What Is Obama's Long Game On Syria?

Rep. Jim McGovern makes a similar case that Tas has made on this blog.

MCGOVERN: (INAUDIBLE) to me, this is not about rejuvenating the military. I want to fix sequestration, too. I mean the — the president is whether or not what he’s proposing is the right thing to do, whether it’s the effective thing to do. And I just don’t believe that’s that — that’s the case.

The point made by Tas.

So, my first question regarding intervention in Syria -- and not to be crass -- but what the fuck is the goal? Seriously, what is it? Do we want to topple the Assad government, or just drop a few bombs? Are we going to take out chemical weapons stock piles, or Assad government buildings? Since those stock piles and government buildings are likely in densely populated areas, how can we avoid killing Syrian citizens? Or do we arm the rebels? If we arm the rebels, how do we make sure that we're not inadvertently arming al-Qa'ida and other extremists? What happens if we topple the Assad government, will we commit 400,000 - 500,000 troops needed to quell the chaos and looting that comes after a government has fallen?

President Obama is a careful politician who doesn't want to say something that he would have to commit to later. That problem with that is the American people don't know what are Obama's long-term intentions for Syria.

Quote of the Day

“She committed an act of journalistic terror or malpractice last night. If there were any journalist standards, what she did last night would have been the equivalent of blowing up her career like a suicide bomber. But there aren’t any journalist standards anymore. And she’s going to be praised and celebrated, probably even get a raise, give her another half hour on that show she hosts.”

Rush Limbaugh, on Candy Crowley moderating the debate.

Limbaugh accuses Crowley of being an irresponsible media figure. Yet, he has no problem comparing Crowley to a suicide bomber. Limbaugh's hypocrisy knows no bounds.

Devastating Moment for Mitt Romney

Bless Candy Crowley for correcting Mitt Romney on his false assertion that President Obama did not call the Benghazi attack an "act of terror the day after the attack.

Obama in the Rose Garden.

"No acts of terror will ever shake the resolve of this great nation."

This is what happens on national television when Romney continues to distort the truth and tragedy for political gain. Sooner or later, he was going to get busted for it.

Update: Taegan Goddard compared Romney to Gerald Ford on not knowing what Obama said on the embassy attack.

Romney was most effective when pointing out what Obama promised and what actually happened over the last four years. He scored many points But he lost most of them by not knowing his facts on what President Obama said the morning after the attack on the U.S. consulate in Libya. Obama acted like a president in the exchange while Romney was much less. It was Romney's Gerald Ford moment.

Benjamin Kirby sees Romney's Benghazi moment has a huge failure.

For the record, I saw the Romney crash-and-burn moment as him saying the words, "Am I incorrect in that regard?" as Candy Crowley shut him down on Libya and what was said by President Obama.

Team Obama Makes Case Against Republican Obstruction

Team Obama is finally giving up on the naive goal of bipartisanship. David Axelrod made the case to Candy Crowley that Republicans are sabotaging the economy in order to make President Barack Obama a one-term president.

I think this is something — something different going on right now. When you have the leader — the Republican leader of the Senate say, our number one goal — in the midst of this economy, our number one goal is to defeat the president, and they’re acting like it.

They don’t want to cooperate. They don’t want to help. Even on measures to help the economy that they traditionally have supported before, like a payroll tax cut, like infrastructure, rebuilding our roads and bridges and surface transport. These — so you have to ask a question, are they willing to tear down the economy in order to tear down the president or are they going to cooperate?

And, listen, there’s a reason why the Congress is at nine percent in some polls, approval, lowest in history. Because this is different than we’ve ever seen before.

Mitch McConnell said that the economy was not the Republican Party's number one goal.

"The single most important thing we want to achieve is for President Obama to be a one-term president."

This is the narrative that Obama's political team needs to keep driving home. Obama must hold Republicans accountable for their obstruction.

Anwar Richardson School of Economics Award: Tim Pawlenty

Anwar Richardson School of Economics Award is given to people that make economic claims that have no basis in reality. The award is named after sports writer Anwar Richardson making up stories about Brett Farve becoming a Tampa Bay Buccaneer and the economic impact Farve would have on Tampa. Richardson wrote these stories without citing any sources.

Tim Pawlenty is getting plenty of attention for calling President Barack Obama a "chicken." Pawlenty played chicken when Candy Crowley pointed out that "cut, cap and balance" is not going to pass in the Senate. Pawlenty avoids answering what concessions he would make in order to get the debt ceiling raised.

CROWLEY: Sure, but where would you -- what I'm asking is where we -- I think we know what you would push for, where would you compromise? Because "cut, cap, and balance" is not passing the Senate. You have to come up with something. And so I guess my question is, where do you -- where's the give here, if there is? Because you have to get it passed the Senate and the Senate is controlled by Democrats?

PAWLENTY: Yes. Well, first, let's -- I do want to say, let's remember how we got here. President Obama took office with a $500 billion or so deficit, and he ran it up the deficit to $1.5 trillion -- excuse me, $1.5 trillion.

CROWLEY: Can I just interject that he inherited two wars. He inherited an ongoing prescription drug plan that was passed under the Bush administration, and a recession that went deeper and deeper.

