A survey of adult Americans finds that an overwhelming majority
prefer the seasonal expression "Merry Christmas." More than seven
out of ten, in fact. Twenty-two percent, according to Rasmussen
Reports, go for "Happy Holidays."
However, the Obamas, who won't
spend their first December holidays in the White House, apparently don't
like either one.
The Obamas have just
mailed thousands of greeting cards that say simply, "Season's
Greetings." They're cream-colored, maroon-bordered cards showing a gold
wreath wrapped around the presidential coat of arms.
The Obamas'
card, paid for by the Democratic National Committee, makes no religious
reference whatsoever. "May your family have a joyous holiday
season," says the Obamas' greeting, "and a new year blessed with hope
and happiness." This comes after reports that, initially anyway,
the Obama White House
planned its first Christmas to be a "non-religious" one, kind of
like a non-sports Super Bowl Sunday.
Obama's Christmas Tree
Why let a holiday season come between the White House and making
some political statements? The White House pegged controversial
designer Simon Doonan to oversee
the Christmas decorations for the White House. Mr. Doonan, who is
creative director of Barney’s New York has often caused a stir with his
design choices. Like his naughty yuletide window display of
Margaret Thatcher as a dowdy dominatrix and Dan Quayle as a
ventriloquist’s dummy. For this year’s White House, he didn’t
disappoint.
These photos of ornaments on the White House
Christmas tree in the Blue Room were taken just days ago. Of
course, Mao has his place in the White House. And, it wouldn’t be
Christmas without an ornament of legendary transvestite Hedda Lettuce --
he/she even signed it -- and, so soon after collecting the Nobel Peace
Prize, why wouldn’t the White House have an ornament super-imposing
Obama onto Mt. Rushmore. All around, a very Barry Christmas!
Related:
The White House doesn’t know if Obama will attend Church on Christmas.
As of Tuesday, three days before Christmas, the White House did not
know if Barack Obama would be attending church to celebrate Jesus'
birth.
During his first year in office, Obama has not regularly
attended a Washington-area church. He left his Chicago church in
2008 when its outspoken pastor, the Rev. Jeremiah Wright, became a
liability to his presidential campaign.
Livin' Large On Your Dime
Kristinn at FreeRepublic.com
reports
that Barack Obama will be spending ten days over Christmas and New
Year's at a $8.9 million estate in Hawaii at a rate of at least $4000
per night, according to ABC News. Obama spent last Christmas there
as well when he was president-elect.
As the American people are
still caught in the grips of the recession with unemployment running
from 10% to 16% and the federal budget blown out with Obama's massive
deficit spending, Obama is living like a king with no criticism from the
mainstream media.
ABC describes the estate with no mention of the
incongruence of Obama's extravagance with the wrecked Christmases of
tens of millions of Americans one year in to his failing presidency:
The Obamas' rental property is 7,000 square
feet of paradise on the southeastern coast of the island, complete
with large open spaces built around a lagoon pool.
...It's
also not cheap. Staying in this $8.9 million house, which Zimel has
dubbed the "Obama Winter White House," will cost around $4,000 a
night. The two houses next door will be occupied by Obama family
members and friends.
While ABC News ignores Obama's "Let them eat cake"
attitude, the New York Daily News flat out
lies for Obama on his self-indulgent Christmas:
With so many Americans hurting, the White
House is smart enough to know that they don’t want to flaunt their
good fortunes on those who are without...The First Family heads to
Hawaii tomorrow for a well-deserved tropical Christmas.
It's good to be the king!
The Obamas' Ritzy Vacation
Brad Wilmouth imagines the outrage if any Republican president went
on vacation during a recession and spent $4,000 a night on
accommodations --- plus! On ABC’s Good Morning America Wednesday,
correspondent Yunji de Nies seemed to suggest that Obama’s family will
be spending such an amount renting expensive living space at an estate
house in Hawaii for a two-week Christmas vacation. De Nies:
"Christmas trees here aren't cheap -- neither is staying in this $8.9
million house, which runs $4,000 a night. The Obamas rented this
one and the two next door (another $2,000 or $3,000 for family and
friends -- plus security). When you spend that kind of money,
people pay attention to detail."
De Nies did not specify exactly
how much is being spent or where the money is coming from, though the
amount may even be significantly more than $4,000 a day as she related
that "the two next door" were also being rented for family and friends
of the Obamas. The ABC correspondent also recounted that the
estate house overlooks a beach popular with royalty: "But it's the
master bedroom and its breathtaking view that is the crown jewel.
Kailua Beach has been ranked the island's best, a favorite of Hawaiian
royalty."
Anchor George Stephanopoulos gushed over Obama's plans
for a two-week getaway to Hawaii as he introduced the report:
When I last interviewed Obama in September,
he was already pining for his Christmas vacation -- two weeks of
sun, shaved ice and surf in Hawaii. Well, it's finally here.
Delayed just a little bit by that health care vote, but it's gonna
come tomorrow morning. Then Obama is taking off. One
other big perk of the trip, a magnificent beach house his family is
staying in for the second year in a row.
Here is a complete transcript of the piece from the Wednesday,
December 23, Good Morning America on ABC:
Honolulu Mayor Mufi Hannemann
believes the Obamas’ ten day vacation on Oahu will do wonders for
the state’s tourism industry, which has been deeply battered by the U.S.
recession.
"I think it's going to create all kinds of demand,"
the mayor told Khon2. "People are gonna want to come here when
they see the president sunning and funning in Hawaii having great time."
Despite spending $100,000 or more on Obama's security, Hannemann
believes the expenditure is an investment that will pay tremendous
dividends for the cash strapped city, which faces a $140 million deficit
during the next fiscal year.
What Did The Obamas Do In Hawaii?
KHON2 is
reporting that Obama and his family spent 11 days, 10 nights on
Oahu, and now they're packing up for their return flight home to the
winter weather of Washington, D.C.
Obama is spending his final
hours on Oahu soaking up the sun outdoors, freeing his mind of ugly
thoughts of jihadists, and taking
motorcades to the beach,
and racketeering at the Racquet Club.
Scott Miscovich has seen it all, living on
the same street as what has been coined the First Family's
Winter White
House. Misovich said, "Been interesting, we've had
protestors, a
lot of people coming just to observe" -- not to mention the number of
U.S. Secret Service, police and
Coast Guard crews that have staked claim
to his neighborhood.
And it's been hard for him not to notice
each time Obama passes by. "He left a lot, sometimes three
times a day or more," said Miscovich.
On his final day in Hawaii,
Obama didn't deviate from his morning routine, hitting the gym at Marine
Corps Base Hawaii for a quick workout. After that it was off to
the greens for a round of golf at Kaneohe's Klipper Course.
"He's
doing things I think my kids or if I went away would come back I'd want
to do also," said Miscovich, like exploring
Sea Life Park, watching the
movie "Avatar," a date night
dinner and of course,
shaved ice.
"He
did yeah they were out and about a lot, I heard Island Snow and so they
were out quite a bit," said Kailua resident Kyla Murray.
Obama, out and about -- three
times a day -- that's a lot of CO2
Still, day after day, many folks
flocked to Kailua beach, hoping they'd see the Obama's up close.
"Yeah we even came down here a few times with the camera trying to see
if we could catch a glimpse," said Murray.
$4,000 a day for the
rental, and
$4,000,000 a day for the ancillaries. It's good to be the
Obamamessiah.
The White House Has Become A Shrine To Obama
Newsbusters.com is
reporting that Ed Schultz, on his radio show, talked about meeting
with Obama advisor David Axelrod at the White House last week, along
with fellow liberal radio host Bill Press and several other left-wing
media types Schultz did not identify.
