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{Written by Andrew Ferguson and originally posted to the Commentary Magazine website} As Barack Obama passes into the next phase of his stellar evolution, as the protostar of the 2004 Democratic convention fades into the planetary nebula of 2017 and a very long retirement, phrases from his presidency that once rang in my ears grow dimmer by the day. To tell the truth, there’s not a lot of them. For a man with such a reputation for eloquence, he leaves behind little quotable material from his presidential years. Yes, generations from now schoolchildren will still be reciting “If you like...

During an interview with Oprah Winfrey, First Lady Michelle Obama pretty much compared the relationship between her husband and the rest of the country to that of a parent and an injured child. Noting that we’re now feeling what not having hope feels like, Mrs. Obama explained how “hope” was more than a slogan for Barack Obama. “Our children respond to crises the way they see us respond,” Mrs. Obama said. “You know, it’s like the toddler that bumps his head on the table and they look up at you to figure out if it hurts.” She went on to...

Obama Breaks Cardinal Presidential Rule by Donning Tiara Dec 24, 2014 By BEN CANDEA and ALEX MALLIN Chief White House photographer Pete Souza posted a photo to Instagram today showing the president donning a tiara alongside a group of Girl Scouts from Tulsa, Oklahoma. The photo, from the annual White House Science Fair, was taken in May. Souza wrote that the girls convinced President Obama to wear the tiara for the group photo, something members of the Navy football team were unable to do in April with different headdress.

President Barack Obama says he’ll press Congress to raise the minimum wage in the same way he courted his wife — never taking no for an answer. Obama brought a buoyant Labor Day message to Wisconsin, telling union members on Monday that he sees, quote, “engines are revving a little louder” in an economy coming back from a near-depression five years ago. Now, he says, quote, “America deserves a raise.” He promises his administration will keep pushing for one. Obama told the crowd to great applause that he would join a union for job security.

President Barack Obama on Friday blamed dysfunction in Congress on a Republican Party he said is captive to an ideologically rigid, unproductive and cynical faction, urging like-minded Democrats to show up for November's midterm elections. Addressing Democratic donors at a fundraiser in Rhode Island and another in New York, Obama said Republicans had realized that blocking all progress led Americans to become cynical about government. Republicans consider that "a pretty good thing" because they don't believe in government to begin with, Obama said. "It doesn't have to be that way," Obama said during a barbecue in Purchase, New York. "There...

(snip) “What you’ve seen with our politics, partly because of gerrymandering, partly because of the Balkanization of media so people just watch what reinforces their deepest biases, partly because of big money in politics, is increasingly politicians are rewarded for taking the most extreme, maximalist positions,” Obama told the liberal Times columnist. “Sooner or later, that catches up with you. You end up not being able to move forward on things we need to move forward on. We need to reform our immigration system. That would be good not just for our domestic economy but for our position in the...

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama says in the immediate aftermath of 9/11, the United States did things that were wrong and crossed the line. He says, quote, "we tortured some folks." Obama is commenting on a Senate investigation into the CIA's interrogation techniques.

As we celebrate the Fourth of July, who can argue that our democracy is working the way the Founders intended? And who can deny that most of the blame for dysfunction must fall to the Republican Party? George Washington distrusted all political parties. He warned in his farewell address that, as they alternated power, parties would act in “the spirit of revenge” — rather than, presumably, in the best interests of the nation. The “disorders and miseries” that resulted, Washington feared, would inevitably threaten democracy. Whatever the motivation, Republicans have paralyzed our government in a way that would have shocked...

"...If they truly fear the unchecked growth of presidential power, then their best option is to come to the table and force compromise. It's the one sure way to keep Obama from going cowboy (or, in their minds, tyrant)."

Published on Feb 27, 2014 http://townhall.com/tipsheet/