It's Been A Long Six Weeks For All Of Us

Please wake me and tell me I dreamed this spin from the White House:

Barack Obama 'too tired' to give proper welcome to Gordon Brown

Barack Obama's offhand approach to Gordon Brown's Washington visit last week came about because the president was facing exhaustion over America's economic crisis and is unable to focus on foreign affairs, the Sunday Telegraph has been told.

Sources close to the White House say Mr Obama and his staff have been "overwhelmed" by the economic meltdown and have voiced concerns that the new president is not getting enough rest.

British officials, meanwhile, admit that the White House and US State Department staff were utterly bemused by complaints that the Prime Minister should have been granted full-blown press conference and a formal dinner, as has been customary. They concede that Obama aides seemed unfamiliar with the expectations that surround a major visit by a British prime minister.

I certainly hope that the man who redefined the male physique can get himself enough shut-eye over the next four years.

The Telegraph buries the lead:

The real views of many in Obama administration were laid bare by a State Department official involved in planning the Brown visit, who reacted with fury when questioned by The Sunday Telegraph about why the event was so low-key.

The official dismissed any notion of the special relationship, saying: "There's nothing special about Britain. You're just the same as the other 190 countries in the world. You shouldn't expect special treatment."

I am going to ignore the quotation marks and hope they aren't actually quoting someone from our State Department.  Even people inclined to set aside the history of the two nations might consider that London is one of the world's pre-eminent financial centers and will certainly have a role to play in resolving the global financial debacle.  And since they are the only European power that actually puts troops in the field in significant numbers, and since they have a history in the region, Britain is likely to be important in resolving the Afghanistan/Pakistan problem.  Which distinguishes them from most of the other 190 countries in the world.

[END OF THREAD]

Nighty-night, Barak...

Comments

[Jane]

Nighty-night, Barak...

From your lips...

[mel]

I knew you'd be on this.

[Jane]

I had nothing to do with it. TM is just always in synch - or something.

[hit and run]

From the article:
...because the president was facing exhaustion over America's economic crisis and is unable to focus on foreign affairs...

Pre-inauguration Obama:
There's only one president at a time.

Post-inauguration Obama:
There's only 1/2 a president at this time.

[Topsecretk9]

I am sure that State Department quote made all the world love us again because it's very nuanced and contrite.

[hit and run]

TM:
I am going to ignore the quotation marks and hope they aren't actually quoting someone from our State Department.

Not me. I'm going with the theory that bgates has penetrated the State Department and feeding these kinds of statements to the media.

[bgates]

the man who redefined the male physique
Did we say Adonis? We meant Hypnus.

-Your Betters in the Media

[Rick Ballard]

Eye-opener
Morning toddy
Morning bracer
3 hour lunch
Afternoon pick me up
Cocktails
Dinner wine
Aperitif
Triple night cap

A man carryin' that kinda load every day is bound to get a little 'tired'.

Anybody else notice that Puffball and Axeltoad have him in permanent "campaign mode"? What else can you do you with a clown that doesn't know sic'em from fetch?

Wish I had the B-12 concession for the White House.

[pagar]

I'd be willing to bet a reasonable amount (say a Citibank share) that the quote came from a Obama connected State Dept employee and that it represents the position of the Obama Administration.

[bgates]

I'm going with the theory that bgates has penetrated the State Department

Look, I want this guy gone as much as the next guy (unless the next guy is Joe Biden), but not at the cost of alienating the great and good British people. Even if they are a more minor part of the population than they used to be.

[Greg Q]

Why wuold the British willingness to provide troops that might actually be willing to fight matter to the State Department?

It's not like they favor the US winning wars by military force, after all. :-(

[matt]

compare Barack after 6 weeks to George Bush after 8 years. I do not remember any reports of Bush ever complaining or slacking. All they would repeat and repeat was that he stole the election in 2000, lied to us about Iraq, and was evil.

I think we are seeing who is the better man now, and it ain't Obozo.

[Porchlight]

Only 202 weeks to go!

[bgates]

Only 202 weeks to go!

And daylight savings ends tonight, so that moves us another hour closer to the goal.

