Looks Like Biden, Clinton and Repubs All Want Firmer Stance From Obama on Iran
By Ani on June 18, 2009 at 11:51 AM in Ahmadinejad, Mahmoud, Barack Obama, Current Affairs, Hillary Clinton, Iran, President Barack Obama, Republicans, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton
As Iran holds another mass opposition protest, according to the NY Times, Obama is Under Pressure by from several camps to Strike Firmer Tone re the election in Iran:
WASHINGTON — As tens of thousands of Iranian protesters take to the streets in defiance of the government in Tehran, officials in Washington are debating whether President Obama’s response to Iran’s disputed election has been too muted. Mr. Obama is coming under increased pressure from Republicans and other conservatives who say he should take a more visible stance in support of the protesters.
Even while supporting the president’s approach, senior members of the administration, including Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. and Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, would like to strike a stronger tone in support of the protesters, administration officials said.
Other White House officials have counseled a more cautious approach, saying harsh criticism of the government or endorsement of the protests could have the paradoxical effect of discrediting the protesters and making them seem as if they were led by Americans. So far, Mr. Obama has largely followed that script, criticizing violence against the protesters, but saying that he does not want to be seen as meddling in Iranian domestic politics.
Even so, the Iranian government on Wednesday accused American officials of “interventionist” statements.
But several administration officials acknowledged that Mr. Obama might run the risk of coming across on the wrong side of history at a potentially transformative moment in Iran.
Clearly, if the President is taking a weak stand on this issue and the Iranian government is still criticizing us, President Obama’s laissez faire posture is not buying us much. I am curious why the objections of the VP and SoS would be voiced in this article? Political cover for the president should he say something and if it doesn’t go his way, he has someone to blame. Or do Clinton and Biden want to get their opposition on the record somehow…
Last night, Bret Baier’s FOX news panel, Juan Williams, Charles Krauthammer and Fred Barnes weighed in with a most interesting discussion. Certainly, President Obama’s comments at the top of this video sound tepid to the point of being clueless. Update to FOX’s discussion: Moussavi has not asked the protest to disband but has called for another day of protests with participants dressing in black to declare a day of mourning for those killed:
More from the Times:
The administration’s concern over how to calibrate the response to the protests in Iran reflects the competing goals Mr. Obama is trying to balance: keeping faith with democracy advocates in Iran while not staking out a position that is so tough that it kills any chance of engagement with the Iranian government on America’s national security interests, including the Iranian nuclear program and Iran’s support for militant Islamist organizations like Hamas and Hezbollah.
Some criticism of the Obama administration’s cautious posture may be politically opportunistic, coming from rivals who are eager to draw distinctions between Republicans and Democrats, to portray the administration as generally weak when it comes to international confrontation.
But Mr. Obama also drew criticism from politically neutral observers when he said in an interview on Tuesday with The New York Times and CNBC that from an American national security perspective, there was not much difference between President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Mir Hussein Moussavi, his closest competitor in the election.
(snip)
Many Iran experts lauded Mr. Obama’s measured stance just after the election. But some of that support evaporated on Tuesday when he said there was not much difference between Mr. Ahmadinejad and Mr. Moussavi.
Obviously, Iranian protesters don’t agree, otherwise they would not have taken to the streets.
“For Barack Obama, this was a serious misstep,” said Steven Clemons, director of the American strategy program at the New America Foundation. “It’s right for the administration to be cautious, but it’s extremely bad for him to narrow the peephole into an area in which we’re looking at what’s happening just through the lens of the nuclear program.”
Mr. Obama’s comments deflated Mr. Moussavi, who is rapidly becoming a political icon in Iran, even supporters of Mr. Obama’s Iran policy say.
“Up until now, the president had very thoughtfully calibrated his remarks on Iran, but this was an uncharacteristic and egregious error,” said Karim Sadjadpour, an Iran expert with the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. “People are risking their lives and being slaughtered in the streets because they want fundamental change in the way Iran is governed. Our message to them shouldn’t be that it doesn’t make much difference to the United States.”
Certainly we do have to exercise caution when remarking about the electoral process of other countries. It just strikes me that if we are proclaiming to be the beacon of democracy and tout free and fair elections, at the very least, it would be a good idea to speak out against slaughter.
What say you?
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I seriously doubt that officials are “debating” on whether the first Obama statement on Iran was weak. They KNOW it was muted and worthless. But as soon as he gave the statement, leave it to the AP to craft a narrative. They raced to sift through four minutes of incomphrensible dribble, and paraphrased his remarks as if he came out with something bold.
And did you hear his remarks at the beginning of the videotape above? It sounds like he thinks he is explaining the election process to a group of fifth graders. Well, maybe that’s what he thinks of the press corps since most of them follow him likethe Pied Piper…
Live Stream from Iran…
http://www.persianq.com/
Don’t know how long it will last.
Iran Twazz Up
http://iran.twazzup.com/
*Correspondents
*Real-time tweets for Iran
*Most Popular Links
Warning the Above link has some very, very disturbing feed of the protests in Iran.
