Author: Eldon Kramer

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And she wants to be president, Part 3

 “The most important thing I did was to help restore America’s leadership in the world.  And I think that was a very important accomplishment.  We were flat on our back when I walked in there (the State Department) the first time.   We were viewed as being untrustworthy, as violating our moral rules and values.”  – Hillary Clinton, June 10, 2014

Renee-Montagne-NPR-photo

During her interview with Renee Montagne, Host of NPR’s Morning Edition (above), Hillary Clinton said her greatest achievement as secretary of state was that she helped restore America’s leadership in the world. Another myth. (npr photo)

Hillary Clinton would have you believe that the U.S. image in the world was left in shambles when George W. Bush left office.  “That was my biggest challenge.  It was why the president asked me to be secretary of state,” she boasted in her book tour interview with Renee Montagne, co-host of NPR’s Morning Edition.

It certainly didn’t help matters that immediately after his election in 2008, President Obama went on his now infamous apology tour, during which time his comments about America had the overall effect of weakening the view of America on the world stage.

“In America, there’s a failure to appreciate Europe’s leading role in the world,” he told an audience in Strasbourg, France on April 3, 2009. “Instead of celebrating your dynamic union and seeking to partner with you to meet common challenges,” he said, “there have been times where America has shown arrogance and been dismissive, even derisive.”

“We have at times been disengaged, and at times we sought to dictate our terms,” President Obama said at the April 17, 2009 Summit of the Americas, Port of Spain.  He explained there would be no senior and junior partnerships in our future relations, and added the U.S. would be willing to acknowledge past errors.

“I would like to think that my election and the early decisions that were made, that you’re starting to see some restoration of America’s standing in the world.” President Obama, April 2, 2009, press conference at the G-20 Summit of World Leaders, London.

Continue reading →

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And she wants to be president, Part 2

“I’m not equipped to sit and look at blueprints to determine where the blast walls need to be, where the reinforcements need to be.  That’s why we hire people who have that expertise.” – Hillary Clinton, June 10, 2014

I’d like to say I was shocked when I heard this response from Hillary Clinton during her book tour interview with ABC’s Diane Sawyer, who pressed the former secretary of state over the preparedness of the U.S.… read more

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Take IRS scandals seriously

I hope you are as outraged as I am over the IRS “loss” of e-mails in the Lois Lerner scandal over the targeting of conservative organizations. Keep in mind that this is the result of big government’s culture of corruption conceived by bureaucrats who think we taxpayers aren’t paying attention.

I’m sorry to say many are not, or don’t see how it affects them. … read more

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In pursuit of the “there there”

It’s getting tiresome watching Democrats stand before phalanx of microphones spouting the party line about the thousands of pages of IRS documents supplied to a half dozen or so  House and Senate committees and, enough already, there’s no “there there.”

No “there there” means, you’re not going to tie the scandal to anyone in the White House, especially the president.  They usually follow with a reference to a Republican “witch hunt” or a “fishing expedition.”  This is serious.  We cannot give up.

As I pointed out in Part 1 of my blog series, Understanding the IRS scandal, March 10, 2014, the president used his bully pulpit during the State of the Union Address on January 2010 to publically chastise members of the Supreme Court for their decision on Citizens United.  A host of Democrat senators, led by Sen. Charles Schumer (D-NY), got the message and sent letters to the IRS to tighten the rules.

It’s the way President Obama works.  He tells us what he’s going to do, as when he told us he had a pen and a phone, and if Congress stood in his way, he’d find a way to get something done. Continue reading →

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Obama and Biden, foreign policy failures

I’ve written many blog posts, op-eds, and letters to editors critical of President Obama’s foreign policy, or lack thereof.  With only his experience as a community organizer and two idle years in the Senate, I’m sure he thought Joe Biden, with his foreign relations committee experience, would help fill this void. Wrong.

Clearly, the current crisis in Iraq reflects their inexperience.

“I am very optimistic about Iraq.  I think it’s gonna be one of the great achievements of this administration.  You’re gonna see 90,000 troops come marching home by the end of summer.  You’re gonna see a stable Iraq that is actually moving toward a representative government.  I’ve been impressed by how they’ve been deciding to use the political process rather than guns to settle their differences.” – Vice President Biden, Feb. 11, 2010

01biden-articleLarge (NY Times.com)

Vice President Biden displayed a lack of experience when he agreed with Nouri al-Maliki that Iraq had worked its way through the travails and are expressing its peoples’ wills during the Nov. 30, 2011 U.S. – Iraq Higher Coordinating Committee meeting in Baghdad. (Davis Turner/Getty Images)

I was also reminded how Biden failed to get a status of forces agreement there.  On Nov. 30, 2011, speaking before Iraqi and American representatives in Baghdad, Biden talked of its importance. Later he said,  “I will bet you my vice presidency, Maliki (Nouri al-Maliki), the Iraqi prime minister will extend the status of forces agreement.”  I guess nobody took that bet.

During Obama’s campaign against Mitt Romney, he denied his interest in getting the agreement.  Following the 2008 Obama-Biden victory, however, a transition team document on Iraq stated, “Obama-Biden believe it is vital that Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA) be reached so our troops have the legal protections and immunities they need.”  It went on to cite that it be subject to Congressional review to ensure it would have bipartisan support here at home. Continue reading →

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Check the spelling

We were told that the five terrorists recently released from Guantanamo in exchange for U.S. Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl would be held under house arrest in Qatar for a year.  And, that Qatar’s Emir, Sheikh Tamin bin Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani assured the U.S. that he would maintain surveillance over their activities.… read more

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Will GOP learn from Brat win?

First, let’s get it straight.  It wasn’t Tea Party financial support that enabled Dave Brat to beat GOP Majority Leader Eric Cantor in the Virginia primary last night as the media has been saying.

Putting it simply, Brat did campaign on principles Tea Partiers and true Republicans stand for – primarily adherence to the Constitution –   not moves to be Democrat-lite, to appear more moderate.… read more

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Obama, staff simply inept

Copyright: @Sigrid Estrada, 2001902 BroadwayNew York, NY 10010

Richard Cohen (Washingtonpost.com)

”The Rose Garden production sticks in my craw – Obama leaving with his arms around Bergdahl’s mother and father.  So touching.  So warm.  So utterly repellent!”  – Richard Cohen, Washington Post columnist

For the past five years I have been writing about a president – Barack Obama, of course – who is in over his head on domestic issues and the economy; national security, foreign policy and on defense.

We have seen his incompetence, lack of judgment, open flouting of the rule of law and the constitution and a disregard for the culture of corruption evidenced within his administration.

The latest Gallop Poll reveals that 74 per cent of Americans express dissatisfaction with the way things are going in the United States at this time, and Real Clear Politics, with its average of all major polls, reflects a 52.5 per cent disapproval of President Obama’s job performance.

Over the past few weeks we have again witnessed his ineptness and that of those around him. With the media showing clips of him promising process improvements for vets dating back to 2008, the president couldn’t pass this off as another phony scandal. Continue reading →