Schultz: First of all you walk into the
White House, in the West Wing, and there are picture all over, I
mean everywhere! Of President Obama! I mean, of his life in
the first year as president of the United States. Now I don't
know if that's the way it is with every president, but it was almost
a shrine. I mean, well, here's a picture of Obama the
president with his kids over here. There he is getting on Air
Force One. Here he is with some military people. Here he
is on the line working the line at one of his campaign stops.
I mean, just, it was just one picture after another! (laughs)
Schultz is a
far-left opinion-meister on MSNBC. He considers himself a
"progressive liberal." His talk
show is generally considered to be a very liberal-leaning program.
He is pro-union and centers a large portion of his radio show on the
"plight of working class Americans."
This display of Obama's
narcissism in the White House must really be something when an Obot like
Schultz is surprised.
Update: Just received this Hillbuz report from Stacy -- Today,
...took a much-needed break from the Internet and went down to the
Museum of Science & Industry here in Chicago to see the White House
model they have on display through February: it’s a to-scale
miniature, with cutaways into most of the rooms. Apparently, the
Zeif Family, who made and maintains this model, travels to the White
House in each administration, measures any changes that were made, and
recreates the interior of the White House to exacting detail.
They’ve been doing this since the Kennedy Administration.
What
disturbs us is that, if the model is really exact in all details, the
actual White House is chock full of crazy currently.
In the Zeif model, the East and West wings of the
White House are plastered with propaganda. Inside all the offices, there
are GIANT photos of the current First Family, the likes of which we’d
expect to see in Pyongyang or the old presidential palaces in Baghdad,
before the Husseins were ousted. They aren’t even particularly
good pictures -- like things cut out of People magazine or some other
propaganda piece run on the Obamas.
It’s just strange that the
Zeifs took the time to recreate everything else in such painstaking
detail, but then plaster the interior of the East and West wings (but
not the original White House itself), with giant images of Dr. Utopia
and his "fashion icon" wife. Unless the REAL East and West wings
really are covered in this garbage.
The miniature computer
screens in the offices are all functional, and play tiny propaganda
reels praising the Obamas. The White House cinema, located
in the Collonade between the White House and the East Wing, also plays a
DVD promoting the glory of all things Obama.
It’s really very
strange. And, there's more
here . . .
Sounds like Schultz's description
of the place might be understated.
Obamas Throw A Party Every 3 Days
Gateway Pundit
reminds us that Back in January 2009, before he signed his failed
$787 billion stimulus bill into law, Barack Obama told America that
everyone must
sacrifice for the greater good. Everyone must have
"some skin in the game."
What he meant, of course, was that
everyone would have to sacrifice to lift American out of the worst
recession since the Great Depression -- except for Barack and Michelle
Obama.
Now we learn that the the Obama White House has held one
party every three days in first year of Obama reign.
Rep. Bob
Latta (R-OH) reported:
"Let the good times roll" -- and roll they have
at the Obama White House, while nearly 11% of the workforce remains
unemployed, nearly four million Americans are losing their homes,
and terrorists ride the open skies.
In fact, according to the
Chicago Tribune, the stylish Ms. Rogers and the party-hearty First
Couple hosted no less than 170 parties and social events through
December 3 of 2009. And that does not even include the 17
parties and 11 open houses -- feting more than 50,000 guests -- ABC
News reported the Obamas hosted throughout the Holiday Season.
For those not counting, that means by January, 2010, Ms. Rogers
had staged one gala
White House event every three days throughout the first year of the
Obama Administration, making the once austere Executive Mansion look
more like party central.
Obamas Earned $5.5 Million In 2009
Breitbart
reports Barack Obama and his wife have doubled their income since he
took office, declaring a joint gross income of 5.5 million dollars for
the 2009 fiscal year, the White House said Thursday.
Obama
earned an annual salary of 374,460 dollars since his inauguration in
January 2009, according to his tax filings released Thursday, but most
of his income came from his books, which have leaped to the top of the
bestseller lists since he first started running for the White House.
In 2008, Obama and his wife, Michelle, declared a joint gross income
of 2.65 million dollars, most of which also came from royalties on his
mythology, "Dreams of My Father" and, the Rev. Wright-inspired, "The
Audacity of Hope."
According to his 2009 documents, the Obamas
paid 1.79 million dollars in federal taxes and 163,303 dollars in state
taxes to Illinois where the couple owns a home in Chicago.
Obama
also received 1.4 million dollars last year when he won the Nobel Peace
Prize, but he has donated his prize money among 10 charities, the White
House said, and the sum is not part of the 5.5 million dollars declared
income.
The couple also donated 329,100 dollars to 40 different
charities in 2009, with the largest reported gifts being 50,000 dollars
to CARE and the United Negro College Fund.
In 2007, the Obamas
said they had earned 4.2 million dollars. That was still an increase
from 2008 when their joint income was 269,256 dollars. They also
gave some 4,820 dollars to charity, or some 1.4 percent of their
incomes, the White House said.
Obama also sold two inheritances
from his grandmother, Madelyn Dunham, who died in the final days of his
campaign. He made less than $1,000 from the sale of a tax-free
trust. A
second inheritance -- shares in the Bank of Hawaii where his
grandmother rose from a secretary to a vice president -- sold for
between $250,000 and $500,000. Obama's tax returns, made public
earlier in the year, show he took a loss on that investment.
Party! Party! Party!
The AP is
reporting that another gazllion-dollar White House state dinner is in the
works.
Chinese President Hu Jintao (hoo jin-tow) has accepted
Barack Obama’s invitation to visit the U.S. on a formal state visit.
Obama officials said Saturday after the two leaders met in Toronto that
the countries will work out a mutually acceptable date for the visit.
Obama extended the invitation during his meeting with Hu. The
two were in Canada to participate in an international economic summit
among the world’s largest and emerging economies.
It will be
Obama's third state dinner, following the extravagant galas for
India and
Mexico.
No sweat! It's only your money.
Obamas' Dog Gets Its Own Plane
Warner Todd Huston
says the Morning Sentinel, a small paper from the state of Maine,
has a travelogue story of the Obama’s
seventh vacation in and about Maine today. It has a very
interesting little tidbit in it that should enrage every American.
It is something that really shows Barack Obama’s arrogance and his sense
of entitlement.
Among the exciting details of the Obama’s visit
to Acadia National Park in Bar Harbor is this tidbit:
Arriving in a small jet before the Obamas
was the first dog, Bo, a Portuguese water dog given as a present by
the late U.S. Sen. Ted Kennedy, D-Mass.…
As the rest of us toil on the unemployment line, as
millions of Americans find their retirement accounts dwindling, their
hours at work cut, and their pay scale trimmed, King Barack and Queen
Michelle are flying their little doggie, Bo, on his own special jet
airplane for his own little vacation adventure.
Well, it must be
nice to be able to afford to fly your doggie about the country whenever
you feel like it. It must be nice to pay Reggie Love
$102,000 per to act as your
dog’s escort (of course, with Obama's
ability to handle the animal, he does need help). It must be
comforting to know that you have the power to arrange such luxury for a
dog.
As America lurches toward depression our leader is wasting
millions on constant vacationing -- 16 vehicles were used to drive the
Obama’s around -- and affording his dog …his dog… his
owns special jet airplane.
Air traffic at the small Hancock County-Bar
Harbor Airport in Trenton was shut down for Obama's arrival. A
U.S. Coast Guard helicopter patrolled the air in anticipation of the
first family’s touchdown, and a pair of local fire and rescue trucks
stood ready on an otherwise empty tarmac at the private air hangar.