A liberal who lurks Ace of Spades link to Mousavi’s supporters Facebook page. If this is on the level, Mousavi is telling his supporters NOT to attend Friday’s “unity prayer speech” by the mullahs
http://tinyurl.com/n279yw
Links to Facebook page
woman voter, thanks for that video. the process once started is hard to shut down. the govies in view are in for a world of pain.
I think Obama, as usual, is afraid of taking any position, if it’s important. He’s a placater, a man of mish-mash words that usually mean nothing.
I personally believe he’s reluctant to take a side on this issue because of the central issue of election fraud. He doesn’t want to draw attention to his own malfeasance.
And of course he doesn’t want to insult the Iranians by taking sides on their internal business, so it’s probably best, he thinks, to remain neutral. After all, he wants to be friends with them! He wants to be able to sit down with the winner and apologize for America, while taking no position at all himself.
I cannot imagine that Obama would take a strong stand for an honest election.
Honest eletions are the last things that Obama wants.
elections
he can’t..he doesn’t know what honest is.
Come on! Obama and the Palestinians are AGAINST the protesting Iranian public because they know Ahmedinejad will help them erase Israel off the map! THAT is Obama’s goal!
I agree…why take a stand when you can just vote Present…and then see where the wind blows.
Also worried he cannot sleep at nite…will he be alert at 3 pm, let alone 3am.
Hopefully, HRC’s elbow surgery will involve a local anesthetic.
I wonder at the timing of her accident and hope for true it was just that.
While I would appreciate a stronger message of support for the protesters from Obama, I still remember the embarassment when “W” strongly backed the protesters and coup against Hugo Chavez, only to have Chavez make a deal for support from his military, arrest the coup leaders and re-take control of his country. That gave Chavez more than enough of an excuse to turn up the rhetoric against Bush. Obama may be taking his cues from Juan Cole on this issue.
http://www.juancole.com/
see Prorev.com for complete article:
Strange article about Iran’s “twitter revolution”:
I decided to do a google search for 2 of the 3 – @StopAhmadi and @IranRiggedElect. The first page to come up was JPost (Jerusalem Post) which is a right wing newspaper pro-Israeli newspaper.
JPost actually ran a story about 3 people “who joined the social network mere hours ago have already amassed thousands of followers.” Why would a news organization post a story about 3 people who JUST JOINED TWITTER hours earlier? Is that newsworthy? JPost was the first (and only to my knowledge) major news source that mentioned these 3 spammers.
JPost, a major news organization, promoted these three Twitterers who went on the be the source of the IranElection Twitter bombardment. Why is JPost so concerned about Iranian students all of a sudden (which these spammers claim to be)? I must admit that I had my suspicions. After all, Que Bono? (who benefits).
There’s no question that Israel perceives Iran as an enemy, more so than any other nation. According to a recent poll, more than half of Israel’s population support using military force against Iran if they do not cease from developing nuclear energy (which they have the legal right to do as per the NNP treaty). Oddly enough, this comes out of a country which is not a cosigner to the NNP treaty and has no right to develop nuclear energy, yet posses an arsenal of nuclear BOMBS.
Of course, Mousavi himself plays an important role in causing the social unrest within Iran. How often do you see a candidate declare himself the winner before any votes are counted and then, when faced with defeat, call the entire election process a fraud? As obvious as it was in our own 2000 election, Al Gore would not touch the topic of voter fraud. No major US politician goes near the subject. They know full well that such an accusation would shake the entire foundation of our democracy and threaten the political structures that are in place.
These twitting spammers began crying foul before the final votes were even counted, just as Mousavi had. The spammer @IranRiggedElect created his profile before a winner was announced and preformed the public service of informing us in the United States , in English and every 10 minutes, of the unfair election. He did so unselfishly, and without any regard for his fellow friends and citizens of Iran, who don’t speak English and don’t use Twitter!
He doesn’t want to take a stand on the rigged Iranian election for two reasons:
1) It’s the same as voting “present” in the Ill
legislature when he didn’t know which way
to go.
2) He doesn’t want to call attention to any
other country’s rigged or fraudulent
election since he thinks he got away clean
on his own “fixed” selection.
In addition, the WH allowed the press to know about
Biden and Hillary’s preference to take a stronger
stand so that 0zero can swoop in and take all the credit if he is correctly assessing the situation. There is definitely a reason for announcing their conflict. No way is Hillary or Biden going to get credit here. He is convinced he is right about the only contribution so far to his presidency – that the lions will lie down with the lambs and there will be peace on earth because he has told the Muslem world he is one of them.
Liberating Iraq is now having the desired effects of spreading the hope of freedom throughout the region and especially in Iran.
However, Obama doesn’t believe in freedom and looks lovingly to dictators as the model to follow.
Even a free and liberated Iraq with rights for Women and the yoke of tyranny lifted is not enough for those who are still against the war.
The events in Iran are showing us the power of liberty despite the costs involved…
Obama is no champion of liberty or the freedom movement in Iran.
Yes, and try as he may, Obama can’t undo this. In the end it won’t be the guns that liberate Iran, but rather twitter, ipods, cell phones, and Youtube. How are you going to keep kids in burkas after they have cell phones and twitter? It’s not going to happen.
The revolution will not be televised. Incidentally, it was one of Condi Rice’s appointees, who’s still at State, that convinced twitter to delay the scheduled service maintenance so that people in Iran could continue to use the service.
