Labor Secretary Solis: Obama Will Take On 'Teabaggers'

Well, that civility sure was enjoyable while it lasted, huh?

With the team behind President Barack Obama targeting the Sunshine State in their bid for a second term in 2012, the White House sent U.S. Labor Secretary Hilda Solis to speak to the Florida Democratic Convention on Saturday.

A day after Vice President Joe Biden told the convention at Walt Disney World that Obama needed to carry Florida to win in 2012, Solis attempted to rally Democrats for the elections and urged them to push for the Obama jobs plan which, with Republicans controlling the U.S. House, has no chance of passing Congress.

Speaking at a luncheon event on Saturday, Solis carried water for Obama, bashing Republicans and praising the administration’s economic policies.

Solis offered harsh words about conservatives. Looking at 2012, Solis slammed the tea party movement, calling them “teabaggers” and promising the Obama administration will take them on.

If Obama cared the least about "civility" he'd fire her today. But this is what he wants.

By the way, her use of the vulgar term wasn't a one-time occurrence.

"I'll be darned if I'm going to set that aside now because a few tea baggers want to somehow muzzle my voice," she said, according to the Tallahassee Democrat. "We don't have to sit back and allow a minority in the Congress, known as the tea party, to dominate the discussion in our households."

Obama Was Right: It's Time to Try Something New

Obviously this will be called racist for using his own words against him.

Boehner: 'We Have the Ability to Limit Their Use of Funds to Try to Bring This Administration to Heel'

Bring them to heel? I don't know there, Johnny. There could be hidden racial dog-whistle codewords going on there.

@2:48 - Ingraham: Are you saying that the president, with his approach today, from what you know of it, is acting around his Constitutional parameters and violating those parameters?

Boehner: Well I have great concerns that he may be. And I know that our committees of jurisdiction...are looking at these proposals to make sure that the president isn't exceeding his authority.

@3:27 - Ingraham: What will you do if you believe he is exceeding his authority? What recourse do you have?

Boehner: We've got an appropriations process that's under control here where we have the ability to limit their use of funds to try to bring this administration to heel.

@3:46 - Boehner: I've had my share of disappointments this year, but I gotta tell you what, there is nothing that has disappointed me more over the last eight weeks than to watch the President of the United States basically give up on the economy, and give up on the American people, decide he's going to quit governing, and spend his entire next 14 months campaigning.

@4:09 - Boehner: If the president is serious, he ought to be up here working with us to find common ground to solve the issues that the American people want us to solve.

On Obama's assertion that Occupy Wall Street isn't much different from the tea party protests:

@5:52 - Boehner: I don’t think it's a valid comparison at all.

Thanks to Matt Wolking for the clip.

Since Obama enjoys recycling speeches, be on the lookout for a reprisal of this.

President Obama strayed from his prepared remarks at a Labor Day rally to accuse his opponents of talking about him "like a dog."

Obama was in Milwaukee to speak at the Milwaukee Laborfest, attended by Labor Secretary Hilda Solis, Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood and AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka. He used the speech to promote his $50 billion infrastructure plan and to criticize Republicans ahead of crucial midterm elections.

"Some powerful interests who had been dominating the agenda in Washington for a very long time and they're not always happy with me. They talk about me like a dog. That's not in my prepared remarks, but it's true," he told the union crowd.

WSJ Discovers a New Twist in the Developing Solydra Scandal

The Wall Street Journal has uncovered another wrinkle in the scandal surrounding the bankrupt solar company Solyndra. A major investor in Solyndra sought a lucrative contract with the United States Navy while sitting on a Pentagon panel that helps to promote new technologies within the government.

Solyndra was promoted to the Navy by RockPort Capital, one of the firm's largest investors and board members, which has a seat on a Pentagon panel that helps the government find emerging technologies.

RockPort recommended Solyndra to the military, along with four other companies. In the end, the negotiations for Solyndra's inclusion in a $1 million pilot program fell apart when the Navy learned about the company's pending bankruptcy filing.

