A quick trip around Hannity's America...
Transparent! See?
The president's honeymoon with the press is already over. Now Obama's announcement of a "new era of openness" have left some in the media scratching their heads wondering well, why so many closed doors?
Now a reporter from Politico.com pressed President Obama Thursday about why he nominated a lobbyist to a senior post at the Defense Department after pledging his administration would be lobbyist-free.
Obama responded by saying:
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PRESIDENT OBAMA: We will be having a press conference at which time you can feel free to ask your questions. Right now I just wanted to say hello and introduce myself to you guys. That's all I was trying to do.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
Now in addition, The L.A. Times reports that the administration has adopted a similarly ridged policy with photo journalists, barring their access to events and instead distributing only pictures taken by an official White House photographer.
And what about that section on the presidential Web site where all the daily press briefings are posted? Well, News Busters points out that, unlike the Web sites of both Presidents Clinton and Bush, well, that section seems to be mysteriously missing from Obama's WhiteHouse.gov.
Oh, yes, it's the era of transparency, all right. Transparency at a time and place of his choosing.
Rambling Reid
In other presidential news, Obama held his first bipartisan meeting on the economy this morning with congressional leaders from both parties in attendance. Prince Harry Reid, well, he seemed especially pleased with the progress that was being made:
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MAJORITY LEADER HARRY REID, D-NEV.: There wasn't a single member of Congress or anyone in that room that didn't agree that we have an economic problem in the country. Lots of economic difficulties.
Liberal Translation: We Democrats, we're miracle workers! Our first bipartisan meeting and already we've gotten Republicans to agree with us on something!
REID: But at the conclusion of the meeting, there wasn't a single person who felt we couldn't work our way out of the problems we had.
Liberal Translation: We overcame our disagreements, reached across the aisle, and came to a two-party solution to the problem: the problem needs to be solved.
REID: It was a bipartisan discussion.
Liberal Translation: Well, more of a bipartisan attendance than a bipartisan discussion — we're still the party in power, after all, but details schmetails.
REID: And truly the president was leading us to be united, not divided.
Liberal Translation: And division is bad because "a house divided against itself cannot stand." Man, this Lincoln thing is really working out well for Obama!
(END VIDEO CLIP)
Hey, Harry, what do you say we save the premature high-fives for later? You know, when the problem is actually solved? And by the way, isn't this the same Harry Reid who said the war has lost, the surge has failed?
Show Me the Jobs
Speaking of the economy, President Obama is making big promises about the number of new jobs his trillion-dollar stimulus package is going to create: 4 million by the end of next year. Now that's the latest figure that's being floated. But that's just a rough estimate.
Now, luckily, the chief of staff of the Joint Committee on Taxation was able to provide more concrete numbers for the House Ways and Means Committee Thursday:
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. DAVE CAMP, R-MICH.: Can you tell me, Mr. Barthold, how many jobs will be created as a result of this legislation?
THOMAS BARTHOLD, CHIEF OF STAFF, JOINT COMMITTEE ON TAXATION: Well, in short, Mr. Camp, I — can't.
CAMP: So we don't have an estimate of the number of jobs that this would create either private sector or public. We don't have any estimate of the economic effect that this legislation might have on our economy, whether it would even create any growth in our economy at all. We don't have that data before the committee today?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
Rest easy, America. Change is here. How much change? Nobody can say for sure.
Separation Anxiety
Meanwhile, in a shocking turn of events we find ourselves actually in agreement with a cause being taken on by the ACLU. No kidding. The civil rights group is suing a Muslim elementary school in Minnesota for violating the Constitution's establishment clause.
Now the academy is funded by taxpayers, but there's no separation of church and state here.
The school shares a building with a mosque, and they break for midday prayers. The principal is also the president of the Muslim American Society which is an organization devoted to "attaining the pleasure of Allah" and until recently instructed followers on its Web site to "make the intention to go on jihad with the ambition to die as a martyr."
Now the school staff handbook forbids staff from discussing the school's public operations and I wonder why.
Blonde Ambition
Finally, two students at Britain's Rednock School, well, they're being threatened with expulsion. So what's the infraction? Being too blonde.
According to the Daily Mail, school rules prohibit unnatural hair colors, and these girls are coming under fire for their bleached blonde locks. Now the headmaster, David Alexander, is refusing to let them back in school until they dye their hair brown.
But neither has gone to the dark side. One of those students is fighting back, insisting that blonde is actually her natural shade.
I have no clue. We report, we let you decide.
Get all the stories you need-to-know from the most powerful name in news delivered first thing every morning to your inbox