Free Republic

Barack Obama is on track to have the most spectacularly failed presidency since Woodrow Wilson. In the modern era, we've seen several failed presidencies--led by Jimmy Carter and LBJ. Failed presidents have one strong common trait-- they are repudiated, in the vernacular, spat out. Of course, LBJ wisely took the exit ramp early, avoiding a shove into oncoming traffic by his own party. Richard Nixon indeed resigned in disgrace, yet his reputation as a statesman has been partially restored by his triumphant overture to China. George Bush Jr didn't fail so much as he was perceived to have been too...

Obama was the subject of many a pundit’s admiration. So smart! So worldly! Harvard Law Review. And so eloquent. That his speeches upon further reflection were practically unintelligible or self-parodies (are we the ones we have been waiting for? are the oceans really going to recede?) didn’t much matter. He was so smart.

Hillary Clinton has flatly said she’ll never run for president again. She’s even mused about retirement. But can a woman who fought so hard and came so close to bagging the big enchilada last time around suddenly flip off the ambition switch? Ask yourself: particularly in light of her trip to Pakistan, who’s sounding more like a Commander-in-Chief these days: Hillary Clinton or that hope-’n-change fella back in DC? This morning’s Today show ran part of Andrea Mitchell’s interview of Hillary in Pakistan. You can question the wisdom of Clinton having scolded the Pakistanis for providing al Qaeda a “safe...

Remember last winter, when liberals were complaining that Barack Obama had kept Bush family consigliere Robert Gates as his secretary of Defense and named a John McCain buddy, General James Jones, as his National Security Adviser? They're not complaining now. Today, Gates and Jones are MoveOn's best friends, because they provide the political cover that Obama needs to reject General Stanley McChrystal's call for more troops in Afghanistan. Imagine if Richard Danzig was Defense secretary and Susan Rice was NSC adviser, as many had expected. Obama would have never dared send them out to publicly slap down McChrystal, as both...

Can Barack Obama argue his way out of a paper bag? That's the question eminences of his party will be milling after his defeat Friday at the International Olympic Committee in Copenhagen. Obama put his worldwide popularity and the full weight of the office of the presidency of the United States behind Chicago's bid to host the 2016 Olympics. He surprised the world by losing on the first round of balloting. That hurt his credibility at a time when he could least afford it. [Snip] It will be hard to distract from this traumatic loss for a president who was...

"Never let a serious crisis go to waste. What I mean by that is it's an opportunity to do things you couldn't do before."-Rahm Emanuel Is there any question that Obama's presidency is in crisis? James Taranto: Biden's observation that Republican victory in 2010 would be "the end of the road for what Barack and I are trying to do" is telling. It is an excellent argument for voting GOP next year. However much the Republicans may deserve to lose yet again, the country does not deserve to have done to it what Barack and he are trying to do....

President Barack Obama has rightly been regarded as the liberal equivalent of Ronald Reagan, if not the second coming of Franklin Roosevelt. Like Reagan, the current president combines an attractive and compelling personality with superb communication skills to blunt the hard edges of his ideology and appeal to the broad spectrum of non-ideological voters who decide most elections (and who decided the 2008 election). Reagan also proved that it is possible, within limits, to govern successfully as an ideological president. Obama himself acknowledged this during the campaign, commenting that "Ronald Reagan changed the trajectory of America ... He put us...

In the sixth month of his presidency, Obama has turned an economic downturn into an economic disaster, taking over and trashing entire companies, and driving the nation deep into deficit spending expected to pass 10 trillion dollars. Abroad, Obama seems to have no other mode except to continue on with his endless campaign, confusing speechmaking with diplomacy. It is natural enough that Obama, who built his entire campaign on high profile public speeches reported on by an adoring press, understands how to do nothing else but that. [Snip] While the press is still chewing over Obama’s Cairo speech, this...

Hillary Clinton says 'no, never' to another White House bid, then leaves tiny crack in door There is apparently no such thing as a simple yes or no when it comes to Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and questions about another run for the White House. Clinton, 61, seemed to go further Sunday than she had previously in shutting the door to another presidential campaign, following her defeat for the Democratic nomination last year by President Barack Obama. "Well, you know, I say no, never, you know, not at all. I don't know what, what else to say," Clinton...