The Obamas then traveled in "the
Beast" onto Mount Desert Island in a motorcade of at least 16
vehicles to
visit the
"black power" ice cream shop. It was led by two
Maine State Police cruisers and included five black Chevrolet Suburbans
with mini-guns (cool
video).
And all of this is on OUR dime, folks. We are paying for our
monarch to fly his dog around the country on its own special jet.
Perhaps Barack Obama isn’t like a king. Perhaps he’s more like
an emperor? An emperor like the fiddling Nero.
"Water dog" -- "Ted Kennedy"
-- dontcha just love the irony?
Obamas' Vacations
Ed Lasky
says he's inclined to give him a bit of a break on the vacation
issue -- if only family vacations were at issue. However, the
vacations are only part of the problem with Obama's laxity and aversion
to work. His obsession with gold, the musical soirees at the White
House (that are a constant fact and have been from the inception of his
Presidency) should give taxpayers pause. But two aspects of this
particular trip stand out. First, the sheer hypocrisy of Michelle
Obama flying down to the tar stained beaches of the Gulf and promoting
them as a vacation spot for Americans.
Michelle Obama highlighted the political
pitfalls of presidential vacations when, during a trip last week to
the gulf, she said Americans should consider staying at one of the
gulf's "beautiful beaches'' to boost that region's economy.
The comment could heighten criticism if the Obama's vacation on the
Vineyard.
The hypocrisy is glaring and plays into the
perception of the "Do As I Say, Not as I Do" problems that many liberals
have (the Gore/Edwards addiction to big , energy absorbing and carbon
spewing lifestyles; Nancy Pelosi's penchant for private planes, paid for
by us, etc.).
But the other aspect is the timing-given Obama's
radio address over the weekend. He castigated Republicans over
resistance to extending unemployment insurance and tarred them with the
brush of being proxies for the rich. Meanwhile, he flies off to a
vacation in Maine and apparently is making plans to vacation (again) in
Martha's Vineyard -- playground of the wealthy and well-connected.
Even Bill Clinton, who liked the Vineyard, realized that the optics were
bad since many people consider the Vineyard a private reserve of the
elitists (hence, Clinton's switch to Jackson Hole, Wyoming).
Also, former presidents vacations did not occur during a severe
recession and monumental government deficits that Barack Obama and his
fellow Democrats have brought forth. Presidential trips are
expensive ordeals (and taxpayers pay for them). We can all
remember the Obama's trip to Broadway to catch a show; his trip to
Europe to pitch Chicago for the Olympics, but his refusal to take trips
overseas to repair relations with allies. The man -- for all the
caricatures regarding his ears -- has two tin ones.
Obama has his
priorities, after all.
Related:
You gotta check this out -- "Play Golf or Save the
Gulf?" -- create your own webpage.
Another Party Night At The White House
Mike's America
says millions of Americans are out of work, an oil spill is
destroying the Gulf, and Obama parties, golfs and vacations.
What’s the first thing most Americans do after getting back from
vacation? Catch up on important work at the office and make sure
that any crisis is under control? What Obama did after coming back
from his mini-vacation to Maine is turn the White House into a Broadway
stage for yet ANOTHER party!
In June, Barack and Michelle invited
Beatles founder Paul McCartney in for a sing along. Monday was
Broadway night…
With the portraits of George and Martha Washington
looking on, Obama kicks off yet another party in the White House East
Room.
This video reminds us that Obama averaged one party every three days
his first year in office -- a total of 170 parties and socials. It
seems the average for his second year won’t be far behind.
I
wonder what the folks who are out of work because of the economy or the
oil spill think of Obama putting party
time before the responsibilities of office?
Being President Is Hard
The Obamas just
got back from their Desert Island, Maine vacation, and their civil
servants are packing again.
Now, The New York Times is
reporting that the first report of an Obama Martha's Vineyard
vacation reached The Times news desk on July 15th.
Under the
headline, "President Obama to summer like it's 2009," Boston Herald
gossip columnists Gayle Fee relied on Island sources:
"Our spies on The Rock report that the first
family will return to Chilmark's Blue Heron Farm for about 10 days
in August ... the big buzz on the Rock is that the
commander-in-chief, Michelle and the girls, Sasha and Malia, will
return to The Rock about Aug. 19. And why wouldn't they?
"The fab farm where the first family beaches themselves has a
basketball court for Barry, and the prez was greeted like a rock
star everywhere he went. And with his approval ratings at an
all-time low, a little love from the locals can't hurt."
Islanders may be feeling the love, according to The
Inside Track, but few of the 162 comments the report generated included
kind words.
But, before the 10 days in "The Vineyard," Obama and
his family
will spend a vacation weekend on the Gulf Coast in Florida next
month, "showing solidarity with a tourism industry hurt by the BP
oil spill."
So, how's
your summer. Don't you wish you were royalty?
Related: Obama's only working for an hour
today. Politico has his schedule for Friday
here, and he's only
booked from 11:00 AM until noon.
Obama must be resting up for
another couple of rounds of golf this weekend.
Is There Trouble On The Second Floor?
On the 22nd of this month,
The Martha's Vineyard Times
released the first report of an Obama family Martha's Vineyard
vacation.
Under the headline, "President Obama to summer like
it's 2009," Boston Herald gossip columnists Gayle Fee relied on Island
sources:
"Our spies on The Rock report that the first
family will return to Chilmark's Blue Heron Farm for about 10 days
in August ... the big buzz on the Rock is that the
commander-in-chief, Michelle and the girls, Sasha and Malia, will
return to The Rock about Aug. 19. And why wouldn't they?
"The fab farm where the first family beaches themselves has a
basketball court for Barry, and the prez was greeted like a rock
star everywhere he went. And with his approval ratings at an
all-time low, a little love from the locals can't hurt."
Early this morning, reports started surfacing that the Obama's were
going to Spain.
Now, out of the blue, there's confirmation that
Michelle is off to España. Olé! And she's taking her
daughter.
Yahoo News is
reporting the The White House says that Michelle Obama will travel
to Spain next week for a private trip with longtime family friends.
Mrs. Obama will be traveling with her youngest daughter, Sasha.
Barack Obama and daughter Malia will not be on the trip.
The
White House says Mrs. Obama will pay an official visit to Spain's King
Juan Carlos and Queen Sophia. That meeting, as well as Mrs.
Obama's other activities, will be closed to the press.
Whoooaaaa!! What happened?
Obama is a well-known flip-flopper, but this?
So,
Michelle and Sasha are off to Europe to visit "friends." I didn't
know she had any friends -- just political allies contributors, and
hangers-on.
It's
unsaid, but I guess Obama and Malia will be heading to "The Vineyard?"
So, what
is this?
Last minute -- separate vacations?
Is there
trouble, with a capital "T," on the second floor of the White House?
Googled Olé! to get the spanish thingy over letter "e."
Look what answers.yahoo.com
says Olé means:
"Olé!"
: An expression of excitement. From the Spanish "olé", derived from the
Arabic oath والله (w-állah), "by Allah!"
White House Denies Obama To Holiday In
Spain
Yahoo News is
reporting that the White House denied reports from Spanish media
that Barack Obama and his family would take a holiday early August in
the posh southern Spanish resort city of Marbella.
A White House
official told AFP the report by the Spanish newspapers El Pais and El Mundo
was incorrect.
In a concurrent
report, the AFP reported that the White House said that US First
Lady Michelle Obama will travel to Spain next week on a "private
mother-daughter" trip, but Barack Obama will not go along.
According to the Obamas' official schedule, the
First Family has August getaway
plans for the disaster hit US-Gulf Coast
as well as the northeastern vacation spot off Cape Cod, Martha's
Vineyard.