The Iraqis are experimenting with democracy, the people in Lebanon delivered their own message last week, and now the Iranians are delivering theirs. In fits and starts, the democratic process is starting up in the middle east. We actually owe a great deal of gratitude and debt to the members of the armed forces who started and bore the brunt of the struggle.
We ought to stand behind the Iranians who are protesting, and our CIC is clueless. Basically, as everyone knows, this guy is a Manchurian Candidate, and he was put there to serve as a figurehead. I just don’t think that he or his enablers thought things would work against him so quickly.
The phone keeps ringing, and no one’s answering. I want to eat my waffle, so leave a message at the beep.
Theer endeth my rant.
But that is the beauty of it. everybody with a cell phone can video straight to the Internet. CNN has become obsolete and irrelevant overnight, as we no longer need them. Now that is true freedom in itself.
truer words were never spoken docelder.
Hey Doc,
Amazing how the Iraq war may someday be viewed as the catalyst for change the world desires for the middle east.
By being in Iraq we are preventing future resource wars,Iranian hegemony in the region and the most important being the rise of liberty and freedom which will reduce future terrorism.
The Iraq war is the Brilliant strategy!!
The best way to promote freedom is to give people a taste of it. Yes, Bush Cheney had a plan. The plan is working and neither Barack, the Ayatollah or bin Laden can do a thing about it now. They can make it painful, but they can’t stop change. Now, if we can get our homegrown frogs to look outside the pan and see how hot our own stove is cooking at… it could be a slam dunk for freedom.
The bottom line…
America is the Muslim’s best friend.
We have shed blood for your freedom and make no apologies for protecting our vital interests which just happen to be your interests as well.
When we can stay in the freedom business and keep ourselves positioned as such yes. That sentiment about infidels will largely disappear when it is no longer convenient.
This country is getting really tired of wimps, wussies and cowards…
We are a just a short time way from a Patriotic revolution in this country.
Here is the irony if the tables are turned on Obama
Obama may have won the past election based on his Anti Iraq stance, but may lose the next election if it appears that he squandered the success of Iraq and didn’t foster and promote the central theme of America which is freedom..
Like it or not, the Iraq war has been strategic genius. It halted and reversed the momentum of the radical Islamic force that was born when Carter abdicated our influence in the region. Until the war, both Iran and Iraq were fighting each other in order to determine which country would lead the charge toward Islamic world domination. It would be a catastrophe for Obama, like Carter, to squander our hard earned foothold in the region with a passive or appeasing attitude toward the maniacal leadership in Iran. Now may be the best time to champion the ideals of democracy and liberty by sending a clear signal to the people of Iran that we will stand behind them in their struggle to shed themselves of tyranny. It would take a strong and principled leader of the US to send a credible and forceful message of support,…….. I wish we had one.
If he continues in office much longer there may never be another election. Unless there is a total upheaval. If you read George Washington’s Vision you may see what the future may hold. All the “cast” players are gathering. I just hope that the heavenly host that was to gather too are watching out for the patriots of this our land.
their hearts and minds are longing for freedom.
that is powerful
It’s sad.
I agree.
If we hadn’t invaded Iraq we wouldn’t have emboldened the hardliners in Iran. Ahmadinajad would never have come to power it begin with.
Iran has the most pro-western population in the middle east. That has nothing to do with Bush or Obama.
You need to do some research. Iran and the Taliban were brought about to start with by Jimmy Carter and Brzezinski his foreign policy adviser. Brzezinski is now Obama’s foreign policy adviser and carter is meddling again. The same Jimmy who gushed all over Obama to help get him elected.
The reason we are heavily back into Afghanistan is
the same reason as before. Brzezinski hates Russia.
Elizabeth, you are absolutely right. Iran was already leaning pro-democracy before GWB, but because of the Iraq War turned to the hardliner Ahmadinajad. Many Iranians who had fled the Shah’s brutal regime in the late seventies and immigrated to the USA, returned to their homeland (or visited regularly) with a positive view of this country and of American life in general. Many of these Iranians had married American citizens. Over several decades, this transnational community more than anything is responsible for turning the tide toward a more modern, pro-democratic Iran. I saw this first hand, since my ex-husband (of over a decade) was Iranian, and we were very much involved in the transnational Iranian community in Northern California. In reality, Bush and his neo-con policies were responsible for the election of Ahmadinajad and the ensuing hostility toward the US (and the West in general).
Now, the fecal matter of this incompetent bungling CIC BO hits the proverbial fan. I caution his acolytes, before you perform your acts of humility on this blog, you might want to view the photograph posted on Atlas Shrugs, showing the stillborn baby with a bullet hole in his back, delivered of the mother, now dead, peacefully protesting the results of the Iranian ‘election.’
Saw this on another blog:
David Frum: Iran violence leaves Obama among wounded
Posted: June 16, 2009
Among other casualties of the violence in Tehran: President Obama’s foreign policy hopes. If he persists now in his deal-making efforts, he’ll be acquiescing in fraud and violence. What is happening in Iran now is this year’s Tiananmen Square, and if Obama tries do business with the regime afterward, he’ll open himself to exactly the same criticism Bill Clinton meted out to the elder George Bush: of coddling tyrants.
