cleduc
cleduc's JournalHere's some facts the video conveniently overlooks on that trip to New York
Sep 24th 8:20 PM
Obama and Michelle Obama attend a reception for visiting Heads of State and Government
President Barack Obama talks with President Hamid Karzai of Afghanistan before the United Nations General Assembly reception at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel in New York, N.Y., Sept. 24, 2012. First Lady Michelle Obama is pictured in the background. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)
UNGA 2012 Reception
President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama greet The Honorable Prof. G.L. Peiris, Minister of External Affairs of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka during the United Nations General Assembly reception at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel in New York, N.Y., Sept. 24, 2012.
United States President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama, with Guyana’s President, Donald Ramotar and First Lady Deolatchmee Ramotar during the United Nations General Assembly reception at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel in New York
He was also seen chatting with the Brazilian PM
Obama cancelled a previously scheduled meeting with Egyptian PM so that an international flap with Israel wouldn't start up in the media. (it was a newspaper who erroneously reported Obama had declined to meet with Bibi - Bibi's office said that report was wrong)
Then, Obama gave a speech many of you wouldn't know about because the media didn't do their job:
President Obama in Ministerial Meeting on Sudan: "The Fate of Millions"
http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2010/09/24/president-obama-ministerial-meeting-sudan-fate-millions
As described earlier, President Obama attended a meeting of heads of state, and Sudanese leaders, to address the urgent situation in Sudan as part of his long-standing personal commitment to supporting peace in Sudan and ending the genocide in Darfur.
... (he gave a speech)
"To my fellow leaders from Africa, the Middle East, Europe and Asia -- your presence sends an unmistakable message to the Sudanese people and to their leaders that we stand united. ...."
Then
?w=655
Yemen’s President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi talks to President Obama through an interpreter on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly, September 25
http://www.sabanews.net/en/news282309.htm
Sep.26 (Saba)- President Abd Rabbo Mansour Hadi met on Tuesday at the United Nations building with the U.S. President Barack Obama, who welcomed him warmly in this visit to the U.S..
The two leaders reviewed together a number of issues and topics at the bilateral level and the latest developments experienced by Yemen in light of the Gulf initiative and its executive mechanism.
President Obama confirmed the support of the United States and its full assistance to Yemen until the success of the transitional period with the secure access to February 2014.
For his part, President Hadi expressed his appreciation to President Obama for his good feelings and his emphasis on standing by Yemen.
and
http://www.politico.com/politico44/2012/09/obama-meets-briefly-with-yemeni-president-un-chief-136637.html
Obama also had "courtesy call" meetings with Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon and the current president of the U.N. General Assembly, Vuk Jeremic of Serbia. (Obama's visit with Ban was on a schedule released by the State Department, but was absent from Obama's public schedule released late Monday by the White House.)
And most would know:
Sept 25th:
10:10 AM
Obama delivers remarks to the UN General Assembly; Michelle Obamaalso attends.
12:10 PM
Obama delivers remarks at the Clinton Global Initiative Annual Meeting.
1:25 PM
Obama departs New York City en route Washington, D.C.
That's what Obama did two weeks after the attack in Bengazi during his less than 2 days in New York where he also stopped in for his interview on the View. He'd dealt with Bengazi long before his trip to New York.
Barack Obama faces 30 death threats a day, stretching US Secret Service
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/barackobama/5967942/Barack-Obama-faces-30-death-threats-a-day-stretching-US-Secret-Service.htmlSince Mr Obama took office, the rate of threats against the president has increased 400 per cent from the 3,000 a year or so under President George W. Bush, according to Ronald Kessler, author of In the President's Secret Service.
...
"We have half the number of agents we need, but requests for more agents have fallen on deaf ears at headquarters," a Secret Service agent told Kessler. "Headquarters' mentality has always been, 'You can complete the mission with what you have. You're a U.S.S.S. agent'."
...
The Secret Service has increasingly cut corners after it was absorbed by the new Homeland Security Department under Mr Bush. Kessler said that when Mr Biden threw the first pitch at the first Baltimore Orioles game of the 2009 season, the Secret Service did not screen any of the more than 40,000 fans, stunning his agents and the local Secret Service field office.
It's a frightening situation.
A bunch of that is due to the right wing rhetoric.
