As the nation approaches the one year anniversary of Barack Obama’s inauguration, administration officials are crowing about all their “accomplishments.” On the White House website, you can read about the myriad ways in which President Obama has saved the global economy, tackled climate change and made us safe.

Some of you may be dubious, but you can participate in a series of live online chats and blogs with key White House aides as they detail “what the Obama Administration has done over the past year, and where the Administration is heading on pivotal issues.” The White House may be trying to put on a happy face, but the American people clearly aren’t happy with hope and change.

Virtually every major polling outfit and news organization now finds that the president’s approval rating has tanked. Yesterday, CBS News reported that Obama’s approval rating hit a new low in its polling at 46%. Today, it’s Gallup, which reports that only 40% of Americans approve of Obama’s handling of the economy and just 37% approve of his performance on healthcare reform.

CNN and Quinnipiac University asked voters whether Obama’s first year in office had been a success or a failure. Quinnipiac found that voters were evenly divided at 45% each. CNN found 48% of voters saying Obama’s first year was a failure, while 47% said it was successful. And, after a year of Obama’s leadership, Quinnipiac found voters statistically tied when asked whether the nation would have been better off or worse off if John McCain had become president instead of Barack Obama.

Whose Fault?

ABC is reporting that two of the jihadist leaders behind the Northwest Airlines bomb plot were formerly Guantanamo prisoners who were released in November 2007. Before the day is over, Obama operatives and their media allies will be blaming George Bush for the Christmas Day plot.

Nice try – but no sale. During Bush’s second term, every liberal senator including Barack Obama was demanding that Guantanamo prisoners be put on trial or released. Liberal courts sniped at every step the Bush Administration took to deal with the “GITMO” prisoners. The ACLU and big media complained that the prisoners were being denied their rights. Steps taken to get information from the prisoners were condemned as torture. There were more negative stories about the U.S. soldiers guarding these thugs than about the thugs themselves. Liberal Illinois Senator Dick Durbin compared GITMO and our military prisons to a Nazi facility.

In that atmosphere, the Bush Administration started allowing limited releases from GITMO of prisoners they felt were least dangerous. At the same time, President Bush warned that some released prisoners had already gone back to the battlefield against the U.S. We were critical of the releases but also understood that it was a response to liberal pressure.

Now let’s fast forward to today. President Obama took office and his first official act was to sign an order to close GITMO, releasing as many prisoners as possible and bringing the rest to the U.S., where they would be granted all the rights of our Constitution. For the last year, Obama has fought to implement his plan in spite of all the evidence that he will make us less safe by doing so.

Now read this and weep. ABC is reporting that just this weekend the number of prisoners at GITMO dropped to fewer than 200 because President Obama transferred a dozen jihadist suspects to the governments of Yemen, Afghanistan and Somali. Meanwhile, other GITMO prisoners are getting their attorneys for the circus trials that will be held in New York as the result of another Obama decision. Finally it was Barack Obama’s administration that failed to keep an obviously high-risk individual from boarding the Northwest Christmas flight. That failure almost cost hundreds of lives.

The Obama Administration has one tune in its repertoire. It’s called “Blame Bush.” But it won’t fly this time, as we become less safe with each passing day.

In March, the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO) warned, “President Barack Obama’s budget would produce $9.3 trillion in deficits over the next decade, more than four times the deficits of Republican George W. Bush’s presidency.” That warning is already coming true. While Congress was debating ObamaCare, a new Big Government program expected to cost $1 trillion, the announcement came last week that the United States posted a record annual deficit of $1.4 trillion. To give you some perspective, the previous record deficit, recorded last year, was a “mere” $459 billion.

But, if things don’t change quickly in Washington, one budget analyst warns that it could get a lot worse than the CBO suggests. Brian M. Riedl of the Heritage Foundation says, “The White House figures are based on unrealistic estimates of discretionary spending, interest payments and interest rates.” According to Riedl, a more realistic analysis produces deficits “$4 trillion higher than recent estimates by the Obama administration and the Congressional Budget Office.” And if spending goes unchecked by future Congresses, the budget deficit could reach $2 trillion a year by 2019.

That kind of outrageous spending is unsustainable and will bankrupt America. But it helps to explain why liberal politicians are proposing a massive new energy tax, a value added tax, new surtaxes and excise taxes and more.

Today’s announcement that the unemployment rate has hit a 26-year high is crushing news to millions of Americans desperately in need of employment and to those hoping that “change” was on the way. The administration promised us that the stimulus plan would hold the line on unemployment. In fact, we were told that if lawmakers didn’t waste time trying to read the bill and just voted “yes,” unemployment would go no higher than 8%. Today it stands at 9.5%, and even Obama now concedes it will hit double digits.

Twenty-six years ago, the nation was mired in a deep recession, much worse than the one we are facing today. How did we get out of it? Back then President Ronald Reagan slashed taxes and did his best to reduce spending. The world marveled at the Reagan Recovery. Today, Barack Obama is spending money we don’t have on things we don’t need. He’s also promising to raise taxes through the roof to create new programs we can’t afford. In short, he’s doing the exact opposite of what worked for Ronald Reagan, and putting America on the fast track to the “Barack Bankruptcy.”

