Obama's Leadership

[Dos Equis]

He has taken a number of vacations, including pretty much every holiday, and has not spent one of them with the troops.  I think he can show a great deal of leadership by spending Thanksgiving, Christmas, etc. down range.  Instead, he does things like spend Christmas on the one of nicest beaches on earth, takes a small break to go meet with Marines on one of the nicest military installations in the country (location wise).  I am not impressed. 

Obama, military mingle
The president visits service members and their families at the Kaneohe Marine base
By Craig Gima
POSTED: 01:30 a.m. HST, Dec 26, 2010
     
President Barack Obama took time out of a quiet Christmas with family, friends and basketball to greet servicemen and women during their Christmas dinner on the Marine Corps Base Hawaii yesterday afternoon.

The president and first lady Michelle Obama posed for pictures, shook hands, hugged children and picked up babies. The president even joked about his busted lip.

"I don't think he left before he got a chance to shake hands with everyone who was there," said Maj. Alan Crouch, the public affairs officer for the base. "He seemed appreciative of the service members and family members. It seemed like he got a lot out of it, as well."

The unannounced visit to Anderson Hall happened at about 3:30 p.m. but may not have been much of a surprise. Obama visited with service members at the same dining hall at the same base at about the same times during his last two vacations in Hawaii.

About 200 service members and their families got to meet the president and first lady.

Marines from Kaneohe were part of the surge in Afghanistan ordered by Obama last year. About 1,400 Marines—the 2nd Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment and a helicopter squadron—deployed to Helmand province in 2009. Some of the Marines went directly from Iraq to Afghanistan to be part of the surge.

Marines and sailors from the 3rd Battalion, 3rd Regiment just returned from Afghanistan earlier this month.

The 3rd Battalion, which left Hawaii in May, lost at least three Marines during the seven-month deployment in the Nawa district.

The base's three infantry battalions rotate to southern Afghanistan. The 2nd Battalion is back in Helmand.

The president and his wife spent more than an hour shaking hands and hugging service members who had arrived for a Christmas dinner of prime rib, turkey, ham, stuffing, potatoes, vegetables, salad, pie, pastries and soft-serve ice cream.

"Hey, guys, merry Christmas. How are you?" the president asked Lisa Lao, 21, and Maha Lao, 23, sitting at a booth with their two children.

Obama picked up 3-month-old Jensen Lao and bounced him a couple of times.

"Merry Christmas, Mr. President," one little boy called out.

"Did you get everything you wanted?" Obama asked a little girl. She showed him a new bracelet and the president pointed to Michelle Obama, who also had a new bracelet, and the first lady and the little girl compared bracelets.

With U.S. troops serving in Afghanistan, Iraq and other outposts around the world, the Obamas also used the president's weekly radio and Internet address to encourage Americans to find ways to support service members during the holiday season.

"Let's all remind them this holiday season that we're thinking of them, and that America will forever be here for them, just as they've been there for us," the president said.

Mrs. Obama, who has made working with military families one of her priorities as first lady, said Americans don't need to be experts in military life to give back to those who serve their country. She urged the public to reach out through their schools and churches, or volunteer with organizations that support military families.

"Anybody can send a care package or prepaid calling card to the front lines, or give what's sometimes the most important gift of all: simply saying thank you," Mrs. Obama said.

As the president moved down a dining table, he encountered a large man, taller than the president, wearing a Dallas Cowboys T-shirt.

"We've got to get you on the court," Obama quipped. "I will not get an elbow in the lip if we play with this guy."

Alan Rogers, a chaplain at the base; his wife, Lisa; daughters Sarah and Laurin; and sons John and Jackson spent several minutes talking with the president and first lady about sports, school and another son—Lance Cpl. Jacob Rogers, now serving in Afghanistan.

"It was very affirming," said Sarah Rogers. "The first family recognizes all the sacrafices we make as a military family. They took the time to talk to us about our lives and our brother in Afghanistan."

