November 10, 2011

Re-Examining Obamas Iowa JeffersonJackson Dinner Speech

Candidate Obama Would Be Very Unhappy With President Obama
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FLASHBACK Obama In 2007: We were promised a uniter, and we got a President who could not even lead the half of the country that voted for him. We were promised a more ethical and more efficient government, and instead we have a town called Washington that is more corrupt and more wasteful than it was before. (Barack Obama, Remarks At The Iowa Jefferson-Jackson Dinner, Des Moines, IA, 11/10/07)
WE WERE PROMISED A UNITER GOT A PRESIDENT WHO COULDNT EVEN LEAD HALF OF THE COUNTRY
Obamas High Disapproval Leading To Grandstanding Partisanship The Obama Of 2007 Might Have Been Making The Case Against The Obama Of 2011 When He Talked Of Then-President George W. Bush. (Julianna Goldman, Obamas Anthem Of Change Pivots To Call For Patience On
Economy, Bloomberg, 11/1/11)

Forget Hope And Change, Obamas Campaign Is Based On Fear And Loathing. Forget hope and change. President Obamas reelection campaign is going to be based on fear and loathing: fear of what a Republican takeover would mean, and loathing of whomever the Republican nominee turns out to be. Of course the Obama campaign will attempt to present the affirmative case for his reelection, citing legislative achievements, foreign policy successes and the current flurry of executive actions. But his strategists have clearly concluded that selling the president will not be enough, and the contours of the ugly months ahead are becoming increasingly apparent. (Ruth Marcus, Campaign 2012: Welcome To The Slugfest, The
Washington Post, 11/2/11)

And As Much As Obama Presented Himself As Above The Regular Partisan Fray During The 2008 Campaign, He Was Not Averse To Taking The Lower Road When It Appeared The Advisable Route. (Ruth Marcus, Campaign 2012: Welcome To The Slugfest, The Washington Post, 11/2/11)

The Battle Lines Of The 2012 Election Will Be The Most Sharply Ideological In At Least A Generation. (Niall Stanage, One Nation, Two Camps: The Most Ideological Election In Years, The Hill, 10/31/11)
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About Three-Quarters Of Americans Say The Country Is Seriously Off-Track And Nearly Everyone Says The Economy Is In Bad Shape. The new Washington Post-ABC News poll paints a stark portrait of an agitated electorate that is almost inflexibly divided, with voters awaiting the showdown between Obama and his eventual challenger. About three-quarters see the country as seriously off-track and nearly everyone sees the economy in bad shape. (Dan Balz, Jon Cohen and Chris Cilliza, A Year
From Election 2012, A Dark Mood Awaits Obama And GOP Rival, The Washington Post, 11/6/11)

Just 44 Percent Of Americans Approve Of Obama, Compared To 53 Percent Who Disapprove. The presidents overall job rating has been mired in the mid- to low 40s throughout the fall, with this latest poll showing 44 percent approving and 53 percent disapproving. Democrats believe Obama has begun to regain some of his footing, but his approval rating puts him well behind where the past four presidents running for reelection were at this stage. (Dan Balz, Jon Cohen and Chris Cilliza, A Year From Election 2012, A Dark Mood Awaits Obama
And GOP Rival, The Washington Post, 11/6/11)

WE WERE PROMISED A MORE ETHICAL AND MORE EFFICIENT GOVERNMENT

Lobbyists In Obama White House Politifact: We Rate Obama's Revolving Door Policy For Former Lobbyists His Biggest Broken Promise. (Angie Drobnic Holan, Not So Fast On Obama Revolving Door Policy, Politifact, 1/23/09) Politifact Rated Obamas Promise To Bar Lobbyists From His Administration As Broken. We rated that one a Promise Broken because his policy has substantial loopholes that have allowed Obama to essentially decide when he wants to ignore the rule. He's right that on his first day in office, he signed an executive order to bar lobbyists from his administration. But the order also included a loophole a waiver clause that allows former lobbyists to serve. Waivers are granted by the administration itself, so they are little more than the administration saying it's okay for the lobbyist to work for the administration. (Obama Says Lobbyists Have Been Excluded From Policy-Making Jobs,
Politifact,1/27/10)