On the other hand, an Obama deprived of another hour of precious rest is liable to start mooning DC tourists. Good thing he doesn't have to get up early for church.

[hit and run]

Oh, the great and good British people spent the whole campaign in thrall to the idea of Obama as post-American citizen of the world.

Alienate them to Obama and they'll begin to clamor for the good ol' fashioned traditional American.

I shouldn't say that so definitively. Let's hope they're not so far gone that they're willing to accept to the murder-suicide pact Obama is offering instead.

[hit and run]

Matt:
I do not remember any reports of Bush ever complaining or slacking.

Remember the articles post election, pre inauguration about how Obama would help bring hip back to DC, with the exit of the fuddy duddy Bush who went to bed every night by 9?

I mean, it's almost as if Bush took the job seriously.

Seriously?

[USAGirl]

Hey Obama,

If you can't handle the job, let us know !!
Rush, can take over for you - no problem !!

Regards
The American People

[hit and run]

bgates:
And daylight savings ends tonight, so that moves us another hour closer to the goal.

You did read where we got an http://uk.reuters.com/article/burningIssues/idUKTRE4BR1DC20081229>extra second in 2008?

I really, really, look back on that extra second in fondness, cherishing that additional time that was spent before Obama began his destruction of our way of life.

Good times, good times.

[Topsecretk9]

This is a douzy too

Allies of Mr Obama say his weary appearance in the Oval Office with Mr Brown illustrates the strain he is now under, and the president's surprise at the sheer volume of business that crosses his desk.

But, but, but he's so smart and was the CEO of his campaign, surly such a smart, smart man, a constitutional scholar, would have at least a thumbnail sketch understanding of the "sheer volume of the business" that comes with the job HE SOUGHT and said he was qualified for!!!

And Boo Hoo, what a baby.

Obama's so-called "seamless campaign" was just a fluke.

[Patrick R. Sullivan]

And Obama will lose an hour's sleep tonight, springing forward.

[Pofarmer]

"There's nothing special about Britain. You're just the same as the other 190 countries in the world. You shouldn't expect special treatment."

Oh, I absolutely beleive it. Who do you think has been leaking in the state dept the last 8 years.

[ben]

Six weeks ago perhaps we could have been wrong, Obama would truly govern as a moderate, truly practice the bi-partisan rhetoric he preached. Perhaps he really had prepared himself for the Presidency, and was savvy about economics and markets and diplomacy. Maybe he did mean it when he talked about ethics in government and opposition to pork and earmarks. Against all odds, maybe this Messiah impersonator was actually going to bring about hope and change, and we just didn't want to give him a chance.

Nah, we were right.

[Pofarmer]

Rush, can take over for you - no problem !!

Rush, Monty Python, Little Richard, whatever.

[centralcal]

Po - Groucho, Harpo and what was the other brothers' names?

[Jane]

Karl

[ben]

Heh Jane

...Zeppo

[ben]

also Gummo and Chico...

[centralcal]

I remember (sorta) when I first started coming to JOM. The subject matter wasn't yet Zero (tho' he was on the radar, so to speak), and Jane would tell us what a bozo failure her Axlelturf governor was.

Who knew? Who knew that Zero would be waltzing around the castle calling himself President Obama? I still can't believe it - that it came to pass so damned easily. Too damned easily.

But, hey - he should be one scared cat. Seriously. It won't be conservatives, or libertarians, or (cough) moderates. It will be some wild eyed liberal, worthless nutso, who didn't get his free iPhone or whateever, that tries to take this guy out.

The Secret Service had better be really, really on top of things. It is his apostolic following that is gonna freak out first.

[pagar]

You shouldn't expect special treatment."

Don't worry, there will still be nations that get Special Treatment from us.

Team Obama Holds Talks With Syria

In the same article, we read--

Clinton also said President Barack Obama will visit Turkey in the "next month or so."

At a news conference with Turkish Foreign Minister Ali Babacan, she said Obama had asked her to deliver the message that he would visit soon and said the two allies will consult on the safest, most effective way to withdraw U.S. forces from Iraq.