On the other hand, if Obama does not persist in his deal-making, what else does he do? He promised in 2008 to end the “threat” from Iran’s nuclear program. Diplomacy was his plan A to deliver on his promise. If he abandons diplomacy, there’s no Plan B. Sanctions have repeatedly failed. The president describes force as “on the table” – and there it will stay.
Obama’s outreach to Iran has been slapped away. If the regime prevails in this power struggle, the American president will be left trapped and optionless. Obama badly needs a Mousavi win, not because such a win means change (let’s not get over-excited about that), but because it offered the appearance of change. Without that appearance, the realities for Obama with Iran get very dismal.
http://network.nationalpost.com/np/blogs/fullcomment/archive/2009/06/16/291445.aspx
Remember when Hillary said she would obliterate Iran if Ahmedinejad tried anything attacking Israel?
Maybe now her strong stand makes a little more sense when you see how he deals with elections and protesters in his own country.
Well, right now 0bama is not currying any favor with the Iranian people protesting on the streets of Tehran — so much for his winning the hearts and minds of these people.
Maybe he can’t say anything generic even in support of counting votes and free and fair elections because he himself has never believed it.
He is a clueless idiot.
Doesn’t this remind you of Georgia (and Russian invasion) during the campaign and what he said. He is a waffleman. We had mile long clues and hints and blatant signs of what this guy is all about. Let them own him. I didn’t vote for him.
This is exactly the same — both Hillary and McCain saw the situation coming and made clear and effective statements on the Russia/Georgia situation.
It took Obama and his 300 foreign policy advisors 4 successive statements to arrive at the place McCain was right out of the gate.
Again, it’s his lack of experience and core principles. These people are putting their lives on the line in the name of freedom for the world to see–that should be reinforced, because it is a core American principle. I can’t believe how weak he is. I’m glad it has been revealed that Hillary and Biden want to take a stronger stand. I don’t want her too closely associated with his ineffectual posture. Do you doubt that she would speak out forcefully if she was the president? I can’t believe it’s only been five months!?!
The narrative that Obama’s people have crafted that he needs to be cautious because Iran could ramp up activity again against American troops in Iraq and Afghanistan is very weak and raises another issue. By saying that Obama is admitting that Iran has engaged in war against the U.S. in both those countries. If that is the case it makes Obama’s bended knee approach to Iran essentially a surrender.
Obama is afraid. He was a community organizer who suddenly is thrust into a position of a world leader and a leader of the world’s largest military. This is way above his pay grade and his only response is obviously as a wimp.
Reagan’s aggressive rhetoric against the USSR did not diminish his capacity to negotiate treaties with them.
Obama’s excuse that any inflammatory rhetoric would upset the current regime in Iran is a poor excuse.
More importantly President Wimpy instead of leading the free world is hiding in the corner hoping others may do that or that things will just work out somehow.
These demonstration are not just about an election. This could be the tipping point of a regime change in Iran. A regime change in Iran would have dramatic effects on peace int he Middle East. The Iranians who are risking their lives to do this were looking for a U.S. President to support them. Obama left them twisting in the wind.
Well stated. Thank you. This is a perfect illustration why we cannot elect American Idol. We need real leadership ability, guts, experience and a knowledge of history behind that desk. Sadly, it daily becomes more apparent he is possessed of none of those things.
I couldn’t help laughing at the bitter irony of seeing an Iranian protestor holding up a sign that read: “Selected Not Elected”.
Yes, and by doing nothing he is abdicating the role of promoter of freedom to somebody else… anybody else. He has no clue of what it means to hold the office he was elected to. Because he doesn’t care to.
hokama the young people(muslims) are seeing what a pathetic piece of work obama is.
Exactly. He is not a leader. He is a speech-maker.
Obama’s approach…
Everyone is right, everyone is wrong…
Obama just wants to flip a coin and be done with it…
Obama has no concept of centuries old struggles and why they are epic struggles to begin with. Obama lives in a historical vacuum and dangerously fails to understand mankind’s central hope which is freedom.
Remember Obama floats above it all in a messianic way.
seattle, i think obama carries the weight of his mother’s very muddled thinking thereby putting on our backs also. i am so sick of this sxxx.
I agree–this is a repeat of Obama’s reaction to the Russian invasion. It took him what, 3 times to come up with an appropriate response? He was straddling the fence then and he’s straddling the fence now. Granted, the situation is dicey but we either give some moral support to the quest for liberty. Or we don’t. This wiggle-worm routine doesn’t work and really makes him [and by extension us] look weak and uncommitted to anything beyond our own shallow self-interests.
On the other hand, there’s no sense pretending that Moussavi is some sort of Iranian Thomas Jefferson. The man has a history of brutality and executions of his own. He may be throwing democratic kisses now, but his past isn’t pretty.
It’s a mess and really tragic for the Iranian population.
But this is what worries me. The last Iranian Revolution was when Jimmy Carter was in office. And who was one of his foreign relations’ mentors? Zbigniew Brzezinski. Now Obama is in office, Brzezinski is again an advisor and Iran erupts.
It didn’t work out too well the first time. For anyone.