The role of RockPort Capital is a new twist in the Solyndra tale, which has focused largely on whether another Solyndra investor, the family foundation of billionaire George Kaiser, helped the firm secure a $535 million loan guarantee from the Department of Energy. There is no evidence linking the loan guarantee to Mr. Kaiser, who was a significant donor to President Barack Obama's 2008 campaign.

Oh, well the Navy learned that Solyndra was in financial trouble. Perhaps it's not that big a deal after all. It's not like an investor in Solyndra that sat on the Pentagon panel intentionally hid that information or anything.

The Department of Energy has said it gave Solyndra the loan guarantee after careful review by its staff.

Mr. Kopczynski said RockPort disclosed its $47.5 million investment in Solyndra to the Pentagon panel, though it didn't disclose that Solyndra was in financial trouble and said it wasn't required to under the panel's rules. Gaining the Navy as a customer could have helped Solyndra's shaky financial state, and by extension RockPort's $47.5 million investment in the Fremont, Calif., firm. The FBI is investigating whether Solyndra misled the U.S. government in obtaining its 2009 loan guarantee.

I suppose the silver lining is that the White House wasn't involved in any of this.

Emails released in connection with a congressional probe show that David Prend, RockPort's co-founder and a Solyndra board member, met with Carol Browner, a top White House official, while the company's initial loan application was pending. A person familiar with the matter said Ms. Browner met with a handful of people, including Mr. Prend, to discuss energy policy and climate change. Mr. Prend brought up Solyndra in passing, this person said. Mr. Prend didn't respond to requests for comment.

Remember, this is only one of the solar companies to receive government loans under questionable circumstances and affiliations. It will get worse.

Poll: President Obama Hits New Low in New Jersey

A new Quinnipiac poll released today shows President Obama has fallen to his lowest approval rating in the Garden State ever.

From Politico:

Garden state voters disapprove, 52 percent to 43 percent, of the president’s job performance - his lowest score in the state since taking office, according to the Quinnipiac Polling Institute.

...

Disapproval of the president is 88 to 10 percent among Republicans and 60 to 34 percent among key independent voters.

New Jersey Democrats still overwhelmingly approve of the president, with 77 percent approving of his job performance and 19 percent disapproving.

There is also a large gender gap among voters in New Jersey, as 50 percent of women approve of Obama, with only 45 percent disapproving. 60 percent of men, on the other hand, disapprove of the president’s jobs performance, with only 36 approving of it.

Obama still polls well head-to-head against GOP challengers, however.

That said, Obama currently leads possible Republican challengers in head-to-head matchups in the state, beating former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney 47-41 percent; Texas Gov. Rick Perry 49-36 percent; and businessman Herman Cain 47-38 percent.

The final Quinippiac presidential approval poll taken in New Jersey before the 2009 gubernatorial election showed Obama enjoying a comfortable 55/39 approval split. Chris Christie, of course, won that contest over Jon Corzine by roughly 3.5 points even though Corzine received considerable help from Obama during the campaign.

Meanwhile, after Chris Christie's approval rating bottomed out at 44% in June of this year (47% disapprove), he has rebounded to an astounding 58% in Quinnipiac's latest poll (only 39% disapprove).

Can the GOP steal a win in New Jersey in next year's election? It's still a long shot, but polls are trending in the right direction.

Oh, this is my first post here. I'm John E. Nice to meet you.

Scandal? What Scandal? Obama Fundraiser Pushed Solyndra Deal From Inside

Nothing to see here, folks. Move along. How convenient this drops late on a Friday afternoon.

An elite Obama fundraiser hired to help oversee the administration's energy loan program pushed and prodded career Department of Energy officials to move faster in approving a loan guarantee for Solyndra, even as his wife's law firm was representing the California solar company, according to internal emails made public late Friday.

"How hard is this? What is he waiting for?" wrote Steven J. Spinner, a high-tech consultant and energy investor who raised at least $500,000 for the candidate before being appointed to a key job helping oversee the energy loan guarantee program. "I have OVP [the Office of the Vice President] and WH [the White House] breathing down my neck on this."