The public appearance contrasts with the rest of the president's Christmas Day, spent at a luxurious oceanfront home in Kailua with his wife and daughters, Malia and Sasha. The first family celebrated Christmas with a small circle of friends and family, including some of Obama's childhood friends and the president's sister, Maya Soetoro-Ng, who lives here on Oahu, the island where Obama was born and spent much of his childhood.

The Obamas dined on steak, roasted potatoes, green beans and pie, and the sports-obsessed president got a chance to relax and watch some basketball.

The president's Christmas has been far quieter than last year's holiday, when a 23-year-old Nigerian man allegedly attempted to blow up a plane bound for Detroit. The incident raised questions about the nation's terror readiness and consumed the rest of Obama's vacation.

Thus far, Obama's excursions in Hawaii have been mostly to the gym and golf course, although he skipped the gym yesterday morning. On Christmas Eve, he went to the beach with his daughters.

http://www.staradvertiser.com/news/20101226_Obama_military_mingle.html

[Dos Equis]

For example:

Top US Gen. Visits GIs in Afghanistan on Christmas
Saturday, 25 Dec 2010
     
MARJAH, Afghanistan – The top U.S. and NATO commander in Afghanistan crisscrossed the country on Saturday, making a Christmas visit to coalition troops at some of the main battle fronts in a show of appreciation and support in the tenth year of the war against the Taliban.

Gen. David Petraeus started his visit by traveling in a C-130 cargo plane from the capital, Kabul, to the northern province of Kunduz, telling troops with the U.S. Army's 1-87, 10th Mountain Division that on this day, there was "no place that (he) would rather be than here" where the "focus of our effort" was.

The northern part of the country has seen increased fighting, with the Taliban stepping up their attacks as NATO focuses its sights on the militant movement's southern strongholds. Petraeus was briefed on the situation in the region by German Maj. Gen. Hans-Werner Fritz, the commander of NATO's northern regional command.

In eastern Afghanistan, where NATO forces are focused on trying to prevent insurgents from slipping in from neighboring Pakistan, one U.S. platoon spent their Christmas as they do almost every other day — in a firefight with insurgents. Taliban on nearby hills opened fire twice during the day on their Combat Out Post Badel, sparking short gunbattles as the U.S. soldiers returned fire. There were no American casualties. Badel and other such front-line posts come under similar attacks nearly daily.

Petraeus' visits Saturday also took him to the region of one of the main NATO offensives in the south this year_ the Taliban stronghold of Marjah in Helmand province, scene of some of the heaviest fighting recently with the Taliban.

He spoke to the Marines on the base, praising them for the improvements in the area, which still sees Taliban attacks.

"You are part of America's new greatest generation. It is not just the courage that you have shown, it is not just the skills that you have shown in arms, although you have had to do that on a near daily basis in tough areas like this," he told the men and women of the 2nd Battalion, 6th Marine Unit. "It is the versatility that you demonstrate going outside the wire every day, being ready for a hand grenade or a handshake and knowing what to do if either of those comes your way."

Marjah has become a symbol of the problems facing NATO troops in Afghanistan. More than 7,000 U.S.-led NATO ground troops launched a nighttime invasion of the region of farming hamlets last February to rout insurgents and cut off their income from the drug trade. NATO officials said the effort would pave the way for the Afghan government to move in aid and start delivering public services.

Marine Maj. Gen. Richard Mills on Dec. 7 declared that the battle in Marjah was "essentially over." But the campaign took longer than NATO officials had hoped, and illustrated the complexity of trying to wrest control of an area where Taliban influence remained strong.

Efforts to create a civilian government in Marjah have been painfully slow, and U.S. troops struggled against roadside bombs and sniper attacks from an enemy that could blend in with the local population.

Petraeus said "we probably created expectations that were unduly high, and we worked through that."

Still, he said, the progress that was made in Marjah and in other areas helped pave the way for the unanimity achieved at a November NATO summit in Lisbon, where member states committed to Afghanistan until 2014.

