* Crossposted in CROSSFIRE
Hello, All.

A very nice op-ed piece in the NY Post from today.  This is a LONG message
and I hope it doesn't break anyone's reader...

=== Cut ===
New York Post http://www.nypost.com/>

100 DAYS, 100 MISTAKES
http://www.nypost.com/seven/04252009/postopinion/opedcolumnists/100_days__100_m
istakes_166177.htm?page=0

/April 25, 2009/ --

*100 PHOTOS OF OBAMA'S FIRST 100 DAYS*
http://www.nypost.com/photos/galleries/news/nationalnews/pp_20090428_obama100w
h/photo01.htm>

*1.* "Obama criticized pork barrel spending in the form of 'earmarks,'
urging changes in the way that Congress adopts the spending proposals.
Then he signed a spending bill that contains nearly 9,000 of them, some
that members of his own staff shoved in last year when they were still
members of Congress. 'Let there be no doubt, this piece of legislation
must mark an end to the old way of doing business, and the beginning of
a new era of responsibility and accountability,' Obama said." /--
McClatchy, 3/11 /

*2.* "There is no doubt that we've been living beyond our means and
we're going to have to make some adjustments." -- Obama during the
campaign.

*MORE: Obama's First 100 Days in Photos*


*3.* This year's budget deficit: $1.5 trillion.

*4.* Asks his Cabinet to cut costs in their departments by $100 million
-- a whopping .0027%!

*5.* "The White House says the president is unaware of the tea
parties."/ -- ABC News, 4/15 /

*6.* "Mr. Obama is an accomplished orator but is becoming known in
America as the 'teleprompt president' over his reliance on the machine
when he gives a speech." /-- Sky News, 3/18/

*7.* In early February, the 2010 census was moved out of the Department
of Commerce and into the White House, politicizing how federal aid is
distributed and electoral districts are drawn.

*8.* Obama taps Nancy Killefer for a new administration job, First Chief
Performance Officer -- to police government spending. But it surfaces
that Killefer had performance issues of her own -- a tax lien was
slapped on her DC home in 2005 for failure to pay unemployment
compensation tax on household help. She withdrew.

*9.* Turkey tried to block the appointment of Anders Fogh Rasmussen as
new NATO secretary general because he didn't properly punish the Danish
cartoonist who caricatured Mohammed. France's Nicolas Sarkozy and
Germany's Angela Merkel were outraged; Obama said he supported Turkey's
induction into the European Union.

*10*. . . . and he never mentioned the Armenian genocide.

*11.* The picture of Obama and Hugo Chavez shaking hands.

*12.* Hugo Chavez gave him the anti-American screed "The Open Veins of
Latin America." Obama didn't remark upon it. At least it wasn't DVDs.

*13.* Nicaragua's Daniel Ortega went on a 50-minute anti-American rant,
calling Obama "president of an empire." Obama didn't leave the
room. "I
thought it was 50 minutes long. That's what I thought," he said.

*14.* Executives at AIG get $165 million in bonuses, despite receiving
an $173 billion taxpayer bailout.

*15.* "For months, the Obama administration and members of Congress have
known that insurance giant AIG was getting ready to pay huge bonuses
while living off government bailouts. It wasn't until the money was
flowing and news was trickling out to the public that official
Washington rose up in anger and vowed to yank the money back." --
Associated Press, 3/18

*16.* "After pushing Congress for weeks to hurry up and pass the massive
$787 billion stimulus bill, President Obama promptly took off for a
three-day holiday getaway." -- New York Post, 2/15

*17. MEGHAN CLYNE ON: "I WON" AND THE DEATH OF BIPARTISANSHIP*

"Obama soared to victory on the hopeful promise of a new era of
bipartisanship. During his inaugural address he even promised an 'end to
the petty grievances and false promises, the recriminations and worn-out
dogmas, that for far too long have strangled our politics.'

"Too bad it took all of three days for the promise to ring hollow.

"Start with Obama's big meeting with top congressional leaders on his
signature legislation -- the stimulus -- on the Friday after his
inauguration. Listening to Republican concerns about overspending was a
nice gesture -- until he shut down any hopes of real dialogue by crassly
telling Republican leaders: 'I won.' Even the White House's leaking of
the comment was a slap at the Republican leadership, who'd expected
Obama to adhere to the custom of keeping private meetings with
congressional leadership, well, private.

