A quick trip around Hannity's America...
Car Trouble
Is it even news anymore? Another Obama appointee is under investigation. This time, it's the administration's "car czar."
The Wall Street Journal revealed Friday that Steven Rattner is the subject of a long-running SEC investigation into a massive pay-to-play scheme. Authorities allege that several investment firms, including the one co-founded by Mr. Rattner, paid to get investments from the $122 billion New York state pension fund.
The next stage of the SEC's investigation will focus on Mr. Rattner's firm and several others suspected of wrongdoing. The SEC alleges that Mr. Rattner met with a politically connected consultant in an effort to gain access to the pension fund, then paid $1.1 million for his service and miraculously received an investment from the pension fund!
The case has already led to three criminal indictments and a guilty plea. Maybe having one tax cheat after another is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to Obama's Chicago ethics.
Viva Mexico!
White House press secretary Robert Gibbs took questions from reporters in Mexico City, Mexico, Thursday. As you'll see in our edition of Liberal Translation, my pal Robert is just as elegant south of the border as he is back in Washington:
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERT GIBBS, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: Well...
LIBERAL TRANSLATION: I don't even know where to begin.
GIBBS: I think — and I've obviously talked about this, and I think the president has too, this is not a — we know this is not an easy issue.
LIBERAL TRANSLATION: And it's not easy for me to complete a sentence either.
GIBBS: I think he spoke in some ways about that, today. But, I think the president also understands that a number of the issues that he deals with in some way, shape, or form are divisive.
LIBERAL TRANSLATION: OK, fine. I'll admit it: It's the WAY he deals with them that is divisive.
GIBBS: But that doesn't alleviate our obligations to deal with them.
LIBERAL TRANSLATION: Now, enough with the questions. Bring on the margaritas!
(END VIDEO CLIP)
Robert, Robert, Robert. I think you should take a week for yourself in Cancun before coming back to D.C. It looks like you need a vacation.
Where's the Outrage?
You may remember some members of a certain political party getting a little worked up over the National Security Agency's gross invasions of privacy during the George W. Bush era.
The New York Times first breathlessly disclosed President Bush's top-secret wiretapping program in an action many called treasonous. They wasted no time editorializing that, saying, "This administration has a long record of expanding presidential powers in dangerous ways... so assurances that surveillance targets are carefully selected with reasonable cause don't comfort."
The Bush administration's supposed privacy violations became a rallying cry for its leftist critics. Well now, The New York Times itself is reporting that according to government officials, since President Obama took office, the NSA has been spying on you illegally! The report says, "The National Security Agency intercepted private e-mail messages and phone calls of Americans in recent months on a scale that went beyond the broad legal limits established by Congress last year."
If you've been wondering about that heavy breathing in the background of your phone conversations, now you know who's responsible. But where's the outrage? I checked The New York Times' editorial page Friday, and I only found editorials about the Clean Water Act and gay marriage. I'm shocked.
Time Running Out?
Embattled Connecticut Senator Chris Dodd is finding himself making national headlines again, and you may have guessed, that it's not exactly good news for Mr. Dodd.
We have told you about his questionable mortgages and his controversial role in the AIG bonus scandal. Well now, there's this: According to campaign finance documents filed by the senator on Wednesday, the man who has represented Connecticut for three and a half decades is having trouble finding donors in of all places, Connecticut!
Senator Dodd, who is preparing for the fight of his political life in the 2010 election, received donations from only five — yes, five — in-state donors totaling $4,250.
On the flipside, his popularity with folks he doesn't even represent, well, that's another story. His out-of-state bankroll was over $600,000 for the first three months of the year.
Many election analysts say they are stunned by these numbers as Connecticut is normally one of the most donor-friendly states in the entire country.
Call me crazy, but I don't think five votes is going to send Mr. Dodd back to Washington. I have a feeling the word "former" is about to become a part of his title.
— Watch "Hannity" weekdays at 9 p.m. ET on FOX News Channel
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