Obama Has Granted Numerous Exceptions To His Lobbyist Ban. Yet in the past few days, a number of exceptions have been granted, with the administration conceding at least two waivers and that a handful of other appointees will recuse themselves from dealing with matters on which they lobbied within the two-year window. (Kenneth P. Vogel & Mike Allen, Obama Finds Room For Lobbyists, Politico,
1/30/09)

Obamas Anti-Lobbyist Promise Is The Cornerstone Of President Obama's Campaign Theme About Limiting The Influence Of Special Interests. Of the 513 promises we're tracking, this one has become the most controversial. It is the cornerstone of President Obama's campaign theme about limiting the influence of special interests. During the campaign, Obama said many times that lobbyists would not run his White House, and the campaign delighted in tweaking rival John McCain for the former lobbyists who worked on McCain's campaign. (Angie
Drobnic Holan, Former Lobbyist In The White House? It's Okay If They Say It's Okay, Politifact, 3/17/09)

Solyndra Obamas Department Of Energy Made The Decision To Waive Its Privilege As First Creditor In Solyndra Loan, Putting Taxpayers On The Hook For $535 Million. That decision in February gave Solyndra a temporary reprieve and a chance to survive, but it also forced the government to waive its privilege as first creditor in the event of a bankruptcy which then occurred at the end of August.
(Matthew L. Wald, Questions Raised Over Letting Another Lender Help A Failing Solar Company, The New York Times, 9/16/11)

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Department Of Energy Allowed Taxpayers To Take Back Seat To Investment Firm Run By Major Obama Bundler/Donor. Complicating the politics of the situation for the Obama administration, part of the new loan came from Argonaut, the investment company backed by George Kaiser, an Oklahoma oil billionaire who is an Obama campaign contributor. Argonaut was already heavily invested in Solyndra, and provided another $69 million in cash in exchange for taking over $75 million that Solyndra was owed by its customers. (Matthew L. Wald, Questions Raised Over Letting Another Lender Help A Failing Solar Company, The New York Times, 9/16/11) George Kaiser Bundled Between $50,000 And $100,000 For Obama In 2008. Additionally, iWatch News reported that Oklahoma billionaire George Kaiser, who bundled between $50,000 and $100,000 for Obama's 2008 campaign, was one of Solyndra's lead investors. (Michael Beckel, Before Collapse And Goverment Investigations, Solar Company Solyndra Was A Rising Star, Center For
Responsive Politics Open Secrets Blog, 9/14/11)

George Kaiser, The Billionaire Investor And Fundraiser For President Barack Obama, Discussed Solyndra LLC In A Meeting With Administration Officials, According To An E-Mail Released Today.(Jim Snyder, Kaiser Spoke To White House About Solyndra, Bloomberg, 11/9/11)

The Kaiser Emails Directly Contradict The Obama Administrations Repeated Assurance That Kaiser Did Not Play A Role In The Solyndra Loan Guarantee. Emails released by a House committee appear to show that a major donor to President Barack Obama's 2008 campaign discussed with White House officials a federal loan to a failed California solar company. That's despite repeated assurances by Obama administration officials that the donor, George Kaiser, didn't discuss the loan with the White House. (Matthew Daly, Obama Donor Discussed Solar Loan With White House, The
Associated Press, 11/9/11)

Obama Bundlers Worked In Obamas Department Of Energy As It Showered Billions In TaxpayerBacked Stimulus Money On Alternative Energy Firms. Several of Barack Obamas top campaign supporters went from soliciting political contributions to working from within the Energy Department as it showered billions in taxpayer-backed stimulus money on alternative energy firms, iWatch News and ABC News have learned. (Ronnie Green And Matthew Mosk, Bundlers On The Inside, iWatch, 9/29/11) Steven Spinner Raised Over $500,000 For Obama, Then Became A Key Loan Program Advisor At DOE While His Wifes Law Firm Helped Firms Apply For Loans. One of them was Steven J. Spinner, a high-tech consultant and investor in energy companies who raised at least $500,000 for Obama. He became one of Energy Secretary Steven Chus key loan programs advisors while his wifes law firm represented a number of the companies that had applied for loans. (Ronnie
Green And Matthew Mosk, Bundlers On The Inside, iWatch, 9/29/11)