Many of the emails were written just days after Spinner accepted a three-page ethics agreement in which he pledged he would "not participate in any discussion regarding any application involving [his wife's law firm] Wilson [Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati]."

The $535 million loan to Solyndra was ultimately approved in 2009 and for months was touted by President Obama as a model of his efforts to create new jobs in the emerging field of clean energy. But in late August, the company abruptly shut its doors and days later declared it was filing for bankruptcy. Now the loan is the subject of multiple investigations, by Congress and by the Department of Justice.

In one of the new emails shared with ABC News and other news outlets Friday, the White House appears to be bracing for the political fallout -- one high ranking energy official in the White House warns shortly before Solyndra's bankruptcy, on Aug. 26, that what's coming is a "*#~@ show" and "a mess."

So nice of them to share. Maybe they can start sharing with Darrell Issa.

H/T.

More here.

Via John Ekdahl, we've got a handy dandy Solyndra timesline.

Obama Attempts to Shore Up Hispanic Vote With Important Appointment

In a transparent attempt to recapture some of the Hispanic vote that's been fleeing his Titanic of an administration, Barack Obama decided to appoint Constitutional scholar Shakira to something called the Advisory Commission on Educational Excellence for Hispanics. Someone on a commission for educational excellence should first demonstrate some of her own.

"I'm not an expert on the Constitution but I know the constitution exists for a reason," she said. "It exists to protect human beings, to protect the rights of people living in a nation, with or without documents. We're talking about human beings here."

He Owns It: Obama Embraces 'ObamaCare' Label

It wasn't long ago Democrats sniveled over ObamaCare being used as a pejorative. Now the desperate Obama claims he cherishes the monkiker.

Sure.

President Obama is embracing the term “ObamaCare” on the campaign stump, attempting to turn the tables on critics who use it in a derogatory way.

“They call it ObamaCare?” the president told supporters at a St. Louis fundraiser Tuesday evening. “I do care! You should care, too.”

Earlier in the day, Obama told an audience in Dallas, “Folks go around saying ObamaCare. That’s right — I care. … That’s their main agenda? That’s your plank? Is making sure 30 million people don’t have health insurance?”

The president’s remarks are clearly part of a White House strategy to reclaim some lost ground on healthcare, taking the fight to Republicans.

“I have no problem with people saying Obama cares. I do care,” the president said in Minnesota, the first stop of his rural bus tour this summer. “If the other side wants to be the folks that don’t care, that’s fine with me. I do care.”

The second most senior Democrat in the House, Rep. John Conyers (Mich.), has been urging Democrats to embrace the term for months. He had even taken to handing out buttons with the words “I [heart] ObamaCare” as part of his campaign to rehabilitate the moniker.

Great strategy. I care, so therefore the other guys don't.

CBS Reporter Says WH Screamed at Her Over Fast and Furious

On The Laura Ingraham Show today, CBS reporter Sharyl Attkisson tells the story of abuse from the White House. Waaah, you're being so unfair!



H/T Matt Wolking.

From the transcript:

1:31 - In between the yelling that I received from Justice Department yesterday, the spokeswoman--who would not put anything in writing, I was asking for her explanation so there would be clarity and no confusion later over what had been said, she wouldn't put anything in writing--so we talked on the phone and she said things such as the question Holder answered was different than the one he asked. But he phrased it, he said very explicitly, 'I probably heard about Fast and Furious for the first time over the last few weeks.'

6:05 - Laura: So they were literally screaming at you?
Attkisson: Yes. Well the DOJ woman was just yelling at me. The guy from the White House on Friday night literally screamed at me and cussed at me. [Laura: Who was the person? Who was the person at Justice screaming?] Eric Schultz. Oh, the person screaming was [DOJ spokeswoman] Tracy Schmaler, she was yelling not screaming. And the person who screamed at me was Eric Schultz at the White House."

