CALIFORNIA YANKEE

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.

Sen. Rubio delivers weekly address - Americans have always believed that all of us can succeed

In the weekly GOP address, Florida's U.S. Senator Marco Rubio talks about why President Obama didn't talk about his accomplishments -- because there isn’t much that Obama has accomplished and Obama made everything worse:

The bottom line is this President inherited a country with serious problems. He asked the Congress to give him the stimulus and Obamacare to fix it. The Democrats in Congress gave it to him. And not only did it not work, it made everything worse.

In the second part of the weekly address, Senator Rubio takes Obama to task for asking us to abandon our economic heritage and accept Obama's devise class warfare:

He tells all of us that the only way for some of us to climb up the economic ladder is for others to be pulled down.

This divisive rhetoric, this effort to gain political support by convincing some that they will be better off if we punish others, this stuff has never worked anywhere it’s been tried.

Rubio continues with an optimistic call to embrace the American Free Enterprise system.

Americans have always believed that all of us can succeed.

[. . .]

This is what has made us different. This is what has made us prosperous. This is what makes us exceptional.

Watch Rubio's outstanding address:

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Full transcript of Senator Rubio’s Address:

"Hello, I’m Marco Rubio, a Senator from Florida. Right now all eyes are focused on my home state ahead of next week’s Republican presidential primary. It’s an exciting contest and I know that passions are high. So I wanted to take a moment to explain to the rest of the country why Republicans in Florida are so excited about this primary: Because we believe our country is in big trouble.

As you know, earlier this week, President Obama delivered his fourth annual address to Congress. It was an opportunity for the President to talk about his accomplishments over the last three years and to lay out his plans for the year ahead.

And he missed on both counts.

You didn’t hear much talk about the success of his Administration—and that’s because there isn’t much.

Yes, this President inherited a significant national debt, but over the last three years he’s made it worse. Our national debt has grown by nearly 50 percent since he took over, and now, for the first time since World War II, our national debt is larger than our country’s economy.

Yes, this President inherited an economy where unemployment was too high, but over the last three years he’s made it worse. Today our unemployment rate is higher than the day he took office. In fact, since he took over, it’s been stuck over 8 percent every single month.

This President didn’t talk about his record for one simple reason; he doesn’t want you to know about it. But you do know about it, because you feel the failure of his leadership every single day of your life.

The bottom line is this President inherited a country with serious problems. He asked the Congress to give him the stimulus and Obamacare to fix it. The Democrats in Congress gave it to him. And not only did it not work, it made everything worse.

President Obama has a year left in the White House. So what are his plans now to make things better? What does he plan to do now, that he didn’t do before? Well we got our answer Tuesday night. He plans to divide us against each other. To pit Americans against other Americans in the hopes of generating enough votes to get re-elected.

He tells Americans worried about their jobs that the way to help them is to raise their bosses’ taxes.

He tells those who are hurting that the only way they can be better off, is for others to be worse off.

He tells all of us that the only way for some of us to climb up the economic ladder is for others to be pulled down.

This divisive rhetoric, this effort to gain political support by convincing some that they will be better off if we punish others, this stuff has never worked anywhere it’s been tried.

People end up fleeing countries who adopt economic policies based on these flawed principles. And more often than not, they come here.

They come here because this is not who we are.

Americans have always believed that all of us can succeed.

That those who have made it fairly, can stay there. And those who are trying to make it will have a real chance to join them.

This is what has made us different. This is what has made us prosperous. This is what makes us exceptional.

And now, for the first time in my adult life, we have a President who’s asking us to abandon our economic heritage.

To become like the countries people come here to get away from.

To become like everybody else.

Yes, people are hurting. Yes, there is a growing gap between the rich and the poor.

But the way to solve it is not to embrace the ‘trickle up poverty’ economics of other nations.

The way to solve it is to embrace the American Free Enterprise system.

No economic system is perfect. But the American Free Enterprise system has empowered millions of people in the past. I know, because I saw it with my own eyes. 

My father was a bartender. And I thank God every night that there was someone willing to risk their money to build a hotel on Miami Beach and later in Las Vegas where he could work.

I thank God that there was enough prosperity in America so people could go on vacation to Miami or Las Vegas. Where people felt prosperous enough to have weddings or Bar Mitzvahs and, by the way, could leave tips in my Dad’s little tip jar. Because with that money he raised us. And he gave me the opportunity to do things he never had a chance to do.

Now, we had help along the way. I had student loans and grants from the government to help me get my education. And I went to our public school system.

That’s an important role for government to play. And so I also thank God that we had an economy prosperous enough to afford to pay for these things as well.

So, I’ll just close by saying, I hope this year will be the beginning of our work towards a new and prosperous American century.

Because I know that this idea of a nation where anyone from anywhere can accomplish anything, it’s not just something I read about in history books. I’ve seen it in my own life. And there’s no reason why we cannot continue it here, if only we do the right things.

May God bless all of you, and may God continue to bless the United States of America."

Hillary to accept Obama's offer of secretary of state

The Guardian reports Hillary will accept President-elect Obama’s offer to be Secretary of State:

Hillary Clinton plans to accept the job of secretary of state offered by Barack Obama, who is reaching out to former rivals to build a broad coalition administration, the Guardian has learned.

Does Hillary have the experience necessary to be Secretary of State?

