Hey media, Obama isn't 'God' By LORRIE GOLDSTEIN So, as it turns out, U.S. President Barack Obama is not "God" when it comes to dealing with the Islamic world after all.
- Kelly McParland: Obama's different road on Iran
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It's not often that conservatives criticize politicians, especially liberal politicians, for failing to provide the world with enough rhetoric. Usually we get more than enough of that stuff to keep everyone happy, especially in instances when the opportunity for effective action is absent, meaning the words are all we're going to get.
But it's pretty much universally accepted among conservatives that President Obama has let down the side, not to mention democracy and the valiant street protesters in Tehran, by laying off on the fiery declarations while Iran teetered on the edge of revolt against its mullah dictatorship. Even some normally-friendly voices -- which means the vast bulk of the U.S. press corps -- have been unusually snippy in demanding to know why the President has been so recalcitrant in refusing to put Washington four-square behind the anti-mullah forces and their battle.
- David Frum: Canada well-positioned to benefit from Obamanomics
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A veteran of Washington wheeling and dealing told me this story from an administration long ago:
At the mid-session budget review, the staff had to present the president with some bad news. The budget deficit would be much bigger than anticipated. The president answered firmly: No it won’t.
So the staff resumed work. What if we adjusted the inflation number? Raising the estimate for inflation in years five through 10 of the budget plan makes future revenues look much bigger. And if the raise is small enough — say from 1.6% to 1.64% — nobody will notice: 1.64 rounds down to 1.6 after all….
After a few such devices, things had been massaged into much better shape. The president got his number.“So what lesson did you learn from this experience?” I asked the veteran.
“Never trust numbers,” he answered. You can describe numbers as very big or not so big, scary or benign, but when you see all those decimal places — you are being conned.
Just remember that as you listen to the news from Barack Obama’s Washington. Money is being spent and debt incurred at a staggering pace. On June 15, the Congressional Budget Office estimated that the Democrats’ new health plan, known as Kennedy-Dodd, would add perhaps $1.6-trillion to the budget deficits for 2010-2019 — $1.6-trillion!
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