Soros-funded “Expert” Defends Muslim Brotherhood on Matthews Show
BY CLIFF KINCAID

Chris Matthews has found an “expert” on Egypt he can trust and his name is Brian Katulis of the George Soros-funded Center for American Progress.  He told Matthews on the Monday edition of Matthews’ MSNBC “Hardball” show that, on the matter of Egypt, “We have got to [go] beyond this addiction to dictators…” He welcomes the participation of the Muslim Brotherhood in a new Egyptian government, saying, “…let them be part of the Egyptian politics.”

When Katulis told Matthews that he had opposed the invasion of Iraq, that clinched it in Matthews’ mind. This meant Katulis was a geopolitical genius. “I was against going in [to Iraq], and I think we needed to get out as quickly as possible,” Katulis said. Matthews replied, “Well, then I trust you.”

It apparently never occurred to Katulis or Matthews to make the elementary point that, by invading Iraq in 2003, the U.S. had removed a dictator. Although it has many flaws, Iraq has a more democratic form of government today and is not a threat to its neighbors. The same cannot necessarily be said for the kind of new government that Katulis and his allies in the Obama Administration have planned for Egypt.

Read Complete Article at aim.org

THE AMERICAN THINKER

A person does not need to be a military expert or have a Ph.D. in foreign affairs in order to understand the disastrous implications of Obama’s foreign policy for America’s national security. And while it was certainly clear that Americans were not electing a neo-con as their Commander-in-Chief, I would venture a guess that those who voted for him believed that he would implement policy that would protect the country.

Or maybe not. Recall Biden’s warning while on the campaign trail:

Mark my words. It will not be six months before the world tests Barack Obama like they did John Kennedy … We’re about to elect a brilliant 47-year-old senator president of the United States of America …

And he’s gonna need help … Because it’s not gonna be apparent initially … that we’re right …

So I’m asking you now … Remember the faith you had at this point. …

Despite Biden’s warning, Americans elected Obama. And while, luckily, Biden was wrong in his prediction that America would face a crisis in the first six months of the administration, he was correct that it is far from apparent that the administration’s policy is right. Because when Americans stop and think about the changes in America’s stature in the world, the growing threats to the Western world, and the dangers being ignored by this administration, they realize that simply remembering the faith they may have had in a person who has proven immensely incompetent is not going to keep them safe. Faith will not save America in the absence of reason. Or, as Thomas Sowell recently commented, “It doesn’t matter how smart you are unless you stop and think.”

Writing in the Wall Street Journal this week, Robert R. Monroe, a retired vice admiral in the U.S. Navy and former director of the Defense Nuclear Agency, stated that the Senate should block ratification of New Start, the nuclear weapons treaty that Obama signed with Russia’s Medvedev. Monroe reasoned that Obama’s vision of a world without nuclear weapons, as set forth in the administration’s Nuclear Posture Review (NPR), fails to recognize that such weapons have been “the ultimate foundation of America’s security in a dangerous world.” He stated that the signing of New Start would gravely weaken American national security. … For 65 years, the very existence of our nation has depended upon a strong nuclear deterrent. The new NPR wipes out this proven policy, substituting one of weakness in its place.

Obama’s nuclear policy flies in the face of reason. Tyrannical despots across the globe are on the march to develop nuclear capability, the administration’s policy of appeasement and diplomacy does nothing to stop the progression, and Obama inks a treaty that, according to Monroe, “amounts to a road map for achieving a position of strategic inferiority.” At a time when we should be flaunting our nuclear strength, Obama’s policy pledges not to develop new nuclear capabilities, weakens our deterrence capabilities, harms our ability to modernize our deteriorating arsenal, and impairs the reliability of existing weapons.

While the White House’s conflicting statements on whether or not a military option to prevent Iran from reaching nuclear capability is on the table, it is questionable if the administration has any plan whatsoever to deal with Iran. Earlier this year, Defense Secretary Robert Gates warned that the U.S. does not have any long-range plans for dealing with Iran’s progress toward its goal of attaining nuclear weapons. The administration denied the accuracy of this statement, however, based on Obama’s reliance on the U.N. to issue weak sanctions (that are being undercut by Russia, China, and Turkey, who continue to sell oil products to Iran), his lack of support for Iran’s Green movement last year, and his wasted efforts to impose a two-state solution on Israel and the Palestinians rather than focus on the real threat to the region, it seems clear that Obama is pursuing a policy of containment (at best) rather than deterrence with regard to a nuclear Iran.

