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May 9, 2009
Exclusive: Oval Office Watch – Saturday, May 9
Hedge Funds Outraged At Obama Bullying But Also Cowering In Fear
Clifford S. Asness, Business Insider.com
The President has just harshly castigated hedge fund managers for being unwilling to take his administration's bid for their Chrysler bonds. He called them "speculators" who were "refusing to sacrifice like everyone else" and who wanted "to hold out for the prospect of an unjustified taxpayer-funded bailout."
The responses of hedge fund managers have been, appropriately, outrage, but generally have been anonymous for fear of going on the record against a powerful President (an exception, though still in the form of a "group letter", was the superb note from "The Committee of Chrysler Non-TARP Lenders" some of the points of which I echo here, and a relatively few firms, like Oppenheimer, that have publicly defended themselves). Furthermore, one by one the managers and banks are said to be caving to the President's wishes out of justifiable fear.
I run an approximately twenty billion dollar money management firm that offers hedge funds as well as public mutual funds and unhedged traditional investments. My company is not involved in the Chrysler situation, but I am still aghast at the President's comments (of course these are my own views not those of my company). Furthermore, for some reason I was not born with the common sense to keep it to myself, though my title should more accurately be called "Not Afraid Enough" as I am indeed fearful writing this... It's really a bad idea to speak out. Angering the President is a mistake. Read article.
Don't Demonize Chrysler's Debt Holders For Standing Up For Their Shareholders
IBD Editorials.com
President Obama last Thursday gave us reason to wonder what he believes is more important: respect for rule of law or his desire for more government control over the economy.
"A small group of speculators" is how Obama disparaged holders of Chrysler debt who resisted government pressure to accept a small fraction of what they are owed as Chrysler filed for bankruptcy Thursday.
The money managers at these firms - including Oppenheimer Fund, Perella Weinberg Partners and Stairway Capital Management - rightly stood up for their shareholders and investors, who include government pension funds, school endowments, and corporate and individual retirement investors.
The president in his demagoguery also neglected to note that the United Auto Workers, who gave him overwhelming support in the last election, were asked to "sacrifice" far less than the lenders, even though the UAW's lavish pay, health and retirement benefits are major reasons the Big Three automakers are in such trouble. The Obama-supporting UAW will actually end up as Chrysler's majority owner.
The people the president derisively called speculators are simply asking the government to follow long-established law to protect their clients and shareholders. Read article.
Great News About Government Motors
Henry Mark Holzer.Blogspot.com
Chrysler, once a noble name in the American auto industry, is headed down the green brick road. What kind of a company, if any, will emerge from bankruptcy court remains to be seen.
But we don't have to wonder about the fate of General Motors--and in its recast form there will be a golden opportunity for the tens of millions of us who voted for John McCain as the lesser evil to strike a powerful blow against Barack Obama, his fascist/socialist policies, and the handmaidens who serve them--and for capitalism and the free market.
For decades, General Motors suffered from three major plagues: uninspired management, voracious unions, and statist government. It was the latter two--unions and government-- which destroyed GM. Read article.
Obama Derangement
Bill O'Reilly, Townhall.com
Remember the term "Bush Derangement Syndrome," which perfectly captured the hateful invective directed at the former president? Many conservatives condemned BDS, as they should have. Like him or not, the president tried hard to serve and protect America; he did not deserve to be the target of cheap shots all day long by crazy left-wing loons.
But now the proverbial shoe is on the other foot and ODS (Obama Derangement Syndrome) is in play. The dictionary defines "derangement" as a form of insanity. After listening to some partisans evaluate Barack Obama's first 100 days in office, I have to say there is some madness in the air. Read article.
Obama Administration Withdraws Proposed Concessions to Hamas
Barry Rubin, Gloria-Center.com
This has become a very interesting situation. On May 1, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, in congressional testimony, reinterpreted the proposal discussed below to make it clear that the United States did not embrace the proposal (earlier raised by the French) to back a PA coalition with Hamas. She said that every individual minister of such a government would have to accept the quartet provisions that included recognizing Israel and abandoning terrorism. This would effetively rule out U.S. aid to a Fatah-Hamas coalition (which isn't going to happen any way).
This tells us that the Obama administration is continuing to put a priority on maintaining strong U.S.-Israel relations--despite many predictions to the contrary and misinterpretations of what it has said or done. One can either view the previous initiative on Hamas as a trial balloon that got shot down or as a mistake whose correction shows the underlying main line of administration policy.
The original proposal might eventually have become its first step directly damaging U.S.-Israel relations and injuring Israel's interests, the Obama administration has reportedly proposed allowing American aid to go to a Palestinian Authority (PA) even if Hamas, which is designated in U.S. law as a terrorist group, would be participating in it. Read article.
ISLAMObama to Abandon Israel in favor of Iran
Bare Naked Islam.Wordpress.com
Prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu can expect the full force of a bludgeon to be wielded in his White House talks on May 18.
