October 13, 2012

NEWSMAX

Rudy Giuliani: President Obama in ‘Fantasy World’ 

by Henry J. Reske

October 12, 2012

America’s mayor Rudy Giuliani has slammed the Obama administration for its handling of last month’s attack on the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi that left four dead including the ambassador to Libya charging the president lives in a “fantasy world.”

“This was a ‘terrorist attack,’” the former New York mayor said at a fundraiser for GOP congressional candidate Dan Halloran according to The New York Observer. “The president has hard time saying those words. He has a hard time saying those words because he lives in a fantasy world. The fantasy world he lives in is that Islamic extremist terrorism, even if it exists, shouldn’t be acknowledged. We pretend they’re not at war with us; we’re certainly not at war with them.”

Giuliani, who ran for the president in 2008, said if President Barack Obama puts his “head in the sand about this, then all the people who work for the President of the United States tend to put their head in the sand.

“And that’s why, I believe, all these requests for additional security were not granted,” Giuliani said according to the Observer. “Because it would give the impression that maybe Libya was not this wonderful place that President Obama would like us to think it is . . . It defies his narrative.”

Read more: http://goo.gl/EMEzO

TOWNHALL

Jay Carney: Biden’s Laughter Was a Sign of “Passion and Joy” 

October 12, 2012

by Daniel Doherty

I realize the primary responsibility of the White House Press Secretary is to defend the actions and misstatements of the president and vice president at all costs, but this is just downright pathetic. Wow:

Vice President Joe Biden's repeated laughter during Thursday's debate was a reflection of the "enormous amount of passion and joy" he brings to the job of serving the American people, White House press secretary Jay Carney said on Friday.
Biden has drawn criticism for cracking up when Paul Ryan was talking about everything from Medicare to tax cuts to Iran's quest for a nuclear weapon.

"The person I saw up there last night is somebody who is absolutely passionate about fighting for and defending the middle class... and who comes to his job -- this many years in to serving his country in the Senate and now to the White House -- with an enormous amount of passion and joy," Carney said.

"And I’ll give you an example: When you talk about him smiling, when you had, and this is a matter of policy, when Congressman Ryan starts attacking the administration over the Recovery Act, and the split screen shows the vice president smiling, I can tell you, I can guess why he was smiling," he said. "Because he knew how hypocritical that was, because he had seen the letters written by Congressman Ryan requesting Recovery Act funding because it would help the economy in Wisconsin ."

When pressed on whether the laughter may have come off as condescending and whether Biden may have been too aggressive, Carney said," I think it is for the American people to decide." But, he added, he thought the vice president laid out an appropriately "forceful" case.

Actually, Mr. Secretary, it seems the American people already have spoken. And it’s clear what they thought. The vice president of the United States -- to put it charitably -- acted like a petulant child for ninety straight minutes last night. In fact, I thought Congressman Ryan (despite his relative youth and inexperience on the national stage) exuded the qualities of statesman more so than the man who, ahem, literally spent his entire professional life in public service. Biden’s ostentatious laughter and sneeringly condescending facial expressions were not only distracting, but deeply disrespectful and unbecoming of a candidate for high national office. The Left will disagree, of course, but I think most undecided voters watching last night were appalled by his behavior.

Read more: http://goo.gl/ZQN4u

THE DAILY CALLER

Clinton-Obama rift intensifies after Libya, Obama’s debate performance
by Edward Klein
October 12, 2012

After Bill Clinton delivered his electrifying speech at the Democratic National Convention, many political observers concluded that the Clintons and Obamas had called a truce to their long-running feud. Under their armistice, Clinton agreed to make speeches and appear in TV commercials for Obama, acting like a booster rocket for the Democratic ticket in the remaining weeks of the campaign.

It was a pretty picture, but as I have learned from several sources inside the Clinton camp, it turned out to be a case of wishful thinking.

In fact, since the convention, Clinton and Obama have had a serious falling-out over two issues: the president’s preparation and lamentable performance in his debate with Mitt Romney, and the question of who should be assigned blame — Obama or Secretary of State Hillary Clinton — for the intelligence and security screw-up in Benghazi, Libya.

This new rift, which the Clintons and Obamas have managed to keep secret from the media, has poisoned their relations to such an extent that it could conceivably have an impact on the outcome of the presidential election.

The latest quarrel began when Clinton heard that Obama was behaving so cocky about his first debate against Mitt Romney that he wasn’t taking his debate prep seriously. Out of concern, Clinton had an aide call the White House and say that the former president would be more than happy to give the current president some pointers and advice on how to get the best of Romney.

Clinton waited several days for a response, but none was forthcoming. According to my sources, the former president was dumbfounded that Obama had ignored his offer, and his hurt feelings quickly boiled over into anger.

“Bill thought that he and Obama were on friendly terms after the convention,” one source told me. “He couldn’t believe that the White House didn’t even extend him the courtesy of a return phone call. He concluded that Obama’s arrogance knows no bounds.”

The fact is, these two proud and egocentric men have a long and acrimonious history. Four years ago, after Obama’s South Carolina primary victory over Hillary Clinton, Bill called Obama’s campaign “a fairy tale.” Not to be outdone, Obama referred to the Clinton presidency as a “psychodrama.”

Later, after Obama won the presidency, he and Clinton held a joint press conference at the White House. Clinton promptly took over the podium, edging out Obama and prompting the new president to leave the stage altogether.

Given this history, it was not surprising that Obama was reluctant to give Clinton a starring role at the Democratic Convention. It was only after David Axelrod and other Obama campaign advisers argued that a Clinton speech was essential to a successful convention bounce that the president agreed to let Clinton deliver the prime-time nominating speech. Just as Obama feared, Clinton stole the show and made Obama look smaller by comparison.

In the past, Obama has grumbled that he doesn’t enjoy being “lectured to” by Clinton. Perhaps that’s why Obama has never once invited Bill and Hillary to the White House for an informal dinner.

Read more: http://goo.gl/yZgdQ