Play Until The Whistle Blows

Democrats are feeling pretty good about themselves.  By every historical measurement their candidate should be packing up the Resolute Desk.  A struggling economy, 8+% unemployment, rising poverty, an unwinnable war, American troops being murdered by their partners, protests in the Middle East…would normally serve as the obituary for an incumbent president.

Yet remarkably their guy is leading in the polls.  In fact his lead is growing.  His favorability is high.  And for the first time in this campaign he is no longer trailing his challenger on the number one issue in the eyes of the voters...his handling of the economy.

How does this happen?

It happens when your opponent is a flawed candidate counseled by an incompetent campaign staff.  From a tepid convention, to omitting the troops in his acceptance speech, to the ill timed and unbelievably uninformed news conference amidst the murder of our Libyan ambassador, to public infighting among the staff to calling the 47% of Americans who don’t pay taxes slackers who fail to take responsibility for their own lives…Mitt Romney has done everything in his power to hand the president a second term.  He has single handedly managed to do the one thing the president could not do himself.  He has managed to make the narrative about everything and anything but the number one issue in the eyes of the voters…the president’s handling of the economy.  The struggling economy is the president’s Achilles heel and Romney hasn’t come close to hitting it.  Instead of talking about economic policy and the president’s record we see Romney appearing on “Live with Kelly (Rippa) and Michael (Strahan)” debating the qualities of Snookie vs. Honey Boo Boo.  For the record, Romney chose Snookie.    

Mitt Romney and his campaign have performed so badly that prominent conservatives have joined Democrats in piling on.  Bill Kristal, George Will, Peggy Noonan, David Brooks and Rush Limbaugh have joined a host of conservative politicians in blasting the competency of the campaign.  And since every campaign is by its very nature an extension of the candidate; this scathing criticism falls at Romney’s feet.  This was the guy who was supposed to be the “fixer.”  If anything need fixing its Romney’s campaign.

So given the current course of the campaign…why shouldn’t Democrats be felling pretty good.

Because as someone once famously said:  “It ain’t over until it’s over.”

In spite of the comedy of errors emanating from the Romney campaign; Mitt Romney is still very much in this.  There are 48 days left until the election and 48 different things might happen that could alter the current trajectory of this election.  There are still three debates to negotiate.  We have no idea of the effect that new voters ID laws in 37 states will have on voter turnout.  And if Israel attacks Iran will we be drawn into another war?  Any of these things…and hundreds more could alter the face of this election.  If you don’t believe us check out the affect recent events in the Middle East have had on the opinions of likely voters. 

Two weeks ago the President’s handling of foreign policy was approved of by 54% of likely voters.  Even though the president had no control over the release of a distasteful video; and had no control over the radicals who stormed the embassies and murdered four Americans; his 54% approval rating on foreign policy dropped to 49%. 

If you played organized sports you were always taught that you never let up until the whistle blows.  You never stop playing until the final out is recorded.  If you slack off…if you let up…you might get hurt…and you might lose.  Democrats would be wise to heed that advice.

      

"Romney Unplugged" Overshadows A Bigger Story

There are two major stories in today’s news.  One will receive will receive front page prominence in the media.  The other, though far more important will be largely ignored.

So let’s start with the front page news.

Mitt Romney’s supporters and detractors have called upon the governor to pull back the curtain…to allow voters a peek inside the candidate.  To allow voters to understand what Mitt Romney really believes deep within his core.  Yesterday they got their wish.

Speaking to a private gathering of wealthy supporters Mitt Romney said the following:

“ There are 47% of the people who will vote for the president no matter what.  There are 47% of the people who are with him, who are dependent on the government, who believe that…that they are victims, who believe that the government has the responsibility to care for them, who believe that they are entitled to health care, to food, to housing, you name it.  That’s an entitlement and government should give it to them.  And they will vote for this president no matter what.  I mean the president starts off with 48, 49%...he starts off with a huge number.  These people pay no income tax.  47% of Americans pay no income tax.  So our message of low taxes doesn’t connect...My job is not to worry about those people.  I’ll never convince them that they should take personal responsibility and care for their lives.”

If we are to take Mitt Romney at his word then we must infer that he sees half of the country as slackers who have failed to take responsibility for their lives and live under the expectation that the government should assume responsibility for their care and feeding.  These are the Obama supporters. 

That will come as quite a shock to the millions of Americans, many of whom are Republicans, living on the social safety net through no fault of their own.  It will come as quite a shock to the 16 million elderly Americans, many of whom are Republicans, who avoid paying federal taxes because they live on Social Security and Medicaid.  It will come as a shock to the millions of small businesses and large corporations, many of whom donate to Romney’s campaign war chest, who avoid paying federal taxes due to business losses or legal loopholes in the tax code.

