Note to Punditiots: Gulf oil disaster is NOT "Obama's Katrina"

By GottaLaff

In an earlier post, I mentioned how some in the media (Gee, guess who?) are pushing the meme that the Gulf oil catastrophe is "Obama's Katrina". Wrong. It's a memorable catch phrase, but it's inaccurate, to say the least. But that won't stop them from perpetuating the lies. It never has, it never will.

While BP was the first responder, the Coast Guard reacted right away to the situation and deployed 70 vessels and 1 million feet of boom for possible service, Napolitano said.

Salazar noted that the Obama administration has ordered inspections of "blowout preventers" on other Gulf rigs. The government's job was to "keep the boot on the neck" of BP to ensure it meets its obligations in stopping the spill, dealing with the oil slick and paying for all costs and damages.

President Obama is on his way:

President Obama headed to Louisiana on Sunday to see for himself the growing oil slick from a damaged offshore well that threatens the U.S. Gulf Coast.

Compare that to this memory jogger, "A Tale of Two Photos":

As for the meme, maybe this will help, Via Greg Sargent:

Michael Shear counts the ways that the Gulf oil spill isn’t Katrina:

The gulf oil spill is no Katrina, in which 1,836 people died amid the near total devastation of one of America’s great cities…

Unlike Katrina, there has been no obvious failures of government, no images to compare to the Superdome or the flooded streets of St. Bernard Parish. And unlike Katrina, there is an easy target for blame in the current oil spill: the oil giant BP, which by law is the “responsible party” and must pay for all of the costs of the cleanup.

However, if you are a Rushpublic, it's all Obama's fault. So is that paper cut I just got, according to them.... And that flat tire that caused gridlock on the 101 freeway, along with global warming, terrorism, locusts, Vanilla Ice's career, and Trump's hair.

VIDEO- Fox guest: Rise in domestic violence? Blame Obama

By GottaLaff

This video is from Fox News' Fox & Friends, broadcast Feb. 24, 2010:

Download video via RawReplay.com

A conservative talk show host says President Barack Obama is "partly" to blame for a rise in domestic violence because of the deteriorating job situation over the past year -- and because the president has criticized Las Vegas.

James Harris, who hosts a radio program on WTMJ in Milwaukee:

"If this is all about jobs, we have this massive job loss and ... we have domestic violence problems in Nevada, what we need to do is lay this right at the feet of Obama, who in the last year twice slammed Nevada, slammed Las Vegas, so we can say that this is partly Obama's fault for causing so much job loss in Nevada."

WIDBO.*

Yes, it's all Prez O's doing. All those abusive spouses: Psychological problems? Control issues? Nope, Obama.

That recession and the resulting unemployment that Obama inherited: BushCo? Nope, Obama.

Speaking of psychological problems, James Harris may want to seek a little help.

*When in doubt, blame Obama.

"I am an immigrant; I voted for Obama; and I know how to spell that word: v-o-t-e."

By GottaLaff

Via L.A. Times letters to the editor (bolding mine):

Re “ ‘Tea party’ convention a forum for woes, worries,” Feb. 6

Hey, Tom Tancredo! Giving the opening speech of the National Tea Party Convention, you told an audience that "people who could not spell the word 'vote' or say it in English put a committed socialist ideologue in the White House -- name is Barack Hussein Obama."

I am an immigrant; I voted for Obama; and I know how to spell that word: v-o-t-e.

I brought my children with me and raised them in this country. I am sure that they know how to spell too: They attended Stanford, Berkeley, UCLA and Harvard. (By the way, they also voted for Obama.)

Reading about your past and present activities, I learned how to spell some other words: h-a-t-e, o-b-s-e-s-s-e-d, b-i-g-o-t-r-y.

It is your turn to learn some English words such as "democracy" and "civil rights." You might also listen to a popular Spanish-English phrase: "Hasta la vista, baby!"

********

Re “ ‘Put your faith in ideas,’ Palin tells convention,” Feb. 7 The Republican Party, starting with Ronald Reagan, has systematically thrashed the economy and the federal government.
After each Republican administration, the Democrats were left to clean up the mess, which under George W. Bush had grown into an unbelievable catastrophe.

Now Sarah Palin is rallying her troops by ridiculing President Obama for not cleaning up the Republican mess fast enough, and Republican candidates are lining up to dog-pile Democrats across the country. What is wrong with this picture?

There were no letters to the contrary, which tells me that nearly 100% of the letters were like this, if not all of them. And for good reason.

Deficit truth

By GottaLaff

The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities released a report today, and Steve Benen reports in. He ends with this:

It's important for the public to realize who's responsible, in large part because it's important for the public to weigh policymakers' credibility. If GOP lawmakers embraced policies that are almost entirely responsible for the deficit those same lawmakers are now complaining about, it's a relevant detail. [...]

President Obama will deserve plenty of blame over the course of his presidency, but holding him responsible for getting us into this budgetary mess doesn't make sense.

No please go read the details. It's a welcome post that will get no attention on the Tee Vee Machine.

H/t: DAKGirl

VIDEO- Suze Orman: "It's not all the president's fault"

By GottaLaff



Suze Orman is unAmurkin! Doesn't she realize everything is Obama's fault?