Israeli president Shimon Peres' task in Washington on May 4-5 is to blunt the sharp edge the White House is honing to force Israel to toe the new Washington line on the Palestinians, Syria and Iran.
Washington sources report that their host is fired up to be the first US president in decades of close friendship and cooperation to clash openly with Israel and the bulk of US Jewry. Oblivious to Israel's claim of US support for its security in a hostile regional environment, Barack Obama is expected to squeeze the Netanyahu government hard for immediate engagement on the Middle East conflict without further delay. Read article.
Thoughts from Oceania
Victor Davis Hanson, NRO.com
With the new administration's reconsideration of military tribunals in Guantánamo, the coverage of Obama's security measures is right out of Orwell's Ministry of Information.
Beneath the hero worship, we can detect, however, that the shelf life of the campaign-mode rhetoric of "Bush did it" is nearing an end - and the Obama administration is starting to bump up against the same old bad/worse choice scenarios on some matters of security that Bush encountered, as the new administration quietly learns there were never easy decisions.
Take Guantánamo itself. It's still open right now - because no country, for all the moral rhetoric, wants back their own terrorists; because releasing them on welfare in the U.S. is political suicide; because no one really wants to try them in federal courts; because for all the talk of flushed Korans, the inmates are treated well and the detention is transparent; and because Team Obama is not quite sure what to do with future high-value terrorists they may catch abroad. (e.g., Never take prisoners on the field of battle? Use rendition to ship them somewhere? Turn them over to the Afghans? Military tribunals? Jail them - where and for how long?) Read article.
Bachmann blasts Obama spending "orgy"
Glenn Thrush, Politico.com/blogs
Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.) - who was put on the Earth to help reporters deal with slow, rainy Mondays - had some interesting turns of phrase during a weekend rally with Gov. Tim Pawlenty.
Referring to President Obama's stimulus and budget, which she vehemently opposed, Bachmann said:
"We have seen an orgy of spending [break in the tape]. ... The government spent its wad. ... Notice there's no TelePrompter here." Read article.
Young Israelis more skeptical of Obama
Dana Zimmerman, YNetNews.com
Young Israelis are more suspicious of US President Barack Obama and his policies than older Israelis, said a poll conducted by Professor Eytan Gilboa of Bar-Ilan University ahead of a conference on Israel-US relations to be held this week.
"The main point arising from the poll is concern regarding Obama's policies. Obama has been in office for a hundreds days now - and this is cause for concern, since people still haven't figured him out," said Gilboa, head of the university's international communications division.
"This poll has revealed that Israelis make a distinction between the United States and President Obama and his policies. They have less fondness for him than they have for the US, and display a certain degree of mistrust in him," the professor said. Read article.
Deadly Duo of Obama-Gore Deceit on Cap and Trade
Dr. Tim Ball, CFP.com
A Memorandum for the Heads of Executive Departments and Agencies issued by the White house says, My Administration is committed to creating an unprecedented level of openness in Government. We will work together to ensure the public trust and establish a system of transparency, public participation, and collaboration.
Notice this only applies to the Executive Branch Departments as division of powers in the US Constitution requires. This means the Congress is not bound by this dictum and so the Democratic majority in Congress can do the dirty work. The need to get the Cap and Trade policy through is a case in point. It's essential to Obama's plan to control carbon and energy, but also to provide over $625 billion of revenue for his budget. (Others say $634 billion, but what's a billion here or there?)
Obama presents Cap and Trade as essential to stopping global warming by reducing atmospheric CO2. It won't because it allows people to produce the same amount or more by buying the privilege and passing the cost to the consumer. It also requires ignoring the scientific evidence that CO2 is not causing warming.
Obama can't do that because if he has a public presentation on climate and climate change he must follow his clear, concise, and unqualified policy. However, even he must be embarrassed by the shameless and shameful actions of those who tacitly did his dirty work. Read article.
President Obama Has Done More Damage To Our Nation In 100 Days Than Any President In History
Andrea Lafferty, Alain's NewsLetter.com
Barack Obama has done more to undermine our national security, destroy our judicial system, promote abortion, socialize our economy, plunge future generations into debt, and push the LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender) agenda than any President in history.
Obama has already pushed aside Presidents Carter or Clinton as being the worst President in American history. The damage he is doing to our nation will be felt for generations to come. It will take decades to recover from his madness. The mainstream media won't report this, but the fact is that Obama is now the second-least-popular President in 40 years -- at this point in their Administrations. His current approval rating stands at 56%, which is only one point higher than Clinton at this point. Ronald Reagan's approval rating after 100 days was 67%; Jimmy Carter was 63%; George W. Bush was at 62%; Richard Nixon was at 61%; and George H.W. Bush was at 58% in 1989.
Here are a few of the policies and actions he has taken to overturn Judeo-Christian values and to undermine our national security. Read article.
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