But what struck us even more than the audacity of Romney’s comments was the casual way in which he made them.  This was not the stilted, robotic candidate who appears so cold, stiff and careful in front of the cameras.  This was a candidate who was very comfortable among his peers; speaking in a casual conversational manner.  This was Romney unplugged.  This was the disconnected Thurston Howell III that many of us long expected him to be.  This was not a gaff or a miss-statement.  This was Romney really being Romney.

The other far more important story concerns our troops serving in Afghanistan.

Yesterday the United States announced that US and NATO forces would be suspending joint operations with Afghan troops.  The move comes after Afghan police on Sunday killed four American soldiers and a gunman in an Afghan militia uniform killed two British soldiers earlier in the day.  51 international troops have been murdered by their Afghan “partners” since the first of the year.

The president sent an additional 30,000 troops into the fray to help secure the country and ostensibly to allow the US military time to train the Afghans so that they could provide their own security.  The goal was to complete the task and reduce our military presence in country by 2014.  This apparent lack of trust between NATO coalition forces and our Afghan “partners” calls that strategy into question.

As we have said so many times before…it is time to bring our troops home.  There is no “military victory” that justifies supporting a government whose troops are murdering our military men and women. 

This war is lost.  When we leave…and we will eventually leave…the country will return to a society steeped in the 4^th century.  We are only here because no politician is willing to admit that the war is lost and it’s time to bring our troops home.

If only we still had the military draft still in place.  For if we still had the draft, the cries from American mothers to bring their sons and daughters home would have ended this senseless war years ago. 

            

          

This & That

As the violence in the Middle East increased over the weekend so too did Republican criticism of the president’s foreign policy.  Republicans took to the Sunday talk shows to lay blame for the unrest on the president. They said that president’s “weak” “apologetic” and “confusing policies have emboldened our enemies.  “They don’t respect us.  They don’t fear us” said ranking Republican Congressman Peter King on Sunday’s “Meet the Press.”

So let’s take a look at the facts.

“Weak”—the president tripled the troops in Afghanistan, ramped up the drone attacks which have decimated Al Qaeda leadership and increased the use of Special Ops Forces to disrupt the flow of arms, supplies and intelligence to our enemies.  The president eliminated Osama bin Laden.

“Apologetic”--NBC NEWS went back and examined all of the president’s foreign policy speeches over the past 3 ½ years.  They could not find one instance where the president apologized for America’s actions.  The president admitted that we made mistakes.  That’s not an apology…that’s honesty.

“Confusing”—the president has consistently said throughout his term that he would end the war in Iraq, take the fight to Al Qaeda and use all means necessary to defend American interests and values.  History shows that he has kept his word.

If Republicans wish to misguidedly blame this president for the current unrest in the Middle East, then they certainly have that right.  But if we follow their logic we would naturally expect them to blame the policies of George W. Bush for the attacks on the World Trade Center and a decade of civil violence in Iraq…right?   

Doubtful!

CAMPAIGN – The Romney campaign continues to chase shiny objects while party leaders shake their heads.  The latest word out of Boston is to ignore the candidates plummeting poll numbers because “they are biased.”  They also said that voters should “focus only on the national polls and ignore those taken in the individual states.”...a theory that defies decades of campaign strategy.  Boston also blamed Obama for what they perceived as the miss-treatment of the producer of the amateur film that sparked the Middle East uprising.  California law enforcement officers brought the film’s producer, Nakoula Basseley Nakoula in for questioning and later released him.  Nakoula was convicted in 2010 for bank fraud.  His conviction included a 5 year ban from using computers or the internet. He was questioned under the pretense that his production of the film may have been in violation of his probation.  Conservatives blamed Obama for “the brown shirts violating Nakoula's right to express his Christian beliefs.”

Romney is a flawed candidate whose campaign is in disarray.  These are not our words.  These are the words uttered by Rupert Murdock, the Wall Street Journal, Erik Ericson, Rush Limbaugh, and a host of conservative leaders and pundits.

VOTER FRAUD – The Pennsylvania State Supreme Court is expected to rule this week on the state’s controversial voter identification law.  If the law is allowed to stand an estimated 750,000 Pennsylvanians who voted in the last election will not be allowed to vote in this one.

News21 is a national investigative reporting project funded by the Carnegie Corp. of New York and the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation.  They conducted an exhaustive public records search across all fifty states to determine once and for all if voter fraud did in fact exist. 