Furthermore, as Obama fulfills his promise to bring U.S. troops home from Iraq, it is difficult not to question the wisdom of his policies in the region. Obama is pulling the troops out at a time when the Iraqis do not even have a government in place, and violent attacks are on the rise (a recent report indicated that al-Qaeda raised a flag in a town north of Baghdad). On the Afghan front, by announcing the withdrawal date at the same moment he announced the surge, Obama basically told the Taliban that if they can just hold out for a year, their victory will be forthcoming. As Gen. James T. Conway stated in a Pentagon briefing this week, “We think right now it’s probably giving our enemy sustenance. … We’ve intercepted communications that say, hey, you know, we only have to hold out for so long.”

In light of growing instability in an area so strategically important to U.S. national security interests, the government should be implementing plans to build up its military presence rather than looking forward to the date it will pull out with its tail between its legs.

Read more at theamericanthinker:http://www.americanthinker.com/2010/08/

obamas_foreign_policy_flies_in.html

IS ANYONE SURPRISED BY THIS?  A FORMER PRESIDENT GREETS OUR TROOPS RETURNING FROM IRAQ AND PRESIDENT FREQUENT FLIER DOES WHAT?  YOU KNOW, THE GUY BORES ME TO TEARS AND TO TELL YOU THE TRUTH, I AM NOT SURE WHAT OBAMA IS DOING THIS WEEKEND.  I THINK HE IS ON HIS 6TH VACATION OF THE SUMMER, THIS TIME AT MARTHA’S VINEYARD, BUT I COULD BE WRONG.  THIS ADMINISTRATION IS A NATIONAL DISGRACE!

~~John Cronin~~

By Nile Gardiner

The last few weeks have been a nightmare for President Obama, in a summer of discontent in the United States which has deeply unsettled the ruling liberal elites, so much so that even the Left has begun to turn against the White House. While the anti-establishment Tea Party movement has gained significant ground and is now a rising and powerful political force to be reckoned with, many of the president’s own supporters as well as independents are rapidly losing faith in Barack Obama, with open warfare breaking out between the White House and the left-wing of the Democratic Party. While conservatism in America grows stronger by the day, the forces of liberalism are growing increasingly weaker and divided.

Against this backdrop, the president’s approval ratings have been sliding dramatically all summer, with the latest Rasmussen Daily Presidential Tracking Poll of US voters dropping to minus 22 points, the lowest point so far for Barack Obama since taking office. While just 24 per cent of American voters strongly approve of the president’s job performance, almost twice that number, 46 per cent, strongly disapprove. According to Rasmussen, 65 per cent of voters believe the United States is going down the wrong track, including 70 per cent of independents.

The RealClearPolitics average of polls now has President Obama at over 50 per cent disapproval, a remarkably high figure for a president just 18 months into his first term. Strikingly, the latest USA Today/Gallup survey has the President on just 41 per cent approval, with 53 per cent disapproving.

 The Obama presidency increasingly resembles a modern-day Ancien Régime

There are an array of reasons behind the stunning decline and political fall of President Obama, chief among them fears over the current state of the US economy, with widespread concern over high levels of unemployment, the unstable housing market, and above all the towering budget deficit.

Americans are increasingly rejecting President Obama’s big government solutions to America’s economic woes, which many fear will lead to the United States sharing the same fate as Greece.

Growing disillusionment with the Obama administration’s handling of the economy as well as health care and immigration has gone hand in hand with mounting unhappiness with the President’s aloof and imperial style of leadership, and a growing perception that he is out of touch with ordinary Americans, especially at a time of significant economic pain. Barack Obama’s striking absence of natural leadership ability (and blatant lack of experience) has played a big part in undermining his credibility with the US public, with his lacklustre handling of the Gulf oil spill coming under particularly intense fire.

On the national security and foreign policy front, President Obama has not fared any better. His leadership on the war in Afghanistan has been confused and at times lacking in conviction, and seemingly dictated by domestic political priorities rather than military and strategic goals. His overall foreign policy has been an appalling mess, with his flawed strategy of engagement of hostile regimes spectacularly backfiring. And as for the War on Terror, his administration has not even acknowledged it is fighting one.

Can it get any worse for President Obama? Undoubtedly yes. Here are 10 key reasons why the Obama presidency is in serious trouble, and why its prospects are unlikely to improve between now and the November mid-terms.

1. The Obama presidency is out of touch with the American people

In a previous post I noted how the Obama presidency increasingly resembles a modern-day Ancien Régime, extravagant, decaying and out of touch with ordinary Americans. The First Lady’s ill-conceived trip to Spain at a time of widespread economic hardship was symbolic of a White House that barely gives a second thought to public opinion on many issues, and frequently projects a distinctly elitist image. The “let them eat cake” approach didn’t play well over two centuries ago, and it won’t succeed today.

2. Most Americans don’t have confidence in the president’s leadership

This deficit of trust in Obama’s leadership is central to his decline.