7:33 - Laura: Do we know the exact number [of guns] that went over to Mexico?
Attkisson: We know more than 2,000 in Fast and Furious and I will soon be reporting on the fact that that is not the only case. 2,000 for that operation according to the agents involved.

8:28 - ...Is it sort of a drip, drip. And I'm certainly not the one to make the case for DOJ and White House about what I'm doing wrong. They will tell you that I'm the only reporter--as they told me--that is not reasonable. They say the Washington Post is reasonable, the LA Times is reasonable, the New York Times is reasonable, I'm the only one who thinks this is a story, and they think I'm unfair and biased by pursuing it.

Attkisson is one of the few reporters pursuing this scandal threatening to consume Obama. No wonder they're freaking out.

Meanwhile, it's time for a special investigator.

Update: More thoughts at AoSHQ.

Endangered Democrats Avoiding Obama

Most Democrats are unwilling to go on record and admit it, but with Barack Obama at the top of the ticket next year their careers are basically finished. It's all about The O and he could care less what happens to them. In fact, he doesn't even have the common courtesy to show up on time for speeches and most recently left Democrat senators waiting quite a while for a conference call. Now some don't even want to make public appearances with him.

Obama left his party’s top senators, who had assembled for a conference call, hanging on the phone for nearly 20 minutes before National Economic Council Director Gene Sperling came on the line with a seemingly vague notion of what the call was supposed to be about, Democratic sources said.

The White House and Reid’s office did not comment for this article.

Reid has been Obama’s most important ally in Congress, but the relationship has never been particularly affectionate, even though Reid was one of Obama’s first Senate colleagues to privately urge him to run for president.

Obama and Reid speak frequently on the phone, but the conversations can be terse. One Democratic source quipped that it’s often a contest to guess who will hang up on the other first. Reid, as it turns out, doesn’t have a habit of saying goodbye when he ends a call.

The White House has had to rely on Reid because, unlike former President Clinton, Obama has little appetite for regularly calling Democratic lawmakers.

“I think one of the problems with the White House is that it’s been too set apart. It’s been too Chicago-centric, and it needs to get out,” said Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.). “Clinton didn’t just talk to four leaders, he picked up the phone and he kind of said, ‘I really need your vote on this.’ ”

While Obama has personally leaned on members for their votes on controversial bills, House and Senate Democrats have been frustrated with the White House’s communication.

Senate Democrats note that Reid has been Obama’s faithful soldier since the start of his presidency. White House officials view Reid as easier to work with than House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi (Calif.).

Reid made a huge contribution to Obama’s legacy by uniting all 60 members of his conference in 2010 to pass healthcare reform, despite misgivings from liberals and centrists alike.

But as Democratic lawmakers near a tough election, rank-and-file members feel less inclined to stand close to Obama.

Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.), who is seeking a second term in 2012, said she would not join Obama for a public appearance in Missouri on Tuesday, citing the Senate’s busy schedule.

One Democratic aide, whose boss is facing reelection in a swing state, said of Obama: “There are no coattails.”

Republicans will capture control of the Senate if they net four seats in 2012 (three if Obama loses). The map favors the GOP; Democrats are defending 23 seats, Republicans only 10.

McCaskill apparently has had a change of heart since Friday.

McCaskill, up for reelection herself next year and a top target of Republicans hungry for video footage of her and the president, said she isn’t trying to avoid Obama.

“He’s the President of the United States. Of course I’ll be seen with him,” McCaskill said on Friday. “Whoever thinks that I’m going to avoid being seen with the president doesn’t know me very well.”

Republicans are a near lock to regain the Senate and considering Obama may be headed for a landslide defeat, grabbing 60 Senate seats may not be impossible. They still have a little bit of time to toss Obama overboard but their window of opportunity is dwindling.

The NRSC is already goofing on McCaskill:

'When You Look at the Way That He Governs, You See That He is Very Inclusive'

At the current rate of progress, the Washington Post hit piece series on Rick Perry may result in him being awarded a Nobel Peace Prize for his stellar role in race relations. Judging by this article he's done a lot more to reach out to blacks than most any Democrats I can think of.