When I was a kid, I liked to read biographies about great people. After reading a lot of them, I wondered what it would be like to observe one of them while they were still alive as all the individuals I'd read about had passed except Churchill who was in his 90s and out of public view. Then I read my Dad's books on JFK and thought I was all set to watch a great man while he was still alive ... he was shot within the year. I latched onto RFK and had become an admirer of MLK's efforts and you know the story. Vietnam. Watergate. And that series of events knocked the steam out of my interest in politics. But the assassinations were by far the most painful for me.
Jimmy Carter rekindled my interest some. John Lennon's assassination had a similar effect on me. He was one of my favorite people of all time. And my interest in politics waned again.
And then after many years passed, along came Barack who really reignited and inspired me.
I've been worried about Obama since before his election. I reported three of those threats to the Secret Service on the same individual and they did a fine job.
Have you ever tried to imagine what it would be like to get up in town halls and rallies, exposed in front of thousands of people, knowing there are thousands of wacky people out there who want you dead? And knowing that although they've caught a bunch of them in the act, those who are supposed to protect you are understaffed and overwhelmed? Yet this man can shut that all out and speak beautifully and relaxed with such conviction and compassion - focused on doing the people's business and giving it his all. To me, that's a demonstration of real inner strength and courage that is rarely acknowledged.
Meanwhile, those who claim to be "real Americans" disparage this man putting his life on the line as a communist anti-American Muslim n-word- or whatever. It's sickening. And it irresponsibly increases the risk of some nut taking his life.
I wish Barack Obama the best and hope he is allowed to finish what he's started. After being disappointed with assassinations so many times before, I'd like to see one great man that appealed to me survive and complete his work.
If the polls are so wrong, why are the GOP Super PACs bailing out on Romney?
Romney had to borrow $20 mil to get through August.
Romney & Ryan have been doing a lot of fundraisers - including many in non battleground states - a bunch more than Obama. Romney-Ryan are behind and have been criticized for doing fewer campaign events than Obama-Biden ... because they're running around the country with their hands out to the 53%.
Early voting has started. We're down to the short strokes of this election.
If they're so starved for cash and need to do more campaign events, you'd think the Super Duper PACs would step up. Isn't that why we were supposed to be so afraid of them? The big ad spending that would put Obama away? Wouldn't you want to get behind your guy when he's down and push to get him back into the game?
Ad Spending in Presidential Battleground States
http://www.nationaljournal.com/hotline/ad-spending-in-presidential-battleground-states-20120620
- was updated recently today
Restore Our Future is Romney's own Super PAC that his people control and it's still contributing what it can. It's funding was falling in August and it's bank balance was down to about $7 mil at the end of August so it was running short of cash then.
Apparently, according to a Washington Post article, this week's ad spending has pretty much exhausted what the RNC can contribute to Romney.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/decision2012/obama-has-more-control-of-campaign-cash-and-with-it-an-edge-in-ad-rates/2012/09/26/c85304ea-03f9-11e2-91e7-2962c74e7738_story.html
the RNC has used up nearly all of the $21.6 million it is allowed to spend under law on coordinated advertising with the Romney campaign, records show.
Here's what that leaves:
Crossroads (Rove) spent $331k in Florida and $395k in Nevada. That's it. And that's way below Karl's pace (particularly as ad spending is ramping up) and well below his $5.66 mil last week.
Americans for Prosperity, American Future Fund & Concerned Women for America didn't show up last week or this week with any dough for ads.
I've been watching this closely for a couple of weeks because I felt that if the internal polls done by the GOP started to stink, Rove wouldn't be stupid and bet heavy on second place. I figured he'd do what they did to Bob Dole: bail out and place bigger bets down the GOP ticket.
Today, might be evidence of that happening. I wouldn't take it to the bank yet because these folks are not stupid or trustworthy. But there's been funny stuff going on for a few weeks with this ad spending so it's quite possible this is a further sign that they've thrown in the towel on Mitt.
I just saw the numbers so I've got some more crunching to do and I'll post back in this thread if I have anything else to add.
Obama ad spending in NC has been gradually rising the
past three weeks. They've bought ads in that state every single week since May 14.
http://www.nationaljournal.com/hotline/ad-spending-in-presidential-battleground-states-20120620
Romney campaign stopped nearly all ads for a couple of weeks including NC - which is probably why Obama ad buys slowed down during that time. Romney has resumed buying ads in NC the last couple of weeks spending more than Obama - strange for a campaign that's supposedly so far ahead, their opponent is dropping out. For evidence of that, look at Michigan where Obama hasn't spent but Romney spent $10 mil for nothing.
