratic Party is scared to death of Sarah Palin

Lookie what bounced into my inbox:

Right now, Sarah Palin is on a highly publicized, nationwide book tour, attacking President Obama and his plan for health reform at every turn.

It’s dangerous. Remember, this is the person who coined the term “Death Panels” — and opened the flood gates for months of false attacks by special interests and partisan extremists.

Whatever lie comes next will be widely covered by the media, then constantly echoed by right-wing attack groups and others who are trying to defeat reform.

As we approach the final sprint on health reform, we can’t afford more deception and delay. We need to be ready for anything — and have the resources to respond with ads, events, and calls to Congress when the attacks come.

So we’re setting a big goal: $500,000 in the next week to help push back against Sarah Palin and her allies. Please chip in $5 or more to help reach our goal.

Please donate

Earlier this month, Palin publicly said that she hopes health reform will be “dead on arrival.” And since then, she’s been working fiercely toward that goal.

On Tuesday, Palin went on Rush Limbaugh’s radio show where she outrageously — and falsely — suggested that Americans could “face jail time as punishment” if they don’t buy insurance.

Palin has many more interviews scheduled on Hannity and other conservative shows in the next few weeks, with more platforms to go after the President. As soon as she does, the rest of our opponents will likely parrot those attacks.

We need to be prepared. And we’re counting on you help. Can you chip in $5 or more?

http://my.democrats.org/SarahPalin

Thanks,

Mitch

Mitch Stewart

Director

Organizing for America

Oh Yeah, they are scared out of their minds.