There's three different stories, right there.
Another version: US First Lady Michelle Obama will travel
to Spain next week on a "private mother-daughter" trip, but the
First Husband will not go along, the White House said on Monday.
Michelle Obama will also take up an invitation to make an
official call on King Juan Carlos and Queen Sophia, the White House
said.
The announcement came a day after Spanish media reports
erroneously said Obama, himself, would take his family for a holiday
at the upscale southern Spanish resort city of Marbella
Related:Ritz-Carlton in Spain may
host Michelle Obama.
It's my understanding that this
this came out of the blue late yesterday.
And these are the people
who are running the war, the economy, and the oil spill . . .
Obama's 27-Hour Gulf Vacation
Mike Memoli
says that last month the White House announced that the first family
would visit the Gulf of Mexico for a vacation. It's a trip, as
Christi Parsons reported at the time, intended in part to "help ward off
criticism that, while Obama encourages others to go to the Gulf, he will
spend his vacation among the elite set on the island of Martha's
Vineyard."
The White House has just sent new details of that
trip, revealing that the Obama family will have spent barely more than
one day in the area when all is said and done. That trip will
include a roundtable discussion between Obama and first lady with small
business owners about the pace of recovery. Obama will also make a
public statement.
"They both believed that it was important to
highlight that, indeed, the Gulf Coast is, during a busy summer, open
for business and the families that are there are enjoying their time
there," press secretary Robert Gibbels told reporters in response to
questions about the short nature of the trip. "You'll see he and
the family out there. You'll see all of them out there."
From scheduled arrival of Air Force One Saturday to the time it departs
on Sunday, the Obamas will have spent 26 hours and 50 minutes on the
ground in the Panama City area.
Obamas Depleting U.S. Lobster Supply
Veteran White House reporter Keith Koffler
asks, how much lobster are you having during these precarious
economic times? What? You've had to cut back? No
longer ordering it stuffed with crab meat, at least?
Well, if you
happen to be Barack Obama, or his bride, your lobster consumption is
continuing at a robust pace. Yes, the economy is still getting
battered, and last night, so was Obama's lobster.
According to ABC's Jake Tapper, Obama savored some lobster tempura at
the trendy State Road Restaurant in West Tisbury on Martha's Vineyard --
oh, just the thought of it -- if he brings some back to the White House
for me, I'll write whatever he wants.
Monday night at The Sweet
Life Cafe in Oak Bluffs on the Vineyard it was the lobster pasta
appetizer for Obama and a surf and turf entrée -- the "surf" being a
lobster tail -- for Michelle.
And what would the vacation to
Maine in July have been without a taste of everyone's favorite
crustacean. Obama did it in a little less genteel fashion that
time, heading over to something called Stewman's Downtown restaurant
where he was served the "Lobster Experience" dinner -- just regular
lobster, corn and slaw.
But the Obamas' lobster experience is not
confined to these shores. Michelle Obama was barely off the plane
during her voyage early this month to the Spanish Riviera when,
according to the Spanish press, she dived into a feast of sea bass
tartare, strawberry gazpacho and sardines, and a main course of lobster
with seaweed risotto.
Michelle enjoyed the repast so much that
she was right back at it on August 14th, during the Obamas' two-day
Panama City, Florida, photo-op vacation. There, at the Firefly
restaurant, it was more lobster for Michelle.
The Obamas were
supposed to be showing support for the good people of the oil
spill-stricken Gulf, eating their seafood and so forth. So the big
question is, was it a Caribbean lobster or one shipped down from Maine?
And who knows what lobster delicacies the White House chef is
whipping up for them in between vacations?
No wonder the Russians
just started fueling the Iranian nuclear reactor at Bushehr. When
President Medvedev was here, Obama took him for burgers.
Related:Vacationing Obama to Press:
"We're Buying Shrimp, Guys. Come On."
Big Party Week For The Obamas
Christina Wilkie
says Barack and Michelle Obama have a packed social schedule this
week, with two major galas and a reception for college athletes.
On Monday evening, Obama will welcome collegiate star athletes to
the White House for a reception at 5:45 p.m. The event recognizes
outstanding student athletes in more than a dozen sports, including
field-hockey, lacrosse, and volleyball. Neither of Obama's alma
maters, Columbia University and Harvard University, made the grade.
On Wednesday the First Couple will don black tie for the annual
Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute gala, one of the more
entertaining political galas of the Washington fall season. A
number of entertainers are being honored with awards, including Eva
Longoria Parker, five-time Grammy winner Arturo Sandoval, and musician
Sheila E. Also participating in the festivities will be Senate
Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.), Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.),
and New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg.
Hopefully the Obamas
get some rest Thursday or Friday, because they will be back in
formalwear on Saturday night for the Congressional Black Caucus
Foundation's (CBCF) annual Phoenix Awards dinner. The dinner will mark
the culmiantion of the foundation's 40th Annual Legislative Conference.
Honorees at the dinner will include New Jersey State Assembly
Speaker Sheila Y. Oliver, actor, humanitarian, and
America-hater, Harry Belafonte, journalist Simeon Booker, and
renowned choreographer Judith Jamison.
Washingtonians will
recall that White House party-crashers Tareq and Michaele Salahi
allegedly snuck into the CBCF dinner in 2009. Expect security to be
extra tight this time around.
The Washington social season
unofficially began Saturday night with the Washington National Opera's
season opening gala, and ends in early December with the Kennedy Center
Honors.
Now there is a
trifecta -- Harry Reid, Nancy Pelosi, and Michael Bloomberg, who
undoubtedly will be the only RINO in the room.
"Of Thee I Sing: A Letter to My
Daughters"
Obama booster, Lynn Sweet,
writes that, in 2008, while holding down two full-time jobs --
freshman senator from Illinois and Democratic presidential candidate --
Barack Obama found time to whip out a children's book titled "Of Thee I
Sing: A Letter to My Daughters," to be published next month, Politics
Daily has learned.
On Tuesday, Alfred A. Knopf Books for Young
Readers, an imprint of Random House Children's Books, will make an
announcement about the book, which is a tribute to 13 Americans,
including artist Georgia O'Keeffe, baseball legend Jackie Robinson, and
George Washington.
Obama's daughters, Malia and Sasha, will be
represented on the cover in an impressionistic image by children's
illustrator Loren Long, who produced the portraits in the 40-page book.
Light on text, the thin volume is intended to appeal to kids age 3 and
up and will sell for $17.99. It's certainly expected by the
publishing house to be a bestseller, with an initial printing of 500,000
copies.
"Of Thee I Sing" is part of a three-volume deal Obama
signed in December 2004, just after he was elected senator, but before
he took office. When the deal was originally announced in 2004,
the kids' book was due in 2006, the profits were to go to charity and
the original concept was for an illustrated volume about Obama's
childhood as a "skinny young kid with big ears and funny name."
While the concept changed, proceeds will still go to charity -- a
scholarship fund for military children with a parent who was killed or
disabled -- but this publication fulfills Obama's obligation to turn in
a children's book to his publisher. Obama got a $1.9 million
advance in 2004 for the package, though the children's book was not part
of the revenue stream. The advance enabled the Obamas to
buy a mansion
on the South Side of Chicago.
The original deal, negotiated by
attorney Robert Barnett, came in the wake of the success of Obama's
best-selling memoir, "Dreams From My Father." Obama finished
"Audacity of Hope," his policy book (also a best seller) in 2006; his
children's book in 2008 and the last book he owes his publisher will
come out after Obama leaves the Oval Office. According to his 2010
financial disclosure report, the deal was revised on Jan. 9, 2009, so
the last book did not have to be delivered until he was out of office.