I’ve been told by several people that the Iranian’s don’t want us to “intervene”.  My simple answer: you’re stupid.  That’s right, I’m blatantly, publicly saying that.  You will forever be able to quote me on this.  The video below features an Iranian woman who, on the phone, describes vividly a massacre she witnessed and begs CNN (and the U.S.) to “stop this” and to “help the people of Iran”.

Albert Einstein once said, “The world is a dangerous place, not [only] because of those who do evil, but because of those who look on and do nothing.”  In my opinion, this includes those who look, notice, mention something, and move on.  The people of Iran don’t just need us to watch and spread the news.  They need us to help them.  Step in and help.  Give them more resources to take their country.

Here’s an excellent quote from the description of the same video:

Just to be clear to all those who say, this does not involve the US. It does!  After the final verdict on the elections by the supreme ruler, he had to say … death to America, death to Israel.  So you see, if they are allowed to kill their own people, they will not stop at anything to try to attack and kill the US!  This is beyond belief!

See, there’s a lot of people saying to Iran, “the world is watching.”  Here’s the problem though: Iranians are watching us.  They’re waiting for us.  They’re watching us bicker and debate about why we shouldn’t “intrude” or “meddle” in, what some people are calling, their revolution.  My guess is that they probably don’t see much ‘hope’ coming from us, especially not coming from the ‘leader of hope’ (I’m talking about Obama, just in case your brain’s running on 56k today).  Stop bickering; stop debating.  People are dieing.  People are being brutally massacred.  And for those who think this whole thing is a hoax… you’re stupid.  Yep, I said it again.  Why would the Iranian government start censoring foreign media, the web, and blocking text services?  To serve their people?  Come on, you’re smarter than that.

Prayers and Lord’s blessings to the Iranian people.

Iranian thug Mahmoud Ahmadinejad just kicked Barack Obama in the political groin. He said the worst thing he could possibly think of to insult Obama — he compared him to George W. Bush. Ouch! That has got to hurt. Obama and his leftwing allies have regularly defamed President Bush and suggested he is responsible for everything from hurricanes to wanton slaughter. To the Obamians, Bush is a war criminal. Obama was going to come into the White House and change America – and the world! The Texas cowboy would be forever forgotten.

Over the last five months, Barack Hussein Obama has made repeated efforts to convince Iran’s leaders that he was ready to do business with them. He sent the Iranian government New Year’s greetings; he apologized for his own country; he sent private “love” letters of respect to the ayatollah. (Maybe that made Mahmoud jealous.) But, alas, it isn’t enough. Barack Obama committed the ultimate sin – he reluctantly said people shouldn’t have their skulls cracked open and be shot simply for wanting basic human rights. Ahmadinejad is now demanding that Obama apologize for sounding like Bush.

It is probably too much to hope that as our apprentice president continues his on-the-job training, he may eventually learn that his own country is not the cause of the world’s woes but is indeed the only thing standing between mankind and another dark age.

- Excerpt from Gary Bauer’s Daily Report (6-25-09)
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Slowly Finding His Voice

As you know, we and other conservatives have been urging President Obama to speak up in support of the Iranian people who are daring to oppose the brutal Islamofascist regime that runs their country. Slowly the president is finding his voice, but it’s been a very frustrating exercise — like trying to get a two year-old to eat his vegetables. Meanwhile heads were getting cracked, dissidents were being jailed and innocent bystanders were being shot. Here is an excerpt of the president’s comments today at the White House:

“The United States and the international community have been appalled and outraged by the threats, the beatings and imprisonments of the last few days. I strongly condemn these unjust actions… I’ve made it clear that the United States respects the sovereignty of the Islamic Republic of Iran and is not interfering with Iran’s affairs. …some in the Iranian government, in particular, are … accusing the United States and others in the West of instigating protests over the elections. These accusations are patently false. They’re an obvious attempt to distract people from what is truly taking place within Iran’s borders. …

“In 2009, no iron fist is strong enough to shut off the world from bearing witness to peaceful protests of justice. …Above all, we’ve seen courageous women stand up to the brutality and threats, and we’ve experienced the searing image of a woman bleeding to death on the streets. While this loss is raw and extraordinarily painful, we also know this: those who stand up for justice are always on the right side of history.”

Much better, Mr. President. Almost Reaganesque.

I was particularly surprised to see the president so forcefully shoot down the accusations of the Iranian regime that we were interfering and instigating the protests. After all, that had been the major excuse that he and so many in the media were offering for his silence – that any critical statements or messages of support would be seized upon by the regime as proof of our “meddling.” It was absurd to begin with (as Brit Hume notes), but the mullahs made the charge anyway. It seems Mr. Obama is no longer worried about “alienating the ayatollah.” Now that he has spoken up and removed his own fig leaf, maybe we can begin to have a real debate about a serious policy toward Iran. (More on that in the next item.)

