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On the President's Stated Energy Policy: |
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"Romney is right to suggest that Obama is saying things he doesn’t believe in order to get reelected. But, at least on energy, he’s not taking a new position. When you’re the incumbent president, you can say that your position is whatever you want. But the truth of the matter isn’t determined by what you say, but by what you do. And judged against what he is doing, Obama's all-of-the-above strategy isn’t a policy change, it’s just a lie." |
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— Jonah Goldberg, National Review Online Editor-at-Large
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— Jonah Goldberg, National Review Online Editor-at-Large
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Posted April 06, 2012 • 07:38 AM
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On the President's Supreme Court Challenge: |
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"It appears to be unprecedented ... for a U.S. president to have attacked the Supreme Court before it handed down its decision. Some think Mr. Obama and his progressive infantry are trying to intimidate the Justices, specifically Justice Anthony Kennedy. But most legal commentary has said the president's attack is likely to anger the justices, perhaps including some of the court's liberals. Mr. Obama's notion of judicial review diminishes all the members of any court, not just its conservatives. It doesn't help the always difficult struggle for an independent judiciary in other countries if an American president is issuing Venezuela-like statements on U.S. courts." |
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— Daniel Henninger, The Wall Street Journal
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— Daniel Henninger, The Wall Street Journal
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Posted April 05, 2012 • 08:01 AM
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On Presidential Prevarication and Political Word Games: |
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"One of the highly developed talents of President Barack Obama is the ability to say things that are demonstrably false, and make them sound not only plausible but inspiring. ...
"Now there are different kinds of liars. If we must have lying Presidents of the United States, I prefer that they be like Richard Nixon. You could just look at him and tell that he was lying.
"But Obama is much smoother. On this and on many other issues, you would have to know what the facts are to know that he is lying. He is obviously counting on the fact that, in this era of dumbed-down education, many people have no clue as to what the facts are. ...
"It would be hard to become nostalgic about Richard Nixon, who was forced to resign in disgrace. But at least you could tell when he was lying. Obama's lies are just as big but not as visible, and the media that exposed Nixon is covering for Obama."
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— Thomas Sowell, Economist, Author and Hoover Institution Senior Fellow
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— Thomas Sowell, Economist, Author and Hoover Institution Senior Fellow
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Posted April 04, 2012 • 07:53 AM
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On the President's Attack on the Supreme Court Over ObamaCare: |
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"Last week, before Supreme Court oral arguments began on Obamacare, we noted that liberals in the media had already started a campaign to delegitimize an adverse decision in advance. We hardly expected to see scores of elected Democrats, led by President Obama, join in this rhetorical charge against the high court this week. Obama, speaking to reporters on Monday, said that overturning the health care law's individual mandate would be 'an unprecedented, extraordinary step' by the justices that would be a 'good example' of 'judicial activism.' ...
"That he would take aim this way at our nation's fair administration of justice should be viewed as a sign of weakness, not strength. The president who says his agenda 'can't wait' for Congress now won't even wait for the Supreme Court to rule before impugning its integrity. When the Founding Fathers created the Constitution's system of checks and balances, they did it precisely to protect us from such leaders." |
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— The Editors, The Washington Examiner
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— The Editors, The Washington Examiner
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Posted April 03, 2012 • 07:52 AM
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On the Constitution's Comeback: |
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"A lot of politicians are worrying about the Constitution these days. Liberal commentators were shocked this past week when in three days of oral argument in the lawsuits challenging ObamaCare, five Supreme Court justices — a majority — asked questions strongly suggesting they think the legislation is unconstitutional. …
"If the Court overturns ObamaCare, Obama may be tempted to attack the Court. He should beware. In 1937, Franklin Roosevelt, a few months after a landslide reelection, proposed to pack the Supreme Court with new appointees.
"Gallup polls showed majorities opposed the move, and in the next election, proponents of FDR’s New Deal lost their congressional majorities. Lesson: Most American voters worry about the Constitution." |
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— Michael Barone, Washington Examiner Senior Political Analyst
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— Michael Barone, Washington Examiner Senior Political Analyst
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Posted April 02, 2012 • 07:43 AM
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On Obama's Flexibility Doctrine: |
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"You don’t often hear an American president secretly (he thinks) assuring foreign leaders that concessions are coming their way, but they must wait because he’s seeking reelection and he dares not tell his own people.