"It's only gone downhill from there. The stimulus included zero
Republican recommendations, and failed to get a single House Republican
vote.

"It's not just the tactic of using Republicans for bipartisan photo-ops,
and then cutting them loose before partisan decisions, that irks Obama's
opponents. The new president wasted no time rushing forward with
policies and legislation guaranteed to drive Republicans nuts. The first
bill he signed into law was the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act -- a
partisan hot-button that drew all of eight Republican supporters in the
entire Congress. Then there was the swift reversal of Bush policies on
abortion and embryonic-stem-cell research -- issues dear to the
Republican base.

"And when Obama and the Democrats in Congress took up SCHIP -- the
children's health-insurance bill that Republicans say vastly expands
government's role in health care -- they had an easy chance for real
bipartisanship. After all, the bill had been hashed out in the previous
Congress, and a bipartisan accord was reached before President Bush
responded with a veto. Did the Obama team push for the compromise
version in the 111th Congress? Nope. They went back to the drawing
board, ramming through the Democrats' dream version.

"Of course, the lack of bipartisanship isn't limited to Capitol Hill.
Obama has taken gratuitous swipes at the Republicans who recently
decamped Washington, blaming President Bush for everything from the
economy and the war to the lack of sufficient puppies and rainbows. And
who could forget the Rush Limbaugh flap -- in which Obama's top
advisers, including chief of staff Rahm Emanuel, orchestrated a public
relations campaign meant to undermine the Republican National Committee
chairman, Michael Steele, by framing talk-radio personality Limbaugh as
the real head of the Republican Party.

"For now, Obama's back-pedal on the bipartisanship promise just makes
him look insincere. But the real consequences of the mistake will be
felt soon enough. As Presidents Bush and Clinton could tell him,
congressional majorities do change -- and at some point, Obama will need
Republicans on his side. He'd be smart to spend his second 100 days
making up for the serious snubs of his first."

/-- Meghan Clyne is a DC-based writer./

*18.* "The willingness of a small percentage of military personnel to
join extremist groups during the 1990s because they were disgruntled,
disillusioned or suffering from the psychological effects of war is
being replicated today." -- Department of Homeland Security intelligence
report

*19.* Nixes a "buy American" provision in the stimulus bill.

*20.* "Yes, Canada is not Mexico, it doesn't have a drug war going on.
Nonetheless, to the extent that terrorists have come into our country or
suspected or known terrorists have entered our country across a border,
it's been across the Canadian border. There are real issues there." --
Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano. The 9/11 hijackers did not
come across the Canada border

*21.* "The Obama administration is signaling to Congress that the
president could support taxing some employee health benefits, as several
influential lawmakers and many economists favor, to help pay for
overhauling the health care system. The proposal is politically
problematic for President Obama, however, since it is similar to one he
denounced in the presidential campaign as 'the largest middle-class tax
increase in history.' " -- New York Times, 3/14

*22. JOE SCARBOROUGH ON: PROMOTING FEAR *

"During his historic inaugural speech, Barack Obama promised to usher in
a transformational age where hope would replace fear, unity would
overtake partisanship, and change would sweep aside the status quo. But
early in President Obama's first 100 days it is obvious that the only
thing that is changing is the Candidate of Change, himself.

"The same politician who proclaimed during his inauguration that 'on
this day we have chosen hope over fear' soon warned Americans that the
US economy would be forever destroyed if the stimulus bill was voted down.

"Why was it that same man who promised to put Americans' interests ahead
of his own political ambitions chose instead to use the suffering of
citizens to advance his agenda?

"Maybe he was following the guidance of Rahm Emanuel, who famously said,
'You never want to waste a good crisis.'

"They didn't.

"The White House's warnings were so over-the-top that Bill Clinton felt
compelled to warn the new president against making such grim
pronouncements. Americans would quickly warn that the White House would
not channel FDR's eternal optimism but rather embrace the gloomy
worldview of Edgar Allen Poe.

"The Candidate of Hope also quickly adopted the Nixonian worldview that
Americans voted their fears rather than their hopes. Over Mr. Obama's
first 100 days, that cynical calculation paid off politically for a
White House that seemed most interested in appeasing the most liberal
members of his Democratic Party.

