CALIFORNIA YANKEE

Obama losing his gun control campaign

Only 39 percent back Obama's repressive gun control agenda

New polling from Washington Post-ABC News and Pew find that President Obama's campaign to repress the Second Amendment right "keep and bear arms" is faltering.

On January 22, 2013, Pew released polling results that found the public followed news about Obama's gun control proposals closely and the reaction is mixed. Only 39 percent think Obama's proposals are about right, while 31 percent think the proposals go too far. Or, as Politico put it, "39 percent back Obama gun plan."

Of course there is the usual partisan divide. A 57 percent majority of Republicans say the proposals go too far, and 25 percent say they are about right. A 55 percent majority of Democrats (55%) say the proposals s are about right, and 10 percent  say they go too far. Independents are more evenly divided -- 36 percent say the proposals are about right, while 33 percent say they go too far.

There is also a gender divide with Men more likely than women to say Obama’s gun control proposals go too far -- 36 percent vs. 26 percent.

It is important to note that despite the "modest" up tick after Newtown, support for gun control remains lower than before Obama took office. In April 2008, 58 percent said it was more important to control gun ownership, while 37 percent  prioritized protecting gun rights. In a poll released January 14, 2013 Pew found that 51 percent say it is more important to control gun ownership, while 45 percent  say it is more important to protect gun rights.

The new Washington Post-ABC News poll, released today, finds that support for Obama's gun control  package is lower than it was for some of the same steps polled in an ABC/Post poll earlier this month, before Obama's repressive gun control package was announced.

In an article on the new ABC News/Washington Post poll, the Washington Post reports that most congressional Republicans and some Democrats oppose restrictive new gun control measures, such as an assault-weapons ban. The Post also notes that recent polls have shown broadly positive sentiment for the NRA, and that a modest plurality thinks the NRA is too influential:

"A plurality of all Americans, 38 percent, think the organization has 'too much influence' over the country’s gun-control laws. Twenty-four percent see the NRA as having 'too little' sway, while 30 percent say it has the right amount."

In the accompanying video, Duke University Professor Michael Munger explains why the NRA is so influential.

Even the New York Times reports on how Democrats are now worried that Obama's gun control campaign is going "imperil" the rest of the Democrats' agenda. And former President Clinton recently reminded Democrats what happened the last time the Democrats acted against gun rights and passed the so-called assault weapon ban:

"Clinton said that passing the 1994 federal assault weapons ban 'devastated' more than a dozen Democratic lawmakers in the 1994 midterms — and cost then-Speaker of the House Tom Foley (D-Wash.) his job and his seat in Congress."

With six Democrats up for election in two years in states where Obama received less than 42 percent of the vote, some Democrats might have to choose between their own constituents and Obama’s misguided gun control agenda.

A quick look back at Obama's first term

"Those of us who manage the public's dollars will be held to account, to spend wisely, reform bad habits, and do our business in the light of day, because only then can we restore the vital trust between a people and their government." -- Barack Hussein Obama, Inaugural Address January 20, 2009

There were many things that were disappointing about President Obama's first term. 

The good folks at Reason TV take a look at some of the disappointments in a new video retrospective of Obama's rhetoric versus reality including:

• Trillion dollar deficits.
• Obama's failure to submit a budget on time.
• The Senate's failure to pass a budget in nearly four years.
• Irresponsible spending.
• Failed stimulus.
• Crony capitalism like Solyndra.
• Failure to keep the ObamaCare transparency promise.
• Failure to keep his promise to reform immigration during his first year.

You can watch the video below:

There was much to bedisappointed about during Obama's first term. But the most disappointing thing about Obama's first term was the irresponsible and out of control spending.

Today, the national debt is $16,432,631,489,854.70. It was $10,626,877,048,913.08 when Obama became president. That is an increase of more than a 5.8 trillion dollars during Obama's first term.

In 2004, when the deficit was $413 billion and the national debt was $7,419,244,676,835.15 or $7.4 trillion, Obama said the "monstrous federal deficit" was an "enormous problem." On July 3, 2008, presidential candidate Obama said that adding $4 trillion in debt was "irresponsible" and "unpatriotic." Nevertheless, President Obama added more than $5.8 trillion to the national debt in four years.

President Obama has promised to cut the deficit in half by the end of his first time at least five times:

1. February 23, 2009: Obama Pledges to cut the deficit in half by the end of his first term in office.
2. February 24, 2009: Obama pledges to cut the deficit in half by the end of his first term in office.
3. May 26, 2009: Obama pledges to cut the deficit in half by the end of his first term in office
4. December 8, 2009: Obama pledges to cut the deficit in half by the end of his first term in office.
5. February 14, 2011: Obama pledges to cut the deficit in half by the end of his first term in office.

Despite his promises to cut the deficit in half by the end of his "first" term, Obama has racked up the largest deficits in U.S. history:

• FY2009: The federal budget deficit was $1.413 trillion, the highest in U.S. history. ("Monthly Budget Review: November 2011," Congressional Budget Office, 11/7/11)
• FY2011: The federal budget deficit was $1.299 trillion, the second highest in U.S. history. ("Monthly Budget Review: November 2011," Congressional Budget Office, 11/7/11)
• FY2010: The federal budget deficit was $1.294 trillion, the third highest in U.S. history. ("Monthly Budget Review: November 2011," Congressional Budget Office, 11/7/11)
• FY2012 The federal budget deficit was $1.090 trillion, the fourth highest in U.S. history. ("An Analysis of the President’s 2013 Budget," Congressional Budget Office, 10/5/12)

You shouldn't be shocked by Obama's failure to reduce the deficit in half by the end of his first term in office. He did warn us there would be "trillion-dollar deficits for years to come."

The president and his Obamacrats need to get serious about the irresponsible spending. Obama has not submitted a single budget on time. And when Obama's budgets are submitted they are so "unserious" that for the last two years they haven't even received a single vote in the Democrat-controlled Senate. And the Senate hasn't passed a budget in 1,365 days, almost four years. Congress has failed to adequately address the problem by continuing raise the debt limit and borrow more and more until we now have a $16.4 trillion national debt. Can we continue down this road and avoid bankruptcy?

Obama takes the oath, begins second term

In accordance with the requirements of the United States Constitution, President Barack Hussein Obama was officially sworn-in and began his second term on Sunday, January 20, 2013.

Under the Constitution, a president's term ends at noon Jan. 20. So the official swearing -in occurred on Sunday. Following historical precedent, the inaugural ceremony did not take place on Sunday.

The official swearing-in was a nearly private affair in the White House's oval shaped blue room. You can watch video of the official swearing in below:

This time, unlike Obama's first swearing-in,  Chief Justice John Roberts administered the 35-word oath correctly. The Constitution, in Article Two, Section One, Clause Eight,   requires that the President take the oath of office:

"Before he enter on the Execution of his Office, he shall take the following Oath or Affirmation: -- I do solemnly swear that I will faithfully execute the office of president of the United States and will to the best of my ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States."

After the oath was taken, President Obama was heard to say, "I did it." His daughter Sasha replied, "Good job, Dad, you didn't mess up."

For those of us who remain in the loyal opposition, the good news is that only 1,460 days remain in the Obama presidency.