Free Republic

WASHINGTON — Former Republican presidential candidate John McCain on Friday said he believed some of the 9/11 hijackers entered the United States from Canada, triggering a new round of frustration and anger among Canadian government officials only days after a similar remark by U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano. McCain, an Arizona senator who has championed free trade ties with Canada, told Fox News Napolitano was accurate when she suggested the terrorists responsible for the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks on New York and Washington crossed into the U.S. across the Canadian border. "Well, some of the 9/11 hijackers did come...

Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., makes the dubious claim that Sept. 11 hijackers entered the United States through Canada -- just days after Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano came under fire for saying the same thing. What's up with Arizona politicians? Arizona Sen. John McCain made the dubious claim Friday that Sept. 11 hijackers entered the United States through Canada -- just days after Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano, the former governor of Arizona, said the same thing. Napolitano retracted her claim on Thursday after Canadian officials chided her for the remark, calling it an unfortunate misconception. Napolitano admitted Thursday that...

President Barack Obama is taking a stand against "the rise of privacy'' in the Indian Ocean. Say what? The president clearly meant the "rise of piracy,'' but his brief statement on the rescue of the American container ship captain held hostage by Somalian pirates came so quickly today that he didn't stop to correct himself. He did note, however, that those "who commit acts of piracy'' must be "held accountable'' for the crime.... (snip) We'll hand one thing to the White House's stenographers, however. Whenever former President George W. Bush tripped over his own tongue, which happened with some frequency,...

Misremembering a meeting with Bush.

PROVO, Utah (AP) - Thousands of issues of Brigham Young University's student newspaper were pulled from newsstands because a front-page photo caption misidentified leaders of the Mormon church as apostates instead of apostles. An apostate is a person who has abandoned religious faith, principles or a cause. The photo in The Daily Universe on Monday was of members of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, a governing body of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, at the weekend general conference. The caption called the group the "Quorum of the Twelve Apostates." The mistake happened when a copy editor...

After bashing the Iraq War from Great Britain to Turkey Barack Obama further insulted the troops today by telling them that now was the time to start transferring sovereignty to the Iraqis. Iraqi Aswat Aliraq News reported: “The coming 18 months may pose a danger to Iraq, and the time has come to transfer ‘sovereignty’ to Iraqis to run their own affairs,” Obama said. What was completely missed by Obama was that 13 of 18 provinces are already completely under Iraqi control.

“There’s a lot of -- I don’t know what the term is in Austrian -- wheeling and dealing, and people are pursuing their interests, and everybody has their own particular issues and their own particular politics,” he said in response to an Austrian reporter’s question.

George Bush’s critics rightly roasted him for his tortured syntax and waterboarded grammar, and used it to make the claim that the graduate of both Harvard and Yale was an idiot.  Well, perhaps, but I don’t recall him ever claiming that Austrian was a language.  It takes a highly-esteemed intellect, it seems, to miss the fact that Austrians mainly speak German:   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tr7zhnctF4c   Obama: It was also interesting to see that political interaction in Europe is not that different from the United States Senate. There’s a lot of — I don’t know what the term is in Austrian...

President Barack Obama made a world-class gaffe in front of the entire planet's press during his news conference in Strasbourg, France. The transcript was released by the White House on April 4: Q Sonja Sagmeister from a little country, Austria, from Austrian Television. Mr. President, you said you came here to learn and to listen. So a quite personal question -- what did you learn from your personal talk with the European leaders? And did this change in a certain way your views on Europe and its politics? PRESIDENT OBAMA: It's an interesting question. I had already formed relationships with...

Palaiz [sic! - Palace is spelled Palais in French] de la Musique et Des Congres Strasbourg, France 4:32 P.M. (Local) ---[SNIP]--- [Full press release at link above]  Q Sonja Sagmeister from a little country, Austria, from Austrian Television. Mr. President, you said you came here to learn and to listen. So a quite personal question -- what did you learn from your personal talk with the European leaders? And did this change in a certain way your views on Europe and its politics? PRESIDENT OBAMA: It's an interesting question. I had already formed relationships with many of them. Some of...