"I expected more from Barack Obama. For the sake of my country, I hope I
get it from the new president over the next 100 days."

/-- Joe Scarborough, host of MSNBC's "Morning Joe" and author of "The
Last Best Hope: Restoring Conservatism and America's Promise" (Crown
Forum), due out June 9./

*23.* Sanjay Gupta was in discussions to become Surgeon General, but the
TV personality withdrew after he was criticized for his flimsy political
record.

*24.* Rasmussen finds 58% of Americans believe the Obama
administration's release of CIA memos endangers the national security of
the United States.

*25.* Only 28% think the Obama administration should do any further
investigating of how the Bush administration treated terrorism suspects.

*26.* "Obama thanked CIA employees for their work and said they're
invaluable to national security. He explained his decision to release
the memos, then told everyone not to feel bad because he was now
acknowledging potential mistakes. Theirs, not his. 'That's how we
learn,' Obama said, as though soothing a room full of fourth-graders."
-- The Oklahoman, 4/23

*27.* By releasing the torture memos, Obama opened American citizens up
to international tribunals. A UN lawyer said the US is obliged to
prosecute lawyers who drafted the memos or else violate the Geneva
Conventions.

*28.* In their first meeting, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown gave
Obama a carved ornamental penholder from the timbers of the anti-slavery
ship HMS Gannet. Obama gave him 25 DVDs that don't work in Europe.

*29. TIM CARNEY ON: PICKING BILL RICHARDSON AS SECRETARY OF COMMERCE *

"Richardson's value in Obama's Cabinet had everything to do with
appearances. First, he was the Hispanic pick. Second, because Richardson
had run against Obama for President, tapping him for the Cabinet helped
the media write the Obama-Lincoln comparisons by burnishing the 'Team of
Rivals' image.

"But Richardson withdrew before Obama was even inaugurated when news
came out about a criminal investigation involving David Rubin, president
of a firm named Chambers, Dunhill, Rubin & Co. (although there was no
Chambers or Dunhill), who had donated at least $110,000 to Richardson's
campaign committees and had also profited from $1.5 million in contracts
from the state government.

"This was an early warning sign about Obama's vetting process (various
tax problems and the Daschle problem would reveal this as a theme), but
picking Richardson to run Commerce also highlighted that Obama and
Richardson's promise of 'public-private partnerships' -- such as Detroit
bailouts, Wall Street bailouts, and green energy--was an open door for
corruption and was at odds with Obama's promise to diminish the
influence of lobbyists.

"The Richardson mistake was one of Obama's first, and it was emblematic.
Richardson embodied Obama's attention to self-image and the problems
inherent in his vision of an intimate business-government connection."

/-- Tim Carney is a Washington Examiner columnist/

*30.* Timothy Geithner nomination as Secretary of Treasury was almost
torpedoed when it was discovered he had failed to pay $34,000 in Social
Security and Medicare taxes. He also employed an illegal immigrant as a
housekeeper. He was confirmed anyway.

*31*. . . . Not so lucky, Annette Nazareth, who was nominated for Deputy
Treasury Secretary. She withdrew her name for undisclosed "personal
reasons" after a monthlong probe into her taxes . . .

*32*. . . . or Caroline Atkinson, who withdrew as nominee for
Undersecretary of International Affairs in Treasury Department, with a
source blaming the long vetting process. Geithner still has a skeleton
crew at Treasury, with no one qualified -- or willing -- to take jobs
there.

*33.* "Barack Obama has been embroiled in a cronyism row after reports
that he intends to make Louis Susman, one of his biggest fundraisers,
the new US ambassador in London. The selection of Mr. Susman, a lawyer
and banker from the president's hometown of Chicago, rather than an
experienced diplomat, raises new questions about Mr Obama's commitment
to the special relationship with Britain."/ -- Telegraph, 2/22/

*34.* Obama's doom-and-gloom comments and budget bill push the Dow below
7,000, from which it's only recently recovered.

