Free Republic

President Obama discussed America's faults Friday with young Asian leaders, saying the U.S. suffers from "pitfalls" such as income inequality, a political system controlled by the wealthy and political parties divided along racial lines. Speaking at a town-hall event in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Mr. Obama said the biggest problem in the U.S. is the influence of the wealthy on the government. "It is very important to avoid any political system where money overwhelms ideas," said Mr. Obama, who raised a record $1.1 billion for his reelection campaign in 2012. "And the United States politics process has become so expensive and...

Ben Carson is in serious political trouble, as his wacky and right-wing views on numerous issues draw more scrutiny and critical pieces of the “inspirational” back story he’s been telling for years get exposed as “fabrications.” A looming question now is what more of the political games of truth and consequences regarding Ben Carson is yet to be played. Nonetheless, it’s still worth exploring why Carson’s near lily-White base of supporters have found him so appealing. Conservative pundit Jonah Goldberg offers a partial – and revealing – answer why in a recent column praising the now retired neurosurgeon.

Senator Bernie Sanders has repeatedly denounced campaigns that he says are built around their candidates attending fund-raisers. He has insisted he will not “go out hustling money from the wealthiest people in the country,” and declared at the first Democratic debate that he is “not raising money from millionaires and billionaires.” Yet Mr. Sanders was cheered at a fancy campaign fund-raiser at the Hollywood home of Syd Leibovitch, a high-end real estate agent, and his wife, Linda, on Wednesday night. Tickets for the event sold for a minimum of $250. Those who spent the maximum, $2,700, or who raised $10,000,...

But talking to THR, he gushed, “We talked about it, and look, even when I was giving him shit, he's somebody who thinks so deeply about everything he does.” The movie star added, “I don't ever question that it's coming from the right place with him. He's a remarkable human being and shockingly easy to be around. He's incredibly approachable and doesn't beat you up with his station, though he could.” Damon is also a fan of Hillary Clinton:

Donald Trump would not say if he would pardon former George W. Bush White House official Lewis “Scooter” Libby. Trump said the question was “not pertinent,” but Valerie Plame’s response on Twitter to The Daily Caller’s question to Trump about Libby was, “My head is spinning.”

In an email sent to supporters of the progressive political group MoveOn.org, ice cream icons Jerry Greenfield and Ben Cohen asked recipients to join them in supporting the Iran deal to keep “America out of another war in the Middle East.” Lobbyists and billionaires plan to spend over $40 million to stop the diplomatic deal with Iran—the one the Obama Administration negotiated to prevent Iran from getting nuclear weapons. That’s dangerous, because if too many Democrats listen to the flood of hawkish, misinformation-ridden TV ads—and if they vote with Republicans—they could override the president’s agreement in just about a month.

Former Minnesota Gov. Jesse Ventura suggested Tuesday that he’d be glad to be Donald Trump’s running mate. “Do you think Donald would ever think of asking me?” Ventura said during an interview on his “Off the Grid” show with former Trump adviser Roger Stone . Ventura said he’d support Trump for the GOP presidential nomination. “I shocked my staff today,” Ventura said. “I came in and said, ‘You know what, as far as the Republicans are concerned, I hope Trump wins.’”

Call it “Little House of Representatives.” Actress Melissa Gilbert, who rose to fame as a child playing Laura Ingalls Wilder on “Little House on the Prairie,” has announced she will challenge Michigan freshman Republican Rep. Mike Bishop. Gilbert moved to Michigan in 2014 with actor husband Timothy Busfield (“Revenge of the Nerds”). In June of 2015, it was revealed that IRS had filed a tax lien against Gilbert for $360,000 in unpaid taxes.

Reporting on a recently released survey by Rasmussen Reports that indicates that 62% of Americans oppose sanctuary city policies, Telemundo, the nation’s second largest Spanish-language network, slanted its coverage in favor of maintaining the controversial policy. Reporting from the sanctuary city of Chicago, Telemundo correspondent Janet Rodríguez cited an unauthorized immigrant in favor of the policy, along with two quotes from Congressman Luis Gutiérrez (D-IL), who had the gall to minimize Kate Steinle’s murder, at the hands of a hardened criminal and five-time deportee, in the sanctuary city of San Francisco. “Every time a little thing like this happens, they...

