Unless you are a hardcore Obama-hater, you've got to feel a bit sorry for the president. On his first day of vacation, his attorney general announces an investigation of the CIA, something Obama has publicly stated he does not want. Then the administration announced the deficit is $2 trillion more than the White House thought it was. All of this within 24 hours of Mr. Obama arriving on Martha's Vineyard.
And there's more. Stratfor reports things are now going badly in both Afghanistan and Iraq, and some analysts believe the president has not only lost control of the health care situation, he's lost control of just about everything. That's not exactly fair, but what is true is that President Obama's leadership is being tested in a major way, and Americans know it.
Let's take the CIA deal first. ABC News is reporting that CIA chief Leon Panetta screamed at a top Obama official in the White house, using profanity. Mr. Panetta is a dedicated liberal Democrat, but does understand that an investigation into the CIA for alleged abuse after the 9/11 attacks harms the country today because it makes intelligence gathering much more difficult, as foreign nations who might cooperate with us do not want to be caught up in any public controversy. And there are folks who believe the president secretly wants an investigation to placate the far left and divert attention away from the health care debacle. Of course, that is pure conjecture.
On the money front, after the president appointed Ben Bernanke on Tuesday for another term at the Fed, FOX News business guy Stuart Varney said this:
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STUART VARNEY, FOX NEWS BUSINESS ANCHOR: This is a deliberate — what you just saw from the president is a deliberate attempt to bury bad news. The Bernanke announcement diverts attention from this massive increase in the federal budget deficit that we are now looking at. It also diverts attention from the fact that the president's previous economic forecast have been very, very wrong.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
Again, that is Stuart's opinion, but it is shared by many.
So what we have here is a crisis of leadership, there is no question. Health care is in chaos, Afghanistan and Iraq are getting worse, the deficit is $2 trillion more than anybody thought, and Gallup reports Tuesday that consumer confidence in the economy continues to drop.
Seems to me it would be very hard to relax on vacation with all that staring you in the face.
And that's "The Memo."
Pinheads & Patriots
As you may know, the Jonas Brothers are one of the hottest acts in the country. They are Disney-managed, and the kids love them.
The youngest brother, Nick, has diabetes and Monday became the second youngest American ever to address the National Press Club.
Click here to watch "Pinheads & Patriots"!
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NICK JONAS, MUSICIAN: I've always had this dream of becoming the president one day. I talk about it a lot, and so just being there was kind of cool to see the history and just to be in the White House is obviously such an honor. We were able to play an acoustic set for the Obama daughters and some of their friends when they first went in, so it was cool.
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For being a good role model, Nick and his brothers are patriots.
On the pinhead front, Bill Maher said this on "The Tonight Show":
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BILL MAHER, "REAL TIME WITH BILL MAHER": Wolf Blitzer asked me if I thought Sarah Palin could win a presidential election, and I said, "I think anything is possible in this stupid country." And yes, some people's heads exploded, and Bill O'Reilly called me a pinhead.
CONAN O'BRIEN, "THE TONIGHT SHOW": He called you a pinhead?
MAHER: Yes, which is a, not true, and b, really funny coming from an (EXPLETIVE DELETED) like him.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
Is Mr. Maher a pinhead again? You make the call.
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