*35.* "You're sitting here. And you're -- you are laughing. You are
laughing about some of these problems. Are people going to look at this
and say, 'I mean, he's sitting there just making jokes about money--'
How do you deal with -- I mean: Explain. Are you punch-drunk?" /-- Steve
Kroft, "60 Minutes," 3/22/

*36.* "We have begun to modernize 75% of all federal building space,
which has the potential to reduce long-term energy costs by billions of
dollars on behalf of taxpayers. We are providing grants to states to
help weatherize hundreds of thousands of homes, which will save the
families that benefit about $350 each year. That's like a $350 tax cut."
-- Obama, describing something that doesn't cut taxes.

*37.* "The Obama administration has directed defense officials to sign a
pledge stating they will not share 2010 budget data with individuals
outside the federal government." -- Defense News, 2/19

*38.* Backtracking on a campaign promise he made to black farmers, Obama
significantly lowered the amount of money they could claim in a
discrimination settlement against the Agricultural Department. "I can't
figure out for the life of me why the president wouldn't want to
implement a bill that he fought for as a US senator," said John Boyd,
head of the National Black Farmers Association.

*39.* "I've been practicing bowling. I bowled a 129. It was like the
Special Olympics or something." -- Obama on "The Tonight Show"

*40.* Obama lifts travel and remittance restrictions on Cuba.

*41.* Obama considers dropping the embargo on Cuba.

*42.* After warming signs from Raul Castro, Fidel Castro says Obama
"misinterpreted" his brother's words, and that Cuba would not be willing
to negotiate about human rights.

*43.* Obama is considering dropping a key demand to Iran, allowing it to
keep nuclear facilities open during negotiations.

*44.* In a letter to Dmitri Medvedev, Obama offered to drop plans for a
missile shield in Europe in exchange for Russia's help in resolving the
nuclear weapons issue in Iran.

*45.* Medvedev said he would not "haggle" on Iran and the missile shield.

*46.* Obama asked Congress for an extra $83.4 billion to fund operations
in Iraq and Afghanistan, a special funding measure of the kind he
opposed while in the senate. As a candidate, Obama promised to cut the
cost of military operations.

*47.* After trying to woo Europe as the "anti-Bush," Obama made an
impassioned plea for more troops in Afghanistan. "Europe should not
simply expect the United States to shoulder that burden alone," he said.
"This is a joint problem it requires a joint effort." Only the UK
offered substantial help, most others refused.

*48.* "While the online question portion of the White House town hall
was open to any member of the public with an Internet connection, the
five fully identified questioners called on randomly by the president in
the East Room were anything but a diverse lot. They included: a member
of the pro-Obama Service Employees International Union, a member of the
Democratic National Committee who campaigned for Obama among Hispanics
during the primary; a former Democratic candidate for Virginia state
delegate who endorsed Obama last fall in an op-ed in the Fredericksburg
Free Lance-Star; and a Virginia businessman who was a donor to Obama's
campaign in 2008." /-- Washington Post, 3/27 /

*49.* Obama bows to King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia at a G-20 meeting in
London.

*50.* "It wasn't a bow. He grasped his hand with two hands, and he's
taller than King Abdullah." /-- An Obama aide/

*51. DANA PERINO ON: REMAINING IN CAMPAIGN MODE*

"Has it really only been 100 days? In many ways it feels like a lot longer.

"That's partly because the new administration remains in campaign mode
most of the time. Now that's not in itself a bad thing if you can do
that and accomplish your agenda. But what's happened is that a popular
new president has laid out a very bold agenda in the midst of an
economic crisis, and I don't think Congress is going to get a lot of
work done on those big ticket items this year. They'll eke out a couple
of small wins on issues like healthcare and maybe energy, but the
Democrats will hail them as big victories. The Republicans have been
working like a cohesive and loyal opposition party, and they need to
continue to outline positive new ideas like the recent one to help grow
American's savings.

"The early stumbles on the administration's high profile nominations --
Daschle and Richardson for just to examples -- acted like weights around
their ankles. In addition, the partisan shots from the White House were
unbecoming and I don't think we'll see more of that. Our allies and our
enemies -- heck, even we ourselves -- are trying to understand the new
foreign policy direction, which in some ways seems to be change just for
the sake of change. The next moves by the leaders of other countries --
like Iran, North Korea and Venezuela -- probably will prove that really
not much will change just because America has a new president.

"In many ways, it's the next 100 days that will tell us more about our
new president and what he'll be able to accomplish than we can forecast
based on the first 100 days."

