President Obama's Weekly Address 9/13/14: We Will Degrade and Destroy ISIL

WASHINGTON, DC — In this week’s address, the President reiterated his comprehensive and sustained counter-terrorism strategy to degrade and ultimately destroy the terrorist group ISIL. His plan brings together a campaign of targeted airstrikes, increased support for Iraqi and Kurdish forces already taking on terrorists, assistance from allies and partners, expanded efforts to train and equip the Syrian opposition, and ongoing humanitarian aid for those displaced by ISIL. The President expressed his immense appreciation for the military men and women who make these efforts possible, and reminded the world that America continues to lead and stand strong against terror.

Christie's Grand Standing

by Josh Levitt
Buono For Governor


Yesterday Governor Christie participated in a panel discussion with right-wing Governors called "“Republican Governors on What’s Working at the State Level.” But, instead of talking about New Jersey's struggling economy or the 400,000 New Jerseyans out of work, Governor Christie focused on his favorite topic: his inevitable 2016 presidential run. In a move designed solely to appeal to national Republicans, Governor Christie attacked one of his likely 2016 opponents for his foreign policy views. At this point, Gov. Christie is just itching to leave New Jersey in the dust to satisfy his political ambition.

Christie Cites 9/11 in Assailing Libertarian Trend in GOP
By Jonathan Martin//New York Times
Invoking the families of 9/11 victims, Gov. Chris Christie of New Jersey on Thursdayheatedly denounced the growing libertarian drift on national security in the Republican Party that is favored by Senator Rand Paul, Republican of Kentucky, and others in the party. “This strain of libertarianism that’s going through parties right now and making big headlines I think is a very dangerous thought,” Mr. Christie said on a panel with other Republican governors here. Asked if he was alluding to Mr. Paul, a potential Republican presidential rival, Mr. Christie spoke in deeply personal terms about the impact of the 2001 terrorist attacks on his state. “You can name any number of people and he’s one of them,” Mr. Christie shot back before referring to the more than 600 New Jersey families who lost relatives in the attacks. “These esoteric, intellectual debates — I want them to come to New Jersey and sit across from the widows and the orphans and have that conversation. And they won’t, because that’s a much tougher conversation to have.”

Christie goes after libertarians — hard
By Aaron Blake//Washington Post
New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R) on Thursday offered a clear broadside against Republicans drifting toward a more libertarian view of foreign policy, lumping Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) in with them and suggesting they explain their position to victims of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.
The House earlier this week narrowly voted against a reduction in funding for the National Security Agency, as libertarian-leaning members from both sides joined together to vote for the amendment. “As a former prosecutor who was appointed by President George W. Bush on Sept. 10, 2001, I just want us to be really cautious, because this strain of libertarianism that’s going through both parties right now and making big headlines, I think, is a very dangerous thought,” Christie said. Asked whether he includes Paul — a fellow potential 2016 presidential candidate — in his criticism, Christie didn’t back down. “You can name any one of them that’s engaged in this,” he said. “I want them to come to New Jersey and sit across from the widows and the orphans and have that conversation. … I’m very nervous about the direction this is moving in.”

Christie: NSA critics should talk to 9/11 families
CNN
Opponents of government spying programs should talk to families who lost loved ones in the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie said at a Republican governors forum Thursday. Asked about the influence of libertarian-minded leaders in the GOP - including Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky - Christie said that when it comes to national security, those who oppose National Security Agency programs that monitor Americans' electronic activity were just wrong. "These esoteric, intellectual debates - I want them to come to New Jersey and sit across from the widows and orphans and have that conversation," Christie said. "And they won't. That's a lot tougher conversation to have." Christie was appearing on a panel of governors that also included Bobby Jindal of Louisiana, Mike Pence of Indiana and Scott Walker of Wisconsin. All four are considered potential candidates for the 2016 GOP presidential nomination, though the topic did not arise on Thursday.