Many dissidents assumed “Mr. Hope and Change” would be one of their strongest allies. Instead, politicians from the European Union took the lead. When France is a more aggressive advocate for freedom than the United States, the world should be worried. Let’s hope that the president’s statement is not too little, too late. Having received little in the way of encouragement from Washington, while the tyrants in Tehran terrorized their own citizens for days, the protests appear to be waning. I pray that this historic opportunity to break the back of the “axis of evil” and transform a state sponsor of terrorism is not yet lost.

Mohammed to Obama: “We need your help”

This morning I received an email from our friends at National Review that contained an excerpt from a CNN interview with one of the thousands of demonstrators in Tehran. This demonstrator, Mohammed, gives his opinion on what he thinks the United States and the rest of the world should do regarding Iran. Consider this exchange and how it contrasts with President Obama’s desire for dialogue and diplomacy based on “mutual respect”:

MOHAMMED: “Americans, European Union, international community, this government is definitely not elected by the majority of Iranians. So it’s illegal. Do not recognize it. Stop trading with them. Impose much more sanctions against them. My message, to the international community, especially I’m addressing President Obama directly — how can a government that doesn’t recognize its people’s rights and represses them brutally and mercilessly have nuclear activities? This government is a huge threat to global peace. Will a wise man give a sharp dagger to an insane person? We need your help international community. Don’t leave us alone.”

Mohammed gets it. Why is it so hard for our “experts” at the State Department and the White House? Diplomacy and appeasement do not dissuade dictators. President Obama is an impressive orator, but no one — not even Barack Hussein Obama — is going to talk a Holocaust-denying madman out of his desire to “wipe Israel off the map.” Words will not stop his work to destroy the “Great Satan,” which is how the Islamic radicals in Iran refer to the United States. The West must confront the reality that Mohammed is warning against. We need a serious plan of action, not just words. And here too Mohammed has a suggestion:

REPORTER: “Mohammed, what do you think the international community should do besides sanctions?”

MOHAMMED: “This regime is really dependent on importing gasoline. More than 85% of Iran’s gasoline is imported from foreign countries. I think the international communities must sanction exporting gasoline to Iran and that might shut down the government.”
The president should also rescind his invitation for Iranian diplomats to attend July 4th parties at U.S. embassies around the world. Obama dodged a question today about his “hot dog diplomacy” when asked by Fox News reporter Major Garrett if the Iranian government representatives were still welcome. And President Obama should immediately restore the funding that he cut for pro-democracy efforts in Iran.

- Excerpt from Gary Bauer’s Daily Report (6-23-09)
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In a primetime special on June 24th, ABC News will be broadcasting out of the Obama White House in an effort to promote President Obama’s government-run health care plan. When the Republican National Committee learned of this planned primetime promo, it asked for the opportunity to include a spokesman for its views. (It’s worth noting that nearly 70% of doctors serving in Congress are Republicans, such as Senator Tom Coburn of Oklahoma.) However, ABC News denied the request. Instead, a pre-selected audience will ask the president questions in a town-hall-style format. (I suspect the questions will be pre-selected too!)

The reports of ABC’s “infomercial” for Obama’s socialized healthcare scheme have sparked a tremendous outcry against this blatant example of media bias. A major media news outlet teaming up with the White House to sell its healthcare plan sounds like something that would take place in Russia or China, not the United States. Many conservative commentators are now referring to ABC as the “All Barack Channel.”

The reaction from ABC was an arrogant statement from Senior Vice President Kerry Smith, who said, “Like any programs we broadcast, ABC News will have complete editorial control. To suggest otherwise is quite unfair to both our journalists and our audience.” Really? I wonder how many people know that the Director of Communications at the White House Office of Health Reform is Linda Douglass, a former ABC news reporter who worked at the network for nearly ten years. I’m sure that’s just a remarkable coincidence and that Douglass had absolutely nothing to do with arranging this broadcast.

TAKE ACTION: Click here to share your thoughts with ABC News about its biased coverage.

- Excerpt from Gary Bauer’s Daily Report
Sign up for his End of Day Report here.

The yearning for freedom continues in Iran, but Barack Hussein Obama remains sphinx-like in his response. He says he is “troubled” by the events the whole world is watching, but he assures everyone he remains committed to “engaging” Ahmadinejad. How about engaging the forces of democracy, Mr. President? How about one sentence from the “Leader of the Free World” urging the Iranian dictatorship to stop shooting, clubbing and arresting dissenters who simply want basic human rights. Unfortunately for those Iranians being shot, clubbed and jailed, Mr. Obama thinks that taking a stand for freedom would be “meddling.”

Has the president noticed that the demonstrators carry signs written in English? Does he realize the significance of Iranians chanting “Death to the Dictator” in our language not Farsi? They are trying to get your attention, Mr. President. They thought “hope and change” included them too. You may feel the constant need to apologize for America, Mr. President, but oppressed people of color around the world still see the country that embarrasses you as their “last best hope.”

The president has a lot on his plate, so I don’t want to be unfair. It takes a lot of hours to bankrupt a nation while running several major industries and getting ready to direct health care and control our climate. He needs to drop something from the “to do” list. Here’s my suggestion: You could stop bashing democracies like Israel, which is on our side, and instead bash tyrants that hate America.

- Excerpt from Gary Bauer’s Daily Report
Sign up for his End of Day Report here.