/-- Dana Perino was White House press secretary in the Bush Administration/

*52.* "We can't afford to make perfect the enemy of the absolutely
necessary." -- Obama, describing the stimulus bill

*53.* Three candidates for ambassador to the Vatican -- including
Caroline Kennedy -- were turned down by the Holy See because they
supported abortion, according to reports.

*54.* After saying he wouldn't have lobbyists in his administration,
Obama made 17 exceptions in the first two weeks in office.

*55*. . . . including Tom Daschle, who worked as a top lobbyist yet was
going to be appointed Secretary of Health and Human Services -- until
his failure to pay income taxes derailed his nomination.

*56.* For an April 14 speech at Georgetown, the administration asked the
university to cover up all signs and symbols -- including the letters
"IHS" in gold, a symbol for Jesus.

*57.* Samantha Power, who resigned from the Obama campaign after calling
Hillary Rodham Clinton a "monster," was hired to a position on the
National Security Council.

*58.* "Chicago has yet to recoup the $1.74 million cost of President
Obama's victory celebration in Grant Park -- despite a burgeoning $50.5
million budget shortfall that threatens more layoffs and union
concessions." -- Chicago Sun-Times, 2/20

*59.* Firing Rick Wagoner as president of GM.

*60.* Threatening to fire Vikram Pandit as CEO of Citigroup.

*61.* Threatening to fire anyone the administration doesn't like from
any company.

*62.* Not adopting a dog from a shelter.

*63.* "The GAO study asserts that officials from most of the states
surveyed 'expressed concerns regarding the lack of Recovery Act funding
provided for accountability and oversight. Due to fiscal constraints,
many states reported significant declines in the number of oversight
staff -- limiting their ability to ensure proper implementation and
management of Recovery Act funds.' " /-- ABC News, 4/23/

*64.* "The National Newspaper Publishers Association named Obama
'Newsmaker of the Year.' The president is to receive the award from the
federation of black community newspapers in a White House ceremony this
afternoon. The Obama White House has closed the press award ceremony to
the press." -- Los Angeles Times, 3/20

*65.* "Though this nation has proudly thought of itself as an ethnic
melting pot, in things racial we have always been and continue to be, in
too many ways, essentially a nation of cowards." /-- Attorney General
Eric Holder/

*66. *"I didn't want to get into a Nancy Reagan thing about, you know,
doing any seances." /-- Obama, on consulting with only
"living" presidents/

*67.* Obama quietly announced that he would not press for new labor and
environmental regulations in the North American Free Trade Agreement,
going back on a campaign promise.

*68. NICOLE GELINAS ON: MISSPENT STIMULUS *

"One of Obama's most poignant missed opportunities was in not using the
historic $787 million stimulus package to reorder state and local
government's spending priorities. As states and cities continue to spend
ceaselessly and without results on education and healthcare, they're
crowding out investments in the physical infrastructure that the private
sector needs to rebuild the economy.

"In the stimulus, of the more than $200 billion that went directly to
states and cities, nearly 70% went to education and healthcare spending.
Only 24% went to infrastructure spending.

"But the states and cities in the most trouble already spend way too
much on education and healthcare, pushing taxes up and sending private
industry away. They don't spend nearly enough on infrastructure, which
attracts the private sector and builds the real economy.

"As David Walker, former comptroller general of the US, said at the
Regional Plan Association's annual meeting a week ago, nationwide, we
are the 'highest in the world' on education. We are 'the highest in the
world' on healthcare. 'Nobody comes even close.' On infrastructure, by
contrast, we are 'below average' in both critical new investments and in
much-needed maintenance spending.

"And, as Democratic governor of Pennsylvania Ed Rendell said at the same
conference, when President Dwight Eisenhower left office, infrastructure
spending was about 12.5% of non-military domestic spending. Today, it's
about 2.5%.

"This shortfall is obvious to anyone who's ridden on an "express
train"
to the outer boroughs or driven on the Cross Bronx Expressway recently.
But in New York, as elsewhere, the stimulus money has just allowed the
state to ramp up spending on its wasteful, inhumane Medicaid program and
its nosebleed public-school spending.

"Meanwhile, the subways are about to crumble into oblivion -- taking the
economy with them. The same is true of decaying infrastructure in
California and in aging states across the nation.