According to Natasha Khan and Corbin Carson of News21: “A News21 analysis of the 2,068 alleged election-fraud cases nationwide since 2000 shows that, while fraud has occurred, the rate is infinitesimal.  In addition, the analysis shows that in-person voter impersonation on Election Day, which prompted 37 state legislatures to enact or consider tough voter ID laws, is virtually nonexistent.” 

News21’s analysis turned up 10 cases of voter impersonation since 2000.  With 146 million registered voters in the US that amounts to one out of every 15 million prospective voters.

So given the infinitesimal number of actual cases of voter fraud; why are Republican controlled state legislatures imposing these new voter ID laws?  Is it racism, bigotry, fear, cronyism or just typical dirty politics?  The correct answer is…all of the above.  

     

          

           

  

Neo-Cons Can Have Krauthammer...We'll Take Obama

If you are among those that enjoy reading the funny papers with your morning coffee you should check out Charles Krauthammer’s take on Obama’s Iranian policy.  When viewed through the prism of the violent protests erupting throughout the Middle East, Mr. Krauthammer’s comments are so stunningly superficial that they would be laughable if they weren’t so dangerous.

The president has stated that a nuclear armed Iran is unacceptable to the United States.  He, along with a number of coalition partners has implemented tough economic sanctions that have crippled the Iranian economy.  He has authorized cyber attacks that have slowed the development of Iran’s nuclear capability.  And he has authorized the CIA, or perhaps the Israeli’s, to take out key scientists and engineers working on the Iranian nuclear program.   The plan is straight forward…slow Iran’s nuclear development long enough for the sanctions to take affect…to make life so miserable for Iranian people that they rise up and bring the program down themselves.  If that strategy fails, the president has said that all options, including the use of military force, are on the table.     

Mr. Krauthammer apparently disagrees with the president’s Iranian policy.  Quoting Krauthammer: “A policy so incoherent, so knowingly and obviously contradictory, is a declaration of weakness and passivity.  And this, as Anthony Cordsman, James Phillips and others have argued, can increase the chance of war.”  Mr. Krauthammer along with Mr. Romney and their neo-conservative friends believe that the only way to stop Iran’s nuclear development, as John McCain so famously said, is to “bomb, bomb, bomb, bomb, bomb, bomb Iran.”

Krauthammer and his neo-con pals are always eager to “go all cowboy” whenever the opportunity occurs.  There is nothing they seem to like better than to unleash the new toys that the procurement boys have placed at their disposal.  Nothing says “Made in America” like a Hellfire missile.

The problem with this reckless neo-con strategy is that when you finally decide to pull that trigger you must be prepared for the consequences.  Dick Cheney one told us that the Iraqis would greet our soldiers like the French welcoming the liberators in WWII.  He neglected to tell us that the flag waving crowd that cheered as the American military rolled into Bagdad quickly turned into a riotous, looting mob.  “Mission Accomplished” drug on for a decade and thousands of American lives were subsequently lost.  Today Iraq is more likely to embrace Iran than they are the liberators from the United States. 

If the United States conducts a military strike against Iran, the conflagration that will erupt in the region will make this week’s violent protests look like a Sunday picnic.  And the thousands of missile strikes that Iran surrogates Hamas and Hezbollah will rain down on Israel will make Bush’s “Shock and Awe” look like a fireworks display at a county fair.  You cannot use military force without considering the consequences and developing an exit strategy.  Krauthammer and the neo-cons have ignored that part of the equation.

It is easy to beat the war drums from the comfort of one’s living room.  But those who play that game have little stomach for the realities of war. 

You may recall that the common criticism conservatives like to levy against this president is that he is “weak” “apologetic to our enemies” and likes to “lead from behind.”  Conservatives ripped into Obama for not helping the protestors in Egypt.  They said he was slow to assist the rebels in Libya.   And they blasted him for standing by while tens of thousands were slaughtered by the Assad regime in Syria. 

Now, having witnessed the violent attacks against our embassies, these same conservatives are questioning whether Washington acted unwisely by siding with protestors and the rebels.  They were for the rebels before they were against them.  The president does not have the luxury of changing his mind once he gives the order to fire.  Once you pull the trigger you can’t put the bullet back into the gun.  The president gets it.  The neo-cons don’t.

This president has shown time and time again that he is not afraid to use military force when necessary.  Each of the drone attacks which decimated Al Qaeda and their leadership was personally authorized by this president.  This president formed a coalition whose air strikes enabled the rebels to remove Kaddafi without placing American troops in harm’s way.  Special Operation Forces have been instrumental in stemming the flow of weapons into Syria from Iran.  It was this president that authorized those missions.  And it was this president who risked his presidency by ordering Seal Team Six to take out bin Laden.