Q Sonja Sagmeister from a little country, Austria, from Austrian Television. Mr. President, you said you came here to learn and to listen. So a quite personal question -- what did you learn from your personal talk with the European leaders? And did this change in a certain way your views on Europe and its politics? PRESIDENT OBAMA: It's an interesting question. I had already formed relationships with many of them. ... There's a lot of -- I don't know what the term is in Austrian -- wheeling and dealing -- and, you know, people are pursuing their interests, and...

There was kissing confusion as President Obama was greeted by France's first lady with an awkward handshake and later had to be coaxed by France's president to plant one on a co-ed admirer. The first clumsy moment came when Obama and First Lady Michelle were warmly greeted in Strasbourg by France's first couple, President Nicolas Sarkozy and Carla Bruni-Sarkozy. On a red carpet outside the Rohan Palace, Carla gave Michelle the traditional kiss-kiss on each check, while their spouses patted each other on the back. When they changed places, Sarkozy also gave Michelle a pair of cheek kisses -- even...

But the bigger headline came out of the reception that Buckingham Palace threw for leaders attending the G-20 summit in London. It was there that Elizabeth rested her hand on Michelle Obama's back.

The rules are set in stone, and so the eagerly watching British media sputtered when the First Lady of the United States, Michelle Obama, briefly put her hand on the back of Queen Elizabeth II as the two chatted at a reception. Etiquette is quite stern about this ("Whatever you do, don't touch the Queen!"). In 2007 John Howard, then Prime Minister of Australia, got plenty of criticism for apparently putting his arm around the Queen to direct her through a crowd. He denied actually touching her, but photographs suggest that he came quite close. (Another former Australian Prime Minister...

LONDON – Michelle Obama's meeting with Queen Elizabeth II began with a handshake and ended in a hug. The first lady arrived Wednesday with President Barack Obama. After separate meetings on the eve of the G-20 summit, the couple attended an evening reception for world leaders hosted by the queen. Mrs. Obama clearly made an impression with the 82-year-old monarch — so much that the smiling queen strayed slightly from protocol and briefly wrapped her arm around the first lady in a rare public show of affection. It was the first time Mrs. Obama — who is nearly a foot...

Latest Obama administration gaffe directs journalists wishing to speak to Hillary Clinton to phone sex line for those who "feel like getting nasty."

Vice President Joe Biden brought a clear message to this tiny Eastern North Carolina town Wednesday: The federal recovery money isn't just for big banks and auto companies. Biden and U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack announced a new wave of $10.4 billion in federal stimulus money for home loans across the country, and billions more for essential services in rural communities such as Pikeville, which is getting money for a new fire station. Biden used the outdated, current station as a backdrop. Pikeville is just north of Goldsboro in Wayne County. "We're investing in places like this all across...

Michelle Obama, the 9 foot goon with guns-for-arms, offends the Queen! Would anyone expect anything less? Jackie Kennedy, whom the MSM want to reincarnate in Michelle Obama, would never have been so UN-etiquette-ical.

The rules are set in stone, and so the eagerly watching British media sputtered when the First Lady of the United States, Michelle Obama, briefly put her hand on the back of Queen Elizabeth II as the two chatted at a reception. Etiquette is quite stern about this ("Whatever you do, don't touch the Queen!"). In 2007 John Howard, then Prime Minister of Australia, got plenty of criticism for apparently putting his arm around the Queen to direct her through a crowd. He denied actually touching her, but photographs suggest that he came quite close. (Another former Australian Prime Minister...

A classic gaffe, as reported by the Catholic News Agency and a couple of Mexican papers, out of Mexico City Friday: During her recent visit to Mexico, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton made an unexpected stop at the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe and left a bouquet of white flowers “on behalf of the American people,” after asking who painted the famous image. The image of Our Lady of Guadalupe was miraculously imprinted by Mary on the tilma, or cloak, of St. Juan Diego in 1531. The image has numerous unexplainable phenomena, such as the appearance on Mary’s...

Thus far, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has made two diplomatic blunders during her visit to Mexico that the U.S. Old Media are shockingly uninterested in highlighting. One was a policy blunder and the other a cultural/religious one. Clinton's first mistake was in imagining she is still a Senator that can make pronouncements on pending laws and policy plans instead of a mere envoy of the president, a mouth piece that hasn't the same freedom to invent policy prescriptions and laws that a Senator does. Last week, Clinton told Mexican officials that "we" -- as in the U.S. government --...