"The stimulus was a once-in-a-generation chance to change this. Instead,
it made the situation worse."

/-- Nicole Gelinas is a contributing editor to City Journal/

*69.* "The Justice Department is asking the Supreme Court to overrule
Michigan v. Jackson, the 1986 Supreme Court decision that held that if
police may not interrogate a defendant after the right to counsel has
attached, if the defendant has a lawyer or has requested a lawyer. This
isn't the first time the Justice Department, under President Obama, has
sought to limit defendants' rights." /-- TalkLeft blog /

*70.* "By any measure, my administration has inherited a fiscal
disaster."/ -- Obama/

*71.* "Ahh, see. I came down here to visit. See this is what happens. I
can't end up visiting with you guys and shaking hands if I'm going to
get grilled every time I come down here." /-- Brushing off questions
from the White House press corps/

*72.* On Earth Day, Obama took two flights on Air Force One and four on
Marine One to get to Iowa, burning more than 9,000 gallons of fuel.

*73.* "President Obama's plan to require private insurance carriers to
reimburse the Department of Veterans Affairs for the treatment of troops
injured in service has infuriated veterans groups who say the government
is morally obligated to pay for service-related medical care." /-- Fox
News, 3/17/

*74.* "And I believe the nation that invented the automobile cannot walk
away from it." -- Obama during his first State Of The Union address. A
German invented the automobile

*75. RALPH PETERS ON: FUMBLING IN AFGHANISTAN, FAKING IT IN PAKISTAN *

"We're squandering blood and treasure in Afghanistan. Instead of
concentrating fiercely on the vital task of destroying al Qaeda and its
friends, the Obama administration's determined to erect a modern nation
where no nation exists. Afghanistan isn't a country. It's a
dysfunctional reservation inhabited by tribes that hate each other.
There's no 'Afghan' identity. And even if our blind-to-reality efforts
succeeded perfectly, the result would be meaningless.

"Except as a target range where we can gun down terrorists, Afghanistan
doesn't matter. Next door, Pakistan matters immensely. But we don't know
what to do about it. With 170 million anti-American Muslims descending
into chaos as Pashtuns, Baluchis, Punjabis, Sindhis and others claw each
other over the country's shabby remains, Pakistan's corrupt president
shrugs, its military cowers, its loathsome intelligence services collude
with Islamist extremists, and the safety of its nuclear weapons grows
doubtful.

"Pakistan may be this generation's chamber of horrors.

"The Obama administration's response? Drill more wells in the Afghan
countryside. Dramatically reinforce our troops in Afghanistan, sticking
them with an impossible mission of modernizing a pre-medieval landscape
while exposing them at the end of an insecure 1,500-mile supply line
through, of all places, Pakistan.

"As for Pakistan itself, the Obama administration wants to send billions
of dollars to a thieving government that makes Nigeria's look like a
Quaker meeting and to hand Pakistan's military more arms -- weapons that
might soon be used against us.

"Pakistan was a bad idea when it was created in 1947. It's a worse one
now. Afghanistan wasn't even an idea, just an accident of where other
borders ended. We can't 'save' either one -- because neither wants to be
saved on our terms.

"Obama said the right things -- that Afghanistan isn't Iraq and that our
goal should be the destruction of al Qaeda. But his policies just
regurgitate our Iraq strategy (one he opposed) in a profoundly different
context, while ambitious generals echo Vietnam-era calls for more forces.

"Our troops will do whatever we ask, to the best of their magnificent
abilities. But we should ask them to do things that make sense. We need
creative strategic thought, but we're succumbing to sheer inertia. And
the presidet's supporters who howled that we should abandon Iraq to
concentrate on their candidate's 'good war' don't seem to be
volunteering to do any fighting. Menwhle, our presient's trpped himself
inside his own campaign promiseing, Vietnam!"

-- Ralph Peters is the author of "Looking for Trouble: Adventures in a
BeW" 77. "President Obama failed to consult Congress, as promised,
before carving out exceptions to the omnibus spending bill he signed
into law -- breaking his own signing-statement rules two days after
issuing them -- and raised questions among lawmakers and committees who
say the president's objections are unclear at best and a power grab at
worst." -- Washington Times, 3/24

*78.* Adolfo Carrion was confirmed as Director of White House Office of
Urban Affairs, but is serving under a cloud after allegations that he
accepted thousands of dollars in cash from developers whose projects he
approved.