Christie: Rand Paul 'dangerous'
By Hadas Gold//Politico
New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie is ripping libertarians - including Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.). - for challenging government surveillance programs and failing to understand the dangers of terrorism. “This strain of libertarianism that’s going through parties right now and making big headlines I think is a very dangerous thought,” the New Jersey governor said on Thursday at a Republican governors forum in Aspen, Colo. “You can name any number of people and (Paul is) one of them.”

Christie vs. Paul: The fight for the future of GOP foreign policy
By Aaron Blake//Washington Post
Shortly after New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie took to the stage with three fellow Republican governors here Thursday, he derided self-serving politicians who try to be all things to all people and are afraid to alienate anyone. By the end of the session, hosted by the nonpartisan Aspen Institute, Christie put his potential 2016 presidential hopes where his mouth is. And in the process, he set himself apart from — and risked alienating — a very significant and growing swath of the Republican Party led by Sen. Rand Paul: libertarians.

Libertarianism and the coming Republican political war
By Chris Cizzilla//Washington Post
...2. Chris Christie: The New Jersey governor’s condemnation of the creeping libertarianism within the GOP proves two things: 1) He’s running for president and 2) He will do so as a defense-defending hawk in the mold of Ronald Reagan and George W. Bush. The question for Christie is whether he is another incarnation of Rudy Giuliani (tough talking hawk whose moderate credentials doomed him) or a whole new — and more successful — model for GOP candidate. Time will tell — but he’s definitely running. (Previous ranking: 2)

Gov. Christie Joins Anti-Rand Paul Club
By Abby Phillip//ABC News
The anti-Rand Paul club gained a new member: New Jersey’s Republican Gov. Chris Christie. Christie ripped into the Kentucky senator and his cohorts for promoting a “dangerous” libertarian philosophy on national security issues in the wake of the Sept. 11 attacks. “I just want us to be really cautious because this strain of libertarianism going through both parties right now and making big headlines I think is a very dangerous thought,” Christie said at an Aspen Institute panel of Republican governors in Colorado Thursday night. Asked specifically whether he was referring to Paul, Christie said, “You can name any number of people and he’s one of them.”

Rand Paul to Chris Christie: You need to talk to more real Americans
By Ralph Z. Hallow//Washington Times
Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul, leading the opposition to drone killing of U.S. citizens and to massive government surveillance of U.S. citizens email and phone records, fired back at fellow Republican Christie Christie, the New Jersey governor, who had attacked the Kentucky Republican for opposing massive government surveillance of U.S. citizens. “If Governor Christie believes the constitutional rights and the privacy of all Americans is ‘esoteric,’ he either needs a new dictionary, or he needs to talk to more Americans, because a great number of them are concerned about the dramatic overreach of our government in recent years,” Paul senior adviser Doug Stafford told The Washington Times. Mr. Christie had told fellow GOP governors in Aspen, Colo., on Thursday that Mr. Paul is part of a “strain of libertarianism that’s going through parties right now and making big headlines I think is a very dangerous thought.”

Reaction to the Third Presidential Debate: Obama Nailed it, Won Debate Hands Down

Reactions from tonight's debate are rolling in and the winner was clearly President Obama.

In a CBS Snap poll released a short while ago has voters believe President Obama won the debate by a resounding margine 53%-23% with 24% calling it a tie while CNN's insta poll has Obama winning the debate 48% - 40% over Mitt Romney. It was certainly a good night for President Obama.

Here is what Political Wire is saying moments after the debate:

The third and final presidential debate was President Obama's best moment in the campaign so far. He was prepared on every issue and knew Mitt Romney's record of past statements just as well.

Obama succeeded because he conveyed his unique view of the world from the Oval Office. For undecided voters watching, all they probably heard was that he's the commander-in-chief. And that's what Team Obama wanted.

For the most part, Romney made an effort to look presidential by not attacking. He was exceedingly careful and desperately tried not to make a mistake. In fact, despite his rhetoric for the last two years, he now apparently agrees with most of the Obama administration's foreign policy.

As a result, Romney's biggest opponent was not the president, it was his own words. Obama did a brilliant job of bringing up past Romney statements -- on Iraq, on the nation's biggest adversary, on Afghanistan, on Osama bin Laden -- to make him look unprepared for the presidency.

