The Purloined Letter

The news out of Israel and Washington about the talks and the freeze is achieving exciting new levels of surrealism.

Haaretz is reporting that the news that Obama was offering (via a letter) baskets of carrots to Bibi if he would extend the freeze for two more months (cough, elections, cough), was sourced to a researcher with ties to Dennis Ross, who happens to be Obama's special envoy, though I thought Mitchell was his special envoy. How many fucking special envoys does he need, for Christ sake?

Now, Obama is denying sending any such letter. What could be clearer? But as Haaretz points out, clever Obama might not have sent a letter, he might have sent an email. Anyway, Netanyahu is inclined to reject the non-offer. What could be better, a non-letter offer is rejected, maybe.

Well, how about this. The Egyptian Foreign Minister is saying that the Israeli FM, wait for it, does not speak for Israel! Then who does, we might ask, if we wish our heads to explode.

Couldn't Hillary Clinton straighten all this out?

Tough guy

Barack Obama's latest denunciations of the 'liberal' or 'progressive' bloggers that hazard to criticize him and his policies is showing a tough, no nonsense guy that isn't afraid to speak his mind, he'd have us think.

Unfortunately, he was to late failed to impress Bibi Netanyahu, who has, despite Obama's desperate bleatings, and after less that a month since he was wined and dined at the White House, told our tough guy prez to stuff it, the settlement freeze is over, and what are you going to do about it?.

Israeli FM Lieberman is pouring gasoline on the fire, rejecting the talks out of hand. We're supposed to believe that Bibi and Lieberman aren't on the same page, but you'd have to be Barack Obama, wearing his Pollyanna dress, to believe that.

That's Obama's big problem, everyone knows he's a wus, a creature controlled by the banks, the military, the big corporations, the Israelis and all the real tough guys out there. He has never, not once, ever done anything to confront them, he can only get tough with those with no power, and little credibility. To his record of being a coward and a failure he's added a new credential, he's a bully.

Just fine

The newest 'revelations' by Bob Woodword, including the fact that Barack Obama wanted 'an exit strategy' from Afghanistan but was not given that option by the Pentagon, have been labeled 'just fine' by his senior advisers.

While Gen. McChrystal's low opinions of him, as related in Rolling Stone, were enough to get him fired, Gen. Petraeus's stonewalling of possible exit strategies got him the job of running the war.

As usual, the only metric that Obama can apply to his policies is political, firing Petraeus or Gates would have been too much of a political liability, so you send 30,000 troops to keep them happy.

I repeat myself, I know, but such weakness is dangerous. Obama remains with a good shot to be a worse President than W.

9/11 thought

Bush, well, really Cheney and Rummy, created the reality that Barack Obama lives in. He's their bitch, and will be until his dying day.

Emergency!

Just in case you missed it, which wouldn't be difficult since Google shows it only reported on Antiwar.com and 'Voice of Russia', President Obama has extended the 'State of National Emergency' declared by Bush on September 14, 2001.

What a pathetic wanker that dude is. And I don't mean Bush.

United States of Squalor

Though squalor is far to tepid a word to describe the latest goings on in politics and the media. Last month we opined that we hadn't reach bottom, despite appearances, and boy, were we right.

Kook pastors burning Korans, or not burning Korans, are on today's bill of fare, and for tomorrow? The mind boggles.

Odierno out

News that Gen. Odierno is being replaced as commander in Iraq might be seen as no big deal, even after his interview by Margret Warner which had him dictating policy and acting like he's the second coming.

But since he is being sent to head up the Joint Forced Command, which Gates has said would be disbanded, we could infer that he has displeased his civilian masters.

Also, if Obama had wrapped the military and the flag any tighter around himself last evening, he would have strangled. Pathetic.