On Jan. 15, 2009, days before he was inaugurated, Obama got a $500,000
advance for a young-adult version of "Dreams From My Father."
Leave The Prose To The
Pros, Mr. Obama
Outsiders like Barack Obama
rarely master the art of writing Children's books, says Philip Womack.
Do you hear a loud thumping noise emanating from all over the country?
It's the sound of thousands of children's authors -- myself included --
banging their heads on their desks in despair. Yes, another celebrity
has "written" a children's book.
Who is it this time? Has Wayne
Rooney penned a morality tale for the under-eights? Maybe Kerry Katona
has chipped in with a multi-million-pound, nine-book series about a
little girl whose nose falls off? No, it's the biggest celebrity of
all, Barack Obama. Following in the footsteps of Theodore Roosevelt's
Hero Tales from American History, and Jimmy Carter's The Little Baby
Snoogle-Fleejer, Obama has come up with Of Thee I Sing: A Letter to My
Daughters, a set of 13 "inspirational tales" of American pioneers.
Frankly, just the title makes me want to stick my fingers in my ears and
scream. Even though it is taken from My Country, 'Tis of Thee, it reeks
of patronizing, pseudo-didactic, blood-freezing smarm. And that's not
mentioning the subtitle -- honestly, what children's book has a
subtitle?
The book -- whose nauseating cover shows Obama's two
daughters running after their dog -- was apparently written before he
took office, so at least he can't be accused of wasting the nation's
time on it. But I can't help feeling that it's woefully misconceived.
Obama may be one of the most brilliant politicians of our age, but you
can't wake up one morning and think, after your basketball practice,
"OK, what the children of the world need is an inspirational tale, and
I'm the man to do it!"
The key mistake here is the assumption -- made by many would-be
children's authors -- that what interests your children will interest
everyone's. I hate to break it to you, Mr. Obama, but that's not the
case at all. When it comes to literature, any three-year-old child will
run yelling from any suggestion of pomposity, until he (or she) finds
something a bit more conducive to his mindset: snot, aliens, gung-ho
princesses or maybe, if you're lucky, pants.
USAToday
is reporting the Obamas made a splash at last night's Congressional
Hispanic Caucus Institute's gala in Washington, with guests that
included Desperate Housewives star Eva Longoria and her husband Tony
Parker.
Obama appealed to Hispanics to support Democrats in the
November elections despite his failed promise to pass an immigration
overhaul, reports AP. "You have every right to keep the heat on me
and the Democrats, and I hope you do," Obama told the dinner crowd.
"But don't forget who is standing with you, and who is standing against
you," Obama said as he blamed Republicans for standing in the way.
Thank God for all those in
Congress that stand in the way of "illegal immigration" and "amnesty" --
and remember what the real numbers are!
Michelle Obama Blowout
Ulsterman
says this email came to them yesterday afternoon. As of
publication, our White House Insider has been unable to confirm the
specific details of this report. This account is based solely upon
information they received from one or more staff currently within the
White House. Here is that email in its entirety with the exception
of personal information regarding the Insider that was withheld.
Sorry for delay in getting back to you. --
personal information not included -- Situation very fluid RE
elections, WH, Obama, etc. Received something you may find
interesting RE First Lady. M.O. has become increasingly aggressive
w/staff at WH. Recent blowout took place involving First Lady
screaming (exact word used) at staff member. Said something to
effect -- "You are either with us or against us. One or the other."
Also heard to say that "the country doesn’t deserve us" to more than
one member of WH. Apparently M.O. convinced Emmanuel has staff
leaking information to him or fears that. Not sure what she
fears from R.E. specifically but working to find out. Believes
he may be dealing directly with Clintons?
VJs role has
increased dramatically in recent weeks even more than it already
was. Axelrod diminished. Also told Gibbs very much out
of favor with M.O. may be gone soon. Developing.
West
Wing is increasingly in bunker mentality these days. President
remains unresponsive/agitated while at W.H., repeats that he "wants
to be out speaking to the people." Staff paranoia at all time
high. Fear of H.C. described as "palpable." President
DID offer VP spot to her. CONFIRMED AGAIN. Have more
specifics on that developing but not ready to share yet. Will
say it appears H.C. considering VP offer. B.C. wants her to
run for Pres. in 2012 though. Developing.
Will have
more in coming days. -- personal information not included -- Talk in
person then.
Related:Michelle Obama says, "...there
are prayer circles out there and people who are keeping the spirits
clean around us."
They're Both In Love With The Same Guy
Rush Limbaugh says, "I wouldn't be surprised" if
the Obamas had marital problems, because "they're both in love with
the same guy"
PGA Producer Says Obama Golfs A Lot
Patrick Gavin
says that few seem to begrudge Obama the occasional golf outing
(executives need to unwind, right?). But John Kim, a producer for
PGA.com (the PGA Tour runs the primary men's professional golf tours in
North America), took to Twitter on Tuesday night to ding POTUS for
excessive golfing.
In response to learning of Obama's 50-plus
rounds of golf since taking office, Kim
wrote, "that's more than me! But then again, my job is ...
golf. Wait, that doesn't seem right."
And
later: "the old adage is: those who work in golf never get to play.
Guess I need to run for president to hit the links!"
Mark Tapscott
says Obama and his family are enjoying a delightful Christmas
vacation with friends and family in Hawaii.
Nobody questions
Obama's right or need to take take away from the White House, but an
investigation by Hawaii Reporter has turned up some eye-opening
information about the costs and other aspects of the Obama get-away.
Just consider these estimates on part of the costs of the latest Obama
Hawaii trip:
• Mrs.
Obama’s early flight to Hawaii: $63,000 (White House Dossier) •
Obama’s round trip flight to Hawaii: $1 million (GAO estimates) •
Housing in beachfront homes for Secret Service and Seals in Kailua
($1,200 a day for 14 days): $16,800 • Costs for White House
staff staying at Moana Hotel, excluding meals ($400 per day for 24
staff) $134,400 • Police overtime: $250,000 (2009 costs
reported by Honolulu Police Department) • Ambulance:
$10,000 (City Spokesperson)
However, the total cost of $1,474,200 leaves out a
number of significant costs that simply could not be calculated by the
Hawaii Reporter:
• Rental of office building in Kailua
on canal • Security upgrades and additional phone lines.
• Costs for car rentals and fuel for White House staff and
Secret Service • Surveillance before Obama arrives. •
Travel costs for advance Secret Service and White House staff
travel.
• Costs for military support and
security
White House spokesmen insist Obama's vacation
expenses are in line with those of previous presidents, which may well
be true, but, since the government refuses to disclose many important
details about any presidential journey, nobody can know for sure.
According to Hawaii Reporter, "They could have chosen a less
expensive and more secure place to stay such as a beachfront home on the
Kaneohe Marine Corps Air Station -- just a two-minute drive away from
the Kailuana Place property where they are now," according to Hawaii
Reporter.
"The president visits the military base daily to
workout, bowl with his kids or enjoy the more private beach there.
He also could have stayed at a home 15 minutes away on the beach
fronting Bellows Air Force Base as President Bill Clinton did."
But Obama and friends opted instead to secure use of three luxury
beachfront places, including the "Winter White House" -- or Kailua home
that Obama rents two weeks a year, for an estimated $3,500 a day or
$75,000 a month.
The place is a "7,000 square foot home [that]
features 5 bedrooms, 5 ½ bathrooms, a media room with surround sound, a
kitchen suited for a master chef, a dining room and great room, a
secluded lagoon-style pool with tropical waterfalls and a lavish island
spa. The ocean lanai and garden lanai showcase ornate landscaping
and stunning views of Kailua Bay and Mount Olomana."