[MarkJ]

Heard from behind a closed door at the White House:

Obama: Damn, baby, this job is HARD. Maybe I should have stayed in the Senate. Now THAT was a great gig--better hours, the pay and perks were almost as good, no responsibility and accountability, and all I had to do was look 'senatorial.' It's not my enemies that are buggin' the s*** out of me, it's my godda** FRIENDS. Jesus, herding rabid cats would be easier than dealing with Pelosi and Reid. Aw damn, I found another gray hair. Pass me the Grecian Formula, will ya baby?

Michelle: Man up, my brotha. You asked for it, you got it. And besides, we gotta keep the girls in Sidwell Friends until we can get'em into a really decent finishing school in Switzerland. Yeah, and by the way, I want you to put a tail on Andrew Sullivan. That valentine card he sent you last month was the last f***ing straw. Wantin' to "have your baby" and all. Yeooow! That limp-wristed cracka is creepin' me out. I want the Secret Service to be all over that dude like white on rice and P.D.Q. Got that, Mr. Dy-no-mite?"

[Terry]

"And since they are the only European power that actually puts troops in the field in significant numbers, and since they have a history in the region, Britain is likely to be important in resolving the Afghanistan/Pakistan problem."

I don't understand why you're up in arms about the State DSept giving the British the finger when the US Military has been doing the same thing for the past 4 years.

The British have not simply been pompous and arrogant in Iraq and Afghanistan, but cowardly and ineffective. There is a reason why both the Maliki government and the US ground commanders have isolated the British from any semblence of cooperation and coordination in security operations: they've been so concerned with their public image, but they're far less concerned with solving the problems at hand.

Christ, where do you get off claiming that the Brits are necessary to win in Afghanistan when US soldiers, Marines, et al are infuriated to the point that they want the Brits booted out?

[cindyk]

He's friggin "tired? I am working a 70 hour week just to keep my job. Our 401K match is no longer in existence after March 31st. I am struggling to find budget monies so I don't have to lay off an additional 10+ people, and he is "tired"?!!

[bgates]

the safest, most effective way to withdraw U.S. forces from Iraq.
Well, they're going to Afghanistan; I suggest they head east.

[Rick Ballard]

cindyk,

Michelle told you that the Oconomy is about him making you work. Ole Shiftless workin' ain't part of the deal.

Don't forget - O supporters should always go straight to the head of the line in the selection process which you are facing. They've earned it and they deserve it.

[mel]

Terry-

Were you in Basra? I was not.

So fill me in.

[mel]

ben-

of the brothers you mentioned, which film tops out for you?

[clarice]

Well he has to have parties every WQed night, have long, soulful discussions with Brad and Oprah, what more do you expect form a guy who never worked a full day in his life?
SLACKER.

[cindyk]

Rick Ballard:

What a FAB idea. Already I feel "inspired"!

Hugs - cindyk

[PD]

This is the man who campaigned on a promise to make us respected again throughout the world.

Except by those who already did, apparently.

[kim]

His next excuse will be a headache.
====================================

[thelonereader]

Hmmmmm--maybe Michelle is REALLY high maintenance, cut the brotha some slack!

[Elliott]

Well, I have no doubt eventually it will be "Barack Obama, KCMG" (at the very least), but anything that lowers the chances of that to 99.9% must be classed as good news.

[Lightwave]

America's greatest achievement in the 21st century will be to survive the Obama administration intact.

I actually think it would benefit America more in the long term for Obama to fail so miserably by November 2010 that we sweep the GOP back into power, a GOP willing to impeach on charges of gross negligence.

But of course that would mean something truly horrendous would have to happen to this country over the next 20 months. Then again if the Dow keeps on losing 250 points per week, by September our economy should be completely decimated.

The Obama Depression continues.

[PD]

Maybe the "2013-01-20" bumperstickers need to be reprinted as "2009-03-20", assuming that he can last that long.