Obama is +1.0 in Real Clear's GOP slanted poll of polls
http://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/2012/president/nc/north_carolina_romney_vs_obama-1784.html
In the last 30 days, Obama has had 9 campaign events in NC. Romney has had just one.
A look at barackobama.com shows about 600 phone banks, registrations, etc scheduled over today, tomorrow and Wednesday in that state.
I serious doubt their claim that Obama is pulling out of the state.
I suspect what we're seeing in Iowa:
http://news.yahoo.com/democrats-far-outnumber-gop-iowa-ballot-requests-102632378--politics.html?_esi=1With absentee and early voting set to begin next week in Iowa, a battleground state in the presidential race, Democrats have a 6-1 edge in ballot requests so far, The Wall Street Journal reported.
Democrats requested roughly 100,000 ballots, compared with 16,073 ballots requested by Republicans, the newspaper said. Absentee voting and in-person early voting begins on Sept. 27.
"I see the early vote numbers, and I grimace a little bit," said Craig Robinson, a former political director of the Iowa Republican Party and the editor of a popular blog, told The Journal. "It feels like an Obama state…. The president has been more accessible to voters than [Mitt] Romney and [Paul] Ryan."
Probably has something to do with the organization Obama set up there in 2008 and on. That has to be a chilling result to those at the GOP hoping Iowa is in play as there were only about 1.5 million votes cast in 2008. 100,000 Dem early voting ballots requested out the gate is daunting for the GOP.
The other thing that Obama did was invest in these offices last fall. My sister tells me that a few offices were never closed since 2008 though she was vague on how many or where they were.
As a community organizer who ran get out the vote campaigns in Chicago, this president would know this game as well as any candidate for that office we've ever seen.
Charles Cook on the 2012 Ground Game +
http://cookpolitical.com/story/4805If you buy the theory that anyone in a swing state who is still undecided is pretty unlikely to vote, that means that this election becomes pretty much a ground game, coming down to who can get their folks out. It is absolutely impossible to gauge at this point the relative effectiveness of the Obama and Romney campaign operations and their respective party apparatus. At the suggestion of Cook Political Report House Editor David Wasserman, I counted up the state headquarters and field offices for the two campaigns, with the RNC Victory offices counted in the Romney totals. Clearly this is a crude instrument of estimating effort, but in those 11 swing states, the Obama campaign has 526 offices while the Romney campaign and RNC Victory offices total 251. In Colorado, Obama has 55 and Romney 14; it’s Obama 80 and Romney 47 in Florida. In Iowa it’s 65 for Obama and 14 for Romney. Michigan is the one state where there are more Romney than Obama offices (23 to 20). In Nevada, it’s 25 for Obama and 11 for Romney. Obama also holds the edge in New Hampshire (22 to eight), North Carolina (49 to 24), and Ohio (79 to 37). Pennsylvania has 39 Obama and 19 Romney outposts, Virginia has 40 for Obama and 30 for Romney, while in Wisconsin the advantage is for Obama is 52 to 24. This may or may not be a fair way to measure field activity, but I certainly can’t think of any other way to quantify it at this stage.
That article struck me as a fair and worthy read of the election at this point in time. There's plenty more than the above quote.
So the number of offices for the ground game looks good for Obama but it doesn't consider:
Koch Group Kicks Off Massive Voter Mobilization Effort
http://www.thenation.com/blog/170103/koch-group-kicks-massive-voter-mobilization-effort
With Voter ID laws, election hours, intimidation, questionable voting machines and various GOP shenanigans and the big money behind them, this thing is far from over and will never be in the bag until Nov 7th.
If you can help out at any of those 526 Obama offices or elsewhere, I'm sure it would be appreciated. Now wouldn't be too soon to start.
I live in Canada and can attest that what she says is true
My family has used both heath care systems (US & Canada) since the early 1970s.
The thing that blew me away was watching Obama's town halls in the 2008 campaign. The stories coming out from people who lacked health care were absolutely heartbreaking.
Then Alan Grayson hammered home the point on the floor of congress referencing Harvard's report that 44,000 Americans were dying every year due to a lack of health care. He mentioned a young man who passed on cancer treatment and went home to die so that his care wouldn't put his wife and kids into bankruptcy. Words cannot adequately describe my horrible feelings about that.