"Can you imagine the kind of pressure a reelected Obama will put on Israel, the kind of anxiety he will induce from Georgia to the Persian Gulf, the nervousness among our most loyal East European friends who, having been left out on a limb by Obama once before, are now wondering what new flexibility Obama will show Putin ...
"They don’t know. We don’t know. We didn’t even know this was coming — until the mike was left open. Only Putin was to know. 'I will transmit this information to Vladimir,' Medvedev assured Obama." |
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— Charles Krauthammer, Syndicated Columnist
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— Charles Krauthammer, Syndicated Columnist
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Posted March 30, 2012 • 07:53 AM
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On the Liberals' Supreme Court Shock: |
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"The panicked reception in the mainstream media of the three-day Supreme Court health-care marathon is a delightful reminder of the nearly impenetrable parochialism of American liberals.
"They’re so convinced of their own correctness — and so determined to believe conservatives are either a) corrupt, b) stupid or c) deluded — that they find themselves repeatedly astonished to discover conservatives are in fact capable of a) advancing and defending their own powerful arguments, b) effectively countering weak liberal arguments and c) exposing the soft underbelly of liberal self-satisfaction as they do so.
"That’s what happened this week. There appears to be no question in the mind of anyone who read the transcripts or listened to the oral arguments that the conservative lawyers and justices made mincemeat out of the Obama administration’s advocates and the liberal members of the court. |
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— John Podhoretz, Commentary Magazine Editor and Former New York Post Editorial-Page Editor
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— John Podhoretz, Commentary Magazine Editor and Former New York Post Editorial-Page Editor
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Posted March 29, 2012 • 08:03 AM
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On the Government's Defense of ObamaCare Before the Supreme Court: |
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"Solicitor General Donald B. Verrilli Jr. should be grateful to the Supreme Court for refusing to allow cameras in the courtroom, because his defense of Obamacare on Tuesday may go down as one of the most spectacular flameouts in the history of the court.
"Stepping up to the podium, Verrilli stammered as he began his argument. He coughed, he cleared his throat, he took a drink of water. And that was before he even finished the first part of his argument. Sounding less like a world-class lawyer and more like a teenager giving an oral presentation for the first time, Verrilli delivered a rambling, apprehensive legal defense of liberalism's biggest domestic accomplishment since the 1960s -- and one that may well have doubled as its eulogy.
"'What is left?' Justice Antonin Scalia demanded of Verrilli, 'if the government can do this, what can it not do?' Verrilli's response to this basic and most predictable of questions was to rattle off a few legal precedents." |
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— Adam Serwer, Mother Jones
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— Adam Serwer, Mother Jones
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Posted March 28, 2012 • 07:57 AM
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On Majority Opposition to ObamaCare Provisions: |
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"Two-thirds of Americans want the Supreme Court to overturn some or all of the health care law, even though large majorities support a few of its major aspects, according to a poll by The New York Times and CBS News.
"At the heart of the opposition is the individual mandate requiring Americans to obtain health insurance, the least popular part of the bill and a crucial piece at the center of the court arguments, which began Monday and will turn to the mandate on Tuesday.
"In the latest poll, 47 percent said they oppose the law while 36 percent approve, with the rest having no opinion. The results are similar to previous surveys that have consistently found the law’s detractors outnumbering its supporters." |
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— Dalia Sussman, Helene Cooper and Kate Phillips, The New York Times
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— Dalia Sussman, Helene Cooper and Kate Phillips, The New York Times
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Posted March 27, 2012 • 07:58 AM
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On ObamaCare Securing the President's Legacy: |
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"Considering the [Affordable Care Act's] glaring -- and predictable -- economic and political shortcomings, why did Obama make it his first-term centerpiece? The answer seems to be his obsession with securing his legacy as the president who achieved the liberal grail of universal coverage. In his book 'The Escape Artists: How Obama's Team Fumbled the Recovery,' Noam Scheiber recounts a telling incident. Obama's advisers tell him he can be known for preventing a second Great Depression. 'That's not enough for me,' Obama replies.
"The ACA is Obama's ego trip, but as a path to presidential greatness, it may disappoint no matter how the court decides. Lyndon's Johnson's creation of Medicare and Medicaid was larger, and he isn't deemed great. And then, unlike now, government seemed capable of paying for bigger programs." |
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— Robert J. Samuelson, Newsweek and Washington Post Contributing Editor
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— Robert J. Samuelson, Newsweek and Washington Post Contributing Editor
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Posted March 26, 2012 • 07:34 AM
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