As governor of Texas, Rick Perry appointed the first African American to the state Supreme Court and later made him chief justice. One of Perry’s appointments to the Board of Regents of his alma mater, Texas A&M University, became its first black chairman. One chief of staff and two of his general counsels have been African American.

Perry, who is seeking the Republican nomination for president, also enjoys warm associations with many black leaders, who say he regularly reaches out to them and has personally backed some of their causes.

“When you look at the way that he governs, you see that he is very inclusive,” said Brian Newby, an African American who served first as Perry’s general counsel and then as his chief of staff before returning to private law practice in Fort Worth. “You see that in his appointments; you see that in his friendships; you see that in the way that he deals with minority legislators.”

Still, you know there's a but coming. There has to be. They've gone all in on painting him a racist and even after the humiliation of the racist rock story, they can't let go of their racism chew toy.

But many of those minority legislators say Perry has a long history — dating to his first race for statewide office more than 20 years ago — of engaging in what they see as racially tinged tactics and rhetoric to gain political advantage.

What they see as racially tinged. Not what his actual record reflects, but what one person sees as racially tinged, whatever that's supposed to mean.

Let's forget about the president marching with some of the most odious racists on the planet and attending a racist church for two decades. Rick Perry has supposedly engaged in racially tinged politics.

He could have an entire staff of African-Americans, could be married to an African-American, could call himself the First Black Governor of Texas and none of it would matter. He's a Republican and therefore must be destroyed.

I can't wait for the general election when the WaPo laments the politics of personal destruction any time Obama's faults are pointed out.

Obama and the New Black Panthers: Perfect Together

Race-baiting charlatan Barack Obama has once again been exposed in devastating fashion by Andrew Breitbart today. In advance of a new book from J. Christian Adams, who resigned from Obama’s Justice Department in the wake of New Black Panther voter intimidation scandal that was squashed by Eric Holder.

Breitbart has photos and a story relating to Obama appearing and marching with member of the NBPP in Selma, AL, including with notorious racist Malik Zulu Shabazz.

I noticed some traffic to this post from March 2008, back during the height of Obama's primary with Hillary Clinton and who was featured on Obama's own website but none other than the New Black Panthers.

Barack Obama and a virulent racist hate group. Don't expect much media attention to that. Instead what is the media focusing on? Looking under every rock to find dirt on Republicans.

Schumer and Durbin Admit Democrats Won't Vote for Obama's Tax Increases

Left unmentioned for the most part by the media is the fact Democrats have to defend 23 Senate seats in 2012, and with Barack Obama at the top of the ticket many of them realize they're going down with the sinking ship. So if any of them are to survive they understand one thing: Do not, under any circumstances, commit political suicide by voting for a massive, job-killing tax increase.

New York's senior senator said even the Democratic-controlled U.S. Senate was balking at paying for President Obama's jobs bill.

"The main hangup is not the jobs bill itself," Sen. Charles Schumer said Sunday. Obama has been calling on lawmakers to pass his $447 billion jobs bill in nearly every speech for almost a month and proposed paying for it with spending cuts, tax hikes on the wealthy and closing corporate tax loopholes.

"After [Obama] announced the jobs bill ... he proposed ways of paying for it that are probably not the best way to garner the votes," Schumer said.

But like a schmuck, you stood there and cheered him on, Chuckie.

Republican leaders in the House had been vocal arguing that now was not the time to raise any taxes. And Senate Majority Whip Richard Durbin (D-Ill.) has said that Democratic senators standing for election won't vote for a tax increase - "even on the wealthiest people."

So there's no hope Obama's tax increases pass and Democrats won't even bring it up for a vote. But the clown in the White House is still running around to daily fundraisers demanding it be passed.

Be assured it won't.