Oops! Obama Rented An Illegal Vacation
House
Zip
says Barack Obama’s two-week stay at his Hawaii Winter White House
was illegal under a long-standing Honolulu ban on short-term rentals.
Obama did not break the law by staying at the house, but the
property owner who rented his house to the Obamas does not have the
permit that would allow a stay of fewer than 30 days.
Glenn
Weinberg, the owner of the Kailua estate, told Civil Beat that it was
legal for him to rent to the Obamas for a short stay because he kept the
home empty for the rest of the 30-day period. However his is a
common misconception about Honolulu law.
"I don’t see any
non-homeowner certificate that allows them to do short-term rentals,"
Mike Friedel of the Honolulu Department of Planning and Permitting’s
Code Compliance branch told Civil Beat. "If they’re doing
short-term rentals, it’s illegal."
The so-called Winter White
House is not listed in the most recent database of properties allowed
for short-term rental use.
Small beans! Occupying an illegal rental property doesn't compare
to illegally occupying the White House.
Obama Has Spent Nearly Two Months Golfing
Keith Koffler
is reporting that Obama has gone golfing a total of 59 times in just
under two years, a blistering pace that puts him on the golf course an
average of about once every two weeks, including winters.
According to statistics compiled by CBS News White House correspondent
Mark Knoller, who keeps close tabs on Obama’s activities, Obama played
30 rounds in 2010, 28 rounds in 2009, and one this year. The 2011
outing is among the five times he went out on the course during his just
concluded 12 day vacation to Hawaii.
While golf is played by
millions of Americans and extends its reach well into the middle class,
it is also perceived as a game of the idle rich and is generally
unavailable to the poor, putting Obama’s frequent outings at odds with
his image as a man of "hope" for the dispossessed.
The White
House carefully downplays Obama’s golfing, rarely talking about it and
releasing few pictures of Obama swinging away. A search of the
White House uploads on the Flickr photo-sharing website finds only three
shots of Obama on the golf course, compared to nearly two dozen of him
on the basketball court.
Obama’s excursions usually involve a
full 18 holes of play and take around five hours out of his day,
including time motorcading to and from the course.
Many argue
that golf provides a badly needed source of relaxation for Obama, a
refuge and a respite from extraordinary demands of the presidency.
And most or all of Obama’s golf days have been on weekends or during
scheduled vacations, but others say Obama could find another way to
relax, and that golfing sends the wrong message to the poor and to the
troops during a time of economic struggle and war.
George W. Bush
gave up golfing in 2003, explaining his rationale five years later in an
interview with POLITICO.
"I don’t want some mom whose son may
have recently died to see the commander in chief playing golf," he said.
"I feel I owe it to the families to be in solidarity as best as I can
with them. And I think playing golf during a war just sends the
wrong signal."
And don't
forget all of the vacations, the basketball games and the parties.
With Obama it's fun first, function later.
Obama Weight Loss Drama
Globe magazine continues its assault on Obama by focusing on
"Obama's shocking weight loss."
Saying that a stressed-out
Barack Obama has lost a whopping 30 pounds amid fears that shocking
new investigations into his REAL birth story will bring him down,
say sources.
Does Obama Dye His Hair?
The Daily Mail (UK)
says it's being seen as the most important visit by a Chinese leader
in 30 years and, with all the world's eyes on him, who can blame Barack
Obama for wanting to look his best.
For it appears that he has
dyed his graying hair jet-black -- giving him a new more youthful look.
Observers have said the 49-year-old's hair has changed color
dramatically because of the pressures of the job since he assumed office
two years ago.
On top of that, the four-day visit by Chinese
President Hu Jintao is of particular importance for Obama as the world's
superpower comes to terms with the Far Eastern country's growing
influence on the world stage. By 2020 it is expected to overtake
the U.S. as the world's largest economy.
The photo on the left was taken outside
Andrews Air Force Base, just outside Washington DC, as Obama prepared to
board Air Force One a week ago.
Seven days later as he spoke at a
state dinner for Hu Jintao in the White House, his hair was apparently
significantly darker.
File Under: Do What I Say, Not What I
Do
The National Journal
says so much for Michelle Obama’s drinking water and eating
vegetables crusade. Sunday's Super Bowl menu at the White House
included bratwurst, kielbasa, cheeseburgers, deep-dish pizza, and
buffalo wings.
There was also twice-baked potatoes, chips and
dip, and ice cream. Green salad is available, but why bother when
German potato salad is on the buffet?
Obama voted present and didn’t
take sides in the big game featuring teams from states crucial to his
reelection. He’s neutral all the way down to the beer, with the
White House offering Hinterland Pale Ale and Amber Ale from the Green
Bay Packers’ home in Wisconsin, and Yuengling Lager and Light from the
Pittsburgh Steelers’ turf in Pennsylvania. White House Honey Ale
was also served.
Obama "Deserves Respect" Says Oprah
The Daily Mail (UK) is reporting the first lady
of television has called on critics of Obama to show "some level of
respect" -- even if they weren't in support of his policies.
Speaking on a special edition of Morning Joe today, Oprah Winfrey said
the presidency is a position that "holds a sense of authority and
governance over us all."
The chat show host, who also talked
about her new network OWN and the end of her long-running show, has been
extremely vocal about her support for Obama and made many campaign
appearances during his race to the White House.
"I feel that everybody has a learning curve,
and I feel that the reason why I was willing to step out for him is
because I believed in his integrity and I believed in his heart."
"I believe that what he really wants is for this country to be
greater, stronger more innovative. Those principles are what really
enforces his beliefs."
Speaking about the current negative mood of the country
Oprah quipped:
"Everybody complaining ought to try it (the
presidency) for a week."
Somebody ought to inform Ms.
Winfrey that respect is earned, not "deserved," and Obama could go a
long way to being respected if he stops his destruction of America, and
tells the American people who he is, where he came from and who sent
him.
Until that time, the only thing Obama deserves is the bottom
of our shoes.
Now, This Is Just Strange
While the rest of the family was mingling with
the mighty in Vail, Obama spent Saturday coaching his daughter’s
basketball team. Weasel Meister says, let me guess -- he was
celebrating "Black
Thanksgiving." Afterwards he took the girls behind the gym to
teach them how to smoke.
Fox News
is reporting Obama stepped in to help coach his younger daughter’s
basketball team even when she wasn’t there.
White House officials
said Obama helped coach 9-year-old Sasha’s team Saturday in suburban
Maryland because a regular parent-coach was unable to attend.
But
Sasha and her older sister, Malia, are skiing in Colorado this weekend
with their mother and some friends.
Obama often attends Sasha’s
Saturday morning basketball games at a community center in Maryland.
Aides said they did not know if Obama had helped coach before.
They did not provide results of Saturday’s game.
Journalists
accompanying Obama’s motorcade to the games are not allowed inside the
gym.
I'd want to know who
Obama is seeing at Sasha's B-Ball games??? Why would he absent
himself from running the world to go to a kid's basketball game? -- when
his kid wasn't there -- hmmmm?
Obama Says "Everyone Must Sacrifice"
Barack Obama says, "Everyone must sacrifice for
the greater good… Everyone must have some skin in the game."
That's everyone but Barack and Michelle Obama.
The Vail Daily
is reporting that Michelle Obama is enjoying a quick trip to Vail
for Presidents Day for a weekend of skiing in Vail and Beaver Creek,
according to local sources.
A motorcade of about a dozen
vehicles, including 15 state and local law enforcement officers,
traveled from the Eagle County Regional Airport to Vail on Friday night,
according to the Colorado State Patrol. Roads were temporarily blocked
to make way for the motorcade in Eagle. The motorcade entered an
underground garage beneath the Sebastian hotel in Vail Village shortly
after 9:30.