Sunlight Foundations Bill Allison Says Its Unusual For A Major Donor To Be Given A Job In A Relatively Obscure Program. While it is common for presidents to reward top donors with ambassadorships or other political posts, the Sunlight Foundation s Bill Allison said it is unusual to see a major donor such as Spinner given a position inside a relatively obscure government loan program. (Ronnie Green And Matthew Mosk, Bundlers On The Inside, iWatch, 9/29/11) Obamas Wall Street Guy

Jon Corzine, One Of Obamas Leading Wall Street Fundraisers, Is Now The Center Of An FBI Investigation. Jon Corzine, now the center of an FBI investigation into the handling of hundreds of millions of dollars invested in his securities firm, was one of the leading Wall Street fundraisers for

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President Obamas campaign and suggested to investors that he might take a top administration post if the president were re-elected. (Michael Isikoff, Corzine, Top Obama Fundraiser, Under FBI Investigation, MSNBC, 11/2/11) President Obama: Jon Corzine Is Our Wall Street Guy. The rollout also provided a showcase for Corzine, the former Goldman Sachs CEO whom Obama referred to as our Wall Street guy at a meeting of Democratic governors in Chicago on Friday.(Claire Heininger, Corzine Profile Rises In Obama Camp, The
Star-Ledger (NJ), 6/23/08)

Corzine Played A Central Role In Obamas Wall Street Fundraising Efforts. His new legal troubles, sparked by the bankruptcy filing of his investment firm, MF Global, could complicate the presidents efforts to raise money from the financial community given Corzines central role in those efforts. (Michael Isikoff, Corzine, Top Obama Fundraiser, Under FBI Investigation, MSNBC, 11/2/11) Corzine Has Bundled Over $500,000 For Obamas Reelection Campaign. (Center For Responsive Politics,
Opensecrets.Org, Accessed 10/31/11)

Freedom Of Information Act Requests The Obama Administration Responded To Fewer FOIA Requests In 2010 Than In 2009, Despite More Inquiries. Two years into its pledge to improve government transparency, the Obama administration took action on fewer requests for federal records from citizens, journalists, companies and others last year even as significantly more people asked for information. (Promises, Promises: Little
Transparency Progress, The Associated Press, 3/14/11)

The Obama Administration Replied To Over 12,000 Fewer Requests Despite A 41,000 Increase In Requests. People requested information 544,360 times last year under the U.S. Freedom of Information Act from the 35 largest agencies, up nearly 41,000 more than the previous year, according to an analysis by The Associated Press of new federal data. But the government responded to nearly 12,400 fewer requests. (Promises, Promises: Little Transparency Progress, The
Associated Press, 3/14/11)

The Obama Administration Refused More Often To Quickly Consider Information Requests About Subjects Described As Urgent Or Especially Newsworthy. (Promises, Promises: Little Transparency Progress, The
Associated Press, 3/14/11)

These Refusals Were More Routine Than In The Past. Agencies refused more routinely last year to quickly consider information requests deemed especially urgent or newsworthy, agreeing to conduct a speedy review about 1-in-5 times they were asked. The State Department granted only 1 out of 98 such reviews; the Homeland Security Department granted 27 out of 1,476. The previous year the government overall granted more than 1-in-4 such speedy reviews. (Promises,
Promises: Little Transparency Progress, The Associated Press, 3/14/11)

Freedom Of Information Act Requests Are Subjected To Secretive Reviews By The Obama Administrations Political Advisors. The Homeland Security Department official in charge of submitting sensitive government files to political advisers for secretive reviews before they could be released to citizens, journalists and watchdog groups complained in emails that the unusual scrutiny was crazy and hoped someone outside the Obama administration would discover the practice, The Associated Press has learned. (Govt Emails: Political Reviews Over Requests For US Records Meddling, Crazy And Bananas, The
Associated Press, 3/28/11)