Troop levels are down in Iraq. Obama has increased combat operations in Afghanistan. Obama also authorize the use of airstrikes in Libya. Three wars cost money. Best of all is Pawlenty dodges the question of how he would break the Congressional gridlock on raising the debt ceiling. For someone who is questioning the courage of the President, Pawlenty isn't displaying his own courage.

Pawlenty repeats the line that Obama inherited a $500 billion deficit from President Bush.

PAWLENTY: The two wars were taking place under President Bush at a larger level in Iraq. So, again, when President Bush left office there was a $500 billion deficit. Now it's about $1.5 trillion under President Obama's watch. He tripled the deficit of this country.

Actually, Obama inherited a $1.2 trillion deficit from Bush. From the CBO January 2009 report.

CBO projects that the deficit this year will total $1.2 trillion, or 8.3 percent of GDP. Enactment of an economic stimulus package would add to that deficit. In CBO’s baseline, the deficit for 2010 falls to 4.9 percent of GDP, still high by historical standards.

Pawlenty is off by $700 billion from the CBO deficit numbers. The fact that Pawlenty repeats this means it is a talking point. Pawlenty receives a Joy-Ann Reid Award for knowingly lying. I could buy Rick Santorum being too stupid to know the real deficit numbers. Pawlenty does not get that free pass.

Pawlenty's support for the "cut, cap and balance" bill shows how unserious he is. It is impossible to get a balance budget amendment into the Constitution before August 2nd. It doesn't matter to Pawlenty because he refuses to acknowledge reality.

Wingnut Alert: Wizbang Trusts What the Media Says

Kim Priestap of Wizbang states the Obama campaign wanted "horrific headlines" about the recent Wallstreet meltdown. Priestap's proof is that CNN's political correspondent Candy Crowley.

This is what the Obama campaign wanted. Got that? The American people watched the Dow drop by 500 points yesterday and banks go under and declare bankruptcy, and Crowley reports that this is what the Obama team wanted because they see the chance to score political points. But this is typical of Democrats because in order to win, they need suffering, they need upheaval, they need fear.

Let me get this straight. Wizbang actually trusts what the liberal media has to say. Let's do the time warp all the way back to September 6, 2008. Priestap wrote the post "CNN Portraying Palin's Thug Ex-Brother in Law as Sympathetic." Priestap accused CNN of smearing Sarah Palin on the TroopGate story.

Nice. He should have been fired right then and there. And there's more, including that the Alaska State Troopers confirmed that this guy threatened to kill his father in law if he helped his daughter (Palin's sister) get a divorce. Additionally, there were protection orders against him prohibiting him from getting anywhere near Palin's sister. This guy had absolutely no business being anywhere near any police force.

Yet, CNN slaps up a video that makes him look like the victim. Head on over to AJ's site and read all about who this guy really is and how low CNN is going in their effort to hurt Sarah Palin.

That same day, fellow Wizbang blogger Lorie Byrd accused CNN's Soledad O'Brien on cutting funding for special needs children. Byrd hysterically cites Michelle Malkin as a valid source of factual research. Malkin's book "Defense of Internment" contained numerious errors that Malkin was forced to admit. Malkin has since took down the page citing her errors. The Historian Committee For Fairness signed a petition stating Malkin's book. The petition was signed by several tenured history professors.

Michelle Malkin's appearance on numerous television and radio shows and her comments during these appearances regarding her book IN DEFENSE OF INTERNMENT represent a blatant violation of professional standards of objectivity and fairness. Malkin is not a historian, and she states that she relied almost exclusively on research conducted or collected by others. Her book, which purports to defend the wartime treatment of Japanese Americans, did not go through peer review before publication. This work presents a version of history that is contradicted by several decades of scholarly research, including works by the official historian of the United States Army and an official U.S. government commission. In fact, the author's presentation of events is so distorted and historically inaccurate that, when challenged by reputable historians, she has herself conceded that her main thesis in incorrect, namely that the MAGIC intercepts of prewar Japanese diplomatic cable traffic, explain and justify the mass incarceration of Japanese Americans.

So is Malkin and Byrd right that CNN is falsely accusing Palin of cutting funding for special education and needs children? No. The 2007 budget was created before Palin became Governor. The 2007 and 2008 budgets were during Palin's tenure.

FY2007 Governor - 8,265.3
FY2008 Governor - 3,156.0
2009 Governor - 3,156.0

The moral of the story is conservative bloggers agree with the media when it confirms their beliefs. That means even showing love to the so-called liberal media. Conservative blogger will bash the media and cite the journalistically dubious Michelle Malkin when it reaffirms their worldview.

Two thoughts:

1. My jaw dropped when Wizbang cited a CNN talking head as speaking the gospel truth. The end of days must be near.

2. Bronwyn Lance Chester on Malkin: I think she habitually mistakes shrill for thought-provoking and substitutes screaming for discussion. She’s an Asian Ann Coulter. I also think that, like Coulter, she says outrageous things just to get TV appearances and book deals. She’s the worst of what’s wrong with punditry today. She adds absolutely nothing to genuine political discourse.

That about sums up Malkin.