A day before receiving the Planned Parenthood Federation of America’s highest honor – the “Margaret Sanger Award” – U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton paid a visit to the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Mexico City, leaving a bouquet of white flowers “on behalf of the American people,” and asking the basilica’s rector, “Who painted it?” In response to Clinton’s question, basilica rector Msgr. Diego Monroy responded, “God!” The image of Our Lady of Guadalupe was miraculously imprinted by Mary on the cloak of St. Juan Diego in 1531. According to a report from Catholic News Agency, Msgr....

With House Republicans expected to release their hard budget numbers this week, it’s worth noting that on Sunday’s “Meet the Press,” John McCain said Senate Republicans were working on a detailed budget alternative -- contradicting what we had heard previously from Senate GOPers. . . . . . But Don Stewart, a spokesman for Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, tells First Read that instead of working on a budget alternative, Senate Republicans are working on amendments.

Barcepundit catches Joe Biden in Spain doing … well, what Joe Biden does best. Joe Biden remembered to thank Spanish Prime Minister Jose Zapatero for all the help he gave us in Iraq, except that the only thing Zapatero gave us in Iraq was the finger:

Barcepundit catches Joe Biden in Spain doing … well, what Joe Biden does best. Joe Biden remembered to thank Spanish Prime Minister Jose Zapatero for all the help he gave us in Iraq, except that the only thing Zapatero gave us in Iraq was the finger:

Mexico City, Mexico, Mar 27, 2009 / 04:59 pm (CNA).- During her recent visit to Mexico, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton made an unexpected stop at the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe and left a bouquet of white flowers “on behalf of the American people,” after asking who painted the famous image. The image of Our Lady of Guadalupe was miraculously imprinted by Mary on the tilma, or cloak, of St. Juan Diego in 1531. The image has numerous unexplainable phenomena, such as the appearance on Mary’s eyes of those present in the room when the tilma was...

Hillary Clinton leaves flowers for Our Lady of Guadalupe, asks ‘Who painted it?’ http://www.elmanana.com.mx/upload/foto/8/8/7/06A-02-SUN.JPG Mexico City, Mexico, Mar 27, 2009 / 04:59 pm (CNA).- During her recent visit to Mexico, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton made an unexpected stop at the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe and left a bouquet of white flowers “on behalf of the American people,” after asking who painted the famous image. The image of Our Lady of Guadalupe was miraculously imprinted by Mary on the tilma, or cloak, of St. Juan Diego in 1531. The image has numerous unexplainable phenomena, such as the...

Msgr. Monroy took Mrs. Clinton to the famous image of Our Lady of Guadalupe, which had been previously lowered from its usual altar for the occasion. After observing it for a while, Mrs. Clinton asked “who painted it?” to which Msgr. Monroy responded “God!”

It is getting hard to avoid the conclusion that the Leader of the Free World simply has an obsessive need to be on television After yet another week of redundancies, corporate scandals, and presidential gaffes, what did the American people really need on Tuesday night? Was it, A) An episode of American Idol? Or B) For American Idol to be cancelled so that President Barack Obama could - for the third time in seven days - address the nation, this time while trying to avoid giggling, insulting participants in the Special Olympics or getting his teleprompted remarks mixed up with...

Another Day, Another Diplomatic Incident Another day, another diplomatic incident caused by the Obama administration. France is the latest ally to be insulted by President Obama. It seems that President Obama, according to the French newspaper Le Figaro, sent a letter to the President of France. The problem is that the letter was addressed to the former President of France, Jacques Chirac, and not to the actual President of France, Nicholas Sarkozy. The story is translated from French, Barack Obama Insults the Frenchcourtesy of Monsters and Critics:

Vice President Joe Biden told a joke about Barack Obama's birth certificate at the Gridiron dinner in Washington, D.C. last night.The joke was reported by Mike Allen at Politico in his article about Biden's intentionally funny speech (as opposed to his usual foot in mouth routine.):"You know, I never realized just how much power Dick Cheney had until my first day on the job. I walked into my office, and you know how the outgoing president always leaves the incoming president a note in his desk? I opened my drawer and Dick Cheney had left me Barack Obama’s birth certificate."Numerous...