[Topsecretk9]

A comenter at Ace's (Mabuse) says it was no accident the Brits put tired in sneer quotes and educated me of this:

"tired and emotional" wiki ---

"Tired and emotional" is a chiefly British euphemism for "drunk". It was popularised by the British satirical magazine Private Eye in 1967 after being used in a spoof diplomatic memo to describe the state of Labour Cabinet minister George Brown,[1] but is now used as a stock phrase: British slander and libel law makes it unwise ever to directly refer to someone as being drunk unless it has been scientifically proven (e.g. through a breathalyser test). The Guardian describes it as having joined the "phrases that are part of every journalist's vocabulary".[2] Because of this widespread interpretation, one source cautions professional British journalists against its use as "even if the journalist ... meant it literally", it could be considered defamatory.[3]

and

BBC foreign affairs correspondent John Simpson described the "erratic" Serbian politician Vuk Drašković as "tired and emotional" in a live news report from Belgrade, broadcast on the UK evening news, knowing that the British audience would understand the meaning.

[hit and run]

The problem is, whatever Obama has ever done, he's always had his eye on the next step up, and thus he never actually did anything in whatever job he was in at the moment.

But where do you go when you're President of the United States?

I've said it before and I'll say it again ... someone needs to put the bug in his ear that Ban Ki Moon's first term is up Dec 31, 2011 and that he should start campaigning for that now.

If he can't tend to foreign policy because of the exhaustion of focusing on the economy, then campaigning for UN Secretary General would definitely make him incapable of putting any effort in domestic policy.

And what more could we wish for at this point?

[PD]

Sources close to the White House say Mr Obama and his staff have been "overwhelmed" by the economic meltdown and have voiced concerns that the new president is not getting enough rest.

It's really quite amazing that his own staff would be telling us, "Our boy isn't up to the job."

Which points up not only his incompetence, but theirs: Who in their right mind would make this admission?

[PD]

You did read where we got an extra second in 2008?

Oh, yes. This event caused quite a lot of excitement among the NTP crowd.

[PD]

And Obama will lose an hour's sleep tonight, springing forward.

Oh, man. Hide the football, he might do something rash in his fatigue.

[glenda]

Mel..just want to say LOL with heart! And..the only moral hazard question I have is will my retirement accounts last long enough now that he has taken half their value . That I deserve a bailout, too, without it, my retirement dreams I worked and paid for are under a bus on the Chicago Mercantile floor....and what rights are in danger for special needs children and adults under his healthplan without choices?

Clarice..I hope you visit has been brilliant! Blessed are our families!

[glenda]

*your* *** I feel like Hill's vocabulizer!
eeeeeeekkkkkkkkkk!

[pagar]

More Special friends coming:

President Obama declared in an interview that the United States was not winning the war in Afghanistan and opened the door to a reconciliation process in which the American military would reach out to moderate elements of the Taliban

Of course, it can't be just the Tabiban, it has to be everyone that seeks to destroy the US.

UPDATE: It's not just the Taliban terrorists. It's the Hezbollah and Hamas terrorists, too! The Corner reported:

Great Britain has opened an official dialogue with Hezbollah. It is intended to ease the way for the Obama administration to follow suit — and a prelude for both to open communication with Hamas.

Of course, Hezbollah (like Hamas) continues to call for the annihilation of the Jewish state. But so does Iran, which Secretary of State Clinton has announced she will formally invite to a mulitlateral conference over what to do about Afghanistan.

Remember the moderate Taliban:
The moderate members who hide women under dark cloaks?
The moderate members who keep women from holding jobs?
The moderate members who burn down barbershops and bomb girl's schools?
The moderate members who believe in Shariah law?
The moderate members who beat women in public?

These will be America's new special friends.

[E. Nigma]

The British press is ascerbic and agressive to a degree rarely seen in the US. Just read the comments about the dismal Brown, and feckless Tony, his predecessor in the UK papers (online). PeterUK can vouch for this, I'm certain.
And it's not like the British like Brown, but an affront to Brown is an affront to them all. Obama just made a serious enemy, the British press. Many of the simpletons in the US follow the lead of the British. We can only hope they really start to pick on poor Barry.

[Rick Ballard]

Tops,

Excellent catch. I took the meaning but I forgot that the euphemism is uncommon here. At least I don't believe that he'll suffer from Bubba Beak, although it sure would add to the humor of those ears. Staff better get him on a Visine drip pretty quick - the eyes are an even better tell than Rudolph's nose.

Good ole President LePetomane - the Progressive Ideal Realized.