According to a recent Washington Post/ABC News poll, “nearly six in ten voters say they lack faith in the president to make the right decisions for the country”, and two thirds “say they are disillusioned with or angry about the way the federal government is working.” The poll showed that a staggering 58 per cent of Americans say they do not have confidence in the president’s decision-making, with just 42 per cent saying they do.

3. Obama fails to inspire

In contrast to the soaring rhetoric of his 2004 Convention speech in Boston which succeeded in impressing millions of television viewers at the time, America is no longer inspired by Barack Obama’s flat, monotonous and often dull presidential speeches and statements delivered via teleprompter. From his extraordinarily uninspiring Afghanistan speech at West Point to his flat State of the Union address, President Obama has failed to touch the heart of America. Even Jimmy Carter was more moving.

4. The United States is drowning in debt

The Congressional Budget Office Long-Term Budget Outlook offers a frightening picture of the scale of America’s national debt. Under its alternative fiscal scenario, the CBO projects that US debt could rise to 87 percent of GDP by 2020, 109 percent by 2025, and 185 percent in 2035. While much of Europe, led by Britain and Germany, are aggressively cutting their deficits, the Obama administration is actively growing America’s debt, and has no plan in place to avert a looming Greek-style financial crisis.

5. Obama’s Big Government message is falling flat

The relentless emphasis on bailouts and stimulus spending has done little to spur economic growth or create jobs, but has greatly advanced the power of the federal government in America. This is not an approach that is proving popular with the American public, and even most European governments have long ditched this tax and spend approach to saving their own economies.

6. Obama’s support for socialised health care is a huge political mistake

In an extraordinary act of political Harakiri, President Obama leant his full support to the hugely controversial, unpopular and divisive health care reform bill, with a monstrous price tag of $940 billion, whose repeal is now supported by 55 per cent of likely US voters. As I wrote at the time of its passing, the legislation is “a great leap forward by the United States towards a European-style vision of universal health care, which will only lead to soaring costs, higher taxes, and a surge in red tape for small businesses. This reckless legislation dramatically expands the power of the state over the lives of individuals, and could not be further from the vision of America’s founding fathers.”

7. Obama’s handling of the Gulf oil spill has been weak-kneed and indecisive

While much of the spilled oil in the Gulf has now been thankfully cleared up, the political damage for the White House will be long-lasting. Instead of showing real leadership on the matter by acing decisively and drawing upon offers of international support, the Obama administration settled on a more convenient strategy of relentlessly bashing an Anglo-American company while largely sitting on its hands. Significantly, a poll of Louisiana voters gave George W. Bush higher marks for his handling of the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, with 62 percent disapproving of Obama’s performance on the Gulf oil spill.

8. US foreign policy is an embarrassing mess under the Obama administration

It is hard to think of a single foreign policy success for the Obama administration, but there have been plenty of missteps which have weakened American global power as well as the standing of the United States. The surrender to Moscow on Third Site missile defence, the failure to aggressively stand up to Iran’s nuclear programme, the decision to side with ousted Marxists in Honduras, the slap in the face for Great Britain over the Falklands, have all contributed to the image of a US administration completely out of its depth in international affairs. The Obama administration’s high risk strategy of appeasing America’s enemies while kicking traditional US allies has only succeeded in weakening the United States while strengthening her adversaries.

9. President Obama is muddled and confused on national security

From the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq to the War on Terror, President Obama’s leadership has often been muddled and confused. On Afghanistan he rightly sent tens of thousands of additional troops to the battlefield. At the same time however he bizarrely announced a timetable for the withdrawal of US forces beginning in July 2011, handing the initiative to the Taliban. On Iraq he has announced an end to combat operations and the withdrawal of all but 50,000 troops despite a recent upsurge in terrorist violence and political instability, and without the Iraqi military and police ready to take over. In addition he has ditched the concept of a War on Terror, replacing it with an Overseas Contingency Operation, hardly the right message to send in the midst of a long-war against Al-Qaeda.

10. Obama doesn’t believe in American greatness

Barack Obama has made it clear that he doesn’t believe in American exceptionalism, and has made apologising for his country into an art form. In a speech to the United Nations last September he stated that “no one nation can or should try to dominate another nation. No world order that elevates one nation or group of people over another will succeed. No balance of power among nations will hold.” It is difficult to see how a US president who holds these views and does not even accept America’s greatness in history can actually lead the world’s only superpower with force and conviction.

There is a distinctly Titanic-like feel to the Obama presidency and it’s not hard to see why. The most left-wing president in modern American history has tried to force a highly interventionist, government-driven agenda that runs counter to the principles of free enterprise, individual freedom, and limited government that have made the United States the greatest power in the world, and the freest nation on earth.

