Thin skin?
Bits ‘n Pieces
By Bob Robinson
Sept. 12. 2010
From Newsmax
John Podesta, who led Barack Obama’s presidential transition team, predicts there will be changes in the White House after expected Democratic losses in the midterm elections — and some “soul-searching.”
“After November, you’ll see some soul-searching and some changes particularly in the way [Obama has] talked to the American people and really communicated, particularly, I think with the business community,” Podesta, president of the Center for American Progress and formerly Bill Clinton’s White House chief of staff, told MSNBC on Tuesday.
“You’ll see, I think, at least a willingness to kind of listen to ideas to move forward with people.
“And I think that the president does level with people. He’s pretty straightforward about what he thinks works, and what he thinks doesn’t.”
Podesta also believes that after the elections Washington will see less partisanship and more cooperation in reaction to voter dissatisfaction.
From Rasmussen Reports…
Today is the ninth anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, and 71% of Americans think it’s at least somewhat likely another event this devastating will happen within the next decade. This includes 39% who say it's Very Likely.
A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that only 22% of Adults believe it’s not very or not at all likely another 9/11 will take place in America in the next 10 years.
For the full story…
From Rasmussen Reports…
What They Told Us: Reviewing Last Week’s Key Polls
President Obama declared in a press conference on Friday that his job is to stimulate the economy. The problem for he and many of his fellow Democrats appears to be that voters don't like how he's going about doing that.
Earlier in the week, for example, the president proposed a long-term federal jobs program with a $50 billion price tag, but 61% of voters say cutting government spending and deficits will do more to create jobs than Obama's new program.
Sixty-eight percent (68%) prefer a smaller government with fewer services and lower taxes to a more active one that offers more services and higher taxes. That's the second highest finding in Rasmussen Reports surveying on the question since November 2006.
For the full story…
From Townhall.com
Bill O'Reilly - Dogging the President
On Labor Day, President Obama injected some mirth into one of his speeches while attempting to explain away the annoying economy. Speaking before a crowd in Milwaukee, the president said: "Some powerful interests who had been dominating the agenda in Washington for a very long time ... are not always happy with me. They talk about me like a dog."
The president was smiling when he said that, and although some unfair press people reported it as a serious comment, it was obviously a jest.
But there is an important truth here. All presidents get hammered, and pretty much anyone who achieves power in America will be a victim of character assassination. That goes with the territory. The higher you rise in this country the more darts you'll pull out of your skin. And if you are thin-skinned, as Obama may be, those darts can cut deep.
It is clear to me that the president is not used to criticism and bridles when some of it rolls in. Unlike President Bush, who didn't really care what was said about him, Obama does pay attention to the bricks. His distaste for Fox News, my employer, is obvious. The president takes a lot of the scrutiny very personally. So did Bill Clinton.
There are those who do treat the president poorly. But, on balance, he has gotten a much softer ride from the press than any other president in my lifetime, with the exception of John Kennedy. And even though Obama is having trouble solving some vexing problems, most of the media are still rooting for him, sometimes openly. If he's a dog, he's Lassie.
Underneath it all, I believe Obama feels that his critics are unfair and unbalanced. He is a man of achievement who, before becoming president, had rarely experienced the wrath of negative public opinion. Now that wrath is a daily occurrence, and the president is having trouble processing it.
Maybe he should call a guy in Texas for advice.
From Newsmax
U.S. Loaned Mexico $1 Billion — for Gulf Drilling
The U.S. Export-Import Bank, an independent federal agency, loaned more than $1 billion to the Mexican state oil company last year to fund Pemex’s drilling in the Gulf of Mexico.
The Export-Import Bank has another $1 billion in loans on tap for Pemex in 2010. They are currently awaiting congressional approval.
The Mexican projects are not affected by the ban on offshore drilling imposed by President Obama in May following the BP oil spill. The ban applies only to deepwater drilling and the Pemex ventures are shallow-water projects.
Pemex has agreed to contract with American companies and buy equipment from American manufacturers in return for the loans, which have totaled $8.3 billion from the federal government since 1998, according to CNSNews.
Mexico is the United States’ second largest source of foreign oil, after Canada, shipping 1.2 million barrels per day.
So in effect, the federal government is lending money to the Mexican government to produce oil so that Americans can pay to import it.
Have a great day and feel safe and secure. Big Brother watches over us.
Watch for more Bits ‘n Pieces as they occur. Good stuff? Bad stuff? You decide.
Bob Robinson is the retired editor of The Daily Advocate, Greenville, Ohio. If you wish to receive notification of his comments, opinions and reports when they are posted, send your email address to: opinionsbybob@gmail.com. Feel free to express your views.
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