If the situation Marjah had been the same as earlier in the year, Petraeus said, that unanimity would not have been there.

He said that when the campaign in Marjah began, it was "a headquarters for the Taliban," a bomb-making center and location for the illegal narcotics industry.

"Now of course it is flourishing," he said. Where once there was no school, there are now 1,200 attending classes.

It is not known when U.S. troops could be withdrawn in significant numbers from Helmand as heavy fighting continues elsewhere in the area, including the Sangin district where Marines took over from British forces.

Before Marjah, Petraeus stopped in the western province of Farah, where the Italian army's 7th Alpini is stationed.

The U.S. general's visit coincided with one by Gen. Vincenzo Camporini, the Italian chief of defense general staff. Petraeus congratulated the Italian soldiers on the "progress that has been achieved in the first few months that this unit has been here."

http://www.newsmax.com/Headline/AfghanistanChristmas/2010/12/25/id/381002

[Straw Man]

Who cares if he goes on Christmas or not.

He and Michelle have both "visited' the troops and most recently I believe was this past Veterans Day

[Dos Equis]

 

[Straw Man]

hey Bum - would you like a list of all the times that Obama has visited the troops

will you respond with a double set of eye rolls?

[Dos Equis]

Actually, I'd be perfectly fine if the Village Idiot simply shut the heck up.   

[Straw Man]

Actually, I'd be perfectly fine if the Village Idiot simply shut the heck up.   

of course you'd prefer it

I expose you for the idiot that you are virtually evey time I post on your threads

[Dos Equis]

Bwahahahahahahahaha!!!!!!   

LOL!!!!

[Straw Man]

Bwahahahahahahahaha!!!!!!   

LOL!!!!

you should probably go back to ignoring me if you want to maintain the pretense that you're not a moron

[Dos Equis]

Why does the Village Idiot keep following me around the board?  I've told her, repeatedly, that I don't think she is very bright.  I repeatedly ignore her.  She is the only poster on the board that I routinely call an idiot (on the rare occasions that I engage her).  Yet she persists in trying to engage me.  Does she suffer from Battered Woman's Syndrome?   

[Straw Man]

Why does the Village Idiot keep following me around the board?  I've told her, repeatedly, that I don't think she is very bright.  I repeatedly ignore her.  She is the only poster on the board that I routinely call an idiot (on the rare occasions that I engage her).  Yet she persists in trying to engage me.  Does she suffer from Battered Woman's Syndrome?   

if you don't like me to responding to your idiotic posts then you have two options

1.  stop being so fucking stupid
2.  stop posting

[Dos Equis]

http://www.mamashealth.com/abuse/bwomensyndrome.asp   

[Dos Equis]

"President Obama cancels family weekend in Williamsburg, Virginia, and will stay in D.C. due to budget crisis."

I'm actually surprised. 

[Soul Crusher]

"President Obama cancels family weekend in Williamsburg, Virginia, and will stay in D.C. due to budget crisis."

I'm actually surprised. 

Poor baby - he will only have to wine, dine, and scarf down caviar, wine, kobe bef, and be waited on by 50 butlers in DC.  poor baby.   FUCK HIM.   He created this mess in the first place by not passing a budget last year.   

[Dos Equis]

Is this good leadership?

Grassley: Obama hasn’t called me in four years
By Alexander Bolton and Bob Cusack - 06/05/13

Sen. Chuck Grassley, a pivotal deal-maker in Congress, said Tuesday that he has not received a phone call from President Obama in four years.

The lack of communication between the Iowa Republican and the president is an indication that Obama’s new “charm offensive” with Republicans on Capitol Hill has come up short.

Grassley, who struck landmark legislative deals with both former Presidents Clinton and George W. Bush, said he is surprised there hasn’t been more outreach from the 44th commander in-chief.

In an hourlong interview with The Hill, Grassley also said Obama has broken his wide-ranging promises on government transparency. He called Obama “the most stonewalling president this country has ever had.”