*79. KYLE SMITH ON: GOING AFTER RUSH LIMBAUGH*

"Every so often an unfocused athlete forgets about the field of play and
climbs into the stands. Ty Cobb did it. Ron Artest did it. Maybe no one
did it with more sick flir than the greasy, furious Hanson Brothers who,
in 'Slap Shot,' climbed into the stands to give a beatdown to a fan.

"In March, Barack Obama sent his own personal Hanson Brothers, Chief of
Staff Rahm Emanuel and spokesman Robert Gibbs, out to attack a
non-politician -- Rush Limbaugh -- who was sitting innocently in the
stands jeering the action. Limbaugh didn't even throw a cup of beer.

"Senior White House staffers, who have already fallen into the classic
trap of paying more attention to polls than fixing the country's
problems, had become obsessed with surveys showing that Limbaugh was an
unpopular figure with swing voters. Pretty soon Emanuel and Gibbs
developed Limbaugh Tourette's. To paraphrase Joe Biden's witty putdown
of Rudy Giuliani, for a few days every sentence they uttered contained
three things: a subject, a verb and Rush Limbaugh.

"El Rushbo, chuckling over his cigar as his ratings skyrocketed, could
not have been more pleased if a picture had emerged of Obama wearing a
Che Guevara T-shirt and burning the American flag on Harvard Square.
Even that portion of the public that doesn't like Rush squirmed at the
embarrassing spectacle of the president's men going all Mean Girls on an
entertainer. George W. Bush's spokesmen maintained a dignified silence
about Michael Moore. Picture them fanning out over the Sunday talk shows
to denounce, and drive up the box-office receipts of, 'Fahrenheit 9/11.'
Wouldn't you have loved that, Michael?"

/-- Kyle Smith is a Post columnist /

*80.* Forced banks that didn't want TARP money to take it, then added on
stipulations about pay and government control after the fact. Secretly
forced Bank of America to buy Merrill Lynch, then allowed the bank to be
criticized for overpaying.

*81.* "More than 90% of the guns recovered in Mexico come from the
United States," Obama said in Mexico, yet factcheck.org says, "The
figure represents only the percentage of crime guns that have been
submitted by Mexican officials and traced by U.S. officials. We can find
no hard data on the total number of guns actually 'recovered in Mexico,'
but US and Mexican officials both say that Mexico recovers more guns
that it submits for tracing. Therefore, the percentage of guns
'recovered' and traced to US sources necessarily is less than 90%."

*82.* Obama: "[Jim Owens, the CEO of Caterpillar, Inc.], said that if
Congress passes our plan, this company will be able to rehire some of
the folks who were just laid off." Jim Owens: "I think realistically no.
The truth is we're going to have more layoffs before we start hiring
again."

*83.* "In America, there is a failure to appreciate Europe's leading
role in the world. Instead of celebrating your dynamic union and seeking
to partner with you to meet common challenges, there have been times
where America has shown arrogance and been dismissive, even derisive."
-- Obama in Strasbourg, France

*84.* Joe Biden: "If we do everything right, if we do it with absolute
certainty, if we stand up there and we really make the tough decisions,
there's still a 30% chance we're going to get it wrong."

*85.* Joe Biden: "You all worked for change. You wanted to see change.
Well, that wasn't a hard thing to try to communicate to the American
people. Obviously, obviously, we needed a change almost no matter who
was running."

*86.* Joe Biden: "You know, I'm embarrassed. Do you know the Web site
number? I should have it in front of me and I don't. I'm actually
embarrassed."

*87.* "There are more than 6.5 million trucks in the United States. The
program Congress terminated allowed 97 Mexican trucks to roam among
them. Ninety-seven! Shutting them out not only undermines NAFTA. It
caused Mexico to retaliate with tariffs on 90 goods affecting $2.4
billion in U.S. trade coming out of 40 states." /-- Charles Krauthammer,
3/20 /

*88. DAVID M. DRUCKER ON: BOWING TO CONGRESS*

"Although the president possesses enormous political capital -- both
because of high approval ratings and because his administration is still
in its infancy -- he has generally declined to exercise it with
Democratic leaders in the House and Senate, including when it comes to
crafting legislation key to moving his agenda forward.