The difference between this president and the neo-cons is that he goes about the country’s business calmly, thoughtfully and quietly. You won’t find any “Mission Accomplished” banners hanging from aircraft carriers under this president.

Democracy is not easy to achieve.  A void occurs when dictators fall and those who seek democracy struggle find their footing.  Competing factions step into the breach.  The process is ugly and often violent.  Patience, thoughtfulness and a cool head are required. This president has demonstrated those qualities.  His record justifies our support.

So as far as Iran is concerned…we’ll put our faith in Obama.  The neo-cons can have Krauthammer.            

                  

   

  

Mitt Romney Is Dangerous

Mitt Romney is a dangerous man.  His reckless bluff and bluster over foreign policy makes this point abundantly clear. 

We will let others decide whether his unconscionable behavior of late stems from a deep seated hatred of Muslims or a desperate attempt to win political points.  The bottom line is that at a time of international unrest and the murder of four American citizens Romney turned to politics.

 Mr. Romney was so eager to demonstrate his toughness to his base that he put politics ahead of country.  So eager was he to wield his sword against the misguided few who stormed the compounds in Cairo and Libya that he ignored the overriding fact that the United States cannot win a war against a billion Muslims.  His actions in a time of crisis call into question his ability to lead.  His doubling down on the lie the very next day calls into question his character.       

Look at a map of the world.  Examine the pictures on your TV.  American embassies in North Africa and the Middle East are under siege.  Muslims in twelve countries; from Morocco to Indonesia are rising up in violent protest over the disgusting depiction of the prophet Mohammed in an amateur film.   Romney would order in the Marines to tamp out the unrest.  Mitt Romney would have boots on the ground in every one of these countries. Imagine Iraq or Afghanistan…times ten…bloodshed and violent uprisings in the streets…more American lives lost...more American treasure wasted.  This is Mitt Romney’s world view.

Mitt Romney likes to throw out comments like:  “Obama is leading from behind”…’Obama’s failed foreign policies.”…”Obama has made us weaker.”  He is good at criticizing the president.  But when it comes to telling us his own foreign policy ideas he offers nothing but saber rattling rants.   

What would Romney have president Obama do in this particular situation?  Send in the Marines and order them to start mowing down protesters?  Based on his rhetoric the answer is “Yes.”

It’s easy to go all “Rambo” about war when you don’t have to fight it.  It’s easy to order troops into battle when you don’t have to do it.  It’s a different story when you are the man calling the shots…sending kids into harm’s way.  Just ask any president who has ever done it.  We can’t help but wonder if Romney would put politics ahead of pragmatism in making that decision.   

Mitt Romney is a dangerous man.  And recent polls show that the American people are starting to understand that fact.  The just released Wall Street Journal polls show Obama leading Romney by 5 points in Virginia and Florida and by 7 points in Ohio.  Romney MUST win two of these key states to win the election.

Historian Craig Shirley tells us that during times of national crisis the public rallies round the president:  FDR after Pearl Harbor, JFK after the Cuban Missile Crisis, Jimmy Carter after the failed rescue mission, and George W. Bush after 9/11.  The murder of the Libyan Ambassador and three US citizens was one of those times.  Instead of joining all Americans in unified support behind the president Mitt Romney chose to attack…not even having the decency to wait until after the next of kin had been notified. 

Mitt Romney put his political future ahead of his country.  That is dangerous.     

Romney Places Politcal Aspirations Ahead Of Country

On April 24, 1980 President Jimmy Carter authorized the US military to conduct a rescue operation on Iranian soil.  The purpose of the mission was to rescue 52 Americans who were being held hostage in the American embassy by Iranian students.  The mission failed when two of the helicopters carrying the strike force crashed killing 8 servicemen.

Then candidate Ronald Reagan could have used incident as a political opportunity to attack President Carter’s leadership.  Instead he chose to back the president’s attempt to rescue the hostages and joined with President Carter in paying tribute to the servicemen who had lost their lives.

We can now say with all certainty that Mitt Romney is no Ronald Reagan.

Twelve hours after issuing a reckless and factually untrue statement critical of the president’s handling of the international incident in Benghazi, Mitt Romney repeated his false assertions.  Even after having the time to assess the true series of events that took place at the Libyan consulate, Romney chose to repeat his lies for the sole purpose of gaining political advantage.

