Official: Obama granted use of appropriate force to rescue captain

By GottaLaff

Just to follow up my earlier posts on the rescue:

President Obama granted two separate requests from the Defense Department to go forward with a military operation to rescue Captain Richard Phillips, an administration official tells CNN.

Obama granted the authority to use appropriate force with the focus on saving and protecting Phillips’ life. The requests were made by the Pentagon Friday and Saturday. For technical reasons, authority was granted two different times, according to the official, because different U.S. forces moved in the region near the coast of Somalia.

CNN has also learned that Obama has phoned Phillips on board the USS Boxer as well as Phillips’ wife and family at their home in Vermont.

Wow, what an inept commander in chief he's turned out to be. Someone call the Rushpublics and tell them how sorry we are to have ever doubted them.

Top U.S. general in Iraq: I believe we'll be gone by late 2011

By GottaLaff

So much for that inexperienced, dangerous, inept commander in chief we were supposed to have had:

General Ray Odierno, the top U.S. military commander on the ground in Iraq, said Sunday that he believes U.S. troops will be out of the country by the end of 2011.

CNN Chief National Correspondent John King asked Odierno to rate his confidence, on a scale of one to ten, that U.S. troops would be out by the agreed upon timeline between the U.S. and Iraqi governments.

“As you ask me today, I believe it’s a ten – that we will be gone by 2011.” [...]

“He’s our commander-in-chief,” Odierno said of President Barack Obama, whose opposition to the Iraq war and to the surge strategy became trademarks during the 2008 White House race. “As our commander-in-chief, we take direction from him.”

“He’s very attentive. He listens. He’s incredibly intelligent. He talks through the issues. . . .He makes a decision and then we execute those decisions and that’s all you can expect out of your commander-in-chief. And I’ve been very pleased with the interaction that I’ve been able to have with him.”

Whaddya know... The commander on the ground gave President Obama high marks. Scratch one Rushpublic (tea) tantrum from the list.

Obama not qualified to be president. IWRC* Palin says so.

By GottaLaff

Pot. Kettle. Black. Oy.

Sarah Palin said Friday several of Barack Obama's comments about the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan have been "reckless" and disqualify the Illinois senator for consideration as the next commander-in-chief. [...]

"Some of his comments that he has made about the war…I think, in my world, disqualifies someone from consideration as the next commander-in-chief," Palin told Fox News Friday. "Some of the comments he's made about Afghanistan, what we are doing there, supposedly just air-raiding villages and killing civilians — that's reckless."

"In my world". "In my world"? IWRC World, or should I say "IRWC planet", is the only place in the universe in which that would even begin to make sense. This is one of a multitude of reasons this Winky Twinkie Downhome Hockey Mommin' Folksy-Talkin' TrooperGatin' note-reader shouldn't be anywhere near the White House.

Palin was referring to an answer Barack Obama gave at a August 2007 town hall meeting with New Hampshire voters, during which the Illinois senator was asked whether he had plans to shift U.S. troops out of Iraq to other terrorist hotspots like Afghanistan.

"We've got to get the job done there and that requires us to have enough troops so that we're not just air-raiding villages and killing civilians, which is causing enormous pressure over there," Obama said of the U.S.'s mission in Afghanistan.

Those comments were immediately seized by GOP critics. The Republican National Committee sent out a press release shortly after calling them "offensive," and demanding he apologize. The McCain campaign has also highlighted the comments several times this campaign season. An AP Fact Check later reported Western forces had been killing civilians at a higher rate than insurgents.

So Gramm-pa McCain and his granddaughter IWRC were wrong. Again. Surprise!

*"In What Respect, Charlie?"

Sarah Louise Palin's military command limited, to say the least

By GottaLaff

Now remember, Sarah Louise has more experience than General Petraeus and Bill Clinton combined, so she's ready to oversee our nuclear arsenal, Russia's nuclear arsenal, and even the global hockey puck arsenal:

When presumptive Republican presidential nominee John McCain introduced Gov. Sarah Palin as his vice presidential running mate Friday, the Arizona senator emphasized her role as commander in chief of the Alaska National Guard.

Later, when questions were raised about Palin's lack of experience in national or international affairs, the McCain campaign pointed again to her military command experience as governor. Some reporters have tried to follow up. [...]

But the governor has no command authority overseas -- or anywhere in the United States other than Alaska, says Maj. Gen. Craig Campbell, the service commander of the Alaska National Guard.

"When members of the National Guard are federalized, they work for the president," Campbell said Wednesday. "It's not just overseas. They could be federalized to go to other states, or they could even be federalized in the state."

Occasions in which Palin does retain command authority over the 4,200-member Alaska National Guard are whenever the guard responds to in-state natural disasters and civic emergencies, said Campbell, who also serves as commissioner of the state Department of Military and Veterans Affairs.

Some examples?

"We've deployed individuals in state service all over the state under Sarah Palin," he said. "We had defense men down in Seward for the (Mount) Marathon run doing security.

"Out west and northwest we had erosion problems and the National Guard was involved in some of the protection out there. About three days ago, the Army National Guard picked up a lady from Little Diomede ... at the request of state troopers."

Did Palin directly approve each of those activities?

No, Campbell said. The governor has granted him authority to act on his own in most cases, including life-or-death emergencies when a quick response is required, or minor day-to-day operations.

I couldn't be more impressed.

The recent decision to deploy a C-17 cargo plane from the Alaska Air National Guard to Louisiana to assist during the Hurricane Gustav response was an occasion in which he briefed the governor's office and sought its approval, Campbell said. But in that case, chief of staff Mike Nizich signed off on the deployment.

The flooding that occurred in Fairbanks in late July -- in which the guard sent water trucks north to provide clean drinking water -- didn't require the governor's approval, Campbell said.

Wow! I'm... underwhelmed.

Last year, during Palin's first year as governor, there wasn't much action, Zidek said. "Thankfully we didn't have any major disasters."

Former Gov. Tony Knowles:

"I had more military action in one week when I was in the Army as a sergeant (in Vietnam) than I had as commander in chief for eight years," he said.

Maybe she should think about becoming a community organizer.

Poll-itics: Obama tougher than McCain edition

By GottaLaff

Obama understands us, and he's tough:

It also finds Obama beats McCain, 63%-41%, on who most “understands the needs and problems of people like you.” And Obama got a boost on toughness after the convention. On, “Is he tough enough?” just 48% said he was in early August, but now 58% say so.

However:

Though Obama saw an increase in the commander-in-chief question, McCain still beats him by plenty -- 45%-29% say McCain is very likely to be an effective commander in chief. 19% say McCain's not likely to be effective; 34% say the same of Obama.

So tell me, how can you relate to people so well and be tough enough to lead without also being an effective commander in chief?