By ,
Published January 27, 2017
As we predicted, the president is feeling major heat and has begun to change his tone.
Monday night he announced he wants to freeze discretionary spending for three years. That, of course, is a good thing. Any restraint on government spending will help the economy.
But both conservatives and liberals are hammering Mr. Obama over the issue. Left-wing zealots don't want any limits on spending. They want social justice. That means they want big money given to less affluent Americans through a variety of programs. Fervent right-wingers simply don't like President Obama, so whatever he does will be criticized in those precincts.
"Talking Points" rejects all Kool-Aid drinking and wants the best for the country. If the president gets away from his liberal tendencies, it can only make America stronger.
By the way, we predicted this whole thing would happen:
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BILL O'REILLY: If President Obama wants to make a comeback, he must simplify health care, he must cut spending, he must cut taxes to stimulate job creation, and he must get tough with Al Qaeda and other terrorists. If he does not do that, he will continue to lose power.
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That prediction was simply common sense. Mr. Obama and his acolytes were stunned by Massachusetts. That's fairly obvious. The president's liberal policies have to be moderated.
Now on the right, the argument is being made the president has plenty of money to fund whatever he wants because he's already raised discretionary domestic spending 24 percent since President Bush's last fiscal year. He also has $522 billion in unspent stimulus money and about $240 billion more that's being paid back by American banks.
So it's clear the president isn't really biting the bullet here. He just wants Americans to think he's being fiscally responsible. If Mr. Obama is truly interested in shoring up the American economy in the long run, he would put at least $500 billion back into the U.S. Treasury to pay down the national debt. He can keep $250 billion if the economy needs to be propped up again. That would be quite a statement.
And then there's terrorism. What happened with the underwear bomber on Christmas Day was flat out embarrassing. The president's top national intelligence guy didn't even know the bomber was being interrogated. And the FBI doesn't even have a terror interrogation team in place, despite Mr. Obama ordering one last summer. I mean, come on. This is awful.
And on that front, Mr. Obama should immediately rescind the Khalid Sheikh Mohamed civilian trial the attorney general has ordered. $200 million a year for that dog and pony show? Disgraceful.
Summing up, restraining some spending is good for America, so the president should be praised. Ideologues on both sides won't do that, but "Talking Points" will.
And that's "The Memo."
Pinheads & Patriots
The program "Bonanza" was one of the most successful TV shows in history. Pernell Roberts, who played Adam Cartwright, the oldest son, passed away Monday at age 81.
Click here to watch "Pinheads & Patriots"!
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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Everything's ready. I'll just go pack a few clothes.
PERNELL ROBERTS, ACTOR: She's not going with you, Luke.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We've been all through that, Cartwright.
ROBERTS: I'm not going to let her get on that horse.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What's with you, Cartwright? Yesterday you didn't even know she existed.
ROBERTS: Anybody, stranger or not, deserves help when they're walking into trouble.
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Mr. Roberts also starred in "Trapper John, M.D." He was a former Marine, did a lot of good charity work, so Pernell Roberts was a patriot.
On the pinhead front, first lady Michelle Obama is now in a wax museum, and TV talk show host Wendy Williams seemed very excited to unveil the statue.
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WENDY WILLIAMS, TV TALK SHOW HOST: These are good arms. And snake shoes. These are good arms. And your wrist is my size. I mean, except for a little bit, we are, like, the same, and I have a little kitten heel. This is true to size. I like that. That's nice. I like the earrings, too. Don't you? This is the inaugural gown, as you see. Well, listen, we can talk all day long, and we will.
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A little strange. Is Ms. Williams a pinhead? You can make the call on that. Staying out of it.
https://www.foxnews.com/transcript/president-obama-moves-to-the-right