“In my opinion, bankers,” Orman continued, “you are serving your own bottom lines and shame on you! And if you don’t get your act together, if you don’t start helping those that need loan modifications, if you don’t start helping those that need [small business] loans. . . if you don’t help those that really need you, then we’re going to have to do something about it.’”

Poor wittle bankies. They didn't do nothin'. Big Bad Suze, you leave them alone and start bashing the president before you give the Rushpublics the wrong impression.

Report: 'Bin Laden was within our grasp'

By GottaLaff

If only President Obama could be as wise and prescient as BushCo was, he would have won the war in Afghanistan by now. All he needed to do is follow their sage advice. And really, who needs more than 11 months in office to transform the entire Middle East? Plus solve the economic crisis, the health care disasters, and global warming?

What on earth is the Obama administration waiting for?

President Obama got some political cover Sunday for his upcoming announcement on sending more troops to Afghanistan.

A report released by the Democratic staff of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee blamed the Bush administration for failing to capture or kill Osama bin Laden when the al Qaeda leader was cornered in Afghanistan's Tora Bora mountain region in December 2001. The report, released Sunday, said the situation in Afghanistan presented greater problems today because of the failure to nab bin Laden eight years ago.

Bin Laden had written his will, apparently sensing he was trapped, but the lack of sufficient forces to close in for the kill allowed him to escape to tribal areas in Pakistan, according to the report.

Defense Secretary Rumsfeld, and General Tommy Franks didn't send in enough forces. Too dangerous, they said. Too many potential casualties, they said. And after the fact, nobody knew where bin Laden was for certain, they said (and by "they", I'm including Dick Cheney).

They sure say a lot, don't they?

"But the review of existing literature, unclassified government records and interviews with central participants underlying this report removes any lingering doubts and makes it clear that Osama bin Laden was within our grasp at Tora Bora," the report said

Smoke him out! Isn't that what you spat out, BushCo? Promises, promises...

By releasing the report Sunday, Sen. John Kerry, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, focused attention on the past failure of the Bush administration to take out bin Laden, saying that had created a greater problem today.

The report states:

"On or around December 16, two days after writing his will, bin Laden and an entourage of bodyguards walked unmolested out of Tora Bora and disappeared into Pakistan's unregulated tribal area. Most analysts say he is still there today."

But let's keep in mind that it's all Obama's fault for being such a ditherer. If only BushCo were still in charge, all this would be behind us now.

Sarah Palin Blames Obama for Troubles; He Did All That?

By GottaLaff

Who knew Prez O donned his waders and pushed Miss Personality Disorder into the Sea of Resignation? No wonder he's so popular:

Jay Newton-Small, who interviewed Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin (R) for this week's Time magazine, notes that "one of the most interesting aspects of the story is how vehemently the Palin camp blames Barack Obama" for her troubles. "That's the way they think about it: that these Alaskans filing ethics complaints have been hoodwinked by Obama operatives into wasting the Alaskan government's time and resources."

Palin aide Meg Stapleton said, "A lot of this comes from Washington, D.C. The trail is pretty direct and pretty obvious to us."

She goes on to argue that "the anti-Palin offensive seems lifted straight from The Thumpin', which describes the political strategies of Rahm Emanuel, who is now the White House chief of staff."

1. Sarah Dearest has no idea what the word "responsibility" means.
2. She and her little friend Meg are certifiable.
3. See #1 and #2.

The Bush Years: Compare and contrast

By GottaLaff

Someone get me a Tums:

UNEMPLOYMENT RATE
Then: 4.2% (Bureau of Labor Statistics, January 2001)
Now: 6.7% (Bureau of Labor Statistics, November 2008)

DOW JONES INDUSTRIAL AVERAGE
Then: 10,587 (close of Friday, Jan. 19, 2001)
Now: 9,015 (close of Tuesday, Jan. 6, 2009)

BUSH FAVORABILITY RATING
Then: 50% (1/01 NBC/WSJ poll)
Now: 31% (12/08 NBC/WSJ poll)

CHENEY FAVORABILITY RATING
Then: 49% (1/01 NBC/WSJ poll)
Now: 21% (12/08 NBC/WSJ poll)

CONGRESS APPROVAL RATING
Then: 48% (1/01 NBC/WSJ poll)
Now: 21% (12/08 NBC/WSJ poll)

SATISFIED WITH THE NATION'S DIRECTION
Then: 45% (1/01 NBC/WSJ poll)
Now: 26% (12/08 NBC/WSJ poll)

CONSUMER CONFIDENCE (1985=100)
Then: 115.7 (Conference Board, January 2001)
Now: 38.0, which is an all-time low (Conference Board, December 2008)

FAMILIES LIVING IN POVERTY
Then: 6.4 million (Census numbers for 2000)
Now: 7.6 million (Census numbers for 2007 -- most recent numbers available)

AMERICANS WITHOUT HEALTH INSURANCE
Then: 39.8 million (Census numbers for 2000)
Now: 45.7 million (Census numbers for 2007 -- most recent available)

U.S. BUDGET
Then: +236.2 billion (2000, Congressional Budget Office)
Now: -$1.2 trillion (projected figure for 2009, Congressional Budget Office)

Someone was a little generous with the Chimpenfuhrer/Nation of Dick favorability numbers. As for the rest, forget the Tums. Someone get me a pitcher of margaritas.

Of course I'm sure you all realize that this is all Obama's fault.