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The 10 Biggest Amateur Mistakes By the Obama Administration So Far
Townhall.com ^ | March 10, 2009 | John Hawkins

Posted on 03/09/2009 11:45:44 PM PDT by Jet Jaguar

During the 2008 presidential campaign, people speculated whether someone like Barack Obama, who has never really run anything or had any major achievements other than winning political office, could handle a three AM crisis call. Well, as it turns out, Obama has been such a bumbling incompetent that he probably couldn't handle a trip through a Wendy's drive-in window without a teleprompter telling him what to order and whether he wants a Coke or a Mountain Dew. Even though Obama has been in office less than two months, he has already made more boneheaded errors than most Presidents do in an entire term.

10) After doing the "We've got to have this stimulus package passed right this second or the economy is going to explode" routine so convincingly that not one single soul in Congress actually had time to read the entire bill before it was signed, Barack Obama then promptly went on a three day vacation to celebrate before he signed it. If the bill was so important that no one could even have time to read it before it was passed, then why wasn't it important enough for Obama to skip dinner at Table Fifty-Two in Chicago to immediately make it a law?

9) In a juvenile stunt, reminiscent of something a third grader might come up with, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton handed Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov a button that was supposed to say "reset." However, incredibly, the word on the button translated to "overcharge," not "reset." Apparently, despite the enormous deficit the government is going to run up this year, Team Obama forgot to budget enough money to hire someone who speaks Russian for the State Department. If only America could just press a button and reset the entire Obama presidency so far and start over.

8) When Barack Obama was trying to sell America his stimulus bill that will put the country more than a trillion dollars in debt, he alerted America that, "Caterpillar's chief executive…told him the company will rehire some laid-off workers if the stimulus bill passes." But, when he was asked about Obama's statement, Caterpillar CEO Jim Owens said, "I think realistically no. The truth is we're going to have more layoffs before we start hiring again."

7) A large part of Barack Obama's appeal was the idea of racial reconciliation. The implicit deal was that by putting our first black President in office, America would prove once and for all that it wasn't racist, and we could put all this silly squabbling about race in the rear view mirror once and for all. However, not only has it failed to work out that way, Obama's Attorney General Eric Holder issued an an insulting challenge on the topic to the American people,

"Though this nation has proudly thought of itself as an ethnic melting pot, in things racial we have always been and I believe continue to be, in too many ways, essentially a nation of cowards." Maybe someone should ask the poor guy who did an innocent cartoon for the New York Post that made fun of the stimulus bill and the rampaging monkey that was in the news why people might be afraid to get dragged into a debate about race.

6) Typically, Presidents don't pick fights with pundits and talk radio hosts for obvious reasons. It draws more attention to their criticisms, elevates their status, and comes across as thin skinned and a little creepy, much like Richard Nixon's "Enemies list."

But, the Obama Administration hasn't figured this out -- yet. They've launched attacks at Rick Santelli, Jim Cramer, and most prominently, Rush Limbaugh. Ratcheting up the creepiness factor a couple of notches in Limbaugh's case, the President of the United States, members of the mainstream media, and liberal interest groups are all coordinating an attack on a private individual for daring to criticize Barack Obama. That sounds more like something that would happen in the old Soviet Union than in the United States.

But happily, if you look at the results of the White House campaign, it has backfired in every instance. Rush Limbaugh is on pace to make more revenue by the end of March than he made all last year, there are Santelli inspired "Tea Parties" popping up all across the country, and every criticism of Obama that Jim Cramer utters is now linked by the Drudge Report.

5) The first task a new President engages in is bringing a staff on board. After choosing Joe Biden, who has behaved like he was kicked in the head by a horse as a child, things have really gone down hill from there. Bill Richardson quit as Commerce Secretary after coming under investigation. Republican Senator Judd Gregg accepted, then declined Obama's offer to be his Commerce Secretary over irreconcilable differences. Tom Daschle quit after having tax problems. So did Nancy Killefer. Ron Kirk also has tax problems, but he's trying to hang in there like Hilda Solis and another cabinet member who gets his own special entry -- and keep in mind, Obama has a considerable number of positions left to fill. Hey Barry, the word of the day is "vetting." You should look into it.