This is not about Mousavi–this unrest has been building in Iran for a long time. People have been pushing for more moderate leadership. Mousavi is not that person either–none of the candidates were–but for people to be risking their lives like this to protest is revolutionary in itself and they should know that the U.S. is with them in their desire for a new way forward.
Yes!
Exactly the same as Russia and Georgia. Obama took days of waffling, pleading for restraint on both sides when a huge military power invaded a fledgling tiny country. A simple distinction of who the good guys and who the bad guys were and Obama sucked up to the bad guys. Same thing in Iran. He’s not standing up to the bad guys, he’s sucking up to them.
don’t mess with Hill..
“Obama badly needs a Mousavi win”
The protestors don’t want Mousavi or Ahmadinejad.
I see the queen in exhile for 30 years is waiting in the wings. The vote theft is just an excuse to protest to overthrow the regime.
Carter is in bed with the Palestinians and Hamas and I wonder if he’s meddling to push back the protestors. Carter need to butt out.
Democracy in Iran would change the entire landscape.
The bombing of Isreal will not be a faux issue anymore. This information comes straight from a protestor on twitter and what they are fighting for.
The Shah of Iran was installed in a coup as a puppet by the US/British, replacing the democratically elected Prime Minister Moussadegh (see http://www.knowledgerush.com/kr/encyclopedia/Mohhamed_Moussadeq/) The Shah’s regime was anti-democratic and infamous for its brutality, so a return to an Iranian monarchy is not the answer either.
Under the Shah, many Iranians were executed, disappeared, and tortured by his intelligence organization, the SAVAC which would seek people out for the slightest infractions. The Savac had actually come for my Ex in the middle of the night, but he had already left for the US. What was my Ex’s infraction? Walking in the streets with with more than one person — three or more persons were considered a national security threat.
The Shah was already in power before the rise of Mosaddeq. He only left Tehran because of American assurances that his authority would be protected from Mosaddeq’s agenda.
This is my snarky reaction to O’s response: He admires the election tactics of Khamenei and Ahmadinejad since they reflect so much the election tactics of Axelrod and Obama. That is why he sees this as simply a little election dispute. You know: “May the best fraud, cheat WIN. Winning is everything, not how you play the game.”
He sees everything from his own perspective, so he basically can’t understand the people demonstrating in the streets against a well-gamed election.
May be far-fetched to see it this way, but narcissists really can only see from their own warped viewpoints.
Obama is frozen by his own moral ambivalence. He has no core values that could guide him to one side or the other. So until the dust settles, Obama will not make any statements that could indicate which side he supports. Only when it becomes clear who the victor is will Obama decide who he supports. That way he will not have angered the eventual winner, and he’ll be able to claim that he supported the winner all along. Obama is not anchored by any noble principles, he’ll drift anywhere the wind blows. He’s the antithesis of a strong leader.
Bingo. He’s a coward, with no moral center.
I can genuinely respect people who disagree with me, feel differently from me. But I have nothing but scorn for people who believe nothing, stand for nothing.
but he only supports himself.
Very well said. I agree completely.
President Harry S. Truman could stand on his own two feet and make a tough decision; President Dwight David Eisenhower could stand on his own two feet and make a tough decision; and, President Ronald Reagan could stand on his own two feet and make a tough decision. Rather than list the Bushes, JFK, George Washington, Tom Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln, Teddy Roosevelt, etc. just wanted to share the few examples above and simply get to the point. That point seems to be this: Obama waffles and refrains from making any tough decisions until after the decision has been made for him, then all he has to do is simply read the words prepared for him on a teleprompter…if the Iranian freedom movement prevails he can read the words scrolling along his teleprompter(training-wheels)and say how “he” engineered that result; however, should the smirking tyrant Ahmadinejad prevails, he can parrot back prepared words on his training-wheels that say how “he” engineered a more peaceful and stable resolution.
Remember that old saying “you cannot have your cake and eat it too”? With each passing day, as demonstrated by his reluctance to roll up his sleeves and put his training-wheels away, it’s becoming crystal clear that rule/saying doesn’t apply to Obama, who seems to have many cakes/outcomes to chose from when it’s time to read the scrolling words…
It’s time to take the training-wheels off. Cowboy up, Mr. President?
Shaah Maat, Ahmadinejad!!!
He may have been elected… may have.. but that would never make him a President. He is a community organizer… he doesn’t stand up, but rather he stands out. He doesn’t bring people together, but rather he brings division. It is like light is shining on the back of a cockroach.
Al, it is a hopefull sign that more and more people are beginning to have a clear understanding of Obama’s basic modus operandi. With each passing day Obama validates the position held by many of his early detractors; Obama is little more than a frightened little boy in a man’s body. Narcissism is the defense mechanism that such wounded children develope in order deal with the world, Narcissists have no real sense of self, and little self esteem, and rely on everyone else to supply them with positive support. So far the MSM has done a wonderful job of fueling Obama with the praise and adulation that he craves. But as more people realize there is nothing inside his suit, and express those thoughts, Obama will begin to crumble, and his cool demeanor will turn to rage when he wants to punish all us who have the impertinence think he’s a rat. I hope there are enough adults and patriots around him to contain him when he explodes.