As the ranking Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee, Grassley has primary jurisdiction over two of the president’s highest domestic priorities: gun violence and immigration reform legislation. But Grassley has received scant personal attention from Obama.

In 2009, Obama basically had Grassley on speed dial, calling him frequently during negotiations over an overhaul of the nation’s healthcare system. Grassley at the time was one of three Republicans on the Group of Six, which also included Sen. Mike Enzi (Wyo.) and former Sen. Olympia Snowe (Maine).


“During that period of time, the president would call me on my cellphone and talk to me. I don’t know if it was a half a dozen times or a dozen times, but enough so you remember he called you,” Grassley said.

The relationship unraveled after a meeting at the White House in August 2009.

“We had a meeting down at the White House about Aug. 5, 2009 — the six of us — and he asked me this question: ‘Would you be willing to be one or two or three Republicans voting with the Democrats to get a bipartisan bill?’ and I said, ‘No,’ ” Grassley recalled.

“I never had a phone call from him since,” Grassley added.

The six-term senator noted that he occasionally has exchanged pleasantries with the president when he’s seen him at an event or has been invited to the White House for a meeting on another subject.

As part of his charm offensive, Obama has twice dined with groups of Senate Republicans. Grassley wasn’t invited.

 Grassley says he hasn’t even met Miguel Rodriguez, the assistant to the president and White House director of legislative affairs.

Democrats charge that Grassley wasn’t interested in striking a healthcare deal in 2009, claiming he was just trying to run out the clock.

Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus (D-Mont.) and Grassley have worked together on a range of issues for more than a decade, including taxes, Medicare drug coverage and trade.

After Obama was elected in 2008, many conservatives worried about an Obama-Grassley alliance. It never materialized for a variety of reasons; one cited by political observers is that there was speculation Grassley was going to draw a primary challenge in the 2010 cycle.

Another factor in the breakdown of the Obama-Grassley relationship is the senator’s aggressive oversight activities.

Grassley blasted the president for failing to keep his promise, made at the start of his first term, to run the most transparent administration in history. 

“Those of us who manage the public’s dollars will be held to account, to spend wisely, reform bad habits, and do our business in the light of day, because only then can we restore the vital trust between a people and their government,” Obama declared at his first inauguration.

Grassley said the president has fallen far short of that pledge.

“Historically in my time in the Senate, I’ve had problems with both Republican and Democratic presidents, but this president is the worst from this standpoint — his own benchmark,” Grassley said. “By his own benchmark this is the most stonewalling president this country has ever had.”

. . . .

http://thehill.com/homenews/senate/303501-sen-grassley-the-president-hasnt-called-me-in-four-years

[Dos Equis]

Maybe Chris Matthews is right about this?

[Skip8282]

Is this good leadership?

Grassley: Obama hasn’t called me in four years
By Alexander Bolton and Bob Cusack - 06/05/13

Sen. Chuck Grassley, a pivotal deal-maker in Congress, said Tuesday that he has not received a phone call from President Obama in four years.

The lack of communication between the Iowa Republican and the president is an indication that Obama’s new “charm offensive” with Republicans on Capitol Hill has come up short.

Grassley, who struck landmark legislative deals with both former Presidents Clinton and George W. Bush, said he is surprised there hasn’t been more outreach from the 44th commander in-chief.

In an hourlong interview with The Hill, Grassley also said Obama has broken his wide-ranging promises on government transparency. He called Obama “the most stonewalling president this country has ever had.”

As the ranking Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee, Grassley has primary jurisdiction over two of the president’s highest domestic priorities: gun violence and immigration reform legislation. But Grassley has received scant personal attention from Obama.

In 2009, Obama basically had Grassley on speed dial, calling him frequently during negotiations over an overhaul of the nation’s healthcare system. Grassley at the time was one of three Republicans on the Group of Six, which also included Sen. Mike Enzi (Wyo.) and former Sen. Olympia Snowe (Maine).


“During that period of time, the president would call me on my cellphone and talk to me. I don’t know if it was a half a dozen times or a dozen times, but enough so you remember he called you,” Grassley said.

