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February 10, 2012
Lisa M. Krieger: Man with defibrillator demands access to his own heart's information
David G. Savage: Why activists may not be in a hurry to have High Court rule on alternative marriage
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Kimberly Palmer: How to actually enjoy -- relaxing, financially -- your vacation
February 8, 2012
Warren Richey: Why momentous Prop. 8 ruling might not satisfy gay-rights groups
Menachem Wecker: Though Controversial, LL.M.'s Can Lead to Specialized Legal Jobs
The Kosher Gourmet byDana Velden: Going to the bother of making soup? You know it better be good. This CREAM OF TOMATO SOUP certainly is! And it's a cinch to make, too (Includes techinques and serving secrets)
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Frank J. Gaffney, Jr.: Caught off-guard? President's Super Bowl interview with Matt Lauer gives those who need a reason not to vote for him, a darn good one
Suzanne Bohan: Leaping lizards! Tiny reptiles advancing robot design
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Jonathan Tobin: Iran Threatens Israel With Destruction, But the New York Times Doesn't Hear It
Jeffrey Fleishman: In newly democratic Egypt, tens of democracy activists jailed, to stand trial; their groups are 'threatening the stability of the homeland'
Julie Deardorff : Researchers say antioxidants may not be that effective and could do more harm than good
Mark Clayton: How did Anonymous hackers eavesdrop on FBI and Scotland Yard?
February 3, 2012
Edmund Sanders : Israeli official says Iran is creating missile that could reach East Coast of US
Victoria Kim: Immigrant-smuggling ring used black drivers to avoid racial profiling
February 2, 2012
Jim Carney: Wrong number call may have saved her life
Reza Kahlili : Ex-CIA spy in Iran's Revolutionary Guard: What Obama doesn't grasp about striking deals with Tehran
Tina Susman: For woodchuck rescuer, every day is Groundhog Day
February 1, 2012
Brian Bennett: US officials see increasing threat of domestic attack from Iran
Emily Brandon: How to Take Advantage of New 401(k) Fee Disclosures
January 31, 2012
January 30, 2012
Paul Richter and Ramin Mostaghim: Misreading Teheran's limits -- deadly and economically devastating as they may be -- is a risk administration, Europe seem willing to take
Suzanne Bohan: Warning: Nap-deprived tots missing more than sleep, study finds
Meg Handley: Banks Revamping Rewards Programs to Woo Customers
January 27, 2012
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Yochonon Donn: In liberal New York City, fervently-Orthodox Jews may soon be getting a district to call their own
Jeannine Stein: An inflated ego and thinking you're 'all that' doesn't just make others sick of you, it can make you ill
Katy Hopkins: New budget rules may affect how much money you get for college
January 26, 2012
Ed Koch: To the New York Times, calling for the murder of Jews by those capable of having their incitement taken seriously isn't news
Jeannine Stein: Mental illness struck one in five U.S. adults in 2010: Report
January 25, 2012
Richard Simon: House passes two bills endorsing the use of religious symbols at military memorials
Fred Weir: Putin: Multiethnic Russia cannot survive as a US-style 'melting pot'; must find its own way
Susan Johnston: 5 Sneaky Coupon Strategies Consumers Should Watch Out For
January 24, 2012
Carol Clark: The price of your soul: How your brain decides whether to 'sell out'
Caroline B. Glick: America lost most in 'Arab Spring'. Sadly, many voters still don't grasp the extent
Warren Richey: Drug criminal scores win in GPS ruling from conservative-leaning high court
Erika Bolstad: Black conservatives gather to talk about gaining strength
January 23, 2012
Melissa Dribben: Jewish voters to play a key role in Florida's Republican primary
Jordan Rau: In quest to grow, Catholic hospital system will announce this morning its break from church
Ali Safi: U.S. envoy gives Taliban terms for peace talks
January 19, 2012
January 18, 2012
January 17, 2012
Frank J. Gaffney Jr.: No-kidding red lines: U.S. response to an Iranian nuke may be bluster, but Israel's won't be
David G. Savage: They sued their principals after slandering them online --- now the cases are headed to the Supreme Court
David Francis: Where to Invest in 2012: With stocks expected to rebound, opportunity abounds for investors
January 13, 2012
Ben Lynfield: Israeli lawmakers move to annex Jewish Judea, one museum at a time
Alexia Elejalde-Ruiz: Thriving through touch: Gentle massage helps older people with low mobility improve in mind and body
January 12, 2012
Warren Richey: Landmark Supreme Court ruling a 'resounding win' for religious groups
Warren Richey: Supreme Court says no to new rule on eyewitness testimony
John Fauber : Statins found to raise diabetes risk in postmenopausal women
Katy Hopkins : Consider This Before You Pay for an Online Degree
The Kosher Gourmet by Joseph Erdos: This mushroom and barley soup has an intense -- almost nutty -- flavor that mixes robust with Middle East. It has creaminess without cream
January 11, 2012
Shari Roan: Millions of atrial fibrillation sufferers at risk for devastating, but preventable, stroke
Tom Hussain: Pakistan -- recipient of more than $21 billion in civilian and military aid -- speeds pursuit of Iranian pipeline, defying US
David G. Savage: High court signals it won't be loosening TV's 'indecency' rules
Stephen Ceasar: Oklahoma's Islamic law amendment can't go into effect, court rules
January 10, 2012
Reza Kahlili: From an ex-CIA spy: US must exploit new split in Iran's Revolutionary Guard
Karen Kaplan: Study: Nicotine replacement products ineffective when used in real-life situations
January 9, 2012
Michael Doyle: Put through legal hell over dream home, couple fought back hard --- all the way to Supreme Court
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Jewish World Review
April 17, 2009
/ 23 Nisan 5769
Obama's regrettable precedent
By
Bob Tyrrell
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http://www.JewishWorldReview.com |
Another Democratic president has shattered precedent.