"Rather he has allowed House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and Senate
Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev) to craft legislation as they see fit
-- even though the very bills in question were proposed by the president
and involve key planks in his agenda. Among them were Obama's signature
$787 billion economic stimulus bill, his first major piece of
legislation that was signed into law in February; and now health care
reform, currently being negotiated on Capitol Hill with minimal input
from the White House.

"This soft-pedal style of leadership runs the risk of forcing Obama to
embrace legislation constructed for narrow partisan interests rather
than in a manner capable of garnering broad bipartisan support. Over
time, the public might come to see Obama's deference to Pelosi and Reid
as a weakness of leadership not befitting a president in tough times."

/-- David M. Drucker is a staff writer for Roll Call/

*89.* "It has become apparent during this process that this will not
work for me as I have found that on issues such as the stimulus package
and the Census, there are irresolvable conflicts for me." /-- Sen. Judd
Gregg (R-N.H.), who became the second failed Commerce Secretary nominee /

*90.* In the third sentence of his first speech as president, Obama
said, "44 Americans have now taken the presidential oath." The correct
number is 43, as Grover Cleveland served twice.

*91.* The $49 million inauguration -- triple what taxpayers spent at
Bush's first inauguration.

*92.* Giving the Queen of England an iPod full of his own speeches.

*93.* Three prime-time briefings in his first 100 days, eating into
television revenues and this Wednesday pre-empting "American Idol."

*94.* "The United States government has no interest in running GM. Your
[GM] warranty will be safe. In fact, it will be safer than it's ever
been, because starting today, the United States government will stand
behind your warranty." -- Obama

*95.* GM is given $15.4 billion in loans from the government.

*96.* The Obama Administration is trying to scuttle a lawsuit filed in
federal court against Iran by former US embassy hostages. The lawsuit
alleges that Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was one of the
hostage-takers who interrogated the captives.

*97. GLENN BECK ON: BAD ECONOMIC PREDICTIONS*

"Ten days before his inauguration, the President's chair of the Council
of Economic Advisers, Christina Rohmer, released a report describing
what to expect economically during the first 100 days and beyond. It
presented two starkly different scenarios: one good (if the stimulus
were to be passed), and one terrifyingly bad (if we did nothing).
Amazingly, the report estimated that if the stimulus package were to
pass, the unemployment rate would not go above 8% at any time until at
least 2014.

"It's already at 8.5%.

"In fact, while there is an acknowledged level of uncertainty, the
projections estimated that the unemployment rate would be lower today if
we had done nothing at all. This suggests one of two things: either the
administration misjudged the seriousness of our economic problems, or
the stimulus plan is actually making things worse. I suspect it's a
little of both.

"Remember, when the President's budget was released, he was roundly
criticized for his never ending deficits, even under his own optimistic
scenarios for growth. The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office
projected deficits that were even uglier. But, if the President and his
economic planners were this far off, this soon, how much worse does the
future look now?

"The election was supposed to bring 'change,' but I was hoping for more
than the letter after the President's name, the positivity of the media
coverage, and the hypoallergenic qualities of the White House puppy.
President Obama didn't get us into this situation, but so far he's
doubling down on the same spending philosophy that did. Common sense
tells us that new debt is not the cure for old debt. No matter what the
slogans say, that won't change in 100 days or 100 years."

/-- Glenn Beck is the host of the "Glenn Beck" show, weekdays at 5 p.m.
on Fox News./

*98.* "Education Secretary Arne Duncan has decided not to admit any new
students to the D.C. voucher program, which allows low-income children
to attend private schools ... For all the talk about putting children
first, it's clear that the special interests that have long opposed
vouchers are getting their way." /-- Washington Post, 4/11/

*99.* Obama enrolled his daughters in a DC private school.

*100.* "Don't think we're not keeping score, brother." /-- Obama to Rep.
Peter DeFazio, after the Democratic congressman voted against the
stimulus bill./

/Due to an editing error, a portion of this piece originally was
improperly credited to Sarah Palin, when it should have been attributed
to Meghan Clyne./
=== Cut ===

Later,
Sean

//sean{at}nsbbs.info | http://nsbbs.info | ICQ: 19965647

... I have never been hurt by what I have not said. - Calvin Coolidge
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