Tag Archives: Obama

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WALL STREET ISN’T BACKING JACK LEW FOR TREASURY – THE TERM SHEET: FORTUNE’S DEALS BLOG TERM SHEET

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Wall Street thinks Obama’s likely Treasury Secretary pick doesn’t know jack about the market.

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FORTUNE — Jack Lew, the frontrunner to be named Treasury Secretary in Obama’s second term, isn’t Wall Street’s first choice for the key economic post. He’s not even its second.

“I’ve talked to a bunch of investors and it’s seen as a net negative going from [Tim] Geithner to Lew,” says Chris Krueger, senior political analyst at Guggenheim Partners. “Who does Wall Street want? Not Jack Lew.”

Lew, 57, spent three years on Wall Street working at Citigroup (C) as the chief operating officer of its alternative asset investment management unit. One of the funds Lew’s group invested in was run by John Paulson, who at the time was betting heavily against the housing markets and banks. But that’s not the part of Lew’s resume that anyone seems to remember. And it’s certainly not the important part.

More… Fiscal Cliff: A modest proposal

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ISRAEL SENDS TROOPS TO BORDER WITH GAZA

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After the Israeli assassination of the Hamas military leader Ahmed al-Jaabari, the Palestinians have made good on their promise of revenge. Hamas have responded firing rockets into Israel. One rocket fell into the sea off the coast of Tel Aviv. Israel have now mobilised ground troops to the border with Gaza. Until recently it was thought Tel Aviv was out of range of the Palestinian rockets.

Three Israelis have been killed in the southern town of Kiryat Malachi, after a Hamas rocket hit a four story building in a residential area. In Palestine fifteen people have been killed, mainly militants, however two children were also amongst the dead. Israel have said they do all they can to prevent civilian casualties, but blame Hamas for using human shields.

“In the past 24 hours, Israel has made it clear that it will not tolerate rocket and missile attacks on its civilians. I hope that Hamas and the other terror organisations in Gaza got the message,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said, “If not, Israel is prepared to take whatever action is necessary to defend our people.”

UK Foreign Secretary William Hague has said, “Hamas bears principal responsibility for the current crisis”, also urging all the sides involved to “avoid any action which risks civilian casualties or escalates the crisis”. Hague’s views were echoed by President Obama, who agreed that Hamas needed to halt it’s attacks on Israel.

The latest wave of violence comes after Hamas fired rockets into Israeli territory.

The Arab world has condemned Israel for the attacks. Egypt’s Prime Minister will visit Gaza on Friday to show solidarity with Hamas. Hamas and the Muslim Brotherhood have close ties.

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Presidential Election 2012: Too Close to Call

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With only three days until the election it is too close to call. Most polls have President Obama and Mitt Romney neck-and-neck. The last time an election was this close was in 2000 when George W Bush beat Al Gore. Back in 2000, like now, both men were polling at 47% each. In 2000 Al Gore won the popular vote, but lost the electoral collage – Bush won Ohio! In 2000, there were legal challenges and recounts. Some think this year will be as close as 2000.

The figures behind this years election point to a deeply divided nation. Unlike many Western democracies, where elections are marked by candidates who are remarkably similar, Obama and Romney have very different policies. The two men seek to take the nation down very different paths.

After such a long and bitter campaign, let us hope the winner will be able to unite the nation after Tuesday’s election.

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New Poll Suggests A Dead Heat

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The latest poll, published today, suggests a dead heat between Obama and Romney in the race for the White House.

With six days to go until the election, no one can predict which way the election will go. Within the key swing states, it appears Romney has a slight lead over Obama in Florida. Florida has 29 electoral votes up for grabs.

In the pivotal state of Ohio, polls either show the race tied or Obama with a slight lead. No Republican has ever been elected President without the Buckeye states 18 electoral votes.

For both President Obama and Republican Romney the next 6 days will be crucial, both men have all to play for in their bid to be Commander in Chief for the next four years.

CNN INTERACTIVE ELECTORAL MAP

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Facebook censors Navy SEALs who said Obama denied them backup as forces overran Benghazi and killed U.S. Ambassador

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Facebook censors Navy SEALs who said Obama denied them backup as forces overran Benghazi and killed U.S. Ambassador Message was taken down by Facebook TWICE -SEALS claim it was attempt to quietly squelch opposition to President Obamas alleged failures

 

 

A message posted on Facebook by Navy SEALS claiming that President Obama denied them backup as forces overran Benghazi was taken down twice by the social networking site. The move has stoked accusations that Facebook was censoring the SEALs’ message to ‘quietly squelch opposition’ to President Obama’s alleged failures.The message contained in a meme suggesting that Obama relied on the SEALS when he wanted to get Osama bin Laden, but then turned round and denied them back up when they called for it in Benghazi. Censored? The SOS post was taken down by Facebook twice… but not before it had been shared online by thousands.

