Sean Hannity: President Obama's Earmark Amnesia

By Sean Hannity
www.FoxNews.com

A quick trip around Hannity's America...

Say What?

Are there earmarks in the stimulus bill? Well, it depends which day you ask President Obama.

Just days ago he was arguing that no bill this size had ever gotten through Congress without a pesky earmark here and there, but Monday night he was singing a different tune.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA: When was the last time that we saw a bill of this magnitude move out with no earmarks in it? Not once. And, and when you start asking well, what is it exactly that is such a problem that you're seeing, where's all this waste in spending? Well, you know, you want to replace the federal fleet with hybrid cars. Well, why wouldn't we want to do that?

What it does not contain, however, is a single pet project, not a single earmark.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

Let me guess, it depends on the definition of earmark?

Dem on Defense

Press secretary Robert Gibbs continued the administration's offensive for the pork bill, taking the case to the nation's morning shows earlier Tuesday.

After Matt Lauer pushed as hard as he could, Mr. Gibbs went to considerable lengths to defend the spending bill:

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ROBERT GIBBS, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: No, Matt, I think, as the president has eloquently said, let's not make the perfect the enemy of the absolutely necessary.

LIBERAL TRANSLATION: After all, in a perfect world, they'd have a more capable press secretary.

GIBBS: Economists will tell us that if we wait too long, we'll miss that opportunity to get our economy going.

LIBERAL TRANSLATION: We need to jump start STD prevention and funding for dog parks and disc golf courses. That's what's going to get this economy out of the ditch.

GIBBS: Again, as he said, this bill isn't 100 percent perfect. We all may write it a little differently.

LIBERAL TRANSLATION: And by not perfect, I mean a total and unmitigated disaster.

GIBBS: But what's important is we get money into people's pockets, we start investing in our infrastructure and creating the millions of new jobs that we've seen our economy shed over the past.

MATT LAUER, CO-HOST, "THE TODAY SHOW": But don't you see any...

LIBERAL TRANSLATION: What's important is that the president not be embarrassed any further. What's really at stake here is image.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

It's OK, Robert -- I'm not a morning person either.

Doddering to Defeat

Chris Dodd has been a mainstay in the U.S. Senate since 1981, but his prospects for reelection are dimming in light of a new Quinnipiac Poll released today. A 51 percent majority of voters polled say they "probably won't" or "definitely won't" vote for Mr. Dodd when he is up for reelection next year.

The senator's fall from grace comes after he revealed that he received preferential mortgage rates from Countrywide Financial for his homes in Connecticut and Washington, D.C. because he was considered a friend of the company's former chairman and CEO.

You may recall Mr. Dodd was responsible for introducing the very bailout bill that came to the aid of lenders like Countrywide. Hey, who needs friends when you know the chairman of the Senate Banking Committee?

Welcome!

You may recall that on the campaign trail, Mr. Obama threw blame on the Bush administration for spawning an era of international hostility and promised a new era of global harmony. Well, the era of international cooperation he spoke of during the campaign season hasn't exactly come to pass.

As Washington Times reporters Eli Lake and Jon Ward noted, the Arab world has greeted the new administration with the following gestures of goodwill: First, Pakistan released A.Q. Khan, the scientist who sold nuclear weapons technology to U.S. adversaries including Iran and Libya. Then, Kyrgyzstan refused to renew the lease for a critical U.S. air base, Iran launched a satellite missile into space and Yemen released 170 suspected Al Qaeda terrorists from jail.

I guess Joe Biden was right when he said the world would test the new president. It remains to be seen whether President Obama will respond appropriately.

No Vacancy

A three judge-panel tentatively ruled Monday in favor of a group of California inmates that say the prison system in the state is so overcrowded they are unable to receive proper health care. The judges in the case — who were all appointed by Jimmy Carter — include Judge Lawrence Kolton, who once ruled that reciting the Pledge of Allegiance in school is unconstitutional, and Judge Stephen Reinhardt, who happens to be married to the executive director of the ACLU of Southern California.

A final ruling would require California to reduce its prison population by nearly 60,000 inmates. But don't worry, according to The Los Angeles Times, there won't be a mass exodus of current prisoners, the reduction will likely occur by limiting new admissions and changing rules so parole violators return to prison less frequently.

The state plans to appeal the case to the U.S. Supreme Court when a final ruling is issued.