The Judge assured Orly that the case would be given top priority and would be quote, “resolved quicker in this court than in any other court.” LOL, hahahaahah I just got off the phone with Attorney Charles Lincoln who has been working with Dr. Orly and was at the hearing today. The judge denied default BUT he ordered that the case proceed without any objections, and that the case would be decided on its merits. Obama has 60 days to answer. The Judge assured Orly that the case would be given top priority and would be quote, “resolved quicker in...

Fair-minded people are still baffled by Obama’s refusal to clear up the continuing controversy over his birthplace, and by his determination to stop every attempt to delve into this matter through harassment and costly litigation. He is reported to have spent over a million dollars in legal fees fighting the determination of this issue. His relatives have testified that he was born in Kenya, but not under oath. His original birth certificate has been withheld; what are we to believe? Our Constitution clearly states that a person born on foreign soil when only one parent is a USA citizen cannot...

Lou Dobbs reported tonight that the Federal Election Commission does not require any proof of citizenship to run for Presidency.

Rush Limbaugh is suggesting that President Barack Obama and his political operatives already are laying the groundwork for a third term. “You have to wonder if Obama is just trying to lay a foundation for not being a hypocrite when he tries to serve beyond 2016,” Limbaugh told his national radio audience. “I wouldn't be at all surprised if in the next number of years there is a move on the 22nd Amendment.” Limbaugh has a point. Upon Obama's taking office, Rep. Jose Serrano, D-N.Y., introduced legislation in the House to repeal the 22nd Amendment to the Constitution, which limits...

WASHINGTON -- Vice President Joe Biden isn't ruling out his own presidential aspirations. The two-time presidential candidate says the current lineup is the right one, with Biden as President Barack Obama's No. 2. The vice president says he is a close adviser to Obama and is satisfied with his role in the administration. For instance, Biden says he reacted to Supreme Court nominees as a veteran senator. Now, he gets to help pick them. But he says he still has his eye on the Oval Office. Biden is 66 years old and would be 73 on Election Day in 2016....

Barack Obama spoke at the National Archives last Thursday on the war on terror (not that he used that term). After paying tribute to the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and the Bill of Rights, and before turning to a defense of his policies, the President of the United States said: I stand here today as someone whose own life was made possible by these documents. My father came to our shores in search of the promise that they offered. My mother made me rise before dawn to learn of their truth when I lived as a child in a...

/begin my translation N. Korean Official Sent to Prison for Advocating 'Term-limit Presidency' While Drinking A N. Korean official working at their Cabinet(executive branch) was imprisoned while criticizing current hereditary ruling system at a private gathering, according to on-line newsletter on N. Korea, according to 'Open N. Korea Dispatch(Yolin Bukkan Tongshin) on May. 18. Quoting a source, it reported that a department chief at N. Korea's Cabinet said on May 10, "We will have no progress if one man(family) holds power as is the case now. We should have term-limit presidency as other countries do." He continued, "If we do...

[I]t would also be useful to eliminate even the slimmest shadow on Barack Obama’s legitimacy, sort of like taking the oath the second time. In fact as soon as this amendment is passed, he should take the oath a third time, perhaps the fourth of July, 2010.

While officials in the Obama White House dismissed yesterday's "100 Days" anniversary as a "Hallmark Holiday," they understood it was what sociologist Daniel J. Boorstin called a "pseudo-event." By that, Boorstin meant an occasion that is not spontaneous but planned for the purpose of being reported -- an event that is important because someone says so, not because it is. What happens in a president's first 100 days rarely characterizes the arc of the 1,361 that follow. Jimmy Carter had a very good first 100 days. Bill Clinton did not. Still, a president would rather start well than poorly --...

WASHINGTON (AFP) – Barack Obama's historic breakthrough as the first African-American president appears to have reduced racial divisions in the United States, according to a New York Times/CBS News poll published Tuesday. As the US leader approaches 100 days in office, the survey found that about two-thirds of Americans -- 66 percent -- said race relations are generally good, compared with 53 percent in July. Twenty-two percent of respondents said US race relations are bad, compared to 37 percent in July. The survey found that Black Americans remain among Obama's staunchest supporters, with 70 percent of US blacks saying the...

WASHINGTON — The task of keeping a president in touch with his public is daunting, as Mike Kelleher well knows. Tens of thousands of letters, e-mail messages and faxes arrive at the White House every day. A few hundred are culled and end up each weekday afternoon on a round wooden table in the office of Mr. Kelleher, the director of the White House Office of Correspondence. He chooses 10 letters, which are slipped into a purple folder and put in the daily briefing book that is delivered to President Obama at the White House residence. Designed to offer a...