As the debate went on, Romney tried many times to move the international affairs discussion back to the economy where he was more comfortable. It was as if he had only 30 minutes of foreign policy talking points for a 90 minute debate. As a result he seemed to string together random thoughts which often made him sound incoherent.

Obama won the debate hands down.

Bob Schieffer started off doing a good job as moderator, framing questions but still letting the candidates engage each other. But he lost control of the debate as both Romney and Obama often preferred to talk about the economy. It's clear that both candidates know that most voters don't care much about foreign policy.

Mr. Romney Reinvents History

Mitt Romney and his fellow Republican's - Paul Ryan, Condoleezza Rice, John McCain and others -  attempts at reinventing history this week at the just completed 2012 Republican National Convention, were obvious and confounding to many, but their blatant attempts at rewriting the history books won't be tolerated or go uncorrected.

Here's a very good New York Times Op-Ed that addresses a few examples of what transpired over the 3 days in Tampa :

Mitt Romney wrapped the most important speech of his life, for Thursday night’s session of his convention, around an extraordinary reinvention of history — that his party rallied behind President Obama when he won in 2008, hoping that he would succeed. “That president was not the choice of our party,” he said. “We are a good and generous people who are united by so much more than divides us.”

The truth, rarely heard this week in Tampa, Fla., is that the Republicans charted a course of denial and obstruction from the day Mr. Obama was inaugurated, determined to deny him a second term by denying him any achievement, no matter the cost to the economy or American security — even if it meant holding the nation’s credit rating hostage to a narrow partisan agenda.

Mr. Romney’s big speech, delivered in a treacly tone with a strange misty smile on his face suggesting he was always about to burst into tears, was of a piece with the rest of the convention. Republicans have offered precious little of substance but a lot of bromides (“A free world is a more peaceful world!”) meant to convey profundity and take passive-aggressive digs at President Obama. But no subjects have received less attention, or been treated with less honesty, than foreign affairs and national security — and Mr. Romney’s banal speech was no exception.

It’s easy to understand why the Republicans have steered clear of these areas. While President Obama is vulnerable on some domestic issues, the Republicans have no purchase on foreign and security policy. In a television interview on Wednesday, Condoleezza Rice, the former secretary of state, could not name an area in which Mr. Obama had failed on foreign policy.

For decades, the Republicans were able to present themselves as the tougher party on foreign and military policy. Mr. Obama has robbed them of that by being aggressive on counterterrorism and by flexing military and diplomatic muscle repeatedly and effectively.

Mitt Romney has tried to sound tough, but it’s hard to see how he would act differently from Mr. Obama except in ways that are scary — like attacking Iran, or overspending on defense in ways that would not provide extra safety but would hurt the economy.

Before Thursday night, the big foreign policy speeches were delivered by Senator John McCain and Ms. Rice. Mr. McCain was specific on one thing: Mr. Obama’s plan to start pulling out of Afghanistan at the end of 2014 is too rapid. While he does not speak for Mr. Romney, his other ideas were unnerving, like suggesting that the United States should intervene in Syria.

Mr. Romney reportedly considered Ms. Rice as a running mate, and she seems to have real influence. But Ms. Rice is a reminder of the colossal errors and deceptions of George W. Bush’s administration. She was a central player in the decision to invade Iraq and the peddling of fantasies about weapons of mass destruction. She barely mentioned Iraq in her speech and spoke not at all about Afghanistan. She was particularly ludicrous when she talked about keeping America strong at home so it could be strong globally, since she was part of the team that fought two wars off the books and entirely on borrowed money.

Ms. Rice said the United States has lost its “exceptionalism,” but she never gave the slightest clue what she meant by that — a return to President Bush’s policy of preventive and unnecessary war?

She and Mr. McCain both invoked the idea of “peace through strength,” but one of the few concrete proposals Mr. Romney has made — spending 4 percent of G.D.P. on defense — would weaken the economy severely. Mr. McCain was not telling the truth when he said Mr. Obama wants to cut another $500 billion from military spending. That amount was imposed by the Republicans as part of the extortion they demanded to raise the debt ceiling.