Through this kind of decision making, McGraw also supported the campaign of gun control candidate Barack Obama in 2008. He told People Magazine: It’s innate in me to be a blue-dog Democrat. I’m not saying I’m right or wrong, but that’s what I am. My wife and I and our family will do everything we can to support Obama. I like his ideas, I like his energy, and I like the statement he would make for our country to the world.

Nine days into marathon nuclear talks, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry on Sunday said the diplomatic efforts "could go either way," cutting off all potential pathways for an Iranian atomic bomb or ending without an agreement that American officials have sometimes described as the only alternative to war. The EU's top foreign policy official, Federica Mogherini, said agreement was "very close." But Kerry said there was still a ways to go. "We are not yet where we need to be on several of the most critical issues," Kerry told reporters outside the 19th-century Viennese palace that has hosted the...

Newly minted Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump believes he has a way to guarantee that he’ll win the White House: Oprah Winfrey on the ticket. "I think Oprah would be great. I'd love to have Oprah," Trump told ABC News’ George Stephanopoulos in an excerpt from Trump's first interview after his Tuesday morning presidential announcement. "I think we'd win easily, actually.”

The attorney general appears to be a caring lady. She said to the officers, "You have picked a noble profession. Despite how people may want to portray it, you [should] hold on to that every day." Ms. Lynch is so steeped in anti-police racism that she is oblivious that what she said to the police is called triangulating, reminding them that "the people" are against them. Her message, though she probably doesn't understand it, is "though 'people' think you are evil-doers, I think they are wrong and your profession, at least, is noble." The majority of the American people support...

In a speech in South Korea, Secretary of State John Kerry said that the Internet needs heavier regulations to “be able to flourish and work properly.” Touting the Obama administration’s new policy on the Internet, Kerry insisted that without strict government regulation, the Internet could not reach its potential, and he couched his comments as a way to respond to threats of cyberattacks. Kerry claimed that his “universal concepts” and “five principles” were necessary to protect the world’s Internet:

Know your place, peon! You may not approach Chelsea Clinton. If you need to contact her, you can only do so indirectly through a producer. Never face to face which is for ordinary people. Those were the instructions for Chelsea's co-workers at not only NBC News but also at the management consulting firm at McKinsey where she briefly worked. Apparently Chelsea's attitude is so toxic that even dedicated liberals at the Clinton Foundation have split rather than having to deal with Chelsea according to a New York Post report:

Arlen Specter may have switched parties after John McCain lost the 2008 election, but based on a passage in the former Senator’s new book, “Life Among Cannibals,” he may have had a bit of a soft spot for McCain’s running mate. In fact, one passage in the book reads more like a Harlequin romance novel than a political memoir. The Washington Post spotted this hot and heavy excerpt and threw it up on their “In the Loop” blog: For example, in one steamy passage on page 156, he recalls riding on Sen. John McCain’s (R-Ariz.) campaign bus in 2008 with...

President Obama's newly minted Surgeon General, Dr. Vivek Murthy, wants to have a talk with the country about climate change. From a White House email sent out last night: Hi, everyone -- I'm the Surgeon General of the United States -- which means it's my job to keep America healthy by providing you with the best scientific information available about your health. Yesterday, I had the opportunity to meet with President Obama, EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy and health care professionals to discuss climate change. We talked about the impact of climate change on public health and the importance of prevention.

The White House on Wednesday took a shot at Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu by using a cartoon bomb to defend its nuclear deal with Iran. The bomb diagram attached to a White House tweet looked a lot like a chart used by Netanyahu during a 2012 speech to the United Nations General Assembly urging the U.S. and other world powers to set an ultimatum to stop Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon. Using a marker, Netanyahu drew a red line near the top of the bomb. “At this late hour there is only one way to peacefully prevent Iran...

DC political insiders believe that if President Barack Obama truly seeks compromise with Republicans, he should begin by ditching White House Senior Advisor Valerie Jarrett. It goes without saying that Jarrett, the president's longtime trusted confidante, political ally, and family friend, is a divisive figure inside the beltway. Calls for her dismissal have been rampant since the president began his second term -- and even before then. It is a demand still ignored by the White House.

After staying mum on Israeli issues in the run-up to the election, the White House on Wednesday broke its silence -- answering Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's victory with fresh criticism and making clear that a new rift has opened between U.S. and Israeli leaders, this time over Palestinian statehood. In its first public response to Netanyahu's election triumph, White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest said President Obama still believes in a two-state solution. This was after Netanyahu, shortly before the vote, reversed his stance and stated he would not allow the creation of a Palestinian state. Earnest acknowledged Wednesday that...