Here’s where the mainstream media’s Obamamania goes from the merely embarrassing to the downright cringe-inducing: New York magazine this week turns its worshipful eye on the First Lady, with a cover proclaiming “The Power of Michelle Obama” and a roster of no fewer than 16 writers laboring to elevate her to the iconic status already bestowed on her husband. By far the most sophomoric offering comes from Stacy Schiff, who delves into the “sexual politics” of the first couple. But as one has come to expect from that nebulous early ‘70s terminology, the reader is treated to a pastiche of...

As a boy, Harrison Tyler (chemical engineering '51) never gave much thought to his grandfather, John Tyler, the 10th president of the United States. "I grew up during World War II," he told Subaru Drive Magazine in 2002, "and surviving the war and the shortages was what was on everybody's mind. Being related to a president was never a thought." Such a view may seem astonishing, but President Tyler died in 1862, 66 years before his grandson was born. In fact, Harrison Tyler's father, Lyon Gardiner Tyler, was born in 1853 and died in 1935, so there were very few...

Earlier this week I wrote this in my column on CNN.com: “First lady Michelle Obama has blown away the stale air in a White House musty from eight years of the Bushes. It’s like the sun came out and a fresh spring breeze began wafting through the open windows.” The First Lady recognizes the White House is “the people’s house”, inviting ordinary people, kids, you name it to visit. The nation’s first African-American first lady is also making the rounds among federal agencies — sometimes thousands of government employees line up to see her. She has visited schools in...

George W. Bush had the misfortune to become president when two long-term trends that predated his presidency reached historical tipping points: First, decades of militant Islamic ferment culminated in 9/11. Second, a combination of a decades-long buildup of debt, reckless financial practices (abetted by government policies) established in the ‘90s, and habitual inflationary policies by the Federal Reserve System, finally culminated in the great financial panic of 2008. Twice, Bush reaped what he had not sown and, fairly or not, those historical events are what he will be remembered for. Of course, this is not to say he hasn’t made...

When Barack Obama delivered his 44-minute acceptance speech in August among the majestic columns of Denver, it was apparent his would be an expansive presidency. Some wondered whether his solutions for a very long list of problems was too ambitious. On Tuesday, before Congress, he made clear across 52 minutes that the economic downturn would not deflect him from his Denver vision...

Has it been but a single B.O. Presidential moon? It's hard to believe the sheer volume of hyperactive bumbling the Obama administration has crammed into the space of a mere 30 some days. Perhaps it's the technological superiority of the Obamanauts that has enabled them to ratchet up the level of administrative dysfunction so thoroughly. Recall the dismay expressed by Obie One's staffers when they found that the White House technology apparently consisted of a few rickety abacuses and an intercom made of a series of tin cans cobbled together with string. While this primitive gear may have sufficed for...

Slowly over the last few weeks, some of Barack Obama's most fervent supporters have come to an unhappy realization: The candidate who they thought was squarely on their side in policy fights is now a president who needs cajoling and persuading. Advocates for stem cell research thought Obama would quickly sign an order to reverse former President Bush's restrictions on the science. Now they are fretting over Obama's statement that he wants to act in tandem with Congress, possibly causing a delay. Critics of Bush's faith-based initiative thought Obama had promised to end religious discrimination among social service groups taking...

"The sparkle has gone from his eyes already," an American acquaintance said to me yesterday, referring to Barack Obama. "He doesn't know what to do." Obama's performance at his press conference confirmed that impression, with the rhetoric of the campaign trail, fluent and banal as piped musak, replaced with long hesitations not just between sentences, but between clauses. This was an auto-cue junkie suffering cold turkey. When a political lightweight is out of his depth, he seeks to compensate by counterfeiting the certainty he is far from feeling. Obama's rantings in defence of his stimulus plan have assumed an...

Of all the promises he has made and the hope he has instilled in the people of the United States, Barack Obama knows that unless he can steer the financial sector away from turmoil, he will not be able to lead the nation down the road to utopia. His administration's plan to rescue the country's ailing banking system and thaw frozen credit markets, the president believes, represents the best option to jump-start the economy and ready the US for the years ahead. It is a bold and confident assertion regarding a vital issue. If he is not successful in filling...