The relationship unraveled after a meeting at the White House in August 2009.

“We had a meeting down at the White House about Aug. 5, 2009 — the six of us — and he asked me this question: ‘Would you be willing to be one or two or three Republicans voting with the Democrats to get a bipartisan bill?’ and I said, ‘No,’ ” Grassley recalled.

“I never had a phone call from him since,” Grassley added.

The six-term senator noted that he occasionally has exchanged pleasantries with the president when he’s seen him at an event or has been invited to the White House for a meeting on another subject.

As part of his charm offensive, Obama has twice dined with groups of Senate Republicans. Grassley wasn’t invited.

 Grassley says he hasn’t even met Miguel Rodriguez, the assistant to the president and White House director of legislative affairs.

Democrats charge that Grassley wasn’t interested in striking a healthcare deal in 2009, claiming he was just trying to run out the clock.

Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus (D-Mont.) and Grassley have worked together on a range of issues for more than a decade, including taxes, Medicare drug coverage and trade.

After Obama was elected in 2008, many conservatives worried about an Obama-Grassley alliance. It never materialized for a variety of reasons; one cited by political observers is that there was speculation Grassley was going to draw a primary challenge in the 2010 cycle.

Another factor in the breakdown of the Obama-Grassley relationship is the senator’s aggressive oversight activities.

Grassley blasted the president for failing to keep his promise, made at the start of his first term, to run the most transparent administration in history. 

“Those of us who manage the public’s dollars will be held to account, to spend wisely, reform bad habits, and do our business in the light of day, because only then can we restore the vital trust between a people and their government,” Obama declared at his first inauguration.

Grassley said the president has fallen far short of that pledge.

“Historically in my time in the Senate, I’ve had problems with both Republican and Democratic presidents, but this president is the worst from this standpoint — his own benchmark,” Grassley said. “By his own benchmark this is the most stonewalling president this country has ever had.”

. . . .

http://thehill.com/homenews/senate/303501-sen-grassley-the-president-hasnt-called-me-in-four-years

No, it's bad leadership.  But Grassley can be the grown up and keep pressing to engage Obama and keep pressing to pass helpful legislation like a jobs bill (or whatever).

[Dos Equis]

That's right leader of the free world:  run from the tough questions, and sit down with a comedian. 

Obama Refuses to Talk to America About Terror Threat
by Keith Koffler on August 6, 2013

President Obama continues to say nothing to a jittery nation about what some who have been briefed on the danger are describing as the worst terrorist threat since 9/11, declining to either offer reassurance or an explanation of the peril the nation faces.

Certainly, the president does not want to take questions about a threat he had minimized during the 2012 campaign. But what’s striking is that he has not addressed the nation in a formal manner on the potential for a major attack.

Incredibly, the first question Obama might take on the situation could come from a comedian. Obama is scheduled to appear on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno this evening in California, and the topic is sure to come up. He has an event earlier in the day, but it’s a campaign-style appearance at a high school in Phoenix, also an odd venue to be discussing potential terrorist attacks.

Not everyone has been excluded from receiving a high-level briefing. Vice President Joe Biden has met with members of Congress to discuss the threat, and some of the most specific information about what the United States is faced with has come from lawmakers.

Briefing reporters Monday, White House Press Secretary Jay Carney did not minimize the problem. “This threat is significant and we are taking it seriously for that reason,” he said.

But Carney refused to specifically characterize the extent of the danger to the United States itself.

“I would say that the threat is emanating from and may be directed towards the Arabian Peninsula, but it is beyond that, potentially,” he said.

Avoiding sharing much useful information, Carney spoke generally of the administration’s stance on terror. “I think that the threat from al Qaeda and affiliated organizations to the United States and to the American people has been a reality that we’ve talked about for a long time now.”