[clarice]

Thanks, Glenda. It has been brilliant, but I am really getting very tired. My granddaughter is a human dynamo who never sleeps..

[PD]

My granddaughter is a human dynamo who never sleeps.

Don't let her near the WH. She'd wear out The Occupant.

[matt]

The Dems thought they got "no, thank you, 15's my limit on schnitzengruben".

what they actually got was "unfortunately, there's one thing standing between me and that property...the rightful owners".

As Lili Von Schtupp so aptly put it when she received Hedley's flowers...."oh....how ordinawy..."

[mel]

glenda-

Thanks, I think, but why are you disparaging the Merc people? Floor traders are the least of the market now, they just try and take some of the risk, and then pass it on. Not cause it.

And I agree wholeheartedly on the choice issue.

I'm fading fast, time theft night and all that.

Night all.

[jorod]

Suggest Obama read the biography of Andrew Mellon in wikipedia. Obama-ites could learn from him.....

[glenda]

mel- no disparagement-I just thought it might be a place where complainers of Obama go when they disappear. or visit Blago. Or Rezko. Or Daley. Or fitz. Guys at CMX are smart and brave!!

[unseen]

i hope everyone caught the unnamed source is in effect Gen. Powell. the article states the unnamed source is an africian americian that Obama spent 2 years trying to get his endorsement. That is none other than GEN. POWELL. So along with buckley parker brooks etc we have another high profile rep that is having buyers remorse...

from the article:
The Sunday Telegraph understands that one of Mr Obama's most prominent African American backers, whose endorsement he spent two years cultivating, has told friends that he detects a weakness in Mr Obama's character.

"The one real serious flaw I see in Barack Obama is that he thinks he can manage all this," the well-known figure told a Washington official, who spoke to this newspaper. "He's underestimating the flood of things that will hit his desk."

This is Gen Powell. If this is true it would be a major story in of itself.

[Andrew X]

Something worth pointing out is that BO is the only President in 100 years + to ascend to the office from directly from the legislature, except JFK. And JFK had life and death command experience in WWII, where he preformed heroically, and strange as it may sound, being a rich socialite, had expreience from childhood on the subtle nature of giving direction to others> LBJ is the closest otherwise, who was a VP, but also a major leader in the COngress.

BO has none of this, as so many were wont to point out to so many others who would not listen. This is an enourmous factor in what we are seeing right now, and I seriously doubt it is going to get much better in the next six months. By the time he does start to "get it", he may have humiliated his concubines in the media-culture-academia trifecta to such an extent as to be unrecoverable.

And by the way teens and young graduates are getting hammered right now job-wise. So on both "Global Warming" and the Messiah, they wake up to find they have been lied to to an astonishing level by a fat and happy elite.

Talk about long memories.

[Andrew X]

"...the president was facing exhaustion over America's economic crisis and is unable to focus on foreign affairs..."

You all do realize that he met with Brad Pitt in the same week.

Just sayin'.

[richard mcenroe]

Wow.

Having COLIN POWELL detect a weakness in your character is like being called ugly by a cane toad.

[MayBee]

Turns out, walking and chewing gum at the same time is exhausting.

[MayBee]

I was just thinking that 6 weeks ago, people were complaining because Bush wasn't on tv all the time, and the Dow seemed stuck around 8000 because there was a leadership vacuum.

I'm thinking a little less leadership would do us a whole lotta good for a while. Pres Obama can't go on Spring break fast enough for me. He needs to just shut up for a bit.

[bgates]

The Memeorandum headlines conveniently located by this little comment box tell me that David Frum is still David Frum. I used to think his weekly book reviews on NRO were sort of interesting. It's ironic how guys like him, David Brooks, and Chris Buckley are so enamored with literature. I mean, literature is always pitched as a way to understand people better, yet here are three guys who I'm sure have read more than I have (though if you restrict the contest to O'Reilly titles or books that would look better if typeset in LaTeX I got 'em all whupped) - and they have a high school sophomore's understanding of human nature.

Of course, they're probably smart enough to be in bed by now.

[MayBee]

and they have a high school sophomore's understanding of human nature.