— Watch "Hannity" weekdays at 9 p.m. ET on FOX News Channel Sphere: Related Content

The Truth About Obama's Stimulus Package

By Glenn Beck

There's the start of universal healthcare in this spending bill, and President Obama didn't even mention it in his speech last night. I'll explain in just a minute why if you're old you should get used to a little pain.

Here's the one thing: I agree with President Obama. We may not survive if we do not do the right thing. But that's where our agreement ends, because what he's proposing is exactly wrong.

Better get the duct tape, because when you hear what Obama said last night, and then the truth, your head may pop off.

Here's Obama talking about job creation:

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA: The federal government is the only entity left with the resources to jolt our economy back into life.
(END VIDEO CLIP)

But wait! The Bureau of Labor Statistics found that about 90 to 95% of private sector job growth got us out of the recessions of late ‘70s and early ‘80s. Here's the president speaking about role in ending the Great Depression:

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
OBAMA: You have some people — very sincere — who philosophically just think that government has no business interfering in the marketplace.
And in fact there are several who suggested that FDR was wrong to intervene back in the New Deal. They're fighting battles that I thought were resolved a pretty long time ago.
(END VIDEO CLIP)

No, actually a long time ago the history was written by the same economists who designed the new deal. Let's look at today. The non-partisan CBO says the spending package will actually lower GDP by .1 to .3 percentage points by 2019. Doing nothing, they say, would result in less debt and higher growth. But, of course, doing nothing isn't an option for this president.

Last night President Obama did not say much about TARP 2.0, which was rolled out today by new Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner. Geithner said that this new plan is supposed to help mop up toxic assets. But isn't that exactly what President Bush and the Republicans said about the original TARP? This one could put us on the hook for another 1.5 trillion bucks.

Here's what President Obama said when it comes to the "experts":

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA: "Most economists almost unanimously recognize... That government is an important element of introducing some additional demand into the economy."
(END VIDEO CLIP)

Oh really? Doesn't this sound like Al Gore on global warming? The science is not settled, it's up to you. There are a couple hundred economists who disagree, and they aren't exactly slouches.

It's nice that Obama looks presidential and his words make people feel good, but we also have to listen to what he says and make sure he can back it up with actual facts — something that we'll try to do tonight.

What do you think? Send your comments to: glennbeck@foxnews.com
— Watch "Glenn Beck" weekdays at 5 p.m. ET on FOX News Channel Sphere: Related Content

Graham Says Obama Is 'AWOL' on Stimulus Debate

Sen Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., says the president has not been providing leadership and criticizes him for giving TV interviews and writing an editorial touting the package rather than addressing the complaints of lawmakers.

FoxNews

President Obama has been "AWOL" in negotiations over the economic stimulus package, Sen. Lindsey Graham said Thursday in a scathing rebuke of the new president.

The South Carolina Republican told FOX News that Obama has not been providing leadership, and he criticized the president for giving TV interviews and writing an editorial touting the package, rather than addressing the complaints of lawmakers.

"This process stinks," Graham told FOX News, before repeating a lot of his criticisms on the Senate floor. "We're making this up as we go and it is a waste of money. It is a broken process, and the president, as far as I'm concerned, has been AWOL on providing leadership on something as important as this."

Republican senators and congressmen have been reluctant to direct any criticism at the president since his inauguration. They mostly have fired shots at Democratic leaders in the House and Senate, saying they have obstructed the bipartisan process Obama sought.
But Graham broke that practice after Obama granted a round of interviews defending his plan Tuesday and wrote an op-ed in The Washington Post Thursday in which he warned of disastrous consequences if Congress does not pass the stimulus bill.

"Scaring people is not leadership. Writing an editorial that if you don't pass this bad bill we're going to have disaster -- we've had enough presidents trying to scare people to make bad decisions," Graham said.

"I like President Obama, but he is not leading. Having lunch is not leading ... and doing TV interviews is not leading."

Obama renewed his plea for the bill at the Energy Department Thursday, shortly after Graham spoke.

"The time for talk is over. The time for action is now," Obama said.

Obama, in his op-ed, wrote that inaction could lead the economy into an irreversible decline.

"Because each day we wait to begin the work of turning our economy around, more people lose their jobs, their savings and their homes," he wrote. "And if nothing is done, this recession might linger for years. Our economy will lose 5 million more jobs. Unemployment will approach double digits. Our nation will sink deeper into a crisis that, at some point, we may not be able to reverse." Sphere: Related Content