He’s already punishing us as “low level terrorists”, an unfair designation for dissenting bloggers.
An excellent assessment
Is this a funny toon, or what?
How fitting talking about Iran, Hillary and elections.
http://www.mattbors.com/strips/530.gif
Good one!
Clever.
Ani,
.
This is Axelrod no doubt, but doesn’t it drive you nuts that the entire NYT article has not one named administration source?
What I do not get is that Obama is missing a great opportunity and momentum to use the symbolism of those 100,000 souls. Two thirds of the Iranian people are under 30 years old. If Obama can’t take this opportunity to address that demographic with a clear message then he is more politically tone deaf than I understood him to be.
While there are many issues on the table regarding Iran and the opposition candidate is not much better than the current Iranian president, it is a chance to express good will toward the people of Iran.
BO is weak. The Iranian president has no problem spewing dangerous threats while at the UN towards the US.
Why can’t he find the nards to give the Mullahs some heart burn?
Agreed- they are afraid to credit the quotes. It does sound like Axelrod via Gibbs. I think Obama is squandering an opportunity here.
Another great comment. NOQ readers rock!
he’s voting present.
OMG, that’s right. He is, isn’t he.
again..that,s what he does best..
It’s 3AM. Does anyone know where Obama is?
It’s truly remarkable that the Lord Of The Flies seems more concerned with the real Axis of Evil – Fox News.
Select a puppet, you get a puppet. Puppets have no guts.
no brains either..
I think 0bama has boxed himself with his own rhetoric. Since his apology tour all over the middle east and the Muslim world he has redefined and relabeled what would have been an honest brokering by the US into “US meddling in the past”. So now he thinks he can’t even make generic statements about the good of democracy and free and fair elections because he thinks at some level it negates what his apologies have done. There in lies the danger of calling something it is not. It may suit your purpose once but will not sustain.
great point PM317, hope the knee is ok…
There is an indication pros and cons of taking a principled stand over being “a blank slate”.
BO will forever be overtaken by events instead of shaping them.
He will not lead. If the momentum is not sufficient to give him political cover, he will not touch it.
BO does not have the skills or fortitude to understand that if Iran having Nukes is a problem then he needs to not treat the Iranian people like the Salt Marsh Arabs of Iraq ala Bush Sr.
Thanks, my friend. Knee is ok.
pm obama’s so called apologies never meant anything to the world with the exception of his pathetic self love and the suck up media.
[...] See the original post here: Looks Like Biden, Clinton and Repubs All Want Firmer Stance From … [...]
“It is not productive to be seen as meddling, for a US President to be seen as meddling in Iranian elections” BO.
Why not? You had ACORN mess with ours BO…what gives? You are concerned with appearances at this late date?
Which is it gonna be BO, The olive branch or arrows?
Or will you continue to use that hand gesture that describes the size of your balls? What happened to the Hope and Change mantra…or was that just to get elected and for the Iranian people who want this it is suddenly “not productive”??? For who?
I second that.
And, last time I checked, the US was a world leader with a role in supporting democracy worldwide.
that was before bo.
Obama’s goal was getting the “prize” so he cheated, lied, and conned voters to get it.
Now he doesn’t know what to do with it, but as long as he gets the adoration, he doesn’t care.
He’s a phoney.
WORSE.MUCH WORSE.he is dangerous……..
He ALWAYS sounds like this.
This is the moment and the chance for Iran to become a democracy..kick the bums out. But the ulterior motive of making Isreal the bad guy would cease with Iran’s democracy so why do that, the imposter pres. thinks..Hillary and Biden need to put their foot down and help foster Democracy in Iran..Seize the moment or face problems forever..
Obama wants to be friends with the regime. The people of Iran don’t want him to do that…they want USA to stand up to the regime not be friends with them. Info from twitter.
Obama, hero of the Muslim world, chooses to miss this opportunity to show some American support for these courageous Iranian protesters. But the MSM prefers to repeatedly show O swatting a fly, then having a ticker-tape parade because he’s SO smooth.
The U.S. public should see these images from Pam Geller’s site, posted yesterday. Please be cautioned they are extremely graphic, very disturbing:
http://atlasshrugs2000.typepad.com/atlas_shrugs/2009/06/obamas-cowardice-and-hypocrisy-in-iran.html
Thank you Ani, for this very informative and well written article.
Obama’s weak stand in the world is dangerous!
This is alarming!!
Japan warns that North Korea may fire missile at U.S. on Independence Day
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/worldnews/article-1193941/North-Korea-plan-missile-launch-Hawaii-Independence-Day.html
Obama must help them do what? I saw this morning a clip where these people are wrecking banks, breaking window, smashing car, setting stuff on fire what the hell for?
They are destroying their own country and Mousavi is calling for more destruction, more protest. IS that how he wants to get into power? What about all these executions in his time that no one is speaking about what is the story there? He was also the man that took pleasure in having American arrested, so what makes his this great savior now?
How do we know all the report on twitter are factual, once again I will say I alway thought Iran was this horrid place where people have not rights, but now I am seeing people in the streets destroying stuff, throwing stones at the police and the government is letting it happen. I bet this can never happen in China, or Russia, so exactly how restricted are the Iranian people or was that just propaganda from the western media?