This, combined with weak leadership both at home and abroad against the backdrop of tremendous economic uncertainty in an increasingly dangerous world, has contributed to a spectacular political collapse for a president once thought to be invincible. America at its core remains a deeply conservative nation, which cherishes its traditions and founding principles. President Obama is increasingly out of step with the American people, by advancing policies that undermine the United States as a global power, while undercutting America’s deep-seated love for freedom.

Nile Gardiner is a Washington-based foreign affairs analyst and political commentator. He appears frequently on American and British television and radio, including Fox News Channel, CNN, BBC, Sky News, and NPR.

http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/news/nilegardiner/100050412/the-stunning-decline-of-barack-obama-10-key-reasons-why-the-obama-presidency-is-in-meltdown/

CUPERTINO — Today, former Vice President of the United States Richard Cheney wrote an op-ed that was published in the Orange County Register discussing why he believes Meg Whitman is the right choice for California’s next governor given her “conservative values, leadership skills and vision to reform state government and usher in an era of strong economic growth and prosperity.” The former Vice President also examines why Steve Poizner is unfit to receive the Republican gubernatorial nomination. Read the op-ed below:

Orange County Register: Whitman Stronger Republican Candidate

By:  Dick Cheney

I am proud to endorse Meg Whitman to be the next governor of California. Meg has the conservative values, leadership skills and vision to reform state government and usher in an era of strong economic growth and prosperity.

There is a lot at stake in this election. What happens in California has a direct bearing on the health of the U.S. economy. America cannot afford to have its largest state teetering on the edge of financial collapse. California needs a proven executive who has the mettle to stand up to the entrenched special interests in Sacramento and cut spending.

Meg is a leader who will not shy away from confronting the public employee unions. She has put pension reform at the center of her agenda. She is a firm believer in the power of tax cuts to strengthen small businesses and create jobs. She knows that welfare must be a temporary hand-up and not a way of life. She is committed to local control of education, and she has a strong and practical approach to securing the border and addressing the problems associated with illegal immigration.

Meg’s conservatism is rooted in the optimism that people can achieve great things if government doesn’t stand in their way. As I have come to know her better, I have been reminded of another great leader from California. As a young congressman from Wyoming in the 1980s, I was an unabashed foot soldier in the Reagan Revolution. I saw an inspirational leader lift the nation out of the malaise left behind by Jimmy Carter’s liberalism. I believe Meg Whitman can do for California what Ronald Reagan did for America.

While I am always mindful of President Reagan’s 11th Commandment, there are issues of judgment that voters should consider before they cast their ballots in the Republican primary. I admire the success that Steve Poizner has had in the private sector and believe his commitment to public service is sincere. But I have concerns about whether he truly adheres to the conservative principles of our party.

In 2000, when I first ran on the national ticket with President George W. Bush, Mr. Poizner endorsed Vice President Al Gore. With the election hanging in the balance, he donated $10,000 to the Gore-Lieberman Recount Committee in Florida. In 2004, during the Bush-Cheney reelection campaign, Mr. Poizner, who was then a candidate for the state Assembly, opposed the tax cuts that were the centerpiece of our economic recovery plan.

He also broke ranks with our party on national security and the “war on terror.” Mr. Poizner opposed the war in Iraq. To amplify his opposition to the national security policies of the Bush administration, he invited Richard Clarke to campaign for him in California.

At the time, Mr. Clarke, a former staff member of the National Security Council, was making the rounds on cable television to market a book that blamed the Bush administration for mismanaging the terrorist threat and enabling the Sept. 11 attacks against our nation. There was a clear purpose behind the Clarke campaign visit. Mr. Poizner was breaking from the Bush-Cheney ticket and our policy goals because he thought it helped his political ambitions.

The intervening years have proven that the resolve of the Bush administration and the courage of our soldiers on the ground in Iraq and Afghanistan kept America safe at a perilous time in our nation’s history.

While I have doubts about the authenticity of the conservative voice that Mr. Poizner now speaks in, there is no disputing that Meg Whitman is the Republican the Democrats fear the most in this election. The unions and the Democratic donors invested in Attorney General Jerry Brown’s success have already started to run misleading ads attacking Meg Whitman. This is a clear admission on their part that Meg is the toughest Republican candidate for governor. The Democrats know that Meg can beat them in November, and, more importantly, they know she will put an end to the failed status quo in Sacramento as governor.

I encourage my fellow Republicans to vote for Meg Whitman. She is a woman of courage, a leader with conviction, a true fiscal conservative and champion of the values we hold dearest.

Read it at the Orange County Register Here: http://www.ocregister.com/opinion/california-248902-bush-poizner.html.