'There Will Never Be a Close Relationship Between Obama and the Left'

The Hill's White House stenographer Sam Youngman treats us to another delusional piece of Obamaganda today by pretending he's not the most far left occupant ever of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. They want us to believe Obama not an ultra-leftist so they can possibly win back independents, I suppose. What other reason can there be for such a ridiculous assertion?

A note to the professional left, minority groups and other liberal supporters of President Obama: Quit waiting for an apology. It’s not going to happen.

And, Mr. President, they’re not going to apologize to you, either.

Despite the intense outreach Obama is now conducting, there will never be a close relationship between Obama and the left. He will have to continue to look upon George W. Bush’s loyal conservative following with envy.

Uh, Sammy, if you recall how low Bush's approval was toward the end of his term, it wasn't simply because the left hated him. He wasn't exactly popular on the right, either.

And the tour he’s undertaking with liberal and minority groups now — the tough love, the chiding, the bullying — that’s as good as it’s going to get.

Because while the left feels as if it has legitimate grievances with Obama — he’s not a fighter, he caves, the public option, Elizabeth Warren — the president feels like he has legitimate grievances with the left.

There may be legitimate grievances from the left, but that's merely because Obama hasn't completely embraced their Stalinist ideology, at least out in the open, especially since he's be in nonstop campaign mode since he assumed office. If he actually said what he wanted to do his approval would be far lower than the miserable 40% or so it currently is.

Obama wants to be seen as the president of the whole United States. He is not, at least publicly, going to give any one group special attention.

He wants to be seen as president of the whole United States? Really? He sure has a strange way of showing it.

Just ask the folks at Gibson Guitars and Ford, for starters.

Ford Knuckles Under, Pulls Bailout Ads

Ah, remember the good old old days in America when capitalism was king and freedom of speech reigned?

Good times, good times.

Well, those days are over, at least for now.

As part of a campaign featuring "real people" explaining their decision to buy the Blue Oval, a guy named "Chris" says he "wasn't going to buy another car that was bailed out by our government," according the text of the ad, launched in early September.

"I was going to buy from a manufacturer that's standing on their own: win, lose, or draw. That's what America is about is taking the chance to succeed and understanding when you fail that you gotta' pick yourself up and go back to work."

That's what some of America is about, evidently. Because Ford pulled the ad after individuals inside the White House questioned whether the copy was publicly denigrating the controversial bailout policy CEO Alan Mulally repeatedly supported in the dark days of late 2008, in early '09 and again when the ad flap arose. And more.

With President Barack Obama tuning his re-election campaign amid dismal economic conditions and simmering antipathy toward his stimulus spending and associated bailouts, the Ford ad carried the makings of a political liability when Team Obama can least afford yet another one. Can't have that.

Nope, can't have that, we've got to prop up this miserable failure and make believe he's competent. We've sunk to the level now where planted multimillionaire donors get to ask questions of him at staged townhall events. Communist dictators of days gone by never got such favorable, slobbering treatment in the media.

We've got a thug in the White House stonewalling two massive scandals between Fast and Furious and Solyndra, yet those stories are barely a blip on the mainstream media radar. Bad news is no news according to them. As such, expect them to conveniently ignore this outrageous behavior.

It's One of Those 57 States

The best and brightest at work here. Amazingly, the super genius in the White House never noticed this gaffe.

Looks like someone in the White House press office needs to brush up on their U.S. geography.

The press office issued credentials to those reporters and photojournalists who are covering the president’s trip this week to Washington state, California, and Colorado. The credential even provides a handy graphic highlighting (in white) which states the president will visit.

The only problem?

Wyoming is highlighted, not Colorado.

Oops.

CNN isn't much better. They claim Wyoming and Colorado are "stacked next to each other" for some reason.

Speaking of geography, why did Obama skip Oregon?

'What Happened? Republicans Used to Like Roads'

What happened, he asks? Why don't we like road? Because potholes are cool, man!

Seriously, this is how insipid Barack Obama has become. Because Republicans won't give him a blank check, they supposedly don't like roads now? Is he really that stupid?