And that's where the GOP logic was completely lost for me. The GOP would spend trillions fighting wars in the Middle East but wouldn't spend a fraction of that to save the lives of their own citizens. I will never ever understand or accept that position from the richest country on earth. And Mitt Romney wants to go back to that. On that issue alone, I could never support him because on Day 1, he effectively wants 44,000 Americans people to resume dying without heath care each year. It makes no sense.
The US spends dramatically more on health care per capita than any other nation on earth. Yet US life expectancy is way down the list. For what the US spends, they should be at the top of the list or very close to it.
Part of the trouble for US jobs is the global competition. Whether a US company pays or an individual pays, that drives the cost of a US job for a company up. And therefore, that costs the US jobs.
If the US went to single payer, they could enjoy Canadian health care service levels & Canadian life expectancy (top 10 in the world) for very roughly about 60% of the cost the US is paying now and the entire country would be covered = 44,000 fewer deaths per year. That would also put a big dent into the US deficit AND bring a bunch of jobs home to the US. So even if those hard hearted don't care about US people dying without health care, it would help the US economy and the US deficit. The big losers would be the insurance companies who like Romney, probably stash a bunch of their cash overseas to avoid taxes.
If I were making an ad against Romney, I'd show the Harvard report (and others like it) and then show Romney heartlessly directing a death sentence to those people on Day 1 of his administration.
Sorry for the rant but this issue upsets me because it's so needless. There is a better way. Obamacare is far from perfect but you at least have a framework to get there. Romney offers nothing but a return to what doesn't work beyond continuing to make the rich richer.
These folks haven't updated their article stats for a week or more
http://www.nationaljournal.com/hotline/ad-spending-in-presidential-battleground-states-20120620But the strange thing there was that Super PAC spending for Romney dried up for the most recent two weeks they reported (they didn't report on this week's spending). If Romney was running into money trouble, and he must have been because Romney borrowed $20 mil, you would think the Super PACs we've heard so much about would be right there to come to the rescue.
I looked at Rove's EV map for last April and compared it with what it would look like today. With OH, VA & WI all going over +4 Obama yesterday in the Real Clear poll of polls for those states, the EV map today is quite similar to last April. In other words, they have spent hundreds of millions of dollars since April and been unable to materially move the needle. What is worse today is that the undecideds are now much smaller on the same map - almost record lows for this point in time of the election. It's harder to change someone's mind than it is to swing an undecided your way.
They would know the real situation long before we would. Maybe two weeks ago, they saw this coming and effectively threw in the towel on Romney financially. They'll probably try to shore him up some where they can to try to help down the ticket but Romney's money troubles may be the result of the Super PACs and the GOP largely giving up on him.
Maddow reported last night that Romney has "strangely" only been doing an event a day and often that hasn't been in battleground states - he's not been out campaigning. He's been raising money that the media figured he didn't need and it puzzled the media. So that's more evidence of his money troubles.
It would be quite ironic if the $250 million dollar man and supposed turnaround artist ran out of dough in his failure to turn around the biggest quest of his career. But the lesson might be that this was one deal he couldn't leverage past the public and media with a slight of hand like he did throughout his career at Bain.
If we can get updated figures on the ad spending and the Super PACs have dropped out/pulled back, I don't know how else we could conclude reasons for their actions with less than 50 days to go
I have family members who could have been in photos like that as well
For example, my grandfather provided 14 years of military service. It ended when he was wounded by shrapnel in an exchange of mortar fire. The Germans bombed the hospital he was sent to (at the time, they targeted hospitals), collapsing a wall on him and breaking his back. He was discharged with acute breathing problems from chemical weapon attacks (mainly phosgene & chlorine gas) and unable to walk 100 yards without resting due to back problems. He spent much of the balance of his life in agony in hospitals.
He "mooched" 20 cents per day disability until he wheezed to death as a proud member of the 47%.
The photo touched off my memory of him because my mother has no picture of him and I've been searching various war photo archives trying to find one of him for her.
Insert smilie here
Government Spends More on Corporate Welfare Subsidies than Social Welfare Programshttp://thinkbynumbers.org/government-spending/corporate-welfare/corporate-welfare-statistics-vs-social-welfare-statistics/
About $59 billion is spent on traditional social welfare programs. $92 billion is spent on corporate subsidies. So, the government spent 50% more on corporate welfare than it did on food stamps and housing assistance in 2006.
I don't know that site above so I won't swear by their results. But the thread raises a good question.
Profile Information
Member since: Fri Jul 13, 2012, 12:38 PMNumber of posts: 653