US ambassador to Libya Chris Stevens and three other American embassy staff were killed in the attack by Islamist militants in Benghazi, Libya on September 11. The tragedy has become a controversial issue in next months presidential election due to ongoing confusion over how much the administration knew about the circumstances of the attack.

More…Revealed: Googles biggest advertiser is the University of Phoenix spending nearly $200,000 every dayObama’s bad timing: President jokes about the songs on his iPod in pre-taped interview that airs as Superstorm Sandy batters East Coast

So, just how much money did YouTube make from streaming Gangnam Style?Sources present during the deadly six-hour assault have said that a desperate last request for military assistance once the CIA themselves came under attack was denied, even though elite counter-terrorism units were only two hours away.

The Facebook message about the attack was posted by Special Operations Speaks PAC SOS, an organisation founded by Special Operations veterans dedicated to protecting forces at home and abroad.

Attack: The US Consulate in Benghazi is seen in flames during fierce clashes in which US Ambassador Chris Stevens diedThe image was shared on Facebook between 30,000 users within 24 hours of it being posted online.However it was taken down at the weekend for what SOS claims was an ‘unspecified violation of Facebook’s terms of Rights and Responsibilities.’Retired SEAL Captain Larry Bailey said:  ‘It looks like Obama’s liberal followers in Facebook HQ are terrified of how damaging the Benghazi scandal is for the President. We understand that Facebook can run their site however they’d like, but when they’re trying to quietly squelch opposition to what is a clear leadership failure that resulted in the tragic deaths of some of our nation’s heroes, they deserve the to be called out on it.’Tragedy: Walls at the main entrance of the US consulate in Benghazi, apparently stained with blood.

Colonel Dick Brauer Jr, retired from the US Air Force, added: ‘Americans across the country deserve the truth about what happened in Libya, and they certainly deserve to know when people who hold the keys to a lot of their online communications are trying to keep that from them.’After the post was removed twice and SOS’s Facebook account suspended for 24 hours, the post was reinstated and SOS received an email from Facebook apologising. It said: ‘A member of our team accidentally removed something you posted on Facebook. This was mistake, and we sincerely apologize for this error. Weve since restored the content, and you should now be able to see it.’SOS responded to the apology: ‘We accept their apology but do not accept that it was an innocent mistake. It was clearly a means to protect Obama on Libya.’A spokesperson from Facebook said: This was an error and we apologize for any inconvenience it may have caused. They can feel free to repost the image.

more at  Facebook censors Navy SEALs who said Obama denied them backup as forces overran Benghazi and killed U.S. Ambassador | Mail Online.

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Obama Supporters… Hate Obama’s Policies?

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Luke Rudkowski, in a new video by “We Are Change”, interviewed Obama supporters about Romney’s  er Obama’s policies, and the results are interesting.

The results seem to confirm Howard Stern’s opinion.  Voters tend to feel strongly about a candidate, despite not really knowing anything about what they stand for or have done.

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Third Presidential Debate: Lynn University, Boca Raton, Florida

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President Obama and Republican hopeful Mitt Romney are preparing for the final of the Presidential election debate in Florida. This final debate will take place on Monday 22nd, October. No Presidential election is unimportant, but this year is arguably the most important election we have had for many years. Obama and Romney have very different ideological stand points, and America is clearly facing many challenges.

After the first two debates Romney has made gains in the polls and is now ahead of the President in some polls, with others have the result tied.

The third debate will focus mainly on foreign policy. Libya was a major clashing point for the second debate. President Obama is in Camp David preparing of the debate, and Romney is preparing in Florida.

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Obama team promises more aggressive president in second debate

Campaign advisers to President Barack Obama promised on Sunday he would be more aggressive and energetic on Tuesday in his second debate against Republican challenger Mitt Romney after a passive, heavily criticized performance in their first showdown.

Since that first debate in Denver on October 3, polls indicate Romney has erased Obama’s lead heading into the November 6 election. Obama and Romney debate again on Tuesday October 16th, at  Hofstra University in Hempstead, New York.

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The third and final presidential debate will take place on October 22 in Florida.

“Obviously, the president was disappointed in his own performance. He didn’t meet his expectations,” Obama campaign adviser Robert Gibbs told the CNN program “State of the Union,” referring to the first debate.