"Back then (2008) we started this campaign not because we thought it would be a cakewalk. After all you supported a candidate named Barack Hussein Obama . . . I need you guys to shake off any doldrums. I need you to decide right here and right now, talk to your friends and neighbors and coworkers and tell them, 'You know what? We're not finished yet."

What doldrums? Unemployment nationally is at 9.1 percent, up from when Obama took office; underemployment is perhaps 17 percent. The jobless rate among African Americans has climbed from 11.5 percent to 15.6 percent. Unemployment in Washington and Oregon, states that went ga-ga for Obama in 2008, is up -- especially in Oregon.

A majority, more than 60 percent of Americans, feel their nation is on the "wrong track." Of course, Congress' approval rate stands at 13 percent -- but polls show blame for the doldrums is shifting from George W. Bush to Barack Obama.

Obama is right to blame Republican resistance for America's dysfunctional government. The "loyal opposition" has made clear it is willing to prolong the doldrums, if not wreck the entire economy, to make him a one-term president.

Ideological pushback, manufactured confrontations, are the order of the day. Congress is currently at an impasse over disaster relief, threating a government shutdown. House Republicans want to cut job-creating clean energy programs in order to fund the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

Obama introduced an American Jobs Bill that would pour resources into fixing schools and repairing the country's crumbling infrastructure. The GOP is vowing to block key provisions.

"What happened? Republicans used to like roads," Obama said at the Paramount. (He's sure right about that.) "Some think they don't like roads because Democrats are proposing it."

Some of the doldrums, however, can be laid at Obama's doorstep.

Gee, ya think?

Speaking of doldrums, five foot jocksniffer Mikey Lupica embarrasses himself again.

Now, on a morning nearly three years later, it is quiet on Hyde Park Blvd., a Secret Service van parked in front of the house and Secret Service signs posted around the neighborhood, and metal barriers making sidewalks disappear. This happens to be around the corner from the home of Bill Ayers, the guy that idiots on the right tried to make into some kind of terrorist, and maybe two blocks from where Louis Farrakhan lives.

Um, Mikey: Ayers made himself into a terrorist, and he's proud of his past. Look it up.

Meanwhile, Obama took some time out of his grueling fundraising schedule to mock the wildfires in Texas. Yes, really.

At an event in Woodside, Calif., Obama took a direct shot at one of his potential GOP opponents, Texas Gov. Rick Perry. Without mentioning him by name Obama mocked Perry as "a governor whose state is on fire, denying climate change."

Perry spokesman Ray Sullivan responded, "It's outrageous President Obama would use the burning of 1,500 homes, the worst fires in state history, as a political attack."

Biden Flashback: 'Recovery Act Has Had an Unprecedentedly Low Level of Fraud'

Care to take that one back, Sheriff Joe?

“Sheriff” Joe Biden’s remarks could come back to haunt him when it comes to Solyndra, the solar company that went bankrupt after winning a $535 million loan guarantee from 2009’s economic stimulus package.

President Obama named his vice president the sheriff of the stimulus, and Biden’s duties were to ensure that no money was wasted in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.

Biden, a key figure in any White House negotiation with leaders on Capitol Hill, has boasted of his success in limiting fraud and waste in the stimulus.

“Now, there were a lot of naysayers back then who said that there was no way we could implement the Recovery Act without massive waste, fraud and abuse,” Biden said in a June 13 post on the White House blog announcing the new “Campaign to Cut Waste,” which was to root out wasteful government spending at every agency and department.

“You know what? They were wrong. Thanks to our diligence (and some help from advanced computer models and sophisticated data analysis), the Recovery Act has had an unprecedentedly low level of fraud, with less than 0.6 percent of all awards experiencing any waste or abuse.”

Obama asked Biden to reprise his sheriff role Wednesday, appointing him to lead a review of how agencies spend taxpayer dollars following a Justice Department report that found “extravagant” spending on conferences, including $16 muffins.

The Solyndra controversy represents a small portion of the total stimulus funds, but it still strikes at the administration’s promise to prevent fraud and waste. And Biden finds himself in the middle of the controversy.