Don't you think sometimes reading too much to learn human nature is a way to escape actually getting out and experiencing it?

A few weeks ago, my husband and I were listening to an NPR show with Brooks and EJ Dionne discussing Reinhold Niebuhr. It was all about "what would he have said about fighting Islamic radicals", etc. Of course, both of them worshiped Niebuhr and both thought his opinion would have backed theirs in some way.

My husband and I eventually turned it off. What's the point of having to back up your own opinion with someone else's? Wasn't Niebuhr interesting because he came to his own conclusions?

[scoopa]

I feel bad for Dr. King - 'content of character' was certainly not a factor in this last election. Maybe someday it will matter....

[Smorgasbord]

This never would have happened if Obama would have kept Condaleeza Rice as Secretary Of State. She not only speaks fluent Russian, but four or five other languages. She was the interpreter when Reagan and Gorbachev met in Iceland.

How hard would it have been to call up the Russian ambassador and ask what to put on the button?

There should have been two buttons, just like there is to launch nukes. It would have symbolized it takes two to make it work.

[mjB]

not only is he quite possibly LAZY, but a confirmed narcissist--and milking the crisis to propel his agenda of social spending while dragging his feet on actually addressing the financial crisis.

http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/1543285/the_ploy_of_inaction.html?singlepage=true&cat=75

mB

[DebinNC]

Winning strategy: Truth

[DebinNC]

...the American people are showing every sign of hunger for exactly that: The Truth.... Just imagine how, plainly stated, Truth stands up to what we now know are the Democrats' versions of the following: Free, Change, Hope, Bipartisanship, Fairness, Transparency....

The truth is, our mantra is staring us in the face. We need to live the concept, so the word has power. But we need to use the word. Literally, use it, the way the Democrats used the word "Change." With purpose and conviction. Over and over. We have the opportunity to give America what it desperately needs and wants the most: The Truth. And the best part is, the Truth is on our side.

[Jane]

Having COLIN POWELL detect a weakness in your character is like being called ugly by a cane toad.

I'm not sure I even know the full extent of this visual, but it made me laugh.

Happy Spring forward.

[Neo]

Perhaps Biden should have invoked the 25th Amendment and gone to meet Brown as defined by proper protocol.

[Neo]

I think this about sums it up ...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6-pmpgrYQgs

[Sue]

bgates and MayBee,

Those are the type of people Texans are referring to when we say they couldn't pour piss out of a boot with instructions written on the heel. Book smart and nothing else. Common sense got left in the classroom. Or something.

[amr]

Too tired to govern!!! What a wimp. Its obvious that many of his people are like him and have never had to manage and are too darn sold on their abilities even if they are out of touch with traditions and logic. How did President Bush for 8 years put up with all those problems for so long with BDS raging. Thankfully BHO was not president during 9-11, we couldn't have got him out of bed to make a decision.

[centralcal]

Good morning. Lucianne is fronting a painting of Republican Presidents playing cards that is just fabulous! Have you all seen it? I followed the link to the artist's web site. He has one of Democrat Presidents too. The Republican one says "sold," the Democrat one does not.

[mel]

ccal-

I'll look at your picture, if you look at this one. Kate tacks up some doozies every now and then. And I love the mushroom in the background. Very apt.

LUN

[centralcal]

I would say Kate has it about right, Mel.

[centralcal]

I forgot to add the link - sorry about that.

LUN

[w3bgrrl]

I am absolutely puzzled by this story. I have no idea if we are supposed to accept this at face value or read something between the lines. Sleepy and they aren't special anyway? I might accept one or the other of those explanations because "sleepy" fits my "in over his head" beliefs about our current Present and "they aren't special anyway," fits my "remaking America in Obama's image" beliefs about his motivation.

But both together make very little sense, unless his sleep deprivation is making him cranky and act out.

I don't know how to take this.

[Jane]

the Obama administration today announced three nominees for Assistant Treasury Secretary positions:

David S. Cohen, Assistant Secretary of Treasury, Terrorist Financing;

Alan B. Krueger, Assistant Secretary of Treasury, Economic Policy; and

Kim N. Wallace, Assistant Secretary of Treasury, Legislative Affairs.

All three currently serve as counselors to Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner.