The past several weeks have been nothing but a disaster for the Romney campaign.  His overseas trip was supposed to be an exhibition of his foreign policy credentials.  Instead he offended our closest ally on the eve of the Olympics.  The Republican Convention was supposed to give him a bump in the polls.  It didn’t.  His acceptance speech was supposed to be the platform where he laid out his specific vision for the country.  It wasn’t.  Suddenly what only days earlier has been a tight race turned into a 6 point lead for the President.  

The leaders of Romney’s own party began to publically question his competence; imploring him to be more specific and more aggressive.    Conservative pundits like Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity chimed in.  Conservative talk show host Laura Ingram offered the most scathing commentary saying:  “If the Republican Party and Mitt Romney cannot defeat this president with this record…then they should shut the party down and start over with all new people.”

Suddenly, in the midst of all this criticism the riots in Cairo and Benghazi appeared like shiny objects before Romney’s eyes.  So eager was he to calm the voices of dissent among the Republican faithful that he recklessly jumped into the fray.  Instead of appearing “presidential” he looked desperate.  He chose to put his failing political aspirations ahead of the country.  He showed a lack of character and judgment.  And though he may posess all the skills necessary to captain a successful business in corporate America; he has shown us once again that is sorly lacking the characteristics necessary to successfully navigate international waters. 

There is more to being president than analyzing balance sheets and formulating a successful business plan.  Mitt Romney just learned that lesson the hard way.         

Mitt Romney has every right to question and criticize the president’s foreign policy.  But the time and the place for that debate is not in the middle of an incendiary international incident where American lives are being lost.

Mitt Romney still has time to win this election.  But if President Romney exhibits the same reckless behavior in handling our foreign affairs as candidate Romney did during the past 24 hours…his inauguration will mark the beginning of a very, very dangerous and volatile period for our country.            

    

Romney Unfit To Serve

The office of President of the United States requires a uniquely talented individual.  It requires a person with the intellect and the capacity to effectively respond to unforeseen events, the disposition of which may have worldwide implications.  It requires a composed, thoughtful individual with the spine to make the tough choices and the light touch of a seasoned diplomat. 

Over the past twenty four hours Mitt Romney has proven that he is not that individual.

As you probably know the US Ambassador to Libya and three of his security personnel were killed yesterday when armed protestors stormed the US compound in Benghazi. 

The protest was in response to an amateur video released in the US which depicts the prophet Mohammed in a series of disgusting circumstances. No one knew anything about the video until Terry Jones, the radical Gainesville, Florida pastor whose threats to burn the Koran set off widespread violence in Afghanistan, started to promote its content. The subject matter of the video was picked up by hard-line radicals throughout the Middle East.  Apparently those wishing to discredit the US spread the false rumor that this was some sort of blockbuster movie scheduled to be premiered on the anniversary of the 9/11 attacks.

The lie spread like wildfire, infuriating Muslims throughout the Arab world.  Protests ensued in both Cairo and Benghazi.  The protestors attacking the Benghazi mission were armed with machine guns and RPGs.  They ransacked the building and set the place on fire.  Ambassador J. Christopher Stevens and three of his staff died in the confrontation.

The Obama administration understood the potentially explosive nature of the situation.  The Cairo embassy tried to diffuse the brewing  tension by issuing a statement condemning the video and supporting the peaceful practice of all religions.  It is important to note that this statement was issued PRIOR to the violent attacks on the American embassies. 

AFTER the attacks occurred and the world learned of the deaths of the US citizens, Mitt Romney issued the following statement: 

“I am outraged by the attacks on American diplomatic missions in Libya and Cairo and by the death of an American consulate worker in Benghazi.  It’s disgraceful that the Obama Administrations first response was not to condemn the attacks on our diplomatic missions but to sympathize with those who waged the attacks.”

So eager was Governor Romney to score political points over the deaths of innocent Americans that he either failed to notice that the Cairo embassy's statement in support of law abiding Muslims was made BEFORE the attacks occurred…or he was intentionally twisting the facts for political gain.  

Once all of the details were confirmed, President Obama condemned the attacks saying in part: “We will not waiver in our commitment to see that justice is done for this terrible act…and make no mistake justice will be done.”

The Middle East is a tinder box.  Think Iran 1979.  American military personnel and diplomatic envoys live in a constant state of heightened alert.  Any miss step could have far reaching consequences not favorable to the United States.  Yet here is the man who could be our next president shooting off his mouth for political gain. 

Romney’s callus and craven attempt to politicize the deaths of American citizens is unconscionable.  And it is yet another example of why he is unfit to serve as President of the United States.