During the Democrats battle to be the party's nominee, Obama's advisor and soon-to-be White House Counsel, Gregory Craig, took apart  Hillary's claims to foreign policy and national security experien

Craig belittled Hillary's exaggerations about her foreign policy experience in Bosnia, Kosovo, Northern Ireland, Rawand, the 1995 speech Hillary gave in China, and Hillary's silly assertion that her vote for the “The Joint Resolution to Authorize the Use of U.S. Military Force Against Iraq,” -- that she wasn't actually voting for war, she was voting for diplomacy.

Craig's devastating crtique aside, Hillay did a fair job of destroying her experience claims and credibility in her "exaggerations" about Bosnia:

President Bush Loosens Up

President Bush seems a little more relaxed lately:

President Bush Condemns The Murderous Extremists Who killed Bhutto

President Bush strongly condemned the assassination of Pakistan's Benazir Bhutto:

"The United States strongly condemns this cowardly act by murderous extremists who are trying to undermine Pakistan's democracy. Those who committed this crime must be brought to justice," Bush said in a statement to reporters at his Texas ranch.

You can watch the Presiden'ts entire statement in the following video:

There He Goes Again

Bill Clinton made a political blunder of monumental proportions when he claimed that he "opposed the war in Iraq 'from the beginning,'" A statement even the New York Times found "is more absolute than his comments before the invasion in March 2003."

Is More Absolute?

"It depends on what the meaning of the word 'is' is" - President Clinton

At Time, Mark Halperin reminds us that Mr. Clinton said he supported the War in 2003. On April 14, 2003, Clinton praised President Bush:

“In his first speech in Minnesota since leaving office, former President Bill Clinton on Sunday praised President Bush’s handling of the war in Iraq. But he criticized Bush’s domestic priorities and urged the administration to offer North Korea aid and a pledge of nonaggression in exchange for an end to that country’s missile and nuclear weapons programs." [Minneapolis Star Tribune, 4/14/03]

On May 19, 2003, the Associated Press reported Clinton said he supported President Bush:

"Former President Bill Clinton accused President Bush of spending more time fighting the war on terrorism than on domestic issues during a commencement speech at Tougaloo College. 'I supported the president when he asked for authority to stand up against weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, but we can’t be forever strong abroad if we don’t keep getting better at home,' Clinton said Sunday to a crowd of about 8,000. […] The Bush administration, Clinton said, 'is still focused on defeating terrorism and weapons of mass destruction, and that’s good, but not good enough. The power of our example is just as important as our military might.'"

Clinton may have questioned the timing of the invasion, but Clinton didn't oppose it "from the beginning."

On June 23, 2004, CNN reported Clinton revealed that he continues to support President Bush's decision to go to war in Iraq:

"I have repeatedly defended President Bush against the left on Iraq, even though I think he should have waited until the U.N. inspections were over," Clinton said in a Time magazine interview that will hit newsstands Monday, a day before the publication of his book "My Life."

Clinton, who was interviewed Thursday, said he did not believe that Bush went to war in Iraq over oil or for imperialist reasons but out of a genuine belief that large quantities of weapons of mass destruction remained unaccounted for.

Noting that Bush had to be "reeling" in the wake of the attacks of September 11, 2001, Clinton said Bush's first priority was to keep al Qaeda and other terrorist networks from obtaining "chemical and biological weapons or small amounts of fissile material."

"That's why I supported the Iraq thing. There was a lot of stuff unaccounted for," Clinton said in reference to Iraq and the fact that U.N. weapons inspectors left the country in 1998.

"So I thought the president had an absolute responsibility to go to the U.N. and say, 'Look, guys, after 9/11, you have got to demand that Saddam Hussein lets us finish the inspection process.' You couldn't responsibly ignore [the possibility that] a tyrant had these stocks," Clinton said.

The former president's blunder could not have come at a worse time for Hillary's race for the presidency. Her campaign has stalled. In Iowa Obama has tied Hillary in the most recent polling, some are predicting Obama will beat her in Iowa, and Hillary is bracing for defeat.

As Hillary campaign teeters on defeat and needs to rely upon the political prowesses of the infamous "comeback kid," he stumbles. Clinton reminds everyone, as Hillary's Democratic opponents continue to repeat - the Clinton's have trouble giving straight answers - Clinton admitted that answers he gave about Ms. Lewinsky during a 1998 deposition were false and that he "knowingly gave misleading and evasive answers."

For the extremist Liberal/Progressive Democrats Defeatocrats the timing is even worse. Now, on top of all the reports about the progress in Iraq Clinton has provided an opening to refute the left wing's attempt to rewrite history with the false allegation that we were mislead into the war. Thanks to Clinton's latest lie, we will be reminded again and again that everyone thought Saddam was much too dangerous to be allowed to keep the weapons of mass destruction everyone believed he still had at the time of the invasion.

Also Posted at RedState and Examining Presidential Politics.

UPDATE: More at Captain's Quarters, Hot Air, and Outside the Beltway

Snow To Step Down

Financial Pressures Force Snow Departure

White House press secretary Tony Snow, who has been undergoing chemotherapy treatment for a recurrence of cancer, will step down from his position as early as next month:

Snow told conservative talk-show host Hugh Hewitt on Thursday "financial reasons" may prevent him for serving the remainder of his boss's presidency.

"I'm not going to be able to go the distance, but that's primarily for financial reasons." Snow said. "I've told people when my money runs out, then I've got to go."

According to the Associated Press, Snow, the father of three children, earns $168,000 as an assistant to the president. He made considerably more as a pundit and syndicated talk-show host on Fox News Radio.

Snow has been a phenomenal press secretary. We wish him all the best.

Image courtesy of the White House/Kimberlee Hewitt