Republicans argue the White House rushed the loan to Solyndra so that Biden could announce it at a company event in 2009, when the administration was pushing green energy as a way to create jobs.

According to Obama flunky Jay Carney, this was merely an "investment" that didn't pan out. Nothing to see here, move along.

"The reason why fledgling, cutting-edge industries need this kind of assistance is because they can be high risk as well as high reward," White House press secretary Jay Carney said. He also observed that "what happened here is an investment did not pan out."

Um, so why not let everything out in the open rather that running for cover and stonewalling investigators?

Meanwhile, to no surprise we've got an apparent Soros stench emanating from another Obama scandal. Imagine our surprise.

As Republican lawmakers begin to dig into the White House's cozy relationship with a startup wireless company and the wealthy Democratic donor who owns it, a new character has appeared on the story's edges: liberal superdonor, conservative bete noire and controversial investor George Soros.

Soros reportedly invested in the telecom company LightSquared through a hedge fund, and many of the nonprofits he finances have backed LightSquared in regulatory and policy disputes.

Obama Craters in Florida

It's time to ratchet up the class warfare and scare the daylights out of granny.

Whether it’s in a crowded field or one-on-one, Rick Perry is the man to beat in the party’s race for the White House, a new poll shows.

The Texas governor leads rival Mitt Romney by 9 percentage points in the crowded race for president, according to the survey from Quinnipiac University that also found Perry would best Romney if Sarah Palin hopped in the race or if the contest was a simple head-to-head matchup. The other seven candidates poll in the single digits.

The poll also suggests Romney won’t get much political mileage out of attacking Perry for calling Social Security a "Ponzi scheme." More than half of Republicans — the only ones who can vote in the upcoming winter primary — say it’s "fair" to describe the entitlement program that way.

Perry’s comments, though, could prove more problematic in a general-election race, with 58 percent of all voters saying the comment comparing Social Security to a criminal-funding swindle is "unfair." Also, voters in Florida — where more than half of the electorate is older than 60 — aren’t sure if he wants to end or fix Social Security, which they don’t want changed.

Romney’s relative weakness in the eyes of Republican voters — that is, his perceived moderation — would be a strength in a matchup against President Obama, whom the former Massachusetts governor bests by a 47-40 percent spread thanks to the support of independent voters.

Perry is statistically tied with Obama, who earned his lowest job approval rating ever in a Quinnipiac poll. Only 39 percent approve of the way Obama’s doing his job, while 57 percent disapprove. More than half of voters say Obama does not deserve a second term. Only 41 percent say he should be re-elected.

“Gov. Rick Perry has the lead — and the momentum — among Florida Republicans, while former Gov. Mitt Romney can point to a better general election showing,” Peter A. Brown, assistant director of the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute, said in a written statement.

Tonight's debate should be a barn-burner as Romney tries to make up ground on Perry. At this juncture it matters little that Perry is in a statistical tie with Obama. If Obama's numbers remain anywhere near as low as they are now he can kiss Florida, and likely his presidency, goodbye.

Milking It Dry: Obama Mascot and Tax Cheat Warren Buffett to Appear at Obama Fundraisers

Maybe while he's there he can bring an oversized novelty check for all the back taxes he owes. Is it just me or are you sick of Warren Buffett already?

Billionaire investment guru Warren Buffett is will help fundraise [sic] for President Obama's reelection campaign at two fundraising events in Chicago and New York respectively.

According to Crain's Chicago Business, Buffett will attend the Oct. 27 Chicago fundraising event alongside a number of major Chicago donors including former Obama campaign national finance chairwoman Penny Pritzker, a longtime Obama supporter and fundraiser, and John Rogers Jr., another early Obama campaign backer.

Buffett will also be featured at a Democratic National Committee fundraiser in New York in late September.

Obama has spent every free moment this week in New York at lavish fatcat fundraisers, but we're supposed to pretend he's a man of the people or something.