It won't be Michelle's first time on skis. She
took daughters Sasha and Malia for a quick trip to Liberty Mountain
Resort, in Carroll Valley, Pa., in February 2010. It was the first
time on skis for the first daughters, according to Anne Weimer,
marketing director at Ski Liberty.
During an interview posted by
Liberty Mountain, the first lady was asked about some her favorite hot
spots. Instead, she talked about a cool spot.
"We discovered
skiing. My girls had never been skiing," she said. "With a
couple hours, you're skiing."
Michelle Obama in ski-pants?? I really didn't need that mental
image.
As the World Burns Obama Dances The Night
Away
Michelle barely had time to get out of her ski outfit from last
weekends "ski-trip" to Vail, where she dined on ribs --
1500 calories per serving -- at a Vail restaurant. (I keep trying to get the vision of Michelle
in ski pants out of my mind).
And a good time was had by all,
especially Marie Antionette and Nero Obama.
The worst president
in the history of the United States is dancing and parting while America
and the world is burning. Many find this behavior extremely offensive,
and ask, "What type of people do this kind of stuff?"
Forget what Obama says -- "Everyone must sacrifice for the greater good…
Everyone must have some skin in the game." -- He's a liar. With these
two, it's party all the time, party all the time. The Obamas have
theirs. Piss on you!
What about the
Americans in Libya?
In the middle of all this partying and
vacationing, Obama didn’t send the Navy in to save thousands
of Americans. When he finally did something, he sent a "ferry" that
was too small, and couldn't handle the seas in the Mediterranean.
Hell! Russia, China, France and even Ireland got their people out, but
America, the greatest Military in the world sat on their asses while the Obamas partied to celebrate Black History Month and MoTown
Records with Stevie Wonder.
But, just in case you're worried about Barry's
work load, don't -- he's having
another party Monday night featuring Gladys
Night.
Maybe Gladys will
perform a duet with Barry O -- he certainly is a "Pip."
Obama’s Afternoon: A Round Of Golf
Jamie Klatell says Obama spent a cool and
cloudy Saturday afternoon playing a round of golf at Joint Base Andrews
Naval Air Facility in Maryland, the second week in a row, the most
powerful man in the world stepped away from the White House to hit the
golf course.
Obama’s playing partners for the day are Ben
Finkenbinder, a White House press office staffer, Marvin Nicholson,
Obama's trip director, and David Katz, a Department of Energy staffer.
Even as his administration and the U.S. military help Japan recover
from a devastating earthquake, and as the world worries about
Fukushima's nuclear reactor, Obama could not resist taking advantage of
the 48-degree weather in the Washington, D.C. area.
Obama left
the White House Saturday afternoon for the short trip to Joint Andrews
Base in Camp Springs, Md.
With cloudy skies, it's not the best
weather for golf, but Obama loves to spend his Saturdays on the greens.
Last fall, Obama went golfing darn near every weekend.
These are
never quick "work on your swing" trips; usually Obama plays 18 holes, as
he did last week.
Forbes
is reporting that Barack Obama will take his first official trip to
Brazil this weekend where he will speak in the popular Cinelandia Square
in downtown Rio de Janeiro. Access, of course, will be tightly
restricted and security measures so secretive that not even the Embassy
or US Consulate in Rio know exactly who it’s all going to go down.
Obama’s speech will be free and open to the public and take place around
15:00 local time (14:00 EST). Access to the square will begin at
11:30, and is sure to draw a crowd. Obama is popular in Brazil.
One politician seeking office in Rio actually changed his name to Barack
Obama in 2008 to solicit votes. He didn’t win.
The Obama
family will also take in the sights in Rio. A trip to Corcovado
mountain, where the Christ the Redeemer statue stands (France gave us
Lady Liberty, gave Brazil Jesus) is supposedly on the itinerary.
What trip to Rio would be complete without it? If they do make it
to the top of the mountain, they will do so with an entourage of secret
service and Brazil’s Elite Squad, known as BOPE.
Detached, Incompetent, And Easily Amused
Amie Parnes says that when the Obamas moved to
the White House in 2009, the first couple's Wednesday evenings quickly
booked up as they hosted more than a half dozen cocktail parties in an
effort to get to know members of Congress.
But as health care
and other policy issues began to heat up, the cocktail receptions went
away, without much explanation. The last one was held in the
spring of 2009.
Lately, though, in the wake of renewed calls for
bipartisanship, the schmoozy receptions have re-emerged, but in a new
form: in front of the big screen.
The Obamas have opened up the White House theater
and the elegant State Floor rooms to host a string of viewing parties in
recent months. They have invited guests over to take in the Super
Bowl last month, new movies (FLOTUS screened Tyler Perry’s "For Colored
Girls" for about 50 guests in November) and random sporting events such
as last week’s Chicago Bulls-Charlotte Bobcats game.
For the
basketball party, Obama, the so-called "first sports fan" and ESPN
junkie, invited members of the Illinois and North Carolina delegations
and officials from the Charlotte area, where the 2012 Democratic
National Convention will be held. More than 50 people attended, at
least one of whom -- North Carolina Republican Rep. Sue Myrick -- wore
the jersey of her home-state team.
Last month, Obama hosted a
screening of "Thurgood," the HBO film about Thurgood Marshall, the first
African American Supreme Court justice. Over popcorn and soda,
Obama’s guests -- including activist Al Sharpton, Harvard law professor
Charles Ogletree and actor Don Cheadle -- got some face time with Obama.
The White House would not comment on the viewing parties or say
if more are scheduled, although the onset of March Madness offers a
golden opportunity for some more executive-legislative branch
co-mingling while watching college hoops
Overall, lawmakers seem
pleased with the informal gatherings. Rep. G.K. Butterfield (D-N.C.)
called the Bulls-Bobcats event he attended "very relaxed" and encouraged
the White House to keep it up.
"We live in times when politics
are strained, so when you can get people together in a social setting,
it’s always a good idea," said Andrew Wilson, a spokesman for Rep. Jesse
Jackson Jr. (D-Ill.), who also attended the basketball party.
Socializing outside the office "does carry into the day-to-day politics
of legislating and governing," Wilson said.
Obama may not know what to do about Libya, or
the nuclear crisis in Japan, but Barack Obama is staying with defending
champion Connecticut in the women's basketball bracket.
For the
second straight year, Obama has filled out an NCAA women's tournament
bracket for ESPN. He says top seeds Connecticut, Baylor, Stanford,
and Tennessee will make the women's Final Four.
Obama has the Huskies beating the Lady Bears in the
national championship game. The Huskies have won the last two
national championships and lost only one game since Obama took office.
That loss was to Stanford in December and snapped UConn's 90-game
winning streak.
Obama correctly chose Connecticut to beat
Stanford for the championship last season. He picked Kansas to win
the men's title this year. His pick to win it all was revealed
Friday on SportsCenter.
Definition of irony -- winners being selected by a loser.
And Knows How To
Relax
Noting that with the world in turmoil, Obama
took time to hold court for his college-basketball tournament
predictions, talk-radio host Michael Savage tried to look at the bright
side.
"You've got to admit, the man knows how to relax," Savage
said on his nationally syndicated show yesterday.
"It's good
to know that we have such a calm and collected leader in the White
House," he said. "A man who despite all that's going on around the
world refuses to show any sign of stress, anxiety, panic. A man
who can focus instead on relaxing."
With a full dose of irony,
Savage said it's not Obama's problem "that Egypt is a total anarchistic
wreck."
"In fact, he sent Hillary Clinton over there."