LUN

So now we need a treasury secretary in charge of terrorist fund raising. WOW

[centralcal]

We're "financing" terrorists? Who knew! Well, I guess it does fit with the O's game plans.

[w3bgrrl]

My comments were removed?

[kim]

Probably not, webgrrl; the Typepad Goddess is often 'tired and emotional'.
=======================================

[kim]

The keen-eyed Powell may have noted disloyalty among Obama's traits. Where is his plum Administration spot?
===========================================

[narciso]

Morning all, you know I really don't loath David Frum, I pity him, unlike the rest of the crew like Brooks, Noonan, Buckley, he hasn't expressed any doubts about the sinking ship he sought passage on; he's sold
his soul, and he's not going to get it back. The admininistration's likes his talking points, but is not really likely to respect him, they already have that blind
cohort of support; he's not going to win any fans with the undecided. Most of the commenters he draws to his New Majority site are invariably far left, he has no principles that he can use to guide his presumptions. That line from Suetonius was more right than he knows.

Meanwhile, in the main tent, we face an administration steeped in category error, to think they can identify and weed out the moderate Taliban on both sides of the Durand line, one assumes he means nonviolent
Pashtuns with a Deobandi, inclination but how does one determine that, in the last six weeks, six monthes, six years.

[Jane]

w3bgrrl

I can see your comments. As Kim said Typepad is temperamental lately.

[Cecil Turner]

"There's nothing special about Britain."

Wow. I guess it's too much to hope this guy is looking for a new job, eh? Wasn't more effective diplomacy supposed to be one of the pillars of hopey-changiness? Unless insulting our most important allies and incompetent grovelling to our enemies is the goal, I'm pretty sure we ain't meeting it. And no doubt the usual suspects will be out in force demanding "accountability" . . . or maybe not.

The truly funny part about this is the smug self-congratulatory mindset that'd create a "reset" button to disavow all actions of the previous Administration . . . and then proceed to foul up everything they touched . . . starting with the label on the button.

[Jim Ryan]

centralcal's link is a looker!

[kim]

Jeff Jacoby has a fine article in the Boston Globe about global cooling.

It tickles me pink to hear the British press getting critical of Obama. I believe they are read worldwide by a more sophisticated audience than our American press reaches. At least two British journalists, Christopher Booker and Melanie Phillips have been beating the skeptical climate drum for awhile, too.
===================================

[PeterUK]

"There's nothing special about Britain. You're just the same as the other 190 countries in the world. You shouldn't expect special treatment."

Whilst America could have put Gordon Brown in Guantanamo dressed as a nun and there would be cheering and dancing in the street,the above will alienate the British public.They will not accept casualties in Iraq and Afghanistan with out some token of kinship.George Bush knew this the current tosser does not.

[kim]

Nuthin' quite like spittin' in a Tommy's eye, eh?
================================================

[Charlie (Colorado)]

Do you suppose it's possible that Obama is an empty suit, incompetent to be President, inexperienced and untried, not ready to cope with the demands of the office, and that campaigning for President isn't really applicable experience for the position as Chief Executive and Commander in Chief?

And why does that sound so familiar?

[Charlie (Colorado)]

w3bgrrl, for some non-obvious reason, after you've posted a comment, the first refresh doesn't show your comment, but the second one does.

[pagar]

With the word that we are in talks with Syria, wanting to talk to the Taliban, Hamas, and everyone else who have shown a tendency to send terrorists against our allies or ourselves, who is this guy raising funds for?

So now we need a treasury secretary in charge of terrorist fund raising.

[PeterUK]

Kim,
The problem is,Obama is playing to his heroes,Chavez,Ayers,the kiddy fiddler Davis Marshall and all the other left wing detritus that a neotenic student radical admires.
Sad thing is this adolescent is president of the worlds only hyperpower.It is like leaving a fifteen year old the keys to the house the car and the liquor cabinet when you go away.

[davod]

"The official dismissed any notion of the special relationship, saying: "There's nothing special about Britain. You're just the same as the other 190 countries in the world. You shouldn't expect special treatment."

I don't like Israel's chances in he next four years if this is the way Obamites view th world.