Add President Obama's name to the ever-growing list of global-warming hypocrites. During the campaign, Obama made no bones about where he stood on the question of energy and global warming: "We can't drive our SUVs and . . . keep our homes on 72 degrees at all times." [Snip] But it turns out that Obama keeps the Oval Office at near-tropical heat levels. The New York Times reports that he doesn't wear a suit jacket at his desk because he has "cranked up the thermostat." Explained adviser David Axelrod: "He's from Hawaii, OK? He likes it warm. You could grow...

Need another indication that Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin is eyeing a 2012 bid? Today she launched a new political action committee, SarahPAC, to dole out political donations to Republican candidates. “SarahPAC believes America’s best days are ahead. Our country, founded on conservative principles and the fight for freedom, must confront the challenges of the 21st century with integrity, innovation, and determination,” states the PAC’s Web site, which boasts that the governor of the oil-rich state is committed to “energy independence.” As conservative blog RedState.org notes, Palin has a busy calendar, including anticipated appearances at the Republican National Committee’s winter meeting...

Now that George W. Bush has finally left office, here's a challenge to a nation famous for its proud tradition of invention: Can somebody invent a machine capable of fully measuring the disaster that was the Bush presidency? [Snip] In a way that was inconceivable when he took office, Mr. Bush -- the advance man for the "ownership society," smaller and more trustworthy government, and a humble foreign policy -- increased the size and scope of the federal government to unprecedented levels. At the same time, he constantly flashed signs of secrecy, duplicity, ineffectiveness and outright incompetence. Think for a...

Tuesday, a few minutes after noon Eastern Standard Time, the world watched as Barack Obama took the oath of office as President of the United States of America. Since such event, President Obama has formally submitted to the Senate nominations for Cabinet officers and will likely issue several executive orders in the next few days. However, due to what we all saw take place during the swearing-in ceremony, those actions by the President may well be unconstitutional. Before you continue, please note that this piece is not about President Obama not meeting the constitutional qualifications to become president under the...

Think of where you were eight years ago and where you are now? Are you better off?

I originally took the mindset that I would wish Obama the best during his presidency for the good of the country, but I kept having nagging thoughts that were bothering me. Rush Limbaugh said something the other day that made me realize the problem I was having: I Hope Obama Fails RUSH: I got a request here from a major American print publication. "Dear Rush: For the Obama [Immaculate] Inauguration we are asking a handful of very prominent politicians, statesmen, scholars, businessmen, commentators, and economists to write 400 words on their hope for the Obama presidency. We would love to...

Will George W. Bush end up being the last true US President? Increasingly, it seems that he just may. As lawsuits against President-elect Barack Hussein Obama—questioning his US citizenship—continue to grow, he ever more adamantly continues his refusal to produce his real, viable and original birth certificate. Note: Obama’s supposed Hawaiian birth certificate is issued to those born outside of the USA who move to Hawaii. In fact, Hawaii issues “Certifications of Live Birth” to those who are foreign born. This is the same document that Obama and his team claim is his birth certificate. Now, another ugly issue is...

"... to win over Senate Democrats, Mr. Bush both phased in the tax rate reductions and settled for politically popular but economically feckless tax rebate checks." "...Mr. Bush's spending record is less admirable, especially during his first term. He indulged the majority Republicans on Capitol Hill, refusing to veto overspending ..."

This week, I released "Reining in the Imperial Presidency," a 486-page report detailing the abuses and excesses of the Bush administration and recommending steps to address them. Arthur Schlesinger Jr. popularized the term "imperial presidency" in the 1970s to describe an executive who had assumed more power than the Constitution allows and circumvented the checks and balances fundamental to our three-branch system of government. Until recently, the Nixon administration seemed to represent a singular embodiment of the idea. Unfortunately, it is clear that the threat of the imperial presidency lives on and, indeed, reached new heights under George W. Bush.

Was George W. Bush a good president? Yes 32% (113 votes) Maybe 10% (34 votes) No 58% (204 votes) Total votes: 351

Here is video of President George W. Bush on Fox News Sunday today, January 11, 2009, being interviewed by Brit Hume. In this clip, President Bush talks about the Presidency, and dealing with the interrogation of terrorists such as Khalid Sheikh Mohammed. We hope to have complete video of the interview later. . . . . (watch video)

President George W. Bush's "after-life," as Laura Bush calls the post-presidency, is shaping up to be pretty comfortable, with a Dallas office, staffers, Secret Service protection, a travel budget, medical coverage and a $196,700 annual pension, all at taxpayers' expense. However, Bush will be the first president not to benefit from one former lifetime benefit: Secret Service protection. "He'll be the first one to receive it for 10 years," said Malcolm Wiley, Secret Service spokesman. Congress changed the law in the 1990s so that any president elected after Jan. 1, 1997, and his or her spouse will receive the federal...