Ms. Rice said American allies need to know where the United States stands and that alliances are vitally important. But the truth is that Mr. Obama has repaired those alliances and restored allies’ confidence in America’s position after Mr. Bush and Ms. Rice spent years tearing them apart and ruining America’s reputation in the world.

The one alliance on which there is real debate between Mr. Romney and Mr. Obama is with Israel. But it is not, as Mr. Romney and his supporters want Americans to believe, about whether Mr. Obama is a supporter of Israel. Every modern president has been, including Mr. Obama. Apart from outsourcing his policy to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on settlements, it’s not clear what Mr. Romney would do differently.

But after watching the Republicans for three days in Florida, that comes as no surprise.

NOT THE HEADLINES MITT ROMNEY TRAVELED ACROSS THE POND TO GET

(via Democratic Party)

Democrats.org - It’s easy to see why Mitt Romney would want to get out of the country for a few days. As one reporter wrote, the trip could be “a welcome respite from perhaps his roughest patch yet of the general election.” (Politico, 7/21/12)

Unfortunately for Romney that’s not how it’s worked out…

Romney under fire for comments about London Olympics(ABC/Yahoo, 7/26/12)

Romney goes to Europe, causes stir (AP, 7/26/12)

Romney’s Remarks on Olympics Cause Stir in London (New York Times, 7/26/12)

Romney Trip Off to Inauspicious Start (National Journal, 7/26/12)

Mitt Romney questions whether Britain is ready for Olympic Games(Telegraph, 7/26/12)

Mitt Romney questions London's enthusiasm for Olympics (The Week, 7/26/12)

Olympics: David Cameron rejects Mitt Romney's suggestion Britain is not ready (Telegraph, 7/26/12)

David Cameron 'angered US conservatives' with 'unprecedented' election-year embrace of Barack Obama (Telegraph, 7/25/12)

“And another Mitt Romney blunder: confirmed outside No 10 he met head of MI6. Aspiring US presidents not meant to say that” –Nicholas Watt, Guardian's chief political correspondent

Let’s take stock of Romney’s European misadventures thus far.

He arrives in London on Wednesday, insults the city of London, the London games and then publicly acknowledges meeting the director of the United Kingdom’s intelligence service.

Of course, Romney’s trip to London doesn’t have to be a total loss. He was able to carve out time for some of his most ardent and generous supporters:

Romney’s London fundraisers will take him to heart of scandal-plagued banking industry (Washington Post, 7/18/12)

Why are London’s bankers so eager to give to Romney’s campaign? Maybe it’s because he’s made it clear he would let Wall Street write its own rules again.

Mitt Romney wanted this trip to showcase his foreign policy chops…but the trip so far has been far from a success.

Meanwhile, back home…

Romney's taxes: Why do they matter? | New Hampshire Union Leader

“But there is no place for secrecy or, indeed, privacy in a Presidential campaign. If you want the job, you have to subject yourself to the scrutiny. You have to be prepared to stand and explain, indeed, justify, your actions. If they are legal, then so be it... Surely he could not have arrogantly believed that he could withstand any storm that developed by bluffing his way through it? If so, it hasn’t worked.

“If Romney intends to win, he is going to have to make the tax forms public.”

Iran's supreme leader dismisses Obama overtures

Yahoo News-

TEHRAN, Iran – Iran's supreme leader rebuffed President Barack Obama's latest outreach on Saturday, saying Tehran was still waiting to see concrete changes in U.S. policy.

Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was responding to a video message Obama released Friday in which he reached out to Iran on the occasion of Nowruz, the Persian new year, and expressed hopes for an improvement in nearly 30 years of strained relations.

Khamenei holds the last word on major policy decisions, and how Iran ultimately responds to any concrete U.S. effort to engage the country will depend largely on his say.

In his most direct assessment of Obama and prospects for better ties, Khamenei said there will be no change between the two countries unless the American president puts an end to U.S. hostility toward Iran and brings "real changes" in foreign policy.

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