4) George Bush spent a lot of time strengthening our ties to Eastern European nations like Poland and the Czech Republic during his two terms in the White House. Yet, it took Barack Obama less than two months to undo much of Bush’s good work with those nations.

Obama wrote a "secret" letter to Dmitri Medvedev offering to leave Poland and the Czech Republic twisting in the wind on missile defense in return for Russia's help in stopping Iran from getting nukes. The problem was that the letter went public even as Russia turned down the deal. So, in other words, our friends in Eastern Europe were publicly alerted that we were willing to sell them down the river to the Russians, who they were already afraid of, and yet we got nothing out of the deal. That's a real "welcome to the Big Leagues" maneuver from the Russians for our naive, rookie President.

3) After making a stink by sending back a Winston Churchill bust, Barack Obama blew off a press conference with British Prime Minister Gordon Brown -- but, the real kicker was the gifts.

After Brown presented Obama with a pen holder crafted from the timbers of the 19th century British warship HMS President (whose sister ship, HMS Resolute, provided the wood for the Oval Office's desk), Obama offered up ... 25 DVDs of American movie classics. The Brits offered Obama a thoughtful, priceless gift and he handed them back a bad Netflix queue that was probably picked up at Wal-mart earlier that day.

2) Choosing tax cheat Timothy Geithner to be his Treasury Secretary was such an incredible screw up that it deserves it own entry. It's mind boggling that any Administration would choose a tax cheat to run the department that's in charge of the IRS. Moreover, in Obama's case, he has already announced plans for the largest tax hike in American history, nearly a trillion dollars, and the man in charge of that effort doesn't pay his taxes? Prediction: a few years from now, if the New York Times isn't out of business by then, they'll write an article telling you that they're baffled, baffled I tell you, by the massive increase in the number of people cheating on their taxes.

1) Barack Obama may be a liberal thriller, but he's also a stock market killer. Since he came into office, his Bunyanesque new spending proposals, his plans for a trillion dollar tax hike, his regular badmouthing of the economy, and his incessant tinkering with banks and the housing market have caused the stock market to go into a freefall. Granted, stocks would have likely dropped anyway because of the economic crunch we're in, but the market wouldn't have already reached the lowest level since 1997 without lots of help from Obama. As Democratic financial wiz, Jim Cramer, has said of Obama’s performance, "it's amateur hour at our darkest moment" and it's "crushing nest eggs around the nation."


TOPICS: Business/Economy; Crime/Corruption; Cuba; Politics/Elections
KEYWORDS: fiftydays; impeachobama
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1 posted on 03/09/2009 11:45:44 PM PDT by Jet Jaguar
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To: Nachum

I am sure you did not miss any.


2 posted on 03/09/2009 11:48:13 PM PDT by Jet Jaguar (Atlas Shrugged Mode: ON)
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To: Jet Jaguar

mark


3 posted on 03/09/2009 11:49:21 PM PDT by Christian4Bush
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To: Jet Jaguar

nice list- but little short.


4 posted on 03/09/2009 11:50:17 PM PDT by genghis
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To: Jet Jaguar

He’s our Chancey Garner.


5 posted on 03/09/2009 11:50:59 PM PDT by BigFinn (Obamanation then Obamaggedon.)
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To: Jet Jaguar

Only ten?


6 posted on 03/09/2009 11:51:14 PM PDT by advance_copy (Stand for life or nothing at all)
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To: Jet Jaguar

Think about how long this list will be in six months. OMG.


7 posted on 03/09/2009 11:51:29 PM PDT by Attention Surplus Disorder (Mr. Bernanke, have you started working on your book about the second GREATER depression?")
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To: genghis

That is why pinged Nachum to the thread.

http://www.nachumlist.com/


8 posted on 03/09/2009 11:52:55 PM PDT by Jet Jaguar (Atlas Shrugged Mode: ON)
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To: Jet Jaguar

0bama’s biggest mistake so far, which is saying something, is passing the stimulus *prior* to any of the zombies being shut down.