Former President George H.W. Bush said on Sunday he'd like to see his second son, Jeb, become president of the United States some day. Interviewed on "Fox News Sunday," Bush said his second son, a former governor of Florida, had all the qualifications to serve in the White House. Jeb Bush, 55, has said he was considering running for a U.S. Senate seat representing Florida in 2010. The current incumbent, Republican Mel Martinez, has announced he is stepping down. "I'd like to see him run. I'd like to see him be president one day, or senator, whatever, yes I would,"...

"History always makes a sharp turn in Washington when a new American President takes the oath of office, and so it will once again on January 20, 2009. There will be new Cabinet members, a new Congress, a new foreign policy, a new style in the East Wing, new embarrassing relatives (if the past is any guide), and new first friends." PHOTO CAPTION "The President of the United States is one of the world's most public figures, yet the power and tradition of the office veil his life in a tightly controlled, highly protected enclave (above, in Benin) that few...

We've seen it over and over, people in Europe who imagine that they should be allowed to vote U.S. presidential elections. Some of these people imagine that they should have a voice in our elections because, they say, America is so supremely powerful that the man who becomes our president makes decisions that will impact the entire world.

As we observe the scandal surrounding Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich, arrested for attempting to sell the U.S. Senate seat formerly belonging to President-elect Barack Obama to the highest bidder, and think of what it portends for the next four years, it causes me to be grateful for the two most important things President Bush has accomplished during his tenure. The first is that there has been absolutely no hint of the scandal, soap opera or three-ring circus that had been a daily suffering under President Clinton. The dignity and the prestige of the office of the presidency were restored, and...

[I have collaborated on this with my sister and historian Greg Dehler, author of "Chester Allan Arthur", Published by Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated, 2006 ISBN 1600210791, 9781600210792 192 pages. ] I’ve been forwarded the actual naturalization record for William Arthur on microfiche, obtained from the Library of Congress. He was naturalized in New York State and became a United States citizen in August 1843. Chester Arthur perpetrated a fraud as to his eligibility to be Vice President by spreading various lies about his parents’ heritage. President Arthur’s father, William Arthur, became a United States citizen in August 1843. But Chester...

We won't know until Monday the earliest if the Supreme Court will consider the petition brought before it by attorney Leo Donofrio (see post below this one). But today a verbal firestorm has erupted in the blogosphere, with scores of bloggers taking sides, and hundreds of their readers debating the argument in the comments sections. All that is well and good. People are talking about it. It should and must be discussed. Far too little of that has taken place, much to our nation's peril. Time is of the essence -- a mere nine days remain before the Electoral College...

In June, the Obama campaign released a digitally scanned image of his birth certificate to quell speculative charges that he might not be a natural-born citizen. But the image prompted more blog-based skepticism about the document's authenticity. And recently, author Jerome Corsi, whose book attacks Obama, said in a TV interview that the birth certificate the campaign has is "fake." We beg to differ. FactCheck.org staffers have now seen, touched, examined and photographed the original birth certificate. We conclude that it meets all of the requirements from the State Department for proving U.S. citizenship. Claims that the document lacks a...

In June, the Obama campaign released a digitally scanned image of his birth certificate to quell speculative charges that he might not be a natural-born citizen. But the image prompted more blog-based skepticism about the document's authenticity. And recently, author Jerome Corsi, whose book attacks Obama, said in a TV interview that the birth certificate the campaign has is "fake." We beg to differ. FactCheck.org staffers have now seen, touched, examined and photographed the original birth certificate. We conclude that it meets all of the requirements from the State Department for proving U.S. citizenship. Claims that the document lacks a...

I noted today that Senator McCain and numerous other elected officials, both Democrats and Republicans, called upon America to unite behind President-Elect Obama. Well, I want to make it clear to all who will listen that I AM NOT uniting behind Obama! I will respect the Office which he holds, and I will acknowledge his abilities as an orator and wordsmith, BUT that is it. I have begun today to see what I can do to make sure that he is a one-term President! Why am I doing this? It is because I do not share Obama's vision for America;...