In Part I of this review of 2009 we traced the early signs of crumbling of the Obama fantasy. The unraveling of what Bill Clinton called the "Fairy Tale" of Obama began shortly after he took office. By mid march, many conservatives and GOP pundits who got caught up in "hoax and chains" were already admitting their mistake. Soon, moderates and independent voters who were key to Obama's election victory would begin deserting as it became all too clear they felt he ran as a centrist but was governing as a radical liberal.
Some of the highlights, and lowlights from this period:
Air Farce One: Obama's $375k Photo Op Panics New York
But this was chicken feed compared to Barack and Michelle's big date night in New York City at the end of the month which required a full mobilization of the President's helicopters, cars, security and additional planes. Barack's promise to take Michelle out in New York was the one campaign promise he kept. What about the carbon footprint on that trip?
House Speaker Pelosi LIES About CIA Lying!
May was also a big month for Nancy Pelosi. First she insisted that the CIA had lied to Congress about informing them of the enhanced interrogations of a handful of the worst terror suspects. When caught lying, she kept at it. CIA logs were released showing that members of Congress were informed.
Former Speaker Newt Gingrich, who was held to a very dear standard for truth during his speakership, made one of the most blistering statements (audio here) of Pelosi. Gingrich used words like 'lied,' 'despicable,' 'dishonest,' 'vicious,' 'trivial' to describe Pelosi.
This video captures the bumbling Speaker Pelosi perfectly:
On a related matter, it was March when we saw the flight logs detailing the many, MANY trips Pelosi and fellow Dems were taking at taxpayer expense.
Obama Plays Robbing Hood for Auto Unions While Subsidizing Porn and Checks to Dead People
In May we also learned that Joe the Plumber was right when he suspected Obama of wanting to "distribute the wealth." The auto deal which handed control of Chrysler to the United Auto Workers Union (no coincidence that they contributed over $4 million to Obama's election) did so by overriding the property rights of Chrysler investors and creditors.
This episode was one of the keys to waking up Independent and moderate voters who had been told during the campaign that Republican concerns on matter such as this were nothing but scare tactics.
Also during this period we learned that economic stimulus checks were being sent to dead people. Perhaps that was also a payoff to Obama's voters!
And under that same heading of wasteful and incompetent spending, let's not forget that the National Endowment for the arts used stimulus money to fund pornography!
EPA "Smoking Gun" Memo Admits CO2 Control is Political, Not Science
As the Obama Administration continued to move towards greater control and taxation over the energy Americans depend on for their daily lives, a memo from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency was unearthed which described how control of CO2 was based on politics and not science. Called the "smoking gun" by Wyoming Senator John Barrasso(R) a passage from the memo describes how "EPA is making a finding based on (1) 'harm' from substances that have no demonstrated direct health effects, such as respiratory or toxic effects." It goes on to state that evidence for this "harm" were coming from outside sources and you can probably guess how biased they are.
Nancy Reagan Unveils Reagan Statue in Capitol Rotunda
Former first lady Nancy Reagan wipes a tear as she stands with House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-OH) in front of the newly-unveiled statue of her late husband, former U.S. President Ronald Reagan, during a ceremony in the Capitol Rotunda on Capitol Hill in Washington June 3, 2009.
Obama's Cairo Speech: So Many Apologies So Little Time
6,000 words and half of them mush! At the time, the speech was hailed by many as a new beginning in our relations with Muslim countries and a way forward to solving difficult problems like peace between Israel and the Palestinians or Iranian nukes.
Of course, like all of Obama's speeches, once the hot air clears, there's really nothing left of substance. Many of the problems Obama set out to solve are worse off now than when he made the speech.
But at least we got to see Hillary Clinton wearing a hijab!
Queen Michelle Stepping Out in France and Britain
And who can forget the icy stare Michelle Obama directed towards the First Ladies of France and Britain sitting to Michelle's right at the D-Day observance in June?
You'd think that there wasn't a recession on with millions of Americans out of work!
Senate GOP Campaign Committee Gears Up for 2010
June was also the month where the National Republican Senatorial Campaign Committee saw the tide turning and first ran this ad.
Let the countdown begin!
Uprising in Iran: Where is Obama?
In June, the unprecedented uprising in Iran began. It might have been the end for the Islamic Republic whose mad Mullahs have been the grandfathers of terrorism all over the world. Only one ingredient was and remains missing: a strong signal of support from the President of the United States. In June we also learned that Obama had cut funding to zero for human rights and democracy activists in Iran.
Our failure to latch onto this once in a lifetime opportunity to end the evil Islamic regime has to rank as one of the worst moments in 2009.
Volcano Belches Out More CO2 Than Every Car on Earth
Russian volcano photographed from the International Space Station:
Belching out more CO2 and pollutants than all the cars on earth!
How Much Longer Will This Nightmare Last?Al Franken Finally Wins Fraud Vote for U.S. Senate Seat
Norm Coleman conceded on June 30. It was an election marred by fraud. More votes counted in some precincts than were actually cast. This was a year filled with Dem shenanigans. The Blagojevitch/Burris scandal in Illinois and the Caroline Kennedy Senate seat screw up in New York made Democrats a laughing stock. But of course now the voters of Minnesota are stuck with that clown Al Franken.
July 4th Bombshell: Sarah Palin Resigns as Alaska Governor
At the time, her resignation left a lot of people scratching their heads. How could she become an effective national conservative leader after giving up her office? Well, her successful book tour answered that question. Didn't it?
She is now a much sought after conservative voice on issues like global warming which she addressed in this op-ed in the Washington Post in July.
CBO: Federal Spending is "Unsustainable"
In mid-July the non partisan Congressional Budget Office gave it's strongest warning yet: "Under current law, the federal budget is on an unsustainable path, because federal debt will continue to grow much faster than the economy over the long run." And this was before final passage of the health care plans that everyone knows will begin chewing up billions more than it takes in just as soon as the benefits start getting paid out.
Where Are the Jobs?
As unemployment continued to skyrocket throughout the year House Republicans began asking: "where are the jobs?" It was clear that the stimulus had failed and that Democrats were more interested ramming through a federal takeover of health care than they were any kind of effective jobs and economic recovery program.
But that didn't stop Blowhard Joe Biden from claiming the stimulus worked. He saw new jobs where everyone else saw pink slips. And then, there was White House Chief of Staff Raham Emanuel claiming "we rescued the economy."
House Republicans fired back with this video comparing Obama's promises that the stimulus would offer immediate results to his later statement that were directly contrary. Does he think no one will notice what he said earlier?
And always, always, always we go back to the promises Obama made before the stimulus bill was passed claiming it would keep unemployment below 8%. The Congressional Budge Office warned that massive new spending programs could be "worse than doing nothing." I guess they were right.
40th Anniversary of Man's First Walk on the Moon
So long ago!
More photos here. Launch scenes here.
We close out Part II of our look back with another low note. The "Beer Summit" made necessary after Obama claimed the Boston Police had "acted stupidly" in the handling of his race-baiting friend Harvard Prof. Louis Gates.
Millions of Americans were out of work and Obama found it necessary to put on this dog and pony show.
Stay tuned for Part III of the Best and the Worst of 2009!
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