This is fascinating: [Irish Prime Minister Brian] Cowen was 20 seconds into his second address when it dawned on him that he was giving word for word the speech that Obama had just read from the same teleprompter. Cowen stopped and looked back at the president to say, "That's your speech." Obama laughed and returned to the podium to offer what might have been Cowen's remarks. In doing so, President Obama thanked President Obama for inviting everyone over. Think about this: Cowen's gaffe made perfectly clear that the teleprompter was on the fritz. Obama nonetheless read through a speech thanking...

"Barack Obama's gaffe mocking the disabled by comparing his (inept but improving) 10 pin bowling skills to the 'special Olympics' illustrates the problem he now has in communicating with the American people. Obama seems incapable of balancing the need to be a national leader and his childish desire to retain his image as the uber cool dude he so clearly believes that he is. The fact that he felt the need to go on Jay Leno at all to sell his stimulus plan, budget and banking bailouts shows that he has communications issues. The public are not buying his spending...

Greg Gutfeld helps out those still suffering from Bush Derangement Syndrome.

Let's agree from the outset that political correctness for the sake of political correctness can be a real bore. So I write this with some trepidation. But I don't think it's being politically correct to say it was truly wince-inducing and disappointing to watch President Barack Obama on the Jay Leno Show deprecate his bowling abilities by referencing the Special Olympics. Here's the exchange: LENO: Now, are they going to put a basketball -- I imagine the bowling alley has been just burned and closed down. THE PRESIDENT: No, no. I have been practicing all -- (laughter.) LENO: Really? Really?...

While America Slept by: Daniel Allen, March 20, 2009 The Obama administration, in its first few months in office, has paid so much attention to the current and potential opponents of the U.S. that some fear we have forgotten our traditional allies. Great Britain and Japan have been solid friends of the U.S. for many years and, although their loyalty is not in question, times may be changing. On March 17th, the American Enterprise Institute (AEI) assembled a panel of experts to discuss whether or not the U.S. can still rely on Britain and Japan. As Paul Wolfowitz, a visiting...

President Barack Obama made fun of the handicapped last night on "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno." He was making a joke about his bad bowling skills, but here's the question: If George W. Bush had said the same thing, would people be lashing out more? If so, why? By the way, Kolan McConiughey, a Special Olympics competitor from Michigan, has bowled three perfect games of 300. Yes he can!

Transcript of Obama's Interview on Leno 'The Tonight Show'We all are aware of Obama joking about "special olympics"... but it's worse. Leno asked him about the presidential dog (official transcript): Q Wow. And it's, what, a Portuguese water head? (Laughter.) What is it, what kind of dog is it? THE PRESIDENT: It's not that. (Laughter.) Q It's not that. THE PRESIDENT: It's not a "water head." (Laughter.) Q Whatever they are, I don't know what they are. THE PRESIDENT: That sounds like a scary dog. (Laughter.) Sort of dripping around the house. (Laughter.) ... Perfunction blog reports:Except it sure didn't...

Confirmed: DVDs that Obama gave Gordon Brown are the wrong format posted at 4:50 pm on March 19, 2009 by Allahpundit Send to a Friend | Share on Facebook | printer-friendly Via Media Blog, one final cringeworthy indignity from the gifts that keep on giving. Until now I thought Obama’s team had spent about five minutes brainstorming on what to get Brown. I was wrong. It was more like two minutes. What’s that term The One’s been using for his foreign policy? Ah, right. “Smart power.” Alas, when the PM settled down to begin watching them the other night, he...

I’ve been searching for the video of Obama accidentally reading Irish PM Brian Cowen’s speech yesterday. He even thanks himself at the end! Apparently his teleprompter went loopy. If this were GWB, the video would be everywhere, yet I can’t find a clip on the Internet of a public press conference that took place yesterday. It will come out, but this is amazing. Thank Sky News for doing its job: Mr Cowen stopped, turned to the president and said: “That’s your speech.” A laughing Mr Obama returned to the podium to take over but it seems the script had finally...