I just received the following through email from an Iranian ex-pat friend:
Open letter to the people of Iran
by Nazanin Afshin-Jam June 16, 2009
To my fellow compatriots, the brave Iranian men and women, who for the last few days have unleashed a spirit of energy that has been repressed for 30 years under an oppressive and undemocratic regime…
… we love, admire and support you.
Oh how we, living in exile, wish we could be at your side at this critical juncture in history.
Please keep the momentum going with acts of nonviolent civil disobedience. Like a snowball in motion, once underway, cannot be stopped by anyone.
The eyes of the world are watching your every step and are behind you. World leaders are closely observing the country proclaiming their desire to see the wishes of the Iranian people met. They simply need to see the sheer numbers of the population that seek change and reform. They too will be on your side.
This is our chance to regain our destiny as the freedom loving sons and daughters of Cyrus the Great. This is our chance to bring down the theocracy and rise up to establish a democracy so that our children will be able to enjoy the fruits of liberty: freedom, equality, the rule of law, separation between religion and state and a constitution based on the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
We see your struggles on the streets, we feel your passion and pain, we smell the fear of the ruling minority, we hear your cries for change, we understand the sacrifices you are making and we hope to taste victory with you when we unite once again as family in our great and beautiful homeland.
Drop by drop we can create an ocean of change and put out the fires of injustice.
In solidarity and in spirit,
Nazanin
PS. I dedicate my song “Someday” to you:
Nazanin Afshin-Jam
International Human Rights Activist
President and Co Founder of
Stop Child Executions
http://www.stopchildexecutions.com
Here is the link for the video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BqkSmpKkfdI
OT – PLEASE FORGIVE IF IT WAS REPORTED ALREADY
Olive Garden pulls Letterman ads
AP
Andy Barr –
1 hr 45 mins ago
July 18, 2009
Following a week of back and forth between CBS late night comic David Letterman and Sarah Palin over a crude joke he told about the Alaska Republican governor’s daughter, the Olive Garden restaurant says it is cancelling all of its scheduled ads on Letterman’s “Late Show” for the rest of the year.
In an email to a Letterman critic obtained by POLITICO, a spokeswoman for the Italian restaurant chain wrote that “there will be no more Olive Garden ads scheduled for ‘The Late Show’ with David Letterman in this year’s broadcast schedule,” citing the talk show host’s “inappropriate comments.”
“We apologize that Mr. Letterman’s mistake, which was not consistent with our standards and values, left you with a bad impression of Olive Garden,” wrote Sherri Bruen, the company’s guest relations manager.
Bruen said the company “screens network television programs whenever possible,” but explained that “telecasts, such as ‘The Late Show’ with David Letterman, are taped on a daily basis, preventing advertisers from reviewing the content prior to airing.”
A spokesman for the company confirmed Thursday that for now it has cancelled all its remaining scheduled ads on the CBS program for the rest of the year.
Conservative radio host John Ziegler, who previously interviewed Palin for his film “Media Malpractice: How Obama Got Elected and Palin Was Targeted,” organized a lightly attended protest Tuesday outside the “Late Show” studio.
Ziegler has listed contact information for 14 advertisers on Letterman’s show, including Olive Garden, on his website dedicated to the comedian’s firing. He called the news an “obvious victory” but vowed to continue “our quest for some sense of accountability for Letterman in this matter.”
Letterman has apologized for his comment last week about Palin’s daughter getting “knocked up by Alex Rodriguez” during the governor’s recent visit to a Yankees baseball game. Palin attended the game as part of a trip to New York.
“I told a joke that was beyond flawed, and my intent is completely meaningless compared to the perception,” Letterman said. “And since it was a joke I told, I feel that I need to do the right thing here and apologize for having told that joke.”
After repeatedly blasting the late night comic in statements and interviews last week, Palin accepted Letterman’s apology on Tuesday.
“Letterman certainly has the right to ‘joke’ about whatever he wants to, and thankfully we have the right to express our reaction,” she said in a statement.
People are fighting for their freedom and Obama isn’t backing them up. Well, they’re not fighting for HIS freedom, which is all he cares about, so of course he’s tepid and worse than useless.
The ignorance regarding Obama’s restraint here is astounding.
If you want the protests to get shut down to the tune of mass bloodshed, then all you need to do is have Obama come out in support of Mousavi and his people. American support for one Iranian political leader over another is the kiss of death. Mousavi and the demonstrators will be branded tools of American Imperialism and the crackdown will be painful and swift.
The same thing happened with the NGOs funded under the guise of promoting democracy a few years back under Bush. We announced that we were going to fund NGOs friendly to the reform movement, and wham — the NGOs got smacked down with massive restrictions and now act under a cloud of suspicion. Those who want change have begged the U.S. to stop funding these NGOs. The reform movement must be genuine and indigenous to Iran — and not seen as a result of U.S. support.
If so, then let him be more definitive about it — listen to him. He is even tepid in his not wanting to get involved. How about the President sharing some reasoning? No one is asking him to promote one regime over another but he can ask for restraint and the wish that people are not harmed. He can speak to the violence happening there.
Only,in order to validate his ‘voting present’ on this uprising, he stupidly said, either Iranian leader is the same as the other.