Democratic politicians take great pride in shattering American
precedents, and they do so with such regularity that it is surprising
there are any precedents left to shatter, except, I guess, for the
precedents Democrats establish on the ruins of earlier precedents. I
hope that when the next Republican president comes along, he or she will
shatter a few Democratic precedents. Given the serial bungling of the
Obama administration, I shall not be surprised to see that
precedent-shattering Republican come along in 2013.
During his recent European peregrination, our haughty president became
the first American president to speak ill of America while on foreign
soil. Actually, it is rare for an American president to speak ill of
America anywhere. President Barack H. Obama does it practically
everywhere. Now that Fidel Castro has quieted down and the French left
is in abeyance, President Obama has become America's leading critic.
Until the ex-presidency of Jimmy Carter, it was unheard of for a former
president to speak ill of his country or of the sitting president while
traveling abroad. Jimmy broke that precedent early in the presidency of
the man who beat him, Ronald Reagan. Since then, Jimmy frequently has
piped up against America and whoever might be president. He did it as
recently as 2005, when he said, "I think what's going on at Guantanamo
Bay and in Abu Ghraib and other places is a disgrace to the United
States of America."
Now along comes the precedent-shattering President Obama, traveling
through Europe on his virginal passport a passport that was used
precisely once before he became a national political figure. His tour of
Europe was the burlesque of a preening popinjay. He gave the queen an
iPod. His wife gave her a friendly squeeze. Oh, yes, and the president
declared that the official language of German-speaking Austria is
"Austrian." All that was amusing, but the criticism of his homeland
while in Europe was not. Actually, I am tired of hearing his criticism
of his homeland when he is at home. We know he believes America was a
failed state before he became president. Now let him return the country
to the bipartisanship that he promised.
While in Europe, our sententious president blamed America for genocide
and torture. He brought up Hiroshima and Guantanamo. He accused us of
arrogance. What can President Obama possibly have against arrogance?
Since his emergence on the national stage a year or so ago, he has given
me the impression that he considers arrogance among the virtues.
It was in Strasbourg, France, among what he might call the
Strasbourgundians, that he was most critical of his country. Said our
president: "Instead of celebrating your dynamic union and seeking to
partner with you to meet common challenges, there have been times where
America has shown arrogance and been dismissive, even derisive." Yes, he
said "derisive," and he continued: "On both sides of the Atlantic, these
attitudes have become all too common." Then he concluded: "They are not
wise. They do not represent the truth. They threaten to widen the divide
across the Atlantic and leave us both more isolated." After reading that
preachy drivel, I have to say that not even Jimmy Carter is capable of
such empty moralizing. Perhaps this is how one talks as a community
organizer or a motivational speaker, both of which Obama seems to have
been, but now he is the president of the United States!
There was a time, a couple of decades ago, when this sort of carping
about America was cited as the product of "liberal guilt." Doubtless,
had President Obama been sounding like this in 1984, say, at the
Democratic National Convention, critics such as Jeane Kirkpatrick would
be chiding him for "liberal guilt." Mind you, at the time, I took issue
with this diagnosis of our liberal friends. Then and now, they do not
believe they have been guilty of any moral or intellectual failing. If
you listen to the precedent-shattering President Obama, you will note
that he is accusing other Americans of failures
and vice, not himself. This is not liberal guilt; it is liberal
arrogance. It was liberal arrogance in the past, and so it is today. It
is going to wear thin with my fellow Americans very shortly.
Consider this one last slap at two great men after one of America's
greatest triumphs for peace and justice. While gloating over America's
financial decline, our president noted to his European audience that a
new financial order is being created by the world's top 20 financial
powers, not by "just Roosevelt and Churchill sitting in a room with a
brandy. . But that's not the world we live in, and it shouldn't be the
world that we live in." Whoever told our president that the post-World
War II world came from these two great men "sitting in a room with a
brandy" misinformed him. His knowledge of history is as defective as his
knowledge of Roosevelt's and Churchill's tastes.
Every weekday JewishWorldReview.com publishes what many in the media and Washington consider "must-reading". Sign up for the daily JWR update. It's free. Just click here.
JWR contributor Bob Tyrrell is editor in chief of The American Spectator. Comment by clicking here.
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