“He knew when he walked off that stage and he also knew as he’s watched the tape of that debate that he’s got to be more energetic. I think you’ll see somebody who’s very passionate about the choice that our country faces – and putting that choice in front of voters,” Gibbs added.

The Romney team sounded unimpressed. “Well, the president can change his style. He can change his tactics. He can’t change his record. And he can’t change his policies. And that’s what this election is about,” Romney campaign adviser Ed Gillespie told CNN.

“I think the race is very close. I think the wind is at Governor Romney’s back, and there’s clearly momentum. You can see it on the trail, you can see it in the data,” Gillespie said in a separate appearance on “Fox News Sunday.”

In contrast to Obama’s listless debate performance, Vice President Joe Biden was far more assertive in his debate on Thursday night with Romney’s running mate Paul Ryan in Danville, Kentucky.

Another Obama campaign adviser, David Axelrod, told the “Fox News Sunday” program: “I think he’s going to be aggressive in making the case for his view of where we should go as a country, a country that’s built around a growing, thriving middle class, not this top-down theory that Governor Romney has.”

“But the other thing he’s going to certainly do – I mean, we saw Governor Romney sort of serially walk away from his own proposals – certainly the president is going to be willing to challenge him on it as we saw the vice president challenge Paul Ryan,” Axelrod said.

more  Obama team promises more aggressive president in second debate | Reuters.

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Pre-Election Swing States Map and Data Analysis

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Map and data showing the swing States and considered safe States for Romney and Obama as at 11th October 2012.

RCP POLL AVERAGE ELECTORAL VOTES
States Obama Romney Obama Romney
Colo. 47.0% 47.6% 0 9
Fla. 47.5% 47.5% 0 29
Iowa 48.6% 45.4% 6 0
Nev. 48.2% 46.6% 6 0
N.H. 49.8% 45.3% 4 0
N.C. 46.0% 49.3% 0 15
Ohio 47.6% 46.3% 18 0
Va. 48.2% 47.6% 13 0
Wis. 50.0% 47.7% 10 0
Swing-State Votes 57 53
Leaning/Likely State Votes 237 191
Total Overall Votes 294 244
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Obama did not ‘underperform’: we saw the real man – Telegraph Blogs

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President Obama

 

By Thomas Pascoe Economics Last updated: October 4th, 2012

Barack Obama was dreadful in the first presidential debate. He seemed confused and hesitant; his thoughts were incoherent.

There seems to be confusion among the Left as to how this could have happened. How could such a celebrated orator underperform? The answer is simple: Obama did not underperform.

Mr Obama is in the midst of an election campaign he is attempting to win without policies. He claims he will cut debt despite having ruled out reductions to the most significant area of spending, welfare entitlements. He wants to avoid war in the Middle East, which is commendable, but not, in itself, a policy. He is against a “war on women”, he is against the Boy Scouts of America banning gays. This isn’t anywhere close to being a prospectus for governing the world’s most important country through a period of crisis – it’s a manifesto for election to a student union.

The argument has always been that we should not expect Mr Obama to share his innermost thoughts with us. The man, so we are told, is such an intellectual giant that we would not understand him if he did.

That is one explanation. The other is that Mr Obama’s intellectual development froze around the time he first encountered socialism. He is exceptionally good at reading out from a teleprompter, be that on the campaign trail or when addressing an audience of 12-year-olds. When he is left to articulate complex thoughts of his own, he fails.

The fact is that Mr Obama has a talented, cynical team around him who have been succesful in constructing a narrative in which Mr Romney is a comic villan who wants to ruin the poor and open windows on aeroplanes. Stripped of these people, he has no memorable policies and very few discernible convictions. The emptiness we saw on Wednesday was the real thing.

via Obama did not ‘underperform’: we saw the real man – Telegraph Blogs.

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President Obama returns to Los Angeles

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President Obama is scheduled to arrive at Los Angeles International Airport after 1 p.m. Sunday, October 7. His Sunday evening is scheduled to include a backstage reception, concert and dinner. The concert, called “30 Days to Victory” at downtown L.A.’s Nokia Theater, will feature Katy Perry, Stevie Wonder, Jennifer Hudson, Earth Wind and Fire, and Jon Bon Jovi. Presidential pal Clooney will make a special appearance to introduce Wonder. After the concert, Obama will head next door for a $25,000-per-plate dinner at Wolfgang Puck’s chic WP24.
Obama is scheduled to depart from LAX on Monday morning and head to a midday ceremony in Keene, near Tehachapi, where he will dedicate the new César E. Chávez National Monument. The President will then continue north to San Francisco for a fundraising dinner hosted by superstar chef Alice Waters, and a concert headlined by John Legend.

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Hollywood Joins in