Wrong. Diner jacket already made this allegation.
Words matter. According to BO. While I will adjust for the policy shift and the required dialog, if BO does not wish to see a nuclear Iran…he apparently has to start shit with North Korea first.
If Iran Syria and Pakistan are the recipients of Nuclear weapons technology from North Korea, the shift may form a policy sequence. Yet BO has shown he can’t remember how many states are in the union when he is under heavy multitasking requirements.
In order for us to confront North Korea we need to allocate from Iraq or Afgnanistan even if it just logistical support. The Iranians will increase their activity in Iraq in response and as they have a long range plan for Iraq we will need to remain on that field of drama that is Iraq with a big foot print.
We do not have enough resourses to stop this global whack a mole we find ourselves in. BO has been told this. I understand his caution in that regard. His words will have more meaning if they are used in small acts ,in the defense of Democracy.
Understand this; BO is politically tone deaf, in-experienced and there is NO down side in the defense of Democracy.
BO makes no effort in striking out for the stateless pursuit of Democracy. It matters not if the people are in the streets of Tehren. Islmaabad, Mumbia, Los Angeles. They are in the streets.
If it was just this one incident, you might have a legitimate argument, but this ambivalence and lack of clear leadership is a pattern with Obama. When are people going to stop with the rationalizations for everything he does? When does he take responsibility?
Wow — even Henry Kissinger agrees with Obama’s stance on Iran:
“I think the president has handled this well. Anything that the United States says that puts us totally behind one of the contenders, behind Mousavi, would be a handicap for that person. And I think it’s the proper position to take that the people of Iran have to make that decision.”
I can’t remember such blahness in a president, and this from Oblahblah himself.
Sheesh, my husband (the measured one) asked if he is trying to appease the mullahs.
he has got to be the worse potus evah..
On the bright side, Jimmy Carter is moving up one place in the standings.
In my opinion Obama is doing everything in his power to create chaos. It is the age old motto of Arabs, divide and conquer.
tzada, you give obama too much credit. he ain’t that smart!
think about this obama and group dumbies are giving their enemies all the goods they need. i include the mullahs and average americans who are tired of this crap. and those are just a few. we now have as many people not approving obama as those who approve.
i think we also can see the far left’s flawed stragedy and why the kicked hill to the curb. it isn’t pretty is it?
My hunch: Biden and Clinton are cornering Obama. Obama is in a much weaker position than is clear in the media.
Biden is a gas bag but he has been around a very long time and knows how to play the game when he wants to. Clinton is one of the best at this type of media power play. I think both know Obama’s stance on Iran is untenable in the long run. They are wiser than him. Obama finds this issue an annoyance now. The “year end ” timeline for Iran serves Obama not American policy. He wants it to go away until December.
Clinton and Biden know better. Oh, they also have principles – Clinton most always and Biden sometimes. Obama never relies on principle. Only charm.
Interesting. As if Biden and Hill had a little chat about this and decided to let a little birdie leak their names for the article. Sounds about right.
If so, then let him be more definitive about it — listen to him. He is even tepid in his not wanting to get involved. How about the President sharing some reasoning? No one is asking him to promote one regime over another but he can ask for restraint and the wish that people are not harmed. He can speak to the violence happening there.
What do you expect from a man who always voted “present” as a jr. senator? Obummer does NOT want to take a stand – he does NOT want to be held accoutable for ANYTHING!!!!! Therefore, just his being ‘present’ in the oval office is enough (and ALL he wants) for him!!!!
Obama is a guy who attended a “church” that printed the entire text of the HAMAS charter in its bulletin.
There should be no mystery where his allegiances are directed and what his values are.
Mousavi was 2x prime minister under Ayatollah Khomeini. He stood there with his arms folded while between 8,000 and 30,000 persons were executed for political opposition. Montaverdi, Khomeini’s designated successor lost his position for speaking out against Khomeini. Mousavi either didn’t have the guts to speak out or agreed with Khomeini. I don’t want the US to support a man who is either gutless or a backer of Khomeini’s policies.
It doesn’t improve matters that he’s : certified as an acceptable candidate by the Grand Council, a founder of Hezbollah, and a founder of MOIS, the Iranian version of the CIA. He’s not a f#cking reformer. He’s not any better than Ahmedinejad, and he might even be worse. For once BHO isn’t screwing up by backing this nutjob. New election, sure! Open election to more than candidates sanctified by the Grand council, absolutely! Mousavi: no way in hell.
ahmedinejad, NO WAY IN HELL!
Remember, whatever Obama is saying, he is actually doing the opposite. So, when I heard him say we would not meddle in Iran, I immediately assumed that was exactly what we were doing. I find it hard to believe all of those students were just waiting to protest something and that the opposition leader is being so brave and risking his death completely on his own. No way…this smacks of CIA to me. Like, the protestors have signs in English? No way, CIA, that’s my predicton. And very interesting, since Obama has everyone’s heads spinning. The conservatives want us to meddle, the liberals are against CIA meddling, and it is exactly the opposite that is happening…we are meddling. That’s my bet. Larry, what is your opinion?
[...] Even Hillary Clinton and Biden favored a firmer tone in support of the protesters. [...]