TOTUS RULES!By Judi McLeod Wednesday, March 18, 2009 You didn’t hear the horns blowing, but TOTUS--Teleprompter of the United States of America--is here. Rush Limbaugh said it first. While you were busy trying to save your job, your house, your family and your faith in America, TOTUS had already morphed from POTUS. It was a clever enough shtick because you can’t shout down a teleprompter. Call it a liar all you want, it will just continue on to the next paragraph in the text. TOTUS is not just missing promised transparency, Hope and Change, it has absolutely no human feelings....

You didn’t hear the horns blowing, but TOTUS--Teleprompter of the United States of America--is here. Rush Limbaugh said it first. While you were busy trying to save your job, your house, your family and your faith in America, TOTUS had already morphed from POTUS.

Brian Cowen's critics might say that they've heard all of his speeches before. But last night, they were right. As the Irish Taoiseach delivered his St Patrick's Day speech at the White House, it emerged that he was accidentally reading off the teleprompter one made by President Obama only minutes earlier. A startled-looking Mr Cowen – realising he was experiencing more than the usual case of déjà vu – looked back at Mr Obama 20 seconds into his address, and said: "That's your speech!" Mr Obama is becoming known as the 'teleprompter president' for his excessive use of the prompting...

A teleprompt blunder has led to Barack Obama thanking himself in a speech at the White House in a St Patrick's Day celebration. Irish Prime Minister Brian Cowen was just a few paragraphs into an address in Washington when he realised it all sounded a bit too familiar. It was. He was repeating the speech President Barack Obama had just read from the same teleprompter. Mr Cowen stopped, turned to the president and said: "That's your speech." A laughing Mr Obama returned to the podium to take over but it seems the script had finally been switched and the US...

Can anybody help me out here?

At a St. Patrick's day party at the White House on 03/17/09, Irish Prime minister Cowen was just a few lines into his speech when he stopped reading from the teleprompter and told Obama that he was reading the same speech that Obama had just read. Obama took to the stage again to try to save the day, and when he reached the stage, the teleprompter switched to the correct speech for the prime minister. Barack Obama started reading the Irish Prime Minister's speech, and thanked himself for giving the St. Patrick's Day party at the White House, when he...

Irish Prime Minister Brian Cowen reads word for word a speech that Obama had just read from a teleprompter, while the president apparently thanked himself for the invitation. WASHINGTON -- Irish Prime Minister Brian Cowen was just a few paragraphs into an address at a St. Patrick's Day celebration at the White House when he realized something sounded way too familiar. Turns out, he was repeating the speech President Barack Obama had just given. Cowen was set to speak twice at the White House on Tuesday night because there were two different parties going on at the executive mansion. No...

WASHINGTON -- Irish Prime Minister Brian Cowen was just a few paragraphs into an address at a St. Patrick's Day celebration at the White House when he realized something sounded way too familiar. Turns out, he was repeating the speech President Barack Obama had just given. Cowen was set to speak twice at the White House on Tuesday night because there were two different parties going on at the executive mansion. No matter -- he would give the same speech to the two different audiences. But Cowen was 20 seconds into his second address when it dawned on him that...

excerpt: Britain’s Prime Minister got a set of DVDs and the bum’s rush. The Russian Foreign Minister got a button that said, “Reset” or “Overcharged” or something. And now to complete the diplomatic trifecta, the President of Brazil got his meeting bumped and his name misspelled. According to an AP report, aides to Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said the Obama administration pushed his trip forward from Tuesday because of St. Patrick’s Day. (Apparently, the Commander-In-Chief is actually Irish and his name was originally spelled O’Bama). Then the printed White House announcement misspelled......

Foreign Policy is one of the areas where President Obama has made the most really stupid mistakes. I am not talking Policy..I am talking the easy things, tradition, protocol. There was the fact that his first phone call to a foreign leader after he became president was to the Palestinian Leader President Abbas, or the fact that he is traveling to Asia before Europe (that upset Europe), the bungled British Prime Minister Visit and lousy gift, and of course the Reboot Overcharge Button. Now the Obama gaffe machine has reached Brazil, he moved the meeting from Tuesday to Saturday and...