WASHINGTON, D.C. IS MORE CORRUPT AND MORE WASTEFUL THAN IT WAS BEFORE
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72 Percent Of Americans Think Obama Has Failed To Change Washington. And nearly threequarters of respondents say that his administration has fallen short on improving oversight of Wall Street and the banks (74 percent), on the federal budget deficit (74 percent), on the economy (74 percent) and on changing business as usual in Washington (72 percent). (Mark Murray, NBC Poll: Despite National Pessimism, Obama Tops
GOP Foes, MSNBC, 11/7/11)

Wasteful Spending? Over 100 Criminal Investigations Have Been Launched By The Energy Departments Inspector General Into The Way Stimulus Money Was Spent. The Energy Department's inspector general has launched more than 100 criminal investigations related to 2009 economic stimulus spending. In written testimony prepared for delivery to the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee today, Inspector General Gregory Friedman said the investigations have involved various schemes, including the submission of false information, claims for unallowable or unauthorized expenses, and other improper uses of Recovery Act funds. (Darius Dixon, DOE IG: 100+ Stimulus-Related Criminal Probes, Politico, 11/2/11) Obamas $38 Billion Green Energy Stimulus Program Only Has A Few Thousand Jobs To Show For It. A $38.6 billion loan guarantee program that the Obama administration promised would create or save 65,000 jobs has created just a few thousand jobs two years after it began, government records show. The program designed to jump-start the nations clean technology industry by giving energy companies access to low-cost, government-backed loans has directly created 3,545 new, permanent jobs after giving out almost half the allocated amount, according to Energy Department tallies. (Carol D. Leonnig and Steven
Mufson, Obama Green-Tech Program That Backed Solyndra Struggles To Create Jobs, The Washington Post, 9/14/11)

Obamas State Department Spent More Than $70,000 On Copies Of The Presidents Book. The story, first reported by the Washington Times, said the department had bought more than $70,000 worth of books by President Obama. Government records show the U.S. Embassy in Cairo, Egypt, spent more than $40,000 in 2009 on copies of Obama's "Dreams from my Father." The embassy in Greece paid more than $5,000 for Dreams from my Father to be used for Christmas gratuities. In South Korea, the U.S. Embassy spent $6,061 for Dreams from my Father for the same purpose. (Jill Dougherty and
Jamie Crawford, Thosands Spent By Embassies To Buy Obama Books, CNN, 10/26/11)

Taxpayers Lost $535 Million After The Obama White House Tried To Rush Federal Reviewers To Approve Loan For Now Bankrupt Solar Panel Company Solyndra. The Obama White House tried to rush federal reviewers for a decision on a nearly half-billion-dollar loan to the solar-panel manufacturer Solyndra so Vice President Biden could announce the approval at a September 2009 groundbreaking for the companys factory, newly obtained e-mails show.(Joe Stephens and Carol D. Leonnig, White House Pressed On $500 Million
Loan To Solar Company Now Under Investigation, The Washington Post, 9/13/11)

The Obama Administration Awarded $529 Million To Fisker Automotive So They Could Build Luxury Electric Cars In Finland. With the approval of the Obama administration, an electric car company that received a $529 million federal government loan guarantee is assembling its first line of cars in Finland, saying it could not find a facility in the United States capable of doing the work. (Matthew
Mosk, Brian Ross And Ronnie Greene, Car Company Gets U.S. Loan, Builds Cars In Finland, ABC News, 10/20/11)

Nearly $2 Billion In Stimulus Funds Has Gone To Foreign Manufacturers Of Wind Turbines. Nearly $2 billion in money from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act has been spent on wind power, funding the creation of enough new wind farms to power 2.4 million homes over the past year. But the study found that nearly 80 percent of that money has gone to foreign manufacturers of wind turbines.
(Jonathan Karl, New Wind Farms In The U.S. Do Not Bring Jobs, ABC News, 2/9/10)

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