GM’s got to go. Empty shopping malls have to go. Crappy airlines have to go. Zombie banks have to go...otherwise the stimulus is too diluted. Moreover, those ill-run zombies are taking away marketshare from good companies.

To get an economic recovery, you’ve got to shut down the zombies first...and only then would stimulus make any sense or have any positive impact.


0bama’s 2nd biggest mistake, by design, is his cap-n-trade carbon tax and $1 Trillion in new consumer taxes. China just lowered their export tax...that’s right...the ChiComs understand capitalism and lowering taxes better than Team 0bama.

Oy vey.


9 posted on 03/09/2009 11:54:08 PM PDT by Southack (Media Bias means that Castro won't be punished for Cuban war crimes against Black Angolans in Africa)
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To: Jet Jaguar
Not to split hairs but as a cheap DVD buyer I've never seen the DVD collection ( if web reports are accurate ) Obama gave Brown in Wal Mart. I've seen those collections in Big Lots for five bucks.
10 posted on 03/09/2009 11:55:27 PM PDT by Hillarys Gate Cult (The man who said "there's no such thing as a stupid question" has never talked to Helen Thomas.)
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To: Hillarys Gate Cult

See post 8. It’s included there.


11 posted on 03/09/2009 11:58:04 PM PDT by Jet Jaguar (Atlas Shrugged Mode: ON)
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To: Jet Jaguar
Everyone keeps telling me Obama has a plan.

I still don't see it.

I see a narcissus in way over his head. Obama is going to make Carter look like a genius and that's saying something...

12 posted on 03/10/2009 12:04:01 AM PDT by DB
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To: Jet Jaguar

After canceling 23 of The new Marine One helicopters made in Great Britain (at $400 million per aircraft), the White House gave Gordon Brown’s children $4.11 plastic souvenir modals of the Old Marine One as parting gift direct from the White House gift Boutique.


13 posted on 03/10/2009 12:04:46 AM PDT by usmcobra (Your chances of dying in bed are reduced by getting out of it, but most people still die in bed)
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To: Jet Jaguar
3) After making a stink by sending back a Winston Churchill bust, Barack Obama blew off a press conference with British Prime Minister Gordon Brown -- but, the real kicker was the gifts.

After Brown presented Obama with a pen holder crafted from the timbers of the 19th century British warship HMS President (whose sister ship, HMS Resolute, provided the wood for the Oval Office's desk), Obama offered up ... 25 DVDs of American movie classics. The Brits offered Obama a thoughtful, priceless gift and he handed them back a bad Netflix queue that was probably picked up at Wal-mart earlier that day.

We can't forget that 2 days after the Gordon Brown snub, he felt it neccessary to have a meeting with Brad Pitt.

14 posted on 03/10/2009 12:06:35 AM PDT by mountn man (The pleasure you get from life, is equal to the attitude you put into it.)
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To: usmcobra

I miss GWB.


15 posted on 03/10/2009 12:07:13 AM PDT by voveo
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To: Jet Jaguar; Nachum

NACHUMLIST

The first 100 days of President Obama’s activites

activites!!! Oy! It’s the 7th word on your website, how did you miss that misspelling?


16 posted on 03/10/2009 12:07:39 AM PDT by JerseyHighlander
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To: JerseyHighlander

??


17 posted on 03/10/2009 12:10:03 AM PDT by Jet Jaguar (Atlas Shrugged Mode: ON)
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To: Jet Jaguar

Thread Bump

#

http://www.truthusa.com/AgainstUSorForUS.html


18 posted on 03/10/2009 12:10:32 AM PDT by Cindy
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To: Jet Jaguar

It reads like the script of a really good comedy where the star is a bumbling fool.

I laughed pretty much the whole way through it. LOL!

What’s a good name for the comedy?

Maybe, “The White House Comedy Hour” or “Fools On Parade”

Any suggestions?


19 posted on 03/10/2009 12:13:12 AM PDT by GloriaJane (http://www.last.fm/music/Gloria+Jane)
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To: Jet Jaguar

Just think. We only have about 1,340 days until we can vote a possible replacement.


20 posted on 03/10/2009 12:15:14 AM PDT by re_tail20
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