Instead of a proper grilling on the issue, the best the press has been able to do is shout “happy birthday” to Obama as he returned from two-day celebration with friends at Camp David Sunday.

http://www.whitehousedossier.com/2013/08/06/obama-refuses-talk-america-terror-threat/

[Dos Equis]

And there he is having an intense discussion with Jay Leno.



http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2013/08/06/obama-says-embassy-closings-arent-an-overreaction/

[Fury]

What leadership?

[Dos Equis]

 

Chris Matthews: Obama Is Missing Key Leadership Skills
Tuesday, 20 Aug 2013
By Wanda Carruthers

Liberal Democrat and MSNBC commentator Chris Matthews says President Barack Obama lacks leadership skills when compared with other presidents like John F. Kennedy or Franklin Delano Roosevelt.

"The key political asset is the ability to sit in a room with four or five other people, and have them accept your leadership," the MSNBC host of "Hardball" said on the cable network's "Morning Joe" program.

Matthews said that while it took years for Kennedy and Roosevelt to develop their speaking skills, they worked first to build personal relationships.

"They were developing the back room skills, one-on-one skills. How you make friends. How you become [the popular] class president. How you establish the loyalty of people one-on-one," Matthews said on "Morning Joe."

While Obama had the "speaking skill way ahead of schedule," Matthews said he neglected to develop relationships among leaders in Washington and the world during his short time in the Senate and first term as president.

"He never developed a love of politics, love of other politicians — love to sit around and play cards with them, get to know them, their nuances, hooks, triggers, buttons. "Get to know them and figure out how you can work with some of them," Matthews said.

He added that "even tough customers like [House Majority Leader] Eric Cantor, [GOP political consultant]Larry McCarthy, [and House Speaker John] Boehner, get to know the tea party sentiment."

http://www.newsmax.com/Newsfront/chris-matthews-msnbc-morning/2013/08/20/id/521309#ixzz2cXExDsF6

[Soul Crusher]

OTwink is back on his stupid ass bus tour in NYS wasting our time again. 

[Dos Equis]

Obama Skips Congressional Conference Call on Syria, Talks Jobs With Magic Johnson
By Noel Sheppard | August 30, 2013

The United States is about to start a war with Syria, yet President Obama still had time Thursday to meet with NBA Hall of Famer Magic Johnson to discuss - wait for it! - jobs.

Johnson announced the news on Twitter, and even called the current White House resident "the smartest and most powerful leader in the world":

Obama's senior advisor Valerie Jarrett later thanked Johnson for the "great meeting."

Isn't that special?

Our nation is talking about going to war, and the President of the United States has time to discuss jobs with a former basketball player.

What makes this even more disturbing is that National Security Advisor Susan Rice, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel, Secretary of State John Kerry, and Director of National Intelligence James Clapper briefed members of Congress about the situation in Syria Thursday.

It appears Obama was not involved in the conference call.

So our President doesn't have time to talk to Congress about a looming war, but he does have time to chat with a former basketball player.

That of course shouldn't be at all surprising, for back in June Obama delayed a meeting about Syria to talk to Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban.

A man has to have his priorities you know!

http://newsbusters.org/blogs/noel-sheppard/2013/08/30/magic-johnson-talks-jobs-barack-smartest-and-most-powerful-leader-wor#ixzz2dTiPr8Fi

[Soul Crusher]

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/08/31/world/after-british-vote-unusual-isolation-for-us-on-syria.html?hp&_r=1&


Cant even get the UK to back him up.

FAIL!!!!

[240 is Back]

 I am not impressed.  

 He's not interested in impressing you, to be honest.

Obama's "audience" isn't military voters.  in fact, politically speaking, it could HURT him with his base - anti war tree hugging homosexuals that vote 4 times - to be seen with the troops.

So while such a trip benefits repubs in office a lot - we all know obama puts politics first.  Anyone who is impressed that a POTUS is spending thanksgiving with the troops is probably voting repubs in 2016 already.  

And this isn't even flaming, beach bum, so don't bother coming at me... I'm being serious here.  Obama sees the troops as a prop that doesn't help with his voting base.