And It's Off To Rio
David Gardner
says Obama has refused to scrap a five-day trip to Latin America
that will take him to Brazil, Chile and El Salvador.
Resisting
demands that he should remain at home in the White House to deal with
the international response to Japan's nuclear crisis and Colonel
Gaddafi's crackdown on anti-government rebels, Obama insists he can stay
on top of the fast-moving developments while on the road.
Some
Republican critics have complained the sunshine trip symbolizes Obama's
lack of leadership at a time of international chaos.
There will
be no new treaties signed, no dramatic summit meetings, no big
diplomatic breakthroughs -- the kinds of achievements that typically
punctuate presidential trips abroad.
The Real March Madness
Obama
is a LOSER!
While the world blows up, all Obama wants to talk
about is basketball, basketball, basketball. He's supposed to know
something about the game, but he knows as little about basketball as he
does governing.
He lost one of his Final Four picks on Saturday,
when Pittsburgh, the No. 1 seed in the Southeast Regional, lost to
eighth-seeded Butler.
The Wisconsin Badgers beat Obama's pick,
Kansas State, 70-65, in Tucson.
Including the loss of Louisville
on Thursday, Obama has seen three of his Sweet 16 picks go down.
That's what he gets for picking the "safe" bet,
just like leaving the French to lead in Libya. Always the "safe"
bet.
Obama doesn't have the wisdom, skills, inclination or
temperament to be a leader, and he's too arrogant to be a follower.
Obama's NCAA Picks Falter
Gautham Nagesh
says that after crushing the competition for the first week of the
NCAA men's basketball tournament, Obama's bracket is starting to
resemble those of fans across the nation: busted.
In what can be
called the greatest political risk of his brief career, Obama went way
out on a limb of a very weak tree and picked all Number 1 seeds to reach
the Final 4. Well, a very tenacious VCU Rams team, representing
the hopes and dreams of Middle America, knocked off Obama's last hope,
the Kansas Jayhawks, to reach the Final 4, rendering Obama's bracket as
worthless as Hope and Change itself.
Obama was comfortably among
the 99th percentile on ESPN.com after the first three rounds of the
tournament (including the first round of two play-in games), but his
picks began to falter this week as the Sweet Sixteen got underway.
Three out of Obama's picks for the Final Four (Ohio State, Duke, and
Pittsburgh) lost this week, and his choice for national champion Kansas
lost to Virginia Commonwealth Sunday afternoon in the Elite Eight.
Obama's run of good luck began to fade on Thursday when top-seeded
Duke and Pittsburgh were upset by Kentucky and Butler, respectively.
The Buckeyes fell Friday night to Kentucky.
I've noticed the phrase, "the Obama
Curse," popping up in relationship to the tourney, so I Googled it.
There's
more than 1,700 results . . .
Don't Mess With Obama's Golf
Keith Koffler
is reporting the 2011 Obama golf season is off to a a roaring start,
with Obama headed out yesterday for the fifth time in as many weeks.
It's Obama’s 66th time golfing since the inauguration and his eighth
time this year. After a Hawaii vacation session at the beginning
of January, this year’s Obama golf season officially got underway with
two chilly outings in March. Obama resumed play on April 3, and
has hit the links every week since.
While there are no official
statistics being kept, it’s probably safe to say that no president has
ever golfed five weeks in a row. It’s not even clear that Dwight
Eisenhower, who also loved to hit the greens, ever pulled this off.
The weather at Andrews Air Force Base, where Obama was playing, was
a pleasant 60 degrees, with a chance of rain by mid afternoon, though he
should be done by then.
Along with him is his usual posse --
junior White House officials Ben Finkenbinder and Marvin Nicholson, and
the Energy Department’s David Katz.
UPDATE: The raid to
kill Osama Bin Laden may have cut short Obama’s Sunday golf.
Obama left the White House to play golf at 9:42 am, arriving at the
Andrews Air Force Base course about 25 minutes later, according to the
press pool report. He then ended his game after nine holes at 1:39
pm and made it back to the White House at 2:04 pm, about two hours
before the attack on Bin Laden appears to have occurred.
According to a report in the Wall Street Journal, the attack on Bin
Laden’s compound north of Islamabad seems to have happened at about 1:10
am local time, which would be 4:10 pm Washington time.
The pool
reporter noted that it was a little chilly and rainy, but this would not
normally have prevented Obama from playing through. Obama would
certainly have been alerted, however, that the attack was about to get
underway.
That explains why
Obama was so willing to give the "Go" order. Bin-Laden interfered
with Obama's back 9.
Two Chili Dogs And Fries
Fiona Roberts
says when wife Michelle unveiled the USDA's new nutritional plate
yesterday, there definitely wasn't a space for chili dogs, but that
didn't stop Barack Obama wolfing down two in Toledo today -- with fries
and an extra bowl of chili on the side. (video)
Obama happily munched on the unhealthy meal before
he visited the city's Chrysler factory, and even teased one of his hosts
for ordering ketchup, a faux-pas in his home town of Chicago.
According to USA Today, he told representative Marcy Kaptur: "Marcy just
wants ketchup. By the way, as an aficionado of hot dogs, you
shouldn't put ketchup on hot dogs... I'm trying to teach my
girls."
Those culinary lessons would hardly go down well with his
wife, Michelle, who has spent this year touring the country on a crusade
against childhood obesity.
And speaking of Michelle' new, politically correct, dietary chart:
If meats are "Protein,"
shouldn't Fruits, Vegetables, and Grains be "carbohydrates?" And
shouldn't Dairy be "fats and proteins?"
I guess that's what makes it OK for
Obama to pig out on those dogs. He's not eating meat. He's
eating Protein.
Three Money Tips From Obama (Not Satire)
Jeff Reeves says he had the honor and privilege
of attending the White House's first Personal Finance Online Summit on
Wednesday afternoon. The event gave him and two dozen other
financial journalists access to top administration officials, including
a brief Q&A with Barack Obama. Much of the talk focused on the
debt ceiling, the housing crisis and the job market. But during
the give-and-take, there were a few nuggets of wisdom from Obama that
apply to everyday household budgets and regular folks planning their
retirement. Here are three tips from Obama:
Tip #1 --
Don't spend all your money
When asked for his No. 1 personal
finance tip, Obama said, "Don't spend all your money." He stressed
that this is something he learned from his grandmother in Kansas and
something he practices to this day.
Everyone knows Obama's philosophy
is to spend other people's money, and is currently doing his best to
spend every dime belonging to every American before he gets thrown out
of the White House.
Obama was reported to have had his
credit cards cancelled back in the 90s and somebody should cancel his
federal credit card, as well.
Tip #2 -- Investing is
different from spending
Obama went on to explain that watching
spending doesn't mean you pinch pennies. He cited how he and First
Lady Michelle Obama plunked down $125,000 for their educations,
including Harvard law school, but that was money well spent. He
also mentioned a responsible mortgage for his family's home in Chicago.
"Some folks say that investment is just another term for spending,"
Obama said. "There's an important distinction." Some debt is
unavoidable for those of us who aren't millionaires. Using that
debt wisely can be very beneficial.
Yo! Barack! Care to
comment on where that $125,000 for education came from? You never
had any education loans. And what about that real estate scheme
that got you the house you really couldn't afford?
Tip #3 -- Get all the facts before making big decisions
In
dealing with the nation's current debt crisis, Obama admitted it is
challenging dealing with two sides who think supporting programs like
Medicaid and cutting spending to reduce the deficit are mutually
exclusive goals.
"Get all
the facts before making big decisions" doesn't square with "We have to
pass the bill so you can find out what is in it."
The notion of Obama giving
financial tips is absurd.
